27022020 - Insurgency: Depressed soldier shoots 7, kills self
Vanguard Newspaper 27 February 2020
Vanguard Newspaper 27 February 2020
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OLU FASAN<br />
31<br />
President Buhari<br />
should leave the<br />
economy to his vice<br />
president, in a de<br />
facto primeministerial<br />
capacity,<br />
and focus on<br />
restructuring<br />
Nigeria<br />
BAYELSA:<br />
No force on earth can reverse<br />
our verdict — S-COURT<br />
GDP growth rate still largely low– MAN<br />
10<br />
12<br />
VOL. 27: NO. 64015 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
<strong>Insurgency</strong>: <strong>Depressed</strong><br />
<strong>soldier</strong> <strong>shoots</strong> 7, <strong>kills</strong> <strong>self</strong><br />
•4 dead, three others critically injured<br />
•We’re investigating circumstances that led to incident – Army<br />
•Says 5 <strong>soldier</strong>s were shot, with 2 deaths<br />
•ISWAP attacks Chibok village, abducts head of civilian JTF, others<br />
•Buhari asks military to deal mercilessly with ISWAP, terrorists<br />
•Tension in Benue as herdsmen take over communities in 4 LGAs — P41<br />
PROTEST AGAINST INSECURITY...<br />
ASH WEDNESDAY —Cathedral Administrator, Our Lady Queen<br />
of Nigeria (OLQON) Pro-Cathedral Church, Rev Fr John Jimoh<br />
(R) applying ash on Catholic faithful during the Ash Wednesday<br />
Mass to mark the beginning of Lent at OLQON Parish Garki in<br />
Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN.<br />
AMAECHI<br />
17<br />
Catholic faithful during a prayer procession against insecurity<br />
and other problems facing the country in Enugu, yesterday.<br />
Photo: NAN.<br />
Council of<br />
Ulama rejects<br />
Ganduje's<br />
ban on street<br />
begging<br />
No subsidy<br />
from FG<br />
since<br />
privatisation<br />
13<br />
—DISCOs 10<br />
5<br />
Edo 2020:<br />
Security<br />
agencies<br />
express<br />
concern<br />
over<br />
spate of<br />
violence<br />
12<br />
Catholic<br />
Bishops<br />
decry FG’s<br />
failure to<br />
deal with<br />
9<br />
terrorists<br />
Mr & Mrs<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K
2 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020—3
4— Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020
vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews<br />
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SERVICE COMMISSION —Members of the<br />
National Assembly Service Commission during their swearing-in at the State<br />
House, Abuja, yesterday. State House photo.<br />
<strong>Insurgency</strong>: <strong>Depressed</strong><br />
<strong>soldier</strong> <strong>shoots</strong> 7, <strong>kills</strong> <strong>self</strong><br />
Omonobi, Ndahi<br />
Marama & David<br />
Odama<br />
ABUJA —<br />
Soldiers at the<br />
Nigerian Army<br />
Brigade, Malam Fatori,<br />
Borno State, currently<br />
fighting the Boko Haram<br />
insurgency were thrown<br />
into mourning, yesterday,<br />
as a depressed <strong>soldier</strong>,<br />
who allegedly got<br />
information that someone<br />
was sleeping with his<br />
wife, turned his gun at<br />
seven of his colleagues<br />
and later shot him<strong>self</strong>.<br />
Four of those shot,<br />
including the corporal<br />
have been reported dead,<br />
while the rest are in<br />
critical condition.<br />
The sad development<br />
happened as suspected<br />
members of the Islamic<br />
State of West Africa<br />
Province, ISWAP,<br />
abducted Mohammed<br />
Abba, head of the Civilian<br />
Joint Task Force, JTF, in<br />
Bambula community in<br />
Chibok Local Council of<br />
Borno State.<br />
It was learnt that the<br />
insurgents attacked the<br />
community around 4a.m.<br />
Yesterday, when most of<br />
the residents were still<br />
asleep.<br />
This is even as<br />
President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari yesterday charged<br />
the military to re-examine<br />
strategies to defeat the<br />
ISWAP terrorists in the<br />
North-East because their<br />
presence in the West<br />
African Sahel region<br />
poses great danger not<br />
only to Nigeria but also<br />
the entire region.<br />
Meanwhile, to tackle<br />
kidnapping and banditry,<br />
the Nasarawa State<br />
House of Assembly has<br />
passed a law to ensure<br />
judicial protection for<br />
witnesses.<br />
How <strong>soldier</strong><br />
shot <strong>self</strong>,<br />
colleagues<br />
Narrating how the<br />
<strong>soldier</strong> shot seven of his<br />
colleagues and him<strong>self</strong>, a<br />
source said: “I couldn’t<br />
help but voice this out. At<br />
about 0600hrs this<br />
morning (yesterday) at<br />
118/119 BN MALAM<br />
FATORI,BORNO STATE,<br />
a Corporal fired seven<br />
<strong>soldier</strong>s and fired him<strong>self</strong>.<br />
“Two have been<br />
reported dead, while the<br />
rest are in critical<br />
condition. The <strong>soldier</strong> has<br />
been going through<br />
depression as a result of<br />
family issues; information<br />
got to him that someone<br />
has been sleeping with<br />
his wife while he is on<br />
operation.<br />
“Soldiers in this<br />
particular location spend<br />
almost one year before<br />
being given pass to visit<br />
their families. How do<br />
you leave a <strong>soldier</strong> in the<br />
war front for 9-12 months<br />
without him seeing his<br />
family?<br />
“Some <strong>soldier</strong>s’ children<br />
don’t even know their<br />
fathers. Many homes<br />
have been shattered,<br />
broken. Even with the<br />
directive from the Theatre<br />
Command that <strong>soldier</strong>s<br />
should be allowed to go<br />
on pass every three<br />
months, the Battalion<br />
Commander has refused<br />
to comply with such<br />
directives. The camp now<br />
is in great commotion.<br />
When will <strong>soldier</strong>s’ lives<br />
and welfare of families be<br />
valued?”<br />
Army confirms<br />
incident<br />
Confirming the incident<br />
last night, Acting Director<br />
of Army Public Relations,<br />
Col. Sagir Musa, said the<br />
Corporal serving in<br />
Operation Lafiya Dole,<br />
Army Super Camp 15,<br />
located at Malam Fatori,<br />
killed him<strong>self</strong>, two others<br />
and injured three in the<br />
process.<br />
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 5<br />
POCKET CARTOON<br />
He said: “Two of his<br />
colleagues were also<br />
injured during the<br />
incident and are currently<br />
in stable condition in our<br />
hospital in Maiduguri.<br />
“Efforts are ongoing to<br />
contact the families of our<br />
gallant colleagues who<br />
paid the supreme price in<br />
the line of duty. May their<br />
gentle souls rest in peace.<br />
“Meanwhile,<br />
investigation into the case<br />
has since been instituted<br />
to determine the<br />
circumstances that led to<br />
the unfortunate incident.”<br />
Sources attributed the<br />
action of the Corporal to<br />
either depression or poor<br />
visibility, as the terrain<br />
where the incident<br />
occurred was poor in the<br />
early hours of the day.<br />
ISWAP attacks<br />
Chibok village,<br />
abducts head of<br />
civilian JTF,<br />
others<br />
The source said that<br />
Mohammed Abba, head<br />
of the civilian JTF in<br />
Bambula community in<br />
Chibok had been the<br />
insurgents’ target since<br />
he refused to get<br />
compromised.<br />
The head of the civilian<br />
JTF was abducted<br />
alongside many others<br />
who are yet to be<br />
identified.<br />
The civilian JTF is a<br />
vigilante group created to<br />
assist the military fight<br />
insurgency in the North-<br />
East.<br />
“The sporadic gunshots<br />
woke us, and everybody<br />
started running to safety.<br />
The insurgents came in<br />
through Ajigum Talala, a<br />
part of the forest where<br />
ISWAP has a strong unit.<br />
“They headed straight<br />
to Abba and took him.<br />
They have been warning<br />
him before but Abba<br />
refused to cooperate with<br />
them. They abducted<br />
many others who couldn’t<br />
run. They also burnt down<br />
some properties including<br />
a vehicle belonging to the<br />
community head,” said a<br />
resident who managed to<br />
escape the attack.<br />
The attack came a week<br />
after the insurgents<br />
attacked Korongilum in<br />
Chibok, setting many<br />
houses on fire.<br />
Be mercilesss<br />
against ISWAP,<br />
Buhari charges<br />
Consequently,<br />
yesterday, President<br />
Buhari charged the<br />
Continues on Page 41<br />
By Bose Adelaja,<br />
Olayinka Latona<br />
& Rose Chukwu<br />
On plans to establish agency for repentant Boko Haram terrorists (3)<br />
We can’t imagine<br />
the level of<br />
brainwashing they must<br />
have been subjected to.<br />
Also, we need to put<br />
ourselves in their shoes<br />
and feel the conflicts<br />
they must have passed<br />
through before finally<br />
deciding to stay off<br />
terrorism. This is a good<br />
move by the Senate to<br />
ensure they are properly<br />
rehabilitated.<br />
- B a b a t u n d e<br />
Olamilekan<br />
Corps Member<br />
In order of priorities,<br />
this should not be a<br />
necessity for now.<br />
Repentant Boko<br />
Haram members<br />
should be kept under<br />
thorough surveillance.<br />
The focus should be on<br />
curtailing and<br />
stopping these<br />
terrorist attacks and<br />
not paying all<br />
attention on repentant<br />
Boko Haram members.<br />
-Babalola Eleazer<br />
Linguist<br />
Of all issues affecting<br />
Nigerians, it’s total<br />
misplacement of priority!<br />
We have more than<br />
enough agencies, and<br />
adding this won’t do us<br />
good and this might<br />
promote insurgency in<br />
other parts of the country.<br />
If this is allowed, in no<br />
distant time, agency to<br />
cater for South-South<br />
repentant militants will be<br />
pushed forward. All this<br />
will increase our recurrent<br />
expenditure.<br />
-Oyedokun Ibukun<br />
Public Analyst<br />
In my own opinion, I<br />
think it is not a<br />
wise idea. I mean, is<br />
there such a word as<br />
‘repentant’ for these<br />
people?<br />
I sincerely doubt it.<br />
For me, it’s ‘once a<br />
criminal, always a<br />
criminal.’ I am not<br />
comfortable with the<br />
bill. It should be<br />
discarded. The focus<br />
should be about stopping<br />
them from further attacks<br />
-Adora Blessing<br />
Mediprenuer<br />
Why establish a<br />
rehabilitation<br />
agency when we have an<br />
Anti-Terrorism Dept? It’s<br />
better to fund the dept. than<br />
create an agency for BH<br />
which will later be used to<br />
embezzle government funds,<br />
If the agency is created,<br />
after defeating BH, what<br />
happens to it? We need to<br />
think and do the right<br />
thing. Just like FSARS, the<br />
agency will not have an<br />
agenda or purpose again<br />
then the citizens will be<br />
affected.<br />
-Samuel Gbadegesin<br />
Fashionpreneur<br />
The plan the Senate<br />
to establish a rehabilitation<br />
agency for repentant<br />
Boko Haram is<br />
a national and security<br />
risk to the country. The<br />
question I ask is; where<br />
is the fund for rehabilitation<br />
and who is going<br />
to head the agency? I<br />
believe this is a wrong<br />
move by the Senate. In<br />
a country where there is<br />
a lot of unemployment<br />
and insecurity.<br />
-Ifeanyi Okolie<br />
Activist
6 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
Woman dies in<br />
sex romp with<br />
police lover<br />
By Rotimi<br />
Ojomoyela<br />
ADO-EKITI— A yet to be<br />
identified young woman,<br />
who was described as a lover to<br />
a serving policeman in Ado-<br />
Ekiti, was reported to have died<br />
during a sex romp with the<br />
police officer<br />
Vanguard gathered that the<br />
unidentified policeman had<br />
travelled from Lagos to Ado to<br />
visit the deceased, who allegedly<br />
passed on before daybreak.<br />
Sources told Vanguard that the<br />
sad incident occurred at Atayese<br />
Street, Bawa Estate, Ado Ekiti<br />
where the deceased was said to<br />
be residing.<br />
At press time, no one could<br />
ascertain the cause of her death<br />
but the police team from Oke-<br />
Ila division has evacuated her<br />
remains while the suspect has<br />
been arrested for interrogation.<br />
Contacted, Ekiti State Police<br />
Public Relations Officer, Sunday<br />
Abutu, confirmed that the case<br />
had been reported but the<br />
division in charge has not<br />
properly briefed him.<br />
Boundary<br />
dispute: One<br />
killed during<br />
Delta<br />
community<br />
cultural festival<br />
By Ochuko<br />
Akuopha<br />
O BIARUKU—THE<br />
boundary dispute between<br />
Umusume and Obinomna in<br />
Ukwuani Local Government<br />
Area, Delta State, degenerated,<br />
Tuesday, following the reported<br />
killing of one person at the annual<br />
Ikenga cultural festival.<br />
It was learned that the<br />
deceased, who was attacked in a<br />
violent clash between youths of<br />
the feuding communities at about<br />
6 pm on Tuesday, died while<br />
receiving treatment at an<br />
undisclosed hospital.<br />
The development generated<br />
tension at Obiaruku,<br />
headquarters of the local<br />
government area and Obinomna,<br />
yesterday, as youths of the<br />
communities were spoiling for<br />
war.<br />
According to a dependable<br />
source, “in the last three years or<br />
more, there has been an<br />
unresolved boundary dispute<br />
over unclearly defined and<br />
demarcated boundaries between<br />
Umusume quarter of Obiaruku<br />
and Obinomna quarter of<br />
Umukwata.<br />
The tension between the two<br />
quarters always assumes a<br />
disturbing dimension whenever<br />
Obinomna people want to<br />
celebrate their annual cultural<br />
festival, known as Ikenge<br />
festival.<br />
According to the<br />
source,“Yesterday (Tuesday)<br />
being the eve of the grand finale<br />
of the festival, the two quarters<br />
clashed against each other<br />
because, in the course of the<br />
celebration, it was alleged that<br />
Obinomba youths marched into<br />
Umusume quarters, in<br />
Obiaruku."<br />
Police bust baby factory, recover 24<br />
babies in P-Harcourt<br />
•It isn’t a baby factory, but registered<br />
orphanage— Suspect<br />
NABBED: A cross section of young girls and children rescued from a baby factory in Port Harcourt by the<br />
Police in Rivers State. Photo. Nwankpa Chijioke,<br />
By Davies<br />
Iheamnachor<br />
PORT HARCOURT— The<br />
Rivers State Police Command<br />
has busted a baby factory in Port<br />
Harcourt, recovering 24 babies<br />
and four pregnant teenagers.<br />
But the owner of the home has<br />
denied the allegation that they<br />
were running a baby factory.<br />
The babies recovered by<br />
operatives of the command were<br />
between the ages of one and two<br />
years.<br />
Addressing pressmen while<br />
BRIEFING: Customs Area Controller, Oyo/Osun Command, Mrs Hellen Ngozi,<br />
showing the 2,770 bags of smuggled rice and 880 pieces of used tyres to the<br />
media at the quarterly press briefing held at Customs Headquarters Agodi, Ibadan,<br />
yesterday. Photo: Dare Fasube<br />
Court remands Indian, others for allegedly forging<br />
SON receipts<br />
By Innocent Anaba<br />
A<br />
Federal High Court in Lagos,<br />
yesterday, ordered the<br />
remand of an Indian and two<br />
others for allegedly forging<br />
Standards Organisation of<br />
Nigeria, SON, receipts.<br />
Chucks Okeke, Omkar Shinde,<br />
Shittu Adedeji and a company,<br />
Everchem Paints Nigeria Limited,<br />
were arraigned before Justice<br />
Saliu Saidu on a three-count<br />
charge of forgery.<br />
Senior State Counsel,<br />
Olofindare Adeleke, alleged that<br />
Okeke and Shinde, an Indian,<br />
and Everchem Paints, forged 15<br />
SON receipts on February 12,<br />
2020, at Close 6, House 4, Satellite<br />
Town, Lagos, and at 110/114<br />
Oshodi Apapa Expressway, Isolo,<br />
Lagos.<br />
He said the defendants<br />
committed the alleged offence<br />
“with intent to use the false<br />
documents as genuine.”<br />
The prosecution said it was with<br />
the “intention of causing the<br />
forged documents to be believed<br />
to have been issued by SON and<br />
use same as genuine.”<br />
SON said Adedeji, on February<br />
12, 2020, at 2, Morebise Egan,<br />
Igando, “did present false<br />
documents to SON officials,<br />
which you knew or have reason<br />
to know same to be false with<br />
intent to use the false documents<br />
as genuine.”<br />
The alleged offence is contrary<br />
to Section 465 and punishable<br />
under sections 467 and 516 of the<br />
Criminal Code Act CAP C38 Laws<br />
of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.<br />
The defendants pleaded not<br />
guilty.<br />
Defence counsel, E. Pobeni, for<br />
the first defendant, Tiwalade<br />
Aderoju, for the second and fourth<br />
defendants and I. Ituma, for the<br />
third defendant, told the court that<br />
they filed bail applications on their<br />
clients’ behalf.<br />
The judge ordered that the<br />
defendants be remanded at the<br />
Ikoyi Correctional Services.<br />
parading the suspects in Port<br />
Harcourt, yesterday, the<br />
Commissioner of Police,<br />
Mustapha Dandaura, noted that<br />
the syndicate was uncovered on<br />
Tuesday around 3.30 pm<br />
following an operation of Eagle<br />
Crack Unit of the Police in the<br />
state.<br />
Dandaura, who was<br />
represented by the command’s<br />
spokesman, Nnandi Omoni, said<br />
the babies were currently receiving<br />
medical attention at the Police clinic,<br />
adding that investigations had<br />
commenced to identify other<br />
suspects at large.<br />
He said: “Today, I am glad to<br />
inform you that operatives of the<br />
Eagle Crack in a covert operation,<br />
yesterday, at about 1530hrs, busted<br />
a child trafficking syndicate at Woji<br />
in Port Harcourt, where 24 babies<br />
between the ages of one and two<br />
years and four pregnant teenagers<br />
were recovered.<br />
“The babies and pregnant<br />
teenagers, who are frail and<br />
malnourished, are currently<br />
receiving medical attention at the<br />
police clinic, while investigation is<br />
still on to make more recoveries and<br />
bring the masterminds to justice.<br />
He, however, called on residents<br />
of the state whose babies were<br />
missing to avail themselves at the<br />
state Police Headquarters to identify<br />
and take home their babies.<br />
It isn’t a baby factory<br />
Meanwhile, the owner of the<br />
home has denied the claim by the<br />
police that the home was a baby<br />
factory, noting that the orphanage<br />
and transition home was registered<br />
as a Non-Governmental<br />
Organisation in 2018.<br />
The lawyer of the home, Eunice<br />
Uchendu, said: “Yesterday, the E-<br />
Crack team came to Tenter Life<br />
Foundation Initiative and arrested<br />
the owner and other persons on<br />
wrong information that it was a<br />
baby factory, which is not true.<br />
“It is an orphanage. She (owner)<br />
works in collaboration with the<br />
Rivers State Ministry of Social<br />
Welfare. The ministry also gave her<br />
grant to run a similar thing at Ogoni<br />
area. This body was registered in<br />
June 2018.”
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 —7<br />
Teenager nabbed for allegedly stabbing<br />
boyfriend to death over N3,000<br />
By James<br />
Ogunnaike<br />
OPERATIVES of the Ogun<br />
State Command of the Nigeria<br />
Police have arrested an 18-year-old<br />
girl, Idowu Abosede, for allegedly<br />
stabbing her boyfriend, Aliyu<br />
Ibrahim, to death.<br />
According to a statement by the<br />
command spokesperson, DSP<br />
Abimbola Oyeyemi, the suspect was<br />
arrested following a distress call from<br />
Seriki Hausa in Sagamu.<br />
Oyeyemi said: “The suspect and<br />
her deceased boyfriend were<br />
arguing over N3,000 as a result of<br />
which they were dragging a knife<br />
with each other and eventually the<br />
girl used the knife to stab the<br />
boyfriend on his chest, which<br />
resulted to his death.<br />
“On receiving the distress call, the<br />
DPO Sagamu, SP Okiki Agunbiade,<br />
detailed his detectives to the scene<br />
where the suspected teenager was<br />
apprehended.<br />
“The bloodstained knife, which<br />
she used to stab the<br />
deceased, was also<br />
recovered.<br />
“On interrogation,<br />
the suspect claimed<br />
that she came to pass<br />
the night with the<br />
deceased and when<br />
she was about going<br />
in the morning, she<br />
took N3,000 from the<br />
deceased but he was<br />
not ready to give her<br />
the N3,000 and that<br />
was what led to the<br />
argument between<br />
them.<br />
“She further stated<br />
that it was the<br />
deceased who brought<br />
out the knife and while<br />
dragging it with him,<br />
the knife stabbed him<br />
on his chest.”<br />
Oyeyemi said the<br />
corpse of the deceased<br />
had been released to<br />
his relation on their<br />
The suspect.<br />
demand for burial according to Islamic rites.<br />
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP<br />
Kenneth Ebrimson, has ordered the immediate<br />
transfer of the suspect to the homicide section of<br />
the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence<br />
Department for further investigation and<br />
prosecution.<br />
100 level CRUTECH student drown during<br />
matric party in Calabar<br />
By Ike Uchechukwu<br />
CALABAR—A 100 level<br />
undergraduate, Barnabas Otu,<br />
of the Department of Urban and<br />
Regional Planning, Cross River<br />
University of Technology,<br />
CRUTECH, reportedly drowned in<br />
a swimming pool during a<br />
matriculation party in Calabar.<br />
The tragic incident, Vanguard<br />
gathered, occurred at a popular<br />
resort (names withheld) along Akai<br />
Efa Road in Calabar Municipal LGA<br />
of Cross River State.<br />
The victim, who was in the<br />
company of his friends, colleagues<br />
and well-wishers, went to the resort<br />
to celebrate their matriculation into<br />
the university when the tragic<br />
incident occurred while they were<br />
The late Barnabas Otu.<br />
swimming in the pool.<br />
A source, who pleaded<br />
anonymity, told Vanguard that the<br />
family of the deceased wanted to<br />
take the body to his home town in<br />
Ugep, Yakurr LGA for burial,<br />
yesterday, but were restrained from<br />
doing so by the police.<br />
The source said: “Perhaps the<br />
police or relevant security agencies<br />
are investigating circumstances<br />
surrounding the boy’s death, but<br />
his body has been deposited at the<br />
morgue at General Hospital<br />
Calabar.<br />
Contacted, yesterday, the<br />
institution’s Public Relations Officer,<br />
Mr Onen Onen, who confirmed<br />
the death of the student, said he<br />
did not have details of the incident<br />
as he was not in town when it<br />
occurred.<br />
“The information is true, but I<br />
don’t have details now because I<br />
travelled to the Okuku Campus for<br />
their Matriculation,” he said.<br />
I use my Sienna bus for One chance operation , says<br />
father of 4<br />
By Esther<br />
Onyegbula<br />
A<br />
50-year old leader of a one<br />
chance robbery gang,<br />
Matthew Tokeme, who is<br />
currently being investigated by<br />
the Lagos State Police<br />
Command has revealed that he<br />
started operating a one chance<br />
syndicate two weeks ago.<br />
According to the father of<br />
four, who uses his Sienna bus<br />
with number plate APP488FH<br />
for public transportation, “I live<br />
in 2, Olawoye Street, at Sango.<br />
My friend bought the Sienna<br />
bus for me to use for<br />
transportation but I started<br />
using it for one chance.”<br />
"We are three that usually go<br />
for operations. We ply Abule<br />
Egba-Ifako Ijaye route<br />
between five and six in the<br />
morning when workers and<br />
traders are going to their<br />
places of work.<br />
"For instance, when a<br />
passenger going to Victoria<br />
Island board our vehicle, if we<br />
get to a particular location we<br />
will stop and disposses the<br />
victims of their valuables.<br />
“We don’t use guns, if the<br />
victims are very stubborn we<br />
threaten them till they part<br />
with their phones and<br />
laptops. We carry only one<br />
passenger at a time while my<br />
gang members sit like<br />
passengers.<br />
"I haven’t made much from<br />
the operations. When we went<br />
for the first operation it was<br />
successful and then we went<br />
for another.<br />
The second operation I got<br />
a laptop and a phone. We<br />
didn’t collect money from<br />
anyone because she was<br />
having just N700.<br />
I sold the phone N5,000<br />
while the laptop was sold<br />
N20,000.<br />
Confirming the arrest,<br />
Lagos State police command’s<br />
spokesperson, DSP Bala<br />
Elkana, said: “The suspect,<br />
Matthew Tokeme, was<br />
arrested after the police<br />
received information from<br />
members of the public that<br />
some armed robbers were<br />
sighted along Agidingbi road<br />
The suspect.<br />
operating in a Toyota Sienna<br />
bus attacking and robbing<br />
unsuspecting victims of their<br />
valuables.<br />
“Sequel to the receipt of the<br />
information, operatives from<br />
Rapid Response Squad swung<br />
into action, the vehicle was<br />
intercepted and the suspect<br />
arrested. Investigation is<br />
ongoing to apprehend other<br />
gang members at large.”<br />
... with Emma'nKen (08163121378)<br />
Cunny man die, cunny man bury am!<br />
Regular customer<br />
Business woman
8 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
STATE OF THE NATION<br />
Handling Boko Haram with<br />
kids glove'll break Nigeria<br />
up, MASSOB warns<br />
EDUCATION SUMMIT: From left; Prof. Glory Ajayi, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lagos;<br />
Prof. Cecilia Igwilo of the University of Lagos; Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi, Vice President, Nigeria Academy of<br />
Pharmacy; Dr. Lolu Ojo, Chairman, Education Summit Committee of the Academy; Dr. Oluyemisi<br />
Bamiro, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, Olabisi Onabanjo University; and Prof. Moses Akanmu, Dean,<br />
Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, at the formal inauguration of the organizing<br />
committee for the forthcoming Education Summit of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy, held in Lagos.<br />
Bauchi govt, vigilante bust bandits’ hideout,<br />
hand over recovered ammunition to police<br />
By Charly Agwam<br />
B AUCHI—BAUCHI<br />
State government<br />
and the state’s vigilante<br />
committee have handed<br />
over to the Police a cache<br />
of live ammunition<br />
recovered during a raid<br />
on bandits’ hideout in<br />
Bauchi forests.<br />
During the handover of<br />
the ammunition to the<br />
police at Government<br />
House in Bauchi<br />
yesterday, Governor Bala<br />
Mohammed assured that<br />
there would be no hiding<br />
place for criminals in the<br />
state, adding that his<br />
administration would<br />
ensure full synergy with<br />
Plateau: Traditional institution has role<br />
to play in ending farmer/herder’s<br />
conflict<br />
By Therese<br />
Nanlong<br />
JOS—TO stem the tide<br />
of recurring violent<br />
conflicts in communities in<br />
Plateau State, the<br />
traditional institution has<br />
asked to be given free hand<br />
to effectively perform its<br />
duties in their domain.<br />
This is because<br />
traditional and community<br />
leaders are believed to<br />
know people’s residences<br />
in their domains and could<br />
synergise with relevant<br />
security agencies to weed<br />
out bad eggs among the<br />
people.<br />
A Fulani community<br />
leader, Ardo Wada Waziri,<br />
stated this yesterday in Jos<br />
while speaking on ways to<br />
consolidate the<br />
mechanisms for sustainable<br />
cooperation and<br />
transformation of the<br />
farmer/herder’s conflicts in<br />
the state.<br />
He lamented that<br />
criminality has crept into<br />
the situation and called for<br />
urgent steps to arrest and<br />
punish criminals<br />
pretending to be either<br />
herders or farmers.<br />
security agencies to<br />
make Bauchi safe and<br />
secure.<br />
Bala, who said the<br />
discovery and recovery<br />
of fire arms were made<br />
possible by a vigilante<br />
group, led by renowned<br />
hunters and fighters of<br />
armed robbers and<br />
kidnappers, Alhaji Ali<br />
Kwara, disclosed that<br />
Burra forest was used as<br />
hideout by the bandits<br />
before they were<br />
displaced.<br />
“There are some<br />
informants within and<br />
outside the towns of Bauchi<br />
and environs that are<br />
helping us to do this, and<br />
this is also a collaboration<br />
Waziri said: “Traditional<br />
rulers are not given free<br />
hand to perform their<br />
duties effectively, they<br />
know who is who in the<br />
community, synergy is<br />
needed for security issues<br />
to be solved.<br />
“Kidnapping and other<br />
crimes have become<br />
problems, information<br />
sharing among<br />
communities is needed for<br />
intelligence gathering, we<br />
all need to continue to<br />
promote peace in our<br />
communities.”<br />
In his remarks, President<br />
of Irigwe Development<br />
Association, Chinge Dodo,<br />
whose tribe has suffered<br />
much due to violent<br />
conflicts, noted that issues<br />
of Internally Displaced<br />
Persons, IDPs, should not<br />
be swept under the carpet<br />
but properly addressed<br />
since justice was part of<br />
peace process.<br />
He said: “We are<br />
concerned about issues of<br />
resettlement of IDPs<br />
because it is as if the<br />
Irigwes have been<br />
forgotten.<br />
‘’There are kidnappings<br />
in Bassa, ransoms are<br />
being paid, ambushes are<br />
among Bauchi State<br />
government, Ali Kawra, the<br />
police and other security<br />
agencies so that we will be<br />
able to have some concrete<br />
engagement to identify all<br />
these bandits, armed<br />
robbers that have migrated<br />
from Zamfara and other<br />
places looking for safe<br />
haven in our forests.<br />
“We know there are some<br />
at Yankari forests, we know<br />
there are some in Lame/<br />
Burra forest, we know there<br />
are some, even along Dass<br />
road. Because of the<br />
intelligence we are getting<br />
from SSS and other security<br />
agencies, they should<br />
know that they have no<br />
place to stay in Bauchi State.<br />
ongoing but we need to<br />
improve on interpersonal<br />
relationship and share<br />
intelligence.<br />
“We need not discard<br />
rumours but look into them<br />
because rumours in the<br />
past have turned out to be<br />
true. As a people, we will<br />
continue to work to have<br />
peace.”<br />
However, Emma Ado<br />
from Operation Safe Haven<br />
keeping the peace in the<br />
state, urged the people to<br />
eschew violence and<br />
embrace peace.<br />
“If anyone wants peace in<br />
Plateau, it is the security,<br />
right now. I’m mourning<br />
the death of my men who<br />
were killed at Exland,<br />
Barkin Ladi without any<br />
provocation,’’ he said.<br />
Earlier, the Director-<br />
General of Plateau Peace<br />
Building Agency, PPBA,<br />
Joseph Lengmang, stated<br />
that the project was<br />
executed in conjunction<br />
with the community,<br />
adding that the idea was to<br />
foster<br />
mutual<br />
understanding and<br />
cooperation among<br />
communities so that issues<br />
of farmers/herders’ conflicts<br />
could be solved.<br />
''We will now surrender<br />
these arms and<br />
ammunition received from<br />
Ali Kwara to the Nigeria<br />
police to take custody of<br />
and also ask the Nigerian<br />
military to put their<br />
members in Ali Kwara’s<br />
team. ‘’We are ready to<br />
support them with<br />
whatever token of support,<br />
in terms of mobility and<br />
logistics, so they can keep<br />
Bauchi State safe and<br />
secured,” the governor said.<br />
Confirming the incident,<br />
the renowned hunter, Alhaji<br />
Ali Kwara, said the guns<br />
were recovered from<br />
bandits hiding in Burra<br />
forest, following a tip-off.<br />
“These guns that you are<br />
seeing today (yesterday)<br />
are from some bandits we’ve<br />
been trailing for long. They<br />
are involved in kidnapping<br />
in this area, and they also<br />
operate around Taraba,<br />
Benue and Plateau states.<br />
‘’One of them used to<br />
come from Zamfara State.<br />
He was brought to me<br />
voluntarily by his father,<br />
having noticed that I and<br />
my team have swung into<br />
action that has affected<br />
some of his colleagues.<br />
‘’When he came<br />
forward, he informed me<br />
that there are strangers<br />
who have smuggled arms<br />
into Bauchi, and that he<br />
took part in hiding the<br />
guns ‘underground.’<br />
“He took us to Lame/Burra<br />
forest where we recovered<br />
these guns. The boy is in<br />
my custody. I don’t allow<br />
him to go out because<br />
people who know him<br />
might lynch him. 43 guns,<br />
1,117 live ammunition and<br />
30 cartridges were<br />
recovered in the operation,”<br />
he noted.<br />
Receiving the<br />
ammunition, the<br />
Commissioner of Police,<br />
Bauchi Command, Philip<br />
Maku, said the police<br />
will investigate the<br />
alleged hideouts of the<br />
bandits and carry out<br />
necessary measures to keep<br />
the state safe.<br />
By Vincent Ujumadu<br />
A WKA—THE<br />
Movement for the<br />
Actualization of the<br />
Sovereign State of Biafra,<br />
MASSOB, has warned that<br />
any attempt by the federal<br />
government to treat<br />
members of Boko Haram<br />
with the kids glove might<br />
lead to the eventual break<br />
up of Nigeria.<br />
MASSOB leader, Mr.<br />
Uchenna Madu, who<br />
reacted to alleged move by<br />
the Senate to introduce a bill<br />
for the establishment of a<br />
national agency for<br />
repentant Boko Haram<br />
terrorists, said it was<br />
another grand plot to<br />
transfer more Boko Haramtrained<br />
terrorists to the<br />
southern part of Nigeria.<br />
According to him, the<br />
main target of the Boko<br />
Haram operation is Biafra<br />
land, describing it as the<br />
present administration’s<br />
jihad agenda against non<br />
Muslims in Nigeria.<br />
Madu added that the so<br />
called repentant Boko<br />
Haram was a ploy to siphon<br />
the treasury of Nigeria,<br />
Delta monarch, activist<br />
proffer ranching as solution<br />
to herdsmen attacks<br />
By Perez Brisibe<br />
U Ovie GHELLI—THE<br />
of Oghara<br />
kingdom in Ethiope West<br />
local government area of<br />
Delta State, HRM Noble<br />
Eshimitan, Orefe III, has<br />
proffered ranching as the<br />
only solution to the menace<br />
of herdsmen attacks in<br />
parts of the country,<br />
particularly in Delta State.<br />
The monarch in a<br />
statement yesterday,<br />
described cattle rearing as<br />
a private business which<br />
should be operated like<br />
every other business in the<br />
country, without such<br />
business owners infringing<br />
on the rights and resources<br />
of other individuals.<br />
The monarch’s advice<br />
came as a Niger Delta<br />
environmentalist and<br />
activist, Sherriff Mulade,<br />
also advocated the setting<br />
up of a special security<br />
outfit in the state to monitor<br />
and supervise the activities<br />
of herdsmen.<br />
He said: “Herdsmen<br />
business is more or less a<br />
business owned by private<br />
individuals and should be<br />
run like every other<br />
business without infringing<br />
on the rights and resources<br />
of other persons.<br />
“In many developed and<br />
civilized communities,<br />
herdsmen do their business<br />
without hurting or<br />
infringing on the rights of<br />
their fellow citizens, to the<br />
point that grazing is carried<br />
out in a protected manner<br />
without destruction of<br />
people’s resources or<br />
constituting nuisance in<br />
communities or cities.<br />
“This is why ranching is<br />
warning that because of the<br />
development, MASSOB<br />
would support every move<br />
aimed at causing discord<br />
and enmity among ethnic<br />
nationalities in Nigeria .<br />
He said: “Every agenda<br />
of the federal government<br />
to treat Boko Haram<br />
members and the criminal<br />
bandits operating in core<br />
northern states as beloved<br />
children of Arewa will<br />
eventually lead to total<br />
break-up of Nigeria, which<br />
MASSOB is clamouring for<br />
in the past twenty years.<br />
“As the Presidency is<br />
always jittery and<br />
uncomfortable with the<br />
issue of Biafra of Eastern<br />
region and revival of the<br />
<strong>self</strong> determination<br />
consciousness of the people<br />
of Middle Belt, their<br />
dilemma will never stop<br />
hunting them.<br />
“President Mohammed<br />
Buhari’s partial treatment of<br />
his kinsmen and members<br />
of his religious faith against<br />
other citizens of Nigeria<br />
has vindicated MASSOB in<br />
our <strong>self</strong>-determination<br />
struggle for Biafra<br />
actualisation.”<br />
the common means of<br />
providing meat to people<br />
in developing and civilized<br />
communities.<br />
‘’Cost of ranching is<br />
appropriately and<br />
equitably priced into the<br />
cost of providing meat to<br />
people. In some countries,<br />
ranching may be<br />
subsidized like some other<br />
farmers’ efforts in crops or<br />
produce if need be to<br />
encourage more efforts in<br />
that regards.<br />
“Every farmer’s effort is<br />
important and no farmer<br />
should conduct his or her<br />
business to the detriment of<br />
the other. Nigeria should<br />
not remain in dark age.<br />
‘’We should move with<br />
civilization and apply our<br />
resources to provide<br />
improved systems of<br />
production either in<br />
agriculture and animal<br />
husbandry<br />
or<br />
manufacturing.”<br />
On his part, Mulade<br />
said: “The state<br />
government should beef<br />
up security in the state,<br />
especially in attack-prone<br />
areas like Isoko, Urhobo,<br />
Ndokwa, Ughelli and<br />
Patani, which herdsmen<br />
easily access.<br />
‘’The state House of<br />
Assembly should set-up<br />
inter-council herdsmen<br />
policing group to check<br />
their activities and the Delta<br />
State House of Assembly<br />
should enact a law to<br />
monitor the operations and<br />
activities of herdsmen.<br />
“The state government<br />
should set up a special<br />
security outfit to monitor<br />
and supervise the activities<br />
of suspected herdsmen in<br />
the state.''
President Muhammadu Buhari.<br />
HEALTH TIPS<br />
By Sola Ogundipe<br />
STATE OF THE NATION<br />
Catholic Bishops decry FG’s failure<br />
to deal with terrorists<br />
•Say they are killing ordinary Nigerians<br />
By Ikechukwu Odu<br />
N Catholic<br />
SUKKA—THE<br />
Bishops<br />
Conference of Nigeria, CBCN,<br />
yesterday, bemoaned the nonchallant<br />
disposition of President<br />
Muhammadu Buhari to arrest<br />
and prosecute terrorists killing<br />
Christians and ordinary<br />
Nigerians.<br />
The bishops said the boldness<br />
of the terrorists, who make public<br />
shows of their crimes, mostly<br />
against Christians on social<br />
media was condemnable and<br />
demanded that the President<br />
prosecute the culprits to serve as<br />
deterrent to others.<br />
While giving the message<br />
signed by the President of CBCN,<br />
Archbishop Augustine Obiora<br />
Akabueze, and the Secretary,<br />
Calistus Omeogo, during the<br />
Ash Wednesday holy mass at the<br />
St. Theresa’s Cathedral, Nsukka,<br />
the Bishop of Nsukka Catholic<br />
Diocese, Most Rev. Prof. Godfrey<br />
Igwuebuike Onah, said the<br />
inability of the President to bring<br />
the terrorists to justice raised<br />
questions about his willingness<br />
to safeguard lives and property of<br />
Blood sugar<br />
WHETHER you have<br />
diabetes, you measure<br />
your blood sugar levels daily<br />
or just concerned about<br />
maintaining healthy blood<br />
sugar levels, it is very<br />
important to be aware of<br />
foods that can increase your<br />
blood sugar.<br />
Beware of artificial<br />
sweeteners added to diet<br />
drinks, tea, and coffee. They<br />
could lead to increased blood<br />
sugar levels and glucose<br />
intolerance. This could<br />
potentially lead to an<br />
increased risk of Type 2<br />
diabetes.<br />
Moderation is key, avoid<br />
all soft drinks for healthier<br />
beverages.<br />
Although foods that are<br />
high in fat do not directly<br />
raise blood sugar levels, they<br />
can contribute to insulin<br />
ordinary Nigerians.<br />
The bishop said many<br />
communities were constantly<br />
threatened, harrassed and even<br />
sacked by herdsmen as they seek<br />
to take over more territories to<br />
graze their cattles forcibly.<br />
The bishop, while reacting to<br />
the message signed by CBCN<br />
charged all arms of the<br />
governments to take issue of<br />
security seriously, adding that<br />
there would be no development<br />
in the atmosphere of chaos and<br />
lawlessness.<br />
The cleric said the President<br />
should as a matter of urgency,<br />
put a stop to the unprecedented<br />
wave of violence and brutality<br />
aimed particularly at Christians.<br />
He added that the activities of<br />
the insurgents have sown<br />
dangerous seeds of hatred<br />
among different segements of<br />
Nigerian society.<br />
The bishop said: “As a mark of<br />
mourning for our brothers and<br />
sisters who are victims of the<br />
violence against Christians, we<br />
are all dressed in black and offer<br />
our prayers and penance for their<br />
repose.”<br />
While speaking on the<br />
resistance. This is because<br />
they take longer to digest,<br />
which can affect the timing<br />
of blood sugar spikes.<br />
Refined starches including<br />
white bread, white pasta,<br />
white rice and anything<br />
made with white flour, act a<br />
lot like sugar once your body<br />
starts to digest them.<br />
Therefore, just like sugar,<br />
refined starches can interfere<br />
with glucose control and<br />
should be avoided by those<br />
with diabetes.<br />
Whole grains are a much<br />
better alternative because<br />
they are richer in fibre and<br />
generally cause a slower and<br />
steadier rise in blood sugar.<br />
If you are suffering from<br />
Type 2 diabetes, remove<br />
white rice from your diet.<br />
White rice contains little fibre,<br />
as compared with brown<br />
rice. Fibre can help your<br />
blood sugar levels stable.<br />
significance of Ash Wednesday,<br />
he said: “Today, (yesterday), we<br />
shall be marked with ashes and<br />
the sign of the cross. That is the<br />
beauty of our faith and the<br />
paradox of our life. The ashes will<br />
remind us of our sinfulness and<br />
brokenness, while the cross will<br />
remind us of the triumph that<br />
Christ has brought over our sins<br />
and weaknesses.”<br />
He explained that the ash<br />
which was got from Palm Sunday<br />
would be administered on the<br />
faces of the faithful to<br />
demonstrate that they have<br />
M AIDUGURI—<br />
FORMER Boko<br />
Haram members and their<br />
wives who recently<br />
surrendered to troops in Niger<br />
Republic arrived Maiduguri,<br />
the Borno State capital,<br />
yesterday.<br />
The former terrorists arrived<br />
at Maiduguri airport in a<br />
military aircraft in the<br />
company of <strong>soldier</strong>s, led by<br />
Major General Bamidele<br />
Shafa, who is the coordinator<br />
of the Federal Government<br />
Safe Corridor programme.<br />
Shafa, who noted that the<br />
ex-Boko haram members laid<br />
down arms and surrendered<br />
to the Nigerien government<br />
who contacted the federal<br />
government to take them home,<br />
said: “We have just delivered 25<br />
persons, comprising men, women,<br />
and children.’’<br />
“So we have brought them<br />
home safely and handed them to<br />
Borno State government for<br />
onward rehabilitation as part of<br />
the Operation Safe Corridor deradicalization<br />
programme.<br />
“We are using this opportunity<br />
to encourage those that are still<br />
in the bush to come out because<br />
the president of the Federal<br />
Republic has given them an open<br />
arm to drop their weapons and<br />
embrace peace.”<br />
Borno State Commissioner of<br />
Women Affairs, who received<br />
returnees, said the state<br />
government “will provide them<br />
with psychosocial support, feed<br />
Archbishop Augustine Akabueze.<br />
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 9<br />
betrayed the Christ whom they<br />
praised and sang Hossana for on<br />
the Palm Sunday.<br />
He added that the Ash has<br />
brought the Christians face-toface<br />
with their sins before Christ.<br />
The bishop also said that the<br />
Ash is a reminder, not only to the<br />
Federal Government that it has<br />
failed to secure lives and property<br />
in Nigeria, but also to Christians<br />
who he said have also failed to be<br />
the light of the world and bring<br />
virtuous lifestyles to the society.<br />
He also explained that from the<br />
ashes which the faithful would<br />
return to upon death, they would<br />
rise to the glory of Christ.<br />
“Just as God raised Christ from<br />
the dead, so shall all those united<br />
with Christ be raised on the last<br />
day,'' the cleric said.<br />
Repentant Boko Haram<br />
members arrive Maiduguri<br />
from Niger Republic<br />
them, clothe them, and give some<br />
form of education and s<strong>kills</strong><br />
acquisition.”<br />
She said a centre had been<br />
equipped by Borno State<br />
governor, Babagana Zulum, with<br />
s<strong>kills</strong> acquisition tools that<br />
will enable them to gain s<strong>kills</strong><br />
“before they are reunited<br />
with their families.”<br />
Actions to address<br />
insecurity in North West<br />
inadequate — French envoy<br />
•Stakeholders mull strategies to<br />
end rural violence in North West<br />
•Suggests sub-regional approach<br />
By Soni Daniel<br />
ABUJA—THE Head of<br />
Cooperation, Embassy of<br />
France in Nigeria, Mr. Ellien<br />
Helios, said yesterday that efforts<br />
to find sustainable solutions to the<br />
spate of insecurity in Nigeria,<br />
particularly in the North West, was<br />
inadequate, tasking all concerned<br />
authorities and stakeholders to<br />
step up actions to effectively define<br />
and tackle the menace .<br />
This came as stakeholders<br />
warned that insecurity might<br />
escalate to other regions in Nigeria<br />
and that the country was at risk<br />
of underdevelopment, food<br />
shortage, among others, if not<br />
addressed.<br />
Helios, who represented the<br />
Ambassador of France in Nigeria,<br />
Mr. Jerome Pasquier, made the call<br />
at a workshop on “Addressing<br />
Rural Insecurity and Violence in<br />
North-western Nigeria,”<br />
convened by Pastoral Reserve<br />
(PARE) in collaboration with<br />
Search for Common Ground<br />
(SFCG), Nextier SPD and the<br />
French Embassy in Abuja.<br />
He said the workshop<br />
presented a unique opportunity<br />
for stakeholders to develop a<br />
better understanding of the issues<br />
and strategise appropriate<br />
response.<br />
The envoy said: “There are<br />
many factors affecting the<br />
northwest region for years now,<br />
there are also many actors, but I<br />
don’t think there is enough being<br />
done by the actors to have a better<br />
understanding of the situation<br />
and try to find some appropriate<br />
solutions to the insecurity and<br />
the subsequent sufferings.<br />
“We have a unique opportunity<br />
to work and listen to people that<br />
are gathering the best expertise<br />
on these issues, so let’s seize this<br />
opportunity as a starting point to<br />
get humble, but also develop a<br />
better understanding of the<br />
issues, strategise response,<br />
develop a coordinative approach<br />
and increase action.”<br />
Speaking, the Senior Research<br />
and Policy Lead, Nextier SPD, Dr.<br />
Ndubuisi Nwokolo, pointed out<br />
that the insecurity bedevilling the<br />
north should not be seen as a<br />
northern problem only, warning<br />
that the entire nation could bear<br />
the consequences of collective<br />
negligence.<br />
Nwokolo warned that the entire<br />
country was at risk of food<br />
shortage due to the unresolved<br />
insurgency in the north and<br />
advised that dialogue and a<br />
regional approach was needed to<br />
permanently address the problem.<br />
“A very critical thing that we<br />
should all know first is that<br />
Zamfara and the north-western<br />
states are our food basket, if we<br />
don’t sort them out, Nigeria will<br />
face a food security problem.<br />
He said: ‘’What is happening<br />
now is that youths are running<br />
away from communities where<br />
their s<strong>kills</strong> are needed in<br />
agriculture, but we find them now<br />
as ‘Okada riders’ in the cities or<br />
unemployed because they cannot<br />
stay in their communities.<br />
“Why do you think some states<br />
are banning ‘Okada’ and<br />
tricycles? So, we need to sort these<br />
things out, it is better we sit as a<br />
people and talk about how to solve<br />
this pockets of conflict, else we<br />
cannot get out of it.<br />
‘’If we sort out the northeast<br />
and we don’t sort out the<br />
northwest, it will move diagonal<br />
to that place, so as we are handling<br />
the northeast, we should be<br />
talking about the northwest.”<br />
In the same vein, the Country<br />
Director SFCG, Mr. Sher Nawaz,<br />
stressed that what was important<br />
is to look at the crisis at a regional,<br />
geographic level and develop a<br />
regional approach rather than<br />
focusing on a singular state.<br />
Meanwhile, the Commissioner,<br />
Security and Home Affairs in<br />
Zamfara State, Mr. Mohammed<br />
Dauran, while giving a brief on<br />
the experience of the state<br />
government in addressing rural<br />
violence and insecurity since<br />
2011, regretted that banditry<br />
activities has led to daily loss of<br />
lives, destruction of properties and<br />
food insecurity.<br />
Cultists kill Policeman, injure one in Ikorodu<br />
By Bose Adelaja<br />
IKORODU—A<br />
Police<br />
Sergeant with Sagamu Road<br />
Division, Ikorodu, Lagos, Saheed<br />
Osiefa, has been shot dead, while<br />
his neighbor is currently<br />
hospitalised, following gunshots<br />
received from a group of cultists.<br />
The incident, which threw<br />
residents into palpable fear, was<br />
said to have occurred behind<br />
Benson bus-stop at about 3pm<br />
on Tuesday.<br />
The Sergeant met his<br />
untimely death after responding<br />
to a distress call by his neighbour,<br />
unknown to them that they will<br />
end up being attacked by the<br />
cultists.<br />
Vanguard gathered that the<br />
neighbour, a businessman, gave<br />
out a commercial motorcycle on<br />
hire purchase to a rider, thinking<br />
that this will yield good profit at<br />
the end of the day, unknown to<br />
him that the rider was a cultist.<br />
He was said to have defaulted<br />
for two weeks and after several<br />
warnings, the neighbour sought<br />
advice from the Sergeant and was<br />
asked to be on the lookout for<br />
him.<br />
It was learned that the<br />
motorcycle rider was sighted<br />
around Benson bus-stop using<br />
the motorcycle for commercial<br />
purposes.<br />
This was said to have infuriated<br />
the businessman who tried to<br />
seize the motorcycle but the rider<br />
struggled with him and this<br />
almost resulted in a scuffle.<br />
Immediately, the businessman<br />
was said to have alerted the police<br />
sergeant who was rounding off<br />
the day’s shift at that time and<br />
was in the station to submit his<br />
tools.<br />
Vanguard gathered that he<br />
requested that the matter be<br />
officially handled by reporting it<br />
at the station but due to<br />
persistent calls from the<br />
neighbour, he was said to have<br />
headed for Benson bus-stop<br />
where the rider had mobilized<br />
his group members to free him<br />
and the motorcycle.<br />
On arrival, the Sergeant<br />
and his friend reportedly<br />
combed everywhere in search<br />
of the suspects, all to no avail<br />
but on their way to the<br />
station, they ran into the<br />
cultists and before they knew<br />
what was happening, one of<br />
them, known as Adamu, fired<br />
some shots at the police<br />
sergeant and his friend.<br />
It was learned that the<br />
policeman died on the spot, while<br />
his neighbour sustained<br />
gunshot wound and is currently<br />
hospitalised.<br />
Findings by Vanguard<br />
revealed that Adamu’s mother<br />
resides at First gate inwards<br />
Odogunyan, while Adamu is in<br />
charge of park activities in the<br />
area.<br />
He was said to be one of the<br />
suspects paraded by Ogun State<br />
Police Command in 2019 but was<br />
discharged based on his<br />
connection with some political big<br />
wigs in the South-west states.
