Vanguard,TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014 THE

Transcription

...towards a better life for the people
**
VOL. 25: NO. 62252
ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com
N150
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
MORTGAGE BANKS:
From left: CEO/Executive Secretary, Mortgage
Banks Association of
Nigeria
(MBAN),
Kayode Omotosho; MD/
CEO, TrustBond Mortgage Bank, Adeniyi
Akinlusi and MD, Imperial Homes Mortgage
Bank, Ben Akaneme at
the launching, in Lagos,
of the first mortgage
bank syndication of real
estate development in
Nigeria.
Ex- Bayelsa Gov SYNAGOGUE
BUILDING:
Alamieyeseigha's Coroner
son dies in Dubai inquest
begins
7
10
We'll wipe out Boko
Haram — Cameroon
By Adekunle Aliyu,
Ben Agande, Favour
Nnabugwu, with
agency report
Y
•Their activities'll be drastically curtailed — GEJ
• Meets foreign ministers of neighbouring countries
•Multi-National Joint Task Force to be deployed next month in Borno
AOUNDÉ—
CAMEROON’S
President Mr Paul Biya
vowed, yesterday, that
his government would go
after the Islamist group
Boko Haram “until it is
totally wiped out”. His
Nigerian counterpart,
President Goodluck
Jonathan, on his part,
was confident that the activities of insurgents and
other cross-border criminals will soon be drastiContinues from page 16
COLUMNISTS:
What
exactly is
‘clueless'
about
Goodluck
Jonathan?
(2) •P.17
Does
America
underrate
her
women?
51
•P.
Mr & Mrs
C
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OKEY WALI: More
groups, individuals
demand immediate
12
release
Power
brokers in
South-South
states
Se
e
FG backs tech
start-ups with
N1.5bn 9
In
sid
e
ACCESS BANK—From left: Mr. Obinna Nwosu, Group Deputy Managing Director, Access Bank Plc; with Herbert Wigwe,
Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc and Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, Chairman of Access Bank Plc, at
the bank's Extra-Ordinary General Meeting in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Akeem Salau.
2—Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
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Alamieyeseigha's
son dies in
Dubai
zPresident
Jonathan assures
family of govt's
support
By Samuel Oyadongha
Y
ARRESTED: The suspects and (INSET) the recovered car.
‘We sell stolen vehicles in
Benin Republic’
By Evelyn Usman
& Esther Onyegbula
A
self-confessed leader of a
robbery gang, yesterday,
gave an account of how
members of his gang
overpowered three mobile
policemen during an operation
in Ajah area of Lagos two
months ago and snatched their
service rifles.
The gang leader, a Beninoise,
who identified himself as
Bernard Bongi, also disclosed
that members of his gang
usually snatched vehicles from
victims in Nigeria and export
same to Benin Republic where
they were sold to ready buyers.
Bongi and eight suspected
members of his gang met their
waterloo last Thursday,
following their arrest by
operatives of Special AntiRobbery Squad, SARS.
Recovered from the suspects
were two AK 47 rifles snatched
from the Mobile policemen and
a Toyota land Cruiser Prado
SUV, with registration number
AAA 690 BH.
Also recovered were motor
parts, which the suspects
intended to replace the
engraved parts of the stolen
vehicles with.
Jilted man attempts to set lover's house ablaze
By Onozure Dania
& Hope Ofobike
L
AGOS—A man, Sunday
Ishiaku, who was jilted by
his lover was, yesterday,
arraigned before an Ijeshatedo
Chief Magistrate’s Court over
alleged attempt to set his
lover ’s apartment ablaze for
refusing to sleep with him
during their three-year
relationship.
Ishiaku, who is facing a two-
count charge of breach of
public peace and attempted
arson preferred against him by
the police, was docked before
Magistrate Abegunde Davis.
The defendant, an indigene
of Borno State, was alleged to
have carried a keg of petrol
to the house of the said lover,
Kadijat Saga, a Togolese, at
14, Bamishile Street, IdiAraba, with the intention to
burn her property before
neighbours intervened and
DISCO staff, 19 others nabbed over stolen cables
By Ola Ajayi
I
BADAN—AS Nigerians
lament erratic power supply
across the country, Oyo State
Police Command has arrested
20 suspects, including a staff of
Ibadan Electricity Distribution
Centre,
IBDEC,
Mr.
Olanrewaju Isaiah, for selling
stolen cables and other electrical
materials at Salvation Road,
Oke Padre, Ibadan.
The command also recovered
from rustlers 17 goats, stolen in
Ogbomosho and Oyo towns in
the state.
Although the IBDEC staff
claimed it was his first time of
selling the company's property,
there were indications that he
had been vandalizing same for
some time.
The Commissioner of Police,
Mr. Kola Shodipo, said of the
arrest: “On October 6, the patrol
team attached to Ile-Ido
division, while on visibility
patrol at Akinbiyi village, along
Ido-Eruwa Road, intercepted a
Passat saloon car with number
Parading the suspects before
journalists at the command’s
headquarters, Ikeja, the
command’s boss, Mr. Cornelus
Aderanti, explained that the
suspects stormed a residence at
Eletu Ogabi area of Victoria
Island last Thursday, and
snatched a Prado jeep.
plate AV 577 KWL, conveying
some cables and other electrical
appliances.
“When the driver of the said
vehicle, one Amaechi Obi of
Salvation Army, Oke Padre,
Ibadan, was questioned about
the items, he claimed to have
bought them from a contractor.
“When the contractor was
picked, they confessed to have
stolen the cables from Eruwa.”
On what pushed him into
selling the company’s cables
and other property, the suspect,
who said he was a worker on
contract, confessed that he
actually stole the cables with
the intention of selling them
to his customer at Salvation
Army.
The command also recovered
17 goats from goat rustlers and
41 exotic cars stolen at
gunpoints in different parts of
the state within the last three
weeks.
One of the suspected goat
rustlers, Mr. Tunde Kazeem,
said he and his gang members
usually stole goats in
Ogbomoso and Oyo towns,
adding that they would take
the stolen goats to Mile 12 in
Lagos State for sale to Asun
(roasted goat) merchants.
handed him over to the police.
The defendant claimed that
Saga refused to sleep with him
after collecting his money for
the three years they were
together.
The complainant, on her part,
said she did not consider
Ishiaku as her lover and was
only accommodating him in
her house without attaching
anything to their relationship.
She said she was surprised
when her neighbour called her
on phone to inform her that the
defendant broke into her room
with the intention of setting it
ablaze.
Ishiaku pleaded not guilty to
the charges, even as the
complainant informed the court
that she would want to settle the
matter out of court.
Suspect remanded in
prison over drug trafficking
By Innocent Anaba
A
Federal High Court
sitting
in
Lagos,
yesterday, ordered the remand
at the Kirikiri female prisons,
32-year-old woman, Ifeoma
Eze, who was arraigned before
the court over an alleged illicit
drug deal.
Trial
judge,
Justice
Chukwujekwu Aneke, gave the
order after she pleaded guilty
to a one-count charge of
trafficking about 6.200 grams
of Indian hemp.
The accused was arraigned
by National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
The court ordered the remand
of the accused in custody until
October 24, when the facts of the
case will be reviewed, and her
sentence pronounced.
Prosecutor, Mr. Ernest Agwu
had earlier told the court that the
accused was arrested on July 21
at the MMI Airport, Lagos,
during the outward clearance of
passengers on a flight to China.
The prosecutor said the the
substance was concealed in a
large envelop, carefully tucked
in the luggage of the accused,
adding that the offence
contravenes the provisions of
sections 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act
Cap N30, Laws of the
Federation, 2004.
After Eze's plea, the prosecutor
made an oral application for the
remand of the accused.
ENAGOA—THE first
civilian governor of
Bayelsa State, Diepreye
Alamieyeseigha’s son,
O y a m u y e f a
Alamieyeseigha, is dead.
Though the cause of the
death of the 32-year-old
could not be ascertained
at press time, it was
learned that he was found
dead outside his family's
apartment in Dubai, the
United Arab Emirates, in
the early hours of Saturday.
A source said Oyamuyefa
might have been strangled
to death and his body
dumped in front of his
family house.
Meanwhile, President
Goodluck Jonathan, in a
statement by his Special
Adviser, Media & Publicity,
Dr. Reuben Abati, assured
the Alamieyeseigha family
that Federal Government
would work to unravel the
circumstances surrounding
the death.
Vanguard learned that
the deceased was the
fourth of five children of the
former governor.
The family, in a statement
by Prince Opukiri Ere, said
a delegation, comprising
members and associates,
had left for Dubai.
The family thanked the
government and Nigerians
for their support.
According to Dr. Reuben
Abati, “the President
received with shock and
immense sadness, the
news of the death of Mr.
O y a m u y e f a
Alamieyeseigha in Dubai at
the weekend.
“On behalf of his family
and
the
Federal
Government, President
Jonathan extends heartfelt
condolences
to
Oyamuyefa’s father, Chief
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha
and his entire family on the
untimely loss of a very dear
son in the prime of his life.
“The President and the
First Lady, Dame Patience
Jonathan, share their pain
and grief over the death of
Oyamuyefa
in
circumstances that are still
unclear.
“President Jonathan
assures
Chief
Alamieyeseigha and his
family of the full support of
the Federal Government as
they strive to unravel the
true circumstances of the
young man’s death.”
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8 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
A
BUJA—THE National
Judicial Council, NJC,
will today, continue hearing on
circumstances that led to the
barricade of the High Court
Complex in Ado Ekiti by armed
security operatives, contrary to
its earlier directive that the
courts should resume their
judicial functions.
This is even as political forces
within the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, continued to allege
plot in some quarters to thwart
the swearing-in of the governorelect of the state, Mr. Ayodele
Fayose, on Thursday.
Already, a suit to that effect is
currently pending before the
Abuja Division of the Federal
High Court.
The suit with registration no
FHC/Abuja/CS 709/14 was
lodged against Fayose, the
Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, and others,
by Young Democratic Party.
The party is seeking a court
injunction stopping the
inauguration of the governor–
elect pending the hearing and
determination
of
their
substantive suit.
Meanwhile, it was gathered
that though the Council had
invited the Chief Judge of the
state, Justice Ayodeji Daramola
to attend its meeting yesterday
in order to explain the rationale
behind the continued closure of
courts in the state, it however
could not delve into the judicial
crisis currently rocking the state,
owing to “other exigent matters
begging for attention by the
Council.”
Consequently, the Council
was said to have deferred the
Ekiti State matter till today,
even as it issued stringent
warning to all its members
against talking to the media.
Among the issues that were
considered by the Council
yesterday included the
continued exposure of judges
and top judicial officers to
security risks, a situation that
was heightened by the recent
kidnap of the immediate past
National President of the
Nigerian Bar Association, Mr.
Okey Wali, SAN, who is also a
member of the NJC.
Wali was on Saturday night,
abducted around Rumuologu
Road in Port Harcourt by
unknown gunmen, who
abandoned his car at Ozuoba
area of Obio/Akpor Local
Government Area of the state.
No group claimed responsibility
for his kidnap nor demanded any
ransom, a situation that was said
to have greatly disturbed other
members of the NJC that attended
the meeting yesterday.
Meanwhile, a source who
attended the NJC meting
yesterday, confirmed the
attendance of the Ekiti State CJ,
even as he disclosed that the
Council might take a very
decisive action with regards to
the judicial impasse in that state
today.
“What I can tell you is that the
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EKITI CRISIS: NJC adjourns
sitting till today
Council is not happy with the
turn of events in Ekiti State.
Although we had intended to
deliberate on it today
(yesterday) that was not to be
considering that we also had
other pressing issues that
were left out the last time we
met.
“However, our meeting will
continue today and that is all
I can tell you. As for the Ekiti
State case, I can tell you that
nothing was mentioned about
it. We have already directed
the Inspector General of Police
to investigate the matter and
prosecute all the culprits,
nevertheless, I guess that the
continued closure of courts in
the state which has greatly
hampered judicial activities and
the administration of justice
there calls for more action by
the NJC. Let’s wait till tomorrow
(today) to see the next line of
action that will be taken by the
Council.
“Let me also tell you that the
Council is not happy with the
frequent misrepresentation of
its proceedings. It has decided
to always issue an official press
statement at the end of each of
its meetings and will
accordingly do so tomorrow
(today)”, the source who craved
anonymity added.
It will be recalled that the
NBA, recently demanded the
immediate opening of the High
Court of Justice Complex, Ado-
Ekiti, to allow for resumption
of work by the Courts.
In a statement by its National
President Mr. Augustine
Alegeh, SAN, the legal body
said it was alarmed at the
barricading of the High Court
complex by security agencies
on the basis of an alleged
bomb threat to the complex.
It bemoaned the fact that
judicial officers, staff and litigants
were not allowed access into the
High Court complex, noting that
all the High Courts of Justice at
Ado-Ekiti were completely
sealed up.
“The
Nigerian
Bar
Association believes that any
alleged bomb threat must
have been effectively
neutralised by the Security
Agencies utilising their bomb
disposal units.
VISIT: Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State (left) welcoming the commandant and members
of the course 23 of the National Defence College, Admiral Nnamdi Aholor (right) to Government
House, Asaba when the team from the college visited him, yesterday. Photo by Henry Unini.
“The NBA demands that the
High Court of Justice Complex,
Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State should be
opened immediately to allow for
resumption of work by the courts.
“The security agencies should
provide a safe and conducive
environment for the effective
administration of justice, not
create a situation that makes it
totally impossible for High
Courts in Ado-Ekiti to carry out
their constitutional roles of
providing justice for all”, it
added.
The NJC had at the end of its
emergency meeting on October
2, insisted that it would not rest
until those that masterminded the
attacks on two judges in Ekiti State
were arrested and prosecuted.
The Council, in a statement that
was signed by its Acting Director
of Information, Mr. Soji Oye,
requested the Inspector-General
of Police to personally “take-over
and investigate the alleged attacks
on Hon. Justices John Adeyeye
and Isaac Olusegun Ogunyemi,
some members of staff of the court
and vandalisation of property of
the High Court of Justice, Ado-Ekiti
and bring the culprits to justice.”
The meeting, which was held at
the NJC headquarters situated
inside the Supreme Court complex
at the Three-Arms-Zone in Abuja
was chaired by the Chief Justice of
Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mariam
Aloma Mukhtar herself.
According to the Council,
“Following
the
recent
unfortunate and worrisome
incidents in Ekiti State Judiciary,
particularly in the High Court
Complex, Ado-Ekiti, the National
Judicial Council held an
emergency meeting on October 2,
2014, under the Chairmanship of
Hon. Justice Aloma Mukhtar, and
considered the various complaints
and petitions forwarded to it.
Okomoyon to FG: You can’t extradite me to UK
By Soni Daniel,
Regional Editor, North
A
BUJA—IN a dramatic
move to stall his
extradition to the United
Kingdom for trial over alleged
bribery scandal, former
Managing Director of the
Nigerian Security Printing and
Minting Company of Nigeria,
Mr. Ehidiamhen Okoyomon,
yesterday challenged the
jurisdiction of the Federal
Government to extradite him
to Europe for prosecution.
As soon as the case was
called, Okoyomon rose
through his defence counsel,
Chief Alex Isiyon, a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria, SAN,
and told the court, presided
over by Justice E.S. Chukwu,
that it did not have
jurisdiction to send him to
the UK for trial over the
alleged bribery scam.
…Judge forced to shift trial to Thursday
The lawyer, who had already
filed a preliminary objection to
the move to send his client to
the UK for trial, argued that the
court lacked the jurisdiction to
even hear the case since there
was no extradition treaty
between Nigeria and that
country.
Isiyon argued that his client
must be shown the document
containing the extradition
treaty between the two nations
to warrant the trial or it should
be discontinued forthwith in
the interest of the law.
He said:”We want to be
shown where this is in the law.
What we have is only protocol
not extradition treaty.”
However, the prosecuting
counsel, M.S Hassan, told the
court that he had not been
served with the application
and urged the court to remand
the accused in prison custody,
pending the hearing and
determination of the matter.
After hearing both sides in the
matter, Justice Chukwu was
forced to adjourn hearing till
Thursday this week.
He, however, asked the
EFCC to keep Okoyomon in its
custody until the adjourned
date.
The extradition process is
being initiated by the Office of
Attorney General of the
Federation, OAGF.
Okoyomon’s extradition is
being sought by the UK
government over his alleged role
in the bribery scandal involving
officials of Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN, the Nigeria
Security Minting and Printing
Company, NSPMC, and
Securency International Pty of
Australia between 2006 and 2008.
For the first time since it came
into power, the Jonathan
administration is making moves
to hand over a financial crime
suspect for trial in a foreign land,
apparently to prove that it is
actively fighting corruption.
Okoyomon, who holds dual
Nigerian and British citizenship,
was the chief executive of the
NSMPC until November 2013
when he was suspended by the
board of the Central Bank of
Nigeria in the wake of the
disappearance of printed N1000
notes worth N1.2 billion from the
premises of the company in
Abuja.
Before then, he had been
under investigation since 2012
by the anti-graft agency
following request by the British
National Crime Agency over a
different matter, the alleged
collection of N750 million Naira
bribe from Securency of
Australia for the printing of
polymer notes for Nigeria.
Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014 — 9
FG backs tech start-ups
with N1.5bn—NITDA
By Adekunle Adekoya,
General Editor
D
UBAI, UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES — THE
Federal Government through the
National Information Technology
Development Agency (NITDA)
will support the nation’s
technology start-ups with N1.5
billion, to encourage more
techpreneurs, including existing
ones.
NITDA’s Director-General,
Peter Olu Jack, said the Federal
Government is committed to
driving increased investment to
the country’s ICT sector with focus
on how foreign investors can
support indigenous OEMs
(Original
Equipment
Manufacturers) and local
techpreneurs,
adding
government is also hopeful of
removing impediments attached
to doing business easily in
Nigeria.
Jack spoke at the ongoing Gulf
Information
Technology
Exhibition, GITEX, in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates, yesterday,
and stressed Nigeria’s
determination to achieve
maximum growth in the ICT
sector, “because technology is the
life wire of any economy. ”
According to him, “As part of the
drive, Nigeria, which is the official
country partner, will today hold
an Investment Forum to further
highlight the investment
potentialities of the nation’s ICT
industry.
“This year, Nigeria hopes to
further leverage on the global
exposure presented by GITEX
to spotlight its local software
industry and other sub IT sectors
and that is why we have occupied
the centre of activities at the five
day event as GITEX Official
Country Partner.
“Specifically, we would be
having the ‘Nigeria Investment
Forum’ which is a major event
that we have planned to attract
global IT investment into the
country. Outcome of this event
will, no doubt, has far-reaching
positive impact on the investment
inflow into the country in the
coming years to boost our current
FDIs of $32 billion.”
Jack also explained other
socioeconomic benefits to Nigeria
as being official partner to
technology show.
According to him, “Being a
GITEX Official Country Partner
would, among others, enable
Nigeria to increase its brand
presence on a global scale where
more than 140,000 trade visitors
will understand what Nigeria
have to offer.”
“It will also help in breaking
down the perception of the risks
associated with working in
Nigeria’s flourishing but often
misrepresented technology
sector.”
Through the Investment forum,
Jack said, “Africa’s most
populated country of over 170
million could also win the
interests of investors for its
various in-country projects to
increase its FDI; and open up
channels of dialogue between
NITDA and other similar
government bodies from Africa,
Europe and the Middle East.”
Meanwhile, as the country’s
agency responsible for ICT policy
formulation and implementation
under the Ministry of
Communication Technology, Jack
said NITDA was committed
towards ensuring that ICT
contribution to Nigeria’s GDP
increases to 15 per cent within
three years.
Jack stated that NITDA has a
national ICT Strategic plan with
a time line of 2010-2015, whose
implementation will help in
advancing the auspicious target.
He said the implementation of
the plan in sectors such as
education, agriculture, health,
human capital development,
governance, judiciary and
national security, has propelled
the level of development in the
ICT sector in Nigeria.
He added that the impact of the
plan and its implementation will
be measured and reviewed by
next year.
“The vision of the national
broadband plan is for Nigeria to
be one of a society of connected
communities with high speed
Internet and broadband access
that facilitates faster socioeconomic advancement of the
nation and its people,” he said.
BRIEFING: Special Adviser to the President on Aviation, Captain Shehu Iyal (centre) flanked
by the Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Agency, Alhaji Mukhtar Usman (left) and
the General Manager, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Mr. Nnanna Ugbanga
during a press conference on the achievements of the Goodluck Jonathan administration in
the aviation sector at the Presidency, Asokoro, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida.
Health workers to begin nationwide strike Thursday
By Chioma Obinna
T
HE
respite
the
nation’s health sectors
have enjoyed since the
suspension of the nationwide
doctors ‘strike appears to be
short-lived as health workers
across the country have
threatened to resume its
suspended January strike this
week.
It could be recalled that the
health workers last week
postponed its 15 days ultimatum
to the Federal government
following a proposed meeting
Ex-PTF scribe, Akpata dies at 83
F
ORMER Trustee and
Executive Secretary of the
defunct Petroleum Trust Fund,
PTF,
and
a
one-time
Commissioner for Education in old
Bendel State, Chief Tayo Akpata,
has died.
He passed on peacefully at his
Ikoyi, Lagos residence around
10am yesterday. He was 83.
A statement from the family,
confirmed the passing unto glory
of the elder statesman and astute
administrator who was the ‘Ima of
Benin’.
Burial arrangements will be
announced in due course,
according to the press statement.
He is survived by his widow,
Olabisi,
children
and
grandchildren.
An alumnus of Edo College,
Benin and University of Hull,
United Kingdom, Akpata served
as the Deputy Registrar of the
University of Ibadan, Oyo State.
He was a Director of Bendel
Feeds and Flower Mills (BFFM)
and Chairman of I.B.M (Nig) Ltd.
He was also a one-time
chairman of Nigerian Ports
Authority (NPA) and Pipeline and
Products Marketing Company
(PPMC), a subsidiary of
NNPC, as well as the
Chairman of Siemens Nigeria.
by the government to resolve
the pending demands of the
aggrieved workers.
Announcing
the
commencement of the
industrial action in a press
statement made available to
Vanguard and signed by the
National President, Comrade
Felix Faniran and General
Secretary, Obinna Ogbonna,
Nigerian Union of Allied
Health Professionals, NUAHP,
said the government has failed
to respond to the Union’s
ultimatum which expired on
September 30, 2014.
According to them, “Since the
Government had decided not to
respond to our ultimatum which
expired on September 30, 2014
and our demands, the Union
has no choice than to call out
her members for an indefinite
nationwide strike.
“This strike commences by
8.00am of October 16, 2014
until further notice,” they
stated.
Apologising to teeming
patients and the entire members
of the public for the avoidable
action, the Union said
government should be held
responsible for the strike.
According to the statement;
“One of the causes of incessant
strikes is the attitude of
Government/Employers in
reneging on agreements.
Members of the Union did not
go on the strike despite the
expiration of the ultimatum
because of Sallah festival and
holidays, showing our respect
for the members of the public.
“While
our
members
nationwide were agitating for
the commencement of the strike
on October 8th, 2014, the
leadership of the Union
persuaded them to hold on for
a meeting called by the
Government for October 9, 2014
hoping that the Federal
Government would release at
least 6 to 8 circulars of various
issues which have been
lingering over the past four
years.
“When the Government called
the leaders of JOHESU for a
meeting held on October 9,
2014, none of our demands was
met which infuriated members
of the Union demanding for the
immediate commencement of
the strike not later than October
13, 2014.
“However, the leadership of the
Union was forced to summon an
emergency meeting of the
National Administrative Council,
NAC, on the 13th of October, 2014
to receive the reactions of our
members to the report of
Federal Government/JOHESU
meeting of October 9, 2014.
FG approves importation of 600,000mt of PMS
By Michael Eboh, with
Agency Reports
T
HE Federal Government,
yesterday,
issued
supplementary permits for the
importation of 600,000 metric
tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit
(PMS), also known as petrol, for
the month of October 2014.
According to the Petroleum
Products Pricing Regulatory
Agency, PPPRA, the permit is
under the third quarter import
programme, especially as it is
yet to get approval for the fourth
quarter allocations
An online news website,
Platts, quoted a source at the
PPPRA as saying that “The
supplementary allocation was
approved last week and it will
be just for the month of
October.”
Another PPPRA source told
the
website
that
the
supplementary allocations
would serve as a stop-gap
measure while the agency
awaits final approval from the
oil ministry for the fourth
quarter allocations.
With the latest permits, the
source said, oil companies, such
as Oando, Conoil, Aiteo, NIPCO
and Folawiyo Petroleum, each got
allocations to import 90,000 mt of
gasoline in October, adding that
other small fuel marketers got
permits to import 45,000 mt of
gasoline each.
The news website explained
that Nigeria usually aims at
building fuel stocks to the
equivalent of 30 days’
consumption to prevent
shortages.
The website, however,
declared that domestic fuel
supplies have dropped following
declining capacity utilisation at
the countries refineries.
10— Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
Court
reserves
judgment in
Ajudua's bail
appeal
By Innocent Anaba &
Onozure Dania
AGOS—THE Court of
Appeal sitting in Lagos,
yesterday,
reserved
judgments in two separate
appeals by Lagos socialite,
Fred Ajudua against the
ruling of a Lagos High
Court, which refused his
bail application.
Trial judge at the lower
court, Justice Oluwatoyin
Ipaye had refused
Ajudua’s application, in a
charge by the Economic
and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC,
against him over alleged
fraud.
Ajudua in the charge was
said to have defrauded
former Chief of Army Staff,
Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi
(rtd) of about $8.4 million.
L
Aggrieved
lecturers storm
Fashola's office
ARRIVAL: Olori Folasade Adeyemi (2nd left), her husband, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, greeting President
Goodluck Jonathan (right), deputy governor of Lagos State, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire (2nd right), and others,
during the President's arrival, at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
SYNAGOGUE: Coroner inquest begins
zAsks victims' families to donate blood for DNA test
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
L
A G O S —
A G G RIEVED
lecturers of Adeniran
Ogunsanya College of
Education, AOCOED,
Ijanikin, yesterday, stormed
Lagos House, office of
Governor Babatunde
Fashola in Alausa, Ikeja, to
protest over the failure of
the state government to
remit over 17 months
deducted funds into their
pension accounts and
non-payment
of
pensioners’ benefits for
three years.
The lecturers, numbering over
100,ledapeacefuldemonstration,
displaying placards with various
inscriptions.
llorin residents
cry out over
2-month
blackout
By Demola Akinyemi
LORIN—THE
residents of SaboOke in Ilorin, Kwara State,
have called on the state
government and other
stakeholders to rescue
them from the darkness
they had been thrown into
for over two months,
following disconnection of
power to the community
by Ibadan Electricity
Distribution Company,
IBEDC.
The community pointed
out that the development
had exposed the area to
armed robbery attacks and
other criminal activities.
I
C
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By Abdulwahab Abdulah &
L
Bartholomew Madukwe
AGOS—THE coroner
inquest
into
the
collapsed building at the
Synagogue Church of All
Nations, SCOAN, took off
yesterday with the Coroner
Judge, Magistrate Oyetade
Komolafe requesting the
South Africa government to
allow families of the
deceased to donate blood for
DNA test towards identifying
the victims.
This he said will facilitate
early release of their corpses
for burial after identification.
Also, the Coroner Judge,
disclosed that the court was
not constituted to witchhunt,
but to find the cause of the
building collapse and the
deaths as well as making
necessary recommendations
to prevent future occurrence
in line with the state coroner
law.
Magistrate appeals
In his appeal, Magistrate
Komolafe explained that the
DNA examination was a
major aspect of the inquest,
noting that it would be
difficult for the pathologists
to carry out their work if the
deceased relatives were not
available to identify their
deceased relations.
Majority of the victims
recovered from the debris of
the building collapse were
South Africans.
Komolafe
said:
“I
sympathize with the families
of the victims as well as
South Africa government,
but I want to seize this
opportunity to state the
importance of the DNA to this
inquest.
“Relatives of victims should
donate blood to enable the
pathologists identify the
bodies. The medical team
and pathologists are working
because the court has
directed them to carry out the
activities and report back.
“It is important for the South
African embassy to ensure
that relatives of the victims
come forward for the
pathologist to get the needed
samples to compare with the
bodies.
“Those corpses have to be
properly identified and when
that is done and the process
completed, the bodies will be
released to the South African
government and they can
take them home if they so
wish.
“We have to work together.
We should not allow anything
to cause misunderstanding
between Nigeria and South
Africa because we are one, at
least we are blacks. Please,
let us work together to make
this process a success.”
Church assures on
support
While
the
church
represented by Prince Lateef
Komolafe also promised an
absolute support to the
Coroner, the court urged
necessary parties in the
proceedings to cooperate
with the court so as to come
out
with
adequate
information
and
recommendations.
Considering the procedure
to be adopted to enhance
smooth and speedy result,
Magistrate Komolafe agreed
with counsels representing
the parties by allowing them
to file their testimonies through
affidavit deposition as well as
allowing oral evidence from
witnesses.
He stated that the court was
not going to be rigid in the
application of the rules of
evidence and other court rules
except where it becomes
extremely necessary.
However, he warned that he
will not spare any witness who
disregard a court summon by
compelling his appearance.
Counsel to the church, Prince
Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and the
state represented by Mr.
Gbolahan Adeniran and the
State Police Command,
represented by Mr. Chukwu
Agwu had had a tough time
agreeing on when to visit the
scene of the incident.
APC PRIMARIES: Buhari, Kwankwaso mobilise
support in Osun
O
By Gbenga Olarinoye
SOGBO—LEADING
presidential aspirants of
the All Progressives Congress
APC, former military Head of
State, General Muhammadu
Buhari (rtd), and the incumbent
governor of Kano State, Alhaji
Rabiu Kwankwaso have
intensified their campaigns
ahead of the party’s primaries
as the two aspirants stormed
Osun State to mobilize for
support.
The two aspirants visited
Governor Rauf Aregbesola at
Government House, Oke Fia,
Osogbo separately.
While Kwankwaso according to
sources visited Aregbesola on
Sunday night, General Buhari
was said to have paid his visit
yesterday.
Credible source informed
Vanguard that the two separate
visits were not unconnected with
the consultation and desperate
moves to curry the favour and
support of critical stakeholders in
the South West ahead the primary
election of the APC, where the
candidate of the party in
February, 2015 presidential
election would emerge.
The source siad: “It is true that
Kwankwaso visited Governor
Rauf Aregbesola on Sunday
night. I can tell you that he was
also with the Ooni of Ife, Oba
Okunade Sijuade at his palace.
His visit may be part of his
preparation to shore up his
support against the APC
primary election for all the
presidential contenders.”
Both Buhari and Kwankwaso
were said to have held separate
close door talks with Aregbesola,
which sources hinted lasted for
more than 30 minutes.
Osun govt
alleges plot
to destabilize
state
By Gbenga Olarinoye
O
SOGBO—OSUN
State House of
Assembly has asked the
people of the state to
ignore the calculated
attempt by some people
it
described
as
“unscrupulous faceless
people” whose partisan
interest was to service
the diabolical plot of the
opposition to truncate
the
democratic
experiment in the State.
In a statement by the
Chief Press Secretary to
the Speaker, Mr. Goke
Butika in Osogbo
yesterday, the state
Assembly said it has
unveiled a plot by some
chieftains
of
an
opposition party to cause
unprecedented mayhem
in the history of the state
with a view to truncating
the swearing-in of
Governor
Rauf
Aregbesola next month.
The
parliament
stressed that the credible
report at its disposal
showed that the party after
losing the last governorship
election, has drawn
contingent plans that could
fetch the mandate freely
given to Aregbesola to it
through the back-door.
APC accuses
Mimiko of
forcing House
members to
defect
A
By Dayo Johnson
KURE—THE
opposition
All
Progressives Congress,
APC, in Ondo State has
accused
the
state
government of arm-twisting
members of the state
assembly to defect along
with Governor Olusegun
Mimiko from the Labour
Party, LP, to the Peoples’
Democratic Party, PDP.
Chairman of the Party,
Isaac Kekemeke, had
alleged that the state
governor, Dr. Olusegun
Mimiko threatened to
declare the seat of any
member of the House of
Assembly who failed to
defect with him to the
Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, vacant.
Kekemeke said: “ A good
number of the lawmakers
have shown their intention
to join the APC but were
hindered by the threat from
the governor to declare their
seat vacant if they join the
party."
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Kasamu faults Obasanjo on US indictment
zDescribes Obasanjo's claims as cocktail of lies
A
By Daud Olatunji
B E O K U T A —
C H A I R M A N ,
Mobilisation and Organisation
Committee of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in South
West, Prince Buruji Kashamu
has faulted the claim by former
President Olusegun Obasanjo
that he has been indicted as a
drug baron in the United States
as a cocktail of lies.
Kashamu was reacting to
Obasanjo’s response to the pleas
by some leaders of the PDP,
seeking his forgiveness.
According to Kashamu,
Obasanjo said; ‘’I am one of the
many issues that he had pointed
out and still pointing out.
Although he did not state what
the other many issues were, he
made a heavy weather out of my
purported indictment over some
drug-related offences.
Coctail of lies
“First, his statement is yet
another cocktail of lies served
with his legendary deceit as shall
be shown shortly. He said he was
displeased at my allegedly being
made the leader of the party in
the South West. First, it should
be noted that as against his earlier
assertion that; "I am a wanted
habitual criminal...for whom
extradition has been requested by
the US Government..., he has now
described me as an indicted drug
baron wanted in America.
“ The undebatable fact of history
that Baba Obasanjo has not told
the world is that it was during his
first tenure as President that he
and former Beninoise President,
Matthew Kerekou directed the
relevant security agencies to give
truthful evidence that exonerated
me.
“ That was why the Interpol in
Nigeria and Benin Republic as
well as the National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency, NDLEA,
came to the London courts in
2000/2001 to give evidence
during my incarceration and
trial. That also explained why
when I returned I became his
associate.
“He used me to prosecute his
battle against former Governor
Gbenga Daniel. When it was
time to field candidates for the
2011 general elections, he
brought his stooge, Gen.
Adetunji Olurin, and asked me
to roll the party structure behind
his anointed candidate. In his
usual holier-than-thou manner,
he talked about not being able
to work with me because of his
principles, honour and integrity.
Questions for Obasanjo
“But the questions Nigerians
should ask him are: Where were
his principles when he used to
take me into the inner recesses
of his abode? Where was his
honour when he served me
breakfast, lunch and dinner in
his Hilltop mansion? Where was
his integrity when he mounted
the rostrum to sing my praises,
praying for me as he did in May
2010 during a reception for the
former Minister of Commerce
and Industry, Senator Jubril
Martins-Kuye?
“ I can go on and on! Despite
his pretensions, the reason I
have become the target of
Obasanjo’s wicked campaign of
calumny and blackmail is his
perceived loss of political
relevance in Ogun State and the
South West.
'Obasanjo against
Jonathan's 2nd term
ambition'
He is against the second term
ambition of President Goodluck
Jonathan and he had wanted to
use the erstwhile National
Secretary, Olagunsoye Oyinlola;
the former National Auditor, Bode
Mustapha and the ex-National
Vice-Chairman, Segun Oni, to
thwart Mr. President’s reelection.
“The almighty Allah Subhana
wa tala used me to stand up to
him and the rest is history. Before
his very eyes, the PDP in the
South West is on a rebound and
we are winning elections free
and square unlike what obtained
during his reign when contrived
electoral victories were being
easily upturned."
CONDOLENCE VISIT: From left: All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential aspirant,
General Muhammadu Buhari, Senator Ayo Fasanmi, and Governor Rauf Aregbesola of
Osun State, during a condolence visit to Sen. Fasanmi on the demise of his wife, Felicia, at
their Osogbo residence, Osun State, yesterday.
Fayose raises alarm over Fayemi's plan to raise
fresh N1bn loan zAs Governor holds valedictory session with Assembly
By Gbenga Ariyibi
DO EKITI—EKITI State
Governor-elect, Mr Ayo
Fayose, has raised an alarm that
the outgoing government of Dr
Kayode Fayemi has finalized
arrangements to raise a sum of
one billion Naira fresh loan from
a new generation bank barely
four days to the end of its tenure.
In a letter with reference
number OGE/EK/ADM/ 094
dated October 10, 2014 and
signed on the behalf of the
Governor-elect by the Chairman,
Ekiti State Transition Committee,
Chief Dipo Anisulowo, to the
Managing Director, of the
concerned bank in Lagos, the
Fayose team, said it has it on
good authority that the new loan
will be used to settle the
severance allowances of some
political office holders.
This came just as the
committee equally condemned
A
the outgoing government for
alleged illegal transfer of over
N856 million from SUBEB
project account number
0065385894 with Access Bank
Plc. to another account.
According to a statement by
the PDP Publicity Secretary in
the state, Pastor Kola
Oluwawole, the money was the
state’s counterpart contributions
to the Federal Government
Intervention Funds.
He said: “Please be informed
that going by UBEC Financial
Regulations, it is absolutely
unethical to transfer any part of
the fund that is available for
SUBEB/UBEC project execution
in the state without valid
instruction.’’
Reacting on behalf of the state
government, the Commissioner
for Information, Ekiti State, Mr
Tayo Ekundayo, dismissed the
allegations, saying he was not
aware of such arrangement
His words: “I was not in any
meeting where such a decision
was taken to borrow any money
to pay severance allowances of
public office holders. It is one of
the lies they are telling to confuse
the people.
“If we could not take loan to
pay salary which is statutory,
how can we take loan to pay
severance allowances.
“This move will definitely
wane down the reputation of the
state as one of the least
performing states in the
federation.”
The committee, however,
warned that if its appeal to the
bank is not considered and the
bank went on to approve the
loan, it vowed that the incoming
government would not honour
the deal.
“Besides, we shall not hesitate
to explore all administrative and
legal means and processes to
deal appropriately with the
conduct of your bank ,’’ the
statement added.
Fayemi holds valedictory
session
Meantime, the outgoing
governor of Ekiti State, Dr.
Kayode Fayemi, has lauded
members of the State House of
Assembly, saying the House has
passed no fewer than 70 bills in
the last three and half years.
Speaking during a valedictory
session at the floor of the House
in Ado Ekiti yesterday, Fayemi
said the lawmakers have
surpassed their colleagues in
other states of the federation
The governor said: “There is
no other State Assembly in the
federation that came anywhere
close in the number of bills
passed by the Assembly in the
last four years.”
2015: Oba of Benin decries spate of violence
by political party supporters
By Simon Ebegbulem
B
ENIN—AHEAD of the
2015 general elections,
the Oba of Benin, Oba
Erediauwa, has decried the
spate of political thuggery and
violence being perpetrated by
supporters of political parties in
the country and urged party
leaders not to plunge the nation
into crisis.
The monarch, who apparently
was reacting to Saturday's
mayhem at the Edo State House
of Assembly quarters in Benin
City by suspected political
thugs, urged political leaders to
be mindful of the fact that “only
the living can play politics.”
The Oba, who spoke through
the Iyase of Benin (Traditional
Prime Minister), Chief Sam
Igbe, said political leaders
would be held responsible if
anything went wrong with the
nation’s democracy, asserting
that “they must know that
violence is an ill wind that does
no one any good.”
He said: “As political leaders,
you are supposed to show good
examples for the younger
generations to emulate, rather
than recruit them as thugs.”
While stressing the need for
politicians to refrain from
politics of bitterness, the revered
monarch directed the Enigies,
Chiefs, Igiehon and the
Edionwere in Benin Kingdom
“to pray for the country ’s
peaceful co-existence and also
to move to their various
dukedoms to sensitize political
aspirants, political parties and
their supporters in their areas
of the need to live in peace and
harmony.”
Meanwhile, the member
representing Owan Federal
Constituency of Edo State in the
House of Representatives, Mr.
Pally Iriase, has described the
alleged attempt by nine Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
lawmakers in the state House
of Assembly to plunge the state
into crisis as madness, insisting
that it will be impossible for the
minority lawmakers to take
precedence over the APC
majority in the House.
Iriase spoke at a rally in
Afuze, Owan East Local
Government Council where he
was endorsed for a second term
by APC members including
elected councilors from the two
local governments that made
up the constituency, market
women groups, youth groups
and the National Association of
Owan Students .
Komolafe
T
HE Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN, has
said that oil revenue
contributed N3.6 trillion
to the federally collected
revenue in the first half
of this year.
This represented 13.9
percent increase when
compared with N3.12
trillion contributed by oil
revenue in the second
half of 2013.
On the contrary, nonoil revenue fell by 16.7
percent to N1.49 trillion
in the first half of the
year from N1.79 trillion
in the second half of
2013.
The CBN stated this in
the economic report for
the second quarter of the
year published on its
website yesterday.
The report stated: “Total
federally-collected
revenue during the
second quarter of 2014
stood at N2,601.98
billion, an increase of 4.3
per cent above the level
in the preceding quarter.
It, however, declined by
the same margin when
C
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...As Anenih,
Clark meet on
date for formal
declaration
By Henry Umoru
A
CONVENTION: From left: Her Royal Majesty, Queen Juliana Ameh-Oboni, Vice President,
Arik Air; Mr. Rob Thomas; First Lady of Kogi State, Hajia Halima Ladi Wada and Vice President,
Igala Association in the Diaspora, USA/Canada, Mr. Jonathan Adejor, during the Annual
Igala Convention in Washington, USA.
