security, third term agenda- buhari, tinubu tacklejonathan, hail el-rufai

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 61814

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013**

Mr & Mrs

Buhari, Tinubu tackleJonathan, hail El-Rufai

Continues on page 5

•He is spending too much on security — Buhari•He is re-enacting Obasanjo's Third Term agenda — Tinubu

COLUMNIST:

DONUKOGBARA:

•P.17

LECTURE—Prof.Peter Lewis, Director ofAfrican Studies at thePaul Nitze School ofAdvanced InternationalStudies (SAIS), JohnHopkins University,USA (left), welcomingGov. EmmanuelUduaghan of Delta Stateto the university duringUduaghan's lecture,Wednesday, in Washing-ton DC, USA.

BOOK PRESENTATION: From left: Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi; Author of the Book, Mallam NasirEl-Rufai; Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd); Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-makura; Governor Babatunde Fashola of LagosState; CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi; Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwabo; Chairman of the occasion and former SpeakerAminu Masari and Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu at the presentation of the book "Accidental Public Servant" , yesterdayin Abuja. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan. See more pictures on 6.

Chime,EnuguGov returns

•Pg.14

We playedBrazil, notNigeria— Mali goalkeeper

See BackPage

SECURITY, THIRD TERM AGENDA

SONI DANIEL,REGIONAL EDITOR

NORTH; EMEKAMAMAH, HENRY

UMORU & JOHNBO-SCO AGBAKWURU

ABUJA—CHIEFTAINS of the new

opposition Mega party,All Progressives Con-gress, APC, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari(Rtd), and Asiwaju BolaTinubu, yesterday, la-mented that the govern-ment was concernedabout its survival andwas spending too much

—P.8

Oppositionsenators,Reps okayemergenceof APC

CMYK

2 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013

Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013 — 3

POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013—5

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

SECURITY, THIRD TERM: Buhari,Tinubu tackle Jonathan

Continues from page 1

We can make every place a starting point towarda better life. The good thing about life is that youcan stay over and over again.

THE glory of friendship is not the outstretchedhand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of com-

panionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comesto one when you discover that someone else be-lieves in you and is willing to trust you with afriendship – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Marilyn Monroe’s take on cultivating beautifulfriendships is endearing to the heart. “When youhave a good friend that really cares for you andtries to stick in there with you, learn to appreciatehim or her, and be a good friend too, because oneday you’re going to look up and say I lost a goodfriend for not caring enough.” Learn how to be re-spectful to your friends, always remember your truefriends will be there quicker than you ever imag-ine. Learn to remember you’ve got great friends;don’t forget that and they will always care for youno matter what. Always remember to smile and lookup at what you’ve got in life.

Appreciation involves being alert to the positiveaspects of your current situation and feeling thank-ful for what one has and for one’s circumstances.This requires not only a positive perspective in thepresent but also conscious awareness of beinggrateful at all times.

MEETING—From Left: Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Mr Yomi Awoniyi; Niger State DeputyGovernor, Alhaji Ahmed Ibeto and Vice President Namadi Sambo at the concluding meeting on FCTPericommunities in Abuja yesterday. Photo: NAN

money on security at theexpense of education.Both spoke in Abuja atthe presentation of abook, “Accidental PublicServant”, written byformer Minister of theFederal Capital Terri-tory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.

Buhari, in his address,regretted that unlike inthe past when priorityattention was given toeducation by the coun-try’s leaders, the present

system has not been pay-ing more than two or fiveper cent to the sector.

Education first—Buhari

Buhari said: ‘The littleI read about AccidentalPublic Servant remindedme of the visit of Obamato Ghana, leaving Ni-geria and South Africabefore returning to theUnited States. He didsay that promoting de-

mocracy requires stronginstitutions not strongpeople. The British es-tablished strong institu-tions for us - the Police,the Civil Service, theJudiciary and the Mili-tary, that when com-pared to other countries,you will have some re-spect.

“In Nigeria here, thosewho were strong de-stroyed the institutions,now our problem is ba-sically to get the strongto rebuild the institu-tions so that we can sus-tain our development,otherwise we are reallyinto a big trouble.

“We are so intertwinedthat it is so impossible todivide. All we have todo is to improve it andthat is why I respect thelate Ahmadu Bello andlate Chief ObafemiAwolowo. When I wascorrected by El- Rufaihimself, the lateSarduana was spending43 per cent of the na-tional budget on educa-tion; El Rufai correctedme that it was 46 percent.

“Awolowo was spend-ing more than 55 percent. You can’t go wrong.All we get now is onlytwo or five per cent oneducation and the reston security. This bookhas been written by El-Rufai to appeal to ourconsciences to sit up andre-organise and fix thiscountry.”

Jonathan ispursuing third

term enterprise—Tinubu

Tinubu in his speechsaid that ‘’the criminalthird term enterprise’’ offormer PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo wasbeing re-enacted by thecurrent administrationof President GoodluckJonathan.

“Sadly, the Nigeriannarrative has notchanged from what itwas during the timeNasir has written about.The narrative has unfor-tunately worsenedwhereby Nigerians aresaddled with a govern-ment concerned moreabout its survival, elon-gation in power andfighting imagined en-emies than applying it-self to running the coun-try properly,’’ he said.

His words: ‘’The com-pelling power of Nasir’swork is the fact that hehas exposed us to themind set of those thatNigerians have en-trusted withpower....Nasir is an an-gry man and that is un-derstandable. He isweighed down by thefailure of the project afew of them under thegovernment they servedenvisioned. He has dem-onstrated in his revela-tions how most of thoseentrusted with powereven at that time couldnot shed their baggageand put Nigeria first.

“His book is not just awindow into our world.It has opened a door thatleads us into seeing

what Nigeria is and howthose that wield powerbehave and misbehave.It is a book with the po-tential for a long shelflife and will remain areference point for jour-nalists, pundits, analystsand most of those in andout of power. Most im-portantly, the academiaand students of PoliticalScience will benefit fromit.

“Thanks to Nasir, wenow know that most ofour leaders are soonovercome and consumedby their unbridled lustfor power and that thepublic or Nigerians aremere irritants. Their pro-tests and complaints areinsignificant in a situa-tion of absolute powerand too much money.The resources of thecountry that ought tohave been deployed tobetter the lives of thepeople are being usedagainst them to per-petuate them in povertyand political enslave-ment.

“Nasir, through thisbook, has challenged allthe others that took thatpower ride with him tocome out and tell theirstories. Nigerians wantto know. However, mostgratifying is the fact thatsome of what we knewhappened and which wefought against havebeen confirmed byNasir. Nasir tells us Ni-geria still has a longway to go and the archi-tects of a new Nigeriaare not yet in place.What we have now arewayfarers, scavengers inthe corridors of powerand apologists, profes-sionals whose ethicsevaporate the momentthey come in contactwith the paraphernaliaof power.”

Lets learn fromour mistakes—El-Rufai

The author, Mallam El-Rufai, who was over-

whelmed by emotions ashe broke down and weptopenly, charged Nigeri-ans to reflect on whatthose in government didright as well as theirmistakes in order tomove the nation forward.

EL-Rufai said: “Myhope is that you peoplewill reflect on some ofthe things we did in gov-ernment that were rightand many of the thingsthat we did that weremistakes.

“I think that lessonsare learnt when addi-tional memories are pro-tected when peoplelearn from what worksand what doesn’t workand personal mistakesand errors of leaders.

“That is how to build anation; that is how fu-ture generations learnand this is why I wrotethe book, I don’t thinkwe should have the con-spiracy of silence abouthow our government isbeing run, I think weshould talk openly aboutit, celebrate what we didright and admit wherewe made mistakes andname names so that peo-ple will know that whenyou are in leadershipposition, history willjudge you, that is whatis my biggest motivehere,” he said.

Don’t call God’sname in vain—Fashola

Lagos State GovernorBabatunde Fashola, whodescribed the author ofthe book as a man witha character for publicdiscourse, stated that itwas either that Nigeri-ans were familiar withhis (El-Rufai’s) characteror were curious abouthim.

Fashola urged Nigeri-ans to emulate El-Rufaiand to stop calling thename of God in vain butto do what is right at alltimes for the benefit ofsociety at large.

Continues on page 11

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013

CLO petitions IGP, othersover injured cop

Gunmen murder

4 varsitystudentsdocked forcultism

BY EVELYN USMAN &MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

Police nab alleged killers BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

BY EMEKA MAMAH

ENUGU— THE South-Eastzone of the Civil Liberties

Organisation, CLO, has carpetedthe police over its inability to caterfor one of its own injured byarmed robbers while guarding afirst generation bank in EnuguState last May 25.

According to the group, thiswas not encouraging to otherpolicemen who were prepared topay the supreme price in thecourse of their duties.

The CLO in a letter addressedto the chairman of the PoliceService Commission, PSC, andcopied the Minister of PoliceAffairs, Caleb Olubolade,narrated the plight of Sgt GiftAyebabogha, who was allegedlyshot by robbers while guardinga bank at Ovoko in Igboeze SouthLocal Government of EnuguState on the fateful day.

The letter entitled, ‘’Case of Sgt.Gift Ayebabogha (shot by armedrobbers): bringing to fore theneed for reform in respect ofissues of welfare of the officers ofthe Nigeria Police Force,’’ wassigned by the Zonal Director of

CLO, Mr Olu Omotayo.The letter read in part: ‘’Sgt

Ayebabogha, was a policemanserving at Police Mobile Force,Mopol 3, Agbani Road, Enugu.Sometimes in May 2012, he wasposted to guard the bank (namewithheld) at Ovoko Branch. Onthe May 25, 2012, the bank wasattacked by heavily armedrobbers.

"In the ensuing gun duel, theSergeant came under heavy firefrom the robbers who out-numbered him. A shot from theAK 47 assault rifle of the robbersripped open the intestine of theSergeant and he fell inside thesecurity house. The robbersthinking that Sgt Ayebaboghahad died ordered one of them toretrieve his riffle from him. SgtAyebabogha with the last energyin him used one hand to carryhis falling intestine and used theother hand to launch anotherattack with his AK 47 rifle, killingthe approaching armed robberwhile the others fled.

"The bank officials later rushedhim to a hospital where he wasoperated upon, in a bid to savehis life."

Robbers abandon loot, fleewith gun

BY EMMA AMAIZE

SAPELE—POLICE in DeltaState have launched a

manhunt for two members of afour-man robbery gang, whobolted with their cut-to-size gunduring a search operation by menof the Special Anti-Crime Patrolon Amukpe-Aghalokpe Road,near Sapele, Wednesday.

However, two other membersof the gang were nabbed and arecurrently helping the police intheir investigations.

At Ozoro/Emevor Road in Isokoarea of the state, two suspectedbandits, driving in Toyota Camrycars, with number plates LF 61KJA and AV 878 USL, also tookto their heels on sighting a teamof Delta State Special Anti-CrimePatrol in the area, abandoning aGhana-must-go bag filled withdrugs.

Delta State Police PublicRelations Officer, Mr. FamousAjieh, who confirmed the arrestof the suspects, said thesuspected robbers, whospecialise in snatchingmotorcycles were intercepted bythe police patrol team at about10.00 hours, Wednesday.

“In the process of conductingsearch on their persons, the boyssuddenly took to their heels andescaped into a nearby bush,while policemen chased andarrested two of them. Twomotorcycles were also recoveredfrom them,” he added.

On the second incident, hesaid, “On sighting the police, thetwo drivers stopped the cars andjumped into the bush and athorough search was later

conducted on the vehicles. Dur-ing the search, opium key, popu-larly known as master key, sus-pected to belong to the hoodlums,one Ghana-must-go bag contain-ing drugs were recovered.”

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA — NO fewerthan four university students

in Ogun State were, Wednesday,arraigned before an AbeokutaMagistrates’ Court for allegedlybelonging to a secret cult, knownas “Alora Buccaneer” andforceful initiation of new studentsinto the cult.

The accused persons, DamilolaAnimashaun (20), OlakunleKelani (20), OluwatobiAnifowose (18) and KazeemAmusa (18) who were arraignedon a four-count charge ofconspiracy, felony, unlawfuladministering of oath and threatto life, were not represented byany counsel.

They all, however, pleaded notguilty to the charges againstthem.

According to the PoliceProsecutor, Insp. SundayEigbejiale, the alleged offenceswere committed on January 14,at about 12.30 a.m. at Osiele inAbeokuta.

The Magistrate, Mr MartinsAkinyemi, however, granted theaccused persons bail in the sumof N160,000 with two sureties inlike sum.

He adjourned the case toMarch 4 for further hearing.

NSCDC arrests5 suspects overdiversion ofKerosene

BY PETER OKUTU

ABAKALIKI — NIGERIASecurity and Civil Defence

Corps, NSCDC, in Ebonyi State,yesterday, arrested five personssuspected to be involved in theillegal diversion of kerosene.

Addressing newsmen at thecommand headquarters inAbakaliki, the Corps PublicRelations Officer, AssistantSuperintendent of Corps, ASCEmmanuel Nwali, stated that thesuspects were arrested alongAbakaliki-Enugu expresswaywhile heading towards Abakalikimetropolis to dispense theproduct.

He said the suspects were heldfor illegal dealing in petroleumproduct known as DPK, therebycommitting an offencepunishable under section 1(17)of the miscellaneous offences Act,CAP 17, laws of the federation2004.

He noted: “Our Commandraided the Abakaliki-Enuguexpressway and arrested fivepersons and seized 4,530 litresof kerosene in 151 gallons of 30litres each in their possession."

Command.”Confirming their involvement

in the gruesome murder of LazAnyanwu, one of the suspects,Udoka Ibe, said their target wasto snatch the man’s vehicle.

According to Ibeh,“one

It's shocking, unfortunate

OWERRI— IMO State PoliceCommand, yesterday,

paraded two suspects —UdokaIbe (28) and ChigaemezuOnyenwenu (27)— in connectionwith the brutal murder of theState Deputy Governor’s Directorof Protocol, Mr. Laz Anyanwu.

Addressing journalists in theState Police Command, Owerri,the Police Public RelationsOfficer, PPRO, Mr. Vitalis Onugu,a Deputy Superintendent ofPolice, described the arrest of theduo as “a breakthrough.”

While saying that Ibe andOnyenwenu are natives ofAmaimo, Ikeduru LocalGovernment Area and Orodo,Mbaitoli Local Government Areaof Imo State respectively, thePPRO equally disclosed thatAnambra State Police Commandwas investigating them forkidnapping and armed robbery.

He said: “When their respectivehomes were searched, three AK47 rifles, 280 rounds ofammunition and 23 magazineswere recovered from the suspects.These exhibits are still withAnambra State Police

Chukwu and Ikay sent us to goand take the man’s vehicle.Somewhere along the way, theman attempted to snatch the gunChigaemezu was holding. Twoof them fell off from the car. I

LAGOS — UNIDENTIFIED gunmen, at the early hours

of yesterday, shot anoctogenarian white cap chiefdead, in his apartment on IgaIduganran Street, Isale-Eko,Lagos.

Meantime, the stategovernment has described thedeath of the Onimole as shockingand unfortunate.

The deceased, identified asChief Kayode AdeshinaOnimole, was the Onimole ofLagos and a member of the whitecap chiefs of Lagos. He wasreportedly fast asleep in hisOnimole palace when hisassailants came calling at about

3 a.m.The gunmen, two in number,

as gathered, moved straight tothe chief’s bedroom, where theymet him and one of his children.They reportedly ordered themto lie down and demanded anunspecified money from theoctogenarian who pleaded withthem to take whatever theywanted, that he had no money.

But his plea fell on deaf ears asone of the gunmen reportedlycollected his phone while hiscolleague pulled the trigger andshot him in the chest.

The dying man said to bebleeding profusely, managed toshout for help. But it was far fromhim.

When his children were certainthe gunmen had left, their

Suspected killers of Director of Protocol to Imo State Deputy Gover


octogenarian Lagos white cap chief

Youths, women protest killingof medical doctor in Mbaise

of Imo Director of Protocol

OWERRI — SCORES ofyouths and aged women,

yesterday blocked the ever busyOwerri-Umuahia federalhighway at Nkwogwu, AbohMbaise Local Government Areato protest the gruesome murderof their son and medicalpractitioner, Dr. Nonye Nwaise.

The peaceful protest, whichlasted over two hours, truncatedfree flow of traffic on the highwayuntil a detachment of policemen,led by J. P. Modi, a ChiefSuperintendent of Police, wasmoved in to restore peace in thearea.

Vanguard investigationsrevealed that the slain Dr. Nwaisewas a staff of Federal MedicalCentre, Owerri, and was attackedand killed at a viewing centre, by

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA three armed men, who wereoperating on a motorcycle.

All the people who spoke toVanguard on the murder fumedover what they termed “theincreasing spate of insecurity inImo State.”

The villagers recalled with grief,how the late doctor attended tothe health challenges of thevillagers and most times, at no costto the patients and their relations.

Particularly touching was theparticipation of a 73-year-oldwoman, Mrs. Chinyere Ogu, inthe protest.

She condemned the killing ofthe 42-year-old doctor, saying:“He was down to earth during hislife time. He was a solid defenderof his people, especially thedowntrodden. We have truly losta rare gem.”

Police arrest fake Lieutenantwho specialises in car theft

BY IFEANYI OKOLE

LAGOS — OPERATIVES ofthe Special Anti-Robbery

Squad, SARS, at the Lagos StatePolice Command, Ikeja, havearrested a fake Army Lieutenantsaid to be the leader of a notorioussyndicate that specialises instealing of cars from showroomsacross Lagos and Imo States.

The suspect, identified asMichael Okoeze, was arrestedwhen SARS operatives receivedan intelligence report on thegang’s activities and trailed himdown to the home of his womanfriend at Ogudu area of the statewhere they recovered four pairsof military uniform with badgesof rank, berets, army identificationcards and army boots.

His modus operandi, accordingto sources, is that the suspect,clad in a military uniform with therank of a Lieutenant, would stormhis preferred car showroom in a

taxi and after indicating hisinterest in one of the cars, wouldask the salesman to allow himtest drive the car while the taxiwaited for him, after which he willabscond with the car.

A source who pleadedanonymity told Vanguard that oneof the victims, who lost a HondaCivic, contacted the commandand the officer in charge of SARS,Superintendent of Police, SP,Abba Kyari, led a team ofoperatives who trailed the suspectto a hotel where he lodged.

According to the source, “butwhen the suspect noticed thepresence of the policemen hejumped out through the windowbut was later arrested at the homeof his girl friend.

"The stolen Honda Civic Carwith number plate LAGOS PQ786 KJA and Honda CRV SportUtility Van, allegedly stolen fromImo State were also recovered.”

—Lagos govt

stopped the car, came out of thevehicle and shot him in his leg.”

Although he did not give thesurnames of those who sent them,the suspects equally did not giveaccount of how they finished their

victim off.“We wanted to bury him in a

plantain plantation but laterdecided against it. We, however,decided to drop him close to the

road,” the suspect said.Meanwhile, Laz Anyanwu was

yesterday laid to rest in hisAmaimo, Ikeduru LocalGovernment Area country homeamidst weeping and curses.

attempt to seek help was abortedas the gunmen had locked theminside and took away the keys.

Curious residents, as gathered,forced the door open andthereafter, took 73-year-oldOnimole to an undisclosed privatehospital where unfortunately, hewas confirmed dead.

Sympathizers, majority of whomwere traditional title holders,thronged the Onimole palacelocated few compounds awayfrom Oba Rilwan Akiolu’s IgaIduganran palace, tocommiserate with the bereavedfamily.

One of the leaders of theOnimole family, Major GeneralSegun Ajiborise, described thedeceased as an amiable personwho would be missed by all.

He said: “Our family has lost arare gem. The killing of ourbrother is a very patheticexperience. Early this morning,we woke up to hear the news thatour brother, Chief KayodeAdeshina Onimole, the Onimoleof Lagos and the Opemulero ofYorubaland was robbed andkilled.

“We quickly got the policeinvolved. The police have comeand they have embarked onhomicide investigation into thematter.

“There is nothing we can do;we just give glory to God. Hewas a traditional ruler but he hadonly one wife and six children.”

The Lagos State Commissionerof Police, Mr Umar Manko,confirmed the incident, sayinginvestigation has begun.

Manko, however, ruled out

robbery attack, explaining thatfrom information gathered, thekillers did not collect a dime.

Deputy Commissioner of Policein-charge of the CriminalInvestigation Department, Yaba,according to the CP, would headthe investigative team.

It 's shocking,unfortunate—Lagos govt

Reacting to the death of thechief, Commissioner forInformation and Strategy, Mr.Lateef Ibirogba, yesterday,said: “It is very unfortunatethat this murder happenedwhen Lagosians arecommending the stategovernment over the peaceand security in the state.

“It is very unfortunate and

shocking that a time when thestate is enjoying relative peacethat such gruesome murdertook place.”

While commiserating withthe deceased’s family, thecommissioner urged the police

to investigate the murder witha view to uncovering theassailants within the shortestpossible time.

“We prayed God give the familythe fortitude to bear theirreparable lost while areappealing to the police to uncoverthe murderers within shortestpossible time,” he said.

The late Onimole.

rnor, Mr Laz Anyanwu


JONATHAN IN LONDON—From left: Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State; Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathan and Nigeria High Commissioner to United Kingdom, Alhaji Dal-hatu Tafida at the Hearthrow International Airport, London.

JONATHAN IN CAIRO—President Goodluck Jonathan with Nigerian delegation at the 12thsession of the Organisation of Islamic Conference, OIC, in Cairo, Egypt.

BY OKEY NDIRIBE, HENRYUMORU, EMMAN OVUAK-PORIE, ALIYU DANGIDA &

JOSEPH ERUNKE

Opposition Senators, Reps okayemergence of APC

Say it 'll rescue Nigeria from brink of collapse

ABUJA—OPPOSITION members of the National Assem-

bly, yesterday, endorsed themerger of four political parties asAll Progressive Congress, APC,saying that the measure wouldensure true democracy and keephope alive for Nigerians.

Senate Minority Leader, Sena-tor George Akume spoke on be-half of his colleagues while FemiGbajabiamila spoke for 160 mem-bers of the opposition in theHouse of Representatives. They also said they lent theirsupport for the emergence of amega political party to challengethe ruling People’s DemocraticParty, PDP, in the 2015 generalelections.

This was even as the ruling PDPhas in a rare demonstration of thespirit of sportsmanship, congrat-ulated the opposition parties fortheir successful merger and for-mation of the new APC.

Governor Mu’azu BabangidaAliyu of Niger State also declaredthat he was one of the governorselected on the platform of the PDPwho prayed that the merger offour opposition political partiesshould be a reality.

Speaking against the backdropof the emergence of APC, Gba-jabiamila said, “This conferenceis called to lend our voice as anopposition group to the ongoingmerger talks between the oppo-sition parties in Nigeria. We mem-bers of the opposition in theHouse want to make it abundantlyclear that we are fully and totallyin support and committed tomerging our various parties forthe singular purpose of true trans-formation of Nigeria.

“Last Tuesday, 10 governorsbelonging to various parties metand publicly declared their sup-port.. Today, over 160 legislatorsof the House of Representativesfrom different parties have alsomet to confirm their unflinchingsupport for the merger. We findthis public affirmation necessaryso as to continue to give the Ni-gerian masses the much neededconfidence that indeed, help is onthe way and they should keephope alive.”

Whilst this may not be an aus-picious time for our colleagues inthe PDP who are progressive intheir orientation to key into thisproject, our doors remain openand we encourage those of themwith progressive tendencies, andthere are many, to feel the pulseof the nation and the yearningsof the masses for the progressivechange our merger represents.

Indeed for political observersthe merger began in the House along time ago. We have, as anopposition, co-sponsored sever-al bills, voted and spoken in uni-son on many issues that are ofnational importance and workedtogether as an opposition for thecommon good.

“Together, with progressiveforces in the PDP we ensured theemergence of a Speaker electedindependently by the House, thefirst in Nigeria’s democratic his-tory. We will continue to strive towork together with the Presidentfor the common good. We will con-tinue to disagree with him wherewe must and commend his effortswhen they deserve commenda-tion.

“This is the essence of true de-mocracy and the true meaning ofopposition and we trust that thePDP will also do likewise come2015 when it plays the muchneeded role of opposition in ourdemocracy. We wish to advise Mr

President to disregard the adviceof those who see every criticismas an attack on Mr President,They do not mean well for him.Progressive ideology must oftenclash with conservatism, a con-test and clash of ideas, policy andideology in an advanced democ-racy is just that".

Serving opposition senatorsfrom five political parties also saidwhile endorsing the merger ofopposition parties into the APCthat the aim was to clear the rotin the present administartion.

The senators who addressednesmen, said they endorsed theon-going merger talks among pro-gressive parties in Nigeria be-cause they observed that the talkswere aimed at salvaging “ournation from the rot and corrup-tion bedeviling her due to thePDP’s maladministration”.

According to the Senate Minor-ity Leader, Senator GeorgeAkume, ACN Benue North West,who read a prepared text to news-

men, said that as representativesof the people, they had “agreedto work enthusiastically in sup-port of this natural rescue mis-sion, which is a step in the rightdirection.

“We support our leaders; weapplaud their wisdom and patri-otism in their epochal drive tostem this declining tide. We alsoappreciate the courage of our gov-ernors.

“We call on members of our par-ties in our senatorial districts, ourpolitical associates and followersto work assiduously towards therealization of this national re-demption project”, he said.

The text stated, “all progressiveminded Nigerians are calledupon, regardless of political plat-form to join this progressive po-litical train. It is our faith thatthis collective worthwhile andnoble endeavour will lead Nige-rians to realize the dreams of ourfounding fathers to have a coun-try that works for all and sundry.”

30 killed,scoresinjured inFulaniherdsmen,Eggonfarmersclash

BY ABEL DANIEL

LAFIA—THE feud between Fulani herdsmen

and Eggon farmers in Na-sarawa State hightenedyesterday as fresh fightingerupted in Randa Village,near Kwandere, causingtension in Lafia, the statecapital. At the time of fil-ing this report, no fewerthan 30 people were saidto have been killed withseveral others wounded. Source told Vanguard thatKwandere Village wherethe Fulani are taking ref-uge has become the basefrom where they operateand carry out reprisal attackon nearby villages,’’ add-ing that tension was highin Ombi 1, Ombi 2, Na-sarawa Eggon and Kwan-dere all in Lafia North Lo-cal Government, just aspeople, mostly the Na-sarawa State Polytechnicstudents were seen runninghelter-shelter for fear of at-tack by Fulanis from thenearby village.

The cause of the on-go-ing fight was not immedi-ately known even as thePolice Public Relations Of-ficer, PPRO, DSP MichaelAda told Vanguard that hewas not in the position tosay anything until he getfull details.

The Nasarawa State gov-ernment ordered deploy-ment of policemen in thetroubled areas but the at-tack had not subsided. Ac-cording to a securitysource, the Fulani attack-ers invaded the villagecalled, Igah unknown tothe soldiers deployed toensure security, leavingeight persons dead.

This attack started barelya week after the state gov-ernment asked the dis-placed people to return totheir ancestral homes withsecurity beefed up in thevarious communities. LastSaturday, the governmentorganized a round tablediscussion with the Fulanisand the Agatu people, urg-ing them to forget the pastand live in peace with eachother.

Meanwhile, the bodies ofthe deceased had been de-posited at the Dalhatu Spe-cialist Hospital in Lafia.


Opposition Reps to Jonathan: Sign2013 budget now or we over ride it

BY OKEY NDIRIBE &EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

From right: Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; Osun State Governor, OgbeniRauf Aregbesola and former Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Bola Ajibola dur-ing the South West expo grassoots business and investment forum in Osogbo, Osun State.

ABUJA—THERE were indications yesterday that the

Economic and Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, might with-draw the pension theft case filesfrom the trial judge, AbubakarTalba, for alleged breach of un-derstanding.

Vanguard learnt from authori-tative sources that the commissionfelt uncomfortable with the lightsentence given to one of the pen-sion thieves, John Yakubu Yusu-fu, who pleaded guilty to the 20-count charge of criminal conver-sion of N32.5 billion belonging tothe Police Pension Fund.

It was gathered that EFCC wasset to report the judge to the ChiefJudge of the Federal High Court,Justice Ibrahim Auta, and requestthat the case file be withdrawnfrom Justice Talba since the com-mission had lost confidence inhim.

It was learnt that under the termof understanding, Talba was togive Yusufu a light sentence with-out an option of fine, since he hadadmitted committing the crimeand pleaded for mercy.

But in a dramatic twist, Talbaturned round and ordered thesuspect to pay a paltry N250,000for each of the three counts as anoption of fine thereby making amess of the judgment.

One source said that a decisionhad been reached by the commis-sion and its lawyers to bring anapplication before Justice Talba todisqualify himself from trying oth-er persons who, with Yusufu, al-legedly embezzled more thanN32 billion police pension funds.

Talba is yet to hear the cases ofAbubakar Kigo, former perma-nent secretary, Ministry of NigerDelta Affairs, and four others, SaniHabila Zira, Esai Dangabar,former director in the police pen-sion office, Ahmed Inuwa Wadaand Veronica Uloma Onyegbula,who are implicated in the policepension theft.

Apart from Yusufu, all the oth-ers pleaded not guilty to a 20-count charge of criminal conver-sion of the Police Pension fund.

Fairness

The commission’s legal team,it was learnt, was likely to arguethat the fears raised by the mediaand the public on the ruling inthe Yusufu case had tainted pub-lic perception about the judge’spossible fairness.

The prosecution team will alsoargue that in the court of publicopinion, Talba has already beenjudged and that, for the sake of

N32bn pension fund: We can nolonger trust Justice Talba — EFCC

To withdraw remaining cases, report him to CJN

BY SONI DANIEL, RE-GIONAL EDITOR, NORTH

& ISHOLA BALOGUN

his integrity, it would be unfairfor him to continue to sit on thecase.

The source explained the fearsof the EFCC and its lawyerswhich, he says “are well found-ed and well grounded”.

He said, the prosecution can nolonger trust Justice Talba becausehe went outside the agreementreached by the two parties in theYusufu case to give him an op-tion of fine.

“That is why we need a totallydisinterested and unbiased judgein this case,” the source said.

Clarke faults EFCC

Meanwhile, Lagos-based legalpractitioner, Chief Robert Clarke,SAN, has faulted the Economicand Financial Crimes Commis-sion, EFCC, for charging the con-victed John Yusuf under section390 of the Penal code instead ofthe draconian EFCC Act just as

he noted that the trial judge, Abu-bakar Talba, could have exercisedhis discretionary powers in favourof the millions of Nigerians andpensioners whose right to theirentitlements were denied.

Clarke said: “The prosecutorsshould not have brought thatcharge under the Section 390 ofthe penal code. By bringing it un-der that penal code, they shouldhave known that there is a restric-tion under that code against themthat it is a two-year term maxi-mum sentence or an alternativein fine.”

He added that “the commissioncould have charged the accusedfor stealing which attracts a five-year imprisonment under thesame law with no option of fine,but it decided to charge him un-der Section 390 knowing fully wellthat it permits only a two- yearjail term with an alternative tofine”.

He argued that the judge could

have exercised his discretionarypowers in favour of million of Ni-gerians and pensioners whoseright to their entitlements weredenied and also could have elab-orated on the judgment.

“Unfortunately, the judge didnot elaborate on this when pro-nouncing the judgment. Heshould have at least elaboratedthat ‘the law allows me to sen-tence the accused to two yearimprisonment; the law also allowsme to give him an option of fine;therefore, in exercising my dis-cretionary powers, I intend to usethe option because of A,B,C...” Ifhe had explained this to thewhole world, Nigerians wouldnot have castigated him the waythe scenario is now.

The judge could also still haverefused the option of fine even thecounsel to the accused haddrawn his attention to it becauseof the gravity of the offence”, hesaid

Over 500Nigeriantroopsdeployed inMali

ABUJA—160 members of theopposition in the House of

Representatives yesterday threat-ened that the House will not hes-itate to over ride the President’sveto if he does not endorse the2013 budget.

The opposition members whoheld first meeting as members ofthe newly formed All ProgressivesCongress, APC, also declared that

BY KINGSLEYOMONOBI

DEFENCE Headquarters yesterday said that

it has deployed more than500 Nigerian troops madeup of Army, Navy and AirForce to take part in the cur-rent African-led Internation-al Support Mission to Mali,AISMA.

Director of Defence Infor-mation, Colonel Moham-med Yerima, who made thedisclosure, noted that apartfrom the military component,a contingent of 140 Police of-ficers were on stand by to bedeployed in Mali as part ofthe operation.

Giving a breakdown of thedeployment, Yerima said,“currently there is a compa-ny strength of 138 men (allranks) stationed in the cityof Banamba Mali. The AFIS-MA Headquarters in Bama-ko is manned by 17 Nigeri-an personnel”.

the emergence of APC has sentjitters into the camp of the rulingPeoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Speaking at a briefing, the Mi-nority Leader of the House, FemiGbajabiamila said: “The presi-dent should no longer delay the2013 budget because we are al-ready in February or else we willover ride his presidential veto.”

The Minority Leader explainedfurther that "we call on Mr Presi-dent to very quickly sign the 2013budget and we will work with him

on this if there are genuine greyareas.

“We are already in Februaryand a situation where the legis-lature will have to over ride hispresidential veto as constitution-ally provided is not a good wayto start the year or foster a goodlegislative-executive relationship.

“We also ask that Mr Presidentbegins to respect official resolu-tions from an equal arm of gov-ernment as these resolutions arealways in national interest".

BY IKECHUKWUNNOCHIRI

ABUJA—SENATORMohammed Ali

Ndume who is standing tri-al over his alleged convivialrelationship with the BokoHaram Islamic sect, has ap-proached the Abuja Divisionof the Appeal Court, prayingit to quash the proof of evi-dence that was tenderedagainst him by the FederalGovernment.

Ndume, who is represent-ing Borno South SenatorialDistrict was charged to courtby the Federal Governmenton allegation that he was theperson that hitherto fur-nished the sect with classi-fied information that aidedtheir terrorist operations inthe country.

He is answering to a four-count criminal charge beforea Federal High Court in Abu-ja.

Specifically, SenatorNdume is asking the appel-late court to go ahead andquash fresh sets of incrimi-nating evidence that linkedhim to the terrorist organisa-tion.

Boko Haram:Ndume askscourt toquashevidence

10 — Vanguard,FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Absence ofjudge stallsN672m fraudchargeagainstSpeaker's PA

Traffic Law: Lagos unveils specimen of approved200cc motorbikes

LAGOS — LAGOS StateGovernment, yesterday,

released the specimen of the200CC motorcycle approvedfor use in the state.Governor, Babatunde Fashola

BY MONSUR OLOWOOPE-JO

of the State had on August3rd, 2012, signed the roadtraffic into law whichoutlawed the use of motorcyclebelow 200CC within the statemetropolis.

Commissioner forTransportation, Mr. KayodeOpeifa who spoke at a

stakeholders’ meeting withCourier organisations andmotorcycle dealers withinthe state, at AlausaSecretariat, Ikeja, said thatthe exhibition of themotorbikes becamenecessary following reportsthat some motorbikes

purchased in the wake ofrecent restriction oncommercial motorcycleoperations in the state werenot up to the 200 CC capacityapproved by government.

While displaying a specimenof one of the motorbikes whichfell below what was approvedby the government, thecommissioner lamented thatsome “dealers of motorcycle inthe state pasted stickers of200CC on motorcycle whichengine capacity falls belowthe stipulated range.”

Explaining the content ofthe law, he said “the roadtraffic law stipulates that theengine capacity of anymotorcycle that must operatein the state must be above200CC.”

State Chief VehicleInspection Officer, CVIO, MrGbolahan Toriola, explainedthat the concern of the stategovernment was the enginecapacity of 200CC and not thebrand name.

According to Toriola, “All theorganisations needed is topurchase a motorcycle with thestipulated engine capacityand visit any of their centresfor authentication.”

Mr. Phillips Oduoza, Group Managing Director, UBA Plc and the Best Graduating ExecutiveTrainees, from left: Mr. Ehihamen Ehimare, Chisom Mbata and Akintunde Oluwashina,during the convocation ceremony of the third batch of the Executive Trainees from the UBAAcademy Banking School, Lagos.

Unilag graduates 253 medical studentsBY LAJU ARENYEKA

LAGOS — UNIVERSITYof Lagos, UNILAG, as

part of its golden jubileecelebration, has graduated nofewer than 3,664 first degreeand 3, 268 higher degreestudents in the 2011/2012session.

At the second phase of theconvocation ceremonyyesterday, 253 graduates ofthe College of medicine,including the Faculty of BasicMedical Sciences, ClinicalSciences and Dental Sciencestook the Physician’s oath.

