aftermath of jonathan/obj parley: president in crucial talks with tukur, others

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 61930

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013**

Mr & Mrs

Continues on page 5

•Northern govs to meet IBB, Abdulsalam today•Tell Obasanjo of their plan to push for Presidency in 2015

COLUMNISTS:

•P.46OCHEREOME

NNANNA

LES LEBA•P.40

•P.17

President in crucialtalks with Tukur, others

PAUL BASSEY•P.51

SECURITY:US CoastGuardindicts FGoverconfusionat ports

AFTERMATH OF JONATHAN/OBJ PARLEY:

BY EMMANUELAZIKEN, POLITICAL

EDITOR, UMORUHENRY & DAUD

OLATUNJI

ABUJA— PRESIDENT Goodluck

Jonathan, last night, metthe National Chairman ofthe Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, Alhaji

MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN NIGERIA—Winner of the 26th edition of the Most BeautifulGirl in Nigeria Pageant, Miss Anna Ebiere Banner after her crowning weekend. Inset: Bayelsa StateGovernor, Seriake Dickson (Left) presenting a souvenir to Miss Banner (right), while Mr. Guy Murray-Bruce of Silverbird Group looks on at the event held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.See story on page 12 17

PIB 'll outlive us,says Alison-Madueke

•P.8

48

Drop-outsare nowourleaders— Amaechi

6

Teenager,threeothers diein Lagosbuildingcollapse

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2—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013

VISIT—From left: The Executive Vice Chairman, EVC, of the NigerianCommunications Commission, NCC, Dr Eugene Juwah and Governor ofLagos State, Babatunde Fashola, during the EVC's visit to the governor inLagos.

SERAP drags FG to court over N700bnexpenditure

Rivers crisis made Nigeria alaughing stock—Oritsejafor

SOCIO-ECONOMICRights and

Accountability Project,SERAP, has dragged theFederal Government beforea Federal High Courtsitting in Lagos, over thefailure to provideinformation on thespending of the N700billion borrowed betweenDecember 31, 2012 andApril 30, 2013, and detailsof projects on which thismoney was spent.

The suit FHC/L/CS/978/13 was filed last weekfollowing a request madeunder the FOI Act by theorganisation.

Joined as defendants inthe suit are the Accountant-General, Jonah OgunniyiOtunla and the Attorney-General of the Federationand Minister of Justice,Muhammed Adoke.

The suit is seeking thefollowing reliefs: adeclaration that by virtue ofthe provisions of Section 4

(a) of the Freedom ofInformation Act 2011, theFederal Government isunder a binding legalobligation to provide theplaintiff with up to dateinformation on thespending of N700 billionborrowed betweenDecember 31, 2012 andApril 30, 2013 and detailsof projects on which themoney was spent.

* A declaration that thefailure of FederalGovernment to provide theplaintiff with theinformation requested is abreach of section 4(a) of theFreedom of Information2011.

* An order of mandamusdirecting and/orcompelling the FederalGovernment to provide theplaintiff with up to dateinformation as requested.

According to SERAP, “bythe clear provisions ofsection 2(3)(d)(V) of theFOI Act, documentscontaining information

relating to the receipt orexpenditure of public orother funds of a publicinstitution constitute part ofthe information which apublic institution isobligated to publish,disseminate and makeavailable to members of thepublic.”

The organisation arguedthat the FederalGovernment “is legallymandated by the provisionsof section 4(a) of the FOIAct to comply with a requestfor access to publicinformation except wherethe FOI Act exempts apublic official from sodisclosing.”

It argued that the FederalGovernment “has nolegally justifiable reason forrefusing to provide theplaintiff with theinformation requested”and urged the court “tocompel it to comply with theprovisions of the Act byproviding the plaintiff withthe information requested.”

BY LUKA BINNIYAT& DAPO AKINREFON

It's capable of truncating democracy—Uzor Kalu

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KADUNA – THENational President of

the Christian Association ofNigeria, CAN, Pastor AyoOritsejafor has said thepolitical crisis in RiversState has made Nigeria alaughing stock in theinternational communityjust as former Abia Stategovernor, Dr Orji Kalu haswarned that the RiversState crisis was capable oftruncating the nation’sdemocracy if steps were nottaken urgently to addressit.

The CAN presidentadmonished the warringparties to stick to the rulesguiding politics and placethe interest of the countryfirst before otherconsiderations.

Oritsejafor also backedthe legislation against samesex marriage, saying thatPresident Barak Obama ofthe United States cannotforce Nigeria into acceptingwhat was alien to it.

Said Oritsejafor: “I feelterrible about happeningsin Rivers State. I feel terriblefor many reasons. I feelterrible because it is makingNigeria a laughing stock inthe world. I feel terriblebecause it is happening inthe part of the country whereI come from. I feel terriblebecause, many of the actorsare supposed to beChristians. I feel sadbecause those involved inthese things ought not toget themselves involved inthese kinds of things at all.

“Politics must be playedwith rules to guide you. So

what are the rules inNigeria? Do we really haveset rules that people canfollow in politics so that ourpoliticians can play politicsin a way that will not dragthe whole nation intodisrepute and make us looklike people who don’t knowwhat they are doing?

“It is not something thatanyone will be proud of, Iam praying and hopingthat all the parties involvedwould be able to see reasonand sheath their sword andreach a compromise for thesake of this great nationcalled Nigeria.

“I appeal to politicians inthe country not to use theproblem to continue tocreate more problems in thecountry. Nigeria can onlybe a great nation, if politicsis played according to therules. I believe this nationwill be great and we willcontinue to pray for hergreatness”

Obama, otherscannot force Nigeriato accept same sexmarriage

On same sex marriagethe CAN president said:“Fortunately, in thiscountry, both Christians andMuslims opposed samesex marriage and it is onrecord. Nigeria must neversuccumb to the world.President Jonathan mustunderstand that he wasvoted by Nigerians. Whenyou are voted into aposition, you are voted todo the bidding of thepeople who voted for you.So he must not allowObama or the British Prime

Minister to put pressure onhim to bend to what theywant.

“If they want men to bemarrying men andadopting children, that istheir society, not Nigeria.

“Nigeria is a country thathas said ‘no’ to same sexmarriage. I don’t see thePresident refusing to signthe Bill against same sexmarriage into law as soonas it gets to him. Nigeriacannot be a place for suchthings. We are battling withenough problems; let us notcomplicate things forourselves. Same sexmarriage is not for this partof the world, we should noteven discuss it”.

Meanwhile, formerGovernor of Abia State, Dr.Orji Kalu has warned thatthe crisis rocking RiversState was capable oftruncating the nation’sdemocracy if urgentreconciliatory steps are nottaken to douse it.

Kalu, in statement, whilecalling on PresidentGoodluck Jonathan towade into the matter saidthe younger generationwas looking up to thecountry’s leaders.

While he expresseddispleasure over what hedescribed as shameful andundemocratic act of somelawmakers of Rivers StateHouse of Assembly, who hedescribed as“ d i s h o n o u r a b l elawbreakers”, he said theactions of the lawmakerswas “unpatriotic” just as hecalled on the appropriateauthorities to sanction allthose found culpableaccordingly.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013 — 3

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4 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013

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POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013—5

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

President in crucial talkswith Tukur, others

Continues from page 1

Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth andI’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live inmy heart forever —Native American proverb

DURING Mark’s first month at college, the professor gave his students a pop quiz. He was

a conscientious student and had breezed throughthe questions, until he read the last one: “What isthe first name of the woman who cleans the school?”Surely this was some kind of joke. He had seen thewoman several times. She was tall, dark-haired andin her fifties, but how would he know her name? Hehanded in his paper, leaving the last question blank.

Just before class ended, one student asked if thelast question would count toward the quiz grade.“Absolutely,” said the professor. “In your careers,you will meet many people. All are significant. Theyeach deserve your attention and care, even if allyou do is smile and say ‘hello’”. Mark never forgotthat lesson. He also learned her name was Dorothy.

This story best illustrates the importance of rec-ognising that everyone is important and relevantin the scheme of things. In essence, knowing andacting on this principle in our everyday dealingswith people we encounter, may just be the key tonot only influencing and making good friends, butalso, to being loved and appreciated as we wouldlove to see happen in our world.

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of thestars, or sailed to an uncharted land or opened anew heaven to the human spirit— Helen Keller. Nopessimist ever got to what was their possibilities.

BOKO HARAM—Minister of State for Agriculture, Alhaji Bukar Tijjani (3rd L); launching the Fed-eral Government distribution of relief materials to victims of Boko Haram crisis in Maiduguri, yester-day. With him are the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Garbai (3rd R) and Chairman, DistributionCommittee, Alhaji Gaji Galtimari (2nd R).

Bamanga Tukur andmajor party stakeholders

as a follow-up to themeeting he had withformer president, Chief

Olusegun Obasanjoweekend. The meetingwas aimed at resolvingthe grouses of seniormembers of the party.The confusion in theparty has led to someNorthern governorsthreatening to leave theparty.

Govs to meetIBB, others

Meanwhile, five of thedisaffected Northerngovernors are meetingtoday with two formerheads of state, GeneralIbrahim Babangida andGeneral AbdulsalamiAbubakar as part of theirconsultations with states-men on the alleged driftof the party. A meetingwith GeneralTheophilus Danjuma isalso on the cards, it waslearnt.

Last night’s meetingwhich was in progress atpress time came as a re-sult of complaints by theformer president and thefact that some of the par-ty's big wigs wereagainst the emergenceof Alhaji BamangaTukur.

Former President

Obasanjo and otherstakeholders com-plained of the crises thathave gripped the partysince the emergence ofTukur as Chairman.

President Jonathan, itwas learnt, used yester-day’s meeting as a feed-back to partystakeholders on hismeeting with the formerpresident in Abeokutaon Saturday. Amongthose at the meeting yes-terday were Tukur andmembers of the Profes-sor Jerry Gana-led Spe-cial Convention Plan-ning Committee.

The urgency of lastnight’s meeting, it waslearnt, followed insinu-ations that the PDPcould soon implode, es-pecially in the North,given warnings fromPresident Obasanjo thatsome Northern gover-nors could soon be leav-ing the party.

Nyako to leavePDP this week

Governor MurtalaNyako of AdamawaState, it is believedcould in fact be leavingthe PDP as early as this

week upon a resolutionreached by his associ-ates last week to aban-don the party upon al-leged ill-treatment fromthe Tukur-led nationalleadership.

During the closed-door meeting withJonathan in Abeokuta,the former president wasreported to have ex-pressed strong reserva-tions on the drift of theparty and the bare-knuckle tactics em-ployed by Tukur andPresident Jonathan todeal with their oppo-nents.

Following the meetingbetween Jonathan andObasanjo, four Northerngovernors, who had inthe past pledged not tosupport Jonathan for asecond term, met withthe former president. Allfour - Rabiu Kwankwaso(Kano), Aliyu Wamakko(Sokoto), MurtalaNyako (Adamawa) andSule Lamido (Jigawa)are also close politicalassociates of the formerpresident.

The four governorswho arrived Abeokuta onFriday, a night beforeJonathan’s visit, it waslearnt, opted out of ameeting with Jonathanand arrived Obasanjo’sresidence only afterJonathan had departed.

Though the four gov-ernors met Obasanjoonly after Jonathan hadleft, it was believed thatthey had earlier relayedto the president theirmisgivings throughother channels.

One of the issues al-legedly raised was thecontinuing onslaughtagainst Governor RotimiAmaechi of Rivers Statesince his re-election aschairman of NigeriaGovernors' Forum, NGF.

The four governors, itwas learnt, also con-veyed to Obasanjo thehostility they receivedwhen three of them vis-ited Amaechi last weekduring which they werepelted with stones by

supporters of NyesomWike, the Minister ofState for Education.

In his meeting withJonathan, Obasanjo itwas learnt, conveyed tohim the agitation andmisgivings of partystakeholders and thedetermination of somelike Nyako to leave theparty in the face of con-tinuing antagonism bythe national leadership.

Crisis inAdamawa

The party in AdamawaState has been in crisissince the emergence ofTukur as National Chair-man with the partyfactionalised betweensupporters of GovernorNyako and others linedup behind Tukur.

Nyako was also re-ported to have told theformer president ofmoves by Tukur to doc-tor the 2012 list of del-egates in such a waythat would removeNyako’s supporters asdelegates, thereby deny-ing them a voice in theparty.

Northern govspush forPresidency in

2015

The four governorswho met Obasanjo, toldhim of their determina-tion to push one of them(name withheld) for thepresidential election in2015.

Former PresidentObasanjo had in therun-up to the 2011 presi-dential election can-vassed the election ofDr. Jonathan and report-edly brokered a deal be-tween him and northernpolitical stakeholders.However, Obasanjo isnow believed to havedistanced himself, fol-lowing his shocking res-ignation as chairman ofthe party ’s Board ofTrustees (BoT).


Teenager, three others die in fresh Lagos buildingcollapse

Debris of the collapsed building. Photos: Biodun Ogunleye

Rescue workers at the scene.

BY EVELYN USMAN,BOSE ADELAJA & MON-

SUR OLOWOOPEJO

LAGOS — TRAGEDY struck,yesterday, in Surulere area ofLagos, after a two-storeybuilding under constructioncollapsed, killing four per-sons, among them, a 13-year-old bread hawker.

Three construction workerswere, however, rescued fromthe debris of the building lo-cated at 32/36, Ishaga Road.

The incident occurred barely10 days after a three-storeybuilding caved in at OlotoStreet in Ebute Metta area ofthe state,where seven liveswere lost and several othersinjured.

The 13-year-old hawkerwhose identity could not beimmediately ascertained mether unexpected end while tak-ing refuge under the building,following the heavy downpour. It was also gathered thatworkers at the site had sus-pended work, waiting for therain to subside when all of asudden, the building caved inat about 8 a.m.

One of workers was said tohave bought a loaf of breadfrom the hawker with an in-tention of breaking his fastwith it in the evening.

Those rescued were report-edly rushed to the Lagos Uni-

73-yr-old CBN retiree duped N10m, recounts ordeal...as Police nab fake promo syndicate

BY EVELYN USMAN

versity Teaching Hospital,LUTH, Idi-Araba for treat-ment. Residents of the areawere said to have started res-cue work and had removedone of the workers trappedunder the debris before the ar-rival of heavy lifting equip-ment .

Unconfirmed report, how-ever, had it that that three ofthe workers were fromCotonou in Benin Republic.

Speaking with Vanguard,South-West spokesman forNational Emergency Manage-ment Agency, NEMA, MrIbrahim Farinloye, said threemales and a female died whilethree males were injured. Headded that one of the injuredadmitted at the Accident andEmergency Unit would beundergoing surgery.Farinloye blamed the causeon the use of substandard con-struction materials.

Rescue workers at the sceneincluded officials of NEMA;Lagos State Emergency Man-agement Agency, LASEMA;federal and state fire services;Red Cross; Police andLASAMBUS.

Building marked fordemolition

Managing Director of theLagos State Building ControlAgency, LASBCA, Mrs.

Abimbola Odunayo, said thebuilding had been sealed ear-lier and the contractor told tohalt the construction.

According to Odunayo, “wehad sealed the structure be-fore now. And I must tell youthat the construction startedbefore the agency was cre-ated. During our road show,we sealed the building alongwith three others. It wassealed few weeks ago. Theybroke our seal. And we hadwarned them. We also discov-ered that the construction wassubstandard and had no ap-proval.”

LAGOS — OPERATIVES ofthe Special Fraud Unit, SFU,

Ikoyi, Lagos have smashed asyndicate which specialised indefrauding members of the pub-lic by sending congratulatory textmessages for winning jackpots innon-existent promos.

The syndicate’s victim that ledto their arrest is a 73-year-oldretiree of Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN, identified simply as PaSteven, a United States ofAmerica returnee, who was re-portedly swindled of N10 million.

The unit’s spokesman, NgoziNsiotume-Agun, a Deputy Su-perintendent of Police, DSP, saida suspected member of the syn-dicate, Philip Ikechukwu Orji,was arrested at the verge of with-drawing an amount paid into hisaccount by the victim.

The victim in a petition to theunit, explained that he receiveda text message supposedly fromAirtel on September 16, 2011 thathe had wonN2 million for usingup to N200 in two weeks in itsongoing promo, with batchnumber A17.

Victim’s accountAccording to Pa Steven, “I was

given a telephone number08088664395 to speak with oneMr. Femi Adams who they in-troduced as a staff of Airtel. Icalled Femi and he said that hewas the officer in-charge of thepromo and that I should forwardmy personal data to that number.

“I asked what he meant by per-sonal data and he explained thathe was referring to my name,address, state of origin, bank andprofession.

“I sent those information to thenumber and the next day, I re-ceived a message requesting meto send the name of the bankwhere the money would be de-posited.

“Later, they requested that Ishould call one, Mr. Ken Ezewho is the account officer on08132956960. I immediatelycalled the man who said I wasexpected to pay 4.8 per cent ofthe amount that I won as Chargeon Turnover, COT.

“I paid the amount into accountnumber 0033313251 belongingto one Eghobamen Agnes inFestac branch of the bank as re-quested."

Shortly after the payment, hesaid he received another con-gratulatory message that hisname had been listed on the fi-

nal list and that he would receivea voucher that serves as his ticketinto a gala night organised forthe award.

Pa Steven was, however, dis-appointed as Femi reportedlycontacted him to say the galanight had been postponed, ex-plaining that Airtel had expandedit to a national mega promo andthat he had an automatic ticketto participate in the draw as apromo winner. He demanded arecharge card to make necessarycontacts to ensure the purportedvoucher was intact.

Not satisfied, the syndicate re-portedly contacted Pa Steven,informing him that he had wonanother N350 million in the‘Airtel at 10 Club’ .

He said: “This was on June 16,2013. Femi said I should contactone Mr. Tunde Alabi at the Airtelhead office on 08089932304 forfurther details.

“When contacted, Tunde Alabitold me that Airtel had selectedtwo banks to handle its paymentsto various beneficiaries and ad-vised me to keep in touch withthe account officer on07065947835.

“To be sure that I was still relat-ing with the right persons, Icalled Femi and he told me that

I would be expected to pay N2million as functional fee.

“I called the supposed accountofficer who confirmed what Femitold me. She introduced herselfas Mbamalu Nnenna Ruth andforwarded her FirstBank accountnumber as 3040173040, request-ing that I should pay N2 million.

“I went a borrowing because Iknew that with N350 million, Ido not need to rely on pensionfor the rest of my life.

