Army speaks on Buharis certificates

...towards a better life for the peopleVOL. 25: NO. 62324

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015**

Continues on Page 5

Mr & Mrs

COLUMNISTS:

Army speaks onBuhari's certificates

N150

Issue-basedcampaign?When, where?

•P.19

Charlie Hebdo andthe fear ofIslamisation inthe Nigeriancontext

From left: MD/CEO,Fidelity Bank Plc.,Nnamdi Okonkwo;Minister forC o m m u n i c a t i o n sTechnology, OmobolaJohnson; ExecutiveDirector, Lagos andSouth-West, FidelityBank Plc., IkemuefunaMbagwu and DivisionalHead, Managed SMEs,Ken Opara at the FidelitySME Forum, yesterday.

•P.17

See Pull-out inside

>>8

DEATH WISH ADVERT:

PDP, Jonathandisown Fayose

>>14

Tension mountsin Anambracommunity overburning of UdumeAbor Shrine

By KingsleyOmonobi

A B U J A — A Sc o n t r o v e r s y

continues to trail theacademic qualificationsof the Presidential

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN—Above: Jonathan in Katsina: Below: Buhari in Kano, yesterday.Photos: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor/State House.

Onekilled,40 carsdestroyedas cultgroupsclash inLagos >>7

AIG Mbufor Lagos,Ogun, asPolicemove 26officers

JONATHAN, BUHARI FIGHT FOR NORTH

Enahoro joins octogenarian club >>39

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 — 3

CMYK

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 —5

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Continues from Page 1

Army speaks on Buhari'scertificates

Simplicity, patience, compassion. These three areyour greatest treasures. Simple in actions andthoughts, you return to the source of being. Patientwith both friends and foes you accord with the waythings are. Compassionate toward yourself, youreconcile all beings in the world —Lao Tzu

Rather than trying to control the world around us,we can allow our natural abilities and positive traitsto emerge by tapping into what Wayne Dyer callsthe Power of Intention: the capacity for joy, creativityand kindness built into each of us. “Intention is notsomething you do,” says Dyer, “but rather a forcethat exists in the universe as an invisible field ofenergy—a power that can carry us.” Where is thisfield? “Where is it not?” “A caterpillar, a tiny acorn,an apple blossom all have intention built into them.That caterpillar becomes a butterfly, the acorn a giantoak tree, the apple blossom an apple. Intentiondoesn’t err. The acorn never turns into a pumpkin!Every aspect of nature has intention built in.

candidate of the AllProgressives Congress,APC, Major GeneralMohammadu Buhari,the Army, yesterday, saidit was not in possessionof Buhari’s credentials.

The APC presidentialcandidate, MajorGeneral Buhari hadaverred in an affidavit hedeposed before an AbujaHigh Court that all hiscertificates were with theSecretary, MilitaryBoard, while submittinghis Form 199A to theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission,INEC.

But the Army,yesterday, denied beingin possession of the APCcandidate’s originalcertificates or thecertified true copies.

The outgoing Directorof Army PublicRelations, Brigadier-General Olajide Laleye,who addressed newsmenin Abuja, said: “TheNigerian Army does nothave the original copy ofhis (Buhari) West AfricanExaminations Council,WAEC result or a

certified true copy.”But the APC in a swift

reaction has warned thatthose who are bent ondestroying Buhari on thebasis of his certificatesmay end up destroyingthe country’s military.

The army spokesmantold newsmen that whatthe army had and whichhe displayed were theinformation contained inthe forms Buhari filled atthe point of his entry intothe military and someletters ofrecommendation byPrincipal of ProvincialSecondary School,Katsina.

For the record

Olajide said: “Recordsavailable indicate thatMajor GeneralMuhammadu Buhariapplied to join themilitary as a Form Sixstudent of the ProvincialSecondary School,Katsina on October 18,1961. His applicationwas duly endorsed by thePrincipal of the school,who also wrote a reporton him andrecommended him

suitable for militarycommission.”

The report which wasshown to newsmen, read:“I recommendMuhammadu Buhari fitfor military commission.”

On Buhari’s result, thePrincipal also wrote, “Iconsider that he will passMaths, English andthree other subjects.”

Laleye said the briefingwas necessitated bydeluge of requests fromcivil society groups andthe media among others,over General Buhari’seligibility for anypolitical office.

He said: “It is apractice in the NigerianArmy that beforecandidates are short-listed for commissioninginto the officers’ cadre ofthe service, the selectionboard verifies theoriginal copies ofcredentials that arepresented.

“However, there is noavailable record to showthat this process wasfollowed in the 60s.Nevertheless, the entrymade on the NigerianArmy Form 199A at thepoint of documentationafter commission as anofficer indicated that theformer head of stateobtained the WestAfrican SchoolCertificate, WASC, in1961 with credits inrelevant subjects:English Language,Geography, History,Health Science, Hausaand a pass in EnglishLiterature.

“Neither the originalcopy, Certified TrueCopy, CTC, norstatement of result ofMajor GeneralMuhammadu Buhari’sWASC result is in hispersonal file. What Ihave said here is what iscontained in his servicerecords’ personal file. Wehave not added orsubtracted anything.”

Earlier, Brig-GeneralLaleye, said: “Let me

state clearly that theNigerian Army holds theretired senior officer invery high esteem andrespect and would not bea party to anycontroversy surroundinghis eligibility for anypolitical office. Suffice itto state that MajorGeneral Buhari rosesteadily to the enviablerank of Major Generalbefore becoming head ofstate of our dear countryin December 1983.”

It's a dangerousgame — APC

The APC in a statementissued in Lagos,yesterday, by its NationalPublicity Secretary,Alhaji Lai Mohammed,warned that the PDP andthe Jonathanadministration areplaying a dangerousgame by allegedly tryingto compromise themilitary in order to satisfyselfish politicalobjectives, and urged themilitary, as a symbol ofnational unity, to bewareof those who may beseeking to use it toachieve selfish anddivisive ends.

The APC said thestatement credited to theDirector, Army PublicRelations, Brig-Gen.Olajide Olaleye, at apress conference inAbuja, yesterday, thatthe Army is not inpossession of Gen.Buhari’s certificates, is indirect conflict with whathe said on January 4,2015 on the same issue.

"In an interview withthe Punch on Jan. 4,2015, Brig.-Gen. Olaleyehad said: ‘Every servingand retired Army officerhas at least a copy of hiscertificates andcredentials kept in theNigerian Army while thatsame serving and retiredofficer has copies ofthose same certificatesand credentials’.

"Is Brig.-Gen. Olaleyenow saying that he didnot make that statement?If he did, what hashappened between thenand now to make him torecant? It will beinteresting to know whathas transpired betweenthen and now," APC said.

The party also said thatthere was no evidencethat the certificates of allthose who joined thearmy in the early 1960swere verified by theselection board.

"Is he now saying thatall those who werecommissioned into theofficer cadres in the1960s did not have theircertificates verified?Does this not confirmwhat we said that intrying to destroy Gen.Buhari, the PDP and theJonathan administrationwill end up destroyingthe army as aninstitution? Or is it onlyGen. Buhari that wascommissioned into the

army in the 1960s?"The party also quoted

Gen. Buhari as saying inan affidavit onNovember 24, 2014 that"All my academicqualification documentsas filled in mypresidential form,President APC/001/2015are currently with theSecretary, Military Boardas at the time of thisaffidavit."

APC said: "Those whoare behind the latestcontroversy should nowtell Nigerians whathappened to Gen.Buhari’s certificatesbetween the time of hisaffidavit and now".

APC said further thateven if the Army nowsays it does not have thecertificates of Gen.Buhari, he is still veryqualified to run for thecountry’s highest office,as stipulated by theConstitution of theFederal Republic ofNigeria.

What theconstitutionsays— APC

The party quotedSection 131 (d) of theConstitution: "A personshall be qualified forelection to the office ofPresident if he has beeneducated up to at leastSchool Certificate levelor its equivalent".

APC said the meaningand interpretation of"School Certificate levelor its equivalent can befound in the Constitutionunder part IV, Section318. In that Section, a"School Certificate or itsequivalent" is definedquite succinctly thus:

(a) A Secondary SchoolCertificate or itsequivalent, Grade IITeacher’s Certificate, theCity and GuildsCertificate; or

(b) Education up toSecondary SchoolCertificate Level; or a

(c) Primary Six SchoolLeaving Certificate or itsequivalent.

The party said sinceBrig.-Gen. Olaleye hasconfirmed that Gen.Buhari indeed applied tojoin the Army from formsix, that the principal ofthe school he attended

even attested to hissuitability, and that theform he filled containedhis Secondary SchoolCertificate results, thereis no scintilla of doubtabout his qualification torun for president asstipulated by theConstitution.

"However, we knowthat the PDP and theJonathan administrationhave constitutedthemselves into a court oflaw and will like nothingmore than thedisqualification of ourcandidate so they willface no challenge in nextmonth’s election. This iswishful thinking," it said.

APC said the PDP andthe Jonathanadministration shouldexpend their energy onhow to revive theirfloundering campaigninstead of seeking thedisqualification of its(APC) candidate.

On the contradictionsin the statementscredited to the Armyspokesman, the partysaid: "It is true that ouronce globally-respectedmilitary has now beenmade comatose by thePDP-led FederalGovernment, but webelieve things have notreached the level wherethe same military will beengaging in actions thatamount to selfdestruction, just tosatisfy some politicalinterests.

"We believe things havenot reached a level wherewe, as a nation, will nowbe giving the impressionthat a man who rose tobecome a Major-Generalin the Nigerian Armydoes not have requisitequalifications?

"What really ishappening in ourcountry if somepoliticians have nowdecided to engage in anaction that will amount todragging the militaryinto politics, dividing aninstitution that is asymbol of national unity,trivializing the service ofthose who fought to keepNigeria one andridiculing the samecountry it is supposed tobe ruling?

‘’We have said it beforeand will like to repeat:Enough is enough aboutthis distraction".

VISIT—President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo (3R);PDP National Chairman, Mallam Adamu Mua'azu and Governor IbrahimShema of Katsina State (R) with the mother of Late President Umaru Yar'Adua, Hajiya Dada Yar'Adua and the family during a courtesy call on herafter his Presidential Campaign in Katsina, yesterday. Photo: AbayomiAdeshida.

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

Man allegedlysteals 8 goatsin Jigawa

NO ORDER: A typical day at Ikotun Roundabout, Ikotun-Igando Local Council Development Area, Alimosho,yesterday. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

DUTSE—THE NigeriaSecurity and Civil

Defense Corps, NSCDC,in Jigawa State, yesterday,said it arrested a 30-year-old man for allegedlystealing eight goats.

The state NSCDCCommandant, Mr.Muhammad Gidado, toldnewsmen in Dutse that thesuspect was a resident ofAzarawa village in BaburaLocal Government area ofthe state.

Gidado said the suspectallegedly stole the goatsfrom Achiya village in thesame local governmentarea, but was apprehendedin Aujara village of JahunLocal Government Area.

The commandant said thesuspect was arrested afterhe failed to givesatisfactory explanation asto the source of the goats.

According to him,preliminary investigationreveals that the suspect isamong a gang terrorisingresidents of the area andstealing their animals.

Gidado also announcedthe arrest of a suspectedcattle rustler, after series ofcomplaints from commu-nities in Guri and BirniwaLocal Government areas.

LAGOS—A Lagoscustomary court,

yesterday, dissolved a two-year-old marriage betweenSegun Falaye and his wife,Celestina, over his love foralcohol and Indian help.

President of the IgandoCustomary Court, Mr.Ruphus Adeyeri, said allefforts to reconcile bothparties were unsuccessful.

He ruled: “Both partiesare no longer husband andwife; they are free to gotheir separate ways.”

The petitioner, Celestina,33, had filed a suit seekingthe dissolution of hermarriage, citing herhusband’s heavy drinkingand hemp smoking habit.

Falaye, 40, said: “I takealcoholic drinks, but notexcessively. I have nevertaken Indian hemp.

“My wife controls andcommands me, all becauseshe pays the bills.

“I used to pay the bills,but now that I have no jobI cannot steal to fend for myfamily.”

2-yr-oldmarriagecrashesover alcohol,hemp

ABEOKUTA—A team ofsoldiers, popularly called

OP MESSA, attached to 35Artillery Brigade, Alamala inOgun State, yesterday,intercepted a truck-load ofabout 3,600 ballot boxes atOdogbolu axis of the Sagamu-Ijebu Ode Expressway.

The soldiers reportedlyhanded over the truck and thecontents to the Police in Ijebu-Ode area command, whichwas then reportedly taken toa special security facility in thestate.

However, sources toldVanguard that two other trucksescaped. It was also learnedthat the ballot boxes were filledwith ballot papers.

Ogun State Police PublicRelations Officer, MuyiwaAdejobi, confirmed the story,saying, however, he was onlyaware of one truck loaded with3,600 ballot boxes that wasintercepted.

He said: “When the soldierscould not ascertain theauthenticity of the ballotboxes, they handed them overto the Police at Ijebu-Ode AreaCommand to commenceinvestigation.

“Right now, we had 3,600ballot boxes belonging toIndependent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC.

“Some top officials of INECand at Wharf have called usto say that the consignment

belongs to INEC and that theballot boxes are meant for itsINEC office at Uyo, AkwaIbom State.

“The INEC official said thecontractor or agent wouldcome to the Policeheadquarters with relevantdocuments to clarify theauthenticity of the vehicle.

“The items are with us at thecommand, while we arewaiting for the relevantdocuments.”

When asked whether aparticular political party hadbeen linked with the incident,the Police spokesperson said itwould be premature to jump into

conclusion on the status of theconsignment.

He said: “It is too early for usto say that those items areillegal. With the information wehave, they are INEC's property.If we cannot see thosedocuments to verify ownership,we will take necessary steps.”

Responding to the allegationthat two trucks escaped,Adejobi said: “I am aware ofjust one vehicle, which

contains 3,600 ballot boxes.“One person is in custody in

connection with the vehicleand if there are other vehicles,our officers are on the road toapprehend them.

“An original document wastendered by security agentsand governmental agencies,particularly INEC. All thedocuments with us pointtowards INEC as owner, butwe are not relying on that.”

Soldiers intercept truck-loadof 3,600 ballot boxes

Two trucks escaped— SOURCES

INEC officials called us— POLICE

By Daud Olatunji

WARRI—A noon fire,yesterday, in Willie

Street, Warri, Delta State, razedthe entire top floor of SyracuseClinic, belonging to popularsurgeon and television healthenlightenment campaigner, Dr.Victor Oroegbu.

It took the intervention ofyouths in the neighbourhoodto prevent the fire fromspreading to the adjoiningresidence of the medicaldirector and other buildingsstanding close to the affected

clinic.When Vanguard visited the

scene, the youths were stillbusy pouring water on flashesof flames on the alreadyruined roof of the top floor ofthe single-storey clinic.

A by-stander at the scenesaid: “The youths were timelyin evacuating patients andstaff on the top floor. When afire service van rushed in, wethought respite had come.

“You will not believe the firevan ran out of water shortlyafter arrival. And they were justredundant, without makingany effort.

“If not for the youths, it

would have been a differentstory, because buildings in thearea are standing just tooclose.”

Vanguard further learnedthat the Medical Director, Dr.Oroegbu, had barely returnedto duty at the clinic from DeltaBroadcasting Service, Warri,as guest on its healthenlightenment televisionprogramme, when the firestarted.

Oroegbu said he could notpinpoint the actual cause ofthe fire and the point where itstarted, but indications wererife that power surge may havesparked the fire.

Fire razes Warri clinic, sackspatients

By Egufe Yafugborhi

CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015—7

FIGHT broke out, yesterday,between a group of boys

and suspected cult members atAfariogun area of Oshodi,Lagos, leaving one person deadand several others severelyinjured.

About 40 vehicles were alsodestroyed by the rampagingyouths. Some buildings werealso torched and shops looted.

A staff of Vanguard, NicolasEsekhile, his wife and two-year-old child narrowly escapeddeath after the suspectedmembers of Aiye confraternityshattered his louvers withmachetes in an attempt to breakinto the house.

Report said trouble started atabout 11p.m., Monday, betweensome boys from Orile-Oshodiand Afariogun, at a namingceremony of one JimohOdekunle at Okeleye Street,Afariogun,with the causeunknown.

In the process, one Kamoru,said to have been severelyinjured, died in the early hoursof yesterday, in an undisclosedhospital around the area, wherehe was rushed for treatment.

When news of his deathfiltered in yesterday, hiscolleagues from Orile-Oshodireportedly embarked on areprisal attack.

Their first port of call wasreportedly the residence of oneSunday Anajonu, alleged tohave been responsible for thedeath of their colleague.

But for the timely interventionof policemen from AkinpeluDivision, Anajonu would havebeen lynched by his assailants.

When Vanguard visited thetrouble zone at noon yesterday,some of the residents werediscovered to have fled theirabodes for fear of beingentangled in the warringfactions’ web.

Over 40 vehicles and about 20buildings were destroyed.

Eyewitness accountAn eyewitness, who spoke on

condition of anonymity,revealed that the fight wasbetween the host and somesuspected cult group.

The elderly woman said: “Thecultists came at about 11pm,when the party was aboutwinding up and startedshooting at residents.

“They tried to break into ahotel around the area but couldnot. They looted shops, whoseowners had locked up for theday, and invaded a restaurantwhere they collected the moneyrealized for that day. They wereover 50 in number.

“They went to the refrigerator,brought out the drinks and

One killed, 40 cars destroyed ascult groups clash in Lagos

Journalist’s family escapes deathBy Evelyn Usman& Lucky Nwanekwu

attacked people with the bottles.

Vanguard staff escapesdeath by whiskers

Pieces of glass from Mr.Esekhile, the Vanguard staff'sshattered louvers littered hisliving room and bedroom.

It was gathered that his wifeand baby were lying on a couchclose to the window in the livingroom, when the rampaging cultgroups embarked on thedestruction.

But for divine intervention,the matchet would havereportedly landed on MrsEsekhile or her baby.

When approached, Esekhile,who was too stunned to speak,

only muttered “I thank God thatmembers of my family are aliveto recount the ordeal.”

Five persons arrestedWhen contacted, spokesman

for Lagos State PoliceCommand, Kenneth Nwosu,said five persons had beenarrested in connection with thecrisis.

He said only one person diedin the fracas and not the threemaking the round.

He said: “On Monday night,one Kamoru Hassan wasseriously wounded and diedyesterday morning.

“Orile-Oshodi boys embarkedon reprisal attack this morning

(yesterday)on the suspectedkiller of Kamoru, namedSunday Anajonu.

“Police from Akinpelu swiftlyrescued him and took him tohospital, where he is currentlybeing treated. From our record,only one person was killed.

“Five persons have beenarrested in connection with theincident and are undergoinginterrogation as investigation tounravel the immediate andremote cause of the matter hascommenced immediately.

“Normalcy has been restoredin the area through patrol andsurveillance and further effortsare being made to arrest anyoneconnected with the incident.”

DISORDER: Affected property.

ONITSHA—A combinedteam of soldiers, police

and the Department of StateServices, DSS, officers,yesterday, foiled what wouldhave led to a bloodbath atAmichi in Nnewi South LocalGovernment Area of AnambraState as a group of masqueradesplanned to unleash mayhem onAnglican worshippers duringtheir Sunday outreach at EkeAmichi village square.

The clash ensued, followingEzumezu monthly culturalfestival, which coincided withthe day Anglican Diocese ofAmichi holds its own monthlyoutreach.

According to sources, thebattle line was drawn as irateyouths were seen wieldingdangerous weapons,apparently to attack theChristians, who gathered at thevillage square for the outreach.

The source said this latestonslaught was the third by theyouths, allegedly sponsored byundercover elders andstakeholders to disrupt religiousactivities in the area.

It was also learned that someclerics and other churchworkers had earlier beenattacked and their vehiclesvandalized, while a policeofficer was brutalized andassaulted.

The leader of the masqueradegroup, Mr. Amichi Okonkwo,said they had warned theAnglican Bishop of Amichi, Rt.Rev Ephraim Ikeakor, and theentire Anglican community tosteer clear of the market square,especially on Sundays that fall

on Eke market days.He said they disobeyed the

Bishop because he disobeyedtheir elders, including thetraditional ruler, who the bishopwas accusing of making trouble.

However, Archdeacon andCathedral Administrator, Ven.Chukwuebuka Chukwuemeka,insisted that Sundays that fallon Eke market days were usedby the Anglican Communion asOzioma Okeke, which was notdomiciled at Amichi alone, butcuts across the Niger region.

Anambra traditionalists,Christians in supremacy battle

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

A man (names withheld) hasreportedly died as two

others are in a critical state afterthey were allegedly floggedwith charms by hoodlums at AllProgressives Congress, APC,rally at Oworoshoki in Lagos.

This is contrary to earlierreports that two persons wereallegedly stabbed at the rallyheld on Ifako playground,Oworoshoki, last Monday.

Vanguard gathered thattrouble began towards the endof the rally, when a renownedpolitician allegedly dished outbundles of N1,000 notes tohired thugs.

According to reports, thesharing formula did not gowell with the parties involvedas they reportedly began tounleash terror on one another.

It was also learned that inthe heat of the squabble, oneof the warring parties

allegedly used charms onanother, causing the instant ofthe 33-year-old man.

It was gathered that but forthe timely intervention ofpolice officers fromOworonsonki Division, whostormed the scene, the crisiswould have degeneratedfurther.

However, a locally-madepistol was recovered at thescene after the officers chasedthe hoodlums.

33-yr-old man killed, 2 injured at campaign rally

By Esther Onyegbula

NIS: Familiesof stampedevictimsappeal toJonathan

By GabrielEnogholase

BENIN—TEN monthsafter families of the

victims of March 15, 2014,Nigeria ImmigrationService, NIS, recruitmentstampede were promisedemployment by the FederalGovernment, an appealhas gone to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan fromfamilies in Edo State tofulfill his pledge.

Addressing newsmen inBenin at the premises ofNigeria Union ofJournalists, NUJ, in Beninyesterday, spokesman forthe group, Mr. EdmundOsumah, alleged thatinformation at theirdisposal indicated that thenames of the originalvictims, which weredocumented in thehospitals they were rushedto by officials of the FRSCand NIS, were now beingsubstituted with names ofthose that were not victims.

He said: “Sadly, it is nowover 10 months since Mr.President, in an attempt toremove despair and bringhope to the NIS victimsand their families, issuedthe directive and none ofthe victims from therecruitment disaster hasheard as much as awhimper from the NIS,Ministry of Internal Affairsor the FederalGovernment.”

He lamented thatfamilies of the victimswere still living indespair, pains andtrauma, arising from theway the Presidency washandling the issue.

They lamented that in adecent society, Mr. AbbaMoro, who had earliertaken responsibility forthe incident, ought tohave resigned hisappointment.

CMYK


DEATH WISH ADVERT: Jonathan, PDPdisown Fayose

Say we never wished Buhari deadPDP’s self dissociation not convincing – APCInsists on independent probe of threat on Buhari

By Henry Umoru &Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA — PRESIDENTGoodluck Jonathan and

the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, have distancedthemselves from theadvertisements in somemajor newspapers byGovernor Ayo Fayose of EkitiState, warning against votingfor the APC presidentialcandidate, Major-GeneralMuhammadu Buhari (rtd),because of the possibilitiesthat he would die in officebecause of his age.

Meanwhile, the AllProgressives CongressPresidential CampaignOrganisation, APCPCO,yesterday dismissed thedenial by the PDP as “merelya case of a master dissociatinghimself from the errand boyafter the message hadbackfired.”

Fayose had in thepublications entitled"Enough of state burials,"warned that almost all thepast Presidents from theNorth-West died in the office,adding: “Will thou allowhistory to repeat itself?Enough of state burials,Nigerians vote wisely, voteGoodluck Jonathan, NorthernPresidency should wait till2019.”

Reacting to theadvertisement, yesterday, inAbuja, Director of Media andPublicity of PDP PresidentialCampaign Organisation,Chief Femi Fani-Kayode,noted that the organisationand the party were not insupport of the governor ’sposition on the issue.

Fani-Kayode said:“Governor Ayo Fayose is adistinguished leader of ourparty; a democraticallyelected governor andsomeone we have immenserespect and affection for andhe released this advert in hisown name. That representshis own personal opinionwhich he is entitled to.

“What I can tell you on ourpart is that it does notrepresent the opinion of thePresidential CampaignOrganisation or indeed thePresident. It is his (Fayose’s)opinion, which he is entitledto and he is somebody thatwe have immense respect for.

"He is a leading member ofthe party. I have spoken withhim and we respect him butfor any body to suggest thatthis is the position of thePresidential CampaignOrganisation or PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, that willbe most unfair.

“If we wanted to say

something like that we willsay it without any kind ofapology but of course, wewill never say that becausewe believe in the sanctity oflife. Age is not a function ofhow long you will live.

“It is important that werecognise the fact that ageis not an indication of howlong somebody will live. Webelieve strongly that wemust continue to showimmense respect to theperson of General Buhari.”

He is entitledto his opinion

Fani-Kayode, however,said that he would notdisclaim the advertisementsince Fayose never claimedthat he made his publicationon behalf of either Jonathanor the PDP.

He said: “Fayose neversaid that he was speaking onbehalf of President Jonathanbut for himself and he saidthat he issued it in his name.And I have emphasised that,that is his opinion and he isentitled to it.

“I could only disown if astatement was purportedlymade on our behalf and infairness to him, he neversaid that. What is importantis to emphasise that fact thathis position does notrepresent our position onthis. He is entitled to thatposition, he is a leadingmember of our party.

Questions relating to

Buhari's health

Fani-Kayode, however,insisted that although thePDP never wished the APCpresidential candidatedead, "we will continue toraise questions over issuesrelating to his health."

He further said: “We donot wish him ill, we do notwish him dead, we wishhim long life and we believestrongly that such sentimentcan be aired by individualscertainly not in our name.

“We believe it is importantto always raise questionsabout facts; you know whatthese questions are and wewill continue to raise them.”

PDP’s selfdissociation notconvincing – APC

In rejecting the denial bythe Jonathan Campaign,the APC Campaign saidthat the response on thematter was “too casual andoff-handed to impressanyone. It doesn’t soundconvincing."

It said the party "needs totake this issue moreseriously to underscore itscommitment to thesustenance of Nigeria’sdemocracy and the non-violence pact entered into bythe party and itspresidential candidate.

“It is very irresponsible forthe PDP to want to distanceitself from the death threat

to General Buhari, made by notonly a sitting governor of thePDP but also a high rankingmember of the PDP PresidentialCampaign Committee.

“Just in case the PDP hadforgotten, what was Fani-Kayode thinking in his mindwhen he challenged GeneralBuhari to make a jog round afield? Was it to put him througha body fitness workout or toplant a sniper somewherearound the field?

“Whatever the intention of thePDP was about the health statusof General Buhari, we in theAPC Campaign believe in theexclusivity of the divine role inthe matters of life and death.

“It is not difficult for Nigeriansto discern what the PDP oddintention towards the APC andits presidential candidate is. ThePDP’s uncivilised death plotonly exposes the mindset of theparty and their cohorts.

“That the PDP can place suchnoxious campaign advertorialinto the public domain, in adesperate attempt to promote anincompetent incumbentpresident is tantamount toPDP’s tradition of violence andvictimization as well as aneloquent commentary on howPresident Goodluck Jonathanruns his administration.”

The Campaign Organisation,however, restated its request foran independent investigationinto the PDP threat againstGeneral Buhari to ensure hissafety and free and fair electionon February 14.

New accordneededwith techfirms tostopterrorism—Ex-UK spychief

LAGOS —INTELLIGENCE

agencies and technologycompanies need to reacha new agreement ondata-sharing to preventattacks like those inParis earlier this monthbecoming commonplace,the former head ofBritain’s foreignintelligence service saidon Tuesday.

John Sawers, speakingin public for the first timesince leaving the SecretIntelligence Service,SIS, in November, saidtrust betweengovernments andtechnology companieshad been shattered andneeded to be rebuilt.

“There needs to besome new compactbetween the technologycompanies and thosewho are responsible forsecurity if we’re not tosee events like we sawin Paris last week ...becoming more andmore features of ourlives,” Sawers said, alsociting recent securityincidents in Yemen andNigeria.

He blamed revelationsby Edward Snowden,the former US spyagency contractor whodisclosed details of theextent of surveillanceand electronicmonitoring by the USand Britain, for thebreakdown in trust.

The call for greatermonitoring of onlinecommunications carriedout through companieslike Facebook and Twitteris a familiar one fromintelligence officials.

On Sunday, a formerhead of the domesticintelligence service saidBritain’s anti-terror lawswere “not designed forthe current digitalworld” and no longer fitfor purpose.

The issue has taken ongreater politicalsignificance followingattacks by Islamistgunmen in Paris whichkilled 17 people. Britainis on its second-highestthreat level, meaning anattack is consideredhighly likely.

VISIT: The Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Osun StateCommand, Alhaji Tajudeen Balogun, presenting a gift to the Ooni of Ife, Oba OkunadeSijuwade during a courtesy call on the monarch in his palace.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 —9

N750M BRIBE: EFCC goes after PDP NWCmembers Places suspects under close watch

N100m traced to Delta bizman’s account

By Soni Daniel,Regional Editor, North

ABUJA — INDICATIONSemerged last night that

several top-ranking members ofthe ruling Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, might soon bedragged to court for allegedlydemanding and collecting N750million from a governoshipaspirant in Delta State, Mr.Ndudi Elumelu.

The PDP top officials, who aremembers of the PDP NationalWorking Committee, NWC, werenamed by the prime suspect, Mr.Dumebi Kachikwu, who wasarrested and detained for fivedays by the operatives of theEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, for his rolein the crime.

Before he was admitted to baillast week, Kachikwu, who is aformer son-in-law to the formerAviation Minister, Kema Chikweand Women Leader of the PDP,had made what a top source inEFCC called "very usefulinformation" on how the moneywas received and shared to the"beneficiaries."

Further findings by Vanguardrevealed that N100 million of theN750 million given by Elumeluhad been traced to a topbusinessman in Delta State, whowas also mentioned by thesuspect.

EFCC confirmed, yesterday,that its operatives had sincearrested and grilled the Deltabusinessman and brought him toits Abuja office for questioninghaving traced N100 million of themoney to his account.

2 PDP NWC membersunder close watch

An impeccable source in EFCCconfirmed to Vanguard that twomembers of the PDP NWC, whowere named by the prime suspectin the bribery saga, were beingkept under close watch andmight soon be arrested forquestioning.

The source explained that thetwo NWC members were beingclosely monitored to ensure thatthey do not escape from thecountry.

The EFCC source said thecommission would leave nostone unturned in bringing thosenamed in the scandal to book inresponse to the challenge by thePDP leadership to thecommission to name the suspectsand charge them to court.

The source said: “We haveaccepted the PDP challenge andwe are going all out to ensurethat all those who shared theN750 million bribe will be dulyexposed and prosecuted to serveas a deterrent no matter theirpositions in this country."

The source confirmed thatEFCC operatives were workingassiduously to wrap upinvestigations on the suspectsbefore pressing charges againstthem.

It was, however, learnt that theman, who reportedly gave themoney-for-ticket bribe, andHouse Health Committee

Chairman, Ndudi Elumelu, wasmore interested in recovering hismoney than in prosecuting thesuspects.

It was further gathered that thedelay in proceeding withprosecution might not be

unconnected with the forcesbehind the crime and theongoing campaigns for nextmonth’s polls.

Elumelu had petitioned theEFCC, asking it to move in andrecover the huge sum from

Kachikwu, who had demandedand collected the sum with apromise to use it and influencetop ranking Wadatta Housemembers in securing the PDPgovernorship ticket for him.

He lamented that having given

LAUNCHING: From left: Group Managing Director/CEO, Vlisco, Mr Hans Ouwendijk;Minister of Trade and Investments, Dr. Olusegun Aganga and President, ManufacturersAssociation of Nigeria, MAN, Frank Jacobs during the official launch of National Cotton,Textile and Garment Policy in Abuja, yesterday.

CBN sticks with 13% MPR, as Emefiele warnsspeculators

the suspect the money, he failedto secure the Delta Stategovernorship ticket for him anddid not also refund the hugeamount to him, making him tosuffer double jeopardy in theprocess.

Says no devaluation of Naira for nowFG not reviewing oil benchmarkBy Emma Ujah & Emma

Elebeke

ABUJA — THE MonetaryPolicy Committee rose

from its first meeting in theyear, in Abuja, yesterday, witha decision to retain theMonetary Policy Rate, MPR, atthe current 13 per cent, theCash Reserve Ratio, CRR, onPrivate and Public deposits at20 per cent and 75 per centrespectively.

The Governor of the CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr.Godwin Emefiele, who briefedthe press on the decisions ofthe committee, also announcedthat the liquidity ratio was alsoretained at 30 per cent.

While saying that his teamwas closely monitoringdevelopments in the moneymarket, Emefiele said it wasparamount to defend theexternal reserve and the Nairaat the foreign exchangemarket.

According to him, “anybodythat needed to do business inthe country will be allowed todo so but for only legitimatepurposes,” but warned: “Wewill not tolerate speculativeattacks on the devaluation. Wehave a mandate to ensure thattransaction activities takingplace in the market are only forlegitimate transactions.

“We have also made it veryclear that we are monitoringthe market to the extent thatwe feel that the inter-bankmarket will continue to supporttrading activities of bothNigerians and foreigninvestors.

“And at any point, where wediscover that the market isunable to absorb or to providethe liquidity that is needed, theCBN will come up to intervenein the market, to provide theliquidity that is needed fortransaction to go on forlegitimate transaction.

JP Morgan IndexOn JP Morgan’s negative

watch on Nigeria, Emefielesaid the bank would doeverything necessary to remainon the index.

He said: “We are looking atit and are ready to provide thenumber and increase the levelof liquidity required in the

market. I am very optimisticthat the JP Morgan will seereasons with us.

“We are committed toremaining on the index. Wewill do everything possibleto remain on the indexbecause we know what thedeparture will cause thecountry.”

No furtherdevaluation for now

Asked if the CBN wasplanning further devaluationof the Naira, he said: “Wecannot comment on thatnow, whether or not therewould be devaluation. It isagain, an issue that will besubjected to review from timeto time.

“At this time, the naira isappropriately priced andthere is no need for anybodyto worry about devaluation.At this time, the currency isappropriately priced."

On the widening gapbetween the officialexchange rate and that of theBureau de Change segmentof the foreign exchangemarket, the governor saidthe CBN was doing its bestto bridge the gap.

His words: “We willcontinue to ensure thatexchange rate does not spiralout of control. That is why weare watching it and at theappropriate time, certainactions will be taken.”

According to the governor,the nation’s gross officialexternal reserves as atDecember 31, 2014 stood at$34.25 billion compared with$42.85 billion at thecorresponding period of 2013.