The Vice Chancellor of the

University, ProfessorRahamon Bello, in hisaddress said: “As graduatesin this 50th year, you are intruth golden. Today ’sceremony indeed marks alandmark in your lives, butensure that you are goodambassadors of thisuniversity, your university.”

The Chancellor of theuniversity, Dr. GamalielOnosode while admonishingthe graduating students said:“You have been empoweredwith the skills and knowledgeto dare to dream and excel.The future beckons, seize it,fufil your dreams, and bring

pride to your nation.”The ceremony also

witnessed the presentationof prizes to outstandingstudents.

The overall best student,Miss Ibok Favour Asuquobagged a C.G.P.A of 4.89from the Department ofAccounting, Faculty ofBusiness Administration.

Ibok, while speaking toVanguard said: “I neverplanned to be the bestgraduating student. I justwanted to do my best, andbe one of the best. But I’mgrateful to God. God is mysecret.”

Other awardees includeOjukwuti Ihunanya Cordelia,Best overall student from thecollege of medicine, BensonGodwin Idahosa, Best overallperformance in Engineering,Eze Ugockukwu Raymond,Best overall from the facultyof law, Odigwe Ofure, bestoverall from the departmentof Pharmacy.

From the school of PostGraduate studies, OguntadeTemitope bagged the overallbest PhD thesis.

The 26 years old is also theyoungest PhD holder from theUniversity of Lagos.

19 year-old autistic boy found, receiving treatment in hospital

•200 parents offer to support himBY ISHOLA BALOGUN

LAGOS —A 19 year-oldboy, Ayomide Omope, with

history of autistic behaviour whowas declared missing last weekhas been found.

He was found after a vehicleknocked him down in Obalende,Lagos Island, Wednesday.

Ayomide was immediatelytaken to General Hospital inMarina by some good spiritedNigerians.

While receiving treatment,some of the health workers who

had earlier been informed of amissing boy through varioussocial media, and radioannouncement, suspected hecould be the missing boy.

Vanguard gathered that theposted information andphotograph were immediatelysourced and printed out on thefacebook which confirmed thesame Ayomide was in their carereceiving treatment.

A call was immediately pulledthrough to one of the numberslisted on the bulletin and thetraumatised father at the other

end could not hide his joy.Meanwhile, not fewer than 200

parents under the aegis of ParentsAgainst Autism Initiative, PAAI,have resolved to offer necessaryassistance to Ayomide.

The group which is led by Mrs.Angela Emuwa, has beenadvocating for the provision ofmedical facilities that could aidearly detection and treatment ofautism in children in the country.

It was not clear as at press timethe detail of the assistance thegroup is ready to offer.

By BARTHOLOMEWMADUKWE

LAGOS —THEN672 million fraud

charge instituted byEconomic and FinancialCrimes Commission,EFCC, before a LagosHigh Court, in Igbosereagainst OyetadeAtoyebi, PersonalAssistant to the LagosState Speaker, Mr.Adeyemi Ikuforiji, wasyesterday stalledfollowing absence of thejudge.

Mr. Atoyebi is chargedalongside a formerregional manager ofIntercontinental BankPlc (now Access BankPlc), Olayinka Sanni,

Justice DeborahOluwayemi adjournedtill yesterday, for rulingon the bail application ofthe accused, after theypleaded not guilty to theeight count charge ofconspiracy, forgery anduttering of forgeddocuments.

Akanni meetsChristianMinisters

GBOKO BASEDBible teacher Mr.

Gbile Akanni is hostingan interactive sessionwith Christian ministersand leaders as part of athree day crusadeholding in Lagos fromFebruary 14 to 16.

The crusade has thetheme: “It’s time to seekthe Lord.”

The meeting with theChristian leaders is tohold at the PoliceCollege, Ikeja onFebruary 15 and 16.


IBADAN — WORRIED by the effects the lingering criseswithin the Peoples Democratic Party could have on the 2015

governorship elections in Oyo State, some chieftains of the partyhave called on the national secretariat of the party to closedown the secretariats of the factions. After doing this, a fresh congress that would fuse all the factions

The groups that combined to set up the forumare, Dynamic group, Prorgessive Front,Rebuild Nigeria Initiative, Peoples Alliance,Centre for Political and Democratic Awarenessand Peoples Congress. Speaking on behalf of the group, theChairman, Mr. Joe Abegunrin and StateCoordinator, Elder Jide Ajao, said the forumwas a “concept of leaders in each of the 33local governments in Oyo State and everyoneof us controls a large followers who canmotivate others to vote.”

into one entity should be organized so that the chances of theparty would not be jeopardized in the election. Specifically, the chieftains under the aegis of Reality Forumof Oyo State which is an umbrella body of six other groupsadvised that the national Chairman of the party, AlhajiBamanga Tukur should ensure that those who contributed tothe defeat of the party in the 2011 elections should besanctioned.

Religious tension mounts in Oyo communityBY OLA AJAYI

2015: Oyo PDP worried by effects of lingering crises on guber electionBY OLA AJAYI

IBADAN — THERE arestrong indications that a

religious unrest is brewing inSepeteri community of OyoState over alleged burningdown of Oore Ofe BaptistChurch, Oke Taasi by someMuslim Youths. However, for peace to reign, the Obalufon of Sepeteri, ObaAbdul-Kareem Oyesiji AkanjiAlatise III, a Muslim, said theland acquired by the BaptistChurch on Odo-Ode Roaddirectly opposite IbaaduRasheed Technical School ofArabic and Islamic Studies, hasbeen seized in the interest ofpeace. According to the monarch,also, acquired land by theMuslim Council on Ibuya Roaddirectly opposite ChristianGalilee has equally beenseized. He added that suitable andmore comfortable land wouldbe made available to each

body. Meanwhile the ChristianAssociation of Nigeria, CAN,has petitioned GovernorAbiola Ajimobi of Oyo Stateand the state Commissionerof Police over the burningdown of Oore Ofe BaptistChurch, Oke Taasi. Sepeteri branch of CAN ina letter by its Chairman andSecretary, Rev. BolaOyetunji and FrancisOgunlola, alleged thatdespite the maturitydisplayed after the incident,the same set of people hadthreatened to burn the newthe church was erecting. According to CAN, thechurch was burnt down onDecember 20, 2012, and toprevent breakdown of lawand order, they want theCommissioner of Police andthe Governor to intervenebefore the issue coulddegenerate. In the petition, theassociation claimed that the

genesis of the crisis was an“acquired land property inthe Ode Area of Sepeteri inthe Saki East LocalGovernment as far back as1973 with the consent,approval and imprimatur ofthe Baale of Sepeteri, the

family of the land owners, aswell as the representatives ofthe church. Several other steps weretaken since then to concretisethe hold by the church withoutany opposition until 2011.

Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun State governor (right),exchanging pleasantries with some investors, during theBreakfast Meeting with Existing/ Potential Investors inOgun, at the Government House, Oke-Igbein, in Abeokuta

SECURITY, THIRDTERM: Buhari, Tinubutackle Jonathan

Nigeriacelebratesvillains — Bakare

Fiery cleric and activist, Pastor Tunde Bakare,said that for Nigeria to be able to solve itsmounting challenges, it must deviate from thepath of celebrating mediocrity and entrust theaffairs of the nation to only competent hands.

He said: “It is only in Nigeria that heroesare vilified and villains hailed by the society.”

Merit,competence matter —Sanusi, CBN Governor

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN, Mallam Lamido Sanusi Lamido saidthat the problem with Nigeria as a country wasnot corruption and ethnicity, but total disre-gard for merit and competence.

The CBN governor stressed that if Nigeriaas a country must get it right and achieve the

needed growth and de-velopment, issues of eth-nicity and religion mustbe jettisoned and thosequalified to occupy cer-tain positions of author-ity must be there irre-spective of where theycome from.

Yar’Ádua meantwell for Nigeria

Sanusi used the occa-sion to praise the latePresident Umaru MusaYar ’Adua as adetribalised Nigerianleader, who appointedhim to the present postbased on his convictionthat he (Sanusi) wasqualified and competentenough to handle theCBN job.

Sanusi noted:“Yar’Adua was somebodyI never met in my lifebefore February 2009when he sent for me andwe discussed theeconomy and bankingfor about 15 minutes andthe next time was May8, 2009 when he ap-pointed me as CBN gov-ernor.

According to Sanusi,the late President was aman who was preparedto take risk for the coun-try.

Sanusi also urgedthose in government toidentify the differencebetween loyalty andsycophancy as peoplemust be prepared to telltheir bosses the truthwhether they like it ornot.

The CBN governorwho described El’Rufaias being more controver-sial than himself, saidthat it was people whohave nothing positive tooffer the nation that al-ways propagate the issueof ethnicity and religionrather than talk about is-sues of national impor-tance.

El Rufai is astatesman—Prof Odinkalu

The Book reviewer,Prof. Chidi Odinkalu,said that El-Rufai in thebook made a transitionfrom political activism toa statesman and that theformer FCT ministercared more about whathappened to the countrythan his personal gains.

He said governance inthe country was a busi-ness of environmental-ists where incompetentpersons were being recy-cled and made to treat allaspects of governancewith impunity.



BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

Delta House passes N472bn 2013Appropriation Bill

Why we're demolishing houses in Yenagoa—Bayelsa govt

BY SAMUELOYADONGHA

Pension thief's sentencing'll encouragetreasury looters —Cleric

BY GABRIELENOGHOLASE

Uduaghantaskscontractorson NDDCprojectsMadam

Abuahpasses on

MRS. ComfortAbuah (nee Nk-

posi), of Ibusa, in Oshi-mili-North Local Gov-ernment Area of DeltaState, is dead, aged 56.She was a staff of Feder-al Inspectorate of Educa-tion, Asaba.

A statement by the fam-ily said a vigil Mass willtake place at St. Augus-tine’s Catholic Church,Ibusa on February 21,followed the next day bya Requiem Mass at thesame venue, with inter-ment thereafter at thefamily compound.

She is survived by herwidower, Mr. ChrisAbuah, four children andother relations.

Late Mrs. C. Abuah

YENAGOA—BAYELSAState Government, yes-

terday, said the mass demo-lition of houses in Yenagoa,the state capital, and its en-virons was to plan the cityin line with the YenagoaMaster Plan.

The state Commissioner forthe Capital City Develop-ment, Mr. Zuwa Konugh,and Executive Secretary ofCCDA, Chief Iboro-Ige Ida-ba, said though compensa-tions were being paid for thehouses on recognised lands,the massive demolition ofhomes in shanty areas andother residential parts of thestate capital was to createspace for the needed infra-structural development.

Zuwa Konough and Idaba,who briefed newsmen aftera tour of projects by the min-istry, said the demolition waspart of the plan to control theopening of canals, flood con-trol mechanism, urban re-newal and the proper inter-pretation of the YenagoaMaster Plan.

Konough enumerated theachievements of the minis-

try to include the supervision ofthe on-going projects of Trans-parency Plaza, the five-star ho-tel, the building of a new cityand proper supervision of ongo-ing infrastructural projects in the

state.He said: “The interpretation

of the existing master plan isdone with socio-economicconsideration. The masterplan is not a document cast

in iron but amenablethrough proper implementa-tion and renewed politicalwill. In some cases wherethere is no political control,people will build randomly.”

ASABA—DELTA StateHouse of Assembly, has

passed the state's 2013 Ap-propriation Bill of N472 bil-lion.

The passage of the budgetfollowed the adoption of thereport presented by Chair-man, House Committee onFinance and Appropriation,Mr. Daniel Mayuku.

Presenting the report, May-uku said that out of the N472billion budget, over N157 bil-lion was earmarked for recur-

rent expenditure, while overN314 billion was earmarked forcapital expenditure.

He said the 2013 budgetshowed an increase of aboutN73.7 billion over the budgetproposal presented to the Housein 2012 by Governor EmmanuelUduaghan.

Mayuku said the 2013 budgetwas tailored towards economicgrowth and the pursuit of poli-cies and programmes of govern-ment which would impact on fis-cal consolidation and reducebudget deficit and domestic bor-rowing.

The chairman said the objec-

tive could only be achieved ifmachinery was put in placeto improve internally gener-ated revenue and expendi-ture on overheads.

He said: “The 2013 budgetis far-reaching as it capturescommitment on all mega-projects while not undermin-ing the drive to complete oth-er ongoing projects by theend of this tenure.”

The Speaker of the House,Mr. Victor Ochei, directed theClerk of the House, Mrs. LynaOchulor, to send a clean copyof the budget to Governor Ud-uaghan for his assent.

BENIN—PRIMATE ofChurch of Nigeria (An-

glican Communion), HisGrace, Most Rev. NicholasOkoh, has joined otherprominent Nigerians in con-demning the Abjua HighCourt judgment, which sen-tenced Mr. John Yusuf, whostole N23 billion from PolicePension Fund, to two yearsimprisonment with an option

of N750, 000 fine, saying it wasan encouragement to looters ofgovernment treasury.

He said: “Nigerians are un-happy with the kid-glove treat-ment given to a man who, by hisact, must have killed many pen-sioners. It is a great encourage-ment to looters of governmenttreasury. Whatever is responsi-ble for such encouragement ofevil, government should actpromptly to show the peoplewhere its sympathy lies.”

Most Rev. Okoh, who spoke atthe opening of “Standing Com-

mittee of the Church of Ni-geria,” in Benin, Edo State,yesterday, also insisted thatdespite measure of respite inthe struggle against BokoHaram, “an equal attentionshould be given to the inse-curity created by armed rob-bers, kidnappers, and humantrafficking across the country.

“We call on government atall levels to do more to ad-dress the sore issue of unem-ployment for young graduatesand general poverty in thecountry."

SENIOR Special As-sistant to Delta

State Government onNiger Delta Develop-ment Commission,NDDC, Delta South, Mr.Vincent Uduaghan, hascalled on contractorshandling NDDC projectsin the district to ensurethat such projects werecompleted on schedule. Uduaghan gave thecharge during the com-missioning of projectscompleted by NDDC inWarri South Local Gov-ernment Area by ChiefSolomon Ogba, Commis-sioner, representing Del-ta State in NDDC board.Commending Ogba andthe contractors that havecompleted theirprojects, Uduaghan ad-vised that any projectabandoned in the statebe reported to his officeor the commissioner forprompt action.He expressed confi-dence that NDDC woulddo better if given thenecessary support andadequate budget.

Uzere peopleout forreconciliation—CouncilRep

U G H E L L I — S U -P E R V I S O R Y

Councillor for Environ-ment in Isoko South Lo-cal Government Area,Delta State, Mr. God-spower Obaro, has saidthe Uzere kingship cri-sis would soon be re-solved.

Obaro, who was react-ing to media reportcredited to one Mr God-spower Ukpiki, de-scribed the report asfalse, as it “does not rep-resent the interest ofUzere people. Ukpiki isnot in a position to speakfor Uzere people and hedoes not have our man-date.

“Uzere stakeholdersare determined to re-solve the issue and livetogether again as one.As you know, we, theUzere people, are unit-ed and peace loving andwill not allow this issueto tear us apart. So, tosay that Uzere peoplehave pulled out of thepeace and reconciliationcommittee is ridicu-lous.”

VISIT: Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, former Governor of Kano State andformer Presidential candidate of the ANPP, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and former Governorof Yobe State, Alhaji Bukar Abba Ibrahim, during a visit of the National Rebuilding and Inter-Party Committee of the All Nigeria Peoples Party to Governor Oshiomhole in Benin City,yesterday.

CMYK


AIG declares war on kidnappers in Edo,Delta, Bayelsa

BY EMMA AMAIZE &FESTUS AHON

JTF probes alleged involvement of soldiers in oil theftSAPELE—ASSISTANTInspector General of

Police, AIG, Zone 5, com-prising Edo, Delta andBayelsa States, Mr. Argun-gu Hashin, has promised tolead his men in the battleagainst kidnappers andarmed robbers in the zone.

He spoke when he visitedkey police divisions in Cen-tral Senatorial District ofDelta State.

He said: “We must do eve-rything possible to trackdown men of the underworldin this zone, because therate of armed robbery andkidnapping is increasing ona daily basis.

“I want to assure the goodpeople of Delta State and theentire Zone 5, of our zeal tofight crime to zero level, ifpossible. Security should

not, however, be left to thepolice alone, but that of allmembers of the public be-cause when a person is safe,

he can do good things in hisdomain.”

He appealed to the mediato help the police to sensi-

tise the public to give useful in-formation that could enable thepolice to track down evil men insociety.

HTGS commissions ultra-modern lab

YENAGOA—AUTHORI-TIES of Joint Task Force,

JTF, in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation PuloShield, have ordered the set-ting up of a panel of inquiryinto the alleged involvementof some soldiers in the theftof petroleum products at Os-osike area, Eleme Local Gov-ernment Area of RiversState.

The panel of inquiry, or-dered by Commander of JTF,Major-General Bata Debiro,is expected to be headed bythe Commander of Sector 2and will determine if the ac-cused soldiers, attached to 29

Battalion, were culpable inthe alleged theft of petrole-um products.

Head of JTF Media Coor-dinating Centre, Lt.-Col.Oyeama Nwachukwu, ar-gued that though the ac-

cused soldiers were on officialduties and deployed in the areaby their Commanding Officer,Col. Peter Mala, the claims thatthey were involved in the theftof petroleum products in thearea were unconfirmed.

BY SAMUELOYADONGHA

STUDENTS of Holy Trin-ity Grammar School,

HTGS, Sabongida-Ora, EdoState, will have cause to cel-ebrate when the school’s ul-tra-modern science laborato-ry is commissioned thisweekend.

The ceremony, which willbe performed by the Perma-nent Secretary, Edo State

Ministry of Education, Mrs. Gla-dys Idahor, is part of activities,to mark the school’s 65th Found-ers Day.

The laboratory project, worthover N10 million, is the brain-child of the Lagos State branchof the Old Students Associationand will be formally opened foruse on February 9.

A-Ibom,Poland topartner inbusiness

AKWA Ibom StateGovernment has

reiterated its commit-ment to co-operate withthe Republic of Polandin business investmentsto boost the economy ofthe country. Governor GodswillAkpabio stated thiswhen the Polish Ambas-sador to Nigeria, HisExcellency Prezemys-law Niesiolowski, lead-ing a 16-man delegationon a trade mission to thestate, paid him a cour-tesy visit at Governor’sOffice, Uyo. He said: “We are com-mitted to cooperate withthe Republic ofPoland in business rela-tions to boost the eco-nomic hub of the coun-try and for the future co-operation between Ni-geria and Poland.”

14 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, FUBRUARY 8 , 2013

25,000 pupilsfor nationalmathematicscompetition

BY TONY EDIKE & HENRYUMORU

Chime, Enugu Gov returns

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

ABUJA—NO fewerthan 25,000 pupils

from primary schools acrossthe country are to partici-pate in this year’s nationalmathematics competition.

The annual competition,organised by the NigerianTurkish International Col-leges, NTIC, in collabora-tion with the NationalMathematical Centre,NMC, holds simultane-ously nationwide on Feb-ruary 16, 2013.

The number of partici-pants increased from the17,500 who took part in lastyear’s edition.

In an interview with Van-guard in Abuja yesterday,NTIC Principal, Mr SobrilUnal, said the competitionwas geared towards awak-ening pupils’ passion andinterest in mathematics.

He said the competitionwould be held at the sametime on the said date in the36 states, and FCT, withall the participating pupilsanswering 75 objectivequestions; 35 algebra; 15geometry and 25 aptitudewithin 120 minutes.

He said further: “Themost successful three stu-dents from each state willbe invited to the Final Stageto represent their schoolsand states. After this stage,the top 20 students andtheir teachers will receivecertificates, medals, cashprizes and some gifts”.

LAUNCHING: From left: Mr. Ola Ijimakin, GM, Marketing, Fidson Healthcare Plc; MrOladimeji, Oduyebo, Corporate Services Manager; Mr. Tunde Balogun, Product Manager,Cestra, and Mr. Olugbenga Olayeye, Sales and Marketing Director, at the unveilling of anew product, Cestra (Intelligent Nutrition Systems) in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Joe Akintola,Photo Editor.

PA Gilbert Akpolu, 86, ofAgbere in Sagbama

L o c a lGovernment Area ofBayelsa State is dead. He will be buried at hishome town, Agbere,Bayelsa State, onSaturday, February 09.

He is survived by awidow, children and manyrelations, includingMr. Fred Akpolu of Van-guard Media Limited.

Late Gilbert Akpolu

Pa GilbertAkpolu dies at86

ENUGU—AFTER spending140 days abroad, Enugu

State Governor, Mr. SullivanChime, quietly returned to Ni-geria in the early hours of yester-day.

Although no official statementwas issued by the state govern-ment on the return of the gover-nor, Vanguard learnt that he ar-rived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe In-ternational Airport, Abuja fromUnited Kingdom at about 5.30amvia British Airways and was driventoTranscorp Hilton Hotel, Abujaat 6.45am.

To avoid political associates,aides, friends and relations, whobesieged the Asokoro Enugu Gov-ernor’s Lodge, it was gatheredthat the governor elected to lodgein one of the Presidential suitesin Hilton.

A source told Vanguard that thegovernor will leave the hotel forEnugu today to join the people ofthe state. Earlier in the day, therewere speculations that Chimewould brief journalists at theAsokoro lodge only for journal-ists to rush there and discoveredthat there was nobody to addressthem.

Officials of the government, in-cluding media aides to the gov-ernor, kept sealed lips on Chime’sunceremonious return.

“Oga returned from UnitedKingdom at 5.30 am this morn-ing and was driven into Abujawhere he is convalescing. Hewill likely come into Enugu to-day (Friday) or Saturday,” one ofhis personal aides who pleadedanonymity, told Vanguard.

Enugu Local Council chairmen,who planned to hold a resound-ing reception for the governor atAkanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu yes-terday when they heard that hewould make a triumphant entryinto the Coal City after a longabsence from the state, had to calloff the event.

Welcome relief in EnuguEnugu residents received the

news of Chime’s return to thecountry with a welcome relief andthanksgiving to God for sparingthe governor’s life.

Many residents were seen dis-cussing the development yester-day, though some doubted thenews describing it as a rumour.

“We have heard enough of thisnews about Chime returning toNigeria. If he has actually re-turned as claimed, let him comelet us sight him and join him tothank God for His mercies uponhis life. Let him return to Enuguso that the masses will have restof mind and let peace reign inthe state,” said Mr. Gabriel Arum,a civil servant.

Chime did not deserve

being hustled out of‘gainful stay’ abroad —SEG

In its official reaction to thedevelopment, the Save EnuguGroup, SEG, which hadmounted pressures on the stategovernment to make full disclo-sure on the governor’s healthstatus, said it received with joythe “informal news of the returnof Governor Sullivan Chime intoNigeria, in the wee hours of thismorning.

“We are reliably informed thatGovernor Chime arrived atNnamdi Azikiwe InternationalAirport Abuja, on a British Air-ways flight from LondonHeathrow and moved to theEnugu Lodge in Abuja. We notethat this event is taking placeexactly one month after we firstsounded the alarm of prolongedand unexplained absence. Weacclaim this as falling within de-sired responsive action of lead-ers in a democracy. If further in-formation on the frail conditionof the Governor is reliable, wewish to state that GovernorChime did not deserve beinghustled out of ‘gainful stay’ ingood health institutions if theright things were done first andbefore questions arose. In that re-spect, we, as other good peopleof Enugu State, stand to holdthose responsible for primitivelies and needless cover ups re-sponsible,” the SEG stated.

The statement signed byMessrs Maxi Okwu (Convener),Chief Willy Ezeugwu and OzoIgbonekwu Ogazimora, how-ever, wished Governor Chimewell and full recovery.

On its part, Enugu State Chap-ter of Conference of Nigeria Po-litical Parties, CNPP, yesterday,expressed delight and solidar-ity with the people of EnuguState over the safe return of Gov-

ernor Chime to Nigeria.Rising from its monthly gen-

eral meeting, the group in astatement by its Chairman, Mr.Afam Nnaji and Secretary Pas-tor FrankGold Ekwueme, alsocommended the Acting Gover-nor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, theExecutive Council, the Legisla-ture and Local GovernmentChairmen, for their support andcontributions in keeping Enuguworking while the governor wasaway.

How Chime left Nigeriaon ‘vacation’

Chime left the country on Sep-tember 19 last year on what hisaides described as accumulatedleave but the vacation later be-came a subject of controversywhen his traducers began to al-lege that the government waslying about his true missionoverseas. He had traveled outof the country after attending afunction in Abuja without anyformal announcement from thegovernment.

The nature of his trip gave riseto speculations that all might notbe well with the governor. Thegovernment swiftly issued astatement saying that the gov-ernor had embarked on an ac-cumulated leave but did notspecify when he would returnto the office.

The SEG, which emergedthree months after the gover-nor’s absence, claimed that ithad evidence that Chime wasincapacitated by ill-health accus-ing the government of being eco-nomical with the truth. It there-fore put the government to taskto disclose the actual health sta-tus of the governor just as it chal-lenged the State House of As-sembly to make public the letterpurportedly written by the gov-ernor notifying it of his inten-

tion to embark on vacation witha view to determining whetherhe had overstayed or not.

The speaker of the Assembly,Eugene Odoh, who was in pos-session of the letter, remainedadamant as he refused to releasethe letter but when tensionheightened following the pro-longed absence of the governor,he explained that the governorwas enjoying his vacation. Ac-cording to him, the governor hadthe right to stay outside his of-fice for as long as he wished be-cause he was duly protected bythe constitution.

The SEG not satisfied by thespeaker’s position, demandedthat a delegation of eminent per-sonalities in the state be consti-tuted to visit the governor wher-ever he was overseas to ascer-tain his state of health and de-termine why he could notresume duty after his vacation.The demand was strongly con-demned by officials of the stategovernment, who accused thegroup of trying to play politicswith the ailment of the governoreven though his media aidescontinued to maintain thatChime “was hale and hearty.”

Later, the Deputy Governor,Sunday Onyebuchi, who hasbeen acting said Chime dulyhanded over to him before jet-ting out of the country and dis-missed as false comments that hewas not in-charge and could notsign any cheque worth more thanN500,000.

However, the controversiescontinued with all segments ofEnugu polity attacking andcounter-attacking one anotheruntil Vanguard interviewedChime on January 21 where thegovernor said he was hale andhearty and would soon return tothe country, which he did in styleyesterday.

Checks into Presidential suit, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja

Expectant citizens await his arrival in Coal City today

Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013 —15

$3m bribery scam: Farouk, Emenalo beg for release

LAGOS—THE Presidential Amnesty Office

has denied report that thechairman of PresidentialAmnesty Programme, PAP,Mr. Kingsley Kuku, was in-volved in last Sunday’s ar-rest and detention of oneof the leaders of the formeragitators in the NigerDelta, Ebikabowei Victor-Ben (aka Boyloaf) and oneother person over an inci-dent at the arrival loungeof the domestic terminal ofthe Murtala MuhammedAirport in Lagos.

In a statement issued inAbuja yesterday by theHead, Media and Com-munications, Mr DanielAlabrah, the Amnesty Of-fice said the incident thatled to their arrest was mis-represented in some re-ports, which purported thatKuku, was involved in analtercation with Boyloaf atthe Lagos airport.

According to the state-ment, “Kuku was nowhere

Kuku not involved inBoyloaf’s arrest—Amnesty office

BY LAIDE AKINBOADE

ABUJA—HAVING spent aweek at Kuje Maximum

Prison in Abuja, erstwhile Chair-man and Secretary of the Houseof Representatives Ad-hoc Com-mittee on fuel subsidy probe,Farouk Lawal and Mr BonifaceEmenalo, have begged trial Jus-tice Mudashiru Oniyangi to okaytheir release.

The duo, who had on February1, pleaded not guilty to a 7-countcriminal charge preferred againstthem by the Independent Cor-rupt Practices and other Related

As court decides bail today

ABUJA—THE Federal Capital Territory,

FCT, Nigeria Labour Con-gress and private investorshave concluded plans tobuild a recycling factorythrough a joint waste towealth business venture.

Chairman of Nigeria La-bour Congress, NLC, FCTcouncil, Comrade YahayaAbdullahi, stated this yes-terday in Abuja during thepresentation of a feasibilitystudy on the project by ex-ecutives of the council to theMinister of State for FCT,Oloye OlajumokeAkinjide.

The tri-partite businessventure is aimed at creat-ing jobs, managing thehuge waste generated in

BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

FCTA, NLC, private investorsto build recycling factory

Offences Commission, ICPC, intheir consolidated application forbail, urged the court to considertheir health and allow them to at-tend trial from home.

Begging the court through theirlead counsels, Chief Ricky Tarfa,SAN, and Chief Mike Ozokhome,SAN, the embattled lawmakerssaid they would not jump bail ifreleased from prison.

Farouk further pleaded the courtto take cognizance of the fact thatprior to his arraignment, he hadample opportunities to run away,having travelled outside the coun-

try four times since investigationinto his alleged complicity in thebribery scandal began.

Besides, he told the court thathe had in the course of investiga-tion into the matter, reported tothe Police on 37 different occa-sions, saying he never violatedthe administrative bail given tohim by the Police, an argumentalso canvassed by his co-accusedperson, Emenalo.

ICPC had in the charge enteredbefore the high court, alleged thatthe embattled lawmakers de-manded and collected bribe fromthe Chairman of Zenon Petroleumand Gas Ltd, Femi Otedola, asan inducement to remove the

name of his company from thereport of the House of Repre-sentatives Ad-hoc committee onmonitoring of fuel subsidy re-gime.

They were said to have col-lected an aggregate sum of $3mil-lion, with a view to ensuring thatZenon Petroleum and Gas Ltdescaped prosecution, eventhough the Committee had ab-initio found it culpable in fuelsubsidy fraud.

The anti-graft agency main-tained that the offence they com-mitted was contrary to Corrupt

practices and other Related Of-fences Act, 2000 and punishableunder section 8 (1) 17 (1) and23(3) of the same Act.

More so, the prosecuting com-mission alleged that Emenalo,while being a public officer, anAssistant Director and Clerk ofthe Committee on Education ofthe House of Reps, sometime inApril 2012, while acting as theSecretary of the Ad-Hoc Commit-tee, was offered gratification byOtedola but failed to report theoffer to any officer of the ICPC orany police officer.

near the airport at the timehis Special Assistant (Spe-cial Duties), Mr. HenryUgbolue, was attacked byBoyloaf and two others,which led to their arrestand detention by the po-lice.

“For purposes of clarity,the unprovoked assault onMr Ugbolue had nothingto do with Mr Kuku or theamnesty programme. Thefacts about the incidenthave been documented bymen of the Nigeria Policeat the Lagos State Com-mand, Ikeja, whereBoyloaf signed an under-taking before he was re-leased on Sunday.”

Kuku added that anyoneclaiming that he was usingthe police or the Inspector-General of Police to “derailthe amnesty programme”(whatever that means)have no reason to be afraidif they do not breach thelaws of the country.

the FCT and also generat-ing profit for thestakeholders.

Abdullahi disclosed thatthe Labour Congresswould own 40 per centequity in the joint businessventure, while the FCT Ad-ministration and privateinvestors would take up 60per cent equity in the ven-ture.

He said: “The NLC FCTCouncil had during ameeting last year with theMinister of FCT, SenatorBala Mohammed, andMinister of State for FCT,Oloye OlajumokeAkinjide, raised the issueof helping to mop up sa-chet water waste by settingup a recycling factory.”


NASIR EL-RUFAI BOOK PRESENTATION IN ABUJA . PIX BY GBEMIGA OLAMIKAN

From left: Media Aide to Deputy Labour PartyNational Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Ajibulu andGeneral Manager Publication/Editor-in-Chief, Van-guard Newspaper and President Guild of Editors,Mr Gbenga Adefaye.

From left: Niger State Governor, Aliyu Babangida; Senator Chris Ngige andauthor of the Book, Mallam Nasir El Rufai.

From left: Author of the Book, Mallam Nasir El Rufai; Former Vice Presi-dential Candidate of CPC, Pastor Tunde Bakare; and Former CPC Presiden-tial Candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari at the public presentation of "Acci-dental Public Servant" in Abuja. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

From right: Former Minister of Education, ObyEzekwesili and Mallam Nasir El Rufai.

From left: Mallam Nasir El Rufai; Former OgunState Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel and FormerVice Presidential Candidate of CPC, Pastor TundeBakare.


Responses to:[email protected] to 0802 747 6458 (textsonly). PLEASE KINDLYNOTE THAT UNLESS YOUSPECIFICALLY REQUESTANONYMITY, YOURCOMMENTS MAY BEPUBLISHED INVANGUARD, WITH YOURNAMES AND NUMBERSOR EMAIL ADDRESSESATTACHED.

Doyin Okupe

Presidential advice

Readers’ reaction: Nigeria best birthplace

RELIABLE sources tellme that President

Goodluck Jonathan is becom-ing increasingly allergic to theadvice to which he is subjectedon a minute-by-minute basis.

And I totally understand hisweariness, wariness and irri-tation.

Every VIP is surrounded bya plethora of official and in-formal I-Too-Knows (ITKs)who regard themselves asgreat sages and world-classexperts; and all of the abovetake delight in inflicting theirviews on anyone who will lis-

So I certainly don’t blamePresident Jonathan for not

to tell him how to run his lifeand the country.

But excessive caution, inflex-ibility and stubbornly closed-mindedness never makesense. Leaders should be es-pecially perceptive; and whilethey’re entitled to make mis-takes, they should be able todifferentiate between negativetime-wasters and positivevalue-adders most of the time.

Some of the advice thatJonathan receives comes fromserious organisations and in-telligent, honourable individu-als who know what they’retalking about and want him to

shine brightly; and he willperform more impressively ifhe focuses on the need to sortout the sheep from the goatsand listens to the right people.

Listening toright people

I’m told that Mr Presidentfirmly dismisses anyone whourges him to learn how to ex-press himself more articulatelyin public. Given that he rou-tinely fails to fulfil his poten-tial when he appears on TVor other public platforms - hisrecent CNN interview being

GODSDAY Orubebe, the NigerDelta Minister, recently quarrelledwith Rotimi Amaechi, the RiversState Govenor. I sided withAmaechi on this page, pointing outthat he is more productive thanOrubebe. Here are some reader re-sponses.

2348023009160 LarryOrubebe and Jonathan are disap-

pointments to the Ijaw nation. Thelatter lacks the proverbial courage ofthe Ijawman and appears to betrapped by issues and bad advisers;the former has courage but displaysarrogance and notions of blind loy-alty. They should prepare for insultslike the North who gave Nigeria lead-ers who did nothing for the country.

2348060307077 Anonymous

Thanks Donu for this piece. Fromyour write-up and my own feasibil-ity study, the minister has failed be-cause he is not a determined man.On the other hand, GovernorAmaechi has done some good whichmany have spoken about. I am happyit’s a verbal war which the governorhas won.

2348039523794 EbiakpoTubolayefa

Madam, I appreciate your excitingwrite-ups and salute your courage forletting the world know how ElderGodsday Orubebe has failed theNiger Delta region. By reappointingOrubebe to the Niger Delta Minis-try, President Jonathan has nothelped the cause of the region interms of infrastructural development.They both won’t be praised by theIjaw nation for misusing the oppor-

tunities at their disposal today.

2348027475353 TarrieOrdinarily Orubebe will not cough

where Amaechi is talking. They areno match in terms of individual per-formance. We cannot continue withdeceit, especially as it concerns de-velopment in the Niger Delta. Godbless you.

,

,Some of the advice that Jonathan re-

ceives comes from serious organisationsand intelligent, honourable individualswho know what they’re talking about andwant him to shine brightly; and he willperform more impressively if he focuseson the need to sort out the sheep from thegoats and listens to the right people.

ten.Heads of state are particu-

larly vulnerable within thiscontext…in the sense that theyattract more attention thanmost mere mortals and areconstantly approached byhighly opinionated friends,relatives, spouses, personalaides, cabinet ministers,parastatal personnel, politicalcronies, party stalwarts, mediacontrollers, traditional rulers,captains of industry, foreigninvestors, etc.

And it’s not as if thesewannabee powers behind thethrone are all completely well-intentioned or all harmoni-ously singing from the samehymn sheet.

Some of the folks who striveto influence the thought pro-cesses and actions of rulerseither deliver confusingly con-flicting suggestions or haveextremely dubious hiddenagendas. And if you’re aleader, it is very difficult to siftthrough the never-ending ver-biage and decide whom totrust or ignore.

enthusiastically welcomingeveryone who sidles up to him

a classic example of a lessthan inspiring performance -I hope that he will eventuallyrealise that he can benefitfrom media training.

After all, his counterpartsfrom other parts of the world– Obama of America andCameron of Britain, for in-stance - have received exten-sive media training. Ditto thejournalists who occasionallyquiz him on screen, at homeand abroad. So why won’t hehumbly provide himself withsimilar skills?