“Few days after I made the pay-ment, I received a text messagepurportedly from GuaranteeTrust Bank reminding me that Iwas yet to come and claim my

money. I called Femi who ad-vised me to contact my accountofficer who requested that Ishould pay another N3 millioninto the account 0051886627which belongs to one IkechukwuOrji.

“They kept demanding for onefee or the other and Femi whoclaimed to be a staff of Airtel con-firmed each transaction.”

Pa Steven said he became sus-picious after a year without anypayment into his account.

Ikechukwu used forgeddocument, identity

But on further investigation,operatives discovered thatIkechukwu (22) used forgeddocument and identity to openthe account.

Nsiotume-Agun said: “Initially,he claimed that he was an or-phan and was at the mercy offriends who deceived him intoallowing them use his account forfraud.

“His true identity was later re-vealed when his mother who isa pastor called the police stationdemanding to speak with hisson, Phillip.

“We are also interrogating thebank officials to find out whyIkechukwu was allowed to oper-ate an account with false docu-ment.”The suspect, Philip Ikechukwu

Orji


ENVOY: From left— Mr. Ashraf Salama, Egyptian Ambassador to Nigeria; Mr. Raouf Saad, Special Envoy of Egyptian President,and President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa in Marina, Lagos.

ASUU to prolong strike until...

BENIN—ACADEMIC StaffUnion of Universities,

ASUU, Benin zone, weekend,vowed to continue with theongoing strike action, accus-ing the Jonathan administra-tion of not learning from themistakes of previous govern-ments.

Meanwhile, Senior Staff As-sociation of Nigerian Univer-sities, SSANU; Non-AcademicStaff Union of Educationaland Associated Institutions,NASU, and the National As-sociations of Academic Tech-nologists, NAAT, weekend,threatened to resume theirsuspended strike today overfailure of the Federal Govern-ment to honour the 2009agreement entered into withthe unions.

Coordinator of Benin ASUUZone and member of its Na-tional Executive Council,NEC, Dr. Sunny Ighalo, whobriefed newsmen in Benin,Edo State, said its memberswill sit at home as long as gov-ernment remains insensitiveto their plight over the agree-ment it entered with ASUU.

Ighalo, who said the currentstrike action has been verysuccessful, noted that ASUUwould only call off the strikewhen the Federal Govern-ment honours the agreemententered into with it.

He said that part of theagreement was to repositionailing infrastructure in most ofthe country’s federal univer-sities and improved welfare ofmembers of the body.

Ighalo said: “It is clearthat President Jonathanhas not learnt any lessonfrom the mistakes of pastadministrations, becauseASUU members will not bemoved about this threat ofno work no pay.

“We know that when thechips are down they willreceive all their relevantsalaries and entitlements.Government must be com-pelled to find solution tothe brain drain issue andinfrastructure decay in thesystem.”

JAC addressesjournalists

Meanwhile, Joint ActionCommittee, JAC, ofSSANU, NASU and NAATtold newsmen in Abujathat Federal Governmenthad established the habitof signing agreementswith unions without hon-ouring such agreements.

President of NASU, Mrs.Ladi IIiya, who spoke on

behalf of the three unions,said they met on Thursday todeliberate on burning andgermane issues affectingtheir members in public uni-versities and inter-universitycentres.

She said that at the end ofdeliberations, it was discov-ered that government was in-sensitive and not committedto the full implementation ofan agreement it freely en-tered into with them since2009.

The agreementShe said Federal Govern-

ment had, in a letter datedJanuary 24, 2012 by ProfessorNicholas Damachi, Perma-nent Secretary, Federal Min-istry of Education, agreed toembark on a systematic in-crease in the funding of theuniversities by releasingN100 billion annually to theNigerian universities systemfor a period of four years, ef-fective from January 2012.

The three affiliate unions re-

gretted that more than a yearafter the circular was issued,government had not releasedany money.

They also complained of fail-ure of government to implementthe agreement on occupationalhazard allowance, responsibilityallowance and head of section/unit allowance, which were con-tained in the 2009 agreement.

JAC said: “The failure on thepart of government to commenceimplementation of this aspect ofthe agreement and pay up thearrears has resulted in huge ar-rears spanning over four years.”

The unions lamented that theywere fed up with the insensitiv-ity of government, and appealedto Nigerians to “as a matter ofurgency prevail on governmentto address all the burning issueswithin the shortest possible time.

“If they fail to address theseissues, we may not be able tocontinue to hold our membersback from resuming our earliersuspended strike action withoutnotice.”

SSANU, NASU, NAAT threaten to resume industrial action

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM& JOHNBOSCOAGBAKWURU

2015: SixnortherngroupsmergeagainstJonathan

BY SONI DANIEL,Regional Editor, North

NO fewer than sixnorthern groups

have merged to check-mate the re-election ofPresident GoodluckJonathan in 2015.

Under the plot, whichVanguard gathered wasperfected in Kaduna lastweek, they accepted toretain their identities butto work as a team.

Secretary General ofthe Northern Elders’ Fo-rum, Professor AngoAbdullahi, who con-firmed the developmentto Vanguard, said thatthe move was deliber-ately initiated to bringthe six groups under oneumbrella for easy mobi-lisation and control asthe race to the Villa gath-ers momentum.

He said: “We noted thatall the groups, rangingfrom Arewa ConsultativeForum to NorthernElders Forum and theMiddle Belt Forum, havebasically the sameagenda.

“We, therefore, decidedto harmonise opinionsand to operate as mem-bers of a Joint ActionCommittee, JAC, withimmediate effect.

“At any point in time arepresentative of JACcan report back to theirgroups with a view to en-suring that everyone iscarried along in the newmove that will ensure thereturn of the Presidencyto the north.”

It will be recalled thatno fewer than threenorthern groups con-verged on Kaduna lastweek and brainstormedon how best to wrestlepower back to the region.

Amaechi: ACN accuses PDP of over-heating polity

ACTION Congress ofNigeria, ACN, has ac-

cused Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, of being unre-lenting in its grim deter-mination to overheat thepolity and set the countryon fire, if that will satisfyone man’s personal ambi-tion to hold on to power.

In a statement in Lagos,yesterday, by its NationalPublicity Secretary, AlhajiLai Mohammed, the party

said it was left with no choicethan to reach that conclusionafter a faction of Rivers PDPreportedly loyal to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan expelledGovernor Chibuike Amaechiat a time all people of good-will were calling for a resolu-tion of the lingering crisis.

It warned that the overzeal-ous ruling party’s sole inter-est was power, without caringabout the responsibility thatgoes with it.

ACN said PDP must bechecked through all constitu-tional means before it plungesthe country into unmitigatedchaos.

ACN said while whatever tran-spired within PDP was not itsbusiness, its (ACN) concernsstem from the dangerous impactthat the Rivers crisis can haveon the polity.

ACN said: “Because of the dan-ger their actions pose for our pol-ity, we are concerned that these

trouble-makers are hell benton annihilating GovernorAmaechi.

“Those who have accused usof crying more than the be-reaved do not get it.

“We are indeed the bereavedonce anything happens thatcan torpedo our democracyand destroy our country.

“This is why we will also beunrelenting in calling on Ni-gerians to call the puppets andpuppeteers in Rivers to order.”


WEDDING: From left— Human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN); GovernorKayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; and Governor Olusegun Mimikoof Ondo State, at the wedding ceremony of Mr. Dele Adesina's (SAN) daughter in Lagos.

PIB 'll outlive us, says Alison-Madueke

Editors fault moves on Press Council

NIGERIAN Guild ofEditors, NGE, has

joined forces with News-paper Proprietors Asso-ciation of Nigeria, NPAN,in condemning efforts bysome groups to revivesome provisions of the Ni-gerian Press Council,which a competent courtof law had voided.

The editors also urgedthe Federal Governmentto go back to the negotia-tion table with AcademicStaff Union of Universi-ties, ASUU, and Aca-demic Staff Union of Poly-technics, ASUP

The Guild, in a commu-nique by its President,Femi Adesina, and Gen-eral Secretary, IsaacIghure also expressed

worry that the mass me-dia were operating underdifficult conditions andurged Federal Govern-ment to intervene.

According to the com-munique, “the NGE notesthe efforts by certaingroups to revive someprovisions of the NigerianPress Council, which acompetent court of lawhad voided.

“The Guild urges thatthe judgment of the courtin this regard should berespected by all con-cerned, lest it becomestantamount to an attemptto gag the media.

“On May 4, World PressFreedom Day, FederalGovernment withdrew acase against two journal-

ists with the LeadershipNewspapers.

“The Guild notes withconcern the recent re-ar-raignment of the two jour-nalists and is of the posi-tion that the considerationsthat made the FederalGovernment to withdrawthe case in the first in-stance should subsist.

“The Guild is worriedthat the media are operat-ing under difficult condi-tions because most of theirinput are imported andtherefore are subject to thevagaries of foreign ex-change.

“The Guild, therefore,urges Federal Govern-ment to waive import du-ties on all news media in-puts, especially newsprint

and broadcast equipment.“The Guild notes with

dismay the recent con-duct of some politicalleaders, which has thetendency to derail thecountry’s hard-earneddemocracy.

“The Guild urges politi-cal leaders to conductthemselves in a mannerthat will not engender thehighest democratic ide-als.

“The Guild is dis-pleased that the Aca-demic Staff Union of Uni-versities, ASUU and theAcademic Staff Union ofPolytechnics, ASUP, wenton strike again over non-implementation of agree-ments by Federal Gov-ernment.”

MINISTER of PetroleumResources, Mrs. Diezani

Alison-Madueke, has describedthe draft oil reform law, cur-rently before the National As-sembly for legislative action, asa vibrant document whichwould remain relevant to the oiland gas industry long after theexit of President GoodluckJonathan’s administration.

She spoke to newsmen, week-end, at the end of the two-daySenate Public Hearing on thePetroleum Industry Bill, PIB.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke calledon stakeholders in the oil andgas industry not to politicise orpersonalise provisions of thebill, stressing that the draft leg-islation was not proposed orwritten with any administrationin mind.

A statement by Tumini Green,Acting Group General Man-ager, Public Affairs Division ofthe Nigerian National Petro-leum Corporation, NNPC, saidthe Minister spoke against thebackdrop of fears in some quar-ters that the proposed law veststoo much discretionary power inthe President and PetroleumMinister.

He explained that the respon-sibility for the exercise of thepowers proposed in the bill forthe President and PetroleumMinister will ultimately rest onany administration in power atthe time and so should not bepersonalised.

The minister said: “By thetime the PIB is fully articulatedand implemented, the currentPresident and Minister of Pe-troleum Resources may nolonger be in office. This Billtakes a while before it is opera-tional.”

Drawing a parallel betweenthe PIB and the Power SectorReform Act of 2004, which waspassed over eight years agoand is currently being imple-

mented by the Jonathan ad-ministration, Alison-Madueke argued that it wasimportant for the law to suf-ficiently empower any ad-ministration to act in the bestinterest of Nigerians.

Transition periodShe said that the proposed

transition period after thepassage of the Bill is at leastthree years, adding “notethat there are over 80 regu-lations to be made for thisBill to be operational.”

According to her, “whilewe take best practices fromother developed regions, weshould also work within theunderstanding of our ownsocio-economic and social-cultural norms and create en-tities and policies that willwork and are not destined tofail from the word-go.”

Commenting on the re-ported enormous discretion-ary powers granted to the Pe-troleum Minister in the PIB,Mrs. Alison-Madueke ex-

plained that the so-calledpowers were not differentfrom those vested on theMinister’s counterparts bythe petroleum laws of theUnited Kingdom, Malaysiaand Norway.

She stressed that the pow-ers granted the NigerianMinister by the PIB is lessthan those of her counter-parts in the laws of advancedpetroleum producing coun-tries.

Mrs. Alison-Maduekestated that the PIB estab-lishes a flexible fiscal regimethat will increase govern-ment revenues and yet en-courage investment in thepetroleum sector, noting thatit allows for production-based incentive system,which in the long run willaccommodate every playerin the industry.

On regulatorybodies

Addressing the concernson the provisions for multi-

faceted regulatory bodies inthe PIB, the Minister saidthis was basically as a resultof the complex nature of the

industry, adding that an un-wieldy, mammoth entity thathosts two separately run or-ganisations is not a mode ofefficiency and that thedisaggregated regulatory sys-tem would enable speedy re-sponse to variety of issuesthat may arise from time totime.

On the issue of the HostCommunities, the Ministernoted that it was establishedto mitigate the human andenvironmental conditions inthe region and to assuage thefeelings of the host commu-nities towards oil and gascompanies.

She said: “The issue of hostcommunities should not bepersonalised or politicised.Bear in mind that we expectto find oil in other parts of thecountry, especially in the in-land sedimentary basins inthe years ahead.”

Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Petroleum Resources Minister.


PROGRAMME: General Superintendent of Deeper Life Bible Church,Pastor William Kumuyi (3rd left); withhim, from left: Pastor Emeka Izeze; a security detail, and Pastor Segun Babatope, at a two-day revivalprogramme: 'The God that Cannot Fail,‘ organised by Deeper Life Bible Church, at Deeper Life ConferenceCentre, Km 42, Lagos–lbadan Expressway, weekend.

LASIEC promises impartiality to contestants

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

LAGOS — Chairman of theLagos State Independent

Electoral Commission, LASIEC,Justice Fatai Adeyinka (rtd) hassaid the commission will remainimpartial and ensure a level play-ing ground for all political par-ties, declaring its determinationto organise a free and fair coun-cils polls in 2014.

Speaking with Vanguard af-ter an interactive forum on thedelineation of wards and creationof polling units at Mushin LocalGovernment Secretariat, week-

Workers shut APM TerminalsBY VICTOR AHIUMA-

YOUNG

LAGOS — WORKERS,weekend, shut down opera-

tions of APM Terminals, the larg-est container terminal in West Af-rica, even as the Maritime Work-ers Union,MWUN, threatenedto make the operations of thecompany in Nigeria unprofitableif the management continuedwith its alleged unfair practicesagainst Nigerian workers.

But the management of the

company has declared the indus-trial action by the workers backedtheir union illegal.

It was gathered that the unionand APMT have been in runningbattles for awhile over improvedconditions of service for workers,but things were said to have gotto a head during negotiation forincrease in allowances and otherbenefits.

However, at the time of this re-port, Vanguard gathered that par-ties were making frantic efforts toresolve the matter because of thehuge losses the company was

said to have incurred as a resultof the shut-down.

Confirming the shut-down,President-General, MWUN,Anthony Emmanul Nted, saidthe management shut down theoperations on Friday after theworkers started “a slow of work”protest against the managementover protracted negotiation forimproved conditions of servicewhich began in April 2013.

He accused the managementof treating Nigerian workers assub-humans and infringing ontheir rights at will.

According to him: “When it wastime to review the condition ofservice for our members, we metwith management in April thisyear and they said the educationsubsidy and other subsidies theyare offering will be deducted fromworkers' salaries.

"This, we said, is unacceptable.This negotiation has protractedfor a long time and workers havebecome restless. That is why weembarked upon a work-to-ruleaction which is intended to slowdown production.

"But the management shutdown the entire operations andthreatened to sack the workers.The operations will remain shutuntil the management does theright thing. We are waiting for theManaging Director to sack theworkers.

Until we get the agreement, theterminals will remain shut. Thecompany is making a lot ofmoney, but yet they treat ourworkers with impunity, likeslaves and sub-humans.

"APMT discharges not less than420,000 containers every year andgenerates over $7 billion yearly,but yet they cannot take care oftheir workers. Rather, they re-patriate the profit to their coun-try.”

Lagos LGchairmenwant S/Wzonalcaretakerc'tteedissolved

BY DAPO AKINREFON

LAGOS — Chairmenof the Peoples Demo-

cratic Party, PDP, in the 20local government areas ofLagos State, have called forthe dissolution of the SouthWest zonal caretaker com-mittee of the party led byChief Ishola Filani.

Under the forum of chair-men of PDP 20 local gov-ernment areas of LagosState, at a briefing in La-gos, also faulted a suit filedby two PDP members seek-ing the removal of theformer deputy NationalChairman of the party,Chief Olabode George asa member of the PDP Boardof Trustees, BoT.

Chairman of PDP SomoluLocal Government Council,Mr. Wale Onile-Ere, whospoke on behalf of the otherchairmen, argued that theFilani committee had overstayed its tenure as it wasdesigned to last for 21 days.

end, Adeyinka said the commis-sion had introduced some new op-erational arrangements thatwould improve the electoral proc-ess in 2014.

According to him: “As far as weare concerned, we have no inter-est or candidate, but will remainimpartial to ensure a level play-ing ground for all political par-ties in the country.”

The retired justice appealed to“security officers in the state, toalso improve on their strategy, asthis would help afford improvedvoters’ participation and moreassurance that the election would

be free and fair."Some of the new strategies of

the commission is the process ofdelineation of wards and creationof additional polling units in thestate.

"This is aimed at bringing elec-tion closer to the door-step of thepeople at the grassroots.

“During the last election, weobserved that there was low turn-out of voters, the commission isdetermined to reverse this trend.It is the civic duty of all citizens ofany society to participate in theelectoral process in a democraticsystem of government.”

Passenger from London to Owerri slumps,dies in Lagos

BY DANIEL ETEGHE

LAGOS — AN Arik Air pas-senger en route Lagos-

Owerri from London, yesterday,slumped and died at the en-trance of the General Aviation Ter-minal, GAT, Terminal 1, Lagosairport.

The passenger was confirmeddead at the Aviation Clinic wherehe was rushed to for medical at-tention.

Vanguard gathered that the

passenger was accompanied byhis wife and his brother when theincident occurred.

An eye witness, who spoke oncondition of anonymity, said thepassenger slumped at the frontof the Departure Hall when heslipped off the ground andstarted bleeding from his noseand ears before he was rushed toFAAN’s hospital where he wasconfirmed dead.

When contacted, General Man-ager, Corporate Communicationsof the Federal Airports Authority

of Nigeria, FAAN, Mr. YakubuDati, said the passenger was ac-companied by his wife and hisbrother when the incident oc-curred, noting that they both pro-ceeded to Owerri after the inci-dent.

According to him: “At about0600 hours, a transit passengeron Arik flight en route Lagos-Owerri from London, slumped atthe entrance of the DepartureHall, Terminal 1.

"He was immediately rushed tothe Aviation Clinic where he was

confirmed dead. The passenger’swife and brother who were withthe deceased later proceeded toOweeri.”

However, Arik Airline debunkedthe claim that it was one of itspassengers that slumped anddied at the airport, claiming thatsuch incident never happened toany its passengers.

