01122020 - Why Nigeria's at mercy of terrorists — LAI MOHAMMED

13% DERIVATION: Biden set to 

FG plans debt 

restructuring 8 

Militants' bid to stop appoint Nigerianborn 

Adeyemo US 

S-South govs splits Deputy Treasury 

stakeholders 

12 Secretary 8 

CBN liberalises use of Diaspora Remittances 

LOOTING OF CBN: 

11 

We can vouch for Gowon 

—CLARK, ADEBAYO, NWODO, BITRUS 

19 

VOL. 27: NO. 64217 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 

BORNO MASSACRE: 

Why Nigeria's at mercy of 

5 

terrorists — LAI MOHAMMED 

•Zulum asks FG to engage mercenaries, lists other ways to clear insurgents •Take fight to insurgents, 

Buhari tells military, sends Chief of Staff to Borno •Military disputes UN report, insists 43 farmers 

killed, adds civilian informants sabotaging operations in North East •Security operatives selling 

weapons to Boko Haram – Donald Duke alleges •Senate Minority Caucus urges FG to wake up in 

fight against Boko Haram 

Tackling hunger, 

poverty more 

important than 

restructuring 

— AMAECHI 7 

PRESIDENTIAL DELEGATION — From left: Leader of presidential delegation and 

Senate President, Ahmed Lawan with Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, 

and others, when they visited Borno to commiserate with the people of the state, 

following the killing of 43 farmers in Koshobe village. 

FIRST BANK WINS AWARDS—Oze 

K. Oze, Head, Internal Communications 

& Content Management, FirstBank; Chuma 

Ezirim, Group Executive, E-Business & 

Retail Products, FirstBank; Bayo 

Olanrewaju, Head, Digital Banking, 

FirstBank; Helen Willie, Transaction 

Banking Manager, FirstBank and Adewale 

Salami, Chief Technology Officer, 

FirstBank during the presentation of the 

two awards won by FirstBank; Best Mobile 

App and CSR Bank of the Year Awards at 

the 8th BusinessDay Banking & Other 

Financial Institutions Awards (BAFI) 

which took place at the Lagos Continental 

Hotel on Saturday. 

Gas flaring 

dips by 38 

23.8% to 

N379bn in 

10 months 

Mr & Mrs 

COLUMNISTS ODUMAKIN 16 COLE 17 

TENIOLA 

18 

See 

inside

C 

M 

Y 

K 

2 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020

C 

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 — 3

C 

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08052867058 

Why Nigeria's at mercy of 

terrorists — LAI MOHAMMED 

•Why Nigeria’s at mercy of terrorists — Lai Mohammed •Zulum asks FG to engage mercenaries, lists other 

ways to clear insurgents •Take fight to insurgents, Buhari tells military, sends Chief of Staff to Borno •Military 

disputes UN report, insists 43 farmers killed, adds civilian informants sabotaging operations in North East 

•Security operatives selling weapons to Boko Haram – Donald Duke alleges •Senate Minority Caucus urges 

FG to wake up in fight against Boko Haram •US, EU condemn killings in Borno State 

By Kingsley Omonobi, Henry Umoru, Peter 

Duru, Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Ndahi 

Marama & Victoria Ojeme 

ABUJA — In the 

wake of the 

massacre of 43 

farmers in Borno State, 

the Minister of 

Information, Culture and 

Tourism, Alhaji Lai 

Mohammed, said, 

yesterday, that Nigeria is 

currently at the mercy of 

terrorists because the 

country is being denied 

access to needed 

weapons to fight the 

insurgents, despite efforts 

to do so. 

This is even as Borno 

State governor, Babagana 

Zulum, yesterday, gave 

the Federal Government 

six recommendations on 

how to win the war against 

Boko Haram and Islamic 

State’s West Africa 

Province, ISWAP, 

insurgents terrorising the 

north-eastern region of 

the country. 

The Military High 

Command also, 

yesterday, disputed the 

report by the United 

Nations that 110 civilians 

were killed by Boko 

Haram in Saturday’s 

massacre of farmers in the 

Jere Local Government 

Area of Borno State, 

insisting that only 43 of 

the farmers died, while 

several others were still 

missing. 

It also expressed 

frustration that some 

locals in the North-East 

are declining to provide 

useful information to 

security agencies. 

It will be recalled that 

Boko Haram insurgents 

on Saturday beheaded no 

fewer than 43 farmers at 

Zabarmari in Jere Local 

Government Area of 

Borno State, and placed 

their severed heads on 

their backs. 

‘Slain farmers 

not cleared by 

military’ 

Also speaking on the 

massacre in Borno 

yesterday, Presidential 

spokesman, Garba 

Shehu, said the slain 

farmers ought not to be in 

their farms without 

clearance from the 

military. 

He told BBC that 

though the military is in 

“full control of all parts of 

Borno, the farmers and 

residents ought to get 

clearance before visiting 

certain areas. 

He blamed the farmers 

whom he said failed to do 

due diligence by first 

obtaining clearance 

before visiting their farms. 

“People need to 

understand what it is like 

in the Lake Chad area. 

Much of those areas have 

been liberated from Boko 

Haram terrorists but there 

are a number of spaces 

that have not been cleared 

for the return of villagers 

who have been displaced. 

“Ideally, all these places 

ought to probably be 

allowed to pass the test of 

military clearance before 

settlers or even farmers 

resume activities on those 

fields.” 

Asked by the BBC if he 

was blaming the farmers 

on the attack, Garba 

Shehu said: “Not exactly, 

but the truth has to be 

said. Is there any 

clearance by the military 

which is in total control of 

those areas? 

“Did anybody get 

advice to resume 

activities? I have been told 

by the military leaders 

that they have not been so 

advised.” 

He said visiting certain 

places in the North-East, 

which have come under 

the weight of Boko Haram 

insurgency for more than 

10 years, is “a window 

that the terrorists have 

exploited”. 

Garba Shehu added: 

“The military is not 

present on every inch of 

space in that area. Even 

if the people are ready to 

go back, some of these 

areas have been mined 

ORTOM PRESENTS REGALIA TO LAI MOHAMMED—Gov. Samuel Ortom 

of Benue State (R), presenting the state’s traditional regalia to the Minister 

of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during a courtesy visit 

by the Minister to the Government ahead of the official take-off of the North 

Central Zonal Office of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism in 

Makurdi, yesterday. Photo: Peter Duru. 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 — 5 

POCKET CARTOON 

and mine clearance has to 

be carried out first.” 

But speaking while on 

courtesy call on Governor 

Samuel Ortom of Benue 

State in Makurdi 

yesterday, Alhaji Lai 

Mohammed said terrorists 

are enjoying global 

funding and will require 

an equally global 

collaboration to defeat. 

He said: “When people 

talk about terrorism, they 

don’t seem to appreciate 

the fact that terrorism is not 

a local issue but a global 

issue and there is no part 

of the world that is not 

experiencing pockets of 

terrorism. 

I am glad that Governor 

Ortom himself has said 

the Federal Government 

has assisted a lot in 

curbing the issue of 

insecurity in Benue State. 

We will never stop 

protecting lives and 

livelihood of the people, 

but you must understand 

that we are also dealing 

with terrorists who are 

financed globally and we 

also need more support 

from global partners. 

At the mercy of 

terrorists 

For instance, Nigeria 

has made attempts to 

acquire better and more 

effective platforms to deal 

with terrorists and for one 

reason or the other, we 

have been denied these 

platforms, and these 

weapons and without 

adequate weapons and 

adequate platforms, we 

will remain at the mercy 

of terrorists. 

But you see, fighting 

terrorists is not a joke 

because what actually 

happened in Borno State 

was quite unfortunate. 

“You must also be able 

to look at the strategy of 

the terrorists. You see, 

terrorists also use media 

and publicity as oxygen. 

So when they go on this 

kind of mindless killings 

of innocent people, it is 

just that a dying terrorist 

group will now suddenly 

again spring to life. 

It does not mean that 

the government is not 

doing enough, terrorism 

in Africa and any other 

place in the world has the 

same concept which is, 

you have a group of 

people who are extremists 

in their thoughts, who 

don’t believe that you and 

I should be alive. 

Earlier in his welcome 

remarks, Governor Samuel 

Ortom commended the 

efforts of Federal Government 

in curbing insecurity in the 

state. 

He said: “This is the reason 

Benue is relatively calm and 

the issue of herdsmen attacks 

have been reduced to the 

Continues on Page 41 

By Providence 

Adeyinka 

On FG's plan to import fuel from Niger Republic (2) 

It should be the other 

way round, Nigeria 

exporting refined crude to 

Niger. It’s absurd! Our 

leaders should have the 

political will to resist and 

defeat those man-made 

things that have subverted 

every promise to make our 

refineries functional. 

Private Nigerians should 

be patriotic enough to build 

refineries which operation 

licence they were issued 

long ago. Nigeria has bled 

so much in the hands of 

unpatriotic elements 

hindering local refining. 

—Sir Abuchi Anueyiagu, 

Public Affairs analyst 

I 

don’t understand 

what is happening to 

Nigeria any longer. 

Have we not been the 

ones supplying fuel to 

Niger Rebublic in the 

past? What has become 

the problem? Anyways, 

this is the change we 

asked for from the APC. 

This is real change into 

shame. 

—Julie Uduomoh, 

Businesswoman 

It’s a wrong decision! I don’t 

buy into such idea. Nigeria 

is very rich in oil and 

petrochemicals; we need to 

learn to utilise what we have 

as a nation. The FG should 

build refineries here and 

they should partner with 

petrochemical scientists and 

trainers from Africa and 

beyond. Nigeria is a very 

resourceful nation. Our fuel 

and petrochemicals are 

highly valued. 

—Emmanuel Anegbe, 

Brand strategist 

Is Niger Republic richer in 

oil than Nigeria? How can 

Nigeria be importing fuel 

from Niger Republic? This is 

unfair. They should import 

fuel from countries that have 

more fuel than us and stop 

playing on our intelligence. 

Instead of building a 

working refinery in this 

country, they are planning to 

import from a poor country, 

it doesn’t make sense. 

—Holy Man, 

Bike rider 

How can Nigeria be 

importing fuel from Niger? 

What is really happening 

in this country? Are we 

moving forward or 

backward? This country is 

always coming up with 

issues that make one shed 

tears. For a country that 

calls itself the giant of Africa 

and richer than many 

countries in oil, it is very 

pathetic. I think this 

country and people are 

really confused. 

—Oghogho Ayo, 

Secretary 

T 

he FG has failed in every 

aspect. How can the giant 

of Africa not be thinking of 

how to meet up with other 

developed countries instead of 

taking a thoughtless decision 

to import fuel from Niger 

Republic? This is a disgrace, 

an act of retrogression. Niger 

is one of the poorest nations in 

the world but has developed 

its refinery to produce at a 

greater capacity than its very 

rich neighbour, Nigeria. 

—Oshole Peter, 

Teacher

6 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 

Police nab 

gun-runner in 

C-River, 

recover 299 

live cartridges 

By Ike 

Uchechukwu 

CALABAR—A 52-year-old 

man, Cyprian Mbe, has 

been arrested by police operatives 

in Cross River State with 299 live 

cartridges concealed in a bag. 

The state Commissioner of 

Police, Abdulkadir Jimoh, while 

briefing newsmen, yesterday, in 

Calabar said the suspect had 

been a gun runner for long as 

well as a promoter of native wars 

in Etung Local Government Area 

where he was apprehended. 

Jimoh also revealed that it took 

the efforts of the vigilant Etung 

Division patrol team, who were 

on routine stop and search to 

apprehend the suspect 

According to the CP, Cyprian 

was arrested by the patrol team 

during a stop and search at 

Bendeghe in Etung Local 

Government Area. 

He said: “During a stop and 

search by the Etung Divisional 

patrol team, one Cyprian Mbe, 

a native of Bashia village in Boki 

LGA was intercepted with 299 live 

cartridges concealed in a black 

bag. He is a suspected gun 

runner and promoter of native 

war." 

Court sets 

aside AMCON’s 

ex-parte order 

By Onozure Dania 

A 

Federal High Court 

sitting in Abuja has 

vacated an ex-parte order 

against Peace Global 

Satellite Communication 

Network and its Managing 

Director, Oreye Livingstone, 

obtained in March this year 

by Assets Management 

Company of Nigeria, 

AMCON. 

The ex-parte order, which 

granted Benson Ibezim, the 

3rd claimant/respondent, 

the receiver manager 

appointed by AMCON to 

take possession of the 

property belonging to Oreye 

and his wife, which include 

their residence and hotel 

located at Omole Estate, 

Lagos was vacated after 

careful consideration of all 

affidavits, counteraffidavits, 

written 

addresses, exhibits and 

submissions of counsel for 

and against the reliefs 

sought. 

Delivering judgement, 

trial judge, Justice A. 

Chikere, who ordered 

immediate vacation of the 

ex-parte order, noted that 

the court discharged the 

earlier order because the exparte 

order was obtained 

without jurisdiction and 

upon suppression of facts. 

Besides, the judge noted 

that AMCON’s lawyer went 

ahead to move the motion 

on March 9, 2020, even 

though a notice on motion 

showing that the matter was 

in the Supreme Court was 

served the claimant on 

February 14, 2020. 

7 killed, 4 buildings burnt as renewed cult 

clashes rock Delta, Ebonyi 

•One killed, 2 abducted as pirates strike in Rivers 

•Gunmen kill 4 in Taraba 

By Perez 

Brisibe, Femi Bolaji & 

Davies Iheamnachor 

TWELVE persons were 

reportedly killed, two abducted, 

many injured and four buildings 

razed in Delta, Ebonyi, Rivers and 

Taraba states in cult-related clashes, 

pirates and gunmen attacks Sunday 

night and yesterday. 

It was gathered that one person 

was reportedly killed and four 

buildings razed in what appeared 

to be renewed clash between 

members of the Aye and Mafia 

confraternities, in Ughelli, 

headquarters of Ughelli North Local 

Government Area of Delta State. 

This is just as two other persons 

were also reportedly killed in two 

separate incidents between the 

warring cult groups on Sunday 

night and yesterday morning at 

Oghenevweta and Oseri street areas 

of Ekuigbo community. 

Both attacks are coming less than 

a week after a similar incident 

between Aye and Aro Baggers 

confraternities led to the death of 

eight persons. 

One of the victims, Oghenero Oke 

a.k.a Last Card, who was alleged 

to be a member of the Mafia 

confraternity, was killed around 

Oteri old road in Oteri community, 

Ughelli by a resident of the 

community simply identified as 

Eloho, while two others sustained 

gunshot wounds. 

Though efforts to speak with the 

state Police Public Relations Officer, 

Onome Onowakpoyeya, were 

fruitless, a security source at the 

Ughelli Police Area Command 

disclosed that the victim had an 

altercation with Eloho, who was 

having an intimate relationship with 

his elder sister. 

The source, who spoke on 

condition of anonymity, said: 

“Angered by the death of the victim, 

his friends stormed the family house 

and shop of Eloho’s parent and 

burnt it down. 

“The prime suspect and his gang 

members have since fled the 

community immediately news of 

Oghenero’s death filtered into the 

community.” 

Condemning the wanton 

destruction of property as a result of 

the incident, President General of 

Oteri community, Mr Efe Odibo 

described it as unfortunate. 

4 killed in Ebonyi 

communities 

Also, four persons were reportedly 

shot dead in Oriuzo and Onueke 

in Ezza North and Ezza South 

Local Government Areas of Ebonyi 

State following a renewed clash 

between Ayez and Barga 

confraternities. 

One of the victims identified as 

‘Mgbamgba’ who was alleged to 

be a member of Ayez confraternity 

from Oriuzo in Ezza North, 

allegedly led a squad that killed a 

member of Barga confraternity 

Sunday morning. 

Consequently, members of Barga 

in a reprisal mission, on Sunday 

evening, trailed Mgbamgba on his 

way from a child dedication 

ceremony and allegedly shot him 

and his girlfriend. 

At Onueke in Ezza South Local 

Government Area, another person 

identified as Mr Chikwado Nweke 

popularly known as ‘Quack’ alleged 

to be a member of Barga was shot 

dead at Ikwo Road, Onueke, on 

Sunday night. 

The deceased who was from 

Amuzu in Ezza South Local 

Government Area, until his death, 

worked at Ezekuna Motor Park in 

Onueke. 

His killers reportedly threw his 

corpse into a nearby gutter, where 

it was later found, yesterday, 

morning and had been deposited 

in a morgue in Onueke. 

Meanwhile, DSP Loveth Odah, 

the Police Public Relations Officer 

in Ebonyi when contacted, said the 

command was yet to receive a report 

of the incident. 

One killed, 2 abducted as 

pirates strike in Rivers 

One person was, yesterday, feared 

killed and two missing after pirates 

allegedly attacked a passenger boat 

around Isaka river in Okrika Local 

Government Area of Rivers State. 

A source said the passenger boat 

was from Port Harcourt to Bonny 

when the suspected pirates struck. 

The source said: “A new boat with 

new engine was hijacked this 

morning (yesterday) at Isaka area. 

That is the latest mode of crime on 

waterways. When they see new 

boats with a new engine, they attack 

it and offload the passengers at the 

One of the buildings burnt at Oteri community in Ughelli 

North LGA of Delta State. 

creek. 

“So as usual, the passengers were 

dropped at the creek while the 

hoodlums whisked away two people 

believed to be rich among them. 

Meanwhile, the Police Public 

Relations Officer in the state, SP. 

Nnamdi Omoni, said he is yet to 

receive brief about the incidence, but 

quickly added that the police are 

working to contain the activities of 

pirates in the state. 

... 4 in Taraba 

In Taraba State, four Internally 

Displaced Persons, IDPs, who 

returned to their village last 

Thursday, were reportedly killed by 

gunmen Sunday night in Tor- 

Iorshaegh village. 

An eyewitness, Donald Meer, 

named those killed as Godwin 

Meer, Terlumun Mdooga 

Mbakpenev, Alfred Sylvanus 

Mchivga and Ayar Chia. 

He claimed that the attackers fled 

the scene of the incident before the 

arrival of soldiers stationed in the 

area. 

Meanwhile, President General of 

the Tiv Cultural and Social 

Association, Taraba State, Joshua 

Ayagwa who also confirmed the 

attack and killing of four persons 

said the incident has been reported 

to security agencies. 

NABBED: Suspected robbers, car snatchers, and illegal arms dealers being paraded 

by Police in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan. 

Gunmen ambush Ughelli monarch's wife, 

shoot police orderly 

By Dayo Johnson & 

Perez Brisibe 

UGHELLI—ONE of the wives 

of the Ovie of Ughelli 

kingdom, HRM Wilson Okakovo, 

Oharisi III, yesterday, escaped 

death after she was ambushed by a 

gang of gunmen in front of the 

palace along Isoko road in Ughelli, 

headquarters of Ughelli North Local 

Government Area of Delta State. 

Police orderly, Inspector Bello 

Chinye, attached to the palace also 

narrowly escaped death during the 

incident following gunshot wound 

he sustained on his right hand 

during the attack. 

Though efforts to get details from 

the Delta State Police Public 

Relations Officer, Onome 

Onowakpoyeya, were fruitless, a 

security source at the Ughelli Police 

Area Command debunked 

insinuations that the incident was a 

kidnap attempt, but a random armed 

robbery incident. 

The source, who spoke on 

condition of anonymity, said the wife 

of the monarch identified as Queen 

Rachel (Queen II) and her driver 

had gone to a new generation bank 

along Isoko road and returned to the 

palace when they were accosted by 

the gunmen. 

The source said: “From the 

information made available to us, the 

gunmen, dressed in police 

camouflage cardigan, doublecrossed 

the car conveying the queen 

and ordered the driver to open the 

door and come down. 

“While the driver was questioning 

the gunmen, thinking they were 

policemen, a police inspector on 

guard at the palace came to the 

scene of the incident and tried to 

know what was going on. 

“It was at that point that the 

gunmen upon sighting the 

policeman shot him on the hand. It 

was during the melee that ensued 

that the queen also ran into the palace 

for safety while the hoodlums 

also fled the scene.” 

Abductors of 2 Rev 

sisters, driver in Ondo 

to die by hanging 

Meanwhile, the abductors of two 

Reverend Sisters and their driver 

along the Benin-Ore-Lagos 

highway, in Ondo State four years 

ago have been sentenced to death 

by hanging. 

The victims were Reverend Sister 

Perpetual Idowu Apo, Reverend 

Sister Bukola Roseline Familade 

and their driver, Yohanna Zibai 

Delivering judgment, Justice 

Ademola Adegoroye said the 

prosecution could not produce any 

evidence against Seun and Lateef 

Fayemi and, therefore, discharged 

them. 

Justice Adegoroye, however, 

found Reuben, Uche and Seun 

guilty of all the charges and 

sentenced them to death by 

hanging.


:Vanguard News 

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

VISIT: Kaduna State acting Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe (left) with British High Commissioner 

to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, during a visit to Government House, Kaduna, yesterday. Photo: Olu 

Ajayi. 

1% of travellers into Nigeria test positive 

to COVID-19 daily — PTF 

•Postpones 2020 National Sports Festival to next year 

•Plans strategy for Nigeria’s access to vaccines 

By Chioma Obinna, 

Omeiza Ajayi & 

Gabriel Olawale 

ABUJA — The Presidential 

Taskforce, PTF, on 

COVID-19 yesterday raised 

the alarm that one percent of 

travellers into Nigeria on daily 

basis test positive to coronavirus. 

The alarm came against 

the backdrop of forthcoming 

Christmas and New Year celebrations 

which often cause 

many Nigerians in the diaspora 

to return home. 

Disclosing this at a briefing 

in Abuja, National Coordinator 

of Presidential Task Force, 

PTF, Dr. Sani Aliyu, said the 

one percent was a huge figure, 

considering the influx of 

people into the country. 

Aliyu said for instance, out 

of every 7,000 people that 

come into the country, if 70 

test positive, they had capacity 

to transmit the virus. 

“International travel is not 

necessary at this critical time. 

We hope that people outside 

the country will stay where 

they are, while those of us in 

the country will also stay back 

at this critical time because 

international travels are no 

longer what they used to be.” 

He further admonished Nigerians 

and lovers of the country 

in the Diaspora to stay 

back wherever they are and 

celebrate the festive period, 

pending when the world 

would be able to put the COV- 

ID-19 pandemic under control. 

Aliyu said that travelling 

in or outside of Nigeria at this 

critical time would not be 

necessary except the trip was 

very urgent. 

Aliyu said that for those who 

want to come into the country, 

there were a few lay down 

rules, regulation and protocol 

that needed to be complied 

with. “Before you come into 

the country you must do PCR 

test five days to departure. 

Once it’s negative, you go to 

Nigeria portal to register and 

make payment. 

“For arrival, you will need 

to do test seven days after arrival 

which you will need to 

be isolated and once it’s negative 

you can go on with your 

business. Payment is mandatory, 

seven days isolation is 

necessary. We have about six 

private laboratories in Abuja 

with another two coming. 

Every state now has access 

to testing, testing is free for 

public health but if you want 

to travel you have to pay,” he 

stated. 

In his presentation, Chairman 

of the Presidential Taskforce 

PTF on COVID-19, Mr 

Boss Mustapha, said the PTF 

was already working on the 

Speaker, Abonta clash over House of 

Reps' ineffectiveness 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA — Speaker of the 

House of Representatives, 

Femi Gbajabiamila was 

greatly irked, yesterday, by a 

submission from his colleague, 

Nkem Abonta that the 

National Assembly had become 

a toothless bulldog in 

today’s democratic practice. 

He also refuted vehemently 

claims that of the over 100 

resolutions so far passed by 

the legislature, none had been 

implemented by the executive 

arm of government. 

Both lawmakers clashed at 

the Legislative Conference 

2020 organised by Hallow 

Mace Communications, in 

conjunction with the National 

Orientation Agency, NOA, 

in Abuja. 

Speaking on the theme, 

“Legislative Investigative 

Power: Expectations, Challenges 

and Way Forward,” 

Abonta, a PDP member from 

Abia State, argued that federal 

parliament has lost its independence 

to the Executive 

and as such, could not effectively 

carry out oversight functions 

on its ministries, depart- 

ments and agencies, MDAS. 

He said: “A weak legislature 

is like a vehicle without 

an engine; it cannot move fast. 

Therefore, anything that can 

be done to strengthen the legislature 

will grant it a good 

standing. “The way forward 

is for the Executive to stop being 

meddlesome. It should 

allow the Legislature do its 

work without meddling, do its 

work without party consideration. 

We are running a master/servant 

institution and that 

should not be. 

“Weak legislature engenders 

weak governance and 

weak governance brings 

about issues such as #End- 

SARS. “The House has passed 

one hundred and something 

motions and none of the resolutions 

has been adhered to 

by the Executive.” Abonta 

added that House had previously 

sent a resolution to the 

Executive on the demands 

raised by #EndSARS protesters 

but got no response until 

the situation escalated. 

“What did we do about it? 

We are toothless bulldogs,” 

Abonta audaciously said. 

Reacting to the submissions, 

Gbajabiamila, who was represented 

by the Leader of the 

House of Representatives, 

Alhassan Ado Doguwa, dismissed 

Abonta’s claims, describing 

them as a “misrepresentation 

of facts”. 

He also refuted the claim 

that #EndSARS protest occured 

consequent upon the 

docility of the lawmakers, also 

describing it as “too simplistic.” 

The speaker said that the 

legislature was not a second 

class institution in a democratic 

practice, though such 

feelings persisted in some 

quarters. He added that the 

House had via a motion, 

started action on the disbandment 

of Special Anti-Robbery 

Squad unit of the Nigeria police 

force before the youths 

protested against it. 

According to the speaker, 

the need to form a synergy 

between the legislature and 

the other arms of government 

to foster even and rapid development 

of the country 

shouldn’t be misconstrued. 

“For him (Abonta) to say 

that out of over 100 resolutions 

passed by the House of 

Representatives, not even one 

was implemented is a misplacement 

of facts. The #End- 

SARS movement, EndSARS 

initiative started on the floor 

of the House. 

strategy for Nigeria to gain 

access to the vaccines as soon 

as they were available. 

He said there had been a lot 

of positive developments 

around the world regarding 

vaccines, adding that before 

it becomes available, Nigerians 

had to continue to comply 

with the non-pharmaceutical 

interventions. 

Continuing, he disclosed 

that the 2020 National Sports 

Festival scheduled to hold in 

Benin, Edo State, this month, 

had been postponed till next 

year to allow for proper safety 

protocol to be put in place. 

Mustapha, who is also the 

Secretary to the Government 

of the Federation, SGF, also 

disclosed that the PTF was 

escalating its surveillance and 

testing drive to ensure the 

spread of the virus was effectively 

contained. He said: “We 

approach the festive season, 

we shall continue to remind 

Nigerians that all non-essential 

trips should be put off this 

December. This is for your 

safety and good health. 

“Over the past weeks, discussions 

have been held about 

the safety issues pertaining to 

the National Sports Festival 

scheduled to hold in Benin, 

Edo State. New dates have 

been agreed upon early in 

2021, before which, measures 

would be put in place to minimize 

infections. The HM 

Youth and Sports would have 

been here to brief the nation 

on the preparations but for 

other exigencies. He will be 

here with us in subsequent 

briefings.’’ 

On NYSC, he said: “We are 

pleased to inform you that the 

first stream of NYSC has concluded 

camping, while we expect 

the 2nd stream to go to 

camp on December 3 and the 

third stream, January 2021. 

‘’Necessary measures, 

building on the successes of 

the first stream, have been 

taken. The DG NCDC will 

brief you on this.” On his part, 

the Director General of the 

Nigeria Centre for Disease 

Control, NCDC, Dr Chikwe 

Ihekweazu, also cautioned 

against local and international 

travels, saying there was 

need to remain extra-vigilant 

against the pandemic. 

He said participants of the 

National Youth Service Corps 

NYSC scheme who tested 

positive in the stream A would 

now be absorbed into Stream 

B, urging Corps members to 

be ambassadors in the fight 

against COVID-19. 

Army can only succeed in 

building public confidence 

through effective synergy 

— Buratai 


ABUJA — The Chief of 

Army Staff, Lt General 

Tukur Buratai, said yesterday 

that the Nigerian Army can 

only collectively succeed in 

building public confidence 

and encourage citizens 

through effective synergy between 

the military, other security 

agencies and the media. 

Buratai disclosed that the 

Nigerian Army remained 

committed to its constitutional 

roles in supporting civil 

authorities to maintain law 

and order. “We will continue 

to build the capacity of our 

personnel through training 

and retraining both at home 

and abroad,’’ he said. 