Reuben Abati

OPINION


*Mr. Patrick, a social critic, wrote fromLagos.

BY OSE PATRICK The Goodluck Jonathan Nigerians donot know“I am working to make sure we don’t only

protect the environment, we also improvegovernance” – Wangari Maathai.

LET me start this topical issue with thisprofound statement that at the end of

Goodluck Jonathan’s second term in officeas Executive President of our great nationNigeria, the same Goodluck Ebele Jonathanmost criticized, vilified, abused and calledall manner of printable and unprintablenames will be praised, to the high heavens byall and sundry. Why you may ask? Hispractical transformational results shall beevident for all to see! His style of governance may not be intandem or in agreement with the generalityof Nigerians. Nigerians expected the gra-graand guerilla kind of approach in hisgovernance of a system that has suffereddecades of deliberate neglect, bastardization,misgovernance and lack of sincereleadership. He may be slow, but he is sure.Do not forget the axiom that says “slow andsteady wins the race”. He is steadily winningthe race in the Nigeria project. He may beslow, but there are silent developmentalefforts going on. There was no functionalfoundation to achieve developmental goalon ground before he came to the scene as thePresident. There was no functional leadershippillar on ground to accelerate development,governance and strong policy framework forsuccessive government. The systems onground were divisionary, dysfunctional, indisarray and a kind of soldier go soldier come

type of governance. A well balanced approachto achieve good governance was not in place,if you may know. “A well balanced, inclusive approach,according to certain standards and ideals, isessential for the proper governance of anycountry” – Laisenia Qurase. In a system asbastardized as ours, there is need for Mr.President to do ground work that willultimately be the benchmark for his wellintentioned transformation agenda. Beforehitting the road to start running, foundationalpillars are very crucial and paramount.Visible developmental impact will thrive onthese factors. To achieve a holistictransformation of the Nigeria State, theleadership and the followers must play apatriotic role that will bring Nigeria out ofthe woods. We should also not forget that themultifarious problems and challenges onground were not created by him in the firstplace. It is axiomatic to state the obvious fact,that the problems bedeviling the Nigerianation were systemic leadership failure ofseveral years. These were problems causedby lack of sincerity of purpose by the pastleadership. These were problems caused byself-seeking and selfish leaders ingovernance. These were problems caused notbecause of paucity of fund, but lack ofpolitical will to pursue national development

frontally. Goodluck Jonathan loves thiscountry deeply and cares so strongly aboutits future. Let’s have an understanding of the multinature of Nigeria. Nigeria as a developingnation, is multi-tribal, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-language. As multi thisand that of the Nigeria state, we should notlose sight of the fact that the problemsbedeviling the nation are of multi-dimensional proportion. “Nigeria is the most populous country inAfrica. If Nigeria succeeds at democraticgovernance, it will be an anchor for all ofWest Africa. Africa needs a strong Nigeria” –Ed Royce.

Beside the problems, he has to tackle thereare also multi tribal interest group to

contend with by Mr. President. I have cometo realize that leadership and governance isnot a tea party. In order not to be termed atribal and sectional president, there must bean inter-play of wisdom, sincerity and thecapacity to bring all the multi-dimensionalnature to the decision table. Mr. Presidentneeds to imbibe 21st century leadership styleto overcome the decaying nature of the nation.And the gra-gra and guerilla method which alarger percentage of Nigerians expected isnot the best approach. To be candid, he’s notto be blamed for the sordid state of the

nation. He should be appreciated for doingwork of a repairer. Nigeria needs the touchof a repairer. Be that as it may, one year is too early tojudge and condemn the Jonathan governmentas a monumental failure. At the beginning ofthe Asiwaju Bola Tinubu government inLagos State, Lagosians gave him a name as“Baba go slow”. The name was as a result ofno visible action at the beginning of hisgovernment. Thank God he laid thefoundation for a successive government. President Jonathan will lay the foundationfor a progressive, prosperous and atransformed Nigeria that generations yet un-born will be proud of. Nigerians should understand the sincerityof Mr. President and be patient with him. Heis not wasting time at all. You may not acceptmy very sincere views on this subject, but thatis the truth. The Good Book of the Lordstipulates in I Corinthians13:8, For we cando nothing against the truth, but for the truth.The truth is that, Mr. President is notmindless, rudderless, clueless, actionless,idealess and motionless as some people wantus to believe about him. Every mortal manhas areas of weakness, only God theImmortal has no weakness. The word of Godsays pray for those in authority not useabusive language against the person of Mr.President. President Jonathan as anindividual is a very good person. He is not abraggart.

Continues on Mondayviewpoints

THIEVES have taken over parts of Kaduna,Katsina and Zamfara States. The police andgovernments of those States have conceded thatpart of the country to marauders and they haveno shame in confessing there is no solution to asituation that shows that plays up the insecurityin the country.Each time the marauders strike, they operate

without let. They arrive on time, the people knowthem, the traditional rulers are in mortal fear ofthem. When they are operating they takeanything they want, including food and money.The group that comprises about 100 armed men

has become a feature of Birnin Gwari whose emirAlhaji Zubairu Jibril II, ran to Kaduna for succour.He got none. Policemen have been killed, theirstations burnt, inmates released and ATMmachines blown up.Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Mukhtar

Ramalan Yero, listened to the emir’s cries, “Theentire Birnin Gwari Emirate has been overtakenby armed robbers. Unless the state governmenttakes a drastic step towards arresting the

situation, it will come to a point where the villagerswill be forced to abandon the community. Thearmed bandits have taken over our land.”These cries of desperation would have been

unnecessary if governments were fulfilling theirobligations to the people. The most important ofthese is security. Without security, it is morechallenging to tackle other areas that can improvethe lives of the people.How were the people supposed to take the

reaction of the governor? “This is a seriousproblem indeed. But it is a responsibility of thethree states that share boundaries with BirninGwari. I want to assure the Emir that thisadministration would do everything humanly

possible to assist the community. I urge you toenjoin your subjects to pray to God for a lastingsolution”.Hours after the emir laid his pleas, Birnin Gwari

was raided, visited with the same venom that themarauders unleash whenever they arrive. Wouldthe governor blame the people of Birnin Gwarifor not praying enough? When did prayersbecome the substitute for government’sconstitutional role of providing security?Birnin Gwari, like so many outer parts of the

country where presence of security agencies isminimal, and governments’ indifference to thesecurity of areas that do not produce coreminerals on which the economy runs, makes thecase for state police stronger.If states that harbour Birnin Gwari had their own

security arrangements, they would have been ina better position to deal with the matter.Authorities in Kaduna sound like the constitution-promised welfare and security of the people asthe primary purpose of government excludes thepeoples of Birnin Gwari. It is bizarre.

Where Thieves Reign


,

*Mr. Zowam, a social critic,wrote fromAbuja.

,

,

,

BY ADEWALE KUPOLUYI

*Mr. Kupoluyi wrote from theFederal Varsity of Agric.,Abeokuta, Ogun State.

On the pension thiefsentence

BY GABRIEL ZOWAM

Continues on Monday pg 18

Continues on Monday on pg 17

THE nation’s strive for acorrupt-free polity suffered a

great set-back with the unpopularsentence meted-out to the formerofficial of the Police Pension Board,John Yakubu Yusufu, who wasgiven a two-year sentence on eachof the three-count charge with anoption of paying a fine of N750,000, an amount the convictshamefully and promptly paid toregain his freedom.

Yusufu had admitted stealingN23billion out of the overN40billion found to have beenstolen from the coffers of theNigeria Police Pension Fundbetween January 2008 and June2011 but was let loose in aquestionable judgement deliveredby Justice Abubakar Talba of theAbuja High Court.

The judgement has beencondemned by virtually allsegments of the society within andoutside the shores of the nation as‘a travesty of justice’.

The Nigeria Labour Congresshad noted thus: “This judgementis not in the public interest andcannot be acceptable to Nigerianswho are continuously worriedabout their future in retirementshould the judiciary continue toencourage those caught withpublic funds with convictions thatare clearly not punitive enough forthe convict to be remorseful; thejudiciary will be encouraging theNigerian people to opt for junglejustice and treat these high profilecriminals the same way pickpockets are treated”.

The National Assembly had

Year (N Bn)1970 0.21971 0.5 : : : :1998 324.31999 724.42000 1,591.72001 1,707.62002 1,230.92003 2,074.32004 3,354.82005 4,762.42006 6,109.02007 4,463.0Total (1970-2006) è 23,842.7

Table: Gross Oil Revenue FederalGovernment of Nigeria, 1970 - 2006

IN order to underscore the seriousness ofthe task before our Constitution

Amendment Committee, I wish to revisit ananalysis I first carried out in my 2008 book,Strategy for a Final Assault on Corruption.

The Table below shows Nigeria’s oilrevenue from 1970 to 2006 (from CBN’sannual reports and other Statistical Bulletinon Public Finance Statistics).

Now, notice the dramatic surge in oilrevenue, which started in 1999, andcontinued rocketing upwards till 2006,before it slightly went down, probably as anearly sign of the global meltdown that soonfollowed. We can (from the full data)

∗Gross oil revenue in the 29years,from 1970 to 1999*Gross oil revenue in the next sevenyears (from 2000 to 2006) Total: 23.8

In other words, in the 29 years, from 1970to 1999, our cumulative oil revenue was onlyN3 trillion; while a whopping N20.8 trillionwas received in the next seven years, from2000 to 2006! Again, these are officialfigures, from the CBN website.

There is no doubt about what we achievedwith the N3 trillion of the first (mostlymilitary) 29 years: the massive post-warinfrastructure development, including theextensive network of federal roads;numerous power plants and water dams;various airports across the country; seaportsbuilt in Lagos, Sapele, Warri, Port Harcourt,Onne, and Calabar; various telephoneexchanges across the country; the Lagos“fly-overs” and bridges, including the ThirdMainland Bridge; the Ikoyi federalsecretariat; the massive Ajaokuta and Deltasteel complexes, and various steel rollingmills; our various oil refineries; thepetrochemical plants; the paper mills andfertiliser companies; various vehicleassembly plants in Kaduna, Lagos, Enugu,etc; all those federal universities, collegesof education, and Unity schools; thebuilding of modern capital, Abuja (includingAso Rock, the Abuja road network, federalsecretariats, the Three-arm Zone, variousgovernment edifices, the massive Gwarinpahousing estate (also, estates in Karu, Lugbe,Wuye, etc); and so on! All these were carriedout from the N3 trillion!

Now, if N3 trillion achieved all these inthe 29 years, up to 1999, what on earth didwe do with the unprecedented N20.8 trillionthat poured into the country in the next sevenyears?

Did we use the wealth to repair ourdeteriorating road network? No; our roadswere so deplorable in 2007 that a newminister wept publicly at the sight of theordeal Nigerian motorists were goingthrough! Did we use the windfall to buildmassive housing for Nigerians? Not at all;instead, government sold the public housesit inherited from the military under themonetisation programme! We can say thesame thing for our education system, healthsystem, and so on! They were all deplorable!

Could we have invested the money inour telecommunications

infrastructure? No! Instead the sector wasanother source of windfall for government!We wisely allowed the private sector to comein and invest its own money; which not onlytransformed the sector, but also helpedgovernment to reap additional revenuethrough licence fees and taxes!

What about refining capacity: Did we use

the windfall to construct new refineries? Farfrom that! We could not even keep theexisting ones running! Instead, we created anew special agency in June 2003, thePetroleum Products Pricing RegulatoryAgency, PPPRA, for managing our fuelimportation and subsidy!

But most importantly, how did that wealthimpact on ordinary Nigerians? This wasperhaps, the most tragic aspect of thatwindfall: Our population in poverty (aspublished by the National Bureau ofStatistics, NBS) increased nationwide, from67 million in 1996, to 69 million in 2004! Ithas continued to get worse, such that by2010, the number of Nigerians in povertyhad hit 112 million!

So where on earth did the money go?Somebody can argue that the value of theNaira was not the same over all those years.Very correct; but it absolutely cannot explainaway the unprecedented windfall! Look atthe eight-year period, 1998-2006.Government’s oil revenue doubled, tripled,quadrupled, and rocketed many folds, inthat short space of eight years! That wasenough to turn every part of this countryinto a modern paradise!

We can also look at the year-on-yearincreases. For example, in 1998 we earnedN324 billion; but in 1999 the revenue shot

N BillionGross oil revenue, 1998N324Gross oil revenue, 1999N724(i.e. N324 + extra N400 billion)!

up to N724 billion! Notice that the N724 weearned in 1999 was equivalent to the N324billion of the previous year, plus an extraN400 billion!

Democracy and its porouseconomy

summarise the revenue streams as follows:

described the judgment as “evil,nonsensical, archaic anddetrimental” to the country’savowed fight against corruptionand makes it a laughing stock inthe eyes of the internationalcommunity in that it served “verylittle non-deterrent charges andfines for multi-billion nairathieves”.

As expected, there have been aseries of protests and outrage overwhat has been described as ‘lightsentence’ given to Yusufu.

This has warranted discussing anumber of issues that should notbe swept under the carpet if we areready to learn from past events.

First, the judgement is nothingbut a reference point for publicoffice holders to steal public funds.At best, all the would-be thief needsto do is to just keep some for thesettlement of fines. The manner inwhich Yusufu quickly paid-off thefine and was chauffeur-driven outof the court premises has sent awrong signal.

Secondly, the judgement hasfurther exposed our severaldeficient laws that are out of tunewith modern day realities. Or, ofwhat use is a law that cannot detera person from running afoul of thelaw?

Therefore, the amendment ofSection 309 of the Penal Code andCriminal Code is more thannecessary. The Penal Code, whichbecame effective in 1960, is thecriminal law used in the 19Northern states and the FederalCapital Territory.

The Code - applicable in thepredominantly Islamic states - ismodelled after the Criminal Codesin Pakistan and Sudan. Present dayrealities demand a review of such

laws that are legion in our statutebooks.

The role of the judge is alsoquestionable. Not a few peoplehold the opinion that JusticeTaliban might have beencompromised with the judgementby settling for the mostcontroversial alternative. In theentire saga, the judiciary got themost bashing.

If the judiciary can no longerserve as the bastion of hope for thepeople, this portends graveconsequence for our polity.

Thus, there is the need for anobjective and transparent processfor the appointment of judges toensure that only the highest qualitycandidates are chosen. But underthe present arrangement, judgesare made to feel indebted to aparticular politician or seniorjudge who appointed them. Thatis why recent court cases haveremained controversial.

As obtainable in other sanerclimes, nothing is too much

to make judges comfortable. Theirsalaries and emoluments must bereasonable and commensuratewith their status, position,experience, performance andprofessional development for theentirety of their tenure.

On the other hand, as publicofficers, corrupt judges should bestripped of immunity in corruptionor other criminal cases to put a stopto rampant cases of judicialcorruption (which in this caseentails inappropriate financial,material and non-material gains)aimed at influencing theimpartiality of the judicial processby any actor within the courtsystem.

The systematic looting ofpension funds over the years bycorrupt government officials hasresulted into untold hardship ofour senior citizens that had puttheir active years into active servicewithout having anything to showfor it. They are regularly seendying in hundreds in the bid toclaim their entitlements that maynever come.

There is, therefore, the need toput under checks, the vulnerabilityof public service to incessant fraud,indiscipline and corruptivepractices.

It is rather unfortunate thatNigerians are becoming familiarwith more controversial courtjudgments that have soiled theimage of the judiciary. In the past,such judgements had generated alot of tension and posed seriousthreat to the country's image andstability.

A few examples suffice: Theruling of September 25, 1979, onthe interpretation of 12 2/3 per centof 19, which bordered on theelection victory of Alhaji ShehuShagari, which was contested bysome political parties whichparticipated in the election,especially the Unity Party ofNigeria and its leader, the lateChief Obafemi Awolowo.

The case was warranted by theprovision of the NigerianConstitution, which in Section 126(2) had stipulated that a candidatefor the office of president shall bedeemed to have been duly elected,where, in a situation there are

more than two candidates for theelection, he has the highestnumber of votes cast at theelection and has not less than onequarter of the votes cast at theelection in each of at least two-thirds of all the states of theFederation.

Again, we have anothercontroversial judgement deliveredby the late Justice Bassey Ikpemeof the Abuja High Court. For this,the late Ikpeme was perceived asthe handy instrument by theIbrahim Babangida-led military totruncate the entrenchment ofdemocracy and the validation ofthe June 12, 1993 presidentialelections contested by the lateBashorun Moshood Abiola, of thedefunct Social Democratic Partyand Alhaji Bashir Tofa of the thenNational Republican Convention.

As the nation was awaiting thefinal word on the election -declaration and eventualswearing-in of the purportedwinner of the election - ProfessorHumphrey Nwosu, Chairman ofthe National ElectoralCommission, announced thesuspension of further release of theelection results.

Many anxious Nigerians wereglued to their radio and televisionsets as the results were beingreleased in 14 states with Abiolaleading.

Nwosu had said that NECsuspended further action on theelection because the unregisteredAssociation for Better Nigeria,headed by Arthur Nzeribe,maverick politician, filed a suit atIkpeme's court alleging that theJos convention of the SDP, whichselected Abiola as the party flagbearer was inconclusive and couldnot have formed the basis for anelectoral contest or democracy.

There is the needfor an objectiveand transparentprocess for theappointment ofjudges to ensurethat only thehighest qualitycandidates arechosen

Our population inpoverty increasednationwide, from 67million in 1996, to 69million in 2004! Ithas continued to getworse, such that by2010, the number ofNigerians in povertyhad hit 112 million!

20 —20 —20 —20 —20 — Vanguard Vanguard Vanguard Vanguard Vanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, FEBRUARY 8, FEBRUARY 8, FEBRUARY 8, FEBRUARY 8 , , , , , 20132013201320132013

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Yenagoa: A city gradually losing its innocenceBY SAMUEL

OYADONGHA, YENAGOA

THOUGH a predominantlycivil servants state with no in-

dustries where everything re-volves around the ‘Creek Ha-ven’, the seat of power in Bayel-sa State, Yenagoa, the serenecapital city is fast losing its ruraloutlook.

In spite of its infamous past asthe hotbed of crisis at the heightof youth militancy in the NigerDelta, Bayelsa is now regardedas the “Jerusalem” of the Ijawnation and its capital Yenagoaranked as one of the most peace-ful cities in the federation.

Interestingly, driving in thestate capital until late last yearwas a luxury given the relativeease with which vehicles movefrom one point to another.

Most first time visitors to thestate capital, especially from bigcities like Lagos and Port Har-court were fascinated by the freeflow of traffic on the roads.

But with the commencement ofthe expansion of the existingmajor roads and construction ofnew internal roads across Yena-goa, life has not been the sameagain for residents many ofwhom are now forced to adjusttheir movement.

For a people who are used to

security at the height of youthmilitancy was hurriedly commis-sioned and named GoodluckJonathan Bridge by the imme-diate past administration of ChiefTimipre Sylva ostensibly towarm its way to the heart of theformer when he was the coun-

capital a huge construction yard.The ongoing works have also

resulted in broken water pipesin several areas with electricitypoles being relocated therebycausing power outage in someareas. In recent weeks, commut-ers and motorists, VanguardMetro, VM, check revealed,have been subjected to hours ofharrowing experiences causedby traffic gridlocks along themajor highways within the city.

The development has forcedsome residents, especially theyounger segment of the popu-lation, to resort to the use of bi-cycles in a city where Okada wasthe preferred means of transpor-tation before its ban by the stategovernment.

It was also discovered that therecent attempt by the govern-ment to manage the chaotic traf-fic situation by blocking some ofthe intersections on the major

roads has not been fruitful be-cause of the massive construc-tion work in town.

Adowei, a civil servant, toldVM of his experience and howhe spent about four hours on ajourney of less than 30 minutesto get to his office at the StateSecretariat, last week.

He added that on his way backhome same day, he faced anoth-er round of harrowing experi-ence as the roads were againchoked up. Residents, however,noted that the current situationis worth enduring as accordingto them, it was a noble sacrificethey have to make for the capitalcity to outgrow its rural outlook.

Ebiowei, another resident, wholives at Polaku in the outskirts ofYenagoa, said: “I spend an av-erage of three hours daily to getto town and sometimes morethan that to come back home. Itis really frightening going out

but I have to go to work. The on-going work is an indication thatYenagoa is gradually losing itsinnocence and toga of a glori-fied village.”

But the State Commissioner forWorks and Infrastructure, Mr.Lawrence Erudjakpor has plead-ed with residents to be patientwith the government, stressingthat the current hiccup beingexperienced on the roads wastemporary.

The commissioner who saidgovernment also intends to em-bark on the expansion of theMbiama-Yenagoa road, whichrequires demolition of structuresand compensation as plannedassured that the ongoing expan-sion and opening up of new lay-outs would not only help accel-erate development in the statebut also add to the aestheticbeauty of the city.

It is really frightening going out but Ihave to go to work; the ongoing work isan indication that Yenagoa is graduallylosing its innocence and toga of a glori-fied village

*One of the many road construction sites in Yenagoa. Though welcome road users also complain about worsening traffic as a result

Group partners FRSC on accident reporting•deploys 300 personnel

BY MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

FOLLOWING high cases ofroad accidents recorded in 2012,

the Association of Nigerian Motorcy-cle Clubs, ANMC, is collaboratingwith the Federal Road Safety Corps,FRSC, to deploy over 300 personnelfor accident reporting across the coun-try. ANMC also urged state gover-nors, especially the Lagos State Gov-ernment, to review the new road traf-fic law which banned commercial mo-torcycle operators popularly calledOkada riders from plying 475 roadsin the state. President of ANMC, Mr.Iyang Effiong who disclosed this onWednesday during a press briefingheld in Ikeja, Lagos, to herald thecommencement of the Club’s yearlyactivities, said that the partnershipwas to reduce the number of lives lost

through road crashes in the country.The chairman lamented that severalroad accidents occur in the countrywithout the awareness of the traffic en-forcement officers, saying “many livesare lost in the process”. Effiong ex-plained that the personnel would bemembers of the Biker’s club, adding:“The accident reporting exercise is aneasy act for the members who were al-ways on the road across the country.”

According to him: “The club has over10 clubs scattered across the countrywith over 30 registered members ineach. And they are always on the road.We see accidents but where do we re-port such cases to? Although we gowith Medical Park that can only treatone person but in an accident wherefive persons are involved, how wouldthey be treated? That was why we have

gone to meet the corps to aid ANMC in itsdrive to reduce road crashes in the coun-try. If we pass through any route and wediscover any road accident, we quicklyalert the FRSC and other road safety agen-cies to rescue the victims”.

Effiong noted that the association’s aimwas to partner with FRSC to ensure thataccidents cases are reported immediately.The chairman averred that the club knowsthe importance of safety. “That was whywe have always ensured that our mem-bers attend various orientation pro-grammes on road safety.” On the road traf-fic law, he said that when the law is re-viewed it would help to address certaingray areas.“We live in Nigeria, so any lawthat is passed affects us. Laws that arepassed about road users affect us immedi-ately. Laws have a frame work with whichone is expected to operate. It affects us,”he said.

the free flow of traffic on the roadsdriving, which hitherto was con-sidered a worthwhile experiencein the capital city, is now a sourceof pain to many due to the seri-ous gridlock they are subjectedto daily.

Expansion work is ongoing onIsaac Boro Expressway connect-ing Edepie roundabout linkingImiringi in Ogbia council areaand Tombia-Amassoma univer-sity community in Southern Ijawcouncil area to mainland Yena-goa; Azikoro Road, Diete SpiffRoad and Road Safety Road,dualisation of Opolo-Elebeleroad, Edepie-Imiringi road, Ig-bogene-Onopa Bye Pass linkingthe Gateway road to East-West,Elebele connecting roads link-ing the Elebele area to the IsaacBoro highway among others.

Also the ailing Swali Marketroad is being expanded whilerehabilitation and expansionwork is also ongoing on the Iko-li Bridge which was on the vergeof collapse before the interven-tion of the present administra-tion.

The bridge which was uncom-pleted by Julius Berger when thelatter pulled out of the NigerDelta due to the problem of in-

try’s Vice President.Earth moving machines exca-

vating muddy soil, heavy dutytrucks carrying out sand fillingand bulldozers clearing theswampy forests are working si-multaneously making the state


Escravos near Warri addingthat the project is in progress.

The Minister urged thenewly appointed Chairmenand members of both boardsto work with the agencies inimplementing government’spolicies and programmes in

line with their mandate.He advised the appointees

to ensure that their agencieswork assiduously to meettargets set in the performanceagreement the Presidentsigned with the variousministries.

“As you are aware, MrPresident has signed thePerformance Agreement withall ministries on specificdeliverables in his resolve totransform and change theapproach to governance insuch a way that each sector

From left: AdeAdeola, ExecutiveDirector, Originationand Client Coverage,Standard CharteredBank; Olivier Lenoir,Managing Director,United CementCompany ofNigeria,UNICEM;Bola Adesola,Managing Director/CEO, StandardChartered Bank andJohn Coumantaros,Chairman, UNICEM,during a specialdinner organised byStandard CharteredBank in honour ofthe new ManagingDirector of UNICEMin Lagos. Photo:Lamidi Bamidele.

is challenged to deliver notonly on the input but also theoutcome and indeed thedirect impact of each projectto the citizenry.

“The performanceagreement is cascaded downbetween the Ministries andall directors of the ministryand Heads of agencies, youare expected to acquaintyourselves with the keyperformance indicatorsspecific to your agencies andassiduously work towardsmeeting the targets set in theperformance agreement” headded

FG inaugurates NPA, NIMASAboards, plans new port in Badagry

BY GODWIN ORITSE

THERE are indicationsthat both the Federal

Government and the LagosState Government haveconcluded plans to constructa mega port with a view todecongesting the Lagosports.

Disclosing this at theinauguration of chairmen ofboth the boards of theNigerian Ports Authority andthe Nigerian MaritimeAdministration and SafetyAgency held in Abuja,Transport Minister SenatorIdris Umar said that themoves is in line withgovernment plan to developnew ports across the country.

Umar also stated that theeffort is geared towardsresolving the over stretchedfacilities at the existing portsin the country.

The minister explained thatbesides the Badagry port thatis currently being workedupon, the ground breakingceremony for thedevelopment of a deep seaport in Lekki will beperformed soon adding thata steering and developmentCommittee for the Ibaka deepsea port has been set up.

He disclosed that a duediligence report on the Ibakasea port has been producedjust as a transaction adviserappointed for the project.

The transport Minister said“The Federal Government ismaking concerted efforttowards ensuring thedevelopment of deep seaports .

“This is the ultimatesolution to the over stretchedexisting ports and in thisregards, the ground breakingfor the actual development ofthe Lekki Deep sea port willbe performed soon while inthe case of Ibaka deep seaport in Akwa Ibom State, asteering and developmenthas been has since beenconstituted with membershipdrawn from the FederalMinistry of Transport,Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA) Akwa Ibom Stategovernment and theInfrastructural ConcessionalRegulating Committee(ICRC)

“The Committee has sincecommenced its assignmentand Transaction adviserappointed and the Adviserhas produced a due diligencereport.

“ I wish to add thatdiscussions are in progressbetween the Federal Ministryof Transport, Nigerian PortsAuthority on one side, theLagos State Government andsome investors to develop theBadagry deep sea port”.

He further disclosed thatthe government is alsodeveloping a gas revolutionport center in Ogidigbe in

Cargo train service skeletal twomonths after launch

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU & WILLIAMJIMOH

THE Nigeria Railway Corporation,NRC, is yet to commence full cargo

operations two months after launch. Thecargo train service was launchedalongside the passenger inter-city trainservice on the penultimate week ofDecember 2012. However, investigationby Vanguard showed that while thepassenger train service was completingits sixth inter-city operation by the endof January, the cargo train service trainhas remained sketchy after a test-runoperation which carried twenty tankersof petroleum product, about 40 metrictonnes at the launch. NRC has said thisis as a result of limited freights wagons.

Speaking to Vanguard at the Apaparailway station, the Apapa stationmanager, FNCE Okorie, noted that cargotrain service has remained sketchy as aresult of inadequacy in the availabilityof freight wagons.

“There has not been any week sincethe lunch which we did not move. Butbecause of the inadequacy on the partof the available locomotives, one has toreturn before another one takes off and

that has been causing delay.”Mr. Okorie who noted that some of the

cargoes that have been moved includedcement and some construction materialsused in the rehabilitation of the rail tracksalso said that NRC has got offer from FlourMills of Nigeria and lifting of their productswill commence in the next two weeks.

“For now, we are moving more of constrmaterials for the contractors that areworking on the rails. We have also movedcement from Ewekoro in Ogun state butwe move more of the constructionmaterials for some of these companies likeCCECC and to some parts of the westwhere they are doing constrconstructions.Most of our wagons are fully engaged onall these construction materials. But wealready have some offers from someprivate companies like Flour Mills and inless than two weeks, we will be movingtheir products.” Mr. Okorie explained.

When contacted on the telephone, theAssistant Director, Public Relations, Mr.David Ndanusa denied that cargo trainsservice has been skeletal. He said that NRChas three cargo trains at the moment andhas undertaken four cargo train operationssince after after the launch. He enumeratedtheir operation since after the launch.


Distributors, Neimeth International Pharmaceutical Plc, Mr. Chukwuka Ezenwanne,MD/CEO of Ramsgate Pharmaceuticals, Sango Ota, Ogun State and his wife (centre)receiving a gift from the company. With them are Mr. Akin Oluwadaisi, NationalSales Manager (Consumer Products Group of Neimeth, (1st left) Jahswill Oberebe(Head of Marketing, Ethical Products Group, and Dr. Gabriel Ajuzieogu, Head of VetBusiness (1st and 2nd right) respectively.

THE Nigerian capitalmarket is gradually being

moved to internationaloperational standard by theexpansion of the band onshare price movement fromfive to 10 percent, Mr.Johnson Chukwu, ManagingDirector/CEO, Cowry AssetManagement Limited, hassaid.

He spoke on the impact ofthe increase in circuit breakereffected by the NSE tocomplement the operation ofmarket makers.

He said that since the rollout of stocks that marketmakers can make market instarted, the NSE has recordedincreased activities.

He noted that the more losethe bands are the moreliquidity is attracted in themarket.

His words: “I will say that theexpansion of the circuitbreaker of those stocks inportfolio of market makers to10 is actually beginning tobring our market in tandemwith what is happening inother markets around theworld.

Basically, the more lose thatband is, the easier it is to goto the market, the moreliquidity you have in thatmarket and it is also easier forthose holding stocks to selltheir stocks and for those whowant to buy to be able to buytheirs within a reasonable

Circuit breaker expansion positionsNSE for international relevance

BY NKIRUKA NNOROM band.”“You can see that, that has

been a very impressiveperformance since about 39stocks had their circuit breakerexpanded from five per centto 10 percent,” he added.

Announcing the removal ofcircuit breaker on share pricemovement ahead ofcommencement of marketmaking, Mr. Adeolu Bajomo,Executive Director, MarketOperations and Information

Technology, NSE, said thechange will only apply to onlystocks that are being managedby market makers withpossibility of extending it toother stocks on a later date.

“Though some people areadvocating that we remove thecircuit breakers completely,but most modern markets havecircuit breaker in placebecause for some reasons, youdon’t want prices to continueeither up or down

uncontrolled. So, thecircuit breaker comes in tocalm things down.

“The manner in whichwe want to introduce it isthat when a particularstock gets to five per centeither up or down, we willhave what is calledintroductory option. Whatthat means is that themarket goes back to theopening price of thatparticular stock.

CADBURY Nigeria Plc saidit plans to fully acquire

Stanmark Cocoa ProcessingCompany where it holds 98 percent stake.

The company said this willreduce the cost of running the

Cadbury plans full acquisition of StanmarkBy CHINEDU IBEABUCHI

with Agency Reportunit and boost revenue.

Kufre Ekanem, a spokesmanfor Cadbury Nigeria Plc, saidthe company proposes toexchange one share for 5.58shares of Stanmark and thenmerge the companies.

Stanmark has a 12,500 toncapacity plant in Ondo andproduces cocoa butter, liquor

and powder. It supplies theentire cocoa powderrequirements for Cadburybeverage products while thecocoa butter and liquor areexported, Ekanem said.

Nigeria is the fourth-largestcocoa producer after IvoryCoast, Ghana and Indonesia,according to the London-based

International CocoaOrganization’s website.

The combination willmake it easier for CadburyNigeria to refinance thecocoa business and raiseoutput, Ekanem said. “Thecompanies have applied tothe court and the regulatoryauthorities for approval andbelieve the deal will becompleted soon,” he said.

Cadbury Nigeria’s nine-month net income throughSeptember advanced 34percent to 2.08 billion naira($13.2 million) from 1.56billion naira a year earlier,it said in a statement onOct. 31. Revenue declined2.4 percent to 24.1 billionnaira.

The stock rose 3.5 percentto N37.27 on the NigerianStock Exchange, NSE onWednesday. It has climbed29 percent this year,compared with a 19 percentgain for the NSE’s All-Share Index.

OLD Mutual, an international long-termsavings, protection and investment

Group, has completed the acquisition of amajority stake in Oceanic Life, the lifeassurance operations of the former OceanicBank in Nigeria acquired by Ecobank.

This will result in a name change fromOceanic Life Limited to Old Mutual Nigeria.

Ralph Mupita, CEO of Old Mutual’sEmerging Markets business, said: “We aredelighted to have completed the acquisition

Old Mutual acquires major stake in OceanicLife from Ecobank

By CHINEDU IBEABUCHI of this majority stake and we continue to workwith Ecobank to expand our product offeringsto the Nigerian market. The growth dynamicsof the industry are exciting and prospects aregood for further development of our businessoperations in West Africa.”

Also commenting, Ecobank CEO, ThierryTanoh said: “This is a welcome development,as Old Mutual is renowned as one of the finestinsurance providers in Africa. Ecobank Groupwould rather concentrate in its core area,which is banking, and leave insurancebusiness for the experts, which Old Mutualrepresents.

. . .BRIEFS. . .Africa privateequity dealsgrow to N180bnin 2012

PRIVATE equity fundscompleted N180.38 billion

worth of deals in sub-SaharanAfrica in 2012, a near 10percent increase from theprevious year, a surveyshowed on Tuesday.

Funds raised for the regionalso grew to $1.4 billion lastyear, from $1.3 billion theprevious year, but still farbelow a 2008 peak, accordingto data from the EmergingMarkets Private EquityAssociation.

Private equity investors areincreasingly targeting sub-Saharan Africa, drawn bysome of the fastest economicgrowth rates in the world andan expanding middle class.

The region is projected togrow around 5 percent in2013, according to the IMF.

U.S. private equity firmCarlyle Group completed itsfirst African deal in November,paying $210 million for a stakein Tanzania-basedagribusiness Export TradingGroup along with two otherinvestors. Last month, SouthAfrica’s Ethos Private Equitysaid it had raised $800 millionfor a new fund, one of thelargest amounts secured by anAfrica-focused fund.

Fitch projects5% growth forSSA

IN its new Sub-SaharanAfrica Credit Overview,

Fitch Ratings says that itexpects regional growth toremain above 5 per cent,retaining its place as thesecond-fastest growingemerging market region afterAsia.

Growth will remainsupported by infrastructurespending, the development ofmineral resources andgrowing consumer spending.Strengthened policy regimes,efforts to improve the businessenvironment, and rapid creditgrowth in some countries asfinancial markets continuedeepening will support thedevelopment of the privatesector.

In 2013, Africa is expectedto continue benefiting from aninflux of foreign directinvestment, while somedomestic capital markets areproving attractive forinternational investors. Lowglobal yields and a growingappetite for African exposuremay prompt more countries toissue debut Eurobonds,following Zambia’s recentsuccess.

CMYK


KPMG has cautionedentrepreneurs and

owners of Small and MediumScale Enterprises to ensureproper cash management intheir activities and businesses.

This, the firm said, would goa long way towards improvingtheir activities and ensuringthat their businesses remainedafloat.

KPMG advises SMEs on cashmanagement techniques

The Partner and ChiefOperating Officer, KPMG, Mr.Yomi Sanni, who gave thisadvice, said entrepreneursshould learn to avoid pitfallsthat could lead to collapse intheir business.

Speaking at the KPMGAlumni Seminar in Lagos lastweek, Sanni also advisedbusiness owners to ensure that

they studied the businessenvironment critically beforetaking any business decision.

Also speaking, a professor ofentrepreneurship of IEBusiness School, Spain, Mr.Peter Bryant, called onentrepreneurs in Nigeria tofocus on customer acquisitionand proper management ofcash if they intend to avoid

pitfalls that will lead to thecollapse of their businesses.

