03032021 - INSECURITY FG declares war on bandits, kidnappers, others

National 

Minimum Wage: 

Impracticable 

and unfair; 

33 

commendation for 

National Assembly 

Nigeria receives first batch 

of COVID-19 vaccines 

FOOD BLOCKADE: Prices skyrocketing in 

Nsukka, Aba, environs; we’ll ensure food 

production, supplies to South – MBF 

9 

States should lead 

in economic 

recovery and 

sustainable growth 

– FAYEMI (2) 

E-payments in Nigeria decline across all channels 

32 

34 

10 

VOL. 27: NO. 64283 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021 

<strong>INSECURITY</strong>: 

<strong>FG</strong> <strong>declares</strong> <strong>war</strong> on 

5 

bandits, kidnappers, others 

•Declares no-fly-zone, bans all mining activities in Zamfara 

•279 kidnapped school girls released with help of repentant bandits – Gov. Matawalle •Buhari 

celebrates release of abducted students, kicks against payment of ransom •Our abductors 

threatened to kill, fry and eat us – Jangebe abductee •Says kidnappers put sand in the rice they 

were fed with •We’re relieved Zamfara Schoolgirls are free – UNICEF •Tasks <strong>FG</strong> on school safety 

RELEASED ABDUCTED JANGEBE STUDENTS... 

A cross-section of the 279 students of Government Girls Junior Secondary 

School, Jangebe in Zamfara, during a reception at the Government House in 

Gusau, yesterday morning, after their release by the abductors. Photo: NAN 

Bandits kill 7 in Kaduna, 

Niger, kidnap 18 passengers 

along Tegina-Minna road 

Banditry becoming 

an industry, benefiting 

some people 

—LAWAN 

COLUMNISTS 

9 

Petrol price hits 

N170 per litre as 

scarcity persists 8 

BABA AHMED 17 DEAR BUNMI 35 

Mr & Mrs

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021— 3

4 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

vanguardnews 

@vanguardnews 

@vanguardnews 

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018773962, 

08052867058 

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021 — 5 

POCKET CARTOON 

NIGERIA RECEIVES FIRST BATCH OF COVID-19 VACCINES ...—From 

Left: Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Minister of Health, Dr. 

Osagie Ehanire and Chairman, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the 

SGF, Mr. Boss Musthapha as they received the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID- 

19 vaccine on arrival at the Cargo Terminal, Nnamdi Azikiwe International 

airport, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida. 

<strong>FG</strong> <strong>declares</strong> <strong>war</strong> on bandits, 

kidnappers, others 

•279 kidnapped school girls released with help of repentant bandits 

– Gov. Matawalle •Buhari celebrates release of abducted students, 

kicks against payment of ransom •Our abductors threatened to 

kill, fry and eat us – Jangebe abductee •Says kidnappers put sand 

in the rice they were fed with •We’re relieved Zamfara Schoolgirls 

are free – UNICEF •Tasks <strong>FG</strong> on school safety 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru, Femi 

Bolaji, Ibrahim 

Hassan 

ABUJA — After a 

five-hour meeting 

of the National Security 

Council on the security 

situation in the country, 

yesterday, Defence 

Minister, General Bashir 

Magashi, retd, directed 

the new service chiefs to 

reclaim all areas 

dominated by bandits, 

kidnappers and other 

scoundrels in the 

country 

This is even as 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari declared Zamfara 

State a no-fly-zone, 

following frequent 

banditry and kidnap of 

people in the state. The 

declaration took 

immediate effect. 

What a no-fly 

zone is 

An area declared a no 

fly zone is one over 

which aircraft are 

forbidden to fly, 

especially during a 

conflict. 

A no-fly zone is often 

declared in areas where 

there is full military 

operation, which 

culminates in area 

bombardment. 

Conventionally, the 

military <strong>declares</strong> a 

NOTAM (Notice to 

Airmen) informing 

airline operators within 

and outside the country 

(overfliers) to avoid the 

area to avert collateral 

damage. 

Ordinarily, the 

Nigerian Airspace 

Management Agency, 

NAMA, issues such 

notices in civil aviation 

operations but since this 

is pure military 

operation, the military is 

expected to issue it. 

Efforts to get the Director 

of Defence Information, 

Brig-Gen Onyema 

Nwachukwu, and 

Director of NAF Public 

Relations, Air Vice 

Marshal Ibikunle 

Daramola, to ascertain 

when the NOTAM would 

be issued proved 

abortive at press time 

yesterday, as calls to 

their mobile lines were 

unreplied. Text 

messages were also not 

replied. 

Declaring Zamfara a 

no fly zone, the 

President also approved 

the imposition and 

enforcement of a ban on 

all mining activities in 

the state until further 

notice, as part of efforts 

to curb rising rate of 

insecurity. 

Service chiefs get 

orders to flush 

out bandits 

The President’s 

declaration came on a 

day 279 kidnapped 

victims of Government 

Girls Secondary School, 

Jangebe, Zamfara State, 

were released by the 

bandits who abducted 

them in their hostels last 

Friday. 

National Security 

Adviser, NSA, Major- 

General Babagana 

Monguno, retd, who 

disclosed these while 

briefing State House 

correspondents at the 

end of the meeting held 

at the Council Chamber, 

Presidential Villa, 

Abuja, said: 

“While the Federal 

Government is not 

averse to the application 

of non-kinetic means to 

resolve this problem, I 

need to make it very 

clear that the Federal 

Government will not 

hesitate to apply to the 

fullest its kinetic means 

to restore normalcy to 

the country. 

“I’m sure you’re all 

a<strong>war</strong>e of the fact that no 

country will tolerate a 

group of non-state 

actors. 

No sovereign nation 

will allow a group of 

non-state actors to bring 

it down to its knees and 

put the state in panic 

mode, apprehension, 

mistrust, disorder, and 

so on and so forth. 

“Therefore, both the 

defence and intelligence 

organisations have been 

charged that while we 

look for<strong>war</strong>d to having a 

peaceful, non-kinetic 

resolution, we will not 

allow this country to drift 

into state failure and 

with the fact from today, 

the new service chiefs 

have been given 

directives by the 

Minister of Defence to 

reclaim all areas that 

have been dominated by 

bandits, kidnappers and 

other scoundrels and 

scallywags.” 

‘Non-state actors 

now on govt 

radar’ 

General Monguno 

said as part of strategies 

to douse tension and 

restore order in all parts 

of the country, the 

intelligence and 

security communities 

had been mandated to go 

after all non-state actors 

whose activities had 

been fueling chaos and 

place them under 

surveillance. 

He said the President 

has charged the new 

service chiefs to reclaim 

all areas under the 

control of bandits, 

insurgents, kidnappers 

and all others involved in 

criminal activities across 

the country. 

All mining 

activities in 

Zamfara banned 

“Now, His Excellency, 

the President, has 

approved, based on our 

recommendation, the 

imposition and 

enforcement of a ban on 

all mining activities in 

Zamfara State with 

immediate effect, until 

further notice. 

“He has directed the 

Minister of Defence and 

the National Security 

Adviser to deploy 

massive military and 

intelligence assets to 

restore normalcy to that 

part of the country. He 

has also approved that 

Zamfara State be 

declared a no-fly-zone 

with immediate effect. 

“Now all non-state 

actors that have been 

Continues on Page 36 

By Mary Obaebor 

On <strong>FG</strong>'s plan to concession some fed roads to private investors (3) 

NO hope for the 

poor masses. Lekki 

tollgate is an eye opener. 

They should go ahead. Is 

that the most important 

thing now? Why do they 

always neglect vital issues 

and focus on the irrelevant? 

The <strong>FG</strong> should be 

concerned about our 

welfare as a country. Did 

you hear the Minister of 

Defence telling Nigerians 

to stand and fight bandits? 

—Rolland Ellu, 

Cinematographer 

Ithink it’s okay if the 

<strong>FG</strong> can do that, at 

least it will enable the 

private investors to 

empower others. But 

then, the private 

investors shouldn’t 

abuse it, rather they 

should maximize the 

opportunity and 

improve the economy 

and the wellbeing of 

the people. 

—Mercy Ighoifewo, 

Pastor 

IT’s not okay for the 

Federal Government 

to concession federal 

roads to private investors 

but in a situation where 

the government is no 

longer doing their job, 

private investors can take 

over. But to be honest, 

people will still suffer for 

this action. 

— Babatunde 

Ibukunoluwa, 

Student 

W 

ell, I think this is 

going to affect the 

poor masses because the 

private investors are first 

and foremost, business 

people who are out to 

make profit from their 

investments. This means 

that they will want to do 

whatever it will take to 

make profit not minding 

the effect on the masses. 

— O y e k u n l e 

Oluwaseun 

Student 

IT’s a sign of 

governmental failure 

because maintenance/ 

rehabilitation of roads is 

one of the fundamental 

roles of government. 

Therefore, if government 

fails in this, it has failed in 

all. Vehicle users obtain 

roadworthy particular but 

no road is vehicle-worthy. 

This plan of the Federal 

Government is injustice. 

—Oluwole Olusina, 

Clergy 

The idea of collecting 

tolls is another means 

of extorting people. If they 

are giving it to private 

investors for proper 

maintenance, it’s okay but 

extorting people in the 

name of maintenance of 

the road is unacceptable. 

And truth be told, why must 

people pay for what should 

be the responsibility of 

government to them? 

—Peter Ajongolo, 

Engineer

6— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021 

Court 

sentences 

labourer to 

death by 

hanging in 

Abeokuta 

A 

39-year-old labourer, 

Mohammed Ibrahim, is to 

die by hanging for the murder 

of a two-year-old child at Ofada 

town, Owode Egba in Abeokuta, 

Ogun State capital. 

The death sentence was 

handed down by Justice 

Ayokunle Rotimi-Balogun of a 

High Court sitting in Abeokuta, 

Ogun, yesterday. 

Justice Ayokunle Rotimi- 

Balogun also found the convict 

guilty of an attempt to kill one 

Rabi Yakubu and accordingly 

sentenced him to life 

imprisonment. 

The convict was tried and 

convicted on a two-count charge 

of murder and attempted 

murder. 

The judge held that the 

prosecution proved the charge 

of murder beyond all reasonable 

doubts. 

She held that the convict was 

guilty of both charges, which 

contravened Section 320, 316(1) 

and 319(1) of the Criminal 

Code, Laws of Ogun, 2006. 

Earlier, the prosecuting 

counsel, Mrs Oluwabumi 

Akinola, had told the court that 

the defendant committed the 

offence on April 12, 2014, at 

Ofada town, Owode Egba in 

Abeokuta. 

Akinola said the defendant 

had followed Mrs Yakubu, who 

had her two-year-old son 

strapped to her back, as she 

wanted to ease herself. 

She said: “On getting into the 

bush she dropped her baby on 

the ground for her to defecate, 

when Ibrahim attacked her with 

a knife, attempting to cut off her 

neck. 

“The complainant, the mother 

of the two-year-old boy, 

struggled with Ibrahim and 

escaped to call for help without 

carrying her son." 

Hit and run 

driver kills 

motorcyclist in 

Ogun 

A 

commercial motorcyclist was 

yesterday, killed by a ‘hit and 

run’ car driver at Ojuola filling 

station on Owode-Ijako, Ogun 

State. 

Ogun Traffic Compliance and 

Enforcement Corps, TRACE, 

Owode-Ijako Unit Commander, 

Mrs Temitope Oseni, said the 

incident happened at 6.30 a.m. 

Oseni said the accident was 

caused by excessive speeding on 

the part of the car driver adding 

that the motorcyclist was riding a 

Boxer bike with a number plate: 

MEK 500 WZ. 

“The corpse of the victim has 

been taken away by the family 

members for burial,” she said, 

adding that the motorcycle had 

been towed off the road by TRACE 

operatives to restore the free flow 

of traffic. 

Oseni advised motorists and 

motorcyclists to drive carefully and 

exercise patience to avoid loss of 

lives and property to accidents. 

By Dayo Johnson 

AKURE—FOUR 

suspects 

paraded for stealing during 

the second term inauguration of 

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of 

Ondo State have confessed that 

they travel to states across the 

country where ceremonies are 

held to steal expensive telephones. 

The suspects include Ojo Femi, 

30; Abiodun Adewale, 45; Kayode 

Olarewaju, 45 years and Aiwole, 

25. 

They were reportedly arrested 

by men of the Operation Scorpion 

Squad attached to the Ondo State 

government along the Ilesha- 

Akure road while returning to their 

base in Oyo, Osun and K<strong>war</strong>a 

states. 

Seven stolen telephones at the 

inauguration ceremony were 

recovered from them by police 

detectives. 

In an interview with Vanguard 

after they were paraded, the 

suspects said they came from the 

neighbouring states of Osun, Oyo 

and K<strong>war</strong>a to steal phones and 

other valuables from important 

dignitaries. 

One of the suspect, Ojo Femi, 

said: “ We came to Akure from Oyo, 

Osun and K<strong>war</strong>a states to steal 

phones from important dignitaries. 

We steal phones from their pockets 

when they are rushing to enter the 

venue of the ceremony." 

Ojo, who admitted to stealing six 

We travel to states to steal phones 

during ceremonies — Suspects 

The suspects 

phones at the International Event 

Centre, The Dome, said it was his 

friend that gave him the phone. 

He said he came from Oyo State. 

Another suspect, Adewale, 

claimed he picked the telephone 

on the ground before he was 

caught at the event centre. 

He said he used to go to parties 

to steal phones and usually sell 

them for N8,000 and above. 

Speaking during the parade, the 

police spokesperson, Tee Leo lkoro, 

said: “During the inauguration 

ceremony of the Governor of Ondo 

State for the second term in office 

at the Dome, Akure, we received 

distress calls that some groups of 

people, who specialised in 

snatching phones and other 

valuables came from different states 

to attend the ceremony. 

“They succeeded in snatching 

phones from people, who attend 

the ceremony. And on receipt of 

these complaints, detectives from 

CP’s Special Operation Squad, 

Akure swung into action and four 

persons were apprehended. 

“They were arrested along 

Ilesha-Akure express road and 

seven handsets were recovered 

from them." 

Ikoro said the suspects will be 

arraigned in court after a thorough 

investigation. 

5 injured in fresh attack on Oyo settlement 

By Ola Ajayi 

IBADAN—SIX people were, 

yesterday, injured in a fresh 

crisis that erupted at Idigba 

Olomi village, Ogbomoso in 

Surulere North Local 

Government Area of Oyo State 

when some bandits reportedly 

attacked a Fulani settlement. 

The Oyo State Commandant 

of Nigerian Security and Civil 

Defence Corps, Mr Iskilu 

Akinsanya, who confirmed the 

attack in a statement by the 

Public Relations Officer for 

NSCDC in the state, Oluwole 

Olusegun, said one suspect 

has been arrested 

He said: “Early this morning 

(yesterday), the command 

arrested a suspect for alleged 

attack on Fulani settlement in 

Ogbomoso. We were called by 

the Chairman, Miyetti Allah, 

Ogbomosho branch, 

Muhammad Mahmud, that, 

there was an attack at the 

Fulani settlement in Idigba 

Olomi by some hoodlums 

numbering about six. 

“The Agro Ranger in 

Ogbomosho/Oyo axis swung 

into action and a suspect 

named Tajudeen Sheu in a 

Vigilante Group of Nigeria 

attire was arrested.” 

He said items recovered from 

the suspect include one red 

Bajaj motorcycle with Osun 

number plate EKG 100 UP; 

one single barrel locally made 

gun, cutlasses, petrol in a can, 

torchlight and a charm. 

NSCDC said all the six 

victims of the attack were 

rescued and taken to the 

hospital in Ogbomoso. 

He gave the names of the 

victims as Shuaibu Yusuf, Sule 

Adamu, Salihu Yusuf, Salihu 

Musa, Saliiu Yusuf, Yahu 

Adamu and Dinbi Ado. 

During interrogation, the 

Two of the injured victims. 

suspect, Tajudeen, said he was 

attacked by an unknown 

person in the night and that 

was why he mobilised five 

other members for the attack. 

The commandant, who 

paraded the suspect, <strong>war</strong>ned 

Nigerians not to take the law 

School gate house collapses in Badagry, kills 

carpenter, injures bricklayer 

A 

carpenter was killed while a 

bricklayer was injured when 

a security post under construction 

collapsed at Badagry Grammar 

School in Lagos State, Monday. 

An eyewitness, Mrs Ruth 

Whenu, disclosed that the 

incident occurred around 3:40 

p.m. while the workers were busy 

with the construction. 

She said: “The incident 

involved two victims, a carpenter 

and bricklayer, working at the site. 

“In the process, one Odunayo 

Okunola, a carpenter, lost his life 

due to the weight of the concrete 

that fell on him. 

“Kazeem Abiodun was, 

however, rescued following 

prompt emergency response and 

taken to Badagry General 

Hospital.” 

A relation of the deceased 

The collapsed structure. 

carpenter, Ajide James, said his 

corpse would be taken for burial 

in their village in Ogun State. 

He said the injured bricklayer 

was responding to treatment but 

sustained a high degree of injury. 

Contacted, Dr Tunde Bakare, 

into their hands but to report 

complaints to security 

agencies especially NSCDC in 

their neighbourhood. 

Medical Director, Badagry 

General Hospital, said the 

injured bricklayer was 

responding to treatment. 

“Before they got to the hospital, 

the carpenter had given up the 

ghost while the bricklayer 

sustained serious injuries. 

“The corpse of the carpenter was 

deposited at our mortuary, while 

our doctors and nurses are taking 

care of the injured bricklayer. 

“Unfortunately, against medical 

advice, the family of the bricklayer 

have requested from the 

management of the hospital that 

they want to carry the bricklayer 

to Ajase in the Republic of Benin 

for more attention. 

“Since they requested against 

our advice, we have released the 

injured bricklayer but the corpse 

of the carpenter is still with us,” 

he said.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021—7 

By Wole Mosadomi & 

Ibrahim Hassan 

SIX persons were reportedly 

killed in isolated banditry 

incidents in Igabi and Kauru local 

government areas of Kaduna State. 

This came as 18 passengers were, 

yesterday, abducted by armed men 

in Kundu village along Tegina- 

Minna Road in Rafi Local 

Government Area of Niger State. 

Kaduna State Commissioner of 

Internal Security, Mr Samuel 

Aruwan, yesterday, said security 

agencies reported that in Igabi Local 

Government Area, bandits 

barricaded the Birnin Yero-Tami road 

and killed one Hussaini Suleiman 

Dari. 

He said: "One Dahiru Saidu was 

left injured and is now receiving 

treatment in a hospital. At Gwada 

village, Igabi Local Government 

Area, an attack by gunmen left two 

persons, Yahuza Sale and Garba 

Sule, dead. 

Aruwan said in another incident, 

armed bandits invaded Ungwan 

2 feared killed 

in renewed 

boundary 

dispute in 

A-Ibom 

By Chioma Onuegbu 

UYO—TWO people were 

reportedly killed, while 

property worth several 

millions of naira set ablaze in 

a renewed boundary dispute 

between the Ammamong and 

Okopedi communities in 

Okobo Local Government 

Area of Akwa Ibom State. 

It was gathered that the fresh 

crisis erupted, Monday, when 

the <strong>war</strong>riors of Ammamong 

village launched an attack on 

their neighbour, Okopedi, 

una<strong>war</strong>es. 

It would be recalled that the 

perennial boundary crisis, 

which after many years 

resurfaced on December 28, 

2020, and January 15, 2021, 

also led to the loss of lives and 

property. 

It was gathered that the 

Monday crisis was brought 

under control immediately 

following the quick 

intervention of critical 

stakeholders from the <strong>war</strong>ring 

communities and the 

deployment of a tactical team 

of police operatives to the 

area. 

A source told newsmen, 

yesterday, that the attackers 

were bearing sophisticated 

weapons such as AK-47 rifles, 

which created fears and 

tension in the area. 

“The attackers came in 

through a comprehensive 

secondary school in the area 

and started shooting and 

setting houses ablaze. They 

used sophisticated weapons 

such as AK-47 and destroyed 

lives and property. Two 

persons were killed during 

the attack,” the source 

revealed. 

Efforts to get the reaction of 

the Police were not successful 

at press time as the Police 

Public Relations Officer, Mr 

Odiko Macdon, did not pick 

calls nor responded to text 

messages. 

Bandits kill 7 in Kaduna, Niger 

•Kidnap 18 passengers along Tegina-Minna Road 

Kure where they killed two 

residents, Mohammed Sani 

Suleiman and Yahuza Sale. 

Similarly, bandits attacked 

Amawan Dadi Rugan Jauru 

settlement in Kauru Local 

Government Area. A resident 

known simply as “Likita” was shot 

dead. 

Governor Nasir el-Rufai noted the 

reports with sadness and sent his 

condolences to the families of those 

killed and prayed for the repose of 

their souls. He also wished those 

injured quick recovery. 

18 passengers 

kidnapped along 

Tegina-Minna road 

It was gathered that the 

passengers in three buses were 

flagged down by the bandits on the 

ever-busy highway about 2 am after 

they had blocked the road. 

A senior government official, who 

pleaded anonymity, confirmed the 

incident, saying nothing has been 

heard from the bandits to enable the 

authorities know the identities of 

those kidnapped. 

“We are a<strong>war</strong>e that bandits struck 

again early this morning (yesterday) 

but we are yet to ascertain the exact 

number of people involved and their 

whereabouts,” he said. 

He, however, said that 

government and security agents are 

monitoring the situation. 

One killed in 

Shiroro LGA 

In another development, one 

person was confirmed killed while 

several others were kidnapped in 

Manta town in Shiroro Local 

Government Area of the state, 

Monday. 

The bandits were said to have 

stormed the town in their numbers 

and started shooting sporadically 

during which the middle-aged man 

was killed. 

The number of those abducted 

could not yet be ascertained at press 

time but an insider said “those 

kidnapped were many.” 

Besides the death and 

kidnapping, the bandits had free 

time to themselves as they moved 

from house to house to raid and 

succeeded in stealing cash, 

foodstuffs and other valuables. 

Efforts to get Police reaction on the 

two incidents proved abortive as its 

spokesman, Wasiu Abiodun, could 

not be reached. 

NDLEA recovers 27 assault rifles in Niger 

By Kingsley Omonobi •Destroys cannabis farm in Ondo 

ABUJA—TWENTY seven new 

rifles concealed in a sack were 

recovered from two suspects during 

a routine stop-and-search operation 

by operatives of National Drug Law 

Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, 

Niger State Command in 

Kontagora area of the state. 

The suspects, Danjuma Auta, 35, 

and Daniel Danrangi, 25, were 

arrested along Kontagora–Zuru 

Road, Niger State, Monday night. 

According to the Niger State 

Commander of the agency, Mr 

Aloye Oludare, the duo were 

arrested with 12 locally fabricated 

AK-47 rifles and 15 locally fabricated 

pistols. 

The rifles were concealed in a 

white sack while on a motorcycle to 

an unknown place when they were 

arrested. 

He said: “Kontagora, where the 

weapons were seized, is about 107 

kilometres from Kagara, a town in 

Niger State where there have been 

mass abductions of women, children 

and secondary school students in 

the last one month. 

“Preliminary investigation shows 

that the fabricator of the weapons 

resides in Kamfaninwaya, not far 

away from Kontagora, while one of 

the pistols is fully loaded. 

“The suspects and the weapons 

will be transferred to the Nigeria 

Police Headquarters, Minna for 

further investigation and 

prosecution of the suspects.” 

Cannabis farm 

destroyed in Ondo 

In another operation, operatives 

of NDLEA, Ondo State Command 

raided Ita-Ipele and Ipele forests, 

Owo Local Government Area of 

Ondo State. 

The Ondo State Commander of 

the agency, Mr Haruna Gagara, 

said: “During the operation, six 

suspects, namely Stephen 

Ikechukwu, 38; Stephen Friday, 32; 

Austin Osadebe, 58; Friday Paul, 29; 

Adebayo Raphael, 25 and John Pius, 

45, were arrested. 

“A total of 41kgs of cannabis sativa 

and 6kgs of cannabis seeds were 

recovered, while a total of five 

hectares of cannabis farm was 

located and destroyed.” 

2 in Police net for robbing pastor in Ogun 

By James Ogunnaike 

A members BEOKUTA—Two 

of an armed 

robbery gang, who robbed one 

Pastor Godwin Ojerinde of 

God’s Will Praying Ground, 

Siun in Obafemi Owode Local 

Government Area of the state, 

have been arrested by 

operatives of the Ogun State 

Police command. 

The two suspects, Oshilaru 

Bidoun and Tolulope 

Oluwafemi, with three other 

members of their gang, 

reportedly broke into the 

pastor’s house at 3:15 am 

February 9, 2021, armed with 

guns and other dangerous 

The recovered rifles. 

weapons. 

The Ogun State Police 

command’s spokesperson, 

Oyeyemi said: “The hoodlums 

held the pastor and his family 

hostage, ransacked the house 

and dispossessed them of one 

Pathfinder SUV with number 

plate, WDE-38-MM, one 

Samsung A20 mobile phone 

and one Infinix Hot Note 

phone. 

“On receiving the 

information, the Divisional 

Police Officer, Owode-Egba 

Division, CSP Matthew Ediae 

and his detectives embarked 

on an intensive technical and 

intelligence-based 

investigation to unravel those 

responsible for the heinous 

crime. 

“After weeks of painstaking 

investigation, the duo of 

Oshilaru Biodun and Tolulope 

Oluwafemi were apprehended 

based on a tip-off. 

“On interrogation, they both 

confessed to being parts of the 

robbery syndicate. They 

confessed further that the 

Pathfinder SUV has been sold 

to someone in Ogere, Ogun 

State and that the vehicle is 

on its way to the northern part 

of the country”. 

“The detectives quickly 

started tracing the vehicle, 

and it was eventually 

recovered in Mokwa, Niger 

State.” 

Policeman 

nabbed for 

stealing rifles 

from MOPOL 

Base in Abia 

By Ugochukwu 

Alaribe 

U 

MUAHIA—Abia State Police 

Command has arrested a 

police constable alleged to be 

involved in the carting away of police 

rifles from the armoury of Mobile 

Police Squadron 28, Umuahia, Abia 

State. 

It was gathered, penultimate 

week, that some persons broke into 

the armoury of MOPOL 28 inside 

the command headquarters, 

Umuahia and made away with five 

AK-47 rifles. 

However, sources said the act was 

perpetrated by a police constable, 

whose name was not disclosed. 

The constable, who works in the 

armoury section of the squadron, 

was reported to have, with the help 

of others, committed the offence 

unnoticed. 

Vanguard gathered that 

investigations by the police 

command led to the arrest of the 

suspect on Monday, and is now in 

police custody. 

Police sources told Vanguard that 

the suspect recently bought three 

brand new tricycles for commercial 

purposes, fuelling speculation he 

might have sold some or all of the 

AK-47 rifles he made away with. 

Family petitions AIG 

over missing son 

Shelly 

By Paul Olayemi 

SAPELE— THE family of a 

tanker driver, Mr Shelly 

Akpone<strong>war</strong>e, who has been missing 

since October 16, 2020, has 

petitioned the Assistant Inspector- 

General of Police, Zone 5, Benin 

City, Dibal Yakadi, to ask his 

employer, Regardas Nigeria 

Limited, Sapele to produce him 

dead or alive. 

The petition signed by his father, 

Mr Emmanuel Akpone<strong>war</strong>e and 

Owin Orhomonokpaye, entitled: “A 

case of criminal conspiracy and 

abduction of Mr Shelly 

Akpone<strong>war</strong>e." explained that their 

son, an employee of the company, 

was last seen October 16, 2020 and 

efforts to locate him or hear from him 

have been abortive. 

It further explained that Shelly 

was summoned to return to the 

company, Regardas yard in Sapele 

after he returned from a journey and 

was instructed to proceed on another 

with one Suleiman, and since then 

the family has not set eyes on him 

and efforts to locate him have been 

in vain. 

The petition claimed that the 

company's management has 

deliberately refused to communicate 

with the family as to the whereabouts 

of their son.

8 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021 

:Vanguard News 

:@vanguardnews 

Petrol price hits N170 per litre 

as scarcity persists 

•As Labour mobilises against hoarding, price increase 

•We have adequate stocks, IPMAN, MOMAN, others 

By Udeme Akpan, 

Victor Ahiuma- 

Young, Obas Esiedesa 

& Prince Okafor 

LAGOS — Despite assur 

ances, many oil marketers, 

yesterday, continued to sell 

petrol at an average of N170 

per litre in different parts of 

the country, according to Vanguard 

investigation. 

Our Correspondents, who 

went out to monitor developments 

at filing stations across 

the nation, said those mainly 

owned by independent marketers, 

sold the product at 

N167 per litre, while others, 

especially on the outskirts of 

cities such as Lagos, Abuja and 

Port Harcourt sold in excess 

of N170 per litre. 

Nevertheless, the Nigerian 

National Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC, sold the product 

at N162 in most filling stations 

visited yesterday. 

In a statement obtained by 

Vanguard, NNPC stated that 

it was not contemplating any 

rise in the price of petrol in 

March in order not to jeopardize 

ongoing engagements 

with organized labour and 

other stakeholders on an acceptable 

framework that will 

not expose the ordinary Nigerian 

to hardship. 

It stated: “NNPC has 

enough stock of petrol to keep 

the nation well supplied for 

over 40 days and urged motorists 

to avoid panic buying. 

‘’We, therefore, call on relevant 

regulatory authorities to 

step up monitoring of the activities 

of marketers with a 

view to sanctioning those involved 

in products hoarding 

or arbitrary increase of pump 

price.” 

DPR threatens sanction 

However, the Department 

of Petroleum Resources, DPR 

has threatened to sanction 

marketers caught perpetrating 

irregularities, including 

hoarding and profiteering. 

Mr. Paul Osu, Head, Public 

Affairs, said in a statement: 

“The Department of Petroleum 

Resources (DPR) has issued 

<strong>war</strong>ning to marketers 

against hoarding of Petroleum 

products in their outlets. 

‘’The Director/CEO DPR 

Sarki Auwalu, gave this <strong>war</strong>ning 

following the emergence 

of queues in retail outlets in 

some states of the federation. 

“He stated that from available 

records, there is product 

sufficiency in the country and 

that there was no need for 

hoarding by any marketer. He 

emphasized the the Department 

will not hesitate to ap- 

:@vanguardnews 

ply appropriate sanctions on 

any outlet found wanting in 

this regard. 

‘’He further stated that the 

agency has set up a special 

taskforce to intensify surveillance 

and monitoring of all 

retail outlets and depots nationwide 

to check the anomaly 

and advised the general public 

against panic buying. 

‘’He assured that DPR will 

continue to provide its regulatory 

focus of quality, quantity, 

integrity and safety, QQIS, 

for the effective operations of 

the downstream sector.” 

Why price is high 

Meanwhile, Kano Branch 

Chairman of the Independent 

Petroleum Marketers Association 

of Nigeria, Bashir 

DanMalam, has said that 

though the state had no shortage 

of product, marketers 

were buying at exorbitant rate. 

NLC threatens to shut down Nigeria over bill 

against national minimum wage 

•Declares nationwide mass protest 

on March 10 

By Victor 

Ahiuma-Young 

LAGOS — Nigeria Labour 

Congress, NLC, 

yesterday threatened to shut 

down Nigeria over attempt to 

remove the National Minimum 

Wage from the exclusive 

legislative list to the concurrent 

legislative list, branding 

promoters of the bill as enemies 

of Nigerian workers. 

In a communiqué issued at 

the end of a virtual National 

Executive Council, NEC, 

meeting, leaders of NLC de- 

clared March 10 as a day of 

nationwide protest to make a 

strong statement that Nigerian 

workers would not lie low 

and watch their rights taken 

away by opportunistic and 

narrow-thinking politicians. 

In the communiqué signed 

by Ayuba Wabba and Bello 

Ismail, President and Acting 

General Secretary, NLC noted 

that NEC resolved that all the 

resolutions and decisions 

adopted at the emergency 

meeting should be pursued in 

collaboration with the Trade 

Union Congress of Nigeria, 

TUC, in the overall interest of 

all Nigerian workers. 

NLC among others, noted 

that the bill sponsored by 

Garba Datti Mohammed of 

Sabon Gari Federal Constituency. 

It read: “The NEC considered 

that the bill is a classic 

case of the “Hand of Esau 

and the Voice of Jacob” as it 

has all the imprimatur of antiworkers 

forces in the political 

establishment. “NEC considered 

Garba Datti as only a hireling 

in the plot by his sponsors 

to disorient, injure, and exterminate 

Nigeria’s working 

class. 

“The NEC further reasoned 

that the attempt to undermine 

Nigeria’s working class is a 

foreboding effort to destroy the 

very fabrics that holds the Nigerian 

nation together. This is 

more so given the fact that Organized 

Labour in Nigeria is 

about the only truly pan Nigerian 

organization with diverse 

membership that cuts 

across tribal, ethnic and religious 

affiliations which has 

continued to speak and champion 

for the rights of all Nigerians 

regardless of creed and 

breed. 

“In contrast, the political 

elites in Nigeria have remained 

the problem of the Nigerian 

State who through 

their actions and inactions 

have ensured that Nigeria remained 

divided along ethnic, 

tribal and religious lines for 

their own selfish purposes. 

NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058 

2023: INEC begs NASS to 

support creation of additional 

polling units 

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA — AHEAD of the 

2023 general elections, 

the Independent National 

Trial of Sowore, others 

adjourned to May 7 as 

‘babalawo’ storms court in 

solidarity 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

ABUJA—An 

Abuja 

Chief Magistrate 

Court sitting at Wuse Zone 2, 

yesterday, adjourned trial of 

activist and convener of 

#RevolutionNow protest, Mr 

Omoleye Sowore and his co- 

Defendants, to May 7, 2021. 

The adjournment came on 

a day a man dressed as native 

doctor, stormed the court in 

solidarity with the defendants. 

Though the young man who 

is in his 30s declined to disclose 

his name, he however, 

described himself as Sowore’s 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC, yesterday pleaded with 

the National Assembly to support 

it in creating additional 

polling units. 

Speaking yesterday when 

he appeared before the Joint 

Senate and House of Representatives 

Committee on 

INEC, led by Senator Kabiru 

Gaya, APC, Kano South, 

INEC chairman, Professor 

Mahmood Yakubu, told the 

National Assembly that the 

move would provide for a good 

voting environment and effective 

implementation of the 

regulations and guidelines of 

the commission on election 

day. 

According to him, polling 

units which form the basis on 

which citizens exercise their 

fundamental rights to vote 

and make electoral choices 

freely must be areas where 

voters can easily access. 

He said it had become imperative 

to carry out the creation 

of additional polling units 

because the current configuration 

of 119,973 polling units 

was established by the defunct 

National Electoral Commission 

of Nigeria, NECON in 

1996 when Chief Karibi 

Gagogo- Jack was the chairman. 

The IEC boss noted that 

figures produced in 1996 were 

used for the 1999, 2003, 2007, 

2011, 2015 and 2019 general 

elections without being corrected. 

Professor Yakubu explained 

that the commission 

wanted creation of additional 

polling units in the six geopolitical 

zones of the country 

and the nation’s capital, 

Abuja, because of violence, 

voter apathy, insecurity, congestion, 

lack of safety, among 

others, associated with the existing 

ones. 

He said the failure to create 

more polling units across the 

country before the 2023 general 

elections might hamper 

the integrity of the polls, lamenting 

that the existing polling 

units, which were established 

in 1996, were no longer 

adequate for voters to freely 

vote. He added that this was 

disenfranchising millions of 

Nigerians and could damage 

the credibility of elections in 

Nigeria if not solved. 

Yakubu, who revealed that 

the commission received over 

10,092 requests for additional 

polling units across the country, 

stressed that INEC had 

considered a lot of solutions 

to the problem. 

spiritual advisor. 

