13102020 - More #EndSARS protests rock Lagos, Osogbo, Ilorin, Abuja

WTO DG: 8 

Bandits kill 

23 

Buhari 

RESTRUCTURING: 

14 persons, 

pledges to 

Northern leaders root 

lobby world 

travellers in 

for 12-state structure, 

leaders for Niger, Katsina 

8 

6 100% resource control 

their support states 

19 

Manufacturers pick holes in new electricity tariff structure 

Electricity tariff: 

FG agrees to 

provide relief of 

N10.20k/kw for 

3 months 

VOL. 27: NO. 64178 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 

More #EndSARS protests rock 

Lagos, Osogbo, Ilorin, Abuja 

5 

•Commuters spend hours in gridlock as protesters shut Lagos, Sanwo-Olu sues for calm •CSO petitions US, 

UK, EU to place visa ban on Oyo Police CP, family members •Davido meets IGP over police brutality against 

civilians •Disbanding SARS first step to extensive police reforms, says Buhari, orders investigation into 

Oyo killing •Says few bad eggs shouldn’t be allowed to tarnish force’s image •SARS‘ll be replaced with 

something acceptable — OSINBAJO •Training of new unit taking over from SARS begins next week – IGP, 

says new unit won’t absorb erstwhile SARS members •PDP demands overhaul, restructuring of Police force 

...IN LAGOS 

...CALABAR 

COVID-19: 

Nigeria may 

record 

100 new 

imported 

cases daily, 

PTF raises 

alarm 7 

...ILORIN 

...ABUJA 

Naira 

depreciates 

to N459/$ 

in parallel 

market 

Mr & Mrs 

27 

ONDO: I’m shocked Akure 

people turned against 

me — AKEREDOLU 

COLUMNISTS ODUMAKIN 16 

COLE 

4 6 

17 

Gunmen release 4 JSS3 

students, teachers, 

6 weeks after 

TENIOLA 

18 

See 

inside

2 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020

Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 —3

4 — Vanguard TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 

I'm shocked Akure people turned against me 

by voting PDP on Saturday — Akeredolu 

By Dayo Johnson 

ONDO State Governor 

and Governor-Elect, 

Rotimi Akeredolu, has said he 

was shocked that he lost the Saturday 

governorship election in 

three local council in Ondo 

Central Senatorial District despite 

his developmental works 

in the zone. 

Speaking during an interview 

on Channels Television, Akeredolu 

said: “I thought I was going 

to win the 18 local governments. 

I'm shocked at what happened 

in Akure because I take Akure 

South, Akure North and Ifedore 

as one Akure. So, I'm shocked 

at the development there. 

"But I'll put that behind me. 

I'll move forward. I thought I 

would win in Akure because I 

worked in those three local 

governments where people 

turned against us. But it's all 

right by me. We'll forget it. 

"The event that commenced 

this process, like the deputy 

governor, who decided to 

jump ship, I was shocked too. 

Although, I got to know it's 

going to happen when I saw 

his movements. I said okay, 

this man has made up his 

mind to go. 

"God answered my prayer, 

I prayed for him to go and he 

left anyway because you cannot 

have people who will be 

there and want to stab you in 

the back and you want to keep 

them in the house. 

"You cannot have a snake 

under your roof and think you 

can sleep well. So, it was good 

we asked the snake to go, so 

we had to sleep properly. 

"So, it's taught me a lesson 

in politics. It has happened 

over and over, right here in 

South West, even in the 

North. 

"Look at the case of Baba 

Awolowo and Akintola, look 

at Omoboriowo and Ajasin 

here. So many instances. But 

it cannot come from the deputy 

that I've chosen now. I 

have a lot of confidence in him. 

I don't see him behaving like 

the former one.'' 


THE ruling All Progres 

sives Congress, APC, 

has asked the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP to exhibit 

the spirit of sportsmanship 

and concede defeat. 

Chairman, Caretaker/ 

Extraordinary National 

Convention Planning 

Committee of the party, 

Governor Mai Mala Buni 

of Yobe State said that in 

spite of the fear of violence 

entertained in some quarters, 

"the good people of 

Ondo State conducted 

themselves peacefully to 

elect their governor for the 

next four years." 

He commended other political 

parties who participated 

in the contest but sin- 

PRESIDENT Muham 

madu Buhari has been 

tasked on the need to sign the 

amended Electoral Act to check 

rigging of polls. 

Former Presidential Aspirant 

and Convener of the 

YesWeFit Revolutionary 

Movement, Dr. Thomas-Wilson 

Ikubese, made the appeal 

while condemning the problem 

of vote-buying that dominated 

Saturday’s governorship 

election in Ondo State. 

Ikubese, who congratulated 

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu 

on his re-election, also commended 

the candidate of the 

People’s Democratic Party, 

PDP, Eyitayo Jegede, for putting 

up a good performance 

and conducting himself properly 

all through the campaigns. 

I congratulate Governor 

Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN 

Candidate of the All Progressive 

Congress on his successful 

re-election as the governor 

of Ondo State as declared today 

by the Independent Nation- 

APC asks PDP to concede defeat, congratulate 

Akeredolu •Why Akeredolu won – Ondo APC 

gled out the PDP to return 

the favour of congratulating 

them after the Edo election, 

saying elections must 

never be a do- or-die affair. 

"I must not forget to commend 

other political parties 

and their candidates who 

put up a good fight in this 

election. I encourage us all 

to always maintain healthy 

competition in our quest to 

serve the people. 

"It is said, one good turn 

deserves another, and just 

like we congratulated PDP 

in the Edo election, we look 

forward to seeing PDP and 

the other political parties 

extend similar gesture to us 

in the spirit of good sportsmanship. 

By so doing, we 

will make elections in Nigeria 

healthier and attractive, 

rather than making 

We can’t congratulate Akeredolu yet — PDP 

*Gov Akeredolu 

By Dirisu Yakubu 

THE Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, has said it will 

only congratulate Governor 

Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo 

State for winning Saturday’s 

election after the determination 

of the manner of his emergence 

as APC candidate. 

The PDP whose candidate, 

Eyitayo Jegede, came second 

in the election also dismissed 

call by the National Caretaker 

Committee Chairman of the 

All Progressives Congress, APC, 

and Governor of Yobe State, 

Mai Mala Buni for the PDP to 

congratulate Akeredolu. 

PDP National Publicity Secretary, 

Kola Ologbindiyan, 

said: “It is indeed ludicrous 

and completely absurd that 

Governor Buni is begging for 

endorsement of the election in 

spite of his awareness that the 

internal mechanism that 

produced his party’s candidate, 

as presided over by him, 

was faulty. 

“Nigerians already know 

that the emergence of Governor 

Mai Buni in the national 

leadership of his party is a subject 

of litigation and as such, 

his nomination of any candidate 

for the election is seen, even 

among his party members, as a 

nullity until the court says otherwise. 

“It will therefore be pathetic 

for Governor Mai Buni to 

attempt to use the PDP to build 

something on the nothingness 

of his position in his party. The 

PDP is too structured as a party 

to be used by anybody, under 

any guise, in that regard. 

“While our party will, in due 

course, make its official position 

on the outcome of the Ondo 

election known, the PDP urges 

Vote-Buying: Buhari tasked 

on amended electoral act 


elections a do-or-die affair." 

The party commended 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari and Vice President 

Yemi Osibanjo, the Ondo 

State Reconciliation Committee, 

Ondo State National 

Campaign Council by 

Governors Abubakar Bello 

(Niger) Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu (Lagos) and other party 

stakeholders for their 

leadership roles and support 

in ensuring its victory. 

"To the Independent National 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC, security agencies, 

local and international 

observers, you have been 

professional and ethical in 

the discharge of your responsibilities. 

I am convinced 

that through genuine 

cooperation, we can always 

improve the electioneering 

process in Nigeria to 

build a strong democracy", 

Buni added. 

Why Akeredolu won 

Indeed, the Ondo State 

chapter of Akeredolu's 

hard work, determination 

and support of people gave 

it victory at the October 10 

poll. 

In a statement by its Publicity 

Secretary, Alex Kalejaye, 

the party said: 

stated"It is not contestable 

that the APC is the most 

organised of all the political 

parties, with functioning 

structures across the 

state. 

"Either by accident or design, 

the People's Democratic 

Party was further disorganised 

through what 

they called State Congress, 

shortly before the election. 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

to take steps that will accelerate 

the amendment of the 

Electoral Act, which was stalled 

following his failure to sign the 

amended Act of the National 

Assembly in 2019.” 

APC thugs attacking us, Akeredolu setting Ondo on fire — PDP 

* It’s a lie, you’re still suffering from the weekend defeat – APC 


THE Peoples Demo 

cratic Party, PDP in 

Ondo state has raised the 

alarm over the attack on its 

members and supporters by 

political thugs of the ruling 

All Progressive Congress, 

APC, after the declaration 

of the results of the weekend’s 

governorship election. 

It therefore called on the 

governor-elect, Rotimi Akeredolu 

to call his party 

members to order and 

“should not set Ondo State 

on fire.’’ 

Publicity Secretary of the 

party in the state, Kennedy 

Peretei in a statement alleged 

that “ since the declaration 

of the Ondo Governorship 

Election Results, 

All Progressives Congress 

(APC) thugs have stepped 

up their acts of recklessness 

and irresponsibility by attacking 

supporters of our 

party, Peoples Democratic 

Party (PDP). 

“A particular case in 

point was the destruction of 

PDP Secretariat and Eyitayo 

Jegede’s campaign 

office in Ijare, Ifedore Local 

Government Area of the 

state by APC thugs under 

the guise of celebrating the 

victory of Akeredolu,’’ he 

said and alleged that the 

attack was led by an APC 

elected official in Ifedore 

Local Council. 

“Therefore, Mr. Oluwarotimi 

Akeredolu should try 

to live up to his constitutional 

responsibility of protecting 

lives and properties. It 

is very unfortunate that, the 

Governor is feigning ignorance 

while his party thugs 

have been on rampage before 

the elections. Yet, this 

reign of terror has not abated 

even after the election,’’ 

PDP added. 

Reacting Ondo State 

Chairman of the APC, Ade 

Adetimehin, said that the 

opposition party was still 

suffering from the last Saturday’s 

defeat hence the 

baseless allegation. 

Adetimehin noted that the 

APC is presently celebrating 

its victory and does not 

have time to waste attacking 

members of a party 

that is down. 

He said that the ruling 

party sympathised with the 

PDP for the defeat but added 

that “ they should not go 

to the extent of fabricating 

lies against our party.’’ 

al Electoral Commission, 

INEC. I call on President Muhammadu 

Buhari to urgently 

sign the amended electoral act 

into law to promote peace and 

give credibility to our electoral 

process. 

call on the National Assembly 

to pass a bill wherein political 

office holders will earn 

monthly remunerations in 

line with civil service salary 

scale, devoid of the current 

mega million naira allowances 

and cause the income and 

expenditure of government at 

all levels to be published 

monthly as public documents. 

The National Assembly 

should also pass a bill wherein 

political office holders who are 

charged for corruption will 

have their cases concluded 

and judgement delivered 

within six months, while penalty 

for established cases of 

corruption will be life imprisonment 

without an option of 

fine. 

This way, only persons who 

are genuinely interested in 

rendering selfless service will 

run for political office and the 

desperation to win at all cost 

as reflected in monetary inducement 

at polling units will 

become a thing of the past.”““I 

call on Governor Oluwarotimi 

Akeredolu, SAN to be magnanimous 

in victory and 

reach out across board, with 

the view of aggregating the 

various developmental ideologies 

as canvassed during the 

gubernatorial debates for the 

betterment of the good people 

of Ondo State. 

It's victory 

well-deserved 

– Omo-Agege 

By Henry Umoru 

DEPUTY President of the 

Senate, Senator Ovie 

Omo Agege (PDP, Delta Central), 

has described the re-election 

of Governor Oluwarotimi 

Akeredolu, as a resounding victory. 

He said Akeredolu's second 

coming through the votes of 

the people was borne out of 

credible performance and citizens' 

genuine confidence in 

the APC. 

Reacting to Akeredolu's reelection, 

the Deputy President 

of the Senate expressed delight 

that Akeredolu won by an indisputable 

margin. “I heartily 

congratulate our brother 

and governor of Ondo State, 

His Excellency, Arakunrin 

Akeredolu, SAN and the very 

jubilant citizens of Ondo State 

who assertively renewed 

their governor’s mandate 

through the Saturday, October 

10, 2020 election. 

“No doubt, the electoral triumph 

and wide margin of 

victory is attributed to the 

governor's uncompromising 

commitment to APC's manifesto. 

I urge Governor Akeredolu 

to do even more towards 

accelerating unity and people-focused 

development in 

Ondo State. 

“It is clear that by his antecedents 

and experience, our 

newly re-elected governor is 

poised to justify the high expectations 

of the people by delivering 

further on democracy 

dividends for citizens in 

Ondo State."

vanguardnews 

@vanguardnews 

More #EndSARS protests rock Lagos, 

Osogbo, Ilorin, Abuja 

By Kinsley Omonobi, Demola Akinyemi, 

Olasunkanmi Akoni, Evelyn Usman, 

Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Gabriel Ewepu, 

Dirisu Yakubu, Luminous Jannamike, 

Esther Onyegbula & Shina Abubakar 

ABUJA — Despite 

disbandment of 

the Special Anti- 

Robbery Squad, SARS, by 

the Inspector-General of 

Police, Mohammed 

Adamu, #EndSARS 

protesters in different 

parts of the country 

poured onto the streets 

yesterday, demanding 

extensive reforms of the 

Police force. At least one 

person was shot dead in 

Lagos. 

One policeman of the 

Anti-kidnapping unit was 

also killed, while two 

others are in critical 

condition in an 

undisclosed hospital. 

Besides Lagos, which 

experienced a virtual 

shutdown that resulted in 

traffic gridlocks and 

rendering motorists and 

commuters stranded for 

hours, the Federal Capital 

Territory, FCT, Abuja, 

Osogbo, Osun State 

capital and Ilorin, Kwara 

State, also witnessed 

more protests which had 

gone on for days. 

Although President 

Muhammadu Buhari and 

his vice, Prof Yemi 

Osinbajo, had at a 

function in Abuja 

yesterday, promised 

extensive reform of the 

Police, the protesters 

were not assuaged. 

They listed five 

demands which the 

Federal Government must 

meet for the protests to 

cease. 

They include immediate 

release of all arrested 

protesters; justice for all 

deceased victims of police 

brutality and appropriate 

compensation for their 

families; setting up of an 

independent body to 

oversee investigation and 

prosecution of all reports 

of Police misconduct 

(within 10 days); 

psychological evaluation 

and retaining of all 

disbanded SARS officers 

before redeployment; and 

increase in police salary, 

so they are adequately 

compensated for 

protecting lives and 

property of citizens. 

Protests ground 

major areas of 

Lagos 

In Lagos, areas such as 

the Lekki-Epe expressway 

toll gate, Murtala 

Muhammed International 

Airport toll gate, Alausa, 

Ikorodu Road, Surulere 

and Yaba, among other 

major arteries of the 

metropolis were 

grounded, forcing traffic 

to a standstill. 

Passengers who could 

not access the terminal 

building, missed their 

flights due to shutdown of 

the toll gate. 

At Lekki, the protesters 

had massed at the toll 

gate as early as 4:00am, 

making it impossible for 

workers and others to get 

to their destinations. 

They bore placards with 

such inscriptions as ‘’Say 

No to Illegal Arrest of 

youths’’; ‘’# 1 Nigeria is 

Possible if all right is 

respected and protected’’; 

Stop Police harassment, 

brutality,’’ now, among 

others. 

The protesters also 

barricaded Alausa section 

of Lagos-Ibadan 

Expressway and 

environs, and blocked the 

road leading to the 

Governor’s Office and the 

State House of Assembly, 

Alausa, Ikeja. 

Protester shot 

dead in Surulere 

However, at Surulere, 

the protest took a violent 

dimension as one of the 

protesters was allegedly 

shot dead by the Police . 

Police sources told 

Vanguard that some 

armed hoodlums who 

hijacked the protest, fired 

at some policemen, at 

Area ‘C’ Ojuelegba, and 

in the bid to disperse the 

protesters, some 

policemen reportedly 

fired indiscriminately, 

with stray bullets hitting 

two persons around the 

National Stadium. 

The gunfire made 

protesters scamper in 

different directions. It was 

learned that efforts by the 

medical team to 

resuscitate one of the 

protesters failed as he 

reportedly died on the 

way to the hospital. 

His death sparked off a 

renewed protest as his 

colleagues besieged the 

Surulere Police division . 

A motorist, Mrs Patricia 

Anyadu, who spoke with 

Vanguard said: “I had to 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 — 5 

NEWS HOTLINES 

POCKET CARTOON 

018773962, 

@vanguardnews 08052867058 

abandon my car and fled 

for dear life because of the 

sporadic gunshots from 

the police and some 

hoodlums who hijacked 

the peaceful protest. 

“I think at this point, the 

protesters should be 

called to order because if 

this continues, it may lead 

to more deaths. The 

cause they fought for 

(#EndSARS) was a just 

one, and the timely 

response of the Police 

High command is 

commendable. But 

dragging it too far 

portends danger.” 

Traffic gridlock 

Motorists moving from 

Eko Bridge inward 

Barracks were held in 

traffic for many hours. 

Due to the protest at 

Barracks, traffic from 

Fadeyi to Ketu, Ojota of 

the metropolis was 

grounded. 

A motorist, Daniel 

Akinbowale, reacted this 

way: “I have been stuck 

on this road, Lagos- 

Ibadan Expressway, for 

three hours without any 

movement. I thought the 

FG has proscribed SARS, 

so what’s the complaint 

about again from the 

protesters? 

“Government should do 

something quickly before 

it gets out of control. We 

can’t be subjected to this 

kind of hardship forever.” 

Similarly, at abour 11 

am, youths from Iba 

Housing Estate, Iyana 

School, Lagos State 

University, LASU, 

Obadore shut down Iba- 

LASU Expressway, 

carrying placards amd 

OKONJO-IWEALA MEETS BUHARI—President Muhammadu Buhari and the 

TopContender for the Position of Director General, World Trade Organisation 

(WTO)/Former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, 

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, during their meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, 

yesterday. Photo: NAN 

Continues on Page 27 

On disbandment and redeployment of SARS officers (1) 

asking the police to stop 

the brutality of Nigerians. 

Gov Sanwo-Olu 

calls for calm 

The situation in the state 

yesterday compelled 

Governor Babajide 

Sanwo-Olu to appeal for 

calm. The governor, who 

left the weekly State 

Executive Council, SEC, 

meeting to intervene, told 

the . demonstrators that 

their protest was legitimate, 

but pleaded with 

them not to block the 

roads while passing on 

their grievances to the 

authorities. 

He said: “Your voice has 

been heard clearly and a 

clear pronouncement has 

been made on the 

activities of SARS. The 

operation has been 

dissolved by the police 

leadership and just a 

moment ago, Mr. 

President addressed the 

nation on the issues you 

have raised. 

“The President has said 

all SARS officers involved 

in the killing of innocent 

people and engaging in 

human rights abuses will 

be brought to justice. 

“My stance on this 

#EndSARS is 

unmistakable and I have 

told you that we identify 

with this protest because 

you have legitimate 

By Bose Adelaja & 

Olayinka Latona 

The disbandment o 

SARS is long 

overdue and it’s a 

welcome development. 

It shows democracy is 

working. Let’s hope it’s 

the beginning of great 

things to come. SARS 

has been infiltrated by 

wicked souls who are 

bent on making life 

unbearable for the 

people. 

—AbdulAziz Omololu, 

Esq. 

The disbandment is not 

bad but the silence of 

the Presidency is 

bad. Following the 

disbandment, policemen 

shot at protesters and the 

president said nothing! It 

shows that Nigerian lives 

don’t matter. The dissolution 

is temporary, they’ll be back 

soon, otherwise, let the 

Presidency dissolve them 

on national TV. 

—Sanni Ayodeji, 

Realtor 

The 

#EndSARS 

protest was an 

exercise in futility. It’s a 

cosmetic surgery and 

won’t heal the real 

disease. We should seek 

for a lasting reform in the 

Police and also other 

critical sectors like 

education, power and 

many other sensitive and 

useful areas that concern 

the citizenry. 

—Idris Jibril 

Teacher 

I 

don’t support the 

action taken by the 

FG concerning SARS. 

I think we need to 

restructure and 

reorganise the 

operations of the 

squad. Their activities 

should be limited to 

armed robberies, 

kidnappings and other 

violent crimes. 

—Emmanuel Ewumi, 

Businessman 

I 

was excited when I 

heard the news not 

necessarily the 

disbandment but the will of 

the people for once 

prevailed. I see it as a plus 

for the Nigerian youth and 

the social media. The fact 

is that the redeployed 

officers might still continue 

with their bad acts but I 

have the assurance that 

they now know we are 

watching. 

—Frank Uzobuife, 

Teacher 

The disbandment looks 

like another scam 

because even after 

announcing this, a video went 

viral of a police officer(FSARS) 

harassing a young man in his 

car. This shows that the 

announcement is not reliable. 

I think ending it totally is the 

best, no redeployment or 

regrouping of these officers 

because in the end, it’s the 

same set of people in different 

uniforms. 

—Ojo Queen, 

Model

6 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 

17 die in 

Yobe auto 

crash 

THE Federal Road Safety 

Commission, FRSC, 

yesterday, confirmed the 

death of 17 persons while 

four others were injured in 

road traffic accident at 

Zubali village along Kano to 

Potiskum Road. 

Mr. Yelwa Dio, the FRSC 

Sector Commander in the 

state, said the accident 

occurred Sunday night, 

involving a bus that 

rammed into a truck. 

He said: “Our rescue team 

discovered 21 persons in the 

two vehicles involved—14 

males, one female adult and 

two female children, all 

perished in the accident. 

“The bodies of the 

deceased have been 

deposited in the General 

Hospital, Potiskum, and the 

injured are also receiving 

medical assistance in the 

hospital.” 

He blamed the incident on 

speeding, lamenting that 

most drivers never heeded 

to their warning . 

“If you must embark on 

night journeys, ensure your 

lighting system is 

functional. Passengers must 

also ensure that they call 

drivers to order if they are 

speeding because if there is 

an accident, they will be 

involved,” he said. 

Zamfara PDP 

chairman dies 

in a Germany 

hospital 

By Ifeanyichukwu 

Nwannah 

GZamfara USAU—CHAIRMAN, 

State chapter 

of Peoples’ Democratic 

Party, PDP, Alhaji Ibrahim 

Mallaha, has reportedly 

died in a German hospital 

after a protracted sickness. 

The party’s Publicity 

Secretary, Alhaji Ahmed 

Farouq Rijiya, said he died 

yesterday. 

It was gathered that the 

late chairman had been 

battling with a serious 

ailment, which took him to 

various hospitals in and out 

of the country. 

However, at press time, it 

was unclear whether he 

would be buried in Germany 

according to Islamic tradition 

or be brought back to Nigeria 

for burial since he was a 

prominent figure in the state. 

Mallaha had been the state 

chairman of PDP since 2008 

when he decamped to PDP 

from the defunct All Nigerian 

Peolples Party, ANPP with 

former Governor Mahmuda 

Aliyu Shinkafi, and had been 

adjudged as the longest 

serving chairman of the party 

in the state 

9 persons feared dead as two tankers 

collide, explode on Osun highway 

By Shina Abubakar 

OSOGBO—NO fewer than 

nine persons were, yesterday, 

feared dead in a multiple auto 

accident along Ilesa-Akure highway 

after two fully loaded tankers 

collided and went up in flame. 

It was gathered that the accident 

that occurred around 11 am at Erin 

Ijesa, in Oriade Local Government 

Area of Osun State, involved 11 

vehicles. 

Investigation revealed that the two 

tankers, from opposite direction, 

collided while one was attempting 

to overtake other vehicles and went 

up in flame, which affected about 

nine other vehicles in the process. 

Many travellers and other road 

users were stranded for hours 

following the resultant gridlock, as 

officials of Federal Road Safety 

Commission, FRSC, had hectic time 

controlling and diverting traffic 

through Ipetu Ijesa town to ease the 

gridlock. 

An eyewitness, Wale Ademola, 

said: ”Many people were burnt to 

death and some were injured in the 

inferno. But I don’t know how many 

persons were involved.” 

However, Federal Fire Service 

spokesperson in the state, Basiri 

Adijat, while confirming the incident, 

said nine victims were burnt in the 

inferno while another victim was 

currently receiving treatment in a 

hospital. 

Scene of the accident. Photo: Shina Abubakar. 

“Our men responded to a distress 

call this morning (yesterday) of a 

collision between two trailers at 

Ilesa-Akure express road, Ssun 

State, resulting in fire outbreak. Nine 

casualties were recorded with one 

receiving treatment in the hospital. 

The fire also razed 11 vehicles,” she 

Bandits kill 14 persons in Niger, Katsina 

By Wole Mosadomi 

&Shehu Danjuma 

ARMED bandits have killed 

no fewer than 14 persons 

in Niger and Kastina states. 

While the bandits invaded 

Ruwan Godiya village of 

Faskari Local Government Area 

of Katsina State, killing eight 

persons, injuring three other 

persons and kidnapping one 

person, they also attacked 

Kagara town, headquarters of 

Rafi Local Government Area of 

Niger State, killing six 

members of the local vigilante, 

and some travellers along the 

Kagara-Birnin Gwari-Kaduna 

road. 

The Katsina attack, it was 

gathered, took place on Sunday 

at about 6pm. 

According to sources, during 

the attack, the bandits also set 

ablaze the home of the village 

head of Shau, as well as a 

vehicle belonging to him. 

It was gathered that the 

bandits, armed with automatic 

weapons, stormed the two 

communities on motorcycles in 

their numbers. 

They were also said to have 

carted away valuables and 

harassed several residents, 

even as they operated for hours 

without hindrance. 

Spokesperson for the state 

Police Command, Gambo Isah, 

confirmed the incident, saying: 

“Yes, bandits, armed with 

dangerous weapons, went to a 

village in Ruwan Godiya, 

Faskari Local Government Area 

and committed the crime. 

“They killed eight persons 

and wounded three others. 

They also set a house and car 

ablaze, which belonged to the 

village head. The bandits left 

the area by the time security 

personnel stormed the area. 

But the wounded were taken to 

hospital for treatment by the 

security agents. 

6 travellers killed 

in Niger 

In Minna, the bandits were 

said to have attacked the town 

at 7 a m blocking the highway 

during, which some of the 

travellers ran into them and 

were gruesomely killed. 

At press time, the number of 

the passengers and drivers 

killed could not be ascertained. 

Vanguard gathered that 

members of the vigilante were 

on their way to dislodge the 

bandits when they met their 

untimely death during 

exchange of gun fire. 

According to sources, 

aggrieved members of the 

vigilante took the remains of 

their colleagues to the Police 

Divisional office in Kagara, and 

reportedly attacked the Police 

station over perceived “lack of 

police response.” 

Efforts to speak with the state 

police command spokesman, 

Wasiu Abiodun, proved 

abortive, as he did not pick his 

call neither did he call back. 

Commuters stranded in Benin 

as taxi, mini-bus drivers 

protest extortion 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

BENIN CITY — SEVERAL 

commuters were stranded in 

parts of Benin City, Edo State, 

yesterday, as taxi and minibus 

operators withdrew their 

services over alleged extortion 

by members of the National 

Union of Roads Transport 

Workers, NURTW, and Road 

Transport Employers 

Association of Nigeria, RTEAN. 

A leader of the protesters who 

stormed the Nigeria Union of 

Journalists, NUJ, secretariat, 

Richard Owali, said: 

“Government told us that the 

ticket we will pay daily is N400. 

NURTW takes N100, RTEAN 

collects 100, local government 

collects N100 while state 

government also collects N100. 

If you are moving to another 

local government area, you pay 

extra N100. 

"Our problem is that after 

paying this N400 to the state 

government account, these two 

unions still send their men to 

our parks and forcefully collects 

N200 each from us. If you don’t 

pay, they will beat you up. 

When we challenge them, they 

mobilise more of their members 

from several parks to attack us. 

We are tired and we want 

government to come to our 

rescue. Government should tell 

us who to pay to.” 