Bryant, in a presentationtitled: ‘Entrepreneurialmistakes and how to avoidthem,’ said one of the mistakesentrepreneurs make is thatthey squander cash too fastwithout understanding theirrunway to revenues, whileothers raise money, then thinkof ways to spend the money.

According to him, to avoidthis mistake, entrepreneursshould be able to understandhow long their cash will lastto achieve revenues, whileurging them not to seek toomuch cash as it will makethem complacent and careless.

Another mistake, Bryantsaid, is the situation where

entrepreneurs seek investorsrather than customers. This,he said is due to the fact thatmost entrepreneurs pursuecapital and not revenue.

He advised entrepreneurs tomake customers’ acquisition apart of their funding strategy,while focusing on strongrevenues, as it helps improvevaluation and reduce financialpressures.

He listed the mistakesentrepreneurs make toinclude: ignoring competition;having the notion thatcustomers will always come,believing that winning oneper cent of $1bn is easy;deferring decision due touncertainty and engaging inunethical conduct with thebelief that no one will find out.

He also advisedentrepreneurs to search widelyto identify current andpotential imitators, and alsourged them check often, ascompetitors’ initiatives andstartups may be difficult to see.

INTERSWITCH limited hasintroduced Verve Money

Reward product aimed atdeepening the current level ofcashless transactions.

Speaking at the launch of theprogramme in Lagos, Verve’sDirector of Switching andProcessing, Mr. Akeem Lawansaid the product givesbusiness owners theopportunity to rewardcustomers’ loyalty.

He said that the cashlessloyalty initiative powered byInterswitch is expected toprovide instant moneyrewards to customers who usetheir Verve cards andMastercard Verve cards atshops and outlets where theReward Money scheme isenabled.

He noted that the VerveReward Money programme isnot a promo, adding that it israther a loyalty programmewhich will keep running as

IN furtherance of its leadingrole in the Nigerian

financial landscape, and asdemonstration of its supportfor the Central Bank ofNigeria’s (CBN) cashlessinitiative, United Bank forAfrica (UBA) Plc has addedMasterCard for DomiciliaryAccounts to its robust bouquetof electronic products.

This no doubt, eases thetransaction needs of its

UBA introduces master cardfor domiciliary accounts

teeming customers who cannow upgrade their DebitMasterCard for use onaccounts denominated incurrencies apart from Nairasuch as US Dollars, BritishPounds and Euro.

This variant of UBA’s DebitMasterCard products is tiedto domiciliary accountsinstead of Naira Current orSavings account. It offers thesame flexibility of usageanywhere in the world,including Nigeria. When atransaction is carried out withthe USD, GBP or EuroMasterCard, the Customer’saccount is debited in Dollars,Pounds or Euro depending onthe currency of the Domiciliaryaccount. The DebitMasterCard product is uniqueas it offers the Customer theopportunity to spend from hisor her domiciliary account.

Divisional Head, E-Banking, UBA Plc, Dr. YinkaAdedeji said “UBAMasterCard is acceptedlocally and internationally atall MasterCard merchants’outlets and on over 1 millionATM, 30 million POS/merchant terminals in over 210countries across the world. Itcan also be used on theinternet and other merchantoutlets worldwide. To operatethe MasterCard forDomiciliary Account, thecustomer must have an activeDomiciliary account with UBAin Dollars, Pounds or Euro.”

According to him, aCustomer without adomiciliary account can easilyopen one, after complyingwith all regulatoryrequirements, and apply forthe Debit card from the nearestUBA Business Office.

Interswitch introduces verve reward moneyto drive cashless policy

From right: Ajen Sita, CEO for Africa (Ernst & Young); Thame Mabe, MD/CEO of UnileverPlc; Henry Egbiki, Regional Managing Partner for West Africa and Shuga Palanee, Accounts,Industries & Business Development Africa Leader, Ernst & Young, during Ernst & Young’smanagement team courtesy call on Unilever Plc, in Lagos.

By JONAH NWOKPOKU long as a customer uses Vervecard.”

He said, “As a card holder,all you need to do is to putyour card into the Point OfSales, POS, machines to payfor goods or services andautomatically the POSterminals will calculate yourreward money and credit yourreward money account.

“The Reward Money is based

on three principles: being easyto use, easy to spend and easyto earn,” he added.

In response to the success ofthe Reward Money programmeso far, some of the businessowners who have keyed intothe scheme said it has beensuccessful but more awarenessneeded to be created about theprogramme.

According to Adaeze Ezenwa

of PillsPlus Pharmacy whoseoutfit has marked out 2.5 percent discount for the rewardmoney, “the programme is abeautiful one that bothcustomers and business ownerswould benefit from but I thinkbasically the problem is thatpeople are not yet very muchaware about it. And that’swhere Verve needs to do itshome work very well.”

GOVERNOR Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti Statewill be joining Mr. Adedoyin Owolabi, 48th

President of The Institute of Chartered Accoun-tants of Nigeria, ICAN, at the 7th Western ZonalDistricts’ Conference of ICAN on Tuesday to pro-mote a corruption-free society through advocacyof cashless economy.

The conference tagged Ekiti 2013, which hasbeen scheduled to take place at the BimboOwolabi Hall, Afe Babalola University IkareRoad, Ado-Ekiti from Monday, February 11 toThursday, February 14, will be declared open by

Fayemi partners ICAN to promote corruptionfree society the Governor, who is both the Grand Patron and

Special Guest of Honour, while Mr. Owolabi, asthe chief host, will deliver the keynote address.

The theme of the Conference is “Promoting aCorruption-free Society through a CashlessEconomy – The Role of Chartered Accountants”.Other dignitaries and erudite resource personsexpected at the conference plenary sessions andtechnical workshops include Professor Taiwo O.Asaolu, PhD, FCA, Obafemi Awolowo University,Ile-Ife, Osun State, who will deliver the leadpaper on the topic, Promoting a Corruption–freeSociety through a Cashless Economy – The Roleof Chartered Accountants.

24—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013

DRY season farmers inSokoto state are to get

various loans totaling N1billion to boost foodproduction, Commissioner forAgriculture, Alhaji ArzikaTureta has said.

Disclosing this during the2nd Meeting of the TechnicalAdvisory Committee of theSokoto Rima River BasinDevelopment Authority,SRRBDA in Sokoto onTuesday, he said that themoney would be sourced fromthe account of FederalGovernment AgriculturalCredit Scheme.

According to Tureta, “Thedisbursement of the lowinterest credit facilities, whichwere guaranteed by the StateGovernment will sooncommence.”

In order for farmers in thestate to engage in modern

Dry season farmers to getN1bn agric loan

Benue farmers want earlydistribution of inputs

BY ABDALLAHEL-KUREBE

agricultural practices, whichwould enable them producemore food for localconsumption and export, heannounced the StateGovernment’s plans to recruitadditional agriculturalextension workers that wouldbe equipped and trained.

Tureta further stressed theneed to impound water inorder to combat and mitigatethe climate changephenomena on thesocioeconomic development inthe areas of SRRBDA, whichcover Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfaraand Katsina states.

“We must re-emphasize theneed to impound water to arrestflood and release it for irrigationand other socioeconomicpurposes,” he emphasisedadding, “I therefore call on theFederal Government to takeurgent steps in investing morein hydrological and floodcontrol issues as well as put inplace regulatory and legal

framework for robust privatesector participation in allaspects of the water sector,”Tureta emphasised.

Speaking, Managing Directorof SRBDA, Alhaji Yusuf Khalidsaid that the meeting was aimedat developing an inclusive waterresources development andmanagement in the country.

Fishermen in Rivers beg govtfor storage facilities

FISHERMEN in Oyorokoto,Andoni Local Government

Area of Rivers, on Thursdayurged the government to assistthem with fishing tools to increasetheir catch.

The fishermen told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) inOyorokoto that the most importantfactor militating against theiroccupation was lack of storagefacilities.

They said that many of them

had the necessary experience tocatch different kinds of fish in thehigh sea but their efforts were notcommensurate with their totalproduction.

According to Mr Peter Ejit, oneof them, “God has given usstrength to fish but after the largecatch, if you are able to use halfof them, you just thank God.

“The reason is because fish canonly live for very few hoursoutside the water and because wedon’t have storage facility, we willjust be seeing our efforts go downthe drain.

“Sometimes, we ask ourselveswhy should we be suffering likethat, taking all the risk in turbulentwater but because that is ournatural occupation, we remainedin the business,“ Ejit said.

Mr Christian Iman said thefishermen needed moregovernment encouragement tomake them happy while doingtheir business and contributing tofood sustainability. Iman said theyneeded cold-room in the area andother moden amenities likeschools and banks.

FARMERS in Benue duringthe week called on the state

government to ensure earlydistribution of agricutural inputsthis year.

The farmers made the demandin separate interviews inMakurdi.

They urged the government toprocure and distribute the inputsahead of each year’s farmingseason for maximum usage.

They said that fertiliser,herbicides, tractors and

implements as well as improvedseedlings should be madeavailable to them before thecommencement of cultivation, toboost agriculture in the state.

In his comments, the stateCoordinator of All FarmersAssociation of Nigeria (AFAN),Mr Kunti Adamu, claimed thatsince 2008, farmers could not toget good yields due to the lateapplication of fertiliser or noapplication at all.


AfDB supports export-oriented SMEs to boostjob creation in Nigeria

BY DANIEL GUMM

NEPC to boost shea butter export

THE Benin Ministerof Economy and

Finance, Mr. JonasGbian, has urged citi-zens of the country toembrace variousprogrammes embarkedupon by ECOWAS andthe UEMOA Commis-sions to facilitate region-al integration and im-prove the lives of thepopulation.

In an address to a gath-ering as part of the 8thEdition of the NationalIntegration Week in

THE Nigerian Ex- port Promotion

Council (NEPC) has con-cluded arrangement toexpand African export ofshea butter as part ofmeasures to boost trade.

Director of NEPC, MrsOmowunmi Osibo, whilespeaking in Lagos Tues-day, said that the crop, ifpromoted was capable ofalleviating poverty in theregion, especially amongwomen.

Osibo noted that the re-gion has decided to givepropriety attention to thecrop to boost wealth cre-ation as well as raw ma-terial for food and cos-metic industries.

“Shea butter is beingconsumed by millions inWest African countriesand across the globe. Itis added into food andskin care products,” Os-ibo said.

She added that thecouncil would hold the

THE African Devel- opment Bank

(AfDB) has signed anagreement to providetwo sovereign-guaran-teed multi-tranche Linesof Credit (LoCs) of re-spectively US $500 mil-lion to Bank of Industry(BOI) and of US $200million to Nigerian Ex-port-Import Bank (NEX-IM) in order to supportthe modernisation andexpansion of export-ori-ented small and medi-um enterprises (SMEs).

The LoCs will allowlocal SMEs to be morecompetitive, scale uptheir operations and ul-timately create more jobsin Nigeria.

The LoCs will include

a technical assistancepackage to strengtheninstitutional capacity ofboth BOI and NEXIMas well as their SME cli-ents.

Through this integrat-ed financing package,the AfDB is supportingNigeria's efforts towardsa more diversified econ-omy away from oil andgas.

The LoCs will supplymulti-sector financingto address the chal-lenge that SMEs face inaccessing finance in thecountry.

Therefore, export-ori-ented SMEs will be ableto become more compet-itive, ensure sustainablegrowth of their opera-tions and generate em-ployment in the Nigeri-

an productive sectors.Bank of Industry

(BOI) is the leading cat-alyst for industrial de-velopment resources inNigeria and one of theoldest development fi-nance institutions in Af-rica.

It was established in1964 and reorganised in2001. In line with itsmandate to finance in-dustrial developmentprojects, BOI providesterm finance and advi-sory services primarily toindigenous SMEs, towhich it devotes at least

85 per cent of its resourc-es

Nigerian Export-Im-port Bank (NEXIM) isthe national export creditagency of Nigeria. It wasestablished by Act 38 of1991 with a mandate toprovide export credit,export guarantee andexport credit insuranceas well as export advi-sory services to exportoriented companies, par-ticularly SMEs in thenon-oil sector.

Ousmane Dore, AfDB'sResident Representativein Nigeria, said: "This

AfDB combined pro-gramme will contributeto mobilise significant fi-nancial resources for Ni-gerian export-orientedSMEs, ultimately con-tributing to economic de-velopment, employmentopportunities, foreignexchange and regionaltrade integration."

Robert Orya, NEXIMManaging Director, add-ed: "Thanks to AfDB'ssupport through this pro-gramme, NEXIM seeksimportant economic de-velopment achieve-ments, including ap-proximately 55,000 newjobs for its SME clients,US $1.6 billion in foreignexchange and an overallcontribution of almostseven per cent to non-oilexports, including a 10per cent share in Eco-nomic Community OfWest African States

(ECOWAS) exports.“This facility will pro-

vide a great opportuni-ty for NEXIM to makeavailable concessionallong-term funding inpursuance of its strate-gic objectives of enhanc-ing value-added exportsand bolstering the ca-pacity of SMEs for jobcreation and foreign ex-change earnings."

Evelyn Oputu, BOIManaging Director, add-ed that: "The AfDB's op-eration, contributing tocapital market develop-ment and governmentrevenue, is likely to gen-erate significant addi-tional lending to our ex-port-oriented SMEs cli-ent at a time when it issometimes difficult forcommercial banks to fi-nance this importantsector of the Nigerianeconomy."

sixth yearly conferenceof the Global Shea Alli-ance, Shea 2013: GlobalPerspectives in Abuja,Nigeria, between March4 and 6, 2013.

Omowunmi noted thatshea exports have onlygrown in the past 10years because of orien-tation and aggressivecampaign to encouragepeople to the sector.

“More than 15 millionwomen across West Af-rica participate directlyin the shea industry,millions collect sheanuts across the savan-nah area stretching fromSenegal to Uganda andSouth Sudan, the threemillion square kilome-tre.

“ We’re very excited tohost Shea 2013 in Abu-ja. Nigeria welcomesstakeholders with openarms and assures you ofour support and an ex-ceptional experience inan important part of theshea world,” she said.

“Shea is critical to thelivelihoods of millions ofwomen in West Africa,and the conference willaddress the economic,social and environmen-tal aspects of shea.

She said the partici-pants would discuss vir-tually all aspects of thebusiness: Sourcing lo-gistics, quality regula-tion, processing innova-tions, business model-ling, social accountabil-ity, sustainability mar-keting, cosmetic formu-lation, soap-making.

“The annual confer-ence is the most impor-tant shea industry eventof the year, it bringseveryone together toshare information andideas and gain insightson what shapes the sheabusiness,” she said.

Minister urges citizens to embrace regional integrationMinister urges citizens to embrace regional integrationMinister urges citizens to embrace regional integrationMinister urges citizens to embrace regional integrationMinister urges citizens to embrace regional integrationBohicon, some 10-kmeast of the nation’s eco-nomic capital Cotonou,the minister said the cit-izens should also makemeaningful contribu-tions to ensure that Be-nin took its rightly placeamong the comity of na-tions.

Minister Gbian, repre-sented by the Director-General, Economic Af-fairs in the Ministry,Mr. Houenou Ap-polinaire, called on thepopulation to take full

advantage of the activi-ties of the integrationweek to educate them-selves on the pro-grammes of the two com-missions.

He commended theforesight of the foundingfathers of ECOWAS andUEMOA in mobilisingsocio-economic stake-holders behind the inte-gration agenda.

Speaking in the samevein, the Mayor of Bo-hicon, Mr. Luc Atrokpo,called for the active par-ticipation of the citizensin all the discussionsand programmes in or-der to maximise the ben-efits of the IntegrationWeek.

In his remarks, Mr.Armand Nouatin, Headof Zou and Collines Ad-ministrative Departmentwhere Bohicon is locat-ed, commended the sen-sitisation initiative andcalled on the citizens toeducate themselves ad-equately on ECOWASprogrammes and activi-ties.

The Ministry of Econ-omy and Finance intro-duced the National Weekof Integration in Benin

MAJOR cement distributors have

urged government toencourage indigenousentrepreneurs like AlhajiAliko Dangote throughbanning import of itemslike cement, which arenow produced insufficient quantities thecountry. The distributors risingfor a one-day retreat inLagos with themanagement of DangoteCement, lauded thecement company forcreating massiveemployment in theeconomy.

Distributors solicit ban ofimported cement

Alhaji Bala MuhammadGetso, Chairman, GiwaDynamic Ventures Ltdnoted that the retreatsaid entrepreneurs likeAliko Dangote wereneeded to drive theeconomy as they createmassive employmentopportunities.Alhaji Getso,whodescribed DangoteIndustries as the biggestemployer of labour afterthe Federal Government,urged the government toban an importation ofcement in any form as toencourage domesticmanufacturing.

in 2004 with the activi-ties coordinated by theECOWAS National Unitwithin the framework ofVision 2020 which em-phasizses ownership ofthe regional integrationprocess by Communitycitizens for an ECOW-AS of people.

EKULO International limited in con-

junction with J. GarciaCarrion S.A of Spainhas announced thecomeback of once thefavorite choice of Nige-rians, the Don Simonfruit juice.

The juice which usedto dominate the Nigeri-an market before a banwas imposed on impor-tation of fruit Juices, inthe year 2002, accordingto Ekulo and the Span-ish brand owners, isnow being produced inNigeria with NAFDAC

Don Simon fruit juice returns to Nigerianmarket registered and brand

promise to become anintegral part of country’sdaily nutrition require-ments.

During the productlaunch at Sheraton Ho-tel and Towers, Ikeja,both companies in a re-lease said, “the merit torevive Don Simon Fruitjuice goes to EKULOInternational limitedwho, in conjunctionwith brand owners, J.Garcia Carrion S.A ofSpain has clutched thechallenge to establishthe brand at par with itsglobal image.

From left: Mr Jean-Pierre Breton, Finance Director; Mrs Chinwe Udo-Daris, Human Resources Di-rector; Mrs Anne Ezeh, Communications Manager; and Mr Marcel Hochet, Country President; all ofSchneider Electric Nigeria at the first nationwide company meeting, in Lagos.

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, , FEBRUARY 8, , FEBRUARY 8, , FEBRUARY 8, , FEBRUARY 8, 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 — 27— 27— 27— 27— 27

… Nigeria gets ICTP commendation

Tourism Forum promotesbusiness between Africa, Spain

The fourth edition of theInvestment and Tourism

Business Forum held inMadrid, Spain during the justconcluded InternationalTourism Fair (FITUR) onceagain brought togetherrepresentatives from 33African countries and over 50Spanish entrepreneurs.

Some competitive areas intourism in Africa like airconnectivity, investment,branding and productdevelopment, werehighlighted under the themeTourism Development inAfrica: Challenges andOpportunities.’

“Bringing together thepublic and private sectors withpotential internationalpartners, represents a uniqueopportunity to reinforcebusiness relations betweenSpain and Africa and advancesustainable development inthe continent”, said UNWTOSecretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

The importance of thecorrect strategic planning intourism to promote Africa’sdevelopment was highlightedby the Minister of Tourism of

EMIR OF ZARIA’S PALACE: This Palace is situated inside the ancient city of Zazzau. It was built of mud also with traditionalexpertise typical of Hausa architectural design. The Palace is surrounded with high walls with beautifully constructed gates.One of the gates is the main entrance while the other separates the residential area of the Emir and his family from hisemirate offices. The Palace, with such beautiful Habe traditional architectural design, projects a sheer grandeur of beauty.The palace is simply fascinating and irresistible to witness.

Benin, Jean Michel Abimbola.“The diversification of theeconomy is the key to attractinvestment and preserve themillenarian’s traditionsthrough projects such asecotourism and training”, hesaid.

“Africa is a destination andAfrica is a market” said theMinister of Tourism of SouthAfrica, Marthinus vanSchalkwyk, echoing debateswhich underscored that in thecurrent economiccircumstances, initiativessuch as INVESTOUR canmake a difference both inpromoting tourismdevelopment as well as inbringing new opportunities tocompanies in Europe.

Meanwhile, theInternational Coalition ofTourism Partners (ICTP) hassent a congratulatory messageto Nigeria for introducingtourist visa card to ease theburden of tourists carryingcash while in Nigeria and abiometric registration systemfor the tourism industryworkers.

This follows a meeting atFITUR between OtunbaOlusegun Runsewe, DirectorGeneral of the Nigerian

Tourism DevelopmentCorporation and MinisterAlain St.Ange of theSeychelles.

Mr. Alain St.Ange, co-founder of ICCTP

lauded these efforts atrepositioning the tourismindustry in Nigeria withinternational standards andbest practices.

“We in ICTP are very pleasedwith these development andinnovations in Nigeria. Webelieve these new productsare good for tourism growth inthe continent.”

Accordingly, the ICTP isencouraging other countriesin Africa to do what Nigeriahas done for the growth oftourism in their countries. “Weencourage other countries in

By JIMOH BABATUNDEwith agency report

Africa to introduce theseproducts to ease themovements of tourists whowould not carry cash becausepeople don’t carry cash acrossborders any longer”

On the introduction ofbiometric registration, theICTP said it viewed thedevelopment as a right stepat instilling confidence intourists in line with globalstandard and best practices.

The biometric registrationwill ensure that the CV of

hotel staff are always availableto all tourism establishmentsprior to recruitment of newapplicants. This will remain aninternal confidential data basefor the tourism industry. It isan innovative system andAfrica will be watching how itdevelops as it will ensurehotels have the latestinformation on the tourismworkforce.

“We are pleased Nigeria hastaken this step, we hope othercountries would do same.

Africa is a destinationand Africa is a market

,

,

IMO State Commissionerfor Culture and Tourism,

Mrs Ugochi Nnanna-Okoro,has urged the Igbo to comeout en masse to participatein the rescheduled Ozuruimo cultural carnival.

Nnanna-Okoro told theNews Agency of Nigeria(NAN) on telephone that thefive- day cultural carnival,which had gone throughseries of changes in dates,would finally take placebetween April 1 and April 4.

NAN recalls that the‘Ozuruimo carnival, whichwas scheduled for Dec. 17,2012, was postponed by Gov.Rochas Okorocha insympathy with the families ofthose who died in the ill-fated helicopter crash.

The commissioner said thatthe carnival would showcasethe vast culture and tourismpotential of the state.

Ozuruimo’culturalcarnival tofinally takeplace– Commissioner

The Federation of TourismAssociation of Nigeria

(FTAN), has disclosed plansto hold a Tourism Investors’Forum, aimed at boosting thesector soon.

The Vice President of theassociation, Mr TomiAkingbogun, made thisknown in Lagos during theweek.

Akingbogun said theforum, which would be heldApril in Abuja is aimed atpromoting and packagingNigeria as a touristdestination.

He said that the CBNGovernor, Malam SanusiLamido Sanusi; the Ministerof Federal Capital Territory,Sen. Bala Mohammed; andMr Edem Duke, theMinister of Tourism, Cultureand National Orientationwould attend the forum.

Akingbogun said the forumwould provide a platform forfunding of the sector bybringing all investorstogether to exploreopportunities in the sector.

“The hosting of theinvestors’ forum is for us tobrainstorm on the wayforward for the tourismindustry and discuss theissue of Tourism InterventionFund.

FTAN to hostTourismInvestors’Forum


CMYK

WithI N S I D E:

Where have you been since yourreturn from America?At the moment, I am in Asaba, DeltaState; I was in Port Harcourt, RiversState last December for their Carni-val known as Carniriv. The Carnirivwas awesome; it ended with reggae

TTTTTodaodaodaodaoday’s reggaey’s reggaey’s reggaey’s reggaey’s reggaeararararartistististististes hates hates hates hates havvvvveeeeefailed usfailed usfailed usfailed usfailed us— Ras Kimono

Samsung Galaxy phoneSamsung Galaxy phoneSamsung Galaxy phoneSamsung Galaxy phoneSamsung Galaxy phoneexplodes, injures ownerexplodes, injures ownerexplodes, injures ownerexplodes, injures ownerexplodes, injures owner

Tiwa Savage

now engaged

to manager

Tee Billz!

Nnenna &

Friends to

thrill fans at

Lovers’ Day

celebration

Ras Kimono

More than 25 years after heruled the stage as reggae

star, Ukeleke Umwubuya, aka RasKimono is back on stage again. Hesojourned in America for manyyears with his wife and two daugh-ters. He returned in 2009, and he’salready doing what he knows howto do best. Ras kimono remains

all night for Christmas celebration.

Your latest album as usual wasmessage bound; would you do acollabo with one of the new artistesor upcoming artistes around?I would definitely do a collabo ifthere is a new artiste with a Reggaehit or track that wants to feature me.Does that mean that you won’tchange your style of singing; youwere known as a reggae artiste?Yes l am a reggae artiste. Reggae isnot just about singing; it is moreabout preaching a gospel forchange. Reggae is all about usingmusic to pinpoint the anomalies inthe society. The album l released lasttwo years called “Matter of Time”had all the quality of good reggaemusic.

What was the market like when youstarted compared to now?When I started music, I never saw itas a means of generating money, itwas all reality and singing was notjust fun because I was preachingreality not fiction or tales by moon-light… Money comes and it goes butspreading my music around theglobe was my priority and spreadinggood tidings in every of my trackswas all l wanted to do.

Was it just music you were spread-ing or there is a gospel to thatmusic?My songs are filled with messages;there must be a reason for passingout any message, so in other wordsthey are gospel I am preaching oneway or the other. My latest album‘Matter of time’, on one of the songsI did, I titled ‘Fire go burn them thewicked politicians’. That’s gospel!

What inspired that song?It is amazing the type and amount oftheft going on in this country. Theway and manner the Nigerianpoliticians are going about issuesshow that they don’t have theinterest of the masses at heart. I getmy inspirations by what is happen-ing around. And that’s what reggaemusic is about.Would you say that the present dayartistes /musicians are gainingcredit for their music compared to

Continues in page 29

ageless and when asked what haskept his youthful looks; he attributesit on his clean lifestyle, revealingthat he is a vegetarian. In thisinterview, he talked about his justreleased album titled “Matter ofTime”, one of his songs he titled,“Fire go burn them”, his twodaughters in America, his wife andhis collaborations…

FLORENCE AMAGIYA

Ajasco & Company, Nige-ria’s Number One ComedyTroupe; master entertainerDJ Zeez; Hilarious Comedi-ans Seyi Law, MC Prince andBig Mickey; Exciting dancegroups Gentle Explosionand Point X; as well as theyoung and versatile N-Starswho will be delivering a va-riety of exhilarating perfor-mances.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013 —29

Continued from Page 28

When you started as anartiste?

Most definitely, the artistesnowadays are making somemuch money than when westarted. Shamefully, most oftheir songs don’t go withheavy or raw messages likeours back in those days. Backthen, every family wants tobuy Ras Kimono, Mandatorsor others, but not all familiescan go out to shops for all theavailable artistes we have onair today. The reason isbecause the artistes mosttimes don’t write songs thatare loaded with messages, ordwell on songs that willelevate someone that isdepressed or uplift a poorman’s spirit, just to be happyand have hope for the future,but these days, it’s all aboutmerriment and party,drinking and all, no propermessage.

Do you think Nigerian mu-sic these days have somenegative influence on ouryouths when compared toyour time ?Some of them are, but I can-not tell you that all the musicdone in Nigeria today is bad.The problem is that l do notthink people still check thesemusic before it is allowedfree passage to the masses.That also is a way for theyouths to be influenced neg-atively.

Where will you say Nigerianmusic have gotten to if youhave to rate it?Nigerian music has gone farand wide, if you travel to Eu-rope, America, China, India,you hear Nigerian music,and it’s been aired over andover again, but airing Nige-rian music is not enough, be-cause there should be somesense of Positivity in it, notthe other way round… MostNigerian artistes are notsinging reality, so ratingthem will be a bit difficult be-cause most of them sing whattends to favor them and notfacts. The truth is that Nige-rians sing about other peo-ple’s culture these days be-cause they feel that it is whatits in vogue; the Americanscan sing about Samba andSambo. It’s part of their cul-ture and they could dwellmore on it and do it well. Wehave a culture we can alsopromote it for the world to

see and teach them a littleabout Africa, but the case isdifferent here because mostof us Africans are not proudof our culture.

We know about your daugh-ters, but we don’t knowwhen you got married!I was married and still mar-ried officially, my wife usedto be my manager before weleft Africa for America. Rightnow, she is there with therest of my kids.

You had a controversy withMajek Fashek recently.What brought about this ex-change of words?Well, Majek Fashek is myyounger brother in the in-dustry and in age; we some-times talk playfully; we giveeach other names withoutmeaning to be rude. So hecalled me an obese Rastafar-ian and I called him a drunk.But we are not quarrelling oranything. I even spoke tohim today.

Would you say Reggae is dy-ing in Nigeria?Reggae music is all abouttruth and rhyme, the youthsthese days don’t have thosevalues to consider, all theythink is party and all that. Inone of my tracks in my re-cently released album; I dida song titled “Fire go burnthem all… the wicked politi-cians...”. What I am saying isthat most of present day reg-gae artistes are scared ofsinging about crimes, corrup-tion, killing, rape and otherbad stuff, so many of themare shying away from thetruth and when they makemoney from those corruptminded people, it is as badas you being the robber whostole money to grease yourpalm when you sing hispraise or something else

You have a very long threadlocks; how long have youbeen growing your hair?I have been growing my hairfor about 30 years now and inthose years I have remaineda vegetarian.

If you are amongthose looking for a

family friendly atmo-sphere to spend theValentine Season,Wale Adenuga Pro-ductions has provid-ed a solution to allworried minds withthe 2013 edition of thepopular Nnena &Friends ValentineShow.

NnenaFollowing the tremendous

success of the Nnena &Friends End-of-Year Show2012, this event promises tobe bigger and better. Spon-sored by Indomie Noodles,Afrab-Chem Ltd, ToastiesBread Chips, Fumman FruitJuice, McVities Happy Facesand many others, the showholds at the National Theater,Iganmu, Lagos on Sunday,

February 17, 2013. Organis-ers say, apart from packagingtwo shows which holds from12noon through 3pm, and3pm through 6pm), the eventwill be broadcast live onwapTV (StarTimes Channel222) as well as several keystations across the country.

Billed to perform at theevent are Nnena, the multi-talented, favourite performerof kids and teens alike; Papa

‘I’ve been avegetarianfor 30yrs’

Ras Kimono

Nnenna & Friends to thrill fans atLovers’ Day celebration

SILVER LINING

Synopsis:After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat

Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries toreconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challengingwhen Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problemsof her own. The movie Silverlining PlayBook starringBradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro hitthe box office today.

TOP MOVIES OF THE WEEKDJANGO UNCHAINEDFLIGHTLES MISERABLESJACK REACHERTHE LOST NUMBER

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, VICTORIA ISLANDSilverlinings Playbook: 2:00pm, 6:00pm, 8;50pmMan on Ground: 4:10pm,Flight; 1:00pm, 6:30pm, 9:10pmLes Miserables: 11:10am, 3:45pmDjango Unchained: 11:05am, 8:20pm Jack Reacher: 12:45pm, 6:20pmRise of the Guardian: 11:00am.Flower Girl showing on Valentine’s day: 3:45pm, 8:50pm SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, IKEJAMan on Ground: 11:10am, 4:55pmDjango Unchained: 12:45pm, 6:10pm, 9:15pmHotel Transylvania: 5;15pm.Here comes the Boom: 11:20am, 7:10pm.The Meeting: 8:20pmTwilight saga Breaking dawn part2: 11:30am.Flower Girl showing on Valentine’s day: 5:15pm, 8:20pm SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, ABUJASilver linings Playbook: 12;40pm, 3:10pm, 6:00pm, 8:30pm .Man on Ground: 1:00pm,4:40pmFlight: 1;10pm, 3;50pm, 6:30pm, 9:10pmLes Miserables: 11:40pm, 2:40pm, 5:40pm, 8:50pmDjango Unchained: 11:15am, 2:40pm, 5:30pm, 8:40pm.Jack Reacher:1:50pm, 6:40pm, 9:15pm.Rise of the Guardian: 2:00pm.Pitch perfect: 8:20pmFlower Girl showing on Valentine’s day: 12:50pm, 4:00pm,

8:10pm SILVERBIRD CINEMAS CEDDI PLAZA , ABUJAMan on Ground: 12:30pm, 4:40pm, 8:40pmDjango Unchained: 11:40am, 5:55pm, 9:00pmFlower Girl showing on Valentine’s day: 2:30pm, 6:30pm SILVERBIRD CINEMAS PORT HARCOURTMan on Ground: 11;40am, 1:20pm, 4;50pm, 6:40pm, 8:30pmFlight: 12;20pm, 2;50pm, 5;30pm, 8:10pmLes Miserable: 11;10am, 2;00pm, 4;50pm, 7:50pmDjango Unchained: 1:35pm, 4:40pm, 7:50pm, The Lost Number: 11:30am, 5:40pm.Jack Reacher: 3:00pm, 8:00pmDr Bello: 12:50pm, 3:00pm.Rise of the Guardian: 1:40pm,6:20pmHotel Transylvania : 11:50am .FLOWER Girl showing on Valentine’s day: 12:50pm, 4:10pm,6:25pm.

MoMoMoMoMovie scvie scvie scvie scvie schedule frhedule frhedule frhedule frhedule from 8th-1om 8th-1om 8th-1om 8th-1om 8th-14th Februar4th Februar4th Februar4th Februar4th Februar yyyyy, 20, 20, 20, 20, 201111133333


What started as a rumourfew weeks ago has fi-

nally been confirmed to betrue as R&B-pop singer, TiwaSavage and her manager,Tunji ‘Tee Billz’ have de-clared their everlasting loveto each other. The lovebirdsare now officially engaged.

Tee Billz confirmed the de-velopment to WG. He made aformal proposal to Tiwa Sav-age last Tuesday, on a daythe songstress was markingher birthday anniversary.The romantic moment waswitnessed by a few celebrityfriends, including Tiwa’sMavin Records boss, DonJazzy, Dr Sid, Banky W, BeatFM Personality Toolz andseveral others.

The pair had consistentlydenied the relationship, andwhen marriage rumours sur-faced weeks ago, their deni-als became even more vehe-ment. But the past few daysproved they had gotten tiredof living a lie, with photosand tweets from Lagos andDubai confirming whatthey’d been trying to hide.

‘I am not engaged and I amnot dating Tee Billz. If I am,you would have seen a ringon my finger indicating that Iam engaged. It’s just a ru-mour’, she told Encomium inDecember 2012.

But the rumours re-emerged when the pair flewto Dubai and checked intothe luxurious Burj Al ArabHotel, spending time togeth-

TTTTTiwiwiwiwiwa Sava Sava Sava Sava Savage and managerage and managerage and managerage and managerage and managerTTTTTee Billz are engaged!ee Billz are engaged!ee Billz are engaged!ee Billz are engaged!ee Billz are engaged!

er, taking boat cruises andseemingly enjoying a luxurycouples vacation. Sourceseven suggested that Tiwaand Mr Balogun had gottenmarried, and that the Dubaitrip was their honeymoon.

On the morning of Febru-ary 5th, 2013, Tiwa’s 34thbirthday, Tee Billz reportedlyupdated his BlackBerry Mes-senger status to’Happy birth-day Mrs Billz.‘ Tiwa also

posted two cakes on her In-stagram page. The inscrip-tion on the first cake read‘Happy birthday Mrs Billz‘.

‘The power to deny theirrelationship grows weaker bythe day, they are really inlove with each other’, asource close to the coupletold us. ‘Now that they haveannounced their status toeveryone, the tension willcease.’

Is Nomoloss in love?BY OPEOLUWANI

OGUNJIMI

It’s no longer news thatNomoloss who started off

as an artiste with his firstsingle, Iyawo Olele, sud-denly got tired of jumpingon stage, and later delvedinto artiste managementand music production.

What is news today is thatthe artiste is now in love.But with who? You may wantto ask.

Just last week during EdiLawani’s celebration nightat Tuface’s club Rumors,Nomoloss was spotted witha certain chic. And don’t askme what both were up to.But I’ll give you some tip.

As music blast into theair, sending guests and fun

lovers rolling and twisting,the Iyawo Olele croonerand this girl who we gath-ered is probably a pre-senter (she was sightedearlier on the red carpet,chatting up celebrities),weren’t left out in the fun.

Both were spotted in amushy-mushy mood, prac-tically all over eachother asthey danced, with the girlrocking his balls with herbackside.

Later on, they suddenlydisappeared from every-one’s presence, only to bespotted outside the clubhaving a private discus-sion,away from the noiseand prying eyes like mine!

Is she for real or a run ofthe mill? Let’s wait and see.

