10082021

2— Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021

Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUEST 10, 2021 —3

4—Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 

:Vanguard News 

:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058 

Gunmen kill 2 

worshippers 

returning from 

night vigil in 

A’Ibom 

•Police probe death 

of 3 after rice meal 

By Chioma Onuegbu & 

Harris Emanuel 

THERE was tension in Etim 

Ekpo Local Government Area of 

Akwa Ibom State as two worshippers 

identified as Nkereuwem Ime Udo 

Ekere and Effioyo Emmanuel were 

reportedly shot dead by gunmen 

suspected to be cultists while 

returning from a night vigil. 

It was gathered that one of them 

died on the spot while the 

motorcycle rider, who fled with bullet 

wounds, later collapsed and died. 

A community source, who 

pleaded anonymity, told newsmen 

in Uyo, yesterday, that the incident 

happened around 4 am at Ikot Ese 

community in Etim Ekpo LGA. 

The source said: “They were 

returning from a night prayer at the 

New Church in Ikot Ese village. 

They own a gospel band that some 

churches and other events planners 

would hire for their occasion. 

“After the prayer session, they left 

the church as early as 4 00 am on a 

motorcycle heading towards Okoyo 

village in Ukanafun Local 

Government Area, but were 

ambushed few meters from the 

church near Enen Akpan Ido and 

shot dead. 

“Many people have lost their lives 

trying to navigate the road from Ikot 

Ese to Urua Obo Inyang market axis 

that leads to Okoyo and other areas 

in the neighbouring Ukanafun Local 

Government Area. 

“It is the continuation of the cult 

war between the Icelanders (the 

Red) and the Debam (the White), 

which has been ongoing for the past 

couple of months now.” 

Contacted, the state Police Public 

Relations Officer, Mr Odiko 

Macdon, said he was yet to get an 

official report regarding the incident 

and challenged the people to make 

an official report to the police, if there 

was an incident like that. 

Police probe death of 

3 after rice meal 

Meanwhile, the Police have 

revealed that it has commenced 

investigation to unravel the cause 

of the death of a 30-year-old woman 

simply identified as UduakObong, 

her seven-year-old daughter and 

her sister, identified as Blessing. 

It was gathered that the sad 

incident happened last Wednesday 

night at Obio Etoi, Mbierebe Obio, 

Uyo Local Government Area. 

The Police Public Relations Officer, 

Mr Odiko MacDon, in a statement 

made available to newsmen, 

yesterday, said preliminary findings 

show that the family of three ate rice 

and stew before going to bed the 

night of the sad incident. 

His words: “The command has 

removed the lifeless bodies and 

commenced investigation on the 

cause of death of two sisters 

identified as UduakObong (30), 

Blessing (18) and UduakObong’s 

seven-year-old daughter at their 

residence, Obio Etoi, near the Nest 

of Champions International 

Stadium." 

Ataga’s murder: Court remands Chidinma, 

one other in prison 

By Henry Ojelu & 

Onozure Dania 

AYaba Chief Magistrate's Court, 

yesterday, remanded Chidinma 

Ojukwu and one Adedapo Quadri in 

prison custody for 30 days over the 

alleged murder of the Chief Executive 

Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, 

pending legal advice. 

Chidinma’s father, Onoh Ojukwu, 

and four others were also arraigned 

before the same court for alleged 

obstruction of justice and failing to 

report a crime to law enforcement 

agencies. 

Chidinma, 21, was alleged to have 

murdered Ataga in a service apartment 

in Lekki area of Lagos State. 

Following a remand application by 

the prosecuting counsel, Mr Cyril 

Ejioffor, from Criminal Investigation 

and Intelligence Department, SCIID, 

Yaba, Magistrate Adeola Adedayo 

remanded the 300-Level Mass 

Communication Department, student 

of the University of Lagos and Quadri 

for 30 days pending legal advice from 

the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP. 

Ejiofor had stated that the application 

was brought under Section 264 (1) (2) 

of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 

2015. 

“The remand is to enable the DPP to 

come up with legal advice. We pray for 

the remand of the defendants for the 

first 30 days in the first instance,” he 

said. 

Dr Babajide Martins, Director, Office 

of the Public Defender, OPD, who 

represented Chidinma while 

responding said: “I have just been 

privileged to get a copy of the remand 

application but I have not been able to 

go through it. My learned friend’s 

application is inevitable but I would 

have been happier if I was obliged of 

the application earlier. The application 

will not be opposed, in principle.” 

Granting the prayers of the 

prosecutor, Magistrate Adedayo said: 

“In the absence of any opposition, the 

two defendants are hereby remanded 

for 30 days, for the first instance.” 

She adjourned the case till September 

5, 2021 for remand review and DPP’s 

legal advice. 

In the charge against Chidinma’s 

father, the police alleged that Ojukwu, 

57, and Babalola Disu, 42, allegedly 

obstructed the police from performing 

their duties and also failing to report a 

crime to the police 

The three other defendants, Jessica 

Egbochi, 28; Abayomi Olutayo, 23; 

and Ifeoluwa Olowu, 23, were alleged 

to have dishonestly received stolen 

items. They all pleaded not guilty to the 

charges. 

The prosecutor, Ejioffor, told the court 

that the defendants committed the 

offences on June 18 and 23, at 

Computer Village, Ikeja, and 

Alagomeji, Yaba. He alleged that 

Ojukwu had refused the police from 

arresting his daughter, Chidinma, 

when the law caught up with her. 

Ejiofor added that the second 

defendant, Disu, had also failed to 

report the death of Ataga to the police. 

“The other three defendants were also 

alleged to have dishonestly received a 

MacBook valued at N2.5 million and 

an iPhone 7 worth N150,000 belonging 

to the deceased,” he said. 

Ejiofor said the offences contravened 

Sections 97, 117, 328 and 411 of the 

Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. 

Chief Magistrate Adedayo admitted 

the defendants to bail in the sum of N1 

million with two sureties each in like 

sum, who must deposit N20,000 into 

the coffers of the Chief Registrar. 

She, subsequently, adjourned the case 

till September 6 for mention. 

Kidnappers demand N30m for release of victim in Kwara 

By Demola Akinyemi 

ABDUCTORS of Ayo Alabi, one 

of the 29 passengers kidnapped 

from two incidents, Saturday, on Oke- 

Onigbin/Omu-Aran highway and 

Ekiti-Ekan Meje axis in Kwara State, 

are reportedly demanding N30 million 

ransom. 

It would be recalled that gunmen, 

weekend, intercepted a Sienna bus with 

seven passengers along Okeonigbin/ 

Omu-Aran highway, a commercial 

Toyota Hiace bus conveying 20 

passengers in Ekan-Meje-Ekiti axis and 

a car driven by a pastor and his wife. 

But, the Kwara State police 

command in conjunction with the local 

vigilante was able to rescue 20 

passengers kidnapped in the Toyota 

Hiace commercial bus at Ekanmeje/ 

Ekiti axis and four out of the seven 

passengers in the Toyota Sienna bus 

around Omu-Aran axis same day. 

However, the pastor and his wife, Ayo 

Alabi and two other passengers the 

kidnappers absconded with during a 

gun battle with the police are still in 

their custody. 

It was gathered, yesterday, that the 

kidnappers got in touch with one Ayo 

Alabi’s friends, Mr Williams Owolabi, 

Sunday night, demanding N30 million 

ransom for his release. 

Owolabi said: “One of the kidnappers 

spoke with me on his phone, 

demanding N30 million before they 

can release him. He was also asked to 

speak with me. When I pleaded with 

the caller that they should spare the life 

of my friend that we can’t get the 

amount, the phone was switched off.” 

Speaking on the simultaneous 

kidnaps late Sunday, the Kwara State 

Police Command’s spokesman, Ajayi 

Okasanmi, revealed that some arrests 

have been made and Police patrol have 

been intensified across the state. 

Okasanmi said the command 

received reports of two kidnap incidents 

simultaneously on Saturday at about 

5:35 p.m on Oke-Onigbin/Omu-Aran 

highway and Ekiti -Ekan Meje axis. 

He explained that six armed men 

emerged from the bush and stopped a 

Siena bus in transit from Ekiti on its 

way to Ilorin and marched the seven 

occupants of the vehicle into the bush. 

The police said: “The command 

promptly dispatched its tactical units, 

comprising the anti-kidnapping and 

anti-cultists units, joined by local hunters 

and vigilantes while policemen, who 

were on patrols on the routes were 

alerted. 

“The abductors were instantly chased 

into the bushes, four out of the seven 

abducted persons were rescued; efforts 

are in top gear to get the remaining 

three rescued. 

“Deploying similar tactics by 

operatives, those abducted in Ekan- 

•As gunmen kidnap Niger commissioner 

Meje-Ekiti axis using the same modus 

were equally rescued, remaining a 

pastor and his wife, who the command 

is frantically doing everything possible 

to rescue unhurt. 

“The situation is under control. The 

good people of Kwara State are advised 

to go about their lawful businesses 

without any fear of molestation and 

attack.” 

Gunmen kidnap Niger 

commissioner 

In a related development, Mr 

Mohammed Idris, Niger State 

Commissioner for Information and 

Strategy, was Sunday kidnapped by 

gunmen at Baban Tunga village of Tafa 

Local Government Area of the state. 

The Secretary to the State 

Government, Ahmed Matane, who 

disclosed this, yesterday, said the 

Truck kills 4 passengers in Ibadan 

By Adeola Badru 

IBADAN—Seven commuters were, 

yesterday, killed by a fully loaded 

petroleum tanker at Celica area on 

new Ife-Ibadan road, Egbeda Local 

Government Area of Oyo State. 

It was gathered that the truck driver 

reportedly lost control and rammed 

into the taxi conveying the commuters 

to their destinations. 

An eyewitness, who identified himself 

as Sunday, said the taxi was about to 

enter the road when the tanker skidded 

off the road and rammed into it. 

Sunday also explained that there 

were six people in the taxi but about 

four were confirmed dead. 

But the Federal Road Safety Corps, 

FRSC, said five persons, comprising 

three male and two female adults died 

in the accident. 

Mrs Uche Chukwurah, the FRSC 

Sector Commander in the state, who 

confirmed the incident said the 

One feared dead as Ijaw, Bini clash in Edo 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

BENIN CITY — THE crisis 

between Binis in Obazuwa 

community, Ovia North-East Local 

Government Area, Edo State and Ijaw 

over a disputed area has reportedly 

claimed the life of Pa William 

Amuawosa. 

It was also gathered that the 

Odionwere (eldest man) of the 

community, Pa Agidi Roland, is 

currently receiving treatment in an 

undisclosed hospital from injuries 

sustained during the alleged attack by 

people they claimed are Ijaw. 

A short video, yesterday, showed the 

burnt buildings, a vehicle and carcass 

of animals that littered the area, which 

the background voice described as part 

of the Obazuwa community under the 

attacks of the Ijaw 

He said: “Look at what the Ijaw have 

done to us in Obazuwa, they said they 

are the owners of this land in Benin. We 

don’t know what we have done to them. 

The crushed taxi. 

accident involved two vehicles, which 

included a fully loaded petroleum 

tanker and a Micra taxi car. 

The sector commander said the 

tanker had a brake failure, lost control 

and rammed into the Micra car 

leading to the death of all passengers in 

Pa Agidi Roland in hospital. 

They carried guns and came in through 

waterside and started shooting at 

people and burnt them. 

"They have been disturbing us for a 

long time. We want the state and federal 

governments to come to our rescue.“ 

The President, Benin Solidarity 

Movement, BSM, Curtis Ugbo, 

condemned the attack on Benin people 

in the area and called on the Edo State 

gunmen stormed the commissioner’s 

house in his hometown, Baban Tunga, 

in Tafa Local Government Area of the 

state on about 15 motorcycles with 

sophisticated weapons. 

While noting that the kidnappers had 

yet to make contact, Ahmed Matane 

said the security men are already on his 

trail and hope they would be able to 

trace and rescue him unhurt. 

The Police Public Relations Officer 

in the state, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed 

the incident but promised to provide 

details later. 

the car. 

"The deceased has been deposited at 

the Adeoyo Hospital mortuary.” she 

said. 

Chukwurah further said that men of 

the Fire Service were also at the scene 

to prevent fire outbreaks in the area. 

government and security agencies to 

immediately check the situation. 

But reacting to the incident, 

Chairman, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, 

Olodiama Clan, Samuel Ebiwana, 

denied the allegations even as he 

claimed that three members of the Ijaw 

community are missing. 

He said: “These same Obazuwa 

people attacked policemen on duty, my 

community was also destroyed by these 

people. They beat up vigilantes that 

helped the police and after that, they 

came back with their youths to chase 

our people down to the river. 

"We are not aware of what they are 

saying. We did not attack them; they 

are the people that attacked us. As I 

speak to you, three of our youths are 

still missing and we are still searching 

for them.” 

Contacted, the Police Public Relations 

Officer, Kontongs Bello, said he was yet 

to get a detailed briefing from the 

Divisional Police Officer in the area and 

so could not confirm the incident

vanguardnews 

@vanguardnews 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

No end in sight to crises in APC, PDP 

•Resign, 6 PDP NWC members, Rep Caucus, youths ask Secondus•Why I 

won’t resign — Secondus• PDP governors’ meeting ends in 

deadlock•Secondus can't be stampeded into resigning – DICKSON•Why 

police took over APC secretariat•We can’t be embarrassed — APC 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021— 5 

POCKET CARTOON 

By Henry Umoru, Omeiza Ajayi, Levinus 

Nwabughiogu & Dirisu Yakubu 

ABUJA — For the 

ruling All 

Progressives 

Congress, APC, and 

main opposition Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, 

their nagging problems 

are daily panning out as 

crises without end. 

Yesterday, the crises 

ravaging both parties 

took a dangerous bent. 

While the police took 

over Buhari House, 

APC’s national secretariat, 

Abuja, to stave off a 

violent protest against 

the caretaker leadership, 

led by Governor Mai 

Mala Buni of Yobe State, 

according to intelligence 

reports, the number of 

those pushing for the 

ouster of Prince Uche 

Secondus as PDP national 

chairman shot skywards. 

Efforts of PDP governors 

to resolve the logjam, 

yesterday, hit a 

brick wall, as their meeting 

ended in a deadlock, 

with Secondus facing an 

uncertain future. 

On a day six of the 18 

members of the National 

Working Committee, 

NWC, and members of 

the PDP House of Representatives 

Caucus, 

asked Secondus to resign, 

youths of the party, 

under the aegis of 

Save PDP Group, protested 

in Abuja, demanding 

immediate 

ouster of Secondus. 

The SeconDus must go 

clamour split the PDP 

caucus in the House of 

Representatives. 

The embattled PDP 

chairman dared his detractors, 

insisting he 

would not resign because 

he had done nothing 

wrong. 

Secondus got the backing 

of immediate past 

Bayelsa State governor, 

Senator Seriake Dickson, 

who said the party leader 

cannot be stampeded 

From left, Third Secretary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Embassy, 

Mr. Vu Quang Tiep, Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to 

Nigeria, Mr. Luong Quoe, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Minister of 

Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, during a courtesy visit to the Presidential 

Villa in Abuja, yesterday. 

to resign because only 

the National Convention 

could remove him. 

Anti- Secondus’ 

plot thickens as 

6 NWC 

members 

demand his 

ouster 

Like clockwork on the 

heels of last week’s call 

for the resignation of 

Prince Uche Secondus as 

PDP national chairman, 

six of the 18-member 

NWC want the chairman 

out of office. 

Despite last week’s 

plea by party stalwarts, 

comprising members of 

the PDP Board of Trustees, 

BoT, National Executive 

Committee, NEC, 

among others, for time to 

resolve the lingering 

leadership crisis, nine 

members of the NWC 

held a meeting in Abuja 

this week, all in a bid to 

push Secondus out of office. 

Although, Section 29 

(3) of the amended PDP 

constitution provides 

that only the National 

Chairman or a summon 

of two-thirds of NWC 

members can convene a 

meeting of the committee; 

the nine members 

met at a popular hotel in 

Abuja,with six of them 

appending their signatures 

for the removal of 

Secondus. 

Vanguard gathered 

that the meeting was attended 

by Senator Suleiman 

Nazif, Deputy National 

Chairman (North), 

Senator Umar Ibrahim 

Tsauri, National Secretary, 

Alhaji Mai Adamu 

Mustapha, National Auditor, 

Abdulahi Maibasira, 

National Financial 

Secretary, Mr. Sunday 

Udeh-Okoye, National 

Youth Leader, Amb. 

Taofiq Arapaja, National 

Vice-Chairman, South 

West, Chief Ali Odefa, 

National Vice-Chairman, 

South East, Chief Dan 

Orbih National Vice- 

Chairman, South-South, 

and Chief Theophilus 

Dakas, National Vice- 

Chairman, North Central. 

At the meeting, Nazif, 

Mustapha, Udeh- 

Okoye, Arapaja, Orbih 

and Dakas, unanimously 

reiterated their call for 

the resignation of Secondus 

as they appended 

their signatures to boot. 

Why we want 

Secondus out – 

6 NWC 

members 

In a communiqué issued 

at the end of the 

meeting, the party officials 

said: “Sequel to the 

meeting held on the 3rd 

of August 2021 at Legacy 

House where members 

of the National 

Working Committee, sat 

and decided that a meeting 

of the National Working 

Committee should be 

held on the 8th of August 

2021 at Hilton to further 

deliberate on the matter 

bedevilling the party, 

the meeting held and 

extensively deliberated. 

“Nine members of the 

National Working Committee 

agreed that the 

National Chairman, 

Prince Uche Secondus, 

has grossly mismanaged 

the party, is highly incompetent, 

has factionalized 

the party and has 

lost the confidence of 

members of the party. 

“The matter of his resignation 

was put to vote. 

Six members voted that 

he should resign and 

three members abstained 

from voting. Therefore, 

the meeting resolved to 

forward the resolution 

taken on the 8th day of 

August to the Governors’ 

Forum, the Board of 

Trustees, BoT, the National 

Assembly Caucus 

of both Houses of Representatives 

and the 

Continues on Page 27 

By Providence Adeyinka 

Should governors sign death row inmates' death warrant to decongest prisons? 

THE reason why 

some governors are 

reluctant to sign death 

warrants is because they 

know that they are as 

guilty the condemned 

prisoners. Death row prisoners 

should be absolved 

back into the society after 

all FG have be granting 

pardon to Boko Haram 

members, bandit’s etc and 

even engaging them into 

our military etc. 

Chuks Nwajei – Peace 

Ambassador 

IT’s not a good ad 

vice at all because 

they may use that medium 

to kill innocent people 

and the blood of the 

innocent will cry against 

Nigerian and the problems 

will are facing now 

will double. Secondly 

my advice to all governors 

especially the 

Christian ones is to be 

careful because there 

might be something fishing 

about this issue. 

— Ruth Okolocha , Self 

Employed 

SIGNING death 

warrant for the 

execution death row 

inmates will serve as 

deterrent to other criminals 

yet to be captured 

in the society. Secondly, 

it will aid decongestion 

in our correctional 

facilities because most 

of the facilities nationwide 

have exceeded 

their designed capacity. 

— Joda Lukman , 

Communicator 

EVEN though no one 

has the right to take 

the life of another, I support 

the call for their execution 

provided serious 

effort is made to ensure 

that innocent people are 

not affected. Government 

should also speed up 

trials of inmates on awaiting 

trials as they constitute 

large population of 

Nigeria prisons and as 

well consider building 

special or new prisons. 

—Okpaleke Chineneye, 

Secretary 

I 

think governor 

should sign the 

death warrant because 

it is one of their official 

duties. If they refused to 

sign death warrants, 

there will be prison 

congestion, prison 

breaks. Signing the 

warrant will also 

discourage people from 

taking laws in their own 

hand. 

Musbahudeen 

Tahir – Civil Servant 

THOSE on death 

row should be given 

opportunity to live 

because some of them 

might not be truly guilty 

but simply lack the capacity 

to get freedom. 

Let the government do 

the right thing and see 

what the number of inmates 

will look like. At 

the moment it seems no 

one is sane in Nigeria. 

If a lot of people are 

sane, most of the happenings 

will never happened. 

Ashe Ayo – Student

6— Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 



Insecurity: APC, PDP at daggers 

drawn 

By Omeiza Ajayi & 

Dirisu Yakubu 

THE ruling All Progressives 

Congress, APC, has accused 

the Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, of sponsoring strings of 

violent attacks in some parts of 

the country as part of its schemes 

to discredit President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s 

administration. 

Vowing that it was only a 

matter of time before sponsors 

of such attacks were exposed 

and dealt with, APC recalled 

how the PDP had been chased 

out of power in 2015 on account 

of the erstwhile ruling party’s 

lacklustre performance on 

security, saying the PDP was not 

qualified to chastise Buhari’s 

handling of security. 

But PDP in a swift reaction, 

asked APC to fulfill its promise 

of securing the lives and property 

of Nigerians, instead of looking 

for scapegoats for its failures. 

The APC, however, reassured 

Nigerians that the security of the 

nation was of the highest priority 

to President Buhari’s 

administration, adding that the 

government was effectively 

deploying resources to ensure 

all Nigerians went about their 

activities in peace and safety. 

National Secretary of the APC 

Caretaker Extraordinary 

Convention Planning 

Committee CECPC, Senator 

John James Akpanudoedehe, 

who stated this in Abuja 

yesterday, noted that going by 

the major role played and the 

negligent handling of insecurity 

by the Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, when it was in government, 

the failed opposition party was 

seriously unqualified to speak 

on how the present government 

was tackling insecurity and the 

attendant rot the PDP left behind. 

“The PDP apparently chooses 

to forget how the same insecurity 

it now desperately seeks to 

politicise, metamorphosed and 

festered under its watch which 

ultimately led Nigerians to 

overwhelmingly reject it in the 

2015 elections through their 

votes,” Akpanudoedehe added. 

APC said Nigerians still 

recalled how bad things got 

under the PDP, to the extent that 

Buhari before he was elected 

President was attacked by 

terrorists in Kaduna State. 

The statement read: “The 

country’s capital, Abuja became 

the epicentre of Boko Haram 

attacks with brazen bomb 

attacks on the United Nations 

building, the Police 

Headquarters, recreation 

centres, markets, motor parks 

and Eagle Square where 

foreign heads of governments 

gathered to celebrate the 

country’s independence, 

among others. 

“Lest we forget monies meant 

to buy arms to fight insurgents 

was stolen and diverted to 

private pockets of PDP members 

and their cronies while Boko 

Haram seized Nigeria’s 

territory and hoisted their flags. 

“This is no longer the case 

under the government of 

President Buhari. Security funds 

are no longer being pocketed 

and no inch of Nigeria’s territory 

is under the control of the now 

decimated insurgents. 

“Aside emerging security 

incidents recorded in some parts 

of the country which is equally 

being tackled by our security 

•Insecurity politically-motivated by PDP—APC •Vows to 

expose sponsors •Nigerians tired of your lies, PDP 

replies APC 

services with great success, the 

APC is not oblivious of the 

politically-motivated security 

incidents being sponsored to 

discredit and destabilise this 

government. These evil sponsors 

and perpetrators will soon be 

unravelled and made to face the 

full weight of the law. 

“In keeping with our election 

promise to Nigerians, President 

Buhari has shown uncommon 

leadership, intent and capacity 

to permanently end all security 

incidents and criminalities in the 

country. 

“So, for the PDP to suggest the 

country’s security situation is at 

its worst when it was rejected by 

the electorates in 2015 shows 

that its leadership is out of touch 

with the state of the nation, 

particularly successes recorded 

by this government in 

safeguarding lives and 

livelihoods of Nigerians. 

“The record investments in the 

procurement of military and 

intelligence platforms, training 

and retraining of service 

personnel by the Buhari-led 

administation have led to the 

neutralisation of insurgents, 

arrests of bandits and 

kidnappers by our security 

services. 

“While the PDP labours to 

politicise security incidents in 

some parts of the country, the 

truth is this government’s 

promise of ending insecurity is 

on course and would soon be 

realised. 

“On a daily basis, insurgents 

are surrendering to our security 

services, bandits and kidnappers 

camps are being sacked, our 

forests are being cleared of 

criminal and other undesirable 

elements. It is clearly no longer 

business as usual for these 

criminals as was the case in the 

previous administration. 

“Under this government, the 

military and other security 

services have been reprofessionalised 

and reequipped 

to meet the growing 

exigencies of security in the 

country. 

Nigerians tired of 

your lies, PDP 

replies APC 

Meanwhile, PDP has urged 

APC to stop “covering lies with 

lies,” and address the security 

challenges facing the nation. 

The main opposition party 

stated this in a reaction to claims 

by the APC that the PDP was 

unduly politicizing the 

insecurity situation in the 

country. 

In a telephone conversation 

with our correspondent, Deputy 

National Publicity Secretary of 

the party, Diran Odeyemi, 

tasked leaders of the APC to 

deliver on their campaign 

promises instead of looking for 

who to scapegoat for “their 

manifest failure.” 

He said: “It was in the papers 

recently that over 3,000 people 

were killed in the past three 

months. Was it the PDP that 

published that story? Has the 

story been disputed? 

“Nigerians no longer take 

these people seriously because 

they know next to nothing about 

the use of the power they were 

given by the people. No amount 

of lies will keep them in office 

beyond 2023.” 

VISIT: Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe 

(middle), newly promoted AIG and outgoing Kaduna State 

Commissioner of Police, UM Muri (right) and the new Commissioner 

of Police, Kaduna State Command, Mudashiru Abdullahi, during a 

farewell and familiarisation visit to Government House, Kaduna. 

Photo: Olu Ajayi. 

PDP flags off e-registration with 

pilot scheme in 7 states 

By Dirisu Yakubu 

A BUJA—Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, 

yesterday, commenced the 

electronic registration and 

revalidation of its members in 

seven states. 

The states include Anambra, 

Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Adamawa and 

Sokoto in the first scheme. 

Speaking while launching the 

scheme in Abuja, yesterday, 

national chairman of the party, 

Prince Uche Secondus, stated 

that the “country must at this 

point in time migrate from 

analogue to digital. 

“Data is the key to 

development, data is the key to 

proper planning and data is the 

way a country would be able to 

attract development from the 

global community. 

“We as a party cannot do 

otherwise; we are operating in 

social media space, so PDP 

cannot do without data.” 

Secondus explained that by 

offering online registration, the 

party was providing Nigerians 

with a transparent platform to 

exercise democratic potentials. 

He said: “The project will 

deepen the process of 

membership registration and 

also deepen the process of 

democracy in attracting 

development 

“Usually in the analogue time, 

they had to bring the register and 

if they don’t like your face, you 

will not be a member, some 

people will take the register 

away. All that has been 

eliminated.” 

On his part, chairman of the 

Board of Trustee of the party, 

Senator Walid Jibrin, said e- 

registration was a 

demonstration by PDP that it 

was getting ready for the 2023 

general elections, assuring that 

the crisis rocking the party 

would soon be a thing of the past. 

“We have spent so many 

sleepless nights in ensuring that 

we resolved the crisis within our 

party in order to make PDP great 

again and also take advantage 

of the failures of the APC,” he 

stated. 

On his part, the National 

Publicity Secretary, Mr.Kola 

Ologbondiyan, revealed that 

when the logo of the party was 

put online during the test 

running period, in less than 24 

hours, over one million 

Nigerian indicated interest to 

join the party. 

Similarly, National 

Organizing Secretary, Col. 

Austin Akobundu, retd, said 

intensified sensitization had 

commenced in order to create 

awareness on the e-registration 

programme down to the 

grassroots level. 

NNPC promotes, redeploys 

senior mgt staff 

TO strengthen and reposition 

the Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC, towards attaining 

global excellence and 

profitability, the management 

of the corporation has 

announced the promotion and 

redeployment of some staff to 

fill key vacant positions. 

Speaking on the 

Development, Group 

Managing Director of the 

corporation, Mallam Mele 

Kyari, said the new 

appointments would enable the 

corporation live up to the 

expectations of Nigerians and 

achieve its vision of becoming 

a world-class energy company 

of choice. 

In a statement released by the 

corporation’s Group General 

Manager, Group Public Affairs 

Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, 

yesterday, Mr. Billy Okoye has 

been appointed the new Group 

Executive Director, Ventures 

and Business Development, 

while Mrs. Aisha Ahmadu- 

Katagum has been promoted 

to the position of Group 

Executive Director, Corporate 

Services. 

Until their new appointments, 

Mr. Okoye and Mrs. Ahmadu- 

Katagum were Group General 

Managers, Crude Oil 

By Emmanuel 

Elebeke 

THREE weeks after it 

cautioned media houses to 

desist from giving details of 

insurgents and bandit activities, 

National Broadcasting 

Commission, NBC, has denied 

giving such directives. 

In a letter signed by Director- 

General of the commission, 

Balarabe Ilelah, NBC noted 

that the contents of its letter were 

not intended and by no means 

capable of being interpreted as 

a sweeping gag on broadcast 

stations and journalists in the 

country. 

In the letter, entitled 

“Newspaper Reviews and 

Current Affairs Programmes: A 

Need For Caution’, signed by 

the Director, Broadcast 

Monitoring, Francisca Aiyetan, 

on behalf of the new Director- 

General of the commission, 

Balarabe Ilelah, the 

commission insisted that it did 

not meant to gag the broadcast 

2023 Presidency not about 

age, region only — CAN 

By Luminous 

Jannamike 

CHRISTIAN Association 

of Nigeria, CAN, said, 

yesterday, that the struggle of 

who becomes Nigeria’s next 

president should not be about 

age or region only. 

It said Nigerians must rise to 

reject any politician with 

parochial interests as the race 

for the nation’s top job gathered 

momentum, ahead of the 2023 

general elections. 

In a statement by its Vice 

Chairman (Northern region), 

Reverend Joseph Hayab, 

entitled, ‘Nigeria’s next 

president not about age or 

region,’ the apex Christian body 

urged citizens to support for the 

position any good and 

Marketing Division (COMD) 

and Supply Chain 

Management Division in the 

Corporation, respectively. 

Adeyemi Adetunji, formerly 

Chief Operating Officer, 

Business and Ventures 

Development, is now the Group 

Executive Director, 

Downstream, while Mr. 

Mohammed Abdulkabir 

Ahmed, formerly Chief 

Operating Officer, Corporate 

Services, has also been made the 

Group Executive Director, Gas 

and Power. 

Other Chief Operating Officer 

positions in the corporation 

have now been redesignated as 

Group Executive Directors, 

GEDs, in alignment with the 

rules of Company & Allied 

Matters Act, CAMA, 

preparatory to the new status of 

the Corporation as a Limited 

Liability Company, post- 

Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). 

The repositioning also saw the 

disengagement of Yusuf 

Usman, formerly Chief 

Operating Officer, Gas and 

Power. 

The new appointments 

include that of Mr. Garba Deen 

Muhammad, who will take 

over from Dr. Kennie Obateru 

as the Group General Manager, 

Group Public Affairs Division of 

the borporation. 

NBC denies asking media 

houses to stop reporting details 

of terrorists, bandits’ attacks 

stations by any means. 

The letter read: “Headlines of 

most newspapers on a daily 

basis are replete with security 

topics. While bringing 

information on security to the 

doorsteps of Nigerians is a 

necessity, there is a need for 

caution as too many details may 

have an adverse implication on 

the efforts of our security officials 

who are duty-bound to deal with 

the insurgency. 

“The commission, therefore, 

enjoins broadcasters to 

collaborate with the 

government in dealing with the 

security challenges by not 

glamourising the nefarious 

activities of insurgents, terrorists, 

kidnappers, bandits etc advising 

guests and/or analysts on 

programmes not to polarise the 

citizenry with divisive rhetoric, 

in driving home their point. 

“Not giving details of either 

the security issues or victims of 

these security challenges so as 

not to jeopardise the efforts of 

the Nigerian soldiers and other 

security agents." 

detribalise Nigerian who could 

fight insecurity, stop corruption, 

and make the country to move 

forward 

He said: “Nigerians today, 

simply need a leader that can 

deliver the goods, unite the 

nation and take us out of our 

economic woes and iInsecurity 

challenges. 

“Those coming out to talk 

about the age and region of our 

next president are only out to 

start an agenda that will further 

divide us and put Nigeria in a 

more difficult situation. 

“Our Association, therefore, 

wishes to warn the nation 

against these unhealthy moves 

and also to appeal to Nigerians 

not to allow these short-sighted 

and selfish considerations to 

becloud our reasoning."

Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 — 7 



PDP GOVS FORUM MEETING — From left; Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State; Governor Umar 

Fintiri of Adamawa State; Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State; Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers 

State; Chairman, PDP Governors Forum, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State; Governor Dapo 

Abiodun of Oyo State (Behind Tambuwal); Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State; Governor Emmanuel 

Udom of Akwa Ibom State; Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and Governor Ifeanyi Uguanyi of 

Enugu State briefing journalists after the emergency meeting of the PDP Governors at the Akwa Ibom 

State Governors Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, yesterday. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida. 