The decrease in thereserves level, according tohim, was driven largely byincreased funding of theforeign exchange marketinterventions to stabilise theexchange rate in the face ofdecline in reserve accretion.

The country ’s externalreserves as at end-December2014 could finance 7.44months of imports.

FG not reviewing2015 oil benchmark

Meanwhile, the FederalGovernment has insisted thatit would not review the $65 perbarrel in the 2015 benchmark.

Reacting to enquiries on theposition of the FederalGovernment on thebenchmark, given the

persistent fall in oil prices,Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu,Special Adviser to theCoordinating Minister forthe Economy and Minister ofFinance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the price wasstill too volatile for such areview and that the scenario-based approach to thebudget was capable ofhandling the situation.

His words: “We are notreviewing the budgetbenchmark price at themoment. The price of oil isstill quite volatile and we donot know how it will bottomout.

“We are taking a scenario-based approach in handlingthe 2015 Budget. That meansthat for various levels of oilprice, we have additionalmeasures both on therevenue and expenditureside, which will kick in whenit bottoms out.

“The Medium TermExpenditure Framework,MTEF, is currently at theNational Assembly. We havebeen working together withour lawmakers to ensure thatwe steer the country in theright direction during thisperiod.”

10— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

Don't alter Nigerians' wish, Oba of Lagostells INEC As printers complain of low patronage

PPC Ipaja holdsprogramme

‘APC has nolink withMuslimBrotherhood'

By Monsur Olowoopejo

Jonathan, business leaders parley in Lagos

LAGOS—THE Oba of Lagos,Rilwanu Akiolu, yesterday

urged the Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC, notto alter the wish of Nigerians atthe February elections.

Akiolu made the appeal inLagos.

He said that INEC should nottolerate rigging or any otherelectoral malpractice to ensure free,fair and credible polls that woulddeepen Nigeria’s democracy.

The monarch tasked thecommission to ensure that alleligible voters would get their cardsbefore the elections.

He assured INEC of the supportof the traditional institution in thestate toward credible generalelections.

Akiolu regretted the insurgencyin some parts of the country buthoped that it would soon end.

“I know that our military was notequipped in the past the way itshould, but everybody has learntfrom his mistakes,” the royal fathersaid.

Printers disappointed overlow patronage

Meantime, the Association ofProfessional Printers of Nigeria,yesterday, in Lagos, expresseddisappointment over the lowpatronage of their services in the2015 electioneering campaigns.

The printers said the trend wasvery poor when compared with thatof the 2011 electioneeringcampaigns.

The Vice Chairman of the LagosState chapter of the association, Mr

Olu Adefowope, said that thetrend had kept most printersguessing, with just a few weeksto the end of campaigns.

“We thought theelectioneering period will begood for business but thereverse is the case. Most of usare yet to be patronized and weare wondering why.

“We see flyers, handbills,posters, flood Lagos and otherstates in the country but we don’t

know where the jobs are beingdone,” Adefowope said.

According to him, it seemssome politicians have theirprinting presses or go to theirassociates who have unlicensedprinting presses.

“In fact, we have been fightingagainst this act of patronizingunlicensed printers.

“It is stipulated in theChartered Institute ofProfessional Printers of Nigeria

that no individual, partnership orgroup should practice printingwithout being licensed.

“Most of these people areviolating this law because we areyet to put the right machinery inplace,” he said.

Adefowope, who is also theChairman of the Somolu Divisionof the association, added thatsome politicians go as far asprinting their campaign materialsoutside the country.

LAGOS—A forum of businessleaders in Nigeria under the

platform of Corporate Forum hasconcluded plans to interact withPresident Goodluck Jonathanon diverse issues of nationalinterest ahead of thePresidential polls.

The forum disclosed the planin a statement, noting that theinteractive session was basicallyarranged to interact with thepresident on the success of hisadministration since 2011.

By Providence Obuh

LAGOS—IN continuationof its 21 days fasting

and prayer programme,Power Pentecostal Church,PPC, Ipaja parish will behosting the PresidingBishop of the mission,Bishop Bola Odeleke, onFriday, January 23 at thechurch auditorium, 16,Alhaji Sule Street, besidesMighty Oaks School, Ipaja.

She will be ministeringfrom 5.00pm

L A G O S — C L A I M Spublished online that

the All ProgressivesCongress, APC, is aMuslim Brotherhoodmember has been debunkedby a group in support of Gen.Muhamadu Buhari’scandidacy.

Speaking in Lagos, LagosState Coordinator of the bodyknown as Buhari Vanguard,Mr. Pade Ojoodide, describethe claim as malicious and inbad taste.

Ojoodide said that themessage is intended to poisonthe minds of Nigerians andthat it is encumbered with thespirit of error, saying, “Themessage going round both onthe internet, video andmagazine that the APC has alink with the MuslimBrotherhood is a fallacy.

“It is dangerous to steer upChristians against their fellowNigerians who are Muslims.

“Claiming that APC hassympathy for the MuslimBrotherhood is heresybecause the APC chairman,John Oyegun is a Christianlike several others in the party.What they are trying to sell tothe Christendom can best bedescribed as poison.

“Buhari is a man of integritythat was not corrupt when hewas head of state and eventill date, within 20 months ofhis leadership there was aturnaround, currency waschanged within two weeksand people who stockedcapital in their housessuffered for it.

“During his tenure, therewas discipline, as Head ofState, he worked his talk. Ifhe has not Islamised thecountry then, is it now that weare in the era of democracythat such things wouldhappen.’’

Group throws weight behindAmbode

LAGOS—A GROUP under theplatform of Lagos Vanguard

Group, has thrown its weightbehind the governorship candidateof the All Progressives Congress,APC, Mr Akinwumi Ambode,saying he has people friendlyagenda for the people of Lagos.

Convener of the group, MrRotimi Martins said that havingcarefully studied the manifestos ofthe governorship candidates inLagos State, it decided to supportAmbode’s ambition.

Pledging to work for Ambode’svictory in the February 28governorship election, Martinssaid: “The Lagos VanguardGroup has scrutinized all thecandidates presented by variouspolitical parties, we have lookedat their manifestoes to see howLagosians will reap thedividends of democracy.

"Our conclusion is that MrAkinwunmi Ambode has themost impressive and peoplefriendly agenda for the commonpeople of Lagos State."

LAGOS—A formerstalwart of the Peoples’

Democratic Party, PDP, in Eti-Osa Local Government Area ofLagos State, Prince IbrahimOdofin, who decamped to theAll Progressives Congress hasurged the people in the area tovote for the All ProgressivesCongress, APC, Presidentialcandidate, MuhammaduBuhari and his running mate,Professor Yemi Osinbajo, inFebruary 14 presidential poll.

Odofin, who is the Presidentof Ojomu Youth Forum and also

PDP stalwart defects to APC,urges support for Buhari

By Onozure Dania

The statement explainedthe significance of theinteractive session with thepresident, which it said, wasarranged to promote robustdiscussion with theorganised private sector,OPS, captains of industriesand professional groups.

It added that the sessionwith the president will holdon Sunday, January 25, atEko Hotels and Suites,Victoria Island axis. It wouldfeature comprehensivepresentation on Jonathan’s

meaningful session with formerPresident Olusegun Obasanjo in1999; interacted with formerPresident Umaru Yar’Adua in2007 and discussed with PresidentJonathan in 2011 on diversematters of socio-economicinterest.

According to the statement,there will be a dinner with thepresident immediately after theinteractive session.

a security expert advised mem-bers of the communities to showmassive support for Buhari in thepresidential election as he hadsince discovered that the PDP-led government “is anti-massesand selfish.”

Speaking at a meeting with theleaders of all the ethnic groupsin the area as well as commercialmotorcyclists, popularly known asOkada riders and tricycleoperators, Odofin said that as acommunity leader, his meetingwith them was to formallyannounce his membership of theAPC.

BRIEFING: From left: Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Lagos State deputy governor,Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos and Chairman, General Muhammadu Buhari andProf. Yemi Osinbajo campaign fund raising committee, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, APCgovernorship candidate in Lagos State, Otunba Henry Ajomole, Chairman, APC Lagos,and Mr. Bola Ayobode, member of committee, during the briefing to unveil the AllProgressives Congress, APC, platforms for GMB/PYO campaign fund drive in Lagos,yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

achievement in the past fiveyears.

It added that the forum “hasa tradition of organisinginteractive session with thepresident since Nigeria’sdemocratic transition with a viewto promoting a culture ofmeaningful engagementbetween the business andpolitical class.”

It stated that the forum held a


By Leke Adeseri, SouthWest Regional Editor &

Ikechukwu Nnochiri

Fayose under fire over anti-Buhariadvert

Customs officersreceive marinetraining in Oron

Ado-Ekiti Polyshut overstudents unrest

Why I want to unseat Amosun, by UPNcandidate

It's my personal opinion, not a death wish for Buhari

....As Isiaka pledges functional LGs if elected

By Gbenga Ariyibi

ABUJA—A coalition of 60Civil Society Organisations,

CSOs, in Nigeria, yesterday,berated Governor AyodeleFayose of Ekiti State forsponsoring an advertisementthey said suggested that thepresidential candidate of the AllProgressive Congress, APC,Major-General MuhammadBuhari (retd), will die in office ifelected next month.

The group, under the aegis ofthe Nigeria Civil SocietySituation Room , in a statementissued in Abuja yesterday,maintained that GovernorFayose’s advertisement was in“extreme bad taste,” saying it fellwithin the category of hatespeech prohibited under theElectoral Act and other knowninternational laws that forbade thepublication of hate speech.

It noted that the said advertwas published on the front pageof select newspapers on MondayJanuary 19, with the bannerheadline, “Nigerians BeWarned.”

According to the group; “Theadvertisement negates the AbujaAccord recently signed by thepresidential candidates andleaders of political parties for theelections.”

Consequently, it urgedpoliticians to be cautious in theircampaign and conduct ahead ofthe February polls so as to allowpeace to reign in the country.

It’s my personal opinion,not a death wish for Buhari– Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Mr PeterAyodele Fayose, has reacted tocomments that trailed theadvertorial he caused to bepublished on Monday, saying itwas his personal opinion as acitizen of this country and notopinion of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, and thathe stood by it.

He also said he had noapology over the publication asit contained facts.

Fayose, who stated thisthrough his Chief PressSecretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, inAdo Ekiti, yesterday, said thetruth could never be coveredindefinitely, insisting that the AllProgressives Congress, APC,Presidential Candidate, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari, was tooold and sick to be president ofthe country.

The governor asserted: “ I wishto refer to the late PresidentUmaru Musa Yar' Adua whoformer President OlusegunObasanjo claimed was hale andhearty to lead this country andsubsequently took ill and died.

“I must assure all those whohave expressed genuineconcerns, unlike the APC that isplaying cheap politics over theissue -that my intention is not adeath wish to General Buhari buta factual position that APC iscovering.

“My consideration for theadvertorial in the midst of allegedill-health of the late president isthe need for the nation not to forgetthe crisis we were thrown into in2010 but saved by the NationalAssembly which had to invokedthe Doctrine of Necessity afterprotests by the Save NigeriaGroup, SNG.

“It is in defence of fairness that Icalled attention to the potentialcrisis we may face, God forbid that

the health of the general becomesa hindrance if he was presidentand his Vice who is from theSouth West would have to stepinto the saddle not too long afterObasanjo's eight years in office.

“ I wish to draw attention to thelead story in a nationalnewspaper ( not Vanguard) ofJanuary 18, 2015, entitled,"Buhari’s planned visit to UScauses furore.

“The story revealed thatarrangement had beenconcluded to fly Buhari to US fora medical check up. That Buharihas been stressed from effects ofthe rigours of presidentialcampaigns across the countryand he is definitely in need ofmedical attention, adding that

age was a factor as rigours ofthe campaign was getting athim”.

Fayose, therefore, advisedBuhari to be sincere with himselfand step down for a youngerand more vibrantperson..again,I say it thatBuhari is too old and spent tolead Nigeria.

The governor added; “Thehealth of all of us who havestepped into the leadershipspace is nothing personal to usany more as it has implicationson the polity.”

Fayose said he was certain thattime will vindicate him, callingon all Nigerians to vote en-massfor the vibrant and energeticPresident Jonathan to avoid arepeat of history

By Daud Olatunji

A B E O K U T A — T H Egovernorship candidate of

Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN,Prince Rotimi Paseda yesterday,promised to implement freehealthcare programme andprovide social security for thesenior citizens in Ogun State ifelected governor at the Februaryelection.

Paseda said he desired tounseat the incumbent governor,

Senator Ibikunle Amosun in thecoming governorship election soas to implement Awolowolegacies on education, health andothers.

Paseda stated this, yesterday,at the UPN party secretariat,Onikolobo in Abeokuta shortlyafter he received the party flagfrom the interim nationalchairman of the party Dr. ManzoAbubakar.

He said that apart from making

education free at all levels in thestate which he promised toannounce during his inauguralspeech, he also pledged todevote special attention to thewelfare of the aged.

The United Kingdom-basedbusiness said he would set asidespecial fund in form of socialsecurity as it is done indeveloped nations where thosewho have laboured to developthe land would have a befittingold age.

ABEOKUTA—THE OgunState governorship candidate

of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiakahas promised to allow localgovernments to operate asstipulated by the 1999Constitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria if elected intooffice.

He, however, berated thegovernment of Senator IbikunleAmosun for stifling that tier ofgovernment and making themineffective to carry out theirconstitutional responsibilities asthe closest tier of government tothe people.

Isiaka said this while fieldingquestions from the panelists

during the gubernatorial debateorganised by the Committee ForDefence of Human Rights,CDHR, in Abeokuta yesterdaywhere six candidatesparticipated.

Governor Amosun wasconspicuously absent at the gatheringwhere candidates were asked variousquestions on their agenda for the state.

By Godwin Oritse

ORON—THE CustomsArea Controller, Western

Marine Command, Mr YusufUmar, yesterday, said thatsome of its officers would soonproceed to the MaritimeAcademy of Nigeria, MAN,Oron, Akwa Ibom, on marinetraining during the firstquarter of the year.

Umar made the disclosurein Lagos.

According to him, "weintend to send some of ourofficers to Oron, where theywill undergo some training interms of our activities in themaritime industry.

“The officers will learneverything that has to do withmarine operations,” he said.

ADO EKITI—THEmanagement of the

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti has announced theclosure of the institutionfollowing series of protestsembarked upon by thestudents

The three trade unions inthe school had been atloggerhead with the Rector ofthe institution,Dr. TeresaAkande over unresolvedissues which has to do withthe welfare of the workers

In a press statement issuedin Ado Ekiti yesterday by thePrincipal Assistant Registrar(Information), Ade Adejoluthe management ordered allstudents to leave their halls ofresidence latest by noon onTuesday (yesterday).

CAMPAIGN: Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun interacting with well-wishersand party supporters at Oja-Odan, during his re-election campaign in Yewa North LocalGovernment Area. Photo: Wunmi Akinola.


Oshiomhole slams FG’s employment policy

UPU neverendorsed onlyPDP, APC,Delta LPinsists

Suspected ex-militants warn First Lady againstattending presidential rally in Bayelsa

By Samuel Oyadongha

YENAGOA—YOUTHSsuspected to be ex-

militants from the creeks ofBayelsa State, yesterday,warned Dame Patience, wife ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan,against accompanying herhusband to the presidentialrally of the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, scheduled to holdin the state on February 5.

The warning followed asimilar one by a group whichcalled itself, Bayelsa YouthVanguard, BYV, barring theFirst Lady from attending theproposed rally.

The ex-militant youths,under the aegis of theMangrove Boys of Bayelsa,MBB, asked Mrs. Jonathan tosteer clear of the rally over heralleged involvement in analleged plot to embarrass thestate governor, Mr. SeriakeDickson, during theforthcoming presidential rallyin the state.

Meanwhile, a coalition ofseven youth groups from thestate, reacting to the threat,declared their readiness torally round Dame Patience andwarned trouble makers to steerclear of the PDP presidentialrally.

The youths, under the aegisof the Jonathan YouthVanguard, JOY 2015, vowed touse “all means possible” to

deal with anti-Patienceelements, who had threatenedto disrupt the proposed rallyif the First Lady accompaniedher husband to the state.

JOY 2015 said: “We haveconcluded plans to mobilise10,000 youths to attend therally and provide maximumsecurity for Dame Patience.”

Speaking on behalf of thecoalition, the state CoordinatorJOY 2015, Mr. Daniel Etai,

said it will be suicidal foranybody to think of preventingthe First Lady from coming tothe state, adding: “Theauthentic youths and students’leaders from the state areeagerly waiting to welcomethe First Lady to the state. Wecommend Governor Dicksonfor his giant strides in the state.The youths will queue behindthe governor to accord DamePatience a deserving

reception.”The anti-Patience group, in

a statement by its president,Mr. Opuyo Engobara, accusedthe First Lady of aiding heranointed governorshipcandidate, Mr. WaripamoweiDudafa to recruit youths toembarrass Governor Dickson,at the proposed rally.

It lamented the President’ssilence over the allegedexcesses of his wife.

Delta Speakervows todeliverOshimili South

By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN—GOVERNORAdams Oshiomhole of

Edo State has attacked theFederal Government’semployment policy, accusingthe government of deceit andfleecing unemployed Nigerianyouths of over N800 million inthe name of employment.

Speaking at a rally of the AllProgressives Congress, APC,in Agenebode, Fugar and Jattu

in Etsako Local GovernmentAreas of the state, Oshiomholesaid the Federal Government’sclaim of creating three millionjobs was false as nobody canpoint to any of his relations soemployed by the FederalGovernment.

He said the Jonathanadministration was full ofdeceit, as it only says things itwould never deliver on.

According to Oshiomhole,even after the PDP-led Federal

Government spent over $30billion on power, Nigeriansstill live in darkness; and afterpromising the people theconstruction of a second NigerBridge, nothing is on groundto justify the huge sums ofmoney so far pumped into theproject.

He said: “They claim to havecreated three million jobs.Among you people here, howmany of your brothers havegot Federal Government jobs.Over the years, governmentemployment is done based onrules.”

...says youths fleeced of N800m

SPEAKER of DeltaState House of

Assembly, Mr. PeterOnwusanya, has assuredthat Oshimili South LocalGovernment Area will votefor Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, and record thehighest votes in all theelections scheduled forFebruary.

The Speaker gave theassurance when hereceived more than 300members of Oshimili SouthProgressive Union,OSPUN, at his constituencyoffice in Asaba, yesterday.

He said that the arearegistered more than120,000 voters and wouldmobilize the people toensure that the area records100 percent vote.

Onwusanya, whorepresents Oshimili Southconstituency in the stateHouse of Assembly, addedthat the emergence of DrIfeanyi Okowa asgovernorship candidate ofPDP was a blessing to thepeople of Delta North.

No party canshake PDP inC-River—IMOKE

By Emma Una

OGOJA—SENATORLiyel Imoke of

Cross River State,yesterday, said that thePeoples Democratic Party,PDP, will win all electivepositions in the state,despite the strongshowing of the AllProgressives Congress,APC and Labour Party inthe state.

Senator Imoke, inOgoja, Cross River Northsenatorial district, whileflagging off the PDPcampaign rally for theFebruary elections, saidthe party has presentedgenuine and credibleyoung men and womenon whom the future of thestate and the country lieand as such, the partywould stop at nothing toensure their victory at thepolls.

He said: “The people ofOgoja should be gratefulthat the governor iscoming from here thistime around and we havepresented young menand women with capacity,so we must ensure theirvictory in the elections.”

DELTA State LabourParty Secretary,

Chief Lance Orhierho,has faulted reports thatUPU had endorsed onlythe Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP and AllProgressives Congress,APC, as the only partieson which any Delta Stategovernorship candidateof Urhobo origin couldbe supported.

Speaking on whattranspired at the UrhoboCultural Centre, heexplained that theagreement reached bythe various stakeholderswhich includedtraditional rulers, clerics,the president generals,the UPU executive andrepresentatives ofvarious interest groupswas that Urhobo nationwould throw her weightbehind qualified sons ordaughters of Urhoboextraction that were ableto secure their parties'tickets.

VISIT: Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State (left) and HRH George Omoaze I,Okumagbe of Weppa Wanno, during the governor's visit to introduce the All ProgressivesCongress, APC, candidates in the forthcoming elections to the royal father.

Don't alter wishes of Nigerians, Oba Akiolu urgesINEC

LAGOS—THE Oba ofLagos, Oba Rilwanu

Akiolu, yesterday, urged theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC,not to alter the wish ofNigerians at the Februaryelections.

Akiolu, who made theappeal in Lagos, said thatINEC should not toleraterigging or any other form of

electoral malpractice to ensurefree, fair and credible polls thatwould deepen Nigeria’sdemocracy.

The monarch tasked thecommission to ensure that alleligible voters get theirPermanent Voters Cards,PVCs, before the elections.

He assured INEC of thesupport of the traditionalinstitution in the state toward

credible general elections.Akiolu regretted the

insurgency in some parts ofthe country but hoped that itwould soon end.

“I know that our military wasnot equipped in the past theway it should be, buteverybody has learnt from hismistakes,” the royal fathersaid.


Itsekiri group urges Jonathan to perform EPZgroundbreaking

By Emma Amaize

Okpe Unionflays UPUsanctions onUrhobopoliticians

Jonathan'll use Amasieamaka Stadium forpresidential rally —WIKE

WARRI—THE WarriStudy Group, WSG,

Warri, Delta State, yesterday,called on President GoodluckJonathan to perform theground-breaking ceremony ofthe multi-billion dollar ExportProcessing Zone, EPZ, projectat Ogidigben, Warri South-West Local Government Areaof the state without delay, tocreate employment forthousands of Nigerian youths.

WSG, in a statement by itsChairman, Mr. EdwardEkpoko, said there was noconnection between thegroundbreaking of the EPZand the proposed GbaramatuDeep Seaport project.

He said: “There has been alot of misinformation or lack ofproper understanding of theOgidigben EPZ project goingby what some people havesaid in recent times in themedia. There is no nexusbetween the ground-breakingof the EPZ, thrice postponed,and the proposed GbaramatuDeep Seaport project whosepreliminaries are yet to begin.

“The project site for theOgidigben EPZ has long beenacquired and preliminaryworks are in progress. For the

Gbaramatu Deep SeaportProject, no land has beenacquired. While the EPZ is aproject of the NigerianNational PetroleumCorporation, NNPC, the DeepSeaport project is that of theNigerian Ports Authority, adifferent organisation.

“The Maritime Universityand the Dockyard in

Okerenkoko are projects ofNigerian MaritimeAdministration and SafetyAgency, NIMASA and werenot tied to the Ogidigben EPZwhich made the President tocommission the projects atOkerenkoko even though atthat time the Ogidigben EPZwas ripe for the ground-breaking.

“The reason given was thatthe two projects are beinghandled by two differentinstitutions and since NNPCwas not ready at the time Mr.President came toOkerenkoko. It was only theground-breaking ceremony ofthe Dockyard and theMaritime University that wasperformed,” he added.

THE Okpe Union, anapex body of the

Okpe people at homeand in the Diaspora, hasfrowned at the sanctionsimposed on someUrhobo politicians whoaligned with politiciansfrom Delta Northsenatorial zone and nottowing the line of UrhoboProgress Union, UPU,directives on the Urhobogovernorship project inthe February polls in thestate as amplified by theUvwiamuge declaration.

Addressing newsmenin Lagos on a recentmedia report, thePresident General ofOkpe Union, Mr. PatrickAkpotor, said that thebody did not agree withthe UPU on some of thereasons for imposingsanctions on those itconsidered obdurate andrecalcitrant to itsdirectives.

RIVERS State PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,

governorship candidate, MrNyesom Wike, has said thatthe PDP PresidentialCampaign Rally in RiversState will hold at theAmasieamaka stadium onJanuary 28 contrary to claimsby the state governor, Mr.Rotimi Amaechi.

Wike said that the stadiumbelongs to Rivers people andPresident Jonathan will use itfor his campaign rally.

The former Minister of Statefor Education spoke in PortHarcourt, yesterday, during ameeting with Goodluck toGoodluck Political pressuregroup.

He said: “The PDP

Presidential Rally will hold atthe Amasieamaka Stadium onJanuary 28. The APC held itspresidential campaign rallyon January 6, and an earlierrally on October 25, 2014 at thesame stadium.

“Our presidential rally willhold at that stadium becauseit belongs to the people. Weare working with allstakeholders to ensure thatthe right thing is done to movethe nation forward. We arecommitted to the peaceful useof the stadium for ourpresidential campaign.”

He urged members of theGoodluck to Goodluck PoliticalGroup to continue with theirmassive mobilization for there-election of President

Jonathan.In his remarks, Legal

Adviser of Goodluck toGoodluck Political Group, said:“We are working for theemergence of PresidentJonathan and Wike.”

Also, yesterday, Wikeinaugurated the committeethat will organise thePresidential Campaign Rallyin Rivers State.

He charged the committeesto work selflessly to set thetone for Jonathan's re-election.

Responding on behalf ofcommittee members, RiversState PDP Chairman, Mr. FelixObuah, assured that themembers will deliver anoutstanding presidential rallyin the state.

HRM, Ovie Richard Ogbon, Ogoni-Oghoro I, the Ohworode of Olomu,cutting his 98th birthday cake, supported by some of his children andmembers of the Olomu Traditional Council of Chiefs.

Emerhor flags off Delta APC campaign today

HRM, Ovie Richard Ogbon, Ogoni-Oghoro I, the Ohworode of Olomu, somemembers of the Olomu Traditional Council of Chiefs and children of themonarch during the special thanksgiving service marking his 98th birthdayand 27th coronation anniversary, yesterday. Photos: Akpokona Omaafuaire.

BRIEFING: Delta PDP governorship candidate, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa briefingleadership of Delta NUJ on his five points agenda, in Asaba. Photo: AkpokonaOmafuaire.

ALL ProgressivesCongress, APC and

its governorshipcandidate in Delta State,Olorogun O’tegaEmerhor, will flag off theparty's campaign rallytoday, in Agbor, DeltaState.

The event is expected toattract over 300,000 partyfaithful, supporters,elders, leaders of the APCand members of thegeneral public.

Director of Media andPolitical Communication,Dr. Fred Oghenesivbe, ina statement, said thatthe choice of Agbor wasas a result of the supportand followership for theAPC and itsgovernorship candidateby the good people ofDelta North senatorialdistrict, which has inrecent times surprisedthe opposition, whohitherto thought that the

APC had no politicalweight in the Aniomanation.

He said that the Agbormega rally will be secondto none in governorshipflag off events as planshad been concluded tohost the enthusiasticAPC supporters as wellas treat them to a politicaljamboree, a gathering ofpolitical eagles desirousof socio-economic andpolitical change in DeltaState.

CMYK


PRESIDENT GOODLUCKJonathan yesterday took hiscampaign for re-election toZamfara and Katsina States,reminding supporters of hisachievements in the last four

years with promises to boostinfrastructure in the two states.

While President Jonathanpulled away from criticising hisrival, Muhammadu Buhari of theAll Progressives Congress, APC,many in his entourage were notso restrained. His campaignmanager and former national

chairman of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, Col.Ahmadu Ali rained tirades onBuhari who he said committedatrocities in the past, includingdrugging and preparing to crateDr. Umaru Dikko from Englandto Nigeria.

Others who were on thecampaign train included Vice-

President Namadi Sambo,national chairman of the PDP,Alhaji Adamu Mu‘azu and theDefence Minister, General AliyuGusau.

The president who made hisfirst stop in Zamfara which hedescribed as his second homeafter Bayelsa said: “I considerZamfara State as my state.Whenever I come to the state, youtake me as one of you. Theunique thing about this state andmine is that they were bothcreated the same day by late GenSani Abacha, rtd. The two stateshave the same challenges ofinfrastructure and youthunemployment, challenges ofimproving agriculture andfishing. That is why I am alwaysat home whenever I come. Please,I will work with you and yourincoming governor to develop thestate. I will work with your ministerto make sure that we develop thisstate. That is why we areemphasising on agriculture thatZamfara is known for. We will fixthe Bakolori dam for irrigation.”

AIG Mbu takes charge of Lagos, Ogunas Police move 26 officers

By Kingsley Omonobi

ABUJA — AHEAD of the2015 general elections

which would kick off onFebruary 14, the Police HighCommand has redeployed Mr.Mbu Joseph Mbu to Lagos asthe AIG in charge of Zone 2,comprising Lagos and Ogunstates.

Mbu was former AIG Zone 7,Abuja, and also formerCommissioner of Police incharge Rivers State; FederalCapital Territory and CP incharge of Mobile Police,MOPOL.

In a swift reaction, spokes-person for the APC in Lagos,

Mr. Joe Igbokwe, kicked againstthe move, saying: “Mbu mustunderstand clearly that this isLagos. Since Lagos was createdin 1967, it has been in the handsof progressives. It is not Riversor Abuja. This is a special statewhere the best minds live. Theis the city of civil societies and themedia. We know his antecedentsand if he brings his unbecomingbehaviour to Lagos, we will retirehim from the Police.

Also affected by the re-deployment are Mr. TundeOgunshakin, formerly AIG incharge of Training, nowredeployed as AIG in chargeZone 6, Calabar, comprisingRivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross

Rivers states, while AIG TambariMohammed takes charge of Zone1, Kano.

AIG Musa Daura takes chargeof Zone 5, Benin, comprisingEdo, Delta and Bayelsa states,while AIG Adenrele Shinaba,formerly CP, Kano is now AIG,Zone 4, Makurdi; AIGMohammed J. Abubakar is theAIG in charge Zone 3, Yola. AIG Patrick D. Dokumor, formerlya directing officer at NIPSS, Jos,is new AIG, Zone 7, Abuja.

Christopher T. Dega now headsZone 8, Lokoja; Usman AkilaGwarry is AIG heads Zone 9,Umuahia; Bala A. Hassan is nowAIG Zone 10 Sokoto; whileIkemefuna Okoye is AIG Zone

11, Osogbo. Mohammed J.Gana is AIG Zone 12, Bauchi,while Sule Mamman is AIG ForceHQ.

Other AIGs are Adisa B.Bolanta, Commandant, PoliceAcademy, Kano; Edgar TamNanakumo, Force AnimalBranch; Sabo Ringim Ibrahim,Border Patrol; Wilfred Eje Obute,Armaments, FHQ Abuja; KalafiteHelen Adeyemi is AIG Maritime,FHQ; Ibrahim M. Maishanu isAIG Info-tech, FHQ; while JubrinOlawale Adeniji is FHQ 2i/CFCID.

Lawal Tanko is AIG in chargePolice Mobile Force, FHQ, Abuja;Ballah Magaji Nasarawa,formerly AIG Intelligence, is nowCMDT, PSC Jos; while YahayaGarba Ardo is AIG in charge ofCounter -Terrorism Unit, FHQ

AIG Buhari Tanko is in chargeSpecial Duties at FHQ; OlufemiAdenaike is AIG Training, FHQ;Umaru Abubakar Manko,formerly AIG Zone 2, Lagos, isnow Director, Study Group,NIPSS, Kuru, Jos; Irimiya F.Yerima is AIG Communication,FHQ; with Mark Adamu Idakwonow AIG in charge of FederalOperations at FHQ.

A statement signed by CPEmmanuel Ojukwu, Force PublicRelations Officer, said theredeployment followed recentpromotions of some senior officersand vacancies occasioned byretirements.

Meanwhile, the Police ServiceCommission, PSC, yesterday,approved, with immediate effect,the promotion of CP AdenikeAbuwa to the rank of AssistantInspector-General of Police, AIG.

FG okays low interest funding plan fortextile sub-sector

THE FEDERALGovernment has

approved a new funding planthat will ensure that cotton,textile and garment firmsaccess long-term, low interestloans to finance theiroperations.

This is part of the newNational Cotton, Textile andGarment Policy aimed atrevitalising and boosting thegrowth and development of thecotton, textile and garment

industry.Minister of Industry, Trade

and Investments, Mr. OlusegunAganga, disclosed this duringthe launch of the Nation Cotton,Textile and Garment Policy andthe inauguration of a 17-member Implementation,Monitoring and ReviewCommittee for the CTG Policy,in Abuja.

Aganga said the policy, aproduct of prolongedconsultation with stakeholders

in the industry, was expectedto address bottlenecksinhibiting growth anddevelopment of the industry.

He added that it would improve the quality, quantity,production capacity, marketingand competitiveness of playersacross the entire value chain;control influx of sub-standardtextiles and garments andimprove competitiveness ofCTG nationwide, amongothers.

VISIT: Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji (middle), flanked left, by Rt. Rev. John Charlmers, Moderatorof General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, during a courtesy visit by some topministers from the church in Scotland to the governor in Umuahia. With them, left, is Rt. Rev. AgwuIbeabuchi, Moderator, South Central Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria.

Zamfara, Bayelsa share common challenges,says Jonathan

By Charles Kumolu & SalisuMaradun

BrookingstipsJonathanto win Febpolls

A WASHINGTON,US-based influential

think-tank, the BrookingsInstitution/Africa GrowthInitiative has ratedPresident GoodluckJonathan as the favouriteto win the February 14presidential polls

In a report entitled: "The2015 presidentialelections in Nigeria: Theissues and challenges,"Brookings said the articlepublished under theAfrica Growth Initiativesaid Jonathan’s PeoplesDomocratic Party, PDP,was more likely to win theFebruary election.

The paper, which dwellson several aspects of theNigerian election saidthat “though the electionis expected to be verycompetitive, the odds stillfavour PresidentJonathan.”

While highlighting thestrengths andweaknesses of the twomain political parties, thePDP and the AllProgressives Congress,APC, the institution saidthe APC will be unable tounseat the PDP in theFebruary elections.

The paper said: “Aftersuffering a wave ofdefections to the APC lastyear, including five of itsgovernors, the PDP seemsto have reboundedstrongly. In thebattleground South-West,for instance, the party wonrecent governorshipelections in Ekiti Stateand got the governor ofOndo State to defect fromthe Labour Party to thePDP.

“The party is especiallystrong in the South-South(where Jonathan comesfrom), the South-East andamong Christians in theNorth. Again, while thePDP remains weak in theMuslim North, it hasgained new influentialmembers who decampedfrom the APC includingthe former governors ofKano and Borno States.

And, of course, the PDPhas power of incumbency.

“APC gets much of itsstrength from tapping intoJonathan sentiments inthe Muslim North andgrievances among theYoruba who feel that theJonathan administrationhas ignored them in keypolitical appointments.

By Clifford Ndujihe

.Lagos APC kicks

CMYK


CMYK

Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 — — — — — 1717171717

I WON'T dwell too much onthe unfairness of Muslims

permanently being made to feelthey must apologise for theerring of a few mad men.

It is what Niger Deltans feelwhen they must eitherapologize for, defend or explainto the rest of Nigerians“Goodluck’s Good Work” (orlack thereof). Instead I’ll focuson the parallels between theWest’s relationship to Islam, ourown dealings with our Muslimcommunity and how one mustunderstand terrorism to fight it.