Nigeria earns N3.6tr from oil in six months —CBN
By Babajide
2015:
Jonathan to
declare
re-election
bid soon
compared
with
the
proportionate quarterly budget
estimate.
“The development relative to
the quarterly budget estimate
was attributed to the fall in
non-oil revenue. Non-oil
receipts (gross), at N806.45
billion (31.0 per cent of the
total), fell below the
proportionate budget estimate
by 13.1 per cent, but rose
above the level in the first
quarter of 2014 by 17.4 per
cent. The decline in non-oil
revenue relative to the
proportionate budget estimate
was due largely to the decline
in receipts from Education Tax
and FGN Independent
revenue
“At N1, 795.53 billion, gross
oil receipts, which constituted
69.0 per cent of the total, fell
by 0.7 per cent below the
receipts in the preceding
quarter, but rose marginally by
0.2 per cent above the
proportionate
budget
estimate. The development
relative to the budget estimate
was attributed, largely, to the
increase in other oil revenue
during the review quarter."
The CBN report also
revealed that the Federal
Government overspent its
budget by N570 billion in the
first half of the year. This
represents 22.7 percent
decline when compared with
the deficit recorded in the
second half of 2013.
The report revealed that the
Federal Government revenue
fell to N1.77 trillion in the first
half of 2014 from N1.96 trillion
in the second half of 2013.
2015: Enugu monarchs endorse Chime for Senate
By Francis Igata
E
NUGU—TRADITIONAL
Rulers in Enugu State
have declared their support for
the senatorial ambition of
Governor Sullivan Chime,
saying his selfless leadership
qualities and unprecedented
achievements in office
informed their decision to
endorse him.
The position of the royal
fathers was part of a ninepoint communiqué issued
yesterday at the end of the
quarterly meeting of the
Enugu State Council of
Traditional Rulers and signed
by the Chairman of the
Council, Igwe Ambasador
Lawrence O.C Agubuzu.
The royal fathers noted with
“delight the unparalleled,
amazing and spectacular
quantum leap to modernity
which the urban centres and
rural communities in Enugu
State had taken in the past
seven years under Chime's
governorship.”
They also commended
Governor Chime for “not being
boastful about his outstanding
achievements; for not wasting
the resources of Enugu State
in advertising his achievements; and for his resolute and
genuine efforts in entrenching
a positive culture of investing
the funds of Enugu State in
the development of the state.
As members of the Enugu
State Council of Traditional
Rulers, we are prepared to
support Governor Chime if he
seeks elective office in 2015
because of his selfless leadership qualities.”
The Council expressed hope
that the “next governor of
Enugu State in 2015 will
emulate Governor Chime."
BUJA—STRONG
indications
emerged yesterday that
President Goodluck
Jonathan would soon tell
Nigerians the date for
the formal declaration of
his re-election bid ahead
of the December 6
National Convention
where
his
sole
candidature of the
Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, would be
ratified.
Vanguard gathered
that as a prelude to the
president’s declaration,
former
Federal
I n f o r m a t i o n
Commissioner
and
South-South leader,
Chief Edwin Clark and
the Chairman, Board of
Trustees, BoT of PDP,
Chief Tony Anenih, met
privately on Sunday.
A source told Vanguard
that Chief Clark, who
arrived Chief Anenih’s
Asokoro residence at
4.08 pm, left at past 5 pm,
after fruitful discussions
were held between the
two elder statesmen.
Chief Clark, the source
said, used the visit to
welcome Chief Anenih
back from his foreign
trip.
According to the
source, the two leaders
delibrated on a possible
date for Jonathan's
formal declaration,
though the date has not
been disclosed officially.
According to the
source, “they will
formally brief the
president on the need to
officially declare his
ambition.
It was gathered that the
two
leaders
also
discussed the ongoing
sale of expression of
interest and nomination
forms
for
the
governorship election in
some states, the state
and National Assembly
elections, just and the
issue
of
Delta
governorship election as
well as Edo State House
of
Assembly
and
National
Assembly
elections.
C
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C
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Okey Wali: More groups, individuals demand
immediate release
By Jimitota Onoyume
& Samuel Oyadongha
P
ORT
HARCOURT—
MORE groups and
individuals, including former
President of Nigerian Bar
Association, NBA, Chief
O.C.J. Okocha, SAN, have
condemned the abduction of
the immediate past president
of the NBA, Mr. Okey Wali,
SAN, and demanded his
immediate
release
unconditionally without harm.
Some of the groups are Port
Harcourt branch of the NBA,
Civil Liberties Organization,
CLO, and University of Port
Harcourt Alumni Association.
Chief Okocha, who pleaded
for Wali's unconditional
release, said it was sad that
anybody could contemplate
abducting the immediate past
NBA President, describing
him as a complete gentleman.
He said: “The abduction is
condemnable. This is very
shocking. He is not a money
bag, or a politician with money
he can’t account for. I appeal
for his unconditional release.”
In the same vein, Mr.
Ifedayo Adedipe, SAN, who
called for the unconditional
release of the former NBA
president condemned the
abduction, saying “it is a sad
development.”
He enjoined the state
government and security
operatives to step up action to
protect lives in the state.
Similarly, Port Harcourt
branch of the NBA, through its
Publicity Secretary, Mr. Angus
Chukwuka, appealed for Wali's
unconditional release and
urged security operatives in the
state to swing into action to
COMMISSIONING: From right: Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, Mr. Uche Sekondus; PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mua'zu; Minister of State
for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike; Dame Blessing Nsiegbe, member representing Port
Harcourt Federal Constituency 2, in the House of Representatives and PDP Chairman, Rivers
State, Mr. Felix Obuah, during the
commissioning of Adult Education Centre,
Rumuwoji, Port Harcourt, Rivers State,
yesterday. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke.
....As ex-Edo Attorney General
condemns kidnap
F
ORMER Attorney
General of Edo
State and a delegate to
the just concluded
National Conference,
Chief Charles UwensuyiEdosomwan, SAN, has
condemned
the
abduction of former
President
of
the
Nigerian
Bar
Association, NBA , Mr.
Okey Wali, SAN, and
appealed
to
his
abductors to release him
without harm.
In
a
statement
yesterday,
Chief
Uwensuyi-Edosomwan
said: “The news of Okey
Wali’s abduction came to
me as a rude shock.
What would make
anyone go after a lawyer
whose calling and
professional path have
been of remorseless work
and advocacy for the Rule
of
Law
and
the
extermination
of
oppression of the lowly?
It all argues for a more
aggressive security
policy reforms that would
bring national policing to
the rescue of all the
exposed citizens of this
country, rich or poor.
“I appeal fervently to
Okey’s abductors to show
C
M
Y
K
mercy to him and his
family and the larger NBA
family and release him
without harm. All in Rivers
should by now be tired of
the tensions that have
lasted too long, which has
all but brought the Rule of
Law to its knees. Please
increase the peace in
Rivers by releasing him
immediately.”
Edosomwan called on
the president to accelerate
action on the resolution of
the recent National
Constitutional Conference
that recommended states
and community policing.
“This is the better model
for a country as
geographically immense
and culturally variegated
as Nigeria,” he argued.
APC condemns attack on Edo
legislators' quarters
A
unmask the abductors.
"The abduction is unfortunate.
We are calling on the state
government and security bodies
in the state to swing into action
to ensure his release," Port
Harcourt NBA said.
LL
Progressives
Congress, APC, has
condemned last Saturday’s
attack on Edo legislators'
quarters, saying it had
raised the “level of
impunity under President
Goodluck Jonathan’s
administration to a level not
even contemplated in the
days of military rule.”
In a statement yesterday
in Abuja, by its National
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji
Lai Mohammed, the party
said that based on the ease
with which the thugs
invaded a facility that
should be well secured and
the ample time they had to
damage over 30 cars and
inflict injuries on legislators
and their families, there was
no question that the attack
was carried out with the
collusion
of
an
increasingly-partisan
police.
The statement said:
"Governor
Adams
Oshiomhole said the
government
got
intelligence report on the
attack and informed the
State Police Commissioner.
Instead of sending
reinforcement to prevent the
attack, the few policemen
attached to the quarters
were withdrawn."
2015: 50,000
S-South
youths
endorse
Jonathan,
Ochei
P
R E S I D E N T
G o o d l u c k
Jonathan’s re-election and
the governorship ambition
of Mr. Victor Ochei
received boost, weekend,
during a grand reception
where 50,000 youths under
the umbrella of the South
South Youth Political
Struggle, SSYPS, endorsed
the duo.
The event, which was
initially slated to hold at
Ogbe-Ijoh in Warri South
West Local Government
Area, was later shifted to
Udu Playground in Udu
Local Government Area of
Delta State.
National Chairman of
SSYPS, General Emma
Satu (retd), used the
occasion to appeal to
President Jonathan to
reconsider the Amnesty
phase three issue and find
a lasting solution to it.
POCKET CARTOON
ATIKU PICKS FORM—From left: All Progressives Congress, APC,
National Secretary, Mai Mala Bunu; National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun;
former Vice President, Alh. Atiku Abubakar and Director-General Atiku
Campaign Organization, Chief Babalola Borishade during the collection of
Presidential Nomination Form by Atiku Abubakar at the Party’s Headquarters in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.
We'll wipe out Boko Haram
— Cameroon
Continues from page 1
cally curtailed with the
intensification of joint
patrols, military operations and intelligence
sharing by Nigeria and
neighbouring countries
as agreed by their leaders in Niamey last week.
Mr. Paul Biya, who
spoke after the release of
the abducted 27 hostages
comprising
17
Cameroonians and 10
Chinese said: “The
Cameroonian government assures you that it
will ceaselessly continue
to fight Boko Haram until it’s totally wiped out”.
The 27 Cameroonians
and Chinese were delivered to authorities on Friday night. The government has not said how
they were freed, but a security source told AFP
that “a ransom” was paid
and around 20 imprisoned Islamists were
freed in exchange.
The Chinese were
seized in May from a construction camp in Waza,
near the border with Nigeria in an attack that left
one Cameroonian soldier
dead. The Cameroonians
— including the wife of
one of Cameroon’s
deputy prime ministers
— were abducted in July
during two simultaneous
assaults, also blamed on
Boko Haram, in which at
least 15 people died.
One of the released
Cameroonians, Seiny
Boukar Lamine, told
state radio, “ we were in
these sort of huts in a
pretty dense forest, it
was in a savannah with
big trees and a lot of
brush. We slept on the
ground”. He said he was
held with his wife and six
children.
Another former hostage Abdouraman Seini,
who survived a gunshot
C
M
Y
K
to his hand, told VOA he
and the other captives
were forced to eat whatever was provided and at
times went for days without water to drink.
He said they lived in
miserable conditions and
that they were tortured
by men armed with
knives and guns. “Freedom is a good thing, I
pray such a thing never
happens to anyone”, he
said.
Abdouraman Seini
added that he did not see
any of the more than 200
girls from Chibok, Nigeria that Boko Haram
claimed responsibility
for kidnapping in April.
According to him
“ women are separated
from men in the various
detention camps run by
the militants in the
bush”.
Seini also told VOA he
believes it is very likely
Boko Haram fighters will
continue their attacks because they are running
out of food for the hundreds of fighters and the
hundreds of captives
they have.
We'll curtail their
activities
— Jonathan
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President Jonathan on Media
and Publicity, Reuben
Abati quoted the president as telling the ministers of defence and foreign affairs of Chad,
Niger, Cameroon and
Benin Republic that such
international collaboration was essential for success in the war against
terrorism.
The Ministers were in
Abuja to work with their
Nigerian counterparts on
a legal framework for the
cross-border military operations which President
Jonathan and neighbouring heads of state
approved in Niamey.
President Jonathan reiterated his belief that
such collaboration was
essential for success in
the war against terrorism.
According to the statement, the president was
pleased “ with the decisions taken in Niamey to
enhance and boost joint
actions against Boko
Haram and other crossborder criminals because
we have to work together
to defeat Boko Haram
and other extremist
groups in our sub-region.
“I believe that if we cooperate more and monitor our borders closely,
the movement of criminals and terrorists as
well as small arms and
ammunition across our
shared borders will also
be drastically reduced,”
The visiting ministers
were accompanied to the
Presidential Villa by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador
Aminu Wali and the
Chief of Defence Staff,
Air Chief Marshal Alex
Badeh.
The President said that
with their collective experience and professionalism, he expected the
visiting ministers and
their Nigerian counterparts to come up with an
effective action plan for
the successful implementation of the decisions
reached by the leaders of
Nigeria, Chad, Niger,
Cameroon and Benin
Republic at their meeting
in Niamey on October 7,
2014.
It would be recalled
that at the meeting in
Niamey, Niger, the leaders announced plans to
step up the fight against
Boko
Haram.
A
communiqué issued after
the meeting said that a
command centre for a
multinational force
headed by a chief of staff
will be in place by November 20.
The leaders also agreed
to finalise the deployment of troops promised
by member states to form
the multinational force
within their national borders by November 1.
The visiting ministers
at the audience with
President Jonathan were
Niger ’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mohammed
Bazoun;
Cameroon’s Minister of
External Relations, Mr.
Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo;
Chad’s Minister of Defence, Mr. Benaindo
Tatola; Chad’s Minister
of Foreign Affairs,
Muossa Faki Mahamat;
Niger ’s Minister of Defence,
Mr.
K.
Mahamadou; Benin’s
Minister of Defence, Mr.
Robert Yarou; Benin’s
Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Nassirou Bako
Arifari and Cameroon’s
Minister of Defence, Mr.
Edgar Alain Debe Ngo’o.
Multi National
Joint Task Force
readies for Boko
Haram
In a related development, the Multi National
Joint Task Force, MNJTF,
comprising soldiers from
countries of the Lake
Chad Basin Commission
have decided to establish the MNJTF headquarters in Borno State
next month.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb Aminu Bashir
Wali disclosed this,
pointing out that troops
of the task force will be
deployed into action next
month to checkmate the
tendencies of Boko
Haram terrorists crossing
into border communities
to wreak havoc.
According to Wali, after
the meeting of LCBC
member states in Benin
Republic, it was agreed
that the MNJTF headquarters be established
in Baga town in Kukawa
Local Government Area
of Borno State, on November 20, 2014.
He said the choice of
Baga was in tandem with
the decisions reached by
Heads of State and Government of member
states of Lake Chad Basin Commission, LCBC
for which the Ministers
of Foreign Affairs and
Defence met in Abuja
yesterday.
He said the resolution
would be forwarded to
United Nations Security
Council, and African
Union to put the legal
frame work in place
against insurgency.
The Minister noted further that the activities of
Boko Haram terrorists in
Baga, which served as
the epicentre of their strategic activities in terms of
arms procurement, planning for attacks and reception centre for foreign
insurgents or mercenaries due to its proximity to
porous borders, justified
the expansion of the Task
Force’s mandate in April,
2012 to include the fight
against terrorism.
His words: “Our meeting today underscores
our common commitment
to good neighbourliness
and fine-tuning our collective resolve and strategies for confront terrorism.
“It is an established
fact, which we have often stated that terrorism
is an international phenomenon that has to be
addressed through collaborative efforts at subregional and global levels.
“As a sub regional body,
we are at a crossroad. We
must define the nature
and scope of this struggle, which we must win
or else, it will define us”.
At regional level, we
have succeeded in enhancing cooperation in
border patrol with neighbouring countries. We
have also succeeded in
deploying troops along
our common borders.
“A new Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit,
RIFU, has since become
operational. Various
forms of assistance have
been received at bilateral
and multilateral levels
from our development
partners and friends in
terms of training.
“Most of these initiatives were sound but regrettably, resulting in
certain inconveniences
which have raised questions about the balance
that we must strike between our commitment to
democratic values, our
interests in security and
other national priorities”.
In an Interview with
Vanguard, the Executive
Secretary, Lake Chad
Basin Commission,
Engr. Sanusi Imran
Abdullahi said members
states were more than
determined to fight terrorism as a collective
menace in the region.
“We had the meeting of
ministers of defence and
chiefs of defence staff
and chiefs of security of
the member countries
and Benin in Niamey
July and we discussed
the current security situation and the deployment of troops by member countries as agreed
by the heads of state.
"Each country is to give
an equipped troop, battalion to the Multinational Joint Task Force.
“As at that time, Niger
and Chad had already
deployed their battalions
at locations within their
countries. Of course, Nigerian troops are already
there in Baga more than
even a Battalion.
“But Cameroon was
preparing to deploy their
contingent. So we are
hopeful by the end of this
meeting today and before the end of the month
as agreed at the extra
ordinary
summit,
Cameroon should have
deployed their own contingent of a battalion
within their border in the
Lake Chad Basin until
the legal arrangements
are finalised for the operation of the force together to work across borders”.
Abdullahi disclosed
that the president of
Benin Republic, Dr Boni
Yayi, had promised to
deploy a battalion which
he described as a plus to
us to member states.
“The Multinational
Joint Task Force is to
give us a tool for the fight
against all forms of terrorism in the Lake Chad
Basin and in the member
countries or at least in
the member countries
that have signed this
declaration at the extra
ordinary summit”.
Dasuki unveils
new approach to
couter terrorism
Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Col
Sambo Dasuki, yesterday
in New York unveilled
Nigeria’s new approach
to countering and dismantling violent extremism in Nigeria. The
Countering Violent Extremism programme, according to Dasuki is
aimed at identifying the
underlying causes of terrorism and to develop
strategies to solve the
problems.
I
am the Chairman of
Financial
Nigeria
International Limited. As
chairmanships go, it is an
honorary position. All the
work is actually done by the
Managing
Editor,
Jide
Akintunde, who is really my
employer; and his able
assistant, Martins Hile. The
company publishes Financial
Nigeria
magazine;
a
development and finance
journal that provides an indepth digest of the Nigerian
economy and other frontier
economies in sub-Saharan
Africa every month. I write a
column in this on “Nigeria and
the World.”
If you want to know what is
happening
in
global
development and various
sectors of the Nigerian
economy, presented from an
objective and non-partisan
point of view, you cannot do
better than Financial Nigeria.
Over the past five years,
Financial
Nigeria
has
organised what we call the
Nigeria Development and
Finance Forum, NDFF. This
colloquium is held in leading
(financial) capitals around the
world. The first three were
held in London, England. Then
we moved to Washington D.C.,
United States. The one of this
year was held in New York,
U.S.A. The purpose is to
provide policy briefings and
investment opportunities in
Nigeria to the international
community and Nigerians in
the diaspora; and to tell them
why we believe that Nigeria is
now a major frontier market
they need to come and invest in.
What exactly is ‘clueless'
about Goodluck Jonathan? (2)
would not be doing this if we
did not know that Goodluck
Jonathan’s Transfor mation
Agenda is laying a concrete
foundation for Nigeria’s
economic
growth
and
development.
Economic renaissance
When you point to the giant
strides Nigeria is making under
Goodluck Jonathan, in spite of
the Boko Haram insurgency in
the North-East, some cynical
Nigerians maintain you are
either looking for a government
“brown envelope,” or you want
to replace Reuben Abati as the
government spokesman. But I
wonder who else is hankering
after a handout from Goodluck
Jonathan.
Could Barack
Obama also be looking for a job
,
,
Few governments of Nigeria have been as
purposeful as that of Goodluck Jonathan
Financial Nigeria is a private
non-governmental
organisation. We are neither
backed nor financed by the
government. But we contribute
our widow’s mite to Nigeria’s
development by showcasing
Nigeria to the world.
Therefore, we fly government
functionaries, captains of
Nigerian industries and other
members of the Nigerian
intelligentsia to these NDFF
gatherings, and give them the
platform to tell the world the
changes that are now taking
place back home.
Those
who
have
participated at these sessions
from Nigeria include Prof.
Chinedu Nebo, Minister of
Power; Dr. Sam Amadi,
Chairman/CEO, Nigerian
Electricity
Regulatory
Commission; Dr. Kingsley
Moghalu, Deputy Governor,
Financial System Stability,
Central Bank of Nigeria; Mr.
Roberts Orya. M.D., Nigerian
Export-Import Bank; Mr.
Gimba Ya’u Kumo, M.D.,
Federal Mortgage Bank of
Nigeria; and Senator Udoma
Udo Udoma, Chairman, UAC
Nigeria Plc. The U.S.
Department of Commerce has
become one of our organising
partners for NDFF conferences
in the United States.
Financial Nigeria would not
be doing this every year if we
did not believe Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration is
making a major difference to
the Nigerian economy.
We
C
M
Y
K
as our president’s press
secretary?
At the U.S.-Nigeria Trade
and
Investment
Forum
organised by the Nigerians in
Diaspora Organisation of the
Americas,
NIDOA ,
in
Washington DC in 2012,
Obama acknowledged Nigeria
is now a strategic centre of
gravity in Africa, even
proclaiming the country “the
world’s next economic giant.”
He declared U.S. readiness to
invest in Nigeria’s success on a
wide range of issues. This
perspective cannot be divorced
from the salutary measures put
in place by the Jonathan
administration.
Later that year, Obama sent
Hilary Clinton, his Secretary of
State, to Nigeria. Clinton’s visit
was followed by the signing of
a bi-national commission
agreement to facilitate U.S.Nigerian cooperation on issues
of common concern and shared
responsibility. It is on record
that Nigeria is the only African
country with whom the United
States has signed this kind of
agreement, and it did not take
place until Jonathan became
president.
Africa’s economic
giant
Under Jonathan, the Nigerian
economy has been growing at
an average annual rate of 7%.
After
a
number
of
postponements by previous
administrations, the Jonathan
administration re-based the
Nigerian GDP.
The new
figures released by the Nigerian
Bureau of Statistics indicate
that Nigeria’s GDP is now $503
billion; nearly double the
previous estimates. This
means Nigeria has leapfrogged
South Africa, whose GDP is
around $350 billion, to become
by far the biggest economy in
Africa.
This has pushed Nigeria up
by 12 places to become the 23rd
largest economy in the world;
level-pegging with Poland and
Norway, but now ahead of
Belgium, Venezuela and
Austria. Some of the sectors
that
showed
marked
improvement include those
where
the
Jonathan
administration made judicious
interventions:
including
agriculture, housing and
(Nollywood) entertainment.
This shows the government’s
economic policy is well-aligned
with the growth sectors, and it
belies all the negative noises
currently being made by the
“born to rule” delusionists of the
APC.
Nigeria’s emergence as
Africa’s premier economy under
Goodluck Jonathan is bound to
give a filip to the economy by
attracting even more foreign
investment to Nigeria. Indeed,
within the last three years,
Nigeria has emerged as the
preferred destination for
foreign direct investments in
Africa. For the second year
running, the United Nations
Conference on Trade and
Development, UNCTAD, has
ranked Nigeria as the number
one destination for investments
in Africa, and as having the
fourth highest returns in the
world.
T h e World Bank also
forecasts that Nigeria will
receive this year an inflow of
$21 billion in remittances from
Nigerians living and working
abroad.
This will place
Nigeria as the top recipient of
foreign remittances in Africa;
followed by Egypt with
projected remittances of $18
billion.
In addition, Nigeria became
this year the first country in West
Africa to host the World
Economic Forum, WEF. It was
the most successful forum of its
kind in history, boasting a
global reach of 2.1 billion
people according to estimates.
It raised $68 billion in
investments for Africa,
according to Dr Philip Rosler,
the Managing Director of the
For u m .
S u r e l y, these
developments are not the
outcome of “clueless” economic
policies by the Jonathan
administration.
Agriculture
In the agricultural sector,
there is a major revolution
unfolding under Goodluck
Jonathan’s Transfor mation
Agenda. There is now more
private
investment
in
agriculture, including bank
lending, than ever before. The
new regime of fertiliser subsidy
is well-targeted. Middle-men
and ghost-farmers have been
eliminated.
Fertilizer
distribution and allocation has
been digitalised, thereby
eliminating the fraud and
nepotism that characterised the
process in the past. Farmers
now receive assistance in the
form of loans, equipment on
lease and seedlings.
The result has been
dramatic. Under Goodluck
Jonathan, Nigeria has reduced
its food imports by over 40% as
of 2013, moving the country
closer to self sufficiency in
agriculture. The increase in
food production has helped to
stabilize food prices, driving
down inflation into single
digits. Today, Nigeria is now
the largest producer of cassava
in the world, with an output of
over 45 million metric tonnes
in 2014, according to the Food
and Agricultural Organization
of the United Nations, FAO.
The Minister of Agriculture,
Akinwumi
Adesina,
is
determined to bring about a seachange in the way Nigerians
regard agriculture. The new
operational philosophy is that
agriculture must be seen as a
business and not just as a means
of livelihood.
Capital market
In the capital market,
President Jonathan is proreform and a firm supporter of
institution-building. His
support has been instrumental
to the sustenance of the reforms
instituted by the DirectorGeneral of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, SEC,
Ms. Arunma Oteh. These
reforms
have
restored
confidence to the Nigerian
capital market in the aftermath
of the crash of 2008/2009.
Today, the main index of the
Nigerian Stock Exchange, the
All Shares Index, has surpassed
its pre-crisis level.
It is
significant that the Nigerian
capital market and the naira
have held firm; unlike other
frontier and emerging markets
which experienced downturns
when the reversal of capital
flows followed the slowdown (or
tapering-off) of the bondbuying programme of the
Federal Reserve Bank of the
United States.
Under Goodluck Jonathan’s
leadership, the Nigeria
Sovereign
Investment
Authority,
NSIA,
was
established by law to manage
Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth
Fund, SWF, as obtainable in
almost all oil-producing
countries of the world. This
Fund of funds is an important
assurance that Nigeria’s oil
wealth will be transgenerational.
Industries
All indications point to the
revival of the industrial sectors
and the Small- and Mediumscale Enterprises, SMEs, under
the Jonathan administration.
For example, FBN Capital, one
of the leading financial services
groups in Nigeria, avers in a
recent report that there is “a
dramatic
increase
in
manufacturing growth” in the
country. The pool of vocational
skills to support the industrial
sector is being developed with
the revival of the Industrial
Training Fund, National Power
Training Institute of Nigeria
and other vocational centres
that are designed to provide
manpower for the development
of the industrial value-chain.
An industrial revolution has
been re-ignited with the revival
of automobile assembling plants
in Nigeria under the leadership
of the indefatigable Minister of
Commerce,
Trade
and
Investment, Mr. Olusegun
Aganga and with the full support
of President Jonathan. Under
this administration, Innoson
Vehicle
Manufacturing
Company, IVM, Nigeria’s
flagship indigenous automaker,
began the sale of its first madein-Nigeria cars and SUVs in
August 2014.
Nigeria has now become a
major
destination
for
multinational investment in car
manufacturing. Big auto
giants, including Peugeot,
Nissan and Hyundai, now either
assemble,
or
entirely
manufacture, their cars, SUVs,
trucks and buses at various
locations in Nigeria,
The
evidence
is
over whelming: “Clueless”
Jonathan has revolutionized
Nigeria in more ways than many
have perceived or are willing to
acknowledge. Under his
administration, Nigeria has
made and is making giants
strides.
Perhaps the
administration should be
blamed for not tooting its own
horn more stridently. But the
truth is that many people who
are against South-South rule
have simply been maligning the
government. These attacks
have no validity in fact.
Nigerians should not allow
themselves to be deceived.
There is no doubt that on the
basis of merit alone, Goodluck
Jonathan deserves another term
in office. Few governments of
Nigeria have been as purposeful
as that of Goodluck Jonathan.
To be continued
HOW many prison breaks would it take
to secure our prisons? Like in Akure in
July 2013, where armed robbers let 175
criminals loose, while freeing their
colleagues, last week’s incident in Kirikiri,
Nigeria’s prime jail, Kirikiri would soon
be history.
Before Akure there have been jail breaks
in Ibadan, Warri, Bauchi, Kano, Abuja (at
the anti-robbery detention centre), and
Port Harcourt. The reactions have always
been the same – media talks, promises to
address the situation, and forgetfulness
until the next criminals free themselves.
A jail break is at one of the highest points
of criminality. Its consequences depend on
the criminals involved and their motives.
What all these point at is that the
authorities have failed to realise the
importance of securing convicts and
detainees. There is still a high tendency
of dismissing the schemes criminals can
plot even while in jail. More importantly,
the reactions after jail breaks had been to
descend on the prison authorities. We are
aware that prisons are at the lowest rungs
for budgetary allocations.
By Chika Onuora
T
HE All Progressives Congress, APC, is
at it again. The party does not fail to live
to its billing in raking up unnecessary
controversy all in an effort to play what it
understands as “opposition politics.” Just
when we were settling to enjoy the last
Muslim festival holidays, its National
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
barged into our consciousness with an
attempt to turn logic on its head. The issue
this time: President Goodluck Jonathan and
his Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, should
not take full credit for the country’s
successful containment of the Ebola Virus
Disease, EVD. To him, “a collective effort”
should not belong to the Federal Government
alone.
As usual, Lai was lying and trying to distort
facts. The President had, in his speech at the
church service to mark Nigeria’s
independence anniversary at the
Ecumenical Centre, alluded to the defeat of
Ebola in Nigeria as the fruit of bi-partisan
cooperation. While paying tribute to the
health workers who paid the ultimate price
in that war against Ebola, Jonathan
commended the non-partisan collaborative
approaches that resulted in containing the
spread of the virus. In spite of that
statesmanlike speech, Lai Mohammed
preferred a special credit to the APC
governors of Lagos and Rivers states, two of
the states in which it was reported. It didn’t
matter to Lai Mohammed that the contribution
of both governors mainly centred on
coordination of the various volunteer groups
that sprang up to assist in managing the crisis.
Again Jail Break
Break,,
Same R
eaction
Reaction
Security at our prisons is left mostly to
warders who are poorly armed and easily
over powered. It has happened many times.
Furthermore, the extent of the alertness,
the number of warders deployed to man
these facilities, and the equipment at their
disposal make the jail breakers’ job easier.
The most recent incident is rooted in
inmates’ anger at being denied their rights.
Abuses of prisoners’ rights are plentiful,
from miserable meals to their poor living
places. Medicals are barely available. None
of these would be surprising, considering
how Nigerians who are not in jail live.
If one listens to Abba Moro, the Minister
of Interior, little, would be done. Without
an investigation, Moro has given
congestion as one of the reasons for the
commotion that claimed lives. It is an old
story. For more than 15 years of civil rule,
committees, conferences, and similar
conjectures have been thrown at prison
congestion. They achieved nothing.
Kirikiri Medium, for instance has 2,536
inmates, by the latest census. Only 98 or
less than five per cent, are convicts, the
remaining 2,434 are awaiting trial, a plight
they share with more than 36,000 others
across Nigeria. Comptroller General of
Prison Zakari Ibrahim told a House of
Representatives Committee that of 50,601
inmates in the various prisons, 36,934 were
awaiting trial. Last June, Moro said 70
per cent of inmates were awaiting trial.
The over-crowding in our prisons should
be treated as emergency. It is a tasking
process that would see Nigeria tackling
unemployment and changing the slow
gears that drive the justice system. Like
earlier prison incidents, Kirikiri is a
symptom, not the illness.
OPINION
APC's Ebola mischief
It is either Lai Mohammed does not understand
the context in which President Jonathan spoke
or he is deliberately distorting the issue in his
usual effort to justify his position as APC
spokesman. Why would he prefer to draw the
lines of party affiliation in that humanitarian
issue in which Nigeria has received collective
commendation across the world? It can only
be for parochial reasons. Like in every issue
of this nature in which people’s welfare must
be considered first, Jonathan has played
down the political leanings of governors of
those states. Like the war on insurgency
which was started in states managed by APC
governors, efforts to eradicate Ebola in
Nigeria were not waged with partisan
political considerations in mind.
It is difficult to understand Lai Mohammed’s
argument, and what political capital he
intends to get from the argument. While in
one breath he acknowledged that Health
Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu,
exhibited uncommon professionalism and
purposefulness, in another breath he
claimed that it would be uncharitable for
the PDP-led Federal Government of which
he is part, to take credit. That is the height
of illogic by a man blinded by hatred for this
single national accomplishment. Truth be
told, if credit must be given at all, the
Jonathan administration has fully earned
it and it is not something Lai Mohammed
should be hysterical about.
While the World Health Organisation, WHO,
commended the Nigerian Government’s
efforts in containing the spread of Ebola, an
impressed US Government has even sent
experts to understudy how the Jonathan
administration accomplished the feat even
without medical support from the US and
WHO. At the emergency session of the United
Nations Security Council on Ebola, the WHO
Director-General, Margaret Chan, had told
participants to take a cue from Nigeria’s
success in tackling “the greatest peacetime
challenge that the UN and its agencies have
ever faced”.
For a disease which infected over 5000 people
and killed 2,500, according to reports,
Nigeria recorded 19 confirmed cases with
only seven deaths. This came about due mainly
to the Jonathan administration’s promptness,
purposefulness and doggedness in facing the
unusual challenge. To further underscore
Nigeria’s success, the last case of the disease
was successfully discharged a clear 30 days
back on September 10 from the Ebola Isolation
Centre.
The APC behaves like a child that wants to
have his cake and still eat it. It is envious of
the commendation being showered on the
Jonathan administration on the Ebola issue;
it prefers its governors in Lagos and Rivers to
be given the credit, yet it wants its governors
in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa
absolved from their seeming failure to
combat Boko Haram and rescue of the Chibok
girls. The question is: Would the lying party
have blamed the APC governors in Lagos and
Rivers states if the Ebola issue had been
mishandled and turned to an unsavoury story
for Nigeria?
While it is not a time here to apportion blames,
the failing of the Rivers and Lagos states
governments in managing the crisis are all too
obvious. That of Lagos is summarised in the
statement by Ada Igonoh, a doctor at First
Consultants Hospital, an Ebola survivor who
had certified Sawyer dead. She had described
the environment at the “female ward” she was
admitted into at the state-government-run
Lagos Mainland Hospital – the main
infectious diseases facility, as shocking with
poor sanitary condition. “The sheets were not
changed for days. The floor was stained with
greenish vomitus and excrement…
Mosquitoes were our roommates until they
brought us mosquito nets…”. How Governor
Fashola managed, or mismanaged the
N200m Federal Government donation to the
Lagos State Government to help in curtailing
the spread of this deadly scourge and in the
management of its impact, is an issue for
another day.
While the President and the Health Minister
have severally commended the governors
of the two APC states hit by Ebola for their
contributions towards the successful
containment of the virulent disease, it is
obvious that the Jonathan-led federal
administration guided the battle against the
disease. But Ebola was not a political party
matter and the unfortunate demise of Mrs
Adedevoh and other health officials who paid
the price in the battle to contain it, are not
issues that APC can appropriate for partisan
political gains.
Like the CDC Director Tom Frieden stated,
Nigeria’s “extensive response to a single case
of Ebola shows that control is possible with
rapid, focused interventions.”
*Mr. Onuora, a public affairs
analyst,wrote from Abuja.
W
E have succeeded in
establishing the fact that
the foundation for corruption in
this country was in the beginning,
through the falsification of records
and distortions in geographical
mapping, coupled with rigged
census and elections. It was the
foundation for white collar
criminality- one committed
through the pen and books- and
white collar criminality is the most
dangerous to a nation. It stunts
growth and development. It is not
openly manifested but deadly as
worm eaten houses.
Forget all the noise about the
British bureaucracy and rhetorics:
they are the foundation for
corruption in this country and they
replicated it in several parts of the
world. Check out the following
British former colonies: India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria,
Kenya, Uganda and many others,
all of them rank very highly in
the corruption index. The case of
India is very perplexing: With all
the strides they have made in
medicine, engineering and ICT,
the DNA of corruption refuses to
be expunged from their system.
It has now become a pathological
case and the people have learnt
to live with it.
Such is the situation in Nigeria
but in India, they have been able
to combine theirs with
development. They have isolated
their science and technology from
the murky politicians and their
world of corruption. In Nigeria,
the more we learn to live with
corruption, the more it is choking
and threatening to destroy us as
a nation. Are we going to let it
destroy this country?
Incidentally, we are having new
generations of Nigerians who are
not well informed and have been
made to grow up with tainted
accounts of the country's history.
Unfortunately, history, we are told,
has been removed from our
educational curricula. How we
intend to learn from the failures
of our past is beyond my
imagination, as we cannot move
forward, without a proper
grounding on our past.
Almost all of our founding
leaders- except a very negligible
few like Aminu Kano- developed
acquisitive tendencies of the
ultra- capitalist cadres and were
prone to their ethnic and regional
interests. There is, therefore, no
single role model in the form of
Mahatma Ghandi of India or
We need a Nigeria
of integrated,
detribalised
amalgamation of
tribes where the
interest of both the
majority and
minorities are
factored in and
institutionalised
,
Nelson Mandela of South Africa.
As a politician with acquisitive
tendencies, there is no way you
will practise your trade without
compromising on your integrity
and the spill over effects can be
seen in our present day politics.
Corruption everywhere
The new generation would
have been better placed to sort this
out, as they were not part of the
rotten foundation. Unfortunately,
they are also learning very fast.
So, how do we tackle the
challenges of corruption in this
country? Again it is a matter that
requires our collective efforts. It
must be accepted by all that
corruption is killing this country.
The way everyone sees the
deadly Ebola virus, same should
be the case of corruption. An
emergency should be declared
and it must start from the head - I
Of new wine and old bottles
By M.A.Agbamuche
T
HESE are strange times in Nigeria.
Change is in the air and I do not just
mean the transformation agenda of the
present administration. A case in point is
the decision of the just concluded National
Conference that 18 additional states should
be carved out of Nigeria. That such a
fundamental decision could be arrived at
so easily within the three months life span
of an ad-hoc conference is astonishing.
This matter of state creation predates
the independence of Nigeria from colonial
rule; indeed the agitation for more regions /
states was seen as the only means by which
minorities could escape from oppression by
the majority sub-nationalities in the then
three regions of Nigeria. So convincing were
the agitators that the British colonial
authorities felt obliged to set up what was
called the Willinks Commission whose
mandate was to gather evidence and
consider all the groups ,receive suggestions
and make recommendations ,all these with
a view to addressing the fears of the
minorities before independence.
It is interesting to note that the Willinks
Commission rejected any suggestion that
the minorities should be granted the
status of states within Nigeria. The
country then proceeded with the
preparations for independence in October
1960 with the minority problems
unresolved. That, of course, only left room
for the minorities to remain with their
dissatisfaction and continued agitation for
reform.
Such suggested reform invariably
became agitation for the creation of new
states/regions. Of course in the atmosphere
of unresolved discontent, it was no surprise
that the problem of the minorities remained
unresolved by the concept of federalism .With
the benefit of hindsight the idea that
federalism could assuage the fears of the
minority is confounded by the type of party
politics that accompanied independence.
Political parties dominated by the major
ethnic groups in the region could not have
been expected to do anything other than
protect the interest of their majority
C
M
Y
K
sponsors.
At this junction, the reader would allow
me to cite as a case study the agitation of
the people of what now constitutes Delta
North Senatorial District for selfdetermination /recognition as a distinct
political element in Nigeria to be known
as Anioma. The Anioma area right from
the outset was a dissatisfied minority. It
attained self awareness as part of what
was called Benin Province which meant
that from day one it was an oppressed
minority .Its leaders almost from day one
coined the name Anioma even before
independence of Nigeria in a bid to begin
to forge a sense of identity.
Regrettably, their representatives did
not play a very prominent role before the
Willinks Commission hearings as I pointed
out in my contribution to the seminar
work NIGERIA: A CENTURY OF
CONSTITUTIONAL EVOLUTION 19142014 edited by Professor Epiphany Azinge,
SAN in chapter 7 -"MINORITY RIGHTS
IN FIRST REPUBLIC NIGERIA".
To a large measure the Willinks
Commissions proceedings and hearing
were dominated by minorities within the
Niger /Delta regions, in particular the Ijaw.
Interestingly the Igbo of the then Eastern
Region played no significant role in the
affairs of the Willinks Commission even as
they dominated the political party (NCNC)
that controlled the Eastern Region and the
then Mid-West area occupied by the Anioma.
This may not have been unconnected with
the fact that the NCNC being controlled by
the dominant Igbo of the Eastern Region
saw no reason to support or participate in
anything that may have ended with the
reduction of their sphere of influence.
The end of the civil war did not mean an
end to state agitation. As a matter of
historical fact, the Gowon administration
at that time, before the shooting started,
sought to out-maneuver and in fact
succeeded in out-maneuvering the Igbo
by creating new states, including states for
the riverine sub- nationalities and the Ibibio/
Efik groups.
Not surprisingly, the beneficiaries of the
new states saw no reason to support the idea
,
By Sunny Ikhioya
,
Nigeria's corruption challenges
— what to do
mean the presidency. In their
thoughts, actions and body
language, it must be clear to all
that they are ready to put this
corruption issue to rest.
Corruption cannot be eliminated
from this country without good
leadership examples. As corrupt
as the Indians are portrayed, they
are never compromised by issues
that affect the common progress
of the country. For example, you
cannot import just anything into
the country when it is placed on
the prohibition list. In Nigeria, the
reverse is the case; that is when
waivers are granted and
smuggling intensified; that is
why the policies on rice and
imported vehicles will not work.
Everyone of our policies are
deliberately contrived to make
some people rich at the expense
of the generality of the citizens.
Unless our leadership at all levels
accept to set positive examples,
we will not eliminate corruption.
We need a Nigeria of
integrated,
detribalised
amalgamation of tribes where the
interest of both the majority and
minorities are factored in and
institutionalised. We all need to
come out clean in this country;
there should be no need for
falsification of population and
election figures.
