11052021 - Insecurity: Bandits attack Katsina mosque, abduct 10

COVID-19: FG 

re-imposes 

nationwide 

9 curfew 

5 

Aggrieved pension contributors rise 353% in Q1’21 

EID-EL-FITRI: 

FG declares 

Wednesday, 

Thursday, public 

holidays 

INSECURITY: IPoB, 

Oodua Republic agitators 

on close watch —LAGOS CP 

•Says ‘Okada' riders, religious intolerance top security 

threats •It's a plot to fuel division—Nnamdi Kanu 26 

19 

VOL. 27: NO. 64332 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 

Insecurity: Bandits attack 

Katsina mosque, abduct 10 

•Abdulsalami denies link with any terrorist group within, outside Nigeria• 

Gov Bello declares one week special prayers against insecurity in Niger 

State•Why Buhari must solve Nigeria's security problem —NEF 

MEETING... 

From left, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao, President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan (middle) and Governor of 

Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni after a meeting with the Senate President on Monday in Abuja. 

Ohanaeze 

fumes over Army 

postings in 

S-East, S-South 

Amaechi inaugurates 

11-man panel to probe 

NPA activities 

My husband wasn’t afraid of 

death —DARE ADEBOYE’S WIFE 

•Osinbajo, IBB, Adams console Adeboye 

COLUMNIST EBISENI 16 TENIOLA 18 DAKUKU PETERSIDE 20 

7 

8 

10 

See 

inside 

9 

Burglars 

raid Chief 

of Staff's 

residence 

in Aso 

Villa 

8 

NGE, IPC 

kick as IGP 

team arrests 

Imo 

newspaper 

vendors 

agents over 

IPOB stories 

Mr & Mrs 

28

C 

M 

Y 

2 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021

4 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11 , 2021 

COVID-19: Poor adherence to safety guidelines 

threatening efforts to avert 3rd wave — NCDC 

As FG enforces new travel protocols .By Chioma Obinna, 

Lawani Mikairu, Dirisu 

Yakubu, Bashir Bello 

& Davis Ihemnachor 

FOLLOWING warnings 

by the World Health 

Organisation, WHO, of a 

high risk of third wave of 

COVID-19 infections in 

Africa and Nigeria in 

particular, the Nigeria 

Centre for Disease Control, 

NCDC, has raised the 

alarm that the nonadherance 

of Nigerians to 

the COVID-19 safety 

guidelines is threatening 

efforts geared towards 

preventing a third wave of 

coronavirus infections in 

the country. 

Last week, the Indian 

variant of interest known as 

B.1.617, was confirmed in 

Kenya. The East African 

country's health ministry 

had last Wednesday 

announced that the strain 

had been detected in five 

Indian nationals who 

arrived in the country 

before a ban on flights from 

India took effect. 

Uganda was the first 

African country to report 

the variant. The Uganda 

Virus Research Institute 

(UVRI) said the strain was 

discovered in travellers 

returning from India. 

Report also revealed that 

South Africa was on edge 

after 14 crew members of a 

ship from India docked in 

Durban, tested positive for 

COVID-19. 

However, in a chat with 

Good Health Weekly, the 

NCDC Director-General, 

Dr Chikwe Iheakweazu, 

lamented that while the 

government is 

continuously 

strengthening the 

country’s response 

capacity, Nigerians were 

not adhering as expected 

to the required measures 

in place to prevent a surge 

in new cases. 

He alerted that now that 

the Indian varriant of 

interest is spreading, there 

is poor adherence to public 

health and social measures 

across the country. 

According to him, people 

are not wearing their face 

masks or practicing 

physical distancing. 

“We know from the 

experience in other 

countries that a large 

outbreak can quickly 

cripple the public health 

system. 

“So, we appeal to all 

Nigerians to take collective 

responsibility in 

preventing a surge in 

cases in our country. 

Please wash your hands 

regularly, wear a face mask 

properly in public settings 

and practice physical,” he 

A passenger being screened on arrival at the Muritala Muhammed International 

Airport, in Lagos 

added. 

Ihekweazu who 

explained that the 

implementation of the 

guidelines on quarantine 

is being led by the 

Department of Port Health 

Services, with support 

from State Ministries of 

Health and other relevant 

government agencies, 

noted that states are 

working very hard with 

support from the relevant 

Departments and 

Agencies, 

in 

implementing the 

measures that are in place 

to reduce the risk of an 

increase in COVID-19 

cases in Nigeria. 

“In order to prevent the 

use of fake COVID-19 

results, we introduced a 

result verification platform 

for travellers together with 

Port Health Services and 

other relevant agencies. 

With this platform, it is 

easier to detect fake 

COVID-19 PCR test 

results. 

“The Presidential Task 

Force on COVID-19 has 

mandated that individuals 

who present with fake 

results are prosecuted 

according to the law,” 

On adherence to the 

isolation protocol, 

Ihekweazu said states like 

Lagos have announced 

use of its EKOTELEMED 

to monitor travellers on 

arrival, in addition to 

deploying surveillance 

officers to enforce the 

isolation protocol. He 

further said that the 

responsibility also lies with 

citizens. 

“We appeal to all 

travellers to adhere to the 

Nigerian travel protocol 

including self-isolation 

and post-arrival PCR tests. 

These measures are in 

place to protect you, your 

family and loved ones.” 

On testing, he disclsoed 

that COVID-19 tests has 

declined while the 

laboratories established 

across the country continue 

to maintain their 

operations. 

“We have been working 

with states to raise demand 

for testing among members 

of the public. Additionally, 

we have been supporting 

the roll out of approved 

Antigen-based Rapid 

Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) in 

hospitals, at the recently 

concluded National Sports 

Festival and others. These 

are not as accurate as the 

PCR test, but provide a 

rapid means of detecting 

cases especially in large 

groups. 

“We appeal to schools 

especially those with 

accommodation facilities, 

hospitals and workplaces to 

adopt the regular use of 

Ag-RDTs to ensure testing 

continues,” he avowed. 

FG enforces new 

travel protocols at 

MMIA 

Following directives from 

the Presidential Steering 

Committee on COVID-19 

that non-Nigerians and 

non-residents in Nigeria 

who had stayed in India, 

Brazil or Turkey two weeks 

prior to their trip to Nigeria 

should be denied entry, 

airlines and passengers 

from international routes 

have been complying with 

the new travel protocol. 

Vanguard investigations 

reveal that the level and 

intensity of screening has 

been intensified for 

inbound passengers 

arriving the international 

airport in Lagos, Abuja and 

Kano from the countries 

currently suffering from the 

second and third waves of 

the COVID-19 pandemic. 

At the Muritala 

Muhammed International 

Airport, MMIA, Lagos, the 

screening and surveillance 

of all arriving passengers 

has intensified even as the 

Port Health officials are 

giving special attention to 

passengers on flights from 

Brazil, India and Turkey. 

Speaking with Vanguard 

on the new directives from 

the Presidential Steering 

Committee, the South West 

Regional Manager of the 

Federal Airports Authority 

of Nigeria, FAAN, Mrs 

Victoria Sina -Aba said there 

has been substantial 

compliance with the new 

directives by the Lagos 

airport officials responsible 

for screening passengers 

and flights. 

She also said FAAN has 

put measures in place to 

ensure compliance by the 

various agencies at the 

airport, even as she said the 

airlines have been 

complying with the new 

directives. 

"Yes, the airlines are 

complying with the new 

directives from the 

Presidential Steering 

Committee on COVID-19. 

Port Health is monitoring 

flights and passengers 

from these three countries 

and other countries in line 

with the new protocols, " she 

noted. 

When our correspondent 

visited the airport, Port 

Health officials were 

observed strictly enforcing 

the guidelines. All 

incoming passengers 

particularly from Brazil, 

India and Turkey, were 

thoroughly screened to 

ensure that they comply 

with the new COVID-19 

protocols. 

A passenger, who 

pleaded anonymity, told 

Vanguard that he came in 

from France, and that even 

though the new screening 

protocols is tough on 

passengers, it is a 

welcome development. 

"It is in everybody's 

interest and safety. We 

should curtail the spread 

of this dreaded virus. I 

pray Nigeria does not 

experience third wave, " 

he said. 

Strict enforcement 

in Abuja airport 

At the Nnamdi Azikiwe 

International Airport, 

Abuja, strict enforcement of 

the new travel protocols is 

also as airlines and 

passengers are 

demonstrating eagerness 

to comply. 

Vanguard investigation 

showed that in addition to 

the compulsory use of face 

masks and routine hand 

sanitizing, the Nigerian 

Civil Aviation Authority, 

NCAA, Federal Airport 

Authority of Nigeria, 

FAAN and other relevant 

bodies are collaborating to 

ensure compliance with 

all COVID-19 related 

protocols. 

In a chat with Vanguard, 

the Director of Press and 

Public Affairs, Federal 

Ministry of Aviation, Mr 

James Odaudu, said all 

international airlines are 

expected to comply, 

adding however that those 

found to have violated the 

directive would be 

punished appropriately. 

“All airlines plying the 

routes are adequately 

informed and therefore, 

there is no need for any 

enforcement for them to 

comply. However there 

are penalties for 

disobedience to a 

country’s civil aviation 

regulations." 

An NCAA official 

however assured that all 

international airlines 

operating at the airport are 

adhering strictly to the 

Provisional Quarantine 

Protocol earlier put in place 

by the Presidential 

Taskforce on COVID-19. 

He added that though 

the coronavirus is on its 

way "out of our lives", 

passengers are still 

expected to test negative 

by polymerase chain 

reaction (PCR) from the 

country of exit four days 

(96 hours) before 

departure. Tests done 

more than 96 hours before 

departure are not valid. 

"Passengers are required 

to fill in an online Health 

Declaration/Self- 

Reporting Form located on 

the Nigeria International 

Travel Portal which must be 

submitted online or 

printed for presentation on 

arrival. Information 

provided must be 

verifiable," he stated. 

Full compliance in 

Kano airport 

In Kano, Vanguard 

gathered at the Malam 

Aminu Kano International 

Airport, MAKIA, that as 

international flights 

resumed, only flights by 

Ethiopian Airlines and 

Egypt Air have been 

arriving and taking off from 

the airport for travellers to 

and from Egypt and to the 

lesser Hajj. No flights from 

Europe or other 

destinations have been 

recorded. 

At the airport, our 

correspondent observed 

some level of preparedness 

to ensure compliance to the 

COVID-19 protocols with 

social distancing, use of 

face masks, hand washing 

and hand sanitizer at 

specific points of the 

linternational wing of the 

airport. 

As at the time our 

correspondent visited the 

airport, no flight had 

arrived or departed and 

there were no passengers 

around. 

Port Harcourt 

airport gears up 

Management of the 

International Wing of the 

Port Harcourt International 

Airport, Omagwa, Rivers 

State, said it is concluding 

arrangements to carry out 

a dry run of its facilities to 

resume flight operations 

soon. 

The management said it 

resumed operations on the 

5th of May but full 

operations would resume 

after test-runs on the 

facility. 

When Vanguard visited 

the facility on Monday, the 

offices were opened with 

cleaners carrying on their 

responsibilities. 

Some senior staff 

members also resumed 

activities, but airline 

companies were yet to 

commence operations. 

A source within the 

Operations Department of 

the Airport said: 

"Operations will resume at 

the International Wing of 

the Port Harcourt 

International Airport, 

Omagwa, Port Harcourt on 

the 18th of May when the 

first flight may arrive. 

Everybody is getting ready 

even the COVID-19 teams. 

Mr. Kunle Akinbode, a 

senior Staff in the same 

Department said official 

statement on the 

preparedness of the 

International Wing of the 

airport would be made 

soon. 

He noted that the 

terminal was ready to 

receive flights from the 

18th of May, adding that a 

dry-run on the facility 

would be carried out in the 

facility on the 17th.

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021— 5 

POCKET CARTOON 

Lawyers from the eight branches of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, in 

Anambra State stormed Government House in Awka to press home their 

demand for financial autonomy and independence of judiciary in the state. 

COVID-19: 

FG re-imposes 

nationwide curfew 

•Limits gatherings to 50 persons 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA — 

Disturbed by 

the resurgence 

of COVID-19 pandemic, 

the Federal Government 

yesterday announced 

reintroduction of all 

extant control measures 

aimed at mitigating the 

impact of the deadly 

scourge. 

Accordingly, the 

Presidential Steering 

Committee, PSC, on 

COVID-19 reimposed 

nationwide curfew 

earlier put in place to 

control the spread of the 

virus. 

It also limited 

gatherings, especially in 

enclosed spaces, to a 

maximum of 50 persons, 

urging 

state 

governments to 

inaugurate mobile courts 

to try offenders. 

Speaking at a media 

briefing in Abuja, 

Secretary to the 

Government of the 

Federation, SGF, and 

chairman of the PSC, Mr 

Boss Mustapha, said the 

committee also 

considered several preemptive 

measures to be 

taken to mitigate the 

likely impact of the 

variants of concern, 

should they get imported 

into Nigeria. 

“Accordingly, the PSC 

has produced new 

Implementation 

Guidelines, being Phase 

IV of our Eased 

Restrictions of COVID- 

19 Lock-down in the 

country. 

Why 

restrictions are 

coming back 

— PSC 

“This step has become 

compelling in view of the 

fragile state of our health 

systems, the disruption 

to the vaccines delivery 

and the lack of 

compliance with the 

extant public health 

measures and social 

measures contained in 

the Coronavirus Disease 

(COVID-19) Health 

Protection Regulations 

2021. 

"The PSC has, 

therefore, considered it 

imperative to re-institute 

the various public health 

measures that were put 

in place under the health 

Protection Regulations. 

“In taking this step, the 

PSC requests state 

governments to please 

step up to play lead roles 

in the area of 

enforcement and 

sanctions. 

"Similarly, our appeal 

goes to traditional, 

religious and community 

leaders to take up more 

ownership and 

responsibility for risk 

communication and 

community engagement 

on the virulent nature of 

the pandemic, concerns 

over the variants of 

concern and the need for 

compliance," the SGF 

stated. 

He added that the 

Authorities of ECOWAS 

Heads of State and 

Government has fixed 

the cost of COVID-19 

testing, whether PCR or 

otherwise, at $50 (Fifty 

US Dollars) at all Points 

of Entry with effect from 

17th May, 2021. 

The decision, he said, 

was to ease travel and 

trade among citizens of 

ECOWAS States 

traveling within the 

region. 

PSC’s Head of 

Technical Secretariat, Dr 

Mukhtar Mohammed, 

said persons without face 

masks will no longer be 

allowed into government 

institutions while it 

directed security 

agencies to enforce the 

use of such masks and 

other 

nonpharmaceutical 

interventions in the 

transportation sector. 

According to him, most 

government meetings 

are also now to hold 

virtually, while only 

essential international 

travels are encouraged, 

with adherence to all 

protocols. 

‘No restrictions 

on inter-state 

travel’ 

Mohammed was, 

however, emphatic that 

there are no restrictions 

on intra-state travels. 

“The PSC continues to 

reinforce the 

surveillance system at 

the country’s points of 

entry. While our vaccine 

roll-out has began, there 

is a shortage in global 

supplies affected by the 

current situation in 

India. 

"This translates to a 

delay in vaccinating a 

large proportion of the 

population and therefore 

a risk of a large outbreak 

especially in the context 

of poor adherence to the 

recommended public 

health and social 

measures. 

"The level of adherence 

to the use of face masks, 

physical distancing, 

temperature checks in 

public spaces, handwashing 

and limits on 

large gatherings remain 

very poor. In some areas, 

these are even nonexistent. 

"In line with the 

increasing risk of a surge 

in cases, the PSC is 

therefore maintaining 

the enforcement of the 

COVID-19 Health 

Protection Regulations. 

This is to mitigate the 

risk of a spike in new 

cases while the 

nationwide vaccine roll 

out continues. 

"Further to these 

recommendations and 

effective from 0001hours 

of Tuesday, May 11, 

2021, this Phase 4 of the 

phased restriction of 

movement shall come 

into effect. We shall 

maintain restrictions on 

mass gatherings outside 

work settings with a 

maximum number of 50 

people in any enclosed 

space. 

"Approved gatherings 

must be held with 

physical distancing 

measures and other nonpharmaceutical 

interventions in place. 

Enforcement of a 

mandatory requirement 

of a seven-day 

quarantine for all 

international passengers 

arriving from foreign 

destinations, while 

institutional quarantine 

for international 

passengers arriving from 

the three countries of 

India, Brazil and Turkey. 

Continues on Page 28 

By Yinka Latona 

On how FG, States can tackle spate of insecurity 

The Minister of 

Information recently 

said that ‘bandits cannot be 

prosecuted by the FG’, 

however, ransom is being 

advised to be paid by 

CBN. I will recommend 

State Policing be 

prioritized, increase 

capacity and funds to 

enable them carry out 

their duty of combating 

insecurity, protecting the 

lives and property of 

citizens. 

—Jude Oseh, 

Development Advocate 

One of the underlying 

issues with insecurity in 

Nigeria is the centralisation 

of the police system. Each state 

should have its own police to 

enforce the laws and secure 

citizens, while the FG should 

have its own police to handle 

federal-related issues but is not 

allowed to overrule the state 

police. When this is done, the 

security of each state will 

depend on the state and they 

can be held to account where 

there are gaps. 

—Oladejo Joshua, 

Consultant 

When Dai Lama said 

that a lack of transparency 

results in distrust and a deep sense 

of insecurity, he must have had 

Nigeria in mind. The current 

unrest and scary level of mutual 

suspicion among Nigerians, is 

due to lack of transparency in 

leadership. Govt’s duty is to 

protect our lives and property; they 

have all the security agencies at 

their disposal so equip, encourage 

and put them to full use against 

the enemies of state. If you want 

peace, then be prepared for war. 

—Folorunso F. Adisa, 

Mediaprenuer 

If truly 110 million 

Nigerians (60%) of the 

population is hungry as 

reported by World Food 

Program, I don’t think 

there’s a best approach to 

be employed by govt to 

tackle insecurity other than 

giving the citizens a friendly 

economy. No nation is 

secure when majority of its 

citizens are hungry. The 

more the hunger, the more 

the insecurity. 

—Hashim Yussuf, 

Student 

It is often said that “a 

city that attacked its 

security should be ready 

for the criminals.” The 

problem of insecurity in 

Nigeria happened as 

result of failure on the 

part of our government. 

It has political 

undertone. I advise the 

government of the day to 

search her corridors and 

sweep away bad eggs 

among them. 

—Mike-Seejoy, 

Writer 

The insecurity at this time 

is so deep that it seems 

attaining peace with this 

administration might be 

impossible. I suggest the FG 

rights its wrongs by stopping 

all negotiations with 

terrorists. They should then 

mobilise all the security 

agencies in the 6 geo-political 

zones, draw up strategies to 

tackle insecurity according to 

the peculiarities in each zone, 

implement these strategies by 

providing adequate funding 

and training to the personnel. 

—Addola Osunkoya, 

Media personality

6— Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 

Strange 

disease: Kano 

govt confirms 

outbreak, says 

6 persons dead 

By Bashir Bello 

KANO— THE Kano State 

Government, yesterday, 

confirmed six persons dead of a 

strange disease in Koya, Minjibir 

Local Government Area of the 

state. 

The Commissioner for Health, 

Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, 

who confirmed the outbreak, 

which has symptoms of vomiting 

and diarrhoea, said 52 persons 

were affected by the outbreak of 

which six died, 28 discharged and 

18 still on admission. 

The commissioner attributed 

the root cause of the outbreak to 

open defecation and unhygienic 

practices by the citizens. 

He said: “The outbreak with 

symptoms of vomiting and 

diarrhoea manifested in Koya, 

Minjibir LGA on Friday. 52 

persons were affected by the 

outbreak, of which six died. Some 

died at home while some died in 

the hospital when efforts were on 

top gear to rescue their lives. 

“As of last night (Sunday), 28 

victims were discharged and 18 

were still on admission. Most of 

the victims were children. 

“The personnel of the ministry 

had since swung into action, 

especially in the aspect of public 

enlightenment on the residents 

to keep their environment clean. 

“We are also enlightening them 

on first aid measures of giving 

oral rehydration salt to patients 

before getting to the hospital. 

“The enlightenment is carried 

out across all local government 

area in the state as a similar 

outbreak was experienced in 

Kumbotso and Gaya but has been 

put under control.” 

Police kill 2 

suspected 

robbers in Ogun 

By James Ogunnaike 

ABEOKUTA—Men of the 

Ogun State Police 

Command, Sunday, shot and 

killed two suspected armed 

robbers at Sagamu 

interchange, along Lagos- 

Ibadan expressway. 

The Police Public Relations 

Officer of the command, 

Abimbola Oyeyemi, who 

disclosed this, yesterday, in a 

statement said the police 

engaged the robbers in a gun 

battle during a robbery 

operation. 

According to Oyeyemi, the 

police at the Sagamu Division 

received a distress call that “a 

robbery operation was going 

on at Sagamu interchange and 

that one of their victims has 

been seriously injured. 

“Upon the distress call, the 

DPO of the division, CSP Okiki 

Agunbiade, quickly led his 

patrol team to the scene where 

they met the robbers attacking 

another victim, Agba Enoch. 

“The team engaged them in 

a gun battle, at the end of which 

two members of the gang were 

fatally injured, while others 

escaped with gunshot injuries. 

“The injured victim, one 

Adekunle Adewale, who was 

seriously macheted on the head 

was rushed to hospital.” 

We abducted 4 persons taking shelter at 

bus stop after missing target — Suspect 

By Dayo Johnson 

AKURE—ONE of the four sus 

pected kidnappers arrested by 

the Ondo State security outfit, 

Amotekun, Usman Garuba, has disclosed 

that the four persons abducted 

by them were not their target. 

Garuba, Yaman Muhammed, 

Umar Ali and Abubakar Sidiku were 

paraded by the Amotekun operatives 

in Akure for allegedly abducting 

four persons at Oda Road in 

the state capital. 

Garuba said they missed their target, 

a businessman living around 

Oda road area in the metropolis, but 

resorted to abducting four persons, 

who were taking shelter at a bus 

stop in the area following rainfall. 

Vanguard gathered that two of the 

victims were rescued but the kidnappers 

reportedly changed location 

and held on to the remaining 

victim, demanding ransom. 

It was in the course of collecting 

ransom that Garuba was arrested 

by Amotekun operatives. 

37-year-old Garuba took the security 

operatives to their hideouts 

where others were arrested and the 

remaining female victims rescued. 

In an interview with Vanguard, 

Garuba said he was introduced to 

the business by his master, who 

promised to give him a job. 

According to him, it was Mohammed 

that raped their victim, while 

Sanni beat up a woman who refused 

to pay ransom. 

He said: “It was my oga that 

brought me and told me there was 

a job for me. He went to a man and 

collected N100,000 after threatening 

to kidnap him. 

By Ugochukwu 

Alaribe 

UMUAHIA—A woman, Mrs 

Amaka Ejike, whose husband 

died while on a business trip to 

China, has called on the Nigerian 

Embassy in the country to facilitate 

the return of his corpse for burial in 

Nigeria. 

Amaka, who disclosed that her 

husband died in China on 

December 31, 2020, lamented that 

she has made efforts to get the 

assistance of the Nigerian Embassy 

in Shanghai, but was told that they 

could not do anything to help her. 

Narrating her ordeal during the 

Aba South constituency summit, 

with the theme; ‘Enhancing small 

scale business opportunities 

between Nigeria and China in the 

COVID-19 Era’, in Aba, Abia State, 

Amaka further said she declined 

offers to cremate her husband’s 

corpse because it is against Igbo 

tradition, which prefers giving 

honour to the departed family 

member. 

“My husband died on December 

31, 2020, four days after he went on 

a business trip to China. Up till today, 

I have made every effort with the 

Nigerian Embassy in Shanghai to 

see how his body can be brought to 

Nigeria for burial, but they told me 

that the borders are shut, that there 

is nothing they can do about the 

situation. 

“They were suggesting we cremate 

his remains. And I found out that it is 

their culture. Cremation is not our 

culture, especially in Igbo land because 

we have roots with the Jews who used 

to lay their people to rest and give them 

the last honour." 

•Says ‘we didn’t want to go back empty handed’ 

The suspected kidnappers paraded by Ondo Amotekun in Akure. 

“We missed our target. They told 

us the person has money and described 

the house but we didn’t 

meet the target. It was on our way 

back that we kidnapped these people. 

I came to Akure for a job. 

We shared N100,000 

after our first operation 

“They promised to give me work 

and I was introduced to one man 

who I followed to the first kidnap 

job. We kidnapped the man and 

three of us realised N100,000 from 

the job. 

“We are working with some Yoruba 

people who usually bring job for 

us. The man told us that our target 

is rich and we planned to kidnap 

According to her, life has been very 

difficult taking care of his two children, 

aged nine and seven and urged Nigerian 

officials serving in China to come to 

her aid. 

“I have two little children, nine and 

sven years. It has been very difficult since 

my husband died. It is now a year and 

five months. I made every effort to 

him but we didn’t see him. 

“He told us to go to the man and 

that he could not follow us because 

they know him in the area, but when 

we were returning it started raining 

and we met the four people at 

the bus stop where we kidnapped 

them so that we will not go back 

empty-handed. 

“l want to beg for forgiveness and 

I promise not to go near this kidnapping 

business again. I know it 

is not good but I was introduced to 

the business because I needed to 

work and make money to feed myself. 

I never knew they were into 

kidnapping." 

How we arrested 

Facilitate return of my husband's corpse, woman appeals 

to Nigerian Embassy in China 

contact the Ambassador. I went to the 

website; nobody was ready to give me 

the contact or anything. I found out that 

there was no update on the 

Ambassador’s numbers to reach him. 

“Finally, I began to speak with the 

Consulate officer, one Mrs Safiya, who 

told me that nothing can be done. And 

her religion doesn’t allow her to go to 

the mortuary or do anything." 

My close shave with death in the 

hands of SWAT operatives —Victim 

By Nimat Otori 

Abusinessman, Sunday Michael, 

has disclosed how he was allegedly 

tortured by operatives of the newly 

created Special Weapon and Tactics 

Team, SWAT, which replaced the 

disbanded Special Anti-Robbery 

Squad, SARS, in the Akodo area of 

Lagos State. 

Michael, 30, explained that he was 

driving back home from his site in 

Osoroko area of Ibeju-Lekki, with his 

brother in-law, Moses, last Thursday, 

when his car developed a fault. 

According to him, “I parked by the 

side of the road to call my mechanic, 

who advised me on what to do to allow 

the engine to cool. It was around 6 pm 

then. 

“My brother-in-law (Moses) went to 

get water while I stood by the car. Some 

policemen with the inscription FCID 

on their jackets came and started asking 

me questions. I later got to know that 

they were SWAT officers from Abuja. I 

told them where I was coming from 

and what happened to my vehicle. 

“They searched my vehicle but did 

not find anything incriminating and 

they moved away and stayed in their 

vehicle. Some land thugs came with 

guns, matches and other dangerous 

weapons and ordered Moses, who had 

come with the water and me, to go 

inside the policemen’s vehicle. 

“Our attempt to find out what the 

matter was resulted in beating. They 

took us to the parked police vehicle, 

where we were confronted with another 

round of beating from the policemen. 

“ The policemen hit our knee caps 

with every available object in their 

vehicle. They drove us to Akodo 

Divisional Police Station but did not 

take us inside to write any statement. 

One policeman whom they referred to 

as their leader met us in front of the 

police station and asked what the 

matter was. He expressed helplessness, 

saying that his boss in Abuja, who I later 

learned to be ACP Sanusi, had the final 

say on my release. 

“Often, the other policemen in the 

police vehicle would come down and 

ask Felix who was driving my car if I 

had cooperated or said anything but 

he kept telling them that I had not 

spoken and when it was getting late I 

had to bail myself with over N20,000.” 

The spokesman for the Lagos State 

Police Command said he had not been 

briefed on the matter when contacted. 

suspects — Amotekun 

Parading the suspects, the Commander, 

Adetunji Adeleye, said 

other security agencies joined in the 

rescue operation. 

Adeleye said: “We were able to 

rescue two victims that same day 

but the kidnappers held onto others. 

We sold a decoy to them of ransom 

payment and in the course of 

that we were able to nab one of 

them who led us to their hideouts 

and we arrested others. Umar Garuba 

has confessed to carrying out 

other kidnapping activities.” 

Adeleye said the suspects would 

soon be handed over to the police 

for further interrogation and prosecution. 

Village head 

suspended after 

allegedly beating 

wife to death in 

Bauchi 

By Charly Agwam 

BAUCHI—THE Village Head 

of Sabon Layi Kwara in Bogoro 

Local Government Area of Bauchi 

State, ASP Salka Daniel (retd), has 

been suspended by the Chairman 

of Bogoro council area over alleged 

domestic violence that led to the 

death of his wife, Hajara. 

According to a copy of the letter 

sighted by Vanguard, the 

suspension was approved last 

Friday by the Chairman of Bogoro 

council area, Iliya Habila, as a 

measure to return peace to the area 

and forestall the breakdown of law 

and order. 

In the letter signed on his behalf 

by the Director, Administration and 

General Services, Marcus 

Nehemiah, the suspension was with 

immediate effect pending the 

outcome of an investigation by the 

police to determine the remote and 

immediate cause(s) of the death. 

It was gathered that the 

suspended chief had beaten his late 

wife, Hajara, to death on April 19, 

2021, in the village following a 

family dispute, after which he was 

arrested by a combined team of 

vigilante and DSS on April 26, 2021, 

in Bayara, a Bauchi suburban 

where he ran to escape arrest. 

Speaking on the alleged crime, 

spokesperson, Bauchi State Police 

Command, Wakili Ahmed, said he 

could not confirm the incident 

because the report from Bogoro 

Division had not reached the 

command.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 — 7 

:Vanguard News 

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

WEDDING: Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (2nd left) with Deputy Governor of Anambra 

State, Nkem Okeke (left), Senator Ayogu Eze (2nd right) and Senator Victor Umeh, during the wedding 

ceremony of the son of Mr. Robert Anwatu, Chairman of Roban Group, Onyebuchi and his wife, 

Agoziem, in Enugu, weekend. 

Ohanaeze fumes over Army postings 

in S'East, S'South 

•Army denies posting only Northern Commanders to quell tensions in S'East 

•Unknown gunmen in S'East have chosen wrong target —Nwodo 

•Gunmen kill five, set vigilance office, vehicle ablaze in Anambra 

By Anayo Okoli, 

Regional Editor, 

South-East, Vincent 

Ujumadu, Kingsley 

Omonobi & 

Ikechukwu Odu 

ENUGU—THE Nigerian 

Army and the apex Igbo 

socio-cultural organisation, 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, 

disagreed over the alleged 

deployment of northern commanders 

to south-east and 

south-south with the Igbo 

group frowning at the shootat-sight 

order given to Nigerian 

soldiers on Igbo youths. 

Ohanaeze warned that Nigerian 

government should learn 

a lesson from history by not 

fighting an unwinnable war 

against nationalism, advising 

the Buhari- led government 

to "seek possible peaceful 

options that are the only 

solution that guarantees national 

unity and peaceful coexistence”. 

However, the Nigerian 

Army has denied the allegation 

even as it reiterated that 

postings in the force are routine 

exercises and are based 

on professional competences 

of its officers and personnel, 

adding that the Army does not 

train, deploy or operate along 

ethnic, religious, tribal or regional 

divides. 

In a related development, 

the former national chairman 

of the People's Democratic 

Party, PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze 

Nwodo, yesterday, said that 

unknown gunmen killing policemen 

and vandalizing 

their facilities in the South 

East region have chosen a 

wrong target. 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo in its 

statement noted that “the 

dream of Nigerian unity is 

receding and fading fast with 

violence, crises and conflicts”. 

In a statement by its 

spokesman, Alex Ogbonnia, 

the President General of Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo, Prof. George 

Obiozor was quoted as being 

"unequivocal that the current 

problems confronting Nigeria, 

example, ethnic militia, 

agitation for secession, insurgency, 

etc, are products of 

sustained orchestrated injustice 

in governance". 

According to the statement: 

"The attention of Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo Worldwide has 

been drawn to the the pattern 

of deployment of northern 

military officers to the South- 

East which lends credence to 

the above report. An online 

medium revealed that in 

preparation for its shoot-atsight 

order, the Nigerian 

army has posted Northern 

Muslims as commanders 

over its operations and brigades 

in Anambra, Imo, 

Abia, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, 

Benue, Edo, Delta and Rivers 

States. 

"In Anambra State, the 

Cantonment Commandant 

of the 302 Artillery Regiment, 

Onitsha, is Col. Abdulsalam 

Abubakar Sambo, a Hausa- 

Fulani Muslim; while in Imo 

State, the Brigade Commander 

of 34 Brigade, Obinze, 

is Brig Gen Ibrahim Tukura, 

another northerner. In 

Abia State, the Brigade Commander 

of 14 Brigade, Ohafia, 

is Brig General M. Ibrahim, 

still, a northerner; while 

in Akwa Ibom State, the Brigade 

Commander of 2 Brigade, 

Uyo, is Brig Gen Faruk 

Mijinyawa, another northerner. 

This is truly worrisome! 

“The Shoot at Sight Order 

given to the Nigerian soldiers 

on how to engage the Igbo 

youths in the oncoming week 

is worrisome. The Sahara Reporters, 

May 8, elaborated on 

the new secret plan which by 

the grace of God has come to 

the public domain. 

"The report further revealed 

that the exercise will commence 

from Orlu in Imo 

State, South East Nigeria. 

This is very disturbing. 

"The President General of 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, 

Ambassador Prof. 

George Obiozor, an erudite 

scholar, seasoned diplomat 

with diverse experience in 

governments, has admonished 

the Nigerian government 

to “learn a lesson from 

history by not fighting an unwinnable 

war against nationalism 

but seek possible 

peaceful options that are the 

only solution that guarantees 

national unity and peaceful 

coexistence. 

