No negotiations with Boko Haran

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 61756

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012**

Mr & Mrs

•PG.17

•P.41

N2.9Trn Pension assets: PencComto review investment guideline

•Says Obasanjo's invasion of Odi, a failure•How I'm fighting corruption•We need private refineries, he says

No negotiations withBoko Haram — Jonathan

Continues on Page 5

DELE SOBOWALE•P.38

LES LEBA •P.40

OCHEREOME NNANNA

PRAYERS FOR LAM—The 8th-day Fidau prayer for former Governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina, was held atthe Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan, yesterday. From right: Aishat Adesina, Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State; BunmiAdesina, Nike Adesina, Dr Wasiu Adesina and Alhaja Sarata Adesina (widow) at the event. Photo: Dare Fasube.

BY EMMANUELAZIKEN, POLITICAL

EDITOR, DAPO AKIN-REFON, MICHAEL

EBOH, KUNLE KALE-JAYE & BARTHOLOM-

EW MADUEKE

L A G O S — P R E S IDENT Goodluck

Jonathan, yesterday, dis-missed insinuations of asecret dialogue betweenthe administration andthe Boko Haram just ashe declared former Presi-dent OlusegunObasanjo's invasion of

AMCON saved90% of job lossin banks— Chike-Obi

•P 6

Int'l Oil firmsmount pressureon senators tokill PIB •P 7

CMYK

2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012 — 3

CMYK


CMYK

POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012—5

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

Continues from page 1

No negotiations with BokoHaram — Jonathan

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s cour-age —Anais Nin. Take courage and expand yourlife.

What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’drealized it sooner –Colette

“IT is a curious thing; it appears that happinessis easier to get used to than despair”, says LemonySnicker, an author of many books. Maybe, it is be-cause the second time you had your favourite drink,for instance, your happiness at sipping the deliciousconcoction may not be quite as enormous as whenyou had it the very first time, and the twelfth timeyour happiness may be still less enormous, until itbegins to offer you very little happiness at all.

In this regard, happiness can be rightly, a stateor situation in which opposing forces or factor bal-ance each other out and stability is attained. Thetruth of the matter is that happiness comes fromwithin and is really not affected by outer circum-stances.

Menton sums it aptly: “We cannot be happy if weexpect to live all the time at the highest peak ofintensity. Happiness is not a matter of intensity butof balance and order and rhythm and harmony”.

Odi in Bayelsa State in1999 as a failure thatdid not help to curb mili-tancy in the Niger Deltaregion.

Speaking on nation-wide television mediachat, the president alsogave a robust defence ofthe administration’sfight against corruptionas he set a 2014 date onthe decision whether hewould contest the nextpresidential election ornot.

In the two-hour broad-cast session on televi-sion and radio network,President Jonathan alsopledged to align himselfwith Nigerians if thecitizens choose to retainthe two-term tenure sys-tem for executive officeholders.

The Media Chat pro-gramme anchored by theNigeria Television Au-thority, NTA’s, KuduAbubakar had the Chair-man of the EditorialBoard of Vanguard, Mr.Ikeddy Isiguzo, Editorof The Guardian Mr.Martins Oloja andGbemi Olujobi, EditorSaturday Mirror, aspanelists.

The President deniedinsinuations of the de-clining dominance of hisparty, the Peoples Demo-cratic Party, PDP, in thecountry following con-secutive election lossesin Edo and Ondo states.

He also rebuffed re-ports of the cancellationof the contract betweenthe administration andManitoba Hydro Limitedfor the management ofthe transmission lines ofthe Power Holding Com-pany of Nigeria, PHCN.

Questions were alsodrawn from Nigeriansthrough text messagesand twitter. In one ofsuch questions wherethe sender said thepresident would godown in history as thebest president if he fixesthe Benin-Ore Road andsolves the power prob-lem, Dr Jonathan re-sponded that he wouldbe the best president.

Asked to respond toclaims of backroom dia-logue with Boko Haramfollowing the group’soffer for dialogue, Presi-dent Jonathan said:

“Presently, govern-ment is not dialoguingwith any group. There isno dialogue between theBoko Haram and gov-ernment. Though therewas a news item talkingabout dialogue, but theBoko Haram group is yetto come out. So there isnobody to dialoguewith.”

Against the claims byformer PresidentObasanjo that more forceas was used in Odiwould have helped todislodge the BokoHaram insurgents,

President Jonathan said:“I can give you the

narrative of what led tothe Odi crisis. The peakof the militancy waswhen 12 police officerswere killed, that wascold blooded murderand that made the Fed-eral government to nowinvade Odi. After thatinvasion, myself and thegovernor entered Odi,ordinarily, the governorand his deputy are notsupposed to move undersuch situation, but weentered and saw somedead people. Most ofthe people that died inOdi were mostly oldmen, women and chil-dren, none of the mili-tants was killed.

Odi invasioinwas a failure

“If bombarding Odiwas to solve the prob-lem, then it was neversolved and of course ifthe attack on Odi hadsolved the problem ofmilitancy in the NigerDelta, then the Yar ’Adua government wouldnot have come up withthe Amnesty pro-gramme. So, that shouldtell you that the attack onOdi never solved themilitancy problem andwe had more challengesafter that attack on Odi.”

Responding to a ques-tion on whether hewould be contesting the2015 presidential elec-tions, Dr. Jonathan re-plied:

“I plead with journal-ists; it is too early to aska sitting presidentwhether or not he willcontest elections andthis is one of the reasonswe agitated for this sin-gle tenure issue. Be-cause if a president tellsyou today that he is con-testing election, it willgenerate a lot of issues.If I say I am not contest-ing election, my cabinetmembers will easily re-sign and go because allof them are qualified tocontest that position.

“There is a four-yeartenure which is quiteshort if you look at theAfrican scenario. Mostother African countrieshave six years and someseven years. Four yearsis very short time for apresident to make animpact. Immediately youstart talking about elec-

tions, you get diverted,give us time. Before youask Mr. Presidentwhether he will contestor not, give me time. Idon’t want to distractmembers of my cabinet.

“To know if I wouldcontest again, I will askyou to wait till 2014.Give me some time forme and my cabinet to doour work. I do not wantto distract my team inour quest.”

Asked if his party, thePDP was losing its domi-nance in the polity fol-lowing two straightlosses in gubernatorialelections in Edo andOndo States, he said:

“It is even dangerousfor this country if PDP, forexample, should controlall the states. Then thereis no democracy and thatis one of the challengesthat we have conductingPDP primaries, becausein some states, you lookat the primaries as theelection before the elec-tion. Immediately yousecure the PDP ticket,you are already the gov-ernor, it is not in the bestinterest of this country.

“The PDP worked veryhard, the PDP got sec-ond position in Ondoelection and in some ofthem, the difference wasquite narrow. Except forImo State, in Ondo andEdo states that you men-tioned, we contestedagainst incumbent gov-ernors.

“If you look at thewhole scenario aroundOndo State, Mimiko,himself was a PDP man.When Mimiko contestedthe election the firsttime, his running matewas the state chairmanof the PDP. It was morelike a PDP family but di-vided into two, so that Idon’t see that as a majorchallenge to PDP. It is allfor PDP to go back in thatstate and put its housein order. I believe that inthe next election, thePDP family will come to-gether and PDP will ruleOndo State. We will winnaturally immediatelywe put our house in or-der because we are allPDP members.”

On corruption

On the issue of graft,President Jonathan saidhis administration’s ma-jor imprints in the battleagainst corruption hadbeen positive, noting thatthe battle was started byattacking electoral cor-ruption which he notedwas the mother of all cor-

ruption.“We decided to sanitise

the electoral system, deal-ing with corruption asso-ciated with the electoralprocess. In most cases,people manipulate them-selves into office; stategovernors, local govern-ment chairmen and oth-ers manipulate them-selves into offices with-out being voted for,thereby posing as prob-lems for the country.

“We are aware thatdealing with corruptionassociated with the elec-toral process will ensurethat corruption is dealtwith totally.

“We have done verywell on various fronts interms of fighting corrup-tion. We have sanitizedthe fertilizer subsidyprocess; we have tried insanitizing the electoralprocess; we have nowstarted the audit of theoil sector, pointing to thefact that we are in theprocess of sanitizing thesector.

“If you ask the averageNigerian, they will sayit is all because of cor-ruption, and that be-cause of corruption thatis why there is a pothole somewhere and thataccidents are caused bycorruption. We just be-lieve that everything iscaused by corruption.The retreat we con-ducted and are applyingto do certain things in-cluding correctional or-ders, you will be sur-prised that most peoplewho voted, gave corrup-tion less than 20 percent.

“But in terms of perfec-tion, we believe that cor-ruption is the cause ofall our problems. Cor-ruption is there and wewill continue to fight cor-ruption, no doubt aboutthat. But this govern-ment has tried to inves-tigate the corruption as-sociated with the elec-tions, we have sanitisedit, the corruption associ-ated with procurement offertilizer is enormous, we

have sanitised and we arenow dealing with petro-leum products, we will goahead and sanitise it. Wewill surely sanitise thiscountry.”

The Manitobacontract

Asked if the contractwith Manitoba has beencancelled, the presidentsaid: ”Manitoba’s con-tract has not been re-voked. There were someissues raised because ofmisunderstanding. In2006 when privatizationstarted, Manitoba andothers also bidded andas that time the BPEthat handled the wholetransaction noticed thatthere were some confu-sion and they placed pro-curement of Manitoba asa consultant to manageour transmission and setthe process the proces ofthe privatization.

“Former heads of stateare probably sharehold-ers in some companies Idon’t think they own anycompany of their ownbut no matter what, thesecompanies bidded andthey will be assessedtechnically so you willnot know if it is ownedby a former head of stateor not.”

“The companies thatqualify technically willnow go into the financialround.

Investment inrefineries

President Jonathanalso said that the presentfuel crisis across thecountry would be re-solved only if privateinvestors were attractedto build refineries in thecountry.

He said the adminis-tration was working to-wards adopting the Ca-nadian model. Accord-ing to him Canada has16 refineries owned byprivate individuals, butmanaged under aderegulated system.

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012

From left: Director General, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Alhaji Sani Sidi;Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State; Vice President Namadi Sambo and Minister of WaterResources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, during the Vice President's visit to flood victims in Kaduna State,weekend.

AMCON saved 90% of job lossesin banking sector — Chike-Obi

Says due process has not worked in our countryFaults fixing of energy tariff by regulatory agency

Nigeria’s externalreserves hit $46bn— Sanusi

BY PETER EGWUATU

LAGOS — THE AssetM a n a g e m e n t

Corporation of Nigeria,AMCON, weekend, saidits intervention in thebanking sector saved 90 percent of employees thatwould have lost their jobsin the banking sector.

The corporation alsodecried the adoption of dueprocess and bureaucraticprocess of getting thingsdone in Nigeria, saying:“Despite the

implementation of massivebureaucracy, corruption hasnot declined in the country.”

Managing Director,AMCON, Mr. MustapherChike-Obi, who stated thisat the second Investors’Forum organised by FBNCapital in Lagos, said: “Dowe need all thebureaucracy to get ourthings done better? Weshould be result oriented.We must build roadswhether with or withoutdue process. We don’t havegood roads in Nigeria.”

On AMCON’sintervention in the bankingsector, he, said: “Peoplethought we came to takeover the banks, not knowingwe intervened to preventNigerian banks fromcollapsing and helpingdepositors from losing theirmoney. Also, ourintervention helped 90 percent of the employees in thebanking sector from losingtheir jobs because thesebanks were in seriousnegative balance sheet.What we haveaccomplished now is totake their balance sheet tozero position.”

Faults regulatoryagency over fixing oftariff

While commenting onpower, Chike-Obi, said: “ Ihave been askingeverybody who knowsabout power why we havea regulatory agency that settariff for Nigerian power? It

seems to me that in Nigeriatoday over 90 per cent ofelectricity is not regulated.It is not even generated andsince diesel is unregulated,that means the power islargely unregulated interms of tariff.

"Nigeria also seems to meto be one place in the worldwhere you do not need anelectricity tariff because ifthe tariff gets too highpeople can switch back totheir generators and thereis a corrective mechanismfrom too high energy prices.

“I bring this up because Ilook at all the preferredbidders or winners inGencos and Discos and itstruck me that I did not seea single one of them withgenuine internationalfinancial partners. They allhave good technicalpartners and they all haveplans to raise money fromNigerian banks but Iwonder looking at thequantum of money neededin the power sector, if thequantum of money can beraised locally withoutgenuine internationalfinancial help.