Let us have men that are ready
to use their education correctly
for the advancement of this
The biggest surprise of
all is that the Urhobo are
fully in support of the
creation of Anioma state...
because they reason that
when Anioma go, they will
be left with the remaining
ethnic sub-nationalities to
dominate easily
,
of Biafra. Indeed ,the master stroke of giving
them states satisfied their age-long
resentments of Igbo domination of the then
Eastern Region. So deep was this
resentments that up till date the Igbo
language, the lingua franca of the then
Eastern Region, is deliberately not spoken
by the leading riverine politicians and
people who were of age by1966 even when
it is common knowledge that they all
speak and understand Igbo.
T
he creation of 12 states by Gowon
and the apparent benefits for the
beneficiaries only fuelled the desire of other
state agitators but significantly such
states creation only succeeded during
military regimes. The Mid West Region
exception to this rule remained singular
and its success is pointedly located in the
politics of that era during which there was
a universal gang-up by the Federal
Government and its allies to undermine and
deal with the main opposition party who
dominated the then Western Region.
It is against this background that my
reader is invited to consider what I called
the astonishingly speedy decision of the
National Conference to create 18 new
states.Unless these states are going to be
created by an executive fiat which is only
possible in a military regime, it must mean
that the confab delegates expect their
proposal to go through all the rigors and
obstacles put in place in the Constitution
regarding state creation or even local
government creation.
That means that the reason that has made
state creation difficult in any dispensation
other than military government will apply
country. The Indians have just
launched a successful space
mission to planet Mars, with a
budget as low as $73-74million,
ten times cheaper than what the
US would have expended. This
is made possible by the focus of
the intellectual class. They have
concentrated on their researches
and achieved ground breaking
feats in various endeavours.
Because of their peculiar
circumstances- the average
Indian is relatively poor- they
have always churned out
products that the ordinary man
can afford through frugal
technologies. That is the story of
India; that despite the corruptive
tendencies of the politicians and
their like,the intellectuals/
researchers are pushing the
country ahead to the top of global
forums. Why can't our
intellectuals do same?
It is not all about money but
passion and interest. Our
intellectuals must set the
examples and the Ministry of
Science and Technology must be
involved in this drive. That
Ministry is too passive, as it is
now. The shackles of corruption
can be broken in this country, we
need leaders who are ready. Are
we ready to break this barrier?
Who will bell the cat?
*Mr. Ikhioya, a commentator on
national issues, wrote from
Lagos.
to this suggestion of the National
Conference since President Goodluck
Jonathan has no power to create any new
state by executive fiat.
The Mid-west Region experience is
necessarily instructive. I urge my readers
to read the seminal work of Dr Nowamagbe
A. Omoigui, Benin and The Mid-West
Referendum, easily found on the internet. The
work reveals that much more effort must be
put into the quest for a new state by its
protagonists than appears to have been done
by present day agitations for new states. The
success of the proposal to excise the Midwest Region from the old Western Region
was dependent firstly on the mutual desire
of all the sub-nationalities in the area
concerned to be part of the new Mid-west
region, thus escaping what they conveniently
saw as Yoruba domination.
With such an enabling atmosphere, it was
no surprise that the constitutional
requirement that a referendum of all the
people that constituted the proposed new
region was easily satisfied. My reader would
note that despite conflicting political
affiliations of the leading politicians in that
region, nobody dared to speak against what
amounted to the wishes of the people. One
can easily see the same scenario repeating
itself today with regards to any of the areas
from where 18 new states are now proposed
to be created easily.
In fact, any proposed state from one area
of Nigeria in which the opposition
dominates should forget the matter.
The biggest surprise of all is that our main
rivals in the present day Delta state, the
Urhobo, are fully in support of the creation
of Anioma state not because of any new
found love for Anioma but because they
reason that when Anioma go, they will be
left with the remaining ethnic sub
nationalities to dominate easily.
I can only say in that regard that just as it
is wise to dine with the devil with a long
spoon, so it is that in sharing a glass of wine
in celebration of this opportunity for
emancipation supported by our main
detractor, we will sip the wine of brotherhood
with caution.
*Chief Agbamuche is Owelle of AkwukwoIgbo, Oshimili North LGA, Delta State.
20 — Vanguard, TUESDAY
TUESDAY,, OCTOBER 14, 2014
V
*Carcass of the fuel tanker and the burnt remains of nearby shops. INSET: Oliver Dike, one of the victims Photo by Dare
Fasube
Torrent of tears as Ibadan tanker fire
victims count losses
BY OLA AJAYI, Ibadan
lost a Volkswagen Golf car to
the fire.
Another victim, Abduraheem
Aliu, said the fire had consumed all he had. Though his
stock is only worth N100,000,
he said that was all he had to
cater for his family. He was selling electrical materials.
He said those who died were
mostly commuters who were
there to board commercial to
their respective destinations, as
well as some private car owners.
,
ICTIMS of a fuel tanker ex
plosion at Molete in
Ibadan, Oyo State which
claimed about 15 lives and left
several others severely injured
last Saturday have been counting their losses since the unfortunate incident happened.
Among the victims was pregnant woman who died with her
children.
Vanguard Metro, VM, gathered that the accident happened when a fully loaded
tanker had brake failure which
made it lose control and emptied its highly inflammable contents on the road.
The victims were rushed to the
Accident and Emergency section of the University College
Hospital, Ibadan.
Apart from human casualty,
property worth millions of naira
were reduced to ashes. According to an eyewitness, 50 shops,
13 vehicles, three houses, seven commercial motorcycles,
three commercial tricycles and
several other items were lost to
the accident.
While
some
of
victims thanked providence for
making them escape the raging inferno, they were complaining bitterly about the debt
incurred due to loss of their
property.
One of the victims who identified himself as Chigozie Eze
said the accident had left him
completely “naked”. Chigozie,
who sells drugs said: “I had left
the shops and was on my way
home when I received a call
that my shop was on fire”. He
continued: “When I got there, I
was shocked to the bone marrow seeing the extent of the accident”.
Giving vivid account of how
the accident happened, the
highly depressed trader said:
“I learned that the truck driver
was trying to avoid a bad spot
on the road when negotiating
the roundabout but lost control of the vehicle in the process. The contents spilled on the
road and was followed by an
explosion. God saved my brother who escaped through the
back door but we lost everything. I had more than
N400,000 in the shop. One of
our customers was unlucky as
he lost his life in the raging
fire”.
Another victim, Subairu Ajayi,
a building tools seller, said he
lost all his stock in the fire.
While lamenting the ugly incident, he explained that five of
his colleagues sharing the same
shop with him lost their wares
worth N1.2 million. One of his
colleagues, Isiaka Bello, lamented that they were caught
in the incident because most
times they would be forced to
wait till late in the night since
they hardly have good sales
during the day. He said he also
message that a petrol tanker lost
control and fell at Molete
roundabout and spilled its fuel
which resulted into fire. When
I got to the market, the fire had
spread everywhere at the
roundabout. If not for the river
behind the market, the fuel
would have flooded the whole
area and caused more death.
“I noticed that 13 vehicles,
seven commercial motorcycles
and three commercial tricycles
were burnt, 10 people were
roasted and 45 shops were
burnt. We don’t know the actual number of those who died in
I noticed that 13 vehicles, seven
commercial motorcycles and three
commercial tricycles were burnt,
10 people were roasted and 45
shops burnt
Others, he said, are people
who were not part of the market during the day, but took
advantage of the night to do
their businesses.
The Iyaloja of Molete Market, Alhaja Iswat Oyinlola,
said the casualty figure would
have been more but for a nearby river. In her own account,
she said: “I was at home
around 10 pm when I got the
,
the inferno but from the list I
have with me, 10 people were
confirmed dead. Others were
taken to the hospital.”
Mrs. Oyinlola further said
that commercial bus drivers
have turned the roundabout to
their park. I learned that the
truck was unable to negotiate
the bend smoothly, and because
it had full load of fuel, it lost
control and fell”.
Also, another trader who managed to speak with newsmen
that stormed the place, Mr.
Ahmed Adeoye, said many of
the casualties were roadside
traders who allegedly defied
government order to stop selling wares by the roadsides.
“I thank God that nobody sustained injury in my shop. Many
road side traders were unlucky
as they lost their lives and
goods to the fire”.
He said he counted about 15
bodies very late in the night
when the fire was put off, adding that he lost property estimated at N2 million.
At the University College
Hospital, the Public Relations
Officer, Mr. Ayodeji Bobade,
said out of the 11 victims comprising a young girl, six
males and four females that
were rushed to the teaching
hospital late on Saturday, two
of them have died while the
hospital is still managing the
remaining nine.
At the time of filing this reports, he said he could not say
if they were responding to
treatment or not.
He also hinted that the Caretaker Chairman of the South
East, Mr. Abas Bolaji Najeemdeen had given the sum of
N300,000 to the victims one of
which “died later in the night
as all of them suffered severe
burns”.
Meantime, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC in the
state has called on the relevant
authorities to encourage concerned relevant governmental
agencies in creating or fortifying special units or departments that would be dedicated
to control of activities of owners and drivers of fuel tankers
and other heavy duty vehicles
with a view to reducing the cases of incessant loss of lives and
properties which they cause
the society.
“In view of the avoidable carnage on our roads often caused by these these tankers, trucks and other heavy
duty vehicles, we call on the
governments at all levels to
mandate agencies such as;
Federal Road Safety Corps,
FRSC, Vehicle Inspection Office, VIO, and the Nigeria Police Force to either create, or
fortify existing units and departments needed to checkmate
the activities of owners and
operators of these ‘mobile lethal vehicles’ on our roads in
order to reduce the incessant
cases of avoidable accidents
and attendant gnashing of
teeth which they cause the public,” the party said in a statement.
Vanguard, TUESDAY OCTOBER 14, 2014 — 21
From left : J.P Morgan Vice President Sub-Sahara Africa Research and Strategy Global Economic Research, Ms Giulia Pellegrini,
CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele and Deputy Governor, Monetary Policy, Mrs. Sarah Alade, during J.P Morgan Investors
submit held at Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC.
FG to promote creation of 1,500
SMEs via new technologies
By NKIRUKA NNOROM
T
he Director General of
Federal Institute of
Industrial Research Oshodi,
FIIRO, Dr. Gloria Elemo, has
said that an estimated 1,500
small and medium scale
enterprises are expected to be
set up across the country in the
next one year through the 250
Research and Development
(R&D) technologies/outputs
developed by the institute.
Speaking ahead of the
Investment and Technology
Week being put together by
the institute, she said that not
less than 50,000 direct job
opportunities will also be
created following the
adoption of the technologies
by the 774 local government
areas in the nation, even as
she said that 75,000
entrepreneurs have so far
benefited from FIIRO
technology transfer.
She noted that the 250 R&D
outputs to be showcased at the
four days event, which kicked
off today (Tuesday, October 14,
2014), would also spur more
Foreign Direct Investment,
FDI, interest into the country.
Elemo added that the
investment week is part of the
institute’s effort to deliver
more effectively on its
mandate
for
rapid
industrialization of the
national economy, as well as
create
employment
opportunities to reverse the
worsening unemployment in
the country.
“The overall aim of the
Shareholders okay Access Bank’s N68bn rights issue
BY PETER EGWUATU
S
hareholders of Access
Bank Plc, yesterday
endorsed the proposal by its
Board of Directors to raise N68
billion additional capital by
way of rights issue.
The shareholders at the Extraordinary General Meeting
(EGM) held in Lagos hailed
the move by the bank to
enhance its capital to meet
current challenges.
Speaking at the EGM, the
Chairman, Advancement for
the Rights of Nigerian
Shareholders, Dr. Farouk
Umar said “The initiative to
raise additional equity capital
is laudable given the
increasing demand for loan.
The CBN has initiated a lot of
policies that will need banks
to raise capital in order to
remain in business. The CBN
is gradually removing COT, so
it will be turf time for banks to
make huge profit and that is
why raising capital is
necessary so that our bank can
be able to loan money to the
productive sector. The price for
the rights issue must be
considered in order to attract
shareholders to pick their
rights.”
The President, Nigerian
Shareholders Solidarity
Association, NSSA, Chief
Timothy Adesiyan said “It is
good to raise capital but the
bank should make the price for
the offer attractive. Also, we
would like the bank to assure
the shareholders that in the
future we would get better
dividend for taking our rights.
The issue of underwriting is
even immaterial since it is a
rights issue.”
Other shareholders group
leaders, such as Sir Sunny
Nwosu, National Coordinator,
Independent Shareholders
Association of Nigeria, ISAN,
Mr.
Boniface
Okezie,
Chairman,
Progressive
Shareholders Association of
Nigeria, PSAN, Mrs. Bisi
Bakare, Chairman, Proactive
Shareholders Association of
Nigeria,
and
others
commended the plans to raise
additional capital.
According to them “ The rights
issue should commence as
quickly as possible taking
consideration of the pricing
and ensuring that all
shareholders get the rights
circular. We don’t want any
body to be shortchanged.
Once the price is right,
shareholders will pick up
their rights, but for some
that may not have the
financial capability to
pick their rights they
can trade the rights issue
on the floor of the
Nigerian
Stock
Exchange, NSE.
Consequently, all the
shareholders approved
all the eight special
resolutions put before
them at the meeting.
Some of the resolutions
include: increase in
authorize share capital
from N13 billion made
up of 24 billion ordinary
shares of 50 kobo and
two billion preference
shares of 50 kobo each
top N20 billion by the
creation of 14 billion
ordinary shares of 50
kobbo each.
programme is to
showcase the institutes
over 250 R&D outputs
suitable for investment by
micro, small, medium
and
large
scale
entrepreneurs
to
enhance job creation and
improve on the national
Gross
Domestic
Products.
“We are hoping that at
least 35 technologies
would be well structured
and adopted in all the
local governments,
which is 774. So, the
projection is that if every
local government tries to
adopt at least two
technologies, we will
have a total of about
2,000 jobs each.
“When you look at
others that are coming in
to buy into the
technologies, various
c o m m e r c i a l
organisations, students
coming in, National
Association of Nigeria
Students, NANS, organizations
like SURE-P and other
organized sectors, we are
expecting that minimum
expected jobs that can come out
of this catalyst should be at least
250,000. This will definitely
reduce unemployment level in
the country,” she said.
“We just concluded training
of a number of youths on our
National Techno-entrepreneurs
Initiative, but our target is 2,000
youths on annual basis as part
of our contribution to national
development and corporate
social
responsibility
programme, to transfer
technology to them and also
lead them to proper
infrastructure that will definitely
establish them on the field.
USC 190.80
USC 4.75
USD3,318.00
USD 7.00
USC 15.73
USC 0.32
USD 97.20 USD 0.20
USD 94.55
DOLLAR
STERLING
EURO
FRANC
YEN
CFA
WAUA
RENMINBI
RIYAL
KRONA
SDR
USD 1.01
154.75
155.25
249.7046 250.5114
195.4957 196.1273
161.737
162.2596
1.4217
1.4263
0.2783
0.2883
228.7066
229.4455
25.2068
25.2887
41.248
41.3812
26.2595
26.3444
229.8502
230.5928
155.75
251.3182
196.759
162.7822
1.4309
0.2983
230.1845
25.3706
41.5145
26.4292
231.3355
CBN Exchange Rate as 13 /10 /2014
22— Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
A rational thinking individual
would naturally be suspicious
when somebody is offering
what is way above the industry
average. It is not so with
somebody controlled by greed
INVESTORS
,
,
Shareholders confront Conoil
over shortcomings in
corporate governance
By NKIRUKA NNOROM
S
hareholders of Conoil Plc
have raised concern over the
shortcomings in the company ’s
corporate governance practices,
especially the continuous absence of
the chairman, Mr. Mike Adenuga,
from the Annual General Meetings,
AGMs.
Specifically, they said that Adenuga
has in the last 10 years absented
himself from the AGMs, noting that
his absence is detrimental to the
interest and progress of the company,
being the majority shareholder.
This is contained in a letter
addressed to the chairman of Conoil
Plc by members of Renaissance
Shareholders Association, RSA,
signed by their president, Amb.
Olufemi Timothy.
They also criticized the company
for frequent change in managing
directors, MDs, saying that the
company has produced more MDs
than any of its peers in the petroleum
marketing sector as it has in the last
d e c a d e
engaged not
less than 10
managing
directors,
having
an
average of one
MD
per
annum.
Querying why the company could
not sign on one MD for at least a
period of five years, they said that a
stable management is necessary for
consistent policy implementation
and a steady growth.
“If we may be correct, you have not
been to the company’s AGM for over
a decade now, (10 years). This to us,
who are concerned about your stake
and that of other 26 percent holders
of the equity of the company, is a
disservice to the company and its
business.
“A leader must always be seen
leading its team at all times. No
report of events at the AGM to you
could be as accurate as when you are
present to see the feelings; hear the
comments, compliments and the
body language of people by yourself.
We wish that you will have a change
of mind, attitude on this. Come to the
next AGM wherever you know will
be secure enough for you and your
team, if security is your concern,”
they said.
The shareholders frowned at lack
of confidence shown in the affairs of
the company by the directors as
manifested through their lack of
having shareholding in the
company. According to them, only
three out of the 10 directors hold
interest in the company.
They also called on the company
to appoint more non-executive
directors, especially independent
and minority shareholders into the
Board, saying that having a Board
of Directors consisting of five
executive and five non-executive
directors
is
against
the
recommendations of the Code of
Corporate Governance that states
that non-executives directors must
be more than the executives who
form the management team upon
which the Board has an oversight
function.
“Please, we recommend that you
appoint more non-executive
directors, especially, independent
directors
and
minority
shareholders’ representative.
Since a few years ago that the two
directors representing minority
shareholders (holding 26 percent)
left the Board, you have not
replaced them accordingly,” they
noted.
On the account for the year ended
December 31, 2013, they said that
it would have been impossible for
the company to achieve such a
robust result without the extraordinary income earned from the
debts owed the company by the
federal government on delayed
payment of subsidy on imported
fuel.
Consequently,
they argued
that the N2.77
b i l l i o n
dividends
declared for the
year would not
have
been
possible without the extra-ordinary
income and would not be sustained
in the subsequent years if the
management could not produce
profit before tax and gross
operating profit of N4.5 billion and
N20billion in 2014 respectively.
They said, “The accounts for 2013
year-end appear to the best in the
last five years. But can it be
sustained? If the results in the
statement of profit or loss on page
24 is anything to rely on, the
statement of profit or loss states that
our gross profit was N17 billion
while other operating income of
N2.5 billion was recorded, as a
result of interest paid to our
company from the debts owe the
company
by
the
federal
government on delayed payment of
subsidy on imported fuel.
“What happens in a year without
this kind of extra-ordinary income,
payment? We should work harder
and improve on our revenue and not
rely on other, extra-ordinary income
(occasional).
“Our actual PBT was N2.57 billion,
while PAT would have been - N1.07
billion for the year 2013 end. We
could not have been able to declare
N2.77 billion cash dividend in the
year, if not for the extra income.
“We believe that; to sustain this
dividend payment in the 2014 yearend results, the management must
produce PBT of N4.5 billion and
above without extra-ordinary
income, while the gross operating
profit must move up to about N20
billion.”
Why wonder banks,
fake capital market
operators persist (3)
By BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE
T
he greed factor is the reason why
some people fall prey to the antics
of wonder banks and illegal capital
market operators. It is also the same reason
why it would be almost impossible to
eradicate them.
In the case of wonder banks, the bait
is usually unreasonably high interest rate.
MARKET NEWS
Nestlé advocates long-term
value creation
By GABRIEL OLAWALE
N
estlé Chief Executive Officer, Paul
Bulcke, has charged all business
operators to focus more on long-term value
creation for shareholders and the society
which has lasting impact for growth of the
communities.
Speaking during the live webcast of the sixth
edition of Nestlé Creating Share Value, CSV
Forum held in Switzerland and monitored from
Nigeria, Bulcke called on business operators
to desist from short-term thinking and focus
instead on long-term value creation for
shareholders and the society at the same time.
“The global debt crisis was, in many ways, a
values crisis.” He, therefore, called for
combination of holistic thinking, long-term
goals and a return to strong and clear values,
based on respect as the only way forward.
This year’s CSV Forum, held in the presence
of the President of the Swiss Confederation
Didier Burkhalter and co-organised by the
United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development, UNCTAD, focused on how to
create a new role for industry, at the heart of
the societies in which it operates.”Too many
people and businesses had been seduced
by or pressured into delivering on shortterm egoistic targets and there was a general
shift in thinking towards ‘me-now’ instead
of ‘us-tomorrow’,” Bulcke said.
“Leaders need to demonstrate their
respect by going back to the basic role of
business – value creation for society as a
whole with a long-term perspective.”
Accelerating development of over 20
leading international experts from
government, academia, civil society and
business joined hundreds of others at the
Forum to discuss how to accelerate
sustainable development, focusing on the
key areas of nutrition, water and rural
development.
Nestlé believes that for a company to be
successful over the long term and create
value for shareholders, it must create value
for society. Nestlé announced that Honey
Care Africa, an East African fair trade honey
firm working with 35,000 farmers in South
Sudan, had won the company’s Creating
Shared Value Prize. The prize, an investment
ofCHF500, 000 shared between the winner
and runners-up, rewards innovative
businesses that create value for their
While in the case of Illegal capital
market operators, it is mouth watering
return. For example, interest rate on
bank deposits presently hovers between
10 and 15 percent. A wonder bank
would offer something like 25 to 30
percent and offer to pay the interest
upfront. This has always been the bait
or strategy.
The illegal
capital market
operator would
also promise
returns of 50
percent in one
year on funds
placed in its
c a r e .
Meanwhile
a v e r a g e
market return
h o v e r s
between 20 to
25 percent.
A rational
thinking
individual
would naturally
be suspicious
w h e n
somebody is
offering what is
way above the industry average. It is
not so with somebody controlled by
greed. A greedy person wants
everything for himself; he wants more
than he needs. He is controlled and
blinded by the desire for more. As a
result, he is blinded to the risk, or
the possibility of losing his/her
money. When confronted with the
mouth watering interest rate or
returns offered by the operators
of wonder banks or illegal capital
market operators, his focus is the
huge returns he will make. He does
not care if what is being offered is
way above industry average, or the
genuineness of the investment. He
is just concerned about making
more money. Even if somebody
tries to call his attention to the risk
involved, he would dismiss such
concern as fear.
The wonder bank surely does pay
the interest rate, and at the maturity
of the investment, this encourages
the greedy individual to roll over the
investment and even increase the
amount. In addition, he invites
others to come and invest, touting
the returns he has made from his
investment. This way, many people
are sucked in, and by the time the
game is over, they have lost millions.
Beware of Greed! The desire to
have more is common to all, but it
is very dangerously strong in some
people, such that they are blinded
to risk and dangers. If you are
always looking for above average
returns and interest rate, you stand
the risk of being victim of wonder
bank or illegal market operator. It
is a matter of time, so you better
watch out.
communities by addressing issues of
nutrition, water or rural development.
Madison Ayer, of Honey Care Africa, to help
farmers become commercial beekeepers, said
he was delighted with the win.
”The Creating Shared Value Prize is
such a wonderful recognition of the
hard work and passion of our team,
farmers, and customers in Africa,” he
said.
Stanbic IBTC holds business leadership forum
S
TANBIC IBTC Holdings Plc has
announced the start of its Business
Leadership Series; an annual event to
help create deeper connections and build
a new cadre of leadership among
business leaders in Nigeria. The series
will focus on improving leadership with
the underlying goal of advancing
Nigeria’s economic growth and
development.
Participants are drawn from various
sectors including regulators, investors
and the business community. The first
edition of the series will hold on October
16, 2014 in Lagos.
In this year’s edition, international
speaker, Vusi Thembekwayo, will lead the
session along with Sim Shagaya, founder
of online retail chain, Konga. Jointly, they
will share insights from the businesses
they run and how they have kept these
businesses on the cutting edge.
South African-born
Thembekwayo has won
international acclaim as a business
speaker who empowers his
audience with new knowledge and
tools that they can immediately
apply in their businesses or careers
to achieve positive outcomes.
Speaking on the forthcoming
event, Chief Executive, Stanbic
IBTC Holdings Plc, Mrs. Sola
David-Borha, stated that the
Stanbic IBTC Business Leadership
Series is part of customer
engagement tool.”We will be
looking at business leadership from
various angles”. Key focus will be
given to leadership in the digital age
and how e-Commerce is changing
the face of business globally,” she
stated.
,
FORUM
Ordinarily, rights issues are supposed
to be issued at a discount. This means
that the price at which the offering is
made to the existing shareholders
should be less than its current market
price at the secondary market
,
From left: Deputy General Manager, Research & Business Development, Mr.
Kunle Ajayi; MD/CEO, Mr. Gbolahan Olutayo and Deputy General Manager,
Life & Pension, Mr. Kamoru Sule, all of Goldlink Insurance Plc, at a press
conference to announce steps being taken by the company to avoid delisting
from the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE.
Investors’ right under
CAMA on new issues
BY PETER EGWUATU
Companies
and
Allied
T he
Matters Act (CAMA) has provided
opportunity for both existing and
prospective shareholders of a company
to partake in new issues.
By new issues, it means fresh offering/
shares by a company inviting the general
public to subscribe to its new shares,
which will enable it to raise additional
capital that would boost its operation.
Also, CAMA allows public companies
to issue bonus shares to their
shareholders. Therefore, it is the right of
a shareholder to benefit from such bonus
whenever it is declared.
Like I said last week, many operators
have said that the return of retail investors
would encourage companies to issue Initial
Public Offerings, IPOs, in the very near
future.
Many retail investors took part in IPOs
during the last market boom .Although
some of them got their fingers burnt,
many others really reaped significant
capital gains. Such investors are eagerly
waiting for another round of IPOs in the
market. Primary market activities of any
capital market remain one of the cardinal
fundamentals for gauging investors’
confidence, liquidity and health of the
market.
Meanwhile, bonus shares are free shares
given to existing shareholders as
compensation for their loyalty and support
throughout the running of the business.
The bonus shares are paid from the
undistributed profit or retained earnings
kept by a company over some years of
operation.
Any shareholder who is denied of bonus
shares whenever declared by a company
has the right to seek redress in the court
of law.
Another class of share is rights issue.
Existing shareholders have the right to
partake in rights issue. By rights issue, it
means additional new shares created by
a company for its existing
shareholders. Rights issue is not meant
for the general investing public. So, an
existing shareholder can either exercise
his/her rights or trade it at the secondary
market when he or she does not feel like
partaking in the offering.
For example, if a shareholder currently
owns five per cent of the total shares
outstanding and the company decides to
double the amount of shares issued
through rights issue, a shareholder has
the option to exercise his rights and
purchase enough shares to maintain his
five per cent interest.
If an existing shareholder fails to partake
in the rights issue, the company has right
to distribute it to other shareholders who
might have shown interest. So, it pays
the shareholder to take up his/her right
even when he or she does not have money
to pick it. What the shareholder needs to
do is to seek assistance of any registered
and licensed stockbroker to help him or
her trade the rights at the secondary
market on the Nigerian Stock Exchange
(NSE).
Ordinarily, rights issues are supposed
to be issued at a discount. This means
that the price at which the offering is made
to the existing shareholders should be less
than its current market price at the
secondary market.
But in recent times, some companies
do not give any discount for rights issue.
They have argued that since existing
shareholders benefit in bonus shares, they
should equally patronize and support their
companies to raise additional funds and by
so doing, their shareholdings would not be
diluted.
24 —
Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
PPMC exports N117bn fuel oil in one year
By Michael Eboh
T
HE Pipelines and Product
Marketing Company, PPMC, a
subsidiary of the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,
exported 1.33 billion litres of
petroleum products, valued at
N116.672 billion in 2013.
The products exported by the PPMC
in 2013, according to data obtained
from the NNPC Annual Statistical
Bulletin 2013, are Low Pour Fuel Oil
(LPFO), and Naphtha.
Specifically, the PPMC exported
791.932 million litres of LPFO valued
at N65.462 billion, while it exported
541.52 million litres of Naphtha
valued at N51.21 billion.
A breakdown of the figures revealed
that the PPMC exported about 207.672
million litres fuel oils in January 2013,
valued at N19.46 billion; 183.23
million litres in February, at N17.613
billion; and 237.186 million litres in
March, worth N20.65 billion.
Similarly, about 113.35 million litres
were exported in April, at N9.352;
126.35 million litres in May at N10.56
billion, while 159.536 million litres
were exported in June at N12.984
billion.
Others are: July - 50.996 million
litres at N4.342 billion; August 83.545 million litres, N7.284 billion;
September - 89.676 million litres,
N7.924 billion; October - 55.051
million litres, N4.337 billion;
November - 13.184 million litres,
N1.052 billion, and 13.686 million
litres in December at N1.115 billion.
Furthermore, the NNPC report
From left: Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, (DPR) Mr. George Osahon, receiving a Communiqué on
Fluid Metering & Accounting in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry on behalf Nigeria’s Minister of the Petroleum
Resources from President, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, (NAPE) Mrs. Adedoja Ojelabi, with
President –Elect (NAPE), Mr. Chikwendu Edoziem at the Department of Petroleum Resources Office in Lagos.
Forcados Terminal records 14-year export
safety milestone
T
HE Forcados Terminal operated
by the Shell Petroleum
Development Company, SPDC operated Joint Venture in the
western Niger Delta recently
recorded a 14-year safety operation
in oil exports.
The incident-free milestone was
recorded between September 2000
and September 2014, during which
about 1.25 billion barrels of oil
passed through the facility.
The safety milestone translates into
a daily average of 300 staff handling
nearly two export tankers every
week.
“This is a significant achievement
in a work environment that involves
multi-disciplinary staff teams and
contractors,” said SPDC Managing
Director and Country Chair, Shell
companies in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu
Sunmonu.
“Over the years, SPDC has
improved work processes and trained
staff leading to the introduction of the
Goal Zero initiative on safety. We’re
happy that the improvements
continue to manifest not only at
Forcados Terminal but also in other
installations,” Sunmonu added.
Over the past 365 days, a number
of high risk maintenance and
engineering activities had also taken
place at the Forcados Terminal. This
included the rehabilitation of crude
oil storage tanks, subsea repairs to
the tanker loading system, and
upgrade to the jetty amongst others.
The asset did not record any
disruptions relating to these
multiple concurrent activities, which
is also evidence of the sustained
and proactive engagement of the
host communities.
The Forcados Ter minal was
inaugurated in 1971, and was
upgraded between 1994 and 1998.
The terminal receives, treats, stores
and exports crude oil produced by
SPDC and other operators in the
western Niger Delta, and has an
installed storage capacity of 6.3
million barrels.
indicated the quantity of fuel oils the
PPMC exported in 10 years, from 2012
down to 2003. These included 821.97
million litres, in 2012; 1.369 billion
litres in 2011; 699.86 million litres in
2010, and 821.97 million in 2009.
Others are 957.94 million litres in
2008; 1.43 billion litres, 2007; 2.076
billion litres, 2006; 2.623 billion litres,
2005; and 1.11 billion litres in 2004.
Poor refining capacity
However, the report revealed the
poor refining capacity of the local
refineries, as the PPMC last exported
Premium Motor Spirit, PMS or petrol
in 2005 with 77,000 litres.
The low petrol export is indicative
of the very poor state of the nation’s
four refineries, which have since been
producing more fuel oils than white
petroleum products. Nigeria had to
rely more on imported white products
including kerosene and diesel to meet
its domestic needs.
Accordingly, Nigeria last exported
Household Kerosene, HHK, in 2008,
with 12.135 million litres. Just as in a
10 year period, it exported only 30.281
million litres of Automotive Gas Oil,
AGO/diesel in 2005.
Increase in imports
Poor refining capacity meant that
Nigeria had to import more refined
products, as the NNPC report
revealed that the country imported
6.649 million metric tonnes, MMT,
products in 2013. These included
petrol, diesel and kerosene.
Specifically, the PPMC imported
4.387 MMT petrol; 2.175 MMT
kerosene; and 86,350.14 MT diesel.
Explaining further, the NNPC report
said: “PPMC evacuated 4.708 million
metric tonnes of petroleum products
from the refineries. And it also
imported 6.649 million metric tonnes
of PMS, HHK and AGO for distribution
at no cost since the discharges were
from Offshore Processing Agreement
(OPA) and Crude oil for product swap
arrangements.
“PPMC sold a total of 12.63 billion
litres of various grades of petroleum
products through depots and coastal
lifting. During the year, 1.33 billion
litres of LPFO and Naphtha worth
about N116.67 billion was exported.
“A total of 21.816 billion liters of
petroleum products was distributed
nationally giving an average daily
consumption of 43.55 million litres of
PMS, 7.76 million litres of AGO, 7.30
million litres of HHK and 1.17 million
litres of Aviation Turbine Kerosene,
ATK.
“Out of the total volume distributed,
NNPC Retail outlets handled 1.645
billion litres which is about 7.54 per
cent of total volume.
“The distribution by zone shows the
South-West with the lion share of 38.83
per cent followed by the South-South
with 15.43 per cent, North West with
15.04 per cent, North Central with 9.09
per cent, North East with 8.83 per cent,
South East with 6.40 per cent and FCT
with 6.39 per cent.”
Aiteo acquires Shell’s OML 29,
Nembe pipelines …Deal sealed with $2.7bn
By Clara Nwachukwu
By Jonah Nwokpoku
T
HE Aiteo Group has
finally confirmed the
acquisition of 85 per cent
equity in Oil Mining Lease,
OML 29, being divested by the
Shell Petroleum Development
Company, SPDC.
The purchase of the asset,
reputed as one of Shell’s most
prolific oil block has been
enmeshed in controversy.
Clarifying the purchase of
the block in a statement signed
by Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi,
Aiteo said its consortium
sealed the deal with
$2.7billion, which also
included the Nembe Creek
pipelines.
Oluwatuyi,
therefore,
discredited earlier reports
claiming OML 29 had been
acquired by the ‘Taleveras-led
consortium’, also interested in
the asset.
The statement read in part:
“It is a total misinformation in
the local and international
media that it is the ‘Taleverasled consortium’ that acquired
the assets divested by Shell.
Therefore, it had become
necessary to correct the
misleading media reports
about the acquisition of OML
29, the most prolific of the oil
blocks sold off by Shell.”
T
COCKTAIL: From left: Dr. Tunji Olaopa, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of
Communication Technology; Ms. Schola Nwabueze, Lead Analyst, PEPCO power and
transmission company, Washington DC; John Nwabueze, Director-General, Philip Asiodu
Economic Initiative; Ambassador Joe Keshi, former Chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA)
Plc; Engr (Mrs) EbeleOkeke, former Head of Service; Lady Nwadibia Anyanwu, Retired
Federal Permanent Secretary; Chief Philip Asiodu; Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, Chairman House
Committee on Health; at a cocktail party celebrating the conferement of the National Honour,
Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on Asiodu, in Abuja.
The statement also clarified
the shareholding structure of
the consortium, which had 2.7
billion unit shares with Aiteo
Energy Resources Limited
holding a total volume of 2.294
billion units. Tempo holds 270
million units representing 10
percent equity, and the balance
of 135 million by Taleveras.
The Africa Oil & Gas Report
had estimated OML 29’s
proven and probable reserves
(P1+P2) at about 2.2 billion
barrels of oil equivalent, BOE.
Its hydrocarbon fields could
deliver as much as 160,000
barrels of oil per day, and 300
million standard cubic feet of
gas per day (mmsc/d) at peak
output.
Shell, the operator of the oil
block in joint venture sold its 30
percent stake in the block and
pipeline. France’s, Total
divested its 10 percent, while
Italy’s Eni SPA sold its five
percent to the indigenous
consortium. The Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC, retained its majority 55
percent under the Joint
Operating Agreement, JOA.
DPR to resolve sediments, water allocation
issues … As NAPE presents communiqué
T
HE Department of
Petroleum Resources,
DPR, has promised to adopt
measures to address the
lingering issues of back
allocation of basic sediments
and water, BSW, during crude
oil production reconciliation.
Such measures will also
address the imposition of
disproportionate volume of
lost crude by some facility
owners on indigenous
operators.
The Director, DPR, Mr.
George Osahon, made the
pledge recently while
receiving a communiqué from
a workshop on “Fluid
Metering and Accounting in
the Oil & Gas Industry” on
behalf of the Minister of
Petroleum Resources, Mrs.
Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The
workshop
was
organised recently by the
Nigerian Association of
Petroleum Explorationists,
NAPE.
Osahon said: “You will recall
that there have been a lot of
issues regarding NEITI and
metering and about what we
need to do, some of these
issues emanate from here and
we are paying a lot of
attention to them.”
Nigeria needs
6.5m pre-paid
meters in five
years — Onyema
He added that “the
document (communiqué) will
come back for us to study and
advice again on what we
should do, how we should do
it, and when we should do it.
We will turn that into a plan
of action of what we will do
so that at least those
companies that are suffering
now especially those that are
co- utilising facilities will have
a new lease of life.’’
Also speaking, the NAPE
President, Mrs. Adedoja
Ojelabi, explained that the
workshop
was
a
demonstration of NAPE’s
commitment to resolving
issues that impact negatively
on the oil and gas industry.
She said: “the production of
the document has come out
from a lot of work, meetings
and the consensus reached
by stakeholders. We hope
that the document will be
useful to the DPR, the
government, the oil and gas
industry and particularly
Independents.
“We also see that industry is
likely to witness more and
more of such issues but we
hope we can nip them in the
bud before they become major
irritations in the industry.”
She added that one of the
ways NAPE does this is by
providing platforms like the
Special
Management
Workshop.
Also present at the occasion
was NAPE’s President-Elect,
Mr. Chikwendu Edoziem,
who expressed optimismc that
when
adopted,
the
communiqué will bring lasting
solutions to the issues of fluid
metering and accounting in
the oil and gas industry.
Angola to overtake Nigeria as
highest crude producer by 2016
By Michael Eboh, with
Agency Report
A
NGOLA will overtake
Nigeria as the largest
crude oil producing country in
Africa
by
2016,
the
International Energy Agency,
IEA, declared yesterday.
According to a report by the
IEA, factors that will work
against Nigeria include the
non-passage of the Petroleum
Industry Bill, PIB, and crude
oil theft.
The IEA said, “The shift will
in part be due to an expected
increase in production in
Angola, but much of it is the
result of domestic issues in
Nigeria.”
According to the IEA,
Nigeria currently loses 150,000
barrels a day to oil theft, the
equivalent of $5 billion a year.
“On top of that regulatory
uncertainty, the result of a
seemingly-permanently stalled
Petroleum Industry Bill, has led
to delays in investment
decisions,” it said.
Commenting
on
the
development, IEA’s Chief
Economist, Fatih Birol said:
“What will put Nigeria second
are uncertainty over the
Nigerian
investment
framework, oil theft and
governance issues.”
The Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,
in its Annual Statistics Bulletin
for 2013, put Nigeria’s total
crude oil and condensate
production for the year at
800.488 million barrels giving
a daily average of 2.19 million
barrels per day, dropping by six
per cent from the previous
year’s production.
ECHNO Gas and Power,
a subsidiary of Techno
Oil Limited has hinted that
Nigeria’s power sector needs
at least 6.5 million prepaid
meters to meet the energy
needs of electricity consumers
and help investors in the sector
recoup their investment.
For this reason, the company
said it has sealed a deal with
a Bulgarian Metering Solution
company, Incotex to produced
350,
000
pre-paid
meters yearly in Nigeria.
Managing Director of Techno Gas and Power, Mr. Collins
Onyema who disclosed the
partnership to newsmen in
Lagos said the country currently has over six million deficit
of pre-paid meters in circulation that needs to be addressed.
The partnership became necessary to urgently address the
vacuum created by the inability of the erstwhile Power Holding Company of Nigeria,
PHCN to provide meters
where they are needed.
“We are all aware of the
discomfort suffered by millions
of electricity consumers
nationwide, who are unable to
get electricity meters due to no
faults of theirs,” he said.
He explained that the
current Nigeria meter market
is worth over N150 billion.
Mr. Oyeama also hinted that
the planned Techno Gas and
Power meters will bring
succour to investors in the
sector because they are “tamper
proof”
“The practice of many
consumers to bypass meters
and connect directly would be
a thing of the past. The meters
would read even when it has
been bypassed by customer
and at very low voltage,” Mr.
Oyeama said.
He equally noted that Techno
Gas and Power decided to
tackle the problem of meter
short fall in the sector by
entering into the partnership
with the European firm to make
meters available to Nigerians
Oyeama lamented the
difficulties many electricity
consumers often go through to
get meters starting that “I can
now assure Nigerians that the
era of ‘no meter’ or estimated
billing will soon be over with
the decision of Techno Gas and
Power to embark on mass
production of meters in
partnership with Incotex.”
He further hinted that his
firm and Incotex has held
exploration talks with
electricity
Distribution
Companies, DISCOs in
Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja and Eko
DISCOs to ensure smooth
business relationship.
UNIDO, FG collaborate on power
for industrial clusters
By Chris Ochayi
T
HE United Nation’s
Industrial Development
Organisation, UNIDO, has
promised to work with the
Federal Government to make
power available to industrial
clusters to ensure maximum
production in the country.
UNIDO
Country
Representative, Mr. Patrick
Kormawa, who disclosed this
in an interview in Abuja,
noted that the major goal of
government to create jobs for
the teeming youth will be
realised if industrial clusters
had power.
He also revealed that
UNIDO in collaboration with
other development partners
have funded a $5 million, five
tonnes per hour rice
production in Ebonyi State.