"Obiozor lamented that 

subnational consciousness or 

ethno-centric nationalism 

which is a dangerous form of 

nationalism to national unity 

has taken over Nigeria. The 

dream of Nigeria unity is receding 

and fading fast with 

violence, crises and conflicts. 

"Ohanaeze Ndigbo is unequivocal 

that the current 

problems confronting Nigeria, 

example, ethnic militia, 

agitation for secession, insurgency, 

etc, are products of sustained 

orchestrated injustice in 

governance. For instance, 

Senator Shehu Sani, the 

former senator for Kaduna 

Central, vehemently decried 

that the Igbo have been systematically 

marginalised 

since the civil war. 

"Speaking in Kaduna at a 

meeting organised by the Association 

of Eze-Ndigbo in the 

Diaspora on Saturday, May 8, 

2021, Sani described the marginalisation 

as a collective 

punishment.There has been a 

systemic exclusion and marginalisation 

of your people, 

stemming from the historical 

Biafra war. This is a collective 

punishment”, he declared. 

"Every right thinking Nigerian, 

who loves the corporate 

existence of Nigeria, should 

align with Shehu Sani's position. 

The problem with Nigeria 

in general and the Igbo in 

particular is located in injustice 

and the simple solution 

lays in manifest dialogue, equity 

and justice. Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo warns that Shoot-at- 

Sight Order to soldiers on Igbo 

youth is a call for another pogrom 

and genocide.Ohanaeze 

asks the federal government to 

refrain from the use of force in 

resolving the present national 

crises. 

“History shows that military 

and violent means to solve the 

national question is bound to 

fail as it leads to further national 

fractionalization, anarchy 

and eventual or inevitable 

disintegration, as in all empires 

or multi-national states 

or countries”. 

Army denies 

allegations 

Director of Army Public Relations, 

Brig Gen Mohammed 

Yerima who denied the allegation 

said officers are posted 

to command units based on 

their capability and taking 

into consideration their posting 

history. 

The statement was titled, 

“Re: Nigerian Army Shuns 

Southern Officers, Deploy 

Northern Commanders to 

Quell Tension in South East”. 

It read: “The attention of 

the Nigerian Army (NA) has 

been drawn to an online publication 

with the above title. 

“Ordinarily, the NA would 

have ignored this illogical 

narrative by the online media 

but for the good of members 

of the public. 

“The NA condemns this report 

targeted at steering discord 

and disunity among 

peace loving Nigerians who 

have refused to be drawn into 

supporting the senseless attacks 

on security apparatus 

in the South East and South - 

South geo-political zones of 

the country. 

“The NA being a national 

body does not promote or 

post its personnel along ethnic 

or religious lines. 

“Postings in the NA are 

routine exercises and are 

based on professional competences 

not as portrayed by 

the baseless publication. 

“For the records, let it be 

clear in everyone's mind that 

the NA does not train, deploy 

or operate along ethnic, religious, 

tribal or regional divides. 

“Senior officers are posted 

to command units based on 

their capability and competence 

taking into consideration 

their posting history. 

“Furthermore, Officers are 

the most frequently posted 

personnel of the NA. 

“However, because of the 

bias and seed of discord that 

the author of the report wanted 

to sow, it did not allow him 

to do a thorough background 

check of his report. 

“Part of the poorly scripted 

article states that NA's deployment 

is based on ethical line. 

“To put the record straight, 

while it is true that the General 

Officer Commanding 82 

Division Enugu, Major General 

Taoreed Lagbaja is from 

South West, the Commander 

34 Brigade Owerri, Brigadier 

General Raymond Utsaha is 

from the North Central. 

“Major General Gold Chibuisi 

is of the South East extraction 

and is also the General 

Officer Commanding 2 Division 

Ibadan which is the 

largest in number of states 

under command including 4 

Brigades in Edo State. 

“Equally, Brigadier General 

Farouk Mijinyawa was 

never the Commander of 16 

Brigade as misrepresented by 

the writer. 

“It is therefore clear that the 

concocted story lacks everything 

in terms of credibility 

and exists only in the pigment 

of the author's imagination. 

“The NA urges the general 

public to know that in the past 

months, several subversive elements 

have attempted to discredit 

the formidable security 

network in the South East and 

the NA in line with her constitutional 

roles of aiding the 

civil authority deployed officers 

and men to checkmate the 

activities of these bad elements 

who are bent on wreaking 

havoc in the region. 

“Furthermore, the NA would 

like to request all peace loving 

Nigerians to disregard the 

content of the said article in 

its entirety as it lacks common 

logic. 

“The NA under the able 

leadership of the Chief of Army 

Staff, Lieutenant General 

Ibrahim Attahiru remains 

committed to the defence of 

the territorial integrity of Nigeria 

as well as protecting 

lives and properties of all citizens 

and residents in Nigeria. 

“The NA further solicits for 

the continuous support of all 

patriotic Nigerians in stamping 

out activities of criminals 

including subversive and divisive 

elements for a peaceful 

and prosperous Nigeria.” 

Unknown gunmen 

in S'East have 

chosen wrong 

target —Nwodo 

The former national chairman 

of the People's Democratic 

Party, PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze 

Nwodo, who said that the perpetrators 

of violence are making 

the region insecure by 

such acts, charged those behind 

the unholy activities to 

rechannel their efforts towards 

fighting gun-wielding 

herdsmen killing farmers and 

destroying crops in South East. 

He, however, commended 

the governors of the zone for 

asking the apex Igbo sociocultural 

organisation, Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo, to reconcile all 

Plot to blackmail Obi uncovered 

VICE PRESIDENTIAL 

Candidate of the Peoples 

Democratic Party,PDP, during 

the 2019 election, Mr. Peter Obi, 

has raised the alarm over a 

leaked plot to blackmail him. 

Obi raised the alarm in a statement 

issued on Friday by his 

Media Office, signed by his Special 

Adviser, Mr. Valentine Obienyem. 

“The present effort to blackmail 

Mr. Obi is by some prominent 

Nigerians, including a 

present governor in the South- 

East. Our informant, whom we 

have no reason to doubt, revealed 

how five of them were invited to 

a meeting on how to nail Mr. 

Peter Obi so that, his ‘rising profile 

will be dimmed for good’,” 

Obienyem said in the statement. 

He quoted the informant as 

saying: “Watch out; soon you will 

see a group call a world press 

conference, speak of the insecurity 

in the land, appeal to anybody 

with information on the 

causes to help the government 

solve it and finally drop the bomb 

the aggrieved parties in the 

region, adding that acts of 

vandalism is not the best approach 

towards the actualization 

of Biafra. 

He said "I don't understand 

these unknown gunmen killing 

policemen in South East. 

By the time they distabilize 

police formations in the zone, 

nobody would be safe anymore. 

If policemen have become 

their number one target, 

that means everybody in 

the zone is insecured. Policemen 

securing us are human 

beings and wouldn't want to 

lose their lives. Those behind 

the attacks have chosen a very 

wrong target. 

"I believe the South East 

Governors' Forum has done 

the right thing by asking Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo to reconcile 

every aggrieved person in the 

zone. Before they reached that 

decision, some of us have 

come to that conclusion and 

have started our efforts with 

those who can reach out to 

IPoB and MASSoB leadership. 

We have made efforts to 

make their leadership understand 

that this is not the best 

way to actualise Biafra. 

"There are better ways to 

fight this cause. Let's go to the 

bush and flush out criminal 

and gun-wielding herdsmen 

killing farmers and destroying 

crops in South East. The 

herdsmen are equally rapping 

our women. Killing policemen 

and vandalizing 

their facilities in our zone is 

not our problem now." 

Gunmen kill five, 

set vigilance office, 

vehicle ablaze in 

Anambra 

Meantime, five persons 

were feared dead when unidentified 

gunmen attacked 

Ozubulu community in Ekwusigo 

local government 

area of Anambra State last 

night. 

The office of the local Vigilance 

outfit in the area and a 

vehicle were also set ablaze 

by the gunmen. 

Among those killed included 

a business man who hailed 

from the community, while 

the identity of the other casualties 

could not be immediately 

ascertained. 

The state Police Public Relations 

Officer, PPRO, Mr.. 

Ikenga Tochukwu, who confirmed 

the incident said however 

that he had not been 

briefed on the number of casualties. 

"Yes, there was an attack in 

Ozubulu, but not the police 

station. Rather, it was the Vigilante 

office in the area. 

"They came in Sienna vehicles 

and motorcycles and attacked 

the office. Security 

operatives have been deployed 

to the area and normalcy 

has been restored, " 

PPRO said 

According to him, the number 

of the gunmen must be 

large, adding that they repeatedly 

shot in the air thereby 

scaring the residents. 

by linking Mr. Peter Obi to the 

sponsorship of the Biafran movement 

through offer of money to 

sustain the agitation and use of 

Biafran boys for selfish end, including 

winning of 

elections.Though our informant 

refused to disclose the 

name of the governor behind 

this and the main person he is 

using, he assured: “In the fullness 

of time, the plot will unfold 

and the characters will 

become apparent on its own.”

8 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 

:Vanguard 

News 


INAUGURATION: From left —Minister of State for Transportation, Ms Gbemisola Saraki; Minister of Transportation, 

Hon. Chibuike Amaechi and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, during the inauguration 

of the Panel of Inquiry to investigate the activities of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, from 2016 till date, in Abuja, 

yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida. 

Amaechi inaugurates 11-man panel to 

investigate NPA activities 

...As Reps Minority caucus urges EFCC to probe 

suspended MD, Bala Usman 

By Dirisu Yakubu & 

Tordue Salem 

ABUJA — The Minister 

of Transportation, Rotimi 

Amaechi, yesterday inaugurated 

an 11-man panel to 

investigate the activities of Nigerian 

Ports Authority, NPA, 

from 2016 till date. The panel, 

led by the Director, Maritime 

Services of the Ministry 

of Transporation, Mr. Suleiman 

Auwalu, as chairman, 

has the Director of Procurement, 

Dr. Hussaini Adamu 

and Director of , Transport 

Planning and Coordination, 

Mrs. Mercy Ilori as members. 

Other members are Mr. 

Muhiy-deen Awwal, Director, 

Human Resources Management; 

Mr. Gabriel Fan, Deputy 

Director, Legal Services; 

who is secretary of the panel; 

Ben Omogo, Director, Organisation, 

Design and Development; 

Mrs. Blessing Azorbo, 

Director, Legal Services; Mohammed 

Usman, Director, Finance 

and Accounting; Mohammed 

Lawal Garba, Director, 

Audit. Other members include 

Mrs Rose Olaniyi, Deputy 

Director, Administration; 

and Dauda Ismail, Assistant 

Director, Procurement. 

Vanguard reports that on 

May 6, President Muhammadu 

Buhari approved the 

recommendations of Amaechi 

to set up an administrative 

panel of inquiry to investigate 

the management of the 

NPA under the stewardship of 

Bala-Usman. 

Inaugurating the panel yesterday, 

the Minister charged 

the members to be diligent in 

order to do a thorough job. 

The committee’s terms of 

reference include examining 

and investigating the administrative 

policies and strategies 

adopted by NPA’s Managing 

Director, Hadiza Usman, 

and confirm compliance 

with extant laws and rules 

from 2016 till date. 

Others include to “examine 

and investigate issues leading 

to the termination of other 

contracts of NPA and confirm 

compliance with the terms of 

the respective contracts, court 

ruling and presidential directives; 

examine and investigate 

compliance with communication 

channel, as obtained in 

the public service. 

“Examine and investigate 

the procurement of contracts 

from 2016 to date; come up 

with suggestions and advice 

that would strengthen the operations 

of NPA and forestall 

such occurrences in future; 

and any other matter that may 

be necessary in the course of 

the assignment.” 

In his brief remarks, Amaechi 

said the decision to take a 

look at the books of the agency 

was in furtherance of the 

mandate of the ministry to 

oversee the activities of agencies 

and parastatals under its 

supervision. 

He said: “This is in the discharge 

of our responsibility as 

a ministry and I don’t see why 

anybody is complaining. 

What is wrong in looking at 

what is happening in NPA? I 

don’t see what is wrong in that. 

As the Minister of Transportation 

for four years, I hardly 

know what is happening and 

I want to know now. 

“The President agrees with 

me that it’s my responsibility 

as minister to find out what is 

going on. It worries me that 

people are saying we should 

not ask questions. Nobody has 

been indicted. Can we know 

what is going on in NPA? 

That’s the question. If everything 

is right, why do we have 

to bother at the end of the day? 

“When you have completed 

your assignment, we will be 

glad to pass on the report to 

the President, but don’t forget 

your assignment will include 

activities of procurement and 

its processes from 2016 till 

date. “That is why you do not 

have a time limit. So, it will 

take you some time. You are 

not auditing, but to find out 

the processes. Please be diligent, 

invite anybody you want 

to invite, including the minister, 

if there are infractions you 

need me to clarify.’’ 

A source close to the minister 

said there was no procedural 

breach in asking Hadiza 

to step aside for the investstigation 

to commence. The 

source said constitutionally, 

the President has the power to 

hire or fire any of his appointees 

at any point in time. 

According to him, the order 

for her to setp aside was from 

the President, not the minister. 

According to Amaechi, 

NPA is an agency that manages 

maritime trading activities 

in Nigeria which is expected 

to generate huge resources 

for the government to run the 

country. 

Also speaking, Minister of 

State (Transportation), Senator 

Gbemisola Saraki, said 

the investigation was within 

the purview of the ministry. 

“This is why the ministry 

supervises and part of that role 

is looking, asking questions 

and ensuring that things are 

done with due process. 

“For the panel, there is so 

much noise, so it’s best you 

block your ears. Keep your 

head down and do what is in 

the interest of the entire country,” 

Saraki said. 

Responding, chairman of 

the committee, Suleiman Auwalu, 

who doubles as Director 

of Maritime Services of the 

ministry, pledged the commitment 

of other members to diligently 

carry out the duties 

assigned to them. 

“I assure you that we are 

going to work; we are going 

to be honest and fair in the discharge 

of this responsibility. 

At the end of the day, we want 

to turn up a report that will be 

true and it will be in the interest 

of the country. So, we are 

seeking God’s guidance for us 

to do the right thing at the right 

time,” Auwalu said. 

The 11-man committee is 

made up of five directors from 

the Ministry, while the remaining 

six, including the cochairman, 

Ben Omogo, are 

drawn from the Office of the 

Head of the Civil Service of 

the Federation. 

It would be recalled that 

President Buhari last week, 

directed Hadiza Bala-Usman 

to step aside for the entire duration 

of the investigation, 

and directed Mohammed 

Koko (Director, Finance and 

Administration of NPA) to step 

in in acting capacity. 

Meanwhile, the Minority 

caucus of the House of Representatives 

has called for investigation 

of the allegation 

against the suspended managing 

Director of Nigeria Ports 

Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman. 

The lawmakers described 

as another sad commentary, 

the controversy in the APC 

admnistration. It, therefore 

asked the Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, to immediately take in 

the Managing Director and 

commence a system-wide investigation, 

with a view to prosecuting 

her, if found wanting. 

The caucus in a statement 

signed by the Minority Leader 

of the House of Representatives, 

Ndudi Elumelu (PDP- 

Delta) yesterday, insisted that 

“such incident should not be 

left to an administrative panel 

of enquiry, but committed 

to an anti-graft agency for independent 

investigation. 

The lawmakers expressed 

concerns that by committing 

the allegation to an administrative 

panel, political manipulations 

and partisan influences 

had taken precedence 

over what should have been a 

system-wide investigation into 

a monumental fraud. 

The statement read: “Our 

caucus holds that the mere 

suspension of the Managing 

Director of the NPA, Hadiza 

Bala Usman, and the resort to 

an administrative panel of 

enquiry, even after the report 

by the Supervising Minister of 

Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, 

exposed an unremitted operating 

surplus of N165 billion, 

amounts to romancing and 

perfuming corruption. “The 

Minority caucus also believes 

that the recourse to an administrative, 

instead of a full-scale 

criminal investigation, can 

only serve as decoy to shield 

some other officials. 

“This is because, apart from 

the unremitted N165 billion 

cited by the Minister, other 

documents and reports from 

the Office of the Auditor General 

of the Federation had also 

uncovered several other allegations, 

including unremitted 

deduction to Federal Inland 

Revenue Service (FIRS) 

amounting to N3,667,750, 

470. $148,845, 745.04, Euro 

4,891,449.50 and 

£252,682.14. 

“This is in addition to audit 

query of N15.18 billion spent 

on Corporate Social Responsibility, 

CSR, projects/programmes 

under the watch of 

the suspended NPA Managing 

Director. We imagine that 

such resources if channelled 

to the security sector and well 

managed would have made a 

world of difference in addressing 

the problem of insecurity 

in the country. ’The APC administration 

had crippled the 

national economy and 

brought untold hardship and 

suffering to Nigerians and 

therefore demanded more 

drastic step by anti-graft agencies 

to recover the stolen funds 

as well as prosecute all involved 

in the looting spree..’’ 

Burglars raid Chief of Staff's 

residence in Aso Rock 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

ABUJA—Burglars on the 

early hours yesterday, 

made an attempt to break into 

the official residence of the 

Chief of Staff to the President, 

Professor Ibrahim Gambari, 

around the Presidential Villa, 

Abuja. 

It was gathered that the men 

of the underworld attempted 

to break into the house at 

about 3am on but were apparently 

unsuccessful. 

The Chief of Staff, Prof. 

Gambari, confirmed the incident 

to journalists covering the 

Presidential Villa made enquiries. 

But the Chief of Staff, 

through the Senior Special 

Assistant to the President on 

Media and Publicity, Mallam 

Garba Shehu, said there was 

nothing to worry about. 

The presidential aide was, 

however, silent on whether any 

arrest was made, given the level 

of tight security network 

around the residence. 

Shehu in a text message last 

night said: “The Chief of Staff, 

2021 UTME: 845,517 

registered so far, 38,886 for 

Direct Entry — JAMB 

By Joseph Erunke 

ABUJA — A total of 

845,517 candidates 

have so far registered to sit for 

the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation 

Examination, 

UTME, conducted by the 

Joint Admissions and Matriculation 

Board, JAMB. 

Similarly,38,886 persons 

have also registered for 

JAMB’s Direct Entry for possible 

admission into universities. 

It would be recalled that 

the 2021 UTME/DE is due to 

close on May 15, 2021. 

The board, which disclosed 

this in its weekly news bulletin 

yesterday, said the numbers 

captured were as of Sunday, 

May 9, 2021. It also disclosed 

that mock examination 

slips for its UTME could now 

be printed out in preparation 

for the exercise. 

According to JAMB, the slip 

contained candidates’ details 

Uber jacks fares by 13% in 

Lagos 

By Juliet Umeh 

LAGOS — Ride hailing 

app, Uber said it has increased 

the rate of its UberX 

ride option by 13 percent in 

Lagos. 

The increase according to 

the app takes effect today. 

In an e-mail correspondent 

to its drivers, the company 

said: “At Uber, we remain 

committed to providing a reliable 

earning opportunity for 

driver-partners, as well as a 

reliable and affordable service 

for riders. With this in 

mind, starting 11th May 

2021, we are increasing prices 

on UberX by about 13 percent.” 

The new billing structure 

will affect both peak and offpeak 

periods. It also reflects a 

time-based pricing that enables 

drivers to earn more at 

certain periods during the day. 

Uber highlights that Monday 

08:00 am to 12:00 pm 

and Tuesday from Friday 

Professor Ibrahim Gambari 

has confirmed that there ‘was 

a foolish attempt’ to burgle his 

residence at 3:00am this 

morning but it turned out to 

be unsuccessful. 

“Professor Gambari, whose 

house is on a street next to the 

Villa has assured that there is 

nothing to worry about from 

the incident.” 

Recall that an online newspaper, 

The Gazette, had exclusively 

reported that armed 

men suspected to be robbers 

had raided Gambari’s residence. 

The report claimed that the 

robbers also raided the residence 

of the CoS’ Admin Officer. 

It said, among others: 

“Armed men suspected to be 

robbers invaded the residences 

of two senior aides to President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

inside the precinct of the Presidential 

Villa, administration 

officials and security sources 

have told Peoples Gazette, raising 

fears that the rising insecurity 

across the country was 

drawing closer to the elite than 

previously estimated. 

such as registration number 

and the centre to which they 

are to sit for the examination 

within their chosen examination 

town. 

In the bulletin released by 

its Head of Media and Protocol, 

Dr Fabian Benjamin, 

JAMB said: “Candidates who 

had registered for the 2021 

Unified Tertiary Matriculation 

Examination and indicated 

interest to sit for the optional 

mock examination are to 

print their mock notification 

slips from Sunday, May 9. 

“This is in preparation for 

the mock examination scheduled 

for Thursday, May 20. 

The optional mock notification 

slips can be printed from 

anywhere candidates find to 

be convenient, provided they 

have access to the internet. 

“Candidates are to visit 

https://www.jamb.gov.ng 

then click on e-facility and 

print their slips,” it an 

05:00 am to 12:00 pm riders 

will pay a minimum fare of 

N538 and base fare of N237. 

This translates to a kilometre 

fare of N70 and per minute 

fare of N12. Other time periods 

include a minimum fare 

of N575; base fare: N255; Per 

kilometre fare: N75 and Perminute 

fare: N12.5. 

Uber first launched in Lagos, 

in 2014, and changed the 

way people in the metropolitan 

city move around. 

Shortly after it launched in 

Lagos, it also debuted in Abuja 

and then in Benin City in 

July 2019. 

In September 2019, the ride 

hailing app was also to leverage 

on the massive patronage 

it enjoyed in those cities, to 

announced plans to launch 

UberBus, a public bus system 

in Lagos and also UberBOAT, 

a boat taxi service in partnership 

with Texas Connection 

Ferries, a Lagos-based ferry 

transportation service, and the 

Lagos State Waterways Authority, 

LASWA.




Insecurity: Bandits storm Katsina mosque, abduct 10 

during vigil 

By Wole Mosadomi 

& Bashir Bello 

Msuspected INNA—GUNMEN 

to be bandits 

in the early hours of yesterday, 

reportedly abducted ten Muslim 

worshippers observing 

Thajud (vigil) in a mosque at 

Jibia, Katsina State. 

But residents, however, put 

the figure at 40, while an opinion 

leader in the town, Mallam 

Gide Dahiru, put the 

number of those abducted at 

11, including seven men, three 

women and a boy. 

The abduction of the worshippers 

came on a day 

former Head of State, General 

Abdulsalami Abubakar, 

retd, declared he had no link 

with bandits or any other terrorists 

group within and outside 

the country. He was reacting 

to a report by an online 

platform. 

This came as the Northern 

Elders Forum, NEF, also yesterday 

said President Muhammadu 

Buhari should be 

impeached, if he failed to 

solve the country's security 

problem. 

On the abduction in the 

Katsina mosque, Vanguard 

learned the gunmen 

swooped on the mosque located 

around the New Abbatoir 

Area in the town, a few 

minutes after midnight 

when the worshippers were 

in the middle of the prayers. 

It was also gathered that 

the bandits did not fire a single 

shot so as not to attract 

attention to themselves. 

The gunmen reportedly 

marched the victims out of 

the mosque to their waiting 

motorcycles, and, thereafter, 

moved in the direction of 

Kaura-Namoda highway 

• Abdulsalami denies link with any terrorist group within, outside Nigeria 

• Gov Bello declares one week special prayers against insecurity in Niger State 

• Why Buhari must solve Nigeria's security problem —NEF 

with the abductees. 

A residents who witnessed 

the incident from his house 

but preferred anonymity, 

said: “The bandits arrived 

silently a few minutes after 

midnight. They entered the 

mosque and marched the 

victims out. 

''During the operation, 

some gang members positioned 

themselves within the 

vicinity of the mosque. 

''It was when they were 

leaving the mosque with the 

last victim that one of them 

shot into the air and they 

then moved along the 

Kaura-Namoda highway. 

The gunshot attracted residents 

and security operatives 

who later arrived at 

the mosque.” 

Etiquette of Eid-il-Fitr 

As we wrap up the month 

of Ramadan, the first 

day of Shawwal is marked by 

the festival of Eid il-Fitr. 

Eid is, first, a day of thanks 

to Allah, and next, a gathering 

of families and friends. We 

are required to give Sadaqat 

Al-Fitr, a form of charity, on 

behalf of each and every person 

of the family, including 

newborns, to the poor and 

needy during the Ramadan 

but before the Eid Prayers. 

The recommended acts: 

1. Ghusl (taking a bath) 

One of the good manners of 

Èid is to take bath before 

going out to the Prayer. It was 

reported that Saìd ibn 

Jubayr said: “Three things are 

Sunnah on Èid: to walk (to 

the prayer-place), to take a 

bath 

2. Eating before leaving for 

Eid. 

One should not come out to 

the prayer-place on Eid Al- 

Fitr before eating some dates, 

because of the hadith narrated 

by Al-Bukhari from Anas 

ibn Malik who said: “The 

Messenger of Allah (peace 

and blessings be upon him) 

would not go out in the morning 

of Eid Al-Fitr until he had 

eaten some dates… and he 

would eat an odd number.” 

On Eid-ul-Adha, on the other 

AGM: From left—Independent Non-Executive Director, Mr. Michael Ikpoki; General Counsel, West 

Africa & Company Secretary, Mrs. Abidemi Ademola; Chairman, Board of Directors, His Majesty, 

Nnaemeka Achebe, Non-Executive Director, Mrs. Abiola Alabi and Independent Non-Executive Director, 

Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, during the Unilever Nigeria Plc 96th Annual General Meeting in Lagos. 

hand, it is recommended not 

to eat until after the Prayer, 

when one should eat from the 

meat of one’s sacrifice. 

3. Takbir on the day of Èid 

Al-Fitr 

This is one of the greatest 

Sunnahs of this day. Al- 

Daraqutni and others reported 

that when Ibn Umar came 

out on Eid Al-Fitr and Eid-ul- 

Adha, he would strive hard in 

making Takbir until he 

reached the prayer-place, then 

he would continue making 

Takbir until the Imam came. 

4. Congratulating after the 

prayer. 

People may exchange pleasantries. 

“Taqabbal Allahu 

minnaa wa minkum (may 

Allah accept from us and from 

you our good deeds!)”. 

5. Wearing one’s best clothes 

for Èid 

Jabir (may Allah be pleased 

with him) said: “The Prophet 

(peace and blessings be upon 

him) had a Jubbah (cloak) that 

he would wear on Eid and on 

Fridays.” 

6. Changing route on returning 

from Prayer-place 

Jabir ibn Abdullah (may 

Allah be pleased with him) reported 

that the Prophet (peace 

and blessings be upon him) 

used to change his routes on 

the day of Èid. (Al-Bukhari)“ 

He, however, said security 

operatives, including the police 

and soldiers, had taken 

positions in the town. 

Reacting to the attack yesterday, 

the state police command, 

which rescued 30 of 

the abductees, said 10 people 

were still unaccounted 

for. 

Spokesman for the command, 

SP Gambo Isah, who 

provided a further explanation 

of the incident, said: “Today 

(yesterday) at about 

12.30am, gunmen armed 

with sophisticated weapons 

attacked a mosque which is 

a new building located at 

Abatuwa community. 

“The new mosque is located 

on the road leading to 

Jibia dam, where there is 

little people activity, which 

gave the gunmen the opportunity 

to carry out the attack. 

“The gunmen abducted 

40 people, but when we 

heard about the incident, 

we didn’t waste time to pursue 

them and we were able 

to rescue 30 of them. Ten 

others are still missing, and 

we don’t know their whereabouts. 

An investigation is 

ongoing.'' 

Also yesterday, former 

Head of State, General Abdulsalami 

Abubakar, retd, 

denied having any link 

with bandits or any other 

terrorists group within and 

outside the country. 

In a statement issued by 

his media aide, Dr. Yakub 

Suleiman in Minna, Niger 

State yesterday, General 

Abdulsalami described 

such reports as "false, unfounded 

and fake.'' 

The former Head of State, 

who disassociated himself 

from the"heinous crime that 

is unbecoming of any patriotic 

citizen" said ordinarily, 

he would have ignored 

the social media story but 

has decided to put the 

record straight. 

"This kind of fake news 

has the potential of aggravating 

the already tense security 

situation in the country 

and should not be condoned," 

he said. 

He expressed regret about 

how individuals could be so 

callous to peddle such news 

and smear the image and 

character of people and, 

therefore, called on Nigerians 

to ignore the story. 

"I urge Nigerians to ignore 

such treacherous acts 

and to be careful with the 

kind of information they 

dish out and share on social 

media," he advised. 

Abdulsalami also urged 

Nigerians to continue to 

work and pray for enduring 

peace in the country, 

adding that no nation 

could attain greatness 

without peace and security 

of lives and property of its 

citizenry. 

Some online platforms 

had linked the former 

Head of State to a purported 

arrested helicopter supplying 

food and weapon to 

bandits in parts of Niger 

State. 

Also, Niger State governor, 

Alhaji Abubakar Sani 

Bello, has declared a special 

weekly prayer session 

across the eight Emirate 

councils in the State to seek 

God's intervention to end 

insecurity in the State. 

Governor Bello, flagged 

off the special prayers session 

in Minna, the state capital 

on Sunday, with Islamic 

scholars, government officials, 

traditional leaders as 

well as other stakeholders in 

attendance at the Central 

Mosque in Minna. 

The governor said there 

was the urgent need to seek 

God's intervention in the security 

situation in the state 

and country in general. 

The special prayer, led by 

the Chief Imam of Minna 

ABUJA—THE Federal 

Government has declared 

Wednesday, May 12 

and Thursday, May 13, 

2021, as public holidays to 

mark this year's Eid-il-Fitr 

celebration. 

Permanent Secretary in 

the Ministry of Interior, Dr 

Shuaib Belgore, announced 

this in a statement 

in Abuja yesterday. 

He said the Minister of 

Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, 

while making 

the declaration on behalf 

of the Federal Government, 

congratulated Muslim 

faithful and called on 

Nigerians to use the peri- 

Central Mosque, Mallam 

Ibrahim Isah Fari, also featured 

recitation of some verses 

from the Holy Qur'an and 

supplications for God's intervention 

on the security 

challenges confronting the 

nation. 

Speaking to journalists 

shortly after the prayers, 

Governor Bello reiterated 

the need for all and sundry 

not to relent in fervent 

prayers to God Almighty, 

even as he disclosed that the 

state and federal governments 

were not leaving any 

stone unturned towards ending 

the security challenge in 

state. 

The governor noted that 

significant progress was being 

achieved in restoring 

normalcy to some troubled 

areas in the state, adding 

that the prayer session 

would continue, even after 

Ramadan fast. 

He also called on the people 

to support the efforts of 

the state and federal governments 

towards combating 

the insecurity across the 

state and the entire country. 

Meanwhile, spokesman of 

Northern Elders Forum, 

NEF, Hakeem Baba- 

Ahmed, has tasked President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

to urgently solve Nigeria’s 

insecurity problem. 

Speaking on AIT’s ‘Kakaaki’ 

programme, yesterday, 

Baba-Ahmed said 

the nation would not wait 

two more years for Buhari 

to address the issues of insecurity." 

He said those who had 

constitutional responsibility 

must realise that the country 

was in a dire state, and 

do something other than just 

talking and making promises. 

Baba-Ahmed said: “One 

option we have is that the 

legislators will look at the 

record of the administration, 

understand the areas 

where the president has 

failed, understand areas 

where there is clearly no evidence 

that they’re going to 

do anything about it and refer 

to the constitution that 

says the whole purpose of 

government is to secure citizens 

and pursue their welfare. 

“In the last six months, two 

years, what has the president 

done different to secure the 

country? Absolutely nothing 

has been done and yet you 

see increasing failure of the 

state to protect citizens. 

''The second option is for 

citizens to get together and 

decide to do something. The 

third option is that those 

leaders who are failing will 

recognize the fact that they 

are the problem, and they 

will resign because they 

clearly have nothing to offer 

in terms of leadership. 

“Or, as our democratic system 

provides, those with the 

responsibility to get them off, 

should get those who are failing 

to do their jobs. 

“We don’t have a National 

Assembly that appears to 

have the levels of patriotism 

and concern beyond partisan 

politics to realise that 

when this roof falls, it also 

falls on their heads. 

“Partisanship is so pronounced 

that the people we 

elected and sent to Abuja 

think they serve the president 

rather than the Nigerian 

people.” 

He also called on the President 

to arrest the prominent 

persons allegedly sponsoring 

insecurity in the country, 

saying “I wish he would 

arrest just two, three of these 

enemies of the state and deal 

with them. 

''We are tired of hearing the 

President and his spokespeople 

saying there are enemies 

of the state. Enemies 

of the state is defined clearly 

under law. 

“If there are people who 

are causing this insecurity, 

the government has evidence 

that they’re doing so, 

then in the name of God, 

let the President arrest 

these people, bring them 

up, show Nigerians what 

they’re doing, and then 

show evidence that the government 

is actually dealing 

with insecurity.” 

Eid-il-Fitr: FG declares Wednesday, Thursday 

public holidays od to pray for peace, stability 

and economic transformation 

in the land. 

"Aregbesola who believes 

that development cannot 

thrive in a rancorous atmosphere, 

urged all Nigerians 

to be law-abiding and embrace 

the spirit of love, 

self-discipline, kindness 

and tolerance, as taught by 

the Holy Prophet Mohammed 

(Peace Be Upon Him)," 

the statement noted. 

The minister also called on 

all security agencies in the 

country to be more courageous 

and patriotic to surmount 

the ongoing battle 

against resurging insecurity 

and activities of criminal elements 

in Nigeria. 

He assured that the resolve 

of President Muhammadu 

Buhari's administration to 

end the scourge of crime and 

criminality in the country and 

restore peace to every nook 

and cranny of Nigeria was 

sacrosanct. 

"This administration will 

not be deterred in its efforts, 

until every Nigerian and resident 

of the country, is free to 

move around without fear of 

any threat to his/her life and 

property. 

''We are therefore putting 

necessary measures and strategies 

in place to strengthen the 

stability of the country as well 

as ensuring economic prosperity 

of our dear nation," he 

said.