"That is the question I doask and am reallyconcerned about it becausepower is very essential forthis country. We need toknow whether we shouldbe setting types or beencouraging people thatcan generate, transmit anddistribute power and thencharge whatever they likebecause only in that Ibelieve personally that we

can get what is required.”On how things are done

in Nigeria, Chike-Obi said:“ When I came back toNigeria from USA where Ilived for many years, I wastold this is how we dothings and that I need tofollow due process. This ishow we do things and allthat. Don’t bring yourAmerican attitude. We haveto follow due process andtransparency is the kind ofword they use and all that.

"I used to tell them butthese ways of doing thingshave not worked for thiscountry. We have a massivebureaucracy called theBureau of PublicProcurement. You have togo through many thingsbefore you satisfy them. Butdo we need to go throughall these things before weget things right? Ourpeople are not concernedabout results. This processof doing things has nothelped us in many ways. Itmust be changed and wemust be conscious of resultsSome Nigerians are notconcerned about results. Allthey want is due processthat does not produce anyresult and corruption keepsrising.

“ At AMCON, we needbrand new computerswhich will cost $12 millionand I was told we need toadvertise to do this and thatand it took us two years toget the computers becauseof due process. This is notgood for this country.”

BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

LAGOS — NIGERIA'Sexternal reserves have

risen to $45.68 billion,which is the highest in morethan two years.

Governor of CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN,Mallam Sanusi LamidoSanusi, disclosed this at the46th annual dinner ofChartered Institute ofBankers of Nigeria (CIBN),weekend, in Lagos.

According to Sanusi, “asat close of business today(Friday), our foreignreserves stand at $45.68billion. We have keptexchange rate stable withinour announced band ofN155 +or – three per cent.”

The external reserves asat the end of October were$42.67 billion. This impliesthat the reserves rose by$3.01 billion or 0.7 per centbetween October 31 andNovember 16.

Further analysis showedthat the reserves had beenrising persistently sinceAugust 6 when it recordedthe last decline from$36.579 billion to $36.408billion. Also when comparedwith its level of $38.59billion on August 10, 2010,the new level of $45.68billion represents thehighest level of the reservesin 27 months.

In his keynote address,Sanusi said the increase inexternal reserves wasnecessary to protect theeconomy from externalshocks arising from declinein crude oil prices and

emphasised the need forfiscal restraint and fiscalconsolidation.

He said: “It is importantnot to be complacent and itis important to recognisethat there are dark cloudsin the horizon and it isextremely important to startbuilding and continuebuilding the fiscal buffers,go into a period of strongrestraints and serious fiscalrestraints andconsolidation. We mustcontinue to build up theexternal reserves andprotect the economy fromexternal shocks to oil pricesand focus on the strengthand resilience of thebanking system.

“In a year thatgovernment removed 50per cent of fuel subsidies,where you have very highincrease in internationalfood prices and energyprices, where you havegeneral instability andwhere we had forecast thatinflation might reach 14.5per cent in August, inflationis still under 12 per cent. Asat September, inflation was11.3 per cent, but we expectthat there might be aninching up in food inflationfigures expected to comeout on Monday, but becauseof the tight monetaryconditions we have kept wenow have a moderation incore inflation.

“We now have highreserves of more than a two-year high, stable exchangerates, relatively benigninflation, but obviously, veryhigh interest rates andlending rates in the moneymarket."

Family to release burial programme soon

Kayode Eso, the mystery judge —Soyinka

BY ABDULWAHABABDULAH

LAGOS — NOBELLaureate, Professor

Wole Soyinka, hasdescribed the late SupremeCourt Justice Kayode Esowho died last Friday in aLondon hospital as amystery judge even as thefamily of the deceased willmeet in the next two or threedays with a view toreleasing the burialprogrammes.

The Nobel laureate in histribute said though the latejurist titled the narrative ofhis life on the bench: TheMystery Gunman, but forhim, late Eso had remainedthe mystery judge.

According to Soyinka, “itis endlessly fascinating to

consider that he may havechanged the probablecourse of my existence, butthis is not why I mourn him,or pay him tribute. Webonded.

“That bond began withouthis knowledge, monthsbefore I actually stood trialin his court. It began as wemonitored his phone calls,among others, during theWestern Region crisis, andheard him resist pressurefrom the apex of powerurging him to dent theshield of justice. He resistedwith grace, with adisarming sense of humour.Who was this judge? Iwondered.

“At the feast of after-life,or wherever a table is setaside for judges of stellarintegrity, there will Kayode

Eso be seated, in a highplace of honour.”

Meanwhile, the lateJustice Eso’s youngerbrother, Venerable LadipoEso, said yesterday that thelarger family “will meet inthe next two or three daysto decide the next line ofaction.”

According to him, thefamily must consider thepersonality of the late retiredJustice of the SupremeCourt and his standing inthe society, before comingout with his burialprogrammes.

Meanwhile, friends andsympathizers havecontinued to throng theIkeja G.R.A. residence ofVen. Eso to commiseratewith the family on thedemise of their patriarch.


Merger: We are not losing sleep,PDP tells ACN, CPC, others

Says it's merger of dictatorsBY HENRY UMORU

ABUJA—THE nationalleadership of Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP,has again boasted that itwould not lose sleep overthe planned merger ofAction Congress ofNigeria, ACN, Congressfor Progressive Change,CPC, and other oppositionpolitical parties ahead ofthe 2015 presidentialelection.

The PDP, while notingthat the proposed movewas an action in futility,however, described it asthe coming together ofdictators, and urged theACN to resolve what itcalled the sore question

hanging around its one-man ownership by formergovernor of Lagos State,Chief Bola Tinubu.

In a statement signedyesterday in Abuja by theNational PublicitySecretary, Chief OlisaMetuh, PDP also queriedwhat it described as theCPC’s consistenttrajectory of violence asraised in the party ’sreaction to their mergerdeal, which it described asgood for democracy,instead of dressing upfiction as historical factsor taking the usualdescent to the gutter.

The statement read inpart: ‘’While the PDP isnot losing sleep over the

merger of the twoopposition politicalparties, since it is anexercise in democracy andsince they both cannotdefeat the PDP atelections, it is, however,not out of place for us topoint out the major defectsof the merger and whyNigerians will continue toreject it as an alternativeto our great party.

‘’The onus is entirely onthese two parties to acceptthese glaring facts andseek ways out of thesituation or to continuewith the delusion that themerger of brood ofdictators does not disguiseits relish for the funeraltrain, is what Nigerians

need at the moment.‘’The ACN is entirely

owned by Bola Tinubuand brooks no oppositionto his dictates. It is nosecret that the governorsof Lagos, Osun and EkitiStates as well as thewoefully failed candidateof the party in the recentOndo governorshipelection were Tinubu’sdirect imposition.

“It is also a fact thatTinubu unilaterallychased out Ope Bamidelewho won the primaries forEkiti Central senatorialdistrict and imposed hispreferred candidate.Nigerians can stillremember how Tinubu’swife made her way to theSenate."

Int'l oil firms pressure Senators to kill PIBBY HENRY UMORU

ABUJA — STRONGindications have

emerged thatInternational OilCompanies, IOCs, havebegun to engage invigorous lobby of senatorsto ensure that they kill thecurrent PetroleumIndustry Bill (PIB) onarrival.

According to a source,these foreign oilcompanies want thesenators to either abandonthe Bill, which is currentlybefore them or if theymust continue withdiscussions, find ways ofadjusting the terms toaccommodate theirinterests.

A source within thecorridor of government

disclosed that methodsbeing put in place by theIOCs to lobby governmentofficials include hidingunder the FederalGovernment’s ForeignInvestment drive to boostand grow the economy,with threats that the bill,if passed, will result inmassive pushing ofinvestment to other oilproducing countries inthe region.

The IOCs, the sourcesaid, were desperate andlobbying to ensure theamendment of the PIB tosustain the currentrevenue leakages,despite the five years taxwaivers for investors ingas projects dedicated fordomestic gas supply forpower generation.

It would be recalled thatwith the Bill, when passedinto law, the FederalGovernment wouldincrease its revenuegeneration from JointVentures (JVs) andProduction SharingContracts (PSCs) and thisis exactly what IOCs arekicking against.

In the new PIB, thesource said that newconditions attached to JVsand PSCs would enablethe government raise itsshare to rates at par withwhat obtains in other oilproducing countries aswell as introduce royaltiesthat will allow marginalfield producers grow andcompete, in line with theNigerian Content Act,signed into law by

President GoodluckJonathan on April 22,2010.

The source said: “Withthe absence of anenabling law that sets outguidelines for operationsin the oil and gas sector,the Nigerian governmenthas continued to losebillions of dollars in taxdues and an unfavourablePSC terms approved in1993, which are no longervalid for current economicand business realities.

“But the PSC isdesigned such that thefirst five years the hugecapital is invested, theIOCs take a large chunkof revenue estimate of 70per cent of the profitcompared with 30 per centfor the government.”

Gunmen kill retiredPastor, Policeman

BY SUZAN EDEH,NDAHI MARAMA &

ABDULSALAMMUHAMMAD

BAUCHI — TRAGEDYstruck, yesterday

morning, in Bauchi andMaiduguri whenunidentified gunmen killeda Police Inspector attachedto the Government Housein Bauchi as well as aretired Pastor of COCINChurch in Maiduguri, Rev.Ilaisha Kabura.

Vanguard gathered thatthe late police inspectoridentified as BabangidaDanbaba was trailed by hisassailants on his way fromthe mosque alongNasarawa Road in the statecapital after early morningprayer.

Some residents alongNasarawa Road confirmedto Vanguard that theyheard gunshots, but werenot sure exactly where theshots came from and whowas the target.

Confirming the incident,the Bauchi StateCommissioner of Police,Mohammed Ladan said apolice inspector attached tothe Government House wasshot by unknown gunmen.

The Commissioner ofPolice who said that noarrest had been made inconnection with the killingsaid the police were stillinvestigating the case.

Meanwhile, inMaiduguri, gunmeninvaded the residence of aretired Pastor of COCINChurch in Polo ward, Rev.Ilaisha Kabura and shot himdead in the presence of

members of his family asthey were preparing to goto church

An eyewitness told ourcorrespondent that he sawthe two gunmen in front ofthe Reverend’s familyhouse before they firedseveral shots at him andfled without being arrested.

He said that when hesaw the gunmen, hethought they were visitorsof the reverend, until hestarted hearing gun shotssome minutes later.

How Kano lawmakerwas killed

An eye witness hasrecounted how a rankingPDP lawmaker from Kano,Ibrahim Abba Garko, wasmurdered along Kano-Wudil Highway shortly afterobserving his early eveningprayer, Saturday.According to theeyewitness, Garko left hisresidence in company of hisfriends for his buildingunder construction alongYan’awaki, Ungwa Ukugeneral area, Tarauni LocalGovernment Area of themunicipality.

Unknown to himgunmen on motorbiketrailed him from his houseand after about twokilometres caught up withhim and opened fire that hithim on the ‘head , chest,and shoulder’, while othersin his car equally sustainedvarious degree of injuries.

The lawmaker was said tohave died instantly from thegunshot wounds while hislucky friends were taken toan undisclosed hospital inthe ancient city.

Ovia donates N1 bn to floodvictims

LAGOS — THE on-going efforts at

generating funds for therehabilitation of victims ofthe recent flood disasteracross the country havereceived a boost from theChairman of VisafoneTelecommunication, JimOvia, who has donated N1billion to the cause.

Besides, the formerManaging Director ofZenith Bank promised thatVisafone would set upemergency call centresacross the nation to curtailfuture natural disasters likeflooding and furtherassured of the company’scontinued determination toeffectively give back to thesociety and make Nigeriaa better place for all.

While imploring othercorporate organisations notto be left out in the joint taskof providing relief for the

victims, Ovia said: “We havemade our humble donationand we are still looking atother areas of assistance wecan render. Plans are afoottowards setting upemergency call centres tomitigate the effect of futureoccurrence. Since it’s anatural occurrence, we maynot be able to stop it but atleast, lessen the effect onboth the people and ourenvironment throughtimely action which the callcenters can facilitate.”

It would be recalled thatin response to the disaster,the Federal Government, asa stop-gap measure,announced thedisbursement of N500million to the highlyimpacted states,N300million to themoderately impacted onesand N200million to the leastimpacted states.

President Goodluck Jonathan (middle), flanked from left by Mr. Ikeddy Isiguzo (Vanguard), Mr.Muhammed Kudu Abubakar (Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Mrs. Themi Olujobi (The Mirrow)and Mr. Martins Oloja (The Guardian) during the Presidential Media Chat at the Presidential Villa,Abuja, yesteday.


From right: Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, Lagos State Governor; Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire,Lagos State Deputy Governor, Hon. Kolawole Taiwo, Lagos Sate House of Assembly Deputy Speakerand Brig. (rtd) Mobolaji Johnson, former Governor of Lagos State, during the 2000 Days in Office ofGovernor Fashola, held at Blue Roof Hall, LTV 8, Ikeja, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

It’s pro-active introducing Chineselanguage in schools – Fashola

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

LAGOS — GOVER-nor Babatunde

Fashola of Lagos State,yesterday, justified theproposed introduction ofChinese language inpublic schools, sayingone of the advantages isaimed at boosting thestate economy.