Some have described CharlieHebdo’s work as “MuslimBaiting” i.e. going out of one’sway to anger the Muslimcommunity and to portray Islamas backward and intolerant.“France is the land of Voltaire,but too often editorialfoolishness has prevailed atCharlie Hebdo”, The FinancialTimes’ Europe Editor, Mr.Barber says. Of course, hedoesn’t condone themurderers, or suggest thatfreedom of expression shouldnot extend to religion butadvises “common sense” as“such publications purport tostrike a blow for freedom whenthey provoke Muslims, but areactually just being stupid”.Although Mr. Barber has beencriticized for his unabashedview, one must see the truthbehind it.

Today’s world is by and largereturning to old civilizationalrivalries present since thecrusades, where Europeans,fighting a “holy war” againstthe ancient caliphates of today’sMiddle-East, saw Islam asviolent and unprogressive,which is interesting because alarge number of inventions weenjoy today were created byMuslim Arabs.

Degree grantinginstitutions

The Muslim Golden Age gavethe world algebra withoutwhich modern maths andengineering would not bepossible. The first degree-granting institutions originatedin the Arab/Muslim world andthen spread to Europe, whichhad no culture of grantingcertificates to universally certifystudents had mastered asubject.

Modern science and art owemore than is recognized oracknowledged to the Muslimworld. Fine, you might say, butwhat does this have to do withus Nigerians? I’m gettingthere.

Hatred that poisons:Hatredbased on ethnicity, race orreligion can “poison a nation’sspirit, instigate brutal life anddeath struggles, destroy asociety ’s tolerance andhumanity and block a nation’sprogress to freedom anddemocracy” (Liu Xiaobo,Chinese human rights activist).Sound familiar?

This exemplifies Nigeriawhere politically motivatedfears rule. Over time we beganto despise anything Muslim orNorthern: whether one is aBuhari supporter or not, onemust wonder why he had no

Charlie Hebdo and the fearof islamization inthe Nigerian context

issues with his “missingcertificates” before this electionor how he gained admission tosuch a prestigious institution as

the US Army War Collegewithout proving he hadattained any level of formaleducation. If in Nigeria one canbribe a dean to look the otherway at a student’s ineptitude,one cannot do so at the UnitedStates Army War College. It istacitly allowed in today ’sinternational society (so not justin Nigeria), to berate Muslims,to declare them uneducatedand uncultured.

As terrorists maim and kill inthe name of God, or so theybelieve, it is easily assumed byfearful observers that their faithis the issue.

One commonly hears: “Hausapeople don’t want to go toschool, instead, they will joinBoko Haram”. Interestingly, noone seems to agree onterrorism’s root causes. Whatare islamists, jihadists or

terrorists (the terminology itselfis vast) fighting for?

Anarchists believe violence isthe only way to bring aboutradical social change: the endjustifies the means. In manydeveloping countries, theconcepts of statehood andethnic nationalism remainunresolved so economicinequality is juxtaposed withcertain political resentment: agroup feels it has been kept outof power, another believes itmust cling to it whereas thecommon man of both ethnicitiessees no benefit or change to hisdaily life whether group A or Bholds sway.

Arbitraryboundaries

The same prevails in the Arabworld where colonizationcreated arbitrary boundaries,division and conflict, which

Tabia Princewill is astrategic communicationsconsultant and publicpolicy analyst. She is alsothe co-host and executiveproducer of a talk show,WALK THE TALK whichairs on Channels TV.

A muslim praying at a mosque in Cairo, Egypt

certain leadership, propped upby these same colonizers, preyson.

Divide and rule politics hasbrought our societies to thepoint where some citizens killfor God and others are lost inanother kind of mysticism andslavery, chained not to the crossthey worship but to the pastorsof the day.

Enter the oil crash, corruptionand the ensuing job-loss: some“strongmen” promote religionas a unifying identity to defendtheir interests in a complex,unstable world.

In Nigeria, groups are oftenarmed before elections tosecure politicians’ bids forpower and it seems no one hasyet bothered to question whathappens to young armed andunemployed men whenpoliticians no longer needthem.

In both cases, terrorism seemsto be the consequence ofdisillusioned, lost young menwhose misguided andmisdirected anger harmsinnocent citizens. Some “bigmen” in society see no harm inbrainwashing and sacrificinglives while what they truly seekis control.

Politicalinstability

Westerners cannot begin tounderstand the evil at play inmuch of Africa and the Middle-East, where some elitesknowingly ideologically andphysically arm their people tocreate division, opportunitiesfor corruption and enoughpolitical instability for them todo as they please.

Interestingly, the West usesthis fear of Islam we inheritedfrom our colonial masters—afterall, from a historical perspectiveIslam was introduced to Africain the Middle Ages andtherefore before Christianity—to create the impression thatthere is a global anti-Muslimmovement which we mustadhere to.

Rather than obsess overislamization (Nigerians are tooboisterous to be sheep, or to beforcefully converted byanyone), let us work togetherto fix our economy (andtherefore our society) byincreasing trade betweenNorthern and SouthernNigeria.

Let us export goods withinAfrica (the Economist describesinter-african trade as “pitifullyweak”). The West has cometogether, at several definingmoments in history anddecided to subjugate the restof the world. It is myfundamental belief that Nigeriacan lead the charge that willgive the earth’s bottom billionit’s dignity and prosperity back.

I'M sure you’ve seen thecampaigns responding to

police brutality in America.All of society came together

to protest, whether they feltthe pinch or not. When inNigeria will we get to thatpoint?

WHAT will happen tothose displaced by

Boko Haram? Are they nolonger Nigerian citizens,having fled to Chad etc.?

Where is our publicindignation?

Beyond2015

‘Black livesmatter'

Interestingly, theWest uses this fearof Islam weinherited from ourcolonial masters tocreate theimpression thatthere is a globalanti-Muslimmovement whichwe must adhere to

OPINION


UrUrUrUrUrhobos,Okhobos,Okhobos,Okhobos,Okhobos,Okooooowwwwwa and 20a and 20a and 20a and 20a and 201515151515By Alex Atawa

*Prof. Atawa, a public affairs analyst,wrote from Warri, Delta State.

SOME years back, I wrote a piece titled“The Dilemma of the Urhobos.” This was

right before the 2013 Delta CentralSenatorial By-election and after my returnfrom America. The outcome of the electionbrought Urhobos back to the majority rulingparty of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).Subsequent to that, Dr. Steve Oru was alsoappointed as the Minister for Niger-deltaAffairs.

Last year, the Secretary to the Delta StateGovernment, Comrade OvuozourieMacaulay was greatly misunderstood whenhe talked about zoning. Those of us whocame to his defense clearly pointed out theills of zoning. Nonetheless, some of us stillbelieved in the issue of equity and powershift, just like we understood theunderpinnings of the Federal Character thatis enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of theFederal republic of Nigeria.

Some years back, our American friends(who our 1979 and 1999 Constitutions aremodeled after) had to deal with issues ofaffirmative action. Affirmative action in itspurest sense was meant to correct injusticesperpetrated against the minority created byyears of racial discrimination against blacks(African Americans). It was an equitableremedy that brought some semblance ofsecurity and social justice. Equity and powershift can be likened to the AmericanAffirmative Action because they bothforesee a situation where a particular groupof people will be disenfranchised without apolicy that allows them to be a part of the

government and participate in determiningtheir destiny.

The reality is that Nigeria as a Nation hasnot fully developed to a situation where wecan have people voted on without ethno-religious considerations. A Muslim-Muslim, Christian-Christian, South-Southor North-North presidential ticket iscurrently not palatable.

One of the alleged dangers of zoning isthe possibility of fostering mediocrity.However, in the recently conducted PDPprimaries, we saw the amazing calibre ofaspirants from Delta North SenatorialDistrict, with Senator Dr. Ifeanyi ArthurOkowa, emerging as the flag bearer. In fact,I can categorically state that Dr. Okowa wasthe most qualified of all the aspirants. Hehad been a medical doctor, LocalGovernment Councilor. Chairman, threetimes Commissioner, SSG and Senator. Noother aspirants had these qualifications.

Prior to the PDP primaries, the apexUrhobo Umbrella issued a declaration thatUrhobos must produce the governorship ofDelta State and that all Urhobos should gointo PDP or All Progressives Congress (APC)and fight for the gubernatorial ticket.

Several events have happened since thefamous Uviamughe Declaration. Of course,David Edevbie did not succeed in PDP,while Chief Great Ogboru obtained theticket of Labour Party (LP), and OlorogunOtega Emerhor was given the APC ticket.Unlike the PDP primaries that was highlycontested, the LP and APC primaries weretantamount to endorsement as thecandidates that emerged faced virtually littleor no opposition.

UPU is now faced with only two optionsto maintain any form of credibility. It musteither wholeheartedly endorse all APCcandidates from presidential to House ofAssembly. Alternatively, it must withdrawthe now famous Uviamughe declaration.Any attempt to endorse President Goodluckof PDP and Great Ogboru of LP will be theheight of hypocrisy and will make UPU loseits respect that our forefathers have workedhard to achieve. Prudence will dictate thatthe Uviamughe declaration should bewithdrawn with explanation that theUrhobos as Nation has decided to supportPDP because it will be in the best interestof us as a people. I believe all Urhobokingmakers should muster up enoughcourage to do this and ensure themarginalization of Urhobos stop now. Let uselect Dr. Okowa, who is a friend of theUrhobos that will not marginalize us. As anUrhobo and a former aspirant for House ofRepresentatives, I was cautioned againstwriting this piece by someone because theyclaim it will be political suicide. The

reception received so far by the PDPcampaign train in Delta Central shows thatPDP will win.

Let me quote from my article on theDilemma of the Urhobos”

“History as they say is written by victors.The Urhobos, the fifth (possibly 4th) largestethnic group in Nigeria, must now decidehow to handle the perceived and obviousmarginalization at the national level. Thehistory of the Urhobos, as it relates toposition of power at the national levelappears to be written by the detractors whobelieve that they were in opposition to thegovernment of Governor EmmanuelUduaghan, CON in the last election. Thisis apparently because the Urhobos voted enmasse for Democratic People’s Party and itsflag bearer, Chief Great Ogboru in the 2011gubernatorial elections. The dilemma is thatin a democracy, you should be able to be inopposition, while not being afraid ofpolitical repercussions. However, it does notwork like that in Nigeria. Usually, the listof ministerial appointments comes from thehead of the party in the state, which isusually the Governor, in consultation withthe State Chairman of the party.”

Urhobos cannot afford to be in theminority again. This is now anotheropportunity for the Urhobos to make astatement and carve out our niche or stakein the coming eight (8) years as we prepareto take over from Delta North. We shouldensure we actively participate in theupcoming election and vote en masse for theruling PDP.

Urhobos cannotafford to be in theminority again

THE Africa Cup of Nations began on Saturdaywithout Nigeria – the defending champion.Some Nigerians consider Nigeria’s absence fromthe championship painful. Nigerians wouldwatch from the sidelines, following the inabilityof the Eagles to qualify, something some rate asa tragedy.Painful as it may be, the Nations Cup

disappointment is a deserved reward for theserial low performances of the Eagles after their2013 surprise victory in South Africa. Nigeriansalso need to concentrate on the elections, theyare more important than football, and theiroutcomes would play a bigger role in our livesthan whatever would have happened inEquatorial Guinea.Brazil’s biggest cities were awash with riots

over the billions of Dollars the country waspouring into preparations for the 2014 WorldCup, the first in Brazil in 60 years. Hungry,unemployed youth were on the streets - theythought their future was more important thanthe FIFA Confederation Cup, the 2014 WorldCup, and the Olympic Games in 2016.Unaddressed poverty and misdirected priorities

were central issues to the protests. “If your

More Important ThanFootball

kid gets sick, take him to the stadium,” said abanner outside the Maracana Stadium, Brazil’sfootball shrine, in reference to the priority givento stadium construction over health, educationand jobs. Who would have thought Brazilianswould protest against football?Turkey was another protest point. Its fanatical

football supporters, many of them in the crowdsthat have been jamming streets of Istanbul forover three weeks, created headaches for FIFA asthe 2013 FIFA U-21 competition was about tobegin. Turks were incensed over a governmentdecision to convert a public park to a mall. Theyresisted every move to force them off the streets

of Istanbul.Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan who remained

defiant, said, “Nobody can intimidate us. Wedon’t take orders from anybody except God.” Therecourse to the Almighty, when leaders refuse tolisten to their people saw regime changes inAlgeria, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.In Brazil, they were questioning appropriation

of national resources, particularly theuncontrolled costs of constructing the stadia formajor international sports events. In both casesthe people wanted a say in how they weregoverned – they demanded it.Anti-people policies, whether in Brazil, Turkey

or elsewhere, could endanger the world asvisitors to Brazil and Turkey found out.Nigerians are about to make decisions that

would affect their future. They need tointerrogate how Nigerian resources have beenused and the promises they get from those whopropagate change.These decisions require contemplation away

from the distractions that Nigeria’s participationat the Nations Cup would have provided. Theyare more important than whatever football wouldoffer.

CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015—19—19—19—19—19

Neglecting LagosNeglecting LagosNeglecting LagosNeglecting LagosNeglecting LagosBy Eric Teniola

•Mr. Teniola, a former director at thepresidency, wrote from Lagos.

ONE can say that the generalfeeling among Nigerians,

even without the benefit of a surveyor an opinion poll, is that theFebruary elections will be violent.Those who say this or think thisway are not without their reasons.History tells us so. Our recentpolitical experience confirms it.Even now, the fault lines are alreadymanifesting. There have been violentskirmishes among supporters of theleading political parties in differentparts of the country. Campaignposters have been torn. Party officeshave been invaded, houses have beenburnt and lives have been lost.

All of these have been on arelatively low scale. We are still someway off the scale of violence thatfollowed the 2011 elections and wedo hope that we won’t get there. Butthere are indications that thingswould definitely boil over as theelections draw nearer. All of whichhave given vent to calls for ‘issue-based’ campaign. The question nowis when will this be and where? Wherecan the contestants meet withoutthem or their supporters tradingblows? What issues have engaged thecontestants until now? What issuesshould Nigerians insist theyengage?

Goodluck Jonathan andMohammadu Buhari, both

‘Issue-based’ campaign?‘Issue-based’ campaign?‘Issue-based’ campaign?‘Issue-based’ campaign?‘Issue-based’ campaign?When, where?When, where?When, where?When, where?When, where?

presidential candidates of the twoleading parties in the land,endorsed an accord lastWednesday that they and theirsupporters would ensure that thecoming elections are conducted ina violence-free climate. EmekaAnyaoku, former SecretaryGeneral of the Commonwealthand Kofi Anan, former SecretaryGeneral of the UN, were on handto lend their authority and supportfor the accord. Let us hope that thecoming together of these highly-respected diplomats and theirgood work on behalf of Nigeriawould be more auspicious for thecountry than in the past.

The last time they came togetherin this manner on behalf ofNigeria, the outcome was not alltoo pleasant. This definitelycouldn’t have been for any fault oftheirs. It was in the immediateaftermath of the June 12, 1993struggle and these internationaldiplomats had come to persuadeMKO Abiola, winner of theannulled election, to let peacereign by giving up his mandate.Abiola didn’t share their view.What follwed next was his obituary.The names of Anyaoku and Anan,two great sons of Africa, werethereafter almost anathema incertain parts and among certain

people of this country. Theyemerged in very unfavourablelight for their role at this time. Verycritical voices rose against themfor what was seen as theircomplicity in a military-engineered internationalconspiracy against the wishes ofNigerians.

But Chief Anyaoku, Mr. KofiAnan, Nigerians and friends ofNigeria have risen with one voiceand are saying enough of violence.The issues that should decide theseelections ought to be clear cutenough. They could not have beenmore definite. The times bringthem out in such sharp relief thatonly a politically blind electoratewould fail to see. But the electoratesare already being misled andmisinformed in this regard. Ratherthan speaking to the issues raisedby corruption in high places, afloundering economy that isclearly headed for disaster withfast-plummeting oil prices, and apolity ravaged by insecurity andinsurgency, all the politicians areinterested in is hurling abusesacross party lines. The nature ofthese abuses and personal insults

can hardly be bettered by illiteratevegetable sellers in our marketsand their badly-dressed, drunkencounterparts conductingpassenger-packed commercialbuses.

President Goodluck Jonathanhas taken a starring role in all ofthis while Buhari has been far moredignified, only responding toJonathan’s tantrum-likecomments without beingdisagreeable. In what looks like aclear failure of angermanagement for a public figure,the President has been hurlinginvectives in all directions. Thisnewly-acquired facility formudslinging, spewing curses andpersonal insults at his perceivedenemies and competitors isGoodluck Jonathan’s own way, itseems, of showing his strength ofcharacter. This has been underserious questioning by Nigeriansfor long. While such petty muckracking may be forgivable in anattention-seeking politician, it sitsill on an incumbent president.Whoever advised the president totake this path has not done himany good. He has no doubt beenthe butt of jokes and harshcriticisms. Many of these havebeen for very good reasons if notentirely justified. The way toconvince Nigerians that he is notwhat they take him for is by hisaction and performance. Notgrowing a fondness forintemperance which shows him upas desperate and lacking the rightarguments to counter hisopponents.

Right from when he flagged offhis campaign at the TBS in Lagos,Jonathan came out firing. Hesuddenly appeared conscious of thefact that, far from being a merecontestant as on three previousoccasions, Buhari could actuallydefeat him at the polls. For thisreason, Jonathan appears to havedeveloped a fondness to throwwhat sounds like personal insults

at him. This is taking thecampaign further away frombeing ‘issue-based’. After callingBuhari an old man and charginghim and other past rulers withresponsibility for our poorlyequipped military, Jonathanwould in the following days baithim for not knowing his phonenumber (he’s yet to tell Nigerianshow he knew this). Well, let uscongratulate Goodluck Jonathanfor obviously knowing his ownphone number. He probably alsoknows the make of his phone, whenand where it was manufactured.But is this the kind of informationhe stores in his mind, turning itpractically into a warehouse oftrivia? I should think Nigerianswant a more informed presidentthan one who uses his mind as aportacabin of phone numbers.

Not done yet with that, Jonathanwould follow up the barb at Buhariwith another at Obasanjo (not aneophyte, himself, at baiting hisopponents), calling him a motorpark tout. The president seems to havebeen listening too much to AyoFayose. He would be better offkeeping his cool, which in thisinstance means his dignity, especiallynow that his hold on the presidencybeyond February looks ever moretenuous. What Nigerians need nowis a forum for all the contestants,especially Buhari and Jonathan, tosquare up to each other face to face,telling Nigerians the whys, how andwherefores of their manifestoes. Atleast two of such encounters shouldhappen before the elections for allcategories of contestants. Thegeneralised, free wheeling talk andvituperations that havecharacterised these campaigns aremore like Fela-style yabis sessions.It’s time now to get down to thepractical question of how toimplement the advertised partymanifestoes. It’s time now for thefirst of the presidential debates.

NIGERIA is not the first country to moveits capital,but Nigeria must be one of

the few countries that has abandoned its oldcapital. Parana was the former capital ofArgentina before it was moved to BuenosAires, Rio de Janeiro was former capital ofBrazil before it was moved toBrasilia,Salvador da Bahia was formercapital before it was moved to Rio de Janeiro,Jauja was former capital of Peru before itwas moved to Lima, Coro was formercapital of Venezuela before it was moved toCaracas, Caparra was former capital ofPuerto Rico before it was moved San Juan,Old Road Town was former capital of SaintsKitts before it was moved to Basseterre,Granada was former capital of Nicaraguabefore it was moved to Managua, Cartagowas former of Costa Rica before it was tomove to San Jose, James Town was formercapital of Barbados before it was moved toBridge Town, Russell was former capital ofNew Zealand before it was moved toAuckland, Levuka was former capital of Fijibefore it was moved to Suva, Krakow wasformer capital of Poland before it was movedto Warsaw. Kragujevac was former capitalof Serbia before it was moved to Belgrade,Kharkiv was former capital of Ukrainebefore it was moved to Kiev, Dares Salaamwas former capital of Tanzania before it wasmoved to Dodoma in 1996, Nanking wasformer capital of the Republic of Chinabefore it was moved to Beijing, Kandy wasformer capital of Sri Lanka before it wasmoved to Colombo, Karachi was formercapital of Pakistan before it was moved toIslamabad, Mandalay was former capitalof Myanmar (Burma) before it was movedRangoon, Calcutta was former capital ofIndia before it was moved to New Delhi,Diriyah was former capital of Saudi Arabiabefore it was moved to Riyadh, Gondar was

capital of Ethiopia before it moved to AddisAbba, Zomba was capital of Malawi beforeit was moved to Lilongwe, Aneho was formercapital of Togo before it was moved toLome,Bolama was former capital ofGuinea-Bissau before it moved to Bissauand Al-Askarwas former capital of Egypt incenturies ago before it was moved to Cairo.

There are numerous examples of oldcapitals but none was abandoned by thecentral government, except of course,Nigeria.

On August 7, 1975, the then Head of State,General Murtala Ramat Mohammed(1938-1976) inaugurated a five man panelon the creation of more states in the country.The committee was headed by Justice AyoGabriel Irikefe (1922-1996). It was the panelthat increased the number of states inNigeria from twelve (12) to nineteen (19).Justice Irikefe later became the ninth ChiefJustice of the Federation between (1985-1987).

Two days later on August 9, 1975, GeneralMurtalaMohammed inaugurated anothercommittee on the new Federal Capital forthe country. The committee was headed by

the former Chief Justice of Botswana, lateJustice Timothy Akinola Aguda (1923-2001).

Dr.Aguda,who later became the Directorof the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies,was from Akure in Ondo state. Othermembers of the committee were Dr. TaiSolarin,Col, Monsignor Pedro Martins,AlhajiMohammed Musa Isma,Chief OwenFeibai, Dr.AjutoGandonu and ProfessorO.K. Ogan.

After the submission of the committee’sreport, the Federal Government thenenacted Decree 6 of 1976 which gave birthto Abuja as the new Federal Capital. In the72-page report of Aguda’scommittee, it wasrecommended that Lagos has become “overcongested” and as a result the FederalCapital should be moved out of the city forAdministrative purposes. The committeerecommended further that the movement toAbuja should be gradual and should be inseven phases. Drawing a lesson from theTanzanian experience it was the contentionof the Aguda committee that Abuja shouldbe functional by the year 2025. It should benoted that the committee’s report wasaccepted by the Federal Government.

It was not until 1979 that Mr. John JatauKadiya was appointed the first Minister forAbuja. At that time the appointment wasmade just to facilitate the creation of Abujaout of Nassarawa, Niger and Kogi states.Former President Usman Aliyu Shagarireplaced Kadiya with Irro AbubakarDanMusa in 1982 and later named AliruDantorro as Minister in 1983. The postbecame not too important at that timebecause Abuja was not considered a priority.Following the complete movement of theFederal capital to Abuja in December 12,1991 by General Ibrahim Babangida (72),

Lagos has been abandoned since then. Nota single block has been erected by any Headof State in Lagos. The city right now is like acar park.

The last biggest project so far executed bythe Federal Government in Lagos, was theThird Mainland Bridge of 11.8kilometrebuilt by General Babangida which is thelongest bridge connecting the Lagos Islandto the Mainland. The Eko Bridge which isthe shortest of the three bridges, the othertwo being the Third Mainland and Carterbridges. It spans a distance of 430 metresand its landward extension of 1350 metreswas constructed in phases between 1965 and1975 during the tenure General YakubuGowon. The first Carter Bridge named afterGovernor Gilbert Thomas Carter (1848 -1927)was constructed by the BritishGovernment in 1901. After Independence,the Bridge was dismantled and redesignedand rebuilt in the late 1970s. The Alaka-Ijora flyover of the Carter Bridge wascompleted in 1973.

Since December 12, 1991, when GeneralBabangida finally moved the capital toAbuja, we have had six presidentialtenures.None has thought it fit to developLagos. The Interim Government of ChiefEarnest Shonekan (26 August 1993 to 17November 1993), General Sanni Abachafrom 17 November 1993 to 8 June 1998,General AbdusalamAbubakar (9 June 1998to 29 May 1999), President OlusegunObasanjo (29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007),President Musa Yar’adua (29May 2007 – 5May 2010) and President GoodluckJonathan from 6 May 2010 till date.

It is to be hoped that Lagos with 5.8million voters will receive the concern ofthe coming President of Nigeria. For Lagosis beyond the capability of any stategovernment however prudent it could be.

Not a single block hasbeen erected by anyHead of State in Lagos.The city right now islike a car park

What Nigeriansneed now is a forumfor all thecontestants,especially Buhariand Jonathan, tosquare up to eachother face to face,telling Nigerians thewhys, how andwherefores of theirmanifestoes


CMYK


CMYK

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL

CBN Exchange Rate as 12/1/2015

$49.95 -$1.01

$45.27 -$0.80

$182.15 $5.25

$2,957.00 -$29.00

$14.93 $0.05

DOLLAR 167 167.5 168STERLING 253.8233 254.5833 255.3432EURO 193.4862 194.0655 194.6448FRANC 190.9663 191.538 192.1098YEN 1.4304 1.4347 1.439CFA 0.279 0.289 0.299WAUA 237.6897 238.4014 239.113RENMINBI 26.902 26.983 27.064RIYAL 44.4776 44.6108 44.7439KRONA 26.0242 26.1021 26.1801SDR 238.3925 239.1063 239.82

By Yinka Kolawolewith agency reports

WorldRemit, MTNseal global mobilemoneypartnership

By Babajide Komolafe

Nigeria, others to lose $25bn overEbola —World Bank

THE World Bank has predicted thatNigeria and other countries in the

West African region could lose $25 bil-lion in economic growth this year dueto the Ebola crisis.

This prediction was contained inWorld Bank Group analysis on the eco-nomic impact of Ebola in Africa. Accord-ing to the report, the Ebola epidemicwill continue to cripple the economiesof Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leoneeven as transmission rates in the threecountries show significant signs ofslowing. The Bank Group estimates thatthese three countries will lose at least

US$1.6 billion in forgone economicgrowth in 2015 as a result of the epi-demic.

But the new report — released on theeve of the 2015 World Economic Forumin Davos — also contains more posi-tive news: the probability of spread andthe associated economic costs beyondthe three most-affected countries arenow much lower than previously fearedbecause of the intensive global andnational responses to the epidemic overthe past several months.

An earlier World Bank Group eco-nomic analysis (from October 8, 2014)found that the West Africa region alonecould experience a downside scenarioof US$25 billion in economic losses in2015, but the current report estimatesthe range for sub-Saharan Africa as awhole to be from a low of US$500 mil-lion to a high of US$6.2 billion.

The national and international re-sponses have resulted in a number ofpublic health improvements within thethree West African nations, including

safer burial practices, earlier case de-tections, more health workers and treat-ment facilities, public awareness cam-paigns and stepped-up contact tracing.These policy and behavior responseshave contributed to a lower risk ofspread across borders. The lower esti-mates also reflect fast and effective con-tainment measures taken in the neigh-boring countries of Mali, Nigeria andSenegal, all of which have now beendeclared Ebola-free.

Cummulativelosses

“Even if Ebola is controlled and fur-ther outbreaks avoided,” said the report,“economic costs will be incurred acrosssub-Saharan Africa in 2015. Consumerand investor confidence has been erod-ed by the outbreak of the virus, and dis-ruptions to travel and cross-border tradesuggest cumulative losses of more thanUS$500 million across the region in2015, outside the three directly affect-ed countries.” The report said the loss-es could be closer to the higher end ofthe estimate — US$6 billion — if theEbola outbreak were to spread throughthe region, reinforcing the need for aswift end to the epidemic.

“I am very encouraged to see Ebolatransmission rates slowing markedly inGuinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, andthat other potential outbreaks have beenaverted because of swift action by otherWest African governments,” said JimYong Kim, President of the World BankGroup, who will discuss the emerginglessons from the Ebola crisis with worldleaders in Davos this week.

“Yet as welcome as these latest signsare, we cannot afford to be complacent.Until we have zero new Ebola cases,the risk of continued severe economicimpact to the three countries and be-yond remains unacceptably high.”

ONLINE money transfer service,WorldRemit and telecoms opera-

tor, MTN have signed a global partner-ship that will enable WorldRemit custom-ers to send remittances instantly to MTN’sMobile Money customers across theworld.

MTN Mobile Money is currently usedby 22.2 million customers in 16 countriesacross Africa. These include Nigeria, Be-nin, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, (Cy-prus), Ghana, Guinea Bissau, GuineaRepublic, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Rwanda,South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda andZambia. It enables users to perform localand international money transfers, makeutility payments, save money in their in-terest bearing mobile wallets, purchaseairtime and access a range of mobile fi-nancial products. MTN Mobile Moneyis increasingly an important part of MTN’sservice offering, and the partnership withWorldRemit further strengthens the op-erator’s position in cross border remittanc-es.

Cross borderremittances

Ismail Ahmed, Founder and CEO ofWorldRemit said: “Mobile Money is rap-idly displacing cash as a way of receiv-ing money from friends and familyabroad. WorldRemit’s partnership withMTN allows our customers around theworld to send money instantly to MTNMobile Money users.

“As well as being fast and convenient,MTN Mobile Money is reaching millionsof people who don’t have bank accounts,giving them access to a variety of life-enhancing financial services includingsavings and insurance schemes.”

More than 50 percent of all WorldRemittransfers to Africa are received in MobileMoney accounts or as mobile airtime top-ups. The agreement extends WorldRemit’sposition as the leading provider of remit-tances to Mobile Money users (also knownas mobile wallets) at a time when the tech-nology is experiencing rapid uptake, espe-cially in Africa. To kick-start the partnership,MTN’s operations in Uganda, Rwanda andZambia will be added to WorldRemit’s list ofmobile recipient options, with additionalcountries following soon after.

Pieter Verkade, MTN Group Chief Com-mercial Officer, said: “The partnership withWorldRemit is yet another important step inour journey to enable the affordable transferof monies across borders. Our remittancestrategy places the customer at the heart ofany offer we introduce as MTN and, work-ing with WorldRemit” we intend to furtherextend the convenience of MTN MobileMoney to our customers.” Globally, thereare 256 Mobile Money services current-ly active, according to the GSMA. Therewere an estimated 60 million active Mo-bile Money users in June 2013, up from30 million in 2012, according to theGSMA State of the Industry Report.

Even if Ebola iscontrolled andfurther outbreaksavoided, economiccosts will beincurred acrosssub-SaharanAfrica in 2015

BRIEFING: From left: Chairman, Association of Issuing Houses in Nigeria (AIHN), Mr. Victor Ogiemwonyi;Chairman, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr. Emeka Madubuike; President, CharteredInstitute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Albert Okumagba; and General Secretary, ASHON, Mr. Akin Akeredolu-Ale,during media briefing by coalition of market operators on Nigerian Capital Market and economy in Lagos .


CMYK

IN the periods before andimmediately after Nigeria’s

independence in 1960, doctorsand mining engineers wereamongst the best remuneratedofficials in the Nigerian civilservice. There were alsogovernment establishments likethe Lagos ExecutiveDevelopment Board whichemployed Architects, TownPlanners, Engineers, EstateSurveyors, etc. who were betterpaid than their counterparts insimilar positions in the Ministryof Works.

However, the 1974 Udoji PublicService Review Commissionintroduced a unified classificationand grading system in the publicservice covering governmentministries and departments, localauthorities, the police, thejudiciary, public enterprises, theuniversities, the teachings serviceetc.

The grading system was suchthat a fresh university graduatewould start as Officer II and theprogressively higher positions areOfficer I, Senior Officer, PrincipalOfficer, Assistant Chief Officer,Chief Officer, Assistant Directorand Director. Thus a universityprofessor and a director in aministry were at the same salarygrade.

The new salary scale wasimplemented with backdatedsalary increases for everybodywhich payments gave everyonea good feeling. The basic premisewas that public servants shouldbe paid on the basis of the worthof the work performed.

During the last 15 years, theRevenue Mobilisation Allocationand Fiscal Commission has put

Governance and socialinclusion in Lagos State

situation in which other healthworkers in government hospitalsare on strike and these hospitalsare not attending to patients.

This is the last in the seriesabout what the next governor ofLagos State should do for us. Nineof the candidates for the positionof governor were at a publicdebate this past week and theygave their visions of a healthy andprosperous Lagos. The LagosState Government, LASG,continues to provide new healthfacilities and also expandsexisting ones but with personnelproblems in the health sector, theexpenditure on facilities wouldnot give the expectedimprovements in services to thepopulace. The personnelproblems would appear to benational in scope as the unionsrepresenting the workers arenational.

Nationalminimum wage

However, whenever the issueof a national minimum wage israised, the states usually indicatethat they should be allowed to setthe applicable minimum wage.The next governor should put inplace a body that would look atthe pay of public servants andpolitical office holders in relationto the worth of the workperformed. As a first step, the nextgovernor should get his politicalparty to agree to a cut in the payof political office holders.

The debate of the candidates forthe position of governor also hadthe candidates indicating theirpositions and policies regardingthe provision of employment

in place a salaryscale for politicaloffice holders that ismuch higher thanwhat applies toother publicservants. TheAcademic StaffUnion ofUniversities hascarried out manystrike actions overthe years anduniversity teachersnow earn enhancedsalaries outside thepublic servicescales. Doctors ingovernment servicehave also obtainedhigher salaries andallowances throughstrike actions led bythe NigerianM e d i c a lAssociation. Wenow have a

especially for youngpersons. I hope thatwhoever emerges asgovernor from theelections would drawfrom the ideas of theother candidates. Thiscolumn covered theissue of secondary/tertiary education andyouth employment inthis newspaper on 6November and 13November 2013. Oneof the candidateswarned that we musttake steps to arrest thegrowth of analternative youtheconomy in whichyoung peopledemand paymentfrom anyone whowants to carry outeconomic activities intheir neighbourhood.

TRAINING: From left: Mr. Paul Uduk, Managing Director, Vision and Talent International;Mr. Femi Oke, Head, Human Resourse and Administration, Berger Paint Nigeria Ltd andMrs. Winifred Ajakpovi, Head, Human Resource, Business Partnering (Support functions),Nigerian Breweries Plc during the 2015 Vision and Talents Training Colloquium in Lagos.Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

CAPITAL market operatorshave criticized the Central

Bank of Nigeria, CBN’s fixingof the value of naira, sayingthat the currency should beallowed to find its valuethrough market forces.

The operators also lamentedthe continuous tightening of themonetary and fiscal policies bythe government authorities,stressing that these measuresaffect liquidity in the Nigeriancapital market.