10 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11 , 2021 

:Vanguard 

News 

2023: INEC creates additional 

4,861 polling units in Lagos 

By Olayinka Ajayi & 

James Ogunnaike 

L Independent AGOS—THE 

National 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC, yesterday, approved 

the creation of new 4,861 

Polling units in Lagos State. 

The Resident Electoral 

Commissioner in the state, 

Sam Olumekun, said the new 

polling units will increase the 

polling units in the state from 

8,464 to 13,325. 

Speaking at a stakeholders’ 

meeting in Lagos, Olumekun 

said: “The exercise will expand 

voters access to polling units 

by converting existing voting 

points and voting settlements 

into full polling units and, 

where necessary, relocate new 

existing ones to places where 

they are closer and accessible 

to voters. 

“It is our belief that the 

expansion of voter access to 

polling units would aid in 

consolidating our democracy, 

enhancing transparency and 

credibility in the electoral 

process. The exercise will 

further enhance the 

opportunity of fair 

representation for new 

settlements that were not in 

existence in 1999. 

“We expect that the 

expansion of voters’ access to 

polling units should resolve 

Release Baba Ijesha on bail now, 

or…, Yomi Fabiyi tells Police 

By Benjamin Njoku 

Lactor, AGOS—NOLLYWOOD 

Yomi Fabiyi, 

yesterday, called on the 

Nigerian Police to grant 

administrative bail to 

Olanrewaju Omiyinka, aka 

Baba Ijesha, who is being 

detained for molesting a 

minor. 

Fabiyi, who has been 

supportive of Baba Ijesha, said 

he would mobilize Nigerians 

for a peaceful protest 

tomorrow, if the police fail to 

release the embattled actor on 

bail. 

Taking to his Instagram 

page to demand the release of 

his colleague, Fabiyi wrote: 

“Peaceful protest on Human 

Rights, illegal detention by 

Police coming up on 

Wednesday, if the Police refuse 

to do the right thing and grant 

Baba Ijesha administrative 

bail, which is his fundamental 

Assault on pregnant woman: We’re 

probing allegations — Akeredolu 

By Dayo Johnson 

A KURE—GOVERNOR 

Rotimi Akeredolu of 

Ondo State, yesterday, vowed 

to probe the alleged assault of 

a pregnant woman by one of 

his aides. 

Odebowale was alleged to 

have assaulted a pregnant 

worker with the State Waste 

Management Agency in the 

market. 

The governor’s aide has 

since denied the allegation, 

just as he fingered those whose 

'unscrupulous and corrupt 

activities' were under check, 

as masterminds of the 

allegation. 

However, the state 

Chairman of the Nigeria 

Lsbour Congress, NLC, 

Sunday Adeleye, who led 

workers on a protest to the 

Governor’s Office, pulled 

back midway, following the 

....1,832 more in 

Ogun 

the age-long problem of 

polling units’ crises on 

Election Day. Indeed, each 

polling unit will have an upper 

threshold of 750 and a lower 

threshold of 500 voters. This 

would also lay the foundation 

for creating polling units in 

the future.” 

....Creates 1,832 more 

in Ogun 

Similarly, INEC said it has 

created additional 1,832 

polling units as part of its voter 

access expansion. 

With this new development, 

Ogun State, which hitherto 

had 3,210 polling units, will 

now have a total of 5,042 

polling units. 

The REC in Ogun State, 

Prof. Abdulganiy Raji, who 

spoke at a stakeholders’ 

meeting in Abeokuta, Ogun 

State, said it was expedient to 

create additional polling units 

because of the declining voter 

access to voting centres in the 

state. 

Raji said: “On the basis of 

this, additional 1,832 polling 

units were marked for creation 

from existing polling units 

within the threshold. This 

brings the number of units in 

Ogun state from the existing 

3,210 to 5,042.” 

right. 

“Any progressive state and 

society must respect the rights 

of others, as enshrined under 

the law. If you refuse to be 

concerned now, remember it 

could be you. Forceful arrest, 

illegal imprisonment is a 

major tool of oppression and 

Police brutality. We must 

protest against this 

vehemently. 

“Bail is not an innocent 

verdict, bail is not victory, bail 

is no bias, bail is no threat to 

justice. If it is allowed under 

the law, so be it.” 

Baba Ijesha was arrested 

two weeks ago for molesting 

a minor, after a comedian, 

Damilola Adekoya aka 

Princess, reported the matter 

at Sabo Police Station. 

The case was later 

transferred to the Gender Unit 

of the State CID, Panti, Yaba, 

Lagos, for proper 

investigation. 

physical intervention of the 

Deputy Governor, Lucky 

Aiyedatiwa, who addressed 

them on behalf of the governor. 

Aiyedatiwa, who urged the 

workers not to embark on any 

protest, promised to look into 

the allegation and unravel the 

truth. 

He said: “Your protest 

march is very valid and not 

even the governor is against 

lawful protests. But we must 

all be mindful of the present 

situation which is precarious 

security. 

“This administration is one 

even though there are several 

persons with assigned 

responsibilities. 

“In the course of our 

individual duties, however, 

there are also areas we 

consider difficult terrains 

where law enforcers like the 

official in question contend 

daily with agents that are 

against change. 


TRIBUTES—Vice Presidaent Yemi Osinbajo (left) with the widow of 'Dare Adeboye, Temiloluwa, 

during the Evening of Worship and Tributes, in honour of the late Dare Adeboye. 

INSECURITY: Prepare your escape 

routes from Nigeria, Adefarasin tells 

members 

foundation 

L AGOS—FOUNDER 

of House on the Rock, 

Paul Adefarasin, 

weekend, urged 

members of his church to 

have an escape plan out 

of Nigeria, amid the 

situation of things in the 

country. 

In his message on 

Sunday, Adefarasin, 

who said it is unfortunate 

that successive and 

present administrations 

have failed to tackle the 

challenges confronting 

My husband wasn’t afraid of death —Dare’s widow 

By Dapo Akinrefon 

& Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

L AGOS—TEMILOLUWA 

Adeboye, widow of the late 

Pastor Dare Adeboye, said her 

husband was not afraid of 

death, adding that she was 

sure Dare is in heaven. 

Temiloluwa said this at the 

Evening of Worship and 

Tributes, which held at the 

RCCG, House of Favour, 

Redemption Camp. 

She said: “Pastor Dare, my 

husband, was a wonderful 

person. He was amazing in 

every sense of the way. I do not 

mourn him at all; I weep 

because he left me. He slept, 

he did not die. And I know, I 

am sure, because on the 

resurrection morning, he will 

rise again and we will see him 

in glory. 

“I am sure because he was 

saved. I am sure because he 

believed in Christ; his 

salvation was sure, it was 

certain. 

“He said 'if I die today, I 

know I am fulfilled. I have 

done what the Lord has asked 

me to do'. He was not afraid 

of death. He was not afraid. It 

is not a matter of time but how 

well, and he lived a good life, 

he lived to the glory of God. 

He lived, he served God. His 

life was dedicated to Christ 

and that is why I am sure that 

he is in heaven. I am sure that 

he made it. And I want to say 

brethren, today, if you are not 

the country, noted that 

while he was optimistic 

that Nigeria would get 

better, he already has a 

plan ‘B', in case things 

go wrong. 

His words: “I bring you 

greetings from Pastor 

Ifeanyi, who is busy 

taking care of the frontier 

of our world and 

preparing our escape 

route. If you don’t have 

a plan ‘B', I know you 

have faith; I have faith 

too but I have a plan ‘B'. 

“With technology, I can 

speak to you from 

anywhere in the world. 

Get yourself a plan ‘B'. 

Whether that’s an Okada 

to Cameroon or flying 

boat or speed boat, as we 

call them, to Seme 

Border, or a hole in the 

ground, get your plan 

‘B', because these people 

are crazy, the whole 

bunch of them. And 

watch the signs because 

it can happen like this. 

God forbid. 

“Nigeria has more 

problems that are more 

significant than she ever 

has. Many of these 

issues need to be dealt 

with. Unless the truth is 

• As Osinbajo, IBB, Gani Adams condole Adeboye over son’s death 

sure of your salvation; if you 

are not sure that if you sleep 

tonight, you might not wake 

up tomorrow, you are not sure 

of where you will be in eternity. 

If you have not yet given your 

life to Christ, if you are here 

today to see because you 

heard. Yes, it is true; he is 

sleeping in the Lord but are 

you sure of yourself, are you 

sure of where you will be? Are 

you sure of where you will be?” 

Dare represented 

future of 

Christian 

Ministry 

— Osinbajo 

In his tribute, Vice-President 

Yemi Osinbajo said that the 

late Pastor Dare was a 

representative of the future of 

Christian Ministry. 

Osinbanjo, in a statement by 

his spokesman, Laolu 

Akande, said Pastor Dare lived 

a life filled with zeal, speed, 

and emphasized what was 

important and needed to be 

done at the right time. 

His tribute was read at a 

service of songs that was held 

this afternoon at the 

Redemption Camp by Pastor 

Bisi Akande, Pastor in Charge 

of Lagos Region 35, although 

Osinbajo was in attendance at 

the event alongside his wife, 

Pastor Dolapo Osinbajo. 

Describing the attributes of 

Pastor Dare, the Vice President 

stated that “he knew what was 

important to do and to 

emphasize and he worked 

very hard, everywhere, with the 

zeal and speed of one who 

knew that we don’t have all 

day.” 

He said: “He understood 

the dynamics and urgency of 

reaching young people with 

the gospel, especially because 

of their fundamental role in 

the sustainable growth of the 

church of God.” 

According to him, Pastor 

Dare was in many ways, a 

representative of the future of 

Christian Ministry, “a new 

generation birthed in a period 

of great turbulence in ideas 

and doctrines, a surfeit of 

distractions, but committed to 

ensuring that the unvarnished 

gospel is preached to that 

generation.” 

He further said that despite 

the late pastor’s position of 

privilege, “he was deeply and 

unpretentiously respectful, not 

just of elders and those in 

authority, but of everyone, even 

his subordinates.” 

IBB, Gani Adams 

condole Adeboye 

over son’s death 

Meanwhile, former military 

president, General Ibrahim 

Babangida (retd) and the Aare 

Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba 

Gani Adams, yesterday, condoled 

with Pastor Enoch Adeboye over 

the son of his son, Dare, asking 

him to take heart in the grace that 

God Almighty can provide. 

unveiled concerning our 

years, 

amalgamation, 

independence, and our first 

constitution, we will not get 

it right in Nigeria. 

“No country in the world 

history has survived two 

civil wars. You could be in 

fright and running for your 

dear life any day from now 

if this thing does not come 

to an end. My personal 

encouragement to leaders 

and government on all 

sides is that it is not time to 

be partisan; blend the 

aisles. It is time to sit down 

and dialogue.” 

Babangida, in a statement 

conveying his good wishes to 

Adeboye, said: “It is with a 

heavy heart that I convey my 

condolence to you and your 

family over the sudden death 

of your 42 years old son, Dare. 

The news came to me as a 

rude shock, but one cannot 

question the Almighty God for 

his decisions in our lives. As 

mere mortals, we await our 

appointment with God at any 

point in time. 

“It is not a thing we have 

any control of, once it is time, 

only God has the ultimate 

decision, irrespective of age. 

But the death of a young man 

would naturally hurt us, as one 

would expect our children to 

be around to organise our 

funeral. It is painful and very 

agonising to hear of this sad 

loss. 

Similarly, the Aare 

Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, 

in a statement by his Special 

Assistant on Media, Mr. 

Kehinde Aderemi, expressed 

shock that the shining light of 

the young Adeboye went dim 

at such a younger age when 

his spiritual strength was 

needed most. 

Adams said: “I was short of 

words when the news broke 

out that we lost Pastor 

Oluwadare Adeboye. It was 

one loss too many and I feel 

pained that we lost the 

younger Adeboye at such a 

time when he was still active 

in the service of the lord.”

Vanguard, , TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 — 11 

:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnewsNEWS HOTLINES: 

Social Media Conversation 

GRIDLOCK—The Oshodi-Apapa expressway gridlock...and the beat goes on. Is there any 

solution in sight? 

APAPA: Police, LASTMA compound 

traffic situation 

By Godwin Oritse 

LAGOS—THERE seems to be a 

disagreement between security 

agents in and around the Lagos ports 

over the control of the traffic 

situation in Apapa, as the Lagos Port 

Police Command is currently at 

loggerheads with the Lagos State 

Traffic Management Authority, 

LASTMA, a development that has 

further compounded the chaotic 

traffic situation. 

Both agencies are currently trying 

to outdo each other and take control 

of the situation, due to the huge 

amount of money made from 

extorting truck drivers. 

Confirming the development, the 

President of the Association of 

Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO, 

Remi Ogungbemi, said the issue of 

human element has truncated the 

electronic Call-Up system 

introduced by the Nigerian Ports 

Authority, NPA. 

Ogunbgemi said: “There are 

irregularities in the admittance of 

trucks; there is no proper 

coordination in the releasing of the 

trucks and the environment can no 

longer accommodate the volume of 

activities we are giving to it. 

“So, we need to expand and 

expansion cannot happen 

overnight, that is why there is a need 

for this automated system regulating 

the movement of trucks, but it is not 

being handled properly. 

“We still have human elements; 

there are still some human 

By Onozure Dania 

LAGOS—ACTIVIST and critic, 

Adesunbo Onitiri, yesterday, 

decried what he called 

“unprecedented insecurity, high level 

of corruption and economic 

degradation” in the country. 

In a statement in Lagos, Onitiri 

recalled that when the All 

Progressives Congress, APCcontrolled 

Federal Government 

took over the mantle of leadership 

in 2015, it promised “change” with 

a commitment to provide adequate 

security, fight corruption and, above 

all, improve the economy of the 

nation. 

He said: “The current Federal 

Government has shown complete 

lack of empathy to the aspirations 

of the people, like the sacking of 

Minister Isa Patanmi and arrest of 

Boko Haram and killer herdsmen 

and terrorists for prosecution. 

“All patriots, democrats and, 

indeed, all Nigerians should pass a 

vote of ‘no confidence' on the current 

members of the NASS and the 

interventions. That is the cause of 

the current traffic situation we are 

experiencing in the Apapa axis.” 

While he disclosed that new 

arrangements are being put in place 

by the NPA to enhance the free flow 

of traffic, the AMATO boss said that 

most of the system of the Electronic 

call up has been hacked so much so 

that tickets issued by the Truck 

Transit Park Limited is being cloned 

by some unscrupulous people in the 

port. 

On the issue of security agents 

taking control of the traffic gridlock 

in Apapa, Ogungbemi said: “That 

is what I mean by the human 

element, human interventions are 

still there.” 

Alleging that all security agents are 

involved in the extortion of truck 

drivers, he said that the port access 

roads have become a border of some 

sort. 

Why Oshodi/Apapa 

traffic may never end 

Meanwhile, Vanguard’s 

investigation revealed that the 

reason for the perennial gridlock 

may not be unconnected with the 

ongoing extortion by security 

operatives, who rake in millions of 

naira, daily, into their private 

pockets. 

Despite the introduction of the e- 

call up system, some trucks, as 

reliably gathered, are allowed 

passage into the ports without a 

pass. 

For such trucks, owners and 

Nigerians must pass ‘no confidence' 

vote on NASS, APC, FG 

current administration of APC for 

their woeful failure at governance. 

“The National Assembly has failed 

to caution the Executive on the failure 

of governance and this has led to the 

present failure and dismal 

performance in which we are now, 

despite the cries of the citizens. 

“The APC leaders have failed to 

perform their statutory duties and 

have lost the legal mandate of the 

people to remain in power. 

“Apart from piling up huge foreign 

debts and mortgaging the future of 

our generations yet unborn, the 

government had created untold 

disunity among all the tribes, through 

nepotism, 

religious 

fundamentalism, failure to follow a 

federal character in the distribution 

of appointments and resources, et 

cetera. 

“All hands must now be on deck to 

save this country from the APC’s 

misrule and disintegration. All 

political, religious, geopolitical 

leaders and well-meaning Nigerians 

should rally the government to save 

this country from disintegration and 

douse the agitation for secession and 

self-determination.” 

drivers as reliably gathered, pay 

between N150,000 and N200,000. 

In 2019, when naval personnel 

were drafted to control traffic into 

the ports, there were infightings 

between them and the Police, over 

the sharing formula. The Navy, 

which was at the forefront then, took 

total control of the traffic, depriving 

the senior policemen, who were 

drafted to oversee their subordinates, 

of their share. 

At a time, millions of naira were 

traced to the account of a naval 

rating. 

That year, some naval personnel 

were dismissed, following the 

recommendation of a special panel 

constituted by the former Chief of 

Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe 

Abas, to investigate allegations of 

extortion brought against them. 

This was shortly after the 

Presidency sacked the navy from 

traffic control at the Lagos ports 

access road, owing to series of 

complaints and petitions by various 

stakeholders. 

Unfortunately, the extortion spree 

has remained unabated, as 

Vanguard reliably gathered that 

senior police officers lobby to put 

their loyal men who make daily 

returns, running into millions of 

naira, along that axis. 

Any policeman drafted to oversee 

the event around the axis and did 

not make the usual remittance is 

immediately removed and replaced. 

Before now, it was alleged that 

N70,000 was collected from each 

truck driver to drive against traffic. 

Presently, it has been increased to 

N90, 000. 

It was further revealed that thugs 

are used by policemen to collect the 

illegal toll from truck drivers 

entering the ports. 

Drivers who fail to pay are made 

to remain on the long queue or 

parking bays as long as three weeks 

before it would get to their turn. 

On the other hand, a truck coming 

from any part of the country could 

be given access to drive into the port 

to load, as long as the drivers grease 

the palm of the thugs who collect 

the illegal tolls on behalf of the Police. 

Most times, truck drivers, who pay 

as much as N200,000 are given 

designated parking points close to 

the ports, where they would stay until 

the appropriate time to drive in. 

In most cases, some drivers, who 

have e-calls, would revolt by taking 

over the entire expressway, depriving 

other motorists’ access. 

An aggrieved truck driver, who 

spoke with Vanguard said: “They 

introduced e-call up but would still 

allow those without them to go in 

because they have collected huge 

amounts from them. That is why we 

take over the entire road. If we don’t 

act that way, they would not allow 

us access. We are ready to comply 

with the rules, but the Police should 

also cooperate with us by doing the 

needful.” 

Hot bath, his way! 

Softly, softly catch monkey! 

Roller-skaters!




Fresh oil spill hits Bayelsa community 

By Samuel 

Oyadongha 

YENAGOA — A fresh oil 

spill has reportedly 

rocked Egbebiri community, 

Biseni Kingdom in 

Yenagoa Local Government 

Area of Bayelsa 

State. 

According to 

Environment Rights 

Action/Friends of the 

Earth Nigeria, ERA/ 

FoEN, field reports, the 

spill, which was attributed 

to equipment failure, 

occurred at Idu Well 11, a 

facility owned by Nigerian 

Agip Oil Company, 

NAOC. 

The leak, ERA head in 

Bayelsa, Alagoa Morris, 

noted, was noticed last 

Friday at 10 p.m., by 

residents of the 

predominantly fishing and 

farming settlement. 

According to the report, 

“The people of Egbebiri in 

the Biseni Kingdom have 

experienced several oil 

spills over the years. And 

all the oil spill incidents 

documented by ERA/ 

FoEN in this community 

occurred as a result of 

equipment failure and on 

Wellheads. 

“ERA/FoEN has had 

cause to visit the 

environment of Idu Wells 

5 and 11 located within the 

same place in the past and 

it has always been Idu 

Well 11 spewing crude oil 

into the environment. 

“Available records from 

ERA/FoEN indicate that 

there have been previous 

oil spills from this 

particular Idu Well 11 

operated by Agip. 

“These include: on 

January 7, 2012, around 

10 pm-11pm (this 

occurred after replacement 

of some pipelines), spill 

also occurred on June 25, 

2014, and very closely on 

October 22, 2018, and on 

November 4, 2018, before 

the current incident. All 

were due to equipment 

failure. 

“Before concluding this 

field report, ERA/FoEN 

confirmed that Joint 

Investigation Visit, JIV, 

was carried out on May 9, 

2021. This is why the 

official Spill Reference No 

2021/ LAR/028/058 is 

indicated in this report 

sourced from the JIV 

report. Cause of spill was 

attributed to equipment 

failure.” 

Narrating the 

community's experience, 

an indigene simply 

identified as Georgie said 

NAOC is the owner of the 

facility, Wells 5 and 11, 

where the spill happened 

on May 7, around 10 pm 

till about 8 am before they 

came and tried to stop it. 

And the level of damage 

is something terrible. 

“You can see the level of 

damage all over, of which 

we don’t know what to do. 

But for now, we are calling 

on relevant agencies to 

ensure that prompt action 

is taken to prevent the spill 

from spreading to the 

water bodies in the 

environment. You can see 

all the trees are changing 

colours. 

“So, I am calling on 

Agip, the federal and state 

governments to come to 

our aid with actions that 

would enable the 

Wike reviews curfew in Rivers to 

end attacks on security formations 

By Davies 

Iheamnachor 

PORT HARCOURT— 

Governor Nyesom Wike 

of Rivers State has reviewed 

the night curfew imposed on 

the state from 7p.m. to 6a.m., 

with effect from today. 

The governor said the 

decision was to stem attacks 

on security formations in the 

state, noting that the decision 

was taken following the 

multiple ambushes on police 

checkpoints on the East-West 

Road, which resulted in the 

killing of police officers. 

Wike in a state broadcast, 

yesterday, said the State 

Security Council took a review 

of the way and manner the 

recent attacks were executed 

and discovered that the 

perpetrators, who disguised 

as security officers, moved in 

unhindered from Oyigbo to 

launch the attacks. 

He said: “However, as a 

further step towards 

enhancing our collective 

safety, we have reviewed the 

existing night-time curfew 

across the 23 local 

government areas, which will 

now start from 7 p.m. and end 

at 6 a.m. until further notice 

from May 11, 2021. 

“The security agencies are 

hereby, directed to note the 

new curfew time, ensure strict 

compliance and effectively 

deal with any person or group 

that violates or attempts to 

violate it. 

“We have reviewed, and for 

the moment, declined the 

pressure on the state 

government to activate our 

youths to defend the state 

from these terrorists because 

we don’t want to complicate 

our very delicate security 

situation by creating 

opportunities for some other 

monsters to emerge.” 

environment to regain its 

natural glory. 

“We have bush mango 

(Irvinga gabonensis), we 

also have what we call 

bush rice all over. This is 

a forest where our people 

The governor, who 

consoled the families of the 

dead officers and the state’s 

Police Command for the 

irreparable loss, said that the 

government and security 

agencies were determined to 

deploy everything at their 

disposal to advance the safety 

and security of lives and 

property in the state. 

He explained that security 

agencies were on the trail of 

the gunmen, who attacked 

security formations in the 

state, expressing optimism 

that the culprits would all be 

arrested soon and brought to 

justice. 

He reiterated that nothing 

would stop the government 

from defeating the evil forces 

presently threatening 

individual and collective 

security of the state. 

You're enslaving oil host 

communities, Reps tell oil 

companies 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA —THE House 

of Representatives, 

yesterday, said some of the 

multinational oil 

companies operating in 

Niger Delta were enslaving 

the host communities. 

The House, therefore, 

declared an end to any form 

of slavery, vowing to protect 

the rights, lives and 

livelihoods of the people of 

the coastal region. 

Chairman, House 

Committee 

on 

Communities, 

Dumnamene Dekor, made 

the disclosure at a 

stakeholders and the 

General Public Interactive 

Session at the National 

Assembly complex. 

The meeting was to 

engage the oil companies 

on many allegations of 

marginalisation and other 

related matters raised 

overtime by the oil host 

communities. 

The chairman who 

expressed regrets over the 

non appearance of many 

companies invited before 

the committee, warned 

come to earn their living. 

We have snails and 

different animals too. But 

now, as I am saying, the 

environment is polluted. 

So, we need an urgent 

response from NAOC.” 

RITE OF PASSAGE: Prominent Itsekiri Chiefs and Leaders at 

Jalla in Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State for one of 

the rites of passage of the late Olu of Warri, His Majesty, Ikenwoli, 

yesterday. 

against treating the 

lawmakers with levity. 

Dekor also charged the 

companies to make all the 

relevant documents 

conveying their position on 

the issues available to the 

committee to enable it 

engage the host 

communities. 

He said: “It appears that 

the same level of levity with 

which the host 

communities are treated is 

the same they are bringing 

here and we take exception 

to that. So, for those 

companies that have no 

submissions and those we 

are expecting to bring their 

submissions and even 

those who have made their 

submissions, by the next 

hearing, we hope to see 

your MDs and it does 

appear you were aware that 

we are even on a short 

break but you can see the 

members who have come 

out today for this hearing. 

“We will no longer accept 

slavery because what I 

think most of the 

companies are doing, they 

are enslaving people and 

we won’t take it anymore. 

We have the right to protect 

their rights, lives and 

livelihoods and we will stop 

at nothing in doing that.” 

Olu-designate proceeds 

to Idaniken after rites for 

late monarch 

By Jimitota 

Onoyume 

W 

A R R I — 

PROMINENT Itsekiri 

Chiefs and Leaders were at 

Jalla in Warri South Local 

Government Area, Delta 

State, yesterday, for one of the 

rites of the late Olu of Warri, 

His Majesty, Ikenwoli, at the 

end of which the Oludesignate, 

Omoba Tsola 

Emiko, proceeded to another 

level of traditional rites called 

Idaniken. 

Chief Robinson Ariyo, the 

Egogo of Warri Kingdom, 

who spoke to Vanguard at the 

end of the traditional rites at 

Jalla, said the Omoba would 

be at Idaniken for some 

period, not exceeding three 

months, adding that the 

ceremony at Jalla went on 

smoothly. 

He dismissed as 

speculation, media reports 

that the rites at Jalla was 

postponed over 

disagreements. According to 

him, the postponements had 

to do with analysis from 

traditional meteorologists. 

He said: “We have gone 

to Jalla and back. The Omoba 

has gone to Idaniken now. 

Edo Assembly passes law 

ceding administration of AAU 

to Obaseki 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

BENIN CITY —THE 

Edo State House of 

Assembly, yesterday, passed 

a law ceding the 

administration of the state 

Ambrose Alli University, 

Ekpoma to Governor Godwin 

Obaseki through what it 

called Special Intervention 

Powers for the Visitor to the 

university. 

The passage was sequel to 

the consideration of the bill 

as requested by Governor 

That is the seclusion, he will 

be there for some months. 

This period, he will learn 

some traditional things and 

at the end of it, he will be 

crowned. 

“For you to go to Jalla, you 

have to study the tide, the one 

that will take you down and 

bring you back must agree 

with a time. You don’t move 

against the tide as you are 

going and coming back. All 

these are followed for a 

proper funeral. There are also 

certain times of the day you 

knock on the invisible door 

at Jalla. You put all these 

together and if any of these 

does not fall into place, you 

postpone. 

“On Saturday, we were to 

go when they did the reading a 

day before the day, it was not 

convenient, so it had to be 

cancelled. 

“You also look at market days, 

you can’t go there on market 

days. So, you have to do all these 

calculations to get a conducive 

date. If the tide is convenient but 

it is on a market day, you cancel 

it. You can take a date and if it is 

not convenient, you drop that 

day. Today, everything fell in 

place, it was perfectly right. 

Most of the chiefs were there. It 

was a successful one.” 

Buhari making efforts to end 

poor energy supply —Omo-Agege 

By Ochuko 

Akuopha & Obas 

Esiedesa 

UGHELLI —DEPUTY 

Senate President, 

Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, 

has said President 

Muhammadu Buhari was 

making significant efforts to 

end poor energy supply in 

Nigeria by facilitating the 

provision of electricity to rural 

communities across the 

country. 

Speaking at a groundbreaking 

ceremony for the 

construction of Niger Delta 

Power Holding Company, 

NDPHC, distribution 

substation in Orogun, Delta 

State, Omo-Agege said: 

“The objective has been to 

ensure that the number of 

people, who use modern 

energy increases to reduce 

social costs and increase 

social benefits.” 

He noted that the 

establishment of the power 

substation was one of the 

several initiatives of the 

administration aimed at 

addressing energy poverty in 

the country. 

Omo-Agege said: 

“Substations play a critical 

role in the power industry. 

Substations support the 

transmission grid in moving 

power from generation 

sources to customers’ load, 

while electrical utilities use 

them for system protection, 

switching capabilities and 

more importantly, voltage 

transformations. 

“It is thus my hope that the 

construction of the power 

substation will boost access to 

energy in the region and 

consequently bring about 

enhanced economic activities 

and poverty reduction 

through enhanced income, 

health, education and 

improved environment.” 

In his remarks, Managing 

Director/CEO, NDPHC, Mr 

Chiedu Ugbo, said when 

completed, the project would 

boost economic activities in 

the community. 

Obaseki. 

At the House’ sitting, 

yesterday, Majority Leader of 

the House, Henry 

Okhuarobo, moved a motion 

that the House go into 

committee of the whole and 

suspend House Rules 27, 42 

to 48 to consider the bill and 

the motion was seconded by 

the Deputy Speaker, Roland 

Asoro. 

The Chief Whip of the 

House, Emma Okoduwa 

said the bill was timely 

following the crisis in the 

University.

C 

M 

Y 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 — 13




VISIT: From left—Managing Director, Lagos Free Zone, LFZ, Dinesh Rathi; Head of Chancery, High 

Commission of India in Nigeria, Mr. Rachit Rawat; High Commissioner of India to Nigeria, H.E. Mr. 

Abhay Thakur; Customer Service Manager, Lagos Free Zone, LFZ, Tega Oscar-Ede and Project Leader, 

Power & Gas, Lagos Free Zone, LFZ, Prem Krishna, during the visit of the High Commissioner to the 

Lagos Free Zone. 

Gov Ortom, Tor Tiv, PFN beg Christians 

to pray against Nigeria's disintegration 

By Peter Duru 

MNOR AKURDI—GOVER 

Samuel Ortom of 

Benue State and Chairman of 

Benue Traditional Council, 

Tor Tiv, HRM, Professor 

James Ayatse, have called on 

Christian faithful to pray 

against the disintegration of 

Nigeria. 

They observed that though 

there are ominous signs of 

dark cloud hanging over Nigeria, 

prayers remain the only 

instrument to salvage the 

country. 

The duo spoke during a 

prayer meeting put together 

by the Pentecostal Fellowship 

of Nigeria, PFN at the Glory 

of His Majesty Church in 

Makurdi. 

The Governor, quoting 2 

Chronicles 7:13-14 from the 

Holy Bible, urged Christians 

to obey God's word by seeking 

forgiveness for their sins 

so that the problems in Nigeria 

and particularly Benue 

State would be a thing of the 

past. 

Represented by his Chief of 

Staff, Mr. Terwase Orbunde, 

the Governor lauded the forefathers 

of Benue State for preserving 

Benue land from 

strangers even as he called for 

prayers against faulty foundations 

in the country. 

The Tor Tiv, on his part said, 

"so much has been done about 

the situation in our country 

and the only way out is prayer. 

God has a programme for 

Nigeria and no human being 

can stop it. That is why I am 

happy that the Holy Spirit 

has put the Church on the 

path of prayer because 

through prayer everything is 

possible." 

Also quoting Jonah1:1-2 in 

the Bible, the paramount ruler 

advised Christians to unite 

in prayer, love, forgiveness 

and against denomination, 

stressing that the traditional 

and political institutions in 

the state were united "because 

there is danger ahead. 

"We are the custodians of 

this land and we will not give 

the land to the devil. We must 

be united; all the bickering 

must stop." 

On his part, Vice President 

of PFN, North Central and 

President, El-Buba Outreach 

Ministries, Prophet Isa El- 

Buba, said there is a mighty 

wind of revival and restoration 

going on in Nigeria. 

"In the next few days, you 

will see what God will do to 

the wicked people. They will 

be killing one another," El- 

Buba said. 

Plans to slash salaries: Call Finance 

Minister to order now, TUC tells Buhuri 

By Victor Ahiuma- 

Young 

TRADE UNION Congress 

of Nigeria, TUC, yesterday 

pleaded with President 

Muhammadu Buhari, to call 

the Minister of Finance and 

National Planning, Mrs. 

Zainab Ahmed, to order to 

avoid anarchy over alleged 

plans to slash workers' salaries. 

Reacting to the recent statement 

that the federal government 

plans to slash workers' 

salaries to cut cost, TUC contended 

that such suggestion at 

a time Nigeria is grappling 

with the effect of COVID-19 

pandemic with millions of 

people already rendered jobless 

was not only preposterous, 

but wicked in every shade 

and ungodly. 

In a statement by TUC President 

and Secretary General, 

Quadri Olaleye, and Musa- 

Lawal Ozigi, respectively, the 

body said: "It has become very 

imperative for the President 

of the Federal Republic to call 

his appointees to order as they 

have been making some unreasonable 

statements that 

are capable of fueling more 

crisis in the country even at a 

time, we are battling to address 

the one at hand. The 

most recent was made by the 

Minister of Finance and National 

Planning, Mrs. Zainab 

Ahmed concerning the plans 

to reduce workers salary. According 

to her, workers salary 

is the reason the cost of governance 

is high. 

"To come up with such an 

idea at a time we are still grappling 

with the effect of pandemic 

and millions of people 

have been rendered jobless for 

months already is not only 

preposterous but wicked and, 

in every shade, ungodly. We are 

Benue unveils N300m SFTAS, World Bank project 

By Peter Duru 

MNOR AKURDI—GOVER 

Samuel Ortom of 

Benue State, yesterday unveiled 

the N300million States 

Fiscal Transparency, Accountability 

and Sustainability programme, 

SFTAS, World Bank 

assisted Property Enumeration 

Project and Benue Geographic 

Information Services, 

BENGIS, sensitization exercise. 

Performing the unveiling in 

Makurdi, the Governor explained 

that BENGIS was a 

tool for computerization of 

land records and land administration 

in Benue State. 