10 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058<br />
•VISIT: From left — Obehi Ojeoga, Corporate Communications and CSR Manager, Oando Plc; Mr<br />
Eze Anaba, Editor, Vanguard Newspaper; Alero Balogun,Head, Corporate Communications Oando<br />
Plc; Udochukwu Okoronkwo, Corporate Communications Oando Plc and Mr. Adekunle Adekoya,Deputy<br />
Editor ,Vanguard Newspaper, during a courtesy visit by Oando Plc Corporate Communication's team<br />
to Vanguard Head Office, Apapa, Lagos yesterday. Photo: Akeem Salau<br />
Over 30,000 Nigerian women trafficked to<br />
African countries as sex slaves — Reps<br />
*Put NIS, NAPTIP, others on alert<br />
By Levinus<br />
Nwabughiogu<br />
ABUJA —THE House<br />
of Representatives<br />
yesterday decried the increasing<br />
number of Nigerian<br />
women trafficked to<br />
neighbouring African<br />
countries as sex slaves, putting<br />
the figure at 30,000.<br />
Besides the number in<br />
Africa, the House said several<br />
others were scattered<br />
around the world in the<br />
unholy act.<br />
To this end, the House<br />
urged personnel of the Nigerian<br />
Immigration Service,<br />
NIS at the ports and borders<br />
of Nigeria to permit<br />
officials of National Agency<br />
for the Prohibition of<br />
Trafficking in Persons, NAP-<br />
TIP, to operate, spot, identify<br />
and prevent the illicit<br />
emigration of potential victims<br />
to foreign lands.<br />
The resolution was sequel<br />
to a motion moved by<br />
Rimamnde Shawulu<br />
Kwewum from Adamawa<br />
State (PDP) and seven others<br />
at yesterday’s plenary.<br />
Relying on the statistics<br />
by NAPTIP, Kwewum, who<br />
noted that the number was<br />
alarming, said:<br />
“The House notes that at<br />
present, there are several<br />
tens of thousands of Nigerian<br />
women who have been<br />
turned into sex slaves<br />
around the world. Reports<br />
in the media show that Nigerian<br />
women and even<br />
underage girls, have been<br />
turned into sex slaves in<br />
European and several Middle<br />
East countries:<br />
“The House is concerned<br />
that even neighbouring<br />
West African states which<br />
depend on Nigeria for their<br />
well being and security,<br />
have become notorious in<br />
maltreating Nigerian women,<br />
keeping them as sex<br />
slaves and providing safe<br />
haven for perpetrators of<br />
human trafficking;<br />
“We are aware that the<br />
National Agency for the Prohibition<br />
of Trafficking in Persons,<br />
NAPTIP, has conducted<br />
several investigations<br />
DISCOs: No subsidy from FG since<br />
privatisation<br />
and discovered that between<br />
20,000 and 30,000<br />
Nigerian girls are sex<br />
slaves, with 50 additional<br />
girls being added to the list<br />
every day.<br />
“Because of increased efforts<br />
of security agencies,<br />
traffickers no longer accompany<br />
their victims to Mali<br />
but now “waybill” the girls<br />
through Cotonou. Many<br />
of the victims were deceived<br />
by friends and relatives<br />
to leave Nigeria for<br />
greener pastures (mostly<br />
domestic work, hair dressing<br />
or sales) in Malaysia<br />
only to discover later that<br />
they are being used for sex<br />
trade.<br />
“Nigerian girls are trafficked<br />
mainly to the mining<br />
areas in the South and<br />
Central part of Mali, but a<br />
substantial number are trafficked<br />
to rebel held areas<br />
in the North of Mali, where<br />
they stand the risk of being<br />
radicalized;<br />
“Some of the victims were<br />
taken away from Nigeria,<br />
some in school uniforms<br />
and are being treated like<br />
slaves and less than second<br />
class citizens by Malians<br />
and their law enforcement<br />
agencies collect taxes from<br />
the Nigerian women on a<br />
weekly basis and force<br />
them to use condoms;<br />
“Nigerian women are<br />
forced by their ‘Madams’ to<br />
sleep with numerous men,<br />
without using any protection,<br />
hence the high incidence<br />
of sexually transmitted<br />
diseases and other ailments.<br />
“The border point between<br />
Nigeria and Benin<br />
Republic at Seme-Krake is<br />
notoriously porous and in<br />
spite of numerous reports<br />
and pictures of notorious<br />
trafficking sent to Nigerian<br />
security agencies at the border,<br />
no action has been taken<br />
to curb the practice.<br />
“The Nigerian Ambassador<br />
to Burkina Faso, Ramatu<br />
Ahmed, alerted that no<br />
fewer than 10,000 Nigerian<br />
women, mainly underaged<br />
girls, are forced into<br />
prostitution in Ouagadougou<br />
and other mining<br />
camps across West Africa.”<br />
ABUJA — Electricity<br />
Distribution Companies,<br />
DISCOs, yesterday,<br />
declared that they have not<br />
received any subsidy from<br />
the Federal Government<br />
since the power sector was<br />
privatised in November<br />
2013.<br />
The 11 Distribution Companies,<br />
operating under<br />
the aegis of Association Nigerian<br />
Electricity Distributors,<br />
ANED, insisted<br />
through a statement by its<br />
Executive Director, Research<br />
and Advocacy, Mr.<br />
Sunday Oduntan, that<br />
none of the companies ever<br />
received subsidy from the<br />
government.<br />
Apparently reacting to<br />
the remarks credited to the<br />
Minister of Power, Mr.<br />
Saleh Mamman, that the<br />
Federal Government would<br />
not continue to subsidise<br />
the power sector, ANED<br />
said government only<br />
made payments to generating<br />
and gas supply companies.<br />
Oduntan said:<br />
“Last week, via various<br />
news media, we were, once<br />
again, presented with another<br />
situation in which our<br />
electricity distribution, DIS-<br />
COs, sub-sector was put up<br />
for public vilification and<br />
denouncement on information<br />
that is, largely, not re-<br />
*Say N1.7trn subsidy for generating, gas companies<br />
flective of the reality or complexity<br />
of the Nigerian have been attributed to the<br />
ments or comments that<br />
Electricity Supply Industry, Minister of Power via various<br />
national newspapers<br />
NESI, value chain.<br />
“The statements or comments<br />
behind this recent “That is what we are say-<br />
on February 20th, 2020.<br />
media exercise were attributed<br />
to Mr. Saleh Mam-<br />
continue to subsidise being.<br />
Government cannot<br />
man, the Minister of Power,<br />
speaking to journalists is that they collect 3,000<br />
cause what they are doing<br />
after the Federal Executive megawatts and pay for only<br />
Council, FEC, meeting. 1,000 megawatts. That is 15<br />
“As the face of the NESI percent of what they are collecting.<br />
So, government is<br />
market, responsible for direct<br />
interface with the public<br />
and collecting of all monment.<br />
To date, the DISCOs<br />
the one completing the payies<br />
due to the different players<br />
in the sector, we readily sidy from the federal gov-<br />
have not received any sub-<br />
acknowledge both the inefficiencies<br />
that our sub-secernment.<br />
References to the<br />
N1.7 trillion in subsidies<br />
tor continues to experience<br />
paid by the government<br />
and the pervasive dissatisfaction<br />
of our customers<br />
are associated with payments<br />
that have been made<br />
to the generating and gas<br />
with same.<br />
supply companies, under<br />
"We will continue to strive<br />
the Payment Assurance<br />
to do better. However, it is<br />
Guarantees, PAG, initiative<br />
also important that our customers,<br />
specifically, and ty Market Stabilization<br />
and the Nigerian Electrici-<br />
Nigerian citizens, in general,<br />
be accurately and well “PAG is, principally, a re-<br />
Fund, NEMSF.<br />
informed as to the challenges,<br />
facts and constraints of tory and policy intervensult<br />
of government regula-<br />
the NESI value chain, as tionist initiatives that have<br />
necessary for us to, collectively,<br />
devise strategies and the NESI value chain to<br />
resulted in the inability of<br />
solution that will get us to recover the cost of doing<br />
the envisioned improved business based, primarily,<br />
supply of, and service delivery<br />
of electricity. reflective – an unmet criti-<br />
on tariffs that are non-cost<br />
“The following information<br />
is provided for clarifivatisation<br />
of the electricity<br />
cal commitment of the prication<br />
of some of the state-<br />
distribution companies."<br />
GDP growth rate still largely<br />
below desirable — MAN<br />
Coronavirus, Lassa Fever: Reps<br />
want equipment procurement<br />
powers for Health Ministry<br />
By Levinus<br />
Nwabughiogu<br />
ABUJA — THE House<br />
of Representatives<br />
has asked for the restoration<br />
of equipment procurement<br />
powers to the Ministry of<br />
Health to pro-actively tackle<br />
the menace of Lassa fever<br />
and coronavirus.<br />
The House stated that<br />
the inability of the ministry<br />
to procure equipment, protective<br />
personnel gadgets<br />
and other laboratory and<br />
logistical equipment/services,<br />
reagents and drugs was<br />
seriously hampering the<br />
efforts of the Federal Government<br />
to fight and contain<br />
the coronavirus and<br />
Lassa fever epidemics.<br />
Motion to this effect was<br />
co-moved by Shehu Balarabe<br />
Kakale, Tanko Sonunu<br />
LAGOS — THE President,<br />
Manufacturers<br />
Association of Nigeria,<br />
MAN, Mansur Ahmed,<br />
has said that the 2019 quarter<br />
four, Q4 GDP though<br />
positive, was still largely<br />
below desirable for the nation’s<br />
economy.<br />
Ahmed said in a statement<br />
yesterday in Lagos,<br />
said the real GDP growth<br />
rate was impressive, in view<br />
of the fact that the 4th quarter<br />
record represented the<br />
highest quarterly growth<br />
performance since the<br />
2016.<br />
“But it is still largely below<br />
the desirable because<br />
the 2.55 per cent growth is<br />
still below the population<br />
growth rate of 2.6 percent.<br />
“The full year figure of the<br />
real GDP of 2.27 per cent<br />
in 2019 when compared<br />
with the 1.91 per cent of<br />
2018 reveals a promising<br />
but cautious improvement<br />
of economic performance.<br />
“This is encouraging, especially<br />
because it obviously<br />
surpassed the 2.1 per<br />
cent projections of the IMF<br />
apparently due to the usual<br />
heavy seasonal activities<br />
transaction,” he said.<br />
He, however, expressed<br />
doubt about its sustainability<br />
in the coming quarters<br />
due to unfriendly operating<br />
environment.<br />
“This doubt will be overcome<br />
if government ensures<br />
that its Ease of Doing Business<br />
reforms reduce the cost<br />
of doing business.<br />
“This will result in a real<br />
GDP growth that may again<br />
surpass the 2.0 per cent projection<br />
for 2020,” he said.<br />
Ahmed further said that<br />
development showed that<br />
the sector was still struggling<br />
on the 0.14 per cent<br />
growth of the manufacturing<br />
sector in Q4 of 2019.<br />
“This is not too good for<br />
an economy that will soon<br />
be exposed to the vagaries<br />
of the Africa Continental<br />
Free Trade Area, AfCFTA,<br />
that will commence in July<br />
2020. It also re-emphasised<br />
the need for government to<br />
continue to address the perennial<br />
issues hindering<br />
performance of real sector to<br />
guarantee improved performance<br />
and sustained<br />
growth,” he said.<br />
and Babatunde Adejare at<br />
plenary yesterday.<br />
Moving the motion,<br />
Kakale noted that the federal<br />
government has proactively<br />
provided or released<br />
huge sums of money<br />
amounting to about<br />
N386m for the effort.<br />
He, however, expressed<br />
concern that basic protective<br />
equipment as face<br />
masks, thermal scanners<br />
and gloves were rapidly<br />
depletingand going out of<br />
stock in the ministry.<br />
He said: “The House is<br />
also concerned that all procurement<br />
issues of one<br />
mandated ministry are going<br />
to another ministry, in<br />
this case, Agriculture,<br />
which means outright violation<br />
of the Procurement<br />
Act, and therefore illegal."<br />
Dangote Cement proposes<br />
N16 dividend to shareholders<br />
FOLLOWING its im<br />
proved performance,<br />
the board of directors of<br />
Dangote Cement Plc has<br />
proposed a final dividend<br />
of N16 per share subject to<br />
ratification by the shareholders<br />
at the coming Annual<br />
General Meeting<br />
(AGM).<br />
According to the full year<br />
report released on the floor<br />
of the Nigerian Stock Exchange,<br />
Dangote Cement<br />
Plant, Mtwara, Tanzania,<br />
recorded an increase of 94<br />
percent increase in volume<br />
within the review period.<br />
Dangote Cement Plant,<br />
Pout, Senegal put up a remarkable<br />
performance with<br />
sales up more than 100<br />
percent of rated capacity.<br />
Speaking on the result,<br />
Group Chief Executive Officer,<br />
Dangote Cement, Joe<br />
Makoju, said: “Dangote<br />
Cement maintained strong<br />
financial performance despite<br />
a low growth environment,<br />
pricing pressure and<br />
increasing competition in<br />
key markets. The Nigerian<br />
operations maintained<br />
volume and revenue performance<br />
in a challenging<br />
environment. Export sales<br />
were affected by the border<br />
closure in the second half<br />
of 2019. Looking ahead, I<br />
expect an increase in volumes<br />
in 2020 as we commence<br />
clinker exports via<br />
shipping from Nigeria.<br />
Pan-Africa volumes were<br />
slightly up notably supported<br />
by Tanzania and Senegal.<br />
I am glad to report that<br />
Tanzania contributed positively<br />
at EBITDA level. In<br />
2020, I believe Dangote<br />
Cement will see an increase<br />
in profitability in Pan-Africa<br />
driven by higher volumes<br />
and further efficiency<br />
improvements.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 11<br />
:Vanguard<br />
News<br />
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058<br />
RECONSTRUCTION—Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun (operating the tractor), with<br />
Commissioner for Works, Engineer Ade Akinsanya (on the governor's left), during the flag-off and<br />
turning of sod of Ijebu-Ode/Epe road reconstruction, yesterday.<br />
UCH medical consultants down tools over<br />
mandatory PhD certificate<br />
By Ola Ajayi<br />
I BADAN—MEDICAL<br />
consultants in the<br />
University College<br />
Hospital, Ibadan,<br />
yesterday, embarked on an<br />
indefinite strike to protest<br />
a circular which prescribed<br />
acquisition of PhD for<br />
clinical lecturers in<br />
Nigerian universities.<br />
The consultants, under<br />
the auspices of Medical<br />
and Dental Consultants’<br />
Association of Nigeria, said<br />
the mandatory PhD was not<br />
in tandem with what<br />
operates in the developed<br />
world.<br />
The circular which was<br />
dated December 24, 2019,<br />
addressed to vicechancellors<br />
of all Nigeria<br />
universities and the<br />
registrar of National<br />
Postgraduate Medical<br />
College of Nigeria, showed<br />
that PhD programmes shall<br />
be introduced in the clinical<br />
sciences in the university<br />
system.<br />
Led by their Chairman,<br />
Dr. Dare Olulana, the<br />
medical experts, said<br />
having tried other options<br />
which yielded no fruitful<br />
results, they had to down<br />
tools.<br />
Olulana said: “It is<br />
ancient logic that efficiency<br />
is compromised whenever<br />
the cart is placed before the<br />
horse. This is what the<br />
obnoxious NUC circular on<br />
PhD for clinical lecturers in<br />
Nigeria universities that<br />
were released represents.<br />
“This justifiably provoked<br />
sufficient upset for us to call<br />
an emergency meeting of<br />
our association in Abuja on<br />
January 4. MDCAN met<br />
again two weeks later in<br />
Port Harcourt and following<br />
extensive deliberations, a<br />
21-day ultimatum was<br />
issued to NUC to withdraw<br />
the circular but sadly, our<br />
demand was ignored.<br />
“Consequently, we are<br />
left with no further choice<br />
than to withdraw our<br />
services from the<br />
universities with<br />
immediate effect. We<br />
resolve to comply with the<br />
directive of our national<br />
body to embark on<br />
indefinite withdrawal of our<br />
services from the College<br />
of Medicine, UI.”<br />
S-West pushes for establishment of Devt<br />
Commission ...as bill passes second reading at Reps<br />
By Levinus<br />
Nwabughiogu<br />
ABUJA—A bill for the<br />
establishment of South<br />
West Development<br />
Commission, SWDC,<br />
yesterday, passed for<br />
second reading at the<br />
House of Representatives.<br />
By this passage, the next<br />
stage for the bill is a public<br />
hearing.<br />
The bill, titled: “A Bill for<br />
An Act to Establish the<br />
South West Development<br />
Commission Bill 2020 and<br />
Other Related Matters (HB<br />
597),” is sponsored by Mr.<br />
Femi Fakeye from Osun<br />
State.<br />
The Bill, co-sponsored by<br />
Nkiru Onyejiocha and 79<br />
others, is essential to tackle<br />
ecological problems and<br />
other related environmental<br />
and developmental<br />
challenges in the region.<br />
Fakaye, who led the<br />
debate, yesterday, at the<br />
plenary, said the bill has 33<br />
sections.<br />
Defending the bill,<br />
Fakaye recalled the<br />
creation of regional<br />
governments at Nigeria’s<br />
independence, noting that<br />
the South West at the<br />
moment needed to revive<br />
its infrastructures.<br />
He said: “The country has<br />
evolved into a political<br />
structure that consists of 36<br />
states and one Federal<br />
Capital Territory, all<br />
constitutionally<br />
I B A D A N —<br />
GOVERNOR Seyi<br />
Makinde of Oyo State,<br />
yesterday, disclosed that his<br />
administration has been<br />
following the laudable<br />
steps already taken by the<br />
Independent Corrupt<br />
Practices and other Related<br />
Offences Commission,<br />
ICPC, in deepening the<br />
anti-corruption war,<br />
especially, the setting up of<br />
the Anti-Corruption<br />
Monitoring Units, ACTUs,<br />
summarized into 6<br />
geopolitical zones. Even as<br />
Nigeria remains a united<br />
political entity, it is a country<br />
with a plethora of<br />
socioeconomic challenges<br />
that have turned out to be<br />
more damning and<br />
daunting, six decades after<br />
independence.<br />
“For one, Nigeria’s multiethnic<br />
population has<br />
ballooned to an estimated<br />
200 million, but so have the<br />
country’s socio-economic<br />
challenges multiplied,<br />
manifesting unsavory,<br />
unintended consequences,<br />
all of which are equalopportunity<br />
retardants in<br />
our post-military<br />
democracy.”<br />
He also noted the<br />
growing population of the<br />
zone, saying it needed<br />
some special budgetary<br />
allocations.<br />
We're deepening anti-graft war in Oyo —Makinde<br />
By Adeola Badru and the inclusive<br />
budgeting process.<br />
The governor, who was<br />
represented by the<br />
Secretary to the State<br />
Government, SSG, Mrs.<br />
Olubanwo Adeosun, made<br />
the disclosure, at the<br />
commissioning of the<br />
commission’s state office<br />
complex, along Old Airport<br />
Road, Samonda, Ibadan.<br />
Makinde said: “As you<br />
must have been aware, the<br />
fight against corruption is<br />
one that is taken seriously<br />
by the current<br />
administration in Oyo<br />
State.<br />
“That was why I<br />
specifically told members of<br />
the 9th Oyo State Assembly<br />
at a dinner preceding their<br />
inauguration that one of<br />
the first bills I would send<br />
to them was the Oyo State<br />
Anti-corruption bill.<br />
“As a state government,<br />
we are following the<br />
laudable steps already<br />
taken by the ICPC in<br />
deepening the anticorruption<br />
war, especially,<br />
the setting up of the Anti-<br />
Abiodun flags off reconstruction<br />
of Ijebu-Ode/Epe road<br />
By James<br />
Ogunnaike<br />
A BEOKUTA—<br />
GOVERNOR Dapo<br />
Abiodun of Ogun State,<br />
yesterday, flagged off the<br />
reconstruction of Ijebu<br />
Ode-Epe road, reiterating<br />
the commitment of his<br />
administration to provide<br />
infrastructure in all border<br />
communities in the State.<br />
Abiodun said provisions<br />
of necessary infrastructure<br />
in border communities<br />
would bring relief and<br />
succour to the people living<br />
in those areas and<br />
engender socio-economic<br />
development of the people<br />
and the State.<br />
He recalled that on<br />
assumption of office in May<br />
2019, one of his promises<br />
was to provide adequate<br />
infrastructure in all parts of<br />
the State.<br />
He said: “It is very painful<br />
that our people at these<br />
border communities see<br />
people on the other sides<br />
of the border enjoying the<br />
same dividends of<br />
democracy that had<br />
seemed elusive to them.<br />
“Indeed, in the course of<br />
the campaign, I made a<br />
specific promise that our<br />
administration would<br />
rehabilitate and reconstruct<br />
the Ogun State segment of<br />
Ijebu Ode – Epe Road to<br />
By Dirisu Yakubu<br />
ABUJA—TWO factions<br />
of the Peoples<br />
Democratic Party, PDP, in<br />
Ogun State, yesterday,<br />
reconciled and pledged to<br />
forge a common front in the<br />
interest of the party.<br />
The two factions, led by<br />
Senator Buruji Kashamu<br />
and Mr. Ladi Adebutu<br />
buried the hatchet at the<br />
party’s national secretariat,<br />
Abuja at a press conference<br />
attended by members of the<br />
party’s National Working<br />
Committee, NWC,<br />
including the national<br />
chairman, Prince Uche<br />
Secondus.<br />
Corruption Monitoring Units,<br />
ACTUs, and the inclusive<br />
budgeting process.<br />
“That is why we are not<br />
mincing words on this issue and<br />
that is the reason I have offered<br />
to wave my own immunity if there<br />
is any reason to call me to<br />
question.”<br />
In their separate remarks, the<br />
Chairman, Senate Committee<br />
on Anti-corruption and Financial<br />
Crimes, Senator Suleiman Kwari,<br />
and the Chairman, House<br />
Committee on Anti-corruption,<br />
Mr. Sheu Garba, maintained that<br />
Nigerians must consider the fight<br />
against corruption as a personal<br />
cause.<br />
bring relief and succour to<br />
our people and engender<br />
socio-economic<br />
development of our state.<br />
“ I am delighted that<br />
today’s event is yet another<br />
instance of promises made<br />
and promises kept. As a<br />
Government that places a<br />
premium on character and<br />
integrity, we will continue<br />
to keep all our promises”.<br />
While directing that the<br />
construction company<br />
should ensure that 50<br />
percent of the workforce is<br />
sourced from the<br />
community, the governor<br />
reiterated his<br />
administration readiness to<br />
reduce challenges being<br />
faced by the residents of the<br />
border areas of the state.<br />
He said: “Today’s event<br />
of the turn of the Ijebu-Ode-<br />
Mojoda-Epe 14km Road is,<br />
therefore, a symbolic<br />
testimony of our<br />
Administration’s<br />
commitment towards<br />
creating an enduring<br />
economy of our dear State<br />
and ensuring the well<br />
being and welfare of all the<br />
people of Ogun State.<br />
"The governor also<br />
promised to sustain the<br />
Public-Private-Partnership,<br />
PPP, Agenda “and a robust<br />
approach to good<br />
governance that is allinclusive<br />
and participatory.”<br />
Ogun PDP’s factions mend fences<br />
Narrating how the feud<br />
affected the fortunes of the<br />
party in the past, Mr.<br />
Adebutu expressed joy that<br />
issues of conflicts have now<br />
been laid to rest.<br />
He said: “The chapter of<br />
the party in Ogun State had<br />
been embroiled in conflicts<br />
for 12 years. So, a chapter<br />
that had 100 per cent of all<br />
the elective positions in the<br />
state has now moved to a<br />
party that only has one out<br />
of the 40 elective positions.<br />
“In these 12 years, we<br />
have had two parallel<br />
executives in the state that<br />
have not always worked<br />
together. This cumulated in<br />
a situation where in the last<br />
election when the party<br />
produced me as the<br />
candidate of the party, the<br />
other faction had another<br />
candidate. At the end of the<br />
day, unfortunately, we lost<br />
the election woefully.”<br />
Addressing the NWC,<br />
Adebutu said: “It is my<br />
pleasure by the grace of<br />
God to now present to you<br />
the state working<br />
committee of the other<br />
faction. Our own faction has<br />
been at peace and we have been<br />
recognized by the national<br />
working committee of the party.<br />
And to the glory of God today, I<br />
am happy to present to you the<br />
Secretary of the Ogun faction of<br />
the PDP, Mr. Semiu Sodipo."
12 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
:Vanguard News<br />
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058<br />
By Ikechukwu<br />
Nnochiri, Dirisu<br />
Yakubu<br />
ABUJA—THE Supreme<br />
Court, yesterday, declined<br />
to reverse its judgment<br />
that sacked David<br />
Lyon and Degi-Eremieoyo<br />
as governor and deputygovernor<br />
elect of Bayelsa<br />
State.<br />
The apex court, in a unanimous<br />
decision by a sevenman<br />
panel of Justices<br />
headed by Justice Sylvester<br />
Ngwuta, dismissed the<br />
two different applications<br />
that sought to set-aside the<br />
judgment it delivered<br />
against Lyon and his deputy<br />
on February 13.<br />
Meanwhile, the Peoples<br />
Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday,<br />
lauded the apex<br />
court for upholding the<br />
election of Senator Duoye<br />
Diri as governor of Bayelsa<br />
State.<br />
In the lead decision by<br />
Justice Amina Augie, the<br />
apex court, described the<br />
fresh applications that were<br />
filed by Lyon, his deputy<br />
and the All Progressive<br />
Congress, APC, as "highly<br />
vexatious, frivolous and<br />
gross abuse of the judicial<br />
process."<br />
She held that the applications<br />
were aimed at "desecrating<br />
the sanctity of the<br />
court," stressing that it was<br />
an invitation for the Supreme<br />
Court to sit on appeal<br />
over its final judgment.<br />
Justice Augie said, "It is<br />
clear that the two applications<br />
lack merit and constituted<br />
an abuse of court process."<br />
She said there was no<br />
doubt that the applications<br />
were aimed to review a final<br />
judgment of the apex<br />
court, in violation of Order<br />
8 Rule 2 of the Supreme<br />
Court Act.<br />
Why S-Court refused to reverse its<br />
judgment in Bayelsa<br />
• Awards N60m cost against Lyon, Degi-Eremieoyo, APC, lawyers<br />
• Bayelsa: PDP commends S/Court, insists on IMO<br />
• S’Court averted a catastrophe in Bayelsa — Dickson<br />
Justice Augie stressed<br />
that the use of the mandatory<br />
word "Shall" in the said<br />
Order 8, was an indication<br />
that such application for<br />
review of final judgment of<br />
the court was bound to fail.<br />
"The court is not authorised<br />
and lacks the jurisdiction<br />
to review its judgment,"<br />
she held, adding that the<br />
applicants failed to either<br />
show that there was any<br />
clerical error, accidental slip<br />
or commission, or that any<br />
aspect of the judgment<br />
needed to be varied.<br />
She said the sole aim of<br />
the applicants was to setaside<br />
"operative and substantive<br />
parts of the judgment,"<br />
despite the provision<br />
of section 235 of the 1999<br />
constitution, as amended,<br />
that gave the Supreme<br />
Court the final say in every<br />
appeal.<br />
"Once this court has finally<br />
determined an issue, it<br />
is functus-officio. It is final<br />
forever, only legislation can<br />
alter it. It is final for all ages.<br />
No force on earth can get<br />
this court to shift its position<br />
on Bayelsa matter," she<br />
held.<br />
She said even if the apex<br />
court was minded to review<br />
its judgment, there was no<br />
guarantee that the PDP and<br />
its candidates would not<br />
also file their own application<br />
for a review.<br />
"There must be an end to<br />
litigation to ensure certainty<br />
in the law. There must<br />
be finality to decision of the<br />
court."<br />
Justice Augie held that if<br />
the applications were not<br />
dismissed, "every disaffected<br />
litigant will bring appeals<br />
ad-infinitum. This<br />
must not be allowed."<br />
She expressed disappointed<br />
that counsel to the<br />
applicants, being senior<br />
members of the legal profession,<br />
encouraged their<br />
clients to desecrate the<br />
sanctity of the apex court.<br />
Consequently, Justice<br />
Augue awarded a cost of<br />
N10million each against<br />
Lyon, Degi-Eremieoyo and<br />
APC, to be paid in favour<br />
of Governor Diri, his deputy,<br />
Lawrence Ewhruojakpo<br />
and the PDP.<br />
She ordered that the cost<br />
should be personally paid<br />
by lawyers to all the applicants.<br />
PDP commends S/Court,<br />
insists on Imo<br />
Meanwhile, the PDP, yesterday,<br />
lauded the apex<br />
court for upholding the<br />
election of Diri as governor<br />
of Bayelsa State, as it accused<br />
the APC, of mounting<br />
pressure on the apex<br />
court "to restrain it<strong>self</strong> from<br />
reversing the judgment on<br />
the Imo State governorship<br />
election despite obvious<br />
mistakes in that judgment,<br />
which is now threatening<br />
the stability of our nation."<br />
PDP spokesman, Kola<br />
Ologbondiyan in a statement,<br />
said "The party,<br />
which hailed Wednesday‘s<br />
(yesterday) verdict of the<br />
Supreme Court on Bayelsa,<br />
however, noted that the<br />
elements and grounds for<br />
the demands by the PDP<br />
and majority of Nigerians<br />
for the reversal of Imo<br />
State governorship election<br />
judgment are completely<br />
different from<br />
Edo 2020: Security agencies express concern<br />
over spate of violence<br />
By Ozioruva Aliu<br />
BENIN CITY — IN<br />
what looked like a case<br />
of abandonment, security<br />
agencies after a log silence<br />
yesterday, expressed concern<br />
over the security situation<br />
in Edo State, saying<br />
what started like political<br />
differences has degenerated<br />
to disruption of meetings<br />
and shockingly to the<br />
use of explosives on private<br />
residences and urged politicians<br />
to play by the rule<br />
of the game as the world<br />
watches the tate governorship<br />
election.<br />
The security agencies<br />
made up of the police, Department<br />
of State Services,<br />
DSS, Nigerian Security<br />
and Civil Defence Corps,<br />
NSCDC, other sister security<br />
agencies and para-military<br />
groups stated this at a<br />
stakeholders meeting<br />
which also had politicians<br />
in attendance.<br />
They expressed concern<br />
that the level of violence<br />
was capable of scaring<br />
away investors wishing to<br />
come to the state and that<br />
international organisations<br />
such as the African Union,<br />
European Union, the United<br />
States, Britain and others<br />
who are preparing to<br />
come and monitor the election<br />
were becoming apprehensive<br />
on the development<br />
in the state.<br />
Declaring the stakeholders<br />
meeting open, state<br />
Commissioner of Police,<br />
Lawal Jimeta flanked by<br />
heads of security agenciees,<br />
including the Zonal<br />
Director of the DSS, advised<br />
politician to solve political<br />
problems politically<br />
so that the security agencies<br />
could invest their resources<br />
on security challenges<br />
facing the state.<br />
He said, "A tumultuous<br />
situation will scare away<br />
development. We are concerned<br />
about certain developments<br />
that happened in<br />
the state. These include but<br />
not limited to thuggery, lawlessness<br />
and the recent development<br />
involving the<br />
use of explosives.<br />
"The use of explosives is<br />
definitely a worrisome development<br />
not only in Edo<br />
State but all over the country.<br />
So, it is our responsibility<br />
as security operatives to<br />
ensure that these ugly situations<br />
are not repeated.<br />
We can only do so by meeting<br />
with the stakeholders,<br />
so that you can talk to<br />
your supporters that violence<br />
does not bring any<br />
development and does<br />
not guarantee political success.<br />
Violence can only<br />
bring destruction and<br />
hardship to the people.<br />
We want to say categorically<br />
that peace and security<br />
of this state will remain<br />
professionally in our<br />
hands. We will ensure<br />
that anybody that breaks<br />
the law is brought to<br />
book," he said.<br />
He said on their part ,<br />
they would ensure that<br />
they are truthful and professional<br />
in whatever they<br />
do to ensure that there is<br />
peace and security in Edo<br />
State.<br />
"We therefore, warn mischief<br />
and troublemakers to<br />
leave Edo state or to live<br />
peacefully in the state.”<br />
On his part, the DSS<br />
Chief, Mohammed Wariri,<br />
said "From intelligence<br />
point of view, the indicators<br />
in the state are very<br />
frightening. As the CP<br />
said, it started like a child<br />
play with disruption of<br />
meetings and developed<br />
into mega disruptions and<br />
unfortunately, physical<br />
attacks on peoples’ residences<br />
with arms and<br />
IEDs.<br />
"But worse still, we have<br />
intelligence of mobilisations<br />
from even neighbouring<br />
states of Kogi,<br />
Bayelsa, Delta of individuals<br />
who can come and<br />
cause mayhem within the<br />
state. We have information<br />
which is in the public domain,<br />
Edo is the next in<br />
line in the series of election<br />
in the country. The<br />
entire world is watching.<br />
Edo is on the watch of the<br />
international community<br />
already, the EU, the AU,<br />
the Americans, the British<br />
are all coming around expressing<br />
their fears. Even<br />
foreign investors and local<br />
investors are expressing<br />
these fears.‘‘<br />
those of Bayelsa.<br />
"The PDP’s demand on<br />
Imo is not in any way in<br />
contestation of the authority<br />
and finality of the Supreme<br />
Court but a patriotic<br />
effort to assist the Supreme<br />
Court affirm its infallibility<br />
by correcting the<br />
inherent mistakes in the<br />
judgment which came as<br />
a result of misleading presentation<br />
to it by the APC.<br />
"It is therefore, instructive<br />
to note that the various<br />
election matters before<br />
the Supreme Court<br />
were brought on clearly<br />
distinctive grounds and<br />
each should be treated on<br />
its merit before the law.<br />
"The only reason APC<br />
was pushing for a review<br />
of the Supreme Court’s<br />
valid and flawless judgment<br />
on the Bayelsa and<br />
Zamfara governorship<br />
elections was to cause<br />
confusion and blackmail<br />
the Supreme Court from<br />
treating the Imo case on<br />
merit.<br />
"Our grounds for the reversal<br />
of Imo judgment<br />
are unambiguously constitutional<br />
and completely<br />
distinct from APC’s attempt<br />
to blackmail the<br />
Supreme Court with their<br />
demands on the Bayelsa<br />
and Zamfara states governorship<br />
election.<br />
"We therefore, urged the<br />
Supreme Court not to succumb<br />
to the threats and<br />
blackmail by APC to push<br />
it to restrain it<strong>self</strong> from<br />
looking at the merit of the<br />
Imo case, correcting the<br />
mistakes and reversing<br />
the flawed judgment."<br />
S’ Court averted a<br />
catastrophe in Bayelsa<br />
Also, immediate past<br />
governor of Bayelsa, Mr<br />
Seriake Dickson has said<br />
that the historical verdict<br />
of the nation‘s apex court<br />
on the Bayelsa governorship<br />
dispute only averted<br />
a catastrophe that was<br />
waiting to erupt in the<br />
state.<br />
VERDICT:<br />
Governor of Bayesla<br />
State, Senator<br />
Duoye Diri addressing<br />
pressmen shortly<br />
after the Supreme<br />
Court judgment in<br />
Abuja. Photo: Gbemiga<br />
Olamikan<br />
In a statement by his<br />
media aide, Mr Fidelis<br />
Soriwei, Dickson said,<br />
“Today (yesterday), I<br />
want to give God all the<br />
glory who has vindicated<br />
me, the loyal leaders<br />
of the party, the dignity<br />
and integrity of the electorate<br />
of Bayelsa because<br />
the Supreme Court has<br />
averted a major catastrophe,<br />
a disaster that was<br />
waiting to happen.<br />
“We also want to thank<br />
the Supreme Court<br />
which despite the direct<br />
and indirect harassments,<br />
intimidations and<br />
propaganda, for upholding<br />
and defending the<br />
constitution and the<br />
rights of the oppressed<br />
people of our nation.<br />
“I commend the judiciary<br />
again, particularly,<br />
their Lordships, My<br />
Lord, the Chief Justice of<br />
the Federation and all<br />
my Lords, the Justices of<br />
the Supreme Court for<br />
standing by our nation‘s<br />
democracy. All the cry for<br />
a review was an attempt<br />
to compromise, intimidate<br />
and destroy the judiciary<br />
of our country.”<br />
Court only affirmed<br />
God's judgment<br />
Meanwhile, Governor<br />
Diri, yesterday, said Supreme<br />
Court ruling was<br />
only affirmation of God's<br />
judgement, which paved<br />
the way for him to emerge<br />
victorious.<br />
A statement by his acting<br />
Chief Press Secretary,<br />
Mr Daniel Alabrah, the<br />
governor said, "Once<br />
again, I describe my<strong>self</strong><br />
as a miracle governor. So<br />
the Supreme Court just<br />
affirmed the judgment of<br />
the Almighty God, who<br />
made it possible for me to<br />
become the governor of<br />
Bayelsa State.<br />
"For me, there is no victor<br />
no vanquished as the<br />
victory is for all Bayelsans.<br />
It is not a winner takes all.<br />
"My message is that of<br />
reconciliation as I will run<br />
an all-inclusive government.<br />
Let everyone that is<br />
aggrieved sheathe their<br />
swords. Let us think about<br />
Bayelsa first and ourselves<br />
last. By this judgement,<br />
it is clear the final<br />
hurdle has been cleared."
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 13<br />
:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058<br />
PRESS CONFAB: From left—Tokunbo Habeeb, Lagos State Coordinator, Raw Materials Research and<br />
Development Council; Ahmed Mansur, President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN;<br />
Oranu Chris Chidume, Chairman, Corporate Affairs and Strategy Planning Committee, MAN, and<br />
Ambrose Oruche, Ag. DG, during the Press conference for the 2020 Nigeria Manufacturing and<br />
Equipment Expo, in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Akeem Salau.<br />
Council of Ulama rejects Ganduje's ban<br />
on street begging<br />
By Abdulmumin<br />
Murtala<br />
K ANO—KANO<br />
Council of Ulama<br />
has rejected Governor<br />
Abdullahi Ganduje's ban on<br />
street begging by Almajiris<br />
across the state, saying it is<br />
not feasible.<br />
Briefing newsmen,<br />
yesterday, in Kano,<br />
Chairman of the Council<br />
Sheikh Ibrahim Khaleel<br />
said, “To us at the Council<br />
of Ulama, the government<br />
cannot do it and is not<br />
serious about it. They are<br />
just doing it to appease<br />
their masters abroad, or get<br />
their money or some kind<br />
of noise making. Or they<br />
might have been accused<br />
of something from<br />
somewhere for which they<br />
simply organised a<br />
ceremony and that is all.<br />
That is our opinion. The<br />
government is not serious<br />
and cannot do it because<br />
it has not taken the right<br />
steps to it.<br />
“The right steps to follow<br />
in banning street begging<br />
include firstly, the Quranic<br />
clerics involved have to be<br />
identified. Because there<br />
are street beggars who are<br />
Quranic students, there are<br />
beggars who are sent by<br />
their parents from the rural<br />
areas to come and be<br />
begging in the urban areas,<br />
there is also begging<br />
engaged in by some<br />
physically challenged<br />
individuals. All these forms<br />
of street beggars need to be<br />
identified and each one be<br />
addressed accordingly. But<br />
they have not done that.<br />
“So, for the ban to work<br />
there has to be a<br />
cooperation between the<br />
government and the<br />
Quranic clerics. You have<br />
to sit with them and<br />
understand why they<br />
engage in begging, get<br />
some statistics, know the<br />
total number of those<br />
engaging in street begging<br />
among them. If you identify<br />
all these, it is then that you<br />
will come to know exactly<br />
beggars that are not<br />
Almajiris Quranic students.<br />
More so, you cannot stop<br />
By Demola<br />
Akinyemi<br />
ILORIN—THE crisis<br />
rocking the ruling All<br />
Progressives Congress,<br />
APC, in Kwara State has<br />
taken a dangerous<br />
dimension as the state<br />
chairman of the party,<br />
Bashir Bolarinwa and other<br />
members of the state<br />
working committee have<br />
been attacked by<br />
suspected thugs at Shao<br />
town in Moro local<br />
government area of the<br />
state.<br />
Vanguard gathered they<br />
were attacked on Tuesday.<br />
The state chairman and<br />
other members of the<br />
executives with other party<br />
faithful who were on<br />
“Thank you” visit to the<br />
area were attacked by the<br />
hoodlums who had laid<br />
ambush for them.<br />
Governor Abdulrahman<br />
Abdulrazaq in a reaction to<br />
the development through<br />
his Chief press secretary,<br />
Rafiu Ajakaye, condemned<br />
the attack and urged the<br />
police to fish out the<br />
attackers.<br />
Vanguard gathered that<br />
the party chieftains had to<br />
abandon the bus<br />
conveying them and ran<br />
into the bush to escape<br />
being attacked as all the<br />
begging in the state<br />
without joining hands with<br />
the neighbouring states..<br />
“If you recall there was<br />
the case of a man who just<br />
sent three of his children to<br />
the city to be begging for<br />
sustenance because he<br />
wanted to place his new<br />
wife in the room they were<br />
occupying. You can see that<br />
these kids are not<br />
necessarily Almajiris or<br />
Quranic pupils. Therefore<br />
you need statistics of the<br />
real situation, know the<br />
total number of the Quranic<br />
teachers, the total number<br />
of the Quranic schools and<br />
their pupils, know exactly<br />
who the real Almajiris are<br />
first. You will then know<br />
their needs understand<br />
their problems and then<br />
proffer the right solutions.<br />
You can decide to cater for<br />
them or send them back to<br />
their homes. But you have<br />
not conducted all these.”<br />
Kwara APC chairman, others attacked by thugs<br />
window screens of the<br />
vehicle were badly<br />
damaged.<br />
Confirming the<br />
development, the state vice<br />
chairman of the party,<br />
Sunday Oyebiyi, who was<br />
among the victims<br />
described the attack as<br />
unfortunate, saying it<br />
could lead to disintegration<br />
of the party in the state.<br />
Speaking at a briefing in<br />
Ilorin, Timothy said the<br />
attack was least expected<br />
Polio: Dangote, Bill Gates give<br />
Kano Public Health Care<br />
system pass mark<br />
Nasarawa Assembly goes<br />
tough on contractors<br />
By David Odama<br />
L<br />
A F I A —<br />
NASARAWA State House<br />
of Assembly, yesterday<br />
warned contractors<br />
handling the construction<br />
and renovation of primary<br />
school projects in the state<br />
against substandard work.<br />
Chairman, House<br />
Committee on Education,<br />
Science and Technology,<br />
Daniel Oga Ogazi, gave<br />
the warning when he led<br />
other members of the<br />
committee on an<br />
assessment visit to ongoing<br />
construction and<br />
renovation of primary<br />
schools in Nasarawa South<br />
El-Rufai takes soft stand on Durbar Hotel<br />
By Ibrahim<br />
Hassan<br />
KADUNA—AS the<br />
controversy<br />
surrounding the moribund<br />
Durbar Hotel Kaduna<br />
rages on, a Kaduna High<br />
Court yesterday ,was<br />
told that Governor Nasiru<br />
Ahmed el-Rufai and other<br />
government agencies had<br />
complied with the court<br />
order asking the governor<br />
and his agents to keep<br />
off erom the Hotel, owned<br />
by the family of late Head<br />
of State, General Sani<br />
Abacha.<br />
It will be recalled that the<br />
hotel was demolished<br />
recently on the orders of the<br />
state government.<br />
The court had earlier<br />
saying: ”Police permit was<br />
sought and got for the<br />
planned tour of the 16 local<br />
government areas of the<br />
state, even though some<br />
members of the party loyal<br />
to the governor stood<br />
against it.”<br />
Oyebiyi, who is also zonal<br />
chairman, (Kwara North) of<br />
the party said that<br />
“members of the party are<br />
eagerly waiting for<br />
outcome of intervention<br />
being done by elders of the<br />
party into the crisis.<br />
•Parties seeks out-of-court settlement<br />
adjourned to February 26<br />
for the report on<br />
compliance with its order<br />
by governor el-Rufai and<br />
government officials.<br />
At the resumed hearing,<br />
counsel to the<br />
management of the hotel,<br />
Mr. Reuben Atabor,<br />
informed the court that, “We<br />
had a meeting in the office<br />
of the Attorney General of<br />
the State, AGS, yesterday<br />
(Tuesday). We have started<br />
talking in amicable way.<br />
Two, your Lordship, the<br />
court order has been<br />
complied with. No more<br />
presence of government<br />
officials and its agencies on<br />
the property. We wish to<br />
request for another date to<br />
By Abdulmumin<br />
Murtala<br />
KANO—BOTH Aliko<br />
Dangote and Bill<br />
Gates have given a pass<br />
mark to the Public Health<br />
Care, PHC system of Kano<br />
state as well as the<br />
successes achieved by the<br />
state in the fight against<br />
polio through routine<br />
immunization.<br />
Dangote made the<br />
remark during the 2019<br />
End of Year Health System<br />
Strengthening Program<br />
Review Meeting, held via<br />
Skype, at Government<br />
House, Kano, Tuesday<br />
night.<br />
He said: “Kano has made<br />
a lot of deliberate efforts to<br />
ensure community<br />
engagement gains from<br />
Polio, Routine<br />
Immunization are<br />
maintained, as we transit to<br />
integrated Public Health<br />
Centre service delivery<br />
across the whole state; It is<br />
therefore good to hear<br />
bring back progress report<br />
of settlement to the court”.<br />
Counsel to the State<br />
government, Mr. Sanusi<br />
Usman, who is the Director<br />
of Litigation in the State<br />
ministry of Justice,<br />
confirmed the information<br />
by Mr. Atabo, saying, “I<br />
agreed with the position of<br />
Mr. Atabo”.<br />
Consequently, the<br />
presiding Judge, Justice<br />
Hannatu Balogun, fixed<br />
April 7, to hear progress<br />
report of settlement by the<br />
parties involved.<br />
The court had fixed<br />
February 11 to receive<br />
report whether or not<br />
Kaduna State governor,<br />
Nasir El-rufai and other<br />
community linkage<br />
strengthening being<br />
highlighted as area to<br />
prioritize during the last<br />
PHC summit”.<br />
“On the financing and<br />
financial management, it is<br />
good that the state has<br />
sustained its record of<br />
timely retirement of funds<br />
in the health system,<br />
strengthening program but<br />
would like to encourage the<br />
team to review the current<br />
approach to monitor timely<br />
implementation of work<br />
plan and utilisation of<br />
programme funds for<br />
impact.<br />
“I will not relent but<br />
continue to talk about<br />
program data. I therefore,<br />
will like to encourage Kano<br />
to develop and implement<br />
data quality improvement<br />
plan at all health facilities<br />
that connect to LGA, Zone,<br />
and State mentoring plans;<br />
and also be sure that the<br />
plans don’t only address<br />
capacity gaps, but also work<br />
to improve behaviours<br />
around data inflation”<br />
Senatorial district under<br />
SUBEB office.<br />
Oga Ogazi, who<br />
represents Kokona East<br />
constituency said that the<br />
committee would not leave<br />
any stone unturned to<br />
ensure that contractors<br />
execute projects according<br />
to specifications, noting<br />
that a situation where<br />
a contractor used dead<br />
stones in construction of a<br />
S c h o o l<br />
project, while contractors<br />
would not carry out renovation<br />
work but just paint school<br />
structure, is not acceptable.<br />
“We are here on an on the spot<br />
assessment of the new<br />
construction and renovation of<br />
classrooms across the state<br />
awarded by the SUBEB office."<br />
agents of the State<br />
government had complied<br />
with court order, restraining<br />
them from demolishing<br />
and taking over the Durbar<br />
hotel.<br />
Usman had told the<br />
court that the State<br />
government had handed<br />
off the disputed hotel soon<br />
after the demolition, and as<br />
such no government agent<br />
could be seen at the site.<br />
He however, said those<br />
found on the property were,<br />
“Scavengers who are there<br />
to see what they can get<br />
from the property.<br />
“The presence of large<br />
number of scavengers<br />
attracted security agencies<br />
who went there to keep<br />
peace.”