Another driver, Emmanuel 

Makachi, said: “Most of our 

drivers have been injured; 

many of them are not here 

because of the injuries they 

have sustained.” 

Efforts to reach the leadership 

of the two unions were not 

successful as the leaders did not 

pick any of their calls. 

said 

The Police Public Relations Officer 

in Osun State, Mrs Yemisi Opalola, 

confirmed the development but said 

she could not give the number of 

casualties yet. 

Kidnapped 

Kaduna JSS 

students, 

teacher 

released, six 

weeks after 

By Ibrahim 

HassanWuyo 

AFTER collecting ransom 

in two tranches, the four 

Junior Secondary School 

students and their teacher 

abducted six weeks ago in 

a Kaduna village, were 

released by their abductees. 

Those who regained 

freedom were the three 

female students, a female 

teacher and a male student. 

The victims were students 

and a teacher of Prince 

Academy, Damba Kasaya. 

According to a village 

source, they were freed on 

Saturday night after money 

was paid in two tranches. 

It would be recalled that 

they were abducted six 

weeks ago, when preparing 

to write an examination in 

the school. 

The gunmen stormed the 

school compound at Damba 

Kasaya village near Buruku, 

Chikun Local Government 

Area of Kaduna State and 

took them away. 

A source told journalists 

that the gunmen had killed 

Benjamin Auta, 28, and 

burnt a small church, before 

they led the abductees to an 

unknown location.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020—7 

:Vanguard 

News 

COVID-19: Nigeria may record 100 new 

imported cases daily --- PTF raises alarm 

•Says resurgence in some countries calls for vigilance 

•It's misleading to say Nigeria's out of the woods 

– Boss Mustapha, others 

By Sola Ogundipe, 

Omeiza Ajayi & 

Gabriel Olawale 

THE Coordinator of 

the Presidential Task 

Force, PTF, on COVID- 

19, Dr Sani Aliyu, yesterday 

called for vigilance 

over the possibility of escalating 

positive cases of 

COVID-19 as the international 

airports prepare for 

full reopening. 

Speaking in Abuja during 

the PTF briefing, 

Aliyu said that with projection 

of about 7,000 passengers 

coming into the 

country daily, there is 

probability of about 1.5 

percent of this population 

testing positive to COV- 

ID-19. 

He explained that 

when the airports were 

first opened, out of the 

first 2,403 passengers that 

arrived in Lagos, 80 tested 

positive, while 25 out 

of the first 2,700 tested at 

Abuja were also positive. 

“What that means is that 

about 105 tested positive 

out of about 5,000 passengers. 

By the time we open 

fully, we will be having 

about 5,000 to 7,000 passengers 

coming into Nigeria 

on daily basis. That 

translates to about 100 

potential positive cases 

daily. So we need to do 

something so as not to 

draw our response backwards.” 

Aliyu reemphasised the 

need for every state to test 

at least one percent of its 

population. 

“Only the FCT has 

achieved that target, while 

Lagos state is about 97 

percent but other states 

are below 20 percent 

which means that we are 

not testing enough. 

“We are concerned 

about the level of compliance 

with wearing of face 

mask in offices and we 

are not happy about it, we 

will reach out to Heads of 

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA — THE Senate 

yesterday intervened 

in the ongoing standoff between 

the Federal Government 

and Academic Staff 

Union of Universities, 

ASUU, over the Integrated 

Payroll and Personnel Information 

System, IPPIS and 

other outstanding issues, 

saying government should 

not go into any agreement 

it cannot implement. 

Speaking yesterday in 

Abuja when the Academic 

Staff Union of Universities, 

ASUU, led by its President, 

Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, 

visited him in his office, 

President of the Senate, 

Senator Ahmad Lawan, 

pleaded with both government 

and ASUU to, in the 

interest of students, ensure 

a give and take situation. 

Lawan, who spoke before 

both the Senate and ASUU 

leadership went into a 

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

EMPOWERMENT: From left: Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari; 

President Muhammadu Buhari; President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; Senior Special Adviser to 

the Presidential on Youths and Student Affairs, Nasir Adhama; Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi; 

President Belemaoil, Tein Jack-Rich and others during the launching of the Presidential Youth 

Empowerment Scheme (P-YES) Tools organized by Belemaoil and the SSA to the Presidential on 

Youths and Student Affairs to employ 774,000 youths nationwide held at the Presidential Villa, 

Abuja, yesterday. 

MDAs to ensure compliance. 

If the whole civil 

service is going to come 

back to work, we expect 

total compliance with 

wearing of face masks in 

government offices, commercial 

places as well as 

public places.” 

Corroborating his views, 

Chairman of the Presidential 

Task Force, PTF, on 

COVID-19 and Secretary 

to the Government of the 

Federation, SGF, Mr. 

Boss Mustapha, said that 

it will be misleading and 

dangerous to assume that 

Nigeria is out of the 

woods due to decrease in 

daily cases. 

Mustapha who called 

for more vigilance said that 

some countries that were 

thought to have flattened 

the curve and halt the 

spread are now dealing 

with issue of resurgence 

which informed re-introduction 

of restrictions. 

“Nigeria maintains the 

fifth position in Africa 

with 60,266 cases of COV- 

ID-19 after South Africa, 

Morocco, Egypt and Ethiopia. 

As part of our continuous 

effort, this week, 

PTF will unveil to Nigeria 

the next phase of easy 

of lockdown as findings 

and recommendations 

have been compiled and 

will be presented to Mr. 

President. 

“With the experience of 

other nations, we cannot 

announce that we are out 

of the woods yet. We 

must continue to take responsibility, 

remain vigilant 

and extremely careful 

looking at the re-emergence 

of COVID-19 in 

some countries that we 

thought had flattened the 

curve and halt the spread 

but now have to deal with 

issues of specific and selective 

restriction.” 

He explained that the 

federal government will 

continue to provide 

guideline to ensure that 

the country remains safe. 

“The debate about reopening 

of school has 

dominated conversation 

among Nigerian citizens 

and parents in particular. 

We wish to state that the 

federating units have the 

responsibility of determining 

the date of reopening 

why Federal 

Government continues to 

provide guideline. 

He added that they have 

made appreciable 

progress in conversation 

with European Union 

over flight restriction, visa 

among others into its territory. 

On his part, the Minister 

of State for Health, Dr. 

Olorunnimbe Mamora, 

said that the rate of infection 

among health workers 

has reduced and more 

cases are being successfully 

treated and discharged. 

Worsening insecurity may 

hinder funding of 2021 Budget, 

say Northern elders 

By Joseph Erunke 

ABUJA — Elders in the 

North have said they 

are concerned about President 

Muhammadu Buhari's 

continuous silence on growing 

calls in many quarters 

that he rejigs the security architecture, 

in view of the 

worsening insecurity in the 

country. 

They said the resolutions 

of the two arms of the National 

Assembly that he acts 

swiftly in emplacing new 

security system to stop the 

increasing bad situation was 

IPPIS: Senate intervenes, says govt shouldn't sign 

agreement it can't implement 

closed door session that lasted 

three hours, urging the 

university lecturers to be 

prepared to sheathe their 

swords to end the ongoing 

strike for students to go back 

to class. 

He said the situation was 

not healthy for the country's 

tertiary institutions, adding 

that ASUU cannot have everything 

they request from 

the government. 

He said Nigerians do not 

need a situation where 

students would continue 

to remain at home, noting 

that there was an urgent 

need to resolve the issues. 

According to him, the continued 

closure of the nation's 

ivory towers explains why 

those who can afford it send 

their children to other African 

countries, such as Ghana, 

for university education, 

despite the fact that the nation 

was better in terms of 

standards. 

ASUU's meeting with Senate 

leadership was a follow 

up to the ealier 

meeting held in October, 

2019. 

Continuing, Lawan said: 

"This meeting is for us as a 

Senate to look into area of 

agreement and see where we 

can find an accommodation 

for ASUU as well as for government 

to be able to implement 

the agreements. 

''I am sure we need to review 

some of the items on 

the agreements, I don’t 

know who will be hurt when 

I say that but the reality is 

that so many things have 

happened. 

"We cannot have an agreement 

signed in 2009 and 

still think this is the only way 

we can deal with it. We 

should be able to have a look 

at the agreements signed 

and see at this time whether 

or not some of the issues are 

really practicable at all. We 

have to be realistic. 

APC members kick against 

tenure extension, issue 

ultimatum for convention 

•Party faults group’s position 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA — A group, under 

the auspices of ‘Concerned 

All Progressives Congress 

APC Members’, has issued 

a 14-day ultimatum to 

the Gov. Mai Mala Buni-led 

Caretaker/Extraordinary National 

Convention Planning 

Committee of the party to roll 

out its plans for convening a 

national convention by December. 

It also kicked against any 

planned extension of tenure 

of the caretaker committee, 

saying it would be counterproductive. 

The Buni-led Committee 

was inaugurated on June 25 

at an emergency meeting of 

the National Executive Committee 

NEC with a six-month 

mandate to reconcile warring 

tendencies in the party and 

convene an elective national 

convention within the period. 

At a news conference Monday 

in Abuja, the group said it 

has “watched with amazement 

and disillusionment for 

several months the inability 

of the APC Caretaker Committee 

to provide direction for 

the party and set up timetable 

for December elective 

convention”. 

Its spokesman, Abdullahi 

" I always hold this belief 

that government should not 

sign agreements when it 

knows it cannot implement 

them. Under whatever situation, 

let government be 

practical and ASUU, being 

a very patriotic body, will 

understand with government 

when there is sincerity 

and honesty in negotiating 

such agreements. 

''Sometimes you wonder 

how somebody would sign 

some of those agreements 

and later say I cannot implement 

them. Why did you 

sign in the first place?" 

In his remarks, ASUU 

President, Professor Ogunyemi, 

said they were developing 

a better alternative to 

IPPIS locally designed as 

promoters of local content 

to meet with the present reality 

which is called the University 

Transparency and Accountability 

System, 

UTAS, saying they stood on 

this and not IPPIS. 

Dauda, said the group was 

not out to discredit the conscientious 

efforts of President 

Muhammadu Buhari and the 

National Executive Committee 

NEC which birthed the 

current leadership but to bring 

to his notice that there are certain 

areas that the Buni-led 

committee has outrightly 

failed, especially as it concerns 

the non-compliance to 

the scheduled December National 

Convention. 

The members also condemned 

the disposition of the 

party leadership to the September 

19 governorship election 

in Edo, accusing its leaders 

of selling out. 

“We are less than two 

months away from the December 

deadline and no 

meaningful plan is in place 

for the much awaited convention. 

“Recall that the committee 

led by Mai Mala Buni was 

inaugurated to carryout two 

critical challenges faced by 

our great party. One was for it 

to reconcile aggrieved members 

and second, was to conduct 

a National Convention 

by December 2020. But information 

reaching us reveals 

that they are already scheming 

to extend their tenure for 

another one year", Dauda said. 

enough for him to act, given 

that they are the representatives 

of the people. 

The Northern elders, operating 

under the aegies of 

Coalition of Concern 

Northern Elders for Peace 

and Development, CO- 

CONEPD, in a statement in 

Abuja yesterday, said the 

worsening security situation 

in the country has caused 

untold hardship on women 

and children in both the 

North East and the North 

West. 

Besides, the group in the 

statement signed by its National 

Chairman, Dr Mohammed 

Suleiman, and 

National Secretary, Hajiya 

Mairo Buni,said the insecurity 

in the country had 

reached a boiling point that 

only the sack of service 

chiefs, as first step in addressing 

the ugly development, 

could be acceptable 

by Nigerians. 

According to the group, 

the 2021 budget proposal 

presented to the National 

Assembly by the President 

last week will be difficult to 

fund, if the President fails to 

address the situation immediately. 

The statement read: 

"We are compelled by the 

current state of the nation 

especially as it affects the security 

of lives and property 

in Nigeria particularly in the 

North to issue this press 

statement. 

"This Coalition became 

very necessary and urgent to 

lend our voice to the growing 

insecurity and call for 

the sack of the current service 

chiefs and total overhaul 

of the security architecture 

of our country before it 

is too late.


:Vanguard News 

WTO DG: Buhari pledges to lobby 

world leaders for their support 

•Says Okonjo-Iweala deserves job •Put a 

smile on my face, she begs President 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

A BUJA—PRESIDENT 

Muhammadu Buhari 

promised yesterday to contact 

world leaders for their support for 

the victory of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- 

Iweala, who is contesting the 

position of Director-General 

(DG) of the World Trade 

Organisation, WTO. 

The President, who made the 

promise when he met behind 

closed-doors with Dr. Okonjo- 

Iweala at the Presidential Villa, 

Abuja, assured her that the 

country would explore every 

opportunity and deploy its entire 

energy to ensure that she 

became the DG of WTO. 

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is one of the 

two candidates finally shortlisted 

to contest for the position of 

Director General of the World 

Trade Organization, WTO, which 

is expected to take place very 

soon. 

She was accompanied to the 

President’s office by the Minister 

of State, Foreign Affairs, Amb. 

Zubairu Dada, Minister of 

Industry, Trade and Investment, 

Niyi Adebayo and the Minister 

of State, Industry, Trade and 

Investment, Mariam Katagu. 

She was a former Managing 

Director (Operations) of the 

World Bank and Nigeria’s 

Minister of Finance and 

Coordinating Minister of the 

Economy during the 

administration of former President 

Goodluck Jonathan. 

In a statement issued by the 

Why Pay-As-You-Go’s not 

feasible – Multi-Choice CEO 

By Tordue Salem 

ABUJA—THE 

Chief 

Executive Officer, 

MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. John 

Ugbe, has described the Pay-As- 

You-Go billing model as 

technically and commercially 

impossible to implement in the pay 

television industry. 

Engr. Ugbe, who stated this in 

his presentation to the House of 

Representatives Ad Hoc 

Committee investigating the 

non-implementation of Pay-As- 

You-Go subscription model by 

satellite television service 

operators in the country in Abuja 

yesterday, also explained that the 

company enjoys the prerogative 

to decide the review of tariffs on 

its bouquets. 

Noting that Pay-Per-View, PPV, 

should not be confused with 

PAYG, he explained that the 

PAYG model used in the 

telecommunications sector was 

not fit for pay television. 

Ugbe said: “PAYG in 

telecommunications is a metered 

service that ensures consumers 

are billed only for the service they 

consume and not for a fixed 

period. 

“PAYG is possible in 

telecommunications, because it 

relies on a two-way 

communication system, which 

enables operators to determine 

when a consumer is connected, 

the service consumed and 

duration of connection. 

“Satellite broadcasters, unlike 

Senior Special Assistant to the 

President on Media and 

Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, 

President Buhari said Dr. 

Okonjo-Iweala deserved more 

support to get the top job because 

of her profile and diligence in 

serving the country and the 

world. 

“I assure you that we will do all 

that we can to ensure that you 

emerge as the Director-General 

of WTO, not only because you 

are a Nigerian, but because you 

are a hardworking Nigerian. You 

deserve this,’’ he said. 

Assuring the world class 

economist that he would make 

more phone calls and send letters 

to some world leaders for more 

support, the President said: “I 

did the same for Dr Akinwunmi 

Adesina for President of the 

African Development Bank. Both 

of you served the country under 

the Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP. 

“You are both highly qualified. 

We will continue to support you. 

I will immediately make those 

calls.” 

In her remarks, Dr Okonjo- 

Iweala, thanked the President 

and his ministers, particularly the 

Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and 

Ministers of Industry, Trade and 

Investment for supporting her 

staunchly. 

“I feel very proud of Nigeria. I 

am getting so much support from 

you, Mr President, Chief of Staff, 

Ministers of Foreign Affairs and 

Industry, Trade and Investments. 

The ministers have been 

working around the clock to 

ensure that I succeed,” she said. 

telecommunications firms, cannot 

offer pay television services the 

same way because satellite 

broadcasting is a one-way system 

and does not enable broadcasters 

determine when a subscriber is 

connected and/or watching or 

what channel is being viewed. 

“It is only in instances where 

there is a two-way communication 

between the device at the 

subscriber’s home and the headend 

of the Pay-TV service provider, 

which will enable the provider to 

determine when a subscriber is 

connected or not, that a billing 

system could be designed to take 

into cognizance the subscriber’s 

behaviour. 

“For PAYG to be feasible, a total 

and global remodelling of the 

satellite broadcasting technical 

and billing architecture will have 

to be done. 

“The result will be that 

consumers will have to pay much 

higher tariffs to access the service. 

The economies of scale model 

employed by broadcasters mean 

that subscribers pay less. ‘’We are 

yet to see a pay TV business 

anywhere in the world that does 

PAYG in the sense intended here. 

We do not believe the model is 

technically or commercially 

feasible.’’ 

Pay-Per-View, he told the 

House, is different from PAYG, 

more expensive and required a 

broadcaster transmitting a single 

event at the same time to its 

subscribers who have paid to 

watch the event. 


ELECTRICITY TARIFF: FG agrees to provide 

relief of N10.20k/KW for three months 

•DISCOs to refund overcharged households – Presidency 

By Prince Okafor 

A Federal BUJA—THE 

Government 

has agreed to provide a tariff relief 

of N10.20 per kilowatt of 

electricity for Nigerians for the 

next three months and also 

massively distribute free meters 

to electricity consumers. 

This was one of the resolutions 

of the technical committee set up 

by government to negoation a 

way out of the logjam in the 

increment of electricity tariff 

which led to organised labour’s 

plan to embark on strike that was 

later suspended. 

The committee comprised 

representatives of the 

government and the two labour 

centres, the Nigeria Labour 

Congress, NLC, and Trade Union 

Congress, TUC. 

Resing from the meeting late 

Sunday night, the Minister of 

State for Labour and 

Employment, Festus Keyamo, 

announced this in a communique 

posted on his twitter handle, 

following the expiration of the 

two-week suspension of the 

increased electricity tariff, that 

the Federal Government would 

use VAT proceeds to temporarily 

subsidize tariffs while the Adhoc 

committee will work for two more 

months to resolve other issues 

regarding tariff adjustments. 

Keyamo said: “Other 

immediate reliefs include the 

provision of six million free meters 

to Nigerians, salary protection for 

electricity workers, a mandatory 

refund for any over billing during 

system transition by DISCOs, 

monthly publication by the 

National Electricity Regulatory 

Commission, NERC, of allowed 

billing of unmetered customers, 

etc.” 

He added that the ad hoc 

committee set up by the Federal 

Government and organised 

labour last month agreed to adopt 

a two-phase approach to proffer 

solutions to resolve issues in the 

sector on a medium-term basis. 

Labour had suspended its 

planned industrial action after 

the Federal Government 

suspended the tariff increase, 

pending the outcome of their 

negotiation. 

The Federal Government, 

through the Nigerian Electricity 

Regulatory Commission, NERC, 

in January approved the 

immediate review of electricity 

tariffs across the country. 

A review of the new amount to 

be paid by various categories of 

electricity consumers indicates an 

increase that ranges from 59.7 per 

cent to 77.6 per cent. 

Consumers classified as 

residential (R1) were, however, 

excluded from the review as the 

N4 per kWh they pay was left 

unchanged 

Speaking in a similar vein 

yesterday, The Presidency said it 

would work out modalities to 

ensure that customers 

overcharged by the Eleven 

Electricity Distribution 

Companies, DISCOs, during the 

recent hike in tariff got their 

refunds. 

Special Adviser to the 

President, on Infrastructure, 

Ahmad Rufai Zakari, who 

disclosed this, said the DISCOs 

would distribute six million 

prepaid meters to Nigerian 

households. 

Recall that the Nigerian 

Electricity Regulatory 

Commission, NERC, earlier in 

September, increased electricity 

tariff from N30.23 per kilowatt to 

N62.33 Per kwh. 

Following the tariff increment, 

five distinctive bands (A-E) were 

SYNOD: Ogun State 

Governor, Prince 

Dapo Abiodun (right) 

e x c h a n g i n g 

pleasantries with the 

Diocesan Bishop of 

Remo and Archbishop 

of 


Ecclesiastical, Revd. 

Olusina Fape at the 

13th synod of the 

Anglican Church, 

Remo Diocese, held at 

the Cathedral of St. 

Paul, Shagamu. 

created to reflect the various 

service levels and minimum 

hours of power supply. 

For instance, customers in 

“Band A” were to enjoy a daily 

minimum supply of 20 hours; 

those in “Band B”, a minimum of 

16 hours; “Band C”, 12 hours; 

“Band D”, 8 hours, while those 

in “Band E” were expected to 

enjoy a minimum daily supply of 

4 hours. 

Vanguard also gathered that 

the impact of the reviewed tariff 

would only apply to customers in 

Bands A, B and C; while the tariff 

for customers in Bands D and E 

remains frozen until their service 

quality was improved upon, 

after which they will be 

migrated to the Band that 

suits their supply availability. 

FCT teachers chase out pupils from 

classrooms, embark on indefinite strike 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA—HOPES 

of 

parents to have their 

children return to schools in the 

Federal Capital Territory FCT 

after a seven-month COVID-19 

induced hiatus were on Monday 

dashed following the decision of 

teachers to chase pupils home. 

The teachers, under the aegis 

of the FCT Council of the Nigeria 

Union of Teachers NUT, said Area 

Council Chairmen in the 

territory have refused to 

implement the national 

minimum wage as well as 

payment of arrears. 

When Vanguard visited the 

LEA Primary School Kubwa 

which also houses the Junior 

Secondary School, Kubwa, the 

pupils had been chased out of 

their classrooms from as early as 

8am. Only students of the junior 

secondary school were allowed 

in, as Secondary school teachers 

had earlier been paid by the FCT 

Administration. 

Earlier in September, chairman 

of the union, Comrade Stephen 

Knabayi, had directed members 

not to resume work whenever 

schools were reopened. 

He said while the Federal 

Capital Territory Administration 

FCTA has commenced the 

payment of the new minimum 

wage, the six Area Councils in 

the territory which are saddled 

with the payment of primary 

school teachers have refused to 

budge. 

Contacted yesterday, Knabayi 

said the strike was indefinite since 

there was no serious 

commitment from the councils to 

implement the national 

minimum wage. 

“The demand has to do with 

the payment of minimum wage 

for primary school teachers in the 

FCT. There are other things, but 

we are not joining issues. For a 

period of 18 months now we have 

been agitating for this payment 

and there has not been any 

serious commitment on the part 

of government, that is, the Area 

Councils. 

‘’We have had several meetings 

but they keep reneging on 

agreements and we have not 

seen any serious commitment on 

the part of key players. 

“That is just the issue on 

ground. The secondary school 

teachers had been paid some 

months ago by the FCT 

minister. This one is actually 

the responsibility of the Area 

Councils to pay the arrears 

and implement the minimum 

wage. 

‘’The strike is an indefinite one. 

They have tried calling for 

dialogue to resolve but we have 

not seen anything concrete to 

take home to our members, so, 

we decided to embark on strike 

with effect from today,” he 

explained. 

In a letter dated October 7, the 

union had notified the FCT 

Minister, Malam Muhammad 

Musa Bello of its decision to 

embark on strike. 

The letter, signed by the acting 

State Secretary, Comrade 

Margaret Jethro, read: “The 

Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, 

FCT Wing, wishes to inform you 

that following the nonimplementation 

and payment of 

arrears of the New National 

Minimum Wage to primary school 

teachers in FCT and consequent 

upon the series of 

correspondences, including a- 

seven day ultimatum issued to 

your administration to pay the 

new wage, the ultimatum 

expired on August 31, 2020, 

without the desired result. 

“Consequently, the State Wing 

Executive Council (SWEC) of the 

union at its emergency meeting 

of September 3, 2020, resolved 

that except the new wage is paid 

to FCT primary school teachers, 

the affected teachers would 

not return to the classrooms 

after the easing out of the 

COVID-19 lockdown.''



:Vanguard 

News 

Students’ protest forces 

Ibadan poly to postpone exams 

By Ola Ajayi 

Iof BADAN—STUDENTS 

The Polytechnic, 

Ibadan, yesterday, shut all 

the gates leading to the 

institution 

to 

protest inability to register 

for the examination that 

was earlier fixed for that 

day. 

All workers, both 

academic and non 

academic, were prevented 

from gaining entry into the 

campus. 

When Vanguard visited 

the institution, all the gates 

were locked, while staff and 

students were seen waiting 

endlessly at the gate. 

Vanguard gathered that 

the management had fixed 

the examination for 

Ex-policeman docked over alleged 

stealing of applicant’s phone, money 

Shina Abubakar 

OState 

SOGBO—OSUN 

Police 

Command, yesterday, 

arraigned a dismissed 

policeman, Olayiwola 

Felix, 24, before a 

Magistrates court, sitting in 

Osogbo, for allegedly 

stealing a phone and 

money belonging to a 

police applicant, during 

recruitment exercise. 

Felix was alleged to have 

stolen a bag containing one 

techno camon 12 mobile 

phone, valued at N58,000 

and cash sum of N25,000 

total valued at N83, 000 

CP Edgal loses mother 

D Deborah 

EACONESS 

Ebun 

Edgal is dead. She was 81 

years old. 

Service of songs, 

according to the Edgal 

family, will hold on Friday, 

October 30, 2020. Funeral 

service is slated for 

Saturday , October 31, 2020, 

while her remains will be 

interred same day. 

All the events will take 

place in Benin City, Edo 

State capital. 

She is survived by five children, 

yesterday, but the students 

complained that they were 

unable to complete their 

registration process. 

In a statement signed by 

the Registrar of the 

Institution, Mrs Modupe 

Fawale, she noted that 

“The Management of The 

Polytechnic Ibadan has 

suspended the first 

semester examination for 

the 2019/2020 academic 

session earlier scheduled to 

commence today, Monday”. 

“The examination will now 

commence on Monday, 19th 

October with the HND II 

students in the Faculty of 

Business and Communication 

Studies and their counterparts in 

the Faculty of Environmental 

Studies following the order earlier 

scheduled." 

property of one Ajibola 

Bolaji, a police applicant. 

According to the charge 

sheet, the offence 

committed is contrary to 

Section 383 and 

punishable Under Section 

390(9) of the Criminal Code 

Cap 34 Vol ll Law of Osun 

State 2002. 

Police Prosecutor, ASP 

Idoko John told the court 

that the accused person 

committed the offence on 

August 24, 2020 at about 

8:30pm at Nigeria Police 

Headquarters Osogbo. 

However, the ex-police officer 

pleaded not guilty to the 

allegation levelled against him. 

among whom is Commissioner of 

Police Imohimi Edgal. 

•Late Deaconess Edgal 


AGM—From left: Group Chief Financial Officer, O'dua Investment Company Limited, Ms Adekemi 

Ajayi; GMD/CEO, Adewale Raji; Chairman, Dr. Segun Aina; Company Secretary/Head of Legal, 

Mrs. Abiola Ajayi, and Group Chief Investment and Business Development Officer, Olugbolahan 

Mark-George, during the company's 38th AGM, held at the Group Headquarters in Ibadan. Photo: 

Dare Fasube. 

Court stops Kwara workers strike over 

minimum wage ....As govt seeks judicial interpretations on LG wages 

AKURE—THE National 

Industrial Court in 

Akure, the capital city of 

Ondo State, yesterday, 

granted an exparte order 

restraining the labour 

unions in Kwara State from 

proceeding on an industrial 

strike over disagreements 

on the signing and 

implementation of the 

minimum wage. 

Granted by Justice D. 

Damulak of the Akure 

Division of the Industrial 

Court, the order came as 

the labour unions directed 

its members to proceed on 

an indefinite strike from 

Tuesday (Today) unless the 

government accedes to its 

requests. 

The ex parte order has 

been served on the labour 

unions in Ilorin, the state 

capital, on Monday 

afternoon. 

The government had 

repeatedly said it was 

willing to pay the minimum 

wage based on a table that 

its resources could 

accommodate without 

halting its delivery of 

infrastructure and public 

services to the rest of the 

population. It added that 

the local government 

should also be allowed to 

negotiate what it can afford 

based on its financial 

Economic violence constitutes 58% 

against women in Ondo poll —Groups 

Abiru advocates inclusion of PLWDs in governance 

process 

By Yinka Ajayi 

L AGOS—CANDIDATE 

of All Progressives 

Congress, APC, for the 

October 31 senatorial byeelection 

in Lagos East, Mr. 