Multiple awards winning gospel act, Glo-

bacom Ambassador andUnited Nations Ambassadorfor Peace, Sammie Okposo,is starting the new year on agood note. Presntly, Okposohas concluded shooting ofthe video for one of thesongs on his latest album,Praise Party. .Speaking on what inspiredthe Praise Party song as heis about to release the videothis week, Okposo said “ Ilooked around and discov-ered that as Christians, wewanted to be able to dance,have fun and still keep theenvironment sane andclean but this was not aneasy thing to do because allthe groovy beats and songsout there that we would re-ally love to dance to all havevery unclean lyrics. Also, Isaw that the young genera-tion have all come to theconclusion that gospel mu-sic is boring and unfashion-able so, I decided that I wasgoing to sample verygroovy beats, rewrite thewhole lyrics, re-arrangethem and churn out a praiseparty mix that will firstly letthe youths know that theycan party hard withoutdressing crazy, cursing andunclean lyrics. Also so thatChristians can have a goodtime dancing without feel-ing guilty about the contentof the beat they are dancingto”.

Celebs present at thePraise Party music videoshoot were Eric Arubayi,Bouqui, Nikki laoye, Anny,DJ Gosporella, OchukoUsifo, Onos,Pflo, XplicitDance Crew, Duby,Gospogroove and lotsmore. The video wasdirected by T frizzle andco-directed by SammieOkposoPraise Party is part of the15 tracks on Okposo’s al-bum released last year withan album launch concert inLagos and Abuja featuringAmerican gospel star, Di-etrik Haddon. The buzzcreated by Okposo’s albumrelease concert, especiallyvia the new media, made itone of the most anticipatedalbums of 2012.

Sammie Okposo dropsPraise Party video

BY OPEOLUWANIOGUNJIMI

Amidst pomp and pag-eantry, Edi Lawani, one

of the big boys in the enter-tainment industry, a techni-cal and events expert, washonoured by Playa’s Ball, a

Playa’s Ball honours Edi Lawanisubsidiary of Now Muziken.Core.The event which held at Tu-face’s club, Rumors, Ikejalast week, witnessed thetrooping in of celebrities inthe industry.Organized to celebrateachievers in the industry, the

night event opened with ared carpet with the likes ofTuface and Anne Idibia, RasKimono, Alariwo, Mr.Raw,Zakky, Nomoloss, SunnyNneji, Shina Peter, Don.T,Laolu Akins and others, styl-ishly crowding the arena.Comedian Nomoloss beingthe anchor of the show, elderstateman, Laolu Akins saidthe brief opening prayer.Next was the big momentwhen a film cum documenta-ry of Edi Lawani, was showedon the big screen for theguests.Then, there were stage pres-entations by artistes whowere also invited to grace theoccasion. Gifts were also pre-sented to him, in appreciationof his immense contributionto the industry. “incredibleperson.”Speaking was Edi Lawanihimslef, said the journey hasso far been tough but it’s allabout what one believes.“I’ve been through hunger,pain, rejection and disgracebut I’ve always done my bestto make a change in the in-dustry.”Edi Lawani

Tiwa Savage & Tee Billz


With Laju Arenyeka

After its first few episodes, it’sfast becoming clear that anyone

who wants to lose a large amount ofmoney in record breaking timeshould simply apply to be on themoney drop. Starting a game with100, 000 dollars raw cash only to loseit all is bound to make some peoplereally, really angry.

Before each quiz question,contestants are given a choice of twocategories. Once they choose acategory, they are asked a questionfrom it and are given a choice ofpossible answers. Contestants mustthen place the money on the answerthey think is correct. Or they can splitthe money and place differentamounts on different answers. Theone rule – they must use all USD 100000. Although they start with fouroptions, contestants can only put alltheir money on one option at theseventh question.

And it won’t be the first time; acouple from California, Andrew andPatricia Murray, sued Fox, theproducers of the original televisionshow over $580,000 in prize moneythey lost while playing the game in2010. The “trick question” theMurrays allege cost them theirchance at winning was, “According tothe Data Security Firm IMPERVA,what is the most common computer

Brewingtroublesfor theMoneydrop?

password?” The answer choices givenwere “Password,” “1234563 or “ILove You.” According to the complaintfiled Monday in Los AngelesSuperior Court, the “Plaintiffsdecided, based on their personalknowledge of surveys and articles,having read numerous studies on theInternet and other media that‘Password’ was most commonlyregarded as the most commonpassword, to wager all their money onthat answer.”However, host KevinPollak informed them the correctanswer was actually “1234563 andthe couple was eliminated from theshow.

Hmmm…this does bear a strikingresemblance to recent episode wherethe host of the Nigerian show insistedthat Nigerians drink more wine thanbeer according to a particular report.Because it was the last question, thecontestants lost all the money theyhad worked for from the beginning. Ifyou were a bank, you might want todistance yourself from a publicitystunt that implies the phrase above.Since they deal in ‘precious stones,’we can’t help but hope that thesponsors of money drop Nigeria haveenough funds to pay legal fees just incase they get some ‘disgruntledcustomers.’ The rule of law howeveris not always our way of dealing withissues in this country, we prefer morepractical means; An eye for an eye, adrop for a drop. So the show’s host,Tinsel’s Gideon Okeke, should spendmore time at the gym just in case asuicidal contestant decides to followthe money unto the great beyond orworse send Gideon ‘downstairs’instead. If such palaver happens, themodels in heels who arrange themoney after every drop won’t get toGideon just in time. Soon and verysoon, the show’s producers may justhave to learn how to resurrect themoney to the surface the same waythey have no issues dropping it.

Criticisms aside, the money drop is

fun to watch; and you just might learna lot depending on what ‘report’you’re interested in. The show’s hostis great, although it’s quite difficultnot to compare his ‘Step up, and let’ssee what drops’ to Frank Edoho’s ‘Isthat your final answer?’ One morething Gideon, thanks for droppingthe earring!

,

,

The rule of lawhowever is notalways our way ofdealing with issuesin this country, weprefer morepractical means;An eye for an eye,a drop for a drop

THE TEAMBENJAMIN NJOKU

[email protected]

AYO ONIKOYI

OPEOLUWANI OGUNJIMI

With PRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE [email protected]

Huawei roll out new android smartphonesBY GABRIEL AMADIEGWU

ONE of the leadingsmartphone manufactur-

ers, Huawei, is set to enterNigeria market in 2013 withthe introduction of a newrange of Android poweredSmartphones, including theAscend D Quad XL.

The device boasts of a pow-erful quad-core internal pro-cessor which is exceptionalfor any device in that classwith a processing speed of1.5GHz.

The smartphone isequipped with a 4.5-inch dis-play with a 1280 x 720 pixelresolution and a pixel densi-ty of approximately 326 pix-els-per-inch. The IPS+screen is truly powerful. Thedisplay is bright and vibrant.

Other facilities of the phoneincludes 1GB of RAM, a mi-croSD slot, MHL connectivi-ty, DLNA support, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing cam-era, an 8-megapixel rear

shooter and a 2,600 mAh bat-tery. It doesn’t have a cheapfeel thanks to the texturedback plates, giving it a sleek

feel.The Ascend D Quad XL

runs on the latest Android 4operating system and addi-

tional benefit is that Huaweigives users a choice betweena nearly non-skinned versionof Android, known as the 2DHome, and a heavily custom-ized and clunky 3D interface.Android is all about choicesand freedom, and that is ex-actly what Huawei has donewith its software.

Another feature whichstands the Ascend out is thebattery life which is the long-est in the market. The AscendD Quad XL’s irremovable bat-tery is able to deliver enoughjuice for a full day’s use un-der normal circumstances likechecking emails, updatingstatus, sending text messag-es and making the occasion-al phone call. However, whenpushing the device to the lim-its with high-intensity gamesand frequent usage, the As-cend D Quad XL was still able

BY JOY OBOMASE

TRAGEDY struck in Koreawhen a Samsung Galaxy

phone exploded and injureda 55-year old man. Reportssaid the battery of the Sam-sung Galaxy note explodedinside the man’s pocket.

According to the report, theman was said to have carriedthe phone along side a sparebattery inside his pocket

when the explosion occurred.However, the report did not

make it clear whether it wasthe battery inside the Sam-sung Galaxy note thatcaused the explosion or thespare battery inside thepocket. The man was said tohave suffered second degreeburns in his right leg.

A Samsung spokesman inKorea, was quoted as sayingthat lithium ion batteries cancatch fire due to sudden

change in temperature ordue to external pressure,adding that they are still try-ing to find out what hap-pened.

The accident was said to bethe second Galaxy Smart-phone explosion in the coun-try. A school boy was said tohave suffered an injury whenhis Galaxy S11 exploded inhis trouser pocket March lastyear.

to deliver impressive resultsof more than 10 hours of bat-tery life.

Meanwhile, the Ascend DQuad XL is not the onlyphone in the offing for Hua-wei. The global brand is alsocoming out with two powerfulAndroid based smartphonesnamely; Honor & Mediapad7 Lite devices.

However, Huawei is alsointroducing mid-range devic-es like G6153 with a full QW-ERTY keypad and social me-dia capabilities to go with it,for those who may not be ableto afford the high-end devic-es.

There will also be other low-end devices including theG3620, G5520 and the G6006phones.

BY QUADRI SHODIYA

IF you’re one of thosejoggers who set off in the

morning jogging to keep fit,you can actually get a coachyou can control - the Runalyz-er Sport Pack.

The device when fixed onyour i-Phone, turns it into amini sports coach.

It consists of a heart-moni-tor, armband and chest strapthat will allow you to effective-ly measure your performancewhen exercising Although theFrench based company thatintroduced the kit already hasa number of fitness applica-tions that are available onApple’s App store for the i-Phone, i-Pad and i-Pod, theRunalyzer Sports Pack is itsfirst accessory for use duringtraining and exercise. Thepack includes the heart-ratemonitor, an armband, chest

Your iPhone becomes mini coachwith Runalyzer Sport Pack

strap and receiver for use withdesignated Apple products.

By using the App duringexercise, one would be ableto compare his own rates withthe recommended levels, toknow how fast his heartshould be beating duringworkout.

The device allows the userthe choice of setting voiceannouncements that will helpincrease or decrease tempo atgiven points even as it can becustomized to preference. Theuser can make use of the in-built GPS facility to determineroutes to take when walkingout, average speed taken, to-tal distance and time.

You can also even calculatehow many Pre-SI metric unitof energy you have lost dur-ing the workout. It’s perfectfor losing weight or trimmingdown.

• Huawei Ascend D phone

• Samsung Galaxy phones

• RunalyzerSport Pack

Samsung Galaxy phone explodes,injures owner


34 — Vanguard, FRIDAY , FEBRUARY 8, 2013

Hillary Rodham Clinton was sworn inas the 67th Secretary of State of theUnited States.

The Secretary carries out the President’sforeign policies through the State Departmentand the Foreign Service of the United States.Clinton took the oath of office of Secretary ofState and resigned from the Senate that sameday. She became the first former First Lady toserve in the United States Cabinet. She alsobecame the first Secretary of State to havepreviously been an elected official sinceEdmund Muskie.

Somehow, in this post modern, post feministdays, women have been persuaded thatcompeting in the world of men is not in theirinterest.

In many ways, this is true, sound position.The biological role so clearly thrust uponwomen to bring forth the young of the speciesand to nurture them for the first two years ofsuckling that competition with men had soundermined in the 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s,to the detriment of all stakeholders.

It was British judge Mr Justice Caulfieldwho, while presiding over the sleazy affair cumperjury case of English bestselling novelist andMember of Parliament Jeffrey Archer that ledto the latter’s incarceration, had made a bigdeal of the “ the fragrance of Lady Archer”,words that were to get written in marble . It is

HilarHilarHilarHilarHilary Clinty Clinty Clinty Clinty Clinton:on:on:on:on:The wThe wThe wThe wThe wonder yonder yonder yonder yonder yearearearearearsssss

not so much the achievements of Hilary Clintonthat inspires as the fragrance of her: the wayshe has been able to rise above all odds andall sentiments and all smallness to be thewoman who stands at the edge of becomingthe first female president of the most powerfulnation on earth. As such, as she steps down asthe American Secretary of State, it is a valuableventure to go down the memory lane as it were.

Clinton has been ambiguous about her futurein politics, but she has been tipped aspresidential candidate in 2016.

Statistics112The number of countries visited by the

former US secretary of State Hilary Clintonduring her four-year tenure According to theState Department.

956,733The number of miles she traversed, enough

to span the globe more than 38 times401The number of full days she spent on the

road.98The number of countries visited by

Madeleine Albright, one of Clinton’spredecessors who held the position from1997-2001.

4-time African FemaleFootballer of the Year

Perpetual Nwocha has becomea household name for herexploits on the field and beyondon the same scale as theWesterhof boys of the 90s andearly 2000s. She is also amember and the captain of theNigeria women’s nationalfootball team and a voice oftenlistened to in football.

But what is to be made of herrecent call for equalremuneration for men andfemale footballers? With theSuper Eagles defending thehype around them- not tomention the money- she mighthave a tough time defendingher stance.

Dora Akunyili is in the news againShe got burnt when she forayed into elective politics in 2011,

but the old NAFDAC boss is apparently still the foremost iconof integrity in the country, male or female.

Having kept a rather low profile over the years, she struggles_

TITBITS

Watch out forDora

and is quite succeeding_at getting back in thepublic eye. She wasbruised in the lastAnambra gubernatorialrace but it will not takeher much time to dust offthe dirt and carry on.

At the AnabelLeadership conferencelate 2012, she made astunning debut with herclichéd fight againstcorruption, and she wascalled upon only a coupleof weeks ago to givecredence to the attempt ofa Northern governor tobuild an internationalairport in his State atgood cost.

For those who thoughtshe was just a flash in thepan, Professor Dora is onthe way.

PPPPPerererererpepepepepetualtualtualtualtualNkwochaNkwochaNkwochaNkwochaNkwochaand equaltreatment

Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRAURY 8, 2012 — 35

Before cooking fish, you first have to buy.Smell it!Fresh fish should smell sweet. Any fishy or strong

flavours means the fish is past its prime; do not buy it.Look at it!Bright eyes and firm flesh are signs of freshness. Fish

fillets or steaks should be firm and bright looking, withno brown spots or discoloration.

Freeze it!Fresh fish should be stored in your refrigerator for only

a day or two; it’s very perishable. Any longer than that,and wrap the fish well in freezer paper and freeze it.

Buying and Preparing FishBuying and Preparing FishBuying and Preparing FishBuying and Preparing FishBuying and Preparing FishUnless you live near a coast with a reliablesupply of freshly caught fish, most fish thatyou buy will be sold frozen. Keep it frozen untilyou’re ready to cook it. Fish can be thawed inthe refrigerator, or under cold running water,or in the microwave. Be sure to cook it as soonas it’s thawed.

Thaw frozen fish in milk!Place the frozen fish in a bowl and cover with

fresh milk, then cover and let sit in refrigeratorovernight. The fish will have a wonderful fresh-caught taste. Discard the milk after the fish thaws.

A report which was the conclusion of apiece of research, has identifiedGender as a key component of peace

building and conflict resolution. Carried outby International Alert, a 26-year-oldindependent peacebuilding organisation thatworks with people who are directly affectedby violent conflict to improve their prospectsof peace. They seek to influence the policiesand ways of working of governments,international organisations like the UN andmultinational companies, to reduce conflictrisk and increase the prospects of peace.

The starting point for the research wasInternational Alert’s belief that a genderapproach, as a key component in theunderstanding of power dynamics, is criticalto successful peacebuilding. The researchhypothesis was that gender dynamics forma resource for peacebuilding whichpeacebuilders generally make insufficientuse of, but that examples of projects andresearch do exist from which to draw lessons,and thereby improve peacebuilding practice.

The research found that Women’speacebuilding activities encompass a widerange, and indeed what women do for peaceis sometimes said to expand the view ofpeacebuilding itself. For example,reconciliation figures high in what women’speace building organisations do, yet itreceives little attention from formal donor-supported peacebuilding initiatives.Women’s work in reconciliation includesmediating in localised conflicts withinfamilies (such as husbands rejecting theirwives after rape, or disputes betweensiblings over inheritance), bringingestranged communities together, andsupporting mechanisms to resolve inter-communal conflicts. Women engaged informal peace negotiations often bring a non-partisan, process-oriented approach to bear,ensuring that the needs of a broad range ofstakeholders, rather than just the previouslyviolent protagonists, are on the agenda.Many women’s organisations whichpromote the role of women in community-level reconciliation and dialogue view theirwork as having a secondary but importantoutcome of enhancing popular perception ofwomen’s potential contribution, leading togreater acceptance of women’sempowerment generally.

Questions raised included: Do genderrelations change as a result of violentconflict?

Gender inGender inGender inGender inGender inPPPPPeace Buildingeace Buildingeace Buildingeace Buildingeace Building

REPORTAGE:

Further assumptions are oftenmade about the potential impact ofviolent conflict on gender relations.On the one hand, a “backlash”against women is often thought toexist in the immediate post-conflictperiod. On the other, the “post-conflict moment” is often believedto be one where windows ofopportunity present themselves forradical change in women’s status.The literature suggests that bothassumptions may be justified. Whereas genderroles adjust quickly to new circumstances,gender identities are not so much changed asthwarted, as both men and women areprevented by circumstances from living up totheir own and other people’s expectations (adevelopment which may trigger interpersonalviolence on a wide scale).

Changes in the gender division of labour(gender roles) are a society’s practical andimmediate response to managing crisis.However, they do not in themselves alter theinstitutional or ideological underpinnings ofgender relations. If things are not to go back tohow they were before, change may need to beinstitutionalised through active policy. However,institutions (that generate policy) are themselvesgendered, in that they are both products andshapers of existing gender relations in thesociety from which they draw their individualmembers. The nation-state, for example, is madeup of male and female citizens, and at the sametime shapes their gendered identities throughthe promotion of ideals such as patriotism andcitizenship, which may have different meaningsfor men and for women. Global institutions, tooare gendered, and significantly influence localprocesses – as classically evidenced by the wayglobal military-economic alliances impact ongender relations found in societies locatedaround military bases.

Another question was: Under whatcircumstances do conflicts turn to violence? Dogender relations themselves contribute towardsviolent conflict?

Sociologists have suggested that violence(most notably but not exclusively by men) is theresult of gender identities being “thwarted”, i.e.conditions (e.g. of poverty, conflict, disaster,political oppression) prevent genderedaspirations from being fulfilled. The idea of a“continuum of violence” is another conceptthatoffers a framework for describing how different

types and levels of violence interact with each other,showing how the behaviour of individuals is conditionedas much by structural as by individual factors. Some scholarssuggest that gender relations have changed as a functionof changing patterns of violence, although opinions differas to the direction of causality – does reduction of violencelead to

gender equality, or the reverse?While academics (especially feminist academics) have

grappled for some timewith the issue of where men fit in anunderstanding of gender, policymakers and activists havetended to focus instead on advancing women’s protectionand participation, as evidenced by the passing of UNSCResolution 1325. The latter group has tended to view menas either perpetrators to be excluded, as “gatekeepers”whose support has to be sought, or as potential activechampions of women’s cause. There is a small but growingstream of work acknowledging the potential vulnerabilitiesof men, and seeking re-interpretations of mainstreamthinking on specific topics such as sexual violence as aweapon of war.

It concluded that the international policy frameworkaround peacebuilding is currently dominated by donorconcerns with state-building in fragile and conflict-affectedstates.The state-building, governance and fragile statesagenda has in the past been dominated by the technicalapproaches of international donors; however, theseapproaches have been challenged as being donor-driven,top-down, technicist and divorced from reality. As variouscivil society organisations have argued, one of the starting-points for reconstruction must be the re-establishment ofpeaceful interaction and equitable resource managementat the community level, building up from there. Gendercritiques of state-building have urged it to go beyond “addwomen and stir”, instead aiming to ensure women’s fullparticipation in post-conflict recovery. State-buildingapproaches should aim to create “a state fit for women” aswell as for men, and to take advantage of the opportunitiesstatebuilding offers for advancing women’s politicalinvolvement.

A gender approach to state-building would bring it downto earth – for example, by helping to ensure civilian oversightof security sector reform, making interventions locallyrelevant, prioritising state-civilian relations, and supportinglocal, rather than external, drivers of change.

CONSCIENCE AND HISTORY - MY STORYVanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013—37

Justice Buba whoindicated that theOdili judgment

was delivered inrem, explains the

status of suchadjudications

YESTERDAY

THIRDLY, it is clear, that the2nd defendant has not al-

leged any offence against theplaintiff in his personal capacity.Rather, the allegation is aboutwhat he did in his official capac-ity as Governor of Rivers State. Itis argued that it remains to addby way of further elucidation, thatalthough the 2nd defendant hadraised a preliminary objectionchallenging the suit, on groundsof jurisdiction, it never, ad-dressed the issues raised by theplaintiff, for determination.

The questions before the Courtdo not seek to delimit the statu-tory powers of the 2nd defendant.The questions deal with, wheth-er the 2nd defendant can ignorea subsisting, valid and final judg-ment of a duly constituted court.All the points being canvassedby the 2nd defendant about acourt order purporting to restrainthe performance of a statutoryduty, are beside the point. It

while in office, since the investi-gations and findings for that pe-riod have been voided by thecourt.

It is argued by the plaintiff thatthe 2nd defendant filed termcounter claim, and sought forOne billion naira(N1,000,000,000.00) damages,against the plaintiff. It is, how-ever, evident from all account,that it was a claim made in jest,and for the purpose of cheappublicity. No evidence was ad-vanced; no argument proffered.

Indeed, the so calledcounter claim is incompetent, andshould be dismissed as an abuseof court process.

In conclusion, the plaintiffurged the Court, to answer thetwo questions raised in the orig-inating summons in the nega-tive, and also dismiss the prelim-inary objection as well as theCounter-Claim for the followingreasons.

1. The subsisting judgment of

notice of preliminary objection istargeted at the judgment of thiscourt of 20/3/07. In other wordsthe ground is questioning the va-lidity and conclusions in thatjudgment. That was the submis-sions of the 2nd Defendant, then1st Defendant before this court. Iam afraid this matter is now be-yond the 2nd Defendant to raisein this court. Indeed the 2nd De-fendant is estopped from raisingthis issue as this court cannot sitas an appellate court over its owndecision. Indeed this is an issuethat shall be canvassed, inground one of the 2nd Defendantnotice of appeal as contained inExhibit EFCC 1, if the appeal isultimately entered in the Courtof Appeal for hearing and argu-ment.

On the 2nd ground, let me alsosay the declaratory reliefs madein the judgment in suit No. FHC/PH/CS/78/07 is a judgment inrem. What is a judgment in rem?Learned senior counsel for theplaintiff dwelled extensively onthe issue of judgment in rem towhich the second defendant didnot reply or even attempt to con-test the argument; on the un-doubted and unassailable posi-tion of the law. The submissionsand the cases cited above sayswhat a judgment in rem is. With-out labouring the issues, seeTHE ENGLISH AND EMPIREDIGEST VOL. 30 1973 REIS-SUE AT PAGE 171 PARA. 51-52AND AT PAGE 173 PARA 61wherein it provides:

Jurisdictionof court

51. To constitute a judgment inrem, the judgment must be ajudgment of competent court inrespect of a res actually or con-structively within the jurisdictionof the court, and the judgmentmust determine the right to, ordisposition of, such res in the con-trol of the court. (Williams L.J.).-Francis, Times and Co. vs. Carr(1900), 82. L.T 698; 16T. L. R. 405,C. A.; on Appeal sub nom. Carrv. Francis, Times, & Co., (1902)A. C. 176; 71 L.J.K.B. 361; 85 L.T. 144; 50 W. R. 257; 17 T. L. R.657 H. L.

52. It is by no means easy tofind a satisfactory definition of ajudgment in rem. In Smith’sLeading cases, it is defined as“an adjudication pronounced, asits name indeed denotes, uponthe status of some particular sub-ject matter by a tribunal havingcompetent authority for that pur-pose.” There are, however, twoclasses of judgments in rem, oneof which is conclusive against allthe world and the other of whichis not conclusive, though admis-sible, in any other proceedings.Instances of the former class are

The judgment that setPeter Odili free (4)

adjudications by a competentcourt as to the existence of a mar-riage, or a condemnation of aprize in the admiralty court.

A familiar instance of the sec-ond is an inquisition in lunacy,which has always been allowedto be read in a subsequent suitbetween third parties as evidenceof the lunacy, though it is not con-clusive and may be traversed(COZENS HARDY, M. R.). -HILL vs CLIFFORD, CLIF-FORD vs. TIMMS, CLIFFORDvs. PHILLIPS, (1907) 2 Ch. 236.

Judgmentin rem

In the same Empire Digest theeffect of a judgment in rem is dis-tinguished from judgment inpersonam - as:

The difference is pointed outclearly in Smith’s leading cas-es, and some of the authoritiesthere mentioned, between theproceeding in rem, and the pro-ceedings in rem personam in thisrespect; that the proceedings inrem binds everybody, binds thirdparties to the litigation (WOODvs V-C.) - SIMPSON vs. FOGO(1860) 1 JOHN & H. 18; 29 L. J.Ch. 657; 6 JUR. N. S. 949; 8 W.R. 407; 70 E. R. 644; sub nom.LIVERPOOL BANK vs. FOGGO,2 L. T. 594; subsequent proceed-ings (1863), 1 Hem & M.195.

See also the case of AdesinaOke vs. SHITTU ATOLOYE &OTHERS (1986) 1 N.W.LR.(PART 15) page 241 at 242.

To my mind the issue of theplaintiff in this originating sum-mons, not being a party in theprevious suit No. FHC/PH/CS/78/07 is neither here nor there. Itis of no moment. Therefore, thisCourt cannot see the woods forthe trees in the argument of thesecond defendant. It is equallyglaring that the 2nd defendantmisconceived the ratio deciden-di in the cases cited vis-a-vis thepeculiar facts and circumstancesof this suit in which there is asubsisting and binding judg-ment. Again see paragraphs 604- 609 of the Empire Digest atpage 254.

604. Only ratio decidendi. Theonly use of authorities or decid-ed cases is the establishment ofsome principle, although I my-self do not concur in it and al-though it has only been the de-cision of a court of co-ordinate ju-risdiction I have felt bound to fol-low it (Jessel, M.R). - Re HAL-LETT’S KNATCHBULL vs.HALLETT’S ESTATE, (1874-80)ALL E.R. REP. 793; 49 L.J. CH.415; 42 L.T. 421; 28 W.R. 732,

filed in these proceedings is mis-conceived and the argumentscanvassed therein lack merit.Stricto senso, it was not shown,how this Honourable Courtlacked the jurisdiction to enter-tain the present action.

5. No argument was canvassed,and no evidence was produced,to sustain the so-called counter-claim.

6. By reason of Section 287(3)of the 1999 Constitution, the de-fendants are under a legal dutyto obey and enforce the obedi-ence to the judgment of the court,unless, and until, it is set aside.

7. No legal proceedings, crim-inal or civil, can be based on theinvestigation, findings, reportand actions, conducted by the2nd defendant on the basis of itsinvestigation into the finances ofRivers State, between May 29th1999 and May 29th 2007 in viewof the subsisting judgment of thecourt in Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/78/2007.

I have read the process filed inthe instant suit. I have equallyread the arguments and submis-sions of counsel filed in this suitand indeed the authorities citedand relied upon by learned coun-sel for the 2nd Defendant Mr.James Binang and Mr. I. A. Ade-dipe SAN, learned counsel forthe Plaintiff which I have virtu-ally reproduced for the purposeof emphasis and clarity.

Let me say quickly by way ofpreliminary remarks, that any ref-erence to the case of Minster ofInternal Affairs vs. Shugaba Ab-durrahaman Darman (1983) 3NCLR PAGE 915 the judgmentof Mamman Nasir P. is a Dis-senting Judgment. It is not themajority judgment, therefore, itcould not have been the law then,not being a majority judgment ofthe Court of Appeal. But it alsoseem to me very clear that theminority judgment of MammanNasir P. appears to be the hall-mark of decree No. 107 of 1993that has now given birth to sec-tion 251 of the 1999 Constitutionof the Federal Republic of Nige-ria.

Let me say outright, withoutmuch ado that ground one of the

would have, perhaps, been a dif-ferent matter if judgment in SuitNo. FHC/PH/CS/78/2007 has notbeen delivered. It is submitted,therefore, that the 2nd defendanthas not addressed the issuesraised by the Originating Sum-mons in these proceedings.

In conclusion, it is submittedthat the argument raised underissue number two, Court isurged, to answer the questionposed in the negative, and holdthat the 2nd defendant cannotproceed against the plaintiff forany alleged offence committed

the Federal High Court in SuitNo.FHC/PH/CS/78/2007 is a fi-nal judgment and binding on allparties, and non-parties alike.

2. The said judgment, being ajudgment in rem, has pro-nounced on the status of the al-leged investigation conducted bythe 2nd defendant into the affairsof Rivers State and declared sameunconstitutional, null and void.

3. There is no appeal againstthe decision in FHC/PH/CS/78/2007, and therefore, the defen-dants cannot ignore its effect.

4. The preliminary objection

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CONSTITUTION, FEDERALISM AND RULE OF LAW:

The questions deal with, whether the2nd defendant can ignore a subsisting,valid and final judgment of a duly consti-tuted court. All the points being can-vassed by the 2nd defendant about a courtorder purporting to restrain the perfor-mance of a statutory duty, are beside thepoint. It would have, perhaps, been adifferent matter if judgment in Suit No.FHC/PH/CS/78/2007 has not been deliv-ered

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CONSCIENCE AND HISTORY - MY STORY

C.A.606. In courts of equity the judg-

es are judges of fact as well as oflaw, and when a judge of thosecourts has laid down a rule of con-duct, his successors have usuallyfollowed it; but a rule of conductis not a conclusive authority bind-ing his successors in the decisionsof questions of fact; it is decisionsupon questions of law which arebinding (LORD ESHERM M.R.)- Re NORMAN (1886),16 Q BD. 673L 54 L. T. 143; 34 W.R. 313;2 T.L R. 272; sub non. Re NOR-MAN, Ex p. BRADWELL L.J. Q.B. 202, C.A.

Indeed The Federal High Courtof Nigeria is a court of law andequity as it administers both lawand equity. Again see paragraphs608 of the Empire Digest whereit provides:

Importance ofprecedence

608. The binding force of previ-ous decisions, unless the facts areindistinguishable, depends onwhether they establish a princi-ple. To follow previous authori-ties, so far as they lay down prin-ciples, is essential if the law is tobe preserved from becoming un-settled and vague. In this respectthe previous decisions of a courtof co-ordinate jurisdiction aremore binding in a system of ju-risprudence such as ours than insystems where the paramountauthority is that of a code.

But when a previous case hasnot laid down any new principlebut merely decided that a partic-ular set of facts illustrates an ex-isting rule, there are few morefertile sources of fallacy than tosearch in it for what is simply re-semblance in circumstances andto erect a previous decision into agoverning precedent merely onthis account.

To look for anything except theprinciple established or recogn-ised by previous decisions is re-ally to weaken and not tostrengthen the importance of pre-cedent. The consideration of cas-es which turn on particular factsmay often be useful for edifica-tion, but it can rarely yield author-itative guidance (LORDHALDANE C.)

Elsewhere at 609, it is provid-ed:

609. When any tribunal isbound by the judgment of an-other court, either superior orco-ordinate, it is bound by thejudgment itself; and if from theopinions delivered it is clear whatthe ratio decidendi was which ledto the judgment, then that ratiodecidendi is also binding. But ifit is not clear, then it is not partof the tribunal’s duty to spell outwith great difficulty a ratio deci-dendi in order to be bound by it.

I have no doubt from the mis-

conception of the import and pur-port of the judgment in suit No.FHC/PH/CS/78/07 the 2nd defen-dant made far reaching submis-sions on the General Position andpropositions of law without ad-verting its mind to the judgmentwhich nullified its actions that itintends to rely on.

I think with respect, the 2ndDefendant/Applicant shoulddraw a line between the generalprinciples of law decided in thecases of Fawehimni vs. IGP (su-pra), Bamidele vs. Commission-er for L.G. (supra), and Nnwei &Sons v. COP (supra), to the effectthat a Plaintiff cannot institute anaction to preclude him from be-ing investigated and prosecuted,and that the 2nd defendant can-not be restrained from perform-ing its statutory duty. In the in-stant suit, the 2nd defendant haslost sight that there is a validjudgment of a competent court onthe status of a step taken by the2nd defendant.

Era ofimpunity

The said step was declared ul-tra vires, unconstitutional, nulland void; and as a follow up, thecourt restrained the 2nd defen-dant from putting to use that stepthat was nullified. That judgmentto all intent and for all purposesis binding on the second defen-dant, unless and until set asideby an appellate court. Thereforethere can be no impunity. The eraof impunity is gone. We are in theera of Rule of law where partiesand indeed the courts are boundby their decisions.

I make bold to say that the courtas a final arbiter between all per-sons and authorities has undoubt-ed jurisdiction to strike down un-constitutional acts and ultra viresacts of a statutory body in any giv-en case, that is being broughtbefore the court. In this case, the2nd defendant was brought be-fore the court for the court to de-termine its conduct, act and/oromission which the court exercis-ing its undoubted jurisdictionconsidered and declared that theacts and omission of the 2nd de-fendant then was unconstitution-al, unlawful, invalid, ultra viresnull and void.

In those circumstances and inthe face of that valid and subsist-ing judgment, to which the 2nddefendant is a party and has notappealed, it does not therefore liein the mouth of the 2nd defen-dant to sit at home and say that aparty cannot by merely institut-ing a civil action in court precludea statutory body or agency fromperforming its function.

Let me make it abundantly clear,that where a competent court oflaw has declared a status of athing, and followed up the dec-laration, based on its findings

with orders, the party affected canonly test that finding by appeal-ing against the judgment and notsitting at home and deciding themerits of the finding.

It is normal. It is not abnormal,for our courts to interpret the con-stitution and declare conducts ofstatutory bodies unlawful and ul-tra vires, where such conducts oracts are declared ultra vires ordone in flagrant disregard of thelaw and afortiori the constitution.

Greaterfluidity

In this particular instance, basedon the findings of the court, it cannot be said that the court has pre-cluded the performance of a stat-utory duty by a statutory body oran agency of the Federal Govern-ment. Indeed a statutory body oran agency of the Federal Govern-ment can be restrained by thecourt. See the De Smith Judicialreview of Administrative ActionsFourth Edition by J. M. Events4th Edition at Pp. 99-100.

'Despite the greater fluidity ofthe court' approach to the inter-pretation of legislation and theinherently limited utility of gen-eral principles that have to beapplied to widely varying con-texts, the common law presump-tions retain a great deal of theirvitality. The greatest of these pre-sumptions is that Parliament doesnot intend to deprive the subject

power is to be exercised only bythe authority upon which it hasbeen conferred; that expresswords or necessary implication arerequired to warrant the exerciseof a statutory power with retroac-tive effect.

The presumption that Parlia-ment does not intend to legislatein contravention of internationalobligations owned by the Govern-ment of the United Kingdom hasrecently been used on a numberof occasions particularly to sup-port an argument that a statuteshould, if possible, not be inter-preted in a manner inconsistentwith a provision of the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights.The application of a number ofother rules and maxims of statu-tory interpretation will be consid-ered in the course of this study.

Of the common-law presump-tions, the most influential inmodern administrative law is thatwhich preserves the ultimate ju-risdiction of the courts to pro-nounce on matters of law. Ac-cordingly, only in the most ex-ceptional circumstances will thecourts construe statutory lan-guage so as to endow a publicbody with exclusive authority todetermine the ambit of its own

ing of the indictment, in such situ-ation or scenario the prosecutioncannot be heard to argue that thecourts have precluded it from per-forming its duty. See instances ofCourt quashing charges in thecases of Ikomi vs. State (1986)NWLR (pt. 28) 340 and the re-cent case of Abacha vs. State(2002) 11 NWLR (pt 779) 437.

In the instant case, it is not ageneral or blanket restraining or-der, without a matter going tocourt. This matter went to courtand arguments were taken, judg-ment entered before the order wasmade. It does not matter that it isa civil suit. What matters is thevalidity and the obedience of thatorder and to who is the order di-rected and who is or are the ben-eficiaries of the order made.

I think with exhibit EFCC 1, the2nd defendant has realized itought to have appealed againstthe judgment of this Court. Thereis also a novel submission thatthis court should give a judgmentin the second defendant's counterclaim by way of declaration thatthe second defendant is now try-ing to appeal.

Academicargument

I have also noted the academicargument and reference to thecase of Amani Tijani, the unre-ported decision of ECOWASCourt. While it is the law “thecourt will decide an academicalquestion as their Decision will bemerely obiter”. See the case ofTindall vs Wright 1922 127LT.149.