The spokesman of Arik Airline,Mr. Adebanji Ola, said the air-line was not aware of such inci-dent, arguing that none of theairline’s passenger was said to

have died at theairport yester-day morning.

According tohim: “We are notaware of such athing; none ofour passengersdied today (yes-terday)

"Ask the ven-dor or peoplewhere you gotyour informationfrom, let themtell you wherethe person wasgoing to, and onwhich flight thep a s s e n g e rboarded.

"As far as I amconcerned, suchan incident didnot happen to-day to any of ourpassengers.”

Civil servantswoo legislatorsover salaryderegulation

BY KELECHIAZUBUIKE

ASSOCIATION OFSenior Civil Servants

of Nigeria, ASCSN, week-end, called on the Houseof Representatives andthe36 State Houses of Assem-bly not to support to movesby the Senate to remove la-bour from exclusive legis-lative list and deregulatewages in the country.

In a statement, leaders ofASCSN warned that if themoves by the Senate sailedthrough, it would createunprecedented industrialupheaval in the country,alerting Nigerians to pre-pare for emerging parlia-mentary dictatorship as theSenate also precludedpresidential assent beforethe amendments becomelaw.

ASCSN urged labourmovements, civil societygroups, and well meaningNigerians to first resist theattempt by the Senate tointroduce parliamentarydictatorship and also pre-pare for a long-drawn bat-tle to save Nigerian work-ers from further impoverish-ment in the event that law-makers failed to listen to thewise counsel


MEETING: Mr. Tunde Bank-Anthony, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Sports EndowmentFund, LSSEF, (left), welcoming Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, chairman of the occasion tothe maidenTown Hall meeting on Sports Development, in Lagos State, organised by LSSF.

Police rescue kidnapped Briton in LagosBY IFEANYI OKOLIE

THE BRITISH national, whowas kidnapped last Friday

few minutes after he landed atthe Murtala Muhammed Inter-national Airport, Ikeja, Lagos,by some gunmen, has been res-cued by policemen of LagosState Command.

Vanguard gathered that acombined team of operativesfrom the Special Anti-RobberySquad, SARS, and their coun-terparts from the Special Intel-ligence Bereau, SIB, stormedan uncompleted two storeybuilding at Okota Isolo area ofLagos State, rescuing theBriton and arresting a suspect.

Police sources told Vanguardthat the kidnappers demandeda ransom of one million dollarsbefore the Briton could be re-leased, but the Commissionerof Police Lagos State, UmarManko, ordered a clamp-downon them.

Eyewitnesses told Vanguardthat they saw a white man

putting on a white shirt beingled into a waiting vehicle fromthe uncompleted building, situ-ated close to a canal.

The eyewitnesses also saidthey saw another man in hand-cuffs being whisked away a po-lice van.

An eyewitness, who pleadedanonymity told Vanguard thatthe area where the Briton wasrescued was notorious for kid-napping, adding that the build-ing where he was kept hadbeen abandoned for some timegiving room to kidnappers andother criminal element to turnit their den.

The eyewitness also said thekidnappers could be members ofan Internet fraud syndicate thatspecialised in luring foreign vic-tims to Nigeria.

“We have a lot of Internetfraudsters in this area and someof them are no longer makingmoney as they used to and whatthey do now is to pretend to bewomen in search of spouses andthey lure foreigners into thecountry and kidnap them for ran-som,” the source added.

The spokesman at the DeputyBritish High Commission, La-gos, Wale Adebayo, who con-firmed the kidnap of the Britonbut declined to provide detailsabout his mission in Nigeria,could not be reached at the timeof filing this report.

It was also reported, that thegunmen attacked the vehicle theBriton was traveling in, killingthe driver before they abductedhim.

Aregbesola derides Omisore’sdebate challengeTHE OSUN State government, yes

terday, reacted to reported chal-lenge of Governor Rauf Aregbesola to adebate by former Senator IyiolaOmisore, who is also a gubernatorial as-pirant of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP.

In a reaction to the challenge, the Di-rector, Bureau of Communications andStrategy in the Governor’s Office, Mr.Semiu Okanlawon said: “One is com-pelled to view this as captured best inwhat Yoruba would describe as Sigidi fe

sere ete, oni kiwon gbe oun lo sodol’owe” meaning, “Bent on meeting itswaterloo, the clay statue says its ownershould carry it to the river to have aswim.

“Should Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesolaever be afraid of debate anywhere inthe world against an Omisore?

“What would be the rule of engage-ment in such a debate as Nigeriansknow that ten Omisores cannot comeclose to the apparent mental alertness,creative ingenuity and ideological ro-

bustness of Aregbesola?“We congratulate him for his

self-delusion as the politicianwith the best CV and engi-neer with the best practice inSouth-West.

“Sometimes, we need thiskind of comic relief as pro-vided by Omisore, especiallyin the face of the many ab-surdities his party, the PDPcontinues to assault our col-lective psyche with on a dailybasis.

“Oh! He truly flaunts a dos-sier that can never be the envyof anyone in a sane society. Aformer Deputy Governor, yes,but one that was impeached!A senator, yes, but one whoseelection was nullified! An en-gineer but with no noticeablerecords of performance any-where!

Progressiveswill rule Oyo innext 50 years— Ajimobi

BY OLA AJAYI

IBADAN — IN defi-ance of avalanche of

criticisms that trailed hisadministration, Oyo StateGovernor Abiola Ajimobihas said the progressiveswould rule the state for thenext 50 years.

Just last week, the gov-ernor said he would be pre-pared to serve the state asmany times as possible.

Ajimobi, who was speak-ing at the defection of somemembers of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, andAccord Party from IbadanNorth Local GovernmentArea of the state into theruling Action Congress ofNigeria, ACN, in Ibadan,said after the progressiveshad ruled the state for 50years, it would finally sealthe fate of those he called“reactionary elements.”

The defectors, accordingto his Special Adviser onMedia, Dr. FestusAdedayo, were mostly po-litical office holders duringthe Senator Rashidi Ladojaand Otunba ChristopherAlao-Akala administra-tions.

He stated that the newentrants said they weremoved by “the brilliant per-formance of GovernorAjimobi in the last twoyears.”

Ekiticommunitywarns againstillegal mining

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

ADO EKITI — THEPeople of the ancient

town of Ijero Ekiti haveraised an alarm over ille-gal mining in the area, call-ing on the law enforcementagencies to redouble theirefforts by putting a stop totheir activities

The newly elected chair-man of Ijero ProgressiveUnion, IPU, Prince ToluOnisile who made the ap-peal at Ijero Ekiti, week-end, said the activities ofthe illegal miners is pos-ing a threat of impendinglandslide in to the entirecommunity.

Onisile said the largedeposit of kaolin and tour-maline in the town shouldbe a blessing, rather thana‘curse.’

The IPU president, dur-ing his swearing-in cer-emony, said one of the il-lustrious sons of the com-munity, Major GenKayode Oni (rtd) had in amemo to the union lastyear pointed the attentionof the community to thehazard posed by illegalmining, saying the time toact is now .

FRSC rates Osun best onroad safety, security

THE FEDERAL Road Safety Commission,FRSC, has adjudged the Governor of

Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola the bestgovernor in area of safety and security of lives.

The Chairman of the FRSC Technical Com-mittee in the state, Professor Joseph Fawolespoke in Osogbo, the state capital during acourtesy visit on the governor by the FRSCofficials from Abuja.

The officials were in the state for the 2012annual rating of the state’s efforts at reducingroad carnage.

According to him, the massive road infra-structure development across the state em-barked upon by the state government has gonea long way in checking the high rate of roadaccident in the state.


Steer clear of Rivers crisis, PDP stalwart warnsTinubu

Jonathan ‘llsurprise criticsin 2015 —Rep

Ewherido has lived his life —Archbishop Akubueze

BY FESTUS AHON

As Delta Focus Group, G25 Assembly, others bid him farewell

LG election:Oshiomhole’swork ‘llguaranteevictory—ACNcandidate

BY FESTUS AHON

WARRI—A House of Rep-resentatives member, Mr.

Nicholas Mutu, weekend saidthat President Goodluck Jonathanwill surprise his critics in 2015, ac-cusing the Northern Elders Fo-rum, NEF, of playing politics ofregional sentiment.

He said that the criticisms ofJonathan’s policy and pro-grammes by NEF and its associ-ates were borne out of the fact thatthe President was from SouthSouth geo-political zone of thecountry.

Mutu represented by Mr. DavidEkereokosu, a former commis-sioner for Oil and Gas in DeltaState at the Excellence Awardpresented to him by NationalUnion of Izon-Ebe Students,NUIS, Warri chapter of Delta StateUniversity, said it was naive forcertain groups and individuals tofeel that it was their birthright torule Nigeria.

Meanwhile, he called on NUIS,the South South region and Ni-gerians in general not be deceivedby power drunk individuals, not-ing that the current pace of workon the East-West Road, the awardof the Lagos –Ibadan expresswaywere a clear indication that Mr.President meant well for the en-tire country.

UGHELLI—A PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP

former governorship aspirantin Delta State, Mr. SunnyOnuesoke, weekend, urgedthe leader of Action Congressof Nigeria, ACN, AsiwajuAhmed Tinubu, to steer clear ofthe seeming crisis between Gov-ernor Rotimi Amaechi of RiversState and President GoodluckJonathan.

Onuesoke, who was reactingto recent media reports creditedto Tinubu, said that the PDP hasall it takes to resolve its internalcrisis and urged Tinubu to stop

BENIN CITY—AS thepeople of Esan North

East Local Government Areaof Edo State await the con-duct of elections into thecouncil executive by EdoState Independent NationalElectoral Commission,EDSIEC, the chairmanshipcandidate of Action Congressof Nigeria, ACN, in the coun-cil, Mr. Sam Oboh, has ex-pressed optimism that thedevelopmental strides ofGovernor AdamsOshiomhole in the areawould guarantee victory toACN.

But his opponent in thePeoples Democratic Party,PDP, Mr. John Yakubu, hadboasted that PDP will winthe polls, even if electionswere conducted hundredtimes.

It will be recalled thatelections in the councilwere cancelled twice byEDSIEC due to allegedelectoral malpractices andviolence.

However, Oboh toldnewsmen that “I read myopponent saying even ifthe election holds hundredtimes, he will win but Ilaugh. I ask myself whatmiracle my opponentthinks the PDP will do towin in an area they lost fewmonths ago during thegovernorship election.

“During the governor-ship election, ACN woneight out of the 11 wardsin the council. So what haschanged between thenand now that they thinkthey can win?”

UGHELLI—ARCHBISHOPof the Benin Catholic Prov-

ince, Bishop AugustineAkubueze, yesterday, said that thedeparted Senator Pius Ewheridohad played his role on earth andgone to rest.

Meanwhile, two groups, DeltaFocus Group and G25 Assembly,have described the late SenatorEwherido as a courageous, bril-liant, patriotic and dedicated Ni-gerian, who within his brief pe-riod of two years in the senate lefthis footprints on the sands of time.

Akubueze in his homily duringthe outing service organised forthe late Ewherido at St PetersCatholic Church, Ewu-Urhobo,Delta State, urged the peopleto think of themselves ratherthan lament over Ewherido’sdeath.

Praying God to grant the fam-ily the fortitude to bear thepains caused by his death, hesaid that they should be con-soled by the fact that he is rest-ing in the bosom of God.

Speaking with newsmen,Chief Solomon Ahwinawhin, aformer member of the Houseof Representatives, said thatthe news of the death ofEwherido came to him as ashock, adding that he wouldmiss him greatly.

Noting that Ewherido was a

brother and friend, he saidthat Ewherido had value forhis people and prayed God togrant him (Ewherido) eternalrest in his bossom.

Olorogun Taleb Tebite, mem-ber representing Ughelli Southin the Delta State House of As-sembly on his part, said thatthe Urhobo nation had lost apolitical icon in Ewherido,adding that he would begreatly missed by the peopleof Ughelli South and Urhoboat large.

Also speaking, Mr. EdojaAkpodiete, member represent-ing Ughelli North Local con-stituency II in the Delta StateHouse of Assembly, said thelate Ewherido was a man offocus that gave direction tomany people. Chairman ofUghelli South Local Govern-

ment Area, Chief Ovis Utosaid the death of Ewheridowas a great setback to thepeople of the council.

Resident Electoral Ofiicer,Cross River State, Mr. MikeIgini said: “The death ofEwherido is a huge loss toUrhobo nation. He served hisfatherland very well to the ad-miration of our people.”

Delta Focus Group and G25Assembly in a statement bytheir chairmen, Mr. JoshuaEgun-Okoh and Mr. BenedictEbede, described Ewherido asa patriot due to the impact hemade not just on his family,hometown, constituency, statebut the country at large, “it issafe to say he is not dead be-cause his legacy lives on.”

They noted that although hewas a man with exceptional

achievements, he neverboasted about his achievementsand contributions to his com-munity and the society at large.

They said: “He was a silentachiever, who was referred toby his people as the Iroko. Heprovided shelter to many in hiscommunity, a gesture that can-not easily be forgotten. To mostpeople from his state, he rep-resented a unique voice of cour-age and boldness.

“Senator Ewherido was alively, calculating and focusedperson. We can describe him asa man of all seasons, who wasalways confident, vocal andcomfortable in any company hefound himself. His death wasuntimely and painful. He lefthis footprints on the sands oftime. .”

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

making statements that couldworsen the PDP crisis in Riv-ers State.

He said: “Amaechi andJonathan are members of PDP,the party does not need exter-nal person or party to resolveits internal crisis. I, therefore,appeal to the respected ACNleader, Tinubu to steer clearof the internal matters of PDP.”

Urging the leadership ofPDP to take urgent steps toresolving the crisis, which ac-cording to him was getting outof hand, he said; “Amaechiand Jonathan are like fatherand son. Jonathan isAmaechi’s father. As a matterof fact, they are from the samestate because if you recalled,

Rivers and Bayelsa is one statebefore the creation of Bayelsa.”

Commending efforts put in bygovernors in the country to re-solve the lingering dispute,Onuesoke said; “our SouthSouth governors can resolvethis issue behind the doors.”

He appealed to the warringparties in the Rivers House ofAssembly to sheathe theirswords and continue to live asone, adding “they should notallow themselves to be used ina crisis that is purely betweenfather and son.”

THANKSGIVING SERVICE: From right, Deaconess Roli Uduaghan; Governor EmmanuelUduaghan of Delta State, Chief Judge of Delta State, Justice Abiodun Smith and his wife,Mary during, a thanksgiving Service by the Chief Judge and his family, at St. AndrewsAnglican Cathedral, Warri, yesterday. Photo: Henry Unini.

Warri North crisis: Displaced victims wantItsekiri state


S-East safer with PDP —Orji

BY EMMA AMAIZE, EMMAARUBI & GODWIN OGHRE

BY FESTUS AHON

BY BENJAMIN NJOKU &SAMUEL OYADONGHA

U MUAHIA—GOVER-NOR Theodore Orji of

Abia State, weekend, said thatthe people of the South-Eastwere much safer under PeoplesDemocractic Party, PDP, led byPresident Goodluck Janathanunlike what happened in thepast.

He called on the South-Eastnot to allow themselves to bedeceived by anybody or groupover attempts to hoodwinkthem in a direction that will notprofit them in the next dispen-sation.

In a statement by his SpecialAdviser on Public Communi-cation, Governor Orji said:“This admonition is predicatedon the platform of past experi-ences we as Igbo have under-gone in the politics of thiscountry, which is the reason weshould stay away from people whomay want to mislead us for self-ish reasons.

“In plain language, PDP is aparty that is not owned by anybobyas against the rest which are builton individuals and ethnic affin-

YENAGOA—MISS BayelsaState, Anna Ebiri Banner,

weekend, emerged the winner of2013 Most Beautiful Girl in Ni-geria pageant with Imo State rep-resentative, Okwu Stephanie as1st runner up.

Banner, 18, also won the best tra-ditional costume award, beatingother 31 contestants to clinch thecrown at a ceremony held inYenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.

Meanwhile, Governor SeriakeDickson of Bayelsa State has ap-pointed Anna Banner as his Spe-cial Assistant on Culture and Tour-ism.

Anna Banner is meanwhile torepresent Nigeria at the MissWorld pageant later this year inJakarta, Indonesia.

She has now taken over thereigns as the Most Beautiful girlin Nigeria 2012 winner, IsabeleAyuk.

UGHELLI—WOR-RIED by the inces-

sant vandalisation of oilinstallations in the re-gion, Executive Directorof Isoko EnvironmentalWatch Group, Mr OkeziOdugala, weekend,charged the people ofthe Niger Delta, particu-larly Deltans to assist inkeeping vigil over oil fa-cilities, especially facili-ties of the Nigerian Pe-troleum DevelopmentCompany Limited,NPDC, in the region.

Odugala, who spokeon the incessant van-dalization of oil facilitiesin the region, said it wasthe responsibility of allstakeholders to protectthe oil facilities.

Appealing to the peo-ple to cooperate with theManaging Director ofNPDC, Engr IyowunaBrigg and his team in theinterest of sustainabledevelopment of the re-gion, he said that the oilrich region was stillyearning forinfrastructural and hu-man development.

He commended Briggfor promoting local con-tent development with arobust community rela-tions and environmentalsustainability in the areaof NPDC operations.

SAPELE—DISPLACEDItsekiri natives in the recent

attacks by the Egbema RadicalGroup, ERG, an Ijaw militia, whichrazed more than six Itsekiri com-munities in Warri North Local Gov-ernment Area, Delta State, havecalled for the creation of a sepa-rate state for the Itsekiri ethnic na-tionality.

Meanwhile, succour came theway of Itsekiri victims of the at-tack, yesterday, when the Minis-ter of the Niger Delta Ministry,Elder Godsday Orubebe, donatedrelief materials worth millions ofnaira to the council boss, Mr.David Edun, in Koko, headquar-ters of the council.

Also, the Chairman of ItsekiriYouth Movement, IYM, MrNewuwumi Omolubi, has calledon the Federal Government to in-stitute a panel of inquiry into theJuly 2 crisis that rocked WarriNorth.

Speaking through the Olara-Aja(community head), Jakpa Com-munity, Pa Higson Oporokun, theaffected persons, under the aegisof Displaced Itsekiri People of Ni-geria, said “We call on the Fed-eral and Delta State Governmentsto as a matter of urgency, createan independent state for theItsekiri people of Nigeria.”