Tokunbo Abiru, yesterday, 

said he would promote 

legislations that would 

make inclusion of Persons 

Living With Disabilities, 

PLWDs, and special needs 

in governance process 

mandatory in the country. 

Abiru, a former 

Commissioner for Finance 

in Lagos State, equally 

promised that if elected, he 

would work with other 

capacity, warning that 

insisting on the state 

signing any agreement 

that binds the local 

governments to the state’s 

own table would bankrupt 

the third tier of government 

and lead to arrears of 

unpaid salaries. 

Labour, however, insisted 

that the state government 

must sign the same 

minimum wage agreement 

for the state and local 

government workers. 

In an affidavit filed at the 

industrial court in the suit 

No NICN/AK/53/2020, 

the government is seeking 

whether it was lawful for it 

to sign an agreement 

affecting Local government 


A 

K U R E — 

CONVENERS of 

Stop Violence Against 

Women in Politics, Stop- 

VAWIP, and Vote Not Fight, 

VNF, have said that 

economic violence 

constitutes 58 per cent of the 

total number of violent 

incidents against women in 

Saturday's governorship 

election in Ondo State. 

lawmakers in the National 

Assembly to champion the 

empowerment of people 

with special needs. 

He made these 

promises during a 

meeting with some 

PLWDs in Lagos ahead of 

the forthcoming byeelection. 

At the meeting held in 

Somolu, Abiru specifically 

said he would pursue 

legislations aimed at promoting 

the well-being and welfare of 

persons with special needs if 

elected in the forthcoming 

poll. 

He explained that with the 

enactment of the 

2018 Discrimination 

Against PLWDs 

workers when it is not in 

control of Local Govt 

finances nor expending its 

funds. 

The case was instituted by 

the Attorney General of 

Kwara State as plaintiff 

while the defendants 

include the Nigeria Labour 

Congress; Trade Union 

Congress; Joint 

Negotiation Committee; 

Aliyu Issa Ore, State NLC 

Chairman, Ezekiel 

Adegoke, State TUC 

Chairman); and Saliu 

Suleiman ,JNC Chairman. 

The court, among other things, 

granted an order of interim 

injunction restraining the 

“defendants/ respondents jointly 

and severally by themselves, 

Mrs. Oluwatoba Olaifa 

of Stop-VAWIP, and 

Jonathan Obatola of VNF, 

stated this in Akure at a joint 

press conference on the 

incidence of gender based 

electoral violence in the last 

election in the state. 

According to them, 

“Economic Violence 

constituted about 57.7 per 

cent of the total number of 

recorded incidents of 

violence against women. 

(Prohibition) Act, the era of 

exclusion against persons with 

special needs “is gradually 

becoming a thing of the past.” 

He, however, said: “We 

are at the age of 

embarking upon wellstructured 

advocacy and 

systematic lobby to ensure that 

all provisions of the Act are 

enforced, observed and 

accorded due recognition. 

“This may even require the 

amendment of the Act to 

introduce provisions that will 

make mandatory the inclusion of 

special persons in our governance 

process and elective offices. I am 

committed to legislations that will 

promote the welfare and well 

being of every citizen with special 

needs.” 

their agents, servants, 

employees, workmen, privies or 

authorities how so ever described 

from declaring any strike or 

industrial action or embarking on 

the planned industrial action of 

any nature effective on the 12th 

and/or 13th day of October, 2020 

or at any other date pending the 

hearing and determination of the 

motion on notice for interlocutory 

injunction.” 

It also granted an order 

restraining the defendants from 

taking further steps in respect of 

the subject matter of the suit 

pending the hearing and 

determination of the motion on 

notice and another order for 

substituted service of the 

originating summons and any 

order of the court. 

This could be seen through 

reported cases of 

m o d e r n i z e d - 

hawking, vote-buying and 

selling that took place 

during the polls 

“Physical violence 

constituted about 34.6 per 

cent of the entire incidents, 

women voters were 

affected by bodily harm, 

assault, attacks, and were 

beaten during the 

election. 

“Physical threat and 

coercion constituted about 

11.1 per cent of the total 

number of recorded 

incidents of violence. 

Female voters were coerced 

mostly to vote for a 

particular candidate via 

threats. 

“Women experienced 

gender-based electoral 

violence in about 180 

polling units across three 18 

LGAs, which represents 6 

per cent of the total polling 

units in Ondo. 

“At Onisore— 

ldanre, women (who were 

electoral officers, observers, 

and security agents) were 

held hostage for hours and 

were prevented from 

conducting the election by 

political party activists.”

Vanguard, , TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 — 11 

:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnewsNEWS HOTLINES: 

BIRTHDAY— 

From left: 

Elegushi of 

I k a t e 

Kingdom, 

Oba Saheed 

Elegushi, 

and his wife, 

O l o r i 

Sekinat; 

Lagos State 

Commissioner 

for Home 

Affairs, 

Prince Anofi 

Elegushi, 

during the 

commissionre's 

50th birthday 

celebration, 

held at the 

weekend at 

Eti-Osa in 

Lagos. 

EFCC probe: Lagos lawmakers pass vote 

of confidence on Obasa 

....Dismiss alleged impeachment moves 

By Ebunoluwa Sessou 

LAGOS—MEMBERS of the 

Lagos State House of 

Assembly, yesterday, expressed 

confidence in the leadership of the 

Speaker of the House, 

Mudashiru Obasa, dismissing 

alleged move by some members 

to impeach him following the 

freezing of his three accounts by 

Economic and Financial Crimes 

Commission, EFCC in the ongoing 

probe of financial 

misappropriation. 

It would be recalled that the 

embattled Speaker was invited by 

EFCC last Thursday, October 8 

for interrogation over alleged 

COVID-19: Sanwo-Olu okays full resumption of classes 

in schools 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

LAGOS—LAGOS 

State 

Governor, Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu, has approved the 

resumption of all remaining 

classes in public and private 

schools in the state, beginning 

from next Monday. 

19.39km link road: Lagos lawmakers 

wade into disputed marked area 

By Dave Oso 

LAGOS—THE unending 

dispute among residents of 

Ijedodo, Ijegun and Abule-Addo 

areas of Iba Local Council 

Development Area, received 

government attention, 

yesterday, following a visit by the 

Committee on Works, Housing 

and Infrastructure Development 

of Lagos State House of 

Assembly to the disputed site for 

the proposed 19.39km road to 

link the areas. 

The committee, led by its 

Chairman, Nureni Akinsanya, 

visited the site in response to a 

petition written by some 

residents after several buildings 

in the areas were marked for 

demolition to pave way for the 

link road. 

However, some affected 

residents have protested against the 

marking, claiming the affected buildings 

did not contravene the project's Right 

of Way (RoW). 

Also, they described the marking as 

a total deviation from the original plan 

fraud leveled against him. 

At the plenary, members who 

were loyal to the speaker passed 

a vote of confidence on him, 

saying that his leadership style 

is worthy of emulation. 

According to the loyal 

members, the 26 members who 

wanted to impeach him have 

been fabricating information 

against the Speaker 

One of the legislators 

representing Somolu Constituency 1, Mr. 

Rotimi Olowo, who rose to praise the 

leadership prowess of the Speaker, 

commended him for always addressing 

issues that pertain to the welfare of 

residents including ensuring proscription 

of Federal Special Anti Robbery Squad, 

The Commissioner for 

Education, Mrs. Folasade 

Adefisayo, who announced the 

directive of the governor in a 

statement, yesterday, said, the 

physical resumption which is for 

2020/2021 academic session will 

now include: pupils in preprimary 

that is, daycare, 

kindergarten and nursery 

schools. 

of Ijegun – Ijedodo and Abule Addo 

Model City Plan 2010-2020 as approved 

by the government. 

During the lawmakers’ visit, a 

representative of the affected residents, 

Mr Young Abokitia, said some land 

grabbers have been playing a game over 

the development, saying, “You can see 

the master plan of the state government 

had earmarked a particular place for the 

road project. But what the land grabbers, 

popularly known as ‘Omo-Oniles’ are 

trying to do is out of the original plan.” 

Adefisayo stressed that the 

decision was taken after careful 

deliberations and consultations 

with relevant stakeholders 

including safety professionals 

and nursery school providers. 

Adefisayo, therefore, advised all 

public and private schools to put 

safety first by adhering to the 

COVID-19 safety protocols and 

hygiene guidelines as instructed 

by the state government through 

the Ministry of Education. 

According to her, “The Office of 

Education Quality Assurance 

(OEQA) will continue to monitor 

and evaluate schools 

preparedness. The necessary 

resumption protocols must be 

adhered to and cleared 

“satisfactory” by the OEQA.” 

While wishing the students a 

successful and fruitful new academic 

session, Adefisayo, urged school owners 

and managers of all private schools to 

ensure that they are cleared by the Office 

of Education Quality Assurance before 

physical resumption. 

PFN advocates restorative justice for 

victims of crime 

By Onozure Dania 

LAGOS—CHIEF Judge of Lagos 

State, Justice Kazeem Aloogba, is set 

to speak at a virtual conference, aimed at 

promoting restorative justice to enable 

rehabilitated offenders and victims of crime 

seek justice for themselves. 

The conference, themed: 'Corrections, 

Faith-Based Therapies and Communities 

of Support', organized by Prison Fellowship 

Nigeria, PFN, is seeking to precipitate social 

attitudinal change towards those who are 

F-SARS. 

“On Saturday, I read on the social 

media that 26 members of the Lagos state 

House of Assembly have begun to sign 

for your impeachment. I don’t know the 

26 members the report was talking about 

because I know that you have the 

majority in this House. And I also know 

that there are more than 26 who are your 

followers in this House because you are 

a great man. 

“We should know the 26 members that 

have signed for your impeachment today. 

So, I want to urge you, Mr. Speaker to 

allow the members to talk and eulogise 

you because you are doing well,” Olowo 

said. 

His colleague, representing Surulere 

1, Mr. Desmond Elliot, said the issue of 

lawmakers signing impeachment notices 

against the speaker was becoming too 

much, saying that the leadership should 

invoke the suspension of erring members. 

involved in or affected by crime in the 

effort to rehabilitate and reintegrate 

offenders. 

Executive Director, PFN, Benson 

Iwuagwu, said the conference would 

explore ways to promote communal 

harmony for the common good. 

“As a psycho-social disease, its treatment 

must be purposeful, in order to foster a 

holistic approach to the problem of crime. 

Therefore, PFN is organizing the National 

Criminal Justice and Corrections 

Conference which will bring together 

stakeholders to deliberate on measures 

that will enable our communities tackle 

Who cares? Let the beer and 

pepper soup flow! 

We need to fix a lot of things in this 

country! 

To avoid 

SARS 

wàhálà, 

this is 

how 

guys 

should 

be 

dressing 

from 

now on!

12— Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 

:Vanguard 

News 

Water Resources Bill is about land 

grabbing, PANDEF insists 

•Reiterates call on 9th NASS to throw it away 

By Chioma 

Onuegbu 

UYO —THE apex sociocultural 

organisation of 

the South-South geo-political 

zone, Pan Niger Delta 

Forum, PANDEF, has 

reiterated its position that the 

controversial National Water 

Resources Bill proposed by 

the Federal Government has 

to do with land grabbing. 

National Chairman of 

PANDEF, Air Commodore 

Idongesit Nkanga (retd), 

made the assertion, 

yesterday, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom 

State, while reacting to the 

statement by the Minister of 

Water Resources that there 

was nothing sinister about the 

bill. 

Nkanga wondered why the 

Federal Government was 

insisting on the passage of 

the bill even after most 

Nigerians have rejected it if 

there was nothing sinister 

about it as the minister 

claimed. 

He urged the Federal 

Government to stop pushing 

for the passage of the bill as it 

would only worsen the 

controversy that had trailed 

it since the time it was first 

introduced. 

His words: “You don’t 

expect the minister to say the 

bill has something sinister. 

And we have said this clearly 

before that they should not 

go and start something that 

will continue to generate 

controversy in certain areas. 

“The bill is uncalled for, it is 

unnecessary and we’ve said 

that the whole thing is about 

land grabbing. That is what 

it is. Let them not try to 

deceive anybody. And we 

advise that like the 8th 

National Assembly threw the 

bill away, the 9th National 

Assembly should also throw 

it away. 

“And as far as we 

(PANDEF) are concerned, 

we don’t want the bill. Let 

them just keep that it away. 

We have been living all these 

years as a country without that 

bill. It is that land they are 

looking for, so it is land 

grabbing. 

“If he says the proposed bill 

doesn’t introduce anything 

significantly new from the 


VISIT: Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State (middle) with representatives of the Board 

of College of Medical Sciences, Rivers State University, during their courtesy visit to the 

governor in Port Harcourt, yesterday. Photo: NAN. 

existing water resources, why 

then is he dabbling into it? 

What is the essence of 

pushing it? Why should you 

go and bring a bill that will 

forever bring controversy? 

“There are people in 

Lagos, Benue, Niger Delta 

areas that live on water, so 

when they take over that 

place, where will you keep 

these people? With what they 

are trying to do, will those 

people now become Federal 

Government property or 

what?” 

....Restates demand for rejig of 

nation’s security 

By Emma 

Amaize 

A SABA—PAN-Niger 

Delta Forum, PANDEF, 

the umbrella body of 

monarchs, leaders and 

stakeholders of the coastal 

states of Niger Delta, has said 

the fundamental necessity in 

the face of daunting insecurity 

in the country is a complete 

overhaul of the nation’s 

security architecture. 

Welcoming the dissolution 

of Special Anti-Robbery 

Squad, SARS, by the 

Inspector General of Police, 

IGP Mohammed Adamu, 

National Publicity Secretary 

of the group, Ken Robinson, 

said security operatives, 

especially those of the Nigeria 

Police Force, have, indeed, 

acted so recklessly in the 

discharge of their duties. 

He described the 

disbanding “as a positive 

detour from the established 

unheeding tendency of the 

Buhari administration. 

He said: “They heeded the 

uproar of citizens against 

SARS and for once, acted 

promptly in disbanding the 

special squad, whose 

personnel went off their duty 

lines and core mandate of 

combating armed robbery, 

kidnapping and other violent 

crimes in the country and 

virtually became a terror gang 

with disturbing reports of their 

wanton misdeeds, 

particularly against young 

people across the country. 

“We are in a constitutional 

democracy and, therefore, 

citizens legitimate and valid 

opinions and concerns ought 

to be given attention to by the 

government. 

“We, therefore, commend 

Mr President and the IGP for 

the timely response to the 

“End SARS Now” campaign. 

“We hope that other 

troubling issues in the country 

would also receive such quick 

and positive attention. And 

that it was not because the 

daughters of Mr President 

and his vice also added their 

voices to the campaign. 

“PANDEF earnestly 

commends the courage and 

resilience of young 

Nigerians, who peacefully 

expressed their anger in 

protests across major cities of 

the country over the 

harassment, extortion and 

brutality of SARS, leading to 

the dissolution of the special 

squad." 

Drama as Edo Assembly impeaches speaker, 

elects Onabun as new helmsman 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

BENIN CITY— THERE 

was drama at the plenary 

of Edo State House of 

Assembly, yesterday, as nine 

of the 10 members sitting 

impeached the Speaker, 

Frank Okiye, over alleged 

high handedness and 

financial impropriety. 

A new speaker, Marcus 

Onobun, representing Esan 

West constituency was 

elected and immediately 

sworn in after which he 

dissolved all the existing 

committees and also 

terminated all appointments 

made by the former speaker, 

adding that a three-man 

committee would look into the 

finances of the House. Okiye 

was also suspended for three 

weeks. 

The incident looked like a 

coup as some members of the 

state executive, led by the 

Deputy Governor, Philip 

Shaibu; Secretary to State 

Government, Osarodion 

Ogie, and Special Adviser to 

Governor Godwin Obaseki, 

Kabiru Adjoto, rushed to the 

venue of the sitting but the 

lawmakers had commenced 

sitting locked inside the hall. 

The nine lawmakers 

include the three All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, inaugurated members 

as the other seven led by 

Okiye last week formally 

announced their defection to 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP. 

The drama started after 

plenary resumed and Okiye 

instructed the Clerk of the 

House to announce the 

business of the day but the 

Majority Leader, Henry 

Okhuarobo, representing 

Ikpoba Okha constituency 

raised an issue of urgent 

public importance, where he 

said there was a petition 

against Okiye signed by nine 

of them. 

Okiye was told to step 

down as the Deputy Speaker, 

Roland Asoro, took over 

proceedings. 

Okowa, Obaseki laud IGP for 

dissolution of SARS 

By Festus Ahon 

& Gabriel 

Enogholase 

GOVERNORS Ifeanyi 

Okowa of Delta State and 

his Edo State counterpart, 

Godwin Obaseki, have hailed 

the Inspector General of Police, 

Mohammed Adamu, for 

yielding to the demand of 

Nigerians to disband the 

Special Anti-Robbery Squad, 

SARS. 

Okowa in a statement in 

Asaba, said the disbandment 

of SARS was a decisive and 

prompt way by the IGP in 

responding to the legitimate 

concerns of Nigerians. 

He said, “The disbandment 

of SARS is a visible 

demonstration of how 

government agencies should 

respond to the grievances of 

our people and their agitations 

for justice and good 

governance in a democracy." 

“Finally, let me say that the 

IGP should not stop at 

S/African firm, Bi-Courtney, in 

court over alleged debt 

By Onozure Dania 

A 

South African firm, 

Aurecon AMEI Ltd, and 

its Nigerian affiliate, Aurecon 

Consulting Engineers 

Nigeria Ltd, have asked a 

Federal High Court in Lagos 

to wind up Bi-Courtney 

Highway Services Ltd 

following an alleged debt for 

the Lagos-Ibadan Toll Road 

Project. 

But Bi-Courtney in an 

affidavit by its Administrative 

Manager, Damilola Ajayi, 

has denied the allegation, 

saying the suit was statutebarred. 

The firms alleged that Bi- 

Courtney was insolvent, 

having been indebted to them 

to the tune of $107,751.01, 

which it has been unable to 

pay since 2013. 

The petitioners in suit FHC/ 

LAG/CP/786/2020, through 

their lawyer, Chris Ekemezie, 

said on October 31, 2011, Bi- 

Courtney engaged them as 

consultants for the provision 

of independent Traffic and 

Technical Advisory Services 

for the design, construction, 

operation and maintenance 

Sapele-Benin express road: 

Travellers lament over bad 

spot at Ologbo 

By Jimitota 

Onoyume 

WARRI— Travellers and 

motorists have 

continued to lament over the 

deplorable portion of Ologbo 

end of the Warri-Sapele-Benin 

express road. 

Secretary, Itsekiri Leaders of 

Thought, ILoT, Mr Sunny 

Mene, who spoke to 

Vanguard from the bad spot 

on the road, said he was there 

for about five hours, struggling 

with other motorists to 

meander through the bad 

road. 

Some other travellers from 

Warri to Benin, who spent 

almost four hours on the road, 

weekend, said, it was a 

nightmare and called the 

disbanding SARS. That is but 

one step in the multiple steps 

required in carrying out a 

comprehensive reform of the 

Nigeria Police Force." 

Obaseki in a separate 

statement in Benin City, said 

the dissolution of SARS was a 

testament to the people's 

power, which is the beauty of 

democracy. 

Obaseki said: “I appreciate 

the IGP for listening to the 

yearnings and concerns of the 

Nigerian people by 

disbanding its SARS unit in 

response to the #ENDSARS 

protests. 

“We are appealing to the 

youths to reciprocate the 

responsiveness of the Police 

leadership by de-escalating 

the confrontations. 

“As for the peaceful 

protesters arrested in different 

locations across Edo State, I 

have opened discussions with 

the state Police Command to 

effect their release,” Obaseki 

assured. 

of the Lagos-Ibadan Toll 

Road Project. 

They said they executed 

their side of the bargain by 

diligently performing their 

duties to the company, 

“however, the company has 

failed despite repeated 

demands to pay for the 

service. Neither has it taken 

steps to compromise its 

indebtedness.” 

Bi-Courtney on its part 

contended that the petition 

“as constituted is grossly 

incompetent, lacking in merit 

and liable to be dismissed.” 

It further averred that the 

petition lacks merit because 

it is based on an alleged debt 

that is statute-barred, having 

been filed on July 1, 2020, six 

years outside the prescribed 

limitation time as required by 

section 8, 34(a) and 38 of the 

Limitation Law of Lagos 

State. 

Bi-Courtney further 

averred that the petition was 

intended to undermine its 

financial integrity and 

operational viability. The 

matter has been adjourned till 

November 13,2020, for ruling 

on pending applications. 

Federal Government to act on 

the road. 

“It is like hell on the road. 

You are just trapped on one 

spot for hours. Haulage 

vehicles and cars are all 

struggling to get out. It is really 

sad that our government will 

wait for the road to get this 

bad,” one of the travellers told 

Vanguard from the bad spot. 

Others enjoined governors 

of the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, in the South-South 

zone to mount pressure on 

the Federal Government to fix 

the road, saying they should 

let the Federal Government 

see its importance as the only 

road that connects states in 

the zone from Cross River, 

Akwa Ibom, Rivers , Bayelsa 

to Lagos state, the commercial 

hub of the country.




VISIT: Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (middle) with a delegation of girl students of secondary 

schools across the three senatorial districts of the state, when they were led by Ugo's Touch of Life Foundation 

(U-TOLF) on an advocacy visit to the governor at the Government House, Enugu, in commemoration of this 

year's International Day of the Girl Child, yesterday. 

Herdsmen return to Nimbo, destroy farms, 

set ablaze farmers' settlements 

By Ikechukwu Odu 

N SUKKA—FOUR 

years after Fulani 

herdsmen massacred the 

largely agrarian people of 

Nimbo in Uzo-Uwani Local 

Government Area of Enugu 

State, some suspected 

herders have returned to 

destroy crops with their 

cattle while also setting 

farmers’ settlements ablaze 

at Efu-Ozara and Ugwu- 

Iga, also in Ukpabi Nimbo 

community. 

The herders also 

allegedly destroyed crops 

in Ezi Ani, Nsukka Local 

Government Area of the 

state with their cattle, 

causing panic in the sleepy 

community. 

The traditional ruler of 

Nimbo community, HRH, 

Igwe John Akor, while 

confirming the incident to 

Vanguard yesterday, said 

the attack on farmers and 

destruction of crops by cattle 

in the community has 

become persistent. 

He also said that he had 

always charged the herders 

to avoid people’s farm 

while their cattle are 

grazing, adding that they 

pay compensation to 

farmers sometimes after 

destroying their crops. 

A member of the 

community, Uchenna 

Onyeji, told Vanguard that 

farmers have lost hope of 

any solution because after 

engaging the herders in 

peace deals, they would 

still return to destroy their 

farms. 

Onyeji said: “Sometimes, 

the herders would bring 

N100,000 and share to 20 

farmers as compensation. 

In the end, a farmer will be 

getting N3,000 for a farm 

which would have given 

him N100,000 to N200,000. 

We have stopped 

complaining to authorities 

because they won’t do 

anything to stop the 

menace. Most farmers 

have given up on farming 

because of the losses they 

incurred in the past. All the 

communities in Uzo-Uwani 

Local Government Area are 

living in fear of attacks from 

the marauding herdsmen. 

It is a very sad 

development.” 

One of the affected 

farmers, Emeka Okey told 

Vanguard that three plots 

Nnamdi Kanu raises alarm over alleged 

invasion of his village by Army, Police 

of his farm where he 

cultivated yam and cassava 

were destroyed, adding 

that the two suspected 

herdsmen who were 

arrested in connection with 

the incident have been 

discharged and are now 

going about their normal 

businesses. 

He said he has become 

helpless because he 

borrowed N250,000 to add 

to the money he invested 

in the farm, adding that he 

lost an estimsted 

N3,000,000 in his crops 

destroyed by cattle. 

On the attack on farms at 

Ezi- Ani, the traditional 

ruler of the community, 

HRH, Igwe, Tony Ezema, 

said he had reported the 

development to the police, 

adding that nobody was 

attacked during the 

incident. He also said that 

the community is 

negotiating with the 

herders for settlement. 

By Chimaobi 

Nwaiwu 

NNEWI—THE leader 

of the Indigenous People 

of Biafra, IPOB, and Director 

of Radio Biafra, Mazi 

Nnamdi Kanu, yesterday 

raised the alarm over alleged 

early morning invasion 

of his Isiama- 

Afaraukwu village in 

Ibeku Umuahia, Abia 

State, by the combined 

team of Nigeria Army and 

the Police, who allegedly 

harassed and intimidated 

people in the community. 

In a statement he personally 

signed, which 

wasmade available to 

newsmen by IPOB's Media 

and Publicity Secretary, 

Emma Powerful, 

Mazi Kanu also alleged 

that the aid the United 

States government, the 

British government, the 

European Union and the 

United Nations are giving 

the Nigerian government 

is being used in aiding 

Jihad in Nigeria and indirectly 

aiding the Islamic 

conquest of Biafraland 

and the rest of the South 

under the guise of providing 

military assistance in 

the fight against Boko 

Haram and other forms of 

terrorism. 

Mazi Kanu's statement 

read, "Early this morning, 

the 12th of October, 2020, 

the Nigerian Army once 

again commenced their 

siege on Isiama-Afaraukwu 

my village in search 

of innocent citizens to kill. 

"The American government, 

the British government, 

the European Union 

and the United Nation's aid 

to Nigeria in fighting the 

Boko Haran and other terrorist 

activities in Nigeria 

are now used to aid the 

Jihad and indirectly aid 

the Islamic conquest of 

Christian Biafraland and 

the rest of the South under 

the guise of providing 

military assistance in 

the fight against Boko 

Haram and other forms of 

terrorism. 

"U.S. Mission in NIgeria 

, UK in Nigeria, European 

Union in Nigeria, 

United Nations in Nigeria, 

you can now see where the 

military aid you are providing 

this government of 

Nigeria is going into. 

"You people are indirectly 

aiding the Islamic conquest 

of Biafraland and the 

rest of the South under the 

guise of providing military 

assistance in the fight 

against Boko Haram and 

other forms of terrorism. 

"The Nigerian Army and 

their Police counterparts 

should know that they are 

under constant live CCTV 

surveillance and therefore, 

any terrorist attack on my 

village by this band of uniformed 

terrorists will be 

captured and broadcast live 

for the world to see. 

"The world must stop supporting 

terrorists in power 

in Nigeria. My village is 

not Sambisa Forest." 

45-yr-old smashes parents' 

heads with pestle in Enugu 

By Ikechukwu Odu 

NSUKKA—IT was an 

unusual weekend at 

Mkporogwu, Iheakpu Awka, 

in Igbo-Eze South Local 

Government Area of Enugu 

State as a 45-year-old man, 

identified as Michael Ugwuanyi, 

on Saturday, 

smashed his parents' heads 

with pestle over a yet-to-beidentified 

matter. 

It was gathered that one of 

the deceased and the mother 

of the suspect, Florence 

Ugwuanyi was pounding 

cassava meal in the kitchen 

on the rainy Saturday 

evening when the suspect 

snatched the pestle from her 

and severed her head. 

According to the Chief Adviser 

on Security Matters in 

the community and a member 

of the monarch's cabinet 

, Titus Ugwuoke, the suspect, 

sensing that his father, 

late Julius Ugwuanyi, would 

retaliate or alert the neighbourhood 

about his crime, 

seized the same pestle and 

also smashed his head. 

Ugwuoke also said that he 

covered his victims heads 

with clothes and took his 

deceased mother's handset 

to alert his relations, alleging 

that they ate cooked 

beans and were reacting to 

it. On hearing the development, 

Ugwuoke added that 

the deceaseds' first son, Pius 

Ugwuanyi, reached him on 

phone at about 4 am on 

Sunday morning and pleaded 

that he should rush to their 

father's house to ascertain 

what was amiss and administer 

treatment on his parents, 

since his wife is a practising 

nurse. 

On getting to the family of 

the victims with his wife, 

Ugwuoke said they met the 

suspect who informed them 

that his parents have gone 

to the hospital for treatment, 

adding that they angrily returned 

home and that when 

the first son called again, he 

told him that the suspect informed 

him to return home 

from Abuja immediately 

because their parents' health 

were in critical condition. 

