...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62642

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015**

Mr & Mrs

EFCC uncoversanother N600m scam•Air Vice-Marshal Salihu Atawodi, others arrested•I didn't implicate anyone, says Dasuki•FG gets another lawyer to prosecute him•Court rules on application to revoke his bail Dec 8

EX-NIMASA DG ARRAIGNED—Former Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and SafetyAgency, NIMASA, Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokemi (centre) being led out of court after his arraignment by theEconomic & Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in Lagos, yesterday. See story on Page 10.

ALLEGED $2BN ARMS DEAL FRAUD:

By IkechukwuNnochiri & Omeiza

Ajayi

A B U J A — T H EEconomic and

Financial CrimesCommission, yesterday,continued its arrest of highprofile politicians and topmilitary officers over the$2bn arms contractallegedly disbursed bythe Office of NationalSecurity Adviser, ONSA.

Suspects arrested,yesterday, included theformer Chairman of theP r e s i d e n t i a lI m p l e m e n t a t i o nContinues on Page 5

15

Biafra:Markets,schools,banksremain shutin Onitsha

NCC slashes MTN'sN1.04trn fine to N674bnCEO Ikpoki, Director, Akinwale Goodluck quit 4

Court decides Wada,Bello, Faleke's fatestoday

FG, states,labour mustagree onminimum wage

CO

LU

MN

ISTS:

See inside

OONI OF IFE: Theaudacious life of ObaEnitan Ogunwusi

SOUTH WEST VOICE

9

Kogi poll:

OWEILAKEMFA

The EU fox andTurkish tortoiseagreement

LousyNaija LGAs

DONU KOGBARA

P. 19 P. 17

SWEET & SOUR

8CMYK

2—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—3

CMYK

4—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

NCC slashes N1.04trn MTN fine to N674bn•Gives Dec 31 deadline to pay•As top mgt staff, Ikpoki, Goodluck, resign

By Prince Osuagwu

LAGOS— FINALLY, theNigerian Communications

Commission, NCC, has reducedthe N1.04 trillion fine it imposedon MTN Nigeria to N674 billion.

However, the commission hasalso mandated the telecomoperator to pay the fine on orbefore December 31, 2015.

The fine imposed on the telecomoperator was due to what NCCdescribed as MTN’s inability todisconnect about 5.1 millionNigerian subscribers improperlyregistered on its network, afterseveral warnings in August andSeptember 2015.

In reaction, MTN has said itwould carefully study the newdevelopment and would mandateits Executive Chairman, PhuthumaNhleko, to immediately andurgently re-engage with theNigerian authorities beforeresponding formally.

The reduction, which representsa 25 per cent slash, provides MTNwith a reprieve, after series ofmeetings which have seen severalofficials from South Africathronging the country to negotiatethe fine.

Ikpoki, Goodluck resignHowever, the reprieve did not

come without costs as about three

of the company’s top and finestmanagement officials,including two Nigerians,Messrs Michael Ikpoki andAkinwale Goodluck, have beenrelieved of their dutiesfollowing a management shakeup as a result of thecontroversial fine.

While Ikpoki was MTNNigeria’s CEO, Goodluck wasHead of Regulatory andCorporate Affairs, untilyesterday when MTN Groupsuddenly announced theirresignation.

In their stead, FerdiMoolman and AminaOyagbola take positions as

CEO and Head of Regulatoryand Corporate Affairs,respectively.

Earlier, the Group CEO ofMTN, Mr Sifiso Dabengwa, hadresigned in likewise manner,when the pressure of the finebegan to build hard on thecompany.

Acting Group CEO, PhuthumaNhleko, said the shake up atMTN will strengthen leadershipand improve operationaloversight, as well as engenderrobust risk mitigation.

According to him, “this revisedstructure and strengthenedleadership will improveoperational oversight andincrease management capacity.This will enable MTN to continueto realise its strategy and vision,while also ensuring we achievehigh governance standards androbust risk mitigation.”

Informing its shareholders ofthe development, yesterday,MTN said after furtherengagements with the Nigerianauthorities, it has received aformal letter dated December 2,2015 from the NCC informing thecompany that, after consideringthe company’s request, it hastaken the decision to reduce thefine on the MTN Nigerianbusiness from the originalN1,040,000,000,000 to N674billion which has to be paid byDecember 31, 2015.

However, “the company iscarefully considering the NCC’sreply, and the ExecutiveChairman, Phuthuma Nhleko,will immediately and urgently re-engage with the Nigerianauthorities before respondingformally, as it is essential for thecompany to follow due process toensure the best outcome for thecompany, its stakeholders and theNigerian authorities andaccordingly all factors having abearing on the situation will bethoroughly and carefullyconsidered before the companyarrives at a final decision.”

Shake up/newoperating structure

Meanwhile, the company alsoused the opportunity to announcea shake up in its managementlevel and introduced newoperating structure.

The new structure will seethree regions, South and EastAfrica, SEA, West and CentralAfrica, WECA and Middle Eastand North Africa, MENA.

The group said the review waswith a view to strengtheningoperational oversight,leadership, governance andregulatory compliance across its22 country operations in Africaand the Middle East.

It announced that “effectiveDecember 1, 2015, Ms Jyoti Desaiassumed the new position ofGroup Chief Operating Officer(COO), reporting to the ExecutiveChairman, Phuthuma Nhleko.

FG, states, Labour must agree on realistic minimumwage —Govs

MOU: From left: Kevin Gilmarth, Editorial Manager, Oxford Business Group; Mr LaoyeJaiyeola, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG and IzabelaKruk, Country Manager, Oxford Business Group during the signing of Memorandum ofUnderstanding, MoU, between NESG and Oxford Business Group in Lagos. Photo: LamidiBamidele.

By LevinusNwabughiogu

ABUJA — THE NigerianGovernors’ Forum, NGF,

has stressed the need for theFederal Government, the 36governors, and the organizedlabour to agree on a realisticminimum wage for workers.

Chairman of the forum, Gov.Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State,who spoke with State Housecorrespondents after a privatemeeting with PresidentMuhammadu Buhari said thedwindling revenue from oil hasdrastically affected the ability ofmost states to pay the statutoryN18,000 minimum wage.

According to him, it will bedifficult for many states to fulfillthe wage obligation to their

workers if the shortfall in oilrevenue continues.

Said he: “Let me make it veryclear to Nigerians. Governor’sForum is not the enemy of labourin any way, rather, we have beenworking together. Although inthe decision we never said thatwe are going to stop the paymentof N18,000 minimum wage, butwe are looking at the situation inthe country and in the globaleconomy.

“What we said is that when theNational Assembly enacted thelaw of paying N18,000 minimumwage, then oil was about $118per barrel and today where weare, oil is $41 per barrel. So, if itcontinues like that definitely wewill find it difficult to continue.

“We have to sit down with thelabour and see how we canreview, either continue

downsizing or decide what we aregoing to do.

“We want to find a solutionbecause we have to be realistic thatwe have so many things to touchon. There is infrastructure deficit,there is need for security, there areother things like social security ofour people and the nation as astate.”

According to the chairman of theforum, some states receivedbetween N400 million and N500million from the FederationAccount in the last allocation thatwas made, while another statereceived as low as N55 million withits pension commitment at N1billion.

“So, how can we continueborrowing and servicing ourexpenditure, or over head?,” heasked

Yari further informed that

members of the forum are plan-ning to sit with PresidentBuhari, members of his team,and experts to come up “withthe way forward and how weare going to handle the poorstate of the economy in thecountry.”

He said that what was onground now was unrealistic ifit continued without havingother sources from the economyand still relying on oil “beingsold for $118 per barrel and nowdown to $41 per barrel.Therefore, we are saying thatwe should tighten our belts.”

Yari acknowledged that theRivers and Edo governors hadcriticized the decision of theForum to lower wages butadded that other states were notas rich as Rivers, Edo or Lagoseven in terms of internallygenerated revenue (IGR).

Glo stagespremiumshows in Aba,Owerri, Nsukka

THE university town ofNsukka in Enugu State,

Eastern heartland, Owerri,Imo State and commercialtown of Aba in Abia State willcome alive again thisweekend as Globacom is setto stage two shows, the Sliden Bounce Concert and LafftaFest comedy show in thetowns.

Globacom said in astatement, yesterday that thethree cities “ will beexperiencing the best ofentertainment for the secondtime in less than three weeksas we alternate the showsacross the cities to delightour numerous subscribers inthem.”

While the Glo Laffta Fest,a comedy show, will holdtoday, at the Millipat Hotel,Nsukka, Owerri will playhost to the Glo Slide ‘n’Bounce, a musical concert, atthe Imo InternationalConference Centre,tomorrow. Aba will host theLaffta Fest show at BinezHotel on Sunday, December6, the statement added.

Globacom also said in thestatement that “we havelined up the best of thenation’s comedians such asBasket Mouth, I Go Dye,Okey Bakassi, Funny Bone,I Go Save, Buchi,Headmaster, Acapella,Senator, AB Simple, ArinzeBaba, Gordons, Bash andGandoki for the Laffta Festshows in Nsukka and Aba,while music stars such asWizkid, D’banj, PSquare,Bez, Omawumi, Ego,Sammie Okposo, Burna Boy,Korede Bello, MI and Di’Jawill perform at the Slide ‘n’Bounce concert in Owerri.”

CMYK

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—5

IT'S UP TO YOUBY AYO ADIO

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

$2bn arms deal: EFCC uncoversanother N600m scam

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

My son has grown. Is it because he is tall?

Continues from Page 1

MAKE Today count, do all you said you woulddo because in the real sense of it, all you

would ever have is Today. It's up to you.

Do your little bit of good where you are; thoselittle bits of good put together overwhelm theworld— Desmond Tutu

“THE Perfects Surprise” Practice random acts ofkindness. You can start by holding the door for

a stranger. Send a random hello email or text to afamily member or friend you hardly ever see. Give acompliment to someone at work or school. Bringdonuts or bagels to work and share with others. Smileto everyone. Help a child or an elderly person inneed. Say “I love you” to everyone you love. Do achore for someone who needs help. Donate,volunteer, and listen whenever you can. Keep inmind that kindness has an additive effect and it’sreally the little things that add up. So no matter howbig or how small, each act of kindness makes animpact for us all.

BUHARI DEPARTS TO SOUTH AFRICA—President Buhari bidsgoodbye to some senior government officials as he departs Abuja for SouthAfrica ahead of the China-Africa Corporation Forum in Johannesburg,yesterday.

Committee on MarineSafety, Air Vice MarshalSalihu Atawodi.

Atawodi was accused ofalleged diversion of N600million meant foracquisition of militaryboats for the use of theNigerian armed forces.

Others who are alreadybeing detained inconnection with the armsdeal include formerNational Security Adviser,Col. Sambo Dasuki;Chairman Emeritus ofDaar Communications,High Chief RaymondDokpesi, former governorof Sokoto State, AttahiruBafarawa and formerMinister of State forFinance, Bashir Yuguda.

Chief Dokpesireportedly told EFCCinterrogators that theN2.1bn he collected fromthe NSA was meant forelection publicity in mediahouses across the country,a disclosure strongly

discountenanced bymedia operativesyesterday.

Atawodi was said tohave awarded the contractfor the boats and fully paidfor them while none wassupplied at the end of theday, thereby makingNigeria lose the funds.

According to acompetent source in theEFCC, Atawodi, whorecently retired from theAir Force, was arrestedWednesday and taken intoEFCC custody forquestioning.

The former fighter pilot,the source claimed, islikely to be charged withconspiracy, abuse ofpublic office andmisappropriation of publicfunds.

He awarded the contractto one Alhaji Rabiu’sHypertech NigeriaLimited. The contractorwas fully paid but theboats were neversupplied.

The source further

disclosed that the contractaward process violatedthe Procurement Act.

AVM Atawodi who hasbeen on the radar of theanti-graft agency since2013, was quizzed forseveral hours onWednesday, December 2,2015, after he respondedto the invitation extendedto him. He arrived EFCCheadquarters at about11am.

EFCC spokesman,Wilson Uwujarenconfirmed Atawodi’spresence at theCommission, adding thathe is assisting theinvestigation.

At press time, the retiredAir Force officer was stillwith operatives of thecommission.

His arrest added to theincreasing number ofhigh profile Nigerianpoliticians and topmilitary officersimplicated in thediversion of defencebudget, which the Buhariadministration has swornto unearth and punish.

Arrests one-sided, says PDP

The Peoples DemocraticParty, which was in powerwhen the allegeddiversion of huge fundsoccurred, has, however,kicked against the attemptto bring these men tojustice, describing themove as politicallymotivated and one-sided.

I implicatednobody— DasukiMeanwhile, embattled

former National SecurityAdviser, NSA, Col. SamboDasuki, rtd, yesterday,refuted reports that heimplicated many persons,including stalwarts of thePeoples Democratic Party,PDP, in the statement hevolunteered before thepanel probing his allegedcomplicity in the $2billionarms purchase deal.

Speaking through hislawyer, Mr. Ahmed Raji,SAN, yesterday, Dasuki,

said he never made anystatement or implicatedanyone or group at theEconomic & FinancialCrimes Commission,EFCC, even as hewondered where thereports emanated from.

Raji said: “I was withDasuki yesterday(Wednesday) and wish tomake categoricalstatement that my clientnever made any statementof such nature or naminganybody or group in anystatement.

“Quote me anywhere,Dasuki has not doneanything like that. It isabsolutely untrue. It is thefigment of theimagination of the authorsaimed at creatingfalsehood for reasons bestknown to them andNigerians shoulddisregard them.

“They are just out toscandalise the man, bringhis image and characterinto disrepute so that hisfriends and well wisherscan run away from him.They want him desertedand that will fail”, headded.

Court rules onDasuki's bailDec 8Meantime, Justice

Ademola Adeniyi of theFederal High Court inAbuja, yesterday, fixedDecember 8 to deliverruling on an applicationby the federalgovernment, seeking torevoke Dasuki’s bail.

FG had in theapplication it filedpursuant to Section 169 ofthe Administration ofCriminal Justice Act, 2015,also sought an ordercommitting the formerNSA to prison pending histrial.

Already, the Attorney-General of the Federationand Minister of Justice,Mr. Abubakar Malami,SAN, has contracted aprivate prosecutor, Mr.Oladipupo Opeseyitan,SAN, to handle the casefor government.

Opeseyitan whoannounced hisappearance at theresumed hearing on thematter yesterday, told trialJustice Adeniyi that hehas gone before the courtof appeal to challenge theruling that permittedDasuki to travel to theUnited Kingdom formedical treatment.

He said that he hasalso filed a motion for stayof execution of the ruling,even as he urged the highcourt to put the ruling onhold pendingdetermination of theappeal.

Responding, Dasuki’slawyer, Raji, told the courtthat he was only served acopy of the motionyesterday morning,saying he would needtime to reply accordingly.

It will be recalled thatthough Dasuki was onSeptember 1, granted bailby the high court on selfrecognition, however, trialJustice Ademola Adeniyi,on November 3, while

granting the defendantleave to travel abroad formedical treatment, variedhis bail condition.

Justice Adeniyi orderedthe erstwhile NSA toproduce a surety thatmust be ready to faceprosecution should he(Dasuki), go into hidingafter his medicaltreatment in the UnitedKingdom.

The court furtherdirected the release of hishitherto seized travelingdocuments, sayingDasuki should returnsame to the Deputy ChiefRegistrar, Litigation of thehigh court within 72 hoursof his return from thethree-week medical trip.

It was this order thatgovernment asked thecourt to vacate by revokingthe bail granted to thedefendant.

On why the bail shouldbe revoked, FG, told thecourt that Dasuki isundergoing investigationby the committee auditingprocurement of arms/equipment in the ArmedForces and Defence Sectorfrom 2007 to date.

It said that an interimreport of the committeeshowed that over $2billion was allegedlyembezzled and thatDasuki’s presence isrequired to assist infurther investigations.

“That there is a FederalGovernment directive forthe arrest of all thoseindicted by the report,including the defendant(Dasuki) and that theongoing investigationwhich borders on moneylaundering against thedefendant has not beenconcluded and there isfear that investigationmight be tampered withon account of foreign visitby the respondent beforethe completion ofinvestigation.

It maintained that theailment for whichpermission was given toDasuki to travel to theUnited Kingdom fortreatment can be properlytreated in the NationalHospital, Abuja and otherteaching hospitals inNigeria.

Besides, FG, told thecourt that there is anintelligence report thatDasuki has concludedplans to take advantage ofthe court order releasinghis international passportto escape justice andtamper with ongoinginvestigations.

Despite the permissionof the court, FG, usingoperatives of theDepartment of StateService, DSS, preventedDasuki from travellingoutside the country.

He was subsequentlyarrested and handed overto the EFCC forinterrogation over thealleged $2bn arms dealfraud.

I didn’t receivea dime fromDasuki— BafarawaIn a related

development, formerGovernor of Sokoto State,Attahiru Bafarawa who isalso being being held bythe anti-graft commissionin connection with thearms deal money hasdenied receiving anymoney from Dasuki. Hewas said to have collectedabout N4.6 billion from theOffice of the NationalSecurity Adviser, for“spiritual purposes”.

An aide of the formergovernor who servedunder him as a SpecialAdviser on Youth andStudents Matters, AlhajiAkibu Dalhatu saidyesterday that his bosshad no such financialdealing with the formerNSA nor did he collectany money from him forany purpose.

“The former governor ofSokoto state, AlhajiAttahiru Bafarawa did notreceive any money fromCol. Sambo Dasuki forany arms deal or for anypurpose” Dalhatu said.

Dalhatu who said hehad visited the formergovernor at the Economicand Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC)headquarters, added thathis boss was neverarrested at home oranywhere else as allegedin some quarters sayingBafarawa merelyhonoured an invitationextended to him by theanti-graft agency.

“The truth is thatGovernor Bafarawa wentto the EFCC to honour aninvitation made to him bythe agency while he wasabroad. He had informedthem through a letter byhis lawyers that he wasabroad and would honourtheir invitation on return.Governor Bafarawa wentto the office of EFCC withhis lawyer and an aide”he said.

6 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4 , 2015

FAKE BANK ALERT: Police arrest suspected kingpinin Lagos

Gunmen kill APC deputy ward chairmanin Bayelsa

2 in courtover theftof 8containersworthN6.1m

By Samuel Oyadongha

3 docked over alleged N15.1 fraud

YENAGOA—TENSIONheightened, yesterday,

between members of the AllProgressives Congress, APC,and the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, following the killing ofDiseye Dickson, the deputy wardchairman of APC, Ward 1 in Odi,Kolokuma-Opokuma LocalGovernment Area of the state bygunmen.

The deceased, Diseye Dicksonwas reportedly shot in Odicommunity at 11p.m.,Wednesday by the gunmen, whowere allegedly clad in militaryuniform.

Though reports claimed the

deceased was shot during ashootout between policemen andthe gunmen, about eight innumber, in a failed kidnapattempt of Chief Watson Ogoriba,a businessman and elder brotherof the former member of Houseof Representatives and chieftainof the APC, Warman Ogoriba.

A community source said: “Itwas the case of failed kidnapattempt. It is not about PDP or theAPC. When the kidnappersarrived the community, thevigilante people alerted the Policein Kaiama Divisional Commandand they engaged the suspectedkidnappers in a shoot-out. Thevictim may have been caught in

a cross fire.”The source further revealed that

aside from the deceased DieseyeDickson, a woman was alsoinjured on the buttocks by straybullet.

A member of the House ofRepresentatives representingYenagoa-Kolokuma/Opokumafederal constituency, Douye Diri,who confirmed the incident, saidit was a case of foiled kidnapattempt and not a party conflict.

But the leadership of the APCin the state through the Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisationalleged that the killing wascarried out by suspected thugshired by the PDP.

Director of Media andPublicity of the Sylva/Igiricampaign Organisation, ChiefNathan Egba, in a statementsaid, “As at this morning(yesterday), the corpse of Mr.Dickson, was still lying in apool of his own blood wherehe was killed. Do note that thisis the second killing beingcarried out by the PDP sincethe campaigns started.

“Recall that Mr. AndrewJune, a ward chairman of ourparty in Ekeremor LocalGovernment Area wasmacheted to death. Wecondemn this act ofdesperation by the PDP tocontinually attack andintimidate our supporters.”

LAGOS—A middle-agedman, Pius Asomba,

suspected to be the leader of anotorious syndicate thatspecialized in dispossessingbusinessmen of large sums ofmoney through fake bankalerts, has been arrested bythe police in Lagos.

The Anambra State-bornsuspect was arrested after hejumped bail and disappearedfor over two years.

Police sources said thecriminal exploits of thesuspect was blown open onAugust 31, 2012, after he wentto one Engr. Moses Adebayoat Alaba International marketa major distributor withNigerchin DevelopmentCompany in Ikeja, and placedan order for cables worth N9.5million. According to thesource, when he was told topay for the goods, he claimedto be in a hurry and promisedto pay through his bank.

“After they finished loadingthe goods around 4p.m., thatday, the owner received alertof N9.5million from his bank,confirming prompt paymentand the suspect also called toconfirm payment. The ownerof the goods alsocorresponded with his bankand it was confirmed, hethereafter released the goodsand gave the suspect extraN50,000 for transportexpenses.”

The story, however, took adifferent dimension when theowner of the goods went to thebank few days later only to betold that it was a magic alertas nothing was paid into hisaccount. Based on this, thepolice was alerted and theycommenced search for thesuspect for over a monthwithout success.

Vanguard learned that while

By Onozure Dania

By Ufuoma Tiveruahor

detectives were looking for him,the suspect went to thewarehouse of another trader atOkokomaiko to buy iron worthabout N4 million.

He succeeded also indeceiving them with fake bankalert prompting the involvementof both the police at Okokomaikoand a private investigator, whoended up arresting himthrough his girlfriend living

November 30, 2015, the principalsuspect was arrested at GowonEstate where he has been hidingand handed over to officials ofcourt, where he is being tried.

Meanwhile, it was learned thatthe complainant was forced to closehis account with the bank after thesuspect confessed that heconnived with some officials of thebank to dupe him. Police saiddetectives are also investigating

some officials of the bank witha view to fishing out all thoseinvolved in the fraud.

When contacted, Lagos Statepolice spokesman, Joe Offor,said the police did their job byarresting the suspect andcharging him to court. Heassured that the matter wouldbe prosecuted to its logicalconclusion.

LAGOS—A salesrepresentative and two oil

dealers, who were alleged to havedefrauded a company of the sumof N15. 1 million were, yesterday,arraigned before an IgbosereMagistrates’ Court, Lagos.

The trio, Omorinkoba Idowu,50, Olusola Julius, 37, andAdeloye Johnson, 36, whoseaddresses were not given arefacing a five-count charge ofconspiracy, stealing and fraud

preferred against them by thepolice.

The prosecutor, Inspector EshietEshiet, told the court that thedefendants committed the allegedoffences between April 2014 andApril 2015, at Idumota market, inLagos Island.

He said that Idowu, the salesrepresentative conspired with theothers who were oil dealers to stealthe sum of N13.3 million propertyof one Therapeutic labouratoriesNigeria Ltd located on 372,

Ikorodu Road, Maryland,Lagos.

The prosecutor said that thedefendants also stole the sumof N1.8 million property of oneGrace Omorinkoba.

Eshiet, further alleged thatthe defendants obtained themoney under the guise ofinvesting it in an oil and gasbusiness, a representation whichthey knew be false.

The trio pleaded not guilty to thecharges against them.

LAGOS—THE police,yesterday, charged two

truck conductors,Ikechukwu Ukoha andCharles Onyekaziri, whoallegedly stole eight 40-footempty containers worthN6.1 million, before anIgbosere Magisrates’Court, Lagos.

Ukoha, 42, andOnyekaziri, 36, who are ofno fixed address, arestanding trial on a two-count charge of conspiracyand stealing levelledagainst them by the police.

The prosecutor, InspectorIbrahim Haruna, told thecourt that the defendantscommitted the allegedoffences on September 22,2015, at 2:30 p.m, at Tin-Can Island Apapa, area ofLagos.

He alleged that thedefendants’ stole five 40-foot empty containers andthree 20-feet containersvalued at N6.1 million;property of SAPID AgencyLtd and Bollore AfricanLogistic.

The defendants, however,pleaded not guilty to theoffences.

By Onozure Dania

DRUNKENNESS:

Courtdissolves29-year-oldmarriage

By Onozure Dania

LAGOS—A MararabaGrade 1 Area Court,

Aso Pada, Nasarawa State,yesterday, dissolved the 29-year-old marriage betweena nurse, Laraba Thomas,and her husband, AliThomas, over hisdrunkenness.

Granting Laraba’swishes, the presidingjudge, Mr Albert Maga,said all efforts by the courtand family members toreconcile both parties hadfailed as she had insistedon the divorce.

Maga said: “From today,you cease to be husbandand wife; this court will restfurther deliberations anddeclare free divorce to bothparties.”

The petitioner, a residentof Calvary Road, AsoMararaba, said she wanted adivorce because her husband waslooking older than his age due tohigh intake of alcohol.

The suspect, Pius Asomba.

in Egbeda area ofLagos State.

It was gatheredthat after his arrest,he confessed to thecrime and promisedto pay the money.He was, however,taken to Magistratecourt at Agbo-MaluRoad, Apapa, wherehe presented threesureties. He laterjumped bail andefforts to get thesureties failed.Fortunately, afterabout two years ofsearching for him,one of the suretieswas traced early thisyear and arrested.The surety wasgranted bail with apromise to producethe principal suspectbut he failed. On

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4 , 2015—7

4 killed as gunmen attack Zamfara village

Traffic gridlock on Carter and Eko Bridges, Ijora Olopa, Iddo and Orile-Iganmu due to illegal parking of containertrailers and fuel tankers, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

GUSAU — THE Police inZamfara State have

confirmed the death of fourpersons following attack bygunmen on Tangaranvillage in Anka localgovernment area of thestate, Tuesday night.

The command PublicRelations Officer, SanusiAmiru, confirmed theincident, yesterday, in

Gusau while briefing newsmen.It was gathered that the

gunmen arrived the village inthe night while the residentswere getting ready to go to bed.They opened fire on those stilloutside during which the fourpersons were killed.

An eye-witness, Kabiru Umar,said an 11-year-old girl whowas selling bean cake (kosai)was among those killed.

"When her mother came topick her remains, she wasshot on her buttocks, " hesaid.

Umar said other residentsquickly locked their doorswhile those outsidescampered for safety whilethe indiscriminate shootingslasted.

The command spokesmansaid six other personssustained various degrees of

injuries and were taken toAnka General Hospital withthe assistance of the police.

While disclosing that thepolice recovered three bulletshells, Amiru said thatnormalcy had returned to thearea and the police hadcommenced tracking of theattackers.

He expressed confidencethat the attackers would bearrested by the police.

Tension over proposed demolition of Lagos market

By Esther Onyegbula

LAGOS— THE LagosState government has

been urged to call theleadership of Agbado-OkeOdo Local Council

Development Area, LCDA, toorder over plans to demolishtheir shops at Ile-Epo market.

Speaking with journalists onbehalf of the over 20,000traders, President of the tradersunion, Alhaji Lawali

Dangaladima, in companyof their lawyer, Mr.Mahmood Atanda, said theproposed demolition couldlead to a major crisis in themarket.

While urging Governor

Akinwunmi Ambode to usehis good office to prevail onthe executive secretary of theLCDA to stop the demolition,the traders added that theproposed demolition wouldbe a subjudice since thematter is already in court.

Their lawyer disclosed thatwhen the market was to beredeveloped in 2005, thetraders, mostly Hausas madepayment through the thenPresident of the association,Alhaji Haruna Ismaila, tosecure spaces in the market.

He said upon thecompletion and allocation ofshops to subscribers, thetraders approached theirformer president for theallocation. The shops wereallocated to the traders by thelocal council.

They alleged that theformer president diverted theshops for his personal useand gave some to his familyand friends.

“Since then the formerPresident has been creatingmisunderstanding betweenthe Hausa traders and othertribes in the market each timethe traders demanded for theshops allocated to them," hesaid.

Contacted, Alhaji HarunaIsmaila denied theallegations, saying: “I haveshops and stalls in themarket, how can I connivewith the council to demolishthe market where I am gettingmy daily bread from?”

An accident scene involving trailer truck, two cars and a cormercial bus on Ojuelegbabridge. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye.

8 LAGBUSstaff arrestedfor allegedlyissuing faketickets

LAGOS— LAGBUS AssetManagement Company,

operators of LagosMetropolitan Red Buses,yesterday said it had arrestedeight of the company’s staff forallegedly issuing fake ticketsto commuters.

Mr Tosin Alamu, Head ofEnforcement Franchise Unit,LAGBUS, Ikorodu Wing,made the disclosure in aninterview in Lagos.

Alamu said that over N17,000 fake tickets were recoveredfrom them during a recentmonitoring exercise.

“We have given all our staffstraining and warning since werealised that our sales weregetting low. The investors whoare private establishment andparticipated in theorganisation do not get theirmoney back on time. Werealised that this money isbeing siphoned through theback door; through the ticketvendors and the drivers,”Alamu said.

He said that to guard againstthe trend, the managementdecided to increase thewelfare, salaries and incentivesof the officers of the fleet,including ticket vendors.

“We held meetings with thedrivers and the bus officers andwarned them based on ourfindings. The management toldthem that an enforcement unitwill be going round andanybody found with duplicatetickets will be arrested andprosecuted. These ones havebeen taken to court onWednesday to serve asdeterrent to others,” he said.

Alamu explained that someof the offenders were caughtfor allegedly carryingpassengers without issuingtickets to them, while somesold recycled tickets.

Meanwhile, an OguduMagistrates’ Court, Lagos, hasslammed bail of N20, 000 eachon the eight alleged offendersafter they pleaded innocenceto the offence of conspiring tosteal from the company.

The magistrate, Mrs O SuleAmzat, ordered that the bail forthe accused be accompaniedwith two sureties each andwhose addresses must beverified by the court.

She then, adjourned the caseto January 26, 2016.

Man to die by hanging over N14,570 robbery

ADO-EKITI — AN Ado-EkitiHigh Court, yesterday,

sentenced one DavidOlugboyega to death by hangingfor armed robbery involvingN14,570.

Justice John Adeyeye passedthe judgment following the

confessional statement ofthe convict and theconclusion of trial by theprosecution.

“An accused may beconvicted on his ownconfession alone as long asthe court was satisfied.

Based on the confessionalstatement of the accused, thecourt found him guilty ascharged. Besides, theprosecution has also provedhis case beyond reasonabledoubt by providing seven

witnesses.“The accused is hereby

sentenced to death byhanging. This will serve asdeterrent to others in thesociety. May God havemercy on your soul,” he said.

8—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—9

AGM: From left, Chairman, South-East Zone, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria,MAN, Alhaji Ahmed Gobir; Vice President, North-West Zone, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman andGuest Speaker, General-Secretary, National Union of Textile, Garment & Tailoring Workersof Nigeria, NUTGTWN, Comrade Issa Aremu at the 2015 Annual General Meeting of theNorth-West and South-East branches of MAN in Kaduna, yesterday. Photo: Olu Ajayi.

Kogi poll: Court decides Wada,Bello, Faleke’s fate today•As APC, INEC query jurisdiction of court to stop rerun

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—The Abuja Divisionof the Federal High Court,

will, today, determine whetherin view of section 181 of the 1999constitution, as amended, theIndependent National ElectoralCommission, INEC, should goahead with its plan to conductsupplementary governorshipelection in Kogi State tomorrow.

Justice Gabriel Kolawoleadjourned for judgement after allthe parties, yesterday, adoptedtheir final written addresses oncontentious legal issues that arosefrom the sudden death of thecandidate of the All ProgressivesCongress, APC, Prince AbubakarAudu, before the election wasconcluded.

INEC had declared thegovernorship election heldNovember 21, inconclusive, evenas it fixed Saturday to conduct arun-off poll.

Meanwhile, the court had,Tuesday, consolidated fourseparate suits challenging thelegality of the scheduledsupplementary election.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole, whomerged the four suits, said therewas need for the court toexpeditiously determine theissues “so that INEC will notconduct the election under agrave shadow of doubt as to thelegal or constitutional validity.”

Whereas one of the suits waslodged before the court by KogiState governor, Captain IdrisWada (retd), the second suit wasfiled by the governorshipcandidate of the People forDemocratic Change, PDC, in thestate, Emmanuel Daikwo.

Likewise, a legal practitioner,Mr. Johnson Usman, a House ofRepresentatives member forAhiazu Ezinaehitte MbaiseFederal Constituency of ImoState, Rafael Igbokwe and an

electorate from Omala LocalGovernment Area in AbelijukoloIfe of Eche ward in Kogi State, Mr.Stephen Wada Omaye, filed thetwo remaining suits.

Upon consolidation of the suits,the plaintiffs, led by Wada’slawyer, Mr. Goddy Uche, SAN,distilled out three principal legalissues for the court to determinetoday.

They want the court to go aheadand determine: “Whether havingregard to the provisions of sections31(1)(2)(4)(5)(6)(7) and (8), 33, 34,36, 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act,2010, as amended, as well assections 178-181 of the constitutionof the Federal Republic of Nigeria,as amended, INEC can lawfullyconduct a second/supplementaryelection into the office of Governorof Kogi State on December 5, 2015,or any other date at all let aloneaccepting the nomination/substitution by the APC of anycandidate on the basis of votescomputed and credited to thedeceased candidate of the APCwhen the new or substitutecandidate was not part of theoriginal election."