14 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES:<br />
CONFERENCE: From left—Dr Saheed Timeyin, Department of Foreign Languages, Lagos<br />
State University, ACP Adebowale Oni; Representative of Commissioner of Police, Abuja,<br />
Mr. Kamil Kemanci, President, Ufuk Dialogue Foundation, Engr. Sulaiman Abu-Naola;<br />
Chief Imam of Lagos, Prof Olalekan Amidu Sani, Vice Chancellor Fountain University; Dr<br />
Folashade Toyin Kehinde; Bishop Steven Ogedengbe and others, during the 5th International<br />
Conference on Love and Tolerance organise by Ufuk Dialogue Foundation in Abuja.<br />
Court restrains FG from deducting<br />
Rivers funds on Mbede, Akiri oil wells<br />
A<br />
BUJA—A Federal<br />
High Court sitting in<br />
Abuja, has restrained the<br />
Federal Government and<br />
her agencies from deducting<br />
funds meant for Rivers<br />
State in respect of the Mbede<br />
and Akiri oil wells.<br />
Trial judge, Justice Tawo<br />
Tawo yesterday, made the<br />
order, while ruling in the<br />
suit the Attorney General<br />
of Rivers State against the<br />
Attorney General of the<br />
Federation, the Attorney<br />
General of Imo State, Accountant<br />
General of the<br />
Federation ,Revenue Mobilisation,<br />
Allocation and<br />
Fiscal Commission and the<br />
Minister of Finance .<br />
The Attorney General of<br />
Rivers State moved the<br />
Originating Summons :<br />
“Pursuant to order 3 Rule<br />
6, 7, and 9 of the Federal<br />
High (Civil Procedures)<br />
Rules 2019 Section 7 of the<br />
National Boundary Commission<br />
(Establishment)<br />
Act Section 162 of the constitution<br />
of the Federal Republic<br />
of Nigeria 1999 (as<br />
amended) and the inherent<br />
jurisdiction of the Federal<br />
High Court as preserved<br />
by Section 6 (6) of<br />
the 1999 Constitution.”<br />
The immediate past Imo<br />
State governor, Emeka Ihedioha<br />
had written to the<br />
President demanding revenue<br />
from the Federal Account<br />
in respect of the Mbede<br />
and Akiri oil wells. The<br />
Rivers State Government<br />
went to court over the matter.<br />
The court declared that<br />
Rivers State Government<br />
was entitled to continue to<br />
receive and retain revenue<br />
from the Federation Account<br />
and other accounts<br />
maintained for the purpose<br />
in respect of revenue derived<br />
from oil wells within<br />
the territory of Rivers State<br />
based on the 13percent<br />
By Innocent<br />
Anaba<br />
A leading BUJA—SEVEN<br />
civil society<br />
organisations in the country<br />
have petitioned the National<br />
Human Rights Commission,<br />
NHRC, over the<br />
three anti-media, anti free<br />
speech bills before the National<br />
Assembly, arguing<br />
that the bills seek to curtail<br />
constitutionally guaranteed<br />
rights of Nigerians.<br />
They are urging NHRC<br />
to issue an advisory to the<br />
executive and legislature<br />
on the inconsistencies of<br />
such legislations with constitutionally<br />
guaranteed<br />
human rights and international<br />
human rights norms<br />
to which Nigeria is a state<br />
party.<br />
The groups, Amnesty International,<br />
Nigeria; Centre<br />
for Information Technology<br />
and Development; Girl<br />
Child Africa; Enough is<br />
Enough; Say No Campaign<br />
Nigeria; Spaces for<br />
Change; and Yiaga Africa<br />
in the petition, said “ As a<br />
group, we are concerned<br />
with these deliberate attempts<br />
by the state to close<br />
the democratic space and<br />
prevent every person from<br />
exercising their constitu-<br />
derivation formula currently<br />
applied by the 4th defendant.<br />
The court further declared<br />
that the Rivers State Government<br />
(plaintiff on record)<br />
was entitled to receive and<br />
retain revenue from the Federal<br />
Account as provided for<br />
under the 1999 Constitution<br />
(as amended) in respect of<br />
revenue drive from the oil<br />
wells generally referred to<br />
as Akiri and Mbede oil<br />
wells located within the Rivers<br />
State territory.<br />
Justice Tawo held that the<br />
President and the Government<br />
of Nigeria, represented<br />
by the 1st defendant on<br />
record, were not entitled to<br />
give directives to the 4th<br />
defendant with regard to<br />
distribution of public revenue<br />
from the distributiable<br />
pool account, including the<br />
Federal Account and that<br />
they are not entitled to interfere<br />
in any manner<br />
whatsoever with the distribution<br />
of public revenue<br />
from the distributable pool<br />
account, including the Federation<br />
Account.<br />
The Court held that the<br />
Government of Imo State<br />
(represented by the 2nd<br />
Defendant) is not entitled<br />
to alter or cause to be altered<br />
, to deny or cause to<br />
be denied, whether<br />
through the instrumentality<br />
of the President of the<br />
Federal Republic of Nigeria<br />
or the Government of the<br />
Federal Rebulic of Nigeria<br />
(represented by the 1st Defendant)<br />
or any manner<br />
howsoever the revenue due<br />
to the Rivers State Government<br />
in accordance with the<br />
principle and formula for<br />
distributing public revenue<br />
for the time being<br />
under the Constitution of<br />
the Federal Republic of<br />
Nigeria.<br />
CSOs petition NHRC over 3 anti-media, antifree<br />
speech bills at NASS<br />
tionally guaranteed rights.<br />
In addition to these bills,<br />
NGOs have come under<br />
serious attacks by the government<br />
for providing<br />
oversight on public governance<br />
and defending citizens’<br />
rights.<br />
“We are of the firm view<br />
that the Protection from Internet<br />
Falsehood and Manipulation<br />
Bill (‘Social<br />
Media Bill’) is not reasonably<br />
justifiable in a democratic<br />
society, even though<br />
the government’s purpose<br />
may be legitimate and substantial,<br />
that purpose cannot<br />
be pursued by means<br />
that broadly stifle fundamental<br />
personal liberties.<br />
“We strongly believe that<br />
the Bill contravenes extant<br />
constitutional provisions<br />
that guarantee right to freedom<br />
of expression. Restrictions<br />
that undermine the<br />
ability to receive and exchange<br />
information undermine<br />
the fundamental human<br />
rights provided in the<br />
1999 Constitution (as<br />
amended) and International<br />
treaties that Nigeria has<br />
agreed to be bound by.<br />
“Similarly, the Civil Society<br />
Regulatory Commission<br />
Bill (‘NGO Bill’) is inconsistent<br />
with the 1999 Constitution<br />
of (as amended)<br />
and other national laws.<br />
The Bill falls significantly<br />
short of international human<br />
rights norms governing<br />
the rights to freedom of<br />
association and peaceful<br />
assembly, as provided in,<br />
Section 40 of the Constitution<br />
of Nigeria 1999 (as<br />
amended), Articles 21 and<br />
22 of the International Covenant<br />
on Civil and Political<br />
Rights, ICCPR, and Articles<br />
10 and 11 of the African<br />
Charter on Human and<br />
Peoples’ Rights to which<br />
Nigeria is a state party.<br />
“Section 4 of the Independent<br />
National Commission<br />
for the Prohibition of Hate<br />
Speeches Bill (‘Hate<br />
Speech Bill’) also prohibits<br />
abusive, threatening and<br />
insulting behavior, which is<br />
open to very wide interpretation.<br />
The nebulous and<br />
vague nature of its provisions<br />
and unfettered discretion<br />
afforded government<br />
agencies pose significant<br />
danger to the constitutionally<br />
guaranteed freedom<br />
of expression (Section<br />
39 of the Constitution of<br />
Nigeria), and the rule of<br />
law in general. These provisions<br />
would pose a threat<br />
to critical opinion, satire,<br />
public dialogue, and political<br />
commentary.<br />
Reps probe banks over alleged<br />
illegal, excess charges<br />
By Levinus<br />
Nwabughiogu<br />
ABUJA—HOUSE of<br />
Representatives yesterday<br />
resolved to investigate<br />
some commercial<br />
banks over alleged illegal<br />
and excess charges on public<br />
and private accounts.<br />
The House said the act<br />
amounted to outright stealing<br />
of customers' money,<br />
fearing that it may have<br />
been a victim.<br />
The resolution came on<br />
the heels of a motion under<br />
matters of urgent public<br />
importance moved by<br />
Yususf Adamu Gagdi<br />
(Plateau, APC).<br />
Moving the motion, Gag-<br />
By Peter Duru<br />
M AKURDI—THE<br />
Middle Belt<br />
Movement for Justice and<br />
Peace, MBMJP, yesterday<br />
appealed to President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari to include<br />
Benue State in his<br />
recently approved National<br />
Humanitarian Coordination<br />
Committee, HCC.<br />
The MBMJP said it was<br />
important to have Benue<br />
just like Borno, Adamawa<br />
and Yobe states in the committee<br />
given the over<br />
500,000 Internally Displaced<br />
Persons, IDPs, currently<br />
taking refuge in<br />
makeshift camps across the<br />
state following the armed<br />
herdsmen invasion of parts<br />
of the state that claimed<br />
thousands of lives.<br />
Convener of MBMJP, Joe<br />
Bukka who made the appeal<br />
yesterday in Makurdi<br />
commended President Buhari<br />
for coming up with the<br />
committee noting that it<br />
would add impetus to addressing<br />
the humanitarian<br />
di said the experiences of<br />
individuals, public institutions<br />
and corporate customers<br />
of banks had been<br />
mixed feelings as excess<br />
and illegal debits on accounts<br />
held by customers in<br />
the name of bank charges<br />
had been very disturbing.<br />
He noted that various<br />
charges ranging from Automated<br />
Teller Machine,<br />
ATM, charges, account<br />
maintenance fee card<br />
maintenance charges SMS<br />
notification charges, token<br />
maintenance fees to stamp<br />
duty fees amongst others<br />
ha been sources of worry to<br />
customers across the country.<br />
National Humanitarian<br />
Coordination Committee: Middle<br />
Belt group makes case for<br />
Benue<br />
By Francis Efe<br />
WARRI—THE Man<br />
aging Director of<br />
the National Inland Waterways<br />
Authority, Dr.<br />
George Moghalu, said<br />
tha unlicenced boat drivers<br />
will not be allowed to<br />
operate any boat or vessel<br />
in the country.<br />
Moghalu spoke in Warri,<br />
Delta State when he<br />
Commissioned a slipway<br />
project at the NIWA Warri<br />
Area office.<br />
He said the decision<br />
was necessary to protect<br />
lives and property of Nigerians,<br />
stressing that<br />
most boat accidents hap-<br />
crisis in parts of the country.<br />
According to Bukka,<br />
“what the President has<br />
done is novel and it should<br />
be commended by all. It<br />
will add impetus to the<br />
country’s quest to tackle the<br />
humanitarian crisis we<br />
have in the North East,<br />
West and the North Central<br />
particularly Benue<br />
State.<br />
“We know that Benue is<br />
the epicenter of herdsmen<br />
killing in the country with<br />
closed to 2,000 persons<br />
killed in the last two years,<br />
over 500,000 displaced<br />
from their ancestral homes<br />
and forced to live in makeshift<br />
camps. That is the<br />
more reason why we want<br />
to appeal to President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari to include<br />
Benue in the committee<br />
given the humanitarian<br />
situation in the state and<br />
the fact that just like Borno,<br />
Adamawa and Yobe, the<br />
humanitarian crisis in Benue<br />
state is quite alarming.”<br />
NIWA A bans unlicenced boat<br />
drivers from operating in<br />
Nigeria<br />
…Commissions slipway in Warri<br />
pen because some boat<br />
drivers were not licensed<br />
to drive.<br />
He also said that NIWA<br />
is also banning night<br />
traveling in the Waterways<br />
since most accident<br />
recorded so far also occured<br />
at night.<br />
On the issue of shallow<br />
waterways in the country,<br />
NIWA boss assured that<br />
the agency was on top of<br />
the matter as they are<br />
planning to procure more<br />
dredgers to dredge the<br />
more than ten thousand<br />
kilometers of water channels<br />
in the country.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020—15<br />
Immunity for Senate President, Speakers'll<br />
amount to political, administrative<br />
absurdity — Ohanaeze<br />
By Peter Okutu<br />
ABAKALIKI —THE<br />
apex Igbo sociocultural<br />
organisation,<br />
Ohanaeze Ndigbo,<br />
yesterday, described the<br />
move by the House of<br />
Representatives to ensure<br />
immunity for the Senate<br />
President, Speaker of the<br />
House of Representatives<br />
and Speakers of 36 houses<br />
of Assembly as an action<br />
that will amount to political<br />
and adminiatrative<br />
absurdity.<br />
In a statement by the<br />
group’s National Publicity<br />
Secretary, Prince Uche<br />
Achi-Okpaga, Ohanaeze<br />
Ndigbo added: “In the first<br />
place, the concept of<br />
immunity is likened to the<br />
excellency status of the<br />
British crown. In the eye of<br />
the law, the Queen of<br />
England does no wrong.<br />
She is the symbol of British<br />
Authority.<br />
“Flowing from the above,<br />
it is apt to say that the<br />
symbol of authority in the<br />
federation is the chief<br />
executive which is the<br />
President.<br />
“The legislature is meant<br />
to make laws for the<br />
smooth operation of the<br />
government and to check<br />
the excesses of the<br />
executive.<br />
“To arrogate the immunity<br />
clause to the legislative<br />
heads at the federal and<br />
state levels is to water down<br />
the concept.<br />
“It is worrisome and<br />
opprobrious that the<br />
legislature could conceive<br />
such idea because while<br />
the legislature performs<br />
oversight functions over the<br />
executive, the executive<br />
does not enjoy such<br />
constitutional rights over<br />
the legislature.<br />
“Simply put, such idea<br />
will amount to political and<br />
administrative absurdity.”<br />
COMMISSIONING: From left,Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Debo Ogundoyin; Senator<br />
Kola Balogun; Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, Senator<br />
Suleiman Abdulgwari; representative of Oyo State Governor and Secretary to the State Government,<br />
Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun, and Chairman, Independent Corruption Practices and others Related<br />
Offences Commission, ICPC, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, during the commissioning of ICPC Oyo State<br />
Office complex, in Ibadan.<br />
Insecurity: Mbaka absolves Buhari of blame<br />
By Dennis Agbo<br />
ENUGU—<br />
FIERY<br />
Catholic priest and the<br />
Spiritual Director of the<br />
Adoration Ministry,<br />
Enugu, AMEN, Rev. Fr.<br />
Ejike Mbaka, has absolved<br />
President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari of being completely<br />
responsible for the<br />
worsened insecurity in<br />
Nigeria.<br />
According to Mbaka,<br />
Nigeria’s problems,<br />
including insecurity had<br />
deteriorated earlier before<br />
Buhari assumed<br />
leadership of the country,<br />
adding that those who plot<br />
to destabilise Nigeria will<br />
receive the worst hit.<br />
Mbaka made the<br />
statements in Enugu<br />
during his homily to<br />
celebrate the Ash<br />
Wednesday, marking the<br />
beginning of lent.<br />
In his ‘state of the nation’<br />
message, Mbaka berated<br />
those he said were cajoling<br />
the Buhari administration<br />
for the harrowing<br />
experience Nigerians are<br />
currently passing through,<br />
without going back to<br />
history.<br />
He insisted that the<br />
current political, economic<br />
and insecurity problems did<br />
not start with Buhari’s<br />
administration, and<br />
lambasted what he<br />
described as wasteful 16<br />
years administration of the<br />
People’s Democratic Party,<br />
PDP.<br />
He maintained that the<br />
PDP contributed<br />
immensely to Nigeria’s<br />
present adversities.<br />
Mbaka said: “When I was<br />
shouting it so many years<br />
ago, that with the style of<br />
governance in the country,<br />
time shall come when<br />
people will be running<br />
helter skelter, now it is<br />
Uzodinma signs Imo Revenue Administration<br />
Law 2020<br />
GOVERNOR Hope<br />
Uzodinma, yesterday,<br />
assented to the amendment<br />
to Imo State Revenue<br />
Administration Law 2020 as<br />
part of efforts to boost the<br />
economy of the state.<br />
He said the law will assist<br />
in improving the revenue<br />
base of the state by closing<br />
revenue leakages<br />
occasioned by the<br />
engagement of multiple<br />
consultants who rip-off the<br />
state.<br />
Expressing his views on<br />
the operational status of the<br />
law before the amendment,<br />
Uzodimma noted: “Before<br />
now, the law provides for<br />
consultants that collect 10<br />
per cent of the total revenue,<br />
10 per cent goes to the<br />
Board of Internal Revenue<br />
happening, churches<br />
protesting everywhere.<br />
“Everything Buhari,<br />
everything Buhari. Our<br />
problem is immemorial. I<br />
am not trying to exonerate<br />
him totally but it’s unfair not<br />
to go back to the history of<br />
how our past leaders were<br />
only concentrating on<br />
looting our funds, thereby<br />
leaving us in this mess.<br />
"If we have had a type of<br />
Buhari before, our problems<br />
wouldn’t have reached this<br />
(BIR), 20 per cent to<br />
ENTRACO and 10 per cent<br />
to OCDA.<br />
"At the end of the month,<br />
50 per cent of the IGR is<br />
gone, leaving the state with<br />
only 50 per cent of the<br />
internally generated<br />
revenue collected.”<br />
This, he said, is in<br />
violation of the provisions of<br />
the 1999 constitution as<br />
amended.<br />
The governor said the<br />
amendment he assented to,<br />
empowers the Board of<br />
Internal Revenue to spend<br />
five per cent of the Internally<br />
Generated Revenue, IGR,<br />
for the payment of salaries<br />
of their workers and other<br />
personnel services. This<br />
expenditure, the governor<br />
said, will be subjected to<br />
appropriation by the State<br />
House of Assembly.<br />
climax. Look at the efforts<br />
he is making in the<br />
transport sector; road<br />
constructions, which is<br />
unprecedented in the<br />
history of this nation.<br />
“In area of economy, there<br />
is agricultural revolution<br />
going on, N-power<br />
programme to our youths,<br />
scarcity of fuel is now a<br />
thing of the past, all to<br />
ameliorate our suffering."<br />
Uzodimma explained<br />
that, with the amendment,<br />
the state now stands to<br />
gain more as 95 per cent<br />
of the total IGR will go<br />
directly to the state coffers<br />
as against the 50% which<br />
was the old order.<br />
Also speaking, the<br />
Speaker, Imo State House<br />
of Assembly, Chiji Collins,<br />
said the law before its<br />
amendment, which is<br />
similar to Lagos State<br />
Revenue Law, had not<br />
benefitted the state in terms<br />
of its operation. He<br />
expressed dismay that half<br />
of what is generated as IGR<br />
goes to consultants at the<br />
detriment of the state.<br />
The amendment, the<br />
Speaker said, will reduce<br />
the volume of money that the<br />
state loses through<br />
consultancy.<br />
2nd Niger Bridge: Construction<br />
work forces 4,200 homes<br />
into darkness in Anambra<br />
By Prince Okafor<br />
FOLLOWING<br />
the<br />
construction of the 2nd<br />
Niger Bridge, activities of<br />
Julius Berger Plc, along Atani<br />
road, in Anambra State, have<br />
affected the underground<br />
cable powering Enugu<br />
Electricity Distribution Plc,<br />
EEDC’s Iyiowa 11KV feeder,<br />
thereby forcing over 4,200<br />
households into darkness.<br />
This development has<br />
subjected businesses,<br />
according to residents of<br />
Iyiowa and Odekpe areas of<br />
Anambra State, into untold<br />
hardship in the past 18 days.<br />
It was gathered that the<br />
incident occurred on<br />
February 7, 2020, and since<br />
then, the Iyiowa 11KV feeder<br />
has been out of supply due<br />
to the underground cables<br />
punctured in many sections<br />
by the heavy equipment<br />
belonging to Julius Berger.<br />
While briefing newsmen<br />
onthe development, Head of<br />
Communications, EEDC,<br />
Mr. Emeka Ezeh,yesterday,<br />
said: “The construction<br />
company embarked on<br />
excavation of the cable<br />
corridor without notifying<br />
EEDC to assist by granting<br />
outage or possibly deploying<br />
its cable locator equipment,<br />
to properly identify the<br />
location of the cable.<br />
“Usually, before such a<br />
project is embarked on, the<br />
contractor is expected to<br />
engage EEDC to ensure<br />
safety precautionary<br />
measures are in place and<br />
to also provide technical<br />
assistance by assigning its<br />
staff familiar with the<br />
network, to ensure proper<br />
management of the electrical<br />
asset during excavation.<br />
“This negligent by Julius<br />
Berger resulted to damaged<br />
and punctured EEDC cables<br />
by their heavy equipment.<br />
We have had other incidents<br />
in the recent past where their<br />
team or sub-contractors<br />
worked in areas within our<br />
cable corridor at the location<br />
without recourse to our<br />
organization, and also<br />
damaged our cables and<br />
assets.<br />
“We, therefore, use this<br />
medium to appeal for the<br />
understanding of our<br />
esteemed customers affected<br />
by this situation, while we<br />
continue to follow up with<br />
Julius Berger for a lasting<br />
solution to this issue.”<br />
It was also gathered that<br />
EEDC has officially written<br />
to the Management of<br />
Julius Berger PLC on this<br />
development, through its<br />
Commercial Manager,<br />
Bridge Head Yard, Ogbaru,<br />
but still awaiting their<br />
response.<br />
Radiotherapy: Imo doctors disagree<br />
with Reps c'ttee on health<br />
By Chinonso<br />
Alozie<br />
O WERRI—SOME<br />
doctors in Imo<br />
State, yesterday, faulted<br />
the chairman, House of<br />
Representatives<br />
Committee on Health,<br />
Paschal Obi's claim that<br />
in the whole of South<br />
East, South South and<br />
other regions, there is no<br />
functional radiotherapy<br />
facility.<br />
According to them,<br />
there is a functional<br />
radiotherapy machine<br />
for the treatment of<br />
cancer patients in the<br />
South East.<br />
According to one of<br />
them, Dr Austin<br />
Agbahiwe, an<br />
administrator of Imo<br />
International Health<br />
System and operators of<br />
Ikeduru General<br />
Hospital and Cancer<br />
Health Hospital, “You<br />
can see we are into first<br />
class medical practice.<br />
Our niche area is cancer<br />
treatment, management<br />
and handling it.<br />
“I think the lawmaker<br />
is not aware of the<br />
existence<br />
of<br />
radiotherapy machine<br />
and treatment in<br />
Ikeduru. I think he ought<br />
to have known that. He<br />
was the principal<br />
secretary to Governor<br />
Rochas Okorocha when<br />
the memorandum of<br />
understanding was<br />
signed.<br />
“We came in from the<br />
United States of America,<br />
with our equipment and<br />
started work. He knows<br />
that there is high<br />
demand, a supplydemand<br />
gap in terms of<br />
radiotherapy treatment<br />
for cancer patients. And<br />
also, there is dearth of it<br />
in Nigeria more or less.<br />
“Some of the health<br />
services we render<br />
include the orthopedic<br />
clinic. We have the<br />
cancer unit here with the<br />
licensed machine to<br />
operate on the patients<br />
at different stages of the<br />
cancer.<br />
“The message is that<br />
we have a functional<br />
radiotherapy machine<br />
and we run full courses<br />
for the treatment of any<br />
type of cancer here in<br />
Ikeduru and we are the<br />
only one for the<br />
treatment of cancer in<br />
the whole of South East<br />
and South South.<br />
“And for the cancer, we<br />
also offer treatment on<br />
detoxification and<br />
rejuvenation, radiation<br />
therapy, chemotherapy,<br />
surgery and palliative<br />
care. The radiation<br />
therapy equipment is<br />
powered by solar and<br />
wind power and will be<br />
available for 24/7/365<br />
days of the year.”
16—Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
WORKSHOP: From<br />
left— Product Manager,<br />
Canva (Australia),<br />
Robyn King; SIP Fellow<br />
and Founder/CEO,<br />
RenewDrive Solutions,<br />
Babajide Oluwase;<br />
Head, Strategic Brand<br />
Management, Union<br />
Bank, Ngozi Akinyele<br />
and Manager,<br />
Programmes, LEAP<br />
Africa, Olusegun Alimi<br />
at LEAP Africa's 2020<br />
Social Innovators<br />
Programme Workshop<br />
in partnership with<br />
Union Bank in Lagos.<br />
Tension in Edo community over alleged<br />
installation of monarch<br />
By Ozioruva Aliu<br />
BENIN CITY—THERE<br />
is tension in Okpella<br />
community in Etsako East<br />
Local Government Area of<br />
Edo State over the<br />
purported installation of<br />
Mr Mika Sado as the new<br />
Okuokpellagbe of Okpella<br />
almost one year after the<br />
demise of Alhaji Yesufu<br />
Dirisu.<br />
Addressing a press<br />
conference at the residence<br />
of Chief Acheku Ogene<br />
who is the most senior chief<br />
of Oteku kindred which had<br />
elders, women, young<br />
people including all the<br />
village heads of Iddo-<br />
Okpella community, Jibril<br />
said there are pending legal<br />
issues that needed to be<br />
sorted out before a new king<br />
would be installed in the<br />
community and that by the<br />
action of Sado, he has<br />
disqualified him<strong>self</strong> from<br />
being a contender in the<br />
vacant stool having gone<br />
against laid down rules and<br />
procedures.<br />
He said: “The entire village of<br />
Iddo seize this opportunity to<br />
state unequivocally that the<br />
aforementioned installation was<br />
bogus, unrepresentative and<br />
downright illegal.<br />
“For the benefit of those who<br />
may not know, there are two<br />
primary issues both pending<br />
court’s determination to be<br />
sorted out before the choice of<br />
successor to the kingship of<br />
Okpella. First, it is yet to be<br />
agreed which of the two<br />
communities of Iddo and<br />
Ukhomunyio is to be granted<br />
the right to provide the next<br />
successor. Second, it remains<br />
BredHub seeks introduction of artificial<br />
intelligence skill in school curriculum<br />
By Gabriel Olawale<br />
LAGOS—BLISS Team<br />
Educational Services,<br />
BredHub has called on<br />
federal government to<br />
introduce artificial intelligence<br />
skill in school curriculum as<br />
part of measure towards<br />
preparing this generation for<br />
the future.<br />
Speaking ahead of Train-<br />
The-Trainer program slated for<br />
13th - 18th of March in Lagos,<br />
General Manager, Bliss<br />
Team Educational Services,<br />
Christian Chime said that<br />
government need to<br />
champion initiative that<br />
introduce children and youths<br />
to the world of innovation<br />
unsettled which of the two varied<br />
traditional institutions is rightly<br />
vested with the responsibility of<br />
constituting kingmakers”<br />
He said actions taken outside<br />
these legal issues cannot stand<br />
and seen as “taunting the<br />
peaceful co-existence of our<br />
community to which we expect<br />
that government take immediate<br />
stand against these criminal<br />
elements for rousing tensions.”<br />
As at the time of this report,<br />
Sado’s line is switched off and he<br />
is yet to respond to a text message<br />
sent to him.<br />
Food, other commodities' shortage hit Edo IDP camp<br />
BENIN<br />
CITY—<br />
SHORTAGE of food<br />
and other essential<br />
commodities have hit the<br />
Internally Displaced<br />
Persons, IDP, camp in<br />
Ohogua, Ovia North East<br />
Local Government Area<br />
which is housing about<br />
4,000 inmates mostly<br />
people displaced by Boko<br />
Haram and other displaced<br />
persons.<br />
Coordinator of the Centre,<br />
International Christian<br />
Centre for Missions,<br />
ICCM, Pastor Folorunsho<br />
Solomon stated this when<br />
he received the Presiding<br />
Bishop of Jesus Breeds<br />
Ministries Worldwide,<br />
Bishop Omoruyi<br />
Okundaye who visited the<br />
internally displaced<br />
persons to mark his 80th<br />
birthday.<br />
Folorunsho disclosed that every<br />
morning and evening they have<br />
been praying that God should<br />
send people that would bring food<br />
for them and appealed to other<br />
individuals, corporate<br />
organisations, government and<br />
others to come to their aid.<br />
He said: "we thank you for<br />
coming today. We have been<br />
praying day and night for God to<br />
send people that will bring food<br />
for us. Sir, the situation you met<br />
on ground is very critical. They<br />
have not eating meat for a long<br />
time. That is why when they saw<br />
the cow and food stuffs, the<br />
children were singing and<br />
dancing. They were saying 'rice<br />
and stew,' they wanted to fly.<br />
"When you walk in, we know<br />
that God sent you to answer our<br />
prayers. We thank you and we are<br />
very grateful. Despite your busy<br />
through the teaching of Robotics,<br />
Artificial Intelligence, Coding and<br />
Science, Technology, Engineering and<br />
Mathematics (STEM) education.<br />
Chime hinted that, in the<br />
nearest future, the world is<br />
expecting the AI/Robotics to be a<br />
way of life and will play great roles<br />
in human existence on earth.<br />
“Whoever leads in artificial<br />
intelligence in 2030 will rule the<br />
world until 2100.<br />
“We want this skill to be part of<br />
school curriculum, we want every<br />
student to be able to build and<br />
program robotic. Irrespective of<br />
what a child want to become, he<br />
or she need to understand how to<br />
use technology because it is<br />
taking over every industry, it make<br />
process faster in whatever industry<br />
schedule you count it worthy to<br />
see us. Is a great sacrifice you<br />
have made. Sir, we want you to<br />
also be their voice outside this<br />
place. Please be their voice in<br />
every circle," he appealed.<br />
EIGS old<br />
students meet<br />
Saturday<br />
THE annual national<br />
general meeting of<br />
Esie/Iludun Grammar<br />
School Old Students<br />
Association comes up on<br />
Saturday, February 29,<br />
2020.<br />
According to Dr Amos<br />
Biala, the meeting will<br />
take place at Treden<br />
Hotels, Tanke Road,<br />
Ilorin, Kwara State. The<br />
time is 10am.<br />
they are going to find themselves.<br />
“BredHub in partnership<br />
with UBTECH is organizing an<br />
interactive Artificial Intelligence<br />
and Robotics training for<br />
teachers and educators so that<br />
they can educate their<br />
students."<br />
BredHub Coordinator,<br />
Chimezie Ikeme said that<br />
Artificial Intelligence/Robotics<br />
has come to stay and it will soon<br />
disrupt the work space because<br />
the evolutionary trend is<br />
ongoing, “let me tell you, in the<br />
next five to ten years the work<br />
space will be different and some<br />
business will naturally go into<br />
extinction."<br />
On his part, Ekundaye said he<br />
felt his birth day celebration would<br />
not be complete without<br />
identifying and celebrating with<br />
the IDP victims.<br />
Passage<br />
HE death has occured<br />
Tof Princess Martha<br />
Arinade Odubekun, mother<br />
of a former frontline<br />
newscaster with the<br />
Nigerian Television<br />
Authority, NTA, Funmi<br />
Odubekun. She was 90<br />
years old.<br />
A funeral service and<br />
Requiem Mass will be held<br />
in her honour at the Most<br />
Pure Heart of Mary Catholic<br />
Church, Esure in Ijebu<br />
Esure, Ogun State on<br />
Friday, February 28, at 11am<br />
to be followed immediately<br />
by interment.<br />
Reception holds at Bisi<br />
Rodipe Hall, GRA, off<br />
Igbepo Road, Ijebu Ode on<br />
the same day. She is survi<br />
ved by four children, Tosin,<br />
Funmilayo, Francis and<br />
Tokunbo Odubekun<br />
among other relations.<br />
Late Princess Martha<br />
Odubekun.<br />
Dangote Cement's export<br />
affected by border closure<br />
DANGOTE cement said on Wednesday its export<br />
volumes in 2019 had been affected by border<br />
closure in its home country of Nigeria, which is trying<br />
to combat smuggling.<br />
Nigeria closed its land border in August to curb<br />
smuggling of rice and arms, which it says threatens<br />
efforts to boost local production and security and to<br />
generate state revenues through import duties, the<br />
customs service has said.<br />
Moody's cuts 2020 global auto sales<br />
outlook on coronavirus hit<br />
CREDIT ratings agency Moody’s Investor<br />
Service on Wednesday cut its 2020 outlook for<br />
global auto sales, with China taking the biggest hit as<br />
the coronavirus outbreak worsens.<br />
The agency said here it expects global auto sales to<br />
fall 2.5 percent in 2020, more than its previous<br />
estimate of about 0.9 percent drop.<br />
Moody’s retained a “negative” outlook on the sector<br />
and said it expects global sales to rebound only<br />
modestly in 2021 with growth of 1.5 percent.<br />
The agency now expects auto sales in China, the<br />
world’s largest market, to fall 2.9 percent in 2020 from<br />
previous estimates of 1 percent growth.<br />
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers<br />
(CAAM) on Wednesday warned it expects significant<br />
declines in China’s automotive production and sales<br />
levels in February due to the coronavirus outbreak.<br />
European shares tumble to fourmonth<br />
low as virus risks grow<br />
EUROPEAN shares fell to a near four-month low<br />
on Wednesday, as the fast-spreading coronavirus<br />
deepened fears about its impact on global growth with<br />
marquee companies sounding the alarm on earnings.<br />
The main European equity benchmark STOXX 600 tumbled<br />
2.6 percent, marking its first five-day losing streak<br />
since July.<br />
Travel stocks, financial services, chemical and technology<br />
stocks were among the worst hit, falling between 3 percent<br />
and 4 percent.<br />
The losses followed a grim session for Asia and Wall<br />
Street overnight after U.S. health officials warned Americans<br />
should prepare for possible community spread of the<br />
virus that has now hit Spain and dozens of countries from<br />
South Korea to Italy.<br />
The STOXX 600 is trading 9.4 percent below the record<br />
highs hit just last week, while the past four trading sessions<br />
has wiped out about $3 trillion in value of world<br />
Banks struggle to shift<br />
•1.8bn of Iliad loans<br />
BANKS are struggling to shift €1.8bn of loans for<br />
French telecom and fibre network operator group<br />
Iliad, banking sources said.<br />
The loans were launched to back founder and majority<br />
shareholder Xavier Niel’s share buyback, in which he<br />
increased his stake in the company to just over 72%.<br />
The loans are being raised at a holding company level,<br />
so as not to affect leverage at Iliad’s operating company,<br />
where leverage is at around 2.0 times, the sources said.<br />
BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Natixis and Societe<br />
Generale are leading the corporate leveraged financing,<br />
which should have closed for syndication around two<br />
weeks ago, sources said.<br />
“The financing is trundling along slowly in the<br />
background like a slow train to nowhere. It will get there<br />
in the end,” a senior banker said.<br />
South Africa: Economic growth<br />
revised downward to 0.9%<br />
SOUTH Africa's economy is expected to grow<br />
by 0.9% in 2020, National Treasury said on<br />
Wednesday.<br />
This is a downward revision from the 1.7%<br />
projection made in the February 2019 budget.<br />
In its budget review just over a year ago, Treasury<br />
had projected real economic growth of 1.5% in 2019<br />
and 1.7% in 2020.<br />
"We now expect real growth of only 0.3 per cent in<br />
2019 and 0.9 per cent in 2020. In 2019, consolidated<br />
government spending reached a historic high of 36%<br />
of GDP [Gross Domestic Product]," said Treasury in<br />
the current budget review.<br />
Some strories from Reuters
Bayelsa, APC and the limits<br />
of mendacity<br />
LET me state from the outset that I am not<br />
a member of any political party. I used to<br />
have sympathy for the All Progressives Grand<br />
Alliance, APGA, until its leaders destroyed it<br />
for whatever reason prior to the 2019 elections.<br />
I spoke out against the injustice of the Peoples<br />
Democratic Party, PDP, particularly under the<br />
dictatorship of President Olusegun Obasanjo,<br />
who, though democratically elected, wanted<br />
to transmute into a maximum ruler and life<br />
president. In the 2015 elections, I rooted for<br />
Muhammadu Buhari not only because of the<br />
lack-lustre leadership of President Goodluck<br />
Jonathan but also because the PDP had become<br />
arrogant, dictatorial and complacent.<br />
In spite of my preference for Buhari, I wasn’t<br />
a fan of the All Progressives Congress, APC,<br />
the vehicle in which he was chauffeured to<br />
power. And my reason for not being beholden<br />
to the party even then was simple: I could hardly<br />
stand its hypocrisy.<br />
But I must confess that even in my wildest<br />
imagination, I could never have believed that<br />
the party will travel this far on the concourse of<br />
mendacity, particularly since Adams<br />
Oshiomhole, former governor of Edo State,<br />
became its national chairman. The ruling party<br />
has become the standard bearer in<br />
charlatanism and it is horrifying. When it was<br />
first mooted that the APC may approach the<br />
Supreme Court to review its judgement which<br />
sacked its governorship candidate in Bayelsa<br />
State, David Lyon, and his Deputy,<br />
Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, I doubted the<br />
possibility. Here was a political party whose<br />
leaders should apologise to the good people of<br />
Bayelsa State and cover their faces in shame<br />
for trying to legitimise fraud.<br />
There was no doubt that the then Deputy<br />
Governor-elect of Bayelsa, Degi-Eremienyo,<br />
who sadly is a senator of the Federal Republic,<br />
even as I write, has questions to answer. Born<br />
on January 1, 1960, as Degi Biobaragha, he<br />
became known as Adegi Biobakumo in 1984.<br />
By 1990, he mutated to Degi Biobarakuma,<br />
and 12 years later, in 2002, he took up another<br />
identity as Degi Biobarakuma Wangagha.<br />
These different names were unashamedly and<br />
brazenly reflected in<br />
the different<br />
certificates - primary<br />
school leaving<br />
certificate, General<br />
Certificate of<br />
Education, GCE, first<br />
degree, NYSC<br />
discharge certificate<br />
and Master’s degree<br />
certificate -<br />
On what<br />
basis did the<br />
APC seek a<br />
reversal of<br />
the<br />
judgement?<br />
submitted to INEC.<br />
But the Supreme Court said all the certificates<br />
were products of forgery, which violated<br />
Section 182 of the Constitution and, therefore,<br />
having established a case of forgery and<br />
perjury, ruled that his presence on the ticket<br />
was a toxic infection on the validity of the APC<br />
ticket. Simply put, his inclusion vitiated the<br />
ticket. My quarrel with that judgement was<br />
that the Supreme Court did not go the whole<br />
hog to commit Degi-Eremienyo to jail for the<br />
incontrovertible crimes of forgery and perjury<br />
in order to deter others from treading that route.<br />
Gradually, certificate forgery by the Nigerian<br />
political elite is becoming a pandemic and<br />
annulling the fraudulent mandate without<br />
committing the cheat to jail as it is done<br />
elsewhere, though a clear rebuke against<br />
political recklessness and rascality, is a slap<br />
on the wrist.<br />
I also took umbrage here last week at the<br />
shenanigans of Oshiomhole when I wrote that:<br />
“It is nauseating, to say the least, watching<br />
Oshiomhole rather than bowing his head in<br />
shame, double down on his infantile theatrics<br />
by dancing naked in the political arena.” But<br />
it was because the Supreme Court didn’t<br />
complete the job that Oshiomhole had the guts<br />
to pontificate that the verdict “lacks the fruits<br />
of justice” and that “where justice and<br />
the party looked the<br />
other way when Degi-Eremienyo was being<br />
railroaded into government house, the APC<br />
wouldn’t have had the temerity to go back to<br />
the apex court to seek a review of the<br />
judgement. In any other country that is not as<br />
integrity deficient as ours, the leadership of<br />
the APC would have immediately distanced<br />
it<strong>self</strong> from the man who brought so much<br />
shame on the party.<br />
What is even more surprising is that two of<br />
Nigeria’s finest senior lawyers, revered Afe<br />
Babalola and Wole Olanipekun, both Senior<br />
Advocates of Nigeria, SAN, represented the<br />
sacked Degi-Eremienyo and APC in such a<br />
ridiculous legal pursuit. I am not a lawyer,<br />
but did Degi-Eremienyo convince Babalola<br />
that he did not get justice? In which case he<br />
must have presented him the genuine<br />
certificates.<br />
Or am I simply being naïve asking<br />
questions that are never raised between a<br />
lawyer and his client? So, on what basis did<br />
the APC seek a reversal of the judgement? Or<br />
could it be as some people have insinuated<br />
that the APC deliberately went to court<br />
knowing that their request will be thrown out<br />
ignominiously but with the sole purpose of<br />
preempting the learned justices of the<br />
Supreme Court on the Imo governorship<br />
verdict which is also before them for a review?<br />
Gross abuse of the<br />
judicial process<br />
democracy thrive on<br />
the altar of<br />
technicalities, it<br />
constitutes danger to<br />
our democracy.”<br />
Had Degi-Eremienyo<br />
been committed to jail<br />
for the crimes he<br />
committed and all<br />
those who aided and<br />
abetted the commission<br />
of the crime, including<br />
Oshiomhole, who as the<br />
national chairman of<br />
Knowing how mischievous and<br />
disingenuous Nigerian politicians are, that<br />
may not be far from the truth. Already, there<br />
is celebration in certain quarters that with<br />
the pronouncement of Justice Amina Augie<br />
who read the judgement on Wednesday, the<br />
Emeka Ihedioha application against the<br />
Supreme Court elected governor of Imo State,<br />
Hope Uzodinma, will suffer the same fate.<br />
The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a<br />
seven-man panel headed by Justice Sylvester<br />
Ngwuta, dismissed the two different<br />
applications that sought to set aside the<br />
judgement it delivered against David Lyon<br />
and his deputy on February 13.<br />
In the lead verdict that was delivered by<br />
Justice Augie, the court described the fresh<br />
applications that were filed by Lyon and his<br />
deputy as well as by the APC, as “highly<br />
vexatious, frivolous and gross abuse of the<br />
judicial process”. Justice Augie, who said the<br />
application lacked merit, contended that the<br />
decisions of the Supreme Court are final for<br />
all ages and no court on earth can review<br />
them."There must be an end to litigation; even<br />
if we review this judgement, every disaffected<br />
litigant will bring similar applications and<br />
the finality of Supreme Court judgements will<br />
be lost.” But the Justice also said something<br />
important and very instructive, which is, the<br />
applicants failed to point out errors in the<br />
judgement they were seeking to reverse.<br />
Awarding, justifiably, a N60 million cost<br />
against Lyon, Degi-Eremieoyo and APC to be<br />
paid in favour of Governor Douye Diri; his<br />
Deputy, Lawrence Ewhruojakpo; and the PDP;<br />
the Supreme Court, which frowned that the<br />
applications were aimed at “desecrating the<br />
sanctity of the court”, ordered that the cost<br />
should be paid by respective counsel to the<br />
applicants for bringing such frivolous<br />
applications on behalf of their clients.<br />
That is instructive. I wonder why Babalola<br />
would allow his name to be dragged into the<br />
APC mess. For those dancing that it is also all<br />
over in Imo State, we will wait to see what<br />
happens on March 2. But they fail to<br />
acknowledge that unlike the Bayelsa ruling,<br />
there are a thousand and one errors in the<br />
Imo verdict, which the Supreme Court<br />
Justices are already mindful of. Besides, it<br />
also bears restating that Ihedioha is not being<br />
accused of forgery and perjury. Instead, it is<br />
those awarded victory on the altar of<br />
fabrication and deceit that should be wary.<br />
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 17<br />
FOR THE RECORD<br />
Letter to young Nigerians: Facing the<br />
new decade (2)<br />
The first part of this convocation lecture<br />
presented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo<br />
was published in Vanguard, yesterday<br />
By PROF YEMI OSINBAJO<br />
MANY times they do not have access to<br />
cutting-edge innovations and<br />
inventions in farm inputs and farming<br />
techniques. Those who can add value to the<br />
farmers’ harvest become wealthier than the<br />
farmer. So the growers of the raw materials<br />
are the weakest in the value chain and the<br />
poorest.<br />
For example, the man who makes<br />
chocolates from cocoa is bound to be richer<br />
than the cocoa farmer. He has added value to<br />
the raw cocoa by processing and designing<br />
and packing the chocolates in appealing<br />
wrappers. By adding value, he will create more<br />
jobs and more wealth. So, while we will always<br />
need the traditional professionals, doctors,<br />
lawyers, accountants and bankers, those<br />
adding value to their services will make more<br />
money than they can. So those developing<br />
Artificial Intelligence for giving legal advice<br />
or medical diagnoses, or accounting or<br />
banking will be more successful than the<br />
professionals themselves.<br />
So, the future of banking and financial<br />
services doesn’t belong to banks or bankers as<br />
we know them today, it may well belong to the<br />
FinTechs and other technology-enabled<br />
solutions. For example, today we have KiaKia,<br />
which uses Artificial Intelligence and<br />
algorithms, to process loan requests in<br />
minutes and grant credit without the hassles<br />
of regular banks. Besides, there is Kuda Bank,<br />
for example, a bank without a single physical<br />
branch with all its features built into a mobile<br />
application. There is also Eyowo, another<br />
example of a payment services company<br />
which is designed for identifying, enumerating<br />
and paying to and collecting repayments from<br />
2.2 million TraderMoni and MarketMoni<br />
beneficiaries.<br />
They have revolutionised financial inclusion,<br />
making and receiving payments from the farthest<br />
parts of Nigeria. There is also another<br />
company called<br />
Paystack, whose<br />
founders are just<br />
over (the age of)<br />
30. They have<br />
developed<br />
applications<br />
that make it<br />
easier to make<br />
payments across<br />
the world. There<br />
is also<br />
InvestBamboo,<br />
for example,<br />
which was<br />
The future of<br />
banking and<br />
financial services<br />
doesn’t belong to<br />
banks or bankers as<br />
we know them<br />
today, it may well<br />
belong to the<br />
FinTechs and other<br />
technologyenabled<br />
solutions<br />
started by two<br />
26-year-olds, and offers new ways for you to<br />
save money and invest in stocks, all from a<br />
single application.<br />
Others have developed technologies that<br />
make it possible for you to invest in a farm<br />
without ever seeing the farm. Two Nigerian<br />
companies again, ThriveAgric and<br />
Farmcrowdy, set up by young Nigerians under<br />
the age of 35, are great examples of the service<br />
providers that help small-scale farmers scaleup<br />
and access valuable training; and all of<br />
these done through crowdfunding.<br />
In the world of medicine and healthcare,<br />
there is LifeBank, owned by a young Nigerian<br />
lady. This is a health tech startup, which also<br />
uses drone technology to facilitate blood<br />
delivery to various health centres. We could<br />
highlight another called 54 gene, a firm that<br />
is harnessing genomic data from African DNA<br />
to revolutionise the drug industry, and change<br />
the future of medicine. Even in the usually<br />
conservative legal profession, which I am the<br />
chairman, entrepreneurs are disrupting old<br />
trends. There is a digital legal research<br />
company called Law Pavilion, the company’s<br />
digital tools help lawyers to do legal research<br />
quickly and efficiently and even answer legal<br />
questions. Judges and lawyers subscribe to it<br />
and the usage is a very lucrative value<br />
addition to legal practice. Yet the founder and<br />
CEO of the company is not even a lawyer.<br />
So today there are opportunities for<br />
entrepreneurs to build their businesses around<br />
•Vice President Yemi Osinbajo<br />
traditional professions without being professionals<br />
themselves. The most widely read<br />
online publications are neither owned nor run<br />
by trained journalists. Some of us are familiar<br />
with the news aggregation platform called<br />
Nairaland which was started by two Obafemi<br />
Awolowo University students while still in<br />
school. Today it is one of the most successful<br />
online platforms we have. Even many of the<br />
most successful online advertising or PR companies<br />
have no formal training in these disciplines,<br />
most are <strong>self</strong>-thought. My nephew, who<br />
is a lawyer, is establishing an organic farm<br />
and poultry after taking lessons online. His<br />
only knowledge is derived from taking a few<br />
classes from somebody in Kano State offering<br />
online training for people interested in<br />
poultry farming.<br />
But let me direct your minds to the new areas<br />
for job opportunities being created today. Data<br />
Science is one big area. Currently, we leave<br />
vast amounts of personal data online and in<br />
the near future, companies will need data<br />
scientists to go through it all and generate<br />
answers to business questions and make<br />
recommendations based on their findings.<br />
Many businesses already spend time and<br />
money going through people’s data so that<br />
they can sell their products. This is a new area<br />
of opportunities for jobs.<br />
A big area today is Content Production - 3D/<br />
2D animation, Virtual Effects and Special<br />
Effects, as well as Augmented Reality and<br />
Virtual Reality. The use of animation in<br />
education, entertainment and media is<br />
growing in leaps and bounds. Those who can<br />
create content with animation are being and<br />
will be much sought after in the years to come.<br />
Recent<br />
survey<br />
According to a recent survey by the US Bureau<br />
of Labour Statistics, multimedia artists and<br />
animators are among the highest-paid within<br />
the US workforce. This has translated to more<br />
jobs for animators in emerging economies such<br />
as India, Vietnam and now Nigeria. The<br />
average pay of a 3D animator in Nigeria who<br />
has just started out after learning his trade<br />
could be in the region of N300,000 - N500,000<br />
monthly. In our training of N-Power<br />
beneficiaries, we set aside a fair amount of<br />
money to train animators. We have carried<br />
out two sets of training; one in the North and<br />
one in the South of Nigeria. In total, we have<br />
trained over 25,000 young men and women<br />
in animation.<br />
Also, remember that content is becoming<br />
more in demand with the streaming wars that<br />
have engulfed Netflix, Apple, Disney Plus,<br />
HBO and only recently, Airtel, the<br />
telecommunications provider, launched its<br />
own streaming service in Nigeria.<br />
Then we have the whole range of<br />
Cybersecurity, another big area of opportunity.<br />
Today, there are new opportunities for<br />
cybersecurity specialists. How is that? With<br />
each technological advance comes the implied<br />
addition of more security risks just to store<br />
and keep the information secure. Therefore,<br />
cybersecurity will continue to be a growing<br />
sector. In this sense, each country will have its<br />
own specific regulations just as we have and<br />
many other international regulations, which<br />
will ensure that professionals with an advanced<br />
technological background capable of<br />
nullifying new threats posed to both<br />
technology and people, will be in demand all<br />
the time.<br />
Continues online<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K
18 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
NIGERIANS have received with<br />
mixed reactions the Bill which seeks<br />
to rehabilitate “repentant” fighters of<br />
Islamist terrorist groups such as Boko<br />
Haram, Islamic State in West Africa<br />
Province, ISWAP, and others<br />
currently waging insurgency wars<br />
against the country.<br />
The Bill entitled: “National Agency<br />
for the Education, Rehabilitation and<br />
De-radicalisation of Repentant<br />
Insurgents in Nigeria” is being<br />
sponsored by former Governor of<br />
Yobe State, Senator Ibrahim Geidam<br />
(Yobe East Senatorial District). It<br />
passed the first reading on Thursday,<br />
February 20, 2020 at the Senate.<br />
While the Christian Association of<br />
Nigeria, CAN, and the Chibok<br />
Community, among others,<br />
condemned it, the Nigerian Supreme<br />
Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA,<br />
welcomed it.<br />
This Bill is obviously a copycat<br />
attempt to secure for the insurgents,<br />
their sponsors and supporters the<br />
Suspend the Boko Haram rehab Bill<br />
same soft landing that the late<br />
President Umar Yar’Adua offered<br />
former militants in August 2009,<br />
which led to the cessation of hostilities<br />
in the oil-rich Niger Delta. The<br />
Federal Government also packaged<br />
a rehabilitation programme which has<br />
helped the repentant militants to<br />
become useful and peaceful members<br />
of society.<br />
Many Nigerians question this<br />
package for terrorists who are<br />
ideological sworn enemies of the<br />
system and the Constitution that bind<br />
us together as people of a diverse<br />
political entity; criminals who for 11<br />
years have slaughtered thousands of<br />
innocent Nigerians, displacing over<br />
2.5 million people in the process.<br />
How do our fighting troops feel<br />
when they see those who killed their<br />
friends and comrades suddenly<br />
become the darlings of the ruling<br />
establishment and being pampered<br />
with special care which the lawabiding<br />
members of society are<br />
denied?<br />
How do we even determine that<br />
someone who surrendered in battle<br />
has “repented”? Shakespeare says in<br />
Macbeth: “There is no art to find the<br />
mind’s construction on the face”.<br />
Have the Nigerian Army and<br />
politicians pushing for this<br />
preposterous soft landing for<br />
“repented” insurgents discovered this<br />
art?<br />
The fear among well-meaning<br />
Nigerians is that granting the<br />
terrorists this package at this time<br />
when the insurgencies and<br />
criminalities are gathering more<br />
steam is a sign of weakness and<br />
surrender by the Nigerian state to the<br />
perceived superior firepower of the<br />
enemies. It is a cowering gesture.<br />
What stops these terrorists from<br />
surrendering, receiving this undue<br />
pampering only to re-launch their<br />
campaign of tears, sorrow and blood?<br />
Are we not merely recycling these<br />
terrorists, thus ensuring that the war<br />
will never end?<br />
We believe it is too early and foolish<br />
to offer the terrorists an olive branch<br />
they have not asked for or deserve.<br />
It is only when they are defeated that<br />
we can offer some amnesty and rehab<br />
to those who deserve it. Those who<br />
must pay for their evils against the<br />
nation must be made to pay.<br />
The Bill must be stepped down.<br />
More Marlians than Nigerians<br />
By CALEB ADEBAYO<br />
TOWARDS the end of 2019, a new<br />
movement began to emerge in<br />
Nigeria, primarily among the young<br />
adults. This movement was<br />
characterised by a ruthless disregard for<br />
authority, morals or acceptable<br />
behaviour and a keen inclination<br />
towards taking of drugs, advanced fee<br />
fraud, societal disobedience and<br />
uncouth language.<br />
They called themselves “Marlians”,<br />
apparently in support of the popular<br />
musician, Naira Marley, who had<br />
gained remarkable fame during the year.<br />
In no time, the Marlian movement had<br />
gained ground, with students of all<br />
levels and other young people<br />
identifying themselves as Marlians who<br />
had “No Mannaz”.<br />
The musician’s songs could also be<br />
heard playing everywhere on the streets<br />
and his disciples grew at a rapid rate,<br />
giving him a cult-like following from<br />
millions of Nigerians. In fact, he has<br />
been attributed as the president of the<br />
Marlian movement. It is also during this<br />
period that Nigeria marked 10 years of<br />
bloody attacks by Boko Haram, with over<br />
37, 500 people killed since 2011. It also<br />
marked five years since the Chibok girls<br />
kidnap by the group which has at least<br />
100 of these girls still in captivity.<br />
Things continued to escalate in the<br />
North-East, until July last year when<br />
Boko Haram unleashed terror in<br />
Nganzai and killed at least 65 people,<br />
with about 10 people hospitalised.<br />
Various other Boko Haram attacks<br />
continued throughout the year, and in<br />
December they returned to a town near<br />
Chibok to both kill and abduct.<br />
In October, we had the Onitsha market<br />
fire from the explosion of an oil tanker.<br />
The fire which started about two hours<br />
after the oil tanker spill raged for hours<br />
and killed five persons, including a<br />
mother and her baby and destroyed<br />
billions of naira worth of properties due<br />
to the ineffectiveness of the fire service<br />
in the State.<br />
A few months before, we had the<br />
unlawful arrest and detention of<br />
Omoyele Sowore for alleged treason. In<br />
November of the same year, we had the<br />
Social Media Bill, seeking essentially<br />
to unnecessarily regulate social media<br />
free speech. In December, we lost<br />
Moradeun Balogun because of the<br />
incompetence of the healthcare system.<br />
We had various cases of police brutality<br />
and so many ills that rocked the country.<br />
Towards the end of the year, Fisayo<br />
Soyombo, a journalist went undercover<br />
to Nigeria police stations and prisons to<br />
reveal the endemic corruption that went<br />
on there as well as in our courts.<br />
Sadly, this did not trend. Very little<br />
youths engaged this as with the other<br />
incidents I have mentioned. For most<br />
who engaged, it was for the slightest<br />
while, and it was in a bid to jump on a<br />
moving train merely to enjoy the wind.<br />
Might I also mention the exodus of<br />
Nigerians to Canada and other countries<br />
in search of green pastures?<br />
There is no doubt that there is<br />
widespread apathy for the country,<br />
especially among youths. The average<br />
Nigerian does not care about the<br />
OPINION<br />
government or what it does. They do<br />
not believe in the sincerity of elections,<br />
the independence of the judiciary or the<br />
workability of any Nigerian systems.<br />
To the average Nigerian, law<br />
enforcement is a rabid dog whose leash<br />
can be held by anyone as long as the<br />
money is right. Education leaves much<br />
to be desired, healthcare is non-existent,<br />
and the young Nigerian merely wants a<br />
way out - a quick means of making<br />
money and enjoying his/her life.<br />
The rise of ‘yahoo yahoo’ and other<br />
fraudulent practices is on the rise; more<br />
young people are resorting to drugs and<br />
The Marlian movement has<br />
further encouraged people to be<br />
school dropouts, to explore illicit<br />
sex and drugs, to engage in crime<br />
and get-rich-quick schemes and<br />
to disregard law enforcement<br />
crime and many more are being used as<br />
political thugs. There is hardly any<br />
compassion for the country or willpower<br />
to fight for whatever remains of it.<br />
Instead, a <strong>self</strong>ish desire to live free and<br />
disregard any existing norms is what<br />
fuels the youth. Reality TV shows<br />
provide some respite from the problemriddled<br />
life the country creates; so we<br />
have millions of youth poring over these<br />
shows and disregarding the sad<br />
occurrences of the Nigerian state,<br />
because the occurrences have become<br />
almost normal.<br />
It is heartbreaking, however, because,<br />
how can we lead as young people when<br />
we do not even know the problems that<br />
beset us and how to fix them; how can<br />
Send Opinions & Letters to:<br />
opinions1234@yahoo.com<br />
we hold the reins of the country when<br />
we do not care about her?<br />
I was speaking to a group of students<br />
at a university event last week and after<br />
their wonderful presentations, I<br />
lamented at how many of them will leave<br />
the room forgetting the grand ideas they<br />
proposed, because Nigeria will hit them,<br />
and when made to choose between being<br />
a Nigerian - and fighting for these ideas,<br />
propagating solutions on their social<br />
media - and being a Marlian, they will<br />
choose the Marlian way because it is<br />
just easier, more fun, more in vogue and<br />
they figure that perhaps Nigeria is not<br />
worth that much trouble.<br />
Today, moral decadence is very<br />
prevalent in Nigeria, and with it, the<br />
numbers of solution-thinking, changemaking<br />
individuals are dropping. With<br />
the already crippled education system<br />
we have, the Marlian movement has<br />
further encouraged people to be school<br />
dropouts, to explore illicit sex and drugs,<br />
to engage in crime and get-rich-quick<br />
schemes and to disregard law<br />
enforcement.<br />
This is what our children are growing<br />
up into and this is why our youth cannot<br />
challenge the status quo.<br />
It is alarming how a country with so<br />
many brilliant, talented and skilled<br />
people will continually be led by the<br />
worst coterie. This will never change as<br />
long as we choose to be Marlians rather<br />
than Nigerians-patriotic, angry<br />
Nigerians. I do not make a case for the<br />
Nigerian government or its agencies –<br />
not in the least- I make a case for<br />
Nigeria.<br />
•Caleb, a lawyer and commentator on<br />
development issues, wrote from Lagos
PoS transactions fall by 16%<br />
•Experts disagree on prospects<br />
By Elizabeth Adegbesan<br />
Financial sector experts are di<br />
vided over the 16 percent<br />
month-on-month, MoM, decline<br />
in the value of Point-of-Sale, PoS,<br />
transactions in January 2020.<br />
Vanguard analysis of the latest<br />
data from the Nigerian Interbank<br />
Settlement System, NIBSS,<br />
electronic payment channel<br />
shows that the value fell to<br />
N313.43 billion in January 2020<br />
from N372.7 billion in December<br />
2018, while the volume transactions<br />
fell by 10 percent MoM<br />
to 41.3 million during the same<br />
period.<br />
The NIBSS data also shows<br />
that the value of mobile inter-scheme<br />
transactions (though<br />
licensed mobile payment operators)<br />
dropped by 11 percent,<br />
MoM, to N133.22<br />
billion in January from N148.97<br />
billion in December 2019 while<br />
the volume also dropped by 11<br />
percent, MoM to 8.24 million in<br />
January from 7.4 million in December<br />
2019.<br />
Financial sector experts were,<br />
however, divided over the factors<br />
responsible for the above development<br />
as well as the future direction.<br />
While the President, Bank Customer<br />
Association of Nigeria<br />
(BCAN), Dr. Uju Ogubunka<br />
blamed the decline on unemployment<br />
and high bank charges,<br />
projecting that the trend will persist,<br />
the President, Association<br />
of Mobile Money and Bank<br />
Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN),<br />
Victor Olojo, attributed the declines<br />
to the usual post yuletide<br />
lull in economic activities,<br />
projecting that the trend will<br />
be reversed in the coming<br />
months.<br />
Ogubunka said: “People make<br />
transfers and or withdrawals<br />
based on available balances/businesses.<br />
Peoples’ financial capacity<br />
has declined. Besides, there<br />
are little or no businesses to deal<br />
CURRENCY BUYING SELLING<br />
US DOLLAR<br />
POUNDS<br />
EURO<br />
FRANC<br />
YEN<br />
CFA<br />
WAUA<br />
RENMINBI<br />
RIYAL<br />
SDR<br />
DANISH<br />
RAND<br />
$ 105.35 1.75<br />
$2,888.00 0.00<br />
$14.78 0.37<br />
$54.07 -0.88<br />
$49.39 -0.51<br />
305.95 306.45 306.95<br />
396.5724 397.2205 397.8686<br />
331.5886 332.1305 332.6724<br />
312.7364 313.2475 313.7586<br />
2.7675 2.772 2.7766<br />
0.4854 0.4954 0.5054<br />
416.4038 417.0843 417.7648<br />
43.5966 43.6683 43.74<br />
81.5388 81.6721 81.8053<br />
418.9912 419.6761 420.3609<br />
44.6687 44.7417 44.8147<br />
20.1045 20.1373 20.1720<br />
CBN Exchange rate as at 26/02/2020<br />
with. Most of what goes on right<br />
now is meeting basic needs. Nigerians<br />
are impoverished and<br />
need to be revived in order for an<br />
upward trend in mobile transfer<br />
and PoS transactions to occur.<br />
“I foresee further decline especially,<br />
if the unemployment rate<br />
remains high and businesses relieve<br />
more employees from their<br />
jobs. Only recently, Central Bank<br />
of Nigeria (CBN) directed banks<br />
not to sack up to five employees<br />
at a time without its approval. If<br />
banks comply, what about other<br />
employers outside CBN’s jurisdiction?<br />
What if banks sack<br />
only four, do they need approval?<br />
“Besides the foregoing, the<br />
issue of charges might have<br />
also played a part in the decline.<br />
Most people want to<br />
avoid cost as much as possible.<br />
“The solutions are in the<br />
economy growing so that<br />
people can have growth also<br />
in their account balances and<br />
Vanguard,THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 19<br />
moderating the charges for such<br />
transactions.”<br />
On his part, Olojo sees an uptick<br />
in the volume and value of mobile<br />
transfers and PoS transactions despite<br />
the decline in January which<br />
he ascribed to sluggish business activities<br />
and government policies.<br />
He said: “I think this is something<br />
I can refer to as a normal trend.<br />
Usually in December we have so<br />
much high volumes of economic<br />
activities. It is actually expected for<br />
us to see a peak in December and a<br />
decline in January.<br />
From left, Representative, National Lottery’ Regulatory Commission, Ini Ibok; Mother of<br />
Chigozie Nwankwo, N1 million winner, Augustina Nwankwo; winner of N2 million, Salisu<br />
Mohammed; Divisional Head, Retail Banking, Fidelity Bank Plc, Richard Madiebo; Winner of<br />
N2 million, Adepeju Esther Adepoju; Head, Lagos Office, Federal Competition and Consumer<br />
Protection Commission (FCCPC), Suzie Onwuka; Head, Savings Group, Fidelity Bank<br />
Plc, Ukpai Ibe; Branch Leader, Ikota SBU, Fidelity Bank Plc, Ngozi Okonkwo; at the 2nd bimonthly/<br />
4th monthly prize presentation of Fidelity Get Alert In Millions Promo Season 4<br />
(GAIM season 4) in Oshodi, Lagos<br />
Population advantage: Old Mutual, Devpt Bank<br />
executives advise on investments<br />
By Peter Egwuatu<br />
At the backdrop of seeming<br />
unrealised potentials of<br />
Nigeria’s market size<br />
Managing Director, Old<br />
Mutual Life Assurance,<br />
Mr. Olusegun<br />
Omosehin, and the<br />
Chief Economist, Development<br />
Bank of Nigeria,<br />
Prof Joseph Nnanna,<br />
have advocated focus on<br />
real sector, social and<br />
physical infrastructure<br />
investments.<br />
Speaking to Vanguard<br />
on the sideline of the<br />
BusinessDay 2020 Nigeria<br />
Economic Outlook<br />
Conference held in<br />
Lagos, Omosehin said:<br />
“Nigeria should not lose<br />
the sight of the huge potentials<br />
inherent in the<br />
human capital due to the<br />
large population of its<br />
people. There should be<br />
more investments in real<br />
sector to leverage population<br />
growth for economic<br />
development.<br />
“Nigeria’s huge population<br />
of about 200 million<br />
people is rather a<br />
blessing. We have an active<br />
population that is attractive to<br />
investors. People between the<br />
ages of 15-64 years make up<br />
50 per cent of our population.”<br />
As an intervention,<br />
Omosehin explained that the<br />
insurance sector has great<br />
potentials of enhancing a viable<br />
environment for engagement<br />
for the businesses by<br />
undertaking capital investments,<br />
while also implementing<br />
medium and long term<br />
insurance policies, which could<br />
support the SMEs.”<br />
When asked his view on the impact<br />
of growing population, the<br />
Chief Economist, Development<br />
Bank of Nigeria, Prof Joseph<br />
Nnanna, said: “The government<br />
should focus on investing in quality<br />
education, infrastructure, SMEs<br />
and girl child empowerment to<br />
enhance development and propel<br />
Nigeria for a double-digit growth.<br />
The rapid population growth in<br />
Nigeria might be a blessing in<br />
driving economic growth only if the<br />
potentials are harnessed.”<br />
NPA’s retirees to petition presidency over BoI building<br />
By Godwin Oritse<br />
THE Nigerian Ports Author<br />
ity Pensioners Welfare Association,<br />
NPAPWA, has threatened<br />
to petition the presidency<br />
if urgent steps were not taken<br />
to revert the Bank of Industry,<br />
BoI, Building located on Marina<br />
Street in Lagos, to the Superannuation<br />
or Legacy Fund<br />
of the NPA.<br />
Speaking to Vanguard,<br />
General Secretary, NPAPWA,<br />
Ambrose Duru, said that the<br />
group has written to the Minister<br />
of Transportation on the matter<br />
but added that they were yet to<br />
have response as at the time of filling<br />
this report.<br />
He explained that money from the<br />
superannuation fund was used to<br />
build the Ship House in Abuja<br />
which was taken over by the Ministry<br />
of Defence in exchange for the<br />
BoI Building in Lagos.<br />
He added that the pensioners are<br />
currently dying without enjoying the<br />
benefits of their investment.<br />
He stated: “We are not quarrelling<br />
with anybody, what we are doing is<br />
to demand for our right. This Fund is<br />
from the NPA pensioners’ Superannuation<br />
Fund/ Legacy Fund and this<br />
Lafarge<br />
Africa<br />
rewards<br />
customers<br />
Lafarge Africa Plc has<br />
rewarded its customers<br />
during its Customer Award<br />
event held in Lagos.<br />
The event was an opportunity<br />
for the company to reward its<br />
high performing customers in<br />
2019 while also<br />
commemorating its 60th<br />
Anniversary celebration.<br />
The company’s customers<br />
across Nigeria who attended<br />
the event were rewarded based<br />
on their volumes contribution<br />
to the business.<br />
The star price for the National<br />
Highest Volume Contributor<br />
was a 2020 limited edition<br />
Toyota Prado jeep.<br />
Speaking at the event, the<br />
Country Chief Executive<br />
Officer, Mr.Khaled El Dokani,<br />
said the Company has recorded<br />
significant achievements<br />
because of the outstanding<br />
partnership it shares with its<br />
esteemed customers.<br />
He stated: “Lafarge Africa has<br />
been able to maintain its vision,<br />
which is to be the most trusted<br />
and preferred partner for endusers<br />
including construction<br />
professionals and<br />
homebuilders. We are<br />
committed to delivering<br />
cement, concrete and other<br />
building solutions that ensure<br />
our customers get the highest<br />
quality.<br />
“Today, we also celebrate 60<br />
years of wonderful<br />
determination and dedication<br />
to best practices. It is an<br />
accomplishment worth<br />
celebrating. I am very excited<br />
and proud to mention that over<br />
the years, Lafarge Africa has<br />
remained committed to being<br />
the most trusted and preferred<br />
partner in the cement industry.<br />
We are deeply committed to<br />
delivering our high-quality<br />
products of cement, concrete<br />
and other building solutions<br />
including mortar to you our<br />
customers.”<br />
Referring to the Company’s<br />
commitments and the need for<br />
an enduring partnership, the<br />
Commercial Director, Gbenga<br />
Onimowo, stated that the<br />
Company and its stakeholders,<br />
particularly its customers must<br />
constantly maintain a positive<br />
outlook in order to progress<br />
and succeed together.<br />
In his reaction, Prince Sunny<br />
Nwodo, the national and<br />
regional (East) volume winner<br />
thanked Lafarge Africa for its<br />
commitment to quality and the<br />
great recognition given to its<br />
customers.<br />
money invested in the ship house<br />
was part of the fund and the reason<br />
for the investment is not being realized.<br />
“The reason for investing in<br />
that Ship House was for a purpose<br />
but the purpose is not being realized<br />
and pensioners are dying<br />
“So it is up to us to ask the minister<br />
to take up this matter and how<br />
they can compensate us by giving<br />
us back the War College property<br />
which is currently occupied by BoI<br />
and renamed BoI Building and then<br />
pay us accrued arrears of rents collected<br />
on the property so that the<br />
Superannuation Fund can be<br />
boosted.”