Represented by his Chief of 

Staff, Terwase Orbunde the 

Governor said "while SFTAS 

Disbursement-Linked Indicator, 

DLI, 11.3 is a component 

in BENGIS meant to enumerate 

all buildings, their owners 

and occupants in the state towards 

developing a robust 

database for planning and 

development. 

"In developed countries, 

they have since embraced the 

science and technology of 

database development and 

management as a tool for governance 

and proactive decision 

making in a timely manner 

which is key to fiscal 

transparency, accountability 

and sustainable development. 

"With this tool, government 

and indeed the people are able 

to know with ease, who leaves 

where as well as other details 

of availability or unavailability 

of infrastructure and facilities 

available to the people 

of a given locality. 

"With good infrastructural 

and geospatial database, 

many government decisions 

are taken with precise 

knowledge of the subsisting 

situation and with accurate 

information for good planning. 

"Such planning saves cost 

and eliminates wastage 

while enabling government 

to work with real time information. 

In the absence of 

such database, government 

often resort to paying heavily 

for adhoc planning of her 

projects or in the alternative, 

to use unconfirmed assumptions 

in development projects," 

he stated 

surprised this is coming from 

a mother. The Trade Union 

Congress of Nigeria, nay Nigerians 

believe the government 

knows the right thing to 

do to cut down the cost of governance; 

what it actually 

lacks is the political will to do 

so. Events of the recent past 

have shown that workers are 

not the problem; rather the 

appointees of government are 

responsible for the sorry state 

of the country. They brought 

every strata of the country to 

its knee. It is a pity. 

"May we remind the Minister 

that as at Q4 2020 the unemployment 

rate stood at 33.3 

per cent and it is projected to 

rise even further in the coming 

months while the rate of 

inflation as at March, 2021 

stood at 18.17 per cent. The 

consequential effects of these 

are that we now have more 

idle hands capable of going 

into crime. Also, even the socalled 

N30, 000 minimum 

wage which some states are 

yet to commence payment 

has been rubbished by the 

high rate of inflation. It is 

important to also remind her 

that there is a law backing 

National Minimum Wage. 

" As the Minister of Finance, 

we had expected her ministry 

to work collaboratively with 

the Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN) to come up with policies 

that would shape the 

country economically. Foreign 

Direct Investments (FDI) 

has continued to dwindle in 

the country despite our economic 

potential. Investors 

are discouraged from investing 

due to insecurity, unfavourable 

policies or a general 

lack of a suitable business 

environment. Maybe she 

is not aware that Ghana has 

become a business hob for 

investors.‘‘ 

Exam malpractice: UNIJOS 

clears Law Prof 5yrs after 

By Marie-Therese 

Nanlong 

JOS—AFTER five years, 

the Management of University 

of Jos, UNIJOS, has 

absolved Professor Benedicta 

Daudu of the Institution's 

Faculty of Law of any wrongdoing, 

saying the allegation 

of examination malpractice 

leveled against her was unfounded. 

Recall that Professor 

Daudu was suspended in 

2016 over alledged examination 

misconduct and 

asked to appear before a 

Council/ Senate Disciplinary 

Committee, but she challenged 

the punishment in 

court. 

When it was discovered 

that the allegation was unfounded, 

the University 

cleared her name and offered 

to settle out of court. 

But the terms of settlement 

were subsequently filed in 

court even as the University 

regretted the embarrassment 

caused her and accepted 

to pay all her outstanding 

emoluments and entitle- 

EKITI STATE Govern 

ment and Promasidor 

Nigeria have intensified 

their efforts to growing dairy 

agribusiness in Nigeria as 

they have taken delivery of 

250 pregnant heifers from 

the United States of America, 

for Ikun Dairy Farm, 

IDF, in Ekiti State. 

A statement by the management 

of Promasidor, said 

"It is worthy of note that this 

is the second batch of heifers 

arriving the farm after 

the first arrival on February 

10th this year. It is in line 

with the objectives of the 

state government and Promasidor 

to make the dairy 

farm a model of backward 

integration on a commercial 

scale. 

"Upon calving, the milk 

production on the farm will 

definitely be boosted by the 

Jersey heifers' arrival as they 

are expected to produce an 

average of 20 litres of milk 

per day per animal. In a bid 

to bring the efforts of Promasidor 

on the farm to fruition, 

the Ekiti State Govern- 

ments. 

The Registrar of the university, 

Monday Danjem, 

has already written to the 

Chairman of the Presidential 

Advisory Committee on 

Anti-Corruption, PACAC, 

intimating him of the development. 

The letter captioned "Reinstatement 

of Professor 

Benedicta Daudu" stated: 

"Sometime in 2016, based 

on an allegation of examination 

misconduct against 

then Dr. (now Professor) 

Benedicta Daudu, she was 

suspended from her employment 

and requested to appear 

before a Council/ Senate 

Disciplinary Committee, 

a development which she 

challenged in court. 

"Subsequently, the University 

proposed an out of court 

settlement, the terms of 

which were accepted by Prof. 

Daudu. I am therefore 

pleased to inform you that 

the matter has been amicably 

settled out of court and 

Professor Benedicta Daudu 

is now free to return to her 

national assignment." 

Ekiti, Promasidor intensify effort 

to grow dairy agribusiness in 

Nigeria 

ment has ensured all issues 

with landowners were resolved 

and full access to land 

granted for use. 

"They also ensured the 

connection of the farm to the 

national grid for regular 

power supply. It is important 

to also mention the immense 

support from the 

Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN) that includes access 

to facilities to boost investment 

on the farm and their 

recommendations that aided 

the smooth importation 

of the heifers into the country. 

"The company's focus to 

revamp the moribund Ikun 

Dairy Farm is in line with 

the Federal Government's 

policy on backward integration 

initiated by the Central 

Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Ikun 

Dairy Farm Limited was incorporated 

on 22nd January 

2020 as an integrated agroallied 

concern. 

"It is an initiative of Promasidor 

Nigeria and the 

Ekiti State Government 

through its Investment 

Company, Fountain Holdings 

Limited." 

Uba Michael inducted into 

CIPRM&P 2021 Hall of Fame 

By Emmanuel 

Okogba 

A BUJA—AMBASSADOR 

of Peace and Good Governance 

Advocate, Uba 

Michael, has been inducted 

into the Hall of Fame of The 

Chartered Institute of Public 

Resources Management and 

Politics, Ghana. 

The induction which took 

place in Abuja was in recognition 

of Uba's management 

ingenuity and remarkable 

excellence in national/international 

economic development 

of Nigeria. 

The notice of induction 

read in part, "The Chartered 

Institute of Public Resources 

Management and Politics 

(Ghana) is greatly proud of 

your incorruptible track 

records of excellent integrity, 

outstanding resourcefulness, 

exemplary service delivery, 

corporate productivity and 

leadership dexterity." 

In his acceptance, Uba said: 

"I believe in the youth of this 

country. I also believe that entrepreneurship 

and the right 

kind of leadership is one of 

the cures to our societal problems. 

I want to specially appreciate 

the management of 

Chartered Institute of Public 

Resources Management and 

Politics for finding me worthy 

of this award."


By Chinedu Adonu 

E NUGU—SPIRITUAL 

Director of Adoration 

Ministry, Enugu, Nigeria, 

Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka 

on Sunday apologized to 

the Catholic church and 

Bishop Callistus Onaga 

over the vandalization of 

Bishop's court by adoration 

faithful. 

Fr Mbaka who made 

this apology at Adoration 

ground while officiating 

at Sunday mass, says "I 

do not disobey the 

church, who am I? How 

can someone who has 

been serving the church 

for nearly 26 years come 

out and begin to fight the 

same church? Everything 

in my life is for the 

church". 

Recall that members of 

Adoration ministry on 

Wednesday last week 

stormed Bishop's court at 

Igbo-Eze street demanding 

the whereabout of Fr 

Mbaka who was feared to 

have been abducted. 

The protesters who waited 

for Bishop Onaga to 

come out and address 

them, having accused 

him of knowing what had 

happened to Mbaka, destroyed 

properties having 

exhausted their patience. 

Hear him, "I, Fr Mbaka 

standing here, am a child 

of the holy mother 

church, and all the faithful 

are also children of the 

same mother church. 



Mbaka apologises to church, Bishop Onaga 

"I am a baby of the 

church and an ordained 

holy Roman Catholic that 

is apostolic, universal. I 

stand here to tell you that 

nothing can destroy the 

church. I speak as a messenger 

of God and a mere 

servant. 

He however, reaffirmed 

his loyalty to the church 

and Bishop. 

"Please, I have to clarify 

this, Fr Mbaka has no 

problem with the Church 

and I do not have any 

problem with my bishop. 

Enemies want to achieve 

that by causing discord, 

but I will not allow it because, 

there is something 

in me that will conquer 

such problems. 

"That thing is the gift of 

humility and obedience 

to the church, to the glory 

of God. I do not want to 

tell negative stories about 

what happened because 

the incident now belongs 

to the past. 

"When the protest continued 

to gather more 

momentum that day, I was 

asked by my bishop to 

come and take away the 

protesters to avoid the situation 

getting out of 

hand. You know the issue 

attracted media hype; Fr 

Mbaka is missing, Mbaka 

has been kidnapped and 

all that. But I was never 

kidnapped. I was at a 

place that my bishop had 

asked me to proceed to 

for personal prayer. 

"I almost had a terrible 

accident when I was hurrying 

to the Bishop's 

Court after I was asked to 

come and calm the restive 

crowd of protesters. I 

asked the bishop (on 

phone), shall i move to 

the Adoration ground? 

He said yes. And I asked 

what about the Sunday 

Mass, he said tell them 

you will celebrate it with 

them. I answered, yes my 

Lord and proceeded. 

"As we were moving 

through New Haven, I 

got another call that I 

should rush to Holy 

Ghost cathedral, that another 

mammoth crowd 

had entered the cathedral 

premises and threatening 

to wreck havoc there if I 

did not appear to address 

them in person. I never 

knew that any damage 

was caused in Bishop's 

house. 

"When I got to the OSI- 

SATEC (Poly) Roundabout, 

I saw a thick crowd. 

I then came out and 

waved at them. Immediately 

they saw me, they 

started following me 

back. I didn't enter the cathedral. 

I never knew that 

even a glass was broken. 

"What I was praising 

those that trooped out 

that day was not about 

anything that was destroyed 

but for your ability 

to search for your missing 

pastor. 

"And I beg you, whenever 

any priest goes missing, 

please, look for him. 

If any of our priests is kidnapped, 

you should not 

rest! Whether it happened 

in Onitsha, Aba, 

Nnewi, even in Maiduguri 

or Yorubaland, search 

for him. This is because 

we share in one priesthood 

of Christ Jesus. If I 

hear that my bishop is 

missing, for instance, I 

will do everything possible, 

by the grace of God 

to find him. 

"I am taking my time to 

explain things because 

there were a lot of mixed 

information and the devil 

entered into the story. 

The church did not kidnap 

me. So, I wish to apologize 

to whoever that misunderstood 

my statement. 

I didn't clap for anybody 

for destroying anything. 

"Again, I praise you 

people (supporters) for 

protecting the Sanctissimus; 

the Blessed Sacrament 

was not tampered 

with. And God will bless 

you because I heard that 

the 'Search for Fr Mbaka' 

was highjacked. 

"I head that some people 

joined up and started 

breaking things, and that 

virtually people of all 

tribes, Christians and 

non-christians as well as 

Catholics and non-Catholics 

joined in the search. 

CSR: Why we're supporting fight against malaria —Chevron 

By Udeme Akpan 

WITH the experiences of 

their personnel at various 

locations, host communities 

and other parts of 

Nigeria, some oil companies 

have over the years, 

come to perceive mosquitoes, 

and by extension, 

malaria, as a common enemy 

that must be tackled 

and exterminated. 

Take the case of Chevron 

Nigeria Limited, CNL, the 

operator of the Nigerian 

National Petroleum Corporation/CNL 

Joint Venture 

as an example. In a document 

obtained by Vanguard, 

CNL stated: “In the 

communities around its areas 

of operations in Nigeria, 

CNL invests in initiatives 

and programmes 

aimed at improving the 

health of members of such 

communities. Through 

partnerships, leadership 

and financial resources, 

CNL continues to assist 

government and institutions 

in addressing health 

issues and has recorded 

significant success in this 

regard. CNL works to protect 

the health and safety 

of its employees, their registered 

spouses, dependents 

and retirees. 

“CNL is committed to the 

fight against malaria 

through initiatives such as 

the Roll Back Malaria Programs, 

Malaria in Pregnancy 

program, training of 

health workers, distribution 

of Intermittent Preventive 

Treatment and Artemisinin-based 

drugs, and 

Long Lasting Insecticide 

Treated Mosquito Nets. 

The Roll Back Malaria programmes 

are specifically 

targeted at infants, children 

under five years of 

age and pregnant women 

who have been worst hit by 

malaria. 

CNL’s partnerships with 

other organisations such 

as the Corporate Alliance 

for Malaria in Africa, have 

helped in enhancing the 

support of the government’s 

vision through the 

National Malaria Elimination 

Programme, to end 

malaria in Nigeria. Over 

the last 13 years, Chevron 

has also partnered with the 

Global Fund to fight AIDS, 

tuberculosis, malaria, and 

building of resilient health 

systems in Nigeria.”


TRIBUTE 

It’s a year since my earthly 

angel answered the call 

Southern Governors’ Forum: 

A welcome development 

By SOLA EBISENI 

THE news came so subtly and 

quite unusual with stories associated 

with such giant news makers: 

that Governors of Southern Nigeria 

met on May 4 on the State of 

the Nation. Fifteen of the 17 Governors 

were said to have attended, while 

two were represented by their deputies, 

with the promise of a follow-up 

meeting this week. Notwithstanding 

that it was a virtual meeting, which 

starved it of the usual fanfare, its 

proponents deserve commendation 

by all lovers of peace in the continued 

threatened corporate existence 

of this nebulous federation. 

Following the Resolution at the 

Berlin Conference, on February 26, 

1884, partitioning Africa on the Principle 

of Effective Occupation by European 

powers, a British Protectorate 

Administration was, on June 5, 

1885, proclaimed on the territory 

from the Lagos boundary in the West 

to the right bank of the Rio del Rey 

now in the Cameroon. The British 

Crown resorted to signing new treaties 

or validating existing Trade 

Agreements with recognised traditional 

institutions in the name of Treaty 

of Friendship and Protection. By 

1861, Lagos was annexed by Britain 

which declared colonial administration 

thereat in 1862 and by November 

29,1895, the colonial Legislative 

Council extended its authority eastwards 

through the coastal territory 

of the present Ondo State to the 

junction of Okutimakoro and Adabrassa 

creeks and the Benin River in 

the present Edo and Delta states. 

By 1900, British colonial administration 

was proclaimed on the whole 

of Nigeria, with the territory divided 

into the Colony of Lagos, Southern 

and Northern Protectorates. According 

to Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in 

his book, The People’s Republic, on 

January 1, 1900,when the Protectorate 

of Northern Nigeria was inaugurated, 

slave raids, slave trade and slavery 

were prevalent in most parts and 

internecine wars continued to be 

waged. The territory is large and 

posed great difficulty in finance and 

personnel in administration. The 

British also had local Fulani imperialism, 

which had been in control 

of the larger part of the territory for 

about a century to contend with. Lord 

Frederick Lugard, an Army Captain 

and appointed British High Commissioner, 

was able to bring the situation 

under control within six years 

with a combination of military force, 

diplomacy and pacifist administrative 

strategy of the Indirect Rule system. 

The Southern part of Nigeria, was 

made more easily accessible through 

the Bights 

of Benin and Biafra, and great lagoons 

and rivers that criss-cross the 

territories. By 1900, Christian missionaries, 

which started operations 

in many parts of the South since 

1840s, have entrenched themselves, 

opened schools, hospitals, dispensaries 

and produced elites among whom 

were adherents of both Christianity 

and Islam. Relative infrastructural 

development had taken place such 

that by 1898, the streets of Lagos had 

been electrically lit and by 1900, a 

number of roads have been constructed: 

Ebute Metta to Ibadan railway 

completed, Carter and Denton 

bridges across Lagos lagoon to the 

Mainland at Iddo also delivered. 

The two administrative structures of 

Lagos Colony and the Protectorate 

of Southern Nigeria were merged in 

1906. 

Captain Lugard who had resigned 

as High Commissioner of Northern 

Nigeria in 1906 to take up appointment 

as Governor of Hong Kong in 

1907, was drafted back to Nigeria 

in 1912, now a Brigadier General 

and appointed Governor of Northern 

and Southern Nigeria. For economic 

reasons of subsidising the deficit 

budget of Northern Nigeria with 

the surplus of the South, Lugard was 

said to have decided to conduct the 

involuntary marriage between the 

“rich wife of substance and means” 

and the “poor husband” resulting in 

the amalgamation of Southern and 

Northern Protectoratesin 1914. 

In spite of its relatively greater diversity 

in terms of ethnic composition 

and religion, the far bigger 

North was kept as one but the union 

of the smaller South was soon broken 

by the British into Eastern and 

The salvation and unity 

of Nigeria lie in the 

unity of the South which 

tribes are, by far, more at 

peace with one another; 

the oppressed minority 

of the North should look 

up to the South for their 

own salvation 

Western regions and kept perpetually 

apart for Northern domination 

into Independence in 1960 and ever 

since. In other words, the monogamous 

North/ South marriage of 1914 

became polygamous of North/ East- 

West,with the two new wives in such 

internecine rivalry for easier domination 

of their oppressive husband 

they both struggle to impress or eke 

a token from. 

The political leaders of the Fulani 

to whom the British shrewdly handed 

over Nigeria at Independence 

were also skilled political craftsmen, 

scheming to weave together the more 

ethnically diverse Northern region. 

A non-existent Hausa/Fulani tribe 

was coined to give the conquered 

Hausa majority a false sense of power 

and influence. The ruling tribe 

craftily held on to real power while 

conceding attractive but bogus positions 

to other groups, also controlled 

invariably by the 

oligarchy,thereby sitting on the North 

while making the South the foot 

stool. Thus, Sir Ahmadu Bello was 

content with the Premiership of the 

North in furtherance of the vision 

and mission of Uthman Dan Fodio, 

donating Prime Minister of the uncertain 

contraption of the Nigerian 

federation to Tafawa Balewa of the 

minority. From Borno to Borgu, Katsina 

to Igala, including the Yoruba 

enclaves of Ilorin and Kabba Provinces, 

Sardauna held sway. 

The hegemony was so effective 

that the likes of Joseph Tarka of the 

Middle Belt, Josiah Olawoyin of the 

Kwara/Kogi region who were allies 

of Awolowo were seen only as rebels. 

By 1953, when Enahoro moved the 

motion for Nigeria’s Independence 

in 1956, the North, in one accord, 

said it was not prepared and that the 

British should only lower its Union 

Jack flag as soon as practicable. In 

reaction to the molestation of their 

members in the House of Representatives, 

on that score, by people on 

the streets of Lagos, the North 

declared Araba, to secede from 

Nigeria,even if that meant suicide 

for the landlocked region provided 

it was secured for the caliphate. Only 

the counsel of Britain to the contrary 

pulled back the North. 

The coup of July 1966 was in reaction 

to that led by Chukwuma 

Nzeogwu of January in which the 

enigmatic Northern Premier was 

assassinated. The masterminds and 

executors of the vengeful Northern 

coup were mainly of minority 

groups which dominated the military. 

Even subsequently as military 

Governors and Heads of State, 

these minority elements joyfully 

served the interests of one North 

and invariably the Caliphate. 

Evidently incompetent and lacking 

the political dexterity of his ancestors, 

President Buhari has not 

only exposed the diversity of the 

north, putting a spanner to the carefully 

knitted northern architectural 

design, in his lacklustre handling 

of kidnapping, rape, mass killings 

and untold criminality against all 

which are unabashedly traceable 

to men of his Fulani tribe. From 

Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, 

Taraba, Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue, 

Kogi, etc, it is your land for the Fulani 

herdsmen or your life withthe 

activeacquiescence of the Presidency 

and unbridled celebration 

by the President’s spokespersons. 

In spite of all of these, the Governors 

of the 19 Northern States still 

meet in a Northern Governors Forum, 

while their Southern counterparts 

still fragment themselves in 

geopolitical arrangements of 

South West, South East and South- 

South. It is often very convenient 

for the President to meet with Governors 

of the North while only sparingly 

and reluctantly meeting 

Southern Governors on geopolitical 

basis. 

The salvation and unity of Nigeria 

lie in the unity of the South 

which tribes are, by far, more at 

peace with one another. The oppressed 

minority of the North 

which, pulled together, are in clear 

majority, look up to the unity of the 

South for their own salvation. No 

tribe in the South has territorial 

contest with the Middle Belt, or 

desirous of their conquest for traditional 

hegemony. At the 2014 

National Conference where I was 

a Delegate, the resolutions reached 

on major issues were predicated on 

the unity of the South which gave 

the Middle Belt delegates the confidence 

to team up for national 

consensus. 

The now effective Southern Leaders/ 

Middle Belt Forum was borne 

out of the necessity for national 

consensus for the inevitable restructuring 

and re-negotiation of 

the Nigerian federation and its corporate 

existence. The emergence of 

the Southern Governors Forum 

and of its legislators at the national 

and states levels is the reinvention 

of the reality of the entities that 

birthed the Nigerian union in 

1914. Incidentally, the entire South 

and the Middle Belt, which constitutes 

over 70 percent of the federation, 

agree on the inevitability and 

imperative of the restructuring and 

re-negotiation of the terms of the 

Nigerian federation. 

BY ANDREW OKELEKE 

HOW time flies! 

My dear wife, it is already one 

year since you exited this wicked 

world through the reckless driver 

of BRT bus No. 314 at a spot near 

Agric Bus-stop, Ikorodu Road, Lagos. 

We spoke last at 7.14pm on that 

fateful day. And ten minutes later, 

you had been knocked down while 

attempting to cross over to the other 

side of the road to wait for me. 

Since that day, life has never been 

the same. The occurrence momentarily 

brought my world to a close. 

Darkness took over my space. For 

days, I was unable to comprehend 

what hit me that less than 10 minutes 

after we spoke, you were gone. 

We were going to meet at a hospital 

across the road to run a medical 

check on a new house help. Then 

suddenly you were no more. 

Even when I drove past the accident 

scene to meet you at the hospital 

as scheduled, little did I know 

that the gathering I saw around the 

accident scene was about you. I got 

to the hospital to ask after you, but 

no one seemed to give me an answer 

about your presence at the 

hospital. But when I called our 

daughter to confirm whether you 

changed your mind and returned 

home, she broke the saddest news 

ever to me. 

I found it difficult to believe that 

you were the victim, just 10 minutes 

after we spoke. I raced to the 

scene only to see your lifeless 

body in a pool of your own blood. 

BRT bus driver had murdered my 

dear wife! 

I must confess that my life without 

you in the last one year has 

been thorny. To say the least, it 

was a mystery that I could survive 

the spate of incidents that 

happened to my existence as a 

widower. The vacuum your absence 

created in the home is real. 

The thoughts that you will forever 

be missing from the home kept going 

through our minds - your children 

and I. But it is stronger on me 

as the relationship of over 30 years 

cannot be wished away easily. 

What about the love we shared together; 

the good times we had even 

when the resources were scarce? 

What about the strong support you 

gave me to climb from the zero rung 

of the ladder to the point where we 

would have settled for a glorious 

evening? 

What about the peace, love and 

joy you brought to the entire family, 

and by extension, to our acquaintances 

and church members? What 

about your major role of ensuring 

smooth running of the home to the 

delight and progress of the family? 

That you were in charge of the home, 

like any other virtuous woman, was 

not in doubt. You conceptualised; you 

directed; you executed plans that 

stimulated our progress within the 

over 30 years we lived together. 

Talking about spate of occurrences 

after your death, they came in a 

staccato form, to the extent that I likened 

my life to that of a man born 

without luck. Worse still, the events 

seemed to be happening on the 

same date of 11 of subsequent 

months. 

Since you have been gone, I have 

become particularly suspicious of the 

11th of every month. It is for good 

reason. You left this world on that 

date; every other month since then, 

some unsalutary events tried to arrange 

themselves for that date. It is 

as if I should “beware of the ides” of 

11 of any month. But God has reasons 

for the occurrences. He is the 

One that controls the time and our 

lives. 

I must confess that my life 

without you in the last one 

year has been thorny; my 

dear Nkem, as we fondly 

called each other, your untimely 

exit is difficult to forget 

even when people 

around encouraged me to 

do so 

*The late Mrs Grace Okeleke 

Indeed, my trip home on Thursday, 

the first since your departure, 

was dry, just as our country home 

we built together was empty. It was 

devoid of the bustling of my kinsmen 

and your relations as well as 

old friends within the village who 

hitherto would troop into the house 

for the usual felicitations. It used to 

be rendezvous of some sort. You 

would cook almost endlessly to ensure 

our guests were entertained. 

We would have them come at different 

times; sometimes late. 

But none of these happened this 

time round. It was as if they held a 

meeting to promulgate an unwritten 

rule that none should visit simply 

because the “chief entertainer” 

is gone. They may have imagined 

who would warmly welcome them 

with that wifely disposition. I sat in 

the large living room alone with a 

reflection of how your gregarious 

presence attracted them. I recall the 

financial and material support that 

we pass on to all. 

With a feeling of nostalgia, I reminisced 

on how the warmth of your 

presence in the village attracted our 

acquaintances. Only then did I realise 

that your presence at home 

was like the honey-comb that constantly 

attracted the bees. 

My dear Nkem, as we fondly 

called each other, your untimely exit 

is difficult to forget even when people 

around encouraged me to do 

so. As the legendary reggae musician, 

late Bob Marley sang, “he 

who feels it knows it much”. I feel 

it; I know how it pains; but only God, 

the Owner of the whole earth will 

help the family to cope. Driving past 

the spot of the tragic accident, constantly 

throws up some chilling feelings 

in me. It reminds me of that 

terrible moment when I felt my 

world was finished and completely 

collapsed. 

We had our evening full of hope; 

hope of retiring into a quiet life of 

full-time ministry; hope of helping 

our children to nurture our grand 

children; hope of working for humanity. 

Indeed, the hope of enjoying 

the home we built together. 

But that hope was dashed by a careless, 

reckless and wicked BRT driver 

exactly one year ago. 

As I mark the first year of your 

exit, I pray the Almighty God to 

grant you eternal rest in His bosom. 

I pray and believe that we 

shall be together some day, to part 

no more. 

Adieu, my Love! 

*Okeleke is Head, PR, Globacom

Lagos and the revitalisation of public health 

BY TAYO OGUNBIYI 

THERE is a saying that “a wealthy 

nation is a healthy nation”. This assertion 

is anchored on the belief that a 

healthy population contributes immensely 

to the socio-economic growth of any 

society. 

This is why one can only but commend 

the Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu administration 

in Lagos State for making 

health and environment one of its cardinal 

programmes as captured in 

T.H.E.M.E.S(an acronym for the 

administration’s strategic development 

agenda, namely: Traffic Management and 

Transportation, Health and Environment, 

Education and Technology, Making 

Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment 

and Tourism and Security 

and Governance) developmental Agenda. 

In the last two years, the administration 

has invested immensely in the upgrade of 

public health facilities to enhance access 

to quality healthcare. At the centre of the 

state’s public health policy is the provision 

of unhindered access to healthcare 

delivery without financial constraint to the 

residents. The commissioning of three 

Mother and Child Centers, MCCs, at Eti- 

Osa, Igando and Badagry amply demonstrates 

the administration’s resolve to enhance 

residents’ access to healthcare. The 

fourth MCC, located in Epe, has been 

completed and will be commissioned in 

the coming weeks. 

Similarly, the roadmap for 

the comprehensive upgrade of infrastructure 

in the state-owned health facilities 

began last year, following the approval 

of the plan by the executive council. The 

infrastructure roadmap is being executed 

in phases with 

the primary goal of revamping health facilities 

across the state’s primary, secondary 

and tertiary healthcare system. The 

overhaul is part of the strategy to build 

a resilient healthcare in Lagos and increase 

residents’ access to quality universal 

health coverage. 

The renewal effort, which is being carried 

out in short, medium-and longterm 

bases, would bring about fit-forpurpose 

healthcare facilities that would 

raise the capacity of government to respond 

to contemporary and future health 

challenges. 

The state’s ongoing public health facilities 

renewal drive also include improved 

efficiency for physical maintenance, ease 

of movement, low carbon footprint, low 

energy consumption, infection prevention 

and control as well as staff and patient 

comfort. The restoration programme is 

also designed to address issues of design 

errors, drainage, patient flow, staff flow, 

water collection, infection prevention, energy 

and ventilations. 

Government has renovated and remodelled 

the Mainland Hospital in Yaba with 

future plans of making it an Institute of 

Research for Infectious Disease. 

It has also completed the remodelling 

and upgrading of Apapa General Hospital, 

just as the Harvey Road Health Centre, 

Ebute Metta Health Centre, Isolo General 

Hospital and the General Hospital, 

Odan Lagos are all undergoing different 

It is expected that all issues 

bedeviling medical health 

infrastructure across the 

state will disappear when the 

medical infrastructure blueprint 

strategy is fully implemented 

phases of renovation. All of these are part 

of the efforts to make health 

accessible to Lagosians. 

It is important to emphasise that 

the health facilities’ upgrade is being 

done in a sustainable way to ensure that 

it would take years for major repairs to 

be done, except the statutory maintenance 

by the hospital management as 

well as the Lagos State Asset Maintenance 

Agency, LASIAMA. 

As part of the Sanwo-Olu administration’s 

‘Greater Lagos’ agenda, the construction 

of new hospitals to 

bridge noticeable gaps in access and services 

in the health sector has also begun. 

This is in tandem with the determination 

of the current administration to 

achieve the goals set in the Health and 

Environment pillar of its T.H.E.M.E.S 

agenda. 

Hence, government has commenced the 

construction of a 280-bed General Hospital 

in Ojo, 150-bed New Massey Street 

Children’s Hospital, while the Governor 

has also approved the construction and 

equipping of 1,500-bed Psychiatric Hospital 

and Rehabilitation Centre at Majidun 

in Ketu Ejinrin. 

The prototype of the new, remodeled and 

upgraded healthcare infrastructure in the 

state were planned to conform with key 

elements of global standards health facility 

designs such as natural light/ventilation, 

sustainable energy, patient flow, infection 

prevention, noise prevention, flood 

prevention, identifiable standout visual 

features as well as scalability and modular 

design for expansion. 

Earlier, the construction of a four-storey 

Faculty of Basic Medical and Clinical Sciences 

Office Block at the Lagos State 

University College of Medicine, 

LASUCOM, was completed, while plans 

have also been concluded 

for the renovation and upgrade of some 

facilities at the Lagos State University 

Teaching Hospital, LASUTH. This is in 

line with government’s medical infrastructure 

blueprint strategy for the tertiary 

health facilities. 

Also, in partnership with the private 

sector, government has completed and 

handed over an oxygen plant 

at the Mainland and Gbagada General 

Hospitals. The Triage and Oxygen Centres 

in 10 locations across Lagos have also 

been delivered. In order to enhance staff 

welfare, the construction of a 24-unit 

Doctors’ and Staff Quarters in Gbagada 

General Hospital has equally commenced. 

Work has also begun on the blueprint 

designs for Comprehensive Health Center, 

Primary Health Center and Health 

Posts as part of the move to rejig their 

operations and service delivery. This 

will, no doubt, significantly help in adding 

bed capacity to Lagos State’s healthcare 

infrastructure. 

As earlier affirmed, the promotion and 

protection of the health of Lagos 

residents undoubtedly has a positive 

impact on social development and quality 

of life of citizens. This explains government’s 

investment in the greenfield 

medical infrastructure projects to prevent 

issues noticed in health infrastructure in 

the State. It is expected that all issues bedeviling 

medical health 

infrastructure across the state will disappear 

when the medical infrastructure 

blueprint strategy is fully implemented. 

The continuous improvement in quality 

of health service in the state is a core 


Send Opinions & Letters to: 

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mandate of the Sanwo-Olu administration 

and the government is uniquely 

positioned to utilise available resources 

to actualize this goal. With the ongoing 

refurbishment and roll out of a new infrastructure 

blueprint, the medical infrastructure 

landscape of Lagos would look completely 

different, thus moving the state a 

step closer to achieving universal health 

coverage. Perhaps, 

more 

importantly, the medical infrastructure 

blueprint agenda will help address 

the issue of brain drain, medical tourism 

and patient welfare. 

It is also essential to draw attention to 

the state’s response to the Coronavirus, 

COVID-19, which has been commended 

locally and globally, as it helped to prevent 

the pandemic from spreading more 

rapidly across the state and also 

from wreaking havoc on 

the entire country. The response strategy 

put in place by 

the government efficiently curtailed 

the pandemic and limited fatalities. 

EKO TELEMED, a tech-driven platform 

through which the government managed 

the spread of the virus, yielded efficient 

results in breaking the cycle of 

community infection. 

In order to prevent the resurgence of 

the pandemic, government has begun the 

deployment of EKO TELEMED in the 

management of in-bound international 

travellers from high burden countries. The 

tech-driven platform would be used to 

monitor movement and treat infected travellers. 

The Sanwo-Olu administration has, 

no doubt, demonstrated that the restoration 

of public health facilities remains 

vital in its ‘Greater Lagos” Agenda. It recognises, 

and rightly so, that health is 

wealth and this explains its numerous innovative 

and people-centered schemes 

that are carefully designed to change the 

face of public health in the state. 

On the whole, it is heart-warming to note 

that the current administration in Lagos 

State is working tirelessly towards attaining 

a sustainable health care delivery system 

for the residents. 

•Ogunbiyi is Deputy Director, Public 

Affairs, Ministry of Information and 

Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja. 

2023: Is Nigeria ready for woman president? 

BY ZUBAIDA BABA 

IBRAHIM 

IN less than two years from 

now, the curtain will be drawn 

on the administration of President 

Muhammadu Buhari. But 

while he is still the present occupant 

of Aso Rock, the seat of power, 

in Abuja, political gladiators 

and their political parties have 

started scheming and jostling for 

PMB’s lofty seat. 