Wada specifically prayed thecourt to determine, “whether inview of the provisions of section179 (2) (3)(4)(5) of the constitution,and other enabling provisions ofthe Electoral Act, 2010, asamended, and having regard tothe doctrine of necessity, theplaintiff being the only survivingcandidate with the major lawfulvotes cast at the Kogi Stategovernorship election held onNovember 21, 2015, ought not tobe declared and returned by theINEC as the winner of the electionhaving secured not less than one-quarter of the votes case in two-thirds of all the Local GovernmentAreas in Kogi State.”

Justice Kolawole had given allthe parties 48 hours to file andexchange their briefs of argumentand return to the court yesterday

for adoption.

Jurisdictionof the high court

Meantime, at the resumedsitting, yesterday, the APC,challenged the jurisdiction ofthe high court to entertain thesuits.

APC’s position was alsoadopted by both INEC and itsreplacement for Audu, Mr.Yahaya Bello, who bothcontended that the court has nojurisdiction to adjudicate onissues that were raised by theplaintiffs, issues they said couldbe best handled by an electionpetition tribunal.

APC was not represented incourt the day the four suits wereconsolidated.

The plaintiffs had informedthe court that they could noteffect service on the partyowing to a free-for-all they saidtook place at the APC nationalsecretariat in Abuja by threedifferent factions of the party inKogi State, the day they wentthere with the court processes.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/977/2015, Faleke insistedthat contrary to claim by INEC,the Kogi State governorshipelection was conclusive.

He is seeking 16 principalreliefs from the court, amongwhich include: “A declarationthat by the express provisionsof sections 179 (2) (a) and (b)and 187(1) of the constitution,a person who is nominated asan associate of a candidate forthe office of governor of a stateis duly elected deputygovernor of a state when thecandidate for the office of thegovernor scores the highestnumber of votes at the electionand also scored not less thanone quarter of all the votes castin each of at least two-third ofall the local government areasin the state."

Falsedeclaration ofassets:S-CourtdecidesSaraki’s fateFeb 5

By IkechukwuNnochiri

ABUJA — THE SupremeCourt, yesterday, slated

February 5, 2016 to determinethe appeal seeking to quashthe 13-count criminal chargethe Federal Governmententered against the SenatePresident, Dr. Bukola Saraki,before the Code of ConductBureau, CCT.

A seven-man panel ofJustices of the apex court ledby the Chief Justice ofNigeria, CJN, JusticeMahmud Mohammed,adjourned the case forjudgment after it entertainedarguments from both Sarakiand the Federal Governmentyesterday.

The Federal Governmenthad in the charge it filed beforethe CCT, alleged that Sarakifalsely declared his assets,contrary to the constitutionallyrequirement.

The Federal Governmentalleged that Sarakideliberately manipulated theassets declaration form he filedprior to his assumption of officeas the Senate President, bymaking anticipatorydeclaration of assets.

Aside allegation that heoperated foreign bank accountwhile in office as a publicservant, Saraki, was alsoaccused of acquiring wealthbeyond his legitimateearnings.

Meantime, Saraki, throughhis team of lawyers led byChief J. B. Daudu, SAN,yesterday, begged theSupreme Court to quash theentire charge for want ofcompetence.

Placing reliance on theprovision of Paragraph 15(1)to the Fifth Schedule of the1999 Constitution, asamended, Saraki’s lawyerargued that the JusticeDanladi Umar-led panel ofthe CCT was not legally andproperly composed to try hisclient.

Daudu insisted that a two-member panel of the CCT fellshort of the constitutionalrequirement.

“If two persons sit on a paneland in the event of a tie ordisagreement over an issue,what happens? Does achairman become a superiormember, whose one votewould amount to two,” Dauduqueried.

Nigeriaearned$293bnroyalty fromoil and gascompanies in7 yrs—NEITI

By Ediri Ejoh

LAGOS — ACTINGExecutive Secretary

of Nigeria ExtractiveIndustries TransparencyInitiative (NEITI), DrOrji Ogbonnaya Orji,has disclosed that 42 oiland gas companiesoperating in the countrypaid a total of $293billion to the FederalGovernment between2006 and 2012.

The money was said tohave been paid by oilcompanies as taxes,royalty, dividends etc togovernment during theperiod. Orji stated thiswhile speaking at theinauguration of NEITI-Companies’ Forum inLagos.

According to him, theNEITI independentreport for the periodreleased recently, put thebreakdown of thepayment as $44.7 billionwas paid in 2006, $43.7billion in 2007, $60.4billion in 2008 and $30billion in 2009. In 2010,the companies paid $44.9billion, $68.4 billion in2011 and $62.9 billion in2012.

Orji informed the forumthat the payments weremade by a combination of42 oil companies coveredby the NEITI auditprocess during thisperiod.

Speaking on effort ofNEITI to bring aboutsanity to the nation’sextraction industry, Orjistated that the era whentax and royalty paymentsmade by companieswere a secret at thedisposal of the exclusivefew was over.

He said: “Nigeria’smembership of the globalExtractive IndustriesTransparency Initiativehas enthroned a regimeof openness andvoluntary publicdisclosure in theindustry,” he stated.

Meanwhile, thechairperson of the globalExtractive IndustriesTransparency Initiative(EITI), Clare Short, hasexpressed the support ofthe world body to the on-going reforms of the oil,gas and mining sector inNigeria asrecommended by NEITI.

10—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4 , 2015

Fayose suspends SSG, orders Hos tooversee office

Nike Akande replaces Bello as LCCI president

LFTZ TRIBUNAL:

Chairmanpromisesfair report

By Onozure Dania

By Rotimi Ojomoyela

Foundation tackles Ambode over alleged relegation of Lagosians

The Igbe Ife Traditional worshippers at the traditonal worshippers day as part of activities tomark the installation of the new Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Babatunde Ogunwusi at EnuwaPalace Ife, yesterday. Photo: Shola Oyelese

ADO EKITI—THE Governorof Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele

Fayose has suspended theSecretary to the StateGovernment, Dr Modupe Alade,over alleged incompetence.

In a statement in Ado Ekiti, the

Chief Press Secretary to thegovernor, Idowu Adelusi, said thesuspension would last for threemonths.

Fayose subsequently directedthe State Head of Service, DrOlugbenga Faseluka to overseeher office pending her resumption.

Alade was the Treasurer of AyoFayose CampaignOrganization prior to the lastgovernorship poll in Ekiti Statebefore her appointment as theSecretary to the government.

She retired from the StateCivil service as a Permanent

Secretary, during which shetraversed many Ministries likeEducation, Local

Government Affairs, amongothers.

She hails from Ifaki Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of thestate.

LAGOS—THE LagosChamber of Commerce and

Industry, LCCI, yesterday,disclosed that it has elected Mrs.Nike Akande, as President, tosteer the ship of the foremostChamber for the next two years.

The Director General, LCCI,Mr. Muda Yusuf, in a statementsaid this followed the expirationof Alhaji Remi Bello’s tenure ofoffice, after two years service.

“Akande emerged as Presidentafter a duly conducted electionat the Chamber’s 127th AnnualGeneral Meeting held onThursday, December 3, 2015 atthe Commerce House, Lagos."

Mrs. Nike Akande, a two-timeMinister of Industry in Nigeria,is an astute boardroom executivewho has served the Chamberpreviously in various capacitiessuch as Deputy President, VicePresident, Chairperson, PublicAffairs Committee, Chairperson,Financial & General PurposesCommittee among others,” hesaid

Muda Yusuf also added that,“Indeed, we are very pleased asChief Nike Akande, assumes therole of President of the LCCI. Asa Council Member and a key

By Naomi Uzor Officer of the Chamber, she hasbrought her extensive knowledgeand experience to bear and hasprovided inspirational leadershipand direction to the success of theChamber. Her election will ensureand enhance the Chamber’s role

as leading advocate of bestbusiness policy and practice,with the view to promoting andprotecting the interest of itsmembers and the businesscommunity at large.”

Akande is set to be formally

inaugurated as President of theChamber on Saturday 5th December, 2015 at an InvestitureCeremony billed to hold at theGrand Ball Room of Eko Hotel andSuites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

LAGOS—SOME prominentindigenes of Lagos State

under the aegis of EkoFoundation have expresseddismay about some politicalappointments and recent sack ofsome Permanent Secretaries inthe state which they alleged wasdone against the interest of theindigenes of the state.

They, however, advisedGovernor Akinwunmi Ambode todesist from taking decisions thatwill continue to maginalise Lagosindigenes, saying that the groupwill no longer fold their handsand watch its people turn to“second fiddle” in their own state.

Eko Foundation is a Pressrelease signed by its President,Prof Imram Oluwole Smith SANand the secretary Kunle Uthmansaid: “The reasons for thispalpable fear, apprehension,trepidation and ill-feelings arefounded on the most recent sackand dismissal of indigenes in theLagos State civil and publicservices; appointment of nonindigenes as Chief-of-Staff andCommissioners; retirement ofPermanent Secretaries who are

Indigenes without any reasonsgiven for truncating their careers;dissolution of duly constitutedCommissions and Boards, whichtenures were still subsisting; ap-pointment of a non indigene asacting Vice Chancellor of the La-

gos State University, LASU, etc.“That the present Chief of Staffto the Lagos State Governor isan indigene of Ekiti State,thereby making it impossible forprominent Lagosians to haveaccess to their government and

acting as a clog in interface withthe Governor. There is no Statein Nigeria that will tolerate thisanomaly and indulgence, whichthe indigenes consider veryfrustrating. Is it to be assumedthat no indigene of Lagos Statecan occupy this extremelysensitive position?”

“The fact of the cosmopolitannature of our State and largeheartedness as a race are nojustifications whatsoever torelegate us to “second fiddle” inour State. When push comes toshove, the non indigenes have aback up, while we, the indigeneshave no other place to navigateto but remain in that geographicalenclave, which is our state oforigin."

“Politically, more than ever be-fore, we have several non indi-genes representing our state inthe House of Representatives andindeed in the State House of As-sembly. Prominent positions in the La-gos State Civil Service are occupied byour brothers and sisters in neighbouringstates, based on well orchestrated ill-motivated foresights of theirpredecessors.”

LAGOS—JUSTICEAdesuyi Olateru-

Olagbegi on Wednesdayvisited the communities ofthe Lekki Free Trade Zonewhere the ManagingDirector of the Zone, MrTunde Disu was killed onOctober 12, 2015.

The Judge who is theChairman, Tribunal ofInquiry, while on a fact-finding visit to the 14affected Free Trade Zonehost communities, said thatthe tribunal is ready topresent a fair and balancedreport.

He said that thoseaffected by the mayhem, willget justice, stating that thetribunal’s findings will formthe basis of itsrecommendations to theLagos State Government.

The tribunal, which hasthe mandate of unravellingthe cause of the October 12disturbance during whichLekki WorldwideInvestment Ltd ManagingDirector, Mr. Tunde Disuwas killed, has 45 days tocomplete its assignment.

The communities visitedinclude Tiye, Imobido, Idasho,Elekuru, Imagbon, Itoke, Idotun,Olomowewe, Imopa, Okunirayeand Abejoye villages.

YULETIDE:

Lagos taskforce warnsagainstviolentcarnivals

By Charles Kumolu

NIMASA ex-boss, othersgranted strigent bail conditions

By Innocent Anaba

LAGOS—THE Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission,

EFCC, yesterday, arraignedformer Director-General of theNigerian Maritime Administrationand Safety Agency, NIMASA,Patrick Akpobolokemi, alongsidenine others before a Federal HighCourt sitting in Lagos overallegation of theft of N3.4billion.

Akpobolokemi was arraignedalongside Captain Ezekiel Agaba,Ekene Nwakuche, Felix Bob-Nabena, Captain WarrediEnisuoh, Governor Juan, UgoFredrick, Timi Alari and twocompanies, Al-Kenzo Limited andPeniel Engineering ServicesLimited.

They were accused ofconspiring among themselvesto convert N3.4billionbelonging to NIMASA.

Trial judge in the matter isJustice Saliu Saidu.

After their pleas,Akpobolokemi’s lawyer, DrJoseph Nwobike, SAN andother defence counsel said theyhad bail applications.

Justice Saidu grantedAkpobolokemi bail for N100million with two sureties in likesum.

One of the sureties must behis relative and must own alanded property in thehighbrow Lekki, Ikoyi or VictoriaIsland, the judge ruled.

L A G O S — T H EChairman of Lagos

State Taskforce onEnvironmental and SpecialOffences Enforcement Unit,Mr. Olubukola Abe hascautioned residents of thestate against organisingstreet carnivals that couldlead to break down of lawand order, noting thatanyone found wantingwould be arrested.

Briefing newsmen inLagos, Abe aSuperintendent of Police,SP, disclosed that about 1,110 motorcyclists plyingrestricted routes across thestate were arrested in themonth of November.

He further noted that 929suspects were arrested lastmonth, adding that 852were charged to courts forprosecution.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—11

Fayose’s claim to budget transparency fraudulent—Ekiti APC

By Rotimi Ojomoyela

Ekiti tipper owners settle withFayose

By RotimiOjomoyela

THE All ProgressivesCongress, APC, in Ekiti

State has reacted to the pressstatement by Governor AyodeleFayose’s media aide, IdowuAdelusi, claiming credit forGovernor Fayose for the budgettransparency award by the CivilResource DevelopmentDocumentation Centre,CIRDDOC, a civil societyorganisation that tracks budgetplanning and implementationamong state governments acrossthe nation last year.

Publicity Secretary, TaiwoOlatunbosun, said in a statementthat it was regrettable thatGovernor Fayose was fraudulentlylaying claim to the feat achievedby his predecessor, formerGovernor Kayode Fayemi.

He said Fayose was abusing thetenet of what CIRDDOC soughtto achieve in its transparency test,noting that what the governor didwas nothing but a fraud on theorganisation and Nigerians ingeneral.

He said: “We are shocked thatFayose has taken his fraudulentpractice beyond the corners of hisgovernment to defraud otherorganisations carrying out whatwould have helped to check fraudin the country.

“Let us thank God thatCIRDDOC stated clearly in itsreport that it obtained its databetween July and December2014. The result was the outcomeof budget planning andimplementation for 2014. Fayosedid not prepare that budget.

“The budget for the periodbetween July and December2014 was prepared by Fayemiwho ran the budget from Januarytill October 2014 before Fayosetook over as governor.

“Fayemi visited all the 177towns and villages in 2013 toseek people’s inputs into the2014 budget. It was the peoplewho chose the projects theywanted in the budget andFayemi did it faithfully. Theresult is what CIRDDOC

released to the public praisingEkiti State for budgettransparency and we wonderwhy a man noted for directopposite of what Fayemi is notedfor is now the one claiming creditfor Fayemi’s achievement.”

He expressed surprise at theeulogy of Fayose by Chief AfeBabalola, saying he expected therespected elder statesman to givehonour to whom it is due insteadof endorsing a behaviour thatwas clearly a fraud.

Wants AGF, to prosecute Ekitipoll fraud

Also, the APC in Ekiti Statehas called on the AttorneyGeneral and Minister of Justiceof the Federation, AbubakarMalami, to prosecute suspectsin the June 21, 2014governorship election fraud inEkiti State as captured in anaudio tape secretly recorded byCaptain Sagir Koli.

The party stated that its latest

Osun monarchs may boycott Ooni Ogunwusi’scoronation if...

action was informed by failure ofthe office of the Minister of Justiceto act on its earlier petition ofFebruary 13, 2015 demandingprobe into the audio tapedetailing acts of treason by somePDP leaders in collaboration withsome military officers to cause achange of government in EkitState through means other thanas prescribed by the 1999Constitution of Nigeria.

By Gbenga Olarinoye

OSOGBO—THE newlyelected chairman of

Osun State Council of Obas,the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland,Oba Adekunle Aromolaran,has said that traditional rulersin the state may boycottMonday’s coronation andpresentation of staff of officeceremony of the new Ooni ofIfe, Oba Adeyeye EnitanOgunwus, unless they receiveformal invitation letter from thecentral planning committee ofthe event.

Briefing newsmen after itsmeeting in Osogbo yesterday,where he was adopted as thesubstantive chairman of thecouncil, Oba Aromolaranstated that members of the

council would only shift theirposition if they are accordedtheir due recognition.

He said: “If we are invitedwith invitation cards or letters,we will go there afterconsulting with the governor.As at the time we concludedthe meeting of Osun Councilof Obas today (Thursday), wehave not received anyinvitation from Ile-Ife aboutMonday ’s coronation. Wedon’t go to where we have notbeen invited.”

According to him, “Today, weheld a meeting of Council ofObas in Osun. During ourdiscussion, we deliberated onthe chairmanship of thecouncil. Ataoja of Osogbo, ObaJimoh Olanipekun moved themotion that since I have beenacting as the chairman, Ishould continue in thatcapacity as the substantive

chairman and other monarchssupported the motion.

“I have been acting aschairman of the council evenwhen late Ooni of Ife, ObaOkunade Sijuwade, wasalive. I usually presided overthe meetings in his palacebecause of his old age.”

While promising not todisappoint all the traditionalrulers who stood by him, themonarch said: “Now that OsunObas have unanimouslyadopted me as theirsubstantive chairman, I wouldwork for the growth of OsunState and also collaborate withGovernor Rauf Aregbesola inmoving the state forwardsocially and economically.”

However, when asked whatwould be the status of the newOoni of Ife now that he(Aromolaran) had beenadopted as the substantive

chairman of the Osun Councilof Obas, he said: “Only theObas can answer that questionbecause they made me theirchairman.”

But, reacting to the claims thatOsun traditional rulers have notbeen invited to the Ooni’scoronation, the chairman,media and publicity of Oonicoronation planning committee,Hon Biyi Odunlade, said thecentral planning committee hadalready sent out invitations toall the traditional rulers in OsunState.

He said: “I can tell youauthoritatively that we have sentout invitation lettersindividually to all the monarchsin Osun State. We believe thatthey are one in unity, but wehave to treat them individuallywith respect and that is why wesent the invitation cardindividually.”

We've invited all Osun monarchs —Odunlade

ADO EKITI—GOVERNOR Ayo

Fayose yesterday settledthe protracted crisis over thenew tax regime withmembers of the tipperowners in the state, this wasjust as he set new prices forsand and gravel.

The new price of a loadof sand, now stands atN14,500 from N12,000,while the new approvedprice for gravel is N28,000from the initial N25,000.

At a truce meetingconvened by security chiefsin the state and Chief AfeBabalola(SAN), GovernorFayose also accepted thattipper owners should payN500 per trip as against theinitial fee of N1,000 witheffect from January 2, 2016.

Tipper owners hadrejected the initial fee ofN1,000 per trip, a positionthat pit them against thegovernment, whichculminated in a ban on

excavation of sand in anypart of the state, with effectfrom December 2, 2015.

The meeting was at theinstance of Chief AfeBabalola(SAN), Director ofState Services, Mr DukeFubara and theCommissioner of Police,Mr. Etop James.

Fayose, at the meeting,said that all tipper ownersin the state must registertheir vehicles and get a newstate number, threateningthat whoever flouts the lawwould pay a sum ofN50,000.

His words: “For the factthat I love you and thatpower belongs to themasses and with theintervention of our reveredleader, Chief Babalola andsecurity chiefs, I will acceptthis proposal. But myposition has been that youmust pay a sum of N1,000per trip.

“I want us to come toreality that Ekiti is in direneed of money."

CMYK

12—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

Ayade leads African govs to Climate Change summit in Paris

Okowa makescase forinternaldemocracy inPDP

By Festus Ahon

Urhobo to honour Okagbare, Keffy, others

Rivers gov poll: A-Court reserves judgementin Wike’s suit

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—THE Court ofAppeal sitting in Abuja,

yesterday, reserved judgment inthe appeal by Governor NyesomWike of Rivers State.

Wike, the candidate of PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, is prayingthe appellate court to set-aside theverdict of the Rivers StateGovernorship Election PetitionTribunal which nullified theoutcome of the April 11governorship poll that broughthim to power.

Respondents in the appeal arethe All Progressives Congress,APC, its governorship candidatein Rivers State, Dr. DakukuPeterside, the IndependentNational Electoral Commission,INEC, and the PDP.

The matter was reserved forjudgement after all partiesadopted their final writtenaddresses, yesterday.

Wike is praying the appellatecourt to upturn the judgement thatwas delivered against him by theJustice Ambrosa Suleiman-ledtribunal on October 24, saying itwas “perverse and legallydefective.”

In the appeal by his counsel,Mr. Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, Wikeformulated 26 grounds he said theappellate court should consider indetermining whether or not theverdict of the tribunal wasanchored on the weight ofevidence laid before it, as well ason sound interpretation of the

Constitution and the ElectoralAct. Wike told the appellatecourt that he was dissatisfiedwith the entire judgement of thelower tribunal.

He also wants the appellatecourt to “strike out or dismissthe election petition filed onMay 3, 2015, by Mr. Petersideand the APC as petitioners at thetribunal.“

Among other grounds, Wikeargued that the tribunal erredin law when it relied on hear-

say and inadmissible evidenceto nullify his election.

He insisted that the findingand conclusion of the tribunalwas not supported by evidencebefore the court.

According to him, “TheGovernorship Election Tribunalfor Rivers State erred in lawwhen it refused to follow thedecision of the Supreme Courtin the case of Kakih vs PDP(2014) 5-NWLR which was dulycited to it to the effect that a

party who makes non-voting ormisconduct of an election thepivot of his case must call atleast one disenfranchised voterfrom each of the polling boothsor units or stations in theconstituency.”

Governor Wike also appealedon the ground that the tribunalnullified his election on thebasis of Card Readeraccreditation, even though theElectoral Act recognisedmanual accreditation.

RETREAT: From left, Deputy Director, Banking and Payment System Dept, Central Bankof Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Jimoh Musa; Commissioner for Finance, Akwa Ibom State, Mr.Akan Okon; Chairman, Committee of E-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH), Mr. TundeKuponiyi, and Executive Director, North Bank and Retail Directorate, Wema Bank Plc, Mr.Moruf Oseni, at the annual retreat of CeBIH with theme, Mobile Payments for FinancialInclusion, held yesterday at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

CROSS River Stategovernor, Mr Ben Ayade,

is to lead a delegation ofgovernors from Africa to theongoing Climate ChangeSummit holding in Paris,France.

The African governors willmeet with their counterpartsfrom around the world andmayors under the auspices ofthe governors’ Climate andForest, GCF, Task Force as sub-national leaders to shareinformation on how to reduceGreen House Gas emissionswhile creating economicopportunities at the same time.

Ayade is also the only Africangovernor listed to speak at thesummit by the United NationsSecretariat for Climate Change.

Other governors listed tospeak at the event are: JerryBrown-California; Tiao Viana –Acre, Premier Christy Clark –British Columbia, AristotelesSandoval – Jalisco and Governorof Washington, Mr. Jay Inslee.

Mayor Gregor Robertson ofVancouver, Mayor Libby Schaafof Oakland and GovernorManuel Gambini of Ucayali,Peru are also expected to deliverpapers at the summit.

The three-day event, startingfrom December 7, “bringstogether governors andmayors, who are adoptingambitions GCF reductiontargets and creating economicopportunities by doing so,” astatement by the ClimateChange secretariat stated.

Ayade is a professor of

Environmental Science, whosedoctoral research work onClimate Change won himabout 6.5million Japanese Yenfrom the JapaneseGovernment.

The governor also inventedthe sewage treatment system,which is being used off-shoreby oil producing companies in

Nigeria.The climate change

secretariat describes CrossRiver as “The GCF pioneermember in Africa, with a richhistory of working to preserveNigeria’s tropical forest and animportant platform for furtherengagement of GCF inAfrica.”

Delta sets up c'ttee to identify undeveloped plots in Asaba

By Godwin Oghre

SAPELE—THE Urhobonation will on Saturday

honour ace sprinter, BlessingOkagbare, with the Member ofCouncil of Representatives ofUrhoboland, MCRU, at its 2015annual Urhobo National Day/Carnival, holding at the ultra-modern Urhobo CulturalCentre, Uvwiamuge, Agbarho,in Delta State.

In a statement, PresidentGeneral of Urhobo ProgressUnion, UPU, the umbrella bodyof the Urhobo people at homeand in Diaspora, Chief JoeOmene, said that the sprinterwill be honoured for making herhome proud in the area of sports,where she has greatly excelledin recent times, adding, “She

could, from the moment of thehonour, add the acronym of“UP,,” which means, UrhoboPatriot, to her name.”

The statement said otherUrhobos to be so honouredinclude (posthumously) the latesinger, Keffy, also known as“Branama,” for her exceptionalperformance in making Urobo

proud, while alive, in the fieldof music, immediate past deputygovernor of the state, Prof AmosUtuama, SAN, as well as Prof.D. G. Dara, for respecting thewish of the Urhobo at the 2015governorship and forrepresenting the Urhobos at thepast national conferencerespectively.

DELTA StateCommissioner for Lands,

Survey and UrbanDevelopment, Sir Dan Okenyi,has set up a committee toidentify undeveloped plots ofland allocated to individuals andorganisations in the core area ofAsaba, Delta State.

The committee which is

headed by Mr. Alex Eboka, willidentify plots that are yet to bedeveloped by their owners twoyears or more after they wereallocated.

According to a statement,yesterday, the exercise wasnecessitated by the prevalenceof undeveloped plots of landsome of which were allocated

for upwards of five years and dulyissued with Certificates ofOccupancy.

While setting up the committeewhich will be inaugurated nextweek, Okenyi noted that some ofthe beneficiaries were engagingin land speculation without anyintention to develop the property.

ASABA—GOVERNORIfeanyi Okowa of Delta

State, yesterday, expressedconfidence that the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, willtake its pride of place in thenation’s polity with thestrengthening of its internaldemocracy.

Okowa, in Asaba at the DeltaState PDP stakeholdersmeeting with the theme,Strengthening of the PDP ForImproved Performance inDelta State, said the era whereparty leadership revolvedround individuals was over inPDP.

The governor, who got a voteof confidence from members ofthe party, said: “I will continueto counsel and push forinternal democracy to staybecause it was that processthat threw me up and made itpossible for me to emerge andgave me the acceptability levelthat made it possible for us towin convincingly in DeltaState. This will start with theprocess that will take us to theelection of those who will runour various wards and localgovernment party committees.

“We must find ways ofhelping fund the party evenin the face of very challengingtimes and without actuallybecoming the leader of theparty. When people call me theleader of the party, I do notbelieve it because, I am justMr. Governor. The partybelongs to a collectiveleadership, there is no oneperson that can claimleadership of any party. At theward level, the localgovernment, the state leveland even at the national level,there must be collectiveleadership if the party is togrow.

“The fact that commissioners,House of Assembly members,council chairmen and othersfund the party at the ward andlocal government levels,which you expect them to do,does not accord them the roleof the leader of the party wherethey must continue to dictateto others."

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015 — 13

Peace must reign in Bayelsa —EteteBy Onozure Dania

Family of Edo robbery victim demands speedyinvestigation

TMG deploys325 observersfor Bayelsa poll

By GabrielEnogholase

Bayelsa poll: Security beef up in YenagoaBy Samuel Oyadongha

By Emem Idio

INSPECTION: From left: HRH Greg Akenzua, Enogie of Evbuobanosa, Pro-Chancellor,Ambrose Alli University; Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and Mr Daniel Inneh,at the inspection of the reclamation of Queen Ede gully erosion site in Benin City, by theBenin Forum, yesterday.

FORMER Minister ofPetroleum, Chief Dan Etete,

has urged all parties in the forthcoming governorship election inBayelsa State to allow peace toreign during and after the poll,saying that only through peacecan development be brought to theoil-rich state.

In a statement, yesterday, Eteteurged the people to acceptwhatever result that comes fromthe election and urged allBayelsans to join hands withwhoever wins to develop thestate.

He said: “Since July 2015, whenthe Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC,announced the time table for thegovernorship election in BayelsaState and fixed it for December 5,a lot of water has passed underthe bridge. Politicians across thedivide, in order to drum upsupport for themselves, have doneeverything under the sun,including intimidation and threat,to make their position clear to thepeople.

“In recent times, someorganisations have even gone tothe extent of threatening PresidentMuhammadu Buhari over theelections. A militant organisationeven went as far as admonishingPresident Buhari not to engageelection riggers in thegovernorship election as suchvicious and surreptitious anticsshall not only be vehemently

resisted, but may also lead towaking the sleeping dog fromsleep. They also called on theUnited Nations and, indeed, theinternational community, to bearthem witness as they are notunaware of the planned use offederal might to intimidate thepeople of Bayelsa State in favourof their chosen candidate.

“May I say, with every senseof responsibility, that such threatshave no place in a democracy.There is enough room for

everyone if only we can agreethat all of us cannot rule at thesame time. The founding fathersof this state, of which I amprivileged to be one, have loftydreams for the people and thestate since its creation in 1997.

“Almost 20 years after, I amhappy with the achievements ofthis great state. I am particularlyhappy that within its shortexistence, Bayelsa can, withpride, compare to otherfederating units in Nigeria in

terms of human and materialdevelopment. I am grateful tothe Almighty that the firstPresident from the South-Southzone hails from Bayelsa State.

“Gradually, the Ijaw nation isbeginning to enjoy a pride ofplace in Nigeria. We can onlygo higher at the rate at whichwe are developing provided wedo not use our hands to destroywhat the founding fathers havetoiled very hard to build."

YENAGOA —SECURITYhas been beefed up in

Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and

its environs as tensionmounts ahead of tomorrow’sgovernorship election in thestate.

Part of the 14,000 policemen

deployed in the state, drawnfrom 10 commands acrossthe country, have startedarriving.

They are to be backed by

three aerial surveillancehelicopters for operationalefficiency.

This is beside the ninegunboats to be deployed inthe waterways by the JointTask Force code namedOperation Pulo Shield topolice the rivers and creeksduring the election.

Also, security operativeshave been drafted to protectthe headquarters of theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission,INEC, at the Swali suburb ofthe state capital.

Security operatives werealso sighted along the roadleading to the commission’soffice conducting stop andsearch on vehicles headingand coming out of the area.

Y E N A G O A — T H ETransition Monitoring

Group, TMG, is to deploy atotal of 325 observers fortomorrow’s governorship pollin Bayelsa State.

Out of this number, 300 willserve as stationary observerswhile 25 will move as observersacross the eight localgovernment areas of the state.

Chairman of TMG, IbraimZikirullahi, who disclosed thisin Yenagoa, yesterday, alsonoted that as part of itsobservation efforts, it wouldconduct what it called a QuickCount, described as the goldstandard for citizen election.

According to Zikirullahi,Quick Count is an advancedobservation methodology thatemploys a well-establishedstatistical principle and utilizessophisticated informationtechnologies, stating that theobservers have been welltrained and accredited for theprocess.

Shutdown ofWarri hotel:Staff lock outbank, NSCDCofficials

BENIN—FAMILY of latePere Leonard Ogei, a

nephew of Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa, a senatorial aspirant ofthe Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,in Edo State, who was allegedlykilled by armed robbers on the eveof the 2014 senatorial primariesof the party, has appealed to theInspector General of Police, Mr.Solomon Arase, to order thespeedy conclusion ofinvestigations into the case.

It will be recalled that the lateOgei was killed on AikhionbareStreet, Benin, on December 3,2014 about 120 metres from hisresidence on his way from thebank where he had gone towithdraw money for the senatorialprimaries.

The family, in a petition to theIG through the legal firm of WestIdahosa and Co, accused thepolice of deliberately stallinginvestigations by the Homicide

Department of the ForceCriminal InvestigationsDepartment, FICD, because ofthe alleged involvement of aserving police officer in the case.

The petition, by Dr. EhiogieWest-Idahosa, a former memberof the House of Representatives,made available to newsmen inBenin, yesterday, appealed tothe IG to direct the arraignmentof the three suspected robbersfor the offence of murder andarmed robbery before acompetent court of law.

The family also called for theremoval of one Supol Richardfrom the investigating team asit doubts his impartiality and hadlost confidence in his headshipof the team.

They accused the police officerof leaving them in the darkunder the pretext that he wasworking for the police and assuch was not obliged to briefthem periodically on the state ofinvestigation just as they saidthat they have been told that an

interim report has beensubmitted to the Commissionerof Police in charge of Homicide,Mike Ogbodu, by the SupolRichard team.

“The said report has beenlying idle on his table for oversix weeks,” he said, adding thatthe family has been worried thatsince the arrest of a servingpolice officer, investigations hadbeen stalled despite the hugeresources put by them tosupport the process sinceDecember 3, 2014.

By Egufe Yafugborhi

W A R R I — R O L E Swere reversed,

yesterday, as men of theNigerian Security and CivilDefence Corps, NSCDC,were locked out bymanagement and staff atWellington Hotels, Effurun,Uvwie Local GovernmentArea, Delta State, which hadbeen shut since Septemberover a contentious loan deal.

The staff and managementwere at the hotel to resumeoperations after a counterorder by a Federal High Courtin Lagos vacated the earlierorder by same court uponwhich the NSCDC evictedguests and sealed the hotel atthe prompting of a bank whichgranted the contentious N2.5billion loan to Joma FrozenFoods owned by ChiefGodspower Agbonifo, astakeholder in the hotel.

CMYK

14—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4 , 2015

FUNERAL SERVICE FOR LATE CHIEF SAMUEL OLUFEMI ASEKUNIN LAGOS PHOTOS: BUNMI AZEEZ

Chief Ernest Shonekan, former Head of the InterimNational Government and his wife, Margaret on theoccasion.