2023: South-East needs to convince Nigeria why 

it should produce next president – PETER OBI 

FORMER 

governor 

of Anambra State and 

vice presidential candidate of 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, in 2019 elections, Peter 

Obi, said yesterday that the 

South-East needed to present 

a convincing argument to the 

rest of Nigeria on why the 

region should produce the 

next president. 

Obi, who stated this in an 

interview on Arise TV, said 

though the South-East had 

compelling reasons to want to 

produce the country’s next 

president in 2023, it must 

embrace the politics of 

engagement and 

consultation, and not 

confrontation.” 

NCDC bemoans state of water, sanitation 

facilities as Cholera kills 816 Nigerians 

By Chioma Obinna 

THE Nigeria Centre for 

Disease Control, 

NCDC, yesterday lamented 

the state of Water, Sanitation 

and Hygiene, WASH. 

It also disclosed that a total 

of 816 Nigerians have lost 

their lives to cholera, while 

31,425 suspected cases were 

recorded between January 

and August 1, 2021. 

In a statement signed by 

the Director-General of the 

agency, Dr Chikwe 

Ihekweazu, the NCDC called 

for urgent need to strengthen 

Water, Sanitation and 

Hygiene, WASH, facilities 

nationwide. 

According to him, poor access 

to clean water, open defecation, 

poor sanitation, and hygiene has 

worsened the outbreak across 

states in Nigeria. 

As of August 1, 2021, a total of 

31,425 suspected cases of 

Cholera including 816 deaths had 

been reported from 22 states and 

FCT. 

The affected states include 

Benue, Delta, Zamfara, Gombe, 

Bayelsa, Kogi, Sokoto, Bauchi, 

Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Kebbi, 

He said: “We need to 

convince the other people why it 

should be us. And you know we 

have a convincing argument for 

that. But it needs to be 

convincing. We are not going to 

hold a gun in their head and say 

you must come here. 

“Politics is about engagement 

and consultation, and not 

confrontation. You consult and 

discuss with other people and say, 

‘this is how we need to do it for us 

to have peaceful co-existence’. 

“The decision will be done 

within the party. It’s not a 

question of my view or anybody’s 

view; it’s that of the party. 

Because even if we say it should 

come to the south and the party 

zones it to the north, there’s 

nothing that can be done. 

‘’This is because these are 

major parties with a lot of 

members and stakeholders who 

will sit down and discuss at round 

tables. Politics, for me, is 

something you sit down at a 

roundtable, discuss and agree 

with each other.” 

Obi criticised President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s 

attempt at stimulating the 

economy through construction 

and revitalisation of 

infrastructure, stressing that 

what the government needed 

to do was strengthen the 

informal sector of the 

economy to be able to grow 

the economy. 

Although the Buhari 

administration has invested 

hugely in rejigging the country’s 

vital infrastructure, inter-state rail 

networks and road corridors have 

been built, the former Anambra 

State governor advised the 

President to focus its efforts on 

growing small businesses in the 

country. 

According to him, what will 

boost the economy is small and 

medium scale entreprises as it is 

in other parts of the world, and 

not building of infrastructure. 

“You can’t use infrastructure to 

drive economic growth. You 

invest in education and the SME 

(Small, Medium Enterprises) 

sector instead to deal with 

poverty. Taking people out of 

poverty is not magic.” 

•31,425 suspected cases recorded in 7 months •Seeks urgent call to strengthen 

water, sanitation, hygiene 

Cross River, Niger, Nasarawa, 

Jigawa, Yobe, Kwara, Enugu, 

Adamawa, Katsina, Borno and 

FCT. 

“The National Cholera EOC 

has led to the deployment of 

Rapid Response Teams to support 

the most affected states - Benue, 

Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Bauchi 

and Plateau States. Additionally, 

NCDC and its partners have 

provided states with commodities 

for case management and 

laboratory diagnosis, materials for 

risk communications, response 

guidelines among other support,’’ 

Ihekweazu said. 

He, however, noted that none 

of the medical interventions 

would solve the underlying 

issues leading to cholera 

outbreaks as the disease 

remained a waterborne disease, 

with high risk of transmission. 

He decried the wrong disposal 

of refuse and practices, such as 

open defecation, which 

endangers the safety of water 

used for drinking and personal 

use. 

“These lead to the spread of 

water-borne diseases such as 

cholera. Without proper water, 

sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH), 

Nigeria remains at risk of cholera 

cases and deaths,’’ he added. 

The NCDC boss said the longterm 

solution for cholera control 

laid in access to safe drinking 

water, maintenance of proper 

sanitation and hygiene. 

He said: We continue to 

advocate State Governments to 

prioritise action for solutions that 

ensure access to and use of safe 

water, basic sanitation and good 

hygiene practices in 

communities.’’ 

Ihekweazu urged Nigerians to 

keep their environments clean, 

drink or use water boiled and 

stored safely, ensure food was 

cooked and stored in a clean and 

safe environment, avoid open 

defecation and wash hands 

regularly with soap and running 

water. 

“Cholera is preventable and 

treatable; however, it can be 

deadly when people who are 

infected do not access care 

immediately. 

‘’Nigerians are advised to visit 

a health facility immediately, if 

they have sudden onset of 

profuse watery diarrhoea, 

nausea, vomiting, and 

weakness,’’ he said. 

Ihekweazu further called for an 

urgent improvement in access to 

clean water, proper sanitation and 

hygiene as the NCDC continues 

to work with partners to lead 

the health-sector response to 

cholera outbreaks. 

AN Owerri High Court has 

ordered the final forfeiture 

of properties said to be acquired 

through “illegal means” by 

Rochas Okorocha, ex-governor of 

Imo State. 

The forfeited properties are 

listed in the Imo state 

government white paper report 

on recovery of lands and other 

related matters. 

In February, the court had 

ordered the interim forfeiture of 

all the properties linked to 

Okorocha. 

The court had also asked 

Okorocha to show case as to why 

a final and absolute order of 

forfeiture should not be given 

following an application brought 

to it by Louis Alozie on behalf of 

the state. 

But the former Imo governor 

had asked a federal high court in 

Abuja to set aside the order. 

Okorocha had also asked 

Ahmed Mohammed, the judge, 

to restrain the defendants from 

Osinbajo lauds Seventh Day 

Adventist for providing quality 

education 

By Elizabeth 

Osayande 

VICE 

President 

Yemi Osibanjo has 

commended the Seventh- 

Day Adventist Church and 

Babcock University for 

supporting the drive for 

quality education. 

Osinbajo, who was the 

guest at the Babcock 33rd 

inaugural lecture delivered 

by his former classmate, 

Prof. Oluseyi Oduyoye, 

also said the job of the 

church was to provide 

quality education to those 

who couldn’t afford it. 

He said: “Let me 

commend the Seventh-Day 

Adventist Church for 

investments it has made in 

developing quality 

education in Nigeria. This 

is the direction many 

religious organizations 

must follow. 

‘’The real work of ministry 

is to reach out, especially 

to those who are unable to 

afford quality education.’’ 

He explained the effort of 

the Federal Government to 

support small and medium 

scale enterprises, SMEs, in 

Nigeria via the provision of 

seed investments, grants 

and incentives, such as the 

one done to expand clusters 

of trade in Benue and 

Anambra states. 

Osinbajo disclosed that 

Africa Development Bank, 

AfDB, has offered to 

support the Federal 

Government’s SME 

growth with the sum of 

$500 million dollars to 

complement its current 

effort. 

“The economic future of 

our country is dependent 

on small businesses. SMEs 

employ the largest 

population of the workforce 

and the State government 

support is very critical. 

Those businesses bring 

hope, jobs and support for 

many families,’’ he said. 

Meanwhile, the 

inaugural lecturer, a 

Professor of Business 

Administration, Oluseyi 

Oduyoye, called on the 

Federal Government to 

support small businesses 

devastated by the COVID- 

19 pandemic. 

Delivering his lecture, 

“From the Small Business 

to Big Business: A Future 

with Little Hope,'' Professor 

Oduyoye noted that many 

small businesses were 

unlikely to recover from 

losses incurred during the 

pandemic lockdown if 

government did not come 

to their aid. 

Calling on the Central 

Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to 

assist small businesses with 

the much-publicized N50 

billion support fund set 

aside for distribution to 

businesses in need of 

lifeline for sustainability 

and growth, Oduyoye 

urged deposit banks and 

insurance companies to 

strengthen the SMEs 

through renegotiation of 

contract terms and 

affordable minimal 

premiums, following the 

losses and economic 

setbacks occasioned by the 

COVID-19 pandemic. 

He reiterated that values 

of integrity, customer focus, 

openness and fear of God, 

including networking, 

were skills needed by small 

businesses to survive in an 

environment saturated with 

fraud and fraudsters such 

as yahoo-yahoo. 

“Starting small but 

having the eyes on the big 

picture should always be 

the focus of the typical small 

business owner. 

“Anything done without 

integrity cannot stand. The 

lack of integrity and the 

love for quick money and 

shady deals is the bane of 

long-term growth of these 

small businesses. 

“For aspiring small 

business owners who have 

the ambition of becoming 

big players in the future, 

the qualities of integrity 

and customer satisfaction 

are key attributes of 

success,” he said. 

Court orders final forfeiture of properties 

‘illegally acquired’ by Okorocha 

investigating him or 

implementing the 

recommendations of the panels 

set up to probe previous 

administrations in the state, 

pending the hearing and 

determination of the substantive 

suit. 

In his ruling, Fred Njemanze, 

the judge, said Okorocha’s 

counsel failed to give concrete 

and verifiable reasons why a final 

and absolute forfeiture order 

should not be given in favour of 

the Imo state government. 

The judge said the suit filed 

against the Imo government by 

Okorocha’s counsel was not 

properly handled and that there 

is no reason why the forfeiture 

should not be made final. 

Njemanze said the white paper 

gazette by the Imo government 

is a legally-binding document. 

He added that the Imo 

government can go ahead 

and do whatever it deems fit 

with the properties. 

The judge also ruled that persons 

who might have purchased 

said properties are at liberty to approach 

the court to prove their titles. 

The properties include Eastern 

Palm University, Ogboko; Royal 

Spring Palm Hotels and 

Apartments; IBC staff quarters 

illegally acquired for the purpose 

of Rochas Foundation College, 

Owerri; magistrate quarters, Orlu 

road/cooperative office/Girls 

Guide illegally converted to 

private use housing market 

square, Kilimanjaro eatery; public 

building plot B/2 Otamiri South 

Extension Layout given to the 

ministry of women affairs for 

establishing a skills acquisition 

centre for women, illegally 

acquired for the benefit of 

Nneoma Nkechi Okorocha’s allin 

stall, Aba road. 

Others are Plot P5, Naze 

residential layout, initially part of 

primary school management 

board but now annexed to all-in 

stall, Aba road belonging to 

Nkechi Okorocha.

8 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 


How Sen Uroghide backed my 

joining PDP, re-election 

—Obaseki 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

BENIN 

CITY— 

GOVERNOR Godwin 

Obaseki of Edo State 

revealed how the Senator 

representing Edo South 

senatorial district and 

Chairman, Senate 

Committee on Public 

Accounts, Matthew 

Uroghide, dropped his 

governorship ambition and 

went ahead to support his 

re-election as governor of 

the state, in September 

2020. 

Obaseki spoke at an 

event to mark the 66th 

birthday ceremony of 

Uroghide, where he said 

the celebrant’s 

perseverance gave him 

electoral victory in 2015, 

after 23 years of trying to 

make headway in politics. 

Obaseki said: “For me, he 

is more than a brother. I am 

in the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, and the 

governor of Edo State today 

largely because of his 

Chaka, TradingView partner 

on borderless investments 

By Niyi Okiri 

LAGOS—A 

digital 

investment platform, 

Chaka, has partnered with 

TradingView, an online 

charting platform, to spot 

investment opportunities in 

global markets. 

The partnership would enable 

pro-traders and businesses across 

Africa to have direct access to over 

11,000 assets trading on 

international stock markets, 

advanced charts and trading 

ideas. 

Commenting on the 

partnership, co-founder and 

CEO, Chaka Technologies, Tosin 

Osibodu, said: “We are proud to 

announce this partnership with 

TradingView, which aligns with 

our mission to enable borderless 

Adogun Atele family vows to 

resist imposition of monarch 

By Onozure Dania 

LAGOS—HEAD and 

principal members of 

Adogun Atele family, in 

Ado-Odo, Otta Local 

Government Area of Ogun 

State, consisting of its four 

ruling houses, yesterday, 

vowed to resist plans to 

impose a traditional ruler on 

the community to achieve 

a hidden agenda. 

Specifically, the family 

accused the Ogun State 

Commissioner for Local 

Government and 

Chieftaincy Affairs and the 

Olota of Otta, Oba Kabiru 

Obalanlege, of scheming to 

impose a non-indigene on 

the stool of Onitele of Itele 

Awori, Otta. 

The family, in a letter, 

yesterday, written to the 

Chairman, House 

Committee on Local 

Government and Chieftaincy 

Affairs, Ogun State House of 

Assembly, accused ministry 

officials of planning to sell the 

Onitele stool to one Ademola 

Asorota, whom they said was a 

stranger to the Itele family. 

The letter, by Chief Taoreed 

efforts and persuasion. 

“When I was going 

through challenges in the 

other political party, the 

senator, and the senator 

representing Edo Central 

senatorial district, Senator 

Clifford Ordia, approached 

me and said to me, ‘my 

brother, don't worry, when 

you are ready, we have a 

platform for you. Just let us 

know when you are ready. 

We will bring you in'. 

“Senator Urhoghide said 

to me, because of you, I am 

not going to contest. People 

have been approaching me 

to contest. I want you to 

come and take this ticket 

and, once you take this 

ticket, I will work for you.” 

He described the 

celebrant as strategic in 

leading his re-election campaign 

in Edo South, adding: “That 

campaign was historic because 

we were in every ward, and that 

singular effort changed the 

politics of Edo and Nigeria. 

“For the first time in our history, 

every local government in Edo 

South came together and voted 

as one." 

digital investing for every African. 

As we work to expand our 

footprints on the continent, one 

of our key objectives is to identify 

and harness strategic 

partnerships such as this, as well 

as leverage our proprietary 

infrastructure to deliver worldclass, 

leading tools and platforms 

for Africans to invest, trade and 

build lasting wealth.” 

Also speaking on the 

partnership, General Manager, 

TradingView, Pierce Crosby, said: 

“At TradingView, we’re constantly 

seeking opportunities to expand 

and strengthen the TradingView 

community, as we do with our 

tools. TradingView never stops 

expanding and, today, we’re 

excited to announce the release 

of our first Nigerian stockbroker, 

Chaka.” 

Dada, Pa Nurudeen Akapo, Mr. 

Sunday Owotolu and Alhaji 

Monsuru Yusuf, on behalf of all 

the ruling houses, urged the 

Ogun State House of Assembly 

to intervene and prevent 

avoidably bloodshed in Itele. 

The family also called on the 

Ogun State government to 

respect the judgment of the 

Supreme Court delivered on 

December 16, 2011, in suit 

number SC:200/2003 between 

Alhaji Gafar Arowolo and Chief 

Sunday Olowookere & Others, 

where the apex court held that 

Adogun was the founder and first 

settler of Itele and the only family 

consisting of four ruling houses 

that were eligible to the stool of 

Onitele of Itele Awori. 

The family alleged that there 

was an ongoing fraudulent plan 

to sell the vacant stool of Onitele 

of Itele-Awori to one Asorota, who 

is not part of their family and not 

related to them in any way. 

The family stated that it rejected 

the sum of N50 million allegedly 

offered them to relinquish their 

ancestral throne, stating: 

“Asorota, who is from Iseyin in 

Oyo State, has been parading 

himself as a member of Adogun 

Atele.” 


HIJRAH 1443 LECTURE:—From left: Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdulrasheed Olabomi; Deputy Chief of Staff to 

Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Abdullahi Binuyo; President, Osun Muslim Community, Alh. Mustafa 

Olawuyi; Chief Imam, Osogbo, Sheikh Musa Animashaun, and Justice Moshood Adeigbe (retd), 

during the public lecture to celebrate Hijrah 1443. 

Security operatives have failed 

Nigerians —Osun monarch 

....As don blames FG over insecurity 

By Shina Abubakar 

O SOGBO—THE 

Aragbiji of Iragbiji in 

Osun State, Oba 

Abdulrasheed Olabomi, 

yesterday, said the 

country’s conventional 

security outfit has failed to 

protect lives and property 

of the citizenry, saying 

more Nigerians are dying 

through the guns of 

security operatives. 

He said the country’s 

security architecture has 

done well in harassing 

residents across the 

country, while jettisoning its 

basic responsibility of 

protecting them. 

Aragbiji spoke at the 1443 

We can achieve Ibadan State without Yoruba 

nation —CCII 

By Adeola Badru 

IBADAN—THE Central 

Council of Ibadan 

Indigenes, CCII, 

yesterday, insisted that the 

clamour for Ibadan State is 

still achievable without 

Yoruba nation agitation. 

The newly elected 

President-General of the 

council, Prince Oluyemisi 

Adeaga, who spoke to 

Vanguard, said he and the 

immediate-past President- 

General, Chief Yemi 

Soladoye, were at the 

National Assembly to 

present a paper at the 

public hearing, towards 

amending the constitution, 

adding that they presented 

papers on the case for the 

creation of Ibadan State. 

Adeaga said: “In the 

course of doing that, we 

made suggestions on why 

it has been difficult for the 

creation of the state and 

lauded all the senators from 

Oyo State at the National 

Assembly for their 

contributions, because they 

created the chances for us 

to present our case before 

the lawmakers. 

“With God, nothing is 

impossible and I want to say 

Hijrah celebration, 

organised by the Osun 

State government in 

partnership with the state's 

Muslim Community, in 

Osogbo. 

He said: “It is unfortunate 

that armed robbers can 

operate in Iree freely for 

two hours and escape, 

especially when the town is 

surrounded by six 

Divisional Police 

headquarters. Meanwhile, 

ordinarily, police presence 

is heavy in the area 

collecting money from 

motorists. They kill 

innocent residents if they 

refuse to give them money. 

More people now die from 

police guns because of 

that we have in the 

National Assembly now 

active representation by 

those who are representing 

us. 

“Oodua nation is the wish 

of the people of Yorubaland 

and we are part of the 

people. However, we are 

leaders of people who have 

money, while robbers 

operate freely and escape 

in our towns. 

“The Police, DSS, Army 

and even the Nigeria 

Security and Civil Defense 

Corps have failed to 

safeguard Nigerians from 

insecurity. It is time for 

traditional rulers and 

community leaders to form 

their security or vigilante 

groups to secure their lives 

and property, if the police, 

as seen in the Iree case, are 

also afraid of the criminal 

gangs.” 

In his paper titled: 

‘Insecurity Level in 

Nigeria, Tilting Towards 

Anarchy: Islamic Solutions’, 

the Vice-Chancellor, 

the independence to 

determine what they want 

to do and how they want to 

do it. 

“If it becomes a collective 

thing, a good leader will 

support the followers on 

what they want to do. That’s 

exactly what a good leader 

should do. 

“And I say that if the 

circumstance that is 

Fountain University, 

Professor Hamid Sanni said 

insincerity of the Federal 

Government is fuelling 

insecurity in Nigeria. 

Professor Sanni said: 

“Insincerity of the Federal 

Government is fuelling 

insecurity in the country. 

The Federal Government is 

not treating Nigerians that 

show concern with the 

spate of insecurity the same 

way. 

“Government at all levels 

must discuss with 

stakeholders in Nigeria on 

ways to resolve rising 

insecurity in the country to 

curb the present state of 

anarchy the country finds 

itself. Government has 

failed to provide security, 

which is its primary 

responsibility, hence, must 

redress the trend.” 

breeding this thought 

doesn’t change, perhaps, if 

the people want to go, we 

will go along with them 

because we do things along 

with the people. 

“But I want to say that 

without Oodua Nation, 

Ibadan will still have its status. 

So, if it is created, we will go as 

Ibadan State, and if not we will 

remain Ibadan State.” 

Osun Amotekun recruits 93 women, 360 

personnel 


O Western 

SOGBO—THE 

Nigeria 

Security Network, 

codenamed Amotekun, in 

Osun State, yesterday, 

recruited 360 personnel 

into the corps. 

Speaking with newsmen 

in Osogbo, Amotekun 

Governing Board’s 

Chairman, Brig. Gen. 

Isah Aderigbigbe (retd), 

said the number was 

drawn from 1,647 persons 

that attended the 

interview. 

While disclosing that the 

recruits in the first phase 

would resume training on 

Sunday, August 15, at Wole 

Soyinka High, Ejigbo, he 

said 93 women were 

recruited into the corps 

across the state. 

Aderigbigbe said: “We 

printed about 2000 forms 

out of which 1,647 people 

reported for an interview 

and they were screened. We 

took 360 of them. We pick 

at least three females in 

each of Osun 30 local 

government areas and one 

area office. 

“If some of those that 

were shortlisted failed to 

resume to camp between 8 

am and 6 pm, we have a 

reserve list that we can call 

upon within 24 hours. 

“Our camping will start 

on August 15, 2021, at Wole 

Soyinka High School 

Ejigbo. The candidates are 

expected to report to the 

camp on that day between 

8 am and 6 pm; any 

candidate that fails to meet 

up within the period will 

forfeit his chance. Our 

passing out will be 4th of 

September after three 

weeks in camp. The recruit 

must come to camp with 

medical fitness report from 

a government hospital and 

other materials like white 

vests, blue shorts and 

cutlery. 

“The numbers of those 

that we recruit in all the 

local government areas of 

the state are almost equal 

except for some flashpoints 

where we expect threats; 

we increase numbers in 

those areas. 

“We are recruiting in 

three phases; this is just the 

first phase.”


:@vanguardnews 

NEWS HOTLINES: 

08052867023, 08052867058 


Social Media Conversation 

ADOPTION—From left: Pharm Ezeh Sunday, MAW, National Secretary; Mrs. Morenike 

Taire, Group Woman Editor, Vanguard; Ms Janet Najomoh, Deputy Advert Manager, 

Vanguard; Dr. Adekola Oluwaoromopin, MAW, DSA, National Chairman; Mrs. Omokhafe 

Ashore, MAW, National Treasurer, during the Association of Community Pharmacists of 

Nigeria's adoption of Vanguard as official newspaper, ahead of its 40th National 

Conference, in Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday. 

Lagos Assembly approves Sanwo-Olu’s 

request for LCC ownership 

By Ebunoluwa Sessou 

LAGOS—LAGOS State 

House of Assembly, 

yesterday, granted the request 

of Governor Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu for the conversion of the 

African Development Bank, 

AfDB, loan by Lekki 

Concession Company Limited, 

LCC, a privately owned 

organisation, to take full 

ownership of the company. 

In his presentation, 

Chairman of the Committee, 

Mr. Rotimi Olowo, stated that 

upon the buy-out of all the 

shareholdings interest of LCC 

by the state, the state 

government becomes the 

subsisting shareholder of LCC 

with 75 per cent shareholding, 

and the Office of Public- 

Private Partnerships 

Memorial service: Tears as family, friends pay tribute 

to late Adebo 

By Juliet Umeh 

LAGOS—EMOTIONS ran 

high as family and friends of 

late events planner, Mrs. 

Moromoke Adebo, popularly 

known as RMK, yesterday, 

recounted the life and times of the 

socialite at the Ebony Vaults in 

Ikoyi, Lagos, the venue of her first 

memorial service. 

Brother to the deceased, Dr. 

Tunji Olugbodi, who could not 

control his tears, said his sister’s 

life was short but impactful. 

He described the late Adebo as 

DiatomImpact gives N49.3m scholarships to Lagos, Ogun 

indigent students 


LAGOS—AN impact-focused 

investment and research 

organization, DiatomImpact, has 

disbursed N49.3 million 

scholarship fund to indigent 

students in Lagos and Ogun 

states, promising to spread the 

gesture to other parts of the 

country. 

Briefing journalists in Lagos on 

the corporate social responsibility 

projects embarked upon by 

DiatomImpact, Director of Impact 

and Research, Dr. Anna Bethune, 

said: “Africa cannot afford to keep 

a high percentage of its 

population as illiterates. We must 

shareholding 25 per cent, 

respectively. 

He further explained in the 

report that the original $53.9 

million loan obligation from a 

private sector facility, AFDB, had 

been resolved after series of 

engagements between the AFDB, 

LCC and the State Government 

to convert the loan to a public 

sector facility with the benefit of a 

considerable reduction in interest 

charges of 1.02 per cent of 

$1.12million bi-annual as against 

the 4.12 per cent of $2.746million 

per bi-annual, thus giving a 

savings of $1.16million bi-annual 

or $3.24milliom per annum. 

The House, therefore, granted 

the governor the approval to 

convert the AFDB loan to the 

public sector loan backed up by 

the Federal Government’s 

guarantee on behalf of the State 

his only sister, who could lay 

down her life for him. 

Olugbodi said: “She was a 

generous person. She lived for 

only 38 years and, as you can see 

from the testimonies, she was 

somebody who touched lives 

across boards, whether old, 

young or indigent. 

“She was a thoroughbred 

professional who trained herself 

in the job and became excellently 

good. We are sorry to see her go 

quite early but we thank God he 

sent us an angel.” 

Also speaking on behalf of her 

friends, Mrs. Toyosi Ogboja, said 

the late RMK was an inspiration 

begin to change the African 

narrative by ensuring that the 

young ones, whether coming 

from a rich or poor home, are well 

educated. In most of these 

children are hidden talents and 

potentials that could transform 

this continent and correct the 

misconceptions.” 

A breakdown of the CSR efforts 

of DiatomImpact includes the 

disbursement of N19.3 million for 

scholarship to 40 students of the 

Nigerian Navy Secondary School, 

Ojo, Lagos; disbursement of N30 

million for the scholarship to 10 

students of the City of Knowledge 

Academy, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun 

State; refurbishment of a 

University of Lagos, UniLag 

building with state-of-the-art 

Government as well as; authorize 

the State Government to issue a 

counter-guarantee in favour of 

the Federal Government along 

with an irrevocable standing 

payment order, ISPO to deduct 

from Lagos State Government 

statutory allocations. 

According to the report, the 

servicing of the loan obligations 

would be a maturity till August 

2034. 

Debating on the report before 

the initial approval, Mr. Gbolahan 

Yishawu supported that the 

recommendation was a smart 

move as the interest rate would 

not injure what the State was 

spending on capital 

expenditure. 

In his remarks, Speaker of the 

House, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa 

directed the acting Clerk, Mr. 

Olalekan Onafeko to send a clean 

copy of the resolution of the 

House to the Governor. 

to her. 

Ogboja said: “We have realized 

that Moromoke is no more. She 

had so much to give. She didn’t 

have to go but I want to thank 

God for her life because though 

it was short, it was also quite 

impactful. 

“Meanwhile, it is our duty now 

to carry on the legacies that she 

left behind.” 

The family disclosed that a 

foundation named after her, 

Moromoke Adebo Foundation, 

which was launched last year will 

supply six months of sanitary 

towels to secondary school girls to mark 

her 40th birthday by December. 

lecture and meeting rooms; 

donation of autonomous robots to 

the university; creation of mobile 

technology to teach learners how 

to read through WhatsApp and 

SMS messages and adoption, 

renovation and equipping of the 

City of Knowledge Academy and 

the Nigerian Navy Secondary 

School. 

Bethune, who hinted that the 

gesture would be replicated in 

other states across the country, 

said: “As part of our commitment 

to education and capacity 

development in Nigeria, we 

partner with primary, secondary, and 

tertiary institutions to help them achieve 

their vision of transforming children and 

young adults into responsible, skilled, 

and culturally balanced citizens.” 

Your ‘bus-stop's still ahead! 

What's the third option? 

419 jams yahoo!


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

• A deserted street in Onitsha, Anambra State, following the IPOB's sitat-home 

order. 

6 people feared dead, as IPOB's sit-at-home 

order records total compliance 

• 4 dead in shootings in Orlu, Mbaise; 2 buses, house burnt •2 shot dead in soldiers clash with 

civilians in Nnewi •Total compliance in Enugu, Onitsha, Nnewi •Order paralyzes commercial, academic 

activities •Ebonyi records partial compliance as stray bullet hits a church member •Aba completely 

shut down, partial compliance in Umuahia •Sit-at-home ended before noon in Awka •Owerri locked 

down •Sit-at-home recorded 100% success —IPOB 

By Vincent Ujumadu, Chidi Nkwopara, 

Peter Okutu, Chimaobi Nwaiwu, 

Ugochukwu Alaribe, Chinedu Adonu, 

Chinonso Alozie, Ikechukwu Odu & Steve 

Okoh 

SIX PEOPLE were yester 

day feared dead in Aboh 

Mbaise, Imo State, and 

Nnewi, Anambra State, as 

security agents clashed with 

enforcers of the sit-at-home 

order at the instance of the 

Indigenous People of Biafra, 

IPOB. 

Generally, the sit-at-home 

order recorded total compliance 

across states in the South 

East and where resistance was 

suspected, IPOB enforcers 

moved around to ensure compliance. 

IPOB, through its Director 

of Media and Publicity, 

Emma Powerful, had said that 

human and vehicular movements 

would be restricted 

across Biafran land every 

Monday, starting from yesterday, 

August 9, 2021, until Mazi 

Nnamdi Kanu is released unconditionally 

from detention. 

Imo: 4 feared 

dead, house 

burnt, shootings 

in Orlu, Mbaise 

Four persons were said to 

have been killed by the unknown 

gunmen in Aboh- 

Mbaise as IPOB enforcers 

combed communities to enfocre 

the sit-at-home order . 

There was shooting in Orlu 

Local Government Area of 

Imo State by unknown gunmen 

from Banana junction up 

to Nkwito junction yesterday. 

The incident occurred at 

about 01:30 pm which forced 

residents to take cover in their 

various houses as motorists 

completely avoided Orlu 

main town. 

Vanguard gathered that the 

problem started when the unknown 

gunmen were moving 

to some places within and 

outside the Orlu Local Government 

Area of the state to 

enforce the sit-at-home order. 

The armed men were also 

said to have set ablaze a 

house in Isiala-Amadim village 

at Amaifeke in Orlu Local 

Government Area of the 

state. 

The gunmen moved to 

Mbaise axis where they set 

ablaze two commercial buses 

at Ngwogwu in Aboh 

Mbaise Local Government 

Area of Imo State at about 

08:30am. 

It was gathered that one of 

the buses was heading to 

Umuahia and the other one 

to Owerri when they were attacked. 

The two buses were completely 

burnt, while some other 

buses were asked to return 

to Owerri. 

An eyewitness told Vanguard: 

"Two persons inside 

one of the buses were burnt to 

death and a passenger was 

shot dead. A driver of one of 

the buses was killed. 

''This incident happened this 

morning and as I am talking 

to you now, there is no movement, 

not even a bus. People 

are in their houses now. 

"We are living in fear now. 

These unknown gunmen are 

giving us trouble. Is this how 

we will get this thing that we 

are looking for?" 

When Vanguard contacted 

Imo State Police Public Relations 

Officer, PPRO, Mike 

Abatam, he said the Police had 

commenced investigations 

into reports of violence and 

burning of buses. 

Owerri locked 

down 

Owerri, Imo State capital, 

was yesterday, shutdown 

completely in full compliance 

with the sit-at-home order issued 

by the leadership of the 

Indigenous People of Biafra, 

IPOB. 

When Vanguard moved 

around the commercial centres 

in the municipality, including 

Douglas Road, Tetlow 

Road, Royce Road, School 

Road, Old Market Road, 

Mbaise Road, Christ Church 

Road, Njemanze Street and 

Ekeonunwa Street, it was discovered 

that all the shop owners 

did not display their wares. 

The story was the same in 

the ever busy Rotobi Street 

which houses all the national 

newspapers. 

A newspaper sales representative, 

who spoke on strict 

grounds of anonymity, told 

Vanguard: "While the newspaper 

offices were open for 

business, some of the papers 

were yet to arrive Owerri, as 

at 1.28pm. 

''Only about six vendors 

braved it to Rotobi Street to 

collect the day's paper. In my 

view, the sit-at-home order 

was effectively observed in 

Owerri." 

Reacting also, the owner of 

a busy pharmacy along Wetheral 

Road (name withheld), 

said: "I am not an IPOB loyalist 

but there is no point taking 

a costly chance. Not opening 

for business today (yesterday), 

will not diminish what I 

have strived to build over the 

years. I have chosen to play 

safe." 