They noted that creating anItsekiri state was the first step to-wards ending the killings ofItsekiri people by their Ijaw coun-terparts, adding that in the alter-native, government should relo-cate them to a safe and militarilyfortified area, where they wouldbe free from assault and killing bytheir Ijaw militia in the state.

MBGN PAGEANT: From left: Minister of Culture, Chief Edem Duke; Bayelsa State Gover-nor, Mr. Seriake Dickson and Mr. Guy Murray-Bruce of Silverbird Group, during the 26thedition of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant in Yenagoa. Photo: Lucky Francis.

Niger Deltanstasked on oilfacilities’protection

As Niger Delta Ministry donates relief materials

Meanwhile, Omolubi, told Van-guard in Sapele that the panelshould determine among otherthings, the immediate and remotecauses of the unprovoked killingof Itsekiri citizens and how to stopsimilar crisis in future.

He said: “I think the way forgovernment to get to the root ofthis matter is to set up a panel ofinquiry to find out exactly whathappened, why it happened, whowere responsible and bring themto book.

“I say this because what hap-pened is not political as some peo-ple want others to believe, it isannihilation of Itsekiri people, itis a criminal act and the perpetra-

Anna Banner wins MBGN crown

tors must be brought to book. Fornow, they are walking freely andthey must not be allowed to walkfreely, they must be fished out,dead or alive, to face the music,”he said.

Items donated include tubers ofyams, bags of beans, rice, garri,cartons of tomatoes, groundnutoil, mosquito nets, beverages,mattresses among others.

Making the presentation to thecouncil boss on behalf of ElderOrubebe, Mrs. Oju Agata, ex-pressed sadness over the attacks,saying that he was pained by theincident and prayed AlmightyGod to grant the families of thosekilled the fortitude to bear the loss.

Orubebe explained that the to-ken was his ministry’s way tocommiserating with the devas-tated communities and people,urging them to put the incidentbehind them.

Receiving the relief materialson behalf of the affected commu-nities, Mr. David Edun,maintained that there was nocrisis in the council, as whathappened was a devilish at-tack and killings of innocentItsekiri persons and burningof their villages by some Ijawoil thieves masquerading asfreedom fighters fromEgbema communities.

ity, that can never be considerateof Igbo interest.

“When the chips are down thosemasquerades behind the other po-litical affiliations will certainly takedecisions that will be inimical tothe desired goals of the general-ity of Igbo.

“Let us tell ourselves the truth,the Igbo have suffered unjustly inthe political calculus of this nationbut with the time and commitmentwe have invested in the PDP, thetime to reap from what we havesowed is near, therefore, the devilyou know is better and a bird inhand is preferable than ten in thebush.

“We should not waiver in oursupport for President Jonathanbecause in the end, we shall bebetter for it.

“Judging from what we haveseen recently with regard to powergeneration, upgrading of federalroads and the commencement ofthe construction of the secondNiger Bridge by the Presidenthimself, no one can be left in doubtthat the South-East stands to ben-efit more in the near future.”

The Minister of Culture, Tour-ism and National Orientation,Chief Edem Duke, at the event,also announced the new queenas the Ambassador of Cultureand Tourism in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, contestants whomade it to the Top 5 were MissImo, Miss Abuja, Miss Kadunaand Miss Adamawa.

In his speech, GovernorDickson called on investors toavail themselves of the numer-ous tourism potentials and invest-ment opportunities in the state.“As a state, we consider it aunique privilege to have an ar-ray of important personalities andelegant young ladies in our midsttoday, just a couple of months af-ter we hosted the prestigious Af-rica Movie Academy Awards,AMAA.

“For us, playing host to thesehistoric events within a space ofjust four months gives credenceto the fact that Bayelsa is fast

growing to become the next tour-ism hub of the country. It alsospeaks volume of the restorationof government unwavering com-mitment to the promotion of gen-der equality as illustrated in thenational gender policy of ourgreat country.”

Chairman of Silverbird Group,organisers of the pageant, Mr.Ben Murray-Bruce said the es-sence of the competition was tobring about unity among ladieswith different cultural and socialbackgrounds. According to him“all 32 delegates worked tire-lessly with one common goal, al-though we can only have onewinner, I see everybody who hascome this far as an individualwho possess great value andhave exhibited a great level ofcompetence.

“In over 25 years, we have pro-duced beautiful ambassadorswho have represented Nigeriaat various international events.”


Buhari, Tinubu are dictators— PDP

BY HENRY UMORU

BY EMMANOVUAKPORIE &

LEVINUSNWABUGHIOGU

Dangote Sugar appointsGraham Clark as GMD

N-Assembly to enact law onoil theft

A B U J A — T H Eleadership of

Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, yesterday, alleged thatthe 2011 presidentialcandidate of Congress forProgressive Change, CPC,General MuhammaduBuhari, and formergovernor of Lagos State,Bola Tinubu, were unitedin dictatorship.

PDP warned bothpersonalities to stopparading themselves assaints and democrats,saying Nigerians alreadyknow their dictatorialantecedents.

In a statement signedyesterday by its ActingNational Publicity Secretary,Mr Tony Okeke, the partysaid: “Buhari and Tinubuare united in dictatorship.It is on this pedestal thatthey are pursuing mergerto register the AllProgressives Congress,which manifesto betrays thefact that they haveabsolutely nothing to offerbut desperate for power.

“We urge lovers ofdemocracy, especially thoseseeking elections on theplatform of any party wherethe duo are in control, towake up before it is too lateas there will not be anyprimaries to give them alevel playing ground torealize their dreams.

“Nigerians should alsonote the antecedents ofthese politicians and theircronies and know that anygovernment in which theyare allowed to hold swaywill be a terriblegovernment characterizedby dictatorship, corruptionand abuse of the rights ofNigerians.

"The ruling party tookstock of activities of the twomen and submitted thatthey are bitter because theyknow that they will lose the2015 general election,despite the so calledmerger of their parties,which is built on deceit,corruption and falsehoodand as such want to inventexcuses ahead of time. “Buhari and Tinubu lackthe moral justification topontificate on democracy,especially when all theiractions are dictatorial.

"The CPC in castigatingBuhari’s former aide, YinkaOdumakin, for exposingatrocities of the CPC leaderand those of ACN officialsin a recent statement showsthe CPC as a party

characterized by falsehood.“Buhari has refused to

change his dictatorialtendencies. He hascontinued to impose

himself as leader of anypolitical party where hefinds himself and uses hispowers to handpickcandidates for elections.

“In 2003, he forced JohnNwodo Jr. and otherpresidential candidates inthe then APP to step downfor him".

BY FAVOURNNABUGWU & ALICE

FESTUS

FG warns contractors overdelay in road projects

ABUJA— MINISTER ofWorks, Mr. Mike

Onolememen, has warnedcontractors to desist fromdelaying execution andcompletion of road projectsin the country.

Onolememen stated thiswhile explaining toGovernor Murtala Nyakoof Adamawa State thereason contract for Maiha-Sorau road project wasterminated.

While updating thegovernor on the state of theproject, the minister statedthat contract for the roadwas awarded about sixyears ago, but lamentedthat for allegedincompetence of thecontractor, the project was

yet to be completed.He, however, assured the

governor that efforts wereon to ensure that the projectwas awarded to anothercontractor with the requisitecompetence to deliver tostandard, stressing that theproject had reachedprocurement stage.

He said: “In AdamawaState, unfortunately, whenwe came in we had a fewprojects that had becomeimpossible and one of themis the Maiha-Sorau roadwhich the ministry awardedlong ago for over six years,about seven years preciselyand the project was notdoing well.

“I started looking into theproject file to see thereasons and I discoveredthat there was no reason onearth why that projectshould not do well".

ABUJA—THE NationalAssembly is

contemplating a legislationto curb illegal oil bunkeringin the country, speaker ofthe House ofRepresentatives, AlhajiAminu Waziri Tambuwal,has said.

Tambuwal spoke at theclosing ceremony of athree-day 10th regionalmeeting of the AfricanCaribbean Pacific andEuropean Union, ACP-EU,Joint ParliamentaryAssembly, weekend.

The speaker, who notedthat the trend wasnegatively affecting the

country’s economy andfinances, said the twin evilof oil theft which amountsto loss of about 400.000barrels of oil per day andpiracy in the Gulf of Guineaplaced the country andAfrica at large in avulnerable position.

He, however, remarkedthat the recent meeting ofAfrican Heads of States inYaounde, Cameroon, was acommendable move tocheckmate the menace.

He said: “The problemsof oil theft, illegal oilbunkering and piracy in theGulf of Guinea are mattersdeserving of collaborativeand co-operativeapproaches of our countriesand the internationalcommunity to tackle head-long".

THE Board of Directorsof Dangote Sugar

Refinery, DSR, hasannounced theappointment of GrahamClark as Group ManagingDirector

Graham Clark has servedmost recently as theManaging Director ofIllovo Sugar Ltd, Africa’sbiggest sugar producers,with operations in sixAfrican countries.

He served on the Illovaboard since 1997 and asManaging Director since2009 when he led thecompany through its mostsignificant period of growthand positioning it well for

the future.In making the

announcement, DSRChairman, Aliko Dangote,said: “At the cusp ofindustrial revolution inNigeria and with ouracquisition of SavannahSugar Company located on32,000 hectares inAdamawa State andplanned development ofother sugar fields across thecountry estimated at over300,000 hectares, criticalenablers, such asinnovation, talent and skillsare key levers to put us ona competitive trajectorygrowth path.”

AWARD—From left: Rev. Bernard Okodua, Lagos State Chairman, ChristianAssociation of Nigeria, CAN; Mrs. Theresa Maku of Christian WelfareInitiative, CWI; Archbishop Magnus Adeyemi Atilade, Chairman, South-WestCAN; Rev. Fr. Vitalis Ekemiri and other CWI members during presentationof Award of Excellence to Arch. Bishop Atilade in Lagos, weekend.

CMYK


COMMISSIONING—Governor Peter Obi (2nd right), Bishop PaulinusEzeokafor (1st right), Fr. Anthony Ezeogamba and Srs. Felicia Anyikwamduring the commissioning of the auditorium of Girls’ Secondary School,Agulu, rehabilitated by the state government, yesterday.

ASUU slams Senate over botchedmeeting

Orji insists on handing overto Abia South in 2015

Mandela, aninspiration tothe world— Ubah

One dead, 2 wounded inkerosine explosion

BY ANAYO OKOLI

U M U A H I A —C H A I R M A N ,

Michael OkparaUniversity of Agriculture,Umudike, Abia State,chapter of ASUU, Dr.Uzochukwu Onyebinama,has accused the SenateCommittee on Education ofaccording leaders of theunion shabby treatment,warning that the ongoingstrike would last longerthan Nigerians expected.

The Senate Committee onEducation, headed bySenator UcheChukwumerije, hadinvited the leadership ofthe union for discussionover the ongoing strike butthe meeting was abortedwithout prior notice to theunion.

Onyebinama said theASUU team, led by itsPresident, Professor NasirIsa, was neglected by theSenate committee as noattention was given to him.

He said the team waitedfor several hours afterarriving the venue of themeeting on time without

the committee chairmanand his colleaguesreceiving the union leaders.

He recounted how theteam was shoddily movedfrom one place to another

while waiting for over twoand half hours for themeeting which never held.

Speaking with newsmenin his office, Dr.Onyebinama said ASUU

members were makingsacrifice for thedevelopment of Nigerianhigher education systemwhich he lamented hadbeen steadily dwindling.

BY PETER OKUTU

LEADING aspirant inthe November 2013

governorship election inAnambra State andManaging Director ofCapital Oil and GasIndustries Limited, DrIfeanyi Ubah, hasdescribed South AfricanPatriarch, Dr NelsonMandela, as an inspirationto the whole world and apillar to the Black race.

Ubah, who just returnedfrom a visit to thenonagenarian in a SouthAfrican hospital, said:“Madiba, you are a guidingand shining light, aninspiration to the wholeworld and a pillar to theentire Black race.

"Your footprint on thesands of time will not onlyremain indelible but willalso be a source of hopeand encouragement to theworld.”

Ubah, who is aspiring tosucceed Governor PeterObi on the platform ofLabour Party, LP, visitedMandela, last week, withtop shots of Capital Oil andIfeanyi Ubah’s Foundation.

A B A K A L I K I —K E R O S I N E

explosion, yesterday,claimed the life of oneperson, identified as 13-year-old Chidera Nwoba,at Mbukobe, Ebonyi State,while two others sustainedinjuries from another blastsin the area.

The injured, ChibuezeUgorji, 8, from Isukwatu,Abia State, and UcheKalueze, 6, of Akaeze,Ebonyi State, are nowreceiving treatment at theFederal Teaching Hospital,Abakaliki, followingseverwed burnt suffered asa result of the explosion.

The explosion, which ledto the unfortunate demiseof Chidera, according tosources, occurred at about6.45am as she attempted to

put on a stove to preparebreakfast for her siblings.

The stove was reported tohave allegedly busted intoflames and burnt her todeath before neighbourscould put out the flames.

An eye-witness whospoke with Vanguard, saidhe heard a loud explosionand rushed out only to seethat the house was inflames.

The eyewitness said:“Before we could put outthe fire, the girl had alreadygiven up the ghost but shewas rushed to hospitalwhere the doctorsconfirmed her dead”.

When Vanguard visitedthe two injured victims,Uche and Chibueze, atFETHA, they were lyingcritically ill because of thesevere burns they sufferedfrom the explosion.

BY ANAYO OKOLI

U M U A H I A —G O V E R N O R

Theodore Orji of Abia Statehas again declared that hewould hand over power toUkwa/Ngwa people of AbiaSouth senatorial district in2015.

According to GovernorOrji, Abia Charter of Equity,which prescribed powersharing in the state,remains sacrosanct and willbe implemented in theinterest of peace and equity.

Orji said he would notlike to take any decisionthat would plunge the stateinto political crisis, hencethe decision to respect thecharter.

The governor, who spokewhen traditional rulers fromIsiala Ngwa South LocalGovernment Area paid himvisit at Government House,Umuahia, insisted that hewould fulfill his promise ofhanding power to theSouth in 2015.

Orji said: “I am the firstgovernor that openlydeclared that thegovernorship seat will berotational. I am here toinstall equity and fair playin governance.

“I want to leave here(Government House)peacefully”, pointing outthat he would avoid anypolitical decision that wouldplunge Abia into crisis afterthe expiration of histenure”.

Igbo forum seeks youths'involvement in politics

A non-governmentalorganisation, the

National Igbo Forum,NIRO, has urged old breedpoliticians to involve theyouths in election process.

Chairman of NIFO,Okeson Nwoye, who spokein Awka during af a m i l i a r i z a t i o n /enlightenment tour ofAnambra State, as part ofone week sensitisation visitof the South East, alsocalled on the youths tocooperate for the neededdevelopment of AnambraState.

Nwoye said anygovernorship candidate

that will reform AnambraState should be a personacceptable to youths,churches, market menand women, amongstothers.

The NIFO delegation,which was led by Nwoye,also had its secretary,Amaechi Chimeremeze;treasurer, Prince C.Okpo and three othermembers from thenational secretariat inLagos.

Nwoye said NIFO wasout to restructure theeducational culture of thestate to make it moreattractive for the youth.

CMYK


RAMADAN TALKBY ISHOLA BALOGUN

Take even as little forSahur

As-salam Alaikum waramotullai, wa barakatuh!The kindness of Allah cannot be overemphasised

when one ponders on the blessings in the act ofeating sahur during Ramadan. For almighty Al-lah (SWT), it is not enough blessings that He pro-vides us with food on our table, but He furtherblesses anyone who wakes up in the first rays ofdawn to eat the same food for sahur.

The Prophet (s.a.w) was reported by Anas to havesaid: “Eat something for sahur even if it is a date.For there is in it barakah.” (Al-Bukhari and Mus-lim) Isn’t it great that Allah is rewarding us foreating?

The prophet taught his companions and by ex-tension, every Muslims that they should begintheir fasting by taking something. It does not nec-essarily have to be heavy meal. In fact, overeatingnegates the spirit of fasting. It is advised to wakein the pre-dawn period to appropriately kick-startfasting by eating sahur among other things. Eatmoderately even as you remember those who couldnot afford a meal for that purpose.

Some people have asked whether there is needto wake up for sahur if one has nothing to eat.What is, however, appropriate is to wake up, carryout other activities of the Ramadan night and whenit is time for sahur, get some water to drink. In it,there is barakah.

It should be noted that there is no sin in not wak-ing up for sahur if it was not done on purpose,and the inability to take sahur does not vitiate fast.

Again, another common argument now is the ap-propriate time for sahur. Brethren, sahur is notbreakfast and should not be treated in like man-ners. While breakfast is the dawn meal, sahur ispre-dawn meal.

Much as we know that the night is free for eat-ing and drinking, Allah has described the time forthe end of sahur as indicated in Quran 2 vs. 187:“...eat and drink until the white thread of dawnappears to you distinct from its black thread.” Theprophet also said: “Eat and drink until Ibn UmmMaktum makes his call to prayer. He does notmake it until the break of dawn.” (Al -Bukhari)Ibn Umm Maktum was a blind man whose inci-dent with the Prophet is the subject of Quran 80.The famous Bilal making his first, then Ibn UmmMaktum.

Ibn Umm Maktum making his last call to prayerbefore Subhi. We could discern from the aboveinjunctions that in this part of the world, the breakof dawn starts some minutes past five. Be that asit may, scholars have advised that sahur shouldbe taken between 4:45 and 5:15am. Next timeyou are eating sahur, be rightly guided.RamadanKereem!

From left: Efe Akpofure (SAN), Dr. Philomena Oyarone (former commissioner); Olorogun SenatorOvuodoroye Ibru (first Governor of Delta State); Dr. Festus Okubor (Chief of Staff, Delta State Gov-ernment House and representative of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan); Prof. Adegor Eferakeya; ChiefKen Okpara (Commissioner of Finance, Delta State); Hon. Oshevire (member representing EthiopeEast LGA, DTHA); Chief Bernard Edewor, Elegbete Moses Odibo (former Commissioner and Chair-man Ukueku Burial Committee) during the commendation service for the late Chief J. E. Ukueku at theAganbi Baptist Cathedral, Eku, Delta State.

Three Boko Haram suspects killed infailed mosque attack

They were not sect members —JTF50 sect members arrested in Borno

BY NDAHIMARAMA

MAIDUGURI —THREE suspected

Boko Haram memberswho allegedly came fromBama council area, Satur-day evening, and stormedthe El-Amin DaggashMosque in GovernmentReserved Area inMaiduguri, Borno Statewith the intention of kill-

ing Islamic cleric, ModuMustapha, while preach-ing during Tafsir(Ramadan preaching),were lynched by angrymob.