The Army chief, who spoke 

at the Nigerian Army School 

of Public Relations and Information 

2020 Media Workshop, 

with the theme “Supporting 

the Military: Panacea 

for Improved National Security’’, 

said this year’s programme 

was geared towards 

building capacity and enhancing 

collaboration between 

security agencies and 

information managers of the 

Nigerian Army, commanding 

officers, defence correspondents 

and online media practitioners. 

“It is through this kind of 

forum that we can foster the 

understanding of each other’s 

roles and therefore contribute 

meaningfully towards the desired 

synergy, cooperation 

and collaboration for the benefit 

of our society towards 

achieving peace, security and 

stability in our country,” Burutai 

said. 

Maj Gen Godwin Umelo, 

represented by Maj Gen 

Nsikak Edet, in his lecture, titled 

“Civil Unrest, Impact on 

National Security”, said in 

recent times, civil unrest had 

become a greater threat to 

national security in comparison 

to external aggression. 

Tackling hunger, poverty more 

important than restructuring 

— Amaechi 

By Dirisu Yakubu 

ABUJA — Minister of 

Transportation, Rotimi 

Amaechi, has said there was 

nothing wrong with the demands 

for restructuring of the 

nation but noted that the twin 

vices of hunger and poverty 

were more critical to the federal 

government. 

Ameachi, who stated this on 

Sunday night, in a Channels 

Television programme, Sunday 

Politics, said: “If what is 

important to you is restructuring, 

I don’t see anything wrong 

with restructuring but I am 

saying it is not the most critical 

problem we have. The 

most critical problem we have 

is that hunger and poverty are 

breeding insecurity.” 

The Minister added that the 

President Muhammadu Buhari-led 

government was 

committed to tackling poverty 

squarely through job creation 

at all levels. He said: “If 

you are able to create employment, 

you create security. If 

you like hire as many men as 

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA — GOVER 

NORS of the thirty six 

states of the country, under the 

aegis of the Nigeria Governors 

Forum, NGF, will meet 

tomorrow to evolve a new 

national security order that 

will ensure safety of lives and 

property nationwide. 

Recall that there have been 

continued cases of armed 

banditry, Boko Haram insurgency 

and kidnapping across 

the country, which culminated 

in Saturday’s gruesome 

killing of rice farmers in Borno 

State by members of Boko 

Haram. Also to be discussed 

at the meeting is the controversial 

Water Resources Bill 

where they are expected to 

brainstorm on the last presentation 

of the Minister of 

Water Resources, 

Engr. Suleiman Hussein 

Adamu. The Minister of Justice 

and Attorney General of 

the Federation, Abubakar 

you want to hire that are policemen, 

you would do nothing 

until you put food in the 

hands of people. 

“When you do not create a 

legitimate economy, the people 

will create for themselves 

an illegitimate economy and 

be able to feed themselves.” 

Lamenting the inability of 

many farmers to access their 

farms in some parts of the 

country, the former governor 

of Rivers state urged Nigerians 

to remember that the security 

situation in the country 

today was unlike what the nation 

had seen in the past. 

“We are facing a different 

kind of insecurity,” the minister 

noted, a few days after the 

United Nations said at least 

110 civilians were ruthlessly 

killed and many others 

wounded when Boko Haram 

insurgents attacked villages 

near Maiduguri, the Borno 

State capital. “When we were 

in power as governors, the 

problem we were facing was 

Boko Haram. Now, it is much 

more than Boko Haram. We 

need to address those issues, “ 

he counselled. 

Govs meet tomorrow on new 

national security order 

Malami, SAN will also brief 

the governors on the update 

of stamp duty collections. 

The statement read: ‘’The 

22nd NGF Teleconference 

meeting which will hold tomorrow 

Wednesday has the 

disturbing issue of insecurity 

across the country as the major 

focus. “As part of the effort, 

beginning at the sub-national 

level, the Forum will be receiving 

zonal updates on 

SARS and Internal security at 

its Wednesday meeting. “Similarly, 

the Forum will also revisit 

the issue of CACOVID 

palliatives with updates on its 

current status’ in all the states. 

“Three groups will be making 

presentations, top of 

which will be a joint effort between 

the Governor of the 

Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr 

Godwin Emefiele, and the 

Kaduna State Governor, 

Malam Nasiru el-Rufai, discussing 

how to access Pension 

Funds for Infrastructure Development 

in the country.




Biden set to appoint 

Nigerian-born Adeyemo US 

Deputy Treasury Secretary 

NEW 

YORK—U.S. 

President-elect, Joe 

Biden, is expected to name a 

Nigerian-born lawyer, Adewale 

Adeyemo, as his Deputy Secretary 

of Treasury. 

Media reports quoted unnamed 

sources close to the Biden 

transition team as saying 

Adeyemo would serve under 

Janet Yellen, who would be 

nominated to lead the Treasury 

Department. 

Nicknamed Wally, the 39-yearold 

has a Bachelor of Arts from the 

University of California and Juris 

Doctor from Yale Law School. 

He served as the first President 

of the Obama Foundation in 2019, 

according to Wikipedia. 

Under the Obama 

administration, Adeyemo served 

as Deputy National Security 

Adviser for International 

Economics from 2015 to 2016 and 

Deputy Director of the National 

Economic Council. 

Wally is one of three people of 

colour to be appointed to lead 

Biden’s economic team after his 

first round of appointments was 

criticised for lack of diversity. 

Cecilia Rouse, an African 

American economist at Princeton 

University, is set to be named as 

Head of the Council of Economic 

Advisers. 

An Indian-American, Neera 

Tanden, a former Senior Policy 

Adviser to both Barack Obama and 

Hillary Clinton’s presidential 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA—THE Caretaker/ 

Extraordinary National 

Convention Planning 

Committee of All Progressives 

Congress APC said yesterday it 

has concluded arrangement for 

the commencement of 

membership registration and 

revalidation by December 12. 

Chairman of the committee 

and Yobe State governor, Mai 

Mala Buni, in a statement issued 

in Abuja yesterday, said the 

decision was taken after 

campaigns, will be appointed as 

Director of the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

The team will inherit a U.S. 

economy that has been 

struggling as a result of the 

coronavirus pandemic. 

Born in Nigeria, Adeyemo was 

raised in California where he 

obtained a bachelor’s degree 

before proceeding to Yale Law 

School for his legal education. 

Before his appointment into the 

Obama administration, Adeyemo 

worked as an editor at the 

Hamilton Project, then served as 

senior advisor and Deputy Chief 

of Staff to Jack Lew in the 

United States Department of 

Treasury. 

He later worked as the chief 

negotiator for the Trans-Pacific 

Partnership and also served as the 

first chief of staff of the Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau 

under Elizabeth Warren. 

In 2015, he was appointed to 

concurrently serve as Deputy 

National Security Advisor for 

International Economics and 

deputy director of the National 

Economic Council. 

He went on to become the first 

president of the Obama 

Foundation. 

According to Politico, Biden is 

also expected to name Cecilia 

Rouse, an African American 

economist at Princeton 

University, to lead the Council of 

Economic Advisers. 

World AIDS Day 2020: US invests 

$6bn on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria 

By Victoria Ojeme 

UNITED States, U.S. 

President’s Emergency 

Plan for AIDS Relief, 

PEPFAR, said yesterday it has 

invested more than $6 billion on 

national HIV/AIDS response in 

Nigeria alone since 2003. 

The theme for this year’s World 

AIDS Day is ‘Resiliency in HIV 

programming in the Context of 

COVID-19’. 

According to the statement 

made available to journalists, 

PEPFAR said more than one 

million, women and children were 

currently on HIV treatment in 

2020 alone: 

The statement read: ‘’In 

Nigeria alone, PEPFAR has 

invested more than $6 billion in 

the national HIV/AIDS 

response. 

‘’More than 8.2 million 

people have received HIV 

counseling and testing 

services; more than 1.2 

million pregnant women 

received HIV testing and 

counseling toward prevention 

of mother-to-child transmission 

of HIV. 

‘’Approximately 1.2 million 

people living with HIV received 

support to improve quality of life, 

including TB/HIV care services 

and; about 1.3 million orphans 

and vulnerable children received 

care and support services 

‘’Equally important, PEPFAR 

supports Nigeria in the critical 

areas of policy development, 

human capacity development, 

and overarching health systems 

strengthening, including 

provision of state-of-the art 

laboratories and pharmaceutical 

warehouses, to enhance 

Nigeria’s health systems to tackle 

not only HIV/AIDS, but other 

diseases. 

‘’Nigerian health systems were 

put to the test this year. Our 

accomplishments would not have 

been possible without the strong 

partnership and collaboration 

with the Government of 

Nigeria, at the federal, state, 

and local levels.'' 

APC begins membership registration, 

revalidation Dec 12 

consulting with stakeholders, 

including President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

He said APC membership 

registration and revalidation was 

scheduled to hold from Saturday, 

December 12, 2020, to Saturday, 

January 9, 2021. 

“All our members are, hereby, 

invited to revalidate their 

membership in their wards. 

Similarly, prospective members 

are also invited to take advantage 

of the membership registration 

process to join our party. 

‘’The membership registration 

VISIT: From left; Head of Lekki Operations - DUFIL Prima Foods Plc, Rajesh Gaggar; Ex-Nigeria Head of 

State, Abubakar Abdulsalami; Magajin Garin Sokoto, Hassan Danbaba and MD, Lagos Free Trade Zone, Dinesh 

Rathi at the courtesy visit by the management of Lagos Free Trade Zone to the former Head of State in Minna. 

FG plans debt restructuring 

By Emma Ujah, 

Abuja Bureau Chief 

A BUJA—FACED 

with mounting debt 

servicing obligations, the federal 

government is planning to push 

for debt restructuring. 

The Minister of Finance, 

Budget and National Planning, 

Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who gave 

the indication while featuring on 

a Nigerian Television Authority, 

NTA, programme, yesterday, said 

the current debt servicing 

obligations were taking too much 

of the nation’s resources, 

N554m grass-cutting scandal: EFCC re-arraigns ex-SGF, 

Babachir Lawal •Fixes Jan 20 for trial to start afresh 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

A Economic 

BUJA—THE 

and 

Financial Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, yesterday re-arraigned 

former Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation, 

Babachir Lawal, before an Abuja 

High Court at Maitama, over 

alleged complicity in grass cutting 

contract fraud to the tune of 

about N554 million. 

Lawal, who served as SGF 

under President Muhammadu 

Buhari between August 27, 2015, 

and October 30, 2017, entered 

fresh plea of not guilty to an 

amended 10-count charge the 

EFCC preferred against him and 

six others. 

The other six Defendants that 

were also re-arraigned by the 

and revalidation will take place 

simultaneously in every Ward in 

the country. The process of 

distributing the membership 

registration and revalidation 

materials to all the states, local 

governments and wards will be 

concluded before December 12, 

2020. 

“We, therefore, appeal to our 

states, local governments and 

ward leaders to take all the 

necessary steps to ensure 

smooth and transparent 

registration exercise. We will 

continue to provide update of the 

process on regular basis,” 

Governor Buni stated. 

especially at a time of low revenue 

generation. 

“We are looking forward to 

restructuring our debts to reduce 

our debt servicing obligations, 

especially now that our revenues 

are low,” she said. 

Mrs. Ahmed did not give details 

of the restructuring but noted that 

going forward, the government 

would focus more on local 

borrowing and concessionary 

loans. 

In order to improve federal 

government revenues, the 

minister disclosed that the 

administration would sell 

some public assets that had 

anti-graft agency, are; younger 

brother to the former SGF, 

Hamidu Lawal, Suleiman 

Abubakar, Apeh Monday and 

two companies – Rholavision 

Engineering Ltd and Josmon 

Technologies Ltd. 

The ex-SGF was among other 

things, alleged to have connived 

with the other Defendants and 

illegally diverted a contract the 

Presidential Initiative for North 

East, PINE, awarded for the 

removal of grasses in Internally 

Displaced Persons, IDP, camps, 

to his own company. 

Meanwhile, the Defendants, 

who pleaded innocent to the 

amended charge read to them 

before trial Justice Charles 

Agbaza, persuaded the court to 

retain the bail conditions it earlier 

handed them. 

The defendants were initially 

docked before the court on 

February 12, 2019. 

Their re-arraignment yesterday 

followed the demise of the former 

trial judge in the matter, Justice 

Jude Okeke. 

The trial had already 

proceeded with EFCC calling its 

witnesses, before Justice Okeke’s 

death on August 4, 2020. 

Following the development, 

the case-file was re-assigned to 

Justice Agbaza for the trial to 

commence de-novo (afresh). 

Late Justice Okeke had on 

February 13, 2019, granted the 

Defendants bail to the tune of 

N50 million each, with one surety 

in like sum. 

The court equally seized their 

international passports, even as 

it barred them from travelling out 

been lying dormant. 

She said the government 

would strengthen its Public 

Private Partnership, PPP, policy 

with a view to giving private 

investors more opportunities to 

play greater roles in the provision 

of infrastructure in the country. 

‘’The proposed Infrastructure 

Company (Infraco) would be very 

useful in that regard,’’ she added. 

Infraco, she said, would provide 

a platform for private investors to 

invest in infrastructure facilities 

such as roads and rail lines. 

According to the minister, the 

federal government is working to 

make it easier for mass transit 

of the country without 

permission. 

Justice Agbaza slated January 

20, 2021, to restart their trial. 

Some of the counts in the 

charge marked CR/158/19, read: 

“That you Engineer Babachir 

David Lawal while being the 

Secretary to the Government of 

the Federation (SGF) and a 

director of Rholavision 

Engineering Ltd, on or about the 

7th of March, 2016 at Abuja in 

the Abuja Judicial Division of the 

High Court of the Federal Capital 

Territory did knowingly hold 

indirectly a private interest in the 

consultancy contract awarded to 

Rholavision Engineering Ltd for 

the removal of invasive plant 

species and simplified irrigation 

to the tune of N7, 009,515.96 

(Seven Million, Nine Thousand, 

Five Hundred and Fifteen Naira 

and Ninety Six Kobo only) by the 

Office of the Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation 

(OSGF) through the Presidential 

Initiative for North East (PINE) 

and thereby committed an 

offence punishable under Section 

12 of the Corrupt Practices and 

other Related Offences Act, 

2000.'' 






Engineering Ltd on or about the 

4th of March, 2016 at Abuja in 





contract awarded to Josmon 

buses to be imported into the 

country to reduce the cost of 

transportation which impacts 

heavily on the rate of inflation. 

Mrs. Ahmed also stressed the 

need for peace and harmony 

across the country to enable the 

economy exit recession quickly. 

She said: “We must have peace 

and harmony. Insecurity has 

the potential of slowing down 

growth.” 

The minister said government’s 

policy on Ease-of-Doing 

Business would be sustained, 

listing the items to include 

reduction of taxes, duties and 

levies to enable businesses 

expand and hire more 

workers, rather than close 

down or sack workers, as 

would otherwise, be the case. 

Technologies Ltd but executed by 




to the tune of N272,524,356.02 

(Two Hundred and Seventy Two 

Million, Five Hundred and 

Twenty Four Thousand, Three 

Hundred and Fifty Six Naira and 

Two Kobo only) by the Office of 

the Secretary to the 


through the Presidential 

Initiative for North East (PINE) 

and thereby committed an 

offence punishable under Section 

12 of Corrupt Practices and Other 

Related Offences Act, 2000. 






Engineering Ltd on or about the 

22nd August, 2016 at Abuja in 





contract awarded to Josmon 

Technologies Ltd but executed by 




to the tune of N258,132,735.00 

(Two Hundred and Fifty Eight 

Million, One Hundred and Thirty 

Two Thousand, Seven Hundred 

and Thirty Five Naira only) by 

the Office of the Secretary to the 


(OSGF) through the Presidential 

Initiative for North East 

(PINE) and thereby 

committed an offence 

punishable under Section 12 of 

the Corrupt Practices and other 

Related Offences Act, 2000.”


By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, 

Ozioruva Aliu, Egufe 

Yafugborhi & Ike 

Uchechukwu 

PROCEEDINGS at the 

various Independent 

Investigative Panels on Human 

Rights Violations by the defunct 

Special Anti- Robbery Squad, SARS, 

continued yesterday across the 

country as more victims narrate their 

ordeals. 

At the Abuja panel, the family of 

a mentally ill man, Emmanuel Ita 

Ephraim, narrated how he was extrajudicially 

killed in 2017 and branded 

an armed robber. 

In a petition signed by brother to 

the deceased, Mr. Paul Offiong 

Ephraim, the family, told the 11- 

member panel headed by a retired 

Justice of the Supreme Court, 

Suleiman Galadima, that their son 

was murdered around 9pm on June 

17, 2017, in Calabar. 

According to the petitioner, the 

deceased who was in 2006, 

diagnosed of mental illness at the 

Federal Psychiatric Hospital 

Calabar was returning to their house 

from church when he missed his way 

owing to his condition and entered 

into wrong premises. 

“We cannot explain how he missed 

his way due to his mental state and 

entered the wrong premises where 

he was found on top of the roof of a 

building at Abattim Street, Calabar. 

The men of SARS and Operation 

Skolombo located and shot him 

dead and dropped his corpse at 

Atakpa Police Station.” 

The family alleged that the Police, 

led by a Commissioner of Police, 

Mahammed lnuwa Hafiz and a 

Superintendent of Police, Kabiru T. 

Salisu, who was the DPO of Atakpa 

Police Division at that time, initially 

attempted to exonerate the Nigeria 

Police Force from the incidence and 

also refused to name the officers that 

carried out the operation. 

The petitioner told the panel that 

Police subsequently claimed that 

the deceased was an armed robber 

and was killed in exchange of 

gunfire, “which is totally false”. 

“Eyewitnesses at the place of the 

incident confirmed to us that our son 

and brother, Late Emmanuel Ita 

Ephraim was shot and taken away 

in the police truck alive. We were 

only informed the next day in the 

morning that he was killed in an arm 

robbery incident with multiple 

gunshots on his lifeless body 

“It is interesting to note that as at 

the time our son was shot dead, he 

was found with no arm or weapon, 

neither was he found attacking the 

SARS team. One wonders why he 

was shot dead while he was armless. 

He had the right to life. Three years 

have passed-by since our son and 

brother was extra-judicially killed 

and yet no justice. 

“The family prays and has solace 

in the fact that the 11-man 

Independent Investigative panel 

(IIP) will not fail us. We pray the 

Independent Investigative Panel 

will investigate this matter 

thoroughly and bring the 

perpetrators of this evil act to 

justice”. 

Among annextures to the petition 

included medical report of the 

deceased, request for release of the 

corpse for burial, as well as 

photograph of the deceased lifeless 

body. 

Meanwhile, the Justice Suleimanled 

panel has ordered Police to 

produce evidence to prove that it 

deposited body of the deceased 

which it claimed was brought to 

Atakpa Divisional Police station, 

Calabar, Cross River state by Officers 

of the Department State Service, DSS, 

and Nigerian Security and Civil 

Defense Corps, NSCDC, in mortuary. 

The panel also ordered the 2nd 

Respondent in the petition, Operation 



#EndSARS: How SARS operatives killed our 

mentally ill brother, family tells Abuja panel 

•Slain taxi driver’s family demands N100m •Police recklessness killed 

my wife — Don •UNICAL lost N1.3bn to EndSARS protest — Pro Chancellor 

•As lawyer demands panel for police attacks 

Skolombo Calabar, which the Police 

alleged were on patrol the time the 

deceased engaged them in exchange 

of gunfire with other armed robbers, 

to appear before it on December 15. 

The orders were made after the DPO 

of the Atakpa police station where 

corpse of the deceased was initially 

taken to, Salisu, who is now an 

Assistant Commissioner of Police, 

ACP, was questioned by the panel. 

ACP Salisu told the panel that Police 

officers were not part of the Operation 

Skolombo, the day the incident took 

place. 

He said operation Skolombo which 

was set up by the Cross River State 

Government to assist in the 

maintenance of law and order in the 

state, consisted of Officers and Men 

of the DSS, NSCDC, Police, Military 

and Navy. 

Police recklessness 

killed my wife, Don 

tells Edo panel 

In Benin City, Edo State, a 62-yearold 

lecturer of the University of Benin 

(UNIBEN), Dr. William Okotie, 

yesterday gave an account of how his 

wife late Dr (Mrs) Stella Okotie was 

killed in front of the university gate 

by policemen. 

Appearing before the Edo State 

Judicial Panel of Enquiry on police 

brutality yesterday, Okotie said the 

life of his late wife was cut short due 

to the recklessness of the men of the 

Nigerian police at the gate of the 

university. 

Accompanied by his son, 

Ogheneochuko, Okotie told the panel 

that his wife was killed while 

standing at the front of the school gate. 

He said: “We don’t know what 

happened between the driver and the 

policemen. We only saw policemen 

dragging the steering with the driver 

until they hit my wife. My son and I 

were standing alongside my wife, (now 

deceased) when it happened”, he said. 

Okotie, who is a lecturer in the 

Department of Public Administration 

of the university also told the panel, 

that the family has buried his wiife 

but needed compensation from the 

government to be able to take care of 

the family and settle debt incurred 

during her burial. 

When asked how he has been coping 

since he lost his wife, the university 

lecturer said it has seen hell trying to 

take care of the family as he has to 

battle with how to cook and dress up 

the children for school. 

He said: “Since it happened, it 

hasn’t been easy with us. It is not 

something one should experience; I 

have been doing the cooking, school 

run. 

“My wife was a lecturer in the 

institute of education. She was fond 

of where she worked, and she died in 

front of her workplace. 

“This was caused by the 

unprofessional conduct of the police. 

Two police officers were dragging the 

steering with the driver of the minibus 

which led to her death,” he said amidst 

sobs. 

Family 

demands 

N100m 

In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, 

the family of Bright Mark, a taxi 

driver killed by trigger happy 

policeman in 2018 at Rumuokoro, 

Obio/Akpor Local Government 

Area, Rivers State has asked for a 

N100 Million compensation for the 

murdered relative. 

#EndSARS PROTEST: A file photo of one of the #EndSARS protests in Lagos. 

Akachi Mark, member of the family 

who made the claim Monday before 

the Rivers State Judicial Commission 

of Inquiry on perceived police rights 

violations also called for speedy trial 

of the killer policeman. 

The unidentified policeman in 

transit on February 18, 2018, had in a 

broad day light pulled his rifle and shot 

the on duty taxi driver in a rush hour 

gridlock at popular Rumuokoro 

Roundabout. 

Akachi told the Rivers #EndSARS 

panel, “We (Mark’s family) want justice 

in the sense that the Police officer who 

killed our brother and breadwinner 

should be brought to book. 

“When the then Rivers 

Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Zaki, 

visited our family, he promised to bring 

the trigger happy policeman to book. 

But nothing has happened till date. 

“We also want compensation to the 

tune of N100million because Bright 

was his family’s breadwinner. Today, 

his wife and daughter who was only 

four months when he was killed as 

well as our mother, are languishing in 

hunger in the village.” 

Counsel to the Commissioner of 

Police, Mrs. M.M. Nweke told the 

panel, “There was no name of any 

police officer mentioned in the petition. 

So, we need to visit the Special Area, 

Rumuokoro, to find out more facts. We 

therefore seek for adjournment of 

hearing on this matter.” 

Chairman of the Commission, Hon. 

Justice Chukwunenye Uriri (retd), 

adjourned hearing till Wednesday, 

December 2, 2020, urging the Police 

legal team to ensure appearance on 

the adjourned date with their 

witnesses. 

Lawyer demands panel 

for police attacks 

An Edo state based lawyer, 

Olayiwola Afolabi has called on the 

federal government to institute a 

judicial panel of enquiry to investigate 

attacks on police officers by suspected 

hoodlums during the #EndSARS 

protest that went violent leading to 

destruction of properties and loss of 

lives across the country. 

In a letter addressed to President 

Muhammadu Buhari, with copies also 

sent to the Inspector General of Police, 

Senate President, Speaker of the 

House of Representatives and the 

Police Service Commission, Afolabi 

commended the president for his 

prompt response to the demands of 

the protesters with the disbandment 

of Special Anti-Robbery Squad 

(SARS) and also the setting up of the 

Judicial Panel of Enquiry to look into 

the activities of the disbanded SARS 

personnel. 

He said “I however wish to bring to 

your attention that men of the 

Nigerian Police Force were also 

attacked by unscrupulous, never do 

well hoodlums during the hijacked 

#EndSARS protest inflicting grievous 

bodily harm on several of them. 

“It is my belief that a Judicial Panel 

of Enquiry be set up to investigate 

the attacks on men of the Nigerian 

Police by these hoodlums in a bid to 

bring these persons to justice and 

shore up the confidence of the men of 

the Nigerian Police Force in the ability 

of the Nigerian government to protect 

them. 

“It is in the light of the foregoing 

that I appeal that a Judicial Panel of 

Enquiry be set as soon as possible to 

ensure that justice is not only seen to 

be done but actually done” 

UNICAL lost 1.3 billion 

to #EndSARS protest 

— Sen. Nwaogu 

The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman 

of the University of Calabar Governing 

Council, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu 

has disclosed that the institution lost 

1.3 billion naira following the 

devastating destruction unleashed by 

hoodlums who hijacked the #EndSars 

protest. 

Sen. Nwaogu, who made the 

disclosure on Monday while briefing 

newsmen at the Institution Senate 

Chambers said the mayhem 

unleashed by hoodlums who hijacked 

the peaceful protest was premeditated 

and well coordinated. 

Her words: ”While it is no longer 

news that the peaceful and wellintended 

#Endsars protests across the 

country were hijacked by hoodlums 

and other criminal elements to 

unleash mayhem on individuals, 

private and public property, it is sad 

that the scale of destruction in our 

institution of learning, the University 

of Calabar, has not been given the 

due attention it deserves in the public 

domain. 

“It is agonizing to report that the 

untoward events of Saturday, 

October 24, 2020 where vandals laid 

siege to a centre of knowledge in 

Calabar goes down in history as a 

day of infamy and great assault on 

our shared humanity. 

“Unrestrained by security agents, 

enemies of progress invaded the 

University campus in what was like 

an open warfare and made straight 

for key targets and offices, to loot and 

destroy. Sadly, they had a field day in 

fulfilling their criminal and barbaric 

intentions against the institution by 

attacking the following places and 

offices. 

“They are; Academic Publishing 

Centre, New Medical College, 

Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences 

and Unical Hotel and Conference 

Centre. They stole sensitive materials 

in each of these places-gadgets, 

computers, servers, refrigerators, 

furniture, television sets, aluminum 

windows and doors, laboratory 

equipment, mattresses, generating 

plants, armored cables, etc. 

“The cost implication of this 

unwholesome development is a 

staggering 1.3 billion Naira, a serious 

setback for our dear University. 

Though no time is appropriate for this 

inexcusable barbarity, coming at a 

period of a long shutdown as a 

consequence of the COVID-19 

precautionary measures and the 

protracted ASUU strike 

Speaking further, she said the 

institution was bleeding and needs 

all the assistance it can get at this 

point. 

“UNICAL is bleeding seriously, 

because of the attack, the way no 

other University in the country has 

ever had to. This is a shock felt to the 

very foundations of this institution. 

Unfortunately, the impact of this 

situation on teaching and learning is 

yet to be made pronounced as a result 

of the long ASUU strike and 

lockdown. 

“Indeed, the university of Calabar 

has been dragged backward by at 

least 5 years, which can be very 

exhausting, given the effort and 

sacrifices being made to improve the 

system generally as evidenced in the 

struggle of the Academic Staff Union 

of Universities (ASUU). 

“This press parley is, therefore, 

intended to let the country know the 

unique challenges the University 

is facing, and appeal to well-meaning 

and public spirited individuals, 

intervention agencies of 

government to come to the 

assistance of the university."



Ex-IGP Balogun installed as 

Oluomo of Igbominaland 

By Emma Nnadozie 

I LA-ORANGUN— 

FORMER Inspector- 

General of Police, Mr. 

Tafa Balogun, was, 

weekend, conferred with 

the chieftaincy title of 

Oluomo of Igbominaland 

and an award of 

excellence in Ila- 

Orangun, Osun State. 

The event began at the 

palace of the Orangun of 

Ila, Oba Wahab Oyedotun, 

Bibire II, where the 

chieftaincy paraphernalia 

of Oluomo was given to 

Balogun, who was 

represented by a Deputy 

Commissioner of Police, 

DCP Adegoke Fayoade. 