He wore a black and redstriped 

robe that terminated 

by his kneel, with a cap made 

from the same material. 

The self-confessed spiritual 

advisor to Sowore also tied a 

red wrapper around his waist, 

even as he held a middle sized 

calabash in his right hand. 

Other items like white cowries, 

snail shell and an object 

that looked like a dried skull 

of an animal, were attached 

to his red robe. 

Sowore walked into the 

court premises with the supposed 

‘babalawo’ (native doctor), 

shortly before the proceedings 

commenced in the 

case against him. 

CIBN launches new syllabus to address skill 

gap in banking sector 

By Nkiruka Nnorom 

LAGOS — The Chartered 

Institute of Bankers of 

Nigeria, CIBN, has launched 

its new syllabus to address 

identified skills gap and provide 

an overall grasp of critical 

knowledge and skills in 

banking and finance industry. 

The Chairman, Capacity 

Building and Certification 

Committee, CIBN, Mr Rotimi 

Omotoso, made the call while 

delivering his remarks at the 

virtual road show with the key 

stakeholders of the Institute in 

the South South and South 

East Nigeria on the new Banking 

Professional Examination 

Syllabus with theme:‘The Syllabus 

for Bankers of Today 

and the future’. 

Omotoso disclosed that the 

content of the new Syllabus is 

contemporary, robust and 

produced around the present 

needs and future demands of 

the 21st century professional 

banker which combines professional 

rigours with robust 

practical application to provide 

the expected fountain of 

knowledge. According to him, 

the Syllabus represents a bold 

resolve to address the competency 

gap in the banking industry 

and adding that this is 

one of the conscious efforts in 

implementing the Competency 

Framework as well as 

ensuring that the banking industry 

remains in the cutting 

edge of the global developments 

in the banking profession. 

Also speaking at the event, 

the Registrar/CEO, CIBN, Mr. 

‘Seye Awojobi, who was represented 

by Mr. Segun 

Shonubi, Director, Capacity 

Building and Certification, 

CIBN added that the institute 

reviews its banking professional 

examinations syllabus 

every five years to ensure that 

the content are contemporary 

and cover emerging relevant 

issues within and outside the 

banking and finance industry.



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

FLAG-OFF: From left, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State; Central Bank of Nigeria, 

CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefiele; Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; Sultan of Sokoto, 

Sa’ad Abubakar, and Emir of Argungu, Muhammadu Sami, at the flag-off of Rice Harvest 

Aggregation ceremony in Birnin Kebbi, yesterday. 

Nigeria receives first batch of COVID-19 

vaccines 

•COVID-19 pandemic unlikely to end this year — WHO 

THE first phase of 

AstraZeneca COVID-19 

vaccines arrived the Nnamdi 

Azikiwe International 

Airport, Abuja, yesterday. The 

vaccines arrived the country 

aboard Emirates flight, which 

landed at about noon. 

Chairman of the 

Presidential Task Force, PTF, 

on COVID-19, Boss 

Mustapha, had said on 

Saturday that Nigeria will 

receive its first tranche of 

about four million doses of 

the coronavirus vaccines. 

On hand to take delivery 

of the vaccines were top 

government officials, 

including the PTF Chairman, 

Boss Mustapha; Minister for 

Health, Osagie Ehanire; 

Minister of Information, Lai 

Mohammed; and Director- 

General of Nigeria Centre for 

Disease Control, NCDC, 

Chikwe Ihekweazu. 

The Health Minister, 

Osagie Ehanire, had noted 

last week that once the 

vaccines arrive in the country, 

about 70 per cent of the 

population was expected to 

be inoculated within two 

years. 

Ehanire said: “We have 

been told to open an account 

with Afreximbank under the 

African Union; we have 

done that already 

successfully because we are 

going to pay for that part of 

the vaccine. The COVAX 

vaccine is free, it is made 

from donations. 

“We want to immunise 

about 60 to 70 per cent of our 

population. If COVAX 

immunises 20, then we have 

about 40 to 50 to immunise 

within the next two years. So, 

we have to pay for that minus 

any donations that we get like 

the MTN donation, for 

example, all those ones 

reduce the quantities that we 

have to purchase or any other 

that in future are given to us 

free of charge.’’ 

COVID-19 

pandemic unlikely 

to end this year 

—WHO 

Meanwhile, the World 

Health Organisation, WHO, 

said, yesterday, it was 

unlikely the COVID-19 

pandemic will end in 2021. 

"I think it will be very 

premature and unrealistic to 

think that we are going to 

finish with this virus by the 

end of the year. 

“What we can finish with – 

if we are smart – is 

hospitalisations, deaths and 

the tragedy associated with 

this pandemic,” Mr Michael 

Ryan, Director of WHO’s 

health emergencies 

programme, said at a news 

conference. 

Ryan said WHO’s focus at 

present was to keep 

transmissions as low as 

possible and vaccinate more 

and more people. 

According to him, delivery 

of vaccine doses has 

improved compared to 10 

weeks ago although there are 

‘huge challenges’ in 

distributing them. 

“If the vaccines begin to 

impact not only on death and 

hospitalisation, but have a 

significant impact on 

transmission dynamics and 

transmission risk, then I 

believe we will accelerate 

to<strong>war</strong>d controlling this 

pandemic,” Ryan said. 

My herdsmen/Fulani profiling feud with 

Ortom regrettable —Gov Mohammed 

•As Wike, Fintiri reconcile both parties in P-Harcourt 

By Egufe 

Yafugborhi 

PORT HARCOURT — 

Governor Bala 

Mohammed of Bauchi 

State, yesterday, described 

the feud between him and 

his Benue counterpart, 

Governor Samuel Ortom, 

triggered by differences in 

opinions on herdsmen/ 

Fulani profiling, as very 

regrettable. 

Mohammed expressed 

the regret at Government 

House, Port Harcourt, 

Rivers State, where the host, 

Governor Nyesom Wike, 

and Adamawa State 

counterpart, Governor 

Ahmed Fintiri, reconciled 

the feuding governors. 

Following a <strong>war</strong>m 

embrace between Ortom 

and Mohammed, after the 

truce brokered by Wike and 

Finitri, the Bauchi governor 

told newsmen: “We don’t 

mean to divide the country, 

to divide our people. We are 

still friends and brothers 

and we will move for<strong>war</strong>d 

because most of those 

issues are fully resolved. 

"Whatever misconception 

generated, that me and my 

brother, Ortom, are having 

problem or with anybody in 

Nigeria is not true. 

“What happened was just 

an explanation that 

emanated from a larger 

Governors’ Forum that we 

spoke on the security of the 

nation and talked of the 

failure of security 

infrastructure, which 

everybody knows is under 

purview of the Federal 

Government.” 

Ortom, in gratitude to 

Wike and Fintiri for their 

intervention, said: “We have 

accepted that it was wrong 

of us to have that kind of 

outburst. From today, we 

have learned. 

“We are all fallible humans 

and are subject to mistakes. 

And when we make 

mistakes, it is a plus for us if 

we correct them. Moving 

for<strong>war</strong>d, we shall live 

together. The Fulani and Tiv 

people have cohabitated for 

a long time and there is no 

issue whatsoever. 

“We look for<strong>war</strong>d to 


stooping down to conquer 

by accepting that, yes, they 

have failed, so that together 

the state and local 

governments can come 

together to find lasting 

solution to this country. 

“As at today, there is no 

equity, no fairness, no 

justice in our country. That 

is why everywhere in 

Nigeria, there are issues. So, 

we look for<strong>war</strong>d to Federal 

Government partnering 

with us. This time, we need 

not talk about partisan 

politics. 

“We must come together, 

not to talk ethnicity or 

religion. We must come 

together as brothers and 

sisters, who have no other 

country than Nigeria, to 

work together to<strong>war</strong>ds a 

common cause that will 

solve the problem we have.” 

Post reconciliation 

Thanking Ortom and 

Finitri for yielding to mutual 

reconciliation, Governor 

Wike gave “God the glory 

today that those differences 

have been sorted out. We 

are members of one political 

party. As the Bauchi and 

Benue governors said,we 

don’t want the inefficiency, 

incapacity of the Federal 

Government in handling 

the issue of insecurity in the 

country to rub on us. 

“Everybody knows the 

Federal Government has 

failed in providing security 

for this country. Of course, 

you will not blame them 

(Ortom and Mohammed). 

They are under pressure 

from their states. It is not as 

if they have any personal 

issue." 

Perceiving the ruling All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, as rejoicing in the 

Ortom/Mohammed feud, 

the Rivers governor said: 

“They (opposition APC) 

will not be happy today that 

two of them have now made 

up to work together.“ 

To the media, Wike said: 

“You too, the press, have a 

role to play in stabilising the 

country. It is not everything 

you must report. You don’t 

try to escalate things. When 

you do that you are not 

helping the country.” 

On his part, Adamawa 

State Governor, Fintiri, said 

as national leaders, it was 

incumbent on him and 

Governor Wike to intervene 

in the disagreement 

between their Benue and 

Bauchi counterparts. 

DMO clears air on 2018 

N2.1trn debt service 

•Says it was paid directly to 

creditors by OAGF 

By Emma Ujah, 

Abuja Bureau Chief 

THE Debt Management 

Office, DMO, has said 

the N2.1 trillion allocated for 

debt servicing in the 2018 

Federal Government budget 

was paid directly to creditors 

by Office of the Accountant- 

General of the Federation, 

OAGF. 

The agency said, yesterday, 

that the explanation became 

necessary, following media 

reports that it could not 

account for funds allocated 

for debt servicing in the 2018 


budget. 

The management of the 

DMO had appeared before 

the Public Accounts 

Committee of the House of 

Representatives last week 

and the committee enquired 

about the utilisation of the 

N2.2 trillion provided in the 

2018 Appropriation Act. 

Of that amount, N2.1 

trillion was allocated for debt 

servicing, while the DMO 

had an appropriation of N721. 

251 million. 

The DMO in a statement, 

said reports that it was unable 

to account for the N2.2 trillion 

allocation to the DMO in the 

2018 Appropriation Act was 

“not only false, but extremely 

misleading." 

The statement read in part: 

“At the session, the committee 

enquired about the utilisation 

of the N2.2 trillion provided 

in the 2018 Appropriation 

Act, of which N2.1 trillion was 

allocated for Debt Service and 

the DMO’s appropriation of 

N721,251,798.00, making it 

N2.2 trillion. 

“The DMO explained to the 

Public Accounts Committee 

that the amount of N2.2 trillion 

was not available as the 

DMO’s total allocation since 

N2.1 trillion was specifically 

meant for servicing of 

Nigeria’s Domestic and 

External Debt. 

“This explains why the 

Debt Service is expressly 

stated as a separate line item 

in the annual Appropriation 

Acts, while the DMO’s 

expenditure is also stated 

separately. 

“The DMO wishes to 

emphasise that the provisions 

in the Annual Appropriation 

Acts for Debt Service, 

including the 2018 

Appropriation Act, are 

dedicated for Debt Service 

payments only; that is, for the 

repayment of Principal, 

Interest and Other Charges 

for both Domestic and 

External Debt. 

Banditry becoming an 

industry, benefiting some 

people —Lawan 

•As Senate confirms new service chiefs 

By Henry Umoru 

SENATE 

President, 

Ahmad Lawan, 

yesterday, described banditry 

in the country as an industry 

now benefiting a lot of people. 

Lawan, who spoke after the 

confirmation of the new 

service chiefs, said the 

situation is unacceptable, 

asking the new military chiefs 

to stop the trend. 

Those confirmed include 

Maj.-Gen. Lucky lrabor as 

Chief of Defence Staff; Maj. 

Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru (Chief 

of Army Staff); Rear Admiral 

Awwal Gambo (Chief of 

Naval Staff); and Air Vice 

Marshal Isiaka Amao as 

Chief of Air Staff. 

The nominees were 

appointed by President 

Muhammadu Buhari to 

take-over the rein of 

leadership in the military 

from the former Chief of 

Defence Staff, General 

Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of 

Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur 

Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, 

Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe 

Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, 

Air Marshal Sadique 

Abubakar. 

Lawan, who charged the 

new service chiefs to take the 

<strong>war</strong> to the bandits and 

insurgents and dislodge 

them in their hideouts, said: 

“A situation whereby a group 

of people will go to a school 

and take over 300 students 

away on motorcycles is not 

accepted. 

“Kidnapping without a 

trace, is not acceptable. 

Something has to be done 

because, apparently, this is 

becoming an industry, some 

people are benefiting from 

this and we have to unravel 

who these people are, and 

fight bandits and insurgents 

until we rescue our country. 

“Let me also advise the 

service chiefs that there must 

be an inter-agency 

cooperation. The Army, Air 

Force, they are supposed to 

have complimentary roles. 

“We promise them and 

indeed Nigerians that we 

support them in whatever 

way the parliament can come 

to their support." 

The Senate, yesterday, 

confirmed the appointment of 

the new service chiefs 

following the consideration of 

the report of the Committee 

on Defence, which 

recommended their 

confirmation. 

Lawan had penultimate 

Wednesday, referred the 

request of President 

Muhammadu Buhari for the 

confirmation of the new 

service chiefs, to the 

committee on Defence. 

Lawan, gave the 

committee, led by Senator 

Aliyu Wamakko, two weeks 

to carry out their assignments 

and report to the Senate in 

plenary.



:Vanguard 

News 

e-Payments in Nigeria decline 

across all channels 

By Elizabeth 

Adegbesan 

THE value of electronic 

payment (e-Payment) 

transactions in Nigeria fell 

month-on-month, MoM, 

by 10 per cent to N19.9 trillion 

in January 2021, from 

N22 trillion in December 

2020. 

Similarly, the volume of 

transaction declined by 20 

per cent to 696.2 million in 

January 2021, from 867.4 

million in December 2021. 

Vanguard analysis of 

Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement 

System (NIBSS) Plc. 

e-Payment channels data 

show that all electronic 

channels recorded decline 

in their volume and value 

of transactions during the 

period, except Electronic 

BillsPay channels that recorded 

a 10 per cent rise 

in volume. 

Analysis of NIBSS data 

shows that the volume of 

Point of Sale (PoS) transactions 

fell by nine percent 

to 70.9 million in January 

from 77.9 million in December 

last year while its 

value dropped by 15 percent 

to N489.24 billion from 

N574.37 billion in December. 

The volume of transactions 

made through NIBBS 

Instant Payment (NIP) also 

fell by 13 percent to 228.76 

Former Edo Assembly Speaker 

loses dad 

THE death has been 

announced of the Patriarch 

of Itulah Aire dynasty of 

• Late Chief Aire 

Ubiomoh for 

burial 

LATE Pastor Ogwor 

Johnmark Ubiomoh of 

Ozoro, in Isoko North East local 

government area of Delta State, 

is dead, aged 83. 

Funeral service holds at 

Anglican Grammar School, 

Opposite Divisional Police 

Headquarters, Ozoro, on Friday, 

and interment holds same day at 

his residence, Omoele Lane, by 

Yosco Press, off Oleh road, Ozoro. 

He is survived by children and 

grandchildren. 

• Late Ubiomoh 

million in January from 

264.22 million in December 

while its value declined by 

nine percent to N18.5 trillion 

in January from N20.3 

trillion in December. 

Similarly, the volume of 

Mobile Inter scheme transactions 

dropped by 12 percent 

to 14.9 million in January 

from 16.9 million in 

December while its value 

fell by 18 percent to N390.5 

billion from N459.76 billion. 

The volume of cheque 

transactions fell by 28 percent 

to 362.12 million in 

January from 504.72 million 

in December while its 

value dropped by 24 percent 

to N248.2 billion from 

N325.3 billion in December. 

The volume of transactions 

made through Automated 

Direct Debit (ADD) 

also fell by 50 percent to 1.2 

million in January from 2.4 

million in December while 

its value declined by 28 percent 

to N90.12 billion in 

January from N125.9 billion 

in December. 

Further analysis shows 

that the volume of Central- 

Pay transactions fell by 15 

percent to 29,000 in January 

from 34,000 in December 

while its value dropped 

by 26 percent to N201.7 million 

from N272.06 million 

in December. 

Amedokhian-Uromi and Ofure of 

Uromi Kingdom, Chief Thomas 

Itulah Aire, aged 91 years. 

The late Itulah Aire was a 

devout Christian, a great 

Philanthropist, a community 

leader and a seasoned 

businessman, as well as a 

transporter. 

He is survived by former speaker 

of the Edo State House of 

Assembly, Barr. Friday 

Obomezele Itulah, children and 

grandchildren. 


Buhari should provide leadership in 

tackling insecurity —Saraki 

Oyo farmers protest destruction of farmlands, attacks 

by herdsmen 

....As lecturers protest at Fed Poly Ado-Ekiti 

By Rotimi 

Ojomoyela & Adeola 

Badru 

IBADAN—FARMERS in 

Ijaye, Akinyele local 

government area of Oyo 

State, yesterday, protested 

the continuous destruction 

of their farmlands and crops 

by suspected Fulani 

herdsmen in the town. 

This came on a day 

academic activities at the 

Federal Polytechnic, Ado- 

Ekiti, were paralyzed, 

following a protest by 

members of the Academic 

Staff Union of Polytechnics, 

ASUP, over failure of the 

management to meet their 

demands. 

The farmers gathered at 

the Governor’s Office 

Secretariat, Ibadan, 

carrying placards with 

various inscriptions and 

RECONCILIATION—Bauchi State Governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed (2nd left); his Benue counterpart, 

Samuel Ortom (3rd left), in <strong>war</strong>m embrace, after host Governor, Nyesom Wike (left), and their 

Adamawa State counterpart, Governor Ahmed Fintiri, reconciled Ortom and Finitri, over feud 

triggered by differences on herdsmen/Fulani profiling, at Government House, Port Harcourt, 

yesterday. Photo: Egufe Yafugborhi. 

....Says it’s beyond Buhari, APC 

....As Akeredolu tasks LGs to set up local vigilantes 

By Dayo Johnson & 

James Ogunnaike 

A BEOKUTA— 

FORMER Senate 

President, Dr. Bukola 

Saraki, yesterday, called for 

a concerted effort to put an 

end to the myriads of 

problems facing Nigeria, 

saying the insecurity 

challenges in the country 

were beyond President 

Muhammadu Buhari and 

the All Progressives 

Congress, APC. 

This came on a day 

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu 

of Ondo State directed 

council chairmen across the 

state to set up local 

vigilantes, in a bid to tackle 

insecurity in the state. 

Saraki, who spoke with 

journalists in Abeokuta, 

Ogun State, after a closeddoor 

meeting with former 

President Olusegun 

chanting songs to express 

their grievances on the 

alarming increase in the 

destruction of their farm 

produce by the suspected 

Fulani herdsmen. 

The Chairman of the 

Ijaye Farm Settlement 

Association, Mr. Taiwo 

Tajudeen, who addressed 

newsmen, expressed 

reservation over the state of 

their farmlands. 

Tajudeen said: "On behalf 

of all farmers from Ijaye 

Farm Settlement, the land 

hired to us for farming, we 

have discovered that the 

invasion of Fulanis and their 

cattle is on increase. And 

they are armed with 

sophisticated weapons; the 

minimum of these weapons 

is AK-47. We cannot 

confront them; they have 

invaded our land and 

crops. They have even 

Obasanjo, urged President 

Buhari to involve 

opposition parties, 

international friends and 

other stakeholders in 

finding a lasting solution to 

the insecurity and other 

challenges confronting the 

country. 

He advised Buhari to 

tackle insecurity with all the 

seriousness it deserves, 

saying "these are issues that 

cross party lines and what 

is required now is for the 

Federal Government to 

provide leadership in 

bringing all stakeholders 

together. Let us discuss and 

see how we can address 

some of these issues.” 

He said: "In fighting 

insecurity, the Federal 

Government should 

involve everybody. I think 

that when we talk about 

kidnapping when we talk 

about the sense of 

started raping our wives, on 

the farm. 

"Three days ago, a farmer 

who resisted the invasion 

of his farm got his arm 

amputated. He is in the 

hospital right now. Must we 

continue to fold our arms 

and become slaves on our 

land? We are hereby 

appealing through you sir, 

to the Excellency to look 

into our plight, we are 

submitting this SOS letter 

to you, with the hope that it 

will get to the governor.” 

Also speaking, Secretary 

to the Ijaye Farm 

Settlement Association, 

Yakubu Olarewaju said: 

"We are here to plead with 

the government to come to 

our aid. We have had it on 

reliable record that the 

headers are fully armed 

and they are concentrating 

on all angles of the farm 

belonging, these are issues 

that cut across party lines 

and what is required now 

is for the government to 

provide leadership in 

bringing all stakeholders 

together. Let us discuss and 

see how we can address 

some of these issues. 

"We are very hopeful for 

the future of this country, we 

are very hopeful that 

everybody will have a sense 

of belonging. I think it is 

important that we all must 

be able to be at the table and 

discuss. 

"My advice to government 

is that this problem is a 

huge problem that cannot 

be left to just the 

government and the ruling 

party. I think this is the time 

the opposition, the ruling 

party, our international 

friends, the private sector 

and all of us must come 

together on the round table 

settlement and as the 

resources are dwindling." 

"We have witnessed the 

destruction that has 

happened on our farms and 

have written so many 

letters. But till today, 

nothing has been done. All 

we are asking the 

government to do is to come 

and dislodge the Fulani 

from our land.” 

Lecturers protest 

at Fed Poly 

Ado-Ekiti 

Meanwhile, the 

protesting ASUP members 

occupied the main entrance 

to the institution, locked out 

the administrative staff as 

well as students who were 

ought to continue the 

second-semester 

examination that began 

Monday. 

because the challenges 

before us are enormous and 

we need to address them.” 

On his meeting with 

Obasanjo, Saraki said: "We 

told him (Obasanjo) what 

we are trying to do, to 

reposition the party, we told 

him how important that is, 

the project Nigeria and he 

told us his commitment to 

Nigeria, promising that he 

will never shirk away from 

that responsibility to have 

a better Nigeria.” 

Akeredolu tasks 

LGs to set up local 

vigilantes 

Meanwhile, Governor 

Akeredolu, who spoke at a 

meeting with the 18 council 

chairmen in the state, said 

that the issue of insecurity should 

be tackled holistically. 

The governor assured the 

people of the state that his 

administration would ensure that 

criminal-minded elements in the 

state would be rooted out. 

The Governor urged the 

council chairmen to engage local 

hunters who can work effectively 

with the state security network 

codenamed Amotekun. 

Speaking during the 

protest, the Chairman of 

ASUP, Federal Polytechnic 

in Ado-Ekiti, Dr. Olabisi 

Olasehinde said the protest 

became necessary as 

several dialogues with the 

management have not 

yielded positive results. 

Olasehinde said the 

management has failed to 

pay the lecturers the 

Continue Education 

Center's entitlements for the 

first semester, 2019/2020 

academic session as well as 

the accumulated demigration 

arrears and 

cooperative deductions. 

Reacting, spokesperson 

for the institution, Mr. 

Adeyemi Adejolu 

described the protest as a 

deliberate attempt to dent 

the image of the Rector, Dr. 

Dayo Oladebeye.


:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnewsNEWS HOTLINES: 

Social Media Conversation 

MEETING—Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde (middle); K<strong>war</strong>a State Governor, 

AbdulRahman AbdulRasak (second left); Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Mrs. 

Olubamiwo Adeosun (right); General Officer Commanding 2 Division, Nigerian Army, 

Maj-Gen. Anthony Omozoje (left), and Oyo State Commissioner for Police, Ngozi Onadeko 

(second right), during a Peace and Security meeting between the two states, held at the 

Governor's Office, Secretariat, Ibadan. 

Govs must be firm, decisive in dealing 

with security challenges —MAKINDE 

By Adeola Badru 

IBADAN—GOVERNOR Seyi 

Makinde of Oyo State said, 

yesterday, that the leadership of 

the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, 

NGF, must be firm and decisive 

in dealing with the security 

challenges confronting the 

country. 

Makinde said this, after a 

closed-door joint security meeting 

with the K<strong>war</strong>a State delegation, 

led by Governor AbdulRasak 

AbdulRahman, at the Executive 

Council Chambers of the 

Governor’s Office in Ibadan. 

The governors met to work out 

modalities on how to synergise 

to<strong>war</strong>ds curtailing security 

challenges facing the two states. 

Makinde, while addressing 

newsmen after the meeting, said 

there was the need to find ways 

in addressing security challenges 

affecting the two states. 

His words: “We acknowledge 

the effort of our security agencies 

and thank them for the work they 

are doing for our country. We 

appreciate and encourage them 

to do more. 

“We also acknowledge the fact 

that non-state actors are getting 

the upper hand in 

communicating and spreading 

hatred within our country, so we 

ask our leaders must speak with 

one voice, especially at the 

Nigerian governor’s forum. We 

have to be firm and decisive in 

dealing with the security 

challenges that we’re currently 

faced with. 

“We have also taken notice of 

the fact that our intelligencegathering 

effort has to be 

deepened. Some of the situations 

that we’re been faced with 

recently where we have reacted 

rather than act before those things 

erupt are due to some intelligence 

failure. 

“So the meeting noted that we 

should deepen our intelligencegathering 

effort and traditional 

rulers on both sides of the border 

towns between Oyo and K<strong>war</strong>a 

States will be encouraged to come 

together in fostering unity and 

exchange of information and that 

way our intelligence agencies will 

be able to actively deal with the 

situation rather than being 

reactive. 

“We agreed that a more detailed 

working team is to be set up 

between Oyo and K<strong>war</strong>a States. 

We know that the issues to be 

addressed have wider national 

ramifications. Yes, they asked 

somebody to leave Igangan and 

that has created issues in K<strong>war</strong>a 

where internally displaced 

persons are scattered over about 

13 villages and seven local 

governments areas in K<strong>war</strong>a 

State with its attendant challenges 

of meeting maintenance of those 

individuals but we believe that the 

working team to be set up should 

be able to dispassionately look 

into those challenges and come 

up with solutions which I and my 

brother, Governor of K<strong>war</strong>a State 

would be able to look at and 

solve.” 

Sell tickets, risk jail term, Ondo govt <strong>war</strong>ns 

transport unions 

By Dayo Johnson 

AKURE—ONDO 

State 

government, yesterday, 

threatened to arrest and jail 

leaders of the suspended 

transport unions selling tickets 

across the state. 

The Special Adviser to 

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on 

Special Duties and Strategy, Dr. 

Doyin Odebowale, also clarified 

that the suspension of operations 

of the National Union of Road 

Transport Workers, NURTW, and 

the Road Transport Employers 

Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, 

was for two weeks, in the first 

instance. 

Odebowale said: “Nobody will 

be allowed to sell any other ticket 

under whatever guise in Ondo 

State. Anybody caught selling any 

other ticket would be arrested and 

jailed. 

“We are releasing our tickets 

and it is only our tickets that will 

be sold across the state. We will 

enforce it. 

“We don’t want to see anybody 

on the road to be collecting 

money. We will arrest and jail 

anybody who tries it. We cannot 

have two governments in Ondo 

State. 

“The Governor has directed that 

‘Gen Irabor’s emergence’ll help 

realise Buhari’s vision' 

LAGOS—A group, Agbor 

Community, Warri branch, 

said, yesterday, that the 

appointment of General Lucky 

Irabor as Chief of Defence Staff 

would help in realising President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s vision for 

the military. 

While it commended the 

president for the appointment, the 

body described the appointment 

as well deserved. 

In a statement by Mr. James 

Igumbor, the association 

described Irabor as a 

thoroughbred soldier, who would 

carry out his duties with 

commitment, competence, 

fairness and excellence. 

He said Irabor has the experience 

to ensure that Nigeria’s security 

challenges were addressed. 

the transports fare be returned. 

My team will be enforcing the 

formal price regime. We will not 

allow the citizens to be exploited. 

Nobody will be permitted to 

disturb the peace of the state. 

“No taxi driver should hide 

under fuel price increase to hike 

transport price. We are asking 

them to revert to what obtains 

before.” 

Why I suspended the 

unions —Akeredolu 

Also, Governor Rotimi 

Akeredolu in a statement by his 

Chief Press Secretary, Olabode 

Olatunde said the activities of the 

two unions were suspended “over 

security concerns.” 

Olatunde, in the statement, 

said: “Governor Akeredolu 

suspended the activities of the 

union, particularly at the motor 

parks, following security reports 

suggesting an imminent clash 

between the two opposing 

factions in the union over 

leadership tussle. 

“The Governor’s intervention 

becomes imperative to forestall 

possible break down of law and 

order.” 

Following pastor, not God! 

Pregnant goat goes for check up! 

Really, mommy is missing!




PIB: Diri advocates 10% for host communities 

•Insists 2.5 per cent unacceptable 

By Samuel 

Oyadongha 

YNOR ENAGOA—GOVER 

Douye Diri of Bayelsa 

State, has advocated 10 per 

cent revenue for host communities 

in the Petroleum Industry 

Bill, PIB, insisting that the 

2.5 per cent proposed was 

grossly inadequate and unacceptable 

to the people of Niger 

Delta. 

Diri, yesterday, during a 

town hall meeting on the bill 

with members of the National 

Assembly and stakeholders 

in Yenagoa, contended that if 

National Assembly members 

see firsthand, the level of environmental 

degradation and 

its attendant effects on the people, 

they would not hesitate to 

increase it to 10 percent. 

He said, "I restate our earlier 

submission that the 2.5 per 

cent proposed for the oil producing 

communities is grossly 

inadequate and unacceptable 

to us as a people. In our 

proposal to you, we asked for 

10 per cent for the host communities. 

"When you visit some of the 

sites where oil is being explored, 

that bring multi-million 

dollars to this country, you 

will even agree with me that 

we should increase it further 

from 10 per cent. 

"This PIB would cure the unemployment 

that the oil producing 

communities cry 

about. 

"This bill would create jobs, 

accelerate skills acquisition 

and remove the opacity that 

we are seeing today in the oil 

and gas industry. The whole 

industry is shrouded somehow 

in secrecy." 

Diri, who decried the undue 

delay in the passage and implementation 

of the bill for 

about 14 years, urged members 

of the National Assembly 

to ensure its passage to engender 

peace and development in 

the region and the country as 

a whole. 

"If this bill had been passed, 

billions of naira used in safeguarding 

oil facilities would 

have been deployed for development 

purposes," he noted. 

The governor expressed regrets 

that oil communities that 

bear the brunt of oil production 

were given no consideration 

while multinational oil 

companies and the Federal 

Government were given more 

attention in the bill, stressing 

that such a situation was not 

in the interest of the people. 

In his presentation, chairman 

of the state Traditional 

Rulers Council, represented by 

the Ibedaowei of Ekpetiama 

Clan, King Bubaraye Dakolo, 

By Chioma 

Onuegbu 

UYO—CHIEF Operating 

Officer of Ibom Airline, 

George Uriesi, has disclosed 

that the Airline owned by 

Akwa Ibom State government 

has consistently maintained 

above 90 per cent performance 

since inception. 

Uriesi in a statement by Annie 

Essienette, the Group 

Manager Marketing and 

Communication, in Uyo, added 

that the Airline has so far 

carried 500, 000 passengers. 

recommended that the bill 

takes into consideration environmental 

pollution, particularly 

gas flaring, and ensure 

inclusion of rights of host 

communities. 

He also expressed displeasure 

with the provision of the 

bill that makes the people responsible 

for protecting oil 

facilities, saying that the provision 

had already criminalised 

them. 

Spokesman of the Ijaw 

Youth Council, IYC, Ebilade 

Ekerefe, said life expectancy 

of the Niger Delta people had 

significantly reduced as a result 

of the effects of gas flaring 

and yet the region contributes 

a great deal to the economic 

survival of the country. 

Director General, Centre for 

Youth Development, 

Okubokakpo Ombu, Chief 

Ambrose Akierite representing 

Odioama community, 

and Mrs Juliet Zifawei, Deputy 

Director General, Centre 

for Women Development, solicited 

the inclusion of the 

empowerment of women and 

youths in the bill. 

On his part, Deputy Chairman, 

House Ad Hoc Committee 

on Petroleum Industry Bill, 

Ibom Air maintains above 90% performance, 

airlifts 500,000 passengers —Management 

Uresi said, "Today, Ibom Air 

carried its 500,000th passengers 

since the commencement 

of operations of the airline on 

June 7, 2019. We are very 

pleased to record this key milestone 

of 500,000 passengers. 

"Although we would have 

clocked this number around 

November of last year for the 

three and a half months Covid-19 

lockdown, still, it is an 

indication of steady customer 

uptake and validation of 

our services. 

"Ibom Air, which is owned 

by the Akwa Ibom State Government, 

has quickly established 

a reputation for on-time 

performance and excellent 

service in the market. 

"It is the only domestic Airline 

in Nigeria that publishes 

its schedule reliability and ontime 

performance statistics 

monthly. The airline has consistently 

maintained above 90 

percent performance since inception. 

"We are most thankful to our 

customers for believing in us 

and continuing to rely on our 

unique proposition of schedule 

reliability, on-time departures, 

and excellent service. 

Victor Nwokolo, said the PIB 

was from the executive arm, 

aimed at reforming the oil 

and gas industry. 

He promised that they 

would work hard to ensure the 

passage of the bill before the 

end of May this year. 

Giving a summary of the 

legal framework in the PIB, 

Nwokolo noted that it would 

foster sustainable prosperity 

in host communities as well 

as ensure that oil companies 

operating in the region conduct 

need assessment of the 

communities in order to determine 

their development 

needs. 

....NASS joint c'ttee not against N'Delta's 5% 

equity demand — Mongono 

By Emma Amaize 

AMAN SABA—CO-CHAIR 

of House of 

Representatives Joint 

Committee on Petroleum 

Industry Bill, PIB, Muhammad 

Mongono, has 

said that the National Assembly 

Joint Committee 

on PIB was not opposed 

to the demand by oil communities 

in Niger Delta 

for increase in their equity 

shares in oil companies 

from 2.5 per cent to 

five per cent. 

Mongono stated this 

after the Delta State Deputy 

Governor, Kingsley 

Otuaro, took him and 

other members of the committee 

on an oil degradation 

assessment visit to 

Benikrukru community, 

as well as Abiteye Flow 

Station OML 49 in Warri 

South-West Local Government 

Area, Delta 

State. 

Fielding questions from 

newsmen, he said, "I am 

not averse to giving oil 

communities five per cent 

because having seen the 

level of degradation to the 

environment, no meaningful 

farming activity 

can be done here. The 

aquatic life has been destroyed, 

no aquaculture 

and these people, the 

majority of them depend 

on aquaculture and agriculture 

for survival. 

"It is as a result of the 

exploration of oil in their 

environment that there is 

no-longer aquaculture 

and agriculture. So, no 

amount of resources deployed 

to these communities 

can be said to be too 

much because the whole 

country depends on these 

communities for survival. 

So, I am not averse to five 

per cent and we are going 

to canvass actively for 

it as a committee," Mongono 

stated. 

He also called on representatives 

from the Niger 

Delta to actively canvass 

for the five per cent 

on the floor of the House, 

noting that there was a 

determination on the part 

of the executive and the 

legislature to pass the PIB 

with the speed of light. 

According to him, passing 

the bill as soon as possible 

was paramount 

against the fact that there 

is need for the country to 

have peace in the Niger 

Delta, so that oil exploration 

would be done without 

hindrance and with all 

attended effect of bringing 

more revenue to the 

country for the purpose of 

infrastructural needs. 

Deputy Governor Otuaro 

while responding in 

the company of the Delta 

State Commissioner for 

Oil and Gas, Prince Emman 

Amgbaduba and 

member, representing 

Warri South West in Delta 

State House of Assembly, 

Emomotimi Gowor, 

expressed optimism in the 

commitment by the chairman 

to add his voice to the 

ongoing PIB debate so 

that communities would 

have a fair share in the oil 

deal. 