20 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
From Left-Right: Engr. Yusuf Usman, Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power, NNPC, Engr. Bank Anthony<br />
Okoroafor, Chairman, Petroleum Technology Assopciation of Nigeria(PETAN) and Engr. Simbi<br />
Wabote, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board at the 4th Sub-<br />
Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) in Lagos.<br />
DISCOs put tariff shortfall, liability<br />
at N1.728trn, N81bn<br />
•Govt agencies owe N100bn<br />
By Chris Ochayi<br />
THE Electricity Distribu<br />
tion Companies,<br />
DisCos, has put the tariff<br />
shortfall, occasioned by the<br />
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory<br />
Commission, NERC,<br />
Minor Review Order at<br />
N1.728 trillion. It also puts<br />
liability to Nigerian Electricity<br />
Supply Industry, NESI,<br />
at N81 billion.<br />
In a statement issued in<br />
Abuja, yesterday, executive<br />
director, Research and Advocacy,<br />
Association of Nigerian<br />
Electricity Distributors,<br />
ANED, Mr. Sunday<br />
Oduntan, said: “NERC’s<br />
December 2019 Minor Review<br />
Order specifies federal<br />
government debt to the<br />
DisCos (correspondingly,<br />
the rest of the NESI value<br />
chain), due to tariff shortfalls,<br />
of N1.728 trillion.<br />
DISCOs liability to NESI,<br />
due to market shortfalls, is<br />
N81 billion.”<br />
Oduntan, who also attributed<br />
the poor financial<br />
situation of the DISCOs to<br />
huge indebtedness of consumers,<br />
stated: “Significantly,<br />
government Ministries,<br />
Departments and<br />
Agencies (MDA) owe the<br />
DisCos in excess of N100<br />
billion, for energy consumed<br />
but not paid for – a<br />
federal government commitment,<br />
yet again, unmet<br />
under the privatisation<br />
agreement and MYTO-<br />
2015.<br />
“Under the Nigerian Electricity<br />
Market Stabilization<br />
Fund (NEMSF) N210 billion<br />
initiative, of the N189.1<br />
billion that has been disbursed,<br />
the DisCos have<br />
only received N49.89 billion<br />
or 26.3 per cent. Impor-<br />
GDP: Manufacturers doubt sustained<br />
growth •Harps tech application for increased output<br />
By Yinka Kolawole &<br />
Naomi Uzor<br />
Against the backdrop of<br />
the 2.7 percent Gross<br />
Domestic Product (GDP)<br />
growth reported for 2019 by<br />
the National Bureau of Statistics<br />
(NBS), the Manufacturers<br />
Association of Nigeria<br />
(MAN) has cast doubts<br />
on the sustainability of the<br />
growth due to prevailing<br />
adverse operating environment.<br />
The Association is also calling<br />
on industry operators to<br />
leverage technology to ramp<br />
up output and help GDP<br />
growth.<br />
President, MAN, Engr.<br />
Mansur Ahmed, who stated<br />
these yesterday in the<br />
Association’s preliminary<br />
position on the current GDP<br />
report, said that the real<br />
GDP of 2.27 percent in 2019<br />
compared with 1.91% of<br />
2018 undoubtedly revealed<br />
a promising but cautious trajectory<br />
of improving economic<br />
performance.<br />
He stated: “This is encouraging,<br />
especially because it<br />
obviously surpassed the<br />
2.1% projections of IMF<br />
apparently due to the usual<br />
heavy transactional seasonality<br />
activities. It is however<br />
doubtful that this would be<br />
sustained in the coming<br />
quarters because of the prevailing<br />
unfriendly operating<br />
environment.<br />
“This doubt would be<br />
overcome if government<br />
ensures that its Ease of Doing<br />
Business reforms translates<br />
to reduction in the cost<br />
of doing business thereby<br />
resulting in a real GDP<br />
growth that may again surpass<br />
the 2.0% projection for<br />
2020.”<br />
Leveraging tech<br />
Meanwhile, the MAN<br />
President has called on Nigerians<br />
to start using technology<br />
to produce own<br />
food, products and other<br />
indigenous innovations.<br />
He said this has become<br />
imperative so the country<br />
will not be perpetually dependent<br />
on developed<br />
countries.<br />
Ahmed made the call in a<br />
media parley on the forthcoming<br />
5th Edition of the<br />
Nigeria Manufacturing and<br />
Equipment Expo (NME)<br />
and 6th Edition of the Nigerian<br />
Raw Materials Expo<br />
(NIRAM) of the Raw Materials<br />
Research and Development<br />
Council (RMRDC)<br />
with the theme, “The Fourth<br />
Industrial Revolution and<br />
the Nigerian Manufacturing<br />
sector”.<br />
tantly, this is money owed<br />
to the DisCos by the consumers,<br />
due to the non-cost<br />
reflective tariff of MYTO 2.0<br />
and the government’s failure<br />
to inject the associated<br />
N100 billion in subsidies, a<br />
commitment under the<br />
privatisation agreements.”<br />
He added: “The rest of the<br />
NEMSF disbursement of<br />
N139.21 or 73.7 per cent is<br />
comprised of the Power<br />
Holding Company of Nigeria<br />
(PHCN)’s legacy gas<br />
and energy supply liabilities<br />
that should have resided<br />
with the Nigerian<br />
Electricity Liability Management<br />
Company<br />
(NELMCO).<br />
“Unfortunately, these liabilities<br />
now constitute an<br />
encumbrance on the<br />
DisCos’ financial books, limiting<br />
or precluding their ability<br />
to access the financing that<br />
is critical for capital investment<br />
and injection of efficiency<br />
in the distribution of<br />
electricity - another violation<br />
of a privatisation commitment<br />
which required that the<br />
DisCos have debt-free financial<br />
books that would enable<br />
them access debt funding for<br />
their operations.”<br />
Apparently reacting to comments<br />
credited to the Minister<br />
of Power, Engr. Saleh<br />
Mamman, that the Federal<br />
Government would not continue<br />
to subsidise the power<br />
sector, Oduntan, added:<br />
“While we note that there has<br />
since been a retraction by the<br />
Ministry of Power, it is regrettable<br />
that the stated proposal<br />
further promotes a perception<br />
that the Nigerian government<br />
does not respect sanctity<br />
of contract, a requirement<br />
for any investment in the<br />
country – particularly, for the<br />
cheap foreign capital that is<br />
required for the massive capital<br />
expenditure needs of<br />
NESI.<br />
Stakeholders react as<br />
NERC caps estimated bills<br />
By Udeme Akpan,<br />
Sebastine Obasi & Chris<br />
Ochayi<br />
At the backdrop of<br />
the positive public<br />
response to the restrictions<br />
on estimated billing<br />
in the nation’s electricity<br />
services, stakeholders<br />
have cast doubts over the<br />
implementation of the<br />
new policy.<br />
The Nigerian Electricity<br />
Regulatory Commission,<br />
NERC, this week,<br />
capped the estimated<br />
bills that distribution<br />
companies, DISCOs can<br />
charge unmetered consumers,<br />
while ordering<br />
them to provide meters<br />
to all on or before April<br />
30, 2020.<br />
In a telephone interview<br />
with Vanguard,<br />
the National Secretary,<br />
Nigeria Electricity Consumers<br />
Advocacy Network,<br />
NECAN, Uket<br />
Obonga, said: “NERC<br />
has the power to rollout<br />
out orders. As shown in<br />
the past, it lacks the capacity<br />
to enforce compliance.<br />
With a workforce of<br />
about 200 personnel and<br />
lack of offices outside<br />
Abuja, it has been impossible<br />
for NERC to enforce<br />
many of its orders.”<br />
Similarly, Executive<br />
Director, Spaces for<br />
Change, Victoria Ibezim-<br />
Ohaeri, said: “I am opposed<br />
to the planned increase<br />
in electricity tariff<br />
because it would impact<br />
very negatively on many<br />
people, especially poor<br />
Nigerians.<br />
“Instead of increasing<br />
the electricity tariff, it<br />
would make sense for the<br />
government to shift from<br />
subsidising fuel, which<br />
the Petroleum Products<br />
Pricing and Regulatory<br />
Commission, PPPRA,<br />
said would cost N750 billion<br />
in 2020 to subsidise<br />
electricity. This is important<br />
as power concerns<br />
all persons, including<br />
poor rural dwellers.”<br />
Directive<br />
However, in its directive,<br />
NERC stated:<br />
“DISCOs are required to<br />
meter customers in accordance<br />
with requisite<br />
standards of performance.<br />
The legacy situation<br />
at acquisition of<br />
mandatory stake in the<br />
distribution of assets<br />
from government was<br />
that the majority of customers<br />
were unmetered<br />
and there has been little<br />
change in the situation as<br />
the deployment of meters<br />
by DISCOs has been outpaced<br />
by the growth in<br />
customer numbers in the<br />
Nigerian Electricity Supply<br />
Industry, NESI.”<br />
POWER: We need complete<br />
privatization not reversal<br />
— Agusto<br />
•Oil not drying up for Nigeria – Etiebet<br />
By Ediri Ejoh & Sharon<br />
Obiakor<br />
Contrary to plans by<br />
the government to revoke<br />
the licences of the<br />
privatized power sector<br />
former Director General,<br />
Budget Office of the Federation,<br />
Mr. Olabode<br />
Agusto, has said there<br />
was need for a complete<br />
privatization instead of reversal.<br />
This came as he called<br />
for more investment in infrastructure<br />
to include<br />
electricity, railway and<br />
road to grow the<br />
country’s economy.<br />
Agusto, who is the Director,<br />
Agusto & Co. Ltd,<br />
made this call at the 17th<br />
Annual Aret Adams Memorial<br />
Lecture held in<br />
Lagos.<br />
According to him, “The<br />
federal government<br />
should not reverse the<br />
privatization going on in<br />
the power sector. They<br />
should not reverse it no<br />
matter how tempted they<br />
are.<br />
“I strongly believe that<br />
the government should go<br />
ahead and complete the<br />
privatization scheme because<br />
that’s where the<br />
problem is. Also, they<br />
should focus on three key<br />
areas to include gas, tariff<br />
and the national grid.<br />
“With respect to that, the<br />
federal government<br />
should stop regulating the<br />
price of gas. You should understand<br />
the sole aim is for<br />
people to access electricity.<br />
“However, certain gas<br />
prices are not on economic<br />
levels, the owners of the<br />
gas are not fully in gas infrastructure<br />
and the gas<br />
fire plants that we have<br />
were built as far back as<br />
when I was a director of<br />
budget.<br />
“The government should<br />
work with the industry operators<br />
to look at the tariff<br />
and they have two principal<br />
objectives in mind, in<br />
setting the tariff. Objective<br />
one is that an efficient<br />
player in the industry must<br />
be able to cover its cost of<br />
capital and you must subsidize<br />
poor households.”<br />
Also speaking, Former<br />
minister of Petroleum, Mineral<br />
resources, Chief Don<br />
Etiebet, argued that Nigeria<br />
was yet to discover its<br />
full oil potential as oil<br />
would not go out anytime<br />
soon.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 21<br />
AMOTEKUN: Regional security outfits<br />
not the answer — Abakederemo<br />
*Way forward is restructuring the Police<br />
MR Joseph Abakederemo, convener<br />
South-South Reawakening Group, a socio<br />
political and Think Tank for the Niger-<br />
Delta region, in this interview,<br />
speaks on agitation for regional security<br />
arrangements by several groups and<br />
persons across the country, saying it is<br />
not the way forward. He blames the<br />
myriad of problems plaguing the nation<br />
on corruption.<br />
By Jimitota Onoyume,<br />
Assistant News Editor<br />
WHAT is your posi<br />
tion on regional security<br />
being canvassed in<br />
several quarters?<br />
It is not healthy, people<br />
have been speaking, it has<br />
generated a lot of controversy.<br />
It is something we<br />
have to avoid. I don’t want<br />
to be a proponent of regional<br />
security outfit. Even<br />
the ones governors are creating<br />
have not been helpful.<br />
For me corruption is at<br />
the root of all this. The Nigerian<br />
Police are short<br />
staffed. We still rely on the<br />
conventional way of fighting<br />
crime. Training for<br />
manpower is weak. The<br />
Police don’t want to think<br />
outside the box. Modern<br />
day technology to track<br />
crime are lacking in the<br />
Police and other security<br />
agencies<br />
We begin with the Nigeria<br />
Police on internal security<br />
and at some point the<br />
President can bring in the<br />
army. I ask this question,<br />
when has the Nigerian Police<br />
become a revenue generating<br />
agency? We don’t<br />
know the Police, the army<br />
as revenue generating<br />
agencies.<br />
Today, besides providing<br />
security for politically exposed<br />
persons and their<br />
families there are crop of<br />
wealthy Nigerians , not<br />
even wealthy, any Nigerian<br />
that stumble on money<br />
somewhere will go and get<br />
the Police to provide security<br />
for them and their families<br />
and this the Police<br />
does not do for free. The<br />
same with <strong>soldier</strong>s. You<br />
find two, three hilux trucks<br />
loaded with <strong>soldier</strong>s escorting<br />
one person. The escorts<br />
are not for free, they<br />
are paid for. I know situations<br />
where the beneficiaries<br />
pay as much as one<br />
million naira a month to<br />
the ogas in the office. Not<br />
to talk of the oil companies<br />
down South-South<br />
enjoying this too. You cannot<br />
find this in any other<br />
country except in Nigeria.<br />
I have travelled to many<br />
cities, I have not seen <strong>soldier</strong>s,<br />
and Police providing<br />
security this way for private<br />
individuals.<br />
So I come back to the<br />
question, who gives account<br />
for this money the<br />
Army and Police get for<br />
providing security for individuals?<br />
Do they pay the<br />
money to the federation<br />
account because they are<br />
institutions funded with tax<br />
payers money. The answer<br />
is no, it goes into private<br />
pockets and the money is<br />
shared. This money runs<br />
into billions of naira every<br />
year.<br />
You see security men<br />
lobbying to be posted to the<br />
houses of individuals.<br />
They say they get free food,<br />
get some allowances from<br />
the ogas they protect; and<br />
have time to relax. At times<br />
you hear them say” that<br />
man I worked with takes<br />
care of somebody well, this<br />
other guy is not good”. So<br />
where will you find commitment<br />
for the job?<br />
I know a contractor in<br />
Port Harcourt, he goes<br />
about with two hilux trucks<br />
of <strong>soldier</strong>s and he refers to<br />
the <strong>soldier</strong>s as “my dogs.”<br />
What do you expect to happen<br />
in this scenario?<br />
Corruption is at the root<br />
of all. You hear a Divisional<br />
Police Officer, DPO<br />
when he leaves office, he<br />
says he has built shopping<br />
mall everywhere. It is also<br />
here you hear a police<br />
Commissioner retiring<br />
from office saying he has<br />
housing estates scattered<br />
everywhere. Where do they<br />
make the money from? Are<br />
you telling me, a Police<br />
man in County, New York ,<br />
Huston or Florida, a Sheriff<br />
in a County which is<br />
about the rank of a DPO<br />
will leave office and begin<br />
to flaunt properties he ac-<br />
•Abakeredemo<br />
quired in office. How will<br />
he explain it? It is only in<br />
Nigeria you see Police Sergeants,<br />
Army Corporal acquire<br />
properties while in<br />
office, nobody ask questions.<br />
So where do we draw<br />
the line? They have abandoned<br />
the functions of<br />
their job to pursue private<br />
wealth.<br />
Regional security is not<br />
the option<br />
When the Amotekun<br />
thing came out, the former<br />
governor of Bayelsa State,<br />
Chief Seriake Dickson<br />
said he supported it. He too<br />
had created five security<br />
outfits in Bayelsa. Have<br />
they solved any crime in<br />
Bayelsa? You see how cultists<br />
operate everywhere, the<br />
sea piracy is high, pipelines<br />
are still being vandalized,<br />
people are killed<br />
everywhere, you see corpses<br />
on the roads in Bayelsa.<br />
So this security arrangement<br />
is not a solution. This<br />
was how they shouted in<br />
support of Civil Defence<br />
Corps, what has happened?<br />
The way forward is<br />
to restructure the Nigerian<br />
Police force. If the Police<br />
is structured we won’t<br />
need the army on our roads<br />
who are also collecting<br />
money.<br />
•Read more on<br />
www.vanguardngr.com
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 21<br />
AMOTEKUN: Regional security outfits<br />
not the answer — Abakederemo<br />
*Way forward is restructuring the Police<br />
MR Joseph Abakederemo, convener<br />
South-South Reawakening Group, a socio<br />
political and Think Tank for the Niger-<br />
Delta region, in this interview,<br />
speaks on agitation for regional security<br />
arrangements by several groups and<br />
persons across the country, saying it is<br />
not the way forward. He blames the<br />
myriad of problems plaguing the nation<br />
on corruption.<br />
By Jimitota Onoyume,<br />
Assistant News Editor<br />
WHAT is your posi<br />
tion on regional security<br />
being canvassed in<br />
several quarters?<br />
It is not healthy, people<br />
have been speaking, it has<br />
generated a lot of controversy.<br />
It is something we<br />
have to avoid. I don’t want<br />
to be a proponent of regional<br />
security outfit. Even<br />
the ones governors are creating<br />
have not been helpful.<br />
For me corruption is at<br />
the root of all this. The Nigerian<br />
Police are short<br />
staffed. We still rely on the<br />
conventional way of fighting<br />
crime. Training for<br />
manpower is weak. The<br />
Police don’t want to think<br />
outside the box. Modern<br />
day technology to track<br />
crime are lacking in the<br />
Police and other security<br />
agencies<br />
We begin with the Nigeria<br />
Police on internal security<br />
and at some point the<br />
President can bring in the<br />
army. I ask this question,<br />
when has the Nigerian Police<br />
become a revenue generating<br />
agency? We don’t<br />
know the Police, the army<br />
as revenue generating<br />
agencies.<br />
Today, besides providing<br />
security for politically exposed<br />
persons and their<br />
families there are crop of<br />
wealthy Nigerians , not<br />
even wealthy, any Nigerian<br />
that stumble on money<br />
somewhere will go and get<br />
the Police to provide security<br />
for them and their families<br />
and this the Police<br />
does not do for free. The<br />
same with <strong>soldier</strong>s. You<br />
find two, three hilux trucks<br />
loaded with <strong>soldier</strong>s escorting<br />
one person. The escorts<br />
are not for free, they<br />
are paid for. I know situations<br />
where the beneficiaries<br />
pay as much as one<br />
million naira a month to<br />
the ogas in the office. Not<br />
to talk of the oil companies<br />
down South-South<br />
enjoying this too. You cannot<br />
find this in any other<br />
country except in Nigeria.<br />
I have travelled to many<br />
cities, I have not seen <strong>soldier</strong>s,<br />
and Police providing<br />
security this way for private<br />
individuals.<br />
So I come back to the<br />
question, who gives account<br />
for this money the<br />
Army and Police get for<br />
providing security for individuals?<br />
Do they pay the<br />
money to the federation<br />
account because they are<br />
institutions funded with tax<br />
payers money. The answer<br />
is no, it goes into private<br />
pockets and the money is<br />
shared. This money runs<br />
into billions of naira every<br />
year.<br />
You see security men<br />
lobbying to be posted to the<br />
houses of individuals.<br />
They say they get free food,<br />
get some allowances from<br />
the ogas they protect; and<br />
have time to relax. At times<br />
you hear them say” that<br />
man I worked with takes<br />
care of somebody well, this<br />
other guy is not good”. So<br />
where will you find commitment<br />
for the job?<br />
I know a contractor in<br />
Port Harcourt, he goes<br />
about with two hilux trucks<br />
of <strong>soldier</strong>s and he refers to<br />
the <strong>soldier</strong>s as “my dogs.”<br />
What do you expect to happen<br />
in this scenario?<br />
Corruption is at the root<br />
of all. You hear a Divisional<br />
Police Officer, DPO<br />
when he leaves office, he<br />
says he has built shopping<br />
mall everywhere. It is also<br />
here you hear a police<br />
Commissioner retiring<br />
from office saying he has<br />
housing estates scattered<br />
everywhere. Where do they<br />
make the money from? Are<br />
you telling me, a Police<br />
man in County, New York ,<br />
Huston or Florida, a Sheriff<br />
in a County which is<br />
about the rank of a DPO<br />
will leave office and begin<br />
to flaunt properties he ac-<br />
•Abakeredemo<br />
quired in office. How will<br />
he explain it? It is only in<br />
Nigeria you see Police Sergeants,<br />
Army Corporal acquire<br />
properties while in<br />
office, nobody ask questions.<br />
So where do we draw<br />
the line? They have abandoned<br />
the functions of<br />
their job to pursue private<br />
wealth.<br />
Regional security is not<br />
the option<br />
When the Amotekun<br />
thing came out, the former<br />
governor of Bayelsa State,<br />
Chief Seriake Dickson<br />
said he supported it. He too<br />
had created five security<br />
outfits in Bayelsa. Have<br />
they solved any crime in<br />
Bayelsa? You see how cultists<br />
operate everywhere, the<br />
sea piracy is high, pipelines<br />
are still being vandalized,<br />
people are killed<br />
everywhere, you see corpses<br />
on the roads in Bayelsa.<br />
So this security arrangement<br />
is not a solution. This<br />
was how they shouted in<br />
support of Civil Defence<br />
Corps, what has happened?<br />
The way forward is<br />
to restructure the Nigerian<br />
Police force. If the Police<br />
is structured we won’t<br />
need the army on our roads<br />
who are also collecting<br />
money.<br />
•Read more on<br />
www.vanguardngr.com
22 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 23<br />
Lebanon is latest<br />
destination for<br />
traffickers — NAPTIP<br />
With human trafficking becoming a global menace, threatening<br />
the fiber of our humanity, it has become imperative for authorities<br />
to devise new methods to tackle human trafficking. In this<br />
interview with the Lagos Zonal Commander, National Agency for<br />
the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, Daniel<br />
Atokolo; he talks about issues militating against the war on<br />
human trafficking, why Lebanon has suddenly become the latest<br />
destination of traffickers from Nigeria, how reluctant mothers’<br />
fuel baby sales; what the agency is doing to sensitize young people<br />
on the evil behind human trafficking and how they could be lured<br />
and their organs harvested in the Middle East and Asian<br />
countries. Excerpts.<br />
By Esther Onyegbula<br />
WHAT are the issues<br />
militating against war on<br />
human trafficking in Nigeria?<br />
There are so many issues militating<br />
against the war on human<br />
trafficking. One of such issues is a<br />
victim refusing to come to court to<br />
testify against the trafficker.<br />
It is a major issue. But we have<br />
devised another method of winning<br />
the war. We allow victims to speak<br />
on camera. In fact, we got a<br />
conviction that way. Another factor<br />
is hostile witness. Once in a while,<br />
we come across hostile witnesses, but<br />
there are ways we try to circumvent<br />
it. Another challenge is cultural<br />
pattern. Some cultures still believe<br />
that the girl-child should be used to<br />
feed the family. A man is 50 years<br />
old and has a child who is 18, and he<br />
chooses that girl to go overseas to<br />
work, send money and buy jeep for<br />
him and build house for him.<br />
Some people, states and cultures<br />
don’t believe in what NAPTIP is<br />
fighting for and until most of them<br />
begin to buy in, we may still have a<br />
problem. We have had instances<br />
where a victim tells you that whatever<br />
she does, in a situation like that there<br />
is little or nothing you can do more<br />
especially when she is not underage.<br />
We are seeing more cases of<br />
victims trafficked for servitude,<br />
does this mean trafficking for sexual<br />
exploitation has reduced?<br />
Sexual exploitation comes with its<br />
own stigma. Nigerian girls who were<br />
recently deported from Libya, all<br />
denied being trafficked. They don’t<br />
want NAPTIP to pursue their cases.<br />
Some claimed that those that<br />
trafficked them were in Italy or other<br />
countries. They preferred to say they<br />
were trafficked into servitude than<br />
to confess that they were abused or<br />
raped. There is sexual deceit and it is<br />
because of our society, which likes<br />
stigmatising people.<br />
What is the agency doing to<br />
address these issues?<br />
In NAPTIP, we believe that a victim<br />
is entitled to a second chance at life.<br />
This is why we take them to rehab,<br />
counsel and rehabilitate them. We<br />
have also discovered that some<br />
Sexual<br />
exploitation comes<br />
with its own stigma;<br />
Nigerian girls who<br />
were recently deported<br />
from Libya, all denied<br />
being trafficked<br />
victims, after going through rehab<br />
and everything, would rather die,<br />
than return to their homes because<br />
of some problems they left behind.<br />
Sometimes our agents trace and<br />
locate their homes; their parents<br />
would say they don’t want to set eyes<br />
on them because they stole their<br />
money or sold family land to<br />
facilitate their journey out of Nigeria.<br />
NAPTIP has to do a lot of work in<br />
order to make peace and reconcile<br />
THE International Federa<br />
tion of Women Lawyers<br />
(FIDA) Nigeria is alarmed at<br />
the total politicisation of most<br />
issues going on in the country,<br />
particularly legal cases that<br />
have been referred to the courts<br />
for adjudication.<br />
We refer to the recent incident<br />
where the Hon Justice Mary<br />
Odili, JSC is a victim of abuse,<br />
attacks on her person and<br />
character, not to mention an<br />
invasion of her privacy because<br />
of a judgment delivered by a<br />
panel she headed in the normal<br />
course of her work.<br />
Hon Justice Odili, JSC as a<br />
human being, Nigerian and especially<br />
as a Justice of The Supreme<br />
Court of Nigeria, the<br />
highest court of Record in the<br />
country deserves respect and<br />
protection. The attacks on her<br />
character and premises are certainly<br />
not the way to go because<br />
of a perceived ‘unfavourable’<br />
judgment. FIDA NIGERIA sees<br />
this as violence against a reputable<br />
woman carrying out her<br />
lawful duty.<br />
Whilst members of the public<br />
are entitled to express their<br />
opinions freely, it must,<br />
however, be done lawfully without<br />
infringing the rights of<br />
another. Consequently, we condemn<br />
these attacks and the invasion<br />
of her personal space.<br />
The Judiciary as the third arm<br />
•Daniel<br />
Atokolo<br />
the victims and their families. If you<br />
go to these victims to come as<br />
witnesses in court, they tell you not<br />
to remind them of their past. If not<br />
for such victims, prosecution would<br />
have been one of the greatest tools to<br />
control human trafficking.<br />
Lebanon has suddenly become<br />
the latest destination of traffickers<br />
from Nigeria, why?<br />
There are many Lebanese in<br />
Nigeria, especially Kano State.<br />
Some have been in Nigeria since<br />
1914. There are six and seven<br />
generations of Lebanese in Nigeria.<br />
They are traders. Nigerians can get<br />
visa on arrival at Beirut.<br />
Taking a housemaid from Nigeria<br />
to Beirut is like taking a girl from<br />
Lagos to Abuja. Labour is cheaper<br />
here than there. It is because of cheap<br />
labour in Nigeria that Lebanese, who<br />
are in Nigeria, are outsourcing. They<br />
take a girl from Nigeria to Lebanon.<br />
Also, people now see Lebanon as a<br />
trending destination, and so they<br />
follow others to Lebanon.<br />
There’s nothing really happening<br />
in Lebanon. I can’t think of any<br />
industry there. Let’s also not forget<br />
that some of these foreigners don’t<br />
like blacks. They treat Nigerians as<br />
slaves. One of the victims NAPTIP<br />
rescued from Lebanon told us that<br />
immediately she got there, her ordeal<br />
started.<br />
We heard that Lebanon has<br />
mostly menial jobs?<br />
Yes, menial jobs! Nothing is<br />
happening there. That is also why<br />
Continues on page 25<br />
FIDA Nigeria’s position on attack on Hon Justice Mary Odili, JSC<br />
Hon Justice Mary Odili<br />
of government must be treated<br />
as such, and accorded the full<br />
status and respect it deserves;<br />
Every woman should<br />
acquire a skill - WAPA<br />
By Bose Adelaja<br />
FOR a woman to be<br />
distinguished among her<br />
peers, she should endeavour<br />
to acquire a skill in addition<br />
to her regular source of<br />
income.<br />
Lagos State Commissioner<br />
for Women Affairs and Poverty<br />
Alleviation (WAPA) Mrs<br />
Cecilia Bolaji-Dada, said this,<br />
Wednesday, in her Alausa<br />
office in Lagos, during a<br />
courtesy visit by Nigerian<br />
Association of Women<br />
Journalists (NAWOJ), Lagos<br />
State Chapter .<br />
The Commissioner urged all<br />
women in the state to<br />
participate in the regular four<br />
weeks skill acquisition<br />
training organised by her<br />
ministry promising that she<br />
will leave no stone unturned<br />
to collaborate with Lagos<br />
women journalists in trainings<br />
and retrainings of her<br />
members.<br />
Skill acquisition<br />
training<br />
Bolaji-Dada said<br />
participants of the four<br />
weeks acquisition<br />
training will be entitled<br />
to a start - up capital<br />
assuring that the<br />
women<br />
journalists<br />
will be<br />
considered<br />
f o r<br />
subsequent<br />
slots.<br />
H e<br />
urged<br />
Lagos<br />
women to<br />
be their<br />
brother’s<br />
keeper by<br />
dwelling<br />
in unity.<br />
•Mrs Cecilia<br />
Bolaji-Dada<br />
blackmail and<br />
threats to an Honourable<br />
Justice are<br />
of grave concern<br />
and certainly does<br />
not guarantee the<br />
independence of<br />
the judiciary.<br />
We call for quick<br />
action to stop this<br />
negative trend and<br />
to stop the inciting<br />
statements that heat<br />
the polity. There are<br />
proper and well laid<br />
out legal protocols<br />
and processes to be<br />
followed when you are<br />
dissatisfied with the outcome of<br />
the judgement. FIDA Nigeria<br />
She said, “every woman<br />
should acquire and this is what<br />
I advocate wherever I go.<br />
NAWOJ is a major women<br />
group and any government<br />
that wants to succeed should<br />
collaborate with her. I<br />
encourage women to<br />
participate in our four weeks<br />
skill acquisition training,”<br />
Earlier, Lagos NAWOJ<br />
Chairperson Comrade Adeola<br />
Ekine sought the collaboration<br />
of the ministry in developing<br />
her members.<br />
Ekine who seized the<br />
occasion to decorate the<br />
Commissioner as the Matron<br />
of<br />
the<br />
association, appreciated<br />
WAPA for being a backbone in<br />
the past.<br />
In her vote of thanks, Vera<br />
Chukwumerije of Federal<br />
Information appreciated the<br />
Commissioner for impacting<br />
Lagos women.<br />
Present at the occasion were<br />
WAPA Permanent Secretary<br />
Mrs Yewande Oluyemi<br />
Kalesanwo, other officials of<br />
the ministry and Lagos<br />
NAWOJ officers.<br />
encourages the use of these<br />
processes rather than the tarnishing<br />
of the good reputation<br />
of a great woman who has diligently<br />
and passionately served<br />
her country and reached the<br />
pinnacle of her profession.<br />
FIDA Nigeria condemns the<br />
aforementioned and calls on the<br />
Federal Government and<br />
indeed all relevant security<br />
agencies in the country to be<br />
more proactive and vigilant in<br />
their duties; they must protect<br />
the judiciary and keep them<br />
independent without any<br />
undue interference.<br />
Lady Justice is blind and<br />
impartial; let us work to keep<br />
her as such.