While blessing Balogun’s 

title at the event, Oba 

Oyedotun said: “This title 

belongs to a powerful 

man.” 

In his remarks, former 


INSECURITY: APC govt has not done 

well —Senate spokesperson 

By Shina Abubakar 

O SOGBO—THE 

l a w m a k e r 

representing Osun 

Central Senatorial 

District, Senator Basiru 

Ajibola, yesterday, took a 

swipe at the All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, led Federal 

Government over the poor 

handling of the security 

challenges saying it has 

not done well. 

Reacting to the massacre 

of farmers in Borno State 

by Boko Haram terrorists, 

Ajibola, who is the Senate 

spokesperson, restated 

his call for overhauling 

the country’s security 

architecture and urged 

the executive arm to look 

into the propriety of 

retaining the Service 

Chiefs. 

Speaking on a radio 

programme tagged: 

‘Frank Talk’ in Osogbo, 

Osun State, he said the 

Federal Government has 

not done well in securing 

the lives and property of 

Nigerians. 

His words: “I will say 

with all modesty, humility 

that I am afraid and in line 

with my oath to the 

constitution, our 

government is not doing 

well at all in the area of 

security. Section 14 of the 

Constitution stated that 

security and welfare 

should be the primary 

purpose of government. 

You will discover that 

security is even 

mentioned before welfare, 

a society that is not secure 

cannot talk about welfare. 

Our administration, I am 

not blaming anybody, I 

am blaming us as an 

institution, we have not 

done well in the area of 

security. 

UI Senate nominates Deputy VC as Acting VC 

By Ola Ajayi, 

Adeola Badru & 

Shina Abubakar 

IBADAN— SEQUEL to the 

directive by the Ministry of 

Education, through the National 

Universities Commission, NUC, 

that the Senate of the University 

of Ibadan should select someone 

for the position of Acting Vice- 

Chancellor, the university's, 

Senate, yesterday, recommended 

Professor Adebola Babatunde 

Ekanola, Deputy Vice- 

Chancellor (Academics) to the 

governing council of the 

institution. 

This came on a day Governor 

Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, 

yesterday, blasted critics who 

condemned the manner with 

which the ownership crisis 

rocking the Ladoke Akintola 

University of Technology, 

LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, was 

resolved, asking them to look for 

something meaningful to engage 

in 

Ṁeanwhile, the Senate’s 

recommendation came after Prof 

Ekanola polled 275 votes, beating 

president of Asepo Omo 

Igbomina, Prince Gabriel 

Oyinlola, said: “The retired 

Inspector General of Police, 

Tafa Balogun, is a true 

patriot; a true son of Ila- 

Orangun, in the first 

instance, and of the whole of 

Igbomina in the second instance. 

It’s an honor that he deserves 

very much for all he has done for 

the physical development of both 

Kwara and Osun states; and also 

the development of human.” 

Announcing a N2 million 

donation at the event, the retired 

IGP said: “My joy is heightened 

because this event has signaled 

a much-needed unification 

process that should bind our good 

people together. I recall that on 

November 12, 2011, when I was 

made the Chairman of Igbomina 

Day in Esie, Kwara State, I called 

for unity among our people in 

Osun and Kwara states. I am glad 

to note that that clarion call is 

what we are witnessing.” 

2023 polls: ‘Why we’re pushing 

for 35% of elective offices for 

women’ 

By Adesina Wahab 

L AGOS—THE 

Platform Capital 

Group said, yesterday, it 

will continue to uplift 

women for the 

development of the African 

continent. 

This was the position of 

experts, who spoke during 

the diatom impact 

organised webinar/press 

event, which focused on 

‘Gender Equality and 

Entrepreneurship: Recognizing 

our SHEro’s', held in Lagos. 

Speaking at the occasion, the 

Chairman of Platform Capital 

Group, Dr. Akintoye Akindele, 

said: “The great work ElectHER 

is doing is aligned with our gender 

equality goals at Platform Capital. 

Promoting women into 

leadership and supporting their 

participation in politics, 

government, and business across 

all levels of society is key if we 

want to ensure the Africa of our 

dreams.” 

The Co-founders of ElectHER, 

Abosede George-Ogan and 

Ibijoke Faborode, said the group 

was on a mission to support 1000 

women to run for elective offices 

in 2023. 

George-Ogan and Faborode 

also called for friendlier media 

reports of activities of female 

politicians, noting that those 

aspiring should not be pulled 

down or made to go back into their 

cocoons. 

“While we are doing this, we 

are not going to throw away 

competence, integrity, track 

records among other virtues. 

They are critical and whoever 

lacks them has no chance. To also 

address the issue of funding, 

individuals will be mobilised to 

help fund those contesting at 

local levels and corporate funding 

sourced for those at higher levels,” 

they said. 

....As Makinde flays critics over LAUTECH ownership 

the other four contestants to the 

position. 

Other contestants for the 

position included Professor 

Olanike Adeyemo, Deputy Vice- 

Chancellor (Research Innovation 

and Strategic Partnerships), who 

scored 13 votes; Prof. A. Oluleye, 

former Dean, Faculty of 

Technology, with 80 votes, Prof. 

Adigun Agbaje, former Deputy 

Vice-Chancellor, Academics) 

scored 15 votes and Prof. 

Gbemisola Oke, former Deputy 

Vice-Chancellor (Academics) got 

14 votes. 

The election, which was held 

at the International Conference 

Centre, UI, was presided over by 

the Provost, College of Medicine, 

Prof. Olayinka Omigbodun. 

The university Senate said: “It 

was, as expected, a tough meeting 

but one thoroughly guided by 

adherence to standard 

procedures. First, the Senate 

decided that the process would 

be, not by consensus but by 

voting. Arriving on this 

agreement took about two hours 

AWARDS—From left: Dr. Ken Opara, RBH Ikeja, Fidelity Bank; Kevin Ugwuoke, ED, Risk 

Management; Obaro Odeghe, ED, Corporate Banking; Gbolan Joshua, ED, Operations & Technology; 

Henry Olayemi, Chairman, Reward Investments, and Frank Aigbogun, Publisher, BusinessDay 

newspaper, during the BAFI Awards ceremony, Saturday. 

of discussion.” 

According to speakers at the 

meeting, the Senate needed to 

take a united decision with 

demonstrated transparency to 

guard the autonomy of the 

university and prevent 

interference from government 

and politicians. 

Makinde on 

LAUTECH 

Meanwhile, Governor 

Makinde, who visited Governor 

Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State 

at the Osun Government 

Secretariat, Abeere in Osogbo, 

expressed appreciation to his 

counterpart for rising above 

partisan politics. 

Makinde said: “I came to 

basically thank my brother, 

Governor Gboyega Oyetola for 

the roles that he played which 

eventually led to us being able to 

resolve the LAUTECH issue. 

“There has been a lot of 

insinuations out there in the 

press but what we have both 

done is to put the interest of our 

children that are students of that 

university over and above politics, 

partisanship and ego. 

“Yes, someone said that we 

failed in the spirit of regional 

integration and oneness in the 

region, we should have been able 

to jointly manage the institution 

and I said that that position was 

well thought out but it missed 

the point. 

“The point is, the joint 

ownership over the years has 

become really challenging in 

terms of funding and terms of 

even the stakeholders in there.” 

I rose above 

sentiments 

—Oyetola 

In his remarks, Governor 

Oyetola said that the decision to 

cede ownership requires 

statesmanship on his part and a 

display of rare courage which 

requires rising above political and 

primordial sentiments. 

He said: "That Osun is out of 

Lautech joint ownership is a 

painstaking process that lasted 

“We have not done what 

we ought to do. The 

killings of farmers in 

Borno State is so scary 

that I find it very hard to 

sleep, it is scary when you 

see innocent farmers been 

brought down in those 

circumstances. With that 

lamentation, I think I will 

reiterate the call of the 

National Assembly that 

the Executive should look 

into the question of the 

propriety of retaining the 

service chief. This has 

been a resolution that the 

Senate has passed to the 

executive arm. 

“There is a need to 

dismantle the overcentralised 

unitary 

security architecture of 

Nigeria. I have sponsored 

a bill on State Police; it is 

before the Constitutional 

Review Committee. The 

executive needs to work 

to decentralize the 

for almost a year and 

midwifed by the NUC is now 

an open secret. 

"In taking this difficult but 

necessary decision, I considered 

some critical issues notably, the 

overall best interest of the state 

of Osun, the future of the 

students of LAUTECH, who are 

the ones directly affected by the 

incessant crisis of 

misunderstanding between our 

Nigeria Police 

operationally and 

budgetary along the zonal 

line and structure. If we 

are not doing this, we will 

just be wasting time over 

the issue of security. 

“We also need to look 

into the area of the 

economy; it is an integral 

issue when it comes to 

security. Our economic 

issue has now even been 

exacerbated, the country 

has entered into a 

recession, food items are 

now expensive, and 

unemployment is getting 

scarier. Rather than 

talking about politics, we 

need to take the issue of 

governance seriously; we 

need to think outside the 

box on security. We cannot 

have security for a very 

large country like ours in 

this unitary system. 

“The EndSARS crisis 

really put forward the 

need to have a 

decentralised structure. A 

situation where hoodlums 

destroyed property and 

loot others unchecked 

showed that we have not 

done well. I think there is 

still time to take the bull 

by the horn for our party 

to redeem itself and give 

what the Constitution 

demands of us (Security 

and Welfare) to our 

people.” 

Cleric tasks Nigerians to 

manifest God’s will 

LAGOS—THE National 

Vice President of 

Pentecostal Fellowship of 

Nigeria, PFN, Bishop Wale 

Oke, yesterday, urged 

Nigerians to work towards 

actualising the purposes for 

which they were created. 

Bishop Oke said this during the 

funeral service for the late 

General Overseer of Love Aglow 

Ministries International, Bishop 

Olusola Ore, weekend, at The 

Apostolic Church (LAWNA), 

Olorunda in Ketu, Lagos. 

In celebrating God in honour 

of the late Bishop Ore, who was 

also an accomplished author of 

many Christian books and 

producer of a gospel movie 

'Derailed', with 200 youth 

actors starring in the project, Oke 

described the late Ore as an 

undaunted and outstanding 

leader in the Christian fold, 

saying: “Ore was an exemplary 

Christian and an achiever, filled 

with the Holy Spirit. His 

departure is a challenge to all of 

us to answer our calling, fulfill our 

destinies and return to God at 

the appointed time.”


:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnewsNEWS HOTLINES: 

PEACE VISIT—From Left: Prof. Olu Aina, a stakeholder; Deputy Governor of Osun, Benedict 

Alabi; Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State; Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo, and the 

state's Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Prof. Daud Shagodoyin, during a 

visit by Governor Makinde to Governor Oyetola, on the peaceful resolution of ownership 

of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, in Osogbo, yesterday. 

Alleged N2.1bn fraud: EFCC re-arraigns 

First Nation airline MD 


LAGOS—THE Economic and 

Financial 

Crimes 

Commission, EFCC, yesterday, rearraigned 

the Managing Director of First 

Nation Airways Limited, Kayode 

Odukoya, over alleged N2.1 billion fraud. 

Mr. Odukoya is standing trial before 

an Ikeja Special Offences Court on a 

seven-count charge slammed against 

him by the anti-graft agency. 

The EFCC had, on March 15, 2018, 

arraigned the defendant before the same 

court for allegedly fraudulently obtaining 

a credit facility worth N2.1 billion from 

By Dapo Akinrefon 

LAGOS—THE Southern and 

Middle Belt Leaders Forum, 

SMBLF, yesterday, faulted an 

allegation that former military 

head of State, Gen. Yakubu 

Gowon (retd), looted half of the 

Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, 

during his tenure as Head of 

State, noting that if he (Gowon) 

had half of the CBN in a foreign 

bank, “going to school would 

probably not have been his preoccupation.” 

Gowon was accused of looting 

half of the CBN by a United 

Kingdom member of Parliament, 

Tom Tugendhat, last week 

Monday, during a hearing of a 

petition against the Nigerian 

government at a committee 

meeting of the parliament. 

But in a statement titled: ‘On 

Pet Electrical, India’s Electrophile seal deal for 

Nigeria’s market 


LAGOS—A Nigerian firm, Pet 

Electrical and Mechanical 

Limited, has entered into a 

partnership with Electrophile 

India Private Limited for the 

manufacture and assembly of 

electrical equipment in Nigeria. 

The products, including 

distribution boards, modular 

boxes, and changeover switches, 

would be manufactured or 

assembled at Pet Electrical and 

Mechanical’s facility at Asaba, 

Delta State. 

Petferns Group spokesperson, 

Peace Eberechukwu, and 

Electrophile’s representatives, 

the defunct Skye Bank, now Polaris 

Bank. 

The defendant, also the Managing 

Director of Bellview Airline, was 

arraigned then on a four-count charge 

of forgery, use of a false document, perjury 

and stealing of N1.7 billion. 

He, however, pleaded not guilty and 

was granted bail. 

On Monday, the anti-graft agency rearraigned 

the defendant on a sevencount 

charge bordering on forgery, use 

of a false document, perjury, stealing and 

obtaining credit by fraud. 

He still pleaded not guilty. 

Following his not guilty plea, EFCC ‘s 

counsel, Nnaemeka Omewa, told the 

court that the EFCC had already called 

five witnesses to prove its case. 

He said that the prosecution would be 

closing its case against the former First 

Nation boss. 

However, the defence counsel, Edoka 

Onyeke, said that due to the fresh 

charges, the defence would like to recall 

three prosecution witnesses for crossexamination. 

He appealed to the court to allow his 

client to continue to enjoy the bail 

granted him on his first arraignment. 

The judge, Mojisola Dada, granted Mr. 

Onyeke’s request and adjourned the 

case until February 15 for Mr. Odukoya 

to begin his defence. 

Looting of CBN: We can vouch for Gowon 

—Clark, Adebanjo, Nwodo, Bitrus 

Looting Allegation Against 

General Gowon’, the forum 

Chairman, Chief E. K. Clark, 

South-South; Chief Ayo 

Adebanjo, South West; Chief John 

Nwodo, South East, and Dr. Pogu Bitrus, 

Middle Belt, debunked the accusation. 

The statement read: "The attention of 

Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum 

has been drawn to the flat rebuttal by 

General Yakubu Gowon, of the allegation 

that he looted half of the Central Bank 

as the military Head of State in Nigeria. 

The former Head of State, who ruled 

the country from 1966 to 1975, in his 

reaction to the allegations, stated he was 

disappointed and sad but he knows he’s 

innocent of the claims. 

"With the notoriety of Nigerian rulers 

to help themselves with the public fund, 

we ordinarily would not have been 

bothered with such accusation. 

"We recall that General Gowon was 

overthrown, while at the OAU conference 

Krishna Iyer and Vinay Gaur, 

made the disclosure, during a 

meeting with journalists in 

Lagos. 

Eberechukwu said the deal is 

separate from Petferns Group’s N2 

billion industrial project expected 

to commence operations soon in 

Bayelsa. 

She stated that the Electrophile 

deal will involve the transfer of 

technology to Nigerian 

engineers. 

Iyer, who spoke for Electrophile, 

said: “All of the products will have 

SONCAP certification. There will 

be SONCAP certification for every 

shipment. We are in the process 

of getting the product certified by 

the Standards Organisation of 

Nigeria, SON. The equipment 

in Kampala in 1975, from where he moved 

to London, where he became a student 

for years. How he could have moved such 

money when on the run is difficult to 

comprehend. 

"If he had half of the CBN in a foreign 

bank, going to school would probably not 

have been his preoccupation. 

“While we stand for holding leaders 

accountable for their stewardship, we will 

not support maligning people without 

facts. 

“We stand for integrity in public life 

and will not shield corruption but we are 

not aware of any such accusation 

against Gen Gowon since he was 

overthrown 45 years ago. 

"We, therefore, call on the British 

lawmaker, who was born a year after the 

coup of 1975 in Nigeria, to check the 

facts again and do the needful if he was 

wrong or back up the allegation if he has 

any evidence to retain his credibility and 

the institutional integrity of the British 

Parliament." 

are ready. They will arrive after 

Christmas, the first week of 

January 2012.” 

He explained that the 

components that are for 

assemblage in Asaba have 

already been produced in 

Faridabad, near Delhi and will be 

shipped to Nigeria after obtaining 

SONCAP certification. 

“That is the second stage. We’ll 

bring in the products in complete 

knockdown condition. Then 

they’ll be assembled here. Every 

assembly will get a SONCAP 

certificate in India before we ship 

to Nigeria. 

“The prices will be competitive 

because unless we are 

competitive we cannot sell in the 

market.” 

Alarm blow...'Asiri tu'! Welcome to 

the digital age! 

Do me I do you, God no go vex! 

Maybe he sees you as an 

artwork to be admired!




By Emma 

Amaize, Regional 

Editor, South- 

South, Sam 

Oyandongha, 

Jimitota 

Onoyume, Gabriel 

Enogholease, 

Egufe Yafugborhi, 

Haris Emanuel, 

Davies 

Iheamnachor & 

Ozioruva Aliu 

ASABA – THE call by a 

Niger-Delta militant 

group, Reformed Niger Delta 

Avengers, RNDA, on the 

Federal Government, last 

week, to reject the newest 

seven-point demands by 

South-South governors until 

they (governors) start paying 

13 per cent derivation directly 

to oil communities, has caused 

division among leaders, 

activists and stakeholders in 

the zone. 

While some slammed the 

militant group for the request 

they considered outrageous 

and diversionary, others said 

RNDA was right in its 

demand, as governors had 

frittered away derivation fund 

over the years. A number of 

them said both the governors 

and militants have rights to 

express their views. 

Among those who 

condemned the militants' 

action were a former National 

Chairman of Traditional Rulers 

of Oil Producing Communities 

of Nigeria, TROMPCON, 

HM King Charles Ayemi- 

Botu, and former Provost 

Marshal, Nigerian Army, 

Brigadier-General Idada 

Ikponmwen (retd.) while the 

Anglican Bishop of Calabar, 

Cross River State, Rt Rev 

Tunde Adeleye; son of First 

Republic Finance Minister 

and Chairman, Warri 

Consultative Forum, 

Emmanuel Okotie-Eboh, and 

spokesman, Niger Delta 

Rights Advocates, NDRA, 

Darlington Nwauju, threw 

their weight behind the 

militants. 

Convener, South-South 

Reawakening Group, Elder 

Joseph Ambakederimo and 

Executive Director, African 

Network for Environment and 

Economic Justice, ANEEJ, 

Rev David Ugolor, were of the 

opinion that governors from 

the zone are disconnected from 

the people that elected them. 

Environmental activist, 

Nnimmo Bassey, and Ijaw 

Youth Council, IYC, however, 

advised the Federal 

Government to listen to both 

the militants and governors, 

noting that both are saying 

same thing in different ways. 

South-South governors, 

lawmakers, monarchs and 

other leaders, led by Chairman 

of South-South Governors 

Forum, Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa (Delta State) had, last 

Tuesday, presented a sevenpoint 

demand, which included 

restructuring and true 

federalism to the Federal 

Government, through the 

Chief of Staff to the President, 

Prof Ibrahim Gambari, who led 

a Federal Government 

delegation to a consultative 

meeting with people of the 

zone. 

However, barely 48 hours later, 

RNDA, a coalition of nine militant 

groups headed by the 

Commanding Officer, CO, selfstyled 

“Major General” 

Johnmark Ezonebi, opposed all 

the demands of the governors, 

RALLY: From left: Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Henry 

Dickson; National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief 

Uche Secondus, and Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, at the party’s 

senatorial campaign rally for Bayelsa West at Sagbama, Bayelsa State, 

yesterday. 

13% Derivation: Militants’ 

plan to stop S’South govs 

splits stakeholders 

•RNDA’s call despicable —Ayemi-Botu, Ikponmwen 

•Militants on point —Okotie-Eboh, Warri Forum, NDRA 

•Govs‘ve brought shame to S’South — Ambakederimo 

•FG should pay attention to both sides —Nnimmo Bassey 

describing them as politically 

motivated, urging the Federal 

Government to discard the 

demands until the governors 

begin to pay 13 per cent 

derivation directly to the oil 

communities. 

Continuous Emancipation of 

Niger Delta, CEND, an 

amalgam of 36 militant groups 

headed by General Officer 

Commanding, GOC, self-styled 

“General” River Lord, aka 

Adaka Boro, on the other hand, 

backed the governors’ demands, 

but agreed with RNDA on 

payment of 13 per cent derivation 

directly to the oil communities. 

RNDA sold out 

— King Ayemi-Botu 

In Delta State, paramount 

ruler of Siembiri Kingdom, 

King Ayemi-Botu, said 

RNDA’s statement is callous, 

childish, and meaningless, 

lacks sense of direction and a 

complete sellout. 

“Frankly, RNDA has 

exposed itself as being 

hoodwinked by politicians for 

a pot of porridge and lost its 

relevance and credibility,” he 

said. 

Militants in order 

—Okotie-Eboh 

King Ayemi-Botu’s position 

was, however, countered by 

Emmanuel Okotie-Eboh, 

who insisted that the militants 

are in order with their 

demands. 

He said: “I support the 

statement by Niger Delta 

militants to the Federal 

Government to reject South- 

South governors’ demands till 

the 13 per cent derivation is 

paid directly to the oil 

producing communities.” 

“It is very sad to observe that 

truth is not sacrosanct in this 

area called Niger-Delta. I am 

so happy to hear the voice of 

our brothers fighting against 

underdevelopment the in 

zone. It is a sign of good things 

to come and a welcome 

development in our great 

region. 

"I salute them and I can see 

the era of blaming our brother 

on the other side is coming to 

an end because we are 

coming to know the 

individuals behind the 

underdevelopment of our dear 

region. 

Militants’ objection 

disparaging, 

inflammatory 

— Ozobo, IPDI 

National President of Ijaw 

People Development 

Initiative, IPDI, Mr. Austin 

Ozobo, told Vanguard that the 

statement by RNDA is 

capable of causing more 

trouble in the zone. 

He said: “It is provocative 

and demeaning to have read 

some supposed agitators 

under the name RNDA 

calling on Federal 

Government to ignore or reject 

the seven-point demands 

presented to it by South-South 

governors. 

“This call does not show a 

true picture of the said 

agitators as it has never been 

the style of Niger Delta 

agitators. These crops of 

agitators should borrow a leaf 

from the defunct MEND and 

Niger Delta Avengers, and 

remain focused if they are true 

agitators. Except such groups 

have ulterior motive, there is 

no need for conflicting 

statements and counter 

attacks from supposed 

militant groups that should 

have complemented the 

efforts of the governors.” 

FG hamstrung at 

the moment — 

Alaowei (CHURAC) 

On his part, National 

President, Centre for Human 

rights and Anti-Corruption 

Crusade, CHURAC, Mr. 

Cleric Alaowei, said the issue 

of 13 per cent derivation 

raised by the RNDA is a 

constitutional matter and 

should not be confused with 

the genuine demands of the 

South-South governors. 

“To me, the South-South 

governors' seven-point 

demands are in order. I am in 

support of the demands. 

These demands are in 

tandem with PANDEF’s 16- 

point demands. Even the exfreedom 

fighters in Niger 

Delta under MEND, NDPVF, 

NDA, etc anchored their 

agitations on resource control 

and true federalism. Why then 

should any right -thinking 

person from the region be 

opposing the governors?" 

Govs spoke the 

mind of S’South 

—Ikponmwen 

In Benin City, Edo State, 

Brigadier-General 

Ikponmwen (retd) insisted 

that South-South governors 

spoke the mind of the people 

from the zone through their 

demands. 

Describing the statement of 

RNDA as a distraction, he 

said: “The governors’ meeting 

with the elders spelt-out the 

desirables, the things that 

ought to be done in a 

federating state in the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria. Even 

South-West leaders, governors 

and the traditional rulers, 

have also met and are making 

same demands. These groups 

should not distract the 

attention of the leaders of the 

zones. 

Govs disconnected 

from citizens 

—Ugolor 

Executive Director, Benin 

City–based African Network 

for Environment and 

Economic Justice, ANEEJ, 

Rev David Ugolor, told 

Vanguard that the main issue 

is the disconnect between 

governors in the zone and 

their people. 

According to him, “This is a 

case of distrust between the 

governors of the zone and the 

people they govern. The 

governors hardly reach out to 

the people. The governors are 

not engaging their people. 

The people do not trust the 

government, they do not 

believe in the government 

and it shows clearly that the 

governors do not carry the 

people along and the 

governors too do not have 

anything to justify the 

legitimacy they want to claim 

on the message.“ 

FG should listen to 

both sides 

— Nnimmo Bassey 

Environmental activist and 

Director, Health of Mother 

Earth Foundation, HOMEF, 

Rev. Nnimmo Bassey, said: 

“Government should listen to 

all and take the right decision, 

everybody has the right to 

freedom of speech; the 

militants have their own rights 

so also are the governors. So 

my position is that the 

government should listen to 

the people and do what is 

needful at the appropriate 

time.” 

Govs‘ve brought 

shame to S’South 

— Ambakederimo 

Elder 

Joseph 

Ambakederimo in his 

reaction, said: “I stand totally 

with anyone, who opposes the 

governors for the singular 

reason that the governors 

have brought shame and 

disrepute to the region. The 

governors have shown that 

they have become bereft of 

ideas to turn the region around 

for the better. 

“Payment of 13 per cent 

derivation directly to the 

communities is like sharing 

cash money to the people to 

enrich them and leaving the 

environment and 

development of the region 

limping on one foot. I believe 

the resources should be used 

for the overall development 

and benefit of the people and 

not diverted for personal 

gains. 

Govs are our major 

headache— Akene 

Environmentalist and 

former Commissioner for 

Lands, Bayelsa State, Furoebi 

Akene, in his reaction said: “I 

do not support the paying of 

13 per cent to host 

communities because the 

definition of host communities 

will be ambiguous. I support 

independent and credible 

people to manage it in form of 

a special commission like 

BASOPADEC. For the 

NDDC, governors should not 

even contemplate the control 

of it. In the South- South, the 

governors are our major 

problems.” 

We support 

militants’ position 

—Nwauju (NDRA) 

Spokesman, Niger Delta 

Rights Advocates, NDRA, 

Darlington Nwauju, in a chat 

with our correspondent, 

declared his support for 

RNDA’s position. 

He said: “We align roundly 

with the RNDA position. The 

zone has received over N40 

trillion in the past 18 years 

through a combination of the 

13 per cent derivation, 

statutory allocations and 

allocations to the NDDC. Our 

position has and will always 

be that there is no 

commensurate infrastructural 

mileage to justify these huge 

allocations." 

Militants, govs on 

the same page 

—Igbifa, IYC president 

President, Ijaw Youth 

Council, Peter Igbifa, told one 

of our reporters that both the 

militants and leaders of the 

zone are on the same page. 

He said: “What they want is 

that the nation achieves true 

federalism, resource control. 

They also want the East-West 

Road to be completed." 

It’s a wake-up call 

on govs—Ekong, 

UNIUYO don 

A Professor of Economics, 

University of Uyo, Chris 

Ekong, while commending 

the governors on the seven - 

point demands, described the 

militants’ tough stance as a 

wakeup call, given the fact 

that the region is bedeviled by 

unemployment, 

underdevelopment, poverty 

and the likes. 

His words: “The demand 

by the governors on the 

Federal Government on 

behalf of the South-South zone 

is germane and timely. The 

governors, however, have not 

demonstrated reciprocation to 

their demand by putting their 

houses in order. 

Govs should be probed 

– Effiong, constitutional 

lawyer 

Constitutional lawyer and 

human rights activist, Inibehe 

Effiong, said: “The reality is 

that the governors of the region 

cannot account for the 13 per 

cent derivation that they 

receive. I am not standing in 

for the militants because I do 

not know them, but as 

somebody from the zone, the 

governors should account for 

the resources that they receive.” 

Govs should render 

account— Adeleye, 

Anglican bishop 

For Anglican Bishop of 

Calabar, Cross River State, Rt 

Rev Tunde Adeleye, “The 

youths are making the 

demand on behalf of the 

people and they have the right 

to ask the governors to account 

for the trillions they have 

received so far. Look around 

you and see if there is 

anything in the region to show 

for the huge sums that have 

been received either as 13 

percent derivation, Niger 

Delta Development 

Commission, or the various 

initiatives which have gulped 

money as developmental 

programmes.” 

