rivers crisis: okupe, jonathan's worst enemy— amaechi

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 61949

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013**

Mr & Mrs

Continues on page 5

•Says he is no longer relevant in politics•Blasts presidential aides for creating enemies for Jonathan

Okupe, Jonathan'sworst enemy— Amaechi

COLUMNISTS:

•P.46

OCHEREOMENNANNA

LES LEBA•P.40

•P.17

DELESOBOWALE

•P.32

BY JIMITOTAONOYUME

PORTHARCOURT—G O V E R N O R

Chibuike Amaechi haslambasted the SeniorSpecial Assistant toPresident GoodluckJonathan on Public Af-fairs, Dr Doyin Okupe,over alleged disparag-ing comments he made

AGREEMENT—From left: Managing Director, QB Construction LLC, USA, Paul Lavergne; CEO, Greenfield AssetsLimited, Paul Obanua and Governor Theodore A. Orji of Abia State, at the signing of Public/Private Partnership DevelopmentLease Agreement between Abia State and Greenfield Assets Limited with its Development Partners from Canada, USA and UK forthe development of a 5,830-shop Mega Mall at Osisioma-Ngwa, Aba, Abia State.

RIVERS CRISIS:

BOKO HARAM:New Army divisiontakes over from JTF

P.8 Mrs Jonathan arrivesPort-Harcourt,enroute Okrika •P.12

6Pastor's wife, 3 children, 4 others die in road crash

2—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 3


CMYK

POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013—5

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

Okupe, Jonathan's worstenemy— Amaechi

Continues from page 1

The people who get on in this world are the peo-ple who get up and look for the circumstances theywant, and if they can’t find them, make them

— Bernard Shaw

TWO men fell on hard times. Try as they might,they couldn’t find work. They heard that a mu-

seum was willing to pay $50 apiece for live rattle-snakes so, in desperation, they decided to catchsnakes.

Outfitted with a net and basket, they hiked to aremote area renowned for its large snake popula-tion. But as they scaled a steep ledge, rock gaveway and they tumbled down a slippery bank into adeep pit crawling with rattlesnakes.

One of the men quickly sized up the situation andshouted to his friend, “Look! We’re rich! We’re rich!”I find this story hilarious but it is a very good prin-ciple to illustrate the intensity of seeing only thepossibilities in all situations. Maybe the feller inthe snake pit didn’t fully appreciate his predica-ment. But in most situations, I believe there is asunny side.

Steve Goodier puts it beautifully: “I’ve learnedthat my greatest power may well be my power tochoose my outlook.” As Abraham Lincoln wiselysaid, “most people are about as happy as they makeup their minds to be.” The truth is, I can choose toview tough times as growing times, I can choose tosee life challenges as seasoning for unfoldment,and I can choose to focus on whatever good thereis to be found in living.

NSE CLOSING BELL—From left: President, Nigerian Stock Ex-change (NSE), Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Minister of Finance and CoordinatingMinister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Chief Executive Of-ficer, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema and Minister of Communication Technology,Mrs. Omobola Johnson, ringing the Trade Closing Bell at the NSE in Lagos,week-end.

In university, they do not let you know that thegreater component from the law is learning to tol-erate fools — Doris Lessing

on the governor in aradio programme.

Describing the Presi-dential spokesman asthe worst enemy of Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathan,Amaechi, who spokethrough his media aide,Mr David Iyofor, saidOkupe was a non-issuein the nation's politicalequation.

Dr Okupe in an inter-view on Liberty FM,Kaduna, weekend, ac-

cused GovernorAmaechi of being a will-ing tool in the hands ofthe opposition. He alsoalleged that Amaechihad a hostile relation-ship with the state com-missioner of police, MrJoseph Mbu because thelatter did not allow him-self to be used byAmaechi to harass, in-timidate and punishpeople unjustly.

In his reaction yester-

day, Amaechi accusedhim of denigrating anddisparaging the personand office of the Gover-nor of Rivers State andthe Chairman of the Ni-geria Governors’ Forum.

Amaechi said: “In thepast few weeks, weelected to ignore scurril-ous statements fromOkupe, as we do notwish to, wittingly or un-wittingly, avail him witha sparring partner as hestrives, though feck-lessly yet again, to el-evate his act from an at-tack puppy to an attackdog. Moreover, like mostNigerians, we believethat Okupe is irrelevantin the political equationthat no serious-mindedperson should take seri-ously. Over time, hiscomments and state-ments are akin to somesort of notice-me mon-key dance in front of hisboss and his band ofcheerleaders.

"However, it has be-come pertinent to alertthe populace and Mr.President that the likesof Okupe represent thevery worst of PresidentJonathan's administra-tion. With an aide andadviser like Okupe,President Jonathan cer-tainly does not need anyenemies. Indeed, Okupeis more than a handful.Pray, what kind of advicewill an aide/adviser likeOkupe give to Mr Presi-dent? The earlier MrPresident purged thePresidency of characterslike Okupe, the betterfor us all.

“Okupe sank to a newlow when he falsely andindecorously claimed

that Governor Amaechiused the police to har-ass, intimidate and pun-ish people unjustly andcould not provide oneinstance or any evidenceto back up his claims.He bragged about somephantom text messagesfrom “ordinary people”whose families have suf-fered grave injustice inthe hands of Amaechiand, yet again, did nottell us the content andsenders of the text mes-sages. What does Okupetake Nigerians for? Thephantom text messagesexist only in the mind ofDoyin Okupe.

"The Presidentialspokesman then sankeven deeper as he con-descendingly de-scended to become theChief Advocate and De-fender-in-Chief of theCommissioner of Policein Rivers State, MbuJoseph Mbu, who theNational Assembly hasresolved categoricallyshould be removed fromRivers State.

Okupe and Rivers'security

“Okupe’s warped ar-gument is that the callfor the redeployment ofMbu from Rivers State bythe state government isbecause Mbu has re-fused to be a ‘tool in thehands of Amaechi’. PrayOkupe, if that is the caseand Mbu is such ‘a pro-fessional with dignity’,why then did the Houseof Representatives andthe Senate(which sent acommittee to RiversState to investigate theissues) pass two sepa-rate resolutions callingfor the immediate re-moval of Mbu from Riv-ers State? If Okupe’strend of logic is anythingto go by, his likely re-sponse would be that it’sbecause Mbu refused tobe a tool in the hands ofthe National Assembly!

"With comments likethat coming from a presi-dential aide andspokesman, Nigeriansnow have a better insightinto why Mbu is still inRivers State and contin-ues to act with impunity,in spite of the call byeminent Nigerians andthe resolution of the Na-tional Assembly thatMbu should go. Whatinterests does Mbu servefor Okupe and his co-travellers that they arebent on keeping Mbu inRivers State?

"Let us remind Okupeand his co-travellers thatit took a lot of efforts,resources and the strongpolitical will and deter-mination of GovernorAmaechi to restorepeace, security and or-der to Rivers State from

the dark days of pre-Oc-tober 2007. To destroy allthat in the name of play-ing politics portendsgrave danger for ourpolity and will do noone, more especially, thePresidency no good. Noresponsible governmentplays politics with thelives of its people.

It is certainly rude,uncharitable, ill-man-nered and hypocriticalfor Okupe to falsely andsuperciliously allegethat Amaechi is a ‘will-ing tool’ to any personor group against Presi-dent Jonathan. Wherewas Doyin Okupe whenGovernor Amaechi ledRivers electorates tooverwhelmingly givePresident Jonathan overtwo million votes, thehighest by any state inthe last presidential elec-tion?

“For the likes of Okupeand his fellow travellersin the Presidency andAbuja, GovernorAmaechi only became‘willing tool to the oppo-sition’ when he openlyrefused to cede any partand oil wells of RiversState to a neighbouringstate, and stood firmlyand resolutely to defendand fight for the rightsof Rivers people, whichhe was elected to do,anyway. For the likes ofOkupe and his ilk in thePresidency and Abuja,Governor Amaechi onlybecame ‘willing tool tothe opposition’ when he,like most other gover-nors, insisted on gover-nors and governorsalone, to determine whowould be their chairman,the Governors’ ForumChairman and not somehawks in the Presidency.Governor Amaechi’s only‘sin’, to the Okupes inthe Presidency, is hispenchant for seekingjustice and fairness forall, and his ability tospeak his mind and saythe truth at all times.This, obviously, is not inconformity with the kindof politics Okupe knowsand understands.

“It continues to baffleus, like most Nigerians,that small minds likeOkupe in a democracy,still see holding a differ-ent opinion from thePresidency on any issue

as anti-Jonathan andfighting Mr. President -a taboo and sacrilege.And any person per-ceived to be thinking dif-ferently must be cruci-fied, politically and oth-erwise.

“It is indeed a sad com-mentary on our nation’sdemocracy and unitythat a Presidential aide/spokesman would seenothing wrong andwould cavalierly dismissthe harassment, stoningand attack on eminentand esteemed visitinggovernors from theNorthern states to theircolleague and chairman,Governor Amaechi inRivers State by a mob, agroup floated, financedand promoted by a serv-ing minister in the Presi-dency. This tells a lotabout the character ofDoyin Okupe."

We will not handover partystructure— Wike

Meanwhile, the Min-ister of State for Educa-tion, Mr Nyesom Wikehas vowed not to handover the structure of thePeoples DemocraticParty, PDP, in the stateback to GovernorAmaechi.

Wike who spoke yes-terday in Ahoada, wherehe went to inauguratehis Grassroots Develop-ment Initiative, GDI,said he was aware of al-leged claims by the gov-ernor ’s camp that heshould hand over theparty’s structure as partof any reconciliation.

His words:“I waswatching television lastnight and I heard someof them saying that oneof the conditions theyhave given is that theyshould give the partystructure to the gover-nor.

“But I say we don’toperate emirate system.We don’t operate a mo-narchical system. So, wedon’t ‘dash’ out partystructure. It is the peo-ple that voted for them.So, we cannot ‘dash’ outparty structure."


Pastor’s wife, 3 children, 4 othersperish in road crash

My wife, children are resting — PastorBY WOLE MOSADOMI

MINNA — TRAGEDYstruck, Saturday night, as

at least eight persons includinga Pastor’s wife, Pastor (Mrs)Hellen Samuel, her three chil-dren, Saviour, Ensigne and Pu-rity, were reportedly killed in anauto crash in Katagbegi villageof Niger State.

The accident occured when thebus owned by the Niger StateTransport Authority they weretravelling in ran into an articu-lated truck at a bad spot alongBida-Minna road.

The family of Pastor AbrahamSamuel of the Potter PorchChurch, Minna and the otherpassengers in the bus were saidto be travelling from Lagos toMinna when the crash occuredat about 8pm, Saturday night.

The bus, according to eyewit-ness, was said to have caught fireshortly after the accident, therebymaking rescue efforts difficult.

It was, however, gathered thatonly one passenger was rescuedalive with serious burns.

Special Adviser to the NigerState Government on Emergencyand Disaster Management, Mo-hammed Shaba, confirmed thatthe eight bodies had been recov-ered from the scene of the acci-dent, even though the bus wasbelieved to be carrying 18 pas-sengers at the time of the acci-

dent.Shaba said corpses of the de-

ceased had been deposited at theMinna General Hospital.

The passengers were said tohave been burnt in the vehiclebecause the local people thatrushed for the rescue efforts

lacked the capacity to curtail thefire.

Our correspondent who wentto the church met the Pastorpreaching during yesterdy’schurch service after which heannounced the demise of his wifeand three children.

Members of the churchscreamed at the news but the Pas-tor remained calm with elders ofthe church around him.

According to Pastor Samuelwho, however, maintained sobermood “My wife and the kids areresting.”

WASTE TO WEALTH: Wife of the Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun(in black jacket) addressing participants at the flag-off of her Green Empowerment for theYouth - Waste to Wealth scheme at Opako-Adigbe refuse dump site in Abeokuta.

Lagos arrests butchers selling tuberculosis infected beefClamps down on illegal slaughter slabs

BY MONSURUOLOWOOPEJO

LAGOS — THE Lagos Stategovernment, yesterday,

arrested three butchers sell-ing tuberculosis infected beef,even as it clamped down on

three illegal slaughter slabs inthe state.

The butchers were arrestedat Alapere-Ketu axis of stateby a team of the Lagos StateEnvironmental and SpecialOffences task force, led by thechairman, Mr. Bayo Sulaiman.

The three illegal slaughterslabs were at Ajegunle,Alapere and Ajelogo.

The Senior Special Assistant,SSA, to the state governor onagriculture, Dr. NureiniFunsho, said that efforts willbe intensified to clamp downon other illegal and unhy-gienic abattoirs to safeguardthe lives of the people.

According to Funsho “gov-ernment has done so much todissuade butchers fromslaughtering infected ani-mals. And this has stopped inour over 20 legal slabs be-cause trained veterinary doc-tors are available to examineanimals before they areslaughtered.

“And if the animal had beenslaughtered before they de-tected it, the state governmentcompensates the butchers.

“Some of these butchersknow that the animals are badfor consumption but they stillslaughter them for sale atthese illegal slabs.”

Funsho also blamed the po-rous state of the country’s bor-ders, saying: “Most of the

cows slaughtered in Lagos,where traders believe thatdemands for beef is very high,are brought from neighbour-ing land-locked West Africacountries. And due to the po-rous borders in the country,the traders aren’t checked.”

On how the beef infectedwith such disease are de-tected, he said: “We havelymph nodes that expose theinner form of the disease.Once you kill an animal andopen it up, you will see that itwill not have the normal ani-mal skin colour.”

The SSA, however, urgedresidents of the state to pa-tronize legal slabs becausethe unwholesome ones aresold in the unaccreditedslabs.

Speaking earlier, Sulaimonsaid the arrested butcherswould be charged to court,adding: “It is only the courtthat will determine their fate.

“We will start the clamp-down on illegal abattoirsthroughout the state. We havewarned them and it’s time forenforcement.”

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

Huntermistakescolleaguefor antelope,kills him

ADO EKITI — THE Policehave arrested a middle

aged man, MusibauMustapha, for killing his col-league during a hunting ex-pedition.

Mustapha, 30, was said tohave mistaken his fellowhunter, Sunday Ijasa, for anantelope and released thebullet which instantlyclaimed his life a couple ofdays ago at Igbara Odo Ekitiin Ekiti South-West Local Gov-ernment Area of the state

According to the Public Re-lations Officer of the state po-lice command, Mr VictorBabayemi, in Ado Ekiti, week-end, the suspect was arrestedfollowing an allegation that hekilled the deceased whilehunting at Igbara Odo Ekiti.

According to him,Mustapha was said to havemistook the deceased for anantelope.

The police image makeradded that there were incon-sistencies in the statementmade by the suspect after pre-liminary investigations con-ducted by the police.

Babayemi further said au-topsy had been conducted onthe corpse, while investiga-tion is still on-going, addingthat the suspect will becharged to court as soon asinvestigation is completed.

Meantime, police have ar-rested two men who special-ized in car-snatching. ThePolice PRO named the sus-pects as Ajayi Gbenga andFatoki Olabode, adding thatthey were arrested by menattached to Special Anti Rob-bery Squad, SARS, on June28.

The owner of a shop at Muda Lawal area of Bauchi, Mr Henry Okafor removing waterfrom his flooded shop, in Bauchi, sunday. PHOTO: NAN.


IBB @ 72: Former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida,rtd., (left), receiving a birthday card from AlhajiAhmed Ibeto, Deputy Governor of Niger State, during Babangida's 72nd birthday celebration at his Hilltop residence inMinna, Niger State.

NCP asks 82 firms to bid for 10power plants

CBN easescollateralterms forN220bnMSME loan

IG petitioned over alleged looting of ALSCON

BY EMMA UJAH &SEBASTINE OBASI

LAWYERS, representingthe American group, BFIG,

that won the bid for AluminiumSmelter Company of Nigeria,ALSCON, in Ikot Abasi, AkwaIbom State, have petitioned theInspector-General of Police,Mohammed Abubakar, over

alleged looting of thesmelter.

The two lawyers, WoleOlanipekun and PatrickIkwueto, both Senior Advo-cates of Nigeria, SAN, havesent letters to the Inspector-General, Governor GodswillAkpabio of Akwa Ibom Stateand the Director General ofthe Bureau for Public Enter-

prises, drawing their attentionto the alleged wholesale loot-ing going on at the plant andthe implications for the owners.

In both letters, which weremade available to Vanguardlast night, the lawyers drew theattention of the Federal Gov-ernment and the security agen-cies to the Supreme Courtjudgment of last year, which

recognised BFIG, as the bonafideowner of the plant.

They pleaded that concretesteps be taken to protect and pre-serve the assets of the firm so thatthe import of the court judgmentis not defeated.

Olanipekun wrote to the IG:“Since our client is a law-abidinginstitution and company andwould not want any breakdown

of law and order in and aroundthe premises and assets ofALSCON, we hereby requestfor police assistance and pres-ence in our client’s bid to takeover ALSCON.”