The governor whomade the disclosure dur-ing the commemorationof his 2000 Days in of-fice in Ikeja believed thestate government need-ed to move fast in line

Falana urges NASS to reject FG’s $7.9 billion loan requestBY ABDULWAHAB

ABDULAH

LAGOS — THENational Assembly

has been called upon notto approve the $7.9billion being requestedby the FederalGovernment to fundcertain projects withinthe next two years.

In a letter by a Lagoslawyer and rightsactivist, Mr. FemiFalana, SAN, to thePresident of the Senate,David Mark, he said thatrather than embarkingon borrowing, a team of

progressive lawyers arebeing mobilized to assistthe relevant agencies ofthe Federal Governmentin ensuring that alloutstanding fundspayable to theFederation Account fromthe oil sector arerecovered while theculprits are brought tobook without any delay.

Urging the NationalAssembly not to approvethe request for theforeign loan, Falanasaid, “the FederalGovernment should beadvised to collect the

several billions of dollarswhich the NigerianNational PetroleumCorporation and anumber of oil companieshave refused or failed toremit to the FederationAccount in violation ofthe provisions of Section162 of the Constitution ofthe Federal Republic ofNigeria, 1999 as

amended.”He said, from the

reports of the committeesset up by the FederalGovernment toinvestigate the oil sector,it showed that there weremonumental frauds inthe sector, adding,“contrary to the earlierofficial figure of N1.3trillion, the Accountant –

General of theFederation put forward afigure of N1.6 trillion, theCBN N1.7 trillion whilethe Committeeestablished subsidypayment of N2,587.087trillion as at 31stDecember, 2011amounting to more than900 per cent over theappropriated sum of

N245 billion.“This figure of

N2,587.087 trillion isbased on the CBN figureof N844.944 billion paidto NNPC, in addition toanother figure ofN847.9426 reflected aswithdrawals by NNPCfrom the excess crudeaccount, as well as thesum of N894,201 billion

3,000MW power generation for Lagos soon

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

LAGOS — LAGOSState government

has said it will scale upelectricity generationwithin the state to at least3,000 megawatts withinthe next two years, theCommissioner for Energyand Mineral Resources,Mr.Taofiq Tijani has said.

Meantime, SenatorGbenga Ashafa, repre-

with the global challengeand more important, Chi-na is an economic worldpower.

He said: “The Chineseare in our homes morethan we care to admit.China has become ourlargest economic part-ner.”

Fashola recalled an in-stance where there wasa need to have an inter-preter while a contractu-al agreement was to besigned between the stategovernment and a Chi-nese contractor, addingthat it was a Chinesewho understood English

that came to their rescue.Fashola explained that

as the world economy istilting in favour of Chi-na, the trend might even-tually affect the English.‘’Don’t be surprised En-glish may go if the glo-bal power moves to Asia.”

While commenting onthe traffic law, theGovernor acknowledgedreduction in crime rate,saying that the law hasimproved the safety onthe roads. ‘’The reportedcase of crime hasdropped from 60 per centin September to 30 at theend of October,” he said.

senting, Lagos East Sen-atorial District hasstressed the urgent needfor private sector to buyinto the energy sector aswell as sponsor the train-ing of quality manpowerthat will control the sec-tor.

Tijani and Ashafa spokeat the weekend during aformal graduation cere-mony in honour of firstgraduating set of 15young electrical engi-

neers under the YouthEnergy Career Pro-gramme (YECP) run bythe Lagos State Electrici-ty Board, LSEB, andsponsored by Ashafa, withSiemens, a global playerin the power sector astrainer partner.

Tijani, stated that theproject is expected to berealised through continu-ing partnership with pri-vate sector investors in thestate power sector.

Fuel scarcity: 16 parties seekre-opening of Capital Oil

Adeboye vows to resettleflood victims

GENERAL Overseer of Redeemed

Christian Church of God,RCCG, Pastor EnochAdeboye, has said that theinterest of his ministry wasto see that victims of therecent flood that ravagedparts of the country were re-settled in their natural com-munities.

Pastor Adeboye made theassertion shortly after do-nating food items and de-

BY CLIFFORDNDUJIHE

DISTURBED thatthe lingering fuel

scarcity in the countrymight worsen, leaders of16 political parties havecalled for the re-openingof Capital Oil and Gas In-dustries Limited, whichwas shut down weekendon account of an ex-parteorder by an Abuja Feder-al High Court.

The order was sequel toa suit by the Asset Man-agement Corporation ofNigeria, AMCON,against Capital Oil andGas and Mr. IfeanyiUbah.

Claiming that CapitalOil controlled about 35 percent of daily supply ofpetroleum products inNigeria, the party leaders,in a joint statement, saidthey were amazed that “aFederal High Court inAbuja could give order tofreeze the assets of Capi-tal Oil on a matter that isbeing adjudicated by acourt of parallel jurisdic-tion in a Federal HighCourt in Lagos” without“consideration for themasses and its implicationfor the Nigerian economy.

Party leaders, who ex-pressed concern over the

issue, included Chief SamEke (Citizens Popular Par-ty, CPP);Engr DamianOgbonna (Peoples Pro-

gressive Party, PPP); HonOyetakin Ebenezer M(Nigeria Advance Party,NAP), among others.

tergents to over 2,000 inter-nally displaced persons atthe flood resettlementcamps at Ogbe-Ijoh, WarriSouth-West Local Govern-ment Area, Delta State.

Pastor Adeboye, who wasrepresented by the pastorin charge of Delta Province2 of the ministry in Warri,Pastor Olufemi Olumide,enjoined the victims to seetheir plight as opportunityto connect to God.

Driver docked for allegedlyassaulting LASTMA official

LAGOS — A 33-year-old commercial bus

driver, popularly calledDanfo, Mr. Hakeem, wasdocked at the weekend forallegedly assaulting anofficial of the Lagos StateTraffic Management Au-thority, LASTMA,Mr.Abiodun Onafeko,when he attempted to ar-rest him for driving on thededicated Bus RapidTransit, BRT, lane at Ji-bowu, Lagos.

Hakeem, as alleged,was assisted in the assaultby his conductor, Mr.James Ige, who after theincident took to his heels.

The driver, a native ofAgo Owu, Abeokuta,Ogun State, confessedthat he drove his bus withthe number plate:AAA47XA on the dedicat-ed lane from Palm groveto Onipanu due to trafficgridlock.

NGO holds Remembrance Dayfor road traffic victims

LAGOS — ABOUT72 hours after sever-

al people lost their livesat Otedola Link Bridge,on Lagos-Ibadan Ex-pressway, a Non Govern-mental Organisation,Steerite Driving Schoolwill today commence athree day sensitizationprogramme to commem-orate the World Remem-brance Day for Road Traf-

fic Victims 2012, aimed atraising the consciousnesson road safety measures.

Speaking at the week-end, the Chief ExecutiveOfficer, of Steerite, Mr.Samuel Akinfe, explainedthat the prrogramme withthe theme; 3Ds, Drunk,Distracted and Drowsydriving have causedneedless tragedies on thehighway.


S-West PDP slams ACN overLagos LG election caseLAGOS — THE

Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, in the South-West has described thearm-twisting tacticsemployed by the ActionCongress of Nigeria,ACN, to allegedlysubvert the course ofjustice in the ongoingIkoyi/Obalende LocalCouncil DevelopmentArea chairmanshipelection Appeal case asshameful and a furtherdemonstration of theparty ’s hatred fordemocracy and rule oflaw.

The party said the ChiefJustice of Nigeria, CJN,Justice Mariam Muktarand other well-meaningNigerians must as amatter of urgencyintervene in the matter toprevent the ACN fromsubverting the will of thepeople by blackmailingthe judiciary intoabandoning the case.

Zonal PublicitySecretary of the PDP,Hon. Kayode Babade, ina statement yesterdaysaid among other thingsthat; “It should berecalled that our partycandidate in the October22, 2011 council polls,Hon. Ibrahim BabajideObanikoro was declaredthe lawful winner of theIkoyi/Obalende LocalCouncil DevelopmentArea chairmanship by

the election tribunalpanel led by Hon.Justice DolapoAkinsanya on October 4,2012.

“That decision wasappealed by ACN and itscandidate Mr. WaleAdeniji.

“Few days ago, theElection Appeal Paneladjourned to November15, 2012 for adoption ofaddresses by all partiesto the case.

“However, we weresurprised to learn thatthe court announced anadjournment of the caseindefinitely without anyreason.

“This is an indirect wayof ‘arresting’ the AppealTribunal judgment orstall the proceedings soas to allow the ACNcandidate, Wale Adenijito continue to enjoy amandate that does notbelong to him.

Obasanjo, Tinubu, others at LamAdesina’s 8th day prayer

BY OLA AJAYI

IBADAN —FORM er President, Chief

Olusegun Obasanjo wasamong eminentNigerians that attendedthe 8th day prayer held

in honour of the formerGovernor of Oyo State,Alhaji Lamidi Adesinawho died last Sunday.

This came as GovernorAbiola Ajimobi said hisadministration wouldimmortalise the latepolitician for themeritorious role heplayed in the socio-political development ofthe state during his life.

Dignitaries at the fidauprayer included formerGovernor Bola AhmedTinubu of Lagos; theNational Chairman ofAction Congress ofNigeria (ACN), ChiefBisi Akande; GovernorBabatunde Fashola(Lagos), Governor RaufAregbesola (Osun),G o v . I b i k u n l eAmosun,(Ogun), Gov.Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti)and Gov. AdamsOshiomhole (Edo).

Others included formerGovernors RashidiLadoja and OmololuOlunloyo; the Chief

Judge of Oyo State,Justice Badejoko Adenijiand the Speaker of thestate House of Assembly,Mrs. MonsuratSunmonu.

Present also werewives of Oyo and EkitiState governors, Mrs.Florence Ajimobi andBisi Fayemi; SenatorsAyo Adeseun andOlufemi Lanlehin;former GovernorsOlusegun Osoba andNiyi Adebayo; AareMusulumi of Yorubaland,Alhaji Abdul-AzeezArisekola Alao; Mr. ObaOtudeko; AlhajiAdesina’s deputy, ChiefIyiola Oladokun, amongothers.

Speaking at theObafemi AwolowoStadium, venue of thefidau prayer, Ajimobisaid Lam AdesinaScholarship EndowmentFund would beestablished for thebenefit of brilliant butindigent students.

Osun appoints acting CJ

OGUN PDP: Court sacksex-President Obasanjo faction

OSOGBO — OSUNState governor,

Mr. Rauf Aregbesola inpursuant to Section 271,Subsection 4 of theConstitution of theFederal Republic ofNigeria 1999 (asamended) has appointedHon. Justice Gloria E.Oladoke as the state’sActing Chief Judge.

Justice Oladoke who isthe most senior judge ofthe High Court in thestate will today (MondayNovember 19, 2012) besworn in at the StateSecretariat, Abere.

It would be recalledthat the Speaker, stateHouse of Assembly, Hon.Najeem Salam hasurged the governor to fillthe vacant post on acting

capacity following theirrejection of the nomineeof the governor for thepost of the state ChiefJudge, Justice OyebolaAdepele Ojo, claimingthat the house based itsdecision on the rule ofthe house and theconstitutional clause thatbars the parliament fromacting on the matterpending in court.

A statement by theDirector, Bureau ofCommunications &Strategy Office of theGovernor, Mr. SemiuOkanlawon stated thatJustice Oladoke wasappointed a judge of theHigh Court of Osun Stateon December 21, 2000and seconded to theCustomary Court ofAppeal as President inJuly 2010.

BY GBENGA OLARI-NOYE

BY ABDULWAHABABDULAH

ABEOKUTA — AFederal High

Court sitting in Lagoshas voided the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP'scongresses conducted bya faction loyal to formerPresident OlusegunObasanjo in Ogun Statein July from which anExecutive Committee ledby one Dipo Odujinrinhas emerged.

Justice Okon Abang,who presided over thecase in his judgement atthe weekend ordered the

affected officials, whoemerged from the voidedstate, local governmentand ward congressesconducted in the state inJuly to vacate offices andsurrender the affairs ofthe party to those officialswho emerged from theearlier congressesconducted by theharmonised Dayo Soremiled committee.

Justice Abang thereforeordered the PDP toaccept the AdebayoDayo-led committee asthe authentic manage-ment body of the party inthe state.