From left: Dr. Christopher Kolade, former Nigerian Am-bassador to the United Kingdom, his wife, Beatrice and Mrs.Adejumoke Bako at the event.

From left: Mrs. Aderonke Adebajo, daughter of the deceased,Barr. Femi Asekun, son, Mrs. Adebimpe Badejo, daughter, Mrs.Stella Ajom, and Mr. Solomon Dupe Asekun, brother.

From left: Mrs. Yetunde Animashawun, Mrs. Joy Oluremi Asekun (widow), and Mr.Oladapo Adeniran, during the funeral service for late Chief Samuel Olufemi EdoboAsekun, at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos, yesterday.

Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju(retd), former Minister of Communicationand Mrs. Yemisi Olanrewaju.

11 years after, Senate urges Buhari to reintroduce toll gates

•Decries state of federal roads•Urges FG to make provision for road construction,maintenance in 2016 budget•Summons ICRC

By Henry Umoru & JosephErunke

ABUJA— THE Senate,yesterday, asked President

Muhammadu Buhari to as a matterof urgency reintroduce toll gateson the nation’s highways to createa financial pool through which badroads could be maintained andrehabilitated.

The Senate also called for theintroduction of weigh bridges tohelp protect the roads as well asdiscourage the over usage of thehighways that were constructed forferrying heavy vehicles and trucks.

Also yesterday, the Senatemandated the Federal Governmentto make provisions for repair ofmajor highways in the 2016 budgetagainst the backdrop that the stateof existing roads were deplorableand would need urgent FederalGovernment’s intervention. Theresolutions were sequel to theadoption of recommendations ofSenator Barnabas Gemade led ad-hoc committee on works whichinvestigated the total collapse offederal roads in Nigeria andprevalent gully erosion sites.

The senate also summoned theManagement of InfrastructureConcession RegulatoryCommission (ICRC) to brief thelawmakers on the FederalGovernment concessionprogramme and the Public-Private Partnership’s (PPP)arrangement on roads. The callfor toll gates to resurface on the

nation’s highways was comingeleven years after former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo disbandedtoll gates along major federalhighways in the country.

It would be recalled thatObasanjo had in 2004 ordered thedismantling of toll gates across thecountry, citing loss of revenue togovernment and poormaintenance of the roads. The

Senate also called forinvestment in Rail, Air andWater ways to act as alternativesto road transport and todecrease traffic on the roads forlonger lifespan as well as theconstruction of concrete roadsinstead of laterite roads in someparts of the country especiallyin areas not suitable forBituminous pavement.

Senators in theircontributions, supported theposition of the ad-hoc

committee report and called onNigerians to contribute theirquota to national development bysupporting the reintroduction oftoll gate and concessioning ofsome major federal roads.

In his contribution, SenatorSamuel Anyanwu, PDP, Imo Eastsaid, “When they came to ImoState, the team will agree that astate of emergency would havebeen declared on the roads. InLagos State, some roads havebeen tolled and monies realizedfrom them are used to maintainthe roads. The FederalGovernment should begin tothink in that direction.

SOUTH SouthF o r u m ,

Ajeromi-IfelodunLGA, Lagos Stateholds its end of yearparty at Abukuru pri-mary school,Ajegunle, December5.A statement by Com-rade C. Sedie saidthe keynote addresswould be deliveredby Hon Paul Oviewhile Chief E.A.Azaka is chairman/chief host.

S-South forummeets

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—15

•Soldiers, mobile policemen take over streets, conductstop-and-search on motorists•IPOB blames APC for death of 9, names victims•MASSOB dissociates self, factions trade blames

BIAFRA: Markets, schools,banks remain shut in Onitsha

By Anayo Okoli,Vincent Ujumadu, Festus

Ahon, NwabuezeOkonkwo, Ugochukwu

Alaribe, ChimaobiNwaiwu & Omeiza Ajayi

O N I T S H A —FOLLOWING thethree-week long

protests embarked upon bymembers of the IndigenousPeople of Biafra, IPOB, overcontinued incarceration of theirleader, Nnamdi Kanu which ledto the alleged killing of itsmembers by members of JointMilitary Task Force, markets,banks and schools in Onitsha andits environs remained closed,yesterday, in apparent solidaritywith the protesters.

The Building MaterialsInternational Market at Ogidi,near Onitsha, New Auto SpareParts market at Nkpor and othermajor markets remained closed,just as banks and schoolsremained under lock and key.

A detachment of stern-lookingsoldiers and mobile policemenwere seen in their numbersstanding on the roads andstopping all vehicles, a situationwhich led to a traffic gridlock fromthe former toll gate at Ogbuniketo Bridge-head end of the Enugu/Awka/Onitsha express way.

Meanwhile, a coalition of civilsociety groups had called forimmediate resignation of theInspector General of Police, IGP,Mr. Solomon Arase for his allegedshoot-at-sight order and roles inthe Onitsha killings of protestingIPOB members.

Extra judicial killingsIn a press statement released,

yesterday, and signed by EmekaUmeagbalasi, the coordinatingprincipal of the coalition said itwas equally important to informthat the Nigeria Police Forceunder Arase was already underthe jurisdictional watch of theInternational Criminal Court ascompilation and computation ofcases of all police and militaryrelated extra judicial killings inthe country were steadily inprogress, adding, “for failing toheed our warning of 13thNovember 2015, we will be gladto ensure that IGP Arase and hisnamed sub-commanders arehandcuffed and flown to TheHague for the purpose of makingthem face international trial forcrimes against humanity.”

According to the coalition: “Wecall on the IPOB and its teemingfollowers to remain peaceful, non-violent and law-abiding at alltimes, not minding the violencerecently visited and unleashed onthem.

"They must also watch theirback and be extremely vigilant soas to ward off sustained efforts ofsome commissioned elementswithin the Federal Government,particularly its securityestablishments and stooges withinthe South East Governors Forumto implant elements of violenceinto their fold so as to destroy theirglobally -approved method of non-violence and peaceful means ofagitation.

IPOB blames APCStill wallowing in the confusion

that followed the killing of nine ofits members, Wednesday, inOnitsha, the IPOB, also yesterdayalleged that the All ProgressivesCongress, APC, was behind thecrisis that led to shooting to deathof nine people and injuring ofover 18 people that sustainedvarious degrees of injuries at theNiger Bridge Head Onitsha andother parts of Onitsha and itsenvirons.

Spokesman of IPOB inAnambra State, Mr. EmmaPowerful disclosed this whileaddressing newsmen in Onitsha,saying that it was a calculated planby the APC government in thecountry which became unsettledwith their peaceful and non-violent protests in South East, andhad been looking for a way toprovoke violence in their proteststo justify the continued detentionand incarceration of their leader,Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

The victimsThe IPOB spokesman gave the

names of some of the IPOBmembers that were shot dead,Wednesday, morning as ChimaOnoh, from Enugu state, KennethOgadinma from Abia State, AngusChikwado and Felicia Egwuatufrom Anambra State, includinganother, he said they gotinformation was killed in Idemiliside of Anambra State lateWednesday evening.

He also said that the JTF killeda young lady that was lateridentified as Nkiruka and tried totake her corpse away.

An eye witness, who took somephotographs told Vanguard thathe was in his office watching asJTF men were shootingsporadically at Obodoukwu Road

by Nigerian Customs ServiceOnitsha.

He said Nkiruka is from AdaziNnukwu in Anaocha LocalGovernment Area of AnambraState, a 200 level student ofFederal College of EducationTechnical, Umunze and the onlydaughter of the family.

“Nkiruka was coming fromNigerian Customs Service byAsaba Onitsha Enuguexpressway towards ObodoukwuRoad and on hearing gun-shots,she ran into a restaurant and oneof the JTF members shot her deadand was about taking her corpseaway when her family came withan ambulance and spoke withthe JTF men who later releasedthe corpse to them.”

However, the police fromAnambra State had denied anykilling by the JTF through thePolice Public Relations Officer inthe state, Mr. Ali Okechukwu.

MASSOB disassociates selfMeanwhile, the Movement for

the Actualization of SovereignState of Biafra, MASSOB,yesterday, dissociated itself fromthe violence being perpetrated byIPOB, which had resulted in thekillings and destruction ofproperty.

Speaking to newsmen in Asaba,zonal leader of MASSOB inDelta North, Mr. ChineduAmaifeobu, said MASSOB wasnot a violent group andcondemned the acts of violencebeing perpetrated by the IPOB.

Amaifeobu said: “MASSOB isnot in support of the killings anddestruction of property. We arenot against any group in Igboland but would not support killingof innocent people anddestruction of property. “

Disclosing that there was no

faction in MASSOB as allegedlybeing speculated by one UchennaMadu, he said Mr. RaphUwazuruike remained thefounder and leader of the groupworldwide, alleging that the saidUchenna Madu was sacked fromMASSOB since last year formisconduct and his group was theone terrorizing Onitsha.

Amaifeobu expressedconfidence that they wouldactualize Biafra without violenceand urged the media to reach outto them in any of their offices forverification of informationconcerning MASSOB beforegoing to press.

Insisting the group had officesin all parts of the Biafra zone, heheld that MASSOB under theleadership of Uwazuruike wascommitted to the Biafra struggle.

Meeting of North, S/Emonarchs

However, at the IPOB’s mediabriefing, Mr. Powerful dismissedthe meeting said to have beenheld on the directive of the Sultanof Sokoto with Governor RochasOkorocha as host and some SouthEast traditional rulers inattendance as meeting of APCmembers, adding that some SouthEast traditional rulers must havebeen disappointed with theoutcome of the meeting.

“How can anybody be holdinga meeting concerning IPOB,MASSOB and issue of Biafra inImo State instead of Enugu Stateor Anambra State, the home of ourspiritual leader DimChukwuemeka OdumegwuOjukwu without any IPOB andMASSOB member, even oneperson from the groups beingpresent.

"We therefore maintain that itwas an APC meeting and its

outcome does not have anybinding on IPOB or MASSOB,”he said.

Call for dialogueSpeaking further, the IPOB

spokesman berated the InspectorGeneral of Police, Mr. SolomonArase, for reading a riot act toarmless, defenseless and non-violent IPOB and MASSOBmembers when he should beapologizing and sympathizingwith the families of the people hismen and their JTF counterpartkilled during their indiscriminateshooting of protesting people.

“We are demanding that IGPArase should resign voluntarilyor be removed by Buhari if he isnot using him to do a hatchet job.He is not a competent andintelligent police officer, let alonebeing IGP, or he should haveconsoled the bereaved familieswhether it was his men that did itor not.

"Every killing that happened,Wednesday, constitutionally fallson the Police, because theyinvited the Army and the Navyto help them because of theirincompetence.“

The APC government throughtheir youths had been looking fora way to destroy our peacefulprotests, but they could not see.They bribed market leaders toaccuse us of shutting the marketsand breaking into stores andshops and that did not work. Theynow decided to send their youthsto start making bonfire on theroads in Onitsha and other partsof the state to disrupt economic,social and commercial activitiesin the state and give animpression that we are violent.

“This was after they hadordered the Joint Military TaskForce to shoot five of ourmembers, who were observingour three days ‘Sit at the NigerHead Bridge’ protest as directedby our leaders to press home ourdemand for the release of Mr.Kanu. Yet, we did not react.

“We are demanding for therelease of our leader and theactualization of the sovereignstate of Biafra. We are determinedto have Biafra and detention ofMr. Kanu and other members ofIPOB and MASSOB will notdeter us. Since the end of the civilwar, we have not been treated aspart of Nigeria and now, we wantto go and nobody will stop usbecause we have exhausted ourpatience in Nigeria,” he said.

Appeal for peaceCalling for calm, Chief Rommy

Ezeonwuka, the Ogirishi Igbo hasappealed to IPOB and MASSOBto maintain the peace that theyhad been known for even in theface of the killing of theirmembers and the attack by theAPC-sponsored youths in thestate.

Ezeonwuka urged the youthsto keep calm as their anger hadbeen established.

“ I want them to know that IPOB,known for peaceful protest isbeing infiltrated by criminalssponsored by politicians frominside and outside the state toinvolve in violent activities todestroy their name."

BURIAL: From left, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, former Governor ChimaraokeNnamani, and Dr. Charles Amanze, Clinical Director, Pamo Hospitals, Port-Harcourt, at the burial ofNnamani's wife.

CMYK

16—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

Group emerges for 2017 Anambra gov poll

AWKA—AHEAD of the2017 Anambra State

governorship election, a groupmade up of politicians and non-politicians have formed theAnambra Solidarity Movement,ASM, to identify the rightcandidate and campaign for hisor her election during the polls.

The association, which has anotable politician in the state,Chief Austin Ndigwe as itsnational coordinator, is to belaunched in all the 21 localgovernment areas and all the 326wards at a later date.

Ndigwe said during theinauguration of the stateexecutive committee of the

movement at Oba in Idemili NorthLocal Government Area,yesterday, that the movementwould target about 120,000members across the state whoseduty would be to canvass for votesfor the approved candidate,insisting that ASM did not havethe interest of any political partyor candidate in mind for now.

He said that the founders of themovement were worried that thoseelected as governor often forgottheir campaign promises once theymoved into the GovernmentHouse, only to remember theelectorate during another election.

Ndigwe said: “Our promise isthat whoever that will be the nextgovernor of Anambra State mustvisit all the wards to see what the

people are going through."The reason we want to start

early is to give all those interestedin vying for governorship theopportunity to realize that theyshould not under-rate thegrassroots people as the era of

dumping voters after election wasover.

“We will no longer tolerate asituation whereby people willwork for somebody to emerge asgovernor only for that person toforget those who put him into

Okorocha replies IhediohaStories By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI—IMO StateGovernment has

expressed reservations at the waythe former Deputy Speaker of theHouse of Representatives, ChiefEmeka Ihedioha, rushed to themedia to attack Governor RochasOkorocha over what he claimedto have read about the governor

earmarking N600 million fordecorations.

The government’s stand wasmade public through a pressstatement signed the Chief PressSecretary to the Governor, Mr.Sam Onwuemeodo.

“On our part, we feel for ChiefIhedioha, that, a former DeputySpeaker of the House ofRepresentatives and a member of

that House for 12 years, couldrush to the media to attack thegovernor over what he claimedto have read about the governorearmarking N600million fordecorations, and not that thegovernor has spent the amounton the issue. And he could notalso disclose the source of thereport for it to be believed”,Onwuemeodo stated.

While saying that theonly time Chief Ihediohacan be read on the pagesof newspapers is wheneverhe attacks the governor,Onwuemeodo alsochallenged Chief Ihediohaand his PDP people tocatalogue and publish theirachievements for the 12years they governed thestate and let GovernorOkorocha publish his ownachievements for theperiod he has held sway.

“We also challengeChief Ihedioha to tell Imopeople why the Owerri-PortHarcourt road, Aba-Owerriroad, Umuahia-Owerriroad could not be finishedwhen he was numberseven citizen in the countryas the Deputy Speaker ofHouse of Representatives. Let him also publish the listof NDDC projects for thestate and the contractors,”Onwuemeodo said.

...effigydestroyed

THE GROWING anti-Rochas Okorocha

sentiments in Imo State, hastaken a new twist, as hiseffigy that was installed inhis Ideato South countryhome was destroyed byunknown persons.

The statue, whichdepicted Governor RochasOkorocha on a horse backwas mounted at theOgboko Junction, along theOrlu-Urualla federalhighway, as the frenzy overhis gubernatorial successwas at its peak.

Vanguard, who rushed tothe scene of the destruction,on getting wind of thenews, noticed that the effigyhad been brought downand damaged beyondredemption.

Although the stategovernment and itsfunctionaries haveremained silent over thedestroyed governor’s effigy,no individual or group hashowever claimedresponsibility for thedestruction.

office."It is the grassroots people that

make any political party and acandidate popular. We will nolonger accept a situation where thegovernor only comes back to givepeople sachet water and pittance."

By Vincent Ujumadu

CMYK

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015 —17

Responses to:donzol2002@yahoo.co.ukor to 0802 747 6458 OR0811 675 9752 (texts only).PLEASE KINDLY NOTETHAT UNLESS YOU RE-QUEST ANONYMITY,YOUR COMMENTS MAYBE PUBLISHED, WITHYOUR NAMES AND CON-TACT DETAILS AT-TACHED.

Lousy Naija LGAs

I DIVIDE my time betweenNigeria and the UK and I

am based in a small rentedhouse in South London whenI am abroad. And I nevercease to marvel at theENORMOUS differencebetween local governmentauthorities here and there.

In the UK, vulnerablepeople or those with verylimited incomes (students andthe hospitalised, for example)are completely exempted fromcouncil tax or givendiscounts. And the majoritywho DO have to pay the taxin full don’t pay much.

In return for a modestmonthly payment, my localcouncil provides me and ALLof its other residents(including those who don’tpay a dime or pay less thanthe full amount of tax) with astaggering range of free orheavily subsidised (and verycheap) services beyond basicslike public housing andrubbish collection:

Languageclasses

Libraries and parks galore,unlimited access to onlinepublications all over theworld, language classes forimmigrants or refugees whocan’t speak English, literacyand maths classes for British-born adults who somehowmissed out on goodeducations in their youths;adventure playgrounds forchildren, substantial back-upfor frail and lonely pensioners,concrete help for the disabled,counselling for the distressed,lots of vocational and leisure-related evening courses –such as dance, jewellerydesign, informationtechnology and so on - foranyone who is interested…

…and numerous othergolden opportunities,civilized facilities andphilanthropic support systemsthat are too numerous tomention in a one-pagenewspaper column.

And as if all of the above

wasn’t enough of an effort, mylocal council regularly sendsevery household an excellentlittle magazine that itcompiles every few weeks...inwhich we are told how the taxthe council receives is beingspent and how we can reachour local councilors if we wantto address any concerns tothem.

The magazine alsoencourages us to express ouropinions about anything andeverything…by writing to thecouncil or participating insurveys.

Wastemanagement

In the latest edition of themagazine, readers wereasked whether there are anynew courses they feel thecouncil should start up andwhether we think the councilshould increase itscommitment to the recyclingaspect of waste management.

The other day, a friend ofmine spotted a fox in hergarden and called the pestcontrol division of the localcouncil in a panic andreceived a very sympatheticresponse on the phone andprompt practical assistance,

plus a document full of tipsabout how she could minimisethe risk of further verminincursions in future.

My sister, Lela, is theDeputy Chief Executive ofanother local council on theother side of London; and Iknow how hard and sincerelyshe works to ensure that theinhabitants of her area get thebest possible deal, despitebudgetary constraints.

And the LGA she helps torun is even more of a pleasureto live in than mine is.

The question I keep askingmyself is this: When will theaverage Nigerian LGA official

be able to look his or herconstituents in the eye,confidently justify the fundsthat have been collected intheir name and begin to comeanywhere near providing theabove levels of care,competence, sophisticationand transparency?

There are 774 localgovernment areas in Nigeria;and most of them areshamefully impoverisheddisaster zones in which thereis no discernible developmentactivity.

There are, of course, alwaysexceptions to every rule.

For example, Victor Giadom,a onetime Chairman of myhome LGA (Gokana inOgoniland, Rivers State)made genuine attempts to douseful things for our peoplewhen he was in charge.

Gaggle ofailing villages

And nobody can transform agaggle of ailing villages intothriving oases of ruralaffluence in only four years.But Giadom often excitedlydiscussed his plans with me.And his heart was definitelyin the right place.

Other exceptions exist –voluntarily or by force. I’mtold that there are a handfulof well-intentioned and fairlyefficient LGA chairmen in

other places…as well as a fewlocations that are full of retiredprofessionals who make ittheir business to bully theirlocal councillors, make surethey do their jobs (things likesinking boreholes) andcompel them to account forevery single naira that comestheir way.

But Nigeria still has a LONGway to go in this regard. Andthe norm is blatant theft andchronic negligence. And Iwonder what we can do to turnthe tide.

I guess that we will finallystart to make serious progresson this front when Governorsstop handing key localgovernment slots to idioticand corrupt cronies

Donald Duke, a formerGovernor of Cross River State,once told me that he reckonedthe best way forward would befor high-calibre individualswho have plenty ofcosmopolitan exposure andadvanced ideas - andnormally aspire to prestigiousstate and Federal Governmentpositions - to shift their focusto the local government arenaand take pride in becomingeffective within that context.

I think that Duke was right.What do YOU think? The

opinions of Vanguard readerswill be warmly welcomed.

FACEBOOK founderMark Zuckerberg and

his wife Priscilla Chan haveannounced that they will giveaway 99% of their shares inthe company to good causes.

Zuckerberg revealed thisinformation in a letter to hisnewborn daughter, Max, onhis Facebook page. Heexplained that he and Max’smother were donating theirfortune to a charitablefoundation - the ChanZuckerberg Initiative - tomake the world a better placefor Max to grow up in…and

The Facebook heiresspromote equality for ALLchildren.

The donation amounts to $45bn at Facebook’s currentvalue. And even if Max onlywinds up with 1% of theshares, she will still havehundreds of millions of dollarsat her disposal. So it’s not likeshe’s going to have a life oftoil and suffering!

Still, given how stingy anddon’t-give-a-damn-about-anyone-else-ish so manybillionaires are, you have toadmire Max’s parents forbeing so generously

concerned about Have-Nots.They are a breath of fresh airand will change many lives.

May God bless them.There are 774

local governmentareas in Nigeria;and most of themare shamefullyimpoverisheddisaster zones inwhich there is nodiscernibledevelopmentactivity

*Mark Zuckerberg(r) and his wife, Priscilla Chan

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

OPINIONWill an agency defy Buhari on judicial corruption?

By Akeem Ogunlade

APPARENTLY miffed by the delay inthe dispensation of justice and the cor-

ruption that it breeds, PresidentMuhammadu Buhari recently made a casefor far-reaching reforms in the country’sjudicial system. Such reforms must includethe reviews of laws, institutions, processesand procedures that hamper the speedydelivery of justice.

Speaking during the opening session ofthe All Nigeria Judges Conference inAbuja, the President lamented that Nigeriawas fast losing trust and esteem in the eyesof the citizens due to unnecessary delaytactics employed by lawyers, in collusionwith some judges, to stall trials, especiallyhigh profile corruption cases.

In addition, the President frowned at theunwholesome practice of appealinginterlocutory decisions, a practice, he said,encourages unending litigations andmiscarriage of justice.

Without making the appropriate reforms,it would be difficult for government to ef-fectively tackle corruption and attract thedesired level of investments the countryneeds for socio-economic development,President Buhari stated.

The President’s admonition readily bringsto mind the Financial Reporting Council ofNigeria, FRCN, an agency under the su-pervision of the Federal Ministry of Indus-try, Trade and Investment. The body, which

has recently come under heavy scrutinyfor unsavoury reasons, is currently chal-lenging, via an interlocutory appeal, theorders of the Federal High Court in Lagoswhich barred it from interfering in the busi-ness or operations of Stanbic IBTC Bankpending the outcome of the suit filed atthe Federal High Court by the bank. It isstrongly believed that FRCN’s actionwould potentially prolong the process;keeping stakeholders on edge for as longas the litigation lasts.

FRCN had on October 26 announced theoutcome of its investigation of Stanbic IBTCfor alleged infractions claimed by minorityshareholders of the company, fronting asthe Trusted Shareholders Association ofNigeria, TSAN.

According to FRCN, there were discrep-ancies in Stanbic IBTC’s financial state-ments and general financial reporting for2013 and 2014. Among sanctions an-

nounced by FRCN was a fine of N1 billionon Stanbic IBTC and restatement of thefinancial reports for 2013 and 2014. As itturned out, FRCN acted without fair hear-ing from Stanbic IBTC or even consultedthe Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN evenwhen the rules and regulations stipulatedthat FRCN can only sue Stanbic IBTC ifthe latter disagrees with its interpretations.FRCN clearly lacks the legal powers toimpose a penalty on Stanbic IBTC.

Nonetheless, Stanbic IBTC denouncedwhat it described as inaccurate allegationsagainst it and the manner FRCN chose tomake them was procedurally defective.

Subsequently, Stanbic IBTC challengedFRCN’s action in court, resulting in JusticeIbrahim Buba of a Federal High Court inLagos asking FRCN to stay action pend-ing the final determination of a suit againstthe agency by Stanbic IBTC Holdings.

Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria, in areport personally signed by its Governor,Godwin Emefiele, punctuated practicallyevery argument advanced by FRCN. Inrejecting a request by FRCN to sanctionStanbic IBTC, CBN said it does not seeenough grounds to advise or compelStanbic IBTC to re-issue the statements orcomply with the sanctions meted by FRCN.The apex bank said FRCN failed to con-sult it throughout the process of its investi-gation, noting that the pronouncements bythe FRCN on Stanbic IBTC was not onlycapable of eroding investor confidence, butalso very inimical to financial system sta-

bility. Not satisfied, FRCN fired a responseto CBN in which its Executive Secretary,Jim Obazee, revealed details of meetingswith the Chief of Staff to the President. Theprimary objectives of the FRCN, just in caseits Executive Secretary has chosen to ig-nore them, are well spelt-out. These in-clude protecting the investor andstakeholder interest, giving guidance onissues relating to financial reporting andcorporate governance, ensure good corpo-rate governance practices, ensuring accu-racy and reliability of financial reports andharmonizing activities of relevant profes-sional and regulatory bodies.

Imposing fines and arbitrary sanctions areoutside the remit of FRCN; only the lawcourts are empowered to do so. What makesits current moves very unacceptable is theFRCN’s seeming disregard of the Presi-dent’s counsel by choosing to pursue in-terlocutory appeals rather than to wait forthe speedy determination of the real issuesthat are the subject matter of the suit, aspromised by Justice Buba. And whose in-terest does FRCN seek to serve by attempt-ing to destroy an institution that employsthousands of Nigeria and is often cited asa symbol of corporate governance?

As the current administration continuesin its efforts to steer the country to saferground, the least it expects are distractions,moreso from an agency of government,after well-intentioned interventions to calmfrayed nerves and restore an ideal envi-ronment for businesses to thrive as well asattract the much needed inflow of FDI intothe country.

Mr Ogunlade, an economic analyst,wrote from Abuja

Without making the appro-priate reforms, it would bedifficult for government toeffectively tackle corruptionand attract the desired levelof investments

AT the inception of thisadministration,stocks soared asforeign investors looked toPresident Muhammadu Buhari toreverse decades of economicmismanagement and policy inertia.At that time, institutional investorsbrought in billions of dollars thatshored up the nation’s foreignreserves and gave the stock marketa new lease of life.

But it was a temporary relief forthe economy, as every economicagent knows that such funds aretreated by monetary authorities ashot money that can flow out at anysign of economic distress unlikedirect investment flows. The moneythat flowed into stocks and bonds isnow retreating as growth prospectsdiminish along with the fall in globalcrude oil and commodity prices.

It should be a matter for concernto this administration that soon afterthe initial euphoria, investors arebecoming disillusioned. Nigeria’sstock exchange benchmark stockindex has plunged 30 per cent since

How to save the stock marketreaching a year-high on April 2nd2015. The performance of theNigerian Stock Exchange has beendescribed as the third worst globallyin the period, after those of Ukraineand Egypt. The stock index hadadvanced 12.5 per cent in the twodays after ex-President Jonathanconceded, before going into steadydecline.

The drop could be even higher ifthe naira is further devalued.Currently, two major factors areaffecting the equities market: thefalling price of crude oil, which hasabout 80 per cent effect on the capitalmarket, and the increasing political

risks of not knowing the directionof public policy. Investors are not sosure that this administration willcontinue with privatisation. The lackof clear policy direction has madeforeign investors develop negativesentiments towards the market.

Many are at a loss with the currentmonetary policy which has placedrestrictions on access to foreignexchange. Nigeria cannot continueto depend on foreign portfolioinvestors to grow the stock market.

The federal government and capitalmarket regulators must come outwith a clear policy on how todevelop the local stock market.

The Securities and ExchangeCommission (SEC) working with theNigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)must encourage retail investors toreturn to the market. Many Nigerianretail investors who lost hugeamounts of money during theglobal financial meltdown have notreturned to the market. To get suchretail investors back to the market,the regulators as well as marketoperators must embark on massiveinvestor education to enable themunderstand their role, when to buyand when to sell shares.

They must be made aware of thespeculative nature of the capitalmarket. It is not dump life savingsand expect windfalls like the so-called “miracle banks”. Above all thefederal government must focus moreon Direct Foreign Investment if ithopes to grow the economy andcreate jobs for the teemingunemployed Nigerian youth.

CMYK

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—————1919191919

CMYK

Send Opinions & Letters to:opinions1234@yahoo.com

The EU fox and Turkishtortoise agreement

*Mr Udegbe, a lawyer, wrote fromLagos.

The real change Ndigbo and Biafra need (1)

THE European Union, EU,fox decided that unwanted

guests from its watering holes inthe Middle East were swarmingon it. The deer, donkeys, camelsand sheep were fleeing from thehunting fires the fox had lit. Thefears of the fox include the possi-bility of the refugees changingits demography forever, pollutingits beliefs and introducing their camel-eating culture. Worse still,it fears that some of the hyenas ithad cultured to keep the MiddleEast population in check, mightbe concealed in the fleeing pack.Just the other day, some hyenaswent loose in Paris, the beautifulcity of love.

The fox problem is that it hadsaid it welcomed all, especiallythe endangered and thepersecuted, so it does not want tobe seen violating its acclaimedlove and defence of animal rights.It does not want its finger printsin the forceful prevention orcaging of those fleeing war,hunger, death and devastation.

This is where the Turkish tor-toise comes in. The tortoise has ahistory of getting the job done

even if it involves genocide likeits 1915-17 attempt to wipe theArmenian species off the earth’ssurface. The tortoise has beentrying the same method on theKurdish varieties in its region. Italso does not tolerate animal talkslike freedom of movement, freespeech, moderate beliefs oranimal rights. Ordinarily, theseare rights that the fox says it holdsdear; that all animals are created equal; that they are endowed bytheir Creator with certaininalienable rights; that amongthese are life, liberty, and thepursuit of happiness. But when itcomes to its faithful allies like thetortoise, the fox does not see theseviolations; in such cases, it is asblind as a mole.

So when the fox and tortoise meton Sunday November 29, 2015in Brussels, it was a divinemeeting; the former looking for anenforcer to hire, and the latter,ready to do the job provided theprice is right.

Rather than reinvent the wheel,the partners adopted the modelof the Australian crocodile and thePapau New Guinea lizard. The

crocodile which had swarmthrough the British Thames toseize a whole continent, did notwant other new comers. At first, itwas very hard dealing with therefugees, but when criticism be-came too much, it adopted anew, cheaper and effective sys-tem. It turned to the poor lizard,offered it a mouthwatering $450million to take care of the toxichuman waste threatening itsshores.

The croc and the lizard on July19, 2013, signed a RegionalResettlement Arrangement, RRA, under which the croc wouldround up and divert the asylumseekers to the lizard Manus Is-land where they will be ac-corded “dignity and respect” inaccordance with international ani-mal rights provisions. With that,937 new shelter seekers weremercifully taken off the seas andoff loaded in the Lombrum NavalBase on the island. Most havebeen in the concentration camp

for two years with no option toleave. Also, the refugees cannot be caught outside their pen afterdark. The penalty is serious beat-ing. Prisoners are better treated;at lest they have visiting rights,access to lawyers, immunity frombeatings and a definite confine-ment period. One of the inmates, Bentham Satah, a Kurd from Iraqprotested: “We are human notanimals”. I pity him, because ani-mals have more rights. For in-stance, cows are free to roamwhile the average dog in Europehas a home and is well fed; some-times better fed than the worker.

In adopting the Croc-Lizard for-mat, the fox and tortoise at firstthought of titling their agreement,the Cow All Treaty, CAT. But twoissues arose: first, they did notwant to give the cow unnecessary publicity or make itfeel important. Secondly, withthe fox being a trickster and thetortoise, cunning, they did notwant an additional mix of anothersly animal, the cat. So they settledfor the title Fox – Tortoise JointAction Plan, JAP. Like the lie inthe Croc-Lizard agreement, theJAP pronounced “Animal dignity is at the core of ourcommon endeavor” and that whatthey are engaged in is “a spirit ofburden sharing”.

The tortoise is to “ensure thatmigrants are registered andprovided with appropriatedocuments on a compulsorybasis” while the fox will swiftlyreturn “migrants who are not inneed of international protection totheir countries of origin.”

The fox agreed to pay tortoise$3.19 billion. What the sly part-ners could not agree on is whether

this money will be annual, bien-nial or one lump sum. Not to breakup the agreement on such finaldetails, they agreed tentativelythat the amount will be “initial”.

The tortoise then made a de-mand; if it succeeds in warehous-ing would-be immigrants, es-pecially from Syria and Iraq, and deals with them so severely thatthey would prefer death in theISIS hyena kingdom than ventur-ing to cross to fox territory, thenthe tortoise family should have unfettered access to the 28 foxkingdoms. The fox agreed in prin-ciple. Then the former pointed outthat it is going to be quite brutal ,and would receive severe con-demnation for its fascist methods;should the latter not compensateit with the fox membership club ithas applied for over the years? Thefox promised to accelerate themembership process. These ofcourse, are foxy promises, but whoknows what the tortoise carriesin its bag of tricks?

The tortoise is ecstatic, the agree-ment it says is a historic new be-ginning between it and its foxpartner. I am wondering if thefox is not smart enough to knowthat lots of suffering will be visitedon the hapless by the tortoise andthat it would not escapecondemnation for criminalconspiracy and crimes againstanimals. Meanwhile, the well fedhyenas are widening theirterritory in Libya with the realitythat more of the hapless will beforced to migrate to foxkingdoms. I think it would be wiser and cheaper to tackle theroot causes than offer heftybribes like the one to the tortoise.