Ikwueto said that the lootingspree at ALSCON, shortly af-ter the Supreme Court judg-ment, was meant to rob BFIGof the benefit of the ruling.

BY SONI DANIEL,Regional Editor, North

THE N220 billion Mi-cro Small and Me-

dium Enterprises,MSMEs, fund beingpackaged by the CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN,would be given to entre-preneurs without theconventional collateralsto make it easier forthem to access capital fortheir businesses.

CBN’s Director of De-velopment Finance, Mr.Paul Eluhaiwe, said thisat the end of the MSMEFinancing Conferenceand D-8 workshop inAbuja, weekend.

He said that entrepre-neurs would be able touse movable collateralsto secure credits from fi-nancial institutions fromnext year.

According to him, thenecessary approval ofmanagement of CBNhad been secured and“we will ensure that col-lateral registry are mov-able collateral and wewould be able to use itbeginning from next yearin this country.”

He added that CBNwanted a situation whereMSMEs would “be ableto use movable collat-eral, and we are workingwith the International Fi-nance Corporation, IFC,on this development.

“If this is done, opera-tors will be able to oper-ate because there wouldbe funds and capacitieswould be built to createsustainability in the sec-tor.

“Entrepreneurs them-selves, who are sup-posed to benefit, withmovable collateral willhave access to more fi-nancial services.”

BY EMMA UJAH,Abuja Bureau Chief

ABUJA—NO fewer than 82companies have been re-

quested to submit proposalsfor 10 power plants under theNational Independent PowerPlants, NIPPs, in the nextround of Nigeria’s electricityprivatisation programme.

In a statement obtained byVanguard yesterday, the Bu-reau for Public Enterprises,BPE, said the decision wastaken at the second jointmeeting of the NationalCouncil on Privatisation,NCP, and the Board of theNiger Delta Power HoldingCompany Limited, NDPHC,which held last Monday, Au-gust 12.

The Bureau said NCP ap-proved the pre-qualification of386 expressions of interest,EOIs, submitted by 82 of the110 consortia that earlier ex-pressed interest in the acqui-sition of 80 percent equity inthe 10 NIPP power plantsjointly owned by the Federal,

state and local govern-ments.

BPE statementAccording to the state-

ment, signed by the Headof Public Communicationsof BPE, Chigbo Anichebe,“following the evaluation,82 of the 110 submissionswere successful and havebeen approved to continueto the Request for Proposal,RFP, stage.

“The Joint Board,chaired by Vice PresidentNamadi Sambo, equallyapproved the issuance ofthe request for proposals,RFPs, to the pre-qualifiedbidders from August 19.

“The Joint Board also ap-proved the recommenda-tion of the Joint TechnicalTransaction Committee,JTTC, to allow TechnicalServices Providers, TSP,with no equity stake in theconsortia, to participate inthe privatisation processwith as many bidders as it

chooses.”

Pre-qualifiedconsortia

Some of the consortia in-clude, Omotosho Electric En-ergy Company, Sepco-PacificEnergy Partners Limited, PPNPower Generating CompanyLimited, AFC and GlobelegConsortium, AFC, Globelegand Vogeo Consortium.

Others are Spark GenerationPower Company, Calls PowerConsortium, Neon ElectricPower Consortium, CET PowerConsortium and Azura BeninGeneration Consortium.

The number of EOIs for eachof the 10 generation plants in-clude: Gbarain GenerationCompany, 46; Benin Genera-tion Company, 44; OmotoshoGeneration Company, 42;Egbema Generation Company,41; Omoku Generation Com-pany, 41 and Geregu Genera-tion Company, 39.

The others are Calabar Gen-eration Company, 37; OgorodeGeneration Company, 36;Alaoji Generation Company,30 and Olorunsogo GenerationCompany, 30.

Recall that at the close of thedeadline for the submission ofEOIs by the prospective investorson July 19, about 110 consortiasubmitted expressions of interest.

GuidelinesThereafter, two evaluation teams

were constituted to evaluate thesubmissions based on the ap-proved guidelines.

The guidelines provided that tobe technically qualified, biddersmust show evidence of experiencein operating at least 300Mw ofthermal generation plant for atleast three years and to bedeemed financially qualified,meet a tangible net worth thresh-old of $100 to $200 million de-pending on the size of plant theywish to be pre-qualified for,among other requirements.

BPE and NDPHC are partnersin the joint sale transaction proc-ess for the sale of the 10 powerplants.

While NCP and BPE are legallyauthorised to sell Federal Govern-ment’s 47 percent shares,NDPHC has the authorisation ofthe states and local governmentsto sell 53 percent of their equitiesin the power plants.


LAUNCH: From left— Mr. Ayodele Adegboye, Head, B2B Division; Mr. Brovo Kim, Managing Director, both ofSamsung Electronics West Africa, and Mr. Emeka Emuwa, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, UnionBank Plc, at the launch of Bank of the Future Solution by the bank in Lagos. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

Boko Haram: New Armydivision takes over from JTF

FG not crowding private sectorout of bond market, says DMO

ABUJA—BARELY 24 hoursafter Vanguard's exclusive

report about the establishmentof a new Infantry Division forthe Nigerian Army with head-quarters in Maiduguri, theFederal Government has di-rected that command of themilitary onslaught against ter-rorists in Borno, Yobe andAdamawa states be taken overby the Army Headquarters.

The new Division, headed byMajor General Obida Etnan,will take over the new phase ofthe battle to continue the coun-ter-insurgency operation withimmediate effect.

A statement to this effect yes-terday, entitled JTF HandsOver to New Army Division, bythe Director of Defence Infor-mation, Brigadier GeneralChris Olukolade, noted thatthe development was in linewith the plans laid out for theconduct of the operations toexecute the mandate spelt outin the state of emergency dec-laration by the President.

Incidentally, the takeover iscoming three months into thesix-month first phase of themission to stamp out terrorismin the North-East.

The statement read: “Thecommand of the ongoing inter-nal security operations in theNorth-East will tomorrow (to-day) enter a new phase as thecontrol of the mission reverts tothe Army Headquarters.

“Accordingly, a new Army Di-vision has been created andwill take off to continue thecounter-insurgency operationwith immediate effect.

“Coming three months intothe mission to stamp out ter-rorism in the North-East, thisdevelopment is in line with theplans laid out for the conductof the operations to execute themandate spelt out in the stateof emergency declaration bythe President and Commander-

in-Chief.“The phase being concluded

on Monday was executed by aJoint Task Force, JTF, composedby troops drawn from the serv-ices of the Armed Forces as wellas other security agencies whoconducted Operation BOYONA.

“The acronym for the codename, Operation BOYONA, isderived from the names of thethree states of Borno, Yobe andAdamawa, covered by the stateof emergency declaration.

“The effort was meant to con-stitute the first phase of thecounter-terrorists operation.

“The Nigerian Army willnow be solely in charge of theoperations, but still under theroutine guidance of the De-fence Headquarters.

“A General Officer Com-manding, GOC, in the rank ofMajor General, is being pro-posed to command the newDivision, which will have itsHeadquarters in Maiduguri.

“He is due to take over Com-mand and the assets of the

BY KINGSLEYOMONOBI

Headquarters of the JointTask Force.

“The new Division is to con-tinue with the conduct ofcounter-terrorists operationsin the North-East, whichcomes under its Area of Re-sponsibility.”

THE Debt ManagementOffice, DMO, has dis-

missed allegations that theFederal Government wascrowding out private sectorfrom the bond market.

Director-General of DMO,Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, whospoke weekend in Lagos, alsosaid that the Federal Govern-ment had been able to diver-sify its holding of FGN bondsas the foreign investors’ hold-ings in FGN securities at theend of December 2012amounted to US $5.112 bil-lion, compared to aboutUS$500 million at the end ofJanuary 2012.

On the allegation that Fed-eral Government was crowd-ing out private sector from thebond market, Dr. Nwankwosaid: “How can the FederalGovernment crowd-out the

private sector from a marketwhich was not in existence?

“We should remember thatbefore 2000, the bond marketdid not exist in Nigeria, andit was the Federal Governmentthat created and developedthe market.”

Nwankwo spoke to news-men during a one-day retreatprogrammes organised for edi-tors and finance correspond-ents in Lagos.

He said that the FederalGovernment hadd reduced itsdomestic borrowing to allowthe private sector have accessto funds in both local and in-ternational market.

He said: “Market basedfunding of the Federal Gov-ernment’s financing needsstarted in 2003, and thatmarked a turning point in do-mestic debt transformation.

“The initiatives include tenorelongation and establishmentof sovereign yield curve of

three months to 20 yearsthereby creating a market forlong term funds;

“The diversification of theholding structure of FGN se-curities to achieve about 93 per-cent non-Central Bank of Ni-geria holding, while the bal-ance of about six percent is be-ing held by CBN through itsoperations in the discount win-dow of the secondary market;

“Streamlining and restructur-ing of the different types ofoutstanding debts instruments;and regular issuance of bondsand development of active sec-ondary market for FGN Bonds,among others.”

He said that the achieve-ments recorded in the devel-opment of the domestic debtmarket had led to the recogni-tion and endorsement of theFGN Bond market by reputa-ble international financialinstitutions,such as JP Morganand Barclays Capital.

BY BABAJIDE KOMO-LAFE & PETER EGWUATU


APC to Presidency: Tell Nigerians whyPDP govts failed to deliver in 14 years

BY VICTORAHIUMA-YOUNG

Pay our benefits, federal retirees inLagos beg FG

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

LAWMA urges parents to makechildren imbibe clean habits

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

2,000 receivefree medicarein Lagos

LAGOS—THE All Progres-sives Congress, APC, has

challenged the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, andpresidency's spokesmen, Dr.Doyin Okupe, and Dr. ReubenAbati, to tell Nigerianswhy the ruling party hasfailed to deliver in the 14 yearsit has ruled, instead of ped-dling concocted tales about theopposition. Interim National PublicitySecretary of the party, AlhajiLai Mohammed, in a state-ment, yesterday, also askedthe Presidency to tell Nigeri-ans why it allegedly defiedIndependent National Elector-al Commission, INEC's, rulesby continuing to campaign forthe 2015 elections.

APC called on INEC to sanc-tion any party that violates itsban on early campaigns for the2015 elections, in view of theFirst Lady's phantom peacerally that was actually a facadefor electioneering campaign, ifINEC’s ban on such cam-paigns is to be taken serious-ly.

The party said: ’’These arewhat Nigerians are interestedin, not continuous muck-rak-ing about opposition leaderslike General MuhammaduBuhari and Asiwaju BolaAhmed Tinubu. For example,Nigerians want to know whythe country can still not feeditself after 14 years of endlesspromises by the PDP; Nigeri-ans want to know why theycannot be protected by theirgovernment when the securi-

ty of lives and property is therason d’etre of any govern-ment.

’’Nigerians want to knowwhy over 40 million youthscannot get jobs under a gov-ernment that gleefully touts asix percent GDP growth. Ni-gerians want to know how400,000 barrels of oil are be-ing stolen daily and who thethieves are. Nigerians want

to know why the country ismore divided than ever, underthe watch of President Good-luck Jonathan, and why cor-ruption has become a biggermonster in the years under thePDP.

’’The 2015 elections will befought on the platform of is-sues, not meaningless attackson personalities and attention-diverting tales like how Gen-

eral Buhari wants to stage acomeback, or how AsiwajuTinubu wants to expand hisimaginary empire.’’

APC said the reason its lead-ers have put national interestsabove personal considerationsis to rescue Nigeria from theclutches of the PDP and a me-diocre presidency, both ofwhich have failed the citizen-ry and dimmed their hopes,not because of power-for-pow-er sake, which, it said, is themantra of the PDP.

"Our eight cardinal pro-grammes, which we shall bearticulating in the days ahead,represent a summary of howwe intend to rescue the long-suffering citizens as well asour nation. These are WarAgainst Corruption, Food se-curity, Accelerated Power Sup-ply, Integrated Transport Net-work, Free Education, Devo-lution of Power, AcceleratedEconomic Growth and Afford-able Health Care.

’’Our guiding philosophywill derive its impetus fromthese seven principles: Beliefin, and the fear of God; Up-holding the rule of law; Pre-serving national unity; Pur-suit of a just and egalitariansociety; Building of strong in-stitutions; Commitment to so-cial justice and economicprogress; and Promoting rep-resentative and functional par-ticipatory democracy.

‘’These are the issues wewill be enunciating in thedays ahead as we steer thepolitics of our nation awayfrom jejune matters that are atthe core of the PDP misrule toserious issues of relevancethat will benefit our peopleunder an APC federal govern-ment,’’ the party said.

LAGOS—FEDERAL Gov-ernment pensioners in

Lagos, under the umbrella ofthe Federal Civil Servantsbranch, of the Nigeria Unionof Pensioners, NUP, Lagos,weekend, pleaded with theFederal Government to paytheir pensions and other ben-efits, lamenting that they hadbeen going through difficulttimes.

Representatives of the over10, 000 Federal Civil Serviceretirees in Lagos spoke to Van-guard, at the Nigeria LabourCongress, NLC, office, Yaba,venue of the election of offi-cials into the Federal CivilServants Lagos branch of theNigeria Union of Pensioners,NUP. They said some of themhad not been paid since 1996when they retired.

Mr. Dele Joseph was elect-ed Chairman of the branchamidst protests from oppo-nents who claimed to have

been disenfranchised.Among the retirees who

spoke were Muftau Baruwa,retired senior foreman in theFederal Ministry of Works andHousing, who retired 11 yearsand three months ago, Mrs.Thompson Imakop, a retireefrom the National Bureau ofStatistics, who retired in 2007and Afolabi Shotimbo, a reti-ree from Federal Ministry of

Information and National Ori-entation, downsized by theOlusegun Obasanjo's govern-ment in 2006' after 22 years ofservice.

According to Baruwa, “As wespeak, I have never been paida kobo, both my gratuity andpension. I have been to hos-pital twice since my retire-ment. During this period, Ilost my father, my mother andone of my sons. Please, appealto government to consider me."

LAGOS—LAGOS WasteManagement Authority,

LAWMA, has stressed the needfor parents, guardians and op-erators in the private sector toinculcate the habit of environ-mental cleanliness in the youngones in the spirit of catchingthem young at the formativestage aimed at enhancinghealthier and safer environmentin the state.

The Acting Managing Direc-tor of LAWMA, Mrs. AbimbolaOgun, gave the charge at theweekend, during the secondedition of the “Waste To Food”initiative programme in collab-oration with private partners,held at Agege Stadium, AgegeLocal Government Area.

She also appealed to studentsand their parents to buy into en-vironmental advocacy pro-gramme of the state governmentin the overall interest of thepublic.

BY JONAHNWOKPOKU

VISIT: former Head of State/Chairman, Nigeria Prays, General Yakubu Gowon (left), re-ceiving a plaque from Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle) and his Dep-uty, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, when General Gowon visited the governor, at Government House,Osogbo, yesterday.

LAGOS—DOCTORSon Air Medical

Mission have providedfree health care servicesto over 2,000 people inYaba Local Council De-velopment Area of LagosState.

The programme, whichwas organised in con-junction with Classic,Beat and Naija FM, La-gos and sponsored byPathcare Nigeria Limit-ed, provided health careservices ranging fromregular ailments to se-vere health problemssuch as diabetes, hyper-tension and kidney dis-eases.

Speaking to Vanguardat the programme, theGeneral Manger, Clas-sic and Naija Fm, DejiAwokoya, said the pro-gramme was a way ofgiving back to the socie-ty and attending to thepressing health needs ofNigerians.

NRC tocommencemovement ofcontainerfreights fromApapa toKaduna, Kano

BY JONAHNWOKPOKU

NIGERIA RailwayC o r p o r a t i o n ,

NRC, will on Friday, flagoff the movement of con-tainer freights from APMterminal in Apapa Port toInland Container Niger-ia Limited, ICNL, depotsin Kaduna and Kano.

A statement from thedepartment of Public Re-lations of the corpora-tion, said that 20 wagonscarrying 20 to 40 contain-ers would be moved pertrip with the intention ofincreasing it to threetrips in a week.

It noted that the com-mencement of the con-tainer traffic would helpin decongesting theports as well as facilitat-ing the establishmentand use of Inland Con-tainer Depots, ICDs,along the track corridors.


NCC to complete Ekiti emergency centrethis year —REP

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

I’ve no plans to dump APC —Lanlehin

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

Sit up or risksanctions,Ogun warnshealthworkers

APC factionflaysAmosun’sendorsementfor secondterm

Aregbesola lauded on political leadership

ADO EKITI —CHAIR-MAN, House of Repre-

sentatives Committee on Com-munications, Mr. OyetundeOjo, has promised people of EkitiState that the Nigerian Commu-nications Commission, NCC, willcomplete the emergency centrein the state before the end of thisyear. He said the commission hasbuilt emergency centres acrossthe country to assist people whoare in distress to call for help incases of robbery, fire and otheremergencies.