Our correspondentgathered that the terror-ists came in a Golf Salooncar and one tricycle armedwith AK47 rifles and a pis-tol before they met theiruntimely death.

A source told our corre-

spondent that the incidenthappened at about 4pm,when the Tafsir pro-gramme was going on.The source said someonesighted one of the terror-ists with a pistol sittingamong the congregation,and alerted others whoapprehended him.

It was gathered that im-mediately the suspect wasnabbed, a mob swoopedon him and beat him to

death, while the other twosuspects who were alsoinside the mosque werearrested in the process ofattempting to escape.They were equally beatento death some few metresaway from the mosque.

However, The Joint TaskForce (JTF) ‘Operation Re-store Order’ in Maiduguri,the Borno State capital, hassaid it was not a BokoHaram attack, saying it wasan error of judgment by apoliceman on duty whopursued someone who al-legedly stole a KekeNAPEP and a bag of riceand drove off towards themosque.

A statement by the JTFspokesman, LieutenantColonel Sagir Musa, said:“The incident was not a ter-rorist attack as insinuated,rather, it was an error ofjudgment by a policemanon duty that pursuedsomeone who allegedlystole a tricycle and a bag ofrice and drove off. The po-liceman was in mufti, worePolice reflective jacket, pur-sued the alleged thief andfired two gun shots.”

Child marriage: Stop stoking religiouswar, Arewa youths warn Senators

BY SONI DANIEL,REGIONAL EDITOR,

NORTH

ABUJA — UPSET bySenate bid to peg of-

ficial marriage age in Ni-geria at 18, northernyouths, yesterday, lashedout at the lawmakers,warning them not to stokethe embers of religiouswar over the controversiallegislation.

The Senators had lastweek voted in favour ofamending the Nigerian

Constitution to set themarriage age at 18, a de-cision that was promptlychallenged by formerZamfara governor,Ahmed Yerima, who de-scribed the decision of thelawmakers as anti-Islam.

Apparently joiningforces with Yerima, whoalso initiated Sharia in hisstate when he was gover-nor, Arewa youths askedthe Senators to desistfrom taking action on thematter so as not to furtherheat up the polity along

religious, ethnic and po-litical lines and createavoidable cold war.

The President of theArewa Youth Forum,Alhaji Gambo Gujungu,said in a statement inAbuja, yesterday, that theSenators had missed thepoint in amending the lawand exposed themselvesas people who were con-fused on what to do to jus-tify their presence in theupper chambers of theNational Assembly.

CMYK

OPINION


*Mr. Ikediala, a commentator on nationalissues, wrote from Owerri, Abia State.

BY FRED IKEDIALA Delusion of delivering the South-East to APCDelusion of delivering the South-East to APCDelusion of delivering the South-East to APCDelusion of delivering the South-East to APCDelusion of delivering the South-East to APCWHEN an elected person talks in an

official and/or political capacity,the understanding is that he is speaking themind of the people he represents. Thereason is simple – he has a duty to consultwith them before making anypronouncement on their behalf.

It is against this background that thestatement credited to Chief RochasOkorocha of Imo State to the effect that hewould deliver the South-East to APC in2015 should worry or even anger everyright-thinking Igbo man. Okorochaemerged as governor of Imo State after anelection whose results and constitutionalityare still being challenged in court. So theauthenticity of his representation of ImoState is in question, so is his capacity tospeak on their behalf. Besides, hisloquaciousness and proclivity to makepromises that he does not have the slightestintention and even capability to keep, havecast doubts on the minds of many of hisardent supporters as to whether they aredoing the right thing supporting him.

Rochas has in his past two years ingovernment exhibited an absolute lack ofleadership qualities. His voluble dispositionputs him in a position where he talks beforethinking. Governor Okorocha says he doesnot recognise any other governor who hassuperintended over the affairs of the stateexcept the late Chief Sam Mbakwe. He haslived up to that pronouncement byobliterating as much of the achievementsof his predecessors as he possibly can,including even some of the legacies of

Chief Mbakwe. Governor Okorocha became governor

under APGA platform after Peter Obi hadserved out his first four-year term asgovernor of Anambra State and majorfinancier and leader of the party, yetOkorocha disregarded Obi and otherleaders of the party and made a unilateralcommitment of APGA involvement in theAPC arrangement. Of course, the realowners of APGA in Imo, Anambra andelsewhere have since dissociatedthemselves from that faux pas which hasleft Okorocha currently without aparty.Even within the so-called APC, he hasstarted having issues with Chief AchikeUdenwa whom he does not recognise as aformer governor but who is of course aformidable force in the ACN (the mostsenior partner in the yet-to-be-recognisedmerger). This much was re-echoed by ChiefUdenwa himself when he reportedly toldleaders and members of ACN recently thatACN was the pivot upon which APC stoodand that nobody could sideline the party andits members on what concerned APC,especially in Imo State. In a veiled referenceto Governor Okorocha, Chief Udenwa,according to the report said: “You cannotbuild a house and sleep in the parlour while astranger sleeps in the bedroom”. GovernorOkorocha is indeed evidently now not only astranger in APC but also a stranger in APGA.His alleged sponsorship of the impeachmentof his deputy under circumstances ab initio

orchestrated by him, speaks volumesabout his inability to function effectively incollaboration with others. But the Governorseems too conceited to realise that he isunlikely to deliver himself in 2015 in ImoState otherwise why would he, in hiswildest imagination, arrogate to himselfthe ability to deliver the entire Igbo nationto APC? Who made him the leader ofNdigbo?

The treatment he received from theowners of Igboland during

President Jonathan’s visit to Enugurecently, would by now have opened hiseyes to his real reputation within the zone.He was treated almost like a Pariah by thecrowd which booed at him each time hestood up to speak. The reason for hisrejection by that assemblage of Igboleaders in Enugu is not far to seek.Governor Okorocha, by his actions andutterances, seems to be lending somecredence to the erroneous belief by othertribes that the Igbos may never be able toput their acts together. Igbo leaders ofwhich Rochas Okorocha (being a governor)is one, should at this time be seen to bespeaking in one voice on crucial nationalissues. But he is not a man to be fed that“trash”. Those who are familiar with hismodus vivendi say he has a voraciousappetite for power and could not care whathappens in his pursuit of it. They posit that hehas his eyes on the Vice Presidency and,

may be, something higher and is ready todestroy the platform that he used to attainhis present position. Governor Okorocha,in my view, is deluded by his presentposition to believe that he is capable ofbluffing his way to a higher position throughthe APC experiment without the backing orsupport of the Igbos. He is dead wrong.Though his demagogic speeches and bluffshave carried him this far, they have alsoexposed his tricks and inadequacies. Thepeople now know that he is in the habit ofspeaking from both corners of his mouth;they are aware that he makes promises andnever keeps them.

Within these two years, he has shown Imopeople, nay Ndigbo, that he has no place inhis mind for planning and no regard for dueprocess. His dictatorial tendencies areevident in the way he is running his state andthe unilateral manner in which he attemptedto drag APGA to APC, thus respectivelybringing Imo economy to its knees andalmost tearing APGA to shreds.

While answering questions fromjournalists during his so-called Imofreedom day, Okorocha boasted: “I will belynched if I do not run again”. That was anopen declaration of his intention to throwhis hat into the Imo governorship ringagain in 2015 and, to my mind, a tacitwithdrawal of his conjectured vicepresidential ambition.

OUR Senate is in the caves. We have a dutyto save it, from itself, and for Nigerians.How can the Senate in the 21st century beproposing that Nigerian girls can be marriedat an indeterminate age? The Senate isshamelessly broadcasting its determinationto insert the profane provision into theConstitution.Those limiting impacts of the Senate’s

decision that girls are ready for marriage atany age they are married to abuse of the girlchild massively miss the point about itsimplications for the future of our society.What would a society be where children

are meant to raise their own children? Howcan a girl by law attain womanhood oncesomeone marries her? Is the Senate banningchildhood for girls?Our laws recognise adulthood at 18 – for

rights of litigation, voting, and the definitionof “minor”. A woman married at less than18, according to the Senate, would be an“adult” by an act that has telling effects onthe health of the girl child.At what age would the “senate adult” have

any legal rights? Is a definite age for

Shameless SenateShameless SenateShameless SenateShameless SenateShameless Senate

adulthood unimportant? Is it notdiscrimination, contrary to Section 42 of theConstitution, to have different adulthoodage for female and male Nigerians?Under Section 29 (4a and 4b) of the

Constitution, a woman shall not be qualifiedfor marriage until she is 18 years of age. TheSenate, on Wednesday, proposed to changethat provision to ‘a woman is deemed to beof full age once she is married’, irrespectiveof the age she did so. What importance doesthis provision have for the welfare of thesociety? Is the provision for pleasures ofsome gentlemen, who delight in marrying

children under guises of religion, cultureand personal preferences?A senator is facing charges for allegedly

marrying an under-aged girl. Would theConstitution also be retroactive to protecthim? Is the provision for those who harboursimilar ambition?Granted, most of the proposed changes in

the Constitution are self-serving, it wouldbe stretching things to shattering forNigerians to permit this provision.Further protections for the girl child are in

Articles 21 (2) of the African Charter onRights and Welfare of the Child, Article 6(b) of the African Charter on Human andPeoples’ Rights, Section 21 of the Child’sRights Act of Nigeria (2003), Article 18 (3)of the African Charter on Human andPeoples’ Rights.Nigeria will be in perpetual danger if

provisions like these are in the Constitution.It would damage our demographics beyondimmediate contemplation. Nigerians haveto stop this provision and other obscenitiesthe National Assembly can insert into theConstitution.


CMYK


IF you look young for your age, chances are you’ll live

longer than if you’re haggardand appear worn out. Even ifyou are 45 and still feel like ateenager, there is no avoidingthe white hairs and fine lines.Growing old is inevitable, butthere are easy ways to keeplooking younger and,hopefully, live longer.

Don't stressHeavy workloads, reduced

family time, higher costs ofliving and 24/7 communicationdevices are daily sources ofstress. Do not to put yourselfin unnecessary stressfulsituations like rushing to work,squeezing with the crowds,being overly competitive andtrying to do too many things atthe same time.

Exercise and keep fitRegular exercise is definitely

a youth booster although mostof us don't get enough and eattoo much. Vigorous exercisecan reduce cellular aging bypreventing the shortening oftelomeres which are linked toseveral health problems,including diabetes andcoronary heart disease andearly death. A few minutes ofvigorous or moderate activityevery week is recommended tomoderately delay the declineof age markers. One of the easyways to incorporate exerciseinto your daily life is to go for awalk

Eat and drink healthy,The best ways of eating

healthy are debatable, howeverone definite no-no is sugar,which hastens the degradationof elastin and collagenespecially on the face. Intake

Look younger, live longer justby changing your lifestyle

STORIES BY SOLAOGUNDIPE

SICKLE cell anaemia is increasing worldwide, and babies likely to be born with thehereditary blood disorder are expected to increasefrom about 305,800 in 2010 to about 404,200 in2050. Using estimated country rates of sickle cellanaemia and information on projected birth rates,a new study published in PLoS Medicine, shows

•A healthy mother is key to a healthy baby and a healthy family.

WOMEN of child-beraingage intending to become

pregnant, or are alreadypregnant and lactating haveincreasing demand and needsfor micro-nutrients, such asvitamins, minerals, traceelements DocosahexaenoicAcid,DHA, in the so-called“peri-pregnancy” period.

Every expectant woman looksforward to bearing a child with

healthy development of thenervous system, brain andeyesight and relief from postpartum depression, but often,the average pregnant womenhave sub optimal nutrition andrequire micro-nutrientssupplementation .

Further, mothers requireprotection against embryonalneural tube diseases of thefoetus, prevention fromanaemia caused by irondeficiency as well as preventionof complications such as preeclampsia.

Not to be left out are essentialOmega-3 fatty acids that canonly be obtained from the diet.

The requirements duringpregnancy have not beenestablished, but likely exceedthat of a non-pregnant state.Omega-3 fatty acids are criticalfor fetal neurodevelopment andthe timing of gestation and birthweight as well.

In realisation that mostpregnant women likely do notget enough omega-3 fatty acidsbecause the major dietarysource, seafood, is restricted totwo servings a week, recentlyin Lagos, Benjamin MichaelsLtd, sole agent of BoehringerIngelheim presented a productthat holds answers toquestions of micronutrientsupplementation faced bypregnant women and womenhoping to be pregnant as wellas breastfeeding women inNigeria.

Known as PharmatonMatruelle, it is formulatedaccording to the latestReccommended DailyAllowance, RDA, for pregnantwomen but covers the needs ofwomen in child-bearing ageactively planning to becomepregnant as well.

According to the productliterature, PharmatonMatruelle is a combination ofvitamins, minerals, traceelements and omega-3 fattyacids. It offers completenutritional care for mother andchild, covering the increasedneeds on vitamins, minerals,trace elements and DHA in thepericonceptional, pregnancyand lactation periods.

It provides protection againstembryonal neural tube diseasesof the foetus, replaces iron losscaused by blood loss duringdelivery, helps to prevent ironanaemia and may help reducerisk of pre-eclampsia thanks toits iron, folic acid, zinc,selenium, vitamin C and Econtent.

of antioxidants help your bodyrepair damage to cells causedby free radicals,

Eating moderate amounts offresh fruits, vegetables, meatand drinking plenty of water isthe simplest way to keep thebody nourished and young. Alow body mass index (BMI)preserves a youthfulappearance. Avoid smoking,alcoholism and drug use which

all contribute to ageing.

Stay activeBoredom accelerates mental

and physical aging byencouraging unnecessarybinging and feelings ofuselessness that may to lead todepression. It is important tolead a productive and active lifeby engaging in activities andkeeping good company.

In 2050, 400,000 newborns will havesickle cell anaemia — STUDY

Pharmaton Matruelleprovides healthy edgefor mothers-to-be

that morenewborns inIndia, Nigeriaand theDemocra t i cRepublic of theCongo will beborn in 2050.The new studyconfirms thatthe globalburden of(sickle cellanaemia) is increasing, and highlights the needto develop specific national policies forappropriate public health planning.

Universal screening programmes could savethe lives of nearly 10 million newborns with sicklecell anemia worldwide, including 85 percent ofthose expected to be born in sub-Saharan Africa

Implementing basic health services - such asnewborn screening and vaccination - by 2015could increase survival of more than five millionnewborns with the disease by 2050.

An estimated 100,000 -150,000 babies are bornwith the disease annually in Nigeria, accordingto the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria.

•Normal red blood cells

CMYK


•President Adly Man-sour

Egypt begins constitution amendment

A panel of legalexperts, yesterday

started work to reviseEgypt’s Islamist-tingedconstitution, a vital firststep on the road to freshelections ordered by thearmy following itsremoval of MohamedMursi as president.

Morsi’s MuslimBrotherhood, which hasaccused the army oforchestrating a militarycoup and denouncedplans to revise theconstitution, staged freshrallies yesterday tomaintain pressure on thenew, interim government.

Setting a highlyambitious timeframe, themilitary wants new

elections in around sixmonths and has tasked apanel of 10 legal expertsto present proposedchanges to theconstitution within 30days for review before abroader-based body.

The original

constitution wasapproved by areferendum last year, butcritics said the text failedto protect human rights,minorities and socialjustice. Ali Awad Saleh,a judge and theconstitutional affairsadviser for the newlyinstalled president,chaired Sunday’s panel,saying it would spend thenext week receiving ideasfrom “citizens, politicalparties, and all sides”.

Khaled Dawoud, aspokesman for theopposition umbrellaNational Salvation Front,called the start of thecommittee’s work “a verypositive development”.

Martin could have been me — Obama

IN a deeply personal reflection on race, Presi-

dent Obama yesterdaysaid the African-Americancommunity was frustratedand pained by the acquit-

tal of George Zimmermanin the shooting of TrayvonMartin because of a “his-tory that doesn’t goaway.”

“Trayvon Martin could

have been me 35 yearsago,” the president said inhis first on-camera re-sponse to Saturday’s ver-dict. “In the African-American community atleast, there’s a lot of painaround what happenedhere. I think it’s importantto recognize that the Afri-can- American communi-ty is looking at this issuethrough a set of experi-ences and a history thatdoesn’t go away.”

Zimmerman, 29, shotMartin, who was 17,claiming it was in self-de-fense. The not guilty ver-dict triggered outrage incities across the country.

Trail blazingjournalist, HelenThomas dies at 92

FORMER WhiteH o u s e

correspondent HelenThomas, a trailblazingjournalist who reportedon every US presidentfrom John Kennedy toBarack Obama, has diedat the age of 92.

Thomas, who workedthe White House beat for49 years for United PressInternational (UPI) andHearst newspapers, diedon Saturday after a longillness, the GridironClub, Washington’shistoric pressorganisation, said.

In her long career, shewas indelibly associatedwith the ritual endingWhite House newsconferences.

She was often the oneto deliver the closingline: “Thank you,Mister. President” - fourpolite words that belieda fierce competitivestreak.

Japan ruling bloc ‘wins’ upperhouse poll

JAPANESE PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe’s

ruling bloc has wonmajority of seats in theupper house of parliamentin elections, giving itcontrol of both chambersfor the first time in sixyears, according to exitpolls.

The predicted win wasseen as an endorsement ofAbe’s economicprogramme, which hashelped spark a tentative

recovery, and gives him alegislative mandate topursue difficult economicreforms he has promisedto help sustain growth inthe long run.

The victory inyesterday’s elections,where half the seats in the242-member upper housewere up for grabs, couldalso embolden Abe toadvance his nationalisticgoals, which could furtherstrain relations with Chinaand South Korea.

Philippe is new King of Belgiumas Albert II abdicates

CROWN PrincePhilippe has been

sworn in as the newBelgian king after theemotional abdication ofhis father Albert II.

The Oxford- andStanford-educated,trained air force pilottook the oath as thecountry’s seventh kingin a ceremony in

parliament.To warm applause,

King Philippe, 53,promised to uphold theconstitution.

Belgium has aconstitutional monarchyin which the king playsa largely ceremonialrole. One of the dutiesthe monarch does haveis trying to resolveconstitutional crises.

Fighting rages near Aleppoairport in Syria

FIGHTING betweenSyrian government

forces and rebel groupsraged near Aleppointernational airport andnearby airbases as thebattle for Syria’s secondcity entered its secondyear, activists said.