Speaking to newsmen duringa combined briefing organisedby the Chartered Institute ofStockbrokers, CIS, Associationof Stockbroking Houses ofNigeria, ASHON, andAssociation of Issuing Housesof Nigeria, AIHN in Lagos, theChairman of AIHN, Mr. VictorOgiemwonyi, told newsmenthat the continuous fixing ofnaira does not encourageinvestors to invest in the capitalmarket and the economy in

Capital market operators bemoanCBN’s fixing of Naira value

By Peter Egwuatu general.According to him “The CBN

could have devalued the nairalongtime ago rather thancontinuous defense of the naira.The apex bank would haveallowed the naira to find itsvalue and saved the foreignexchange reserve. Thecontinuous use of the dollarearned by the countr to defendthe naira has put the nation intight corner as the global oilprice continued to decline. Thishas made the dollar to rise andmade foreign portfolio investorsto continue to withdraw theirmoney.”

Continuing, he said “Thecountry needs to diversify itssource of foreign exchangeearnings by pursuingaggressive exports. We shouldreduce the rate of import andencourage domestic productionfor export. There is illiquidityin the capital market caused bythe loss in the value of naira,drop in global oil prices,tightening of monetary and

fiscal policies.”In the same vein, the

President of CIS, Mr. AlbertOkumagba said that thestakeholders in the capitalmarket have decided toengage governmentauthorities to discuss issuesthat will move the market andmake it contribute to thegrowth of the economy.

According to him “All overthe world, the capital marketdrives the entire economy asit provides a platform forgovernment at all tiers toaccess medium and longterm fund to executedevelopmental projects.”

Speaking, Chairman,ASHON, Mr. EmekaMadubuike said “This is thetime for the local retailinvestors to invest in themarket as the value of stocksare generally low. The foreigninvestors should not beallowed to come back to reapthe opportunity in themarket.”

THE Financial Market DealersQuotation, FMDQ OTC Plc, has said

that it achieved N104 trillion in turnover inOver-the-Counter (OTC) market for ForeignExchange (FX), Treasury Bills (T.Bills),bonds, money and derivatives in 2014.

The turnover, according to a statement fromthe company, represents trades executedbetween dealing members, dealing membersand clients, and dealing members and theCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

It added that it excludes primary marketauctions in T.Bills, bonds and FX. In the firsthalf of 2014, the Dealing Members achievedan overall OTC market turnover of N45trillion and by the end of December 2014,this rose significantly to N104 trillion, withthe top 10 dealing members accounting forover 70 percent of this turnover.

FX (including FX derivatives) was the most

FMDQ OTC market turnover hits over N100trn in 2014

By Nkiruka Nnorom actively traded product, accounting for thelargest share of the market turnover at 37.5percent, followed by T.Bills and Repos/Buy-Backs with a share of 25.4 percent and 22.8percent respectively.

The bond market accounts for only 7.7percent of the market turnover, an areawhere FMDQ and other marketstakeholders are looking to boost in 2015,through market development initiatives tobe championed by FMDQ, said Mr. BolaOnadele-Koko, Chief Executive Officer,FMDQ OTC. “FMDQ will continue toengage in initiatives that will make theNigerian OTC market globally competitiveby working with the stakeholders to improveliquidity, transparency, governance andefficiency in the OTC market.

“With new initiatives and activitiesplanned for 2015 - listings and quotationsof Bonds, Commercial Papers and ShortTerm Notes, product diversity,” he added.

Whoeveremerges asgovernor fromthe electionswould drawfrom the ideasof the othercandidates

CMYK

INSIDE

DIARY

ARTEMIS &ITEA Co-summitBerlinMar 10-11, 2015

PreviewPreviewPreviewPreviewPreview

TelecoDays Prague MarriottHotelPragueCzech RepublicMar 23-24 2015

Continues on page 28

TECNO Mobile deepenspenetration withinnovative technologies

Companies neednot build datacentres —Rack Centre Boss

By Prince Osuagwu

IT seems like yesterday; but14 years have goneby since

the Global system for Mobilecommunication, GSM debutedin Nigeria.

In fact, last Monday, January19, 2015, marked exactly 14years Nigeria concluded thehistoric Digital MobileLicensing round which came atthe heels of telecomsderegulation in Nigeria.

The auction actuallycommenced on January 17 andended on January 19, 2001.Radio Spectrum International,RSI, Charles Rivers Associates,Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) andMr.Paul Usoro (SAN) wereconsultants to the NigerianCommunications Commission(NCC) on the auction.

Although, this licensingregime ushered in theubiquitous GSM whichconsequently changed the faceof the telecoms landscape inAfrica and made Nigeria thehaven for telecommunicationsinvestors, the story is not all-through rosy.

However, industrypractitioners who took a criticallook at the road this sector hastaken from the country's paltry450, 000 connected lines in2001 to over 135 million activesubscribers as at the end of2014, are seeing tremendousgrowth with multiplier effectsin all other sectors of the

Thethorns,the thrills

14 YRS OF GSMREVOLUTION:


economy, including thebanking, education, e-c o m m e r c e / r e t a i l i n g ,agriculture, medicine, media,oil and gas, among othersectors.

Even at that, the problem ofperennial low quality ofservice in the sector,apparently puts a clog inthe wheel of progress andperhaps slowed downthe pace of growth thatwould have made thecountry greater.

Besides poor qualityof service with its attendantproblem of dropped calls andpoor voice clarity, there areother issues that bother onpoor services from theoperators, like unsolicited textmessages, unwanted andnauseating telemarketing andlocked-messages whichinfringe on subscribers' right ofprivacy.

Increased investmentsDespite these deluge of

problems, Foreign directInvestment inflow in the sectoris on the rise.

According to the ExecutiveVice Chairman of NCC, Dr,Eugene Juwah, “Over $32billion investment has beenrecorded in the sector as at June2014 from $50 million in year2001. The investment stood at$18 billion in 2010 and $25billion in 2012.”

With the investment, telecoms

companies have been able tosuccessfully deploy 68,124kilometre of fibre optic cablingas at the end of December, 2013while in 2014 alone, additional38, 000 kilometre of fibre opticcables were laid, representingan increase of about 44.2 percent investment in fibre optic

cabling by the telecomscompanies last year alone.

Increased base stationsMeanwhile, in the last 14

years, telecoms companies inNigeria have also increasedtheir base transceiver stations(BTS) expansion efforts fromfew thousands to over 27, 000,making it possible for morepeople to have access totelephone services thuscovering many hithertounserved and underservedcommunities across thecountry.

Beyond carrying voicesignals, the industry operatorsare also making their BTSeither 2G-enabled or 3G-enabled to be able to carryadequate data services, with thecountry relying on the 11terabyte of internet capacitybrought into the country by thelikes of Main One, Glo1, WestAfrican Cable Systems(WACS), among others.

According to data from theMinistry of CommunicationTechnology, between 2013 andDecember, 2014, 2G-enabledsites have increased from 22,578 to 28,289 while 3G-enabledsites have increased from lessthan 10,000 to 15,048 duringthe same period.

Besides Poorquality ofservice, with itsattendantproblem ofdropped callsand poor voiceclarity, there areother issues thatbother on poorservices fromthe operators

•Telecommunication tower

Edibledispersanttackles oil spill

A new oil dispersantmade primarily of edibleingredients couldprovide a moreenvironmentally friendlyway to clean up slicksand spills scientists say.

The new dispersant,developed by scientistsat the University ofSouthern Mississippi(USM), also floats, animportant considerationwhen thinking aboutwhat happens to thedroplets of "dispersed"oil.

Lisa Kemp, a researchscientist at USM,presented the findings atthe American ChemicalSociety's fall meeting inPhiladelphia recently.

Nigeriamoves

21 steps ine-Governance—Johnson


WITH CHRIS UWAJE

TECNO Mobile deepens penetration withinnovative technologies

...clinches quality crown BID awardsBy Emeka Aginam &

Sophia Esumike

THERE is need toadequately master“SMALL DATA”

design, structures, standardsand functions, if we want toeffectively handle and deliversustainably the challenges ofBig Data. Currently, ournational Database structuresare perceived to be weak andvenerable! The hype in andaround the concept andacclaimed deliverables of BigData is so overwhelminglytempting to the extent that itcurrently blinds developingcountries and economics onhow to match forward withtheir plans for engaging the21st century InformationTechnology Ecosystem.

Mastering small data:

How is big data?

The power andsignificance ofSoftware as theblood that flowsthrough thedigital worldbecomesevident fromday to day

MOBILE phone maker,Tecno Mobile has said

that maintaining branddevelopment, andunleashing high qualityproducts that are affordablehave in no small way helpedit to meet the growing needsof African market.

It also said that ensuringcustomer satisfaction has notonly helped it set thebenchmark in the technologysector, but has alsocontributed immensely to thesocial and economicdevelopment of the countrieswhere it operates.

Understanding that thecontinuous improvement ofproduct image and brandvalue is very vital, not only tothe survival of the brand, butto its resounding success inthe ever evolving mobiletechnology space and ahighly competitive market,Tecno mobile says itcontinues to strive for positivechange in delivering worldclass quality and yet makingit accessible to everyone, nomatter the age or class.

Little wonder, Tecno mobilehas become recipients of

FROM LEFT: Mounir Boukali, Head of Public Relations,Transsion Group, President of Business Initiative Directions,BID, Jose E. Prieto, and Mr Arif Chowdhury, Vice Presidentof Transsion Group receiving the Quality Crown BID awardsrecently in United Kingdom.

several global qualityrecognition awards.

Just recently, the presidentof Business InitiativeDirections (BID), Mr. Jose E.Prieto presented quality

AL-Watania Poultry-SaudiArabia, NEWSWATCHNigeria, among others thatreceived awards in differentcategories.

level of the business.With this development,

TECNO Mobile now joins theprestigious league of BIDwinners for commitment toquality and customersatisfaction having met the

quality control one hundred(QC 100) criteria of BusinessInitiative Directions’ TotalQuality Management (TQM).

Speaking during the awardceremony, Jose Prieto,President Business InitiativeDirections said that , “theaward recipients are icons ofcommitment to leadership,technology and innovation,making them models forothers in their sectors”

In his reaction whilereceiving the award, the Vicepresident of TECNO Mobilelimited said: “We makequality a core focus forcontinuous improvement ofmanagement to maintain 997leadership in our sector."

According to him, TECNOMobile as the fastest growingMobile brand in Africa hascontinued to show innovationin design, quality and productpricing with research anddevelopment center in France.

He informed that TECNOMobile introduced the firstdual SIM mobile phones toAfrica and now enjoys hugepatronage across thecontinent within five years ofentry into the market.

He assured that TECNOMobile will continue tomanufacture highperformance feature phonesand smart phones with greatrecreational functions andseamless internet connectivitysold at affordable prices with+2 years warranty acrosssupport centers.

c r o w na w a r d‘ G o l d ’category toM r .MohammadA . H .Chowdhury,V i c epresidentT E C N OM o b i l elimited.

B I DInternationalq u a l i t yc r o w na w a r dacknowledgess t r o n gcommitment

of global companies to qualityand excellence.

At the just concludedLondon 2014 presentation ofawards, TECNO Mobile wasamong companies from 51countries including: MindZetA/S-Denmark, Zurich SigortaA.S-Turkey, AgriculturalDevelopment Bank-Ghana,

Tecno mobilewas recognizednot only foro u t s t a n d i n gcommitment toquality andexcellence, butalso for itsdedication toc o n t i n u o u simprovementand innovation.

The awardproved an idealway to celebratethe Tecno brandwhich is said tohave made ag r a n d e u rimpact as one ofthe leading

brands in the technologysector across Africa where ithas full dominance.

Being considered for theaward however requires fullcommitment to the criteria ofthe QC100 TQM model whichensures customer satisfaction,leadership, innovation andefficient processes at every

However, that does not in anyway remove or diminish thefundamental need for andimportance of appropriate andsecured storage of Data atLocal Data Centre. Thanks toMainone that hasprofessionally pointed theright way forward, byestablishing a formidable andglobally certified Tier 3 DataCentre in Nigeria.

Reliable Internet resourceshas revealed that the world’stechnological per-capitacapacity to store informationroughly doubled every 40months since the 1980s. As of2012, every day 2.5 exabytes(2.5×1018) of data werecreated. As of 2014, every day2.3 zettabytes (2.3×1021) of

data were created by Super-power high-tech Corporationworldwide. As far as availabledate can lead us, no Nigeriancorporate enterprise iscurrently in that Big dataleague!

The convergence in theglobal ICT Ecosystem hasrevealed the importance andstrength of embeddedsystems. This phenomenaltrend has led to what is nowknown as Softwareization.Due to this complex trend of“Softwareization of Things”(SoT), every nation is lookinginwards for strategies toadequately address thechallenges and deliverssolutions required to respondto the current and emerging

desires in ICT. Nigeria mustrethink her IT strategy,organize her informationtechnology ecosystem andmaster the design, processes,retrieval and storage ofSMALL DATA as a reliablegateway and veritable tooland migration strategytowards Big Data.

Simply defined,Softwareization is theInternetization of theemergence of convergence ofInformation Technology,Telecommunications andBroadcasting. Theseconverged technologies haveled to the monumentalinflation of the content on theInternet and compelledmankind to migrate from IPv4to IPv6, giving birth to“Internet of Things” (IoT),where all connectable deviseswill acquire a recognized andsecured IP Address.

The power and significanceof Software as the blood thatflows through the digitalworld becomes evident fromday to day. Today itrepresents the blanket withwhich we rap the earthly coldof our planet - keeping itwarm for sustainabledevelopment.

Understandingthat thecontinuousimprovementof productimage andbrand value isvery vital...to itsresoundingsuccess....


Nigeria moves 21 steps in e-Governance — Johnson

The Minister ofC o m m u n i c a t i o nTechnology, Dr.

Omobola Johnson, saysNigeria has moved 21 placesin the bi-annual UnitedNations e-GovernmentDevelopment Rankingindex.

The Minister disclosed thisat a function in Abujarecently.

She said the improvementwas made possible throughthe standardization of allMDA websites anddeployment of ICT in allgovernment parastatals,where their daily routineshad become seamless.

According to her, Nigeriapooled a total of 190 pointsto climb to 141st position in2014, from 162nd in 2012, anindication that the countrymoved 21 places from theprevious ranking in 2012.

She listed some of theachievements of theMinistry as: establishment of

Presidential committee on e-Government; expand capacitybuilding of e-Government;draw special budget on e-Government; and creation oforganizational framework fore-government among others.

As part of its contribution tothe nation’s economy, theMinister told the audiencethat the industry now

contributes over $50 billion(9.58%) to the GDP and isfurther enabling other parts ofthe economy.

She stated that the improvedenvironment assured by thePresident’s TransformationAgenda helped in creatinglocal companies that areinnovating and adding valueto the Nigerian economy.

“The Nigerian telecomsector is one of the fastestgrowing sectors in the worldand continues to attractsignificant foreign DirectInvestment. The Ministry haslaid down key policydocuments: the National ICTPolicy, National BroadbandStrategy and Local ContentGuidelines among others,”she added.

Johnson, who lamented theloss of $360 million to thepurchase and maintenance ofsoftware on products andservices over the years,

promised to usher in a newregime that would addressthe huge loss.

Connect NigeriaJohnson explained that the

ministry, through theUniversal Service ProvisionFund, USPF has rolled outtargeted initiatives to connectNigerian students.

Specifically, she noted that1.4 million students in 27federal universities are nowconnected while 3.4 millionfrom Polytechnics would beconnected by the end of 2015in second phase.

By Emma Elebeke

NITDA to establish researchfund for academic projects

By Prince Osuagwu

The National InformationTechnology Development

Agency, NITDA, has sprungto action in the new year,strongly indicating its desireto upscale its capacitybuilding efforts throughtraining and research ofgovernment agencies anddepartments.

The agency also promises tocontinue the broad objectivestowards boosting Nigeria’sICT capabilities and skills inthe year 2015.

Part of NITDA’s new yearresolution, is to establishresearch fund to

sponsor ICT focusedacademic research projects forNigerian scholars andeducational institutions acrossthe world.

NITDA’s core mandate isdeveloping ICTs in Nigeria,and this, the Agency said ithas been implementingthrough training Nigeriansacross all strata and investingin researches to increase thecountry’s knowledge base inICT innovations, especially inthe area of softwaredevelopment.

In a likelihood of a new yearmessage in Abuja, theagency’s Director General,Mr Peter Jack, said that in2015, his agency will exploreits ACT which mandates it to

proactively assist Nigeriangovernments, agencies and

companies to improvetheir processes and product

quality, adding that this hasbeen its focus through itsinitiatives of trainings and re-training programmes, which

many Nigerians havebenefitted from.

However, he promised thatto increase the tempo and fasttrack the nation’sdevelopment with technology,the agency, this year, willraise the bar on its ICTtraining programmes.

NITDA’s training focus, Jacksaid, can also be seen in theestablishment of technologyincubation programs, ruralICT programmes, ICT clustersand other IT developmentnetworks, which are beenused to stimulate the growthof the sector.

The NITDA DG said that inbroadening the scope andfocus the Agency isundertaking in 2015, he hadseen a companion in the 2014E-Government Survey tagged‘E-Government for the FutureWe Want’, where the UnitedNations noted that “E-government and innovationcan provide significantopportunities to transformpublic administration into aninstrument of sustainabledevelopment.”

Jack said that “theopportunities offered by thedigital development of recentyears, whether through onlineservices, big data, social media,mobile apps, or cloudcomputing, are expanding theway we look at e-government.”

He also claimed that NITDAwas taking the issue of capacitybuilding in government circlesseriously in order for Nigeriato key into the UN agenda,adding that while providing allthe necessary incentives toencourage the use ofinformation technology in allspheres of life in Nigeria, it willalso ensure that governmentand its agencies adopt atransparent and open way ofdoing business.

•Johnson

USPF's subsidy-based backbonetransmission

In a similar vein, the commission saidthrough the Universal Service Provision Fund(USPF), it has bridged the gap between theserved and underserved areas of the country,with a subsidy-based project designed tofacilitate the connection of rural and semi-urban areas to the national transmissionbackbone infrastructure with the intention tofacilitate the build-out of backbonetransmission infrastructure.

The project is expected to be implementedin all the 774 local government areas inNigeria, using targeted subsidies.

Just recently, the Minister ofCommunication Technology, Mrs OmobolaJohnson, said that about 1, 200 kilometres offibre optic cabling has also been run so far,through the project.

The minister listed that over 170 basestations, in total, had been deployed onlythrough the USPF to un-served andunderserved areas by the end of 2014, witheach of the base stations serving a cluster ofcommunities.

Consequently, telecoms sector has grownfrom obscurity to limelight, emerging as amajor contributor to the country’s economywith its current contribution of 10 per cent tothe national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

These metrics contributed immensely in theInternational Telecommunication Union, ITU'srating of the country as the fastest growingtelecommunications market for fiveconsecutive years. Perhaps, other areas ofpositive impact of the sector in 14 yearsincludes the areas of service tariff, cost ofowning communication devices and cost ofacquiring telephone line.

From N50 per minute of phone call in 2001,the cost has crashed by 78 per cent today astelecoms subscribers now make call for as lowas N10 or N9 per minute across networks.

The NCC adopted in 2013 Progressive

reduction interconnect termination rateswhereby New Entrants and small operators hadtermination rates for voice services pegged atN4.90 in April 2013, N4.40 in April 2014 and byApril this year it will drop to N3.90 for allnetworks.

Also, SIM cards are almost given pro bonoby telecoms networks today, whereas, 14 yearsago, Nigerians were paying between N25, 000and N20, 000 to acquire a SIM card with onlynet-worth individuals being able to owntelephone lines.

The NCC introduced the Mobile NumberPortability (MNP) whereby subscribers are atliberty to navigate across networks withoutlosing their SIM number. This has putoperators on their toes on areas of serviceprovision in order not to lose subscribers.

The sector can fare better

The thorns, the thrillsContinued from page 25

•NITDA DG, Peter Jack

UniversalS e r v i c eProvis ionF u n d(USPF), hasbridged theg a pb e t w e e nthe serveda n dunderservedareas of thecountry

However, while subscribingto the belief that the sectorhas not done badly in the last14 years, the president of theAssociation ofTe l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n sCompanies of Nigeria(ATCON) Engr Lanre Ajayisubmitted that for the sectorto do better, going forward,telecom infrastructure mustbe spread massively and forthis to happen, thatgovernment must find a wayto address issues of multipletaxation by different levels ofgovernment; environmentalhostilities like bringing downBTS, especially in parts of theNorth by terror groups andsome government agencies;permits challenge as well asvandalism and theft oftelecoms equipments .


Abuja will come alive this weekend as the season curtainraiser, the Glo Premier League Super 4 (Invitational) kicks off.

Champions Kano Pillars, Enyimba, Warri Wolves and Dolphins will bejoined by two of Nigeria’s junior national teams, the Under-23 andthe Under-20 in the ten day tournament.

Of the various stars expected to light up the tournament, here arefive you want to watch out for.

Godspower AniefiokGodspower AniefiokGodspower AniefiokGodspower AniefiokGodspower Aniefiok(Kano Pillars)

Aniefiok’s last season’s perform ance Five Players to Watch out for at the Su-per Sixes for Akwa United did not go unnoticed bythe big boys. After a tussle between Pillars, Eny-imba and Warri Wolves, the young player optedto sign for Kano Pillars a couple of weeks ago. Alleyes will be on this lanky upcoming midfield dy-namo as he looks to exert his influence in the mid-

dle of the park for the League Champions. He boasts of a good vision,an excellent ball passing ability as well as knowing how to find theback of the net. Ladies and Gentlemen, Kano Pillars have gotten evenstronger.

Alex IwobiAlex IwobiAlex IwobiAlex IwobiAlex Iwobi (Arsenal FC and Under-23)

Samson Siasia’s strong Under-23 sidegot even better with the arrival of Arsenal

Under-21 Winger Alex Iwobi. Followers of theEnglish game might not have seen him in actionas he is yet to break into the senior team butArsene Wenger has named him on the substi-tutes bench a couple of times this season. Iwobialso comes into this tournament with another ped-igree ahead of him. He is the nephew to formerSuper Eagles captain, Austin Jay Jay Okocha.Now, your ears have lit up, he will be lining upfor the Nigeria Under-23 team.

Chima UluochaChima UluochaChima UluochaChima UluochaChima Uluocha (Enyimba International)

Uluocha was one of the big moves we saw during the break with the Abia War-riors captain dumping Abia’s Red corner for theblue corner. Kadiri Ikhana spotted Uluocha af-ter Abia Warriors 3-3 draw with Enyimba andquickly settled the move. Enyimba have the likesof Chinedu Udoji, Emma Anyanwu and UcheJohn but it is likely that we will see Uluochaplaying a key role in Enyimba’s Super 4 cam-paign.

Chidera EzehChidera EzehChidera EzehChidera EzehChidera Ezeh (FC Porto and Under-21)

The 2013 Under-17 World Championshipssaw the revelation of such talents as Kel-

echi Iheanacho and Chidera Ezeh among oth-ers. While English Premier League Champi-ons Manchester City snapped up Iheanacho,Portuguese side FC Porto went for Ezeh. Theattacking midfielder who turned 17 last Octo-ber is currently honing his skills with the youthteam of the Portuguese Giants who cannotwait to offer him a contract. Garba Manu hasinvited the youngster and the Super 4 tour-nament is another opportunity for us to seethis youngster whose heroics at the cadet mundial last year broughthim to the limelight.

Onyekachi OkaforOnyekachi OkaforOnyekachi OkaforOnyekachi OkaforOnyekachi Okafor (Warri Wolves)

Crown FC had a season to forget in the Glo Premier League last season and eventuallygetting themselves relegated at the end of the sea-son but one bright spark of that troubled seasonwas Onyekachi Okafor. The striker gave a goodaccount of himself nonetheless and it was no sur-prise when Warri Wolves signed him as a replace-ment for Serbia bound Gbolahan Salami. He willbe key to their domestic and Continental aspira-tions. His move seems a good one and Paul Aig-bogun will be hoping he hits the ground running.

Algeria escaped a “catastrophic”start to their Africa Cup of Nations

campaign, says coach ChristianGourcuff after Monday’s win overSouth Africa.

Despite being one of thetournament favourites, they trailedafter Thuso Phala’s 51st minute goal.

Bournemouth’s Tokelo Rantie thenmissed a penalty for Bafana Bafanabefore Algeria scored three goals inthe final 23 minutes.

“The penalty was a turning point,”said Gourcuff.

He added: “ At 2-0 the game was

Five Players to Watch out forat the Super Six

Algeria escaped‘catastrophic’start says Coach

not over but we would have been in adifficult situation.”

Having impressed on their way toreaching the knockout stages in the WorldCup in Brazil last summer, Algeria are tippedby many to go all the way in EquatorialGuinea.

But, after a disappointing first hour, it tookRantie’s missed penalty and an own goalfrom Thulani Hlatshwayo to give them hopeof the expected victory.

Goals from Faouzi Ghoulam and IslamSlimani then secured the win for the NorthAfricans, who face Ghana next on Friday.

AFCON hosts crAFCON hosts crAFCON hosts crAFCON hosts crAFCON hosts cry fy fy fy fy foulouloulouloulover cancelled goalover cancelled goalover cancelled goalover cancelled goalover cancelled goal

Hosts of the 2015 AFCONEquatorial Guinea have

lodged an official protest toCAF over a cancelled goal inSaturday’s opening Group Amatch against Congo.

Skipper Emilio Nsue’slobbed effort in the 74thminute was ruled for offsideby African Referee of the Year2013 and 2014 Bakary PapaGassama from Gambia.

Television replays showed itwas a poor decision and theEquatorial Guinea footballfederation (Feguifut) alleged

on the government officialwebsite that this was a gang-up by the referee to stop thehome country from reachingthe last-eight of thetournament.

The statement said expertshave reviewed several timesthe video of that goal andsaid it should have stood.

Spain-based striker ThievyBifouma will go on to drawlevel for Congo with NzalangNacional in the dyingminutes of the game.

Interestingly, Congo coach

Claude Le Roy alleged theirperformance againstEquatorial Guinea wasaffected because they weredeliberately held up in trafficon their way to the stadiumhours to the kick-off.

Emilio Nsue

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015VOL. 1 NO 19 PAGE 2

— PAGE 6— PAGE 4

ALSO IN THIS EDITION

Continues on page 3

UMUOJI—THERE istension in Umuoji,

Idemili North Local Govern-ment Area, Anambra Stateover the burning of UdumeAbor Shrine by a group ofChristians permitted by thecommunity to pray for theprogress and development ofthe community.

The battle line is drawnbetween Christians andtraditionalists with theleadership of the communitydumbfounded havingapproved the prayer sessionab-initio. The organizers ofthe prayer session burnt theUdume Shrine onWednesday, January 7, 2015by three 3pm after a three-dayprayer summit.

South East Voice was toldthe prayer session wasorganized by UmuojiChristian group at UzoiyiUmuoji Stadium after gettingthe endorsement of thetraditional ruler of hecommunity, Igwe CyrilEnweze, who is also chairmanof Anambra State InvestmentBoard.

The leadership of theUmuoji town union led by Mr.Basil Okonkwo equally gaveits nod but the group wentoutside its brief to causemayhem.

The villagers locked theirshops for the three dayspraying and fasting as allmarkets were shut in thearea.

Apparently propelled by theChristian group led by oneSimon Akpaka, the prayerwarriors rose in unison on thelast day of the prayers, andallegedly matched straight toUdume Abor Shrine, searchedfor the deities before settingthe place ablaze. They laterheaded to the house of thechief priest at Ifite Umuoji,where they located his staff ofoffice inside the residenceand also set it ablaze,chanting victory songs. But forthe intervention of somemembers of the sect, the newbuilding of the chief priestwould have been burnt downas they assisted in salvagingit. But the regalia of office andother traditional materialswere burnt alongside the staff.Christians jubilate,

Udume worshippersspoil for war

There was indeed jubilationeverywhere by the Christians.

However, in a twinkle of aneye, the youths and worship-pers of the shrine mobilizedand are spoiling for war. Theyare said to be amazed on whythe Udume, their ancestraloracle worshipped by theirforefathers should bedestroyed and the ancientUdume Abor chief priestviolated and molested.

Chief priestexpresses sadness

The victim/the chief priestand a former Christian,Samuel Nweke Nwankwo,who was short of words toexpress what happened,however, managed to expresssadness by the development.He said that Christians andtraditionalists had been livingpeacefully and wonderedwhat led to the burning of thedeity.

He said the burning of theUdume Abor deity and other

deity materials, as well asitems brought by people toworship in his house wouldtake over N9 million toreplace.

Nwankwo said that it was a

taboo to burn the god ofUmuoji and that theperpetrators would havereasons to regret fighting a

Tension mountsin Anambracommunity overburning of UdumeAbor Shrine•Udume shrine staff seized from chief priest’s house, burnt•Battle line drawn between Christians, traditionalists•Community leaders dumfounded

Burning of theUdume Abor

deity and otherdeity materials,as well as items

brought bypeople to worship

in his housewould take over

N9 million toreplace

•A deity in Igboland

•The shrine with some worshippers before it was burnt

Couple stranded atOnitsha Hospitalafter birth of triplet

How Anambra govtclamped down on6 illegal privateschools

Abia communitiescry out over failedOpobo-AzuminiHighway


NNEWI—FOR Mr.Emmanuel Nwaokolo a

petty trader and his wife Mrs.Vivian, an unemployed NCEholder in Chemistry/ IntegratedScience from the Nwafor OrizuCollage of Education, Nsugbe,and native of Abatete in IdemiliNorth Local Government Area ofAnambra State, having a triplet;(two boys and a girl, all weighingover 2.7 kilogrammes), hasturned to a curse rather thanblessing. The couple is nowstranded with their new bornbabies at a private hospital inOnitsha, the commercial hub ofthe state.

The couple is stranded at theParagon Hospital and MaternityFegge Onitsha South LocalGovernment Area, because theyare unable to pay the hospital billof the new born babies deliveredon January 7, 2015.

The couple which already hadfour male children, aged nine,seven, five and three years eachbefore the arrival of the triplet.

According to Mr. Nwaokolowho looked devastated, confusedand almost losing his memory,following the coming of thetriplet, “we did not plan to haveanother baby at least for nowbecause I have not establishedmy electrical parts tradingbusiness I learnt about 10 years

ago at the Electrical DealersMarket Obosi, off OnitshaOwerri Road Anambra State. Ihave been selling snacks sincethen.”

Mrs. Nwaokolo who alsograduated in 2004, told SouthEast Voice that her familyplanning failed her as she gotpregnant without realising it untilabout three months later whenshe went to hospital and did sometests.

“My menstrual periodaggravated my problem, somemonths I had heavy flow, whilein others, I had drops of blood.Although I was looking for a babygirl, I wanted it after securing ajob, as I took part in the lastteachers employmentexamination conducted by PostPrimary Schools ServiceCommission, PPSSC, atIgwebuike Grammar School,Awka.

“I told some of my friends whenI discovered that I was pregnantand some advised me toterminate the pregnancy, whileothers advised me againstterminating it. It was a difficultdecision and I later decided tokeep it, since, I needed a femalechild. and here is the situation, ababy girl and two baby boys,” shesaid.

The mother of the triplet hasalready named the first, a boyChibuzor (God is the way); thesecond also a boy, Chiemerie

(God has won) and the girl,Chisimdi (God asked me to live).

The couple is however,appealing to the Anambra StateGovernor, Chief Willie Obiano,Dr. Chris Ngige, Chief VictorUmeh, the Idemili North LocalGovernment and good spiritedindividuals and organizations inand outside the state forassistance to pay the hospital billof the triplet as well as in theirupkeep with the other fourchildren already in school.

Mrs. Nwaokolo is alsoappealing to the state governorto provide her a job to take careof the seven children as theywould not depend on beggingto train the children.

“These children are now a bigchallenge to us, we have to take

care of them. We will not throwthem away; what I want now isthe money to pay the hospital bill,and a job that I will do to takecare of all the children. They willeat and go to school and we mustnot beg to train them, we have towork to train them,” she said.

Medical Director of the hospitalDr. Emma Udegbunam said Mrs.Nwaokolo was referred to hishospital from a maternity wherethey delivered the first babybecause they had difficulties indelivering the rest two.

He said: “So when we saw her,we tried everything we could todeliver the other two normally,but it was not possible and herblood pressure was going up andthe children were gettingstressed, so we had no other

choice than to do a caesarian onher.

“We had a successful operationand the two remaining childrenwere brought out. That is whatwe did and we thank God fortheir lives” he said, adding thatthe couple would pay overN200,000.

Udegbunam said that,although he had not calculatedthe exact amount to be paid, “butbased on previous experiences,the couple should look for, thatamount and above for them to bepaid before Mrs Nwaokolowould be discharged from thehospital.

“If the couple does not havemoney to pay the hospital billthey can call on people to helpthem. It is not a wrong move, theyare in order, because it is not easyto have triplet and be able toprovide for them.

“Considering the economicsituation we find ourselves andfor somebody who is a belowaverage income earner, theperson will not be able to takecare of these children; theycertainly need help. I amappealing to people to assistthem, we are doing everythingto ensure that the womancontinues to be stable and thebabies are doing well.”

The Landlady of the couple,Lady Oji Pat of 21 OzomagalaStreet, Odoakpu, Onitsha, whohad been running around andtaking care of the woman saidthat any assistance to the couplewould be a welcome develop-ment.

“Mr. and Mrs. EmmanuelNwaokolo are good tenants,except that they have problemsraising their kids and now theirsituation has been compoundedwith the coming of the triplet; butwe thank God. It is a good thingthat has happened to them, whatmakes it look as if they are nothappy or welcoming the childrenis their financial problem.

“They are now going to providefor seven children, it is certainlynot going to be easy for them, soI am asking the government andwell to do individuals, politiciansand other good spiritedindividuals to come and helpthem; get them out of the hospital,help them raise the children; paytheir school fees and other thingsand also give job to the wife whois an NCE holder, and then helpthe husband to establish hisbusiness.

‘’Personally, I have been tryingfor them and I will continue totry my best. They can confirm thatI have been doing my best forthem.’’

Couple stranded at OnitshaHospital after birth of triplet...laments failure of family planning method

•The triplet

I told some of my friends whenI discovered that I was

pregnant and some advised meto terminate the pregnancy,

while others advised meagainst terminating it

By CHIMOBI NWAIWU

O N I T S H A — T H EChairman of Onitsha

Township Taxi and Semi-trucks, Association, ChiefDouglas Ivedezi, has askedtransport workers ‘’not toallow themselves to be re-cruited as political thugs dur-ing the forth coming generalelections in the country.

Ivedezi spoke during aninterview with South East

Ivedezi counsels transport workersagainst thuggery

Voice in Onitsha, saying thatsome politicians would resortto thuggery in the light of theirregularities in the justconcluded party primaries inthe state.

He commended theAnambra State governmentfor banning the sale of alcoholwithin and around motorparks in the state, saying thatthe action would go a long

way in curtailing crimes in thearea.