Ojo, who made the promise atIkole Ekiti, weekend, pointed outthat the programme has taken offin Awka, Anambra State andMinna, in Niger State.

He, however, noted that theproject will be deployed in the36 states of the federation.

According to him, other sta-tions, including that of Ekiti,would be completed before theend of this year.

The lawmaker further warnedthat the NCC will not relent inimposing sanctions on any tele-communication company that

engages in sharp practices in Ni-geria.

The All Progressives Congresslawmaker, however, observedthat incessant damage to the com-panies’ service stations remainsa great task that must be tackledat all costs in the country.

The lawmaker, who is repre-senting Ekiti Central FederalConstituency 2 at the NationalAssembly, said Nigerians maycontinue to witness poor networkservices, except the rampant cas-es of ‘robbery, vandalism, fireand bombing of the stations are

BY OLA AJAYI

HEAD of Mission andCharge d’Affaires of the

Nigerian Embassy in the Re-public of Cote D’Ivoire, Mr.Jack Akiniyenle Bassey, hasdescribed the Governor ofOsun State, Ogbeni Rauf Ar-egbesola, as a highly ratedpolitical and administrativeleader in Nigeria.

The commendation wasmade in Abidjan, CoteD’Ivoire, weekend, when Ar-egbesola paid a courtesy visitto the Nigerian Embassywhere he was received by theNigerian diplomatic team inthe French-speaking West Af-

rican country.The career diplomat, who

played host to the governor atthe Nigerian House, notedthat the Osun governor has re-defined governance with hispeople-oriented programmes.

Bassey, who remarked thathe was meeting Governor Ar-egbesola for the first time,made reference to media re-ports he had read about theactivities of the governor’s ad-ministration and submittedthat the Osun governor ishighly rated among all politi-cal leaders.

He stated further that as a

civil servant and diplomat, hisduty was to serve all govern-ments no matter the politicalparty adding that he was gladto receive Governor Aregbeso-la and other high profilemembers of his team compris-ing Senator Mudashir Hus-sein, Speaker of the State ofOsun House of Assembly,Hon. Najeem Salaam, legis-lators and other dignitariesduring the period of his stew-ardship as the Charge de Af-fairs in the Embassy where heis holding the forte pendingthe appointment of a substan-tive Ambassador.

A B E O K U TA — AFACTION of the

newly registered All Pro-gressives Congress,APC, in Ogun State, loy-al to a former governorof the state, Chief Oluse-gun Osoba, has con-demned the purportedthe second term endorse-ment of governor Ibikun-le Amosun by anotherfaction of the party, de-scribing it as nullity.

The faction, under theaegis of Action Group,insisted that the endorse-ment by former local gov-ernment Chairmen of thedefunct ACN in the statemust be repeated withthe approval of ChiefOsoba, who it describedas a national leader of theparty.

This was stated, week-end by spokesman of thegroup, Mr. AdekunleAdeyemi, a member ofthe House of Represent-atives representing Ifo-Ewekoro Federal Con-stituency.

OGUN State Gov-ernment has said it

will no longer be busi-ness as usual in thehealth sector.

It advised medical per-sonnel in its servicesagainst dereliction of du-ties, unethical and sharppractices, warning thatsanctions would be im-posed on violators of rulesand regulations of thesector.

In a statement by thestate Commissioner forHealth, Dr. OlaokunSoyinka, the governmentreiterated its commitmentto the welfare of its work-ers, noting that this in-formed the policy of theAmosun-led administra-tion to pay salaries as andwhen due and create awork-friendly environ-ment for its employees.

“The present govern-ment not only cleared thebacklog of salaries inher-ited from the previousadministration but hasinvested massively in re-habilitation of dilapidat-ed infrastructures,” hesaid.

FUNERAL SERVICE: From left: Evangelist Joseph Famuyide, Deaconess Deborah Fa-muyide, Mrs Ester Obadare and Pastor Abiola Obadare, children, during the funeral servicein honour of the late CAC General Evangelist and WOSEM Director, Apostle Timothy Oba-dare, in Ilesha, Osun State, weekend. Photo: Dare Fasube.

checked.He equally urged Nigerians to

treat telecommunication equip-ment as critical national infra-structures like those of PowerHolding Company of Nigeria, forimproved service in the sector.

Ondo oil-producing communities allege neglect

IBADAN—FOLLOWINGthe strained relationship

between Senator Olufemi Lan-lehin, representing Oyo Southin the National Assembly andGovernor Abiola Ajimobi, thesenator has said he had no in-tention of leaving the newlyformed All Progressives Con-gress, APC.

The comments of the sena-tor were contained in a state-ment issued by a group, APCYouth Volunteer Forum, led byits state coordinator, PrinceRafiu Omotoye.

He described as self-defeat-ing and regrettable, the al-leged way some people with-in the corridor of power in thestate allegedly tried to “outdoone another in a bid to rundown a reliable and provenleader of the progressives witha view to fighting the causeof a second term in office forthe governor.

He said: “We have watched

with keen interest the scenar-io whereby some favour-seek-ing individuals, misuse andabuse their closeness to theAgodi Government House toembark on overt and covertmoves to hijack the APC struc-ture even before the proper

take off of the activities of ournew great party.

“We condemn the attempts ofsome party renegades toblackmail a serving senatorwhose past and present con-tributions to democracy andparty politics in the country

cannot but be commended.“We recall that Senator Lan-

lehin was highly instrumen-tal to the repositioning of theparty in Oyo State before theprogressives could match theantics of the PDP in the stateprior to the 2011 elections.”

BY DAYO JOHNSON

AKURE—LEADERS fromthe rich oil-producing

communities of Ondo Statehave cried out over the neglectof the communities in the ex-ecution of developmentalprojects by the Ministry of theNiger Delta Affairs.

They said that projects run-

ning into billions of nairawere awarded by the minis-try in towns and communitiesoutside its mandate areas ofIlaje and Ese-Odo Local Gov-ernment Area.

According to them, commu-nities in the two oil produc-ing local governments werenot attended to by the Minis-try.

Spokesman of the communi-ties, a former Special Assist-

ant to the President on YouthMatters, Mr. Kolade Akinjo,speaking with newsmen, saidthe people had made severalcomplaints to the ministryover the neglect of the area.

Akinjo said developmentalprojects were being executedin Irele and Okitipupa LocalGovernment Areas to the det-riment of the mandate areas.

According to him, theprojects were awarded in the

ministry ’s 2013 budget,whereas no provision wasmade for Ilaje and Ese-OdoLocal Government Areas inthe appropriation, contrary tothe spirit behind the creationof the ministry.

Akinjo said the ministryshould have given priority tothe mandate areas which hadbeen ravaged by underdevel-opment and the effect of theoil production.


PDP ‘ll come out of crises stronger—Bayelsa chieftain

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

YENAGOA—THE Organ-ising Secretary of Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP, inBayelsa State, Mr. AlfredImbasi, weekend, said that theparty would come out strongerfrom its crisis.

Imbasi in an interview inYenagoa, assured that Gover-nor Seriake Dickson will de-liver on his assignment aschairman of PDP Reconcilia-tion Committee, describing

him as “a man with an un-common zeal” to succeed inall his undertakings.

He said that the crisiswithin the party would notcause disintegration but en-able the different groups ap-preciate the untiring efforts ofGovernor Dickson and hisnational reconciliation com-mittee in their efforts to forgea united front.

The PDP chieftain urgedthose with different views totake a look at the changes thegovernor had brought to the

state in less than two years inoffice as governor, citing hisdedication to the course oftransforming Bayelsa State tothe envy of other states in thecountry.

“I have no doubt in my mindthat Governor Dickson willdeliver on his national assign-ment, because I have knownhim to be a man with a zeal todo well in everything he ap-plies himself to and this is noexception because he is a com-mitted party member and hehas displayed that loyalty

many times.“Dickson is a man with an

uncommon zeal and he is aserious person who goes abouthis job by first engaging incareful study of the situationto enable him apply the bestmethods to achieve the de-sired result.”

He urged all those troubledabout the governor’s absenceon national assignment torest assured that BayelsaState would not suffer anyadverse consequences.

No grudge against College of Education staff, says GovUduaghan

BY EMMA ARUBI

WARRI—GOVERNOREmmanuel Uduaghan

of Delta State has said that hebears no grudge against anystaff of the College of Educa-tion, Warri for giving evidenceagainst him in the course of liti-gations challenging his re-election as governor for a sec-ond tenure at the election tri-

bunal.He also said that he sup-

ported the demolition of shan-ties around the Collage be-cause it “encouragescriminalities, prostitution andother social vices.”

He noted that the state gov-ernment will build hostels forthe school as it was not safeand proper for students to livein an unhealthy environment,which explaineed why the

government was spending somuch on the education sectorbecause of the priority ac-corded the sector.

Governor Uduaghan at the19th convocation ceremony ofthe College in Warri, said thatrumours that he bore grudgeagainst some staff was mis-conceived as he had forgivenall those that stood againsthim during his trying period.

The ceremony which also

featured the award for Edu-cation Excellence on threepioneer students now Profes-sors, Nwose Chukwuma, Al-exander Ohunyon andBenjamin Okaba in differentfields of studies and businesswas witnessed by a cross sec-tion of important personalitiesand the representative of theOlu of Warri, OgiameAtuwatse 11.

Oba of Benin seeks dividends of democracy in Edo SouthBY SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN CITY — THEBenin monarch, Oba

Erediauwa, weekend, taskedelected political office holdersin Edo South senatorial dis-trict of the state not to disap-point the Bini electorate byensuring that they provide thedividends of democracy to thepeople.

The Oba who singled out the

deputy governor of the state,Dr. Pius Odubu as a good ex-ample of a hard working poli-tician worthy of emulation,stressed the need for electedoffice holders to fulfil theircampaign promises to the peo-ple, so as to stand a chance ofbeing re-elected by the peo-ple.

The monarch spoke throughthe chairman of the BeninForum, Chief David Edebiri,when the forum honoured the

deputy governor of the state,Dr. Pius Odubu and the sevenlocal government chairmen inEdo South and their council-lors at the palace of the Obaof Benin.

Speaking on the occasion,Chief Edebiiri, said: “Today’sevent is organised by theBenin Forum on behalf of theOba of Benin to honour someof his subjects, who were re-cently elected on two separateoccasions.”

First, the deputy governor(Odubu), who was electedalong with the governor at apopular election on July 142012.

“Odubu deserves this honourhaving regard to his many yearsof meritorious service, first as afederal legislator and now twotime deputy governor of the state.He has greatly influenced thepolitics of Edo state with his hu-mane nature and high sense ofresponsibility.

EmerhorcongratulatesBlessingOkagbare

AN ALL Progres-sives Congress,

APC, aspirant for DeltaCentral senatorial dis-trict by-election,Olorogun O’tegaEmerhor has congratu-lated Delta State bornathlete, BlessingOkagbare for doingUrhobos in particularand Delta State in gen-eral proud, in Moscow.

The Sapele born ath-lete, Blessing Okagbare,on Friday in Moscow,did Nigeria proud in the14th edition of the IAAFworld championships bywinning another medal.

Commenting on theperformance of BlessingOkagbare, OlorogunEmerhor, said: “I amproud of her; she shouldbe celebrated by all Ni-gerians. I want to tell ourdaughter, BlessingOkagbare that the peo-ple of Delta Centralsenatorial district areproud of her, she hasbrought joy and pride tothe district.

“We will do everythingto encourage her. Twomedals in the worldchampionships is worthcelebrating.”

Ijaw groupsdemandnew electoralcommittee

WARRI — TWOIjaw groups,

weekend, called on theIjaw National Congress,INC, the apex Ijawgroup, to dissolve theparallel electoral com-mittees set up by rivalfactions of the Ijaw YouthCouncil, IYC, and con-stitute a fresh electoralcommittee to stem thecrisis rocking the youthbody.

The groups, Ijaw Peo-ple Development Initia-tive, IPDI, and NationalAssociation of Izon-EbeLaw Students, NAILS,led by Austin Ozobo andEbi Wayas respectively,commended INC for sus-pending the controver-sial IYC election and set-ting up a committee toresolve the crisis.

They blamed the crisisrocking IYC on externalinterference and attemptby some overzealousIjaw leaders to foist theirwish on the youth body.

BY EMMA AMAIZE

LAUNCH: From left, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, National Treasurer, Afenifere; Dr. Joe Okei - Odumakin, president, Campaign forDemocracy (CD); Mr. Niyi Adesanya, president, Fifthgear Plus, and Mr. Femi Adesina, president, the Nigerian Guild ofEditors at the launching of Meeting Point, in Lagos.

12—Vanguard, MONDAYDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013

Odiase, composer of national anthem neglected, family cries out

THE FAMILY of Pa BenedictOdiase, the composer of the

national anthem, who passed onat Lagos University TeachingHospital, LUTH on June 11,2013, has cried out that govern-ments and individuals were notdoing enough to immortaliseOdiase.

The family in a statement, said“there had been relentless effortsby the family through its CentralBurial Planning Committee togive a befitting burial, particu-larly as August 23- 25, 2013, theburial dates fast approach.

“The family has reached out tosome appropriate governmentauthorities but surprisingly onlythe Nigeria Police Force has re-

sponded and has been directlyinvolved in the efforts to immor-talise this iconic personage of his-toric national interest.

“This unsettling quietness by

the respective authorities viz-a-viz the pressing enquiries ofthe Nigerian people to confirmthe position and attitude of theFederal Government to the

Mrs Jonathan arrives PH, en routeOkrika for family matters

PORT HARCOURT —THE country’s FirstLady, Mrs. Patience

Jonathan, arrived PortHarcourt, Rivers State, yester-day, for a three day visit.

Police Public Relations Of-ficer in the state, AngelaAgabe, told Vanguard, thatthe First Lady, on arrival, was

immediately flown from theairport to Okrika, her home,adding that she was in herhome town over issues relat-ing to the death of her mother,late Madam Charity Oba.

Before her arrival, there washeavy Police presence onsome major roads in PortHarcourt.

The police and other secu-rity operatives had mounted

surveillance on her residenceon Bauchi Road in the oldGRA end of Port Harcourt.

They had also erected bar-ricades at the two ends of theroad. Though vehicles wereallowed to drive through theroad, which is a one way traf-fic, there were fears that traf-fic may be diverted from theroad when she arrives.

E-governance institutionalises credibility in Delta, says Gov Uduaghan

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

ASABA—GOVERNORE m m a n u e lUduaghan of Delta

State, said, yesterday, that hehas institutionalised pru-dence, credibility and open-ness with the e-governance

policy of his administration.He spoke, while declaring

open, the public service lec-ture as part of activities linedup to mark the 2013 PublicService Week celebration inthe state.

Represented by the stateCommissioner, Bureau forSpecial Duties, Dr. Tony

Nwaka, the governor said thathis administration sees thecivil service as the engineroom of the state economy andhas been providing them withnecessary tool, including ex-posure to modem trends forenhanced performance.

Groupfaultsoverseascourse forDeltalawmakers

By JOSEPH ERUNKE

ABUJA—A group inDelta North senato-

rial zone, ‘Anioma VoiceWorldwide,’ has kickedagainst the on-goingleadership course bymembers of the stateHouse of Assembly in theUnited States of America,describing the exercise asa misplaced priority.

The group expresseddisappointment with nineof its representatives par-ticipating in the courseand demanded explana-tions for their involve-ment in the foreigncourse without first seek-ing the views of the elec-torate on the desirabilityor otherwise of the pro-gramme.

The Anioma group, in astatement by its Board ofTrustees in Abuja, expressed“utter disappointment in theconduct of our nine electedrepresentatives in the stateAssembly regarding the un-necessary and wasteful ven-ture undertaken by the en-tire members of the stateHouse of Assembly in thename of ‘capacity buildingleadership course.”

UNESCOnames PHWorld Bookcapital

PORT HARCOURT— RIVERS State

Government has renovated100 libraries ahead of nextyear, when Port Harcourtwill assume the UNESCOWorld Book capital 2014.

Festival Director, KokoKalango, in Port Harcourt,said that the 100 book clubswould be set up in primaryand secondary schools inPort Harcourt as part of ac-tivities lined up to celebratethe emergence of PortHarcourt as UNESCOWorld Book capital 2014.

Kalango said the movewould stimulate interest inreading among students,adding that the annualGarden City literary festi-val had been changed toPort Harcourt Book festivalas part of effort to consoli-date the city’s reputationfor literary activities.

She added that in severalGarden Cities in the world,the name Port Harcourtbook festival would eraseconfusion about, where thegarden city festival holdsbecause there is only onePort Harcourt.