24 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
Leah Sharibu:<br />
Security expert<br />
laments FG’s<br />
failure to secure<br />
release 2 years after<br />
By Ebunoluwa Sessou<br />
PRESIDENT, Association of<br />
Industrial Security and Safety<br />
Operators of Nigeria, Dr. Ona<br />
Ekhomu has lamented failure on the<br />
part of the Federal Government to<br />
secure the release of Boko Haram<br />
captive, Leah Sharibu after two years<br />
of abduction.<br />
Ekhomu in a phone interview<br />
with WO said it is worrisome that<br />
government has not been able to<br />
define and understand the cause of<br />
incessant insecurity in the country.<br />
“The fact that the young girl is still<br />
in the captivity of Boko Haram<br />
against her wish tells us that this<br />
insurgency has not gone away. In<br />
fact, I am concerned that it is getting<br />
a new life of its own.<br />
“At this time, we don’t know the<br />
state of her health and her mind.<br />
There is also rumour that she is a<br />
mother now. So, she has been<br />
brutally raped and we are so helpless<br />
in ensuring her rescue”, he lamented.<br />
He said there is need to renew<br />
efforts towards securing the release<br />
of the girl out of captivity. “Luckily,<br />
this girl is in the captivity of ISWAP,<br />
which is not as bad as Shekau. So, I<br />
think it is still possible to have a<br />
negotiated reason for her even if we<br />
cannot release her by force of arms”,<br />
he explained.<br />
According to him, “The problem<br />
is conceptualization. The way the<br />
problem is defined is wrong. We have<br />
to understand what the problem is.<br />
Because you have to understand that<br />
Chapter B2 of the Constitution of the<br />
Federal Republic of Nigeria says<br />
that the security and welfare of all<br />
Nigerians should be the<br />
responsibility of the government.<br />
“No Nigerian should be subjected<br />
to killings, torture or any insecurity<br />
of all sorts. Government should be<br />
responsible in the area of security.<br />
Borno state is the largest city in<br />
Nigeria but it is wrong to feel that<br />
•Leah Sharibu<br />
Not for Sale: Nigeria’s answer to girl trafficking?<br />
OPINION<br />
Ondo female politician laments exclusion in 20 years of democracy<br />
Dayo Johnson Akure<br />
FEMALE politicians<br />
in Ondo State have<br />
lamented the exclusion of<br />
women in democratic<br />
positions in the state in the<br />
last 20 years.<br />
Chairman of the state<br />
Universal Basic Education<br />
Board, Princess Oladunni<br />
Odu said this in Akure at<br />
a summit organised by<br />
female politicians in the<br />
state.<br />
Odu, a former<br />
commissioner in the state<br />
said: ”ln the last 20 years<br />
of our uninterrupted<br />
democracy, the female<br />
folks in Ondo State have<br />
only tasted the position of<br />
Speaker of the House of<br />
Assembly never a<br />
governor, deputy<br />
governor, chief of staff or<br />
secretary to the state<br />
government.<br />
people in other parts of the state<br />
should be subjected to torture and<br />
untold sorrow.<br />
“We have to look at different areas<br />
of the state and know the kind of<br />
security to provide. We should be<br />
mindful of the architecture of security<br />
to be provided as well as the<br />
effectiveness of the architecture.<br />
There is too much insecurity on the<br />
land and there are so many success<br />
attacks that might have been<br />
preventable.<br />
“There are things the government<br />
will have to do right. For instance,<br />
when the government took on the<br />
fight for the first two month of<br />
assumption of office in 2015, there<br />
was spate in attacks but once the<br />
government got its rhythm right and<br />
started getting new equipments and<br />
the new leadership of the military<br />
was able to encourage the <strong>soldier</strong>s<br />
and inspire them, you could see the<br />
changes in the tide of battle.<br />
Tempo of<br />
insurgence<br />
“In 2016, government dismantled<br />
Boko Haram’s den in Sambisa forest<br />
and took over the areas, those were<br />
the golden days. Things were fine<br />
then. 15months later, there was<br />
resurgence in violence and until now.<br />
The tempo of insurgence has been<br />
increased.<br />
“The tide of battle has shifted<br />
again; we have daily murderous<br />
attacks to overrun Damaturu,<br />
Maiduguri among others. The<br />
government has done well and they<br />
are expected to do more. Most of the<br />
people are doing guerilla tactics now<br />
to strike but they are not holding<br />
down the government the way they<br />
used to do before.<br />
“There are killings at will and there<br />
are no good killings at all. I will not<br />
tolerate killing of any kind.<br />
Whatever lapses exploited should be<br />
sealed.<br />
According to<br />
her: “Lagos<br />
State is in the<br />
frontline of<br />
bringing<br />
women into<br />
active politics. lt<br />
has successfully<br />
brought into<br />
limelight Mrs<br />
Kofoworola<br />
Bucknor<br />
Akerele, Dr.<br />
(Mrs) Ojikutu<br />
ldiat Adebule,<br />
Mrs Sarah<br />
•Princess Oladunni Odu<br />
Sosan and Mrs<br />
Adejoke<br />
Afefulire Orelope.”<br />
“Osun State has also<br />
“Ekiti State, a state<br />
written its name by<br />
younger than our state, has<br />
bringing to limelight<br />
produced three female<br />
Otunba Grace Titilayo<br />
deputy governors, Mrs<br />
Laoye Tomori and Erelu<br />
Abiodun Olujimi, Prof<br />
Olusola Obada while<br />
Aduke Adelabu who<br />
Ogun State has not been<br />
replaced Mrs Funmilayo<br />
left out with Mrs Yetunde<br />
Olayinka.<br />
Bosede Onanuga.<br />
By Ahmed Balarabe<br />
HUMAN<br />
trafficking<br />
involving Nigerian girls that<br />
are taken out of the country with<br />
promises of lucrative jobs that turn<br />
out to be sex slavery or forced labour<br />
in West African and European<br />
countries is a problem that still exists.<br />
Media reports suggest that rather<br />
than abating, the problem seems to<br />
be assuming new dimensions every<br />
day. Just recently, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-<br />
Erewa, chairman and chief executive<br />
officer of the Nigerian Diaspora<br />
Commission, was on Channels<br />
Television to talk about a group of<br />
Nigerian girls that were stranded in<br />
Lebanon and had to take refuge at<br />
the Nigerian Embassy in Beirut.<br />
What appeared to be good news<br />
about the girls was that at the time<br />
of the report, the embassy was<br />
making plans to repatriate them<br />
back home. There was no indication<br />
about whether the girls left Nigeria<br />
on their own volition in search of the<br />
She said there are many<br />
advantages of women<br />
being involved in these key<br />
positions at this time. We<br />
need governance that will<br />
put in place, policies that<br />
will uphold the family and<br />
sustain the society.<br />
“lt is women that<br />
understand certain policies<br />
that affect the lives of<br />
women, men and<br />
children.”<br />
Odu said inclusion of<br />
women in democratic<br />
positions is essential in<br />
building and sustaining a<br />
strong and vibrant<br />
democracy.<br />
She, however, stressed<br />
the need for women to come<br />
together, irrespective of<br />
their political leaning and<br />
strategise on how they can<br />
lend their voice to the<br />
struggle of women in<br />
politics.<br />
“I think the government is doing<br />
its best based on its capability.<br />
The insecurity on the land is porous<br />
especially in the North East.<br />
So many women have been kidnapped<br />
in the bush.<br />
“Are we really ready to accept<br />
the fact that there is need for<br />
prompt security mechanism? In<br />
Nigeria, travellers are not secured.<br />
proverbial green pastures or were<br />
taken out of the country with<br />
promises of jobs only to find<br />
themselves in situations that made<br />
their return home a compelling<br />
necessity – a choice between life and<br />
death. It is safe to say that there are<br />
thousands of Nigerian girls abroad<br />
in similar situations who do not have<br />
the opportunity to return to their<br />
country. Stories like the one under<br />
reference and numerous others that<br />
don’t find their way into the media<br />
have encouraged the National<br />
Agency for the Prohibition of<br />
Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to<br />
think outside the box in coming up<br />
with a campaign tagged Not for Sale.<br />
The campaign focuses on inspiring<br />
and empowering young women in<br />
Edo and Delta states, the two states<br />
with the highest number of girls<br />
trafficked into sex and domestic<br />
slavery. The girls are forced to<br />
achieve success on their own terms<br />
without having to pay the price some<br />
of their compatriots pay trying to<br />
look for success outside the country.<br />
The campaign<br />
involves highlighting<br />
and promoting<br />
opportunities within<br />
the country that could<br />
be positively leveraged<br />
for success by these<br />
young girls. The<br />
campaign particularly<br />
emphasisesthat young<br />
girls can find success in<br />
their country and<br />
therefore do not need<br />
to embark on the highrisk<br />
journey of going<br />
abroad in search of<br />
that success. As an<br />
initiative, ‘Not for<br />
Sale’is perhaps the<br />
most innovative<br />
programme to be embarked<br />
upon by any<br />
government agency,<br />
whether at the federal<br />
or state levels, to<br />
address the hydraheaded<br />
monster of<br />
human trafficking. Its<br />
uniqueness lies in the<br />
fact that it does not only<br />
seek to discourage girls<br />
from embarking on the<br />
often-fruitless journey<br />
in search of success<br />
They cannot be assured of good security<br />
on the road. It is a total failure.<br />
“No Nigerian should be subjected<br />
to killings, torture or any insecurity<br />
of all sorts. Government should be<br />
responsible in the area of security.<br />
Borno state is the largest city in<br />
Nigeria but it is wrong to feel that<br />
people in other parts of the state<br />
should be subjected to torture and<br />
untold sorrow. We have to look at<br />
different areas of the state and know<br />
the kind of security to provide. “We<br />
should be mindful of the architecture<br />
of security to be provided as well as<br />
the effectiveness of the architecture.<br />
There are so many successful attacks<br />
that might have been preventable.<br />
“Clearly the girl child is at a<br />
disadvantage when it comes to<br />
insecurity in Nigeria. Many of them<br />
are vulnerable because of the<br />
poverty in the land and the fact that<br />
their parents are at a disadvantage<br />
to provide security for them.<br />
“Government needs to intensify<br />
efforts on massive awareness,<br />
creating information, security<br />
education and vulnerable locations<br />
should be identified and people<br />
should be briefed on how to<br />
strengthen their security so that girlchildren<br />
are not abducted and<br />
manipulated”, he said.<br />
outside the shores of the country, but<br />
also enlightening them to seeing the<br />
much-needed alternatives available<br />
to succeed at home. The attempt to<br />
discourage these young women from<br />
travelling abroad to look for means<br />
of survival often fails to yield results<br />
due to lack of satisfactory answers<br />
to the question about alternatives at<br />
home. The justification for the near<br />
exodus of the country’s youth to<br />
foreign countries has often been that<br />
they would see no need to embark<br />
on such trips if there were better<br />
means of survival in the country. Now,<br />
‘Not for Sale’is providing answers<br />
to these questions. The success stories<br />
of four young women in various fields<br />
from Edo and Delta states, named,<br />
Gift, Gladys, Blessing and Latifah,<br />
should serve as positive inspiration<br />
for girls in those two states to believe<br />
that opportunities for success abound<br />
at home.<br />
The story of Gift, who could not<br />
make it beyond Libya where she was<br />
a victim of sexual abuse and torture<br />
before being brought back home,<br />
should make plain the fact that there<br />
is no place like home. The common<br />
message the four young women in<br />
Not for Sale convey is simply that if<br />
they could succeed in their respective<br />
states, so can others. NAPTIP’s<br />
initiative cannot succeed in<br />
addressing the problem of human<br />
trafficking if it begins and ends with<br />
girls alone. What the agency is doing<br />
in Edo and Delta states, can<br />
effectively touch the lives of all the<br />
young girls in those two states in need<br />
of assistance.<br />
The success of the campaign lies<br />
in its replication in all states,<br />
regardless of whether or not there<br />
are stories of trafficking. Girls all<br />
over of the country face the same<br />
situations that drive some into the<br />
search for success abroad. Governments<br />
at state and local levels should<br />
adopt the initiative by implementing<br />
programmes that target training and<br />
empowerment of young women, to<br />
enable them achieve the success that<br />
others put their lives on the line<br />
travelling abroad to seek. That is the<br />
only way the Not for Sale campaign<br />
can achieve the objectives for which<br />
it was introduced.<br />
•Balarabe, a public affairs<br />
commentator, wrote from Abuja
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 25<br />
Lebanon is latest destination for<br />
traffickers — NAPTIP<br />
Continued from page 23<br />
sexual exploitation is very high over<br />
there. This is the same situation in<br />
Saudi Arabia and Oman. There is<br />
no general template for human<br />
trafficking. If you follow the story of<br />
slave trade, you will discover that<br />
raping was one of the avenues of<br />
subjugating people. Back then, men<br />
and women were raped.<br />
Does NAPTIP have an idea the<br />
number of Nigerian girls in<br />
Lebanon?<br />
No one can give empirical figure<br />
on that. Nobody has gone to take a<br />
census. All of a sudden, we are<br />
hearing outcry about our girls being<br />
trafficked to Lebanon. It’s too early<br />
to start putting a figure on Nigerians<br />
stuck there. When our Director-<br />
General, Dame Julie Okah-<br />
Donli talked about Mali, she said<br />
that there were about 20,000<br />
Nigerian girls stuck in Mali. When<br />
she went with some Nigerian<br />
officials to Mali to rescue the girls,<br />
men in Mali came to resist the girls’<br />
leaving. Like I mentioned before at<br />
a television programme, there are<br />
some of our girls who were trafficked<br />
in their uniforms, young girls. They<br />
were returning from school and<br />
someone pushed them into a vehicle.<br />
Is that not abduction?<br />
Yes, it is! Some people are here,<br />
posting pictures of missing children<br />
on the net, not knowing they had<br />
been abducted and trafficked out of<br />
the country.<br />
What about the ladies trafficked<br />
to Libya?<br />
There are several Nigerians in<br />
some prisons in war-torn countries<br />
and nobody can reach them.<br />
Different warlords are in charge of<br />
different enclaves. Trafficked victims,<br />
who are lucky to buy their freedom,<br />
come out alive.<br />
Dangerous<br />
terrains<br />
The Nigeria Ministry of Foreign<br />
Affairs is trying, but one must go to<br />
Libya and work with the government<br />
of Libya in order to rescue these<br />
victims. We can’t say we are NAPTIP<br />
or Nigerian government official and<br />
we cross into dangerous terrains.<br />
We have a case of a girl that was<br />
trafficked to such war-torn countries.<br />
She was trapped in one of their<br />
prisons for six months before she<br />
came out. It was actually a guy that<br />
assisted her to get out. She started<br />
living with the guy. One thing led to<br />
another and she got pregnant. She<br />
had a baby boy; the guy promised to<br />
marry her. But most of these guys in<br />
those countries are criminals. The<br />
guy was killed in a shootout. She was<br />
eventually deported. She returned<br />
with the baby.<br />
What eventually happened to her<br />
and the baby?<br />
When we asked her, who and how<br />
she was trafficked to Libya, she<br />
refused to say. She insisted that<br />
nobody trafficked her. We allowed<br />
her to leave, but I gave her a phone<br />
number in case she changed her<br />
mind and wanted to talk. She called<br />
me often because she needed help. I<br />
used to assist her with money from<br />
my pocket because I knew the baby<br />
needed help. She belongs to the<br />
categories of girls I term ‘reluctant<br />
mothers.’ She called one day to say<br />
that she was about to get married.<br />
She said that the guy asked her to<br />
discard her SIM card; he didn’t want<br />
anything or anyone that would<br />
remind them of her past life. She had<br />
already told him about her past.<br />
Since then, we’ve not heard from her.<br />
What do you mean by ‘Reluctant<br />
Mothers’?<br />
They are mothers who don’t and<br />
didn’t want their children. Most of<br />
them are involved in sales of their<br />
babies. It is because they didn’t want<br />
those children that they end up selling<br />
them. They don’t need a lot of<br />
inducement before accepting to sell<br />
their babies.<br />
Baby sales are so rampant these<br />
days that traffickers sell and buy at<br />
ridiculous prices<br />
Yes, babies are now being sold for<br />
as low as N150, 000 and N200,000.<br />
These reluctant mothers see their<br />
babies as an embarrassment. Some<br />
of them feel the child came to disrupt<br />
their lives. For every market to<br />
thrive; there must be a willing buyer<br />
and seller. If you don’t want your<br />
baby and you sell it, it becomes an<br />
offence.<br />
Is it that some buyers do not know<br />
that buying babies is a criminal<br />
offence?<br />
They know! There’s nobody in<br />
Nigeria, even in the whole world who<br />
does not know that buying of a<br />
human being is a criminal offence.<br />
Human beings cannot be bought<br />
and sold. The baby trafficking<br />
syndicate is all about taking<br />
advantage of the vulnerable and<br />
those who don’t know what they are<br />
doing. How can you sell a human<br />
being? NAPTIP works with ministries<br />
of Women Affairs in Nigeria, there<br />
are departments in those ministries<br />
that are in charge of adoption<br />
processes. These are the legal and<br />
genuine institutions to deal with. If<br />
you want to adopt a child, you go to<br />
the institutions and apply. It’s a<br />
specialist field. When you get there,<br />
they’ll profile you. The profiling is to<br />
know what your temperaments are<br />
like. They want to know the child<br />
you’re interested in and if you can<br />
bond with the child. The ministry will<br />
give you a time of bonding, allow<br />
you to be coming to see the children;<br />
it’s a period of bonding. The officials<br />
will start vetting you, checking your<br />
background. Then there are legal<br />
documents involved. If you come<br />
from another country to adopt a<br />
•Daniel<br />
Atokolo<br />
as an agency<br />
doesn’t get involved in adoption<br />
process. When we rescue victims, our<br />
first assignment is to stabilise them.<br />
This usually takes a lot of time,<br />
especially with the degree of trauma.<br />
Some of these victims come into our<br />
shelter totally angry with the system.<br />
They are angry and aggressive,<br />
depending on the degree or how they<br />
were trafficked and dehumanised.<br />
We work on them and eventually they<br />
become stabilised and then they tell<br />
their stories.<br />
What about stigma that comes<br />
with child adoption in Nigeria?<br />
We can’t run away from the issue<br />
of stigma in Nigeria. Most couples<br />
do not want people to know that they<br />
adopted the child. As legal as<br />
adoption is, some people don’t want<br />
to be identified with it because of ego.<br />
Some move to another clime for a<br />
while, take a stimulant, which makes<br />
their stomach to start growing and<br />
claim they’re pregnant. They know<br />
they’re not pregnant, but they’ll go<br />
on social media, flaunt their bumps<br />
and do all manner of things in<br />
preparation to the buying of a baby.<br />
It’s a set within a subset. There’s<br />
something they want to do. Some of<br />
them will say they want twins. I<br />
remembered when we arrested a<br />
woman going to Ghana with twins.<br />
She was arrested and the twins taken<br />
for DNA. Do you know that the<br />
children were not twins? They were<br />
not even born on the same day and<br />
are not from the same parents. The<br />
children were born four days apart.<br />
But she passed them off as twins. She<br />
wanted twins, it is a legitimate desire,<br />
but she decided to make it happen.<br />
There was no genetic connection<br />
between her and the children and<br />
none also between the two babies.<br />
The case is in court.<br />
What is NAPTIP doing to check<br />
our girls being trafficked to the<br />
Middle East?<br />
The most important is<br />
sensitisation, which is what we have<br />
been doing and what I’m doing right<br />
now. We are also seriously into<br />
advocacy. As we speak now, states'<br />
anti-human trafficking taskforce are<br />
working. We have also established<br />
anti-human trafficking at Agege. We<br />
are also heading to Alimosho Local<br />
Government, from there to<br />
Boundary, Ajegunle and then to<br />
Badagry. Members of the antihuman<br />
trafficking taskforce include<br />
NAPTIP’s zonal heads, states’<br />
commissioners for justice and<br />
attorneys-general. Other members<br />
are Nigerian Immigration Service,<br />
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence<br />
Corps, Department of State Service,<br />
Nongovernmental Organisations,<br />
Nigerian Prisons, Media, school<br />
Breast Cancer: Man fondling wife’s breast, good for intimacy,<br />
provides stimulation—Mbanugo<br />
By Elizabeth Uwandu<br />
ACCORDING to studies,<br />
female breast cancer is<br />
recognised as one of the major<br />
contributors to high mortality<br />
rate. Worried by this<br />
development, the founder of<br />
Run for a Cure Africa, RFCA,<br />
Dr. (Mrs) Ebele Mbanugo<br />
stated that the country needed<br />
at least 150 radiotherapy<br />
machines in order to make<br />
headway in the fight against<br />
breast cancer.<br />
Mbanugo also urged men to<br />
join in the fight against breast<br />
cancer, saying that a man<br />
fondling with his wife’s breasts<br />
is not only good for intimacy but<br />
it also provides stimulation in<br />
that area. Moreso, the man<br />
being familiar with his wife’s<br />
breasts can help to easily detect<br />
when an abnormality presents<br />
child, you<br />
n e e d<br />
endorsement<br />
from a<br />
judge. It is<br />
because of<br />
t h e<br />
cumbersome<br />
nature of<br />
adoption,<br />
that some<br />
people are<br />
beginning<br />
to exploit the<br />
gap.<br />
Let’s talk<br />
about the<br />
c h i l d<br />
adoption<br />
process in<br />
Nigeria<br />
NAPTIP<br />
it<strong>self</strong>.<br />
Speaking at a free breast<br />
cancer screening organised by<br />
her NGO, in partnership with<br />
Shoprite, in commemoration of<br />
the 2020 World Cancer Day that<br />
saw over 400 women screened<br />
in Lagos, Mbanugo explained<br />
that it was alarming that<br />
Nigeria still grappled with<br />
providing cancer treatment for<br />
the average woman.<br />
According to her: “For us to<br />
be able to fight cancer in this<br />
country, we will need at least<br />
150 radiotherapy machines, as<br />
functional radiotherapy<br />
machines in this country are<br />
three to seven on the average.<br />
My mother had breast cancer,<br />
and the hospital abroad where<br />
she was given treatment has<br />
eight machines. It is alarming<br />
that Nigeria with her huge<br />
population doesn’t have what<br />
that one hospital has. And the<br />
average Nigerian woman does<br />
not easily access the available<br />
machines.”<br />
Mbanugo at the event<br />
tagged: The Big Pink Fight, had<br />
in states including Anambra,<br />
Abuja and Lagos respectively<br />
explained that early detection<br />
remained key to curbing the<br />
surge of breast cancer in<br />
Nigeria. “The value of early<br />
detection is immeasurable<br />
especially in a resource<br />
constraint country like Nigeria.<br />
We do not have access to all the<br />
top of the line drugs and<br />
machinery used in treating<br />
advanced breast cancer.<br />
“The only way to fight breast<br />
cancer in this country is through<br />
early detection. Routine and<br />
annual screening is very<br />
important but a lot of women<br />
wait until they feel something<br />
teachers, school counsellors, the<br />
Nigeria Police and artisans. We also<br />
tell Nigerians to shine their eyes in<br />
order to avoid being trafficked. They<br />
need to look beyond the adverts<br />
traffickers display and the fantastic<br />
salaries. Again, if you see such<br />
adverts and you’re interested in such<br />
a job and you have doubts, please<br />
talk to NAPTIP. We’ll check for you.<br />
There’s no law in Nigeria, which<br />
forbids a full grown Nigerian, who<br />
has the requisite s<strong>kills</strong> and certificate<br />
from working overseas. All NAPTIP<br />
wants to do is to ensure that the<br />
person has taken the necessary<br />
caveats. But we have a way of<br />
checking these employment<br />
agencies; do they have the necessary<br />
certifications to employ? Who are<br />
their contacts over there? What<br />
safeguards are in place for a job<br />
seeker? What are the safeguards to<br />
bring him back? These are the things<br />
that NAPTIP wants to be sure of. We<br />
don’t want our people to go over there<br />
and run into trouble.<br />
Organ harvesting is becoming an<br />
issue…<br />
In Nigeria, everyone is looking for<br />
ways to better their lives. They believe<br />
they would get what they are looking<br />
for when they get overseas. If you<br />
want to leave Nigeria to go overseas<br />
to play football, you have to do<br />
medical tests. Nigerians willingly<br />
submit themselves to all sorts of<br />
medical tests. The truth, however, is<br />
that among those that came<br />
shopping for footballers in Africa or<br />
Nigeria is a man, who is linked to a<br />
sick person overseas. It’s a mafia. The<br />
sick person might need a liver<br />
transplant. If it is kidney, good luck<br />
to you; the person might take one<br />
and leave the other. But if a very rich<br />
man is looking for a liver transplant,<br />
are you not a dead man walking?<br />
They check you medically to see if<br />
you’re compatible. The man that<br />
thinks he’s going overseas to play<br />
football, is not really going there for<br />
football. His liver or kidney is what<br />
is at stake. If you don’t know the<br />
network of organ harvesting and<br />
human trafficking, you’ll miss the<br />
point. Human trafficking is a crime<br />
that is fuelled with heavy dose of<br />
deceits. Along the line, they collect<br />
your passport and travelling<br />
document and then tell you that they<br />
want to carry out another medical<br />
test on you.<br />
•Mrs Ebele Mbanugo<br />
before they come to see the<br />
doctor. Most likely, at that point,<br />
the cancer has gone to its<br />
advanced stage,” she said.
26 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
A detainee has right to bail (2)<br />
By Justice Usman<br />
Bwala<br />
SEE also El-Alim<br />
Mirghani vs Sudan<br />
Gov’t 1960 S.L.J.R 68.<br />
Where excessive bail<br />
conditions are granted it<br />
can be reviewed by<br />
courts SS 334, 125 CPC<br />
and CPA respectively,<br />
Mathias Onuigbo vs<br />
C.O.P supra.<br />
There are two types of<br />
bail Mathias Onuigbo vs<br />
C.O.P supra as follows:<br />
“Bail is mainly of two<br />
types: (1) Self<br />
recognisance by which<br />
the accused person is<br />
merely asked to enter<br />
Justice Bwala<br />
into bond of certain sum<br />
of money which may be<br />
estregated in full in case<br />
he fails to turn up on a<br />
given date; (1) Bond<br />
with surety or sureties<br />
by which he is asked to<br />
enter a bond of a fixed<br />
sum of money and the<br />
surety the same bond by<br />
which they bind<br />
themselves to forfeit a<br />
fixed sum of money in<br />
case of default of<br />
appearance by the<br />
accused person.”<br />
Failure to fulfil bail<br />
bond terms can lead to<br />
forfeiting the bond,<br />
cancellation of the bail<br />
and re-arrested of the<br />
accused person Ss. 348<br />
and 121 CPC and CPA<br />
respectively. A court<br />
can order deposition of<br />
money in a court as a<br />
fulfillment of bail terms<br />
Mathias Onuagbo vs<br />
C.O.P supra.<br />
There are procedures<br />
for forfeiting bail bond<br />
and the procedures<br />
must be meticulously<br />
followed Aiyegoboyin<br />
vs A.G. Oyo 1982 1 NCR<br />
295. The conditions are<br />
a court must be satisfied<br />
bond was been forfeited,<br />
grounds for the<br />
forfeiture of the bond<br />
and it is discretionary<br />
of a court to order<br />
forfeiture S. 354 CPC, R<br />
vs Southampton<br />
Justices 1975 2 All<br />
E.L.R. 1075, El Alim vs<br />
Sudan Gov’t 1960<br />
S.L.J.R.68. A bail bond<br />
must be in writing COP<br />
vs John 1981 1 NCR 139;<br />
R vs Mc Gary 1945 30 Cr.<br />
Ap. R 187.<br />
Bail before trial is<br />
sometimes referred to<br />
pre-trial bail and a<br />
person who has not<br />
been tried and<br />
convicted by a court is<br />
prima facie entitled to<br />
be granted bail unless<br />
there are mitigating<br />
circumstances Ani vs<br />
The State 2002 1 NWLR<br />
(Pt 747) 217. Courts<br />
have inherent power to<br />
grant bail to a person<br />
before his committal for<br />
trial continues unless it<br />
is expressly taken away<br />
R vs Augustino 1950<br />
WWR 1075. Bail will be<br />
refused an applicant<br />
when prosecution<br />
witnesses are afraid to<br />
testify in the case<br />
Bamaiyi vs The State<br />
2001 2 NWLR (Pt 698)<br />
435. An applicant<br />
awaiting trial who is<br />
refused bail pending<br />
trial should be brought<br />
to court within a two<br />
months period<br />
stipulated in S. 35(4)<br />
constitution Bamaiyi vs<br />
The State supra. There<br />
are many factors<br />
Continues on page 27<br />
08152060944<br />
S’Court: SANs back Reps' call for more justices<br />
•Agbakoba, SAN<br />
By Innocent<br />
Anaba, Henry<br />
Ojelu & Onozure<br />
Dania<br />
IN apparent response<br />
to Vanguard Law and<br />
Human Rights<br />
publication on retiring<br />
justices of the Supreme<br />
Court, the House of<br />
Representatives last<br />
week called on President<br />
Muhammadu Buhari to<br />
appoint eight more<br />
justices to bring the<br />
number of justices to 21<br />
as allowed by the<br />
constitution. Many<br />
senior lawyers have since<br />
backed the call by the<br />
House, insisting that<br />
appointment of more<br />
justices to the apex court<br />
would help reduce the<br />
workload of jurists and<br />
ensure efficient<br />
management and<br />
disposition of cases.<br />
Here are the views<br />
expressed by the senior<br />
lawyers.<br />
Dr Olisa Agbakoba,<br />
SAN<br />
This is very important<br />
as the workload of the<br />
Supreme Court is very<br />
heavy.<br />
Prof Ernest Ojukwu,<br />
SAN<br />
The call for the<br />
appointment of<br />
additional justices to<br />
make up the<br />
constitutionally provided<br />
number of 21 justices is<br />
•Ojukwu, SAN<br />
an additional impetus to<br />
solving the problems of<br />
snail speed justice and<br />
access at the Supreme<br />
Court. The truth is that<br />
our Supreme Court<br />
Justices are overworked<br />
but the ultimate solution<br />
to the problem cannot<br />
come just by the<br />
appointment of<br />
additional justices. The<br />
United States Supreme<br />
Court is made up of only<br />
nine justices and cases<br />
there do not take<br />
decades to end. There<br />
are two pronged<br />
solutions that will solve<br />
the problem of<br />
congestion, snail-speed<br />
justice and the ultimate<br />
overburden on the<br />
justices of the Supreme<br />
Court.<br />
One is <strong>self</strong>-solution. As<br />
far as I am concerned the<br />
complaint of overwork<br />
by the Justices is also<br />
<strong>self</strong>-imposed. They<br />
should stop shedding<br />
crocodile tears and do<br />
the needful to solve their<br />
problems. The Supreme<br />
Court is the final court.<br />
Whatever they say<br />
becomes law. It is left to<br />
them to interpret the<br />
Constitutional provisions<br />
in a way that divests<br />
them of the burden of<br />
taking up all manner of<br />
cases in the guise of<br />
appeal. There is a<br />
provision for leave to<br />
appeal in many aspects<br />
of their jurisdiction. Why<br />
have they not imposed<br />
restrictive interpretation<br />
•Akuma, SAN<br />
on this provision and<br />
why are they not<br />
rejecting many more<br />
cases than they have<br />
done so far? This is the<br />
weapon used by the<br />
Supreme Court of the<br />
US.<br />
They decide which<br />
case merits hearing and<br />
which does not. Our<br />
Justices of the Supreme<br />
Court can do better than<br />
they have done with<br />
their powers of<br />
interpretation. It does<br />
not matter that it is not<br />
what they are used to.<br />
The times have changed.<br />
They should change with<br />
the times too. In addition<br />
to their <strong>self</strong>-imposed<br />
The truth is<br />
that our<br />
Supreme Court<br />
Justices are<br />
overworked but<br />
the ultimate<br />
solution to the<br />
problem cannot<br />
come just by<br />
the<br />
appointment of<br />
additional<br />
justices<br />
•Babatunde, SAN<br />
burden, it is the same<br />
Supreme Court that<br />
lobbied for additional<br />
jurisdiction some years<br />
back when they sought<br />
and obtained<br />
constitutional<br />
amendments to have the<br />
jurisdiction to hear<br />
appeals from the<br />
Governorship election<br />
petitions. That<br />
jurisdiction foisted on<br />
it<strong>self</strong> by it<strong>self</strong> is the<br />
greatest challenge to<br />
justice delivery in the<br />
country today.<br />
The Supreme Court<br />
virtually spends more<br />
than one year hearing<br />
appeals from<br />
Governorship elections<br />
over and above other<br />
important disputes<br />
including human rights,<br />
and commercial<br />
disagreements. The<br />
second way out is to go<br />
all out for a constitutional<br />
amendment that will<br />
terminate over 75% of<br />
the current cases that go<br />
to the Supreme Court at<br />
the Court of Appeal. In<br />
addition I think we<br />
should restrict the<br />
present Court of Appeal<br />
to appeals on Federal<br />
matters and give them<br />
powers to determine<br />
when to take<br />
interlocutory appeals,<br />
while at the same time<br />
creating State Appeal<br />
Courts where most state<br />
matters should end other<br />
than cases where<br />
sentences of death has<br />
been imposed.<br />
•Hon, SAN<br />
Chief Solo Akuma,<br />
SAN<br />
I would support the<br />
appointment of 8 Justices<br />
of the Supreme Court<br />
without delay in order to<br />
have full complement of<br />
the Justices of that court.<br />
However the said<br />
appointment will not<br />
solve the problems of too<br />
many Appeals to be<br />
handled by the court.<br />
The best way to solve the<br />
problem of having so<br />
many cases at the<br />
Supreme Court is to<br />
reduce the subject matter<br />
of cases that terminate at<br />
the Supreme Court or in<br />
the alternative create<br />
Zonal Supreme Court.<br />
Layi Babatunde, SAN<br />
Filling the existing<br />
vacancies in our apex<br />
court with the right<br />
caliber of justices , will<br />
no doubt obviate the<br />
avoidable burden being<br />
piled on overworked<br />
justices of that unrivaled<br />
court . Not doing so over<br />
the years is beginning to<br />
look like a punitive<br />
measure, which should<br />
not be. The additional<br />
appointments are long<br />
overdue & there can be<br />
no better time than now<br />
when more justices are<br />
on their way out .It’s a<br />
good thing to do and<br />
Nigeria should not<br />
always be short of good<br />
things.<br />
Sebastine Hon, SAN<br />
•Pedro, SAN<br />
It is a very welcome<br />
development. Section<br />
230(2) of the 1999<br />
Constitution as amended<br />
stipulates that maximum<br />
of 21 Justices be<br />
appointed for the<br />
Supreme Court.<br />
Presently, we have just<br />
about 13 of them. If we<br />
juxtapose this with the<br />
thousands of cases on<br />
the Supreme Court<br />
docket, we would realise<br />
that the learned Justices<br />
of the apex Court are<br />
overburdened, to say the<br />
very least. Not only that,<br />
looking at the retirement<br />
age of justices of that<br />
court, we must further<br />
accept that we have an<br />
ageing Judex. The Chief<br />
Justice of Nigeria, I.T.<br />
Tanko, is 66 plus, having<br />
been born in December,<br />
1953. Then, both<br />
Rhodes-Vivour, JSC and<br />
Ngwuta, JSC are 69, to<br />
retire next year.<br />
“Justice Paul Galinje<br />
will retire this April,<br />
while both Justices Mary<br />
Peter-Odili and Ejembi<br />
Eko will retire in 2022,<br />
to be followed by Justices<br />
I.T. Muhammad (CJN),<br />
M.D. Muhammad and<br />
Amina Augie, who will<br />
both retire in 2023.<br />
You can, therefore, see<br />
that right between April,<br />
2020 and 2023, eight<br />
Justices of the summit<br />
Court will exit that<br />
Court. The earlier fresh<br />
hands are injected into<br />
Continues on page 27<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K
Eulogies for Bulkachuwa, PCA on retirement<br />
IT was eulogies for outgoing<br />
President of the Court of<br />
Appeal, Justice Zainab<br />
Bulkachuwa last last week<br />
Wednesday valedictory court<br />
session held in her honour at<br />
the Court of Appeal, Lagos<br />
Division.<br />
Bulkachuwa, retiring on her<br />
attainment of the mandatory<br />
age of 70 said in her remarks<br />
that she would<br />
“I will still be with my sisters<br />
and brothers in the Supreme<br />
Court, Court of Appeal and<br />
high courts. I have mentored<br />
so many young judicial<br />
officers and upcoming lawyers<br />
to carry on the legacies. I will<br />
still be part of the judicial<br />
system despite my<br />
retirement,” she said.<br />
Speaking behalf of the Body<br />
of Senior Advocates, Chief<br />
Wole Olanipekun SAN, said<br />
Bulkachuwa deserves all the<br />
accolade being showered on<br />
her, having discharged her<br />
duties as President of the<br />
Court of Appeal.<br />
He noted that it was the<br />
judiciary that is gradually<br />
losing its dignity and respect,<br />
as unsavoury and<br />
uncomplimentary remarks<br />
about judicial officers are seen<br />
on the social media on a daily<br />
basis. Former Lagos State<br />
Attorney-General, Adiniji<br />
Kazeem, SAN, who spoke on<br />
behalf of the President of the<br />
Nigerian Bar Association,<br />
Continued from page 26<br />
the system, the better. This<br />
will make our outgoing<br />
Justices blend better with their<br />
incoming colleagues, for better<br />
justice administration.<br />
Clearly, therefore, the<br />
advantages of appointing<br />
more Justices far outweigh the<br />
reverse of it.<br />
Lawal Pedro, SAN<br />
Appointment of more justices<br />
to have the full complement of<br />
21 justices for the Supreme<br />
Court is a constitutional<br />
requirement. Therefore there<br />
should be no debate about<br />
this. I also do not see any<br />
reason for propping or<br />
pleading with the appropriate<br />
authorities to exercise their<br />
power under the constitution<br />
for the benefit of the county as<br />
a whole and litigants having<br />
appeals in the court in<br />
particular. I however have my<br />
doubts if having full<br />
complement of justices of the<br />
Supreme Court will solves the<br />
challenges facing the court<br />
and litigants having cases in<br />
EDITORIAL<br />
Innocent Anaba<br />
( Editor)<br />
Ikechukwu Nnochiri<br />
Henry Ojelu<br />
Onozure Dania<br />
Jane Ochewendoo<br />
NBA, on the occasion, said<br />
“My Lord’s looks and<br />
appearance actually belie My<br />
Lord’s age of almost70. It<br />
surely must be the Grace of<br />
God, above all, that keeps My<br />
Lord, the PCA, looking so<br />
ageless and young.<br />
A detainee has right to bail (2)<br />
Continues on page 27<br />
considered before a court<br />
grants bail pending trial<br />
Shafiu vs The State 2002 4<br />
NWLR (Pt 757) 265.<br />
When a suspect will not<br />
appear in court to face trial,<br />
commit other crimes or has<br />
record of previous<br />
convictions bail will be<br />
denied Girdhar vs R 1960 E.A.<br />
320. When a suspect interfere<br />
with investigation bail will be<br />
denied James Danbaba vs The<br />
State 2000 14 NWLR (Pt 687)<br />
396. The fact that a suspect<br />
has grievous charges against<br />
him is not a ground to refuse<br />
him bail James Danbaba vs<br />
The State supra.<br />
A suspect who has not been<br />
tried and convicted by court<br />
should be granted bail as a<br />
matter of course Emeka Ani<br />
vs The State 2001 FWLR (Pt<br />
81) 1715. Bail will be refused<br />
to an applicant who admitted<br />
committing a crime or<br />
investigation of his case was<br />
still going on Suleman Adamu<br />
the court. As there are many<br />
appeals of 10years old and<br />
above yet to be determined<br />
not due to the fault of the<br />
justices but the existing<br />
structure and system. We<br />
therefore need to start<br />
thinking of restructuring the<br />
judicial system in the country<br />
by which each State will have<br />
its Supreme Court and not all<br />
natures or manners of cases<br />
will come to the Supreme<br />
Court for determination.<br />
Quakers Norrison, SAN<br />
vs C.O.P 2006 All FWLR (Pt<br />
298) 1348. Prisoners charged<br />
with high offences will not be<br />
granted bail Re Nottingham<br />
Corporation 1897 2 Q.B. 502.<br />
Capital offences are not<br />
bailable unless there are<br />
compelling and constraining<br />
circumstances COP vs Dr<br />
Iruoma 1977 1MSLR 80.<br />
Inordinate delay in<br />
prosecuting a case is a ground<br />
to grant bail pending trial COP<br />
vs Dr Iruoma supra. An<br />
applicant who has history of<br />
past convictions and<br />
committing other offences<br />
while on bail will have his bail<br />
revoked H.M. Postmaster vs<br />
Whitehouse 1951 35 Cr. A.P.R<br />
8<br />
Ẇhen a prosecutor asks for<br />
adjournment on the ground<br />
that the facts are insufficient<br />
to proceed against an accused<br />
person means there is no case<br />
against a suspect he is entitled<br />
to bail COP vs Dr Iruoma<br />
supra. When an applicant for<br />
bail pending hearing<br />
Quite frankly the<br />
appointment of additional<br />
justices for the apex court is<br />
long overdue. The current<br />
CJN recently stated that the<br />
court is inundated with<br />
appeals. I believe the full<br />
complement of 21 justices as<br />
prescribed by the Constitution<br />
will ease the apex court of the<br />
current burden. I commend<br />
the President, who has also<br />
expressed his desire for the<br />
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 27<br />
S’Court: : SANs back Reps' call for more justices<br />
•Norrison, SAN<br />
“The life of Bulkachuwa,<br />
PCA, reminds us all what the<br />
Nigerian girl-child and indeed<br />
woman can achieve with her<br />
God-given intellect and<br />
talents if given the chance and<br />
opportunity. We more often<br />
than not scoff at the idea that<br />
•Odubela, SAN<br />
•Adegboruwa, SAN<br />
women are naturally gifted in<br />
multi-tasking but before us<br />
today is one illustrative<br />
example of extremely<br />
successful multi-tasking<br />
woman who has graciously<br />
and with great dexterity and<br />
enormous success combined<br />
her role as wife, mother,<br />
grandmother, aunt and highachieving<br />
career and<br />
professional women.<br />
“My Lord Bulkachuwa<br />
arrived the Court of Appeal<br />
Bench from a sustained and<br />
illustrious judicial career that<br />
interferes with the course of<br />
justice bail will be denied A.<br />
G. vs Duffy 1942 I.R. 529. It is<br />
the duty of the prosecution<br />
who opposed bail to provide<br />
prima facie evidence that the<br />
case against an accused<br />
person will succeed The State<br />
vs Lambert Onwu 1978<br />
IMSLR 154.<br />
Whatever stage application<br />
for bail is made the health of<br />
an applicant is a weighty<br />
matter to be considered Chief<br />
Olabode vs FRN 2010 5 NWLR<br />
(Pt 1187) 254.<br />
Bail will not be granted to an<br />
applicant who has other cases<br />
pending against him Michael<br />
Patrick Philips 1948 32 Cr<br />
APR 47. Bail must not be<br />
refused for personal<br />
vendetta, capricious reasons<br />
or to force an accused person<br />
to plead guilty Ugwumba<br />
Elisha vs C.O.P 1974 4 E.C.<br />
S.L.R 362. Difficulties<br />
encountered by an applicant<br />
is not a ground for granting<br />
bail but is a ground to adopt<br />
liberal approach Raghbir<br />
need to appoint more<br />
justices for the<br />
Supreme Court.<br />
However, Section 153<br />
of the Constitution<br />
which established<br />
the National Judicial<br />
Council, CJN, is<br />
vested with the<br />
power to recommend<br />
suitably qualified<br />
persons to the<br />
President for<br />
appointment as<br />
judicial officers, who<br />
in turn is<br />
constitutionally<br />
required to forward<br />
such names to the<br />
Senate for<br />
confirmation. The intervention<br />
by the House of<br />
Representatives by asking the<br />
President to appoint new<br />
justices is not within the<br />
purview of the President’s<br />
powers as donated by the<br />
Constitution but the NJC,<br />
being the body empowered<br />
constitutionally under Section<br />
21 of the third schedule to<br />
make recommendations to the<br />
President for appointment of<br />
judicial officers save this<br />
power is<br />
exercised<br />
t h e<br />
President<br />
cannot.<br />
John<br />
Odubela,<br />
SAN<br />
I think<br />
this is<br />
very key,<br />
necessary<br />
a n d<br />
urgent for<br />
t h e<br />
administration<br />
of justice<br />
in Nigeria<br />
particularly<br />
started with her appointment<br />
as a Magistrate with the<br />
Kaduna State Judiciary in<br />
1980.<br />
“My Lords, to raise an issue<br />
that is of great concern to<br />
lawyers generally and in<br />
particular, lawyers and<br />
litigants in the Lagos Division<br />
of this court i.e. the need for<br />
appointment of more Justices<br />
of the Courts of Appeal. The<br />
Justices of this Division in<br />
particular have been greatly<br />
overworked not just because<br />
of the litigious nature of<br />
Nigerians generally."<br />
Lambon vs R 1933 E.A. 337.<br />
Sections 27 and 332 of the<br />
Nigeria Police Act allows<br />
police officers to release on<br />
bail those arrested for minor<br />
offences. Under S. 332 (vii) of<br />
the Police Act the second in<br />
command in a police station<br />
can release on bail a suspect<br />
arrested without warrant.<br />
Why it is the second in<br />
command who grants a bail in<br />
a police station and not the<br />
head or any other person is<br />
not clear. When police officer<br />
releases on bail a suspect on<br />
conditions and the suspect<br />
fails to satisfy those<br />
conditions the suspect is no<br />
longer illegally detained Eda<br />
vs COP 1980 1 NCR 14.<br />
Political motivation is not a<br />
ground to warrant an<br />
applicant get bail Aiyegboyin<br />
vs A.G. 1982 1 NCR 295.<br />
There is nothing in Nigerian<br />
law known as “holding<br />
charge” a major reason for<br />
keeping suspects in custody<br />
pending being charged to<br />
court Chief Pat Ewere vs COP<br />
1993 6 NWLR (Pt 299) 333.<br />
at the apex court. Recent<br />
events and occurrences have<br />
shown that our apex court is<br />
over burdened with cases<br />
particularly pre and post<br />
election matters. The court is<br />
over burdened with the level<br />
of so many appeals which are<br />
pending. I believe if we have<br />
the full compliments of the<br />
court it will help in getting<br />
more panels that will dispose<br />
some of these pending<br />
appeals. It’s therefore<br />
important that the necessary<br />
arms of government and<br />
bodies should take appropriate<br />
steps towards ensuring that<br />
we have full compliments of<br />
the court.<br />
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa,<br />
SAN<br />
I urge the President to<br />
urgent act upon the<br />
recommendations of the<br />
National Judicial Council by<br />
confirming the names of<br />
Justices recommended for<br />
elevation to the Supreme<br />
Court. The delay is affecting<br />
the performances of the apex<br />
court. “There is no reason<br />
why, after so many months<br />
upon the recommendation of<br />
the NJC that the President has<br />
not taken steps to act upon it,<br />
by acting on it. I have noticed<br />
that this attitude of the<br />
Presidency is peculiar to the<br />
judiciary as in other cases,<br />
appointments are done with<br />
alacrity. Beyond these<br />
appointments however, is the<br />
need to streamline the<br />
workload of the Supreme<br />
Court, to filter out some<br />
causes, as the Supreme Court<br />
should not be burdened with<br />
some local issues that should<br />
ordinarily end in the Court of<br />
Appeal, especially criminal<br />
matters and interlocutory<br />
appeals.”
28 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 29
30— Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020
NIGERIA has had two types<br />
of leader. One is the<br />
accidental type; the other the<br />
intentional. The accidental<br />
leaders never sought to be<br />
president, but had it thrust on them.<br />
But the intentional leaders<br />
desperately wanted the office,<br />
pursued it tenaciously, and finally<br />
secured it. President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari is the onlyone among<br />
Nigeria’scivilian leaderswho<br />
doggedly sought the office of<br />
president; others were accidental<br />
leaders who attained the highest<br />
office serendipitously.<br />
Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first<br />
Prime Minister, secured the<br />
position at the behest of his leader,<br />
Ahmadu Bello, the power behind<br />
the throne. Shehu Shagari’s<br />
highest ambition, by his own<br />
admission, was to be a senator<br />
before he was drafted to run for<br />
president. Olusegun Obasanjo was<br />
in jail from June 1995 until<br />
General Abdulsalami Abubakar<br />
released him in June 1998. He<br />
never dreamt of becoming<br />
president. But, as General Ishaya<br />
Bamaiyi, the then chief of army<br />
staff, wrote in his book, Vindication<br />
of a General, the military<br />
establishment decided to make<br />
Obasanjo president in 1999. And<br />
what about Presidents Umaru<br />
Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck<br />
Jonathan? Well,everyone knows<br />
they were handpicked by<br />
Obasanjo. They never, in their<br />
wildest dreams, sought to be<br />
president!<br />
But not Buhari. He ran for<br />
president three times before<br />
eventually winning on the fourth.<br />
From 2003 when he first vied for<br />
the presidency to 2015 when he<br />
Buhari wanted power so badly, yet<br />
has done so little with it<br />
finally won, Buhari had actively<br />
sought the office for 12 years. Each<br />
time he lost, he went all the way to<br />
the Supreme Court to try and<br />
overturn the result. So determined<br />
was he to become president that,<br />
in 2015, he opportunistically<br />
formed an alliance with the<br />
politicians that, as a military<br />
dictator, he would have sent to jail<br />
for corruption!<br />
Now, I have a theory. If someone<br />
has been trying actively for 12<br />
years to govern his country, it must<br />
be that he has clear ideas what he<br />
would do to move the country<br />
forward, if elected. A dogged<br />
seeker of the office of president<br />
should be more prepared than an<br />
accidental occupier of the office.<br />
Take Chief Obafemi Awolowo.<br />
He was also tenacious in seeking<br />
to be president, although he only<br />
ran twice – in 1979 and 1983. But<br />
those who knew Awolowo would<br />
confirm that he spent night and<br />
day planning to the minutest detail<br />
what he would do if elected. Of<br />
course, Awolowo never became<br />
president; so we will never know<br />
what kind of president he would<br />
have turned out to be. But judging<br />
by his superlative performance as<br />
Premier of Western Nigeria, we<br />
could say that, as a visionary and<br />
competent leader of monumental<br />
proportions, he would have<br />
assembled the best brains from<br />
across Nigeria, and provided<br />
outstanding leadership, to<br />
transform this country.<br />
ButBuhari is not Awolowo. For a<br />
start, Awolowo was an intellectual<br />
giant–a voracious reader and<br />
prolific writer. His intellectual<br />
contributions to the development<br />
of Nigeria, captured in several<br />
outstanding books, are<br />
unparalleled. His book, Path to<br />
Nigerian Freedom, was almost as<br />
seminal in shaping the debate<br />
about Nigeria’s federalism as<br />
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 —31<br />
Alexander Hamilton and James<br />
Madison’s The Federalist Papers<br />
were in influencing the American<br />
Constitution.<br />
The English philosopher Francis<br />
Bacon famously said: “Reading<br />
maketh a full man; conference a<br />
ready man; and writing an exact<br />
man”.Leaders are indeed readers.<br />
But as Junaid Mohammed, a<br />
former federal legislator, said in<br />
an interview: “Buhari doesn’t<br />
read.” So, then, it’s not surprising<br />
that, despite seeking power for 12<br />
years, Buhari committed no<br />
serious intellectual effort to putting<br />
together a coherent vision and a<br />
credible programme of actions for<br />
transforming this country.Yet,<br />
Nigeria is too complex to be run<br />
by intellectual vacuity. No one<br />
should seek to lead this country,<br />
let alone pursue that ambition<br />
doggedly, without knowing what<br />
he would do with the power.<br />
Buhari, apparently, didn’t!<br />
I mean, President Buhari is now<br />
five years in power, and has only<br />
three more before leaving office in<br />
2023. So, what has he achieved to<br />
date? Recently, there were calls for<br />
his resignation due to his utter<br />
inability to tackle the debilitating<br />
insecurity in the country. His<br />
government is completely<br />
dysfunctional: the cabals are<br />
fighting each other openly, and the<br />
service chiefs,despite their<br />
ineptitude, are too powerful to be<br />
sacked, even though their tenures<br />
have expired. Notwithstanding the<br />
recent miniscule GDP growth, the<br />
economy remains moribund and<br />
poverty is deepening. Even<br />
corruption, despite the anti-graft<br />
hype, has not gone away, what with<br />
the questionable handling of the<br />
Abacha loot!<br />
Lassa fever and other plagues: When we eat our way to death<br />
By KAYODE OJEWALE<br />
OF serious health concern lately has been<br />
the ravaging scourge and spread of<br />
Lassa fever in Nigeria. Lassa fever has been a<br />
major health challenge in West Africa and its<br />
spread has created panic even as concerned<br />
private and public health institutions battle<br />
hard to curtail it every year when it raises its<br />
ugly head.<br />
As at first week in February 2020, the death<br />
toll from Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria had<br />
risen to 47 as disclosed by Nigeria Centre for<br />
Disease Control in its weekly situation update<br />
for week five (January 27 to February 2). The<br />
spread of this killer-disease may not be easily<br />
curbed since there is no known vaccine for the<br />
prevention of the disease for now. However, it<br />
could be curtailed and managed when<br />
informed decisions are taken by every citizen.<br />
What makes Lassa fever challenging and a<br />
bit difficult to diagnose and treat is the fact<br />
that it initially assumes and mimics the<br />
symptoms of malaria. This in turn leads to<br />
delays in treatment because only few<br />
laboratories in Nigeria can diagnose Lassa<br />
fever virus. Lack of treatment commencement<br />
worsens the condition of an infected person as<br />
early diagnosis and treatment of the disease<br />
are key to any survival chance.<br />
It is also important to bring to the attention<br />
of Nigerians that we should be wary of smoked<br />
meat slices (Suya), bean cake (popularly called<br />
‘akara’ in local parlance), roasted corn and<br />
other food items or snacks that are usually<br />
sold by wrapping them in old newspapers or<br />
other paper materials where rodents might<br />
have excreted on them. That paper-wrapped<br />
food item may not be washed or rinsed before<br />
consuming so it becomes unhealthy to eat. It<br />
is, therefore, not hygienic to keep food items in<br />
used papers. These papers may not, by mere<br />
visual inspection, reveal rodents’ urine or<br />
excreta, so difficulty may arise in discerning<br />
which ones are contaminated or not. One never<br />
can tell if these papers have come in contact<br />
with excreta from rats. When an individual then<br />
consumes food items wrapped in these<br />
contaminated papers, such a one may be at<br />
high risk of contracting Lassa fever. It is,<br />
therefore, advisable to play safe by taking your<br />
container to receive the food items at the point<br />
of sales or requesting them to be sold in a safe<br />
and healthy wrapper.<br />
Not too long ago, a Director of Public Health,<br />
Enugu State, Dr. Boniface Okolo, warned<br />
Nigerians against the consumption of cassava<br />
flakes (garri) to avoid contacting Lassa fever.<br />
Dr. Boniface said the rats that caused the<br />
disease were mostly in contact with the most<br />
popular Nigerian staple food, garri. When<br />
garri is soaked in ordinary water and<br />
consumed, one is exposed to the risk of<br />
contracting Lassa fever. But if the water is boiled<br />
to make ‘eba’, it could go a long way to kill the<br />
bacteria caused by pest or rodents in garri.<br />
Last month, Nigerians woke to receive a<br />
shocking alert issued by the National Agency<br />
for Food and Drug Administration and<br />
Control, NAFDAC, on the use of paracetamol<br />
as tenderizers to cook meat by some<br />
unscrupulous food vendors. Paracetamol is<br />
added to soften the meat thereby saving cost of<br />
cooking for a longer time. Some households<br />
and restaurants have adopted this fast but<br />
deadly means of cooking meats meant for<br />
consumption. No wonder some meats are so<br />
soft and tender that they can be split into halves<br />
with ordinary plastic spoons or bare hands. It<br />
is not to say that there are no other healthy and<br />
legitimate ways of tenderising meats but there<br />
are other harmful, illegal and unhealthy ways<br />
of boiling meats as revealed in a recent<br />
warning issued by NAFDAC.<br />
The public alert from NAFDAC reads: “The<br />
members of the public, especially restaurant<br />
operators are cautioned to desist from the<br />
dangerous and unapproved use of<br />
paracetamol tablets to soften meat used in food<br />
preparation, as such illegal practice makes<br />
food to become toxic, unwholesome and unfit<br />
for human consumption.” The statement<br />
further explains the effects and health<br />
implications of consuming paracetamoltreated<br />
meats. The statement adds: “When used<br />
to cook, paracetamol is broken down (or<br />
President Buhari<br />
should leave the<br />
economy to his vice<br />
president, in a de facto<br />
prime-ministerial<br />
capacity, and focus on<br />
restructuring Nigeria<br />
hydrolyzed) into a toxic substance. This<br />
substance untimely damages the liver and<br />
some other organs in the body. Thus, the<br />
consumption of toxic and unwholesome food<br />
illegally prepared using paracetamol tablets<br />
may result in serious health consequences,<br />
including liver damage, kidney failure and<br />
untimely death”.<br />
As alternatives to paracetamol tablets,<br />
NAFDAC suggested other established and safe<br />
methods of tenderising meat. They include the<br />
following: Cooking with a pressure cooker;<br />
marinating (soaking) with vinegar, citrus juices<br />
or wine before cooking; marinating with<br />
enzymes (pineapple, pawpaw, kiwi, ginger and<br />
To nip the spread of Lassa fever<br />
and other plagues in the bud,<br />
there should be continuous<br />
sensitisation of the general public<br />
on various personal preventive<br />
measures<br />
Asian pear contain enzymes which can soften<br />
the meat); slow-cooking the meat or using<br />
commercial meat tenderisers in moderation<br />
which are sold in powder or liquid form.<br />
A UK-based healthcare professional and<br />
medical doctor, Seyi Olanipekun, is of the<br />
opinion that quantity has to be taken into<br />
account before paracetamol, PCM, can<br />
become toxic to the body. He condemned the<br />
strange use of PCM in cooking as a discovery<br />
or research trend in a wrong direction by<br />
whoever did. In his words: “Consuming meat<br />
that was cooked with a lot of PCM can cause<br />
its overdose. PCM is metabolised by the liver,<br />
and hence it gets hit and this can result in liver<br />
failure.” In order to corroborate his point on<br />
the damaging effects of large doses of PCM<br />
on the body, Dr. Olanipekun revealed that,<br />
people now commit suicide by ingesting large<br />
quantities of PCM. According to the UK-based<br />
medical expert, an individual who takes a large<br />
overdose of PCM may die within a short period<br />
if not treated.<br />
It becomes scary and worrisome to know<br />
Send Opinions & Letters to:<br />
opinions1234@yahoo.com<br />
So, back to the question: Why did<br />
Buhari doggedly chase the<br />
presidencyfor 12 years? I have<br />
another theory. Remember Buhari<br />
was overthrown by his military<br />
colleagues in 1985. Well, he did not<br />
forget or forgive the “betrayal”<br />
and saw becoming president as a<br />
sweet revenge, the only way to<br />
redeem his honour and continue<br />
what he saw as his unfinished<br />
business. Indeed, in 2016, Buhari<br />
gloated about his victory. “I can<br />
claim superior knowledge over the<br />
opposition because, in the end, I<br />
have succeeded”. But where<br />
exactly is the “superior<br />
knowledge”? Well, it’s in the fact<br />
that he “succeeded”in becoming<br />
president, a vindication, as he saw<br />
it, of his “achievements” as a<br />
military head of state.<br />
Truth is, Buhari came to power<br />
in 2015, after 12 years of<br />
relentlessly trying to be president,<br />
with no fresh ideas. As a result, he<br />
has been running Nigeria almost<br />
exactly as he ran it from 1983 to<br />
1985. His economic dirigisme,<br />
antipathy to political reforms and<br />
passé approaches to tackling<br />
corruption and insecurity have left<br />
Nigeria adrift and chaotic.<br />
A word of advice. President<br />
Buhari should leave the economy<br />
to his vice president, in a de facto<br />
prime-ministerial capacity, and<br />
focus on restructuring Nigeria.<br />
Time is short. Helping Nigeria to<br />
create an enduring political and<br />
constitutional settlement is a<br />
legacy Buhari must seek to leave<br />
behind; otherwise, he would be<br />
remembered as someone who<br />
wanted power so badly but did<br />
nothing with it. A bad legacy<br />
indeed!<br />
that some food vendors deliberately indulge<br />
in toxic processing practices. It was recently<br />
revealed by some government officials in Osun<br />
State that some food vendors in the state use<br />
bleach to process cassava used for garri. This<br />
practice is not only unhealthy it is heartless<br />
and barbaric too. It, therefore, becomes<br />
imperative for NAFDAC, the food safety agency<br />
in the country, to arrest, prosecute and make<br />
public culprits who put consumers in harm’s<br />
way through such deadly practice.<br />
Another plague, coronavirus, has claimed<br />
more lives than SARS did in 2002/2003<br />
worldwide. Although there is no reported case<br />
of coronavirus yet in Nigeria, Nigerians must,<br />
in order to protect their health and prevent this<br />
disease outbreak, begin to practise protective<br />
measures against the deadly coronavirus<br />
presently tearing China apart. One of such<br />
measures is washing of hands with soap and<br />
water frequently. Also avoid touching your<br />
mouth, nose or eyes with unclean hands. Some<br />
health experts have also warned against<br />
consumption of raw or undercooked animal<br />
products.<br />
We should deploy the best practice of food<br />
storage to prevent contracting and spreading<br />
of diseases that could be avoided by simple<br />
hygiene practice at home. Air-tight containers<br />
must be used to store food items, especially<br />
grains/cereals and powdery food items. Fruits<br />
and raw vegetables should be thoroughly and<br />
properly washed before consuming.<br />
Above all, diseases of any kind can be reduced<br />
if not kept at bay if we adopt regular<br />
handwashing practice to prevent easy spread<br />
of diseases. Our preparedness for and response<br />
to disease outbreaks, especially Lassa fever<br />
which ravages Africa’s most populous country<br />
yearly, would go a long way in reducing deaths<br />
that may arise from the spread of the disease.<br />
Furthermore, to nip the spread of Lassa fever<br />
and other plagues in the bud, there should be<br />
public awareness and continuous sensitisation<br />
of the general public on various personal<br />
preventive measures to curtail diseases indoors<br />
or outdoors.<br />
* Ojewale, a commentator on national issues,<br />
wrote from Idimu, Lagos via<br />
kayodeojewale@gmail.com.
32— Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 33<br />
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058<br />
COURTESY VISIT: From left — CRP. Centre for Change, Mr. Gbenga Ganzallo; Gen. Sec. Centre for<br />
Change, Comrade Isioma Olasunkanmi; Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2, AIG<br />
Ahmed Illiyasu; President, Centre for Change, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin; Zonal Police PRO, DSP. Hauwa<br />
Idris-Adamu, during the Courtesy Visit by Assistant Inspector General of Police to Centre for Change,<br />
Tuesday. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.<br />
Oil companies’ MoUs with host communities<br />
oppressive, says A'Ibom govt<br />
By Harris Emanuel<br />
UYO—OIL rich Akwa<br />
Ibom State has taken<br />
the International Oil Companies<br />
and other oil and<br />
gas players in the state to<br />
the cleaners over what it<br />
described as their oppressive<br />
Memoranda of Understanding,<br />
MoU, with their<br />
host communities.<br />
State Commissioner for<br />
Environment and Petroleum<br />
Resources, Ekong<br />
Sampson, who stated this,<br />
observed that the lopsided<br />
agreements have always<br />
been the sources of restiveness,<br />
tension and suspicion<br />
among the people of the<br />
host communities.<br />
To this end, he said the<br />
state government had taken<br />
proactive measures to<br />
ensure the standardization<br />
of agreements between the<br />
oil firms and host communities,<br />
so as to engender<br />
peace, security and Development.<br />
He added that the state<br />
government had directed<br />
the oil companies and allied<br />
companies operating<br />
in the state to open functional<br />
offices in the state to<br />
bring their services closer<br />
to the areas of their operations,<br />
as according to him,<br />
the state government was<br />
deprived of substantial financial<br />
benefits from these<br />
companies.<br />
He said, “We at the ministry<br />
level are making efforts<br />
to standardize the<br />
MoU which the IOCs and<br />
other oil and gas companies<br />
with the host communities.<br />
We believe that this<br />
measure would engender<br />
peace. So, the state government<br />
is committed to getting<br />
the IOCs to work with<br />
standardise MoUs. We are<br />
trying to standardise.<br />
“We believe that when we<br />
standardise the MoUs, restiveness,<br />
tension, distrust<br />
would be reduced to the<br />
barest minimum because<br />
some of the MoUs are<br />
clearly oppressive and substantially<br />
deprive the host<br />
communities and indeed<br />
the state government of<br />
their rights. We are working<br />
hard to standardize the<br />
MoU.<br />
“The host communities’<br />
play into the hands of the<br />
IOCs and that is the truth.<br />
So, what the IOCs simply<br />
do is to exploit the disunity<br />
among the host communities.<br />
So, we as a state government<br />
, we have directed<br />
that IOCs and other oil<br />
and gas companies and<br />
their service companies<br />
must have functional offices<br />
in Akwa Ibom State<br />
because when they have<br />
operate functional offices<br />
in the state, it is easier<br />
for the state and the<br />
host communities to work<br />
with them. It also will<br />
help them to stabilise<br />
their operations.<br />
‘’When the IOCs and<br />
other players become distant,<br />
they create rooms<br />
for tension and misunderstanding<br />
and of<br />
course the host communities<br />
and the state are<br />
deprived of revenue. The<br />
state government is deprived<br />
of revenue because<br />
some of the IOCs,<br />
the big players are distant.<br />
You know the economic<br />
contribution of<br />
Akwa Ibom State to the<br />
country. So, the state<br />
government has directed<br />
that the IOCs and other<br />
big players must have<br />
functional offices in the<br />
state.”<br />
Pipeline Surveillance: I0,000 N’Delta youths plan protest<br />
over alleged neglect<br />
By Festus Ahon Edo 1,000.<br />
A SABA—ABOUT<br />
10,000 youths reportedly<br />
trained by the Host<br />
Oil Communities of Nigeria,<br />
HOSCON, are planning<br />
a mass protest in the<br />
Niger Delta region<br />
against alleged neglect by<br />
the Federal Government<br />
after undergoing intensive<br />
practical training on<br />
oil pipeline surveillance,<br />
it was learnt, yesterday.<br />
It was gathered that the<br />
Federal Government<br />
through the Ministry of<br />
Niger Delta, Ministry of<br />
Petroleum and the Office<br />
of the Presidential Amnesty<br />
Programme, PAP,<br />
had given the go-ahead<br />
to HOSCON, led by<br />
Chief Mike Emuh, to organise<br />
the training for the<br />
youths as a form of community<br />
policing to guide<br />
the pipelines.<br />
The states which were<br />
supposed to benefit from<br />
the project were Akwa<br />
Ibom which had 1,000<br />
trainees, Delta 2,000 and<br />
Rivers 1000, Bayelsa 700,<br />
Coronavirus outbreak delaying reconstruction of<br />
Ibom Science park — A'Ibom govt<br />
By Chioma Onuegbu<br />
UYO—AKWA IBOM<br />
State Government<br />
has said that actual commencement<br />
of reconstruction<br />
work on Ibom Blue<br />
Sea Science and Technology<br />
Park project had been<br />
delayed following the outbreak<br />
of the Coronavirus<br />
disease.<br />
The state Commissioner<br />
for Science and Technology,<br />
in charge of supervising<br />
the project, Dr Iniobong<br />
Essien made the disclosure<br />
in a statement, yesterday in<br />
Uyo.<br />
Essien said government<br />
was committed to the<br />
Others include; Ondo<br />
500, Imo 500, Abia 500,<br />
Cross River 900, Anambra<br />
400 and Lagos 700<br />
while the non-oil producing<br />
but impacted<br />
states include; Enugu<br />
400, Osun 300. Oyo,<br />
Ogun, Kogi, Kwara, Bauchi,<br />
Plateau, Kaduna,<br />
Benue, Gombe and<br />
Borno were yet to undergo<br />
training before the<br />
program me was reportedly<br />
stopped.<br />
It was further learnt<br />
that all issues relating to<br />
the engagement of the<br />
youth of all the oil producing<br />
states before now<br />
were discussed with the<br />
former Minister of Niger<br />
Delta Affairs, Usani Usani,<br />
former Minister of<br />
State for Petroleum Resources,<br />
Dr Ibe Kachikwu<br />
and former Special<br />
Adviser to the President<br />
on Amnesty Programme,<br />
General Paul Boro<br />
(retd), in 2017, 2018 and<br />
2019 before the end of<br />
their terms.<br />
project, adding that it was<br />
only logical to put the<br />
project on hold while waiting<br />
a medical breakthrough<br />
that would ameliorate the<br />
present spread of the diseases.<br />
He said, "It will be recalled<br />
that on December 19,<br />
2019, Governor Udom Emmanuel<br />
at a grand ceremony<br />
flagged off the reconstruction<br />
of Ibom Science<br />
Park, renamed lbom<br />
Bluesea science and Technology<br />
Park.<br />
"The lbom Blue sea Science<br />
and Technology Park<br />
is designed to be a scientific<br />
and technological incubation<br />
hub in the state, the<br />
nation and beyond and will<br />
offer meaningful engagements<br />
and employment to<br />
our teeming youths who<br />
desire a veritable platform<br />
to exhibit their creativity.<br />
"However, on behalf of<br />
the state government , I<br />
hereby bring to the attention<br />
of the good people of<br />
Akwa Ibom State and the<br />
general public that the actual<br />
commencement of<br />
work on the project has<br />
been delayed following the<br />
recent outbreak of a global<br />
epidemic known as Coronavirus<br />
disease (COVID-<br />
19) in Wuhan, Hubei province<br />
of China late last year.‘‘<br />
Devt projects: IRDC, others<br />
urged to halt bid opening move<br />
By Jimitota<br />
Onoyume<br />
WARRI—ALL parties<br />
in a move to open a<br />
proposed bid for building<br />
project in Itsekiri oil and<br />
gas producing impacted<br />
communities under the<br />
Global Memorandum of<br />
Understanding, GMoU,<br />
between Chevron Nigeria<br />
Limited, Itsekiri Oil and<br />
Gas Producing/Impacted<br />
communities and the Delta<br />
State government have<br />
been urged to put the matter<br />
on hold.<br />
Five members of the Itsekiri<br />
oil and gas producing/impacted<br />
communities,<br />
in a statement yesterday in<br />
Warri said, opening a bid<br />
based on a needs assessment<br />
conducted since 2006<br />
would amount to waste as<br />
the needs of the communities<br />
had since gone beyond<br />
the issues captured in<br />
the 2006 assessment.<br />
The statement by<br />
Kennedy Ebigbeyi, Apoh<br />
Rivers Taskforce denies killing<br />
bureau de change operator<br />
By Egufe Yafugborhi<br />
PORT HARCOURT —<br />
THE Rivers State Taskforce<br />
against Illegal Street<br />
Trading/Illegal Motor<br />
Parks/Illegal Mechanics<br />
has denied killing a bureau<br />
de change agent during its<br />
Tuesday's alleged raid on<br />
GRA Junction/Rumuola<br />
axis of Port Harcourt.<br />
The victim was confirmed<br />
dead following alleged harassment<br />
and beating by<br />
men of the taskforce, who<br />
had raided the GRA Junction<br />
and Hotel Presidential<br />
neighborhood of Port Harcourt,<br />
a beehive of teeming<br />
black market operators of<br />
currency exchange.<br />
Bright Amaehwule,<br />
Chairman of the taskforce,<br />
Toristeju, Okotie Otomewo,<br />
Ebiekutan Jemine<br />
and Kennedy Obaghore<br />
stressed that the 2006<br />
needs assessment no<br />
longer reflected contemporary<br />
plights in the affected<br />
communities,<br />
adding that the available<br />
fund should be<br />
properly channeled to<br />
productive developmental<br />
projects that would<br />
help create wealth and<br />
jobs for the people and<br />
communities under the<br />
Itsekiri Regional Development<br />
Council, IRDC.<br />
“Much as building<br />
projects may be laudable,<br />
it may amount to<br />
waste of efforts and<br />
funds if you build houses<br />
and there are no commensurate<br />
economic activities<br />
that would give<br />
the people means of livelihood<br />
and ensure they<br />
stay in those houses in<br />
the communities," the<br />
statement said.<br />
in a statement, yesterday,<br />
said, "Rivers State Government<br />
did not initiate the<br />
taskforce to kill any of her<br />
citizens, rather it is aimed<br />
at restoring sanity and<br />
standard way of living<br />
among its citizens.<br />
"Therefore, the taskforce<br />
dissociates it<strong>self</strong> from information<br />
being peddled by<br />
those who seek to defame<br />
the Rivers State Government<br />
in such negative<br />
manner.<br />
"The state government<br />
has already swung into action<br />
to actually know the<br />
cause of his death. We urge<br />
all to be law abiding citizens<br />
to continue with their<br />
normal activities, as everything<br />
is under control."<br />
CRUTECH admits 5,822, warns<br />
against cultism, exam malpractice<br />
By Emma Una<br />
C ALABAR—PROFES<br />
SOR David Ogar, the<br />
Vice Chancellor of the<br />
Cross River University of<br />
Technology has said that<br />
the school would not hesitate<br />
to invoke its extant laws<br />
against any student who<br />
indulges in cultism and examination<br />
malpractice.<br />
Ogar, yesterday, at the<br />
18th Matriculation ceremony<br />
of the school to mark the<br />
formal admission process of<br />
new admitting new students<br />
into the school, said<br />
"My dear matriculating students,<br />
you are about to take<br />
a crucial and life -defining<br />
step, therefore, you must<br />
remain focused, disciplined,<br />
committed, studious<br />
and not allow any form of<br />
distraction to truncate your<br />
academic target because we<br />
have zero tolerance for cultism<br />
and examination malpractice."<br />
He warned that certificates<br />
would only be awarded<br />
to those who demonstrate<br />
exemplary character<br />
and academic excellence at<br />
the end of their programme<br />
and called on the new intake<br />
to accord maximum<br />
respect to constituted authority<br />
by adhering to the<br />
rules, tenets and traditions<br />
of the institution.<br />
The Vice Chancellor implored<br />
the matriculating<br />
students to take advantage<br />
of the serene environment<br />
and develop their potentials<br />
and mould their reputation<br />
as leaders of tomorrow.
34—Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
TRAINING: From left, Rector/Chief Executive, Nigeria College of Aviation Technology,<br />
NCAT, Capt. Abdulsalami Mohammed; Head, Aviation Management School, NCAT, Dr.<br />
Kareem Bakare; General Manager, Kaduna Regional Manager, Nigeria Civil Aviation<br />
Authority, NCAA, and Chairman, League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents, LAAC,<br />
Mr. Segun Koiki, at the LAAC 2020 training at NCAT, Zaria opening ceremony.<br />
Some Nigerians using Ebonyi identity for<br />
recruitment into army— Ebonyi dep gov<br />
By Peter Okutu<br />
A BAKALIKI—EBONYI<br />
State Deputy Governor,<br />
Dr. Kelechi Igwe, yesterday<br />
alleged that some Nigerians<br />
usually take up the identity<br />
of Ebonyi people and take<br />
all the state’s quota in any<br />
army recruitment exercise.<br />
Representing Governor<br />
David Umahi of Ebonyi State<br />
while receiving Brig. Gen.<br />
Henry Akpan, Director in<br />
charge of Army Recruitment,<br />
Resettlement and Reserve,<br />
Ministry of Defence, at Exco<br />
Chambers of the<br />
Government House,<br />
Abakaliki, the deputy<br />
governor decried alleged<br />
shortchanging of the people<br />
of the state in the recruitment<br />
of the Nigerian Army.<br />
He said: “Before our<br />
ascension into office, what<br />
had obtained in the South-<br />
East, particularly in Ebonyi<br />
State, is that our people have<br />
been shortchanged in the<br />
army. They will pull out<br />
enmasse for recruitment and<br />
they would return home<br />
jubilating that they are going<br />
to be recruited into the army,<br />
that the report on them is<br />
favourable for their<br />
engagement in the military.<br />
"At the end, the story will be<br />
that only two or three of them<br />
are engaged and when you<br />
go to look at the list, you will<br />
discover that men from other<br />
regions will answer Ebonyi<br />
State name, take up the<br />
identity of our people and<br />
take the quota that is meant<br />
and reserved for Ebonyi<br />
State.<br />
“We are not happy with<br />
such unpleasant situations<br />
and I believe that our<br />
governor has complained<br />
severally about it. We think<br />
that having men like you and<br />
the Chief of Army Staff will<br />
resolve such intractable<br />
problem that we have been<br />
having in Ebonyi State.”<br />
Earlier, Brig.-Gen. Henry<br />
Akpan, Director in charge of<br />
Army Recruitment,<br />
Resettlement and Reserve,<br />
Ministry of Defence, Abuja<br />
said the Chief of Army Staff<br />
had strategised on how to<br />
tackle the problems facing<br />
the army in the conventional<br />
warfare by ensuring that<br />
anyone recruited into the<br />
system from now onwards<br />
would undergo special and<br />
tough training after<br />
undergoing the normal<br />
recruitment training.<br />
“The normal army that was<br />
trained to engage<br />
particularly in conventional<br />
warfare are having a lot of<br />
problems as you can see in<br />
the North Eastern region.<br />
So, recently, the Chief of<br />
Army instituted Special<br />
Forces concept, a special<br />
skill that you can use to fight<br />
war.<br />
“This special training will<br />
now be integrated in every<br />
Group donates $1.2m medical<br />
equipment to Imo govt<br />
By Chidi<br />
Nkwopara<br />
O WERRI—Governor<br />
Hope Uzodimma of Imo<br />
State has reiterated the<br />
resolve of his administration<br />
to chart a fresh and achievable<br />
roadmap for the development<br />
of the healthcare sector in the<br />
state.<br />
Uzodinma spoke in Owerri,<br />
when he received in<br />
audience, the Chief Medical<br />
Officer, CMO, of American<br />
International Health<br />
Incorporated, Prof. Uche<br />
Nwaneri, after taking delivery<br />
of medical equipment worth<br />
$1.2 million, and a<br />
documentary, “Strategic Plan<br />
to Revitalise the Imo State<br />
Healthcare sector.”<br />
The governor said: “One of<br />
the strongest challenges we<br />
saw when we came in as a<br />
government, is the absence of<br />
an organised medical system<br />
for our people. Speaking with<br />
Prof. Nwaneri a few days ago,<br />
I reiterated that and also laid<br />
emphasis on how best we can<br />
encourage this noble idea to<br />
materialise.”<br />
While stressing the<br />
readiness of his<br />
administration to partner with<br />
the team to ensure that Imo<br />
healthcare system gets off the<br />
ground, Uzodinna, however,<br />
reasoned that it will help the<br />
government check avoidable<br />
recurring deaths, occasioned<br />
by carelessness of the medical<br />
system or the absence of<br />
sound medicare.<br />
Apparently satisfied with<br />
the presentation, Uzodimma<br />
said: “This is good enough<br />
and sufficient to be adopted<br />
as our medical programme<br />
for the state as a government,<br />
because it has taken care of<br />
the rural, the middle income<br />
and urban areas."<br />
Making special reference<br />
to Imo State University<br />
Teaching Hospital, IMSUTH,<br />
Orlu, Uzodinma pledged to<br />
make sure that whatever was<br />
necessary would be done for<br />
its proper accreditation to<br />
training in the Nigerian<br />
army. So, this means that<br />
anybody that is recruited in<br />
the Nigerian Army with<br />
effect from now, will have to<br />
go through that process.<br />
"It is a tough training, it<br />
requires a lot of physical and<br />
mental fitness. So, we need<br />
young men and women who<br />
are physically fit”, he said.<br />
allow Imo sons and<br />
daughters, who have<br />
stagnated for the past 10 to<br />
12 years, to graduate without<br />
further stress.<br />
Speaking earlier, Professor<br />
Nwaneri appreciated<br />
Uzodimma for the<br />
opportunity given them to<br />
contribute to the health needs<br />
of Imo people, while also<br />
making a convincing<br />
presentation for the state to<br />
buy into.<br />
Nwaneri also announced a<br />
donation of medical<br />
equipment worth $1.2 m to<br />
IMSUTH, Orlu.<br />
Rape: WACOL seeks<br />
disciplinary measure against<br />
indicted police officers<br />
By Dennis Agbo<br />
WOMEN<br />
Aids<br />
Collective, WACOL,<br />
has requested that the Police<br />
should immedately<br />
commence disciplinary<br />
measures against indicted<br />
police officers who invaded<br />
WACOL office in Enugu and<br />
butalised its staff over a<br />
reported rape incident.<br />
Four police officers were<br />
alleged to have invaded<br />
WACOL office in Enugu and<br />
brutalised a lawyer with<br />
WACOL earlier this year, in<br />
a bid to compel the women<br />
rights group to withdraw a<br />
petition it made to the police<br />
against a suspected rapist.<br />
Briefing newsmen on the<br />
development, yesterday,<br />
Founding Director of<br />
WACOL, Prof Joy Ezeilo, said<br />
her organisation appreciated<br />
the effort of police in setting<br />
up a panel of investigation<br />
on the police brutality but<br />
wants the police to go further<br />
and discipline the indicted<br />
officers with either suspension<br />
or immediate prosecution.<br />
Ezeilo also threw up the<br />
issue of alleged corruption<br />
and inducement by the<br />
suspected rapist which it said<br />
made the police officers<br />
commit the acts of<br />
intimidation and brutality<br />
against her officers.<br />
She said: “We have no<br />
problem with the police<br />
authority because we always<br />
work with police, but all we<br />
want is to end police brutality<br />
to humanity."<br />
Nsukka youths honour Peace<br />
Mass MD, unveils mascot of<br />
him<br />
By Chinenyeh<br />
Ozor<br />
YOUTHS of Nsukka<br />
cultural affinity have<br />
unveiled the mascot of Chief<br />
Samuel Onyishi, Managing<br />
Director of Peace Mass<br />
Transit, in honour and<br />
appreciation of his<br />
philanthropic gesture in<br />
community development in<br />
Nsukka Local Government<br />
Area of Enugu State.<br />
The mascot positioned in<br />
front of Nsukka town hall,<br />
which he single-handedly<br />
built 12 years ago, would<br />
remain as a symbol to<br />
generations yet unborn of the<br />
magnanimity of Onyishi on<br />
economic development,<br />
education, entrepreneurship<br />
and human capital<br />
development of his kinsmen<br />
in Nsukka and it’s environs.<br />
FG tasked on grassroots<br />
education for innovation,<br />
economic devt<br />
NIGERIA<br />
cannot<br />
achieve sustainable<br />
economic development if it<br />
continues to pay lip service<br />
to grassroots education of<br />
pupils in rural communities.<br />
Founder, Eziokwu<br />
Ebubechuwku Foundation,<br />
EEF, Mr. Ezeukoh<br />
Ebubechukwu, said this<br />
while calling on the Federal<br />
Government to intensify<br />
efforts to revamp and educate<br />
rural communities by setting<br />
qualitative measures to<br />
improve the academic and<br />
learnability standards of the<br />
rural pupils.<br />
Speaking during the<br />
foundation’s second Rural<br />
Outreach at St. Aloysius'<br />
Catholic Primary School, Iloti<br />
Itamapako, Ogun State,<br />
Ebubechukwu, who<br />
expressed concern over the<br />
increasing population of outof-school<br />
children in the<br />
country, also urged the<br />
Federal Government to give<br />
The youths through its<br />
chairman, Chief Chidokwe<br />
Attama, said unveiling the<br />
mascot was to appreciate the<br />
humanitarian gesture of<br />
Chief Onyishi to various<br />
communities of Nkpunano,<br />
Nru, Nguru, Ihe/Owerre in<br />
the local government area.<br />
Attama said Onyishi singlehandedly<br />
built Nsukka town<br />
hall (aka Obu Nsukka) for the<br />
community as an everlasting<br />
legacy for his people, having<br />
earlier built other<br />
developmental projects and<br />
hospital for the community,<br />
empowered over 500<br />
undergraduates of the<br />
community with cash, floated<br />
Samuel Maduka Onyishi<br />
Education Foundation,<br />
SAMOEF, at the Institute of<br />
African Studies, University of<br />
Nigeria, Nsukka where over<br />
5,000 students benefit<br />
annually.<br />
Court quashes N22m suit<br />
against Premier Breweries,<br />
Arthur Eze<br />
By Nwabueze<br />
Okonkwo<br />
ONITSHA—<br />
An<br />
Anambra State High<br />
Court sitting at Ogidi, Idemili<br />
North Local Government<br />
Area, presided over by<br />
Justice Irene Ndigwe has<br />
dismissed a N22 million suit<br />
filed by Al-Kama Commodity<br />
Exchange (Nig) Plc against<br />
Premier Breweries Nigeria<br />
Plc, its owner, Prince Arthur<br />
Eze and five commercial<br />
banks.<br />
Delivering a judgment<br />
yesterday, Justice Ndigwe<br />
noted that after evaluation of<br />
the arguments canvassed by<br />
both parties, the court has to<br />
uphold the submissions of Dr.<br />
Anthony Orunkoya, counsel<br />
to Premier Breweries Plc, the<br />
defendant/judgment debtor.<br />
The trial judge ruled that it<br />
was only when proper<br />
parties are before the court<br />
that the court would assume<br />
jurisdiction to competently<br />
adjudicate on a matter as was<br />
held in the case of Okonta v<br />
Philips (2011) All FWLR (pt<br />
568) 977 SC at 980 – 981,<br />
adding that if the enabling<br />
law provides name for a<br />
juristice or legal personality,<br />
a party must sue or be sued<br />
in that name.<br />
Ndigwe further held that<br />
the court was under a duty to<br />
determine whether the relief<br />
sought in a garnishee<br />
proceeding is the same with<br />
the award contained in the<br />
judgment sought to be<br />
enforced and where there is<br />
variance with award of the<br />
judgment sought to be<br />
enforced with the reliefs in the<br />
garnishee, most particularly<br />
the amount, the court is<br />
under a duty to refuse the<br />
application.<br />
priority to the education<br />
welfare of pupils in public<br />
schools.<br />
He said: “The impact of<br />
education in any economy<br />
cannot be overemphasised.<br />
An educated farmer would<br />
have more contribution and<br />
more innovative ideas to<br />
national growth than one<br />
who’s not educated.<br />
“Federal Government<br />
should make efforts to<br />
revamp the academics of the<br />
rural dwellers and also make<br />
school fun for rural kids.<br />
“Government should put in<br />
qualitative measures to<br />
improve the academics and<br />
learnability of these rural<br />
children, because educating<br />
the rural kids would help to<br />
create an enabling<br />
environment where the<br />
concept of economic<br />
development would matter to<br />
them and will make them<br />
think for generations to come,<br />
rather than their immediate<br />
needs.”
Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 35<br />
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058<br />
NBC PROMO: From<br />
left — Commercial<br />
Manager, Nigerian<br />
Bottling Company<br />
(NBC), Yetunde<br />
Kolade; one of the<br />
beneficiaries of the<br />
'Gbe Bottle e' N100,000<br />
give away, Margaret<br />
Olorunfunmi<br />
Sowemimo and Regional<br />
Trade Marketing<br />
Coordinator,<br />
NBC, Wale Faluyi at<br />
the second phase of<br />
the NBC's Retailers<br />
Reward Program in<br />
Ibadan, Oyo State.<br />
Teach your children good morals,<br />
Okowa tells parents, guardians<br />
...as Delta holds time out with role model<br />
By Festus Ahon<br />
A<br />
S A B A —<br />
GOVERNOR<br />
Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State,<br />
yesterday, told parents, guardians<br />
and teachers not to relent in<br />
teaching children moral values<br />
and principles that would help<br />
NLC to African countries: Create enabling<br />
environment to attract investments<br />
By Victor Young<br />
NIGERIA Labour Congress,<br />
NLC, has called on African<br />
governments to build and expand<br />
infrastructure, create the<br />
enabling environment to attract<br />
‘responsible’ investors while also<br />
investing in education,<br />
healthcare to enhance citizens’<br />
development.<br />
NLC President, Ayuba Wabba,<br />
made the call in Lagos, while<br />
speaking at the 6th Africa Social<br />
Partners Summit, hosted by<br />
Nigeria Employers’ Consultative<br />
Association, NECA.<br />
Wabba contended that “all over<br />
the world we need jobs. In Africa,<br />
Land dispute: Stop harassing<br />
yourselves with police, court<br />
warns parties<br />
By Onozure Dania<br />
LAGOS—AN Igbosere<br />
Magistrates’ Court has<br />
warned parties in a land dispute<br />
to stop using the police against<br />
each other.<br />
Magistrate Linda Balogun<br />
ordered the parties to maintain<br />
status quo, pending the<br />
determination of an alleged case<br />
of malicious damage, forcible entry<br />
to land and threat to life.<br />
She made the order following<br />
the testimony of a prosecution<br />
witness, Mr Owodunmi Okupe.<br />
Okupe alleged that his son was<br />
arrested by the police on the<br />
court’s premises immediately after<br />
the last hearing of the matter, and<br />
were taken to Zone 2<br />
headquarters.<br />
He claimed that the defendant<br />
in the case was behind his ordeal.<br />
The witness also tendered a<br />
survey plan document before the<br />
court, but the court observed that<br />
it was different from that of the<br />
defendant.<br />
Mrs Balogun said: “I hereby<br />
order that all parties before this<br />
shape their future for a better<br />
society.<br />
Okowa who spoke in Asaba at<br />
the maiden edition of an event,<br />
entitled ‘Time Out With Role<br />
Model,’ organised by the state<br />
Orientation Bureau, for young<br />
people, focusing on public and<br />
private school children, urged<br />
we need plenty new jobs. Yet, jobs<br />
will not happen by happenstance.<br />
Job generation is a reward for<br />
economic growth. The economy<br />
can only grow with increase in<br />
purchasing power. The wages of<br />
workers underline the purchasing<br />
power in any clime. It is a major<br />
driver for productivity and growth.<br />
''Wages in Africa are the poorest<br />
around the world. For a continent<br />
that is endowed with enormous<br />
mineral and human resource, this<br />
is totally unacceptable. It is sad<br />
that while other regions have<br />
deservedly elevated the wage<br />
discourse to decent and living<br />
wages, many African<br />
governments and employers still<br />
court should restrain, from using<br />
any police or agent to arrest or<br />
harass each other”.<br />
The magistrate directed parties<br />
to maintain the status quo and<br />
adjourned till March 23, for<br />
continuation of hearing.<br />
The Police had arraigned<br />
Matthew Balogun, 63, on<br />
September 26, 2019, on a fourcount<br />
charge of conspiracy,<br />
malicious damage, forcible<br />
entertain, threat to life, and breach<br />
children to emulate people with<br />
responsible behavioural attitude<br />
as mentors for a purposeful life.<br />
Okowa, represented by the<br />
Commissioner for Youth, Mr<br />
Ifeanyi Egwuyanga, insisted that<br />
as future leaders, the youths<br />
needed to be taught good morals.<br />
In his keynote address, the<br />
Commissioner for Information,<br />
Mr. Charles Aniagwu, charged<br />
the participants to make a<br />
genuine difference in life,<br />
through their behavioural<br />
pattern in core moral values by<br />
shunning vices that could make<br />
them wayward in life.<br />
Earlier, the organiser and<br />
Director General of the State<br />
Orientation Bureau, Mr Eugene<br />
Uzum, said, “In line with<br />
Governor Okowa’s ‘Stronger<br />
Delta Agenda,’ we have under<br />
studied the attitudinal<br />
complexities and the mindset of<br />
our youths, hence we deem it<br />
necessary to create this platform<br />
to properly guide the younger<br />
generation in the area of mental<br />
infrastructure, mindset and value<br />
orientation, role modeling and<br />
value appreciation in the<br />
actualization and sustenance of<br />
the stronger Delta dream and <strong>self</strong><br />
emancipation.<br />
“We believe with the rise in<br />
moral decadence, societal vices<br />
and loss of core values to trends,<br />
especially in an era when<br />
disorientation of young people<br />
has led to increasing menace of<br />
internet fraud, ritual killings,<br />
illegal migration and human<br />
trafficking among others, the<br />
need for role modelling cannot<br />
be over emphasized.<br />
“Time Out With Role Model’,<br />
is a platform where societal role<br />
models are invited to interact with<br />
young persons, heart to heart to<br />
exchange values and reveal life<br />
principles that will help shape<br />
their mentality, vision, belief<br />
system and creating the needed<br />
mental structure for sustainable<br />
development”.<br />
Uzum thanked Governor<br />
Ifeanyi Okowa for “accepting to<br />
be our principal role model, and<br />
the Managing Director of Conoil<br />
Producing Limited, Mr Michael<br />
Madoghwe for appearing as a role<br />
model for this maiden edition.”<br />
IRDC Bid Opening: Planned projects'll address<br />
communities' demands — ODELI<br />
By Jeremiah<br />
Urowayino<br />
SECRETARY of Tisun Community<br />
Management<br />
Council in Warri North Local Government<br />
Area, Prince David Odeli,<br />
has commended the executive<br />
of Itsekiri Regional Development<br />
Committtee, IRDC, for the success<br />
of the 2019/2020 Projects’<br />
Circle bid opening ceremony, saying<br />
the roads, jetties and housing<br />
projects to be awarded reflect<br />
needs assessment of indigenes of<br />
see minimum wage as some sort<br />
of lottery for workers. Workers all<br />
over Africa demand for wage<br />
justice.”<br />
According to him, “While we<br />
support government initiatives<br />
on the ease of doing business,<br />
we must build the infrastructure<br />
for the future we desire. If we<br />
reduce the high incidence of<br />
official corruption, there will be<br />
enough funds to fund economic<br />
growth and bring about shared<br />
prosperity.<br />
''Whatever we do, we must<br />
ensure that the quantum leap in<br />
human population in Africa must<br />
not lag behind proactive visioning<br />
and action by government. We<br />
must plan and act like tomorrow<br />
is already here because Africa’s<br />
tomorrow is already at the door<br />
heavily pregnant.<br />
In today’s globalised world,<br />
economic growth does not<br />
happen in isolation. The<br />
deliberate undermining of a<br />
region through unfair trade<br />
practices, restrictions, debt<br />
blackmail and imposition of<br />
‘impossible’ trade conditions does<br />
not only hurt the target<br />
economies but also the predatory<br />
states. The current gale of forced<br />
migration warns all of us that crisis<br />
anywhere could mean chaos<br />
everywhere. A word suffices.''<br />
the 23 IRDC communities.<br />
Odeli, who brushed aside statement<br />
credited to some non-IRDC<br />
Council members, that the<br />
projects did not reflect, “contemporary<br />
plights in the affected communities”,<br />
asserted that construction<br />
of more houses, jetties and<br />
roads, would create the right atmosphere<br />
for more people as well<br />
as investors to live and do business<br />
in the Itsekiri coastal oil and<br />
gas producing communities.<br />
The Warri North Community<br />
scribe argued that lack of internal<br />
roads, insufficient housing and<br />
limited access to the communties,<br />
through jetties are counter-productive<br />
to wealth creation, job opportunities<br />
and other forms of economic<br />
activities.<br />
He described the bid opening as<br />
transparent and urged the IRDC<br />
executive not to be distracted by<br />
the comments of people, “who are<br />
not representatives of any of the<br />
23 IRDC communities, state and<br />
local governments, Chevron Nigeria<br />
Limited and the non-governmental<br />
organizations, midwifing<br />
the GMoU Governace Model.”<br />
CLO alleges hijack of job vacancies<br />
by INEC officials in Bayelsa<br />
...we’re not aware of any hijack —INEC<br />
By Samuel<br />
Oyadongha & Emem<br />
Idio<br />
Y ENAGOA—CIVIL<br />
Liberties Organisation,<br />
CLO, in Bayelsa State has<br />
accused senior staff of the<br />
authorities of the Independent<br />
National Electoral Commission,<br />
INEC, of alleged sales and<br />
diversion of job vacancies meant<br />
for indigenes of the state,<br />
threatening legal means to<br />
ensure such jobs are made<br />
available to indigenes of the<br />
state.<br />
Meanwhile, the commission in<br />
the state has denied knowledge<br />
of such diversion of employment<br />
opportunities by any of its officials<br />
in the state.<br />
According to CLO, preliminary<br />
investigation into the claim of<br />
alleged sales, sharing and<br />
diversion of jobs meant for<br />
Bayelsa indigenes showed that<br />
the vacant positions of between<br />
Grade levels 01-07 at the<br />
Late Iyalode Tinubu's estate:<br />
Absence of the Justices stalls<br />
hearing<br />
By Innocent Anaba<br />
LAGOS—HEARING in the<br />
appeal by Trustees of the<br />
Estate of late Madam Iyalode<br />
Tinubu at the Court of Appeal<br />
sitting in Lagos, challenging the<br />
decision of Justice Wasiu<br />
Animahaun of a Lagos High<br />
Court, on a disputed Ijora land<br />
was, yesterday, stalled due to the<br />
absence of the Justices of the<br />
appellate court.<br />
The hearing could not go on<br />
because the judges were absent,<br />
as they went for the valedictory<br />
session organised in honour of the<br />
retiring Court of Appeal President,<br />
Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa<br />
Justice Animahaun had, in his<br />
ruling delivered on January 23,<br />
2019, dismissed the appellant’s<br />
counterclaim filed on June 8,<br />
2017, in suit N0, M/5/2009 on the<br />
ground that it was an abuse of<br />
court process.<br />
Dissatisfied with the lower<br />
court’s ruling, the Trustees had<br />
through their lawyer, Ayoyinka<br />
Roberts, appealed, urging the<br />
appellate court to set aside the<br />
ruling of the lower court.<br />
Group trains 8000 youths on<br />
agribusiness in two years in Kwara<br />
By Demola Akinyemi<br />
ILORIN—A group of<br />
young agribusiness<br />
experts in Kwara State has<br />
trained over 8000<br />
unemployed youths making<br />
them to be gainfully employed<br />
across the state in the last<br />
two years.<br />
The Ilorin-based<br />
organisation, under the aegis<br />
of Heart and Capital Limited,<br />
which said the initiative was<br />
continuous, noted that the<br />
training was aimed at creating<br />
wealth for the young<br />
generation in Agriculture, a<br />
profession that has a secured<br />
future among others.<br />
The President and cofounder<br />
of the organization,<br />
Abdulquawiy Olododo, spoke<br />
at a briefing while unveiling<br />
a new product of the<br />
company, “The Eterno<br />
commission office in Yenagoa,<br />
were being handed to cronies and<br />
families from outside the state.<br />
Speaking with newsmen<br />
yesterday in Yenagoa, state<br />
Chairman of CLO, Chief Nengi<br />
James-Eriworio, he said: “We<br />
have it on good authority that<br />
some vacancies within the state<br />
INEC are being diverted and<br />
handed to non-indigenes. We are<br />
calling on the Resident Electoral<br />
Commissioner and the national<br />
chairman of INEC to investigate<br />
and ensure compliance on<br />
making available the job spaces<br />
for Bayelsa indigenes.”<br />
Reacting, Head of Voters’<br />
Education and Publicity, INEC<br />
Bayelsa State, Mr Wilfred Ifogah,<br />
said:” The leader of CLO in<br />
Bayelsa had earlier inquired and<br />
I did inform that in as much as I<br />
know, there was approval for<br />
vacant junior staff recruitment.<br />
But I am not aware of any hijack.<br />
“However, I know the<br />
commission is recruiting senior<br />
staff and it’s coordinated from our<br />
national headquarters.”<br />
In the appeal through their<br />
attorney, Adamakin Investment<br />
and Work Limited, the Trustees<br />
are also praying the court for an<br />
order reinstating to the cause list<br />
of the lower court, the counterclaim<br />
in the same suit dismissed<br />
by the lower court.<br />
They are praying the court for<br />
an order for the trial of their<br />
counterclaim before another court<br />
within the same jurisdiction as<br />
constituted before the lower court.<br />
In a 12-paragraph affidavit in<br />
support of the appeal and deposed<br />
to by one Ayoyinka Roberts, a<br />
legal practitioner, the Trustees<br />
also prayed the appellate court to<br />
stay further proceeding in the<br />
matter pending the determination<br />
of the appeal, stressing that taking<br />
further proceeding in the matter<br />
will foist a situation of helplessness<br />
on the court of appeal and render<br />
the appeal nugatory.<br />
According to the appellant, the<br />
lower court erred in law when it<br />
decided that their counter-claim<br />
was an abuse of court process<br />
despite acknowledging that the<br />
counter-claim in the suit before<br />
him was the earlier in time.<br />
Project” where an investor<br />
would own a Cashew tree<br />
with 10,000 and earn up to<br />
1000% return on the<br />
investment in 20 years.<br />
He said “We partner with<br />
several tertiary institutions<br />
among which is Kwara State<br />
University, KWASU, which is<br />
our first partner. We get to<br />
train about 4,000 youth,<br />
young farmers every year on<br />
opportunities in agribusiness.<br />
We have trained over 8000 of<br />
youths in Agribusiness in the<br />
last two years. We are young<br />
and we can understand<br />
language comprehensible to<br />
young adults. Agriculture had<br />
gone beyond hoes and<br />
cutlasses, farming and waiting<br />
for harvest. A whole value<br />
chain exists from planting to<br />
processing, marketing and<br />
others that our youth should<br />
be part of.”
36— Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
Defeating Boko Haram in five easy steps<br />
By OLA BALOGUN<br />
CAN we rely on the Nigerian Armed<br />
Forces as presently constituted?<br />
There is nothing new under the sun! From<br />
time immemorial, the challenge of confronting<br />
and defeating non-state military forces that<br />
engage in guerilla warfare has been met<br />
successfully time and time again. Thus, there<br />
is virtually no need to innovate when it comes<br />
to solving this problem. The strategies and<br />
tactics for defeating guerilla forces have been<br />
abundantly written about and commented on,<br />
both in history books available to the general<br />
public and in specialised textbooks produced<br />
for use in military academies.<br />
Examples of successful anti-guerilla<br />
campaigns range from Alexander’s<br />
campaigns in India to the methods applied by<br />
Julius Caeser against indigenous tribes in<br />
present day France and Germany, as well as to<br />
the ferocious scorched earth tactics employed<br />
by the famous Mongolian Emperor Genghis<br />
Khan, whose military genius has long been<br />
widely acknowledged. African and African<br />
diaspora Generals like Toussaint L’Ouverture<br />
in Haiti and the great Shaka Zulu (Ushaka) in<br />
southern Africa are also known to have evolved<br />
and applied superb tactics for checkmating<br />
and defeating<br />
guerrilla<br />
forces in<br />
varied combat<br />
theatres.<br />
Closer to us in<br />
time, it was not<br />
only because<br />
the British<br />
imperial<br />
military forces<br />
that invaded<br />
the African<br />
continent had<br />
OLA BALOGUN<br />
vastly superior weapons that they easily<br />
defeated several indigenous fighting units in<br />
Nigeria. The British were almost always<br />
victorious because they systematically applied<br />
appropriate strategies and tactics directed at<br />
crushing indigenous forms of warfare,<br />
including guerilla attacks.<br />
Closer to us in<br />
time, the efficient<br />
and ruthless<br />
manner in which<br />
the British army<br />
comprehenively<br />
d e f e a t e d<br />
determined and<br />
well-equipped<br />
guerilla forces in<br />
Malaysia during<br />
the era of the socalled<br />
Malaya<br />
emergency<br />
following the<br />
When it comes<br />
to fighting<br />
against Boko<br />
Haram, the<br />
Nigerian<br />
Armed Forces<br />
are clearly not<br />
doing as much<br />
as they are<br />
capable of<br />
Second World War<br />
continues to be studied in military academies<br />
all over the world. Why then have these timetested<br />
strategies and tactics not been utilized<br />
by the present-day Nigerian army to defeat<br />
the Boko Haram insurgents? The fundamental<br />
reasons for this strange omission are as follows:<br />
•Lack of adequate political leadership at<br />
the Federal Government level. Military<br />
forces generally cannot function efficiently<br />
unless they are under the supervision of wise<br />
and patriotic civilian leaders. The well-known<br />
dictum that warfare is too serious a matter to<br />
be entrusted to military personnel alone has<br />
been illustrated time and time again in the<br />
Nigerian setting, both during the Nigeria-<br />
Biafra civil war and in the context of the fight<br />
(or lack of fight!) against Boko Haram.<br />
For instance, former President Goodluck<br />
Ebelechukwu Jonathan and his entourage<br />
were firmly convinced that Boko Haram was<br />
some kind of hoax, so they never really<br />
mobilised the Nigerian army against the<br />
insurgency until the dying days of the Jonathan<br />
administration. Closer to us in time, the Buhari<br />
administration has turned out to be a weak<br />
and disorganised substitute for government in<br />
which no one is really in charge. How can a<br />
non-existent government be expected to pursue<br />
warfare efficiently? An even more glaring<br />
impediment to the meaningful deployment of<br />
the Nigerian Armed Forces against Boko<br />
Haram is to be found in the fact that several<br />
highly placed individuals and groups in the<br />
Federal Government and in the Nigerian<br />
Army it<strong>self</strong> have converted the alleged “fight<br />
against Boko Haram” into a gigantic multibillion<br />
dollar ‘chop-chop’ industry...<br />
The officially documented stories revealed<br />
by the EFCC in judicial filings about how<br />
shocking amounts of money running into<br />
billions of dollars were allegedly diverted into<br />
private pockets by Sambo Dasuki and a variety<br />
of accomplices under the guise of funding<br />
weapons purchases for the fight against Boko<br />
Haram merely represent the tip of the iceberg:<br />
There is much worse going on at this very<br />
moment! With so many vested interests at the<br />
top levels of the Federal Government and the<br />
Nigerian Armed forces benefitting from the<br />
existence of Boko Haram, why would there be<br />
any serious effort on their part to end the<br />
emergency? The contrary is obviously the case!<br />
It is a well-known fact that there are many<br />
highly placed military and civilian officials in<br />
Nigeria who are working very hard to ensure<br />
the continued existence of Boko Haram. As a<br />
result, when it comes to fighting against Boko<br />
Haram, the Nigerian Armed Forces are clearly<br />
not doing as much as they are capable of.<br />
•Institutional weaknesses in the Nigerian<br />
Armed Forces. The Nigerian Army and<br />
Nigeria’s paramilitary forces as a whole<br />
cannot be said to consist in bulk of highly<br />
patriotic individuals motivated by burning<br />
love for our nation who are willing to gladly<br />
sacrifice their lives in the service of the nation.<br />
The Vietnamese <strong>soldier</strong>s who confronted and<br />
overcame the best <strong>soldier</strong>s that France could<br />
muster during the legendary battle of Dien<br />
Bien Phi are famed for marching forward to<br />
attack day after day, night after night, vying<br />
for the honour and glory of giving up their<br />
lives in the service of a collective national<br />
interest, just as the French <strong>soldier</strong>s themselves<br />
had done in defence of their own fatherland<br />
during the terrible wars that were waged in<br />
the wake of the French Revolution at the end<br />
of the 18th century.<br />
Uneducated<br />
mercenary fighters<br />
There are definitely large numbers of highly<br />
motivated Nigerian patriots who would gladly<br />
give up their lives to defend the lives of their<br />
parents, children and near relatives as well as<br />
for the future glory of our nation, but it is<br />
obvious that there are no adequate<br />
mechanisms in place for motivating and<br />
enrolling this cadre of men and women into<br />
the Nigerian Armed Forces which remain<br />
essentially an outgrowth of the largely<br />
uneducated mercenary fighters recruited from<br />
among remote tribes to serve as adjuncts to<br />
the British imperial officer corps who<br />
murdered and raped tens of thousands of<br />
defenceless individuals in the course of the<br />
relentless military campaigns that were waged<br />
against our people by the British imperialists<br />
under the guise of “pacifying” Nigeria during<br />
the era of colonial conquest of our land.<br />
Thus, though the White British officers have<br />
long since been replaced by an indigenous<br />
Nigerian officer corps, the basic orientation<br />
remains the same. The present-day Nigerian<br />
Armed Forces (both officers and men!) mostly<br />
consist of individuals who have enrolled in the<br />
army to earn a salary and pursue a career. As a<br />
result, the current Nigerian Army is neither<br />
particularly well led nor deeply motivated by<br />
patriotic zeal.<br />
In fact, the finest example of courageous and<br />
skilful military leadership in Nigeria was<br />
provided by the officers of the 3 Commando<br />
Division under the command of Benjamin<br />
Adekunle during the Nigerian civil war, when<br />
the Brigade Commanders were seen to lead<br />
their men into battle from in front in Israeli<br />
army fashion, hence the high rate of casualties<br />
among Adekunle’s officer corps, leading to<br />
the deaths of brave officers like Lt. Col. Shande,<br />
Major Hamman and Lt. Col. Isaac Adaka<br />
Boro. The late General Maxwell Khobe (who<br />
led the Nigerian army contingent during the<br />
ECOMOG operations in Sierra Leone and<br />
Liberia for a while) and the late Lt. Col. Gideon<br />
Orkar (who perished needlessly in an anti-<br />
Babangida coup attemp) are also prime<br />
examples of the kind of highly motivated and<br />
courageous senior officers that are rarely to<br />
be found in the present-day Nigerian Armed<br />
Forces.<br />
To be concluded<br />
*Dr. Balogun is a film maker, author and<br />
musician who currently lives in Lagos<br />
Okowa's efforts at transforming<br />
education in Delta<br />
THROUGH<br />
steadfastness<br />
and a multi-dimensional approach,,<br />
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State is running<br />
with a vision of creating a globally competitive<br />
model learning centres in the state.<br />
He has so far given education a new momentum<br />
that has moved the state ahead from<br />
the deteriorating standard of education in<br />
the country.<br />
Nigeria's educational sector has waited for<br />
decades for a major government intervention<br />
needed to rebuild the capacity for high<br />
quality education in the country. In the absence<br />
of the needed intervention, educational<br />
standard has deteriorated from primary<br />
to tertiary levels of learning. Nigeria lacks<br />
the basic requirements for building an excellent<br />
academic community. Funding constitutes<br />
a serious challenge to educational<br />
development in the country and this has been<br />
the case even in the peak of crude oil<br />
earnings.<br />
The poor and deteriorating quality of education<br />
in Nigeria was clearly unacceptable<br />
to Governor Okowa who, at the inception of<br />
his administration, took it upon him<strong>self</strong> to<br />
set an example for the nation, a model of<br />
government intervention in the educational<br />
sector. This he did by convoking an<br />
Educational Summit in the state where all<br />
stakeholders were brought together to discuss<br />
on the challenges facing Education in the<br />
state.<br />
The Okowa-led Delta State government<br />
defined a vision of making the state a model<br />
learning centre in the country and has since<br />
then run with a new zeal unmatched anywhere<br />
else in the country to make it happen.<br />
The task was identified and a clear goal was<br />
set which is to place education at a level that<br />
is competitive worldwide. An effective strategy<br />
for solution normally requires a clear<br />
understanding of the roots of a problem. Like<br />
a master craftsman, Okowa ensured a proper<br />
diagnosis of the problem of deteriorating<br />
standard of education in Nigeria and found<br />
that inadequate funding and lack of essential<br />
facilities are the significant variables.<br />
He then gave the two critical areas the kind<br />
of attention never seen any time in recent<br />
memory and hardly matched anywhere else<br />
in the country.<br />
A reinforcement of the educational foundation,<br />
he discovered, needs to be done at<br />
the primary school level and that became a<br />
key element of the new engagement. Okowa<br />
insists on the need to lay a proper educational<br />
foundation for pupils at that level. This<br />
adult learners who had earlier in life missed<br />
the opportunity of getting such education<br />
while they were children.<br />
"We understand that a quality education<br />
system will undoubtedly foster the socioeconomic<br />
development of the state and by<br />
extension the harmony, respect, discipline<br />
and productiveness needed for a cohesive<br />
society and a prosperous economy. As such<br />
we are sparing no resource and effort in providing<br />
the necessary inputs and processes<br />
inextricably linked to the making of a quality<br />
education system such as qualified teachers,<br />
IT-driven teaching, learning and administrative<br />
platforms, new and improved school<br />
infrastructure, relevant curriculum, appropriate<br />
legislation and an enabling teaching<br />
and learning environment. For us nothing<br />
but the very best is good enough and that is<br />
what you get in every public and recognised<br />
private school in Delta State."<br />
Delta State government, under Okowa has<br />
taken major steps to give primary schools<br />
development the priority accorded it under<br />
the millennium goals. World Bank's grants<br />
are available for the development of primary<br />
schools but most states are not keen about it<br />
because they are not willing or are unable to<br />
provide the counterpart fund. The<br />
government of Delta State ensured that the<br />
problem of funding did not hinder the attainment<br />
of the desired educational quality<br />
standard. The government sourced its<br />
counterpart fund for the UBEC grants for<br />
primary school funding through a term loan<br />
facility. With counterpart funding, the state's<br />
Universal Basic Education Board gained access<br />
to the Universal Basic Education<br />
Commission fund.<br />
This has enabled the state to overcome the<br />
usual problem of lack of funds for primary<br />
schools development. The state government<br />
has therefore been able to sustain effort in<br />
constructing new classroom blocks, reno-<br />
vating dilapidated<br />
Okowa has so structures, recruit-<br />
informed his<br />
administration's<br />
drive to<br />
reposition<br />
primary school<br />
education for<br />
enhanced performance.<br />
This<br />
is a message for<br />
the nation that<br />
for any measure<br />
aimed at<br />
addressing the<br />
problem of declining<br />
standard<br />
of<br />
*Okowa<br />
education to succeed, it has to necessarily<br />
begin at the primary school level. According<br />
to Chief Patrick Ukah, the Commissioner,<br />
Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education<br />
in Delta: "The ministry is charged with the<br />
onerous responsibility of formulating, implementing<br />
and regulating educational policies<br />
and programmes for the State, including<br />
overseeing the general administration<br />
of the Basic and Secondary school system in<br />
accordance with the goals and needs of the<br />
State and in consonance with the National<br />
Policy on Education and other relevant policies/programmes<br />
such as the Education For<br />
All, EFA, Sustainable Development Goals,<br />
SDGs and vision 20:20 goals as well as the<br />
SMART Agenda of the Okowa’s Administration.<br />
"In a nutshell, it is the responsibility of the<br />
Ministry to provide Early Childhood,<br />
Primary and Secondary/Technical Education<br />
for the young ones as well as provide<br />
basic literacy and life skill education for<br />
far sustained the<br />
drive to reposition<br />
primary<br />
schools in the<br />
state with a<br />
view to meeting<br />
current reality<br />
demands<br />
ing new primary<br />
school teachers<br />
and providing essential<br />
instructional<br />
resources, thus<br />
creating an effective<br />
learning system.<br />
It is the desire<br />
of the Okowa-led<br />
administration to<br />
raise the capacity<br />
for quality education<br />
at all levels within the state. Okowa<br />
has so far sustained the drive to reposition<br />
primary schools in the state with a view to<br />
meeting current reality demands. With improved<br />
funding, his government has attained<br />
great landmarks in renovating primary and<br />
secondary schools in the state and in procuring<br />
essential educational facilities, including<br />
computer facilities and electric<br />
power generators for public secondary<br />
schools.<br />
Education is an essential tool for touching<br />
lives and recreating destinies of people<br />
and societies. This is precisely what<br />
Governor Okowa has done with it so far in<br />
Delta State. It is one step forward by the<br />
government that has registered grassroots<br />
impacts in Delta State. A number of schools<br />
in dilapidated conditions have received<br />
facelifts across the state despite the revenue<br />
crisis that has hit government finances generally<br />
in recent years. Government's master<br />
plan for the development of education revolves<br />
around the provision of enabling<br />
learning environment to enhance teaching<br />
and learning at all categories of schools in<br />
the state. It is an integrated approach to lay<br />
a solid foundation at primary school level<br />
and ensure high quality rollout of graduates<br />
at tertiary levels of education.<br />
Teachers' Professional Development<br />
Centre: In line with the broad strategy, the<br />
state's government has embarked on the<br />
construction of Teachers' Professional Development<br />
Centre at Owa-Oyibu in Ika<br />
North East Local Government Area of the<br />
State. The Centre when completed will<br />
ensure proffiency in teaching as it will afford<br />
the state government the opportunity to<br />
train and retrain teachers.<br />
To be concluded
The coffin of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is carried during his funeral, yesterday. REUTERS/<br />
Amr Abdallah Dalsh<br />
Modi calls for calm as 20 killed in<br />
Delhi riots<br />
INDIAN Prime Minister<br />
Narendra Modi called for<br />
calm yesterday after Delhi’s worst<br />
sectarian violence in decades left<br />
at least 20 people dead and calls<br />
for a military curfew.<br />
This week’s battles between<br />
Hindus and Muslims have seen<br />
mobs armed with swords, guns<br />
and acid raze a northeastern<br />
district of the Indian capital.<br />
The clashes, which also left<br />
almost 200 injured, were triggered<br />
by protests against a citizenship<br />
law seen by many critics<br />
as anti-Muslim and part of<br />
Modi’s Hindu nationalist<br />
agenda.<br />
They exploded into brutal violence<br />
on Monday and Tuesday,<br />
with residents forced to flee their<br />
homes after seeing their homes<br />
destroyed and a mosque attacked.<br />
“I appeal to my sisters and<br />
brothers of Delhi to maintain<br />
peace and brotherhood at all<br />
times. It is important… calm and<br />
normalcy is restored at the earliest,”<br />
Modi tweeted on Wednesday.<br />
Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind<br />
Kejriwal, a political opponent,<br />
called for the army to be deployed<br />
and for a curfew to be<br />
imposed over the flashpoint areas.<br />
“Police, despite all its efforts,<br />
(are) unable to control situation<br />
and instil confidence,” Kejriwal<br />
tweeted.<br />
Sunil Kumar, the director of<br />
the hospital where many of the<br />
wounded were taken, told AFP<br />
on Wednesday that almost 60<br />
had gunshot injuries.<br />
On Wednesday morning<br />
residents cleaned out the blackened<br />
interior of a trashed<br />
mosque, including a charred<br />
Koran, burned out during the<br />
violence in the Ashok Nagar<br />
area.<br />
A video circulated on social<br />
media and verified by AFP<br />
showed men ripping off the<br />
muezzin’s loudspeaker on top<br />
of the mosque’s minaret and installing<br />
a Hindu religious flag.<br />
Locals accused the police of<br />
doing nothing to help — or<br />
worse.<br />
“We tried to make many calls<br />
to the police… that people are<br />
entering our neighbourhoods<br />
chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’,” said<br />
Naeem Malik, referring to a<br />
popular Hindu chant.<br />
“But police did not help us at<br />
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 —37<br />
all. We tried to save the women<br />
at the protest site but instead<br />
policemen started beating us<br />
up,” Malik said, showing<br />
wounds on his leg and hands.<br />
Elsewhere a fire engine tried<br />
to put out blazes from the previous<br />
night, the air thick with<br />
smoke from still-smouldering<br />
cars, motorbikes, shops and<br />
homes.<br />
“They say we are not Indians<br />
but we are Indians by blood,”<br />
Farhat, 22, a student in Islamic<br />
studies, said in her father’s shop<br />
as police looked on.<br />
Court scraps ban on professional<br />
assisted suicide<br />
GERMANY’s highest<br />
court yesterday ruled<br />
that a 2015 law banning professional<br />
assisted suicide was<br />
unconstitutional, saying in a<br />
landmark decision that<br />
people have “the right to a<br />
<strong>self</strong>-determined death”.<br />
The ruling is a major victory<br />
for the terminally ill patients,<br />
doctors and assisted<br />
suicide organisations who<br />
brought the case, complaining<br />
that the existing law went<br />
too far.<br />
Judge Andreas Vosskuhle<br />
at the Federal Constitutional<br />
Court in Karlsruhe said the<br />
right to a <strong>self</strong>-determined<br />
death included “the freedom<br />
to take one’s life and seek<br />
help doing so”.<br />
The court also surprised<br />
observers by explicitly stating<br />
that the right to assisted<br />
suicide services should not<br />
be limited to the seriously or<br />
incurably ill.<br />
The freedom to choose<br />
one’s death “is guaranteed<br />
in all stages of a person’s<br />
existence”, the verdict read.<br />
Passed by lawmakers in<br />
2015, the existing law, known<br />
as Paragraph 217, was<br />
mainly aimed at barring associations<br />
dedicated to helping<br />
patients wanting to die.<br />
It also meant medical personnel<br />
faced prosecution for<br />
prescribing life-terminating<br />
drugs. The legal uncertainty<br />
worsened when a lower court<br />
ruled in 2017 that officials<br />
could not refuse lethal medication<br />
in extreme cases, creating<br />
confusion among doctors.<br />
Wednesday’s verdict was<br />
closely watched in a fast-ageing<br />
country where Catholic<br />
and Protestant Churches still<br />
exert strong influence, but<br />
polls show growing public<br />
support for physician-assisted<br />
suicide.<br />
Zimbabwe plans subsidized shops for security forces<br />
ZIMBABWE plans to set<br />
up shops within camps<br />
and barracks to sell subsidized<br />
goods like maize meal and<br />
cooking oil to members of the<br />
security forces, cabinet ministers<br />
said on Wednesday, as the government<br />
seeks to tame anger<br />
over economic hardship.<br />
Economists estimate that yearon-year<br />
inflation reached 525%<br />
in December as the southern<br />
African nation struggles with its<br />
worst economic crisis in a decade,<br />
marked by shortages of<br />
food, foreign exchange, fuel and<br />
power.<br />
To help ease conditions for the<br />
security forces, the government<br />
would establish “garrison”<br />
shops to enable service personnel<br />
to buy cheaper goods, Information<br />
Minister Monica<br />
Mutsvangwa and Finance<br />
Minister Mthuli Ncube said.<br />
With monthly salaries as low<br />
as $140, political analysts say<br />
the lower ranks of the security<br />
forces, from the army to the police,<br />
have not been spared the<br />
effects of the crisis.<br />
Mutsvangwa said all government<br />
workers would from next<br />
month start contributing 2.5%<br />
of their monthly salaries to a state<br />
savings fund. Security force<br />
members who make the contributions<br />
would be able to buy<br />
goods cheaply from the new<br />
shops.<br />
The minister said consultations<br />
were still being held with<br />
the public service commission,<br />
which employs all government<br />
workers.<br />
“Garrison shops in terms of<br />
physical structures already exist<br />
in the cantonment areas but<br />
there is no subsidy that is what<br />
we want to try to cure with this<br />
proposal,” Ncube told reporters<br />
in Harare.<br />
Ncube did not say how much<br />
would be spent on the subsidies.<br />
Mutsvangwa earlier said<br />
the government had increased<br />
the maize producer price fivefold<br />
to $389 a tonne in a bid to<br />
encourage farmers to deliver the<br />
crop to state grain silos, which<br />
have been severely depleted after<br />
a drought last year.<br />
Farmers, who are expected<br />
to start harvesting this year’s<br />
crop at the end of next month,<br />
would receive 6,958 Zimbabwe<br />
dollars (US$389) a tonne, compared<br />
with 1,400 Zimbabwe<br />
dollars set last June.<br />
The agriculture minister said<br />
last month the southern African<br />
nation only had 100,000 tonnes<br />
of grain in its strategic reserves,<br />
enough to last just over a month,<br />
forcing the government to ramp<br />
up imports of maize.<br />
Kenya university’s rape memo<br />
sparks anger<br />
ATOP Kenyan university has apologised after<br />
blaming “reckless” female students for becoming<br />
victims of rape.<br />
The security memo, which was sent to all students<br />
on Tuesday, was “insensitive”, the University of<br />
Nairobi’s vice-chancellor admitted.<br />
A petition started in response to the memo questioned<br />
how women could be blamed for their own rape.<br />
Popular media personality, Adelle Onyango, posted<br />
on Instagram: “This is what victim shaming looks like.”<br />
The 31-year-old, who is a rape survivor, told her<br />
374,000 followers that she was outraged that the university<br />
had had no condemnation for the rapists.<br />
“This is what normalisation of rape looks like. And<br />
we will not stand for it.”<br />
The memo, signed by the head of security, said the<br />
rising number of cases of robbery and rape of university<br />
students in the capital, Nairobi, occurred at certain<br />
spots close to campuses.<br />
“In all the three rape incidences reported last year, a<br />
clear case of recklessness on the part of our female<br />
students can be drawn,” it said.<br />
It gave an example of a drunk student who was gangraped<br />
on her way back in the early hours of the morning.<br />
Court sides with Trump in<br />
‘sanctuary cities’ grant fight<br />
THE Trump administration can withhold millions<br />
o<br />
f<br />
dollars in law enforcement grants to force states to<br />
cooperate with US immigration enforcement, a federal<br />
appeals court in New York ruled Wednesday in a<br />
decision that conflicted with three other federal appeals<br />
courts.<br />
The decision by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals<br />
in Manhattan overturned a lower court’s decision ordering<br />
the administration to release funding to New<br />
York City and seven states - New York, Connecticut,<br />
New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Virginia and<br />
Rhode Island.<br />
The states and city sued the United States government<br />
after the Justice Department announced in 2017<br />
that it would withhold grant money from cities and states<br />
until they gave federal immigration authorities access<br />
to jails and provide advance notice when an undocumented<br />
individual was about to be released.<br />
Before the change, cities and states seeking grant<br />
money were required only to show they were not preventing<br />
local law enforcement.