The modern trend is that theCourts would not allow a bodylike the EFCC to break the law inthe name of enforcing the law orto be law unto itself. There areplethora of authorities in the com-mon law countries for the purposeof the academic submission of thesecond defendant. Let me takethe liberty to mention a few andthe general principles decidedrandomly and extensively forguidance. See the cases of R vsMichael Heston Francas (1984)1 All E.R 785 Criminal App.Rep209 Bennet vs. HorseferryRoad Magistrate court (1993)3 AllE.R. 138, R.vs Mullen (1990) 3WLR 777; R, vs Ward (1993) 2 AllER 577, Connelly vs. Director ofPublic Prosecution (1964) 2 AllE.R page 401

In the recent case of R. vs.Mullen (1990), the Court of Ap-peal England, in a case where theaccused was abducted from Zim-babwe it was held by the Court,revisiting a number of decisions

of his common-law rights exceptby express words or necessaryimplication. This is the genericpresumption of which the follow-ing are species: that, in the ab-sence of express words or neces-sary intendment, statutes are notto be interpreted so as to autho-rise interference with the libertyof the person or deprivation of theproperty rights of the subject with-out compensation or restriction ofthe subject’s rights and of accessto the ordinary courts, or so as toabrogate existing contractualrights; and that statutory powersmust as far as is reasonably prac-ticable, be so exercised as to avoidinjury or to minimise the scope ofany injury that must inevitably becaused, to the rights of others.

Among other rules of construc-tion, the following are especiallyimportant for the interpretation ofstatutory powers of public author-

powers.” (Emphasis Supplied)Granted that this is a civil case,

in which the plaintiff is saying thebasis on which you want to pro-ceed against me is nullified, canthe 2nd defendant then be heardto argue that the court is invok-ing its general civil jurisdictionto preclude the agency of the Gov-ernment from performing its func-tion? To my mind that is beggingthe real issue before the courtwhich is the basis upon which theaction is nullified. The 2nd de-fendant is a party to that judg-ment. They were restrained fromputting the investigation into useand they have not appealedagainst that finding, conclusionand orders.

It is the law even in criminal tri-als, where charges are framed.Courts have quashed indictmentand stopped criminal trials fromproceeding, based on the quash-

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Let me make it abundantly clear, thatwhere a competent court of law has de-clared a status of a thing, and followed upthe declaration, based on its findings withorders, the party affected can only test thatfinding by appealing against the judgmentand not sitting at home and deciding themerits of the finding

ities: that express wordsare necessary to empow-er a public authority toraise money from the sub-ject that in the absence ofcontrary intendment, the

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CONSCIENCE AND HISTORY - MY STORY

in the common law of Com-monwealth countries includingSouth Africa that it is not right todo so. The cases cited abovemade the following pronounce-ment which I shall refer gener-ally and randomly having foundthat the issue is academic. Someof the pronouncements read asfollows:

“My Lords, I have no doubtthat the judiciary should acceptthis responsibility in the field ofcriminal law. The growth of ad-ministrative law during the lat-ter half of this century has oc-curred because of the recognitionby the judiciary and parliamentalike that it is the function of thehigh court to ensure that execu-tive action is exercised responsi-bly and as parliament intended.So also should it be in the fieldof criminal law and if it comes tothe attention of the court that therehas been a serious abuse of powerit should, in my view, express itsdisapproval by refusing to actupon it.

Prosecutingauthorities

If a practice developed in whichthe Police or prosecuting author-ities of this country ignored ex-tradition procedures and securedthe return of an accused by amere request to police colleaguesin another country, they wouldbe flouting the extradition pro-cess for his benefit. It is in mymind unthinkable that in such cir-cumstances, the court should de-clare itself to be powerless andstand idly by. I echo the words ofLord Delvin in Connely vs.DPP(1964) 2 All ER 40 at 442,(1964) AC 1254 at 1354:

"The courts cannot contemplatefor a moment, the transferenceto the executive of the responsi-bility for seeking that the processof law is not abused. The courts,of course, have no power to ap-ply direct discipline to the policeor the prosecuting authorities, butthey can refuse to allow them totake advantage of abuse of pow-er by regarding their behaviouras an abuse of process and thus,prevent a prosecution.

“So far as the ground uponwhich they did dismiss the in-formation was concerned, everycourt has undoubtedly a right inits discretion to decline to hearproceedings on the ground thatthey are oppressive and an abuseof the process of the court. Iwould answer the certified ques-tion as follows. (The high courtin the exercise of its supervisoryjurisdiction has power to inquireinto circumstances by which aperson has been brought within

the jurisdiction and if satisfied thatit was in disregard of extraditionprocedures, it may stay prosecu-tion and order the release of theaccused.

Accordingly, I would allow thisappeal and remit the case to theDivisional Court for further con-sideration.)

When we look to see how otherjurisdictions have answered aquestion analogous to that beforethe House in terms of their ownlegal systems, the most strikingexample of an affirmative answeris the decision of the SOUTHAFRICAN COURT OF APPEALvs. EBRAHIM 1991(2) SA 553allowing an appeal against hisconviction for treason by a mem-ber of African National Congresson the sole ground that he hadbeen abducted from Switzerland,outside the jurisdiction of theSouth African court, by personsacting as agents of the South Af-rican state.

This decision, as the summaryin the head note shows, resultedfrom the application of severalfundamental legal principles,viz: Those that maintained andpromoted human rights, goodrelations between States and thesound administration of justice:the individual had to be protect-ed against unlawful detentionand against abduction, the lim-its of territorial jurisdiction andthe sovereignty of the State hadto be respected, the fairness ofthe legal process guaranteed andthe abuse thereof prevented soas to protect and promote the dig-nity and integrity of the judicialsystem.

Abductionof persons

The State was bound by theserules and had to come to courtwith clean hands, as it were,when it was itself a party to pro-ceedings and this requirementwas clearly not satisfied whenthe state was involved in the ab-duction of persons across thecountry’s borders.

Such abuse could not be toler-ated without debasing the pro-cesses of justice, so that the de-fendant was entitled to a hear-ing on his allegations .... govern-ment should be denied the rightto exploit its own illegal conduct,and when an accused is kid-napped and forcibly broughtwithin the jurisdiction, court’sacquisition of power over hisperson represents the fruits of theGovernment’s exploitation of itsown misconduct.

The minority opinion was thatthis was an infringement of therule of law which it was thecourt’s duty to uphold. After re-

ferring to the South African de-cision in S vs. Ebrahim, StevensJ writes in the final paragraph ofhis opinion (at 2206).

The Court of Appeal South Af-rica - indeed, I suspect mostcourts throughout the civilizedworld - will be deeply disturbedby the “monstrous” decision thecourt announces today. For ev-ery nation that has an interest inpreserving the Rule of Law is af-fected, directly or indirectly, by adecision of this character. Ines-capable duty to secure fair treat-ment for those who come or arebrought before them. He said that“the courts cannot contemplatefor a moment, the transferenceto the Executive of the responsi-bility for seeing that the processof laws is not abused” ... Thoseremarks involved an importantstatement of constitutional prin-ciple. They assert the indepen-dent strength of the judiciary toprotect the law by protecting itsown purposes and function.

Constitutionalmachinery

“It is the function and purposeof the courts as a separate part ofthe constitutional machinery thatmust be protected from abuserather than the particular pro-cesses that are used within themachine. It may be that the short-hand phrase ‘abuse of process’by itself does not give sufficientemphasis to the principle that inthis context, the court must reactnot so much against an abuse ofprocedure that has been built upto enable the determination of acriminal charges as against themuch wider and more seriousabuse of the criminal jurisdictionin general.

Whatever differences there maybe between the legal systems ofSouth Africa, the United States,New Zealand and this country,many of the basic principles ap-ply to any proper system of lawthan the maintenance of the ruleof law itself. To hold that the courtmay turn a blind eye to execu-tive lawlessness beyond the fron-tiers of its own jurisdiction is, tomy mind, an insular and unac-ceptable view.

Having taken cognisance of thelawlessness, it would again ap-pear to me to be a wholly inade-quate response for the court tohold that the only remedy lies incivil proceedings at the suit of thedefendant or in disciplinary orcriminal proceedings against theindividual officers of the law en-forcement agency who were con-cerned in the illegal action tak-en.

Degradation of the court’scriminal process. To hold that in

these circumstances the courtmay decline to exercise its juris-diction on the ground that its pro-cess has been abused, may bean extension of the doctrine ofabuse of process but is, in myview, a wholly proper and nec-essary one. My lords, a citizenwhose rights have been in-fringed unlawfully or by overen-thusiastic action on the part of anexecutive functionary has a rem-edy by way of recourse to thecourts in civil proceedings. It maynot be an ideal remedy. It maynot always be a remedy which iseasily available to the person in-jured.

receive a fair trial and that, if hecannot be tried fairly, for that of-fence, he should not be tried forit at all. That a criminal court’sundoubted jurisdiction to pre-vent abuses of its own processshould be extended, if indeed itdoes not already extend, to em-brace a much wider jurisdictionto oversee what is referred togenerally as the administrationof justice, in the broadest senseof the term, including the execu-tive act of law-enforcement agen-cies occurring before the processof the court has been invoked atall and having no bearing what-


It may not even, certainly in hisestimation, be an adequate rem-edy. But it is the remedy whichthe law provides to the citizenwho chooses to invoke it. Thequestion raised by this appeal is:Whether, in addition to such rem-edies as may be available in civilproceedings, the court shouldassume the duty of overseeing,controlling and punishing anabuse of executive power lead-ing up to properly instituted crim-inal proceedings not by meansof conventional remedies in-voked at the instance of the per-son claiminlg to have been in-jured by such abuse but by re-straining the further prosecutionof those proceedings. The resultof the assumption of such a ju-risdiction are threefold, and theyare surprising.

First, the trial put in by a chargewhich has been properly laid willnot take place and the personcharged (if guilty) will escape ajust punishment; secondly, thecivil remedies available to thatperson will remain enforceable;and, thirdly, the public interestin the prosecution and punish-ment of crime will have been de-feated not by a necessary processof penalising those responsiblefor executive abuse but simply forthe purpose of manifesting judi-cial disapproval.

It is, of course, axiomatic that aperson charged with having com-mitted a criminal offence should

ever upon the fairness of the tri-al. First, does a criminal courthave or should have, any gener-al duty or any power to investi-gate and oversee executive abus-es on the part of law-enforce-ment officers not affecting eitherthe fairness of the trial processor the bona fides of the chargewhich it is called upon to try andoccurring prior to the institutionof the criminal proceedings andto order the discountenance ofsuch proceedings and the dis-charge of the accused, if it is sat-isfied that such abuses have tak-en place?

That the court has powers toprevent the abuse of its own, Iwould accept, include power toinvestigate the bona fide chargewhich it is called upon to try andto decline to entertain a chargeinstituted in bad faith or oppres-sively-for instance if the ac-cused’s co-operation in the inves-tigation of crime has been se-cured by an executive undertak-ing that no prosecution will takeplace.

Thus, I would not for a momentwish to suggest any doubt as tothe correctness of a decision suchas that in the recent case of R vs.Croydon Justice, ex p Dean(1993) 3 All ER 129, where thecourt quashed committal pro-ceedings instituted after an un-dertaking given to the ac-cused by police officers that he

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A citizen whose rights have been in-fringed unlawfully or overenthusiasticaction on part of an executive function-ary has a remedy by way of recourse tothe courts in civil proceedings. It maynot always be a remedy which is easilyavailable to the person injured

CMYK

CONSCIENCE AND HISTORY - MY STORY40—Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013

would not be prosecuted. In sucha case doubt is cast both upon thebona fides of the prosecution andon the fairness to an accused whohas been invited to prejudice hisown position on the faith of theundertaking.

This persuasive pronounce-ment stands to say more to theequally but only persuasive de-cision of the ECOWAS Court.However this issue is only aca-demic as stated elsewhere in thisjudgment, because of the miscon-ception it is tempting to portray itas the modern trend in the law.

The modern trend is rule of law.Having delved on the academicissue extensively to correct theerroneous impression created bythe 2nd defendant's submission,let me say without much ado thatI agree with the submissions oflearned senior counsel for theplaintiff that the preliminary ob-jection is misconceived, therefore,I have no hesitation in coming tothe conclusion that the prelimi-nary objection has no merit. Con-sequently it is hereby dismissed.

Having dismissed the prelimi-nary objection I am left with themain matter. As stated elsewhereat the inception of this judgmentand as rightly pointed out by Mr.Adedipe SAN, the defendantsdid not proffer any argument onthe merit of the application.

Though the second defendantin his submissions stated that theplaintiff in the instant suit is not aparty to suit no. FHC/PH/CS/78/07 that issue to my mind eventhough it is in the preliminary ob-jection the issue also bothers onthe main matter. However, theissue had been well tackled in thevery clear and eloquent submis-sions of the plaintiffs counsel. ‘

Default ofdefence

That notwithstanding, this be-ing a claim for declaratory reliefssame cannot be granted on ad-mission or default of defence butwith evidence and arguments.See the case of Ibrahim V. Mili-tary Administrator of Kaduna State(2004) 5 NWLR pt.866 page 322.

Moreso it is stated:“In my opinion, under the pow-

er of the court to make a declara-tion, where it is a question of de-fining the rights of two parties, isalmost unlimited; I might say onlylimited by its own discretion. Thediscretion should of course be ex-ercised judicially, but it seems tome that the discretion is verywide (LORD STERNDALE, M.R.)- HANSON V. RADCLIFFE U.D. C. (1922) 2 Ch. 490; All E. RRep. 160; 91 L. J. Ch. 66 Sol. Jo.

556; 20 L. G. R. 541, C. A.”In the instant case, I am satis-

fied that the plaintiff has producedevidence and has proffered argu-ment and none of the defendantsmade any submissions on themerit of the application. The 2nddefendant laboured to make sub-missions on issues that are notbefore the court, and left the is-sues before the court. In the cir-cumstances the case of the plain-tiff becomes unchallenged on themerit and the court can accept thecase of the plaintiff that is not chal-lenged on the merits. See TheEmpire Digest on declaratory or-ders to interested parties not be-fore the Court at paragraph 263page 200.

Some interested parties not be-fore court, by Ord. XXV, r. 5(made applicable in the EasternRegion of Nigeria by sects. 14 &.5 of the High Court Law, (1958)the court has power to make“binding declarations of right,whether any consequent relief isor could be claimed or not. Reps,on behalf of themselves and in arepresentative capacity on behalfof the Ukwa family, Onitsha,claimed, inter alia, a declarationof title to an area of land and con-sequential reliefs, but applicants,who by their defence, inter alia,set up the title of the Obosi peo-ple to the disputed land, deniedthat they were the persons to rep-resent to Obosi people.

Personalcapacity

The trial Judge was of the opin-ion that although the suit wasagainst the applicants, in theirpersonal capacity in substance itwas the Obosi community whowere with no proof of trespass orof being in possession by any ap-plicants, who were sued in a per-sonal capacity, and that an injunc-tion would not lie against unlaw-ful interference by them. Theycould not be evicted, but as theyraised in their defence the title ofthe Obosi people to the land indispute, and had failed to sub-stantiate it, representatives whohad proved their title, were enti-tled to a declaration against Ap-plicants. The judge held that thepower under Order XXV rule 5,was in wide and general termsand what was conferred was a dis-cretion to be exercised accordingto the facts of each individualcase.

Beyond the fact that the powerto grant a declaration should beexercised with a proper sense ofresponsibility and a full realisa-tion that judicial pronouncementsought not to be issued unlessthere were circumstances thatcalled for their making, there was

no legal restriction on the awardof a declaration.

There had never been any un-qualified rule of practice that for-bade the making of a declarationeven when some of the personsinterested in the subject of thedeclaration were not before thecourt. Where, as here Applicantshave decided to make themselvesthe champions of the rights ofthose not represented -the Obosipeople- and had fought the caseon that basis, and Where, as here,the trial judge took the view thatthe interested parties not repre-sented were in reality fighting thesuit, so to say from behind thehedge, there was no principle oflaw which disentitled the judgefrom making a declaration of titlein respondent’s favour - IBE-NEWEKA V. EBGUNA, (1964) 1WLR 219; 108 Sol Jo. 114 P. C.

On the claim and counter claimI must quickly say:

The 1st relief in the counterclaim is that the court was invitedto sit in its civil jurisdiction tomake orders outlawing criminalinvestigation. That cannot be cor-rect. The court was invited to af-firm that which the 2nd defendantproposes was ordered ultra viresthe 2nd defendant and was alsodeclared unconstitutional, nulland void. In other words the plain-

2nd defendant to seek to set asidethe decision of 20/3/07 but not toseek to ignore it or rely on its ac-tions and omissions that wereheld ultra vires, unconstitutionaland nullified.

The 4th relief sought by thePlaintiff are not ultra vires the ju-risdiction of this court in the lightof the subsisting judgment in suitno. FHC/PH/CS/78/07.

Having made findings thatplaintiffs reliefs are competent, itfollows that the award of counterclaim in the sum of N1bn has nolegs to stand. It is a claim that isincompetent in law by the 2nddefendant and without any basis.I am not surprised that the 2nddefendant counter claimant didnot address the court on its coun-terclaim which in law is a differ-ent claim from the claim of thePlaintiffs.

The plaintiff's claims containedin the summons are competentand do not constitute or amountto an abuse of the court process.In sum the counter claim lacksmerit, it is bound to fail. It hasfailed. Be and it is hereby dis-missed.

c. In the light of the judgmentin Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/78/2007an order of this court restrainingthe Defendants, jointly and sev-erally from arresting, detaining,arraigning and/or prosecuting thePlaintiff in any court pursuant toany purported investigations bythe 2nd Defendant which inves-tigation is the subject of the afore-said suit is also hereby made.

d. In view of the subsisting val-id judgment of this court deliv-ered on 20/3/07, an order of per-petual injunction restraining theDefendants, jointly and several-ly from disseminating, publish-ing, circulating or distributing thereport of the alleged investigationconducted by the 2nd Defendantinto the activities of the RiversState Government under the ten-ure of the Plaintiff, which saidinvestigation, is nullified in SuitNo. FHC/PH/CS/78/07 is alsohereby made.

I am done. So be it.

HON. JUSTICE I. N. BUBAJUDGEJudgment read and delivered

in open Court.Parties absent.Mr. IA Adedipe,SAN, with him

are Ms D. West, U. Oyaghira, E.Ime, B. Fasuyi, O. Mgbakoba andD. Konya for the Plaintiff

Mr. James Binang with him Mr.G. O. Edobor, Miss O.T. Oji, Mrs.A. Akinshola and I.A. Arogha forthe 2nd Defendant

No order as to cost.

Unambiguouslegal position

The Attorney-General of theFederation was the first defendantin this second case.

Despite the clear and unambig-uous legal position on the mat-ter, EFCC leadership under Far-ida Waziri from time to time madedisparaging and libellous com-ments on the Odili case. Appro-priate responses will be made tothese and other similar commentsat the right time.

Clearly I have been unfairlyjudged by columnists and com-mentators who out of intellectuallaziness and based on baselesscomments by EFCC (under Fari-da Waziri) without facts, evidenceand in abject contravention ofcourt orders had made statementsthat were clearly libellous.

tiff seeks a declaration from thecourt for affirmation of its ordersin suit no. FHC/PH/CS/78/07.

On the 2nd relief, I hold thejudgment is a judgment in remand is against the entire world.Indeed not only Odili in so far asthe 2nd defendant was a party tothe decision of 20/3/07 which nul-lified the purported investigationof December 2006/ January 2007anybody that is being indicted onthe basis of that nullified investi-gation can benefit from that deci-sion against the 2nd Defendantwho was a party and who was re-strained from or purporting to actor put into use the nullified stepsthe 2nd Defendant took.

The 3rd relief sought by the 2ndDefendant is the re-affirmationand confirmation of the intent andpurpose of the judgment as it af-fects the 2nd defendant i.e. thatit is now taking steps to have thejudgment set aside. In this regardthe court will say no more than itis the constitutional right of the

In the final analysis, the case ofthe plaintiff has merit. It succeedsand I grant the reliefs sought andfor the avoidance of doubt I makethe following orders:

a. In the light of the final andsubsisting judgment of the Fed-eral High Court in Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/78/2007; a declaration thatthe Defendant cannot arrest, de-tain, arraign and/or prosecute thePlaintiff on the basis of its allegedinvestigations conducted into theaffairs of Rivers State between29th May 1999 and 29th May2007, is here by made.

b. In view of judgment in SuitNo. FHC/PH/CS/78/07, a decla-ration that the purported Findingsof the investigation team of the2nd Defendant into the activitiesof the Rivers State Governmentbetween the period of 29th May1999 and 29th May 2007, the saidinvestigation being subject-mat-ter of a suit FHC/PH/CS/78/07,are invalid, unlawful, unconsti-tutional, null and void.

,

,



The plaintiff claims contained in thesummons are competent and does notconstitute or amount to an abuse of thecourt process. In sum the counter claimlacks merit, it is bound to fail. It hasfailed. Be and it is hereby dismissed

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YOU have the tools needed for massive political

and civic education of your il-literate peers on the impor-tance of political rights andparticipation in the politicalprocess. By virtue of your uni-versity education and experi-ences you understand the eco-nomics of politics in Nigeriabetter than your illiteratepeers who ignorantly trade offtheir political rights andchances for better governanceoutcomes for a mere mess ofporridge.

Economics teaches us thatthere are some basic Smithianconditions (as espoused byAdam Smith in the Wealth ofNations) for sustainable eco-nomic growth. No country hasbecome rich, and stayed thatway, without establishingthese conditions. Countriessuch as Great Britain and theUnited States became rich be-cause their citizens overthrewthe elite who controlled pow-er and created a society withpolitical rights more broadlydistributed and the govern-ment accountable and respon-sive to citizens. In these coun-tries the great mass of peoplecould take advantage of eco-

Who will restore thedignity of Nigeria? (4)

By OBI EZEKWESILI

determining the quality of lifeof the Nigerian? Do you nowsee what our Big Problem is?

A recent global surveyshowed that your generationaround the world stands outas the most connected to thedevelopments in internation-al affairs. So, most of you willassuredly be aware that notjust in our nation but that ev-erywhere else world over, peo-ple are seeking for those whocan solve the Big Problems intheir respective nations. Inseveral other nations the so-lutions to Big Problems arecoming from your generation-al peers.

Productiveeconomy

Surely, having establishedthat our own Big Problem isthe failure of politics to deliv-er the right environment inwhich a productive economycan thriveoutside of the ex-traction of natural resourcest-hat fuels the destructive choic-es of our ruling elite you havethe information needed fordriving change. You wouldhave to decide whether youare ready to play the role of achange catalyst or would rath-er adopt the safer optionwhich is to “siddon look.” There is no better time to makesuch life changing decisionsthan the day of one’s gradua-tion from College.

I should know about makingdecisions on graduation day!On my graduation day in

balola and many others.Staying committed to that

decision that I made on grad-uation day was what provid-ed me the rare privilege of be-coming one of the few co-founders and a founding di-rector of Transparency Inter-national the Berlin based glo-bal non-governmental organi-zation that pioneered the workon anti-corruption and promo-tion of transparency. That de-cision that I made on gradua-tion day informed all my lifechoices and paved the pathfor what you know of my vo-cational endeavors. So whatdecisions are you prepared tomake today, dear friends? Iassure you have the greatestgift of God to mankind is thepower to choose. You are em-

cation and one for whom thepath of least resistance holdsabiding fascination; and thensay you are part of the Turn-ing Point Generation. No! Thewillingness to “enjoy” wealththat is not earned is not con-sistent with such TurningPoint paradigm. For exam-ple, for anyone of you in theClass of 2013 you cannot hav-ing perverted the maxim “re-ward for effort” cheating inexams or using forged certifi-cates to gain your admissionand say you are a catalyst forthe emergence of the New Ni-geria.

If your decisions or choicesfrom today are driven by someselfish interest of replacingthe failed and fading genera-

Continues on Page 42

low transactions cost so thatmarkets can work effectivelyand efficiently. When theseconditions are absent, a soci-ety faces corruption, instabil-ity and poor human rights. In-vestors, including domesticinvestors, flee such settings”.Do you now see how inextri-cably connected our politicaland economic fortunes are in

nomic opportunities and sothe entire nation prospered.To the contrary, nations dom-inated by self-centered elitefail and they are extremelypoor.

Your generation can work ascollectives across this countryand set the agenda for last-ing positive change in thepolitical architecture of Nige-

Map of Nigeria

Whatever choices you make fromtoday for the purpose of helping builda New Nigeria will most certainly costyou something. Such is the reality ofnation rebuilding. Those who trulybuild their societies pay a price

THE WEALTH AND POVERTY OF A NATION:

DR. OBY EZEKWESILIDR. OBY EZEKWESILIDR. OBY EZEKWESILIDR. OBY EZEKWESILIDR. OBY EZEKWESILI

ally free your-selves to excel likeyour contemporar-ies in the rest ofthe world. “Thepositive dimen-sions of succeed-ing at this task de-mocratizing polit-ical powers be-yond the minus-cule are account-ability, propertyrights and rule oflaw, which in com-bination provide

your inferiors”. Therefore, donot be like me and my kindwho have ignored politics andleft it to professional politi-cians to determine its charac-ter and substance. The incen-tive that must drive your ownimpulses on whether to en-gage or not is the knowledgethat except the insalubriouspolitical context that has pro-duced a persistently failingNigeria changes positively;your individual talents, op-portunities and greatness willnot materialize nor be maxi-mized. In deciding to free Ni-geria from its legendary po-litical failures, you will actu- ,

,This is the concluding instalment of

a paper presented by Dr. Ezekwesiliat the convocation of the Universityof Nigeria Nsukka recently

President Goodluck Jonathan

powered to make decisionsand choices today that will ul-timately determine what,where and how you will be inthe next twenty eight yearsand beyond……..

But I warn you to be mind-ful and not rush to decide.You will need to fully assessall the possible costs of yourdecisions and choices andthen determine whether youhave the strength of will tobear them. Whatever choicesyou make from today for thepurpose of helping build aNew Nigeria will most cer-tainly cost you something.Such is the reality of nationrebuilding. Those who trulybuild their societies pay aprice. They are not. For ex-ample you cannot be one giv-en to the lure of free money,one who cannot defer gratifi-

1985, my fertile mind havingabsorbed as much of the eclec-tic knowledge available onthis campus as possible wasbudding with curiosity aboutthe challenges of good gov-ernance in Nigeria. I madeup my mind at that time tonever lose my voice in the so-ciety and that for as long as Ilived, I would always speakup on matters of governance,transparency, accountabilityand probity. Divine provi-dence followed that decisionand the supportive actions Itook to back it and my stepsbegan to be ordered on a tra-jectory that had me as one ofthe leaders of our own gen-erations’ campaign for de-mocracy and good gover-nance - The Concerned Pro-fessionals with the likes of PatUtomi, Sam Oni, Morin Ba-

ria. Onlyafter read-ing WhyN a t i o n sFail did I fi-nally un-d e r s t a n dthe wisewords ofPlato that“one of thepena l t i e sfor refusingto partici-pate in pol-itics is thatyou end upbeing gov-erned by

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ALSO, in a publication inthe Sunday Sun of Jan-

uary 13, 2013 at page 11 ti-tled “Why PDP Governors areafter Tukur,” Chief Iwuayan-wu, a chieftain of the PDP, whohad also aspired to be the Na-tional Chairman of the PDP,spoke in a rider titled “Gover-nors will kill this Party –Iwuayanwu.” He said: "Thereis need for internal mecha-nism by the Party to check theperformance of the governors.I had already said it in 2008that the greatest enemy of de-mocracy in this country is theGovernors’ Forum; that orga-nization is illegal and should

coming overbearing for thisnation. It is either they check-mated (sic) or, we surrendertotally to them and let themcontinue what they are doing.First and foremost, the Gov-ernors’ Forum wants to dic-tate who is going to be Min-ister from their respectiveStates and all appointmentsat the Federal levels, yet theycome back to their States andbecome lord of manor, single-handedly picking ministersand other appointees and atthe third-tier of governmentthey want to dictate, who isgoing to be councillor, letalone a chairman.

"It is rather unfortunate to anextent that whatever we are

Governors throughout thecountry and not elected by theParties, or by the electorate.The Governors even chose thePrincipal Officers of theHouse. Is it not ridiculous andunbelievable that these pow-erless members of the Housesof Assembly have refused totake advantage of last year’sConstitutional Amendmentexercise to extricate them-selves from the hands of theGovernors by opting to be-come independent of the Gov-ernors so as to control their fi-nances?

The implication of all theseis that we will soon arrive at asituation whereby the Nation-al Assembly will face a simi-lar situation if the Governorsare allowed to control the Par-ty Primaries and Elections ofthese National Assembly Leg-islators. Such Legislators both

This is the concluding instalment of the open letter tothe Nigerian Governors Forum. The fourth part was pub-lished yesterday.

Enough is enough!•Clark tells governors (5)

By EDWIN CLARK

State and presently a Senatorrepresenting Ogun East Dis-trict on the platform of the Ac-tion Congress of Nigeria,ACN, also bares his mind onthe issue. In a publication inthe Leadership Newspaper ofFriday, January 18, 2013 titled“Govs Are BecomingOverbearing for this Country—Kaka,” at pages 38-39, hesaid: "My take on this issueis that, the governors are be-

CHIEF EDWIN CLARKCHIEF EDWIN CLARKCHIEF EDWIN CLARKCHIEF EDWIN CLARKCHIEF EDWIN CLARK

hearing from the 774 localgovernment is that, using thestate-and-local governmentjoint account that was so (sic)to be beneficial to local gov-ernments, using them as averitable way of further pau-perizing the local govern-ments for their own use, it isvery unfortunate… it is eitherwe decided to amend the con-stitution and then, grant totalautonomy to the local govern-ments or, we totally allow thestates to take over the local

,,

Governors Forum chairman, Gov Amaechi

Concluded

Today, the PDP is sitting on a keg ofgun powder which can explode atany time. The question is who willbail the cat? I wish to urge the Gov-ernors Forum to have a re-think onits activities, remembering that pow-er is transient

at the National and State lev-els will not know their Con-stituencies because they didnot receive the mandate oftheir people and, therefore,are not accountable to them,but are accountable to theGovernors who selected them.It is a question of “selectocra-cy” and not democracy.

Section 7 of the 1999 Con-stitution of the Federal Repub-lic of Nigeria which states that“The system of local govern-ment by democratically elect-ed local government councilsis under this Constitutionguaranteed…,” has beenbreached by the Governorswith impunity. Care-TakerCommittees appointed by theGovernors are now imposedon the people. This gives theGovernors the opportunity tomanipulate the State and Lo-cal Government Joint Account

against the Provisions of theConstitution.

Party Congresses are nownot properly held at the LocalGovernment and State levelsand this also include the Con-ventions. They are only heldaccording to the dictates of theGovernors. The supremacy ofthe Party has been hijacked bythem.

Politicalpositions

Patriotic Nigerians and thefounding fathers of the PDP,and the youths who want toaspire to political positions inthe country but cannot do sobecause of the over-bearinginfluence of the GovernorsForum, must stand up againstthis ugly trend for the surviv-al of democracy in this ourgreat country, if we are not tosurrender our democracy tothis oppressive and dictatori-al Forum.

Like I said earlier, I am over85 years old and I am on myway out. If I cannot speak outnow, it will be disservice to thenation. A situation wherebythe various political offices inNigeria, both at the Party andGovernmental levels will bemanipulated and controlled bythe Governors Forum is worsethan even the military regime,and is unacceptable.

Today, the PDP is sitting ona keg of gun powder whichcan explode at any time. Thequestion is who will bail thecat? I wish to urge the Gover-nors Forum to have a re-thinkon its activities, rememberingthat power is transient.

Chief (Dr.) E. K. Clark, OFR,CON, a Concerned ElderStatesman

be disbanded. It is a gang upof people with a lot of money,and with money in Nigeriayou can do anything.

"They chose the nationalchairman, they chose every-thing, even the president isone of them, the vice-presi-dent is one of them. So, thedemocracy we have today hasbeen hijacked by an organi-zation called the GovernorsForum."

Senator Adegbenga Kaka,ex-Deputy Governor of Ogun

governments as one oftheir agencies so thatthey can do whateverthey like with their re-spective local govern-ments. So that it will bea total surrender tothem. Anything in be-tween will not solve theproblem and we eitherask them to take 100percent control of whatgoes on in like (sic) lo-cal governments as oneof their ministries or, we

say that local governments arethe closed (sic) to the grassroots, and they must be al-lowed to operate without hin-drance in the spirit of democ-racy. It is either of the two andno half measure.”

In concluding this Open Let-ter I want to summarise by say-ing that today the 36 Housesof Assembly members in thecountry are selected by the

tions so as to repeat their nation-hob-bling pattern then please know that youare not of the Turning Point Generation.I have spoken to you today to stir up yourcollective effective angst at the indigni-ty of your inheritance. If I have succeed-ed in raising your determination to freeour nation from the trap of oil, then mycoming is worthy. If I have succeededin helping you see how continuous ed-ucation not more extraction of oil willhelp you outperform and take Nigeriaup the economic development ladder,then my coming worthy. If I have suc-ceeded in preparing you to embrace dig-nity of labour as your philosophy of life– never shunning legitimate vocationthat helps you earn a living regardlessof how lowly it might seem - then mycoming is worthy.

If today, I have succeeded in prepar-ing you for a life ofprivate and publicintegrity then my coming is worthy. If Ihave deposited in you a deep seethedcontempt for poor governance, then mycoming is worthy. If I have succeededin preparing you for a lifetime of costlychoices that invariably ennoble yourpath then my coming is worthy. If I havesucceeded in helping you realize thatyou are not weak- that you are actuallyvery powerful- and have both the excep-

tional opportunities and the tools likeyour peers in other nations to solve ourown Big Problem then my coming is wor-thy.

If I have moved you to decide that youwill be one of those that will redefine andbuild a New Nigeria of our dream thenis my coming worthy. If I have succeed-ed in inspiring a resolve within you touphold from today a strong sense of per-sonal responsibility for the political gov-ernance of Nigeria then my coming is wor-thy. Above all, if I have succeeded ingetting you motivated and empoweredenough to walk out of this hall seeingready to walk and work as a part of theTurning PointGeneration that coura-geously dares to restore the the dignityof Nigeria then is my being truly worthit!

I salute you, the great lions and lion-esses of the class of 2013! All of you, mydear fellow alumnae of the University ofNigeria are indeed the true Wealth, theGreatness and above all the Dignity ofNigeria!!

Concluded

Who will restore the dignity of Nigeria? (4)

Continues from Page 41

•Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, class of1985, University of Nigeria, Nsukka; se-nior economic adviser, Africa EconomicPolicy Development Initiative, Open So-ciety Foundation.

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HISTORICAL Overviewof Nigeria’s Electricity

and Thermal Power Genera-tions

The policy paper shall furtherundertake a historical expositionof Nigeria’s electricity generationwhich saw emergence of hydroand thermal power stations na-tionwide. The Nigerian Nation-al Electricity Power Policy, a pub-lication of the National Councilon Privatisation, under the Pres-idency, Office of the Vice Presi-dent, Federal Republic of Nige-ria, articulated body of thoughtsin year 2001 into a policy docu-ment.

Electricity generation in Nige-ria is said to have began in 1896.By 1929, the Nigerian ElectricitySupply Company (NESCO)commenced operation as an elec-tricity utility company in Nigeriareinforced by the construction ofa hydro electric power station atKurra Far near Jos. By 1951, theElectricity Corporation of Nige-ria (ECN) came on board, whilethe first 132KV line was said tohave been constructed in 1962,linking Ijora Power Station toIbadan Power Station respective-ly.

Electricitygeneration

Furthermore, the history ofelectricity generation in Nigeriawas given a boost with the es-tablishment of the Niger DamsAuthority (NDA) in 1962 with themandate to develop the hydropower potentials of the country.However, ten years later, by 1972,the two existing parastatals on thenation’s electricity power sector(ECN and NDA cited above)were merged to give way to theemergence of the National Elec-tricity Power Authority (NEPA).By 1998, the exclusive monopo-ly NEPA exercised over electric-ity generation, transmission, dis-tributed and sales had ceased.

In addition, the National Elec-tricity Power Policy 2001 (NEPP)revealed the nation’s electricitysupply infrastructure where itdisclosed the then national elec-tricity grid, which consisted ofnine generating stations namely

- (three hydro and six thermalpower stations) with a total in-stalled generating capacity of5906MW as can be seen below:

a) Kainji Hydro Power Stationlocated in Niger State along theRiver Niger was the first HydroPower Station in the country. The8 generating units were said tohave been commissioned as (i) 4x 80MW in 1968; (ii) 2 x 10MWin 1976 and (iii) 2 x 120MW in1978 respectively.

b) Jebba Hydro Power Stationlocated in the present KwaraState, said to be downstreamKainji Hydro Power Station, has6 units commissioned in 1986

c) Shiroro Hydro Power Stationalso located in Niger State alongthe Kaduna River, has four gen-erating units commissioned as 2x 150MW (1989); 3 x 150MW(1990) respectively.