Ekiti varsity certificates tocarry recipients’ biometricdetails

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

ADO EKITI — Asfrom now on any

certificate issued by theauthorities of Ekiti StateUniversity, EKSU, wouldhenceforth carry thebiometric of the recipientincluding thephotograph as well asother security features

The state governor, Dr.Kayode Fayemi droppedthis hint in Ado Ekitiweekend during aninteractive session withthe students of tertiaryinstitutions in the state.

Fayemi said theintroduction of thespecial security features

became necessary so asto curb cases of certificateforgery andimpersonation that havebeen on the increase inrecent times.

According to him, nofewer than 200 nameswere sent to theuniversity forauthentication ofcertificate by theGovernment of OgunState during theBiometric capturecarried out by the state.

He said if thecertificates had carriedthe photographs of therecipients, it would havemade the authenticationeasier for Ogun State.

From left: Dr. Patrick Fay, Ireland Embassador to Nigeria; Mr. Segun Aina, President/Chairman,Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria,CIBN; Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Central Bank of NigeriaGovernor, at the 46th Annual Bankers Dinner organised by CIBN, at Harbour Point 4, Lagos. Photo:Diran Oshe.

Mimiko pledges evenstate-wide development

BY DAYO JOHNSON

AKURE —GOVER-nor Olusegun

Mimiko of Ondo Statehas stated hispreparedness to workclosely with allstakeholders in the stateto move it forward in thenext four years.

Mimiko said thisduring a specialthanksgiving service forhis re-election held at theCathedral Church of St.Stephen Ikare-Akoko.

According to him, thetime has come for allstakeholders in the stateto come together andwork for the bettermentof the state and secure agood future for itirrespective of theirdifferences declaringthat there could be no

victory withoutopposition.

He remarked that“now that the electionhas come and gone, thereis the need for allstakeholders to worktogether.”

The governor reiteratedhis plan to continue towork assiduously for theprogress of the state.

He added that hewould continue “to matchforward like a soldier”,assuring that all on-going projects in thestate would be completedand new ones awarded.

He lauded traditionalrulers of Akoko stock forstanding firm in theirbelief for thecontinuation of hisgovernment, promisingnot to disappoint them.


NUPENG, PENGASSAN warnagainst fuel subsidy removal

BY JOHNBOSCOAGBAKWURU

Rivers community dedicatesbuilding project in Lagos

Uduaghan lauded overappointment to DESOPADEC board

U G H E L L I — T H EUrhobo Political

Movement, UPM, week-end, commended DeltaState governor, Dr. Em-manuel Uduaghan, forthe nomination of its Na-tional Chairman, ChiefChristopher Obiuwevbi,as member representingUghelli North and Ethi-ope East Local Govern-ment Areas of the state

on the board of DeltaState Oil Producing Ar-eas Development Com-mission, DESOPADEC.

The group, in a state-ment by its National Sec-retary, Mr. Austine Ow-hofaria and NationalPublicity Secretary, Mr.Godspower Okagbare, atthe end of its monthlygeneral meeting, said;“Obiuwevbi is a teamplayer who can achievethe set goals of the com-mission.”

BY FESTUS AHON

IN line with the Federal Government’s

policy that communitiesshould complement gov-ernments’ efforts withself-help projects, the Ki-rikese community of Oki-rika, Rivers State, week-end, dedicated the firstphase of its multi-pur-pose building in Lagos,

an event that attractedprominent sons anddaughters of the commu-nity. Welcoming guests onthe occasion, the presi-dent, Mr. Charles Ol-ungwe, expressed grati-tude to River State Gov-ernment for its support atthe inauguration of theproject.

CALABAR—NIGERIANS will soon wit-

ness the worst fuel scarcitysituation and high cost ofpetroleum products, if theFederal Government goesahead to withdraw finallyoil subsidy without puttingin place the four refineriesto function optimally, theNigeria Union of Petroleumand Natural Gas Workers,NUPENG, and Petroleumand Natural Gas SeniorStaff Association of Nigeria,PENGASSAN, have said.

President GoodluckJonathan said recently thatthere would be final remov-al of fuel subsidy and thatthe money generated fromthe subsidy removal wouldbe used to put in place in-frastructure in the country.

Addressing journalists inCalabar, Cross River State,at the weekend, Presidentof NUPENG, ComradeIgwe Achese, flanked byPresident of PENGASSAN,Comrade BabatundeOgun, and some executivemembers of the two unions,said it was shameful thatNigeria was importing pet-rol from Niger and Ghanathat had recently discov-ered oil.

Comrade Achese notedthat while the unions werenot against the withdrawalof subsidy, relying almostcompletely on importationof petrol would continue toimpoverish Nigerians.

He said the four refiner-ies in Nigeria currentlyfunction at 20 per cent ca-pacity, an indication thatthe country would contin-

ue to rely on importation ofthe product at higher coststo the detriment of the citi-zens.

He said: “If we arederegulating the product,you will agree with me that

there is going to be a veryhigh inflation rate in thecountry, the cost of livingwould be very high. Butthen what are the palliativemeasures that governmentis going to put in place?

“I read in the papers, thepresident saying that themoney that would be savedfrom the subsidy removal iswhat they would use to putinfrastructure on ground."

UNVEILING OF ANIOMA CONVENTION CENTRE: From right: Chief Peter Nwaboshi, Chairman,Peoples Democratic Party, Delta State; Mr. Chike Ogeah, Commissioner for Information and HRM ObiChukwu Malije, Obi of Onicha Ugbo, during the unveiling of Anioma Convention Centre in DeltaState. Photo Nath Onojake.

Mr. Tony Okoroji

APOLOGY

(COSON).We also regret any injury the

said publication must havecaused him as we hold him inhigh esteem.

- Editor

ON OCTO-BER 14,2011, wepubl i shedan articlee n t i t l e d' ' O k o r o j imust ac-count for N3million ofEssien-Ig-bokwe Buri-al Funds,' onour Internetsitew w w .vanguardngr.comand on page31 of Van-guard of thesame date.

We havesince dis-covered thepublicationas incorrect and as such re-tract the said news publica-tion in its entirety.

We, therefore, tender an un-reserved apology to ChiefTony Okoroji, Chairman,Copyright Society of Nigeria

PUBLIC NOTICE

The public is hereby informed that the above named club has applied tothe Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘Cof the Companies andAllied MattersAct of 1990.

1. Francis Ebosie - President2. Amaechi Ebonnugwo - Vice president3. Comrade Joessy Umeh - Secretary4. Ugochukwu Izundu - Treasurer5. Stanley Ihuarulem - Member

1. To ensure the promotion of peace and Unity among members.2. To promote more friendly relationship among members both here

and abroad.3. To establish a body that will unite all members for a common goal.4. To contribute in any way possible to the aspirations of Omega

Unique Foundation Club of Nigeria.5. Assist to promote economic position and well being of members.Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, within 28 days of thispublication.

The TrusteesAre:

AimsAnd Objectives:

OMEGA UNIQUE FOUNDATION CLUB OF NIGERIA

Signed:Barristers & Solicitors.IFEANYI UGONABO & CO.


BY EMMA AMAIZE

Oshiomhole wantsconstitution to addressindigene-settler dichotomy

BENIN—AHEAD ofthe proposed

amendment of the 1999constitution by the Na-tional Assembly, Gover-nor Adams Oshiomholeof Edo State, weekend,declared that Nigerianeeded a constitutionthat will protect therights of the people tolive in any part of thecountry.

Oshiomhole, who stat-ed this during an inter-active session with mem-bers of the House of Rep-resentatives from thestate and Action Con-gress of Nigeria, ACN,caucus leaders at Gov-ernment House, BeninCity, said the indigene-settler dichotomy whichdivides the peopleshould be adequatelyaddressed.

He said: “Edo peopleare energetic and enter-prising and reside in allparts of the country. Weshould, therefore, work

DONATION: Olufemi Olumide, Pastor-in-charge of Delta Province 2 of Redeemed Christian Churchof God, RCCG (2nd left), presenting relief items to internally displaced persons on behalf of GeneralOverseer of RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to Madam Carmy Peregba at the flood resettlement campat Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State.

BY SIMONEBEGBULEM

out a constitution thatremoves discriminationin all guises so that peo-ple are free to live andthrive wherever theychoose to live in. Peoplecannot continue to bestrangers in a place theychoose to live and settlein. I want my children toinherit a nation unitedon a purpose and not ona configuration of ethnicdivide.”

He urged the lawmak-ers, as representatives ofthe people, to be morereflective on the issue soas to arrive at decisionsthat will serve the inter-ests of the people andsafeguard their welfareand well-being.

He urged the NationalAssembly to grab the op-portunity of the ongoingefforts to amend the 1999constitution to ensurethe outcome was gearedtowards building a na-tion where every citizenhad a stake and benefit-ed from the rights andprivileges available to allfree people.

FG, N-Delta states urged to givepriority to education

RIVERS State governor, Chibuike Roti-

mi Amaechi, governor ofEkiti State, Kayode Faye-mi, Governor Peter Obi ofAnambra State andformer Vice President ofthe World Bank, Prof. ObyEzekwesili, have urgedNiger Delta states and theFederal Government togive priority to education-al advancement.

Speaking at theBRACED states 2012 Ed-ucation Summit at Gov-ernment House in PortHarcourt, GovernorAmaechi said a countrythat failed to give priority

Ex-militants chase former leaders foralleged embezzlement

to education would bedoomed.

He said: “If we don’tgive priority to education,our country will bedoomed, and I believethat is why we have gath-ered here today becauseeducation is first, it is thefuture of our children andif we don’t do that, ourchildren and future willbe doomed.”

Key attributes

Amaechi also explainedthat education had servedas a platform for the emer-gence of state, national

and world leaders, notingthat four key attributeswere needed to achievequality education in thecountry.

He listed them to in-clude a conducive atmos-phere to study, qualifiedteachers and training, ba-sic infrastructure and cur-riculum, and consistentfunding to sustain theproject.

Amaechi said with thecurrent priority given toeducation by his admin-istration, parents nowtransfer their childrenfrom private schools to thepublic schools built bygovernment.

YENAGOA—SOMEex-militant leaders

from Bayelsa State areon the run, following amanhunt for them bysplinter groups of dis-armed ex-militants for al-legedly siphoning theirentitlements.

Chairman, SecondPhase Amnesty UnpaidEx-militants, numberingabout 1,000, EmomotimiAzebri, told Vanguardyesterday, that theirleaders in collusion withsome government offi-cials allegedly divertedtheir money for personaluse.

He said: “Initially, wereceived our monthlyentitlements for abouttwo to three monthsthrough our different ac-

counts opened for thepurpose in the UnitedBank for Africa, UBA,before our ex-militantleaders, in conjunctionwith some unscrupulousgovernment officials, di-verted the money to theirprivate pockets.

“We have put in placea machinery to checktheir movement. So longas they live in the coun-ty, there is no hidingplace for them.

“We are ready to diewith these ex-leaders,who are busy buyingfleets of cars and build-ing houses and sleepingin hotels with our mon-ey.”

He said a similar prob-lem reared its head inneighboring Delta Staterecently but added thatdelegates from the Pres-idency partially ad-

dressed it.Azebri said they would

want a similar interven-tion by the Presidency inBayelsa State.

He stated the determi-nation of the ex-militantsto quiz their runawayleaders whenever theywere caught.

He said the ex-mili-tants would, henceforth,take their destiny in theirhands and burn housesand vehicles discoveredto have been acquiredwith their money.

Azebri said some of theaffected ex-militantsserved in Ogri andEgane camps, andwarned that their runa-way leaders would not bespared when ever theywere caught.

“We are angry. If wesee them, we will handlethem with our hands and

I tell you, it will bebloody because we willno longer fold our arms.

“They want us to goback to the creek, but we


300 Nigerians deported from Botswana

Poly graduates angry with FGBY CHIDI NKWOPARA

Okonkwo eulogises Saraki

LASUTH Provost stressesneed for health sector devt

OWERRI—THE leadership of National

Association of Technolo-gists in Engineering,NATE, has appealed tothe Federal Governmentto release the white pa-per on the ErnestShonekan panel on thedisparity betweenHigher National Di-ploma, HND, and uni-versity degree.

The National Presidentof NATE, Dr. LeoOkereke, made the ap-peal weekend while ad-dressing a press confer-ence in Owerri.

LAGOS—THE Federal, state and local

governments have beenadvised to devotegreater attention to thestrengthening of thecountry’s health system.

The Provost , College ofMedicine, Lagos StateUniversity Teaching Hos-pital, LASUTH, ProfessorOlumuyiwa Odusanya,gave the advice whiledelivering an inaugurallecture, entitled “healthin the interest of the pub-lic”, at the main campusof Lagos State Univer-sity, Ojo.Professor Odusanya

LAGOS—PRESIDENTof South East politi-

cal action group, C21,Sen Annie Okonkwo, hasdescribed the late Dr.Olusola Saraki, as theundisputed benevolentChief Priest of Kwarapolitics.