Otuaro said: "Because 

everything about our 

aquaculture, farming is 

gone completely, we saw 

chains of oil while driving 

the length of the Escravos 

River, everywhere is just 

being polluted and the 

means of survival of the 

people is completely 

gone.‘‘ 

"And it is just natural and 

fair that something is actually 

done to alleviate the 

suffering of the people. We 

are happy that they have 

come, they have seen and 

the rest will be history on 

the better side for us as a 

people," Otuaro added. 

Recall that President Muhammadu 

Buhari in September 

2020 finally sent the 

PIB to the Senate for consideration 

and passage 

and the Senate had 

vowed that the bill will be 

passed April, this year. 

Shell blocked accounts: Court 

rules on bank's MD committal, 

jurisdiction March 9 

By Innocent Anaba 

LAGOS—A Federal High 

Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, 

adjourned till March 

9, 2021, to decide three applications 

relating to its interim 

order directing 20 commercial 

banks to block Shell Petroleum 

Development Company, 

SPDC, of Nigeria Ltd accounts 

for alleged crude oil 

diversion. 

Trial judge, Justice Oluremi 

Oguntoyinbo fixed the date after 

hearing arguments from 

counsel for Aiteo Eastern E & 

P Company Ltd, Mr Kemi Pinheiro, 

SAN and Emeka 

Ezoani, SAN, Adewale Atake, 

SAN, for SPDC, Olawale Akoni, 

SAN, for the banks and 

Chukwuka Ikwuazom, SAN, 

for four Shell subsidiaries. 

AITEO Eastern E & P Company 

Ltd is the plaintiff/applicants, 

while SPDC Ltd is the 

first defendant. 

Other defendants are Royal 

Dutch Shell Plc, Shell Western 

Supply and Trading Ltd, Shell 

International Trading and 

Shipping Company Ltd and 

Shell Nigeria Exploration and 

Production Company Ltd. 

The court had on January 

25, 2021, directed the banks 

to "ring-fence any cash, bonds, 

deposits, all forms of negotiable 

instruments to the value of 

$2.7 billion and pay all standing 

credits to the Shell companies 

up to the value into an 

interest yielding account in 

the name of the Chief Registrar 

of the court." 

The defendants subsequently 

filed separate applications 

seeking to discharge the order 

while Aiteo initiated committal 

proceedings against 

two banks and their officials 

for allegedly "interfering, obstructing 

and/or frustrating 

compliance with the interim 

Mareva orders." 

At the hearing in the matter, 

yesterday, the court considered 

three applications relating 

to its jurisdiction, motion 

to discharge its ex-parte 

order and the committal proceedings. 

Arguing the application for 

committal, Pinheiro contended 

that it was "necessary that 

the named persons in committal 

proceedings (the bank 

MDs) be present in court" because 

the proceedings "attached 

their persons," adding 

that the alleged contemnors 

have been served, more as the 

case was quasi-criminal in 

nature, hence the need for 

their physical presence in 

court. 

But, Akoni acknowledged 

that the banks were served on 

February 24 and 25, and thus 

within time to file a response. 

He prayed the court to make 

an order vacating the ex-parte 

order, because according to 

him, it lapsed 14 days after it 

was made.

Y 

K 


By Chinonso 

Alozie 

OWERRI—THE leader of 

the Imo State All Progressives 

Congress, APC, popularly 

known as Allied Forces, 

Theodore Ekechi, yesterday, 

called on the governor of Imo 

State, Hope Uzodimma, not 

to accept any form of agreement 

from Senator Rochas 

Okorocha in the recovery of 

stolen Imo properties. 

Ekechi, a former Imo Commissioner 

for Information, 

said that should Uzodimma, 

do it, it would be a disservice 

to Imo people, adding that the 

battle currently is between 

Okorocha and Imolites and 

that it was an unwritten agreement 

of all the 2019 governorship 

candidates, including 

Emeka Ihedioha and Senator 

Ifeanyi Araraume to recover 

the properties. 

Ekechi said: "Let me start by 

telling you that Okorocha was 

caught on camera by one of 

his aides when he ordered for 

the unsealing of the government 

sealed property. So Okorocha 

was the one that actually 

provoked the state government. 

"Let me tell you that if the 

state government had allowed 

Okorocha to get away with 

that, it would have been a 

shame. Okorocha and his 

people were heard saying that 

those who own Imo have arrived. 

Okorocha would have 

used that incident to tell anybody 

that there is nobody in 

Imo State. 

"Therefore, the challenge 

that was put up by Okorocha 

was inappropriate. All that 

Okorocha wanted to do was 

to distract the state government, 

to divert attention and 

make it a personal disagreement. 

"I speak as a stakeholder 

and statesman of Imo State 

and I recognize Uzodimma 

as my governor and leader not 

only in Imo State but in the 

entire southeast. 

"I can recall the Emerienwe 

declaration where I called on 

Imolites not to allow Okorocha 

have his son-in-law, Uche 

Nwosu succeed him as the 

governor of the state. I had 

predicted that the only reason 

Okorocha was committed 

to having his son-in-law, 

Uche Nwosu, succeed him 

was to ensure that all the 

atrocities and the properties 

of Imo people will not be recovered. 

"Are you not a<strong>war</strong>e that during 

my time as the commissioner 

for Information, the 


Imo Broadcasting Corporation, 

IBC, headquarters, that 

Okorocha converted it to a 

personal property. Many of 

the government owned properties 

were converted to his 

own personal and family 

properties. I also predicted 

that Okorocha will end up in 

jail. 

"I have already called the 


VISIT—From left: Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Consulate General of The United Arab 

Emirates, UAE, Dr. Abdulla Almandoos; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his Special Adviser on SDGs and 

Lagos Global, Mrs. Solape Hammond, during the Consulate General's courtesy visit to the Governor's Office at Lagos 

House, Alausa, Ikeja, yesterday. 

Asset recovery: Don't enter into agreement 

with Okorocha, Allied Forces tell Uzodimma 

Igbo professionals commend Buhari 

over developmental projects in S-East 

By Joseph Erunke 

ABUJA—SOME South 

East professionals have 

commended President Muhammadu 

Buhari for what 

they said was his laudable developmental 

projects in the 

zone, saying the feat remained 

unmatched in the recent 

political history of the 

country. 

According to them, the action 

of the President was a 

demonstration of his love for 

the Igbo, contrary to views being 

expressed in many quarters. 

The professionals, who operate 

under the umbrella of 

Coalition of South East Professionals 

Network in Nigeria 

and Diaspora, (CSEPNND), 

enjoined Ndigbo at home and 

in the diaspora, to disregard 

insinuations that President 

Buhari does not like Igbo, noting 

that the disposition of some 

elders from the zone, was detrimental 

to the collective interest 

of the people. 

In a statement by their National 

President, Prof. Madumere 

Chika and National 

Secretary, Mazi Anayo 

Uchemba, the South East professionals 

accused the unnamed 

elders of pursuing their 

personal interests whenever 

they met with President Buhari. 

This was even as they called 

on Igbo sons and daughters to 

support the Buhari-led administration 

in its quest to enthrone 

national unity, security 

and peaceful co-existence. 

Accordingly, they appealed 

to relevant organisations, interest 

groups and other stakeholders 

promoting and projecting 

the Igbo agenda to do 

so in a non-violent manner. 

Specifically, the group 

tasked prominent Igbo sons 

and daughters, as well as 

groups,to denounce the Indigenous 

People of Biafra (IPOB), 

governor, Hope Uzodimma 

that it would be a disservice 

to Imo people should the governor, 

Hope Uzodimma, enter 

into any negotiation with 

Okorocha on the recovery of 

Imo properties. The fight is 

between Okorocha and Imo 

people. 

"So, I can recall that part of 

the unwritten manifestoes of 

those who were contesting 

election in Imo State was that 

stolen Imo properties would 

be recovered from Okorocha. 

It was an unwritten manifesto 

that Ihedioha inherited, 

Governor Hope Uzodimma 

inherited and Senator Ifeanyi 

Araraume inherited and 

would have enforced it to the 

full". 

•Say concentration of projects first of its kind 

its leader, Mazi Nnamdi 

Kanu, and its violent inclination. 

It was the network's argument 

that condemning the activities 

of IPOB, will send a 

loud signal to the federal government 

and all Nigeria, that 

the people do not approve of 

the separatist organisation's 

violent agenda. 

At all material times, they 

added, Igbo must pursue their 

agenda in a non-violent and 

peaceful manner, even as negotiation 

and other legitimate 

platforms should also be deployed 

in a bid to achieve set 

objectives. 

"As a network of professionals, 

with interest in projecting 

the Igbo race, we make bold 

to say that never in the history 

of modern Nigeria, has the 

South East found favour in the 

side of a government like now", 

the group said in the statement. 

It claimed that same was 

unparalleled , hence the need 

for Ndigbo to support the federal 

government to<strong>war</strong>ds the 

attainment if its national unity 

objective. 

The statement read in full: 

"It is for this unparalleled allocation 

of developmental 

projects to the South East, that 

we send our words of congratulations 

to President Muhammadu 

Buhari who, unfortunately, 

is largely misunderstood. 

"To buttress our point, may 

we respectfully draw attention 

to the never-before-attention 

that is being paid the East-West 

road, the second Niger bridge, 

Enugu - Port Harcourt road 

and other people-centred 

projects dotting the zone. 

"To this end, we call on all 

sons and daughters, lovers of 

Igbo, to support President Buhari 

and other lawful authorities, 

with a view to uniting the 

country, which is a task that 

must be done. 

"Equally, we plead with 

Ndigbo at home and in the diaspora, 

to rise in condemnation 

of IPOB and all the group 

stands for", saying the loud silence 

being maintained, 

would not augur well for the 

South East. 

"We have a lot to gain in a 

united Nigeria. Let’s join hands 

to make it work." 

Abia NUT suspends strike 

By Steve Oko 

THE NIGERIA Union of 

Teachers, NUT, Abia 

State chapter, has suspended 

its two months strike. 

According to a statement 

signed by Elder Comrade 

Kizito A. Kalu,State Chairman, 

and Comrade Mrs. 

Nnenna Okonkwo, State Secretary, 

the decision to call off 

the strike is based on the intervention 

and extensive deliberation 

by the NUT, national 

leadership on the plight of Abia 

Teachers with Governor Okezie 

Ikpeazu on Monday. 

The statement revealed that 

the Okezie Ikpeazu government 

has agreed to make 

teachers' salaries a top priority. 

"The state government has 

agreed to liquidate all the 

outstanding arrears of salaries 

owed to both Senior and 

Junior Secondary School 

teachers in the state before the 

end of 2021 and also agreed 

to pay the basic school teachers 

the N10,000 added on salaries 

of all workers in the 

state. 

•"The government also 

agreed that issues on policy 

matters will also be addressed 

when the whole documentations 

are made available , for 

example promotion implementation, 

leave grants and 

others". 

Why we carried out poverty 

mapping in Anambra —Obi 

THE FORMER governor 

of Anambra State and 

PDP's Vice Presidential Candidate 

in 2019 elections, Mr 

Peter Obi, has disclosed that the 

extensive poverty mapping carried 

out in Anambra State under 

his administration, was to 

discover the perculiar needs of 

the people in the state which 

helped them in delivering good 

governance to the people. 

Speaking recently on a Webinar 

Colloquium themed 

'Poverty Challenges in Nigeria', 

Obi said that the poverty mapping, 

which was carried out in 

all local governments of the 

state, enabled them to discover 

the specific needs of the people 

in remote areas of the state. 

"We immediately discovered 

that good access roads were a 

major problem facing these 

areas, so we embarked on massive 

roads construction to con- 

nect the remote areas to the 

urban areas of the state. We 

did more roads in the rural 

areas than we did in the urban 

areas", Obi disclosed. 

He continued: "We further 

invested heavily in education, 

which moved us from our educationally 

back<strong>war</strong>d position 

to to the point that Anambra 

became the best in WAEC 

and NECO exams. 

"In the health sector, we 

equally invested aggressively. 

Before we came into office, 

there was no single school of 

Nursing or Midwifery. By the 

time we left office, we had set 

up about 12 Schools of Nursing, 

Midwifery and Health 

Technology", Obi narrated. 

He explained that if government 

can put measures in place 

to combat poverty, Nigeria 

would be rid of many societal 

vices like banditry, kidnapping, 

robbery etc plaguing it. 

Obiano <strong>declares</strong> gun-wielding 

herdsmen as criminals 

•Bans itinerant herders in Anambra 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

AWKA—ANAMBRA State 

governor, Chief Willie 

Obiano yesterday, declared 

herdsmen carrying guns as 

criminals and banned them 

from passing through the state. 

Addressing a security meeting 

comprising security operatives, 

traditional rulers, youths 

and other stakeholders in the 

181 communities in the state, 

Obiano said it was unwise to 

treat such herdsmen with levity 

because they are dangerous 

to the society. 

According to him, after the 

last census of herdsmen conducted 

in the state, there were 

77 of them in 2020 and he directed 

the state Commissioner 

of Police to conduct a fresh census, 

adding that once the exercise 

was concluded, the state 

would no longer tolerate itinerant 

herders in Anambra 

State. 

He said: “By last year, there 

were 77 registered herdsmen 

in the state and I want the CP 

and the security committee to 

do a new census. The census 

will give us their names, phone 

numbers and their addresses 

and when we do that, it will 

enable us to know when another 

herder strolls into the state. 

“Any herdsman that carries 

AK 47 is an armed robber and 

we will not tolerate herdsmen 

carrying guns in Anambra. So 

anytime any of them is seen, he 

should be arrested because he 

is not a genuine herdsman. 

“We should not allow itinerant 

herdsmen to come and 

cause trouble here. The itinerant 

herdsmen don’t know the 

terrain and the routes and so 

should not be allowed to stay 

here. 

“In the past, herdsmen carried 

only a stick and, perhaps 

knife for killing reptiles in the 

bush. But this recent development 

of carrying guns shows 

that there is something behind 

it. We will not tolerate carrying 

of arms by herdsmen in Anambra. 

He added that after the census, 

the real herdsmen should 

be properly documented and 

they should be attending our 

meetings in the state. 

Obiano said his administration 

saw tomorrow when 

it established the herders/ 

farmers committee as at 2015 

when most states did not 

know that the problem 

would assume the present 

dimension, noting that it was 

the reason the state has not had 

major challenges between herders 

and farmers in the state. 

The committee, he explained, 

is made up of the 14 communities 

where these herders go to 

all the time, with youth leaders, 

royal fathers and security operatives. 

Obiano added: “In Anambra, 

I spent a fortune buying vehicles 

for the security agencies 

since I became governor. I have 

bought 562 vehicles for the security 

agencies and in the last 

two and half years, security vehicles 

have been taking fuel free 

of charge in designated filling 

stations where the state government 

pays. 

“Before we took this decision, 

there could be a distress 

call and the police would say 

they did not have fuel in their 

vehicles. Today, every police 

vehicle you see on the road is 

fueled by the governor." 

The Inspector General of Police, 

Mr. Abubakar Adamu, who 

was represented by the meeting 

by the Deputy Inspector 

general, DIG, in charge of the 

South East, Mr. Joseph Egbunike 

reminded Igbo youths that 

freedom would not be achieved 

through violent means, adding 

that the emerging trend of killing 

police men and burning 

stations would no longer be 

tolerated. 

He identified drugs and 

cultism as the greatest threat 

to security and urged the 

stakeholders to assist the 

police in curbing the menace 

in their carious communities. 

He said:, "Drug and cultism 

are the greatest challenge we 

have in Nigeria today. When 

they take all these things 

(drugs), they do not know the 

value of life any longer. That 

is the problem we have, but it 

is the responsibility of everybody 

to ensure that this stops. 

"Security is everyone's business. 

Don't rest because if you 

sleep, what happens in Sokoto 

may start happening here. 

Certain things should not be 

allowed to happen in Anambra 

as peace and security are 

the vehicles for any development.” 

He said that the IG directed 

him to commend the enormous 

contributions of Governor 

Obiano to security agencies, 

adding that all his efforts 

in peace building and development 

were worthy of emulation. 

C




Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

Nigerians must fight the 

anti-terrorism <strong>war</strong> as one 

BETWEEN the time I am writing this on 

the morning of Saturday, February 27, 

and Wednesday, March 3, when you will be 

reading it, nobody knows how many more 

Nigerian school children, boys and girls, would 

have become additional victims of the 

marauding bands of terrorists that are 

overrunning many parts of Northern Nigeria. 

From the North East, the North West to the 

North Central, Nigerians are under siege even 

in their own homes. 

For now, though, the epicentre of the 

booming kidnapping business has moved from 

the North East to the North West and North 

Central. As negotiation for the release of scores 

of boys, their teachers and other family 

members of the Government Science 

Secondary School in Kagara, Niger State, 

entered its second week, leaving nerves frayed 

and the chief negotiator, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, 

frustrated, perhaps due to his failed promise 

to secure the release of the boys in a matter of 

days, news broke in the early hours of Friday, 

February 26, that about 317 girls of the 

Government Girls Secondary School in 

Jangebe, Zamfara State, had been abducted. 

Later that same day, nine people were 

reported killed by so-called bandits in a 

different part of the state. These are only the 

reported cases. As things go in Nigeria, there 

are probably more unreported cases as there 

are those that were reported. Some accounts 

By SEGUN IGE 

KINESICS is a field in the 

communication 

firmament that specialises in 

“body language”. Body language 

involves the use of the eye contact, 

hand gesture, body movement, and 

what have you, in establishing, 

reinforcing and reiterating 

meanings between two or more 

parties, which wouldn’t have been 

ordinarily expressed verbally or 

orally. It is believed that non-verbal 

communication cues supplement 

those of pitch variation, melody, 

intonational patterns and the rest. 

Arising from the abduction of 

about 300 schoolgirls in 

Government Girls Secondary 

School, Jangebe, Zamfara State, 

on Friday, February 26, 

#BringBackOurGirls co-convener 

Aisha Yesufu has come out to decry 

and declare the general abduction 

of schoolboys and schoolgirls as a 

result of the President’s “body 

language”. Could the President’s 

“body” have been affecting his 

“language”, illocutionary 

discourse, prerogative power, or 

what? And what’s Buhari’s ‘body 

language’ got to do with the 

increasingly alarming rate of 

students’ abduction? 

I suspect what Yesufu takes to be 

Buhari’s body language 

technically differs from the 

perception of body language as 

deployed in enhancing and 

harnessing common ground 

among individuals of perhaps 

idiosyncratic splendours, 

temperaments and persuasions. 

She speculates that body language 

is “saying one thing and doing 

which should now be dismissed put the figure 

of the abducted school girls of Jangebe at over 

500, which would have been more than the 

number of the still-missing Chibok school 

girls, the first in the series of highly-publicised 

abductions that preceded the Dapchi 

abduction, and lately the Kankara abduction 

that happened in December. All leading to the 

epidemic of kidnappings that is now plaguing 

Northern Nigeria. 

Late afternoon on Saturday, February 27, 

exactly a year from the day that Nigeria’s index 

case for COVID-19 was reported, the Kagara 

school boys, their teachers and some of their 

family members, were released. But what was 

the point of releasing 27 abduction victims 

that had been replaced by 317 others, not 

minding that Sheik Gumi was careful to say 

the abductors of Kagara are different from 

those of Jangebe? 

How different are they? Given their style of 

operation, their anti-education and probably 

anti-women stance, can anyone, especially 

those too frightened to call these terrorists by 

their real name, tell us the difference between 

the “bandits” in Northern Nigeria from the 

Boko Haram terrorists that erstwhile operated 

from the North East? Whether home-grown or 

displaced Sahelian marauders, how are these 

not terrorists? How are the “bandits” different 

from the herdsmen that are gradually exporting 

their macabre trade to other parts of Southern 

another thing”. And, what’s more, 

this is what the Buhari regime has 

been demonstrating from the 

kidnap of the Chibok, Dapchi and 

Jangebe girls, on the one hand, to 

the Kankara and Kagara boys, on 

the other hand. All in the North in 

one fell swoop! 

The intuition that our words do 

not match our actions becomes 

clear. Buhari’s body language is, 

according to Yesufu, “ineffective” 

and “incompetent”. Yesufu could 

have been presupposing that ideal 

leadership is not parameterised 

after the ability to talk - but ability 

to act. In other words, talk is cheap. 

And since actions are costly, many 

there are who daren’t carry out lifechanging 

actions. Weapons of 

mass actions are what we actually 

need in rescuing the North awash 

and whitewashed with increase in 

students’ abduction. I do not know 

why these ruthless bandits, or what 

are they called, have suddenly 

capitalised on kidnapping 

apparently innocent and benign 

schoolboys and schoolgirls who 

have simply taken to their studies, 

and nothing more. It’s really, really 

tellingly disastrous that this 

seizure of students could so have 

sequentially and geographically 

taken place without any form of 

check or crackdown on the 

abductors. I think Buhari has been 

eminently passive, but eloquently 

active, not inspired by previous 

attacks to actionably intervene on 

the tragic and historic scene we’re 

distastefully watching and hearing 

every now and then. 

It’s such a despicable narrative 

that these terrorists have 

desperately been rumaging in the 

nook and cranny of the North 

performing different horrendous 

wonders, while we go to sleep 

without any security measure of 

dispatching our security forces, 

until recently. To start with, 

enlightening the local security 

personnel on their role in arresting 

any surge in students’ abduction is 

very necessary. And fortifying 

Operation Shege-Ka-Fasa, for 

instance, is crucial in containing 

areas potentially vulnerable to 

terrorist attacks of not only 

Zamfara State, of course. The 

importance of community 

Democracy is fragile, 

and so must our 

character, conviction 

and confession be 

consistent with our 

consequential actions 

policing cannot be 

overemphasised. 

As part of the Nigerian justice 

system, the Nigeria Police Force 

are meant to provide justice to 

criminals who’ve been threatening 

and torturing the peace, safety and 

existence of our people. Let’s add 

also that why there are more 

talkers than actors is because of 

how insincere and inordinate 

we’ve been organising our organic 

arms of government. The 

legislature, for example, doesn’t 

have certain rights to oppress or 

suppress the constitutional 

operations of the judiciary. 

The executive, furthermore, 

doesn’t have any power to 

Nigeria, operating from the highways while 

making the forests, including those owned by 

state governments their hideout, after taking 

ransom for their abducted victims, sacking 

communities, raping women and killing 

people? 

How are the bandits different, I ask, from 

the so-called cattle herders that Garba Shehu, 

while simultaneously ignoring the point at 

issue and chopping logic, said are Nigerians 

that should be free to live wherever they want, 

or that Bala Muhammed, the governor of 

Bauchi, initially said should be allowed to bear 

AK-47 that they need to protect themselves in 

clear violation of extant laws? 

Rather than we all coming together to 

condemn these evil beasts, some members of 

the Northern political elite are content to see 

the evil of terrorism masquerading as banditry 

overtake every part of Nigeria while pretending 

to be fighting for their people. 

This is the time to take up 

these evil terrorists head-on, 

not appease them 

Yes, no Nigerian should be profiled, 

especially when they are living within the 

bounds of the law. But such Nigerians must 

not be lumped together with the terrorists that 

are stealthily running a ring around the 

country and are bent on turning our forests 

into lawless territories run by criminal militias. 

This is the time to take up these evil terrorists 

head-on, not appease them. 

It is an admission of failure and their 

complicity in the creation of the monster of 

terrorism that has overtaken the North, that 

the Northern political elite is quick to offer 

carrot to the terrorists in the face of their 

abominable activities. It is the children of the 

talakawa that they have for long ignored and 

excluded from the gains of the Northern 

commonwealth that are today denying their 

people sleep from the forests. What is 

happening now proves beyond any reasonable 

doubt that the appeasement policy of Abuja 

and most of the Northern states in the throes of 

the relocated Boko-Haram terrorists and their 

new recruits called bandits, has totally failed. 

On Buhari’s ‘body language’ and students’ abduction 

undermine the fundamental duties 

of the press. These bodies and 

agencies are saddled with one 

form of responsibility or another 

that shouldn’t be “checked” 

anyhow; which is why they’ve been 

essentially “separated” from one 

another. Each of them does need 

to steer clear of sound-bite 

sumpsimus stimulated by stinking 

hypocrisy and co<strong>war</strong>dly silence. 

So it’s about time we became real 

political actors and participators. 

Our mouths shouldn’t any longer 

be far away from our hearts. That 

is, our confession should match 

our action. In developed nations 

where the grundnorm of 

democracy is highly hinged on the 

led, the people are always at the 

centre of decision making. 

The people are always on the fore 

front of every developmental 

agendum and sustainable 

development goal. Unless it’s not 

a “government of the people”, the 

overall democratic processes of 

such countries are filled with lots 

of “lootings” and “shootings”, 

economically and politically 

speaking. If we really lead human 

beings, and I believe we do, we 

need to cherish and value their trust 

by not betraying and leaving their 

hopes in shame and shambles; we 

need to respect public opinions 

above public office or political 

ambitions; and we need to, above 

all, remain faithful and committed 

to the promise we made and oath 

we swore in seeking their votes and 

assuming office. This view would 

surely have eased off the endemic 

monopolisation and manipulation 

of brazen brigands in the North. 

And, to be sure, it’s not only 

Sheik Gumi who initially postured as one 

who has the ears of the terrorists as he went 

about his self-appointed role of negotiator, 

offering all kinds of excuses on behalf of the 

terrorists and is now looking for people of other 

faith to scapegoat, was a radicalising figure 

who spewed some of the most hateful rhetoric 

that probably influenced the so-called bandits 

he has been visiting and negotiating with in 

the forests. His evil seed has blossomed into 

the trees that populate the Northern forests. 

His former students are today’s lords of the 

forests. It is well, then, that he is one of those 

spearheading the negotiation with yesterday’s 

scorned almajirai. But he should not further 

contaminate the air with evil rhetoric in the 

guise of chasing peace. It does appear he is 

prepared to say anything just to appease the 

terrorists. The rest of Nigerians, however, have 

no obligation to be nice to people who have 

decided to rape, maim and kill. They have no 

responsibility to beasts that make their lives 

unbearable by the minute. 

It is good that President Muhammadu 

Buhari is beginning to repudiate any idea of 

amnesty to terrorists that have neither 

renounced their violent activities to say nothing 

of making restitution for their anti-human 

crimes. But the president has to be seen to be 

walking the talk. While nobody expects him to 

personally lead the charge into the forests, he 

won’t clear the forest from behind the blind 

walls of Aso Rock Villa. He should take 

personal charge of the fight against terrorism. 

So far, it is still “the presidency” that has been 

speaking in his name. It’s Garba Shehu who 

told us the president is committed to fighting 

terrorism and won’t accept the amnesty 

malarkey. Nobody can truly or accurately 

gauge the president’s mind or his personal take 

of the ongoing tragedy of rising terrorism. 

We have been reminded time and again by 

Femi Adesina, though, that the president need 

not become talkative just because he has to 

show Nigerians that he is working. This, even 

when nobody has for months seen Buhari do 

anything beyond receiving dignitaries or 

presiding at NEC meetings via zoomdom in 

the safe confines of Aso Villa. 

Buhari’s body language that is 

ineffective and incompetent. By the 

way, old age doesn’t necessarily 

have anything to do with how 

effective and competent one’s 

body language is. Numerous 

Nigerian officials’ body languages 

have traditionally and customarily 

been immovable and insensitive to 

the gross overhauls overheaded by 

some armed men spearheaded by 

some group of underground 

principalities and powers. We need 

to start suspecting and sanctioning 

certain officials who have not been 

active and proactive in making 

decisive decisions to the really 

repressive and deeply depressive 

episodic fairy tales of students’ 

abduction unleashing 

uncontrollable, volcanic catharsis. 

Our attitudes and dispositions 

should not be patterned after the 

similitude of Trumpism, which, to 

me, is saying one thing and doing 

another thing. That’s not how to 

communicate effective meaning to 

the audience: The “body 

language” is not meant to act 

against the “mouth language”, but 

meant to act on it to carry out the 

“speaker’s meaning”. Even though 

the American democracy is the 

bedrock of our leadership system, 

its peculiarity and particularity of 

domestic terrorism, political 

extremism and riotous activism 

shouldn’t be the decision problem 

of our government. We’re still solely 

responsible for any loophole and 

pothole it finds itself. Democracy 

is fragile, and so must our 

character, conviction and 

confession be consistent with our 

consequential actions. 

•Ige, a Lagos-based freelance 

journalist, wrote via: 

igesegunadebayo5@gmail.com

We, on the edge 

It’s a rare person who wants to hear what 

he doesn’t want to hear —Dick Cavett. 

YOU are reading my last column in 

this great paper. It is difficult to 

believe that I resumed only a few months 

ago after years of absence, owing to the 

generosity and firm proddings of a 

Nigerian I have very high regards for, Uncle 

Sam Amuka. I have been part of this great 

Vanguard family for a long time, thanks to 

Uncle Sam’s strong belief in the value of a 

good paper being its ability to reflect all 

opinions. In the last few months, I enjoyed 

absolute freedom to offer personal 

opinions, most reflecting strong political 

leanings or narrower perspectives. 

The value, for me, was that my voice was 

heard. This was where the critics were very 

important. If a columnist’s skin can 

withstand bruising responses, he will glean 

a wide spectrum of opinions that provide 

the hard stuff which make our politics as a 

nation today. There is not much from the 

edifying corridors of power and intellect 

which provided the nation’s political 

backbone and its hue from the late 1940s 

to the 1990s. The lower rungs took over the 

moulding of opinion, as, indeed, it took over 

most of what is important in our lives. Our 

middle classes collapsed into the gutters. 

The Nigerian ceased to exist. His place was 

taken by identities and a perverted 

personality who is designed basically to 

offend the idea of a plural country. All of 

us had two identities: one we gave to 

ourselves, and the other given to us by 

others. 

In the few years when I first wrote a 

regular weekly column in this paper, I 

could have sworn that this country had paid 

its dues for recklessness and gambling with 

expensive assets like good governance coexistence 

and security. We looked like we 

could elect leaders without shedding rivers 

of blood. We thought Boko Haram was 

going to be another uprising we would 

crush and wait for the next one. We thought 

irritants like IPOB will fritter away as 

Nigerians look ahead, not back<strong>war</strong>ds. We 

thought we could put endemic and 

pervasive corruption behind us. We thought 

we could create a political culture that 

placed premium on competent, honest 

people who will be elected on merit 

through a credible electoral process. We 

would still have serious problems, as any 

nation with our size, population, 

complexities, an economy and governance 

institutions crippled by corruption and 

poor management and an elite bleeding 

relevance and credible would have. 

The ste<strong>war</strong>dship of President 

Muhammadu Buhari put paid to all those 

grand dreams. In the history of Nigeria, 

no leader was elected with so much 

promise, and none had failed to deliver on 

so many fronts. As we speak, Boko Haram 

has become emboldened by the failure of 

the Nigerian state to defeat it. It holds 

large swathes of territory and populations 

and takes on our military as an equal. 

Fairly new and old crimes like banditry, 

kidnappings and cultism have been fed by 

easy access to small arms and light 

weapons to blossom into virtual industries 

which threaten citizens, communities and 

even the survival of the nation. Corruption 

is more comfortable now than it has ever 

been. The sign that the country will survive 

d<strong>war</strong>fed leadership at all levels, politics 

that thrives only by exploiting more 

problems; spreading perceptions created 

deliberately by irredentists and an industry 

that shapes opinions among the young that 

the country has nothing to offer them, 

combine to exploit an alarming absence 

of elite cohesion and control of the 

political process and the economy. 

In private, managers of this country who 

would rather sweep our current conditions 

under mountains of carpets accuse some 

of us who speak like this of undermining 

national security and exaggerating how 

bad things really are. But they are hard 

put to explain the abductions of school 

If Nigeria collapses because 

not too many of us bother to 

hold it up and reinforce its 

foundations, it will collapse 

on all our heads 


indicate how far Nigerians think they are 

from each other. 

There are a few glimmers of hope, but 

they are fighting for space with pervasive 

doom and gloom and a leadership that will 

not switch on the light. There are efforts all 

over the country by elite who can read the 

outlines of a bigger disaster, but they are 

disconnected and isolated. Outside these, 

most Nigerians with an obligation and a 

responsibility to keep this administration 

on what remains of its toes appear to think 

resistance to poor governance and citizen 

action to challenge breaches to our rights 

to security and protection are the 

responsibilities of #EndSARS protestors 

and groups that demand for extraconstitutional 

action. Between an 

indifferent and incompetent leadership and 

an elite that thinks someone else should 

step up, this is where the country is bleeding 

badly. 

So, unfortunately, I stop writing a weekly 

column I enjoyed to devote more time to 

those efforts that try to pull the country from 

the edge. I will miss writing this column, 

and the few commendations and heaps of 

criticisms and even insults for my temerity 

as an 'Aboki Malam' to use a ‘Southern’ 

platform. In a way, these insults which 

profile and pigeonhole us are the highest 

hurdles we have to surmount if this nation 

will survive and know peace again. If 

Nigeria collapses because not too many of 

us bother to hold it up and reinforce its 

foundations, it will collapse on all our 

heads. 

Boko Haram, IPOB, Amotekun, Ndigbo, 

Northern Elders Forum, Afenifere, PDP, 

APC, will have nothing to fight against. We 

will turn on each other in a spectacle the 

world may never have seen. Those who 

doubt this should peep into our foundations 

and see how weak they are. We may not 

realise it, but the centre of our existence as 

a country has been carved out by hate, 

indifference, opportunism and violence. All 

of us are on the edge. If we fail to rebuild 

the heart of the nation, we will fall off. 

I thank you for reading my personal 

views. Good bye. 

children; Boko Haram’s audacious 

exchanges of towns and populations with 

our fighting forces; attacks on targeted 

Northern communities in the South with 

virtually no consequences; the on-going 

strike by Northern farmers and 

transporters which is raising the cost of 

food in the South; frightening rhetorics on 

the consequences of decisions by 

politicians on rotation of the presidency; 

community action to cleanse ethnic groups 

from localities; the rise of local thugs who 

enjoy strong state patronage and 

protection and above all alarming rise on 

social media in language and style which 

ONE young lady from a 

radio station in Lagos 

searched me out. She had read a 

couple of my materials on 

broadcasting and needed to ask 

some questions on Digital 

Switchover, DSO, by way of 

getting some more understanding 

that she, in turn, could extend to 

her audience. This is a job I was 

happy to do. Even if you woke me 

from a deep slumber I would be 

ever ready because I love 

broadcasting. 

What is DSO and what does the 

Ministerial Task Force 

inaugurated last week mean to 

the entire process and to 

Nigerians? Simple question 

steeped in raw innocence. 

The little problem is that in 

Nigeria, even little questions are 

trapped in complications because 

of forced challenges, a daily 

grind which makes life 

unbearable in a desultory rhythm 

of hopelessness. Simple question, 

and the telecommunications 

networks couldn’t permit a 

corresponding simple answer; 

instead it was a profile in failed 

communications, a grotesque 

version of reality. A 

communication is complete when 

properly understood by the 

parties involved. But not this one, 

08055069060 (SMS Only) 

A needed DSO and protruding 

questions 

this result would distress her 

audience. I felt sorry for the young 

lady trying to do her work. 

My other little constraint is: 

how do you explain to this 

excitable girl that Nigeria is late 

to the DSO party, having missed 

the switchover date twice, one in 

2015 and the other in 2020? How 

do you explain that a global 

decision to which the country was 

a party has been totally 

compromised because of some 

very latent interests and is only 

now receiving a shot of life? 