According to him, the banon the sale of alcohol wouldgo a long way in re-engineering the mindset andgeneral persona of those whowork in and around the motorparks as well as transformingthe attitude of the passengerswho had hitherto looked downon park workers because oftheir behaviour.

Vanguard, JANUARY 21, 2015 —3

Continues from page 1

completion time to 18 months.South East Voice, however, visited

the site situated on the left side of theentrance of the airport and discoveredthat construction work had stopped,although construction equipment werestill there.

A cross section of people from thegeopolitical zone had shownresentment over federal government’sfailed promises to the people which theylubricate each time electionsapproached.

The international operation of theairport would reduce the man hoursspent in travelling to Lagos, Abuja orother places to catch international flightsby the Igbo, save costs, provide thepeople of the region a direct access tointernational arena and give them asense of belonging for their massivesupport to the administration ofPresident Jonathan.

The people wondered why suchimportant projects would be used as apolitical bargaining chip duringelections.

LamentationsMr. Philip Iwu, a businessman,

wondered why the project had not beencompleted since the airport was

upgraded in 2010 to an international status.He said: “The funding and release of

funds have been the bane of the delay inthe completion even though it is capturedyearly in the budgets.

“The upgrading of the airport had beenin the national annual budget since 1999.The problem is misappropriation. Theairport is of utmost importance to thecommercially oriented people of the SouthEast. Even if the airport is built like JFKAirport in New York, USA, it cannot attractmajor airliners like Lufthansa, British Air,etc because the government has left whatled to the creation of the state, which iscoal to be moribund.

“The Ethopian Airline that you seeoperating here is subsidised by the FederalGovernment. It is a cosmetic approachwhich cannot be sustained especially withthe country’s dwindling resources.

“The same thing that happened to theAirport also happened to the 2nd-NigerBridge. The 2nd-Niger Bridge wasawarded on a Build-Operate and Transfer,BOT, agreement. Our generations will paytolls for the next 25 years to recover themoney used for the construction if at all itwill be constructed.”

with the Caretaker CommitteeChairman of Umuoji ImprovementUnion, Mr. Basil Okonkwo, thetraditional ruler, cabinet members andthe entire Umuoji people but thepeople did not ask anybody to committhat type of sacrilege.

He lamented that the ancient Umuojikingdom known for its rich traditionand cultural heritage in Idemili NorthLocal Government Area, had comeunder a disguised attack.

According to him, the killing ofpython is forbidden in Umuoji but yetpeople were daily killing pythons asa way of provoking the people.

Igwe Enweze told South EastVoice that; “The prayer was plannedseveral months ago. The group camefor approval and said it was going tobe an inter-denominational serviceinvolving the Catholic, Anglican andPentecostal churches. They said thatthey want to pray for the peace andprogress of Umuoji town for about fivedays but we later agreed that it wouldlast for three days.

“We said to them, we have a veryimportant market day in Umuoji whichis Eke day, and that Umuoji doesn’tjoke with Eke day as it is the mostimportant day which everybodyneeded to respect and we urged themto make it peaceful as Christians bypreaching peace and love of theirneighbours, as well as live and letlive.’’

Enweze further disclosed thatUmuoji Improvement Union, UIU, metwith them and approved the prayersession for the whole Umuoji people,and they agreed, lamenting that thenews he was hearing was ‘’nasty andcapable of igniting crisis in thecommunity.”

The alleged Christian group couldnot be reached for comments despiteefforts as nobody wanted to beidentified as being part of those whoburnt the shrine.

There was crisis in Umuoji, preciselyon May 12, 2013, following the killingof a python by members of thePentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria,PFN. The matter was, however,resolved by the Anambra State PoliceCommand which was said to havemediated and prevented totalbreakdown of law and order then.

war they would not win.He admitted passing the

Christian group on the roadwithout knowing that his houseand the shrine were their target,regretting that it was aneffrontery of one Simon Akpakato have led a group to burn theancestral deity of Udume Abor.

He also expressed unhappi-ness and shock that rather thanassist promote the rich culturalheritage of Umuoji, the Christianswere busy destroying it anddenying future generations of theknowledge of their ancestors.

He called on government andstakeholders in Igbo traditionand culture to look into thisdastardly act and come to hishelp before the gods begin toretaliate.

Attack, unprovokedaggression—Udumeworshipper

An Udume worshipper whoseshrine and house were also burntat Idoma Umuoji, Mr. AndyMbanusi described the incidentas unprovoked aggression.

Mbanusi further expresseddismay over the heartless attitudeof a group that called themselvesChristians waging a war againsttheir fellow residents withoutprovocation. He said apart frommillions he would need in cashto re-build what had beendestroyed, the gods needed to beappeased.

Restraining the youths/worshippers fromattacking Christians

Chairman, CulturalCommittee in Umuoji

kingdom, Dr. Fidelis NwankwoIbekwe appeared to have savedthe day by holding the youthsthat mobilized to attack theChristians.

Ibekwe condemned the unholyact, describing it as sin. ‘’This issinful and unjust. It is injusticeagainst humanity,” he added.

Chief Ibekwe confirmed thatthe community was taken abackby the actions of the organizersas the event was jointly planned

•The forest where the shrine was located

ENUGU—THE delay incompletion of the

international terminal of theAkanu-Ibiam InternationalAirport, Emene, EnuguState has left the people ofthe South-East geopoliticalzone bewildered.

President GoodluckJonathan had upgraded theairport to an internationalstatus in 2010 with a promiseto construct the internationalterminal immediately toenable it commence fulloperations.

Contract for the construc-tion of the internationalterminal was awarded toChina Civil EngineeringConstruction Company,CCECC, but work at the siteseem to have stopped.

Jonathan had visited thesite during his presidentialrally on January 9, in Enuguand promised the peoplethat he had asked thecontractor to shorten the

BY FRANCIS IGATA

Proposed Akanu Ibiam International Airport,Enugu

Departure Hall, Akanu Ibiam International Airport.

Travellers worry overnon-completion ofAkanu-Ibiam airportterminal

Tension mounts in Anambracommunity over burning of UdumeAbor Shrine

4 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

AWKA—SIX illegal privateschools allegedly posing

great impediment to theeducational well-being ofschool children in AnambraState, have been closed downby the state government.

The schools closed were partof the over 800 alleged illegalschools, earlier published by thestate’s ministry of education,warning the operators to closethe institutions forthwith.

The affected schools werelocated at Awka South, NnewiNorth, Onitsha North andOnitsha South and Ogbaru LocalGovernment Areas of the state.

They include the ExcellentAcademy Pre-Nursery, Nursery/Primary School at Isiagu-Amikwo,

Awka; God’s Elect Nursery/Primary School, Amudo, Awkaand God’s Glory Day CareNursery/Primary School,Ozomagana-Odoakpu, Onitsha.

Others were the ExcellentAcademy Foundation, Fegge,Onitsha; Light Bearers andPacesetters School, Okpoko, inOnitsha and Kadimal ‘A’International Nursery/PrimarySchool, Okpunoegbu-Umamudim, Nnewi.

Speaking to South East Voice,the Commissioner for Education,Prof. Kate Omenugha, statedthat their closure followed thestate government’s conviction

that such illegal schools posedserious challenges to theeducational well-being ofAnambra State children.

Omenugha who regretted theillegal and unpatriotic activitiesof the schools’ proprietors,wondered why some parents stillpatronized such illegal schoolswhich operate mainly in make-shift accommodations, under

unhygienic and unfriendlyenvironment.

She said: “It is the totalcommitment of Governor WillieObiano’s administration toimprove the teaching andlearning environments throughinfrastructural development andprovision of instructionalmaterials to public schools andserious minded private schools.

How Anambra govt clampeddown on 6 illegal private schools

BY IKENNA ASOMBA

•Prof. Kate Omenugha,Anambra State Commissionerfor Education

•One of the illegal private schools.

Therefore, parents andguardians should send theirchildren and wards to govern-ment approved schools.’’

Proprietors and teachers inillegal schools to be dealtwith

“The children of Anambra Statedeserve the best environment fortheir academic pursuit, to enable

them realize their potentials,” shefurther said, adding that“government cannot fold itshands and watch unpatrioticelements play with the future ofour children.”

Omenugha, however,commended the officers and menof the Nigerian Police Force,NPF, in Anambra State for theircollaborative efforts that broughtabout the success recordedduring the closure of the sixschools, noting that follow upactions would be carried out toensure compliance.

Similarly, the PermanentSecretary in the Ministry ofEducation, Mr. Harry Udu,explained that the closure of theillegal schools was to furtheradvance the educationalstandard already established inthe state.

Meanwhile, the illegal schoolswere officially declared closed onbehalf of the state government bythe Director of Schools in theMinistry of Education, Mr.Festus Uwakwe.

Uwakwe who noted thateducation was one aspect of theeconomy that should not beneglected, however, advisedparents to stop patronizingillegal schools.

“Our state stands to benefitmore if they send their childrenand wards to good schools.Therefore, owners of these sub-standard schools must stopoperating or bear the full weightof the law,’’ he added.

Igbo's oldest dynasty celebrates 115thOvala festival

AWKA—THE Idigo Dynastyof Aguleri is believed to be

the oldest in Igboland as it wassaid to be in existence before thebirth of Jesus Christ over 2000years ago. The annual OvalaFestival of Aguleri held recentlyin the ancient town had fullcompliments of culture andtradition spiced with modernity.

The appearance of IgweChristopher Idigo IV,(Ogalagidi) at the ancient arenasent the mammoth crowd roaringand it was a wonderful sight tobehold. Indeed, the royal dancewas the climax of the festival,which also featured theconferment of chieftaincy titles onthe national chairman of All

BY VINCENT UJUMADUProgressives Grand Alliance,APGA, Chief Victor Umeh and aprominent entrepreneur, ChiefOkwuchukwu Ezeonyeodu.

Before Eze Chritstopher IdigoIV, an Engineer, mounted thethrone in 1995, there had beenOgbuanyinya Onyekomeli Idigo,Eze Nwanne Idigo 1, EzeRaphael Anakwuba Idigo 11 andEze Alphonsus Ezeudu Idigo 111on the saddle.

The 115th Ovala celebrationlived up to expectation, especiallyas it is the first Ovala since theinauguration of an Aguleri sonand a member of the AguleriRoyal Cabinet, Chief WillieMaduabuchi Obiano(Akpokuodike Aguleri), as thegovernor of Anambra State inMarch last year. For the people

of Aguleri and Omabala clan ingeneral, their excitement knewno bounds knowing where theywere coming from politically.

Expectedly, because of theinvolvement and presence of thegovernor, men of timber andcaliber in politics, industry,commerce and the visitingtraditional rulers across AnambraState made the cultural fiestaspectacular.

The event overshadowed therecent controversy over the realorigin of the Igbos to whichAguleri and Nri in Anaocha localgovernment area had laid claim.It also subdued the frequentclashes at the Aguleri/Kogi State/Enugu State boundary over theland habouring the oil-wells inAguleri-Out in which many liveshad been lost and property worthmillions of naira destroyed.

The dispute began two years

ago shortly after PresidentGoodluck Jonathan declaredAnambra State an oil-producingstate. To date, the NationalBoundary Commission is stillbattling to resolve the matter.

Most visitors to the 115th OvalaFestival were marveled at theinfrastructural development thathad taken place in the townbetween the 114th Festival andthe 115th Festival as a result ofthe emergence of their son, ChiefWillie Obiano as the governor ofthe state. The expectation is thatby this time next year when the116th Ovala Festival will becelebrated, Aguleri would havebecome a city to behold, especiallyas there are plans to have a CargoAirport, a refinery and good roadnetwork in the area in line withthe development agenda of thegovernor.


DO you have anynews of neglect orabandoned projects oryour representative atthe local, state or federalgovernments are notrepresenting you well?Do you have uniquecultural activities comingup or any communitynews to tell us?

Emeka Mamah(Co-ordinator):08033218645Austin Ogwuda(Enugu):08037136440Francis Igata08033387069VincentUjumadu(Awka):08035804090Anayo Okoli(Umuahia):08034046839Chidi Nkwopara(Imo):08033391108Peter Okutu (Abakaliki):08032680756Chinenyeh Ozor(Nsukka):08185664011Nwabueze Okonkwo(Nnewi):08037794782Enyim Enyim (Onitsha):08169297179Or: e-mail us:[email protected]

REACH US

O N I T S H A —D E T E C T I V E S

attached to Ogidi PoliceDivision in Idemili NorthLocal Government Area ofAnambra State are nowinvestigating thecircumstances surroundingthe burning down of a vehicleand damaging of somestructures erected on adisputed portion of landbetween Nkpor and Umuojicommunities in the area.

Both communities are layingclaim to the land to the extentthat while Nkpor called itAbomili Layout, Mgbachuvillage, Nkpor, Umuoji calledit Dimboko Village land,Umuoji.

It was gathered that whilethe claims and counter claimswere on-going, Umuojipeople allegedly sold a largeportion of the land to WinnersChapel, one of the popularpentecostal churches for theerection of their cathedral.

Trouble started at theweekend when members ofthe Winners Chapel hired abulldozer and a low-bedtrailer to convey thecaterpillar to the land forclearing, having completedall the necessary agreementsconcerning the landacquisition with Umuojipeople.

As the low-bed trailer wasconveying the caterpillar tothe land, a team of soldiersbelieved to have beenengaged by the WinnersChapel from the Onitsha

Military Cantonment andsome youths from Umuojiescorted them into the land forprotection.

However, it was said that, onentering the land, the youthsallegedly went on rampageand started pulling down anystructure on the way to ensurethat the Winners Chapel hadan unfettered access into theland.

According to sources, it waswhile the drama was going onthat the Nkpor people got awind of the development andquickly alerted both themilitary and police authori-ties. It was further said thatthe soldiers engaged by theUmuoji people and the youthsallegedly fled the scene, onsighting a combined team ofmilitary and police officers butthe police, however, succee-ded in arresting the trailerdriver and took him and thevehicle to the station forinterrogation.

At the police station, theDivisional Police Officer,DPO, Hassan Musa said hewas aware of the incident anddeclined further comments onthe ground that the statePolice Public Relations Officer,Uche Ezeh was in a betterposition to comment on thematter.

However, the head ofDimboko village, Umuoji whosimply identified himself asChief Onwuachu, told thepolice in a statement that theland actually belonged toUmuoji people, adding thatthey sold it to the WinnersChapel as a virgin land.

Onwuachu said he never

expected any structure to bestanding in a virgin land,adding however that he wasonly aware that the WinnersChapel went into the land toclear the bush for theirbuilding but not aware thatthere were vehicles andstructures damaged in theprocess.

The Nkpor people whospoke through Dr. ChristianOkeke and Chris Aniemeka,said they were surprised thatUmuoji people would still goahead and sell the disputedland which was already incourt and which theInspector-General of Policehad once warned againstcriminalising the matter.

Okeke and Aniemeka notedthat when they heard thatUmuoji youths and soldiershad escorted the trailer andcaterpillar into the disputedland to damage peopleshouses and vehicles, theyalerted the police and theCommander of the 302Artillery Regiment, Col. Bellowho quickly sent somemilitary police to the area,adding that on hearing thatthe military police had beensent after them, the soldiersquickly fled the area for theirown safety, while the policemoved in and arrested thetrailer driver, a WinnersChapel pastor and some ofthe youths.

They quoted one PastorFrank, a developer in the landas alleging that he lostN35,000 to the youths whoalso gave him a machete cut,adding that one otherdeveloper who simply himself

as Mr. Okeke also claimed tohave lost N3.5 million and hisGSM handset to the youths atgun point.

They said the police hadreleased both the caterpillarand trailer drivers on bailwhen they showed thecheques issued to them bythe Winners Chapel for thehiring of their vehicles,adding that they did not evenknow that the land was indispute until they got there.

The leader of the WinnersChapel, Pastor Fred Attabordeclined comments on thematter when he was contactedon the telephone, adding thatany clarification on the mattermust come from theirheadquarters.

Police wade intoNkpor/Umuojiinter-communalland dispute inAnambra

•IGP Sulleiman Abba

By NWABUEZEOKONKWO

The soldiersengaged by theUmuoji peopleand the youthsallegedly fledthe scene, on

sighting acombined teamof military andpolice officers

6 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014

UMUAHIA—RESIDENTSof Akirika-Ukwu and

Akirika-Nta communities inUkwa East Local GovernmentArea of Abia State have criedout over the dilapidated stateof the Opobo-Azuminihighway.

The road which links the twoUkwa East communities withtheir Ika neighbours in AkwaIbom State has become adeath trap with deep craterscapable of burying trucks.

For motorists andpassengers travelling to AkwaIbom State, the situation iseven worse since the Aba-IkotEkpene road was alsoimpassable during the rainyseason.

South East Voicegathered that the road whichcriss-crosses Abia and AkwaIbom States also, serves asthe major route to Azumini inAbia State through Iwukemand Ukanafun among othertown in Akwa Ibom State. Itis also the nearest route to thecountry home of formerSenate President, ChiefAdolphus Wabara inOhambele town from whereone can also connect theEnugu-Port HarcourtExpressway at Obehie inUkwa West council area.

The first sign that all is notwell with the Opobo-Azuminiroad are the large pot holesthat greet motorists passingthrough the Aba to Obingwasection to the Akirika-Azumini end. The worst partof the road lies between theAkirika-Ukwu Police Post inAbia State to the GovernmentSecondary School, Ikot Uko,in Ika Local Government Areaof Akwa Ibom State, wherethere are about five deepgullies with one of themlooking like a trench dug bysoldiers during the Nigeriancivil war era.

A resident of Akirika-Ukwucommunity, Chief SundayNna told South East Voicethat he was lucky to visit thearea during the dry season asonly big trucks managed towade through the deepgullies which now dot theroad.

He lamented that theresidents of the two Akirikacommunities severelysuffered during the rainyseason as they were cut offfrom the Azumini and Ikaneighbours in Akwa IbomState. Chief Nna narrated theordeal of motorists and tradersfrom the Azumini and AkwaIbom areas who travelled toAba to buy goods and wereusually stuck in the mud evenas some of them spent a dayor two at the gullies beforetheir vehicles could beoffloaded and rescued from

the gullies.While corroborating Nna’s

accounts, a resident ofneighbouring Akirika-NtaCommunity, Sam Nwankwoappealed to both the state andfederal governments torehabilitate the road and savethe people from reliving theirugly experience during thepast rainy season.

A commercial motorcyclist(Okada rider) at the popularUmuogele Junction along theAba section of the road, whogave his name simply as Itoro,said he and his colleaguesenjoyed the rainy season asthey waded through bushpaths to take Ika and Azuminibound passengers to theirdestinations for some fees.

According to him;”Evenpassengers going toUkanafun and Abak hired usto take them to Azuminiwhere they boarded buses totheir destinations. Thosetravelling to Aba also hired usat Azumini, from where wetook them to the UmuogeleJunction where they boardedtricycles to the town. People

•Opobo-Azumini road

•One of the many portions of the dilapidated Opobo-Azumini road

Abia communities cry out over failedOpobo-Azumini Highway

By FELIX OGBONNA

suffered during the last rainyseaon.”

South East Voicegathered that the Aba-Opobo-Ika-Azumini highway wasrehabilitated during thetenure of Senator Wabara asSenate president in 2005.While the Aba section is ingood condition; the sectionfrom the Akirika communitiesto Azumini has remaineddilapidated.


election and ensurecredibility of the electoralprocess media reportage ofelectoral events must upholdthe code of ethics forjournalists. Good journalisticpractice in election reportingmust take cognizance ofaccuracy, responsibility, thefairness doctrine, balancedreporting and conflictsensitive reporting. TheNigerian media shouldensure all these despite themany challenges facingthem. One significant factthe media must bear in mindis that their coverage andreportage of election in thecountry has dualconsumption audiences andimplications..

“The two step flow theoryof the media identifies thatinformation from the massmedia gets first to opinionleaders then to the generalpublic. In this instance thecivil society groupsconstitutes the bulk of theopinion leaders that first

receives media informationand then distill to themembers of their groups.Similarly the media relies onthese civil society groups asthe basic sources ofinformation.

“What we have therefore isa symbiotic significantrelationship between the twoinstitutions that servecommon and identicalfunctions to the members ofthe society. These two chiefplayers are central toensuring the smoothrunning of the election

because both parties aresources, transmitters andinterpreters of information tothe masses and are thereforepowerful in influencing andshaping voter’s decisionmaking. The synergybetween the two may bebetter appreciated if thefunctions and roles of thesetwo key players are kept inview.

As Dr. Ogbu, an associateprofessor of law atOdumegwu OjukwuUniversity put it, “if amember of CSO discovers

any violation duringelection, he has the right tocaution those involved andcan make reports to theappropriate quarters, justthe way the media canreport what transpireswithout jeopardizing theintegrity of the exercise.”

For instance, he arguedthat there can never be anideal democracy if peoplecontinue to manipulatethemselves into politicaloffices with the attendantcorruption trailing the

corrupt system.Though the issue of

commercialized media,especially the electronicmedia, dominated thecontributions during theworkshop, the participantsagreed that there should bea way out in the interest ofthe nation’s electoralprocess. One way ofachieving the desired goal,they noted, is to see credibleelection as the only way toensure steady growth ofdemocracy in Nigeria.

AWKA—CIVIL SocietyOrganizations, CSOs, and the

media have decided to form asynergy ahead of the 2015 generalelections to ensure free and fairexercise. In an awareness workshopput together by the Centre for CivicEducation, otherwise known as theTransition Monitoring Group, TMG,and sponsored by the UnitedNations Development Programme,UNDP, in Enugu for the South Eastgeo-political zone, the two groupssigned a Memorandum ofUnderstanding, MoU, for thepurpose of proper monitoring andreporting the polls before, duringand after.

The MoU also provided for amutual partnership between themon the best way to ensuresustainable democracy in thecountry. As the South East zonalcoordinator of TMG, Dr. Ogbuexplained, since it would be verydifficult for election monitors to beposted to the 120,000 polling unitsacross the country, a representativesample of areas to cover would beadopted even as what would behappening in all the poling unitswould be found out by use ofcommunication gadgets andcollated reports forwarded to theheadquarters of the organization inAbuja.

A resource person at theworkshop, Dr. Ifeoma Dunu of theNnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka,in her paper said that as the 2015election draws close, “we realizethat we are at the threshold ofdeciding the fate of this country forthe next decade and as such itbecomes imperative that we usewhatever we have at our disposal toget it right.”

She said: “To achieve free and fair

CSOs, media form synergyto ensure free 2015 polls

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

•Cross section of the participants at the TMG/UNDP workshop on 2015 election.


NSUKKA—AN Enugu basedherbalist, Simon Odoh a.k.a

Onu Uwa, from Aji Commu-nity, Igbo-Eze North Local Gov-ernment Area, Enugu State hasmarried a 15-year-old girl as his56th wife. Onu-Uwa who is over68 had 54 wives from differenttribes across the country, andabout 300 children, however, saidthat he would not stop marryinguntil he died.

The renowned herbalist whospoke with South East Voicesaid “I am Africa’s King Solomon.King Solomon had 700concubines, so there is nothingwrong in my retinue of wives. Iwas a Christian. I was baptisedin 1956 and confirmed in 1958 atSt. Mary’s Catholic Church, Aji.My Christian name is SimonOdo. I served mass in 1960 as aCatholic faithful. What happenedwas that people wanted to kill me.I was poisoned with tuberculosisand later became crippled. Afterthese travails, I entered thehealing people with herbs in1962.

"My marrying 56 wives was be-cause I was the only son of mylate parents. My late father hadabundant land. People wanted tokill me at infancy to claim myfather’s possession because I wasa lone child. I decided to raise asmany children as possible to havea village of my own. My childrenare numerous with many beinggrand and great grand children.My family is a happy one; all mychildren eat from one pot and weeat a 50kg bag of rice everySunday. Some of my childrentook to my profession, some toeducation and trading. I identifyall my children with a mark. Theaverage of seven of my wivesgive birth in a day.

How I became herbalist/native doctor

"I suffered so much before be-coming a native doctor. I startedto cure people of various dis-eases as well as prepare charmsfor the progress of people. Thatis where I found my talent; tocure people of different ailmentsand prepare protective charms formy numerous clients who troopto my shrine.

"I became a herbalist at IjebuOde, Ondo State. I was in IjebuOde for seven years those days;not now that so many things arehappening as a lot of people arelooking for material wealth.

68-yr-old herbalist takes15-yr-old girl as 56th wife

Has over 300 children

By CHINENYEH OZOR

Spends N1.4 million monthly on feedingThese days most of us claim tocure all manner of diseases anddisabilities. I have had no regretsso far since I started as aherbalist. My talent is to cure andprepare charms for the progressof people; not to kill. Anyherbalist that prepares concoctionto kill is not real because they callon God to help them.

five and three children respec-tively. Some are still pregnant,just last week one gave birth totwins. I can’t say the numberthat are pregnant as I speak withyou. I feed all of them comfort-ably without hassles. I have over15 storey buildings and otherbungalows. All my wives andchildren are properly housed

Sexual satisfaction"I satisfy all my wives sexually,

none complains of being starvedsexually. I make love to a givennumber daily. Sexual satisfactionof my wives is a gift from God. Allmy children have marks as formof identity and I train those of themwho crave for education in primary,post primary and tertiaryinstitutions. Most of my childrenare graduates; one of mydaughters was a councillor thatrepresented Aji Ward for four yearsat Igbo Eze North LocalGovernment Area.

"I meet my wives on daily basis,the funny and happy aspect of myfamily is that about seven of mywives can put to bed in one day.The young ones that are still activeon bed are more than 11. My lat-est wife who I just married lastDecember is 15 years.

How he marries"There is no magic as people

may think. I marry them accordingto the custom and tradition ofwhere the person comes from. Ido not marry with any thing less

go and multiply. In that case Sa-tan is my father. Most humansare Satans. I usually write on myvehicles: don’t wake up the Sa-tan, which means dont makefalse accusations or dangerousovertaking, hence waking theSatan up from slumber.

Own village"Mindsets are not the same;

some of my children are eitherCatholic, Anglican or Pentecostalfaithful while some took to nativemedicine. To gather themtogether is not easy for me. Theyknow themselves with the markI gave them. A good number ofthem are married with up to fivechildren. Each. In no distant timethey could apply for recognitionas a village of their own village.The number of my children andgreat and great grand childrencommand a force in Ajicommunity. We eat one bag of riceevery Sunday.

"We ate with one spoon in onebig pot. The grown up ones areno longer staying with me. Theones I mention now were from10 years down. Some of my sonshave built their own houses. Myfirst child Emeka Odo was bornin 1969 and has raised his ownfamily, now as a grandfather.Emeka, equally a native doctor.Some of my graduate daughtershave married to different places.

Love potion"I lost two of my wives who left

my house and misbehaved anddied. None of my wives can meetany other man. Once the persontries it, she will die. I have notrecorded any child death outsidethose that die at birth because ofmeasles and jaundice. My fathermarried only two wives with 12children but I was the only man.I married 56 wives because myGod is different from my biologi-cal father’s.

Early life."I stopped schooling at

standard three at St. Mary’sPrimary School, Aji EnuguEzike. I was 16 years when I didstandard three. I was laterpoisoned. They inflicted me withtuberculosis because of myfather’s vast estate.

"They killed my father becauseof the land and knowing fullywell that I will ask about whatkilled my father; they wanted tokill me equally. I suffered thetuberculosis for five years, afterwhich I became crippled for an-other five years.

"By then, I was a mass serverat St. Mary’s Catholic Church,and then I said, God why do youallow all these to be happeningto me. I then ran to Ijebu Ode toone old woman and stayed therefor seven years, and learnt thebusiness of native medicine andthe business started thriving. Ifyou go to Anambra State, mostof those people who late OsitaOsadebe mentioned in his musicPeople’s Club have visited myshrine for protection andprogress among others. I havespent up to 54 years as a nativedoctor. I was born in 1947. I amnot a politician but a goodnumber of them have come to mefor assistance."

Native doctor that kills"I love those native doctors that

prepare charm to kill peoplebecause if they poison or charmany person, I will cure the personand get my daily bread. Sowithout those that preparecharms to harm people, I will notget enough to feed my family. Godforbid bad thing if I kill someoneand later my own child is killedwill I like it? God condemnedkilling.

Number of children"My children are numerous

and that is what I bargained foras Africa’s King Solomon. Out of56 wives some have seven, eight,

without complaints. I built anunderground two- storey; threestorey buildings and flats of fourto five storey buildings. My chil-dren, to say the fact are over 300.

than N100,000. I have built housesfor some of my in-laws, some re-ceived car gifts from me, and youcan go and verify my claims. I donot marry from a family with richbackground but from the poorones, so that I can help them oneway or the other. All my marriagesare gifts of love and not by charm.I came to the world for beautifulwomen to love, follow and marryme.

King of Satan"No human being on earth can

go to heaven. God told Lucifer togo to the world and procreate andmultiply. So, Satan is the king ofthe earth. A reverend father onceapproached me to inquire why Ichose the name King of Satan. Itold him that God asked Lucifer to

Herberlist Simon Odoh a.k.a Onu Uwa and one of his wives

I love thosenative doctorsthat preparecharm to killpeople be-

cause if theypoison or

charm anyperson, I willcure the per-son and get

my daily bread

CMYK


*Ivory Coast won the 1992 title without conceding a singlegoal in their six-match campaign.

*Egyptian legend Mohamed Diab El-Attar “El-Diba” is theonly player to have scored four goals in a final game – Egypt’s4-0 victory over Ethiopia in 1957.

*The first goal of the African Cup of Nations was scored byEgyptian forward Raafat Attia, who converted a penaltyagainst Sudan in 1957. The 1000th goal was also a penaltyconverted by Nigeria’s Captain Austin Jay-Jay Okocha in2004 in Tunisia.

*For the first time in CAN history, the 2000 tournament washeld in two countries, Ghana and Nigeria.

*In 1982, the Confederation of African Football rescindedthe two-player limit on foreign based players for each na-tional team, allowing all the countries to use their best stars.Before 1967, no foreign-based players were eligible to playin the Nations Cup.

*The African Cup of Nations was televised for the first timein the 1970 edition in Sudan.

*The 1970 final was the only one which had to be replayedas Zaire were held to a 2-2 draw by Zambia in the final. Twodays later, Zaire defeated Zambia 2-0 at Cairo Stadium toclaim the title.

*The competition initially started with three teams in 1957,expanded to four teams in 1962, six in 1963, eight in 1968,12 in 1992 and 16 in 1998.

*The Confederation of African football (CAF) decided tohold CAN in odd-numbered years starting 2013 to avoid play-ing in the same year of the World Cup. Coaches and playersfrom African countries that qualified for World Cups had pre-viously complained about a packed schedule. The CAN hasbeen played in even years since 1968.

*Nigeria used three captains during their game againstBenin in CAN 2010. Captain Joseph Yobo started the gamebut had to be replaced because of injury. He gave the cap-tain’s armband to Yakubu Aiyegbeni, who was also substitut-ed as the armband was finally given to Osaze Odenwengie.The Super Eagles ended up having three captains in onematch.

*During the 1965 edition in Tunisia, the hosts reached thefinal game via a coin tossing as they were level with Senegalon the number of points and goal difference. The Tunisianslost the final 3-2 against Ghana. A coin toss was also used in1988, helping Algeria reach the semi-finals at the expense ofIvory Coast. Just like Tunisia, Algeria were unfortunate inthe semi-finals as they lost to Nigeria 9-8 on penalties fol-lowing a 1-1 draw.

*The 1959 edition in Egypt featured only three participants:Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. The trio had three coaches fromEastern Europe: Czechoslovakians Jiri Starosta (Ethiopia)and Josef Hada (Sudan) and Hungarian Pal Titkos (Egypt).Titkos led the Pharaohs to the title.

*Given that South Africa were one of the founders of theConfederation of African Football (CAF), they were due toplay in the first CAN edition in 1957 but were suspendedbecause of their apartheid regime, as they intended to playwith a squad including only Caucasians. They made a victo-rious return in 1996 when they won the title on home soil.

*Egypt forward Mohamed Nagy “Gedo” is the best eversubstitute in the history of CAN, having finished the 2010edition as the top scorer with five goals scored off the bench.

*Egyptian Abdel-Aziz Salem – who became the first CAFpresident – went to the FIFA Congress in Zurich in 1956with the aim of establishing the Confederation of AfricanFootball (CAF). However, the demand was subject to sar-casm due to the little number of cofounders (Egypt, Sudanand Ethiopia), and wasn’t even included in the meeting’sagenda. Salem decided to withdraw from the Congress as asign of protest, saying “If all the countries aren’t treatedequally here, then our presence is useless.” Sudanese Mo-hamed Abdelhalim followed in his footsteps as FIFA eventu-ally responded to their demand. The CAF was officially found-ed in 8 February 1957.

FFFFFacts & facts & facts & facts & facts & figures about the Africaigures about the Africaigures about the Africaigures about the Africaigures about the AfricaCup of NationsCup of NationsCup of NationsCup of NationsCup of Nations

E/Guinea v B/Faso 5pmGabon v Congo 8pm

AFCON Matches today

Congo strikerDominique Malonga

believes his side will beatGabon in their Nations

Cup Group A match onWednesday if they playwith intensity.

Congo’s 1-1 draw withhosts Equatorial Guinea hasleft them two points behindGabon, who beat BurkinaFaso.

“We have a big gameagainst Gabon. We knowexactly what we have to doand we have to be focused,“Malonga said.

“Gabon are a good team,you have to have goodintensity for all of the gameand I think we can win.”

Malonga, who plays hisclub football for Scottishside Hibernian, also paidtribute to coach ClaudeLeRoy, who he feels is vitalto the team’s chances ofsuccess.

“He is really important asall the pressure is on himand he has big experience,”Malonga said. “He talks somuch with everyone and heknows the competition sowell- we are happy to havea coach like that.”

Congo’s Malonga confidentof beating Gabon

LeRoy had to draw on all his experienceto boost his side after a poor first halfagainst Equatorial Guinea left themtrailing 1-0, but he said after the gamethat he expects his team to improve asthey become more accustomed to thehigh-level competition.

It is a steep learning curve for theCongo players, all 23 of whom are playingat the Nations Cup for the first time.

Malonga is eager for his side to carryon where they left off in the second halfagainst Equatorial Guinea.

“There was intensity in the second halfwe played very well.” he said. “AgainstGabon we have to attack very well to tryto score.

“All is possible for us - it is a veryimportant game and we are ready tocompete.”

We missed Gyan - Ayewwas more important.

“Asamoah [Gyan] is our lead-er, he’s our captain and hebrings a lot to the squad whenyou see his stats,” he said.

“But as we know, we don’ttake risks with someone’shealth.

“It is true we all love football,we love the game and we’dlove to win but after footballlife is more important.

“He wasn’t feeling well andhe couldn’t make it. He wouldhave loved to be there.

“We would have loved to seehim there but I want to con-gratulate those who replacedhim because they did a fantas-tic job upfront.”