In a statement by hisSpecial Assistant, Me-dia, Mr. Collins Ugwu,Sen. Okonkwo noted thatDr. Saraki was a “uniquemedical politician whoseproven surgery inmasses' generosity pro-vided him the magic ofhis endowed popularityto his very end.”

“Mr. President Sir, 11years is more thanenough time for a circu-lar to be issued in thecivil service.

“We urge you to dem-onstrate the political willto release this longawaited circular,” Dr.Okereke pleaded.

NATE leadership ex-pressed serious worry thatproducts of polytechnicswere known not to rise be-yond level 14 in the civilservice, adding that manyof them had been frustratedout of service when theirjuniors were promotedabove them on account oftheir HND qualification.

called for a paradigmshift in order to improvethe health of the people,pointing out that thehealth system and serv-ices must make the peo-ple the centre of activi-ties.

Advising health workersto become advocates ofhealth policy that wouldplace the health agenda onthe front burner of govern-ment decisions, he also sug-gested an increased aware-ness on the social determi-nants of health and adop-tion of healthy behavior bythe people.

He said: “Saraki has apeculiar charisma that isnot noisy, yet very loudby the ease of his adap-tation to all classes of hispeople, especially themasses.

“Infact, it is safe to saythat Dr. Saraki is the be-nevolent Chief Priest ofKwara politics, a true di-viner of their needs, anda thorough political cap-tain whose arm band maynot find a fitting hand assuccessor.

“I mourn with Nigeriahis passage as I condolehis family to look up withcheer and pride.”

VISIT: From right: Mr Mideno Bayagbon, Editor, Vanguard Newspapers; Mr Foluso Philips, Chair-man, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, Board, and Mr Tunji Olugbodi, Co-chairman, Com-munications Committee, NESG, during the visit by NESG to Vanguard Newspapers' office, Apapa,Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

ENUGU—NO fewerthan 300 Nigerians

living in the Republic ofBotswana have been de-ported home by Lieuten-ant General SeretseKhama Ian Khama's ad-ministration in the pastfew months, after the au-thorities refused to re-new their permits.The angry deporteeswant President GoodluckJonathan and the Na-tional Assembly toquickly look into the re-lations betweenBostwana and Nigeria inorder to ascertain thetrue conditions of Nige-rians living in that coun-try.

The returnees, most ofwhom had lived andworked in the SouthernAfrican country, saidsince the assumption ofGeneral Khama, whosemother was of British ori-gin, Nigerians in thatcountry had been sub-jected to dehumanisingconditions and racialabuse, even when, theyclaimed, they had beenlaw-abiding and of good

behavior.Alleging that the target

of the Khama govern-ment had been how to getrid of innocent Nigerianspursuing a just course ordoing genuine busi-nesses in the country,they claimed that alltheir efforts to make theBostwana authorities un-derstand that they werepeace-loving and not in-terested in criminal ac-tivities fell on deaf earsas they were only inter-ested in sending themout without any reason.

Speaking with Van-

guard on the ordeals ofNigerians in the handsof the Botswana officials,Mr. Kingsley Ndubuisifrom Anambra State, whoreturned to the countrywithout his belongingsin September, this year,said all Nigerians whosepermits expired wereforcefully deported, leav-ing their property, wivesand children behind.

The most annoying ofall the troubles Nigeri-ans are facing in thatcountry accoprding tohim, is the incessantstamping of, PI, mean-

ing Prohibited Immigranton the passport of Nige-rian nationales by theBostwana authorities; theimplication is that such aperson cannot enterBostwana again, accord-ing to Ndubuisi.

He said some of thevictims of the “flush Ni-gerians policy” are welltrained Nigerian doctors,pharmacists and busi-nessmen such asChinaenye Uzoho,Chinonso Opara, Dr.Henry,Vitus KingsleyIkekwem, Chika Uzo,among others.

BY TONY EDIKE

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

AWKA—TRADERS inOnitsha, Anambra

State, weekend, said theN17.6 billion voted bythe Federal Governmentfor flood victims in thecountry was not enough,considering the level ofdestruction caused by it.

Consequently, theyurged that the money be

Traders want upward review of floodvictims' rehabilitation fund

reviewed upward in theinterest of those affectedby the problem.

Members of the NewMotor Tyre and TubeDealers Association, whomade the call while do-nating food items andcash worth N25 millionto some less privilegedhomes as part of theircontribution towards al-leviating their suffering,

observed that the amountmight not even beenough to solve the prob-lem caused by the floodin one state.Some of the items do-nated to the homes were264 bags of rice, 66 bagsof semolina, 93 bags ofIndomie noodles, tencartons of Milo, ten car-tons of ovaltine and sev-eral cartons of toilet roll.

PUBLIC NOTICE

This is to inform the general public that the above named church isapplying to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja for registrationunder Part C of the Companies andAllied MattersAct of 1990.

1. Rev Dr. Fidelis Eboagwu – General Overseer2. Rev Mrs. Isioma Eboagwu – Assistant General Overseer3. Mr. Christian Efedi – General Secretary4. Mr. Godwin Ogugwa – Treasurer5. Mr. Fredrick Endurance – Member

1. To propagate the Gospel and win Souls for Christ.2. To plant and establish churches inAfrica and beyond.3. To usher believers into creativity through skill acquisition and self

reliance projects.4. To establish Bible institute for the training of church workers.Any Objection to the registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, CorporateAffairs Commission, Plot 565, Ndola Square, WuseZone 5,Abuja, within 28days of this publication.

THE TRUSTEESARE:

AIMSAND OBJECTIVES:

BIBLE FAITH FAMILY CHURCH(AKA) CHRIST FAMILY CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL

Signed:J. O. Nwabor Esq, Z.O. Nzebi Esq.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named association hasapplied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration underpart “C” of the Companies andAllied MattersActs 1990.

1. Dr. Boyd Ollen - Coordinator2.Alh. RasakAbiodun - Secretary3.Alh. Yunusa Bebe - Treasurer4. Mrs. Ngozi Ezeji - Financial Secretary

1. To take record of names and locations of all those who engage in thebusiness so as to regulate the activities.

2. We will ensure the proper strategy for monitoring and development ofthese members and their business.

3. To create enabling environment to improve on food management,preparation and distribution.

4. To organize workshop, contence as regard training on food (preparationand management, to ensure healthy distribution and preservation).

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, CorporateAffairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, OffAguiyiIronsi Street, Maitama Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

The TrusteesAre:

AimsAnd Objectives:

THE ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL FOOD DISTRIBUTORS AND MANAGERS OF NIGERIAPUBLIC NOTICE

Signed: (Secretary)Alh. Rasak Abiodun


How to protect judiciary from abuse—Adoke, Fashola

Minister tasks contractorson Enugu-PH Expressway

BY ANAYO OKOLI

Warri South LG boss dissolvesrevenue sub-c'ttees

GOAL Nigeria graduates 640Mrs. Iwalola Akin-Jimoh, said the pro-gramme was imple-mented by StandardChartered Bank and YouthEmpowerment Founda-tion.

She said: “Last year, wetrained 230; this year, wetrained 640, and thesegirls have a target ofreaching out to 20 girls."

UMUAHIA—THEMinister of State for

Works, AmbassadorBashir Yuguda, has di-rected contractors han-dling the palliative re-pairs on the Enugu-PortHarcourt express road toensure that the road wasmade motorable beforethe Christmas and NewYear festivities.

According to Yuguda,President GoodluckJonathan is very worriedover the condition of theroad and directed that itbe made motorable toameliorate the suffering

LAGOS—GOAL Nigeria, an interna-

tional empowerment ini-tiative, has graduatedfresh 640 girls from itstraining programme andreached out to over16000 adolescent girls inLagos.

Speaking during thesecond graduation cer-emony in Lagos, GAOL’snational coordinator,

E NUGU—LAGOSState Governor,

Babatunde Fashola, andAttorney General of theFederation and Ministerof Justice, MohammedBello Adoke, at theweekend in Enugustressed the need forhigh ethical conduct anddecency in legal profes-sion as way to protect thejudiciary from abuse. The duo spoke at the4th re-union gatheringof Class 88 of the Nige-rian Law School, held at

BY TONY EDIKE Nike Lake Resort Hotel,Enugu. Fashola, who chairedthe occasion, explainedthat reforms and ethics inthe legal professionmeant one thing, whichis to comply to law andorder. He charged AttorneyGenerals to go beyondbeing advocates of thestate, adding that theyshould get involved incriminal prosecutions, toavoid charges that ridi-cule the judiciary. The governor said: “At-

torney-Generals shouldrise up and protect thejudiciary. They shouldnot only be advocates ofthe state government.They should get in-volved I criminal pros-ecution. They shouldcontribute in enthroningdecency in the legal pro-fession. “Look at those chargesthat ridicule the judici-ary. We say we have 70count charges. Howmany witnesses will youneed? How long will thecase last? Talking aboutreforms and ethicsmeans one thing. To com-ply with law and order.”

Delivering a lecturewith the theme “Ethicsand Discipline at theBar: Repositioning theLegal Profession in Ni-geria,” Attorney-Generaland Minister of Justice,Adoke noted that the dis-tinctive mark of a profes-sion is its willingnessand ability to regulate theconduct and behavior ofits members. According to him, laws,rules and ethics circum-scribe behavior, and pro-fessional ethics at the bar,regulates and createsbehavioral relationshipbetween lawyer and thecourts and his client.

of motorists and com-muters plying the road.

Yuguda, who spokeweekend, while inspect-ing progress of work onthe repairs, expresseddissatisfaction with thepace of work and warnedthe contractors to speedup work, especially thebadly damaged Okigwe-Umuahia axis.

He said none of thecontractors would claimto lack funds to executethe project as accordingto him, the Federal Gov-ernment has mobilisedthem enough to ensurethat the roads were mademotorable.

WARRI—NEWLYsworn-in Transi-

tion Committee Chair-man of Warri South Lo-cal Government Area, Dr.Austin Uroye, has dis-solved all revenue sub-committees in the coun-cil with immediate effect.

Dr. Uroye, who an-nounced the dissolutionafter receiving handingover note from the coun-cil’s Head of PersonnelManagement, Mr. JamesKolo, declared that thecouncil had not givenpermission to anybody orgroup to arrest people forillegal parking or ob-struction, warning that

anyone caught would beprosecuted.

The council boss alsocharged members of thecouncil’s transition com-mittee to embrace thepeople-oriented pro-gramme of the state gov-ernment to enable thepeople reap the divi-dends of democracy.

Uroye gave the chargeshortly after inaugurat-ing the Vice-Chairman ofthe transition committee,Mr. Dafe Ikpuri, the Sec-retary, Mr. EugeneEbisin and 16 other mem-bers at the council secre-tariat in Warri.

ABUJA—NIGERIA’sdaily crude oil pro-

duction is expected torise by another 1.4 mil-lion barrels from its cur-rent 2.6 million bpd bythe year 2020, just ascrude oil reserves is alsoexpected to grow to 40billion barrels from itspresent 36 billion barrels.

Group Managing Di-rector of the NigerianNational Petroleum Cor-poration, NNPC, Mr.Andrew Yakubu, madethis disclosure duringthe 42nd Annual GeneralMeeting, Conference

BY YEMIE ADEOYE

Nigeria's daily crude productionto hit 4million barrels by 2020

and Exhibition of the Ni-gerian Society of Chemi-cal Engineers, NSChE,with the theme: “Har-nessing Water Resourcesfor National Develop-ment,” in Abuja.

According to him,NNPC has exceeded itstarget for Gas-to-Poweraspirations and is takingsteps to grow the nation’scrude oil reserves to 40billion barrels and dailycrude oil production to 4million barrels per dayby 2020 in order to en-sure that a solid platformis laid for the rapid eco-nomic growth and devel-opment of the country.

CMYK


Sen. Oluremi Tinubu (left) and Alhaja Sarata Adesina, widowof late Adesina, at the eight days Fidau prayer for the formerGovernor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina, at ObafemiAwolowo Stadium, Ibadan, yesterday. PHOTOS: Dare Fasube.

A cross section of participants.

Col. Ahmed Usman, former militaryAdministrator of Oyo State (left) Prof. TaoheedAdedoja.

From left— Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief BisiAkande and Aremo Olusegun Osoba.

From left— Alhaji Azeez Arisekola-Alao, Sen.Rasheed Ladoja and Otunba Moses Alake, DeputyGovernor of Oyo State.

A cross section of participants.Mrs Toyin Saraki (left) and First Lady of Kwara

State, Mrs Omolewa Ahmed.Alhaji Ibrahim Gambari, Emir of Ilorin, lead-

ing other monarchs to the Fidau prayer.