BIAFRA is real, and those who waveit away do so to the exposure of their

wrong assessment of the situation, and tosome extent their ignorance, self-deceit,and or self-denial. Every Igbo man is es-sentially a Biafran; they fought the 1966-1970 war and lost, and their region hasbeen suffering under the post-warpolicies of the Federal Government, thevictors in that war. They said that it was“no victor, no vanquished” after the war,Igbos took it and moved on, seeking theirsurvival first, while the victors continuedwith all they thought was necessary toarrest the development and empower-ment of the Igbo Land.They dismantledthe information data base of Igbo land,superintended the destruction ordeliberate decay of the roads and infra-structure in Igbo land, dismantled theindustries and agricultural developmentprogrammes of Igbo land, reduced thefinancial capabilities of the war survivors,redesigned the states boundaries toensure that Igbo land became landlocked, and sowed terrible seeds of dis-cord between Igbos and their neighbors,now known as the South-South states.Little wonder then that the SecondNiger Bridge is a big issue to the victors.Those who want to have more detailsshould Google the works of Ajie, UkpabiAsika, the first Governor of East CentralState.

Forty-five years after that war, thelong effect of the post-war policies arequite manifest in our everyday life. A fewexamples will help. First, the killing ofmainly Igbos and others in the North atthe least of provocations from the 1980scontinued unabated, till terror entered theNorth in 2008 and became Boko Haram.

Igbos were displaced in their thousands,but the Federal Government did nothingto help the internally displaced Igbo peo-ple. The late Chief MKO Abiola prom-ised Igbos reparation for the war destruc-tions during his political campaigns in1993, but unfortunately, all that died withhim later that year.

Second, many of Igbo naturalneighbours, with cultural links, found itpolitically and economically expedient todeny their Igbo origin, especially in Riv-ers State. The Ikwerres have common cul-tural links with Ndigbo, while OpoboKingdom has age-long relationship withIgbo land. Names like Amaechi, Nwike,Amadi, Nnochiri, Odili and many moreare all Igbo names. The war victors knowwho they really are and may never takethem serious, except as political instru-ments and pawns.

Third, the Federal Government start-ed the Federal Character policy in order

to spread things among the geo-politicalzones of the country, to promote unity,but the WAEC cut-off mark for admissioninto universities differ in favor of the vic-tors in the war. An Igbo student mustscore 75 marks, while his counterpartfrom Borno, Adamawa, or Sokoto isexpected to score 7 marks to enter thesame university.

These policies applied also in recruit-ment into the Federal Civil Service wherepeople are moved from state civil servicein the North to a level higher than wherethey were into the Federal Service to oc-cupy selective posts. Records also showthat Igbos constituted 51 percent of thearmy before that war, but the situationtoday is different as a result of post-warpolicies.

These inequalities aimed at holdingothers back, while the victors in the warcontinued to move, which were sweptunder the carpet by Igbos because theysimply wanted to survive and overcomethe effects and devastations of that warseem to have come to a stage where theyouths of Igbo land can no longer take it.

Expectedly, there are among Igbos thecheerleaders, sycophants and praise sing-ers of the Federal Government, and theyare the ones who refuse to think and pointNdigbo to the right direction. They puttheir pockets and ambition first beforeIgbo land, and are the ones who by theiravarice fuelled the wrong notion that ev-erything with the Igbo man is aboutmoney. I have stayed long enough in thiscountry to come to the realisation that theIgbo man does not need money more thanany other ethnic tribe in Nigeria. Thosewho killed their colleagues in militarycoups, wiped out villages and communi-ties for oil money and political power, lovemoney more than the Igbo man, and theyabound in most tribes of Nigeria.

While no one is begrudging the victorfor enjoying the spoils of war, these de-liberate lopsided policies culminated in

the agitation for Biafra, and heightenedunder this administration because of themethods of the APC government and theattitude of President Muhammadu Bu-hari towards Igbos.

The shape of Nigeria in the nextdecade will largely depend on the waythis administration handles the issue ofBiafra, given the existing challenges ofterrorism, Fulani herdsmen andkidnapping.

Some notable Nigerians have opinedthat Biafra is dead and buried, but thatcannot be correct because the pro-Biafraprotests in Nigeria have been taken toforeign lands; some are detained by theNigerian government over Biafra. If theIgbo youths are given the impression thattheir cause is dead and buried, it willsurely affect their attitude to any recon-ciliation plans and moves by government.

Some elites are of the opinion that theagitators should be ignored for whateverreasons, but that approach is exactly whatled to the spread of the agitations becauseagitators will continue to speak till theyare heard. If MASSOB was engaged bypast governments with the intention toaddress their grievances, IPOB wouldlikely not have emerged.

IPOB in the main, comprises youth whomay not have fought the war and are notinterested in how the war was executed,but are asking for a better Nigeria wherethe Igbo nation will not be emasculatedthrough deliberate political arrangementsby other ruling ethnicities as a result ofthat war.

If the civil war has ended, then let itend, and let us carry on as people of onenation with one destiny and equal op-portunities.

Time is ripe now for a rethink from allsides.

By Clement Udegbe

The fox agreed topay tortoise $3.19billion; what thesly partners couldnot agree on iswhether thismoney will beannual, biennialor one lump sum

The shape of Nigeriain the next decade willlargely depend on theway this administrationhandles the issue ofBiafra, given the exist-ing challenges of ter-rorism, Fulani herds-men and kidnapping

20—Vanguard, Vanguard, Vanguard, Vanguard, Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

CMYK

Requests galore aslaw makers engageLagosians

IT was a sharp but pleasantdeparture from the norm,

especially based on commonexperience. Indeed, members ofthe Lagos State House ofAssembly certainly took theirconstituents by surprise with anunprecedented constituencystakeholders meeting on TuesdayNovember 10, 2015. And moreremarkable is the fact that thereason for the meeting obviouslyappealed to the constituents, whoturned up for the programme towitness the fulfilment of apromise made to them.

It would be recalled that theSpeaker of the House,Mudashiru Obasa, had last Juneduring his inaugural speechassured Lagosians that theAssembly would involve them inits activities, especially in havingtheir inputs form part of the 2016budget. So, the constituencystakeholders meeting was anideal platform for the law makersto rub minds with the people andto listen with rapt attention asstakeholders across the 40constituencies requested forschools, roads, hospitals, etc.

Massivepublicity

Maybe the massive publicityhad something to do with it, thedesignated venues across the 40states constituencies in the State,including halls, open spacesand car parks, were already jam-packed before the 10am take-offof the programme, in spite of thefact that it was a work day.Indeed, Lagosians from Ikorodu,Epe, Lagos Island, Kosofe,Surulere, etc, trooped out to becounted, a development whichinadvertently created trafficcontrol challenges for officials.

This was particularly the casewhen Speaker Obasa met hispeople in Agege. Every availablespace was occupied, whilesecurity agents had a hectic timecontrolling the surging crowd.

The story was the same all overthe state as peopleenthusiastically took theirchances to ventilate theirfeelings. Of course, Obas, chiefs,various unions, traders,community developmentassociations, CDAs, youths,market men and women were notleft out; everyone had one thingor the other to say.

In his welcome address, Obasatold stakeholders the meetingwas unique as it was first of its

By Mike Ebonugwokind in the nation’s history,adding that the Lagos Assemblywas the first to hold such ameeting simultaneously acrossall the constituencies under itsjurisdiction. He said: “We arecollaborating with ourconstituencies to ensure that theimpact of government is felt atall levels and to reinvestigaterapid socio-economic projects,control of traffic, implementationof traffic laws, security andmaintenance of Law and order”.

He added that the intentionwas to oil the wheel of the socialcontract which the Assembly haswith the people, while arguingthat the state House of Assemblywas constitutionally empoweredto make laws for the peace, orderand the government of the state“by virtue of 1999 constitution ofthe federal Republic of Nigeria”(as amended).

He also stressed that this couldbe better appreciated against thebackdrop of the fact that theHouse of Assembly performsother functions, includingrepresentation oversight, checksand balances on the Executiveand Judiciary and more.

A pleasant fallout of the eventis Obasa’s disclosure that Agegewould soon be the beneficiary ofa flyover bridge at the Pen Cinemaarea of the constituency. This wasimmediately received with aresounding ovation as those inattendance applauded the happynews. This was obviously againstthe backdrop that a flyover at PenCinema would certainly alleviatethe prevailing traffic confusioncaused by riotous commercialactivities in the place.

The scenario was similar on theIsland as the Deputy Speaker,Wasiu Eshinlokun, toldstakeholders that the House ofAssembly was eager to know thedesire of the people for onwardtransmission to the Executive forimplementation.

The lawmaker was joined by theOba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akioluand All Progressives Congress,APC, leader, Prince TajudenOlusi. Akiolu could not hide hisjoy as he commended the LagosState House of Assembly forgiving the people a voice throughthe initiative.

It was a sentiment shared byOlusi, a veteran politician andleader of the APC in the LagosCentral Senatorial District, whocalled for more of such rapportbetween the Assembly and thepeople.

At Lagos Mainland, the hallwas almost filled to bursting pointas Oladele Adekanye, aka Lado,engaged his constituents on theirexpectations. He also used theopportunity to commend

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode forembarking on construction of over100 roads across the State. For former Nigerian BarAssociation, NBA, chief, Mr.Monday Ubani, the Lagos StateHouse Assembly deserves kudosin view of the timeliness, conceptand style of the stakeholdersmeeting. According to him: “ Iwant to commend the Lagos Assembly for holding thisexercise. All we are asking for atUNILAG estate, Isheri Magodois road construction and provisionof street lights”.

Speaking on the exercise, arights activist, Mr. MichaelOkezie, said the Assembly hasblazed the trail in participatorydemocracy. ‘’I want to commendthe lawmakers for the initiativebecause most of the time, we don’tget to have this kind of opportunityto talk to our representatives. Thatthe lawmakers therefore decidedto do this on their own shows aclear departure from our pastexperience. I therefore commendthem and hope that other state

legislatures will toe the same linefor the benefit of the people.’’

As part of the event, spokesmanof the Assembly, Tunde Braimohwho spoke at the LocalGovernment Health Centre hallMascara, Ketu was to giveeverybody present a form to fill intheir expectations fromgovernment, with two senior staffmembers of the House ofAssembly documenting thepeoples’ requests.

It was also praise galore forBraimoh as the event was comingto an end with Oba of Ketu, ObaIsiaka Balogun; APC leader inKosofe, Chief Stephen Oyedele;former chairman, Ikeja branch ofthe NBA, Mr Monday Ubani andmarket leaders leading the way.

Marketleaders

The Lagos State House ofAssembly was also commendedfor bringing about participatorydemocracy by networking withthose who voted them into office.It was more or less the sameexperience in all the otherconstituencies across the statewith eulogies flowing freely fromthose present in appreciation ofthis novel decision makingprocess.

One of the participants hadreason to specially commendSpeaker Obasa for the initiative.“I want to commend the speakerand other members for thisinitiative. This is a very importantexercise in view of its strategicimportance to us all as a people,’’he said.

In his response Obasa said: “Aslegislators of the State ofExcellence, I want to assureLagosians that we shall continueto do our best in the overallinterest of this state at all times,and I am happy we have started”.

Monarch of Oworoshoki, Oba Bashir Oloruntoyin Saliu, in a handshake with Bayo Oshinowo atKosofe I constituency meeting.

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, MudashiruObasa addressing stakeholders in Agege.

A pleasant fallout ofthe event is Obasa’sdisclosure that Agegewould soon be thebeneficiary of a flyoverbridge at the PenCinema area of theconstituency; this wasimmediately receivedwith a resoundingovation

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015 — 21

CMYK

Nigeria targets 80% local manufacturing inauto industryNIGERIA plans to raise the por

tion of local manufacturing in theautomotive industry to 80 percent as thecountry seeks to cut imports and diver-sify the economy away from oil, the in-dustry regulator said.

Nigeria currently imports “almost 100per cent” of vehicles, Luqman Ma-mudu, Director of policy and planningNational Automotive Council, said. De-veloping manufacturing and assemblyplants would create jobs and reduce the$9 billion annual cost of bringing in ve-hicles and components, he said.

Nigeria plans to assemble 500,000vehicles per year over the next fiveyears, compared with 10,000 units in2014, after awarding 36 companies a pro-

Naira falls on unofficial market onlimited dollar sales

duction license, Mamudu said. Glo-bal automakers now building capaci-ty include Japanese companies Hon-da Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co.,Ford Motor Co. of the U.S. and Hyundai Motor Co. of South Korea,as well as local carmakers.

President Muhammadu Buhari haspledged to diversify Nigeria’s oil-de-pendent economy, which has sufferedas crude prices plunged by more than50 percent since June last year. Eco-nomic growth is forecast to drop to 3.2percent this year from 6.3 percent in2014, the slowest pace since 1999, ac-cording to a Bloomberg survey ofeconomists.

Obstacles to the new auto making tar-gets include a lack of power and railinfrastructure, Ayo Teriba, chief exec-utive officer of Economic Associates Ltd.,an advisory firm, said. “It is wishful

thinking,” he said. “If you have to trans-port your inputs by trucks instead of rail,you won’t be competitive. We have to ren-der the business environment competi-tive.”

“The Nigeria government is committedto addressing the issue of rail and pow-er,” Mamudu said. The regulator will part-ner with operators to “develop specialistautomotive supply parks to ease set upchallenges” for manufacturers, he said.Nigeria will allow car producers to importtwo fully-built units at a discount duty of35 percent for cars and 20 percent for com-mercial vehicles for every one built local-ly, according to Mamudu. That compareswith the standard 70 percent tariff on im-ported cars, he said. Equipment used toassemble cars can be imported duty free,he said. Other incentives include a crack-down on vehicle smuggling and tax hol-idays for producers.

NAIRA fell 1.22 per cent against the dollar on the un-official market yesterday afternearly half of bureaux de changeoperators failed to secure dollarsat a central bank sale due to in-complete documentation, traderssaid.

The currency was quoted at N246against the dollar on the unofficialmarket, weaker than N243 the pre-vious day. On the official inter-bank market the naira, which hasbeen exchanging against the dol-lar since February, traded at198.97.

About 1,599 bureaux de changeagents out of 2,818 operators weredenied access to the foreign ex-

change sale yesterday, limiting dollarsupply, Aminu Gwadabe, president ofNigeria’s bureau de change associationsaid.

“The bureaux de change operatorswere denied access to the forex win-dow because of their failure to file doc-umentation backing previous purchas-es,” said Gwadabe.

The central bank last week asked allbureaux de change operators to submitaccounts showing their dollar usage atthe start of each week before they canaccess future sales, a move traders saywas aimed at curbing speculation. Theunofficial market accounts for less than5 percent of total dollar trades in Nige-ria. The bank sells around $30,000 toeach operator every week.

LCCI electsAkande aspresident

THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), has

elected Chief Dr. Mrs. Nike Akande,CON as President, to steer the ship ofthe foremost Chamber and take chargeof its affairs for the next two years. Thisfollowed the expiration of Alhaji RemiBello’s tenure of office, after he has mer-itoriously served the Chamber in thesame capacity for two years.

Muda Yusuf, Director General of theLagos Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry (LCCI) said: “Akande emergedas President after a duly conductedelection at the Chamber’s 127th AnnualGeneral Meeting held on Thursday 3rdDecember, 2015 at the CommerceHouse, 1 Idowu Taylor Street, VictoriaIsland, Lagos. Chief Dr. Mrs. NikeAkande, CON, a two-time Minister ofIndustry in Nigeria, is an astute board-room executive who has served theChamber previously in various capaci-ties such as Deputy President, Vice Pres-ident, Chairperson, Public Affairs Com-mittee, Chairperson, Financial &GeneralPurposes Committee among others.”

Muda Yusuf also added that, “Indeed,we are very pleased as Chief Dr. Mrs.

Nike Akande, CON assumes the role ofPresident of the LCCI. As a CouncilMember and a key Officer of the Cham-ber, she has brought her extensiveknowledge and experience to bear andhas provided inspirational leadershipand direction to the success of the Cham-ber. Her election will ensure and en-hance the Chamber’s role as leadingadvocate of best business policy andpractice, with the view to promoting andprotecting the interest of its members andthe business community at large.”

Chief Dr. Mrs. Nike Akande, CON isan Investment Expert and a Harvardtrained professional, who sits on theboard of many blue chip companies inNigeria. She is also the first female Pres-ident of the Harvard Business SchoolAssociation of Nigeria, the position sheheld between 2010 and 2012. Akande isan honorary Life Vice President of theNigerian Association of Chambers ofCommerce, Industry, Mines and Agri-culture (NACCIMA)

Chief Dr. Mrs. Nike Akande is set tobe formally inaugurated as President ofthe Chamber on Saturday 5th Decem-ber, 2015 at an Investiture Ceremonybilled to hold at the Grand Ball Room ofEko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island,Lagos.

$116.30 -0.60

$41.33 -0.52

$120.10 2.30

$3,312.00 -16.00

$15.55 0.21

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL

CBN Exchange Rate as at 03/12 /15

$43.92 -0.52

DOLLAR 195.97 196.47 196.97POUNDS 292.7456 293.4924 294.2392FRANC 191.1636 191.6512 192. 1389EURO 206.7408 207.2682 207.7956YEN 1.5892 1.5912 1.5953 CFA 0.2979 0.3079 0.3179WAUA 268.4933 269. 1784 269.8633RENMINBI 30.6351 30.7137 30.7923RIYAL 52.2291 52.3623 52.4955SDR 268.5004 269.1854 270.4989KRONA 27.7114 27.7821 27.9759

As a council member and akey officer of the chamber,she has brought her exten-sive knowledge and experi-ence to bear and has pro-vided inspirational leader-ship and direction to thesuccess of the chamber.

PRODUCT LAUNCH: From left: Joe Mbulu, Transformation Director, Union Bank Plc; Sen. Lekan Balogun,Osi Olubadan of Ibadan; Lola Cardoso, Head Strategy, Union Bank Plc, and Prof. Babatunde Salako, Provost,College of Medicine, UCH Ibadan, at the Unionkorrect product launch and unveiling of Union Bank, UCH andRank Road branches in Ibadan, Oyo State

22 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

CMYK

THE Securities and Exchange Commission

(SEC) said that about 75 percent of shareholders in theNigerian capital market haveenlisted for e-dividend pay-ment through the e-dividendportal recently introduced bythe Commission in conjunctionwith the Central Bank of Ni-geria.

The Director General ofSEC, Mr. Mounir Gwazor, toldVanguard that the Commissionhas also achieved 90 per centcompliance in the level of sharecertificates dematerialised inthe market to-date, while fulldematerialisation is being tar-geted by the end of the year.

In a bid to curtailed the ris-ing level of unclaimed divi-dend, which is put at over N60

By Nkiruka Nnorom

SEC achieves 75% complianceon e-dividend registration

billion, and facilitate e-dividend(electronic dividend) paymentfor shareholders, the SEC inconjunction with the CBN, theCentral Securities Clearing Sys-tem (CSCS) and the Nigeria In-terbank Settlement System(NIBBS) launched an e-divi-dend portal, e-Dividend Man-date Management System (e-DMMS) to make it easier forshareholders to register for elec-tronic dividend payment.

The portal allows sharehold-ers to upload the e-dividendmandate form as well as regis-ter and submit the forms onlinethemselves. The portal enablesgathering of shareholders’ datasubmitted online and once thedata are filled in the form,through the NIBSS system, theinformation will be generatedfor the purpose of know your cus-tomer (KYC). The form is then

submitted through theshareholder’s bank branch orregistrar.

Gwarzo stressed that inves-tors would be able to upload,fill and submit the e-dividendmandate form free of chargeduring the first three monthsof the exercise, while servicefee of N100 will be applicablethereafter.

“The deadline for people topay N100 is the next threemonths. What we did was toengage the CBN that sincethis is a new initiative; peopleshould be given a breathingspace. At the expiration of thethree months, whosoeverthat wants to upload the formwill pay a maximum of N100.

“This is aimed at ensuringthat people take the exerciseserious because if we don’t dothat, we will not be taken se-rious and we will not achieveour e-dividend objective,” heobserved.

Allaying fears associatedwith ease of securing themandate forms via share-holders’ bank branches,Gwarzo said: “I don’t thinkthere will be any problembecause the undertaking wehave with the CBN andNIBBS was also endorsed bythe Bankers Committee. Wehave an undertaking thatanybody that approaches anybank or registrar should begiven the form.

“The CBN has also comeup with a circular mandatingall banks to key into the ini-tiative. So, there should notbe any problem at all,” hesaid.

He explained that one ofthe challenges facing thecapital market is high cost oftransaction, saying that theCommission is looking atways of reducing cost andhopefully, that would be ef-fected by January, 2016.

BRIEFING:From left: Executive Commissioner, Legal and Enforcement, Securities andExchange Commission (SEC), Sa’Adatu Bello; Director General, SEC, Mounir Gwazor andDirector SIS (SEC), Abdul Zubairu at the post Capital Market Committee (CMC) press briefingin Lagos.

Winners emerge in the 2015 NSEessay competition

MISS Chiamaka LorettaNwajiaku from the Sa-

cred Heart College, Apapa,Lagos, has won 1st prize in the2015 NSE Essay Competition forSenior Secondary School Stu-dents. She emerged winnerahead of over 4,000 studentsacross the country, winningN500,000 in scholarship fund foruniversity education, N250,000worth of equity investment anda laptop. She was alsohonoured with a Closing Gong ceremony. Miss Vivian Aneke ofGovernment Day SecondarySchool, Gwagwalada, Abuja andMiss Kindness Jehu of All SaintsCollege, Gombe emerged firstand second runner up respec-tively.

Speaking at the awards cer-emony in Lagos, the CEO of theNigerian Stock Exchange (NSE),Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, noted thatthe Exchange is taking the leadin championing financial literacyand inclusion in Nigeria. “Since

it began in year 2000, the annual NSE Essay Competition hasinspired over 20,000 youngpeople in over 7,000 secondaryschools across Nigeria to show-case what they have learnedabout financial and capital mar-kets”.

Onyema expressed satisfactionwith the number of participantsof the 2015 NSE Essay Competi-tion stating that “This year, wehave been truly impressed by thequality of entries, pedigree ofschools and the diversity in thesubmissions. We believe that theimpact of this initiative is com-mendable as we continue to recordhigh levels of participation, in-creased interest and awarenessof the dynamics of the stock mar-ket”.

Delivering her keynote address,Mrs. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli,Founder, LEAP Africa, said“young people should learn totake responsibility and have a lifeof service.”

May & Baker seeks appropriateshare pricing

MAY & Baker Nigeria Plc hascalled for appropriate pric-

ing of its shares on the second-ary market of the Nigerian StockExchange (NSE) given thecompany's performance overthe years and its potentials in thehealthcare sector.

The Managing Director, May& Baker Nigeria Plc, Mr. NnamdiOkafor, who made this call said"Our share price is under-valuedconsidering the investment wehave made and the financial per-formance over the last five years."

While briefing the stockbrokersand management of the NSE dur-ing a facility tour at its ultra mod-ern factory in Ota, Ogun State,Okafor said: " Our shareholdersapproved N3.2 billion equity raisein 2013 Annual General Meeting(AGM) and we are consideringraising fresh capital to boost ourworking capital and facilities.However, we can only raise fundat an appropriate time when ourshare price would have appreci-ated reasonably. We don't knowwhy our share price is still low; itmay be as a result of our inabilityto communicate to investors andthe stockbrokers what we havebeen doing. As you can see fromthis factory, we have spent overN4 billion on pharmacentre. Themoney was partly borrowed frombanks and internally generatedand this has affected our work-ing capital."

Continuing, he said "May &Baker has potentials as a strongsub Saharan African brand. Acountry with huge population ofover 188.6 million people; biggesteconomy in Africa; strong GrossDomestic Product, GDP growth

rate of 6.5 per cent (2014) to fourper cent (2016) and vibrantworkforce with emerging middleclass has a lot to benefit from thesuccess of this our great com-pany."

According to him" Pharma busi-ness contributes 70 per cent of ourrevenue. So, to recapitalise thecompany would improve our abil-ity to compete in current andplanned businesses. The operat-ing environment keep affectingthe return on our investment aswe spend N400 million annuallyto provide electricity to power ourplants which runs 24 hours ondaily basis. Notwithstanding, wehope to fully leveragepharmacentre investment as subSaharan market is very big. Ourfuture is bright, strong with fun-damentals, equity and founda-tion."

In his remark during the tour,the Chief Executive Officer, NSE,Mr. Oscar Onyema, expressedsatisfaction with the level of in-vestment made by the company.

In his words: "I must commendthe management and Board ofMay & Baker for the world classplants and for sustaining the busi-ness for over 70 years. We com-mend you for the diversificationof your business and for the longterm investment strategy. The lowprice of your share is affected bythe general condition of the Ni-gerian economy. Be assured thatyour share price will go up oncethe economy picks up. This is be-cause the company has good fun-damentals, like your Price Earn-ing ratio is a good indicator toshow that the company has brightfuture.

Fidelity Bank donates to school, urgesyouths to embrace financial literacy

AS part of its long-standingcommitment to support

communities where it does busi-ness, Fidelity Bank Plc hasequipped the Information Com-munications Technology (ICT)Centre of Government Second-ary School, Mabushi, Abuja.

Working under the aegis of theFidelity Helping HandsProgramme (FHHP), one of thebank’s Corporate Social Respon-sibility (CSR) vehicles, staff ofAbuja 1 Bank financed the pur-chase of 10 brand new comput-ers and provided 10 years un-limited internet access to theschool. According to the lender,the provision of reliable broad-band internet access is the foun-dation required to convey per-sonalized, digital learning to ev-ery child in the country.

Speaking at the commissioningceremony, Managing Director/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc. NnamdiOkonkwo, said the gesture is stra-tegically aimed at building thecapacity of students, particularlyon the use of modern ICT tools.According to the bank hief, therenovation of the ICT Centre is

in fulfillment of the objectives ofthe Fidelity CSR practice whichrests on a tripod: the Environ-ment, Education and Health/So-cial Welfare.

He noted that Fidelity Bankstrives to reinforce robust, healthycommunity relations by identify-ing with host communities in ac-tivities that are most relevant tothem.

“We play a leading role by iden-tifying and seeking viable solu-tions to the problems of the soci-ety like youth empowerment,especially those in our immedi-ate operational environment.”

Okonkwo who was repre-sented by the Regional BankHead, Abuja 1 Regional Bank,Hassan Imam, explained thatthe country and humanity will bea better when every citizen, be itcorporate or individual plays hisrole effectively, “We strongly be-lieve in social advocacy; We alsobelieve that we should not sitand wait for government to do itall alone. We have as a result,extended similar projects and ini-tiatives to other states of the fed-eration.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—23

SON council approves NIS codefor motor vehicles

The governing council ofStandards Organisation ofNigeria, SON, has ap-

proved Nigeria Industrial Stan-dards (NIS) code for maximum roadspeed limit for motor vehicles in thecountry.

The approved NIS 775-Part 1 &Part 2 (Maximum Road Speed Lim-iters for Motor Vehicles – Part 1:Installed Requirements and Part 2:Specification for System and Com-ponent Requirements) were devel-oped by the National Electro tech-nical committee head by ProfessorEphraim Aneibona of Novena Uni-versity, Ogume, Delta State.

It will be was implemented by theFederal Road Safety Commission,effective from the first of April, 2016.

The Director General of SON, Dr.Joseph Odumodu, who disclosedthis in Lagos during a meeting ofthe Technical Committee for theconsideration of NCP 056: 2015

Guinness harps on reputation,quality

The reputation of our business is more important to

us than the financial benefits ofour investments,” Those werethe words of Guinness NigeriaPlc’s Managing Director, Mr.Peter Ndegwa .

Ndegwa, while reacting to therecent involvement of his com-pany on corporate fines by theNigerian government, said: “Iwanted to reinforce that in thisbusiness, Guinness Nigeriahad been in this country for aslong as this country had beenin independent.

“For more than 65 years, weare all about quality, our brandshave stood the test of time forthose number of 65 years andalso we have invested recentlyabout N52 billion to really up-grade our factories both in thebrewery side and in the pack-aging side which you can con-

firm here at Ogba Brewery, andwhether you go to the BeninBrewery, Aba Brewery, it is simi-lar.

“If you have minutes you havethe opportunity to see one of ourwarehouses within our brewerywhere we store our raw materi-als. You will be able to see ourproduction standards and pro-cesses; you will see an exampleof global standards around qual-ity.

“We take quality seriously be-cause for us, what is important is,the reputation of our business ismore important than the financialbenefits of our investments. Eventhough I’m new, two months oldin Guinness, I have worked in anumber of markets across Diageoand I can say for sure our busi-ness here runs at par with anymanufacturing concerns aroundthe world- whether it is in SouthAfrica, Kenya which is one of ourlargest plants.”

*Mrs. Dupe Atoki, Director General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC) middle), CPCDirector, Alhaji Aliyu Muhammad (right) and Mr. Obilo Edmund of Independent ServiceDelivery Monitoring Group (ISDMG) during the presentation of Certificate of Performanceto CPC as one of the 2014-2015 Fiscal Year Most Outstanding Public Institutions in Nigeriaby ISDMG, in Abuja.

Stories by Franklin Alli Code of Practice for Installation ofRoad Vehicle Speed Limiting De-vice, said: “PresidentMuhammadu Buhari has assentedto April 1, 2016 as the approveddate for enforcement of the speedlimiting policy for commercial ve-hicles.”

“In as much as the trend is notpeculiar to Nigeria, it is notewor-thy that a couple of Africa coun-tries have pioneered the imple-mentation of speed limiting poli-cies on the continent and have re-corded appreciable reduction inover speeding related roadcrashes.

“SON, as you know is in thebusiness of improving livesthrough standards. This has in-formed SON’s keen interest in thesuccess of the motor Vehicle SpeedLimiter Policy in Nigeria as initi-ated by the Federal Road SafetyCorps.

The Chairman of the TechnicalCommittee meeting, Professor

Ephraim Aneibona, said the Com-mittee was giving the draft docu-ment its final attention before it isimplemented early next year

He stated that they have beenworking on the draft policy for al-most two years.

“The policy is for the good of thecountry. It is something that we be-lieve should be installed becauseit will cut down the rate of acci-dents on the roads.”

Engr. Osawe Efosa Peter, CorpsCommander Corps Safety Engi-neering Officer, FRSC, Abuja,added that the Commission is look-ing at a maximum speed limit of100km/h for private vehicles on ex-pressway and 90km/h for commer-cial vehicles on the highway.

According to him, the introduc-tion of speed limits is in line withUN decades of Action which re-quires that we should halve ourcrash by 2020 and also the Sus-tainable Development Goals,SDGs, which also stipulates weshould reduce speed on our roads.

Breweries woo consumers with productsbenefits

FOR two consecutive years now, Nigerian Breweries Plc and

its parent’s company Heineken,have been educating people glo-bally and locally for them to knowthe good things in beer that theyare unaware of, and need to knowso that they can make an informeddecision whether to drink it or not.Globally, there are more than 450brands of beer; of this 250 are fromHeineken brewing plants world-wide and over 20 from NigerianBreweries.

In Nigeria, Nigerian Breweriesalone has raised 105 beer ambas-sadors or advocates to clear the badimages beer has and to tell its posi-tive sides. At the global level, beerfestivals are being held in countrieslike America, Barcelona, etc.

An investigation by Vanguardreveals that the 105 ambassadors

have been trained and re trainedby the brewer at its Beer Academyin Ibadan Brewery Plants between2014 and 2015.

These ambassadors are mediaprofessionals drawn from Health,Industry, Religion, Society, etc. Theyare using the power of their pen toconstruct the defense for beer in themind of existing and prospectiveconsumers.

Global, local scientists, nutrition-ists and other related experts feedthe ambassador with facts aboutbeer which they in turns, weavedinto stories for public consumption.

The Managing Director of Nige-rian Breweries, Mr. NicholaasVervelde, noted that even thoughbeer has been with us for thousandsof years, the appreciations of itsunique benefits are only beginningto grow.

“The knowledge about the ben-

efits of moderate consumption ofbeer is multiplying every day withso many empirical research find-ings from all over the world.

“As I noted last year, beer whenconsumed in moderation, can be asource of immense pleasure. Thecompany is resolved to telling therich and positive story of beer is tiedwith our strong commitment to thepromotion of responsible consump-tion. I call on all consumers to enjoybeer responsibly. As the HeinekenChairman and CEO said recently,it is important to make the point thatmisuse of alcohol is not cool,Vervelde said.

Mr. Tony Agenmomen, SeniorStrategy Manager, Nigerian Brew-eries, explained that the campaignis not just about a product or a brand,rather NB is pioneering the courseas the industry leader in Nigeria.

NBCC to build N450m plaza

BRIEFS

G. GLENTOS, a companybased in Thessaloniki in

Greece has introduced Kibo bul-let guarding facilities into theNigeria market.

In a statement, GeorgeOlufemi Ati-John, the companyrepresentative in Nigeria, saidthat Kibo antiballistic cabins isdesigned for the protection ofguards, police and other secu-rity personnel who guard build-ings, critical infrastructure, mili-tary sites, banks oil companiesand private individuals, etc.