DINNER: Chief Adebayo Sarumi, former Managing Director of NPA and boardChairman of Nigerian Shippers' Council (left), chatting with a guest, at a din-ner for stakeholders, organised by the board and management of the Council,weekend. Photo: Godfrey Bivbere

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

DeltaSenatorialby-election:Withdraw,UPC tellsAmori....I will run,Amori insistsUGHELLI — AS the jostle for

who takes over the Delta Cen-tral Senatorial seat, which became va-cant due to the death of Senator PiusEwherido heats up, the leadership ofthe Urhobo Political Congress, UPC,has advised the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, candidate in the 2011 elec-tion, Chief Ighoyota Amori not to con-test the forthcoming by-election.

Chief Amori, who is the Na-tional Chairman of UPC, how-ever, insisted that he would par-ticipate in the election, reiterat-ing that it was an opportunity forhim to reclaim the senatorial man-date allegedly given to him in2011 by his people.

Amori in a text message, said:“I am in the race; opinion of oneman cannot deter me from run-ning.

“Withdraw for who? All inter-ested UPC members were re-quested to present themselves forassessment before we can choosewho is more qualified electorally.

“So, the personal opinion of oneindividual, who does not like myface from the beginning of poli-tics, is irrelevant to our collectiveresolve. I can assure you that Iwill win as we have been askedto face the party primaries ofPDP.”

Leadership of the group after ameeting with the former Secre-tary to the Delta State Govern-ment, SSG, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege, based their insistence onChief Amori’s withdrawal fromthe race on the need for PDP andUPC to present a more accept-able candidate for wresting thesenatorial seat from DemocraticPeoples Party, DPP.

Abuja students endorse Glo Bounce

GLO BOUNCE, the revo-lutionary youth product

launched recently by nationaloperator, Globacom, has con-tinued to receive the commen-dations of student union lead-ers across the country.

Just like in Lagos where stu-dent union leaders of the Uni-versity of Lagos, Lagos StateUniversity and Lagos Poly-technic hailed the launch of

the package and recom-mended it to students acrossthe country, student unionleaders of three higher insti-tutions in Abuja commendedGlobacom for introducing theBounce package.

The union leaders who werefrom the University of Abuja,Dorben Polytechnic, Abuja andCollege of Education, Abuja,said Glo had, through the

burial arrangements of this greatpatriot, necessitates this requestfor the concerned authorities’due respect and value for patri-otism.

product, once more demon-strated that it was the most in-novative telecommunicationsoperator in the country and thatit had the interest of studentsand youths generally at heart.

They spoke at the launch ofGlo Bounce at Sheraton Hotel,Abuja, weekend. The studentleaders described it as apocket-friendly product whichwill greatly assist students.


NULGE opposes caretaker c'ttees in Imo, Abia,Anambra LGs

Era of abandoned projects over — FGBY CHIDI NKWOPARA

OWERRI—THE FederalGovernment has instituted

a mechanism that will checkcontractors and monitore theMillennium Development Goals,MDGs, to stave off poorimplementation or abandonmentof projects nationwide.

Senior Special Assistant to the

President on MillenniumDevelopment Goals, SSAP-MDG,Dr. Precious Gbeneol, madegovernment’s position known,weekend, while commissioningtwo primary health care centres,PHCs, and a water scheme.

Gbeneol said: “The era of poorimplementation andabandonment of projects are overas the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’sadministration has successfully

put in place a mechanism thatwill effectively place bothcontractors and officialsmonitoring MDG projects inproper check.”

Gbeneol also used the outingto launch what she termed“enhancing citizens’engagement protocol foraccelerating the attainment ofthe MDGs in Nigeria”, alsoknown as “Amebo”.

Explaining what Amebo wasall about, Gbeneol said it woulddeepen communityengagement by scaling upcitizens’ action for participatorygovernance and developmentas a means of increasing thedrive to achieve the MDGs inNigeria.

While explaining that theprotocol was designed todevelop and strengthen toolsand mechanisms to ensure thatvoices of the communitiesbecame part of the decisionmaking process, Gbeneol saidit would further seek to ensurethat communities influenced theoutcomes of developmentprojects, as well as enhancelocal government authorities’responsiveness to communitydemand.

She added that the project,being piloted in 21 local councilareas through the ConditionalGrant Scheme, CGS, of theOffice of the Senior SpecialAssistant to the President onMDGs, would furthercomplement government effortsin institutionalisingtransparency, accountability andentrench good governance inproject implementation.

BY TONY EDIKE

ENUGU—THE NationalUnion of Local Government

Employees, NULGE, South EastZone has condemned theconstitution of caretakercommittees in Imo, Anambra andAbia states, saying thearrangement was a violation ofthe constitution.

NULGE noted that Nigerianconstitution clearly prescribedthat the administration of thethird-tier of government shouldbe handled by democraticallyelected chairmen, stressing that

the use of caretaker committeeswas working against the progressof the councils.

The union, which made thisknown in a communiqué signedby its National Vice President,Comrade Akaji Aji and EnuguNULGE President, MrsLotachukwu Aneke, said: “Theconstitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria guarantees“democratically elected chairmenand councillors at the localgovernment level.

"The zone condemned the useof caretaker committees in Abia,Anambra and Imo states and

urged them to emulate theEnugu and Ebonyi states".

According to him, the zonecommended Anambra Stategovernor, Mr. Peter Obi forpaying arrears of pension andgratuity to local governmentretirees and teachers.

Akaji also said the associationexpressed concern over thealarming rate of graduateunemployment in the SouthEast and called on stategovernments to quickly put inplace necessary measures thatwould ameliorated thesituation.

Court stopsEbonyi LG poll

BY PETER OKUTU

ABAKALIKI—THE localgovernment poll

scheduled to hold onSeptember 28 may have hit therocks, following a FederalHigh Court injunctionrestraining Ebonyi StateIndependent ElectoralCommission, EBSIEC, fromconducting the election .

The Federal High Court inPort Harcourt on August 7issued an injunction to therespondents, IndependentNational ElectoralCommission, INEC, EBSIECand Ebonyi State House ofAssembly overriding thedecision to conduct theforthcoming LGA polls.

In suit, the applicants,comprising ProgressivePeople’s Alliance, PPA, Mr.Okechuku Obor and Mrs.Ebere Samuel Uche Udeogu,in an affidavit prayed thecourt, among other orders, togrant “a stay of all matters towhich this application relatespending the determination ofthe substantive application forjudicial review or until thishonourable court directsotherwise in accordance withrules of this court.”


EthiopiaAirlines beginsinternationalflights fromEnugu airport

LG autonomy: APC leadership anti-people— PDP

BY HENRY UMORU

A B U J A — N AT I O N A Lleadership of Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday,described governors of the newlyregistered All ProgressivesCongress, APC, as anti-people andundemocratic for opposing theproposed financial autonomy forlocal governments in the country.

Speaking with newsmen, theNational Auditor of PDP, AlhajiAdewole Adeyanju, who noted thestiff opposition of the APCgovernors to the proposedautonomy as being championed bythe House of Representatives,however, called on the members ofthe Nigerian Union of LocalGovernment Employes, NULGE,to rise against what he describedas the undemocratic posture of thegovernors.

He said: “We are under ademocratic rule and not in a militaryera. Under a democratic system ofgovernment anywhere in theworld, majority always carry theday.

“Now, the National Assembly,which is saddled with theresponsibility of making laws forthe good governance of the countryhas spoken, the members of theNational Assembly weredemocratically elected from the 36states of the federation and theFederal Capital Territory, FCT,Abuja, so why should the APC beagainst the wishes and aspirations

of the people?"Is the APC governors telling

the nation that they are abovethe laws of the land or want theirown minority view to prevail onthe majority views? This islaughable and undemocratic.

“My appeal is that themembers of the NULGE andthe general public should riseagainst the APC for opposingthe much desired autonomy forthe LGAs. They should reject

the party at the polls because ifby mistake the party is given themandate to govern the country,God forbid, Nigerians shouldexpect the worst.

"As a democrat, I’m always onthe side of the people. To me,the National Assembly hasdone the right thing because itwill spread developments, theLGAs will no longer wait forgovernors to dictate to them thetypes of projects or programmes

to embark upon as it is beingpractised now, despite the fact thatour constitution recognises threetiers of government.”

Adeyanju alleged that the APCgovernors knew how they hadbeen cornering monthlyallocations of the LGAs from theFederal Government, adding thatthe posture explained why thegovernors would go to any lengthto oppose the autonomy for theirselfish and personal interest.

Honesty, patrotism key to Nigeria's devt — RIBADU

Ex-envoy laments politicization of foreign service

BY LEVI NWABUGHIOGU

ABUJA—FORMER Chairmanof Economic and Financial

Crimes Commission, EFCC, andpresidential candidate of ActionCongress of Nigeria in 2011general elections, Malam NuhuRibadu, yesterday, said Nigeriacould only survive when thecitizens and leadership of thecountry uphold the virtue ofhonesty and patriotism.

Ribadu, who spoke whiledelivering a lecture, titled “Nigeria:A Generation’s Quest for Home”,said what Nigeria needed to bedeveloped was not mere changeof leadership for a realization of thelofty potentials of the youths andgood governance.

He also stated that leaders withconscience, a functional civil serviceinstitution that would not ask forbribe, a corrupt-free Judiciary,among others, were indispensablefor a new Nigeria.

He said: “What Nigeria needs torealize its potentials is,unfortunately, not mere change ofleadership. We don’t need anyonefrom outer space to come andorganise our polity. What we need

are ourselves, our virtues andbelief in a collective struggle forgood governance.

“What we need are functionalinstitutions. We needinstitutions that pander to theprinciple of honesty andsocialize successions of citizenswho will extol this principle.

"We need leaders for whomthe sufferings of the masses are

immediate concerns, not jokersthat insult yearnings and honestobservations of the electorates.

“We need institutions in whichthe lawmakers gather to discussthe plight of their constituents,not losing their sense of ourrealities in the luxuries of thestate and federal capitals. Weneed a judiciary that exerts itsindependence and resists any

prejudice in the discharge ofjustice.

"We need a civil service that doesnot ask for bribes to do that for whichthey receive salaries. We needinstitutions! We need functionalinstitutions to restore the lostglories and trust that make a sanenation. Our trouble in this countryis principally the collapse of ourinstitutions".

BY KENNETHEHIGIATOR

THE FederalGovernment, weekend,

confirmed that EthiopianAirlines would commencedirect flights to and fromAkanu Ibiam InternationalAirport, Enugu, fromSaturday, August 24, 2013.

This would be the firstinternational flights to beoperated into the South Eastgeo-political zone of thecountry, barely two yearsafter the airport in Enuguwas accorded internationalstatus.

Minister of Aviation,Princess Stella Oduah, whodisclosed this in Abuja, saidshe had already writtenPresident GoodluckJonathan informing him ofthe airlines’ inaugural flight.

She said the airport’sdesignation as aninternational airport waspart of the aviation masterplan of the presentadministration to give everyzone in the country theopportunity to grow its fullpotentials in economic andsocial development.

ABUJA—NATIONALleadership of Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP,yesterday, took a swipe atGovernor BabatundeFashola of Lagos State,describing him as the newdictator for sealing off aproperty belonging toformer Abia State governor,Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, becausehe criticized the recentdeportation of Nigeriansfrom the state.

In a statement by theparty’s acting NationalPublicity Secretary, TonyOkeke, PDP described thedevelopment as“reminiscent of theinfamous decree No 4 of1984 promulgated bymaximum dictator andsupreme leader of the APC,General MuhammaduBuhari, with which heclamped down on thefreedom of speech andvictimized anybody thatcriticized his government.”

PDP slamsFashola

Says he is adictator

BY HENRY UMORU

BY VICTORIA OJEME &FAITH GORA

ABUJA—RETIRED ForeignService veteran,

Ambassador Dahiru Suleiman,yesterday, lamented unduepoliticization of Nigeria Foreignservice. The diplomat said politicalappointees constituted morethan 60 percent of envoys.

Ambassador Suleiman whoretired from the foreign servicefive years ago, rose through therank to serve as Nigerianenvoys in several diplomaticposts, including Pakistan,Brazil, Angola , United States

of America, Ivory Coast, Poland,Austral and twice in Sudan,among other countries.

The former Nigerian envoyalso frowned at the disregard forstatutory requirements that onlythree non-career diplomatsshould be appointed asambassadors by successivegovernments.

He lamented that this practicenot only diminished theimportance of such diplomaticposts where a political appointeewas posted, but also often donemore damage to Nigeria'sforeign policy objectives in thehost countries.

Speaking with Vanguard,

Ambassador Dahiru stressed theneed for government to reconsiderthe retirement policy of the foreignservice, insisting that the policy ofretirement at 60 years or 35 yearsof service, whichever came first,had robbed the foreign service ofprofessionals and by extension lossof much of the needed skills.

Speaking on the need for arethink on the large number ofpolitical appointees asambassadors, he said: “I was aprofessional, I spent all my adultlife in the Ministry of ForeignAffairs. Will I be happy if you bringsomeone from nowhere and makehim ambassador over and aboveme? No."

From left: Kufre Ekanem, Corporate Affairs Adviser; Nico Vervelde, MD/CEO NB Plc;Chimamanda Adichie, Creative Director Farafina Trust and Victor Famuyibo, HR Director,Nigerian Breweries.

CMYK


CMYK

OPINION

16 — Vanguard, MONDAY,AUGUST19, 2013

BY JUSTUS ANYADIORA Ngige, tNgige, tNgige, tNgige, tNgige, tooooowwwwwering at 6ering at 6ering at 6ering at 6ering at 611111

*Dr. Anyadiora, a lecturer, wrote fromOwerri, Imo State.

CALL him a man of honour, courageand commitment, you will not be wrongbecause at 61 he is all of these beside beinga man of destiny as he clearly has animportant date with history. It is said thatsome are born great, while others attain orachieve greatness. Senator Dr. ChrisNwabueze Ngige(OON) had a humblebeginning. During our days as pupils at St.Patrick Primary School, Ogbete, Enugu,which we left in 1964, Ngige was anoutstanding pupil both in academics andother extra-curriculum activities.

He was never found wanting in anything.So I was not surprised when he madedistinction in his school certificateexamination at St. John Secondary School,Alor in 1972.

I had thought that he would be a lawyerbecause he had studied arts andcommercial subjects to class four beforeswitching over to science subjects, leavinghis younger brother, Mr. Emeka Ngige(SAN) to continue with arts subjects. A featmany of us never tried because of fear offailure.

As if that was not enough and withoutmuch delay, Ngige secured admission tostudy Medicine at the University ofNigeria, Nsukka, UNN, where hegraduated with flying colours in 1979.

This was at a time most of us were stillretaking our school certificate. While inthe university, he was actively involved instudent union politics, which he neverallowed to affect his studies and

performance.Upon his graduation, many of his

colleagues travelled to overseas, whileothers picked jobs in multinationalcompanies. But Ngige in line with his deepflair for public and humanitarian serviceopted for a job at the Federal Ministry ofHealth where he worked creditably foryears before leaving voluntarily in 1998 asdeputy director of hospital services, federalmedical centres and teaching hospitals.

While in Federal Ministry of Health, hewas instrumental in the establishment ofpermanent sites for most of the federalmedical centres and teaching hospitals,especially in the South East zone. Incontinuation of his burning desire forpublic service, he ventured into the murkywaters of Nigerian politics as one of thefounding fathers of the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP. No wonder he was appointedthe protem zonal publicity secretary of theparty in the South East in 1998 and laterthe assistant national/zonal secretary ofthe party in the zone between 1999 and2002. The same year he was conferred withthe national honour of Order of the Niger,OON, for his diligence and accountabilityin public service.

It was from there that he emerged thegovernorship candidate of the PDP inAnambra State in 2003. Though his initialambition was to become a senator, he waspersuaded by the party stakeholders to runfor the office of the governor.

Having been in public service all his life,Ngige is always conscious of HaroldMcAlindon’s words: “Do not follow wherethe path may lead, but go instead wherethere is no path and leave a trail.” So fromchildhood, he never believed inbandwagonism, but in carving a niche forhimself in anything he does.

It was for this obvious reason that heredefined governance in Anambra Statewithin the short period he was governor ofthe state. He set the pace and made thepeople realise that with sincerity,commitment and transparency, the stategovernment could do much for the peoplein terms of good governance and provisionof basic amenities.

Today, his numerous achievements,especially in the area of

infrastructural developments that cutacross the state are obvious. And it hasbecome difficult for his successor to equateor measure up to his performance. Asgovernor, Ngige demystified politicalgodfathers in the state when he took thebattle for the soul of the state to them,despite the tremendous backing theyenjoyed from the Presidency.

He fought and put his life on line for theliberation of the people of the state; evenwhen he had the option of settling thegodfathers financially and remained inoffice, he resisted it and fought for whatwas right.

His survival of his political abduction onJuly 10, 2003 by his estranged godfather inconnivance with the security agents was aclear manifestation that God was withhim. The judicial/ presidential conspiracythat led to his removal from office as agovernor was known to Nigerians. Hisremoval was beyond not winning theelection, but his refusal to open thetreasury to the godfathers which was thetradition in the state before he assumedoffice.