C’River not receiving 

13% derivation —Okom 

Chief Linus Okom, Ada 

Bekwara, pointed out that 

Cross River State is not among 

the states receiving 13 percent 

derivation, a 

He said: “Our oil wells were 

lost to Akwa Ibom, if the state 

was getting the money, by 

now the state would have been 

more developed than what it 

is now. The state since 1999 

has been blessed with good 

leadership and from the lean 

resources we have, so much 

has been achieved. The 

present government would 

have actualized at lot of 

projects assuming we are in 

the league of those receiving 

the money,” he said.

C 

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CUSTOMER FORUM: From left, 9mobile Enterprise Customer, Bola Sanu of Sentient Networks Limited; Chief 

Commercial Officer, 9mobile, Stjepan Udovicic; Key Account Manager, 9mobile, Edikan Eyo; 9mobile Enterprise 

Customer, Serge Yao; and Group Head of IT, Flour Mills of Nigeria/Head of Enterprise Sales, 

9mobile, Lekan Fatusa during the 2020 9mobile Enterprise Customer Forum, in Lagos. 

Treason trial: Kanu should not be expected in 

court until hearings conducted —Counsel 

•Lies used against IPOB to justify the Obigbo massacre —Nnamdi Kanu 

By Chimaobi 

Nwaiwu 

NNEWI—COUNSEL to 

the leader of the Indigenous 

People of Biafra, 

IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, 

has said that nobody should 

expect him to be in court for 

the continuation of his ongoing 

treason trial, until a 

hearing is conducted on why 

the military invaded his 

home in 2017. 

The counsel, Mr. Alloy Ejimako, 

disclosed this in a 

statement he issued which 

was made available to Vanguard 

by IPOB's Media and 

Publicity Secretary Emma 

Powerful. 

Mr. Ejimako therefore, advised 

the Nigerian judicial 

system to do the needful by 

determining why the Nigerian 

Army invaded Kanu’s 

home in 2017 and killed 28 

persons in the process. 

Ejimako's statement read: 

"Until a hearing is conducted 

on why the military invaded 

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's 

home in 2017, he should not 

be expected to appear in 

court for the treason trials. 

"Nnamdi Kanu didn’t appear 

because he is not in Nigeria. 

And his trial in absentia 

is open to question. It 

shouldn’t happen. Our position 

is that the court should 

have conducted a hearing as 

to why Nnamdi Kanu has repeatedly 

failed to appear in 

court. If that enquiry is conducted, 

it will bring to the fore 

what happened in September 

2017. And it will give an 

opportunity to introduce evidence 

in the proceedings to 

demonstrate why nobody 

under such circumstances 

should be expected to appear 

in court because the 

Army went in there to kill 

him. I don’t know what the 

court expected him to do; to 

stay here and be killed and 

be brought to court, or what? 

"If someone is on bail, such 

a person is under the protection 

of the court. And now, 

an agency of the same government 

that is prosecuting 

this man sent its armed forces 

to this man to kill him. 

And 28 men were killed. 

"The court is not making an 

enquiry into that and they 

are solely concerned about 

proceeding with his trial in 

absentia. It shouldn’t happen 

in a well-ordered system. 

We just have to get to 

the root: why did he not appear 

in court? That is the 

question. 

"Then, they can tell Mr 

Kanu to come and face your 

trial in court because the 

court will give you protection. 

When that is done, he will 

come. I guarantee he will 

come. Once the court makes 

a pronouncement on why he 

is not there and makes a ruling, 

then he will appear. But 

this court is not doing that. If 

they proceed with absentia 

trial, the international community 

will see it as kangaroo. 

“If it is settled, it will be 

determined whether he 

jumped bail of which no conclusion 

like that will ever be 

reached. If the court makes 

such inquiry, it will also give 

the court an opportunity to 

determine what happened 

in 2017." 

On the fate of Senator 

Enyinnaya Abaribe who is 

one of Kanu’s sureties,Mr. 

Ejimako said: “I am representing 

the Jewish Rabbi, 

Immanuel Shalom, the cosurety 

for Nnamdi Kanu. 

Abaribe was not the only 

surety.The other one is Mr 

Tochukwu Uchendu, an 

accountant. They are of the 

equal footing with N100m 

each, totalling N300m. 

That is what they stand to 

loose if Nnamdi Kanu is determined 

to have jumped 

bail. Abaribe’s case is the 

same as my client’s case. 

"The sureties cannot be said 

to have breached their 

bonds in circumstances such 

as Nnamdi Kanu’s situation 

where 28 persons were killed 

in his house. Do they want 

him produced in court dead? 

It can’t happen. The bond 

subsists and no one is going 

to lose any money. Nobody 

is going to jail for a bail bond 

that was not breached but by 

the Nigerian Army. 

"We have the case in court 

that the bail bond cannot be 

revoked without conducting 

a hearing on why the person 

that was given the bail 

did not appear in court." 

It should be recalled that 

the leader of IPOB did not 

appear in court Thursday 

when his treason trial commenced 

but the court said he 

would be tried in absentia. 

His lawyer, who was represented 

in court by another 

lawyer, claimed the court 

notice was very short. He 

told newsmen that Kanu 

was absent because he needed 

to be assured of his security. 

Lies used against 

IPOB to justify 

the Obigbo 

massacre —Kanu 

Meantime, the leader of 

the Indigenous People of 

Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi 

Kanu, yesterday, alleged 

that outlandish concoctions 

and outright lies were used 

against IPOB to justify the 

Obigbo massacre. 

Mazi Kanu also alleged 

that the Nigerian Army Defense 

Headquarters is obstructing 

independent investigations 

into the #ObigboMassacre, 

adding that the 

Federal Government of Nigeria, 

Rivers State Government 

and the Nigerian Army 

have always used lies to vilify 

IPOB, while using kid 

gloves for terror franchise 

groups like Boko Haram, 

ISWAP and herdsmen who 

have continued killing innocent 

people. 

Mazi Kanu, in a statement 

through IPOB's Media and 

Publicity Secretary Emma 

Powerful, said that he has 

challenged the Nigerian 

Army Defense Headquarters 

to allow independent 

investigation into the #ObigboMassacre 

if they know 

that Army is not lying 

against IPOB. 

His statement read: "If all 

the outlandish concoctions 

and outright lies against 

IPOB used to justify ObigboMassacre 

were true, why 

is the Nigerian Army Defense 

Headquarters obstructing 

independent investigations? 

Governor Nyesom 

Wike demonized Obigbo 

people just to kill them and 

sadly, the killings are still 

ongoing but no action was 

taken by International 

Criminal Court - ICC, US 

Ambassador to Nigeria, UK 

High Commissioner to Nigeria, 

EU Mission to Nigeria, 

etc. 

"It is now clear the international 

community no 

longer cares about victims 

of state orchestrated mass 

murder like what obtained 

in Obigbo. Appealing to 

the moral sense of responsibility 

of conscientious civilised 

nations no longer 

work. Perhaps, they want 

survivors of these brutal 

massacres all over Nigeria 

to go into armed resistance. 

"Meanwhile, the much 

'respected' terror franchise 

like Boko Haram, ISWAP, 

herdsmen and bandits are 

busy chopping off the 

heads of rice farmers in 

Borno. The cowardly bunch 

of murderers in uniform only 

have power over unarmed 

citizens. 

"Countries like the United 

States of America, especially 

those apologists for impunity 

in Nigeria at the US 

State Department, United 

Kingdom, Czech Republic, 

Turkey and European Union 

that supply arms to Nigeria 

are equally culpable in the 

murder of innocent people 

at Obigbo in Rivers State 

and Lekki toll gate in Lagos 

State." 

Defection: How Anyim, NASS 

members back-stabbed me 

—Umahi 

By Peter Okutu 

ANOR BAKALIKI—GOVER 

David Umahi of Ebonyi 

State, Sunday night, revealed 

that the plan behind 

his defection was for the former 

Senate President, Senator 

Anyim Pius Anyim and other 

leaders of the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, to join him in 

APC two weeks after he must 

have successfully defected. 

Umahi who disclosed this 

while addressing APC stakeholders 

at a meeting in Abakaliki 

noted that Anyim backed 

out of the plan because he 

(Umahi) went to see President 

Muhammadu Buhari ahead 

of the defection plan. 

Umahi said he consulted all 

the National Assembly members 

and Elders from the state 

over his defection to APC, 

claiming that all them approved 

his move and even 

agreed to subsequently defect 

with him. 

He said the only grievance of 

the NASS members and other 

leaders was that he joined APC 

before them, revealing that they 

actually wanted to join APC 

before him. 

“They were planning to ambush 

me but it is difficult to catch 

the air,” he said. 

Reacting to the allegation 

making the round that Anyim 

gave him N5bn to prosecute 

his governorship election in 

2015, Umahi said: “I was a deputy 

Governor, somebody occupying 

the highest position from 

the Southeast (referring to 

Anyim) went and arranged for 

a N5bn naira loan for me to 

prosecute the presidential election 

for his government. I had 

to sell many of my properties 

to pay back that money.” 

He alleged that former Governor 

Martin Elechi was also 

fought by the same people 

fighting him. 

“All these people that came 

together to fight me, they collect 

contracts, they collect 

monthly pay, they collect vehicles. 

And when they are asked 

to bring people that worked for 

us, they will bring their wives, 

children and relations. 

“Now, they are dressing 

words for us. We are in chapter 

one, in Chapter two, I will publish 

all that I have done for the 

leaders of this state,” Umahi 

vowed. 

In a communique issued after 

the meeting, the stakeholders 

and elders of the state noted 

that the decision to join was 

in the best interest of South East 

which again will launch Ndigbo 

to the centre-stage of national 

politics. 

The communique read: 

"That we consider the decision 

as a bold step towards mainstreaming 

with the party at the 

centre to savour the full complements 

of the nation’s dividends 

of democracy for the 

good of Ebonyi State and the 

prosperity of her inhabitants. 

"That we uphold the move to 

join the party at the centre as a 

decision in the best interest of 

South East which shall once 

again, launch Ndigbo to the 

centre- stage of national politics. 

We believe that those who 

are castigating this arrangement 

today will in future praise 

the foresightedness and forthrightness 

that informed this 

bold decision to mainstream 

with the party of national unity. 

"That we are worried by the 

alarm raised by the governor 

of Ebonyi State, His Excellency 

Engr. Chief David Nweze 

Umahi on the plot of some politicians 

to unleash terror and 

destabilize the security of the 

state and therefore reiterate 

that as stakeholders and elders 

of the state, we cannot fold 

our hands and watch the state 

go into flames again after the 

hard earned peace and harmony 

we achieved under the 

present administration." 

Ikpeazu applauds Orji on high 

legislative productivity 

U MUAHIA—GOVER 

NOR Okezie Ikpeazu of 

Abia State has applauded the 

Senator representing Abia 

Central Senatorial District at 

the National Assembly, Senator 

T A Orji, over the recent report 

from the National Assembly 

that confirmed that he is the 

most productive among former 

governors at the National Assembly. 

According to a statement 

made available to newsmen in 

Umuahia by the state Commisioner 

for Information, Chief 

John Okiyi Kalu, “The Government 

of Abia State led by Governor 

Okezie Ikpeazu is proud 

of the strong legislative exploits 

of the former Governor of the 

state and Senator representing 

Abia Central Senatorial District 

at the National Assembly 

which has seen him sponsor 

seven bills including the NCDC 

Bill, and wish to put on record 

that such performance can only 

come from a Senator that is 

conscious of the reason the 

people trooped out en masse to 

vote for him”. 

He also extolled the legislative 

intervention of the Senator 

that ensured that the federal 

government awarded the 

Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene federal 

highway project as well as his 

other constituency interventions 

such as award of scholarships 

to indigent persons and 

free medicare program and 

called on him to continue to be 

a shining example for others to 

follow in the state. 

The governor called for continuing 

synergy, dedication to 

work and support from the state 

contingent at the National Assembly 

to ensure that the people 

of the state receive more dividends 

of democracy from 

those they elected to represent 

them at all levels. 

According to a document, 

Report Card of the 9th Senate 

Volume One, Number One 

(June 2019 – May 2020) titled 

“How Former Governors 

Stand in Bills Chart of the 9th 

Senate”, Senator Orji was credited 

with a total of seven Bills, 

saying that he is the “Highest 

in Legislative Productivity”. 

Some of the Bills sponsored 

by the Senator and already 

signed into law include: Food 

and Security Bill, and the National 

Centre for Disease Control, 

NCDC Amendment Bill. 

The document also named 

former governor of Nassarawa 

State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, 

(Nasarawa West, APC), as 

also producing seven bills. 

The Report also named Senator 

Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto 

North), Senator Gabriel Suswam, 

(Benue North East), and 

Senator Ibikunle Amosun, 

(Ogun Central) as having four 

Bills to their names respectively.

C 

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Sen Aji tasks FG, CBN to 

exonerate Gowon from alleged 

fund siphoning 

By Ndahi Marama 

MAIDUGURI—THE former 

Adviser on National Assembly 

Matters to ex-President 

Goodluck Jonathan, Senator 

Mohammed Abba Aji, has called 

on the Federal Government and 

the Central Bank of Nigeria to 

exonerate the Former Head of 

State, General Yakubu Gowon 

from alleged siphoning of CBN’s 

funds. 

The allegation was made 

against Gowon by a member of 

the British Parliament and 

Chairman Foreign Relations 

Committee, Mr Tom Turgendhat. 

Speaking with journalists at his 

residence in Maiduguri, 

yesterday, Aji said Gowon 

deserved to be protected against 

the baseless allegation, and 

wondered why the Nigerian 

Press amplified such an 

unsubstantiated allegation from 

a British Parliamentarian. 

Aji, who is also the Secretary of 

North East Governors Forum, 

said instead of the federal 

government, CBN and the 

Nigerian Press to stand for 

Gowon at his age, all parties 

decided to leave Gowon to defend 

himself. 

“I was very terribly disturbed 

when I saw a baseless allegation 

levelled against our former 

President, General Yakubu 

Gowon by one Parliamentarian 

gaining unwarranted grounds in 

our country. 

“General Gowon became Head 

Jigawa spends N900m on free 

maternal, child healthcare 

services annually 

By Aliyu Dangida 

D UTSE—JIGAWA 

State Governor, Badaru 

Abubakar, yesterday decried the 

high cost of health care services 

in the country as he disclosed that 

the government has increased 

the monthly health sector 

funding from N15 million to N75 

million. 

Speaking at the flag-off of the 

formal sector contributory health 

care scheme held at the Dutse 

general hospital, Governor 

Badaru said: “high cost of 

healthcare services has been a 

challenge to families, low-income 

individuals and other vulnerable 

segments of the society”. 

He said financing healthcare 

delivery requires efficient and 

prudent management of 

of State at the age of barely 40, 

and he spent all his energy 

uniting this country by pulling 

us out of the Civil War. 

“Gowon had a very challenging 

Regime because at a point all the 

regions including the North 

where he hails from were 

agitating for break up, but he was 

the only one that became the 

matrix that bound and United 

this country together, and even 

his name became synonymous 

‘Go On With One Nigeria 

(GOWON) at that time,” Aji said. 

Continuing Aji noted that, 

even when Gowon was toppled, 

he did not resist, instead, he was 

appealing for calm and 

bloodlessness of the coup, adding 

that for peace to reign, General 

Gowon immediately supported 

the regime that took over. 

“I am really surprised to see 

someone like Tom Tugendhat, a 

member of the British Parliament 

and Chairman Foreign Relations 

Committee raise such 

unsubstantiated allegations on 

the floor of the parliament 

against one of our best 

respected Head of State, 

General Gowon, alleging that 

this gentleman, Gowon left 

with half of the CBN funds, as 

if Turgendhat knows how much 

was in the CBN, how much it was 

taken and how much was left as at 

then without tendering documents 

to prove. 

“Gowon is now 86, if he has any 

money, would he be keeping it 

for the next life? He has been 

living all this while a very 

humble life, honest and godly.'' 

resources which is why the 

government has consistently 

allocated an average of 15% of 

the state budget to the sector 

since 2016. 

“The contributory healthcare 

scheme is a further effort in 

ensuring an overall objective of 

the healthy and productive 

population through access to 

comprehensive, appropriate, 

affordable, efficient, equitable and 

quality essential health care”, he 

noted. 

The governor explained that 

the contributory healthcare 

scheme will cover all pregnant 

women, children under the ages 

of five, accident victims, 

correctional inmates and 

boarding students across the 

state, “we are expending N900 

million annually in the provision 

of free healthcare services to 

women and children for four 

years across the state. 

Budweiser excites consumers 

with Smooth kick-off promo 

BUDWEISER Lager Beer, 

from the staple of 

International Breweries Plc, is set 

to excite consumers with the 

launch of a campaign tagged: 

"Budweiser Smooth Kick-off 

Promo” to celebrate the recently 

kicked off football season. 

Consumers stand the chance 

of winning a brand new, luxurious 

2020 Mercedes Benz A200 and 

the newly released PlayStation 5 

Console in the promo which runs 

between November 2020 and 

January 2021. The promo is only 

open to individuals who are 18 

years and over. 

Also, as Budweiser recently 

announced Lionel Messi as a 

global brand ambassador, several 

lucky Budweiser consumers will 

be the proud owners of Budweiser 

football jerseys autographed by 

Messi himself. 

Marketing Manager, 

Budweiser, Jumoke Okikiolu, said: 

“We are known as the King of 

the beers, and we are set to prove 

it once again with the Budweiser 

Smooth Kick-off Promo which will 

see three lucky consumers win 

the grand prize of a brand-new 

Mercedes Benz A200 each and 

24 consumers will win the newly 

launched, ultra-sophisticated 

PlayStation 5 Console.'' 


COMMISSIONING: From left: Barr. Uche Iwuamadi, Executive Director, African Industries Group; H.R.H 

Oba Kazeem Gbadamosi, Ologijo of Ogijo and Singh Satyendra, Management Representative during the 

commissioning of Gas Line Road Ogijo, constructed by African Foundaries Limited in Ogijo, Ogun State. 

Zambarmari massacre: Not time for 

blame game, name-calling — Bauchi gov 

•Says political, military elite must work out solutions to end insurgency 

By Charly Agwam 

B 

A U C H I — 

FOLLOWING the 

beheading of forty-three 

farmers by members of Boko 

Haram, weekend, Bauchi 

state governor, Bala 

Mohammed, has challenged 

political and military leaders 

to find a lasting solution to 

insurgency in the Northeast. 

The Governor in a 

statement by his Senior 

Special Assistant on Media, 

Muhktar Gidado, remarked 

that although it was tempting 

to blame and call names, he 

said the situation calls for 

sober reflection, while also 

challenging political and 

military leaders to join hands 

to end the insurgency for the 

sake of the country’s 

stability. 

“As tempting as it is, we 

believe that this is not a time 

for blame game or namecalling. 

Rather, the moment 

calls for sober reflection, for 

the closing of ranks by the 

political and military elite as 

well as other stakeholders, to 

work out a solution to end this 

protracted destabilising 

insurgency. 

“ It is also with every sense 

of responsibility that we want 

to place on record our view 

that the security challenges 

plaguing the entire country 

demand a complete overhaul 

of the prevailing national 

security architecture so that 

the gaps in intelligence 

gathering, human capacity 

and firepower can be 

sufficiently ameliorated. 

“Once again, the nation is 

united in grief as we mourn 

the macabre murder of many 

innocent Nigerians, by the 

Boko Haram insurgents. 

Though the victims lived in 

Zabarmari town, the attack, 

no doubt the most 

horrendous in recent times, 

was said to have taken place 

at Koshebe Village of Mafa 

Local Government Area, 

about twenty-five minutes’ 

drive from Maiduguri, the 

Borno State capital. 

“The government and 

people of Bauchi State 

deprecate, in the strongest 

terms, this blood-chilling 

barbarity, an affront to the 

Government and people of 

Nigeria and a challenge to our 

national resolve and capacity, to 

guarantee the safety of lives and 

property, of both Nigerian citizens 

and residents. 

Okowa, Oyovbaire, Clark, others grace book launch 

GOVERNOR Ifeanyi 

Okowa of Delta State, 

former Minister of 

Information, Professor Sam 

Oyovbaire and Ijaw 

national leader, Chief 

Edwin Clark are among 

those expected to grace the 

launching of a book written 

by the Chairman, Warri 

South local government 

area, Dr Michael Tidi, 

titled: ‘Resource 

Dependence, Violent 

Conflict and Economic 

Development in the Niger 

Delta Region of Nigeria’, 

which will reviewed by Dr. 

CHAIRMAN 

of 

Delta State House of 

Assembly Committee on 

Health, Hon. Austin Uroye 

has flagged off an 

empowerment programme 

worth N10 million for people 

of his Warri South 

Constituency 1. 

In a statement by his 

Secretary, Mr. Oritsuwa 

Ogholaja, Uroye said the 

exercise became important due 

to economic realities of the day 

and the need to explore other 

skills for diversifying the 

“We feel the pains of the 

inhabitants of this 

breadbasket that has been 

turned into a killing field. It 

is indeed a painful irony, that 

the farmers were slaughtered 

while engaging in the 

legitimate effort not only to 

feed their families but to 

contribute to national 

development. This indeed is 

one massacre too many, 

“Our hearts go out to the 

Adetunji Babatunde. 

The book launch will hold 

on Thursday, December 3 

at Best Western Hotel 

(Elomax) Conference Hall, 

Asaba in Delta State by 

12.00 noon. 

Governor Okowa is the 

Special Guest of Honour, 

while the Speaker of Delta 

State House of Assembly, 

Rt. Hon. Sheriff 

Oborevwori, the member 

representing Warri Federal 

Constituency in the House 

of Representatives, Chief 

Thomas Ereyitomi and Dr. 

Adetunji Babatunde, Chief 

economy and reducing 

unemployment in the state. 

He added that it was part of 

his cardinal campaign 

promises to the people that 

his office would provide 

women and youths of his 

constituency opportunity to 

learn different skills at the 

prestigious Wawe Fabrication 

and Construction company. 

Oritsuwa disclosed that the 

lawmaker's target was to make 

the women, selected youths 

and people with disability in 

his constituency self-reliant 

and employers of labour rather 

than job seekers, noting that 

successful men and women all 

over the world had their roots 

traumatised families of the 

victims and the Government 

and good people of Borno 

State. We also commiserate 

with the President and 

Commander-in-Chief, who 

despite all efforts so far, has 

had to carry the brunt of this 

senseless insurgency that 

has dislocated life in 

Northeast Nigeria with a 

Domino-like effect on the 

entire country.” 

Economic Adviser to Oyo 

State governor, Seyi 

Makinde are among 

prominent personalities 

that would add colour to the 

event. 

Chairman of the Planning 

Committee Mr Emmanuel 

Jakpa, in a statement in 

Warri, Delta State said Prof. 

Oyovbaire will be Chairman 

of the occasion, Chief Edwin 

Clark will be guest of honour 

and Rt. (Hon.) Sheriff 

Oborevwori and Chief 

Thomas Ereyitomi, would be 

chief and co-Launcher 

respectively. 

Uroye unfolds N10m empowerment programme 

for 200 women, youths, others in Warri 

By Jeremiah 

Urowayino 

in small-scale businesses. 

This programme is a way of 

supporting the Delta State 

government on its small and 

medium scale entrepreneur 

programmes for women and 

youths. 

“I therefore urge you to take 

the advantage of the 

programmes to equip 

yourselves against economic 

realities caused by the 

dwindling oil revenues in the 

country,” he said. 

Also he encouraged women 

not to Just collect the funds 

but also urge them to make 

sure they dive into small scale 

businesses so as to have 

something tangible doing.

C 

M 

Y 

K 


C 

M 

Y 

K 

16 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1 2020 

Still on Nigeria's clash of civilisations 

THE Nigeria Broadcast 

Commision is currently 

tongue-tied over a letter wrirten 

by the Sharia Board in Kano 

(Hisbah) to Cool FM Radio to 

stop using the term "Black Friday" 

in Kano State. 

In the rest of Nigeria only the 

NBC has the right to regulate 

activities of broadcast 

organisations until the dual 

ideology in Nigeria brought up 

Shari'a rule in violation of the 

joke in the 1999 Constitution that 

any law that is inconsistent with 

provisions of the grundnorm shall 

be null and void. 

The NBC Act states that the 

commission is the only 

organisation that has the powers 

to prescribe a code for 

broadcasters and sanction them. 

Last Thursday, the Kano State 

Hisbah Board, which is tasked 

with the duty of enforcing Sharia 

law in the state, wrote a letter of 

warning to a radio station in 

Kano State, 96.9 Cool FM, for 

using the term ‘Black Friday’. 

Black Friday is an informal 

name for the Friday following 

Thanksgiving Day in the United 

States, and is celebrated on the 

fourth Thursday of November. 

The term is used worldwide to 

mean a day for promotional sales 

where goods are sold at 

discounted prices. 

However, a letter signed by 

Principal Executive Officer II, 

Abubakar Ali, on behalf of the 

Commander-General, Hisbah 

stated that Friday is regarded as 

a holy day in Islam and tagging 

it as ‘black’ is derogatory and 

would not be condoned. 

Black 

Friday 

The Hisbah guys must 

probably not have a black skin 

to stigmatise black this way. The 

letter titled: ‘Letter of 

Introduction’ reads in part: “I am 

directed to write and notify you 

that the office is in receipt of a 

complaint for the conduct of 

‘Black Friday Sales’ on 

November 27, 2020. Accordingly, 

we wish to express our concern 

on the tagging of Friday as ‘Black 

Friday’ and further inform you 

that the majority of the 

inhabitants of Kano State are 

Muslims that consider Friday as 

a holy day. 

“In view of the foregoing, you 

are requested to stop calling the 

day ‘Black Friday’ with 

immediate effect and note that 

the Hisbah Corps will be around 

for surveillance purposes with a 

view to avoiding the occurrence 

of any immoral activities as well 

as maintaining peace, harmony, 

and stability in the state.” 

This country has witnessed raw 

deals that Hisbah is capable of 

meting in violent violation of the 

Constitution and the further 

enforcement of anarchy the 

zealots are capable of rolling out 

as outlaws. Nigerians would not 

forget in a hurry the 2006 

sectarian violence over a cartoon 

in Denmark. The violence 

erupted as the Danish cartoonist 

whose drawings originally 

•Hisbah police in Kano... on patrol duty 

sparked the furore, Kurt 

Westergaard, used an interview 

with a British newspaper to 

defend the right to a free press 

which it said the Islamic faith had 

violated. 

Several years after the 

controversy began, after-effects 

are still felt around the world. 

The first protests in Nigeria 

flared in Borno and Katsina: 

witnesses said hotels and shops 

were torched by protesters who 

ran wild after police fired teargas 

This country has 

witnessed raw deals that 

Hisbah is capable of 

meting in violent 

violation of the 

Constitution and the 

further enforcement of 

anarchy the zealots are 

capable of rolling out as 

outlaws 

to disperse them. The cartoonist 

at the heart of the row, who had 

gone into hiding after a bounty 

was put on his head and 

conducted the interview with the 

Glasgow Herald newspaper via 

written questions, said he had not 

expected such controversy but 

did not regret the drawings. 

He defended it as 'a protest 

against the fact that we perhaps 

are going to have double 

standards [in Denmark and 

Western Europe] for freedom of 

expression and freedom of the 

press'. 

The Nigerian riots were the 

first protests in Africa's most 

populous country, which is 

divided equally between 

Christians and Muslims. The 

worst of the trouble, involving 15 

deaths, was in the North Eastern 

state of Borno - a predominantly 

Muslim state with a sizeable 

Christian population. Troops 

were deployed in the state capital 

to restore order. 

There was 2002 before 2006 

when Isioma Nkemdilim 

Nkiruka Daniel (a Nigerian 

journalist with Thisday whose 

newspaper article comment 

involving the Islamic prophet 

Muhammad sparked the Miss 

World riots and caused a fatwa 

to be issued on her life. She 

ultimately had to flee the country 

because of Jihadists. Only God 

knows her state of being now. 

The government of Zamfara 

State had called on Muslims to 

kill journalist Isioma Daniel over 

an article she wrote about the 

Miss World pageant, which was 

to have taken place in Nigeria. 

Rioting that killed more than 200 

people in the wake of the article 

prompted the organisers of the 

pageant to move the event from 

Nigeria to London. 

Ms Daniel apologised for the 

article. The office of her 

newspaper, This Day, was levelled 

by angry Muslims during the 

riots in Kaduna. A fatwa (death 

sentence) was placed on the 

young lady by Zamfara 

government. Nigerians are not 

likely to forget easily the killing 

of 16 people and the burning of 

churches in Borno and Katsina 

as part of the Islamic world rage 

over a Danish newspaper cartoon 

in 2006 which was considered 

offensive to Islam. 