Not only Nigeria, but the entire 

global community expressed 

unbridled joy over the 

emergence of Mrs. Samia Suluhu 

Hassan as Tanzania’s new 

President. The 61-year-old was 

Tanzania’s immediate-past Vice 

President until March 19, 

2021, when providence made 

her the first citizen of the East 

African nation following the 

demise of President John Magufuli. 

But unlike Tanzania, 60 

years’ post-independence, Nigeria, 

Africa’s Giant, is yet to have 

a woman holding even the seat 

of the Vice President. It is pathetic 

to note that the efforts of 

amazons like Mrs. Sarah Jibril 

to become Nigeria’s first female 

president in past general elections 

had proved futile. 

Firstly, it should be noted that 

the political pertinence of Nigerian 

women is not up for debate. 

Over the years, hundreds of 

women gather at various political 

rallies to demonstrate their 

support for their male equivalent 

through advocating, campaigning 

and mobilising others 

to vote. Beyond that, come election 

day we see them trooping in 

magnificent numbers, the elderly 

and the youthful, queuing up 

to cast their ballots for male candidates. 

To solidify this standpoint, 

out of 84 million registered voters 

nationwide in the previous 

national elections, women accounted 

for over 40 million, this 

means they make up to 47.14% 

of total eligible voters which can 

be a measure to the remarkable 

increase of women’s participation 

in politics. Despite this all, 

there is a deep-rooted level of 

under-representation of women 

in politics when compared to 

male counterparts. 

The deficiency of women holding 

political offices can be 

linked to a few factors beginning 

with the female folk conception 

of politics which is the 

belief that Nigerian politics is 

based on high political vigor 

which only men possess; the 

competitiveness to compete in 

chaotic environments, the 

strength to take it by force 

when force is required. 

Women’s perception of politics 

as a dirty game has further estranged 

them from the idea of 

mainstream politics. Another 

ingredient is political campaigns 

necessitates rock-hard financial 

backing for it to be successful. 

Women’s historical experience of 

discrimination with division of 

labour and job opportunities offered 

on sexual basis has given 

the menfolk more productive 

roles which favours them to the 

disadvantage of the womenfolk. 

Adding to that, financiers prefer 

male candidates due to the assumption 

that they (the men) 

have more prospects. 

These major points noted above 

coupled with many other factors 

are the same reason why Nigeria 

needs more women to strive for 

political office. The poor representation 

in governance has become 

an enabler of discriminatory 

act, marginalisation and social 

closure which results to one 

group usurping all opportunities 

of bringing the other group down 

through seclusion and displacements. 

This is not in any way due 

to the capability of the women 

being substandard. In fact, there 

is an exclusive group of female 

presidents who have laid the foundation 

for future female leaderships, 

some of them who have left 

an emblem on politics in their 

respective countries. 

Let’s take Nobel peace prize 

laureate and former Liberian 

president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, 

who is the longest-serving female 

president in African history. Beyond 

her pioneering election, 

Sirleaf had made gigantic steps 

during her presidency by committing 

to nonviolence and peacebuilding 

processes in her coun- 

Policy makers should 

seize the opportunity of 

approaching national 

elections to promote 

women’s participation 

and move female candidates 

to the top of 

election lists and into 

leadership positions 

try. Another example is 

Malawi’s first female president, 

Joyce Banda, whose bookkeeping 

measures have helped lift 

monetary suspensions from Western 

donors to Malawi and bring 

back cash injections from the International 

Monetary Fund, 

IMF. These role models show that 

women can perform wonderfully 

in governance and shaping countries’ 

development. 

Using certain policies, policy 

makers should seize windows of 

opportunity of approaching national 

elections to promote 

women’s participation aggressively 

through urging political 

parties to move female candidate 

to the top of election lists and into 

leadership positions. They 

should demand women’s inclusion 

in transitional institutions, 

especially constitution-drafting 

bodies, through pushing heads of 

state and government to exercise 

gender parity in executive appointments. 

There should also be programmes 

that fund urban and rural 

campaigns that publicise 

women’s contributions and ability 

to lead, that also provide financial 

and technical backing 

based solely on candidates’ prospectus 

irrespective of gender. 

Women politicians can also establish 

mentoring programmes 

to support and encourage others 

to run for office. 

Women in all levels have been 

put at the backdrop politically 

for years and this has inclined 

them to reduce themselves as 

tools for political success for 

male counterparts who, under the 

guise of women movements advocacy, 

use it as a plan to gain 

political power or strengthen the 

power. Therefore, women should 

reject empty promises and petty 

gifts and support their women 

folk for this is their responsibility 

and it is even good basis for 

achieving gender equality and 

equity. 

•Ibrahim, a political activist, 

wrote, from Wuye District, Abuja. 

C 

M 

Y


It was not certain whether the 

Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, 

was flying a kite or actually pronouncing 

a pending government 

policy direction when she recently 

directed the National Salaries, Incomes 

and Wages Commission to “reduce” 

the salaries of workers of “several” 

Federal Government agencies and Yobe partially implementing it. 

“to save costs”. 

Since then, the pump price of 

Organised Labour through the President 

of the Nigeria Labour Congress, N164, with the prospects of rising 

petrol has jumped from N145.50 to 

NLC, Ayuba Wabba, has since issued to N230 in June when the Nigerian 

a total rejection of such a measure, National Petroleum Corporation, 

describing it as “unthinkable” at a NNPC, plans to rescind subsidy payment. 

The inflation produced by this 

time when “multiple devaluations” of 

the Naira and hyperinflation have and the general insecurity in the 

“knocked out” workers’ salaries. country have rendered the little 

It was only two years ago – April 18, that workers are paid insignificant. 

2019 – that the president signed the If salaries are slashed, how would 

new National Minimum Wage Bill workers survive? 

into law. Eleven states are yet to pay . Salaries and wages in Nigeria are 

These are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, governed by laws and are usually 

Anambra, Benue, Ekiti, Kogi, Plateau, 

Imo, Nasarawa, Osun and Organised Labour. We are not run- 

arrived at through negotiations with 

Taraba, with Bauchi, Oyo, Kebbi ning a military government; so the 

Perish the thought of pay cut 

idea of a unilateral pay cut is out of 

the question. The federal and state 

governments have themselves to 

blame for the continued high cost 

of governance in the country. 

For instance, the Finance Minister 

at the Independent Corrupt Practices 

Commission, ICPC, forum on 

cost of governance where she disclosed 

government’s intention, had 

lamented the yearly duplications in 

the federal budget. This is the same 

for most states in the federation. If 

government is serious about reducing 

the cost of governance it must 

start with the political office-holders 

in the legislative and executive 

arms who take home more than their 

fair share of our commonwealth. 

The same Federal Government 

that wants to slash worker’s salaries 

is busy establishing new federal executive 

bodies with new bills being 

passed by the National Assembly. 

What has become of the Federal 

Government’s intention to bring 

back the Oronsaye Report which 

prescribes an orderly downsizing of 

the federal workforce, but which 

successive governments failed to 

implement? 

The country is beginning to pay 

dearly for the wrong structure of its 

governance across board. This is 

why the tepid attempts by the Buhari 

regime to secure the country, 

repair the economy and fight corruption 

have failed. Unless we embrace 

massive change, Nigeria is 

doomed. 

Unilateral slashing of workers’ salaries 

will only add to the current difficulties 

in the governance of this 

country. 

A country that is bleeding (2) 

The first part of this piece published last 

week underlined the career of Major General 

Bashir Magashi who was one of the 74 

military governors appointed by General 

Ibrahim Babangida in 1993. 

OTHERS are Colonel Idris Garba, Lt- 

Colonel Herbert O. Eze, Commissioner of 

Police Sani Ahmed Daura, Colonel Ahmed 

Mohammed Daku, Colonel Ishaya Bakut, 

Colonel Patrick Aziza, Colonel Abubakar Tanko 

Ayuba, Lt-Colonel Ernest Kizito Attah, Navy 

Captain Ekpo Archibong, Colonel Dan 

Archibong, Major Abdulmumuni Aminu, Lt- 

Colonel Mohammed Christopher Alli, Lt-Colonel 

Abu Ali, Group Captain Ibrahim Alkali, Colonel 

Robert Akonobi, Navy Captain Mike Okhai 

Akhigbe, Group Captain Frank Ajobena, Colonel 

Leo Lapade Ajiborisha, Adeyinka Afolahan, Navy 

Captain Adeyemi Afolabi, Colonel Abdulkarim 

Adisa, Group Captain Ernest Olawunmi Adeleye, 

Group Captain Luke Chijiuba Achulor, Navy 

Captain Joseph Abulu, Lt-Colonel Ahmed Aboki 

Abdullahi and Colonel Godwin Osagie Abbe. 

In 1997, General Bashir Magashi was 

appointed a member of the Provisional Ruling 

Council headed by General Sani Abacha. It was 

the Council that was to decide on the fate of 

General Oladipo Diya, Major General Tajudeeen 

Olanrewaju alias Jasper, Major General 

Abdulkareem Adisa, Major Seun Fadipe, Colonel 

Olu Akiode and others. The 22 members of the 

Provisional Ruling Council included General 

Abacha, Lt. General Jeremiah Useni, Alhaji 

Ibrahim Coomasie, Inspector General of Police, 

Major General John Inienger, Major General 

Abduallahi Sarki Mukthar, Major General Mufu 

Balogun, Rear Admiral Taiwo Odedina, Major 

General Victor Malu, Rear Admiral Rufus Eyitayo, 

Commodore Victor Ombu, Lt. Gen. B. Haladu, 

Air Commodore Kamis Uwenwailiri, Major 

General Felix Mujaperuo, Major General Ishaya 

Bamaiyi, Major General Peter Shaa, Rear 

Admiral Mike Akhigbe, Commodore Anthony 

Oguguo, Major General Bashir Magashi and 

the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General 

Abdusalami Abubakar. The Provisional Ruling 

Council was scheduled to meet on June 8, 1998 

but it could not because of General Abacha’s death 

on that day. If you read the book: The Vindication 

of a General by General Ishaya Bamaiyi, you 

will be better informed on who Major General 

Magashi is. 

After Gen. Abacha’s death in 1998, he was 

appointed as a member of the Provisional Ruling 

Council headed by General Abdulsalam 

Abubakar. It was this council that handed power 

to President Olusegun Obasanjo on May 29, 1999. 

Other members of the Provisional Ruling Council 

at that time were Musuliu Smith (Assistant 

Inspector General of Police, Zonal Headquarters, 

Kano; Group Captain Ikechukwu Nnamani, 

Commodore Emmanuel Acholonu, Rear- 

Admiral Victor Ombu, Major-General Idris 

Garba, Major General Yunana Nom, Air Vice- 

Marshall Mohammed Ndatsu Umaru, Air Vice- 

Marshal Emmanuel Edem, Air Vice-Marshal 

Isaac Mohammed Alfa, Rear-Admiral Peter 

Ebhaleme, Rear-Admiral Taiwo Odedina, Rear- 

Admiral Ibrahim Ogohi, Major-General Samuel 

Victor Leo Malu, Major-General Oladayo 

OPINION 

Popoola, Major-General Ekpo Archibong, Major- 

General Peter Gyang Sha, Major-General 

Abdullahi Sarki Muktar, Air Vice-Marshal Idi 

Musa, Major-General Suleiman Said, Major- 

General Bashir Salihi Magashi, Major-General 

John Mark Inienger, Major-General Godwin 

Abbe, Lt-General Rufus Kupolati, Ibrahim 

Coomasie, Air Marshal Nsikak Eduok, Vice- 

Admiral Jubril Ayinla, Lt-General Ishaya Rizi 

Bamaiyi, Air Marshal Al-Amin Daggash, Vice- 

Admiral Okhai Mike Akhigbe and General 

Abdusalam Abubakar. 

On his assumption of power on May 29, 1999, 

President Olusegun Obasanjo, later retired 93 

military officers who had earlier served in various 

political positions during the military era. General 

Magashi was one of them. The others are Major- 

Generals Leo Ajiborisha, Samud Omlago Ango, 

Patrick. Aziza, ldris Garba, Joshua Madaki, 

Bashir Salihi Magashi, Abdul-One Mohammed, 

Garba Ali Mohammed, Abdullahi Sarki 

General Magashi is not just a 

Minister; he is a man who has been 

in power and government for 

years. He knows the mechanics 

and rudiments of power structure; 

for him to say that “Nigeria is 

bleeding”, we have to take him 

seriously 

Mukhtar, Brigadier Generals Yusuf Abubakar, 

Sule Ahman, Ibrahim Aliyu, Bassey Asuquo, 

Ernest Attah, Salihu Tunde Bello, Samai!a 

Bature Chamah, Cletus Komena Emein, 

Lawal Ja’afaru Isah, Aliyu Kama, Fidelis 

Makka, Mohammed Buba Marwa, Yakubu 

Mu’azu, Dominic Oneya, Olagunsoye 

Oyinlola, John Yeri, Colonels Bzigu Afakirya, 

Usman Ahmed, Daniel Akintonde, Hameed 

Ali, Anthony Amebo, Theophilus Bamigboye, 

John Dungs, Moses Fasanya, Dauda Musa 

Komo, Aminu Konragora, Mohammed Mana, 

Musa Mohammed, Anthony Obi, Peter Ogar, 

Aina Joseph Owoniyi, Habibu Idris Shuaibu, 

Musa Shehu, Ahmed Usman, Jibril Bala Yakubu, 

Tanko Zubairu, Lt-Colonels Joseph Akaagerger, 

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Mohammed Bawa, Ahmadu Garba Hussaini, 

Abubakar Maimalari, Bawa Mande, Rear- 

Admiral Afolabi Afolahan, Oladehinde Joseph, 

Sunday Olukoya, Adetoye Sode, Commodore 

Emmanuel Acholonu, James Aneke, Temi Ejoor, 

Amadi Ikwechegh, Anthony Oguguo, Kayode 

Olofinmoyin, Navy Captains Adedurotimi 

Adeusi, Adewunmi Agbaje, Walter Feghabo, Joe 

Kalu-Igboamah, Omoniyi Olubolade, Anthony 

Onyearugbulem, Christopher Osondu, Rasheed 

Raji, Anthony Udofia, Atanda Yusuf, Air Vice 

Marshals Gregory Agboneni and Frank Ajobena, 

Air Commodore Ibrahim Dada, Peter Gana, Baba 

Iyam, Ibrahim Kefas, Ndong Essiet Nkanga, 

Abubakar Salihu, Group Captains John Ebiye, 

Sam Ewang, Rufai Garba, Lawal Haruna, John 

Ben-Kalio, Joe Orji, Wing Commander Adamu 

Mshelia and EU Ukaegbu, Assistant Inspector 

General of Police Dabo Aliyu, Simeon Oduoye, 

Amen Oyakhire and Commissioner of Police 

Mustapha Ismail. 

After retirement, General Magashi vied to be 

Governor of Kano State under Democratic 

People’s Party, DPP and later became the National 

Chairman of the Party. Along with President 

Muhammadu Buhari, he became a member of 

the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP and in 2007, 

he was the Kano’s state governorship candidate 

of DPP. Major General Bashir Magashi is 

representing Kano State in the Federal Executive 

Council and at present Kano State has two 

ministers of full cabinet rank, including Alhaji 

Sabo Nanono, Minister of Agriculture and Rural 

Development, unlike states like Ondo and Kogi, 

who for the two terms of President Buhari are 

compensated with just Ministers of State. 

Leadership is a lonely job. Very lonely indeed. 

The success and failure of a leader is always judged 

by actions taken or actions not taken. But a leader 

can only take an action based on information 

available to him. Sometimes friends and aides 

can misled a leader, because most of the time 

most leaders are imprisoned by those close around 

them. General Magashi is not just a Minister; he 

is a man who has been in power and government 

for years. He knows the mechanics and rudiments 

of power structure. For him to say that “Nigeria is 

bleeding”, we have to take him seriously. 

To be concluded

Aggrieved pension contributors rise 353% 

in Q1’21 

By Rosemary Iwunze 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

RAND 

PENSION 

THERE are indications that 

more pension account holders 

are getting disenchanted with 

the management of their accounts 

by their Pension Fund Administrators, 

PFAs, leading to a 353.1 

percent rise in the number of Retirement 

Savings Account, RSA, 

switching under the Contributory 

Pension Scheme, CPS, in the first 

quarter of 2021, Q1’21, alone. 

The Q1’21 CPS report shows 

12,681 accounts were moved from 

the original PFAs as against 2,799 

in the preceding quarter of 2020, 

Q4’20. 

Accordingly, the value of the 

pension fund that was transferred 

from one PFA to another 

increased by 152.9 per cent to 

N47.8 billion in Q1’21 from N18.9 

billion in Q4’20. 

It will be recalled that the transfer 

window known as Retirement 

Savings Account Transfer System 

(RTS) was launched by the National 

Pension Commission, 

PenCom, on the 16th of November, 

2020 in Abuja, in accordance 

with Section 13 of the Pension 

Reform Act, 2014. 

The Act allows contributors to 

move their Retirement Savings 

Account (RSA) through the transfer 

window from one Pension 

Fund Administrator (PFA) to another, 

provided that it is not more 

than once a year. 

Also recall that immediately after 

the launch, over 2,100 RSA 

holders applied to move their 

pension accounts from their current 

PFA to a new one. 

Speaking on the development 

at a virtual training, Head, ICT, 

PenCom, Mr. Polycarp Anyanwu, 

said that most of the contributors 

that switched to new PFAs were 

not satisfied with the service delivery 

of their former PFA. 

Anyanwu, however, said that 

148.45 -4.45 

2491.00 +28.00 

17.48 -0.01 

67.92 0.36 

64.43 -0.47 

379 379.5 380 

526.7721 527.4671 528.162 

457.2256 457.8288 458.432 

416.9417 417.4917 418.0418 

3.4688 3.4734 3.4779 

0.6777 0.6877 0.6977 

542.646 543.3619 544.0778 

58.7388 58.8167 58.8946 

101.0559 101.1892 101.3225 

26.579 26.614 26.6491 

CBN Exchange rate as at 10/05/2021 

LAUNCH:— From left: Chairman, Advisory Board, International Breweries Foundation, Peter 

Bamkole; 2019 Kickstart Awardee and CEO, Ivarest Global, Akpo Tivere Everest; Director for 

Employment, Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs. Iyabo Seriki-Bello 

and Managing Director, International Breweries, Hugo Rocha at the launch of the 2021 Kickstart 

Entrepreneurship Programme by International Breweries Foundation in Lagos. 

the development will enhance 

quality service delivery at the 

PFAs. Also speaking, Head, Corporate 

Communications, 

PenCom, Mr. Peter Aghahowa, 

said that the activation of the RSA 

transfer process will engender 

competition and improve service 

77% of vehicles on Nigeria’s roads 

uninsured — NIA 

By Rosemary Iwunze 

INSURANCE 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 —19 

delivery in the pension industry, 

while asserting the right of RSA 

holders to determine which PFA 

manages their pension contributions 

and retirement benefits. 

THE Nigerian Insurers Asso 

ciation, NIA, has said that 

only about three million vehicles 

out of 13 million on Nigerian roads 

are insured, indicating that about 

77 percent are uninsured. NIA 

also lamented that the sector can 

generate over N50 billion premium 

income annually if all vehicles 

have genuine insurance. 

Accordingly, the NIA said that it 

is collaborating with Lagos, Kaduna, 

Niger, Kogi and Ogun states governments 

on enforcement of motor 

insurance through their licensing 

offices. Chairman of NIA, Mr. 

Ganiyu Musa, said the industry is 

embittered about what it is losing to 

insurance racketeers and non-insurance 

of vehicles. 

According to him, discussions are 

ongoing with the states to ensure 

that motorists get genuine insurance 

cover at the point of renewing their 

vehicle particulars at licensing offices, 

even as plans to extend to other 

states is in the offing. 

Musa said: “We are also working 

closely with the state vehicle inspection 

service on enforcement of Third 

Party Motor Insurance in the states. 

“Out of the estimated 13million vehicles 

in Nigeria only about 

2,939,767 Third Party Motor policies 

are in force as of April 2021,” he 

noted. 

Musa, who is also the Group 

Managing Director/CEO of Cornerstone 

Insurance Plc, disclosed that 

the Association is also partnering the 

Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) 

and the police to give them access 

to the Nigerian Insurance Industry 

Portal (NIIP), such that when a vehicle 

is apprehended, they can ascertain 

if such vehicle carries fake 

or genuine insurance certificate. 

MTN lists N73.51bn commercial paper on FMDQ 

*Issues N110bn bonds 

By Nkiruka Nnorom & Princewill 

Ekwujuru 

CAPITAL MARKET 

FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited has ad 

mitted MTN Nigeria Communications Plc’s 

N73.51 billion Commercial Paper (CP) 

programme for trading on its platform, even as 

the company issued N110 billion series I bond 

under its N200 billion bond issuance 

programme. 

The bond issuance marked the firm’s debut 

in the domestic bond market and makes it the 

first Nigeria’s telecommunication company in 

this market while size is the largest corporate 

bond issuance in the debt capital market so far 

in 2021. 

The CP issue comprised of N19.77 billion series 

3 and N53.74 billion series 4 commercial 

papers under its N200.00 billion CP issuance 

programme. 

The Chief Financial Officer, MTN Nigeria, 

Mr. Modupe Kadiri, speaking on the CP quotation 

on FMDQ, said: “The issuance was well received 

by the market, with strong participation from a 

diverse group of investors, signifying the market’s 

continued confidence in our business. 

“By quoting these CPs on FMDQ Exchange, we 

are able to provide investors with a strong platform 

for liquidity and price discovery. Proceeds from the 

issuance will be deployed towards the company’s 

working capital and general corporate purposes”. 

Also speaking on the quotation, Kemi Awodein, 

Managing Director, Chapel Hill Denham Advisory 

Limited, a registration member (Quotation) of 

FMDQ Exchange, said: “This issuance represents 

the largest CP issuance this year and its success demonstrates 

the issuer’s strong credit, leading position 

in the market and industry as well as its long-term 

prospects”. 

Commenting, Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer, 

MTN Nigeria, said: “It will help secure MTN’s 

future in terms of having predictable funding and 

cost of capital structure going forward, diversifying 

its funding sources and help in the joint agenda that 

my team and I have set in being bold in creating 

opportunities for Nigerians. It also reaffirms our 

standing both in the capital market and the larger 

society that we operate in.” 

International 

Breweries to train 

500 young 

entrepreneurs 

By Bako Abdullahi 

ECONOMY 

INTERNATIONAL Breweries 

(IB) Plc, through its social investment 

arm, International Breweries 

Foundation, has revealed plans 

to train a total of 500 young entrepreneurs 

this year through its 

‘Kickstart Initiative’ in recognition 

of entrepreneurship as the major key 

for youth development. 

The initiative, in its 6th edition, is 

targeted at enterprise growth and 

development for young entrepreneurs 

between the ages of 18 and 

35. With over 700 beneficiaries, 

1,416 jobs, and an investment of 

over N320 million, the initiative is 

focused on supporting young men 

and women within the stipulated 

age bracket with funds needed for 

their business expansion. 

Speaking at a press briefing ahead 

of the take-off of this year’s Kickstart 

Initiative on May 20, Hugo Rocha, 

Managing Director, International 

Breweries Plc, expressed delight that 

the initiative has evolved from the 

regional programme it used to be, 

to an inclusive national programme 

that reaches the six geopolitical 

zones and 36 states of Nigeria. 

“Over the years, we have held the 

conviction that the energy, zeal, and 

brilliance of the youths of Nigeria 

who constitute about 70 percent of 

the total population should be 

tapped and channeled to productive 

use.” 

Also speaking, Peter Bamkole, 

Chairman, Advisory Board, International 

Breweries Foundation, said 

the company and its foundation is 

dedicated to continuing to contribute 

its quota towards tackling the 

twin challenges of unemployment 

and poverty, while promoting Decent 

Work and Economic Growth 

in line with Goal 8 of the United 

Nations Sustainable Development 

Goal (UNSDGs). 

10 Customers win 

N1m each in UBA 

promo 

MONEY MARKET 

UNITED Bank for Africa (UBA) 

Plc, has rewarded 10 of its loyal 

customers with a total sum of 

N10million in the quarterly draws of 

the ongoing UBA Savings Promo. The 

promo is intended to appreciate loyal 

customers of the bank who have stayed 

with the bank over the years, and offers 

fresh opportunities for potential 

and intending customers to join the 

growing number of UBA millionaires 

who have, in the past, benefitted from 

several such promos. 

UBA’s Head Personal Banking, Osita 

Ede, said there is no better time to give 

back and delight customers than this 

challenging economic period where 

people need all the support they can 

get. 

He said, “As a bank, UBA has been 

rewarding customers, we have been 

doing this for several years now; from 

the Wise Savers Promo, Bumper 

Draws, and now this. We have been 

doing this to touch lives and to show 

appreciation to our customers to tell 

them we are grateful for their business. 

This is also an opportunity to reward 

them for their loyalty to the bank. 

Ede added that the promo is also a 

way of encouraging savings in a bid 

towards promoting financial inclusion, 

as statistics show that a lot of Nigerians 

are still largely underbanked. 

A representative of the National 

Regulatory Commission, Peace 

Ibadie, who witnessed the draws, congratulated 

the 10 winners and commended 

the bank for its efforts at rewarding 

loyal customers especially in 

the tough economic and business environment.


The scourge of ritual killings in Nigeria 

BY DAKUKU PETERSIDE 

INIOBONG Umoren was a 

young woman in her early 20s 

who lived in Uyo the Akwa 

Ibom State capital. She shared, on 

Twitter, her need for a job, and one 

Twitter user named Uduak Akpan 

asked her for a private chat concerning 

her application. According to 

police reports, Mr Akpan asked 

Ms Umoren to meet her at a particular 

location in Uyo. 

When the unsuspecting lady got 

there, the sinister man raped her, 

killed her, and buried her in a shallow 

grave. Unfortunately for the serial 

rapist and murderer, the lady 

gave her friend the phone number 

of the person who invited her for an 

interview. This number led to the apprehension 

of the culprit after the 

lady was declared missing for days. 

There were reports that Ms 

Umoren’s gruesome murder was not 

just a case of rape and murder but 

that it also involved ritual killing. 

Mr Akpan’s entire family is said to 

be involved in the barbaric business 

of ritual killings. 

Two weeks ago, a report indicated 

that in Kwara State, a next-door 

neighbour allegedly murdered a 

groom-to-be for ritual purposes. According 

to the account in Vanguard, 

the deceased, who was said 

to be a devout Christian, did not know 

that his neighbour with whom he 

used to eat together was a serial killer 

and ritualist who has twice served 

jail terms. This wolf-in-sheep-clothing 

neighbour allegedly killed his 

victim, removed some sensitive body Incidents of ritual 

INSECURITY: Beyond the lamentation skulls of their victims. Their modus 

parts, poured acid on his remains for 

of 

Most ritual 

the 

murderers 

National 

always wish 

killings have assumed an operandi included storming victims’ to be unidentified. They want to kill 

speedy decay to prevent it from fouling 

the area. 

Assembly 

Last February in Port Harcourt, a 

suspected ritual killer was arrested 

while attempting to sacrifice a nineyear-old 

girl in the Ibaa community 

in Emuoha Local Government 

Area of Rivers State. According to a 

report in The Punch, the girl’s parents 

had raised the alarm over her 

sudden disappearance after she went 

to dispose of refuse in a nearby bush. 

It happened that the suspect had taken 

the minor to an abandoned compound, 

tied her with white cloths, 

applied white clay on her body with 

a coffin already stationed for the ritual 

purpose. He was in the process of 

performing the ritual when he ran 

out of luck. 

In 2019, Port Harcourt made international 

headlines in ritual killings 

with the case of Gracious David-West, 

Nigeria’s most celebrated 

ritual killer in recent times. From 

July to September 2019, David-West 

killed at least 15 women, mainly in 

the Rivers State capital city. After his 

arrest, he confessed to at least 15 murders. 

Official statistics indicate that there 

has been an increase in the number 

of missing persons all over the country 

in recent times. Some are found, 

while others are not. There is speculation 

that majority of those who disappear 

perpetually without a trace 

are often victims of ritual killings. 

Incidents of ritual killings have 

assumed an alarming rate in Nigeria. 

There seems to be little or no effort 

by concerned government agencies 

to checkmate the trend. We expect 

that such cruel and barbaric act 

would no longer exist in our society 

given our level of exposure, enlightenment, 

and civilisation . Ironically, 

as our communities seem to be 

getting more religious given the proliferation 

of churches and mosques 

in all nooks and crannies of the country, 

it seems these heinous acts are 

increasing as the quest for filthy lucre 

pervades our society. 

It is disheartening to point out that 

as developed societies invest in science 

and technology to keep abreast 

•Rage of a mob over ritual killing. 

with a dynamic world, ours are still 

stuck in the mistaken belief that sacrificing 

human blood is the surest 

route to wealth, safety, and protection. 

No doubt, ritual killings are performed 

to obtain human body parts 

for rituals, potions, and charms. Ritualists 

search for ‘human parts’ at the 

request of herbalists, who require 

these to make sacrifices or prepare 

various magical potions to give power 

and wealth to an individual. Some 

people engage in ritual killings to obtain 

charms that would make them 

invincible and protect them from 

business failure, illness, accidents and 

spiritual attacks. Whether they succeed 

or not is open to debate. However, 

it is not easy to prove a link between 

such sacrifices and financial 

success or any type of success empirically. 

alarming rate in Nigeria; 

there seems to be little or 

no effort by concerned 

government agencies to 

checkmate the trend; we 

expect that such cruel 

and barbaric act would 

no longer exist in our 

society 

Amongst a large group of Nigerians, 

including the well-educated and 

people from different faiths and social 

backgrounds, there is a strong 

belief in the supernatural and the effectiveness 

of rituals. This belief has 

a direct correlation to the prevalence 

of ritual killings. It is a well-known 

fact that some elite in society indulge 

in ritual killings. Some people apprehended 

for ritual killings and 

witch doctors who perform the sacrifices 

accused politicians, government 

officials and wealthy businessmen 

as their sponsors. They are said to 

use human beings for rituals to sustain 

their affluence and remain in positions 

of power. 

Therefore, it is not surprising that 

there are usually increased cases of 

mysterious disappearances and ritual 

killings during elections. Some 

desperate, fetish and superstitious 

politicians always consult herbalists 

and native doctors during elections 

to help them overcome their opponents. 

These spiritualists usually demand 

human heads and other body 

parts to perform hedonistic rituals. 

Given the rate of increase of ritual 

killings, no one is immune from becoming 

a victim. But some people 

are at greater risk. People with mental 

illnesses and virgins are unique 

targets as the ritualists allegedly believe 

that their eccentrics and purity 

make for a more viable sacrifice. Also, 

people living with albinism have 

equally become victims of ritual killings, 

fuelled by the belief that their 

‘body-parts’ could allegedly make 

one wealthy or prolong one’s life. 

Sometimes, it is difficult to understand 

the mind of the ritual killer. 

How can someone take another person’s 

life in the quest for wealth, protection, 

and power? More worrisome 

is that sometimes it is not just an issue 

of a depraved mind but also a 

depraved group of minds. 

Sometime in 2017, Lagos State, the 

country’s commercial hub, was 

gripped by Badoo ritual killings. According 

to news reports, over 50 people 

were killed by the Badoo Boys 

group, who moved about with an air 

of invincibility until the Nigeria Police 

routed them. 

Vanguard reported about the activities 

of the group thus: “Before the 

raid and subsequent arrest of over 

200 suspected members of the cult 

group by the Police with the support 

of the Oodua Peoples’ Congress, 

OPC, local vigilante and the Neighbourhood 

Watch Corps, Badoo Boys 

had been unleashing an orgy of killings, 

during which they crush the 

residences while they are asleep”. 

People suspected that they usually 

hypnotise their victims, as none of 

them had ever been conscious of their 

presence. After that, they would 

smash the heads of their victims with 

a grinding stone and use a handkerchief 

to clean the blood and brain 

before leaving the scene. 

During interrogation, one of the 

suspects confirmed that “they sold 

each handkerchief stained with blood 

for N500,000. He further revealed 

that they were mere errand boys for 

rich politicians within and outside 

Lagos State. But in their case, the 

blood and semen-stained handkerchief 

were used to prepare the spiritual 

defence for some wealthy Nigerians.” 

What are the root causes of ritual 

killings? How can society tackle this 

menace? What role should government 

and relevant agencies play in 

ameliorating the negative impact of 

these dastardly acts? 

Poverty and economic hardship in 

the land are reasons for ritual killings. 

However, these are not justifiable 

reasons to commit ritual murder. 

Impunity encourages ritualists 

to commit murders because they believe 

they will not be apprehended or 

punished. 

Another reason for ritual murders 

is the collapse in our moral values, 

ignorance and superstition, and lack 

of an adequate punishment system. 

We should also consider poverty and 

unemployment as a significant risk 

factor. If Nigerians have equal opportunities 

to earn income legitimately, 

there will be a reduction in 

horrific crimes such as banditry, human 

killings for ritual, and terrorism. 

Besides, the inordinate quest and 

pursuit of quick wealth are said to be 

driving some people to resort to the 

use of human parts for rituals. And 

some usual suspects include fake clerics 

and herbalists who carry out the 

ritual practices for their clients. 

Some analysts have recommended 

that government should investigate 

suspected pastors and imams 

and checkmate their activities be- 

Umoren... raped and murdered 

cause what they do under cover of 

being religious leaders sometimes 

leaves much to be desired. 

To curb the increase in ritual killings, 

government should thoroughly 

explore the intelligence-gathering 

approach and prosecute arrested culprits. 

Timely arrest and prosecution 

of arrested suspects would serve as a 

deterrent to anybody contemplating 

perpetrating ritual killing. Record of 

successful prosecution of ritualist is 

not in the public domain. When there 

are not consequences for deviant behavior, 

it is incentivized. 