On hearing this, Ugwuoke 

said, he returned to the family 

and conducted a thorough 

search in their rooms 

but could not find anything. 

He also said: "I decided to 

arrest him with the Neighbourhood 

Watch personnel 

since he refused to disclose 

the name of the hospital 

where his parents went for 

treatment. It was in the midst 

of this apprehension and 

confusion that Daniel, who 

is a younger brother to the 

late Julius, went to the kitchen 

axis and raised the alarm. 

On rushing there, we discovered 

the lifeless bodies of 

the suspect's parents covered 

with clothes. I uncovered 

the clothes and what I 

saw was beyond my explanation, 

it was gory to say the 

least. Their brain cells were 

splashed on the floor." 

Confirming the incident, 

the Spokesperson of the 

Enugu State Police Command, 

Daniel Ndukwe said 

"The suspect, Michael Ugwuanyi, 

has been arrested 

and the Commissioner of 

Police has directed that the 

case be transferred to State 

Criminal Investigation Department 

for further investigation 

and prosecution." 

It's new dawn for ISOPADEC — Orie 

By Chinonso 

Alozie 

OWERRI—THE newly ap 

pointed Managing Director 

of Imo State Oil Producing 

Areas Development 

Commission, ISOPADEC, 

Charles Orie, yesterday, said 

that there will be a new narrative 

for the commission. 

Orie spoke in Owerri, on 

how he intends to impact on 

the lives of the oil communities 

in the state. 

The managing director said 

that he would achieve it by the 

strategies, policies and programmes 

of his leadership. 

He said: "We resumed office 

and we started by cleaning 

up the headquarters and fixing 

the infrastructure in the 

secretariat and now, our people 

have started feeling that 

they are working in an office 

unlike what it is used to be. 

"And again, we are serious 

on anything that has to do 

with late coming. If you don't 

come by 8am to your office, 

you will be locked out. 

"Everybody including me 

the MD and staff came out for 

environmental sanitation so 

that our people will operate 

in a clean environment. This 

is to help us do a better job. 

And I want to tell you that it 

would no longer be business 

as usual." 

Orie said: "I want to tell you 

that it is a new dawn in the 

commission; a new orientation 

that will lead to change 

in the way things are done. 

"The commission has been 

in a state of comatose for 

years. That is why we have 

strategies, policies and programmes 

in both material 

and human empowerment 

projects. With this arrangement, 

we will refocus the commission 

to be productive for 

the good of all." 

Ugwuanyi hailed for promoting girl child's wellbeing 

ENUGU—A delegation 

of female students of 

secondary schools, across 

the three senatorial districts 

of Enugu State, has commended 

Governor Ifeanyi 

Ugwuanyi for his administration's 

outstanding commitment 

in promoting the 

wellbeing of the state’s children, 

most especially the 

girl child. 

The students made the 

commendation when the 

governor wife's pet project, 

Ugo's Touch of Life Foundation 

(U-TOLF) led them 

to pay an advocacy visit to 

Gov. Ugwuanyi at the Government 

House, Enugu, in 

commemoration of this 

year's International Day of 

the Girl Child which took 

place on October 11. 

Speaking, the students 

appreciated the governor 

"for your concern for the 

welfare of children and 

women", adding that "this 

is evident through the 

signing of the Child 

Rights and Responsibility 

Act into Law and further 

domestication of the 

law in the state through 

establishment of family 

courts and a rehabilitation 

home for vulnerable women."




Middle Belt group rejects FG's 

plan on grazing routes, reserves 

in states 

By Peter Duru 

MMiddle 

AKURDI—THE 

Belt 

Movement for Justice and 

Peace, MBMJP, has 

warned that the plan by the 

Federal Government to 

rediscover grazing routes 

and reserves in states 

across the country is a 

recipe for crisis in the 

various communities since 

developments have 

overtaken the ancient map. 

The group urged the 

Gederal Government to 

jettison the idea and 

embrace ranching which it 

said was the global best 

practice in animal 

husbandry. 

Convener of MBMJP, Joe 

Bukka stated this 

yesterday while reacting to 

the media briefing by the 

Special Assistant to 

President on Media and 

Publicity, Mallam Garba 

Shehu who stated that ‘the 

President had charged the 

Minister of Agriculture to 

work with the state 

governments to rediscover 

the lost animal grazing 

routes and reserves as a 

means of ending the 

frequent outbreak of 

Stakeholders plead with Kwara 

workers to shelve strike 

By Demola Akinyemi 

I Organized LORIN—AS 

labour 

commences strike in Kwara 

State today against the nonpayment 

of the N30, 000 

minimum wage, 

stakeholders in the state 

have continued to plead 

with labour to shelve the 

action. 

The stakeholders, 

including the Gamjo 

Members Association of 

Kwara State, GAMJI, 

urged the labour unions to 

violence between farmers 

and herders.’ 

Bukka insisted that “the 

move by the federal 

government is not feasible 

because such routes and 

reserves no longer exist in 

the contemporary Nigeria, 

developments have taken 

over such areas. We had 

such when we were less 

than 60 million people in 

this country. So at over 200 

million when our people 

cannot have enough land 

to engage in farming you 

want to rediscover grazing 

routes and reserves? 

“If you want to do that you 

might go the extent of 

pulling down very 

important buildings and 

structures across the 

country. Moreover how 

many states will be willing 

to give their land for 

grazing? 

“So the government 

should rather jettison the 

idea and embrace ranching 

which is the global best 

practice in animal 

husbandry and save our 

people the persistent 

killings occasioned by the 

herders/farmers conflict 

and stop resorting to ideas 

that would aggravate our 

situation.” 

show understanding with 

the state government which 

has chosen not to retrench 

workers in the face of 

dwindling revenue caused 

by the coronavirus 

pandemic currently 

ravaging world economies. 

GAMJI is an umbrella 

body for followers of the late 

premier of the northern 

region Sir Ahmadu Bello. 

Recall that the 14 days 

ultimatum given the state 

government ended on 

Sunday as efforts by the two 

parties to reach a truce 

during the period met 

brickwalls. 

The plea, contained in a 

statement signed by 

publicity secretary of the 

pan-Nigerian group 

Alhaji Abdullahi Yinka 

Agaka, read: “While we 

understand the standpoint 

of the labour unions 

especially from the point of 

view of the rising cost of 

living, we caution that 

embarking on an industrial 

action is not the solution. 

This is especially true when 

we consider the fact that the 

state government’s 

finances are seriously 

stretched already.'' 

“Like the state 

government has been 

doing, we also appeal to the 

workers to have a rethink, 

embrace more talks, and 

appreciate the fact that the 

government, whatever its 

imperfections, has shown 

good faith in handling 

workers’ welfare and 

infrastructural 

development, even during 

COVID-19 when it never 

stopped paying workers’ 

salaries like other states.'' 

SWEARING-IN: From left; Bayelsa State Head of Service, Mrs. Biobelemoye Charles-Onyema; Speaker 

of the House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere; Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo; Governor 

Douye Diri, Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Konboye Benson, and two of the newly sworn-in 

Commissioners at Government House, Yenagoa, yesterday. 

Zazzau Prince rejects choice of new emir, 

•Claims he got more votes than appointed emir 

goes to court 

By Ibrahim Hassan 

A 

prince of Zazzau 

Emirate in Kaduna 

State, the Iyan Zazzau, 

Bashiru Aminu, has gone to 

court to challenge the 

appointment of Ahmed 

Nuhu-Bamalli as the new 

Emir of Zazzau, by 

Governor Nasiru el-Rufai. 

Bamalli succeeded Dr. 

Shehu Idris, who died on 

September 20 ,2020 in 

Military hospital in Kaduna. 

However, in a suit filed 

yesterday before the 

Kaduna State High Court, 

Aminu asked the court to 

declare that, “having scored 

the highest number of lawful 

votes cast by the kingmakers 

and thus selected by the 

said kingmakers, he has 

thus acquired vested right 

to the stool of the Emir of 

Zazzau from the date of his 

selection henceforth.” 

According to a copy of the 

suit made available to 

journalists, the plaintiff 

joined Governor el-Rufai; 

Attorney-General of 

Kaduna State; Kaduna State 

Council of Chiefs; Zazzau 

Emirate Council; Wazirin 

Zazzau, Ibrahim Aminu; 

Fagachin Zazzau, Umaru 

Muhammad; Mohammad 

Abbas, Makama Karamin 

Zazzau; Dalhatu Kasimu 

Imam, Limamin Juma’an 

Zazzau; Mohammad Sani 

Aliyu, Limamin Konan 

Zazzau; Amb. Ahmed 

Nuhu Bamalli as 1st, 2nd 

,3rd, 4th,5th, 6th, 7th, 

8th,9th, and 10th 

defendants in the suit. 

The suit seeks; “A 

declaration that the plaintiff 

is still the Emir of Zazzau 

and is entitled to all rights 

and privillages pertaining 

thereto. An order setting 

aside the purported 

appointment of the 10th 

defendant (Ambassador 

Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli) as 

the Emir of Zazzau; 

“An injunction restraining 

the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th 

defendants from acting in 

the installation of the 10th 

defendant to the throne of 

the Emir of Zazzau or 

presenting to the 10th 

defendant with the staff of 

office until the final 

determination of this suit; 

“An order of perpetual 


defendants either by 

themselves, agents, privies, 

servants or through any 

person or persons 

howsoever from treating, 

presenting or dealing with 

or installing the 10th 

defendant as the Emir of 

Zazzau; 

“An order of perpetual 


10th defendant from 

parading, presenting or 

styling himself as the Emir 

of Zazzau or from putting 

on or wearing any 

paraphernalia or insignia of 

the Emir of Zazzau.” 

On September 25, the 

Zazzau Emirate 

kingmakers, chaired by the 

Wazirin Zazzau, Ibrahim 

Aminu, had forwarded a 

list of three shortlisted 

princes to Governor El- 

Rufai for his consideration 

and appointment of a new 

Emir. 

The shortlisted 

candidates were Bashir 

Aminu, Iyan Zazzau, who 

scored 89 marks; Munir 

Jafaru, Yariman Zazzau 

who got 87 marks and; 

Aminu Shehu Idris, Turakin 

Zazzau who got 53 marks. 

Tell me true situations on sec schls in Borno, 

Zulum begs principals 

By Ndahi Marama 

M AIDUGURI— 

GOVERNOR 

Babagana Zulum of Borno 

State, has pleaded with 84 

principals of public 

secondary schools in the 

state, to honestly tell him 

the true situations or 

challenges confronting 

secondary schools in the 

state , rather than coveringup 

for fear of victimization 

The governor spoke when 

he hosted 84 principals of 

all public secondary schools 

in the state at the 

multipurpose hall of the 

Government House in 

Maiduguri. 

Governor Zulum said the 

meeting was aimed at 

getting a first hand, 

undiluted information from 

the principals, on problems 

facing public secondary 

school system in Borno. 

According to him, “I have 

been to several schools, 

and each time I asked, 

some of you principals 

found it difficult to explain 

the problems in your 

schools. I was later made 

to understand that if you tell 

me truth, you would either 

be transferred somewhere 

you wouldn’t like, or 

somehow be victimized. 

Please I beg all of you to 

tell me the truth. 

“Let us tell ourselves the 

truth so that we can improve 

Borno’s public education 

from where we are now. I 

am pleading with you to 

please be upright, be 

honest. Education is the 

bedrock of any 

development. Without 

functional educational 

FrieslandCampina to launch 

Nigeria’s 1st expertise centre 

for dairy devt 

DAIRY 

giant, 

FrieslandCampina 

WAMCO Nigeria PLC, in 

partnership with key 

stakeholders will launch 

Nigeria’s 

first 

expertise centre for dairy 

development. 

The initiative, Centre for 

Nigerian Dutch Dairy 

Development,CNDDD— 

will focus on improving 

dairy productivity and 

sustainability throughout 

the entire dairy value chain 

in Nigeria, based on Dutch 

expertise gained for more 

than a century. 

According to Ben Langat, 

Managing Director, 

FrieslandCampina 

WAMCO Nigeria PLC, the 

new centre will foster 

....Says ‘no common entrance, 

no JSS 1' 

system, we shall continue 

to experience this Boko 

Haram insurgency in 

Borno. Look at the kind of 

students we are graduating 

from our public secondary 

schools, most of them do not 

qualify for admission into 

universities, even those 

who get admitted find it 

very difficult to cope. I 

assure you that telling me 

the truth will not lead to 

anything happening to any 

of you by God’s grace. 

After listening to the 84 

principals, Zulum directed 

them to write down all the 

problems they listed and 

more if any, for submission 

to him within one week. 

The governor also 

directed the immediate 

reintroduction of the 

common entrance 

examination at primary six 

level. 

Zulum also directed the 

enforcement of a qualifying 

policy that henceforth, only 

pupils who pass the 

examination by securing a 

cut-off mark, should be 

eligible for admission into 

the first year of junior 

secondary schools (JSS 1), 

as against giving 

admissions to all pupils 

regardless of common 

entrance criteria. 

cooperation among dairy 

stakeholders. 

In a statement issued in 

Lagos, Langat said, 

“The Centre for Nigerian 

Dutch Dairy Development 

will engage and promote 

cooperation between the 

government, private sector, 

academics, students and 

dairy farmers. It will 

undertake activities that will 

improve the dairy chain in 

Nigeria, focusing on both 

the upstream and 

downstream sides of the 

chain.” 

The CNDDD will be the 

expert research and training 

institute for dairy 

development in Nigeria. It 

will focus on breeding, farm 

and feed management, 

quality control, and 

productivity (yield per cow).


#EndSARS PROTESTS ACROSS THE NATION 

Protests against Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) persisted yesterday, despite its scrapping. 

PHOTOS: JOE AKINTOLA, PHOTO EDITOR, GBEMIGA OLAMIKAN, BUNMI AZEEZ, AKEEM SALAU & IKE UCHECHUKWU. 

Magu quizzed over ‘security vote’ as panel battles internal cracks 

— Sources 

Protesters on Lagos - Ibadan Expressway from Alausa to Berger. 

From left: Popular musician, David Adeleke (Davido); 

Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed and Sharon 

Adeleke during a meeting on #EndSARSNow. 

EndSARS Protest in Abuja. 

Protesters blocking the toll gate at Murtala Muhammed Int’l Airport, Ikeja, causing traffic . 

....From the Nollywood camp. 

On Lagos - Ibadan Expressway. 

Heavy traffic gridlock on Lagos - Ibadan Expressway. 

Stranded commuters at Berger Junction on the Nnamdi Azikiwe 

Ring Road in Abuja.


Zamfara and Nigeria at crossroads 

THE great political philoso 

pher and polemicist ,Leon 

Trotsky, once talked of a professor 

of spring who was teaching the 

subject in a classroom for years.He 

came out one day and was faceto-face 

with spring, but he denied 

it, saying it must be some disorder 

in nature. 

So, it is with Nigeria that got its 

independence on a federal constitution 

with a very lean exclusive 

list. But the aberration of military 

rule with command and control 

bloated the exclusive list to 

give virtually everything to the 

centre, stripping the federating 

units. The centre became too fat to 

be productive and the units too 

lean to have a healthy existence . 

One of the burdens the unitary 

constitution gave to the central 

government is the ownership and 

control control of mineral resources. 

I recall that Mr Femi 

Falana(SAN) and I always get into 

this discussion once in a while on 

the culture of laziness that has 

made our governors to be drained 

of creativity of what are the possibilities 

even under the Constitution 

as it is. We once appreciated 

the beauty and functionality of 

Ibom Air of Akwa Ibom State at a 

time the federal Nigeria Air started 

and collapsed on the internet. 

Aviation is still on the exclusive 

text. 

It is in similar context the Governor 

of Zamfara State,Mr Bello 

Matawalle, according to the Minister 

of Solid Minerals, Mr Olalekan 

Adegbite, identified solid minerals 

that should be a developmental 

blessing as enabler of banditry 

in the hands of irresponsible 

leaders. The artisans who mine the 

gold sell to bandits at cheap prices 

and they in turn use the high 

value to import guns and bullets 

into the country. Matawalle, working 

with the Federal Government, 

chose to wean the artisans from 

bandits by making them customers 

of the state. He got the Central 

Bank of Nigeria involved in the 

same way the apex bank deals in 

agriculture through its Anchor 

Borrowers Programme. 

The state has not claimed ownership 

of the gold against the extant 

provision of the unitary law 

which a voice, like Mr Bayo 

Onanuga, should join in the call 

for change to a federal one instead 

of playing into the corner of the 

enablers of banditry who are fighting 

Matawalle. Onanuga said the 

action of Matawalle can encourage 

other states who have mineral 

resources to shut out the Federal 

Government. I have not seen 

Matawalle shutting out the centre. 

All he has done is to seek the 

cooperation of the centre to rescue 

the solid minerals in Zamfara 

from control of bandits into a viable 

economic venture for the state 

within the boundaries of business 

set by the Federal Government. 

That should be encouraged, and 

other states that have mineral resources 

should look for creative 

*Governor Matawalle 

ways of maximizing the inherent 

advantages . 

What stops oil producing states 

from building modular refineries 

to add value to crude oil and bring 

out so many bye-products for economic 

activities. It would be a great 

idea fuelling cars with petrol refined 

by our states. Is it not a big 

shame that at 60 we are still locked 

in fuel subsidy debacle because we 

import petroleum for our domestic 

consumption ? 

As to the intervention of a human 

rights lawyer, Mr Joseph Onu 

Silas, I need to say there is no benefit 

in shutting down the Zamfara 

initiative. Silas in his letter to the 

CBN Governor said as follows : 

"The Nigerian Minerals and 

Mining Act, 2007 makes it clear 

What stops oil producing 

states from building 

modular refineries to add 

value to crude oil and 

bring out so many byeproducts 

for economic 

activities; it would be a 

great idea fuelling cars 

with petrol refined by our 

states 

government of Zamfara State, are 

you admitting that as the head of 

Nigeria’s apex bank, you are unaware 

of the laws of this nation?” 

He continued: “I ask this question 

simply because 

the news 

of your action is 

only possible if 

the Southern 

states of this nation 

can also enjoy 

such offers 

from the Central 

Bank for the 

purchase of petroleum 

products.” 

Furthermore, 

Silas said such 

purchase is “the 

highest insult 

on the sensitivities 

of Nigerians” 

because 

Zamfara government 

has no 

gold to sell, the 

gold is for the 

Federal Government, 

and 

CBN is not permitted 

by its enabling 

Act to engage 

in the 

business of buying 

goods that 

are solely commercial 

in nature 

Silas again 

queried: “Also, 

are you aware 

that this singular 

indiscreet action 

of yours is 

capable of 

throwing this 

nation’s fragile 

security into chaos? 

What will be 

your response to 

people from the 

Southern states 

if they now begin 

to insist that 

all the mineral 

resources found 

within their rein 

section 1(1) and (2) that: (1) the 

entire property in and control of 

all mineral resources in, under or 

upon any land in Nigeria, its contiguous 

continental shelf and all 

rivers, streams, and watercourses 

throughout Nigeria, any area covered 

by its territorial waters or constituency 

and the Exclusive Economic 

Zone is and shall be vested 

in the Government of the Federation 

for and on behalf of the people 

of Nigeria. (2) All lands in 

which minerals have been found 

in commercial quantities shall, 

from the commencement of this Act 

be acquired by the Government 

of the Federation in accordance 

with the provisions of the Land 

Use Act 

“Sir, by sealing this deal with the 

spective states does not belong to 

the Federal Government and opts 

to begin selling them directly to 

anyone?” 

We can see the problem of lack 

of even-handedness as the basis 

of mistrust and not seeing good 

action when it is seen as being 

allowed “others”. 

The last paragraph raises the 

fundamental issue of sorting serious 

issues with the Constitution 

of this country. We must make 

proper arrangement of mineral resources 

the way we did when this 

country was a proper federal state 

and as obtained in proper federations 

across the world 

We must look critically at section 

134 of the 1963 Constitution when 

we are serious about nation building: 

“Mining royalties and rents 

134. (1) There shall be paid by 

the Federation to each Region 

a sum equal to fifty per cent of: 

(a) the proceeds of any royalty 

received by the Federation in respect 

of any minerals extracted in 

that Region; and 

(b) any mining rents derived by 

the Federation during that year 

from within that Region. 

...Beyond #EndSARS 

CONGRATULATIONS to all 

the participants in the 

#EndSARS campaign that swept 

like a revolution through the 

country. It was a people’s reaction 

to the extra judicial killings, 

abuse of rights and extortion by 

SARS. 

The protests have led to the disbandment 

of SARS. But we are 

yet to hear what will happen to 

those who killed some of the protesters 

in cold blood. 

Beyond disbanding SARS, we 

(2) The Federation shall credit 

to the Distributable Pool Account 

a sum equal to 30 per cent; 

(a) the proceeds of any royalty 

received by the Federation in 

respect of minerals extracted in 

any Region; and 

(b) any mining rents derived by 

the Federation from within any 

Region; 

(3) For the purposes of this section 

the proceeds of a royalty shall 

be the amount remaining from the 

receipts of that royalty after any 

refunds or other repayments relating 

to those receipts have been 

deducted therefrom or allowed for; 

(4) Parliament may prescribe the 

periods in relation to which the 

proceeds of any royalty or mining 

rents shall be calculated for purposes 

of this section; 

(5) In this section “minerals” includes 

mineral oil; 

(6) For the purposes of this section 

the continental shelf of a Region 

shall be deemed to be part of 

that Region.” 

In USA,the Bush family is in 

charge of the oil on the land they 

own. 

need to reform the entire security 

system. We cannot carry on with 

the Colonial Police Force. We 

must have a People’s Police that 

are friendly with those they serve. 

The protest and its outcome 

should be an empowerment to 

the people to know that if they 

fight they can win, but if they 

don’t they have lost. We sympathise 

with all the families who 

have lost members to SARS operations. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 —17 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

Childhood games: The games 

we played as children(2) 

This is the concluding part of the nostalgic tale of unforgetable childhood 

games which was first published last week 

THIS is your notification to go 

catch your prey. But you are not 

the only one: the farmer may be 

around and he hates interlopers messing 

around in his farm. Other birds of 

prey are quick to respond to the canary 

signal of distress. You, the canary 

hunter, better move fast or you 

would be the hunted in no time at all. 

We had canary singing contest. 

Two cages were brought next to each 

other and the canaries would begin 

to chip, then singing in short burst 

and higher pitch. The piece of resistance 

is when the canaries screeched 

like an opera singer holding a long 

note non-stop. We counted each 

screech and staccato-long song. The 

canary which screeched longest and 

highest was the winner. Of course, 

people kept canaries not only for this 

sport but to hear them singing early 

in the morning and also at dusk just 

before midnight - a very soothing experience. 

Northern Nigeria sent plenty of 

food to the South, but one of the best 

for children was the seasonal onslaught 

of guinea fowl and guinea 

fowl eggs. It is possible that some people 

fried or made guinea fowl eggs in 

some exotic way. The normal way to 

eat them was to boil them. Hundreds 

of thousands of them were everywhere. 

A game was developed with 

the guinea fowl eggs known as Kwoi. 

The shell of the guinea fowl egg is 

tougher than that of the hens we kept 

at home. We all believed that we could 

tell how tough the egg was by knocking 

it against our teeth and listening 

to the cadence and thereby determine 

the toughness of the egg. I held the 

egg in the ball of my hands in such a 

way that the top of the egg is peering 

out between my thumb and forefinger. 

My opponent is supposed to hold 

my hand steady and use his own egg 

to knock against my egg. If my egg 

cracks he takes it. If his cracks, I do 

likewise. This game can be intense if 

the two players are from different 

support groups. They are not gangs, 

but nearly so and the eggs cracking 

can involve about 10 -12 people. 

When one group has finished the other 

group’s eggs, sometimes fights 

occurred or more energy spent in 

some other games. This is a technique 

in knowing how to crack the egg of 

your opponent. You try to hold his 

hand in such a way that more of his 

egg is revealed and you hit the side 

of his egg with the top of yours which 

is usually stronger. You can almost 

certainly crack his egg if you slightly 

turn his fist first at the point of contact 

so your egg hits the side of his 

egg. 

On holidays, when I went to Abonnema, 

we met different challenges 

on the games we played. Every child 

was out looking for mud skippers to 

catch. It was not easy. We tried to 

build a basket which you put in the 

mud hoping that with tide the basket 

did not slip away. The mud skippers 

jumped from one hole to another. 

We hoped that in all this frenetic 

activity, some mud skippers may fall 

My opponent and I 

were gloved up and the 

teacher rang the bell; we 

fought until we could 

fight no more; both of us 

fell, tired; one on the 

other within four minutes; 

I have never fought 

again in my life 

into our traps. We also had traps in 

front of holes which the crabs had 

dug. You set your trap with a palm 

fruit or whatever to attract the crab. 

As it goes to take the enticing fruit it 

springs the trap door which closes 

and there we have our crabs. 

In the village there are large trees 

providing all kinds of fruits - guava, 

mangoes, pears, African plum, oranges, 

etc. But one tree produced a 

unique berry called belema ( sweet), 

a fruit which if you eat it everything 

you taste is sweet. So instead of sugar 

we ate this fruit and drank Akamu 

(corn flour) or Guinea flour. The 

sweetness last many hours but by 

lunch time it had disappeared from 

the mouth. (Incidentally since I grew 

up I can never find this plant. I would 

have been a millionaire and driven 

artificial sweetness out of business.) 

We also played Ludo, snakes and 

ladders, draughts – which my father 

taught me. I loved to watch the elders 

play because when they do they 

lose all sense of inhibitions. Heaping 

abuse on their opponents. Obo – 

fool, monkey this is not a game for 

imbeciles or blind men do not play 

draughts: if you waste time thinking 

of your next move, your opponent 

affects that he is sleeping and snoring 

and asks the spectators to wake 

him up when you make a move!! 

We also played monopoly, although 

we had no idea why Bond 

Street and Park Lane were more valuable 

than Vauxhall. A young boy’s 

best toy was the hairless tennis ball 

which he gets after picking balls for 

elders at the local recreation club. 

We used their balls to play football; 

otherwise we made do of locally 

made balls from raw African rubber 

whose bounce was more unpredictable 

than a rugby ball. The erratic 

bounce was the soul of the game. 

The girls played Ten-Ten, Ifi –a juggler 

game; they also played suwe, 

ringa ringa roses. The dances: two 

girls, one facing each other, would 

start clapping slowly and dance to a 

rhythm such as to see whether the 

steps synchronise. The idea was that 

the girl who started the dance and 

clap session would dance in such a 

way that her opponent would guess 

rightly all the moves. If she guesses 

wrong then she has lost. A slow clapping 

dance gathers in furious intensity 

and rhythm as the two girls clap 

in unison while displaying footsteps 

that one of them cannot anticipate. 

If anyone doubted why Africans can 

dance he has not watched young girls 

in Africa dance Ten-Ten(Ten – Ten 

toes; Ten–Ten fingers). There were 

clubs – masquerade; fancy dance 

clubs for Easter and Christmas. 

Learning how to do the Bonsue and 

the Kokoma dances imported from 

Benin and Ghana. We tried to fly 

kites not very successfully. We used 

Garri as gum on newspaper and the 

frame of the kite which did not seem 

to go very high or far. 

My mother made most of my 

clothes. In making my school uniform 

she seemed to forget to put pockets: 

but would remember after the shirts 

or shorts have been sewn. She would 

then cut material and give me fourpatch 

pockets, two in front and two behind. 

It was not illegal but it made me 

conspicuous when all I wanted was to 

blend. Who is your tailor? My mother 

made it. Abajo, no wonder, ehi – mother‘s 

boy. It stung. My mother was a 

nurse. A large woman. The nurses’ uniform 

was thick cotton, almost calico. 

She would make my leisure shirt and 

shorts from her old uniforms, with the 

inevitable patch pockets. You could not 

miss me!!! But I understand she was 

paying my school fees: to do that she 

had to sew, cater for events and dances 

in the recreation club, make cakes, etc, 

all to make ends meet. 

Because I was very good at playing 

draughts on my way home from school, 

I would stop at the Colliery Men’s Club 

near the hospital to play draughts if my 

mother was on afternoon duty, that is 

closes at 9pm. I honed my drafting skills 

there. Although I could not participate 

in the verbal jibes of the draft players, I 

learnt the art of repartee to quick barbs. 