Different strokes for different 

folks, they say. When Mallam 

Nasir El-Rufai during his war of 

attrition with the Dr. Goodluck 

Jonathan government in 2012 

used Jesus as a toothpick on his 

notorious Twitter, he did not 

come under any harm nor was he 

sentenced to death outside verbal 

rebuke by the Christian 

Association of Nigeria, CAN. 

The then Secretary of the body, 

Rev. Musa Asake, said that in 

spite of warnings for Mr. El-Rufai 

to stop such provocative and 

disrespectful comments that 

carry chains of implications, the 

latter had gone ahead to post a 

response considered insulting to 

the Christian faith on Twitter 

when he re-tweeted an analogy 

that appeared offensive to Jesus 

Christ. 

The former minister who is 

now a governor said it was 

intended to be a criticism of 

Facebook page apologising to 

those that saw the tweet as 

offensive. His explanation was 

that he did not 

mean the 

statement to 

come across as 

an insult to the 

Christian faith. 

“I must say I am 

taken aback by 

the extent of 

desperate 

misrepresentation 

of what was an 

innocuous 

attempt to show 

the godlessness 

of the Jonathanians to denigrate 

anyone that dares to ask them to 

be accountable,” Mr. El-Rufai 

had said in his reaction. 

But the CAN scribe said there 

was a portion of the response 

that insulted the Christian faith, 

pointing out that the association 

is convinced Mr. El-Rufai is set 

on a war path with Christians in 

Nigeria. Asake wrote: “We must 

state that unlike others, 

Christians do not shed blood, 

take life, kill or maim others at 

the slightest provocation. 

Nevertheless, we must warn El- 

Rufai not to take Christians for 

granted and to inform him that 

it is with great difficulty that we 

have had to restrain our youths 

from taking the law into their 

hands; which by extension means 

bringing El-Rufai to justice on 

account of his incitement and 

insult against the Christian 

faith." 

The scenarios depicted above 

form the major problem with 

Nigeria which it is running from 

instead of addressing and for 

which it may end up in the ditch 

if it does not turn back from the 

senseless trip. This was the 

conversation between Francis 

Fukuyama and his former 

teacher, Samuel Huntington. 

At the end of the cold war, 

Fukuyama wrote The end of 

history and the last man where he 

painted a glossy illusion of the 

new world order, but his former 

teacher, Huntington, wrote The 

clash of civilisations which 

predicted that the new world 

would be governed by clashes 

along cultural and religious lines 

as it is the era of selfdetermination. 

The teacher has 

been proved right as the word 

"genocide" has been heard more 

around the world in the new 

order than all the years of cold 

war. Nigeria can't continue to 

deceive itself about 

"indivisibility" and other jejunity 

while plunging itself deeper and 

deeper into the abyss. We wait to 

see the country it would emulate 

if it survives these unitary 

contradictions unaddressed. 

Nov 27 that wasn't 

in Osun 

Tension built up recently in 

Osun ahead of the November 27 

grand finale of the second 

anniversary of the Osun State 

Governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, 

as the Minister of Interior and 

former Governor of the state, 

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was said 

to be coming the same day to 

celebrae 10 years of progressive 

governance in the the state as if 

the history of the state started 

with when he became governor. 

I was in secondary school when 

Chief Bola Ige governed Oyo 

which Osun was part of and we 

saw the implementation of the 

cardinal programmes of the 

Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN. I 

was the secretary of the Afenifere 

visitation panel to Osun State in 

2001 headed by Chief C .O. 

Adebayo and we scored Chief Bisi 

Akande high in progressive 

governance within limited 

resources. Those years don't 

make the so-called progressive 

years. 

When opposition to the notwell- 

thought-out programme 

mounted, the media aide to the 

minister told an untruth that the 

programme was in fulfillment of 

presidential directive that 

ministers should go and interact 

with their constituencies. Did he 

ask them to go and cause worse 

situation than EndSARS in their 

states? 

Another aide of the minister 

caused so much hysteria, 

sounding war drums of their 

readiness to crush any opposition 

to the event. It was my friend, 

Tony Iyare, who once wrote that 

if a Lawrence Anini was given the 

privilege of writing his epitath it 

would read like: "Here lies Chief 

Anini, a great and accomplished 

businessman." 

We cannot forget in a hurry 

what happened in those eight 

years of Ogbeni. I remember this 

classmate of mine in secondary 

school who is an official in the 

state service I ran into about four 

years ago. As he stopped and 

greeted, I bent to greet him as he 

looked so old until he mentioned 

his name. His ears were the 

hangers that did not allow his cap 

to fall off. I asked him what was 

amiss and he told me he had not 

received 11 months salaries! 

While the sabre-rattling lasted, 

the former governor of the state, 

Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, 

made the intervention of a 

statesman. "It is common 

knowledge that Mr. Aregbesola 

took over from me, and despite 

the circumstances of his coming 

to that office, I did not do 

anything to undermine his 

authority throughout his eight 

years in government. 

That is the spirit with which I 

appeal that the Interior Minister 

(Aregbesola) avoid doing 

anything that will suggest a plan 

to make the state ungovernable 

for Mr. Oyetola. 

“As a former governor of that 

state, I plead that we give peace 

a chance. The state has witnessed 

enough unnecessary crises in 

recent weeks coupled with the 

coronavirus pandemic which has 

affected people’s economy and 

general wellbeing. Our people 

are suffering; they deserve a 

respite from all forms of crises 

as they struggle to make ends 

meet. 

As leaders of our people, we 

all have a stake in making Osun 

State to work for the good of our 

people who have had to deal with 

one hardship or the other. We will 

be seen as doing that when we 

avoid making the job of the 

incumbent governor difficult for 

him. May God help our state and 

its people in this difficult time.” 

That is a mature mind at work 

and it is good wise counsel 

prevailed and Osun was not 

thrown into unnecessary crisis 

through internal punches.

Y 

K 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 —17 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

The urgent need to accelerate 

journey to women in power (2) 

•This piece which was first 

published last week, today 

continues the argument that 

women are better managers 

as they focus more on what is 

important in the performance 

of their job. 

BUT choosing to focus in on 

these benefits only risks 

extenuating existing 

stereotypes into our 

interpretation of the role of 

women in politics. Let us be 

clear that is not what I mean. I 

believe enhanced female 

leadership will also translate 

into better national security, a 

better performing economy and 

lower crime rates. 

Contrary to stereotyped 

perception, women are great 

financial managers. Go to many 

households across our country 

and it will be the women who 

take the lead managing the 

family finances, and earning the 

money that the family needs. 

Women are great 

communicators. There is none 

of the ambiguity about the point 

that they want to make. Women 

are extremely patriotic and 

fierce, passionate defenders of 

what they see as important, and 

they teach their children this 

same passion. There is no doubt 

that they can, and have, 

translated this into strength in 

political debates, and even in 

direct conflicts. Nigeria could 

do with more passion; more 

patriotism. If it is brought to our 

work every day and embedded 

in our leadership it will awaken 

a new sense of patriotism in 

each of us. 

I can already hear the 

mumbling of men across 

Nigeria as they read this. If 

women are busy running 

parastatals, ministries, local 

governments, states and 

countries, who will take care of 

the home? Only men would ask 

this question. First of all, women 

have no issues multi-tasking; 

they have untapped capacity to 

take on various roles and 

execute each one as though it 

were their only role. Women 

across the world already run 

nations, states, companies, 

excelling both at home and at 

work. But it is not right to expect 

them to do this without support. 

Perhaps the greatest outcome of 

this transition will be the need 

for fathers to at last get to know 

their children better and to play 

greater roles in the home. That 

is not something that men 

should resist. 

I know there will be other 

objections from those who want 

to maintain the status quo; 

those who will say that our 

‘traditions’ dictate male 

superiority. Or that our 

religions do. There's also the 

claim that women’s ‘skill’ in the 

home cannot be translated into 

leadership. All false premises 

being rapidly disproved. Where 

Women have no issues 

multi-tasking; they have 

untapped capacity to 

take on various roles 

and execute each one as 

though it were their 

only role 

elements of these traditions do 

seek to prevent it, they should 

be changed. The current way 

of doing things has not exactly 

served us well! 

In some of our traditional 

cultures, women cannot inherit 

anything when their fathers or 

husbands die. A woman's 

husband dies and she is 

regarded with suspicions as 

having killed him. She is 

secluded; the husband's brother 

takes the keys of the cars and 

house as well as the bank 

account. That cannot be fair; but 

more than that, it is destructive. 

These customs will have to 

change just as others have 

changed because all cultures 

are ultimately dynamic. Just look 

at the European monarchies. It 

was always the first male child 

who ended up as the successor. 

This has changed and most of 

them no longer follow an 

exclusively male primogeniture. 

Why can that not apply to our 

own Emirs, or Chiefs? What 

have the males that have been 

Chiefs for decades achieved for 

us other than collecting money 

to keep themselves, while 

doing little for the people? No 

need to abolish them. They can 

do some work in keeping the 

traditions, settling family 

disputes. But we should also 

give women a chance to fill 

these positions. 

Religion? I hear you say? The 

scriptures that seek to embed the 

same male dominance, but they 

too have, or are changing in 

interpretation. Would there be 

an evangelical movement 

without women? There 

wouldn’t, and that’s 

predominantly why we now 

have female evangelical pastors. 

Interpretations can shift to suit 

the norm, and that includes 

Islam, Hinduism and Judaism, 

in which we have also seen 

female leadership emerge in 

some way shape or form. 

Coming to this realisation at 

the age of 80 is in some ways 

painful. Others should avoid it 

and get there quicker! But 

having done so, I want to lend 

my voice to the debate on how 

to ensure that we can accelerate 

it. 

What proof can I give you that 

this should be implemented as 

soon as possible? The countries 

globally that have managed the 

impact of COVID best so far, 

have been women. From 

Germany and New Zealand, to 

Taiwan, Scotland and Iceland. 

The unofficial ‘leaders’ of the 

#EndSars protests in Nigeria, 

which until they were sadly 

hijacked, were a group of 

women, who put in place a level 

of organisation and support 

that was unprecedented, and in 

a very short period of time. The 

most successful British 

monarchs were women. From 

Elizabeth I and II to Queen 

Victoria. Perhaps the greatest 

British political leader of recent 

years, Margaret Thatcher, was 

a woman. 

The New Zealand example is 

one I find especially poignant. 

Both candidates in the recent 

election were women, and 

during the campaign, the 

winner, Jacinda Ahern, 

delivered her campaign speech 

in both English and Maori, 

demonstrating a cultural 

inclusiveness that is very rare. 

Would a man have done that? 

Her empathy for the victims of 

terrorism, despite them being a 

minority, was hugely 

impressive. 

These are the leadership 

qualities that the world needs 

to navigate the challenges in 

front of us. Women are showing 

us they have them. We must do 

all we can to give them the 

chance, they have waited long 

enough. 

A bad workman quarrels with his tools 

By GODSON O. MONEKE 

ICAREFULLY chose the above title to 

denote the crisis of leadership in all spheres 

of our life particularly political leadership at 

the state and federal levels. We blame 

everything under the sun for our failures and 

no attempt is often made by us to interrogate 

our respective senses of introspection. We 

always blame everybody but ourselves. This 

idea of holistic self-righteousness is at the root 

of our leadership failures and 

underdevelopment. The leadership in all tiers 

and spheres has not been able to lift or raise 

Nigeria and Nigerians from the doldrums in 

which they are languishing. 

There are visible absence of reflective 

thinkers amongst us yet we are keen to provide 

solutions to our problems. How can you 

provide a solution to a problem which you 

don’t understand? It is like a medical doctor 

prescribing treatment for a sickness he has not 

diagnosed. No scientist ever gives a solution 

without understanding the problem. There can 

be no answer without a question. These are 

fundamental to epistemology. 

Some commentators have argued that the 

reason Nigeria is not competing well in the 

comity of nations is because those we have 

often chosen as leaders do not have university 

degrees and postgraduate education. Yet these 

people cannot point to any example in the 

world where leadership effectiveness is a direct 

correlate of the level of education attained by 

the leader. 

Such people cannot differentiate between 

being a technocrat and being a leader. While 

all technocrats can be leaders not all leaders 

qualify as technocrats because being a 

technocrat is not a prerequisite. Therefore, not 

all technocrats qualify to be leaders. 

Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist postulated 

that behaviour is a multiplicative function of 

Personality and Environment, ie, (P[i-n]xE[in]) 

where P is the aspect of the Personality and 

E is the aspect of the Environment. It goes 

without saying that personal characteristics 

are major determinants of leadership 

effectiveness than anything else. Therefore, 

possessing the highest level of education or 

being a renowned professor is not a guarantee 

that the holder will be a successful and effective 

leader. It is the view of this writer that the major 

reason Nigeria is in a leadership quagmire is 

the growing propensity of our PhD holders and 

professors to abandon the ivory towers and 

research institutes to dabble into public sector 

governance. 

Scholars with PhD and professors are trained 

to handle abstract issues which are 

foundational, they are not trained to dabble 

into the application of government principles 

where they are currently causing confusion. 

Somebody can be an academic giant but an 

intellectual Lilliputian. There is a world of 

difference between academic excellence and 

All who are called old people 

by the youths of today were very 

young when they became 

successful in partisan politics, 

whether under military or 

civilian administrations 

intellectualism. So far there is no relationship 

between the level of education and effectiveness 

as a leader. For example, in Nigeria today 

there are governors of states who are professors 

or possess high education but there is nothing 

in their performances that stand them out in 

excellent stead above those that are not as 

educated. Like in all management theories and 

practices, personal attributes of a leader are 

the major determinants of effectiveness so long 

as the constitutional requirements are met. 

A twitter influencer @segalink once 

twitted; in a country where loquacious 

pontificators are erroneously deemed to have 

competence or capabilities, based on the 

decibels of their noises, devoid of measurable 

track records, wrong hands are stampeded 

to power and the vicious cycle of elect and 

regret is reinforced. I cannot agree more with 

the gentleman because I have a personal 

example. This happened some years back in 

the course of my higher education. I was a 

member of the Students Representatives 

Council, SRC, representing my class in the 

legislative arm of the students union 

government. There was a young man who was 

a class my junior but who postured as vocal 

anti-corruption crusader. 

This young man was so good in his art that 

we pushed him into the executive branch to 

sanitise and promote accountability in that 

important and rich arm of the students union 

government. When he got there, he became 

the biggest thief in the history of students 

unionism in the university. Although he was 

later impeached, it was just too late as he had 

robbed us blind. 

This is what is happening in Nigeria. 

Otherwise dubious and incompetent people 

confuse us with their high education, sweet 

tongues or highfalutin vocabularies and when 

given the opportunity to lead you find out that 

they are fake and have no moral scruples. Take 

a look at our experiences in the South Eastern 

states and you can tell the story better. 

It is a truism that power is never given but 

taken by whoever desires it. But nobody ever 

acquires power on a platter of gold without 

working for it. The unfortunate thing is that 

some people want power to be thrust on their 

laps but it doesn’t work that way. Partisan 

politics is one career people hardly retire from 

because the longer you are into partisan 

politics, the stronger you are, all things 

remaining the same. 

I find it absurd when some people insist that 

others must retire so they can shine. It doesn’t 

work that way. Your success in a partisan 

political career is independent of your 

neighbours progress in politics; so why do you 

want to do away with him? What is required 

to prevail is a healthy competition and 

understanding of the dynamics of partisan 

politics within a particular milieu. 

I have read the agitations by the younger 

elements that the older men should retire so 

that they can flourish. I see it as a lazy man’s 

approach for any young man to demand 

power to be dropped on his laps. Power is never 

given, it is taken. All who are called old people 

by the youths of today were very young when 

they became successful in partisan politics 

whether under military or civilian 

administrations. 

Since Nigeria’s political independence, the 

oldest person to become the President of 

Nigeria is the current President of Nigeria but 

he had been a military Head of State at a 

younger age. So he entered military politics 

and made a success of it in his youth. Whatever 

position he finds himself now were never 

dropped on his laps. They were products of 

hard and meticulous work. 

The late Anthony Enahoro, Mathew Mbu, 

and some others like them became federal 

ministers in their early twenties. General 

Yakubu Gowon became Nigeria’s youngest 

Head of State in his thirties. Chukwuemeka 

Odumegwu Ojukwu just clocked 30 years when 

he led Biafra in an attempted secession. Sam 

Grace Ikoku contested election against his 

father Dr. Alvan Ikoku and defeated him. 

The people we call old people started 

making waves in their youths. They did not 

ask anybody to retire and leave the stage for 

them. They worked hard for whatever they have 

achieved today. We should be reminded that 

the people we despise today as old were once 

young, therefore, young people of today will 

become old people of tomorrow. 

What therefore is the missing link? Our 

concern should be the growing incidents of 

failed children of eminent parents who want 

the good things of life but loathe hard-work. 

Continues online via: www.vanguardngr.com 

•Moneke, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute 

of Quantity Surveyors, and immediate past 

Executive Secretary of the Quantity 

Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria, 

QSRBN, wrote from Lagos 

C

Y 

K 


WE are in full support of President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s call for efforts 

to be channelled towards setting a 

reasonable time limit for criminal 

cases. He handed this charge to the 

Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in a 

keynote address read on his behalf 

through a virtual interaction by Vice 

President Yemi Osinbajo. 

Executive which must act in concert 

While stressing that the fabric of our to actualise this laudable reform idea. 

society “is stitched together by our We believe that the ball is squarely 

system of justice and law in the president’s court to take the 

enforcement”, Buhari asked these initiative. 

important questions: “Why can’t we This should have formed part of the 

have timeliness in all our cases? nine-point exit agenda that Buhari 

“Why can’t we put in place the rules unfolded to the diplomatic community 

that will state that a criminal trial all when some of them visited him 

the way to the Supreme Court must recently to present their credentials. 

not exceed 12 months in duration?” Buhari had obviously marketed his 

The way we see it, the NBA is a action agenda for the final three years 

major stakeholder, interest group of his regime with a view to getting 

and advocate for judicial reforms and the buy-in of our international friends 

rectitude. There are other and partners. 

stakeholders, such as the Bench or A smarter, more efficient and 

Judiciary, Legislature, and the professional dispensation of justice in 

Time limit for criminal cases 

Nigeria would be a sound legacy if 

Buhari chooses to spearhead it in the 

same way that the Jonathan 

administration had pushed for the 

enactment of the Administration of 

Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015 

before handing over power. 

We suggest that the president 

assembles a small committee of the 

three arms of government to explore 

the best ways of amending the ACJA 

with time-limiting provisions. 

This multi-arm panel is also 

necessary because the reforms that 

will have to be done to achieve 

speedier justice delivery will go 

beyond amendment of the Act. 

It will involve granting more 

independence and funds to the 

Judiciary, hiring more judges at all 

levels to tackle the caseloads, 

streamlining administrative 

processes to remove the incidence of 

conflicting judgements, stricter 

monitoring of corruption among the 

general judicial workforce, among 

the others. 

It is said that justice delayed is 

justice denied. If we can work 

together and achieve a faster justice 

delivery system, the benefits from it 

will be endless. 

Nigerians will repose more 

confidence in the ability of the 

Judiciary to give them justice, which 

is crucial for keeping the people law 

abiding. Most people who take the law 

into their hands do so due to lack of 

confidence in our judicial system. 

Even our efforts to attract foreign 

investment will benefit from speedier 

and more efficient justice delivery. 

The second part of this piece published 

last week focused on the functions of the 

Defence Intelligence Agency which was 

charged with responsibility for prevention 

and detection of crime. 

ESTABLISHMENT of advisory 

councils: (1) There shall, in the 

interest of national security, be 

established two advisory councils, that 

is to say - (a) the National Defence 

Council; (b) the National Security 

Council. (2) The National Security 

Council shall be charged with 

responsibility for matters relating - (a) 

to public security; and (b) generally 

to the structure, staff and other matters 

concerning the agencies set up under 

this Act.(3) The National Defence 

Council shall advise the President on 

all matters concerning the defence of 

the sovereignty and territorial 

integrity of Nigeria. 

6. Instruments relating to the 

advisory councils, the structure, etc., 

of the agencies. The President may, 

by an instrument under his hand 

make provisions with respect to the 

following matters, that is to say - (a) 

the composition, membership and 

appointment to the advisory councils 

established by section 5 (1) of this Act; 

(b) the structure of each of the 

agencies set up under this Act 

(including the designation and the 

appointment of the principal officers 

of the agency concerned) and the 

manner in which each agency is to be 

administered; (c) the manner in which 

the powers of each agency is to be 

exercised and the conferment on 

specified officers of the agencies, of 

the powers of a superior police officer; 

and (d) such other matters concerning 

The intelligence community 

must be totally reinvented and 

it can be done; the first step is 

to fund it and the second is to 

train effectively its personnel 

OPINION 

The intelligence community 

and the new challenges (3) 

or incidental to any of the matters 

mentioned in this Act as the President 

may deem fit. 7. Repeal, etc. 

(1) The Nigerian Security 

Organisation Act is hereby repealed. 

(2) If any other law is inconsistent with 

the provisions of this Act, the 

provisions of this Act shall prevail and 

that other law shall, to the extent of 

the inconsistency, be void.” That was 

the last time a comprehensive reform 

was carried out by any government in 

terms of national security and 

intelligence. 

The main purpose of these bodies is 

to provide information to policy makers 

that may help illuminate their decisions 

options. We call them hints. Call them 

intelligence agents, operation officers 

or desk officers, you can equally call 

t h e m 

operation 

officers, 

analysts, field 

officers, rogue 

agents, detail 

officers or 

a g e n t 

provocateurs. 

Their main 

duty is to 

c o l l e c t 

information 

on any 

situation and report back to 

government. The role of intelligence 

in determining outcomes of battles and 

wars has varied dramatically across 

conflicts and time, contributing to wide 

differences in judgements about the 

importance of intelligence in war. Some 

analysts minimise the importance of 

intelligence while others argue it is 

essential. General Babangida carried 

out those reforms in 1986 almost 35 

years ago. 

No doubt the intelligence community 

is now facing major challenges both 

internal and external. For some of us 

who read constantly, Vince Flynn, Brad 

Thor, Animar Habid, Daniel Silva, K.J. 

Howe, Mark Greaney, Brad Taylor, 

Jack Carr and other spy authors 

appreciate the importance of 

intelligence in the running of 

government. 

I do not know whether our 

intelligence community is fully funded 

enough but the EndSARS protest now 

offer an opportunity to fund it 

adequately. We must reposition our 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

intelligence system to meet the new 

technological world. Things have 

changed and they are still changing. 

The intelligence community must be 

totally reinvented and it can be done. 

The first step is to fund it and the 

second is to train effectively its 

personnel. The most important step is 

the complete restructuring of the 

intelligence community. The EndSARS 

protests have exposed the failure of 

the leadership of the intelligence 

community in Nigeria. It is left for 

government, if it cares, to effect this 

restructure immediately. 

The transformation must be a 

revolution rather than an evolution. 

The community must be innovative and 

flexible capable of rapidly adopting the 

innovative technologies wherever they 

may arise. There has been too much 

talk about reforming the Nigeria Police 

Force after the EndSARS protests 

without thinking about the intelligence 

community. 

The Police and the intelligence 

community go in pari-passu, very 

closely related. Many people see the 

intelligence community as only 

wearing dark glasses and following 

the president and governors. Their 

schedule is more than that. They 

collect data to guarantee our security. 

In short they are our foot soldiers. 

I do not know the role played by the 

officers of the three agencies referred 

to above; that is: Defence Intelligence 

Agency, National Intelligence Agency 

and State Security Service in the 

EndSARS protests that we have just 

witnessed. 

To be concluded next week 

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FG waives N1.3trn in Import Duty, VAT 

ECONOMY 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

RAND 

By Bashir Bello 

The Federal Government 

yesterday, said it has 

waived import duty and Value 

Added Tax, VAT, valued at 

about N1.3 trillion in addition 

to other incentives in nine 

years to 2019. 

The Minister of Finance, Budget 

and National Planning, 

Hajia Zainab Ahmed, disclosed 

this during a one day sensitization 

seminar on automation of 

the Import Duty Exemption 

Certificate (IDEC) processes 

organized by the Ministry in 

collaboration with the Nigeria 

Customs Service in Kano. 

The Minister represented by 

the Kano State Commissioner 

of Finance, Shehu Na’allah, 

while giving the breakdown, 

said within 2011 to 2015 it conceded 

N1.024 trillion worth of 

waivers while in 2017 to 2019 

it conceded N342 billion. 

According to her, “For the 

records, between 2011 to 

2015, government conceded 

about N1.024 trillion through 

the grant of only four types of 

incentives namely: import duty 

waivers/concessions/grants - 

N503.5 billion, VAT waivers/ 

concessions/grants - N227.7 

billion, pioneer status non-oil 

companies - N73.5 billion and 

pioneer status PPT on oil companies 

- N219.5 billion. 

“Approximately N341.9 billion 

worth of waivers was 

granted from August 2017 to 

August 2019. The scope of such 

requests are expanding; hence 

the need to have in place a 

modern technology to drive its 

administration. 

“Up until March 2020, we 

processed the grant of the IDEC 

incentives manually. This process 

was quite cumbersome, 

tedious, time consuming and it 

was beset with undue human 

interface with its attendant 

challenges. 

“The Automated IDEC portal 

120.10 -1.60 

3,035.00 0.00 

14.53 -0.29 

47.51 -0.67 

48.22 +0.53 

379 379.5 380 

506.1924 506.8602 507.528 

454.3452 454.9446 455.544 

419.5262 420.0797 420.6332 

3.6428 3.6476 3.6524 

0.6679 0.6779 0.6879 

539.4666 540.1783 540.89 

57.6434 57.7199 57.7964 

101.0505 101.1838 101.3171 

24.7949 24.8276 24.8603 

CBN Exchange rate as at 30/11/2020 

will deliver (and it is already 

delivering the benefits 

among others, in line with the 

Ministry’s Strategic Revenue 

Growth Initiatives (SRGI). 

“The Federal Government 

under the administration of 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari is keen on promoting 

MONEY MARKET 

and sustaining transparency 

and efficiency in delivering 

services in the public sector 

domain and the organized private 

sector,” the Minister 

stated. 

Earlier, the Comptroller General 

of Customs, Col. Hameed 

Ali (Retd) represented by the 

CAPITAL MARKET 


Commandant, Customs Training 

School, Kano, Lawrence 

Banye, said the automation will 

not only block revenue leakages 

with its attendant positive 

effects, but also promote trade 

efficiency, boost investors confidence, 

transparency and indeed 

ease of doing business. 

AGM: From left - Nafisat Lasisi, Company Secretary; Oluseun Ajayi, Chairman; and Olaotan 

Soyinka, MD/CEO all of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc at the 25th Annual General Meeting, 

AGM, of the Company in Lagos. 

CBN boosts dollar supply with new rules on 

domiciliary accounts, remittance 

By Babajide Komolafe & 

Elizabeth Adegbesan 

IN an apparent move to 

boost dollar supply into 

the economy, the Central 

Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday 

introduced new rules 

that allow beneficiaries of 

diaspora remittance and transfers 

into domiciliary accounts 

to receive their money in foreign 

currency. 

Previously, beneficiaries of 

diaspora remittance can only 

receive in cash the naira 

equivalent of the amount 

transferred. Also foreign 

currency cash 

withdrawal from domiciliary 

accounts was 

restricted to money 

paid into such accounts 

by cash lodgements. 

Announcing the 

policy change yesterday, 

CBN’s Director, 

Trade and Exchange 

Department, Dr. O 

Nnaji, said the new 

rules were to liberalize, 

simplify and improve 

the receipt and 

administration of 

diaspora remittances 

into Nigeria, as well as 

to ensure the stability 

of the foreign exchange 

market. 

He said the removal 

was also consequent 

on the improved capabilities 

of the apex 

bank to monitor transactions, 

forestall 

money laundering 

and prevent the adverse 

effect of dollarization in 

the economy. 

He stated this in two circulars 

to authorised dealers and the 

general public, titled, “Amendment 

to procedures for Receipt 

Of Diaspora Remittance”, and 

Operations of Domiciliary Account. 

He said: “In an effort to liberalize, 

simplify and improve the 

receipt and administration of 

diaspora remittances into Nigeria, 

the Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN) wishes to announce 

as follows. 