For the public, commuters should 

always write down the identification 

markings of public conveyance vehicles 

they enter and make phone 

calls to loved ones to pass on the information. 

In the case of Iniobong 

Umoren mentioned earlier, the fact 

that she confided in her friend about 

the phone number of the person that 

invited her for an interview was instrumental 

in apprehending the culprit. 

people but do not wish to be apprehended. 

Once information about 

them has been exposed to someone 

else, it becomes difficult for them to 

remain anonymous and perpetrate 

evil. 

Commuters should also assess 

public transport vehicles before 

boarding in order not to board vehicles 

occupied by hoodlums. I advise 

ladies to carry whistles on them to 

raise the alarm if there is an attempt 

to abduct them. 

In addition to these, people should 

avoid staying in isolated areas where 

criminals can quickly attack without 

being noticed, and everybody 

should be conscious of their immediate 

environment. 

The spate of ritual killings has 

become so problematic that our political 

leaders should declare a national 

emergency on the crises. I 

call for stiffer jail sentences to deter 

potential perpetrators from engaging 

in ritual killings. Citizens should 

have trust and confidence to motivate 

them towards providing credible 

intelligence for security operators. 

We should also make good use of 

whistle-blowers. These are invisible 

law-abiding citizens whose primary 

function is to disseminate information 

that provides details towards the 

arrest of suspected ritual murderers. 

They should be anonymous, and the 

law-enforcement institution should 

not reveal them as their link persons. 

The fight against ritual killings and 

other menaces in our society is for 

all. We should not rest until we create 

a culture where we always uphold 

the sanctity of life at all cost and the 

safety of everyone is guaranteed irrespective 

of social status, religion, or 

ethnic background. This task calls 

for authentic leadership. We must 

swim or sink together . Our only option 

is to swim to survive the social 

disaster we are becoming as a nation 

because of the collapse of morality, 

ethics, and law. 

*Peterside, a former DG of NI- 

MASA wrote from Lagos 


Place FUPRE under 

Petroleum 

Resources Ministry 

to enhance 

performance —VC 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

WARRI—FEDERAL University of 

Petroleum Resources, Effurun, 

Delta state has called on the appropriate 

authorities to place the institution under 

the supervision of the Ministry of 

Petroleum Resources, saying this will 

enhance funding to enable the school 

function optimally as a specialized 

university established to tackle challenges 

in the oil and gas sector. 

Vice Chancellor of the university, 

Professor Akpofure Rim-Rukeh made the 

appeal at a media parley to mark his one 

year in office , pleading that the Petroleum 

Technology Development Fund, PTDF, 

should release the sum of five hundred 

million naira the federal government 

directed it to grant the university as part of 

its take off grant in 2007. 

He further appealed for funds to enable 

institution redress problems of near 

absence of power supply, insufficient lecture 

theatre , laboratories , teaching and 

learning facilities. 

The VC, Professor Akpofureh who reeled 

out some of his achievements in the last 

one year in office said his drive was to 

make the school rank among the “ best 

400 universities in global university 

ranking in the next four years.“ 

He said seven new academic 

programmes had been introduced, they 

include petrochemical engineering, 

computer engineering, Civl engineering, 

Gas Engineering, Statistics, Masters in 

Environmental Policy and regulations and 

Science laboratory technologies. 

He said the university has also proposed 

new academic programs which will include 

Cyber security among others . He said in 

the last one year there had been 

construction of 1500 capacity convocation 

arena, 500 capacity auditorium, furnishing 

of classroom building number 1, 

construction and furnishing of 200 capacity 

lecture theater and many more. 

Group wants 

sustained military 

presence in Edo to 

ensure peace 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

B 

ENIN CITY —A group in Edo State, 

Benin Solidarity Movement, BSM, 

has called for the retention of military 

personnel in Kolokolo community in 

Ikpoba-Okha local government area of the 

Edo state as a result of the violence that 

erupted in the community which resulted 

in the killing of a community leader, Sunny 

Eitche. 

A statement by the group and signed 

by its president, Curtis Ugbo said those 

opposing the presence of the military in 

the community may have been behind 

the spate of criminalities that pervaded 

the community. 

He said: “We view with disdain the line 

of thought of these selected few individuals 

who are making an uproar against the 

military presence in Kolokolo. 

“There is no doubt that the presence of 

the military men in the community has 

been a welcome development as the 

residents of the community now sleep 

with their two eyes closed. 

“Where were these group of people 

when the law of the jungle pervaded the 

community not long ago where all sorts of 

criminality ranging from kidnapping, arson, 

robbery and murder became the order of 

the day? To the extent that these crime 

lords murdered a community leader 

(Okhaegele), Sunny Eitche, for no 

justifiable reason. 

According to him, “Presently, the case 

of the murder of the community youth 

leader has been under judicial adjudication 

with some elements standing in the dock 

as prime suspects in the deadly crime. 

“It stands to reason that those claiming 

that the army drove them away from the 

community may have been deeply 

involved in these criminal activities that 

put the lives of innocent residents at risk 

and played various nauseating roles in 

the killing of the Okaeghele of Kolokolo, 

late Sunny Eitche.”

Metering: FG takes delivery of 656,752 prepaid meters 


THE Federal Government has 

taken delivery of 656,752 

prepaid meters, under the phase 

0 of the Central Bank of Nigeriafunded 

National Mass Metering 

Programme, NMMP. 

This represents almost 85 

percent of the one million meters 

to be provided to Nigerians, 

whose bills are still based on 

estimation. 

However, of the 656,752 prepaid 

meters, 305,962 have already been 

installed for consumers, according 

to the Special Adviser to the 

President on Infrastructure, Mr. 

Ahmad Zakari. 

In an interview with Vanguard, 

weekend, he said: "The major 

problem faced by the indigenous 

producers and Meter Asset 

Providers, MAPs is the pace of 

ramp-up of available personnel for 

installation. Another problem is 

the lack of a vital plastic component 

as one of the two major global 

suppliers (based in Germany) had 

shut down during the 

Coronavirus pandemic, resulting 

in pressure to the value chain. 

"However, disbursement has 

been made for 656,752 meters, 

with the Discos already in receipt 

of almost 85% of the funded 

meters. Based on the current 

trend, all Phase 0 installations 

should be completed by the end 

of June, 2021." 

According to him, the nation 

would start its phase one and later 


phase two of the NMMP. 

Previously, the Chairman, 

Nigerian Electricity Regulatory 

Commission, NERC, Engr. 

Sanusi Garba, had said in an 

interview with Vanguard that, "The 

Nigerian Electricity Supply 

Industry, NESI, had what we call 

the Meter Asset Provider, MAP. 

That scheme was a regulation we 

issued in 2018 and it took effect in 

2019, involving third-party 

businessmen. We gave them 

permits, and they went to the 

DisCos and got contracts to 

supply, install and maintain 

meters for them. 

"So, they are the ones that have 

a responsibility to install meters for 

every DisCo in Nigeria. That 

system is still working as we speak. 

However, what happened was 

that when we gave the permits to 

those MAPs, and then they got 

the contract with the Disco's, each 

of them was given quantities of 

meters to supply." 

TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 

Nigeria’s oil output drops by 30% in four years 

—Investigation 


IN an apparent reflection of the 

measures taken to achieve 

stability in the global market by 

the Organisation of Petroleum 

Exporting Countries, OPEC, 

pipeline vandalism and oil theft 

in the Niger-Delta, Nigeria’s oil 

production has fallen by 30 per 

cent in the last four years to 1.423 

million barrels per day, mb/d in 

2020 from 2.041 million barrels per 

day, mb/d in 2017. 

The figure excludes 2020 

condensate production, according 

to the data obtained by Vanguard 

Energy from OPEC’s monthly 

market reports between 2017 and 

2020. 

Year-on-year, YoY, the nation’s 

output declined by 19.3 per cent 

to 1.648 mb/d in 2018 from 2.041 

mb/d in 2017. 

The production level, however, 

rose by 6.6 per cent to 1.765 mb/d 

in 2019 from 2018 figure before 

declining again by 19 per cent to 

1.423 mb/d in 2020. 

Impact 

This steady or consistent drop 

in output constitutes a serious 

threat to the nation’s economy, 

especially as the world continues 

to adopt new forms of clean 

energy. 

However, an investigation by 

Energy Vanguard showed that 

the impact could have been more 

severe on the nation’s economy, if 

not for its huge condensate 

production and export, estimated 

at between 300,000-400,000 

barrels per day, bpd. 

For instance, although Nigeria 

produced 2.041.6 mb/d for the 

implementation of its N7.44 

trillion budget in 2017, it was 

possible to realise its 2.2 mb/d 

target at $44.5 per barrel and 

exchange rate of N305 per dollar 

because of the condensate 

production. 

According to PKMG Limited, 

“Oil price was projected at $44.5/ 

barrel but closed at $66.73/barrel 

by the end of December 2017, due 

to the increase in oil price, a 

proportional increase in revenue 

was expected. However, the 

estimated oil revenue was 

curtailed by an average actual oil 

production of 1.515 mb/d, instead 

of the anticipated 2.2 mb/d. 

Moreover, the increase in 

production occurred at the tail end 

of the year, thereby ensuring an 

average shortfall in expected 

revenue. 

Similarly, the 2018 budget was 

based on the production of 2.3 mb/ 

d at $45 per barrel and N305 

exchange rate, but the relatively 

high price, which stood at between 

$50 and $60 per barrel and 

condensate enabled Nigeria, to a 

great extent, close the gap despite 

its limited output, which stood at 

1.648 mb/d. 

However, the impact of the 

condensate was also felt in the 

process of implementing the 2019 

and 2020 budgets. 

GDP 

According to the African 

Development Bank, AfDB, the 

limited output and relatively low 

crude prices have impacted 

negatively on the nation’s Gross 

Domestic Product, GDP, the final 

value of the goods and services 

produced within a country during 

a specified period of time, 

normally a year. 

In its latest Nigeria Economic 

Outlook, obtained by Energy 

Vanguard, AfDB stated: 

“Nigeria’s economy entered a 

recession in 2020, reversing three 

years of recovery, due to fall in 

crude oil prices on account of 

falling global demand and 

containment measures to fight the 

spread of Covid-19. The 

containment measures mainly 

affected aviation, tourism, 

hospitality, restaurants, 

manufacturing and trade. 

Contraction in these sectors offset 

the demand-driven expansion in 

financial, information and 

communications technology 

sectors. Overall real GDP is 

estimated by AfDB to have shrunk 

by 3 per cent in 2020, although 

mitigating measures in the 

Economic Sustainability 

Programme, ESP, prevented the 

decline from being much worse. 

Inflation rose to 12.8 per cent in 

2020 from 11.4 per cent in 2019, 

fuelled by higher food prices, due 

to constraints on domestic 

supplies and the pass-through 

effects of an exchange rate 

premium that widened to about 

24 per cent. The removal of fuel 

subsidies and an increase in 

electricity tariffs added further to 

inflationary pressures. 

“The Central Bank of Nigeria 

cut the policy rate by 100 basis 

points to 11.5 per cent to shore up 

a flagging economy. The fiscal 

deficit, financed mostly by 

domestic and foreign borrowings, 

widened to 5.2 per cent in 2020 

from 4.3 per cent in 2019, 

reflecting pandemic-related 

spending pressures and revenue 

shortfalls. 

Outlook, risk 

Commenting on outlook and 

risks, it stated: “The economy is 

projected to grow by 1.5 per cent 

in 2021 and 2.9 per cent in 2022, 

based on an expected recovery in 

crude oil prices and production. 

Stimulus measures outlined in the 

ESP and the Finance Act of 2020 

could boost non-oil revenues. 

Improved revenues can narrow 

the fiscal deficit to 4.6 per cent and 

the current account deficit to 2.3 

per cent of GDP in 2021, as global 

economic conditions improve. 

Reopening borders will increase 

access to inputs, easing pressure 

on domestic prices and inflation, 

projected at 11.4 per cent in 2021. 

Downside risks include reduced 

fiscal space should oil prices 

remain depressed. In addition, 

flooding and rising insecurity 

could hamper agricultural 

production. 

Investment 

Apparently, responding to these 

and other fears, the government 

has indicated interest to expand 

investment through the 

instrumentality of the National Oil 

and Gas Excellence Centre, 

NOGEC, and utilise petroleum 

revenues, as a major instrument 

in diversifying the nation’s oildependent 

economy. 

Speaking at the recent 

commissioning of the centre in 

Lagos, President Muhammadu 

Buhari said: “The establishment 

of the National Oil and Gas 

Excellence Centre aligns with my 

administration’s commitment to 

foster stability, growth and 

sustainability of the Nigeria Oil 

and Gas Industry, consistent with 

the economic development and 

sustainability agenda articulated 

in the National Petroleum Policy 

2017, National Gas Policy, 2017, 

Economic Recovery and Growth 

Plan, ERGP, and the Economic 

Sustainability Plan, ESP, 2020. 

“At the beginning of my 

administration, we set a clear 

roadmap for the oil and gas sector 

in order to deepen value from the 

nation’s huge resource potentials 

and create opportunities for 

investors, both local and foreign, 

when I declared that: ‘Nigeria is 

open for business. I am delighted 

that, since then, we have 

witnessed major final investment 

decisions in the sector such as the 

AKK Pipeline project, the NLNG 

Train-7 project, and the 

completion of the 5,000bpd 

Waltersmith Modular refinery. 

Our renewed drive for economic 

diversification, using the oil and 

gas industry as a pivot, remains 

on track as we expand 

government revenues and deploy 

them to grow our GDP, generate 

employment and eliminate 

poverty – all for the overall benefit 

of Nigerians.” 

Diversification 

Nevertheless, in an interview 

with Energy Vanguard, weekend, 

some experts, including Dr. Bala 

Zaka, a Port Harcourt-based 

Energy analyst, called for 

immediate passage of the nation’s 

Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, 

required to bring about a 

restructuring of the industry, attract 

new investments, as well as 

diversify the nation’s oil-driven 

economy. 

Specifically, he said: “The world 

is gradually moving away from oil. 

Also, Nigeria’s major oil buyers, 

especially China and India, are 

still battling with the corona virus 

pandemic, meaning that it might 

take a while to return to the era of 

very high production, demand 

and price.”


Lagos overhauls healthcare facilities in 

response to future health emergencies 

By Chioma Obinna 

IT is no longer news that 

COVID-19 has disrupted 

services in all sectors across 

the world and Nigeria is not 

exceptional. But the news 

is that the pandemic 

thrown up the numerous 

challenges facing the 

health sector. In Nigeria, it 

brought to the fore the weak 

and unacceptable poor 

health system which has 

plagued health services for 

decades in the country. 

However, the pandemic 

which has continued to 

ravage countries across the 

world, may have forced 

governments to begin to 

build and bridge the gaps 

in the health system. 

One state in Nigeria, that 

is using the experience it 

gained from the challenges 

thrown up by COVID-19 

outbreak remains the Lagos 

state. 

This may not be 

unconnected with the fact 

that the state serves as the 

country's epic-centre for the 

pandemic and had 

recorded the first case of 

Coronavirus precisely 28th 

February, 2020. 

To prevent and respond 

effectively for possible 

disease outbreak in the 

future, the State is currently 

upgrading and building 

new infrastructure with the 

experience it gathered from 

the current pandemic. 

These projects and 

programmes dominated the 

Governor Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu's two years account of 

stewardship in health, 

rendered by the State 

Commissioner for Health, 

Prof Akin Abayomi, last 

week. 

For Abayomi, these 

projects are designed to 

take care of the health and 

wellness of over 20 million 

Lagosians. 

According to him, the 

roadmap for the upgrade of 

infrastructure in the stateowned 

health facilities, 

being executed by the 

Medical Project 

Implementation Unit 

(MPIU) in phases, was 

aimed at buildIng a 

resilient healthcare in Lagos 

and increase residents' 

access to quality universal 

health coverage. 

Abayomi who explained 

that the comprehensive 

refurbishment was being 

carried out in short, 

medium- and long-term 

bases said in line with the 

Sanwo-Olu administration 

to achieve the goals set in 

the Health and 

Environment pillar of its 

T.H.E.M.E.S agenda, the 

upgrade is cutting across 

primary, secondary and 

tertiary healthcare. 

He disclosed: "In the last 

two years, the Sanwo-Olu 

administration has 

completed, equipped and 

handed over two multilevel 

Maternal and 

Childcare Centre (MCC) 

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Health Service Commission, Dr. Muyiwa Eniayewun; 

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye; Permanent Secretary, 

Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Ibrahim Mustafa; Commissioner for Health, Prof. 

Akin Abayomi; Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso 

and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Sina Thorpe 

at the briefing, recently 

in Eti-Osa and Badagry." 

Abayomi explained that 

the construction of another 

110-bed MCC has been 

completed in Epe and due 

for commissioning in the 

comin 

For him, the upgrade is 

being done in a sustainable 

way, which would take 

another decade for major 

repairs to be done, except 

statutory maintenance by 

the hospital management 

and the Lagos State Asset 

Maintenance Agency, 

LASAMA. 

"We have renovated and 

remodeled the Mainland 

Hospital in Yaba with future 

plans of making it an 

Institute of Research for 

Infectious Disease. We 

have also completed the 

remodeling and upgrade 

of Apapa General Hospital, 

just as we currently 

renovate Harvey Road 

Health Centre, Ebute 

Metta Health Centre, Isolo 

General Hospital and the 

General Hospital, Odan 

Lagos. All of these are in 

the effort to make health 

accessible." 

He disclosed that the 

ministry has gotten 

approval for the 

construction of new 

hospitals to bridge gaps in 

access and services in the 

health sector. 

"In fulfilment of our 

medical infrastructure 

blueprint agenda, we have 

commenced the 

construction of a 280-bed 

General Hospital in Ojo, 

150-bed New Massey 

Street Children's Hospital, 

while the Governor has also 

approved the construction 

and equipping of 1,500-bed 

Psychiatric Hospital and 

Rehabilitation Centre at 

Majidun in Ketu Ejinrin. 

"In the course of the year, 

we have completed the 

construction of a four-storey 

Faculty of Basic Medical 

and Clinical Sciences 

Office Block at Lagos State 

University College of 

Medicine (LASUCOM) 

and plans have been 

concluded for renovation 

and upgrade of some 

facilities at the Lagos State 

University Teaching 

Hospital (LASUTH) in 

tandem with our medical 

infrastructure blueprint 

strategy for the tertiary 

health facilities. 

He said the upgrade 

would bring about fit-forpurpose 

healthcare 

facilities that would raise 

the capacity of the state to 

respond to contemporary 

and future health 

challenges. 

According to him, part of 

the new features include 

improved efficiency for 

physical maintenance, ease 

of movement, low carbon 

footprint, low energy 

consumption, infection 

prevention and control as 

well as staff and patient 

comfort. 

Oxygen centres 

"In partnership with the 

private sector, we have 

completed and handed 

over an oxygen plant at 

Mainland and Gbagada 

General Hospitals. We 

have delivered Traige and 

Oxygen Centres in 10 

locations across Lagos. In 

raising staff welfare, we 

have started the 

construction of a 24-unit 

Doctors' and Staff Quarters 

in at Gbagada General 

Hospital." 

Abayomi also disclosed 

that work had begun on the 

blueprint designs for 

Comprehensive Health 

Centre, Primary Health 

Centrer and Health Posts as 

part of the move to rejig 

their operations and service 

delivery. 

Abayomi disclosed that 

the state government 

embarked on the greenfield 


projects to prevent issues 

noticed in health 

infrastructure across all 

levels of care in the State. 

He expressed optimism 

that all issues bedevilling 

medical health 

infrastructure will 

disappear when the 


blueprint strategy is fully 

implemented. 

He added that the 


blueprint agenda will help 

address the issue of brain 

drain, medical travels and 

patient welfare, stressing 

that the state government, 

through the strategy, 

hoped to attract medical 

tourism to the state. 

"The prototype of the new, 

remodeled and upgraded 

healthcare infrastructure in 

the state will conform with 

key elements of global 

standards health facility 

designs, which include 

natural light/ventilation, 

sustainable energy, patient 

flow, infection prevention, 

noise prevention, flood 

prevention, identifiable 

standout visual features as 

well as scalability and 

modular design for 

expansion. 

Vaccination 

Continuing, the 

commissioner alerted that 

Nigeria stands the risk of 

experiencing a third wave 

because less than one per 

cent of its population has 

been vaccinated. In Lagos, 

only about 260,000 people 

have been vaccinated 

against COVID-19, with 

the figure represented just 

one per cent of the state's 

population. 

He said health facilities in 

the state have been placed 

on high alert to pick up 

early trends that may 

suggest a third wave of 

COVID-19. 

He said Lagos is working 

toward ensuring 60 per 

cent herd immunity, 

representing 14 million 

people, is achieved. 

Among steps being taken 

to curb a third wave of the 

virus included aggressive 

testing, including mutant 

PCR testing to identify the 

particular virus strain. 

GISA conducts 2nd training on 

substance abuse in schools 

By Evelyn Usman 

HE Global Initiative on 

TSubstance Abuse , 

GISA has conducted the 

second batch of training on 

Substance Abuse 

prevention in schools, with 

a view to equipping school 

functionaries with the 

required tools for substance 

use prevention 

interventions . 

Seventy-two secondary 

school staff comprising Vice 

Principals, teachers and 

counselors drawn from 18 

schools in Lagos State, as 

well as 16,000 students, 

were beneficiaries of the 

evidence-based substance 

use prevention among 

students in Nigeria. 

Speaking at the opening 

ceremony of the 6-day 

training described as the 

first on substance use 

prevention in the country, 

the Director/Head Child 

Guidance, School 

Counselling and Special 

Education, Mrs Olusola 

Somoye, who commended 

GISA for its prevention 

initiatives in schools 

Somoye who represented 

the Commissioner for 

Education, charged 

participants to be 

committed to the course of 

HFN, NHEA partner on 2021 

Nigeria Healthcare Excellence 

Award 

By Juliet Umeh 

THE 

Healthcare 

Federation of 

Nigeria, HFN, is 

partnering with the 

Nigerian Healthcare 

Excellence Award, on the 

forthcoming 7th edition of 

the Award. 

The Award billed to hold 

on June 25, 2021 at Eko 

Hotel & Suites, Victoria 

Island, Lagos, is designed 

to strengthen healthcare 

services as well as build a 

stronger health system in 

both private and public 

health sector. 

According to the 

President of HFN, Dr. 

Pamela Ajayi, HFN is 

pleased to collaborate with 

NHEA for the success of the 

2021 edition of the Award 

as it would showcase the 

efforts of the Nigerian 

private healthcare sector 

stakeholders towards 

strengthening the nation’s 

healthcare system.” 

Responding, Project 

Director NHEA Dr Wale 

Alabi said: “HFN has been 

part of NHEA in the last 

five years; your decision to 

continue on this path is a 

testament of what the 

achieved and contributed 

in the promotion and 

recognition of the Nigerian 

healthcare practitioners 

and institutions, especially 

in the private sector. We are 

committed to 

strengthening the NHEA 

platform to ensure our 

healthcare heroes receives 

charting a better society. 

While appreciating the 

United Nations Office of 

Drugs and Crime , 

UNODC for it's decision to 

fund the project in Lagos 

State, she reinstated 


Olu commitment to address 

substance abuse among 

students. 

Earlier, the Founder/ 

Executive Director, GISA, 

Dr. Martin Agwogie, 

explained that the training 

was aimed at equipping 

the school functionaries 

with the required tools for 

substance use prevention 

interventions in the school 

setting, even as he 

described it as one of the 

first and most 

comprehensive evidencebased 

substance use 

prevention training ever 

organized for secondary 

school staff in Nigeria. 

Four staff from each of the 

18 selected schools, made 

up of two teachers, one 

counsellor and one Vice 

Principal, according to him, 

would be certified as 

Substance Abuse 

Prevention Officers, SAPOs 

at the end of the training 

and drive prevention 

activities in their respective 

schools. 

the celebration they 

deserve.” 

HFN is expected mobilise 

their members to actively 

participate in the Award 

process. 

He explained that NHEA 

which is an annual event is 

the Oscar of Nigerian 

healthcare, where 

outstanding personalities 

and organisations in both 

the public and private 

sectors are recognised and 

celebrated for their 

exceptional contributions to 

the Nigerian healthcare 

sector. “This initiative, 

through research and 

innovation by an eminent 

team has continued to 

encourage improvements 

and focus on quality and 

standard of service 

provided by various 

stakeholders in the 

industry. “NHEA 2021 has 

5 main award categories 

with 28 sub-categories. 

Nominations for the 

different award categories 

have been received already 

from over 11,000 

stakeholders and members 

of the public. NHEA has 

received endorsement and 

support from the Federal 

Ministry of Health Nigeria, 

Nigeria Medical 

Association,National 

Association of Nigeria 

Nurses and Midwives, 

Medical Laboratory 

Association of Nigeria, 

Health & Managed Care 

Association of Nigeria, 

Pharmaceutical Society of 

Nigeria,

C 

M 

Y 


24 — Niger-Delta Voice, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 

VOL. 2: NO. 278 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 

•Monkey bridge that paved way for concrete bridge. 

People mocked me when I ran 

out of funds constructing bridge 

— Onem Miracle, Bayelsa councillor 

•Reveals elderly people fell off old monkey bridge on way to farm, 

health centre •How Gov Diri rescued her from mockers 

BAYELSA 

…JERUSALEM OF 

IJAW NATION 

By Samuel Oyadongha 

OTUOKPOTI — 

COUNCILLOR and 

Deputy Majority Leader, Ogbia 

Legislative Arm, Ogbia Local 

Government Area, Bayelsa State, 

Hon. Onem Tyna Miracle, who 

changed the story of her Otuokpoti 

community and five other 

communities by constructing a 

link bridge with funds meant for 

her official car, has disclosed that 

people mocked her when she ran 

out of money to finish the project 

at a time. 

At a time, I was confused 

– Hon Miracle 

Hon. Miracle who spoke to NDV, 

said some persons mocked her 

when she ran out of funds on the 

bridge project, but the state 

governor, Senator Duoye Diri 

came to her rescue. 

The councillor emphatically 

stated that she was not inspired by 

anything before she embarked on 

the life-turning project for her 

people because as a grassroots 

politician, she lived with them and 

knew the problem they were 

facing. 

“I was not motivated at all 

because I know the problem of my 

people. As a grassroots politician, 

I know the challenges my people 

are facing. Growing up as a child, 

I have been crossing that creek 

before a narrow wooden bridge 

known as Monkey Bridge was 

constructed across it. 

“When I became a lawmaker, I 

said to myself that this is the 

opportunity for me to change this 

situation. In fact, people were 

suggesting that I should provide 

solar street lights or refurbish the 

police station. 

“It got to a point that I got 

confused, but the reality then was 

that without the bridge, vehicles 

could not have access to the only 

police station and health centre in 

my community. 

“Another issue was that it is the 

only bridge connecting our 

farmers to their farms. In fact, 

elderly people almost always fall 

off the bridge while going to the 

farm or health centre. In many 

cases, they are injured in the 

process. 

Scorners made jest of me 

By Davies 

Iheamnachor 

PORT 

HARCOURT- 

PARAMOUNT ruler of 

Egbema Kingdom, Ogba/Egbema/ 

Ndoni Local Government Area, 

Rivers State, HRM King Everestus 

Amuda, has denounced a 

multinational oil firm, National 

Agip Oil Company, AGIP, for luring 

greedy chiefs with money to tear 

apart his monarchy, instead of 

developing the area. 

The Nzeobi (monarch), who 

spoke to NDV, lamented that the 

international oil company has 

deliberately abandoned the 

Memorandum of Understanding, 

MoU, it entered with the kingdom 

since 1999. 

How oil firm divides my 

kingdom – Monarch 

“In 1999, Egbema Kingdom 

when I couldn’t complete the 

project 

“After commencing the project, it 

got to a point where I had the fear 

that I would not be able to finish the 

project because the money available 

to me was not enough to complete it. 

But because of the zeal I had for the 

project, I added my share of the 

money given to all councillors to buy 

official cars to the project. The 

governor gave us N2m for ward 

project and N2.6m to buy car and 

run our office, yet I spent all the 

money on the project and it was not 

•Completed concrete bridge linking Otuokpoti to community hospital, 

police post and 3 other communities. 

enough. 

“At a point, some persons started 

laughing at me that I started what I 

could not finish. To shock you, I 

bought one 16mm rod for N6,200 

and a bag of cement at N4000. We 

are not talking of sand and gravel. 

Before we started that project, we had 

to stop the creek from flowing at the 

point we earmarked for the bridge 

so we could build the pillars. 

“After blocking the creek, I hired 

pumping machine to constantly take 

out water from the project site and 

each day, I spent N30, 000 for that 

machine. To cut the long story short, 

somebody graciously posted the 

picture of the bridge when it was 

about 70 per cent completed. 

How Gov Diri bailed me out 

“I must confess at that point I had 

exhausted the money I had for the 

project and was thinking of what to 

do about it when the governor of the 

state, Senator Douye Diri, invited me 

to Government House and gave me 

extra money to finish the project. I 

must say that my people are eternally 

grateful to the governor for what he 

did. 

“I say so because that bridge 

connects my community, Otuokpoti 

to Otuogori, Onuebum, Otuoke, 

Meta and Imiringi. You can imagine 

what that means to trade and our 

social life,” she said. 

Joy unlimited in Otuokpoti 

When NDV visited the riverside 

fishing and framing settlement last 

week, the villagers were still 

celebrating their daughter and her 

accomplishment of building a bridge 

across the stream that bifurcate her 

community and link same to other 

communities in the area. 

The sprawling agrarian settlement 

which waterfront, though being 

ravished by coastal erosion, is fast 

becoming a reference for measuring 

responsive representation in the back 

waters of the delta where such facility 

is infrequent. With the completion of 

the bridge, residents can now access 

the only hospital and police post in 

the area with ease on record time. 

God bless her. I’m excited – 

Mrs. Egbei 

One of the community folks and 

farmer, Mrs. Elizabeth Egbei, said: 

“The bridge makes me feel happy 

because some of us, especially the 

elderly, often fall from that bridge 

each time we are going to the farm 

or health centre. There was a day I 

fell, got injured badly and even lost 

my sack of cassava in the creek while 

crossing the Monkey bridge.” 

“The other time a woman that was 

taking her child to the health centre 

fell into the creek with her sick baby. 

Just imagine how painful that can 

be for any mother. I am glad that she 

built the bridge. I pray that God gives 

her more opportunities to build 

more projects that would change the 

lives of our people,” she added. 

Bridge‘ll help in tackling 

security challenge - Wango 

Another resident, an unemployed 

graduate, Mr. Meniden Wongo, 

posited: “I am happy that the bridge 

has been constructed. This would 

help the police to respond to distress 

calls from the community. As you can 

see, the police station is just right 

across the creek and before the 

bridge was built, the police would 

take over an hour if they want to come 

into the community because they 

have to journey very far to reach us 

from the other side of the town. 

“Even to cross the Monkey bridge 

was a challenge, so you can imagine 

how it affects the operation of 

security agents. I want to thank our 

councillor for initiating the project 

and I also want to thank the governor 

for his assistance and wish to appeal 

to him to give her more 

opportunities to help us construct the 

road that runs through our 

community because that is the only 

road linking the Otuoke Expressway 

to the bridge that connects our health 

centre, police station and 

neighbouring communities,” he 

stated. 

Oil firm entraps chiefs, youths to divide Rivers kingdom 

— HRM Amuda, monarch 

RIVERS… 

THE TREASURE BASE 

OF THE NATION 

•When work was in progress on the bridge. 

entered MoU with Nigeria Agip Oil 

Company, NAOC. Until date, Agip 

has not done anything on it, instead 

of doing something on the MoU, 

they started picking some chiefs 

from my kingdom, bribing and 

dividing the youths. 

“They are sponsoring groups in 

the kingdom that anytime we 

attempt to demand for our MoU, 

which is the debt they owe us, some 

people within will cause 

disagreement. 

“For over 18 years now, my stool 

has been in dispute but the 

litigations are over now. During 

that period, when I call for 

anything, some of the community 

chiefs would tell Agip that my stool 

was in dispute. 

“Now that the litigations are over, 

what they intend doing now is 

going to take ‘peanuts’ from Agip 

and setting fire in my kingdom. 

“The projects in that MoU 

included the Egbema Ultramodern 

Civic Center, Youth 

Development Centre, Palm 

Plantation and Oil Milling Facility 

and Technical College. There are 

central projects in that agreement 

•Egbema people threaten to shut down NAOC 

oil, gas wells if … •NAOC mute 

and there are still others for 

communities. 

“Attitude of some chiefs has 

affected the projects, Agip does not 

recognise peace, they only work 

when they are pushed and they are 

still using some of the chiefs. 

Entrap chiefs with cash gifts 

“Agip instead of carrying out 

those projects prefers giving cash 

gifts to some chiefs and buying 

them over. I was not a king when 

the MoU was signed, but those who 

signed it did it for the kingdom. I 

am a king and inherited the assets 

and liabilities of the throne. 

“These projects were supposed to 

serve some purpose, the Technical 

College would have employed 

nothing less than 100 to 200 people 

and the palm plantation would 

have taken up to 1000 people. You 

know that an idle mind is the devil’s 

workshop, youth restiveness in our 

area is because of idleness. 

We‘ll stop oil exploration in 

Egbema 

“Why we are letting the world 

know is that after this period, if Agip 

does not come to execute those 

projects in the MoU, we will stop 

oil exploration in Egbema 

Kingdom. 

“All the oil and gas wells will be 

shut down because we will not be 

suffering hazards of exploration 

and not benefit from it. Our land is 

no more fertile because of Agip. We 

do not have fishes in our rivers 

again because of pollution,” the 

monarch stated. 

Youth president cries to FG, 

Gov Wike 

Youth President of Egbema 

Kingdom, Stanley Ohagbwazua, 

who corroborated the statement of 

his monarch, called on the state 

governor, Nyesom Wike, and the 

Federal Government to intervene 

in the matter. 