Equatorial Guinea Football Federation presidentAndres Jorge Mbombio admits it was a “big

risk” to host the 2015 AFCON, but claims the Ebolathreat is now “under control”.

The country has implemented a whole host of pre-ventative measures in a bid to limited the potentialthreat of the virus spreading, including thermo-graphic screenings at airports and laser thermom-eters for all the borders.

Equatorial Guinea’s proactive approach doesn’tend there as they have also implemented screen-ings outside stadiums prior to matches, with sup-porters asked to clean their hands with sanitisinggel.

And the preventative measures appear to be work-ing, despite the high number of foreign visitors.

“When we decided to host the tournament, weincreased the preventive measures, so that now wecan say everything is under control,” Mbombio said.

“We feel proud and reassured, and only want tothink of football” he added

Ghana forward AndreAyew admits Asamoah

Gyan’s absence in the defeat toSenegal on Monday was a bigloss.

The Black Stars threw awayan early lead to concede the de-feat in their opening Group Cgame at the 2015 Africa Cup ofNations.

Ghana was playing their firstcompetitive match under newcoach Avram Grant but waswithout inspirational captainAsamoah Gyan who was bat-tling illness.

Andre Ayew admits the Al Ainhitman’s absence was a blow tothe team but understands hecouldn’t be risked as his health

Ebola risk ‘under control’

Gyan

Malonga


CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 21, 2015 — 35

What’s actually the focusof your organisation?

My mission is to meetpeople’s needs as far asinsurance is concerned. Iactually have a strong passionfor educating people aboutinsurance. So, I doconsultations, seminars andworkshops.

Having worked in the

industry for over 15 years,what’s your assessment ofthe sector in Nigeria?

The insurance sector inNigeria is obviously not thesame as the insuranceindustry outside the country.This is because we do notbelieve in insurance inNigeria and we have not beenable to do the things that weshould be doing. OutsideNigeria, we get a number ofoffers from clients but here inNigeria, it is the insurancepersonnel that would beg theclient to do business.

Nigerians donot believe ininsurance— Victoria Adegbaju,BAC Insurance bossCHIEF Executive Officer of

BAC Insurance ConsultantsLimited, Mrs Victoria BolajokoAdegbaju is working assiduously toexpunge unfavourable impressionsheld by a large section of theNigerian public about insurance.She is the author of ‘Know YourInsurance Rights’, a reader-friendly book that providesanswers to myriad of questionsbothering on insurance. Inthis interview, she speaks onissues hindering theindustry and calls onregulators to rise up tothe task of improving itin entirety.

By JosephineAgbonkhese

A lot of times, people seethe sector as unstable butovertime there has been anumber of enlightenmentand awareness and I thinkthings are getting betterunlike what we had in thepast when I just came intothe industry. I actuallystarted my career with GreatNigeria Insurance Plc whereI rose to the position of thebranch manager. I was lateremployed at theIntercontinental LifeAssurance Limited as amanagement staff and headof public sector marketingbefore joining MutualBenefits Assurance Limitedin 2012.

But what could be

responsible for this?Like every other profession,

there are good and badpeople operating in thesector. Sadly, it is because ofthe terrible experiencesmembers of the public have

had with some practitionersin the past. You can imagineif such happens to one, two,three and more people. Itbecomes difficult to changepeople’s mindset as the news

goes round. So, when peopleare saying the same thing,you can imagine the kind ofeffect this can have on thesector.

How have you tried to

improve the situation in yourlittle corner?

I once had a client who hada vehicle theft case. The carwas stolen and I was inmarketing and servicing andI took it upon myself to seethat the claim was settled.From the beginning to theend, I made sure everythingwas in place and I have manyother cases like that. I havealso assisted people and eventhose I did not know before,especially those who havehad nasty experiences withinsurance operators in thepast. I take it upon myself tocreate a better impression.

Could that goal also be

what inspired your book oninsurance?

Yes. The book is meant tocreate awareness about theinsurance sector in Nigeria.It is quite easy to read. LikeI said, most times, peoplerun away from insurancebecause of the wrong notionthey have about it. But oncethey get better information,that mindset immediatelychanges. Frankly, the ratescharged for insurance arevery meagre compared towhat we do; they are notequal to the risks we handle.

What has been your

motivating factor?That’s my husband.

Though he is an engineer, hebelieves so much in me andthe career that I have chosen.

He encourages me to be thevery best in whatever I doand that has beenresponsible for the progressI have made so far. As abranch manager, I was thebest and everywhere I hadworked before setting upmy company, I was usually

the best. Even when I getfed up or

discouraged, hegives me

the pushto go thee x t r amile.

Let us

t a l ka b o u to t h e rchallengesbedevillingt h esector…

T h e r eare anumbero fchallengesa n dt h e s einc ludeawarenessa b o u thow thes e c t o roperates,as well asunhealthycompetition

among underwriters, amongworkers and the otherpeople in the industry. Ithink it is the work ofregulators to really makethings better, though. I wouldsay that a number of us aretrying our best, but it is theregulators that should set apace and make things better.

Your schedule as the CEOof an insurance consultancyfirm must be quitedemanding; how do youblend this with personal life

Well, I would say that Godhas been very good to me. Atthe initial stage of my career,it was quite hectic but mymother-in-law was there forme. We lost her in 2012 andthat created a yawning gap,but luckily, my children aregrown up now.

She was a wonderfulmother-in-law and she didher best to help bring up mychildren.

•Mrs Victoria Bolajoko Adegbaju

OutsideNigeria, we geta number ofoffers fromclients but herein Nigeria, it isthe insurancepersonnel thatwould beg theclient to dobusiness

CMYK



GOVERNOR WillieObiano was still ensconced

in the norms of banking duringthe 2011 general elections andso would not have been familiarwith the time tested pattern of thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP, inpresenting at least two sets ofcandidates for federal and statelevel elections.

IT is a practise that had in thepast paid off for the party as thevarious candidates of the partywould mobilise their varioussupporters to ensure victory forthe party leaving the finaldecision on the occupant on theseat for the courts.

It was as such surprising whenGovernor Obiano in a state widebroadcast said:“Sadly, since thepublication of the final list ofcandidates that are dulyapproved by INEC to contest thecoming elections, we have seenmany aspirants whose names arenot on the INEC list paradingthemselves as candidates andcampaigning for election inAnambra State.

“This is not only a total breachof the law, but also a deliberateattempt to mislead the electorateand manipulate the electoralprocess. These booby-traps have

ANAMBRA: Confusion again!

By Vincent Ujumadu unnecessarily heated the systemin the past. They are notacceptable to Ndi Anambratoday.

“Therefore, I wish tocategorically declare that anyaspirant whose name is not onthe INEC list and who continuesto parade himself or herself as acandidate for the comingelections will be assumed to bedeliberately misleading thepublic in contravention of the

electoral laws and shall face thelaw.

All the security agencies arefully prepared to enforce theelectoral laws in Anambra Stateand ensure a peaceful, free andfair atmosphere for the comingelections.”

Before Obiano’s broadcast,Umeh, the national chairman ofAPGA, said he had notifiedINEC chairman of the allegedploy by PDP to present multiplecandidates for the election,warning that though PDP had inthe past got away with it byallowing two or more persons tolay claim to its ticket and go intothe election proper with suchclaims, it will never be allowedto do so in 2015.

According to Umeh, his party

would take all the necessary legalmeasures to stop what he calledthe deceit by PDP, arguing thatthe party was resorting to thepresentation of doublecandidates because of the fearthat one person cannot winelection for it.

As in the past, Chief Chris Ubais a prominent figure in thecontentions in the PDP. Unlikebefore he is not just dictating thetune from the background, he hasfor the first time come out as acandidate himself having takenfor himself, the party’s Senateticket for Anambra Southpresently occupied by his seniorbrother, Dr. Andy Uba.

Andy, however, is notsurrendering his seat to hisbrother and has mobilisedassociates against his brother.

The two brothers, Andy andChris are presently campaigningfor the seat even if Chris is theone presently recognised by theIndependent National ElectoralCommission.

Vigorouscampaigns

Should Chris succeed and win,

the Uba brothers would havemade history being the firstfamily to have produced threebrothers as senators.

The seat had in the past beenoccupied by the eldest of the Ubabrothers, Senator UgochukwuUba.

In Anambra Central senatorialzone, though Senator AnnieOkonkwo’s name is thecandidate as published byINEC, another aspirant in thezone, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, is stillcampaigning vigorously andtelling her supporters that she isthe candidate of PDP for the zone.

The situation is the same inAnambra North senatorial zonewhere former minister ofaviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah isstill campaigning, even thoughChief John Emeka, anotherformer minister is the INECrecognized candidate.

There are similar situations forthe House of Representativeswhere many of those who stoodfor the party primaries and lostare still telling the electorate thatthey are the rightful candidates.For instance, in Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo federalconstituency, it is still not clearwho is the rightful candidateamong Mr. Julius Oforma, ChiefChris Azubougu and Dr. HarryOhanezi. Same for Ihiala federalconstituency where Mr. EmekaAnohu and Mrs. Erinne arelaying claim to the ticket of the

•Andy Uba: Fighting off his brother •Chris Uba: Seeks to take brother's place •Stella Oduah: Not on INEC list

Anambra CentralVictor Umeh — APGAChris Ngige — APCAnnie Okonkwo/ Uche Ekwunife — PDP?

Anambra NorthChief Dubem Obaze — APGAJohn Emeka /Stella Oduah — PDP?

Anambra SouthChief Ernest Ndukwe — APGAAndy Uba and Chris Uba — PDP?

ANAMBRA SENATE CONTESTSBefore Obiano’sbroadcast, Umeh,the nationalchairman of APGA,said he had notifiedINEC chairman ofthe alleged ploy byPDP to presentmultiple candidatesfor the election

ANAMBRA State has since the advent of the Fourth Republic won the uncannypolitical reputation for eccentricity. It was the first state to move itsgovernorship election outside the usual general election cycle after its secondgovernor in the Fourth Republic, Dr. Chris Ngige was sacked by the courts.Hence it would not be holding election for governor in the forthcoming round ofgeneral elections. As in the past round of elections, the PDP is again presentingmultiple lists of candidates for the legislative elections. However, for the firsttime the party is being resisted.


By Dayo Johnson

party. As it is, the APGA candidate

for Anambra Central, Chief VictorUmeh and his counterpart in AllProgressives Congress, APC, Dr.Chris Ngige may have to contendwith Okonkwo/Ekwunife for PDP,while Chief Dubem Obaze ofAPGA will contend with the duoof Emeka/Oduah in AnambraNorth. In Anambra South, formerNCC vice chairman, Chief ErnestNdukwe of APGA may have togo to the poll against twobrothers, Andy Uba and ChrisUba, unless there is a categoricalstatement banning those who arenot in the INEC list fromparading themselves ascandidates.

During President GoodluckJonathan’s campaign tour of

as candidates, tried to outdo theother at the Holy Trinity field,Onitsha as they danced aroundwith their supporters and postersin the presence of the party’snational leadership.

According to Umeh, his partywould take all the necessary legalmeasures to stop what he calledthe deceit by PDP, arguing thatthe party was resorting to thepresentation of doublecandidates because of the fearthat one person cannot winelection for it.

But Uche Ekwunife, who wasfavoured to clinch the PDP ticketbefore the INEC list was madepublic, still insists that she is thecandidate of the party, addingthat PDP submitted her name toINEC after she won the primaryelections conducted by the partyand observed by INEC.

She however said that nomatter whose name waspublished by INEC, the majoremphasis should be to vote forPDP as Anambra State stands toloose a lot at the central politics ifthe party’s candidates lost thenational assembly elections.

According to her, it would beeasier for her to attract moreprojects if voted as PDP senator.

Since the publication of theINEC list, Ekwunife has beencanvassing for votes for herselfand PDP, just as Senator AnnieOkonkwo is doing in the zone.

Among the communitiesEkwunife visited last weekinclude Nawfia, Nawgu, Abbaand Enugu-Adidi during whichshe informed her supporters thatshe would campaign in all the109 wards in the senatorialdistrict before the election proper.

Continues from page 37

ANAMBRA: Confusion again!Anambra State weekend, PDPpoliticians, including thosewhose names were not published

NO doubt the divisionwithin the ruling Peoples

Democratic Party PDP in OndoState will affect the fortunes of theparty in the forthcoming generalelections quite unlike the lastpresidential election in 2011.

Reason is that the personalambition of some of the leadersof the party in the southern areaof the state is taking its toil onhis chances in the election.

Instead of focusing on how tomobilise for their presidentialcandidate, party chieftains arepreoccupied with internalbickering and court cases whichhave helped to slow down theintegration of Labour Party LPinto the state PDP.

Central to the issue dividingthe political chieftains is thepositioning of the party leadersfor the succession at the end ofthe second term of the SegunMimiko administration due intwo years time.

Anotherdisadvantage

The defection by some PDPleaders led by the youngerbrother of the late GovernorSegun Agagu, Femi Agagu tothe All Progressives Congress,APC is said to be anotherdisadvantage for the party in thestate. Agagu’s group of the PDhad been famously described asPDP-Jagaban obviously onaccount of their past dalliancewith the APC and its nationalleader, Asiwaju Bola AhmedTinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu.

Although Femi who served aschief of staff to his brother for sixyears is not a grassroots politicianlike his late brother but he wasable to mobilise some formerpolitical appointees to defect tothe opposition party. But manyof those that defected are likeFemi not considered as rootedpoliticians who could alter thepolitical permutations.

One of the defectors, a formerspeaker of the House ofAssembly and presently, acommissioner in the FederalCivil Service Commission, VictorOlabimtan from Akoko SouthWest area of the state is however

ONDO: It is PDP versus PDPTHE next governorshipelection in Ondo State isnot due until 2016.However, three Senateseats, nine seats in theHouse ofRepresentatives and 26seats in the House ofAssembly are on offer inthe forthcoming roundof elections for voters inOndo State.

a big plus to the APC because ofhis firm control of his Akoko SouthWest constituency. He has alwaysbeen trashing the state deputygovernor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi whohails from the same area whilehe was in PDP.

Barring any hindrance he maywin the council for APCpresidential candidate.

Coupled with this is therecognition of the candidates listaligned to Mimiko by theIndependent National ElectoralCommission, INEC.

Another list of candidates wasproduced by the faction of the

party aligned to business mogul,Jimoh Ibrahim.

He has gone to court to stopthe electoral body fromrecognising the list but theongoing strike by Judicial officershas halted the proceedings.

But while leaders from theSouth are fighting the governorhaving read his body languagethat he will not support hissuccessor to come from the area,leaders in the other twoSenatorial districts - North andCentral are all out to ensurevictory for President Jonathan.

The South has always been the

PDP stronghold but if the leadersfail to bury their governorshipambitions and work for PresidentJonathan, APC may springsurprises coupled with thedefection of some foot soldiers ofa leader and former governorshipcandidate of the party in the 2012governorship election ChiefOlusola Oke to the APC.

The BOT member Dr BodeOlajumoke, the Director Generalof National Sports CommissionHon Gbenga Elegbeleye and theChief of Staff to the PresidentBrigadier Jones Arogbofa areformidable forces that will garner

votes for President Jonathan fromthe Northern areas of the state.

Elegbeleye is believed to have buried his governorship ambitionfor now to garner support forPresident Jonathan to win theFebruary election.

In the central, the governor isthe commander in chief with hisfoot soldiers in the state andNational Assemblies.

In the National Assemblyelection, the PDP candidates DrOlajumoke (North) is set to sackthe APC candidate Prof AjayiBoroffice who many even within

•Mimiko: The Iroko •Olajumoke: Seeks peace

The situation is thesame in AnambraNorth senatorial zonewhere formerminister of aviation,Mrs. Stella Oduah isstill campaigning,even though ChiefJohn Emeka, anotherformer minister is theINEC recognizedcandidate



new edition of his autobiography, ‘ThenSpoke the Thunder’ are due to be releasedin bookshops across the country.

Asante in a statement to that effect said:‘’Enahoro who currently lives in Londonwas only 23 years old when he edited the“Sunday Times” and later the “DailyTimes” national newspapers. Enahoro aprolific Nigerian journalist wrote underthe moniker Peter Pan when he workedfor the Sunday and Daily Times. PeterEnahoro had strong and penetratingdesire for change and the developmentof his country in the pre and post-

Enahoro joins theoctogenarian club

By Ben Asante

•Enahoro: Veteran journalist

Peter Enahoro, isan author,distinguishedjournalist andmediaadministrator ofrepute. Peterstarted out hisjournalism careerin the Daily Timesat the youthfulage of about 19

his party as a non performance while inthe South the PDP candidate YeleOmogunwa a former Works Commissionerwho is a grassroots mobilise is expectedto walk over a relatively new entrantMorayo Lebi paraded by the oppositionAPC.

In the central senatorial zone, thecandidate of the APC Chief Tayo

ONDO: It is PDP versus PDPContinues from page 38 Alasoadura even if he is popular but he

has to contend with the combinedinfluence of the governor and theincumbent, Senator Ayo Akinyelure.

Remarkably, while Alasoadura may bebanking on the votes from Akure North/Akure South, but those votes would notcompare with what the governor wouldbring from the two Ondo councils, andIfedore and Idanre would.

CELEBRATED media icon,Mr. Peter Enahoro turns 80

today with a legacyundiminished and unfaded evenas the profession where he madehis mark in Nigeria and abroadfaces revolutionary changes in itsprocesses.

Remarkably, a group of friendsled by Mr. Ben Asante isplanning events to mark thelandmark. However, they do notwant to make much noise aboutthe events planned around thebirthday.

Among the activities scheduledare a number of electronic mediaand print interviews, paneldiscussions and lectures to takeplace in a number of universities.

As part of the events, some ofhis celebrated books including a

Times several years later.Peter Enahoro’s years of journalism has

produced years of exciting and interestingpages of news items and feature write-ups.’’

‘’He has also published in 1966 “Howto be a Nigerian” – a satire, “You gottaCry to Laugh” in 1972, “The CompleteNigerian” in 1992 and in 2009 “ThenSpoke the Thunder” – an autobiography.Peter is a simple, skillful and quintessentialpersona both in dialogue and in hiswritings. He achieved national reverencewith his nerve-cracking writings with his

independence days.’’‘’Peter is a younger

brother to the formerFederal commissioner forinformation and frontlinepro-democracy activist,Chief Anthony Enahorowho famously tabled thefirst demand in the motionfor an independentNigeria in 1953.’’

‘’Peter Enahoro, is anauthor, distinguishedjournalist and mediaadministrator of repute.Peter started out hisjournalism career in theDaily Times at the youthfulage of about 19 and rosethrough the ranks tobecome the paper’s editorbefore going into self-exileunwilling to live undermilitary rule after the 1966coup. Peter became themanaging director of Daily

popular household column –the Peter Pan column, fromwhich he permanently becameknown and associated with as“Peter Pan” – a terse but highlypenetrating and effectivepseudonym.’’

‘’Not many know that Peterwas also a broadcaster inGermany but would hopefullyrecall that he was the pioneerchairman of the NationalBroadcasting Commission(NBC).

Respecting his preference,the birthday will be subduedand limited to colloquiumlecture and interview items.Though, Peter still lives abroadcommuting between Abuja andLondon, his crisp, sharp andwitty and humour remains. Hewrites and engages anyonewho dares put his knowledgeof issues to the test."

42—Vanguard,42—Vanguard,42—Vanguard,42—Vanguard,42—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, JANUARY 21, JANUARY 21, JANUARY 21, JANUARY 21, 20152015201520152015

THE move toward a Guinea worm free world becamemore realisable last week asGhana was officially certified bythe World Health Organisation,WHO, as having eliminated thedisease.Guinea worm (Dracunculusmedinensis), is a water-borneparasitic disease poised to bethe second human disease inhistory to be eradicated.

At end of 2014, a total of 197countries and territories havebeen certified by the WHO tobe free of Guinea worm dis-ease. Nigeria was officially de-clared Guinea worm free by theWorld Health Organisation inJuly 2013.

Congratulatorymessage

In a congratulatory messageto Ghana, Former US PresidentJimmy Carter said: "Ghana's tri-umph over Guinea worm dis-ease serves as a reminder to theworld and the remaining en-demic countries that the great-est challenges can be overcomewith hard work, political com-mitment, and the support of theinternational community," s

Carter who is founder of TheCarter Centre, which has ledthe international campaign toeradicate the disease, recalledseeing his first case of Guineaworm disease in Denchira, a vil-lage near Accra in March 1988.

The WHO’s InternationalCommission for the Certificationof Dracunculiasis Eradication,

Ghana joins list of guineaworm-free countries

• Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter comfort ng 6-year-old Ruhama Issah at Savelugu (Ghana)Hospital as a Carter Centre technical assistant dresses Issah's extremely painful Guinea wormwound. In May 2010, Ghana reported its last case of Guinea worm disease and announced it hadstopped disease transmission a year later.

I HAVE seen a few patients in Lagos these last fewweeks whose MRI scans show something called

osteophytes. Someone, usually a fellow physician, hasrequested this investigation. A few times the report hasalready been discussed in detail with the patient. But thepatient is not satisfied. He/she is concerned ......a tumour?A growth? cancer in the bone? The patient wants moreexplanation and answers. Osteophytes, otherwise knownas "bone spurs" are none of these.

The term "bone spurs" is not really accurate. The word"spurs" implies that these bony growths are spurring orpoking some part of the spinal anatomy and causing pain.They are actually smooth structures that form over time.Above 60 years of age they are quite common, and normal,findings on radiological studies.

The two commonest causes of bone spurs areosteoarthritis and spinal stenosis. Osteoarthritis can causestiffness and lower back pain that is usually worse in themorning, gets better after moving around, and then getsworse again toward the end of the day.

The most common root cause of cervical and lumbarosteoarthritis is a genetic predisposition. Patients maytypically develop symptoms of osteoarthritis in their mid40s to early 50s. Men are more likely to develop arthriticrelated symptoms earlier in life, however, postmenopausalwomen with stiffening spines (accelerated bone spurformation) rapidly approach men in incidence and severityof osteoarthritis.

Patients complain of dull pain in the neck or lower backwhen standing or walking. Radiating pain into theshoulders (often including headaches) for cervical spurs

Radiating pain into the bottom and thigh for lumbarspurs. The symptoms of bone spurs are made worse withactivity and often improve with rest.

Lumbar bone spurs often improve when an individualis bending forward and flexing at the waist, such asleaning over a shopping cart or over a cane.

As the nerves become compressed, patients with bonespurs complain of several neurological symptomsincluding: Pain, tingling and progressive weakness inone or both arms or legs. In very rare cases, bowel andbladder incontinence may occur.

Diagnosis is usually made through radiographs likeXrays, CT and MRI scans. Electromyographic (EMG)and nerve conduction studies (NCV) also aid diagnosiswhen nerve involvement is suspected.

Treatment can be divided into three broad groups -Nonsurgical Conservative Treatment, Injection therapy andSurgical treatment.

Nearly all bone spur related pain will respond well toconservative therapy with medications (antiinflammatories and muscle relaxants) bed rest, andrehabilitation. Bed rest reduces joint irritation.

Rehabilitation over 1-2 weeks will involve physicaltherapy, exercise, and chiropractic adjustment. Thesemodalities attempt to restore flexibility and strength tothe neck and back, improving posture and possiblydecreasing any nerve compression.

InjectionsCortisone epidural steroid injections have potential

therapeutic value for some patients with facet jointinflammation by reducing the joint swelling and

improving spinal pain and radiating extremity painsyndromes. The results are usually only temporary, butrepeat injections maybe indicated. Pain relief from aninjection may allow the patient to progress withrehabilitation.

In my experience with these patients over the past twodecades, results for epidural steroids to bone spurs in theneck may not be as good as for the lower back.

Scientific evidence does however support the use ofspecial heating (radiofrequency) techniques to the facetjoints in situations of facet joint arthritis.

A surgical consultation (though rare) is appropriate ifthese nonsurgical measures to treat bone spurs fail. Areferral is appropriate if patients suffer from severe painor there is clinical evidence of nerve compression anddamage. I would recommend surgery only in situationsof impending nerve damage, paralysis, incontinence orextreme disability.

A procedure such as a laminectomy, is designed torelieve the pain and neurological symptoms by removingthe bone spurs and thickened ligaments causing painfulnerve compression.

In my experience, the risks of developing a distinct paincondition called "post laminectomy syndrome" remainshigh. Patients often return to the pain clinic with morepain and debilitation months after any initial good results.Bone spurs? Don't panic.

Spurs (not the football team)

[email protected]

1986. The following year,Ghana became one of the CarterCenter Guinea Worm Eradica-tion Programme's first countrypartners.

Nearly 180,000 cases ofGuinea worm disease were re-ported during the county's firstnational case search in 1989.This ranked Ghana second inthe world in cases at the time.

Strong partnerships through-out the campaign helped thenation overcome many chal-lenges and setbacks, includinga massive Guinea worm out-break in Savelugu town in 2007.

Internationalcommitments

As a result of redoubled pro-gram efforts and reaffirmed na-tional and international commit-ments, cases were reduced thefollowing year by 85 percent—the greatest single-year reduc-tion of any moderately endemiccountry in the history of thecampaign.

In May 2010, Ghana reportedand contained its last indig-enous case, indicating that thedisease cycle had been brokenafter a 22-year (1988-2010) na-tionwide battle.

Today, Guinea worm diseaseremains endemic in pockets ofSouth Sudan, Mali, Chad, andEthiopia. On Jan. 12, 2015, TheCarter Centre announced therewere 126 provisional Guineaworm cases reported in 2014.

When the campaign began,there were an estimated 3.5million cases in 21 countries inAfrica and Asia.

In May 2010, Ghanareported and con-tained its last indig-enous case, indicatingthat the disease cyclehad been broken aftera 22-year (1988-2010)nationwide battle

in consultation with Ghana'sMinistry of Health, sent a cer-tification team to Ghana in July2014 to assess whether trans-mission of the disease contin-ued or whether it was inter-rupted for three or more yearsafter the last indigenous casewas reported.

On January 14, 2015, WHODirector-General Dr. MargaretChan provided Ghana with theofficial notification that WHOhas certified Ghana as Guinea

(worldwide), every countrymust be certified as free of thedisease, even if transmissionhas never taken place there. Todate, 198 countries and territo-ries have been certified. TheWHO is responsible for certify-ing countries as Guinea worm-free, and is the only organiza-tion that can officially certify theeradication of a disease.

The Carter Centre began lead-ing the international Guineaworm eradication campaign in

By Sola Ogundipe

worm-free.For a disease to be eradicated

VANGUVANGUVANGUVANGUVANGUARD, WEDNESDARD, WEDNESDARD, WEDNESDARD, WEDNESDARD, WEDNESDAAAAAYYYYY, JANU, JANU, JANU, JANU, JANUARY 21, 2015—43ARY 21, 2015—43ARY 21, 2015—43ARY 21, 2015—43ARY 21, 2015—43

By Sam [email protected]

SOUTH South chairman ofthe Christian Association

of Nigeria, CAN, ArchbishopGod-Do-Well Avwomakpa hascalled on Ijaw people to use theopportunity of Dr. GoodluckEbele Jonathan as president ofNigeria to build bridges offriendship with other ethnicgroups in the country.

Avwomakpa who made thisknown during the 6th annualthanksgiving/prayer pro-gramme of Ogodobri andEzebri communities in BomadiLocal Government Area of DeltaState, also used the occasion tocanvas support for PresidentJonathan's re-election.

The cleric said, “the Ijaw peo-ple should not toy with the op-portunity for one of them to beat the helm of affairs of Nigeriabecause before the emergenceof Dr. Jonathan as president ofNigeria, no one thought that anIjaw man will ever be given anopportunity to rule Nigeria”.

Avwomakpacounsels Ijawover Jonathan

GENERAL Overseer of theRedeemed Christian

Church of God (RCCG), PastorEnoch Adejare Adeboye hasurged Nigerians to appreciateGod at all times for His doingsin the nation. He gave thecharge at the church's firstSunday thanks-giving serviceheld at the national headquartersof the church in Ebute-Metta,Lagos, reports OLAYINKALATONA.

In a sermon titled; “The Powerof Thanksgiving”, PastorAdeyobe noted that it is onlythrough the grace and mercy ofGod that one is still among theliving, adding that when manknows how to appreciate andthank God in the days of trouble,deliverance from suchchallenges is sure.

He therefore urged thecongregation that irrespective ofthe challenges of life they arepassing through, they shouldimbibe the culture ofthanksgiving by appreciatingGod that they are still among theliving and do such thanksgivingwillingly without being forced.

In his words: “When you knowhow to thank God in the day oftrouble then deliverance is sure.Those who were held in captivitywere released through the powerof praise. When you learn tothank God, you provoke severalthings from God and He paysyou a visit”.

Praying for matrimonial homesthat are currently facing oneproblem or the other, the clericprayed that such homes willexperience healing and divinewholeness.

He explained that there is nostorm or challenge that willremain forever, assuring themthat through thanksgiving, a newera of deliverance andbreakthrough will emerge.

Adeboye tasksNigerians onthanksgiving

WORRIED by the continu e d

insurgency by Islamic funda-mentalists in the North East-ern part of country in additionto tension following prepara-tions for February general elec-tions, Southern Nigeria Chris-tian Elders Forum has urgedall patriotic Nigerians to uniteagainst forces of destruction,religious intolerance and politi-cal stability.

The Forum also pledged tojoin forces with all patrioticNigerians to ensure an end toall forms of religious intoler-ance in all parts of the federa-tion, noting that South EasternChristian leaders can no longerwatch hundreds of their youthsbeing systematically extermi-nated even they prevail on theircounterparts from avengingtheir mindless killings in theNorth.

In a 10-point communiquesigned by 24 religious leadersrepresenting the five easternstates of the federation, theForum noted with dismay anddeep sorrow the plight ofChristians in the northern partsof the country, calling on the

Christians in S-East caution against destructive forcesBy Sam Eyoboka Federal, state, local and inter-

national forces to join hands torescue Christian brethren in thetroubled region.

SOCEF condemned the stateof abuse and killing of innocentNigerians in the region andwarned that the situation mustbe stopped forthwith so that itdoes not degenerate into some-thing terrible for Nigeria, add-ing "we are fast becomingweary of burying our children

while holding back our restlessyouths who are crying forvengeance and retaliation. "

The Forum vowed to supportfellow Christians in the regionuntil the forces of religious in-tolerance are defeated, whilejoining other well meaning Ni-gerians to caution politicians,in their desperation for elec-toral gains, make reckless andprovocative utterances capableof over-heating the polity.

FEW days before the crucial2015 General Elections,

members of Methodist ChurchNigeria from across the countrywill gather in Sagamu, OgunState from today to pray for apeaceful and rancour-free elec-tions and other areas of our na-tional life.

This is contained in a releasemade available by the church’sMedia and Public Relations Of-ficer, Rev. Oladapo Daramolawho said the special prayer ses-sions form part of programmeslined up for the church’s 2015convention which will be led bythe Prelate, His EminenceSamuel Chukwuemeka KanuUche, archbishops and bishopsand others like Pastor GbileAkanni.

Speaking more on this, bishopfor Evangelism and Discipleship,Rt. Rev. Edoka Amuta explainedthat, “the decision of the churchto put the 2015 General Electionson the front burner at the con-vention is informed by the con-viction that since God has alwaysintervened divinely in the affairsof men, the state of our nationvis-à-vis the coming election willnot be different.

"We are further impelled to takethe elections seriously consider-ing some worrying signs as evi-dent in the increase of violence,arson and brigandage in someparts of the country."

Methodistsgather to pray forpeaceful polls

ABUJA – SENIOR Pastor,Trinity Living Church, Pastor Emmanuel

Adefowora has called on all Nigerians irrespec-tive of religious background, to pray for theforthcoming general elections.

Adefowora in a chat with Vanguard in Abujasaid the election will be tough, so people needto pray. The man of God said there had beenrevelations on what will happen to the countryin the past which were not shared or made pub-lic.

“The Lord had said that all Nigerians, whether

By Sam Eyoboka

Muslims or Christians, youth or elder, INECofficers, security officers, media houses, politi-cians, religious leaders, etc should to beprayerful and continually ask for mercy, becausethis year general elections will be very tough,"he maintained.

“God said Nigerians should pray and fast onFebruary 1, to avert evils and tragedies thatmay occur as a result of the elections,”Adefowora stated. The cleric called on Nigeri-ans “to obey the great commandment of loveby loving God wholeheartedly and love theirneighbours as themselves, while walking inpeace and harmony to build the nation.

2015: Cleric urges more prayersBy Caleb Ayansina

(L-R) Pastor (Mrs) Folu Adeboye, wife of the General Overseer, Redeemed ChristianChurch of God; Bishop Felix 'Remi Adejumo, Senior Pastor, Agape Christian Ministries;Rev (Mrs) Funke Felix-Adejumo, convener, Women on the Winning Edge (WOWE)Conference held at the TBS, Lagos, at the weekend.

Rev. (Mrs) Funke Felix-Adejumo, Pastor (Mrs) Folu Adeboye, Her Excellency, Mrs.Omolewa Ahmed, wife of the Kwara Sate governor; Her Excellency, Mrs AbimbolaFashola, wife of the Lagos Sate governor at the Women on the Winning Edge (WOWE)conference held at the TBS, Lagos.

While urging all Christians tocollect their permanent voterscards and endeavour to exer-cise their civic duties by votingtheir choice of leaders in theforthcoming elections, the Fo-rum urged governors in theSouth East geo-political zoneto revitalise the Southern Ni-gerian Governor's Forum forthe sake of political co-opetationand development.

44 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 201544 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 201544 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 201544 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 201544 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

Share your problems and releaseyour burden. Write now to

Dear Bunmi,Vanguard Newspapers,

P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, [email protected]

Am I falling out of love with him?

I’m not ready to commit to himI’m not ready to commit to himI’m not ready to commit to himI’m not ready to commit to himI’m not ready to commit to him

I wI wI wI wI was a fas a fas a fas a fas a fool tool tool tool tool to think he’d changeo think he’d changeo think he’d changeo think he’d changeo think he’d change

Dear Bunmi,

I’VE been living with my boyfriend for over six

years. I am 27 and he’s al-most 30. We’ve had goodtimes and plenty of badtimes, I’m currently veryconcerned about the way I’mfeeling at the moment. I’vegone off sex completely and Ican’t understand why.

Until now I’ve always beenhighly sexy and we’ve had ahealthy sex life.

But things have nowreached the point where I feelthat I don’t have to sleep withhim, whether I want to or not.It’s not just sex that is theproblem.

I don’t like him being any-where near me and I dread himwanting to be affectionate withme. Sometimes, his merelytouching me makes me cringe. I

still have feelings for this man,so why am I feeling so resentful?

I am scared that he’ll go else-where if he doesn’t get whathe wants from me.