38 — VANGUARD, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
japhdave@yahoo.com<br />
08066625505<br />
Osaro, Agbezin rekindle friendship with Treads of<br />
Infinity at Alexis<br />
‘Mandela, My Life: The Official exhibition’ opens in South Africa<br />
By Japhet Davidson, with<br />
agency report<br />
DURING Nelson Mandela’s<br />
post-presidential years, he<br />
spent part of his life establishing<br />
institutions and organisations<br />
that would help in the fight<br />
against poverty, against injustice<br />
and help secure a more just and<br />
equitable society. The other<br />
parts were spent pulling the ears<br />
of world leaders, celebrated personalities,<br />
and leaders of business<br />
to support the work of transformation<br />
and nation-building.<br />
Recently, the Nelson Mandela<br />
Foundation hosted the official<br />
South African launch of<br />
‘MANDELA, My Life: The Official<br />
Exhibition’ in Nelson<br />
Mandela Square, Sandton City,<br />
in partnership with Richmark<br />
Holdings and TEG Live.<br />
MANDELA, My Life: The Official<br />
Exhibition, is a world class<br />
exhibition on Nelson Mandela’s<br />
extraordinary life, in collaboration<br />
with The Nelson Mandela<br />
Foundation and Richmark<br />
Holdings. A century on from his<br />
birth, this exhibition poetically<br />
and emotively explores the personal<br />
and public life of one of<br />
the most influential men in modern<br />
history.<br />
A rich selection of rare personal<br />
artefacts, film footage and<br />
*Standing out by Agbezin George<br />
By Japhet Davidson<br />
AFTER the successful host<br />
ing of its first exhibition<br />
of the year tagged Residency<br />
Fate VI, Simply Naija that featured<br />
the works of the 4th edition<br />
of artists in residency,<br />
Alexis galleries, one of the<br />
leading galleries in Nigeria is<br />
set for another exhibition titled,<br />
Treads of Infinity, an exhibition<br />
of paintings and<br />
sculptures by two contemporary<br />
artists, Luke Osaro and<br />
Agbezin Bamidele George.<br />
The joint exhibition which<br />
promises to be great judging<br />
by the calibre of works and<br />
pedigree of the exhibiting artists<br />
is scheduled to open on<br />
14th March 2020, at Alexis<br />
Gallery, Victoria Island, Lagos<br />
and run till 21st March 2020.<br />
Speaking at the briefing,<br />
Bimpe Owoyemi. a co curator<br />
with Patty Chidiac, the curator<br />
who stated that the artists<br />
will be exhibiting their new<br />
styles in the exhibition, said<br />
“the exhibition is just a combination<br />
of two different ideas<br />
that speaks about human expressions<br />
which is in line with<br />
the theme of the exhibition. It<br />
will feature a total of 33 works<br />
of paintings and sculptures,<br />
16 works of paintings by<br />
George and 17 sculptural<br />
works by Osaro”.<br />
Continuing, she pointed<br />
out that “Agbezin’s works addresses<br />
the everyday activities,<br />
they are resolutely stylized,<br />
maintaining a curios<br />
balance between the gestural<br />
energies. With his latest study<br />
of the quilt art, he now manipulates<br />
relationship between<br />
colours, pattern, design<br />
and forms on rigorously<br />
textured canvases. Meanwhile,<br />
Luke Osaro loves to<br />
share his experience of human<br />
activities in bronze cast,<br />
bonded stone and glass<br />
fiber. As they live out friendship,<br />
love, dreams and hope,<br />
Treads of Infinity, no doubt<br />
is the combination of two different<br />
ideas aiming at a sole<br />
purpose of depicting or reincarnating<br />
the divine attributes<br />
of human, with different<br />
medium of art”.<br />
Speaking about the theme,<br />
George who works on canvass<br />
on acrylic stated that he<br />
documents, combined with<br />
newly created audio-visual<br />
pieces form the heart of the exhibition<br />
and offer an insight<br />
into the world that shaped<br />
Mandela’s life and journey.<br />
The launch was attended by<br />
members of the Mandela family,<br />
Ndileka Mandela and<br />
Makaziwe Mandela-Amuah,<br />
Struggle Stalwarts such as<br />
Trevor Manuel, trustees of the<br />
Nelson Mandela Foundation,<br />
media veterans Dan Moyane<br />
and Derek Watts, celebrated<br />
personalities such as John<br />
Smit, Letshego Zulu and Thebe<br />
Ikalafeng, as well as captains<br />
of industry. The evening was<br />
serenaded by Zolani Mahola<br />
and the internationally acclaimed<br />
Soweto Gospel Choir<br />
singing ‘Asimbonanga’, originally<br />
composed by Johnny<br />
Clegg.<br />
Although the night was attended<br />
by high profile and influential<br />
members of society, it<br />
was no reason to avoid heated<br />
and uncomfortable political<br />
discussion.<br />
The official exhibition, in<br />
Sandton City until July, begins<br />
with a series of large paintings<br />
by John Meyer, one of hills,<br />
presumably in the Eastern<br />
Cape, where three young boys<br />
are seen running through rays<br />
has been painting in a special<br />
way, but after his sojourn in<br />
Togo, he fell in love with words<br />
and opposite and ever since he<br />
has been working more on other<br />
dimensions. On the theme, he<br />
said that they have been<br />
friends for a long time after they<br />
met at Artzero programme put<br />
together by Authur Arinze and<br />
since then they bonded , looking<br />
for how to do something<br />
together and Alexis galleries<br />
afforded them the opportunity.<br />
Treads of infinity depicts to him<br />
is something that is trending,<br />
continuous friendship that will<br />
not end like that.<br />
Some of his works include<br />
Ladies in different mode,<br />
standing out, The Reign, Yeye<br />
Oge 111 and others.<br />
While, Osaro who confessed<br />
that he paints and sculpts, but<br />
after an encounter with<br />
Artzero, Arinze encouraged<br />
him to concentrate on sculpturing<br />
and he keyed in to that<br />
and ever since it has been a<br />
success story. “The theme to<br />
him is a reflection of of our<br />
long time friendship”.<br />
He said that he prefers<br />
bonded stones for his works<br />
as it is good for outdoor and<br />
indoor. Some of his works include<br />
Hibernation, Adenike,<br />
*Late Nelson Mandela with kids during his life time<br />
of sunshine and blades of tall<br />
grass. The entrance engulfs the<br />
viewer, enabling them to fully immerse<br />
themselves in what is about<br />
to be an excellently curated narrative<br />
of Nelson Mandela. The<br />
first gallery invites viewers to feel<br />
the power and emotion of one of<br />
the most dramatic and significant<br />
moments of Mandela’s life - the<br />
moment he puts Apartheid on<br />
trial, supported by the original recording<br />
of Nelson Mandela’s<br />
Rivonia Trial speech in 1964 and<br />
illustrative depictions of the<br />
courtroom as Mandela deliver<br />
his speech.<br />
*Adenike, by Luke Osaro<br />
The second gallery explores<br />
Mandela’s family life and narrates<br />
his journey from childhood<br />
to elder through a spectacular<br />
seven-metre-long scenic projection<br />
wall of animations and<br />
landscapes. Elements of<br />
Mandela’s childhood are<br />
brought to life in an audio-visual<br />
piece that uses Mandela’s own<br />
words and images of his childhood<br />
homes in the Transkei.<br />
The third gallery explores the<br />
influences that shaped<br />
Mandela’s theory of mind, presented<br />
through original artefacts,<br />
documents and film extracts<br />
that allow visitors to delve<br />
Lifted and others. Speaking<br />
about the works, he said that<br />
Hibernation, cut across many<br />
areas, it can depict some reflecting,<br />
meditating or tired.<br />
So it creates in our imagination<br />
a two sided figure. While<br />
“Adenike, a bronze work that<br />
depicts the head of a woman<br />
with a special hairstyle is an<br />
image of a woman I normally<br />
see with a particular hairstyle<br />
at all times which is something<br />
unique about her and I<br />
decided to do that”.<br />
Patty<br />
Chidiac-<br />
Mastrogiannis, founder and<br />
director of Alexis galleries is<br />
passionate about the arts that<br />
she dedicates her gallery and<br />
studio space to the development<br />
of growing artists, sponsoring<br />
and promoting artists<br />
in showcasing their works.<br />
She also donate part of her<br />
proceed from her exhibitions<br />
to charity. This exhibition is<br />
partnering with WARIF,<br />
Women At Risk International<br />
Foundation, a non profit organisation<br />
formed in response<br />
to the high incidence of<br />
sexual violence, rape and<br />
human trafficking among<br />
young girls and women across<br />
Nigeria<br />
As usual some art loving organisations<br />
like Pepsi, Tiger,<br />
Indomie, Mikano, Wazobia<br />
FM, Cool World, Cobranet,<br />
Delta Airlines and a host of<br />
others are always there to<br />
lend their support to the exhibition.<br />
Art lovers, promoters, collectors<br />
etc are enjoined to come<br />
and explore the artists time<br />
and creativity within the period.<br />
into the early life of Mandela as<br />
he established him<strong>self</strong> in Johannesburg.<br />
Personal items include<br />
photographs of Mandela with<br />
his first wife, Evelyn, and their<br />
children as well as his second<br />
wife, Winnie. This gallery also<br />
examines the means and methods<br />
by which Mandela navigated<br />
Apartheid and explores<br />
how this experience motivated<br />
his early political activism.<br />
The ten galleries in total,<br />
whose journey lasts one-and-ahalf<br />
to two hours, are concluded<br />
by a painting by John Meyer<br />
depicting Mandela the elder,<br />
walking back through the same<br />
rays of light and blades of tall<br />
grass with a cane. As visitors exit<br />
the experience, they are welcome<br />
to support the work of the Nelson<br />
Mandela Foundation by<br />
purchasing official merchandise,<br />
including the exhibition<br />
catalogue, memoirs, garments<br />
and home accessories. By purchasing<br />
this merchandise you<br />
are allowing the Nelson<br />
Mandela Foundation to continue<br />
doing the unfinished work<br />
of Nelson Mandela.<br />
‘MANDELA, My Life: The Official<br />
Exhibition’ will be on show<br />
to the public at Nelson Mandela<br />
Square, Sandton City, until the<br />
20th of July after which it will<br />
move to Cape Town.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 39<br />
08052202308 (sms only)<br />
Review of Labour laws, our concerns ---Labour,<br />
NECA<br />
Stories by Victor<br />
Young<br />
THOUGH there is consensus<br />
among stakeholders and<br />
other keen watchers of the Labour<br />
sector that most of the nation’s<br />
Labour laws are obsolete<br />
and need a total review to meet<br />
the exigencies of the time,<br />
organized labour and Nigeria<br />
Employers’ Consultative Association,<br />
NECA, have expressed<br />
concern over steps being taking<br />
ahead of the planned<br />
review.<br />
Speaking to Vanguard, President<br />
of Nigeria Labour Congress,<br />
NLC, Ayuba Wabba, informed<br />
that “the processes of<br />
reviewing our Labour laws<br />
have been on for a long time.<br />
We have some drafts in place<br />
and some of them went to the<br />
National Assembly. But they<br />
were not signed into law,<br />
consequently, they were<br />
brought back. It is usually a<br />
process that is well spelt out.<br />
The process of reviewing the<br />
Labour laws is through tripartite.<br />
That means the social partners<br />
have to review it. This has<br />
been the practice all through<br />
the years.<br />
“Importantly, also is that in<br />
reviewing the Labour laws, you<br />
do not just review them in a<br />
vacuum. Every year there is a<br />
report of the committee of<br />
experts of the International<br />
Labour Organisation, ILO,<br />
every year you attend ILO,<br />
there is a report of the committee<br />
of experts to review laws<br />
that you have domesticated,<br />
their application both in practice<br />
and in law. If you look at<br />
the report as it affects Nigeria,<br />
there are lots of areas we need<br />
to strengthen. Like the issue of<br />
child Labour, issue of unionisation<br />
among several issues<br />
that have been raised which in<br />
the review , we must consider<br />
and put them side by side with<br />
the report of the committee of<br />
experts. The review cannot be<br />
from the blues.<br />
"It has to be through a process<br />
and the only process that<br />
is known by law is tripartite<br />
where the social partners will<br />
participate in a process of social<br />
dialogue. They will looki at<br />
what have done in the past<br />
because it was also with the<br />
support of ILO. I recall that<br />
five laws were reviewed but we<br />
were not fortunate because they<br />
were not passed into law and<br />
most of them have also been<br />
overtaken by events because of<br />
the annual report of the committee<br />
of the experts of ILO. So,<br />
clearly, we look forward to the<br />
period and also the process<br />
which is well a defined process<br />
in law and in practice.<br />
NECA' stance<br />
Similarly, Director General of<br />
NECA, Dr Timothy Olawale,<br />
said “Most of the laws where<br />
reviewed in 2005 or thereabout<br />
and sent to the national assembly.<br />
Events have overtaken<br />
* Nigerian workers protesting against unfair government policy .<br />
some of them; there are developments<br />
either by judicial pronouncements<br />
to update or upgrade<br />
what they have done before,<br />
but fundamentally due<br />
diligence is not done by the<br />
FG begs electricity workers for 2 months to address<br />
grievances<br />
NIGERIANS can now<br />
heave a sigh of relief as<br />
workers in the nation’s Power<br />
Sector, under the aegis of National<br />
Union of Electricity Employees,<br />
NUEE, have put on<br />
hold threat to resume their suspended<br />
strike after the Federal<br />
Government pleaded for two<br />
months to address their grievances.<br />
This was the outcome of a<br />
conciliatory meeting called by<br />
the Minister of Labour and<br />
employment, Dr Chris Ngige,<br />
with leaders of NUEE, following<br />
the 14-day strike notice by<br />
the union on January 29, where<br />
NUEE threatened to resume its<br />
suspended strike, over nonimplementation<br />
of the agreement<br />
reached with the government<br />
on December 11, 2019,<br />
among others.<br />
After a closed-door meeting<br />
which lasted about five hours,<br />
the Ngige said “We have reviewed<br />
the agreement reached<br />
in December 2019. We have<br />
given ourselves a terminal date<br />
of 60 days within which to<br />
process the remaining persons<br />
that have not gotten their severance<br />
pay. The number is not<br />
as what NUEE is saying but at<br />
the same time, we expect that<br />
payment should be effected<br />
latest at the end of 60 days.<br />
“We are going to reach out to<br />
power generating companies<br />
and power distribution companies<br />
so that the issue of<br />
casualisation should not be<br />
happening again. We will also<br />
deal with the issue of non-remittance<br />
of check-off dues and<br />
non-unionisation in some<br />
executives to work with the legislature<br />
to pass them. Haven<br />
said that labour laws are<br />
unique, unlike other laws that<br />
are open to the entire public.<br />
Labour law is premised on<br />
places. We are going to handle<br />
it as a ministry and deal<br />
with it before the end of the<br />
first quarter of the year.”<br />
On his part, NUEE’s General<br />
Secretary, Joe Ajaero, said<br />
“We are not satisfied with the<br />
result of the meeting because<br />
it is coming rather too late.<br />
Privatisation issue took place<br />
seven years ago and most of<br />
the people involved have died<br />
and we are still talking of their<br />
entitlements and<br />
underpayment. We are now<br />
looking at another 60 days to<br />
address the issue. Do you need<br />
Intra-union crisis hits Asuri as branches<br />
petition EFCC<br />
By Gabriel Olawale<br />
THE Academic Staff Union of<br />
Federal Institute of Industrial<br />
Research, ASURI, has been engulfed<br />
by the intra-union crisis as<br />
some branches of the union have<br />
petitioned the Economic and Financial<br />
Crimes Commission,<br />
EFCC, accusing the union’s national<br />
leadership of misappropriation<br />
of funds<br />
At a congress in Lagos attended<br />
by no fewer than 30 representatives<br />
from different branches, National<br />
Administrative Secretary of<br />
ASURI, Mohammad- Monzoor<br />
Akinwale, claimed the misappropriation<br />
had led to illegal and<br />
fraudulent withholding of monthly<br />
check-off dues of some ASURI<br />
branches by the national leadership.<br />
Akinwale informed that checkoff<br />
dues were automatically withdrawn<br />
from members’ salary out<br />
of which 40 per cent was expected<br />
to be remitted to the state<br />
tripartism, it is tripartite that<br />
work on the laws, agree on it,<br />
own it, and send it to the National<br />
Assembly. So, that is why<br />
some of us felt it was needless<br />
to tell the general public to<br />
ultimatum before people will<br />
remit pension deduction or for<br />
people who short-paid you for<br />
16 months to remit the<br />
amount? You don’t need it.<br />
Unlike other agreements<br />
where we tell our people that<br />
we have achieved something,<br />
in this case, we have not<br />
achieved anything. We are still<br />
prolonging the evil days. This<br />
ministry had intervened before<br />
and gave directives to the<br />
companies on some of the<br />
agreement on the issue of<br />
unionisation, noncasualisation,<br />
remittance of<br />
branches, but alleged that the national<br />
body had refused to do so.<br />
According to him, “We want the<br />
EFCC to investigate misappropriation<br />
of public funds within the<br />
confine of ASURI national body.<br />
This misappropriation has led to<br />
illegal and fraudulent withholding<br />
of monthly check-up dues of<br />
many ASURI branches across the<br />
country. ASURI national body<br />
deducts check-up dues directly<br />
through the Integrated Payroll<br />
and Personnel Information,<br />
IPPIS, arrangement but failed to<br />
remit 40 per cent to state branches<br />
of ASURI which is against the<br />
constitution. This refusal has denied<br />
branches the ability to carry<br />
out their activities.”<br />
Akinwale alleged that remittance<br />
failure had become the<br />
norms of the national secretariat<br />
of ASURI, lamenting that Dr<br />
Theophilus Ndubuaku had been<br />
the Secretary-General of ASURI<br />
since the early 1990s and refused<br />
to leave.<br />
He said “we have also petition<br />
send memorandum to the ministry<br />
for the review of the law<br />
because eventually when the<br />
cheeps are down, it is government<br />
as represented by ministry<br />
of Labour employers as represented<br />
by NECA, and the labour<br />
movement that will sit<br />
down and agree on this particular<br />
issues that we are talking<br />
about.<br />
"Secondly, when you are<br />
working on labour laws, you<br />
must also know that you are<br />
building on what has been done<br />
before. You are not starting<br />
from the scratch. As a matter of<br />
fact, in 2019, extensive work<br />
was done by the tripartite to<br />
review the labour law. Are we<br />
saying that the information and<br />
collation that were done for<br />
several weeks in 2019 are no<br />
longer relevant? NECA was<br />
involved, the NLC was<br />
involved, the TUC was involved,<br />
the Ministry of Labour<br />
was involved and the ILO was<br />
also there as technical partners.<br />
So, we are not starting from the<br />
scratch. We should build on that<br />
and just dot the I’s and cross<br />
the t’s, that’s what needs to be<br />
done so that we fast-tracked<br />
and pass it to the national assembly<br />
for necessary action."<br />
check-off dues in 2016 but the<br />
organizations ignored it.<br />
“I am not happy because we<br />
have about two weeks to deal<br />
with the companies but the<br />
ministry is intervening that we<br />
should wait. We don’t<br />
understand what is happening.<br />
How will I as a permanent<br />
secretary or minister give<br />
directives and they will not be<br />
respected? That was why when<br />
we met the Speaker of the<br />
House of Representatives, I<br />
told the house to give the<br />
labour ministry more powers.<br />
When a directive is flaunted,<br />
there should be a sanction."<br />
ministry of labour complaining<br />
about what happened at the national<br />
level, we want them to be<br />
aware of constitution infraction<br />
carried out by the national body<br />
of ASURI. The constitution insists<br />
that for every year there must be<br />
not less than four national executive<br />
council meeting but between<br />
2014 and 2018 there was no single<br />
executive meeting despite all<br />
the agitation across the country<br />
until late 2019 and when that happened<br />
it was not properly constituted.”<br />
Reacting, Former President of<br />
ASURI, Dr Adebayo Ajala, said all<br />
the allegations against the<br />
ASURI national leadership were<br />
false, saying “we have told them<br />
to come up with concrete evidence<br />
to show that the leadership has<br />
violated the constitution. The socalled<br />
ASURI Reformed Group<br />
has refused to come up with writer<br />
complaints so that we have a document<br />
we can work on. It is not possible<br />
for the EXCO to look into a<br />
verbal allegation made at a press<br />
conference.
40 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
NIGERIA: A peep into Buhari’s<br />
distinctive legacies —Nwabueze<br />
•Osoba, Anyaoku, Okowa, Okogie, Clark<br />
to launch books<br />
By Clifford<br />
Ndujihe<br />
LAGOS—LEGAL Icon,<br />
Professor Ben<br />
Nwabueze, SAN, has<br />
examined five years of<br />
President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari’s administration<br />
declaring that he has left<br />
distinctive legacies to<br />
Nigeria.<br />
The legacies have credit<br />
and deficient sides but the<br />
positive achievements have<br />
been overshadowed by the<br />
deficient side of the balance<br />
sheet, Nwabueze said<br />
In a 345-page, three-part,<br />
and 14-chapter book, which<br />
will be launched today, at<br />
the National Institute of<br />
International Affairs, NIIA,<br />
in Lagos, Professor<br />
Nwabueze viewed the<br />
“distinctive legacies”<br />
through the prism of<br />
GOtv Steps-Up offer to end in 3 days<br />
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customers can still<br />
enjoy the “Step Up” offer<br />
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The Step Up offers<br />
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and affords all active and<br />
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customers, especially those<br />
on GOtv Jolli, Jinja, Plus,<br />
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the chance to watch varied<br />
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across higher packages at<br />
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at the start of 2020.<br />
The offer ensures all<br />
GOtv customers on the<br />
Jolli, Jinja, Plus, Value and<br />
Lite packages who pay for<br />
One feared dead as students clash<br />
in Ibadan<br />
By Ola Ajayi<br />
I B A D A N —<br />
STUDENTS of<br />
IMG and Oke Bola<br />
Comprehensive High<br />
School, yesterday,<br />
engaged in a bloody<br />
clash which left many of<br />
them injured.<br />
Vanguard gathered that<br />
dangerous weapons like<br />
cutlasses, knives, axes were<br />
freely used while the fracas<br />
lasted.<br />
An unconfirmed report<br />
had it that one of the<br />
students was killed.<br />
Also several cars parked<br />
by the roadside were<br />
damaged by the<br />
rampaging students.<br />
The Oyo State Police<br />
Public Relations Officer,<br />
SP Gbenga Fadeyi,<br />
while confirming the<br />
incident said: “The clash<br />
:Vanguard vanguardnews News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058<br />
Assault on the Judiciary;<br />
Nigeria tottering on the<br />
brink; and the 2019 general<br />
elections.<br />
Titled: “President<br />
Buhari’s Distinctive<br />
Legacies to Nigeria,” the<br />
book will be presented<br />
alongside another<br />
book: Further Thoughts on<br />
the Nigerian Constitution<br />
and Polity, by a team of<br />
eminent Nigerians<br />
including former Governor<br />
of Ogun State, Chief<br />
Olusegun Osoba; former<br />
Commonwealth Secretary-<br />
General, Chief Emeka<br />
Anyaoku; Governor Ifeanyi<br />
Okowa (Delta) and Aminu<br />
Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto);<br />
Cardinal Anthony Okogie,<br />
Cardinal John Onaiyekan,<br />
Chief EK Clark, Alhaji<br />
Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter<br />
Obi; Alhaji Buba Galadima,<br />
Chiefs Solomon Asemota,<br />
Mike Ozekhome, and Nnia<br />
Nwodo among others.<br />
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entertainment content for 30<br />
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In a statement by Chief<br />
Customer Officer,<br />
MultiChoice Nigeria,<br />
Martin Mabutho, the<br />
company said the offer<br />
demonstrates the<br />
company’s dedication to<br />
reward and provide more<br />
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Mabutho said: “Our<br />
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was between two schools in<br />
Oke Ado and the police swift<br />
response led to the arrest of<br />
10 students.”<br />
He also added that the<br />
Commissioner of Police, Mr.<br />
Shina Olukolu, had ordered<br />
that the Area Commander in<br />
Iyaganku should ensure that<br />
the matter did not escalate.<br />
LAGOS—LAGOS State<br />
government, yesterday,<br />
disclosed that plans are<br />
underway to finding a<br />
permanent solution to truck<br />
accidents in the state.<br />
In a statement by the<br />
Commissioner for<br />
Information and Strategy,<br />
Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, the<br />
state government<br />
expressed worry over the<br />
rate of trailers/tankers<br />
involved in major accidents<br />
on the expressways and<br />
major arteries.<br />
Omotoso, however,<br />
promised to engage the<br />
SEMINAR: From left—Kenneth Adejumoh, Corporate Communications Manager, Nosak Group;<br />
Samuel Osahon, Shipping Manager, Nosak Group; Arizona Obasi, Team Lead, Export & Agriculture<br />
Division, Fidelity Bank; Adeyinka Olowonyo, Head, Commercial, Nosak Group, and Obih Odimegwu,<br />
Business Development Manager, Cobalt International Service, during the Central Bank of Nigeria,<br />
CBN's Sensitization Seminar for Exporters, Regulators and Stakeholders in the export business<br />
value chain, in Lagos.<br />
Airlines’ll no longer divert flights to<br />
other countries, NAMA tells Reps<br />
By Tordue Salem<br />
A BUJA—MANAGING<br />
Director of the Nigerian<br />
Airspace Management<br />
Agency, NAMA, Captain<br />
Fola Akinkuotu, yesterday,<br />
assured the House<br />
Committee on Aviation<br />
chaired by Rep. Nnolim<br />
Nnaji that Nigerian<br />
passengers, will no longer<br />
experience flight diversions<br />
to other countries.<br />
He said with the<br />
calibration of the category<br />
3 Instrument Landing<br />
System, ILS, installed at<br />
the Lagos airport, diversions<br />
will no longer recur.<br />
Captain Akinkotu gave<br />
the assurance when he and<br />
the Acting Director-General<br />
of the Nigerian Civil<br />
Aviation Authority, NCAA,<br />
Captain Abdulahi Sidi met<br />
with the members of the<br />
House of Representatives<br />
Committee on Aviation<br />
investigating the<br />
circumstances that led to<br />
several diversions of Lagosbound<br />
international flights<br />
to neighbouring West<br />
African countries.<br />
House of Representatives<br />
had on Tuesday, February<br />
18, 2020, after adopting a<br />
motion on the “Urgent need<br />
to complete the installation<br />
and upgrade of landing<br />
equipment at the nation’s<br />
airports to enhance safety<br />
in our airspace”, directed<br />
the committee to investigate<br />
and ensure that all the<br />
acquired landing<br />
equipment, (category 3 ILS<br />
and other Supportive<br />
equipment) were installed<br />
at the designated airports<br />
without further delay to<br />
forestall further incidents of<br />
flight diversions in the<br />
nation’s airspace.<br />
The committee chairman,<br />
Nnaji had at the beginning<br />
of the meeting, expressed<br />
the concerns of the<br />
parliament over the<br />
Reconciliation C'ttee: Ondo APC<br />
leaders pass vote of confidence on<br />
Akande<br />
By Dayo Johnson<br />
A<br />
K U R E —<br />
CONCERNED<br />
leaders of the All<br />
Progressives Congress<br />
Forum in Ondo State,<br />
yesterday, dissociated<br />
Lagos warns truck drivers against recklessness<br />
Ogun State Government<br />
and the Federal<br />
Government agencies to<br />
identify the cause of the<br />
recurring Lagos-Ibadan<br />
Expressway accidents and<br />
fashion out solutions.<br />
The statement reads: “Over the<br />
last three months, Lagos State<br />
has experienced an upsurge in<br />
the number of trailers/tankers<br />
involved in major accidents on the<br />
Expressways and major arteries.<br />
We will continue to encourage<br />
people to do business in Lagos,<br />
but we will not allow the lives of<br />
Lagosians and visitors to be put<br />
at risk.<br />
“Lagos State will not tolerate<br />
the recklessness of truck drivers<br />
when transporting goods on our<br />
roads.<br />
The Vehicle Inspection<br />
Services, VIS, is to step up its<br />
activities in the government’s bid<br />
to stop such accidents involving<br />
trucks and others.<br />
“The government is also<br />
curious about the persistence<br />
tanker accidents at the Berger<br />
end of the Lagos-Ibadan<br />
Expressway and the resultant<br />
gridlock that trails the incidents,<br />
spiraling through the entire Ikeja<br />
axis of the State and traumatising<br />
motorists and commuters."<br />
diversions<br />
He said: “We are<br />
concerned because, for our<br />
failure to do what we ought<br />
to do, we are indirectly<br />
promoting other countries<br />
to the detriments of<br />
Nigeria. Whether we<br />
believe it or not there is a<br />
silent trade war going on<br />
between Nigeria and other<br />
countries so situations like<br />
these can easily be<br />
exploited to the<br />
disadvantage of our<br />
country.”<br />
The NAMA boss, who<br />
stated that the Ministry and<br />
its agencies were working<br />
hard to sustain the over six<br />
years of accident-free<br />
period achieved by the<br />
themselves from the vote of<br />
no confidence passed on<br />
the Chairman of the party<br />
National Reconciliation<br />
Committee, Chief Bisi<br />
Akande, by members of the<br />
Unity Forum within the<br />
party.<br />
The leaders include Chief<br />
Erastus Akeju and Bode<br />
Sunmonu from the North,<br />
Pa Olufemi Ojo and Chief<br />
Dapo Ajayi from the central<br />
and Sir E. A Akintade and<br />
Mrs. Yejide Ogundipe from<br />
the southern districts of the<br />
state.<br />
A communiqué issued<br />
after a meeting, the leaders<br />
said: “Members expressed<br />
their dismay about the fake<br />
communiqué issued by a<br />
unity forum supposedly led<br />
by Alhaji Ali Olanusi and<br />
unanimously dissociate<br />
ourselves from the<br />
castigation of our respected<br />
elder and leader Chief Bisi<br />
Akande.<br />
sector through the provision<br />
and installation of modern<br />
aids, regretted that the<br />
diversions occurred<br />
explaining that it was<br />
largely due to inclement<br />
weather.<br />
He, however, pointed out<br />
that if the category 3 ILS<br />
installed at the Lagos<br />
Airport way back in<br />
November 2019 had been<br />
calibrated on schedule the<br />
diversions would not have<br />
occurred despite the bad<br />
weather.<br />
He attributed the delay to<br />
the interferences that were<br />
observed from some of the<br />
erected communication<br />
masts around the airport during<br />
the initially scheduled calibration<br />
exercise.<br />
“We, hereby, express our<br />
unflinching confidence in<br />
the leadership of Chief Bisi<br />
Akande and the National<br />
Reconciliation Committee<br />
jointly set up by the<br />
Presidency and our<br />
National Party leadership.<br />
“We have resolved to<br />
support all efforts by our<br />
National Leaders to unite<br />
the party and in this regard,<br />
will work for the<br />
accomplishment of the<br />
objectives of APC Advisory<br />
council which we believe<br />
will further strengthen our<br />
party in Ondo State.<br />
“Members reviewed the<br />
present political situation<br />
in the State and lamented<br />
that the continued division<br />
in the party is fueled by the<br />
way and manner Governor<br />
Akeredolu has excluded<br />
large sections of the party<br />
both in government and the<br />
party.”
Continues from Page 5<br />
Naira appreciates to<br />
N365.52/$ in I&E window<br />
By Elizabeth Adegbesan<br />
THE Naira yesterday depreciated to N365.33 per<br />
dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E)<br />
window in spite of a 343 per cent increase in the volume<br />
of dollars traded.<br />
Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative<br />
exchange rate for the window rose to N365.52 per<br />
dollar yesterday from N365.36 per dollar on Tuesday,<br />
translating to 19 kobo depreciation of the Naira.<br />
The volume of dollars (turnover) traded in the<br />
window yesterday rose by 343 percent to $1,376.14<br />
million from $310.84 million on Tuesday. However,<br />
the Naira, appreciated by 20 kobo yesterday in the<br />
parallel market.<br />
According to naijabdcs.com, the live exchange rate<br />
platform of the Association of Bureaux De Change<br />
Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the parallel market<br />
exchange rate dropped to N358.3 per dollar from<br />
N358.5 per dollar on Tuesday, indicating 20 kobo<br />
appreciation of the Naira.<br />
vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews<br />
<strong>Insurgency</strong>: <strong>Depressed</strong><br />
<strong>soldier</strong> <strong>shoots</strong> 7, <strong>kills</strong> <strong>self</strong><br />
Nigerian military to be<br />
merciless against ISWAP<br />
at the opening of the 10th<br />
National Security<br />
Seminar organized by the<br />
Alumni Association of the<br />
National Defence<br />
College, AANDEC, in<br />
Abuja.<br />
The seminar with the<br />
theme: “Combating<br />
Insecurity in Nigeria” was<br />
organized in collaboration<br />
with the Office of the<br />
National Security Adviser,<br />
ONSA, and NDC.<br />
President Buhari,<br />
represented by the<br />
Minister of Defence,<br />
Bashir Magashi, said new<br />
threats in the areas of<br />
insurgency and terrorism<br />
had emerged due mainly<br />
to the defeat of ISIS.<br />
He stated that the<br />
security agencies had<br />
been given renewed<br />
mandate to deal<br />
mercilessly with all forms<br />
of criminality such as<br />
terrorism, banditry and<br />
kidnapping.<br />
“This is a major concern<br />
and threat to us, as their<br />
presence in the West<br />
African Sahel region<br />
poses great danger not<br />
only to Nigeria but the<br />
entire region. Thus, we<br />
are exploring higher<br />
levels of collaboration<br />
among all nations and<br />
international<br />
organizations to<br />
effectively curtail the<br />
spread of terrorism and<br />
defeat insurgency and<br />
terrorism.<br />
“No doubt, our forces<br />
have over the years<br />
worked hard to defeat<br />
Boko Haram and they will<br />
as well re-examine their<br />
strategies to deal with<br />
ISWAP that has invaded<br />
parts of the country.<br />
“The criminal elements<br />
using kidnapping and<br />
other criminal activities as<br />
a way to get rich quick<br />
should either stop such<br />
acts forthwith or face the<br />
full weight of the law as<br />
security agencies have a<br />
renewed mandate to deal<br />
with such acts of<br />
criminality,” he said.<br />
The President said the<br />
government would<br />
continue to prioritize<br />
security, adding that the<br />
seminar was necessary,<br />
especially at a time when<br />
the government was<br />
making efforts to ensure<br />
attainment of sustainable<br />
peace in the country.<br />
He said that<br />
AANDEC’s close<br />
collaboration with ONSA,<br />
NDC and other security<br />
agencies presented the<br />
type of desired<br />
collaborative efforts<br />
towards addressing major<br />
security issues and<br />
challenges facing the<br />
country.<br />
He said it is therefore<br />
expected that at the end<br />
of the seminar, we will<br />
have some implementable<br />
recommendations that<br />
can move the nation<br />
forward.<br />
“As we all know, security<br />
should be the concern of<br />
everyone, hence we must<br />
all co-operate and work<br />
collaboratively to address<br />
security issues from all<br />
perspectives, be it<br />
physical or human.<br />
“The nexus between<br />
physical and human<br />
security makes it<br />
necessary for all<br />
Ministries, Departments<br />
and Agencies (MDAs) to<br />
be highly productive.<br />
“States and Local<br />
Governments should also<br />
view workers’ welfare<br />
with utmost priority while<br />
all security agencies in<br />
particular must deal<br />
appropriately with<br />
extremist tendencies that<br />
are capable of affecting<br />
peace and development<br />
of the nation, according to<br />
the law.<br />
“The National Security<br />
Strategy 2019 is very clear<br />
on these and we shall<br />
implement every aspect<br />
of it.”<br />
Why border<br />
closure was<br />
necessary, by<br />
Buhari<br />
On border closure, Mr<br />
Buhari said government<br />
had to consider temporary<br />
closure of land borders<br />
with a view to taking a<br />
closer look at how to<br />
address the challenges of<br />
smuggling and illegal<br />
movement of weapons.<br />
He added that the<br />
border issue would be<br />
properly examined, in<br />
collaboration with<br />
neighbours, to put in<br />
place acceptable<br />
measures to prevent<br />
illegal economic activities<br />
and other related crimes.<br />
On his part, the<br />
Minister of Defence,<br />
represented by the<br />
Permanent Secretary,<br />
Nuratu Batagarawa,<br />
acknowledged the efforts<br />
of President Buhari in<br />
creating an enabling<br />
environment to resolve<br />
the prevailing security<br />
challenges.<br />
Mr Magashi said it was<br />
imperative to forge a<br />
common front against the<br />
security challenges<br />
towards finding<br />
permanent solutions to<br />
the security challenges,<br />
adding that the seminar<br />
was apt.<br />
He said the ministry<br />
would put in measures to<br />
implement the<br />
recommendations from<br />
the communique at the<br />
end of the seminar.<br />
Earlier, the president of<br />
AANDEC, Garba Audu, a<br />
retired major general,<br />
disclosed that the seminar<br />
was organized with a view<br />
to proffering solutions to<br />
national security<br />
challenges.<br />
Audu said that the<br />
seminar would focus on<br />
some key security<br />
challenges bedeviling the<br />
country such as<br />
negotiations with bandits<br />
in some parts of the<br />
country.<br />
He said solution to<br />
national security<br />
challenges go beyond<br />
military intervention,<br />
adding that economic<br />
solutions were also<br />
required.<br />
Nasarawa<br />
Assembly<br />
passes Witness<br />
Law<br />
Meanwhile, Nasarawa<br />
State House of Assembly<br />
has passed into law “A bill<br />
for a Law to provide for<br />
Witness Protection Law<br />
and other Matters<br />
Connected Therewith.”<br />
The bill, sponsored by<br />
Barrister Mohammed<br />
Alkali (APC Lafia North),<br />
was to give witness of any<br />
criminality boldness,<br />
confidence and protection<br />
to testify in court.<br />
Speaker of the House,<br />
Ibrahim Balarabe<br />
Abdullahi, announced<br />
passage of the bill into<br />
law in Lafia, following a<br />
motion by the House<br />
Majority Leader, Alhaji<br />
Tanko Tunga (APC, Awe<br />
North).<br />
Balarabe Abdullahi said<br />
the bill, if assented to by<br />
the governor, would go a<br />
long way in curtailing the<br />
rate of crime in the state<br />
and the country at large.<br />
According to him, it will<br />
also give witnesses the<br />
opportunity to present<br />
evidence, expose and<br />
report to the police and<br />
other security agencies<br />
without fear of<br />
molestation.<br />
Balarabe Abdullahi<br />
emphasized the benefit of<br />
the bill to the<br />
enhancement of criminal<br />
justice in the state and by<br />
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 —41<br />
extension the country at<br />
large.<br />
The speaker, therefore,<br />
directed the clerk of the<br />
House to produce a clean<br />
copy of the bill for<br />
Governor Sule’s assent.<br />
Earlier, Tunga, while<br />
moving the motion for the<br />
passage of the bill into<br />
law, urged his colleagues<br />
to support the bill to allow<br />
it scale third reading.<br />
Danladi Jatau (PDP-<br />
Kokona West), the<br />
Minority Leader of the<br />
House seconded the<br />
Majority Leader’s motion<br />
NEWS HOTLINES<br />
018773962,<br />
08052867058<br />
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SERVICE COMMISSION —President of the<br />
Senate, Ahmad Lawan (2nd L) and Speaker of House of Representatives,<br />
Femi Gbajabiamila ( 3rd L), in a group photograph with members of the<br />
National Assembly Service Commission, during the inauguration of the<br />
National Assembly Service Commission by President Muhammadu Buhari<br />
at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.<br />
for the bill to pass third<br />
reading.<br />
The House unanimously<br />
passed the bill into law.<br />
Speaking with<br />
newsmen, the sponsor of<br />
the bill, Mohammed<br />
Alkali (APC, Lafia North)<br />
expressed joy, saying “I<br />
am happy that the bill saw<br />
the light of the day.<br />
‘’I want to urge the<br />
Ministry of Justice to<br />
create awareness to the<br />
public on the importance<br />
of the bill so that nobody<br />
will be afraid while<br />
testifying in court.”<br />
Tension in Benue as herdsmen<br />
take over communities in 4 LGAs<br />
By Peter Duru<br />
MAKURDI —<br />
There is<br />
mounting anxiety in<br />
Benue State as<br />
suspected herdsmen<br />
have reportedly flooded<br />
the state with cattle and<br />
occupied communities in<br />
four local government<br />
areas of state.<br />
The affected local<br />
government areas<br />
include Guma, Kwande,<br />
Agatu and Logo.<br />
Confirming the<br />
development, Caretaker<br />
Chairman of Ado LGA,<br />
Mr. James Oche, said<br />
the herdsmen had taken<br />
over the border<br />
community between Ado<br />
and Okpokwu LGAs<br />
from where they<br />
engaged in kidnappings<br />
in Igumale, the local<br />
g o v e r n m e n t<br />
headquaters.<br />
He said: "They are<br />
currently camped in the<br />
border community<br />
between Ado and<br />
Okpokwu LGA with<br />
sophisticated weapons.<br />
"From there, they carry<br />
out<br />
periodic<br />
kidnappings of<br />
individuals for ransom<br />
and a recent victim was<br />
a retired DSS senior<br />
officer who after his<br />
release, confirmed that<br />
he was abducted by<br />
herdsmen.<br />
"As we speak, a<br />
personnel of Benue State<br />
Livestock Guards was<br />
also kidnapped by the<br />
armed herdsmen and he<br />
is yet to regain his<br />
freedom a month after.<br />
"We are all living in<br />
fear, people hardly go to<br />
the farms again and if<br />
you must, it has to be in<br />
groups. Also, there is no<br />
night life in Ado again.<br />
"They usually besiege<br />
people and open fire on<br />
them. The state<br />
government is doing<br />
much to clear them from<br />
our area but we need<br />
more security personnel<br />
in Ado at the moment,"<br />
Oche added.<br />
On his part, Agatu LG<br />
Caretaker Chairman,<br />
Mr. Usman Suleiman,<br />
who confirmed that there<br />
was heightened tension<br />
in Agatu, said all the<br />
communities bordering<br />
neighbouring Nasarawa<br />
State were currently<br />
being occupied by<br />
herdsmen.<br />
Also speaking, a chief<br />
in Logo LGA, Joseph<br />
Anawa, said herdsmen<br />
had taken over Ayilamo<br />
community and all the<br />
villages bordering<br />
Nasarawa State from<br />
where they marched into<br />
the state with cattle in<br />
their thousands.<br />
Commenting on the<br />
development, Chief<br />
Press Secretary to<br />
Governor Samuel Ortom,<br />
Mr. Terver Akase, said:<br />
"The development is<br />
politically motivated by<br />
enemies of the peace of<br />
Benue.<br />
“We may not be<br />
accusing a particular<br />
person but for political<br />
reasons, some persons<br />
have given open<br />
invitation to herdsmen to<br />
come to Benue and it is<br />
rather unfortunate.<br />
"But herdsmen<br />
themselves should<br />
remember that there is a<br />
law in Benue State which<br />
prohibits open grazing<br />
of livestock and any of<br />
them who violates the<br />
law, irrespective of his<br />
tribe, would be<br />
sanctioned according to<br />
the law.<br />
"So, whoever is<br />
responsible for the influx<br />
of herdsmen is clearly<br />
not for the people of<br />
Benue State because for<br />
the past one year, the<br />
government and people<br />
of Benue State have put<br />
heads together, with<br />
support of security<br />
agents, to ensure there<br />
is peace in all parts of the<br />
state and people are<br />
enjoying the peace.<br />
"Even those who are in<br />
the camps, a lot of them<br />
have gone home and<br />
then suddenly, someone<br />
made a public statement,<br />
inviting herdsmen,<br />
telling them that Benue<br />
is a free land for them to<br />
do open grazing.<br />
"It’s quite unfortunate,<br />
but we wish to inform<br />
those people that they<br />
would face sanctions if<br />
they violate the law of<br />
the land."<br />
When contacted, the<br />
Police Public Relations<br />
Officer, Deputy<br />
Superintendent, DSP,<br />
Catherine Anene, said<br />
she was yet to get report<br />
of the development from<br />
the Divisional Police<br />
Officers in charge of the<br />
LGAs affected.