It is on record that between 1999 and2007, Ngige was the only governor thatlost his seat in court, even when it wasobvious that the 2003 general electionswere massively rigged across the country,especially in the South East.

Upon his removal from office, he wasgiven a clean bill of health by theEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, at a time most ex-governors were dragged to court by theEFCC for alleged corrupt practices whilein office.

True to his type and belief, Ngige left PDPand co-founded the now defunct ActionCongress of Nigeria, ACN with the likes ofSenator Bola Tinubu, former vice presidentAlhaji Atiku Abubakar and others.

So come November 16, the people ofAnambra State may have their wish for thereturn of the people's governor and theauthentic Igbo leader to AnambraGovernment House to continue fromwhere he was rudely stopped in 2006.

SOUTH African-born wives of Nigeriansliving in South Africa are set for a majornationwide protest against their increasingstigmatisation by their fellow countrymen andwomen. According to the Chairperson of theUnited Nigerian Wives in South Africa(UNWISA), Mrs Lindale Uche, fellow SouthAfricans discriminate against them, theirspouses and children.Uche said children of such marriages are

called derogatory names and made to feel likeoutcasts, aliens and unwelcome. The womenhad protested earlier in March this year, butnothing came of it, hence their decision toform an association and fight together.This is yet another indication that little is

being done, especially by the South Africanauthorities, to create a conducive atmospherefor Nigerians to lawfully live fulfilled life. Thehostility that Nigerians suffer at the hands ofSouth Africans was topped in March last yearwhen 56 Nigerian travellers to South Africawere deported from the JohannesburgInternational Airport over alleged possessionof fake yellow vaccine papers. Nigeria swiftlyretaliated by bundling 78 South African

Victimisation ofVictimisation ofVictimisation ofVictimisation ofVictimisation ofNigerians in S-Nigerians in S-Nigerians in S-Nigerians in S-Nigerians in S-AfricaAfricaAfricaAfricaAfrica

visitors to Nigeria back to their country.Diplomatic steps were taken to mend fences.

However, the unwelcoming atmospherecontinues to fester in a country Nigeriainvested enormous human and materialresources and efforts to end its apartheidpolicy. The freedom, peace and prosperitySouth Africa enjoys today owes chiefly to theleadership and sacrifices of Nigerians. Noother country on the continent, or indeed, inthe world should have a bigger place of prideor be more welcome than Nigeria.It would seem that little effort was made by

the South African leadership to reflect the truepillars of the anti-apartheid struggle beyondthe efforts of local South African politicians andactivists. If they did, Nigerians would be heldin high regard and be happily accommodatedin South Africa.It is high time that the Federal Government

took firm measures to force a change ofattitude towards Nigerians, their families andsundry interests who have legitimate presencein South Africa. The country stands to losemore than Nigeria if matters should come to ahead. South African businesses are thrivingin Nigeria, and not a single case of molestationof South Africans living in Nigeria has beenreported. Nigeria is a very friendly countrywhich welcomes foreigners with warmth thatis uniquely Nigerian. In our cultures, guestsare accorded more comfort than kin.Nigerians and South Africans should be

brothers working together for their mutualbenefit. The onus is on South Africa toreciprocate the great hand of fellowship whichNigeria has extended to her from her days ofneed to date. Nigerians did not fight apartheidto become its new victims.


CMYK

THE Petroleum Industry Bill(PIB) is approaching its

third reading, but its securepassage out of the legislativemire and into law is not yetguaranteed. The chance offailure, though, is now gettingslimmer.

This is because the coalition ofsupport behind the bill is growing- it is now very cross-party incharacter. The PIB has thesupport of the People’sDemocratic Party, PDP, and hassecured special backing from thePresident. At the end of May, theMinister of Mines and SteelDevelopment, MusaMuhammed Sada, said on behalfof the President that Nigeria’scommitment to the industrytransparency protocols (EITI andNEITI) “remains very strong”,stressing that these principles oftransparency will underpin theoperation of the oil industryunder the PIB.

Alongside the ruling party, thethen Congress for ProgressiveChange, CPC - spoke in favourof the bill. It remains to be seen ifthis position survives the creationof the All Progressives Congress,APC, which the erstwhile CPCis now a part of. It is extremelyvaluable to have theorganisational machinery of allparties supporting the bill. It is,

said, “We believe there aresmaller companies who wouldfind these assets a perfect fit fortheir business profile andportfolio.” Legislators are equallyeager to back this expanded rolefor smaller companies.

More recently, Exxon-Mobiland Total, signed majorengineering and fabricationcontracts for OML 133 and OPL130 respectively. Together thesetwo decisions could boostproduction by over 300,000barrels per day by 2016. Thismakes it all the more importantto have a stable statutory regimein place to govern the industry.

These investments are as theInternational Monetary Fund,IMF, predicted back in March2013, stating that it “lookedforward to an early passage ofthe Petroleum Industry Bill,which would boost investment,government revenue, and fiscaltransparency” - a valuableendorsement from a highly-regarded international economicauthority.

Mostadvanced

In a report produced byprestigious consultants Ernst andYoung, Dr Pedro van Meurs (anindustry expert) argued that thebill’s transparency provisions

emphasis on transparency andits introduction of communalaccountability for damage doneto oil infrastructure are reasonsfor enthusiasm. But, to balancecommunal accountability, the PIBbrings in the Petroleum HostCommunity Fund, a new line ofincome feeding directly into localcommunities. This is winningsupport from Southerners in


BY ABIYE MEMBERE

Support gathers for PIB as Chevroncommits to stay in Nigeria

as the Senate CommitteeChairman on Rules andBusiness, Senator Ita Enang ofthe PDP, has said “a top-prioritypiece of legislation”.

Meanwhile, outsiders havealso made contributions. Despiteincreasing global competitionNigeria is still attracting majorinvestments from largeInternational OilCompanies,IOCs. Two of thelarger IOC’s have signed majorcontracts to invest billions ofdollars into the upstream sectorin Nigeria.

Smallerassets base

Chevron on June 13,announced that it is “in Nigeriafor the long term”, reassuringjournalists from the PremiumTimes that they were selling oilconcessions off the coast ofBayelsa, in order to focus theirinvestments on a smaller assetbase. Deji Haastrup, GeneralManager of Policy, Governmentand Public Affairs at Chevron

“are now among the mostadvanced in the world, and willmake Nigeria a leader in Africain this respect”. Hisendorsements extended to otherareas of the bill, includingprovisions designed to reducewasteful gas flaring - Nigeria in2011 wasted through flaringnearly a third as much gas as itused. At the same time, IOCshave raised concerns about thebill, raising particular concernsabout the unpredictability of thetax regime, but they represent aminority voice.

The forces in favour of the billare marshalling. There are selfishreasons motivating some of thebill’s supporters - the imaginedbalance of power betweenNigeria’s North and South, forexample, is one reasoncompelling several PIB-enthusiasts. There are genuinearguments, though, that arewinning the bill cross-partysupport, reasons that will, withluck, propel it through theSenate.

In the private sector, the bill’s

, ,The bill’s transparency provisions arenow among the most advanced in theworld, and will make Nigeria a leader inAfrica in this respect

particular,but the bill’screation ofthe FrontierExplorationService -w h i c hpromises toe x p l o r einland statesf o rhydrocarbonand solidm i n e r a ldeposits isl i k e w i s eoffering hopet oNorthernerseager toexpand theirparticipationin thepetroleumindustry. It’slikely, too,that the billwill benefits m a l lcompanies,offering themfree access tothe latestgeologicaldata, whicht h e yc u r r e n t l ylack.

With thereform of theN i g e r i a nN a t i o n a lPetroleumCompany,NNPC, thebill riskscreating anenemy of theNNPC itself -t h esprawlingc o m p a n yholds variousresponsibilitiest o d a y ,operating asboth ar e g u l a t o ra n dcommercialplayer, andfaces theprospect ofcomprehensivereform. Butthe NNPC

understands the importance ofchange - it understands that it isimpossible for one organisationto regulate the market whilecompeting in it at the same time.It also recognises the importanceof deregulating some areas, suchas the downstream sector.

So, as the various constituenciesfall into line, the prospects for thePIB are now improving. Someare pushing for furtherrefinements, and there is spacefor this, but as the then CPC putit, the PIB will create an“enabling environment”. Theirword choice could have beenclearer, but the point is important:without the PIB, Nigeria’s

energy sector (including powergeneration) can only continuedecaying. Without a stableincome from oil and gas, andwithout a reliable supply of gasfor power generation, Nigeriansshould expect power cuts, budgetcuts and lower infrastructureinvestments over the comingyears. Failure is still possible -there is a way to hell, even fromthe gates of heaven – but it seemsas if, after a long journey, theimportance of the PIB is finallybeing understood.

•Membere is the Group Execu-tive Director, Exploration and Pro-duction, Nigerian National Petro-leum Corporation (NNPC)


CMYK

44 —Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013


Defiant protesters march in Cairo

ANTI-COUP protestersin Egypt marched to-

wards the Supreme Con-stitutional Court buildingin Cairo from six locationsin defiance of warnings ofa firm response from theauthorities.

Protesters have taken tothe streets on Saturday inresponse to calls by oppo-nents of the interim, mili-tay-backed government,including the MuslimBrotherhood, followingdays of violence in whichhundreds have died.

Marchers were attempt-ing to converge on thecourt complex from areasincluding Helwan, Gizaand Doqqi. However, AlJazeera’s Sherine Tadros,reporting from outside thecentral court complex,said that it was surround-ed by soldiers, barbedwire and military vehicles.

“People are also gath-ered, local residents, andthey are quite hostile,” shesaid, adding that she hadseen at least one check-point to search anyone

coming into the area.Tadros said it was uncer-

tain if the marchers wouldarrive at their destinationas they had set off late andfrom a distance. “It is 15kmfrom Helwan and it is anhour before curfew,” shesaid, referring to a 5pmGMT ruling passed by themilitary.

“And it is not just a mat-ter of the military. Theyhave to pass through sev-eral neighbourhoods thatare hostile to them.”

UN inspectors arrive in Syria todayA team of UN weapons

inspectors has arrivedin the Syrian capital Dam-ascus to assess whetherchemical weapons have

been used in the conflict.Both the rebels and gov-

ernment forces have ac-cused each other of usingchemical weapons, with

the town of Khan al-Assalat the centre of allegations.

Some 26 people werekilled in attacks in thenorthern town in March.

The UN mission wasdelayed because of differ-ences with the Syrian gov-ernment over the scope ofthe investigation.

However, the Syriangovernment agreed lastmonth to allow inspectorsin to examine three loca-tions including Khan al-Assal.

The 20-member team ofUN weapons inspectorsand public health special-ists checked into the FourSeasons hotel in Dam-ascus on Sunday, but de-clined to speak to report-ers on their arrival.

NSCIA condemns violencein Egypt

BY ABDULWAHABABDULAH

THE Nigerian SupremeCouncil for Islamic Affairs,NSCIA, yesterdaydescribed as reckless theongoing killing of civiliansin Egypt, while it called onnations of conscience toprevail on the UnitedNations to intervene tofind an instant, amicablesolution to the episode inthe country.

In a statement signed bythe Secretary General ofNSCIA, Professor Is-haqOloyede, the Islamic bodyexpressed a deep worryover the killings which itdescribed as “ massivewaste of human lives andreckless maiming ofprotesting citizens,” andcall for a stop of the

violence.NSCIA said : “The

brutal murder of hundredsof armless civilians in thecourse of their legitimateright to protest isdespicable andindefensible. The violationof the sanctity of themosque in which some ofthe persons were mauleddown is a very dangerousprecedence, theconsequence of which istoo grievous to imagine.”

Crisis looms in Venezuelaover new decree

VENEZUELAN politicians traded insults

at the weekend with ashowdown looming inthe National Assemblyover President NicolasMaduro’s plans to askfor fast-track decree

powers he says heneeds to combat corrup-tion.

Maduro, who narrow-ly won an April electionto replace his late men-tor Hugo Chavez, sayshe is ready to change“all the laws” if neces-sary to stamp out wide-spread graft that isdenting his popularitywith some core support-ers.

The opposition accus-es Maduro of turning ablind eye to major cor-ruption by his allies andof trying to use his cam-paign to distract votersfrom worries such as in-flation, creaking publicservices and violentcrime. “You don’t needdecree powers to fightcorruption. That’s part ofthe ‘show’ by Maduro tocover up his disaster ofa government,” opposi-tion leader HenriqueCapriles said on Twitter.“It’s certain he doesn’thave the votes to ap-prove it.”

DR Congo unrest: Childrenfreed from militia

THE UN mission inthe Democratic

Republic of Congo hassaid that 82 childrensome as young as eighthave been rescued froman armed group.

Monusco said that thechildren, including 13girls, had been forciblyrecruited in the past sixmonths by the Mai MaiBakata Katanga militia.

The group is active inKatanga province in thesouth-east of the country.

Forty of the rescuedchildren have beenreunited with theirfamilies and the othersare said to be receiving

care.Correspondents say the

region remains veryrestive, with local militiademanding a fairerdistribution of wealthbetween the poorer northof Katanga and thesouthern zone whereforeign mining firmsoperate.

Monusco - the UN’sstabilisation mission inDR Congo - said in astatement that thechildren had beenidentified and separatedfrom the militia throughthe concerted efforts ofchild protectionagencies.

BY DEMOLAAKINYEMI

Al-Mustapha: Ilorin OPC laudsLagos govt on appeal

Shema speaks atleadership forum today

ILORIN—THE OoduaPeople’s Congress,

OPC,in Kwara State, hascommended the LagosState Government forasking the SupremeCourt,to upturn the Ap-peal Court acquittal ofMajor Hamza AlMustapha, former ChiefSecurity Officer, CSO, tolate Nigerian Head ofstate, General SaniAbacha, and LateefShofolahan for allegedcomplicity over the mur-der of Kudirat Abiola. Kudirat was the wife ofthe winner of June 12,1993 Presidential elec-tion, late MoshoodKashimawo OlawaleAbiola.

ILORIN—THE pioneerChairman of the Inde-

pendent Corrupt Prac-tices and other related of-fences Commission,ICPC, Justice MustaphaAkanbi, has warned thatnobody should drag himinto politics. He insisted that he wasnot involved in any gang-up against the politicaldynasty of the strongmanof Kwara politics, Dr.Abubakar Olusola Saraki.

The octogenarian at abriefing weekend inIlorin, was reacting to a

Don’t drag me into politics— AKANBI, EX-ICPC BOSSBY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

The group describedthe appeal to the Su-preme Court as a re-newed hope for equityand justice.

Lagos State Govern-ment Tuesday last weekannounced that it hadfiled a notice of appealat the Supreme Courtchallenging the acquit-tal of Major Hamza AlMustapha and LateefShofolahan for complic-ity over the murder ofKudirat Abiola.

State coordinator of theYoruba socio-culturalgroup, Salam MaruffOlanrewaju, said in astatement that the OPCparticularly hailed theLagos State Governmentfor sustaining its resolveto pursue the course ofjustice.

The statement reads in

part: “If a high person-ality like Alhaja KudiratAbiola was murderedjust like that withoutbringing the perpetra-tors to justice, it obvi-ously shows that some-thing is seriously wrongwith our judicialsystem.The entire sys-tem needed to be re-structured.

”The freedom ofMustapha is nothingbut purely political ar-rangement for politicalreasons. If the courtwhich is referred to aslast hope of commonman turned to be an in-strument for politiciansto use in order toachieve their selfishaims and objectives, itmeans the country isheading towards disas-ter”.

news feature in a na-tional daily on Wednes-day last week where hechaired an NGO, the of-ficial launching of KwaraCitizenship Develop-ment Initiative, KCDI.

Chairman, board oftrustees of KCDI, Dr.Amuda Aluko, had toldjournalists at the occasionthat the NGO among oth-ers was aimed at creatingawareness for the peopleto fight for their rightsand resist imposition ofcandidates henceforth.

But Justice Akanbi saidhe was not involved inany regroup to wrestle

power from the Sarakidynasty because he wasnot a politician and no-body should drag himinto it.

He expressed surprisethat the NGO was politi-cally motivated havingearlier received assur-ance from the organisersthat it was not.

He said: “A young mancalled me and said hesaw a publication that Iwas the Chairman at afunction of oppositionmembers who haveregrouped againstSaraki’s dynasty inKwara. So, when I readit, I was amazed and thesum total of it is that Ichaired an organisationdesigned to wrestlepower or authority fromthe Saraki’s dynasty.

“Now that worries me.I want to debunk whatthis gentleman has writ-ten. I was there not tolead opposition toSaraki’s dynasty. This isthe card given to me;there was no mention ofany political party.”

So, gentlemen for thefirst time, I would reallybe hurt because of thereputation I have builtfor many years.

”If they want to fightSaraki, let them fight ontheir own. They don’tneed to use me becausethe man has not offendedme and I am not a partymember and I will neverbe a party member.”