He’s assured me he won’t,but we’ve both had affairs inthe past. I know he’s impa-tient with me. He gets angry,slams doors and shouts. Howcan I get things back to theway they once were?

Maggie,By e-mail

Dear Maggie,

I suspect that after sixyears of living with this

man without prospect ofmarriage or children, you’rebeginning to panic that thesethings might never be.

After six years of emotion-al investment in a relation-ship, the body that was onceso eager for this man’s love

is now cautious and asking.Aren’t I wasting my time?Your man is equally frustrat-ed because with frequentlove-making, the more likelyhis chances of being a father.He could be one of the menwho favour pregnancy be-fore marriage.

Have you both sat down toagree to what you want inthis relationship?

With the ‘plenty of badtimes’ you claimed you’vehad and with both of yousleeping around, it’s a won-der you’re still together. Inother words, you still bothcare so much to want the re-lationship to work, and itwould be a shame to allowyour loving bond to die.

When you agree to get mar-ried and start a family, you’llrestore naturalness and lifeto this long relationship.

Dear Bunmi,

MY current boyfriendwants me to get in-

volved with his two littlechildren but I don’t feelready to settle down.

I’m a 22 year-old under-graduate and have only

known him for six months.He’s 33 and I love him.

He told me just recentlythat he has two childrenaged six and three and I wasshocked. He said he hadn’ttold me before because I’dsaid when we first met thatI’d never get involved with

a man with children.His children live with his

ex and her new boyfriend.She won’t let my boyfriendsee the children and he’ s de-cided he’s going to courtover it.

He wants me to go with himto support him but I don’twant to get involved. I knowmy parents would disap-prove and wouldn’t want meto be with a man who al-ready has children.

I want to concentrate onmy studies and I don’t feelready to settle down.

TinuadeBy e-mail

Dear Tinuade,

Your boyfriend comesas a package with his

two children and he is ab-solutely right to want regu-lar contact with his chil-dren. It isn’t his fault he hasto go to court to get access.It is however unfair of himto spring children on you ata later date in your rela-tionship instead of beingupfront with you at the be-ginning.

Being in a step-parent roleisn’t easy, especially whenyou’re not at that stage inyour life when you wouldwant children.

You have to be honestwith him your studies comefirst. Would he want to stickaround for you to finish yourstudies?

Only time will tell.

Dear Bunmi,

FOR 18 years, I put up with my nasty abusive husband.Although he wasn’t physically violent, he’d call me terrible

names and accused me of sleeping around. Two years ago, I reacheda breaking point, so I left to stay with a cousin. My husband wasdistraught, promising to get help and telling me how much I meantto him. I thought he was a changed man, so I stupidly went back tohim.

Now the verbal abusive is worse than ever. I want to leave, but Idon’t think I’d cope on my own financially or emotionally.

Derin,By e-mail

Dear Derin,

When you left the first time, you must have thought of a survival plan and you need to look at this plan again. Your

man is a monster and people like him seldom change. Before hewhittles down your self-esteem until you become a nervous wreck,make the break as soon as you can. You’ll be surprised at the numberof people who would support you.

You must have skills of your own, so plan on having a source ofincome. It’s not going to be easy but in time you’d get the hang of itand begin to remember the person you had once been. Once youmake this second break, don’t ever look back.

Dear Bunmi,

MY husband and Ihave a two year-old

daughter but he is a rottenhusband and father.

He lost his job a year agobut couldn’t be bothered tofind another one.

He sleeps late whilst I goto work and won’t allow meto see my friends.

He often accuses me ofcheating on him and callsmy friends whores! Most ofthe time, he sits in front ofthe TV drinking.

I used to be in love withhim but I’m not thinking se-riously of leaving him.

But he thinks that weshould have a second childbut the idea doesn’t thrillme as he’s not much of a fa-ther to the child we current-ly have.

JokeBy e-mail

Dear Joke,

Please think twice before getting pregnant,

then follow your instinctand leave. From everythingyou say, your husband isnot suited to fatherhood. Hemight want another babybut he obviously doesn’twant the responsibility thatgoes with it. He obviouslyis not a good role model toany child. If you get preg-nant, there will only betrouble ahead.

Ask your friends and fam-ily for support so you canmake the break – then youcan set up life on your ownwith your daughter andgive her the upbringing shedeserves.

In the meantime, makesure you don’t get pregnantand don’t trust your part-ner to take care of contra-ception.

Gone are the days whenyou stay in abusive rela-tionships to please society.

I resent being the breadwinnerI resent being the breadwinnerI resent being the breadwinnerI resent being the breadwinnerI resent being the breadwinner

Dear Bunmi,

I’M currently married to my childhood sweetheart. In the threeyears we’ve been married, she’s had a couple of miscarriages

and is currently undergoing treatment. In the meantime, this girl-friend I met at the beginning of the year is now pregnant. I wasshocked. I told her to have an early abortion but she was furious,insisting she was going ahead with the pregnancy and that I shouldbe man enough to face my responsibilities.

When my wife found out, she went ballistic and called me a heart-less pig. My mum has refused to take anyone’s side and life looks acomplete mess. I feel as if I’ve ruined everything for everyone. Ijust can’t see a way out.

Alfred,By e-mail

Dear Alfred,

You’re in a mess alright, but the only way through this is to faceup to your responsibilities as your mistress suggested. You

can’t force her to have an abortion, so you will have to supportyour child, and I hope, be an actively involved dad. Once yourwife has calmed down, she may realise none of this is the baby’sfault, but it is going to take a lot of hard work if she is ever to forgiveand trust you again.

It is sad that despite the campaign against unprotected sex, a lotof men freely indulge in it leaving strings of unwanted pregnan-cies, and sexually transmitted diseases.

Mistress refuses aborMistress refuses aborMistress refuses aborMistress refuses aborMistress refuses abortiontiontiontiontion

Dear Bunmi,

I’ve been mandated by a group of friends to organise a congratulatory party for one of us. The party is to take

place at a small events’ centre and a close friend I’ve knownsince school is to help. My fear now is that I might not be ableto keep my hands off him. We are in our late 20s I’ve secretlyliked him for ages and would love to tell him how I feel. Unfor-tunately, he has a girlfriend.

We’ve been friends for years but it’s only recently that I havecome to realise that I am in fact in love with him. We get on sowell and I know he is perfect for me. My fear now is that Imight not be able to stop myself from making a play for him,after all, girls make the first move these days. That would like-ly get me into trouble with his girlfriend – who will also bethere.

CarolynBy e-mail

Dear Carolyn

It is natural to feel tempted but I wouldn’t go there if Iwere you! He is committed to another woman who is well

known to you, so he’s not free to start anything with you. Iwould stay well clear of him at the party if I were you, andfind a free agent to flirt with.

You’re clearly obsessed with this man. He hasn’t encour-aged you in any way and you need to hang on to your selfrespect by leaving him alone and moving on.

In love with an old friendIn love with an old friendIn love with an old friendIn love with an old friendIn love with an old friend


By Daniel Gumm

Okowa/Otuaro ticket, best for Deltans —DTHACANDIDATE

Wike tackles Amaechi on cancellation of Trans-Kalabarilink road

We've not endorsed any candidate forgov, Senate, say Delta South leaders

By Dapo Akinrefon

PVC, voters’power forchange, saysDelta SDPcandidate

FEB POLL:Why I leftPDP for SDP—ABIGOR

FEB POLLS: Anenih and I united to liberateEdo —IKIMI

By Gabriel Enogholase

B E N I N — F O R M E RExternal Affairs Minister

under the regime of late Gen.Sani Abacha, has emphasizedthe unity between him andChief Tony Anenih in thepolitical struggle to liberateEsanland and the entire EdoState from the clutches of AllProgressives Congress, APC.

He spoke at a rally by thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP,in Igueben, his home town.

Meanwhile, the daughter oflate Professor Ambrose Alli, firstcivilian governor of the defunctBendel State, Ms RosemaryAlli, who was also at the rally,called on Esan people not tovote for Gen. MuhammaduBuhari, the APC Presidentialcandidate, alleging that he wasresponsible for the death of herfather shortly after he wasreleased from prison.

She said: “Buhari killed myfather; he put my father inprison for over one year for nojust cause and he died from thehumiliation and torture he wasmade to go through. As far aswe, Alli's political children, areconcerned, Buhari will neverbecome the President ofNigeria. I appeal to Esan andEdo people to cast their votesfor Goodluck Jonathan.”

Chief Ikimi said: “All Esan

people gathered here this daymust make a declaration that wethe people of Esanland areunited. We must take ourdestiny in our hands, that wethe people of Esanland willensure that a Southerner froma minority South-South region,Goodluck Jonathan, a man who

is humble and has done whatothers have not done since1999, must be allowed tocomplete his second term.

“Chief Anenih and I are nowunited on the basis of ourstruggle for Esan people. Butwe will do ours and find a newgeneration of Esan people towhom we can hand over thebaton. Six weeks ago, I decided

on my own to withdraw mymembership of the APC.

“I was a foundation memberof APC. The party was foundedin my house in Abuja and youall know why I left the party. AllI said then is playing out today.I will not be part of a groupwhich for extreme reasonswants to seize power and throwthe country into confusion."

RIVERS State PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,

governorship candidate, MrNyesom Wike, has berated thestate gogernor, Mr. RotimiAmaechi, for allegedlycanceling the trans-Kalabarilink road.

Speaking at a PDPgovernorship campaign rallyin Buguma, Asari-Toru LocalGovernment Area, Wike saidthat Amaechi’s termination ofthe road project had negativelyimpacted on the economy ofKalabariland.

He said: “The Trans-Kalabarilink road started by ex-Governor Peter Odili wascancelled by the outgoingAmaechi administration. Thatsingular act negativelyaffected the Kalabari economy.

“When we take overgovernance on May 29, theconstruction of the trans-Kalabari link road will be givenpriority. I will dutifully revivethe Kalabari economy, usingthis road as a stepping stone.”

He noted that he will investin the sand-filling of the areaand the reclamation of land inAsari Toru council, adding thathe will execute the shore-line

protection project for Asari-Toru council and rebuild thedilapidated General Hospital,Buguma.

He said that the people ofKalabari will benefit from hisadministration as his runningmate, Dr. Ipalibo Banigo, willplay a vital role in the growth

of the state.Former Rivers PDP

governorship aspirant, ChiefIbinabo Michael-West,declared that Wike'semergence will lead to a PDPvictory in the state.

A Kalabari PDP leader,Ambassador Sogboma

Jackriss, alias Egberipapa,said that his group had agreedto work with Wike for the totalvictory of PDP.

Another Kalabari leader,Chief George Kelly assuredthat Asari Toru people wereunited behind Wike and PDPfor victory at all levels.

W A R R I — G O V E R N -ORSHIP candidate of

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,in Delta State, Senator IfeanyiOkowa and his running mate,Mr. Kinsley Otuaro, have beendescribed as the best to lead thestate, when elected into office.

Addressing supporters atBomadi, the immediate pastChairman of PDP in BomadiLocal Government Area of thestate, Mr. Labo, said that giventhe discordant voices alongethnic leanings, the Okowa/Otuaro ticket, when elected, willharmonise all groups and calledon the people of the council tocome out and massively vote forthe PDP in all the elections.

Describing Okowa as adetribalised Deltan, the PDPHouse of Assembly flag-bearersaid that the governorshiphopeful represents the symbolof unity Deltans were yearning

for.“Given the experience of the

candidate and his deputy, theyare match for the job. Theirsupport is a support for greaterDelta,” Labo said.

By Emma Amaize

WARRI—THE Ijaw,Isoko and Itsekiri

Leaders Forum, in Delta Southsenatorial district, Delta State, hassaid that it had not selected anycandidate for next month’sgovernorship and senatorialelections in the state.

Chairman of the group, MrEdward Ekpoko, in a statement,said: “It has come to the

knowledge of the Ijaw, Isoko andItsekiri Leaders of Thought inDelta South senatorial district thatsome politicians and aspirants aregoing about claiming to have beenendorsed by our body in theforthcoming governorship andsenatorial elections.

“The Ijaw, Isoko and ItsekiriLeaders Forum has not adoptedany candidate for eithergovernorship or Delta Southsenatorial seat," he said.

CANDIDATE of theSocial Democratic

Party, SDP, contesting theDelta State House ofAssembly for Warri Southconstituency 1, Mr GodwinAbigor, has said that he leftthe Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, following theparty’s decision to handover the ticket to the ChiefWhip of the Assembly,Mrs Omawumi Udoh.

Abigor won the PDPprimary election and wasduly given a Certificate ofReturn, but his name wassubstituted in Abuja.

Abigor lamented that thenational leadership of theparty failed to wade into thecrisis.

“I decided to leave thePDP when it became clearthat the party had chosennot to take the part ofdemocracy with the processof picking its candidate.They violated the sameprinciple and standard setby the party. The party haselectoral guidelines andconstitution that providethat any aspirant that getsone simple majority, in theparty primaries, should bethe rightful candidate of theparty," he said.

LESS than fourweeks to the

general elections, theDelta State House ofAssembly candidaterepresenting UghelliNorth Constituency 11,on the platform of theSocial Democratic Party,SDP, Mr RufusAkpodiete, has called onhis supporters to collecttheir Permanent VotersCards, PVCs, sayingthat it was their power tomake the changes theyare clamouring for.

Akpodiete, in Ughelli,yesterday, during hisofficial campaign flag-off at Johnson NumaPlaza, Ughelli, DeltaState, said he wants to goback to the Housebecause he believes hehas the experience tobring more developmentto his constituency.

RALLY: Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State addressing the Paramount Rulerof Obot Akara, HRM Okuku Uwah Umoh Adiaka, at his palace during the PDP CampaignRally in Obot Akara Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.


PoliticiansmournOlejeme'slate father

LADY Grace UdoUdoma, matriarch of

the Udo Udoma family ofIkot Abasi, Akwa IbomState, has passed on,aged 87.

A statement by thefamily said Lady Udoma,wife of late Justice UdoUdoma, former Justice ofthe Supreme Court ofNigeria and former ChiefJustice of Uganda, passedaway peacefully onSaturday, January 17.

Lady Udoma is survivedby six children andseveral grand children,including Mr. Ayanti UdoUdoma, Mr. Inam UdoUdoma and SenatorUdoma Udo Udoma.

She will be laid to restin Ikot Abasi on Friday,February 6.

A commendation servicewill be held for her at theTrinity MethodistChurch, Tinubu, Lagos,on Monday, February 2.

Senator UdoUdoma losesmum

PEOPLES DemocraticParty, PDP, chieftain

and former Chairman ofOkpe and Udu LocalGovernment areas ofDelta State, Mr. DeaconEddie Ono-Sorhue; andanother PDP stalwart,Engr. Bestman Odibo,have commiserated withChairman of the NigeriaSocial Insurance TrustFund, Dr. Ngozi Olejeme,over the death of herfather, Pa Philip Diunor.

In a statement in Warri,the PDP chieftains notedthat late Diunor was afather figure to all thosewho came around him andthat he would be missedgreatly.

They prayed God togrant her the fortitude tobear the irreparable loss.

THE Minister ofAviation, Chief Osita

Chidoka, is expected todeliver the lecture at the44th convocation of theUniversity of Nigeria,Nsukka, UNN, EnuguState, holding tomorrow.

The lecture is entitledRebuilding the NigeriaDream: Mapping theBuilding Blocks.

AviationMinister forUNN lecture

A Delta State AllP r o g r e s s i v e s

Congress, APC, chieftain,Chief Isaac Emetitiri, hascharged Deltans to befocused and be committedto the message of change,stressing that APC is theofficial party of Urhobo byvirtue of the UvwiamugeDeclaration.

Addressing newsmen inWarri on the comingelections, Chief Emetitiricalled on Deltans to standby Olorogun OtegaEmerhor, the guberna-torial candidate of APC inthe state, stressing thatAPC will not step downfor Labour Party, LP, aswidely being speculated.

He added that many hadbeen misled in the pastand that the people mustget it right this time.

SYMPOSIUM:From left— SenatorRashidi Ladoja,Emeritus ProfessorOladipo Akinkugbeand Mrs BukolaLadoja, at asymposium forLadoja’s 70thbirthday by theReading AwarenessSociety forDevelopment inAfrica, RASDA.

NUPENG tasks marketers on newpump price

NIGERIA Union ofPetroleum and Natural

Gas Workers, NUPENG, hasurged oil marketers tocomply with the new pumpprice of petrol of N87 per litre.

NUPENG, in a statementby its President, Mr. IgweAchese, noted that it noticedthat most of the filling

stations were still dispensingfuel at the old rate of N97 perlitre or not selling fuel at all.

It said: “It amounts to totaldisservice for the oilmarketers to continue to sellfuel at the old rate, thusexploiting the consumers.”

NUPENG, however,commended the FederalGovernment for bringingdown the price of petroleum

products in line with thefalling prices of crude oil inthe international market.

It called on the FederalGovernment to put othermeasures in place tocushion the inflationaryeffects of the fall in crudeoil price.

The union enjoinedgovernment to speed up theTurn-Around-Maintenance,TAM, of the nation’s fourrefineries, instead of thedependence on massiveimportation of petroleum

By Kelechi Azubuike

products that was depleting thescare foreign exchange.

NUPENG also called on theFederal Government toestablish more refineries andencourage private developers todo same.

NARTO issues PEF 10-dayultimatum over dues, Aquila, others

NIGERIA Association ofRoad Transport Owners,

NARTO, has issued a 10-dayultimatum to the PetroleumEqualisation Fund, PEF, tosettle all pending issues,including payments tomembers, or face unpleasantconsequences.

NARTO, in a petition by itsPresident, Dr. Kassim Bataiya,to the Executive Secretary,PEF, dated January 15, saidthe issues had dragged for solong and that members’ patienthad elapsed.

In the eight-point petitionentitled Unresolved IssuesRelating to Aquila andPayments, NARTO recalled itsDecember 12, 2014 letter toPEF in which it complainedabout the problems generatedby the implementation of theproject Aquila and otherrelated issues.

According to the petition,“our members had complainedthat the implementation ofProject AQUILA has beenproblematic. The response to

application or Aquila has beenvery slow taking up to thethree months in some cases,whereas bank loansamortization does not wait.

“The locations for fixingAquila are few and far apartleading to trucks having totravel for over 500 kilometresto fix Aquila.

“There also undue delay infreight payment leading tocash-flow problem to ourmembers, non-payment forseveral months to some of ourmembers on the excuse that

Aquila does not capturealready delivered products,for example, in Calabar andPort Harcourt Axis.

“There is the problematictransition from old to newaquila procedure,inconsistency in the Aquilaitself, leading to three sets ofAquila within three years.

“Our members bear thebrunt as to the cost and yourrefusal to pay for productsdelivered by broken downtrucks is unfair and punitiveto our members.”

By VictorAhiuma-Young

UMUAHIA—ABIA SouthTraditional Rulers Council

has endorsed the state’sPeoples Democratic Party, PDP,governorship candidate, Dr.Okezia Ikpeazu, saying he isthe choice candidate of thezone for the February 28governorship election.

Rising from its meeting atAba, the council also endorsed

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe,also of PDP as the zone’scandidate for the senatorialseat.

The Chairman of AbiaTraditional Rulers Council,Eze Eberechi Dick told thecouncil that the zone couldnot afford not to support PDPsince it was the only majorparty committed to ceding thegovernorship seat of AbiaState to Abia South.

Abia South monarchsendorse PDP candidates

By Anayo Okoli

... as DeltaAPCchieftainsassures ofvictory

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015— 47

Shettimatasks APCmembers ongrassroots'politics

Labour tasks INEC on voters' cards' distribution

....As Bauchi receives 500 displaced persons

Forum of NGOs endorses Okowa, Otuaro

APC on failedmission—Suswam

We've 981,416 internally displaced personsin Nigerria —FG

By Caleb Ayansina

Says Boko Haram's end in sight

By Suzan Edeh

Victor Ahiuma-Young

ASABA—THE Forum of DeltaState NGOs has endorsed

Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and hisrunning mate, Kingsley Otuaro asthe best team for the 2015governorship election and call onDeltans to vote them for thesustainable development of thestate.

According to Mr OkeziOdugala, coordinator of the forum,the endorsement of SenatorOkowa was based on an in-depthstudy of the candidates of otherparties which clearly showed

Okowa and Otuaro as men ofimpeccable characters and Godfearing.

He said: “The forum of DeltaState NGOs said the time hascome for civil society to take itsrightful place in advocating fora better Delta State and thereforeadvice Okowa to on assumptionof office, to select only men ofprobity to deliver goodgovernance to Deltans.

“The era of mediocrity andselfish patronage of politicalnever-do-well should not be

tolerated and that only reputableand tested contractors should bethe ones to be engaged in thestate."

The forum also tasked Sen.Okowa on his promise to sustainthe Delta Beyond Oilprogramme with priority attentiongiven to agriculture, industrialization,health insurance among others.

They also enjoined him to give specialattention to environmentalsustainability and tourism developmentwhich has the potential of turning thefortunes of Delta State round.

B A U C H I —G O V E R N O R

Kashim Shettima of BornoState has urged APCstakeholders to go to thegrass-roots for themobilisation of members.

Shettima spoke at theinaugural meeting of the APCPresidential CampaignCouncil, APC-PCC, for theNorth East zone in Bauchi.

Addressing the meeting, thegovernor, who is the PCCCoordinator in the area said:“All APC stalwarts andchieftains must reunite and beextra vigilant so as not to bedivided.

“We should all go back tothe grass-roots in our regionand mobilise our people.”

He, however, assured themeeting that as governors,they would do all they couldto ensure victory for the party.

He further said that the zonewas short changed in the 2014Federal Government’sbudget, as it was allocatedN236 billion, while the South-South zone was given N661billion.

ABUJA—THE DirectorGeneral of the National

Emergency ManagementAgency, NEMA, MuhammadSani-Sidi has said that therewere currently 981,416Internally Displaced Persons,IDPs, in the country.

“There are currently 981, 416Internally Displaced Persons,IDPs, in the country,” he said.

Sani spoke in Abuja, sayingthat some groups werecirculating false figures of theIDPs for their own selfishreasons.

The NEMA boss said thefigures were based onquantitative and qualitativedata collected by NEMA incollaboration with theInternational Organisation forMigration, IOM, the StateEmergency ManagementAgencies, the Nigeria RedCross Society and traditionalrulers.

He said that out of the figure,107,997 were living in IDPsestablished camps, while804,732 live with the hostcommunities and relations.

About 66,087 of the IDPs werereportedly displaced by naturaldisasters while 915,329 wereaffected by the insurgency inthe North East, just as therewere 20 IDPs camps acrossnorthern part of the country.

“NEMA together with UNagencies is currently providing

KADUNA—ORGANISEDLabour has called on the

Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC, toquickly resolve the issue ofPermanent Voters’ Card PVCand other issues capable of

M A K U R D I — A Sanxiety mounts

across the country ahead ofFebruary’s general elections,Governor Gabriel Suswam ofBenue State, has declared that“the opposition AllProgressives Congress, APC,is on a failed mission.’’

Suswam said: “As far as Iknow, especially with ourrecords of achievements whichis there for everyone to see, thePDP would record aresounding victory at thecoming elections.”

He spoke weekend, whilewelcoming defecting membersof the APC from across thestate to the PDP, at the party’szonal campaign rally inMakurdi, adding, “there ismuch desperation amongAPC members and it’s an earlysign of despair and failurewhich is watering the groundsfor the eventual victory of thePDP in Benue State and thecountry at large.

“Today, we are witnessingconsistent defections from theAPC to the PDP in Benue Statebecause of the imposition of aformer PDP Minister, Dr.Samuel Ortom, on the APC asits governorship candidate."

medical equipment to healthfacilities treating victims ofthe insurgency attacks in allthree states of emergency.

“NEMA has deployedambulances at strategiclocations to support andevacuate victims to hospitalsand to provide first aid werenecessary,” he said.

On the situation in Bagatown, Sidi said; “NEMA isproviding comprehensivehumanitarian support to

3,200 IDPs from Baga at itssecure facility in Madiguri;the Teacher’s Village Camp.”

While speaking, theCoordinator of NIC, MrMike Omeri said the recentsuccess recorded by thesecurity operatives in Biu,Borno State was evidencethat end to insurgency wasin sight.

He said; “This operation isanother example in a stringof recent successes against

Boko Haram. Securityforces will continue to makeremarkable progressagainst these terrorists.

“The recent rise in suicidebombings is clear evidencethat Boko Haram is runningout of options. Thegovernment is fullycommitted to ensuring allmilitants are rooted out fromtheir hiding places and asafe and secure country forall Nigerians is restored."

undermining the electoralprocess across the countryahead of next month’s generalelection..

Speaking in Kaduna, a VicePresident of Nigeria LabourCongress, NLC, and GeneralSecretary, National Union of

Textile, Garment and TailoringWorkers of Nigeria,NUTGTWN, Mr. Issa Aremu,insisted that all that the nationneeded were the credibility ofthe electoral register,independence of INEC, thedemocratic behaviour of all thecontestants.

At a briefing, he contendedthat there should be contest ofideas and policies not battleand conquest of contestants,saying, “I am personally proudto witness this historicdemocratic process. Havingwitnessed militarydictatorships with itsrestrictions on liberty andfreedom and violation of tradeunions and workers rights, itis exciting to be part of theongoing democratic transitionsat Federal, states andlegislative levels."

By Peter DuruBy Suzan Edeh

BAUCHI—GOVERNOR IsaYuguda of Bauchi State

Sunday received 500 InternallyDisplaced Persons, IDPs, fromPlateau, Kaduna, Adamawa andYobe States, promising to employeducated ones among them.

Receiving the IDPs at theGovernment House, in Bauchi,Yuguda said that their number inthe state, had risen to over twomillion.

He said that with the securitychallenges facing the country,particularly the North East, thestate had become a safe haven forIDPs because of the relative peacein the area.

The governor said that hisadministration, in collaborationwith the National EmergencyManagement Agency, NEMA,had put measures in place toaccommodate any IDP, whowished to resettle in the state,

adding that he would not onlyprovide land but ‘’support themwith little capital to startsomething meaningful.’’

He also promised to employthose with National Certificateof Education, NCE, who wished

to settle permanently in thestate and teach.

Earlier, Mohammed Hari,who led the IDPs, told thegovernor that they had settledin Too Local Government Areaof the state.

BUSINESS: From left: Economic Officer, Embassy of the United States of America, Mr.Joel Kopp, Commercial Specialist, United States Embassy, Mr Ibrahim Ibrahim, andChairman, Nigerian-American Chambers of Commerce, Kaduna State chapter, Mr SherrifBalogun, at the Business Networking with the US Economic and Commercial Department,in Kaduna, yesterday. Photo: Olu Ajayi.


PRESENTATION: From left, Director, Consumer Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, OluwoleRawa; winner of the Etisalat Smart Ambassador Reward Star Prize, Miss Miracle;Deputy General Manager, Tecno Mobile limited, Mr. Chidi Okonkwo, and Managerof the Operator Department of TECNO Mobile Nigeria, Mr. Joe He, during thepresentation of TECNO sales team with a brand new car, online shopping vouchersand other gifts in appreciation of their contribution to the success of the 2014 EtisalatOne Million 3G Upgrade Campaign, in Lagos.

INSPECTION: From left, Engr. Yung Li, CCECC Contractors; Alhaji AdamuMuazu, National Chairman, PDP; President Goodluck Jonathan, Senator IkeEkweremadu, Deputy Senate President, and Chief Osita Chidoka, Ministerof Aviation,explaining some key details to the President, during the inspectionof the new Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

PRESENTATION: From left, Chairman, Lagos State Chapter, NigerianAutomobile Technician Association, NATA, Jacob Fayeun; Senatorrepresenting Lagos West, Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, andChairman, Lagos State Vulcaniser Association, Rasheed Adeyemi, duringpresentation of mechanical tools and vulcanising machines to the artisans bySenator Ganiyu Solomon in Lagos.

INSPECTION: From left, Engr. Austin Ogbuanya, Assitant Director, Carriage&Wagon, Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC; Engr. Adeseyi Sijuade,Managing Director, NRC, and Akinwoye Abdulrauf, at the inspection of five68-seater air conditioned passenger coaches, acquired by the Coproration,in Lagos.

CONFERENCE: From left, Bishop Felix 'Remi Adejumo, Senior Pastor, AgapeChristian Ministry; Rev. Funke Felix-Adejumo, Convener, Women on theWinning Edge, WOWE, Conference; Pastor Folu Adeboye, wife of the GeneralOverseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, and Her Excellency,Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, wife of the Kwara Sate Governor, at WOWE,Conference, at the Tafawa Balewa Square,TBS, Lagos.

RALLY: Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State (right), raising the hands of theEdo Central senatorial candidate of the APC, Chief Francis Inegbeneki, at a rally inEdo State.

SIGNING: From left, Mr. Adeola Adesanya, Associate Director, PML Advisory Ltd;Mr. Abdul- Wahhab Ibrahim, Executive Director PML Advisory Ltd; Mr. ManeshKarani, Director, Etrend Technologies Ltd India, and Mr. Abiola Fajimi, CEO PMLAdvisory Ltd, during the signing of PML Advisory's partnership agreement withEtrend, India, in Lagos.

COLLOQUIUM: From left, Mrs. Ayo Jaiyesimi, Group Head, Human CapitalManagement and Development, First Bank Nigeria; Mr. Paul Uduk, ManagingDirector, Vision and Talent International, and Irunna Ejibe, Head, Learning andDevelopment, Fidelity Bank Plc, during the 2015 Vision and Talents TrainingColloquium, in Lagos. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele


CMYK


INEC clears 1m IDPs for votingBy Jude Opara

& Joseph Erunke

ABUJA—AHEAD of theforthcoming general

elections, the IndependentNational Electoral Commission,INEC, says it had cleared aboutone million Internally DisplacedPersons, IDPs, from the threeNorth-East states of Adamawa,Bornu and Yobe to vote.

This was even as GovernorJames Ngilari of Adamawa Statehad said it would be impossibleto conduct elections in his statebefore April this year and askedINEC to suspend furtherpreparations for the polls.

INEC Chairman, Professor

Attahiru Jega, who spoke inAbuja at a stakeholdersmeeting with the themePresentation on IDPs and2015 General Electionsyesterday, said the action wastaken to afford as many peopleas possible the opportunity toexercise their franchise andalso to avoid a possibleconstitutional crisis which mayarise if the people of thetroubled states do not vote inthe elections.

He said: “We have gone toofar in the preparation and itwill be difficult to reverse to theuse of Temporary Voters Card,TVCs. I have read about theresolution of the House of

Representatives even thoughwe have not been officiallycommunicated.

“But I want to urge everyeligible voter to go and pickup his or her Permanent VotersCard, PVC because without itthere will be no voting.

“Even if the machine givesany problem, which I know willbe minimal, such would bereplaced immediately and inthe event it last for a long time,the election in such pollingunit will be postponed till thenext day.”

Jega also used the occasionto reiterate the position ofINEC that only voters with thePVC will be eligible to vote.

According to him, theprocess had gone too far toreverse to the idea of usingTVC.

The Power Pointpresentation, which wascarried out by NationalCommissioner andChairperson in charge ofINEC Task Force on IDPs,Mrs. Thelma Iremire,showed that Bornu State hadthe highest number ofdesignated places for IDPs,followed by Adamawa State,while Yobe State had theleast, with 198 centres.

However, Iremireexplained that before the endof January, INEC wouldhave identified the actualpolling centres to be used bythe IDPs.

In his contribution on the

state of security in his state,Governor Kashim Shettima ofBornu State said there were stilltension in the state, adding thatBoko Haram insurgents had thetendency of attacking people whomay want to exercise theirfranchise.

Shettima stated that a villagein Mungono was fined N4million by members of BokoHaram for going to the localgovernment to collect their PVCs,a development he stressedshould give an inkling of whatcould happen at the pollingunits.

Other dignitaries at the eventincluded the Deputy Governor ofYobe State, Abubakar Aliyu,members of the NationalAssembly and the diplomaticcorps.

Jonathan'sadministrationhandedNigeriato BokoHaram— BSO

ABUJA—BUHARIS u p p o r t

Organization, BSO, hasalleged that PresidentGoodluck Jonathan'sadministration handedover Nigeria to the BokoHaram sect.

BSO’s allegationfollowed the assertion byPeoples Democratic Party,PDP, National PublicitySecretary, Chief OlisehMetu, that the Presidentwas instrumental to whyBoko Haram had not overrun the country.

The Head, Media andPublicity Unit, Dr. ChidiaMaduekwe, in astatement, said the initialkid gloves treatmentgiven to the eruption ofinsurgency in the north-east by the FederalGovernment gave theinsurgents the impetus toaccelerate their cause.

He said: “Contrary towhat Olisa Metuh wantsNigerians to believe thatMr. President preventedBoko Haram fromoverrunning Nigeria,available evidence pointsotherwise.

“It is the Jonathanadministration thathanded over Nigeria toBoko Haram when headmitted publicly hisstrategy of dealing withBoko Haram at its infancywas one of kids glove.

“This miss-judgment ofstrategy made him losevaluable time to tackle theinsurgency mostappropriately.”

By LevinusNwabughiogu

CMYK


Fuel price cut:FG to reimbursemarketersfor old stock

Blame game in Nollywood over Muna Obiekwe's death

By Michael Eboh

By AbdulsalamMuhammad

COMMISSIONING: From left; Dr. Olayinka David-West, Lagos Business School; Mr OluseyiAkindeinde, CTO, Digital Encode Ltd; Dr Chris Uwaje, Special guest of the occasion and Mr ObadarePeter Adewale, Chief Operating Officer, during the official commissioning of Digital Encode, the 1stprivately-owned cyber security operations centre in Igbosere, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye.

KANO—KANO State was brought to a standstill

yesterday by several thousandsof All Progressives Congress,APC, supporters who poured outto welcome their Presidential flagbearer, Gen. MuhammaduBuhari into the state.

The supporters took overmajor streets and the SaniAbacha stadium, venue ofyesterday ’s presidentialcampaign rally, Emir’s Palaceand Aminu Kano InternationalAirport shortly after themorning rush hour in theirvarious regalia.

The ecstatic crowd broke intowild jubilation when the aircraftconveying Buhari and other topofficials of the opposition partytouched the tarmac of theinternational airport chanting,Baba oyoyo, Baba oyoyo.

A brief airport ceremony sawGen. Buhari and his entourageembarking on a gruelling five-hour journey to Sani AbachaStadium venue of the campaignas supporters that included

women in purdah lined up thestreets to catch a glimpse of theretired general.

The Buhari’s motorcade thatconsisted of cyclists, tricyclesand four wheeled auto mobileadded colour to the visit asmany of them displayedacrobat-ism on their way.

The APC flag bearer who wasoverwhelmed by the multitudestepped out at the Kano CityCentre to commission the multibillion Naira overhead bridgeconstructed by Governor RabiuMusa Kwankwaso.