According to him, the sole aimof the product is to provide itscustomers ultimate safety andpeace of mind and protection to

Kibo products make entry into Nigeria

Nigerian-British Chamber ofCommerce (NBCC) has

officially signed a contract for theconstruction of its N450 millionplaza.

The foundation stone for thePlaza was laid by GovernorAkinwumi Ambode of Lagos Stateat the chamber’s secretariat,Lekki Phase 1.

President NBCC, Prince DapoAdelegan , said when completed,the four-storey edifice will serve

as offices and conference centrefor the chamber and ease thedaily operations of the chamberand further strengthen its net-working capacity within and out-side the country.

Adelegan said: “NBCC is com-mitted to providing platforms tosimplify business dealings be-tween Nigeria and United King-dom and we are convinced theplaza will enhance trade relationswhen completed.”

carry out their duties effectivelythrough delivering impregnableand indestructible state of theheart bullet proof cabins.

“KIBO cabins are tested in bothlaboratory conditions and live fir-ing demonstrations. The steeland glass used in the manufac-turing of our product are testedin NATO registered and ap-proved laboratories to ensure thatthe materials comply with or ex-ceed the requirements of USNational institute of Justice (NIJ).All KIBO cabins comply with thenational institute of justice bal-listic standard level is higher,”said in a statement.

Stories by Naomi Uzor

Lucky Fibres Plc, manufacturers of Nobel carpets & rugs,

has been declared winner of theBest Industrial Premises for 2015by Manufactures Association ofNigeria (MAN) following the en-vironmental assessment of the fac-tory premises conducted by theassociation’s environmental com-mittee.

The award was presented to thecompany during the 48th AnnualGeneral Meeting (AGM) of MAN

Nobel Carpet bags Best IndustrialPremises Awards

Ikeja branch.According to the Chairman,

MAN, Ikeja Branch, Prince ObaOkojie, Lucky Fibres was able tomeet the requirements and crite-ria of the association committeeand has been awarded the goldmedal in recognition of its achieve-ment.

He explained that, adhering toenvironmental standards set byregulatory bodies was key to thesuccess of manufacturing compa-nies.

CMYK

24—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

Continues on page 25

BAYELSA DECIDES

By Samuel Oyadongha

BAYELSA: 24 hours to D-DayTWENTY candidates are vying to occupy the Creek Haven,Bayelsa State Government House as contained on the Independ-ent National Electoral Commission (INEC) list.However, the events of the last one month has shown that thegovernorship election holding this Saturday is a two horse racebetween the incumbent Governor Seriake Dickson of the PeoplesDemocratic Party PDP and Chief Timipre Sylva, a former governorof the state and candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

The rest of the candidates are mere contenders for the big pie onthe pages of newspapers, if they ever get mentioned in the news-papers or in the electronic or social media.Only one candidate would triumph at the end of the poll whichhas a total of 663,639 registered voters, about 52,000 higher thanthose who registered to vote in the last general election followingthe continuous voter registration exercise recently conducted byINEC

Jonathan’s politicalfuture

TOMORROW’s poll is goingto be keenly contested as it willalso decide the political futureand relevance of formerPresident Goodluck Jonathannot only in his homesteadBayelsa but also in the politicalequation of the country. It isan election many analysts areconvinced that the power ofincumbency may not count, dueto the overwhelming power ofthe central government.

Jonathan’s politicalsurvival, according toobservers of unfolding event inthe state, will be dependenton the success of his politicalgod son.

Many have argued that inspite of his eight years in thePresidency, the state and hisOgbia kingdom did not benefitfrom him except for some of hisclose associates.

Jonathan’s Ogbia kinsmen

known for their bloc vote inevery election are presentlydivided due to what some ofthem described as the neglectof his home front. “Many nowsee the election as a paybacktime not because of Dickson asan individual but because theyare angry that the Presidentneglected the state and theOgbia kingdom.”

Politicalaffairs

To an average PDP supporterin the state, it is unthinkablethe thought of defeat of PDPin the governorship poll.Anything contrary, may spelldoom for the status andpersonality of former PresidentJonathan.

“Another defeat at the homefront will literally signal theend of his domination in thepolitical affairs of the state,”said a concerned Bayelsan whospoke on condition of

anonymity.Since the tail end of 2005

when he became the governorof Bayelsa by a twist of fate,Jonathan has since then heldsway as a major power brokerin the state.

Considering his dispositionto things of life, Jonathan maynot attach much importance tothe outcome of the poll andcontinue with his life but thepolitical precedent it will createis definitely going to causechain reaction.

Seriake DicksonSome political analysts think

the incumbent governor ofBayelsa State is the favouriteto clinch the poll in spite of the

strong showings of the APCcandidate, Chief TimipreSylva. The Toru-Orua bornDickson, a former policeman/lawyer turned politician couldbest be described as agrassroots man having servedas one-time Legal Adviser ofthe apex Ijaw socio-culturalorganisation, the Ijaw NationalCongress, INC, a position thathas helped shaped his thinkingand placed him in plumposition to champion Ijawconsciousness. Today, the statecan boast of its own emblemand insignia like Lagos andOsun among others.

His recent community tocommunity meet the peoplecampaign which took him to allthe nooks and crannies of thestate has further endeared himto the rural people whoconstitute the bulk of the votingpopulation. Dickson, duringthe campaign tour, sometimespassed the night in these

•Dickson: PDP candidate•Sylva: APC candidate

•Siasia: PDM candidateTomorrow’s poll isgoing to be keenlycontested as it willalso decide thepolitical future andrelevance of formerPresident GoodluckJonathan not only inhis homesteadBayelsa but also inthe political equationof the country

CMYK

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—25

•Jonathan and Buhari: Their influence will be put to test

communities. The rural folkssaw in him a man they couldtrust for simply identifying withthem during his nearly onemonth tour as well as having aproject to show in mostcommunities visited. But hisdetractors believe that foralmost four years, he has nevervisited these communities, onlyto visit the down troddenbecause he now needs theirvotes.

Immediately Dickson wassworn in as Governor in 2012he swung into action withconstruction work everywhereand by his initial developmentstrides he became a folk heroamong the populace and oneof his aides nicknamed him the“countryman Governor”.

He claimed to have changedthe face of development in thestate with infrastructuredevelopment in education androads. But critics of hisadministration have decriedhis stringent fiscal policywhich according to them hasengendered poverty in theland. The argument of histraducers not withstanding,Dickson has repeatedly saidhis projects will speak for him.

Sylva: Sylva, a formergovernor and candidate of theAll Progressive Congress APCis banking on his popularityamong the youths and what hedescribed as his achievementswhen he held sway from 2007-2012. The APC candidate hasnever failed to cite his triple Epolicy of engagement,empowerment andenforcement which accordingto him helped restore peace inthe state during the hey daysof militancy in the Niger Delta.

He also continued with someof the projects inherited like theTower Hotel which he took fromthe first floor to the 18th floorwhere it has remained till date.

Internalroads

He also completed the IsaacBoro Park, which he inherited,he started and completed theKoki Diette Memorial Hospitalat Opolo and constructedseveral internal roads most ofwhich are impassable todaydue to structural defects andlack of maintenance.

But the sore point ofadministration was theexcesses of the state ownedsecurity outfit, OperationFamou Tangbe accused ofabuse of human rights andalleged extra judicial killings.

Yenagoa: Yenagoa LGA,which host the state capital hasthe highest number ofregistered voters for the poll.Here the PDP and APC canboast of quality anddependable strategists. Thevictorious party in the councilarea will most likely be thatwhose foot soldiers are able to

Continues from page 24

march out more registeredvoters. The council area has alarge mix of non-indigeneswho operate privatebusinesses. The non-indigenesmay not be moved by thesentiments of patronage that iscounting for Sylva.

Interestingly, Yenagoa ismade up of severalcommunities where the chiefsand political leaders to a largeextent determine the votingpattern in the area in everyelection.

The senator representing theCentral Senatorial District,

Emmanuel Paulker of the PDPis from the council area.Though Paulker was known tobe at loggerhead with theincumbent governor, adevelopment that led to mostof his supporters to defect tothe APC, it was howevergathered that the formerPresident, who is a cousin tothe senator had secretlybrokered peace between them(Paulker and Dickson) to wardoff the looming threat from theAPC.

The PDP also boasts of young

grassroots’ elements such asthe state commissioner forinformation and orientation,Barrister Esueme Dan-Kikile,who incidentally has remaineda committed party membersince 1999. He was a one timeYouth Leader and the statePublicity Secretary of the party.He is widely loved by hisAtissai kinsmen especially theyouths due his generosity andunassuming lifestyle. There isalso Sobre Appah, from theAtisaai stock, fondly called the‘godfather or Adedibu ofYenagoa’ due to his vast

experience as a grassrootsmobiliser. Barrister OsomMakbere, the PDP PublicitySecretary from the Epie axis ofYenagoa is another influentialvoice in his area who many ofthe youths love and look up toas their role model. The PDPalso has Hon Bob Mcmannuelof the State House of Assemblyand several other politicalaides of the state governor whohave been mandated to delivertheir respective units.

The APC on the other handhas former Speaker and ActingGovernor, Werinipre Seibaruguto swing the votes in theEkpetiama axis of Yenagoa infavour of the APC.

There is also, Chief DiekiveIkiogha, a former Chief of Staff,Government House whoplayed a major role in theemergence of Dickson asgovernor of the state before theyfell apart. Ikiogha has theresources to swing the votesin his Kpansia area in favourof the APC. There also ChiefGodsknow Powell who can helpdivide the Agudama-Epie votesin the direction of the APC.

Kolokuma-Opokuma LGA -39, 748 votes: Kolokuma-Opokuma LGA is the smallestcouncil area in the centralsenatorial district and the state.In spite of its small size andpopulation, the area boasts ofsome political bigwigs such as former Managing Director ofthe Niger Delta DevelopmentCommission (NDDC) Mr. TimiAlaibe of the APC.

Megarally

His appearance at the APCmega rally last Tuesday and theunderground politicking ofmany other APC faithful in thearea may swing the vote in thedirection of the party. There isalso Indutimi Komonibo, aformer commissioner forscience and technology andmanpower development whoresigned his appointment topitch tent with the APC.

But the PDP on its part isconfident that the projectsexecuted by the governor likethe new Boro town, burial of theremains of late Major IsaacAdaka Boro at the Heroes Parkin Yenagoa after it wasexhumed from the Ikoyicemetery in Lagos, 34yearsafter his death, the YouthDevelopment Centre and theSports Academy at Asoama andthe NYSC PermanentOrientation Camp amongothers would swing the votesin its favour in the arearegarded as the cradle of Ijawand Niger Delta struggle.

The party also hasdependable politicians like themember representing Yenagoa-Kolokuma-Opokuma FederalConstituency in the House ofRepresentatives, Douye Diri,the council chairman,Gbaranbiri Iselema and Hon

Continues on page 26

BAYELSA:

24 hours to D-Day

IT would be an epic battlefor votes in the eight

local government areas of thestate where the foot soldiersand leaders of the rival partieswill have to bring to bear theirpopularity and adroitness insecuring votes for theirprincipals.

Interestingly, the BayelsaCentral Senatorial District hasthe highest number ofregistered voters totalling300,352. A breakdown of thefigure in the zone shows thatSouth Ijaw local governmenthas 120,827 and Yenagoa LGA139,777 while Kolokuma-Opokuma has 39, 748.

Southern Ijaw council area isa known flash point duringelections. The area was alsoknown for hosting the highestnumber of militant camps at theheight of militancy in the NigerDelta.

Personalities that may swing the votesWhichever party can

dominant the vote cast in thecentral district is likely to winin terms of votes. Both the PDPand APC have array ofpersonalities in the zone.

The PDP assault team includeamong others, the Speaker ofthe State House of Assembly,Benson Kombowei fromKorokrosei community, thechairman of the council area,Elder Remember Ogbe fromthe Amassoma flank anotherbig community and home townof the first civilian governor ofthe state, late Chief DiepreyeAlamieyeseigha, a staunchedsupporter of Governor Dickson.

There is also Chief PatrickOsunu fondly called “Patos” byhis admirers, a former chairmanof the council area and veryinfluential figure from Otuanclan. There are also pockets of

ex militant leaders from thearea who command respectamong their community folks.

The APC on the other handhas Elder Wilberforce Igiri,running mate to Timipre Sylva.Though a reserved and anunassuming retired schoolprincipal from Forupa on theAtlantic of the council area, hischoice as running mate toSylva will no doubt swing the votes in favour of his party inthe area. The biggest asset ofthe APC in the area is itschairman, Chief TiweOrunimighe, a formerchairman of the council, whommany had thought would bepicked as running mate toSylva. The party also boasts oflarge number of ex militantswho command the respects ofthe youths in their variouscommunities as loyal members.

CMYK

26— VANGUARD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

Tonye Isenah of the StateHouse of Assembly to count on.

Bayelsa West – 171,016registered voters: The westsenatorial district of the statewhich is made up Ekeremorand Sagbama council areas isthe senatorial district of theincumbent governor, Dicksonand the Minister of State forAgriculture, SenatorHeineken Lokpobiri.

Ekeremor LGA - 83,774Registered Voters: EkeremorLGA which has 83,774registered voters is anotherarea that is prone to electionviolence. It is not surprisinggiven that the area has an arrayof political juggernauts withSenator Lokpobiri among themost prominent.

Lokpobiri, a dogged fighterwas the pioneer Speaker of theBayelsa State House ofAssembly who is expected tolead other APC chieftains tooutwit the likes of PDP stalwartsincluding the Director-Generalof the Restoration CampaignOrganisation of GovernorDickson, Hon. Fred Agbedi whois the current memberrepresenting Sagbama-Ekeremor federal constituencyin the House ofRepresentatives.

Agbedi will also be assistedby the likes of Hon.Peremobowei Ebebi, a Prince ofAleibiri kingdom and formerDeputy Governor of the Stateand former Speaker of the stateHouse of Assembly, BoyelayefaDebekeme.

Influence inthe council

Dr. Rachael Dickson, the wifeof the governor, is also from thecouncil area. They are expectedto act as check on Lokpobiri’sinfluence in the council areaand split the votes.

Sagbama LGA – 87,242votes: This is the home councilof the state Governor, Hon.Seriake Dickson and it has87,242 votes for grabs makingit the third highest populatedlocal government area in thestate. It was the council areawhere the rival APC flagged offits governorship campaign, anevent that attracted a hugecrowd of supporters.

Political observers haveargued that the struggle tosecure appreciable votes isdependent on the hard work ofthe APC stalwarts in thecouncil.

Dickson will be assisted bymost of his retinue of aides fromthe council area including thethree members of the StateHouse of Assembly and theDeputy Chief of Staff. Also inthe governor’s camp is theSenator representing Bayelsa

Continues from page 25

BAYELSA: 24 hours to D-Day

West Senatorial district, SenatorFoster Ogola and ChiefAyakeme Whisky anotherformidable grassrootspolitician.

On the other hand, the APChas in its fold the formerSpeaker and Acting Governor,Nestor Binabo, the formerChairman of the council andmember of the APC Board ofTrustee, Perez Peretu, formerSecretary to the StateGovernment, AmbassadorFelix Oboro, an experiencedgrassroots politician, formermember representingSagbama-Ekeremor federalconstituency Dr. Stella Dorguand others.

BAYELSA EAST Nembe/Brass/Ogbia: The threecouncils in the Bayelsa East

Senatorial district with a votingpopulation of 192,271 haveformidable gladiators includingthe state’s Deputy Governor,Rear Admiral GboribioghaJohn Jonah (rtd) and the APCflag bearer, Chief TimipreSylva. Former PresidentGoodluck Jonathan is also fromthe senatorial district.

John Jonah will be assistedby the likes of former SenatorBarigha Nimi-Amange, amaster strategist andgrassroots politician fromNembe, James Jephthah(Nembe), Senator. Ben MurrayBruce (Brass), the ActingChairman of the PDP SerenaDokubo- Spiff, the Director ofMedia and Publicity ofDickson’s campaign team,Hon. Jonathan Obuebite andSylva’s former campaign fieldmarshal, Chief George Fente.There is also Senator InatimiRufus-Spiff and Bemo Spiff.

The APC candidate, TimipreSylva also has a formidableteam including the only APCmember in the State Assembly,Hon. Sunny Igoli and theDeputy Director General of hiscampaign team, LionelJonathan-Omo. The party ishowever banking on the factthat since its candidate Sylvais from Okpoama on the Brassisland the people would rallytogether to vote for him as a sonof the area.

•Yakubu, INEC Chairman: Faces another litmust test

Political observershave argued thatthe struggle tosecure appreciablevotes is dependenton the hard workof the APCstalwarts in thecouncil

SINCE the return to civil rulein 1999 the PDP has been the

dominant party in thepredominantly riverine state. Itwas the contention of analyststhat if the 1999 election had heldsimultaneously in the state likethe rest of the country, the APPcandidate, Chief FrancisDoukpola would have won thepoll given the latter’s popularity.But the Kaiama declaration andits attendant youth restiveness ledto the postponement of election,a development that worked infavour of the PDP.

When the election waseventually conducted the PDPhad captured the centre and theother South South states, and fora young state starting from thescratch, it was reliably gatheredthat the elders and elite resolvedthat it was in the best interest ofthe state to align with the centre,a development said to haveswung the pendulum in favourof the PDP candidate, late ChiefDiepreye Alamieyeseigha whohad picked the then unknown Dr.Jonathan as his running mate.

Since then the state had beena PDP fortress as winning theparty primary is as good asclinching the poll.

In 2003, Alamieyeseigha of thePDP again triumphed at thegovernorship after surviving theTimi Alaibe scare at the partyprimary. He however did notcomplete his tenure as he was impeached in a controversialcircumstance by the state houseof assembly over alleged grossmisconduct.

It was yet another bandwagoneffect in the 2007 when Sylvaaccidentally got the party tickethaving emerged a distant secondat the party primary with a paltry34 votes and went on to win thegovernorship poll following theelevation of Dr. GoodluckJonathan who had earlier wonthe ticket as Vice Presidentialcandidate of the party.

However Sylva’s ambition ofseeking re-election in 2012despite winning the partyprimary earlier conducted wastruncated following a complex

Past governorship contests

power play allegedlyorchestrated by former PresidentJonathan.

Dickson, with the backing of theformer President won the partyticket and coasted home to victoryat the poll.

The scenario is howeverdifferent this time as the PDP isfor first time is facing a formidablechallenge from the oppositionparty at home which incidentallycontrols the centre, a twist of fatethat has bolster Sylva’sconfidence and that of hissupporters that there is a silver lining in the sky for their party.

Alamieyeseigha (1999 to 2005)as the first civilian governor ofthe state though had his ownshort comings, he laid thefoundation of modern Bayelsawhich his predecessors havebuilt upon. Most of the projectsin Yenagoa, the state capital likethe dualisation of the Mbiama-Yenagoa road, the 500 bedhospital, reclamation of the vaststretch of land now hosting thePeace Park, the Judiciary complexamong others were done by hisadministration.

Goodluck Jonathan (2005 to2007) held sway for eighteenmonths as governor following theimpeachment ofAlamieyeseigha. He built onmost of the projects started by hiserstwhile boss and also initiatedhis own projects before he waselevated as Vice Presidentialcandidate thereby paving theway for Timipre Sylva.

Timipre Sylva(2007 to 2012)Sylva continued with some of

the projects inherited like theTower Hotel which he took fromthe first floor to the 18th floor,he also completed the Isaac BoroPark, which inherited, the KokiDiette Memorial Hospital andseveral internal roads amongothers. But the sore point ofadministration was the excess ofthe state owned security outfitOperation Famou Tangbeaccused of alleged extra judicialkillings.

•Alamieyeseigha •Jonathan

•Sylva •Dickson

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—27

THE Kogi governorshipelection has not been short

of drama, intrigues andconstitutional logjam. The dramaof the impending loss by anincumbent governor, Capt. IdrisWada of the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP was overshadowed bythe controversial death of theleading candidate in thegovernorship election, Prince Abubakar Audu of the AllProgressives Congress, APC.Audu was believed to have diedbefore the election results wereannounced but news of the deathwas not made public until shortlyafter the election was declaredinconclusive.

However, the timing of Audu’sdeath was believed to have beenpoliticized as family sourcesclaimed the late politician diedin the early hours of Sunday,November 22, 2015. Analystsbelieved his death was hiddento ensure the election became“inconclusive” and give a sectionof the country some politicalmileage for substitution.

The Independent NationalElectoral Commission wouldn’taccept such insinuations, as itclaimed elections in the affectedareas were legitimatelycancelled.

With the dust surrounding thereplacement of the late Prince

KOGI: How Bello, Wada 'll share49,989 votes

THE Court of Appeal, AbujaDivision was the cynosure

of many political stakeholdersfrom Kogi State last Wednesday,December 2, 2015. It was the daythe court gave judgment on allthe three appeals on the Senatecontests in Kogi State.

All three APC senators whowere declared winners of the elec-tion by the Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEChad been dragged to the tribu-nal on the common ground thatthe party did not conduct prima-ries prior to the 2015 generalelections as against the grains ofthe law.

nated. The same judgment wasdelivered between Sen. Ohiareand Hon. Ogembe of the PDP.

Coming to Kogi West, the tideschanged. The breeze around theocean suddenly turned hot asMelaye was declared to havebeen the winner of the Kogi Westcontest, a situation that has puz-zled political pundits and judi-cial record keepers.

The decision of the Court ofAppeal to nullify the election ofthe two other senators elected onthe same basis has now raisedfocus on the judgments.

The Dino escape is, however,not the only one. It is on recordthat a number of House of As-sembly members who won elec-tions on the platform of the APChad their elections nullified bythe Election Tribunals in Lokoja.Some of the APC legislators whoscaled the Lokoja hurdles arecurrently facing the heat at theAppellate Tribunal in Abuja overthe same issue.

ALL eyes are on today’s pronouncement of a Federal HighCourt sitting in Abuja on the outcome of penultimateSaturday’s governorship election in Kogi State. How thecourt rules would determine whether or not tomorrow’sscheduled supplementary election to conclude theNovember 21 governorship election go ahead.

•Idris: PDP candidate

By Kingsley Fanwo Abubakar Audu settling, attentionis gradually shifting to thesupplementary poll which will beheld across 91 polling units in

•Bello: APC candidate

19 Local Government Areas of thestate. Only Mopamuro andYagba East Local GovernmentAreas would not be having arerun. The supplementaryelection will feature the 22political parties and theircandidates which participated inthe main election of November21, with the only exception beingAlh. Yahaya Bello, who is the newcandidate of the APC.

As expected, the contest will be

a direct battle between Bello ofthe APC and Wada of the PDP.

How they StandKOGI EAST – 37,980Though Kogi East senatorial

zone has just about half of thetotal number of registered votersin the state, the zone, however,more than two-thirds of thecancelled votes came from thearea. The reason is mainlybecause the two major

candidates Audu and Wada arefrom the area and hence thestrong battle and intrigues thatled to the disproportionatecancellation of the votes in thearea.

Of the 49,989 votes at stake,Kogi East still boasts of 37,980votes, representingapproximately 76 percent of thevotes. With Wada remaining theonly hope of the East retainingpower, it would not be surprisingif he clears almost all the votesin the area.

However, with just about 25,000of the 37,980 registered votershaving Permanent Voter Cards,PVCs, Wada’s ability to narrowthe 41,000 gap between him andthe late Audu is much limited.Even more, voter turnout amongthe 25,000 PVC holders may notbe more than 60% giving him amaximum of about 15,000 votes.

It is this projection that mayhave compelled Wada and thePDP to favour the court action ofhaving INEC declare him winneron the basis of the fact he is thecandidate with the highestnumber of votes among the livingcandidates.

Going by the acrimony whichgreeted the choice of Bello,pundits are not giving him muchchance to pull strings in the zone.

KogiCentral

Kogi Central with 4,619 votesoutstanding is expected to bemopped up by Bello being hisstronghold. He hails from Agassain Okene Township. Kogi Centralis expected to do what is knownas “solidarity ballot” in politicalcircles to ensure power shifts tothe central. The APC is highlyfavoured to win convincinglyhere. Kogi West will be asunpredictable as it has alwaysbeen, politically, since the SecondRepublic. The 7,390 votesexpected here, representing 15percent of the total number ofsupplementary votes, may split.

While many will vote in favourof power shift, others are bitterthat Faleke, an Okun man wasdenied of clinching the ticket ofthe APC. Faleke was the runningmate of the late Prince AbubakarAudu.

His decision to drag the partyto court as well as his refusal tobe running mate to Yahaya Bellomay have political implicationsfor the APC in Kogi West. But ifa threat by the PDP to boycott thepoll is anything to go by, INECmay have no choice than to goahead with the election.

However, it is unlikely that theAPC will lose the election. Theparty needs only 5000 votes fromthe available 49,989 to triumph.Except the unusual happens,Bello may be sworn in as the nextgovernor of the state on January27, 2016.

There is no doubt that the PDPwill pursue the case in the courtsand tribunal to ensure that itscandidate, Idris Wada is declaredwinner of the election. The Kogipoll will dominate the politicalspace for a long hug.

While the case against SenatorDino Melaye, Kogi West was dis-missed at the lower tribunal, theduo of Mohammed Ohiare andAbdulrahman Abubakar had suf-fered defeats at the lower tribu-nal.

With the prevailing breeze ofunease, the December 2 judg-ments were expected to decidethe fate of all three embattledSenators. The election that pro-duced Sen. Abdulrahman (Rail-way) of Kogi East was finally nul-lified and another election wasordered by the Appeal Courtwithin 90 days. Remarkably, APCwas disqualified from contestingthe bye election as its candidateab initio was improperly nomi-

KOGI SENATE SEATS:Uncommon appeal judgments

By Kingsley Fanwo

THE election petition case against the three senators from KogiState came to the last bus-stop last Wednesday. In a commoncase of failure of the APC Senators to subject themselves toparty primaries before election, two of the senators had theirelections nullified and their party barred from the rerun, whileSenator Dino Melaye smiled away with the dismissal of the caseagainst him.

CMYK

Reigning Mr. Nigeria2014 and Shuga act,

Emmanuel Ikubese hasexplained the idea behind thesetting up of pet project,Respect A Woman, (RAW),saying it was due to his desireto promote a violence-freesociety.

Ikubese recently launchedthe pet project under hisf o u n d a t i o n , E m m a n u e lIkubese Foundation.

According to him, the projectis a domestic violenceawareness against women inthe society.

He said, “My vision is to seemen make this pledge toRespect A Woman and applythem in their relationships.For Women in such violentRelationships its high timethey Run Away from thisdeadly act. Project R.A.W’sgoal is to inform victims thatthey are not alone and that it’snever too late for them to takea stand against this injustice”.

On how he conceived theidea, Ikubese said, “It startedwhile I was in the university. Ihad a lot of female friends andI saw their pains. Every time,they would complain to mehow they were beaten up bytheir boy friends and I do visit

them often to counsel them. Ijust taught about that andI told myself that if thereis any societal ill I wouldlike to tackle, it would bedomestic violence.”

Speaking further, Mr.Nigeria said, the passionto embark on this

campaign was alsofuelled after he

worked withMTV onSHUGAw h i c hcreatedawarenesso ndomesticviolence.

28—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

CMYK

AWARD-winning RnBsuperstar,Dare Art-

Alade alongside SouthAfrica’s media personality,Bonang Matheba are boundto be the cynosure of attractionas Africa’s biggest youthevent, The Future AwardsAfrica,TFAA, holds thisSunday, in Lagos.

The organizers during theweek, named the twocelebrities as hosts for thisyear’s edition of the awardsceremony. The event holds atthe Intercontinental Hotel,Victoria Island, Lagos. It willbe headlined by two of the

I am excitedreturning onTFAA stage— Darey

••as D’banj, DiamondPlatnumz headlineSunday’s show

By Benjamin Njoku

continent’ssuperstars,DiamondPlatnumza n dD’ban j .B o t hartistesare alumni of the awards -D’banj was Young Person ofthe Year 2007, while Diamondwon the Prize inEntertainment 2014.

The hosts, according to the

organizers,represent

the best ofyoung Africansfrom across thecontinent, andwill bepresenting the10th yearcelebrations ofTFAA in grand

style. Darey returns as a hostafter first hosting in 2009.

Darey just released his 4th

studio album ‘#Naked’,highlighting a career at the

top of songw r i t i n g ,

p e r f o r m i n g ,running a music label and

hosting West Africa’s mostprestigious events.

“The Future Awards Africais Africa’s biggest youth eventbecause consistently for

10 years they havecelebrated efforts of youthsacross the continent,” Dareysaid, adding “It’s an honourto be part of this landmarkcelebrations, and I am excitedto be back on the TFAA stage!”

“I am excited to be comingto Nigeria for The FutureAwards Africa,” saidMatheba, who is also the firstinternational brandambassador for Revlon. “Thisis an exceptional platformtelling Africa’s story in aunique, impactful way. YoungAfricans see thesenominees andwinners and havebeen inspired overthe past 10 yearsto to act right, toget involved andto live theirdreams to thefullest.”

Ikubese opens upon what inspired

his pet projectBy Anozie Egole

EME record boss, Banky W during theweek issued a fraud alert to his fans,

informing them that he’s no longer active onFacebook.

The RnB singer revealed that he’s only active onInstagram, Twitter and Snapchat. In recent times,

many Nigerian stars including Yemi Alade, Psquare,Reekado Banks, Flavour among others have all issued

similar warnings and scam alerts.According to Banky W, ‘I am only on Instagram

(@BankyWellington), twitter (@BankyW) andsnap chat (@BankyWellington). I’m no

longer on Facebook. Any FB accountasking you for money for anythingis completely fake and a fraud,” hewarned.

Not long ago, actress StellaDamasus closed all her Facebookaccounts following the activitiesof impersonators who werebusy swindling suspectingfans of their hard earnedmoney through the accounts.

According to her, shepreferred to shut down theaccounts, than for her fansto be cheated.

Banky W closesFacebook account

* B o n a n gMatheba

DareArt-Alade

* D a r eArt-Alade

*Emmanuel Ikubese

I want to make careerin music — Honey K

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—29

Hilarious ‘LAPD AfricanCops’ hits cinema

A HOLLYWOOD- Nollywood film, LAPD

African Cops, has extendedthe frontiers of comedy in bothclimes. A production of TheAtuma Brothers InternationalCompany (TABIC), LAPD is ahilarious comedy based on astereotypical behaviouralreality.

It is a story of two Africanswho came to the United Statesof America and joined the LosAngeles Police Department(LAPD). They werecommissioned and deployedto the streets of Los Angeles,but rather than employ theLAPD rules and regulations tojudge the American streets;they decided to rule thestreets usingAfrican culture,norms andvalues.

Shot in theUnited Statesand distributedin West Africaby SilverbirdF i l mDistribution,LAPD AfricanCops willpremiere atthe SilverbirdG a l l e r i a ,V i c t o r i aI s l a n d ,Lagos, today,while itwould hit thecinemas across the countrythe same day.

Produced by Dr. OscarAtuma and Pascal Atuma, co-

produced by Ime Etuk andwritten and directed by PascalAtuma, the film reflects thecultural differences betweenthe Americans and African-Americans. It tends to closethe gap between African-Americans and Africans,giving hope that the chains ofthe past will someday bebroken, and humanity will seeeach other as one.

LAPD African Cops paradesHollywood and Nollywoodstars including Vanessa BellCalloway (Eddie Murphy’sComing To America), Luenell(Borat), Dorien Wilson (TheParkers), Brian Hooks (Eve’sShow), Mari Morrow (OneLife To Live), Jaszmin Lewis

(Barbershop),a n dT r i n aMcgee(FridayA f t e rN e x twith IceCube).

Othersare BlessB r o w nV e r a( S e x yBoy InAmerica),Tonya LeeWilliams(Young &Restless),C a r y n

Wa r d - R o s s ( T h eGame), and Pascal and OscarAtuma (My American Nurseand Okoto the Messenger).

A night of soulful musicas Bez storms Kazbah

SMOOTH 98.1FM hasset itself apart as the best

curators of contemporaryAfrican sounds as itorganizes a concertt a g g e d#AnightAtTheKazbah’featuring multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and composer,Bez, Ruby Gyang, Kunle Ayoand Brymo.

Sponsored by GuarantyTrust Bank, the concert isbilled to hold on Saturday,December 12.

According to the organizer,“Kasbah” is originally a wordused to describe a part of acity, a fortress of sorts whereyou can find all types ofthings, and from this concept“The Kazbah” of Smooth98.1was born. This is a culturalexperience of Music fromacross Nigeria, Africa and theworld, which makesANightAtTheKazbah the next

step int h eevolutionarychain of how youexperience themusic andCulture of Africa and theworld.

“The experience you get onthe Kazbah is global, but it isalso very personal, bringingyou closer to special peopleand their stories. Everymonth, the Kazbah is at thevanguard of the station’samazing array of programs inshining the spotlight on a

special artiste, whose music ischampioned across all shows,building up to the highlightof an in-depth interview onthe Kazbah at the end of themonth. And the artistesperforming at this specialfusion of authentic Nigeriansounds concert are noexception.”

H I Sr e a l

name isAnthony Ekpo;

but friends and fanscall him Honey K in

recognition of his nightingalelike voice. And in appreciationof that singular honour, hehas adopted it (Honey K) ashis stage name.

This, in a nutshell, is theopening stanza of the story ofthis young musician who isstriving to climb his way upthe very competitive globalmusic industry. And as a markof hard work andperseverance, Honey K has,all in his own, been able tochurn out some songs with

which he is bound toexhale given the depthof creativity he hasdeployed into them.