Or would it ever make sense to 

her that former President 

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, 

established a Presidential 

Committee known as the 

Digiteam and headed by a welltested 

engineer, Mr. Eddie 

Amana, to drive the digitisation 

process, and that this Committee 

has now been replaced by a 

Ministerial Task Force headed by 

the Minister himself, Alhaji Lai 

Mohammed? Without an obtuse 

power play, which one – 

Committee or Task Force - should 

be more powerful, the one set up 

by the President or the one put in 

place by a Minister? 

A simple question: what does 

this Task Force mean to Nigeria? 

It means that government is 

waking up to the reality that the 

process which had a beginning 

must be driven to a logical 

conclusion with expected results. 

It means that somebody is 

thinking right, to ensure that 

Nigerians enjoy the dividends of 

digitization - quality music, 

quality movies, new job 

opportunities, and some kind of 

tech nirvana when you lace the 

entire process into one 

inseparable piece. 

The minister was lavish about 

the opportunities the DSO will 

provide. Waxing lyrical in a noncampaign 

season (or is this 

government in a never-ending 

campaign season?) the minister 

said: “Gentlemen, my decision to 

set up the Ministerial Task Force 

to drive the DSO process is hinged 

Another advantage is 

that the DSO can give 

us a better and bigger 

broadcast sector and a 

more effective 

telecommunications 

industry 

on the fact that a successful 

Digital Switch Over is a massive 

job creator and a huge revenue 

generator. This process is capable 

of creating over one million jobs 

over the next three years. As part 

of our efforts to maximise the 

opportunities available in the 

process, we have made necessary 

changes in the Broadcast Code to 

protect local jobs and production; 

we have started the process of 

introducing world class Audience 

Measurement and Media 

Monitoring to deliver on our 

potential one-billion-dollar TV 

and Online Advertising revenue 

market and now we will ensure 

that the DSO ecosystem delivers 

value to the economy.” 

The minister’s effusions have a 

source. Only recently the Federal 

Executive Council, FEC, 

approved N9.4bn for the 

National Broadcasting 

Commission, NBC, to fast-track 

the digitisation process and 

position the country to reap from 

the dividends that have been so 

associated with the technology 

switch. The money will be used to 

upset legacy debts and ensure 

that, going for<strong>war</strong>d, the process 

starts on a clean platform and run 

with speed. 

It is also now understandable 

while the minister recalled an 

earlier agreement by the various 

stakeholders that the process 

should be driven by the private 

sector and must be made very 

competitive. Henceforth, the 

government will not put a dime, 

he seems to be saying. We shall 

return to this but first the concerns 

of the young lady who works for a 

radio station. 

The reason for this extra 

attention is that, just like the 

young lady, there may be so many 

people asking very pertinent 

questions today about 

government processes, and 

answers are not forth coming; 

because government is the allknowing 

and has no reason, for 

instance, to carry out stakeholder 

engagement on a rail route to 

Niger Republic. 

We have no reason to quarrel 

about our children being 

kidnapped from school by bandits 

because government is allknowing 

and knows what to do. 

Every dodo has become a mega 

star in an administration whose 

activities give more worry to the 

ordinary fella on the street based 

on what somebody calls 

empirical evidence, which tells 

more story. The people are calling 

for answers on certain issues 

including the DSO. 

The Digital Switchover, DSO, 

according to the International 

Telecommunications Union, ITU, 

is the process of moving from 

anologue to digital terrestrial 

television. The process will create 

super signal carriers like 

Integrated Television Service, 

ITS, and Pinnacle who have been 

licensed in Nigeria to carry 

signals for broadcasters. 

The broadcasters will thus 

vacate their frequencies which 

will be harvested by the 

government as digital dividends 

for telecommunications 

activities. Set Top boxes 

manufactured locally will assist 

analogue television sets in our 

homes to achieve digital 

relevance. So, another advantage 

is that the DSO can give us a 

better and bigger broadcast sector 

and a more effective 

telecommunications industry. 

The little contradiction here is 

the position of the minister. While 

he says that DSO should be driven 

by the private sector, the Task 

Force has three persons from the 

Ministry of Information and 

Culture alone, including the 

Chairman and Secretary. There 

are other people from 

government. 

One would think that as always, 

the role of the minister is to ensure 

robust policy formulation for the 

industry. What has played out 

here is pure regulatory capture of 

the broadcast industry, just as it is 

in the telecommunications 

industry. Or could one not be safe 

here to conclude that regulatory 

capture is a common 

characteristic of this 

administration!


ON February 27, 2020, the Federal 

Ministry of Health confirmed the first 

coronavirus, COVID-19, case in 

Nigeria. 

It originated in Wuhan, China but 

came into Nigeria through an Italian 

national from Milan, Italy. Nigeria 

and the whole world have been 

subjected to a pandemic of hithertounimaginable 

proportions which 

brought socio-political, economic, picked up from the streets of Africa 

industrial and trade activities to a due to their poor healthcare systems. 

virtual halt. 

In Nigeria of over 200 million people, 

COVID-19 was not only an invisible for instance, there were only three 

enemy, it was also an unfamiliar one testing laboratories. However, for 

which devastated the most advanced reasons that still baffle scientists, the 

healthcare systems. The world has brunt of the scourge devastated 

recorded over 114 million cases, 64.4 advanced countries more, which 

million recoveries and 2.53 million probably helped in challenging them 

deaths with the United States, India, to come up with vaccines in record 

Brazil, Russia, the United Kingdom, time. 

France, Spain, Italy, Turkey and Nigeria has been specially fortunate 

Germany worst hit. 

because in spite of the general 

Initially, experts, including lacklustre attitude of the people to 

multibillionaire Bill Gates, had efforts of government and the 

predicted that corpses would be scientific community to keep the 

One year of COVID-19 pandemic 

spread of the virus under check, the 

figures after one year of battling the 

pandemic (February 8, 2021), 

according to the Nigerian Centre for 

Disease Control, NCDC, were: total 

number of tests – 1,489,103; 

confirmed cases – 155,657; active 

cases – 19,909; recoveries – 133,841; 

deaths 1,907. The USA alone has 

recorded over 500,000 deaths. 

Also, according to the Director 

General of the NCDC, Dr. Chikwe 

Ihekweazu, Nigeria now has 170 

testing labs and is much more 

prepared to cope with the current and 

future pandemics. Nigeria has also 

marginally exited the economic 

recession the pandemic plunged it into 

and is on the verge of taking delivery 

of the first four million doses of the 

AstraZeneca Vaccine. 

We can, with all sense of modesty 

but deep respects to those who lost 

the fight, aver that Nigeria has fared 

quite well. We are in a much better 

position to complete the fight against 

COVID-19 than we were a year ago. 

We not only understand the scourge 

better, we have also learnt that it is 

neither a death sentence nor enough 

reason for us to hide in our homes 

and risk death by the “hunger virus”. 

We must, however, keep in mind 

that we are still very much in the grip 

of the deadlier second wave of the 

pandemic. It is still mutating, and if 

we remain complacent we risk a third 

wave. 

We must maintain the anti-COVID- 

19 protocols and keep faith with 

global efforts to quickly kill off the 

pandemic. 

OPINION 

The trouble with several Igbohos and a nation for hire 

By ADEBAYO RAPHAEL 

IF this were the era of colonial 

adventures, perhaps now would be 

what colonialists would describe as a 

‘good time’ to colonise - or recolonise 

Nigeria. Baleful as that may sound, 

such would be the fate of this giant 

ungoverned territory; if there were to 

be another daredevil mix of Goldie 

Taubman and Frederick Lugard.. 

Think of Nigeria as a coffee shop with 

a high prospect of becoming the only 

of its kind with the best cappuccino or 

mocha any coffee lover could dream of 

- operating under the command of one 

big boss and several ‘small’ bosses, and 

of course suffering from gross 

mismanagement. The ‘small’ bosses are 

obsessed with unseating the big boss 

while the big boss is consumed by his 

self-seeking desire to stay in control, 

even at the stiff cost of gross 

mismanagement. 

In this situation, the big boss would 

either succeed in suppressing or 

reaching a compromise with the small 

bosses and wielding control for a long 

time; or the small bosses, if united, 

would succeed in unseating the big 

boss and likely worsen the situation; 

or the coffee shop would eventually 

implode and cease to exist. Now, 

whether that would be a good or bad 

thing may well depend on perspective 

and the degree of ruin such tragedy 

would leave in its wake. 

That is the story of our nation today: 

a place endued with boundless 

prospects but bedevilled by unholy 

alliances and political compromises, all 

in a bid to prevent the well from running 

dry for the political class and avert 

implosion. But if the coffee shop were, 

in fact, Nigeria under her current ‘big 

boss’, the coffee shop would be no more 

likely to develop its potentials than 

Nigeria would be to implode. 

In an ideal society, politics ought to 

The ‘small’ bosses are obsessed 

with unseating the big boss while 

the big boss is consumed by his 

self-seeking desire to stay in 

control, even at the stiff cost of 

gross mismanagement 

be a means to an end - a vehicle for 

attaining the socio-economic 

aspirations of the collective - not an end 

in itself where the political class is only 

obsessed with power, not minding 

whatever ruin it leaves in its path, as 

is the case in Nigeria. But methinks 

all that is about to change, only that 

the consequences may be too hard a 

pill to swallow. 

Barring imperial incursions, Nigeria 

teeters yet on the fringes of implosion; 

and the relative peace which has 

characterised the enduring calls for a 

people-oriented representative and 

transformative democracy may well be 

punctured soon. 

The ethnic parochialism, unbridled 

recklessness and ineptitude that 

overwhelms institutions of government 

in Nigeria today lends credence to the 

state of a nation that has struggled to 

understand independence and 

democracy, failing to learn from history 

and putting itself up for hire by the 

highest, or as it may well turn out, 

strongest bidder. 

Gradually, the long-wielded console 

of state capture is being wrestled off 

the deep state as we know it - and 

upended by a less organised yet 

violent clutch of opportunists – with 

each region forced to claim its share of 

them. 

This nearly full-blown chaos in 

Nigeria, which would be as much the 

nemesis of the strange bedfellows who 

have treacherously held sway over 

political power for only self-serving 

reasons, including the hotchpotch of 

misfits in the incumbent government, 

as it is the nemesis of the gatekeepers 

of our democracy who have slumbered 

for too long.. 

The trilogy of banditry, secessionist 

demagogues and an emerging 

casso<strong>war</strong>y misconstrued for a phoenix 

in the South, is a brewing avalanche 

that no government deserving of its 

appellation would ignore for cheap 

propaganda, untruths and misguided 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

rounds of harassments. 

Once a combatant in an intra-ethnic 

armed conflict and a political myrmidon 

ever since, Sunday Igboho’s newly 

found hobby of ‘defending’ the Yoruba 

people from ravaging herdsmen may 

very much be the response of a political 

class desperately seeking to overturn 

their disadvantaged lot, as it could be 

one of the biggest tragedies waiting to 

unfold in contemporary Nigerian 

history. 

Seen by many as a necessary evil 

now, but if history teaches us anything, 

it is that a necessary evil today may as 

well be an undesirable evil tomorrow, 

especially when that necessary evil 

means the likes of Igboho 

disproportionately bestrewn across the 

broad stretch of our country. 

I shudder at the all too real prospect 

of a regional government led by these 

people, who have done very little to 

enunciate their visions, if they have 

any, for the people they claim to fight 

for. 

If I were Prometheus, I would weep 

for Nigeria – not just because the age 

of negative peace is on the verge of 

being dislodged by the age of chaos, 

and hell is more likely to freeze over 

than those at the helm are likely to 

rescue the country from the doldrums, 

but also because the saviours that many 

see today, are merely a looming 

avalanche of disaster that many may 

not survive. 

•Adebayo, an Abuja-based rights activist, 

wrote via: Asorosobioro@gmail.com.


C 

M 

Y 

K 


By Peter Egwuatu 

The Central Bank of 

Nigeruia, CBN and 

Nigeria Sovereign 

Investment Authority,NSIA 

plan to invest N50 billion into 

the comatose Nigeria 

Commodity Exchange , NCX 

is part of government’s effort 

to diversify the economy and 

boost foreign exhange 

earnings. 

Commodity exchange 

presents a major opportunity 

for Nigeria to boost 

agricultural productivity, 

enhance economic 

diversification and thus rid 

itself of the perennial overdependence 

on crude oil as a 

major source of forex 

earnings. 

This has become more 

urgent given that crude oil, 

and the vagaries of its prices, 

has become more risky for any 

country to depend on it as a 

major source of forex 

earnings. 

One of the ways that the 

country can achieve this 

diversification is to vigorously 

develop the commodity 

exchange market ecosystem in 

order to get the benefits of 

commodity exchange. 

Reviving NCX 

Recently, the CBN as part of 

its efforts to facilitate 

diversification of the economy, 

announced the decision to 

restructure the NCX. 

CBN Governor, Godwin 

Emefiele disclosed that the 

apex bank and NSIA would 

invest N50 billion lifeline in 

NCX to revive the struggling 

premier commodities 

exchange. 

After 23 years of existence, 

NCX is still floating like a baby 

exchange. The Exchange has 

trained many professionals, 

and many others who opted for 

the training as part of a 

retirement plan. But sadly, 

over two decades postformation, 

NCX remains a 

market without <strong>war</strong>es. Apart 

from government's lethargic 

approach to managing the 

premier commodities 

exchange, its operations are 

stifled by weak legal and 

regulatory structures such as 

absence of rules, issues of 

efficient delivery with 

counterparties and <strong>war</strong>ehouse 

receipts. 

In his justification for 

government's decision to 

recapitalise NCX, Emefiele 

blamed private commodities 

exchanges in Nigeria for 

hoarding agricultural 

commodities for arbitrage 

opportunities. He said: "We 

have found in the market that 

activities of the private 

commodities exchanges have 

not helped our country and it 

is time for the NCX to be 

repositioned and restructured 

to perform the role which by 

law, it has been empowered to 

perform. 

"We will be coming up with 

the agenda and framework for 

the restructuring and 

repositioning of the Nigeria 

Commodity Exchange and we 

will do so in a manner that 

prices must be stable in 

Nigeria. We will not allow 

some self-seeking private 

exchange commodity to be 

•Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor 

hoarding agricultural products 

and be creating problems for 

prices because price stability 

is the core mandate of CBN 

and we cannot shy away from 

the responsibility." 

But the decision to deploy 

N50 billion to revive the NCX, 

has generated divergent views 

from experts and 

stakeholders. While some 

appreciated the move, some 

however, expressed concerns 

bordering on the development 

of the commodity exchange 

market ecosystem and 

competitiveness of the 

commodity exchange in the 

country. 


Generally, commodities are 

marketable goods and raw 

materials, usually traded in 

bulk. Commodities can be 

classified into four main 

groups: 

Agricultural commodities 

(corn, soybean, wheat, rice, 

cocoa etc.) Livestock and meat 

(i.e. livestock, cattle); Metals 

(gold, silver, platinum, 

copper) and Energy 

(petroleum, crude oil). 

The main characteristic of 

commodities is that they are 

interchangeable with other 

goods from the same group. 

In addition, commodities are 

uniform in their quality. In 

practice, this means that 

commodities which are in the 

same group and quality grade 

are very similar and it’s hard 

to find a difference between 

their producers. 

For instance, it’s hard to spot 

the difference between wheat 

from one producer and wheat 

from another producer. 

A commodity exchange is a 

platform or an organised 

marketplace for the exchange 

of various commodities such 

as grains, sugar, cocoa, 

livestock, oil, gas, metals and 


Commodity trading 

ecosystem can be defined as 

the environment within which 

commodities trading take 

place and directly or indirectly, 

We will not allow 

some selfseeking 

private 

exchange 

commodity to be 

hoarding 

agricultural 

products and be 

creating 

problems for 

prices 

•Ayodeji Balogun, AFEX CEO 

CBN, NSIA set to 

diversify economy with 

comodity exchange 

affects activities and 

development of the 

commodities market and the 

exchanges. 

The ecosystem encompasses 

all spheres of the commodity 

trading environment such as 

its operations, products 

traded, infrastructure, 

logistics, traders/ 

brokers,commodity 

merchants, farmers, miners, 

end-users and other 

stakeholders. 

It also covers the legal and 

regulatory environment. If 

these elements are absent, 

inefficient or underdeveloped, 

the commodities trading 

ecosystem would not function 

well and so maximum value 

may not be derived. 

Benefits of commodities 

exchange 


promotes economic growth by 

fostering the development of 

both soft and hard 

commodities by efficiently 

linking commodities to 

industry, which could improve 

industrial output and 

profitability. 

A thriving commodities 

•Price of Commodities in January 2020 

trading ecosystem according 

to experts, can therefore, 

facilitate industrialisation of 

the economy and improve tax 

revenue. 

They create employment 

and raise the living standard 

of the farming community as 

opportunities are provided for 

better access to market, 

produce marketing, access to 

market price and other 

important information, which 

could lead to improved prices 

for farmers, among other 

benefits. 

Since small holder farmers 

are usually the rural poor, 

improvement in their living 

standards can have positive 

impact on rural development 

and mitigate rural-urban 

migration. 

Commodity exchange can 

serve as a platform for small 

holder farmers to be brought 

into the financial sector as they 

get exposed to financial 

services such as bank deposit 

and credit facilities, thereby 

fostering the much needed 

financial inclusion. 

Commodity exchange also 

engender economic 

diversification 

This is more so for an 

economy like Nigeria, which 

is heavily dependent on a 

single product for its foreign 

exchange earnings, namely: 

crude oil. For an essentially 

agrarian economy like ours, 

with good solid mineral 

deposits, developing the 

commodities market remains a 

potent way to diversify the 

economy away from crude oil, 

Continued on page 21

Nigeria has 2.5m metric tonnes of fish deficit — Minister 

WEDNESDAY, March 3, 2021 

By Godwin Oritse 

DESPITE being the 

largest producer of fish in 

Africa, Nigeria currently records 

a 2.5million metirc tonnes of fish 

deficit, a situation that may have 

jeopardised protein intake 

amongst Nigerians. 

Disclosing this in Lagos at the 

just concluded stockfish seminar 

organised by the Norwegian 

Seafood Council, Minister of 

Agriculture and Rural 

Development, Alhaji Sabo 

Nanono, said that the total fish 

production in Nigeria is about 

1.123million metric tonnes while 

the annual consumption is about 

3.6million metric tonnes. 

Nanono also said that the total 

fish production including imports 

in Nigeria still does not satisfy the 

total fish demand. 

On stockfish imports, Nanono 

stated that the volume of stockfish 

and stockfish heads imported 

from Norway in the country is 

only about 8,000 metric tonnes 

and this represents about 0.4 

Percent of the total volume of fish 

imported into Nigeria. 

Nanono who was represented by 

the Director of Fishery and 

A q u a c u l t u r e 

Department, Federal Ministry of 


Development, Dr. Ime Umo, 

noted that the effect of the COVID- 

19 pandemic has created a 

dislocation of the seafood value 

chain globally, a development 

that has led to the loss of nutrients 

Continues on page 2 

maritimerepor6005@gmail.com 

VOl. 2 No. 130 

Criminals attack export 

consignments 

By Godfrey Bivbere & 

Providence Adeyinka 

THE Federal Government 

is currently losing N500 million 

annually to syndicates 

specialising in stealing export 

consignments. 

The activity of the syndicate is 

also said to be undermining the 

current government’s efforts of 

economic diversification away 

from oil export. 

The first incident is that of Global 

Enterprise, which was said to 

have brought his consignment 

intact to the port but between the 

time the goods arrived at the port 

and when it was loaded on board 

the vessel, a sizeable quantity had 

been stolen. 

The second is a consignment of 

four units of 20 feet containers of 

Sesame Seed that was to be 

shipped to Dubai sometime last 

year from a <strong>war</strong>ehouse around 

Coconut area of Lagos. 

Investigation showed that the 

exporter lost about N12.04 million 

of the N42.6 million worth of 

consignments, as 430 out of the 

1520 bags got missing. Each 

bag, Vanguard Maritime 

Report gathered, is worth 

N28,000. 

The latest is the stealing of a 

40-foot container of cocoa meant 

for export to the United States of 

America, USA, where 

investigation revealed that late 

last year the incident caused the 

exporter a loss of about N55 

million. 

The 40-foot container of cocoa 

(comprising 410 bags) was 

loaded around Coconut area of 

Lagos on December 17, 2020 but 

the exporter’s agent was unable 

to locate the consignment almost 

a month after. 

The matter was reported to the 

Roll-on-Roll-off, RoRo Port police 

Command who traced the owner 

of the truck to Ibadan. On arrest, 

the truck owner told the police that 

he sold the truck around March 

last year. 

The police went after the buyer 

who confirmed that he actually 

bought the truck which he 

dismantled. He, however, told the 

police investigation team that 

someone came to collect the plate 

number of the said truck for “an 

operation.” 

When arrested, the man who 

took the plate number confirmed 

that they were responsible for 

stealing the container which was 

taken to Shagamu, Ogun State, 

where they sold the consignment 

before dismantling the truck with 

which the goods were transported 

from the <strong>war</strong>ehouse. 

A source close to the exporter’s 

agent, Ama Ventures 

Ltd, confirmed the incident but 

said that the police are working 

on the case, noting that a lot of 

those connected to the incident 

have been arrested. 

When contacted, Executive 

Secretary of the Nigerian 

Shippers Council, NSC, Hassan 

Bello, told Vanguard Maritime 

Report that the Council was 

working on a bill in conjunction 

with the Federal Ministry of 

Transportation, (Bill of Carriage) 

that would lead to the regulation 

haulage business in the country. 

According to him, “Exporters 

must be very careful in the sense 

that they should know who they 

entrust their cargo on. They 

should have a contract with them. 

I know because access to the port 

has become a problem, which we 

hope to see ending around 

March this year.” 

When contacted, the Divisional 

Police Officer, DPO of RoRo Police 

Station, Mike Njoku, 

told Vanguard Maritime Report 

that the case has been transferred 

out of the station. The DPO 

directed Vanguard Maritime 

Report to the police 

headquarters for any information 

about the case.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021 

2 

News 


Norwegian govt offers Nigeria capacity in fishery sector 

•Rivers seeks support for agro-business 


THE Norwegian Seafood 

Council, NSC, has offered 

to assist Nigerian fishery sector 

with a view to building capacity 

in the sector. 

Speaking at the just concluded 

Seafood Seminar organised by 

the Council in Lagos, 

Norwegian Ambassador to 

Nigeria, Mr. Knut Lein, said that 


IN a bid to secure the 

Nigerian maritime space, the 

Nigerian Maritime Administration 

and Safety Agency, NIMASA, in 

collaboration with the Nigerian 

Navy are currently intensifying 

efforts to protect, interdict, and 

deter threats around vessels 

anchored in the Secure Anchorage 

Area, SAA, off the coasts of Lagos. 

Disclosing this in Lagos, Director 

General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir 

Nigeria has 2.5m metric tonnes of fish deficit — Minister 

Continues from page 1 

and necessary protein intakes as 

well as essential food needs and 

income. 

He said: “Fish is currently the 

cheapest form of protein for the 

average Nigerian. The total fish 

production in Nigeria is about 

1.123million metric tonnes, while 

the annual consumption is about 

3.6million metric tonnes. The total 

fish production including imports 

in Nigeria still does not satisfy the 

total fish demanded. 

“The volume of stockfish and 

stockfish heads imported into 

from Norway into the country is 

only about 8,000metric tonnes and 

this represents about 0.4 percent 

of the total volume of fish 

imported into Nigeria. 

“Despite the fact that the 

government needs to reduce the 

nation’s import bills, we need to 

take cognisance of the importance 

of cheap and affordable protein 

and other nutrients for the 

Nigerian population that could be 

derived from products supplied by 

other friendly trading partners to 

support our local production to fill 

the gap of our domestic demand 

Norway has made the offer to 

Nigeria but the country has not 

come for<strong>war</strong>d to open 

discussion with the host 

government. 

Ambassador Lein also said 

that it was only Nigeria that can 

tell what area they need to 

build capacity adding that 

whenever Nigeria comes 

for<strong>war</strong>d to say what they need, 

Norway will keep its doors 

Jamoh, at a meeting with 

Shipping Association of Nigeria, 

SAN, said the new security effort 

was encapsulated in the total 

deployment of assets under the 

Integrated National Security and 

Waterways Protection 

Infrastructure, also called the 

Deep Blue Project. The 

deployment is on-going with the 

primary aim of providing security 

in Nigerian waters and the Gulf 

of Guinea and tackling the 

security challenges encumbering 

opened. 

He said: ”What are the needs 

Nigeria has for capacity 

building, we have offered to 

assist, but the Nigerian officials 

have not gotten back to us. 

Norway is open to offer capacity 

building and the Norwegian 

government has offered to enter 

into discussion with the 

government of Nigeria about 

the possible capacity building 

the shipping business in the area. 

“We are deploying high-tech 

assets under the Deep Blue Project 

to not only deal with piracy and 

armed robbery in our territorial 

waters frontally, but also respond 

to the increasing sophistication of 

these maritime crimes,” Jamoh 

stated. 

“The Nigerian Navy and 

NIMASA are partnering to ensure 

a high level of security in our 

waters. We are tying up all loose 

ends and very soon everything 

would become manifest and clear 


THE Alumni Association of 

Maritime Academy of 

Nigeria Oron, AMANO, has 

suggested for a 100 years port 

development plan that will 

continue to respond to the 

dynamic nature of Nigeria’s port 

industry. 

In a statement, President of the 

group, Mr. Emmanuel 

Maiguwa, said that if such a 

port development plan is put in 

place, it will move the industry 

for<strong>war</strong>d for growth. 

Maiguwa also said that a 

system of incentive on port fess 

assistance within the fishery 

sector.” 

Stakeholders at the seminar 

were particular about what can 

be exported to Norway from 

Nigeria so that vessels that 

carry imports from Norway to 

Nigeria do not go back empty. 

Rivers seeks assistance 

Meanwhile the Rivers State 

government has concluded 

SEMINAR : The 

Norwegian High 

Commissioner to 

Nigeria, Mr. Knut Lein 

(fourth from left), with 

the Deputy Governor of 

Rivers State, Dr. Mrs 

Palebo Banigo, (fifth 

left), Dr. Ime Umoh; 

Director Department of 

Fishery and Rural 

Development, (sixth 

left), Mrs Abiodun 

Cheke, Fishery 

Consultant, (seventh 

left), Mr. Trond 

Kostveit, Director, 

South and West Africa 

Operations of ther 

Norwegian Seafood 

Council and other 

guests at the just 

concluded on Stockfish 

trade seminar held in 

Lagos. 

to stakeholders and operators.” 

The DG spoke in response to 

security concerns raised by SAN 

following the cancellation of the 

SAA contract by President 

Muhammadu Buhari and 

transfer of the responsibility for the 

area’s protection to NIMASA and 

the Nigerian Navy, said there was 

no security vacuum in Nigerian 

waters. 

Jamoh said: “I can assure you 

that there is no security vacuum 

in our waters. From what I know, 

the SAA is more protected than 

ever before. The Nigerian Navy 

has recently deployed 14 <strong>war</strong>ships 

to enhance security in the area and 

the wider maritime domain. 

Other assets, including Special 

Mission Vessels, interceptor 

boats, and Special Mission 

Aircraft, are also being deployed 

under the Deep Blue Project. 

“The menace of maritime 

insecurity is an age-long 

challenge in the industry, and 

government is doing its best 

plans to seek the assistance of 

the Norwegian government to 

grow its agro-business 

sector particularly its fishery 

sub-sector. 

Speaking to Journalist in 

Lagos, the Deputy Governor, 

Dr. Paleno Banigo, said that the 

State wants to grow its local 

fishery industry adding that 

every assistance from any 

quarter will be welcomed. 

Banigo also said that the State 

needs technical assistance so as 

to improve on what the locals in 

the fishery business are doing. 

She said: “The last time the 

former Ambassador visited 

Rivers State, Governor Nysom 

Wike mentioned a few areas 

where we needed assistance in 

aquaculture and requested for 

the partnership with the 

Norwegian government in the 

area of training and in the 

development of the fishery 

sector in the State. 

“So we want to benefit from 

their knowledge and expertise 

and their technical 

knowledge to improve our own 

local fish farmers so that they can 

do better”. 

She was of the opinion that 

Rivers State can fill the fish 

deficit gap in Nigeria if the 

necessary assistance were given 

to grow the sector. 

Secure Anchorage Area: Navy, NIMASA intensify security efforts 

•Launch Land, Sea, Air Operational Assets 

and supply. 

“While initiating policies and 

regulation, there is need to be 

a<strong>war</strong>e of the reciprocity of trade 

amongst nation and the fact that 

we can also involve our trading 

partners and friendly nations like 

Norway to assist us with our 

back<strong>war</strong>d integration process 

into commercial aquaculture and 

for Nigeria’s processed 

aquaculture product to gain 

access into international fish 

trade market.” 

The minister also said that 

Nigeria is still open to investors 

who may be interested in 

investing in development of 

marine cage culture for fish 

production, an aspect that 

remains largely unexploited but 

has high potential return on 

investment. 

He stated that investment in 

deep sea fishing and Tuna 

exploitation in Nigerian marine 

waters with opportunity of 

establishing processing and 

canning industry. 

“Nigeria is the largest producer 

of catfish in Africa. However, the 

processing of this major fish 

product remains majorly limited 

to the use of smoking. Investment 

opportunities, therefore, abound. 

Investment in large scale 

production of Tilapia and 

shrimps in all Nigeria’s inland 

and marine waters, export 

opportunities are currently 

available for these products.” 

AMANO advocates 100 years port development plan 

•Commends NPA on Call-Up system 

suitable to operate coastal and 

inland container cargo vessel 

must be put in place so as to 

make ship owners begin to look 

at the possibilities of owning 

freighters. 

According to him, freighter 

vessels contribute more in 

creating dock labour 

employment opportunities in the 

maritime labour industry. 

The group also commended 

the management of the Nigerian 

Ports Authority for its newly 

initiated electronic call-up 

system for trucks into the ports 

saying, “if well implemented, 

the initiative will temporarily 

within the available resources to 

address the issues, with continuous 

patrols by dedicated vessels to the 

Secure Anchorage Area. We appeal 

for a healthy working relationship 

and further deliberations are 

welcome.” 

He said NIMASA was 

networking with international 

bodies, such as INTERTANKO and 

INTERCARGO, to ensure security 

in the Gulf of Guinea, with the 

Yaoundé-based International 

Coordination Centre, ICC, also 

playing a central role. 

The director general told 

stakeholders to always contact the 

Command, Control, Computer 

Communication and intelligence 

(C4i) centre located at the 

NIMASA-owned Nigerian 

Maritime Resource Development 

Centre, NMRDC, Kirikiri, in Lagos, 

for necessary actions under the 

Suppression of Piracy and other 

Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act. 

The spokesperson for the group 

and Managing Director of 

reduce traffic congestion in our 

ports.” 

He suggested that a minimum 

standard be set up for trucks 

coming into the ports noting that 

some rickety trucks are worse 

than junk yards scraps. 

He said: “It is for this simple 

reason of road unworthiness that 

they eventually breakdown on 

their way in and out of the port 

and cause congestion on the port 

access roads. If this is not 

addressed, it would mess up the 

electronic call up system.”


THE Department of 

Fisheries and 

Aquaculture, the Ministry of 


Development, has given 

approval to 39 companies out 

of 200 that applied for licences 

for fish importation. 

Speaking to Vanguard 

Maritime Report on the 

sideline of the just concluded 

Seafood Seminar organized by 

the Norwegian Seafood 

Council in Lagos, a Director 

in the Department, Dr. Ime 

Umoh, said that most of the 

applications were turned 

down because they could not 

meet the requirement for 

licences to import fish. 

Umoh also said that most of 

the disqualified applicants 

had issues with their tax 

clearance and other 

documentation adding that the 

processing of the approvals is 

done once a year. 

He explained that apart from 

the documentation that must 

Regulations & Policies 

Nigeria moves to ratify PSMA, to check 

unregulated fishing 


IN a bid prevent 

unreported, unregulated 

and illegal fishing activities in 

Nigeria’s territorial and coastal 

waters, the Federal 

Government has concluded 

plans to ratify the Port State 

Measure Agreement, PSMA. 

Speaking to Vanguard 

Maritime Report on the sideline 

of the recently 

concluded Stockfish Seminar 

organised by the Norwegian 

Seafood Council Lagos, Mr. 

Paul Okuma, Head of Lagos 

office of the Department of 

Fisheries, said that if and when 

the agreement is finally ratified, 

it will make all Nigerian 

seaports to be properly 

regulated. 

Okuma also said that the main 

objective of the agreement is to 

ensure fishes caught illegally 

are not brought to ports of 

member states and not make 

Nigerian ports the dumping 

ground for illegal fishes. 

He explained that more than 

two-third of the world’s littoral 

nations have signed the 

agreement adding that it will be 

in Nigeria’s interest to ratify the 

agreement. 

He said: “The agreement, if 

ratified, will make fishing in 

Nigeria cost effective, ensure 

that Nigeria is not made a 

dumping ground for illegal fish 

import, just as it will assist in 

regulating port activities. It will 

also ensure that only authorised 

fishing vessels are allowed to 

discharge their catch and this 

will also enhance government 

revenue.” 

The PSMA is the first binding 

international agreement to 

specifically target illegal, 

unreported and unregulated 

(IUU) fishing. Its objective is to 

prevent, deter and eliminate 

IUU fishing by preventing 

vessels engaged in IUU fishing 

from using ports and landing 

their catches. 

The PSMA entered into force 

in June 2016. By the first year 

and a half, more than a third of 

<strong>FG</strong> approves 39 licences for fish imports 

be perfected, the applicant 

must also have a proper 

storage capacity as part of the 

requirement. 

He said: “151 applicants did 

not meet the requirements as 

only 39 were given licenses to 

import fish this year. We 

profile these applicants, look 

at their experiences as traders 

before we give approval and 

the approval process is done 

once a year. The next round 

of approval will be next year. 

“Some people got approval 

countries were parties to it. The 

PSMA applies to fishing vessels 

seeking entry into a port other 

than those of their own State. 

One in every five fish caught 

around the world every year is 

thought to originate from IUU 

fishing, valued at $10- $23 

billion annually. Implementing 

the PSMA is one of the most 

cost-effective means to curb IUU 

fishing. 

Besides moves to ratify 

the PSMA Food and 

Agricutural Organisation, FAO, 

Convention, Nigeria is also 

putting strategic measures in 

place to curb unregulated 

fishing in its waters. 

MEETING: From left - Ayo Arogundade, Comptroller, Lagos Sea-Port Marine Command, Nigeria Immigration Services; Kabir 

Elelu, Commissioner, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission; Thompson Mercy, Assistant 

Area Commander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency; ACG Doris Braimah, Assistant Comptroller General, Nigeria 

Immigration Services; Hassan Bello, Executive Secretary/ CEO, Nigerian Shippers’ Council and Mrs. Eniola Williams, General 

Manager, Public Private Partnership, Nigeria Ports Authority at the joint boarding of vessels and inauguration of the task force 

last year but did not utilise 

their licences last year maybe 

because they did not have the 

capacity to import. 

“We know the faces of frozen 

importers but traders in 

stockfish and stockfish heads 

are still a mystery to us 

because they are unknown to 

us. As a department, we want 

a relationship with these 

importers. As a Ministry, we 

want to be close to them so 

that we can resolve our issues 

together as they arise.” 


3 

NSC, NPA, 

NIWA set up 

committee to 

regulate 

barge 

operations 

By Godfrey Bivbere 

THE Nigerian Shippers 

Council, NSC, the 

Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA 

and the National Inland 

Waterways Authority, NIWA, 

have set up committee to 

formulate modalities for the 

regulation of barge operations 

in the country. 