“Beneficiaries of Diaspora 

Remittances through International 

Money Transfer Operators 

(IMTOs) shall henceforth 

receive such inflows in foreign 

currency (US Dollars) through 

the designated bank of their 

choice. 

“Such recipients of remittances 

may have the option of 

receiving these funds in foreign 

currency cash (US Dollars) or 

into their ordinary domiciliary 

account. 

“These changes are necessary 

to deepen the foreign exchange 

market, provide more liquidity 

and create more transparency in 

the administration of Diaspora 

Remittances into Nigeria. 

“In addition, these changes 

would help finance a future 

stream of investment opportunities 

for Nigerians in the 

Diaspora, while also guaranteeing 

that recipients of remittances 

would receive a market reflective 

exchange rate for their inflows. 

‘All Authorized Dealers and the 

general public should note that 

beneficiaries shall have unfettered 

access and utilization to 

such foreign currency proceeds, 

either in cash and/or in their Domiciliary 

Accounts, in line with 

our circular TED/FEM/FPC/ 

GEN/01/010. Please ensure strict 

compliance and be guided accordingly.” 

MONEY MARKET 

NSE migrates four companies to Growth Board 

By Nkiruka Nnorom 

The Nigerian Stock Ex 

change (NSE), yesterday, 

migrated four companies - 

Chellarams Plc, Living Trust 

Mortgage Plc, McNichols Plc, 

and The Initiates Plc to the 

Growth Board from the Alternative 

Securities Market 

(ASeM) even as the Exchange 

launched the associated 

Growth Board Index to track 

development in the sector. 

The migration follows the 

receipt of applications from 

these companies requesting 

Fidelity, UBA 

win big at 

BAFI awards 

Fidelity Bank Plc and the 

United Bank for Africa 

Plc (UBA) have clinched 

double awards at the 2020 

edition of BusinessDay 

Banks and Other Financial 

Institutions (BAFI) Awards 

held in Lagos. 

While Fidelity Bank was 

named Commercial Bank of 

the Year the bank’s Managing 

Director/Chief Executive 

Officer, Mr. Nnamdi 

Okonkwo was honored as 

the banking sector CEO of 

the Decade for “transforming 

Fidelity Bank into one of 

the fastest growing and 

most trusted financial services 

brands in Nigeria”. 

Similarly UBA was bestowed 

“Bank of the Year and the International 

Bank of the 

Year” awards. 

Fidelity Bank won the 

award in recognition of its 

support for economic activities 

in the real sectors of 

the Nigerian economy, particularly 

for its consistency 

in enhancing the development 

and competitiveness 

of Micro Small Medium Enterprises 

(MSMEs). 

Receiving the award on 

behalf of the bank at the presentation 

ceremony which 

took place at the Lagos Continental 

Hotel, Victoria Island, 

Lagos, Fidelity Bank’s 

Executive Director, Corporate 

Bank, Mr. Obaro Odeghe 

dedicated it to the bank’s 

teeming customers, whom 

he said are central to the 

bank’s overall strategic intent. 

“The reward for hard work 

they say is more work. We 

are encouraged to continue 

to do more for the benefits 

of our customers and the 

overall economy” he stated. 

UBA won the ‘Bank of the 

Year’ in recognition of 

UBA’s consistent effort in 

outperforming its peers using 

a composite of financial 

metrics, strategic foresight, 

execution discipline, 

world-class governance and 

global vision. The Bank also 

won the award for ‘International 

Bank of the Year’, a 

keenly contested category, 

that pitches Nigerian financial 

institutions that have 

expanded on the continent 

against their international 

peers operating across Africa. 

UBA’s Deputy Managing 

Director, Mr. Liadi 

Ayoku, who received the 

awards on behalf of the 

bank, expressed his delight 

on the recognition from 

BusinessDay. 

to be migrated from ASeM, and 

consequent screening and approval 

by the National Council 

of the Exchange. 

The NSE Growth Board was 

launched in January 2020 to 

encourage Start-Ups, Small 

and Medium Enterprises 

(SMEs) and growth-oriented 

companies looking to raise 

capital and promote liquidity 

in the trading of their shares. 

It offers relaxed entry criteria 

with less stringent listing requirements, 

making it easier to 

attract capital flows along with 

reduced pre and post-listing 

obligations. 

Speaking at the virtual migration 

ceremony and Closing 

Gong ceremony by the companies, 

Oscar Onyema, Chief 

Executive Officer, NSE, said: 

“This migration affirms the 

notable efforts of the four 

companies to meeting corporate 

governance standards 

and underpins the robustness 

of our market. “We 

congratulate and are pleased 

to migrate Chellarams Plc, 

Living Trust Mortgage Plc, 

McNichols Plc, and The Initiates 

Plc to the Growth Board 

where they will have access 

to a suite of value-added services 

that will give them a 

competitive edge beyond 

access to capital.”

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AGM: From left—Elder Jeremiah Osunkoya, Chairman, Gbagada zone, Senior Citizens Association of Nigeria, 

Elder Godwin Ekpopobi, Chairman, lkorodu zone, Senior Citizens Association of Nigeria, Elder Chief, Timothy 

Ayo-Ore, President, Senior Citizens Association in Nigeria, Mrs. Foyeke Alayande, Deputy President, Senior 

Citizens Association of Nigeria and Fasasi Olawale, Rep. Chairman, Ikosi Isheri ICDA, during the Senior 

Citizens Association of Nigeria's annual general meeting, held in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Kehinde Shonola. 

FG approves N2.2bn for erosion, road 

contract in Anambra community 

By Vincent 

Ujumadu 

AWKA—THE Federal 

Government has approved 

the construction of the 

erosion –prone 2.2 kilometres 

of road linking Ukpo, the 

home town of the oil magnate, 

Prince Arthur Eze, with 

the headquarters of Zone 13 

police formation in Dunukofia 

Local Government Area of 

Anambra State. 

Many families living along 

the road had since vacated 

as gully erosion had submerged 

their houses. 

Inspecting the road with 

officials of the Federal Ministry 

of Works, the former 

member of the House of Representatives 

for Anambra 

East and West, Dr. Tony 

Nwoye, who attracted the 

project said the construction 

of the road was to appreciate 

the support he had received 

from an indigene of 

Ukpo, Prince Arthur Eze in 

his political career. . 

Although Nwoye had constructed 

two other roads in 

the community at a cost of 

about N300 million, he explained 

that the Oronto – 

Expressway road was very 

strategic as it passes through 

many villages, in addition to 

checking the erosion menace 

in the area. 

Nwoye said: “This is a very 

big project that President 

Muhammadu Buhari-led 

federal government wants to 

execute for the people of 

Anambra State, especially 

Ukpo community and other 

communities around it. 

“As you can see, some of 

the people who are living 

here have abandoned their 

homes because of gully erosion. 

The road was designed 

some years ago by the Federal 

Ministry of Works, Abuja 

through the Anambra 

State office of the ministry, but 

actual construction could not 

take off. 

“Part of the road was completed 

at a cost of about N100 

million and certificate issued, 

but this is the main one. By 

the special grace of God, it 

will be awarded officially before 

Christmas at the sum of 

about N2.2 billion. 

“I want Ukpo community 

to hold the contractor that 

will execute the project accountable 

to avoid unnecessary 

delay. 

“I facilitated the design of 

this road and ensured that 

it is captured in the 2020 and 

2021 budget of the federal 

government. I am doing this 

in honour of Prince Arthur 

Eze who has mentored me 

politically. I am also grateful 

to the Minister of Works, 

Mr. Babatunde Fashola, 

who has vowed that this road 

must be done., 

“The Bureau of Public Procurement 

has already issued 

a certificate of no objection 

to the Federal Ministry 

of Works, which means 

that the ministry is set to 

present it to the federal executive 

council because of 

the amount involved. 

“I want to assure the people 

that in less than three 

weeks from now, the contract 

will be awarded and hopefully, 

once the 2021 budget 

is passed, money will be 

made available so that funding 

will not be a hiccup for 

the contractor.” 

According to Nwoye, it 

was not the first time he was 

facilitating road projects outside 

his federal constituency, 

recalling that in addition 

to the two roads earlier facilitated 

by him in Ukpo, he 

had also done same in Onitsha. 

“ I have special interest in 

Ukpo because Prince Arthur 

Eze has done a lot for me, 

my followers and humanity. 

By next year, I will also do 

some roads across Anambra 

State. I am not holding any 

political office now but I will 

continue to contribute to the 

best of my ability towards the 

development of Anambra 

communities,” he said. 

Recession: Obi shares blueprint 

for economic recovery 

AS THE country continues 

to battle the economic recession 

that recently engulfed 

it, the Vice Presidential 

Candidate of the People's 

Democratic Party, PDP, in 

2019 elections, Mr Peter Obi, 

has given out what can be 

described as a pathway to 

economic recovery. 

Obi, who spoke on Arise 

TV yesterday, agreed that 

the recent recession which 

affected about 40 countries 

around the world, was as a 

result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He however warned 

that the recession would bite 

harder on Nigeria because 

the country already had 'underlying 

economic conditions' 

ranging from extreme 

poverty, high unemployment 

rate, high number of out-ofschool 

children, highest infant 

mortality rate and soaring 

incidences drug abuse, 

among others. 

Obi explained that unlike 

the previous recession, 

where Nigeria recklessly 

borrowed its way out, this 

present recession demands 

fiscal discipline for the country 

to scale through. 

He argued that the COV- 

ID-19 fiscal stimulus of about 

$5 billion, provided by the 

Federal Government, to recover 

the economy, was too 

low. Obi said such an amount 

would have little or no positive 

impact on the economy. 

Comparing Nigeria with 

comparable nations like India, 

Obi said they were 

spending around $300 billion 

to help them exit the recession, 

out of which $50 billion 

is for supporting small 

businesses. He further said 

that what was more worrisome, 

was the fact that even 

the little fiscal stimulus provided 

in Nigeria was not 

getting to the right people 

and are not well accounted 

for too. 

He opined that Nigeria's 

economy will bounce back if 

government supports small 

businesses. "When government 

supports and empowers 

small businesses, there 

will be greater productivity 

which will reduce unemployment, 

generate more 

revenues for the government 

and increase development 

in the country. China, for example, 

finances most of their 

budgets with taxes from 

small businesses, because 

they have a strong MSME 

sector that contributes greatly 

to their economy", he explained. 

Obi also suggested a private 

sector driven economy 

that would lift many financial 

burdens from the government. 

He said the government 

could partner with 

private companies on road 

construction and maintenance 

and other public utilities. 

Apart from generating 

more revenues for the government, 

Obi said such 

moves would help curb 

wastage and financial imprudence 

associated with the 

public sector. 

He further called on the 

government to ensure that 

every kobo borrowed in the 

country is put into productive 

use and not consumed 

or wasted. He advised Nigerians 

to focus their 

strength on building the nation's 

economy and not be 

distracted by any political 

drama going on in the nation. 

Uzodimma flags off 

construction of Owerri/ 

Okigwe, Owerri/Orlu roads 

10,000 residents in Abia, Abuja, 

Rivers get 3M palliative packages 

ABUJA—NO fewer than 

10,000 Nigerians residing 

in Rivers, Abia States and 

the Federal Capital Territory, 

FCT Abuja have benefited 

from 3M food palliative packages 

distributed recently by 

the United Way Greater Nigeria, 

UWGN, in the three 

states to alleviate the sufferings 

of Nigerians due to COV- 

ID-19 disruptions. 

Speaking on the exercise, 

the UWGN Programme 

Manager, Kathryn Ani-Otoibhi, 

who disclosed that the residents 

were handed over packages 

of staple food items such 

as rice, garri, noodles, tomato 

paste and other cooking 

ingredients such as vegetable 

oil enough to feed a family 

explained that the community 

development was at the centre 

of the relationship between 

UWGN and 3M. 

“In previous months, 

through our partnership with 

3M, we successfully distributed 

care packages to underserved 

communities in Lagos 

as a first stop, with a view to 

extending our reach to other 

states of the federation. Now, 

similar distributions have also 

been successfully concluded in 

Rivers, Abia and FCT Abuja, 

also with the support of three 

esteemed NGO partners 

whose community mapping 

practices were fundamental. 

“We are grateful for 3M's 

generous donation and unflinching 

support, which has 

enabled us to provide for the 

most vulnerable families and 

individuals negatively impacted 

by the COVID-19 

pandemic; we understand 

how critical food sustenance 

is to alleviating suffering and 

diseases such as malnutrition.” 

Onitsha building materials dealers donate 

N8m to fire accident victims 

By Nwabueze 

Okonkwo 

OTIES NITSHA—AUTHORI 

of Building Materials 

International 

Market,BMIM, Ogidi in Idemili 

North Local Government 

Area of Anambra State have 

splashed a whooping sum of 

N8m on the 17 fire accident 

victims whose shops were 

razed down in one of the sections 

of the market. 

Each of the beneficiaries got 

N500,000 each while the 

owners of goods in the vehicle 

burnt during the inferno 

will share one million naira. 

President-General of 

BMIM, Chief Jude Nwankwo 

who distributed the funds 

in the market during their 

prayer meeting said his executive 

has lived up its responsibility 

. 

Nwankwo who has a chieftaincy 

title of Ochendo 

Umuawulu, noted that 

By Chinonso 

Alozie 

Ocrowds, WERRI—JUBILANT 

yesterday, lined 

up along the Owerri/Okigwe 

and Owerri/Orlu roads to 

cheer the Imo State governor, 

Hope Uzodimma as he 

flagged off the construction of 

the two major roads connecting 

Imo with other neighbouring 

states to be constructed by 

Craneburg Construction 

Company to the tune of N55 

billion. 

The events took place respectively 

in Banana junction 

in Orlu, Imo West Senatorial 

district and Okigwe, Imo North 

Senatorial district. 

Motorists, commuters engaged 

themselves as they 

struggled to catch a glimpse of 

the flag-off ceremony as well 

as traditional renditions to welcome 

the governor and his entourage. 

According to the governor, 

when the roads are completed, 

economic activities in and 

around the state would be 

through the magnanimity of 

the traders, they have raised 

over N8 million to give succour 

to the traders of AT line, 

whose shops and goods were 

burnt during a recent fire incident. 

He therefore advised the 

beneficiaries to use the money 

judiciously and prayed God 

to prosper them with the money. 

"Please, the fact that we 

helped fire victims does not 

mean that people should start 

burning their empty shops to 

collect money from us. 

"The secret of our success in 

this administration is because 

peace has returned to this 

market. We are growing from 

strength to strength", he 

quipped. 

He used the opportunity to 

announce the admission of 

some prominent members of 

the market into the Board of 

Trustees, BoT and Patrons of 

the market. 

He however appealed to 

boosted and there would be a 

heavy inflow of investors into 

the state. 

The governor among other 

things also explained why he 

did not use the Julius Berger 

construction company, saying: 

""These roads will be delivered 

in good time. They will work 

day and night to give us exactly 

what we want." 

On why Julius Berger construction 

did not get the contract, 

he said: "We only followed 

the procurement act. It 

states that the company that 

has the most responsive bid is 

given the contract. 

"And Craneburg, I tell you is 

even better. They will give us 

quality roads and get it delivered 

in good time. We hope to 

get your cooperation. 

"These roads are important 

to our people because they have 

been left in the hands of amateur 

contractors since our late 

governor, Sam Mbakwe built 

that road over 30 years ago. Administrations 

after him have 

constantly engaged small contractors 

but today we are giving 

you a better one." 

the state government to construct 

a pedestrian bridge 

across their market, lamenting 

that a child selling sachet 

water was crushed to death 

few weeks ago while crossing 

the express. 

He contended that the importance 

of the pedestrian 

bridge cannot be over-emphasized 

as it would help to 

avoid road accidents witnessed 

in front of the market 

as a result of several markets 

at both sides of the Expressway. 

He said that with three other 

markets around the area, it 

has even become busier than 

Upper Iweka, coupled with 

the size of the roads and 

drainage system, hence the 

necessity of constructing a pedestrian 

bridge. 

Chief Nwankwo expressed 

optimism that Governor Willie 

Obiano would listen to their 

cry in this particular issue but 

called on the traders to respond 

in the payment of their 

taxes and levies to encourage 

government in providing the 

facilities to them.

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HOSCON seeks to takeover pipeline surveillance contracts 

By Michael Eboh 

O communities, IL-BEARING 

under the 

aegis of Host Communities of 

Nigeria, Producing Oil and Gas, 

HOSCON, has called for the 

termination of all existing oil 

pipeline surveillance contracts 

across the country, accusing the 

current contracts of fuelling crisis 

in the Niger Delta. 

Speaking to Vanguard in Abuja, 

National Chairman of HOSCON, 

Dr. Mike Emuh, also accused the 

government of violating the 

provisions of the local content 

initiative by awarding Nigeria’s 

waterways’ surveillance contract 

to an Israeli firm. 

He said: “Some of the existing 

contractors have constituted 

themselves into cabal and 

principalities; they are the 

problems of the Niger Delta. They 

rank among the most corrupt 

entities. How can you pay over 

$20 million to a contractor every 

month in the name of pipeline 

surveillance, along numerous oil 

mining leases as far as to the Trans 

Forcados Pipeline, TFP. 

“This is just only one or two 

individuals making this huge 

amount of money every month, 

while the masses, especially the 

youths, are suffering. This was 

what made us to engage 10 

persons each from oil-bearing 

and impacted communities, to 

make up the 10,000 youths we 

are advocating should be given 

the contracts. It is crucial to inject 

new blood and new vigour into 

the system. 

“Another government agency 

has a security arrangement 

whereby it pays about $20 million 

monthly to an Israeli firm. Why 

not follow the Nigerian Content 

Act by giving that contract to 

Nigerian firms. The contract is 

seemingly to guard against piracy 

in the Gulf of Guinea. 

“The Minister of Transportation 

needs to look into this issue to 

know why we are paying this 

huge sum of money to an Israeli 

firm. HOSCON is drawing the 

attention of the Minister of 

Transport to that contract. 

“We are also asking the 

Minister of State for Petroleum 

Resources to make sure that 

pipeline surveillance contracts are 

awarded to host communities. 

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 

Gas flaring dips by 23.8% to N379bn 

in 10 months 

•Flared gas capable of generating 28,700 GWH of electricity 

By Michael Eboh 

AS the age-long battles 

over gas flaring in 

Nigeria’s oil industry seem 

intractable, a total of $1 billion, 

about N379 billion, has been 

recorded as the cumulative 

value of gas lost to the recorded 

incidents in 10 months of this 

year. 

The industry data available to 

Energy Vanguard shows that 

oil and gas firms operating in 

the country flared 286.8 billion 

standard cubic feet, SCF, of gas 

between January and October 

2020. 

However, according to gas 

flare data obtained from the 

National Oil Spill Detection and 

Response Agency, NOSDRA, 

the volume of gas flared in the 

10-month period was 23.84 

per cent lower than the 376.6 

billion SCF, BCF, of gas valued 

at $1.3 billion, about N492.7 

billion, flared in the same 

period in 2019. 

The NOSDRA report added 

that the volume of gas flared 

from January to October 2020 

attracted penalties of $573.5 

million, about N217.36 billion. 

It noted that the flared gas was 

equivalent to 15.2 million 

tonnes of carbon dioxide, C02, 

emissions and capable of 

generating 28,700 gigawatts 

per hour, GWH, of electricity. 

In comparison, the volume of 

gas flared from January to 

October 2019 attracted 

penalties of $753.2 million, 

about N285.46 billion. 

According to the report, the 

flares are equivalent to carbon 

dioxide emission of 20 million 

tonnes capable of generating 

37,700 GWH of electricity. 

The onshore and offshore 

breakdown of the flaring, 

according to the report, show 

that companies operating 

onshore accounted for 57.78 

per cent of total gas flared in 

the first ten months of 2020, 

with 165.7 BCF of gas valued at 

$580.1 million or N219.86 

billion. 

The penalties payable by the 

•Nigeria's gas flaring statistic (Jan-Oct, 2020) 

companies operating onshore 

stood at $331.5 million, about 

N125.64 billion, while it has 

power generation potential of 

16,600 GWH and is equivalent 

to 8.8 million tonnes of C02 

emissions. 

This was in comparison to the 

188.5 BCF of gas flared onshore 

in the same period in 2019, 

valued at $659.9 million, 

about N250.1 billion, while the 

C02 emissions of 10 million 

tonnes and power generation 

potential of 18,900 GWH were 

recorded. 

On the other hand, offshore 

oil and gas firms caused the 

country a loss of $423.5 

million, about N160.51 billion 

between January and October 

2020, with the flaring of 121 

BCF of gas in the ten-month 

period. 

The penalties payable by the 

offshore companies is $242 

million, about N91.72 billion, 

while C02 emission equivalent 

of 6.4 million tonnes with 

power generation potential of 

12,100 GWH of electricity was 

recorded. 

In comparison, 188 BCF of 

gas was flared in the first ten 

months of 2019, valued at 

$658.2 million, about N249.46 

billion, while C02 emission 

equivalent was 10 million tones 

and penalties payable was put 

at $376.1 million, with power 

generation potential at 18,800 

GWH of electricity was 

recorded. 

On a month-on-month basis, 

LASG begins clampdown on tank farm operators 

without license 

By Prince Okafor 

SEQUEL to the 

proliferation of illegal 

terminal operators across 

Nigeria, the Lagos State 

Government said it would close 

all illegal tank farm operators 

in the state this week. 

Vanguard gathered that the 

move was necessitated, 

following constant fire 

outbreaks in oil facilities in the 

state, especially with most of 

them operating with regular 

state’s fire service facilities. 

The Ministry of Physical 

Planning and Urban 

Development had earlier in the 

year met with Tank Farm 

Operators and given them a 

•Source: NOSDRA 

the report noted that in 

January, February, March, 

April, May, and June 2020, 

38.54 BCF of gas, 32.02 BCF, 

35.8 BCF, 39.49 BCF, 38.88 BCF 

and 29.05 BCF of gas were 

flared respectively, while 18.34 

BCF, 24.77 BCF, 8.29 BCF and 

21.45 BCF of gas were flared in 

one-week ultimatum to 

regularise their facilities. 

This was followed by an 

additional two weeks 

ultimatum, a month after. 

Speaking on the 

development, the 

commissioner, Ministry of 

Physical Planning and Urban 

Development, Dr Idris Salako, 

expressed his sadness over the 

menace of unapproved and 

illegal operations of several 

tank farms in the state. 

He stated that such facilities 

without planning permit, 

should, henceforth, not 

operate, adding that the 

indiscriminate operations of 

tank farms had negatively 

impacted host communities and 

July, August, September 

and October 2020, 

respectively. 

According to the 

NOSDRA report, some of 

the defaulting companies 

in the onshore fields are 

Chevron from Oil Mining 

Lease 54; Shell Petroleum 

Development Company 

from OMLs 11, 13, 14, 26, 

28, 40 and 49; Nigerian 

Agip Oil Company, from 

OMLs 62 and 63; Moni Pulo 

Limited, from Oil 

Prospecting Licence, OPL, 

230; Elf Petroleum Nigeria, 

OML 56; and Summit Oil 

International, OPL 205 

among others. 

NOSDRA list of the 

offshore defaulting 

companies are Esso 

Exploration and 

Production Nigeria, from 

OPL 209; Nigerian Agip Oil 

Company OPL 316; Shell 

Nigeria Exploration and 

Production Company, from 

OPL 212; South Atlantic 

Petroleum, from OPL 246; Elf 

Petroleum, OPL 222; Chevron 

Nigeria, from OML 95; and 

Mobil Producing Nigeria from 

OML 70 among others. 

rendered residents helpless. 

In his words: “In most cases, 

the road capacity is inadequate 

for the activities of the tank 

farms whose operations have 

led to the collapse of road 

infrastructure, rendered critical 

social amenities such as 

schools and hospitals 

inaccessible and created urban 

squalors of the host 

communities. 

“Most operators creating 

problems are not approved and 

did not pay taxes to the 

government. There is no going 

back on the plan to start 

enforcing the extant Physical 

Planning laws on all erring 

tank farms as from this week 

since the ultimatum given had 

elapsed.”


WORLD AIDS DAY: 

We can control HIV in 1year if every Nigerian 

knows their status — DG, NACA 

By Sola Ogundipe 

THE COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant im 

pact on the Nigerian health system. One of the areas 

that felt the effects of the global malaise was the National 

HIV/AIDS response. The Director General of the National 

Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, Dr. Gambo 

Aliyu gives insight into the impact. 

In this interview with Good Health Weekly, he sheds 

light on the national HIV treatment programme, the effect 

of budget cuts to the Agency, the implications of ARV 

drug resistance, the newly introduced HIV-self test kits 

among other key areas of the HIV response. 

Sanni who admonishes Nigerians to know their HIV 

status is convinced that the country has what it takes to 

control HIV and stop its transmission and death rate. 

Excerpts: 

Burden of drug resistance 

in HIV treatment 

Even after HIV is controlled, 

the testing issue is 

going to linger because it 

is an issue that borders on 

people having the discipline 

to know their status 

and to take treatment. 

People should continue to 

take this medication and to 

continue to subject themselves 

to periodic testing to 

see how this medication is 

helping to make the virus 

disappear. 

The burden of drug resistance 

in HIV treatment 

is not very significant to the 

extent of becoming a public 

health issue, but our responsibility 

is to prevent 

that occurrence and to 

make sure that we do not 

see it become alarming. We 

don't even want to give that 

room for it to grow. 

As implementers and 

providers, it is important 

that we make sure there is 

no interruption in the supply 

of medication. 

We may have a situation 

where patients are willing 

to and ready to take this 

medication but if you create 

an atmosphere where 

the medication becomes 

unavailable, then you are 

consciously or unconsciously 

introducing an environment 

where resistance 

can grow and it 

would be unfortunate. 

If you have a significant 

proportion of your patients 

becoming resistant, especially 

in a place like Nigeria 

where we have over 

one million individuals on 

treatment and carrying this 

virus, if you introduce an 

atmosphere where resistance 

grows, then your 

control mechanism will be 

challenged. 

ARV resistance is 

National security issue 

The ARV resistance issue, 

is a national security 

issue because if a significant 

proportion of patients 

are resistant, then the possibility 

of controlling the 

epidemic is going to be 

extremely difficult. 

The result is that resistance 

will develop as a sec- 

ondary complication in 

someone who has the virus, 

and now if the medicine 

is withdrawn, with the 

virus already exposed to 

the medicine, and then 

later withdrawn temporarily 

or permanently, this 

would give an atmosphere 

for resistance to thrive. 

It also follows that if this 

person develops resistance 

and is able to transmit that 

resistant virus to another 

person, that virus is now 

getting a new infection 

from a virus that totally 

does not respond to the 

drugs that are available. 

So this is the danger. If 

we are getting significant 

proportion of people with 

resistance to the HIV drugs 

coming up, the implication 

is that we would have a 

chunk of them that would 

need more expensive 

drugs to be treated. 

HIV treatment 

programme 

Last year we has 50,000 

patients on treatment by the 

government of Nigeria. 

This year, we are having 

100,000 on treatment also 

by the federal government 

of Nigeria. Next year, we 

hope to make it 150,000 

patients despite scarce resources. 

Right now we 

have a total of 1,240,000 

patients on treatment. 

Impact of dwindling 

donor funds 

Essentially the cut in donor 

funding that Nigeria 

has experienced so available 

and we have succeeded 

in placing the 

100,000 patients on treatment. 

HIV Trust Fund 

On the side of the private 

sector, we have progress. 

In collaboration with the 

private sector of the business 

community, we plan 

to have this HIV Trust 

Fund and raise money to 

support HIV programmes 

in the country. We hope to 

get the Trust Fund registered. 

A chief executive has 

been identified and signed 

and will be ratified before 

the end of the year. In the 

Dr. Gambo Aliyu,NACA, DG. 

next quarter of 2021, we 

plan to launch this Trust 

Fund. 

We are focusing more on 

the area of the states contributing 

to the HIV response, 

not that the states 

should be giving us federal 

government money, 

but making money available 

to the state agencies 

to coordinate and control 

HIV/AIDS response in the 

respective. We have not 

made significant progress 

in this area and it is one 

we will focus on in the next 

year because the states are 

significant to ending 

AIDS. 

Over 80 percent of the 

people on treatment now 

are states' patients. Over 95 

percent of the hospitals 

that provide services for 

HIV are state owned. 

Over 90 percent of the 

health workers that provide 

services in these facilities 

belong to the state. 

The federal government 

has less than 115,000 patients 

that are taking treatment. 