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo(right) and Alhaji Kawu Baraje.

From left— Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman, Dangote Group;Senator Bukola Saraki; Governor Babangida Aliyu of NigerState, and Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State.

Alhaji Mohammed Bashir, Chief Imam ofIlorin (middle), leading a cross section of Imamsat the Fidau prayer.

From right— Vice President Namadi Sambo,Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Mr.Olaseni Saraki, grand son of the late Saraki; Sena-tor Bukola Saraki, son; Mrs Morenike Saraki,widow; and Senator Gbemisola Saraki, daughter,at the Fidau prayer for late Dr. Olusola Saraki atthe Metropolitan Square, Ilorin, yesterday.

FIDAU PRAYER FOR LATE OLUSOLA SARAKI

... AND FOR LATE LAM ADESINA

CMYK


CMYK

OPINION

16— Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012

FOR an enduring period now, the media has remainedawash with damning stories all around the oil subsidy

probe and related issues. A lot of uncovering has been and isstill being done by various panels instituted by the FederalGovernment and the National Assembly. Nigerians aretaking sides based on their different perceptions andinterpretation of the reports of the panels.

From our stand point as human rights activists, however,we have been taking much more concerned and closer lookat the events as they unfold. One particular case that hascaught our attention is that of Ifeanyi Ubah and his CapitalOil and Gas Industries Limited.

We are concerned about the observed breach of procedureand incoherent accusations being levelled against him andhis business dealings. Our interest in the activities of thecompany, is further fuelled because of the fact that CapitalOil and Gas Industries Limited, is a key player in the oil andgas industry in the last decade. In the period, the companyhas never been mentioned in previous probe reports. All of asudden, the company is now wearing the toga of a badcorporate entity. Mr. Ubah is grossly being vilified while thereal barons who have held sway in the sector for years, inmany instances receiving indictments, are strolling aroundfreely.

Worried by the heightening abuse of Ubah’s rights anddignity, our group, Coalition of Human Rights Groups ofNigeria undertook a fact finding tour of some of Capital Oiland Gas Industries Limited facilities. Our primary intentionwas to ascertain if the company is a genuine player in theindustry based on what is on ground in terms of facilities, ifthe company and its CEO deserve the acrimonious treatmentthey are presently getting and if they are getting thecommensurate support they deserve from the governmentin an event that they are living up to standards. We alsowanted to deduce if there are underlying motives for Ubah’spresent predicament.

Our tour started with the Capital Oil and Gas Limited*Mr. Udoh, a human rights activist, wrote from Asaba,

Delta State.

BY JOSEPH UDOHUbah's many battles

Truck Park in Amuwo area of Lagos State. What we sawthere is a beautiful truck terminal capable of holding 1100trucks. The complex has a top restaurant, restrooms, officesand other recreational facilities for drivers and companybusiness. But more fascinating, is the fact that the facilityand link road were constructed from a swamp area about1.5metres deep.

The facility has helped Lagos tackle the problem of tankerdrivers parking on the roads and bridges. It also eliminatedthe frequent conflict between truck drivers and governmentwhich usually resulted in death and destruction of property,not to mention chaos and hardship from truncation ofsupplies.

Available records show that Capital Oil and Gas IndustriesLimited have about 400 operational trucks that distributepetroleum products across the nation. We also observedabout 300 Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,branded trucks used for its Kero-direct initiative to supplykerosene (DKP) directly to end users in states. The trucks aredesigned like mobile filling stations and end users buy directfrom these in various states to eliminate product scarcityand ensure that end users get the products at NNPC approvedretail rate. There were also 30 state-of-the-art bitumen truckson ground to support road construction projects andeliminate the challenges of bitumen supply.

The more we looked at the available facilities, the morethe vision and entrepreneurial drive of the leader of CapitalOil and Gas Limited, stared us in the face. At the depot, wemarveled at the storage facilities on ground. It has four depotswith a combined capacity to hold about 16 million litres ofpetroleum products. Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limitedalone, stores 35 to 40 per cent NNPC petroleum productsupplies and still stores for other oil marketing majors.

We were made to understand that the company dredged its

jetty which has four berths, meaning that four large vesselscan berth at the same time. We saw vessels berthed in thejetty. The jetty also provides service to other oil majors toenable them avoid demurrage at the ports. The companyemploys over 800 permanent staff, with only three foreignnationals. With the bitumen and refinery project in thepipeline, Nigerians are bound to have more employmentopportunities.

From our investigations, we now know more. We nowknow which company has the largest fleet of trucks todistribute petroleum products to Nigerians. We now knowwho has the largest capacity to hold petroleum products.We also know who employs more Nigerians in thedownstream sector. It is unarguable who has invested morein infrastructure development. So, what has the renownedoil barons and families been doing with their oil largessefor the past decades?

Given the importance of Capital Oil and Gas IndustriesLimited to the economy today, we sense sabotage,orchestrated by some powerful cabals. We can now seethe plot to cripple Capital Oil and Gas, a genuineindigenous company that has single-handedly invested ininfrastructure and rectified the truncated supply systemin Nigeria. Clearly, that will send us back to the days ofscarcity. Such unthinkable reality would result inincreased pump price and more suffering by transporters.That would be business as usual for the few barons whohave ravaged the oil business for decades without mercyfor the common man.

It is time for Nigerians to know the truth and speak outagainst the current war being waged against Ifeanyi Ubahand the slow decimation of Capital Oil and Gas IndustriesLimited. This illustrious business should not be taken overby force and handed over to greedy corporations who willreturn Nigerian downstream sector to the dark ages offuel scarcity.

PROFESSOR Attahiru Jega, Chairman ofthe Independent National ElectoralCommission, INEC, has a penchant forexplaining INEC’s failings. After two yearson the saddle, he thinks INEC’sdeficiencies play no part in credibleelections.

When Jega speaks with candour aboutmalpractices in political parties does heunderstand he is indicting INEC forneglecting its duties of monitoring theparties? Sections 222, 224, 225 and 226 ofthe Constitution gave INEC tremendouspowers to ensure political parties operatewithin the law. Which political party in thepast two years has Jega prosecuted forcontravening the law?

“Political parties budget funds withwhich to bribe security agencies and INECofficials during elections. Of course, thisis being resisted but we have to stop all thisin our electoral process. Many politicalparties also budget money for litigationand, therefore, look for cases to spend themoney on,” said Jega at a seminar in Abuja.

The law does not only expect Jega to resist

the offers. He is expected to arrest the bribegivers. If parties budget for bribes, how hasJega dealt with the issue since hediscovered the practice?

Section 226 (1) states, “The IndependentNational Electoral Commission, shall inevery year prepare and submit to theNational Assembly a report on the accountsand balance sheet of every political party.(2) It shall be the duty of the Commission,in preparing its report under this section,to carry out such investigations as willenable it to form an opinion as to whetherproper books of accounts and properrecords have been kept by any politicalparty, and if the Commission is of theopinion that proper books of accounts have

not been kept by a political party, theCommission shall so report.” Jega accusedthe parties of poor accounting. He shouldtake responsibility for poor supervision ofthe parties.

He blames everyone except INEC and itsofficials. “There was one candidate thatrefused to withdraw and the political partyforged a letter that he had agreed towithdraw,” Jega informed his audienceadding that INEC did nothing about theforgery because provisions of the ElectoralAct disallowed INEC from interfering ininternal affairs of parties.

This bland interpretation of the ElectoralAct is convenient. Forgery is a criminaloffence, anyone who is aware of a crimeand refuses to report it, is a party to thecrime. INEC and its officials are thereforeresponsible for the levity political partiesapply to the law.

For Jega to know about these infractionswith direct bearing on the fidelity of ourdemocracy, and have the effrontery toexcuse his inaction is another cause foralarm over INEC.

INEC – More CauseINEC – More CauseINEC – More CauseINEC – More CauseINEC – More CauseFFFFFor Alarmor Alarmor Alarmor Alarmor Alarm

CMYK

A4—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012—A1

CMYK



,,

OPINIONBY EJIKE ANYADUBA

*Mr. Anyadub a, a public affairs commen-tator, wrote from Abatete, Anambra State.

“

AS the eight year tenure of GovernorPeter Obi gradually winds down,

political activities are slowly evolving in theflanks. Those itching to take over from himhave started inching gingerly towards thepolitical arena. As a possible way of gainingsome head start, a good number of them,apart from sponsoring publications in thenewspapers and granting interviews, haveupped the ante by visiting flood victims inthe State with relief materials. Determiningall those in the race for now is as difficult atask as telling with certainty who will winthe race at the end of the day. Besides, it isstill a closet affair. But in no distant time, itis believed, the margins of acceptability willbe crossed, and those in the race would bemade public.

Regardless, it is tempting to presume upona successor coming from Anambra north -a senatorial zone that has not produced agovernor of the State since creation. Thisperception, even at the risk of spitefulcondemnation, is premised upon tworeasons. One is the justness of the idea. Twois based on the promise of support by theincumbent Governor Obi who, despite

Anambra 2014: A case for Anambra North senatorial zone

antagonisms, insists it is only fair andequitable to do so. However pertinent thisidea may be to sustaining political peace inthe State, there are those who think it shouldbe jettisoned. One of such persons, even if hemay not be from the State, is a one MartinsNwamadi. Writing on the back page ofDaily Independent newspapers of 6thNovember 2012 he called the idea an insulton the intelligence of Anambra people.

According to him “neither the leaders northe followers in Anambra State have set outas a body to adopt the principle of zoning inthe distribution of political offices since thepresent Anambra State was created onAugust 27, 1991”. So why will a GovernorObi talk about zoning the office to Anambranorth? If he were that concerned, Nwamadiobserved, why seek re-election in 2010 sincehis four years and Ngige’s three yearsadequately settled Anambra Central’s claimto the office?

Well said, but I think he got it wrong here.Apart from expressing personal opinion, Obi

never talked of zoning the office. What hesaid was that he will support any crediblecandidate from Anambra north zone, whichin my view, is not a call to zoning. Zoning isworth more than that. Parroting the idea andusing same to impugn an opinion as benignas this is unfortunate. The writer thinksMbadinuju’s non performance cost him re-election, but he fails to tell his readers whatinformed a choice of a successor comingfrom Anambra Central. Or was AnambraSouth, where Mbadinuju comes from, shorton credible replacement at the time? It isnot enough to ask what Obi’s beefs are or tomake political capital out of an innocuousstatement. Obi has no beefs, what he has is amind that seeks to redress noticeable lapses.Calling him undemocratic, clannish orpinning the APGA crisis on this are spuriousclaims. The APGA crisis is well beyondwhere the next candidate of the party comesfrom.

To think that Obi’s promise of support fora credible candidate from the zone will be

misconstrued as a clever way of safeguarding his business interests in Onitshais to say the least unfortunate. “The governorresorted to cheap political propaganda towin the sympathy of Anambra north people,especially those from Onitsha who areaware of his investment portfolios in thecommercial city”. Curious! How much ofan investment, for example, does SabellaAbidde, the Punch columnist from Bayelsawho writes from far away USA have in Igboland that makes him advocate for an Igbopresidency, even more than Ndigbo. I amsure he is not saying that his kith and kinwith landed properties in the North wouldnecessarily support an Hausa man againstan Igbo man in the race to the presidency.

If the writer believes sincerely that Obi’sre-election was essentially about Ojukwupersona or that the State is primarily PDP’sone should expect him not to belabor theissue of where a successor will emerge.

ALL may truly not be well betweenformer President, Olusegun

Obasanjo and the incumbent, GoodluckJonathan. No one says the things hesaid about GEJ at a recent public forumin Warri unless there is a war (cold orhot) between them.

He basically called Jonathan a “weak”leader. More than that, he called himselfa “strong” president while he was inpower. He justified it by recalling howhe sent soldiers to level Odi in BayelsaState when nineteen security troops weremurdered by armed militants. He alsoblamed Nigerians for electing GEJ,saying that without their votes Jonathanwould not be in power. I want to lookinto these two issues because as achronicler of Nigeria’s current affairs(which become history as time goes on)I am familiar with them.

I am also very familiar with Obasanjo’splace in Nigeria’s history and his never-ending efforts to whitewash his recordsas a two-time leader of this country whileputting others who have occupied thatposition in bad light. The only leader ofNigeria (both serving and erstwhile) thatObasanjo speaks of in glowing terms isthe late General Murtala Mohammed.Mohammed probably earned thatspecial place in Obasanjo’s heartbecause his death made Obasanjo ahead of state. Add AbdulsalamiAbubakar. He released OBJ from prison,pardoned him, and made him an electedpresident.

GEJ is not the first leader Obasanjo isbad-mouthing while in office. In fact,Gen. Sani Abacha nearly sent him to afiring squad for his busy-body activitiesinterpreted as “concealment” of coupplot in 1995.