Kormawa said UNIDO has
big donors agencies like the
European Union, EU; the
World Bank; French Agency
for Development; African
Development Bank; and the
German International Agency,
to turn around the state of
power supply in Nigeria.
According to him, “UNIDO
is a technical agency that
stands to promote inclusive
and sustainable industrial
development, and why are we
interested in power? We are
interested in power because
without
power
industrialisation remains a
mirage. Without power, we
cannot lift the majority of
Nigerians out of poverty
which means industrialisation
will not happen.
“If you look around the
world, prosperity and access
to power are highly
correlated, so that is one
point. Now UNIDO, its
interest here is to work with
the Federal Government to
ensure that power is available
to industry clusters and when
industry clusters have power,
of course the major goal of
government which is job
creation for the teeming youth
would be achieved.
“Now UNIDO is the co-chair
of the donor coordination
group on power, and the donor
coordination group on power
comprises of big donors in this
Nigeria. You have the
European Union who has a
huge programme on power,
which is also supporting the
power sector. We have the
World
Bank
who
is
contributing towards the
power sector development in
this country.
“We also have the French
Agency for development, they
are also investing huge
amount of money in the power
sector. We have the African
Development Bank. We have
the German International
Agency.
“All of these are working
together as a group to ensure
that there is what we refer to
as development assistance to
the Nigerian Government in
terms of the power sector
yielding the necessarily
impact. That there is
coordination among the team
to make ensure that they can
provide the needed support
that is required by the
government.
“Take for instance, throughout the privatisation process,
some of these agencies supported the federal government
in terms of analysis, in terms
of capacity building and in
terms of linking them up with
financial institutions. These
are some of the supports the
group is making for the country.
“In particular for UNIDO, the
organisation that I lead, our
interest is to support the
development of renewable
energy sources in Nigeria.
Why is that important to us? It
is important because Nigeria
has the three major sources of
energy from which we can
have renewable energy. They
have abundant number of
rivers which have the
From left: Chairman/Managing Director, KAM Industries, Alhaji Kamaldeen Yusuf; Minister
Of Industry Trade And Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga; Managing Director\Chief Executive
Officer, Bank Of Industry (BOI), Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa; Executive Director, Small And Medium
Enterprises, BOI, Mr Waheed Olagunju And General Manager, Large Enterprises, BOI.
Lagos educates residents on energy conservation
By Bose Adelaja
A
S part of activities
marking the 2014
Energy Conservation Month,
the Lagos State Government
has embarked on a community
sensitisation road show to
educate people on how to
conserve energy.
The programme is being
executed
through
its
implementing agency, the
Lagos State Electricity Board,
LSEB.
Speaking at a road show in
Ajah,
Lagos,
LSEB
representative, Mr. Adedeji
Akolade, said: “the Energy
Conservation Month initiative
was launched last year as a
Behavioural
Change
Campaign to instill the habit
of efficient use of electric
power in the residents. The
campaign dubbed, ‘Conserve
Energy, Save Money ’,
CESM, runs throughout the
31 days in the month during
which the key messages of the
benefits of efficient use of
available power are espoused
to the residents.
“Like we are doing here
today, our personnel would
move round Lagos to educate
residents that conserving
energy is saving money. And
we are going to demonstrate
this to them practically using
the Lagos Energy calculator to
show how much they can save
by conserving energy,” he
said.
Akolade added that the road
show would move across five
select regions in the state
namely, Ikorodu, Badagry,
Epe, Eti-Osa, and Oshodi to
enable more residents to be
well informed about the
benefits
of
energy
conservation.
A participant at the road
show and a prize winner, Mr
Ganiu Mabifa, said the energy
conservation campaign is a
welcome development at this
point in time when the country
needed more electricity power
to develop the small and
medium scale enterprises,
SMEs. “If other states can
invest in a campaign like this
it will really help the nation
as the value chain benefits are
enormous”, he said.
Another participant, Mr.
Gbenga Akeju, expressed
delight in the campaign, “I
never thought it is important
to conserve energy until now
that the Lagos State team has
educated
me
on
its
importance. I’ll definitely take
this message home to my wife
and kids and ensure that we
switch off all our appliances
that are not in use,” he said.
Encouraging Lagosians to
take energy conservation
seriously, Akolade noted that
in addition to helping them
save money, conservation also
preserves energy for future
use as well as protects the
environment.
He enjoined all energetic
Lagosians to be part of the
energy conservation culture
by being involved through the
online media via the Hash Tag
‘Are You In Or Out’. He also
appealed to the residents to
watch out for the robust
conversations on Twitter,
follow the movement and
become an ‘INsider’.
Recall that the Lagos State
Government had successfully
launched three Independent
Power Plants, IPPs, in the past
four years. All the power
plants run on natural gas
thereby reducing carbon
emissions and promoting a
safer
and
cleaner
environment.
potential to provide energy.
“We have been able to map
all those potential areas together with the Federal Ministry of Power, and we have
just provided a map. Hopefully, we would be calling an investors’ forum to showcase
what the potentials are, what
the investments required are,
and what are some of the incentives that government is
giving so that the private sector can engage in them.
“Second, is the area of solar.
You know this country is
blessed. In the northern part
of this country, you have
longer sunlight even down to
below the Niger. All of these
areas from Sokoto down to the
South of the Niger have
abundant sunlight. So how can
we promote investment in
solar energy so that
household
in
rural
communities can also enjoy
the benefit of electricity?
“The third area is what we
call biomass, waste either from
municipalities can also be
used to generate energy. For
that particular programme,
UNIDO has done a prototype
in Abakiliki, Ebonyi State, and
now we are working with the
Governor of the state, Chief
Martins Elechi, to have a five
megawatts project. And he has
already awarded the contract
and by the next 18 months that
power plant would come on
board.
“Why is that important? In
his development programme,
he has put in place what he
calls a rice processing cluster
knowing that Abakiliki is
known for rice. He has
galvanised all the rice millers
in the three separate locations, and he wants to ensure
that they have uninterrupted supply of power.
“The most important and
most interesting thing here
is that, the waste from the
rice processing is used as a
substrate to produce energy.
That will really reduce the
cost of rice processing in that
area and will make rice available to the Nigerian populace at an affordable price.
Those are some of the examples that UNIDO is introducing into the country.
Kormawa, who said UNIDO is not involved in funding projects directly, explained that, “in terms of
money, as I mentioned to
you, UNIDO is a technical
institution. We do not give
money directly, but our partners that we work with support the programmes. So
working with UNIDO, we
provide the technical assistance.
“For instance, the programme in Ebonyi may never have come on board without our assessment of how
that state can be a leading
quality rice producer of this
country.”
BRIEF
British firm to
invest $400m in
Egyptian gas
fields
A
British company is
likely to invest about
$400 million to develop the
Rashid and Burollus fields.
Mohamed El Masry,
president
of
Rashid
Petroleum, which operates the
gas fields, stated that the
investment will increase
production from 400 to 450
million cubic feet of natural
gas per day, reported Egypt’s
State Information Service
(SIS).
El Masry did not reveal the
name of the company.
However, local newspaper
Daily News Egypt, quoting
the official spokesman of the
Ministry of Petroleum Hamdy
Abdel Aziz, reported that the
investing company would be
British Gas (BG Group).
According to Daily News,
with addition of new wells in
the Rashid and Burollus fields
last week, Rashid Petroleum’s
production rate in the area has
increased to 1.5 billion cubic
feet of gas per day, which
represents a quarter of gas
production in Egypt.
Spain’s Gas
Natural to
launch takeover
offer for Chile’s
CGE
S
PANISH
gas
and
electricity firm Gas
Natural SDG SA will launch a
takeover offer for Chilean
electricity
distributor
Compania General de
Electricidad SA, the South
American company said late
on Saturday.
CGE’s controllers, the
Marin, Almeria and Perez
Cruz families, inked an
agreement with Gas Natural to
sell the Spanish utility their
combined 54.19 percent stake
at 4,700 Chilean pesos ($7.92)
per share.
According to the terms of the
agreement, Gas Natural will
launch an offer for all of CGE’s
shares, and will need to
acquire a minimum of 51
percent for the transaction to
be successful, CGE said in a
statement with Chile’s
securities regulator.
CGE, which has a market
capitalization of around $2
billion, said earlier this week
that the shareholders had
received a non-binding
approach that could lead to a
full offer, and had agreed for
a due diligence report to be
undertaken.
CGE owns a controlling
stake in gas transporter Gasco
SA .
Council urges FG, states to
allocate 10% for power
By Chris Ochayi
T
O ensure adequate
power generation in the
country, stakeholders have
called on the federal and state
governments to allocate a
minimum of 10 per cent of
their
annual
budget
provisions
for
the
development of power
projects.
They also advocated that 50
per cent of this allocation be
dedicated
to
rural
electrification projects, while
state governments should be
encouraged to take stakes in
Independent Power Projects,
IPPs.
This is meant to motivate
private developers into the
development of small scale
power plants to boost power
generation.
The call was contained in a
communiqué issued at the
end of the first National
Council on Power, NACoP,
held recently in Abuja, the
nation’s capital.
The communiqué read in
part: “That Federal and State
Governments allocate a
minimum of 10 per cent of
their annual budget provision
for the development of power
projects. Council further
recommends that 50 per cent
of this allocation be dedicated
to rural electrification
projects.”
The Council also mandated the Federal Ministry of
Power to conduct a long term
power generation planning
and demand forecast study,
as well as more feasibility
studies to identify additional
hydro and renewable energy
sources.
It also recommended that
the federal and state
governments encourage the
development of small scale
power plants as embedded
generation; and for industry
regulators to ensure timely
issuance of necessary
licenses and permits for
development of new IPPs.
The communiqué also said
that all rural electrification
projects should be implemented within a framework based
on community ownership/partnership, rural electricity users’
cooperative society.
It added, “The ministry
(Power) should send the draft
copy of the New Rural
Electrification Strategy and
Implementation Plan to state
governments and other
stakeholders for comments and
contributions before approval
by the relevant authority.
The
Council
also
acknowledged the need for the
ministry to clearly outline the
roles of Federal Rural
Electrification Agency, REA;
State Rural Electrification
Boards, REBs, and other
stakeholders
in
the
implementation of the
Operation Light-Up Rural
Nigeria project for its effective
implementation.
UAE to help finance
Oman’s $200m
wind farm project
From left: Chairman, Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL), Mr. Ladi Jadesimi; Managing
Director, Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria, Mr. KS Lee; Vice President of Sapetrol, Sen.
Daisy Danjuma; CEO of International Energy Service, Dr. Diran Fawibe; and Managing
Director of LADOL, Dr. Amy Jadesimi, performing the groundbreaking ceremony of the megafabrication and integration yard, SHI-MCI Free Zone Enterprise, at the LADOL Base in Apapa.
Tanker drivers explain suspension
of strike in Rivers
By Chris Ochayi
T
HE Petroleum Tanker
Drivers, PTD, branch of
the National Union of
Petroleum and Natural Gas,
NUPENG, said it has directed
its members currently on strike
to suspend the two-week
industrial action following the
intervention of some relevant
authorities.
The National Chairman of
PTD, Comrade Salimon
Olatunji, who gave the
directive in Abuja, assured the
striking drivers that relevant
government agencies have
agreed to mediate with a view
to
addressing
their
grievances.
Recall that the Port Harcourt
unit of union commenced
strike a fortnight ago in protest
against the deplorable
condition of the Port Harcourt
Eleme-Onne Road that is the
only access to the refineries
and petrol tank farms near the
state capital.
Olatunji, however called on
the Federal Government to
immediately carry out
palliative measures on the
affected roads.
He recalled the union issued
an ultimatum last month,
where it warned of an
impending strike in parts of
the South South and South
East, and specifically called
for urgent repairs of PortHarcourt-Eleme Junction
Road, Okigwe-Umuahia and
Jebba-Ilorin Road.
According
to
him,
“Expectedly, our members had
on the expiration of the
ultimatum boycotted these
roads and refused to lift
products from those axes for the
second week running now, and
the situation is becoming
unbearable. More so, we want
to extend same action to other
parts of the country.
“After due consideration and
wider consultations, and the
intervention
by
the
Department of State Service,
DSS, and the Ministry of
Petroleum
Resources,
among other stakeholders,
we directed our members to
resume work in these areas,
where we had earlier
withdrew our services.
“We also feel the pain, if not
more, and thus advise the
Federal government to send
emissaries to verify the state
of these roads and take
palliative measures.”
Regretting the plight of fuel
tanker drivers as result of the
dilapidated federal roads,
he said, “The road from
Jebba to Ilorin, a distance of
about 100 kilometres usually
takes a whole day for our
members to cover. Port
Harcourt to Eleme Junction,
a distance of about 15
kilometres takes over five
hours and the same thing
goes for the OkigweUmuahia Road.”
O
MAN plans to build its
first major wind farm at
a cost of $200 million to generate electricity in its southern governorate of Dhofar, as
part of efforts to limit the use
of oil and gas in power generation.
Electricity demand is rising
rapidly as the country pushes
large industrial projects, but
Oman’s oil reserves are not as
ample as those of its wealthy
neighbours, so it is exploring
the use of renewable energy.
The wind farm at Harweel
will have a capacity of 50
megawatts, enough to meet
about 50 percent of demand in
the governorate during the
winter, and is expected to begin operating early in 2017,
state-owned Rural Areas Electricity Co (RAEC) said in a
statement seen on Sunday.
The project will be coordinated by Abu Dhabi Future
Energy Co (Masdar) and financed by a grant from
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, the crown prince
of Abu Dhabi, RAEC officials
said. The United Arab Emirates is a significant aid donor
for Oman.
The turbines will be made in
a Western nation while local
contractors will be given a
large share of the construction
work, RAEC said without elaborating.
A model housing estate in Abuja
FG boosts housing stock
with 43,126 units in 4 years
By Jude Njoku & Caleb
Ayansina
T
HE Federal Ministry of
Lands, Housing and
Urban Development and two of
its agencies – the Federal
Housing Authority, FHA and
the Federal Mortgage Bank of
Nigeria FMBN, added 43,126
housing units to the nation’s
housing stock between July
2010 and last month.
The Minister of Lands,
Housing
and
Urban
Development, Mrs Akon
Eyakenyi who disclosed this at
the 2014 Ministerial Platform
hosted by her ministry and the
Federal
Ministry
of
Information, said the Federal
Government has created the
enabling environment for the
private sector to take the front
seat in the provision of housing
for millions of homeless
Nigerians.
Eyakenyi who was making
her maiden appearance at the
Platform having been appointed
the Lands, Housing & Urban
Development Minister barely
seven months ago, however
reeled out a plethora of
achievements recorded under
her watch.
She gave a breakdown of the
43,126 houses which were
added to the nation’s housing
stock to include 710 units under
the prototype housing scheme,
7,869 units under public-
private partnerships, PPPs,
3,302 units through FHA and
5,0076 units through FMBN.
Similarly, 17,240 units were
built using the estate
development loans provided
by the FMBN while 8,998 units
were delivered through
contractor-finance initiatives.
The Minister revealed that
the sum of N8, 110, 389, 817.
79 was generated by the
Ministry as revenue in the last
four years. The money which
was generated between 20102014, came from various
revenue sources which
included ground rent, premium
on land, title registration fee,
consent fee, C of O processing
fee and survey fee.
Giving a further break-down
of the money generated in
each year, the Minister said
N932,660,908.11
was
generated between May and
December
2010,
N2,283,000,000.00 in 2011,
N1,301,558,726.90 in 2012,
N1,704,581,553.14 in 2013 and
N1,888,588,629.64 between
January to August 2014.
Mrs Eyakenyi said her
Ministry has commenced the
process of issuing Certificates
of Occupancy, Cs of O in
respect of the 635 core assets
of the successor companies of
the Power Holding Company
of Nigeria, PHCN to the eleven
electricity power distribution
companies. Those to benefit
from the title document
perfection are the DISCOS in
Mrs Eyakenyi, Minister of
Lands, Housing & Urban
development
Abuja, Benin, Eko, Enugu,
Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna,
Kano, Port-Harcourt and Yola.
Other major achievements of
the Ministry as reeled out by
the Akwa-Ibom State-born
Minister include, the revision
of the National Building Code
to ensure quality and
enhanced standards in the
housing
and
urban
development sector; the
development of a zero-draft
National Land Policy which will
be validated at a stakeholders’
workshop in the first quarter of
2015; the validation and
adoption by stakeholders of a
roadmap to guide the housing
and urban development sector
in the next 30 years and the
development of a framework
for conducting a National
Housing Survey with the
overriding goal of establishing
whether Nigerians are
adequately housed or not.
The Minister said that the
survey would also help the
Ministry to establish the
number of housing deficit in
the country instead of relying
on forecasts and the quantum
of the investment needed to
meaningfully address the
housing gap.
She reiterated her resolve to
collaborate
with
the
Coordinating Minister for the
Economy and Minister of
Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala to deliver 10,000
housing units in different parts
of the country through funds
provided by the Nigeria
Mortgage Refinance Company,
NMRC. “While the Federal
Ministry of Finance through
the NMRC is handling the
demand side of the provision
of 10,000 mortgages as a pilot
scheme, the Federal Ministry
of Lands, Housing and Urban
Development is facilitating
action on the delivery of 10,000
housing units that the
mortgage facility of the NMRC
will support,”she said.
On building materials
affordability, Mrs Eyakenyi
said a building material
concession initiative has been
entered into by her Ministry
and building/construction
materials producers and
suppliers with a views to
bringing down the cost of
housing development in the
country. Under the initiative,
the Federal government will
grant tax relief and concessions
to these producers/suppliers
On public buildings, she
disclosed that apart from efforts
being made to rehabilitate and
maintain 23 existing Federal
Secretariats, the Federal
government through her
Ministry is constructing six new
secretariats at the cost of
N15.284 billion.
In his remarks, the Minister
of Information, Mr. Labaran
Maku said the Goodluck
Continues on page 31
London house prices fall in September for first time
in 3 years — RICS
L
ONDON house prices fell
last month (September) for
the first time in more than
three years, and prices
nationwide showed their
smallest increase in 15 months,
a major house price survey
showed on Thursday.
The Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors, RICS
said prices in London fell for
the first time since January 2011,
ending the longest unbroken
run of increases in more than
20 years.
The signs of a cooling in
Britain’s housing market are
likely to be welcomed by the
Bank of England, which earlier
this year warned that Britain’s
economic recovery would be at
risk if house prices continued
to rise far faster than wages.
The RICS national balance
slid to +30 for September from
a downwardly revised +39 in
August, a much bigger drop
than the easing to +38 forecast
by economists in a Reuters poll
and its lowest level since June
2013.
“Fading price momentum is
more than just a London story,”
RICS said.
The RICS data is based on its
members’ views on whether
house prices in particular
regions have risen or fallen in
the past three months.
Last week data from mortgage
lender Nationwide - which is
typically more volatile than the
RICS index - showed the first
month-on-month fall in house
prices across Britain since April
Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014 —29
London house
prices fall in
September
for first time
in years
— RICS
Illustration of Grand Lake Estate
PMIs pool resources to finance
Grand Lake Estate
By Kingsley Adegboye
T
HREE national primary
mortgage institutions,
PMIs – Messrs Imperial
Homes Mortgage Limited,
TrustBond Mortgage Plc and
Abbey Mortgage- have
concluded plans to come
together as a syndicate to
finance the development of
Grand Lake Estate.a housing
project in Ajah area of Lagos.
The proposed estate which
would be sited on 93 hectares
of land, is located near
Abraham Adesanya Housing
Estate along the Lekki-Ajah
Expressway.
Imperial Homes Mortgage
Bank
is
leading
the
syndicating banks to bankroll
the project. The partnership
agreement was finalised in
Lagos last week.
The trio, are also partnering
with Gran Imperio Group (the
lead developer ) Ocean
Springs Estates Ltd, Vestril Ltd
and White Oak Real Estate Ltd
to to provide decent, affordable
and functional homes for the
middle class segment.
The coming of this
syndication, according to the
partners, underscores the need
for the newly established
Nigerian Mortgage Refinance
Company, NMRC to provide
housing stock very fast in order
to meet up with the increasing
demand for quality, yet
affordable homes.
The 554 housing project
which would be completed
between 18 -24 months, is
expected to make a significant
impact on the nation’s housing
market, especially for
prospective middle income
home buyers.
The Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer of Gran
Imperio Group, Mr. Adeyeye
Ogunwusi said at the event that
said other developers, who
wish to come on board for
various kinds of concepts and
designs to fit into the entire
Grand Lake concept, are
welcome. He added that
developers that have capacity
to handle a minimum of 10,000
sqm to 20,000 sqm, would be
brought in as the scheme
progresses.
The scheme, according to
him,
is an affordable
residential
community
development
offering
spectacular ambience, detailed
finishing, security and
recreational facilities.
Striking in its design is a
unique man-made lake with a
relaxation
centre
to
complement the magnificent
landscape.
“Grand Lake comprises one,
two, three and four bedroom
exquisitely finished terraced
bungalows as well as other
housing types that suit the
overall design of the emerging
city in the Lekki corridor. It
would be delivered in phases
with air conditioning, PABX
system, CCTV, Stone coated
roof tiles, swimming pool, bar
and lounge, astro turf football
pitch, gym, good quality
finishes, fully fitted kitchen and
recreational facilities. The
scheme will also feature site
and serviced plots for
residential and commercial
developments offering three
different plot sizes to suit your
requirement. Prices and
payment options are flexible,
as the project financiers have
between five to 20 years
payment plan for the
subscribers,” he said.
Continuing, |Ogunwusi
said: “One-off payment attracts
five percent, payment in three
installments of 30 percent, 40
percent at roofing stage and the
final 30 percent at completion.
While a bedroom is going for
N7,950,000, two bedroom
would cost N10,950,000, three
bedroom is up for grabs at
N13,950,000, and the four
bedroom terrace is for a token
of N17,950,000 . Under the
serviced plots, a square metre
in the residential 600 square
metre would cost N30,000,
while a plot goes for
N18,000,000 “, Ogunwusi said.
2013.
Rival lender Halifax
said on Wednesday that
although prices rose
more rapidly than
expected in September,
growth looks likely to
moderate going into next
year.
British house prices are
around 10 percent
higher than a year ago,
and house prices in
London have risen by
more than twice that.
But RICS said its
members did not expect
this type of price rise to
continue. Over the next
12 months, they predict
prices will rise 1 percent
in London and 2 percent
in Britain as a whole.
Over the next five years,
it expects average
annual price growth of
just under 5 percent.
RICS Chief Economist,
Mr. Simon Rubinsohn
said that the slowdown
in the housing market
was
“a
healthy
development”.
“Part of this is down to
the Bank of England
becoming more vocal
about the risks, part of
this is down to
affordability, part of this
is down to the new
mortgage rules and part
of this is down to
expectations of higher
interest rates,” he said.
QSRBN gives FG blueprint to stem corruption in
construction industry
By JUDE NJOKU
W
ORRIED by increasing
level of corruption in the
construction
industry,
Nigerian Quantity Surveyors
have called on the he Federal
Government to set up a
Nigerian Construction Industry
Transparency Initiative, NCITI
to
promote
probity,
accountability and transparency
in this construction industry.
The construction cost experts
also want anti-graft agencies
such as the Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other
Offences Commission, ICPC
and the Economic & Financial
Crimes Commission, EFCC to
beam serious searchlights on
construction projects to curb the
use of such projects as conduit
pipes for money laundering and
looting of public funds by
public servants.
These recommendations were
made by the cost experts at the
end of the 24 th Annual
Conference of Registered
Quantity Surveyors, put
together by the Quantity
Surveyors Registration Board of
Nigeria, QSRBN in Abuja. The
two-day conference had “Global
perspectives on quantity
surveying, cost engineering
and project management” as its
theme.
In a communique signed by
QSRBN Chairman, Mallam
Hussaini Adamu Dikko and
Registrar, Mr Godson Moneke,
the construction cost economists
further called on the the Federal
Government to provide the
resources and other supports
necessary for the QSRBN to
establish both a National
Construction Cost Database
and a Data Centre for effective
management and control of
costs of construction projects in
Nigeria.
The conference charged
registered quantity surveyors to
engage in life-long learning to
sharpen their skills and acquire
new knowledge to enable them
cope with the challenges of the
increasing demands on their
competencies by governments
and society.
The participants also sought
regular review of the curricula
of quantity surveying as taught
in universities and polytechnics
in the light of emerging trends,
expanding scope of the body of
knowledge of the profession
occasioned
by
rapid
advancement in technology and
globalization.
Other recommendations
canvassed by the Board include:
* Projects controls, planning,
scheduling and benchmarking
techniques should be promoted
across the built-environment as
veritable cost management tools
available to quantity surveyors
for
enhancing
project
procurement efficiency in Nigeria
* The Federal Government
should strengthen the cost
management function as a way
of ensuring value for money for
its huge investments in strategic
assets in the oil and gas sector
and to protect national interest
and security.
*Registered quantity surveyors
in the public sector should be
given more support to attend
seminars, workshops and
conferences both local and
international to enable them
benchmark their competencies
globally like their colleagues in
the private sector.
A housing estate in Abuja Owners are required to fumigate them at least thrice every year
AEPA orders fumigation of Abuja
estates to check outbreak of diseases
By Emmanuel Elebeke
T
HE Abuja Environmental
Protection Agency,
AEPA has ordered the
fumigation of all estates in the
Federal Capital Territory, FCT
at least three times every year.
AEPA explained that the
directive was part of efforts to
contain further outbreak of
the dreaded Ebola virus
disease, EVD.
The chairman of AEPA’s
board, Mr. Sam Gbadebo
disclosed this to Vanguard
Homes & Property during a
special training organised for
staff of Samgee Continental
Services Limited on facility
and general management
environmental enhancement
services in Abuja.
He said the board was
worried about the increasing
activities of quacks in the
sector, especially in the FCT
and decided to issue the order
in order to complement the
effort of the Federal
government in fighting the
EVD and keeping Abuja
clean.
Mr. Gbadebo, who is also
the Managing Director, of
Sangee said the Abuja
Environmental Protection
Agency had waged a war
against
quacks,
after
discovering that they (quacks)
use fake and hazardous
chemicals to fumigate peoples
LASBCA boss seeks stakeholders’ cooperation
to stem building collapse
By Kingsley Adegboye
I
N SPITE of the efforts of
Lagos State Government and
other concerned organisations to
bring the incidents of building
collapse in the state to the barest
minimum, occupants of public
buildings in (such as Barracks)
with structural defects are not
cooperating with the government
to achieve a building collapsefree state.
The General Manager, Lagos
State Building Control Agency
LASBCA,
Mrs.
Bimbo
Animashaun who disclosed this
at a recent interactive session
with the media said her Agency
which is saddled with the
responsibility of enforcing
building control regulations and
the implementation of the 2010
Physical Planning, Urban
Development and Building Law,
has identified many partially
collapsed buildings in Police
Barracks and other public places.
Mrs. Animashaun regretted
that all effort to make the
occupants of the structurally
defective buildings to see reason
and vacate the houses for
necessary corrective measures to
avert their imminent collapse,
have fallen on deaf ears.
Describing some premises as
empires because of their
exclusive nature to members of
the public, Mrs. Animashaun
revealed that several of such
premises have structurally
defective buildings that cannot be
seen from outside. He lamented
that the owners of such premises
will never cooperate LASBCA
officials even if there are clues
that illegal construction activities
are going on within their
premises.
Decrying the lack of
cooperation from defiant
developers, she noted gave
instances where her Agency had
sealed up some sites for not
adhering to building regulation
only for the developers of the sites
to remove the seals on their
premises and continue with
work.
For the enforcement of the state
building regulations to be
effective, the Agency, she said,
has concluded plans to hire the
services of approved building
inspectors who will be assigned
to construction sites to monitor
construction activities and ensure
that the right things are done by
developers.
According to her, a developer
must obtain development permit
from the State Physical Planning
Permit Authority, LASPPPA,
adding that the development
permit authorises construction
and is valid for two years. To
obtain this permit, a building
development plan portraying the
intended uses and the proposed
development on the site and the
effect on adjacent developments
and neighborhood must be
prepared by a professional.
“Legally, a pre-approval
inspection is required. This onsite visit is made to verify that the
land is located where the owner
has said it is, also to check
whether construction has not
already started. There is no need
for the owner to be there during
that visit. For construction
involving a structure of more than
two floors the developer or owner,
homes and offices.
“We are worried about
quacks because they cannot
provide good cleanliness,
especially with this outbreak
of Ebola. That is why the
AEPA board itself has issued
an order that all estates in the
FCT must be fumigated three
times in a year. ‘We are trying
to
identify
certified
practitioners. We know where
the quacks are and we will
soon begin trying them in
court for illegal operation in
the FCT. Efforts are also
ongoing to sensitise the
people on why they should not
patronise quacks,” he said.
On the existing urban slums
in the city, Gbadebo described
them (slums) as a major
contributor to the filthy
environment of the city. He
however
noted
that
government is putting
measures in place to address
them by providing the
inhabitants
alternative
locations before demolition.
“The Minister of FCT is
planning to offer inhabitants
of urban slums alternative
accommodations before
demolishing them because
they do not have a place to
stay now. In the next one
month, the Minister will be
talking to citizens on all
these. The law has been there
since inception. The AEPA is
a regulatory body, that is why
it deals with professionals and
has decided to flush out
quacks that have no addresses
or means of identification,
because they are silent killers,”
he said.
Gbadebo said the agency has
set up a team of sanitary
inspectors that move around
the city to inspect the
environment.
On the training, he said the
idea was to sensitize the staff
of Samgee on the latest
techniques and technology in
the facility and environmental
services delivery.
He said the company is
determined at rendering
professional services using hitech equipments and processes.
Experts seek effective use of environment statistics
By Funmi Olasupo
T
HE
Minister
of
Environment, Mrs. Laurentia
Mallam has charged members
of the recently inaugurated
National Steering Committee
and Technical Committee on
Environment Statistics to
ensure that Nigeria puts the
United Nations revised
framework on environment
statistics to use in developing
the country’s environment. She
maintained that there could not
be a healthier management of
the environment without
credible and reliable data
which, according to her,
becomes imperative for the
development of environmental
statistics in the country.
Vangaurd Homes & Property
learnt that the dearth of up-tothe-minute and effective data
is hampering environmental
sustainability in the country. It
is the view of stakeholders that
if statistics on environment are
adequately utilized in the
country, Nigeria will progress
at a faster pace with better
environmental potentials and
prospects than currently being
witnessed
As of today, there is no
coordinating office recognised
by the United Nations that
manages comprehensive
statistics on environment in the
country.
Part of the information sheet
from the ministry reads: “People
use different methods in
collecting statistics and they
have different indicators they
are using or looking for; they
collect whatever is of interest to
them but what is expected
internationally is that there is a
required format and we are not
there yet. The statistics are there
but in their raw form and there
are lots of gaps because most of
what is known are outdated.”
Also speaking at the
inauguration of the committee,
the Permanent Secretary in the
Environment Ministry, Mrs.
Rabi Jimeta said the country
needs accurate, reliable and
qualitative environmental data
to help it tackle the mirage of
challenges
facing
the
environment.
According to her, given the
fact that the national
environment statistic is
scientific, the nation needs the
right equipment, a costconsuming fund to be able to
generate and sustain a data
bank that it could proud of.
Mr Odele Muyiwa, an
official of the UNDP noted that
“statistical information is
essential for understanding our
complex and rapidly changing
world. We cannot discuss the
issue of environment if we
discard the place of
environmental statistics in
solving our ever-increasing
environmental problems”.
He described environment
statistics as integrative. “It
measures human activities and
natural events that affect the
environment, monitor the
impacts on the environment
and the social responses to
environmental impacts. It is
indispensable for evidencebased policies and decision
making to support sustainable
development.”
FG boosts housing
stock with 43,126
units in 4 years
Jonathan administration looks
at housing as a people-driven
sector where the government
will create the enabling
environment for the private
sector to come in and tap into
the huge potentials in the
sector. According to him,
the housing sector has
contributed significantly
to the growth of the
nation’s Gross Domestic
Product, GDP.
Maku
who
said
President Jonathan has
begun a revolution in the
housing sector by
providing the enabling
policies and frameworks
for the private sector to
play the leading role,
however warned against
cutting of corners in the
construction of houses as
such measures contribute
to the rising occurrence of
collapsed buildings in the
country.
LASBCA boss
seeks
stakeholders’
cooperation
Continues from page
30
shall at the time of
submitting his application
to commence building
works to the Building
Control Agency, hire an
engineer”, she said.
On the the Lagos State
Urban and Regional
Planning
and
Development Law of 2010,
she said the law gives the
Building Control Agency
the power to carry out
inspections of buildings
under construction when
necessary.
The functions of
LASBCA include: the
inspection of building
works and the certification
of various stages of
building construction and
keeping of such records;
removal of illegal and
non-conforming
developments;
identification and removal
of distressed buildings to
prevent collapse and; the
issuance of certificate of
completion and fitness for
habitation.
By Theodore Opara
Ade Ojo advises regular vehicle
maintenance
•Commends customers loyalty
T
HE founder of Elizade
Nigeria Limited, the
number one Toyota dealer in
Nigeria, Chief Michael Ade
Ojo, has advised customers to
ensure regular maintenance
of their Toyota vehicles,
especially at this time when
import duties and taxes on
new vehicles have risen to as
high as 70 per cent.
Chief Ade Ojo who was
speaking at the 2014 fleet
manager’s forum organised
by his company for their
customers, said it is in the
interest of the vehicle owners
to take care of them if they
want the best from the asset.
Comparing the vehicles to
human body, the Elizade
Nigeria founder explained
“as you grow, the body needs
attention just like the car. It is
important, one takes care of
his vehicles.
Continuing, he said, “one of
the personal asset that people
own is vehicle. It is important
to support the vehicle, if you
don’t take care of small
problems, they will become
bigger problems in the long
run.”
According to him, Elizade
has put in place world-class
workshops and qualified
technicians to handle
customer’s vehicles problems
in various locations of the
country.
occasion, the chairman of
Elizade Nigeria Limited, Dr.
Herbert Ajayi commended the
customers for their support
over the years, adding that
the
customer
loyalty
programme was designed to
serve the customers better.
“The theme of this year ’s
customer loyalty programme
tagged: “Toyota my brand,
Elizade my choice aptly
describes our very strong and
focus relationship. We have
both fallen in love with the
number one auto brand in the
world, Toyota. You have also
chosen Elizade as number
one Toyota dealer and service
provider in Nigeria,” he
stated.
The chairman further
pointed out that the
company ’s
focus
has
remained “customer first”
adding that they will never be
satisfied until customers are
satisfied.
Describing this, as both a
pledge and promise to
customers, Dr. Ajayi pointed
out that customers have been
the reason they are a “living
C
M
Y
K
corporate colossus” in Nigeria
today, despite being a whollyowned indigenous company.
“Since the establishment of
Elizade, over four decades
ago, we have been consistent
in celebrating our customers.
We celebrate you because we
believe in the prime of place
you occupy in our corporate
affairs.”
He told the customers that
their loyalty to their twinbrand, Elizade-Toyota can
never be misplaced, as they
have on their hands, quality
products, backed by excellent
after sales services and
genuine spare parts.
occasion, the Managing
Director of Elizade Nigeria
Limited, Mr. Demola Ade-Ojo,
said that without the
customers, the success they
recorded in their over 40 years
of existence would have been
impossible.
“Permit me therefore to
applaud you for your
unflinching support for our
twin-brand “Elizade-Toyota.”
You are indeed the reason we
have been able to weather the
very inclement economic
weather for over four decades
of our existence as a worldclass indigenous corporate
entity."
L-r, FRSC Sector Commander, Lagos, Hyginus Omeje, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo founder Elizade
Nigeria Ltd, Dr. Herbert Ajayi Chairman Elizade Nigeria, Ltd and Ademola Ade-Ojo M.D.
Elizade Nigeria Ltd. at the 2014 edition of the Elizade fleet Customer Forum in Sheraton Hotel
Lagos.
Elizade, he said, has been
in the forefront of rendering
world-class service both in the
sales and after sales arm of our
business.
This, he said was perhaps
the reason they have not only
remained very relevant in the
scheme of things in the auto
sector of the Nigerian
economy, but have also
remained the undisputed
leader and force to be
reckoned with in the industry.
He added that the customers'
varied contributions have
helped them tremendously in
remaining very relevant at the
top of their sector of the
Nigerian economy.
Meanwhile, the Managing
Director disclosed that in their
drive to serve customers better
they have moved to increase
their presence all over the
country with additional outlets
in Lagos, Ikeja and Victoria
Island, all medium smart 3S
facilities of world standards.
He also noted that they were
strengthening their Lekki,
Ibadan and Akure 3S facilities
to improve service delivery.
In the South east axis, Ade
Ojo said that they are in Port
Harcourt, Uyo, Asaba and
Umuahia while Enugu facility
would come up next year.
Apart from Ogba Ultra
Modern 3S facility in Lagos,
the managing director said
that they have safety
workshop in Lekki, Marina,
Anthony and Oregun beside
the state of the art facility in
Abuja, while Akure and
Ibadan are available to SouthWest customers.
ABUJA MOTOR FAIR:
CIG Motors to sponsor first 10 buyers to China
C
IG
Motors,
sole
representative of GAC
Motors of China is poised to
reward customers who
purchase their vehicles at the
fair ground of the forthcoming
16 th Abuja International
Motor Fair.
The company’s Sales and
Marketing Director, Mr.
Kayode Adejumo hinted that
the first 10 customers who will
purchase their vehicles at the
fair ground will be sponsored
to China with an all expenses
paid business trip for seven
days.
CIG Motors, will be
showcasing two of its latest
models at this year ’s Abuja
International Motor fair.
The two models currently
making waves in Nigeria
since arrival few months ago
are GS5 powered by a 2.0litre
engine, a mid luxury SUV and
the GA3 1.6L saloon.
Disclosing this in Lagos, the
Sales and Marketing Director,
said the high quality auto
brand will leave no stone
unturned in making visitors to
the 16th edition of the Abuja
Motor Fair happy. According
to him, Nigerians will have a
feel of the global automobile
appeal and experience at the
fair.
Mr. Adejumo added that the
car company is here in the
country to offer Nigerians
value for their
money.
On his company’s level of
involvement and participation
at the auto fair, Adejumo said:
“We plan to create excitement
with our special promotional offer
on the GS5 model with an all
expense paid business trip to
China for 7days for the first 10
*GS5 SUV
people who purchase the
vehicles.”
He further revealed that GAC
brands’ unique selling points are
irresistible to prospective car
owners. Some of these, he hinted
are advanced world class factory
with.
Anenih
remains
Edo
political
oracle
PAGE 6
Confusion in Rivers’
schools over Ebola
equipment
CELEBRITY
KENNETH
GBAGI: The
world of Delta’s
huge investor
PAGE 8
PAGE 2
VOL. 1: NO. 19
TUESD
A Y, OCT
OBER 114,
4, 20
14
TUESDA
OCTOBER
201
LIVING ON THE EDGE: This aged storey-building, along Robert Road, Warri, Delta State, is filled with tenants, who seem to see no looming
calamity. PHOTO: Egufe Yafugborhi.
Power brokers in South-South states
By Emma Amaize
C
URRENTLY , the South-South
geopolitical zone does not have a
consensus political leader, probably
because of the multifaceted dynamic
forces in the zone. However, there are
movers and shakers whose actions
and idiosyncrasies have not only
shaped, but continue to outline
governments in their respective states.
In Bayelsa State for instance, neither
C
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Y
K
President Goodluck Jonathan nor
Governor Seriake Dickson is
considered the most powerful political
figure in the state. The big gun is
astonishingly a close pal and
schoolmate of the President. He is His
Royal Highness, King Amalate
Johnnie Turner, Obigbo Mikimiki I,
Obanema of Opume, Ogbia, Ogbia
Local Government Area.
In Akwa Ibom, regardless of what
was thought to be the loss of power by
former governor of the state, Obong
Victor Attah, given the state of affairs
between him and his successor,
Governor Godswill Akpabio, Attah still
remains the most revered political
leader in the state.
Although the politics in Delta State
is quite animated, it can be said that
the political lord of the state is the
former Federal Commissioner for
Information, Chief Edwin Clark.
However, the national chairman of
Urhoho Political Forum, UPF, Chief
Ighoyota Amori, senatorial aspirant,
Mr. Solomon Edoja and others, said
the most powerful political living figure
in the state is the governor, Dr.
Emmanuel Uduaghan.
Between Governor Chibuike
Amaechi and Minister of State
(Education), Ezenwo Nyemson Wike,
it is still uncertain who the political
Continues on Page 2
2—Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
Confusion in Rivers’ schools over
Ebola equipment
RIVERS…
THE TREASURE BASE
OF THE NATION
Continues from Page 1
By Davies Iheamnachor
P
ORT HARCOURT:—
THERE was apprehension in many government secondary schools in Rivers State
after resumption, last week,
when some students complained that their schools were
not supplied with Ebola Virus
Disease, EVD, protective facilities, as directed by the
Federal Government and
refused to resume studies
until they are provided.
When Niger Delta Voice
visited Emohua, Ikwerre and
Obio/Akpor Local Government
Areas, three days after
resumption, it was observed
that while students had
resumed in some schools,
others bluntly declined, citing
the absence of Ebola testing
apparatus.