The setting up of the 

committee is as a result of the 

irregularities in barge 

operations ranging from the 

specifications, the loading, 

insurance policies, night 

operations among many other 

things. 

Speaking with Vanguard 

Maritime Report on this, 

Executive Secretary of NSC, 

Hassan Bello, said the absence 

of regulation is dangerous to 

all parties involved in case of 

an accident. 

Bello explained that the 

three government agencies 

are putting finishing touches 

to the process leading to the 

regulation of barge operations 


According to him, 

“Transporting cargo by barges 

is a welcome development but 

it is unregulated and we have 

set up a committee comprising 

NPA, NIWA, and NSC to look 

at the issues. 

“Barge operation is not 

regulated, which is 

dangerous; you do not know 

the specifications of the barges, 

the load they could carry, or if 

there is any insurance; and 

whether they can operate at 

night and so many other 

things are left for the 

operators. 

“That should not be so; we 

are having a meeting to come 

up with a regulation. Our 

concern is the distance, if 

there is an accident, it is the 

cargoes that would be 

affected, and it is very 

dangerous. We need to step in 

but because of COVID-19, a 

lot of things have been stopped 

for now. We need to step in to 

make sure things are done 

right,” he concluded.


<strong>FG</strong> okays implementation 

of Cargo Tracking Note 


AT the backdrop of 

moves by the Federal 

Government to revive 

the Cargo Tracking Note, CTN, 

there are indications that the 

former consultants to the project, 

Transport and Port 

Manangement System, TPMS, 

has been dropped. 

The Executive Secretary of the 

Nigerian Shippers Council, 

NSC, Hassan Bello who gave 

this hint confirmed that a new 

consultant has already been 

appointed for the project. 

He said that the Federal Government 

has approved the 

implementation of the Cargo 

Tracking Note, CTN, earlier suspended 

following a disagreement 

between the government 

and the company contracted for 

its implementation. 


SIFAX Group inland 

container depots recorded 

a total of 49,835 TEUs for the 

2020 business year despite the 

prevailing traffic congestion 

around the Lagos ports. 

The figure represents a slight 

drop in performance compared 

to 2019 when the off docks 

grossed 50,452 TEUs. SIFAX 

Off Dock operations comprise 

terminals at Trinity, Mid- 

Maritime and Okota 1 and 2, 

all based in Lagos. 

Of the total container 

volumes achieved, SIFAX Off 

Dock Trinity had 13,109 TEUs 

for containers gated-in and 

12,468 TEUs for containers 

gated-out as against 19,014 

gated in and 20,369 gated-out 

in 2019. 

SIFAX-Mid Maritime 

Terminal witnessed an increase 

The 

fresh 

approval Vanguard Maritime 

Report gathered, still has the 

Nigerian Shippers Council, 

NSC, as the implementing 

agency but with a different 

contractor providing the 

technical expertise. 

Executive Secretary of the 

NSC, Hassan Bello, disclosed 

these in Lagos at a meeting 

over maritime agencies’ joint 

boarding of visiting vessels. 

Bello said the approval for 

implementation was given by 

the Presidency, noting that 

NSC is expected to work in 

conjunction with other sister 

agencies. 

Bello said that the scheme is 

being revived due to its 

capacity to enhance 

government revenue at the 

ports, check the importation of 

illegal and dangerous goods, 

in its 2020 TEU volume. It 

recorded 6,062 TEUs and 6,517 

TEUs for containers gated in 

and out respectively as against 

2,609 TEUs and 1,727 TEUs 

recorded in 2019. 

SIFAX Off Dock, Okota 

Terminal 1, recorded 2,195 and 

2,147 TEUs for gated in and 

gated out containers in 2020 as 

against 3,096 and 3,137 TEUs 

recorded in 2019 while SIFAX 

Off Dock- Okota Terminal 2’s 

2020 performance shows an 

increase of 3,596 and 3,351 for 

containers gated in and out in 

comparison to its 2019 

performance of 364 TEUs gated 

in and 136 TEUs gated out in 

2019. 

A statement signed by an 

officer of the Corporate 

Communications Department of 

Sifax Group, Philips Olawunmi 

Ojo noted that in order to grow 

the terminals profitability in 

Terminals & Ships 4 

and act as a veritable source of 

data among its other functions. 

He noted that the scheme will 

check smuggling and 

•MEETING: Hassan Bello, Executive Secretary/ CEO, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Otunba Kunle Folarin, Chairman, Port 

Consultative Council and Barr. Osuala Nwagbara, Chairman Legal Committee, Port Consultative Council at the meeting 

between the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and the Port Consultative Council Members in Lagos. 

SIFAX off docks record 49,835 TEU volumes in 2020 

NPA relocates marine pilots, renovate control tower 


THE Nigerian Ports 

Authority, NPA, has 

relocated its marine pilots to 

office area of the Nigerian 

Immigration Service, NIS, 

Apapa Command to give room 

for the ongoing rehabilitation 

works on its control tower 

inside the Apapa Port 

Complex. 

A visit to the control tower 

otherwise known as Bull 

Nose showed that the entire 

complex of the tower was 

barricaded with construction 

2021, Captain Ibraheem 

Olugbade, Executive Director, 

SIFAX Off Dock, confirmed 

various strategies have been put 

in place by the terminals to 

consolidate their prime 

positions. 

He said: “In order to mitigate 

the effect of the road 

construction on SIFAX Mid- 

Maritime, we have begun 

dredging the waterside of the 

terminal and erecting exit 

security gate in preparation for 

the berthing of barges at the 

terminal. 

“In addition, the off docks at 

Okota, Lagos are also receiving 

boxes at the terminals through 

transfer by barges. Parts of the 

terminal floor have been 

renovated and strengthened to 

cope with more volumes. 

“There have been several 

market drives with several 

shipping lines to take 

importation of arms and 

ammunition, under-declaration 

of cargoes as well as 

corruption at the nation’s 

seaports. 

He explained that before 

approving the CTN, the Federal 

Government had seen the 

enormous revenue leakages that 

were going on, both in the 

importation of dry cargoes and 

works going on. Vanguard 

Maritime Report gathered that 

the rehabilitation contract was 

a<strong>war</strong>ded to Julius Berger for 

an undisclosed amount. 

Efforts to get comments from 

Nigeria Immigration Service installs 

‘Migration Information Data Analysis 

System’ 

By Providence Adeyinka 

THE Comptroller of 

Nigeria Immigration 

Service, Seme Command, 

advantage of the new initiative 

and proximity to the major 

express road; and to also use 

as holding bays for their 

empties in line NPA call-up 

system regime. 

“SBT Trinity terminal is 

temporarily closed due to the 

ongoing road construction 

along the Mile 2-Apapa 

expressway, which we expect to 

be fully operational on 

completion of the road in the 

next couple of weeks.” 

In the interim, Olugbade said 

the consignments stemmed for 

the Trinity terminal are 

transferred to Ijora Container 

and Okota bonded terminals for 

a seamless and efficient cargo 

clearing process. He also said 

that the necessary facilities have 

been provided at the two 

terminals to cope with the 

expected surge in business. 

the exportation of wet cargoes. 

Bello said apart from blocking 

revenue leakages, the CTN is 

also needed for security reasons. 

He further stated: “The 

shipping lines have been billing 

importers and exporters for it, 

and they do not want to let go. 

They have been hiding such cost 

on the final bills given to 

Nigerian importers to pay.” 

the General Manager, Marine 

and Operations, Captain 

Jerome Angywune, was futile 

as calls to his phone lines were 

not answered. 

Bernard Zipamor, has 

commended Muhammed 

Babandede, Comptroller 

General of the Nigeria 

Immigration Service for the 

deployment of Migration 

Information Data Analysis 

System, MIDAS, to various 

commands of the service to 

ease operational activities. 

Zipamor gave the 

commendation during a 

courtesy visit by Executive 

members of the Nigeria Union 

of Journalists, Lagos Council 

led by the Chairman, Adeleye 

Ajayi. 

He stated that the Nigeria 

Immigration Service had the 

sole responsibility to control 

movement of persons in and 

out of the country. 

The comptroller decried 

absence of health facilities at 

the Seme Command which 

needed to be addressed as a 

result of the COVID-19 

pandemic outbreak. “We are 

supposed to have facilities for 

sample collection and testing 

when travellers are returning’’ 

he said. 

Zipamor appreciated the 

efforts of Lagos State Ministry 

of Health in assisting the 

Division durinh the heat of 

pandemic. He pledged his 

support to partner and work 

with Lagos Council of the 

Nigeria Union of Journalists, 

NUJ. 

The Chairman, Nigeria 

Union of Journalists, Lagos 

Council, Mr. Adeleye Ajayi 

commended the command for 

its giant strides in border 

surveillance and patrol which 

yielded tremendous results. 

Ajayi appreciated the NIS for 

its leverage on the use of 

Information Communication 

Technology (ICT) to achieve 

quality service delivery. 

He also lauded the Service 

for its professional website 

which had made application 

for international passports 

easier for intending travellers. 

The NUJ chairman 

reaffirmed his commitment to 

facilitate training for 

journalists in Lagos Council, 

adding that a seminar on fake 

news would be organised for 

members within the next few 

weeks.

By Eguono Odjegba 

INDUSTRY players and 

analysts have advised the 

leadership and management of 

the National Drug Law 

Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, 

to stick with the Standard 

Operating Procedure, SOP, in 

its operations at the nation’s 

ports and maintain synergy 

with sister government 

agencies in order to promote 

harmony, focus and acceptable 

corporate behaviour. 

The admonition is coming on 

the heels of the alleged breach 

of protocol in which the 

NDLEA claimed responsibility 

for the arrest of the offensive 

drugs, describing the action as 

disturbing and capable of 

sending wrong signals. 

National President of the 

Association of Nigeria 

Licensed Customs Agents, 

ANLCA, Iju Tony Nwabunike, 

said the development may not 

be unconnected with the new 


NATIONAL Association 

of Government 

Approved Freight For<strong>war</strong>ders, 

NAGAFF, has inaugurated the 

South-East Zone of its 100 per 

cent compliance team in Port 

Harcourt, Rivers State. 

This is even as the Customs 

Area Controller, CAC, Onne 

Command, A.B Mohammed, 

noted that NAGAFF’s 10-point 

agenda conforms to articles 1 

to 5 which deal with clearance 

procedure at the port. 

The 100 per cent compliance 

team is an effort by NAGAF to 

partner with the government 

to sanitise the port industry, as 

well as increase government’s 

revenue from import duty. 

Speaking at the 

leadership of NDLEA who, he 

believes, is still learning the 

ropes. He, however, urged 

operatives and commanders of 

the agency to respect the rules 

of engagement and help the 

agency achieve its mandate. 

He said: “I think it is a sort 

of official conflict, but these 

have drastically reduced. 

Another thing I think is that 

maybe, it is because the new 

Chairman NDLEA, Gen. Buba 

Marwa, is new in the saddle. 

You know how it is with some 

subordinates, they want to 

impress him. I am sure that if 

they had informed him of the 

procedures of exchange and 

rules guiding synergy of 

operations and seized items, 

he wouldn’t have approved 

that announcement. 

“What the Chairman NDLEA 

needs to do now is to get more 

briefing in other to avoid this 

sort of embarrassment in the 

future. There was a time the 

agencies were involved in 

inauguration, Coordinator of 

the Team, Ibrahim 

Tanko, advised the newly 

inaugurated members to desist 

from involving themselves in 

any acts that could jeopardise 

their business or tarnish the 

image of the Compliance Team. 

He urged freight for<strong>war</strong>ders 

to always insist on importers 

using their names to shift their 

consignment in order to 

avert unpleasant 

consequences. 

According to him, “I want to 

advise my colleagues to desist 

from doing the wrong things. 

Don’t use your name to shift 

or import any cargo with your 

name. Please allow the owner 

to shift that container with his 

name. 

Customs & Imports 

Seizures at ports: Stakeholders task NDLEA on 

respect for rules of engagement 

exchange protocol, like in this 

situation, Customs will hand 

over seized items outside its 

purview to the agency 

involved. 

“I understand the current 

Customs leadership pulled the 

Customs out of such 

arrangement because there 

were suspicions that seized 

items handed over to 

concerned agencies were not 

properly managed. I think 

what Customs does now is to 

invite the concerned agency to 

witness the seizure and its 

destruction.” 

Also speaking on the 

development, President of All 

Ports Unified Freight 

For<strong>war</strong>ding Practitioner, Chief 

Mike Okorie, faulted NDLEA 

for working outside the 

schedule of prescribed system, 

noting that rivalry amongst 

government agencies is the 

most destructive element in 

achieving government goals. 

He stated: “The port is the 

VISIT: L-R: National Coordinator, NAGAFF 100% Compliant Team, Ibrahim Tanko in a 

hand shake with CAC of Onne Customs Command, A. B. Mohammed during a courtesy 

call by the Team to Onne Customs Command. 

“It is not going to be hard for 

someone to open Form ‘M’ 

with his name but any importer 

who avoids that is doing so 

because he wants to run away 

from the responsibility arising 

from the cargo. He is now 

pushing you to go ahead and 

use your name to shift 

container and many freight 

for<strong>war</strong>ders and agents are in 

prison now just because of this 

nonsense. 

“We have an understanding 

with the Importers Association; 

we have signed and agreed 

with each other that the 

Compliance Team will not 

intervene in matters 

concerning any importer who 

defaulted.” 

Mohammed said, “Since my 

Customs port. If the Customs 

makes seizures of items under 

the regulatory control of other 

agencies, they hand over such 

seizures. I think that it is a 

breach of protocol for NDLEA 

to make news of the seizure 

when the Customs have not 

handed over to it. 

“I must tell you that this kind 

of behaviours and official 

infighting and rivalry cannot 

promote the objectives of 

government. The hurry to 

announce something you 

didn’t seize promotes 

unhealthy official relationship. 

“The NDLEA boss should 

put his house in order and 

<strong>war</strong>n against jumping the gun. 

Importation monitoring is not 

politics, they should remove 

politics from the industry and 

work in concert.” 

Also commenting, media 

By Eguono Odjegba 

THE Nigeria Customs 

Service said it has 

commenced an aggressive 

manhunt for the importers of 

two offensive containers, one of 

which was laden with a total of 

554 cartons of Tramadol 

concealed with ceramic tiles. 

Customs Area Controller (CAC) 

of the Apapa Command, 

Comptroller Malanta Yusuf, who 

disclosed this at a press 

conference last week, said the 

seizure followed routine 

intelligence gathering and 

meticulous container profiling 

which identified and isolated 

the offending container with 

registration No. SEGU 1793504 

for one hundred percent 

physical examination based on 

his directive. 

NAGAFF inaugurates South East Zone 100% Compliance Team 

•as Customs applauds 10-Point agenda of team 

assumption of office here as 

Area Controller, we have tried 

to maintain and improve the 

structure of the clearing 

procedures here at Onne port 

and from what I can see, 

articles 1-5 of your 10-point 

Agenda are similar with what 

we have met before this came 

up”. 

The Customs boss described 

NAGAFF members as refined, 

reformed, educated, 

enlightened and the first 

Association in the maritime 

sector to agitate the autonomy 

of the Nigeria Customs 

Service, NSC. 

He pledged the support of 

his Command to the realisation 

of the 10-point agenda of the 

100 per cent Team. 


5 

consultant, social commentator 

and maritime resource person, 

Mr. Ismail Aniemu, said the 

matter may have been one of a 

slip not intended to cause 

disharmony. He said, “At this 

stage, it is difficult to drag the 

Chairman of NDLEA or his 

management into the court of 

public criticism. 

“In this job of information 

management, I know there 

could be some slip. It is not my 

place to attribute this to a slip, 

but I am just giving a general 

overview. 

“I also believe that both the 

Customs Service and NDLEA 

are united in driving their 

specific and general mandate, 

I know this little 

misunderstanding will be 

sorted out. The two agencies 

of the government and their 

leadership have everything to 

promote government cause, 

and for me, that is the most 

important thing. Customs has 

fulfilled all righteousness by 

inviting NDLEA and other 

relevant agencies for the joint 

physical examination.” 

Customs speaks on N223m 

worth of seizures in 3 weeks 

•As Customs launch manhunt for importer of 

Tramadol 

The CAC said the Customs 

intelligence network got prior 

hint of two containers of 

questionable import originating 

from India and kept tab on its 

movements passing through 

Togo until it arrived the Lagos 

Apapa Port. 

He said other seizures made 

within the three weeks he 

assumed control of the 

command include nine 

containers which contents were 

falsely declared as other items. 

While a 40ft container laden 

with sacks of mosquito coil was 

declared as ground pepper and 

packaging paper bag, a 

container of unregistered 

pharmaceutical product with 

989 cartons of mixagrip tablets 

was wrongfully declared as 

winches and gaskets. 

He said, “What we do is to 

engage in profiling following 

due intelligence. Our 

Enforcement and Customs 

Intelligence operatives moved 

in the moment the offloading of 

the ship commenced, and 

through profiling, we identified 

the offending containers. I told 

the terminal operator to isolate 

it and it was immediately 

condoned off. 

“We thereafter invited sister 

agencies to the 100 per cent 

physical examination, where 

every agency participated and 

we discovered the container 

has 554 cartons of Tramadol but 

they used floor tiles to conceal 

it. I can tell you that the 

Tramadol is the primary import, 

they merely used the tiles to 

conceal it. But we will always be 

a step ahead of them. Soon 

after the discovery, we 

commenced further 

investigations to unravel the 

importer and we have launched 

a manhunt. We are determined 

to unveil his true identity and 

then we will prosecute.”



Interview 

67 

Truck parks in Adamawa will grow our 

businesses — State Shippers Association 

THE Adamawa State Shippers Council has commenced 

plans to construct two truck parks in the state and has also 

called for participation of interested investors in the project. 

Secretary of the Association, Barrister Ibrahim Mustapha, in 

this interview with Vanguard Maritime Report, hinted of the 

enormous benefits to both importers, exporters and the 

government. 

Excerpts 


WHEN was the Ad 

amawa Shippers Association 

set up 

The Adamawa Shippers 

Association was set up in 1980s 

but along the line, it went 

comatose and the current 

leadership of the association 

took it over in 2014 and 

reactivated the association. We 

precisely kick-started the 

association on May 15, 2014 

and ever since then, we have 

been having very good understanding 

of international trade 

and waxing stronger on a daily 

basis. We now have a very good, 

well established association. We 

have registered the association 

from state to the federal levels, 

so we are now good to go. 

What is the membership of 

the association especially with the 

rebirth from 2014 

Actually, the structure of our 

membership is divided into two 

sections. We have individual 

membership and corporate 

membership. At the level of individual 

membership level, we 

have about 50 active members 

and for corporate membership 

we have about ten or thereabout 

who are active in the association. 

At the level of corporate 

membership, there are organisations 

that carry out import 

and export businesses; we 

decided to make them members 

to enable us to easily reach their 

partners and members at any 

given time. If you put together 

the membership of those association 

we are talking about 

which is about ten in number, 

they will be over 500, so we 

have a very good membership 

base in the state as an 

association. 

Do you have zonal activities that involves 

the association 

Sofar, our activities are only at the state 

level but we have our 

membership spread across the 

21 local government areas of the 

state. We have plans to establish 

zonal offices across the three 

geo-political zones within the 

state. 

What are the benefits for members? 

There are some benefits that 

the association gives to its 

members, let us begin with first 

and foremost, there is a strong 

unity amongst members. The 

unity among us is a strong bond 

that makes us to achieve much 

more as a group and we also 

liaise with the Nigerian 

Shippers Council to assist 

members who run into any 

problem with ant government 

agency like the Nigerian Ports 

Authority, the Nigeria Customs 

Service and all that and this has 

been working for us. 

We also collaborate with the 

Nigerian Shippers Council to 

organise workshops and 

seminars to enlighten members 

and the general public in our 

state to have a very good 

business drive in the business 

of import and export. We also 

liaise with government 

agencies and their officials to 

create favourable atmosphere 

for members’ businesses to 

flourish. 

What raw materials are 

available in the state? 

Most of the raw materials we 

have in Adamawa State are agriculture 

related. We have 

cassava, millet, corn, cattle and 

hide and skin. We also have 

fish in very high exportable 

quantity in the State. Our 

people package the fish in many 

forms and export them to neighbouring 

countries like Cameroon, 

Chad, Niger and Ghana. 

They also package these fishes 

to Europe. 

We also have other raw 

materials like natural resources 

like gypsum that is used to 

manufacture chalk, qualem 

which is used for the production 

of pharmaceutical drugs, 

Many of our 

investors are ready to 

invest in the Truck 

Transit Park project on 

a Private Public Partnership 

basis; we are 

very ready and a lot of 

investors are also 

ready to fund the 

project 

Magnesium carbonate and 

benonite, limestone that is used 

for the production of cement. 

BUA is a very active player in 

the area and the firm is making 

plans to establish a cement 

factory in the state. All these 

natural resources are available 

in the Adamawa and are being 

by many manufacturing 

companies. 

What exactly do your members imports 

and export in Adamawa State? 

In Adamawa State, we import 

more that we export. We have 

our members that export 

agricultural products like I had 

said earlier. In the area of 

exports, we have our members 

that are exporting agricultural 

products. For example, we 

•Barr. Ibrahim Mustapha...investors ready to fund the 

project 

export agricultural products like 

smooth milk, farm produce, 

wheat and other exportable 

products. There is a small 

airport through which the 

exporters despatch products out 

of the country through the 

necessary arranged processes. 

We also have members that 

export fish, where we have a 

strong advantage in term of 

packaging. There is also a 

beverage company, which 

produces beverages and 

exports the products to 

neighbouring countries. I am 

a<strong>war</strong>e of an arrangement 

between this company and a 

Cameroonian firm for the production 

of P-form that is later 

blown to plastic bottles for the 

packaging of their beverage 

products. And when you talk 

about importation a lot of our 

members are involved in. 

Our members import raw 

materials as well as finished 

goods. Examples of finished 

goods that are imported are 

electronics, fabrics, laptops and 

its accessories. We have telephone 

handsets and its 

accessories, jewelries, household 

furniture and other items 

that our members are involved 

in. Some of our members also 

import raw materials, for 

example that beverage 

company I talked about imports 

pet resin that is used to 

manufacture plastic bottles and 

concentrates for their 

beverages. 

H o w 

is the business environment 

for your members in the 

state? 

First of all, let us talk about 

the business environment 

generally in Nigeria, because 

whatever affects the lager 

society also affects us at the 

local level. The business 

environment is not conducive at 

all because upcoming 

companies particularly the 

manufacturing organisations do 

not also always survive the 

stress businesses go through. 

This is because of lack of some 

very important infrastructure 

like power, which is enough to 

kill businesses in the state for 

instance. 

Even where there is a limited 

supply of power, it usually very 

expensive, it will not be 

adequate for many manufacturing 

companies to use. For 

example, two of our members 

spend as much as N50million 

a month to power their 

generating sets. This is not good 

enough for businesses to thrive 

in the state. Apart from that, the 

lack of good roads is another 

major infrastructure that 

hinders the businesses of their 

members. We also have multiple 

taxation from government that 

is killing a lot of businesses. Import 

and export tariff are rather 

on the high side and all these 

have a way of negatively 

affecting businesses. 

How supportive has the Nigerian Shippers 

Council been in helping 

the association to 

achieve its objectives 

The Nigerian Shippers 

Council is a mother that we run 

to when we are in any kind of 

distress and challenges that 

affect out activities, and they 

have always been there for us. 

The zonal coordinator in Yola 

has been very supportive as we 

partner with him very often. 

The Council has also provided 

knowledge based materials, 

information and strategies to 

grow businesses of our 

members. 

What are the major challenges your 

members face in the 

course of businesses? 

First of all the congestion at 

the Nigerian ports is affecting 

the import and export of goods 

particularly the ports in Lagos 

and this is causing a hell of 

delay in the movement of our 

cargo to and fro the ports. We 

also have challenge of forex 

availability. The Federal 

Government is not providing 

enough forex for our members 

to transact their businesses. As 

a result of the lack of forex, our 

members have been forced to 

source forex from the black 

market which has become very 

expensive and this also caused 

a big setback for our businesses. 

The processes of cargo 

clearance is another challenge 

we are facing as these processes 

have become too cumbersome 

and time wasting. The 

rigorous inspection process of 

cargo has led to query of 

cargoes that should not be 

queried. The cost of haulage is 

another issue members are 

facing currently. 

W h a t s t a g e 

is the proposed Truck Transit Park in the 

state? 

Yes the TTP is a project that 

was proposed by stakeholders 

and was discussed and 

consultants engaged to carry 

out survey. They identified two 

locations in the State. These are 

Goree and Mubi. The wish of 

our members is provide these 

truck parks in the designated 

locations because there are in 

very strategic commercial areas 

of the TTP in the state. If they 

are allowed to exist, it will help 

our businesses to grow. 

W h a t 

is the capacity of these parks? 

Both truck parks have capacity 

for 500 trucks. 

What is the progress 

of the proposed Truck Park? 

The consultants have 

completed their survey and 

submitted their reports to the 

Nigerian Shippers Council and 

Council is expected to work on 

the document and do the 

needful. I call on the Nigerian 

Shippers Council to hasten the 

process of establishing TTP to 

enable our people grow their 

businesses as we are all eager 

to have this project. Many of 

our investors are ready to invest 

in the Truck Transit Park project 

on a Private Public Partnership 

basis. We are very ready and a 

lot of investors are also ready 

to fund the project.


Foreign News 


77 

IMO: 10 ships shortlisted as possible origin of oil spill in Israel 

ATOTAL of ten vessels have 

been found to have been in 

the vicinity of the possible 

original position of the massive 

oil spill in Israel, the 

International Maritime 

Organisation, IMO, said. 

These are the findings from the 

satellite imagery and 

Authentication Information 

System, AIS, data, provided by the 

EMSA Maritime Support 

Service. 

The names of the ships have not 

been disclosed as investigation 

into the case continues. 

Meanwhile, Minerva Marine 

denied its tanker Minerva Helen 

was involved in the incident, 

stressing the ship had not been 

involved in any operation nor in 

any other activity ‘that could be 

connected to an oil discharge at 

sea.’ 

“Minerva Helen is well 

maintained without any 

structural or other defects that 

could cause an oil pollution 

incident,” the shipowner further 

stressed. 

Furthermore, the ship was 

subjected to an inspection on 

February 22 by the Spanish Port 

State Control Authorities in 

Cartagena which, according to 

Minerva, found that the vessel 

had no deficiencies and was in a 

satisfactory maintenance and 

operational condition. 

NGO accused of 

being paid by 

Maesrk to take 

migrants from 

tanker 

THE Prosecutor’s office of 

Ragusa, Sicily, Italy, accused 

NGO Mediterranea Saving 

Humans of receiving money from 

a shipping company MAERSK 

after a commercial agreement 

between the abovementioned 

parties, to transfer migrants from 

tanker MAERSK ETIENNE to 

NGO’s boat Mare Jonio in Sep 

2020. 27 migrants were picked up 

by tanker on Aug 4 in Gulf of 

Gabes, Mediterranean, SW of 

Malta, and tanker couldn’t 

disembark them for 37 days, 

because all coastal States in the 

region refused to accept them. On 

Sep 11 they’ve been transferred 

to Mare Jonio on Sep 12 they 

were disembarked at Pozzallo 

port, Ragusa, Sicily. 

CONTAINER 

vessels 

planning to berth at 

Singapore port are now facing 

longer wait times, market 

sources said, with one source 

estimating that this has grown to 

five to seven days from a 

maximum of two days to turn 

around an 18,000 TEU vessel. 

“There is a lot of port 

congestion in Singapore, which 

is one of the biggest factors,” a 

freight-for<strong>war</strong>der based in 

Singapore said. Vessels calling 

at Singapore have not departed 

Drone delivery start-up gets seed capital from shipping 

industry 

AMONG the range of uses 

being developed for drones 

is the opportunity to conduct shipto-shore 

deliveries. The shipping 

industry and port authorities are 

showing strong support for the 

concept and recently a Singapore 

start-up raised seed capital from 

the shipping industry and 

investors to continue the 

development of its technology. 

F-drones, founded in 2019, 

raised seed capital to continue the 

development of its system 

designed to carry over 200-pound 

payloads a distance of over 60 

miles. The shipping management 

company Eastern Pacific 

Shipping, which has been 

involved with the first test flights, 

•Vessel disaster at sea 

Samsung Heavy Industries to pay settlement money in Brazil 

SAMSUNG 

Heavy 

Industries announced on 

Feb. 23 that it reached an 

agreement with Brazilian 

authorities with regard to a ship 

broker’s illegal act related to its 

drillship contract. The 

authorities decided to drop all 

administrative and judicial 

proceedings on condition that 

Samsung Heavy Industries pays 

812 million real (about 160 

billion won) in settlement money. 

Petrobras ordered three 

drillships in 2006 and 2007 and 

Samsung Heavy Industries 

delivered the ships from 2009 to 

2011. Later, the Brazilian 

prosecution initiated a 

corruption investigation against 

Petrobras in 2014 and found that 

the ship broker misappropriated 

some of the commission for the 

purpose of bribery, and Samsung 

Heavy Industries overlooked it. 

Earlier, one of the three ships 

was called into question in the 

United States, too. Samsung 

Heavy Industries signed a 

shipbuilding contract with U.S. 

shipping company Pride, which is 

lead this round of investment 

along with participation from 

shipowner/manager Schulte 

Group through its venture arm, 

Innoport. Other participating in 

the fundraising included SEEDS 

Capital, Entrepreneur First, 

Orient Ventures, Superangel, and 

a few Singapore-based angel 

investors. 

“We are very excited to be able 

to close the round with more 

capital than we initially intended. 

This demonstrates the industry’s 

confidence in our capability and 

vision to make maritime logistics 

more efficient, sustainable and 

safe,” says Yeshwanth Reddy, cofounder 

of F-drones. 

now Valaris, and delivered one 

drillship in 2011. Petrobras 

signed a five-year charter 

contract with Ensco regarding the 

ship. 

However, Petrobras filed a 

damage suit in 2016, claiming 

that Samsung Heavy Industries 

unfairly used some of the 

brokerage commission paid to 

Singapore port faces container congestion amid surge in 

vessel calls 

F-drones is currently 

conducting test flights on its 

Hyperlaunch system capable of 

delivering 10-pound loads over 30 

miles. In December 2019, during 

the first test flights, they sent 

nearly seven pounds of spare parts 

and 5.5 pounds of Christmas gifts 

to the crew aboard an Eastern 

Pacific bulker anchored in 

Singapore harbor. During the 

return flight, the drone carried 

fuel and fresh water samples to 

shore. Subsequent flights 

included the first commercial 

beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone 

delivery to another Eastern 

Pacific vessel and the world’s first 

commercial drone delivery 

at night in Singapore. 

the broker in the process of 

contract conclusion, and it had to 

sign the charter contract at an 

unnecessarily high cost as a 

result. Then, Petrobras canceled 

the charter contract, claiming 

that Ensco was a<strong>war</strong>e of the fact. 

Ensco requested arbitration in the 

United Kingdom, holding 

on time since September, the 

freight-for<strong>war</strong>dersaid. 

According to PSA 

International, Singapore has 

been experiencing an increase in 

activity. “Like many other ports 

across the world, PSA Singapore 

has been experiencing a surge in 

vessel calls and container 

volumes in recent months,” a PSA 

corporate spokesperson said. 

“This exceptional situation is due 

to a confluence of factors, 

including an unprecedented and 

volatile surge in cargo demand, 

congestion across all nodes in the 

global supply chain (including 

depots, <strong>war</strong>ehouses and seaports) 

due to renewed lockdowns, a lack 

of usable empty containers while 

laden ones are held up longer at 

these nodes, and shipping lines’ 

vessel sailing schedule reliability 

dropping to 10-year historical 

lows, causing further delays at 

almost every seaport worldwide.” 

PSA said that PSA Singapore 

has been ramping up additional 

capacity and resources “and is 

working closely with shipping 

line customers and cargo owners 

to alleviate the situation.” 

The number of vessels staying 

at Singapore port for more than 

two days in January, averaged 46 

per day, about 59% higher than 

January 2020, according to data 

from S&P Global Platts trade 

flow soft<strong>war</strong>e Flow. The average 

number of vessels staying at 

Samsung Heavy Industries 

accountable. 

A suspension of indictment 

followed in 2019 by Samsung 

Heavy Industries paying a fine of 

US$75 million in the United 

States. Also in 2019, it ended the 

disputes by paying US$200 

million to Valaris. 

Singapore port for more than 

two days each day peaked in 

November, at 49, compared with 

17 in the same month of 2019. 

Port congestion drives spot 

freight costs higher 

This congestion has had a 

knock-on effect on spot container 

freight prices, where exports 

from Singapore to North 

America have attracted higher 

pricing relative to other ports in 

Southeast Asia. 

Sources said the freight plus 

priority-loading premium cost 

from Singapore to East Coast 

North America was around 

$10,000-$15,000 per forty-footequivalent 

unit (FEU), about 

$6,000 to $8,000/FEU higher 

than other main ports in 

Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam 

and Hong Kong. 

Typically, pricing between these 

regions is similar, a source said. 

“Prices in Singapore used to be 

on a par or even lower than 

China, but now the situation is 

different because carriers are first 

deploying capacity in China and 

other regions are secondary.” 

Another source said that ports 

in the region, including in China 

and Southeast Asia, are facing 

congestion issues. Some cargoes 

from other ports such as Port 

Kelang and Colombo have also 

been diverted to Singapore due 

to logistical issues.


Data & Figures 


VESSELS EXPECTED AT LAGOS PORT DISTRICT, AS AT FEBRUARY 16, 2021 

MOTOR VESSELS AWAITING BERTH AT LAGOS PORT DISTRICT, AS AT FEBRUARY 1, 2021 

VESSELS EXPECTED AT CALABAR PORTS, AS AT FEBRUARY 16, 2021


CBN,NSIA set to diversify economy with commodity exchange 

Continued from page 20 

as well as widen the national 

tax base. A diversified 

economy will potentially 

diversify the export base and 

improve government revenue. 

History of commodity 

exchange formation in 

Nigeria 

The attempt to establish a 

commodity exchange in 

Nigeria began in 1989 when 

an Inter-Ministerial 

Committee was established to 

examine the possibility of 

setting up a commodity 

exchange following the 

abolishment of the 

commodities marketing board. 

Although the committee 

recommended the 

establishment of a 

commodities exchange, 

nothing came to fruition until 

August 8, 2001 when the 

Federal Government directed 

the conversion of the then 

Abuja Stock Exchange to a 

commodity exchange which is 

now called NCX. 

It was the only commodity 

exchange in Nigeria for more 

than a decade. But in 2014, 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission, SEC, registered 

AFEX Commodities 

Exchange, the first private 

sector commodities exchange. 

The SEC last year registered 

another private sector 

commodity exchange known 

as Lagos Commodity and 

Futures Exchange, LCFE. 

Operationally, AFEX "is 

established in Nigeria with 

an overarching outlook to 

develop a workable 

<strong>war</strong>ehouse receipt system." 

The company at present 

thrives on buying agricultural 

commodities into <strong>war</strong>ehouses 

for sale. AFEX may later 

graduate into full blown 

trading as a structured 

commodities exchange. But as 

of now, the company has not 

announced its dealing 

member firms, settlement 

banks or depository which are 

all attributes of a structured 

exchange. 

Operators’ comment 

While not dismissing its 

•Patrick Ezeagu, Chairman ASHON 

contribution to the 

diversification objective of 

improving the country’s foreign 

exchange earnings, market 

operators and stakeholders said 

the decision of the apex bank 

to pump in N50 billion will 

undermine development of 

viable commodities exchanges 

in Nigeria. 

They argued that such 

intervention funds should not 

be restricted to the 

government’s commodity 

exchange only as it would 

muscle out others that are 

promoted by the private sector. 