Similarly, all the big names 

in the transport sector of the 

economy did not load their 

vehicles for any trip within or 

outside Imo State. 

All the recognized and illegal 

motor parks in Owerri, 

were similarly shut, as Vanguard 

did not sight any commuter 

vehicle in them. 

A visit to the Federal and 

State Secretariat Complexes, 

along Port Harcourt Road, 

Owerri, showed that only a 

handful of civil servants were 

seen at their desks. 

2 shot dead in 

soldiers clash 

with civilians in 

Nnewi 

In Nnewi, the industrial city 

of Anambra State, all the markets, 

street shops, business 

houses, industries and banks 

were all closed for business as 

residents and traders deserted 

the roads following the 

bloody clash that erupted at 

about 9am in the city. 

The sit-at-home got bloody 

in Nnewi with two people losing 

their lives in a confrontation 

between the Army and 

suspected members of IPOB. 

The two people who died 

during the bloody confrontation 

that happened at 

Izuchukwu junction area of 

Nnewi roundabout, according 

to an eyewitness, were alleged 

to be a leader of IPOB 

and a commercial motorcyclist. 


problem started at about 

• Another deserted street in Aba, Umuahia, Abia State, following the 

IPOB's sit-at-home order. 

7.00am when some IPOB 

members allegedly came out 

to enforce the order and in the 

process, blocked major roads 

in the industrial town. 

Some unidentified soldiers 

were said to have rushed to 

the area to clear the items 

used to block the roads and in 

the process, an altercation ensued 

between them and the 

IPOB members, making the 

soldiers to fire at the motorcyclist 

and the IPOB member 

after which the soldiers quickly 

took off. 

However, another source 

told Vanguard that the two 

people killed were commercial 

motorcyclists who came 

out for brisk business but were 

sighted near the blockade put 

on the road and the soldiers 

started questioning them why 

the road was blocked and following 

hot exchange of 

words, they were shot by the 

soldiers who hurriedly left the 

scene. 

Meanwhile, the industrial 

town was reduced to a ghost 

town after the incident as the 

people who initially came out 

to survey the level of compliance 

rushed back home to 

save their lives. 

Some vehicles were also 

smashed by aggrieved persons 

over the attack on the civilians 

by armed soldiers. 

However, in what was speculated 

to be a reprisal attack 

following the killing of the 

two persons by unidentified 

soldiers in Nnewi, the Police 

Area Command Nnewi yesterday 

afternoon, came under 

a heavy attack. The attack of 

the Police Area Command 

caused pandemonium 

amongst the residents of the 

industrial town. 


unknown gunmen went to the 

Police station in seven vehicles 

and started shooting sporadically, 

an exercise that lasted 

for over one hour. 

Another source told Vanguard 

that the gunmen overpowered 

the Police men and 

carted away their arms, adding 

that the attacking gunmen 

had left before reinforcement 

from other security agencies 

arrived the Area Command. 

There was no information 

yet on the number of casualties, 

but sources revealed that 

with the level of sporadic 

shootings there, it would only 

take the grace of God not to 

have any casualty in the attack. 

While some people speculated 

that four Policeman 

were killed, a security operative 

close to the police command 

in the area said that 

nobody was killed but weapons 

were carted away by the 

hoodlums. 

The Anambra State Police 

Public Relations Officer, 

PPRO, Mr Tochukwu Ikenga, 

when contacted at press 

time yesterday, said his office 

had not received the report 

on the attack. 

Total compliance 

in Onitsha 

Business activities, schools, 

markets and street shops in 

Onitsha and Nnewi were under 

lock and key, while the 

ever busy roads were deserted 

by residents. 

The ever busy and gridlock 

prone Niger Bridge was a 

ghost of itself. Both Onitsha 

and Asaba, the Delta State 

capital ends were completely 

deserted just as the two pedestrian 

crossing of both sides of 

the bridge were completely 

deserted. 

The ever busy Onitsha/ 

Enugu expressway from Niger 

Bridge Head area of Onitsha 

to Upper Iweka through 

Army Barracks to Zik's roundabout, 

to Nkpor and old Ogbunike 

tollgate, were completely 

deserted by residents 

as no private cars, commercial 

buses and tricycles were 

sighted along the areas. 

All the markets in Onitsha 

including the popular and 

and highly populated Onitsha 

Main Market, Ochanja Central 

Market, Bridge Head 

Medicine Market, popularly 

known as Ogbo Ogwu and the 

Bridge Head Market housing 

over 28 autonomous markets 

were all shut for business. Popular 

Onitsha food market, Ose 

Okwodu and Coca-Cola market 

located along Onitsha 

Enugu expressway and Relief 

Market Okpoko were all shut 

from business activities. 

The popular Provision 

Market, the Relief Market, 

located opposite Upper Iweka 

Fly over, Electronics International 

Market, along Enugu 

Onitsha expressway opposite 

Premier Breweries, the 

New Auto Spare Parts and 

New Tyre Market all located 

in Nkpor and the Building 

Materials International 

Market Ogidi; Concessionaires 

and Bakery Market located 

opposite it were also 

closed for business and the 

perennial traffic hold-up in 

the area disappeared. 

Other markets and small 

scale industries, like Osakwe 

Industrial Cluster, where plastic 

and waterproof materials 

are produced and the old 

Motor Spare Parts Markets, 

popularly known as Ngbuka 

Obosi Market, were all shut 

down in compliance to the 

sit-at-home directed by IPOB. 

All banks located within 

Onitsha, its environs and suburbs 

and the ones located near 

all the popular and small 

markets in the commercial 

city, including those located 

in Awada, Obosi, Nkpor, New 

Market and Old Market 

roads in Onitsha, were all 

closed for business contrary 

to their earlier plan to open 

for business following the Anambra 

State government's 

directive that workers in the 

state must report to work. 

Civil servants 

reported to work 

around noon in 

Awka 

In Awka, the sit-at-home order 

was observed in the major 

cities during the morning 

hours but ended around noon. 

Shops started opening in 

Awka when they observed that 

there were no IPOB members 

harassing people although 

the Awka main market did not 

open for business until afternoon. 

Civil servants who tried to 

be in their offices as directed 

by the state Head of Service, 

HOS, were unable to do so 

because commercial vehicles 

were off the roads in obedience 

to the IPOB order. 

However, most of them later 

went to their offices when 

vehicles returned to the roads. 

When Vanguard visited the 

Jerome Udorji secretariat in 

Awka, many workers were on 

their duty posts but the population 

was not as it used to be. 

The Onitsha- Owerri highway 

and the Awka- Ekwulobia 

road were totally devoid 

of the usual traffic, while the 

banks and the filling stations 

were all shut as at the time of 

filling this report. 

At Ichida in Anaocha local 

government, some youths 

mounted road blocks and any 

vehicle that came that way 

was asked to part with some 

money. 

A woman who was traveling 

from Awka to Ihiala to 

attend her community's annual 

August meeting told Vanguard 

that she was forced to 

part with some money at two 

road blocks before she 

reached her destination. 

Continues on page 11


ONE YEAR MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR LATE MOROMOKE ADEBO 

The one-year memorial service for Late Moromoke Adebo, nee Olugbodi held at Ebony Vault, Ikoyi, Lagos yesterday. Photos: 

Akeem Salau. 

From left; Mr Seun Olugbodi, DMD, Background Check International, his wife, Itunu, 

MD, June 5 Events, Mr Yinka Olugbodi, MD, Team Building International, Mrs Biyi 

Tunji-Olugbodi, EVC Honeycomb Confectioneries Ltd, Mr Kola Olugbodi, MD, Background 

Check International, Mrs Laide Olugbodi, MD Arrowhead Ltd, Dr Tunji Olug- 

Mrs. Kay Ovia, Chairman, Board of Directors of Cyberspace Limited 

(2nd left); Dr Tunji Olugbodi, EVC, Verdant Zeal Communications Ltd bodi, EVC, Verdant Zeal Communications Ltd, Miss Oyinkan Olugbodi and Mr Pileogo 

(centre); Mr Oladipo Adebo, widower (2nd right) with the children of Olugbodi - all siblings and in-laws of the deceased. 

the late Moromoke Adebo. 

From left: Mr Femi Olansebe; Segun Odunlami; 

Izugbokwe Chukwudi and Olatunji Adenuga. 

Mrs Oluwaseun Otuagoma (left) and Bode Shopeju. Mrs Adeola Adebo (left) and Sunmonu Mariam. 

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

6 people feared dead as IPOB's sit-at-home 

order records total compliance 

Continued from page 10 

There were no police presence 

in most of the towns in 

the state as all the usual 

checkpoints were deserted. 

Enugu grounded 

Enugu State was yesterday, 

grounded following the sit-athome 

order in solidarity for 

the release of it's leader, 

Mazi, Nnamdi Kanu from 

detention. 

Commercial activities 

came to a standstill in the 

state capital as residents deserted 

the streets and roads 

in compliance with the sit-athome 

order. 

Our correspondent who 

monitored the sit- at- home 

in Enugu gathered that commercial 

banks, schools, 

shops, malls, were all shut . 

There was no vehicular 

movement in the state metropolis. 

All business activities were 

shut down. All markets were 

under lock and key. Public 

and private secondary and 

primary schools were shut 

down. Government offices 

and banks were also not 

opened for businesses. Petrol 

and gas filling stations were 

closed down as streets were 

totally deserted 

Commercial, 

academic activities 

in Nsukka 

paralysed 

The university community 

in Nsukka Local Government 

Area of Enugu State, 

yesterday, became a ghost 

town as commercial, academic 

and social activities 

were paralyzed in compliance 

with the sit-at-home order 

declared by the Indigenous 

People of Biafra, IPoB. 

Vanguard observed that the 

popular and ever-busy Ogige 

Market at the heart of the 

town was shut even as commercial 

banks closed their 

doors against their customers. 

Even primary and secondary 

school managements 

were not left out on this compliance 

to the IPoB order as 

they turned back the pupils 

and students respectively to 

their homes. 

Some residents who spoke 

to Vanguard on conditions of 

anonymity expressed their 

solidarity to IPoB but insisted 

that shutting down South East 

zone every Monday until 

Nnamdi Kanu is released 

from DSS custody is counter 

productive on the economy of 

the people, arguing that those 

who fend for their families by 

the virtue of what they earn 

from their daily handiworks 

would bear the brunt of the 

order. 

They described the order as 

self-inflicting and pleaded 

with IPoB to rescind it for the 

good of the zone. 

However, in his reaction, 

the President General of Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo, Nsukka Local 

Government Area Chapter, 

Prof. Damian Opata, said the 

order would drastically nosedive 

the economy of the south 

east and plunge the people 

into irredeemable poverty. 

Prof. Opata added that ruling 

by terrorizing the people 

is the direct opposite of what 

Biafra agitations were. 

He asked IPoB to consider 

the collective and legal assent 

of the people in whatever 

they are doing. 

Aba completely 

shut down, partial 

compliance in 

Umuahia 

The ever-busy Milverton 

Avenue in Aba habouring a 

luxury bus park was a ghost 

of itself while the streets were 

totally deserted. 

Aba –Owerri and Ikot Ekpene, 

Tonimas , Faulks and 

Alaoji flyover ,in Aba, were 

deserted by motorists and 

shop owners. 

Banks in the city were also 

under locks and key while 

schools were deserted both 

by pupils and teachers. 

Roads were virtually empty 

except for occasional movement 

of vehicles on essential 

duties. 

No security agents were 

sighted on the road in Aba. 

But unlike Aba, there was a 

partial compliance in Umuahia 

the capital city as some 

shops in the metropolis 

opened for business. 

There were also vehicular 

and human movements although 

not in full scale. 

Banks in the city did not 

however open for business 

except customers who made 

their transactions through 

their Automatic Teller Machines, 

ATMs. 

Orie Ukpa relief market 

was also open but not in full 

swing as witnessed on a normal 

day. 

When our Correspondent visited 

the Umuahia North Local 

Government Secretariat, workers 

were seen at the premises. 

Some streets in Umuahia 

were however empty as some 

youths were found playing football. 

A convoy of police team was 

also sighted patrolling major 

streets in Umuahia on show of 

force. 

But there was no incident of 

violence or confrontation in any 

part of the state. 

A resident of Umuahia, Mazi 

Ogbonnaya Nwakodo said "the 

sit-at-home is worth it.People are 

saying 'release Nnamdi Kanu. 

He has not commited any crime 

as far as I am concerned. The 

exercise is a signal that Kanu is 

not alone. He is a hero for the 

masses. We trust him more than 

the unreliable political leaders 

who can sell us for their selfish 

interests. This protest will continue 

until he is released. Despite 

the huge cost, we are ready 

to sustain the agitation until he 

is released”. 

Ebonyi records 

partial compliance 

as stray bullet 

hits church 

member in the eye 

The sit-at-home order recorded 

partial compliance in Ebonyi 

State, as most indigenes of the 

state were seen going about 

their normal businesses, while 

others were seen within their 

vicinities contemplating on the 

next line of action. 

Vanguard gathered that all the 

transport companies located 

along Afikpo road opened for 

business but passengers were 

not seen boarding the vehicles 

to various destinations. 

Some popular eatries, including 

Crunchies, opened for business, 

with few customers seen 

patronizing them. 

Some parks, including popular 

Ishieke park located along 

Water-Works road within the 

metropolis, opened with car 

owners washing their cars. 

However, commercial banks 

located on the axis of Ogoja road 

and Afikpo road did not open but 

their Automated Teller Machines, 

ATM, were dispensing 

cash to customers. 

Some shops opened for businesses 

in the capital city, with 

both human and vehicular movements 

though not as it used to 

be before the sit-at-home was 

declared by IPOB. 

The international market in 

the capital city opened for business 

but shops therein were 

completely empty without any 

form of business transactions. 

Many filling stations in the 

capital city didn't open for business, 

while very few others 

opened. 

Civil servants defied the sitat-home 

order as they were seen 

in their offices at Ochudo City 

Secretariat and Old Government 

House, Abakaliki. 

In schools, only National Examination 

Council, NECO, candidates 

were seen writing their 

exams when Vanguard visited Urban 

Model Secondary School, 

Okpaugwu; Girls High School, 

Azuiyiokwu; and Overcomers 

Schools, Ozibo village, Echiaba 

Development Centre, Ebonyi 

local government area of the 

state. 

The popular mechanic site 

was completely empty without 

any of the artisans at work. 

In the early hours of yesterday, 

security agents were seen 

carrying out what they described 

as "show of force" in many patrol 

vans moving round the metropolis. 

Vanguard authoritatively gathered 

that there were sporadic 

shootings at Ugwuachara community 

of Ebonyi Local Government 

Area of the state, causing 

panic and chaos in the area. 

One of the victims of the 

shoot-out is a member of a new 

generation church in Ebonyi 

State. The victim was reportedly 

shot in the eyes, following an 

unconfirmed report of a gun battle 

between security forces and 

some criminals. 

A leader of the church who 

did not want his name in print, 

said: "I just got a call from a member 

of the church that his wife 

has been shot in the eyes. I'm 

sending a doctor to look at the 

situation of the wife. It is related 

to the Ugwuachara shooting." 

Sit at home 

recorded 100% 

success —IPOB 

However, the Indigenous 

People of Biafra, IPOB, has said 

that its sit- at - home order to 

show solidarity with its leader, 

Nnamdi Kanu, recorded 100 

percent success. 

In a statement by Media and 

Publicity Secretary of IPOB, 

Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB 

commend Biafrans, friends of Biafra 

and lovers of freedom who 

made the exercise a huge success 

despite what he described 

as counter orders from ‘unknown 

men working for DSS to discredit 

IPOB and its leadership.’ 

It stated that the quest to demand 

Nnamdi Kanu’s release 

will continue but from another 

dimension. 

"We the global family of the 

IPOB ably led by our prophet 

and liberator, Mazi Nnamdi 

Kanu, are delighted to note that 

this ghost town and sit-at-home 

order issued by IPOB leadership 

was 100% successful."

12— Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 



WORKSHOP: Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Sheriff Oborevwori (middle); 

Deputy Speaker, Christopher Ochor (3rd right); Chief Whip, Mrs Pat Ajudua (2nd right); 

Deputy Majority Leader, Oboro Preyor (left); Deputy Chief Whip, Solomon Ighrakpata 

(right); Clerk of the House, Mrs Lyna Ocholor (2nd left) and one of the guest speakers, 

Ambassador Jerry Ugokwe, a former ambassador and former member of the National Assembly 

during the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop for political support staff of members 

of the Delta State House of Assembly, yesterday. 

State govt, not FIRS, entitled to collect 

VAT, related taxes in Rivers, court declares 

By Egufe 

Yafugborhi 

PORT HARCOURT – A 

Federal High Court 

sitting in Port Harcourt, 

Rivers State, yesterday, held 

that the Rivers State 

Government and not the 

Federal Inland Revenue 

Services, FIRS, was the 

rightful authority to collect 

Value-Added Tax, VAT, and 

Personal Income Tax, PIT, in 

the state. 

The trial judge, Justice 

Stephen Pam, also restrained 

FIRS and the Attorney- 

General of the Federation, 

both 1st and 2nd defendants 

in the suit, from collecting, 

demanding, threatening and 

intimidating residents of 

Rivers State to pay to FIRS, 

both PIT and VAT. 

Justice Pam in his 

judgment in the suit by the 

Attorney-General for Rivers 

State against FIRS and AGF 

granted all the 11 reliefs 

sought by the Rivers 

Government. 

The court held that there 

was no constitutional basis for 

the FIRS to demand and 

collect VAT, Withholding Tax, 

Education Tax and 

Technology Levy in Rivers or 

any other state of the 

federation, being that the 

constitutional powers and 

competence of the Federal 

Government was limited to 

taxation of incomes, profits 

and capital gains, which does 

not include VAT or any other 

species of sales, or levy other 

than those specifically 

mentioned in items 58 and 

59 of the Exclusive 

Legislative List of the 

Constitution. 

The judge dismissed the 

preliminary objections by the 

defendants that the court 

lacks jurisdiction to hear the 

suit and that the case should 

be transferred to the Court of 

Appeal for interpretation. 

Justice Pam, who also 

dismissed the argument by 

the defendants that the 

National Assembly ought to 

have been made a party in 

the suit, holding that the 

issues of taxes raised by the 

state government were issues 

of law that the court is 

constitutionally empowered 

to entertain. 

The judge after a diligent 

review of the issues raised by 

the plaintiff and the 

defendants held that the 

plaintiff had proved beyond 

doubt that it was entitled to 

all the 11 reliefs sought. 

The court agreed with the 

Rivers Government that it 

was the state and not FIRS 

that is constitutionally entitled 

to impose taxes enforceable 

or collectable in its territory 

like consumption or sales tax, 

VAT, education and other 

taxes or levies, other than the 

taxes and duties specifically 

reserved for the Federal 

Government by items 58 and 

59 of Part 1 of the Second 

Schedule of the 1999 

constitution as amended. 

The court declared that the 

defendants were not 

constitutionally entitled to 

charge or impose levies, 

charges or rates (under any 

guise or by whatever name 

called) on residents of Rivers 

and indeed any state of the 

federation. 

Rivers State Government 

had asked the court to declare 

that the constitutional power 

of the Federal Government to 

impose taxes and duties was 

limited to items listed in items 

58 and 59 of Part 1 of the 

Second Schedule of the 1999 

Constitution (as amended). 

The state government had 

also urged the court to declare 

that by virtue of the 

provisions of items 7 and 8 of 

Part II (Concurrent 

Legislative List) of the 

Second Schedule of the 

Constitution, the power of the 

Federal Government to 

delegate the collection of 

taxes can only be exercised 

by the state government or 

other authority of the state and 

no other person. 

Rivers Government had 

further asked the court to 

declare that all statutory 

provisions made or 

purportedly made in the 

exercise of the legislative 

powers of the Federal 

Government, which contains 

provisions which are 

inconsistent with or over the 

powers to impose tax and 

duties, as prescribed by items 

58 and 59 of Part I of the 

Second Schedule of the 1999 

Constitution, or inconsistence 

of the power to delegate the 

duty of collection of taxes, as 

contained in items 7 and 8 of 

Part II of the Second 

Schedule of the Constitution, 

are unconstitutional, null and 

void. 

Lead counsel for the Rivers 

State Government, Donald 

Denwigwe, SAN, who spoke 

to journalists after the 

judgment, explained that 

“the case is all about the 

interpretation of the 

constitution as regards the 

authority of the government 

at the state and federal levels 

to collect certain revenue 

particularly, VAT. 

“So, during the 

determination of the matter, 

some issues of law were 

thrown up like, whether or 

not the case should be 

referred to the Court of 

Appeal for the determination 

of some issues. 

“The court noted that the 

application was like asking 

the Federal High Court to 

transfer the entire case to the 

Court of Appeal. In which 

case, if the court so decides, 

there will be nothing left to 

refer back to the Federal High 

Court as required by the 

constitution.” 

According to Denwigwe, 

the court refused that prayer 

and decided that the case was 

in its proper place before the 

Federal High Court to 

determine. 

Speaking on the 

implication of the judgment, 

Denwigwe said it was now, 

unlawful for such taxes as 

VAT in Rivers State to be 

collected by any agency of the 

Federal Government. 

“In other words, the issue 

of VAT in the territory of Rivers 

State and Personal Income 

Tax should be reserved for the 

government of Rivers State,” 

he said. 

Counsel to FIRS, O.C. 

Eyibo, said he would study 

the judgment and advise his 

client accordingly. 

HOSTCOM faults Sylva 

over comments on PIB 

By Samuel 

Oyadongha & 

Emem Idio 

Y ENAGOA—Host 

Communities of Nigeria 

Producing Oil and Gas, 

HOSTCOM, has berated 

Minister of State for Petroleum 

Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, 

over comments credited to him 

that the “Host communities 

can’t have more than three per 

cent because it would scare away 

investors.” 

Reacting to the claims by 

Sylva as published in the media, 

National Technical Chairman 

HOSTCOM, George Bucknor, 

pointed out that the minister 

was economical with the truth 

to justify the reduction of the 

demand for 10 per cent equity 

stakeholding in the 2021 

Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB. 

He said: “It’s unfair and 

grossly hypocritical as a son of 

the region to say that the host 

communities can’t have more 

than three per cent because it 

would scare away investors. 

“Many questions are begging 

for answers: Is it the 

appropriated funds to host 

communities or the regulatory 

uncertainties that have scared 

investors away before the 

passage of the 2021 PIB? 

“However, let us draw the 

attention of the Minister of State 

to the memory lane that 

insecurity, regulatory 

uncertainties, industry 

divestment, indigenization, 

climate change challenges and 

the new world order of transiting 

from fossil fuel to clean and 

renewable energy for a better 

greener environment are some 

of the factors that led to the 

changing of their portfolios. 

“Government cannot send an 

operating company to a host 

community without 

guaranteeing the safety of their 

investment/facilities. 

"The future of the host 

communities livelihood and 

environment is uncertain, if the 

President assents to the 2021 PIB 

in consideration to the severe 

environmental degradation 

and ecosystem desecration 

without any mitigation and 

remediation strategies put in 

place to return the environment 

to its original state with the 

present state of the 2021 PIB, the 

host communities would be 

perpetually enslaved in their 

ancestral homes." 

Orji Kalu, Ize-Iyamu, Larry 

Otu, Uzamere mourn 

Okunbo 

By Festus Ahon & 

Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

FORMER Governor of Abia 

State and Chief Whip of the 

Senate, Dr Orji Kalu; Pastor 

Osagie Ize-Iyamu, 2020 

governorship candidate of the 

All Progressives Congress, APC; 

Chief Executive Officer of Lym 

Consults Nigeria Limited, Mr 

Larry Otu and Senator Ehigie 

Uzamere, yesterday, mourned 

late Captain Hosa Wells 

Okunbo, whose death they 

described as a painful loss to 

mankind. 

Orji Kalu said:: “On behalf of 

the people of Abia North 

Senatorial district, I 

commiserate with the 

government and people of Edo 

State over the passing of 

prominent businessman, 

Captain Okunbo. 

“The deceased was an astute 

businessman, consummate 

politician and philanthropist of 

repute. He contributed to nationbuilding 

and humanity through 

various platforms and 

initiatives. 

“The late chieftain of APC was 

a detrabilised and selflessness 

Nigerian, whose memories will 

linger forever in the minds of his 

family, friends and associates. 

He will be greatly missed.” 

The former governor also 

conveyed his condolences to the 

new Olu of Warri, Oba Tsola 

Emiko, who is married to the 

late Okunbo’s daughter, Ivie. 

Hosa was a leader, 

role model 

—Ize-Iyamu 

Pastor Ize-Iyamu on his part, 

said: “I thank God for an 

exemplary life of service. 

Captain Hosa was a leader and 

role model, who through his 

compassion and generosity, 

demonstrated the true essence 

of success:- living meaningfully 

and in faithful commitment to 

the greater purpose of one’s life. 

“Captain Hosa earned the 

respect and affection of many 

in the country and beyond with 

his remarkable personal 

accomplishments which saw 

him triumph in all the territories 

accessible to man. He was 

exceptional as an aviator, 

formidable and incredibly 

successful as an oil and gas 

magnate, security consultant 

and no doubt a force to reckon 

with in agriculture. 

“As one of the true icons to have 

walked our ground, he had a 

special knack and the visionary 

brilliance to recognise 

opportunities long before others 

could see them, and the 

discipline and talent to build 

efficient systems and 

organizations out of bold ideas. 

"He was a man of many 

dreams and ambitions, who was 

able to defeat the limitations of 

the circumstances surrounding 

his birth and claim a prominent 

spot in our national memory. He 

was a solution provider. 

“Although Hosa was an 

international businessman of 

repute, he was equally proud of 

his culture and tradition and 

was detribalized. Through 

personal achievements and 

contributions, he showed the 

world the true spirit and 

potential of the Edo people. 

“Captain Hosa’s warmth and 

philanthropy endeared him to 

many, all of whom now bear 

witness to his unfettered 

kindness. To everyone who 

needed help and support, he was 

ready to offer his ears, network 

and economic strength. This 

philanthropic nature of his was 

borne out of his unwavering 

love for God. 

“We will celebrate his life and 

the measure of its worth. We will 

remember him tomorrow. We 

will remember the joy he gave, 

the laughter he shared and the 

smile he wore. We will honour 

his legacy. 

“I am grateful to his family 

for sharing Captain with us, and 

send my most heartfelt 

condolences to them at this very 

difficult hour. I pray that the 

Almighty God would grant 

them and all who knew Captain, 

the strength to bear this 

separation and may He, in His 

infinite mercies, grant Captain 

Hosa Wells Okunbo eternal rest. 

Amen.” 

He was a 

wonderful team 

player—Larry Otu 

Mr Larry Otu, in a statement 

in Asaba, Delta State, said: “The 

news of his death came to me 

on Sunday afternoon as a rude 

shock. He was an employer of 

labour who helped greatly to get 

many Nigerians, especially 

those from the oil-rich Niger 

Delta out of the labour market. 

He touched many lives 

positively. 

“I will miss him greatly 

because he was a wonderful 

team player, a kind-hearted man 

and a man who believed 

strongly in fairness. 

“I have known him over the 

years and I must say that his 

death has created a big vacuum 

in the oil and gas industry where 

he excelled very well and I had 

so much respect for him. His 

death is a big blow.” 

While praying God to grant 

his gentle soul eternal rest in his 

bosom, Otu said: “I pray God 

to comfort those he left behind 

the fortitude to bear this 

irreparable loss.” 

He touched lives 

individually 

—Uzamere 

Senator Uzamere on his part 

said: “Hosa as he was popularly 

called, appreciated God’s 

immense favour bestowed on 

him. God gave him intelligence. 

He gave him his wife and 

children. He gave him wealth. 

He gave him humility. He knew 

he had to give back to God in 

appreciation of His numerous 

blessings. 

"Hosa touched lives 

individually, not minding status 

or where the person was from. 

He impacted society through 

many he employed in his 

numerous establishments. He 

loved his Benin heritage and 

promoted her culture. He loved 

his immediate family and 

discharged his duties as a 

devoted family man. 

“But just as our gift of life is 

unsolicited, God does not seek 

our input whenever He wants 

any of us back. Hosa was not 

just another Benin man, he was 

more than a friend and a brother. 

Fare thee well my brother. You 

have run your race and breasted 

the tape. May God forgive you 

your sins, and count all your 

good deeds in your favour. 

“On behalf of the House of 

Ehigie Uzamere, I commiserate 

with his wife, children, his 

extended family and numerous 

friends.”



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

Kaduna schools to remain closed 

until security improves — GOVT 

K Kaduna 

ADUNA—THE 

State 

Government yesterday said all 

primary and secondary schools 

would remain close until security 

situation improves across the 

state. 

The Commissioner for 

Education, Dr Shehu 

Muhammad, stated this in 

Kaduna at a joint press 

conference with the 

Commissioner for Internal 

Security and Home Affairs, Mr 

Samuel Aruwan. 

Muhammad said that the 

conference was organized to 

dispute the fake news going 

round that schools were 

directed to reopen for third 

term on August 9. 

According to the commissioner, 

the state government on August 6 

announced the postponement of 

school resumption till further notice 

as advised by security agencies. 

“We were, however, 

surprised that for 

mischievous reasons, some 

individuals are circulating 

misguided information, 

claiming it was from the 

ministry, asking schools to 

resume. 

“We want to categorically say 

that all schools – public, private 

and religious, including federal 

schools in the state – are to 

remain close. 

“We will reopen as soon as 

we are advised to do so by 

security agencies, assuring us 

that schools are safe to open,” 

Pollution: FG seals off 12 

industries in Kano 

By Bashir Bello 

K 

A N O — T H E 

Federal Government 

through the National 

Environmental Standards and 

Regulations Enforcement 

Agency, NESREA, yesterday 

sealed-off no fewer than 12 

industries in Kano Stat for alleged 

environmental offences. 

The affected companies 

include Tofa Textile Limited, 

Bompai, AMCD Plastic, 

Dawakin Dakata, Bin Adam 

Oil Mills, Dawakin Dakata, 

Full Mark Urja, Hadejia 

Road, Larabee Enterprises 

and Loquat classics in 

Sharada respectively. 

Court directs AMCON to seize 

Doggi Continental’s Abuja assets 


ABUJA—A 

Federal 

High Court in Abuja has 

granted an ex-parte application 

authorising the Asset 

Management Corporation of 

Nigeria, AMCON, to seize the 

Abuja properties of Alhaji 

Abdullahi Baba and Doggi 

Continental Nigeria Ltd. 

Trial judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo 

held that the order subsists 

pending the institution and 

disposal of proceedings for debt 

recovery against the duo 

pursuant to Section 49 of the 

AMCON Act 2010. 

The properties are Plot No. 

1274 Katampe Hills, Katampe 

District, Abuja, F.C.T., and Plot 

Others include God’s Little 

Tannery, Glorious Enterprises 

Limited, Multitan Limited and GB 

Tannery in Challawa respectively 

and EEC Construction as well 

as Brains and Hammers in Zaria 

road respectively. 

The Director General, 

Professor Aliyu Jauro, who 

confirmed the seal-off to 

newsmen in Kano also 

threatened to drag the industries 

to court should they fail to comply 

to the regulations. 

Prof. Jauro represented by his 

Assistant Director, Musa Shehu, 

said the facilities were sealed after 

they were found violating the 

regulations detrimental to the 

environment and society. 

No. 3810 Cadastral Zone A04 

Asokoro, Abuja with File No. 

FCT/ABU/ZA/10124 all belong to 

the Respondents. 

The judge made the interim 

order after reading the affidavit 

in support of the motion ex-parte 

deposed to by Nelly Ebegboni and 

after hearing Mr C. Ezeokwuora 

with O. Audu and J. Ozioko, of 

Benson Reeds LP in Abuja, move 

the motion paper. 

He held: “An order of interim is 

hereby made attaching, taking 

possession of the properties being 

Plot No. 1274 Katampe Hills, 

Katampe District, Abuja, F.C.T., 

and Plot No. 3810 Cadastral Zone 

A04 Asokoro with file Number 

FCT/ABU/ZA/10124, all 

belonging to the respondents.” 

Awoyaya residents cry to 

EKEDC over faulty transformer 

THE residents of 

Awoyaya area of Ibeju 

Lekki, Lagos State, have 

again called on the 

management of Eko 

Distribution Company, 

EKEDC to address the 

frequent breakdown of their 

transformer. 

According to residents, the 

latest breakdown on Sunday 

has compounded the woes of 

the community besides 

throwing them into darkness, 

and negatively affecting 

economic activities in the 

area and its environs. 

A resident of Old container 

area of Awoyaya, who simply 

identified himself as Mr. John 

described the situation as 

worrisome, saying, “We have 

not been having electricity 

because of the breakdown of the 

transformer. It is very frustrating. 