42 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
•Students of the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, protesting their exclusion from Law School and the NYSC Scheme.<br />
Law School: NOUN law graduates<br />
in endless struggle<br />
By Adesina Wahab<br />
& Shina Abubakar<br />
PEOPLE go to school to train<br />
to become professionals in<br />
different fields, and some<br />
professions require extra training<br />
and even qualifying examinations<br />
(after university education) to be<br />
recognised and accepted as a<br />
professional in such fields. One of<br />
the professions is law. Attending a<br />
university to obtain a degree in<br />
law does not suffice for one to be<br />
able to work as a lawyer in<br />
Nigeria. One must attend the<br />
Nigerian Law School to be called<br />
to the Bar and be recognised as a<br />
lawyer in the country.<br />
However, those who read law at<br />
the National Open University of<br />
Nigeria, NOUN, are in a dilemma<br />
over what will eventually become<br />
of their certificates after spending<br />
five years to study law in that<br />
institution.<br />
Current situation of NOUN law<br />
graduates<br />
As at now, law graduates from<br />
NOUN are not being mobilised<br />
for the mandatory one-year<br />
National Youth Service Corps<br />
Scheme, NYSC, and are also not<br />
allowed to go the Nigerian Law<br />
School to be able to be licensed<br />
as lawyers. This is despite the<br />
signing into law in 2018 by<br />
President Muhammadu Buhari of<br />
the NOUN Act that allows them<br />
to observe the NYSC scheme and<br />
go to the Law School.<br />
While some graduates of the<br />
school opined that not being<br />
allowed to participate in the<br />
NYSC is not a problem for them<br />
since they have their own<br />
businesses, they expressed<br />
concerns about young adults that<br />
now see NOUN as their only<br />
option having spent years at home<br />
without being offered admission<br />
by the Joint Admissions and<br />
Matriculation Board, JAMB.<br />
Abubakar Abdullatib Danharee<br />
and Olawoyin Olumide are some<br />
of the NOUN graduates who feel<br />
for the young ones to whom<br />
NOUN has become the only<br />
option to obtain university<br />
education.<br />
Position of NOUN law<br />
graduates<br />
Few days ago, NOUN students<br />
at the Osogbo Study Centre held<br />
a protest during which they called<br />
on the Federal Government and<br />
other appropriate authorities to<br />
mobilise them for the NYSC and<br />
also admit their law graduates to<br />
the Nigerian Law School.<br />
Addressing journalists after the<br />
protest, the President of the<br />
Students Union, Basiru Omotayo,<br />
asked the Federal Ministry of<br />
Education and the National<br />
Universities Commission, NUC,<br />
to direct the managements of the<br />
NYSC and the Nigerian Law<br />
School to comply with the NOUN<br />
Act.<br />
Act of<br />
injustice<br />
He said the Act allows graduates<br />
of the distance learning centre to<br />
participate in the NYSC scheme<br />
and also gain admission into the<br />
Law School. The students<br />
threatened that they would<br />
embark on mass protest across<br />
the country should their demands<br />
be ignored. Omotayo said it was<br />
an act of injustice that graduates<br />
of NOUN could not have the same<br />
rights, benefits and privileges like<br />
their mates in conventional<br />
universities.<br />
According to him, “Statistically,<br />
we (NOUN students) are the ones<br />
paying the highest amount of<br />
money as a federal university<br />
compared to other federal<br />
universities in the country;<br />
anything about National Open<br />
University is always delayed<br />
unlike our mates in other<br />
universities. It is no more news<br />
that the bill that allows National<br />
Open University graduates to<br />
participate in NYSC Scheme/Law<br />
School has been signed by<br />
President Muhammadu Buhari<br />
since December 4, 2018 but<br />
nothing has been done so far to<br />
implement it.<br />
“The National Open University<br />
of Nigeria is a Federal Open and<br />
Distance Learning institution<br />
accredited by the NUC; the first<br />
of its kind in the West African subregion.<br />
It is Nigeria’s largest<br />
tertiary institution in terms of<br />
student population. We pay<br />
heavily to afford National Open<br />
University terms and conditions<br />
as directed by NUC but we are<br />
denied certain things enjoyed by<br />
graduates of other tertiary<br />
institutions. I have seen a<br />
Nigerian graduate from National<br />
Open University from Republic of<br />
Benin serving in Nigeria, even<br />
with international treatment. I<br />
have also seen a graduate of<br />
NOUN that was denied<br />
employment due to lack of NYSC<br />
discharge certificate; it is not fair<br />
at all. This must stop. How can<br />
we spend heavily to get our<br />
degrees and companies within the<br />
same country would not recognise<br />
our certificates?<br />
“We plead with the Federal<br />
Government to meet our demands<br />
in order to prevent spontaneous<br />
agitations across the country.<br />
NOUN has about 515,000<br />
students and this country will not<br />
find it funny should we storm the<br />
streets in protest. We want NOUN<br />
2020 graduates to be mobilised<br />
together with the 2020 Batch A.<br />
We have made efforts to meet with<br />
NOUN Vice-Chancellor, Prof.<br />
Abdalla Adamu but he has not<br />
been giving us audience. The VC<br />
recently replied to a mail we sent<br />
him and told us to approach some<br />
quarters and make our grievances<br />
known.”<br />
Also, a graduate of law from<br />
Enugu Study Centre, John<br />
Ikechukwu, said it was<br />
unfortunate that despite promises<br />
from the vice-chancellor of the<br />
university, students have not been<br />
able to attend law school.<br />
Why the current deadlock<br />
A lawyer, Mr Tolu Ayodele, told<br />
Vanguard that the current<br />
deadlock could be attributed to a<br />
number of factors and issues. He<br />
listed the factors to include<br />
administrative and legal ones.<br />
“The Nigerian Legal Education<br />
Council wants law graduates from<br />
NOUN to come to the Nigerian<br />
Law School and start from Bar<br />
Part One, instead of the Bar Part<br />
Two that graduates of<br />
conventional universities do start<br />
from. The Bar Part One is usually<br />
for law graduates from outside the<br />
country, that is those who<br />
graduated from foreign<br />
universities. With that, they will<br />
spend one more year in the Law<br />
School.<br />
“Also, the National Universities<br />
Commission wants them to spend<br />
seven years for their law<br />
programme because it is treated<br />
as a part-time programme. Like<br />
the first issue, the students are<br />
opposed to that too. They argue<br />
that they attend lectures almost on<br />
a daily basis. Recall that the NUC<br />
in 2013, cancelled all part-time<br />
law programmes run by<br />
universities in the country.<br />
Moreover, the issues of being<br />
mobilised for the NYSC, being<br />
admitted to the Law School and<br />
whether or not to extend the tenure<br />
of training to seven years are<br />
already in court. The matter is<br />
before the Supreme Court now and<br />
until it is finally decided, nothing<br />
may be done.”<br />
With the situation now, a<br />
graduate of law from NOUN<br />
cannot metamorphose into a full<br />
blown lawyer.<br />
Employable s<strong>kills</strong>: How to bridge disconnect between<br />
industries, varsities —Kathy Daniels<br />
By Adesina Wahab<br />
ASSOCIATE Pro-Vice-Chancellor International,<br />
Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom,<br />
Kathy Daniels, has said the only way to bridge the<br />
disconnect between industries and universities regarding<br />
the employable s<strong>kills</strong> required by industries from<br />
university graduates is to work closely with the industries<br />
and know what they want. She noted that after knowing<br />
what the industries want, they should be able to influence<br />
the universities to teach their students such s<strong>kills</strong> that<br />
would make them employable by the industries.<br />
Daniels stated this in Lagos during an interactive<br />
session with journalists. She explained that Aston<br />
University had imbibed that culture and was able to<br />
produce graduates that are meeting the aspirations and<br />
expectations of industries across the globe. While<br />
commending the British Government for the proposed<br />
two-year work permit for foreigners who graduate from<br />
British universities, Daniels noted that it would further<br />
boost the Aston Global Advantage Programme of her<br />
university.<br />
She said: “Through our Aston Global Advantage<br />
Programme, we place our students on internship with<br />
businesses to develop necessary s<strong>kills</strong>. We pioneered the<br />
placement plan where our students go on attachment in<br />
industries. They can also go and study abroad because<br />
we have strong ties with universities in the United States,<br />
Germany, South Africa among others.<br />
“We also help our students to set up their own<br />
businesses. They engage in business simulations and<br />
are guided by our team of experts. Our students have<br />
work opportunities because we prepare them for that,<br />
to be entrepreneurs and to also have the required s<strong>kills</strong><br />
to fit into today’s global market.”<br />
Daniels added that Aston University was already<br />
discussing with some Nigerian universities to<br />
collaborate and engage in student exchange. “This is<br />
necessary in today’s world. It is going to bring a lot of<br />
benefits to Nigerians. Understanding just one country<br />
is not enough. If you study here, you are only exposed to<br />
things here, but if you go on exchange to another<br />
country, you will find something new to learn,” she<br />
explained.<br />
Listing some of the advantages of studying in Aston<br />
University, Daniels said the fees were competitive and<br />
the cost of living generally in Birmingham was lower<br />
than London and some other towns. “We also give<br />
generous discount for outstanding students. For<br />
instance, the fee for our postgraduate programmes is<br />
about £18,000 but a discount of about £4,000 could be<br />
given an outstanding student. 0ur undergraduate<br />
programme fee is about £16,000 and discount is also<br />
available for deserving students,” she added.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 43<br />
•From left: Dean of the Schol of Communication, Lagos State University, LASU, Professor Rotimi Olatunji,<br />
his wife, Modupe; Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbogun, and former<br />
Dean, Prof. Idowu Sobowale, at Prof. Olatunji's 60th birthday anniversary at LASU, Friday.<br />
NGO to recruit 400 fellows as basic school<br />
teachers<br />
By Elizabeth Uwandu<br />
A NON-Governmental<br />
Organisation, the Teach For<br />
Nigeria, TFN, is set to recruit 400<br />
fellows that will serve as basic school<br />
teachers in continuation of its efforts<br />
to provide solid foundation for<br />
Nigerian youths at the basic<br />
education level. The teachers are to<br />
be deployed in understaffed schools<br />
mostly located in rural areas.<br />
According to the Chief Executive<br />
Officer, CEO of TFN, Mrs. Folawe<br />
Omikunle: “At Teach For Nigeria,<br />
we believe that there is no single<br />
solution to a problem as complex<br />
and systemic as educational<br />
inequity. Addressing it requires<br />
many solutions, from many<br />
directions. While we cannot singlehandedly<br />
solve these problems, we<br />
believe that we can act as a catalyst<br />
to build a formidable network of<br />
determined leaders who understand<br />
the root causes of inequity and are<br />
committed to challenging it.<br />
“The TFN Fellowship programme<br />
is a two-year full-time paid<br />
commitment that is designed to build<br />
a movement of leaders who will work<br />
towards eliminating educational<br />
inequity by teaching in under-served<br />
schools in low-income communities<br />
across Nigeria.”<br />
It, therefore, came as a surprised<br />
recently in Ogun State at the<br />
announcement of the opening for the<br />
By Elizabeth Uwandu<br />
BABCOCK University, the<br />
Isaac Delano Foundation<br />
and the Pan-African University<br />
Press have instituted the Isaac<br />
Oluwole Book Prize for Yoruba<br />
Studies to recognise outstanding<br />
works and fiction that continue to<br />
uphold and represent the legacy of<br />
Yoruba icons like Isaac Delano.<br />
A statement by the organizers,<br />
said: “It is a dream of theirs , like<br />
Delano, to promote and revive the<br />
socio-cultural, political and<br />
religious significance of Yoruba,<br />
and by so doing contribute to the<br />
stream of revivalist efforts geared<br />
towards the resuscitation of the<br />
African spirit, for it is in the<br />
language, culture and worldview<br />
that the spirit flourishes.”<br />
The Delano Prize for Yoruba<br />
Studies, according to the<br />
organisers, not only encourages<br />
and welcomes diverse submissions<br />
application of 2020 fellowship<br />
programme, when the Head of<br />
Recruitment, Matriculation &<br />
Selection, TFN, Bokula Kolajo said<br />
that the NGO was set to enrol 400<br />
fellows, the largest cohort, since<br />
inception, to join the programme to<br />
reach more under-resourced schools<br />
and provide children with quality<br />
education for better life outcomes.<br />
According to Kolajo: “Teach For<br />
Nigeria understands the challenges<br />
and issues facing the education sector<br />
in Nigeria and is fighting to resolve<br />
this by bridging the nation’s<br />
educational inequity gap. "<br />
Don warns against indiscriminate<br />
consumption of mushrooms<br />
By Adesina Wahab<br />
A<br />
PROFESSOR of Food<br />
Microbiology and<br />
Mycology has warned members of<br />
the public to desist from eating<br />
mushrooms indiscriminately<br />
especially when in doubt about its<br />
true identity, saying such act could<br />
lead to death or serious injury.<br />
Prof. Bamidele Akinyele gave the<br />
warning while delivering the 119th<br />
Inaugural lecture of the Federal<br />
University of Technology, Akure,<br />
FUTA titled: Fungi and Fungal<br />
Products: Integral Part of<br />
Industrialization in a Developing<br />
Economy.<br />
Picking mushrooms from the<br />
wild for food and medicinal value<br />
is an age long practice in Africa.<br />
She, however, pointed out that the<br />
major problem arising from eating<br />
mushrooms was the inability or<br />
Babcock University, others institute<br />
Prize for Yoruba Studies<br />
that can (uniquely) contribute to<br />
the sustenance of the totality of the<br />
Yoruba people, but also, is<br />
especially aimed at scholars and<br />
young creatives whose endeavors<br />
contribute to the understanding<br />
and enhancement of (the) Yoruba.<br />
“At the moment, the Delano Prize<br />
for Yoruba Studies is worth $1,000,<br />
which will make it one of the most<br />
robust prizes for Yoruba Studies<br />
and the most prestigious<br />
recognition in the world for Yoruba<br />
scholarship,” the statement stated.<br />
It further said that submissions<br />
will not only open to Yoruba people<br />
located in Africa, but also everyone<br />
with a shared Yoruba ancestry, as<br />
well as scholars of Yoruba Studies,<br />
whilst key selection criteria include<br />
originality, creativity and<br />
innovativeness, contribution to<br />
Yoruba or Yoruba Studies and or<br />
potential to continue to conduct<br />
groundbreaking research on the<br />
Yoruba.<br />
difficulty of mushroom gatherers<br />
to identify the poisonous<br />
mushrooms which contain toxins<br />
and this could be very detrimental<br />
to human health.<br />
Akinleye disclosed that the<br />
symptoms of mushroom poisoning<br />
could vary from slight gastrointestinal<br />
discomfort, vomiting<br />
and in acute cases, death.<br />
She added that it could also vary<br />
from gastric upset to life-threating<br />
organ failure resulting in fatality.<br />
Differentiating between<br />
poisonous and edible mushrooms,<br />
the lecturer said poisonous<br />
mushrooms turn green or purple,<br />
have a burning or stinging taste,<br />
bad odour, bitter taste, have no<br />
presence of worms and have scales<br />
on the cap.<br />
On the other hand, edible<br />
mushrooms do not stain, do not<br />
turn green or purple, have a sweet<br />
taste, does not sting the tongue,<br />
have presence of worms and do not<br />
have scales on the cap.<br />
Akinyele said that presently,<br />
most of the fungi that could not be<br />
properly and adequately identified<br />
in Nigeria were being sent to the<br />
UK or USA and therefore<br />
proposed the establishment of<br />
mycological culture collection<br />
centers in tertiary institutions for<br />
proper and adequate<br />
documentation of various fungi in<br />
Nigeria.<br />
Highlighting the importance of<br />
fungi in economic development,<br />
the don said fungi play significant<br />
roles in the health sector and<br />
industries where different fungi are<br />
being used in the production of<br />
various metabolites and enzymes<br />
of industrial importance.<br />
The lecturer also stated that<br />
fungi have been identified to be<br />
effective and ecofriendly in the<br />
bioremediation of crude oil<br />
polluted soil particularly in the<br />
Niger-Delta area of Nigeria.<br />
UNESCO sets up Bioethics office at<br />
Babcock<br />
By Glory Ojojo<br />
AUNIT of the International<br />
Network of UNESCO<br />
Chair in Bioethics (Haifa) has<br />
been established at Babcock<br />
University, BU. The approval was<br />
contained in a letter addressed to<br />
the Deputy Vice- Chancellor,<br />
Academics, Prof. Iheanyichukwu<br />
Okoro.<br />
BU is one of the four such units<br />
in Nigeria and the first and only<br />
private university till date. The<br />
international body was<br />
established in 2001 and was<br />
authorised to coordinate and<br />
stimulate an international<br />
Network of Institutes for Medical<br />
THE Governing Council of<br />
the College of Education,<br />
Ikere-Ekiti has approved the<br />
appointment of Dr. Ibitola<br />
Makinde as the deputy provost<br />
of the College. A statement<br />
signed by the College Registrar<br />
and Secretary to the Governing<br />
Council, Mr. Gbenga Ojo, said the<br />
appointment of Makinde was<br />
approved by the Governing<br />
Council following her election by<br />
the Academic Board in line with<br />
extant regulations of the College.<br />
Dr. Makinde obtained her<br />
Nigeria Certificate in Education,<br />
NCE, from the College in 1989<br />
before proceeding to the<br />
University of Nigeria Nsukka<br />
Ethics Training and to develop an<br />
up-to-date syllabus for medical<br />
ethics education which will satisfy<br />
the requirements of medical<br />
schools throughout the world.<br />
Among its functions, the<br />
unit will engage in are the<br />
advancement of bioethics<br />
lectures, courses and seminars,<br />
holding lectures and courses for<br />
the public at large, and holding<br />
local national and international<br />
conferences. When fully on<br />
ground and with requisite<br />
capacity, the unit will be<br />
generating funds for the<br />
university. The Chair of the<br />
Steering Committee is Prof.<br />
Stephen Fapohunda.<br />
Council approves Makinde's<br />
appointment as deputy provost<br />
InterswitchSPAK opens science<br />
competition portal<br />
INTERSWITCH has announced<br />
the commencement of another<br />
edition of its National Science<br />
competition, InterswitchSPAK 3.0 in<br />
Nigeria. Students from senior<br />
secondary schools are now free to<br />
register for the competition on the<br />
InterswitchSPAK portal.<br />
InterswitchSPAK is an annual pan-<br />
African competition aimed at reigniting<br />
STEM (Science,<br />
Technology, Engineering, and<br />
Mathematics) subjects among<br />
secondary school students.<br />
For the registration, each school is<br />
required to present its best six science<br />
students in SSS2. However, for<br />
mixed schools, at least two female<br />
students must be among the best six.<br />
Every registered student will<br />
participate in the qualifying<br />
examination at any of the centres<br />
where she bagged a Bachelor’s<br />
degree in Guidance and<br />
Counselling. She holds Master’s<br />
and Doctorate degrees in<br />
Guidance and Counselling from<br />
the University of Ado-Ekiti now<br />
Ekiti State University.<br />
She joined the services of the<br />
College as graduate assistant in<br />
1998 and rose through the ranks<br />
to the position of chief<br />
lecturer. She was until her<br />
appointment, the Dean, School of<br />
Education and Chairman,<br />
Committee of Deans. Dr.<br />
Makinde made history as the first<br />
female deputy provost of the<br />
college and the first alumnus to<br />
occupy the highly exalted office.<br />
LOGISS: Taking secondary education<br />
to higher grounds<br />
LOGOS<br />
International<br />
Secondary School, LOGISS,<br />
Awomama in Oru East Local<br />
Government Area of Imo State is a<br />
unique mission school established in<br />
1994 in obedience to a divine<br />
mandate to reverse the negative<br />
trends in academics and morals that<br />
are prevalent in Nigeria’s<br />
educational system. Located at<br />
Kilometre 24, Owerri-Onitsha<br />
expressway, Awomama, the school<br />
offers solitary, serene and conducive<br />
learning environment both inside<br />
and outside the classroom.<br />
LOGISS prides it<strong>self</strong> as one of the<br />
best high schools in sub-Saharan<br />
Africa and has produced students<br />
who have excelled in many leading<br />
positions in government,<br />
across Nigeria. The top 81 students<br />
will proceed to the final to battle for<br />
the crown of Nigeria’s Best Science<br />
Student.<br />
Cherry Eromosele, Chief<br />
Marketing and Communication<br />
Officer, Interswitch, expressed her<br />
excitement about the last edition. She<br />
also encouraged more girls to<br />
participate in the on-going<br />
registration, stressing: “We at<br />
Interswitch are committed to<br />
inculcating knowledge, coupled with<br />
improving the standard of education<br />
in Nigeria. We are very passionate<br />
about encouraging more girls to take<br />
up STEM subjects. The good thing<br />
is, there has been an increase in the<br />
number of girls participating in the<br />
competition. We commend the<br />
relentless effort of the entire team that<br />
ensured the previous edition was<br />
successful."<br />
multinational organisations and<br />
higher education all over the world.<br />
“Bringing your children to<br />
LOGISS, will take tons of tension<br />
off you. Your peace of mind (and<br />
theirs) is therefore guaranteed,” the<br />
school said, adding that it<br />
accommodates students from all the<br />
states of Nigeria and other countries<br />
of the world such as Cameroun,<br />
Angola, Benin, South Africa, USA,<br />
Germany, Italy, U.K, China and<br />
India.Every year, over 400 -500<br />
students from these countries and<br />
beyond are enrolled in JSS1, JSS2<br />
and SS1. At LOGISS, we combine<br />
academic excellence with godliness<br />
to produce youths of exceptional<br />
qualities that have and will set the<br />
trends in all facets of life.”
44 — VANGUARD, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
YOUR LUCK TODAY<br />
By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139<br />
AQUARIUS: Many members of your opposite sex will go out<br />
of their ways to attract your romantic interest. This is the wrong<br />
time to engage on unnecessary argument. Been your lucky day<br />
you are expected to take good advantage today.<br />
PISCES: If you priority is love, much of it would come your way<br />
as desired. But here is a better day for more ambitious in the<br />
business world. Don’t allow anybody to deceive you over money.<br />
ARIES: Those of you with secret admirers within your working<br />
area will have the needed opportunities to make the needed moves.<br />
Resist the temptation to deceive others.<br />
TAURUS: Although matters-of-the-heart may give you cause<br />
to smile broadly, if care is not taken, you would cause friction that<br />
can’t help you r case at work. This is the wrong time for unnecessary<br />
scheming within your working arena.<br />
GEMINI: Those of your who are red-blooded for romance may<br />
have an exciting and satisfying day. Happenings within your social<br />
circles must be taken more seriously.<br />
CANCER: Confrontation may come your way in the circle but<br />
the heavens are working favourably for you. Some doses of romance<br />
is not too much for you on a day like this.<br />
L E I S U R E<br />
TAKE HEART — ELLA RANDLE<br />
“When you focus on being a blessing. God makes<br />
sure that you are always blessed in abundance.”<br />
—Joel Osteen-<br />
Observe the beauty in your moments and the gentle<br />
enlightenment that comes with it. The beauty are the<br />
blessings all around you.<br />
Sometimes, it’s right in front of us to see beyond the<br />
everyday matters to the abundance of blessings in our<br />
lives.<br />
— Ella Randle<br />
TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye”<br />
SAYINGS OF<br />
OUR PEOPLE<br />
There is always<br />
a winner<br />
even in<br />
a monkey’s<br />
beauty contest.<br />
~African<br />
Proverb<br />
By Kola Fayemi<br />
LEO: Provided you don’t allow your innate ability to be as diplomatic<br />
as necessary desert you, things work favourably for you to<br />
the betterment of your finances.<br />
VIRGO: Many of you will be in sentimental mood and exhibit<br />
strong romantic desire openly. But then, if care is not taken, you<br />
may be carried away to the detriment of your finances. Serious<br />
minded lovers are in for happy day.<br />
LIBRA: Whatever anybody says or does, you will have both your<br />
say and way. Venus and Jupiter may tempt some of you to embrace<br />
illicit (or secret) romance within your base of operation.<br />
SCORPIO: Venus and Jupiter at positive angles may tempt you<br />
to join some of your friends who are already onboard of merry<br />
making train. Watch your health.<br />
SAGITTARIUS: Minor financial success you record today can<br />
lead to something bigger and good in the near future; as good<br />
luck will smile at many and induce love of luxury, merry, making<br />
and romantic association. Genuine lovers will need to be on<br />
guard against deceit from new admirers.<br />
DUDU in “ROLLING HOT” “HOT” By A.O.OLAIDE<br />
CAPRICORN: Both financial success and emotional satisfaction<br />
are closed to you than before. Those of you travelling because<br />
of maters-of-the-heart are in for an exciting romantic day Those<br />
ambitious career-wise will succeed after few struggles.<br />
ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING<br />
ASTROLOGICAL our date and place of COUNSELLING<br />
birth to the Astr<br />
tr<br />
Send your dat<br />
trological<br />
Counselling, P.M.B 100<br />
007, Apapa, Lagos<br />
WHAT’S MY HOROSCOPE?<br />
Dear Joshua,<br />
I want you to give me my comprehensive horoscope, especially<br />
what my special gift is. Which day of the week was I<br />
born? Where were my natal planets and their meanings? Who<br />
am I?<br />
Babatunde, Abuja<br />
Dear Babatunde,<br />
There is no space for comprehensive horoscope but what you’ll<br />
have here -under is answer to your questions/ You were born on a<br />
Thursday and your special gift is LEADERSHIP quality.<br />
YOUR HOROSCOPE DATA<br />
Day Of Birth: Thursday<br />
Sun Sign: Virgo: Sun in 20th Degree of Virgo<br />
Moon Sign: PISCES: Moon on 10th Degree of Pisces<br />
Mercury in 16th Degree of Libra<br />
Venues in 5th Degree of Scorpio<br />
Mars in 13th Degree of Cancer<br />
Jupiter in 6th Degree of Pisces<br />
Saturn in 5th Degree of Aquarius<br />
Uranus in 2nd Degree of Virgo<br />
Neptune in 11th Degree of Scorpio<br />
Pluto in 10th Degree of Virgo<br />
North Node in 6th Degree of Leo<br />
South Node in 6th Degree of Aquarius<br />
Quality and Element<br />
Cardinal and air star signs hosted two planets each fixed and<br />
earth three each, no planet in fire while mutable and water star<br />
signs hosted five planets each.<br />
Push-full influence = 20%<br />
Non- push-full element = 80%<br />
Final dispositor = Lucky Jupiter<br />
General Analysis<br />
Just 20 per cent of push-full influence in your chart can deceptively<br />
present you to others as a soft (or even timid) person but<br />
practical Virgo that hosted nothing less than three heavenly bodies<br />
when you were born and Astrological aspects between Mercury<br />
(mental focus) and aggressive Mars in you r chart are pointers to the<br />
contrary. Yes! You are highly intelligent and your mind works the<br />
same way detective’s minds do. It is true, there are little contradictions<br />
between your inner <strong>self</strong> and your emotional being as indicated<br />
quality, water element and Virgo characteristics. One moment,<br />
you can be very emotional, exhibiting temper with stinging<br />
tongue but a few hour later you are amiable, easy going, friendly<br />
and compassionate. You are the adaptable type who will see<br />
changes as sources of good opportunities. LEADERSHIP quality is<br />
one of your greatest gifts from God. placement of your natal sun<br />
(basic-<strong>self</strong>hood) and moon (your emotional being) in Virgo and<br />
Pisces respectively mean that characteristics of both Virgo and<br />
Pisces are highly pronounced in your inner-<strong>self</strong>.<br />
VIRGINIA dadadekola@yahoo.com<br />
HOME & ABROAD<br />
By Lawrence Akapa
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 45<br />
•RENDEAVOUR CHIEFS: Oba Kamorudeen Animashaun, the Oloja<br />
of Epe Kingdom (middle) with newly-installed chiefs — Stephen Jennings,<br />
Founder and CEO of Rendeavour (right) and Frank Mosier, Chairman of<br />
Rendeavour (left) during their inauguration as chiefs in Epe, Lagos.<br />
•PRESENTATION: From left — Senior Brand Manager, Home and<br />
Hygiene, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Princess Nnaji; Managing Director, Wembay<br />
Bakery and winner of Sunlight/WIMBIZ N1m ‘Empower a Woman’ Grant,<br />
Tosin Bamiro; Corporate Communications Manager, Unilever Nigeria Plc,<br />
Godfrey Adejumoh; Programme Officer, WIMBIZ, Sylvia Omenukwa and<br />
Brand Manager, Sunlight, Bilqees Odewale at the cheque presentation in<br />
Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi<br />
•DINNER: From left — Mrs Chioma Igwe, Brand Manager, Three<br />
Crowns; Mr and Mrs Sheriff Farumi, winners of the Three Crowns "How We<br />
Met" Valentine's campaign, during a banquet dinner at Radisson Blu Hotel,<br />
Ikeja, courtesy of Three Crowns Milk.<br />
•BIRTHDAY: From left — Mr Taiwo Ogunmilade; Mrs Funmi Jeje-Emeka;<br />
Pastor Olanrewaju Akanle, Pastor in Charge, RCCG Ancient of Days Area<br />
and celebrant; Mrs Bola Ogungbaigbe-Ekundayo and Mrs Bukky Sijuwade-<br />
Omololu, all alumni of Moremi High school, OAU, Ile-Ife, 81/86 set during<br />
the 50th birthday celebration of Pastor Olanrewaju Akanle and launch of<br />
Album titled: 'Glorify Him', held at RCCG Covenant Chapel Zonal Headquarters,<br />
Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos.<br />
Babayaro<br />
slams Yobo’s<br />
appointment as<br />
Eagles assistant<br />
coach<br />
Former Chelsea<br />
defender<br />
Celestine Babayaro<br />
has said that while he<br />
welcomes ex-players<br />
being involved in<br />
Nigeria coaching setup<br />
he questions<br />
Joseph Yobo’s<br />
credentials.<br />
His comments come<br />
after his former<br />
international teammate<br />
and ex-Everton<br />
star Yobo was<br />
appointed as assistant<br />
coach of the Super<br />
Eagles two weeks<br />
ago. Babayaro, who<br />
won an Olympic gold<br />
medal with Nigeria at<br />
•Sharap<br />
Saka is EPL best<br />
young player,<br />
says Lacazette<br />
Arsenal striker<br />
Alexandre Lacazette<br />
has claimed that<br />
Gunners’ wideman<br />
Bukayo Saka is ‘the best<br />
young player in the<br />
league.’<br />
Saka has mainly had to<br />
play in an unnatural leftback<br />
position for the<br />
majority of the campaign<br />
as he deputises for the<br />
injured Kieran Tierney<br />
and Sead Kolasinac.<br />
Despite being in an<br />
unusual position the 18-<br />
year-old has impressed,<br />
scoring three goals and<br />
providing nine assists in<br />
26 first-team appearances<br />
for Arsenal so far this<br />
season.<br />
the 1996<br />
Olympics in<br />
Atlanta, said<br />
any such<br />
appointment<br />
must be<br />
backed<br />
by<br />
requisite<br />
qualifications.<br />
•Yobo<br />
The duo were in the<br />
Nigeria squad at both<br />
the 2002 World Cup and<br />
two years later at the<br />
Africa Cup of Nations<br />
in Tunisia<br />
“From my point of<br />
view as an ex player I<br />
think he is a good<br />
appointment probably<br />
done in a wrong way,”<br />
the 41-year-old, who is<br />
SHARAP-OVER:<br />
Maria<br />
retires!<br />
Maria Sharapova<br />
has given up the<br />
uneven struggle against<br />
injury and announced<br />
she has finished with<br />
tennis at the age of 32<br />
in an emotional open<br />
letter in Vanity Fair.<br />
After a career that<br />
yielded five Grand Slam<br />
titles, hundreds of<br />
millions of earnings and<br />
a reputation that<br />
became severely<br />
tarnished, she revealed<br />
her retirement through<br />
the pages of the<br />
magazine.<br />
She will be<br />
remembered for her<br />
major wins, her<br />
relentless baseline<br />
hitting delivered with a<br />
piercing shriek and<br />
failing a drugs test at<br />
the 2016 Australian<br />
Open.<br />
The 32-year-old<br />
Russian said: ‘How do<br />
you leave behind the<br />
only life you’ve ever<br />
known?<br />
Wilder should be grateful to Breland<br />
for throwing in towel — Ref<br />
•I was to stop the fight<br />
Referee Kenny<br />
Bayless says he<br />
was close to stopping<br />
Deontay Wilder’s fight<br />
against Tyson Fury<br />
due to the battering<br />
the American was<br />
receiving.<br />
Wilder was knocked<br />
down in the third and<br />
fifth rounds and was<br />
being dominated by<br />
his British opponent<br />
on Saturday night.<br />
The towel was<br />
thrown in from<br />
Wilder’s corner to<br />
concede the fight in<br />
the seventh round and<br />
Bayless has now<br />
revealed he was close to<br />
stopping it him<strong>self</strong><br />
before it reached that<br />
point.<br />
‘It was a good<br />
stoppage in my opinion<br />
because in the minute’s<br />
rest between rounds<br />
before the stoppage I<br />
went over to Deontay,’<br />
Bayless told SiriusXM<br />
Fight Nation.<br />
‘I looked him in the<br />
face and I gave him the<br />
line that us referees<br />
give the fighters to let<br />
them know, ‘Hey,<br />
you’ve gotta show me<br />
something.’’<br />
•Babayaro<br />
now an<br />
agent, told<br />
BBC<br />
Sport.<br />
“I’m<br />
not sure<br />
if he’s<br />
got his badges but if<br />
you are trying to<br />
appoint someone you<br />
make sure they’ve got<br />
the right credentials<br />
before you appoint<br />
them.<br />
“I don’t care if it’s an<br />
ex (player) or whoever,<br />
make sure you appoint<br />
the right person that<br />
knows the job.<br />
Okowa<br />
appoints<br />
Ambakederemo<br />
new SA<br />
The Governor of<br />
Delta State,<br />
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa<br />
has announced the<br />
appointment of<br />
Ogheneochuko<br />
Neville<br />
Ambakederemo as his<br />
Senior Special<br />
Assistant (Sports<br />
Development). The<br />
appointment took<br />
effect from February<br />
21, 2020.<br />
The appointment was<br />
conveyed in a memo<br />
signed by the<br />
Secretary to the State<br />
Government, Mr<br />
Chiedu Ebie.<br />
Until his latest<br />
appointment,<br />
Ambakederemo was a<br />
member of the Delta<br />
State Sports<br />
Commission. He was<br />
there for 4 years.<br />
Reacting to the<br />
development, the new<br />
SA(Sports<br />
Development) said, “I<br />
see this appointment<br />
as an upliftment as I<br />
will be liaising<br />
between the Governor<br />
and the Delta State<br />
Sports Commission. I<br />
think it will bring<br />
about a better<br />
understanding<br />
between the DSC and<br />
the state government<br />
as that will be my<br />
preoccupation.”<br />
•Neville
46 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
•Amaju Pinnick(3rd right) condoles mother of late Tiamiyu Kazeem<br />
Pinnick pays condolence visit<br />
to parents of slain footballer<br />
By John Egbokhan<br />
With the dust yet to settle<br />
over the wrongful killing<br />
of a former Remo Stars<br />
vice-captain, Tiamiyu Kazeeem<br />
allegedly by operatives of the<br />
Special Anti-Robbery Squad in<br />
Sagamu on February 22, the<br />
President of the Nigeria Football<br />
Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick<br />
has paid a condolence visit to the<br />
parents of the deceased footballer.<br />
Coming a day after Governor of<br />
Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun<br />
visited the same residence to<br />
commiserate with the grieving<br />
parents of the player, the NFF<br />
President Pinnick was yesterday<br />
at the late Kazeem’s parents<br />
residence, where he reiterated the<br />
need for the perpetrators of the<br />
heinous crime to be brought to face<br />
the full wrath of the law.<br />
Accompanied by the Chairman<br />
of the Ogun State Football<br />
MASVI Invitationnal Cycling race:<br />
Association and Executive board<br />
member of the NFF, Ganiyu<br />
Majekodunmi and President of<br />
Remo Stars Sports Club, Hon.<br />
Kunle Soname, Pinnick said<br />
Kazeem’s death was unfortunate<br />
and and painful experience which<br />
must not be allowed to go without<br />
consequences for those<br />
responsible for such a dastardly<br />
and reprehensible act.<br />
Condoling the grieving parents,<br />
Pinnick prayed for the remorse of<br />
the deceased soul, noting that<br />
justice would be done to bring<br />
those responsible to book.<br />
‘’We are here to offer our deepest<br />
sympathies because this is not the<br />
way one of our promising<br />
footballers should pass on. Please,<br />
please, take heart in order to give<br />
strength to your other children and<br />
relatives and the entire football<br />
community, who have been<br />
adversely affected by Kazeem’s<br />
death’’,, added Pinnick.<br />
Oyo targets male trophy<br />
Oyo state coach, Joy Omeboh<br />
is targeting the male trophy<br />
in the MASVI invitational Cycling<br />
race billed to hold in Owan West<br />
Local Government area on<br />
Saturday.<br />
While affirming that Oyo has<br />
quality cyclists to win the male<br />
trophy in Sobe on Saturday, Coach<br />
Omeboh said, “Ajibade Quadri<br />
won the male race in Ilorin last<br />
December. He is one of the best in<br />
the road race in the country”.<br />
The Delta-born coach gave the<br />
names of Oyo riders for the race as<br />
Ajibade Qadiri, Azeez Abass,<br />
Johnson Timileyin, and Michael<br />
Segun for the male race while the<br />
female riders are Durogbade<br />
Adejoke, and Yekeen Tawakalt.<br />
Their coaches are Olalere Alao<br />
and Joy Omeboh.<br />
Meanwhile, the chairman of<br />
Owan West Local Government<br />
Area Frank Ilaboya has assured of<br />
a hitch-free race, adding that<br />
“everything needed to make the<br />
race an eventful one has been put<br />
in place’”.<br />
The former Edo State Football<br />
Association Chairman said the<br />
state’s Deputy Governor, Comrade<br />
Philip Shaibu is expected to flag<br />
off the race by 8am on Saturday.<br />
Football lovers are gearing up<br />
for another action-packed encounter<br />
of live sporting action of<br />
the Europa League games as Manchester<br />
United host Club Brugge<br />
at Old Trafford while Arsenal take<br />
on Olympiacos at Emirate Stadium<br />
in the return legs of the Europa<br />
League second leg encounter.<br />
Both matches will be played tomorrow<br />
and StarTimes Nigeria has<br />
assured subscribers of live exclusive<br />
broadcast of the Europa League<br />
matches and other thrilling sporting<br />
actions on its ST World Football<br />
Channels 244 and 254 and ST<br />
Sport Premium channel 246.<br />
Manchester United have kept<br />
Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Delta, Rivers,<br />
Cross River and Edo states are<br />
expected to participate in the race<br />
that will see the male cyclists ride<br />
100 kilometres and the female<br />
ride 80 kilometres.<br />
Serial women’s defending<br />
champion, Ogechi Anisionwu of<br />
NNPC is in the running again for the<br />
ladies singles title as she has qualified to<br />
face strong contender, Chizoba Onuoha<br />
of Shell in the final billed for tomorrow<br />
at the centre court of Ikoyi Club 1938.<br />
Anisinowu has been champion for<br />
more than four editions of the games, a<br />
development she claimed was becoming<br />
uninteresting to her.<br />
“I am tired of winning this title,” she<br />
quipped, adding jovially, “maybe I will<br />
be playing the men.”<br />
Despite that, she said she won’t let go<br />
until she finds a good player who can<br />
dethrone her. “I will hang on there until<br />
a younger player who can beat me comes<br />
up. For as long as I continue to win, I<br />
will continue to be champion.”<br />
Her opponent in tomorrow’s final<br />
Arsenal, Man Utd in Europa action on<br />
StarTimes<br />
Ndidi won’t be rushed back into action<br />
—Leicester boss<br />
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has<br />
revealed the club are being extra<br />
cautious over rushing back Super Eagles<br />
midfielder Wilfred Ndidi again.<br />
The midfielder staged an astonishing recovery from<br />
surgery in January,<br />
returning to action just 12 days after a piece of floating<br />
bone was removed from a meniscus.<br />
But after playing for almost an hour in a 4-1 win at<br />
home to West Ham after coming on as substitute on<br />
January 22, and then the full 90 minutes of Leicester’s<br />
Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat at Aston Villa<br />
six days later, Ndidi suffered a reaction and has again<br />
been sidelined.<br />
Rodgers has confirmed the 23-year-old<br />
defensive midfielder is back in training, and<br />
may yet be available for Friday’s Premier<br />
League clash at Norwich.<br />
But asked whether the club were now being<br />
extra cautious over a return, Rodgers replied:<br />
“Yeah, we have to be because we don’t want to<br />
lose him.<br />
Dessers gets Nigerian<br />
passport<br />
Heracles Almelo<br />
goal poacher<br />
Cyriel Dessers could<br />
become cap-tied to<br />
three-time African<br />
champions Nigeria next<br />
month.<br />
According to Het<br />
Belang van Limburg,<br />
nothing stands in the way<br />
of Dessers playing for the<br />
West African giants after<br />
securing a Nigerian<br />
passport on Tuesday.<br />
Born in Tongeren to a<br />
Belgian father and<br />
Nigerian mother twenty-five years ago, the<br />
striker qualifies to represent Nigeria if the<br />
granny rule is invoked by the Nigeria Football<br />
Federation.<br />
He was an unused substitute when Belgium<br />
beat Moldova 2-1 in a European U21<br />
Championship qualifier back in March 2015,<br />
a game that would have seen him become<br />
provisionally cap-tied to his country of birth if<br />
he had featured.<br />
If Dessers earns a call-up to the Super Eagles<br />
for their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations double<br />
header against Sierra Leone and plays in any<br />
of the games even for one second, he would no<br />
longer be able to represent Belgium<br />
internationally.<br />
NOGIG 2020 Tennis:<br />
Anisionwu, Onuoha to clash for gold in ladies finals<br />
•As Iloeje, Bariena square up for men’s title<br />
three successive clean sheets in the<br />
Premier League and the encounter<br />
on Thursday would guarantee their<br />
place in the Europa League round<br />
of 16 encounter.<br />
Anthony Martial’s away goal<br />
leaves Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team<br />
in the driving seat going into the<br />
return leg but Brugge caused the<br />
Red Devils enough problems in Belgium<br />
last week to suggest they can<br />
defy the odds at Old Trafford<br />
Club Brugge Coach Philippe<br />
Clement wants to make Man Utd<br />
sweat in their own stadium. The<br />
Belgian side are still missing Krépin<br />
Diatta while Éder Balanta is suspended,<br />
but on the plus side Percy<br />
Tau has shown he can be effective<br />
as a No10.<br />
Onuoha is not giving up before the battle<br />
begins. “I will give it my best shot and all<br />
I can wish is let the better player win the<br />
title.”<br />
To get to the final, Ogechi defeated<br />
Khadijat Jekhere of NCDMB in straight<br />
sets. Onuoha on the other hand dismissed<br />
Ejehiwase Effiong of TOTAL in straight<br />
sets.<br />
In the men’s singles final, Obinna Iloeje<br />
of NNPC will face Bere Bariena of<br />
Chevron for the gold medal. The final<br />
also comes up tomorrow.<br />
In Table Tennis, NCDMB defeated<br />
Chevron 3-0 to qualify for the final of the<br />
men’s double event.<br />
Speaking after their victory, Joseph<br />
Adebayo(Big Joe) of Team NCDMB<br />
described the Chevron Team as “an<br />
improved side that will go places, in the<br />
near future.”<br />
Yobo vows to prove<br />
critics wrong<br />
Former Super Eagles defender, Joseph Yobo<br />
has vowed to prove the critics of his appointment<br />
wrong as the national team assistant<br />
coach<br />
Yobo who is poised to join the team ahead of<br />
the Africa Cup of Nations tie against Sierra Leone<br />
next month did not receive applause from the<br />
fans when he was announced as replacement to<br />
Imama Amapakabo. Even team coach Gernot<br />
Rohr stated that he was not consulted before<br />
Yobo’s was made his assistant.<br />
“I know people have been talking. But it is the<br />
time for me to do the needful and let my work do<br />
the talking.<br />
“Do you know what it means to be the captain<br />
of the Super Eagles, and to fill in the role for so<br />
long?, he asked."<br />
Ndidi<br />
Abia Warriors bag N5m fine<br />
for violence in Abia derby<br />
By John Egbokhan<br />
The League Management Company (LMC) has fined<br />
Abia Warriors the sum of N5m for the match violence<br />
that disrupted the Nigeria Professional Football League<br />
match-day 20 fixture against Enyimba in Umuahia.<br />
Fans of Abia Warriors had reportedly gone irate during<br />
the course of the match after fans of Enyimba celebrated<br />
wildly following a missed penalty by an Abia Warriors<br />
player. The home fans reportedly vented their spleen on<br />
the Enyimba players and chairman, Felix Anyansi-Agwu,<br />
who sustained serious head injuries.<br />
After conducting a thorough investigation into the<br />
fracas, the LMC yesterday released a statement , in which<br />
it found Abia Warriors guilty of the charges and ordered<br />
them to play their three consecutive home matches behind<br />
closed doors.<br />
According to the statement of LMC, ‘’Abia Warriors<br />
have been fined N5,000,000 to be paid within 10 working<br />
days in a Summary Jurisdiction exercised by the LMC<br />
on the disruption of the Matchday 20 fixture in Umuahia<br />
against Enyimba International<br />
‘’Abia Warriors are also to play a minimum of their<br />
next 3 consecutive home matches behind closed doors<br />
with no fans before a possible review which can only be<br />
carried out if the LMC is satisfied that conditions which<br />
led to the disruption has been completely eliminated<br />
‘’Out of the N5m fine, Enyimba International FC will<br />
receive N2.5m as compensation for injuries and damages<br />
to property. Abia Warriors have 48 hours to accept in<br />
writing, this decision or seek to appear before a panel’’.<br />
3,000 athletes for Police Games<br />
A<br />
record number of 3,000 Police men and women<br />
would take part in the 12th edition of the Nigerian<br />
Police Games slated to take place in Awka,<br />
Anambra State from 29th February to March 7th.<br />
12 zones will be competing in the 10 day events like<br />
track and field,football,Squash,Table<br />
tennis,boxing,wrestling,shooting ,lawn tennis, basketball<br />
among others.<br />
Speaking while on a visit to the Minister of Youth<br />
and Sports Development Mr Sunday Dare, AIG Alkali<br />
Mohammed who doubles as Chairman of the<br />
Police Games Planning Committee and Force Secretary<br />
said everything is set for a hitch free competition.<br />
“We are here to assure the Honourable Minister that<br />
everything is set for the Nigerian Police Games in<br />
Anambra State.We have enjoyed the tremendous support<br />
of the Anambra State Governor Chief Willy<br />
Obiano. All is set for a great event”<br />
Eto arrives Nigeria for Trophy 5-A-Side<br />
Football fans in Nigeria are in for a big thrill as<br />
Samuel Eto’o Fils, one of Africa’s greatest football<br />
legends, has arrived in Lagos for the launch of the 2020<br />
edition of Castle Africa 5s, the continental leg of the<br />
Trophy 5-A-Side developmental football tournament.<br />
Eto arrived in Lagos yesterday and was received by the<br />
Trophy Lager team in company of International Breweries<br />
management and members of the sports media.<br />
Castle Africa 5s is the continent’s biggest amateur 5-<br />
A-side football competition involving grassroot teams<br />
from several African countries in which the world’s<br />
largest brewer, ABInBev operates. The competition,<br />
which started in 2016 in South Africa with only 6<br />
countries has grown bigger in scope.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020—47
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020<br />
TODAY’S CROSSWORD<br />
QUICK CROSSWORD<br />
THURSDAY’S SOLUTION<br />
TODAY’S PUZZLE<br />
Sudoku<br />
FRIDAY’S ANSWER<br />
ACROSS<br />
1 Tardy (4)<br />
3 Undying (8)<br />
9 Ungraciously curt (7)<br />
10 Cold (5)<br />
11 Conour (5)<br />
12 Kidnap (6)<br />
14 Waylay (6)<br />
16 Spanish rice dish (6)<br />
19 Bird with a long curved bill (6)<br />
21 Light weight (5)<br />
24 Path of a planet (5)<br />
25 Cradle song (7)<br />
26 Shunters (anag.) (8)<br />
27 Capri, for example (4)<br />
DOWN<br />
1 Unauthorised passenger (8)<br />
2 Tender (5)<br />
4 Noon (6)<br />
5 Possessed (5)<br />
6 Characteristic (7)<br />
7 Short narrative poems (4)<br />
8 Strata (6)<br />
13 Bronte heroine (4,4)<br />
15 American whisky (7)<br />
17 Handsome Greek god (6)<br />
18 Resides (6)<br />
20 By and by (5)<br />
22 Approaches (5)<br />
23 The two of them (4)<br />
How to Play Sudoku<br />
Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two<br />
of the same number).<br />
Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines<br />
from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine<br />
blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no<br />
number can appear twice in any block, column or row.<br />
No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or<br />
multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.<br />
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