Contacted, a senior staff of 

External Affairs Department, 

NAOC, who did not want to be 

mentioned, said the firm has not 

comment on the issues. 

He said Eni, the Italian parent 

company of Agip, may react on the 

development later.

A’Ibom community leader, 

residents at daggers drawn over 

alleged power abuse, pilfering 

•Udobong, village head, denies allegation 

AKWA A IBOM 

… LAND OF PROMISE 

By Chioma Onuegbu Uyo 

IKOT AKPAN EDIENE- 

HEAD of Akpan Ediene 

Village, Oku Clan, Uyo 

Local Government Area of Akwa 

Ibom State, Eteidung Japhet 

Udobong, and inhabitants of the 

community are at loggerheads 

over purported misuse of power 

and misappropriation of funds. 

Water pump, generator 

unilaterally removed 

One of the residents who spoke 

to NDV, Mr. Nkereuwem 

Effiong, complained: “We are 

worried about what is happening 

in our community. This borehole 

here was done by Rotary Club 

International for Saint Philip 

Lutheran School, but our village 

head removed the water pump, 

and G-Pee tank for his private 

use. Even the village head has 

divided the school land, sold 

some portion to people and used 

the money for his personal 

benefit. 

“If government wants to 

develop or put up a project for us 

in the school in future, there will 

be no land again to do that. This 

borehole water project was 

supposed to serve this school, 

instead of the pupils crossing the 

busy road to either drink water 

or wash their hands. The 

community wants him to prove 

to us that relevant authorities like 

the Ministry of Lands and 

Ministry of Education gave him 

permission to sell portions of the 

school land. 

“And in this community those 

that own a borehole sell a gallon 

of 20 litres for about N20, as a 

community, we approached 

Akwa Ibom State Social 

Community Development in 

partnership with World Bank, 

they came to our rescue by giving 

us water and a 6.5KVA generator 

in case there is no light. 

Someone was commissioned to 

man the project so that it will not 

fail, but sadly, the same village 

head took the generator to his 

house, and locked up the place. 

That is why we are 

complaining. 

Community petitions govt 

“We had written to the Ministry 

of Local Government and 

THE TEAM 

Emma Amaize - Editor 

Samuel Oyadongha - Yenagoa 

Jimitota Onoyume- Warri 

Gabriel Enogholase- Benin City 

Festus Ahon- Asaba 

Egufe Yafugborhi- Port Harcourt 

Emmanuel Una- Calabar 

Akpokona Omafuaire- Warri 

Paul Olayemi- Sapele 

Harri-Okon Emmanuel- Uyo 

Chioma Onuegbu-Uyo 

Ike Uchechukwu- Calabar 

Davies Iheamnachor- Port Harcourt 

Emem Idio- Yenagoa 

Brisibe Perez- Ughelli 

Theresa Ugbobu- Agbor 

Ochuko Akuopha- Oleh 

Chancel Bomadi Sunday - Bomadi 

Paul Olayemi- Sapele 

Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu- Benin City 

Chijioke Nwankpa, Port Harcourt 

Barnabas Uzosike, Benin City 

•Borehole project at St. Philips Lutheran Primary 

School, Ikot Akpan Ediene village, Uyo, allegedly 

vandalised. 

Chieftaincy Affairs in 2014, we 

wrote again, April, this year, 

because the village head does not 

want to stop. In fact, if you 

condemn what the village head 

is doing, he would arrest you with 

the police. We are trying to 

remind government with our new 

petition that this matter has not 

been resolved. Let the village 

head account for all the things 

he has done.” 

Why I quit village council- 

Daniel 

Another villager, Mr. Whyte 

Daniel who said he once served a 

secretary of the Village council, 

stressed: “Because of the village 

head’s atrocities, I decided to opt 

out of the council. Some times 

when I tried to advise him, he 

would tell me that I am not in the 

position to advise him on what 

to do. He started using his 

teenage daughter to sign 

documents that I, as the secretary, 

should sign and he does that 

without my knowledge” 

Village head shuns clan 

head’s invitation 

Similarly, a deputy family 

head, Mr. Imo Ekpe Ukam said: 

“Actually what the village head 

is doing is very bad and if you try 

to tell him that what he is doing 

is bad, he will not listen. We have 

written several petitions to our 

clan head and when he invites 

him, he does not honour the 

invitation. And when you try to 

advise him, sometimes, he invites 

the police to arrest you. He will 

frame you up,”Ukam said. 

Udobong has shown no 

remorse even after 

suspension —Okpong, 

clan head 

Contacted, the clan head of 

Oku clan, Uyo Local 

Government Area, Etebom 

Aniefiok Okpong, who 

described the situation as 

unfortunate, said since the 

village head was suspended by 

the clan council few months 

ago, he has not shown any 

remorse. 

“There are 15 villages under 

my control which Ikot Akpan 

Ediene is among. It is true that 

the community has written 

series of protest letters to me in 

terms of selling of community 

lands, fraudulent acts, threat to 

people’s lives and misuse of 

What the 

community is 

doing is in order; 

they need to hold 

their leaders 

accountable and 

accountability in 

government starts 

from the 

community 

office. The community has 

written to me, and when I invite 

him (village head), he will not tell 

me the true version, instead, he 

will take a reverse action against 

my advice. 

“In fact, maybe because of the 

advice I have been giving him, 

he tried to look down on my 

office. As the clan head, that 

village is under my clan and every 

By Emma Amaize 

YENAGOA — YOUTHS and 

agitators in Niger-Delta 

have expressed concern over the 

alleged never-ending persecution 

of Minister of Niger-Delta 

Affairs, Senator Godswill 

Akpabio and the Niger-Delta 

Development Commission, 

NDDC, by self-proclaimed 

critical stakeholders over 

ongoing forensic audit and 

inauguration of a substantive 

board for the interventionist 

agency. 

The campaigners under the 

auspices of 21st Century Youths 

of Niger-Delta and Agitators with 

Conscience, 21st CYNDAC, in a 

statement by the coordinator, 

Izon Ebi, asserted: “We are 

Niger-Delta Voice, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 — 25 

directive should be taken from 

here. When anything is reported 

to us and we advise him to come, 

he will just give us negative reply. 

Like where he sold somebody’s 

land and that person brought the 

matter here. 

“To accord him full respect, we 

invited him and he gave us the 

story that a woman who is 

married cannot take any position 

in his father’s property, which is 

very wrong. So we placed an 

injunction on that land he sold 

and that injunction is for peacemaking. 

Then we invited the 

parties to come. Instead of him 

to come, he went and removed 

the injunction, so the clan now 

took him to court. 

Govt should intervene 

“So these are areas that we are 

concerned about, although he is 

given a certificate of recognition 

by government; that does not give 

him the right to intimidate people. 

His certificate can be withdrawn. 

The certificate is with instruction, 

if you go contrary to such 

instructions, if government deems 

it wise, it can withdraw it from you. 

“You see, apart from criminal 

acts by people, in civil matters you 

do not involve the police, but he 

has been using the police to handle 

issues in his community, 

victimizing people, frames people 

up. In fact, some of his subjects are 

afraid of him. The community has 

written to people that gave him the 

certificate of recognition, and the 

letter will reach the state governor. 

“If the matter is taken to court, 

the judiciary will not take it kindly 

with him because there are some 

areas that are incriminating. You 

do not expect such from a 

traditional ruler. Police cannot 

handle traditional matters except 

where there is crime like stealing, 

killing, kidnapping and all that. 

But in the case of land matters and 

opening of community roads, you 

have to take advice from the 

people, we have family heads, who 

are next to village heads. 

“Some of them are senior people 

who know the norms and ethics of 

the village. The community 

recommended him and when they 

bring their complaint to me and I 

invite him, he will not come, 

believing that the cap that we are 

wearing are the same. It is not 

good, so it is for the government to 

look into the matter immediately 

because it can cause serious 

problems in the community. 

They’re telling lies against 

me – Village head 

Reacting, the village head, 

Udobong denied the allegations 

levelled against him, noting that 

trouble started after some of them 

who were members of the village 

council were replaced by new 

Youths, agitators decry incessant 

harassment of Akpabio, NDDC 

BAYELSA 

…JERUSALEM OF 

IJAW NATION 

alarmed at the continuous 

harassment of the NDDC and 

Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs 

by so-called critical stakeholders 

on the forensic audit and the 

inauguration of a substantive 

board for the commission. 

“The lampooning and 

provocation call to question the 

patriotic bent and integrity 

indices of this so-called critical 

stakeholders. If we may ask, why 

are these stakeholders not asking 

about the trillions that had been 

frittered away with nothing to 

show; why are they not interested 

in the malfeasance that have 

been the norm rather than the 

exception in the commission? 

Like the unaccounted for 19 

trillion and the 1 billion dollar 

consultancy fee, etc. 

“Rather, their vituperation is on 

a new board, not the conclusion 

of the forensic audit instituted 

by Mr. President to reorganise the 

commission? It is obvious that the 

traducers of the commission and 

the minister are those that have 

people after their own tenure 

expired. 

He also denied locking up the 

borehole project meant for the 

community, saying: “They have 

been writing series of petitions on 

the school land, I did not do 

anything. If you come to the 

school, you can ask the teachers 

whether there is any problem 

there. I have opened up 48 new 

roads for the community. Even the 

tarred road in the community, I 

applied to the Niger-Delta 

Development Commission, 

NDDC. They are lying against me, 

all the petitions that I did this, I 

did that, when the police come for 

investigation, they will find 

nothing. 

“If they also said I use police to 

intimidate and arrest the people 

in my community, tell them to 

mention to you the police station 

where it happened because from 

there you will find out if what they 

have said is true or not. That is how 

they go about making trouble in 

the community. They are just 

jealous of me because of my 

position, which is the problem. 

Clan head never invited me 

“My clan head went and placed 

an injunction on a land without my 

knowledge. If you want to place 

injunction in any community, you 

must let the leader of that 

community know. When the clan 

head first heard about that issue, 

he was supposed to call me and 

the woman, but he never did. 

“I believe it was God who made 

you to hear my own side of the 

story. If it were the clan head that 

heard these complaints about me, 

he will not care to hear my own 

side of the story like you just did. 

And it is not true that if the clan 

head calls me that I do not go, why 

will I not honour his invitation?” 

Community acting within 

the precincts of law – 

COMPPART 

Meanwhile, a human rights 

activist, and executive director, 

COMPPART Foundation for 

Justice and Peace Building, Mr. 

Saviour Akpan, while reacting on 

the issue said: “What the 

community is doing is in order. It 

is the fundamental right of the 

citizens because they need to hold 

their leaders accountable. And 

accountability in government 

starts from the community. 

“They are saying what the 

village head is doing is not good, 

therefore, the appropriate 

authorities should investigate. He 

should be subjected to further 

investigation and if he is found 

culpable, he should be relieved of 

that position. To me, I support what 

the citizens are doing, so long as 

they have not chosen to take laws 

into their hands,” he added. 

put the commission in dire 

straits. 

“The 21st CYNDAC and other 

patriotic youths in the Niger- 

Delta would not fold our arms 

and watch these economic 

buccaneers keep us back in 

Egypt. We are using this medium 

to urge the Federal Government 

to conclude the forensic audit and 

thereafter swear in a substantive 

board of the commission. 

“The clamour for immediate 

swearing in of a board is to 

muddy up the result of the 

forensic audit which will 

render some of the so-called 

critical stakeholders 

culpable. 

“We urge the Federal 

Government to jettison such 

calls, we also call on 

government to treat all those 

issuing threats to the 

government by threatening to 

destroy vital energy 

infrastructure as criminals 

because enough is enough,” the 

group said.


By Dapo Akinrefon & 

Olasunkanmi Akoni 

L AGOS—THE 

Commissioner of 

Police, Lagos Command, Mr. 

Hakeem Odumosu, 

yesterday, claimed that the 

proscribed separatist group, 

Indigenous People of Biafra, 

IPoB; agitators for the Oodua 

Republic and commercial 

motorcyclists, also known as 

Okada riders, constitute 

security threats in Lagos State. 

He also alleged that IPoB 

intends to attack soft targets 

in Lagos. 

The allegations were 

rebuffed and described as a lie 

by IPoB leader, Mazi Nnamdi 

Kanu, nine Yoruba groups and 

the Aare Onakakanfo of 

Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams. 

These came on a day 


Olu said his administration 

has concluded plans to review 

the 2012 Lagos Traffic Law, 

guiding the operations of 

Okada riders, noting that 

there might be a total ban on 

their activities. 

It’s a plot to fuel 

division 

—Nnamdi Kanu 

Faulting Odumosu’s 

allegations, IPOB leader, 

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu said the 

report was a plot to cause 

division between the Yoruba 

and Igbo. 

Kanu said: “The public is 

hereby notified that the 

allegations that IPOB is 

plotting to attack Lagos is a 

lie. Their intention is to fuel a 

division between Yoruba and 

Biafrans. It won’t work. This 

is not 1967.” 

Police should 

avoid ethnic 

profiling —Pan 

Yoruba groups 

Also, the Pan Yoruba 

groups, in a statement, urged 

the Police to avoid ethnic 

profiling adding that the 

security report was an Igbo 

plot against Lagos and Yoruba 

people. 

The statement was signed by 

Messrs Femi Ajibola (Oodua 

Nationalist Coalition), Kunle 

Oshodi (Agbekoya), Taofik 

Adeyemi (Reformed Oodua 

People’s Congress), Diran 

Obalola (Oodua Liberation 

Movement), Femi Agbana 

(Yoruba World Congress), 

Rasaq Arogundade (OPC- 

Reformed), Eunice Okunola 

(Oodua Women Coalition), 

Goke Otunla (Network for 

Yoruba Alliance) and Ahmed 

Korede (Apapo Oodua Koya). 

The statement reads: 

“While we cherish the 

responsibility of the police to 

do their work, we are 

concerned about the public 

declaration of the alleged 

IPOB plans to attack Lagos 

by the Nigerian Police. 

“We are worried that since 

the police already claim to be 

in possession of what appears 

to be confidential 

information, the proper thing 

would have been to discreetly 

go after the IPOB members to 

arrest them unless the police 

are not sure of its information. 

“The police statement 

carries the possibility of being 

misinterpreted as an Igbo plot 

against Lagos and Yoruba 

people. This is dangerous 

given the fragile nature of 

Nigeria. 

“We are deeply concerned 

that the Police publicly 

declared allegation tempts the 

prospect of setting Yoruba in 

:Vanguard 

News 

the South West against Igbos. 

This is very unfortunate at a 

time that state institutions are 

increasingly being turned to 

instruments for pursuing 

primordial ethnic interests. 

The Yoruba will work never to 

allow this to happen 

“We are concerned that 

terrorists and armed 

herdsmen of Fulani extraction 

have openly been attacking, 

kidnapping, raping and 

killing Yoruba people in the 

South West but at no time did 

the police call a press 

conference to announce such 

plan after before or after each 

horrendous killing. There was 

also never a time the police 

linked such attacks to any 

ethnic group. 

“Only recently, Yoruba in 

Mile 2 was attacked by these 

people, the police did not 

make any attempt to speak 

about the ethnic identity of the 

perpetrators yet we know they 

are largely from a section in 

the North. 

“We are concerned that the 

police allegation risks setting 

a greater danger of ethnic 

conflict between Igbo and 

Yoruba people, conscious that 

this will benefit a certain group 

who think setting Igbo against 

Yoruba will meet the objective 

of scuttling the search for 

peaceful self-determination 

by the two great civilizations. 

“We urge the police not to 

allow themselves to be used 

by the desperate Caliphate 

whose age-long dream is to 

divide the South and set the 

people against each other for 

its own narrow gains 

“We urge Yoruba people to 

ignore the conscious attempts 

to cause ethnic conflict 

between Igbo and Yoruba at 

this time that both ethnic 

groups need each other. 

“The police should avoid 

ethnic profiling. It is 

dangerous. The Pan Yoruba 

groups assure of our collective 

desire to sustain peaceful 

coexistence between Igbo and 

Yoruba and avoid any slide 

into ethnic conflict, an ill wind 

that blows no one any good. 

To this end, we shall set up a 

Committee to work out a 

platform to sustain ethnic 

harmony in Lagos. 

“On police plan to attack 

agitators for Yoruba selfdetermination, 

we urge the 

police to have respect for 

international laws and should 

signify the basic democratic 

principle which is the right of 

a people to debate their 

political and economic 

future.” 

I don’t believe 

IPOB can attack 

Lagos 

—Gani Adams 

When contacted, Iba Adams 

said he does not believe 

anyone or a group can attack 

Lagos State. 

He said: “I don’t expect 

IPOB to attack Lagos and I 

believe they (IPOB) will never 

do that. I also do not oppose 

their call for selfdetermination. 

I will be the 

last person to oppose any 

ethnic group calling for selfdetermination 

because no 

part of the country is safe from 

the attack of marauding 

Fulani herdsmen. 

“I don’t believe IPOB will 

do that and I don’t believe any 

Igbo man will attack Lagos 

because a majority of their 

businesses are in Lagos. We, 

in Yorubaland, are also feeling 

the pains because people are 

being killed and maimed on 

our farms, our farmlands are 

being destroyed. When you 


•Gani Adams •Sanwo-Olu •Odumosu 

INSECURITY: IPoB, Oodua Republic 

agitators on close watch —Lagos CP 

• Says ‘Okada' riders, religious intolerance top security threats 

• It's a plot to fuel division —Nnamdi Kanu 

• Police should avoid ethnic profiling —Yoruba groups 

• I don't believe IPOB can attack Lagos —Gani Adams 

• As Sanwo-Olu mulls total ban on ‘Okada' operations 

push a goat to the wall, the 

goat will fight back; I will not 

support anyone planning to 

cause crises in the South-West. 

If anything happens to Lagos, 

the country is gone. I don’t 

believe in that information 

that IPOB is about to attack 

Lagos but we had to react to 

it. Not only IPOB, but no 

ethnic nationality must attack 

Lagos, if they do, that is the 

beginning of trouble in 

Nigeria.” 

IPOB, Oodua 

Republic agitators 

on close watch 

The police boss spoke while 

giving an appraisal of the 

security situation in Lagos at 

the Stakeholders’ Meeting on 

Security, held in Alausa, Ikeja, 

organized by the state 

government. 

This stakeholders’ meeting 

was aimed at putting the 

security agencies, 

communities and entire 

stakeholders at alert, towards 

making the state safer for 

residents to live and carry out 

daily activities within ambits 

of the law without any 

apprehension or fear. 

On the activities of IPOB 

and Oodua republic 

agitators, the Lagos Police 

boss said: “The threat of IPOB 

to attack soft targets in Lagos 

is equally being put on the 

radar of the command’s 

intelligence gathering and 

other security services in the 

state. Strategies are being put 

in place to neutralize their 

activities. 

“Similarly, the command 

has taken notice of agitators 

for the Oodua Republic by 

some Yoruba separatist 

groups and the threats to 

disrupt law and order in the 

state. 24 of these groups have 

been identified and being 

closely monitored. 

“The command is using this 

medium to solicit for the 

support of all and sundry to 

be vigilant at all times and 

report any suspicious person 

or movement to security 

agencies. Let us adopt the 

slogan of “when you see 

something, say something.” 

Okada riders, 

religious 

intolerance top 

security threats 

in Lagos 

He, however, identified 

various security challenges in 

the state with the menace of 

commercial motorcyclists, 

popularly called Okada 

riders, and the intolerant 

attitude of religious leaders 

top the lists of security threats 

in the state. 

He stated that 192 died in 

280 okada accidents 

recorded by the police 

between January and May 7, 

2021, across the state. 

Odumosu said: “One of the 

areas of concern to every 

citizen is the current security 

situation in the country and 

the need to continuously 

appraise the existing 

strategies in Lagos State to 

combat the threats in order 

to keep the hoodlums at bay 

will not be out of place. 

“To sustain the fight against 

crimes and criminalities in the 

state, it is gratifying to inform 

the gathering that, from 1st 

January 2021 till date, the 

command has been able to 

bring down to the barest 

minimal, as all indices of 

serious crimes, like cultism, 

armed robbery, kidnapping, 

civil unrest, violent protests 

and targeted attacks on 

Government facilities by 

aggrieved groups have 

assumed a downward trend. 

“Our intelligence report 

revealed that most miscreants 

now use abandoned buildings 

as hideouts and in most cases, 

initiation camp, use 

uncompleted buildings, 

dwelling house and hotels to 

hibernate before and after the 

commission of the crime, use 

abandoned vehicles to store 

their operational arms and 

their loots, build shanties on 

abandoned open spaces and 

convert it to their sanctuaries 

to commit crimes, use 

vehicles with covered number 

plates to perpetrate crimes, 

illegal fabrication and 

possession of arms, use of 

tinted vehicles to commit 

crimes.” 

Sanwo-Olu mulls 

total ban on 

Okada 

operations in 

Lagos 

Meanwhile, speaking at a 

Stakeholders’ Meeting on 

Security, held in Alausa, Ikeja, 

Governor Sanwo-Olu 

lamented that commercial 

motorcyclists were flouting 

the restrictions imposed on 

their activities 

His words: “Nigeria’s 

ability to reach its full 

economic potential will be 

severely constrained in the 

absence of guaranteed 

security of lives and property 

in Lagos. In recent times, we 

have recorded a worrying 

trend of nefarious activities 

in the state; from 

kidnappings, armed 

robbery, cult clashes and 

violent assaults. We have 

tried, as a state, to respond 

in real-time to the majority 

of these challenges by 

deploying a range of tactics 

from force-for-force, to 

carrot-and-stick to 

diplomacy. 

“To advance our interests 

and objectives as a state, in 

the context of security, is to 

ensure that we contain and 

arrest every form of 

aggression and crime that 

threatens the development, 

progress and growth of the 

state; and by so doing 

improve upon the welfare 

and quality of life of the 

people. 

“For us in Lagos State, 

there is a direct correlation 

between security and longlasting 

economic growth 

and development. We 

cannot speak of a 21stcentury 

megacity and the 

vision of a Greater Lagos if 

we are unable to assure and 

guarantee the security of our 

citizens and their properties. 

“The resultant effect of the 

#ENDSARS mayhem has 

contributed in no small way 

to the severely fragmented 

security architecture that we 

have today. We have risen to 

the arduous challenge of 

arresting this general state 

of insecurity with all the 

resources we have at hand. 

Over the last couple of weeks 

and months, we have 

instituted a number of 

measures designed to curb 

activities that engender 

insecurity, all with a view to 

secure our state. 

“We have noted with 

dismay the fact that okada 

riders disregard and flout 

the restrictions imposed on 

their activities in certain 

areas of the metropolis. We 

have also observed the 

ongoing war between 

commercial motorcyclists 

and law enforcement 

agencies. 

“This propensity for 

lawlessness is not who we 

are as Lagosians. The Lagos 

State Road Traffic Law, 

enacted in 2012 to safeguard 

the lives of people and to 

maintain law and order on 

our roads, is the legal 

backbone for the 

restrictions put in place 

early last year and designed 

to curb the okada menace. 

“We banned the activities 

of okada and tricycle 

operators on key roads, 

highways and local 

government areas but, sadly, 

many have continued to 

disobey the law and, in some 

cases, resist enforcement by 

engaging in organised 

attacks on law enforcement 

agencies. 

“Our mission of attaining 

a Greater Lagos can only be 

achieved when we all 

resolve to live in an orderly 

manner. Consequently, and 

based on all that we have 

seen and experienced in the 

past couple of weeks, as well 

as the increasing threats 

posed by the activities of 

commercial motorcycle 

operators to the safety and 

security of lives, we will be 

announcing further changes 

to the parameters of 

motorcycle and tricycle 

operations in the state. 

“We are also excited to 

announce that next week, we 

will be launching the ‘Last 

Mile Buses’ that will ply 

inner roads and safely get 

passengers to their final 

destinations. We envisage 

that this initiative will also 

generate employment 

opportunities for Lagosians, 

including the commercial 

motorcyclists who will be 

employed as operators of the 

Last Mile Buses.” 

On the re-launch of the 

Lagos State Residents Card, 

the governor said: “This 

database will form a critical 

part of our security 

architecture, as it will ensure 

that we know who is who, at 

any point in time.”


PRESENTATION—From left: MD/CEO, Wema Bank Plc., Ademola 

Adebise; Hackaholics 2.0 Bootcamp Fintech category winner, Oladayo 

Awotokunbo of Plumter, and DMD, Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, during 

the prize presentation ceremony of Wema Bank’s Hackaholics 2.0 

Bootcamp, at the Wema Bank Towers, Lagos. 

DONATION—Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, University of 

Lagos Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Prof. Lanre Adeyemo (middle), 

receiving donated medical equipment from Pastor-in-Charge, Lagos 

Province 44, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Amos 

Emovon. With them are other officials of LUTH in Idiaraba, Lagos. 

CONVERSATION—From left: Abdullahi Idris, AGM, Principal 

Facilities Management Company, Garki Market; Hajia Safiya Jijji; 

Assistant Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Nigerian 

Communications Commission, NCC; Anukam Chibuzor, Chairman, 

Garki International Market; Efosa Idehen, Director, Consumer 

Affairs Bureau, NCC; Mrs. Nnena Ukoha, Assistant Director, Project 

Department, NCC; Hajia Hafsat Lawal, Deputy Director, Consumer 

Affairs Bureau, NCC, during the Telecom Consumer Conversation, 

in Abuja. 

WEDDING—The new couple, Mr & Mrs Hillary Nwaodua (middle); 

parents of the groom, Brother and Lady Paul Nwaodua; parents of 

the bride, Chief Martins Ukawuba and wife, and others, during the 

wedding of their son and daughter, at St. Anthony Mary Claret 

Catholic Church, World Bank road, officiated by Rev Fr Matthew 

Iwuagwu., in Owerri, Imo State,

28—Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 

Naira depreciates to 

N410.67/$ in I&E window 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

The naira yesterday depreciated to N410.67 kobo 

per dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) 

window. 

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative 

exchange rate for the window rose to N410.67 per 

dollar from N410.33 per dollar last week Friday, 

translating to 34 kobo depreciation of the naira. 

The volume of dollars traded (turnover) in the 

window fell by 78 percent to $32.61 million from 

$146.52 million last week Friday. 

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 

Uproar, as IGP team arrests 

news agents, vendors in Imo 

•Vendors begin strike today •Govt threatening democracy 

by chaining media — IPC •We didn’t order arrest —IMO 

GOVT •Editors decry harassment 

By Chinonso Alozie 

OWERRI — Uproar 

yesterday trailed 

arrest of news agents and 

vendors by operatives of 

the Intelligence Response 

Team of the Inspector 

General of Police, which 

arrested no fewer than 

seven newspaper vendors 

and distribution agents in 

Imo State. 

The police operatives 

swooped on them, 

yesterday, at their 5, Rotibi 

Street, Douglas Road, 

Owerri, base as the 

circulation of the day’s 

newspapers was ongoing. 

Other vendors and 

distribution agents who ran 

away, told journalists that 

the gun-wielding police 

operatives accused them of 

circulating newspapers, 

magazines and 

publications that had 

stories on the proscribed 

Indigenous People of 

Biafra, IPOB. 

Although, four of the 

vendors were said to have 

been released at press time, 

vendors in the state have 

vowed to begin stake, today, 

over increasing harassment 

of their members. 

No hands in this 

— Imo govt 

This came as the state 

government washed its 

hands over the matter. Imo 

State Commissioner for 

Information, Mr. Declan 

Emelumba, in a text 

message said: ‘’The Imo 

State Government did not 

order arrest of vendors. The 

exercise was purely a 

security operation by 

security operatives 

obviously for informed 

security reasons. However, 

the arrested vendors have 

been released.’’ 

One of the vendors, who 

escaped arrest said: “As we 

were circulating our 

newspapers for the 

Monday edition, 

policemen putting on 

jackets that had IRT 

inscription swooped on us 

and started arresting us. 

The ones they took away 

were the ones that had 

newspapers that had IPOB 

stories and the ones they 

said were against the 

government.” 

Some of the vendors and 

distribution agents arrested 

by the IGP’s team are 

Nnamso Okoro, Nelson 

Enyiama, Blessing Isinwa, 

Onyebuchi Iwundu, and 

Michael. 

Imo State Circulation 

Manager of the New 

Telegraph Newspaper, 

Chuks Ugwuibe, is still 

being held in an 

undisclosed security facility 

after he was arrested in 

Orlu, last Tuesday by 

security operatives while 

taking his weekly returns 

from vendors. 

The arrest of the 

newspaper vendors and 

distribution agents elicited 

reactions as residents of the 

state asked the government 

to stop press clamp down. 

The arrest affected 

circulation of newspapers 

in the state, yesterday, as 

the other vendors and 

distribution agents fled 

over the fear of being 

arrested. 

‘Stop gagging the 

press’ 

At the Government 

House Roundabout, 

Owerri, where people 

usually gather to read 

newspapers, some people 

fumed, and called on the 

government to stop 

gagging the press. 

“Do they think that 

arresting vendors and 

distribution agents and 

journalists will stop us from 

knowing the truth. They 

don’t know journalists, the 

more you arrest them, the 

more they write. 

‘’Journalists are very 

strong people. Journalists 

are stubborn. They are very 

courageous. Journalists are 

trained to expose the evils 

in society. Journalists are 

always on the side of the 

people,” one of them said 

Another aggrieved 

resident said: “This 

administration is very 

clueless. Just look at the 

insecurity bedeviling our 

country; the only strength 

they have is to arrest 

newspaper vendors and 

distribution agents who are 

doing their lawful 

businesses. Why is it that 

this administration hates 

press freedom? Why is it 

that this administration 

does not like the truth? 

“Insurgents have taken 

over LGAs in Bauchi, 

Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger, 

and Nasarawa states and 

they are about entering 

Abuja and the only 

response this government 

has is to arrest vendors and 

distribution agents. 

‘’Very soon, they will start 

arresting journalists, but 

that will not solve the 

problem. Government 

should be proactive not this 

petty approach.” 

Contacted, the 

Commissioner of Police in 

the state, Abutu Yaro, said 

the operatives were not from 

his command. 

Contacted also, the Force 

spokesperson, Frank Mba. 

promised to get back to him 

but was yet to do so as of 

press time. 

Imo vendors 

begin strike today 

Meanwhile, four of the 

arrested vendors have 

regained their freedom. 

In another development, 

the Nigeria Newspapers 

Distribution Association, 

Imo State chapter has 

declared its readiness to 

partner with the security 

operatives on how to curb 

insecurity in the state. 

The Chairman, 

Ikechukwu Tasie, made this 

statement in Owerri, while 

condemning the arrest of 

his members. 

He said: “The harassment 

of our members started last 

two weeks, I have made 

efforts to reach out to the 

Continues from Page 5 

“Enforced temperature 

checks and ‘no-mask, no 

entry’ policy in all public 

settings; work-place 

buildings, businesses 

and places of worship, 

etc. Access to 

government and 

commercial premises 

should be denied to 

persons without face 

masks. 

Curfew runs 

from 12 

midnight till 

4am 

"The nationwide curfew 

will be imposed tonight 

at midnight and it will 

run through till 4am. No 

formal restrictions on 

movement within the 

country even as citizens 

government to know what 

we, vendors, can do in 

partnership with the 

government about the 

insecurity situation in the 

state. 

“If the government is 

saying don’t sell this 

particular paper because of 

insecurity let us know, let 

us interface on how to solve 

this whole issue. However, 

we condemn what 

happened on the arrest of 

our members. Do you know 

that even the governmentowned 

newspapers, 

Statesman newspapers 

were confiscated? 

“As a result of this, we will 

be going on strike from 

tomorrow, Tuesday. We 

expected the security 

agencies to write to us if 

there is any paper they 

don’t want us to sell. We 

have a union and there is a 

leadership. When things 

like this happen you write 

to us so that we meet and 

interface to know the 

solution,”Tasie said. 

New dimension 

to assault on 

press freedom 

– IPC 

are encouraged to 

refrain from nonessential 

movements and 

comply with all nonpharmaceutical 

interventions and 

guidelines. 

"People who are above 

60 and or with comorbidities 

are 

encouraged to stay at 

home. Only essential 

international travels are 

encouraged," 

Mohammed added. 

He said while hotels 

were to remain open, 

they should adhere to all 

non-pharmaceutical 

interventions, while 

schools are to deploy the 

use of antigen-based 

rapid tests as 

recommended in the 

guidelines by the 

Nigeria Centre for 

Disease Control, NCDC. 

Mohammed added that 

Condemning the arrests, 

Director of the International 

Press Centre, IPC, Mr 

Lanre Arogundade, said: 

‘’Arresting vendors for the 

content of newspapers they 

sell is a new dimension to 

the assault on freedom of 

expression in Nigeria. It 

also marks the targeting of 

peoples means of 

livelihood in the name of 

fighting the proscribed 

IPOB both of which are not 

acceptable. 

Following the N5million 

fine imposed on Channels 

television for interviewing 

a spokesperson of IPOB, 

the government through 

the security agencies are 

sending the warning that 

the Nigerian media must 

not report the activities of 

IPOB. But this is 

impossible with the 

organisation still carrying 

out series of activities which 

the government and the 

army actually 

acknowledge. Before the 

Channels interview for 

example, the Army said it 

raided an IPOB operational 

headquarters in Imo State 

and killed the commander. 

‘’Democracy is 

threatened when the media 

is chained and unable to 

all indoor recreational 

facilities and gyms are to 

close until June 11, 2021, 

when the situation would 

be reviewed. 

"However, non-contact 

outdoor sports such as 

gulf, Polo, tennis, etc are 

not affected”. 

The PSC said it has 

received reports of some 

returning foreign 

passengers who violated 

the mandatory 

quarantine requirement 

under the advisory by 

escaping from the 

facilities. 