If I have any wit and sharp tongue it 

may be because it had been honing for 

many years. 

In my second year at secondary school 

I was caught fighting with another boy 

by a teacher who was also the sports 

master. He announced that there would 

be a boxing tournament at break that 

day. Most of the students gathered at 

break. My opponent and I were gloved 

up and the teacher rang the bell to begin. 

We fought until we could fight no 

more. Both of us fell, tired; one on the 

other within four minutes. I have never 

fought again in my life. 

Nigeria@ 60 and the sin of restructuring 

BY SEGUN IGE 

IN Dependence, a novel written by 

Sarah Ladipo Manyika, is stylistically 

patterned after the thematic thrusts of 

aboriginal African writers, namely: doyen 

of modern African literature, Chinua 

Achebe. The extensive borrowing and intersexuality 

of the Achebean aesthetics is 

a clear fact of the perennial embattled reconciliation 

overture between the Western 

and Eastern blocs. 

It, furthermore, unveils the rather important 

but ill-digested fait accompli that, 

to be sure, Nigeria is as yet struggling to 

define the hyper-parameters of its 1960 

“Independence”. To my mind, I believe 

Sarah is sort of questioning this definitional 

inexactitude of the Nigerian Independence. 

What’s more, I suspect that the 

bifurcation into “In” and “Dependence” 

reveals, linguistically and ideologically 

speaking, Sarah’s epistemic stance that 

Nigeria is ultimately in consonance with 

the doctrine of systemic discrimination 

and institutional racism characteristic of 

the peculiarity and particularity of the 

American politics, in particular. In dependence, 

Nigeria seems to be some child of 

necessity as it grapples with the Entscheidungs 

problem of leadership in the 

grapevine of politicking. In dependence, 

Nigerian is recursively a child of democracy 

as it doesn’t know the repercussions 

rooted in ‘many hands spoil the broth’. In 

dependence, Nigeria is a child of meritocracy, 

because its foundation of nationhood 

doesn’t have any structure, let alone 

talk of restructuring. 

Up until now, the concerned few on the 

disconcerting political juggernaut which 

Nigeria has been ensconced with have lent 

eminent impassioned pleas to President 

Muhammadu Buhari. To be sure, the developmental 

agenda of restructuring – or 

recalibrating – the fiscal federal system 

may not be easy to come by. Earnest patriotic 

citizens, apparently championed by 

the General Overseer of the Redeemed 

Christian Church of God, E. A. Adeboye, 

have particularly pointed out the putative 

and perverse practice of our political processes. 

Actually, oughtn’t Buhari heed 

warnings on restructuring? 

By the way, what is Buhari meant to restructure? 

The grundnorm of a federal system 

of government grossly steeped in systemically 

racial and discriminatorily institutionalised 

tensions? Is that what the 

president is supposed to restructure? I’m 

afraid it would be some herculean task 

Rather than trying to get a 

grip of a baseless democracy 

whose founding fathers find 

practicably mind-boggling, we 

should fine-tune finer ways of 

restructuring our dead-end 

traditional methodologies of 

leadership and governance 

requiring a holistic effort of comity of 

nations. Yes, that is to say that we ought 

to, very clearly, grasp the fundamentalism 

of this kind of restructuring a country the 

faithful are warning or advising the FG to 

deploy. 

To start with, I’d like to provide a typically 

thematic consideration noted in what 

T. S. Eliot describes as the “historical 

sense”. I do believe that’s the bedrock and 

backbone of what the “elders” should 

have clamoured for, instead of a groundless 

bias for an unstructureable system of 

betrayal rather than leadership. Now, what 

is this ‘historical sense’? Of course, it is 

not the snail-sense mechanism or feminism 

described by Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo. 

Far from it! Indeed, it is some waspsense 

weaponry of metamorphosis and 

morphological mechanism of survival. It 

is a guarded approach of going back to 

the past, because the questions of the 

present are answered by the past. It is going 

back to the past to tap from the autochthonous 

wells of wisdom and inspiration 

in order to unravel the riddles of federalism 

sphinx, phenomenal particularly 

in the 21-st Century. 

That’s what we should be diehards for 

as it were. Rather than trying to get a grip 

of a baseless democracy whose founding 

fathers find practicably mind-boggling, we 

should fine-tune finer ways of restructuring 

our dead-end traditional methodologies 

of leadership and governance. Surely, 

we need to travel to the past, before the 

presence and efflorescence of the imperialists 

at the time, and resurrect the solutions 

to our existential problems and social 

plagues. That’s the historical sense 

which should serve as the penchant to profligate 

the tremendous delinquencies of the 

president. 

That’s the foundation that needs restructuring. 

That’s the foundation that needs 

resurrection. That’s the foundation that 

needs recalibration before a fruitful federation 

of Nigeria can be a sociolinguistic 

reality. And that’s the beginning of nationhood 

or nation-building. 

Can we continue to clamor for restructuring 

without any thing to build on? It’s 

high time we stopped the screeching for 

the FG to build on mere sand. Nigeria is 

meant to be built on solid practicable, productive 

and profitable principles before 

we ever talk about restructuring. I mean, 

restructure what? Restructure corruption? 

Restructure venality, cupidity and hypocrisy? 

Restructure turpitude and brazen 

brigandage? All these are unconscionable 

acts that would mar the entire definitional 

nomenclature of Nigeria. Take it or 

leave it! 

So how do we start restructuring? Simply, 

we start restructuring by building on 

the foundational principles of valuesbased 

leadership outlined by Harry Kraemer 

– that is, SELF-REFLECTION, BAL- 

ANCED PERSPECTIVE, SELF-CONFI- 

DENCE, and GENUINE HUMILTY. Taken 

one after another, self-reflection is the 

ability to look inward, what will call introspection. 

It is a means of soul-searching 

our inner recesses – essentially to determine 

how we can adjust or pattern our 

temperaments and sensibilities after the 

productivity and profitability of our nation. 

When a leader brings to bear a balanced 

perspective, it means his/her leadership 

styles are hinged on the sub-principles 

of empathy and inclusion. Empathy 

is the power to penetrate the minds of the 

people, discover the common denominator 

of their demands, and to proffer solutions 

to their perennial, existential problems. 

Inclusion itself is the comprehensive 

coverage of the sure-footed leader, 

who always ensures that those under him, 

irrespective of their age, background, religion 

and ethnicity, are carried along, so 

that there could be some ‘symmetric persuasion’ 

among all. 

Julius Caesar says: “Cowards die many 

times before their death. Only the brave 

taste of death but once.” To be sure, Caesar’s 

statement is against the backdrop of 

self-confidence. To me, without self-confidence, 

one is self-crucified. You may notice 

Kraemer’s self-confidence is, ultimately, 

an alternative terminology for courage. 

Particularly, 21-st Century leaders 

oughtn’t to display ‘cowardly silence’ and 

‘stinking hypocrisy’ in their dealings with 

political matters. For this to happen, they 

have to ensure that their watchword is, as 

well, pivoted on the sub-principles of honesty 

and sincerity. Summarily, to be honest 

and sincere is to tell the whole truth 

from the heart. It is being truthful amid 

pressure to be cast into the furnace of fire. 

Continues 

online: 

www.vanguardngr.com 

*Ige, a public affairs analyst, wrote via: 

igesegunadebayo5@gmail.com


President Muhammadu Buhari has 

abundantly shown his commitment to 

the welfare of workers and retirees. 

Being a career public servant, this 

inclination is easy to understand. This 

is evident in his approval of payment 

of the Nigerian Airways retirees, the 

speedy assent to the new National 

Minimum Wage and several bailouts 

to the states to enable them pay their 

workers. 

On Monday, October 5, 2020, we 

published an editorial throwing our 

full support for the Nigerian Union 

of Teacher’s request for the increase 

of the retirement age of teachers from 

60 to 65 years (or 35 to 40 years professional 

career). We did this in solidarity 

with our teachers as part of this 

year’s World Teachers Day, which annually 

commemorates the adoption of 

the 1966 International Labour Organisation/United 

Nations Educational, 

Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 

ILO/UNESCO, recommendations 

concerning the status of teachers. 

The calls for this increase had been 

Buhari’s lifeline for teachers 

on for years, and the legislative instruments 

that articulated it has been 

on the president’s desk for over a 

year. Buhari not only increased the 

retirement age of teachers, he also 

approved a special salary scale for 

basic education-level teachers and special 

pension scheme for teachers. 

Buhari also reintroduced bursaries 

for education students in universities 

and colleges of education, facilitated 

ICT education for teachers and committed 

the Tertiary Education Trust 

Fund, TETFUND, to finance teaching 

practice in the universities and colleges 

of education. 

This commendable policy step, we 

hope, will go a long way in not only 

reviving interest in the teaching profession 

in Nigeria, but also facilitate 

the much-needed migration of our 

brilliant young people to take up lifelong 

careers in teaching and transfer 

of knowledge. 

It will hopefully bring back teaching 

to its original position as the watershed 

for quality leadership training. 

Almost all our founding fathers 

were teachers and journalists; two 

knowledge-based professions which 

produced visionary, competent, patriotic 

and passionate leaders who made 

our country tick immediately after our 

independence. 

We, however, fear that even the 

Federal Government still has a long 

way to go before the educational sector 

is properly repositioned. The plan 

for education must be holistic. It must 

involve all the tiers of education and 

teaching. It must also encompass total 

infrastructural overhaul and funding 

which will make incessant strikes 

by the tertiary education workers’ 

unions a thing of the past. 

Most importantly, our teachers in 

the employ of state governments must 

also benefit from this reform. The 

states must sign-on to the reform. 

Also, private sector teachers and educators 

cannot be sidelined. Unless 

everyone is carried along, the president’s 

good gestures might end up 

fraying the teaching profession in Nigeria, 

creating a dichotomy between 

privileged federal teachers and their 

marginalised state and private-employed 

counterparts. 

The reforms must be holistic and 

inclusive. 

This is the concluding part of the piece 

which was first published three weeks 

ago. Last week ended thus: A few weeks 

before stepping aside, General Ibrahim 

Babangida in 1993 promulgated the 

Forfeiture of Assets Decree No. 54 of 1993. 

THE Decree returned the 

properties seized by the Justice 

Okunribido’s panel of 1976 to some 

former governors and former 

Ministers. 

Mr. Richard Akinola, a notable 

journalist has since published the 

names of the properties and their 

owners, while Mr. Biodun Olufowobi 

alias Pabiekun, a notable lawyer and 

Mr. Tunde Kamilu Kasali, a lawyer and 

former Executive Secretary of the 

Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and 

Fiscal Commission, have both argued 

on the issue of conviction or nonconviction. 

Most Nigerians were alarmed by the 

action of General Babangida because 

he was part of the Supreme Military 

Council headed by General Murtala 

Ramat Mohammed that seized those 

properties in 1976. Decree 54 was 

highly selective in that it only named 

certain recipients and not all were 

found guilty by the Justice Okunribido 

panel. On July 3, 1996, General Sani 

Abacha also promulgated the 

Forfeiture of Assets (Release of 

Certain Forfeited Properties etc.) 

Amendment Decree No. 21 of 1996. 

Regrettably names of former ministers 

and former governors were again not 

mentioned. 

OPINION 

Historic perspective on the pardon 

of Alli and Enahoro (4) 

Among names not mentioned in the 

With the recent pardon by 


Buhari, the expectation now 

is that the properties will 

finally be returned to the 

Enahoro family; as they say 

all is well that ends well 

two decrees were that of Chief Athony 

Enahoro and Mr. J.O. Adeyemi-Bero, 

the former Chief of Staff to the first 

Military Governor of Lagos State, the 

late Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson, who 

claimed that he was the owner of Plot 

177 known as Eko Courts Towers, 

Victoria Island, Lagos and 25, Cooper 

Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. While Mr. 

Adeyemi-Bero went to court through 

his counsel, Professor A.B. 

Kasumu, and lost later at the 

Supreme Court, Chief Enahoro did not 

go to court. 

Instead his family made an appeal 

to the government for leniency and 

pardon so that his properties which he 

built in Lagos even before 1960 and 

were confiscated by the Justice 

Okunribido panel could be returned 

to him. The appeals for pardon I am 

told started during the tenure of former 

President Goodluck Jonathan. 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

With the recent pardon by President 

Muhammadu Buhari, the expectation 

now is that the properties will finally 

be returned to the Enahoro family. As 

they say all is well that ends well. 

In spite of this, the contribution of 

Chief Enahoro to this country is always 

appreciated. A nationalist par 

excellence, he moved the motion for 

Nigeria’s Independence; he led the 

Mid-West delegation to the ad-hoc 

Constitutional Conference in 1967; he 

became a Minister in Nigeria, led 

Nigeria’s delegation during the civil 

war to the peace conferences, he fought 

for democracy during Abacha’s tenure 

at the risk of his personal safety. He 

did more for this country than we can 

ever be grateful for. 

He is a product of a family that has 

served the country meritoriously, 

notably my friend, Ben Enahoro, 

former Sergeant at Arms in the National 

Assembly; Mr Mike Enahoro, a 

veteran television broadcaster; Chief 

Edward Omokwale Enahoro, a 

diplomat; Henry Ehikpehale Enahoro, 

a Professor of Mechanical Engineering 

and Peter Osajele Aizegbeobor 

Enahoro, a journalist. 

To crown it all, he is from Uromi, a 

city located in North East Esan, a sub 

ethnic city in Edo State that has 

produced the likes of Engineer 

Raymond Okpere, Sir Anthony 

Anegbode Eromosele, Chief Tony 

Anenih, Air Vice Marshal Anthony 

Okpere, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi 

Okogie, Chris Aire, Chief (Deacon) 

Vincent Agenmonmen and others. 

Concluded

Manufacturers pick holes in the new 

electricity tariff structure 

By Yinka Kolawole 

ECONOMY 

THE Manufacturers Associa 

tion of Nigeria (MAN) has 

faulted disparity in electricity tariffs 

by Distribution Companies 

(DISCOs) across Nigeria, noting 

that it creates uneven playing 

ground which may lead to closure 

of some companies 

President of MAN, Engr Mansur 

Ahmed, in a statement made 

available to Vanguard, noted that 

the tariff differences in some instances 

are as high as 25 percent 

making it impossible to ensure fair 

competition among manufacturers. 

He called on the Federal Government 

to prevail on DISCOs to 

regularise the varying cost of electricity 

tariff across different states 

for the purpose of creating a level 

playing ground for manufacturers 

in the country. 

Ahmed stated: “Most worrisome 

is the fact that manufacturers 

who are made to pay higher 

tariffs sell their products in the 

same market and cannot afford 

resultant effects of wider gap in the 

prices of products as competitors 

in the industry. 

“These tariff differences in some 

instances are as high as 25% making 

it impossible to ensure fair 

competition among manufacturers. 

“The resultant effect of this tariff 

differential is that manufacturers 

under the DisCos with higher tariff 

rate sell at loss in order to sustain 

the market share and if action is 

not taken urgently, the affected 

manufacturers may be forced to 

close down with looming adverse 

effect on employment and the 

economy.” 

MAN has therefore appealed for 

uniformity in tariff and in the event 

where the disparity has to be 

maintained due to the difference 

in commercial activities, it urged 

government to intervene with the 

establishment of an equalization 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

RIYAL 

RAND 

Danish Krona 

109.25 -2.30 

2,426.00 -6.00 

27.15 -0.25 

$41.61 -1.24 

41.88 +0.30 

379 379.5 380 

489.0995 489.7448 490.39 

445.6282 446.2161 446.804 

412.6742 413.2186 413.7631 

3.5748 3.5795 3.5842 

0.6609 0.6709 0.6809 

101.0316 101.1649 101.2982 

22.9923 23.0226 23.0529 

60.0882 60.1674 60.2467 

CBN Exchange rate as at 12/10/2020 


COMMISSIONING: From left, Member, House of Representatives, Mr Sam Onuigbo; Senator 

Enyinnaya Abaribe; Abia State Deputy Governor, Ude Okoh Chukwu; Minister of Health 

for State, Dr. Adeleke Mamora; and Initiator of the project and CEO, Nepal Oil and Gas, 

Mrs. Ngozi Ekeoma, at the commissioning of the ‘Abia Care Centre’, a 50-bed ultra-modern 

isolation centre with a functional molecular laboratory fully built and equipped by the 

Concerned Abia Professionals (CAP) in Umuahia, Abia State. 

fund as it is in the petroleum sector 

to support DisCos with smaller 

number of customers in order to 

ensure uniformity in tariff across 

the country. 

Increase in retirement age aggravates youth 

unemployment 

— ABCON 

By Babajide Komolafe 

view report for the 

Third Quarter of the 

year (Q3'2020), adding 

that the federal 

government should 

prepare post retirement 

facilities instead 

of increasing retirement 

age. 

The Association's position 

is against the 

backdrop of the recent 

decision of the federal 

government to increase 

the retirement 

age of teachers from 

60 years to 65 years. 

“Increasing 

workforce retirement 

age is counterproductive 

under conditions 

of high youth unemployment 

rate, instead 


prepare solid post retirement 

facilities”, the 

Association stated, 

adding that the FG 

should promote policy 

Ahmed reiterated that manufacturers 

spend over 40 percent 

of their production overhead on 

electricity in Nigeria due inadequacy 

of electricity supply, 

Life Lager to 

invest over 

N40m in small 

businesses 

ECONOMY 

LIFE Lager said it is set to 

support over 200 businesses 

with a cumulative sum of 

over N40 million in its progress 

booster campaign, “Chop Life Experience”. 

The campaign is designed to 

empower consumers with cash 

to support their businesses and 

would be done through in-bar 

activations across Southeastern 

cities including Enugu, Aba, Uyo, 

Warri, Onitsha and Port 

Harcourt. 

Commenting on the campaign 

National Trade Marketing Manager, 

Nigerian Breweries Plc, 

Funso Ayeni, said: “As a brand, 

Life Lager believes in progress and 

the Chop Life Experience is our 

way of empowering our consumers. 

We recognise that sometimes 

all we need is financial support to 

get our dreams off the ground, 

and help us progress. We share 

this sentiment, and we are 

humbled to have the opportunity 

to support businesses across the 

southeast. 

“Life Lager has had a stellar year 

with remarkable initiatives such 

as their brand's relaunch, as well 

as the widely acclaimed lighting 

of the Niger Bridge and the release 

of its theme song titled “Chop Life” 

featuring Phyno and Flavour.” 

Life Lager Beer was first brewed 

in Onitsha, Anambra State in 1981 

and has since grown from a regional 

beer brand to becoming 

one of the leading lager brands in 

the country. The brand is best 

known for its rich taste and its 

optimistic theme of progress. 

MONEY MARKET 

ASSOCIATION of Bu 

reaux De Change Operators 

of Nigeria (ABCON) has 

cautioned against increasing 

the retirement age stressing 

this works against policies 

aimed at reducing youth unemployment 

in the country. 

The Association stated this in 

its Quarterly Economic Reto 

reduce youth unemployment 

with a view to addressing 

social unrest. 

While noting that recovery 

from the severe impact of the 

COVID-19 pandemic on the 

nation's economy will be determined 

by a structured and 

people-oriented policy aimed 

at resolving the macroeconomic 

imbalance arising from 

the disruptions, ABCON advised 

that, “Government 

spending should be directed 

towards business recovery, 

poverty alleviation and infra- 

IEI-Anc 

Anchor Pensions grows AuM by over 18% 

By Rosemary Onuoha 

INSURANCE 

IEI-Anchor Pension Manag 

ers Limited said that it’s Asset 

under Management (AuM) 

rose by 18.6 percent to N109 

billion in the 2019 financial 

year, from N92.9 billion in 2018 

financial year. 

The Pension Fund Administrator 

(PFA) said it equally generated 

7,965 Retirement Savings 

Accounts (RSAs) Personal 

Identification Numbers (PINs) 

in 2019. 

Addressing shareholders at 

the company’s 2019 annual 

general meeting held virtually, 

the Chairman, Senator Rufai 

Hanga, said that he is optimistic 

that the coming year will 

•Want national tariff uniformity 

leading to increase in cost of operation 

and prices of made in Nigeria 

goods when compared with prices 

of similar products from other countries. 

structure development but structured 

to give a good mix with 

monetary policy trust.” 

The Association also cautioned 

the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 

against pegging of the interest 

rates and other variable, stressing 

that this can lead to malfunctioning 

of the system. 

The Association instead, recommended 

that the monetary authority 

should intervene in selected 

priority sectors through incentives, 

adding that this will allow 

for smooth flow of the whole 

economy, especially when 

usher in new vistas for further 

growth of IEI-Anchor Pension 

Managers Limited, adding that, the 

company is gearing towards leveraging 

on the exercise to increase 

its AuM while exerting no lesser 

effort to maintain its existing clients. 

Hanga said: “The industry ratings 

on our funds have also risen. Out 

of the 22 PFAs, we were the 8th in 

ranking on RSA Fund I, 2nd in 

Fund II, 18th in Fund III and 16th 

in Fund IV, this was as at 

July,2020. This portends a continuous 

improvement for the 

company. I am by this appreciating 

our management team and 

urging them to maintain this momentum. 

We are also expanding 

our projections to increase our client 

base.” 

By Chioma Obinna 

complemented with fiscal 

management efforts. 

Also stressing the need for 

the CBN to address the huge 

exchange rate mismatch in 

the forex market, the Association 

stated: “It is imperative 

for the monetary authority 

to actively participate 

with precision through market 

level interventions. Volumetric 

interventions and demand 

push exchange rates 

must automatically influence 

the market in the direction 

the authority desires. 

Meanwhile, reviewing activities 

of the 2019 financial 

year, Managing Director of 

the company, Mr. Glory 

Etaduovie, said that in the 

next four years, the company 

would have doubled its worth 

and value in terms of assets 

under management, size of 

revenue income, market relevance 

and acceptability, staff 

size, job security, efficiency 

and productivity as well as 

highly improved industry 

reputation. 

Etaduovie said: “Information 

Technology department holds 

a strategic place in the heart of 

most organisations today. It is 

no less so in the pension industry. 

Our last year’s theme was 

‘Inclusion and digitalization’.


Real estate: Why Lagos State's 

loosing income —- Expert 

By Kingsley 

Adegboye 

THE 

MANAGING 

Director of Property 

World Africa Network ( 

PWAN) Plus, Business 

Concerns, a subsidiary of 

PWAN Plus, Julius 

Oyedemi, has noted that 

until Lagos state 

government regulates its 

burgeoning real estate 

sector, it will continue to 

lose the huge income from 

the sub-sector. 

Oyedemi who expressed 

the view while supporting 

the state government's 

recent expression of 

intention to regulate the 

real estate sector, said "It is 

a dream come true, a good 

one. You cannot overlook 

the real estate industry in 

Nigeria, especially in a 

place like Lagos where we 

have over 20 million people 

occupying the land space. 

There is huge housing 

deficit. I learnt from a 

reliable source that real 

estate is contributing a little 

to the GDP of Lagos state". 

He however, added that 

if there is a proper 

regulation of what he 

described as "The robust 

activities of estate 

developers in the state, real 

estate contribution to the 

state's GDP would definite 

increase far and above than 

what it is currently 

obtainable”. 

He believes that the 

current performance is 

infinitesimal; and 

attributable to poor data 

collation regarding real 

estate activities and players 

in the state. 

According to him, "What 

this regulation will do is that 

the state government can 

collate the data of all 

players in the state, to 

improve the state's revenue 

generation from the real 

estate sector. For me, it is a 

welcome development, 

because it will stimulate a 

rapport between the 

government and the 

stakeholders, who are the 

private developers. If both 

parties are not coming 

together things may not go 

in the proper direction”. 

The real estate expert also 

expressed some worries 

saying, "Our own 

expectation is that 

government should do it 

without being biased. They 

should do it well and give 

the necessary support 

because we also have our 

own complaints. 

“We have our itches, we 

have our disturbance, we 

have the taxes, omo oniles, 

title issues and all of that. 

So collaborating with 

private developers is a 

welcome idea because this 

will help in the smooth 

running of real estate 

affairs of Lagos State". 

Oyedemi added that his 

own concern is primarily to 

see real estate industry that 

is working in the right 

direction. "If we can't 

develop Lagos in the right 

way then what ever the 

certificate issue is, it is 

irrelevant". 

Performing the ground 

breaking of Cedarwood 

Luxury Apartments and 

Terraces, Nigeria's gospel 

music icon, Pastor 

Nathaniel Bassey, 

eulogised Oyedemi, 

describing him as a 

Christian brother who takes 

special interest and care in 

other people's business with 

high sense of responsibility. 

Oyedemi said the 

ground breaking event was 

a special day to PWAN Plus 

Business Concern. 

“As you can see, there are 

a lot of people, buyers and 

Lekki Gardens reiterates 

commitment to deliver value 

to customers 

•Lekki Gardens Estate, Lagos 

LEKKI GARDENS, one 

of Nigeria’s foremost 

property development 

companies, has 

commenced upgrading 

and beautification of some 

of its existing estates in a 

bid to continually satisfy its 

teeming clients. 

Known for its hands-on 

approach to putting the 

needs of its customers first, 

its continued innovative 

practices, its customer 

centric culture, the Africa's 

premier property 

investment company has 

continued to build wealth 

for its investors with a 

transformational approach 

to the Nigerian real estate 

market. 

“At Lekki Gardens, a 

renewed drive for 

excellence and quality has 

birthed an unending quest 

for precision and 

impeccable delivery. This 

sets the firm apart from 

others in the industry, 

delivering your home is not 

the end of the journey for 

us in this case. We revisited 

a couple of our projects 

which have been 

completed for about five 

years now and we gave 

them an upgrade and 

facelift”, Akinwande 

Romeo, Chief Engagement 

Officer at Lekki Gardens 

noted. 

realtors are here to witness 

the ground breaking . You 

can also observe that a client 

is already building and 

quite a lot is happening. 

This is the beginning of a 

new dawn for us; another 

record setting in reducing 

housing deficit", he 

explained. 

Cedarwoods Luxury 

Apartments and Terraces 

which is located at kilometre 

35, Ajayi Apata Town in 

Sangotedo area of Lagos 

state, sits on 10,500 square 

kilometres. The estate 

consists of 18 units of 

terraces, 32 units of 

apartments, 16 units of one 

bedroom apartments, 16 

units of two bedroom 

apartments and eight units 

of three bedroom terrace 

buildings.‘‘ 

According to Romeo, 

“Lekki Gardens took 

customer service and 

satisfaction a step further 

by going back to some of 

its estates in Lagos and Port 

Harcourt to upgrade, 

beautify and renovate them 

at no cost to their residents. 

This laudable and highly 

uncommon act provides 

high economic value to its 

customers as it increases 

durability of their homes 

while saving cost for them. 

Mr. Yomi Adelabu, is a 

home owner at one of Lekki 

Gardens' estates in Lagos, 

and he says “My friends 

couldn’t stop congratulating 

and commending me for an 

upgraded and more 

beautiful space at our last 

Friday Games Night. I 

appreciate the Lekki 

Gardens Management for 

this highly generous act 

and their unending 

thoughtfulness and care to 

all its residents. Buying a 

home with Lekki Gardens 

is by far the best decision I 

have ever made.” 

“Since the upgrade, 

residents in those estates 

now enjoy the ultimate 

luxury living experience 

with the best in class 

construction technology, 

pristine finishing options, 

lavish and luscious living 

and dining areas as well as 

state of the art residential


STATE OF THE NATION: 

Why we ‘re yet to 

deliver -- Unagha, APC 

presidential aspirant 

•Says corruption under Buhari worse than 

Shagari’s administration 

By Clifford Ndujihe 

Second Republic politician, a lawyer and one-time 

Vice President of the National Youth Council of 

Nigeria, South-south., Alhaji Mumakai Unagha, 

was a presidential aspirant during the 2019 presidential 

election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, 

APC. The Urhobo, Delta State-born politician in this 

interview, spoke on ranging issues facing the Burhari’s 

administration. 

You are a chieftain of the 

APC, how do you access the 

government led by your 

party? 