Afam thermalstation

d) Afam Thermal Power Sta-tion located in Rivers State, usesnatural gas, started operation in1965 with 6 units and commis-sioned as: 2 x 10.5MW (1965); 2x 17.5MW (1965); 4 x 23MW(1976); 4 x 27MW (1978); 6 x75MW (1982) respectively.

e) Delta Thermal Power Stationlocated in Ughelli, Delta State,also uses natural gas and start-ed operation in 1965m with 6units and commissioned as fol-lows: 2 x 36MW (1966); 6 x20MW (1975); 6 x 20MW (1978);1 x 100MW (1989); 5 x 10MW(1990) respectively.

f) Egbin Thermal Power Sta-tion located in Lagos State, de-scribed as the largest in the coun-try has 3 units and commissionedas follows: 2 x 220MW (1985); 2x 220MW (1986); 2 x 220MW(1987) respectively.

g) Sapele Thermal Power Sta-tion located in Ogorode, DeltaState uses both steam and gasturbines with 2 units commis-sioned as follows: 6 x 120MW(1978) and 4 x 75MW (1981) re-spectively.

h) Ijora Thermal Power Stationlocated in Lagos State, uses AGOfuel and has 3 units commis-sioned as follows: 3 x 20MW(1978).

i) Oji Thermal Power Stationlocated on the Oji River in Enu-

gu State, being the only coal-powered station in the country,with 4 unites commissioned asfollows: 2 x 5MW (1956) and 2 x10MW (1956) respectively.

Nigeria quest for nuclear pow-er energy; historical perspec-tive: Generally, we have present-ed a picture of the nation’s elec-tricity power generation with theemergent infrastructures thatcame on board to actualized Ni-geria’s objective of ensuring that“the nation’s electricity supply in-dustry meet the needs of the pop-ulace in the 21st century.” Thisfundamental objective propelledthe aspiration for a nuclear pow-er energy policy in 1976 whenthe Nigeria Atomic Energy Com-mission (NAEC) was estab-lished, but went into limbo untilyear 2006 before it was officiallyinaugurated.

Analysts attributed the slowpace in the nation’s nuclear pow-

gy Commission (NAEC) respec-tively.

The nation’s quest for nuclearpower energy was said to receivea boost with the establishment ofthe Sheda Science and Technol-ogy Complex (SHESTCO) in1991 with the mandate to con-duct research for the develop-ment of nuclear energy. Also theestablishment of the NigerianNuclear Regulatory Authority(NMRA) by the Nuclear Safetyand Radiation Protection Act No19 of 1995, charged with the taskto ensure the protection of life,property and environment fromharmful effects of ionizing radi-ation. The Act is said to furthermandated the NNRA to providetraining, information and guid-ance on nuclear safety and radi-ation protection in the countrygenerally.

Furthermore, in year 2004, Ni-geria had a Chinese-origin Nu-

generating in the present worldorder, President GoodluckJonathan was said to have as-sured the international commu-nity that Nigeria’s pursuit of nu-clear technology was only forpeaceful purpose. This remarkwas conveyed by the Vice Presi-dent Namadi Sambo at the com-missioning of the Researcher’sHostel and Conference Centrelocated at the Nuclear Technolo-gy Centre, Sheda, FCT, Abuja onThursday 28th June, 2012. Pres-ident Jonathan was said to haveobserved that “Apart from thegeneration of electricity, nuclearenergy finds ready peaceful ap-plications in agriculture and foodsecurity, human health and med-icine, water resources manage-ment, industry and in basic andapplied science research”.

Analytical andplanning tools

The President further noted that“the decision to introduce nucle-ar power into our energy mix wasmade after lengthy and meticu-lous process, which involved theuse of analytical and planningtools, with the cooperation andassistance of the InternationalAtomic Energy Commission(IAEA)”.

Thus, the project being com-missioned that day, PresidentJonathan asserted that, “it is alsoan affirmation of his administra-tion’s strong belief that the fron-tiers as socio-economic develop-ment are within the reach of anydetermined and committed soci-ety driven by science and tech-nology” (Sheda, (2012) Ibid.p.1). This remark should repre-sent the nation’s objectives anddirection in nuclear power ener-gy for the 21st century.

The proceeding paragraphsshall attempt to examine someselected contentious/disputednuclear power energy develop-ment programme case studies inthe present world order to safe-guard against similar problemsby Nigeria in our quest for nu-clear power energy in the future.

Nigeria and quest fornuclear power energyin the 21st Century (2)

•Lessons from selected contentiouscase studies across the globe

BY ABDULLAHI U.MAIYAKI

er energy development to pressreports of nuclear power energyrelated disasters particularly, theChernobyl (Ukrainian) disasterof 1986 ranked the seventh onthe International Nuclear EventScale (INES), blamed on humanerror. According to this school ofthought, many other nations ofthe world were discouraged fromventuring into the risky nuclearpowered energy industry as analternative source of electricitygeneration, Nigeria not exclud-ed from this fear as well.

However, despite this noteddisaster in 1986, the then Feder-al Government of Nigeria estab-lished two nuclear research cen-tres namely: The Centre for En-ergy Research and Development(CERD) located at the Universi-ty of Ife (now Obafemi AwolowoUniversity) and the second, theCentre for Energy Research andTraining (CERT) domiciled at theAhmadu Bello University, Zaria,the two centres were earlierbrought under the supervision ofthe Energy Commission of Ni-geria, but later brought togetherunder the Nigeria Atomic Ener-

clear Research Reactor (NIRR)installed at the Ahmadu BelloUniversity Zaria. The successfuloperation of the facility had dem-onstrated to the internationalcommunity Nigeria’s capacity toregulate a critical assembly. Sim-ilarly, in the areas of emergencyresponse, NNRA is said to haveacquired a mobile vehicle basedequipped with facilities for Emer-gency Radiation System for time-ly response to any radiologicalcases/accident.

The inauguration of the Nige-ria Atomic Energy Commission(NAEC) by President GoodluckJonathan late year 2011 with Dr.Erepamo Osaisai as its Chairmanas well as the commissioning ofthe nation’s Research Hostel andConference Centre at the Nucle-ar Technology Centre, Sheda,FCT Abuja on Thursday June 28,2012 equally demonstrates Nige-ria’s zeal for Nuclear Poweredenergy in the 21st Century.

Nigeria re-affirmed commit-ment to nuclear power energyfor peaceful purposes: Mindfulof the controversy nuclear pow-er energy development has been

Mallam Maiyaki is of the Nige-rian Institute of International Af-fairs (NIIA),Lagos.

,

,Analysts attributed the slow pace in

the nation’s nuclear power energydevelopment to press reports of nucle-ar power energy related disasters

Nuclear power facility

To be continued

This is the second instalment of the open letter to theNigerian Governors Forum. The first part was pub-lished yesterday.

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Natural medicine demystifies cancer, saysAyodele

BY SOLA OGUNDIPE

A FRONTLINE Naturopath, and Herbal Medi-

cine practitioner Dr. IsaacAyodele, has called for greateremphasis on consideration ofnatural medicine in the man-agement treatment of cancerin Nigeria.

Ayodele, who is CEO,Ayodele Slimmers andNaturopathic Clinic, andChairman, Boad of Trustees,BOT, Natural IntegrativeMedicine Association,NIMPA, declared: “There isno big deal in cancer. It is nota death sentence but coinedto impose fear. The fear ofcancer has killed more thanthe ailment.”

In a chat, Ayodele who hasresearched into herbal rem-edies in spearheading majorhealth transformations in thecountry, told Nature’s Health,that his organisation recentlyreceded into research to re-strategise in the face of im-pending health challengessuch as cancer, diabetes, obe-sity and other debilitating ail-ments.

“Everybody has cancer cells,but the high intake of the

• Dr Isaac Ayodele

foods and drinks by modernis largely responsible for theproliferation of the cancercells to full blown cancerwhich can be reversed by eat-ing and drinking naturalfoods, drinks and medication.

“Cancer patients should takein more natural integrativeremedies in their treatment byimproving on their immunity,avoiding sugar, junk and fattyfoods while eating more of rawfoods, drinks and naturalmedication.

He said nature has providedsolution in natural medicineand that it was time for Nige-rians to take advantage of me-

dicinal plants in the countryto improve the health of thecitizenry.

Ayodele argued that con-ventional medical treatmenton cancer has not improvedthe health of cancer patientsbetter than non-orthodoxmedicine.

“Despite billions investedyearly on cancer treatment,cancer cases are increasingand nobody seems to care thatthe best way to save the pa-tients even when it is evidentthat those who refused medi-cal procedures of chemo-therapy, radiation and surgeryhad a lower mortality rate than

any person, but in God’s se-cret place. You cannot see thebaby except by physical signs,scanning machines, and faithin God. Only through thosethings do you know the babyexists. The baby is given aspirit and a soul—not to men-tion a destiny and a purposefor living. Still, to this day, Iremain interested and per-plexed at all of God’s cre-ations.

Opara hopes her book helpswomen feel confident in allaspects of pregnancy, but shealso wants to ask them to con-sider the possibility thatmiracles can happen. “God

2 Caesarean Sections and a normal delivery

• Chinelo Opara

IN her new book “Two Caesarean Sections and a Nor-

mal Delivery: My Story” (pub-lished by AuthorHouse),Chinelo Opara opens upabout her three very uniquepregnancy and delivery sto-ries, giving readers a broad,yet personal, introduction towhat to expect with the jour-ney to motherhood.

“Two Caesarean Sectionsand a Normal Delivery” ac-quaints readers with thepower and significance ofpregnancy and childbirth bysharing Opara’s personal ex-periences through the life-changing event. She works to

quell the fears of delivery –both through natural and cae-sarean birth – by educatingreaders on what her experi-ences were like. She alsodemonstrates how she placedher faith in God that her preg-nancies and deliveries wouldgo smoothly, and how doingso gave her courage.

An excerpt from “Two Cae-sarean Sections and a NormalDelivery”:

My lovely reader, can youimagine God using a maleand a female to produce an-other human being? A foetus’sanatomy and physiology aredesigned not in the view of

inspired me to write this book,as I believe He placed it inmy heart to do so. Since thenit has been a desire for me toshare my unusual story of,having a normal delivery af-ter having two previous cae-sarean sections with others.”

Opara grew up in the UK,earned her B.Sc degree inpsychiatric nursing in Lon-don. She and her husband arethe parents of three children,and she enjoys shopping,going on holidays, cooking,doing her children’s hair andhaving massages – all in ad-dition to her newest interestin writing.

PRESIDENT GoodluckJonathan has approved

the reappointment of the Di-rector General of the NationalAgency for the Control ofAIDS, NACA, Prof. JohnIdoko, for another four years.

In a letter conveying the ap-proval, the Secretary to theGovernment of the Federa-tion, noted that Idoko’s reap-pointment "is a reflection ofthe President's confidence andtrust in you"

Idoko has served as Princi-pal Investigator of the

FG reappoints Idoko NACA DGHarvard University/AIDSPrevention Initiative Nigeria,APIN;Presidential Emer-gency Plan for AIDS Relief,PEPFAR, programme andantiretroviral clinic at the JosUniversity Teaching Hospital,JUTH, Plateau State whichcares for about 20,000 patientswith HIV.

He was President, NigerianAIDS Research Network,2002-2008, Chairman Nige-rian National AntiretroviralCommittee 2001-2009 beforehis appointment as the DG,NACA in April 2009.

Under his tenure, the Na-tional HIV prevalencedropped from 4.6 percent in2008 to 4.1 percent in 2010.

NACA under Prof Idoko isdeploying all resources avail-able to bring mother to childtransmission of HIV to zeropoint in order to visibly andconclusively retard the virusand end HIV transmissionfrom that critical point

those who submitted.The leading Natural Inte-

grative Medicine practitionersaid his organisation resolvedto unveil a way out of ailmentsthat have cut short lives of

promising young men andwomen in the country wasborne out of a necessity to re-fine natural medical intelli-gence to tackle the mother ofall ailments that have mademany lives miserable.

He said cancer, diabetesand obesity are killing the hu-man race at a very fast rate asroot causes of various heartrelated diseases, high bloodpressure, high blood sugar,and kidney ailments.

• Professor John Idoko

• Anti-cancer foods

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at Atletico Madridat Atletico Madridat Atletico Madridat Atletico Madridat Atletico MadridRADAMEL Falcao has reiterated his commitment

to Atletico Madrid and believes he can win moretrophies with the Spanish side.

The Colombian striker, who lifted the EuropaLeague with Atleti last season, has had his futuresubjected to fierce speculation over the past sixmonths with moves to clubs such as Real Madrid,Manchester City and Chelsea all being reported.

However, the former Porto forward has claimedthat his thoughts are only with his current side asthey launch a sustained push for La Liga.

“I have three years left on my contract at myclub and I am happy and satisfied,” Falcao toldreporters.

“It is clear to us what we want, which is to qualifyfor the Champions League, but if we can fight forthe title, then we will.

“We will continue fighting for the league while itremains a mathematical possibility. We know it ishard because Barcelona are having a faultless sea-son.

“Obviously in sporting terms I have the ambi-tion to continue to progress and do better thanthis season, to keep fighting at the top of the Span-ish League, the Europa League and in the semi-finals of a tournament like the Copa del Rey. I justthink of Atletico.”

The 26-year-old also reflected on the seven-pointlead his side have over fierce local rivals RealMadrid, saying that while it is a good feeling to beabove their illustrious neighbours, it is not JoseMourinho’s side who dominate their thinking.“We have a very good seven-point lead over our

Beckham backs ManUBeckham backs ManUBeckham backs ManUBeckham backs ManUBeckham backs ManUto win Premier Leagueto win Premier Leagueto win Premier Leagueto win Premier Leagueto win Premier League

rivals, who in many years have been su-perior to us in terms of results.

ENGLAND legend and PSG midfielderDavid Beckham has backed his formerclub Manchester United to win the Pre-mier League this season.Beckham spent over a decade at OldTrafford, winning the league title sixtimes, and is confident that Sir AlexFerguson’s side will emerge victoriousonce more."Only one answer. Yes!" re-plied Beckham when asked whetherUnited would win the title during a Q&Asession with H&M.The 37-year-old famously played forboth the Red Devils and Real Madrid, andcould not pick a side to support orchoose a winner ahead of their upcom-ing Champions League clash."Tough. Ilove both clubs,” Beckham continued.“I've been a United fan since I was 5years old but am still in love with Real, itwill be a great game."

THE Portuguese forward says that he"doesn't care" about his contract renewal at themoment, but insisted that he will sit down withthe club for talks at the end of the season.

Ronaldo set forRonaldo set forRonaldo set forRonaldo set forRonaldo set forsummer showdownsummer showdownsummer showdownsummer showdownsummer showdown

35

3648

46—Vanguard, 46—Vanguard, 46—Vanguard, 46—Vanguard, 46—Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013

email: [email protected]: 08098097290

,

,

I really appreciatethe comments from

readers on the lastedition on ‘Thebrotherhood of Ansar’.Though more of thecomments werecomplimentary while afew others wereapparently directed bynon-muslims tochastise this column,but ther serve a greatdeal of encouragmentand sharpen ourresolve to continue toput Islam in the rightperspective, teachthose who dont knowand correct them i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o nespecially by non-Muslims on Islam. Ihave decided to let ourother readers enjoysome of thesecomments andcontributions thisweek.

One says: “Of the 73sects prophesied bythe Noble Prophet,only those on theoriginal path of AhlilSunnah Wal Jamaahare on the true andright path. Tocondemn Sunni brandof Islam is wrongunless one is of Shiaheretical path. Yourightly said Islamabhors violence of allsorts. Do not howeverlimit such misguidedactions to any one sectespecially thatadjudged to be onlystraight path. MayAllah bless yourrightful efforts.”

“I am not a Muslimbut a Christian of aCatholic Faith. I havebeen a great andconstant follower ofyour publication.Facing The Kaaba’. Ifound the article to bevery educative andhelpful to both Muslimsand non-Muslim.

Whoever reads yourmessage will never dothings contrary to theteaching of theProphet. A christianwill be bold and free tolive in peace and unitya Muslim. May God

God has given us thefreedom of choice.

Those who decide toreject the truth, later in

their lives arecondemned to

dogmatism andbigotry

give you more wisdomto teach the truth. Godbless you. HenryUdemeh. Asaba, DeltaState.”

On this, I can only saythank you and Godbless you.

Another onestates:”in your Fridaymessage, you talkedabout a Mosquebombed withoutreference to so manychurches bomed and

thousands of christianskilled. Yourbrotherhood is violatedwhen a Muslim iskilled....” Obviouslythis person did not readthe piece beforesending his comment.

“May Allah bless andcontinue to enrich yourknowledge.Theres noplace in Islam for thosekilling innocentsouls.Its unislamic tokill anyone becausethey are notMuslim,there’s nocompulsion inreligion.Its against theprophet teaching”

Another comment sentby one anonymousperson says: “Whoever

changes his religion,kill him” quoting(Sahih Bukhari4:52:260)

The person quoted thehadith out of context.The hadith in questionnarrated by Ikrimasays: Ali burnt somepeople and this newsreached Ibn ‘Abbas,who said, “Had I beenin his place I wouldnot have burnt them, asthe Prophet said,‘Don’t punish(anybody) with Allah’sPunishment. ‘Nodoubt, I would havekilled them, for theProphet said, ‘Ifsomebody (a Muslim)discards his religion,kill him.’

First of all gothrough it again to seewhat the prophet wasreported to have said.That Do not punishanyone. The problemwith the unbelievers isthat thay do not knowthe circumstance andcontext to whichsome of these hadithscame and so, they arequick to give it theirown meaning. Youcannot understandIslam this way exceptyou give out yourtime to learn.

Besides, SahihBukhari idea which isalso prone to error as

mortal is that by killingthe person who hascommited the sin forleaving Islam, youmight save the personfrom hell because hehas a “past islamic lifewith him”, which mightearn him al-janah. Soby killing him now, hewill die with Islamicgood deeds.

Some fanatics believethat the person whocommitted apostasymight not have theopportunity to returnto Islam again. That isalso faulty because onlyAllah knows what noone knows. It ispossible for anyonewho has committedapostasy to have achange of heart andrevert back to Islam,live a better life and stillgain paradise. That isone of the omniscienceside of Allah.

Another point is thatBukhari is not theProphet and we shouldknow that as humanbeing we are liable toerrors. It is only theAllah that is infallible.Allah also did not givethe kind of inspiration,wisdom and knowledgehe gave to ProphetMuhammad (s.a.w) toany other person. Allahhas said in the Quran,

The brotherhood of The brotherhood of The brotherhood of The brotherhood of The brotherhood of Ansar (2)Ansar (2)Ansar (2)Ansar (2)Ansar (2)

The practice of Islamstarted in Lagos as ear-

ly as 1775 and was prac-ticed at the palace of Obaof Lagos few years after itsintroduction. But, the Mus-lims were able to gather incongregation in 1841,made an open call toprayer on Friday forJuma‘ah prayer.The growth of Islam in La-gos led to its spread to out-lying districts such as Eti–Osa local government area.There are views that Islammay have reached some ofthose villages even before1812 C.E when the firstmosque was built at Ajah.The fact that there was noproper documentationmakes people to hold dif-ferent view on the emergen-cy of Islam in the area.The more plausible and ac-ceptable view on the emer-gency of Islam in Eti-Osa,

Lagosians and the practice of IslamLagosians and the practice of IslamLagosians and the practice of IslamLagosians and the practice of IslamLagosians and the practice of Islamis that of those, who upholdthat Islam is as old as manyvillages in Eti-Osa, becauseof the fact that the foundersof those villages are Mus-lims.Eti-Osa as said earlier is aRiverine area and serves asa major route for traders andtravelers to Lagos Island,Ikorodu, Epe, cotonou, etc.The un-relented efforts of theMuslim Bales and scholarsin the denunciation of idol-worshipping enhanced thespread of Islam in Eti-Osa.The initial reaction of the in-digenes toward Islam wascordial and they did not seeIslam as a threat. This wasdue to the fact that most ofthe Bales were at the sametime the Imams of their dif-ferent location. They werethe first people to embraceIslam and as a result, mostof their subjects embracedIslam along with them, withthe exemption of some

staunch traditionists who op-posed Islam..Islam could not have beenfully established in Eti-Osabut for the efforts of Muslimleaders who had severalmeetings and came up withstrong resolution that everyMuslim should send theirchildren to Quranic schoolsin order to learn Arabic andIslamic studies.Furthermore, the develop-ment of Islam in Eti–Osa waspossible with the efforts of theMuslim scholars and mis-sionaries from out side thearea. The second categoriesof scholar were the indigenesof Eti–Osa who propagatedIslam in their own environ-ments. Today, in Eti-osa,Muslims and mosques in-creased in number on dailybasis, the religion of Islamenjoys wide and popularsupport even among the roy-al families.0 8 0 2 8 7 4 5 3 6 6 ,[email protected].

By Harun Rasaq

an untainted book oflife that “Let there be nocompulsion in religion.Truth has been madeclear from error.Whoever rejects falseworship and believes inAllah has grasped themost trustworthyhandhold that neverbreaks. And Allah hearsand knows all things.”(Q2: 256). So, that beliefis contrary to thecommandment of Allah.

Allah says: Had yourLord willed, all thepeople on earth in theirentirety would haveacknowledged. Wouldyou force the people tomake themacknowledge? is it hardfor you!

God has given us thefreedom of choice.Those who decide toreject the truth, later intheir l ives arecondemned todogmatism and bigotry(13:11; 18:29; 42:13;46:15; 57:22).

Besides, SahihBukhari is not the Quranor any extract from itbut only some of thepractices and sayings ofthe Prophet. If youcompare thiss e n t i m e n t a l l yinfluenced idea with theabove verse of theQuran whichemphasises ‘Nocompulsion in religion’,you will come to termswith the philosophies ofthe Islam.

Once again, I thank allthose who keep sendingtheir comments andcontributions everyweek. May almightyAllah forgive us wherewe erred and grant usHis mercies here onearth and hereafter.Amin.

•The Dubai Mosque Incorporates contemporary design with Islamicstyle. Dubai Mosque, designed by architect Fari Hatam, of Aedas, hasreceived much praise for its remarkable mix between contemporaryand Islamic design.


From left: Prof. T. A. Solarin, DG, National Mathematics Centre,Abuja; Chief Keith Richard, MD and Mr. Kachi Onubogu, Com-mercial Director (both of Promasidor Nigeria Ltd), during the thirdEdition of Cowbell National Secondary Schools Mathematics Com-petition (NASSMAC) press launch, at the Sheraton Hotel, in Lagos.Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor

Hon. Jubreel Ayodeji Abdulkareem, Agege Local Government Chairman, commissioningAyobo Motor-park and flagging off immunisation programme against polio, in Agege,Lagos.

From left: Mrs. Abimbola Afolabi-Ajayi, Invest-ment One Company Secretary/Group Head, Cor-porate Services; Owolabi Afeez Oluwatosin (YouthCorps member) winner of the 'Virtual InvestmentSimulator' and Mr. John Ogar, Group Head, In-vestment/ Financial Advisory, Investment OneCompany.

From left: Rev. Ijaola Adelokoji, Secretary, An-nual Kingdom Life Summit; Rev. Deji Bashorun,New Insight Baptist Church, Ogudu; Rev. JuliusOmomola, Chairman/convener, Annual KingdomLife Summit, during a press conference heraldingNew Estate Baptist Church (NEBC) 2013 AnnualKingdom Life Summit.

Senator Pat Toomey, of the United States ofAmerica, representing Philadelphia; Tayo-BalogunJr., Executive Director, e-Marketing Solutions; Dan-iel Thompson, Marketing Consultant, Spotlinks Me-dia Communications, at the second annual Penn-sylvania Society reception of the league of 1789 forprofessionals and emerging leaders, in New York.

From left: Loya Amsat; Sola Fasade; Bayo ‘Howie T’ Odusami, Chairman, Kiss Events;Kunle Afolayan; Oba Olusanya Adegboyega Dosunmu (CON), the Olowu of Owu King-dom; Percy Ademokun, Are Olanrewaju and Olayinka Oyedeji, when Nigerian theatrepractitioners paid the Olowu, who is patron and fellow of the association, a courtesy visit,at his palace, in Owu, Abeokuta.

From left: Mr. Taiwo Ogunleye, beneficiary; Mr.Wale Adedoyin, Commissioner for Agric and FoodSecurity, Mr. Wale Adedoyin, Executive Secretary,Ilesa West Local Government and Mrs. Titi LaoyeTomori, Osun State Deputy Governor, at the distri-bution of economic empowerment items, at IlesaWest Local Government Area.

From left: Mr. Robert Waren, MD, Global Salesand Distribution; Mr. Mehdi Nafa, MD, Africa,(both of Redwing Shoes) and Engr. Tony Oguike,MD, Future Concerns Nigeria Ltd, during the com-missioning of Redwing Shoes/Future Concerns Ni-geria Ltd facility, at Lekki, Lagos, yesterday. Photo:Lamidi Bamidele

From left: Chief Ronke Okusanya, a leader of Efon Alaaye Lo-cal Government, Ekiti State and Chairman, Broadcasting Serv-ice of Ekiti State; Erelu Bisi Fayemi, wife of the State Governorand Dr. Adio Folayan, Chairman, Efon-Alaaye Local Govern-ment, during the inauguration of a health centre constructed inAlaaye community.

From left: Prof. Osato Giwa Osagie, Chairman,Medical Sub-Committee; Mr. Richard GiwaOsagie, Chairman, Ikoyi Club 1938; Dr. MosunFaderin, member, Sub-Committee and Dr. FemiAdelowo, guest speaker, at the Ikoyi Club 1938Health Lecture with the Theme: 'Arthritis AndRheumatism,What Manner of Disease,' at the IkoyiClub, in Lagos. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye

CMYK

48—Vanguard, FRIDAY48—Vanguard, FRIDAY48—Vanguard, FRIDAY48—Vanguard, FRIDAY48—Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, , FEBRUARY 8, , FEBRUARY 8, , FEBRUARY 8, , FEBRUARY 8, 20132013201320132013

Delta govt wades into Igbodo monarch,subjects’ rift

1000 womenget free cancerscreening inAbuja

BY TAYE OBATERU WITHAGENCY REPORT

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

BY EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

Sen Gyang, lawmaker’s killing: STF arrests21 suspects

LG polls: Group faults ACN on ceding ofchairmanship position

Group wantsN-DeltaMinistryrelocated

BY FESTUS AHON

I won’t endorseprotest againstJonathan—Odenema

Atamu Klub getsnew exco

JOS—THE Special TaskForce, STF, maintaining se-

curity in Plateau State, said ithas arrested 21 people in con-nection with last year’s death offormer Senator Gyang Dantongand former Majority Leader,Plateau State House of Assem-bly, Mr. Gyang Fulani.

STF spokesman, CaptainSalisu Mustapha, who briefedjournalists on Tuesday saidthree of those arrested have al-ready been arraigned.

Gombe State Commissioner ofPolice, Mr. Mohammed Sule,

ASABA—DELTA StateGovernment, yesterday,

confirmed that it has formallywaded into the rift between theObi of Igbodo, Obi IkechukwuNkeobikwu Osedume I and hissubjects following the insistenceof the community that he mustas a matter of tradition marry anindigene.

The state Commissioner forLocal Government andChieftaincy Affairs, Mr.Newworld Safugha, told Van-guard that, “yes, we (state gov-ernment) have intervened. The

issue is under the purview of thedeputy governor. I don’t want topre-empt what would be the out-come of our intervention but allI can tell you is that there was apetition to us. Already we haveheard from the Obi and the pal-ace chiefs. We are makingprogress and I can assure you itis our duty to ensure that peaceprevails.”

Following the ‘’deportation’’ ofthe Ebonyi-born heartthrob of themonarch, fear had gripped thecommunity over possible break-down of law and order.

And in a letter dated January4, 2013, to the Deputy Governor

by the Iyase (Prime Minister) ofIgbodo, Dr. Joseph Unomah, thepeople of the area stated, “ourprayer is that you (deputy gover-nor) invite our Obi and chiefs andelders of our community to youroffice in order to resolve the mat-ter.

“The situation is really bad andexplosive and your earliest inter-vention will be highly appreci-ated. The tension and anger ofthe people is at its peak at thismoment. A repeat occurrence ofbringing that woman (deported)into the palace could lead to aserious uprising against theObi and breakdown of law andorder.”

ABUJA—ABOUT 1000 market women, yesterday, re-

ceived free cancer screening andtreatment from Kings BenefitsFoundation, KBF, and OptimalCancercare Foundation pro-gramme in Abuja.

The screening exercise whichtook place at Wuse and Garikimarkets was part of activities tomark the World Cancer Day in Ni-geria.

The programme which wasaimed at reducing the scourge ofcancer menace in Nigeria wasopen to every woman interestedin knowing her cancer status.

Speaking, Director of KBF, Mrs.Joy Ogiemwonyi, said the ideawas to meet with the needs of thecommon Nigerian women in thesociety. She said the foundationwas poised at reducing the in-creasing rate of cancer in Nigeria.

U G H E L L I — N ATIONAL President

of Niger Delta YouthMovement, NDYM, MrGodspower Odenema,yesterday, said he wouldnot endorse any protestagainst PresidentGoodluck Jonathan in theregion.

Odenema in a state-ment, said “It has becomenecessary to bring to thenotice of the entire youthsof the Niger Delta andNigeria that I will neverin my capacity as NationalPresident of NDYM andthe current National YouthLeader of National Coali-tion for Jonathan/SamboPresidency, NACOJP, en-dorse any planned protestagainst PresidentJonathan

He said: “It is on recordthat various groups andpersons had mountedpressures on me to declarea regional or national dem-onstration against whatthey claimed as the un-bearable delay of Mr.President to empower ouryouths and those of Na-tional Coalition forJonathan/Sambo Presi-dency in the six geo-po-litical zones, after they allworked for the electoralvictory of Mr. President.”

19 arrested over murder of 2 policemen in Gombealso said Wednesday that 19 per-sons had been arrested in con-nection with the murder of twopolicemen last week.

The commissioner told theNews Agency of Nigeria, NAN,in Gombe that the two policemenwere killed at a duty point nearGombe State Transport Corpora-tion.

Sule said the suspects werearrested around motor parks af-ter the killings and charged tocourt, adding that the commandwould not rest on its oars in ef-forts to eradicate criminals in thestate.

The Commissioner said the in-

cident which led to the death ofthe officers was partly their fault,as the officers were gossipingwhen the killers attacked them.

However the JTF said in Jos, thatfollowing the attacks on villagesin Barkin Ladi and Riym LocalGovernment areas in July lastyear, the STF carried out series ofoperations which resulted in thearrests and the recovery of armsand ammunition.

He said: “Sequel to the opera-tion carried out to apprehend theperpetrators of the attacks, newstrategies were introduced to en-hance the operational capabilitiesof the STF troops with a view to

enhancing security in Riyom andBarkin Ladi LGAs leading to thearrest of 21 suspects. Some otherarrests were made by the opera-tives of the Nigerian Police andother security agencies.”

A group, DIADEMCommunity Empow-

erment/Development As-sociation, has called onPresident GoodluckJonathan to relocate theheadquarters of NigerDelta Affairs Ministry toany state in the region, toenable the people closelymonitor activities of theministry.

Chairman of the group,Mr. City Iyekoroghawei,said they have concludedplans to protest allegednon development of theregion by the Minister,Elder Godsday Orubebe,

They said: “Apart fromthe abandoned East Westroad project, we also ex-pect to see other projectsexecuted and completedby the Niger Delta AffairsMinistry under the presentleadership of Orubebe,and since there was none,Orubebe has failed us,and should be replacedwith a more competentNiger Deltan.

VISIT: Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State (left), re-ceiving the “Do The Right Thing” plaque from Director Gen-eral, National Orientation Agency, NOA, Mr. Mike Omeri,during an advocacy visit to the Governor in Ado-Ekiti.

VISIT: Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed (right),presenting a souvenir to Commandant, Nigeria Navy Schoolof Health Sciences, Offa, Captain Ima Ansa, during a visit toGovernment House, Ilorin.

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM ATAMU Social Klub of Nigeria, a pan-Urhobo

group, has pledged to initiatenew projects capable of stimu-lating growth and develop-ment among the Urhobo peo-ple of Delta State.

Johnson Agagbo, made thepledge after he was elected aspresident, at the biennial con-ference of the club in Lagos.

Others elected include Mat-thew Ogagavworia (vice presi-dent), Benson Uwheru (gen-eral secretary), Joel Enaks(treasurer) and Chris Iwarah(publicity/social secretary).

BENIN CITY—THEOrhiomwon Vanguard for

Good Governance, a socio-cul-tural organisation in Edo State,yesterday, faulted the decisionof the leadership of Action Con-gress of Nigeria, ACN, inOrhiomnwon Local Govern-ment Area to cede the chair-manship ticket to OrhiomwonEast, to the detriment of the peo-ple of the South.

The group in a statement byDr. Philip Edobor, also warnedthat the council may lose the

opportunity to produce the gov-ernor of the state in 2016 afterthe tenure of Governor AdamsOshiomhole, if the seeming disa-greement between the DeputyGovernor of the state, Dr. PiusOdubu and the Vice-Chairman,South South of the ACN, PastorOsagie Ize-Iyamu, over thechoice of chairmanship candi-date of the party in the councilpersists.

Vanguard learnt that thoughthe two leaders agreed that thechairmanship slot be zoned toOrhiomwon East, but they disa-

greed on the choice of candidate.Though Governor Adams

Oshiomhole has been settlingsimilar disputes in other councilsbut as it seems, the governor mayhave decided to keep mum overthe disagreement between theduo expecting them to sort out theproblem themselves.

While Odubu is backing oneNosa Okunbor, Ize-Iyamu is back-ing Saturday Idehen. But thegroup viewed the ceding asunfair, alleging that the people ofthe area have been marginalisedin terms of positions since the in-ception of democracy in 1999.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8 , 2013 — 49

LEADERS of Muslimnations, yesterday

declared support for theunity and territorialintegrity of Mali andcondemned terrorism inthe west African state butsaid nothing of Frenchmilitary intervention todrive out Islamist fighters.

A resolution adopted ata two-day summit of theOrganisation of Islamic

Islamic summit backs Malian govt, omits FranceCooperation backed thedeployment of aninternational militarymission in Mali underAfrican leadership andcalled for a roadmap forpresidential andparliamentary elections.

The omission of anymention of Francereflected embarrassmentover the recourse to aformer colonial power in

a Muslim country, eventhough the 57-memberOIC condemned“terrorism and extremismand attacks on historicsites in Mali”.

It would be recalled thatParis sent troops andwarplanes last month atthe request of the Maliangovernment to stop al-Qaeda-affiliated fightersthat had captured the

north of the countryadvancing towards thecapital, Bamako, and helpMalian forces retakenorthern towns.

Senegalese PresidentMacky Sall, the outgoing

chairman of the OIC,praised the French actionin his speech onWednesday but othercountries were reluctantto make reference to it.

French and Malian

forces are still fighting therebels in the Saharaoutside northern Mali’sbiggest town after alightning advance inwhich French officialssay hundreds of fighterswere killed. One Frenchhelicopter pilot was killedon the first day of theintervention.

BY KUNLE KALEJAYE

THE InternationalCampaign to Stop

Rape and GenderViolence in Conflict hascalled on African Unionleaders to put an end toconflict related rape casesand gender violence inaffected regions at thecontinent.

The call was made atthe just concluded20thAfrican UnionSummit held in AddisAbaba, Ethiopia.

American Nobel Peacelaureate, Jody Williamswho is also the co-chair

Group charges African leaders toend gender violence

of the InternationalCampaign to Stop Rapeand Gender Violence inConflict stressed thatsexual violence is one ofthe biggest barriers tobuilding peace andsecurity.

“Until we commit toending rape and otherforms of gender-basedviolence, we are notgoing to be able to buildhealthy and safecommunities thatcontribute to economicdevelopment andempower women andgirls to reach their fullpotential,” he said.

IRAN’S supremeleader has dismissed

a US offer of one-to-onetalks on Tehran’s nuclearprogramme.

Ayatollah Ali Khameneisaid talks with the USwould solve nothing

Iran’s supreme leaderhas dismissed a US offerof one-to-one talks onTehran’s nuclearprogramme.

Ayatollah Ali Khameneisaid in a speech postedonline that the US wasproposing talks while“pointing a gun at Iran”.

Iran rejects US nucleartalks offer

On Saturday, US Vice-President Joe Bidensuggested direct talks,separate to the widerinternational discussionsdue to take place later thismonth. But the USwidened sanctions onIran on Wednesday,aiming to tighten asqueeze on Tehran’sability to spend oil cash.