LAGOS—KATSINA State governor, Dr. IbrahimShema, will be Guest Speaker at a forum to be

hosted by the Nigeria Leadership Initiative, NLI,today in Lagos.

The guest speaker forum is aimed at utilization ofpractical experiences for information sharing withinvited guests.

Past Guest Speakers included Dr. ChristopherKolade, Bishop Mathew Kukah, Professor ObaNsugbe and former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Mr. Yinka Oyinlola, NLI’s Chief Executive Of-ficer said: “Leading in difficult and complex situa-tions and times implies being able to come up withlessons that can be applicable for others in differ-ent circumstances.

“It is expected that at the end of the forum, par-ticipants would have benefitted from the rich dis-cussions on management of leadership from differ-ent standpoints: political sector, business world andprivate leadership.”


OPINION

,

BY CHIEDU OKOYE

Nigeria not yet a united nation-state

*Mr. Okoye, a poet,,wrote from Uruowulu-Obosi,Anambra State.

THE British without consulting us amalgamateddiverse ethnic groups and christened the union Nigeria.

So, a revered northern monarch called the union the mistakeof 1914; and, Chief Awolowo referred to Nigeria as a meregeographical expression. Since Nigeria came into being,we have always been conscious of our ethnic origins. In the1950s, during our struggle for political emancipation, thenortherners wanted to secede over the Nine pointprogramme.

More so, the political parties that existed in pre-independence era and first republic were ethnic-basedpolitical parties. They’re not national in out-look. The A.Gwas to the Yorubas what NCNC was to the Igbos, whileNPC was owned by the northerners.

When the seemingly intractable crisis in the western regionprompted and motivated the five majors to topple thepolitical regime of Sir Tafawa Balewa, it was branded anIgbo coup. Consequently, a counter-coup happened somesix months, later; and, the Hausa-Fulani carried out agenocidal decimation of the Igbo population in the north.This led to the 30-Month Civil War, at the end of whichYakubu Gowon declared that neither side emerged as thewinner in the Nigerian-Biafrian civil war. It was no victor ,no vanquished. He formulated some programmes, like theNYSC that will help the nation achieve national integrationand cohesion.

But, true peace and unity has continued to elude us sincethen. We look at issues through the prism of ethnicity. Weare retrogressing in Nigeria because the issue of ethnic

origin is one of the factors that determine those who willoccupy exalted positions in our super-structure. When meritis sacrificed on the altar of ethnic origin and religion,backwardness is guaranteed. It is akin to putting a squarepeg in a round hole. Nigeria moves in circles as old andtired and incompetent people are recycled in public officein order to ensure balance of power among the ethnicgroups. Is Nigeria being led by her first eleven? Mediocreleadership yields infrastructural decay, dysfunctionaleducational system,and other social ills.

It takes a great leader for a country to become a greatcountry. Contrast what happens in Europe and Americawith what happens in Nigeria. In the immediate past,Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State relieved non-indigenes in Abia State civil service of their jobs. Accidentof birth is the reason their parents are not of Abia stateorigin. And, they paid dearly for that after they had servedfor long years in the Abia State civil service.

The issue of indigene ship and state of origin as it concernscontesting elective posts and civil service should beaddressed holistically by law-makers. It hurts to hear that aman who lived a greater part of his life in Anambra stateshould be denied certain privileges in the state because ofhis state of origin.

It is apparent that Nigeria is not practicing truefederalism. The pseudo and lop-sided federalism we

practice cannot cater to the exigencies of the time and ourpeculiar problems. This pseudo-federalism accounts for ourstunted national development .

In a true federal state, a man who hails from Anambrastate would be able to win election in his state of residence,which is not Anambra state. He will not be labelled omo-Igbo and stereotyped because of his ethnic origins. Theelectorate will assess him based on his personal qualitiesand pedigree and not based on his native tongue andreligion.

And, the ethnic chauvinism drive and campaign of someethnic groups in our country does not make for peace andprogress. The slogan of a state in the north is born to rule.This kind of political posture undermines our national unity.Let us see one another as one people and equal partners inthe Nigerian Federation.

Lastly, the deportation of destitutes of Igbo extraction fromLagos to Onitsha is an injudicious and insensitive action.Aren’t they Nigerians? Can’t the Lagos state governmentrehabilitate them and give them a better life in Lagos? So,to where will Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos statedeport beggars, who hail from Lagos state? Or, are allLagosians born with silver spoons in their mouths?

THE Lagos deportation saga exposedour collective poor attitude to issues

of citizenship rights. It is a collective,national guilt because what happenedin Lagos occurs in all parts of the countryin one form or the other, such asemployment, educational and sundryopportunities, from which non-indigenes are excluded.

In heavily urbanised states such asLagos, Rivers and Kano, where there isa pronounced presence of non-indigenous residents, there is a growingtendency to neglect the development ofthose areas where they live in largenumbers. But when it comes to census,elections and tax drives, they areextensively exploited by local officials.This ugly trend has been accepted aspart of the Nigerian way of life.

The deportation saga was a statementthat the mega-city project of the LagosState Government has no place for the

War against the poor

to lead sabre-rattling that, if it boils overinto street fights, they would melt intobackground and allow the misguidedyouth from both sides to murder oneanother before the army would bebrought in to quell it.

The question remains germane.What do we do as a nation to

develop our urban and rural areas andat the same time keep our streets andunder our bridges clean of the destituteand homeless people, some of whom canbecome a threat to society? It is a wellknown fact that Lagos is a choicedestination for beggars, especially thosewho come from cultures that are verytolerant of begging as a way of life. Thecommercial success of Lagos gives it thereputation of a place where professionalbeggars can come and actually become“rich”! Today, all sorts of crimes againsthumanity are committed, such as therenting and outright selling of babiesand children to be deployed on thestreets of Lagos and other big towns tomake money for evil syndicates.

It is very common to see young menand women dressed in green trousersand white shirts, clutching tills andwaving them under the noses ofmotorists while a severely disabledperson sits in the middle of the roaddisplaying his/her disfigurement toattract alms. This manner of criminalexploitation of the destitute goes on butlittle is done by officials to address them.

Let us emulate the white man whobrought the modern lifestyle that we allare living to us. When the white mancame to colonise Nigeria, he knew thatthe effort to develop the society throughthe capitalist model would leave someweak and destitute members of societybehind the rest. Therefore, institutionswere set up where such people weretaken care of by the state, missionariesand philanthropic agencies. Theseincluded leprosariums, hospitals for thementally ill, old people’s homes andshelters for the homeless and

temporarily displaced persons.It requires only a small amount of

money out of the budget of a state tohouse, feed and care for these personsunder social welfare programmes, andthus keep the streets clean and safe.

Jigawa is about the only state in thecountry that followed their ban on streetbegging with the payment of seventhousand naira (N7,000) per month tobeggars of Jigawa origin. It costs thegovernment just about a quarter of abillion naira per annum to maintain.

Other states have adopted somemeasures, such as payment of stipendsto the old and retired persons, freehealthcare for pregnant women, childrenand the aged and other measures thatdo not go far enough. Can’t we have anational model for catering to the needsof the poor and destitute to avoid theproblem of such people going for“greener pastures” in other parts of thecountry where they are subjected tohumiliating treatment by the indigenesof such states?

Let us think about it.

poor and destitute. In every urban centreall over Nigeria, you will see hundreds,if not thousands of beggars, destitute,homeless and mentality ill peopleloitering without anybody bothering tofactor them in when funds of state arebeing allocated to solve socio-politicalproblems. We do not even see them asco-owners of the federal allocation wego to collect in Abuja every month.

If you drive along the Benin –Shagamu Express, you will come acrosssections of the road occupied by lepers.For decades, these former inmates ofabandoned leper colonies have been onthis highway, waving and hollering atthe vehicles that go by at high speedsin the forlorn hope that someone wouldslow down and show kindness. Theseare people dislodged from their familiesand communities as a result of ailments,which the society regards as taboo.

If we were a society that learns usefullessons from our experiences, the dustgenerated in the wake of the Lagosdeportation episode would force us tolook for ways of carrying the poor and

destitute along in our quest fordevelopment. Instead of this, we areallowing it to whip up undue ethnictensions among the Igbo and the Yoruba.We are allowing drug addicts anddiscredited politicians seeking relevance

IT nearly made me laugh if it were not so ridiculous. Former Governor of AbiaState, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu (OUK) reacted without proper advice to the

deportation saga by declaring Lagos a “No man’s land”, threatening to sueGovernor Babatunde Raji Fashola for the controversial exercise.

In a flash, some officials of the LASG went to the Park View palatial mansion ofOUK and sealed it up! And before it became another hot potato topic, GovernorFashola ordered it reopened. Perhaps, it was their way of asserting that Lagos isnot such a “no man’s land” after all. It was a show of power; a demonstration thatthe indigenes of Lagos, who are in charge of the machinery of government of thestate, can “do and undo” when it comes to that.

If I know OUK well (and I think I do) this is exactly the kind of thing he woulddo those days when he was in power in Abia State if anybody questioned hisauthority as he questioned the authority of Lagos indigenes when he called theirstate a “no man’s land”. Fashola also played smart when he quickly reversed theseal-up because it would have mired him deeper in controversy and probably scarhim permanently as a politician and leader in the state and country at large.

In those days when OUK and Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) were governors inAbia and Lagos states respectively, they used to be such close friends that tongueseven wagged in certain mischievous quarters. What happened?

The commercial success of Lagos gives it thereputation of a place where professional beggars cancome and actually become “rich”! Today, all sorts ofcrimes against humanity are committed, such as therenting and outright selling of babies and children tobe deployed on the streets of Lagos and other bigtowns to make money for evil syndicates

Orji Kalu’s house seal-up by LASG

Governor Babatunde Fashola

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013—————4747474747

,

,

,

,

BY ERIC TENIOLA

BY GODWIN ETAKIBUEBU

*Mr. Etakibuebu, a public affairsanalyst, wrote from Lagos.

* Mr. Teniola, a former Director at thePresidency, wrote from Lagos.

ALL roads led to Kano last June, wherethe Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero

marked his 50th year on the exalted throneof Kano.

To show how strong he was, he rode on ahorse to the admiration of all and sundry.To be on the throne for 50 years in themodern day world, particularly in atumultuous, agitating city like Kano wherethe two civilisations-antique and modernity-constantly clash, a city that is perpetuallyat war with its soul, is a laudableachievement.

And to have survived for 50 years on thatthrone with all major crises, religious,commercial, social,including a suspensionunder the Major General MuhammaduBuhari junta, an undeserved query undermy late friend Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, manyassassination attempts, the last one, lastFebruary, there must be somethingremarkable and sublime about this ruler.

Let it be noted that his predecessor, AlhajiMuhammadu Sanusi, grandfather to thepresent Governor of the Central Bank, AlhajiLamido Sanusi, who ruled between 1954and1963, was dethroned and diedeventually in exile in Katagum.

Even the Emir before Alhaji Sanusi, whowas, Alhaji Abdullahi Bayero (1881-1953)the ruler whom the Bayero University inKano was named after, ruled for 26 years(1927-1953) before he died on December25, 1953.

So the more reason why we have to hailAlhaji Ado Bayero and say Happycongratulations.

Alhaji Ado Bayero has therefore followedthe footsteps of other traditional rulers whoruled longer than 50 years or close to 50years. The late Elekole of Egbe Oba (Ikole)in Ekiti State, Oba Adetula Adeleye wascrowned in 1958. He ruled for 52 years

Close to 50 and above in dominionbefore his death in 2010.

One of his sons-in-law, Prince DayoAdeyeye from Ise-Ekiti wants to beGovernor of Ekiti State next year.

Sir Adesoji Martins Titus TadeniawoAderemi (1889-1980) succeeded ObaAdemiluyi Ajagun on September 26, 1930as the Ooni of Ife. He also succeeded SirJohn Dalzell Rankine (1907-1987) asGovernor of Western Region in 1960 andserved as Governor between 1960 and 1962before the Action Group crises.

He died on July 7, 1980 after being in thesaddle for 50 years and left behind manysuccessful children, including the nowfrailing Mrs. Tejumade Alakija,former Headof Service of Oyo State and the Universityof Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University,which was established during his reign.

The late Lamido of Adamawa, AlhajiBankindo Mustapha was on the throne for59 years before he died on March 13, 2010.

His son Muhammadu Aliyu BankindoMustapha succeeded him on March 18,2010.

The late Owa of Idanre in Ondo State,Oba Adegbule Aroloye Arubefin III reignedfrom 1919 to 1969 for 50 years and died atthe age of 120 years, making him one of theoldest monarchs in Nigeria.

He was succeeded by his son ObaFrederick Adegunle Gbolagunte AroloyeArubefin IV who was crowned in September1976.

Oba Afunbiowo Adesida ruled Oyemekunkingdom of Akure between 1897 and 1957for 60 years. His beloved Olori (wife) isbelieved to have come from Idanre.

He is the grandfather of my friend, ObaAdebiyi Adegboye Adesida Afunbiowo II,thepresent Deji and paramount ruler of AkureKingdom and Chairman Ondo StateCouncil of Traditional rulers. His name isstill music in Akure today.

The foremost Sultan of Sokoto, AlhajiSiddik Abubakar III was born in Dange,

some 60 kilometres from Sokoto on March15, 1903 the same day on which the Britishcolonialists finally subdued the SokotoCaliphate. He became the Sultan of Sokotoon June 17, 1938 and ruled for 50 years tillhe died on November 1, 1988.

In the last 30 years of his life, he did nottouch currency or coins for purity purposes.Two of his sons have succeeded him, the lastbeing the present Sultan, Alhaji Saa’dAbubakar IV whose successful career waspioneered by Alhaji Shehu Malami, formerNigerian High Commissioner to SouthAfrica.

The late Jaja Amanyanbo of Opobo,Chief Douglas Jaja (1915-1980), son

of Chief Arthur Mac Pepple Jaja (1872-1936) ruled for 60 years although herenounced his chieftaincy temporarilybetween 1943-1951 to get involved inpolitics. At the time of his death in 1980, hewas much loved by his people.

The late of Oba of Benin, Oba UkuAkpolokpolo Akenzua II (1899-1978), sonof Oba Eweka II born asEdokparhogbuyunmun ruled for 44 yearsfollowing the death of his father in 1934.

In 1925, he served under the supervision

of the late Alake of Egbaland, Oba Ademolain his palace.

He was a custodian of the rich Beninculture and tradition.He was succeeded byhis son in 1979, a retired Federal PermanentSecretary, Oba Solomon IgbinoghoduaAisiokuoba Akenzua III who is still on thethrone. The late Attah of Igala Dr. AliyuObaje succeeded Ahmed Oboyi onNovember 2, 1956 and for 56 years, till hedied in July 16, 2012, he was on the Igalathrone and piloted Igala Kingdom tomodernity. Dr. Obaje was an example inhumility.

Sir Oladipo Samuel Ademola (1872-1962) was crowned the Alake of Egbalandon September27, 1920, to succeed ObaGbadebo who died on May 28, 1920.

At the crowning ceremony, over 70,000people were present, including arepresentative of the Queen of England. Heruled for 22 years. One of his sons JusticeAdetokunbo Ademola eventually becamethe first Chief Justice of Nigeria.

In 1948, Prince Adeyinka Oyekanchallenged Prince Adeniji Adele (1893-1964)to the throne of Lagos. The Oracle told thetwo of them that they both will be Kings.Eventually Oba Adele ruled from 1949-1964 while Oba Adeyinka Oyekan II (June30, 1911-March 1, 2003) ruled Lagos for38 years making him the second longestruling monarch in Lagos. The first beingOba Akinsemoyin who ruled from 1704-1749 for 45 years.

Oba Suleiman Durotoye Abegunde(1907-1993) ruled Omuaran in Kwara State from1945 to 1993, while the late Olofa of Offaalso in Kwara State, Oba MustaphaOlawore Olaonipekun, who died in 2010,ruled for over 40 years. The late Ataoja ofOshogbo, Oba Iyiola Oyewale Matanmi,who was crowned on July 7, 1976 and diedin August 2010, ruled for 34 years. It wasduring his reign that Osogbo was made theCapital of Osun State.

Continues tomorrow on page 18

To be on the throne for50 years in the modernday world, particularlyin a tumultuous,agitating city like Kanowhere the twocivilisations-antiqueand modernity -constantly clash, is alaudable achievement

2015: It's Jonathan with hisworks

THERE is no doubt any longerabout the fact of Goodluck

Jonathan running for thePresidency come 2015. His interesthas moved beyond “reading ofbody language” and reading of“his lips” to “transformational”actions. He should and would run,for two obvious reasons.

One, he has a constitutional rightto two tenures and this isguaranteed by the Nigerianconstitution. For that reason, anyother agreement, ordinance oreven constitution written andsigned by Jonathan or his proxy,negating his capability andcapacity of running in 2015,becomes null and void to the extentof the supremacy of the Nigerianconstitution [as amendedinclusive].