A commodity trader and Chief 

Executive Officer, Wyoming 

Partners and Capital, Mr 

Tajudeen Olayinka in a 

statement said: “Such 

intervention fund should be 

utilised for provision of 

financial and other market 

infrastructure such as Central 

Counter Party, CPP, a market - 

wide clearing for the benefit of 

all commodities exchanges in 

Nigeria. 

“ It is not out of place for CBN 

to provide an intervention 

• Volume of Commodities Deal on AFEX in January 2020 

•Volume of Commodities Deal on AFEX in January 2020 

fund, to support orderly 

functioning of a commodity 

market. But such intervention 

should not be restricted to the 

government owned Nigerian 

Commodity Exchange. 

It is capable of muscling out 

competition; a requirement that 

must be fulfilled before the 

Such intervention 

fund should be 

utilised for 

provision of 

financial and other 

market 

infrastructure such 

as Central Counter 

Party, CPP, a 

market-wide 

clearing for the 

benefit of all 

commodities 

exchanges in 

Nigeria 

•Akinsola Akeredolu-Ale, LCFE CEO 

economy can benefit from the 

law of one price. 

“ It must be understood that 

CBN's decision to provide N50 

billion intervention fund to 

NCX came from frustration 

arising from food price 

inflation. Solution to the 

problem lies in market wide 

intervention, not NCX 

specific intervention. 

However, NCX may be 

recapitalised by CBN and 

other shareholders, to the 

extent of its capital 

requirement. 

“Inability of NCX to 

function as a commodity 

exchange came from its 

decision to use its trading 

platform solely for spot 

market, where a well 

functioning and more efficient 

spot market already exists, 

even though it is largely 

informal. The truth is that you 

cannot reinvent the wheel. If 

we consider the more than 26 

per cent contribution of 

agriculture to the real GDP 

figure in 2020, with crop 

production contributing more 

than 89 per cent of that 

figure.” 

Continuing, he said: “Nigeria 

has a huge spot market for 

commodities, and what is 

needed is commodity futures 

that can help provide future 

delivery and price assurances 

to both farmers and end-users, 

in a way that also mitigates their 

risks. If NCX had started as an 

Exchange for commodity 

futures, Nigeria could have 

doubled the contribution of 

agriculture to real GDP in 2020 

because commodity futures 

could have propelled activities 

in the spot market. 

“Farmers and agro-processors 

and consumers need price and 

delivery assurances to enable 

them function optimally. This is 

what would help provide price 

stability, by driving down food 

price inflation.” 

Corroborating this position, 

Managing Partner, Corporate 

Farmers of Nigeria, Mr Akin 

Alabi, took a swipe at the 

announcement of N50 billion 

for NCX, saying: “Nigeria 

required commodities 

exchanges across all the states 

of the federation.” 

According to him: 

“Government should not 

concentrate on one commodity 

exchange if the economy is to 

benefit immensely.” 

The Chairman, Association of 

Securities Dealing Houses of 

Nigeria, ASHON, Chief 

Onyenwechukwu Ezeagu in his 

response advocated an 

implementation of some 

policies that would avail all 

operators in the commodities 

exchanges’ value chain such as 

farmers, aggregators, 

commodities brokers, lawyers, 

insurance and <strong>war</strong>ehouse 

operators among others, to 

benefit maximally rather than 

create uneven competition in 

favour of one commodity 

exchange. 

Way for<strong>war</strong>d 

Having identified the 

challenges and obstacles to a 

vibrant commodity exchange 

market in Nigeria, time has 

come for the government to 

demonstrate the political will 

and put all necessary policies 

that would promote healthy 

competition and contribute to 

the growth of the entire 

economy. The private sector and 

stakeholders should equally 

collaborate to encourage 

investment in all the requisite 

supportive infrastructure such 

as <strong>war</strong>ehouses and storage 

facilities by exchanges. 

Similarly, to enlarge the scope 

of participation, existing 

commodity merchants and other 

relevant stakeholders should be 

encouraged into the exchanges 

either as traders or investors. 

There is no doubt that Nigeria 

needs viable commodities 

exchanges if we must expand 

our sources of foreign exchange 

earnings in the wake of 

incessant external shocks from 

the international oil market. The 

government's huge investment 

in agriculture will be further 

enhanced if we have structured 

commodities exchange. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


Global health stats: Google.org tackles COVID-19 with new tracking tool 

By Prince Osuagwu 

Google.org has joined hands 

with a consortium of Covid- 

19 researchers to announce the 

launch of Global.health, an openaccess 

epidemiological data 

platform that enables experts to 

track disease spread in real-time 

and to forecast future outbreaks. 

The initiative is the result of a 

grant from a broader Google.org 

$100-million commitment to 

COVID-19 relief that was 

announced alongside 30 other 

projects from organisations 

around the world using AI and 

data analytics to support 

pandemic relief efforts. 

It helps to strengthen 

governments’ information 

mechanism and effective public 

response. 

With the support of Google.org, 

researchers from Boston 

Children’s Hospital, 

Northeastern University and 

Oxford University created 

Global.health with the express 

purpose of leveraging data from 

open-access and authoritative 

public health sources to track 

disease progression. 

Google.org Research Fellow, 

Kernie Obimakinde, said: “Data 

has always been a vital tool in 

understanding and fighting 

diseases, but upholding data 

privacy has also been a critical 

aspect in the design of 

Global.health. 

“When an outbreak occurs, 

timely access to organised, 

trustworthy and anonymised data 

is critical as it can help public 

health leaders formulate early 

policy, medical interventions, and 

resource allocation — all of which 

can slow the spread of disease and 

save lives,” he added. 

He said the Global.health team 

are confident that the platform will 

become a key addition to the 

world’s early <strong>war</strong>ning systems 

toolbox, helping identify and 

respond to future epidemics and 

pandemics that may occur 

globally, regionally and 

nationally. 

Earlier research work by the 

consortium helped detect the 

initial COVID-19 outbreak in 

Wuhan, and alerted the World 

Health Organisation, WHO. Yet, 

due to the rapid spread of the 

virus around the world and the 

overwhelming pressure it created 

on their systems, the researchers 

tag-teamed with Google.org to 

urgently build global health. 

CONFIRMED! <strong>FG</strong> working on policy 

to<strong>war</strong>ds 5G deployment 

•Joins WHO, ITU to debunk claims of health implications 

By Emmanuel Elebeke 

Nigeria may soon join other 

for<strong>war</strong>d-thinking nations of the 

world to deploy the fifth Generation, 

5G network services in the country 

This is as the Ministry of 

Communications and Digital 

Economy, at the weekend revealed 

that government is putting finishing 

touches to the policy that will allow 

5G services to be deployed in the 

country. 

The minister, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim 

Pantami, also debunked claims that 

deployment of technology in Nigeria, 

will come with health implications. 

He said that there is no known 

scientific evidence till date, suggesting 

that 5G poses any risks to public health 

and safety. 

Pantami stated this when he led the 

heads of agencies under his ministry 

to a public hearing by the Senate Joint 

Committee on Communications; 

Science and Technology; 

Information and Communications 

Technology, ICT and Cyber Crimes; 

and Primary Health Care and 

Communicable Diseases, at the 

National Assembly Chamber in 

Abuja, weekend. 

Heads of agencies who supported 

Pantami’s narratives, at the hearing, 

included the Executive Vice- 

Chairman of the Nigerian 

Communications Commission, 

NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta; Director- 

General, National Information 

Technology Development Agency, 

NITDA, Kashifu Abdullahi and the 

Managing Director of Nigerian 

Communications Satellites Limited, 

NigComSat, Dr. Abimbola Alale. 

Speaking at the public hearing, 

Pantami quoted the findings from 

independent scientific reports 

published by the International 

Telecommunication Union, ITU and 

the World Health Organisation, 

WHO, both agencies of the United 

Nations, UN which clearly indicate 

that there is no health risks to human 

lives associated with the deployment 

of 5G. 

The Minister said after the initial 

approval by the President which led 

to the commencement, in 2019 of 5G 

trial in selected locations in the country 

and subsequent intervention of the 

National Assembly in 2020, seeking 

clarifications on probable health risks 

of 5G deployment, his Ministry had 

so far undertaken wide-ranging 

stakeholder consultations to ascertain 

the safety of 5G networks. 

Pantami explained that having 

aligned with the ITU and WHO 

reports and studied 5G deployment 

situations in many advanced countries 

where it has been fully deployed 

without any health risks, the ministry 

can affirmatively say that there is no 

health risks to 5G networks. 

He said: “To this end, we are also 

working on a 5G deployment policy 

that will take care of all security, 

health and safety concerns of 

Nigerians and we will get the nod of 

the President, after all issues have been 

addressed before we proceed with our 

deployment, as we cannot afford to 

lag behind in the 5G revolution,” he 

said. 

The Minister clarified that 5G is an 

enhanced technology over the 

previous technologies of 4G, 3G and 

2G, the three of which have more 

radiations than the 5G technology, 

adding that the “radiation from 

mobile technologies such as 5G is 

internationally certified by ITU and 

WHO as non-ionising, meaning such 

radiation does not have harmful effect 

on human lives and it is very low 

compared with radiation from 

microwave oven that individuals use 

in their homes.” 

Representatives of mobile networks 

operators, MNOs, telecom 

equipment vendors, Ministries, 

Departments and Agencies, especially 

the Office of the National Security 

Adviser, the National Agency for 

Science and Engineering 

Infrastructure, National 

Environmental Standards and 

Regulations Enforcement, National 

Office for Technology Acquisition and 

Promotion, among others, also spoke 

at the public hearing. 

The stakeholders took turns to state 

their positions on 5G deployment and 

issues surrounding its health and 

safety concerns and almost 

unanimously aligned with the 

scientific reports from ITU and WHO 

cited by the Minister. 

Hikari AV digitizes Art Hotel with Samsung 

Smart TVs 

By Juliet Umeh 

Indigenous 

Audio-Visual 

Systems Integrator and 

Authorised Samsung Electronics 

Solutions Partner, Hikari AV 

Limited is set to deploy 80 

Samsung Smart TVs and 

Samsung Flip 2.0 at Art Hotel. 

The digital solutions are 

aimed at improving customers’ 

experiences either as lodgers or 

conference participants at the 

hotel. 

Hikari says that upon full 

deployment, Art Hotel will boast 

of ideal home-away-from-home 

environment and best in class 

meeting rooms where innovative 

technology meets cutting edge 

design. 

Chief Executive Officer of the 

company, Mr. Anuoluwapo 

Agboola said guests expect inroom 

technology that is better 

than the experience at home. 

He noted that it is crucial that 

hotels upgrade their in-room 

infrastructure to meet the 

growing expectation, so they do 

not lag behind the competition. 

Agboola said: “Smart TV is 

more than just an entertainment 

device, Smart TV technology 

transforms the entire purpose of 

a television set, unlocking richer 

features and productivity 

benefits for the hotel as well as 

its guests. 

“We are delighted to be 

providing this bespoke 

technology solution that would 

uplift the customer experience at 

Art Hotel,” he added. 

Agboola also said Hikari AV 

will be deploying Samsung Flip 

2.0, an intuitive flip chart 

designed for collaboration, 

allowing teams work smarter. 

He explained: “The device 

comes with Pen mode feature, 

giving users smooth pen to paper 

like writing experience.With a 

simple finger or palm, users can 

easily wipe out the screen. 

Data management: Terragon advocates first-party data ownership for brands 

By Prince Osuagwu 

CEO of Tarragon, Mr. Elo 

Umeh has advised business 

owners to build ownership of first 

party customer data into their 

management structure, in order to 

survive the dynamic tech business 

ecosystem. 

Umeh said ownership of 

customers First-Party data plays a 

critical role to brands’survival in 

technology business environment, 

just as it also adds value in Online 

Advertising. 

First-party data refers to 

information brands collect directly 

from their customers or audiences, 

from various touchpoints such as 

Customer Relationship 

Management, CRM soft<strong>war</strong>e, 

actions or interests demonstrated 

across websites or apps, customer 

feedback, completed customer 

surveys, forms, among others. Firstparty 

data is usually consented to 

and so privacy concerns 

surrounding it is minimal. 

According to Umeh,”first party 

customer data is the most valuable 

data businesses own and is the 

starting point for any form of 

customer engagement. Now more 

than ever, the need for businesses 

to own and manage first-party data 

could be the difference between 

staying in business and going 

under. 

“Customer behaviour is dynamic 

and ever-changing as well as the 

landscape within which they 

operate. The first step to<strong>war</strong>ds 

understanding and responding to 

customer needs is through data.” 

Speaking on how some for<strong>war</strong>dthinking 

brands are taking 

advantage of first-party data, he 

Pickmeup listed among startups to 

watch in 2021 

By Juliet Umeh 

Nigeria’s 

ride-hailing 

company, Pickmeup 

Technologies Inc, was recently, 

named among the top start-ups to 

watch globally in 2021. 

The company was nominated by 

a global start-up community, 

Startup Grind, for meeting 

transportation challenges 

through technology. 

Startup Grind is a start-up 

community designed to educate, 

inspire and connect 

entrepreneurs, features startups 

from several countries across the 

world and in a number of sectors 

ranging from soft<strong>war</strong>e as a 

service, SaaS, artificial 

intelligence, AI, financial 

technology, fintech, clean energy, 

travel, entertainment to 

telecommunications among 


said: “Our Customer Data 

Platform, CDP, was used by a top 

global FMCG Brand in Nigeria to 

surpass their target of building a 

verified database of their customers 

with 1 million first-party data. 

Owing to the success of the previous 

target, the brand is currently in 

discussion with us to grow that 

database to four million this year.” 

He added: “A number of Top Tier 

banks have also been using our CDP 

to enrich their first-party database 

for various levels of customer 

engagement including crossselling 

and upselling their products 

and they have reported an 

improvement in returns on their Ad 

spend.” 

A CDP is designed to pull data 

from multiple sources and 

touchpoints and create a 360- 

degree view of each customer. This 

Among the countries 

nominated, Europe and the 

United States dominate the 15- 

startup list with just one from 

Asia, Hong Kong. 

Pickmeup was the only 

company from Africa shortlisted 

by the company. 

The Startup Grind Team said: 

“Pickmeup is merging everyday 

personal needs into an easy-touse 

digital platform for underdeveloped 

emerging markets, 

starting with mobility. 

“The startup has been 

developed to combat the current 

ride-hailing challenges faced by 

urban and rural users. Designed 

with a simplistic UI for users with 

multi-language support, it is an 

all-rounded dependable platform 

for customers and drivers.” 

allows for personalised and 

contextual advertising. For 

instance, to market a specific brand 

of beer to male customers in the 

East during a premier league 

football match, as against a female 

in the North; or promote travel 

insurance to a bank customer who 

just made a payment for a flight 

ticket. 

•Elo 

Umeh


C 

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VOL. 2 NO. 72 

*Titled women in Igboland 

Why Umuada is powerful and respected in Igbo land 

*They are peacemakers, speak truth, preach love in families — Imo monarch 

*They are caring and peacemakers — Eze Ajomiwe 

*Their impartial nature earns them respect — Enugu Ozo title holder 

*Umuada are peacemakers, character moulders — Chief Okenwa 

*An institution that protects women’s dignity, sanctity of marriage, 

family life — Ebonyi community leader 

By Anayo Okoli, Vincent 

Ujumadu, Nwabueze 

Okonkwo, Dennis Agbo, Peter 

Okutu, Chimaobi Nwaiwu, 

Chinedu Adonu, Chinonso 

Alozie, Ikechukwu Odu & 

Steve Oko 

ENUGU — IN every typical 

Igbo community, 

Umuada/Umuokpu, who 

are women from the community 

but married to other places are 

formidable 

Umuada are well respected in 

Igboland.The opinions 

of Umuada/Umuokpu on traditional 

issues where sought, are 

highly regarded. They are always 

invited to intervene to resolve 

family/kindred issues in their 

maiden communities/families, 

even protracted ones. They wield 

enormous powers; they are dreaded 

by women married into their 

families and even their brothers 

also dread them. It is an age-long 

unique administrative institution 

in Igboland, whose opinions and 

actions are usually not ignored. 

They are seen and respected as 

peacemakers. 

The traditional ruler of Ogbor 

Community in Isiala Mbano Local 

Government Area of Imo 

State, Eze Matthew Oweni, said 

the respect being accorded 

Umuada flows from the fact that 

they speak and stand for truth. 

This, he said, is the reason they 

are always invited to intervene 

and resolve disputes. 

“Umuada are our daughters 

married to other places. Whatever 

occasion we are having in our 

community, we still extend an invitation 

to them and there is always 

a provision for them in whatever 

is shared in the community. 

They will be given their rights and 

nobody jokes with that. For instance, 

if one fails to give 

Umuada their rights in a burial 

ceremony and they go home angry, 

the implication is that the 

burial is incomplete. 

“This means that Umuada are 

still our daughters despite the fact 

that they have been married out, 

if they stay with us, there will be 

no space for us in the family. 

“Another important thing the 

Umuada do is whenever there is 

dispute in the family, they are invited 

to settle the matter. I am talking 

of the Umuada that speak the 

truth. We give so much respect to 

them because they stand for truth 

and uprightness. However, some 

of them do not say the truth. 

“I remember when we abolished 

Osu caste system, the 

Umuada were there to assist us 

achieve it. They must be there. 

What they do is to speak in affirmation 

for the abolishment of 

the Osu caste; this is to fulfill both 

the physical and spiritual demands 

that all us have agreed to 

abolish the Osu caste practices,” 

Eze Oweni said. 

According to the traditional ruler 

of Oriendu autonomous community 

in Umuahia North Local 

Government Area of Abia State, 

Eze Philip Ajomuiwe, Umuada 

have special recognition and respect 

in their ancestral families 

and communities because they 

are caring and peacemakers. 

Ajomiwe, a former Chairman, 

Umuahia North Council of Traditional 

Rulers, said the 

Umuada have special love and 

interest in their ancestral family 

or community more than women 

married into the family some of 

who rather see themselves as 

strangers. 

He said that the Umuada are 

more passionate and concerned 

about the peace, prosperity and 

future of their ancestral families, 

and are prepared to sacrifice anything 

for the good of the family 

unlike most women married into 

the same family. 

The royal father said a man 

could be reserved with the wife but 

would hide no secret from his sister 

who is Nwada because he 

knows she would hardly hurt him. 

According to him, this special attachment, 

uncommon love and 

interest that Umuada usually 

show on issues affecting their 

birth family earned them the 

special respect in that family. 

He noted that Umuada play key 

roles in ensuring their male siblings 

get married for the continuity 

of the family linage as well as 

command the full respect of their 

wives. 

In his contribution, Chief Vincent 

Oyigbo Ekwueme, an Ozo 

title holder in Aku, Igbo-Etiti Local 

Government Area of Enugu 

State, said that the Umuada are 

respected in Igboland because of 

their impartial nature. Ekwueme 

explained that they are not easily 

influenced by material gifts on issues 

of importance, unlike their 

menfolk who can easily th<strong>war</strong>t 

justice over a bottle of beer or other 

common inducements. 

“Men who are on the side of justice 

are rare in our clans now. They 

can easily be influenced, unlike 

the Umuada who do not th<strong>war</strong>t 

their judgment carelessly. They 

are mostly on the side of justice. 

“Most times, when a conflict 

reaches a stalemate amongst 

most clans in Igboland, Umuada 

are invited for settlement because 

of their impartial nature,” 

he said. 

In his own view, the National 

President of Association of Traditional 

Prime Ministers in Nigeria, 

and the Traditional Prime 

Minister of Ibeku Ancient Kingdom, 

High Chief Uche Akwukuegbu, 

the special respect the 

Umuada receive in Igboland 

could be traced to the Igbo tradition 

of ‘Onye aghala nwanneya’ 

(be your bother's keeper). 

According to him, Ndigbo believe 

that marriage does not deprive 

a daughter her birthright, 

hence, during payment of bride 

price, the groom is usually made 

to understand that the bride is not 

for sale. 

Akwukuegbu said caring and 

homely attitude of Umuada 

earned them the special place 

they occupy in the hearts of their 

male siblings, saying that the 

special recognition Umuada have 

in their ancestral family made 

their opinions and verdicts highly 

revered. He said no reasonable 

man in Igboland will challenge or 

flout the decision of Umuada as 

doing so is akin to challenging the 

gods. He noted that the tradition 

of placing high value on Umuada 

had survived many centuries 

and had come to stay. 

For octogenarian renowned 

woman activist, Mrs. Maria 

Okwo, Umuada should diversify 

their traditional role of unifying 

their communities to tackle the 

prevailing insecurity challenges 

in Nigeria, particularly in Igboland. 

“Women’s government is usually 

tough. Not every woman is like 

me, they are so petrified. I am now 

85 years but I have told the younger 

ones that we should now go for 

lobbying so that insecurity could 

stop. I have never seen Nigeria so 

bad. We should lobby the President 

because the buck stops on his table 

and he knows what is happening. 

All these insecurity problems 

are because of Islamisation and 

nothing else. 

“The Bishops in a conference 

have made statements and I feel 

also the women should make their 

own statements, even if it means 

going to lobby, let us do something. 

I reminded our women what 

the Abia women did in 1929; they 

sent the colonial masters packing. 

I am no longer active as I used to 

be. 

“Umuada are powerful in Igboland. 

Look at what happened 

in Ohanaeze Ndigbo, they could 

not allow us to choose our own 

leaders. Are we slaves in this country? 

We have a lot of problems in 

this part of Igboland and so, it is 

my thinking that we should have 

a women’s conference because we 

cannot continue to keep quiet, 

even though I am no longer active 

but there are younger ones 

who are working with me.” 

To demonstrate their authority, 

theUmuada of Ihite village in Ekwusigo 

Local Government Area of 

Anambra State, recently, organised 

a mass return of their members 

to their maiden community 

to prevail on their male relations 

to end a protracted land dispute 

that had claimed many lives in the 

area. 

According to their leader, Mrs. 

Nwanyinma Okoloji, the land dispute 

had created so much animosity 

among their families, adding 

that their brothers could not settle 

it because of vested interests. 

“But for us, there is nothing like 

vested interest; what matters to 

Umuada Ihite is peaceful coexistence 

in the community. So, when 

we discovered that many people 

were dying mysteriously in our 

community, the Umuada held a 

meeting, after which we invited all 

the elders in the community. 

“We prevailed on them to ensure 

that peace returns within one 

month, otherwise we will parade 

the village square naked. That 

frightened them and they had to 

invite all our brothers both home 

and abroad and before the end of 

one month, they asked us to come 

for the final peace meeting. 

“This was an issue that had lasted 

for over 40 years and throughout 

that period, the various families 

were not visiting each other. 

On the day the problem was resolved, 

we, the Umuada, cooked 

all the food eaten at the village 

square and the hitherto feuding 

families hugged each other and 

pledged to sustain the peace in the 

community,” Mrs. Okoloji said. 

And for Mr. Odoemenam Nwadialu, 

the oldest man in Umuaro, 

Azia, the main role of his community’s 

Umuada is settlement of 

dispute among married women in 

the community and attending funeral 

ceremonies. In such situations, 

he added, they stay for up<strong>war</strong>ds 

of four days depending on 

the age of the deceased and women 

married in the village contribute 

food throughout the period. 

Nwadialu explained that his 

people are always careful not to 

incur the wrath of Umuada as they 

are capable of anything. “These 

sisters, Umuada, are very powerful 

and we are careful the way we 

handle their affairs, otherwise the 

community would run into trouble,” 

he said. 

For the Regent of Oba community, 

in Idemili South Local Government 

Area, Anambra State 

Chief Prince Noel Ezenwa, respecting 

the Umuada is the beginning 

of wisdom in Igboland. 

“The Umuada help to re-certify 

or re-invigorate that value for our 

tradition. It may seem archaic but 

we believe it is a <strong>war</strong>ranty that 

depicts our value before the advent 

of the white man. Respecting 

the Umuada is the beginning of 

wisdom. 

“For us Igbo, our custom and 

tradition are held in high esteem. 

Our value for tradition in real life 

is very important. The Umuada 

help to recertify that value for our 

tradition; development or modernisation 

cannot stop or change 

the important roles they play in 

Igboland. Some may see it as olden 

days practice while others may 

see it as archaic, but no matter 

how archaic it may seem, we believe 

it is a <strong>war</strong>ranty that depicts 

our value before the advent of the 

white man and it cannot be 

changed because it will amount 

to destroying Igboland without 

them.” 

Mr. Samuel Chukwukelu, a legal 

practitioner and incumbent 

legal adviser to Nkpor Development 

Union, in Idemili North Local 

Government Area of Anambra 

State, attributes the high regard 

accorded the Umuada in Igboland 

to an age-long tradition, hence 

their decisions are oftentimes regarded 

as the final, saying that 

they are treated as sacred cows. 

Chukwukelu, a former town union 

executive, however, explained 

that in Idemili area, Umuada 

and Umuokpu differ a little. 

According to him, Umuada are 

a combination of women married 

both within and outside Nkpor 

Continue on Page 25

C 

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Why Umuada is powerful 

and respected in Igboland 

Continues from page 24 

community, while Umuokpu are 

those married only within Nkpor 

town. He explained further that 

minor decisions are taken by 

Umuokpu in the community, while 

major decisions are taken by 

Umuada which is a combination 

of all women married both within 

and outside Nkpor town. 

He stressed that both Umuokpu 

and Umuada are very powerful 

to the extent that when a man 

dies and if they do not come for 

the burial ceremonies, it means 

that there is definitely an unresolved 

issue between them or the 

community with the bereaved 

family. And they must be appeased 

to attend the burial. Also, when a 

fellow woman dies in her husband’s 

home, no matter the distance, 

both Umuokpu and Umuada 

must travel to the place and 

show their presence until she is 

buried. 

He, however, frowned at a situation 

where in some cases, Umuokpu 

or even the enlarged Umuada 

abuse their privileges and over 

step their bounds by dabbling into 

certain issues in their communities, 

such as land matters, chieftaincy 

matters and others which 

ordinarily should have been handled 

by the town union or the traditional 

ruler and his royal cabinet. 

For Nze Dozie Nweke, a community 

leader in Oba, in Idemili 

South Council Area, Umuada are 

so powerful that one cannot ignore 

them in matters affecting 

their respective communities in 

Igboland. 

Nze Nweke said the Umuada 

institution could be likened to the 

Biblical Eve who had an extensive 

control over her husband, Adam, 

which explained why a woman 

could easily trap and kill a powerful 

man, once he has canal 

knowledge of her. He contended 

that the Umuada have more 

command in their place of birth 

than in their place of marriage. 

Chief Okenwa Balagwu of 

Edem community in Nsukka Local 

Government Area, Enugu 

State said Umuada are well respected 

in a community because 

they are peacemakers, character 

moulders and mothers of men. 

According to Okenwa, the 

Umuada are a formidable and 

coordinated institution that cannot 

be bought with money and 

nobody can defy the authorities of 

Umuada as they would always 

maintain their stand. 

“Umuada are the mothers of the 

people. They mould people’s characters. 

Someone can hate his 

father but can’t hate his mother 

because of the existing bond 

between them as such love continues 

to grow right from birth to 

old age. Umuada are recognised 

as peacemakers. They don’t involve 

themselves in land issues 

as land problem divides families. 

“It is the function of the 

Umuada to keep vigil if a relation 

dies. They are the people 

to ensure that everybody comes 

and if you fail to come, they will 

not come when it happens to 

you. 

“Umuada are a formidable 

group that instills discipline and 

sanity in the minds of their people. 

So, nobody defies the authority 

of the Umuada, rather 

they can defy the authority of 

men. 

“They are the mothers of men 

and daughters of men. If women 

rise against you, you are 

gone. They are resolved, united 

and not looking for material 

things, not interested in land 

grabbing or chieftaincy tussles. 

They maintain their stand, you 

cannot buy them with money,” 

Balagwu explained. 

A community leader in Afikpo 

South Local Government 

Area of Ebonyi State, Chief Eni 

Uduma Chima, described the 

Umuada as an administrative 

agency in traditional Igbo society 

which comprises both married 

and unmarried daughters 

from the same village. 

As an institution, he said 

Umuada preside over residual 

issues such as abortion, infidelity, 

husband battering, husband 

snatching, enforcement of widowhood 

practices and investigate 

cases where a widow is 

suspected of having a hand in 

the death of her husband among 


“Umuada is an administrative 

agency in traditional Igbo societies, 

especially in Anambra 

State. It comprises both married 

and unmarried daughters from 

the same village. As Nwada, 

she does not lose her right to 

participate in decision-making 


by reason of being married outside 

her village but may lose such 

right as a punishment for misconduct. 

“Umuada have a restricted 

area of influence in communal 

matters. As an institution, it primarily 

seeks to protect the woman's 

dignity and sanctity of both 

marriage and family life. They 

preside over residual issues 

such as abortion, infidelity, husband 

battering, husband 

snatching and enforcement of 

widowhood practices, and especially 

investigate cases where a 

widow is suspected of having a 

hand in the death of her husband 

among others. 

“These are issues considered 

beneath men’s attention and 

properly within the purview of 

women because they have greater 

insights on them. Women 

accused of any of the abominable 

conducts above feel free to 

confess to fellow women who in 

any case, know how to probe 

and prod the accused, than 

men. Yet, in the spirit of protecting 

their dignity, Umuada may 

impose a sanction on an accused 

person without disclosing 

the sordid details of what actually 

transpired to the menfolk 

to avoid stigmatisation. 

“Umuada wield special jurisdiction 

to impose binding settlement 

where the village head 

is unable to settle a matter pertaining 

to family life. Ordinarily, 

such matters may include wife 

battering, dereliction in providing 

for the family or desertion.” 

In the view of D.I.O. Ewelukwa, 

Umuada wield more 

expertise in female psychology 

and can tease out more information 

from their fellow women; 

they can understand the 

motivation behind certain female 

conducts and can impose 

sanctions on their likes without 

being accused of having ulterior 

motives since gay practice 

was unknown to traditional 

Igbo societies. 

“In times past, the decision 

of the Umuada was binding 

but in contemporary times, accused 

persons may invoke their 

constitutional rights to fair 

hearing to circumvent such 

decisions. Again, it should be 

stressed that the 

Umuada institution is more 

pronounced in Anambra State, 

yet, there are similar female 

agencies with the same mandate 

across villages in Igboland. 

For instance, in Ekoli- 

Edda community of Ebonyi 

State, the role of Umuada is 

played by married, retired, elderly 

mothers as presided over 

by the Eze Nwami.” 

For Chief Johnson Okolo, 

Umuada are powerful and 

respected in Igboland because 

they are not partial, any matter 

or issue they judge, adjudicate, 

discuss and take a decision on, 

is never faulted. 

THE TEAM 

SUPERVISING EDITOR: 

Chioma Gabriel, Lagos 

(08052201257) 

EDITOR 

Anayo Okoli, Enugu 

08034046839 

Vincent Ujumadu, Awka 

Chidi Nkwopara, Owerri 

Dennis Agbo, Enugu 

Peter Okutu, Abakaliki 

Chinedu Adonu, Enugu 

Chinonso Alozie, Owerri 

Chimaobi Nwaiwu, Nnewi 

Ugochukwu Alaribe, Umuahia 

Nwabueze Okonkwo, Onitsha 

Ikechukwu Odu, Nsukka 

Steve Oko, Aba






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LIFE-ND flags off training programs for 80 

youths in Delta 

By Festus Ahon 

ASABA—THE Federal 

Government of Nigeria, Niger 

Delta Development 

Commission, NDDC and 

International Fund for 

Agricultural Development, 

IFAD assisted Livelihood 

Improvement Family 

Enterprises in the Niger Delta, 

LIFE-ND, Monday, flagged 

off a 4-day training 

programme for 80 

Incubatees at the Songhai- 

Amukpe, Sapele, Delta State. 

Declaring the four-day 

training programme 

opened, the National Project 

Coordinator, Mr Sanni 

Abiodun, said 80 youths from 

Delta, Abia, Bayelsa and 

Ondo States were picked 

from various Incubation 

centres in the four States for 

the training. 

Abiodun who was 

represented by Financial 

Inclusion Officer, Miss 

Obiageli Ekwelie said the 

LIFE-ND programme was 

all about empowerment of 

youths and women between 

the ages of 18 to 35 years, 

adding that; "it is 50 50 per 

cent in terms of the 

distribution. Female are 50 

per cent, male are 50 per 

cent. In the female we have 

women that feeds their 

families. We give 20 per cent 

to these ones and 30 per cent 

to the other female youths". 

Speaking to newsmen 

moments after, Miss 

Obiageli Ekwelie said; "the 

training programme is 

necessary to educate and 

intimate these Incubatees on 

what they are expected to do. 

It is not just enough to be 

attached to a farm to learn 

the required skill in the Agric 

business. They should be able 

to have the basic knowledge 

on how they could access the 

various funds that they will 

require to push themselves to 

achieve their desired goals".




Boko Haram attacks Dikwa, abducts 7 aid workers 

•Troops dislodge terrorists from town, as UN condemns attack 

in Borno 

By Kingsley 

Omonobi & Ndahi 

Marama 

ABUJA—BOKO Haram 

insurgents have attacked 

Dikwa Local Government 

Area, LGA, of Borno State and 

abducted no fewer than seven 

aid workers. 

The insurgents during the attack 

also burnt the offices of 

the aid workers, destroyed government 

facilities, and hospitals 

belonging to Non-Governmental 

Organisations, NGOs. 

This came as reports said 

troops of Operation Lafiya 

Dole had routed elements of 

Boko Haram and Islamic State 

of West Africa Province 

(ISWAP) terrorists, who attempted 

to attack Dikwa Town 

in Borno. 

The Director, Army Public 

Relations, Brigadier.-General, 

Mohammed Yerima, in a statement 

in Abuja, said the terrorists 

had on Monday stormed 

the town in an unconfirmed 

number of gun trucks and motorcycles. 

He said that the terrorists 

were visited with heavy bombardment 

and overwhelming 

firepower by troops of 81 Task 

Force Battalion and complemented 

by the Air Task Force. 

He said that the terrorists attempted 

to invade the town to 

loot food items and other logistics, 

having got wind of the 

recent food distribution to residents 

of the town by Gov. Babagana 

Zulum. 

According to the statement, 

"They came in droves through 

the Marte axis but could not 

gain access to the town due to 

the combat readiness of troops 

positioned there. The terrorists 

subsequently lost initiative as 

they were cut off completely, 

following the recent successful 

recapture of Marte town by the 

gallant troops. In desperation 

and to scare off residents from 

returning to their homes, they 

planted series of landmines on 

the roads which were also detected 

and successfully detonated 

by troops." 

Yerima, however, debunked 

the reports by some social media 

suggesting that the terrorists 

attacked UN Base, trapping 

25 aid workers, as published 

by some outlets. 

He described the reports as 

false and sensational, saying 

they were clearly aimed at stirring 

tension in the region and 

diminishing the glaring efforts 

and sacrifices of the military 

in the fight against insurgency. 

According to him, the Chief 

of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim 

Attahiru, had commended 

the efforts of the gallant 

troops and the prompt response 

of the Air Task Force 

in providing air interdictions 

throughout the operation. 

Meanwhile, an eyewitness 

said the insurgents stormed the 

town at 5:30 pm on Monday 

evening, and had since been 

in control of the town. 

The eyewitness said troops 

had been battling to dislodge 

the town throughout the night. 

Reinforcement from Ajiri 

town was ambushed by the 

insurgents in the early hours 

of yesterday which slowed attempt 

to engage the Boko 

Haram insurgents when they 

struck. 

The insurgents took total 

control of the town before destroying 

a humanitarian hub 

which caters for over 100,000 

persons, mostly Internally Displaced 

Persons, IDPs, who 

were desperately in need of 

food and shelter. 