It is important that 

we work with the states so 

they can take over the leadership 

of the response, not 

necessarily that they provide 

the resources, but 

mostly to coordinate it. It 

is important because on 

the long run, there is no 

way that we can attain 

sustainability and 

normalise everything and 

get everything under control 

without the states taking 

the leadership and 

being in the driver's seat. 

We need to do more work, 

pay more visits to state governments 

and make more 

presentations at the National 

Economic Council 

With the help of the Vice 

President, two years ago, 

we had an intervention 

and a few state governments 

responded but we 

need to remake a case. 

ARV injection for women: 

We have had formal communication 

that this ARV 

injection exists and is 

working well. Traditionally, 

when such things are 

available, we look at the 

data globally, where the 

media action has been 

used and for how long and 

how many patients involved 

and how successful 

it has been. 

This is simply because 

we need to do due diligence 

before introducing 

such innovation of 

progress. It is a good idea, 

inject le antiretroviral, 

they're given once or twice 

a month, or two months, 

they make life easier for 

people who have to take 

these pills every day. 

However, such persons 

would be required to come 

to the health facility for the 

injection 12 times in a year. 

Every month, they must 

visit the facility and get injected, 

but with the conventional 

ARV pills, they 

may only visit four times in 

a year. She they do visit, 

we give the pills that will 

last for three months. It is 

called the multi-month dispensing. 

The patients can 

now choose which they 

prefer - pills or injections. 

We haven't started doing 

the injection here in Nigeria 

but it is something that 

we would be looking at 

very soon. 

Impact of COVID-19 

on HIV response 

Particularly during the lock 

down period, Covid-19 

has impacted in such a 

way that it has denied us 

opportunity to identify 

people with newly identified 

infections. Every 

month and every year, we 

go after the remaining 

people that are not identified 

so that we can identify 

them and bring them to 

treatment because that is 

the only way that we can 

get to control HIV and end 

AIDS. 

Continues online 

Why Nigeria needs a proteincentred 

nutrition policy 

— EXPERTS 

By Chioma Obinna 

NIGERIAN nutrition 

experts have 

explained the rationale 

behind the urgent need for 

a protein-centred nutrition 

policy, stating that such a 

policy would guarantee and 

produce sound leaders that 

the country would be proud 

of. The group of experts 

who spoke during a webinar 

put together by MediaCraft 

Associates Ltd tagged: "The 

case for a protein-centred 

National Nutrition policy", 

called the urgent need for 

government at all levels to 

begin to come up with a 

nutrition friendly policy that 

would guarantee the future 

of Nigeria and its children 

Speaking, a Public Health 

Expert and Co-founder and 

National Chairperson 

Women in Global health, 

Nigeria, Dr. Adepeju 

Adeniran said there was 

the need for a concerted 

effort towards ensuring that 

everyone in the population 

enjoys a measure of good 

health. 

She listed key factors 

responsible for protein 

consumption habits in 

Nigeria to include the 

availability of food source, 

Boy 15, seeks N1.2m for 

cancer surgery at LUTH 

Samuel Ogunwole 

UNLESS there is urgent 

intervention, 15- year-old 

Samuel Ogunwole may not 

live much longer. 

Samuel, who is currently on 

admission at the Lagos 

University Teaching Hospital, 

LUTH, was diagnosed of 

Right Colon Cancer which 

was earlier confirmed at 

Faniyet Hospital Lagos. 

A medical report from the 

NSIA – LUTH Cancer Care, 

signed by a Consultant 

Radiation and Clinical 

Oncologist, Dr Adegboyega 

B.C, said Samuel who hails 

from Kwara State is being 

managed for Right Colon 

Cancer Post Right 

Hemicolectomy. 

“Histology report done on 

8th May 2020 showed Signet 

Ring Cell Carcinoma, stage 

affordability of the food, taste 

of the food, knowledge of its 

nutrition value and personal 

choice or preference of the 

buyer. 

Noting that studies have 

shown that most of those 

who consumed protein in 

Nigeria depended on 

animal protein, she said 

"Seventy-eight percent of 

households that did 

consume protein consumed 

meat/fish/poultry. 31.25 per 

cent of households that 

consumed protein 

consumed nuts and seeds; 

20.28 percent of households 

that consumed protein 

consumed a dairy product, 

cheese, yoghurt or milk; 

16.15 percent of households 

that consumed protein 

consumed eggs, 72.9 per 

cent of households that 

consumed protein 

consumed dark green 

vegetables; 7.47 percent of 

households that consumed 

protein consumed insects or 

other small sources of 

protein". She explained that 

data extracted from the 

Nigerian Protein Deficiency 

Survey reports showed that 

about 51 percent of the 

survey respondents did not 

have access to protein-rich 

food because of cost. 

3 disease. “He is scheduled 

to undergo adjurant 

chemotherapy. The cost 

estimated includes; 

Chemotherapy N135, 000 for 

six cycles totalling N810,000, 

plus miscellaneous, 

admission, blood 

investigations, radiology 

services, medications, total 

cost estimated is 

N1,110,000.” 

Since the diagnosis, 

doctors attending to Samuel, 

an SS3 student of Ajao Estate 

Grammer School, Lagos said 

he (Samuel) requires further 

Chemotherapy and 

Radiotherapy surgery to 

forestall irreversible and lifethreatening 

complication. 

Evaluation at the hospital 

revealed that the young boy 

will need a total sum of N1.2 

million for urgent corrective 

surgery. Sadly, his parents 

cannot afford the hospital bill. 

Narrating the family’s 

ordeal, his mother, Mrs 

Olasunbo Atobatele, a 

hairdresser said: “The 

money is too much for us. His 

father is unemployed. We 

have raised N400, 000 but we 

need N1, 200,000. We are 

appealing to well-meaning 

Nigerians to please come to 

our aid.” If you are touched 

by Samuel’s plight, please 

call his mother on 

07035883489 or send your 

donation to UBA Account 

number: 2172234115, 

Name- Ogunwole Samuel.

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Continues from Page 5 

barest minimum. 

The governor warned that 

the state would not hesitate to 

apprehend and prosecute any 

herdsman caught violating the 

law prohibiting open grazing 

in the state. 

He appealed to the Federal 

Government to urgently 

release the N10 billion 

promised victims of herdsmen 

attacks to enable Benue 

rebuild homes of farmers 

sacked from their ancestral 

homes. 

Ways to deal with 

Boko Haram 

—Zulum 

Also yesterday, Governor 

Babagana Zulum of Borno 

State yesterday gave the 

Federal Government the 

recipe on how to deal with 

Boko Haram and its ally, the 

Islamic States of West Africa 

Province, ISWAP, insurgents 

terrorising the north-eastern 

region of Nigeria. 

He made the 

recommendations when he 

received members of a 

presidential delegation who 

visited Borno to commiserate 

with the people of the state, 

following the killing of 43 

farmers in Koshobe village. 

The governor said engaging 

mercenaries, as well as 

immediate recruitment of 

youths into the military to 

boost its strength will go a long 

way to defeat the insurgents. 

He said it is also important 

to secure the collaboration of 

neighbouring Niger Republic, 

Chad, and Cameroon to clear 

the remnants of the insurgents 

in the Lake Chad region and 

the Mandara mountains. 

Governor Zulum, who urged 

the Federal Government to 

ensure the provision of mine 

resistant armoured personnel 

carriers and other equipment 

for the military, police, and 

other security agencies 

involved in the insurgency 

fight, equally asked 

government to support the 

repatriation of internally 

displaced people in 

Cameroon and Niger 

Republic, as well as increase 

the livelihood support for the 

people of Borno State. 

Armed Forces 

given marching 

orders — Lawan 

In his remarks, the Senate 

President, Ahmed Lawan, who 

led the delegation, condoled 

with the government and 

Naira appreciates to N390.25 

in I&E window 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

The naira yesterday appreciated to N390.25 per 

dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window. 

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative 

exchange rate of the window dropped by three naira 

to N390.25 kobo per dollar from N393.25 kobo per 

dollar last week Friday, indication three naira 

appreciation of the naira. 

However, the volume of dollars (turnover) traded 

on the window fell by 65 percent to $35.15 million 

from $100.52 million last week Friday. 

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 

Why Nigeria's at mercy of terrorists 

— LAI MOHAMMED 

Presidential 

people of the state over the 

ugly incident. 

He informed the governor 

that President Muhammadu 

Buhari has asked him to 

assure the people of Borno of 

his commitment to fighting 

insurgency. 

Lawan added that the 

armed forces had been given 

marching orders to fight the 

insurgents wherever they were 

hiding. 

According to him, the 

Federal Government is 

intensifying bilateral 

cooperation to ensure 

insurgents have nowhere to 

hide when they are chased out 

of Nigeria. 

Buhari’s order to 

Armed Forces 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari has also given 

marching orders to the 

military to take the fight 

against terrorism to the Boko 

Haram insurgents on 

continuous basis until they 

are wiped out. 

This was contained in a 

statement issued by the 

Senior Special Assistant to 

the President on Media and 

Publicity, Mallam Garba 

Shehu, in Abuja. 

In the message, President 

Buhari expressed the 

condolences of the 

government and people of 

Nigeria and gave strong 

assurances of his continuous 

commitment to fighting 

insurgency and all forms of 

insecurity in Borno State and 

all over Nigeria. 

The President said he 

committed himself to 

making more resources 

available to the military to 

prosecute the war, adding 

that he would “work closely 

with neighbouring countries 

on bilateral and multilateral 

levels to ensure that there is 

no hiding place for the 

terrorists.” 

He said further: “Nothing 

is more important than 

ensuring the security of lives 

and property of the people. 

Everything is secondary 

when security is at a stake. 

“As we mourn the loss of 

our sons in Zabarmari, the 

Armed Forces have been 

given the marching order to 

take the fight to the insurgents, 

not on a one-off, but on a 

continuous basis until we root 

out the terrorists.” 

President Buhari 

commended Governor 

Babagana Zulum for his 

leadership in running the 

affairs of the state 

Members of the 

delegation 

included the Chief of Staff to 

the President, Professor 

Ibrahim Gambari; the 

Minister of the Federal 

Capital Territory (FCT), 

Mohammed Bello; the 

Minister of Communications 

and Digital Economy, Ali 

Pantami, and the Minister of 

State for Agriculture, 

Mustapha Shehuri. 

Other members were the 

National Security Adviser, 

Major General Babagana 

Monguno, and the Senior 

Special Assistant to the 

President on Media and 

Publicity, Garba Shehu. 

The delegation was 

received on arrival at the 

airport by Borno State Deputy 

Governor, Usman Gadafu. 

43, not 110 killed, 

says DHQ 

In a related development, 

the Military High Command 

yesterday disputed the report 

by the United Nations that 

110 civilians were killed by 

Boko Haram in Saturday’s 

massacre of farmers in the 

Jere Local Government Area 

of Borno State. 

Major-General John 

Enenche, Coordinator, 

Defence Media Operations, 

insisted that as at yesterday 

morning, 43 corpses were 

recovered from the scene of 

the incident at the Zabarmari 

area of the northeast state. 

Enenche, who spoke on 

Channels TV breakfast 

programme, Sunrise Daily, 

said the troops counted the 

corpses together with the 

locals and that 43 deaths were 

recorded. 

“I knew it (the issue) is going 

to come up, particularly 

because it is coming from the 

United Nations and not a 

source that does not want to 

be identified. This is a source 

that has identified itself that a 

110 specifically (were 

murdered).” 

Disclosing that he 

personally contacted the field 

commanders on ground, 

Enenche said: “They gave me 

a synopsis of what happened. 

When the governor was to go 

(to the scene) and after they 

had recovered the dead, the 

troops had to move in there 

and counted 43. 

“Of course, some people 

ran into the bush and they 

started coming back. As at 

2pm on Sunday, I called 

them and they got back to me 

at about 7pm, still counting, 

looking if they will recover 

more corpses. We call it 

Exploitation after Action 

Review,” he said. 

Noting that the search for 

more remains of victims was 

still on, Enenche insisted that 

43 corpses were retrieved from 

the scene as of yesterday. 

He stated further: 

“Probably we may count up 

to the figure he (Kallon) gave 

in the future but as it is now, 

what we have counted with the 

locals is still 43 and we are 

hoping that we don’t get 

beyond that. 

“This is the real situation. I 

did not sleep; we had to follow 

it because this is very relevant 

coming from the United 

Nations.” 

The Defence spokesman 

also said the military is 


NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

PRESENTATION TO CORPS MEMBERS —Director-General, NYSC, Brig.- 

Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim making presentation to Corps members, during the closing 

of Orientation for the 2020 Batch 'B' Stream 1A Corps members at Nasarawa 

State Orientation Camp in Keffi, yesterday. Photo: NAN. 

worried about the trend of 

some locals in the North-East 

declining to provide useful 

information to security 

agencies. 

He said: “That has been our 

worry. It’s a concern to us. You 

need a guide, you need 

information. Will they tell us? 

That’s a question that we have 

to ask. Yes, sometimes. And 

most times, no. 

“That was one of the issues 

we have been trying to 

overcome, with civil-military 

cooperation activities, 

reaching out to them, even 

sending people by proxy to 

talk to them. 

“Those are the things that 

have been one of the banes of 

the final success in the whole 

of this operation. Our patrols 

will pass through a route in a 

village, by the time you are 

going, some people are 

looking at you. When you are 

coming back, the next thing 

is that you meet an IED 

planted on the road. 

“People see them, they won’t 

tell you. So that’s the area I 

think we are all working 

together as stakeholders. It is 

not possible to force 

information out of people. It’s 

not possible, just like they say 

you can force a horse to the 

river, but can’t force it to drink 

water. 

“So all we are trying to do is 

to build up their confidence 

in the system and encourage 

them that look, this is not 

good for you.” 

Asked what the military’s 

position was on the issue of 

refreshing the military top 

hierarchy, Enenche declined 

to respond. 

“You are not being fair to 

me, asking me that question 

about change of service chiefs. 

It is beyond me,” he said. 

Securitymen sell 

weapons to Boko 

Haram — Duke 

Also commenting on the 

killings in Borno, former 

governor of Cross Rivers State, 

Donald Duke, alleged that 

security operatives sell 

weapons to Boko Haram. 

Duke, who made the 

allegation on Channels 

Television programme on 

Sunday night, said there was 

need to investigate the source 

of the insurgents arms and 

ammunition. 

Noting that most of the 

weaponry used by Boko 

Haram come from military 

armoury, Duke said: “Most 

of the weaponry used by Boko 

Haram come from our 

armoury. We will need to look 

into that. Why are we selling 

weapons to the enemy?” 

Duke said there was need for 

a “complete revamp of our 

security network” to avoid 

losing the country. 

He said there should be 

police presence every five 

kilometres, adding that their 

“presence is a deterrent”. 

The ex-governor said 

graduates who could think 

like perpetrators of crime 

should be recruited into the 

force to improve intelligencegathering, 

and asked the 

Federal Government to train 

and motivate policemen and 

soldiers fighting the 

insurgents. 

“The level of people we 

bring into the force is a bit too 

low. Crime is a lot more 

sophisticated than that. We 

need people who can think 

alongside the perpetrators of 

the crime. We need to up the 

ante and train them and 

motivate them. There has to 

be an insurance scheme to 

look after them. 

“Motivate the soldiers in the 

North-East. I think they are 

under-motivated. We need to 

task them on intelligence 

gathering. More of 

intelligence than firepower. 

“On the other front, by now, 

we need to develop a strategy 

on kidnapping. Are the police 

properly motivated? I doubt 

it, and they don’t have enough 

weaponry,” he said. 

Wake up, Senate 

Minority Caucus 

tells FG 

Similarly, the Senate 

Minority caucus yesterday 

called on the federal 

government to wake up in the 

fight against Boko Haram, 

banditry and kidnapping all 

over the country. 

According to the caucus, the 

time has come for the Federal 

Government to take decisive 

action and review its strategy. 

In a statement by the Senate 

Minority Leader, Senator 

Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, 

Abia South), the caucus 

expressed deep sadness over 

the gruesome killings of rice 

farmers in Borno State by 

Boko Haram insurgents. 

The statement read: “We 

are horrified that our people, 

particularly the farmers who 

are toiling tirelessly to sustain 

the nation’s food security have 

always become the target of 

the insurgents. 

“This is so horrendous and 

heart-wrenching and, of 

course, the unmindful 

slaughter of our people in 

such dastardly manner is 

becoming way too many. 

“It’s embarrassing to the 

country and calls to question 

the government’s strategy 

and capacity to tame the 

rising wave of insurgency and 

banditry ravaging a large 

swathe of our dear nation, 

particularly in the Northern 

region. 

“It is no longer enough for 

the Presidency to always issue 

tepid statements by 

condemning attacks and 

daily killing of our citizens, 

saying now is the time to take 

decisive action and review its 

strategy since it seems the 

current one has failed 

woefully.” 

The caucus commiserated 

with the government and 

people of Borno State, while 

praying that God will console 

the families of the victims. 

US, EU condemn 

killings 

Reacting to the killings, the 

United States condemned it 

in the strongest terms, saying 

‘’the United States offers our 

deepest condolences to the 

families and friends of those 

killed or kidnapped. 

“These abhorrent attacks 

are a stark reminder of why 

the United States stands with 

the Nigerian government and 

people as they fight to defeat 

terrorism and work to bring 

the perpetrators to justice. 

In his reaction, the 

European Union Foreign 

Policy and Security 

spokesperson, Mr Josep 

Borrell, condemned the 

killings. 

Borrel said on his Twitter 

handle: “Deeply shocked by 

yet another horrific attack 

targeting innocent civilians in 

the North-East of #Nigeria. 

“We have to continue our 

collective engagement 

against terror and violence to 

provide peace, security and 

stability for all people in 

Africa.”




AWARD: From left, 

Portfolio Manager, 

Non-Alcoholic 

Drinks, NB Plc., 

Kehinde Kadiri; 

Olajumoke 

Akinyele, Lead, 

Business, and 

Brand 

Management, 

Noah’s Ark; and 

Senior Brand 

Manager, Elohor 

Olumide-Awe 

during the 2020 

Brand 

Communication 

Awards in Lagos. 

A'Ibom, World Bank begin work on N12bn 

erosion project across 17 communities 

By Harris Emanuel 

UYO—WORK has com 

menced in earnest on 

the N12 billion erosion 

project which cuts across 17 

communities in three local 

government areas of the state, 

Commissioner for Environment 

and Petroleum Resources, 

Sir Charles Udoh has said. 

Apparently dubbed the 

''IBB drainage project,'' the 

multibillion naira project has 

been in the pipeline for 15 

years and Governor Udom 

Emmanuel's administration is 

undertaking the project in 

conjunction with the World 

Bank. 

Udoh said the verification 

process for the payment of 

compensations to property 

owners was ongoing and that 

the process would pass 

through four stages to authenticate 

the right property 

owners as recommended by 

the World Bank, adding that 

the contractor was already 

through with the site mapping. 

According to him, the excavation 

work would commence 

immediately the compensation 

process was done and 

gave the assurance that government 

would complete the 

project in record time and according 

to specifications. 

The project when completed 

would solve the problem 

of flooding which had ravaged 

the IBB Way and the 

adjoining streets in Uyo, communities 

in Nsit Ibom and 

Ibesikpo/Asutan local government 

areas of the state. 

He said, '' The IBB project 

is a project that cuts across 17 

communities in three local 

government areas comprising 

underground and surface 

drains. The project traverses 

7 kilometers and for you to 

start the project, you don't just 

go to excavate, you must start 

by doing what they call site 

mapping. And so mapping 

the site for 7 kilometers is not 

a day's job. It's something that 

takes a period of time because 

you are going to go across people's 

properties, people's 

houses and don't forget those 

houses you are going to demolish; 

you don't have rights 

until you pay them compen- 

sations 

''The site mapping is ongoing 

and you might not see 

any physical activity yet. We 

have started the process of 

paying compensation and 

we are bench marking on 

World Bank standard and 

there are four steps of verifications 

of property before 

compensation is paid. Currently, 

we are doing that and 

if you understand that the 

project cuts across 17 communities, 

you would understand 

the number of persons 

who own properties, from 

crops to buildings and all 

kinds of structures including 

graves, you would know that 

it is a tedious process, because 

we don't want to pay 

compensation to wrong people. 

Lawmaker denies buying arms for 

Delta communal crisis 

• Asks IGP to investigate allegation, 

bring perpetrators to book 

ASABA—Leo Ogor rep 

resenting Isoko Federal 

Constituency of Delta 

State in the House of Representatives 

has debunked 

allegations that he bought 

the arms that were used in 

the conflict between two 

communities in his constituency. 

Reacting to allegations by 

the clan head of Oleh community 

in Isoko South Local 

Government Area that he 

armed the people of Ozoro 

in Isoko North Local Government 

Area, the former 

House majority leader dismissed 

the insinuation as 

untrue and baseless. 

The House member said 

it would be ridiculous for 

him to arm a community in 

his constituency against another 

community since all 

members of his federal constituency 

are his constituents. 

He accused the traditional 

ruler of Oleh, who made 

the allegation against him 

of ill-motives to drag his 

name into the crisis that he 

knows nothing about and 

challenged him to prove his 

allegations by showing 

whatever links he has to the 

protagonists of the Ozoro- 

Oleh crisis or role he played 

in the communal crisis. 

Speaking to journalists in 

Abuja, the lawmaker appealed 

to the inspector general 

of police and the state 

commissioner of police to 

wade into the matter by in- 

vestigating the allegations 

made by the Oleh traditional 

ruler, including looking 

into the communal crisis with 

a view to bringing the perpetrators 

to justice. 

He said: "I represent the 

Isoko people, they are all my 

constituents. I want to call on 

the inspector general of police 

and the Delta State police 

commissioner to come 

into the matter and bring it 

to a logical end. 

"The culprits must be arrested 

and brought to book. I am 

absolutely, disgusted with 

the allegations made by the 

Oleh clan head that I bought 

arms for anyone to kill people 

of my constituency. 

"I am disturbed by the killings. 

We need to do everything 

possible to restore 

peace and end the crisis. It's 

abnormal for the Oleh clan 

head to accuse me of arming 

one community all because 

I live in Ozoro. The 

matter must be properly investigated." 

Rivers approves N2bn for 2021 LGA polls 

By Davies 

Iheamnachor 

PORT HARCOURT— 

RIVERS State Executive 

Council has approved 

the sum of N2 billion for the 

Rivers State Independent 

Electoral Commission, 

RESIEC, for the conduct of 

the 2021 local government 

elections in the state. 

The council also approved 

a budget proposal of 

N478,660,773.476 for state 

for 2021 fiscal year. 

The approvals were given 

at the council meeting 

presided over by the State 

Governor, Nyesom Wike at 

the Banquet Hall of Government 

House, Port Harcourt, 

yesterday, according 

to a statement by the Special 

Assistant on the Governor 

on Media, Kelvin Ebiri. 

The Commissioner of Information 

and Communications, 

Paulinus Nsirim, said 

'' So, it is step by step. And 

every beneficiary must go 

through the four steps processes. 

We would not pay you 

until you go through the four 

steps processes. So, work is 

ongoing. You remember His 

Excellency announced to the 

people in one of his statewide 

broadcasts that work 

has started on the project." 

the council approved budget 

for use by RSIEC, stating 

that the budget would 

enable the State electoral 

umpire to conduct the 2021 

Local Government election 

in the State. 

Nsirim said a total sum 

of N2,747,351,405.13 was 

approved for RSIEC, to be 

used in conducting the local 

government election in 

line with 1999 constitution 

as amended. 

The Information Commissioner 

said the council 

also approved the construction 

of a new motor park 

within the precinct of the 

newly commissioned Rebisi 

Flyover, which is intended 

to curb activities of illegal 

park operators in that 

axis. 

He said: "This is in line 

with the urban renewal vision 

of His Excellency. Recall 

that the new Rebisi Flyover 

Bridge that was commissioned 

a few weeks ago 

Waltersmith, UNIDO, UNECA, sign 

pact for devt of Inustrial Park 

L AGOS—WALTER 

SMITH Petroman Oil 

Company Limited, a leading 

Nigerian independent integrated 

energy company and 

Operator of the Ibigwe Field 

within OML 16, yesterday announced 

the signing of a Technical 

Support Agreement, TSA, 

with United Nations Industrial 

Development Organization, 

UNIDO and United Nations 

Economic Commission for Africa, 

UNECA, for the development 

of an Energy Innovation 

Park (Industrial Park). 

The TSA represents the terms 

and conditions that will guide 

the development and actualization 

of Waltersmith’s Industrial 

park which will also be situated 

in Ibigwe-the company’s 

commercial hub and location 

of its recently commissioned 

5,000bpd modular refinery. 

The Industrial Park (which 

when constructed will be the 

first of its kind in Nigeria) is 

expected to attract petrochemical, 

pharmaceutical, plastics, 

research and other light manufacturing 

companies that feed 

primarily off the hydrocarbon 

has changed the landscape 

and skyline in that vicinity. 

"And to ensure that the illegal 

motor park around the 

flyover does not deface the 

aesthetics that have been 

achieved, government is 

acquiring land near the flyover 

bridge to build a befitting 

motor park for them." 

Meanwhile, the Commissioner 

for Finance, Mr. 

Isaac Kamalu, according to 

the statement said the proposed 

budgetary estimate 

of N478bn would help government 

to complete all ongoing 

projects in the state 

and enable the government 

to better the lives of people 

of the state. 

Mr Kamalu, who is also 

supervising the affairs of 

the State Ministry of Budget 

and Economic Planning, 

said the council also 

approved the Medium 

Term Expenditure Framework 

for the State for 2021- 

2023. 

value chain. In order to achieve 

this, Waltersmith intends to invest 

heavily in electricity and 

world class industrial park infrastructure 

and power in order 

for manufacturing companies 

to co-locate in Ibigwe and 

have direct access to their raw 

materials from its refinery and 

petrochemical activities. 

Speaking on the significance 

of the signature ceremony and 

the Industrial Park 

development, Abdulrazaq Isa, 

Chairman Waltersmith 

Group, said: “This signing ceremony 

essentially flags off the 

industrial park development 

and we are excited about the 

technical support UNIDO and 

UNECA are willing to provide 

to Waltersmith as this will help 

us attract several companies to 

the park area. Our goal is to 

create an industrial cluster in 

Ibigwe and help reduce manufacturing 

costs, position the 

South-Eastern region as a major 

manufacturing hub and take advantage 

of the African Continental 

Free Trade Agreement which 

the Nigerian Government has 

currently signed on.” 

Seplat trains 100 teachers in 

Delta, Edo with STEP initiative 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

BENIN CITY—SEPLAT 

Petroleum Development 

Company has trained 100 

teachers from Edo and Delta 

states to improve their efficiency 

and in turn translate to 

their students tagged Seplat 

Teachers Empowerment Programme. 

The first phase of the programme 

lasted five days 

which was a residential workshop 

introductory phase that 

heralded a six-month programme 

that would train the 

teachers on teaching applications 

for Science, Technology, 

Engineering, Arts and Mathematics 

(STEAM) as well as 

leadership and self-improvement 

training. The training 

continues online over six 

months with Teachers receiving 

customized training modules 

on efficient pedagogical 

methods. 

The Chief Executive Officer 

of the company, Roger Brown, 

who was represented by the 

General Manager, External 

Affairs and Communications 

of the company, Dr Chioma 

Nwachukwu said 43 Chief Inspectors 

of Education from the 

two states also benefited from 

the training and that 75 of 

the teachers were from public 

schools and that the training 

was offered through the Company’s 

CSR initiatives. 

ICAN Lagos installs Nwokejiobi 

as 18th chairman 

By Gabriel Olawale 

LAGOS—THE Institute of 

Chartered Accountant of Nigeria, 

ICAN Lagos and District 

Society has installed the Director-General 

of Bonny Chamber 

of Commerce, Mrs. Constance 

Nwokejiobi as its 18th Chairman 

while announcing the Oniru 

of Iru Kingdom, His Royal 

Majesty, Abdulwasiu Lawal as 

the Grand Patron. 

Speaking during the investiture 

in Lagos, ICAN President, 

Mrs. Onome Adewuyi urged the 

newly executives to partner with 

the government to redefine national 

values, economic priorities 

and resource utilization 

strategies such that the mass of 

the citizenry can be lifted out of 

avoidable poverty. 

Adewuyi who was represented 

by the 2nd Deputy Vice President, 

Dr Innocent Okwuosa 

said that they should leverage 

their professional expertise to 

support players in the informal 

sector, whose unsung value-creating 

activities will define the 

position of the nation on the ladder 

of sustainable development. 