Two, the first geo-political zoneto have the feel of the presidencyin this very Republic [commencedin 1999] completed two tenures.The South/South geo-politicalzone, having successfullycompleted the two terms of four-year-each [making total of eightyears], have set a precedent ofstandard. Again, this antecedent isderivable from the Nigerianconstitution.

It is against this second reasonthat former President OlusegunObasanjo’s effort to short-changethe South/South geo-politicalZone by moving the presidency tosomewhere in the North would bea catastrophic failure – something

that will be similar to thethunderous crashing of “tenureelongation” of his time.

The two reasons given above,though looking as comfortablefactors, for the Bayelsa Statepolitician, to continue his sojournin Aso Rock Villa beyond 2015,may not really be “comfortable”enough for his wish to come toreality. He may have to add someother “unholy advantages” at hisdisposal, to what the constitutionhas given to him if he really wouldwant to remain there. I identify afew of them below but withemphasis that they are “unholyadvantages”. They are “availableadvantages” nevertheless becausethose who occupied the seat beforehim used some of these veryeffectively and l cannot tell if “Oga”Jonathan has not be deployingthem.

He has the advantage ofknowing, contacting andconnecting to different volatilegroups across the country. Thesemay be Militants from the NigerDelta regions to Boko Haramfrom the North, MASSOP for the“re-deliverance of Biafra” to thenotorious “JUJU” sect thatslaughtered over one hundredpolice officers and men “withoutusing arms and ammunition” inNasarawa State recently. Maybevery soon, the world of insurgencewill extend and include those in theillegal bunkering business [andthis would be more notoriousbecause presently, membersinclude high military officers –

both serving and retired and somehighly placed traditional rulers allacross the country] who mightwant to come together to negotiatefor amnesty.

Armed robbers” may want tocome together very soon in

Nigeria and negotiate for amnesty.Ditto the “Nigerian society ofwitches and wizard” [as it is in theUnited Kingdom] who may wantto join the anticipatedbeneficiaries of amnesty.Kidnappers may soon write,informing the Nigerian Authorityof its existence and its willingnessto negotiate for truce and comeunder some amnesty arrangement.There could be more groupscoming up in the days aheadbecause this is Nigeria where“everything is possible”.

For now, the groups in existenceare really enjoying financial

patronage of the Federalgovernment in all ways. It standsto conclude therefore thatwhatever other group that willcome into existence will alwayssecure the approval of the federalgovernment under the ableleadership of President GoodluckJonathan. He who pays the piperdictates the tune, goes the adage.It means that Mr President can usesuch groups as “added advantageof walking very comfortably” into2015. But will such path take himinto 2015 easily?

I am of the opinion that he ismostly likely to hit the rock if hechooses to follow that route butinstead he should, if he will everlisten to godly advice, follow a pathmade possible by what the Biblecalls “the work of their hands”. Theholy book says, concerning thepromises of God to man, that “lshall bless the works of your hand”.If the truth must be told, it is whatGoodluck Jonathan does or fail todo that will keep him in the Villafor two tenures but not anythingelse.

My suggestion to Mr.President fis to pick on one major Nigerianproject for efficient finishing. Thepresent day Nigeria is a country intotal darkness, almost the same asit was in the beginning of creationaccording to the biblical Genesisreport. “There was total darknessover the surface of the earth” andGod said, “let there be light andthere was light”. Can Mr. Presidentwork and do a “little more” to giveus light?

For the past fourteen years or sowe have been fluctuating between0ne thousand to four thousandmegawatts in generation anddistribution of electricity for acountry of more than one hundredand fifty million people. For this

reason, all industries are dead, andthose that survived do so purely onimportation of finished productsfrom other countries . Artisans haveno jobs , leaving them with nooption but to take to robbery andother vices.

I must admit that previousleaders, from Yakubu Gowon tilldate, have failed woefully on thischallenge. Nigerians will identifyan achiever, who can do “a littlemore” [which is really thedifference between Great men ofhistory and failures], in replacingdarkness with light. Nigerians willdo everything possible to rewardthis achievement.

If Jonathan moves us from thepresent available four thousandmegawatt of electricity to twentythousand megawatt of electricity’sgeneration and distribution, by theend of 2014, he would be rewardedby an appreciating citizenry with“a crown of an achiever thatdeserves continuity”.

This is the Master Key GoodluckJonathan needs to renew histenancy of Aso Rock Villa foranother four years from 2015. Butwithout this Master Key, there isno any advantage; be itconstitutional or “unholyadvantages”, enumerated at thebeginning of this essay will retainhim as President of Nigeriabeyond 2015.

And of course, he could continuehis presidency, if he fails in thiselectricity matter, but only as the“President of Ijaw NationalCouncil”, presiding from OtuekeCommunity in Bayelsa State ofNigeria.

So it is what he does or fails todo. The choice is his!

“

If Jonathan movesus from the presentavailable fourthousand megawattof electricity totwenty thousandmegawatt ofelectricity’sgeneration anddistribution, by theend of 2014, hewould be rewardedby an appreciatingcitizenry

48 —Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013

50—VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013

ELEVEN ASPIRANTS in thePeoples Democratic Party,

PDP who at the commencementof the congresses pledged towork for the realization of theparty ’s victory in thegubernatorial polls have takentheir collaboration to a higherlevel. The 11 aspirantsVanguard learnt at theweekend have obtained aninjunction restraining theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission, INECfrom interfering in the ongoingcongresses.

The injunction is to be servedon INEC this morning,authoritative sources in theGroup of 11, G11 told Vanguardat the weekend. The injunctionit was learnt follows fearsamong the aspirants that INEC

11 aspirants gang-up against Andy Uba

coalition of aspirants whichobtained the injunction is

aiming its arsenal againstSenator Andy Uba, the PDP’scandidate in 2007 and one ofthe most powerful forces onground in the state.

Senator Uba is presently thechairman of the SenateCommittee on INEC and the11 aspirants in the Emeakayicamp according to sources fearthat Senator Uba may use hisinfluence on the commission toget it to recognize thenomination congresses beingorganized by the Oguebegofaction of the party.

“We will not take chances andthat is why we are going thisway,” one of the aspirantsinvolved told Vanguard at theweekend.

“INEC has no role in theorganization of the congressand we do not want to take anychance on the issue,” thesource told Vanguard.

•Uba: On his own in PDP

GOVERNOR Peter Obiwas yesterday desperatelytrying to divorce himselffrom the allegedconspiracy thatdisqualified Prof. CharlesSoludo from thegovernorship race on theticket of the AllProgressive GrandAlliance, APGA.

Prof. Soludo alongsidefive other aspirantsincluding the erstwhileSSG, Mr. Oseloka Obazewere disqualified by theparty ’s screeningcommittee on Friday.Since the news of thedisqualification of Soludofrom the APGAnomination contest,insinuations of aconspiracy orchestratedby powerful interests inthe presidency have beenabuzz.

Powerfulinterests

According to thespeculations, the APGAtop hierarchy was coercedto move against Soludoon the suspicion that he,Soludo would beantagonistic to Jonathan’spresidential aspirationsin 2015.

Commissioner forInformation and Culture,Chief Joe MartinsUzodike, who spoke forthe governor, describedthe insinuation asunfounded, adding thatAPGA, set up a committeeto screen prospectivecandidates with clearguidelines and wondered

why Governor Obi should beblamed for a job done by acommittee he was not amember.

Uzodike said: “Do you thinkthe Governor himself is happyover the screening? How canhe, when the immediateSecretary to the StateGovernment, Mr. OselokaObaze whom he brought backfrom the USA was alsoscreened out?” theCommissioner asked.

He also described as untruethe rumour that Prof. CharlesSoludo was screened outbecause of the interest of thepresidency after it wasrumoured that Obi was the onewho brought him into APGA toreplace him.

According to him, the fact isthat whatever happens inNigeria is often interpreted notaccording to facts, butaccording to the people’sfancies, without even an iota oftruth in most of them.

On Governor Obi’s insistencethat the governorship will moveto Anambra North, thecommissioner said peopleshould understand it from thepoint of view of the fact that thegovernor would only support acandidate from the North, ashe, according to him, does nothave the powers to stick to thatif the people of the statedecided otherwise.

He, however, assured that thegovernor’s preference for thenext governor remainsAnambra North.

“Even as electioneering isgearing up, the Governor saysit at any fora that he will onlysupport a candidate from theNorth in the spirit of equity andfairness," he said.

Gov Obi struggles to wiggle outof the Soludo ‘conspiracy'

could intervene tothe extent ofdeclaring the wardc o n g r e s s e sconducted by theKen Emeakayi ledmainstream of theparty illegal.Indications to apossible decision byINEC follows thec o m m i s s i o n ’ sinsistence that it onlyrecognizes the EjikeOguebego faction ofthe party whichreportedly has thesympathy of ChiefChris Uba.

There is little doubtamong PDPpartisans inAnambra that the

THE APC hierarchy hadrecently spread the word

across the state to membersthat it had gotten the INECvoter ’s cards for members.However, those who came tolocations around the 21 localgovernment areas of the statefor the voter ’s cards lastweekend instead of the INECvoter’s cards were formallyregistered as members of theparty.

Indeed, in many places inthe state at the weekend,members of APC were seenregistering new members.

Meanwhile, the assertion by

MANY people in AnambraState expressed shock

weekend when informationfiltered in that Professor CharlesSoludo did not make it at thescreening of governorshipaspirants at the party’s nationalheadquarters in Abuja.

While people wondered why anyparty would not like to fieldsomebody like Soludo as its flagbearer, others said he ought tohave known that Nigerian politicsis not meant for people like him.

APC in secret mobilization drivetwo of the party ’s leadinggubernatorial aspirants,Senator Annie Okonkwo andMr. Godwin Ezemo that theyhave adopted the formerANPP chairman in the state,Chief Pat Orjiakor as theinterim chairman of the APCin the state is being hotlydisputed by the camp ofSenator Chris Ngige.SenatorNgige was not at the meetingwhere Orjiakor was adoptedand his camp is believed notto be inclined towardsOrjiakor, a source close toNgige disclosed at theweekend.

NO fewer that sevenpersons are to vie for the

ticket of New Nigeria PeoplesParty, NNPP, for the Anambragovernorship election. Theparty has already chosen itscandidates for the localgovernment elections.

National secretary of theparty, Mr. Major Abu, whospoke during the presentationof nomination form to one of itsgovernorship aspirants, PrinceLeonard Uchendu at theparty’s state headquarters inAwka, explained that primariesfor the selection of NNPPcandidate for the November 16,2013 governorship election willhold on August 30, 2013.

According to Abu, the partyis collecting only N1 millionfrom the aspirants because ofits belief that asking theaspirants to pay so muchmoney was a way of scaringgood people who may havegood ideas for the development

7 aspirants to participate in NNPP gubernatorial primariesof the state, but could be scaredto

Speaking after picking theform, Uchendu, who is thepresident general ofUmuawulu Town Union inAwka South local governmentarea of the state, promised totackle the critical areas of social

and economic sectors of thestate if elected governor ofAnambra State. Hecommended the incumbentgovernor, Mr. Peter Obi for thegiant strides he recordedduring his tenure andpromised to surpass him ifgiven the opportunity.

Shock, disbelief trail Soludo’sdisqualification in APGA

•Soludo: Red carded •Obi: I am not involved in Soludo's problems

•obtain injunction against INEC

STORIES BY EMMANUELAZIKEN & VINCENT

UJUMADU

VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013—51

WHY did you form thenew political party,

Peoples DemocraticMovement, PDM?

We formed the party becausewe are dissatisfied with thecurrent state of affairs in thecountry. We believe that theexisting political parties do notoffer voters and Nigerians as awhole enough choices and donot advance their interests andwe believe and have seen thatall the existing political parties

We prevailed over the military, so Jonathan isno big deal – Bashir Yusuf, PDM chairman

done enough consultations toregister a political party but theconsultations are not going tostop here. In fact, they haveonly just begun and we aregoing to consult as widely aspossible and will include otherpeople that you have notmentioned. There are manyother PDM members across thelength and breadth of Nigeriathat we are yet to consult andwe will like to appeal to thesemembers that we are going tostill call on them to come andprescribe their diagnosis to theills of the nation as they havedone in the past.

Ingredientof democracy

How do you react toinsinuations that theemergence of the PDM justafter the registration of the AllProgressives Congress (APC)could help the PDP in that itcould help to split theopposition against the rulingparty?

No, there can never be toomuch choice. The truth of thematter is that one importantingredient of democracy ischoice and it is Nigeriansthemselves that will determinewhich is the true and genuinealternative. Right now, we areonly speculating, it is what wedo and not what we say thatmatters.

You can say that there is analternative already inexistence, but I see it differently

and that is why we have a newpolitical party. If we saw thatthere was a genuine alternativethere, we would not haveformed another political party.

Given the personalitiesinvolved in the APC, especiallyGeneral Muhammadu Buhari,what faults do you find in theparty as an alternative to thePDP?

I have not told you that I findany fault in them. What I amsaying is that they have not metthe standard of people like usand I am sure a lot of Nigerianswill tell you the same.Nigerians want a total breakfrom the existing paradigm andthat is what we are trying togive them.

What exactly is this highstandard that you are offering?

For one, we want to ensurethat our party is 100 per centdemocratic; that there will notbe imposition of candidates atany level. Secondly, we are notfocused on tomorrow; we arefocused on the next 50, 100years, so we are here for thelong haul. If we don’t winelection for example in 2015,we would still be there and wewill wax stronger.

Imposition ofcandidates

There are political parties inother countries that have beenthere and out of power for morethan 50 years, but eventuallybecause they say they believein principles and they foughtfor these principles, theyprevailed.

So, this is the kind of visionwe have. We have youngpeople that are out of job, 46per cent of graduates in Nigeriaare out of job, in fact, theNational Bureau of Statisticschurned out a figure of 5 percent of graduates out of job in2012. So, I am just giving youa conservative figure. Wecannot go on like this. Wecannot be focused on onlyacquiring power.

We must be focused ondelivering services to people,providing employment,providing security, not look theother way when people arebeing killed everyday, whenyoung people are looking forjob, when families are breakingup because of poverty and thenwhat people are concernedwith is on how to acquirepower only.

Power is not an end in itself;power is a means to an end.We want to acquire power, butwe want to acquire power onthe basis of principle, on thebasis of programmes for thepeople of Nigeria, not for itsown sake and not for our ownsake.

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,Political Editor

on the military and prevailedso we don’t see any reason whywe can’t prevail under ademocratic environment.

So many people whoassociated with you at thattime like Tony Anenih andAtiku Abubakar have notidentified with you?

You know Nigeria haschanged since 1994. In fact,Nigeria has changed seriouslysince 1999. The demography ofthe country now is such that 46per cent of Nigerians actuallydon’t know what happened in1999.

So, if about half of Nigerianswere children in 1999, we arefocusing on the future and noton the past and we are notclosing our doors to anybody.We hope that elders who sharethe same views with us will seewhat we have seen and jumpthe PDP ship before it sinks andcome and jump on our ship andwork with us to save thiscountry.

You know this is a democracy,everybody has a right to choosewhere they want to be and weare not begrudging anybodythat changes, we are justhoping that more Nigeriansshare in our vision and comeand work with us.

Have you made consultationwith former leaders of thePDM like Senator RolandOwie, Tony Anenih, and AtikuAbubakar?

Consultation involves aprocess and at the level atwhich we are now, we have

and we are going to proceedon a totally different plane andwe are going to give Nigeriansthe kind of party that they havebeen yearning for.

But you were part of thePDP?

Yes I was.So what were the fault lines

you found in the PDP?The most important thing is

that PDP has left Nigeriansand Nigeria and there was noother option than to leave it. Wewant a party that caters to the

•Yusuf

,

,

are united in upholding thecurrent order and the statusquo and we believe that sincewe have been on this path forthese many years without anyprogress, that there is need fora paradigm shift.

Our party as you know hasbeen on the political scenesince 1994, we have beentrying to register this politicalparty since during military rulebut they stopped us, and thisis the third time that we aretrying to register PDM and wethank God that we were able toregister it and I can assure youthat this is the real alternativethat Nigerians are looking for

interest of Nigerians and notthe interest of a few. We want aparty that is not focused onpower, but focused ondelivering services to peopleand I think that this too muchfocus on power is doing a greatdeal of harm to Nigerians andtheir interests.

The PDM was known to haveshaped the affairs of the PDPat the beginning and there isthe insinuation that it has lostmuch of its influence? Are younot afraid you have lost toomuch influence?

Fear is not in our vocabulary.If you have an idea of ourprecedence… we have taken

THE Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, isarguably the country’s most enduring politicalgroup. Initiated by the late Gen. Shehu MusaYar‘Adua in the late 80s, the group, last week, gotits registration certificate as a political party fromthe Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC. The registration came after failed attemptsin the past to register the movement as a politicalparty during military rule. The PDM was one of themajor building blocks of the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) in 1998 with some of itsmembers such as Atiku Abubakar, late ChubaOkadigbo, Anthony Anenih, late Umaru MusaYar‘Adua, Roland Owie and Lawal Kaita amongothers on the frontline at the inception of theFourth Republic politics.