Head teachers, who spoke to
our reporters, bemoaned the
attitude of students that
declined to resume, saying
late resumption would affect
academic performance and
pleaded with them to start, as
there was every indication that
the government would provide
all needed facilities in the fight
against Ebola.
Why we won’t resumeStudents
Some students seen in the
communities
visited,
maintained that they would
not recommence academic
activities until they were sure
their schools were suitably
ready to control and prevent
Ebola outbreak.
Principal of Community
Secondary School, CCS,
Rumuekini in Obio/Akpor local
government area, Rivers state,
Mr. V O Enyindah, said the
virus had generally been
defeated in the country, but
regretted that it had affected
the academic calendar to an
extent.
Enyindah asserted, “I thank
the governor for the proactive
actions he took to ensure that
the virus was stamped out of
the state. The state government has released the equipment needed in our school,
although we are yet to receive
our own.”
Another teacher who
corroborated his statement,
said, “We have not gotten the
equipment in the government
schools in the entire local
government, but we just got
call to send representative to
the zonal board in that reC
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Powerbrokers
in SouthSouth states
One of the Primary Schools in Rivers State visited
gards. Before then, as we resumed on Wednesday as directed by the government, we
had none of the equipment, so
we took other remedial actions
on our own.”
Emergency management
Commenting on how he
handled the situation in CCS,
Rumuekini, Mr. Eyindah said,
“I bought some disinfectants
like hand sanitizers, dettol,
izal and soap, which I
instructed the students to use
in disinfecting the classes
before they entered. The
sanitation team was also
instructed to clean up the
environment to maintain good
hygiene.
“I ensured that every
student that was in school that
first day of resumption was
tested to know if the
temperature was high through
ordinary hand touching. I
believe that by Monday, the
school will be having its own
Ebola testing kit, so every
student that comes to school
will be tested on arrival before
such student will enter the
school premises.
“As a way of getting an
Ebola-free school in the
community, I have already
warned all the parents not to
allow their wards come to
school when they are sick.”
Academic calendar affected
Head teacher in State School
1, Rumuji, Emohua, Mr.
Edmond Ohaka, expressed
worry that the term had
already been affected and that
could affect academic performance.
Ohaka, also the Secretary
of Association of Primary
School Teachers of Nigeria,
AOPSHON, Rivers State wing
and immediate past chairman,
Nigerian Union of Teachers,
NUT,
Emohua,
said,
”Because the number of
weeks that this first term will
last has reduced, we started
Continues on Page 7
leader of the state is. But
political pundits believe
that the leadership baton of
“The Treasure Base of the
Nation” will be decided in
2015.
In Cross River, Governor
Liyel Imoke is indisputably
the political generalissimo.
For Edo State, despite the
political ascendancy of
Governor
Adams
Oshiomhole, national
chairman of Peoples
Board of Trustees, BoT, Chief
Tony Anenih, is the
commanding officer in the
state.
There might not be a
consensus leader for the
geo-poitical region at
present, but the 2015
general elections will
certainly streamline area of
influence.
This edition of Niger
Delta Voice examines
politics of the region.
Iyase, Enigies‘re brothers— HRH Igbinudu
EDO...
HEARTBEAT OF
THE NATION
By Simon Ebegbulem
U
DO—THE Iyase of Udo in
Edo
State,
HRH,
Ekhoeutomwen Igbinudu, has
clarified that his community
had no axe to grind with the
Enigies in Benin Kingdom
and that his loyalty to the Oba
of Benin remains unwavering.
I don’t want problem
HRH Igbinudu, who was
reacting to the controversy
generated by a recent report
in Niger Delta Voice on the
sovereignty of Udo in Benin
kingdom, said, “Some people
said I tried to compare myself
to the Oba, but I did not
because I believe we are all
subjects of the Oba, representing him wherever he
sends us. Nobody is next to
the Oba. But I want to say that
the Enogie and the Iyase of
Udo are all brothers, I do not
want any problem.
“The
publication
of
September 9 says that I
compared the Odionwere and
the Enogie, which is not true.
Enogie have their own
dukedom and every village
under the Enogie has
Odionwere
and
those
Odionwere are under the
Enogie.”
Enigie has no lifespan
— IDU AKENZUA
The Enogie of Oghobaghase,
HRH, Idu Akenzua, who
reacted on behalf of the
Enigies in the kingdom,
asserted, “Firstly in Benin
Kingdom, Enigie are not
appointed, they are born as
Enigie or invested with their
title by the Oba of Benin.
“Appointment has tenure of
office or life span, but Enigie
titles have no life span. They
are perpetually from father to
eldest surviving son forever,
following in the principle of
primogeniture that governs the
Benin monarchy.
“Secondly, it is not true that
the Iyase of Udo is more
powerful than the Enogies
because of the exploits and
awesome prowess of one of its
progenitors.
“At best, the Iyase of Udo
enjoys the status of an Enogie,
albeit falsely; but most
importantly, it is not a
hereditary title founded on the
principle of primogeniture or
from father to eldest surviving
son.
“The title rotates between the
Iyase of Udo and the Uwangue
of Udo. Where any Iyase of
Udo transgresses the Benin
monarch, the paramount ruler
and overlord of Benin
Kingdom, or becomes an
enemy of the Oba, for
whatever reason, the Oba
transfers the title to the
Uwangue and confers him
with the powers to administer
Udo.
“The day may not be too far
now when the title may even
pass on to the Eribo if there is
any such title there.”
THE TEAM
Emma Amaize, Editor
Jimitota Onoyume
Samuel Oyadongha
Tony Edike
Simon Ebegbulem
Gabriel Enogholase
Festus Ahon
Egufe Yafugborhi
Emmanuel Unah
Akpokona Omafuaire
Godwin Oghre
Tom Moses
Chioma Onuegbu
Ike Uche
Davies Iheamnachor
Emem Idio
Emmanuel Okolie
Brisibe Perez
Barnabas Uzosike
Nath Onajoke
Chijioke Nwankpa
Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014—3
Duku harps
on peace in
oil
communities
DELTA...
FINGER OF GOD
Jonathan’s friend, HRH Amalate
Turner calls the shots in Bayelsa
BA
YELS
A ...
BAYELS
YELSA
THE GLORY OF ALL
LANDS
By Festus Ahon
U
G H E L L I —
CHAIRMAN of the
Association of Community
Leaders of Nine OilProducing States in
Nigeria, Delta State, Mr.
Patrick Duku, has charged
communities in the state to
embrace peace, a basic
ideal of the group, to
attract more government
presence and benefits from
oil companies operating in
the state.
Addressing newsmen
shortly after a meeting with
stakeholders in Ughelli,
Duku said the body was
out to unite all community
leaders for the purpose of
peace and development
and to collaborate with
national and international
organisations for the
promotion of amity and
sustainable development
of the oil-producing states.
Calling for the active
involvement of communities’ leadership in the activities of the association,
Duku reiterated the determination of the organisation to continue to draw the
attention of the Ministry of
Niger Delta Affairs and the
Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC to the
plights of the people of the
communities.
He disclosed that the
association formed because
“there is no organised
body, no voice to articulate
and address issues of
concerns
to
the
communities in the Niger
Delta region.”
By Samuel Oyadongha &
Emem Idio, Yenagoa
Y
E N A G O A —
ORDINARILY, the
President and Commander-inChief of the Armed Forces of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan,
who hails from Bayelsa State,
could best be described as the
most powerful living political
figure in the state which he
hails from, but exact opposite
is the case.
The astonishment is not that
the governor, Hon Seriake
Dickson, who is eying a second term in office has built
himself an independent political structure that has vanquished that of President
Jonathan or that of former
gover nor, Chief Timipre
Sylva, now an APC chieftain,
had performed an overnight
political wonder.
It is also not that former
governor-general of Ijaw nation,
Chief
Diepreye
Alamieyeseigha, has pulled
the rug under President
Jonathan.
The bombshell is that the
man, who calls the shots in
the state is unarguably a retired permanent secretary in
the state civil service, His
Royal
Highness,
King Amalate
Johnnie
Turner, JP, Obigbo Mikimiki
I,
Obanema
of
Opume, Ogbia.
He is a childhood buddy
and school mate of President
Jonathan.
How he installed
Gov Dickson
OBONG VICTOR
ATTAH: Father of
new Akwa Ibom
AKWA IBOM...
LAND OF
PROMISE
By Tom Moses &
Chioma Onuegbu
U YO—AKWA-IBOM State
comprises three major
ethnic nationalities - Ibibio,
Annang and Oron, which
separately had produced top
shots that served the state and
nation distinguishably in
different capacities, including
military, civilian governors,
ministers and senators.
Continues on Page 4
King A. J. Turner
The royal father, it was, who
pulled Hon Dickson from the
House of Representatives to
contest for the People’s
Democratic Party, PDP, governorship ticket after the
then incumbent governor,
Timipre Sylva, was shut out
of the leadership of the party.
Informed sources told
Niger Delta Voice that the
royal father’s Abuja residence
was the rallying point for the
anti- Sylva forces, under
the Restoration movement,
which perfected the ousting of
Sylva from Creek Haven, the
Bayelsa Government House.
Government House, Yenagoa
Not the noisy type
Amalate Johnnie Turner was
born, September 30, 1956 at
Opume community, Ogbia to
the royal Kulo, Bugo, Latei,
Orukari, Ineyougha, Koko and
Yekorogha group of Houses all
in Nembe, and the influential
Efamo group of Houses in
Opume.
He is not the boisterous type
even though he has the ears
of the President and could
reach him at the shortest notice.
King Turner ’s lifelong endeavours and unflinching
commitment to duty have been
long acknowledged and
commended by those who
have worked closely with
him and had the privilege of
interacting with him on different issues.
and all those who consider him
as somebody committed and
responsive to their needs.
Beyond his recognised contributions to the improve-ment
of his immediate community, King Turner is courteous,
a trailblazer and model of
good leadership.
King Turner’s relevance in
the political scene of the state,
according to analysts, is
hinged on his reputation as an
unbiased
conciliator
whose vast knowledge of the
intricacies that define political
moods is incontestable.
“This is one of many reasons
why his wise counsel is sought
after by many, both within and
outside Bayelsa state,” said a
close associate.
He was an avowed supporter
of the defunct Green Movement, the campaign machinery
of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan
when he was governor of
Bayelsa state, which later
metamorphosed into the Restoration outfit that scuttled
Sylva’s second term bid.
Why he’s loved
Within his Opume community, King Turner enjoys fabulous veneration, his kingdom
Unassuming life
In spite of his towering stature in the politics of the state,
King Turner has maintained a
simple
life
that
has
mostly been marked by continued focus on meeting the
responsibilities that he carries
as a monarch and a respected
personality in the state.
The king’s consistent efforts
to live up to these responsibilities are evident in his
commitment to service, which
Niger Delta Voice learnt,
has helped to yoke the Restoration team.
…his prevailing power
King Turner, who is the main
financier of Dickson election,
has continued to be dominant
in
the
socio
political development of Bayelsa
state in particular, and Nigeria
in general, considering his
role as a traditional ruler, entrepreneur and a leader of
thought.
He remains an influential
personality in the Restoration
of the administration of Governor Seriake Dickson, where
he serves as chairman and
latter has never failed to extol
his support and leadership
qualities at any given state
function he (Turner) attends.
C
M
Y
K
OBONG VICTOR ATTAH: Father
of new Akwa Ibom
Obong Victor Attah
The big guns include a twotime Chief of Air Staff, Air
Commodore Nsikak Eduok,
former military administrator,
Idongesit Nkanga and former
governor, Obong Victor Attah.
Engendered unity
However, Obong Attah
appears to be the most
respected political leader in the
state and this is not unrelated
with his copious exceptional
contributions to the development of the state and involvement in both local and national
affairs.
Besides his fight for resource
control in the Niger Delta,
which won him names like
‘Apostle of Resource Control’
and ‘Advocate of Resource
Control,’ what really commended him to the people was that
his administration nurtured the
unity existing today among the
different ethnic blocs in the
state.
For that reason, Obong Attah
is perceived by many as a
detribalized,
generous,
accommodating, principled and
visionary leader, who laid the
solid foundation for the physical
and economic development of
the state.
The Ibom International
Airport, Le Meridien Hotel and
Golf Course were among
projects put in place by his
administration.
Creation of Akwa Ibom
Available record showed he
played very significant role in
the creation of Akwa Ibom state,
about 27 years ago, which is
C
M
Y
K
traceable to his genial
relationship with the then
military president, Gen. Ibrahim
Badamasi Babangida (rtd). The
singular act won him the name,
‘Father of new Akwa Ibom.’
Highly trusted
As far as Akwa Ibom state is
concerned, the people do not
only respect Attah for his past
achievements, they have strong
belief and trust in his capability
and competence to handle and
defend their interests whenever
the need arises at any level of
governance.
His competence and
intellectual
capabilities
informed the people’s decision
not only to choose him as one
of the delegates to the recently
concluded
National
Conference, but as the leader
of that delegation, and the call
by the former Nigeria
Governor’s Forum to lead them
to the same conference, further
attests to the fact that his
admirable leadership qualities
go beyond the state.
He was also selected as the
Chairman of the Committee on
Devolution of Powers simply
because of the recognition that
he has the ‘I can do attitude’
and admirable leadership
principles.
Achiever
His laudable achievements
informed
the
grand
reception organized by the
Akwa Ibom people, recently,
where he (Attah) was formally
proclaimed the Leader of Akwa
Ibom people at the Asan Ibibio
ground.
The recent conferment of the
traditional title of Mkpisong
Ibibio on Obong Attah by the
traditional institutions in 21 of
the 31 local government areas
of the state also speaks volume
of the acknowledgement of
Obong Attah as an iconic
personality and the most
powerful living political leader
in the state.
Folks speak
Former Director-General of the
National Youth Service Corps,
NYSC, Major-General Edet
Akpan (rtd.), who spoke with
the Niger Delta Voice in Uyo,
extolled Obong Attah for his
protuberant role in the creation
of Akwa-Ibom state, design of
the structure and developmental blueprint of the state and his
strong conviction in the
sustenance of the unity of the
various ethnic nationalities and
tribes in the state.
He also eulogized him for his
generous vision and leadership
style, especially his disposition
to the clamour that all the three
senatorial districts of the state
should be accommodated in the
leadership and governance of
the state for equity and fairness
to prevail and for setting the
pace of development of the
state, which the present
administration, as piloted by
Akpabio, has emulated.
Benevolent leader
Acknowledging Attah for his
flowering leadership role in the
state, governorship aspirant
and the immediate past
Commissioner for Finance in
the state, Obong Bassey Albert,
said he is a true and
magnanimous leader that has
continued to toil for the
realization of the dreams of the
forebears of Akwa-Ibom state.
The banking guru expressed
high regards for Obong Attah
for his liberal disposition to
would-be
leaders
by
encouraging even those who
sought to take over from him,
Governor Akpabio inclusive, to
remain in office and campaign
without discrimination and
victimisation as is the case with
most leaders.
His Lordship, Bishop Samuel
Akpan, Obong Umanah Okon
Umanah, Obong Insima Ekere,
all governorship hopefuls in the
state nodded their heads to
Attah’s unsung contributions to
the sociopolitical and economic
development of the state,
leading to his continued
relevance and acceptability
across the various tribes and
ethnic nationalities in the state.
2015 to determine who runs Rivers' politics
pens within the party in the
state.
RIVERS…
THE TREASURE BASE
OF THE NATION
The battle within
This probably explained why
some governorship aspirants
recently rallied a group, Save
Rivers PDP to lobby that the
state executive be replaced with
a caretaker committee on
grounds that the former was
serving the interest of the
minister.
By Jimitota Onoyume
P
ORT
HARCOURT—
RIVERS
state
is
symptomatically different from
other states in the South South region when it comes to
politics.
You could without fear of
contradiction single out one
person as the most influential
politician in other states of the
region, but in Rivers, it is a
different ball game.
The unpredictable state of
affairs is as a result of the
rumbling political divide in the
state.
Governor Chibuike Amaechi
came on board as governor of
the state on the platform of the
People’s Democratic Party,
PDP.
Nonetheless in the middle of
his second term in office, he
parted ways with the party,
voyaging
to
the
All
Progressive Congress, APC,
an audacious stroke that has
made the APC the ruling party
in the state with the PDP as a
sturdy opposition.
Wike
Governor Rotimi Amaechi
Amaechi’s power
Unmistakably, on matters of
governance,Amaechi exercises
the final authority by virtue of
his position as governor of the
state. It is surefire that he is
a resilient and influential politician.
Political loyalty
But when Niger Delta Voice
sought the views of citizens on
who is the strongest and most
influential politician in the
state, many from our
observation, spoke largely from
the slant of their political
allegiance.
Some asserted that the
upcoming general elections will
determine the most powerful
politician in the state, adding
that at the moment, the focus
should be identifying the most
powerful persons in the two top
contending political parties.
Between Amaechi, Wike
They said that within the APC,
Governor Amaechi calls the
shots and is the rallying point,
while within the PDP, the
Minister of State for Education,
Mr. Nyesom Wike, is the issue. Wike is believed to have
the state structure of the PDP
in his firm grip, so he determines very largely what hap-
2015 holds the ace
“Rivers state does not have
this type of ‘almighty’ political
leader you find in some other
states. So this issue of who is
the most powerful politician in
the state should be looked at
from the angle of the weight the
person exercises within the two
top parties”, a resident, Fred
Kpeba said.
Another resident, ThankGod
Friday, said if the state
government had remained the
way it came, a PDP state, it
would have been easy to say
Mr. A or B is the ultimate factor
in the politics of the state.
“However, as it stands
now the election in 2015 will
answer the question of who is
the most powerful politician in
the state,” he added
CROSS
RIVER… THE
PEOPLE’S
PARADISE
Imoke, Cross River’s man of power
*His political empire, strategies; larger-than-life status
By Emmanuel Unah
C
ALABAR—SINCE his
assumption of office in
2007, the Governor of Cross
River State, Senator Liyel
Imoke, has fully metamorphosed as the political C in
C of the state.
His calm appearance could
be deceptive to those who do
not know him closely, but
anybody conversant with his
persona knows that his political influence is not just within
the confines of the state, but
up to the nation’s capital,
Abuja, where he is a strategic player in the President
Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
He did not acquire this
larger than life political status overnight. It was built
through several decades of
consistent and deliberate
planning, spreading of goodwill and reaching out to people in divergent strata of society.
Self-effacing beginning
His background as the son
of Dr Samuel Imoke, an acolyte of Nigeria’s first President, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe,
who rose to become the Minister of Education in the First
Republic, also contributed to
the power Imoke wields today.
Senator at 27
In 1992, at the age of just
27, he was elected Senator
representing the Central
Senatorial District of Cross
River state above notable
contenders for the position
and this feat was majorly
based on his father’s reputation in the society.
Political dynasty
He learned the ropes from
then and in 1996, he and his
INSET: Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State
friend, who later emerged
governor of the state, Mr.
Donald Duke pitched tent
with the DPN and before that
era crumbled under the military regime, they had built a
political structure across the
state with Imoke as the principal driving force of the political empire.
When in 1999, Duke became
governor of the state; Imoke
was seen as the force behind
the throne. He, Duke and
Gershom Bassey were the arrowheads of the dynasty and
Imoke ensured stability of the
Duke administration in the
state even when he was functioning in Abuja as Special
Assistant and later Minister
of Power and Steel to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
When it was time for Duke
to vacate office in 2007, having served two tenures, it was
obvious that the next person
to step into his shoes was
Imoke and this he did effortlessly, as there was no serious opposition to him. But, it
is not clear Bassey will step
into Imoke’s shoes with unfolding political develop-
Duku harps on peace in oil communities
DELTA...
FINGER OF GOD
By Festus Ahon
U
GHELLI—CHAIRMAN
of the Association of
Community Leaders of Nine
Oil-Producing States in
Nigeria, Delta State, Mr.
Patrick Duku, has charged
communities in the state to
embrace peace, a basic ideal
of the group, to attract more
government presence and
benefits from oil companies
operating in the state.
Addressing
newsmen
shortly after a meeting with
stakeholders in Ughelli, Duku
said the body was out to unite
all community leaders for the
purpose of peace and
development and to collaborate
with national and international
organizations for the promotion
of amity and sustainable
development of the oilproducing states.
Calling for the active
involvement of communities’
leadership in the activities of
the association, Duku reiterated
the determination of the
organisation to continue to
draw the attention of the
Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs
and the Niger Delta
Development Commission,
NDDC, to the plights of the
people of the communities.
He said the association was
formed because “there is no
organized body, no voice to
articulate and address issues of
concerns to the communities in
the Niger Delta region.”
ments in the state.
His style
He has rallied support from
all and sundry, including opposition parties whose presence is hardly felt due to his
preponderant power in all sections of the state.
Imoke is consistently seen as
the political father of the state
and anything he wants done
is achieved with microscopic
struggle. It is his singular decision that the governorship
position should be zoned to the
Northern senatorial district of
the state by the PDP. Though,
the decision did not go down
well with many stakeholders,
nobody had the impudence
so far to challenge him.
Refusal to anoint successor
Even when over 20 persons
from the north are jostling to
succeed him, he has refused
to anoint any one of them
which would have facilitated
an easy ride to Government
House for such a person.
He has continuously insisted that such an action
would be immoral and tantamount to trivializing the position of governor. Reiterating this position, October 1,
while addressing stakehol-
ders during the state’s Merit
Award ceremony, Imoke said
those waiting for him to
anoint them as his successor
would have to continue to
wait until he swears in the
new governor without their
ambition coming to fruition.
According to him, the office
of governor is such an important position that the person
occupying it takes charge of
the affairs of millions of people and should, therefore, not
be toyed with, just for personal
interest.
He said though the position
has been zoned to the northern part of the state, the contestants from that zone must go
out and sell their vision to the
party organs and people to
enable them make an informed decision and elect who
they consider fit to occupy the
position.
The new Cross River
”The challenge we faced to
build the new Cross River
should not be forgotten and if
today we make a governor by
appointment, the governor
will owe allegiance to his masters.
“Today I see public office
holders becoming contractors,
beneficiaries of everything
with nothing left to trickle
down to the people.”
C
M
Y
K
EDO...
HEARTBEAT OF
THE NATION
By Simon Ebegbulem
Anenih remains
Edo political oracle
B
ENIN— THE Iyasele of Esan land
and chairman, Board of Trustees,
BoT, People’s Democratic Party, PDP,
Chief Tony Anenih, is the most powerful
living political leader in the present day
Edo state.
Though, there are other persons of
influence in the state such as twotime
former governor of the old Bendel State,
Dr Samuel Ogbemudia and Governor
Adams Oshiomhole, Anenih has created
a niche for himself when it comes to the
politics of his home state.
He was instrumental to the emergence
of former governor, Chief Lucky
Igbinedion in 1999. He fell out with
Igbinedion during the second term of
his administration and vowed to wrestle
power from him.
His war with Igbinedion factionalized
the PDP in the state but he was able to
make Prof. Osarhiemen Osunbor
governor in 2007.
However, at the moment, the PDP in
his native state is in tatters, particularly
with the emergence of Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole as governor, first under the
platform of the Action Congress AC,
later Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN,
and now, All Progressives Congress,
APC, after forging alliance with other
parties. It was the infighting in the PDP
that provided the cannon fodder for
Oshiomhole’s conquest.
From 1999 till date, there is no
decision by the PDP in Edo state that
will see the light of the day without
getting the endorsement of the man
known as Mr. Fix it. It is popularly said
that though Anenih is from Edo Central
senatorial district, that is the Esan area,
but he can fix a councillor, who has
shown loyalty to his leadership in South
and North, the other two senatorial
districts in the state hassle-free.
Oshiomhole’s confession
During the early days of Governor
Oshiomhole in office, he buttressed the
fact thus: “When I was in the NLC as
President, then I use to interact with
Anenih a lot because of my fight with
the government. I recall that each time
our people in Edo wanted to hold a
Local Government election, some of my
close friends and brothers from Edo
North will come and appeal to me to
talk to Anenih to either make them
chairman or councillor.
“But I use to ask them how can that
Benin City
Chief Tony Anenih
be possible because the man is not from
our side, he is from the Central, they
will tell me that it does not work like
that, that without going to Uromi to
prostrate you cannot get even the
position of a ward leader in your area.
“And I asked them, are you not going
to vote, if the leaders of our area decide
on candidates, how is he going to
change it? They will always lecture me
that I do not understand the chief, that
without him, nothing will be possible
and that I should go and beg on their
behalf,” he said.
As a matter of fact, Oshiomhole tested
his own bitter pills in the hands of
Anenih during his first few months in
office when he had to go to Abuja with
the state budget to get approval from
the ‘leader’.
Oshiomhole was handicapped then
because the PDP dominated the state
House of Assembly. He had to stoop low
to conquer. The father and son
relationship went sour after Anenih
openly scolded Oshiomhole. The
comrade governor went on all-out attack
thereafter and succeeded in deposing
the PDP leadership in the House.
How he outfoxed Obasanjo
A special uniqueness of Anenih is that
he is known to be a long distance runner
in politics unlike many politicians, who
easily give up when hard times faced
them. When he was removed as BoT
chair by Obasanjo, he recoiled for a
while, strategizing on how to hit back.
Propitiously for him, he got his pound
of flesh during the Jonathan presidency
when he was assisted by other
influential persons to arm-twist
Obasanjo to resign as BoT chairman.
He sprang back a second time.
…don’t treat rebels gladly
He is known to reward loyalty, but
hardly forgives when you betray his
trust. Today in Edo state, there are
people who have suffered politically and
are still suffering because they were not
loyal.
People like the current Secretary to the
Edo State Government, Prof. Julius
Ihonvbere, former governor of the state,
Prof. Osarhiemen Osunbor, Senator
Domingo Obende, Senator Yisa
Braimoh, Senator Ehigie Uzamere,
Lucky Igbinedion and many others, had
all experienced the angst of Chief
Anenih.
Despite the attempt to stop other
aspirants from contesting the PDP 2007
governorship primaries against the
“anointed” Prof Osunbor at the Samuel
Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City,
Ihonvbere defied Anenih’s instruction
by going to the stadium to run for the
primaries. Anenih never forgave him,
particularly after Ihonvbere hauled over
the coals on him for purportedly
skewing the primaries in favour of
Osunbor.
Though Ihonvbere later worked for the
emergence of Osunbor, Anenih made
sure that even with Ihonvbere’s
influence at the presidential villa,
Abuja; he was not made a minister or
given any appointment that matched his
sacrifice in the party. Ihonvbere’s
glaring marginalization in the PDP led
to his exit from the party to the APC
today.
Apostle of no vacancy
Anenih accused both Osunbor and
Delta govt, DESOPADEC, others get
28-day ultimatum from HOSTCOM
By Brisibe Perez
U
GHELLI—THE
Host
Communities of oil and gas,
HOSTCOM, Ughelli North Local
Government Area, Delta State, has
given a 28-day ultimatum to the
management of the Delta State Oil
C
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K
Producing Area Development
Commission, DESOPADEC, the
Nigeria Petroleum Development
Company, NPDC, and Niger Delta
Development Commission, NDDC, to
intervene on the deplorable state of
roads at Afiesere and Agbarha-Otor
communities.
The group, in a statement by its
chairman and secretary, Mr. Agwarive
Pender and Mr. Shikaleke Okiemute,
respectively, said the road had long
been damaged and efforts made to
seek attention of the state government
and the interventionist agencies to
rehabilitate them yielded no result.
Igbinedion of forming parallel PDP
structures in the state and might not
have forgiven them till date. The moment
you are not loyal to him as governor of
Edo state, the soft- spoken leader would
tell you that there is vacancy in
Osadebey Avenue, which is the seat of
power in the state, but once you are
loyal, he will equally tell others that
there is no vacancy in Osadebey
Avenue.
How Igbiendion survived
Ex-governor, Igbinedion, was able to
clinch his second term ticket because
he played the game with the ‘leader,’
but moved to the trenches to battle him
politically during the tail end of his
administration.
How Oshiomhole displaced his
structure
But with the coming of Oshiomhole,
Anenih can only boast of influence
within his PDP in Edo state and not the
entire state any more. Oshiomhole, who
watched Anenih from afar while he was
NLC president, came to dig out the
political structure of the ‘leader’ through
his war against godfatherism in the
state.
Anenih tested defeats in the hands of
Oshiomhole in all the elections held
since 2007 in the state, but has been
able to hold grip on his senatorial
district. Though Oshiomhole won his
re-election in the entire 18 local
government areas of the state, including
Anenih’s domain, the PDP leader still
has control over the senatorial and
House of Representatives seats in Edo
Central.
Never- say- die spirit
Anenih may not be finding it cool due
to the influence of Oshiomhole in the
current politics of the state, but anybody
that knows him, recognizes that the
leader never gives up. For him, 2016 is
just tomorrow and he is unquestionably
waiting
long-sufferingly
and
strategizing on how to pay Oshiomhole
back by re-installing a PDP governor in
the state.
As BOT chairman of the PDP, his influence in national politics is still soaring and sure, he will have the wherewithal to battle the APC in his home
state come 2015 and 2016.
Confusion in Rivers’
schools over Ebola equipment
A senior teacher in the school
explained there was uneasy
calm, but confirmed that the
school was yet to receive the
Ebola equipment.
He said some private schools
in the area had gotten it because they were compelled to
do so, adding, “government
will soon send equipment to
us, so students should come
back for studies.
“Definitely, some weeks
have been lost so the scheme
of work will not be covered
adequately.”
Mr. Edmond Ohaka, Headteacher, State School I, Rumuji
teaching as we resumed on
Wednesday. There is now
pressure on the teachers
because we need to cover the
scheme of work for the term.”
Test kits provided
On the issue of Ebola test
tools, Ohaka said State School
1, Rumuji, UBE and other
secondary schools in Emohua
have all gotten the Ebola
testing and precaution
materials provided by the state
government.
His words: “We are ready to
fight Ebola in our school. We
have people who have been
trained by the government and
we have received the
equipment the school needs.
“Last week, I invited all the
parents for a meeting; we also
sensitized them because
controlling Ebola will not only
be in the school. So we have to
encourage them to maintain
good hygiene at home.
“The union in the local
government wanted to stop us
from resuming because on the
resumption day, we have not
gotten the equipment,
although with understanding,
they allowed us, but we now
have the equipment.
Government on its own has
provided everything needed to
fight Ebola. Every school in
Emohua has all the facilities.
“I think Ebola is no more a
case in the local government. I
thank the governor of the state
for being very proactive in handling issues relating to students’ health and welfare,” he
asserted.
Students boycott school
At Ikwerre local government
area, particularly Government
Secondary School, Aluu, the
case was a bit different. The
students were yet to fully
resume for academic activities
when Niger Delta Voice visited.
A student who Niger Delta
Voice encountered at the
school gate said, “We are yet
to start, we are afraid to come
back now because of no Ebola
equipment.”
Commissioner Parker
speaks
Reacting to the mix-up,
Commissioner of Health,
Rivers state, Dr. Sampson
Parker, said government had
provided facilities for over
1,206 schools in the state and
urged the head teachers to go
to their zonal offices and pick
the kits meant for their schools.
“We partnered with the
Ministry of Education and
have provided sufficient
materials that will go round
the schools in the state. The
ministry is vigilant in case of
any challenge. I do not know
why students do not want to
resume studies,” he stated.
NUT chairman pleads
for understanding
In the same vein, the state
chairman, NUT, Mr. Godfrey
Wogu, implored teachers in
the state to resume academic
activities, saying that
government was determined
to provide all the necessary
facilities needed in the
schools.
“The directive is with
immediate effect. All teachers
in the state are expected to
resume school on Monday the
13th October, 2014. Any
teacher who fails to resume
school on the said date will
be sanctioned,” he said.
Clark
Clark, political VIP in Delta
*Amori, Edoja, Ofa, others
disagree … pick Uduaghan, Ibori
*No political leader in Delta— KOKORI
DELTA...
FINGER OF GOD
By Festus Ahon, Egufe
Yafugborhi & Brisibe
Perez
SABA—FORMER
Federal Commissioner
for Information and Ijaw leader,
Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark,
is unquestionably the most
powerful political leader in
Delta State.
The only other living
politician that would have
stopped him in the state is the
former governor, Chief James
Ibori, but unfortunately, his
arrest and incarceration for
money laundering abroad, has
created the opportunity for
Clark, one of his formidable
foes, to have a field day.
A
Political Mecca
Last month, September,
Kiagbodo, the home town of
Chief Clark in Burutu Local
Government Area of the state
was turned to a political Mecca
as politicians, particularly those
seeking elective positions,
trooped in large numbers to the
elder statesman for consultations.
From the former Minister of
State for Education, Olorogun
Kenneth Gbagi, Senator
Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr. Tony Obuh,
Obarisi Omo Agege, Mrs
Esther Uduehi and so on, there
was no day since the 2015
general elections climaxed
with the release of the ruling
People’s Democratic Party, PDP,
timetable for primaries that one
or two governorship aspirants
and aspirants for other elective
offices, would not visit Chief
Clark to seek for his support
and blessings.
In fact, even when some
people did not know that the
man, who spends most of his
time nowadays at Abuja, has
returned to the nation’s capital
city, some governorship
aspirants, including Mr.
Andrew Warri, trailed him to
Abuja to receive his blessings.
For many politicians in the
state, the anointing of Chief E.K
Clark is the beginning of
Continues on Page 8
DELTA LG POLL COUNTDOWN: Why we want to rule—IKPOKPO, EDEMA,ETAGA
covenanted children of God,
can go into politics and come
out clean. “
By Emma Amaize & Egufe
Yafugborhi
S
OME
chairmanship
aspirants in the October
25 Local Government Area
election in Delta State have
spoken on why they want to
govern their respective
Councils.
Service
PDP standard bearer in
Isoko South, Mr. Itiakpo
Ikpokpo, aka Malik, “We can
no longer depend only on
allocation from the Federal
Itiako Ikpokpo
Government, we need to
invest as a people, this will
create employment for
people. I am convinced about
this and this is why as a
servant, I want to render
service to my people.”
Mofe Edema
Integrity
Former chairman, Warri
South Local Government
Area, Mr. Mofe Edema, who
is seeking a comeback on PDP
platform, said, “I have been
there before and I dare say the
Etaga
people are the better judges
of my track record.
“However, this time around,
I am in the race to show to
both
believers
and
unbelievers that good
Christians,
who
are
Transformation
Paul Etaga, also PDP
candidate in Ughelli South,
said: “My mission to lead
Ughelli South council is to
bring
about
positive
transformation for the people
and environment.
“I will ensure conscientious
harnessing of resources
available to the locality for even
development of infrastructures
and human capital.”
C
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CELEBRITY
KENNETH GBAGI:
Golden Tulip
The world of Delta’s
huge investor
Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi
W
ARRI—STUNNED by
the audacity of a young
Midwesterner, who mobilized
workforce to a swampy location
near his habitation, on Deco
Road, Warri, more than two
decades ago, a former military
governor of the defunct
Midwest Region, confronted
the fellow to find out if he
understood the enormousness
of the task he had undertaken.
To the retired military officer,
it was a staggering undertaking
for a single individual to reclaim
the marshy land and so he
interrogated the guy, who stood
before him on his identity and
what exactly the Federal
Government wanted to do with
the property.
The gentleman flabbergasted
him the more when he told him
that he was the chairman of
GKO Properties Limited, which
had bought the land and that it
was not a government project.
On the once boggy location
stands, today, the biggest
shopping mall in Delta state,
known as Robinson Gbagi
Plaza, which provides means of
livelihood for over 3,500
Deltans.
Venture
capitalist
extraordinary
The man, who had the farsightedness to provide the
leading trading centre for
Deltans in the oil city of Warri,
years ago, is criminologist,
lawyer and former Minister of
State (Education), Olorogun
Kenneth Gbagi. He proudly
calls himself a trader.
To those who know him,
Gbagi’s confidence in the state
is unflinching. His investments
speak for him. From the
shopping mall, he built the
Woodridge Hotel, Effurun, near
Warri and had also set up a
cluster of companies, including
paint, water and pet-preform
producing factories in the state.
He recently added the first
five-star hotel, Golden Tulip and
the first digital cinema in the
state, managed by Silverbird to
the unending list.
Uduaghan attests
to his prowess
The state governor, Dr.
Emmanuel Uduaghan, saw and
C
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noted the single-mindedness of
the man, who is among those
seeking to take over from him
in 2015, many years ago. And
in August, last year, when
Gbagi visited him (Uduaghan)
at Government House, Asaba,
he said, “Kenneth Gbagi is one
of the highest investors, if not
the highest indigenous
investor, in Delta State.”
He thanked Gbagi for his faith
and continuous investments in
the state and urged other well
placed Deltans to emulate him.
Why I want to rule Delta
Speaking to Niger-Delta
Voice, Olorogun Gbagi, a leading Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, gubernatorial aspirant
from the Delta Central senatorial district, said, “What is extremely missing in our life today is character, people have
become characterless without
integrity.
“That is what I want to bring
back to the state. I have been
involved in building and I will
continue to build the state. That
is what I want to do in Government House, Asaba.”
On his grilling by the former
military governor, he said it was
a fact that he was confronted by
the retired army officer he
commenced work on the
swampy site, over two decades
ago and “I told him I bought
the place and wanted to develop
it, he thought I was a contractor
executing a project for government and wanted to know more
about the project. I told him and
he was marvelled.”
According to him, “I am a
trader and realized that one of
the greatest problems people
had in Warri was getting shops
to rent, that was what gave rise
to my decision to build
Robinson Plaza, Warri with over
500 shops, named after my
father, and today, over 3,500
families are eking out their daily
bread from the place.”
Gbagi added, “I was renting
the shop for N2, 000 but people
were subletting it for N90, 000.
Till tomorrow, my joy and happiness is seeing that people are
Chaotic planning threatens
Uyo—EX-COMMISSIONER
By Tom Moses
U
YO— FORMER Commissioner for Lands and Housing,
Akwa Ibom State, Professor Charles Akpan, has raised the
alarm over looming disaster in Uyo, the state capital, in 10 years,
resulting from faulty design.
Professor Akpan, currently Head of Department, Civil
Engineering, University of Uyo, told Niger Delta Voice,
shortly after presenting the 41st Inaugural Lecture of the university that the state government was not following the proper
plan of the city put on ground in 1989 by the administration of a
former governor, Godwin Abe.
The don, who extolled the ex-governor for the wonderful
structures he put in place in the state in 1989, said unless the
state government re-planned and gave the city a facelift, the
disaster was bound to occur, adding that he had discussed the
establishment of multi car parks and railway lines with some
government officials to check the ugly trend.
The don, who commended the former governor for giving Uyo
shape, said, “If he did not do those Ring Roads in 1989, you
would not have them today because by the time we started
building, there would have been so many buildings on the rightof-way that you might have to knock down some and spend up
to N5 to N10 billion on compensation to the owners.
“Go to Mbiabong area behind Shelter Afrique; when I was the
Commissioner for Lands, we planned that area. People are just
building carelessly; you cannot put pipe or electric pole anyhow.
The streets are too narrow.
“Ten years from now, people will not be able to move round
Akwa Ibom State, as there is no provision for parking around
the city. People will be stuck in traffic for four or more hours as is
the case in Port-Harcourt.”
benefiting from it.
With the shopping plaza, over
3,500 persons were automatically removed from the jobless
market and the hopelessness of
the situation to put food in their
mouths.”
Employment for Deltans
He asserted, “Golden Tulip
alone is employing over 350
persons, the cinema has not less
than 30 persons in gainful
employment. Thousands of
people go there to ease
pressure. There is paint, water
factories, pet-preform factorieswhat you blow to produce bottle
and so on. The totality of staff
there is no fewer than 260.
“The old Woodridge is being
renovated with a view to starting a school, Saint Thomas
Moore Schools as soon as possible.
“I believe in Delta; I will not
run to anywhere. If I had taken
these investments to Lagos, the
returns would have been
phenomenal. But I want them
to be in Delta State.
“I know I was born to bring
joy to mankind and change the
situation of things around me,
which is what I want to do in
the state.
“God is biased towards me in
this regard and I do not want to
fail Him. That is why I am determined to provide leadership
as governor of the state.”
Clark, political VIP in Delta
victory. Even National and State
Assembly aspirants outside
Chief Clark’s constituency still
visit him to seek for his support.
This is a pointer to the fact that
the Ijaw leader is undeniably
very powerful and influential in
the politics of the state.
The search for the most
powerful living politician in
state expectedly provoked
divergent views. Niger Delta
Voice spoke to cross sections
of Deltans.
Former NUPENG General
Secretary, Chief Frank Kokori,
said, “No one in Delta state fits
this description of being most
influential, what we have in
government are opportunists.”
Uduaghan, Ibori influence
However, some politicians rate
the state governor, Dr
Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan
higher than Chief Clark in
terms of political powers and
influences. Of course, there is
no gain saying that the
governor is also very powerful
and influential given the fact
that he holds the ace in state
PDP. But even at that, the governor himself still rallies round
Chief Clark for support and
blessings in the day to day running of the state.
Despite Ibori’s absence, some
persons see the former
governor as more powerful and
influential than Clark. They
hold strongly that Governor
Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan
and others exercising political
influence in the state, except
Chief E. K Clark, are all
products of Chief Ibori.
According to them, even in
his incarceration, politicians
were being air lifted to the
United Kingdom, week after
week to seek, for the blessings
and support of Chief James
Onanefe Ibori. So one can
better imagine how dominant
he would have been if he was
in the shores of this country.