From all indications, the 

transformer is obsolete and 

requires urgent replacement in 

order to guarantee regular supply 

in the area.” 

Reacting, the General 

Manager, Corporate 

Communications, EKEDC, 

Godwin Idemudia, appealed 

to the residents to be calm. 

He said the company was 

putting in place structures as 

well as providing transformer 

to salvage the long power 

crisis in the community. 

MEETING: Supporters of Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State at the meeting of PDP Governors 

Forum at the Akwa Ibom State Governor's Lodge, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida. 

Ranching: Our land'll not be handed to 

herders — MIDDLE BELT YOUTHS 

•Ask FG to apologise to Gov Ortom 

By Peter Duru 

M YOUTHS AKURDI— 

across 

the Middle Belt under the 

platform of Middle Belt 

Forum, yesterday asked 

the Federal Government to 

tender a public apology to 

Governor Samuel Ortom of 

Benue State for the series 

of attacks over his dogged 

stance on ranching as 

panacea for the herdsmen 

crisis in the country. 

Addressing the media in 

Makurdi, President of 

Benue Youth Forum/ 

Coordinator of the forum of 

Middle Belt Youth 

Presidents, Terrence 

Kuanum also maintained 

that there was no land for 

herders in the middle belt. 

According to him, “Just 

recently, we all witnessed 

how our security agencies 

woke from their slumber to 

go after the leaders of IPOB 

Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday 

Igboho of Oduduwa 

republic who are seeking 

self determination for their 

people peacefully. 

“Yet, with the daily 

slaughtering of our 

kinsmen by militia 

allegedly sponsored by 

groups such as Miyetti 

Allah who come out to take 

responsibility, security 

agencies keep looking the 

other way while the terror 

groups operate freely. 

“With such injustice 

being done to our people, 

we need to always stand 

behind courageous leaders 

like Governor Ortom who 

has constantly stood up and 

spoken for millions of 

Nigerians who do not have 

a voice. 

“We reiterate that no 

single land within the 

Middle Belt will be made 

available for any fictitious 

agricultural policy of the 

federal government except 

ranching which is the 

global best practice of 

rearing animals.” 

“And in the few days to 

come, our leadership will 

embark on an aggressive 

sensitization campaign to 

enlighten our people on the 

need to ignore all the fake 

Agricultural policies the 

federal government is 

putting up with the sole 

aim of grabbing land for the 

Fulani people who they 

themselves claimed are 

foreign herders. 

“The recent revelations by 

the Emir of Muri have 

exposed the huge danger 

that has engulfed our 

people. The Emir’s 

confessional statement 

confirms the fact that 

indeed, there are foreign 

Fulanis wielding 

sophisticated weapons 

brought by some powers to 

occupy Nigeria’s forests in 

the bid to take over the 

country. We expected that 

arrests would have been 

made by now and the said 

Emir should have been 

taken in for thorough 

investigation. 

“The presidency which 

has been quick in 

responding to any 

aggression extended to the 

armed foreign herders has 

been on several occasions 

called upon to rise up in a 

similar fashion to defend 

Nigerians to no avail, 

leaving Nigerians 

wondering if this 

administration was elected 

to defend foreign herders 

and not Nigerians. 

“We commend the efforts 

made by Nigerians to 

appreciate the boldness of 

Governor Ortom, who has 

sacrificed the comfort of his 

office and dammed threats 

to his life to stand firmly 

and tall that we must get 

justice and our human 

rights must be protected in 

our own country where 

foreign armed herders are 

being given an open ticket 

to push us out and take over 

our ancestral homes. 

“We urge the Federal 

Government to tender a 

public apology to Governor 

Samuel Ortom for the 

unwarranted media 

attacks on his person. 

Now that the entire 

country has embraced 

ranching and the Buhari 

administration has 

already begun to 

establish ranches in some 

states, the governor 

deserves apology,” the 

statement read in part. 

Worsening health condition: PENGASSAN directs 

workers to engage mgt over work schedule 

By Victor Ahiuma- 

Young 

PETROLEUM 

and 

Natural Gas Senior 

Staff Association of Nigeria, 

yesterday directed its 

branch officials in the 

Petroleum Industry to 

urgently engage their 

respective managements to 

begin the process of 

returning to pre-COVID- 

19 work rotation, to stem 

the increasing mental 

health and other distortions 

in the work-life-balance of 

workers as a result of 

COVID-19 pandemic 

induced work schedule 

and rotations 

Specifically, 

PENGASSAN in a circular 

dated August 9, 2021, and 

copied the Minister of 

Labour and Employment, 

Group Managing Director, 

Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC, Director, 

Department of Petroleum 

Resources, DPR, among 

others, asked its branches 

to engage their respective 

managements to 

immediately commence the 

process of returning to the 

subsisting collective 

bargaining agreement, 

CBA, the requirement of 14/ 

14 work rotation, insisting 

that the realities on the 

ground made the 

continuous use of 28/28 as 

work rotation schedule no 

longer tenable. 

In the circular by 

PENGASSAN General 

Secretary, Lumumba 

Okugbawa, among others, 

said: “The outbreak of the 

global pandemic 

necessitated the 

introduction of extended 

work time, which 

PENGASSAN in 

collaboration with 

M a n a g e m e n t 

implemented throughout 

our industry, albeit 

painstakingly. Today’s 

reality, however, reflects a 

situation where there are 

now established protocols 

like PCR test, rapid test etc., 

to manage the pandemic 

that may remain with us for 

a very long time even as the 

Delta variant of the virus 

persists.'' 

“The negative impact of 

the extended work periods 

over the 16 months of living 

with COVID-19 on our 

members include but are 

not limited to the 

degenerating health of 

members, work-induced 

fatigue, and the 

unavoidable deterioration of 

family life. 

“Arising from a review of 

the latest DPR guidelines 

with reference number: 

DPR/1160A/Vol.11/60 

issued on the 22nd of 

March 2021, the continuous 

use of 28128 as work 

rotation schedule is no 

longer tenable. We wish to 

remind management that 

DPR guidelines with 

reference number: DPR/ 

1160/A/Vol.11/54 issued on 

the 22nd of April 2020, 

clearly captured thal14/14 

work rotation is an approved 

option during coronavirus 

pandemic period so long as 

the safeguards are in place 

including where necessary, 

a transit centre.'' 

“Given the above, the 

Association has directed all 

Branches to engage their 

respective Managements 

to immediately commence 

the process of returning to 

the subsisting CBA 

requirement of 14/14 work 

rotation.''

14 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10 , 2021 

Striking doctors call for sack of Ngige, Ehanire 

. Rivers doctors break ranks of NARD, resume work 

LUTH opens attendance register 

.National Hospital limits patients seen daily to 20 

By Sola Ogundipe, 

Chioma Obinna, 

Gabriel Olawale, 

Adeola Badru, Joseph 

Erunke, Chimaobi 

Nwaiwu, Chioma 

Onuegbu, Egufe 

Yafugbohi, Ibrahim 

Wuyo, Steve Oko 

AS the strike called by 

National Association of 

Resident Doctors, NARD, 

entered the eighth day, the 

striking doctors have called 

for the sack or resignation 

of the Minister of Labour 

and Employment, Dr Chris 

Nigige, and the Minister 

of Health, Dr Osagie 

Ehanire. 

The President of the 

NARD, Dr Uyilawa 

Okhuaihesuyi, who made 

the call on Monday, said 

those responsible for the 

strike should resign or be 

sacked since they cannot 

handle 

their 

responsibilities. 

Uyilawa said the 

Association cannot be 

bullied, adding that those 

who are the cause of the 

strike should resign or be 

sacked since they cannot 

handle 

their 


The NARD president 

tackled Ngige for issuing 

threats of replacement 

against the resident 

doctors on national 

television when the 

demands they raised had 

not been met. 

“Dr Chris Ngige, 

Minister of Labour, Osagie 

Ehanire, the Minister of 

Health, and Tajudeen 

Sanusi, Registrar of the 

Medical and Dental 

Council of Nigeria, 

MDCN, should be sacked 

if they cannot handle their 


“If you want to toe the 

line of no work, no pay, I 

think you will go and look 

for 16,000 resident doctors 

to occupy our place. 

“I also want to ask 

Nigerians to ask them and 

tell them that those who 

are the cause of the strike 

that they have not done 

their work should rather 

resign or be sacked from 

the position they hold. 

Because if you cannot 

deliver you have no 

responsibility being there. 

“The ministry of health, the 

ministry of labour, the 

MDCN registrar, Sanusi, 

they are the ones to be held 

responsible for the strike 

we are on,” he rematked. 

Rivers doctors break 

ranks of NARD, 

resume work 

Resident doctors in 

Rivers State have 

resumed work after one 

week of participation in the 

strike. The Chairman ARD 

in the Rivers State 

Patients wait for attention at the Gwarimpa General Hospital, Abuja, on Monday, as 

National Association of Resident Doctors commenced nationwide strike. Photo by 

Abayomi Adeshida 

University Teaching 

Hospital, RSUTH, Dr. 

George Ela, who disclosed 

this in Port Harcourt 

yesterday said the decision 

to resume work after 

consultation with the state 

government. 

"As a product of these 

engagements, we are 

happy to inform Rivers 

people that the legislative 

processes that will build up 

to an accelerated hearing 

and ultimate domestication 

of the Medical Residency 

Training Act (MRTA) 2017 

has commenced in ernest 

through the office of the 

Chairman, House 

Committee on Health of 

the Rivers State House of 

Assembly. 

"To reciprocate 

government gesture and 

goodwill and to ameliorate 

the suffering and pains of 

Rivers people, therefore, 

congress has resolved that 

our members should return 

to the clinics from 08:00 

AM on Monday 9th 

August, 2021. 

In a chat with Good 

Health Weekly, Ella who 

confirmed that they have 

resumed work to cushion 

the effect of the strike on 

Rivers people as well as 

reciprocate what the 

Governor of the state was 

doing, however said they 

have not called off the 

strike. 

“We have already notified 

the national body of NARD 

that we have resumed 

work but we did not call off 

the strike because it is only 

the national body that has 

the right to call off the 

strike. 

“We took the decision to 

go back to work to 

reciprocate what the state 

governor has been doing 

in the state. We joined the 

strike because of some 

issues we needed to iron 

out with the state 

government. Now they 

have agreed to take care of 

them and we also want to 

reduce the hardship faced 

by the Rivers state people 

as a result of the strike. 

But in a reaqction, the 

NARD President, Dr 

Okhuaihesuyi Uyilawa 

said that the national body 

was not worried by the 

development in River 

State, says the strike was 

for the betterment of 

doctors and the health 

sector in general. 

“We have 78 centres 

across the country so if 

UPTH says they are calling 

off the strike, that can’t be 

our problem. They are just 

one out of 78 centres, even 

in the Bible, one out of the 

12 disciples betrayed 

Jesus. 

“Their decision will not 

have any impact on other 

doctors because we know 

what we went through to 

calm doctors down before 

they embarked on strike. 

So we are not worried 

about the development in 

rivers state because we 

have better things to 

deliberate on,” he avowed. 

LUTH opens attendance 

register 

When Vanguard visited 

some Federal governmentowned 

hospitals in Lagos 

State following the 

directive by the Federal 

government on 'No Work, 

No pay', some hospitals 

opened registered while 

some claimed that they are 

yet to receive any directive 

in that regard. 

At the Lagos University 

Teaching Hospital, LUTH, 

the hospital management 

opened the register, but 

none of the striking doctors 

showed up. 

In a circular, the Director 

of Administration, LUTH, 

Babajide Grillo, directed all 

Heads of Clinical 

Department to maintain 

daily attendance register 

for resident doctors. 

The circular reads; 

“Further to our Circular ref 

No. ADM/HRM/ 

CIRCULAR/VOL.I/212 

dated 2nd August 2021, all 

Heads of Clinical 

Departments are 

requested to maintain 

daily attendance Register 

for Resident Doctors in line 

with Government Policy of 

‘No Work, No Pay’ 

“The completed 

attendance register should 

reach the Director of 

Administration by 4:00pm 

daily. Heads of Clinical 

Departments are to note 

that the hospital 

management will not 

condone late submission or 

any dispute on the 

presence or absence of any 

resident doctor from duty.” 

No attendance register 

at Yaba Psychiatric 

Hospital, NOHL, 

NAUTH, FMC Umuahia 

At the Federal 

Neuropsychiatric Hospital, 

Yaba, when our reporter 

made enquiries, a top 

management official 

claimed to be unaware of 

such directive. “We are not 

aware of such directive yet.” 

The National 

Orthopaedic Hospital, 

Igbobi was yet to comply 

with the directive even as 

the striking doctors of the 

hospital claimed ignorance 

of such directive. 

Resident doctors at the 

Federal Medical Centre, 

FMC, Umuahia, have not 

been compelled to sign 

attendance register as 

directed by the federal 

government. 

Chairman, Association 

of Resident Doctors, 

ARD, at the hospital, Dr. 

Kelechi Chimezie, told 

our correspondent in 

Umuahia that he was not 

aware of any such 

register. 

The Chairman of the 

Association of Resident 

Doctors, at the Nnamdi 

Azikiwe University 

Teaching Hospital, 

NAUTH, Dr Golibe Ikpeze, 

said they have not received 

any information from the 

national headquarters 

concerning the Federal 

government directive on 

opening and signing 

attendance register. 

"We have not equally 

received an information 

from our national 

leadership on returning to 

work, so we are unaware 

of that directive, we are in 

constant communication 

with our national 

leadership that called for 

the strike and there is no 

indication or directive that 

we should go back to work 

until our minimum 

demands are met." 

National Hospital limits 

patients seen daily to 20 

Patients seeking 

attention in public medical 

facilities in Abuja have 

embraced private health 

centres, following the 

ongoing strike by the 

resident doctors. 

Patients already on 

admission in most of the 

public health facilities 

before the strike have been 

moved to private facilities 

by their families. 

At the National Hospital 

most patients turned back 

as consultants limited the 

number of patients they 

could attend daily to 20. 

Even with the number 

limited to 20,some patients 

that came as early as 

8.00AM waited long hours 

to see the consultants. 

A housewife, who 

identified herself as Mrs 

Christiana Ella, told 

Vanguard that she arrived 

as early as 8.00 AM but 

regretted that as at 

2:30PM,she was yet to see 

any of the consultants. 

"I'm here because I'm an 

enrollee in the NHIS,else 

I would have gone to a 

private medical facility to 

seek attention to my 

problem,"she said. 

Another patient, Patrick 

Ibiang, a retired civil 

servant, explained that he 

was at the hospital by 10:15 

AM, but had not attended 

to by any consultant who 

limited the number of 

patients to be seen to 20 

per day. 

"I came her by 10:15 AM 

from 

Kubwa, 

unfortunately, I have not 

been attended as at this 

3:10PM, this is said. 

Assuming I am in a critical 

situation, do you think I 

would have still been alive 

even as they are yet to 

attend to me? He asked. 

The situation was not 

different at the Maitama 

General Hospital, also in 

the FCT, as most wards 

were empty indicating 

patients may have been 

moved out by their families. 

Most of the outpatients 

who came for medical 

attention were seen 

leaving back almost 

immediately. 

Patients’ relatives 

express fear at UUTH 

Relatives of patients on 

admission at the University 

of Uyo Teaching Hospital, 

UUTH, have expressed 

fear over the absence of 

doctors. The hospital has 

however suspended 

admissions 

A parent who spoke to 

Vanguard yesterday 

disclosed that a young boy 

of about 15 years with 

kidney issue almost died 

last weekend when his 

condition became very 

critical. 

"I learned that the boy 

was undergoing dialysis 

before the doctors 

embarked on strike last 

week and on Friday his 

condition becamec ritical so 

they had to transfer him to 

General Hospital Anua, 

Uyo. 

UCH resident doctors 

shun No-Work-No Pay 

threat 

The resident doctors of 

the University College 

Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, 

shunned the register 

opened by the authorities 

. The ARD Chairman, 

described it as a trivial 

matter. 

“What we asking for are 

very serious and germane 

issues that the government 

itself has expressed in the 

past that it was going to 

address. So we expected 

them to do those things 

rather than chasing 

shadows of opening a 

register," he noted. 

One of the patients told 

our reporter that there had 

not been proper attention 

since the strike 

commenced. 

Issa Aremu calls for 

dialogue 

Director General of the 

Micheal Imoudu National 

Institute for Labour Studies, 

Comrade Issa Aremu,has 

called for urgent reform of 

industrial relations in the 

country’s health sector as 

the industrial strike called 

by the resident doctors 

enters the second week. 

In a statement in Abuja 

Aremu said it was time 

stakeholders in the health 

sector played by what he 

called “the knowledge 

based rules of collective 

bargaining, social 

dialogue, mediation and 

conciliation to prevent 

incessant work stoppages 

in hospitals with attendant 

costs to lives. 

“I have also been saying 

it that delayed payment of 

salaries of medical 

personnel such as doctors 

and nurses and teachers 

amounted to wage theft. 

But so also indiscriminate 

indefinite strike under a 

Covid-19 amounts to 

willful unacceptable 

industrial suicide.


NTDs: Ignorance, stigma, discrimination deny 

victims of treatment, livelihood 

By Chioma Obinna 

IGNORANCE, stigma, 

discrimination and fear of 

matrimonial as well as other 

societal consequences have 

continued to rob victims of 

NTDs such as elephantiasis 

their livelihood and 

treatment they require to 

get well. 

Today, findings by Good 

Health Weekly, have 

shown that most Nigerians 

affected by any of the 15 

Neglected Tropical Diseases 

NTDs, ravaging 

communities have 

continued to suppress their 

health-seeking behaviour. 

Many are reluctant to speak 

about their condition. 

More pathetic is the fact 

that they have been healed 

but the disease still 

remains. 

Such is the case of 45- 

year–old Lucy, currently 

suffering from lymphatic 

filariasis, popularly known 

as elephantiasis. 

Elephantiasis is an 

infectious disease caused by 

tiny worms spread by 

mosquitoes. 

Lucy, a mother of nine, 

who hails from Ogu–Bolo 

Local Government Area of 

Rivers State has lived with 

the disease for 9 years 

without treatment. 

According to Lucy, it all 

started as an ordinary 

swelling of the leg each time 

she is pregnant. But little 

did she know that the 

swelling was a sign of 

elephantiasis. 

For her, at first, it was part 

of the complications in 

pregnancy called oedema, 

where the legs retain fluid. 

“I never believed that the 

swelling each time I am 

pregnant will result in a 

more this condition. 

“Any time I am pregnant 

my leg will swell up and 

the moment II deliver it will 

go down,” she said 

According to Lucy, she 

thought it was not going to 

be a big health problem 

until after her third delivery 

and the swollen leg could 

no longer touch the 

ground. 

“I was afraid when the 

swelling continued instead 

of going down.” 

Her situation became 

worse in 2009 when she 

gave birth to another baby 

girl precisely on 1st 

September, 2009 

“A month after my 

delivery, I started feeling 

enormous pain on the leg 

and a sort of pulling in the 

muscle. 

“My fear became worst 

but I thanked God that I was 

not pregnant then because 

I would not have cope with 

bathing myself.” 

Still confused about her 

situation, instead of visiting 

a hospital for a proper 

diagnosis, Lucy decided to 

see her pastor. 

“I cried my eyes out 

because the site was 

becoming reddish as if 

blood was coming out of the 

place. We almost miss took 

Lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephatiasis. 

it for a condition usually 

inflicted on someone 

through fetish means. 

“I did not take any drug. 

I went to church and my 

Pastor prayed for me and 

the leg came down. This 

happened three times after 

the Pastor poured holy 

water on the leg.” 

Full of hopes, Lucy 

thought her plight was over 

but little did she know that 

the problem was not of 

mystical causes, but of 

medical causes. 

“After the third time it 

went down, it stopped 

going down even after 

applying holy water. 

Rather, it worsened. 

While in search of 

treatment, many suggested 

she seek treatment from 

traditional healers. 

Frustration 

Desperate Lucy could not 

hide her desperation when 

she approached a group of 

medical personnel who 

came to their community for 

a medical mission. “I 

begged them to give me 

drugs to drink and I took 

the drugs and the leg came 

down after I urinated very 

well.” 

Sadly, the problem 

resurfaced. Still unaware of 

her condition, she started 

self-medicating. 

“Since I did not know the 

name of the drugs the 

Group gave me each time 

it swells up, I will visit the 

pharmacy to purchase 

drugs that can make me 

urinate and I will also pray. 

“Despite these measures, 

Lucy’s condition continued 

to deteriorate until she was 

picked up by members of 

the Rivers State, Neglected 

Tropical Diseases (NTDs) 

Control/Elimination/ 

Eradication Programme. 

Like Lucy, not less than 

122 million Nigerians are 

at risk for NTDs such as 

trachoma, (Granular 

Conjunctivitis), 

Onchocerciasis, (River 

blindness) Lymphatic 

Filariasis, (Elephantiasis) 

helminthiasis, soilt 

r a n s m i t t e d , 

schistosomiasis, (parasitic 

worms) and leprosy, 

snakebites Yaws Rabies, 

Buruli ulcer, Leishmaniasis, 

Human African 

Trypanosomiasis, HAT, 

among others. 

According to the NTDs 

Coordinator in Rivers State, 

Mr. Mordecai Isreal, 13 

Local Government Areas, 

LGAs, in Rivers state are 

endemic for Elephantiasis. 

Unfortunately, due to fear 

of stigmatisation and 

ignorance, hundreds of 

them have refused to seek 

proper treatment for their 

conditions. 

“We saw Lucy during one 

of our outreaches in the 

community. Like her, many 

of them have refused to 

come out and take free 

treatment,” he said. 

Name calling 

However, due to the 

difficulty in detecting some 

of these diseases in 

Nigeria, many of them have 

been linked to witchcraft 

and poison. Sadly, findings 

by Good Health Weekly 

showed that most of the 

patients suffer a great deal 

even when the disease is 

gone. It is not usually the 

end. For instance, people 

with leprosy resist healthseeking 

behaviour for fear 

of stigmatisation and 

ostracisation. Buruli ulcer is 

often attributed to mystical 

causes while elephantiasis 

is incurable but patients 

have to cope with the 

stigma of their 

deformities.Burden 

According to the National 

Coordinator, Neglected 

By Gabriel Olawale 

THE Chief Executive 

Officer, Guaranty Trust 

Holding Company, Mr. 

Segun Agbaje has 

encouraged parents with 

autistic children not to be 

discouraged, stating that a 

life beyond diagnosis can 

be fulfilling, fillied with 

support and rewarding. 

Speaking in Lagos at the 

11th Annual Autism 

Conference organised by 

Guaranty Trust Holding 

Company, Agbaje said that 

getting the diagnosis that 

a child or ward is on the 

Tropical Diseases 

Elimination Programme, 

Federal Ministry of Health, 

Dr. Nse Akpan, all States 

are endemic for one or 

more of these NTDs and 

only four LGAs out of the 

774 LGAs are not endemic 

for any of the NTDs. 

Akpan who spoke during 

a media dialogue in Port 

Harcourt, Rivers State, said 

119.8 million people are at 

risk of lymphatic filariasis, 

51.4 million people for 

onchocerciasis, 28.8 million 

school-age children and 

20.5 million pre-school-age 

children for soil-transmitted 

hermits, 26.8 million people 

for trachoma and 23.8 

million school-age children 

for schistosomiasis. 

Statistics from Neglected 

Tropical Diseases 

Elimination Programme, 

that Nigeria has an 

estimated at-risk 

population of 138 million 

for elephantiasis, 50 million 

at risk of onchocerciasis. 

Experts say as the country 

battle 15 NTDs out of 20 

identified by the WHO, 

there is need to scale up 

interventions to cover all 

eligible endemic LGAs and 

all at-risk populations 

following elimination 

mapping by the Federal 

government even as they 

called for the need to 

intensify high level 

advocacy to policy makers 

for improved support and 

release of funds for NTD. 

autism spectrum or has a 

developmental disorder 

can be overwhelming and 

emotional. 

“What drives most of 

these emotions is the 

critical question of how to 

give their children full and 

productive lives in a world 

that seems rigged against 

them. But we are assuring 

them that a life beyond 

diagnosis can be fulfilling, 

filled with support and 

rewarding.” 

Agbaje assured parents 

with autism children of 

Guaranty Trust support in 

helping to give them a full 

life beyond the diagnosis. 

Private hospitals admitting 

COVID-19 patients will be shut, 

Osun State Govt warns 


OSUN 

State 

Government has 

threatened to shut any 

private hospitals testing 

Covid-19 patients in its 

facilities. 

It also disclosed that such 

practitioners would have 

their licence withdrawn 

and urged residents not let 

down their guard against 

the pandemic. 

A statement issued by the 

State Commissioner for 

Information and Civic 

Orientation, Funke 

Egbemode on Monday in 

Osogbo, disclosed that 

flagrant disregard for 

government guidelines by 

medical practitioners could 

expose residents to 

avoidable risk. 

“Having examined the 

rising effects of Covid-19 in 

the state in recent times, the 

Osun State Government is 

worried that in spite of the 

various measures taken to 

ensure safety of its citizens, 

some individuals and 

institutions have continued 

to aid the spread of the 

virus through their flagrant 

disregard for government’s 

guidelines. 

“The government hereby 

warns private hospitals to 

stop attempting to manage 

Covid-19 cases in their 

facilities. Also, rapid Covid- 

19 tests should be 

incorporated into 

preliminary medical 

examinations for patients, 

and quick referrals should 

be made to designated 

(government) facilities set 

up to manage Covid-19 

cases when tests return 

positive. 

"Private hospitals who go 

against this directive shall 

have their establishments 

shut and the owners’ 

operating licenses 

withdrawn. 

“Residents are enjoined 

not to drop their guards 

against the virus. Let us 

wear our masks, and wash 

our hands regularly with 

soap or use alcohol-based 

sanitizer regularly. Let us 

avoid crowded 

environments and also be 

deliberate about boosting 

our immunities,” the 

statement said. 

Foundations equip 6,000 

children with COVID-19 safety 

protocols 


BEYOND 

the 

Classroom, in 

partnership with the 

Mastercard Foundation 

has engaged with 6,000 

children in Nigeria on 

COVID-19 safety 

protocols. 

The community 

engagement is part of the 


COVID-19 Public 

Awareness Campaign, 

aimed at delivering 

accurate, timely, and lifesaving 

information on 

COVID-19 across African 

countries and 

communities.. The 

initiative in Nigeria was 

rolled out in eleven public 

and private schools in 

Lagos and Nassarawa 

states. 

Each child received a 

free COVID-19 safety 

pack, containing the 

educational book,”There is 

a new virus in town” 

written by Raquel Daniel, 

Life beyond autism diagnosis can be overwhelming, 

emotional for parents — AGBAJE 

Special Guest of Honour 

at the occasion, Wife of the 

Lagos State Governor, Mrs. 

Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu said 

that the autism awareness 

programme theme:d "Life 

beyond diagnosis" speaks 

to the unequivocal reality 

that Autism is not the end 

of the world and does not 

represent hopelessness for 

the affected children. 

“For me, the most 

important therapy for 

autism children is to go all 

out to make them feel safe 

and loved. So I commend 

GTCO for its corporate 

social responsibility 

initiative to assuage the 

founder of Beyond the 

Classroom, and 

producedin partnership 

with the Mastercard 

Foundation. 

Raquel explained how 

the students were educated 

on the need to wash their 

hands regularly with soap 

or use alcohol-based hand 

sanitizers. They were also 

advised to always wear 

nose masks in the correct 

way while in public and to 

maintain a social distance 

of at least 1 meter. The 

students were encouraged 

to motivate their parents 

and guardians to get the 

COVID-19 vaccine. 

Country Head, 


Nigeria, Chidinma 

Lawanson, this community 

engagementis the second 

phase of the Mastercard 

Foundation’s COVID-19 

Public Awareness 

Campaign aimed at 

educating children aged 7 

to 14 years old on COVID- 

19 preventive measures. 

plight of children living 

with developmental 

disabilities especially 

Autism Spectrum Disorder 

(ASD). 

Board certified behaviour 

analyst and president, 

Behaviorprise College of 

Business and Health 

Studies, Canada, Lanre 

Duyile, said therapies for 

children with ASD are 

expensive globally, noting 

that countries such as 

Canada, United Kingdom 

and United States take the 

financial burden from 

parents by providing 

monetary support.


The North also cry 

BY SOLA EBISENI 

IF Nigeria survives this 

administration, 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari would go down in 

history as the most 

revolutionary ruler of the 

Nigerian State having 

destroyed the empire of 

Uthman Dan Fodio which 

since 1804 has altered the 

character of the existing 

indigenous Hausa states and 

many parts of Northern 

Nigeria. Despite the obvious 

population and territorial 

advantage of the areas not 

under the jihad, the British not 

only recognised the Fulani 

Emirate system but also 

entrenched same as the 

dominant ruling oligarchy to 

which it handed the country 

at independence. 

The urgent and compelling 

needs to consolidate the Fodio 

revolution was the main 

reason Sir Ahmadu Bello, 

himself a scion of the 

caliphate, preferred the 

Premiership of Northern 

Nigeria to the Prime Minister 

of the entire federation in his 

determination to weave a 

united Northern nation in 

tune with his slogan of 'One 

North, One People'. Without 

conceding 

nor 

compromising the essential 

ingredients of the sultanate 

powers and grips over the 

North, Ahmadu Bello gave 

other groups a sense of 

belonging. 

For the Hausa majority, the 

soothing balm was its 

language being the Northern 

lingua franca and a false sense 

of shared destiny with the 

Fulani. In addition to Tafawa 

Balewa, a minority from 

Bauchi Province being the 

Prime Minister, the likes of 

Shetim Ibrahim of Kanuri 

extraction up to Awoniyi in 

Okun Yoruba enclave were not 

only seen to hold sway, the 

youths of the Middle Belt 

dominated the military, 

notwithstanding the informed 

resistance of the likes of 

Joseph Tarka or Olawoyin. 

The Buhari administration 

appears to be changing the 

narratives in its obvious efforts 

to flaunt a Fulani hegemony 

in every aspect of the lives of 

Nigerians. Soon as the 

government assumed power 

and in contradiction of the 

applauded inaugural mantra 

of being for all and for no one, 

Nigerians were told that the 

degree of presidential 

attention would be directly 

proportional to the 

percentage of votes scored by 

the President in different 

areas of the country. 

Nigerians have their own 

ways of determining the 

trajectory of government 

influence by looking at what 

they termed strategic 

Ministries, Departments and 

Agencies of government. 

They easily point to the NNPC, 

Customs, Immigration, 

Nigerian Ports Authority, etc., 

and the ethnic origins of the 

heads thereof. They extend 

their curiosities to the 

headship of the security forces, 

notwithstanding the pretext of 

seniority and organisational 

traditions. In this context, the 

citizens are only being 

fastidious on account of the 

constitution ensuring that its 

provision enthroning the 

principles of federal character 

are not treated with impunity. 

In its nepotistic and 

unconstitutional agenda in 

favour of a particular group 

or region, impunity reigns 

supreme and institutions, their 

laws and conventions were 

early casualties. Officers of the 

Customs Service who have 

been praying to reach the 

pinnacle of their careers were 

shoved aside and a retired 

Army Colonel, for no patriotic 

reason, arrogantly chosen to 

be Comptroller General of the 

Customs. He, however, 

considered it infradig, as a 

military officer, to wear the 

inferior uniform of the head 

of the Customs, even when the 

excuse was that appointment 

at that level was political. 

The Senate, relying on 

indictment by the Department 

of State Security, DSS, refused 

to pass Ibrahim Magu as 

chairman of the Economic 

and Financial Crimes 

Commission, EFCC. With so 

much illegality, Magu was 

retained as the head of the 

EFCC, pretentiously, in acting 

capacity for over five years. 

The parliament now seems to 

have been right in its 

clairvoyant rejection of Magu 

who ultimately lost the job on 

allegations of corruption. The 

situation with the Police and 

the armed forces are not 

different, where the headship 

positions are forbidden for 

some tribes, particularly the 

Igbo of South East. 

In other instances, such 

heads are deliberately 

perpetrated in office beyond 

their pensionable years of 

service, to allow people they 

don’t want to reach retirement. 

The preponderance of these 

positions in the North West 

and far North East appears 

too coincidental with the 

Fulani and Kanuri 

physiognomy of the President. 

So much for such ephemeral 

positions people have made 

up their minds to endure for 

the tenure of this 

administration, particularly 

as oppositions by the political 

parties, within and without 

government, seems so 

lethargic. 

The hands of the Buhari 

government became full when 

it decided to touch the people 

where it hurts most and it has 

now lost foes and friends in 

the process. From the ages, 

human relationships have 

been determined primarily by 

access to land over which 

most wars have been fought. 