"We deprecate such 

violation of the laws of 

our land and our 

hospitality. The PSC is 

awaiting the report of 

on-going investigations 

and we wish to assure 

Nigerians that 

appropriate sanctions 

would be imposed on the 

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08052867058 

L-R: Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Nigerian Navy, Rear 

Admiral Jason Gbassa; General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Nigerian 

Army, Lagos, Major General Lawrence Fejokwu; representative of the Speaker, 

Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. David Setonji; Governor Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu; Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Justice Kazeem Alogba; Air Officer Commanding 

Logistics Command, Ikeja, Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Sunday Makinde 

and Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone 2 Command, AIG Ahmed Illiyasu, 

during the Security Stakeholders Town Hall meeting at the Adeyemi Bero 

Auditorium, the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, yesterday. 

report issues of public 

interest.’’ 

NGE decries 

harassment of 

vendors 

Piqued by the 

development, the Nigerian 

Guild of Editors, NGE, 

condemned the reported 

harassment of vendors in 

Imo State, and demanded 

immediate release of those 

arrested. 

In a statement by its 

President, Mr Mustapha 

Isa, the Guild said it ‘’fully 

supports efforts in checking 

the attacks on security 

agents but opposes any 

attempts to harass vendors 

who form an integral part 

of the newspaper industry’’ 

It added: ‘’Those arrested 

were said to have been 

selling pro- Biafra 

newsletters. The body of 

editors demands their 

immediate release. 

‘’The Guild fully supports 

security agencies in their 

efforts to deal with the 

individuals behind the 

mindless attacks on police 

stations and Killing of 

officers. However, vendors 

shouldn’t be harassed in 

the process.’’ 

COVID-19: FG re-imposes nationwide curfew 

violators," said 

Mustapha. 

He said closely 

associated with the 

control measures is the 

issue of vaccine access 

and administration. 

According to him, 

given the challenge of 

vaccine nationalism 

compounded by the 

production situation in 

India, the PSC is 

exploring other options 

to get Nigerians 

vaccinated. 

“As of date, 1,690,719 

persons have received 

their first dose of the 

vaccine in Nigeria 

representing 84% of the 

targeted persons for this 

phase. We appeal to 

States, especially those 

high burden areas, to 

push ahead with the 

v a c c i n a t i o n 

programme.’’

NIESV Lagos Branch Commissions Real Estate Library 

The Lagos State 

Branch of the Nigerian 

Institution of Estate 

Surveyors and Valuers 

NIESV, has commissioned 

its Library, which 

is situated at the 

Branch’s Secretariat in 

Alausa CBD, Ikeja Lagos. 

While commissioning 

the Library, former 

NIESV BOT Chairman 

and new Chairman of 

Estate Surveyors and 

Valuers Registration 

Board of Nigeria 

ESVARBON, Gersh 

Henshaw, said the Lagos 

State Branch achieved 

another great feat in its 

history of many firsts. 

He described the Library 

as a beautiful and 

conducive place for research 

and knowledge 

acquisition. 

According to him, "I am 

very happy to be part of 

this event today. This library 

will now become a 

resource centre for estate 

surveyors and valuers in 

Lagos. This is very laudable. 

I commend the 

Branch Chairman and 

the Exco who made this 

project a reality. 

The Chairman of the 

Branch, Mr. Adedotun 

Bamigbola, a fellow of 

the institution, said the 

library would operate as 

both physical and virtual 

knowledge space for real 

estate practitioners who 

are members of the 

Branch. 

He said, "The NIESV 

Lagos State Branch Library 

is a project of high 

importance which has 

run through several Executive 

Committees of 

the Branch in the last 

eight years and so, we 

are happy that we are 

now able to make it come 

on stream just before the 

end of the current Executive 

Committee of the 

Branch. 

"The Library is built in 

partnership with 

Echostone Nigeria Limited, 

a housing development 

firm which is also 

trying to do something 

critical for real estate 

knowledge development. 

We are happy that 

this is a partnership that 


has worked and we are 

grateful to the company 

for partnering with us on 

the library project. 

"The Library will function 

as both physical and 

online library as we have 

computers activated with 

internet at the library and 

the library is open Monday 

to Friday between 

9am and 4pm just before 

the Secretary closes at 

5pm." 

While noting that the 

library is now stocked 

with very relevant and 

contemporary books in 

Estate Management, 

Bamigbola said more 

books are still welcome 

at the library to fill up 

its many shelf cells. 

He urged students of 

Estate Management 

who are members of 

the Branch to make 

good use of the Library. 

"We want to implore 

members of the 

Branch and other 

stakeholders in the 

real estate sector to donate 

books to the library," 

he said. 

By Kingsley Adegboye 

Bridges in Lagos, 

particularly Apapa 

axis, are at a risk of collapse 

because of the weight of 

parked heavy-duty trucks on 

them. 

These bridges are under 

great stress from immobile 

articulated vehicles, a 

situation worsened by 

recurring gridlocks and the 

deplorable state of roads 

leading to ports and tank 

farms. 

An empty 20-feet 

container weighs 2,000 

kilogrammes. A 40-feet 

container doubles the 

kilogrammes. With an 

average truck weighing 

about 14,000 kilogrammes, 

the total weight of 25 

stationary trucks on a bridge 

for instance, could be around 

450,000 kilogrammes. This is 

besides the weight of other 

vehicles. The implication is 

that the bridges in Apapa 

could be carrying several 

million kilogrammes of 

weight daily. 

Commenting on the 

situation, a structural 

engineer and former 

president, Nigerian 

Institution of Structural 

Engineers NIStructE, Victor 

Oyenuga, said “It is not right 

for trucks and tankers to park 

on bridges because the 

bridges were not designed 

as parks for them. When 

ollowing its promise to 

F complete all inherited 

projects, and to also embark on 

new ones that will be the 

bedrock of the state's 

developmental agenda 

tagged T.H/E.M.E.S., 

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu/ 

Obafemi 

Hamzat 

administration says it has 

completed the construction of 

51 road projects with 43 

ongoing across the state since 

its inception. 

Disclosing this at the 2021 

Ministerial Press Briefing to 

present the score card of 

Governor Sanwo-Olu 

administration's 731 days in 

office, Special Adviser to the 

governor on Works and 

Infrastructure, Engr. (Mrs.) 

Aramide Adeyoye, said the 

number of roads delivered and 

ongoing, is in addition to over 

23 public building 

infrastructure that the Office of 

Works is providing for the good 

people of Lagos state. 

The Special Adviser added 

that “For the records, it is 

pertinent to state that the 

roads selected for design, 

award, construction and 

execution are on the basis of 

improved connectivity, in sync 

Apapa bridges at risk of collapse over weight 

of parked heavy-duty trucks — Experts 

•One of the bridges in Apapa axis 

these vehicles are stationary 

on the bridges for a long time, 

they have negative impacts. 

with inter-modal transport 

system and urban 

regeneration plans of this 

administration. In this regard, 

I am happy to announce that 

the infrastructure roadmap for 

Lagos would be presented to 

the public before the end of this 

year”. 

She said in the last two years, 

the administration has 

continued with its aggressive 

campaign on delivery of roads 

and bridges, massive repair 

and rehabilitation of existing 

roads and construction of new 

road projects. 

According to Adeyoye, “The 

state government through the 

Ministry of Works and 

Infrastructure has continued to 

deliberately invest in 

infrastructure as the 

development driver of the state 

economy and the Greater 

Lagos Vision, provide jobs for 

hundreds of our people as well 

as bring immediate impactful 

succour to commuters in the 

state. 

“Aside the continual 

intervention on repairs and 

maintenance of over 632 inner 

roads covering approximately 

192 km across the state by our 

Agency, the Public Works 

These include deterioration, 

bridge-fatigue, damage or 

even collapse. 

Corporation, the Ministry of 

Works and Infrastructure has 

also completed the 

construction of 51 road projects 

with 43 ongoing road projects 

across the three senatorial 

districts of the state. This is in 

addition to over 24 public 

building infrastructure that we 

are providing for the good 

people of Lagos state”. 

On continual intervention on 

maintenance/rehabilitation of 

inner roads, she said “The 

status of roads at inception of 

this administration was that 

most of our roads were in a 

deplorable condition due to 

high rate of usage and heavy 

rains. The metropolis was 

littered with potholes, nonfunctional 

drains and extensive 

level of dilapidation with the 

resultant effect of gridlocks, 

increase in travel time and 

unavoidable stress to the 

citizenry and commuting 

public. 

“Thus far, the Ministry of 

Works and Infrastructure and 

its Agency, Public Works 

Corporation have succeeded 

in the re-instatement of most 

of the roads that needed 

immediate intervention and 

have also aggressively 

“There is also the risk of fire 

outbreak. If any of the 

articulated vehicles catches 

addressed the bad state of road 

infrastructure. The Lagos State 

Public Works Corporation since 

inception of this administration 

to date, has intervened on a 

total of 632 roads, covering 

approximately 192 km 

assuming an average 

carriageway width of 7.3 

metres”. 

The Special Adviser noted 

that the completed roads 

include 31 strategic network of 

roads in Ojokoro Local Council 

Development Area LCDA, 

construction of Aradagun- 

Imeke-Iworo-Ajido-Epeme 

Road Phase 2, reconstruction 

of Jide Oki/Ade Odederin/ 

Moshood Olugbana Streets in 

Eti Osa, Lagos-Ogun 

boundary road phase 2 in 

Agbado-Oke Odo LCDA, dual 

carriageway flyover at Pen 

Cinema in Agege LGA, 

Hospital Road in Badagry 

LGA, Ariyo (Mile 10)-Ira- 

Muwo-Tedi-Abule Oshun 

Road alignment with 

reinforced concrete bridges and 

completion of Agboju-Trade 

Fair section of the Lagos- 

Badagry Expressway. 

Others are rehabilitation/ 

upgrading of Alhaji Akinwumi 

Street in Mushin, 

fire, there would be a chain 

reaction, which can cause 

severe damage to the bridge. 

Lagos completes 51 road projects in 2 years, 43 ongoing 

rehabilitation and upgrading 

of Fadipe/Odubanjo/ 

Eyiowuawi/Salami Streets in 

Somolu LGA, rehabilitation 

and upgrading of the six 

kilometre phase 1 of 11 

kilometre-long Ijede Road, 

construction of Agric-Isawo 

Road in Ikorodu, rehabilitation 

and upgrading of Igbogbo- 

Bola Ahmed Tinubu-Igbe 

Road, Agric Access Road 

(Bamidele Kasali Street/Dosu 

Ekunrin Road) Egan Road 

section Phase 2B, construction 

of Samuel Ekundayo/Toga 

Road in Badagry LGA, 

rehabilitation of Oba 

Sekumade Road in Ikorodu 

LGA, construction of Ishefun- 

Camp Davies-Ijon Road 

network in Alimosho LGA, 

construction of access road with 

bridges to Oregun Amusement 

Recreation Park, construction 

of Egan-Ayobo link bridge in 

Igando-Ikotun LCDA, 

rehabilitation/upgrading of 

strategic arterial roads Phase 2 

in Epe LGA. 

They also include 

rehabilitationof Ikorodu Road 

from Ojota interchange to 2nd 

pedestrian bridge, 

rehabilitation of Adeola 

Hopewell Street in Iru-Victoria 

Island LCDA and several 

others. 

We are sitting on a keg of 

gunpowder because the 

bridges are weakening by the 

day, as tankers, trucks and 

articulated vehicles park on 

them due to traffic 

congestion. 

“The load on these bridges, 

not originally designed to 

host heavy static vehicles, 

and a lack of consistent and 

thorough maintenance could 

spell tragedy”. 

The past president of 

NIStructE who noted that 

bridges are designed for 

movement of goods and 

services said, “So, as 

structural engineers, we 

condemn this indiscriminate 

parking of trucks and tankers 

on bridges. It is not advisable, 

and we urge the government 

to address the issue. 

“Something should be done 

to stop it very fast because of 

the negative effect on the 

infrastructure and possible 

disaster in the event of a 

collapse”. 

Also commenting on the 

situation, past president of 

NIStructE, Dr. Samuel 

Ilugbekhai, said the state of 

the bridges is one of gross 

structural abuse, stressing 

that they were not designed 

to bear enormous weight 

from static trailers and 

tankers, and warned that 

their life spans could be 

shortened. 

Urging government to put 

more effort into solving the 

problem, he noted the 

difference between buildings 

that house car parks and 

bridges. While multi-storey 

parks are designed for the 

specific purpose, bridges are 

intended to carry transitional 

loads within seconds. “They 

are not designed to retain 

loads for one hour, two hours, 

days or weeks,” Ilugbekhai 

said. 

Effort to reach Federal 

Controller of Works in Lagos 

state, Engr. Olukayode 

Popoola, for his comment was 

not fruitful as according to 

him, he was in a meeting 

with his boss, and will get 

back. 

Our investigation has 

revealed that previous 

attempts by the Federal 

Government and Lagos State 

authorities to curtail the 

problem have proved 

abortive. The office of the 

Federal Controller of Works, 

Lagos, has on several 

occasions given ultimatums 

to truck drivers or even 

deployed force, to no avail.

C 

M 

Y 



:Vanguard 

News 

Electricity: Nigeria can only 

boast of 5% capacity 

nationwide — Transcorp 

By Prince Okafor 

L A G O S — 

DESPITEenormous 

interventions by Federal 

Government and stakeholders, 

Nigeria power 

sector still suffers a shortfall 

of 95 per cent. 

This is coming even as 

the Chairman of 

Transcorp, Tony Elumelu, 

called on the Federal 

Government to as a matter 

of urgency, fix the 

nation's power transmission 

lines, stressing on the 

need to put up policy to 

enhance adequate 

payment system. 

Elumelu also noted that 

gas availability remains a 

major constraint in the sector, 

adding that there is 

the issue of transmission 

and evacuation of the generated 

electricity. 

According to him: "This 

country needs at least 

100,000 MW of electricity 

to power the economy but 

today we operate less than 

5,000. 

"We need to do more. 

Some other critical parts 

are payments, distribution 

and metering. 

"I must commend the 

CBN Governor, Godwin 

Emefiele. He has done 

very well because he came 

in to help increase revenue 

in that space. Up 

until the end of last year, 

we used to get less than 

20 per cent payment for 

power supplied, but today, 

it has improved to 50 per 

cent. "Transcorp Power 

alone is owed over N100 

billion, but it's gradually 

improving. For the power 

sector in Nigeria to work 

well - if we want to drive 

this economy - we need to 

increase generation, make 

sure we address gas supply 

to generating companies, 

we need to make sure 

the transmission lines are 

capacitised to evacuate the 

power, we need to also 

make sure that power generated 

is taken by DisCos 

and the metering should 

be right for the end users 

to pay." 

Giving a breakdown of 

the challenges, he 

stated:"In the power sector, 

there are three parts to it: 

the generation, the 

transmission and the distribution. 

Transcorp, 

through Transcorp Power 

and Trans-Afam Power as 

at today in Nigeria owns 

the highest generating capacity 

in the country. 

"We have a generating capacity 

of about 2,000 Megawatts, 

MW of electricity a 

day but unfortunately, we do 

less than 500 MW at this 

point in time. 

"For us to be able to generate 

more, we need to have 

gas, and this is why our 

Group invested in oil and 

gas. Investing in oil and gas 

as a Group isn't necessarily 

because of oil, it is more because 

of gas. We want to be 

able to ensure that we have 

gas from our oil and gas production 

to convert it to electricity. 

"With the acquisition we 

did recently, I'm happy to say 

it is already supplying gas to 

our Trans-Afam power plant; 

but we also need to make 

sure we stabilise our transmission 

lines. 

"If I generate electricity, I 

should be able to get money 

so that I can service my obligations 

as well as make sure 

that all the parts in particular 

are serviced to ensure the 

generating plants keep running. 

It is a critical sector, we 

need to invest in it, and the 

stakeholders need to make 

sure that it works. If it works, 

the country's economic development 

becomes more 

real, if it doesn't work, it's 

going to be a problem." 

OBIDIGWE 

I, formerly known and addressed as 

BLESSING O INNOCENT- 

OBIDIGWE Now wish to be known 

and addressed as BLESSING 

INNOCENT-OBIDIGWE. All 

former documents remain valid 

General public and authority 

concerned please take note 

AZEGE 


AZEGE HEMBAFAN EUPHEMIA 

now wish to be known and 

addressed AERNYAM 

HEMBAFAN EUPHEMIA. All 

former documents remain valid. 

General public please take note 

VINCENT 


PETER VINCENT, now wish to be 

known and addressed PETER 

VINCENT KWAKWA. All former 

documents remain valid. General 

public please take note. 

SHAIKI 

I, formerly known as SHAIKI 

MICAH TUTUWA, now to be 

known as Andesati ANDESATI 

YOHANNA IRAKRU. All 

former documents remain 

valid. General public take note. 

DAVID 


Divine-Favour Chinoyeremo David, 


addressed as Omeje Divine-Favour. 

My date of birth is 05/11/2005. 

Access Bank and general public take 

note. All former documents remain 

valid. General public take note. 

OKORIE 

I, Formerly known and called 

GRACE UZOAMAKA OKORIE 


addressed as GRACE OZOAMAKA 

SANTALI.All former documents 

remain valid. Relevant authority and 

the general public take note. 

UMAR 


UMAR YAHAYA AMINAT, now 

wish to be known and addressed as 

UMAR IBRAHIM AMINA. All 




UDOFIA 

I, formerly known as Udofia 

Helen Ofone Ekong, now wish 

to be known and addressed as 

Udofia Helen Ofongekong. All 


valid. The general public should 

take note. 

PETER 

I, formerly known as 

SANDER PETER, now wish 


PETER SANDRA. All former 

documents remain valid. 

General public please take 

note. 

HAMIDU FESTUS 

I, formerly known as Musa 

Hamidu, now wish to be known 

and addressed as Musa 

Abdulhamid. All former 



note. 

OKOLIE 

I, formerly known as Miss 

Okolie Jane Dumebi, now wish 


Mrs Ikape Jane Dumebi. All 


valid. General public please 

take note. 

BALA 

I, formerly known and 

addressed as BALA ALIYU 


addressed as ALIYU SHEHU 

BALA. All former documents 

remain valid. Concerned 

authorities and the general 

public to please take note 

AGBISI 


AGBISI IFEOMA ANNASTESIA 


addressed OTTI IFEOMA 

ANNASTESIA. All former 



OHADIRO 


PRISCILLA CHINYERE 

OHADIRO, now wish to be known 

and addressed as PRISCILLA 

CHINYERE ONWUKA. All former 


public to take note. 

EJIRO 

I, formerly known as Ejiro Gift 

Now wish to be known, Called 

and addressed as Omonikobe 

Oghenekome Gift. Former 


Public note 

ATAMA 


Atama Rosemary, now wish to be 

known and addressed as Atema 

Rosemary. All former documents 

remain valid. First Bank and general 

public take note. 

GBEKEI 


MISS HARMONY PEACE 

GBEKEI, now wish to be known 

and addressed as MRS. HARMONY 

PEACE ADA OTTO. All former 


public to take note. 

NWAIKWU 

I, formerly known as Miss 

CHINONYE MIRIAN NWAIKWU, 

now wishes to be known and 

addressed as Mrs. CHINONYE 

MIRIAN IKENNA. All former 


public please take note 

ANIEKAN 

I, formerly known as ANIEKAN 

GODWIN ETUK, now wish to be 

known and addressed as INIOBONG 

GODWIN ETUK. All former 

documents remain valid. The general 

public should take note. 

CHANGE OF NAME 

ISA 

I, formerly known as Isa 

Oseyi, now wish to be known 

and addressed as Osabo Isa 

Oseyi. All former documents 

remain valid. General public 

please take note. 

MURTALA 


MURTALA 

ISMAIL 

MUHAMMAD, now wish to be 

known and addressed as UMAR 

AMINU SANI. All former documents 

remain valid. Concerned authorities 

and the general public to please take 

note 

ACHUONU 


CHIOMA MARIACORNELLY 

ACHUONU, now wish to be known 

and addressed as CHIOMA 

MARIACORNELLY IBE. All former 

documents remain valid General 

public and authority concerned 

please take note 

AMINU 


AMINU HUSSAINI BELLOH, now 


AMINU HUSSEINI. All former 

documents remain valid. Concerned 

authorities and the general public 

to please take note. 

ACHIODE 


ACHIODE, 

ALLOYSIUS 

CHUKWUEBUKA, OLD DATE OF 

BIRTH 21/06/1996, now wish to be known 

and addressed ACHIODE, ALLOYSIOUS 

CHUKWUEBUKA, NEW DATE OF 

BIRTH 21/06/2000. All former documents 

remain valid. General public please take 

note. 

ADIGUN 


MISS OLUWATOSIN BILIKISU 

ADIGUN, now wish to be known 

and addressed as MRS 

OLUWATOSIN BILIKISU 

BABATUNDE. All former 



IWENNA 


addressed as Iwenna Ifeoma 

Esther, now wish to be known 

and addressed as Onyeoma 

Ifeoma Esther. All former 


General public to take note. 

OGBONNA 

I, formerly known, called and 

addressed as OGBONNA CHINWE 

FRANCISCA, now wish to be 

known and addressed as FRANK 

CHINWE FRANCISCA. All former 

documents remain valid. Banks and 

general public should take note. 

NYAKNO OT 


Miss NYAKNO DICKSON 

UDOEKONG, now wish to be 

known and addressed as Mrs 

NYAKNO PRINCE SUNDAY. All 




ACHONWU 


addressed as ACHONWU 

ABIGAIL, now wish to be known 

and addressed as KALU ABIGAIL 

KIZITO. All former documents 

remain valid. Banks and general 


UNWANA 

I, formerly known as JEREMIAH, 

JEREMIAH UNWANA, now wish 


JEREMIAH, UNWANA UBONG. 

All former documents remain valid. 

The general public should take note. 

SALIHU 

I, formerly known as SALIHU 

BABA BATURE, now wish to 

be known and addressed as 

SALIHU BATURE. All former 



note. 

SIMON 

I, formerly known as Makoshi 

Mercy Simon, now wish to be 

known and addressed as Mercy 

Yakubu. All former documents 


please take note. 

OLASILE 

I, formerly known and addressed 

as Olasile Banke Deborah now 

wish to be known and addressed 

as Fasoyin Banke Deborah. All 


General public please take note. 

OCHOCHE 


Ochoche Ojochenemi, Now wish to 

be known and addressed as Joseph 

Mary .All former documents remain 

valid. National identity management 

system, Zenith Bank authority and 

general public to take note 

ARIT 

This is to notify the general public 

and all banks that former Miss ARIT 

EDEM OKON is now known and 

should be addressed as Miss 

BLESSING EDEM OKON. All 



CHUKWU 

I, formerly known as Chukwu 

Chidinma Helen now to be 

known as Ifeanyi Chidinma 

Helen. All former documents 


take note. 

KABIR 


addressed as Kabir Rilwan, now 

wish to be known and addressed 

as Kabir Uba Suleiman. All 


valid. General public to take 

note. 

OBIJIAKU 


IKECHUKWU AUGUSTINE 

OBIJIAKU, now wish to be known 

and addressed as IKECHUKWU 

AUGUSTINE EZEAMAMAH. All 



MFON 


MFON FAVOUR OTU Now wish to 

be known and addressed as 

EFFIONG LOOKGOD OTU. All 




SILAS 


addressed as SILAS BROWN 

ABZUG, now wish to be known and 

addressed as CHIMEZIE 

CHRISTIAN OKECHUKWU. All 

former documents remain valid. Banks 

and general public should take note. 

YUSUF 

I, formerly known as YUSUF 

MUHAMMAD, now wish to be 

known and addressed as 

MUHAMMAD M. ADAM. All former 

documents remain valid. The general 


SULEIMAN 

I, formerly known as Moshood 

Akorede Suleiman, now wish 


Moshood Aliyu Suleiman. All 


valid. General public please 

take note. 

ATTAH 

I, formerly known as ATTAH 

ELIZABETH .O., now wish to be 

known and addressed as YAHAYA 

ELIZABETH OJOMOLA. My date 

of birth is 23 September 1997. All 



KALU 


Gbaghalugh Ogbonnaya Kalu Now 


Kalu Ogbonnaya Kalu. All former 

documents remain valid General 

public and authority concerned 

please take note 

ODOH 


addressed as Linda Owoya 

Odoh, Now wish to be known 

and addressed as Igba Linda 

Owoya. All former documents 

remain valid. UBA Authority 

and general public to take note 

BELLO 


BELLO JIBRIN ALI, now wish to be 

known and addressed BELLO ALI. 



OZIGI 

I opened bank account with name as 

AHMED OZIGI. Now wish to be 

known and called as AHMED 

KAREEM OZIGI. My date of birth is 

10/7/1964 not 7/10/1964. Former 

documents remain valid. Access bank 

PLC and general public to take note. 

OSUJI 


Miss Osuji Amarachi Genevieve 


addressed as Mrs. Ijeoma Amarachi 

Genevieve. All former documents 

remain valid. General public take 

note. 

VITALIS 

I, Formerly known and called 

VITALIS HUSSAINI MICHAEL 


addressed as MICHAE.L 

HUSSAINI. All former documents 

remain valid. DOB 2ND FEB 1999. 

Relevant authority and the general 

public take note. 

IDEBA 


IDEBA SOLUDO and ALI JAMES 

IDEBA, now wish to be known and 

addressed as IDEBA GOSPEL ALI. 



BASSEY 


BASSEY, DEBORAH SAMUEL, 


addressed as GEORGE, BLESSING 

EFFIONG. All former documents 

remain valid. General public to take 

note. 

JOHN 

I, formerly known as JOHN 

NWACHINEMERE And UZO 

JOHN NWACHINEMERE, now 


JOHN NWACHINEMERE UZO. 


The general public should take note.

Pirlo’s a dead man 

walking! 

•Missing out on Champions League 

will cost Juve £78m 

•Ronaldo has no interest in Europa 

League football next year! 

The Andrea Pirlo experiment 

is close to being shut down 

after the rookie coach suffered 

another damaging defeat in 

Juventus’ pursuit of Champions 

League football. 

Pirlo, a playing legend in Italy, 

showed his tactical naivety in a 

3-0 defeat to AC Milan which 

leaves top four qualification out 

of Juventus’ hands with three 

games remaining. 

Having won the previous nine 

Serie A titles prior to this season, 

missing out on the top four - and 

the Champions League - would 

be as reputationally damaging 

as it is financially. 

Not since 2011-12, Antonio 

Conte’s first year in charge, has 

Juventus been without 

Champions League football but 

with a tricky run-in of Sassuolo, 

Inter Milan and Bologna, it is a 

distinct possibility. 

Pirlo and his players have been 

heavily criticised and labelled 

an ‘embarrassment’ given the 

wealth of success that came 

before them. 

There have been times 

this season where Pirlo 

has given the impression 

of a man with seven lives. 

Plenty felt he should 

have been axed after 

Champions League 

elimination to Porto but as Andrea 

Agnelli stood by him it was hoped 

that faith would be rewarded. 

Unfortunately not. 

Pirlo has reportedly already 

sealed his destiny and he will not 

be in charge of Juventus com 

the end of the season. 

According to Tuttosport, 

Juventus has already made a 

decision on the future of the 

head coach but it is not yet 

clear if he will be axed 

immediately or at the conclusion 

of the campaign. 

Ronaldo is said to feel blameless 

in Juventus’ domestic collapse 

given his 27 league goals look set 

to secure him the top scorer in Italy 

award this season. 

The 36-year-old does not want to 

give up the Champions League 

after so many years at the top level 

•Pirlo 

Ndidi ready for tough battle against Man Utd 

Leicester City midfielder, 

Wilfred Ndidi is looking 

forward to today’s Premier 

League clash against 

Manchester United at Old 

Trafford, admitting that the 

game will be difficult. 

“It’s a tough game. Obviously, 

the last time we met, we knocked 

them out of the FA Cup, but it’s 

going to be a difficult game,” 

Ndidi told LCFC TV. 

“We look forward to it and see 

what comes out of it. They’re a 

really good team, a really strong 

side. The players they have are 

top quality. 

“They’ve really done well in the 

league and the 

Europa League. 

They will also want 

to finish as high as 

possible, which is how 

every team wants to 

finish the season. 

“It’s something that means we have to go 

there, see what comes out of it, and we’ll 

give everything.” 

Leicester City are 

undefeated in their 

last two games 

against the Red 

Devils, drawing 2- 

2 with the Old Trafford side 

back in December and beating them 3-1 in 

the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in March. 

Cavani signs 

one-year 

extension 

with Man 

Utd 

Edinson Cavani has put pen 

to paper on a one-year 

extension with Manchester 

United, following talks with 

the club. 

Manager Ole Gunnar 

Solskjaer had been 

forthcoming in recent weeks 

regarding his desire to see 

the in-form veteran 

continue at Old Trafford, 

and now an agreement 

has been reached. 

Cavani, 34, has 

signed until the summer of 

2022 after turning down an 

enticing offer from Boca 

Juniors in order to spend 

one more season in elite 

European football. 

•Ronaldo 

and it is believed his future will 

not be in Turin because his desire 

to play in Europe is stronger than 

any love for the club. 

•Ndidi 

Ajunwa Olympics talent hunt 

begins with a promise 

By Ben Efe 

he Chioma Ajunwa Foundation 

TOlympic talent hunt program 

began yesterday with young 

athletes demostrating that Nigeria 

is not in short supply of track and 

field talents. 

Six schools participated in the 

event holding at the Yaba College 

of Technology in Lagos. 

The young school girls 

showcased their skills in the 100m, 

200m, 400m, long jump and short 

put events. 

Sixteen year old Alimat Alowonle 

emerged overall best athlete. She 

won the 100m in a time of 11.99secs 

as well as 200m and long jump with 

a leap of 5.25m. 

Oluwafeyisola Mohammed who 

turns 14 years today won the 400m 

in a time of 61.00sec. The event 

continues today with football 

contest between the participating 

schools. 

C Barcelona “still believe” they can win LaLiga, 

Fsaid coach Ronald Koeman on Monday following 

a weekend when they were held at home by leaders 

Atletico Madrid. 

Barcelona could have moved to the top of the table, 

but the goalless draw on Saturday left them third, two 

points behind Atletico, and also trailing Real Madrid 

with three games to go. 


Juventus will be excluded 

from Serie A if... 

FIGC President Gabriele Gravina warns Juventus will be 

excluded from Serie A next season, if they don’t withdraw from 

the Super League. 

Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona are the only clubs not to 

have officially withdrawn from the Super League, the breakaway 

project launched less than a month ago by 12 elite European clubs 

but collapsed within 48 hours. 

The La Liga and Serie A giants released a joint statement on 

Saturday slamming ‘unacceptable pressures, 

threats and offences’ to abandon the Super 

League. 

FIGC President Gabriele Gravina confirmed 

today the Old Lady won’t be allowed to take 

part in the Serie A next season if they don’t 

abandon the competition. 

“When clubs accept to take part in the Italian 

league, they accept the principles of international 

bodies. It’s evident that if Juventus would not accept 

these principles they will be banned from the 

domestic league,” Gravina said at a press conference. 

“I am sorry, I saw some worried fans this morning, 

but everybody must respect the rules,” he added. 

“Nine clubs decided to withdraw from the 

competition [the Super League], there are three still 

involved. However, I hope this dispute will end 

soon.” 

Serena: I’m ready 

to miss Olympic 

Games in Tokyo 

The desire not to be apart from her daughter is likely to 

see Serena Williams join those who will be skipping 

the Olympics this summer. 

The American great resurfaced in Rome on Monday 

ahead of her Italian Open first round match, and she 

strongly hinted that Tokyo will not be on her forthcoming 

itinerary. 

Williams, who has not played since the Australian 

Open in February, is in Europe with her husband Alex and 

daughter Olympia, having trained at the academy of coach 

Patrick Mouratoglou in Nice for the past fortnight. 

Asked whether she would travel to Japan under what will be 

severe restrictions she cited Olympia in responding: ‘I haven’t 

spent 24 hours without her, so that kind of answers the question 

itself. We’re best friends. 

‘I think there are other reasons. I haven’t really thought much 

about Tokyo, because it was supposed to be last year and now it’s 

this year, and then there is this pandemic and there is so much 

to think about. Then there are the Grand Slams. It’s just a 

lot.’ 

However, her weeks of practice on clay mean 

she is committed to the French Open, and she fully 

intends to play Wimbledon as well. 

IOC President cancels trip to Japan 

due to surging COVID-19 cases 

IOC President Thomas 

Bach has cancelled a trip 

to Japan because of surging 

cases of COVID-19 in the 

country, the Tokyo Olympic 

organizing committee said 

Monday in a statement. 

Bach was to visit Hiroshima 

next Monday and meet the torch 

relay and then probably travel 

to Tokyo. 

Organizing committee 

president Seiko Hashimoto said 

last week that the trip would be 

“tough” for Bach to make, which 

was interpreted in Japan as 

meaning it was cancelled. 

The trip was made impossible 

because of a state of emergency 

in Tokyo and other parts of the 

country that has been extended 

until May 31. The state of 

emergency was to have ended on 

Tuesday. 

•Bach 

LaLiga: Barca will fight until last second, Koeman vows 

“It’s not in our hands, but if we don’t make any more 

mistakes we will put pressure on the others,” Koeman 

told a press conference ahead of a game against Levante 

on Tuesday. 

“We will do everything to win until the last second. 

“The team that is mentally and physically the strongest 

will surely be the one to win, but I think all the teams are 

coming to the finish a little weakened.”

Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION 

Sudoku 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER 

ACROSS 

1 Scorch (4) 

3 Ball from spin-bowler (3-5) 

9 Ignorant, not congisant (7) 

10 Place of burial (5) 

11 Hearten (5) 

12 Artificial waterways (6) 

14 Be ready for (6) 

16 Chillier (6) 

19 Agree (6) 

21 Attendants (5) 

24 Hire agreement (5) 

25 European language (7) 

26 One of the Channel Islands (8) 

27Rip (4) 

DOWN 

1 Places of worship (8) 

2 Proverb (5) 

4 Violent (6) 

5 Start (5) 

6 Made possible (7) 

7 Leg joint (4) 

8 Material (6) 

13 Captive (8) 

15 Desecrate (7) 

17 A child who was lost both parents (6) 

18 Sea trip (6) 

20 Unsoiled (5) 

22 Artfulness (5) 

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

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