But Special Adviser on
Political Affairs to the
Governor, Chief Ighoyota
Amori, asserted ,”The
governor, Dr. Emmanuel
Uduaghan is the most
influential politician in the
state because he is the head
of the government of the state.
Whoever is a politician comes
under his leadership.
“There is no way anyone can
be more influential than him
coupled with the fact that he
influences political decisions
in the state. The next person
is Chief Edwin Clark, who has
a national reach in terms of
politics.”
For the former member
representing Ethiope Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon Solomon Edoja,
“Politics is all about governance
and the governor, Dr.
Uduaghan, being the number
one citizen and head of state is
the most influential because he
influences all the decisions in
the executive and legislature
through the State House of Assembly.
“Personally, I think the
governor fits this position as the
most influential.”
By Theodore Opara
S
EDANS, SUV’s, Mini
Vans, buses and trucks from
the stables of SAIPA Automobiles
of Iran and Shineray Automobile
Co. of China, will lead the pack
of new entrants of automobiles
that will be on display at the
Eagle Square, venue of the 16th
Abuja International Motor Fair
holding from 22 to 30 October,
2014,
Disclosing this to newsmen
over the weekend, the
Managing Director of BKG
Exhibitions, Mr. Ifeanyi Agwu,
organizers of the event said that
this development is a pointer to
the fact that the Nigerian
Automotive sector is seriously
becoming the leading investment
destination in the Continent
because of the enormous
potentials and benefits it offers.
“It equally shows that with time
the new thinking in the industry
in Nigeria will achieve the
desired end of boosting
investment and socio-economic
development of the nation”.
Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Agwu, who
is also the Chairman of
Organising committee of the auto
show said that it is a reward for
the hard work that his company
has been making since the
inception of the event Fifteen
seven years ago. According to
him “it did not come as a surprise
because we have been
strategically working for the fair
to gain more international
recognition and acceptance
which the coming of these
companies attests to.
According to Autodex Nigeria
Limited the franchise holder of
the Shineray brand in Nigeria,
“these vehicles are globally
trusted for their durability,
ruggedness,
aesthetic
excellence, superb agility,
modern engineering, high fuel
efficient engines and advanced
safety devices which can be
relied on to deliver high standard
performance at all times”. The
company which owns an
Assembly Plant in Abuja said that
with the current development in
the Nigerian automotive sector,
they are poised to harness the
abundant potentials to become a
big player in the industry in SubSahara Africa with Nigeria as its
centre of operation.
SAIPA which comes with the
models: Tidoa, Saipa132,
Tonda90, Mega, Ron2, is
staging an intimidating
comeback into Nigeria’s
C
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*Saipa
Salon Car
SAIPA, SHINERAY lead debutants to
Abuja Motor Fair
automotive market courtesy of
Sparkling Energy Resources
Nigeria Limited. It is storming
Abuja with a strong team from
the parent company SAIPA of
Iran. According to a source, the
Iranian automobile maker has
concluded arrangements to
commence the assembling of
some of its vehicles in Nigeria.
Mr. Agwu stressed that the
Abuja international Motor Fair
remains the unparalleled
gathering of established brands
as well as new entrants, ranging
from passenger busses, cars,
trucks, spare parts, accessories,
lubricants, financials and many
more; adding that the importance
of continuously staging the show
cannot be over-emphasized as all
hands must be on deck to promote
and support investments into the
sector, as it occupies a strategic
position in enhancing the
economic development of Nigeria”
“As part of our efforts in promoting
investment in the automotive
sector, in addition to the usual
display of products and services
by participants, this edition has a
Managing Directors’ of
Automobile Companies Forum
with Heads of arms of government,
Ministries, Departments and
Agencies which activities impact
on the sector. Virtually all the major
brands of automobiles, spare parts,
accessories, lubricants, banking,
insurance, regulatory and policy
making agencies and bodies are
taking part. Feelers from most of
the participating firms indicate that
visitors to the various stands will
enjoy lots of goodies. Some have
packaged gift items, lucky dips and
many other forms of entertainments
which according to sources will last
all through the fair. We have
packaged a fair that has something
for everybody; visitors, participants
and other stakeholders.”
Hyundai Nigeria signs dealership pact with Truckmasters
H
yundai Motors Nigeria
Limited has appointed
Lagos-based
automobile
vending and aftermarket shop Truckmasters Nigeria Limited as
one of its provisional dealers at
a sign-on ceremony in Lagos,
where it charged the new agent
to be steadfast and extend its role
beyond being a simple sales and
service shop to become
customers’ lifetime companion.
Mr. Parvir Singh, Managing
Director, Hyundai Motors
Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of
Stallion Group who recently
made this appeal said
Truckmasters facility will provide
sales and technical support to
teeming customers in Maryland,
Ikeja and its environs
He urged the newly
commissioned agent to embrace
Hyundai global vision of being
“Life time partner in automobiles
and beyond,” while moving one
step closer to customers by
making Hyundai buyers’
beloved brand.
“It isn’t enough to be
successfully certified and expect
your organization to keep
performing at high level, using
smart practices rather, you need
to be focus and make compliance
to standard an on-going habit,”
the Hyundai Motors director
counseled.
Mr. Singh encouraged the new
agent to embrace the principle
of
maintenance
and
improvement as standard ways
of working throughout an
organization, adding that
Hyundai Motor Company
Parvir Singh, Managing Director, Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Stallion Group presenting a copy of the
provisional dealership agreement to Mr. Anthony Arenyeka,
Managing Director, Truckmasters Nigeria Limited at the signon ceremony in Lagos recently.
recognizes the importance and
impact automobiles have on
society and mankind.
He said: “A car is no longer
simply a means of transportation
that links people to people but a
life space that occupies a central
role in people’s lives.”
A robust automobile brand,
Hyundai has made remarkable
strides at local and global
markets owing to high quality
and emotional appeal of its
products, which have become
part of the brand’s modern
premium strategy and brand
direction to ‘Live Brilliant’.
Hyundai vehicles are also
celebrated for their stylish, sleek
curves and fluidic sculpture
designs that not only implies a
sporty and dynamic style, but
improves aerodynamics to lower
air resistance and enhance
outstanding fuel economy and
quiet cabin space.
By Theodore Opara
Ford projects annual global sales to
increase 45 to 55 % by 2020
F
ORD Motor Compa
ny has outlined its
2020 vision, which includes plans to substantially increase its global
vehicle sales and automotive operating margin, and achieve more
balanced geographic
profitability.
By 2020, Ford projects
annual global sales to
increase 45 to 55 percent
to approximately
9.4 million. Its automotive operating mar-
gin is projected to improve to about 8 percent
during the same period,
with a long-term target
of 8 percent to 9 percent.
“Our long-term plan
underscores the commitment we have to our
One Ford plan, while accelerating our pace of
progress, delivering
product excellence and
driving innovation in all
areas of our business,”
said Mark Fields, Ford’s
president and CEO. “We
remain completely fo-
cused on offering customers thefreshest line-
up of world-class vehicles to meet their
needs.”
Ford anticipates
that, by 2020, all
five automotive
business units and
Ford Credit will
contribute to the
company’sprofitability.
Today,
the
company’s profits
are more than explained
by
NorthAmerica and
FordCredit, with
growing profits inAsia Pacific, while
it continues transforming its Europe,
SouthAmerica and
Middle
East
&Africa operations.
As it continues
expanding in new
regions, Ford is aggressively moving
to match production to growing
customer demand
and achieve benefits of global scale.
In addition, by
2020, the company
projects
its
breakeven volume
will be two-thirds
of its wholesale
volume.
By 2020, Ford
Credit expects
managed receivables to increase by
about 50 percent.
Meeting customer demand
Ford’s
2020
vision is driven by
the company ’s
confidence in its
global product
plans.Those plans
focuson delivering
a full family of vehicles that meet
and exceed customer expectations
in Ford’s four
brandpillars —
quality, green, safe
and smart — across
the world.
Ford
will
continue to be a
leader in bringing
new features to
market and will
seize opportunities
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to differentiate itself
from competitors.Those
vehicles will target a diverse set of customers,
from valuebuyers in developing regions to luxury customers in the
U.S. and China and
truck and utility
customers globally.
Ford, with the 2015 F150, is the first automaker to use highstrength, military-grade
aluminum alloys in the
body of a mass-market
vehicle and plans to expand its aluminum use
to include the next-generation Super Duty.The use of
aluminum allows Ford to
maintain its truck leadership,
improve capability anddurability across its entire lineup,
and deliver better gas mileage.
Furthering the company's
emphasis on innovation, Ford
will continue to grow its presence in Silicon Valley by expanding its PaloAlto Research
and Innovation Center with a
new focus and expanded talentfrom different industries
and backgrounds. Ford will
remain a leader in technology and will continue tofocus
on the research and development of in-car connectivity
and automated driving technologies, key components of
Ford’s Blueprint for Mobility.
Ashift in customer and regional trends means small
vehicles will play a larger role
in Ford’s productportfolio.
Global models like the Fiesta, Focus and EcoSport, and
regional nameplates such as
the Figo, Ka and Escort, will
comprise a greater percentage
of Ford’s sales.
Fuel-efficient and versatile
sport-utility vehicles and
crossovers, like the Edge and
Explorer, will alsomake up a
larger portion of Ford’s overall sales total, especially as
those models become available innew regions.All segments will grow volume compared to today’s levels.
The company is on plan to
have 99 percent of its global
sales volume built on nine
platforms by 2016 and is furthering its strategy by consolidating its long-term product
plan to eight platforms.
The company will generate
positive automotive operating-related cash flow
throughout its planning period, and capital spending is
expected to increase to about
$9 billion annually, up from
$6.6 billion in2013.
The end result: Ford plans
to refresh its global product
portfolio one-and-a-half times
through the end of the decade
— an expected industry-leading refresh rate.
N
IGERIA’S biggest pop
icon, 2Face and the
starboy, Wizkid are about to
turn the Artistry season a notch
higher as the headliners move
out of Nigeria for the first time
ever this weekend to deliver
the biggest Hennessy Artistry
international concert in the city
of Accra, Ghana.
With two of Nigeria’s biggest
music acts 2Face and Wizkid
performing alongside buzzing
Ghanaian artistes like 4x4,
Edem, MzVee and South
African duo, Mafikizolo, the
Hennessy Artistry concert will
hold this Saturday, October
18th at the Accra International
Conference Centre.
2Face, Wizkid in first collabo as
Hennessy Artistry goes to Ghana
Talented
artistes
Lere Awokoya, Brand
Manager for Hennessy Nigeria
commented, “Our choice of
bringing together these
talented artistes from around
Africa was influenced by the
convergence of Africa and
Africa’s taste in music. Just as
Hennessy is consumed in
different countries in Africa,
Africa has gotten to a point
where countries are sharing
similar music tastes. 2Face and
Wizkid have visited a variety of
African countries including
Ghana repeatedly and this is
evident in their relevance in the
African continent today”
The 2014 Hennessy Artistry
headliners, 2Face and Wizkid
made their second club tour
appearance on Saturday,
October 11, 2014 at the Cosmo
Lounge in Port Harcourt and left
fans, lovers of Hennessy and
music. They kicked off the show
with a pulsating performance of
their first banging collabo track,
“Dance Go” as they mingled
with guests present. Guests
also surprised the headliners as
they sang to the upbeat track
line by line.
Omotola admonishes music
producer-son as he gains
university admission
BY AYO ONIKOYI
N
OLLYWOOD leading diva,
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde took
to Facebook on
Saturday to
celebrate and admonish son, 16
year-old Mathew Ekeinde Jnr, a
music producer who just gained
admission into a university to be
careful and not let music get into his
head. Recall that Omotola’s son,
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who goes by stage name Captain
E recently came third at an
international music conference
producer showcase competition
in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, where
he was the only African.
Displaying the certificate her
son won and some pictures of
them together, Omosexy wrote
poetic lines to teach the budding
music producer a lesson or
two on fame and education.
“So, as you start this new
journey in the university,
we love you; believe in you,
and trust you will be
deluged by, in all your
choices. I say we, because,
remember, you have a lot of
mummies and daddies
watching you here too. Okay
boy, enjoy the campus life
but don’t relent on the music
(they think you are great
already) but you can still be
whipped if you take a
wrong step.... be confident
and believe in yourself” she
stated with flourish and
ended her message with
various hash tags like; The
only one from Africa;
youngest
contestant,
Africa’s youngest music
producer, etc.
I have tried so many times to succeed but
failed, cries Star The Winner Is winner
C
By Ayo Onikoyi
ALL it a twist of fate, pure luck or
even a trick of destiny but Michael Achu
has emerged the maiden winner of Star The
Winner Is reality TV show, with a prize
money of N10 million, a brand new car and
recording contract with Universal Records.
But if not for twist of destiny, Michael wasn’t
supposed to be the winner because he actually
lost the final duet duel to Job who got 57
votes to Michael’s 44 votes. But Job lost his
guts and opted out on easy street taking N2
million escape money, in a bid to get
something or nothing, should he lose
eventually. Anyways, Michael’s guts and
luck held on the fateful Friday night and he
became the winner.
“This is totally a dream come true for me
and my family. I have tried so many times to
succeed in my music career but failed, and I
am very grateful that at last my persistence
and perseverance has paid off, I can’t thank
Star Lager and Nigerian Breweries enough,”
said an elated Michael at the victory party
held on Friday night.
“When I was informed about the Universal
Records deal, I had to pinch myself severally
because I thought I was dreaming. My
dreams have indeed come true”, added an
overtly excited Michael.
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Old Oshodi showing commotion and noisy environment
HORN-FREE DAY:
Mixed feelings as Lagos moves
to tackle noise pollution
M
ixed feelings have
continued to trail efforts
of the Lagos State Government
to tackle the menace of noise
pollution in the metropolis,
whose population is put at 21
million.
While
speaking
last
Thursday, at the First Lagos
Drivers’ Appreciation Day, a
programme organised by the
state‘s
Ministry
of
Transportation, at the Lagos
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry House, Alausa, Ikeja,
to sensitise drivers on the
maiden horn-free day slated
for tomorrow, the state
governor, Babatunde Fashola
called
on
residents,
particularly, motorists to desist
from activities capable of
generating needless noise in
the state, saying a noiseless
society is possible.
At the occasion, where no
fewer than 25 distinguished
professional drivers were
rewarded for obeying traffic
regulations, Fashola had
affirmed that noise pollution
can be reduced in the state, if
residents collaborate with
government just as they did in
the containment of Ebola Virus
Disease, EVD.
As typical of various Lagos
metropolis and suburbs from
the Island to the Mainland,
such as Apapa, Ikeja,
Alagbado,
Iyana-Iba,
Alabarago, Okokomaiko,
Ajegunle, Ojuelegba, Mushin,
Oshodi, Ikotun, Iyana-Ipaja,
Ojota, Ketu, Mile 12, Mile 2,
CMS, Igando among others,
the blaring horns from
vehicles, tricycles and
motorcycles is usually so
deafening to behold.
A recent research by the
National Research Centre
states that noise levels
produced in different sources
at different times of the day are
well over the level set by the
Environmental Protection
Agency and that noise
pollution do contribute to
many health problems.
Thus, environmental experts
put harmful noise level at 70
decibels and above, while the
global standard for measuring
noise puts 90 decibels as
rather too high and harmful to
human health.
Against this backdrop, the
state government instituted “a
day without horn in the state.”
,
BY OLASUNKANMI
AKONI, DOTUN IBIWOYE
& IKENNA ASOMBA
Transport and the Law
Enforcement Institutes, with
about 3,000 men of the Lagos
State Traffic Management
Authority, LASTMA, are
expected to implement as well
as monitor and ensure
maximum compliance by
Reduction in noise pollution would
clearly bring about better life, a
healthier life and a more prosperous
life. If you and I make the
commitment to do something positive
in order to reduce noise, clearly you
and I will benefit
Tomorrow, it is expected that
motorists,
especially
commercial bus drivers, sirens
from emergency vehicles such
as ambulances, police escorts
among others are expected to
limit the use of their vehicle
horn as sparingly as possible.
LASG’s preparedness
In preparedness, the state’s
Ministry of Transportation and
all affiliated agencies, the
Drivers’ Institutes, the
,
motorists on the day.
The governor said: “This
initiative is for our own good,
it is for our own health, it is
for our own life. It is not
because Governor Fashola
said so. It is not because Lagos
State Government said so. It
is simply because it is good for
us. Doctors have told us it is
for our own ultimate good.
“What we see in a way that
we now choose to live is that
because we live in a very noisy
environment, which
we
can
really
diminish, we tend to
be
very
noisy
ourselves. We speak at
the top of our voices,
we play music at very
high decibels and we
do very many things
at very high levels.”
According to him,
the campaign against
noise pollution was a
response to the
petitions
and
complaints of “citizens
and tax payers who,
on daily basis, write
and petition us that
somebody
is
preventing them from
sleep either from the
noise they are making
or
from
other
uncharitable activities
they are carrying on
without regard for the
wellbeing of their
neighbours.”
Fashola said in some
other parts of the
world, one could
spend days on their
roads and would not
hear any noise from
the horn.
He further recalled,
“Occasionally, when
you hear a siren you
know something has
gone wrong in that
system; you know that
either an ambulance is on its
way to an emergency or
firemen are on their way to a
fire or policemen are tracking
and chasing criminals; and I
said why should we be
different, are we not
Nigerians?.
“Reduction in noise pollution
would clearly bring about
better life, a healthier life and
a more prosperous life. If you
and I make the commitment to
do something positive in order
to reduce noise, clearly you
and I will benefit.”
Similarly, in her lecture
titled, “Noise Pollution Is Too
Serious To Be Ignored,” the
guest lecturer, at the event, Dr.
Kubie Layeni-Adeyemo,
described noise as an
unwanted sound, noting that
if it is not below 70 decibels, it
is like spending a day in a
factory full of noise.
She cited such noise to
include those from generators,
aircraft, and even dogs,
stressing that noise pollution
contributes to many health
problems.
According to her, such health
problems caused by noise
pollution include “partial or
permanent deafness, loss of
concentration,
nervous
breakdown and other physical
and psychological problems.
Noise pollution is excessive
noise which may harm our
Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
— 41
Mixed feelings as Lagos moves to tackle noise pollution
More commotion caused by Okada riders
Why we honk our hornsDrivers
Lukman Akinlawal, a driver
who plies the ApapaOjuelegba route, who stated
that he was unaware of the
horn-free day said: “I am just
getting the information from
you now. Though, I have not
seen any of the Lagos State
officials coming to our garage
to sensitise us about this day.
‘’I make use of my horn
because most Lagosians are
usually absent-minded while
on the road, especially
because of the myriads of
personal and family problems
they are faced with. For
instance, I had hit a passer-by
some time ago, who just
,
activity or balance of human or
even animal life.”
On his part, the state
commissioner
for
transportation, Mr. Kayode
Opeifa, assured residents that
Lagos drivers have been
mobilized for the day, adding
that all the motor parks in the
state are wearing banners put
up by the National Union of
Road Transport Workers
(NURTW)
and
other
stakeholder unions, even as
contact had also been made
with drivers’ employers within
and outside the state for the
occasion.
Opeifa, who said the
Drivers’ Appreciation Day
programme is initiated to
celebrate those drivers who
have contributed to safe
driving habits on the roads,
however said that government
would not sanction any driver
for honking on the horn-free
day. This is even as he stated
that the state government’s
desire to promote safety on the
road, made it set up the Lagos
State Drivers Institute in 2009
to retrain, re-certify drivers
and correct the deficiencies
identified in their drivers’
behaviours.
Mixed feelings
H o w e v e r,
despite
this
assurances,
when Vanguard
visited parts of
the state’s metropolis,
commercial bus drivers,
tricyclists and motorcyclists,
who spoke to us, gave several
reasons they make use of their
automobile horns while
driving.
While some said they blare
their horns to draw the
attention of other road users to
steer clear their right of way,
others said they blare their
horns to call-in passengers
into their vehicles. This is even
as a few others said they blare
their horns to call the attention
of friends for greetings, as they
drive.
Also, while some drivers said
they were aware of the hornfree day, as their unions have
sensitised them about it, others
however feigned ignorance of
the day, adding that it was
difficult not to honk or blare the
horns of their vehicles
considering the congested
nature of the state.
when some of my colleagues
who are bus drivers carelessly
pick
and
disembark
passengers on the road. So, I
use my vehicle horn to call
their attention to steer clear off
the road.’’
Olamilekan Ahmed, who
plies the Ojuelegba-Ojota
route said he was aware of the
day. He said: “I am aware of
the day. I had already
disconnected my vehicle horn
last week, because I thought
The vehicle horn is very important
that it can never be relegated to the
background. But let us try it first on
October 15, to see how it will work
jumped into the road without
looking carefully. It took the
man four days in the hospital
before he could remember
where he was. According to the
man, the only thing he could
remember was that he
alighted from a commercial bus
and just walked into the busy
expressway.’’
Another driver, Adebayo
Adesokan, who plies the
Ajegunle-Ojuelegba route
said: “Our National Union in
Ajegunle gave us circulars
yesterday (Thursday) to
intimate us of the October 15
horn-free day. I honk my
vehicle horn at occasions
,
it was last Wednesday that the
horn-free day was to be
observed.
However,
considering the congested
nature of Lagos, it is near
impossible for drivers not to
use their vehicle horns while
driving. Like yesterday, just
along the Ikorodu road, a
young man was just walking
aimlessly on the busy road.
Despite my blaring of horn,
the young man couldn’t still
leave the road. It took the
intervention of a soldier inside
the my bus, who tapped him
on the back, before he left the
road. The vehicle horn is very
important that it can never be
relegated to the background.
But let us try it first on October
15, to see how it will work.”
A driver who plies the KetuOjota route, but pleaded
anonymity lashed at the his
colleagues who are drivers
saying, “The horn-free day
can’t happen here in Lagos.
For example how will it be
enforced on all these boys
(drivers) that run the KetuOjota routes without clothes
but just singlet. Those boys just
see their horns as a toy, so they
will never obey that day. For
me, observing the day will be
possible because I don’t have
horn, I only use my lights to
call the attention of other
drivers obstructing my right of
way.”
However, Oluwaseyi Faro, a
tricyclist who plies the Yaba
route said he was not aware of
the day but noted that it was
impossible for him not to use
his tricycle horn while driving.
His words: “I have not heard
about the horn-free day, our
union has not informed me.
However, I honk my tricycle
horn to draw the attention of
other road users obstructing my
right of way. So, government
wants me to kill and inflict
injuries on pedestrians, who
walk aimlessly into the road.
Infact, I am going to use my
horn always. That directive is
not for me. Lagos is too
congested to observe this kind
of regulation.”
Enugu 2015: Intrigues
around consensus
The political landscape in Enugu has been charged
with the endorsement of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the choice
of the mainstream Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to
replace Governor Sullivan Chime. But other battle fields
are still smouldering
By Emmanuel Aziken,
Political Editor & Francis
Igata
I
T has been hailed as
Governor Sullivan Chime’s
boldest political move in recent
years. Who would have expected
the governor who is presently in
combat with some sections of the
ruling party in the state to pick
one of their own in the National
Assembly as his successor.
Rep. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s
endorsement as the consensus
candidate of the mainstream
PDP seems to be settling down
in the minds of many political
stakeholders despite earlier
revulsion in some interested
Chairmen, party officials and
people from the private sector
who benefit from politics have
already expressed felicitation to
Ugwuanyi in newspaper
advertorials in major national
dailies, an indication observers
say, some say may impede the
wheels of democracy in the state.
As the clock chimes towards the
November 16 date for
gubernatorial primaries of PDP
nationwide , the political
firmament in Enugu State is
already smouldering as
alignment and re-alignment have
reached a feverish pitch between
the power merchants struggling
to control the party's structure.
Remarkably, the choice of
Ugwuanyi has been hailed as a
,
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s endorsement as the
consensus candidate of the mainstream PDP
seems to be settling down in the minds of
many political stakeholders despite earlier
revulsion in some interested quarters
quarters.
Other aspirants at the meeting
where the endorsement was first
reached like Senator Ayogu Eze
representing Enugu-North
senatorial district and the
Speaker, Enugu State House of
Assembly, Mr. Eugene Odo had
initially promised to reject
Ugwuanyi as the product of a
crooked process.
However, beyond the initial
rejections nothing much has been
heard from them and Odo has
apparently fallen in line after
some threat of impeachment in
the House of Assembly. (See
accompanying story: Enugu
House: Hand of Esau, Voice of
Jacob)
Already, Ugwuanyi’s billboards
are now dotting around major
streets of Enugu metropolis and
beyond
following
his
endorsement by the stakeholders.
The inscription which is the
same in all the billboards reads:
"Ndi Enugu (People of Enugu),
Thank you all." From the message
in the billboards, Ugwuanyi is
already thanking the people for
electing him the governor having
been anointed by the governor
and most stakeholders.
Most Local Government
,
bold political move by Governor
Chime given the legislator’s
*Ugwuanyi: Consensus candidate
popularity among the citizenry
and political class.
He is especially said to be a
bridge between the governor and
Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the
deputy of the Senate, who leads
political stakeholders in the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP
that are at variance with the
mainstream as led by Governor
Chime.
The choice of the ever smiling
Ugwuanyi, who is popularly
called Gburugburu was
described in some quarters as a
masterstroke by Chime to empty
Ekweremadu of any reason to
fight given the fact that Ugwuanyi
was from the National Assembly
and had not deliberately gone out
of his way to antagonise the
Ekweremadu group.
What may have prompted the
governor to pick Ugwuanyi
despite his seeming antagonism
towards members of the National
Assembly remains a mystery.
In fact some have read it as a
way of making peace with the
group led by Ekweremadu, but
that has apparently not been the
case given the continuing media
war between the two camps.
Sources revealed that prior to
the endorsement that the
governor
had
invited
Ekweremadu to the meeting of
PDP state stakeholders at the
Government House, Enugu.
Ekweremadu, apparently as a
result of the stand off between
both men at the same venue few
months back declined. He,
however, subsequently agreed to
a meeting at a private hotel in
Abuja where the governor
brought up his proposal on
Ugwuanyi.
For
whatever
reason,
Ekweremadu was said to have
agreed.
But
given
Ekweremadu’s own political
activism it remains yet unknown
whether the approval given by
Ekweremadu should be taken for
granted.
Indeed, few days after the
meeting with Ekweremadu, one
of the gubernatorial aspirants in
the PDP in the state and known
to be a loyalist of Ekweremadu
Chief Anayo Onwuegbu picked
the governorship form to contest
the primaries.
The development came in the
face of insinuations that
Ugwuanyi despite being an
Abuja based lawmaker may not
be in the good books of the
powers that be in the federal
capital.
Enugu House: Hand of Esau, voice
of Jacob
WAS there an impeachment plot against the speaker of the
Enugu State House of Assembly over his reported rejection of the
consensus on Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi or was it mischief makers at work?
By Austin Ogwuda, Enugu
T
HE popular Shakespearean
quotation that, “there is no art
to find the mind’s construction in the
face” obviously, played out at the
resumed sitting of Enugu State House
of Assembly on Thursday, October 9,
2014.
While the allegation of impeachment
plot supposedly sponsored by the State
executive arm of government against
the Speaker of the Enugu House of
Assembly, Mr. Eugene Odo was still
fresh, the House returned from break
to sit last Thursday.
The basis of the alleged moves
against the speaker was his perceived
effrontery in opposing the choice of Mr.
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the consensus
gubernatorial candidate of the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for Enugu
State as facilitated by Governor Sullivan
Chime.
Odo who is in the contest for the
governorship ticket had allegedly taken
issues with the choice of Ugwuanyi and
hence the alleged moves against him
said to be spearheaded by the agents of
the administration in Enugu.
So, when the House resumed last
Thursday, eyes were keenly watching out
for a possible drama from Odo and his
supposed antagonists especially the
House Leader, Mr. Sunday Ude-Okoye,
who had been accused of collecting
signatures to effect the removal of Odo.
But last Thursday nothing happened
until Ude-Okoye moved for the
adjournment of the House, an
opportunity that allowed him to address
the speculations around his reported
moves against the speaker.
Speaking during the motion of
adjournment, he categorically denied
the insinuations saying “I want to state
categorically that it is all lie. That
Mr.Ude-Okoye of Awgu North (Leader)
has never been in anywhere where the
impeachment of Mr. Speaker was
discussed.”
Describing it as “pure figment of the
imagination of those politicians whose
stock in trade is to knock heads together
and heat up the polity,” he said: “My
distinguished colleagues, I want to say
categorically that I did not collect any
signature for the impeachment or
removal of Mr. Speaker or any member
of this hallowed chamber.
I want to also let the press know and
ENUGU: The Senate contests
BY FRANCIS IGATA
T
Chief Frank Nweke Jnr.
Nweke was until recently
director-general of the Nigeria
Economic Summit Group,
NESG, and before then a
minister in the second term of
President Olusegun Obasanjo’s
administration.
Before moving to Abuja,
Nweke was an integral part of
the Chimaroke Nnamani Ebeano
family and served as coordinator
of the Enugu State Community
Development Programme 2000–
2001 and subsequently became
Chief of Staff to then Governor
of Enugu State, Dr. Chimaroke
Nnamani, a position he held
until June 2003. He declared his
intention to run for Enugu-East
senatorial seat on 2nd February,
2014 saying his decision to join
the Senate race was,” borne out
of his desire to provide quality
representation to people of the
zone.”
*Nnamani: Set to beat the Ebeano beat
*Nnaji: Incumbent
*Nwobodo: Woman of power
ENUGU-EAST: A battle of wits
His posters dot every nook
and cranny of Enugu-East
senatorial district with the
inscription, “let’s change the
game.” Widely adjudged as an
urbane, civil and result oriented
man, his challenge will be his
aloofness from the current
authorities in the state who have
,
HE Enugu East Senatorial
seat had for long before the
present incumbent almost
always attracted national figures.
It was the seat occupied by
Senators Jim Nwobodo, Ken
Nnamani and subsequently, the
Ebeano phenomenon player,
Senator Chimaroke Nnamani.
The present occupant, Senator
Gilbert Nnaji though of no little
political antecedent, has,
however, not shown the kind of
sophistication or class pulled by
his predecessors.
Four major aspirants
including the incumbent are
contending for the ticket of the
PDP in Enugu-East senatorial
district. Their aspiration is
against the background of
insinuations that the ticket has
been zoned to a prominent
woman in the Sullivan Chime
administration, Mrs. Ifeoma
Nwobodo.
Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo
Although the Chief of Staff to
Enugu State Government House
is yet to declare her intention
openly for the Enugu-East
senatorial district, even the blind
man can vividly see the hand
writing on the wall. Allegedly
regarded as the power behind
Their aspiration is against the
background of insinuations that the
ticket has been zoned to a prominent
woman in the Sullivan Chime
administration, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo
long ago endorsed candidates
for various elective and
appointive positions in the state.
One prospect for him could be
the recent cancellation of all
endorsements by the state
chapter of the party.
,
the throne in many quarters,
observers say her senatorial
ambition predates 2011.
She has amassed the feat of
being the longest survivor in the
office of the chief of staff having
been in the saddle from the
inception of the Sullivan Chime
administration in 2007. She has
understandably, fought more
political battles than many other
political office holders in Enugu
but this battle would surely test
her prowess.
Her campaign billboards,
posters are widely distributed
across the six council areas that
make-up Enugu-East senatorial
district.
A major challenge to her
would be to fight off the
allegation that she is from
Enugu West and not from Enugu
East by birth and that she is
stepping on the platform of her
marital relationship to an Enugu
East man to contest the Senate.
If she is able to overcome the
challenges against her, the claim
in some quarters is that she is
being positioned to contest the
governorship of the state in eight
years time.
Senator Chimaroke Nnamani
Enugu House: Hand of Esau, Voice of Jacob
they should also note it that the
24 members of this House of
Assembly have been working
harmoniously and as it is
today, the 9th day of October
2014, there is no divisibility
among members of Enugu
State House of Assembly.
Following him, about ten
other members of the House
spoke in condemnation of the
purported impeachment plot
and washed their hands off it
completely.
Some
even
feigned
ignorance about the move
while a female member said,
she only heard about it when
she stepped into the chambers
that morning and the moment
it came up for discussion. She
went further to say that she had
travelled to her village during
the recess to cool off.
The spate of denials,
*Odo
however, took another shape
when a member, Mr. Matthew
Ugwueze, representing IgboEze South constituency in the
House came out openly to
confirm that the impeachment
plot was really true. He
confirmed that he (Ugwueze)
was actually approached to
position himself to succeed
Odo being that the two are from
the same Enugu North axis of
the State where the office is
zoned to.”
I received a text message
that I should position myself to
assume the Speaker position
because the Speaker is going
to be impeached and I replied
thus, ‘You are a mischief maker
by writing to me without a
name. You are a fool,’ and he
replied ‘You are a chickenhearted politician but don’t go
ahead to panic, keep it to your
heart.’
Immediately, he mentioned
‘chicken hearted politician’, the
atmosphere changed as
members cringed apparently in
reference to the recent
impeachment of the erstwhile
deputy governor of the state,
Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi whose
removal was styled as
Chicken Impeachment.
At the end of the debate
on the issue which lasted for
about one and half hours, the
speaker dismissed calls for
an investigation saying it
was unnecessary.
That, however, has led to
the question on whether
there was actually a plot to
suppress the alleged
impeachment plot.
As some asked, could
there be smoke without fire?
Was it not true that agents of
the State government moved
in quickly and m opped up
copies of the newspapers
that published the story that
fateful Tuesday morning and
what was the aim of the mop
up if there were no hands of
Esau and voice of Jacob?
Finally, who chickened out
and jumped ship?
Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani held
sway as governor of Enugu State
from 1999-2007 during which
period he founded the Ebeano
dynasty from where nearly all
the major political office actors
presently in Enugu State sprang
from. He was elected as a senator
representing Enugu-East zone
in 2007. His bid to return to
senate in 2011 was hamstrung
as he was defeated by the PDP
candidate, Gil Nnaji having
contested on the platform of
Peoples
Democratic
Change,PDC. Senator Nnamani
has since returned to his roots
in the PDP and last February
declared his intention to contest
for the Enugu-East senatorial
zone.
However, the Ebeano boss is
yet to hit the ground running as
his political structure seems to
have been decapitated. Political
watchers are taken aback as to
the disconnect between the
former governor and the present
crop of politicians wondering
how he intends to actualize his
senatorial ambition come 2015.
Senator Gil Nnaji
Nnaji served two terms in the
House of Representatives
between 2003-2011 before his
election to the Senate in 2011.
The soft-spoken senator has
attracted an ultra modern
Information Communication
Technology, ICT, centre,
distributed transformers and
bursary awards to his
constituency among others. He
is hoping to run re-election for
the senatorial seat on the crest
of his royal blood.
Senator Nnaji had in the past
complained about being
molested by a big woman in the
Enugu State government who
he insinuated was after his seat.
Some of his constituency
outreaches were according to
him sabotaged by local political
actors allegedly on the
instruction of the big woman he
claimed was operating from the
office of the Chief of Staff.
Enugu guber: The search is over
BY FRANCIS EDE
B
IG, bold, and formidable
with urbane and charming
mien and baritone voice that has
a likable pitch, with the name
‘gentle giant’ as a befitting
sobriquet; Hon. Ifeanyi
Ugwuanyi is the rave of the
moment, the new kid on the
block in Enugu state politics. Ever
since his unanimous adoption as
the consensus candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
for the forth coming general
elections in the country early next
year by all the stakeholders of the
party in the three Senatorial
zones of the state and the
expanded state caucus, his name
has been on everybody’s lips.
It is an interesting leap of faith
for both the state and the
candidate, that while other states
are contending with a barrage of
problems arising from the
question of who will succeed their
incumbent governors as their
tenures gradually come to an
end by the month of May next
year, the people of Enugu state
*Chime
have by that singular stroke of
unanimous endorsement of Hon.
Ugwuanyi resolved their own
and eagerly await the election
day.
A member of House of
Representatives in Nigerian
National Assembly, representing
Igboeze North/Udenu Federal
Constituency and Chairman,
House Committee on Maritime,
as well as the Chairman of
Enugu State Caucus of the same
house. A man of tact and dignity,
who has shown strident focus on
anything he puts his mind to, the
joy of the people know no bound
as we regale in the euphoria of
his choice as a successor to
Governor Chime. In the words
of His Excellency, Governor
Sullivan Chime who coordinated
that epoch making exercise,
‘people are happy and excited
about his choice. So I thank God
that such character came up and
I didn’t have to beg anybody,
plead with anybody or start
selling a very bad product. I have
a good product to sell and that
makes the whole thing a lot
easier’.
It was indeed, a triumph of
character and determination as
His Excellency, the governor has
said, for Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
believes like former American
President, Lyndon Johnson that
‘ with industry, temperance,
promptness and generosity the
persistent man would inevitably
triumph’. And he also believes
that when success comes, it must
be used to the benefit of others.
In fact, fewer politicians
understand the import of what is
Enugu West: Rekindled rivalry
BYEMMANUELAZIKEN
SENATOR Ike Ekweremadu who has
represented the senatorial zone since
2003 was allegedly considering other
political ventures in 2015 when he heard
of moves back home to unseat him by
Governor Sullivan Chime who would not
be eligible to contest for the office of
governor.
Ekweremadu, one of Enugu’s most
entrenched politicians with a knack for
battle, it was learnt, then refocused his
strategies to return to the Senate and
confront the governor headlong. Some
see the conflict between the two men as a
battle of ego arising from their time in the
Chimaroke Nnamani administration.
Ekweremadu had first served as chief of
staff with Chime serving as an adviser on
legal matters. Subsequently, Ekweremadu
was appointed the secretary to the state
government, SSG while Chime also got
his promotion to the full cabinet as a
commissioner.
When Ekweremadu became deputy
president of the Senate in 2007 Chime
also became governor and at that time
both men sought of managed their
relationship at least in the open. But
behind there were tales of mutual
aloofness that was only scented by few.
At the peak of the war between Governor
Chime and then national chairman of the
PDP,Dr. Okwesileze Nwodo in 2011, there
were suggestions that Ekweremadu was
tempted with the governorship ticket of
the PDP as a way of pulling him away
from Chime but Ekweremadu was said
to have walked away on it preferring
solidarity with Chime and his position in
the National Assembly.
However,mattersgottoaheadbetween
the two men few months ago at a
stakeholder’s meeting in the Government
House, Enugu when a 0shouting match
between the two men was said to have erupted
after the governor allegedly instructed that
members of the National Assembly who had
served two terms should not re-contest. That
was the last time Senator Ekweremadu entered
the Enugu Government House and thus began
a brutal political offensive between the two men
and their associates.
Given Governor Chime’s relatively
impressive infrastructure landmarks especially
in Enugu city and Ekweremadu’s own
impressive representation of Enugu West, many
eyes have focused on the senatorial contest in
the constituency as one that is bound to elicit all
manner of intrigues.
*Ekweremadu: Incumbent
known in local parlance as
‘stomach infrastructure’, better
than he does and fewer have
worked so hard to assuage the
hunger among the local
populace than him.
‘Now is the summer of our
happiness and things have falling
for us in pleasant places’, says
Barrister Eugene Edeoga, who also
had kind words for the over 13 other
eminent governorship aspirants
from Enugu North Zone who
willingly stepped down for Hon.
Hon. Ugwuanyi, saying that ‘this
is the spirit with which true
brotherhood is forged’. He called
for all hands on the deck, since it is
only one person that can be
governor at a time.
While Chukus Ugwu, also a
lawyer, believes that ‘Hon.
Ugwuanyi’s emergence and
popularity is dependent upon his
service to the community, and his
accessibility, an indispensible
attribute for any leader who wants
to earn the love of his people’.
He said that ‘Gburugburu is
industrious, upright and
thoroughly an honest man,
*Francis Ede, a public affairs
analyst wrote in from Abuja
Via 07030183783.
It was so last Friday when the party zonal
chairman for Enugu West summoned a
constituency meeting through text messages
to various stakeholders including
Ekweremadu. Given the chasm between the
Chime group and Ekweremadu group,
most had expected Ekweremadu not to
attend, but he did setting the stage for what
supporters of the two men have gone out to
spin different stories.
The Chime group allege that once
Ekweremadu arrived the venue that the
stakeholders fled the venue and abandoned
him and his supporters.
The Ekweremadu group, however, differ
and allege that the Chime supporters mostly
local government chairmen who were
shocked by the decision of Ekweremadu to
come hurriedly left the meeting leaving party
officials and other stakeholders to proceed
with the session.
Old story in Enugu North
FRANCIS IGATA
S
ENATOR Ayogu Eze is the incumbent
senator who has held the seat since
2007. He has also delicately navigated the
face off between Governor Chime and
Senator Ekweremadu trying to put himself
in no harms way.
Senator Eze who has been quietly
preparing for the governorship with the
expectation of succeeding Chime was
disappointed by Chime with the choice of
Mr. Ugwuanyi. The senator has, however,
pledged to continue his campaign saying
he was not bound by the consensus
arrangement that favoured Ugwuanyi.
However, his capacity to upturn the
consensus arrangement or fight off the
governor and his men is doubtable. Should
he fail in the battle, any expectation of
returning to the Senate would have been
soured by the bad blood over his resentment
of the consensus arrangement.
His seat would be in tussle mainly
between two major aspirants namely, his
one time boss, Dr. Okwesileze Nwodo and
Mr. Chuka Utazi, the incumbent
commissioner for transport.
Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo
Nwodo was the first elected governor of
Enugu State and former national chairman
of the PDP. His tenure as national chairman
was truncated amidst intrigues framed by the
PDP governors in the days leading to the
2011 presidential convention of the party.
Given the wide rift between Nwodo and
Governor Chime at that time and the fact
that many of the judicial instruments used to
unseat Nwodo came from Enugu, few are
shocked by the seeming calmness in the
relationship between the two men.
It is reported that both men have made up
and it is widely insinuated that Nwodo is the
governor’s candidate for the PDP ticket in
Enugu North.
The permutation is that the governor is
allegedly paying him back for the support
the Nwodo dynasty is allegedly throwing
behind his anointed gubernatorial candidate,
Ugwuanyi.
A major challenge, however, is the
increasing discomfort among some
political stakeholders in the zone on why
it should again be another Nwodo that is
getting the pie from Enugu North.
Hon. Chuka Utazi
Utazi, the incumbent Commissioner for
Transport hails from Nkpologu in UzoUwani Local Government Area of Enugu
State, an area that is said to be widely
marginalized in the scheme of things in
Enugu State. He had a shot at the
senatorial seat ahead of the 2011 general
election but was asked to step down his
ambition for the incumbent senator with
an alleged promise that it will be his turn
in 2015.
Although he has declared his intention
to run for the Senate again, he appears
not to have gained the massive support
needed to propel the wheels towards the
attainment of his goal and the governor’s
earlier endorsement of his effort seems to
be in doubt.
Family,
associates
hold 10-yr
remembrance
for Capt
Agbeyegbe
MEETING:
From left— Mr.
Obinna Nwosu, Group
Deputy Managing
Director; Mr. Herbert
Wigwe, Group
Managing Director/
Chief Executive
Officer; Mr. Gbenga
Oyebode, Chairman;
and Mr. Sunday
Ekwochi, Company
Secretary, all of Access
Bank Plc, during the
bank's extra-ordinary
general meeting in
Lagos. PHOTO: Akeem
Salau.
By Kenneth Ehigiator
T
EN years after
a p t a i n
Jerry Agbeyegbe was
felled by bullets from yetto-be-identified assassins
in Lagos, family members,
aviation industry players
and associates yesterday
held a remembrance in his
honour.
Captain Agbeyegbe, an
activist, was killed on
October 12, 2004, at
Alapere,
Ketu,
Oworoshoki axis of LagosIbadan Expressway. He
was just 49.
The anniversary, which
held at the family
residence at Ifako Ijaiye,
Ogba in Lagos, also
offered the family the
opportunity to reflect on
the life and times of the
pilot
who
fought
corruption in the aviation
industry with passion.
He founded Nigerian
Aviation Safety Initiative,
NASI, an NGO with
which he fought the ills in
the aviation industry.
The family, in a
statement by the late
pilot’s
son,
Mr.
Orighomisan
Kay
Agbeyegbe, said: “Exactly
10 years ago, on a regular
Tuesday morning on
October 12, 2004, Captain
Jerry
Eyituoyo
Omakpome Agbeyegbe
was felled by the bullets
of assassins.
“Today, we look back
and imagine all what
could have been, were our
husband, brother and
father still with us today.
“We are, however, much
grateful to God for his
mercies and consoled by
our belief that he is resting
in the bosom of the
Almighty. Or maybe not,
as we also imagine that
Jerry, the aviation activist
popularly called Mr.
Safety, would be standing
up in the heavens, still
keeping a watch over the
Nigerian skies, with his
charismatic broad smile
on his face and saying:
“ ‘As regulatory officials,
airline operators, air traffic
controller, pilots and
engineers, we must all
strive to conduct our
operations with the
highest consideration for
safety, even at great
economic risk’.”
C
#BringBackOurGirls march
to Presidential Villa today
By Laide Akinboade
A
BUJA—IN continuation
of Global Week of Action
by the #BringBackOurGirls,
BBOG, campaign group to
commemorate the sixth
month of abduction of 219
girls
of
Government
Secondary School, Chibok,
Borno State, the group is set
to march to Aso Villa, Abuja,
today.
The group, in a statement
by its Media Coordinator,
Mr. Rotimi Olawale,
yesterday, said it had already
sought audience with
President Goodluck Jonathan
and would be going there
today to meet with him.
The statement read:
“#BringBackOurGirls Abuja
family wishes to notify
members of the public that we
have requested for an
appointment, and will be
marching to meet with our
President on Tuesday (today)
October 14.
“The objective of our march
to the Villa is to convey the
urgency for the immediate
rescue of our girls and to hear
directly from our President
and the Commander in Chief
of our Armed Forces the
accurate status of the rescue
effort for our Chibok Girls,
whose six months in captivity
remains a source of deep
anguish to their parents,
Nigerians and people all over
the world, who believe in our
shared humanity.
“The last 180 days have been
one of dashed hopes, intense
pain, and confusion for the
families due to the lack of
accurate information from
government on the current
status of rescue operation.
“The march will be joined by
some of the parents of the
abducted girls, as we continue
to stand in solidarity with the
abducted 219 girls and their
families.”
‘FG committed to
gas-to-power initiatives’
By Chris Ochayi
& Clare Ubawike
A
BUJA— THE Minister of
Petroleum Resources, Mrs.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, has
said the Federal Government
is committed to pursue an
aggressive and robust
implementation of the various
initiatives designed to
accelerate the provision of
adequate gas supply for power
generation in the country.
Her declaration came against
the backdrop of plans by the
Nigerian
Petroleum
Development
Company,
NPDC, and Seplat Petroleum
Development Company Plc to
invest $200 million to develop
and deliver gas to the emerging
Azura-Edo Power plant.
Alison-Madueke recently
announced the N213 billion
inter-agency initiative to
facilitate the liquidation of
legacy gas debts in the power
sector.
She said the Nigerian
National
Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, in
collaboration with its joint
venture partners, was
determined to surpass its
mandate of providing the
required fuel as well as gas
infrastructure for the smooth
operation of power plants in
the country.
On gas supply to Azura-Edo
Power plant in Ihovbor/Orior
Osemwende communities,
near Benin, which foundation
laying
ceremony
was
performed by President
Goodluck Jonathan last week,
the minister said the 450mw
IPP would be supplied with
120mmscuf/per day through
NPDC, and Seplat joint
venture, from its new gas
processing facilities at Oben
Gas Plant.
Stanbic
IBTC holds
leadership
series
S
TANBIC
IBTC
Holdings Plc has
announced the start of its
Business Leadership
series, an annual event to
help create deeper
connections and build a
new cadre of leadership
among business leaders
in the country.
The series will focus on
improving leadership,
with the underlying goal
of advancing economic
growth and development.
Participants are drawn
from various sectors
including regulators,
investors and the business
community. The first
edition of the series will
hold October 16 in Lagos.
International speaker,
Vusi Thembekwayo, will
lead the session, along
with Sim Shagaya,
founder of online retail
chain, Konga.
Chief Executive, Stanbic
IBTC Holdings Plc, Mrs.
Sola David-Borha, stated
that the series was part of
customer engagement
tool.
“We will be looking at
business leadership from
various angles, with key
focus on leadership in the
digital age and how eCommerce is changing
the face of business
globally,” she added.
... reiterates determination to reposition aviation sector
By Favour Nnabugwu
A
B U J A — A V I AT I O N
Minister, Mr. Osita
Chidoka, yesterday re-echoed
the Federal Government’s
determination to make the
country a hub in West Africa.
He also spoke of
government’s desires to
establish an airlink with
several other countries of the
world, especially South-East
Asia nations.
Chidoka, who spoke at
Course 36 of the National
Institute for Policy and Strategic
Studies in Kuru, Jos, said the
efforts at repositioning the
aviation sector could be boosted
with direct flights to other
countries.
He said: “The desire of the
Federal Government is to
establish Nigeria as an
aviation hub for the West
African sub-region, which can
only be achieved by making it
attractive through the adoption
of international best practices
in the management of the
airports.
“The absence of any kind of
direct link between Nigeria
and the growing market of
Asia, denies the nation of
revenue accruable to both local
airlines and the nation.
“The industry is properly
positioned to contribute more
to the nation’s Gross Domestic
Product, GDP, through the
establishment of a baseline for
effective service delivery.”
46 — Vanguard, TEUSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
How Africa can surmount developmental
challenges, by Jonathan
53 journalists
for Media
Merit awards
By Charles Kumolu
U
By Ikenna Asomba
L
YO—PRESIDENT
Goodluck Jonathan has
said that greater cohesion
between African countries was
the key to surmounting
developmental challenges on
the continent.
Jonathan spoke weekend,
when he received the Lifetime
Africa Achievement Prize for
Leadership LAAP, for National
Cohesion and Stability In Africa,
by the Millennium Excellence
Foundation, MEF, at an event
which held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom
State.
He was represented on the
occasion by the Vice President,
Namadi Sambo.
According to a statement by
the Special Adviser, Media and
Publicity to Sambo, Umar Sani,
Jonathan said that ‘’unity among
fellow African countries would
not only help stabilize the
continent, but also help remedy
the challenges we face, real or
contrived.”
The President said Nigeria
stood for the ideals of PanAfricanism observing that “No
matter how independent we
may be as individual African
countries, the truth was that, we
are indeed more interdependent
AGOS—NO fewer
than 53 journalists
who met the
prescribed benchmark
of 70 per cent total
average score will be
awarded in various
categories at the 22nd
edition of the Nigeria
Media Merit Award,
NMMA, taking place in
Owerri, Imo State,from
Friday, October 31 to
November 2, 2014.
Speaking at the
NMMA
Lagos
secretariat, during the
presentation of the
assessed 2013 submitted
entries to the Mr.
Vincent Maduka-led
Board of Trustees,
veteran
mass
communication teacher
and Chairman, Panel of
Assessors, PoA, for
NMMA
awards,
Professor
Ralph
Akinfeleye, who noted
that for the first time in
the last five years,
winners are declared for
all the 53 NMMA
award
categories,
however, said this
marked a general
improvement in the
entries assessed.
He said: “A total of 1,
307 eligible entries
were received from 886
entrants. 1,124 entries
from 774 entrants were
received in the Print
categories, 97 entries
came in from 79
entrants in the Radio
categories and 86
entries were received
from 63 entrants in the
Television categories."
y Hero is CPL
Usuah
who
displays joy, happiness
and
entertainment
under sun and rain
when discharging his
duty on the traffic, not
bordering
by
challenges he might be
facing. Mr. Charles
O b u m n e m e Commenter
C
M
Y
K
stressing that the surest way
of defeating them, was
through collective efforts.
His words: “We must again
lean on cooperation,
collaboration and shared
experiences as we battle the
degrading ills of poverty,
illiteracy
and
underdevelopment.
“We must work for unity, we
BRIEFING: From left: Mr Erik Van Der Staaij, Ms Franesca Rosset, Director Kinabuti
Fashion Inititative, and Ms Monique Gieskes, Vlisco Group Brand Protection, during the
briefing by Vlisco-Kinabuti Fashion Ltd on the youth empowerment initiative, in Lagos,
yesterday. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.
NASS: NDDC boss visits Warri monarch for blessings
W
ARRI—FORMER
Commissioner of the
Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC, Mr. Ada
Arenyeka, yesterday, visited the
Olu of Warri, His Royal Majesty
Ogiame Atuwatse II in order to
receive blessings for his
ambition to represent the Warri
Federal Constituency in the
House of Representatives next
year.
Areyenka, who was led by a
former Chief of Staff to the Delta
W h o
M
than we so often realise.
‘’We are one people from the
womb of one Africa! Whatever
affects one may affect the other
positively or negatively.”
Jonathan further said that
national boundaries should not
be a clog in the fight against
terrorism and other social vices,
as well as diseases like the
Ebola Virus Disease, EVD,
must cooperate, and we must stand
together.”
President Jonathan commended
Nigerians for supporting
Government its pursuit of peace,
equity and justice in the country
noting that this support saw the
country through a civil war,
militancy in the Niger Delta, Ebola
Virus Disease and other social
upheavals, emphasizing that it
was also this cohesion that would see
the end of terrorism in the country.
G
oodluck
Ebele
Jonathan and Dr.
Adedevoh who was able
to stop the suicide carrier
of deadly Ebola virus
Patrick Sawyer from
killing us all. These
categories of people will
forever be remembered.
Mr. Clive OsarogiagbonWorker
i s
F
State Government, Mr.
Solomon Arenyeka, said he
was in the palace to notify the
monarch about his aspiration.
Giving account of his
stewardship while in NDDC ,
Arenyeka stated that he attracted
developmental projects to
Warri, adding that the KokoOgheye road project was
prominent among them.
He said: “When I assumed
duty as NDDC Commissioner,
my preoccupation was on how
y o u r
or being a democrat
to the core; for
spearheading the recent
revolution in our power
sector; for honoring very
ordinary Nigerians; His
Excellency,
Dr.
Goodluck
Ebele
Jonathan, GCFR, is my
hero.
Mrs
Ifeoma
Ayambuba- Worker
we could link the riverine
communities with the
mainland. I started-off with the
Koko Ogheye road project.
With the aid of the Netherlands
Group Design, which was
originally initiated by the late
Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh,
thus I started the spade work
for the Phase 1 of the project
which encompasses 15.4km
with a major bridge that was to
link the Ologbo Bridge.”
He also commended the
N i g e r i a
P
astor T. B. Joshua is
my hero for healing
the sick, for his
u n p a r a l l e l e d
philanthropic works that
bring smiles and succor
to the poor and needy.
This is what Christianity
should be and not the
other way. Mr. Ogbonna
Chibuzor- Deck Cadet
monarch for what he described as regal
disposition and wisdom in insisting that
the constituency be effectively
represented.
The House of Representatives hopeful
promised that if elected, he would lobby
his colleagues, to ensure the speedy
dredging of the Warri and Koko seaports.
The monarch, who blessed Arenyeka
urged him to continue to be upright in his
service to the nation.
Continuing, he said that the Arenyeka
family had contributed immensely to the
development of Itsekiri nation.
h e r o ?
D
ora Akunyili, Gani
Fawehinmi
and
others that died fighting
for the betterment of a
common man. Out of the
living ones: Fashola,
Okagbare, and Marwa.
These are passionate
Nigerians and patriotic
citizens. Ms. Kubura
Aremu- Model
I
will recommend the
Minister
of
Agriculture,for
transforming
our
agriculture on African
level. He is relatively
unknown but doing a
great work and his
ministry has achieved a
lot for Nigeria. Ms.
Esther Nonye- Student
Seizure of $15m by South Africa
shameful, embarrassing — BUHARI
By Tina Akannam
D
UTSE—A presidential
aspirant on the platform
of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, General
Muhammadu Buhari has
described the controversial
seizure of Nigeria’s $15 million
meant for the purchase of
weapons by the South African
government as not only
embarrassing but shameful.
Buhari, also, blamed
President Goodluck Jonathan
and the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP for the
insecurity in the country.
He spoke at Dutse, the Jigawa
State capital weekend saying
that his party was the only
political party that would restore
the country’s lost glory if voted
into power in 2015.
His words, ‘’I want to assure
you that when APC takes over
power in 2015, the party will
give priority to the welfare of
civil servant by boosting their
salaries,
creating
job
opportunities, as well as
improving the educational,
health, and agricultural
sectors.’’
Buhari who was represented
by General Lawan Jafaru Isa,
retd, stressed that the merger
of the three political parties that
formed the APC was part of the
grand plan to takeover power
from the PDP next year.
He further said that the APC
was discouraging ‘’money
politics and politics of
bitterness,’’ hence any qualified
member of the party could vie
for any position in the country.
Earlier, the Jigawa State APC
gubernatorial candidate in the
AWARD: From left; Senator Gbenga Ashafa; First place winner, Aniema Udokang; Group
Managing Director, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr. Deepak Singhal and Group Managing Director,
First Bank Nigeria Plc, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, at the 2014 Indomie Independence Day Award in Lagos.
Kebbi, USAID partner on war against malaria
B
IRNIN KEBBI—THE
Kebbi State United States
Agency for International
Development, USAID-funded
training
by
Health
Communication Advocacy
Collaborative (HC3) has mapped
out media campaign strategies on
the elimination of Malaria.
The state HC3 Consultant, Mr
Sammy Olaniru, told the News
Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in
Birnin Kebbi yesterday that the
Kebbi Malaria Elimination
Committee had been trained on
the effective strategies to be
adopted to eliminate the disease.
He said the training was also
supported by United Statesbased John Hopkins School of
Public Health and Center for
Communication Programme
last
election,
Alhaji
Mohammed Badaru Abubakar
had donated 37 cars worth
N30millions to the party leaders
at the state level and local
government chairmen as well
as other ward leaders.
Nigeria, CCPN, on the Malaria
elimination programme.
He said the training was aimed
at enabling the state to develop a
comprehensive state-level Social
Behavioural
Change
Communication,
SBCC,
programme on Malaria
elimination by 2020 in line with
Federal Government policy.
Olaniru explained that the
programme would also reduce
the huge epidemiological burden
of Malaria disease on Nigeria that
had
affected
economic
development.
He called on the State
Government to sustain support to
the programme especially in
developing strategic framework
for maximum capacity building on
elimination of malaria.
The consultant said modalities
would be evolved to adopt the
national policy on Malaria
elimination appropriate for the
state.
“The document would guide
the state and partners to plan
and implement communication
interventions with focus on
right message to the right
audience for effective elimination
of Malaria,” he said.
NAN reports that Kebbi and
Akwa Ibom states are the
beneficiaries of the USAID, John
Hopkins, Bloomberg School of
Public Health, Centre for
Communication Nigeria and
T
HE Nigeria Customs
Service, NCS, Federal
Operation Unit, Zone ‘C’ has
impounded over 88 exotic
vehicles estimated at N140 million
after bursting a smuggling ring.
The command said the vehicles
were impounded in the Southeast and South-south geo-political
zone of the country by the
operatives of the zone.
20 persons were arrested in
connection with the smuggled
vehicles, with additional six
smugglers apprehended in
connection with other goods.
Its Area Controller, Mr Victor
Dimka, said it was gathered,
deployed over 20 officers in mufti
in Benin/Agbor axis and other
communities to track the
smuggled vehicles.
The vehicles included Lexus
Jeep, Sienna Bus, Toyota and
Nissan cars among others.
Smuggling is said to be on the
increase in the areas, following
the collection of 35 per cent duty
on used vehicles.
Customs officers in the zone, it
was learn t, are making life difficult
for smugglers by also impounding
By Peter Duru
M
AKURDI—
GOVERNOR
Gabriel Suswam of Benue
State has set up an eightman advisory committee for
the creation of new Local
Government Development
Areas, LGDA, in the three
senatorial zones of the state.
Speaking on the occasion
yesterday in Makurdi,
Suswam asked the
members to tour the entire
state with a view to
advising the government
appropriately on the
communities that would
benefit from the new
LGDAs.
He explained that the
choice of the members
underscored
the
importance
of
the
assignment, adding that
local governments in the
state were in dire need of
expansion hence the
decision
of
his
administration to the
LGDAs.
The committee’s terms of
reference include, “To
extensively consult with
communities, stakeholders,
groups development
associations and their
leaders and traditional
rulers, to invite written/
oral memoranda and make
recommendations to the
state government and to
advise on boundary
adjustments.
US varsity to celebrate Nigerian don, Onwueme
T
HE University of Wisconsin,
Eau Claire in the United
States will, on October 18 host the
celebration of Archival Collection
in honour of Professor Tess
Onwueme, its eminent Professor
of Global Letters. In a statement
by the Office of the Chancellor of
the university, the event is in
recognition of “her exceptional
achievements and contributions
to World Literature/Drama, the
University of Wisconsin system,
the Africana, and the world at
large.
To mark this historic event,
international scholars, writers and
speakers are expected to dialogue
and participate in the celebration
of the remarkable Archival
Collection of the literary icon now
being acquired by the University
Customs seizes N140m worth of vehicles
By Ifeyinwa Obi
Suswam sets
up committee
on creation of
new LGDAs
576 bags of rice.
Others items seized by the
command, findings revealed ,
included 458 two stroke engine
generators and 2,060 gallons of
vegetable oil and 18 used tyres
with DPV of over N150million
Contacted, Dimka said that 89
exotic vehicles were impounded
and a trailer load of 1,620 cartons
of vegetable oil cleverly
concealed with empty jerry cans
to deceives is officers and men
were seized and the driver
arrested on the Benin – Ore road
and detained.
Giving the breakdown of the
seizures made, Dimka said his
officers on the Owerri axis also
seized a container load of 112
bales of textiles material, 40 feet
container comprising garments
and assorted types of furniture.
The Controller added that four
trucks containing 1,932 (50kg)
bags of rice was impounded on
the Benin axis; while eight bags
of Indian hemp weighed 399.5kg
was found in a luxury bus at Udi
LGA on the Onitsha/Enugu,
which was neatly concealed with
passengers luggage. The driver
and the items, he said, are in
Customs custody.
of Wisconsin, in addition to
showcasing a production from
Onwueme’s award-winning plays
during the event.
Dr. Onwueme is the recipient of
several prestigious national and
international awards, including
the Fonlon-Nichols Award, the
Phyllis Wheatley/Nwapa Award
for outstanding black writers, the
Martin Luther King, Jr./Caeser
Chavez Distinguished Writers
Award, the African Distinguished
Writers Award, and the
Association of Nigerian Authors
Award (ANA).
The Archival Collection,
including the author’s original
manuscripts, creative life-work
and other materials related to her
scholarly and professional career
are being donated to the
University of Wisconsin-Eau
Claire Foundation.
Born in Ogwashi-Uku in Delta
State, Onwueme obtained her
Bachelor and Master’s degrees in
1979 and 1982 respectively from
the then University of Ife (now
Obafemi Awolowo University)
and later, a PhD in African Drama
from University of Benin in 1988.
C
M
Y
K
C
M
Y
K
50 — Vanguard, TEUSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
L-r: Former governor of Anambra State, Sen. Chris Ngige, Sen. Annie
Okonkwo, Sen. Ben Obi, and Igwe Kris Onyekwuluje of Umunya, at the funeral
of Senator Obi's younger sister, Prof. Josephine Obianama Anagbogu in Awka,
Anambra State.
Kenyan scholar, Prof Ali
Mazrui dies at 81
R
ENOWNED Kenyan historical
scholar, Professor Ali
Mazrui is dead. He was
81. He died in Binghamton, New York, in the
United States.
He will be buried in his
ancestral home in Kenya next to his parents in
Mombasa according to
his wish. He was born in
Mombasa in 1933 – but
spent most of his time
abroad where he studied
and lectured African history. Marzui was appointed Chancellor at
the Jomo Kenyatta University in 2003.
According to Wikipedia, Mazrui’s research
interests included African politics, international
political culture, political
Islam and North-South
relations.
“He is author or co-author of more than twenty
books. Mazrui has also
published hundreds of
articles in major scholastic journals and for public media. He has also
served on the editorial
boards of more than
twenty international
scholarly journals. Mazrui was widely consulted by heads of states and
*Professor Ali Mazrui
governments, international media and research institutions for
political strategies and
alternative thoughts”.
C
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Y
K
Does America underrate her women?
W
OMEN in America have
recorded phenomenal
achievements and left indelible
marks in U.S. history. Take a look
at the U.S. Supreme Court. There,
three women sit on the bench with
six men. This is a statement that
women have paid their dues so
to speak alongside men in this
country that consistently boasts of
equal opportunity based on ability,
and uses every chance it gets to
preach the same message to the
rest of the world.
But, just looking at the U.S.
Supreme Court will not tell the
full story of women and their
quest to be recognized and
accorded their rightful place in
the U.S. For instance, it wasn’t
until 1981 that the first woman,
Sandra Day O’Connor, became
the U.S. Supreme Court judge,
despite the fact that women had
long before then earned the right
to sit on this throne of justice. Over
the years, women in America
have struggled to hold their
heads high in the country. In spite
of what the rest of the world has
been made to believe, all is not
rosy with American women. A
number of man-made road-blocks
have been placed on their way to
success. Is it not a marvel that
prior to 1920 women in America
did not have the constitutional
right to vote at elections in the
great democracy in our world?
If you say that 1920 is a long
way in the past, how about
something more modern?
Startling as it may sound, the
reality in modern U.S. is that
overall, women and men do not
earn equal pay for the same work
done. All available statistics point
to the reality that for every one
dollar earned by men, women get
seventy-seven cents. The
situation is even worse than it
looks because, according to a
White House website, 51 percent
of women in the U.S. workforce
say that in their offices they are
discouraged from discussing
matters that relate to their wages.
In other words, they are
encouraged to take what they get
and simply shut up.
This unwritten rule against
discussing their wages and being
placed as second-hand citizens
in the workforce was what led a
lady, Lilly Ledbetter,
to challenge a
system
that
underpaid her for
equal work done
with her male
counterparts before
her retirement from
the Goodyear tire
plant in Alabama.
She was a supervisor
that Nadella’s surprise statement
was made in the course of his
invitation to discuss the
“celebration of women in
computing.” He had said all nice
things about this topic, when he
made this disconcerting
declaration about women and
equal pay: “It’s not really about
asking for the raise, but knowing
and having faith that the system
will actually give you the right
raises as you go along…..Because
that’s good karma. It’ll come back
because somebody’s going to
know that’s the kind of person that
I want to trust.”
Good natured
person
Put simply, Nadella was
advising hard-working women
not to bother asking for a raise in
their offices, even if they thought
they should, because somehow
and someday in future, a goodnatured person would recognize
their good work and reward them
accordingly. That is what good
karma is all about: keep doing
good and working hard because
someday something good will
come your way.
CEO Nadella has since taken
back those words in the face of
massive outrage across the
nation. He admitted that he was
most inarticulate in his response
Nadella was advising hard-working
women not to bother asking for a
raise in their offices, even if they
thought they should
at the plant. Her suit
went nowhere, as the
Supreme Court ruled
that it had become
time barred. All
attempts to redress
the situation through
the legislative process
were unsuccessful, as
Republican lawmakers scuttled every
move to make women
earn equal pay for
equal work. However,
things changed in
2009 when Senator
Barbara Mikulski
introduced a bill in
the senate to change
this
awkward
situation
in
democratic America.
Fortunately, her bill
passed. The House of
Representatives also
passed the bill and
President Barack
Obama had the
historic fortune of
signing the bill into
law in 2009, the first
bill he ever signed in
his presidency.
But, law and reality
are not necessarily
the same thing.
Women in America
continue to be
discriminated against
even in pay. This
reality was once
again brought home
in a statement made
last week by, of all
people, the CEO of
Microsoft, Mr. Satya
Nadella. The irony is
about women and equal-pay
karma. He wrote: “I answered that
question completely wrong.
Without a doubt, I wholeheartedly
support programs at Microsoft
and in the industry that bring
more women into technology and
close the pay gap. I believe men
and women should get equal pay
for equal work.”
Good talk, but the genie had
escaped from the bottle. Even if
you give Nadella the benefit of
the doubt, his initial statement still
gives credence to the prevailing
situation of unequal pay for equal
work. In fact, male dominance of
the workforce is still a thriving
phenomenon in the U.S. Here is
how Charlotte Alter of Time
Magazine responded to
Nadella’s statement: “Microsoft’s
leadership is only 17.3% female.”
Then she reminded her readers
that “women make up less than
30% of the entire company as a
whole.” These are shades of
uncomfortable truth.
This discrimination against
women shows its face in other
ways. Think about this: Michelle
Obama is a lawyer by training,
practice and experience before
she became the first lady of the
U.S. But, should she make any
comment about a contemporary
issue in her country, you are likely
to see an avalanche of tirades
from men, and surprisingly from
some women, that she should just
keep off politics and play the role
of chief hostess at the White
House. The fact that she was
already practicing law before
Barack Obama came along might
not matter at all. Michelle should
just be another piece of ornament
at the White House.
52 —Vanguard, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
Ebola epidemic may lead to failed states, WHO warns
... Israel steps up efforts to contain Ebola in W/Africa
T
HE Ebola epidemic
threatens the “very
survival” of societies
and could lead to failed
states, the World Health
Organization (WHO)
has warned.
The outbreak, which
has killed some 4,000
people in West Africa,
has led to a “crisis for
international peace and
security ”, WHO head
Margaret Chan said.
She also warned of the
cost of panic “spreading
faster than the virus”.
Meanwhile, medics
have largely ignored a
strike call in Liberia, the
centre of the deadliestever Ebola outbreak.
Nurses and medical
assistants had been
urged to strike over danger money and conditions. However, most
were working as normal
on Monday, the BBC’s
Jonathan Paye-Layleh in
Monrovia said.
•Health care workers are most at risk of infection
A union official said
the government had coerced workers - but the
government said it had
simply asked them to be
reasonable.
In a speech delivered
on her behalf at a conference in the Philippines, Ms Chan said
Ebola was a historic risk.
“I have never seen a
health event threaten
the very survival of societies and governments
in already very poor
countries,” she said. “I
have never seen an in-
fectious disease contribute so strongly to potential state failure.”
She warned of the economic impact of “ rumours and panic
spreading faster than
the virus”, citing a World
Bank estimate that 90%
of the cost of the outbreak would arise from
“irrational attempts of
the public to avoid infection”.
Meanwhile, Israel’s
Agency for International Development Cooperation, (MASHAV) will
send three mobile emergency clinics to areas in
Western Africa where
there is a high risk of
infection with Ebola.
In response to re-
quests by many governments, the SecretaryGeneral of the United
Nations, the DirectorGeneral of the World
Health Organization as
well as Israeli and international aid organizations, the Foreign Ministry has decided to increase Israel’s contribution to the international
effort to prevent the
spreading of the Ebola
epidemic.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has authorized MASHAV to send
three mobile emergency
clinics to areas in western Africa where there is
a risk of infection with
Ebola.
Vatican pushes to embrace homosexuals
I
N a dramatic shift in
tone, a Vatican document said that homosexuals had “gifts and qualities to offer” and asked
if Catholicism could ac-
cept gays and recognise
positive aspects of samesex couples.
Roman Catholic gay
rights groups around the
world yesterday hailed
paper as a breakthrough,
but Church conservatives
called it a betrayal of traditional family values.
The document, prepared after a week of discussions at an assembly
of 200 bishops on the
family, said the Church
should challenge itself to
find “a fraternal space”
for homosexuals without
compromising Catholic
doctrine on family and
matrimony.
While the text did not
signal any change in the
Church’s condemnation
of homosexual acts or gay
marriage, it used less
judgemental and more
compassionate language
than that seen in Vatican
statements prior to the
2013 election of Pope
Francis.
Oscar Pistorius trial:
Call for community service
angers prosecutor
S
OUTH African athlete
Oscar
Pistorius
should not go to jail over
the killing of his girlfriend,
Reeva Steenkamp, his
sentencing hearing has
been told.
A probation officer appearing for the defence
said Pistorius should
serve house arrest and
community service.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel
described the suggestion
as
“shockingly
inappropriate”.
Pistorius was found
guilty of the culpable
homicide of Ms Steenkamp last month - but was
cleared of murder. The
decision was criticised by
the victim’s family.
Pistorius faces up to 15
years in jail, although
Judge Thokozile Masipa
may suspend the sentence or impose a fine.
Kurds retain hold of Kobane
A
TTACKING Islamic
State jihadists met firm
Kurdish resistance in the
Syrian battleground town
of
Kobane,
as
neighbouring Turkey
heeded pressure to
intervene and handed the
US access to its air bases.
In Iraq however, Islamic
State (IS) fighters have
government forces under
strong pressure, and a
roadside bomb killed the
police chief in Anbar
province
between
Baghdad and the Syrian
C
M
Y
K
border.
Farther north, around
Iraq’s key oil refinery town
of Baiji, the army and
Sunni Arab tribal allies
came under fresh IS attack,
prompting a first resupply
operation by coalition
aircraft.
In Kobane, on Syria’s
border with Turkey, a pall
of black smoke hung over
the strategic town as the
Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights reported
heavy jihadist losses.
C
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4,000 PDP members defect to APC in Edo
By Simon Ebegbulem
B
ENIN—GOVERNOR
Adams Oshiomhole of Edo
State, yesterday, received over
4,000 members of Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, into All
Progressives Congress, APC,
even as he called on the state
Police Command to stop
arresting innocent people over
last Saturday’s violent attack on
the state House of Assembly
quarters in Benin.
Similarly, the governor alleged
that the meeting on how to attack
the Assembly quarters was held
at the residence of Pastor Osagie
Ize-Iyamu, who recently
defected from APC to PDP.
He, however, appealed to APC
members not to retaliate,
explaining that the only way to
deal with PDP in the state “is not
to march them violence for
violence, but to keep them out
of power.”
But in a swift reaction, IzeIyamu declared that he knew
nothing about what the governor
was talking about, declaring that
“no meeting was held in my
house and I will challenge
anybody to prove me wrong. He
is talking rubbish. I do not know
when he became a security man.
“Dr. Mayor, who he is talking
about, was in APC until we left.
He is the one carrying all the
thugs in town and he knows the
cases against those people.
“He cannot continue to accuse
people
recklessly.
Ask
Ihonvbere; I expressed shock
that day at the airport because I
never believe in violence. I never
got involved in that.
“I joined PDP in May. Why will
they accuse me of everything
that happens? There was no
meeting held in my house. He
knows he created all these
problems. I have left APC. Why
is he accusing me wrongly.
Most of those guys in APC are
my people, so why will I go and
kill them?”
But Oshiomhole, who
addressed the PDP defectors, led
by former Secretary of PDP in
Ikpoba Okhai, Mr. Onaiwu
Ugbogbo, five ward chairmen
of PDP and other APC
supporters, said: “All the
people who carry Bible in the
afternoon and plot about
killing of human beings,
political hell will be their
portion.
“I just want to advise all
those plotting violence that Edo
State cannot be conquered by
small time criminals. We have
the capacity and the capability
to protect ourselves.
“We will not go for anybody’s
blood because we do not need
it; but we will keep them out
of power. Never will they smell
Osadebey Avenue.”
By Festus Ahon
A
LEGAL: From left— Chief Victor Sam-Ateki, Deputy Speaker, Bayelsa State House of
Assembly; Barr. Kemasuode Wodu, state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice;
Mr. Valentine Ntom-Chukwu, state Commissioner of Police; Governor Seriake Dickson
and Justice Kate Abiri, state Chief Judge, during the 2014/2015 Legal Year thanksgiving
service in Yenagoa. PHOTO: Goodluck Ayebatonye.
Community institutes
N500m suit against oil firm
By Gabriel Enogholase
B
ENIN—OGHOBAYE
community in Ikpoba/
Okha Local Government Area
of Edo State has instituted a
N500 million suit against an
indigenous oil exploration
company, Dubril Oil Nigeria
Ltd, as general damages for
illegal trespass into the
community’s land.
The claimants are Chief J.
J. Osaghae, Odionwere of
Oghobaye community; Paul
Osaghae, Chairman of
Oghobaye Community
Development Association;
Godwin Izeko, Friday
Aghahowa,
Edobor
Omorogbe, Joseph Aigbe
and Roland Evbuomwan.
In the suit before a Benin
High Court, they prayed the
court for an order of perpetual
injunction restraining Dubril
Oil Nig. Ltd, whether by
themselves, servants, agents,
privies or any person
connected or related to them,
from further trespassing and
demarcating the community’s
land known to both parties.
The leaders of the community
in the suit, through their
counsel, Olayiwola Afolabi,
wanted the court to order that
the parcel of land, measuring
about 300 hectares at
Oghobaye, belonged to the
community.
They said they had been
farming on the land for many
years and were surprised
when the oil firm brought in
bulldozers and destroyed
crops worth millions of naira
on May 23.
P
RESIDENT Goodluck
Jonathan
has
told
stakeholders of Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta
State to ensure transparency so
that a popular aspirant that can
lead the party to victory in the
2015 general elections was
fielded.
President Jonathan said: “PDP
is not ready to lose any of the
South-South states and will not
gamble with presenting a
candidate that is not popular
with the people, regardless of
the personalities backing such
aspirant.”
The President made these
remarks when he received the
leadership of Anioma
Congress, the socio-political
organisation of Delta North,
in Abuja.
Anioma Congress, under
the leadership of Obi Chike
Edozien, presented a list of
aspirants to President
Jonathan, who told the
delegates that PDP would abide
by its principle of rotation
which was introduced by the
T
HE Chairman of Peoples
Democratic Party in Delta
State,
Chief
Peter
Nwaoboshi, has debunked
report that Aniocha/Oshimili
Federal constituency had
been zoned out of the 2015
governorship race.
founding fathers of the party
to ensure equity, justice and
fairness.
The President advised all
stakeholders in Delta State to
harmonise the list of aspirants.
I'll focus on infrastructure devt—UDUEHI
D
ELTA State governorship
aspirant on the platform
of Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, Dr. Esther Uduehi, has
promised to embark on
massive infrastructure
development and job
creation, if elected Delta State
governor in 2015.
She told newsmen in Asaba,
the state capital, that she had
a rich manifesto for Deltans,
adding “I have human capital
development plans for the state
if the mandate is given to me.
“There will be massive
infrastructural development
and total overhaul of the
education and health sectors.”
She said free education and
empowerment programme for
youths and women were part
SABA— THE Delta
North
Zonal
Coordinator of Arise
Deltans for Ochei, ADO,
Chief Ifeanyi Iyoh, has
enjoined Deltans to give
the immediate past
Speaker of Delta State
House of Assembly, Mr.
Victor Ochei, the
opportunity to govern
the state in 2015.
Iyoh, who spoke when
he led members of the
group on a solidarity visit
to Chief George Oyefia,
Director General of Victor
Ochei
campaign
organization, expressed
readiness of the group to
mobilize support for
Ochei’s gubernatorial
ambition, describing him
as one of the most
credible candidates in
the governorship race.
In his remarks, Oyefia
commended members of
the group for their
support, saying “you are
the true democrats,
judging from the support
Ochei enjoys from all the
local government areas
of the state.”
Aniocha, Oshimili not excluded from
governorship race—NWAOBOSHI
DELTA 2015: Jonathan insists on popular choice, transparency
By Hugo Odiogor
Arise
Deltans
canvasses
support for
Ochei
of her agenda.
Uduehi, who lauded the
Delta Beyond Oil initiative of
Governor
Emmanuel
Uduaghan, said: “Delta State
is blessed with other mineral
resources waiting to be tapped
and I believe we can create
enough jobs by citing industries in the rural areas where
such resources are found.”
Speaking
during
a
consultative visit to Mr. Victor
Ochei, a Delta State Peoples’
aspirant, Nwaoboshi said: “In
my capacity as the party
chairman in the state, I
neither attended nor presided
over a meeting where the
decision to exclude the
Aniocha/Oshimili Federal
constituency from the 2015
governorship contest was
taken.
“Those who know me will
always attest to the fact that I
say things the way they are. I
fear only God and respect
human beings.”
Continuing, the senatorial
hopeful revealed that such
statement should be regarded
as an expression of personal
opinion, which did not
represent a corporate
decision.
Earlier, he had solicited
Ochei’s support for his
senatorial ambition, noting
that as a leader in Delta North
senatorial district, Ochei’s
backing will go a long way in
enhancing his electoral
success.
ENUGU GOV:
Unions
support
adoption of
Ugwuanyi
Let's emulate
Scotland
and work for
Nigeria's unity
— SENATOR
By Chimaobi Nwaiwu
N
NEWI—SECOND
Republic Senator, Chief
Nathaniel Anah, SAN, has called
on those advocating Nigeria's
division to emulate the people of
Scotland, who voted to remain in
United Kingdom, saying it was
the will of God that Nigeria will
be big as a united country.
Speaking to Vanguard, the 86year-old former senator, said
Nigerians should not be in a hurry
to dissolve Nigeria, “So let us
work together to work out how best
the unity of the country will be
guaranteed, division cannot help
us, unity is our strength,” he
counselled.
Senator Anah said Nigerians
should not because of the activities
of the Boko Haram insurgents be
calling for the division of the
country. “They are misguided
Northern youths who do not have
the blessing of the Northern elders
and youth in their activities. I have
no doubt on my mind that the
issue of Boko Haram will be
resolved by prayers of Nigerians
because prayers have started to
storm the gates of heaven and we
should not be discouraged in any
way or discontinue our prayers,
Nigerians should not relent in
their prayers,'' he said.
On the choice of President
Jonathan by his party as the sole
candidate for the forthcoming
presidential election, Chief Anah
said “The Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP has spoken my mind
by adopting President
Goodluck Jonathan as it
consensus candidate for the
2015 Presidential election,
considering all the circumstances
of his administration, Dr
Jonathan by all standards has
performed creditably well to
deserve another term.''
However, the success the
By Ifeanyi Okolie
A
WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY: From left: President, Family Ark Mission, Dr. David Oludare
Mark; Director, Lagos State Blindness Prevention Programme, Dr. Olufunmilayo Shokunbi; Perm
Sec, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Modele Osunkiyesi; MD, Nature Crest Home &
Rehabilitation Centre, Dr. Yetunde Onajin; Member, Mrs. Elizabeth Adewale; and Program
Coordinator, Mind Trust, Mrs. Thelma Animasahun, during the awareness walk in commemoration
of 2014 World Mental Health Day in Lagos yesterday. Photo by Kehinde Gbadamosi.
‘Neglect of Zik's mausoleum,
a national embarrassment'
By Chimaobi Nwaiwu
N
NEWI—OBI
of
Onitsha, Igwe Alfred
Nnaemeka Achebe, has
expressed concern over
stoppage of works on Zik's
Mausoleum and the five star
hotel in GRA, Onitsha.