Some aid workers narrated 

how the insurgents set ablaze 

buildings and health facilities 

belonging to humanitarian 

workers. 

The attack came 24 hours 

after Governor Babagana 

Zulum of the state, returned 

to Maiduguri, after spending 

three nights in Dikwa. 

Zulum left Maiduguri on 

Wednesday, a day after Marte 

was liberated, and proceeded 

to Dikwa where he stayed till 

Saturday, and returned to 

Maiduguri on Sunday. 

Residents trapped in Dikwa 

said the insurgents were at 

present, moving freely in the 

town, and had mounted a 

checkpoint at the exit, preventing 

people from fleeing to 

Maiduguri. 

The Chief of Army staff had 

recently visited the headquarters 

of the Army Super Camp 

9 located in Dikwa, where he 

gave troops a 48-hour ultimatum 

to clear insurgents from 

neighboring Marte Local 

Government Area. 

At least 35,000 persons had 

fled Marte to Dikwa when the 

insurgents attacked. 

Reacting to the attack, the 

United Nations Office for Coordination 

of Humanitarian 

Affairs in Nigeria, UN-OCHA, 

condemned the attack. 

The UN in a statement 

signed by the UN- OCHA Coordinator, 

Ed<strong>war</strong>d Kallon, 

said: " I am gravely preoccupied 

by reports of an ongoing 

violent attack by non-state 

armed groups in Dikwa, 

E NUGU—FOLLOWING 

the order to block the supply 

of foodstuffs to the South 

by the Amalgamated Union 

of Foodstuffs and Cattle Dealers 

of Nigeria, prices of food 

items have skyrocketed in 

daily markets in parts Enugu 

State and Aba, Abia State. 

Meanwhile, the Association 

of South East town unions, 

ASETU, has described the 

blockade as a good opportunity 

for the people of the South 

East to enhance their agriculture 

and produce more foods. 

Also, Leaders of Omo Eko 

Pataki including Chief Bode 

George, Maj. Gen. Tajudeen 

Olanrewaju (retd) and Mr 

Gbadebo Dallas, yesterday, 

urged Governor Babajide 

Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State to 

embark on the agricultural 

revolution in the state, following 

the blockage of food items 

supply by northern traders to 

the south. 

Similarly, Dean School of 

Post Graduate Studies, Federal 

University, Otuoke, 

Bayelsa State, Prof Benjamin 

Okaba, has charged Niger 

Delta State governments to 

take the blockade of food 

items as a challenge to rejig 

Borno State, during which 

several aid facilities were directly 

targeted. The attack 

started last night and, as information 

is still coming through, 

I am outraged to hear the premises 

of several aid agencies 

and a hospital were reportedly 

set ablaze or sustained damage. 

"I strongly condemn the attack 

and am deeply concerned 

about the safety and security of 

civilians in Dikwa, including 

internally displaced people inside 

and outside camps and 

thousands of people who had 

returned to the community to 

rebuild their lives after years in 

displacement. 

''This violent attack will affect 

the support provided to 

nearly 100,000 people who are 

desperately in need of humanitarian 

assistance and 

protection, particularly as the 

COVID-19 pandemic risks 

spreading in Borno State. 

''Civilians and aid workers, 

their facilities and assets 

should never be a target. They 

must be protected and respected 

at all times. 

''I call on all armed parties 

to immediately stop the violence 

and respect international 

humanitarian law and human 

rights law, and ensure the 

protection of civilians, humanitarian 

property and personnel." 

FOOD BLOCKADE: Prices skyrocket in Nsukka, 

Aba, environs 

By Anayo Okoli, 

Dapo Akinrefon, 

Dennis Agbo, 

Luminous 

not affected —MBF 

Jannamike, Emem 

Idio, Ikechukwu Odu 

& Steve Oko 

•It's a good thing for Igbo —ASETU •Sanwo-Olu must start 

Lagos Agric Revolution now —Bode George, Olarenwaju, 

Dallas •N-Delta states must synergize, rejig agricultural 

policies —Okaba •We'll ensure food production, supply to South 

their agricultural policies to 

boost food production. 

A cattle dealer in Orba, 

Udenu Local Government 

Area of Enugu State, Jonas 

Ndidiamaka, told Vanguard 

that the development has affected 

cattle business in his 

area. 

He said "This development 

is affecting our business because 

we don't know what to 

do when we run out of stock. 

Prices of cattle are higher now 

than the last Christmas season. 

A cow of N120,000 during 

Christmas season now sells for 

N160,000, while those sold for 

N200,000 before, now sells for 

N280,000." 

Also, a banker at border town 

to the Northern Nigeria, Obollo 

Afor, Ifeanyi Anigbo, lamented 

a drastic drop in transaction. 

Anigbo, who told Vanguard 

that most of his clients 

were foodstuff dealers and that 

the development has affected 

the volume of transactions he 

usually had with them. 

Aba 

In Aba, Abia State, a bag of 

onions that previously sold for 

N20,000 now sells for 

N30,000. 

Onions dealer at Orie Ugba 

market Umuahia, who identified 

herself as Matam Bala told 

Vanguard that a bag of onions 

which she bought from Aba 

Onion market last week was 

way-billed to her Tuesday, at the 

cost of N30,000. 

Following the 50 perent increase 

in the price at the point 

of purchase, the quantity that 

previously sold for N200 now 

sells between N300 and N400. 

The worst-hit appears to be 

tomatoes, pepper and other 

perishables from the North. 

It's a good thing for 

Igbo —ASETU 

ASETU in a statement by its 

National President, Chief Emeka 

Diwe said, the decision of 

Northern foodstuff traders was 

"a dream come through" for the 

people of the South East, adding 

that "ASETU has since created 

alternatives for Ndigbo. 

"The blockade on food supplies 

to Igboland by the North 

cannot make us cower, or shake 

or scamper for help. We prepared 

for it. 

"We have noted with great 

delight the statements by some 

Northern groups in which they 

threatened to end the supply of 

food items to our land. We are 

also a<strong>war</strong>e that MACBAN and 

other foodstuffs and cattle dealers' 

associations in the North 

have begun to grapple with enforcing 

these threats. 

"What is really exciting about 

this move by the North is that it 

has helped the plan of Ndigbo 

through ASETU to attain total 

self-sufficiency in food production, 

and it will certainly within 

a short time put a stop to the 

capital flight caused by the 

imperialism of the Northern 

agro-cartels in Igboland.‘‘ 

Sanwo-Olu must 

start Lagos Agric 

Revolution now 

—Bode George, 

Olarenwaju, Dallas 

Leaders of the group, who 

were reacting to the recent 

blockade of foodstuffs from the 

north to the south, said Lagos 

State is blessed with nutrientrich 

agricultural fields that can 

quickly be marshalled into 

farmlands. 

They said: "The recent action 

which halted the convoy of 

trailers from bringing tomatoes, 

peppers, onions and all 

kinds of good stuff to the south 

should awaken the leadership 

of Lagos state to redirect its 

policies in widening its agricultural 

investments. 

"Lagos State which is naturally 

our foremost concern as 

?m? Eko Pataki should, henceforth, 

use a massive workforce 

of her unemployed youths 

across the IBILE traditional 

enclave, whipping our vast and 

enriched lands into huge agricultural 

holdings. ‘‘ 

N-Delta states should 

synergies, rejig 

agricultural policies 

—Okaba 

Prof Okaba, said: "When 

they say necessity is the mother 

of invention, that means that 

when you are faced with a situation 

like this, you should 

take it as a decent challenge 

and think of what you can do 

within and outside the box to 

grow our economy. 

"I think it is an opportunity 

for us to rejig those processes 

that God had given us. Rather 

than panic, I think this is an 

opportunity for us to do the 

needful, we have the population, 

we have the graduates 

that are not working, let the 

government open up farms 

and unemployment will be 

dealt with. The issues of youths 

restiveness and unemployment 

will be taken care of by 

this challenge. 

"I am calling for synergy 

among the Ministries of Agriculture 

and Natural Resources 

in the region, they should 

come together and exchange 

ideas on how they can boost 

agricultural productions." 

We'll ensure food 

production, supply 

to South not affected 

—MBF 

Meanwhile, Middle-Belt 

Forum, MBF, has assured 

Nigerians that the Central 

region would ensure that 

food production and supply 

to the South won't be affected 

by the blockade upon by 

members by the Amalgamated 

Union of Foodstuff and 

Cattle Dealers of Nigeria. 

MBF in a statement by its 

Secretary (Kaduna), Mr 

John Haruna, said, "All ethnic 

nationalities within the 

Middle Belt region comprising 

of the people from 

Plateau, Nasarawa, Adamawa, 

Taraba, Niger, K<strong>war</strong>a, 

Kogi, Benue, the Federal 

Capital Territory, alongside 

Southern Kaduna, Southern 

Bauchi, Southern Kebbi, 

Southern Gombe, Southern 

Yobe State and Southern 

Borno have disassociated 

themselves from the 

blockade of food supply to 

the Southern part of the 

country. 

"The call for the blockade 

is laughable and unacceptable. 

So, we from the Middle 

Belt region of Nigeria shall 

continue to transact, and supply 

abundant food items to the 

South. ‘‘ 

C 

M 

Y 

K

C 

M 

Y 

K 

National Minimum Wage: Impracticable and 

unfair; commendation for National Assembly 

RECENTLY, it was reported that a bill 

seeking to remove the negotiation 

on minimum wage from the exclusive 

legislative list to the concurrent list had 

passed its second reading at the House of 

Representatives. In the wake of this report, 

major news headlines reflected the 

reaction of the federating states and the 

Nigeria Labour Congress to this 

innovation. Punch headline of February 

26, 2021 reads thus: "Differential Wage 

Bill: Oyo, Delta, Gombe, Others Back 

National Assembly as Labour Fumes." 

It will be recalled I had strongly 

advocated that the determination of 

national minimum wage should not be 

limited to the Federal Government alone, 

but that the states should be allowed to 

determine the minimum wage they can 

pay their workers. 

This was captured in my article in the 

Vanguard and Nigerian Tribune published 

in 2020 with the headline: "National 

Minimum Wage: Need to Move from 

Exclusive Legislative List to Concurrent 

Legislative List." 

Therefore, the recent move by the 

National Assembly to pass a bill to move 

the determination of minimum wage to 

the concurrent legislative list not only 

shows that government is listening, but is 

equally a step in the right direction for 

Nigeria to achieve true federalism. 

The powers to determine the applicable 

minimum wage structure is a matter under 

the Exclusive Legislative List. Item 34 of 

the Exclusive Legislative List contained in 

the Second Schedule to the Constitution 

of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 

(As Amended) reads as follows: 

“Labour, including trade unions, 

industrial relation; conditions, safety and 

welfare of labour; industrial disputes; 

prescribing a national minimum wage for 

the federation or any part thereof; and 

industrial arbitrations.” 

The adoption and implementation of 

N30,000 new minimum wage approved 

by the Federal Government has brought 

with it a serious controversy regarding not 

only the ability of states to pay the amount, 

but also the propriety of the Federal 

Government imposing a minimum wage 

on states despite the difference in revenue 

among the states. 

Unsurprisingly, many state governments 

did not indicate their commitment to the 

new wage structure, and therefore 

organised labour has again threatened to 

continue the agitation for a nationwide 

implementation. The reason for the 

impracticability of a uniform 

implementation of the minimum wage 

structure is not far-fetched. 

Since the drop in oil revenue accruing 

to the federation which in turn led to a 

drop in the allocation to the states from 

the Federation account, many states have 

been struggling to pay salaries. Speaking 

out on the issue, the Governor of Ebonyi 

State, Dave Umahi, declared 

emphatically that 95 per cent of the states 

would be unable to pay the proposed 

minimum wage. He was reported to have 

stated that: 

“The Federal Government collects 52 

per cent of the revenue from the federation 

account and when I tried to put the 

N30,000 figure to local government areas, 

LGA, it means they will borrow N1billion 

to add to their allocation in paying 

salaries. I will definitely not be a governor 

to govern such a state and will never 

preside over a state that will allocate 100 

per cent of its earnings to pay 

salaries…There is no governor or political 

office holder that signs cheques but civil 

servants as the country’s leaders and 

labour are just putting water inside a 

basket and praying God to hold it with 

this minimum wage issue,…We should 

determine how much should be allocated 

to education, health, infrastructure 

among others if 100 per cent of earnings 

are used to pay workers salaries…Many 

states are experiencing various problems 

and cannot pay salaries but the people 

condemn their governments over their 

inability to provide good roads and other 

amenities." 

Again, it is both impracticable and 

unfair to impose a uniform minimum 

wage across all the states of the federation 

as the cost of living varies across the states. 

While states such as Lagos, Imo, Cross- 

River, Rivers and the Federal Capital 

Territory, FCT, rank as expensive cities to 

live in, states such as Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, 

K<strong>war</strong>a, Benue and Kaduna have relatively 

lower costs of living. While the average 

cost of renting a three-bedroom flat in the 

central areas of the FCT is put between 

N1.5million to N2million, the same 

Labour should be able to 

negotiate directly with 

individual state 

governments, using local 

indices, in making a case for 

the determination of the 

minimum wages 

amount will be sufficient to purchase and 

build a bungalow in Ekiti and K<strong>war</strong>a 

states. While only a select number of Lagos 

residents can afford to live in areas such 

as Ikoyi and Ikeja Government 

Reservation Areas, GRA, the same cannot 

be said of Iyaganku or Onireke areas of 

Ibadan, with similar layouts but which are 

open to more members of the public due 

to the lower costs of living. 

This also applies to other aspects such 

as food, transportation and even cost of 

education. What this all comes down to is 

that the local peculiarities vary from place 

to place. 

As Nigeria operates a federal system of 

government, made up of states with 

varying standards of living, I consider that 

the issue of national minimum wage 

should not be limited to the Federal 

Government alone. Also realising this, the 

Delta State Commissioner for 

Information reportedly noted thus: 

“To rent one room in Lagos is like 

renting a duplex in Ebonyi State. Why will 

you pay a man who goes through Lagos 

traffic daily and pays high transport fares 

the same amount you will pay a man in 

another state who does not go through 

that? Allow states to pay what they can. 

That is why we are talking about true 

federalism. You don’t sit in Abuja and fix a 

wage for us.” 

Also, the Chief Press Secretary to the 

Oyo State governor also reportedly stated 

that: "Oyo State will welcome the removal 

of minimum wage from the exclusive 

legislative list because it’s a way of 

enthroning federalism in our country. 

States should be able to determine their 

wages in accordance to the productivity 

index of their workforce and the internally 

generated revenue. It will ensure that 

wages are directly tied to productivity and 

not any nebulous projections from the 

centre." 


Thus, from the 

:Vanguard 

above, a National 

News 

Minimum wage 

prescribed at the 

Centre via federal 

Uzodimma <strong>war</strong>ns NDDC 

legislation may not 

adequately address stakeholders to shun 

local realities. Nigeria 

should operate the politics 

system that operates in 

OWERRI—GOVERNOR 

Hope 

some other countries 

Uzodinma, of Imo State, has appealed 

such as China which 

delegates the power to 

determine minimum 

wages to the local 

governments or 

provinces or the 

United States which 

operates a hybrid 

system in which the Centre and the States 

share legislative powers with regards to 

the national minimum wage. The 

advantage of either system is that it allows 

for local peculiarities to determine the 

most appropriate minimum wage for each 

state. Describing the positions in China 

and the United States respectively, 

Wikipedia states as follows: 

China 

“As different parts of China have very 

different standards of living, China does 

not set one minimum wage for the entire 

nation. Instead, the task of setting 

minimum wages is delegated to the local 

governments. Each province, 

municipality, or region sets its own 

minimum wage in accordance with its 

own local conditions. 

"According to the country’s Employment 

Promotion Plan, minimum wages are 

supposed to increase in accordance with 

local living standards by at least 13 

percent through 2015 and be no less than 

40 percent of the average local wages. 

Minimum wages under such policies 

increased by an average 12.6 percent rate 

between 2008-2012. 

"However, the growth rate of minimum 

wage levels decreased in 2016, reflecting 

the Chinese government’s effort to reduce 

pressure on enterprises resulting from the 

uneven growth between labor costs and 

production rates.” 

United States 

The minimum wage in the United States 

is set by US labour law and a range of 

state and local laws. Employers generally 

have to pay workers the highest minimum 

wage prescribed by federal, state, and local 

law. Since July 24, 2009, the federal 

government has mandated a nationwide 

minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. As of 

January 2018, there were 29 states with a 

minimum wage higher than the federal 

minimum. 

From 2017 to 2018, eight states 

increased their minimum wage levels 

through automatic adjustments, while 

increases in eleven other states occurred 

through referendum or legislative action. 

The way for<strong>war</strong>d 

Undoubtedly, the recent moves by the 

National Assembly to implement 

differential wages is a much welcome 

development. There is a need for adequate 

deliberations between the state 

governments, the respective labour groups 

and other stakeholders to consider those 

very local peculiarities in determining just 

how much more the state governments can 

pay above the nationally prescribed 

minimum wage. 

In other words, the system which I 

advocated and which the National 

Assembly is now considering is one in 

which labour would be able to negotiate 

directly with individual state governments, 

using local indices, in making a case for 

the determination of the minimum wages. 

This again, invariably brings up the 

issue of restructuring which goes beyond 

issues of geography alone and in reality, 

involves several other issues and questions 

inclusive of what matters the states should 

have legislative competence over, 

including minimum wage, which I have 

identified here, being just one of many. I 

therefore commend the moves being made 

by the National Assembly to give the states 

the legislative competence in the 

determination of minimum wage. 

to the Niger Delta stakeholders to deemphasise 

politics and give room for the Niger 

Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to 

work for the development of Nigeria’s oil-rich 

region. 

Governor Uzodinma spoke on Tuesday 

during a courtesy visit by the NDDC Interim 

Administrator, Mr. Efiong Akwa, and his team 

of directors at the Imo State Government 

House, Owerri. 

He lamented in the years past, politics had 

hampered the speed of work by the NDDC, 

and urged Niger Deltans not to allow politics 

and sentiments to slow down the work of 

Commission. 

Governor Uzodimma said: “The time for 

politics is over. This is a time for governance.” 

The governor lauded President 

Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of 

Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio 

on the choice of Akwa as the NDDC Interim 

Administrator pending the composition of a 

new board for the Commission. 

Governor Uzodimma observed that the 

NDDC is an interventionist agency, only 

established to fast-track development of the 

oil-producing region of the country. 

“NDDC is not an ethnic or tribal 

organization,” the governor explained and 

<strong>war</strong>ned those trying to portray it in that light 

to stop forthwith. 

Governor Uzodimma said it was regrettable 

that some young people from the region were 

being sponsored to protest against the activities 

of the NDDC, and appealed to them to stop 

and allow peace to reign "because 

development could only take place in an 

atmosphere of peace." 

His words: “Since it is the wisdom of Mr. 

President to put in place an Interim 

Administration, we are bound to respect the 

position of the President and support the 

Interim Administrator.” 

Governor Uzodimma noted that Imo State 

was in dire need of NDDC’s intervention in 

quality roads infrastructure, educational 

sector, especially the tertiary institutions, health 

sector, and also on provision of sufficient 

palliatives. He specifically implored the NDDC 

to furnish the hostel it built for the state 

university so that students could use the facility 

in comfort and safety, particularly now that 

the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc 

nationwide. 

Earlier, the NDDC Chief Executive Officer 

told the governor that the Interim 

Management was meeting with important 

stakeholders of the Niger Delta region as 

directed by President Buhari. “This is 

important, because partnership is key to 

development,” Akwa said. 

Top journalists welcome 

book on ‘The Making of 

The Guardian' 

AT LEAST 100 top journalists, media 

entrepreneurs, opinion molders and 

managers shall be among over 200 others 

expected in Lagos to unveil an epochal book 

that vividly and, in graphic narration, tells how 

The Guardian was made and became the 

flagship of the Nigerian media, especially in 

its first 10 years, from 1982 to 1993. 

Top media men who once worked at The 

Guardian contributed to the making of the 

newspaper, from where they sprang to become 

leaders in various media houses and reputable 

talk shows in the broadcast media arena. 

Some have been and are currently 

information commissioners, media owners, 

and reputable public relations models. A few 

have made their names in the political space, 

where they brought their journalistic 

experience, especially from The Guardian, to 

bear in their works. 

Among the former staff, who are making 

impact in the political space are Dr. Kayode 

Fayemi, governor of Ekiti state and current 

chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum. 

Others are Senator Ayogu Eze, who had twoterm 

in the red chambers and was one of the 

outstanding chairman of the Senate 

Committee on Information and Media. 

Other former staff who were senators, 

expected at the event are Emmanuel 

Aguariavwodo, Femi Ojudu, who is now 

Special Adviser Political Matters to President 

Muhammadu Buhari, and Abdul Oroh, former 

member, House of Representative, and many 

others not listed here.


On political leadership: A review essay (2) 

This is the concluding part of this piece. 

The first instalment, published yesterday, 

reviewed four categories of political 

leadership in Archie Brown's new book 

By LADIPO ADAMOLEKUN 

STALIN succeeded Lenin as Soviet 

Union’s pre-eminent leader and 

by the early 1930s he had become a 

one-person ruler with the Communist 

Politburo (executive) a mere rubber 

stamp. 

He removed other prominent players 

in the 1917 revolution either through 

expulsion or execution after “showtrials” 

between 1936 and 1938. His 

totalitarian rule is noted for the 

compulsory collectivisation of 

agriculture that resulted in famine 

during which millions of Soviet 

peasants died. 

Hitler became German chancellor in 

1933 when his National Socialist 

(Nazi) party emerged as the largest 

single party in the parliament. And he 

became president the following year. 

His ideology of a racially pure and 

powerful greater Germany had anti- 

Semitism as its centrepiece. 

From eliminating Jewish influence in 

Germany, he proceeded to eliminating 

Jews themselves. He led Germany’s 

economic recovery from the 

Depression of the 1930s and 

proceeded to develop the country’s 

military might. Then, he embarked on 

territorial expansion that led to the 

Second World War which he lost. He 

shot himself in his Berlin bunker in 

1945. 

Mao Zedong ruled China from 1949 

to 1976 and his totalitarian rule was 

marked by the Great Leap For<strong>war</strong>d 

(1958-1962) and the Cultural 

Revolution (1966-1976). The former 

was a plan of forced agricultural 

collectivisation and rural 

industrialisation that resulted in 

economic contraction, famine, and 

millions of deaths. And the latter, a 

violent socio-political purge that was 

intended to rid Chinese communism 

of remnants of capitalist and 

traditional 

elements only 

resulted in 

damaging 

the country’s 

economy and 

traditional 

culture and 

cost millions 

of lives. 

Conclusion: 

PROF 

OF. ADAMOLEKUN 

AMOLEKUN 

T h r e e 

takeaways relevant to Nigeria: My 

three takeaways that are relevant to 

Nigeria are: (i) desirable leadership 

attributes; (ii) desirable leadership 

styles; and (iii) urgent need for a 

redefining political leadership at the 

centre. 

•Desirable leadership attributes: 

The fourteen leadership attributes 

provided by Brown are: integrity, 

intelligence, articulateness, 

collegiality, shrewd judgment, a 

questioning mind, willingness to seek 

disparate views, ability to absorb 

information, flexibility, good memory, 

courage, vision, empathy and 

boundless energy. 

I consider the following four as the 

most crucial: integrity, intelligence, 

courage, and vision. And I strongly 

commend them to incumbent Nigerian 

political leaders at all levels, to 

aspiring political leaders, and to the 

Nigerian voter. I would dare to assert 

that any incumbent leader who does 

not possess at least three of these 

attributes is very likely to be adjudged 

a bad performer at the end of his/her 

tenure; any leader who possesses all 

four attributes is very likely to be 

adjudged a good performer; and an 

incumbent leader who possesses all 

four and two or more others from the 

fourteen is likely to emerge as a very 

good performer. 

The aspiring Nigerian political 

leader is invited to undertake a 

rigorous self-assessment and 

determine whether or not she/he is fit 

to contest for a political leadership 

position. And it would be desirable if, 

henceforth, Nigerian voters pay more 

attention to the leadership attributes 

of contestants for political leadership 

positions before casting their votes. 

•Desirable leadership styles: The 

leadership styles highlighted by 

Brown and listed in the Introductory 

paragraph are: dominating/ 

domineering, collegial/collaborative, 

collective, inclusive, and dictatorial/ 

authoritarian. In his concluding 

chapter, “What Kind of Leadership is 

Desirable?”, Brown strongly endorses 

a collegial leadership style. Since 

collaborative, collective and inclusive 

are, in varying degrees, variations of 

collegial leadership style, what he 

rejects are dominating/domineering 

What Nigeria 

needs at this 

juncture in her 

national 

development is 

a redefining 

political 

leadership at 

the centre 

and dictatorial/ 

authoritarian 

leadership 

styles. 

I share his 

preference and I 

commend it to 

both incumbent 

and aspiring 

political leaders 


N i g e r i a 

experienced dictatorial/authoritarian 

leadership style during close to 30 

years of military rule and it is no 

exaggeration to assert that the vast 

majority of Nigerians would not like a 

return to that era. Regarding 

dominating/domineering political 

leadership style, Brown’s position is 

that while a political leader can use it 

to achieve some good results for the 

society, it is possible to achieve the 

same good results through a collegial 

leadership. I share and recommend 

this viewpoint to both incumbent and 

aspiring political leaders in the 

country. 

•Urgent need for a redefining 

political leadership at the centre: My 

final takeaway is a clear choice among 

the four categories of political 

leadership summarised in this review 

essay. It is my considered opinion that 

what Nigeria needs at this juncture in 

her national development is a 

redefining political leadership at the 

centre. None of our four post-military 

rule leaders qualifies to be included 

in this category. 

President Obasanjo (1999-2007) and 

President Buhari (incumbent since 

2015) are neo-military rulers, an 

unsurprising consequence of their 

strong military culture that has 

trumped any desire to respect 

democratic norms. And while 

Yar’Adua’s rule (2007-2010) was 

undermined and cut short by ill-health 

and death, Jonathan (2010-2015) 

lacked the leadership attributes 

needed to provide redefining political 

leadership. The redefinition that 

Nigerian politics needs today – 

devolution/restructuring to reestablish 

a true federation – is 

awaiting a redefining political 

leadership to champion and 

accomplish it. 

•Professor Adamolekun wrote from Iju, 

Akure North, Ondo State. 

•Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State 

States should lead in 

economic recovery and 

sustainable growth (2) 

The first part of this piece published 

yesterday focused on equipping young 

people with digital skills to prepare them 

for technology-enabled jobs 

IT means governments and the private 

sector must collaborate to identify the 

most critical jobs, and then prepare our 

workforce for those jobs. But the biggest 

reason to support the growth in broadband 

infrastructure is to ensure nobody is left 

behind. 

If we have learnt one thing from COVID- 

19, it is that virtualisation is here to stay; 

this includes remote learning, work and 

even social engagements. This means that 

broadband is no longer a luxury, but a 

necessity. There have been many 

suggestions that even when this virus is 

finally in our past, the world as we’ve known 

it has changed permanently. To stay ahead 

of the times, we have to review our ways of 

doing things. For example, we have to 

ensure a skilled and healthy workforce is 

developed. 

Developing a skilled workforce these 

days means preparing our youth for the 

future of work. From digital skills training 

to technical and vocational training, we 

must equip our young people with the 

required skills to take up jobs in the Fourth 

Industrial Revolution. 

I will now touch on land reforms, where 

states are the dominant organisers of land. 

As Chairman of the Nigerian Governors 

Forum, I can confirm we have identified 

the reform of land management across 

states as a critical deliverable for 2021, 

and many states are preparing to deploy 

GIS, and ensure at least 50 per cent of land 

and properties in urban areas are 

registered and geo-tagged. 

Reform of land 

management 

Such land reform, if followed by the 

appropriate legislation by mortgage and 

foreclosure laws, which has been enacted 

in a number of states, including Ekiti, will 

support the real estate industry and help to 

drive mortgages. By doing this, we will 

support the continued recovery of the real 

estate sector, one of the few to show 

encouraging signs of growth. 

While I am confident that state governors 

will rise to the occasion, we must look 

beyond our individual states and start to 

drive regional growth across neighbouring 

states to benefit from economies of scale, 

and regional integration. For example, 

security, which is a major constraint to 

economic activity, can only be resolved if 

states work together, share intelligence, 

and adopt a common approach to this 

problem. We will continue to encourage 

states to seek collaborative solutions to 

such problems, so the solutions can be 

effective and sustainable. 

We will also continue to engage with the 

Federal Government and its institutions, 

to ensure that states are an integral part of 

developing and implementing national 

economic plans. Only last week, we 

received a brief of the Presidential 

Economic Advisory 

Committee on its poverty 

reduction plan for Nigeria. 

We will study the plan in 

detail and share insight from 

our various sub-nationals 

that will enhance the plan, 

and ensure we also actively 

participate in its 

implementation. 

We adopted a similar 

approach with the Economic 

Sustainability Plan, and the 

collaborative effort adopted 

has given more impetus to 

the plan, evidenced by its 

rapid implementation across 

states. One example of this is 

how multiple states have 

provided land to Family 

Homes Funds, and also 

delivered its workforce as 

guaranteed off-takers when 

the houses are built. Without 

the active participation of 

states, such an exciting plan 

to improve the housing stock 

in Nigeria would have a 

reduced chance of success. 

We must remember that a 

rising tide lifts all boats. As sub-nationals 

we must jointly and severally create an 

environment that makes it easier to do 

business, and as a result, attract domestic 

and international investors. We have 

invited the Nigerian Investment Promotion 

Commission, NIPC, to partner with us on 

this, and the Book of States publication 

recently released by NIPC, is only a first 

step, which showcases the comparative 

advantages and investment opportunities 

across the 36 states. We will deepen this by 

using peer lessons to adopt proven models 

of investment promotion, and ensure that 

no part of the country is left behind. With 

the adoption of the African Continental 

Free Trade Agreement, AfCFTA, it is now 

more important that we focus on both 

national and sub-national business 

reforms. This is why we will also work with 

the Presidential Enabling Business 

Environment Council, PEBCEC, to 

The biggest 

reason to support 

the growth in 

broadband 

infrastructure is 

to ensure nobody 

is left behind 

monitor and 

advise states on 

how to make 

t h e i r 

jurisdictions 

m o r e 

competitive. 

As I have said 

at different fora, 

many might 

argue that none of the actions we take at 

the subnational and even national levels 

to revive our economy will succeed with a 

high level of insecurity; and I agree. 

However, I will repeat that we need to 

emerge from this crisis with a plan to create 

jobs and put food on the tables of our people, 

I repeat this knowing that by focusing on 

job creation and poverty reduction, we will 

reduce the lack of opportunity, which 

remains a big incentive for crime. Where 

unscrupulous characters insist on crime, 

we must be ready to tackle them with welltrained 

and appropriately remunerated 

security agencies. 

I believe we are at an inflexion point as a 

nation, and that with brave, courageous 

and emphatic leadership, we will emerge 

from this period stronger and better 

prepared for a future of endless 

possibilities. As William Shakespeare 

wrote, “there is a tide in the affairs of men, 

which taken at the flood, leads on to 

fortune.” It is an important phrase for us 

to consider, as we are now navigating such 

a tide. But it is also important to remember 

how Shakespeare closed this famous 

passage from Julius Caesar by writing, “on 

such a full sea are we now afloat; and we 

must take the current when it serves, or 

lose our ventures.” 

I thank Vanguard Newspapers for 

inviting me to this discourse, and giving 

me an opportunity to share my thoughts 

with such a distinguished audience. 

Excerpts of keynote address presented by 

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, 

CON, at the Bankers Initiative for Economic 

Growth Summit organised by Vanguard 

Media Limited, in Lagos

Like father, like son? 

Dear Bunmi, 

MY DAD cheated on 

my mother when we 

were young and went on to 

have a love child, something 

I hated him for, as we were 

a close knit family. I’m now 

in my late 20s and I’m 

worried it could be the case 

of 'like father, like son' for 

me. 

I’ve cheated on quite a few 

girlfriends, whenever I’m 

bored with them, and 

Dear Bunmi, 

FOR close to 10 years, I 

was married to a man 

who was a control freak and 

very abusive to my family. It 

got so bad that he threatened 

to kill me, if I saw my family 

or attend any of their 

functions. 

I was so terrified of him that 

I took his threat seriously and 

cut off all contacts with my 

family and friends. 

Now, I’m divorced from the 

brute and, for the first time in 

a long time, recognised him 

currently have a son. The 

girl’s parents refused she 

should have anything to do 

with me. 

They believe I am a golddigger, 

though this is out of 

the question. 

I’m ashamed of my 

behaviour and will really like 

to be a responsible husband 

and father one day soon. Yet, 

I have this fear that, like my 

father, I might end up 

always being unfaithful. 

Being unfaithful is not 

something you inherit, or 

was born with. You 

obviously believe it’s wrong, 

so there is no reason why 

you should carry on like 

your dad. Next time you’re 

tempted, remind yourself 

that you can choose how to 

behave – no one is forcing 

your eyes to rove. If a 

relationship bores you, then 

move on, rather than cheat. 

I need to make amends 

for the spineless co<strong>war</strong>d he 

was. I will very much like to 

get back in touch with the 

people he forced me to cut off 

contact with. But I’m worried 

about what they will think, 

after I’ve ignored them for so 

long. 

Dorothy, by e-mail. 

Dear Dorothy, 

It’s almost certain your 

family and friends understand 

exactly why you stopped 

seeing them. They had seen 

a flash of violence in your 

Tony, by e-mail. 

Dear Tony, 

Being unfaithful is not 

something you inherit, or 

was born with. It’s true that 

some people with unfaithful 

parents cheat, but this is only 

because they don’t think 

there’s anything wrong with 

it. 

You obviously believe it’s 

wrong, so there is no reason 

why you should carry on like 

your dad. 

Next time you’re tempted, 

remind yourself that you can 

choose how to behave – no 

one is forcing your eyes to 

rove. Then think about what 

other options you have. 

If a relationship bores you, 

then move on, rather than 

cheat. 

Search yourself to find out 

why you keep getting stuck 

in relationships that bore you 

and, if possible, wait for that 

one person that would make 

a difference. 

Once you meet the right 

partner, your love life 

becomes an exciting 

prospect! 

She wants to combine both family names 

Dear Bunmi, 

MY fiancée and I are 

set to get married 

soon. She has told me she sees 

no reason why she should 

take my surname. I believe 

she should be proud to, but 

she says she doesn’t see any 

reason why she has to give up 

her 'individuality'. 

She has offered to 

hyphenate our surnames, but 

I think that’s just ridiculous. 

I am a traditional man and I 

find her attitude irritating. If 

she’s not going to be proud 

to take my name, I’m not sure 

I want to go through with the 

wedding. 

Muazu, by e-mail. 

Dear Muazu, 

Is there more to this 

relationship than a name 

change? You need to really sit 

with your fiancée and have a 

'heart-to-heart' about your 

expectations of marriage and 

of each other, before setting a 

wedding date. 

It looks as if there might be 

a major mismatch here that 

could cause problems in 

future. 

You described yourself as 

traditional (and I’m guessing 

also quite conservative), 

which usually means you have 

set ideas on how a wife should 

behave. 

marriage and know you had 

to save your life. 

If, however, they seem not 

to understand, you need to 

explain to them how abusive 

your ex-husband was. 

Make it clear you’ve always 

loved them, but were just too 

afraid to make contact until 

now, because of his threats. 

I am pretty sure that once they really 

appreciate the situation you were in, 

your family will be happy to have you 

back. So, get in touch now. You’re out of 

the clutch of the monster that alienated 

you from them. 