“Fierce clashes brokeout at dawn near Aleppo

international airport andNairab air base,” theUK-based SyrianObservatory for HumanRights said yesterday.

The monitoring groupalso reported fighting inthe Suleiman Halabidistrict of the city, onceSyria’s commercial hub,and overnight clashes atKwayris military airport.

CMYK


OPINION

,

,

BY ERNEST OMOARELOJIE Climate change,the environment and Edo option

*Mr. omoarelojie, a social critic, wrote from Benin City, EdoState.

ON Thursday, July 18, 2013, the cream of generals and political/

bureaucratic czars that worked for thefederal side during the Nigerian civil wargathered in Lagos. They were at theNigerian Institute for International Affairs(NIIA) to honour retired General GodwinAlabi-Isama, who presented his memoirs.Late reggae singer, Peter Tosh, once sang:“any time I see these men, my blood runscold”.

Among these were cold-bloodedmurderers who killed innocent civiliansduring the pogroms in Northern andWestern Nigeria; war lords who roundedup and hacked innocent and defencelesscivilians to death in Asaba and other fallentheatres of the civil war; people who, intheir youth, took great pleasure inoperating the policy of hunger as alegitimate weapon of war and sentthousands of children to their untimelygraves through starvation.

Among these were people who betrayedand butchered their boss in Ibadan andalso killed an honourable man, MilitaryGovernor Adekunle Fajuyi, for being a trueAfrican who would rather die than colludein harming his visitor, boss and head ofstate, General Aguiyi-Ironsi.

These were the men who promisedreconstruction, rehabilitation andreconciliation after the war but proceededto wage more than forty years ofmarginalisation against the former Biafransafter forcefully bringing them back to “OneNigeria”.

These were the people who pounced onthe oil wealth of the former Eastern Region(now Niger Delta) and ravaged the landand its people in the name of being civilwar winners; people who took away thepowers of the Nigerian people and

Generals of the unjust war

concentrated them in the FederalGovernment, thus reducing everyfederating unit to parasites that rush toAbuja every month to collect federalallocation.

To be fair, among these were also the menwho, in their youth, were genuinelycommitted to Nigeria, a supposed jewel ofthe Black race, staying united to fulfill itsdestiny as Africa’s gift to the world; peoplewho are now dismayed that their patrioticvision for putting their lives on the linewas thwarted by the hidden enemiesamong them in collaboration with formercolonial masters, Britain.

Forty three years after the civil war, oneafter the other, these war generalslamented that injustice still pervades thesystem. And I laugh. I have a question:was the civil war a campaign againstinjustice? You answer the question byasking two more questions: (a) what ledto the war? And (b) when the “war of unity”was won, what steps were taken to ensurejustice for all in Nigeria, including thosedefeated in war?

I answer these questions based on myunderstanding of our history. Theimmediate causes of the war were (a) thecoup of the five majors in which leaders ofthe North (both in the army and the politicalarena) were killed in a manner suggestiveof ethnic cleansing. It sparked the pogromsin the North and West and pushed the East

towards secession.And (b): the Military Governor of

the Eastern Region, Col. EmekaOdumegwu Ojukwu, who yielded topressure and declared the secession of theregion from Nigeria in 1967.

There were remote factors involved.These included ethnic and regionalrivalries which the Igbos mismanaged totheir own detriment. Before the colonialistscame, the North and Yoruba land werealready distinct political entities. In theEast, there were also distinguished entitiesalong the coasts, such as Calabar, Bonny,Kalabari and other kingdoms. In otherwords, the Minorities along the coast weremore firmly established than theirneighbouring Igbo groups who remainedscattered in their disparate republicanhamlets.

Colonialism which brought Western

education became the single mostimportant factor to launch the groups lateridentified as the Igbos into limelight. AsChinua Achebe correctly points in hisvarious works, the Igbo people took onlythirty years of exposure to Westerneducation and civilisation to burst onto thearena, sweeping the Eastern Minoritiesinto the shade and becoming the regionaloverlords, much to the resentment of thelatter.

They also, by the middle 1960s hadbecome so dominant in the system thateven the Yoruba, who had a much longeraccess to Western education andcivilisation, began complaining of “Igbodomination” in their homeland. The Northnot only complained but had to create theNorthernisation Policy to prevent theSouth, particularly the Igbos, from takingover when the British colonial masters weregone. The Igbos became arrogant and loudand before long, created anti-Igbo feelingsnot only among the Minorities in their home

FOLLOWING the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly, GovernorChibuike Amaechi has been playing host to governors loyal to his faction in

the Governors’ Forum. First batch to arrive in Port Harcourt were the “PDPrenegades” from Arewa: Govs Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Sule Lamido (Jigawa),Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa). Next came the ActionCongress of Nigeria (ACN) governors of the South West with some deputy governorsfrom All Progressive Congress (APC) states in the North.

They were tagged “solidarity visits”. It would have been so harmless if not forthe undisguised motives of using Amaechi to undo President Goodluck Jonathanand the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the run-up to 2015. Whetherthese people are lovers or deceivers of the Governor, only one person will wear thepinching shoe in the end.And that is Chibuike Amaechi. To be warned is to bearmed.

region but also among their majority rivalsat the national level. These, combiningwith the anti-Igbo decolonisationdisposition of the British, laid thegunpowder that exploded against theinterests of Igbo people during the eventsof 1966 to 1970.

The so-called “Igbo coup” of January 15th1966 followed a year later by the declarationof Biafra took the anti-Igbo sentimentsbeyond mere complaints, as a broadnational and international consensusconverged to ship the Igbo people out ofpolitical relevance through the “war ofunity”. With the Igbos out of the way, abig reward awaited those who were in thecoalition (the Minorities, North, West andBritain). They would have unfetteredaccess to the surging oilfields of EasternNigeria! (TO BE CONTINUED)

Amaechi’s lovers and deceivers

The so-called ‘Igbo coup' of January 15, 1966followed a year later by the declaration of Biafratook the anti-Igbo sentiments beyond merecomplaints, as a broad national and internationalconsensus converged to ship the Igbo people out ofpolitical relevance through the “war of unity”. Withthe Igbos out of the way, a big reward awaitedthose who were in the coalition (the Minorities,North, West and Britain)

AS a country, Nigeria has its fair share of ecologicalchallenges. The most obvious indicator is that there are in

each of the six geo political zones evident manifestaions of thedevastation which is more or less threatening to overerun ahuge chunk of the country‘s landscape. In particular while theNorth is contending with an unprecedented challenge despitehaving a tougher landscape with greater level of resistance, themore erosion prone South East and South South are havingtheir very existence threatened by the menace. The case withEdo state is, for several reasons, very peculiar.

Situated along the country‘sl ow belt region, the state hashad its fair share of the destructive impact. However, for reasonsof the much talked about rise in global temperature, whichresulted in warmer climate, it became one of the recipients of amassive volume of rainfall that recently inundated not just itscoastal belts but also a number of areas in the hinterland hithertofree from erosion. Thus, the state has had to contend withattendant challenges that left a number of communiitiespreviously conversant mild erosion becoming so ravaged thatresidents were forced to relocate to safer grounds. Whereas thestate was in the past able to handle the challenge, the scale ofthe challenge under review was so overwhelming that itpractically put the state on its kneels. This is evident in case ofQueen Ede, in Ogbesanwan quarters, within Benin City, thestate capital.

Determined to find a lasting solution to the menace, thegovernment set aside the sum of N500 million to fund a rescueproject. However, due to the fact that the amount is grosslyinadequate for the project, it began the search for a viable

partner counterpart with the ability to provide counterpartfunding. It approached the Federal government with an appealto have the project bankrolled with counterpart funding fromthe ecological funds but it was turned it down. The stategovernor, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, made this pointwhile receiving officials of the bank. According to him, “Wehave also talked with the federal government to draw from theecological fund to deal with it. Again that has not beensuccessful. Our final hope now is the bank. We are hoping thatyou will help us out and have it fixed.”

Next, the state went in the direction of the World Bank, theglobal financial institution not known for giving considerationto frivolous administrations. Thankfully, the bank received therequest with open hands and as a mark of its readiness to do theneedful, sent its assessment team to Benin City, the state capital,with a view to ascertaining the required level of assistance. Sofar, if the team’s timeous visit, inspection of the affected areasand comments made thereafter are anything to go by, it appearsclear that the state’s request for assistance is not only receivingprompt and favourable responses, hope is rising that at last,succour may be on its way.

Interestingly, the partnership interest shown by the globalfinancial institution may not be unconnected with its convictionthat the state government is genuinely committed to carryingout development programme with direct impact on the lives ofthe people. Not least important is the seriousness with whichthe governor has undertaken the search for a viable partner.Put mildly, both qualities are no doubt the stuff required to

instill confidence on discerning partners. Given the statementmade by Benoit Bosque, leader of the bank’s visiting team thatthe state has proven its seriousness by being one of the few toseriously approached it for assistance, it can be deduced thatboth factors played important roles that swayed the bank intodeclaring its readiness to assist the state. According to Bosque,“Edo state is among the first runners. You are doing your bit.There are still a few steps to be taken. I am sure that soon mostof the state level actions would have been taken by ensuringthat full management of the state would be in place and theeffectiveness condition would be met very soon. We expect thatEdo would receive the first instalment of the preparationadvance and finally, the cash will start flowing from Washingtonto Benin City.”

Such comment cannot but be seen as one of the mostreassuring gifts the people of Edo state can hope for in terms ofreal time governance. It is doubly assuring because in acceptingto assist the state government, the global financial institutionis passing another important vote of confidence on the comradegovernor’s administration, further reinforcing the widely heldbelief that in terms of impact, the state under his leadership haswitnessed the greatest number of real time people-orienteddevelopment projects. Indeed, the expectation now is thatbesides upping the ante in the governor‘s confidence vote, theexpected assistance will provide a permanent solution to thethreatened areas.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013—————4747474747

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CMYK

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,

BY ADEWALE KUPOLUYI

BY SUNDAY AWOPEGBA

*Mr. Awopegba, acommmentator on nationalissues, wrote from Iloko-Ijesa,Osun State.

Okonjo-Iweala ongovernance in Osun

Rekindling hope for our varsities

Mr. Kupoluyi wrote from Federal Uni-versity of Agriculture, Abeokuta, OgunState.

RECENT deliberations by stakeholdersin the education sector offer a bright

hope that our ailing universities - if thefindings from the brain-storming session arewell harnessed and put into use - could beinching to the desired word-class status.

This opportunity, which I feel is worthsharing, beckoned at the just-concludednational retreat, jointly organised by theFederal Ministry of Education and theNational Universities Commission for thenewly-inaugurated governing councils ofNigerian federal universities, held recentlyat the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

The main thrust of the two-dayprogramme was to equip participants withthe requisite principles of universitygovernance with a view to making the newcouncil members responsive to theexpectations of government and criticalstakeholders in implementing publicpolicies.

Speaking at the occasion, the ExecutiveSecretary of NUC, Professor Julius Okojiesaid the retreat was carefully packaged forthe Council members - as employers oflabour, who are armed with enormouswealth of experience - to enable themdischarge their duties effectively in movingour ivory towers forward.

“It is obvious that the Nigerian universitysystem has a number of challenges that arebegging for solution. The retreat will provideopportunity for participants to rub mindson these issues for the purpose of findinglasting solutions to them,” he stated.

Delivering the keynote address, EducationMinister, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’isaid that with the increase in the number ofuniversities, more challenges had ensuedthat managers of our tertiary institutionsshould be adequately positioned to tackle.

She advised registrars to be up and doingwithout appearing as usurping the powers

of the council as well as the vice-chancellorwho is the chief executive officer of theuniversity, as she also warned those inauthority to shun corruption.

The Minister charged the variousinstitutions to implement the White Paperreports of the visitation panels to theuniversities.

“The preponderant scenario in mostNigerian universities today is that ratherthan a solemn academic affair, convocationceremonies have been turned into rowdyfunfairs and sometimes political rallies asa result of honorary degree awards,” sheadded.

The chairman of the occasion and theSecretary to the Government of theFederation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim,represented by the Permanent Secretary(Special Duties) in his office, Dr. JamilaShua’ra, decried the incessant crisesravaging our universities and advisedcouncil members not to dabble into the day-to-day management of institutions.

“I strongly advise that the governingcouncils should not interfere with the day-to-day running of the universities, but focuson policy issues, adopting best practices,monitoring institutional projects andsourcing for funds outside the usualgovernment subventions to improvefacilities and infrastructure that wouldpromote teaching, learning and research inthe institutions,” he warned.

The Chairman, House of Representatives’Committee on Education, AminuSuleiman, equally advised Nigerianuniversities to strive to take a lead amongcomity of higher institutions of learning byfocusing on research and development.

The first paper, entitled "Overview of theNigerian University System", was presentedby the NUC Executive Secretary, who wasrepresented by Dr. Abiodun Saliu.

According to the NUC boss, presently, thenation has a total of 128 universities –federal (40), state (38) and private (50) that

are faced with the challenges of access,relevance, governance, equity, quality andfunding.

He said since the NUC was established in1962, it had ensured that there was anorderly development of university educationin the country.

The Pro-Chancellor of the FountainUniversity, Osogbo and pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University ofAgriculture, Abeokuta, Professor NurudeenAdedipe delivered a paper entitled, "TheNigerian University System: CommunityRelationship Convergence in Divergence".

Professor Adedipe charged eachuniversity to prioritize its academic

programmes such that it would claim thestatus of “centre of excellence” in a chosenor narrow band of disciplines, as he alsoadvised against making all Professorsmembers of Senate, which he termed “allProfessors Syndrome”.

He described the syndrome as a greatimpediment to attaining “a compact, moreeffective decision-making and operationalcost reduction” initiative in the universitysystem.

A former Registrar of the University ofIbadan, Chief (Mrs.) Moji Ladipo delved onthe topic, "University Ceremonies" andobserved that convocation and graduation

ceremonies were important in the life of auniversity, but their solemnity and dignityshould be preserved in line with bestpractice.

“By upholding the true dignity of ouracademic ceremonies and providing theleadership that adds value to them, councilswould have confirmed our universities asplaces where those who hate ignorance maystrive to know, where those who perceivetruth may strive to make others see; whereseekers and learners alike, banded togetherin the search for knowledge, will honourthought in all its finer ways, will welcomethinkers in distress or in exile, will upholdever, the dignity of thought and learning andwill exact standards in these things,” shestated.

Critical issues that bordered ongovernance were tackled in the paper titled,"University Governance", as presented by aformer Vice-Chancellor of the University ofPort Harcourt, Professor Nimi Briggs, inwhich he recommended that there shouldbe a full knowledge of the operations of theuniversity, promoting the policies of theproprietors, close monitoring of finances,obeying the tenets of due process, andappointing the right staff into vacantpositions.

Others include enforcement ofappropriate staff discipline, promoting andprojecting good image for the institution aswell as contributing to the development ofthe immediate host environment.

The Director-General of the Bureau ofPublic Procurement, Emeka Eze, spoke on,"Critical Issues in Public Procurement" andgave detailed processes involved inprocurement as provided by theProcurement Act 2007, stating that projectsgo through Nigeria EconomicEmpowerment and Development Strategy,NEEDS, assessment before they areeventually approved to guaranteetransparency and fairplay.

Continues tomorrow on pg18

DR. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,Nigeria’s Minister of

Finance and CoordinatingMinister for the Economy, has aknack for cutting superfluouscontroversies. Though highly self-opinionated, her coruscatingbrilliance is not in doubt. Shespeaks candidly on any aspect ofeconomics that catches her fancy.One may have deep reservationsabout her soaring prognosis onthe Nigerian dodgy economy andeven dislike the somersaultingpolicies of the government she isa part of; certainly one can’t denythat the former World Banktechnocrat often ardently meanswhatever she gives voice to. It isin this context that I view herrecent remarkable appraisal ofgovernance in the State of Osun.This should remind us of theuseful lesson evident in theidiomatic expression that it canbe counter-productive to throwout the baby together with thebath water. The Minister ’sconsidered utterances sometimesembody unassailable facts.

I commend Dr. Okonjo-Iwealafor adding her notable voice tothose of many others who haveconscientiously spoken about theunprecedented improvementevident in the socio-economiccondition of the State of Osunsince the advent of Ogbeni RaufAregbesola’s administration.Media reports quoted the

Finance Minister as saying thatGovernor Aregbesola is a modelfor good governance, havingdemonstrated clearly that goodgovernance in Nigeria is feasible.She made the remarks in theaddress she read at a two-dayworkshop organised by the WorldBank last June at Iloko-Ijesa forvolunteers in the FederalGovernment’s YouthEmpowerment and SocialSupport Operation, YESSO. Itmust be remembered that theunimaginable success of theOsun Youth EmpowermentScheme, OYES, necessitated theexistence of YESSO. About a yearafter the introduction of thescheme in Osun, the World Bankreportedly began to study theprogramme and later submittedthat OYES provided a practicalplatform for mass employment. Itrecommended the idea to both theFederal Government and statesin Nigeria.

In the said address read by herrepresentative, the NationalCoordinator of YESSO, Mr. PeterPapka, Okonjo-Iweala rightlyobserved that the initiatives of theACN government in Osun gavecomforting assurance that it isvery possible to level theperilously imposing mountains ofyouth unemployment across thecountry. Hear her: “You[Aregbesola] have demonstratedthat good governance is possiblewith your programmes. You havedemonstrated that youth

development is possible. Yourprogrammes so far havedemonstrated that you are a goodexample of government andgovernance”. These are nopatronising sound bites, for whenthe Minister says “programmes”she guilelessly speaks of thenumerous sustainable'O’initiatives of the stategovernment, which continue toundeniably redefine the socialand economic conditions of thepeople of Osun.

That the State of Osun comesfirst as the State with the leastunemployment woes in Nigeriais a reality that can no longer beignored by those who incessantlycarpet its government. BeforeAregbesola became our governor,those of us who live and makeour living in Osun know that thestate was a kitchen midden ofyouth unemployment,infrastructural decay andeconomic stasis. Poverty stalkedand menaced the people. But thatis no longer the case. Thetransition that has been witnessed

in our state for the past two yearsnow has soothing evidence ofconcrete transformation. Youthswhose lives were steadily wastingaway have been rescued, giventraining in useful skills andempowered to start smallbusinesses. Farmers have theirown happy stories to tell. Underthe aegis of the Osun RuralEnterprise and AgriculturalProgramme, agro-alliedbusinesses have received amassive boost. With the computertablet, free school uniforms, freedaily feeding for pupils inElementary Class 1-4, building ofultra-modern schools across thestate, and increase in funding,the education system of Osun aswe used to know it has changedsignificantly.