However, there is no question to the fact that theinfluence of the PDM was seriously curtailedduring eight straight years of the OlusegunObasanjo administration when PDM’s topstrategists were either removed from theirpositions of reckoning or compromised. Theinterim National Chairman of the new party,Bashir Ibrahim Yusuf, erstwhile political adviser toformer Vice President Atiku Abubakar andsecretary of the Northern Political Leaders Forum,NPLF, in this telephone interview, the first since theparty was registered, discusses the essence of thenew party and why existing opposition parties aresimply not worth their effort. Excerpts:

We cannot go on like this. We cannotbe focused on only acquiring power.We must be focused on delivering

services to people, providingemployment, providing security


Member, House of Representatives and Vice-President, Parliament of Common-wealth countries, African region, Hon. Daniel Reyenieju, speaking to the pressafter the opening ceremony of the 13th Pan-African Parliamentary session inMidrand, South Africa.

From left: Mr. David Okeme, Brand Building Director, Unilever Nigeria PLC; NnennaOsi-Anugwa, Category Manager, Fab Cleaning and Mr. Ani Gopalan, Vice-President,Operations at the launch of New Omo Multi-Active detergent in Lagos, weekend. Photo:Lamidi Bamidele

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CMYK

54 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013

Wenger: ‘People say buy... But who?’ARSENE Wenger

was left lamentinga “huge, huge blow” asArsenal were beaten 3-1by Aston Villa in theiropening home game ofthe Premier League cam-paign.

“It’s hugely disap-pointing to start thechampionship with adefeat,” he said, as heattempted to digest agrowing list of problemswith the season onegame old.

“We are there to spendmoney,” he said. “Peo-ple say: ‘Buy players,buy players, buy play-ers … ‘ But who? Weanalyse every singleplayer in the world andwork 24 hours a day forthat. We are seriousabout it. Until we buyplayers we have to winfootball games.”

A fan holds a protest banner as Arsène Wenger watches Arsenal’s 3-1 defeatto Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.

Instant impact

A debut goal fromRoberto Soldado

saw Tottenham Hotspuredge out capital rivalsCrystal Palace 1-0 at Sel-hurst Park.

The Eagles put in anindustrious displayupon their return to Pre-mier League competi-tion, but were unable tooffer enough in the finalthird to trouble a Spursside that dominated pos-

•Soldado strikes as Spurssink Palace

session.Luck shone on Spurs

five minutes into thesecond half as AaronLennon used his pace toget to the byline and fireover a cross which wasblocked by the arm of asliding Dean Moxey.

Soldado stepped up toconvert the resultingspot kick, with the Span-iard making no mistakeas he sent Julian Spero-ni the wrong way.

JOSE Mourinho insists he will walk

away from Chelsea if hisMidas touch deserts him.

“I’m not the kind of per-son to be at the same clubthree, four years without

Mourinho vows to quitif he fails winning a trophy, In this

case, I don’t need the clubto say ‘we’re not happywith you, goodbye’.

“I will be the first one tosay: ‘I gave everything Icould, but I didn’t suc-ceed, so let’s go and try adifferent thing’. Of course

it’s about winning tro-phies. My DNA didn’tchange, my nature didn’tchange.”

Rooney: I need game timeMANCHESTER

United and Eng-land striker Wayne Roon-ey is looking to ‘kick on’and build his match fit-ness and sharpness.

“I needed the game(against Scotland) be-cause of the couple of in-juries I have suffered inpre-season,” he said.

“Hopefully, I can kickon from that. I was OKalthough I had a fewpainkillers in the shoul-der injury.

“It was great to have theminutes and now I’mlooking forward to hope-fully getting a fewgames."

•Soldado

•Rooney

N E W C A S T L EUnited manager

Alan Pardew has set hissights on gaining aplace in European com-petition at the end of thecurrent season.

“What I do know is theguys are fitter thanthey’ve ever been un-

Newcastle boss eyes Europeanplace

•Mourinho

der my managementand they’re ready to go.

“Last year was diffi-cult for us, not only withthe extra games but alsobecause it was com-pounded by an injurycrisis. We will be betterarmed next time we gointo Europe and that’swhere we want to play.”

DEFENDER KoloToure says the Liv-

erpool players have hadno difficulties welcomingLuis Suarez back into thefold. “It is nothing for us.We know football, it is bigbusiness. For a playerlike Suarez there is noproblem, we love him.”

Reds loveSuarez—Toure

•Pardew

•Suarez

Wilshere begsfans

ARSENAL midfielderJack Wilshere has

pleaded to the Arsenalfans to stick with the teamafter their opening daydefeat to Aston Villa atEmirates Stadium on Sat-urday.

“It is understandable.People pay their moneyand we have to put in abetter performance in or-der to win games. Wewant to win trophies sothe message is – stick withus, it is a long season. Vil-la are a tough team but weare not happy with ourperformance. We have tolook at ourselves and pickourselves up for the[Champions League]qualifier in the week”.


... A tale of two kids,Okagbare and September 16

I start by apologizing sin-cerely for not writing last

week.I am in the middle of aproject that has furtherstrengthened my beliefthat the future of this coun-try lies in our hands and itis up to us to either makeor mar it. In Calabar whereI am supervising a holidaycoaching clinic in track andfield for secondary schoolstudents courtesy MobilProducing Nigeria, I dailycome across so much po-tentials, that I daily believe.I can imagine if a pro-gramme like this was rep-licated in all the states ofthe federation, even in asmany sports. Let me startthis weeek’s column bytelling you a true life storyof two young boys of about13, born into two differentfootball families. A study oftheir life has revealed thatwhile the Arsenal boy hasgrown to be morose, tiredwith life and dreading eve-ry week end of his footballlife, the boy from Man Uhas grown to be very cheer-ful, full of life, sporting aconfident gait and so full ofconfidence. Three days ago, I was therecipient of a news releaseby the Press chieftains ofthe Honourable Minister/Chairman National SportsCommisssion, from theSpokesperson of the AFN,while a verbal appraisalcame from the Delta StateGovernment, who will notfail through Amaju Pinnickto enumerate all that Gov-ernor Uduaghan has doneto keep her where she istoday. Yes it has become con-venient to quickly identifywith the exploits of Bless-ing Okagbare. It has be-come fashionable to sharein the limelight of a younglady who today threads theglory path of the Mary On-yali’s before her. Wanted someone to alsohelp us craft releases, Imean those of us who fastand pray daily for her suc-cess, we the veritable sup-porters of the lady who haswritten our names in silverin the comity of track and

field nations. September 16 is the daythat FIFFA, through CAFwill hold the final draw todetermine the pairings forthe final ten countries thatwill go into a play off foreventual qualification toBrazil. Forgive my arro-gance in not taking thematch against Malawi intoconsideration as I look for-ward to that very expectantevent that will determinethe weight of our duty go-ing into Brazil. They call it“… the luck of the draw”as you suddenly confrontan opponent believed easyand ready for demolition. South Africa is such anopponent one that Nigeriahas never struggled to beat.Beat them again we did, toenhance our FIFA Rankingthat will be published Sep-tember 12. That ranking willhelp put Nigeria in the fa-voured pot of those coun-tries that will not only playthe second leg match athome but will also bepitched against believedweaker opponents. TheFIFA Ranking will notcease to amaze a lot. It isthat “scientific” eexperi-ment that puts Cape Verdeas the 6th best football play-ing country in Africa whileEgypt lies in the 11th posi-tion and Zambia in thetenth, among others. In oth-er words, if the SeptemberRankings confirm the Au-guust placement, then Ni-geria is in for war againstamong others, B.Faso,Cameroun, Tunisia, Zam-bia, Egypt, South Africa,Ethiopia and Congo. Before then however, weare in for titanic battles inGroup E between Congoand Burkina Faso( only apoint separates them).Ethiopia and South Africaare locked in Group A, Gha-na and Zambia in GroupD and Cameroun and Lib-ya in Group I. Senegal hasnine points in Group Jwhile Uganda has eight. Itis that tough. Just imagine,Nigeria’s Green Eaglesdrawn against the Indomi-table Lions of Cameroun.That, will be the match!See you next week.

MourinhoContinues from BP

Minister assures on foreign coachFROM ONOCHIE

ANIBEZE, Moscow

PRESIDENT of Athletics Federation of

Nigeria, Chief SolomonOgba, had for long,planned to hire a for-eign coach to transformathletics in Nigeria.

But sourcing the fundto pay the wages of oneor two foreign coacheshas always been a prob-lem. The sport has beensuffering so much ne-glect by the governmentfor many years.

Sports minister BolajiAbdullahi who was herein Moscow for the 14th

edition of the WorldChampionships plans toaddress the problem.

He has not only giventhe go ahead for the en-gagement of foreigncoaches for Nigeria, hehas also set in motionthe process to hire oneor two. He was scruti-nizing some of the ap-plications his ministryhas received from topsports coaches and ath-letics instructors here.

And what about themoney to fund the pay-ment of their wages?Will such an exercisenot ridicule Nigeriawhen the ministry be-gins to owe the coachesas had happened be-fore?

“The minister alreadyhas a fund for this. Hehas made provision forthis and we will goahead with the plan,”Ogba said here in Mos-cow

“We shall not haveproblem with paymentof their wages. The min-ister has a special fundfor that,” Julius Ogunro,aide of the minister saidhere while displayingthe applications.

The minister appearedmore determined to hirea foreign coach after thelong sessions he hadhere with Mike Afulaka,the British coach of Ni-gerian parents. Mike,with his laptop , so ana-lysed the races of Bless-ing Okagbare that theminister felt a foreigncoach was needed to liftathletics in Nigeria.

Blessing’s reaction onthe block was not bad butshe did not drive longenough before raisingher head for the powersprinting. At the timeshe did, Shelly Ann Fra-ser and MurrielaAhoure, the winner ofthe gold and silver med-allists respectively andothers were still on thedrive. It was at that mo-ment, which was just fewmetres after take off,that Blessing blew it.Others gathered moremomentum and rosefrom the drive to startsprinting home.

Blessing probably sawthat Fraser was alreadyahead immediately ontake off and quickly end-ed her drive to catch up.But that was the mistakewhich probably madeher drop to the sixth po-sition. Another error thatAfuleka pointed outwere her strides from 50to 60 meters. She wasstruggling and was notsprinting the way sheneeded to. Bolaji Abdul-

SOCCER fans inNigeria are in for

a swell time as one of thebiggest odd sportsbetting company Bet9jais to be formally unveiledto the public on September5th in Lagos.

According to the CEO of

Fans await Beta9ja launch

lahi saw all these andheard the brilliant anal-yses of the British coachwho played back the racerepeatedly while analys-ing every move. Abdul-lahi immediately feltthat the job of really tak-ing Nigeria to a high lev-el in track and field wasbeyond Nigerian coach-es.

Blessing is, however,being coached by JohnSmith, one of the topcoaches in USA. Mosttop athletes have theirindividual coaches. But

why are the Nigeriancoaches not producingtop athletes? Do theyhave programmes thatcan help in producingstars? Does the systemaccommodate them andenhance their perform-ance? Is it their fault ora systemic failure?

Nigeria is here for theWorld Championshipsand the minister feelsthat a foreign coachwould have placed thecountry in a better posi-tion. That’s why he hasapproved that for theAFN.

the Sports betting companyAyo Ojuroye “we intend toformally launch onSeptember 5th, althoughwe have being in businessnow for more than 6months. We arepositioned as thepremier sports bettingcompany in Nigeria bybringing together peopleof vast experience in oddbetting spanning decades.To achieve our targets, we

have engaged the servicesof foreign technicalpartners of repute with over100 years experience toprovide first class service”

Ojuroye said thecompany which alreadyhas outlets at Alaba,Orile,Mushin, Lagos Island,Ikeja, Ikorodu, sangoOtta will provide sportsand leisure services tocustomers in very goodambience.

RAFAEL Nadal has won his first CincinnatiMasters title by winning through two close

tie-break sets against John Isner yesterday.In the opening set there was not a single break

point until the final game before the tie-break. Isn-er put plenty of pressure on Nadal’s serve but theSpaniard showed resolve to save two set points andforce a breaker. Isner was the first to blink in thetie-break to hand Nadal a 5-3 lead, but he earnedthe mini-break back two points later.

Nadal wins first Cincinnati title

•Okagbare

the difference on thescoresheet, but it was ateam showing for Chel-sea who controlled thepace and dictated attackafter attack.

Brilliant passing andbuildup by Blue shirtsup front caused the HullCity squad to tire quick-ly, leaving them gassedand unable to offer any-thing on the attack.

Early on Hull Citykeeper Allan McGregorconceded a silly penal-ty inside six minutes af-ter coming out of goalto challenge FernandoTorres, catching thestriker late on the facewith his arm. McGre-gor made amendsthough, as he savedFrank Lampard’s spotkick.

CMYK

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-8944295. Advert Dept: 01-7924470;Hotline: 01-8737028; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Advert:[email protected]

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

How to Play Sudoku

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

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

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

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

Sudoku

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 19 , 2013

ACROSS: 2, Tally 7, Thorn 8, Titan 10,Agent 12, Nap 13, Avail 15, Groaned 17,Pellet 19, Ill 20, Dwindle 23, Loop 25, Yarn26, Thinned 30, Ark 31, Teller 34, Wrinkle37, Royal 38, Ant 39, Ethic 40, Annoy 41,Dared 42, Wheel.

ACROSS1 Prophet (4)4 Expire (3)6 Desire (4)8 Struggle (6)9 Communication (6)10 Wages (3)12 Mar (5)14 Lees (5)15 Respond (5)18 Slumbering (6)20 Aver (6)24 Poisonous (5)26 Deadly (5)28 Savour (5)30 Pin (3)32 Pester (6)33 Recover (6)34 Askew (4)35 Circuit (3)36 Reluctant (4)

DOWN2 Fit out (5)3 Breathe (7)4 Profound (4)5 Facile (4)6 Bet (5)7 Reel (7)11 Curve (3)12 Spring (3)13 Shelter (3)16 Suitable (3)17 Levy (3)19 Superficial (7)21 Pose (3)22 Disgrace (7)23 Fasten (3)25 Mineral (3)27 Irate (5)29 Larceny30 Toll (4)31 Clutch (4)

DOWN: 1, Shove 2, Trail 3, Angled 4, Long 5,Finally 6, Taper 9, Tan 11, Trinket 13, Apple14, Allot 16, Old 18, Twinkle 21, Early 22,Snarl 24, Phantom 27, Irk 28, Deride 29, Grant32, Local 33, Eager 35, Inn 36, Etch.

Mourinho victoriouson Chelsea return

Frank Lampard of Chelsea celebrates with team-mates after scoring the secondgoal against Hull.

Minister assures on foreign coach — P.55

World Athletics ChampionshipsMedals Table

1 Russia 7 4 6 172 USA 6 14 5 253 Jamaica 6 2 1 94 Kenya 5 4 3 125 Germany 4 2 1 76 Ethiopia 3 3 4 107 Great Britain 3 0 3 68 Czech 2 0 1 38 Ukraine 2 0 1 310 France 1 2 1 411 Poland 1 2 0 312 Colombia 1 0 0 112 Croatia 1 0 0 112 New Zealand 1 0 0 112 Sweden 1 0 0 112 Trinidad & Tobago 1 0 0 112 Uganda 1 0 0 119 Australia 0 2 1 320 Ivory Coast 0 2 0 221 Canada 0 1 4 522 China 0 1 3 423 Cuba 0 1 2 324 Nethelands 0 1 1 2

G S B Total

Barca batter Levante 7 - 0

BARCELONA yesterday began their La Ligatitle defence in devastating fashion, battering

Levante 7-0 at the Camp Nou.Barcelona scored six goals in the opening half of

their first gameThe game had barely got underway when Alexis

Sanchez fired home the opening goal in just thethird minute to get the Blaugrana up and running.Cesc Fabregas provided the assist and the forwardslotted home from close range.

Barca’s star striker Lionel Messi was next up nineminutes later with a strong left-footed shot from thecentre of the penalty area to double the Catalan’slead.

Chelsea 2 Hull 0Palace 0 Spurs 1Liverpool 1 Stoke 0Arsenal 1 A/Villa 3Norwich 2 Everton 2Sunderland 0 Fulham1West Brom 0 Southamp-ton 1West Ham 2 Cardiff 0Swansea 1 Man U 4

ResultsContinues on Page 55

IT was total domination by Jose Mour-

inho’s Chelsea side asnewly promoted HullCity had no answer, fall-ing 2-0 at StamfordBridge.

Goals from Oscar andFrank Lampard made

CMYK

TWO WEEKS TO LIVE

rivers crisis: okupe, jonathan's worst enemy— amaechi

Documents

orji of abia state

growing times

hard times

toview tough times

greenfield assetslimited

paul obanua

development partners

closing bellfrom