It is not Uhuru yet, we are 

still far from the promises 

our party made to Nigerians 

during the electioneering 

campaigns. I never thought 

we can go this way, and that 

was the reason some of us 

who saw it coming after the 

first tenure of Mr. President, 

resolved to contest the 

presidential election but 

were not allowed, especially 

the prohibitive hike of the 

nomination form by the 

former National Chairman, 

Comrade 

Adams 

Oshiomhole. 

The situation in this 

country has reached a point 

where we will no longer 

keep quiet. Irrespective of 

the fact that party is 

supreme, Nigeria’s interest 

is superior, and supersedes 

every other interest. I have 

said it in several fora that 

Nigeria needs a surgical 

operation not this epileptic 

and oxygen treatment. 

Some of us wanted Mr. 

President to retire quietly to 

his Daura home and earn 

more respect but we were 

taken as enemies of the 

party and government. We 

knew that Nigeria will be 

stalemated in the second 

tenure. In fact we are more 

confused now than we were 

before. 

Take a look at the exchange 

rate of the Dollar to a Naira, 

the frequent increment in the 

pump price of petroleum 

products with hunger 

everywhere driving our 

youths to negative 

disposition. In 2015, 

Nigerians with high spirit 

and enthusiasm voted for 

change (APC). What we have 

seen so far is the reverse, 

taking us back to Egypt by 

5,000 feet. 

A large proportion of 

political appointees in this 

government are members of 

the People Democratic Party, 

abandoning original and 

founding members. One is 

therefore tempted to ask if 

this government has 

listening ears. 

On comments that the 

Buhari Administration is 

fighting corruption 

Nobody will convince me 

that the government is 

fighting corruption, it is all 

lip service and windowdressing. 

How on earth is it 

that a government that 

prides itself very high on war 

against corruption, 

corruption is still the order 

of the day? Corruption in this 

administration seems to be 

more than what prevailed in 

the late President Shehu 

Shagari administration that 

led to his being sacked. 

Mr. President said those he 

trusted betrayed the trust. I 

am wondering why he still 

retains them in the 

government or still allowing 

them to remain in office. The 

integrity of Mr. President is 

not in doubt, the issue 

centres on his age and the 

dynamism of his ability to 

take charge of his 

governance. He trusted his 

men for too long. One cannot 

access his ministers, yet we 

are in one party. 

Nigeria is heading to a total 

collapse, gradually sliding 

down as a failed state 

without direction and unless 

urgent steps are taken to 

address the ailing economy. 

I had been privileged to 

have audience with Mr. 

President on two occasions, 

I wondered if this is the 

President I used to know. 

Losing popularity is an 

understatement because he 

is surrounded with people he 

trusted. They are destroying 

and giving his administration 

bad title he does not 

deserve. 

Do you know that there are 

We knew 

that Nigeria 

will be 

stalemated 

in the second 

tenure. In 

fact we are 

more 

confused 

now than we 

were before 

some traditional rulers and 

faceless agents duping 

suspected political 

appointment seekers in 

disguise that they are close 

to Mr. President? They stay 

in five star hotels in Abuja 

making people believe that 

they are close to the Villa. 

Even top political appointees 

have their agents strategic 

places where they collect 

money in the name of 

appointments. They have 

digitalized their modules 

and apparatus of defrauding 

politicians including APC 

members that worked 

tirelessly for Mr. President 

seeking for political 

appointments. The 

President I know is a man of 

honour, integrity, 

transparency therefore he 

should not allow some hawks 

to destroy all that he has 

laboured to build over these 

years. 

I must not limit myself to 

the Federal level alone, what 

is happening at the various 

states are even worst, except 

states like Rivers and a few 

others. If you see how these 

state governors rush to 

Abuja to collect allocation 

yet nothing in their states to 

show for it. It is very 

disappointing. I must give 

kudos to Governor Nyesom 

Wike of Rivers State who I 

may describe here as the 

“Real Lion of Niger Delta.” 

Recently, Mallam Daura 

kicked against zoning of the 

presidency in 2023. What is 

your take on this? 

I have two answers to this 

question. Firstly, I hold the 

view that there should be no 

zoning because zoning 

brings mediocre, half-baked 

and incompetency leaders. 

Nigerians have sacrificed 

merit on the altar of zoning 

and quota system syndrome. 

Merit is the best option 

instead of zoning simply 

because my tribe has not 

ruled. Nigeria is going down 

everyday because of tribal 

sentiment. The earlier we 

throw away tribal sentiment, 

the better for Nigeria. 

However, I support zoning 

because of the over-bearing 

dominance of one group to 

the exclusion of other ethnic 

groups. Nigeria belongs to 

all of us. Therefore, it will be 

against the principle of 

Natural Justice to keep 

denying one ethnic group 

from ruling, if we are sincere 

to ourselves. No section 

should undermine the 

capacity or capability of 

others no matter the size. 

2023 is around the corner, 

would you still contest the 

election or what is your 

next plan? 

I am still consulting; when 

the time comes you will all 

know. However, I am of the 

view that it is the turn of the 

South-Est to produce the 

next President. 

Recently you were 

appointed as the National 

Chairman, Board of 

Trustees of Arewa Political 

Group Southern regions, 

can you throw more light? 

From the blues I got a text 

message of an appointment 

as the Chairman Board of 

Trustees of Area Political 

Group in the entire southern 

region covering South-West, 

South-East and South-South, 

•Unagha 

to me is an honour and I have 

accepted it. I never knew 

that I deserve this, with the 

little things I am doing for 

the society and humanity. 

The appointment will 

encourage me to do more 

irrespective tribe and 

religion. I want to thank 

them for considering me 

worthy of the appointment, 

equally promise the group of 

not betraying them, but 

sustain the ideal and 

principle of the organization. 

Former Governor of Delta 

State, Dr. Emmanuel 

Uduaghan, who contested 

the senatorial election on 

APC platform has gone back 

to the PDP. What is your 

take? 

The former governor has 

the right to leave the party. 

Most remarkably, he came to 

the party alone, without 

followers and he is leaving 

without followers as well. Is 

he a true member of the All 

Progressive Congress? I 

doubt. He only came to the 

party to pick the ticket, 

possibly avoid being 

harassed by security 

agencies. There are so many 

of them, who came to the 

party and start destroying 

the original members of the 

party to gain the favour of 

Mr. President. Many of them 

are still within the corridors 

of the party, very soon you 

will see them easing out one 

after the other. 

On the fate of APC in Delta 

State 

The way it is in Delta State, 

APC may not win the state, 

no matter the Federal might. 

Oshiomhole has destroyed 

the party in the state beyond 

repair except it takes the 

Grace of God. The interim 

caretaker Committee 

Chairman of the party has 

much work to do.

22 — Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, , 2020 

VOL. 1: NO. 256 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 

RIVERS… THE 

TREASURE BASE 

OF THE NATION 

By Davies 

Iheamnachor 

AFAM— RESIDENTS of 

Afam and two other host 

communities to Port Harcourt 

Electricity Distribution Company, 

PHEDC, dispensing electricity 

from six power plants from their 

native lands in Oyibo Local 

Government Area, Rivers State, 

have grounded operations of the 

company for brazenly terminating 

power supply to the communities 

over failure to pay electricity bill. 

Accusing PHEDC of humiliating 

and distressing them for insisting 

that they pay for electricity generated 

from gas by Nigerian Gas Company, 

NGC, in their homeland without 

compensation, the irate inhabitants, 

weeks ago, shut down the power 

plants, throwing Port-Harcourt, 

capital of the state and parts of the 

country into darkness. 

We gathered that since August 

when the communities also 

blockaded the entrance to the 

Transmission Company of Nigeria, 

TCN, in the area, shutting off two 

power plants, the other four plants 

have been comatose as workers 

could not access the workplaces. 

Manager, Corporate 

Communications, PHEDC, Mr. 

John Onyi, however, told NDV that 

the company did not disconnect the 

communities as claimed, saying 

there were defects on the lines. 

We gathered that since August 

when the communities barricaded 

the entrance to the Transmission 

Company of Nigeria, TCN, in the 

area, shutting off two power plants, 

the other four plants could also not 

operate because the workers could 

not access the workplaces. 

Aggrieved youths still blocking the 

transmission company at the time 

of this report, on the other hand, 

threatened to take more stringent 

actions if electricity was not 

expeditiously restored to the 

communities. 

PHEDC humiliated our 

communities 

— Eze Nwaeke 

Speaking, HRM, Eze Sylvanus 

Nwaeke, JP, Ononankwume VI, 

Eze Umuihueze I Kingdom, 

Obeakpu Ndoki, said: ”The 

protest that our youths and women 

carried out has the support of the 

chiefs. We want to use the 

opportunity to let the world know 

that we are humiliated. We have 

been silent for so long, but now we 

are awake. 

“It is shocking to me that PHEDC 

will disconnect us. They did it 

because they do not have regard 

for us. We produce gas here and 

host Afam Stations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 

and we are not benefitting anything. 

Ordinary electricity generated in our 

land we do not have. 

“The communities that produce oil 

and electricity cannot boast of a 

hospital. Our youths did well to have 

shut the stations down. From now 

onward, government should pay 

attention to us, the road that leads 

to the power plant and the host 

communities is impassable. 

Rivers communities 

barricade TCN, shut 

down power stations 

•For cutting them off from power generated in their homeland 

•No free electricity anywhere in the world —PHEDC 

•There’s presidential order to give us light free— Iwela, community leader 

Part of Afam Power plant 

“This is to show you the level of 

neglect. We are Nigerians, we do 

not know why this neglect. We 

produce wealth for the country, yet 

no one cares about us,” he asserted. 

Presidential directive 

A community leader, Chief 

Ndubuisi Iwela regretted that the 

communities were only connected 

to electricity 45 years after the 

stations were inaugurated, following 

presidential intervention in 2006. 

“Afam station was built in 1962 

and the host communities only got 

light from that station in 2006. It is 

as a result of injustice, it shows that 

we are in a country where peaceful 

people are not rewarded. The Afam 

5 station was built and was to be 

commissioned in 2001 by the former 

president, Chief Olusegun 

Obasanjo on December 10, 2001. 

When Obasanjo came and saw that 

we do not have light, he said the 

development was a moral debt and 

great injustice to a people that are 

peaceful. 

“He issued a presidential directive 

to PHCN (Power Holding 

Company of Nigeria) that the 

community quickly be given 

electricity. He added that we should 

enjoy it freely because we have 

suffered for long,” Iwela stated. 

The community leader explained 

that the directive was followed up 

and the communities connected five 

years later on March 17, 2006 and 

they used the electricity without bill 

because it was a presidential 

directive. 

Beginning of trouble 

“We used the light free. PHCN 

never demanded bill, but after the 

said restructuring of the electricity 

sector, to our shock, PHEDC, now 

in charge of distribution, threw us 

into darkness. They said we were 

not paying bills, I do not know how 

they took assets and want to leave 

liabilities behind. 

“We protested that we do not pay 

bill and that led us to the Ministry 

of Power, Rivers State, PHEDC, 

TCN and Afam Power Plc were all 

there. We discussed with them at 

the meeting, we were referred to 

take the matter to Abuja because it 

was a presidential order. 

Abuja meeting with Fashola, 

PHED 

“We went to Abuja, on February 

19, we had a communique signed 

by all the parties. The communique 

also has issues of employment, 

mandating all the companies in the 

community to create 16 spaces for 

host communities in their 

companies. They have not 

employed our people, we met with 

the Minister of Power, Babatunde 

Fashola and PHEDC said there 

was cost for supply of electricity 

because they are a private company. 

We said if there is cost, we are not 

ready to bear it but all the companies 

here can come together and do it. 

Darkness again in August 

“The meeting agreed that all the 

companies operating in Afam 

should take care of the bill of the 

community. One Kingsley Achike 

signed for PHEDC, but PHEDC in 

August, this year, threw us into 

darkness again without any 

information. 

“They claimed we are not paying, 

this is after we have signed 

agreements. From what PHEDC is 

saying, it is like the companies 

operating here, PHEDC, TCN, Frist 

HRM Eze Nwaeke. 

Ejike-Dike,, Chairman of OPA. 

Independent Power, SPDC, 

Nigerian Gas Company, NGC, and 

others have not given attention to 

the agreement. They have 

dishonored the communique, they 

must enforce that communique,” he 

added. 

Establish forum for 

communities, companies to 

dialogue Dike, paramount 

ruler 

Paramount ruler, Okoloma Ndoki, 

Afam, Chief Alex Dike, advocated 

for a forum and quarterly meeting 

between companies operating in 

the area and the communities. 

Dike said: “The companies should 

set up a forum and have quarterly 

meeting with the host community. 

In that forum we should resolve 

issues that can led to disagreement. 

We should relate our need to them. 

If we had this forum, this fracas will 

not occur. 

“We bear the brunt of the hazard 

emanating from there operation. We 

need a forum to be supervised by 

the DSS. The only benefit we have 

is that our name has gone far that 

we are hosting the biggest power 

plant in West Africa. 

“We need this electricity for free 

because we do not have any other 

benefit from their operation. What 

we are consuming is not much,” he 

said. 

We’ll resume protest if our 

demands are ignored —Ejike- 

Dike, OPA chair 

Chairman, Oyibo People’s 

Assembly, Prince Ejike-Dike, said 

the body would resume protests in 

the community if their demands for 

free electricity, good roads and 

hospital were not met. 

Ejike-Dike said: “The protest has 

not stopped; we are only on break. 

What we want the world to know is 

that if our demands are not met, we 

will shut down all the stations and 

the whole country will be in 

darkness.” 

“There is no road leading to the 

power station, the power station has 

not road, so also the host 

communities. We have 75 oil wells 

and we produce gas, yet we get 

nothing in return. We are calling on 

the government to ensure that the 

communique is implemented,” he 

said. 

PHEDC reacts 

However, PHED said power 

outage in parts of the state was as a 

result of actions of the youths of 

Afam, who shut down some power 

plants in the facility. 

Communications, PHEDC, John 

Onyi, narrated that a meeting of all 

stakeholders, including Rivers State 

Ministry of Power, was held August 

27, with a view to resolving the 

imbroglio after the August 14 

showdown that led to power outage 

in Port-Harcourt. 

Onyi said: “The said meeting led 

to the setting up of a subcommittee 

with the mandate of finding a lasting 

solution to incessant protests by the 

youth of the area and it was given 

10 working days to submit its report. 

”The subcommittee had its 

inaugural sitting September 2, 2020 

where every member was in 

attendance, including the 

representatives of Oyigbo. 

”While waiting for the report of the 

subcommittee, the youths in their 

numbers embarked on flagrant 

action and barricaded the TCN 

station without recourse to the action 

points of the steering committee, 

thereby, stopping PHEDC from 

evacuating power to the good 

people of Rivers State on daily basis 

at a period where the country is 

gradually recovering from the shock 

of the pandemic. 

We didn’t cut off community 

“For avoidance of doubt the 

community was not disconnected by 

PHEDC as widely speculated in the 

public space championed by the 

youth, but the loss of supply to 

the area was due to faults on the 

lines. 

”We were going to fix the fault 

and discovered that it was huge 

which requires resources. But we 

are constrained to deploy such 

huge resources to a community 

that has never paid electricity bill 

for over seven years of PHEDC’s 

existence. At present we are 

struggling to pay salaries and 

other statutory obligations, 

everyone knows that electricity is 

not free anywhere in the world.” 

He said PHEDC was seeking 

the intervention of the opinion 

leaders and security agencies to 

prevail on the youths to vacate the 

place to enable PHEDC distribute 

power to its esteemed customers.

Niger-Delta Voice, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, , 2020 — 23 

Contractors, govt agencies 

sidetrack communities in project 

execution — Stakeholders 

AKWA IBOM … 

THE LAND OF 

PROMISE 

By Chioma 

Onuegbu 

E B U G H U — 

COMMUNITY leaders 

and stakeholders at 

Ebughu community, Mbo 

Local Government Area, 

Akwa Ibom State, have 

complained that many 

contractors and 

government agencies do 

not involve indigenes in the 

siting and execution of 

development projects in 

their communities, leading 

to abandonment and poor 

execution. 

The stakeholders spoke, 

last week, at a town hall 

meeting on community 

engagement on contract 

implementation, 

procurement and 

g o v e r n a n c e 

participation organized by 

Public and Private 

Development Centre, 

PPDC, 

Govt sites library 

adjacent football 

field— Asukwo, 

village head 

Village head of 

Abiateowo- Ebughu, Chief 

Asukwo Edubio, expressed 

disappointment that 

governance has worsened, 

despite the fact that Nigeria 

is now an oil producing 

country. 

“In the present era of 

‘carry go,’ government do 

not collaborate with the 

community leaders while 

siting projects in 

communities. You can 

imagine government 

coming to site a library in 

this school (Community 

Grammar School, Ebughu), 

very close to where the 

football field is. A library is 

supposed to be located in a 

very quiet place where 

students can go to read. 

“Also, I remember, some 

years ago, there was a 

water project sited in my 

community. Nobody knew 

who carried out that project 

until the time of 

commissioning. Because I 

like to know and see what 

happens in my community, 

THE TEAM 

Emma Amaize - Editor 

Samuel Oyadongha - Yenagoa 

Jimitota Onoyume- Warri 

Gabriel Enogholase- Benin City 

Festus Ahon- Asaba 

Egufe Yafugborhi- Port Harcourt 

Emmanuel Una- Calabar 

Akpokona Omafuaire- Warri 

Paul Olayemi- Sapele 

Harri-Okon Emmanuel- Uyo 

Chioma Onuegbu-Uyo 

Ike Uchechukwu- Calabar 

Davies Iheamnachor- Port Harcourt 

Emem Idio- Yenagoa 

Brisibe Perez- Ughelli 

Theresa Ugbobu- Agbor 

Ochuko Akuopha- Oleh 

Chancel Bomadi Sunday - Bomadi 

Paul Olayemi- Sapele 

Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu- Benin City 

Chijioke Nwankpa, Port- Harcourt 

Barnabas Uzosike, Benin City 

so when I just see 

government vehicles in the 

community, I decided to go 

see why they came and that 

was how I knew that it was 

a government project. 

“They do things 

themselves without 

involving the communities. 

That is why we do not have 

quality projects, and they 

do not even maintain 

community projects. In 

those days when we were 

having Eastern, Western, 

Northern regions, 

government maintained 

infrastructure such as 

roads. Even now that we 

have oil, we do not have our 

roads maintained,” he said. 

Our representatives 

disappointed us 

—Chief Nduong 

Similarly, 86-year-old 

Chief Asuquo Nduong of 

Akai Udoh- Ebughu 

village, identified lack of 

representation as the 

problem of the community, 

noting, ”For the past eight 

to 10 years, I do not know 

those representing us at the 

state House of Assembly 

and National Assembly. 

They will come to canvass 

for votes, but after getting 

elected, you will never see 

them again, they will never 

come back to ask for what 

we need. That is the 

problem we have. 

“So please take this kind 

of enlightenment workshop 

for those representing us, I 

am appealing to you to 

educate our elected 

officials. I believe if you 

(PPDC) organize this kind 

of workshop for people, 

who are representing us, 

things will begin to work 

well in our communities” 

UBEC contractor 

constructed classroom 

without consulting 

school mgmt—NUT 

chair 

Chairman, Nigeria Union 

of Teachers, NUT, Akwa 

Ibom state chapter and 

principal of Community 

Grammar School, 

Ebughu, Comrade Etim 

Ukpong, said the 

Universal Basic Education 

Commission (UBEC) 

project in his school, which 

PPDC team came to see 

earlier was wrongly located 

because of non- 

involvement of the 

school authority and 

community leaders. 

Pointing out that 


come in terms with 

the meaning of 

governance, he said: 

“You will agree with 

me that across 

Nigeria, most 

communities that are 

host to government 

projects do not know 

where the project 

are sited. 

Sometimes, they 

only know because 

of the signboard 

they see. Nobody 

tells them anything, 

nobody shows them 

anything. It is even 

worse in school 

compounds.” 

“Contractors of 

government projects come 

into 

schools 

compound, many times, 

they will not tell anybody 

that they are coming to 

execute a project. They 

decide the location 

themselves, do what they 

do and then go away. I 

want to use this school as 

example, I was away for 

some time, I came back, 

only to be told that those 

that executed the classroom 

block up there handed it 

over to the school’s security 

man. 

“And you can see where 

the UBEC classroom is 

located in a compound that 

has no perimeter fence. We 

have only one government 

security in this school. So 

we refused to allocate 

classes to that block. If the 

person who brought that 

project had involved the 

school authority or the 

community, definitely he or 

she would have been 

shown a better location to 

site it,” he added. 

Decrepit projects 

Ukpong continued: “The 

PPDC monitors also saw 

the dilapidated nature of 

the UBEC projects 

themselves, it was not for 

us to speak too much. 

Those of us in the labour 

movement are seen to talk 

too much. It is time 

communities are made to 

own what they have. If they 

are involved, projects will 

be executed based on their 

financial value, 

communities will benefit 

and also make sure the 

projects are not 

vandalized.” 

“I appreciate the Ebughu 

community for their interest 

in developing their 

community. They bring 

projects to the school, it is 

not common, it is not 

everywhere in Akwa Ibom 

you see communities take 

such interest in bringing 

projects into the school that 

they have. I believe this 

programme is going to add 

value to the importance 

people of this area put on 

what they brought to their 

locality”, Ukpong said. 

What we plan to 

achieve —Chukwu, 

PPDC programme officer 

Addressing the 

participants, the PPDC 

programme officer, Mr. 

Onyekachi Chukwu, said 

the UBEC classroom block 

and toilet facility still not in 

use by the school were 

among 144 projects 

monitored in 12 states 

between July and 

September, 2020. 

He explained that the 

community engagement 

aims at creating a 

watchdog system and 

ensure citizens at local 

levels are active users and 

participants of 

procurement execution in 

their communities. 

:Vanguard 

News 

:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnewsNEWS HOTLINES: 

RESTRUCTURING: Northern 

leaders root for 12-state structure 

•Say it’s most viable option now and foreseeable future 

•Back 100% resource control, merging of Senate, House of Reps 

By Clifford 

Ndujihe, Politics 

Editor 

FOR the first time since the 

agitation for restructuring 

started, some northern 

leaders have a made move 

that is bound to cause cheers 

among resource control 

activists in the oil-rich Niger- 

Delta region. 

To make Nigeria viable, the 

leaders are seeking a return 

to the 1967 12-state structure 

to be known as regions with 

full devolution of powers and 

100 per cent resource control. 

In a memorandum to the 

National Assembly 

Committee on the Review of 

the 1999 Constitution, the 

Northern leaders, who 

described themselves as 

Friends of Democracy, said 

the 12 -state structure ‘’is the 

most viable option for Nigeria 

at the moment and in the 

foreseeable future.’’ 

The memorandum was 

signed by Alhaji Othman 

Tofa, Ambassador Fatimah 

Balla; Alhaji Sule Yahaya 

Hamma; Dr Abubakar 

Siddique Mohammed; Mr. 

Sam Nda-Isaiah; Bashir 

Yusuf Ibrahim; Mai Bilya 

Bala; Mr. Hubert Shaiyen; Dr 

Kabir Az-Zubair; Professor 

Jibrin Ibrahim; and Dr 

Usman Bugaje. 

Going down memory lane, 

the leaders, who argued the 

North has not been aloof on 

restructuring as being 

painted, said that since 2001 

‘’a new crop of Northern 

intellectuals, technocrats and 

politicians, have continued to 

search for a common ground 

with the rest of Nigeria on 

restructuring in different ways 

but the Northern effort has 

been under-reported in the 

mainstream media, for 

understandable reasons.’’ 

Noting that Nigeria, over 

years, has gone through 

various forms of restructuring 

– three regions at 

independence, four regions 

in 1963, 12 states in 1967, 19 

states in 1976, 21 states in 

1987, 30 states in 1991 and 

36 states in 1996, they blamed 

the dismantling of the 12-state 

structure for the country’s 

nagging socio-economic 

challenges. 

‘’The distortion of the 12- 

state structure by multiplying 

the states to 19, 21, 30 and 36 

was done to appease new 

minority groups that emerged 

after state creation, to spread 

federal largesse more evenly 

and sometimes for selfish 

reasons. Today, Nigeria 

cannot sustain the 36-state 

structure due to its overdependence 

on oil revenues 

that would continue to 

dwindle in the coming 

years,’’ they said. 

Arguing that restructuring 

through multiplication of 

states produced a Jacobin 

effect that strengthened 

Federal power relative to the 

powers of the federating 

units, and weakened all 

political groups that are not 

in control of the centre, the 

leaders outlined five key 

principles of restructuring 

and nine constitutional 

proposals ‘’to substantially 

improve and stabilise 

Nigeria’s federation, cater for 

the welfare of a large majority 

of Nigerians and allocate the 

nation’s resources in an 

efficient and cost-effective 

manner.’’ 

Their key principles for 

restructuring Nigeria 

‘’States must be 

economically viable and must 

rely on fiscal resources they 

generate themselves instead 

of handouts from the Centre. 

‘’States must operate in a 

democratic manner and be 

run by Chief Executives that 

are accountable to the people 

and legislators that are 

independent. 

“States should have the 

constitutional and legislative 

powers to determine their 

internal structures such as the 

number of local governments 

they desire. 

‘’States must be allowed to 

determine their own 

framework and mechanism 

for the choice of leaders at all 

levels, which recognises and 

combines both merit and the 

need for fair representation 

of the broad identities that 

make up the states such as 

geography, ethnicity, 

religion, etc. 

‘’Balance the distribution of 

power and fiscal resources 

between the states and the 

federation to address the 

desire for local resource 

control and the viability of the 

federation as a whole.’’ 

Constitutional 

proposals 

Given these principles, the 

northern leaders proposed 

the following constitutional 

amendments: 

•A return to the 12-state 

federal structure of 1967. The 

12 states would be the 

federating units; 

•The 12 states shall be redesignated 

as regions and 

shall have full control of their 

resources while paying 

appropriate taxes to the 

Federal Government; 

•The regions shall have the 

powers to create and 

maintain local governments 

as they desire; 

•Overhaul the Legislative 

Lists and reassign 

agriculture, education and 

health to the Residual List in 

which states alone would 

have competence but the 

Federal Government would 

share a regulatory role with 

the states; 

•Mining should be 

reassigned to the concurrent 

list with on-land mining 

under the federating units 

and off-land mining under 

the control of the government 

of the federation; 

•Policing should also be 

reassigned to the concurrent 

list with only inter-state crime, 

cyber-crime and international 

crime under the jurisdiction 

of the federal police; 

•The power of taxation 

should remain concurrent; 

•The Federal Character 

Principle should be retained 

and strictly and universally 

observed; and 

•The current Senate 

should be merged with the 

House of Representatives 

under a unicameral 

legislature. 

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24 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020



Transparency International, CISLAC raise alarm 

over corruption in ARV drugs procurement 

•Say contractors inflate prices by over 50% 


IRKED by the plight of 

Nigerians living with 

HIV and dwindling donor 

funds, the Civil Society 

Legislative Advocacy Centre, 

CISLAC, and Transparency 

International, TI, 

Nigeria have raised the 

alarm over alleged irregularities 

in the procurement 

process of Anti-retroviral, 

ARV, drugs by the National 

Agency for the Control of 

AIDS, NACA. 

They noted that fraudulent 

contractors inflate the 

prices of the ARV drugs by 

over 50 percent even as 

they expressed worry that 

the nefarious practice is 

currently sabotaging NA- 

CA’s efforts to correct the 

anomalies of drug supply 

by buying directly from the 

manufacturers. 

Speaking in Lagos, the 

Executive Director, CIS- 

LAC, Auwal Ibrahim 

Musa, called on President 

Mohammadu Buhari to 

intervene so as to ensure 

total reform in the procurement 

process. 

“CISLAC and TI Nigeria 

gathered that the contractors 

currently sell the 

ARV drugs at $13 per patient 

as against $7 given 

by the manufacturers. 

“These exorbitant prices 

quoted by existing contractors 

renders government 

financially incapacitated to 

adequately provide for, and 

make ARV drugs accessible 

across health care facilities, 

which record resultant 

stockouts, health 

hazards and relapses of illnesses.” 