Infrastructural developmentenjoys adequate attention

now. Old roads are beingrehabilitated and newer ones arespringing up. A few weeks ago Iread in the papers that all the ninestate hospitals are already beingrenovated. That is in addition tothe marked changes in healthcareservices. Indeed, great things aretaking place in Osun. Those whocan’t hear, see them; those whocan’t see, hear them; and hardlyis there a single household in theLand of the Virtuous that doesn’tbenefit from the policies of thepresent government.

One other way to test for thegenuineness and effectiveness ofthe policies of the Aregbesolaadministration is to invoke themethodology prescribed by theseasoned British economist,Dudley Seers. According to him,to understand whether a state or

country is developing or not,three main questions need to beasked: First, “what has beenhappening to poverty?” Second,“what has been happening tounemployment?” Third, “whathas been happening toinequality?” He contends that ifwe notice tangible declines in allof these key areas, doubtlessly theentity – state or country – can besaid to be in an era ofdevelopment. However, hecautions that if one or two of thosecore issues have an organic taleof misfortune, or if the three arebecoming more unbearable, itwould amount to sheer lunacy todescribe that misery of biblicalproportion as development.

Surely, Okonjo-Iweala hadissues of unemployment, poverty,and inequality in mind when shelauded Governor Aregbesola asan exemplar of good governance.The capacity of the Osun peopleto live dignified and meaningfullife has been (and is still being)made possible through aconsistent and focusedimplementation of programmesthat squarely address poverty,unemployment, and socialinjustice. This is a fact that a high-ranking PDP apologist hasaffirmed dispassionately. And Isee this as another clinicaldeconstruction of the two-for-one-penny fable of secession andislamisation that some calcifiedminds who could not stand thevision of Aregbesola wickedlyspawned against him but to noavail.

The capacity of theOsun people to livedignified andmeaningful lives hasbeen made possiblethrough a consistentand focusedimplementation ofprogrammes thatsquarely addresspoverty

The preponderantscenario in mostNigerian universitiestoday is that rather thana solemn academicaffair, convocationceremonies have beenturned into rowdyfunfairs and sometimespolitical rallies

48 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013

HOW has life in the villagebeen?

I was born in the village hereand then in my early life, I wastaken out of the village topursue secondary and highereducation, then the struggle forindependence began. I latermoved to the public service asa parliamentary secretary andlater minister.

Nigerians expect that thoseof you that fought for thecountry’s Independenceshould be consultants of somesort. Are you recognized bythose at helm of affairs?

Not at all. Governments inNigeria now are by-products ofthe military junta that destroyedthe country and destroyed thedreams of the founding fathersof this country and thesubsequent regimes haveinherited the hostility of themilitary.

The governments are hostileto history and many of themdon’t want to know about thehistory, particularly the politicalhistory of the country.

That is why in many places,

Drop-outs are now our leaders

ELDER Statesman and First Republic Minister of Aviation, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi is the last man standing in Southern Nigeriaamong the generation of nationalists who fought for the nation’s independence. He is also the only surviving minister from the Souththat served in the first post-independence cabinet. The quartet in that cabinet still surviving are Shehu Shagari, Shettima AliMungono, Inuwa Wada and Maitama Sule all from the North. Amaechi’s place in history nonetheless, he notes the chasm betweenthe values of the founding fathers and the current generation of leaders who he asserts are engrossed in rapacious looting of thecountry’s common wealth. In this exclusive interview, Amaechi also raises issues with the place of Ndigbo in the nation’s historynoting what he describes as a systematic policy of undermining the presence and place of the Igbo race in the polity. Excerpts:

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

,

,I am concerned, all militarymen that took over governmenteither in Nigeria or elsewhereare people who are guilty oftreason. They should be killed.They were all killed in Ghanaand Ghana found peace.

When an armed robbersnatches a hand bag from alady, he is executed but whensomebody takes over a wholegovernment of a country, takesover the whole wealth of acountry and plunders it, he isgoing about freely. The same

thing they have transferred totheir successors now.

They are looting the countrynow in a legal way. Forexample, look at the earningsof the governors, thelegislators and ministers. Somepeople appointed as ministersdo not merit it while some do.

In our own time, you willhave to have the mandate ofthe people, you have to winelection, be a member of theparliament before you areappointed a minister. But

today, any dropout can beappointed a minister andanybody who is a minister atAbuja for six months, you findhim owning a house in Asokoro,Maitama or any other highbrow area in Abuja. Where didthey get the money from?

Dropouts looting thecountry

They are simply looting thecountry. The country isfabulously rich and blessed byGod but thieves are stealing the

country dry.The legislators who make all

sorts of laws for themselveshave basic salaries or takehome allowances, both seenand unseen and go home withup to N10m a month. What doyou call that? It’s stealing, theyhave legalized looting.

Check out the time of thenationalists and the foundingfathers of this country, startingfrom Dr. Azikiwe to Okpara to

Continues on page 49

•Amaechi

Governments in Nigeria now are by-products of the military junta thatdestroyed the country and destroyed thedreams of the founding fathers of thiscountry and the subsequent regimes haveinherited the hostility of the military

— Amaechi, sole surviving Southern nationalist

the politicians who foundedthe country, particularly fromour side of the country, that is,the Igbo side, are not giventheir due recognition.

In places like the North or theWest, the nationalists are beinghonoured. With a pointer toAnambra State in particular, itis either they are ignorant ofthe history or something else.

Then, again, in Nigeria , I amthe only surviving nationalistor minister from the FirstRepublic in the whole of

Southern Nigeria. With thedeath of T.O.S Benson, someyears ago, Dr. Majekodumi lastyear and M.T Mbu, I am theonly surviving one in SouthernNigeria, East or West. There arefour others in the North namely,Shehu Shagari, Shettima AliMungono, Inuwa Wada andMaitama Sule. Whenever Ileave Anambra State to otherstates, they recognize me a lot,but here in the East, it is onlythe Abia State Governor thatrespects me a lot as well as thenew Governor of Imo State.

Foundingfathers

In the North, it’s somethingelse. Anywhere I go there, theyget excited that one of ourfounding fathers is around.

You talked about how themilitary destroyed this country.If they had approached youfor advice as a nationalist, whatwould you have told them?

What kind of advice will yougive to a criminal? Taking overthe rulership of a country byforce of arms is the highest formof armed robbery and as far as

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013—49

Drop-outs're now our leaders — Amaechi

Continues from page 48

Dennis Osadebey, to NwaforOrizu, to Obafemi Awolowo, toSaudauna of Sokoto. Did youfind any chain of buildings thatthey sprawled all over theplace?

The same for people like usthat were ministers. I was aminister for six years, yet I didnot build a house in Lagoswhich was the capital of thecountry then.

For example, when Dr.Okpara wanted to come back,his wife cried out and myself,the late C.C Onoh, Dr. WalterEze, Dr. G.C. Mbanugo, weraised money and went andcompleted a building for himat Umuahia.

This was somebody who wasa minister for about eight yearsand Premier of Eastern Regionfor six years. He did not builda house but now, even specialassistants or advisers buildmansions, own private jets andall that. What kind of countryis that?

You operated aparliamentary system ofgovernment. Do you suggestthat we go back to that system?

I don’t think it is the system,it is the people. Any system thatruns through democracy isright. The fault is not in thesystem but in the peopleoperating the system.

As a former minister of theFederal Republic of Nigeria,are you receiving pensions orany form of stipend?

No, nothing. They don’t eveninvite us to drink fanta at theIndependence celebrations.The other day they celebrated50 years of independence; theydid not invite the nationalists.I have never had any invitationfrom them.

Another election isunderway, what do you makeof the struggle for power?,

,because there is so much ethnicand religious influences in ourpublic places.

Therefore, it becomesnecessary that certain areasshould not be marginalized. Agood leader should giveleadership to all. For example,look at the case of Nigeria,Igbos, because they fought acivil war, have been mappedout for marginalization and

reduction to a second or thirdclass status in a country theywere part of the founders.

There is no ethnic group inNigeria that produced morenationalists and foundingfathers like the Igbo land.

No other section of Nigeriacontributed more than theIgbos to the founding of thiscountry, yet since after the civilwar, since after the firstRepublic, the Igbos have beenrelegated to the status of subcitizenship in their owncountry.

They are neglected indevelopment plans, look at ourroads, look at the second NigerBridge that we have beentalking about, old bridge thatthe Balewa government built in1965 to 1966 is aging andbeing over loaded.

We have been crying andthey said the contract has beenawarded and it is contractorfinanced in which they say thecontractor should organize atoll and collect the money.

It is only here they are doingit. It is only in this part of thecountry that electricity islocked off.

There were two powerfulpower stations in Igbo land butafter the civil war, the Gowongovernment decided thatelectricity should not begenerated in Igbo land againand so they closed the Oji Riverpower generating station inEnugu which was utilizingcoal.

Succeedinggeneration

Then the Afam power stationwhich was in Aba division, theytransferred the town to RiversState so that it will not be inIgbo land because of thegovernment policy that thereshould not be any powergenerating point in Igbo land,all because of the civil war.Afam power station was usefulto Biafra. Then the Igbopoliticians themselves, that is

the succeeding generation ofpoliticians from Igbo landcannot even come and sit downand plan on how they can savethemselves, how they can goback again to belong to Nigeriabecause there is no ethnicgroup in Nigeria that issuperior to the Igbos.

In any town in Nigeria, takeaway the indigenous natives,the next highest population arethe Igbos.

There is no town in Nigeriayou don’t find the Igbos. Inevery hamlet in Nigeria, theyare there. It is said that if yougo to any place in Nigeria andyou don’t find an Igbo man, goaway because that place is nothabitable.

They are always there, aswine tappers, vulcanisers,traders and all that but thepolitical leaders of this era havenot learnt to galvanize andmobilize them. Ndi Igbo, ifthey decide to bring thiscountry to a halt for 24 hours,they can do that.

If we say, let every Igbo manclose his shop, let every Igbotransporter take his vehicles offthe road, let every Igboteacher withdraw from theclassroom, this country willcome to a halt.

Why then do you think theIgbos do not maximize theirpower in the Nigerian project?

Because the politicalatmosphere is dominated moreby opportunists and careeriststhan thinking people and oncean Igbo man finds himself in acomfortable position, he wantsto enjoy that position to thefullest. They are not thinkingof tomorrow.

Nationalconference

Alright, Nigeria at a nationalconference some seven yearsago decided that Igbo landhas been cheated amongst allthe geo- political zones, that allthe geo-political zones in thecountry have minimum of sixstates and that it is only Igboland that has five states.

So they passed a resolutionthat there should be one morestate in Igbo land.

Now, it has been impossiblefor the present generation ofpoliticians to agree on onestate.

They are demanding UrashiState, Adada State, Egbema,all sorts of things. We tried touse the Ohaneze and thegovernors to get them together,but it has not happened. In ourown time, it won’t happen. Ifsuch challenge is thrown to us,over night, the leaders will meetand say this is what is going tohappen and it stays and it endsthere.

•Amaechi

No other section of Nigeria contributedmore than the Igbos to the founding of thiscountry, yet since after the civil war, sinceafter the first republic, the Igbos have beenrelegated to the status of sub citizenship intheir own country

If he is an honest man,capable and has something tooffer as well good leadership,then why not? But ideally,Nigeria is not an ideal place

I don’t know. I don’t vote.I am talking about the

clamour for power shift in thecountry.

Ideally, the proper thing in asociety is for the people to electsomebody of their choice to rulethem. It does not matterwhether he comes from theEast, West, North or South. Itdoesn’t matter the religion heprofesses.


To be continued

Why Appeal Courtfreed Al-Mustapha & Co

Continues from last Friday

,,

Second appealant AlhajiLateef Shofolahan, continueshis defence

HE submits that it is irregular to chargethe offence of conspiracy with the

substantive charge. There is no direct orcircumstantial evidence on conspiracy.

That PW1’s evidence had no relevance tothe charge of conspiracy. PW2 and PW3’sevidence amounted unreliable anddiscredited evidence while PW4’s evidencewas inchoate and inconclusive. For thesereasons, the charge of conspiracy cannotstand, he argues.

The count of murder must be proved beyondreasonable doubt, he argues. Submits thatnone of the Prosecution’s witnesses gavecredible or reliable evidence. The entire trialwas a persecution. He urges Court that theProsecution failed to prove’ he charges againstthe Appellant beyond reasonable doubt.

The Respondents Issue No 1 can safely besubsumed into the two issues of the Appellant,save their issue No 2 which talks about ,circumstantial evidence. It would be right tosay that Issue No 1 in the Respondent’s issuesfor determination is same as that canvassedby the Appellant.

Arguing Issue No 1, the Respondentsubmits that conspiracy as an offence has notbeen defined by the Criminal Code Law. Buttheir conspiracy at Common Law is anagreement of two or more persons to do.

an act which is an offence to agree to do.He submits that the very plot is an act in itself.Referring to Archbold 37th Edition paragraph4051, he submits that conspiracy is agreementto do an act which it is an offence to agree todo, and this is what constitutes the offenceunder the Criminal Code Law, citingHARUNA V. THE STATE (1972) 8-9 SC 108.

He submits that to prove conspiracy, it isnot necessary to prove direct communicationbetween each conspirator and every other.All that needs to be established is that thecriminal design alleged is common to all ofthem. Proof of how they connected with oramongst themselves or that the connectionwas made is not necessary - cites ERIM V.THE STATE (1994) 5 NWLR (pt. 346) 522 at533.

Circumstantialevidence

He submits that conspiracy can be provedeither by direct or circumstantial evidence.

Here there is direct evidence of PW2 andPW3 who are accomplices to the offences triedin this case. That the direct evidence of howPW2 and PW3 planned and executed the planto murder the deceased is consistent with theirextra-judicial statement during investigation.

He submits that when a witness, like in thepresent case, has a good explanation for theinconsistency in his evidence in Court, thismay fail to discredit his entire testimony,particularly where there are other evidence.

That direct positive evidence of proof ofconspiracy between the conspirators is hardlycapable of proof. Therefore the Courts usuallyfind the offence of conspiracy as a matter ofinference to be deduced from certain criminalacts of the parties concerned. That the bottomline is the meeting of the minds of theconspirators which need not be physical citingNWOSU V. THE STATE (2004) 15 NWLR(Pt. 897) 466; ODUNEYE V. STATE (2001)13 WRN 88; OBIAKOR V. STATE (2002) 10NWLR (Pt. 776) 612; DABOH V. STATE (1997)5 Sc. 197; OMOTOLA V. STATE (2009) 2-3SC (Pt. II) 196.

Conspiracy; he submits can be inferred from

the conduct of the parties. He submits thatthe fact that there was no credible directevidence of an agreement between theaccused persons to commit the offence is notenough to hold that the prosecution has failedto establish the charge of conspiracy citingUSUFU V. THE STATE (2007) 3 N.W.L.R Pt.1020 at 94; ALARAPE V. THE STATE (2001)5 NWLR Pt. 705 @ 79; OYAKHIRE V. THESTATE (2006) 15 NWLR (Pt. 1001) at 157;NJOVENS V. THE STATE (1973) 5 S.C. at17.

The Respondent submits that somecompelling facts and circumstances exist fromwhich conspiracy could be inferred in thiscase, which include facts of the murder of thedeceased during the reign of terror of GeneralSanni Abacha as the Head of State of theFederal Republic of Nigeria. And theAppellant was the Chief Security Officer ofLate General Sanni Abacha. Submittingfurther that there was opposition to thegovernment of Late General Sanni Abachaled by NADECO, who wanted the detainedwinner of the 1993 June 12 election, M.K.O.Abiola released.

The deceased was a prominent member andfinancier of NADECO and wife of ChiefM.K.O. Abiola. Prominent members ofNADECO like Alex Ibru and SenatorAbraham Adesanya, Late Alhaja Adeniyiwho was assassinated were members orsympathizers of NADECO and this took placeduring the regime of General Sanni Abacha.

He submits that he has been able to laydirect and circumstantial evidence before theCourt, and been able to prove the charge of

conspiracy against the Appellant beyondreasonable doubt. It is not beyond any shadowof doubt, he argues.

He submits that the degree of proof thatwould amount to reasonable doubt need notreach certainty, but it will carry a high degreeof probability. That once he ingredients of theparticular offence the accused is charged with,are proved, that will constitute proof beyondreasonable doubt.

Submits that there are sufficient facts fromwhich conspiracy between the Appellant, PW2and PW3 can be inferred. That the trial Courtwas right to have convicted and sentencedthe Appellant for the offence of conspiracy tomurder the deceased.

On the Issue of circumstantial evidence, theRespondent submits that there was direct andcircumstantial evidence which shows that thedeceased was killed at the directive of theAppellant but that he concedes that the directevidence of the prosecution against theAppellant has a challenge of credibility arisingfrom the contradictory evidence of PW2 andPW3, but that would not detract from the factthat there was evidence before the Court as towho murdered the deceased.

That the Appellant’s extra-judicial statementadmitted as Exhibit A6 and othercircumstantial evidence adduced, led to theconclusion that although the Appellant didnot by himself pull the trigger, he was aprincipal offender to the commission of theoffence referring to Section 7 of the CriminalCode Law.

He submits that the circumtantial evidencebefore Court which the Court was pobligedto believe are:

(I) M.K.O. Abiola acclaimed winner of theJune 12, 1993 election, the husband of the

deceased was in detention when the deceasedwas assassinated on the 4thof June 1996.

(II) In 1996, Sanni Abacha was the Head ofState and Commdnder-In-Chief of theNigerian Armed Forces.

(III) The 1st was the Chief Security Officerto General Sanni Abacha and very powerful.

(IV) The deceased was a member ofNADECO and owner of Radio Kudirat, theforemost opposition to government of GeneralSanni Abacha.

(V) In the Supreme Court case, ABACHAV. STATE (Supra), it was found and held thatMohammed Abacha was in the Appellant’soffice when he gave a bag containing weaponsto and whispered instruction to ears.

(VI) The deceased was assassinated duringthe struggle for the actualization of the June12 election and opposition to government ofGeneral Sanni Abacha.

Urges Court to take judicial notice of theabove. That the fact that the Apellant admittedduring cross-examination that he orderedsurveilance of NADECO rally in Lagos shows

of Late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.”(3) “Whether there is any evidence outside

the evidence of PW1, PW2, PW3 and PW4that suggests that the Appellant committedthe crime.”