Your fiancée wants to 

maintain her independence 

and may see marriage as more 

of an equal partnership than 

the conventional 'man-is-boss' 

model. 

This is not a good sign for 

future happiness, when 

you’re not prepared to 

compromise by hyphenating 

your surnames. It is, after all, 

a meeting-in-the-middle 

solution. 

You’ve got a lifetime of 

decisions to make together, 

which are far more important. 

All should be made as joint 

decisions, with each of you 

prepared to meet in the 

middle. 

VANGU 

ANGUARD, ARD, WEDNESDAY, , MARCH 3, 2021 —35 

Once a cheater, always a 

cheater? 

Dear Bunmi, 

MY PARTNER is in his 

40s and was married 

before. He is a widower and 

has confessed that all the time 

he was married he’d had 

girlfriends, which his wife 

condoned. 

When I told him I don’t like 

unfaithful men, he assured me 

he was now older and had 

more important things to think 

about. 

We currently live together, 

and any time I can’t account 

for where he is, I instantly 

assume he’s shagging 

someone somewhere – once a 

flirt, always a flirt. 

Am I right? 

Munirat, by e-mail. 

Dear Munirat, 

It is a fact of life that a man 

who has had affairs is much 

more likely to have another 

one; so you do have reason to 

be anxious. Since he’s now 

I miss my daughter so much 

Dear Bunmi, 

MY 

24-year-old 

daughter was lucky to 

be offered a well-paid job in 

the telecoms firm, where she 

had her Youth Corps service. 

Now she’s got a flat she shares 

with her friend of many years. 

We’ve always been close, as 

she’s my only child. Her 

leaving has devastated me. 

It’s like someone has died. 

Eunice, by e-mail. 

Dear Eunice, 

Your daughter is not just 

moving out of the house, she’s 

starting to move away from the 

close relationship you’ve 

always shared. In other 

being honest with you and 

assuring you of his loyalty, 

you have no choice but to 

believe him. 

Except you have other 

reasons to suspect he is still a 

ladies’ man, I would get on 

with making the best of the 

relationship, if I were you. 

In this type of situation, you 

have to follow your instinct 

and not rush into making rash 

assumptions. 

words, she’s growing up. As 

painful as it is, you must let 

her go. She needs to be 

independent and live her own 

life. And, in time, you’ll adjust 

and see the advantage of 

having your own space. 

You can make new friends 

and have time for the ones you 

already have, do new things. 

This will take some getting 

used to. But in the end you’ll 

have a different and even 

more valuable relationship 

with your newly grown-up 

daughter.And when she 

eventually gets married and 

moves to her new home, the 

wrench wouldn’t be so 

unbearable for you. 

Not all men fancy flashy 

women 

Dear Bunmi, 

IREAD a letter on your 

page from a woman 

who complained that all 

men think women are just 

“sex on legs.” Well, she’s 

wrong. Not all of us think 

that way. 

I’m a divorced man of 49 

and I live on my own with 

my teenage son. I think 

that a woman’s personality 

matters most, than her 

sense of humour, trust and 

understanding. 

She doesn’t have to be 

sexy or very attractive. All 

that glitters is not gold! 

Gbogbo, by e-mail. 

Dear Gbogbo, 

Since he’s now 

being honest 

with you and 

assuring you of 

his loyalty, you 

have no choice 

but to believe 

him.I would get 

on with making 

the best of the 

relationship, if 

I were you. 

The cruel experience of a 

broken relationship 

humbles a man and teaches 

him to value the emotional 

qualities that help a couple 

to get on. But you must 

admit that sexual attraction 

and the need for a mate are 

what draw men and women 

together. 

Men want to know that 

sex will be on the cards if 

they invest love on a 

woman, and demand sex as 

soon as they can. Women 

are inclined to resist sex 

without the commitment to 

care for her that she needs. 

With time, when needs 

are identified and trust 

comes in, the relationship 

takes deeper roots, or just 

withers and dies. 

Share your problems and release 

your burden. Write now to 

Dear Bunmi, 

Vanguard Newspapers, 

P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, or 

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

36—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021 



Continues from Page 5 

causing problems for the 

innocent peoples, not 

just in Zamfara State or 

the Northwest zone, but 

also the Northeast and 

other parts of the country 

, have been placed under 

surveillance by the 

intelligence agencies. 

We have had a lot of 

reports coming in, 

collusion with people 

from all walks of life.” 

The NSA also 

disclosed that President 

Buhari had given the 

intelligence and other 

law enforcement outfits 

in the country the goahead 

to bring down the 

activities of all 

individuals already 

flagged as persons of 

interest on the nation’s 

security watchlist. 

He said the President 

gave the order that such 

persons be trailed and 

flushed out, <strong>war</strong>ning 

that the Federal 

Government will not fold 

its arms and watch 

individuals or groups 

push the nation beyond 

the edge. 

He said: “Other issues 

deliberated upon include 

issues of freedom of 

citizens to reside 

wherever they wish to 

reside. This is stipulated 

in the Constitution of the 

Federal Republic of 

Nigeria. 

“While at the same 

time, the government 

endorses that anybody 

who is a criminal, who 

acts on his own outside 

the law, should be 

brought to book 

wherever he is, but the 

issue here is that when 

we continue to pitch 

ourselves against each 

other, then this problem 

will only continue to be 

magnified. 

“Therefore, Mr. 

President has charged 

each and every one to be 

mindful of this situation 

because once we start to 

profile ourselves along 

ethnic or religious lines, 

then there’ll be no end 

to it. We’ve seen what 

has happened in so 

many countries around 

the globe, and we do not 

want Nigeria to fall into 

that type of situation. 

‘We’ve had 

enough violence’ 

Naira depreciates to 

N411.63/$ in I&E window 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

The naira yesterday depreciated to N411.63 per 

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

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative 

exchange rate of the window rose to N411.63 kobo 

per dollar from N409.20 kobo per dollar on Monday, 

translating to N2.43 kobo depreciation for the naira. 

However, the volume of dollars (turnover) traded 

on the window yesterday rose by 143 per cent to 

$59.17 million from $24.38 million on Monday. 

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 

“I think we’ve had 

enough of violence, 

enough of chaos, enough 

of anarchy, but I want to 

stress once more that any 

individual or group that 

thinks it can take it upon 

itself to cause disunity, 

disharmony and push 

the country to the brink 

should have a rethink. 

“Any individual who 

thinks he has any 

support, who thinks he 

can undermine this 

government, anybody, 

any human being, as 

long as it’s a citizen of 

this country, any person 

who thinks he’s the cat’s 

whiskers, or he can be 

rocky on the perch and 

lead us into a situation 

of unhappiness, will 

have himself to blame at 

the end of the day. 

“Already, the President 

has given directives to 

the military and 

i n t e l l i g e n c e 

organisations to trail and 

flush out all the people 

that have been on our 

watchlist and I can 

assure you there’s quite 

a handful of people on 

our watch list. They will 

be trailed, they will be 

routed out and they’ll be 

brought to book. 

“They’ll be prosecuted 

and used as example for 

others. Anybody who 

wants to use this 

situation to blackmail 

the government should 

also think. 

“The President, finally, 

has asked us to put our 

heads together to try as 

much as possible to work 

on a whole of 

government basis, in 

conjunction with a whole 

of scientific basis, to 

achieve result. 

“When I say whole of 

government, I’m not 

saying whole of 

executive. I’m saying the 

whole of executive, 

legislature and judiciary. 

“That is what the 

partnership is and this 

partnership will work 

with people outside the 

federal establishment, 

that is working with the 

state governments, 

traditional and religious 

organisations and local 

community leaders, 

while at the same time 

trying to enhance 

community policing.” 

He, however, noted that 

though government 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

PDP ZONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING IN ENUGU—Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of 

Enugu State (middle), with his Abia State counterpart, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu (2nd right), former Governor 

of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha (right), National Organising Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party 

(PDP), Austin Akobundu (left), and the PDP acting National Vice Chairman (South East), Chief Ali 

Odefa, during the Zonal Executive Committee meeting of the party, in Enugu, yesterday. 

would prefer to use other 

diplomatic means to 

resolve the various 

crises threatening the 

peace and security of the 

IN the last six months, Zamfara 

State has remained a beehive of 

killings and kidnappings on account 

of banditry and <strong>war</strong> against the 

bandits by the security agencies. 

Vanguard’s tally and data obtained 

from the Nigeria Security Tracker, 

NST, a project of the Council on 

Foreign Relations’ Africa programme, 

showed that no fewer than 345 

persons were killed in the state 

between September 2020 and 

February 2021. Within the period, no 

country, it would not 

hesitate to use military 

force to protect and 

sustain the peace and 

security of Nigerians. 

He also revealed that 

security agencies had 

good information on 

persons using their 

social status as cover to 

ZAMFARA: How 345 lives were 

wasted, 468 kidnapped in six months 

By Clifford Ndujihe 

Time line of killings, abductions in Zamfara since Sept 2020 

•September 13: A military air strike killed “several” (estimated at 10) bandits in 

Birnin-Magaji/Kiyaw 

•September 17: The Nigerian Air Force killed “several” (estimated at 10) bandits in 

Maru. 

•September 19: Bandits kidnapped 42 people in Maru 

•October 5: Bandits kidnapped six in Maru 

•October 20: Bandits killed 22 in Talata-Mafara. 

•October 25: Suspected bandits kidnapped five in Maru. 

•October 29: Bandits killed four in Maradun. 

•October 29: Bandits killed one and kidnapped 15 in Maru. 

•November 4: One bandit and 2 civilians were killed during a clash in Kaura- 

Namoda, 

•November 8: Troops killed two bandits in Tsafe. 

•November 11: Bandits killed one and abducted approximately three in Anka. 

•November 20: Bandits killed five and kidnapped 40 at a mosque in Maru. 

•November 21: Nigerian troops killed approximately seven bandits in Shinkafi 

•November 21: Nigerian troops killed six bandits in Maru. 

•November 22: Nigerian troops killed one bandit in Zurmi. 

•November 30: Bandits killed one traditional ruler and kidnapped eight in Talata- 

Mafara, 

•December 3: Electoral violence resulted in two deaths in Bakura. 

•December 5: Bandits killed four people in Talata-Mafara. 

•December 17: Kidnappers abducted five in Kaura-Namoda 

•January 5: Kidnappers struck at Kaduari village in Maru LGA and kidnapped 

six children 

•January 9: Nigerian troops killed 50 bandits in Kaura-Namode 

•January 17: 35 bandits were killed by troops of the Operation Hadarin Daji in 

different encounters in Zamfara and Katsina states. 

•January 17: Bandits killed 10 including one soldier, and five bandits were killed 

in Maradun, 

•January 17: Nigerian troops killed 30 bandits and lost one soldier in Bungudu 

•January 18: Bandits killed 35 in Maru 

•January 21: Bandits killed 13 and kidnapped 11 in Bungudu 

•January 21: Yansakai, an outlawed vigilante group, killed two herdsmen in 

Maradun 

•January 24: Bandits killed seven in Maradun. 

•January 26: Bandits killed three in Zurmi. 

•January 28: Bandits attacked Magarya, a community in Zurmi LGA, killing three 

persons, burning several houses and rustling 100 cattle. 

•February 3: Nigerian troops killed 32 bandits in Shinkafi 

•February 5: Nigerian troops killed 20 bandits in Shinkafi 

•February 15: Seven children were killed by a leftover explosive device in Maradun, 

•February 25: Bandits killed nine in Maru LGA. 

•February 26: No fewer than 317 students of Government Science Secondary 

•February 28: 

fewer than 468 persons including 

women, children and school girls were 

abducted by the bandits. 

On the average, this indicates that 

Zamfara records 58 deaths and 78 

abducted monthly. 

Of the state’s 14 local councils, only 

Gusau, the capital city, and Bukkuyam, 

have been spared of the killings and 

abductions so far. 

The most affected local councils are 

Maru, Talata-Mafara, Maradun, 

Kaura-Namoda, Shinkafi, Zurmi and 

Bungudu. 

School, Jangebe, Talata Mafata LGA were abducted by bandits 

Gunmen slit the throats of father and his two sons after a raid on 

their residence near Agama Lafiya community in Tsafe LGA. 

get involved in criminal 

activities, such as 

kidnapping. 

He said government 

had evidences that such 

individuals had been 

profiting from proceeds 

of crimes but <strong>war</strong>ned that 

machinery had been put 

in place to check such 

activities and bring 

culprits to justice. 

“In doing so, I’ve also 

asked all the intelligence 

agencies to collapse all 

their efforts into one 

platform, so that with 

the convergence of 

efforts, we will be able to 

give the required 

intelligence to the 

operational elements of 

government.” 

‘Big names 

profiting from 

criminality’ 

“Now, I need to stress 

also that there are 

individuals in this 

country who have 

assumed a status that is 

beyond what they should 

be. The intelligence at 

my disposal and the 

disposal of the other 

intelligence agencies 

reveals that we have 

certain entities, 

individuals who are 

making capital out of 

insecurity, especially 

kidnapping. 

“This is a situation that 

has to be brought to an 

end and I’m sending a 

<strong>war</strong>ning to anybody who 

is hiding beneath a 

veneer of some status, 

whether in terms of an 

official capacity or 

traditional or religious, 

to stoke the flames of 

disorder will have 

himself to blame. The 

government is very 

serious about this. 

“Like I said, we’re 

drifting into a situation 

that we can no longer 

afford to lose lives. We 

are not going to be 

blackmailed, we’re going 

to use whatever is at our 

disposal, while 

operating within the 

confines of legitimacy, 

within the confines of 

legality to deal with the 

problem. 

“Government has a 

responsibility to assert 

its will, using the 

instruments at its 

Continues on Page 37


vanguardnews 

@vanguardnews 



Continues from Page 36 

disposal to keep the state 

moving. This will not be 

compromised,” the NSA 

said. 

279 school girls 

released with 

help of repentant 

bandits – Gov. 

Matawalle 

Earlier yesterday, the 

279, not 317, students 

kidnapped at 

Government Girls 

Secondary School, 

Jangebe, were released 

by the bandits who 

abducted them in their 

hostels five days ago. 

The girls, who were 

driven to Government 

House, Gusau, as early 

as 5am in buses, were 

received by the state 

governor, Dr. Bello 

M o h a m m e d , 

Matawallen Maradun. 

The governor, who 

noted that no ransom was 

paid for the release of the 

girls, said repentant 

bandits in the state 

assisted security 

agencies in the operation 

that led to their rescue. 

He said: “This is the 

result of our peace effort 

and putting to shame all 

those saying there is no 

security in this country. 

“We have been in 

discussion since Friday 

with the abductors and 

reached agreement on 

Monday by 4pm that the 

girls will be released. 

“We are happy that all 

279 have safely returned. 

They will undergo 

medical checks and 

given balanced diets to 

recuperate by the state 

government before they 

are handed back to their 

respective families. 

“I want to appeal to 

parents not to remove 

their children from 

schools as a result of 

this. We will ensure 

additional security in all 

the schools. We thank all 

media outlets for their 

support throughout these 

trying times.” 

M a t a w a l l e 

congratulated parents of 

the victims and 

Nigerians for the safe 

return of the girls. 

Buhari celebrates 

release of 

abducted Zamfara 

students, kicks 

against ransom 

payment 

Reacting to the release 

of the kidnapped 

students yesterday, 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari expressed 

“overwhelming joy.” 

Senior Special 

Assistant to the 

President on Media and 

Publicity, Garba Shehu, 

who disclosed this in a 

statement, quoted the 

President as saying: “I 

join the families and 

people of Zamfara State 

in welcoming and 

celebrating the release of 

these traumatized female 

students.” 

The presidential aide 

further quoted Buhari as 

saying he was excited 

that the abductees’ 

ordeal came to a happy 

end without any 

incident, adding that 

“being held in captivity 

is an agonising 

experience not only for 

the victims but also their 

families and all of us.” 

While celebrating the 

release of the students, 

the President called for 

greater vigilance by the 

people so that human 

intelligence could be 

collected early enough to 

nip bandits’ plans in the 

bud. 

He <strong>war</strong>ned that the 

time had come to reverse 

completely, the grim and 

heart-breaking incidents 

of kidnapping. 

The President was also 

said to have kicked 

against payment of 

ransom, saying “ransom 

payments will continue 

to prosper kidnapping.” 

He urged the police 

and the military to go 

after the kidnappers and 

bring them to justice. 

Our abductors 

threatened to kill, 

fry and eat us – 

Jangebe abductee 

***Says kidnappers put 

sand in the rice they 

were fed with 

Meanwhile, one of the 

victims, Hafsat Anka, 

said the captives 

threatened to kill, fry and 

eat them if they 

misbehaved. 

Hafsat, while narrating 

her ordeal to the News 

Agency of Nigeria, NAN, 

at Government House, 

Gusau, shortly after 

regaining freedom, 

stated that they trekked 

a long distance from the 

school, had a stop-over 

for some hours before 

they reached their 

destination. 

“There was no clean 

water or good food, and 

we felt we had already 

spent years, even 

though it was our first 

day and the bandits kept 

firing into the air to scare 

us. 

“They were very young 

boys with on one elder 

they called Kasalle or 

Yaya who gave them 

instructions, and he was 

the one that stopped 

them from touching any 

of us,” Hafsat stated. 

According to her, the 

bandits who wore 

military uniforms 

claimed they defeated 

the security officials by 

invading the school and 

successfully whisking 

the girls away. 

Hafsat, who said she 

was happy to be rescued, 

pointed out that she 

would continue her 

studies but as a day 

student. 

Anka, an SS II student 

who spoke amid tears, 

also said they were laid 

in trenches littered with 

human faeces. 

“We saw other people, 

including women and 

children, and father of 

one of our school mates 

who had been in the den 

for three months. They 

fed us with rice laced 

with sand after cooking,’’ 

she added. 

We’re relieved 

Zamfara 

Schoolgirls are 

free – UNICEF 

***Tasks <strong>FG</strong> on school 

safety 

Reacting to the release 

of the students 

yesterday, the United 

Nations Children’s 

Fund, UNICEF, 

expressed delight about 

it but condemned 

repeated attack on 

schools in the country by 

insurgents and bandits. 

Nigeria representative 

of the United Nations 

agency, Peter Hawkins, 

in a statement, charged 

the Federal Government 

to expedite actions to 

ensure schools remained 

safe for learning. 

The statement read: 

“We are relieved with the 

news of the reported 

release of over 200 

students of Government 

Girls’ Secondary School, 

Jangebe, in Zamfara 

State, north-west 

Nigeria, who were 

kidnapped during an 

overnight attack at their 

school in the early hours 

of the morning on 

Friday, February 26 

“While we rejoice at the 

release of the schoolgirls 

and look for<strong>war</strong>d to their 

safe return to their 

families, we reiterate 

that attacks on students 

and schools are not only 

reprehensible but a 

violation of the right of 

children to an education. 

It is a right that any 

society can ill-afford to 

violate. 

“UNICEF calls on the 

government of Nigeria to 

take all measures to 

protect schools in the 

country so that children 

will not be fearful of going 

to school, and parents 

afraid of sending their 

children to school. 

“Schools must be safe 

places to study and 

develop, and learning 

should not become a risky 

endeavor. 

UNICEF will be 

providing psycho-social 

support to the girls and 

their families and working 

with the Ministry of 

Education on how to 

ensure the safe return to 

school of all children in 

Zamfara State.” 

AJAGU 

I, formerly known as Ajagu 

Chinenye Abigail, now wish 

to be known as Anakoro 

Chinenye Abigail. All former 

documents remain valid. 

General public please take 

note. 

AMIDU 

I, formerly known as Amidu 

Akubo, now wish to be 

known as Ademu Akubo. All 

former documents remain 

valid. General public please 

take note. 

HARUNA 

I, formerly known as Garba 

Haruna, now wish to be 

known as Garuba Ashiru. 

My correct date of birth is 

01/01/1967. Not 25/06/1975. 

All former documents 

remain valid. General public 

please take note. 

FEMI 

I, formerly known as 

Oshiobugie Ibrahim Abdullahi 

Femi, now wish to be known 

as Oshiobugie Ibrahim. All 



take note. 

OGUNLEKE 

I, formerly known as Miss 

Ogunleke Oluwatosin 

Abiodun, now wish to be 

known as Mrs. Ojo 

Oluwatosin Abiodun. All 



take note. 

IZU 

I, formerly known as Madu 

Izuchukwu Izu, now wish to 

be known as Madu 

Izuchukwu Kingsley. All 



take note. 

SIMMS 

I, formerly known as Edith 

Nwadiuto Simms, now wish to 

be known as Edith Nwadiuto 

AKINYELE 


Akinyele Kikelomo Labake, 

now wish to be known as 

Rotimi Kikelomo Labake. All 



take note. 

OLUMI 

I, formerly known as Olumi 

Oluwaseun Temitope, now 

wish to be known as Samuel 

Oluwaseun Temitope. All 



take note. 

SAMAILA AN 

I, formerly known as Friday 

Samaila, now wish to be 

known as Friday Samuel 

Nimbong. All former 



note. 

UMAR 

I, formerly known as Umar 

Kabiru, now wish to be 

known as Maude Hussaini. All 



take note. 

IZUOGU 


Mmachukwu Faith Izuogu, 


Mmachukwu Faith Chinabu. 

All former documents remain 


take note. 

SHEHU 


Abdulazeez Shehu, now 

wish to be known as 

Muhammad Muhammad. All 



take note. 

DAUDA 


Christiana Dauda, now wish 

to be known as Christiana 

Markus. All former 



note. 

OMOWUNMI 


Omowunmi Patrick, now 

wish to be known as Zubair 

Rashidat Oloruntope. All 



take note. 

SANI ENEGIDE IFEJIKA 

I, formerly known as Salim I, formerly known as 

Muazu Sani, now wish to be Ogechukwu Blessing Ifejika, 


known as Salim Muazu Shahidi. 

Ogechukwu Blessing Odinko. 



valid. General public please take valid. General public please take 

note. 

note. 

SUNDAY 

OLUMBA 


Oleabhiele Ehiabhi Sunday, 


Ehiabhi Oleabhiele Sunday. 



take note. 

OGBONNA 


Olumba Justina Ihuoma, now 

wish to be known as Mrs. 

Okezie Justina Ihuoma. All 



take note. 

YUNUSA OBIE 

I, formerly known as Mr. 

Yunusa Omeiza Momoh, now 

wish to be known as Mr. 

Yunus Omeiza Momoh. All 



Amah. All former documents 



take note. 

AI 

OLABODE 

AMA 

AI 

IBRAHIM 



Olabode Olatanwa Olaide, 

I, formerly known as Ama 

Sefiat Ochwu Ibrahim, now 

now wish to be known as Mrs. Imo Victoria, now wish to be 

wish to be known as Mrs. 

Oladipo Olatanwa Olaide. All 

Sefiat Ochwu Yunus. All 

known as Imo Victoria. All 







take note. 

take note. 

take note. 

LUKA OG 

ONWUMELU 

DANIEL 

I, formerly known as Luka I, formerly known as Lynda Afoma 

I, PHILEMON MAN DANIEL 

wish to inform the General public 

Patience, now wish to be Onwumelu, now wish to be that My date of birth was wrongly 

known as Lynda Afoma Adiukwu. captured as 11/O2/1985 in My 

known as Luka Patience 

National Drivers license instead of 


Rimamskep. All former 

17/11/1978. All Former documents 

valid. General public please take remain valid. National Drivers 

documents remain valid. General 

License, FRSC. Authority concern 

public please take note. 

note. 

to please take note. 

OLALERE GRACE IB 

AIGBUZA 

I, formerly known and addressed 

as OLALERE, CHRISTIANA 

BUSAYO, now wish to be known 

and addressed as ADENIJI 

C H R I S T I A N A 

OLUWABUSAYO. All former 

documents remain very valid. I 

want to notify NYSC and the 

General public. 

That I am Alaeze Ogbonna. That 

Alaeze Ogbonna and Ogbonna 

Alaeze appears in my 

documents, that my correct 

arrangement of name is Alaeze 

Ogbonna. All former documents 



I formerly known and called 

PRECIOUS GRACE JEROME. 

Now wish to be known and called 

PRECIOUS OZOHU JEROME. All 

former documents remain valid. All 

authorities concerned and general 

public to please take note. 

I, formerly known and addressed 

as AIGBUZA FRANCESS 

EBOSEREMEN, now wish to be 

known and addressed as IGWE 

FRANCESS EBOSEREMEN. All 

former documents remain valid. 

General public to take note.


Rohr tempts 

Bassey, 

Ofoborh to join 

Aribo, Balogun 

in Super Eagles 

Nigeria manager Gernot 

Rohr is keeping tabs on 

Glasgow Rangers leftback 

Calvin Bassey and Bournemouth-owned 

midfielder 

Nnamdi Ofoborh, who has signed 

a pre-contract with the Light 

Blues, with a view to a possible 

invitation to the Super Eagles in 

future. 

Aribo has emerged as a key 

player for the Super Eagles since 

starring on his debut against 

Ukraine, starting all their 

matches in the 2021 Africa Cup of 

Nations qualifiers, while Balogun 

is one of the senior players in the 

current Super Eagles squad having 

made his debut seven years 

ago. 

Former Leicester City defender 

Bassey, who is also eligible to 

wear the colours of the English 

and Italian national teams 

through residency and birth respectively, 

is pushing for a starting 

spot at Rangers after shining 

mostly off the bench. 

Ofoborh is provisionally cap-tied 

to Nigeria after playing for the 

Flying Eagles at the 2019 FIFA 

U20 World Cup and could make 

the step up to the Super Eagles if 

he impresses at Rangers as from 

next season. 

“It would be great for our players 

- Balogun and Aribo - if Rangers 

won the title,” Rohr said to 

Daily Record. 

“We have been watching Rang- 

CAF Election: 

Ahmad’s 

eligibility battle 

begins at CAS 

The appeal by Confederation 

of African Football (Caf) 

president Ahmad against his fiveyear 

ban from football by Fifa has 

begun at the Court of Arbitration 

for Sport (Cas) in Switzerland. 

Ahmad is hoping to overturn the 

ban in a bid to be registered for 

next week’s Caf presidential elections. 

The 61-year-old from Madagacar, 

who dethroned long-standing Caf 

ruler Issa Hayatou in 2017, was 

banned in November after football’s 

world governing body adjudged 

him to have breached several 

of its ethics codes. 

Ahmad was dramatically restored 

to the Caf presidency three 

months into his ban after Cas effectively 

said the possibility of his 

winning his appeal should not 

prevent him from being able to 

campaign for the elections, issuing 

a preliminary ruling. 

Despite being legally returned to 

his position as both Caf president 

and Fifa vice-president, Ahmad 

has not yet been classified an eligible 

candidate for the elections 

as the Zurich-based world body 

awaits a definitive ruling. 

Ahmad 

Bassey 

ers a lot and 

scouting all 

their games 

and there’s 

also Calvin 

Bassey 

a n d 

Nnamdi 

Ofoborh 

who is an 

Under-20 

international 

who both 

have Nigerian 

roots so 

the challenge 

is 

there for 

them to join them. 

“It is great that they are getting so 

much exposure and success at a 

club the size of Rangers and, as well 

as domestically, they have played 

at a very high level in Europe.” 

40 Eaglets undergo MRI age test forU17 AFCON 

Eaglets 

Forty players have undergone 

the mandatory MRI age test 

ahead of the U17 AFCON in Morocco 

with coach Fatai Amoo set 

South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe 

appears favourite to take over 

as Confederation of African Football 

(CAF) President amid reports 

Aruna to battle Indian star in main draw of WTT 

Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has been pitched against In 

dia’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in the main draw of the 

men’s singles of $200,000 prize money World Table Tennis 

(WTT) Middle East Hub taking place in Doha, Qatar. 

The only African that progressed to the fourth stage of 

the preliminary round of the men’s singles, Senegal’s 

Ibrahima Diaw failed to join Aruna in the 

main draw as he was beaten by Japan’s 

Masataka Morizono 3-1 (11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 12- 

10). 

Earlier on Monday, Olajide Omotayo, 

Egypt’s Omar Assar, Ahmed Saleh, Mohammed 

El-Beiali and Khaled Assar 

have all been shown the exit in the first 

and second stages of the preliminary. 

Tokyo 2020 Olympic-bound Senegalese 

fought his way to the fourth 

stage of the preliminary but the 

southpaw Japanese was too 

much for the African. 

As the only African competing 

in the main draw, 

Aruna who is among the 

24 top players seeded 

for the tournament will 

Nnamdi 

to name his final squad shortly. 

It was learnt the players underwent 

the age test in Abuja. 

The result of the test, which will 

Motsepe set to emerge CAF 

President with rivals to withdraw 

HiFL: PACE Sports 

Appoints Dr. Akinbinu 

as Health and Safety 

Consultant 

O 

rganisers of the Higher Institu 

tion Football League (HiFL) has 

appointed Dr Babatunde Akinbinu as 

the Health and Safety Consultant for 

the league with immediate effect. The 

appointment follows the decision of 

the league management body to ensure 

that student-athletes compete for 

league title in the safest manner possible 

while getting the best medical attention 

at all times to keep them fit. 

Dr. Akinbinu is a sports and exercise 

physician and runs an active public 

health practice. He obtained his first 

degree in Medicine and Surgery at 

Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, 

where he returned to undertake postgraduate 

studies in Public Health. 

Speaking on the appointment, the 

Director, Pace Sports and Entertainment 

Limited, Mr Sola Fijabi said “the 

engagement of the consultant is part 

of the organisers resolve to ensure 

that all of the Covid-19 pandemic 

protocols are duly observed across the 

different venues as well as offering 

other health and safety-related counsel 

that would ensure that we keep 

our athletes safe and well throughout 

the tournament”. 

rival candidates have agreed to 

step aside from standing in the 

election. 

Reports have claimed Senegal’s 

Augustin Senghor and Mauritania’s 

Ahmed Yahya have agreed 

to end their campaigns to become 

CAF President. 

The duo will now back Motsepe, 

which will lead to the pair being 

named CAF vice-presidents. 

Kenyan journalist Francis Gaitho 

reported that a meeting was held 

in Rabat on February 27 and 28, 

which was attended by Senghor, 

Yahaya and Jacques Anouma, 

Honorary President of the Ivorian 

Football Federation. 

The three officials are currently 

standing in the CAF Presidential 

election alongside Motsepe. 

Gaitho reported that the meeting 

involved representatives of FIFA 

and saw discussions held over the 

candidates supporting Motsepe’s 

candidacy. 

Senghor and Yahaya are claimed 

to have been offered CAF vicepresident 

positions. 

According to Abdoulaye Thiam, 

President of the Senegalese 

Sports Press Association, 

Anouma will be named as an advisor 

to Motsepe. 

Should Senghor and Yahaya 

withdraw to support Motsepe, the 

South African appears poised to 

become the next CAF President. 

S 

a m u e l 

Chukwueze 

has announced he is 

back to his best after 

his Man of the 

Match performance 

against Atletico 

Madrid at the 

weekend. 

Excited Villarreal coach 

Unai Emery said 

Chukwueze’s comeback 

was “great news for the future 

of the team in this final 

part of the season,” adding the 

team were “beginning to see 

the Chukwueze that most fans 

determine the final squad for the 

U17 AFCON, is expected to be favourable 

as it has now been 

agreed that players to make 

Grade 5 will be picked for tournament 

in Morocco against the 

Grade 4 used for the WAFU B 

qualifiers. 

Officials told SCORENigeria that 

the final squad is ready and will 

be submitted to CAF not later 

than Friday. 

The core of the squad to Morocco 

will be made up of players from 

the qualifiers in Togo with new 

additions to add size and 

physicality to the Eaglets. 

Aruna 

square up against the Indian star 

on table one today. 

The Nigerian is ranked 21st in 

the world while the 28-year-old 

Indian star is rated 37th while 

both players will be meeting at 

the level for the first time with 

odds favouring the Nigerian. 

Chukwueze back to his 

best — Emery 

knew and that this year for some 

reasons we had not seen.” 

The Villarreal winger has overcome 

a groin injury, which 

needed surgery after it compromised 

his performances over 

time. 

Despite the loss to the La Liga 

leaders, ‘Samu’ was the most 

dangerous player on the pitch – 

he provided the most key 

passes (4), most completed dribbles 

(4) and was the most fouled 

player (5). 

“After his problems and surgery, 

the best of Chukwueze in 

a long time was seen against 

Atletico,” remarked Javier Mata 

of AS newspaper. 

“From his arrival at Villarreal 

it was clear he was a special 

player. His speed and the ease 

of with which he went past his 

marker made him grow very fast 

in the team. 

“The team had found a special 

player, a great footballer. 

“The club worked quickly to 

improve his contract and increase 

his buy-out clause – from 

65 million Euros to 100 million 

Euros. 

“But after making the young 

Nigerian one of the top earners 

on the team, things changed, he 

seemed to have lost that hunger, 

that speed and talent, which 

made him different.” 

Nigeria U-19 boys aim high at African 

Nations Volleyball Championship 

Nigeria’s U19 Boys Volleyball 

team made light work of Karu 

United, defeating the professional 

side (25-22, 25-23, 25-19) in a 

friendly game ahead of the U19 African 

Nations Volleyball Championship. 

ead Coach of Rivers Angels Foot 

Hball Club of Port Harcourt, Edwin 

Okon has attributed his side’s recent 

form in the 2020/2021 Nigeria Women 

Football league (NWFL) Premiership 

season to dedication and hardwork. 

The Reigning NWFL Champions who 

are yet to taste defeat in this season’s 

campaign have been without their first 

choice central defenders, Amaechi 

Ojini and Margaret Etim in three 

straight games. 

In spite of this, the Jewel Of Rivers 

have recorded 2 away victories and 1 

home win, a feat Okon says has been 

impeccable. 

Head coach of the U19 side 

Sabi Mohammed was impressed 

by his team’s performance 

and declared 

them ready to do the nation 

proud at the continental 

tournament. 

The former Niger Brass 

gaffer urged volleyball 

stakeholders in the country 

to rally round the national 

team. 

“The game against Karu 

United is a litmus test ahead 

of the Nations Championship. 

If you look at Karu United, 

they have some former U19 players 

and some established players 

too but despite their threat, we still 

overcame them. 

NWFL: Okon applauds Rivers Angels 

“The League has been a very strong 

one so far but I’m happy with how 

things are going,” began the former 

Super Falcons coach. 

“I thank God for how it’s been from 

week one to the last week in Calabar. 

“The dedication and hardwork from 

players always leads to success and 

discipline as well. 

“I have quality players who are always 

ready to step in when the need 

arises. 

“You can see that I have been without 

my two centrals but it hasn’t in any 

way affected our game because those 

called upon have been doing the job,” 

Okon added.


Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

TODAY CROSSWORD 

YESTERDAYS SOLUTION 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

Sudoku 

YESTERDAYS ANSWER 

ACROSS 

1 Measured quantity of medicine (4) 

3 Languid, apathetic (8) 

9 Rider's footrest (7) 

10 Plunder (5) 

11 Fertile tract in a desert (5) 

12 Handsome youth (6) 

14 Immeasurably small (13) 

17 Derived from milk (6) 

19 Not in any way (5) 

22 Countries (5) 

23 Equilibrium (7) 

24 Seasickness (3,2,3) 

25 Optical glass (4) 

DOWN 

1 Tyrannical (8) 

2 People of Switzerland (5) 

4 Not feasible (13) 

5 Forbidden (5) 

6 Self-centredness (7) 

7 River of Hades (4) 

8 Jail (6) 

13 Perfect (8) 

15 Face-cloth (7) 

16 Unmarried (6) 

18 Flavour (5) 

20 Therefore (5) 

21 Lose weight (4) 

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. 

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03032021 - INSECURITY FG declares war on bandits, kidnappers, others

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