We must not allow Obasanjo to twistour history. We know how GEJ emergedas president of Nigeria. He wasimposed on the nation by Obasanjo.There was no way GEJ would have beenpresident if Obasanjo had allowedNigerians to choose. Jonathan wouldprobably be serving out his second termin office as Governor of Bayelsa State.Even that would have been a gift byObasanjo who got Governor DiepreyeAlamieyeseigha impeached “forcorruption”, though political punditssaid the real reason was Alams’ supportfor Obasanjo’s Vice President, AtikuAbubakar with whom OBJ was lockedin mortal political combat.

If Obasanjo had allowed Nigeriansto pick, they would have had to choosebetween Dr. Peter Odili (who hademerged as the front contender for thePeople’s Democratic Party (PDP) flagand All Nigerian People’s Party ’s(ANPP) candidate, Gen. Buhari.Obasanjo personally hand-pickedterminally ailing Katsina Governor,

OBJ and GEJ: Lest we forget

Yar ’ Adua, and dovish BayelsaGovernor, GEJ. He brought them toAso Villa and paraded them beforetelevision cameras as the presidentialcandidate and running mate of thePDP.

The do-or-die 'candidates'

Not only that, he announced to hisparty and the nation that the

election of his successor was for him ado-or-die affair. He campaignedfanatically for Yar’Adua/Jonathan andgot them elected. A few months downthe line he was on the streetsdenigrating Yar’Adua but he was notbrazen about it as he is with GEJ. Yar’Adua had reversed some of the give-away privatisation exercises fromwhich OBJ and his acolytes hadsumptuously benefited.

When Yar ’Adua’s recovery becamehopeless, OBJ started the whisperingthat GEJ should be empowered as fullPresident. OBJ was one of the first tourge Jonathan to run for president as

from June 2010. He was part of GEJ’scampaigns until he was elected in April2011. Nigeria’s presidency is one ofthe most powerful offices in the worldin that it (rather than the people)decides who occupies the highestoffice in the land (and other highoffices). It was that power that made

the emergence of Obasanjo, Yar’Aduaand GEJ possible. It is that power thatwill make Jonathan president for asecond term in 2015, unless a majorshift of paradigm in the politicalbehaviour of Nigerians takes place.For now, the Nigerian people onlyqueue up to confirm what thepresidency has already worked out.

OBJ's tongue in cheek

It is one of Obasanjo’s classicalhypocrisies to put the blame of GEJ’s

election on the Nigerian electorate. Heknows he is not speaking the wholetruth. That is Obasanjo the only saint inaction.

But on the issue of President Jonathanmismanaging the Boko Haramuprising, I agree. Lack of decisiveaction allowed a rag-tag band ofgunmen to balloon to a full-fledgedterrorist organisation able to assembleexplosives and carry out suicidebombings. Obasanjo and Yar’ Adua aspresidents gave people reasons to fearthem. Even on his sick bed, Yar ’Adua’s aura hung over Abuja and thenation, same as the dead body of JosefStalin hung over the Union of theSoviet Socialist Republics (USSR) formonths before it was officiallyannounced. Obasanjo and Yar ’Aduamade power look truly powerful.Yar ’Adua made northern hotheads,such as Nasir el Rufai and NuhuRibadu to stay away from Nigeria outof fear.

But as soon as he died they cameback. El Rufai took up a newspapercolumn and every week calls GEJ aweak and incompetent leader. Ribadudrifted to the Action Congress ofNigeria (ACN) and ran for presidentagainst GEJ. He was brought in toaudit the oil industry and somehow heended up messing up the presidentwith a leakage of his committee’sreport. It is not just Jonathan’s foes thathave portrayed him as “weak”. Hehimself has made it clear that he wasno “Pharaoh” or “general”.

This perception of him as leader whocannot hurt a fly emboldeneddisgruntled power brokers from thenorth to offer support to terrorists andenabled them to grow.

Today, we hear of “dialogue”between the Federal government andterrorists. We also hear some of them“unjustly” handled will be financiallycompensated!

We hear so many things that underShagari, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha,OBJ and Yar ’Adua were simplyunthinkable. I wonder how GEJ feelswhen people say these things abouthim.

This perception ofhim as leader whocannot hurt a flyemboldeneddisgruntled powerbrokers from thenorth to offersupport to terroristsand enabled themto grow

OBJ and GEJ: In the good old days....


Jonathan cannot do evil — Okupe

•Says 2015 'll be determined by God and Nigerians

BY SONI DANIEL,REGIONAL EDITOR, NORTH

,

,•Okupe: Jonathan is not a showman

Let me tellyou, thePresident isnot ashowman, nota theatricalman, whowants to playto the gallery,this presidentdoes not talkbut acts, thispresident Iknow

YOU have claimed thatPresident Jonathan

would emerge as the mostloved Nigerian President atthe end of his tenure. Giventhe problems on ground howcould this happen?

The President himself hassaid that in public and private.Look, let me tell you that as aninsider I also know what he hasbeen doing since he took overas President of Nigeria. I amvery certain in my mind thatNigerians are going to applaudhim and even if he does notwant to run for election,Nigerians are going to forcehim to run again because of thelevel of performance.

I am also aware of what he isdoing with infrastructure androads. I have confidence thathe is going to achieve success.It is also becoming obvious thatwith the passage of time, theissues of insecurity will also bebrought under control.

Prudent managementof the economy

He will succeed in thatdirection too. The economy isalso being prudently managedby the best set of people thatAfrica can put together. Andindices are already coming outin our favour. Variousinternational agencies and foraare commending Nigeria for itstransformation agenda andmanagement of its economy. When the economy is put rightand power and infrastructureare in place, I am certain,Nigerians will come toappreciate the extent of work

that this man has been doingsilently since he came onboard.

Do you think that PresidentJonathan can achieve all thesewithin the lifespan of his firstterm?

Let me tell you, the Presidentis not a showman, not atheatrical man, who wants toplay to the gallery. Thispresident does not talk but acts.This president I know. I hope Iam not overstepping mybounds. Jonathan has givenhimself a deadline of 2013-2014to deliver. I am sure most ofthese things would be doneand Nigerians would come tosee the level of his seriousnessand sincerity.

Is that why he signedPerformance contract withministers?

Of course, the contract is tokeep every minister on theirtoes and to enable the Presidentto judge them objectively. If heasks anyone to go, it does twothings: it makes people whoare serious-minded to sit downand get their jobs done and alsoconvinces those who are notdoing well to know why theyshould not complain if they areshoved aside.

Nigerians are not convincedabout the sincerity of thisgovernment to tackle graft. Doyou believe the government isserious about the issue?

Nigerians are just generallyfrustrated and fed up withgovernment because of pastfailures. Nigerians havebecome very cynical andskeptical about governmentbecause of past failures. But Iwant Nigerians not to judgeJonathan by the failures of thepast. This is a sincere person

untainted by the politics of thepast and an innocent politiciannot deeply entrenched in theprincipalities that have ruledus. Nigerians must be carefulin criticizing him. There is nojustification to chastise thisadministration where the issueof corruption is concerned. Itwas this government thatstarted the subsidy probebefore it was taken over by theNational Assembly.

They may not take himserious about fightingcorruption because he declaredthat he did not give a damnwhen he was asked to publiclydeclare his assets.

No, that is not what he meant.It was taken by people totallyout of context. He meant thathe had declared his assetsbefore and that there was noneed to make him to do thesame all over again. He meantthat he had complied with theprovisions of the law. That wasthe literary meaning of what thePresident said.

Are you happy doing thiswork for Mr. President giventhe spate of direct and indirectattacks and criticisms leveledagainst you by manyNigerians?

You know what? I was notforced to take up this job. Evenbefore I took up this job I wasacting outside government ina similar capacity.

Experiencedperson

So it is something that I havedecided to do as a choice and Iam an experienced person andI am not doing this thing forpopularity.

I am doing the job because Ihave a deep conviction aboutGoodluck Jonathan and sinceI came in, the conviction haseven more than tripled becauseI have seen the amount ofwork, commitment and thefairness of mind by him to dowell for the country. This

president from what I haveseen does not have the capacityto do evil.

I have never seen that from apolitical leader. He has nocapacity to do evil. None! Evenunder provocation, he just letsit go and faces what he has todo. And it is amazing and thatencourages us to follow him allthe way. I believe in a leaderruling with the fear of God andI have found in this man a manthat fears God. And that is whyhe is going to overcome allopposition in the land.

Are you therefore convincedhe will win the 2015Presidential election, if hedecides to run given that hehad promised to do only oneterm?

I am not aware of when hesaid he would run for only oneterm. Only God and the peopleof Nigeria will decide what willhappen in 2015. But I thinkwhat is uppermost in thePresident’s mind is to solve thebasic needs of Nigerians byimproving power,infrastructure, roads and checkinsecurity in the land.

When he achieves all these,Nigerians will decide what todo with him. In fact, when weget to the bridge we will learnhow to cross it. That is what Ican say about 2015 for now.

DR. Doyin Okupe is a familiar face in the Presidency,having worked as the Special Adviser on Media andPublicity to former President Olusegun Obasanjo beforebeing tapped by President Goodluck Jonathan early thisyear to handle some very critical and image-related issuesfor him and the administration. Although his appointmentwas greeted with opposition particularly from his South-West home base, he has so far deftly managed to overcomethe initial furore and given President Goodluck Jonathansome image mileage and put the opposition on their toes.

Okupe has stoutly defended his boss and the seat ofpower, insisting that Nigerians are yet to see the best of Mr.President, given the numerous projects and programmes heclaims are yet to mature.

In this interview, he speaks passionately about what Mr.President is doing to move Nigeria forward and whyNigerians should have faith in his transformation agenda.Okupe says Jonathan is more concerned with fixing Nigeriathan thinking about 2015, which he says will be determinedby God and Nigerians. Excerpts:


THE much-sought peace returned tothe House last Wednesday with the

election of a new Speaker, EmmanuelTeryila Ayua, representing Gwer-East stateconstituency. Ayua is the third presidingofficer of the House to be elected since itsinauguration last year.

The first Speaker, Terhembe Tarzohor,had his election nullified by the appealcourt barely three months after his election.Iorhemba succeeded him but lost theconfidence of members and had to resignhis appointment barely a year in office toescape impeachment. 28 out of 30members of the House had reportedlysigned the impeachment notice to sackhim before he stepped down on his own.

The crisis that rocked Benue House:Iorhemba was compelled to tender hisresignation letter following allegations oflack of financial disclosure and highheadedness leveled against him bymembers. Iorhemba’s ‘sins’ date back tolast January when the legislators gatheredat Obudu for their botched annual retreatand conference. At that ill fated conference,early in the year, the lawmakers staged awalk out on Governor Gabriel Suswam atthe venue of the retreat after insisting thatGovernor Suswam must hand over PradoSUV keys to them as he did to membersof the Sixth Assembly in 2007 when theyattended a similar retreat in Obudu, CrossRiver State.

Vanguard gathered that GovernorSuswam had complained to the lawmakersof lack of funds as a result of the fact thatsubsidy in petroluem products as notcompletely removed as it had beenenvisaged that the present administrationwould do at the begining of the year. Healso maintained that the budget was yetto be passed and so no seriousprocurement could be done at the time.

Lawmakers’ grouse against Iorhemba:The bottled anger came to a headpenultimate Thursday after a week longbattle that defied all interventions by topofficials of the ruling Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP including the governor. Theaggrieved lawmakers had raisedallegations bothering on finance and theformer speaker’s close relationship to thegovernor at their detriment.

I’m innocent – IorhembaHowever, Iorhemba denied the

allegation and maintained his innocencestressing that the allegations were trumpedup and unsupported charges orchestratedto kick him out of office.

How Iorhemba was pushed out:Determined to effect a change in theirleadership, Vanguard gathered that thelawmakers also compelled the DeputySpeaker, Dr. Steven Onmeje, to supporttheir cause and retain his position or inthe contrary be sacked alongside theSpeaker. It was as such not surprising thatDr. Onmeje hurriedly aligned himself withhis colleagues and therefore presided overthe sitting where the removal of Iorhembawas executed.

At the sitting, members of G-24comprising non-executive members of theHouse, led by its Chairman, Mr. BabaOde (Otukpo/Akpa State Constituency)raised a motion on the point ofconstitutionality, which empoweredmembers to remove the Speaker of theHouse when necessary. Ode, who quotedsection 93 of the 1999 Constitution,presented the list of 28 members who hadsigned an impeachment notice on theSpeaker.

Lawani’s belated effort to saveIorhemba: Meanwhile as the process wasgoing on, the Deputy Governor of theState, Chief Steven Lawani drove into theAssembly complex to calm frayed nervesbut he was not allowed into the chamber.Few minutes later thugs took control ofthe chamber and snatched the Mace justas they turned the complex into a battlefield.