“The new exco should please 

prioritize the capacity development 

trainings for members and 

uphold the highest ethical standards 

of business conduct. 

In her acceptance speech, 

Constance said that they understand 

the need to thoughtfully 

train members to be abreast 

with the changes in the economies 

while protecting the ethics 

of the profession and addressing 

the impacts of rising financial 

trends in Nigeria and global 

changes within this period.

VOL. 1: NO. 261 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 

Hope for Elebele Palm Estate: 

Bayelsa wasting treasure 

....As govt moves to revive ailing plantation 

By Samuel Oyadongha 

FOR many years, the 

Elebele Low Palm Estate, 

one of the only surviving 

physical assets Bayelsa State 

inherited from Rivers State 

following its creation in 1996 

has been lying idle, 

prompting many to tag the 

vast complex a wasting 

treasure. 

Interestingly, the sprawling 

palm estate which landmass 

cut across Elebele, Azikoro 

and Agbura communities in 

Ogbia and Yenagoa local 

government areas of the state 

was once a beehive of 

activities. 

NDV learned that the 

facility is not only equipped 

with a modern processing 

mill, staff quarters, offices, 

and other facilities including 

ancillary farms but also has 

the potential of taking off the 

streets, hundreds of jobless 

youths. 

Case for Green 

Economy 

However, the fortunes of the 

estate may change for good 

soon as the Senator Douye Diri 

administration is to set to go 

green in line with its planned 

diversification of the state 

economy with a view to 

reducing it's dependence on 

crude oil. 

But for cattle dealers who 

were allotted a fringe of the 

estate to enable them ply 

their trade by the immediate 

past administration of Chief 

Seriake Dickson which also 

handed over the estate to the 

state owned Niger Delta 

University, NDU, after 

concessioning same to a 

private business outfit, the 

hitherto complex known for its 

intricate nursery beds and 

network of roads which could 

be mistaken for a holiday 

resort because of its alluring 

ambience is now a sorry 

sight. 

I see oil palm, 

and not crude oil, 

as the key to the 

future of our 

state and I see 

the Bayelsa Palm 

Estate reclaiming 

its lost glory, if 

Diri's passion for 

the sector is 

anything to go by 

•Bayelsa Palm Estate 

Today, the place is like a 

natural wild overtaken by 

vegetation and also serve as 

hideouts for all types of 

criminal elements with its 

produce being pillaged by 

Niger-Delta Voice, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, , 2020 — 43 

Akwa Ibom citizens demand state Assembly's 

engagement on constituency projects 

By Chioma Onuegbu 

UYO CITIZENS of Akwa 

Ibom State have urged 

the state lawmakers to 

commence process of 

engaging their constituents on 

the 2021 constituency projects 

immediately the budget 

became law to ensure 

proposed projects addressed 

real needs and priorities of the 

communities. 

They also demanded 

that members of the state 

Assembly responsible for 

nomination of constituency 

projects across the 26 state 

constituencies should publicly 

disclose the type of projects 

nominated and implemented 

for 2019 and 2020 fiscal years 

in their constituencies. 

The citizens demands were 

contained in a communiqué' 

issued at "The 2020 

Community Forum on 

Constituency projects in Akwa 

Ibom State", held last 

Thursday in Uyo, and 

facilitated by Policy Alert with 

support from Actionaid 

Nigeria and the UK Foreign 

Commonwealth and 

Development Office 

(FCDO). 

The representatives of the 

poachers. 

Renew hope 

The expansive project, a 

potential money spinning 

communities drawn from the 

26 state constituencies 

further demanded disclosure of 

the sites/ locations of the 


constituency projects for 2019 

and 2020 in their respective 

constituencies as well as the 

cost and current status of the 

projects. 

The communiqué' signed by 

Representatives of the 26 state 

constituencies added, "Akwa 

Ibom House of Assembly 

members responsible for 


projects across the 26 state 

constituencies should publicly 

disclose the Contractors for 

the project(s) nominated and 

implemented in each 

constituency projects for 2019 

and 2020 fiscal years. 

"Also they should publicly 

disclose the date of 

commencement, completion 

and commissioning of 


constituency project(s) for 

2019 and 2020 in their 

respective 

State 

constituencies. 

"Members responsible for 


projects across 26 state 

constituencies should in future 

ensure that details of proposed 

sector has been described as 

the key to the future economy 

of the state given the volatility 

of crude oil price in the world 

market. 

Accordingly, Governor Diri 

recently approached and got 

the nod of the State House of 

Assembly to secure N10bn 

facility from the Central Bank 

of Nigeria to revive the state 

oil palm potentials. 

He explained that the facility 

when acquired would be used 

to finance the development 

and expansion of existing oil 

palm potentials in the state. 

Diri stated in his letter to the 

assembly, “as part of this 

administration’s efforts to 

constituency projects are clearly 

indicated in the Budget in the 

spirit of transparency and to 

enable grassroots actors track, 

ensure 

efficient 

implementation, exercise 

ownership and protect the 

said projects. 

"As grassroots citizens, we 

remain committed to 

improving citizens' 

engagement with the 

legislature and strengthening 

transparency 

and 

accountability in budget 

Implementation. 

"We trust that as ‘the People’s 

Assembly’, the Akwa Ibom 

State House of Assembly will 

respond to these requests in 

good faith.” 

In his remarks, the Lead 

analyst of 'Extractive and Open 

Data', Policy Alert, Iniobong 

Usen, said it is exciting to see 

that Akwa Ibom citizens are 

beginning to hold their 

representatives accountable, 

by asking questions regarding 

the development of their 

communities. 

“What they are saying is that 

they want to see the projects 

with their own eyes. And 

Policy Alert is happy about 

the consciousness among the 

citizens on budget issues in the 

cushion the effect of the global 

economic downturn 

occasioned by the Covid -19 

Pandemic and the dwindling 

oil revenues, we seek to take 

advantage of intervention 

funds from the Federal 

Government through the 

Central Bank of Nigeria... 

“The facility from the Central 

Bank of Nigeria will aid the 

state government to develop 

our oil palm potentials.” 

A concerned Bayelsan, 

Thompson Preye, expressed 

optimism that the fund if 

properly utilise should be able 

to turn around the fortune of 

the state owned palm estate as 

well as boost the economy of 

the state. 

“It is my conviction that given 

the Senator Douye Diri 

administration mantra of 

Green Economy and its 

decision to approach the nation 

apex bank for credit facility to 

revamp the Bayelsa Palm 

Estate, Elebele after getting 

the approval of the House of 

Assembly, it shall be well with 

the long abandoned palm 

estate one of the surviving 

assets we inherited from Rivers 

State after the assets sharing 

between our sister states. 

"I see oil palm and not crude 

oil as the key to the future of 

our state and I see the Bayelsa 

Palm Estate reclaiming its lost 

glory if Diri's passion for the 

sector is anything to go by,” he 

said. 

But Elaye Doubra stressed 

the need for caution noting 

that similar attempt by the 

Chief Timipre Sylva 

administration to breathe life 

into the troubled edifice failed 

to achieve set goals. 

He, however, urged Diri to 

make the desired change 

saying "it is the dream of all 

Bayelsans to see the Elebele 

palm estate resuscitated and 

add value to the state 

internally generated revenue. 

It is up to Diri to write his name 

in gold by reviving the long 

neglected complex and make 

it profit oriented." 

state. 

“And as an organization that 

promotes transparency and 

accountability, we believe this 

development is going to close 

the gap between the State 

legislators and their 

constituents", he simply said. 

Meanwhile NDV gathered 

that the community forum was 

put in place due to the confusion 

trailing the report of alleged 

extra budgetary expenditure by 

the State government in the 

2019 budget and the 

government's explanation over 

the allegations. 

One of the participants who 

didn't want his name mentioned 

told NDV, “recalled that state 

government officials had 

penultimate week explained 

that the investigative report 

published in a state based 

Newspaper and some online 

platforms was based on the 

erroneous copy of the 2019 

budget. 

"But government explanation 

seemed to confuse things the 

more. And as grassroots’ citizens 

we are particularly concerned 

about tracking the constituency 

projects approved in the 2019 

budget as contained in the 2019 

Annual Report released to the 

public in November 2020."


General Nick Parker 

retired (UK’s former 

Commander in Chief 

of Land Forces) 

Prof Roger Delves, 

Professor of Practice Prof. Michael Mol, 

in Leadership Professor at 

Associate Dean Copenhagen Business 

Ashridge Executive School 

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competitive environment. 

You will also learn how you can 

enhance performance and achieve 

profitable growth. Remember that 

at this time, you not only need to 

survive, but you should also find 

ways of gaining competitive 

advantage, growing and creating 

value. That’s what TEXEM UK’s 

forthcoming programme aims to 

help you realise as you lead your 

organisation. 

For more information about the 

cost of the programme, please visit 

https://texem.co.uk/programmes/ 

strategic-leadership-for-success-inan-age-of-disruption.html 

or email 

exec@texem.co.uk 

With less than a month to go, and 

a few slots remaining, what else are 

you waiting for? Take a lifechanging 

step now and book a space 

for yourself and other executives. Do 

not allow your organisation to 

become a case study of those that 

“Failed during the pandemic”. Yes, 

it’s affecting all businesses 

worldwide, but you can succeed. 

Strategic leadership is the secret! So, 

get the requisite skills now! 

•Dr. Abubakre is a British based 

entrepreneur with an 

unparalleled passion for Africa 

Tour Nigeria and national economic recovery 

By FOLORUNSHO 

COKER 

AWORLD in stride towards 

recovery: The past couple of 

months of this certainly momentous 

year, 2020, have demonstrated the 

time-honed notion that nothing 

defines the human spirit as 

significantly as its capacity for 

resilience; that sturdy will to endure 

and overcome adversity, to seek out 

the faint but growing light at the end 

of the tunnel, and to reinvent the 

human experience. 

It is no misplaced optimism to 

construe this juncture in the 

collective history of mankind as one 

of a world in steady strides towards 

recovery. It is a reality that has been 

fundamentally impacted and 

disrupted by an invisible adversary, 

the coronavirus; yet the lessons of 

these past months have not only 

shown how connected we are as 

people, despite our differences of 

geography and economic location. 

It has more so affirmed the need for 

a sense of community and 

collaboration to solve human 

problems. 

The rise of hope and recovery have 

been bolstered by the exertions of 

scientists in finding a cure for the 

coronavirus, with the creation of a 

raft of vaccines in the various 

research centres of the world. Of 

these, two appear most promising, 

as they have already been considered 

as demonstrating 94 to 95 per cent 

success rates, after rigorous clinical 

and human trials. One of the 

vaccines is being produced through 

a partnership between the American 

pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, 

and the German biotechnology firm, 

BioNTech; and the other, by 

Moderna, an American biotech firm. 

Both vaccines, as said, could be ready 

to be administered to the public in a 

matter of weeks. 

As such, the pervasive climate of 

fear that has come to characterise 

our experiences as humans at the 

start of this year is lifting in a surefooted 

manner. Hence, as the world 

gradually heals and moves into a 

phase of recovery, this signposts a 

more broad-based healing and 

recovery for the global and national 

economies, and the possibility of 

humankind’s resumption of contactbased 

activities that are crucial to 

its survival. Even then, all the caution 

and lessons of how we have lived for 

close to a year are bound to stay with 

us for a while, as we persist in 

observing all the protocols of safety, 

in a world not yet free of the 

coronavirus.We have attained a 

durable hope, but it is still the early 

break of a new dawn. 

The Nigerian economy has been 

under tremendous pressure from the 

dual concerns of the COVID-19 

disruptions, which necessitated 

lockdowns that took huge tolls on 

economic activities and the fiscal 

standing of the country, and the 

bottoming out of oil prices in the 

international market. Therefore, a 

slew of analysts have offered 

prognosis including the deep 

contractions to the national 

economy, palpable reductions in the 

GDP, and the worst-case scenario of 

a slide back into recession. 

National economic recovery: 

While the outlook on the economy 

gave rise to apprehensions in past 

months, with the weakening of 

global demand for oil, the loss of 

foreign exchange earnings, also 

compounded by the withering of 

global remittances to Nigeria from 

its various Diasporas, it has not been 

one relentless tale of woe. The 

Federal Government has been quite 

proactive in creating shock buffers 

for the economy through the 

Nigerian Economic Sustainability 

Plan. This encapsulates a range of 

multi-sector stimulus packages that 

will, no doubt, drive recovery, 

particularly on the back of MSMEs, 

which are the engines of economic 

activity and growth. The ripple effects 

of this positive targeting holds out 

much hope for the hospitality and 

tourism industry that I am a crucial 

stakeholder in. It was rather 

unfortunate that on the cusp of the 

death of oil, which was the decadeslong 

commodity of national wealth 

and sustenance, tourism as a sector 

of vast growth, which contributed as 

much as $8.9 trillion to the world 

GDP, about seven per cent of total 

world trade, and accounted for some 

330 million jobs across board in 

more recent years, could become a 

shell of its former self and 

potentials. 

With the disastrous impact of 

coronavirus, world tourism has 

eroded by close to 80 per cent, 

resulting in the loss of tens of 

millions of jobs globally, and almost 

$1.2 trillion in international visitors’ 

spending. This has portended an 

attrition of up to 2.8 per cent of the 

world’s GDP, which is projected to 

contract by 4.9 per cent this year. 

In Nigeria, here was a sector 

generally estimated as being 

responsible for about 34 per cent of 

GDP and 20 per cent of jobs, and 

which has been under the serious 

threat of unravelling. Yet, as 

economic recovery is hitched up to 

science, there is further hope and 

The ERGP definitely 

foretells of Nigeria’s rise 

to a tourist hub and 

destination in Africa, and 

an impressive financial 

entrepôt; this is the 

journey that has been 

resumed 

conviction that the Economic 

Sustainability Plan of government 

is injecting life and reflating 

economic activity, whilst presently 

emplacing a durable safety net that 

is forestalling massive negative 

impact. This is geared towards a 

redoubtable spill over effect on the 

tourism sector. 

Tourism as catalyst for economic 

recovery: In Nigeria’s operative 

medium-term fiscal strategy, the 

Economic Recovery and Growth 

Plan, ERGP, tourism is recognised as 

one of the ten priority areas of focus 

for national economic growth and 

development. This certainly holds 

sustained relevance in this period of 

economic recovery from the 

disruption occasioned by COVID- 

19, as was in the original outlook of 

the ERGP. In the Plan, there is 

acknowledgement of the enormous 

commercial potentials of the natural 

environment, the Nigerian 

ecosystem, cultural and biodiversities, 

coupled with the artsand 

crafts, whichneed to be enhanced for 

greater productivity. Also, the 

identified possibilities of tourism feed 

directly into the capabilities of the 

creative industry, patronage of local 

agriculture alongside its expansive 

value chain, goods and services, 

which reinforce forward and 

backward linkages for a broader 

base of economic activities. Together 

with the extensive opportunities of 

business tourism, which directly 

impacts the hospitality and related 

sectors, this is seen as qualified to 

increase revenue, create jobs and 

earn the country foreign exchange. 

The ERGP definitely foretells of 

Nigeria’s rise to a tourist hub and 

destination in Africa, and an 

impressive financial entrepôt. This 

is the journey that has been resumed. 

With over 7,000 tourist locations, 

part of which are acclaimed 

UNESCO heritage sites, and in 

consideration of previous activity in 

the sector, which saw to a large 

numbers of inbound and domestic 

tourists, at over 1.3 million visitors 

in 2015, on its rebound, tourism in 

Nigeria has the capacity for greater 

economic opportunities. Its large 

commercial prospects are evident in the 

range of activities on offer in hospitality 

and hotel business, tour operations, 

airport services, the marketing of 

consumables, etc. These are equally in 

sync with other frontiers of wealth 

creation in construction, and the 

building of infrastructure, which are 

bound to accelerate demand for 

telecoms and financial services, crafts, 

clothing, etc., that are immense 

industries in themselves. 

Nigerian tourism is fundamentally 

bound to its creative industry, which 

has not only attained global and 

continental pre-eminence but also 

appeal, with the unique, prolific and 

highly sought after productions of 

music, film, the visual and plastic arts, 

and craft, etc. This is a billion-dollar 

industry that is primed to play a greater 

role in the country’s economic recovery, 

especially at this point in time when oil 

is no longer a product that creates or 

guaranteesthe wealth of nations. 

Tourism has all it takes to become 

the new oil for the Nigerian 

economy. 

Tour Nigeria as a new economic 

frontline: The vast array and 

diversity of its people, cultures, and 

distinct cultural productions - 

whether in the arts or fashion, 

festivals, food, sports, or even in 

experiences of spirituality - testify to 

the uniqueness of Nigeria. More so, 

the country exhibits the material and 

mental treasures of the largest 

concentration of black people in the 

world. Hence, it is a significant 

destination for international and 

domestic leisure, religious 

engagement, commerce, etc. 

As a programme of the Nigerian 

Tourism Development Corporation, 

NTDC, that I lead, Tour Nigeria 

draws attention to the need to witness 

all that makes the country tick and 

stand out. Nigeria stands out, not only 

in terms of the uniqueness of its 

natural environment and sights, but 

also the vibrancy and continuous 

innovation around our music, films 

and other cultural productions. It is 

about the very peculiar form of 

energy that drives our business and 

leisure. For instance, when the poet, 

Odia Ofeimun, talks about how the 

people of Nigeria are Lagosed to 

great extents, he was referring to a 

vibe, a dynamism, an energy, an 

essence, a spirit that needs to be 

witnessed to be felt; and connected 

to. One certainly needs to tour 

Nigeria to understand this peculiar 

transformation of a name into a form 

of energy and spirit. Nigeria is a 

kaleidoscope of experiences that 

requires pilgrims and partakers, and 

calls to witnessing, to touring much 

of what defines it. It is basically a 

call to physical immersion, but still 

in a world that is gradually 

untangling from the ravages of 

COVID-19, it is as much a call to a 

digital experience of the Nigerian 

tour, with a number of products being 

created around this, inspired by 

virtual concerts and events, business 

conferencing, etc. Tour Nigeria is a 

robust feast of the sensorium. Its 

range straddles world-renowned 

sites such as the Ogba Ukwu Cave/ 

Waterfalls and the Ogbunike Cave 

in Anambra State, to the Kano City 

Wall, the Osun-Osogbo Sacred 

Groove in Osun State, among 

others. Also, with Nigeria being 

home to great international brands 

and personalities, like the inimitable 

Fela Anikulapo, the late originator 

of the Afrobeat sound, and his 

spectacular successors, this calls to 

the witnessing of matchless 

experiences, like that which drew the 

French president, Emmanuel 

Macron to the Afrika Shrine in Ikeja, 

Lagos in July 2018. 

Continues online: 

www.vanguardngr.com 

•Coker,Director-General, 

Nigerian Tourism Development 

Corporation, wrote from Abuja

Vanguard, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 - 45

46—Vanguard, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 

Messi’s Maradona tribute to 

cost Barca $3,600 

Lennox Lewis wants 

boxing comeback aged 

55 

ENNOX LEWIS admitted he could stage a 

Lsensational boxing comeback as he has ‘unfinished 

business’ with his old heavyweight rival Riddick Bowe. 

After Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr - with a combined 

age of 105 - drew in an eight-round exhibition on Saturday 

night, former world champ Lewis hinted he could be 

next to return to the ring. 

The British-born star, 55, told BT Sport: “Sure! I 

mean, it seems like a lot of fun. 

“You have to look at Mike Tyson; Mike has 

been doing a lot of different things like 

wrestling, he’s been doing acting and he 

even had his own one-man band show. 

“So he knows how to entertain 

people, he knows what to do in 

these situations.” 

Lewis KO’d Iron Mike in 

Memphis in 2002 and retired 

soon after his TKO win over 

Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko 

the following year. 

Lewis added: “When I 

was commentating for 

HBO, they had me put in 

there right in the action. 

“It was maybe to make me 

feel like I could come back 

for HBO whatever. But I just 

never caught it, it never 

happened. 

“I looked at the history of why 

boxers come back and most 

boxers come back because 

they have nothing else to do. 

“People keep coming up to 

them and saying to them, ‘Hey, 

when is your next fight? Who are 

you going to fight?’ 

•Lewis 

By John Egbokhan 

President of Nigeria Football Federation, 

Amaju Pinnick, has expressed utter 

disappointment with the trio of Kano Pillars, 

Plateau United, Rivers United in last 

weekend’s continental matches. 

Speaking on the occasion of his 50 th 

birthday celebration, Pinnick, said the three 

sides did not show the Nigerian spirit in their 

respective CAF club games, which they all 

lost. 

Reacting to the below-par outing of 

Nigerian clubs in the continent, Pinnick said, 

‘’I am very disappointed. In as much as we 

can point to the fact that the League has not 

Awoniyi wants to 

terminate Liverpool 

contract 

H 

aving failed to secure United 

Kingdom work permit, 

former Golden Eaglets star, 

Taiwo Awoniyi is looking to end 

his Liverpool contract. 

Awoniyi joined the Reds in 

2015 but has not been able to 

play in England. He has gone 

out on loan deals to different 

clubs in Holland, Belgium 

and Germany. He is 

currently with Union 

Berlin, after his hopes of 

starring for Liverpool this 

season was dashed. 

“It is my dream to play 

for Liverpool. But me 

playing for Liverpool has 

to do with getting my work 

permit,” Awoniyi told ESPN. 

“Liverpool have been great, they 

have been so supportive and we 

always talk with the director and 

every time, they tell me to be patient. 

“But the reason I discussed 

something permanent this season was 

Pinnick lambasts Pillars, Plateau Utd, Rivers Utd 

•Pinnick 

•Ndidi 

Ndidi eyes Leicester 

return in Ukraine 

Europa clash 

uper Eagles and Leicester City 

Smidfielder Wilfred Ndidi could 

make a return to action in Thursday’s 

Europa League clash against 

Ukaraine’s Zorya Lugansk. 

Ndidi suffered a long injury lay 

off last in September in 

Leicester 4-2 win over 

Burnley. He has 

underwent surgery 

and last week he 

started training 

started, there is something called the 

‘Nigeria spirit’ and we expect teams flying 

Nigeria’s colours to have that in them. I 

am at a loss as to how Kano Pillars could 

be playing away from home, and they led 

their hosts, only to collapse to a 3-1 defeat. 

‘’Nigerian teams should be made of 

sterner stuff. I commend Enyimba FC that 

won away against their opponents in 

Ouqgadougou; that is the way to do it. My 

challenge to the other clubs is to turn 

things around in the return legs and qualify 

for the next rounds of the CAF Champions 

League and CAF Confederation Cup 

competitions.’’. 

Lionel Messi and Barcelona to pay a 

fine of for his tribute to Diego 

Maradona last Sunday. 

Messi, after scoring a goal Maradona 

would be proud of in the 4-0 win over 

Osasuna at the Nou Camp, he removed 

his Barcelona shirt and revealed an old 

Newell’s Old Boys No.10 shirt that the 

late 60-year-old wore. 

Boyhood Newell’s fan Messi kissed his 

hands and pointed to the sky, recreating 

an image of Maradona in his brief spell 

at the Argentine outfit. 

Messi was booked for his emotional 

celebration by referee Mateu Lahoz and 

SPORT say he and Barca could be 

punished further for the way in which 

he paid tribute. 

FIFA’s official website states: “The 

IFAB, the body responsible for the Laws 

of the Game, decided to add a detail to 

Law 12 relating to ‘Fouls and 

Misconduct’, stating: “A player who 

removes his jersey after scoring a goal 

will be cautioned for unsporting 

behaviour.” 

with the 

squad. 

Leicester coach Brendan 

Rodgers said on LCFC 

website: “Some of the 

injured players are 

training. We’ve got the 

likes of Ricardo, Wilf 

and Çalar… we’re 

hopeful of getting 

them some game 

time in Luhansk 

when we go 

there for our 

next European 

venture 

Thursday 

night,” he added. 

Ndidi’s potential return is 

a massive boost for Leicester 

ahead of the busy festive 

period. 

•Cavani 

•Awoniyi 

just that I felt most 

loans I have been to, 

have not really been 

the way I want it. 

“And I felt like it 

happens that way 

because the loan players 

get less of an advantage 

than the players of their own 

club. 

CAF Champions League: 

It’s not over for Plateau 

United, says Maikaba 

Why Rivers United 

lost to Futuro Kings 

—Afelokhai 

Anyansi Agwu celebrates 

Enyimba’s victory 

E 

•Maikaba 

DINSON CAVANI apologised 

Efor his ‘racist’ social media post 

as he celebrated the win over 

Southampton. 

The Manchester United striker, 

33, took to Instagram on Sunday 

night and replied to a comment 

with ‘Gracias Negrito!’. 

Cavani deleted the post from his 

story and has now issued an 

apology - claiming it was an 

‘affectionate greeting to a friend’. 

marting from their 

S 1-0 home 

defeat to Simba FC of 

Tanzania in a CAF 

Champions League 

qualification match in 

Jos, Plateau United 

coach Abdul 

Maikaba said his 

team can salvage 

qualification for the 

group stages of the 

tournament. 

Plateau United will 

be away to Dar es 

Salam on the 

weekend of 

December 4 for the 

second leg, and 

Maikaba believes it would not be mission 

impossible. 

“We have done it before. I believe we can do it 

again winning away from home. 

“We only need support and trust. We still have 

another 90 minutes to decide who’ll move to the next 

round.” 

He explained that his wards were still match rusty 

having stayed for months waiting for the Nigeria 

Professional League to start. 

“Simba are just few inches ahead of us because 

they’ve played 11 league games before now.” 

•Afelokhai 

Rivers United FC goalkeeper 

Theophilus Affelokhai has 

revealed that the NPFL side lost their 

first leg continental game against 

Futuro Kings due to 

overconfidence. 

Speaking after the loss, the 

former Enyimba shots 

stopper affirmed that too 

much of confidence led to 

the loss and the team 

must do better in the 

second leg to advance. 

He also said he has 

never bowed out during 

the preliminary stages of the CAF competition in his career 

and it won’t happen now with his new club Rivers United. 

“We have resolved that we will not relent ahead of the 

second leg, the confidence we placed on ourselves ahead 

of this game was too much despite the fact that we know 

how much football has changed.” 

“As long as I’m here with the team because I don’t know 

when last I played with a team and we lost out from the 

preliminaries, we have to qualify and I have assured the 

team handlers that we will do better in the second leg. 

nyimba chairman, Felix Anyansi-Agwu said his 

side’s 1-0 win against Burkina Faso outfit Rahimo 

FC in the CAF Champion League has rubbished the 

plans of his detractors. 

“There were a lot of things that happened. We went 

through difficult moments to be in Ouagadougou,” 

Anyansi-Agwu, who is an Executive Committee 

member of the 

•Anyansi 

Nigeria Football 

Federation, said. 

“I am very happy 

that God has really 

rewarded us this 

team with victory 

“It’s a clear 

indication that this 

team would bring 

honour and glory to 

the country and it is 

unfair to attempt to 

bring us down. 

‘’That is why I’m 

extremely happy, 

more than any other 

day, about this 

result.” 

Cavani sorry for ‘racist’ post 

after win 

The forward said in a statement: 

“The message I posted after the 

game on Sunday was intended as 

an affectionate greeting to a friend, 

thanking him for his congratulations 

after the game. 

“The last thing I want to do was 

cause offence to anyone. 

“I am completely opposed to 

racism and deleted the message as 

soon as it was explained that it can 

be interpreted differently. I would 

like to sincerely apologise for this.”

C 

M 

Y 

K 


C 

M 

Y 

K 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

Sudoku 

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER 

ACROSS 

1 Flabbergasted (6) 

4 Venom (6) 

8 Expel, force out (5) 

9 Pivot (7) 

10 Colonist (7) 

11Chess piece (5) 

12 Never dying (9) 

17 Confess (3,2) 

19 Repeat (7) 

21 Leaf vegetable (7) 

22 Gloss (5) 

23 Motor fuel (6) 

24 Shortness of sight (6) 

Down 

1 Relaxed (2,4) 

2 Tipped off (7) 

3 Praise highly (5) 

5 Slanting (7) 

6 Twilled fabric (5) 

7 Calling (6) 

9 Immediately (9) 

13 Placate (7) 

14 Drastic reorganisation (5-2) 

15 Thrown carelessly (6) 

16 Rupture (6) 

18 Ingenuous (5) 

20 Prose composition (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.

01122020 - Why Nigeria's at mercy of terrorists — LAI MOHAMMED

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