Iran, which is subject toan array of internationalsanctions, has longargued that its nuclearprogramme is for energygeneration and research.

TUNISIA’s politicalcrisis is deepening

after the assassination ofa leading oppositionleader earlier this week.

The killing of anti-Islamist politician ChokriBelaid sparked violentprotests. The primeminister then announcedplans for a new,technocratic government.

But the ruling Islamistparty Ennahda rejectedthe move, saying HamadiJebali “did not ask the

Tunisia political crisis deepensafter assassination

opinion of his party”.Meanwhile, police

have fired tear gas todisperse protesters inTunis and in the centraltown of Gafsa, reportssay.

The Gafsademonstrators, who wereobserving a symbolicfuneral for Chokri Belaid,rallied outside thegovernor ’s office,throwing stones andpetrol bombs at thepolice.

Vanguard,FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8 , 2013 —53

PALPABLE fear hasgripped residents of

the University town ofNsukka and it’s environsfollowing massive killingsrecorded in the past twomonths in the area. Reportssaid before the latest brutalattacks and killing of someprominent indegenes of thearea, pockets of criminalactivities and kidnappingwere recorded.

The situation took a fright-ening dimension on Decem-ber 27, 2012 when a UnitedStates based FinancialEconomist, Ogbo Edoga, wasmowed down by yet-to-beidentified young men whoaccosted him in his village,Aku, Igbo-Etiti Local govern-ment Area. Before his brutaldemise, he was among aselect-group of Nigerianprofessionals from theUniversity town in EnuguState based in far-awayUnited States clamoring fort

a better medicare for thetheir people at home.

They formed what theycalled “Nsukka Professionalsin US” and embarked uponfund raising for the construc-tion of an utra-modernmedical diagnostic center intheir town. For years, theyhave been tasking them-selves and raising funds forthe project. Then in Decem-ber 2012, the professionalsdecided to come back homeand actualize their petproject.

They all trouped back toNsukka for a formal launchslated for December 29.

In the early hours ofWednesday preceding the D-day, tragedy struck., OgboEdoga, 56, one of the promi-nent member of the groupand an arrow head of theproject from inception wasslain by unknown gun men,just about 30 kilometers fromNsukka main town. The

victim had gone to hisvillage to see both his agedmother and twin sister, alecturer in one of the promi-nent Universities in USA, Dr.Dymphna Ugwu-oji, whenhe met his untimely end.Three unidentified youngmen accosted him in front ofthe residence of one of theirbrothers and shot him dead,pointblank ,with an AK 47assault rifle which penetrat-ed through his anus andpierced his innards. Hisassailants later escaped witha vehicle they snatched froma retired official of the DSSwho was seen in front of the

house as they were fleeingfrom the scene.

They abandoned their ownvehicle which was laterdriven to the local policestation by the embattled DSSofficial.

Almost two months afterthe heartless killing of thethe returnee, the Police inEnugu has not come upeither to re-assure residentsof the area of their safety ordisclose their findings.Rather, rumor had it thatthey carried out randomarrests and later releasedthem.

One of the relations tothe slain returnee whosimply identified himself asAnthony told Crime Alert“after our brother andbreadwinner was brutallykilled, the first shocker wereceived was that somepolice officers from Ogbede,the local station, came to ourhouse to chastise us forallowing the victim go to thebank and also visit a bureau-de -change without escortand we were all wonderinghow they came to know thathe visited those places-which he actually did beforeXmas. Secondly, some of the

personal items the fleeingkillers dropped like his Simcared and passport whichwere deposited with thepolice were not returned tous. In fact, we were throwninto deep sorrow when weheard from police sourcesthat the First InformationReport (FIR) given by thelocal police to their head-quarters in Enugu was thatthe slain Economist was avictim of cultism. On hearingthis, the nonagenarianmother collapsed and webattled for days to reviveher.

How can somebody thathad spent almost all hisadult life in USA, who didnot even attend any higherinstitution in Nigeria betagged a cultist?

Incontestableposers

He came back last Decem-ber after almost ten yearsWorst still, and these arevery vital incontestableposers to the local police,why did they not mount thetwo check points which theynormally do on every marketday along the major roadthat leads to our village?His killers escaped unchal-lenged through that route.Secondly, while the killerswere still inside the com-pound after shooting him todeath, one of our relationsthat escaped from the com-pound alerted the localpolice immediately but theyinsisted he must comepersonally to their station tomake statement before theywill come to the scene. Wealso thought that the familydeserves to know the effortspolice is making towardsfishing out his killers butsince then, we all have beenkept in the dark while allthose that also came back forthe season fled back to base.•To be Continued on Mon-day

By EMMA NNADOZIE, Crime Editor

•Slain Ogbo Edoga

•Dr. Dymphna Ugwu-Oji,his twin sister

•IGP, MD Abubakar...what’s the way forward?

•Mrs. Rose Edoga-the nonegerian mother



ONE forced himself to power with abattery of armoured tanks on his

flanks. The other, with sheer guts hasmustered political power in thecountry’s Southwest in a way that hasnot been seen since the second republic.

So it was not surprising that the

APC: The battle is setTHE unveiling of the APC as the special purpose vehiclewith which the country’s major opposition parties hope tocontest the political space with the dominant PeoplesDemocratic Party, will redefine the political landscape.

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR

coming together of the two would bedepicted in military fashion. The AllProgressive Congress, APC withGeneral Muhammadu Buhari andAsiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at thehelm has the same acronym as theArmoured Personnel Carrier, APC therevolutionary military vehicle that waslaunched in the later days of the First

World War to ferry troops into the heatof battle.

Before the advent of the APC, fieldcommanders using armoured tanks tobreak through enemy lines werehandicapped by their inability to holdgrounds pierced by the tanks as theinfantry troops were still susceptible tosmall arms fire and anti-personnelmines. And so was born the APC, thespecial purpose vehicle to convey troopsto the heat of battle.

Buhari, Tinubu and their allies in theranks of the opposition perhaps had thesame frame of mind in the formation ofthe APC, which they expect to use as

the special purpose vehicle to wrestpower from the dominant PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP at the centre in2015.

The four parties that have cometogether to form the APC are the ActionCongress of Nigeria, ACN, theCongress for Progressive Change,CPC, the All Nigeria Peoples Party,ANPP and the All Progressive GrandAlliance, APGA. The quartet is expectedto pack as sufficient armour as a militaryAPC to contest political power with thePDP.

The fusion of the four parties which is

APC: The battle is setyet to be formally endorsed bythe Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC isthe first phase of the battle ofwits that has been going onbetween the PDP and theopposition ahead of the 2015election.

All the parties involved in themerger were united by theadmission of one fact – that forall their individual efforts, thatthey could not overcome thePDP except they came together.

Buhari who has led the fightagainst the PDP since 2003,even where his mass appealhas remained unshaken,however, saw the ANPP towhich he belonged lose statesfrom nine to five before he leftthe party at the beginning ofthe decade to form the CPC.

Tinubu’s ACN has had mixedfortunes. From five statesinitially won by its progenitor,that is the Alliance forDemocracy, AD it nosedived tohaving only one state beforecoming back forcefully to winsix states presently.

Limitedinfluence

Even with the six states in itskitty, the ACN was bound toremain a regional party withinfluence limited to the westwhere it controls five of the sixstates in the region. The onlyother state in its kitty is EdoState whose governor,Comrade Adams Oshiomholeremains a doubtable ingredientin the Tinubu game plan.

The other party involved,APGA entered the merger onthe wings of an internecinewarfare between two majorfactions of the party.

While the faction aligned toChief Victor Umeh, theembattled national chairman ofthe party supported the merger,that aligned to Governor PeterObi of Anambra State was

Tuesday in Lagos.A day after the meeting in

Lagos, the APC was formallyunveiled at a press briefing inthe Abuja residence of Chief

secretary and treasurer for thetime being of the differentpolitical parties proposing themerger and shall beaccompanied by:-

(a) a special resolutionpassed by the nationalconvention of each of thepolitical parties proposing tomerge, approving the merger;

(b) the proposed full nameand acronym, constitution,manifesto, symbol or logo of theparty together with theaddresses of the national officeof the party resulting from themerger; and

(c) evidence of payment ofadministrative costs ofN100,000 or as may be fixedfrom time to time by an Act ofthe National Assembly.

“(4) On receipt of the requestfor merger of political parties,the commission shall considerthe request; and if the partieshave fulfilled the requirementsof the constitution and this Act,

approve the proposed mergerand communicate its decisionto the parties concerned beforethe expiration of thirty (30)days from the date of the receiptof the formal request.

“PROVIDED that if thecommission fails tocommunicate its decisionwithin 30 days the merger shallbe deemed to be effective.

“(5) Where the request for theproposed merger is approved,the commission shall forthwithwithdraw and cancel thecertificates of registration of allthe political parties opting forthe merger and substitutetherefore, a single certificate ofregistration in the name of theparty resulting from themerger.

“(6) Notwithstanding theprovisions of subsection (2) ofthis section no merger ofPolitical Parties received by thecommission less than 90 daysbefore any general election inthe country shall be consideredby the commission.”

Preparedstatement

In the prepared statement heread to journalists onWednesday, Ikimi said: “At notime in our life has radicalchange become more urgent.And to meet the challenge ofthat change, we the followingprogressive political partiesnamely, ACN, ANPP, APGAand CPC have resolved tomerge forthwith and becomethe All Progressives Congressand offer to our beleagueredpeople a recipe for peace andprosperity.

“We resolve to form a politicalparty committed to theprinciples of internaldemocracy, focused on seriousissues of concern to our people,determined to bring corruptionand insecurity to an end,determined to grow oureconomy and create jobs intheir millions througheducation, housing,agriculture, industrial growthetc, and stop the increasingmood of despair andhopelessness among ourpeople.

“The resolution of theseissues, the restoration of hope,the enthronement of truedemocratic values for peace,democracy and justice are thoseconcerns which propel us. Webelieve that by these measuresonly shall we restore ourdignity and position of pre-eminence in the committee ofnations. This is our pledge.”

The communiqué was signedby Ikimi, and the chairmen ofthe merger committees of CPC,Garba Gadi; ANPP IbrahimShekarau; and a representative



•Oshiomhole: Will he go along •Ngige: May lead the first APC attack

•Bisi Akande: ACN chairman •Tony Momoh: CPC chairman

made on Wednesday that thenew party was taking shapewith plans to formalize themerger with the IndependentNational Electoral Commission,INEC.

Section 84 of the electoral actwhich stipulates guidelines forthe merger of political partiesstates thus:

“Any two or more registeredpolitical parties may merge onapproval by the commissionfollowing a formal requestpresented to the commission bythe political parties for thatpurpose.

“(2) Political Parties intendingto merge shall each give to theCommission 90 days notice oftheir intention to do so beforea general election.

“(3) The written request formerger shall be sent to theChairman of the Commissionand shall be signed jointly bythe national chairman,

,

,

Tom Ikimi, who had earlier beendesignated to lead the mergercommittee of the ACN.

The unveiling of the identityof the new party was itselfreflective of the militarystrategy of surprise.

Few weeks ago, Buhari hadtold the nation that the newmega party would emerge bythe middle of the year. So it wasa surprising developmentwhen the announcement was

The unveiling of the identityof the new party was itselfreflective of the militarystrategy of surprise


hostile to the arrangement. Itwas not surprising that the Obifaction was against the mergergiven whispers that thegovernor could decamp to thePDP at the end of his term.

The party’s other governor,Governor Rochas Okorocha ofImo State has provedsupportive of the merger andwas present at the meeting often governors of the partiesinvolved in the merger last

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SENATOR Iroegbu’s story inThisDay, the Sunday

Newspaper captioned Mali: Brit-ish Defence Chief Visit Nigeria,Pledges Support reveals the dif-ference between European’s in-terest in Africa and Nigeria’s in-terest in Africa. The UK Chief ofDefence Staff (CDS) Gen. (Sir)David Richard in his discussionwith his Nigerian counterpart Ad-miral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim spokeunguardedly about his govern-ment security priorities in theworld, Africa and Nigeria.

“He said Mali presents manychallenges, but it is vital “that weresolve this issue for peace in theregion and specifically in your in-terest too. We will give you 150per cent support; we have to betransparent in whatever we do.My discussion with my PrimeMinister before coming here isthat Britain as a whole is verycommitted to resolving this cri-

present their policies as comple-mentary. Sir Richard announcesthat it is the position of the Brit-ish Government that Mali is theimmediate British African priori-ty and that it is important that theUK supports a process that will“get it right” in Mali. Thus theUK and the US Government havebacked the French war in North-ern Mali with logistics and in-telligence resources. Getting itright in Mali has been the aim ofthe European support for theFrench. It is the French that havebeen waging the war in North-ern Mali with Malian forces tag-ging along. Sir Richard’s gettingit right” in Mali can be read tobe an approval for the strategyof supporting the unilateral de-

vention force in Mali is havingan upper hand over the Islamicterrorists in Mali, he foresees theNigerian troops could be therefor one year in order to monitorthe post crisis Mali because ofher leadership responsibility inthe sub-region”.

Admiral Ibrahim and GeneralRichard are enunciating two dif-ferent policies on Mali while they

sis. It is vital and in our nationalinterest that we get it right."

The defence chief continued:“After Afghanistan, Mali is theimmediate imperative. It is im-portant we resolve this threat ofMali especially for the sake of theAfrican continent and the wellbeing of Nigeria and in doingthis, I must say transparencyshould be a key factor. I believe

PRPRPRPRPROF JOHN OF JOHN OF JOHN OF JOHN OF JOHN AMODAMODAMODAMODAMODAAAAA

commended Sir Richards onhis “recognition of Nigerianwar efforts and expected sup-port of the British govern-ment for Nigeria in tacklingthe terrorism in Mali andWest African sub-region.“Your prompt decision tocome and identify with usover the troublesome situa-tion in Mali which is a causefor concern to nations in thesub-region, is appreciatedand together, the challengewould be surmounted”. Ibra-him also noted that eventhough the Africa-led inter-

as we draw down from Afghani-stan, we will have more resourc-es to support the efforts in theregion (we) will come and trainyou… play football matches,whatever you wish and for thelong term, not just in Mali, weare planning to come back to theregion but before that we have toget Mali right”. Richard said hewas in the country to meet to dis-cuss and identify areas ofstrength on the part of Nigerianand British Armed Forces in or-der to identify critical areas ofsupport either in the future orregarding the Mali challenge.

Recognition ofNigerian war efforts

As we juxtapose the views ofthe Nigerian CDS on the mean-ing of Sir Richard’s consultationwith him, it becomes apparentthat Mali means two differentthings to the two officials. Accord-ing to Iroegbu’s report, Ibrahim

wars, the second phase war ofexpelling the Islamist from theSahel and the war of re-integra-tion of Northern Mali into Malione truly international effort.

This is all the more the case thatthe capture and occupation ofNorthern Mali is not a terroristact but the developing of a basefor international terrorist insur-gency in Africa and outside ofAfrica. It is this threat of the Sa-helian sub-region of ECOWASbecoming such a base that hasto be eliminated. This is theFrench and the Western securityinterest in Mali. But Mali as abase is Nigeria’s and ECOWASstrategic interest. The occupationof Northern Mali and its recon-stitution as a part of a new state

Hollande, Cameron andJonathan’s interest in Mali

ECOWAS troops in Mali

Map of Mali

By JOHN AMODA

,,

cision of France “to get it rightfirst” in Mali before the UnitedNations Resolution 2085 of an Af-rican led international deploy-ment is effected. Admiral Ibra-him is explicitly legitimizing thestructuring of Resolution 2085into two phases, the Frenchphase and the ECOWAS phase.President Hollande and VicePresident Joe Biden are in agree-ment on this restructuring of Res-olution 2085.

However the course of theFrench war aimed at securing theterritorial integrity of Mali mayindeed end up in having Nige-ria-ECOWAS Force assigned themore difficult task of combat withthe Islamist Forces that have sofar avoided ground war with theFrench.

Ibrahim may have under esti-mated the challenges of guerillawar with the Islamist who haddefeated the Malian Forces andchased them out of NorthernMali. It will be better to make both

of Azawad is the worrisome fact-a fact of Islamist colonization ofNorthern Mali. When the Islamistattack and occupation of Diaballysignaled a threat to Bamako,France intervened militarily toprevent the expansion of Aza-wad. The United Nations, theAfrican Union and ECOWAS areyet to define the issue of North-ern Mali as an issue of recoloni-zation in Africa- an issue that isa threat to the international peaceand security in Africa. TheFrench, UK and the US govern-ments have on their mind thecontainment and elimination ofAl-Quaeda. And Al-Quaeda hasshown its preparedness and will-ingness to seek for a SahelianBase in Africa for waging its in-ternational war against the West.This is the larger importance ofMali and why it is strategicallycritical and vitae that Nigeria seesMali in its two dimensions, assimultaneously a global and aswell an African issue.

of APGA, Senator AnnieOkonkwo. It could not beconfirmed why the parties tothe merger brought forwardthe unveiling of the new party,but one pointer was to thedetermination of the moversof the APC to go into battle assoon as possible. And the firstpoint of battle for the APCcould be in the forthcominggubernatorial election inAnambra State which is duein about one year.

By bringing forward theunveiling of the new party,stakeholders may have beenguided by the need to satisfythe provision of the electoralact which stipulates thatparties involved in a mergershould do so at least 90 daysbefore an election.

There have beenspeculations that the APCdrivers may be proppingSenator Chris Ngige tocontest the Anambragubernatorial election, hopingto benefit from his popularityas a way of launching theAPC into the Southeast.

Pinning their hopes onNgige would inevitably causea friction with Senator AnnieOkonkwo, who is himselfwidely believed to be alsopreparing to contest theelection. The choice betweenNgige, Okonkwo and thehandful of other aspirants inthe APC would indeed be acrucial test to certify theessence of the new party.

Genuine internaldemocracy

How the party makes thatchoice would indeed be aforetaste of whether it wouldbe business as usual orperhaps, the arrival ofgenuine internal democracyand good governance that thepolity desperately desires.

Welcoming the new party,the PDP national chairman,Alhaji Bamanga Tukur saidthe PDP would not be rattledas he promised that the PDPwould continue to hold theball in the way Barcelona andArgentina football player,Lionel Messi dazzles hisopponents.

The PDP spokesman, ChiefOlisa Metuh in a statementsome would see as patrioticyesterday, echoed Tukurcharging the new party toengage the administrationand the PDP on ideals andissues of governance.

Metuh’s goodwillnonetheless, his statementyesterday also betrayed theparty's readiness to throwmud. Metuh in the statementsaid the PDP “is committed tothe stability and developmentof the country, it will not dwellon the shortcomings of themerger arrangement.”

Whatever shortcomingsthere are, Metuh was notready to reveal, perhapswaiting to hit at the APC inthe heat of battle.

Continues fromPage 55

Admiral Ibrahim and General Richardare enunciating two different policieson Mali while they present their poli-cies as complementary

APC: Thebattle is set


Don’t worrrryyyy!!!The Eagles we saw against IvoryCoast and Mali will beat theBurkina Faso

CAN the Eagles withstand the physical attributesof their Burkina Faso counterparts and win the

Nations Cup in South Africa on Sunday?That is my wish.Last week, in this column, I wished so many things

as Eagles were to face Ivory Coast, favoured by all towin the ongoing Nations Cup.

I wished that the Eagles played more compact rath-er than the loose positioning we saw in their previ-ous matches against Burkina Faso, Zambia and to alittle extent against Ethiopia in the group matches. Iwished that they moved more forward than their manypasses back to their area when not necessary. I wishedthat Ahmed Musa and Ike Uche were left out of thequarter final tie against Ivory Coast. And I felt thatFengor Ogude’s disqualification from the match dueto card offences was a divine action and said that wewould not miss him. I also wondered how he evenmade the team. He was slow, marked and passedpoorly and never created any thing in the midfieldbut he kept on playing. But to be fair to Stephen Keshi,the Eagles coach, he agreed on many of the points Iraised with him while the group matches lasted. Hesaid he would work on those flaws. He did and mywishes came to pass in the match against Ivory Coast.And to be sincere, it did not take an Onochie Anibezeto discuss these with him for him to act. He alreadyknew and only agreed with me on the way out. Andin the morning of the match day I sent him a text,telling him that he would win the match. I sent thesame sms to Christopher Green, chairman of the Tech-nical Committee of the football federation and he re-plied with one word: AMEN.

I commend Keshi for his vision. I commend theplayers for being good students of the game. Theysang a song with the ball against Ivory Coast. Wehad never seen the Eagles play with so much pas-sion like they did in that match for a long, long time.They passed well, marked well, attacked well andput smile on our faces with their deserved 2-1 victory.Onazi was quicker and more professional than Ogudeand it showed in our midfield. I also wished thatBrown Ideye and Emmanuel Emenike be paired inthe attack. It happened and it showed in the way weattacked. Special thanks to man of the moment, Vic-tor Moses. He is the engine of Nigeria’s attack inSouth Africa. Emenike uses his energy well. In fact,the Eagles have improved and now play as a betterunit. But like Adokiye Amiesimaka and Kojo williamsobserved, they have not arrived yet. I wish they could,win the Nations Cup on Sunday, qualify for the WorldCup in 2014 and go to Brazil and play well, possiblybe the first African country to reach the semifinal inthe Mundial. It is achievable. It is my wish.

For now, we are talking about how they can beatBurkina Faso on Sunday to lift the Cup 19 years afterthey did so in Tunisia ’94. They won the cup in stylein Tunisia and arrived USA ’94 World Cup as Africa’schampions. Can they repeat that feat and be in Brazilas Africa’s champions? Keshi was captain of that teamand now he is the coach of the team attempting to setsame record. It is doable. But it may be difficult. WhenGhana and Burkina Faso were pummeling it out afterwe had sailed past Mali, I wished that Ghana won forI knew that Eagles would have a better game againstthem than with Burkina Faso. This is based on twoobservations. Burkina Faso are very physical, directin their approach and have endurance more than anyteam in this tournament. They are very fit and theykeep attacking, coming at you until you burn out. Thatwas how they equalised in the last moments of thematch against Ghana and in the extra time, they werestill running as if the match had just started. But theymissed many chances and the game dragged intopenalty shoot out. Eagles experienced this in theirfirst group match when they led 1-0 but resilientBurkinabes equalised in the last minute of the stop-page time. Ethiopia used their ball possession foot-ball to deal with Zambia but Burkina Faso studiedthem and simply used power game to muscle them ina 4-0 victory where they showed tremendous physicalcharacter.

So what should Eagles do against them? They shoulddo exactly what they did against Mali. Score two orthree goals before Burkina Faso start running at themceaselessly. Most teams that rely on physical footballlack patience when opponents play many men around

the ball especially deep in their half. Eagles shouldtry to do that even if they have to be as direct aspossible in their counters. They could also get intotheir area with passing game. And if they do it welland have many players around the ball I see Burki-na Faso committing many fouls and possibly a pen-alty. Where is Victor Moses? He will understand whatI’m talking about. Wa shere jo. What about SundayMba? Is the cup coming home?

I prayed that Emenike recovered in good time whenhe hit a shot and fell in pain as if he had suffered amuscle tear in the last moments against Mali. MayGod heal you to be fit on Sunday.

Since Burkina Faso like running and they have en-ergy to do so, we must try to knock them out of theirstride with a passing game but emphasis should beon one- touch play which will help us conserve ener-gy to withstand them in the dying minutes and at thesame time make them chase the ball all the time.Unnecessary shielding of the ball like Mikel Obi doesevery time and losing it may destroy us. When youlose such balls you may be punished. Scoring firstand playing very compact in the defence and mid-field will neutralise their game because they may nothave the space to attack and run. I know that it iseasier said than done but I hope the Eagles come upwith a winning strategy.

In football, they say, you don’t change a winningteam. And so I expect to see Vincent Enyeama ingoal, Godfrey Obaobona and Keneth Omeruo in thecentral defence, Ambrose Efe and Elderson Echejilein the full back positions, Mikel Obi, Sunday Mbaand Onazi in the midfield, Brown Ideye, Emenikeand Victor Moses in the starting line up on Sunday.

History is staring these guys in the face. Let themmake it. After winning in Tunisia in 1994, we cameclose to doing so against Cameroun in 2000 but lostin a penalty shoot out in Lagos.

I’m afraid of this Burkina Faso team but let me endit this way. The Eagles we saw against Ivory Coastand Mali will beat the Burkina Faso we saw againstTogo and Ghana. So, all things being equal, Nigeriahave a great chance of emerging African champions.And my confidence went high when I discussed withKeshi yesterday. I was still talking about the quali-ties of Burkina Faso team and how I would have pre-ferred to play Ghana when Keshi responded in a waythat boosted my confidence. “Don’t worrrryyyy, On-ochieee. You go see.” He really stretched it for em-phasis. I felt good. I knew that he must have workedout the way to approach the game. Good luck, Skip-po. I hope our politicians will not distract them. Goodluck Eagles. I may start adding Super to your nameagain. But win this one, first.

NIGERIA strikerE m m a n u e l

Emenike’s injury is notserious, while a scan willbe carried out for VictorMoses, officials have dis-closed.

Emenike injured hisright leg during the semi-final victory over Maliwhile shooting for goal,but team spokesman BenAlaiya said it was not aserious injury as the doc-tor is expected to confirmthis later Thursday.

Alaiya said, “Emenike’sinjury is not serious, hehad just a knock which isminor. He should be fit forfinal, but we are waitingfor the medical report onhim which should beready by lunch time.”

Emenike has scored

Emenike injury not serious — Officialfour goals so far in thetournament with two as-sists to top the goals chartat the AFCON in SouthAfrica.

He suffered what looklike a hamstring injurywhile shooting from longrange at goal againstMali on Wednesday.

Eagles coach StephenKeshi disclosed that ascan will be carried outon Chelsea wingerMoses, who also pickedup an injury againstMali.

“We hope it is not seri-ous and he will play thefinal,” said Keshi.

CELEBRATION . . . Super Eagles forward Emmanuel Emenike celebratesafter scoring a goal during their 2013 AFCON semi-final match againstMali. Photo: AFP


FORMER Nigeriai n t e r n a t i o n a l ,

Adokiye Amiesimakahas congratulated theSuper Eagles of Nigeriafor their superlativevictory over theirMalian counterparts inthe semi final of theAfrica Cup of Nations inDurban, South AfricaWednesday.

An elated Amiesimakaexclaimed, “Congrats,Nigeria!,” adding“Keshi just re-affirmedthat our strength is inattack anchored on flank

NIGERIA midfielderJohn Obi Mikel hasdescribed Wednesday’sbig defeat of Mali asbeing due to theconfidence earned from

We got confidence from victoryover CIV — Mikel

their victory overtournament favouritesCote D’Ivoire in thequarter finals.

The Super Eaglestrounced Mali 4-1 insidethe Moses MabhidaStadium in Durban toget to their first finalsince 2000.

“The game againstIvory Coast gave us alittle bit of confidence sowe decided to build onthat instead of droppingfrom our performance.We kept our cool and didexactly what we didagainst Ivory Coast,”Mikel said after thegame.

Nigeria’s run in thetournament has beenfacilitated by coach

Stephen Keshi who wasthe captain when theEagles last won thetournament in 1994. Hewill now hope to be thesecond man to win thetournament as playerand coach when Nigeriatake on Burkina Faso atthe weekend inJohannesburg.

“Keshi is a lucky man,”Mikel said. “All we haveto do on Sunday is go tothe final and play ourgame. It’s still going tobe a difficult match. Wewill just go out there anddo our best, hopefullyour best will be enough.

“We want Nigerians tokeep praying for us andhopefully we will bringthe trophy home,” theChelsea midfielderconcluded.

Amiesimaka congratulates Eaglesplay.”

He said the playessoothed frayed nerves ofmost Nigerians whowatched the match. “Notsurprising this was ourmost relaxing match asyou could just see thegoals coming,and itrained goals forNigeria!”

He poured encomiumson head coach, StephenKeshi. “I’m so proud ofKeshi. But, our attitudewhen in the lead was notsufficiently professional,as usual. Team must

always remainpurposeful and neverplay to the gallery.”

The former winger hada word of caution for thehandlers, “Markingdiscipline in defence isa pending challenge: inour 18-yard box,especially around our 6-yard box,” advising that“you must get to the ballbefore your opponents,otherwise yourgoalkeeper may not havesufficient reaction-timeto deal with a goalbound kick or header."

RAFAEL Nadal andhis troublesome

knees enjoyed a highlysatisfactory return tosingles action thatsuggested it would bevery unwise to write offthe eleven-times GrandSlam champion.

Playing his first matchsince Wimbledon, the 26year-old Spaniardovercame a shaky startto defeat Argentina’sFederico Delbonis 6-3,6-2 in 87 minutes at theVTR Open in Chile.

While there are farsterner examinations tocome before hechallenges the likes ofNovak Djokovic andAndy Murray, Nadalgave glimpses of his oldself as he made hisreturn on his treasuredfavourite surface of clay.

Nadal back to winning ways

The last time Nadalhad been on a singlescourt was June 28, whenhe was humbled by thenworld number 103 LukasRosol in a fifth set atWimbledon. He did notstep back onto a practicecourt properly untilNovember, with theintention of making areturn in late Decemberahead of the Australian

Open.That plan was aborted

when he suffered astomach virus overChristmas, so a newschedule was made withthe intention that heplays on this relativelylow-key swing of claycourt tournaments inSouth America, startingin Chile before going onto Sao Paolo and thenAcapulco in Mexico.

•Nadal


EaglesContinues from BP

•Keshi

hours after Burkina Fasolodged an official appealagainst key playerJonathan Pitroipa’s redcard in the semi-finalwin over Ghana onWednesday.

“There is a meetingtomorrow (Friday) todiscuss the Pitroipaincident,” El Amrani toldreporters.

The official saidPitroipa’s chances ofplaying in the finaldepend on the match

Ref suspendedContinues from BP report sent in by Jdidi.

“The organisingcommittee does not havethe power to change thereferee’s decision unlessthe referee admits hemade a mistake in hisofficial report,” said ElAmrani.

As it stands, Pitroipawill miss Sunday’s Cupof Nations final againstNigeria in Soweto afterpicking up two yellowcards in the stunningpenalty shoot-outsuccess over the BlackStars.

SUPER Eaglescreative midfield

maestro John Mikel ObiThursday earned five starsas former Abia stategovernor Dr.Orji Uzor Kalutipped him for the GoldenBall trophy, with thesobriquet ‘Field Marshall’ ofthe ongoing Nations’ Cup.

Kalu said,”Mikel Obi is asilent killer,in the field heputs on no airs,his touchesare pinpoint,the young manis the hub of the Eagles.Yethe carries everybody

Mikel ‘ll win Golden Ball – Kalualong.If the Nations Cupwere another World War,iwould call him FieldMarshall Montgomery.Isee a crown on his headas the Most ValuablePlayer[MVP] of this tour-nament.”

The ex-governor praisedthe Ivorian Elephants forgiving honour to Mikel inparticular, and the Nigeri-an team ingeneral,despite their quar-ter-finals elimination bythe Eagles.

were NFF ExecutiveCommittee member, DejiTinubu, TechnicalDirector, Dr EmmanuelIkpeme and SpecialAdviser to Lagos stateGovernor, Prince WaleOladunjoye among otherdignitaries.

The team wasimmediately ferried to itsabode at Garden CourtMilpark from the airport

and after having lunch,got set for the day ’sbusiness of training.

The team had its firsttraining session at6.30pm local timeyesterday, with HeadCoach Stephen Keshisaying there was no timeto waste ahead ofSunday’s all importantfinal which is expected tobe watched by severalNigerian andinternational dignitaries.

F O L L O W I N GStephen Keshi’s

insistence that he mightnot be Super Eaglescoach after Sunday’s fi-nal of the African Cup ofNations, many countrieshave swooped on himasking for his signatureto take over their nation-al teams.

A highly authoritativesource informed thatsome agents have beenbordering the formerskipper of the nationalteam to talk him into con-sidering their clients ifindeed he refuses to goahead with his contract

Many countries hunt forKeshi’s signature

with the Nigeria FootballFederation. Though theidentities of the countrieswere not revealed, thesource however said thatKeshi has refused to com-mit himself as he report-edly told them he wasstill on contract with theNFF.

The rush for Keshi’s sig-nature is not unconnect-ed with his statement thathe was not sure if hewould remain Eaglescoach after CAN 2013since he is a professionalcoach and would go forthe highest bidder.

needed to stop the SuperEagles. They were win-ning all the balls, pursu-ing us mercilessly eachtime we had the ball andtheir finishing was al-ways on target and thatwas their major advan-tage. They have forwardsthat can transform theslimmest goal chances.”

Mali goalkeeperContinued from BP Mali will face Ghana in

the third place match onSaturday February 9 atthe Nelson Mandela BayStadium in Port Eliza-beth. Both sides met in asimilar situation last yearat the Africa Cup of Na-tions held in Gabon andEquatorial Guinea, withthe Eagles triumphing toclaim bronze.

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e-mail: [email protected]

How to Play Sudoku THE VIGILANTE

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.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

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

Sudoku ACROSS1 Zest (5)5 Saw (6)8 Saying (5)10 Accustomed (6)11 Singer (4)14 Objective (6)15 Wandering (7)18 Solidify (3)19 Mournful (3)21 Caribou (4)23 Revolt (5)24 Thaw (4)27 Obscure (3)29 Sphere (3)31 Remarkable (7)32 Thoroughfare (6)34 Facts (4)35 Deserved (6)38 Self (5)39 Breakwater (6)40 Go in (5)

DOWN2 Vase (3)3 Plaid (6)4 Poem (3)5 Defeat (4)6 Dislike (6)7 Physician (6)9 Counselled (7)12 Dawdle (3)13 Leer (4)16 Monster (4)17 Hut (5)20 Relegated (7)22 Sinful (4)24 Ruminating (6)25 Peer (4)26 Agreement (6)28 Sterile (6)30 Wager (3)33 Story (4)36 Era (3)37 Sheep (3)

ACROSS: 1, Sundry 5, Room 8, Anger 9,Air 10, Disc 11, Game 12, Pedal 13, Spared16, Mass 18, Isle 20, Rob 22, Lea 23, All 24,Rare 24, Lame 28, Tangle 30, Began 32, Leaf33, Next 34, Irk 35, Since 36, Meet 37,Python.

DOWN: 1, Sparse 2, Narrator 3, Redeem 4,Incessant 5, Regalia 6, Oral 7, Meek 8, Asp14, Dalliance 15, Ill 17, Sea 19, Sluggish 20,Rat 21, Benefit 26, Earthy 27, Reckon 29,Glum 30, Base 31, Nee.

We played Brazil not Nigeria — MaligoalkeeperMALI goalkeeper Mamadou Samassa

compared their Wednesday’s oppo-sition to five-time World Cup champions Bra-zil after they succumbed to a 4-1 drubbing atthe hands of the Super Eagles of Nigeria inthe semi-finals of the ongoing Africa Cup ofNations in Durban.

The 22-year-old, who plays for Guingampin France, said they don’t deserve any blamefor such a huge loss because they met a fire-spitting side that could have dismantled anyteam at the competition.

“I feel the team we played against was Bra-zil and not the Nigeria we used to know.From my post I was seeing more than 15green shirts pouring forth against us and notthe usual 10 players. They were strong, slip-pery, focused and pacy,” Samassa toldSupersport.com here in South Africa.

“We did our best. We heeded our coach’sinstructions but they fell below what was

•Keshi Continues on Page 62

Caf suspends ref as B/Faso appealPitroipa red card

TUNISIAN refereeSlim Jdidi has been

suspended for hiscontroversial handlingof the Africa Cup of

Nations semi-finalbetween Ghana andBurkina Faso, theorganisers saidThursday.

“We would haveexpected a betterstandard,”

Confederation ofAfrican Football (CAF)s e c r e t a r y - g e n e r a lHicham El Amrani tolda media conference justContinues on Page 62

GOAL!! Malian goalkeeper, Mama-dou Samassa goes down as BrownIdeye bundles in Nigeria's secondgoal. Nigeria won 4-1. PHOTO: AFP

Eagles arrive Jo’burg, begin training•Medics sweat on Moses, Emenike

AFTER acomprehensive 4-1

semi-final victory overAiglons of Mali onWednesday in Durban,the Super Eagles havequickly put the victory

behind them as the teamarrived Johannesburg,South Africa onThursday afternoon tobegin preparations forthe final on Sunday atthe Soccer City in

Soweto.The team arrived

Johannesburg at about1:45pm local timeaboard a South AfricaAirway plane. In theplane with the team

Continues on Page 62

security, third term agenda- buhari, tinubu tacklejonathan, hail el-rufai

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