At the emir‘ s palace, the Emir,Malam Sanusi I I prayed for thepeaceful conduct of the election,as he appealed to politicians toplay by the rules.

It however, took Buhari whoarrived the overcrowded SaniAbacha stadium at about 2.30pmabout 40 minutes before he wadedthrough to the VIP stand.

Addressing the crowd, Gen.Buhari restated his commitmentto fight corruption and checkinsurgency if voted into office andappealed to his supporters tocome out en masse and vote forAPC candidates at all levels.

CONTRARY to reports that Nollywood

practitioners abandoned MunaObiekwe, who died of a kidney-related disease last Sunday,National President of the ActorsGuild of Nigeria,AGN, MrsIbinabo Fiberesima-Egbukahas explained that the industrydid not abandon the actor.

A popular Yoruba actress-cumfilmmaker, Dayo Amusa, onMonday had accused hercolleagues in the Nigerianmovie industry of neglectingMuna’s deteriorating state ofhealth prior to his demise.

The actress took to herInstagram page to register herdispleasure. “Muna mighthave wanted or lived a privatelife but people knew he wassick. People knew his healthcondition and yet what did theydo? Some tried but if they hadcried out to the world, Munamight have gotten help,” shewrote.

But reacting to the allegationyesterday when she wascontacted, Ibinabo blamed thedeceased for not opening up ontime to his colleagues concerninghis state of health.

Ibinabo said, the guild had

contacted AGN president. Hetold her he would get back toher to discuss details of hisdeteriorating health but henever did.

According to reports, the actordiscovered his kidney problem along time ago but like mostpeople, he thought he couldmanage it. He ignored the painand continued working withoutpaying much attention to hishealth.

He only took his drugs andmedication once in a while asMuna never believed the ailmentcould lead to his death. Hebelieved he would survive it.

By Benjamin Njoku ...Nobody abandoned him—AGN President

Kano stands still as Buharicampaign train hits town

PETROLEUM productsmarketers, under the aegis

of the Major Oil Marketers ofNigeria, MOMAN, yesterday,said they have reached anagreement with the FederalGovernment on compensation ofoil marketers for losses incurred onthe stock in their tanks before thedownward review in the price ofPremium Motor Spirit, PMS, toN87 per litre.

It has been estimated that the oilpetroleum marketers will losebillions of naira over the reductionand possibly put a number of banksat risk, due to the fact that anumber of the marketers borrowmoney to finance their purchase.

Mr. Obafemi Olawore, ExecutiveSecretary, MOMAN, whodisclosed at a press briefing inLagos, expressed concern over thegovernment's failure to address theissue of over N250 billionoutstanding subsidy paymentsand dealers/marketers' margins.

He said that at the meetingbetween government andMOMAN, it was agreed that thePetroleum Products Pricing andRegulatory Agency, PPPRA,Department of PetroleumResources, marine inspectors andauditors of the Federal Ministryof Finance, will take stock of theproducts in the tanks of all oilmarketers and compensate themaccordingly, on the basis of thedifference of N10 per litre.

Nigerian officers face courtmartial over Boko Haram

Microsoftgives out12 carsto promowinners

M I C R O S O F TMobile Devices

and Service has rewardedtwelve winners of its LumiaChristmas promo withbrand new cars.

The promo, which kickedoff last year November ranup till December 31st aswinners were selectedrandomly from four differentdraws, in which threewinners each emerged.The winners are fromdifferent parts of thecountry.

Speaking during theceremony, the company'sGeneral Manager, JosephUmunakwe, said,“Microsoft Mobile Devicesand Services is aproductivity and platformcompany that believes inthe power of technology toenhance lives. Lumia is abrand that connects peopleand empowers them to domore, hence, the promowhere we decided to giveback to our loyal consumersby handing them brandnew cars.”

While thanking theNigerian LotteryCommission for theirunrelenting support allthrough the period of thecampaign, he said thatNigerians should look outfor more from the companyas they are completelydevoted to empoweringpeople.

Also speaking at theevent, Senior MarketingManager, Microsoft MobileDevices and Services,Olumide Balogun, said“Microsoft is a brand thatdelivers on whateverpromise has been made totheir consumers. Lumiawill continue to empowerpeople to do more and tolead more productive lives,either at work or at play”

gone out of its way in the past toassist ailing actors such asIfeanyi Dike, Chike Byran andPrince James Uche, amongothers.

According to the AGNpresident who said she is intouch with the actor’s family,“Muna didn’t want anyone toknow about his failing healthfrom what I gathered. But wecan’t help anybody if we don’tknow you have a problem. Werun a Guild.

''You must revalidate yourmembership and be on ourhealth plan in addition to payingyour dues. We have asked andeven begged our members toidentify with our health plan.They only remember, theybelong to a Guild when there isa problem. Muna was awonderful actor. He was a veryprivate person, or was extremelyprivate for his own good.”

Also, speaking in the samevein, former Chairman, EnuguState chapter of AGN,Ofiafuluagu Mbaka expressedsadness over the actor’s demise.

According to him, “Munahardly socialized with people.It’s only when you socialize thatyou can open up to people andtell them what you are passingthrough. It’s very unfortunateand a very big blow to theindustry.”

Meanwhile, facts emergedyesterday on why the late actormaintained sealed lips over hisailment.

Those close to him revealed,however, that Muna wasparticularly afraid of the press,hence his shutting his colleaguesout of his pain. He knew if someNollywood people got to knowabout it, the press would also getto know. He refused to beg to saveNollywood’s image and in turnlost himself,” a close associate said.

However, shortly before hisdeath, Muna who starred in over300 movies was said to havesummoned enough couragedespite his private nature and

May that the Sunni jihadistgroup had “infiltrated ... thearmed forces and police”.

This is the first time seniorarmy officers have been put ontrial for offences relating to thefight against Boko Haram.

The militant group killed anestimated 10,000 people lastyear in its battle to revive amedieval caliphate inNigeria, Africa’s mostpopulous country and itsbiggest energy producer.

NIGERIA has ordered abrigadier general and

21 other army officers to facea court martial over allegedsabotage in the war againstIslamist militant group BokoHaram, two military sourcessaid on Tuesday.

The charges were notspecified.

Some officers have long beensuspected of colluding withBoko Haram, with PresidentGoodluck Jonathan saying in

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015 — 55

TUC, oil unions differ on fuel price cut…Petrol stations stick to old price; IPMAN orders members to comply

By Our Reporters

FG approveslow interestfunding planfor cotton,textilemanufacturers

By Gabriel Omoh

VISIT: Former Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters to Late President Umaru MusaYar'Adua, Senator Abba Aji greeting President Goodluck Jonathan at the Maiduguri InternationalAirport during the President recent visit to Borno State. Photo by Ndahi Marama.

VARIED reactions havecontinued to trail Federal

Government's reduction of petrolprice from N97 to N87.

President of Nigeria Union ofPetroleum and Natural GasWorkers, NUPENG, Igwe Achese,said, Nigerians were expecting thepetroleum pump price to go downto about N60 and not the N87which the governmentannounced, stressing that the newrate was still on the high side.

Also speaking, President,Petroleum and Natural Gas SeniorStaff Association of Nigeria,PENGASSAN, Francis Johnson,described the N10 reduction ofpetroleum pump price as awelcome development.

Johnson said he was not surewhether the reduction waspolitical, as the reduction ofpetroleum pump price was one ofthe issues raised in December lastyear, when the oil and gas unionsembarked on strike.

He said it was canvassed duringthe December strike that as theprice of crude oil in theinternational market had dropped,it was imperative for the price ofthe petroleum pump price to alsodrop, adding that the recentreduction was good for Nigerians.

Similarly, President of TradeUnion Congress of Nigeria, TUC,Bobboi Kaigama, commended thegovernment for the action whichhe said the TUC had beenagitating for.

Kaigama said, “TUC has beenagitating for government to reducethe pump price. If government hasdone that, it shows that thegovernment is sensitive to theplight of Nigerians.

In his reaction, a professor at thePan African University, AustinNweze, believes the new petrolprice will not affect the ordinarycitizen immediately. According tohim, the Nigerian Government’sreduction of the pump price ofpetrol is a welcome developmentconsidering it came without a fightfrom Nigerians.

While sharing the view that itwas not yet time to celebrate, healso noted that such a reductionwould not affect majority ofNigerians as commuters wouldstill be paying the same amountthey pay for transportation. Henoted that vehicle owners who buypetrol daily would immediatelystand to benefit.

DPR to axe violatorsHowever, despite the

announcement by the FederalGovernment, majority of the petrolstations across the country wereyet to comply with the directive andare still selling the product at N97per litre. The Department ofPetroleum Resources, DPR,claimed that about 70 per centcompliance had been recordedamong outlets visited in Abuja.

Spokesperson of the DPR inAbuja, Mr Mohammed Saidu,said the agency was poised to

ensure full compliance with thenew directive. He said theagency yesterday, deployedsurveillance teams led by theDirector of DPR, Mr. GeorgeOsahon, to ensure fullcompliance in the FederalCapital Territory, FCT.

“The Director of DPR, MrGeorge Osahon, and othermanagement staff were on thefield today in Abuja to enforcestrict compliance with thedirective by the PetroleumMinister on the reduction. Weare happy with the level ofcompliance and success storiesrecorded so far,” he said.

He also said about 70 per centof the filling stations visited hadchanged the meters to reflect thenew pump price as announcedby the Federal government.According to him, the few thatwere yet to comply said theirengineers were not around toeffect the changes and as soonas they come, the meters wouldbe adjusted.

While calling on owners offilling stations to comply with thedirective immediately, hewarned that the agency wouldseverely penalise any station thatrefused to comply.

When Vanguard contacted Mr.Lawal Abiodun, thespokesperson for NIPCO Plc,jointly owned by theIndependent PetroleumMarketers, he said, “All our retailoutlets in Abuja and environs(three) have complied with thenew pump price to theadmiration of DPR, PPRRA, andother stakeholders were at theJabi station to confirm thedevelopment.

''Our technical departmentaccompanied by retail unit staffwill move to all our stations inLagos and environs (Ogun) toconfirm proper compliancetomorrow (today.)

In his remarks, President of theIndependent Petroleum MarkersAssociation of Nigeria, IPMAN,Chief Chinedu Okoronkwo, saidthe association had directed itsmembers to comply with the

directive immediately. Hehowever, noted that there are stillfew members that the associationis unable to reach out to as aresult of communicationproblems.

He gave the assurance that byTuesday (yesterday) all theassociation members would havebeen contacted to ensure strictcompliance with the directive.

Old price stay in LagosHowever, despite the directive

that the new pump price shouldbe implemented with immediateeffect, petrol stations in Lagosand other states in the federationhave refused to comply, sayingthey do not have official directiveto do so.

In Lagos, Nigeria’s commercialnerve centre for instance,nothing had changed as all thefilling stations along the Festacarea, Agbara, Alaba, Cele bus-stop and environs were seenselling at N97 per litre.

Some of the petrol stationsargued that the delay is as aresult of the absence of thetechnicians who were yet tomake the adjustment, addingthat such adjustments can onlybe effective when old stocksalready on ground wereexhausted.

Abia adamantIn Abia, operators of petrol

stations were reluctant to adjusttheir meters to the N87announced on Sunday as onlythe NNPC mega station on theUmuahia-Okigwe expresswaycomplied with the directive.Other filling stations, includingthe big marketers were yet toadjust to the new price regime.Some of them even closed tocustomers, claiming that therewere no products to dispense.Others were still dispensing atthe old price of N97 per litre.Also, reports from Aba saidowners of petrol stations were yetto adjust to the new price.

FCT compliesIn the Federal Capital Territory,

FCT, a number of petrol fillingstations, yesterday reverted tothe new pump price of N87 perlitre, as a visit to some of thefuel stations in Abuja showedthat there was total complianceto the new price regime by thefilling stations attendants.

Not so in BenueIn Makurdi and environs in

Benue State, virtually all thefilling stations were yet tocomply with the new policy.

Vanguard investigationsyesterday showed that allindependent marketers in thestate were still dispensing at theold pump price while the NNPCMega Station, on old Otukporoad and Forte Oil by theMakurdi new bridge were theonly stations dispensing theproduct at the new rate.

No change in Anambra yetIn Anambra State, fuel

dealers were yet to effectchanges in the pump price ofPMS, as all the filling stationsin the state, including NNPCfilling stations have not adjustedtheir prices at the time of filingthis report, as the attendantssaid they were yet to getinstructions to do so.

..Borno tooA petroleum market dealer in

Maiduguri, who did not wanthis name mentioned, said theyfound it difficult to adhere to thenew price, as the commodity attheir disposal were bought at theold price, insisting they wouldstick to the old price afterdisposing their old stock.

Some of the IPMAN membersinterviewed on compliance withthe new directive said that theywere yet to get directives fromthe DPR on effecting thereduction in fuel price.

Usman Yahaya, an attendantat Kolo Petroleum Station,Maiduguri, said that he wasnot directed by either hismanager or DPR to changeand reduce the fuel pump pricefrom N100 to N87 per litre.

THE FederalG o v e r n m e n t

yesterday announced anew funding policymechanism that willensure that cotton, textileand garment companiesaccess long-term, lowinterest loans to financetheir operations.

The new policy is partof the new NationalCotton, Textile andGarment programmeaimed at revitalising andboosting the growth anddevelopment of the cotton,textile and garmentindustry in Nigeria.

The Minister ofIndustry, Trade andInvestment, Mr.Olusegun Aganga,disclosed this during thelaunch of the NationCotton, Textile andGarment Policy and theinauguration of a 17-member Implementation,Monitoring and ReviewCommittee for the CTGPolicy, in Abuja.

Aganga said the Policy,which was a product ofprolonged andc o m p r e h e n s i v econsultation with all thestakeholders in theindustry, was expected toaddress all bottlenecksinhibiting the growth anddevelopment of theindustry.

He added that it would improve the quality,quantity, productioncapacity, marketing andcompetitiveness of theplayers across the entirevalue chain; control theinflux of fake and sub-standard textile andgarments into Nigeria;and improve thecompetitiveness of CTG across the nation, amongothers.

He said, “Extensivestakeholders’ consultationgave birth to the NationalCotton, Textile andGarment Policy, whichwas approved by theFederal Executive Councilon December 17, 2014. In2010, the FederalGovernment introduced aN100 billion Cotton, Textileand Garment RevivalFund, managed by theBank of Industry to reversethe ugly trend ofprogressive collapse ofthe textile industry.

58 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21 , 2015

Opposition Houthi militants hold the presiden-tial palace

Rebel coup ousts Yemen’sleader, minister says

YEMEN’s presidential palace has been

completely taken over byShiite Houthi rebels, thecountry ’s Minister ofInformation NadiaSakkaf told CNN yes-terday amid reports ofrenewed clashes.

Sakkaf said the PrimeMinister ’s residencewas also under attackfrom the street.

She called the situa-tion “the completion of acoup,” adding that “thePresident has no con-trol.”

Fighting was earlier

reported around thepresidential palace inthe capital, Sanaa, a dayafter heavy fighting be-tween government forc-es and Houthis ShiiteMuslims who have longfelt marginalized in themajority Sunni Muslimcountry ended in aceasefire deal.

Nine people werekilled and 67 others in-jured in the fighting be-tween government forc-es and Houthi militantson Monday, Yemen’sHealth Ministry said,before the sides agreed

to a ceasefire.Gunfire could be heard

sporadically across thecity yesterday , whereasa day earlier it was con-stant.

Unknown assailantsfired shots Mondaynight at a U.S. Embassyvehicle in Sanaa, theU.S. Embassy said yes-terday.

The shooters fired firstinto the air and thenturned the guns on itsvehicle, the embassysaid. The vehicle carriedU.S. diplomatic person-nel and was at a check-point near the embassyat the time. No injurieswere reported.

The embassy is knownto use SUVs that are rec-ognizable as U.S. gov-ernment vehicles.

Two U.S. Navy war-ships moved into newpositions in the Red Sealate Monday to be readyto evacuate Americansfrom the embassy ifneeded, a U.S. officialwith direct knowledge ofthe planning told CNN.

AirAsia QZ8501: No sign of terrorismin cockpit recording — Investigators

Investigators examining the tail of AirAsia flightQZ8501

AUDIO recordingsfrom the cockpit of

AirAsia Flight QZ8501contain no sounds ofgunfire or explosions,making it unlikely theplane was brought downby terrorism, Indonesianinvestigators have said.

The he aircraft’s cock-pit voice recorder, whichcaptures all noises onthe flight deck, was re-covered last week fromthe depths of the JavaSea, along with the oth-er so-called black box,the flight data recorder.

“The voice from thecockpit does not showany sign of a terrorist at-tack. It is only the pilot,sounding very busy,”Andreas Hananto, aninvestigator at Indone-

sia’s National Transpor-tation Safety Committee,said in an interview withthe news agency Reu-ters.

He said Monday thatinvestigators had heard

“no threats” in the re-cordings.

“We didn’t hear anyvoice of other personsother than the pilots,”Nurcahyo Utomo, anoth-er investigator, told Re-uters.

5-year-old boy shoots baby brotherin the northwest cornerof Missouri.

“At this point foul playis not suspected, and itappears at this time thatthe shooting was acci-dental,” the NodawayCounty Sheriff ’s Officesaid.

Sheriff Darren Whitetold CNN affiliate KCTVthat the baby was in aplaypen when his

THE mother called 911to say her 5-year-old

boy shot his baby broth-er with a paintball gun.

But it wasn’t a paintballgun. It was a .22-caliberMagnum revolver. Andthe 9-month-old boydidn’t survive.

Meanwhile, authori-ties are trying to figureout what led to Mon-day’s shooting in Elmo,

brother found the gunlying around a bed.

When emergencycrews arrived, theyfound the infant hadbeen shot in the head.The child was flown toChildren’s Mercy Hos-pital in Kansas City,Missouri, where he waspronounced dead, thestation reported.

Congo police fire shots in air todisperse protesters

ANTI-government protesters block a road

and burn tires during aprotest against a new lawthat could delay elec-tions to be held in 2016,in Kinshasa, Democrat-ic Republic of Congo,Jan. 19, 2015.

Police in DemocraticRepublic of Congo firedshots in the air on Tues-day to halt a second dayof protests against adraft measure that coulddelay a presidentialelection set for 2016 andallow President JosephKabila to stay in power.

Kabila won elections in2006 and 2011 and isconstitutionally ineligi-ble to stand for a third

term.Students burned tires

and barricaded the roadleading to the Universityof Kinshasa in the southof the capital and largenumbers of people werein streets in the Ndjilineighborhood, blocking

access to the airport, wit-nesses said.

Riot police deployedacross the city but pro-tests appeared to be lessorganized and more spo-radic than on Monday,when at least four peo-ple died in clashes.

Killer of 28 yr old woman caught in UK hotelin Tanzania

A man has been arrested over the mur-

der of a 28-year-old wom-an who was found dead ina hotel room in Cardiff.

Sam Almahri, 44,sparked an internationalmanhunt after the death ofNadine Aburas, who wasdiscovered by staff at theFuture Inn Hotel on Hem-ingway Road on NewYear’s Eve.

South Wales Policeworked with Interpol andother agencies to trace theUS national who had fledto Tanzania.

Almahri is currently be-ing held by Tanzanian

police.Detective Superinten-

dent Paul Hurley said:“This has been a fast mov-ing and complex investi-

Congo protesters yesterday

Cameroon troops in ‘heavy clashes’with Boko Haram

CAMEROONIANtroops fought “heavy

clashes” Tuesday with BokoHaram militants near theborder with Nigeria as asecurity summit kicked offin Niger on a regional planto stop the Islamist fighters.

Boko Haram insurgentsfrom neighbouring Nigeriaattacked the far northernCameroon border village ofBonderi, a source told AFP,adding that “it’s too earlyto give a casualty toll.”

The fighting comes asNigeria and its regionalneighbours, includingChad, Niger andCameroon, met in Niger’scapital Niamey to plan astrategy against the Islamistfighters.

Boko Haram controlsswathes of Nigeria and hasstepped up cross-borderattacks in the region as partof an insurgency that hasleft 13,000 dead and forced1.5 million from their homes

since 2009.Chad sent a convoy of

troops and 400 militaryvehicles into CameroonSaturday to help in the fightagainst Boko Haram andits president has called forthe creation of a regionalforce.

A Boko Haram assaultthis month on the town ofBaga on the shores of LakeChad trigged widespreadoutrage and helped spurcalls for a broaderresponse.

Nigerians buy up to £250mLondon homes to escape Boko Haram

BOKO Haram is driving super rich Nige-

rians to London wherethey are now its biggestspenders on homesthere. In three years,they have spent £250million buying up mostexpensive homes there.

Other wealthy individ-uals from Africa and the

Middle East are alsoamong the biggest pur-chasers of prime proper-ties in central London.

Beauchamp Estates,which sells some of Lon-don’s most expensivehomes, recently report-ed that around 5% byvalue of London buyerscome from Africa, with

six countries - Nigeria,Ghana, Congo, Gabon,Cameroon and Senegal- topping the list. Nige-rians are among the big-gest spenders, forkingout £250 million on Lon-don homes in the lastthree years.

gation involving law en-forcement agencies fromthree continents and weare particularly grateful forthe professional co-opera-tion we have receivedfrom the Tanzanian police.

Zambian lawyer, economist intight presidential vote

ZAMBIANS flockedto the polls on Tues-

day to choose the nextleader of one of Africa’smost promising frontiermarkets, in what shapedup as a tight race be-tween a populist lawyerand a wealthy econo-mist.

Edgar Lungu, leaderof the ruling PatrioticFront (PF), is seen hav-ing a slight edge overmain rival HakaindeHichilema, a business-man whose United Par-ty for National Develop-ment has wooed the mid-dle-class and investors.


CMYK

team.Sambawa who was

speaking in a televisioninterview in Abuja airedTuesday, said his advicewas informed by theneed to get a technical-ly sound coach whowould chart a newcourse for the nationalteam.

In his view, the NFFshould advertise the va-cant position of the na-tional team coach in na-tional and internationalnewspapers so as toopen the process of get-ting a replacement forout-of-contract SuperEagles coach, StephenKeshi.

“Anybody form any-where, who is qualifiedand meet the require-ments can apply,” theformer Minister said,adding, “it does not mat-ter if the new coach

•Continues from BP

Shakes Mashaba’smen took the leadthrough Thuso Phalaand should have been 2-0 up nine minutes intothe second-half, but apenalty miss fromTokelo Rantie swung thegame’s momentum inAlgeria’s favour whowould ultimately go onto claim all three points.

Next up for BafanaBafana is Senegal whobeat Ghana 2-1 in theiropening game.

“We now need tomotivate the guys[ahead of the nextgame],” said Mashabain the aftermath.

“We conceded poor

Mashaba goals today and that issomething we have torepair. We have madethings very difficult andthe next two games is amust win [for us].”

Rivaldo Coetzee’sinjury on the half-hourwas a big blow to Bafanaand Mashaba believesthe injury to the 18-year-old effected his side.

“I think the changeeffected us because theystarted playing longballs in behind us andstarted to get into one-v-one positions,”Mashaba concluded.

With Coetzee likely tomiss the game againstthe Lions of Teranga onFriday, Erick Mathoho isexpected to partnerThulani Hlatshwayo indefence.

comes from Ghana orNigeria, whether he isblack or white, let a com-petent hand be em-ployed.”

Continuing, Sambawasaid, “ what we neednow is a technicallysound and well remu-nerated coach. We don’twant a coach who will betaking money from play-ers before he invitesthem to camp, sharetheir allowances beforefielding them. We needa sound comfortablecoach who can instill dis-cipline in the team andcan call off players’ bluffwhen they feel biggerthan the team.”

A weak coach wouldonly make mattersworse, the former minis-ter reasoned, saying,“we don’t want a coachwho will field a playerfrom Bayelsa becausethe President is fromBayelsa.”

Sack Keshi

•Continues from BP

“The bodies remainedlying in the open andtheir parents wereunable to withdraw themfor fear of murder by theterrorist organization,”RIBSS posted on itswebsite.

The boys wereslaughtered becausethey were said to beviolating Sharia law bywatching the game.

Iraq beat Jordan 1-0 inthe Jan. 12 match, whichtook place in Brisbane,Australia.

ISIS kill 13 for watching Asian Cup match

ISLAMIC State inIraq and Syria

(ISIS) have executed 13teenage boys.

The young fans werereportedly watching anAsian Cup matchbetween Iraq andJordan on TV last weekwhen they were caught

by the militants in theIraqi city of Mosul,which ISIS controls.

The group of teens wasexecuted in public by afiring squad that usedmachine guns,according to Raqqa IsBeing SlaughteredSilently, an activistgroup that exposes ISISatrocities.

Before the kids werekilled, their “crime” wasannounced over aloudspeaker, reportssaid.

TIGER Woods haslost one of his front

teeth after being acci-dentally hit by a camer-aman when photogra-phers tried to captureproceedings at the Ski-ing World Cup event inItaly.

The Golfer was hit inthe face by a camerawhile trying to surprisehis girlfriend LindseyVonn, who won her 63rdWorld Cup Alpine ski tri-umph.

“During a crush ofphotographers at theawards’ podium, a me-dia member with ashoulder-mounted video

Woods’ loses tooth afterbeing hit by cameraman

camera pushed andsurged towards thestage, turned and hit Ti-ger Woods in themouth,” his agent MarkSteinberg said.

“Woods’s tooth wasknocked out by the inci-dent.”

•Woods

CHELSEA arereportedly lining

up a move for Fiorentinawinger Juan Cuadrado,according to reports.

The 26-year-old washeavily linked with amove to ManchesterUnited in the summerafter impressing forColombia at the WorldCup.

However, it now seemsJose Mourinho is keenon bringing the SouthAmerican to StamfordBridge as he looks to

•Juan Cuadrado

Chelsea target £26million Colombia star

bolster a squad stillchallenging on fourfronts.

The Portuguese bosslooks set to let AndreSchurrle head back toGermany and MohamedSalah may also departStamford Bridge,meaning there’s a placeavailable for at least onenew wide man.

Cuadrado, who isvalued at £26m by theItalian club, has scoredfour times in 16 Serie Amatches this term.

THE manager ofE n y i m b a

International FootballClub of Aba, KadiriIkhana, has nominatedKano Pillars as the teammost likely to win theSuper 4 trophy.

The former KanoPillars handler singledout the leaguechampions as the likelytoughest opponents forEnyimba, noting thatthey have beenpreparing very wellsince last year unlikethe other clubs in thetournament.

“If you ask me the bestclub at the moment, Iwould say Kano Pillarsbecause they have hadan excellent preparationand when a clubprepares well, it iseasier to win.

“But then, Enyimbacannot be ruled outbecause we also haveretained most of theplayers that were withus last season.

“We will count on theirexperience and teamspirit to do well,”submitted Ikhana, wholed Enyimba to Nigeria’sfirst ever ChampionsLeague win in 2003.

He is also counting onthe quality of some of hisnew signings to make agood showing at thetournament, showingspecial interest in theduo from Abia Warriors,defender, ChimaUluocha and OnyekachiPeter, a striker.

“We saw those boys

Super 4: Ikhana confesses fear ofPillars

play against us and weare convinced they havethe quality to helpEnyimba and thistournament is a goodplace to integrate theminto the squad in ac o m p e t i t i v eenvironment,” the coachrevealed.

Enyimba, Dolphins,Kano Pillars and WarriWolves are the clubsinvolved in the GloPremier League Super 4

which also has theNational U-20 (FlyingEagles) and theNational U-23 (DreamTeam) participating oninvitation. We howevergathered that coachSamson Siasia has optedout of the competitionwhich starts onSaturday, January 24with opening fixturebetween Dolphins andKano Pillars.

•Ikhana

THE proposedfriendly game

between Nigeria andTunisia has beenapproved by theirFootball Federation,which will be played thisSaturday.

Also, Tunisia will lockhorn with North Africancounterparts, Algeria, asthey all prepare for theforthcoming All AfricaGames and Olympicsqualifiers.

Samson Siasia, lastweek noted that he wouldlove to test his team

Dream Team to play Tunisiaagainst other countries,which enhanced thedecision to play Tunisia.

They were initiallyslated to play in theSuper Six tournament inNigeria, but Siasiaopted out of thecompetition inpreference to the gameagainst Tunisia.

Already Tunisia havelisted their players forthe double games, thefirst coming up againstNigeria on Saturday andfour days later againstAlgeria.•Siasia


CMYK

COTE d'Ivoire captain Yaya Toure ac-

cepts the team are notconsidered Africa Cup ofNations favourites, butinsists they have the de-sire to conquer Equato-rial Guinea.

The Elephants haveonly been crownedchampions of Africaonce, in 1992 when theybeat Ghana on penaltiesin the final, while theywere runners-up in 2006and 2012. They had beenbilled as pre-tournamentfavourites in recentyears, but find them-selves on the wane of lateas Algeria and Tunisiahave risen to the fore.

AFCON 2015Toure: Elephants are underdogs

Herve Renard’s sideonly secured qualifica-tion for AFCON 2015 asrunners-up in their poolbehind traditional pow-erhouses Cameroon, andthey will contest GroupD alongside the Indomi-table Lions, Mali andGuinea.

Manchester City mid-fielder Toure admits thesquad lacks some expe-rience following the re-tirement of former skip-per Didier Drogba, but isadamant they are ashungry as ever to suc-ceed.

He is quoted by RMCas saying: “You saw ourqualifying campaign. It

Atsu sues for Black Stars’ revival

was difficult and labori-ous. We come here witha lot of desire.

“We have a new gen-eration which is comingon strong with Gervais,Bony, Doumbia and oth-ers.

“Yes, the team isyoung, but it wants tolearn, to experience thiscompetition and go as faras possible.

“We know we’re not fa-vourites, but we want toshow our compatriots thatwe’re going to fly the flaghigh, that Ivory Coast isstill a great football coun-try, even if we have dan-gerous opponents upagainst us.”

CRACKER....Ghana’s midfielder Andre Ayew (R) challenges Senegal’s de-fender Serigne Modou Kara Mbodji during the 2015 African Cup of Nationsgroup C football match.

GHANA wingerChristian Atsu

has urged his colleaguesto forget about Mon-day’s defeat to Senegaland focus on the remain-ing two games at theongoing Africa Cup ofNations.

The Black Stars swal-lowed a painful 2-1 de-feat at the hands of theTerranga Lions in theirgroup C opener despitetaken an early lead.

The strong Senegalesesqueezed the maximumpoints at the death withsubstitute striker MousaSow grabbing the head-lines with a super lowgrounder on the stroke

on full-time to win thegame.

While Atsu admits theGhanaians could haveimproved in the secondhalf, he has called forfocus on the next twogames- starting with Fri-day’s must-win gameagainst Algeria.

“We played against avery good side and wemust accept the defeat,no need to cry foul onthe results, it is a truereflection of what hap-pened on the field ofplay, although we couldhave done better in thesecond half,” he said

“The Senegal game isover and we have two

more games to play inthe group stages, wemust concentrate andplan on how to bounceback in our two remain-ing matches in thegroup.

“We have no excusenow after losing to Sen-egal, so what we have todo is to go all out againstAlgeria and South Afri-ca in the other gamesand pick the six pointsto qualify from thegroup. “We can qualifyfrom this group despiteour early setback, thesethings happen in footballand we must just acceptthe defeat and move onfrom there.”

SERENA Williamsclaims to suffer from

nerves and jitters before herfirst-round matches at the

RAFA Nadal hasbeen shrugging

his shoulders and sug-gesting he may not beready mentally or phys-ically to win this year’sAustralian Open after aninjury-riddled 2014, buttop seed Novak Djoko-vic is having none of it.

“Well, I don’t knowwhat his intentions are,how he feels, but he isdefinitely always one ofthe top favourites in eve-ry tournament that heplays,” said Djokovic,who beat Slovenian qual-ifier Aljaz Bedene 6-3 6-2 6-4 to join the Span-iard in the second roundon Tuesday.

“There is no questionabout it. “We always talkprior to the big tourna-ments, during the firstdays of the grand slams,

Aussie Open: Don’t rule out Nadal, Djokovic warns

about who the potentialplayers are for winningthe trophy (and) more orless the same nameshave been going aroundfor the last seven oreight years.''

CAROLINE Wozniacki came through

a tough test in her first-round match at the Aus-tralian Open - but turnedher attention to her belov-ed Liverpool afterwardsas she revealed her sad-ness at Steven Gerrard’sdeparture.

Wozniacki was pushedhard in the first set by 18-year-old Taylor Townsendbut eventually went on tosecure a 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 vic-tory to progress to the last64 on Tuesday.

But the post-match dis-

Serena forges ahead

Gerrard’s Liverpool exitpains Wozniacki

cussion was not all abouttennis as Gerrard’s im-pending summer switchto LA Galaxy wasbrought up in Wozni-acki’s press conference.

The Dane is a huge Liv-erpool fan and oncewarmed up in a Redsshirt signed by Gerrardbefore a match at the 2011Qatar Open.

But now that Gerrard isdue to leave the Anfieldclub, Wozniacki is consid-ering a trip to Los Ange-les to watch him in actionin MLS.

Grand Slams.She certainly didn’t show

it, winning her first set in21 minutes Tuesday night

on the way to a 6-0, 6-4 winover Alison Van Uytvanckat the Australian Open.

The 18-time major win-ner has only once lost inthe opening round at a

Grand Slam tournament,and this is her 58th. Onemore Grand Slam title andshe’ll pass Chris Evert andMartina Navratilova on theall-time list of champions.

•Serena Williams


CMYK

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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.

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

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Sack Keshi, others now— Ex-sports minister

ECSTACY: Guinean players celebrate their goal against Ivory Coast in Malabo yesterday. The match ended 1-1. Photo: AFP.

Result

Ivory Coast 1 Guinea 1

Today's matchesE. Guinea vs B. Faso 5 pmGabon vs Congo 8 pm

•Keshi

•Continues on Page 61

By Jacob Ajom

FORMER Ministerof Sports, Dr.

Sa’idu Sumaila Sam-bawa has advised theNigeria Football Feder-ation not to renew thecontract of CoachStephen Keshi or any ofthe other coaches cur-rently in the technicalcrew of the national

A goal by IvoryCoast substitute

Seydou Doumbia res-cued a point for ten-manElephants who werestunned by Guinea’sfirst half goal.

Mohammed Yattaragave Guinea the leadwith a volleyed goal onthe break during the firsthalf before Doumbia net-ted the leveller.

ElephantssurviveGuineascare

BAFANA Bafanahead coach

Shakes Mashaba haslabelled South Africa’snext games against

Next two games a must win— Mashaba

Senegal and Ghana as amust win as South Africaaim to bounce back fromtheir loss to Algeria.

South Africa sit bottom

of Group C following a3-1 loss to the FennecFoxes in Mongomo onMonday.

•Mashaba

•Continues on Page 61

ISIS kill 13 for watchingAsian Cup match — Pg 61

CMYK

Army speaks on Buharis certificates

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