“Yes, my name isAnthony Ekpo but Idecided to use thename, Honey K as mystage name. Some of

the people who havelistened to mymusic say that Ihave a sweet voice,some say that Ihave a honeyvoice, so I decidedto go for the nameHoney. And I justadded the K to it. Ithink the name has

been catching on,” hesaid when asked to tellthe story behind thename.

The young manwhose music hassome Africanflavour and deep

lyrics was quick to disclosethat he is a total musicianbecause he can also sing Hip-hop and reggae dancehall.

According to him, heventured into the world ofmusic in 2012; although, heknew all his life that he couldsing. It never occurred to himthat he can make a living as amusician until 2012 when heput some money together andstepped into the studio torecord some of his songs, oneof which is in his nativeAnnang dialect of the peopleof Akwa Ibom State whereSenate Minority Leader and

Former Governor of the state,Obong Godswill Akpabio,hails from and which heboasted will blow the mind ofany Annang man or womanwhen it is finally released.Now in the studio perfectingthe songs that will appear inhis single and also editing hisvideo, Honey K said thatpaucity of funds have beenhis greatest challenge.

Sean Tizzle excites students at Etisalat career counselling day

IT was a wonderful timefor the hundreds of

students who attended therecently held 14th sessionCareer Counselling Dayhosted by Etisalat Nigeria, asthey were treated to livethrilling performances byNigerian-born afro-pop act,Sean Tizzle.

The ‘Sho lee’ crooner, clad

in white top and black jeanpant, was an instant hit withthe students who could nothide their excitement atcoming face-to-face with himand sought to touch him. Theydemonstrated this by singingalong as he performed severalsongs from his worksincluding his debut single“Sho Lee” which has enjoyed

massive play time on radioand TV since it was releasedin 2013.

Sean Tizzle’s soaringpopularity appears to havebroken the age barrier andnow resonates with the elderlyas some of those in attendanceat the event also joined thestudents in the excitement.

It was not however, all funfor the students as Sean Tizzlereal name MorihanfenOluwaseun Oluwabamidele,took out time to task thestudents on reaching theutmost height of theirpotentials. He enjoined themto strive to recognise theirstrengths and work hard atmaximizing such.

In a related development,Etisalat has reiterated itscommitment to nationaldevelopment usingsustainable CSR platformssuch as health, environmentand education which hedescribed as very key.

*Sean Tizzle entertaining the students at the event

30—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

Yudala achieves first drone delivery in Nigeria

ELECTRONICS’ lovers allover the world are still

in awe of LG’s novel Door-in-Door refrigerators but the com-pany does not seem to be restingon its oars as it launched the firstDual Door-in-Door refrigerator.The Dual Door-in-Door makesuse of LG’s award-winningdoor-inside-refrigerator-doorconcept, doubling convenienceover its single Door-in-Door counterparts. Powered by LG’sInverter Linear Compressor, therefrigerator is energy efficient,runs quietly, and will be a dura-ble, long-lasting addition to anykitchen.

Long lastingaddition

The refrigerator’s Door-in-Doordesign reduces the amount ofcold air that escapes by up to 47percent. With the addition of asecond independent Door-in-Door compartment, cold air lossis further reduced. This meansthat foods stored in the refriger-ator ’s door compartmentsremains fresh for longer periodsof time.

“Understanding consumerneeds is at the forefront of ourminds when we create new LGproducts,” said Hyunwoo Jung,General Manager, Home Appli-ances division, LG Electronics

Double convenience withLG’s dual door-in-door fridge

FOR composite onlineand offline retail chain, Yu-

dala, there is no better way tolaunch into the season ofwonders than with a wonder oftheir own. The companyachieved another first with thedrone delivery of the first orderplaced for its Black Friday saleswhich ran from Thursday No-vember 26th till Monday No-vember 30th, 2015.

Lumiasmart phone

The order for the item, a NokiaLumia smart phone was placedby Yetunde Lawal, a staff of Ac-cess Bank Plc. who was shoppingon the Yudala website for the firsttime.

The drone took off from theheadquarters of Yudala at Re-demption Crescent, Gbagadaloaded with the product to theamazement and delight of on-lookers and camera crew fromvarious media organizations whogathered to monitor the progress

Satnamstrikesexclusive deal

with ToshibaBy Prince Osuagwu

By Laju Iren AndRichard Udofia

SATNAM InvestmentNigeria Limited has

partnered with Toshiba, as itsauthorized exclusive partneracross Nigeria to offer its latestproducts such as the space-saving low to high-speedMonochrome e-STUDIOMFPs, Award-winning colourMulti-function Printer seriesand world’s 1st revolutionaryeco-friendly Paper ReusingSystem.

The company posits that, asoutput demand is fast movingfrom Black & White to Colour,it is imperative for Toshiba’sbusiness customers toexperience the “Colors” of e-STUDIO.

With this alliance inplace, Satnam is now able tobring Toshiba’s vast array ofproducts and services acrossthe Nigerian terrain throughits strategically locatedbranches and dealer network.Corporate businesses inNigeria can now look forwardto having their printingsolutions needscomprehensively addressed,experiencing the reality of ahigh-tech future IT office thatis efficient, user-friendly,secure and cost effective.

Secure andcost effective

President of Satnam’sparent company, the SatguruGroup, Mr. Anil Chandiranisaid at an event to mark thepartnership recently that “withnotable new developmentshappening, Nigeria is racingtoward growth and stronglyestablishing itself in Africa asthe vanguard.

Nigeria is forecast to havean increase in demand forquality and affordablesolutions in the days to come.Satnam is prepared andgeared to take up thischallenge to bridge the gap forthe supply and the growingdemand for Business Solution,IT and ICT solution.”

Assistant General Manager,for Toshiba Middle East& Africa Mr. Pradeep Kumarsaid “Toshiba is pleased topartner with Satnam to deliverbusinesses in Nigeria moreaffordably and environmentfriendly printing solutions,“We now look forward toclosely collaborating with theSatnam by providing themwith the latest products,services and technical supportnecessary to strengthenToshiba MFP presence inNigeria.”

of the drone all the way to theAccess Bank branch along theGbagada-Oshodi Expresswaywhere it was alighted in front ofthe bank.

A staff of Yudala was on handto process the invoice for the or-der and hand over the phone toan obviously elated Yetunde whochose the payment on deliveryoption.

“I am extremely delighted andindeed short of words to explain

how I feel to be the first personto receive an item via drone de-livery in Nigeria, all thanks to Yu-dala. This is an innovative con-cept in the evolution of e-com-merce in the country which I amsure other competitors will wantto copy.

“Yudala has met and exceededmy expectations and I can onlyencourage all my colleagues,friends and family to shop andshop Yudala,” she enthused.

Since its entry into the marketa little over four months ago,Yudala has expanded the re-tail space with several innova-tive campaigns including the Neighbour to Neighbour Mega Deals, Gyming withthe Stars and October Mid-Day Madness, among others through which it has deliv-ered on its mandate of provid-ing genuine products and ser-vices to its consumers.

West Africa operations. “With somuch positive feedback for ourDoor-in-Door feature, we felt itnecessary to explore the full po-tential of the Door-in- Door con-cept. Now, with the Dual Door-in-Door, users have even great-er control over their refrigerator’sinterior organization.”

LG’s innovative Door-in-Doortechnology already makes it eas-ier for users to reach frequentlysought after food and beverageitems. By implementing twoDoor-in-Door compartments,LG’s new refrigerator doublesconvenience and allows forgreater food organization. Theright Door-in-Door compartmentis accessible from the outside withthe simple push of a button al-lowing it to be used as a ‘familyspace’.

This ingenious feature makesfrequently-used items likesnacks, drinks and lunches eas-ily accessible for the whole fami-ly. The left Door-in-Door com-

partment can be opened by ahandle at the bottom of the doorand serves as a designated ‘cook-ing space’, ideal for storing es-sential cooking ingredients suchas previously prepared vegeta-bles, condiments and sauces. Ac-cessible through both the Door-in-Door as well as the main door,the incredibly convenient TiltingBasket is also located within the‘cooking space’ on the left sideof the refrigerator. Both Door-in-Door™ compartments are alsoequipped with Moving Baskets,enabling users to easily adjustthe height of the internal com-partments as they see fit.

The Smart Storage System is acollection of features inside LG’srefrigerator that help users easilyorganize the items stored inside.Made up of the Door-in-Door’sMoving Baskets and Tilting Bas-ket, this system allows users to

store items into easily naviga-ble customizable sections, im-proving organization andmaximizing convenience.

The area at the bottom of themain compartment is inefficientdead space in most refrigera-tors. However, LG makes useof this dead space through itsgroundbreaking Extra Spacecompartment which opens upa new area in the refrigeratorideal for storing eggs as well assmall food items such as cheeseand sliced deli meats.

Moreover, with the Foldingand Sliding Shelves, storingfood items of any shape or sizehas never been moreconvenient. LG’s comprehen-sive organization system alsoextends to the freezer section’sEasy Pull Drawer that is easyto open and can safely supportheavy items.

LG’s innovativeDoor-in-Door tech-nology alreadymakes it easier forusers to reachfrequently soughtafter food and bever-age items

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—31

32 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—33

States must raise their IGR to survive—CITN boss

Army expresses worry over kidnap cases in Rivers

DTHA to contractors: Go back to site or returnmobilization fee

By Festus Ahon

By Jimitota Onoyume

Tradomedicalclinic holdsthanksgiving

NECA, ACCAsign MoU onmanpower devt

By ObohAgbonkhese

Nigerian Army to invest in Obudu Ranch Resort

OSCAR TradomedicalClinic in Ijaniki, Lagos,

will on December 5, hold aspecial thanksgiving toappreciate God for all He didfor them during the year.

The event, according toproprietor, Dr. Oscar Itimi, willhold at the clinic premises at9p.m.

Urhobo movesto secureinterests inOkowa's govt

PREMIERE: From left, Executive Producer, Road to Yesterday, Chinny Onwugbenu; SenatorBen Murray-Bruce; Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Co-Producerand actress, Genevive Nnaji, and co-writer and Director, Ishaya Bako, during the premiereof the movie at Silverbird Cinema, in Abuja.

ASABA—DELTA StateHouse of Assembly has

directed those in possessionof government funds paid asmobilization fee for contractawarded, to move to sit andexecute the jobs awarded tothem or return the money togovernment coffers.

Chairman, HouseCommittee on Works, EfeOfobruku, who gave thedirective at a meeting withthe state Commissioner forWorks and top officials of theministry, said gone were thedays when contractorscollected mobilization feesand went home to sleep.

Ofobruku, who wasaccompanied by five othermembers of the committee,charged the state Ministry ofWorks to take advantage of thedry season to push for speedycompletion of ongoing roadprojects across the state.

The lawmaker, whorepresents Uvwieconstituency in the House,said the state governmentwas determined to ensure theconstruction of manymotorable roads cross thestate in driving its prosperity

agenda for all Deltans tofruition.

Earlier, the stateCommissioner for Works,Chief James Augoye, whilewelcoming the legislators tothe ministry’s headquarters inAsaba, listed some ongoingprojects by the Ifanyi Okowaadministration across thestate, disclosing that some of

them were near completion.Augoye, among others

disclosed the governor ’sapproval for the dualization ofSapele township roads fromthe Warri-Benin Road junctionto AT&P Sapele, as well asdismantling of the Warri BRTproject to make way formassive rehabilitation of theever busy Effurun-Warri Road.

He said that good roadnetwork across the state wasthe key mandate of hisministry, promising tocontinue to interface with allrelevant bodies at ensuringquick intervention on roadsconstruction andrehabilitation as well astechnical advice to sisterministries.

PORT HARCOURT—THE Nigerian Army has

described the spate ofkidnapping in Rivers State asalarming.

Brigade Commander 2Brigade and Commander,Sector II of the Joint TaskForce, Operation Pulo Shield,Brigadier GeneralStephenson Olabanji, whospoke yesterday at aluncheon for media men at 2Brigade Headquarters, PortHarcourt, said that NationalYouth Service Corps membershave become the mostvulnerable group in the state.

He said that the stategovernor, Mr. Nyesom Wike,was driving the process toredress the issue, adding thatall hands should be on deckin the renewed effort to ridthe state of the challenge.

“Kidnapping is the biggestchallenge we are facing inPort Harcourt. We haveobserved that those behind itare mostly cultists. We aredoing our best to tackle thisproblem. The governor is alsospearheading the anti-kidnap crusade. Efforts areon to tackle the problem,” hesaid.

The Brigade Commander,Brigadier-General Olabanji,solicited the support of themedia and communities in

the state.“Communities should do

more to help securityoperatives achieve results. Iunderstand that kidnappershave coerced the people notto talk. Victims of kidnap donot talk after their release.

When you want to debrief areleased hostage, you see thathe or she does not come upwith much information,” hesaid.

He said his men had burstseveral kidnap groups in thestate even as he appealed for

useful information from thepublic.

He assured that securityoperatives will concealidentifies of those whodisclose information to aidthe anti-kidnap crusade inthe state.

By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN—CHAIRMAN,Joint District Society of

Chartered Institute of Taxationof Nigeria, CITN, Mr JoshuaAsuquo, has urged states of thefederation to emulate the taxpolicy of Edo State Governmentso as to survive the currenteconomic hardship.

Commending the Chairman ofthe state Board of Internal

Revenue, Chief Useni Elamah,on the transformation in thatsector, he warned that unlessstates block all leakages in theirbudgetary system andstrengthen their taxation, it maybe difficult for them to meet theirfinancial obligations.

He gave the commendationwhen he led other executives ofCITN on a courtesy visit to theoffice of the Chairman of the

Board, Chief Elamah.Asuquo, who is also the

Chairman, technicalcommittee on the South-SouthZonal Conference of CITN,stated that their visit was toacquaint the chairman withtheir forth coming maidenSouth-South ZonalConference of the CITNslated for Port Harcourt,Rivers State in January 2016.

THE Nigerian Army hasindicated interest in

investing in Obudu RanchResort to reposition it to a world-class profit yielding facility.

Managing Director/ChiefExecutive Officer of theNigerian Army PropertiesLimited, General UmaruMohammed (retd), made thisknown during a meeting withGovernor Ben Ayade of Cross

River State at GovernmentHouse in Calabar.

He said that the investment,which will entail creation ofaccess both by air and land, aswell as communication facilities,would open up the facility andattract the desired traffic fromwithin and outside the countryto enhance its economic status.

According to GeneralMohammed, who led other

management staff of the firmto the meeting, “The NigerianArmy, just like its counterpartsin civilized societies globally,is repositioning and now hasa company that is exploringand fully harnessing businessopportunities that abound inthe country with the supportof experts to participate inthem.”

THE NigeriaE m p l o y e r s ’

Consultative Association,NECA, and the Association ofChartered CertifiedAccountants, ACCA, havesigned a memorandum ofunderstanding, MoU, onhuman manpowerdevelopment, capacitybuilding and talentmanagement in the financialsector.

At the signing ceremony inLagos, NECA’s DirectorGeneral, Segun Oshinowo,and ACCA Global CEO, HelenBrand, agreed that there wasa commonality of purpose andmeeting of mandate betweenboth bodies, which will helpthe partnership put a structurein place to help Nigeria’seconomic development.

According to Brand,“partnership such as this isvital to the professionalism andefficiency that we stand for.ACCA is market driven interms of the qualifications itproduces and the membersand students it supports. Thisis how we meet the needs ofemployees, which thiscollaboration with NECA willhelp us achieve."

By Emma Amaize

ASABA—SIX monthsinto Governor Ifeanyi

Okowa's government in DeltaState, leaders and groups ofUrhobo ethnic nationality inthe state are re-positioning toactualize Urhobo interests inthe government.

Urhobo Political Leadershipand Economic EmpowermentNetwork Foundation,UPLEENF, which has Dr. O.Igden as chairman isspearheading the move.

“Integration of all forces inUrhobo nation for thetransformation of the land andempowerment of its peoplewill form the crux of thediscourse at the political cumeconomic developmentconference we are planning,”he said.

CMYK

34—Vanguard,FRIDAY,DECEMBER 4, 2015

PEOPLE SPEAK By Bartholomew Madukwe(08102479985)

nwamad@yahoo.com

On Kogi gov electionI wonder how they want

to govern the state whenthey cannot stand as on.However, whichever way itmay be people will still talkagainst it. Nigeria is too bigfor all this. If it comes goodpeople talk, the other wayround people will stilltalk. Miss Jennifer Ed-imeh, Self Employed

Yahaya Bello does notdeserve it because all

his supporters workedagainst the late Audu dur-ing campaign; even heplayed a game of ‘sit donlook’. So why would somepeople or somebody justbring him out to the gover-nor? Mr Gbenga Adeoti,Worker

The law should befollowed. I do not think

it is proper to say that be-cause late prince Audubought the ticket then theson should take his place.Kogi State is not for busi-ness. God alone knowswho that leader is going tobe. Mr Okechukwu Nene,Student

There is no crisis in APC;it is only Igala people

that are disturbing becauseof their stinginess. Over 19years they have been rul-ing the state no any othertribes disturbed them, nowthat other tribe have thechance they are disturbing.Mr Salihu Muhammed,Businessman

Once INEC failed toreverse the illegal

conclusion of the electionbeing inconclusive, APChas no legal way out thanto revert to the last or newprimary to get a replace-ment for Audu. That is myview about it. Miss Ogo-chukwu Onwuatuegwu,Student

There is no provision forsubstitution of candi-

dates in the Constitutionand there is no room foranother candidate as longas the deadline for nomi-nation of candidate toINEC is gone. Other can-didates are still there. MrNelson Nwamara, Entre-preneur

Anambra govt stops town union,Igweship elections

By NwabuezeOkonkwo

O N I T S H A —DETERMINED to

avoid loss of lives andproperties in Adazi Nnukwucommunity in Anaocha LocalGovernment Area of AnambraState, the state governmenthas stopped the Chief BenEnemuo-led executivemembers of Adzi-NnukwuTown Development Union,ATDU from conducting anelection for new executives ofthe union that will take overthe helm of affairs of the townunion from himself.

In a letter to Enemuo as the

President-General of ATDU,from the office of the SpecialAdviser to the Governor onChieftaincy and Town UnionMatters, government said ithad come to the attention ofthe office that the President-General of ATDU had fixed theATDU election to hold onNovember 28, 2015 withoutformal notice to the office andrequisite official payment asprovided by law.

In the letter with ReferenceNo. OSPA/LG/CM/010/100/247, dated November 27 andsigned by Ginikanwa A. C.,Head of Department of TownUnion Matters, for the SpecialAdviser, government said it

noted that the President-General of ATDU had insistedon going ahead with theexercise, despite protests froma substantial section of thecommunity.

The statement thereforeadvised that the election besuspended until the needful isdone and the usual lawfulsteps in conducting town unionelections in the state areobserved.

When contacted on phone,Chief Enemuo, the ATDU bossdeclined comments.

But in his reaction to thesituation, an Igweship aspirantin the area, Ichie EmmanuelChukwuma, told newsmen inan interview that Enemuo andhis followers are not telling thecommunity the truth about thesituation of things, rather, theykept threatening any one whodares say the truth, addingthat they would not like tocontinue with such an uglydevelopment becauseaccording to him, “we want toprogress not retrogress.”

Chukwuma noted that"Enemuo and his group are notonly thwarting the rules ofIgweship and town unionelections by failing to pay themandatory N100,000 electionfee to the state government asrequired by law, but also do nothave the powers to conductIgweship election because thecase is already in court."

ENUGU COUNCIL POLLS: APGA endorses EnuguCaretaker C’ttee for 17 LGAs ...Disowns Okwu’s membership

By Francis Igata

ENUGU—THE AllProgressives Grand

Alliance,APGA,Enugu StateChapter,yesterday,threw itsweight behind the setting up ofCaretaker Committees toadminister the running of 17council areas in the state asapproved by political stakeholdersfor Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

Ugwuanyi had last Saturday, atthe expanded meeting ofstakeholders held at the OldGovernment Lodge,cited the on-going local government staff auditand the inadequate provision offunds in the 2015 budget for thevcouncil poll as the problem evenas he noted that the littleappropriated for it is grossly andmanifestly inadequate which hepledgeded to address in the 2016budget to enable elections hold.

But while being in governmentwith the approval given to thegovernor by the stakeholders, theimmediate past State Chairmanof APGA,Enugu State Chapter,Mr. Okechukwu Nkolaguexplained that,”APGA adoptedGovernor Ugwuanyi as itscandidate in the last general

election. We are in full support ofthe caretaker committee.

“The governor has briefed andconsulted with us on why theLocal Government election willnot be able to hold for now as aresult of poor funds earmarked forit in the current budget. We see

reasons with him and appeal tothe public to be calm having gottenassurance from the governor thatthe issue of funds will be dealtwith in 2016 budget to enableelections hold.

On the publication by MaxiOkwu who reportedly threatened

to drag Enugu State to court ifcouncil polls were not conductedon the platfoem of APGA,Nkolaguwho is now the Deputy NationalFinancial Secretary ofAPGA,said,”as far as APGA isconcerned,Maxi Okwu wasexpelled from APGA in 2005.

Umuahia Catholic Diocese disowns groupBy Anayo Okoli

UMUAHIA—THE CatholicDiocese of Umuahia, Abia

State, has disowned the group,Catholic Network of Nigeria[CNN], which last week, held aprotest at Bende and demandedthat the Justices of Court ofAppeal sitting in Owerri bechanged, saying that such groupdoes not exist in the Diocese.

Disassociating itself from theaction of the group, UmuahiaCatholic Diocese also said that itdid not know the coordinator ofthe disowned group, Catechist

Ambrose Udensi and that theprotest did not take place at theCorpus Christi Parish, Bende.

It also said that it is notpartisan and does not involveitself in any partisan politicalactivity.

Meanwhile, Mr. UgochukwuEmezue, the Special Adviser toGovernor Okezie Ikpeazu onMedia, has called on the mainopposition party in the state, theAll Progressive Grand Alliance{APGA} to stop distracting theJustices of the Appeal Court andallow them to do their job.

Emezue alleged that the partyhas “raised many ficticious

groups to distract the Judges”,warning that “they should notambush the Appeal CourtJudges”.

He also called on the groupsbeing used to think twice as theyare not helping democracy togrow by not allowing justice toflow.

The Catholic Diocese ofUmuahia in a statement issuedby Wednesday, Church andSociety department of theDiocese categorically disownedthe Catholic Network of Nigeria[CNN], saying that it does notexist in the Diocese.

Hour of Codeworkshop forDec 5

Xmas concertto hold atMuson Centre

THE WIFI CombatAcademy, a digital

media school, is set toorganize an Hour of Codeworkshop, December 5,2015, at e-Learning Centre,opposite CMS Bookshop,Lagos.

A variety of digitalenrichment programmeswhere kids and teens cangain a sense ofe m p o w e r m e n t ,independence and self-confidence, usingtechnology, will be offered.

The programme isdesigned for completebeginners -elementary andsecondary school students.

Last year, Wifi CombatAcademy in collaborationwith Microsoft Nigeriahosted the “Hour of Code.”

About 15 schools attendeda one day programmingworkshop held at CHAMS,and children were exposedto coding, learning Pythonand Scratch programminglanguages.

THE ICONIC MusicalSociety of Nigeria,

Muson Centre, Onikan,Lagos, presents its AnnualChristmas Concert onSunday, December 6, 2015at Shell Nigeria Hall, by 6p.m.

Performing works by J.S.Bach, MarshalBartholomew, AdolpheAdams, Vivaldi, G.F.Handel, David Willcocksand Sing Along Carols,performed by the MUSONSchool Choir & Orchestraconducted by Sir EmekaNwokedi and TundeJegede.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—35

LUNCHEON: From left Ms. Jennifer Anoyika, Director-General, Nigerian GermanBusiness Association (NGBA); Mr. Detlev Woermann, Partner, C.Woermann; GermanAmbassador to Nigeria, Mr. Michael Zenner; Mr. Folabi Esan, MD/CEO, Adlevo Capitaland President, NGBA during the business luncheon for Nigerian-German business men atthe German Embassy, in Lagos.

LATE Mrs ReturnTortorbor Oboko, 84, is

daed. Mr Oboko, who wasthe mother of President ofFederated Niger Delta IjawCommunities, FNDIC, Dr.Bello Oboko, will be buriedtoday at Odimodi Town,Burutu Local GovernmentArea, Delta State.

According to the burialarrangement by the family,lying-in-state andChristian wake keep holdby 11am before intermentat Odimodi town.

Burial

Late Mrs Return Oboko

Kogi: Women lay siege to INEC offices,want APC declared winner

By Boluwaji Obahopo& Kingsley Fanwo

LOKOJA — HUNDREDS ofwomen, yesterday, took

over the office of the IndependentNational Election Commission,INEC, in Lokoja demanding thatAll Progressives Congress (APC)be declared winner of the Kogigovernorship election.

This came as supporters of theparty besieged the INEC officein Abuja demanding thecommission shelve its proposedsupplementary poll in the stateand declare Faleke as governor-elect.

The women protesters, dressedin black, carrying differentplacards, vowed not to vacate theplace until INEC rescinded itsdecision and put things aright.

A detachment of policemenfrom the nearby state policeheadquarters kept close watch toforestall a breakdown of law andorder because of the already tensesituation in the state occasionedby the ‘inconclusive’ poll.

Spokesperson of the women,Mrs. Folashade Joseph, accusedINEC of plunging the state intopolitical turmoil and uncertainty,by declaring the victory of theduo of Prince Abubakar Audu andJames Faleke of the AllProgressives Congress (APC),inconclusive.

She said: “INEC created theproblem and must hasten to solveit. We are here to register ourgrievances about INEC’sdeclaration that the election wasinconclusive, and to let themknow that they are the ones thathave created this problem now.

“INEC wants to deliberately setKogi on fire, for reasons bestknown to it. We have over 2,400polling units in Kogi State. Wedo not understand why INECwill say the election isinconclusive because of just 91polling units that had issues.

“We are going to sit out here tillINEC reversed itself and do the

right thing. They must announceAudu/Faleke. They won for APC,they have a joint ticket. We arecalling on well-meaningNigerians and the President whois our father, to wade in, so thatthe right thing can be done.”

Speaking at the Abuja INECoffice, one of the protesters who is

a lawyer, Hajia Halima Alfasaid Audu had won the electionbefore his death, noting that themargin between the twoleading parties was more thanthe number of voters with PVCsin the affected polling units andthat INEC erred by notdeclaring the late Audu as thewinner of the election."

Germany pledges support forNigeria’s change agenda

LAGOS — GERMANAmbassador to Nigeria, Mr.

Michael Zenner, has commendedthe change agenda of the Nigeriangovernment led by PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, adding thatco-operation between thegovernments of Germany andNigeria will contribute immenselyto the success of the agenda.

Ambassador Zenner expressedGermany’s interest in supportingthe government’s change agendaat a high-powered businessluncheon for members of theNigerian-German businesscommunity organized by NigerianGerman Business Association(NGBA), Delegation of GermanIndustry and Commerce in Nigeria(DGIC), in association with theConsulate General of the FederalRepublic of Germany, in Lagos.

The event, sponsored byC.Woermann, a renowned tradingcompany based in Hamburg,Germany with a longstandingbusiness relationship with Africa,also presented an opportunity forguests to mingle and network inan informal setting.

While presenting a paper entitled“Nigeria in Change: NewPerspectives?” Ambassador Zennerhighlighted the key role beingplayed by Nigeria in promotingstability and democracy on theAfrican continent. He spoke aboutthe long standing relation betweenGermany and Nigeria and how thiscollaboration had led to great gainsfor both countries.

Zenner noted: “Nigeria’sinvestment potential remainsstrong even in the wake ofvarious challenges in security,foreign exchange rates andother quandaries. German tradevolume with Nigeria stands at5.5 billion Euros with projectionsfor increase in the near future."

Also speaking at the event,Jennifer Anoyika, DirectorGeneral of the NGBA, said shewas confident that the Nigerianeconomy will soon experienceimproved economic activitieswith the renewed interest offoreign investors in the Nigerianeconomy.

KOGI: Groupfaults INEC,says Wadashould bereturned

By Emmanuel Aziken

THE Nigerian RestorationGroup (NRG) has

lamented what it, yesterday,described as the failure of theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC)to grow along with thecountry’s democracy, sayingthe development in Kogi Statespeaks badly of the electionbody.

In a statement by itsNational President, AlhajiIbrahim Kazaure andNational Secretary, SenasUkaiwe, the group taskedINEC to immediately declarethe first runner up, Alhaji IdrisWada, as winner of the electionon the basis of the fact that heis the living candidate with thehighest number of votes.

The group said: “It should benoted that after over 16 yearsof democratic governance,INEC should have grownbeyond a baby-duck agencythat could be pushed aroundby politicians with inordinateambition.

"The commission’s actions,given the number of times it hasconducted elections and theseries of experiences garneredin elections management,should have made it grow instature and pedigree to be ableto always take decisions thatwould be obviously unbiasedand survive the test of time.

“However, by pandering tothe sentiments of the AllProgressives Congress (APC),it is obvious that Nigeria is farfrom reaching the democraticdestination which is what everyNigerian and indeed theinternational community, areclamouring for."

Labourcondemnsrising cases ofunfair labourpractices

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

FEDERAL Ministry ofLabour and

Employment, and organisedlabour, yesterday in Lagos,said government and labourwere very concerned overrising cases of unwholesomeand unfair labour practices inthe nation’s financial sectorin a bid to cut costs andmaximize profit.

FMLE and Nigeria LabourCongress, NLC, spoke at aninteractive session on “Issuesand Challenges Relating toLabour Outsourcing inNigeria”, organised by theSouth-West Zone of theSouth-West zone of FMLE incollaboration with theNational Union of Banks,Insurance and FinancialInstitutions, NUBIFIE, forstakeholders in the financialsector operating in South-West zone.

Speaking, factionalPresident of NLC, Mr. JoeAjaero, insisted thatoutsourcing, contractstaffing, casualization andother forms ofunconventional employmentwere evil and disagreed withthe argument that since thepractices were global trends,they had come to stay.

According to him, in otherclimes where the practiceswere coming from, they hadsafety nets in form of socialsecurity for the unemployed,the aged and other vulnerablecitizens, declaring thatapproving outsourcing andothers by government withoutsafety nets was like legalizingillegality.

He, however, urged unionsto ensure that outsourcedworkers and their likes wereunionized for them to get theunion’s protection and rightsamong others.

Airtel lauded over support to IDPs

AIRTEL Nigeria has beencommended for its key role

in touching the lives ofthousands of internallydisplaced persons, IDPs, inNigeria.

This commendation wasgiven at the press briefing of“Climb with Remi,” an initiativethat aims to raise funds for IDPsin Nigeria.

Speaking on the initiative,Ogun State’s first lady, Mrs.Olufunsho Amosun, explainedthe sufferings thousands ofIDPs go through.

According to her, a lot ofpeople are unaware of thehardship faced by our fellowbrothers and sisters who as a

result of one crisis or anotherhave become homeless. “Theylack proper shelter, feeding andother basic necessities. I wishto thank Airtel Nigeria forsupporting the Climb withRemi initiative as they put asmile on the faces of IDPs inNigeria,” she said.

Also speaking at the event,Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewahighlighted the need forNigerians to be empathetic andembark on laudable projects touplift the underprivileged.

“As citizens of this great country,we must inculcate a spirit ofoneness and be our brothers andsisters keepers. We must emulateorganisations like Airtel Nigeriawho are lending a helping handin taking care of IDPs,” she said.

CMYK

36—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

COCKTAIL: Mr. Victor Gotevbe, Administration Manager, Vanguard MediaLtd (middle), Mr. Mohammed Hosseiny, Country Managing Director, ABBNigeria (left) and Chief Ogunmekan, President, Nigerian Swedish Chamberof Commerce at the VIP Networking Cocktail on the occasion of the visit toNigeria of H.E., Ambassador Inger Ultvedt and the Swedish Energydelegation to Nigeria.

PRESENTATION: From left— Head, Treasury, FCT/North, Mr. AkinloyeAiyegbusi; Business Executive, Public Sector, Alhaji Shehu Jafiya, and Group Head,Corporate Banking, North, Mr. Isa Salifu, both of Ecobank Plc; Principal, GovernmentSecondary School, Lugbe, Abuja, Mr. Gilla John (right) and students, at the presentationof scholarship and writing materials to the students, during the bank's FinancialLiteracy Day in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the JuniorAchievement of Nigeria, JAN in Abuja.

MONITORING: From left— Lagos State Commissioner for theEnvironment, Babatunde Adejare, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. IdiatOluranti Adebule, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, ToyinOnisarotu and the Executive Secretary, Ajeromi Ifelodun Local CouncilDevelopment Area, Hon. Wahab Adebayo, at Ajeromi Ifelodun LCDA, duringthe last environmental sanitation exercise in Lagos.

CONFERENCE: From left—HRH, Ambassador Adegboyega Ariyo,chairmanof the occasion; Dr Ona Ekhomu,President, Association of Industrial Securityand Safety Operations of Nigeria, AISSON; Maj. Gen. Isidore HenryEdet,GOC 81 Division, Nigeria Army, representing Chief of Army Staff andCommodore Omasheye Nesiama, represnting Chief of Naval Staff, at theAISSON's 2015 Conference in Lagos. Photo: Akeem Salau.