The nomadic cattle herders, 

associated with the Fulani 

ethnic nationality, primarily 

want access to land free of 

ownership. We were told they 

have inalienable rights to 

trespass. The people shouted 

and a government 

spokesman admonished the 

people that it was wisdom to 

yield land in preference for life. 

The second cherished 

condition for peaceful 

coexistence is mutual respect 

for women, be they sisters and 

more seriously so, wives and 

mothers. Thus, the man dies 

in him who is powerless in the 

face of molestation of his 

woman. Like in some 

armageddon, fathers, in 

whose presence their children 

were tortured, dismembered 

and killed; their women raped 

The need for 

organised 

response by the 

people of the 

South has 

ultimately given 

birth to the 

Southern 

Governors Forum 

and the salutary 

resolutions at its 

two meetings held 

so far 

and killed, in their numbers, 

were asked to seek peace with 

their tormentors. 

Southern Nigeria United 

The permissive conduct or 

body language of the Federal 

Government soon 

emboldened the herdsmen 

and their terrorist armed 

wing to operate with such 

impunity. Rather than deal 

with this illegal ethnic army, 

the Federal Government 

mobilised the military 

against those who called for 

resistance against evil. In the 

face of a common foe, 

Southern Nigeria seems 

forced, by existential realities, 

to do a compulsory appraisal 

of their positions in Nigeria. 

The constituent tribes are 

now forced to realise that 

there is no cause for the 

artificial divisions among 

them. Particularly between the 

Yoruba and Igbo, apart from 

the personal political rivalry 

between the two leading icons 

of the Nigerian federation, 

Obafemi Awolowo and 

Nnamdi Azikiwe, which were 

deliberately orchestrated and 

elevated to ethnic war by the 

British in line with her plans 

to hand over Nigeria to the 

caliphate, the two groups have 

no differences and now see the 

need for synergy in the 

interests of their peoples. 

The common front of the 

Southern nationalities have 

given vent to the perpetual 

struggle of the too numerous 

tribes of Northern Nigeria for 

genuine ethnic selfdetermination 

within the 

North and the federation. This 

synergy is wrapped in the 

collaboration among the 

Afenifere, Ohaneze Ndigbo 

and the Pan Niger Delta 

Forum (South) and the 

Middle Belt Forum 

culminating in the Southern 

and Middle Belt Leaders 

Forum. The need for 

organised response by the 

people of the South has 

ultimately given birth to the 

Southern Governors Forum 

and the salutary resolutions 

at its two meetings held so far. 

The North at war 

The presumptions of a 

monolithic North has been 

shattered by the Buhari 

administration. The 

Fulanisation agenda, 

whether planned or 

permitted, has pitched the 

Fulani against the rest of the 

North, nay Nigeria. Either 

in number or other factors, 

the Fulani has no capacity 

to take on the rest of Nigeria; 

the perceived backing of 

government makes all the 

difference. In the North, the 

survival of each emirate is 

determined by the eternal 

subjugation and oppression 

of the majority Hausa. It 

consists in the acceptance of 

the superiority of the Fulani 

and the belief in his divine 

right to rule from the emir 

to the village head and to 

lead in the worship places. 

The wild and widespread 

activities of the armed 

criminal herders have 

opened the eyes of the 

average Northerner, 

including the dominant but 

cooperative Hausa, to 

defend their land, 

livelihoods and existence. 

This is the greatest worry of 

the Northern ruling class. 

The war which had been 

localised in Southern 

Kaduna and the Benue 

region has now engulfed 

Zamfara, Kebbi, Taraba 

and Niger. The Emirs of 

Zauzau, Muri and recently 

Katsina Emirates know the 

implications of the 

consciousness of the 

peasant Hausa, hence the 

outcry against open grazing 

and the calls for the people 

to rise and defend 

themselves. It is preferable 

that the people rise against 

the few criminals among 

them than allow the 

wretched of the earth give 

the system a fight and bring 

down the 217 years old 

empire of Uthman Dan 

Fodio. 

The Arewa Consultative 

Forum and the Northern 

Elders Forum are sensitive to 

the dangers ahead. These 

organisations which still 

fantasise the idea of 

monolithic North, have 

spread their tentacles and 

opened their key offices to the 

Middle Belt tribes. They tried 

some solidarity measures 

during the Petroleum Industry 

Bill and the Electoral Act 

Amendment debates. It was a 

pyrrhic victory based mostly 

on partisan considerations. 

The die is cast. Is a counterrevolution 

imminent? 

Nigeria, we hail thee.

Exploring Nigeria’s home-grown school feeding programme 

By OLASUNKANMI 

HABEEB OKUNOLA 

OVER the past few decades, 

Nigeria’s primary education 

sector has faced myriad challenges 

such as religious, political, cultural 

and ethnic divides, coupled with poor 

facilities and rising insecurity which 

altogether have increased the 

number of out-of-school children in 

Nigeria. The recent abductions of 

school children by the so-called 

bandits in some northern states of 

Nigeria bear testament to the high 

level of insecurity problems facing 

primary school education in the 

country. Despite the fact that primary 

education is officially free and 

compulsory, about 10.5 million 

Nigerian children are not in school. 

This implies that one out of every five 

of the world’s out-of-school children 

is in Nigeria. This necessitates the 

need for Nigerian government to 

adopt various strategies to increase 

enrolment and completion rate in 

primary school. Indisputably, school 

feeding programme is an important 

social protection instrument that has 

been adopted in many countries of 

the world to improve learners’ school 

attendance, attentiveness and 

performance. 

In a bid to reduce the number of 

out-of-school children in the country, 

the Federal Government of Nigeria 

in 2016 launched the Home Grown 

School Feeding programme, 

HGSFP, in public primary schools in 

22 states of the federation. It is a form 

of social protection Federal 

Government-led N70 (0.17 USD) per 

day school feeding programme that 

aims to increase enrolment rates, 

improve the nutritional and health 

status of primary school children, 

boost the income of farmers and 

provide empowerment 

opportunities for women. It is a multisectoral 

programme that involves 

ministries of education, health, 

justice, agriculture, and budget and 

planning, in collaboration with 

interested states governments; school 

Board Management Committee, 

SBMC, community leaders, women 

groups and parents. 

The feeding programme is 

designed in a way that the Federal 

Government takes up the feeding of 

pupils in primary 1 to primary 3, 

while interested state governments 

take up primary 4 to primary 6. 

Without any doubt, the programme 

has created significant economic 

impacts on local agricultural 

production, benefited communities 

as well as the children. At present, 

over nine million pupils drawn from 

54,619 schools are currently 

benefiting from the scheme, and with 

the participation of 80,000 farmers 

and engagement of over 102,097 

cooks across 26 states in the country. 

Despite the important role the 

School Feeding Programme plays 

in keeping out-of-school children in 

schools and empowering local 

farmers and caterers, there are 

enormous problems that have 

emanated from organisation and 

distribution of meals to primary 

school children. In my five years 

journey as an education researcher, 

I have witnessed and read various 

challenges influencing the 

implementation of the feeding 

programmes in some of the schools 

benefiting from the programme 

across the six geo-political zones. 

Investigations across these zones 

indicated that the programme is 

fraught with problems of large-scale 

corruption, irregularities, 

politicisation, poor quality control, 

lack of transparency and 

accountability. It was learnt that 

some food vendors who have been 

selling food to the pupils prior to the 

initiation of the programme, were 

sidelined which led to complaints 

and lamentations in states like Oyo, 

Edo and Kaduna. The selection 

process of the food vendors in some 

of the schools was marred by 

controversies as loyalty to the ruling 

political parties superseded 

competence and expertise. 

Other hiccups experienced in the 

programme include delays in 

payments of food vendors by the 

Federal Government in some states, 

which have drastically reduced the 

frequency of food given to the pupils 

in terms of quality and quantity. 

Despite the claims by the Federal 

Government of a huge number of 

chickens, cattle, and metric tonnes 

of fish being fed to the pupils, many 

of them, including the teachers, as 

well as parents, have reservations 

about the size of what is served on 

their children’s meal as either meat, 

fish or chicken given to the pupils 

failed to meet up with expectations 

of the required standard. In terms of 

quality, some nutrition experts 

across the country have expressed 

their dissatisfaction about 

procurement of substandard food 

commodities used in preparing the 

food. This could not be unconnected 

with a series of allegations of bribery 

and corruption among vendors, 

political leaders in the communities 

and the state officials in charge, 

which has significantly affected the 

outputs of the programme. 

Another major obstacle is the lack 

of monitoring and evaluations to 

Corruption: Why EFCC should forge more partnerships 

By ERASMUS IKHIDE 

THE scourge of corruption is one of the 

reasons why Nigeria is not living up to 

its self-acclaimed ‘Giant of Africa’ status and 

has continued to crawl on its knees in adult 

diapers to the chagrin of our countrymen both 

at home and in the Diaspora. Since 

Independence, billions of dollars have been 

lost to corruption, according to the global anticorruption 

watch dog, Transparency 

International, TI. On hindsight, it was 

commendable of former President Olusegun 

Obasanjo to have established the Economic 

and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, 

in 2003 to effectively tackle graft and 

corruption. That nearly 20-year vision has 

yielded fruits as the agency is making sturdy 

strides in the gargantuan war against the 

malaise. 

Corruption is too huge to be fought alone by 

the EFCC and we commend the Commission 

for forging strategic partnerships with other 

agencies in the country to make corruption 

minimal. We recall during the heady days of 

the sinister Apartheid regime in South Africa 

that the liberation fighters, most notably 

Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Desmond 

Tutu, Winnie Mandela, etc., didn’t take the 

Boer regime headlong alone. They sought 

collaboration among many nations like 

Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, etc., for 

financial, technical and ideological support. 

Many South Africans in exile who were 

fighting the cause from abroad successfully 

lobbied the then Margaret Thatcher-led 

administration to impose sanctions on the 

Pieter Willem Botha-led government. Mbeki, 

then based in London, played a key role in the 

negotiations that led to the release of Mandela 

from incarceration after 27 years behind bars. 

The American War of Independence from 

Britain which led to the latter defeating the 

army of King George III had the backing of 

France. Noble causes are never fought alone. 

This piece will critically examine how the 

EFCC has partnered with Nigerian agencies 

to wage war against the hydra headed monster 

of corruption. 

The EFCC has gone into a partnership with 

the Nigerian Content Development and 

Monitoring Board, NCDMB, in 2020 for 

speedy investigation of infractions committed 

by oil companies in Nigeria. This is a step in 

the right direction as the oil sector – the goose 

that lays the golden egg for the Nigerian 

economy- is bedeviled by many irregularities 

allegedly committed by the big players, 

especially the International Oil Companies, 

IOCs. Popular businessman and politician, 

Jimoh Ibrahim, told the world that he made 

his fortune as a tax consultant to the Federal 

Government by ensuring government got 

The EFCC is extremely 

pragmatic in its strategic 

partnerships with other Nigerian 

agencies as it cannot win the anticorruption 

war alone 

billions of dollars in taxes from the IOCs. 

Nigerians deserve a better deal from the black 

gold and this partnership is designed to bring 

home the bacon to the doorsteps of Nigerians. 

In 2021, the EFCC and the Nigeria Extractive 

Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, had 

gone into a partnership to ensure that the 

revenues due to government in the oil and gas 

sector are remitted to government and to also 

fight corruption in the sector. The Vanguard 

on April 23, reported the EFCC helmsman, 

Abdulrasheed Bawa, to have said when he 

received the NEITI boss at the EFCC’s 

headquarters in Jabi Abuja: “We have 

developed expertise in oil and gas 

investigation. We did oil subsidy investigation, 

we did oil swap investigation, we did OML 

and OPL investigations, which came with 

billions of naira recovered. We can work 

together to ensure that what rightly belongs to 

Nigeria is ours.” 

He urged the agency to take advantage of 

the Extractive Industries Fraud Section of the 

Commission, which was created exclusively 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 —17 

establish and quantify the actual 

impacts of the HGSFP. Since the 

programme was implemented in 

2016, there have been no checks and 

balances to ascertain that it is being 

delivered as planned. Equally 

appalling is the unrealistic budget 

allocated to feed a child per day 

which is reported to be N70 at the 

time of writing this piece. 

Consequently, the question begging 

for an answer is: what type of food 

can N70 buy today in Nigeria? In 

The school feeding 

programme is fraught with 

problems of large-scale 

corruption, irregularities, 

politicisation, poor quality 

control, lack of 

transparency and 

accountability 

light of the aforementioned 

challenges of the School Feeding 

Programme in Nigeria, the 

following are strongly suggested 

towards improving enrolment, 

attendance and cognitive 

development of primary school 

children in Nigeria: 

Increase funding capacity: The 

current budget of N144.9 billion per 

year for the School Feeding 

Programme is a strain on the 

finances of the country. Also, N70 per 

child is not a realistic budget that 

can provide food that will keep 

children in school, improve the 

nutritional and health status in the 

present economic meltdown. This 

necessitates the need for the Federal 

and state governments to seek 

financial support from local and 

international organisations such as 

to tackle fraud in the extractive sector. “In 

2012, the EFCC set up a special team for 

petroleum subsidy which I was part of, and at 

the end of our assignment, it was changed into 

a permanent section in the EFCC. It was 

changed from special team for petroleum 

subsidy to Extractive Industry Fraud Section, 

and the EFCC did not stop at that. We ensured 

that every zone of the Commission has that 

section.” 

The Thisday Newspapers reported on 

December 16, 2020 that the EFCC and the 

Department of State Services, DSS, have 

partnered to effectively tackle graft in Nigeria. 

A statement issued by EFCC said the Ilorin 

Zonal Head of the EFCC, Oseni Oluwasina 

Kazeem, made the disclosure while playing 

host to the State Director, DSS, Patrick 

Ikenweine, at the commission’s office in Ilorin. 

Kazeem, who decried the rate at which 

corruption had permeated every sector of 

Nigeria's system, noted that the cankerworm 

could only be tamed through collaborative 

efforts of all stakeholders, including the DSS. 

He commended the DSS for being a good 

partner in the fight and called for more robust 

working relationship between the two 

agencies. Earlier, the Director DSS, Ikenweine, 

stated the essence of his visit which he said 

was to familiarise with critical stakeholders 

in the State. “I’m here to familiarise with you 

in a bid towards building on the existing 

cordial relationship with your agency. The DSS 

and EFCC have a record of good working 

relationship, which I hope should be 

sustained,” he said. 

The EFCC and the Federal Inland Revenue 

Service, FIRS, went into a partnership during 

the chairmanship of Babatunde Fowler to 

fight tax evasion in the country. This 

collaboration, according to Fowler, will ensure 

Nigeria’s financial security and independence, 

which, he said, are key to national 

development. Fowler made this known in 

Abuja at the opening of the International 

Conference and Capacity Building Workshop 

on the Use of Beneficial Ownership 

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World Bank, UNICEF, among 

others, to strengthen and increase the 

efficiency of the feeding programme. 

Improve welfare of food vendors: 

Payment of vendors for the School 

Feeding Programme should never 

be delayed for any reason. The 

Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, 

Disaster Management and Social 

Development and state governments 

must work together and ensure that 

vendors’ monies are paid directly into 

their accounts as at when due to 

prevent any form of bribery and 

corruption, and reduction in the 

quality of food served to the children. 

It is also recommended that vendors 

should be trained and certified on a 

regular basis to guarantee safe and 

nutritious food and good health of 

the school children. 

Monitoring and evaluation: Given 

the relative newness of the School 

Feeding Programme in Nigeria, 

there is currently little empirical 

evidence on the impacts and 

effectiveness at a local or national 

level. A comprehensive monitoring 

and evaluation system is needed for 

the programme to provide an 

evidence-based framework in order 

to generate recommendations for 

better programme decisions. 

Implementation of multistakeholders 

approach: The 

Federal and the state governments 

must utilise a multi-stakeholder 

approach to support an effective 

School Feeding Programme and 

policies at the local and national 

level. This will go a long way in 

promoting active involvement of 

parents, community leaders, and 

local government in the 

development of the School Feeding 

Programme in the country. 

•Dr. Okunola is a DAAD 

ClimapAfrica postdoctoral fellow 

(Global Change Institute) at the 

University of the Witwatersrand. 

Information and The Recovery of Assets in 

Africa. He beckoned on Nigerians and the 

international community to collaborate in the 

fight against “any illegality”. “Corruption is 

anything illegal. Whether it is money 

laundering, tax fraud, tax evasion or other 

illegalities. We must collaborate to fight them. 

When you are fighting corruption, you are 

taking back from the corrupt people what they 

erroneously think belongs to them. That is why 

they resist the fight against corruption,” Fowler 

said. 

The EFCC and the Presidential Artisanal 

Gold Mining Development Initiative, PAGMI, 

on August 3, 2021 reiterated the need for 

continuous education and enlightenment of 

artisanal gold miners and gold sellers in view 

of their vulnerability in being used to perpetrate 

sinister acts of money laundering. A few days 

ago the EFCC encouraged members of the 

National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, to 

embrace the fight against financial crimes in 

the country. “Add your voice to mine, because 

the fight against economic and financial 

crimes involves you and I. 

"I will play my part, you will play yours,” the 

EFCC chairman stated in a sensitisation 

lecture on the Role of Youth in Curbing 

Cybercrimes presented on his behalf by officials 

of the Commission at various orientation 

camps of the Batch B Stream One set of corps 

members. “Embrace hard work and shun 

crime; Yahoo-Yahoo is not a sustainable way 

of life. As dynamic young men and women, 

our desire is to harness your intelligence and 

energy for greater public good in your areas 

of primary assignments,” Mr. Bawa said. 

The EFCC is pragmatic in its strategic 

partnerships with other Nigerian agencies as 

it cannot win the anti-corruption war alone. 

We urge the EFCC to forge more partnerships, 

especially with the media, religious bodies and 

the civil rights groups as the collaborative 

efforts will greatly reduce the scourge of graft 

and set Nigeria on the path to greatness which 

may dwarf the achievements of the Asian 

Tigers. 

•Ikhide, a journalist and political activist, 

wrote from Lagos, Nigeria


THE Independent National Electoral 

Commission, INEC, has been the 

chief driver of electoral reforms in 

Nigeria since former President 

Goodluck Jonathan appointed Prof. 

Attahiru Jega as the Commission’s 

Chairman on June 8, 2010. 

Apart from conducting elections in 

which opposition parties regularly INEC remains a strong advocate of 

won, Jega pioneered the Permanent the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 

Voter’s Card, PVC, and Smart Card 2018, which Buhari vetoed a record 

Reader, SCR, which helped to make four times with flimsy excuses. 

the 2015 general elections successful. Another sign that Prof. Yakubu’s 

Apart from the instance when he was INEC has striven to assert its 

spotted wearing the ruling All independence was the firm 

Progressives Congress, APC, “broom implementation of the laws which 

cap”, the many expensive inconclusive ensured that the APC lost Zamfara 

elections and the controversial 2019 State to the PDP after initially winning 

presidential election that ensured a it through flawed internal processes. 

second term for President To further minimise the influence of 

Muhammadu Buhari, Jega’s electoral manipulators, INEC is also 

successor, Professor Mahmood at the forefront of efforts to ensure 

Yakubu, has equally been proactive in that electronic transmission of election 

championing technology-driven results becomes part of the law 

reforms. 

guiding the future elections. The 

Commission has just introduced the 

INEC as the chief driver of electoral reforms 

online pre-registration of eligible 

voters. The INEC is already pushing 

for electronic voting. It has taken bold 

steps to procure no fewer than 200,000 

electronic voting machines to cater for 

176,846 polling units nationwide. 

By these and other proactive body 

language and progressive policy 

actions, the INEC is sending positive 

signals into the system that it is willing, 

able and ready to rise above the 

pressures of the ruling parties and 

powerful officeholders to ensure that 

the votes of Nigerians count. 

These reforms will ensure that the 

process of voting and result 

transmission are made easier, safer, 

quicker and more foolproof. INEC is 

moving away from the past where the 

Commission itself, due to the interests 

of the governments in power, was the 

most reluctant to respond to the 

people’s yearnings for reforms. 

The 2023 general elections will be a 

great opportunity for the Commission 

to prove to Nigerians and the 

democratic world that our electoral 

umpire can no longer be pushed 

around by the powers that be. 

Fortunately, Professor Yakubu has 

secured his unprecedented second 

five-year tenure. 

The road is now clear for the 

Commission to give Nigerians a 

showpiece general election that will 

restore the faith of the people in the 

ballot box. 

We look forward to a genuinely 

independent, highly professionalised 

electoral umpire which is above the 

pressures of incumbent governments 

and crooked political actors. 

The third part of this piece published 

last week traced the significance of the 

New Nigeria Development Company 

which was created in place of the 

Northern Nigeria Development 

Corporation, amidst a new political order 

that restructured the Northern Region 

into 16 states. 

TODAY its activities are cherished 

in the North, with its shareholders 

spreading across all the current 19 states 

in the region—Adamawa, Bauchi, 

Benue, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, 

Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, 

Nassarawa, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, 

Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara. 

The management of the company was 

sacked on July 23, 2018 by the Chairman 

of Northern Governor Forum and former 

Governor of Borno State, Kashim 

Shettima. Before the sack, the company 

was led by its former Managing Director, 

Dr. Ahmed Musa Mohammed. 

The Chairman of the company was 

Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu. Other members 

of the management are executive 

directors: Abbas A. Waziri (corporate 

planning and business development), 

Mrs. Kaneng Dokotri Adole 

(management services directorate), 

Abdullahi Ali Gombe(investment 

supervision directorate), as well as 

Barnabas Baba (company secretary/legal 

adviser). 

The board chairman has been pushing 

OPINION 

Whither the interim common 

services agency and ESIALA(4) 

for renewal of tenure of the management 

even though insiders believed it has 

failed in its mandate of executing the 

five-year-strategic plan approved by the 

governors in 2013. Majority of the 

NNDC subsidiary companies cannot 

pay staff salaries, not to talk of staying 

afloat to pay dividends, insiders said. 

In the letter, Shettima told Dalhatu that: 

“You may kindly recall that during our 

discussion, you made a strong and 

persuasive case for the renewal of the 

executive management’s tenure…. In 

the meantime, you are once again kindly 

requested to advise the executive 

management to vacate their positions 

immediately as their current tenure has 

since expired.” 

In 2013, the NNDC raised N1.82 

billion from disposing of 19 of its choice 

properties in Kaduna, and another N4.1 

billion from sales of its shares in bluechip 

companies like 

Nestle, Union Bank, 

among others, to fund 

the five-year strategic 

plan. But five years 

after, most of the 

subsidiaries which the 

NNDC budgeted N2.65 

billion for their overhaul 

are still comatose. Some 

of the problems 

affecting the company, 

according to insiders, 

include heavy dependency on revenue 

from its investments in the capital market, 

inability to attract and secure loans from 

local and foreign sources, dearth of staff 

with relevant skills in the critical 

If the spirit of the Interim 

Common Services Agency 

had survived, the economy of 

the old Northern Region 

would have prevented 

insecurity that is ravaging the 

region now 

operational functions, poorly performing 

and indebted subsidiaries, inadequate 

returns on equity and assets, and 

inadequate capital base for required 

investments. The company has a 

shareholders’ fund of N9,194 billion, 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

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which is a drop from the N9,407 billion 

of 2016, according to its financial 

statement dated March 31, 2017. The 

19 states are represented on the 

company’s board by their secretaries to 

state governments. The conglomerate 

has 10 subsidiary companies, 33 

associates companies, interests in 25 

quoted companies. The 19 governors are 

yet to constitute a new management. 

These companies and institutions were 

established by the Premier of the 

Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello (12 

June 1910-15 January 1966) and his 

party, the Northern Peoples Congress. 

He labored so hard in establishing these 

properties and institutions. 

If these institutions and companies 

have not survived till today or are poorly 

managed, it is a sad commentary of those 

who survived Sir Ahmadu Bello since 

1966. The last time the Northern 

governors met in Kaduna, under the 

leadership of the Plateau State governor, 

Mr Simon Lalong (67), the Interim 

Common Services Agency was not 

included in the agenda of discussion. 

If the spirit of the Interim Common 

Services Agency had survived, the 

economy of the old Northern Region 

would have prevented insecurity that is 

ravaging the region now. 

Very sad and disappointing. 

Concluded

Supplementary budget increases 2021 deficit 

by N848bn *How FG plans to spend N982.7bn 

By Emma Ujah, Abuja 

Bureau Chief 

ECONOMY 

THE federal government plans 

to spend N859.397 billion of 

the 2021 Supplementary Budget, recently 

passed by the National Assembly, 

on capital projects, while 

N123.332 billion would be spent on 

recurrent expenditure. 

The government provided a 

supplementary revenue projection of 

about N135 billion, an indication 

that the Supplementary Budget 

would increase the annual deficit by 

N847.729 billion. 

The deficit would be financed 

through debt of about N802.102 billion; 

aid/grants N6.045 billion; and 

restructured loans of N39.582 billion. 

The schedule indicated that the 

bulk of the capital budget would go 

to the military, which would spend 

the sum of N698.686 billion on the 

procurement of various items ranging 

from aircraft to arms and ammunition. 

Details of the allocations showed 

that the Nigeria Air Force would 

spend N239.477 billion, followed by 

the Army with N207.543 billion. 

The Nigerian Navy was allocated 

the sum of N157.780 billion; Defence 

Space Administration, 

N43.326 billion; Defence Headquarters, 

N33.673 billion; and Defence 

Intelligence Agency, N16.887 

billion. 

Out of the N33.673 billion supplementary 

budget of the Defence Headquarters, 

N15.829 billion would be 

spent on vehicles and generator; 

N11. 489 billion on ammunition; 

N1.641 billion for additional 2,700 

troops; while N1.3 billion was also 

provided for the CIMIC Quick Impact 

Project. 

The Air Force would spend the 

sum of N140.767 billion on additional 

aircraft requirement and another 

N84.964 billion on payment 

for the purchase of defence equipment. 

The Army would be expected to 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

RAND 

Danish Krona 

175.15 +0.30 

70.68 -1.73 

68.46 --2.10 

409.11 409.61 410.11 

569.9721 570.6687 571.3653 

485.5317 486.1251 487.7185 

452.3552 452.908 453.4609 

3.754 3.7586 3.7632 

0.7222 0.7322 0.7422 

583.4294 584.1425 584.8555 

63.3112 63.389 63.4668 

109.0873 109.2206 109.3539 

28.6694 28.7045 28.7395 

65.3577 65.4376 65.5175 

CBN Exchange rate as at 09/08/2021 

RETREAT: From left - Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMOT), Dr. 

Magdalene Ajani; Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi; Minister of State for 

Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki; Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration 

and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh; Acting Managing Director, Nigerian Ports 

Authority (NPA), Mohammed Koko Bello; and Executive Secretary, Nigeria Shippers Council 

(NSC), Emmanuel Jime, at the FMOT Ministerial Retreat (Second Phase) held in Lagos. 

spend its largest supplementary budget 

of N96.554 billion on the purchase 

of defence equipment; 

N48.670 billion on vehicles; 

N37.646 billion on ammunition; 

and N 14.892 billion on arms. 

Similarly, the Navy would spend 

N36.545 billion on arms and ammunition; 

N34.697 billion on defence 

equipment; N21.406 billion on 

other equipment; N13.411 billion on 

surveillance equipment; N12.160 

billion on general hardware; 10.465 

MARITIME 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUEST 10, 2021 —19 

billion on general items 

(consumables); and N10.171 billion 

on body armour and protection. 

The police was allocated N22.586 

billion supplementary budget for 

various activities across all commands. 

Of great interest to the public would 

be the allocation of N4.870 billion 

to the National Intelligence Agency 

for the acquisition of Turaya interception 

solution and Whatsapp interception 

solution. 

A provision of N60.728 billion was 

made for the purchase of 29.87 million 

doses of J& J vaccines to tackle 

the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A Service Wide Vote of N66.870 

billion was made for minimum 

wage arrears for tertiary institutions; 

2021 salary shortfall contingency; 

earned academic allowances for 

universities; constitutional review; 

and vaccines delivery to every ward, 

in the country. 

Saraki 

laments poor 

port access 

roads 

By Godwin Oritse 

MARITIME 

MINISTER of State for 

Transportation, Mrs 

Gbemisola Saraki, has lamented 

the poor port access 

roads, a development that continue 

to hinder revenue accruable 

to the Federal Government. 

Speaking during the Second 

Phase of the 2020 Ministerial 

Retreat organised by the Federal 

Ministry of Transportation 

in Lagos last week, Saraki said 

that there was need to provide 

infrastructural base for both human 

capital and manpower development. 

She stated: “There is urgent 

need to fix the road to boost 

businesses at the port and generate 

more revenue to revitalise 

the economy. The Call-Up system 

that was recently put in 

place has literally collapsed either 

due to corrupt practices or 

lack of enforcement by security 

agents. 

“We need to strengthen the institutional 

capabilities of maritime 

agencies to position the 

country as a hub of maritime activities 

in West and Central Africa 

to boost the economy.” 

She said that the maritime sector 

being a special sector 

needed efficient and welltrained 

professionals to ensure 

effective operation. Saraki said 

that the employment opportunities 

available in the maritime 

sector had not been well harnessed 

by Nigeria. 

Union alerts on fake maritime security certificates 

By Godwin Oritse 

THE Nigeria Merchant Navy 

Officers & Water Transport Senior 

Staff Association 

(NMNO&WTSSA) has called on 

the federal government to urgently 

nip the illegal operations of some 

people in the maritime industry posing 

as merchant navy officers. 

The Union’s President Comrade 

Bob Yousou, said that alarm was 

necessary because of the 

result of the danger that 

the activities of the group 

may cause in the industry 

if left unchecked. 

The union alleges that 

the group in question engages 

in duping people in 

the name of issuing maritime 

security certificates 

to seafarers and that the 

certificates are not 

recognised and accepted 

within Nigeria and internationally. 

Yousou said, “It has 

been a while this unscrupulous 

elements have 

been duping people in the 

name of maritime security 

certificates that is not 

recognised and accepted 

within Nigeria and internationally. 

“Merchant Navy Officers 

all over the world are 

known to be discipline 

and professional. There is 

no Maritime Convention 

that mandates seafarers 

to carry arms globally. 

“History has it that the 

establishment of Nigerian 

Navy (NN) is as a result 

of the security issues 

encountered by seafarers 

plying their trade in Nigeria 

territorial water. It is therefore 

the duty of Nigerian Navy to uphold 

our territorial boundaries and deal 

with the security challenges faced by 

seafarers. 

“With the coming into force of the 

Deep Blue Sea project, the government 

of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 

is not leaving any stone 

unturned to curb insecurity challenges 

in our territorial waters. 

“The certificates issued by this 

group of people neither conform to 

ILO/IMO regulation nor in line with 

Nigeria Maritime Administration 

and Safety Agency (NIMASA) requirements. 

“NIMASA today stands as the 

only maritime regulatory agency 

and I stand to be challenged that 

the activities of this impostors is not 

in tandem as far as NIMASA is concerned. 

“It becomes glaring that the fake 

bodies are the ones militarizing our 

noble profession. They are bent on 

wearing uniform day in, day out without 

any plans to go onboard vessel 

and work, hence the conflict with 

Nigerian Navy and other security 

authorities. 

“Merchant Navy uniform is the 

same globally but we stand against 

the abuse of it. Seafarers are professionals 

with great repute. They transport 

about 85 percent of the world 

trade.” 

NITAD inducts Fellows, raises fund for projects 

By Cynthia Alo 

THE Nigerian Institute of 

Training and Development 

(NITAFD) has inducted 65 of its members 

as Fellows at an event that also 

featured fund raising for some of the 

institute’s projects. 

The Institute’s President and Chairman 

of Council, Mrs Ayoade Igbeyi, 

described the event as ground breaking, 

as it featured the combined upgrading 

of 2020 and 2021 years’ candidates 

to the status of Fellows. 

She added: “We promised to be responsive 

to the yearnings of our members. 

Their complaints are being addressed. 

We now welcome back those 

that had earlier felt disenchanted but 

have now regained confidence in us. 

“Today, we are now here as a unified 

force, to forge and chart a way forward 

for our great institute. The leadership 

the governing council cannot 

do this alone. 

“It is against this background that 

the council ratified five policies, which 

became effective April 1, 2021. These 

policies were carefully and intellectually 

crafted to have direct positive impact 

on membership.” 

The guest speaker at the event and 

ECONOMY 

Executive Director of Lafarge Africa, 

Mr. Gbemiga Owolabi, spoke on 

“Learning and Development- Leveraging 

On Creativity in a Changing 

World.” 