Musa lamented what he 

described as unchecked 

L-R: Media Officer, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, Onyekachi 

Eke; Executive Director, CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), and Board 

Member, CISLAC, Adesina Oke, at the media briefing on the ongoing government 

reforms on the purchasing of ARV drugs directly from the manufacturers, organised 

by CISLAC and Transparency International in Lagos last week. 

attitudes of the fraudulent 

contractors, who he said 

their unlawful activities 

hitherto dominate the procurement 

process even as 

he commended the recent 

decision by NACA to purchase 

ARV drugs directly 

from the manufacturers at 

half the cost quoted by the 

contractors and middlemen. 

“While we acknowledge 

NACA’s plan to establish 

HIV Trust Fund driven by 

the private sector to support 

existing efforts of the government, 

we observe that 

without current support by 

the US Government and 

the Global Fund, it would 

cost Nigeria N50 billion to 

treat one million people living 

with HIV annually. 

“Giving the existing costefficient 

practice by the US 

Government and Global 

Fund involving the direct 

purchase of the drugs from 

the manufacturers, we are 

worried by the ill-informed, 

pocket-serving and discrediting 

petitions by some 

vested interests, who have 

endlessly benefited from 

inflated prices of the drugs 

in the last five years, to discourage 

the ongoing effort 

of NACA to directly source 

the drugs primarily for sustainability 

and wider coverage. 

“We are also concerned 

that over-reliance on donor 

funds in the fight against 

HIV in the country constitutes 

a dangerous trend to 

sustainability, hence the 

need for the government to 

take full ownership in the 

prevention and treatment of 

HIV in the country. 

“Corruption in the treatment 

of HIV/AIDS is no dif- 

ferent from corruption in 

the health sector. In 2003, 

Nigeria’s ARV programmes 

attracted much 

criticism when treatment 

centres were alleged to be 

handing out expired drugs 

and rejecting patients.” 

Citing a detailed investigative 

news report of December 

28, 2018, the International 

Centre for Investigative 

Reporting, ICIR, 

that hundreds of millions of 

naira released for HIV campaigns, 

counselling and 

testing services ended in 

private pockets, CISLAC 

and TI Nigeria prayed that 

fraudulent contractors who 

undermine the Public Procurement 

Act must be thoroughly 

scrutinised and discouraged 

from defrauding 

the government through 

inflated ARV drugs supply 

services. 

COVID-19: Greater health security on horizon as 

NCDC, NAPPSA endorse proactive response 

By Sola Ogundipe 

THE Director-General, 

Nigeria Centre for 

Disease Control, NCDC, 

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, 

has called for rethink of the 

current global healthcare 

delivery architecture to 

make it more collaborative 

and responsive to combat 

the coronavirus and future 

pandemics. 

Ihekweazu said the new 

healthcare model must be 

global in outlook but easily 

adaptable to meet local 

needs, arguing that it must 

be equitable, collaborative, 

and resilient, with inbuilt 

environmental and 

economic components to 

forestall the current 

haphazard global 

response to COVID-19. 

Speaking at the 2020 

Nigerian Association of 

Pharmacists and 

Pharmaceutical Scientists 

in the Americas, NAPPSA, 

Scientific Conference and 

Exposition in the US 

themed: "COVID-19 

Pandemic: Evolution of 

Science, Practice and 

Training", Ihekweazu said 

the model must meet the 

health security needs of 

each nation and inspire a 

new crop of scientists and 

public health professionals. 

His words: "COVID-19 

has taught us that health 

is the basis of wealth, that 

global health is no longer 

defined by Western nations 

and must also be guided 

by Africa and Asia, and that 

international solidarity is 

an essential response and 

a superior approach to 

isolationism, 

"Every country needs a 

National Public Health 

Institute to deliver on 

health security. We need to 

inspire a new generation 

of scientists and public 

health professionals. 

“We need to build 

resilience in the supply 

chain for essential 

commodities and 

strengthen international 

collaboration for equitable 

access to vaccines and 

targeted support," 

Ihekweazu noted. 

Also speaking, the 

NAPPSA President, Dr 

Anthony Ikeme, said 

Nigeria must learn the 

lessons of the COVID-19 

pandemic and fortify her 

healthcare infrastructure to 

be better prepared for 

future emergencies. 

He said NAPPSA, the 

foremost group of diaspora 

Nigerians with over 7,000 

Nigerian pharmaceutical 

and related professionals, 

holds the yearly conference 

among other things, to 

share knowledge and 

ideas on current 

developments and 

innovations in the medical 

and pharmaceutical field, 

providing insights to 

issues, as well as offer 

practical steps to help 

shape the future of the 

sector. 

He presented an award 

to Ihekweazu on behalf of 

NAPPSA, "in recognition of 

his exceptional leadership 

in monitoring and 

mitigating the impact of 

COVID-19 pandemic in 

Nigeria." 

The recipient 

commended the 

Association for its leading 

role in Nigeria’s response 

to the COVID-19 

pandemic amidst others. 

UBTH boosts digital health 

services in Edo State 

...Partners Outpost Health platform 

By Sola Ogundipe 

THE University of Benin 

Teaching Hospital, 

UBTH, is launching digital 

health services to over four 

million people across Edo 

state courtesy of the Outpost 

Health Platform. 

Disclosing this to Good 

Health Weekly in a chat, the 

Chief Executive Officer, 

Outpost Health, Dr. Didi 

Emokpare, said the 

revolutionary healthcare 

delivery platform will 

increase access to affordable, 

quality, next-generation 

healthcare for all citizens of 

Edo State, and Nigeria at 

large. 

Emokpare said: “Outpost 

Health will power the 

Virtual Care Services of 

UBTH by providing its 

proprietary, privacycompliant, 

secure digital 

health platform accessible 

from any internet-connected 

device. 

“Through the UBTH 

Virtual Care Service, 

patients are empowered 

with confidential 24/7 

access to the platform, which 

includes online video visits, 

electronic medical records, 

health-tracking tools, a 

digital health wallet and 

educational resources.” 

The Service benefits 

patients, healthcare 

10,000kg of plastic waste 

deposited for recycling in 


•As Coca-Cola unveils Project Revive 


IN a bid to make to reduce 

challenges of packaging 

waste, Coca-Cola Nigeria 

Limited has partnered with 

RecyclePoints, a waste 

recycling and social 

enterprise to actualize a 

corporate recycling 

programme even as it 

rewarded participants. 

The programme implores 

the company’s associates to 

weekly drop-off the 

recyclables they recovered 

from their homes or 

neighbourhood at the 

designated point at the 

company’s official car park 

where its programme 

partner, RecyclePoints 

picks the recyclables up for 

onward processing. 

Meanwhile, the 

programme which started 

with Coca-Cola associates 

have attracted keen 

observers within the Ikoyi 

community where the head 

office is located. 

Street sweepers, facility 

cleaners, domestic help 

and lots of other residents 

within Ikoyi axis quickly 

providers, and the 

healthcare system by 

enabling online 

consultations between 

patients and their UBTH 

doctors or other health 

professionals, safely and 

conveniently from the 

comfort of their homes. 

Emokpare said: “Over 

400 doctors and health 

professionals at the health 

institution will be provided 

access to clinical tools to 

facilitate innovative 

healthcare delivery and 

improve data-driven clinical 

outcomes. 

“By delivering a seamless, 

cashless payment 

experience for patients and 

staff, the UBTH Virtual 

Care Services is designed 

to provide a real-time 

Artificial Intelligenceenhanced 

data and 

analytics portal, which offers 

administrative insights, 

clinical metrics, epidemic 

predictive capabilities, etc.” 

Outpost Healthcare is an 

award-winning Canadian 

based Physician-led digital 

health organisation 

connecting a global 

community of patients to 

trusted healthcare 

providers via video 

consults, integrated 

medical records, and 

personalised health 

management resources. 

subscribed to participate 

and earn rewards following 

the recycling rewards 

programme facilitated by 

RecyclePoints recycling 

model. 

Already, over 75 

registered subscribers 

have so far deposited over 

10,000 kilograms of plastic 

bottles/cans. 

Speaking during an 

official ceremony in Lagos 

the Public Affairs, 

Communications & 

Sustainability Manager, 

Coca-Cola Nigeria 

Limited, Nwamaka 

Onyemelukwe said: As 

part of Coca-Cola’s efforts 

to support communities 

recover from the economic 

challenges posed by the 

pandemic, a post-COVID 

economic empowerment 

programme tagged 

“Project Revive” has been 

launched. 

The Project Revive will 

support the economic 

recovery and 

empowerment of women 

and youths who have been 

most impacted by the 

pandemic.

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 


NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

LAUNCH OF YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SCHEME—From left: Minister of 

Humanitarian Services, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Saddiya 

Umar-Farouk; VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo; President Muhammadu Buhari; Gov Dave 

Umeahi of Ebonyi; Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu; Minister of 

Labour and Employment, Sen Chris Ngige and Special Assistant to the President on Youth 

and Student Affairs, Nasir Adhama; during the lunch of the Presidential Youth Empowerment 

Scheme (P-YES) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday. 

More #EndSARS protests rock 

Lagos, Osogbo, Ilorin, Abuja 

Continues from Page 5 

concerns. I am saying it again 

here that this protest is in good 

faith. But, we must not be 

unruly when going out on a 

protest like this. We want you 

to be peaceful and decorous 

in expressing yourselves.” 

Sanwo-Olu said he spoke 

with the Inspector-General of 

Police (IGP), Muhammed 

Adamu, on Monday to 

outline the position of the 

Lagos State Government on 

police reforms, adding that he 

will visit President Buhari on 

Tuesday (tomorrow) and 

present the demands of Lagos 

youths on the issues. 

In Abuja, the #EndSARS 

protesters again stormed the 

headquarters of the Nigerian 

Police Force as well as the 

embassies of the United 

States, United Kingdom, and 

the European Union to press 

home the fresh demands. 

Visa ban demand 

on Oyo CP, family 

But, at the three diplomatic 

houses visited in Abuja, a civil 

society organization 

participating in the protest, 

Concerned Nigerians, filed 

separate petitions calling for 

a visa ban on Oyo state police 

commissioner, Nwachukwu 

Enwonwu and the members 

of his family. 

Reading a copy of the 

petition before journalists 

during the protest, convener 

of the group, Comrade Deji 

Adeyanju, said: “We appeal to 

the United States of America 

and other development 

partners of Nigeria to place a 

visa restriction on the 

Commissioner of Police in 

Oyo State, Nwachukwu 

Enwonwu, and members of 

his family over his handling 

of the ongoing EndSARS 

protest which has led to 

extrajudicial killings and 

several human rights 

violations in the state. 

“Despite 

the 

pronouncement of the ban 

yesterday (Sunday) on the 

Special Anti Robbery Squad, 

SARS, rights violations have 

continued in the country, 

especially in Oyo State, where 

another citizen was killed. 

“Freedom of assembly, 

which is one of the pillars of 

democracy, is now almost a 

crime in Nigeria. If this 

request is granted, it will serve 

as a deterrent to others who 

continue to toe the path of 

violating citizen’s rights.” 

Davido meets 

IGP 

Meanwhile, Nigerian 

singer, David Adeleke, a.k.a. 

Davido, met IGP Adamu, in 

his office over the issue of 

police brutality against 

civilians. Davido was 

accompanied by top Nigerian 

music executive, Ubi 

Franklin, his manager, Asa 

Asika, lawyer, and some 

members of his DMW label. 

As at press time, no official 

statement had been released 

on the outcome of the meeting. 

They also sought an 

executive pronouncements 

Naira depreciates to N459/$ 

in parallel market 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

THE Naira, yesterday, depreciated to N459 per 

dollar in the parallel market. 

According to naijabdcs.com, the live exchange rate 

platform of the Association of Bureaux De Change 

Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the parallel market 

exchange rate rose to N459 per dollar from N458.50 

kobo per dollar last week Friday, indicating 50 kobo 

depreciation of the naira. 

Similarly, the naira yesterday depreciated by 17 kobo in 

the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window. 

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange 

rate for the window rose to N386 per dollar yesterday 

from N385.83 per dollar last week Friday, translating to 

17 kobo depreciation of the naira. 

However, the volume of dollars (turnover) traded in the 

window dropped by 24 percent to $102.35 million from 

$134.83 million last week Friday. 

disbanding the unit from 

President Muhamadu 

Buhari. 

In Osogbo, Osun State, the 

protesters converged on the 

popular Nelson Mandela 

Square at Old Garage 

around 8am and walked 

through Olaiya junction to 

Ogo-Ogoluwa, stopped 

briefly at the House of 

Assembly before heading to 

the Governor’s Office, 

bearing placards. 

The peaceful protest, 

however, led to a gridlock on 

the Osogbo-Gbongan road 

as motorists were left with no 

choice than to drive behind 

them. 

Speaking with journalists in 

Osogbo, one of the conveners 

of the protest, Seyi Adelaja, 

said the protesters decided to 

continue their agitation 

because they did not trust the 

pronouncement of the IGP on 

the disbandment, adding that 

similar pronouncement had 

been done in the past only for 

SARS to resurface after 

sometime. 

“Our demands, apart from 

seeking an executive order to 

disband SARS, also include 

total reformation of the police 

to serve the citizenry rather 

treats us like animals.” he 

said. 

Protesters 

ground Ilorin 

In Kwara State, youths 

Nigerian youths in Ilorin 

joined their counterparts in 

other states of the federation 

to protest against the activities 

of the Special Anti-Robbery 

Squad. 

Hundreds of the angry 

youths with placards on 

#EndSARS, went round 

Taiwo, Unity, Post Office 

Murtala Mohammed way, 

Sawmill area, Offa garage 

area and other major streets 

of Ilorin to protest what they 

described as the nefarious 

activities of SARS on 

Nigerians, particularly the 

youths. 

As they went around, they 

sensitized the residents in 

shops, offices and people in 

vehicles, seeking their 

cooperation against the 

activities of the police unit. 

Receiving the protesters on 

behalf of Governor 

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, 

his deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi, 

assured the protesters that 

their complaints had been 

heard. 

Alabi, who noted that the 

disbandment of SARS as a 

unit was beyond any state 

government, said the 

governor would meet with 

representatives of the 

protesters at the Presidential 

lodge today October at 2pm 

in order to chart a way 

forward. 

Earlier, representative of the 

protesters, Olushola Olayemi, 

said: “It’s high time we took a 

collective position on the 

nefarious and fraudulent 

activities of SARS against 

Nigerians, particularly the 

youths. Enough is enough. We 

have come here to seek the 

support of Your Excellency 

because we believe in you.” 

....Calabar too 

In Calabar, Cross Rivers 

State, about 1000 protesters, 

including celebrities, took 

over major streets to protest 

against all forms of Police 

brutality. 

Vanguard gathered that the 

protest which started at about 

10:00am, saw many 

residents of Calabar take to 

the streets causing gridlock 

along most popular and 

commercial roads, including 

Mary Slessor by Watt Market, 

Marian Road, IBB Way, 

Murtala Mohammed 

highway, and others. 

They further took the protest 

to the Governor’s office, 

headquarters of the state 

police command where they 

were addressed by the Deputy 

Commissioner of Police, 

Operations, Samuel Musa. 

The protest was joined by 

popular Calabar celebrities; 

artistes, comedians, actors, 

and activists who also 

expressed dissatisfaction over 

the unprofessional conduct of 

some police officers. 

SARS 

disbandment, 

first leg of Police 

reforms 

— Buhari 

Disturbed by the spate of 

protests in the country 

yesterday, despite the 

disbandment of SARS, 


Buhari declared that 

disbanding the Special Anti- 

Robbery Squad was the first 

step to extensive police reforms 

by his administration. 

Speaking at the launch of 

the Presidential Youth 

Empowerment Scheme (P- 

YES), aimed at creating 

774,000 jobs across the Local 

Government Areas (LGAs) in 

the country, President Buhari 

also directed that all those 

responsible for misconduct or 

wrongful acts be brought to 

justice. 

He said: “I will like to use 

this opportunity to say a word 

on the recent genuine 

concerns and agitations by 

Nigerians about the excessive 

use of force and in some cases 

extra-judicial killings and 

wrongful conduct of the men 

of the Nigerian Police Force. 

“The disbanding of SARS is 

only the first step in our 

commitment to extensive 

police reforms in order to 

ensure that the primary duty 

of the police and other law 

enforcement agencies 

remains the protection of lives 

and livelihood of our people. 

“We will also ensure that all 

those responsible for 

misconduct or wrongful acts 

are brought to justice. We 

deeply regret the loss of life of 

the young man in Oyo State 

during the recent 

demonstrations. 

“I have directed that the 

circumstances of his death 

should be thoroughly 

investigated. Meanwhile, it is 

important to recognise that 

the vast majority of men and 

women of the police force are 

hardworking and diligent in 

performing their duties. The 

few bad eggs should not be 

allowed to tarnish the image 

and reputation of the force.” 

SARS 

replacement’ll be 

acceptable 

— Osinbajo 

Also speaking on the issue, 

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo 

assured Nigerians that 

whatever would replace 

SARS would be something 

that will be acceptable and 

must comply with the tenets 

of the rule of law. 

Fielding questions from the 

State House correspondents 

after the launch on whether 

the government would accede 

to the five demands from the 

‘ENDSARS’ protesters, Vice 

President Osinbajo said: “I 

think the most important 

thing is that SARS has been 

disbanded and that the IGP 

has also committed to 

ensuring they not only 

disband, but that whatever 

takes its place has the full 

participation of the civil 

society groups and all other 

stakeholders. 

“A few minutes ago, the 

President also spoke about it. 

The disbandment of SARS is 

only the first stage in a full 

scale reform of the police 

force. I think everyone is now 

committed to seeing a police 

force and also a law 

enforcement agency that will 

meet the expectations of 

Nigerians." 

On his message for those still 

protesting, Prof. Osinbajo 

said: “I think the clear 

message is that there is a 

government commitment to 

ensuring reforms, those who 

have committed wrongful 

acts are duly investigated and 

prosecuted. And that whatever 

replaces SARS is something 

that is acceptable. 

“First of all, compliance 

with all of the tenets of the rule 

of law and human right 

rights...I think these are deep 

issues that we are all 

concerned about, I don’t think 

one person is more concerned 

than others. I have also been 

involved in many cases of 

many young people trying to 

resolve these kinds of conflicts 

that have been reported. 

“I think it is a good moment 

for the police force and for all 

of us to try and reform the 

police. We are all committed 

to it.” 

Training of new 

unit to replace 

SARS begins 

next week, IGP 

tells Davido 

Similarly, the Inspector 

General of Police, 

Mohammed Adamu, 

yesterday disclosed that the 

training of a new police unit 

to take over from the 

disbanded Special Anti - 

Robbery Squad (SARS) will 

begin next week. 

IGP Adamu made the 

disclosure when he received 

popular musician, David 

Adeleke, aka Davido, in his 

office at Force Headquarters 

over the ongoing #EndSARS 

protests. 

He noted that with the 

scrapping of SARS, there was 

need to get a new structure to 

carry out the duties of the 

defunct police unit, which is 

fighting violent crimes. 

Adamu assured that the new 

outfit would be intelligencedriven, 

properly trained and 

only act on special occasions 

that require their attention. 

He said the unit will be 

made up of fresh personnel 

with a fresh orientation and 

not officers from the scrapped 

unit. 

Noting that opportunities 

would be created for 

members of the public to 

participate in and make 

inputs to the formation of the 

new unit, the IGP said this was 

the first time the police had 

decisively taken the decision 

to dissolve SARS and called 

for calm as they continue to 

resolve all the issues. 

He said Davido‘s visit to talk 

about the issue was the best 

way to deal with the current 

problem, promising that with 

the formation of the new unit, 

corrections would be taken 

from the experience of SARS. 

“We just disbanded SARS 

yesterday (Sunday), so 

protesters should calm down 

and give us time to fix the 

problem. The general public 

will be part of the process of 

getting a new outfit. 

“I’m talking to you, so I will 

keep talking to many others 

and get civil societies 

involved and get their input 

towards the new unit,” Adamu 

said. 

Promising to investigate all 

cases of brutality and bring 

perpetrators to book, the IGP 

said: “The issue of 

compensation to the families 

of those affected by SARS’ 

would be addressed when 

investigations are concluded. 

We want justice to be done and 

justice will be done.” 

He said officers of the 

disbanded outfit would be 

retrained and given other 

responsibilities in the Force, 

but would not be reabsorbed 

into the new unit. 

“We admit the trust gap is 

wide but we will work to 

bridge that gap,” he said. 

Earlier, Davido called for 

every officer who is part of 

SARS to be relieved of their 

duties and demanded the 

immediate release of all 

arrested protesters. 

He also called for justice for 

the victims of SARS’ brutality 

and compensation for their 

families. 

Go beyond SARS 

disbandment 

— PDP 

Meanwhile, Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, has 

called for the restructuring of 

the Police force. 

The party said: “No 

indicted officer should be 

reassigned and allowed to go 

unpunished after such 

heinous crime against the 

Nigerian people. 

“Those who killed, maimed, 

dehumanized and foisted a 

reign of terror on innocent 

Nigerians must be made to 

answer for their devilish 

actions. Anything short of this 

will amount to granting 

official cover to felonious 

elements and a tacit 

encouragement of further 

perpetuation of such crimes 

against Nigerians.” 

That said, the party picked 

holes at the alleged moves by 

the ruling party “to use a 

certain impostor as 

spokesperson in the social 

media to attempt to trivialize, 

politicize and detract from the 

essence of the public protest 

against the excesses of the 

disbanded police outfit.k


Mining to contribute 5% to Nigeria's GDP by 2025 — FG 

By Alice Ekpang 

THE Minister of Mines and 

Steel Development, 

Architect Olamilekan Adegbite, 

has said that the ministry has a 

target of increasing the mining 

sector’s contribution to the 

nation’s Gross Domestic 

Product, GDP, by 5% in 2025. 

Addressing newsmen in 

Abuja, Adegbite lamented that 

mining which contributed about 

12 per cent of the country's GDP 

in the 1950s was now 

neglected. 

He said the government 

intend using the forthcoming 

annual mining week, to kickstart 

the process of bringing 

back the glorious days of 

mining and put Nigeria back on 

the mining map of the world. 

“This year, we are hoping to 

have 2,000 participants from all 

over the word that will join us. 

We are looking forward to 

attracting big formal sector 

mining companies into 

Nigeria," he added. 

Also speaking, President of 

the Miners' Association of 

Nigeria, Alhaji Sani Shehu, 

said that “the annual gathering 

is aimed at providing support 

for the development of the local 

workforce and the 

mechanization of the industry 

and at facilitating the dialogue 

between private and public 

sectors across the value chain, 

to boost the future of mining in 

Nigeria through collaboration 

and partnerships." 

He added that with a network 

of industry leaders, investors, 

visionaries and pioneers, 

transforming the face of mining 

in the country, Nigeria Mining 

Week would afford the 

opportunity to uncover the latest 

projects, meet new partners, and 

land new deals”. 

Shehu said the fifth edition of 

the Nigeria Mining Week, 

which will take place in a digital 

format, for the first time, will 

drive vital revenues for 

suppliers and mining operators, 

so important to all stakeholders 

at this time. 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 

Nigeria’s oil & gas earnings climb to N24trn in 

5yrs 

•Funds not effectively managed — Experts 

By Michael Eboh 

DESPITE the huge global 

crash in prices, Nigeria’s 

earnings from oil and gas in the 

first half of 2020, is N2.41trillion 

just 8.7 percent below the 

N2.63trillion recorded in the 

corresponding period of 2019. 

This brings the country’s total 

earnings from this mainstay of 

revenue in the past five years 

(2015-2019) to N24.1 trillion. 

According to the data sourced 

from the Central Bank of Nigeria, 

CBN, oil revenue in the first six 

months of 2020, accounted for 

59.7 per cent of gross federallycollected 

revenue of N4.03 

trillion recorded in the same 

period. 

On a month-on-month basis, 

the report noted that in January, 

February, March, April, May 

and June 2020, N527.18 billion, 

N405.33 billion, N454.34 billion, 

N284.04 billion and N281.97 

billion respectively. 

Despite challenging global 

economic headwinds, Nigeria 

earned N21.71 trillion from the 

oil and gas industry in five years, 

from 2015 to 2019. 

During this period, the 

country’s economy went into 

recession, occasioned by 

declining prices of crude oil and 

low crude oil output, due to 

militancy in the Niger Delta 

region, sabotage and 

vandalisation of oil and gas 

assets across the country, 

especially the in oil-producing 

communities. 

This was even as experts 

maintained that the funds had 

not been effectively utilized to 

impact the lives of a vast majority 

of Nigerians, as well as in 

growing the economy of the 

country. 

The revenue from the oil and 

gas sector comprise earnings 

from crude oil and gas exports, 

Petroleum Profit Tax, PPT, 

royalties and domestic crude oil 

sales. 

Oil earnings from 2015 to 2019 

represented 60.25 per cent of the 

combined budget figure for the 

same period. 

The average price of crude oil, 

which is one of the major drivers 

of the earnings, for the five-year 

period, 2015 to 2019, was $55.32 

per barrel, but the 2020 average 

has since dropped to $38. 

Giving a breakdown of the 

country’s oil earnings, the 

reports revealed that N3.83 

trillion, N2.69 trillion, N4.1 

trillion, N5.55 trillion and N5.54 

trillion were recorded as oil 

revenue in 2015, 2016, 2017, 

2018 and 2019 respectively. 

Funds utilisation 

Despite the funds accrued to 

the country within the period 

from the oil and gas industry, 

experts are unanimous in their 

views that the government has 

not effectively utilized the 

country’s oil earnings for the 

purpose of developing the 

country. 

Specifically, Professor Wumi 

Iledare, a petroleum economist 

and former President of the 

Nigerian Association for Energy 

Economics, NAEE, maintained 

that the country had not 

effectively managed its oil 

earnings, especially when 

viewed against current economic 

realities. 

Iledare, who is also Ghana 

National Petroleum Corporation, 

GNPC, Professorial Chair in Oil 

and Gas Economics and 

Management at the Institute for 

Oil and Gas Studies, University 

of Cape Coast, Ghana, said: 

“The answer to whether Nigeria 

had effectively managed its oil 

earning is obvious from the 

deficit of N16 trillion, when 

compared against the total 

budgets for the period, 2015 to 

2019. 

“If you examine the budget 

items over the period, the 

proportion earmarked for capital 

expenditure reflects Esau's 

Syndrome mentality. Most 

budget items were mostly for 

concurrent expenditures and 

mostly political governance; 

living on borrowed money. 

“In my opinion, I do not see 

how spending more money over 

the period on subsidy than 

education, healthcare, and 

infrastructure can be considered 

effective, efficient, ethical and 

effective.” 

Also speaking, Expert Advisory 

Panel of the NNRC, Ronke 

Onadeko, argued that Nigeria 

had not done well with effective 

management of oil revenues, 

noting that the country has not 

achieved many milestones that 

are crucial to development as an 

emerging economy. 

She said: “Our priorities have 

not been well articulated. If we 

are striving towards an educated 

healthy population that has a 

technological future, we need to 

see government prioritising 

infrastructure, primary health 

care, and education among 

others. 

“Development plans have not 

been adequately funded; this is 

quite evident in the non-passage 

of the petroleum industry bill for 

close to 20 years. In addition, the 

haphazard manner in which the 

gas master plan and 

development plans have been 

rolled out and funded 

demonstrates this. The gas to 

power plan has not seen 

milestones achieved and funds 

for the future have not been set 

aside such as the frontier, 

midstream, de-commissioning, 

host community and sovereign 

wealth funds among others. 

“These critical funds have not 

been sufficiently funded, or in 

some cases funded at all. The 

government needs to show some 

political will, dedication and 

sacrifice to these issues or else 

we will not achieve much in the 

next five years.” 

On his part, Senior Lecturer in 

the Department of Economics 

and Development Studies, 

Covenant University, Ota, Ogun 

State, Dr. Obindah Gershon, 

concurred with the others, 

adding that Nigeria could have 

better utilized its oil revenue to 

diversify the economy over the 

years. 

PIB’ll secure future of Nigeria’s oil industry—Kyari 

By Michael Eboh 

GROUP Managing Director 

of the Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, 

Mallam Mele Kyari, yesterday, 

disclosed that the passage of the 

Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, 

would effectively secure the future 

of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry 

and attract the much-needed 

investments into the sector. 