Speaking during his 13th Ofala
Festival, the Obi said it was
becoming
a
national
embarrassment that the Nigerian
government had not honoured
late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and the
mausoleum project that it started
over 20 years ago had not been
completed.
He said “We acknowledge the
progress of work on the second
Niger Bridge and Onitsha
Shopping Mall and the
preliminary work on second
Niger Bridge project. However,
we are concerned that work has
stalled at Ziks Mausoleum and
Ex-NLC scribe joins Enugu gov race
E
NUGU—FORMER Enugu
State Secretary of Nigeria
Labour Congress, NLC, and a
don, Dr. Ifeanyi Asogwa, has
declared for the governorship race
in Enugu State on the platform of
All Progressives Congress, APC,
and promised to transform the
economy of the state in the same
manner as the Asian Tigers.
Addressing newsmen in Enugu,
Asogwa said he had a clear vision
on how to transform the state,
lamenting that the bane of the state
was lack of good governance.
He said: “My dissertation is in
understanding the dynamics of
developing societies.
''
I
have
followed
developmental trends in the
world, in the advanced
countries, in emerging
C
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economies and I have an idea
of how these economies have
grown like the Asian Tigers. For
instance in 1967, the economy of
Eastern Nigeria was the fastest
growing economy in the world but
today where are we if you check
the development index?
“From the point of academia, I
have taught in the university and
I have been able to interact with
people from all places, all cultures
and I have an idea that human
relationship is actually what
derives the society and your
ability to interact with people
will help to very large extent. I
see myself intrinsically as a
democrat in the sense that I like
a fair society, I want the society
to be good, to be run well, a
good for the common man.''
the 'five star hotel in GRA after
several vicissitudes, work on the
Mausoleum resumed with
vigour at the start of the present
tenure of President Jonathan
was stopped suddenly. It is a
national embarrassment that we
have not duly honoured this
great nationalist.”
The Onitsha traditional ruler
also expressed worry that
globally, the past year was
dominated
by
strife,
particularly in the Middle
East, Ukraine and Nigeria.
“It is very disconcerting in
this 21st Century people will
still opt for violence, rather
than dialogue and persuasion,
in resolving issues. It is even
more painful that the poor and
helpless, particularly women
and children bear the brunt of
the resultant pain and
dislocation. The Boko Haranm
insurgents have become very
audacious. The kidnapping of
the Chibok school girls has
become iconic for a very sad
reason, no doubt international
terrorism has arrived in Nigeria
and is a distinct affront to our
sovereignty.
“It is therefore incumbent on
all well meaning citizens,
irrespective of our diversity, to
rally behind Mr. President to
defeat this invasion. We support
the government’s strategy to
cooperate our neighbouring
countries and the wider
international community in
meeting the challenge. Modern
terrorism knows no boundary
and therefore must be confronted
on a global cooperative base
strategy,” he added.
Speaking on the upcoming
general election, Igwe Achebe
said
“already
intense
positioning for the national
elections due early next year has
started. We implore the political
parties to follow the best tenets
of democracy, mainly freedom
of expression, robust debates
on hard issues, and free, fair,
peaceful,
and
orderly
elections, as was witnessed
recently
during
the
referendum on independence
for Scotland. That is the model
that we must seek to emulate.
Two events in Nigeria at the
national level boosted our faith
in our governance, namely the
recently conducted National
Conference and the Ebola
Virus Disease crisis.”
SSOCIATION of
Enugu
State
Development Unions,
AESDU, Lagos, has
thrown its support behind
the adoption of Ifeanyi
Ugwuanyi by the Peoples
Enugu
State,
as
consensus candidate for
the 2015 governorship
election.
President of the
association, Martins
Nnebedum said in a
statement, that the
association welcomed
wholeheartedly
the
adoption of Ugwuanyi,
who is from Enugu North
Senatorial Zone as its
consensus candidate for
the PDP in the 2015
governorship elections.
The statement read: “It
is gladdening to hear
that the PDP caucuses
for Enugu East and West
Senatorial Zones have
also endorsed his
candidature. That indeed
goes to show that he is
the best candidate for the
job and we pray the Lord
Almighty to grant him
the wisdom, knowledge
and understanding to
pilot the affairs of Enugu
state when elected.”
...As group commends Chime, PDP
caucus over his emergence
N
SUKKA Professionals
Group, NPG, has
commended Governor Sullivan
Chime of Enugu State and the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
caucus over the emergence of
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, as the
consensus candidate for the
2015 governorship election in
the state.
The group in a statement
signed by its President, Dr. Basil
Onugu and Secretary, Otoboeze
Chikwado,
noted
that
Ugwuanyi emerged as the
consensus candidate of his
party, because of his sterling
qualities that earned him the
confidence, trust and respect of
both stakeholders and his fellow
aspirants.
The group stated: “There is no
iota of doubt that Hon.
Ugwuanyi is eminently
qualified, competent, and has
the right compliment of skills set
necessary to, not only sustain
but, also advance Gov. Chime’s
enviable legacies to the next
level. Above all, unity and
peace remain not only a sinequa-non but, also most
imperative for the sustenance of
the current tempo of
development in the state. Hon.
Ugwuanyi is not only an epitome
of peace but also large hearted
and quite accommodating to the
weak and mighty alike. He is a
team player of choice.
“We will also thank Governor
Chime and the leadership of the
party in the state for their
consistent demonstration of
dedication and commitment
towards ensuring that Enugu
North Senatorial Zone produces
the next governor of the state,
come 2015. It is not common in
our political clime to find leaders
who are concerned about equity,
fairness and justice as
demonstrated in the course of
this exercise.
“NPG therefore, earnestly
salutes His Excellency ’s
courage in instituting and
defending the exemplary internal
democratic style devoid of
thuggery, rancour and violence.''
Lagos tackles mother-to-child HIV
transmission
— Set to unveil Dame Abimbola Fashola as ‘Face of PMTCT/Maternal Health’
By Sola Ogundipe
W
ORRIED by the high rate of
Mother-to-child Transmission of
HIV, MTCT, and overall high maternal
death rate in the state, the Lagos state
government has put together a renewed
campaign to accelerate the Prevention
of Mother-to-child Transmission of HIV,
PMTCT, towards reducing maternal
death in the state.
Under the strategy, Wife of the Lagos
State Governor, Dame Abimbola
Fashola, is to be unveiled as the face of
PMTCT/Maternal Health in the State.
The strategy will also provide an
update on progress towards elimination
of Mother-to-Child Transmission,
eMTCT, of HIV in the State in the light
of the global plan targets highlighting
achievements and gaps.
Goal of the initiative, which is being
carried out in collaboration with United
Nations Population Fund, UNFPA,
United Nations Joint Programme on
HIV and AIDS, UNAIDS, United
Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, and
other relevant stakeholders, is to
catalyse high level support for eMTCT
of HIV and maternal deaths through the
mobilisation of strategic stakeholders,
including women of influence, to
improve the demand for quality PMTCT
services and to encourage healthy
timing and spacing of pregnancies.
Lagos is working to achieve this goal
to tackle concerns that in spite of
existing facilities and services, the State
contributes significantly to the
unacceptably high national maternal
deaths and the national burden of HIV,
due to low utilisation of PMTCT and
Family Planning services.
HIV prevalence
Data from the Lagos State Bureau of
Statistics, show that with a population
of 21,883,048, Lagos, with a HIV
prevalence of 5.1, is one of the 12+1
States that account for 70 percent of the
nation’s burden of children born with
HIV based on the 2010 National HIV
Sero - Prevalence Sentinel Survey.
In a statement the Lagos State
Ministry of Health, noted that the
campaign will enable infected pregnant
mothers to have increased access to
services to prevent their babies from
being infected, as well as to encourage
more families to embrace family
planning practices.
The campaign will also stimulate
commitment of critical stakeholders and
provide vital information on PMTCT
and a directory of functional PMTCT
sites in the State.
Further, it was gathered that UNAIDS
is committed to revolutionising HIV
prevention policies and practices that
will ignite policy makers, opinion
leaders and community gate keepers to
focus on populations and programmes
that will make a difference attaining
zero new infections.
One of such programmes is the
elimination of vertical (mother-toC
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child) transmission of HIV and the
reduction of AIDS-related maternal
death by half in 2015. This mandate is
clearly in line with that of UNAIDS “3
zeros” target of zero infections, zero
AIDS-related deaths and UNFPA:
delivering a world where every birth
is safe and where every woman is
treated with dignity/respect.
Projected population figures for
Lagos State in 2012, showed 1,060,225
women got pregnant in that year. At
an HIV prevalence of 5.1 percent,
about 54,071 pregnant women are
living with HIV approximately onethird of whom would, in the absence of
any intervention to prevent motherto-child transmission of HIV, pass on
the virus to their babies.
This translates to 16,468 preventable
HIV infections among infants in the
State in 2012 alone.
With a maternal mortality ratio of 555/
100,000 live-births, Lagos State has a
burden that is higher than the national
figure of 545/100,000 live births, a
development that negates UNFPA's
mandate of a world where every birth
is safe and every child is born free of
HIV.
It is against this background that the
UN health agencies are supporting the
State government to convene the highlevel meeting of women decisionmakers in the State and other critical
stakeholders to identify their roles in
eMTCT and maternal deaths.
• Pregnant women at a health facility in Lagos. Inset: Dame Abimbola Fashola.
Leave our jobs alone, AGPMPN tells teaching
hospitals
By Chioma Obinna
M
EMBERS of the Association of
General and Private Medical
Practitioners of Nigeria, AGPMPN,
Lagos State Branch, have urged
University Teaching Hospitals across
the Federation to steer clear of
rendering primary health care services.
The Lagos State Chairman of the
Association, Dr. Adeyeye Arigbabuwo,
said the rate at which teaching hospitals
have opened doors to patients with
minor ailments has become worrisome
to primary and secondary health care
givers in the state, noting that it was
high time tertiary health institutions
focused on handling complicated
ailments and referrals for which they
are primarily designed to cater for.
Arigbabuwo insisted there must be a
total disengagement of tertiary
institutions from primary health care
delivery, especially insurance operation
of the Lagos State Health Insurance
Maintenance Agency, for doctors under
their aegis to feature prominently as
major stakeholders.
He explained that tertiary hospitals
should focus on CT scan, chronic
disorders and other cases at the extreme.
“They should stop taking these cases.
In fact, if tertiary institutions don't dabble
into primary health care, they will serve
the public better," he said.
Unveiling the branch's new executive
members, the Chairmanlamented that
private medical practitioners' services
were more becoming social rather than
commercial.
He decried that 70 per cent of their
activities were sacrificial-render without
being paid for by clients. He explained
that the practitioners were not permitted
to detain patients who are unable to pay
their medical bills.
Lamenting the untold effect on health
service delivery, Arigbabuwo called for
a compulsory tax holiday for all medics
in Lagos State saying it was necessary
and urgent, as part of emergency health
intervention to recover from what he
described as economic crisis threatening
the medical private sector of health care
industry.
He said the private health sector had
always been at the forefront in combating
public health issues, citing the recently
contained Ebola Virus Disease in
Nigeria as an instance.
"We were the first people that were
called to face the Ebola saga. Remember
government doctors were on strike then
we were called. The Minister of Health,
Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu acknowledged
our role in curtailing Ebola in the
country."
Recognising the role of health
insurance in driving health sector to an
enviable height, Arigbabuwo stated that
the association remained ever ready to
embrace insurance package for the
benefit of Nigerians. He noted that the
era of out of pocket medical service was
gradually becoming history.
The Association's First Vice Chairman,
Dr Tunji Akintade, said as private health
care providers, AGPMPN was willing
to ensure that everybody has access to
good health, including that poor
woman selling on the street.
The private practitioners all regulatory
agencies to help the association flush
out quacks from the sector, revealing
that most the anti-proficiency agents
operate without signboards.
We are neglected, women living with
HIV cry out
By Gabriel Olawale
T
HEY wore long faces,
h
e
i
r
cries and lamentations loud
and clear. With a common voice,
they stated their case, telling
stories of woe and anguish. As
Persons Living With HIV/AIDS,
PLWHA, they share a common
destiny but with a common
hope. They were united in their
situation, bordering on what
they termed negligence by the
government, leading to
inadequate welfare and poor
outlook to life.
Presenting their case during
a peaceful protest organised by
the Coalition for Women and
Children Living with HIV/AIDs
in Nigeria, in Lagos weekend,
the group of PLWA expressed
heartfelt reservations about
their plight. Take the case of
Favour Obius, 32, who tearfully
narrated how she lost her
pregnancy. In an emotionladen voice she disclosed that
she was doing well prior to
being subjected, along with
others, to ART treatment.
“I began to notice some
changes. At times, I felt like
vomiting, my body was weak
and I felt dizzy. When I
complained at the clinic, they
told me they had given all they
had and urged me to purchase
a single dose of Nevirapine, but
since I could not afford the
drug, I eventually lost my
pregnancy,” she recounted.
Abiola Akeem’s story is
similar. The 27-year-old, who
recently got married, disclosed
that her annoyance was the long
hours she has to spend at
hospital before been attend to.
“Depending on the number of
doctors on duty and patients
like me on appointment,
sometimes I spend between 812 hours before being attend to.”
She added that even after
gaining entry to see the doctor,
it was discovered that the
quality of ART drugs dispensed
t
• Lucy Attah.
to them was no longer the
same. “In fact it is substandard
and the manufacturer changes
almost every month. Some of
the drugs break like chalk.”
Continuing, she stated:
“Majority of the PLHA on
single dose drugs, maybe
because they have kidney
problems or are underweight,
now buy drugs. For instance,
those on single dose ART
therapy now buy drugs like
Abacavir,
Lamivudine,
Nevirapine, and Zidovudine at
a cost of over N25, 000 monthly.
Drug adherence becomes a
very big issue and we are told
that the wellbeing of positive
living hangs on 90 to 95 per cent
drug adherence.”
However,
Coordinator,
Coalition for Women and
Children Living with HIV/AIDS
in Nigeria, Lucy Attah,
cautioned that if care and
proper action was not initiated
on the issue of HIV/AIDS in the
country, it could re-generate
more harm and take the country
back several years and
jeopardise efforts already
invested.
“We learned that some
patients who ought to be on
drugs are not as a result of
excuses raging from faulty CD4
machines, non-availability of
necessary drugs among others.
“On several occasions, new
patients who present to the
facility get discouraged due to
long queues and depression
arising from lack of proper
counseling, confusion poor
nursing care, which cause some
patients turn back and never
present again for treatment.”
Lucy said the CD4 count
machine which is key to HIV
treatment is often faulty. In
Nigeria, only eight centres can
boast of functional viral load
machines as a result of which
patients placed on drugs have
never had access to the test
machine in the last seven years.
“Only pregnant women that
should undergo compulsory
tests, do the viral load test, even
though there are times they are
unable to afford it in view of the
high charges. They can’t afford
it because charges for viral
loads test range from N25, 000N30,000 which is one factor
hampering effort towards
attaining sustainable PMTCT
serv ces in Nigeria,” she
remarked.
Attah who called for more
commitment said more
volunteers preferably PLWA
with higher level of learning
should be trained to assist in all
facility centres advocated for fee
pregnancy and child birth
services for all women in the
country especially at the
grassroots
Heart health: Beware of animal fat, Nigerians warned
By Chioma Obinna
U
NHEALTHY foods, notably
animal fat, alcohol, high salt
intake and inactive lifestyle took
centrestage on this year’s World
Heart Day, organised by the
Nigeria Heart Foundation NHF,
in Lagos.
In the view of a professor of
Nutritional Biochemistry, Olusola
Omueti, consumption of animal
fat, is recognised as a dangerous
source of bad fats, classified as
unhealthy oil.
Omueti, who is the Nutritional
Director, NHF, also condemned
foods sold at eateries, explaining
that they are over processed. She
frowned at Nigerians who use
such fats for frying or cooking,
stating that they are capable of
causing stroke and heart attack.
She noted that such
overprocessed foods do more
harm than good to the heart. Also
of concern was the habit of people
using used oil to prepare foods,
which she said was a gateway to
free radicals that block the heart
arteries from functioning properly,
and consequently lead to deadly
diseases.
In keeping the heart healthy,
Omueti recommended greens to
Nigerians, listing vegetables,
fruits, revealing that they were
good source nutrients and antioxidants. She added that greens
help to break the circle of free
radicals from blocking one's
system. The nutritionist further
advised people above age 40 to
avoid taking meat but to rather
eat fish, especially mackerel
specie.
"Once you are up to 40 years,
avoid meat then eat more of fish,
though you may take meat once
in a while. Take red beans, soya
beans, snail, moi moi, local rice
and many other local foods, which
are good sources of protein and
vitamins," Omueti said.
In her remarks, the
Chairperson, NHF's Organising
Committee, Mrs. Pamela
Umebuani said the meeting was
to re-emphasise that heart
disease and stroke remain the
world's leading causes of death.
Perturbed by such unhealthy
development, she said the
Foundation was undaunted in
encouraging people to take action
to protect their heart health.
Corroborating
Omueti's
position, she said about 80 per
cent of premature deaths from
heart disease and stroke could be
prevented by addressing risk
factors such as salt intake,
physical inactivity, tobacco and
harmful use of alcohol.
Harping on the theme of 2014
Heart Day: 'Creating HeartHealthy Environment', she said:
"Too often, the responsibility for
lifestyle changes is put on the
individual; to stop smoking,
eating unhealthy diet and not
exercising. However, what is often
forgotten is that many people
don't always have the opportunity
to make the right choice.
"For instance, people who live
in urban areas are often exposed
to increased fast food outlets and
advertising. In developing
countries, billions of people face
unsafe cooking environments,
such as cooking with traditional
cooking stoves or open fires,
facing high exposure to smoke
and fuels. Health systems in many
countries have not kept pace with
the explosion in rates of CVD.
People in more rural areas do not
always have access to health
services to advise them on heart
health and access to the right
medicines," she highlighted.
FrieslandCampina WAMCO
launches Peak 850g
D
•L-R: Prof. Suleiman Akanmu, Head, Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Lagos University
Teaching Hospital, LUTH; Coordinator, Chevron Nigeria Limited,CNL, Mr. Okegbenro, Chief
Medical Director, LUTH, Prof. Akin Osibogun, and the Acting Director of Administration,
LUTH, Mr. Babajide Grillo during a facility tour of LUTH-Chevron Molecular Biology Research
Laboratory by members of AWARES Class 14 last week in Lagos.
C
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AIRY sector leader
FrieslandCampina
WAMCO Nigeria PLC, makers
of the premium brand Peak
milk, has launched its new
Peak 850g milk value pack in
Lagos. Public and Regulatory
Affairs
Manager,
Ore
Famurewa, said the company
launched the refill pack to meet
growing consumers’ demand of
a top-up pouch whenever they
need to save money on the
purchase of other Peak big pack
formats.
“Peak is the only milk brand
in Nigeria that offers the full
range of dairy products with
several line extensions like the
Unsweetened Evaporated
Milk, Peak, Sweetened
Condensed Milk, Instant Milk
Powder and Choco. Peak is
enriched with 28 vitamins and
minerals and endorsed by the
Nutrition Society of Nigeria”
she stated.
FrieslandCampina WAMCO
has been in Nigeria since 1954.
The company is an affiliate of
Royal FrieslandCampina in
The Netherlands, the largest
dairy cooperative in the world.
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Experts launch campaign against tooth
decay, cavities
By Sola Ogundipe
I
N the bid to stop the menace of cavities
and tooth decay in the country, leaders
in dentistry and public health recently
launched a national campaign in Abuja.
Spearheaded by the Alliance for a CavityFree Future, ACFF, the campaign called
for national collaborative action to check
the prevalence of the disorderr which is
preventable and reversible in the early
stages.
Tooth decay is the most common chronic
disease in world, affecting five billion
people, or nearly 80 percent of the world's
population. Many nutritional problems
will affect the mouth before the rest of the
body because the cells in the lining of the
mouth - called the oral mucosa - are
constantly being created and destroyed
with a whole new group of cells taking the
place of old cells, in three to seven days.
Speaking at the launch, the Alliance
Chairman and President of the Nigerian
Dental Association, Dr. Olabode Ijarogbe
said in line with the vision of the Oral
Health Policy of the Federal Government
to improve the oral health status of
Nigerians, the Alliance intends to partner
with key stakeholders in oral health in
Nigeria to achieve a caries free population
by the year 2026.
Ijarogbe said the Alliance is committed
to stop caries initiation and progression
and move toward a cavity-free future by
working with countries to build on existing
initiatives with a new understanding of
caries as a disease continuum and to adopt
comprehensive strategies for caries
prevention and management.
• L-R: The Corporate Communication Manager, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Dr. Samuel
Adenikan; Coordinator, Nestle Nutrition Institute, Mrs. Chioma EmmaNwachukwu and the Brand Manager, Latunji Motayo during the 2014 Creating
Shared Value Global Forum discussion in Lagos recently.
Immediate goal of the alliance, he noted,
is commitment to ensure that by 2015, 90
percent of dental schools and dental
associations should have embraced and
promoted the "new" approach of "caries as
a continuum" to improve dental caries
prevention and management.
"By 2020, regional members of the
Alliance for a Cavity Free Future should
have integrated, locally appropriate,
comprehensive caries prevention and
management systems and monitoring
approaches developed and in place while
every child born from 2026 should stay
cavity free during their life time."
Highlighting ACFF focus area in
Nigeria, Professor Nigel Pitts, of King's
College London Dental Institute, London,
UK said the alliance will focus on
manpower development with particular
emphasis on the training of Primary Health
Care workers; Oral health/caries
awareness with focus on caries prevention;
Revision of cariology aspects of
undergraduate dental curriculum;
Common risk factor approach to caries
prevention and Intervention research
studies.
"We are partners in the fight against
global tooth decay and committed to
working synergistically to achieve the
common goal that every child born from
2026 should stay cavity free during their
lifetime,” he reiterated
They also discussed the development of
comprehensive programmes for prevention
and management of cavities in Nigeria.
The ACFF is a worldwide group of experts
promoting integrated clinical and public
health action to stop caries initiation and
progression in order to move towards a
Cavity-Free Future for all age groups.
PSN targets best
practices as 87th
conference holds
By Gabriel Olawale
I
N its quest to raise the standard of
pharmacy practice to meet the
expectations of Nigerians and in line with
global best practices, the Pharmaceutical
Society of Nigeria, PSN, is set to hold its
87th annual national conference with a
symposium designed to put into
consideration how transformation could cut
across various dimensions of pharmacy
practice.
The event, slated for November 3-8, 2014
in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, will put into
consideration how pharmacy practice can
be transformed for better outcomes that will
reflect greatly on the well being of every
Nigerian.
Chairman of the Conference Planning
Committee, Pharm. Chijioke Onyia said
the conference comes with new packages
including the maiden Deans’ Forum,
Directors of Pharmaceutical Services
Forum, and Head of Pharma, Federal
Health Institutions Forum as part of agenda
to boost human relationships management
including the Board of Fellows and Young
Pharmacists Group.
Onyia said under arrangements with the
Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, PCN, to
revolutionalise Mandatory Continuing
Professional Development, MCPD, credit
point earnings, the continuing education
segment of the conference is billed to hold
hold at the ultra-modern e-library facility
of Akwa Ibom State Government in Uyo.
During the event, four Nigerians who
have distinguished themseleves will be
conferred with Ambassadors of the Health
Sector even as the Akwa Ibom State
Governor, Godswill Akpabio chairs the
programme.
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AWC: Pinnick charges Falcons
to seal semi final ticket
A
S the high –flying
Super Falcons are
set for their second match
of the 9th African Women
Championship
in
Namibia, after earning
three maximum points in
their first match against
Cote d’Ivoire, President of
Nigeria
Football
Federation, Mr. Amaju
Melvin Pinnick has
charged the players to go
for a comfortable win that
will seal their place in the
semi finals of the
competition.
The Confederation of
African Football is using
the tournament in
southern Africa to pick the
continent’s representatives
to next year ’s FIFA
Women’s World Cup finals
in Canada, with the top
three teams at the end of
the championship due to
fly Africa’s flag at the
global event.
Oshoala
it was regrettable that
since the embarrassing
1-0 defeat in the hands
of the less fancied
Sudan the NFF was yet
to make any statement
concerning the future of
the coach.
He further added that
it looks like there is
nobody in charge
because in an ideal
situation the federation
should have summoned
Coach Stephen Keshi
and his technical crew
to read the riot act to
them ahead of the
remaining matches. But
a move by the board to
take
action
was
frustrated by certain
quarters which revealed
that the new board may
not have free hands to
administer football the
way it deems fit even
after President Goodluck
Jonathan recognised the
new board and charged
them to grow Nigeria’s
football. The goings on
in Eagles have shown
that Stephem Keshi
lacks the motivation to
take the team to another
level. Immediately after
the World Cup defeat by
France, he vowed never
to coach Nigeria again
even if President
Jonathan intervened.
But he, apparently,
changed his mind after
the many offers that
were said to be lined up
HE
Sports
Minister and
Chairman, National
Sports Commission, Dr.
Tammy Danagogo has
lamented the poor
showing of the Super
Eagles in the African
Nations Cup qualifier
which has placed them at
the bottom of their group.
This is on the heels of
the
superlative
performance of the
national female team, the
Super Falcons whom he
congratulated for beating
their
Cote’dIvoire
counterparts 4 – 2 on
Saturday at the on-going
African
Women
championship
in
Namibia.
Dr. Danagogo described
Afcon 2015: Danagogo charges
Eagles, coaches to produce results
as unacceptable the 0 -1
lack – luster performance
of the Eagles against
Sudan who overtook them
to the third position on the
table with three points to
the Eagles one.
He has therefore
charged the Nigeria
Football Federation,
F
IFA licensed stadium
facility expert, Ebi
Egbe has faulted Stephen
Keshi’s decision to use his
army of Euro-based professionals to prosecute last
for him failed to
materialise. Said a
football federation
source yesterday:
“The situation is very
regrettable because
Nigeria is now in a
position where we are
not sure of going to
Morocco to defend the
trophy which we won
last year. The Super
Eagles have really let
the country down by
their poor showing. The
NFF wants to make
changes but they cannot
because of the selfish
interest
of
those
frustrating them. They
are not in charge of
Nigerian football at the
moment. That is the
truth.
“The worst part of it
is that the NFF seems
not to know what to do
because in an ideal
situation the leadership
of the federation
should have, by now
summoned Keshi and
his crew to find out
what happened in
Sudan and to give
them a mandate ahead
of the remaining
matches.
“But that is not what
we are witnessing
because some highly
placed Nigerians are
insisting that it must be
Keshi and to add insult
to an injury it was the
NFF leadership that
went to meet the coach
weekend’s game against
Sudan in Khartoum.
Egbe said the Eagles
would have gotten a result
both in Calabar in the
game against Congo and
the Khartoum outing if Kesin his hotel.”
The latest happening
was a shocker to the
new
board
who
appeared to have
understood why the
Maigari board could
not manage Keshi.
Before the Brazil World
Cup, the federation
concluded that Keshi
needed help to take
Nigeria beyond the
second round in the
World Cup. Keshi
bluntly refused and the
federation could not do
anything. The coach
was untouchable and
the result were the
blackmail the federal
government faced with
the demand for FIFA
grant by the team and
the defeat by a beatable
France. And now the
game has continued in
the face of glaring
avoidable failures.
Our source further
added that it is nemesis
that is catching up with
Keshi whom he accused
of always playing the
boss before the NFF
because
of
the
‘powerful’
people
backing him.
The Super Eagles is
rooted at the bottom of
the group A with just
one point while Sudan
are with three points
while Congo and South
Africa have six and
seven
points
respectively.
hi had fallen back on the
home-based players who
are used to the poor pitches in Calabar and Khartoum.
In Egbe’s words: “I think
the pitch in Calabar and
that of Sudan contributed
a lot to our poor run. You
can clearly see that the Eagles were a lot better in
Cape Town against South
Africa because the pitch
there was good. Our boys
play on good turfs out there
in Europe, so coming home
to play in that kind of rugged Khartoum pitch wont
be an easy task. I think
F
ORMER
FIFA
World Player of the
Year and Liberia legend,
George Weah, has joined
the bandwagon of those criticizing the performance of
what Keshi should have
done was to use some
home- based players who
are used to that kind of terrain.” The London based
soccer buff expressed confidence that Keshi and his
boys will bounce back to
pick a Nations Cup ticket,
insisting that it is not all
over yet for the Eagles.
the Super Eagles in the African Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against Sudan
last weekend.
Commenting on ABN
Sports channel, the retired
AC Milan and Paris SaintGermain star said that Nigeria disappointed by not
beating the Sudanese.
The retired Liberian skipper also pointed out that
Sudan, who had been written off before the tie, caused
a sensation by defeating the
defending champions.
In his own words, George
Weah said that Nigeria did
not do anything meaningful during the contest at the
Khartoum Stadium.
Musa misses training
C
SKA
Moscow
forward Ahmed
Musa could be a major
injury concern for Nigeria
Bizarre
Continues from BP
by some people, who
I won’t mention their
names but who know
themselves. They want
to run this team down,”
blasted a bitter Keshi,
who has only won a
game in his last 11
matches.
“Some people are
ready to sell this country
for a dime. They want to
sabotage the Super
Eagles.
“It’s a shame. They
don’t want this team to
get to the AFCON, they
want this team to lose
outright. But they are
not God.
“And this is not
Keshi’s team. This is a
national team. Keshi is
a professional coach
and
after
this
(assignment), he will
get
another
job
elsewhere.”
But Keshi’s remarks
appeared a ploy to
attract sympathy. His
team did not play well
(NFF), the Coaching crew
as well as the players to
ensure that this kind of
performance is not
repeated in the remaining
matches of the qualifiers
beginning from the
Wednesday clash against
Sudan at the Abuja
National Stadium.
Weah Criticises Super Eagles
FIFA man blames pitches for Eagles poor run
Keshi
Continues from BP
T
in the last three games.
They neither suffered
poor officiating nor bad
treatment in the hands
of Nigerian authorities.
His selection has been
questionable and he
now attributes his
failure to his enemies or
critics.
“The fact that he has
failed to realise his
mistakes and take
corrections is even
worse than the matches
he has lost because it
means he is not
admitting
his
failures,”an
ex
international said on
phone last night.
Nigeria host Sudan,
who are now third in the
standings with three
points, in a reverse
fixture on Wednesday in
Abuja.
And next month, they
then travel to secondplaced Congo before
they welcome Group A
leaders South Africa to
round up the qualifiers.
for Wednesday’s AFCON
clash against Sudan after
he skipped training on
Sunday and Monday.
Team officials said
Ahmed Musa is nursing
a knock he picked up from
Saturday ’s 1-0 loss in
Sudan.
The flying winger has
started the Eagles last
three matches.
Nigeria missed Stoke
City star Victor Moses
and
Ukraine-based
forward
Babatunde
Michael for the first
AFCON qualifier in
Sudan on account of
injury.
The African champions
host Sudan on Wednesday
by 5pm in Abuja.
Obuh
Continues from BP
helped his cause.”
Obuh has coached the
likes of Emem Eduok,
Juwon Oshaniwan,
Ejike Uzoenyi, Ramon
Azeez and Ogenyi
Onazi at club and youth
level at various intervals
before
their
breakthrough into the
Eagles.
The list also includes
Kenneth Omeruo and
Osaghona Ighodaro.
Aftermath of Eagles loss to Sudan
Okocha screams: Our football is 'dead'!
A
USTIN Jay-Jay
Okocha
has
defended Nigeria head
coach Stephen Keshi
following the weekend’s
loss to Sudan in a 2015
Africa Cup of Nations
qualifier.
The Super Eagles were
defeated 1-0 in Khartoum
and are now in danger of
not being in Morocco next
year to defend the title they
won in South Africa in
2013.
Okocha has pointed to
the recent Nigerian
Football Federation’s
leadership squabble as a
major contributing factor to
the Eagles’ struggles in the
qualifiers.
“We are in a very
unusual situation,” the
former midfielder tweeted.
“The question is, do we
deserve better considering
the state of our football
affairs in recent time?
“Anyone that blames
Keshi or the boys is shortsighted. Our football is
long dead and gone. This
is just the confirmation.
“Well done SA (South
Africa). Not the result most
Nigerians
expected
(against Sudan) though.
We have to step up our
game and grab the next six
points to have a chance,”
he added.
Nigeria are currently
bottom of Group A with
one point from three
matches, with South Africa
sitting at the top of the
standings, followed by
Congo in second place and
Sudan in the third spot.
CONTEST......Nigeria’s John Obi Mikel (L) defends against Sudan’s Muhannad El Tahir (C) during the 2015 African Cup of
Nations qualifying match in Khartoum on October 11. Sudan won 1-0. AFP PHOTO
Essien: I don’t have Ebola
A
Milan and
G h a n a
midfielder Michael
Essien has been forced to
respond to rumours after
it was suggested that he
had contracted Ebola.
The 31-year-old, who
has made just three
appearances for the
Italian club this season,
took to various social
networking platforms at
the weekend to deny
claims made on Twitter.
“I’m very fit and very
healthy,” Essien posted
on Instagram. “No truth
in the internet rumours
that I have contracted
Ebola.
C
“I’m well & will be
training as usual
tomorrow. The Ebola virus
is a very serious issue
and people shouldn’t joke
about it.
“Whoever wrote this
article
is
very
unprofessional and
insensitive...!!!
#Jahbless.”
A club statement read:
“AC Milan categorically
denies alleged news from
abroad
about
its
members.
“Such news, totally
unfounded, however, has
never been confirmed by
any employee of our
company.”
•Essien
We will finish Congo off — Meyiwa
O
RLANDO Pirates
goalkeeper
Senzo Meyiwa is happy
with his progress as the
Bafana Bafana number one
in the 2015 Africa Cup of
Nations
qualifying
campaign.
“It shows that patience
pays,” the former youth
international said. “I think at
Pirates we have a very good
foundation
from
developmentandthatiswhat
makesmeperformwellatthis
level.
“Coach Augusto Palacios
demanded a lot from us in
developmentandIguessthat
is where I got this desire to
fight hard for what I want in
football.
“It is nice (to be captain);
it shows the coach believes
in me. It is hard sometimes
to be the captain as you
have to be ready to protect
the team; but everything is
•Meyiwa
going okay and I’m satisfied
with what I have done so far
being the captain
“I see us beating Congo on
Wednesday.Wewillfinishthem
off”.
Nigerians won’t spare you if..., D
Uduaghan tells Pinnick
BY EMMA AMAIZE
D
ELTA State Gov
er nor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan,has
said that followers of
the round leather game
would not spare the
new Nigeria Football
Federation, NFF, President, Mr. Amaju Pinnick and his board if
they failed to reverse
the current sorry state
of football in the country.
He declared unequivocally that football
was at its lowest ebb in
the country and challenged the newly elected President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Pinnick to put
smiles on the faces of
Nigerians.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service at the
First Baptist Church,
C
M
Y
K
Warri, held in honour of
Pinnick, Governor Uduaghan said he knew
that the new NFF boss
was under pressure to
quickly develop and improve the game because
of his strong passion for
the game.
The Governor particularly lamented the defeat
of the Super Eagles in
Sudan, noting that it was
the worst result the country’s football has experienced in the recent
past.
This state of affairs the
governor observed actually required divine intervention as well hence the
President’s decision to
thank God and dedicate
his victory to God
He showered encomiums on the President of
the Football Federation for
developing himself ahead
of his current position.
•Pinnick
ESPITE Nigeria’s
loss to Sudan,
former Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo believes
the national team would
still qualify for the African
Cup of Nations in Morocco.
His words; “Sometimes
things don’t turn out the
way you planned. I have
seen many of such moments in my football career.
At such times, I have
learnt never to give up.
This team is passing
through a phase and I
know they have what it
takes to weather through
the storms”.
The 101 capped ex-international however said that
Yobo drums support for
Eagles
resolve to go all the way. I
the onus was on the players to negotiate their way
out of the current situation.
“I have no doubt in the
quality of players I left behind in the national team.
They have to talk to themselves and find a solution.
At times like this, the players’ motivation is key. You
know in 2012, we failed to
qualify for AFCON, but in
2013, we made up our
mind to win the trophy
against all odds. Now that
the odds are against the
team, the players should
have no doubt that Nigeria would still defend the
trophy in Morocco. The
boys just have to dig deep
and find the inner
strength”, he said.
•Yobo
Give Eagles another chance — Giwa
AMBASSADOR Chris
Giwa has appealed to
Nigerians to give the
Super Eagles another
chance.
Giwa made the plea
after the Eagles lost to
Sudan 1-0 in their Nations
Cup qualifier in Khartoum
at the weekend.
With the defeat, the
Super Eagles now have
one point from three
matches. Their chances of
defending the trophy they
won in South Africa last
year now depends on
their winning their
remaining three matches
against Sudan and South
Africa at home and Congo
away.
South Africa and
Congo must also slip
before Eagles can qualify.
But despite the bleak
situation, Giwa believes
that “cutting off the head
is not the remedy for a
headache.”
“I can assure you that
the players and the
technical crew are not
happy too. Stoning them
is not the solution. We
also need to support the
players and the coach
during this trying period,
they can still qualify”, he
said.
C
M
Y
K
C
M
Y
K
VANGUARD, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
BIZARRE:
Keshi alleges sabotage
C
OACH Stephen
Keshi
has
alleged there is a gangup against him not to
succeed as Nigeria face
Keshi: NFF
hands are tied
•Keshi
championship.
“There is a sabotage
Continues on Page 59
AWC: Pinnick charges Falcons to
seal semi final ticket — Pg.59
Give me Eagles job –Obuh begs
F
BY JUDE OPARA,
Abuja
T
HE inability of the
Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF) to
officially react to the
dismal showing of the
Super Eagles in the ongoing 2015 African Cup
of Nation, AFCON
qualifiers has been
blamed
on
the
interference of some
people in high places.
A reliable source at the
Secretariat of the NFF
who pleaded anonymity
told Sports Vanguard
yesterday in Abuja that
elimination from next
year ’s AFCON in
Morocco.
The African champions
are rooted to the bottom
of Group A with a single
point after three rounds
of matches in the
qualifying tournament
for Morocco 2015.
They must now have to
win their remaining three
matches and hope other
results in the group go
their way if they were to
qualify
for
the
ORMER Nigeria
Under-17 and
Under-20 coach John
Obuh says he deserves
to be given a back room
role in the Super
Eagles.
The Enugu Rangers
gaffer
said
his
experience with working
with some of the Super
Eagles players at youth
level should be a reason
for him to be employed.
“At least 6 players in
the Eagles squad have
played under me at
various levels,” he said.
“If am in the set-up, I
will advise and guide on
their usage as I know
their strengths and
weaknesses, I am ready
for the role if called up.”
On the usage of
players who have played
under him at youth level
in the Super Eagles,
Obuh cited Ramon
Azeez as a victim of poor
usage.
“Ramon Azeez’s case
is pathetic. He is such
a good player but used
wrongly, hence he
failed to sparkle,” he
added.
“Yes I admit he is
played in the same role
he has been used in at
his club, but he is more
defensive
than
offensive, if I was in the
team I would have
Musa misses training — Pg.59
MUSA: Missing in action
QUICK CROSSWORD
TODAY'S
PUZZLE
YESTER
DAY'S
YESTERDAY'S
ANSWERS
ACROSS
2 Belief (5)
7 Strand (5)
8 Stadium (5)
10 Insect (5)
12 Mineral (3)
13 Condition (5)
15 Middle (7)
17 Menace (6)
19 Shelter (3)
20 Smallest (7)
23 Call (4)
25 Lean (4)
26 Came (7)
30 Shrub (3)
31 Remorse (6)
34 Stretch (7)
37 Scorch (5)
38 Mine (3)
39 Animal (5)
40 Start (5)
41 Guide (5)
42 Material (5)
DOWN
1 Nativity (5)
2 Box (5)
3 Reiterate (6)
4 Heroic (4)
5 Demur (7)
6 Skulk (5)
9 Stray (3)
11 Liberate (7)
13 Endure (5)
14 Fragrance (5)
16 Born (3)
18 Neatest (7)
21 Prickle (5)
22 Combine (5)
24 Inconsistent (7)
27 Manage (3)
28 Stop (6)
29 Eject (5)
32 Circumference (5)
33 Heron (5)
35 Hog (3)
36 Nobleman (4)
YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS
ACROSS: 2, Solid 7, Snip 8, United 9, Adage
11, Her 13, Dig 15, Iris 16, Hem 18, Jeer 19,
General 20, Huge 22, Mean 23, Lasting 25,
Seer 27, Hot 28, Mere 30, Tit 31, Did 33,
Badge 36, Revoke 37, Foil 38, Great.
DOWN: 1, Enter 2, Spa 3, Lea 4, Due 5, Wig
6, Belie 10, Glen 11, Highest 12, Ringlet 13,
Deleted 14, Granted 16, Heath 17, Meant
18, Jam 21, Ear 24, Iota 26, Eider 29, Rigid
32, Cow 33, Beg 34, Die 35, Eft.
How to Play Sudoku
P
lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can
have two of the same number).
Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also
nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a
bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1
through 9. This means that no number can appear twice
in any block, column or row.
No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division
or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.
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Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Ag. Editor: EZE ANABA. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.
C
M
Y
K

Vanguard,TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014 THE

Transcription

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