The event was also attended by the 

ruler of Upata Kingdom in Rivers 

State, Eze Igbu Upata; the Olumobi 

of Imobi- Ijeshaland, Oba Jacob 

Adetayo Haastrup; Chairman of 

NITAD’s Board of Fellows, Dr. Kayode 

Oluwagbuyi, among others. 

GCR assigns investment grade ratings to 

Greenwich Merchant Bank 

By Cynthia Alo 

GREENWICH Merchant Bank 

Limited has been rated BBB- 

(NG) Long Term, and A3 (NG) Short 

Term with a stable outlook by global 

credit rating agency, GCR Ratings. 

The assigned rating is premised 

on the Bank’s strong 

capitalisation, robust liquidity and 

sound risk position as noted in the 

accompanying statement from 

GCR. This stable outlook rating reflects 

GCR’s expectation that Greenwich 

Merchant Bank would successfully 

implement its outlined strategic 

initiatives, expand operational 

scale over the short to medium term, 

and sustain capitalisation metrics at 

strong levels. Commenting on this, 

the bank’s Managing Director, Bayo 

Rotimi, noted that the rating is indicative 

of the Bank’s resilient business 

model, driven by global best 

practise and anchored on a dedicated 

work force that seeks to create 

value for internal and external stakeholders. 

It is to be noted that Greenwich 

commenced merchant banking 

operations in October 2020. 

The Bank, while operating as 

Greenwich Trust Limited during its 

first 26 years of operations carved a 

niche for itself as a market leader in 

the Investment Banking, Financial 

Advisory, Asset Management and 

Securities Trading space.


Bonny Light slides further to $69.77 7 per barrel on Delta variant, others 

By Udeme Akpan 

THE price of Bonny Light, 

Nigeria's premium crude 

oil grade, weekend, dropped to 

$69.77 per barrel from $72 

recorded the previous day, over 

fears of increasing United States 

stock and the spread of Delta 

variant. 

The price of Bonny Light and 

other crudes, had risen to over 

$75 per barrel in July 2021, due 

mainly to improved vaccination 

during the period. 

But the current slide would not 

affect the execution of Nigeria's 

2021 budget, which was 

benchmarked on $57 per barrel 

and 1.8 million barrels per day, 

(excluding Condensate), as the 

nation also produces between 

300,000 - 400,000 of Condensate 

daily. 

The drop in price was mainly 

driven by the resurgence of the 

Coronavirus pandemic in some 

oil consuming nations, including 

China and India, expected to 

impact negatively on demand, 

and by extension price. 

It was also influenced by the 

report of the U.S. Energy 

Information Administration 

(EIA), which has it that crude 

stockpiles rose by an unexpected 

3.6 million barrels last week, 

while gasoline inventories fell by 

a bigger-than-forecast 5.3 

million barrels. 

Nevertheless, in its July Oil 

Market Report, the Organisation 

of Petroleum Exporting 

Countries, OPEC, had stated: 

"The global economic growth 

forecast for 2021 remains 

unchanged at 5.5 per cent. In an 

initial assessment, global 

economic growth for 2022 is 

forecast at 4.1 per cent. However, 

future global growth continues 

to be impacted by uncertainties, 

including the spread of COVID- 

19 variants and the pace of the 

global vaccine rollout. 

"In addition, sovereign debt 

levels in many regions, together 

with inflationary pressures and 

central bank responses, remain 

key factors that require close 

monitoring. Nevertheless, 

upside potential could 

materialize as ongoing 

containment COVID-19 

measures in combination with 

additional fiscal and monetary 

stimulus could turn out to be 

more effective than envisaged, 

leading to further gains in 

consumption and investments." 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 

Nigeria’s gas flare falls 0.33% in Q1 2021 to 

45.33BCF • • 1,720GW power equivalent lost in 2 years 

By Obas Esiedesa 

AS flare in Nigeria’s oil 

Gfields fell by 0.33 percent in 

the first quarter of 2021 to 45.33 

billion cubic feet, BCF, compared 

to 45.48BCF of gas flared in the 

fourth quarter of last year, latest 

data from the industry have 

shown. 

Data also showed that on a yearon-year 

basis, gas flare dropped 

by 21.75 percent in the first quarter 

of 2021 from the 57.93BCF 

recorded in the first quarter of 

2020. 

According to the Nigerian 

National Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC, monthly report for 

February, 2021, data also showed 

that in 24 months, from March 

2019 to February 2021, a total of 

430.97BCF of gas have been 

flared. 

This is equivalent to 1,720 Giga 

Watts of power lost in two years, 

according to power generation 

expert, Dr. Stephen Ogaji of the 

Niger Delta Power Holding 

Company Limited. 

Gas commercialization 

programme 

As part of the effort to curb gas 

flaring in the country, the Federal 

Government in December, 2016, 

launched the Nigerian Gas Flare 

Commercialisation programme. 

The NGFCP was designed as 

the strategy to implement the 

policy objectives of the 

government for the elimination of 

gas flares with potentially 

enormous multiplier and 

development outcomes for 

Nigeria. The objective of the 

NGFCP is to eliminate gas flaring 

through technically and 

commercially sustainable gas 

utilization projects developed by 

competent third-party investors 

who will be invited to participate 

in a competitive and transparent 

bid process for flare sites. 

The Department of Petroleum 

Resources, DPR, which manages 

the programme, in a statement 

explained that the 

commercialisation approach has 

been considered from legal, 

technical, economic, commercial 

and developmental standpoints. 

“It is a unique and historic 

opportunity to attract major 

investment in economically viable 

gas flare capture projects whilst 

permanently addressing a 60 year 

environmental problem in Nigeria. 

“The NGFCP has offered flare 

gas for sale through a transparent 

and competitive bidding process. 

A structure has been devised to 

provide project bankability for the 

Flare Gas Buyers, which is 

essential to the success of the 

Programme”. 

Latest data from the programme, 

according to the Department of 

Petroleum Resources, DPR, 

showed that so far 203 companies 

have been awarded the right to 

process flared gas from the 178 

gas flared sites. 

Speaking on the programme at 

the weekend, the Permanent 

Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum 

Resources, Mr. Bitrus Nabasu 

noted that despite the slow pace 

of progress, the Federal 

Government was determined to 

end gas flares in the country. 

“The process is still on and our 

intention is to reduce gas flaring 

as much as possible so that the 

environment will be safe for us. 

The process is on and very soon it 

will be concluded”, he explained. 

Gas flare penalty 

DPR in its gas flare regulation 

stated that “flare payments shall 

apply to any natural gas that is 

flared and/or vented at the 

production facilities of the 

producers”. 

Figures from the 2019 Oil and 

Gas Audit Report of the Nigeria 

Extractive Industries Transparency 

Initiative, NEITI, showed that 

companies paid $307,591 in 2019 

as gas flare penalties in the 

country. 

Experts react 

In an interview with Energy 

Vanguard, GNPC Petroleum 

Commerce Chair in Oil and Gas 

Studies, University of Cape Coast, 

Ghana, Prof. Wumi Iledare said a 

lot of investment was needed to 

end gas flaring in the country. 

Prof. Iledare however observed 

that gas flaring has gradually gone 

down in the past few years, 

accounting for less than 10 percent 

By Ediri Ejoh 

THE Chief Operating 

Officer, Asharami Energy, 

Henry Menkiti, has urged operators 

in the upstream sector to develop 

Nigeria-specific prorammes 

to address the challenge of emissions 

in the march towards energy 

transition. 

Speaking at the Society of Petroleum 

Engineers (SPE) International 

Conference and Exhibition, 

held in Lagos, Menkiti said the 

nation has to establish a progressive 

strategy that guides the mining 

of hydrocarbons more responsibly. 

“We must keep doing what we 

try to do best; produce hydrocarbons 

as we transition, and at the 

same time, be aware of the dan- 

of total gas production. 

He explained that “there are 

some gas flaring that cannot be 

eliminated if you have to keep 

things running but we must give 

credit to the Department of 

Petroleum Resources with respect 

to gas flaring. It is below 10 

percent right now. I still 

understand that is still the 

equivalent of about 

3,000megawatts of electricity 

generation”. 

He noted that “the investment 

required to be able to get gas to 

OIL MARKET WATCH 

Bonny Light $69.77 

Brent $69.07 

OPEC Basket $71.83 

WTI $66.76 

MARS $66.28 

(As ofAugust 9, 2021) 

end-users is massive and it is 

going, to begin with, a good 

perception of public policy. 

Unfortunately, the perception of 

the Public Policy Index, PPI, is still 

very low. And until governance of 

the oil and gas industry is properly 

defined and all these amorphous 

regulatory agencies well defined, 

a risk-averse person will not invest 

in this type of business 

environment. 

“This gas flaring that people are 

talking about, the opportunity cost 

to taking the gas to end-users is 

massive and there must be 

guarantee return on investment. 

If it is not there nobody will invest”, 

he added. 

Speaking on the gas flare 

situation, the President of the 

Nigerian Association of Energy 

Economics, NAEE, Prof Yinka 

Omorogbe noted that the Federal 

Government must demonstrate 

the political will to end gas flaring 

in the country by first ending the 

use of gas flare penalty as a source 

of revenue. 

Prof. Omorogbe stated that the 

penalty must be seen as a punitive 

measure and strong enough to 

deter companies from flaring gas. 

According to her, “We have to 

have the political will to not flare 

gas even if it means shutting down 

certain fields that are producing 

right now. Secondly, you have to 

seriously pursue your gas 

utilization projects and ensure that 

the gas utilization projects are 

using up associated gas that would 

otherwise be flared. 

Asharami seeks emission-cutting programme in Nigeria's 

upstream operations gers directly related to emissions,” 

he said. 

Menkiti said as the upstream division 

of energy conglomerate, 

Sahara Group, Asharami Energy 

is committed to aligning its operations 

to process and promote environmental 

sustainability. 

“Ultimately, addressing emission 

cutting requires the collective 

effort of all stakeholders in the upstream 

sector and we believe the 

SPE can play a critical role in driving 

the conversation. Sahara is 

happy to play a leading role in 

this regard,” he added. 

Urging the SPE to “evangelize 

local technical breakthroughs” in 

the sector, Menkiti said this would 

help fast-track knowledge sharing, 

capacity building and efficient operations. 

According to him, the sector 

needs to highlight the positive engagements 

between the Community, 

Government, Operator and 

Service companies to enhance the 

sustainability of the ecosystem. 

He noted that internal and foreign 

investors read and benchmark 

the health of the ecosystem 

against their risk portfolios when 

making critical decisions. 

“Sahara’s positive multi-stakeholder 

approach represents an example 

– a role model where collaboration 

works; enhancing value 

across-the-board for all stakeholders. 

Where this is not at play, 

it runs the risk of stagnating operations, 

having lifting costs running 

sky-high and making such 

ventures difficult to sustain,” he 

asserted.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUEST 10, 2021 — 21

22— Niger-Delta Voice, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 

VOL. 2: NO. 281 TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 

NDOKWA EAST HORROR: Residents 

go to farm, market, return to meet 

home swept by flood, gully erosion 

•Onyah, Utuoku, Okpai, Adiai-Obiaku, Utchi, Abala-Oshimili, Aboh, Okpai, Beneku, 

Utuoku, Asaba-Ase communities worse hit 

•Group slams Ndokwa leaders for deserting kinsmen 

•Flooded homes 

in Ndokwa 

By Emma Amaize ( NDV 

Editor) & Ochuko Akuopha 

ASABA-ASE — 

RESIDENTS of Onyah, 

Utuoku, Okpai, Adiai-Obiaka, 

Utchi, Abala-Oshimili, 

Aboh,Okpai, Beneku, Utuoku, 

Asaba-Ase and other oil-bearing 

communities in Ndokwa East 

Local Government Area, Delta 

State, have been through horrible 

nightmares, over the years, 

with nobody to hear their cries. 

The villagers leave home in the 

morning for their farms and market 

only to find that their houses 

have been eaten up by sea surge 

and gully erosion when they return 

home in the evening. 

Rising sea surge, which frequently 

exacerbated the gully 

erosion washed off part of the road 

to one of the communities, Asaba-Ase, 

after the 2012 flood disaster, 

and the culvert that was 

provided was again washed off 

by flood in 2020. 

Presently, over 20 oil-bearing 

communities situated along the 

bank of River Niger in Ndokwa 

East area Delta State are currently 

under the threat of extermination, 

following recurrent flooding 

and gully erosion wreaking havoc 

on the areas. 

Group blasts 

Ndokwa leaders 

Global Coordinator of Deltans 

Lives Matter, DLM, a nongovernmental 

organization, which first 

drew attention to the predicament 

of Ndokwa communities, Christian 

Abeh, told NDV: “The riverine 

good people of Ndokwa East 

local government area have been 

suffering from terminal neglect by 

their respective representatives at 

all levels.” 

“In Ndokwa East, the riverine 

communities will be no more in 

the next few years if urgent steps 

•Ongoing 

wooden 

project 

are not taken to stop the menace 

of gully erosion which is daily 

cutting off their houses into the 

river for over twenty years now. 

“It is only in Ndokwa East local 

government area you will see a 

house in the morning but would 

not be there in the evening when 

you return from farm or market. 

This is an unfortunate situation. 

“The most annoying thing is 

that the Ndokwa nation boasts of 

political heavy weights like Senator 

Patrick Osakwe, who was in 

the Senate for 12 years; Nicholas 

Ossai Ossai, who has been in the 

House of Representatives for 10 

years now;Friday Osanebi, 

former Deputy Speaker, state 

House of Assembly; Festus Ochonogor, 

who was Senior Political 

Adviser and now a super commissioner. 

What about Chief Godwin 

Obielum and the rest of 

Ndokwa billionaires who are private 

business owners, yet their 

people suffer unnecessarily. 

“It is quite unfortunate, why 

should these leaders not draw the 

attention of the federal and state 

governments to the plight of their 

people at the riverine,” he said. 

Calamity triggered by 

annual R’Niger flooding 

—Osborg, indigene 

An indigene of Okpai community, 

Mr. Tony Osborg, told NDV: 

“The annual flooding, over the 

years, has brought about degradation 

of river banks leading to a 

massive loss of arable lands of 

rural farming communities. The 

ebbing of the flood is usually followed 

by erosion.” 

“In Aboh Kingdom for example, 

the historic British- built and 

over 100-year- old brick storey 

building palace of the late Obi 

Oputa is already endangered 

by erosion. Part of the palace 

fence has already caved in and 

if nothing is urgently done, the 

•Building destroyed by 

gully erosion in Onyah 

community. 

entire monument would be gone 

in few years. 

“Every attempt by the community 

to reach out to various agencies, 

including the NDDC, NEW- 

MAP (Nigeria Erosion and Watershed 

Management Project) 

and the state government had 

brought no result. The erosion 

has continued to eat up every 

available land even as I speak 

and it is caused by the annual 

flooding of the River Niger.” 

Ndokwa group 

slams SEEPCO 

Meanwhile, the Ndokwa East 

Local Government Area Development 

Organization, NELGADO, 

in a letter to SEEPCO, a company 

operating in the area, titled, 

“SOS In Respect Of The Massive/ 

Destructive Erosion Caused by 

SEEPCO Barge Movements On 

The Niger in Ndokwa East LGA,” 

said: “It is observed that these 

barge movements have led to an 

annual shoreline erosion of 10 to 

20 meters in some of the communities 

on the part of Onyah, 

Christian Abe, Global 

Coordinator, Deltans Lives Matter. 

Utuoku, Adiai-Obiaka among 

other communities.” 

The letter by the chairman, Dr. 

Titus Obiora Enuebuka, chairman 

and Onyah community leader 

Engr. Ikechukwu Onyeanokwe, 

said: “SEEPCO has recently been 

awarding contracts for dredging 

only the pathway of their barge. 

This is a wrong environmental 

practice very detrimental to the 

communities on the Niger. Furthermore, 

the sand from these 

dredging activities of SEEPCO is 

deposited back into the Niger instead 

of the nearby communities 

where these barge move in their 

10s and 20s on daily basis.” 

It called on the company to 

sand-fill the affect communities 

along the Niger using the 

dredged sand from its ongoing 

route dredging operations, saying: 

“This will go a long way towards 

combating the perennial 

flood suffered by the communities”. 

The group also appealed to the 

company to sponsor “shore protection 

projects as a matter of urgency 

to save these communities 

from extinction on account of 

SEEPCO barge movement.” 

We need assistance 

—Kaine, Utooku youth 

president 

Youth president of Utuoku, Mr. 

Enuesike Kaine, asserted: “To 

even get water is a problem because 

the river is the only source 

where we get water. We are really 

appealing to the federal and 

state governments to come to our 

aid in any way they can to help 

our people. As it stands now, we 

do not really know what to do 

again because the community 

cannot pack from the place of our 

ancestral settlement. Recently, 

erosion carried part of peoples 

building into the River Niger.” 

We drink contaminated 

water 

—Uzor, Onyah youth 

president 

Similarly, youth president of 

Onyah community, Mr. Morgan 

Uzor, screamed: “The schools are 

not functioning; primary and the 

secondary schools buildings are 

in very bad shape. What we are 

experiencing is erosion from the 

River Niger and buildings are 

been flushed away. This is where 

we are from and we keep managing 

it, drinking very dirty water. 

The color of the water is very 

bad.” 

Flood destroys culvert 

— Anagbogu, Asaba-Ase 

P-G 

At Asaba-Ase community, 

where the people has embarked 

on the construction of a wooden 

bridge after the big culvert linking 

the community from Uzere in 

Isoko South was destroyed by the 

2020 flood, the story is not different. 

President-General of the community, 

Mr. Godfrey Anagbogu, 

asserted: “This problem has been 

on since the 2012 flood disaster 

in which some part of the road 

was washed away. When we cried 

to the federal government to intervene, 

it did a culvert through 

Federal Road Maintenance 

Agency, FERMA. Then in 2013 

and 2014, flood washed off some 

parts of the road, which is the only 

federal presence we have. 

“In 2018, the thing happened 

again and we now cried to the 

state government, it intervened 

through DESOPADEC with palliative. 

However, when the 2020 

flood came, even the culvert they 

put in there was removed by the 

flood. 

“Immediately after the flood, we 

started going back again; we met 

our representative in the House 

of Representatives, sent message 

so that at least there should be 

vehicular movement in and out 

of Asaba-Ase. In fact, there is a 

diversion there; this community 

saw hell in making sure this diversion 

came. We had to pay for 

portions of lands owned by most 

families before we hired trucks to 

do the job, which took almost N2 

million. 

Villagers levy themselves 

to construct N6m wooden 

bridge 

“So, the problem is a challenge, 

we came back, sat down and 

said if the government say they 

are not going to help us, then 

we have to help ourselves, otherwise 

we would be cut off, market 

would not work and people would 

find it difficult to move the way 

things were going. 

“Therefore, we levied ourselves, 

men - N6,000 and women - 

N4,000, people of goodwill from 

other communities have been 

donating, some people operating 

in the market and the women 

gathered money, which is what 

we have been doing. No dine 

from the state and federal government, 

so it is self-help. 

“It was culvert then, but the way 

it is now, no culvert can get in 

there unless they remove the one 

that was washed away by the 

flood. So, after some research we 

found out that they do (wooden 

bridges) in the USA and other 

places and we went into it. 

What you see there has taken 

nothing less than N6 million. 

We are owing the wood man 

about N1.8 million for the first 

set of woods,” he said. 

Miserable and painful 

situation 

—Odoni, PRO 

Continues on page 23

Niger-Delta Voice, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 — 23 

By Samuel Oyadongha 

O RESIDENTS BOGORO- 

of 

Obogoro community in the 

outskirts of Yenagoa, capital 

of Bayelsa State, have 

started relocating from the 

serene fishing and farming 

settlement, following the 

devastating incursion of 

coastal erosion, which 

crumbled several property, 

including seven houses 

and farmlands in the newest 

offensive. 

Fear of annihilation 

grips residents 

Inhabitants, who spoke to 

NDV, cried out to both the 

state and federal government 

to come to their rescue, 

saying the community 

was on the verge of being 

wiped out by coastal 

erosion if urgent remedial 

steps were not taken. 

Though the natives are 

no strangers to such catastrophe 

having lost a greater 

portion of their ancestral 

land, over the years, they 

were nonetheless shaken 

by this year’s force of nature. 

NDV findings revealed 

that the community has 

been plagued by erosion for 

over a decade now with 

over 60 houses, including 

the community’s primary 

school, National Youth 

Service Corps, NYSC, 

lodge, headmaster’s quarters, 

football field and several 

farmlands, along the 

Ikoli River gone. 

The Saint Paul’s Primary 

School located at Famgbe, 

a neighbouring community 

that would have served 

as an alternative for pupils 

has long been washed into 

the river with children from 

Obogoro forced to travel far 

to acquire basic education. 

7 houses, other 

property vanish 

in 12 hours 

It was further learned that 

the menace was likely to get 

worse if nothing was done 

urgently to contain it, especially 

as the temporary 

break in rainfall is likely to 

Villagers flee as seaside 

erosion overwhelms 

Bayelsa community 

•Over 60 houses, primary school, 

NYSC lodge, headmaster’s quarters, 

football field, farmlands destroyed 

BAYELSA 

…JERUSALEM OF 

IJAW NATION 

end soon. 

No fewer than seven 

buildings and other property 

were lost within the 

space of 12 hours during 

the latest incident, causing 

scores of the terrified locals 

to flee their homes from the 

ravaging natural disaster. 

We live in palpable 

fear— Gwegwe, 

Nnachi, inhabitants 

A concerned native and 

frontline activist in the Save 

Obogoro Campaign, Mr. 

Ada Gwegwe, lamenting 

the plight of his people, 

said seawaters were threatening 

the entire settlement, 

forcing residents to pack 

their valuable while others 

abandoned their homes. 

Another resident, Eunice 

Nnachi, noted with sadness 

that a year after a similar 

incident happened with all 

the promises of action from 

relevant authorities, nothing 

significant has been 

done, leaving the residents 

in palpable fear. 

Gov Diri’s directive flout- 

NDOKWA EAST HORROR: Residents go to 

farm, market, return to meet home swept by 

flood, gully erosion 

Continued from page 22 

Also speaking, public 

relations officer of the 

community, Chief Newworld 

Odoni, said: “Our 

life is miserable; it is a 

very painful situation. 

We have gone to the government; 

we have gone to 

our representatives and 

have complained severally, 

no solution forthcoming, 

so we resorted to selfhelp 

but we are financially 

constrained.” 

We don’t know what 

govt uses ecological 

fund for 

— Imegwu, ex- 

Speaker 

Former deputy speaker 

of the state House of Assembly, 

Mr. Olisa Imegwu, 

who hails from the 

area was flabbergasted by 

the sufferings of his people, 

saying: “It is terrible, 

all the money they 

have been approving in 

the ecological funds we do 

not know what they are 

using it for. Whether they 

are using it to develop 

Asaba, doing drainage 

and drainage sub-protection 

in Asaba and Ibusa, 

we cannot say. 

‘The ecological fund has 

always been in the budget 

and state governors are 

supposed to use the money 

in such areas, but we 

do not see the impact in 

Ndokwa East. They 

should not forget these 

communities are at the 

bank of the River Niger, 

now the flood is coming 

and if the flood comes the 

whole of Ndokwa East is 

about 98 per cent flooded 

and each time the flood 

comes, the erosion gets 

ed – Diemeze, Yogoi, Obogoro 

leaders 

Speaking on the erosioninduced 

landslide, deputy 

paramount ruler, His Highness 

Gwegwe Diemeze, 

said the people of Obogoro 

recently breathed a sigh of 

relief when Bayelsa state 

governor, Douye Diri, 

made known his intention 

to canalize the river to provide 

them succor, but lamented 

that two months 

after the pronouncement, 

the community was yet to 

see any action being carried 

out. 

Secretary of Obogoro 

community, Mr. Pulu Yogoi, 

who highlighted some efforts 

by the community to 

draw the attention of the 

relevant offices to the situation, 

lamented that if nothing 

is done, the community 

may go into extinction. 

Community Development 

Committee, CDC, 

scribe, Richard Obuku, 

former youth president, 

Subokime Igodo and another 

resident, Mr. Abraham 

Christopher, in their separate 

remarks, called on the 

Federal and Bayelsa state 

governments and other relevant 

agencies to come to 

their aid. 

worse. 

Water reserve bank 

required —Ossai 

Ossai 

Contacted, the member 

representing Ndokwa/ 

Ukwuani Federal Constituency 

in the House of 

Representatives, Hon 

Ossai Ossai, said: “What 

is required to save Niger- 

Delta is a big dam that will 

channel the water that 

are flowing up into a water 

reserve bank” 

“I believe a reserved 

area like what was done 

in Cameroon and Chad, 

a kind of damp should be 

channeled for Nigeria 

whereby most of the water 

that are flowing towards 

the Niger-Delta 

area can be channeled to 

that particular reserve so 

it will decrease the issue 

of flooding in the Niger- 

Delta. I think it requires 

a lot of political solution.


NO fewer than 24 

Magistrate and 

Mobile Courts have been 

enlisted by the Lagos State 

Judiciary to adjudicate on 

cases of waste bill 

defaulters and other 

environmental sanitation 

offences, including waste 

dumping. 

Making this known at the 

meeting of the Association 

of Waste Managers of 

Nigeria, AWAMN in Lagos 

on Tuesday, lawyer to the 

Association, Mr. David 

Fadile, said in response to 

a letter of complaint by the 

Association about the huge 

outstanding waste bills not 

paid by customers to the 

operators and the 

continuous infraction on 


offences by residents 

Covid-19 pandemic and real estate sector 

By Kingsley Adegboye 

NIGERIA’s 

real 

estate sector has 

not remained the same 

since the advent of the 

global Covid-19 

pandemic. Following the 

impact of the pandemic on 

Nigeria’s real estate subsector, 

the sector has remained 

largely underperforming. 

The under performance 

of this sector is largely 

hinged on the low level 

of effective demand for 

housing. Affordable housing 

remains unobtainable, 

and given the squeeze in 

consumers’ purchasing 

power, demand has 

remained low. 

There is little or no access 

to housing finance or 

mortgage loans at affordable 

rates. At the same 

time, the cost of 

construction is very high 

and feeds directly into 

property pricing. Developers 

are yet to adopt new 

building technologies that 

24 Magistrate Courts to Try Lagos Waste Bill Defaulters 

without adequate 

enforcement, the Lagos 

State Chief Judge, Justice 

Kazeem Alogba, has 

approved and dedicated 24 

magistrate and Mobile 

courts across the state for the 

trial of offenders. 

He listed the courts to 

include Court 4, Epe in the 

Epe Magisterial District; 

Court 4, Yaba; Court 6, 

Ebute-Metta; Court 4, 

Surulere and Court 2, 

Mushin in the Yaba 

Magisterial District. Court 

7, Apapa, in the Apapa 

Magisterial District, Court 4, 

Ikorodu in the Ikorodu 

ANALYSIS 

can assist with quality and 

cost advantage. 

The real estate sector has 

been severely hit by the 

current pandemic. Given 

the impact of Covid-19 on 

consumers’ pockets, as 

well as the steep pay cuts 

and in some cases, job 

losses, new home 

Magisterial Duistrict, Court 

3, Badagry in the Badagry 

Magisterial District, Courts 

9, 18 and 20, Ogba and 

Court 2, Ogudu, all in the 

Ikeja Magisterial District and 

Courts 6 and 10, Igbosere 

and Court 4, Tinubu in the 

Lagos Magisterial District, 

and Court 2, Eti-Osa in Etio- 

Osa Magisterial District. 

Others, according to Fadile, 

which are special offences 

courts, include Mobile 

Courts Nos. 1- 6, Oshodi, 

Ikeja, Environmental Court 

No. 6, Ikeja, and Correctional 

Centre Court, Ikoyi. He 

appealed to residents to 

endeavour to always pay 

acquisition is becoming 

less of a priority. 

Furthermore, the 

demand for commercial 

property is likely to remain 

ever low, with many 

businesses managing to 

remain in business. 

Following the transition 

to remote work systems 

due to the lockdown, it is 

expected that businesses 

will incorporate more 

their waste bills to avoid 

being taken to court for 

sanctioning. 

Fadile told the PSP 

Operators that the courts 

have jurisdictions on 


offences and fee recovery, 

stating that the courts were 

to handle cases relating to 

waste fee recovery and 

indiscriminate dumping of 

waste. 

He charged members to 

take advantage of the new 

development, sue and 

recover their unpaid fees once 

they have the evidence of 

servicing such a customer. 

“The new initiative,” Fadile 

remote working options 

for their employees and 

review their space 

requirements at the time 

of their lease renewals, 

both in the short-term 

and post-Covid. 

Essentially, office space 

requirements are likely to 

shrink to manage costs. 

As for the residential 

market, a few defaults 

further told the waste 

managers, “is meant to 

empower you, enhance and 

sustain your businesses,” 

asking them to work 

stridently to meet the 

expectations of 

government for a cleaner 

Lagos while advising the 

residents to always 

patronise the PSP 

operators as they have no 

other means of taking their 

waste for disposal. 

According to him, not 

patronising the operators 

is an environmental 

offence as waste dumping 

is highly frowned at by the 

law, warning that anyone 

have been recorded 

among renters particularly 

in Lagos, using flexible 

payment models. 

Rental payment cycles 

are still largely annual in 

Nigeria, hence 

retrenchment and lay offs 

are unlikely to have an 

immediate effect on the 

market performance. 

Wealthy Nigerians, institutions urged to fund research 

THE President of the 

Nigerian Institute of 

Building, NIOB, Kunle 

Awobodu, has urged 

wealthy Nigerians and 

institutions to invest in 

research for societal 

development. 

Awobodu who affirmed his 

firm belief in the potentials 

of the black man for 

excellence, made the call 

for investment in research at 

the second edition of the 

lecture series of the 

Association of Builders in 

Academia. 

Challenging participants 

to explore local sources of 

funding for their research 

endeavours, he said 

bringing research outputs to 

a finished level for society’s 

adoption is a crucial part of 

the research ecosystem. 

Awobodu elucidated on 

NIOB’s commitment to 

research as manifested in its 

*Residential estate 

ongoing efforts at realising 

the development of a world 

class research centre in the 

Federal Capital Territory, 

Abuja. According to him, 

part of the key objectives of 

the centre is to research into 

alternative building 

materials and promotion of 

skills for the nation’s 

development. 

The Chairman of the 

Association of Builders in 

Academia, Prof. Martin 

Dada, had earlier set the 

tone for the lecture as he 

welcomed participants and 

reminded them that men of 

ideas rule the world. 

He urged participants to 

continue in the search for 

workable ideas to advance 

society. 

Two resource persons 

spoke on Exploring 

Opportunities for Research 

Grants, Conferences and 

Publications. The resource 

persons were: Sani Kunya, 

a professor of Building and 

a former Sub-Dean of 

Students Affairs of the 

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa 

University, Bauchi; and 

James Rotimi, an Associate 

Professor of Construction 

Management at the Massey 

University, New Zealand. 

Kunya explained the 

concept of research grant 

and related it to the 

mandate and history of the 

Nigerian Tertiary Education 

Trust Fund, TETFUND. He 

also challenged 

participants to source 

research grants for 

advancing scientific 

knowledge, career 

development, increased 

visibility 

and 

supplementing provisions 

for the development of new 

programmes in their 

respective institutions. He 

referred to what was termed 

the global local context and 

took participants through 

the processes of writing 

research proposals for grant 

support. He then explained 

some potentials of grant 

support available at 

university levels and also 

TETFUND. 

Associate Prof. Rotimi 

acknowledged the need for 

research but emphasised 

that researches should aim 

at closing the gap between 

the industry and the 

academia, pointing out that 

a researcher should engage 

the industry to identify 

industry’s concerns and 

what he termed ‘wicked 

problems’ of the 

organisation or society. 

“Beyond scoring points in 

publications, the researcher 

must demonstrate the 

impact of his research on 

society or sectors thereof,” 

Rotimi stated. 

He further identified some 

areas of interest for a typical 

research funding agency 

which include a clear 

indication of the problem 

that needs to be solved and 

how it is to be solved, a 

credible plan for 

implementation and how to 

turn knowledge into benefits 

for the society. 

Rotimi further 

emphasised the need for 

interdisciplinary or 

multidisciplinary research 

teams to consider the 

research from various 

perspectives and the need 

for communication of how 

each member of the team 

would contribute to the 

research endeavour, while 

harping on the need for 

research proposals to align 

with the interests of funding 

taken before any of the 

designated magistrate 

courts with the evidence 

of not patronising the 

operators would have to 

say where and how he or 

she disposes his or her 

waste “and if found that 

you are involved in 

waste dumping, it’s a 

serious environmental 

offence.” 