Speaking at the Third Annual 

Lecture and Awards of ValueChain 

Magazine, Kyari stated that the 

NNPC was opened to collaboration 

with all stakeholders to ensure the 

quick passage of the bill, while he 

urged all Nigerians, especially the 

media to continually scrutinize 

issues in the bill. 

He said: “As you all know here, 

the PIB is by no means the single 

most important piece of legislation 

for this administration and by 

extension for us in the Industry. 

Although the bill is still not yet over 

the line after two decades, it 

gladdens my heart that there is a 

renewed commitment on the part 

of everyone to get it passed. 

“On our part as NNPC, we shall 

sustain our unflinching support to 

the government and the media in 

efforts at educating the public on 

this legislation. 

“I am optimistic that through 

positive engagement and 

collaboration between the 

Executive, the Legislature and 

other stakeholders, the PIB will 

smoothly scale through the 

remaining legislative hurdles so 

that in the coming days, Nigerians 

will begin to see that with such 

legislation in place, the future of 

Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is 

certain and assured. 

“We are also open to 

partnerships with the media in 

terms of capacity building 

especially as it relates to the PIB. I 

am of the opinion that every 

Nigerian deserves to know what 

this legislation means for the 

Nigerian oil and gas industry"




INUGURATION: From left — Mrs Mary Ikoku, CEO Access Media Group; Dr Ngozi Azodoh, Director Health 

Planning, Research and Statistics, Federal Ministry of Health; initiator of the project, Mrs Ngozi Ekeoma and 

Johnson Chukwu, Managing Director of Cowry Asset/Project Implementation Committee Chairman during the 

inuguration of a 50-Bed Ultra Modern Medical Center in Umuahia, Abia State. 

Over 300 Army/Police check-points 

choking S-East —Investigation 

• Harass, intimidate citizens 

• Motorists lament massive extortion 

• Stakeholders condemn the ugly act 

By Our Reporters 

ENUGU—THE South 

East zone can rightly be 

said to be under siege by 

soldiers and police that 

have mounted checkpoints 

almost at every two kilometers 

in all the major roads 

in the zone. 

From Aba to Umuahia to 

Owerri, Enugu to Abakaliki, 

Awka to Onitsha to 

Nnewi, the story is the 

same. From Aba to Enugu, 

a distance of 150 kilometers, 

there are at least 12 

army checkpoints and over 

16 police checkpoints, permanently 

mounted and a 

couple of stop and search 

police teams. 

The situation has been a 

source of worry to motorists 

and other road users in the 

zone, some of whom have 

described it as an embarrassment 

and an assault of 

the people of the zone. 

Recall that during the last 

South East Security meeting 

with the Inspector General 

of Police, Adamu Mohammed, 

the President 

General of Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo 

raised alarm over the multiple 

police checkpoints in 

the zone with the attendant 

extortion of motorists, harassment 

and intimidation 

of even passersby. 

Abia: Army, Police 

checkpoints 

having bazaar on 

motorists 

In Abia, Aba-Umuahia, 

both the expressway and 

the old road have several 

number of army and police 

checkpoints; Umuahia- 

Uzuakoli-Bende-Ohafia 

road and the Umuahia- 

Owerri road are not left out. 

The motorists plying the 

Abia State section of the 

Enugu–Port Harcourt expressway 

and the old Aba- 

Umuahia highway have 

been lamenting the extortion, 

harassment and intimidation 

they pass through 

from the soldiers and policemen 

at these checkpoints. 

Vanguard observed that 

soldiers in Abia engage the 

service of young men who 

stop motorists, collect money 

for them at various 

checkpoints. They extort 

money based on the size of 

the vehicle. Big vehicles, 

like trucks, tippers carrying 

sand or chippings, give 

as much as N1, 000, while 

those conveying containers 

are forced to pay much 

more. Buses are extorted 

between N200 and N500 

and the amount could be 

higher if the bus is overloaded 

with commodities. 

It is a similar situation at 

checkpoints mounted by 

policemen but their own is 

done with brazenness as 

they even negotiate and 

give change to the motorists. 

One notorious police 

station involved in this illegal 

act is Ndiegoro Police 

Division in Aba where a 

‘Civilian DPO’ once held 

sway, arresting and detaining 

residents who purchased 

their freedom at 

very high prices. 

From the Imo gate border 

between Rivers and Abia 

States to the boundary between 

Abia and Enugu 

State, it is always extortion 

bazaar by soldiers and policemen 

at the multiple 

checkpoints on this route. 

It is further observed that 

similar situation takes place 

along the old-Aba-Umuahia 

highway. From Acho 

Nwakanma junction to 

Obikabia junction, a distance 

of 5 kilometers, there 

are over 7 police checkpoints 

harassing motorists 

for ‘roger’. Attention is always 

focused on buses 

from Akwa Ibom/Cross River 

who came to buy goods 

from the various markets in 

the city. 

The Police in Aba have 

also converted the Aba– 

waterside bridge to a 

checkpoint where they extort 

money from motorists, 

especially tricycle operators. 

Despite warnings boldly 

written at these army checkpoints, 

that no bribe should 

be given or taken, the soldiers 

never obey the warning as they 

embark on their extortion 

spree. Most guilty are the 

checkpoints at Asa High 

School, Ukwa West; the Isiala 

Ngwa junction; as well as 

another at Itungwa on the old 

Aba–Umuahia highway. 

Others include those at 

Obikabia junction in Obingwa 

council area and another 

one on the Umuahia– 

Ohafia highway. Even the 

Federal Road Safety Corps 

are not left out of the menace 

as they now openly collect 

bribe from motorists. 

A motorist, Ikechukwu 

Chijioke, narrated to Vanguard 

how he was once 

assaulted by a soldier for 

refusing to part with N500 

at a former checkpoint at 

Ndiolumbe, Isiala Ngwa 

South council area. 

On August 7, 2019, a soldier, 

Lance Corporal Ajayi 

Johnson shot dead an okada 

rider, Chimaobi 

Nwaogu, for refusing to 

part with N100 at a military 

checkpoint at Ohanze in 

Obingwa council area. For 

riding past the checkpoint, 

Corporal Johnson pursued 

the deceased to his community, 

Umuokereke Ngwa, a 

distance of about 6 kilometers 

from the checkpoint, 

and shot him dead. 

This illegal act by the soldiers 

and police is a source 

of worry for people in the 

zone. The chairman of the 

Civil Liberties Organization, 

Aba unit, Prof. Charles 

Chinekezi, lamented that 

the security agencies in the 

state have abandoned their 

duties and focused on extortion 

of money from the 

people. 

Anambra: 

Motorists already 

used to situation 

In Anambra State, the story 

is the same. Motorists 

plying the roads in the state 

know what to expect from 

the security operatives who 

position themselves on the 

various routes anytime 

they drive out from their 

homes, which is that they 

have to part with some 

money to be able to reach 

their destinations. 

Between Awka and Onitsha 

through the expressway, 

which is a distance of 

about 40 kilometers, there 

are checkpoints at Amansea 

(Police), Aroma junction 

(Police), Umuopku (Road 

Safety), Umuopku (Police), 

Enugwu Agidi (Police), 

Dunukofia (Police), Awkuzu 

(Police) Awkuzu (Road 

Safety), Nkwele Ezunaka 

(Police), Borromew roundabout 

(Police) and Bridge 

Head (Police /Road Safety/ 

Army). 

Along the old Enugu– 

Onitsha road, there are 

checkpoints at Amansea 

(Army), Mobile Police 

junction (Police), Zik’s Avenue 

(Road Safety), Enugwu 

Ukwu (Police) and 

Ugwu Nwasike (Police). 

On the Onitsha–Owerri 

road axis, there are also 

checkpoints at Oba, 

Ozubulu, Okija, Ihiala, Uli 

and Amorka and all these 

are points for extorting money 

from motorists. Some 

commercial drivers who 

spoke on the issue said 

there are checkpoints that 

collect N100 while others 

collect N200 and above. For 

Road Safety, the amount to 

be collected depends on 

the number of charges recorded. 

Mr. Johnson Onuigbo, 

who plies the Onitsha- 

Awka road said the drivers 

already know the amount 

to pay on each trip, adding 

that what they do is to keep 

the money aside and just 

hand it over once they approach 

any checkpoint. 

"Police checkpoints are 

even better than those of 

Road Safety because we 

just bring out the money 

and hand it over. There is 

only trouble if the driver 

refuses to drop the money, 

in which case you waste 

your time and that of the 

passengers. 

"In the case of the Road 

Safety, you have to park 

your vehicle and then approach 

them and hand over 

the money. The amount is 

between N500 and N2000 

depending on what one is 

carrying”, Onuigbo said. 

Former President General 

of Onitsha Markets 

Amalgamated Traders Association, 

OMATA, Chief 

Ozoh Anaekwe has also 

expresses worry over the 

several security check 

points in South East, saying 

they are crippling the 

economy of zone. 

"The activities of the security 

men particularly the 

Police, Army and Navy, at 

the check points have become 

a source of embarrassment 

to Nigeria, this is because 

foreigners come into 

this country and pass 

through these checkpoints. 

“ I am really embarrassed 

by the level of indiscipline 

that is now common with 

the Army as regards extortion 

on the roads and at 

check points without minding 

who is watching them. 

Soldiers of the Nigerian 

Army have become shameless 

over extortion at the 

checkpoints. We are asking 

the Chief of Army Staff if 

he is not embarrassed by 

the high extortion being 

carried out by his soldiers 

in the South East; he 

should answer that question, 

why they are mounting 

of military check points 

on the roads under democratic 

government." 

Enugu: Police 

checkpoints cause 

long queues 

In Enugu, many checkpoints 

are mounted by soldiers 

and police along Enugu-Abakaliki 

highway, 

Enugu-Aba and Enugu- 

Awka as well as those 

along Nsukka road and 

between Nsukka and Benue 

State boundaries. 

There are also checkpoints 

mounted by men of 

Air Force at Penoks Bus stop 

and at Emene, near the 

Akanu Ibiam International 

airport. 

Within Enugu metropolis, 

Police check points 

cause long queues along 

Abakaliki express road at 

peak periods when residents 

go or return from work 

and business. Annoyingly, 

what takes place at these 

checkpoints is extortion of 

money. 

It is observed that the new 

extortion style of police in 

the state is targeted on market 

routes, where they 

mount multiple checkpoints 

and collect tolls from 

commercial vehicles that 

convey goods, especially 

food produce, to and from 

the village markets. 

On an Orie market day, 

Vanguard observed that 

seven police checkpoints 

are mounted between Ibagwa-Nike 

and Orie Ugwuogo, 

a distance of ten 

kilometers. Between the 

same Ugwuogo and Opi 

junction in Nsukka localgovernment 

area there are 

another eight checkpoints 

including a military checkpoint 

that all collect tolls 

from motorists heading to 

the Ugwuogo market. Still 

on the same Ugwugo market 

are other four check 

points that take care of commuters 

emanating from either 

Nkwo Neke or other 

rural markets in Isi-Uzo local 

government area. 

This ugly acts of the police 

prompted a group of 

legal practitioners in Enugu 

state to petition the Inspector 

General of Police, 

Mohammed Adamu, demanding 

for justice over an 

alleged assault on a colleague, 

Mr. Nwanneka 

Agwu, who the lawyers 

said was dazed by a group 

of police officers at a checkpoint 

in Trans-Ekulu Enugu 

for no just cause. 

Imo: Police 

extortion 'toll gates' 

now new normal 

The case of Imo State is 

interesting. The people call 

the daily extortion as “toll 

gates” which has become 

a new normal in the state. 

While military checkpoints 

are mounted at definite locations 

on all the major federal 

highways in the state, 

most police checkpoints are 

itinerant, not for any known 

operational reasons, but for 

obvious financial gains. 

Army checkpoints have 

since become money spinners. 

The modus operandi 

adopted by the personnel 

posted to the checkpoints 

are the same. They hardly 

check any vehicle or collect 

the monies themselves. 

They all have able-bodied 

young men working for 

them. It was noticed that 

while the soldiers sat comfortably 

in their tents, the 

stick-wielding boys take full 

charge of the checkpoints. 

It was also noticed that it 

has since become a routine 

that all articulated vehicles 

stop and "pay their allegiance" 

to the soldiers before 

continuing on their 

journey. 

Ebonyi: Army 

openly extorting 

motorists 

In Ebonyi State, the extortion 

by the various security 

operatives became too 

much for motorists plying 

the road, forcing them to recently 

block the road at the 

boundary between Enugu- 

Ebonyi on the Enugu- 

Abakiliki expressway to protest 

the extortion and harassment 

by police. 

According to one of the 

drivers who gave his name 

simply as Chukwuma, the 

policemen did not only extort 

money from them but 

also manhandled any driver 

who refused to comply 

with their monetary demands.


YOUR LUCK TODAY 

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 

LIBRA: TOMORROW will prove more challenging. Thus, if 

there are things you should do now, you better don’t contemplate 

procrastination as you are likely to be fully stretched tomorrow. 

Watch what you tell others early in the morning. 

SCORPIO: AS the moon fluctuates early in the morning 

some people may promise more than they can actually deliver. 

And if you take them for granted, you would be disappointed. 

SAGITTARIUS : CERTAINLY some people will get on your 

nerves yet you must not over-react at least because of the immediate 

future. Truly this is the wrong time to gamble with love. 

CAPRICORN: THE Moon fluctuates as it moves out of your 

star . That is why you will need to guard against confusion likely 

to be caused by others. It is important you respect the Law. 

AQUARIUS: THE Moon makes an ingress into your star 

sign and INFLUECES YOU TO BE COME AGGRESSIVE 

which is capable of bringing unnecessary argument and avoidable 

confusion. To be fore warned is to be fore armed. 

PISCES : EARLY morning blues will affect many people today 

(yourself inclusive) but luckily for you, things will go according 

to your plans. You will need to be more careful with 

money. 

L E I S U R BE 

TAKE HEART — ELLA RANDLE 

“Sometimes, all a person wants is an empathetic ear, 

all he or she needs is to talk it out. Just offering a 

listening ear and an understanding heart for his or 

her need at the moment can be a big comfort. 

— Roy T. Bennett 

You should always have someone trustworthy you 

could talk to and someone who can understand what 

you are going through. — Ella Randle 

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” 

SAYINGS OF 

OUR PEOPLE 

The man who 

has bread to 

eat does not 

appreciate the 

severity of a 

famine. 

~Yoruba Proverb 

By Kola Fayemi 

ARIES: THE Moon fluctuates early in the morning. And if 

care is not taken you would promise more than you can actually 

deliver to the resentment of others. You can win. Watch your 

health. 

TAURUS: BEHIND-the-scene-activities are sources of avoidable 

trouble especially before mid-morning period when influence 

of the Moon’s fluctuation will last. Avoid inordinate ambition. 

GEMINI: IT’S important you don’t allow your thought for 

and/or about the future derail your plans for the present so that 

success will not elude you. Romantic attractions along your 

career/business lines may become stronger sooner than you 

think. 

CANCER: EARLY morning blues will affect many people 

around you meaning that not everybody can be trusted during 

the morning period especially along your career/business lines. 

LEO; MAKE sure you perfectly understand what you are 

doing within your working arena before mid-morning period 

or else costly mistakes would be made. Be tolerant. 

VIRGO: TOMORROW is your day. Therefore you are advised 

to leave some important decisions and/or action till tomorrow 

when the heaven will smile at you. Your love life is 

favoured. 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING 

DUDU in “ROLLING HOT” 

“HOT” 

By A.O.OLAIDE 

ASTROLOGICAL our date and place of COUNSELLING 

birth to the Astr 

tr 

Send your dat 

trological 

Counselling, P.M.B 100 

007, Apapa, Lagos 

What’s my way to success? 

Dear Joshua, 

KINDLY analyse my star and tell me about myself especially 

my luck. I want to know about my love life, social 

life and how to become successful in life. 

I have seen people who are close to me became big 

success without much struggle from them. Would my own 

be like them too? 

Halima, Kaduna. 

VIRGINIA 

dadadekola@yahoo.com 

Dear Halima, 

You are different to those you said came by success: in 

your own case you will need to work hard and earn success. 

It is important you watch and take practical precaution 

about inability to hold on to your gains for long. 

Some times unexpected assistance use to come your way 

at 11th hour. Your being friendly with the influential personalities 

especially WOMEN will help your finance 

greatly. Speculative and/or unnecessary adventurous venture 

is not the best for you. 

Your magnetic personality makes it difficult for members 

of your opposite sex to ignore youto the betterment 

of your love life. Luckily for you, you know how not to 

allow your rugged/rigid personality to harm your love 

life; you are a sweet lover, although can be argumentative 

some times. Love happiness indicated for you. 

If you can analyse both your environment and social 

situation, you will have more to gain from social activities 

more than it’s attendant pressure. You will need to 

drop unnecessary rebellious approach when dealing with 

your social life; although what looks like radical approach 

can earn you a few number of friends who may 

not be in position to assist you. . Once again women can 

be helpful here 

YOUR LUCK 

If you expect easy success, you would be frustrated because 

Saturn-the planet of delay, frustration but greater 

reward after much struggles, was with the sun (basic-selfhood) 

when you were born. Thus it will not allow easy 

success. And at the same time will not deny you whatever 

you deserve. 

The same Saturn will reward you with RECOGNITION. 

Women, children and younger people can enhance your 

prospects. Colours RED, WHITE and pink are good for 

you. Sleeping on North/South axis with your head to the 

North is good for you. 

HOME & ABROAD 

By Lawrence Akapa

Super Eagles 

battle Carthage 

Eagles 

The Super Eagles are all set for 

another pack of Eagles (Tunisia’s 

Carthage Eagles) in today’s big 

friendly at the Jacques Lemans Arena 

in the Austrian city of St. Veit an der 

Glan, following a fresh round of 

COVID19 tests conducted on players 

and officials yesterday. 

On Friday, the entire Nigerian 

contingent of players and officials 

returned COVID19 negative results 

after tests conducted on Thursday, 

ahead of the clash with African 

champions Algeria that the North 

Africans won by the odd goal in 

Klagenfurt. 

Ramy Bensebaini reacted fastest to 

the ball that he had nodded against 

another Algerian player in the box 

from a corner kick, to poke the ball 

behind goalkeeper Maduka Okoye. 

That turned out to be the only goal of 

the match. 

Coach Rohr has told his players they 

need to step up their game to make 

Nigerians happy after the defeat by 

Algeria drew flaks from everywhere. 

The Franco-German tactician 

admits the absence of a number of firstteam 

honchos somewhat weakened 

the texture of his band, but has 

challenged the squad to up the ante 

and show vibrancy especially in the 

fore against the 2004 African 

champions. 

“We definitely must put up a greater 

effort against the Tunisians. It is an 

opportunity for some of the players to 

rise up to the occasion, stake a claim. 

They are ready to go and I believe we 

would see a much better game on 

Tuesday.” 

Nigeria capped four new players 

against the African champions, with 

midfield dependables Wilfred Ndidi, 

Joseph Ayodele-Aribo and 

Oghenekaro Etebo, as well as forward 

Victor Osimhen unavailable. In their 

absence, Rohr had to start first-cap 

Frank Onyeka along Alex Iwobi and 

defender Oluwasemilogo Ajayi in 

midfield, and Paul Onuachu as the 

lone striker. 

In a match that also saw wing back 

Zaidu Sanusi, centre-back Kevin 

Akpoguna and midfielder Samson 

Tijani also earn their first senior caps, 

the Eagles huffed 

and puffed and 

strove hard to find 

cohesion and some 

sort of solidity, but 

failed to match the 

mentality and 

organization of 

the Fennecs. 

Tonight, the 

three-time 

African 

champions 

c o m e 

across 

Royal Blessing: LMC Chairman, Malam Shehu 

Dikko paid homage to the new Emir of Zazzau, 

Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, who offered 

Royal blessings ahead of the upcoming NPFL 2020/ 

2021 new season. 

•Omeruo 

the same 

team they 

defeated to 

clinch bronze 

medal at last year’s 

AFCON finals in 

Egypt, and have no 

illusions they must be at 

their best against a motivated 

Carthage Eagles who 

thumped Sudan 3-0 in 

Tunis on Friday. 

All 24 players in camp 

were involved in 

Monday evening’s 

training session, and are 

available for selection. 

Goalkeepers Dele Alampasu and 

LeBron hailed as 'best ever' after 

Lakers seal NBA title 

LeBron James became the first player to win NBA 

Finals MVP honours with three different teams 

on Sunday and for LA Lakers coach Frank Vogel 

the Ohio native has cemented his status as the best 

player 'the basketball universe has ever seen'. James' 

fourth NBA championship, which came after he led 

the Lakers to a 106-93 win over the Miami Heat in 

Game Six, also saw him take home his fourth Finals 

MVP award. 

He trails only Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan, 

who won six to go with his six NBA championships. •LeBron 

•Yakube 

•Dessers 

Matthew Yakubu, 

defenders Kenneth 

Omeruo, Chidozie 

Awaziem, Olaoluwa 

Aina and Jamilu 

Collins and forwards 

Cyril Dessers and 

Chidera Ejuke were not part of the 

run-out with Algeria and could be 

considered for action tonight. 

Onazi: Injury forced me out of 

Super Eagles 

Super Eagles midfielder, Ogenyi 

Onazi has said he would be too 

happy to act as a mentor to 

younger players, since playing 

opportunity with national team has 

dried up. 

Ogenyi who recently signed for 

Danish top side SønderjyskE, 

blamed injuries for his 

dwindling club and 

country form. 

"I still have the 

desire and 

ambition to play 

for Nigeria again 

but sadly my 

injury has slowed 

me down,” 

Onazi told BBC 

sport. 

"I'm aware of 

the young 

players 

breaking into 

the squad and 

older players 

like me can 

only guide a 

young squad.” 

He added that 

moving to Denmark 

will help relaunch 

his career. 

"The plan in 

Denmark is to play 

as much as I can. 

Help the team get as 

far as they need to 

be, reach their 

targets for the 

season. 

"Hopefully I might 

be here for half of the season or stay 

the whole season. 

"But if a return to the international 

fold doesn't happen with my best on 

the pitch then I'd understand because 

it is not a do-or-die affair." 

City to replace Aguero with Messi 

Saudi richest club eager to 

end Ozil's Arsenal stalemate 

audi Arabia's richest club Al Naser 

Sare reportedly interested in signing 

out favour Arsenal midfielder Mesut 

Ozil. The German who found himself 

frozen out at the Emirates Stadium is 

Cavani targets Premier League title 

Edinson Cavani is keen to restore a winning 

mentality to Manchester United after vowing his 

first mission is to help his new side to the Premier 

League title this season. 

Cavani arrived at Old Trafford as a free agent on 

deadline day after leaving Paris Saint-Germain and 

claimed that as one of the biggest sides in the world, 

United should always be fighting to win 

championships. 

Despite having won a record 20 top flight crowns, 

United have stumbled in recent seasons and have 

now gone seven years since their last success under 

Sir Alex Ferguson. 

Their best finish since was as distant runners-up 

under Jose Mourinho in 2018 and they have started 

this season poorly with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side 

having lost two of their first three games including 

a 6-1 home thrashing by Tottenham Hotspur. 

Cavani, who won six league titles in France, told 

United's website: 'I think any player who is 

competitive by nature always wants to be able to 

win silverware. 

'You always work hard so you can give the best 

account of yourself, and based on performing at your 

best, you can get the right results.' 


•Aguero 

in the final year of his current deal at 

the club and he has been keen to remain 

at Arsenal until the end. The Gunners, 

on the other hand, want to get his huge 

wage off their bill as quickly as they can. 

They have reportedly been talking to 

him about a payoff, but Ozil isn’t 

interested unless he will be paid in full 

what is left of his current deal. 

Spanish expert, Cesar Luiz Merlo is 

now claiming that the Gunners have 

been offered £5m by Al-Nassr for the 

transfer of Ozil and the Gunners are 

ready to part with him. However, it seems 

that the German is more than happy to 

stay frozen out at the Emirates with the 

report also claiming that Ozil has 

resolved to stay put at the Emirates. 

By Ben Efe 

elta State Sports Commission 

Dchairman, Tonobok Okowa has 

come to the rescue of Nigerian athletes 

by committing to sponsoring a two day 

meet, billed to hold at Ozoro from 

October 26-28. 

Okowa agreed to host the competition 

after he met with a group of athletes 

led by Athletics Federation of Nigeria 

athletes' rep Charles Hima in Asaba. 

Okowa identified with the plight of the 

athletes who have gone on for seven 

•Onazi 

Manchester City are ready to offload all-time record 

goalscorer Sergio Aguero next summer in order to 

create room for Lionel Messi to join. 

Aguero is now in the final year of his contract at the Etihad 

Stadium and has struggled with injuries of late, failing to 

make a single appearance since June due to a knee problem. 

Inter Milan have been credited with an interest in the 

Argentine, and Man City would be willing to let him 

leave without a fight if they replace him with 

compatriot Messi. 

Messi's future is again expected to be the subject 

of intense speculation ahead of next summer, 

having failed in his attempts to force a free 

transfer from Barcelona in the window just 

passed. The six-time Ballon d'Or winner will 

be available on a free transfer in 2021, 

though, and Man City have already •Messi 

confirmed that they are considering an 

approach. 

Mbappe dubs Ronaldo 

'GOAT' 

KYLIAN MBAPPE paid tribute 

to his "idol" Cristiano Ronaldo 

after going head to head with the 

Portugal superstar. 

A drab 0-0 draw in the Nations 

League on Sunday night featured 

a touching moment between the 

pair. 

Mbappe and Ronaldo shared a 

conversation on the halfway line, 

smiling and joking with each other 

before the Juventus ace shot his 

counterpart a thumbs-up. 

Fans watching the game loved 

the camaraderie between the two 

world-class forwards. 

And many hope to see Mbappe, 

21, become a leading light of his 

generation much in the same way 

Ronaldo, 35, has led his. 

After the game, the Paris Saint- 

Germain attacker tweeted pictures 

of himself with Ronaldo on the 

pitch. 

He captioned the shot: "Idol." 

And two emojis hammered home 

Mbappe's admiration for the fivetime 

Ballon d'Or winner - a crown 

and a goat. 

Okowa hosts a Meet for competition - starved 

Nigerian athletes 

months without any 

competition.Through the period of the 

coronavirus lock down they were denied 

the use of stadia facility across the 

country for training, some of them 

including long jumper Ese Brume 

gunning for Olympic podium 

performance had to train on bare 

surfaces. 

“Chief Okowa has humbly agreed to 

bankroll the competition. And we are 

very pleased and grateful to him for 

giving us something to cheer."

C 

M 

Y 

K 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

Sudoku 

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER 

Across 

1 Natural tooth covering (6) 

4 Gas used in balloons (6) 

8 Florida resort (5) 

9 Common wild duck (7) 

10 Pig’s foot (7) 

11 Person paid (5) 

12 Drowsy (9) 

17 Endures (5) 

19 Gaffe (4,3) 

21 Pariah (7) 

22 Dwelling place (5) 

23 Scorched (6) 

24 Dog-house (6) 

Down 

1 Hostility (6) 

2 Nonplussed (2,1,4) 

3 Proclamation (5) 

5 Oval shape (7) 

6 European country (5) 

7 Infuriate (6) 

9 Type of pea (9) 

13 Error (7) 

14 Tropical cyclone (7) 

15 Arm joints (6) 

16 Also (2,4) 

18 The devil (5) 

20 Custom (5) 

How to Play Sudoku 

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

two of the same number). 

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

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

(nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means 

that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row. 

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

multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination. 

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri-Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Hotline: 

08027767834; 01-4544821. Abuja office: 7, Dambata Close, Area 7, Garki, 09-2921024. Ikeja office: 73, Awolowo Way. V.I. Office: Murplus Plaza, 27, Sanusi Fafunwa Street. Asaba: 21, Anwai 

Road. Benin City: 4E, Arusa Street. Port Harcourt: 50, Ikwerre Road; Warri: 102, Efurun-Sapele Road. Advert: advertproduction@yahoo.com; E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, 

news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: EZE ANABA. Phone: 01-4548355. All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

13102020 - More #EndSARS protests rock Lagos, Osogbo, Ilorin, Abuja

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