HARVEST: From left—Host and General Overseer, Divine Ewulomi EvangelicalChurch of Christ (C&S) Arowojobe Estate, Lagos, Prophet OluwademiladeAkpata, his wife, Mother-In-Israel, Omotolani Akpata, the Guest Preacher, ViceChancellor, Ajayi Crowther University, Bishop Dapo Asaju, and Obirin OlogoProgramme Coordinator, Rev. Apostle Ronke Fashina, at the 2015 harvestthanksgiving service of the church, at Arowojobe Estate, Mende, Lagos.

CONVOCATION: Family and friends with Dr. Jide Peter Jimoh (middle),at the convocation of the University of Ibadan where he was awarded a Ph.D.

FACILITY VISIT: From left— Mr. Ajai Musaddi, Group Managing Director,Sona Group of Companies, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, MD, Bank of Industry,Mr. Joseph Babatunde, General Manager, Large Enterprise, BoI and AshokManghnani, Chief Operating Officer, Sona Group of Companies, during thefacility visit of the BoI's team to Sona Biscuits Factory at Ota, Ogun State.

UNVEILING: From left—Chief Executive Officer, Verve International,Charles Ifedi, Divisional CEO, Industry Vertical Market, Chinyere Don-Okhuofu, Chief Financial Officer, Peter O'toole and Chief Marketing Officer,Cherry Eromosele, all of Interswitch, at the unveiling of Verve Paycode inLagos. Photo: Akeem Salau.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—37

positions as they won’t get it on aplatter of gold.

“This precisely is thetransformative ways in which Africanwomen have to act. They do notneed to underestimate the powersthey have but to always use thepowers positively knowing it is ourright. We are not asking anythingthat we are not entitled to. But weneed to be organized and we needto know how to do it”.

She pointed out that women needto organize themselves if thisobjective must be achieved saying“Ten years from now, we need tobegin to take the African woman toanother stage. We have to define thetarget of what we need to change.What we are and what we are doingis not good enough because it isleaving millions behind. Andbecause of that, we have torestrategise knowing exactly whatwe want to change”.

MRS. Graca Machel, widow of formerSouth Africa President, Nelson

Mandela has set a roadmap for Nigerianwomen in their quest to be relevant in

the economic, political and socialdevelopment of the country.

Machel spoke in Lagos overthe weekend on the topic

‘Breaking Barriers’ at a Women’s Power Lunch, a

programmeorganized

b y MurtalaMuhammed

Foundation (MMF),a non-profit o r g a n i z a t i o nfounded in honour of the memory andin furtherance of the ideals of the lateGeneral Murtala Muhammed, the formerNigerian Head of State.

She said that women are too strong to beignored in any society and they musttherefore rise up and take their rightful

Graca Machel setsroadmap for women

She promised to be at the forefront of the change agenda in linewith the ideals of her Foundation,the Graca Machel Trust, which isdedicated to improving lives,inspiring hope and a more just andequitable world.

“I promise that I will be therewith you to effect the changes. Wereally don’t have a place that wedon’t have a door. The doors arewith me to open. When I go to themand say that I want to see them,they allow me in and because Iknow that you are all behind me,you go with me and take the frontseats while I sit behind. That is whatI do globally”.

Machel is one of the world’sleading advocates for women,children and communities affectedby conflict and injustice. She is afounding member of The Elders,that played a key role inestablishing Girls Not Brides.

US intensifies efforts to end gender-based violence

LAST year, November 25th,during the commemoration

of 16 Day Activism AgainstGender Based Violence, theActing U.S. Consul-General,Dehab Ghebreab pledged thatthe Public Affairs Section, PAS ofthe US Consulate Lagos willcollaborate with Nollywood toproduce a film that speaks toissues of violence against women.

That pledge was fulfilled onWednesday 25th November 2015at PAS, when a documentaryfeaturing horrifying scenes ofvictims of violence, was screenedto an audience. It came as a resultof collaboration between the USConsulate, Women AriseInitiative and Golden MoviesAmbassadors, to mark this year’s16 Days of Activism AgainstGender Violence for theElimination of Violence AgainstWomen.

Eliminationof violence

The Deputy Public AffairsOfficer of the U.S. Consulate,Frank Sellin in his openingremarks, said that “Today is theInternational Day for theElimination of Violence AgainstWomen. It is the start of 16 Daysof Activism Against GenderViolence, a campaign weundertake annually with all U.S.embassies and missions in theworld. Over the next two weeks,U.S. embassies and missions willall be working to raise awareness

of the irreparable harm causedby gender-based violence.

We must all do more to endviolence against women in all itsforms, wherever and wheneverit occurs. The crucial first step isfor all of us to be clear inacknowledging it. There can beno conspiracy of silence. Ithappens daily, in peacetime, andin war. In the home, and inpublic.

Last year, Secretary of StateJohn Kerry reminded us all that,worldwide, one in three womenwill experience gender-basedviolence in her lifetime. Thisviolence knows no class,religious, or racial boundaries.

When it happens, it comes at aterrible cost. Not only for thewoman or girl who, if she

survives, will likely end upshortening her education as aresult of the violence, and is morelikely to abandon her careerplans. Not only because her long-term health is in danger. Not onlybecause she is at much greaterrisk for suicide. Not only becausegender-based violence flattensand shortens the trajectory of apromising human life that couldachieve so much more.

The human cost also devastatesfamilies, communities, and entirecountries that depend on thesuccess of all women. Preventinggender-based violence is the onlyway to achieve a future of peace,stability, and prosperity.

Every one of us has a

fundamental duty not to turnaway in the face of evil andbrutality. We have a duty to stopit, and to stand with thesurvivors.”

Creatingawareness

President of the Women AriseFor Change Initiative, Dr JoeOdumakin said every casedocumented in the film was realadding that because two of thevictims were dead, the scenesinvolving their case wereblended with acting. “We mustcreate awareness. People mustspeak out or die in silence. Sheadvised Nigerians to be

conscious of their environment.Don’t destroy evidence. Takeaction and encourage thosehurting in whatever way youcan.

The President of the GoldenMovies Ambassadors, SaidiBalogun said Africans must notkeep quiet in the face of evil.Come out and say things the wayit is. Activists should wake up .He noted that his organisationbelieves in rebranding thenation. He advised corporatebodies and individuals not tosponsor movies that show nuditybut rather, invest in movies thatwill help address the issue ofgender-based violence.

Joe Odumakin (middle) and others at an event.

•Graca Machel

By Bose Adelaja

By Prisca Sam-Duru

Every one of us hasa fundamental dutynot to turn away inthe face of evil andbrutality. We have aduty to stop it, and tostand with thesurvivors

CMYK

38—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

RAPE isa b o u t

power, noti n d e c e n tdressing!

Two sisters aged 3 and 5were raped by 4 men. Ayoung lady wasdragged off thestreet by a maninto room whereshe was rapedby over 10 men.A n o t h e r teenager wasraped when shewent for a jobinterview. 5 boys were rapedby a man in their neighborhood. These caseswere part of 1000 survivors of rape andsexual violence that have received treatmentfrom the Mirabel Centre in 2 years. None ofthem was raped as a result of indecentdressing. Yet every day we are told thatindecent dressing is a major cause of rape.

In a poll carried out by NOI in January2013, 34 percent of the participants believedthat indecent dressing was the main cause ofrape in the society; 18 percent believedunemployment was the cause; nine percentbelieved it was caused by lack of moral valuesand another nine percent believed it wascaused by the inability to control sexual urges;seven percent said it was caused by faultyupbringing.

Faultyupbringing

Five percent of the participants believed rapewas caused by illiteracy about women’s rights,ungodliness and bad company.

A major flaw with this reasoning is theassumption that a rapist is that stranger thatpounces on a woman because she hasexposed a part of her body.

It suggests that the society must place a limiton what a woman wears and when she doesnot conform, and she is raped, then she mustbe responsible. In other words, a woman’svisible body is either available for sex orpunished for this visibility.

This reasoning portrays men as animals whohave no control over their emotions. It takesaway responsibility from men for their actionsand places a burden on women and girls toprevent men from raping them. It gives therapists the excuse to go on raping womenand girls; after all he is not in control of hissenses. Not surprisingly, many rapists blame “the devil” for the crime they have committed.

If indecent dressing causes rape, what aboutthe 10 months old baby raped by her father?What was the attraction? Was it the soakeddiaper? What of the 70 year old grandmaraped by her son’s tenant?

Was the 4 year old raped by her school busdriver also indecently dressed? Rape is aserious societal problem. It affects both menand women. It has nothing to do with yourmode of dressing. Rape is about power.

By Gabriel Olawale

AS part of its commitment towardsthe actualisation of healthy and

vibrant female communities, X-mediacommunications Limited hasrevealed the secret of what it entailsto be a successful woman to over4,000 secondary school girls inLagos.

The Managing Director, X-mediacommunications, Mr. TundeLawrence said that the role of womenin building a nation is replaceableand the earlier the society embraceit, the better for all.

Speaking at the 2015 All-WomenConference tagged; ‘21st CenturySuper woman, Lawrence pointed outthat the dynamics of today’seconomy and that of family requiredthat wife must work to ease theburden in the face of economicdowntown experiencing globally,“imagine that women continue torelegated to the kitchen that meanswe are depriving our selves of theextra energy that the economic

needs.”“Women are very important

vessel in building a nation, heroffice is not suppose to just be akitchen and the earlier we startedtapping into those quality andability that woman has the betterfor us all.

Having two source of income inthe family is better than one.Even if the man can convenientlyprovide for his family shouldn’tbe an excuse for his wife not tofind something to be doing.”

On her part, the RegionalConsumer Services Manager,Nestle Central & West Africa,Mrs. Imabong Martins said thatfor a woman to be relevant in this21 century such women mustunderstand the investment thathad been made in her andunderstand the expectation of herenvironment.

Martins pointed out fiveprinciple of superwomen to bevision driven, time conscious,hardworking, value oriented and

preparedness, “Principle ofhardworking has to do withdetermination, persistence,focus, push yourself formore and don’t give up.Principle of preparationcontains the earring calledhome training, necklacecalled good cooking,sweeping and tidy, washingamong others.”

She however called forbalancing in responsibilitiesat home and in the workingplace, “what makes asuperwoman is ability tobalance responsibilitywithout allowing one toaffect others.”

In attendance at theconference are studentsMountain Top Secondaryschool, Kemeether College,Vicsum Private School, GwatPrivate College, Soleit HighSchool, Divine Gift HighSchool, Luyol College NobleVine College among others.

THE wife of the Lagos StateGovernor, Mrs. Abolanle

Ambode, has urged more Nigeriansto emulate the founder of Joan AghaFoundation and be moreenterprising.

According to Abolanle Ambodewho made the call at the GEWEnterprise Women’s Day series, acapacity building seminar andinitiative of the Joan AghaFoundation (JAF), “all over theworld women are home builderswomen are driving the world andchanging economies of mostcountries.

Changingeconomies

If you are a woman doing so, I doffmy hat up to you. Women are nowdriving world economy, doing greatthings on the horizon. Statistics fromUNESCO indicates that womenconstitute a significant proportion ofthe world’s population and Nigeriahas the largest population of anyAfrican country with over 178,000people, of which approximately halfare women, of which 71 percent livebelow poverty level.

It has been projected that womenwill create over 5,000 jobs in the USeconomy by 2018. “So, what is ourexcuse? One thing I know aboutentrepreneurs is that they find a needand they solve it. They turn problemsinto opportunities. We have variousproblems in our society that need

solving. “More than ever, women aregetting on board and running things.Businesses like beauty, eventmanagement, food, agriculture andfashion are multi-million industrieshandled by majorly women and arecreating job opportunities.

International donor agencies arefinding that the amount of businessdevelopment assistance given towomen correlates directly to healthierfamilies and communities. We needmore women to get on board. Weneed to contribute our quota. Withthe advent of technology and socialmedia, it is now easier to grow yourenterprise phenomenally. Use your

phone wisely, it as a marketingtool Facebook is home to over1,000,000,000 users, socialmedia channels has greatpotential for leveraging yourenterprise”.

Stating the objectives of thefoundation in her openaddress, Agha noted that ‘weempower women by providingsoft loans to enterprisingwomen. Till date, we havegranted 30 scholarships,financially empowered 50women, partnered withInternational Women Society(IWS) to train 29 youths andwomen in various vocationalskills.

We have provided grants toseveral youths to start their ownbusinesses. JAF has partneredwith US (United State)Consular General onCarrington Youth FellowshipInitiative to uplift some youthsthrough training inphotography and shoe making.

Today, we have fed 4,000people through the JAFKitchen on the street. We caterfor brilliant indigent studentswho for no fault of theirs, comefrom poor homes. We are alsocommitted to hunger reductionthrough JAF Kitchen. EveryJanuary 1, we feed people onthe streets while many of ushave turkeys on our table –sometimes we even throw someinto the dustbin, there are someNigerians who don’t have anyfood to eat.

X-media unlocks secret ofsuperwomen to Nigerians girls

Lagos First Lady endorses Facebook asenterprise leverage tool

Statistics fromUNESCO indicatesthat women constitutea significantproportion of theworld’s populationand Nigeria has thelargest population ofany African countrywith over 178,000people, of whichapproximately half arewomen, of which 71percent live belowpoverty level

•Anaba

By Esther Onyegbula

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015 — 39

ON the current expansiontrend of the hospitality

industry in Nigeria and Africa Hotels are an essential part

of a country’s, a city’s basicinfrastructure. Where potentialinvestors, potential job creatorsgoing to stay if there are notenough hotels to accommodatethem?

The answer is – they won’tstay, they won’t visit in the firstplace, and the city loses out.With exceptions such as SouthAfrica, and some of the NorthAfrican countries, Africa isseverely under-hoteled, withsome countries, such as Nigerand Mauritania, having nobranded hotel supply at all.

In some cities, there is quitea lot of real developmentactivity – Nairobi, Kigali, AddisAbaba, Kampala – meaningthat hotels are actively underconstruction.

Here in Lagos, there is a lotof “paperwork” (designs,management agreements, butthe actual activity on-site is ata low level; there are lots ofproposed new hotels, no fewerthan 19 hotels with over 3,600rooms ‘on the books’, but ofthose rooms only 20 per centare actually under construction.

Lack offinance

There is therefore a greatneed for more hotels in Lagos,Abuja and many of the Statecapitals, but it is not happeningfast enough. Often times, thisis because of a lack of finance,a factor which bedevils manyindustries in Nigeria.

On regulation andstandardization of the industry

I don’t know that thehospitality sector needs to be“standardised”! one of itsstrengths is the diversity it

Nigeria pays lip-service tohospitality business —Ward

offers. In terms of regulation,the Federal government hasdone little of any practical useto the industry over the years.

On a State level, there isregulation on all sorts ofaspects, mostly to raiseInternally Generated Revenue

(IGR) for the state itself,resulting in multiple taxation,from federal, state and localgovernments. With notableexceptions such as Cross River

State, the hospitality sector ispaid only lip-service, despiteits ability to create jobs.

On the notion that there is

dearth of manpower in thehospitality industry

This is not a notion, this is aharsh reality! The industry isgrowing, and is very labourintensive, but the number offormal training institutions isextremely limited, and manyof those that are operating areof questionable quality.

Questionablequality

The branded hotel operatorshave clearly raised the bar,with their own trainingprogrammes, but their focus ison the needs of their hotels,not of the industry as a whole.Government needs to do farmore to provide qualitytraining institutions for thehospitality industry.

On the notion that Nigeria’shotels are over priced

No, they are not. Hotels areexpensive to build, due to thecost of government approvals,import duties and the burdenof buying and runninggenerators, water boreholesand treatment plants, and otherbasic services that should beprovided by the public sector.

But also note that the pricespublicly quoted for a room ina hotel are almost alwayshigher than those actuallycharged to the customer, withdiscounting the norm, not theexception.

• Inagbe Grand Resorts & Leisure set on the tranquil banksof the magnificent Lagos Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean, thisshow-piece resort captures the essence of nature, culture andtradition. Inset is Trevor Ward, who says government is payinglip service to hospitality sector.

THE recently unveiled travel financing facility of

the Skye Bank Plc is currentlyeliciting comments from traveltrade operators in the countrysaying that the bank providingfinancing for their customers tobe able to buy tickets andtravel packages in good timeis innovative.

Recently, Skye Bank's Headof Retail Banking Group, Mrs.Nkolika Okoli unveiled thepackage which allows the bankprovide provide 80 per cent ofthe travel cost while theintending traveller will providejust 20 per cent of the totaltravel cost at a minimal interestrate with the customersexpected to pay back their loan

within a period of one year.

Speaking with traveljournalists recently, theManaging Director, Dees Toursand Travel Limited, Daisi Olotucommended Skye Bank for theinnovative arrangement whichhas taken away from theagencies the risk of customerindebtedness over ticket.

“I cannot but say Skye Bankunderstands the aviationbusiness. I want to thank SkyeBank for this innovation. SkyeBank is the first to start this. Wehave started and we willcontinue to work with them forthings to get better and forpeople to really understandwhat it means to do thingsearly-to book holidays early, to

buy tickets early. You gain a lotof money by so doing

“In fact, people are advisedto book their summer vacationsnow. If you book your travel fornext year now, you will mostdefinitely save a lot of moneyand since you have the credit,you don’t have to bring out abulk amount for payment. Themoney you will save comparedto the money you will pay back,it is still beneficial to bookahead.”

For Odion Chigbufue, GM,Tour Brokers International, thearrangement with Skye Bankenables her company to paythe airlines and their groundhandlers without running therisk of clients default in paying

Skye Bank travel finance excite travel trade operatorsfor ticket.

“I think Skye Bank took thebulk of the burden off ourchest because we had a lot ofpeople requesting for credit.Now, with this initiative, weare happy to receive all creditand cash customers.”

Adeniyi Jumoke,Managing Director, PastureTravels & Tours noted thatwith credit facility beingprovided by the bank thattheir clients can now booktickets for religious travel,honeymoon and leisure atease. “This is important to usbecause we do not only booktickets, we do travel packagesfor business and familyholidays, honeymoon andreunions.

Trevor Ward is a specialist consultant in thehospitality and leisure industries. He is the Principalof the W Hospitality Group with offices in the UK,Kenya, Nigeria and Angola.Ward has internationalexperience advising clients on hotel and tourismdevelopment in more than 80 countries in Europe,North and South America, the Caribbean, Africa andAsia. In this interview with JIMOH BABATUNDE,he talks on the industry development in the continent,regulation and why government should do more forthe industry.

CMYK

40—Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

FESTIVAL: From left, General Manager, Chevron/NNPC, Deji Haastrup; Manager,High Value Sponsorship & Events, Etisalat Nigeria, Opeyemi Lawal; Chief FinancialOfficer, Marine Platforms, Baji Nyam, and Director, Ake Art and Book Festival,Lola Shoneye, at the Etisalat-sponsored Ake Art and Book Festival 2015, in Abeokuta,Ogun State.

420,000 die annually fromcontaminated foods —WHO...under 5 accounts for one third of deaths

By Chioma Obinna & GabrielOlawale

THE FIRST ever global estimates offood-borne diseases carried out by

the World Health Organisation, WHO, hasrevealed that not less than 420,000 peopledie yearly from eating contaminated food.

The report also showed that as manyas 600 million, (one in 10 people) in the

world, fall ill annually. Reacting to the report, Director-General

of WHO, Dr Margaret Chan said: “ it isregrettable that 30 percent of all deaths fromfoodborne diseases are in children underthe age of five years, despite the fact thatthey make up only 9 percent of the globalpopulation.

“Children under 5 years of age are atparticularly high risk, with 125 000 children

dying from foodbornediseases every year.Diarrhoeal diseases areresponsible for more thanhalf of the global burden offoodborne diseases,causing 550 million peopleto fall ill and 230 000 deathsevery year.

“Children are at particularrisk of foodborne diarrhoealdiseases, with 220 millionfalling ill and 96 000 dyingevery year.

Diarrhoea is often causedby eating raw orundercooked meat, eggs,fresh produce and dairyproducts contaminated bynorovirus, Campylobacter,non-typhoidal Salmonellaand pathogenic E. coli.Other major contributors tothe global burden offoodborne diseases aretyphoid fever, hepatitis A,tapeworm, and aflatoxin.”

“While the burden offoodborne diseases is apublic health concernglobally, the WHO Africanand South-East AsiaRegions have the highestincidence and highestdeath rates, includingamong children under theage of five years.

ICF seeks utilisation ofcoaching to drivenational devt

By JonahNwokpoku

INTERNATIONALC O A C H I N G

Federation, ICF has calledfor full utilisation of life andcorporate coaching to instilvalues in leadership anddrive nationaldevelopment.

President, ICF Nigeria,Ajibola Ponnle made thecall while speaking tojournalists at the sideline ofa seminar to mark the 20thanniversary of ICF inLagos.

Ponnle said coaching isabout human potential andhow it could be developedto advance social andeconomic development.

She said: “One of themain reasons I spear-headed the establishmentof coaching in Nigeria isbecause it is about humanpotential. I see a countrythat is rich in so many

things beyond the naturalresources, but see what weare doing with it.

"If we can coach and raisethe level of awareness, ofjust one person at a time,unleash the potential, youcan imagine howproductive this entirenation or the entirecontinent of Africa can be.

"A lot of what we do withcoaching is identifying whopeople really are andhelping them let go oflimiting beliefs. If we canhelp just one persondiscover himself, you canimagine the impact that isgoing to have onleadership, economicdevelopment. For me, I ampassionate aboutleadership in the publicsector, getting them to leadwith values, getting to leadwith increasedconsciousness andincreased awareness of theimpact of what they aredoing.

Don Moen, Adefarasin, others to minister atExperience 2015

THE 2015 edition of theannual gospel

concert, The Experience,would hold today with topgospel artiste, Don Moenand other renowned gospelministers leading over700,000 people and millions

all around the world inpraise and worship.

A statement by theconvener, Senior PastorPaul Adefarasin of theHouse On The RockChurch, said the eventwould be an avenue for

people to put aside de-nomination, tribe, colourand gender in order topraise God.

Adefarasin is expected tominister with anointedpreachers from variousdenominations worldwide.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—41

CMYK

42—42—42—42—42—VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

ALLAH says, “Men are incharge of women by [right

of] what Allah has given one overthe other and what they spendfrom their wealth. So righteouswomen are devoutly obedient,guarding in [the husband’s]absence what Allah would havethem guard.

But those [wives] from whomyou fear arrogance –advice them;[then if they persist], forsake themin bed; and [if they persist yet],strike them [lightly]. But if theyobey you, seek no means [ofannoyance] against them.

Allah is ever Exalted andGrand,” Q4:34. See also Q4:19.

Once a marriage isconsummated these rights andduties are binding. Violation ofthem is disobedience to Allahand betrayal of trust.

PolygamyThe ideal marriage is not

necessarily to one wife or more,the watchword is justice andcommitment. The Quran says,“...Marry women of your choice:two or three or four. If you fearthat you may not be just then,marry only one...,” Q4:3. Islamneither introduced polygyny norcommanded it; it has onlyregulated it and allowed it. Butjustice is a condition. Treat thewife as you would want yourdaughter in marriage treated.

SolemnCovenant

Allah has referred to marriageas a Solemn Covenant[Meethaaqan Galeezha],(Q4:21), which reiterates thatmarriage is a commitment andresponsibility which must betaken seriously. The Prophet said,“I warn you against the evilconsequence of being unjust totwo persons: women andorphans.” Sahih Ibn Majah, 2982

He also said, “By Allah, awoman cannot fulfil her duty toAllah unless she fulfils her dutyto her husband.” Sahih SunanIbn Majah

Fire never quenches fire; it iswater that does. The best amongthe couples are those who arekeen and committed to observetheir duties before demandingtheir rights. Two wrongs nevermake a right. Always performyour duty and then demand yourrights. Even though a deliberateand perpetual denial of duty is agood ground at law to deprivethe other some of his/her rights.

The ideal Muslim family is onewhere couple see each other ascooperative partners, not ascompetitive rivals.

Marriage is supposed to befriendship. Successful husbandsand wives are always cooperative

By Imam Ridwan Jamiu

Safar 22, 1437 A.H.

The Ideal Muslim Family (2)

Abandoning Salat onwedding day because ofmake-up or partyactivities is ingratitude toAllah. Intermingling ofboth sexes in weddingparty is inappropriate.Wearing see-throughwedding gowns as wellas ceremonial exchangeof wedding ring is againstthe Islamic guidance

and complimentary.Cooperation often necessitates

sacrifice and compromise.Family is always given priority.We can always have our say butnot always our way.

Cooperation requires thatcouple help each other tosucceed, raise each other ’sspirits when chips are down.Pray for each other. It is in theHadith that the best person awoman can support with herwealth is her needy husband.The most rewarding of a man’sspending is also on his family.Material competition and rivalrycan breed resentment.

Cooperation demands mutualloyalty and complete fidelity.Individualism andindependence in marriage willonly make the couple live likeroommates, not as husband andwife.

Feminism is promotingdisloyalty and defiance. Itwrongly stigmatizes obedienceto husband as servitude andbeing a house-wife as beingprisoners. It thus worked for theso-called women liberation tillWestern women were finallyliberated from happiness. Whatare other results of feminism andwomen liberation?1. Family disintegration2. Single parenthood with itspsychological and financialburden and guilty conscience.3.Promiscuity andlicentiousness.4. Drug addiction intended tosuppress trauma5. Prostitution6. Juvenile delinquency forchildren lack parental care.7. High rate of divorce.8. Increase in unwantedpregnancy9. Legalization of abortion10. Increase in SexuallyTransmissible Diseases (STDs).

Cooperation demands mutualconsultation in determining

family affairs. Describing thebelievers in the Qur’an, Allahsays, “What you have beengiven is only the fleetingenjoyment of this world. Farbetter and lasting is what Allahwill give to those who believeand trust in their Lord; those whoshun great sins and grossindecencies; those who forgivewhen they are angry; those whorespond to their Lord, keep upthe prayer; who conduct theiraffairs by mutual consultation;give to others out of what Wehave provided for them; anddefend themselves when theyare oppressed,” Q42:36-39.

Allah says, “If, by mutualconsent and consultation, thecouple wish to wean [the child],they will not beblamed...,”Q2:233. Door ofcommunication should alwaysbe open. The closest person toone is the closest friend that oneshould be able to confide in andshare worries with. If this dooris closed little problemboomerangs and escalates intoa big one.

Cooperativesisters in Islam

In situation where a man hasmore than one wife, co-wives canfair good and comfortable if theysee each other as cooperativesisters in Islam and not ascompetitive rivals.

Competition should only be inrighteousness and dutifulness towin Allah’s pleasure. TheProphet said, “This world is a[temporary] enjoyment, but thebest enjoyment of life is arighteous woman” SahihMuslim, 1467.

When the Prophet was asked‘who is the best woman?’ Hesaid, “The one who obeys herhusband’s command, whoseappearance pleases him andprotects her chastity and hiswealth in his absence,” MusnadAhmad, Hadith 7373.

Cooperation requires keepingsecrets and weaknesses.

Cooperation requirescontentment, support andappreciation.

The Prophet said, “Women!Make much charity for I sawmost of you in Hell...becauseyou curse and are ungrateful toyour husbands.”

An ideal family is one built onmutual love, care and trust.

The Quran has given us theabove three as the benchmarksto determine a healthy andsuccessful family. Allah says,“Another of His signs is that Hecreated spouses from amongyourselves for you to live within tranquillity: He ordained loveand kindness between you.

There truly are signs in this forthose who reflect,”Q30:21.

The five love languages are:gifts, quality time, acts of service,words of affirmation, and physicaltouch.

Care requires kindness andunderstanding particularly atchallenging times. Life is but hillsand valleys, day and night. Nocondition is permanent. Caringitself may be challenging anddemanding at times but it is asign of commitment and sincerelove which greatly pleases Allah.Couple that operates on the basisof understanding will not onlythrive but will survive.

Women go through frequent

changes: menses, pregnancyand lactation all affect theirmood and temperament.Tolerance and patience in thiscircumstance is a proof of care.Allah himself has waived Hisright of Salat and fasting duringmenses, and gives themconcession in pregnancy andbreastfeeding about fasting,why shouldn’t we beconsiderate? Allah says, “Donot hold unto them with theintent to harm them and commitaggression: anyone who doesthis wrongs himself...,”Q2:231.

Caring for each other shouldbe extended to caring for eachother’s family.

THE new Aare, Musulumiof Yorubaland, Alhaji

Daud Makanjuola has said hewould establish Isamic schoolsto fight terrorism in Nigeria.

He said this while paying avisit to the Alake and paramountruler of Egbaland, ObaAdedotun Gbadebo at his palaceto inform him of the forthcomingturbaning ceremony of the newAare of Musulumi holding onthe 19th December at LakanSalami stadium.

Aare Makanjuola in hisspeech said “as the new Aare ofMusulumi of Yourbaland, wehave a goal to achieve our plansto establish primary andsecondary schools in order toeducate our children so as to

I’ll establish Islamic schools to fightterrorism—Aare Musulumi

prevent them from beingused as hoodlums .

He said: “I will be going toall the states in Yourbaland tovisit the elders. We will needtheir support to achieve ourgoals, we can’t do this alone”.

While speaking on therelationship between Muslimsand Christians, the newMuslim leader in Yorubalandsaid “Muslims and Christiansare not enemies, they are bothworshiping the same God, Mysibling has a church, I builtand painted it, yet I have myown mosque. I don’tdiscriminate”.

The Alake of Egbaland whospoke at the event said helooked forward to a peacefulreign of the new Aare.

From left: Members of Aare in Council, Alhaji Kola Ahmed;Alhaji Dawud Makanjuola Akinola new Aare; Alhaji BasiruAkinola and Alhaji Musa Najemudeen during the visit onWednesday.

Oba Adedotun Gbadebo Alake of Egbaland, (right) givesRoyal blessing to Aare Musulumi of Yourbaland, AlhajiDawud Makanjuola Akinola (left) during the visit onWednesday. photos: Wunmi Akinola

Continues next week

By Daud Olatunji

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

AWEDA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Aweda MojisolaModinat, now wish tobe known andaddressed as ModinatMojisola Solarin. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of nameI, AmagiyaEjomafuvwe Juliet,hereby wish tocomfirm that am alsoAmagiya Ejomafuvwe.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

EGIGBA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Voke LydiaEgigba, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Okotie-EbohVoke Lydia (neeEgigba). All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Confirmation of nameThis is to confirm thatA b u k o y eO y i n k e m i e b i m oDaniel is the same asAbu Daniel, now wishto be known andaddressed as AbukoyeO y i n k e m i e b i m oDaniel. All formerdocuments remainvalid. UBA andgeneral public pleasetake note.

UGOH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss UgohN k e c h i n y e r eGenevive, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Ibeh NkechinyereGenevive. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

NGU—I, formerlyknown andaddressed as NguEmmanuel Chikizie,now wish to beknown andaddressed as OkoroEmmanuel Chikizie.All former documentsremain valid.General publicplease take note.

BISOLA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Bisola Saheed, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Ibrahim RashidatSaheed. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

A B A Y O M I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAbayomi BukolaFoluke, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. OyeneyeBukola Foluke. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

NWACHUKWU—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissNwachukwu ChinyereA., now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. EnebeliChinyere A. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

E M M A N U E L — I ,formerly known andaddressed as EzeE m m a n u e lNwachukwu, nowwish to be known andaddressed as EzeDavid Nwachukwu.All former documentsremain valid.Ecobank, Zenith Bank,UBA Plc and generalpublic please takenote.

E M M A N U E L — I ,formerly known andaddressed asEmmanuel Amodu,now wish to be knownand addressed asMicheal Amodu. Allformer documentsremain valid.Vanguard MediaLimited, UBA andgeneral public pleasetake note.

A D E M O L A — I ,formerly known andaddressed asA d e m o l aB r e a k t h r o u g hIpesanmi, now wishto be known andaddressed asAbisoye AdewoleBreakthrough. Allformer documentsremain valid.General publicplease take note.

EHIAVBI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss PerpetualOsayemwenre Ehiavbi,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.P e r p e t u a lOsayemwenre Uraih.All former documentsremain valid. St. JohnBosco Catholic Churchand general publicplease take note.

AGUBE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss NtamyEmmanuel Agube,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Ntamy Iniobong Imah.All former documentsremain valid. NYSCand general publicplease take note.

BUSOLA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Monsura BusolaIdera, now wish to beknown and addressedas Monsura IderaOpaleye. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

AJIEH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AjiehFlorence, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Florence Ebinum-Chukwu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

E K A N P O U — I ,formerly known andaddressed as Mr.Maika Gowon, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mr.Ekanpou GowonMaika. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Confirmation of nameI, OlanrewajuOlanipekun herebystate that am thesame person asAbudu Olanipekunnow wish to beaddressed andknown asO l a n r e w a j uOlanipekun. Allformer documentsremain valid. AccessBank Plc and publicshould take note.

N W O K O L O — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissNkemdilim MiriamNwokolo, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Nkemdilim MiriamOzoani. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

BAABA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss MarciaWaazor Baaba, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Marcia Waazor Okeh.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

AKUJOR—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Okechukwu PrinceIsaac Akujor, nowwish to be known andaddressed asOkechukwu PrinceIsaac Akuzie. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

ALOH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AlohJosephine Chinwe,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Ihuoma JosephineChinwe. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Confirmation of nameNNAKA—I, formerlyknown and addressed asMiss Tobias ChinasaEdith and Miss NnakaChinasa Edith is one andsame person, now wish tobe known and addressedas Mrs. Obialasor EdithChinasa. All formerdocuments remain valid.General public please takenote.