AWAMN President, 

Mr. David Oriyomi, 

congratulated members, 

describing the new 

development as most 

pleasing while asking 

members to rededicate 

themselves to their 

service and explore the 

opportunity presented by 

the new development if 

they are not paid for their 

services. 

Landlord cries 

out over plan 

to demolish 

Victory Park 

Estate 

buildings 


A 

property owner, Mr 

Adebayo Shittu, has 

cried out over ongoing illegal 

demolition of his two buildings 

in Victory Park Estate, Ibeju- 

Lekki, Lagos, by the Asset 

Management Corporation of 

Nigeria, AMCON, against the 

order of the Court of Appeal, 

in Lagos. 

Shittu said AMCON’s 

action on July 28, 2021, was 

not only contemptuous, but 

also a flagrant abuse of the 

Court of Appeal’s judgment 

delivered by Justice Monica 

Dongban, leading two other 

Justices, Mudashiru Oniyagi 

and Jamilu Tukur, on 

December 15, 2020, in Lagos. 

He said the judgment 

forbade the corporation from 

taking any action on the said 

property in Victory Park Estate, 

in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. 

The judgment, he noted, was 

sequel to an appeal 

challenging the ruling of the 

High Court of Lagos, by Justice 

Coram Jose delivered on 

October 24, 2019, dismissing 

the defendant’s, now 

appellant’s notice of 

preliminary objection, 

granting the order of 

interlocutory injunction in 

favour of the first and second 

respondents, Mr Shittu and 

More & S.A. More Limited. 

According to the judgment: 

“The cause of action by the 

respondents before the trial 

court, as can be garnered from 

record, is on the transaction 

between the 1st and 2nd 

respondents and the 3rd and 

4th respondents which 

principally centres on sale of 

land on which the purported 

residence of the 1st and 2nd 

respondents stands. 

“It is on record that the first 

respondent was said to have 

been allegedly locked out of 

his residence. It is on the 

strength of this that the learned 

trial judge exercised his 

judicial discretion restraining 

the 3rd and 4th respondents 

from any form of further 

restriction of the 1st and 2nd 

respondents from his said 

house pending the 

determination of the 

substantive suit.” 

The judgment noted that, “A 

judicial discretion is said to be 

a science of understanding to 

discern between falsity and 

truth, between a shadow and 

substance, between equity and 

colourable glosses and 

preference, and not to do their 

wills and private affection.

2023: The familiar as unknown (3) 

BY DAKUKU 

PETERSIDE 

WE started this series 

penultimate week with 

permutations regarding the 

conventions and congresses of 

Nigeria’s two major political parties 

– the ruling All Progressives 

Congress, APC, and the opposition 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 

run-up to the 2023 general elections. 

Last week, we examined the different 

scenarios that may play out during 

the primaries of the two political 

parties. In the concluding part of this 

series, we shall pick up our crystal 

ball once more to see what may play 

out during the 2023 campaigns and 

actual elections. In about 17 

months, on February 23, 2023, 

precisely, Nigerians will troop out to 

vote for a president that will succeed 

President Buhari and most likely 

lead Africa’s biggest economy to the 

third decade of the 21st century. The 

choice will be between the two major 

political parties, the APC and the PDP. 

Chances are that a third major 

party may emerge to galvanise 

many interests that are not 

accommodated by the two major 

parties. This party we shall refer to 

as “Unknown Galvanised Party”, for 

want of a better name. As usual, 

many other smaller parties which 

survived the weeding by INEC will 

be on the ballot. A study of our 

electoral contest evolution shows 

that every election has its distinctive 

and unique character but the 

fundamentals have not changed 

much . A victory for the ruling APC 

or opposition PDP will not 

necessarily mean public acceptance 

or approval of their respective 

policies and programmes. However, 

a victory for a third platform will 

represent a definitive statement by 

Nigerians that they have rejected the 

old order and want a new direction, 

a breath of fresh air. I have my doubts 

about this third electoral scenario, 

though. 

Religion and ethnicity may not be 

the only determinants of the 

presidential election outcome, even 

though we acknowledge their huge 

impact. Strength of the platform or 

party affiliation, for its 

organisational capability, resources 

and network, may be the only 

constant in the choice of an 

electorate that is feeling frustrated 

by the policies and decisions of the 

two major political parties but have 

limited options. Party influence will 

not be based on conviction or 

ideology but perceived “herd 

mentality”. Political actors will go 

to the perceived winning side. 

Therefore, I see a new electoral map 

of the country emerging after 2023. 

All parties ought to face an 

electorate that wants to see a 

competent, cosmopolitan and 

confident president with a concise 

and coherent agenda to fix insecurity, 

address bourgeoning poverty and 

unemployment and revamp the 

economy. Yet, not less than 42 per 

cent of Nigerians, according to 

National Bureau of Statistics 2020, 

live below the poverty line; so their 

priority may not be strategic 

economic development issues but on 

mundane survival considerations. 

The major political parties will need 

a strong message, new narrative, and 

new campaign strategies to make 

impact as citizens are weary of failed 

promises. Nigerians, mostly youths, 

are getting more sophisticated and 

frustrated. The majority of elite class 

members do not come out to vote 

and may not influence the outcome 

of the elections. The 2023 election 

may be a referendum for the future 

of Nigeria. 

Five key issues could determine the 

outcome of the February 23 

presidential election. These include 

the issue of geopolitical zone of the 

candidates, money, the incumbent 

President’s disposition, personality of 

the candidates and voter turnout/ 

party mobilisation. First is the issue 

of the zone of the candidates. There 

are clear indicators that the mood of 

Nigerians in the southern part of the 

country is for a president of southern 

extraction at this time. Historical 

antecedents support this. Whenever 

the nation seems to be at a crossroads 

in our history, the Northern elite is 

always disposed to building 

consensus to preserve the country’s 

The APC and PDP 

have run out of new 

promises to make to 

Nigerians; there are 

hardly substantive 

things with which to 

entice the populace 

unity. Nigerian politics have always 

been provincial, and very few can 

ignore the delicate balance of 

ethnicity. Any party that presents a 

southern candidate ought to enjoy 

more support. 

If both major national parties have 

candidates from the South, then it 

might be a fair contest. For instance, 

if the APC eventually picks its 

candidate from the Southern part 

of the country against a Northern 

candidate on the platform of PDP, 

the party may make a deliberate 

attempt to sell the candidate as a 

symbol for national unity and 

cohesion. If PDP picks a candidate 

from the North against a Southern 

candidate on the platform of APC, it 

may claim that gives it the chance 

of winning since it may get a 

substantial Northern vote on ethnic 

sentiments. This is vice versa. 

The second issue is that of money 

at a time poverty and hunger has 

had a devastating effect on the 

psyche of the populace. Elections 

cost money, and the party with a 

deeper pocket stands a better chance 

to influence the election outcome. 

Nigeria has nearly 100 million 

persons living below the poverty line 

and almost 54 per cent of 

employable youths being 

unemployed. This reality makes 

poverty and hunger a powerful tool 

to influence the outcome of the 

election. Voting will most likely be 

transactional as votes will have 

monetary value and will be sold and 

bought. Voters may prefer instant 

gratification. This anomaly is worse 

because the voters feel there is no 

accountability in government, so 

they have a sense of entitlement to 

get their reward instantly. Money 

will also play a key role in 

mobilisation and logistics to get 

voters to go out and vote. The set limit 

of the campaign and electoral 

expenditure will be meaningless no 

matter how well monitored. 

The third issue is the incumbent 

president’s disposition. The president 

has enormous powers. He can 

influence the electoral body, security 

agencies and can raise money 

quickly. If do-or-die, statesmanly or 

indifferent, the president’s 

disposition will substantially affect 

the outcome of the general elections. 

President Muhammadu Buhari has 

shown marked statesmanship in the 

past elections. Would he continue in 

this stead or do we expect a different 

disposition? 

The fourth issue is the personality 

of the candidates and their records. 

Likely, the 2023 election campaigns 

would be about the individuals on 

the ballot, those representing the two 

major political parties or what they 

symbolise. There would be an 

attempt to deify the flagbearers of 

the two major political parties and 

sell them as the messiah that would 

turn the country into an Eldorado. 

There may also be an attempt to sell 

what the individual represents, for 

instance, the ‘youthfulness’ of a 

presidential candidate. Ordinarily, 

anyone that is above 40 years cannot 

be a ‘youth’. However, Nigeria 

currently runs some quasigerontocracy, 

and any candidate 

below the age of 60 is considered 

‘youthful’. 

The APC and PDP have run out of 

new promises to make to Nigerians. 

There are hardly substantive things 

with which to entice the populace. 

So, 2023 may be a time to clutch to 

straws. Little has changed in Nigeria 

after 16 years of PDP and six years of 

APC in power. So, the electorate may 

be tired of any campaign promises 

from the candidates promising 

change or improvement. The fifth 

issue is voters’ mobilisation and 

turnout. The 2023 presidential 

election campaigns would be very 

challenging for the two major 

political parties. APC can no longer 

run its campaign on the message of 

change. The PDP too would find it 

difficult to sell ‘change’ to Nigerians 

to get back to power at the centre, 

maybe because most Nigerians do 

not remember the days of the PDP 

with nostalgia. 

A school of thought believes that 

the PDP put the country in a deep 

hole that APC couldn’t exit the 

bottomless pit. The two parties are 

also bereft of ideology, so nothing 

from that area would move the 

needle for most Nigerians. The APC 

and PDP have well-crafted excellent 

manifestos. But that is on paper. On 

the actual implementation of 

policies or performance in office, 

both parties were driven by personal 

interests, political, tribal, religious, 


and other exigent selfish 

considerations. It has never been 

about ideological leanings or 

concerns. By the way, Nigerian 

politicians switch political parties 

at will in such a nauseating manner 

that clearly shows that the parties 

are only platforms to attain political 

power. Political office holders 

willing to change parties are 

accepted with fanfare irrespective 

of achievements or lack thereof in 

office. Surprisingly, development 

and policy issues are not among the 

top five factors determining the 

February 23, 2023 election. With 

a population that suffers material 

deprivation, less than five per cent 

usually pays attention to strategic 

policy issues. The electorate are 

issues-averse; only a tiny section of 

the elite care about development 

issues. 

The state of the economy, 

insecurity, transparency and 

accountability in government and 

their corollary will only be issues 

among a negligible per cent of the 

elite and would have no bearing on 

the outcome of the elections. 

Beyond the acronym and symbols 

of the parties, most Nigerian voters 

do not know what they stand for or 

how they plan to address key 

development challenges.Winning 

the election will depend on the 

candidates that mobilised excellent 

voter turnout and convinced them 

to vote for them, which requires hard 

work and deployment of cash. The 

real battle is between those wishing 

to win the election and those 

working hard to win for the sake of 

the country they want. Those who 

go to work will always triumph, but 

the question is, what kind of country 

do they want? 

It is our considered opinion that 

no matter who becomes their 

candidate, APC would likely be the 

party best placed to win the 

presidential election in 2023. The 

PDP is courting imminent 

implosion with the recent 

developments within the party. The 

infighting, driven by self-interest and 

over bloated ego, will most likely 

continue to the 2023 elections, 

which would significantly weaken 

the opposition party in the run-up 

to the election. The party has been 

losing essential members like state 

governors and members of National 

Assembly to the APC. Most of the 

governors who will stay back in the 

party may not have much at stake, 

becoming virtually lame duck and 

their immunity coming to an end, 

they may not be keen to commit 

substantial resources to the party’s 

presidential campaign. The APC 

also has its crisis. However, the 

power and pull of incumbency 

would always force some members 

to bury their grievances and work 

to see that the party wins the 

election. 

The country is currently on 

tenterhooks. Nigerians’ security and 

economic challenges are so dire. As 

it is, any attempt to subvert the will 

of the populace by rigging the 2023 

elections may take the country 

across the cliff from where we may 

never recover. To this end, both the 

Independent National Electoral 

Commission and the major political 

players should realise that it would 

not be business as usual in 2023. If 

most Nigerians feel that their votes 

did not count, the subsequent 

cataclysm may be such that the 

country may not recover from it. In 

conclusion, ethnicity or geopolitics, 

hunger and its twin money politics, 

petty sentiments, and a party 

platform with no meaning will 

always trump over difficult choices 

needed to build a prosperous nation 

out of a fractured, disoriented 

country. The election in February 

2023 will reveal the option 

Nigerians prefer. 


INC insists on 5% 

equity allocation to 

oil producing areas 

ASABA—THE Ijaw National Congress, 

INC, has described as unacceptable 

the 3 per cent equity allocation to oil 

producing areas recommended by the 

National Assembly in the recently passed 

Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, insisting on a 

minimum of 5 per cent. 

In a statement, the spokesperson of the 

group, Oyakemeagbegha Ezonebi, said no 

effort would be spared towards ensuring 

that 5% equity was allocated to oil producing 

areas of the Niger Delta, and flayed a group 

of Ijaw elders which recently visited the 

Minister of State, Petroleum, Chief Timipre 

Sylva, for applauding him for his role in the 

3 per cent allocation in the Petroleum 

Industry Bill. 

He stated that the 5 per cent option 

would have been chosen to assuage the 

fears of the people of Niger Delta, stressing 

that the region should have significant 

value for its oil wealth. 

Ezonebi maintained that the Niger Delta 

deserved a better deal, emphasizing that 5 

per cent equity allocation was not too much 

for a region that had sustained the nation's 

economy, with virtually nothing to show 

for it. 

The Ijaw apex group recalled that the 

northern part of the country had supported 

the 5 per cent equity earlier suggested 

before the passage of the PIB and wondered 

why the 3 per cent option had to fly, just as 

it argued that it was unthinkable for any 

person or group of Ijaw people to prefer 3 

per cent to 5 per cent. 

It affirned its demand for a minimum of 5 

per cent, insisting that the resource justice 

was paramount to the Niger Delta and 

nothing less than 5 per cent would be 

excepted. 

Ezonebi appealed to the various Ijaw 

groups in the country to speak in one voice 

and allow the INC, which is the apex socio 

cultural organisation of the Ijaw nation, to 

speak on national issues as it concerned 

the ljaw nation. 

Delta 2023: Isoko'll 

be mindful of choice 

of gov candidate 

—IDU 

By Ochuko Akuopha 

OLEH—ISOKO Development Union, 

IDU, the apex social-cultural 

organization of the Isoko nation, has said 

that the people of the Isoko nation would 

look critically and be mindful of which 

gubernatorial candidate they would 

support in the 2023 general election. 

Speaking at the IDU Unity House in 

Oleh, Isoko South Local Government 

Area, when leaders of the Ijaw nation 

visited to solicit the support of the Isoko 

nation for their governorship ambition, 

President General of the IDU, Prof. Chris 

Akpotu said the Isoko people "will not take 

2023 as a mere political jamboree. It is 

something that has to do with our 

tomorrow. " 

Akpotu said: "The reason we will critically 

look at the candidates come 2023 is not 

because of personal interest but because 

of the fact that we need a candidate who 

will be able to reposition Delta and 

strengthen what is on ground. 

"It is a dog that you know that you can 

play with it's teeth; we will not play with 

the one who will bark at us or when it is 

time for sharing he will say leave Isoko, let 

them remain there. 

"We know the ones that are with us 

before now, we know the ones when the 

need arise we always fall back to them. It 

is the event of yesterday that will determine 

our today and tomorrow." 

Earlier, the leader of the Ijaw delegation, 

former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei 

Broderick Bozimo stressed the need for 

the Ijaw people to be given the opportunity 

to govern the state in 2023. 

He said "When Delta central said that 

'it is our turn,' that is what prompted us to 

come out and correct that illusion. 

"It is not the question of 'my turn', it is 

the question of ethnic nationalities 

putting themselves forward to the entire 

Delta State to support the candidates they 

feel can govern the state. 

On his part patron of the IDU, Chief 

Iduh Amadhe, said: "We will call a special 

meeting of the Isoko political class and let 

them know of your mission."



By Paul Olayemi 

:@vanguardnews 

NEWS HOTLINES: 

08052867023, 

08052867058 

CELEBRATION—The Ovie of Oghara kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Noble Eshemitan JP, Uku 

Oghara Na'me (middle), with chiefs, at Ist Baptist Church, Oghareki, during the celebration 

of his 9th coronation anniversary, weekend. 

DELTA 2023: It'll be hard to dislodge Ibori political 

family —Amori, DC-23 chair 

By Emma Amaize, 

Regional Editor, 

South-South, & 

Festus Ahon 

A Commissioner SABA—FORMER 

in Delta 

State and National Chairman, 

Delta Central - 2023 (DC-23), a 

political lobby group for Urhobo 

for Delta Governor, 2023, Chief 

Ighoyota Amori, has said that it 

would be tough to dislocate the 

Ibori political family, an assembly 

of powerful politicians across the 

three senatorial districts of the 

state, headed by former governor 

of the state, Chief James Ibori. 

Amori, a prominent Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, a leader 

in the state and front-runner in 

Ibori political family, who 

explained the command of Delta 

politics by PDP, dismissed the 

claim that Ibori, incumbent 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and 

former governor Emmanuel 

Uduaghan, both 

members of the political 

dynasty were on the warpath. 

The Urhobo leader, who spoke 

to Vanguard on the fate of the 

Ibori political dynasty after two 

prominent members, Deputy 

Senate President, Senator Ovie 

Omo-Agege and Chairman, 

Senate Committee on Niger- 

Delta, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, 

moved over to the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

said: It will be very difficult to 

uproot the family. 

"You see, this is politics, politics, 

like I said, is dynamic, people jump 

in and out, now put it this way, 

the Ibori political family as 

established even before 1998 

has always been there from the 

Zero party to the defunct 

Grassroots Democratic 

Movement, GDM, and now to 

PDP, the family has been one. 

"If you look at the governors 

from then till now, from Ibori to 

his successor, Dr Uduaghan to 

Okowa, they are members of the 

same family and the family 

dynasty is still there till today. 

"From Ibori's time, 

people are now growing, some 

people who were in kindergarten 

are now matured to university 

level, people in the Zero party, 

some were people who were just 

born then, they are now adults, 

but have been part of the family. 

Let us take 1998 when we started 

the PDP; let us not go to GDM 

because GDM started in 1991, 

1992, children born at the time, 

have all matured. Some of them 

who are commissioners today, 

who are in the House of 

Assembly and House of 

Representatives were in the 

kindergarten school at that time, 

but they were part of the Ibori 

family. 

"I can tell you the Ibori family 

in my place (Mosogar) is still the 

same family from that time till 

now. The family keeps on 

UYO—EX-AGITATORS and 

members of the Strategic 

Communications Committee, 

SCC, set up by the Presidential 

Amnesty Programme, PAP, have 

expressed their readiness to 

counter negative narratives 

about the Niger Delta. 

Speaking after a three-day 

workshop organised for them in 

Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, by PAP's 

Interim Administrator, Col 

Milland Dikio (retd), the exagitators 

noted that the skills and 

techniques they learnt from 

experts assembled for the event 

would help them change the 

negative perception about the 

region. 

Chairman of SCC, Pastor 

Nature Dumale said: "The 

training has given us the 

awareness and the 

enlightenment we never had. 

The knowledge we have 

received will be adequately used 

to change the narratives and 

perception of people about our 

region." 

Governor Emmanuel Udom of 

OGHARA: Ovie calls for unity as he celebrates 

9 years on throne 

OGHARA—THE Ovie of 

Oghara kingdom, His Royal 

Majesty, Noble Eshemitan JP, 

Uku Oghara Na’me has called 

on all sons and daughters of the 

kingdom to embrace unity, 

insisting that disunity will breed 

nothing but underdevelopment. 

Eshemitan, who made the call 

at the weekend during a 

thanksgiving service to 

celebrate his nine years 

anniversary on the throne, at 

the First Baptist Church, in 

Oghara, Delta State, said there 

was no better time to be an 

Oghara man or woman. 

“We need to be united and 

continue to pray for the kingdom. 

I will continue to harp on unity 

because the only way we can 

achieve our goals in developing 

growing, along the line too, some 

people, if you know very well, 

were not part of the family before, 

they came in, they were not part 

of the original family, they came 

in and because they were not 

there from the very beginning, 

they also left the way they came 

this kingdom is to cooperate and 

learn to live together,” insisting 

there is need to pray for peaceful 

co-existence and unity of the 

kingdom” 

Meanwhile, the Uzzi of Oghara 

Kingdom, High Chief Felix 

Ekireghwo; Chief Lucky 

Ubieribo; the Unuevworo of 

Oghareki, Chief Godday 

Orhioru, and Chief Vincent 

Atuma, the Unuevworo of 

OgharaEfe, who spoke to the 

media in a separate interview, 

described the Ovie as a great 

king, whose reign has brought 

unity, peace and rapid 

development to Oghara 

kingdom. 

According to the Uzzi: “His 

Royal Majesty is a great and 

lucky king, whose reign has really 

unified the kingdom and brought 

peace and development in all 

facets of Oghara Kingdom. He is 

in. 

"Those gaps have been filled 

already because more people are 

maturing in the family, so the 

family will always remain intact, 

and that is the spirit behind the 

political domination of the state 

today by the PDP family and by 

the Ibori family in Delta State. It 

will be difficult, very difficult to 

uproot that family," he said. 

We're ready to counter negative reports 

about N-Delta —Ex-agitators 

Akwa Ibom State and Chairman, 

Pan Niger Delta Forum, 

PANDEF, Emmanuel Essien, 

who attended the grand finale of 

the workshop, urged ex-agitators 

to contribute to the development 

of the region. 

Dikio asked them to channel 

their knowledge to develop the 

region, appealing to them to 

emulate others, who were 

already making positive impacts 

in the region. 

He said: "Contribute to the 

development of the Niger Delta 

region instead of complaining. 

The agitation should be 

channelled to the right purpose. 

Progress is not measured 

overnight, it starts with little 

beginnings just like this one." 

In his remarks, Governor 

Emmanuel, who was 

represented by Owoidighe 

Ekpoattai, SA to the Governor 

on Cottage Industries Clutters, 

enjoined the committee to be 

proud of their region and report 

truth without prejudice. He 

commended Dikio for 

challenging the ex-agitator to 

move from dependent stipend 

earners to independent 

entrepreneurs. 

"With this, I know you will 

report positively about Akwa 

Ibom State and especially the 

Niger Delta region. This is a great 

region and a good place to be. I 

am proud to be from the Niger 

Delta region because we speak 

the truth and we want to be free," 

he said. 

PANDEF chairman, Essien 

described the workshop as a 

success and commended Dikio 

for bringing the event to Akwa 

Ibom. 

He said: "The amnesty 

programme is a special 

programme for the region and it 

will not last forever. 

"Your job is to ensure that 

positive reporting is done for the 

benefit of this region so that 

investors will not runaway from 

this region. 

"We have to make this region 

peaceful to attract employment 

and opportunities for our people." 

a team player who believes in 

consultation to seek meaningful 

advice in the course of running 

the traditional affairs of the 

kingdom.” 

In his own remarks, Chief 

Lucky Ubieribo maintained that 

the king is a true leader who sat 

on the throne for the benefit of 

his people. He stated that the 

king believes in truth, fairness 

and justice, which further 

endeared him, not only to the 

chiefs but the entire people of 

Oghara kingdom. 

Chief Vincent Atuma, while 

speaking to the media, said King 

Eshemitan is an achiever, whose 

emergence on the throne of 

Oghara is worthy of celebration. 

Chief Godday Orhioru said: “In 

the Ovie’s nine years on the 

throne, the king has shown 

passion for peace, unity and 

development of Oghara 

kingdom, we are very happy to 

celebrate him today.” 

CHANGE OF NAME 

EREWA 

I, formerly known and 

addressed as Miss EREWA 

EDITH EDIDJANA, now wish 

to be known and addressed as 

MRS OKOTIE EBOH EDITH 

EDIDJANA. All former 

documents remains valid, 

general public take note. 

FESTUS UGWU 

I, formerly known as MISS UGWU 

JANE GINIKACHUKWU, now 

wish to be known as MRS. 

EKEKWE 

JANE 

GINIKACHUKWU. All documents 

bearing my former name remain valid. 

General Public please take note. 

ORUKEFE 


addressed as Monday Makava 

Orukefe, now wish to be 

known and addressed as 

Monday Makava. All former 

documents remain valid, 

general public please take note. 

EBEREME 

My name was wrongly written 

as Ebereme Amarachi Joy. I now 

wish to be known and addressed 

as Elekwachi Amarachi Joy. All 

former documents remain 

valid, general public please take 

note. 

EKONG 

This is to certify and confirm that 

MENDIE ANIEFIOK INYANG 

AND MARY FRANCIS EKONG is 

one and same person, but henceforth 

wish to be known and addressed as 

MENDIE ANIEFIOK INYANG . 

All former documents remain valid. 

General public and authority 

concerned please take note. 

ADEIGBE 

I, formerly known and addressed as 

Adeyinka Adedoyin Adeigbe, now 

wish to be known and addressed as 

Monday MakavaAdeyinka 

Adedoyin Ogundare. All former 

documents remain valid, general 

public please take note. 

UDOM 


addressed as UDOM UMOH 

IBIONO, now wish to be 


NDIFREKE UMOH IBIONO. 

All former documents remain 


note. 

OKUWEH 

The name OKUWEH HELEN 

UYOYO and OKUWEH 

UYOYO belong to the same 

person, but now wish to be 


OMAKPI UYOYO. All former 

documents remain valid, any 

authority it may concern and 

general public to take note. 

ADEBAYO 

I wish to confirm that I, Adebayo 

Angela am the same person as 

Adebayo Anjela, which was 

erroneously spelt in my account with 

First Bank Nigeria Plc. That my 

voter’s card reads Adebayo Angela 

which is my correct name. General 

public, First Bank please take note. 

OBANDE 

This is confirm that the names 

OBANDE Benedict and 

OBANDE Ogory Benedict 

belong or refer to one and the 

same person. All related 

documents remain valid. All 

authorities concerned and the 

general public please take note. 

OSEMI 

I, UDUAGHAN KENNITH 

OSEMI, wish to state that my name 

was wrongly captured on my BVN 

account as UDUAGHAN KENNIT 

OSEMI instead of the correct name, 

UDUAGHAN KENNITH OSEMI. 

The relevant authorities and to whom 

it may concern please take note. 

OKORODUDU 

I, formerly known and addressed as 

MISS OKORODUDU RITA 

BESIDONE, now wish to be known 

and addressed as MRS OBIANO 

RITA BESIDONE. All former 

documents remains valid, general 

public take note. 

ILOANUSI 

I, formerly known as MISS 

CHIOMA JOY ILOANUSI, 

now wish to be known as MRS. 

CHIOMA JOY-ILOANUSI 

DIKE. All documents bearing 

my former name remain valid. 

General Public please take 

note. 

ONYEMAECHI 


addressed as ONYEMAECHI 

CALLISTA, now wish to be 


OLOLO CALLISTA. All 


valid, general public please 

take note. 

AREGHAN 

I, formerly known as Miss 

Osezele Areghan, now wish to 

be known as Mrs Osezele 

Michael Ewan. All former 

documents remain valid, 

general public and other 

authorities concerned should 

please take note. 

IJESA 

This is to certify that the name IJESA 

ROCK, IJESAH ROCK & IJESAH 

PETER OBOREH, as seen in my 

documents refer to one & same me. I 

now wish to be known as IJESAH 

PETER OBOREH. All former 

documents remain valid. General 

public please take note. 

NWAUBI 

I, formerly known as 

NWAUBI UCHENNA JOHN. 

Now wish to be known as OBI 

UCHENNA JOHN. All former 

documents remain valid. The 

general public take note. 

ATERE 

I, formerly known as ATERE 

JULIET TOPE, now wish to 

be known as THOMAS 

JULIET TOPE, henceforth 

all former documents remain 

valid, all authorities concerned 

and general public to take 

note. 

OMOSEFUNMI 


addressed as Omosefunmi 

Emmanuel, now wish to be 


Adjeman Met Emmanuel. All 



note. 

MBADINUJU OT 


addressed as Miss Emily 

Nonye MBADINUJU, now 


as Mrs Emily Nonye Clement. 

All former documents remain 

valid. General public please 

take note. 

NWANOSIKE-OKORIE 


addressed as Nwanosike- 

Okorie Cynthia Ngozi, now 


as Edeh Cynthia Ngozi. All 


valid. News Agency of Nigeria 

and general public please take 

note. 

SPACE 

FOR SALE


Continues from Page 5 

Naira stable at N411.50/$ 

in I&E window 

vanguardnews 

No end in sight to crises 

in APC, PDP 

Senate. 

“We call on all members 

of the party to remain 

calm as the party leadership 

is working tirelessly 

to resolve the 

leadership crisis.” 

NWC meeting’s 

illegal – PDP 

legal adviser 

Reacting to the development, 

Emmanuel 

Enoidem, PDP National 

Legal Adviser said the 

NWC meeting was illegal. 

His words: “By Section 

29 (3) of the constitution 

of our party, it is the national 

chairman or a summon 

backed by two-third 

members of the NWC 

that can validly convene 

a meeting of the NWC. 

Sub-section 4 provides 

for two-third members of 

NWC to form a quorum 

for a meeting of the 

NWC.” 

“As a bona fide member 

of the NWC, to the best 

of my knowledge, I was 

not aware of any meeting 

of NWC summoned 

by the National chairman 

or in the manner 

provided aforesaid. 

“It is therefore of grave 

concern, and indeed, 

very sad to read the 

above position purportedly 

taken by some distinguished 

members of 

NWC in utter disdain 

and violation of clear 

extant provisions of our 

constitution. 

“The issue of resignation 

of any officer of our 

party at any level is a 

personal decision as 

stipulated in Sections 

45(1) and 47 (5). There 

is no provision of our 

constitution which donates 

powers to any organ, 

individuals or 

group of persons to ask 

an officer of the party to 

resign for any reason 

whatsoever as was purported 

in the so-called 

press release. 

“The powers to remove 

any member of the NWC 

and indeed any national 

officer is reserved in the 

national convention 

which is due for December 

2021. 

“The said press release 

is an unfortunate assault 

and blatant violation of 

the provisions of our 

constitution and so it is 

illegal and unconstitutional. 

“This is more so when 

the purported meeting 

was said to have been 

convened on Sunday 

August 8, 2021 against 

the widely published 

position taken by the 

BoT advising members 

and leaders of our party 

to maintain peace until a 

committee set up has 

deliberated on the raging 

controversies. 

PDP youths 

protest, demand 

chairman’s 

removal 

However, some PDP 

youths, yesterday, 

aligned their voices with 

calls for the removal of 

Secondus. 

Marching peacefully 

across major streets of 

Abuja, the youths under 

the aegis of Save PDP 

Group, arrived the Wadata 

Plaza, national secretariat 

of the party, demanding 

the immediate 

ouster of Secondus, citing 

the recent defections 

of some governors from 

the party to the APC, and 

Secondus’ leadership 

style among others. 

Bearing various placards 

with inscriptions, 

“Uche Secondus Must 

Go”, “We have lost confidence 

in your chairmanship”, 

“We cannot 

afford to lose more governors” 

among others, 

the youths called on the 

national chairman to 

heed the call and quit 

his office to pave way for 

the repositioning of the 

party ahead of the 2023 

general elections. 

Addressing newsmen 

at the party’s secretariat, 

leader of the protest, 

Comrade Tamunotonye 

Inioribo accused Secondus 

of polarizing the party 

for his own selfish interest, 

saying he is to 

blame “for the defection 

of three governors and 

dozens of Senators from 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

THE naira yesterday was stable at N411.50 per 

dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) 

window. 

Data from FMDQ showed that the volume of dollars 

(turnover) traded in the window fell by 12 percent 

to $166.06 million from $188.26 million traded last 

week Friday. 

Similarly, the naira yesterday was stable at N509 

per dollar in the parallel market. 

the party.” 

According to him, organs 

of the party including, 

the PDP Governors’ 

Forum, and National 

Working Committee, National 

Executive Committee 

“are all divided.” 

Resign now, 

PDP Reps’ 

caucus tells 

Secondus 

Also, the PDP Caucus 

in the House of Representatives 

asked Secondus 

"to consider making 

the necessary personal 

sacrifice worthy of a 

leader in the party’s current 

and future interest 

with a firm assurance of 

honourable regard and 

appreciation by the party 

leadership now and in 

years to come, by honourably 

resigning his 

position as party chairman 

immediately, to allow 

the party an early 

start.” 

The caucus accused the 

chairman of running the 

party affairs from his 

home, saying that his 

inept management of the 

deluge of complainants 

and other matters of concerns 

led to the massive 

defection of PDP members 

to the APC in the 

recent time. The caucus’ 

position was contained 

in a communiqué raised 

after its virtual meeting. 