Decidedly, conspiracy may be formed in oneof the following ways:

(a) “the conspirators may all directlycommunicate with each other at a particularplace and time and enter into an agreementwith a common design

(b) there may be one person who is thehub around whom the others revolve, like thecentre of a circle and the circumference.

(c) a person may communicate with Aand A with B, who in turn communicate withanother and so on. This is what is called chainof conspiracy.”

OSUAGWU V. STATE (2013) 5 (Pt. 1346) .366 at 391-392; OYEDIRANRAN V.REPUBLIC (1966) S SCNLR 173; V.SALAWU (2011) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1279) 580;ERIM V. STATE (1994) 5 NWLR (Pt. 346)522.

Agreement bythe conspirators

Conspiracy is complete upon an agreementby the conspirators, and in most cases,agreement is inferred or presumed. And theremust be evidence of complicity of the accusedperson in the offence. Given this background,can it be said, given the facts before the lowercourt, that the Appellant is guilty of conspiracy?

This can be gleaned from the evidence ofthe Prosecution witnesses who testified at thelower court. They are PW1, PW2, PW3 andPW4.

The evidence of PW2, PW3, and PW4 areinstructive in this regard.

Now when PW2 testified, he kept referringto the word “US”, which was never explainedby the prosecution.

It was alleged that it was through Karo thatthe arm was returned to the Appellant. Whywas this Karo not called to testify? From recordsthe Prosecution had listed twelve (12) potentialwitnesses at the back of the information. Theyare:

(1) Dr. Mark Adesina(2) Barnabas Jabila (a.k. a. Rogers)(3) Mohammed Abdul (a.k.a. Katako)(4) Dr. Atumie (Chief Consultant/Pathologist)(5) C. Obono ASP (Ballistician)(6) Dr. Oluwatamilore Falomo(7) Major Sabiu Ado(8) Sgt. Taminu Atumbi(9) A.C.P. Bello-

To give evidence of(10) D.S.P. Gabriel Harunainvestigation and tender(11) D.S.P. Samuel Ojehomon

necessary exhibits.(12) C.S.P. AgbafeSee page 5 of the Record of Appeal Vol. 1But the prosecution called only four of these

witnesses. Indeed at page 6, potentialwitnesses 9, 10, 11 and 12 were listed to giveevidence of their investigation and tendernecessary exhibits, but for some unexplainedreasons, they were not called.

The Prosecution only lavishlyserved a potpourri of NADECO andAnti-Abacha politics. Therefore, theProsecution mistook politics forevidence

Cap. 32 Vol. II Laws of Lagos State 1994 andwith murder respectively contrary to Section319 (I) of the Crimnal Code Law Cap 32 Vol.II, Laws of Lagos State 1994- page 3 of theRecord of Appeal Vol. 1.

Section 2 of the interpretation section of theCriminal Code defines an “offence” as an actor ommission which renders the person doingthe act or making the omission liable topunishment, under this code or under anystatute is called an offence.

By Section 324 of the Criminal Code ofLagos State, under which the Appellant ischarged, it states

“Any person who conspires with any otherperson to kill any person, whether such personis in Nigeria or elsewhere, is guilty of a felony,and is liable to imprisonment for fourteenyears.”

By this very definition, it portends that thereis a definition of conspiracy to kill in our law.

As earlier observed in this judgment, beforeme is a 326 pages judgment of the lower court,coupled with a 7 Grounds of Appeal in theNotice of Appeal. But prudently, learnedcounsel for the respective parties hadnarrowed their issues for determmination,which in my view covers the field of theGrounds of Appeal. This is because in myview, there are three issues for determinationin this matter which can aptly be put thus,and which in essence is an adoption of theirrespective issues for determination, earlieradumbrated in this judgment. They are

(1) “Whether the offence of conspiracyto murder has been established in this caseagainst the Appellant, in view of the evidencebefore Court, direct or circumstantial.”

(2) Whether there has been establishedagainst the Appellant the charge of murder

that he is culpable.So much for

submissions of learnedcounsel for the respectiveparties.

The Appellant wascharged with conspiracyto commit murdercontrary to Section 324 ofthe Criminal Code Law

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VANGUARD, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013 — 51

Mobil plans holiday campingas Toblow explains Donetskpoor outing

NOT many peopleknow him as Tobias

Igwe.For track and field

followers, he is TOBLOW,the versatile coach who asfar back as 1978 wasrunning and coaching.

Ask him how he got thenickname “Toblow” andhe will burst outlaughing. “…..As far backas 1975, 800 metres wasmy specialty and I had aunique style of startingpowerfully and endingsame way, so my fans willencourage me to go allout and “blow” theevent….”

The story of Toblow canbe as pathetic asinteresting. As you arereading this, the manwho was instrumental tothe discovery of theEzinwa brothers, MaryOnyali , Tina Ihegwamand Clement Chukwuamong others has beenout of a job for over twoyears and his landlord ison his neck.

How can a man who stillholds the Lagos Staterecord in3000 metressteeplechase, who ispresently contracted bythe AFN to tutor someathletes be out of a job?How can such a talentedcoach beg his state Imo tobe engaged? Anyway thatis a topic for another day.

I remember Toblowtoday because he neverceases to accuse me ofwriting only aboutfootball to the detriment ofother sports. Last week,Toblow quickly got intouch to appreciate myconcern over the flop atthe Ukraine IAAF juniorAthletics championships.

He then went ahead toexplain what “seemedlike a failure”. Accordingto him the WarriChampionship was not afluke, but thatunfortunately, in thoseevents where we are

champions of Africa, weare not the best in theworld. In other words,Nigeria can dust allAfrican countries in thesprints and relays butwhen we get to the worldstage we still have toqueue behind theJamaicans and theAmericans, “ whereasthe Ethiopians andKenyans dominate boththe African and worldstage in the longdistances.”

However that is notToblow’s main problem.His grouse is with thesystem. Nigeria he sayswill continue to do badlyif we do not get ourpriorities right. Helaments the situationwhere AFN is starved offunds and the AFNPresident has to use hismoney to keep theFederation going.“…For how long will hecontinue to do this?” Heasked.

Also Coach Toblowqueries a system that hasno youth developmentplans. “ Tell me, showme a school in thiscountry that has acertified or qualifiedgames masters ormistresses. None.

“ If therefore a childgoes through school upto secondary levelwithout the benefit ofbasic upbringing, tell mehow that child can dowell in his or her chosendiscipline.

“The result is that bythe time that child isdiscovered at age 16 or17, you need not lessthan seven months ofcoaching for him or herto be able to create anyimpact. Our Warrichampions had less thantwo months trainingbefore going to Ukraine.There is no way theycould have excelled” Heemphasized.

“ We need long termplanning, we need earlytraining, we should not becoaching at old age. Thiscountry is full of potentialseven in all sports but weneed to sit down and askourselves what we want.

He said he saw theyoungsters before theyleft for Donetsk, “…theyare potentials…..givethem to me for seven oreight months and I willturn them to worldbeaters…..”

He advanced theargument to the RussianChampionship and saidthe only athlete we haveis Okagbare. All others hesaid will not do well.

Mobil ProducingNigeria is going theToblow Way. Operator ofthe NNPC/MPN JointVenture, the company hasdecided to veer out of its13 uninterrupted years ofsponsorship of track andfield competition in AkwaIbom State.

This year there is thepioneer decision to put thechampions of the last twoyears in a Holiday Campand give them the best ofcoaching and trainingunder a select group ofexperienced coaches.

The company,synonymous with athleticssponsorship in the worldand in the country believes“ It is not enough to justdiscover these talents. Weshould also give them thebenefit of proper trainingin a conduciveenvironment that willafford them the use oftartan tracks, startingblocks and so on.

Coach Toblow agrees. “I thank them. This is whatwe need and it should bedone consciously andconsistently. There is nosubstitute to training andexposure. Put those kidsin a camp for one month,return them againwhenever the opportunityarises and you are in theverge of producing a goldmine of athletesadvantage Nigeria”

The MPN HolidayCamping and Trainingprogramme comes up atthe U. J Esuene StadiumCalabar early August andwill have over 165 studentathletes in attendance.

See you next week.


the Mandela challenge.He was taken out of

the match with fewminutes left with whatlooked like a brokenwrist and if the scanreport confirms thegeneral fears, the bulkystriker could be out ofaction for club andcountry for weeks.

The 31-year-old is oneof the few strikerspresently at the AlanPardew’s disposal andhe scored Newcastle’sconsolation goal in theirloss to a side whichfinished sixth in thePortuguese PrimeiraLiga

last season.Worried Pardew last

might admitted hecouldn’t afford to loseanother striker as hewaited to hear whether

AmeobiContinues from BP

Shola Ameobi hadbroken his wrist.

Ameobi was clearly insome pain as he washelped from the pitchwith minutes remainingof the match.

And while the 31-year-old was never going tobe a first choice forPardew, having one ofthe few strikersavailable to him pick upan injury was the lastthing the Unitedmanager needed.

Pardew said: “Themost worrying thingabout the game is thatit looks like Shola hashurt his arm and is nowoff for an X-ray. Rightnow, I don’t know howbad he is. It’s not aposition (striker) we canlose someone rightnow.”

other Nigerianathletes. He sponsorsBlessing’s training athome and abroad.Blessing has promisedUduaghan a medal atWorld Championshipsor the Olympics. Andthat’s probably thetarget she meant whenshe called the Governorafter her feat on Fridaynight.

The High Jump wasone of three outstandingwomen’s field events inMonaco The openingDiamond League eventof the evening, thewomen’s Long Jump,turned into acompetition of thehighest quality asRussia’s Europeanindoor champion DaryaKlishina produced asecond-round leap of6.98m, just sevencentimetres off herpersonal best, only tosee Nigeria’s BlessingOkagbare outdo her withsuccessive seven-metrejumps.

Okagbare, who hadwarmed up with 6.86mfor a first-round lead,produced a wind-assisted 7.04m (2.1m/s)in round two andfollowed up with a third-round PB of 7.00m(0.0m/s).

Klishina, jumpingconsistently well,managed a fifth round of6.90m but could not do

OkagbareContinues from BP anything to prevent the

Nigerian takingmaximum points to joinBrittney Reese, the USOlympic champion, atthe top of the DiamondRace standings with 10points.

Okagbare also movedup to third place in thisyear ’s world listingsbehind Reese’s winningeffort of 7.25m at theopening IAAF DiamondLeague event of theseason in Doha.

Britain’s Shara Proctormanaged 6.74m to takethird place and moveinto third place in theDiamond Race withnine points.

Afterwards, Okagbarecommented: “I wouldsay nine out of ten. It’sa PB for me. My fourthand fifth jumps werebetter but I fouled them.My seven metres jumpwas far from perfect, andwe’re working on a lot ofdifferent things.”

Meanwhile, wrestlersfor the E K ClarkW r e s t l i n gChampionships in Warrihave commended thefacilities they are usingat the Brownhill EventsCentre which they havedescribed as first class.

“As the wrestling istaking place the boutsare on large screens allover the place. It’sbeautiful here,” one ofthe wrestlers from 27states participating said.

Eagles

ing on the Elephants ofCote d’Ivoire on Saturdayin the return leg of theAfrican NationsChampionship, CHAN.The Eagles have a 4-1advantage from the first legplayed in Kadunapenultimate Saturday.

“All logistics have beenperfected by the NFFleadership, he said,adding, “hopefully, byThursday the team shouldbe off to Abidjan tocomplete the process ofqualifying for the first timefor CHAN after two nearmisses”, he said.

Meanwhile, the team willfrom today alter theirtraining schedule toevening time to coincidewith the time the CHANqualifier final roundqualifier game will beplayed on Saturday inAbidjan, Head CoachStephen Keshi hasdirected.

The players were givena free day yesterday after ahectic training session onSaturday morning thatlasted for over two hourswith the technical crewsaying the training wasnecessary to keep the

Continues from BP players in top shape aheadof the return to trainingtoday in the evening.

Saturday’s trainingsession which was watchedby NFF Technical Director,Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme andthe popular All Stars Clubof Abuja, was a delight towatch as the coachessought to instill disciplinein the team ahead of thegame in Abidjan.

Meanwhile, the team willtake on the Pastor Chineduand Dr Oby Ezekwesiliinspired, ‘The EverlastingArms Parish ‘(TEAP) FC ina test game on Tuesdayevening at the Goal Projectsite in Abuja. The last timeboth sides met last year, theSuper Eagles laboured toa slim 1-0 win, in a gamethat was described as oneof the best test matches forthe team by Coach StephenKeshi.

Team Coordinator,Emmanuel Atta, said heexpects another testy tiefrom the opposition afterlast week’s 1-0 win over FCAbuja in another test game.“We expect a tight game butwe are talking of thenational team and weexpect nothing other thanvictory”, he said.

Rooney

than their opening bid ofunder £25 million, whichwas flatly rejected byManchester United, whoinsist the unsettled striker isnot for sale.

However, there is anexpectation at Chelsea thatRooney can be signed thissummer and it is believedthe 27-year-old is not onlykeen to quit United butmove to Stamford Bridgeand join up with new

Continues from BP manager Jose Mourinho.Manchester United

manager David Moyes andthe club’s executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward,maintain that Rooney willnot be sold but Chelsea arecontinuing to test thatresolve. The timing of therevelation last week thatRooney was “angry andconfused” with life at Unitedwas telling, as it came onthe day that Chelseasubmitted their bid.

2014 Commonwealth Games:

D I R E C T O RGeneral of the

National SportsCommission, Hon.Gbenga Elegbeleye hascharged the elevenpicked sports federationsto ensure they winmedals for the country atthe 2014 CommonwealthGames.

The NSC top officialdeclared this on Thursdayduring a parley withsports federationspresidents held at theAbuja National Stadiumon Thursday.

The Presidents of thesports federations thatwere present at themeeting with the NSC big

Elegbeleye charges chosen federations to win medalswigs were: boxing, Para-athletics, Para-tabletennis, Para-lifting, Tabletennis, athletics,weightlifting, wrestling,football, taekwondo andshooting.

“This meeting wascalled by the NSC toactually deliberate withthe presidents of the(eleven) sports

federations that will beparticipating in theCommonwealth Gamesfor a better performancesas relates to winningmedals in the competition.

“We (NSC) want toknow the federations wantto prepare their athletesfor the 2014Commonwealth Gamesand Youth OlympicGames competitions.

SATURDAY, June20, was a special day

for South Africans living inNigeria. It was a day theyinvited their friends andbusiness associates to theSilverbird Galleria, VictoriaIsland, Lagos, to join themin celebrating the 95th dayanniversary of their firstpost-apartheid President,Dr. Nelson Mandela, whorecently turned 95.

To mark the day reservedfor the icon they callMadiba, the South Africans

S/Africa thrilled by UltimateCommander’s support for Mandela

brought out some of thethings that make thesouthernmost country ionAfrica a unique nation.

There were speeches,drinks, and photographs,but the special day wasmade more exciting by theunique South Africanmusic, which drew both theold and the young to thedance floor to demonstratea well-choreographed styleof dance step made popularby the late Brenda Fassie.

RACE FOR GOLD: Athletesapproaching the finish line.


CMYK

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Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

How to Play Sudoku

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

YESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Sudoku

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

VANGUARD, MONDAY, JULY 22 , 2013

Ameobi blow for EaglesMandela challenge

Eagles depart forAbidjan Thursday•Change trainingregime

THE Super Eaglesof Nigeria are ex-

pected to jet out forAbidjan on Thursdaythrough the MurtalaMohammed Interna-tional Airport in Lagos,team scribe, Dayo EnebiAchor has confirmed.

The Eagles will be tak

SHOLA Ameobi has been taken to

hospital for X-rays afterdamaging his hand inNewcastle United 3-1friendly defeat to RioAve, a development AlanPardew can scarcelyafford given his dearthof centre forwards.

It is even worse forNigeria coach, StephenKeshi who recalled theveteran striker to thenational team who wasnot at the 2013 AfricaCup of Nations in SouthAfrica after he made hislong-awaited debut forNigeria in November ina friendly againstVenezuela in the UnitedStates of America.

Ameobi was recalledfor next month’sinternational friendlyagainst the BafanaBafana of South Africa,Continues on Page 52

Continues on Page 52•Shola Ameobi

Chelsea ready to offer £40m for RooneyCHELSEA are

discussing whatthey consider would bea ‘knockout’ £40

million bid to signWayne Rooney. The offer

would be vastly higher

I'm close to our targetOkagbare tells Uduaghan

BLESSING Okagbare won the Long

Jump event in the Mo-naco leg of the DiamondLeague at the weekendand called GovernorEmmanuel Uduaghan

•As Wrestlers commend E K Clark showto say “I’m approachingour target and God will-ing we’ll get there. Idedicate this to you, sir”

The sports loving gov-ernor has been support-ing Blessing and manyContinues on Page 52

•Keshi

•Uduaghan •Okagbare

Continues on Page 52

ACROSS1 Steering-wheel (4)4 Encountered (3)6 Attendant (4)8 Beginning (6)9 Unhealthy (6)10 Recede (3)12 Lance (5)14 Down (5)15 Visitor (5)18 Sway (6)20 Prophet (6)24 Sag (5)26 Malice (5)28 Twelve (5)30 Pin (3)32 Limited (6)33 On ship (6)34 Irritation (4)35 Sleep (3)36 Story (4)

DOWN2 Arm (5)3 Knead (7)4 Companion (4)5 Grave (4)6 Danger (5)7 Lucrative (7)11 Coach (3)12 Bag (3)13 Regret (3)16 Finish (3)17 Also (3)19 Assign (7)21 Wand (3)22 Explanation (7)23 Epoch (3)25 Cereal (3)27 Leg part (5)29 Mistake (5)30 Summit (4)31 Pant (4)

ACROSS: 2, Blank 7, Table 8, Board 10,Atlas 12, Lie 13, Slush 15, Retired 17,Mental 19, Mid 20, Logical 23, Aria 25,Youth 26, Erratic 30, Dub 31, Cinema 34,Soluble 37, Radar 38, Woo 39, Evict 40,Layer 42, Gruel.

DOWN: 1, Fable 2, Blast 3, Lethal 4, Near 5,Holiday 6, Greet 9, Air 11, Semitic 13, Smear14, Untie 16, Tic 18, Lovable 21, Lowed 22,Blear 24, Arduous 27, Rub 28, Circle 29, Cower32, Natal 33, Maker 35, Lob 36, Ever.

CMYK

TWO WEEKS TO LIVE

aftermath of jonathan/obj parley: president in crucial talks with tukur, others

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