Addition of NameOLUWAYEMISI—I,formerly known andaddressed as Mrs.Olanrewaju OmobolanleOluwayemisi, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Olanrewaju OmobolanleOluwayemisi Daniel. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

ELE—I, formerly

known and addressed

as Ele Nkanu Ezoke,

now wish to be known

and addressed as

Bosom Nkanu Ezoke.

All former documents

remain valid. General

public please take note.

UNACHI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss NnekaUnachi, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Nneka Alioha. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

MADUAKOLAM—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissMaduakolam IfeomaColberth, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Mmeka IfeomaColberth. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

NNOROMELE—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissErnestina UzonnaNnoromele, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Ernestina UzonnaPeters. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OKORO—I, formerly

known and addressed

as Miss Okoro Adaku,

now wish to be known

and addressed as Mrs.

Ogoke Ada Blessing.

All former documents

remain valid. General

public please take note.

M A Y O M A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as JamesMayoma, now wishto be known andaddressed asOjamayoma IghoKelvin. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Confirmation of nameI, ArenibaroJuwominin Williamshereby confirm that thenames ArenibaroJuwominin andArenibaro JuwomininWilliams refer to oneand same me. Allformer documentsremain valid. Eco BankPlc and general publicplease take note.

YUSUF—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Yusuf AbimbolaRisikat, now wish tobe known andaddressed as SodipeAbimbola Risikat. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of nameThis is to confirm thatMiss Iche ScholasticaOzodinairu and MissIche Scholastica Ozodiis one and the sameperson, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. KanuScholastica Nneka. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

ODUEZE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss OduezeIsabella, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Nlemuzor Isabella. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of nameThis is to confirm thatPatience Gabriel,Patience Ene Ochigboand Priscilla Ochigbo isone and same person.All former documentsremain valid. UBA,First Bank of NigeriaPlc, Ochipatty Limitedand general publicplease take note.

G I D E O N — I ,formerly known andaddressed as GideonEmmanuel Ekanem,now wish to be knownand addressed asA b a s i - A k a r aEmmanuel Ekanem.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

A R O W O J O B E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as KazeemArowojobe Idris, nowwish to be known andaddressed as KazeemOlorunwa Idris. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

A D E K U N L E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAdekunle RukayatAdejoke, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Bashiru RukayatAdejoke. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

DARLINGTON—I,formerly known andaddressed asDarlington AwuzieSomtochi, now wish tobe known andaddressed as StanleyAwuzie Somtochi. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

NWACHUKWU—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissAlice NnekaNwachukwu, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Alice Nneka Ugorji.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

MEG—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Meg E. Okotie andMargaret Okotie, nowwish to be known andaddressed as MargaretE j o v w o r h o g h e n eOkotie. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

F O W O R A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissBose OludotunFowora, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Bose OludotunKareem. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015—43

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

AGBON-OGIEVA—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissA g b o n - O g i e v aOsarehimwen, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.O s e m w e g i eOsarehimwen. All formerdocuments remain valid.Citizenship andLeadership TrainingCentre, GTB, FCMB andgeneral public please takenote.

AUWAL—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Yunusa Auwal, nowwish to be known andaddressed as YunusaMusa Auwalu. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

SAMUEL—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Justina BraemiSamuel, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Justina Feine FadahOyakemeagbegha. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

A D E L A K U N — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAdelakun OluwafunkeBose, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. OlaomoOluwafunke Bose. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of nameThese nameOshiamila OmohAugustine andEshiamila AugustineOmoh belong to thesame person, but nowwish to be known andaddressed asEshiamila AugustineOmoh. All formerdocuments remainvalid. UBA andgeneral public pleasetake note.

Confirmation of nameThese name DanielOlusegun Ayo andDaniel Olusegun AyoAjayi belong to thesame person, but nowwish to be known andaddressed as DanielOlusegun Ayo Ajayi.All former documentsremain valid. AccessBank, UBA andgeneral public pleasetake note.

Correction of nameMy name was wronglywritten as SolomonChinonso Stephen,instead of WiseChinonso SolomonAjuonu, but now wishto be known andaddressed as WiseChinonso SolomonAjuonu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

AGBER—I, formerly

known and addressed

as Agber Paul, now

wish to be known and

addressed as Baba

Paul. All former

documents remain

valid. General public

please take note.

OBIEGBUNAM—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissO b i e g b u n a mAppolonia Uche, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Igwe Appolonia Uche.All former documentsremain valid. FirstBank of Nigeria Plcand general publicplease take note.

BALA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss HauwaStephen Bala, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Hauwa JoshuaYohanna. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

L A M B E R T — I ,formerly known andaddressed as Mrs.Lambert Grace, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Oniabro Grace. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

FRIDAY—I, formerly

known and addressedas Friday Lucy, nowwish to be known and

addressed asBagudugu Lucy. Allformer documents

remain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

NJOKU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss NjokuCharlotte Chizzy, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Onuobia CharlotteChizzy. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

A B D U L L A H I — I ,formerly known andaddressed asAbdullahi OnogohYushau, now wish tobe known andaddressed as MusaOnogo Idris. Allformer documentsremain valid. Financialinstitutions andgeneral public pleasetake note.

ONIAIYE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Anthonia AnitaOlushola Oniaiye, nowwish to be known andaddressed as AnthoniaEkong. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

W I L L I A M S — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MoriamAdepeju Williams,now wish to be knownand addressed asMoriam AdepejuHuthman. All formerdocuments remainvalid. United Bank forAfrica and generalpublic please takenote.

EZEPUE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss EzepueJemah Ogochukwu,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. ChukwukeluJemah Ogochukwu.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Reconciliation of Names/Date of BirthThese name Ikpere Lilianand Ikpere Lillian Igbunubelong to same personand I was born onFebruary 10, 1985 and notOctober 2nd 1985 thatwas wrongly written inmy WAEC certificate. Allformer documentsremain valid, WAEC, anyauthority it may concenand the general public totake note.

SUOYEFA—I formerlyknown and addressedas Miss SuoyefaYoukere-Ere now wishbe known andaddressed as MrsOsadebe Youkere-Ere.All former documentsremain valid, HospitalManagement Board,Asaba, any authority itmay concern andgeneral public to takenote.

OLAITAN—I formerlyknown and addressedas Miss OlaitanOlufisayo Folake, nowwish to be known andaddressed as MrsCarson OlufisayoFolake. All formerdocuments remainvalid,any authority itmay concern and thegeneral public to takenote.

Confirmation of NameThese names EjayerienseTheresa Ejomeyovwi andUgherughe Theresa,belong to the sameperson but now wish tobe known and addressedas Ugherughe Theresa.All former documentsremain valid, First bankPlc and UBA bank, anyauthority it may concernand the general public totake note.

Confirmation of NameThese names EgbonodjeHanderson Philip andEgbonodje Philip, belongto the same person butnow wish to be knownand addressed asEgbonodje HandersonPhillip. All formerdocuments remainvalid,First bank Plc, anyauthority it may concernand the general public totake note.

ETHE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas EtheGordon Anthony, nowwish to be known andaddressed as OsosoG o r d o nAnthony Solomon. Allformer documentsremain valid anyauthority it mayconcern and thegeneral public to takenote.

Confirmation of nameThis is to certify that

Okoro Henrietta and

Bebeteidoh Christiana

is the same and one

person. All former

documents remain

valid. General public

please take note.

Confirmation of nameThis is to certify thatImonikosaye Greatand ImonikosayeOghenemaro is thesame and one personbut now wish to beknown and addressedas Imonikosaye GreatOghenemaro. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

OGOLO —I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss RachelEjuvbedia Ogolo, nowwish to be known andaddressed as MrsRachel EjuvbediaAbiola – Olaleye. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

B R A I M A H — I ,formerly known andaddressed as BraimahKerimu Ogbamoisa,now wish to be knownand addressed asKheoa MishaelOgbamoisa. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

AKOMOLAFE—I,formerly known andaddressed as RufusDeji Akomolafe, nowwish to be known andaddressed as RufusOladeji Komolafe. Allformer documentsremain valid. Cee EssLtd, WEBIC andgeneral public pleasetake note.

U M U N N A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissMonica OnyekaUmunna, now wish tobe known andaddressed as MrsMonica OnyekaUzoelue. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

IRURU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Iruru Omiang, nowwish to be known andaddressed as EshueOmiang Lucy. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

A N T H O N Y — I ,formerly known andaddressed as AddehOdion Anthony, nowwish to be known andaddressed as AddehOdion Henry. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

ISAIAH —I, formerlyknown and addressedas Victoria MondayIsaiah, now wish to beknown and addressedas Victoria Ingram-Isaiah. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

AJAERO —I, formerlyknown and addressedas Kelechi PeaceAjaero, now wish to beknown and addressedas Kelechi PeaceKanikwu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ABDULKAREEM —I,formerly known andaddressed as MissAbdulkareem MutiatOmotayo, now wish tobe known andaddressed as MrsIbrahim MutiatOmotayo. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

UDEAJA—We, formerly known and addressedas Mr. Ugochukwu Udeaja, Mr. Nnamdi Udeaja,Mr. Okwudili Udeaja, Mr. Chinweuba Udeaja,Mrs. Obianuju Udeaja and Mrs. Ifeoma Udeaja,now wish to be known and addressed as Mr.Ugochukwu Udeh-Joel, Mr. Nnamdi Udeh-Joel,Mr. Okwudili Udeh-Joel, Mr. Chinweuba Udeh-Joel, Mrs. Obianuju Udeh-Joel and Mrs. IfeomaUdeh-Joel. All former documents remain valid.All authorities concerned and general publicplease take note.

OKOGU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AnitaO g h e n e r i o b o r u eOkogu, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs AnitaO g h e n e r i o b o r u eWanogho. All formerdocuments remainvalid. NYSC andgeneral public shouldplease take note.

O M O K O R — I ,formerly known andaddressed as OmokorFriday Efeh, now wishto be known andaddressed as LazarusFriday Onoriode. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic should pleasetake note.

CONFIRMATION /CHANGE OF NAME:That in some of mydocuments carriedNwosu Ugo Judith ,others carried EmekweUgo Judith. Both namesas they appear abovebelong to one and thesame person, now wish tobe known and address asEmekwe Ugo Judith. Allformer documents remainvalid. Keystone Bank,Stanbic IBTC Bank andgeneral public shouldplease take note.

A K P O K O N A — I ,formerly known andaddressed asAkpokona EseElizabath, now wish tobe known andaddressed asA k p o m e d a y eEseoghene Elizabeth.All former documentsremain valid. FirstBank and generalpublic should pleasetake note.

L A U R E T T A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as EbiuweAlero Lauretta, nowwish to be known andaddressed as EbiuweAlero Tonwe. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic should pleasetake note.

OYEM—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Joy Oyem,now wish to be knownand addressed as MrsJoy Godwin Akaeze.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic should pleasetake note.

44 — VANGUARD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

Confirmation of nameThis is to inform FirstBank Plc, Eco Bank Plcand general public thatO g h e n e m u r o k oFrancis and LuckyFrancis is one and thesame person. Henceforth now wish to beknown and address asOghenemuroko EkulisFrancis. All formerdocuments remainvalid.

EJEYE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss EjeyeOmawumi Sandra,now wish to be knownand addressed as MrsOghumu OmawumiSandra. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicshould please takenote.

E G E R U O H — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissEgeruoh ChiomaAdanna, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Ekeh ChiomaAdanna. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Imo StateUniversity Owerri,National Youth ServiceCorp, [NYSC] andgeneral public takenote.

U G W U A L A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissEzinne AmarachiUgwuala now wish tobe known andaddressed as MaryMarbel Azuonwu. Allformer documentsremain valid. AbiaState Univerity, Uturuand general publicplease take note.

B E N J A M I N -NJOKU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Ngozi LilianBenjamin- Njoku, nowwish to be known andaddressed as NgoziLilian Chigbo. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of nameThis is to confirm thatthe name NnekehMaureen Ngozi,refers to one and thesame person asOkonkwo MaureenNgozi, now wish to beknown and addressedas Nnekeh MaureenNgozi. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Confirmation of nameThis is to confirm thatthe name AkhetuamenOmoye Blessing,refers to one and thesame person asAnyachi Blessing,now wish to be knownand addressed asAnyachi Blessing. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

IKPORO—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss. PereteiIkporo, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. PereteiOsaisai. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

AVI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss. Tarila EstherAvi, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Tarila EstherBukumor. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

M O G - A P P I A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as Mrs.Mabel Mog-Appia,now wish to be knownand addressed asMiss. Mabel Agih.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

E K A N E M — I ,formerly known andaddressed as Miss.Ekanem Ita Henshaw,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Ekanem HenshawSolomon Dove-Edwin. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

S A T U R D A Y — I ,formerly known andaddressed asOlobiriowei Saturday,now wish to be knownand addressed asOlobiriowei Kiensai.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

STATION—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss. StationIbuomo Grace, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Theophilus IbuomoGrace. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

HAROLD—I, formerlyknown and addressed asMrs. Felicia EnanyamHarold, now wish to beknown and addressed asMiss. Puanoni FeliciaEnanyam. All formerdocuments remain valid.Bayelsa State UniversalBasic Education Board(SUBEB), Ogbia LocalGovernment EducationAuthority and generalpublic please take note.

Confirmation of nameI, Sonkey AriwadininiaroGrace do hereby state thatmy name was wronglywritten in my Acceptanceform for provisionaladmission as SunkeyAriwadininiaro Grace andin my voter ’s card asAriwadinimaro instead ofSonkey AriwadininiaroGrace. All formerdocuments remain valid.NDU and general publicplease take note.

Confirmation of name I, Newman OnumeyaBlessing do herebyconfirm that the nameNewman OnumeyaBlessing, NewmanOnumeya BlessingAbome, and NewmanBlessing refers to oneand same me. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation ofname I, Johnson SamuelErepawei do herebyconfirm that the nameJohnson ErepaweiSamuel and JohnsonSamuel refers to oneand same me. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation ofnameI, Awi Prosper LazarusGodmercy do herebyconfirm that the nameAwi Prosper Lazarusrefers to one and sameme. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Confirmation of name

I, Obaguo Walter,

Obenola do hereby

confirm that the name

Obaguo Walter refers to

one and same me. All

former documents

remain valid. General

public please take note.

Confirmation of nameI, Gold TamaralayefaSophia do herebyconfirm that the nameFrank Tamaralayefaand Frank GoldTamaralayefa S. referto one and same me.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

O N O M O B E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissEjiro Onomobe, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Emonina Ejiro Rita.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

O N A S A N YA — I ,formerly known andaddressed asO n a s a n y aOmobolanle Idowu,now wish to be knownand addressed asA n i m a s h a u nOmobolanle Idowu.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

G B A D E B O — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAdejoke OluwakemiGbadebo, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Adejoke OluwakemiAkomolafe. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ONYEMAUCHECHI—I, formerly known andaddressed as MissN k e c h i n y e r eOnyemauchechi, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Nkechinyere IjokAtaebirien. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

AV B U L I M E N — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAvbulimen Omoibolo,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Ochi Ekene OmoiboloFavour. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

O N Y E A N W U — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissYomachi FrancesOnyeanwu, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Yomachi FrancesNwosu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ANYADIEGWU—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissAnyadiegwu NnennaRita, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. OkonkwoNnenna Rita. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

NWAGU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Nwagu VivianChizoba, now wish tobe known andaddressed as EzeonuVivian Chizoba. Allformer documentsremain valid, generalpublic take note.

N W A F O R — I ,formerly known andaddressed as NwaforDaniel Chinedu, nowwish to be known andaddressed as ClementChinedu Daniel. Allformer documentsremain valid. UnitedBank for Africa Plc andgeneral public pleasetake note.

E M M A N U E L — I ,formerly known andaddressed as JoanEno Emmanuel, nowwish to be known andaddressed as JoanEdet Emmanuel. Allformer documentsremain valid.Guaranty Trust Bankand general publicplease take note.

O L A R I N D E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as OlarindeMoses MotunrayoAlayo, now wish to beknown and addressedas Olarinde Moses. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

SAKA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Wisdom NgaleSaka, now wish to beknown and addressedas Wisdom Oji. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of name

This is to certify thatImonikosaye Greatand ImonikosayeOghenemaro is thesame and one personbut now wish to beknown and addressedas Imonikosaye GreatOghenemaro. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

ULOKO—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss JoyceOmokhuwe RebeccaUloko, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. JoyceOmokhuwe RebeccaOsuya. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

UDEH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss NkechinyereVivienne Udeh, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Nkechinyere VivienneOke. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

E Z E N WAO B I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissO g e c h iO n y i n y e c h u k w uEzenwaobi, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.O g e c h iO n y i n y e c h u k w uOffor. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

NWOSU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Mrs. ChiomaMirian Nwosu, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Chioma MiriamEdmund. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

E B E B U L U E — I ,formerly known andaddressed asEbebulue Chukwueku,now wish to be knownand addressed as IyareChuks. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OBASI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Obasi Simon Eze,now wish to be knownand addressed as OnuSimon Eze. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

AGBABI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Agbabi Michael,now wish to be knownand addressed asD o g h o r - A g b a b iMichael. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Reconciliation of namesThe names ChristianaO g h e n e r u k e v w eObayagbon andObayagbon ChristieRukky refer to one andthe same person. I nowwish to be known andaddressed as ChristianaO g h e n e r u k e v w eObayagbon. All formerdocuments remain valid.General public please takenote.

Confirmation of nameThe names ChukwumaJonathan Abuanekwuand Obi JonathanChukwuma refer toone and the sameperson. I now wish tobe known andaddressed as ObiJonathan Chukwuma.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015 — 45

46 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

Amuneke to coach U-17, U-20 teams

UNDER-17 WorldCup coach, Em-

manuel Amuneke hasbeen given more re-sponsibilities by the Ni-geria Football Federa-tion adding the U-20national team to his port-folio.

Amuneke led theGolden Eaglets to con-quer the World in Chileand the NFF confirmedyesterday that the formerSuper Eagles playerwould assist coachManu Garuba at the U-

By Tony Ubani 20(Flying Eagles) whilestill retaining his posi-tion as the chief coach ofthe Golden Eaglets.

President of the NFF,Pinnick Amaju said that

Manu Garuba and Amu-neke have a relationshipthat would be beneficialto Nigerian football.

‘’Amuneke will assistGaruba in the U-20 and

still retain his positionas the gaffer of the U-17.We want to pay more at-tention to these teamsbecause they are the fu-ture of our senior nation-al team,’ he said.

Dalung drums support forDream Team

CAF U-23 AFCON:

MINISTER ofYouth and Sports

Development BarrSolomon Dalung onThursday congratulatedthe nation’s represen-tatives in the ongoingCAF U-23 FootballChampionships inSenegal which serves asqualification for thefootball event of the Rio2016 Olympic Games.Nigeria drew 2-2 with thepharaoh’s of Egypt onWednesday.

In a telephoneconversation with theChief Coach SamsonSiasia, Dalung urged theplayers to strive to qualifyfor the Olympics. “We arevery proud of our boys,they played very well.They could have won the

match but we are happywith the one point. Icommend your efforts,and I want everyNigerian to support theteam. Nobody wants thevictory more than you dobut sometimes in sportsthere are upsets andsurprises” said Dalung.

Dalung urgedNigerians to get behindthe boys and pray fortheir success.”Sports,especially football is thenation’s unifying force. Iam appealing toNigerians to get behindthe team and pray fortheir success becausevictories in footballfurther unite and giveNigerians joy” saidDalung.

EGYPTIAN coachHossam Al Badri is

optimistic that his teamwill beat Mali in their lastgroup B game of the CAFUnder-23 African Cup ofNations and hopefullyreach the semi-finals.

Egypt have pulled twodraws 1-1 againstAlgeria, and 2-2 againstNigeria on Wednesday. Agenerous win will assurethem of advancingnotwithstanding theresult between Nigeriaand Algeria. They arecurrently third with twopoints on the log, whileAlgeria and Nigeria aretied at four points each.

“We have to win againstMali to boost ourchances. We still have achance,” Al Badri stated.

Speaking on the highwire game againstNigeria on Wednesdaynight, the coach said: “Itwas a difficult game forus. We were down to twogoals from penalties, andwe had to come backstronger. “It was very

Egypt coach targets first winagainst Mali

complicated for theplayers but theyresponded in the secondhalf. We dominated in thesecond half and wedeservingly equalized.”

Meanwhile Maliassistant coach Kolon IssaCoulibaly, said that histeam will not lay downand be rolled over byEgypt .

The Malians havenothing at stake havinglost two games 2-3 againstNigeria and 0-2 againstAlgeria. They will bemeeting an Egyptianside desperate for a win.

“We will raise our headsup and play for honour inthe third match againstEgypt,” said Coulibaly.

He disclosed that it wasdisappointing that theylost two matches in whichthey did not play badly.

“Our disappointment ishuge all, because theseare the first two defeatssince we assumedleadership of the team.And it was at the crucialmoment as the team sunk.

Iheanacho makes me happy — Bony

MANCHESTERCity striker Wil-

fred Bony has disclosedthat Nigerian youngster,Kelechi Iheanacho makeshim happy each time hescores.

The Ivorian born Bony,spoke of his brotherly lovefor Iheanacho, adding that

he is keen to help theformer Golden Eagletsstar achieve greatness inthe game.

The duo were both ontarget as Manuel Pellegri-ni’s side beat Hull 4-1 inthe Capital One Cup onTuesday night and Bonyis pleased to see his fel-low African impressing inEngland.

‘It is good for me to pushhim to do it the right way,’said Bony. ‘He is a strik-er, so it is always goodwhen he scores. It makesme happy as well.’

“I see him as my broth-er, because he has comefrom Africa like me,’ Bonytold the ManchesterEvening News.

‘So I give him lots of

advice on how to handlepressure. We have thingsin common, so I talk to hima lot – he sits close so Isee him every day.’

City travel to the Britan-nia Stadium to face Stokein the Premier League onSaturday lunchtime.

Rio 2016: Pele opposes ban on‘clean’ athletes

BRAZILIAN football legend Pele

has revealed his oppo-sition to the ban on“clean” Russian athletesfrom the 2016 OlympicGames in Rio de Janeiroover the latest dopingscandal.

“I don’t believe it isfair to punish those whowere not involved in us-

ing doping,” Pele said.Pele also acknowl-

edged it was not easy toensure full control overthe use of banned sub-stances. “It is necessarythat all the federationsfrom all over the worldunite efforts to imple-ment such a control.”

An independent WorldAnti-Doping Agency(WADA) commission de-

livered on November 9a report on its investiga-tion into doping abuseallegations involvingRussian athletes. Thisrecommended that theInternational Associa-tion of Athletics Federa-tions (IAAF) suspendsall athletes of the All-Russia Athletics Federa-tion from internationalcompetitions.

ZENITH pledges support forNFF leadership training

LEADING financiali n s t i t u t i o n ,

ZENITH Bank PLC, haspromised to provide evengreater support to theNigeria FootballFederation to fundcapacity –enhancingprograms amongadministrators of thegame in the country.

A General Manager ofthe bank, Mr. FrancisEkonye, who representedthe Group ManagingDirector, Mr. Peter

Amangbo, said this muchwhile seeing offChairmen of FootballAssociations of States inNigeria who flew to theUnited Kingdom onThursday, on a 4-dayleadership trainingprogram.

“All I want to say is thatZENITH Bank is happyto be part of this and wewould not hesitate to givesupport to any leadershiptraining program. I knowthat as principalstakeholders of the gamein the country, you wouldbe great ambassadors ofthis country at thetraining program.”

Also at the MurtalaM u h a m m e dInternational Airport,Lagos to see off theleading lights of the NFFCongress were NFFPresident Amaju Pinnickand 1st Vice President,Seyi Akinwunmi.

Golden Eaglets players savouring their finest moments at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

•Bony

•Pinnick•Klishina. . .Russian

long jumper

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015 — 47

‘’I’ve received calls bymany people wanting toknow if we are hiring acoach to take over the jobof Sunday Oliseh. Thatis absolutely out of it.Perhaps, I was mis-quoted or misunder-stood. But, what I meantwas to solve the problemof not scoring goals bythe team. This could bein a way of internshipwith big teams likeBayern Munich. Andremember that SundayOliseh is the PepGuardiola of Nigeriaand it will be interestingfor him to interface withGuardiola’’.

Pinnick said that theNFF were 100% satisfiedwith the job of Olisehsince he took over the

PinnickContinues from BP

reins of Super Eaglesfrom Stephen Keshi.‘’We have no regretsemploying Oliseh andhe has delivered 100%.We at the NFF will givehim everything he needsto succeed. And remem-ber that Nigerians wantresults. It is in this linethat we want to see thatOliseh has everything athis disposal to bring joyto millions of Nigerians.We’re not hiring a for-eign or new coach orheavyweight coach.We’re happy and satis-fied with Oliseh’’,Amaju said.

The Super Eagles havescored four goals in fivecompetitive matches un-der Oliseh and the coachhas remained unbeaten.

top stop withArgentina, Spain,Germany, Chile, Brazil,Portugal, Colombia,England and Austria inthe world top ten.

The slip in therankings is worrisome toNigeria footballenthusiasts as they fear,it could affect Nigeria’schances in the world cup2018 qualifying draw tobe held in June.

Meanwhile FIFAexecutive committee hasdiffered the expansionof the world to 40 teams.

The proposal was oneof many offered by the

FIFA rankingContinues from BP 2016 FIFA Reform

Committee during inZurich, the latest effortto restructure thescandal-plagued soccergoverning body.

Expansion — whichwould not occur until the2026 tournament, at theearliest — would“enhance theuniversality of FIFA andto enlarge the basis forparticipation at majorcompetitions” the FIFAReform Committee wrotein its proposal.

FIFA last expanded theWorld Cup field (from 24to 32) at the 1998 WorldCup.

CAF U-23 AFCON: It’s win or burst against Algeria— Siasia

NIGERIA Under-23team coach,

Samson Siasia hasreiterated the need topost a good result againstAlgeria in their last groupB match of the CAFUnder-23 African Cup ofNations, otherwiseNigeria’s chances ofgoing to the Rio 2016Olympics will evaporate.

Speaking Wednesdaynight after Nigeriasurvived an Egyptianscare in a 2-2 pulsatingdraw, Siasia lamentedthat his team waslethargic and the problemmust be fixed, if they areto avoid defeat to Algeria.Nigeria scored twopenalty goals in the firsthalf, but squandered theopportunity to cement aplace in the semi-finals,when they conceded twopreventable goals.

“It will be a tough battleagainst Algeria, and wehave to be careful aboutthe North African sides.

Speaking on the lostopportunity againstEgypt Siasia maintainedthat: “We tend to loseconcentration in thesecond half and I have tofix it. It was the same casein the first game againstMali and the same thinghappened againstEgypt.”

Team captain, AzubuikeOkechukwu assured thatthe Algerian hurdle willbe surmounted when theyplay on Saturday.

“We know theAlgerians. We are notafraid of them.

“We respect them butwe are not afraid ofthem."

NFF takes over Golden Eaglets transfer

PRESIDENT of NigeriaFootball Federation,

NFF, Melvin AmajuPinnick has warnedParents of U-17 WorldChampions and suitorclubs to stay away from theplayers insisting that thefootball house would notissue any InternationalTransfer Certificate(ITC) to

Clubs who lure the playersto sign without theirauthority, reports TonyUbani.

‘’We(NFF) willdetermine the clubs theplayers will play in and nottheir parents or the so-called Agents’’, Amajuwarned yesterday at theMurtala MohammedInternational Airport beforethe departure of Chairmenof Football Associations ofStates in Nigeria who flewto the United Kingdom on

a 4-day leadership trainingprogram.

‘’There are manytempting offers from manyClubs. We’re monitoringthings and want only thebest for these players. Wehave a role to play in theircareers and not theirparents or those so-calledAgents who are onlyinterested in the moneythey will make. Theseplayers are national assetsto be kept together. Allintending Clubs will come

to the NFF for us to strike abetter deal that will bebeneficial to them and notthose slave contracts thatwill extinguish theirglowing careers. We’redoing this not because ofany financial gain. We’retrying to build a futureNigerian team. Theseplayers if properlymanaged will be the onesto bring more honour andglory to our country’’, hesaid.

Dalungcommiserateswith late SamIbiam’sfamily, NFF

THE HonourableMinister of Youth

and Sports DevelopmentBarrister SolomonDalung hascommiserated with thefamily of the firstNigerian goalkeeper,Sam Ibiam who died onWednesday at the age of91.

The HonourableMinister alsosympathized with thefootball governing bodyin Nigeria, NigeriaFootball Federation(NFF) and the footballfamily in Nigeria on thedeath of the legend.

“Though, Pa Ibiamdied at the ripe age of91, it is always painfulwhen we lose peoplethat we love irrespectiveof their age. Isympathize with hisimmediate family, theNFF and members of thefootball family. He hasleft a huge vacuum thatcannot be filled” saidDalung.

Ibiam, the firstNigerian national teamgoalkeeper was born in1925 in Ebonyi State. Hewas the goalkeeper theNigerian team that wasselected for a tour of theUnited Kingdom,popularly called theUKTourists in 1949.

Barr Dalung urged thenew generation offootballers and athletesgenerally to emulate thesterling qualities ofIbiam and other playersof his generation andalways give their bestfor Nigeria.

No FIFA decision onWorld Cup expansion

FIFA’S ExecutiveCommittee has

announced it hasdiscussed the possibleexpansion of the

World Cup to 40teams and also agreed tolimit FIFA presidents tothree terms of four years.

The ExCo agreed anumber of proposals putforward by the governingbody’s reform committeeduring another tumultuousday for the organisation.

The reform announce-ment came just hours aftertwo senior FIFA officials,Alfredo Hawit, president ofCONCACAF, and Juan

Angel Napout, president ofCONMEBOL, were takeninto custody by Swiss policefollowing raids at the Baurau Lac hotel in Zurich.

Both Hawit and Napoutare suspected of acceptingmillions of dollars in bribesand have opposedimmediate extradition to theUnited States.

A statement released byFIFA confirmed reports ofan expansion of the WorldCup from 32 to 40 teams,reportedly in time for the2026 World Cup, had beendiscussed but no decisionhad been made on theproposal.

•IT'S A MUST WIN...Nigeria U-23 team coach, Samson Siasia strategising with his players ahead ofAlgeria clash tomorrow.

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

How to Play Sudoku

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

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

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

FRIFRIFRIFRIFRIDDDDDAAAAAY'S ANSY'S ANSY'S ANSY'S ANSY'S ANSWERSWERSWERSWERSWERSTTTTTODODODODODAAAAAY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

CMYK

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

FIFA have announced a string of reforms, but their acting president IssaHayatou appeared to fall asleep as the announcements were made after along day in Zurich yesterday

Heavyweight Coach: Guardiolacan help Oliseh out — Pinnick

•Oliseh •Guardiola•Pinnick

PRESIDENT ofNigeria Football

Federation, NFF, MelvinAmaju Pinnick yesterdaythrew more light on theoffer of a ‘’Heavyweight’’coach to the Super Eaglesto solve the lack of goalsby the Sunday Oliseh-tutored team.

BY TONY UBANI

Continues on Page 47

FIFA rankings: Nigeriaslip out of sightNIGERIA’s ratings

on the FIFA worldrankings continue totumble as the SuperEagles slipped sevenplaces down from 56th to66th in the worldrankings.

On the Africa continentMali and Ugandapreviously down in theNovember rankings, overtook Nigeria perched atthe 14th position. Cote ‘dIvoire still remainnumber one in Africa.

Algeria, Ghana, CapeVerde Islands, Tunisia,Senegal, Congo, Guinea,Egypt and Cameroonmake up the Africa topten.

Belgium maintained

CAF U-23 AFCON: Page 47

It’s win or burst againstAlgeria — SiasiaNFF takes over GoldenEaglets transfer

Amuneke to coachU-17, U-20 teams— Page 46

Pistorius GUILTY ofmurderingReeva

•Garuba •Amuneke

Continues on Page 47

ACROSS4 Throw (5)7 Immature (6)9 Also (3)10 Rodent (3)12 Proprietor (5)13 Cook (4)15 Angry (5)17 Instrument (6)19 Part (4)20 Representative (5)22 Plunge (3)24 Scorned (7)27 Encountered (3)28 Perch (5)31 Dread (4)33 Locating (6)35 Performer (5)37 Gaelic (4)38 Carp (5)39 Horse (3)41 Spotted (3)42 Chase (6)43 Cut (5)

DOWN1 Tree (6)2 Maintain (6)3 Because (3)4 Bottom (4)5 Drop (5)6 Unnecessary (8)8 Tarry (4)11 Custom (9)14 Store (4)16 Parched (4)18 Detail (4)21 Create (8)23 Fairy (4)25 Repose (4)26 Finished (4)29 Monster (6)30 Poured (6)32 Elevate (5)34 Snare (4)36 Clothed (4)40 Firearm (3)

ACROSS: 1, Chef 4, Cab 6, Stab 9, Aid 10,Revolver 11, Beat 14, Orb 16, Berth 19,Reported 21, Eerie 23, Demanded 24, Press27, Tit 31, Rite 33, Original 34, Sin 35, Bent36, Ash 37, East.

DOWN: 2, Heel 3, Flog 4, Cavorted 5, Bore6, Sabre 7, Tie 8, Adapt 12, Creep 13, Spine14, Ore 15 Beret 17, Ready 18, Hardy 20,Diminish 22, Eat 25, Raise 26, Spent 28,Rota 29, Pile 30, Pass 32, Tin.

CMYK