Signed by its Chairman, 

Hon. Kingsley 

Chinda and Deputy 

Chairman, Hon. Chukwuka 

Onyema, the communiqué 

read in part: 

“Members of the PDP 

House of Reps caucus 

met and deliberated extensively 

on various aspects 

of concern being 

expressed by members of 

the party across the federation. 

Specifically, on 

the current charge of inept 

leadership against 

our national Chairman 

(Prince Uche Secondus) 

and Honourable members 

note as follows: 

“Whereas members of 

the Peoples Democratic 

Party and millions of Nigerians 

nationwide anticipate 

vigorous and 

well coordinated issue 

based national opposition; 

preparations towards 

a national convention 

as well as the 

2023 general elections, 

much confusion, fingerpointing 

and needless 

noise around the party’s 

national headquarters 

have obfuscated the noble 

objectives and lofty 

ideals of the PDP and 

democratic opposition 

politics in Nigeria. 

“To many, the National 

Chairman seems much 

more contented with occupying 

the office and 

therefore preoccupied 

@vanguardnews 

NEWS HOTLINES 018773962, 08052867058 

Commandant of the National Defence College (NDC), Rear Admiral Oladele 

Daji, presenting a souvenir to the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre 

Sylva, during his visit to deliver graduation lecture to Course 29 participants 

of the college in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO:NAN. 

with holding onto his 

position rather than preparing 

for next elections; 

this explains his inexplicably 

missing endless 

opportunities that ought 

to have been utilized for 

consolidating a viable 

opposition; skewing party 

congresses to favour 

personal future ambition 

and frustrating genuine 

party members across 

states which has resulted 

in mass exit of party 

members at the National 

Assembly. 

“There is no clear road 

map, blue print or policy 

programme for the PDP 

by the Chairman, thus 

the party is allowed to 

flow with the tide, only 

showing up with weak 

press releases once in a 

while without commensurate 

sustainable action. 

“The lax and bedroom 

managerial attitude of 

the chairman who runs 

the party from his home 

and only surfaces in the 

party office for meetings, 

coupled with several 

promises without commensurate 

action has led 

to inept management of 

complaints, despondency 

among members and 

consequently an exodus 

of members of the party 

at all levels, including a 

member of the Board of 

Trustee of the party. 

“Whilst these misfortunes 

befell the party 

and concerned party 

members are busy trying 

to stem the tide, the party 

Chairman has carried 

on as if all is well and 

does not appear to see 

the cauldron awaiting 

the party if it continues 

on that trajectory. 

“Further three months 

under the ruler-ship of 

the Chairman will do 

grave injustice to the 

party and put us in a precarious 

situation as every 

hour should matter 

now. 

The PDP House Caucus 

resolved to formally 

ask the BoT and the Governors 

Forum of the PDP 

to ensure immediate and 

firm resolution of current 

challenges so as to enable 

a re-engineering, refocusing 

process that 

would restore party members 

and millions of other 

Nigerians’ hope and 

confidence in the PDP as 

an alternative to the current 

dysfunctional, irresponsive 

and rudderless 

government of APC with 

its attendant suffering, 

miseries, political deceit, 

economic woes, insecurity 

and all-round disappointment 

foisted on on 

millions of Nigerian families 

across the federation.’’ 

Reps yet to meet 

over party 

crises 

— Elumelu 

Meanwhile, the party’s 

House of Representatives 

caucus, Monday,, 

said it is yet to meet over 

the crisis rocking the 

party. This was contained 

in a statement 

signed by Minority 

House Leader, Hon. 

Ndudi Elumelu. 

The statement read: 

“The attention of the minority 

caucus, particularly 

members of the Peoples 

Democratic Party, 

PDP, in the House of 

Representatives, have 

been drawn to news reports 

purporting to be 

the intervention and outcome 

of an online meeting 

of the PDP Caucus in 

the House regarding the 

current leadership challenge 

within the party. 

“If such a meeting held, 

it was without the knowledge 

of the leadership of 

the minority caucus, and 

therefore in breach of 

established procedure. 

“Meanwhile, we are 

working in concert with 

organs of the party to 

ensure sustainable resolution 

of the current challenges 

that will be in the 

overall interest of the 

party and Nigerians. 

“We appeal to all party 

faithful, particularly PDP 

members in the House of 

Representatives, to exercise 

caution and patience 

as the party addresses 

the present 

leadership challenges.” 

Why I won’t 

resign 

— Secondus 

Reacting to these calls, 

Secondus ruled out the 

possibility of his resignation. 

In a short statement 

signed by his Media 

Adviser, Ike Abonyi, he 

said nothing so far has 

warranted his resignation 

from the party position 

saying, “those tiny 

minority calling for his 

resignation should come 

clean and tell party members 

across the country 

his offence and why he 

should resign.” 

He pledged to remain 

focused and committed 

to the ideals of the party 

particularly as it prepares 

for the 2023 general 

elections. 

PDP governors’ 

meeting 

deadlocked 

However, Secondus is 

facing an uncertain fate 

as the meeting of PDP 

governors failed to resolve 

the fresh crisis 

threatening the soul of 

the party. 

In a meeting at the 

Akwa Ibom State Governor’s 

Lodge, Asokoro, 

Abuja, which lasted for 

over six hours, the governors 

were unable to 

find a way out of the lingering 

leadership crisis 

following persistent calls 

for the resignation of 

Secondus. 

Continues on Page 28


No end in sight to crises in APC, PDP 

Contnues from Page 27 

Addressing newsmen 

at the end of the meeting, 

Sokoto State Governor 

and Chairman of the 

PDP Governors’ Forum, 

Aminu Tambuwal, expressed 

the readiness of 

the governors to continue 

the meeting until the 

issue is resolved. 

“We discussed extensively 

on matters of the 

moment concerning our 

party and we have collectively 

resolved to continue 

to work together in 

unity. This meeting will 

continue tomorrow (today) 

with other stakeholders. 

Very soon, Nigerians 

and indeed, all 

of you will hear our resolution 

but we are working 

towards resolving all 

issues, as a family. By 

the grace of God, we are 

going to achieve that,” 

he said. 

The governors received 

the position of six NWC 

members who had earlier 

appended their signatures 

in demand for Secondus’ 

resignation but 

were unable to take a 

definite stand on the 

matter. 

Although Secondus arrived 

the venue of the 

meeting hours after it 

had kicked off, he remained 

defiant that he 

won’t resign from office. 

“No, I am not going to 

resign,” he said when 

asked if he would throw 

in the towel. His appearance 

at the event lasted 

for a few minutes as he 

jumped into a waiting 

car less than five minutes 

after he arrived. 

The meeting was attended 

by Governors 

Aminu Tambuwal, Oluseyi 

Makinde (Oyo), 

Nyesom Wike (Rivers), 

Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), 

and Godwin Obaseki 

(Edo). 

Others at the meeting 

include Samuel Ortom, 

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, 

Okezie Ikpeazu, Adamu 

Fintiri, Bala Mohammed, 

Udoh Emmanuel, Douye 

Diri and Darius Ishaku, 

governors of Benue, 

Enugu, Abia, Adamawa, 

Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, 

Bayelsa and Taraba 

states respectively. 

Secondus can't 

be stampeded 

into resigning 

— Dickson 

Secondus got the backing 

of Senator Seriake 

Dickson, PDP, Bayelsa 

West, who said some 

highly placed persons 

are at war with the PDP 

chairman because he has 

maintained that party 

decisions should be taken 

by all stakeholders 

and not by a few especially 

decisions about 

the direction of the party 

in 2023. 

Dickson urged Secondus 

to utilize all options 

and powers available to 

him under the constitution 

as well as take steps 

that will ensure that no 

officer or member no 

matter how highly 

placed usurps, or impedes 

the exercise of his 

rights, powers and duties 

as national chairman 

of the PDP. 

Senator Dickson, who 

asked the PDP national 

chairman to put machinery 

in place to ensure 

that the party is not 

plunged into another 

needless crisis, said that 

as the head of the NWC 

he cannot be stampeded 

to resign, adding that 

only the National Convention 

can remove him. 

In a statement he personally 

signed, yesterday, 

Dickson, who was 

chairman, PDP Reconciliation 

Committee from 

2013 to 2020 and Chairman, 

PDP Governors’ 

Forum, stressed that 

what is playing out at 

the moment in the party 

has nothing to do with 

Secondus performance, 

but a coup against a major 

democratic institution 

in Nigeria, adding that 

this must be resisted and 

stopped by all lovers of 

democracy and all men 

of good conscience in 

Nigeria. 

According to him, the 

decamping of ‘governors 

and other leaders has 

nothing to do with Secondus 

as that is not a 

fault of his against the 

backdrop that cross-carpeting 

by politicians 

happens from time to 

time in all political parties 

from 1999 till date, 

adding that the PDP had 

also received governors, 

presiding officers of the 

National Assembly and 

other political leaders 

under Secondus and will 

continue to do so after 

the present crisis. 

Dickson’s statement 

read in part: “My attention 

has been drawn to a 

purported statement by 

some members of the 


who went outside 

the constitution of the 

party and convened a 

meeting in a hotel room 

without the knowledge, 

consent and presence of 

the chairman. 

“I want to draw the attention 

of PDP leaders, 

members and Nigerians 

at large that the meeting 

was the action of a few 

party officers and does 

not represent a valid resolution 

or decision of the 


known to the PDP 

constitution. 

“By the PDP constitution, 

only the national 

chairman of the party can 

summon and preside 

over meetings of the organs 

of the party especially 

the NWC of which 

he is chairman. So the 

purported meeting and 

the outcome therefore 

are part of the plot to contrive 

a needless crisis in 

the PDP. 

“It is part of the scheme 

to call a dog a bad name 

to hang it. The general 

public should note that 

the statement signed by 

some members: 3 members 

of the working committee 

and 3 Vice chairmen 

of the party (as indicated 

in the press release) 

does not constitute 

a valid resolution of 

the National Working 

Committee. 

“By the way, the NWC 

has 19 members and only 

6 of them signed the 

statement leaving out 

the majority of 13 who 

were not at the meeting 

and the chairman who 

was not aware, who did 

not attend, who did not 

authorize and who did 

not preside over the said 

meeting and therefore it 

is not only a nullity but 

also an act of gross misconduct.’’ 

He continued: “Let me 

also bring to the attention 

of all that by the PDP 

constitution, a vote of no 

confidence even by a 

duly constituted NWC or 

other organs of the party 

does not remove a Chairman. 

The chairman is 

voted for and can only be 

removed by the National 

Convention unless on 

his own volition, he 

chooses to resign. So I 

call on all leaders of the 

party that this is perhaps 

their last effort to save 

the PDP. Like me, most 

of us have paid dearly 

and have paid our dues 

since 2015 when we lost 

the Presidential elections 

and like me, we should 

all not rest on our oars 

or leave any stone unturned 

in the bid to 

strengthen and reposition 

the party including 

calling people to order 

and standing up against 

illegality when we have 

to. 

“There is no crisis in 

the party. What is happening 

is only a contrived 

media crisis orchestrated 

and funded 

by some people with a 

motive to hijack the party 

without subjecting 

themselves and their cronies 

to a democratic vote 

at the convention which 

is due in less than four 

months. 

“This has nothing to do 

with Secondus' performance 

but a coup against 

a major democratic institution 

in Nigeria and 

must be resisted and 

stopped by all lovers of 

democracy and all men 

of good conscience in 

Nigeria... 

“Since we lost the 2015 

elections, Secondus has 

laboured to keep the party 

in spite of harassment, 

campaigned round to 

support candidates without 

the so called ‘taxation’ 

which has been put 

to an end in the party. 

He is one of the most 

experienced political 

party administrators in 

the party and in the 

country right from his 

days as NPN youth leader 

till date. He has seen 

it all and done it all. The 

whole issue is that Secondus 

insists that party 

decisions should be taken 

by all stakeholders 

and not by a few especially 

decisions about 

the direction of the party 

in 2023. 

“I call on the National 

Chairman to utilize all 

options and powers 

available to him under 

the constitution and to 

take steps to ensure that 

no officer or member no 

matter how highly 

placed usurps, or impedes 

the exercise of his 

rights, powers and duties 

as national chairman 

or is allowed to plunge 

the party into another 

needless crisis.” 

Why police 

took over 

APC 

secretariat 

Officers and men of the 

Nigerian Police took over 

the national secretariat 

of the APC in what Vanguard 

learnt was part of 

efforts to stave off violent 

protests against the caretaker 

leadership of the 

party. 

As of 11:20am, yesterday, 

the policemen in 

about eight hilux vans 

were strategically positioned 

along the Blantyre 

Street, which the 

secretariat is located, 

which was recently rechristened 

“Buhari 

House.” 

Security sources said 

intelligence reports indicate 

that the controversy 

which had recently 

trailed the validity of the 

Governor Mai Mala 

Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary 

Convention 

Planning Committee, 

CECPC, could snowball 

into violent protests, 

hence the need to take 

proactive measures to 

avert such occurrence. 

We’re in 

charge 

— CECPC 

The Buni leadership, 

however, assured party 

members and supporters 

that it remains in charge 

of affairs, explaining 

that its decision to beef 

up security in and 

around the secretariat 

was based on security 

reports. 

National Secretary of 

the CECPC, Senator 

John James Akpanudoedehe, 

disclosed this 

while addressing journalists 

on the heightened 

security presence 

at the party’s facility. 

APC, PMB can’t be 

embarrassed 

Akpanudoedehe said 

as the party in power, it 

will never allow itself or 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari to be embarrassed 

by the activities of 

fifth columnists. 

He said: “The police is 

here to strengthen the 

leadership of Governor 

Buni, the caretaker 

chairman of the APC. 

What do I mean by that? 

Whenever you read a 

security situation, whenever 

there is a security 

report that you are privy 

to, it is incumbent on our 

party to strengthen its 

own security so that we 

can protect the lives and 

property of APC. 

“APC cannot be embarrassed 

because this is a 

national government, 

therefore, we take measures 

to forestall any 

eventuality. We cannot 

underestimate security 

reports, we cannot play 

down on it. When we 

have a security report, 

we cannot take laws into 

our hands, you do not 

expect us to bring thugs 

to defend the national 

secretariat. The right 

thing to do is to inform 

the Police and the DSS. 

COVID-19 

The APC said it is also 

enforcing stricter entry 

protocol for staff, journalists 

and visitors to the 

secretariat in the wake of 

the continued mutation 

of the Corona virus, 

whose Delta variant is 

now more virulent. 

“We have got to take 

measures. Another 

measure we want to take 

is that if you don’t have 

your face mask we are 

going to start testing people 

now because of this 

Delta variant. You will 

not be able to come into 

the national secretariat. 

That doesn’t mean that 

the entire force has taken 

over the secretariat 

because of fear of COV- 

ID-19. So, that is what it 

is. It is a measure to protect 

property and lives, 

including your lives. 

“For instance, if there 

is a protest here and 

now you are a media 

man, you being killed or 

brutalized, it will be a 

big news that somebody 

has been shot at the national 

secretariat. It is 

our responsibility as 

managers of this party to 

put measures in place to 

protect you, lives and 

property,” Akpanudoedehe 

stated. 

Pressed to speak on the 

fidelity of the security 

report on which strength 

the party decided to 

make its security foolproof, 

Akpanudoedehe 

said even if it was just a 

rumour, nothing must be 

taken for granted security-wise. 

“No one should take 

anything for granted. As 

little as a rumour, we 

must have to put everything 

in place because 

we cannot be embarrassed, 

even the one 

that is not verifiable, just 

rumour, we must put it 

(security measures) in 

place because we cannot 

be embarrassed. 

“We have always had 

police here. This is APC 

that produced the national 

government. We 

cannot embarrass the 

president, we cannot 

embarrass the government 

of APC, we cannot 

embarrass ourselves.” 

Buni 

unruffled 

Asked whether the position 

of Governor Buni 

was under threat, Akpanudoedehe 

said the 

caretaker chairman remains 

unruffled and in 

control of the party. 

“How can the chairman’s 

position be threatened 

when the Supreme 

Court affirmed him? No, 

his position is not threatened. 

Don’t carry rumours. 

Read the judgement 

of the Supreme 

Court. The chairman is 

as firm as ever,” he stated. 

A 4-3 split decision of 

the Supreme Court on 

July 28 had dismissed 

the petition filed by the 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, candidate in the 

2020 Ondo State Governorship 

Election, Eyitayo 

Jegede, SAN 

against the incumbent 

Governor of Ondo State, 

Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, 

and the ruling APC. 

The minority judgement 

of the apex court 

threw up legal controversies 

with the Minister of 

State, Labour and Employment, 

Festus Keyamo, 

SAN and another 

legal luminary, Dr Kayode 

Ajulo, in separate 

statements alerting the 

party to the dangers of 

having Buni in the saddle. 

“The provision of Section 

183 of the 1999 Constitution 

of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria (as 

amended) is clear and 

unambiguous to the effect 

that ‘The Governor 

shall not, during the period 

when he holds office, 

hold any other executive 

office or paid 

employment in any capacity 

whatsoever," Dr 

Ajulo had stated, a view 

shared by Keyamo and 

some other members of 

the party.

VANGUARD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 — 29 

Indonesian envoy apologises to 

Nigeria for manhandling diplomat 

By Victoria Ojeme 

The government of 

Indonesia has apologized 

to Nigeria over 

the manhandling of a Nigerian 

embassy staff by 

immigration officers. 

Indonesian Ambassador 

to Nigeria, Usra 

Hendra Harahap, tendered 

the apology when 

he was summoned by the 

Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

Geoffrey Onyema. 

A statement by the Ministry 

stated that “the Am- 

UN climate report predicts ‘code red 

for humanity’ 

A 

UN climate report 

that predicts quicker 

global warming than anticipated 

just three years ago 

“must sound a death knell” 

for coal, oil and gas and is 

“code red” for humanity, 

according to the UN Secretary-General 

Antonio Guterres. 

The Intergovernmental 

Panel on Climate Change 

concluded on Monday that 

drastic cuts to emissions are 

needed in order to hold the 

global temperature to under 

the 1.5C (2.7F) limits set by 

the 2015 Paris Agreement. 

“Today’s IPCC Working 

Group 1 Report is a ‘code 

red’ for humanity,” Guterres 

said. 

“The alarm bells are deafening, 

and the evidence is 

irrefutable: Greenhouse gas 

emissions from fossil fuel 

burning and deforestation 

are choking our planet and 

putting billions of people at 

immediate risk. Global heating 

is affecting every region 

on Earth, with many of the 

changes becoming irreversible. 

“This report must sound 

a death knell for coal and 

fossil fuels before they destroy 

our planet.” 

Swedish climate activist 

Greta Thunberg said the 

long-awaited report contained 

“no real surprises”. 

“It confirms what we already 

know from thousands 

of previous studies and reports 

– we are in an emergency,” 

Thunberg said. 

“It’s a solid summary of 

the current best available 

science. 

“It doesn’t tell us what to 

do,” she noted of the report, 

which synthesises reams of 

climate studies conducted 

in recent years. 

Ghanaian university introduces 

degree in artificial intelligence 

ACADEMIC City Univer 

sity College, Ghana, is 

set to lead the sub-region in 

technology and innovation education 

with the introduction 

of an undergraduate degree 

in Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

The university becomes the 

first in Africa to offer a degree 

in AI. 

The programme, which will 

commence September 2021, 

forms part of the university’s 

short-term effort to develop a 

cadence of new programmes 

that will invariably push the 

boundaries of knowledge 

while establishing a foothold 

for successful graduates in the 

jobs of the future. 

With the current advancements 

of automation and robotics, 

it is expected that AI is 

going to transform the global 

economy in an exponential 

“It is up to us to be brave 

and take decisions based on 

the scientific evidence provided 

in these reports. We 

can still avoid the worst consequences, 

but not if we continue 

like today, and not 

without treating the crisis 

like a crisis.” 

British PM Boris Johnson 

said the report should serve 

as “a wake-up call” for world 

leaders as they prepare to 

gather in Scotland later this 

year for the next summit on 

the climate crisis. 

“Today’s report makes for 

sobering reading, and it is 

clear that the next decade is 

going to be pivotal to securing 

the future of our planet,” 

Johnson said in a statement. 

“We know what must be 

done to limit global warming 

– consign coal to history 

and shift to clean energy 

sources, protect nature and 

provide climate finance for 

countries on the front line.” 

Epstein victims’ fund awards $121m 

to survivors 

THE compensation 

fund set up for the 

sexual abuse victims of 

Jeffrey Epstein has completed 

its work, paying out 

around $121m (£90m) to 

150 people. 

The announcement 

comes about two years after 

Epstein’s suicide in a 

New York prison while 

awaiting trial. 

The independent administrator 

of the fund, which 

comes from Epstein’s estate, 

said it received nearly 

twice the number of 

claims expected. 

Several victims rejected 

the offer, clearing the way 

for lawsuits. 

Following the death of the 

disgraced financier, the executors 

of his estimated 

$600m fortune established 

the fund and asked victims 

to get in touch. 

Of the 225 people who 

stepped forward, 150 were 

adjudged to have legitimate 

claims. The fund was also 

open to victims who had 

previously received compensation 

after Epstein’s 

2008 conviction for soliciting 

sex from an underage girl. 

About 92% of eligible victims 

have now accepted a 

final settlement, according 

to fund administrator Jordana 

Feldman. A handful 

of individuals have not, allowing 

them to pursue future 

civil actions in the 

courts. 

“I am proud of what we 

were able to accomplish 

with this programme, but 

also recognise that no 

amount of money will 

erase the years of pain 

these victims have endured 

because of Jeffrey 

Epstein,” Ms Feldman 

said in a statement on 

Monday. 

bassador explained what 

he understood had happened 

and apologized 

unreservedly on behalf 

of the Government of Indonesia.” 

The statement added 

that the ambassador “has 

confirmed that the immigration 

officials involved 

had since come to the 

Nigerian Embassy to 

apologize to the Ambassador 

and the diplomat 

concerned.” 

The ministry also revealed 

that the Federal 

Government had sent a 

'strong complaint' to the 

Asian country, adding 

that the “incident is 

against international law 

and the Vienna Conventions 

governing Diplomatic 

and Consular Relations 

between states.” 

In the statement, the 

ministry confirmed that 

the incident concerned a 

Nigerian diplomat at his 

official quarters, in Jakarta, 

Saturday. 

“My hope is that the programme 

provided his victims 

a meaningful measure 

of justice and a step 

on the path toward healing.” 

Epstein’s former girlfriend, 

Ghislaine Maxwell, 

has pleaded not 

guilty to federal charges 

that she conspired with him 

in the abuse of four underage 

girls. 

She is due to stand trial 

in November. 

manner. Industry experts are 

estimating that by 2030, AI 

could be contributing nearly 

$16 trillion to the global economy. 

However, the emergence 

of new technologies is anticipated 

to cease many existing 

job opportunities whiles creating 

new jobs. 

Speaking on the new programme, 

Prof. Fred McBagonluri, 

President of Academic City 

said: “In this programme, we 

will explore the ethical dimensions 

of AI, its strategic impact 

as well as the core programmes 

and adjacencies such as robotics, 

informatics, and data analytics. 

By this approach, we intend 

to create a versatile graduate 

conversant in a broad area 

of robotics, AI, informatics 

while poised also for research 

in the rapidly evolving fields of 

AI”.

30 —Vanguard, TUESDAY AUGUST 10, 2021 

Kane’ll face Man 

City on Sunday, 

Tottenham boss 

assures 

Tottenham head coach Nuno 

Espirito Santo says striker 

Harry Kane will be available to 

face Manchester City in Sunday’s 

Premier League season opener. 

Kane, 28, who wants to leave 

Spurs this summer, returned to 

Hotspur Way on Saturday amid 

speculation over his future at 

Tottenham and is quarantining at 

the club’s training ground hotel, 

The Lodge, until Thursday. 

Nuno confirmed that he will hold 

“socially distanced” talks later on 

Monday with Kane, who has denied 

that he refused to turn up to 

training last week, insisting his 

Saturday return was “planned”. 

City boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed 

his interest in Kane, 

heightening the tension around 

the Premier League champions’ 

opening weekend visit to Spurs. 

Asked about Kane’s availability 

for the match, Nuno told Sky 

Sports News: “All the players in 

the squad that work on a daily 

basis will be options for us, then 

it’s up to us to decide.” 

Kane, who has scored 166 goals 

in 245 appearances for Tottenham, 

signed a six-year contract with 

Spurs in 2018, but the club’s failure 

to win and regularly compete 

for major trophies has led him to 

seek an exit. 

Kane 

Super Eagles and Leicester 

City striker, Kelechi 

Iheanacho has said after lifting 

the Foxes above Manchester 

City in their Community Shield 

clash that he and new arrival 

Patson Daka are no rivals. 

Iheanacho’s penalty strike 

handed Leicester City victory 

over the Premier League champions 

last weekend. He had a 

kind of partnership with the 

Zambian striker. 

“We’re not in a battle in our 

team,” he told LCTV. 

“Everybody is important. We 

need everybody to get through 

Barca lawyers set to block 

Messi’s PSG move 

Barcelona lawyers are sensa 

tionally trying to block 

Lionel Messi’s transfer to 

Paris Saint-Germain in a dramatic 

twist. 

Messi, 34, addressed his shock 

Barca exit at an emotional press 

conference on Sunday. 

PSG are reported to have offered 

a two-year contract to Messi and 

the six-time Ballon d’Or winner 

reportedly agreeing terms with 

the French giants. 

But the Spanish club have made 

one final attempt to stop the proposed 

switch. 

Barca lawyers have filed a complaint 

to the European Court of 

Appeal, claiming PSG should be 

stopped in their tracks to sign the 

Argentine based on financial data. 

Juan Branco took to social media 

to post a statement that outlines 

their complaint against PSG. 

“On behalf of FC Barcelona partners, 

my firm has prepared a complaint 

with the European Commission 

and demands for provisional 

suspension before civil and 

administrative courts in France to 

prevent Paris-Saint Germain 

from signing Lionel Messi,” the 

statement reads. 

Lionel Messi’s exit from Span 

ish giants, Barcelona is reported 

to have wiped •137 million 

off the club’s brand value following 

his emotional press conference 

on Sunday. 

The Argentina superstar - who 

played with hamstring problems 

against Brazil in the Copa 

America final - told the watching 

Daka not my rival at Leicester, says Iheanacho 

French marathon runner 

Morhad Amdouni has broken 

his silence after appearing 

to deliberately knock over 

water bottles. 

Amdouni shocked viewers for 

his actions during the men’s 

marathon at the Tokyo Olympics 

won by Kenyan Eluid 

Kipchoge 

He knocked over a row of 

water bottles at the 28km 

mark of the marathon, with 

athletes trailing him failing to 

hydrate themselves amid the 

grueling race and Sapporo 

heat. 

Fans and critics alike 

slammed the 33-year-old for 

his lack of sportsmanship. 

But he denies any wrongdo- 

this season. There are a 

lot of competitions, so 

we need everyone. 

“Patson [Daka] will be 

important to the squad. 

Me as well. Vards 

(Jamie Vardy), Madders 

(James Maddison) – 

everyone is important in 

the squad. We are together 

as a team and as 

a family. 

“I’ll keep working hard 

and at the end of the season, 

we’ll see what happens.” 

he said. 

“PSG’s ratios in terms of ‘Financial 

Fair Play’ are worse than 

those of FC Barcelona. 

“In 2019-2020, PSG’s salary-toincome 

ratio was 99%, while Barcelona’s 

was 54%. Meanwhile, the 

difference has increased. 

“It is inconceivable that the ‘Financial 

Fair Play’ serves to aggravate 

the drifts of football-business, 

the instrumentalization of football 

by sovereign powers, and the distortion 

of competitions.” 

….. As exit could cost club 

•137m in brand value, say reports 

Iheanacho 

Tokyo 2020: Marathoner sorry for knocking 

off water bottles 

ing, claiming the water bottles 

were ‘slippery’. 

In a social media post, he 

said: “To guarantee freshness 

to the bottles, these are 

soaked in water. 

“I would like to apologize to 

the athletes. At one point, I 

was trying to be able to hold 

a bottle of water but I dropped 

some. It was not easy, trying 

to be able to hang on... 

“In principle, I try to be able 

to share also during the race, 

the bottles of water, while respecting 

everyone and going 

high and proud, to be able to 

fight for our colors of the jersey.” 

Amdouni finished 17th. 

Kipchoge 

Covid-19: Paris plans 

open Olympics in 2024 

world that joining Paris Saint 

Germain was ‘a possibility, but 

nothing is agreed’ as he sat down 

to speak to the media. 

And the club’s business revenue 

could drop slightly from •855 million 

to •778 million, according to 

reports. 

A report by Brand Finance 

claims the club could stand to lose 

up to •77 million of its yearly income 

- meaning the brand value 

of Barça could dip from •126 billion 

to •125 billion - a drop of 

•1 billion (£848 million). 

South American football expert 

Roy Nemer summed it up rather 

nicely in a tweet which quickly 

went viral much to the dismay of 

Barça fans across the globe. The 

tweet has received well over 500 

retweets and 2,000 likes at the 

time of writing. 

“According to Brand Finance, 

Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona 

could cost the club •137 million 

in brand value,” he wrote on Twitter: 

“They would lose •77 million in 

business revenue, •17 million on 

match days and •43 million in 

tshirt and merchandise sales.” 

Contrary to the reports making 

the rounds in the media that 

newly crowned champion of the 

Aiteo Cup Bayelsa United will not 

be allowed to take part in the CAF 

Confederation Cup due to club licensing, 

Secretary-General of the 

Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, 

Mohammed Sanusi has cleared 

the air. 

Bayelsa United against all odds 

defeated Nigeria professional 

football league side Nasarawa 

United in the final of the Aiteo 

Cup at the Samuel Ogbemudia 

Stadium on Sunday. 

After the game, the news broke 

out that Bayelsa might not be allowed 

to take part in the CAF Confederation 

Cup because of the licencing 

issue which has also affected 

Ghana’s Ashanti Gold. 

Sanusi cleared it via telephone 

chat on Monday, when he empha- 

France rolled out the red 

carpet for the Olympic flag 

on Monday, with the host of 

the next 2024 Summer Games 

promising to make the sporting 

spectacle open to the 

masses after a pandemic-hit 

Tokyo Games held behind 

closed doors. 

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo 

waved the flag which she was 

handed in Tokyo during the 

handover ceremony as she 

stepped out of the aircraft 

bringing home some of the 

country’s last athletes. 

The 2024 games would be 

“something very positive for 

our country. They come at a 

good moment,” Hidalgo told 

reporters. 

Paris she said had learned 

many lessons from Tokyo’s 

experience. 

Delayed by a year and upended 

by strict Covid-19 

countermeasures as contagious 

variants surged back 

around the world, the 2020 

Games fell short of the triumph 

and financial windfall 

Japan had wanted. 

At Sunday’s handover ceremony, 

Paris sought to change 

the tone. Several thousand 

sports fans thronged a fan 

zone in the shadow of the Eiffel 

Tower, whooping and 

cheering as some Tokyo 

medalists bounced onstage to 

a backtrack of blaring rock 

music. 

“We want to find ways to 

open the games to the people,” 

Paris Games chief Tony 

Estanguet said on Friday. 

“Our focus is on taking sport 

out of the traditional spaces 

and putting competition at the 

heart of the city’s most famous 

landmarks,” Estanguet, 

a three-time Olympic canoe 

champion, added. 

Hidalgo 

CAF Confed Cup: NFF confirms 

Bayelsa United’s participation 

sized that the club will do all the 

necessary things to play in the 

competition. 

“The position is that Bayelsa 

United have qualified to play in 

the inter-club competitions and by 

the grace of God they will play. 

They will do the CAF club licensing,” 

he said. 

Bayelsa United will join the other 

three clubs from the league to represent 

Nigeria in the inter-club 

competitions next season. 

Sanusi

Vanguard, TUESDAY AUGUST 10, 2021 — 31

Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTION 

TODAY’S PUZZLES 

Sudoku 

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER 

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. 

ACROSS 

1 Church song (4) 

3 Enormous (8) 

9 Fly south in winter (7) 

10 Cabs (5) 

11 Happen again (5) 

12 Beast of burden (6) 

14 Sustain (6) 

16 Rupture (6) 

19 North American country (6) 

21 Artificial gems (5) 

24 Join together (5) 

25 U.S. state (7) 

26 Bedtime drink (8) 

27 Smart (4) 

DOWN 

1 Comical (8) 

2 Sorcery (5) 

4 Exaggerate (6) 

5 Many times (5) 

6 Four squared (7) 

7 Final (4) 

8 Cask (6) 

13 Regal, grand (8) 

15 Curing (7) 

17 Die (6) 

18 Baltic country (6) 

20 Wide awake (5) 

22 Laziness (5) 

23 Fire injury (4) 

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

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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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