While the ugly incident lasted for closeto one hour, the Police failed to swiftly re-enforce its personnel at the complex asthe few that were present watchedhelplessly while the thugs had their way.

Meanwhile Vanguard gathered from aninsider in the House that the last mightnot have been heard about the allegedresignation of the Speaker since the handwritten letter of his resignation which hetendered before the House was not signedand therefore was not valid and binding.

“We actually got the hand writtenresignation letter, but the letter was notsigned and therefore not binding. Butsome of my colleagues are also attestingthat the Speaker was made to sign theletter before thugs swooped on thechamber to thwart the proceedings”, hestated.

•Suswam: Has he lost his grip? •Iorhemba : Suswam could not savehim

BY PETER DURU

AFTER months of intrigues and clandestine meetings David Iorhemba wasforced to resign as Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly. Hisresignation is reflective of the muscle that legislators can flex when theyare resolute in any power contest with the executive branch.

BENUE HOUSE: Swinging chair


,

,

,

,

BY ADEWALE KUPOLUYI

*Mr. Kupoluyi, wrote fromFederal University of Agric.,Abeokuta, Ogun State.

BY AZUKA ONWUKA

*Mr. Onwuka, a public affairs commentator,wrote from Lagos.

Treating public reports withcondescension

Searching for a solution to amass killer

THE nation’s strive fordevelopment may

continue to be an illusion as longas we are not ready to learn fromour past mistakes, errors andshortcomings that could giveroom for a brighter future.

Whenever we hear of committeesor probe panels being set up toinvestigate incidents, what readilycome to mind are two things -politics at play or nothing wouldcome out of it.

Before the return to democraticrule, Nigerians used to take thefailures of implementation ofprobe panel reports as part of theoutcome of military dictatorshipbut events have shown that this isnot so.

This worrisome trend is neitherlimited to the Executive arm ofgovernment nor the Jonathanadministration - and if care is nottaken - it may continue to be aburden the nation will live with.

The latest of such disdain forpublic reports is the allegedmoves to discredit the submissionby the Petroleum Revenue SpecialTask Force, headed by MallamNuhu Ribadu.

The administrative task forcewas established to streamline andimprove the revenue collectionmachinery of government in theoil and gas industry and to verifyall petroleum upstream anddownstream revenues, includingtaxes and royalties due and

payable to the FederalGovernment, take all necessarysteps to collect all debts due andenforce payment terms by allindustry operators, among others.

This time around, the dramabegan at the presentation of thereport at the State House, Abuja,when Steve Oronsaye, deputychairman of the task force andBen Otti, another member of the17-member committee tried, in afutile bid, to discredit the report.They claimed that they were notprivy to the final draft beingtendered.

The committee produced the146-page document, based on therequest by the Ministry ofPetroleum Resources, covering 10years - 2002 to 2012.

According to the report, Nigeriahad lost out on tens of billions ofdollars in oil and gas income overthe last decade from shady dealsstruck between multinational oilcompanies and governmentofficials.

The report alleged that foreignoil traders often bought crudewithout any formal contracts, andthat the state oil firm had short-changed the nation’s treasury byselling gas and crude oil to itselfbelow market rates without anytransparency.

The task force also foundanomalies ranging from about$183 million in signature bonusesfor oil bloc licenses not accountedfor and $3.02 billion as unpaidroyalties, theft of up to 250,000

barrels of crude per day, andfraud by the Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation inconverting its dollar earnings tonaira.

Presidential spokesman, DoyinOkupe, had said the paragraph“is an obvious DISCLAIMER(emphasis mine) issued by thecommittee on the entire report,makes it impossible under ourlaws to indict or punish anyoneexcept, and until, the FederalGovernment fully verifies andreconciles the facts asrecommended by the committeein its submission to thegovernment”.

Okupe also criticized part ofthe report which says:

“Due to the time frame of theassignment, some of the data used

could not be independentlyverified and the task forcerecommends that the governmentshould conduct such necessaryverifications and reconciliations”.

He blamed Ribadu for thepoliticization of the report andclaimed that it was a calculatedattempt to overheat the polity andincite Nigerians against PresidentGoodluck Jonathan.

Over the years, findings of manypanels and committees have notbeen made useful to the nation,resulting into wastage of materialresources and man-hours.

A very few examples suffice:Following the violence that trailedthe 2011 general elections in thecountry, over 900 persons weresaid to have lost their lives.President Jonathan inaugurated a22-man panel of enquiry headedby Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, to look atthe incident and makerecommendations on how toforestall a recurrence.

On October 10, 2011, theinvestigation panel submitted itsreport and advised that “the firstand probably the most importantmajor cause (of violence) is thefailure on the part of the previoussuccessive regimes, since themilitary handover of power in1999, to implement therecommendations of variouscommittees, commissions andpanels that had taken place in ournation.

The panel equally called for theimplementation of the BabalakinJudicial Commission of Inquiryinto Bauchi State CivilDisturbances, Justice SnakeyJudicial Commission of Inquiryinto Wase and LangtangDisturbances and Justice UwaisElectoral Reform Committee,Karibi Whyte Judicial

Commission of Inquiry intoKafanchan Disturbances,Professor Tamuno Panel ofInquiry on National Security,Niki Tobi Judicial Commissionof Inquiry into Plateau StateDisturbances and Justice DisuJudicial Commission of Inquiryinto Plateau State Disturbances.

Several Judicial Commissionsof Inquiry had been set up byboth the Federal and the PlateauState governments to investigatethe Jos crises but unfortunately,many of these reports had notbeen made public or the culpritsmade accountable.

The long denial of the public’sright to know the content ofthese reports by successivegovernments had provided fertilegrounds for speculations,distrust, and disregard forconstituted authorities whichsignificantly contributed towardsescalating the crises that has ledto wanton destruction of livesand property.

Similarly, the reports andwhite papers of theseCommissions of Inquiry haveremained unpublished andinaccessible, even though thepublic’s right to information isguaranteed by the Freedom ofInformation Act, Section 39(1)of the 1999 NigerianConstitution as well as Article 9of the African Charter on Humanand Peoples’ Rights.

Another of such hibernatedreport is the Steven OronsayeCommittee on the Restructuringof Government Agencies andParastatals.

Continues tomorrow on pg. 18

LAST week, the Chief of Army Staff,Lieutenant General Azubuike

Ihejirika, disclosed that the BokoHaram sect has killed 3,000 people inthe last few years. That is a high figureby all means and the menace needs aprompt solution. But by the end of thisyear, it is estimated that 300,000Nigerians will have been killed, notby Boko Haram, nor throughcommunity clashes, road accidents,plane crashes, or war, but by a viciouskiller called malaria. That figure is thecombined population of five countries:Seychelles, Andorra, Dominica,Liechtenstein and San Marino.

Nigeria is the most populous countryin Africa; it is also the most hard-hitby malaria in the entire globe. Oftenreferred to as ‘the disease of poverty,’approximately 50 percent of all malariacases occur in only five of the world’scountries. Nigeria has the unenviabledistinction of placing first among allof them - making up 23 percent of allreported cases. Inflicting much painand suffering, malaria not onlydestroys lives, but tears apart familiesand cripples the ability of countries tomove forward.

According to Nigeria’s NationalMalaria Control Programme, some 90million of the country ’s totalpopulation of 169 million are affectedby malaria annually. Over 300,000Nigerians perish as a result of thedisease each year, a figure whichrepresents ten percent of the yearlydeath total in the African continent.

Malaria is a cruel disease whichstrikes people of all ages, and 30percent of infant deaths in the countrycan be attributed to complicationsstemming from malarial infection. Thedisease also contributes to Nigeria’songoing economic issues, costing thedeveloping country an average N160billion ($1 billion) a year in medicalexpenses and lost hours ofproductivity.

Passed on to humans through thebite of bacteria-carrying femalemosquitoes, the disease generallybrings with it a set of symptoms,including chills, hay fever and profusesweating. These uncomfortable, andoften painful symptoms can lastanywhere from a few weeks to severalmonths. Potentially fatal complicationssuch as jaundice, renal insufficiency,hepatic insufficiency and decreasedcognitive ability can all ensue. Manyvictims slip into unconsciousness,never to wake.

As yet, no efficacious vaccine hasbeen developed to combat malaria. Inaffected regions of the world, the onlydefence people have is the near-impossible task of avoiding mosquitobites. For this specific reason, malariarelief efforts to date have centered onmosquito net donation programmes.Sleeping under insecticide-treatednets has proven to be somewhateffective, preventing five to six out ofevery 1,000 children they protect frombeing infected, according toindependent non-profit organisation,the Cochrane Collaboration. Aerosolsand coils are also known to be effective

in combating the malaria scourge; theyknock down as well as repelmosquitoes, in the process helping toreduce the risk of mosquito bites.Locally developed repellants have alsobeen ascertained to be effective in thefight against these noxious insects inmost rural settlements. As good asthese measures are, they have harmfuland side effects to human health. Thereare serious risks associated withinhaling aerosols; some immediate sideeffects include sneezing, coughing,diarrhea, slurred speech, doublevision and drowsiness.

With our limited means of defenceagainst the disease, malaria is onceagain on the rise. Recent research byDr. Vincent Corbel and a team ofFrench scientists, published in theJournal of Infectious Diseases, showsthat malaria-carrying mosquitoes aredeveloping a tolerance to the variousinsecticides employed against them.Corbel’s research also notes a shift in

the insects’ feeding habits,circumventing the use of mosquito netsby concentrating their attacksoutdoors.

The challenge is to eradicatemosquitoes completely. But since thatis a long shot, the onus is on allstakeholders to find a more effectiveway of preventing mosquitoes frombiting people, especially youngchildren and pregnant women. Ifmosquitoes are prevented from biting,the chances of malarial attack will bereduced, if not eradicated among thosewho are never bitten by mosquitoes.Organisations as well as governmentagencies should take this as achallenge. In recent times, the GlobalFund has saved more than 7.7 millionlives by funding treatment andpreventative care programmes acrossthe planet. Leading humanitarianagencies such as the United StatesAgency for International Development,USAID, Roll-Back Malaria, RBM andDFID have over the years beencommitted to fighting malaria. Thesebodies work closely with nationalgovernments to build their capacity toprevent and treat the disease. Theyhave also gone into initiatives thathave pushed back the malaria scourgesuch as investment in the discoveryand development of new anti-malarialdrugs and vaccines.

In the light of the present realities,it is expected that iconic innovativecompanies will invest more in researchand development in order to come upwith safe and affordable products thatwill ensure that mosquitoes, which arethe vector of the malaria parasites, areentirely stamped out.

Findings ofmany panelsand committeeshave not beenmade useful tothe nation,resulting intowastage ofmaterialresources andman-hours

No efficaciousvaccine has beendeveloped tocombat malaria;in affected regionsof the world, theonly defencepeople have is thenear-impossibletask of avoidingmosquito bites


“There is no end in sight”

Gaza crisis: Death toll mounts fromIsrael strikes

AN Israeli strike on ahome in Gaza has

killed at least 10 people,officials say, as yesterdaybecame the deadliest daysince Israel launched anoperation against Hamasmilitants last week.

BBC correspondentssay the strike targeted aHamas official and that anumber of children werekilled.

M e a n w h i l e , P MBenjamin Netanyahuhas said that Israel isready to expand its

operation.Gaza militants continue

to fire rockets at Israel,with injuries reported intowns includingAshkelon and Ofakim.

Meanwhile, sources onboth sides say attemptsto reach a ceasefire arecontinuing.

At least 21 people arereported to have beenkilled in Gaza by Israelibombardments so far onSunday. Of the total, atleast nine were childrenand at least four were

women, Gaza healthofficials said.

This brings the deathtoll in Gaza since Israellaunched its OperationPillar of Defence onWednesday to 67, theofficials said.

The BBC’s PaulDanahar arrived at thescene of the air strike onthe Hamas official’s homenorth of Gaza City to seediggers trying to scooprubble from flattenedbuildings and withrescuers frantically tryingto find survivors.

Obama visits Asia, says Myanmar tripto encourage democracy

U.S. President BarackObama yesterday

denied his upcoming tripto Myanmar was anendorsement of thegovernment there,calling it anacknowledgement of theprogress made in shakingoff decades of military ruleand encouragement for it

go further.Today, Obama will

become the first servingU.S. president to visitMyanmar, also calledBurma, part of a three-country Asian tour that,as his first post-electiontrek abroad, will show heis serious about shiftingthe U.S. strategic focus

eastwards.Some human rights

groups object to theMyanmar visit, sayingObama is rewarding thecountry’s quasi-civiliangovernment beforedemocratic reforms arecomplete. But he told anews conference inThailand he knew therewas much still to do.

Bomb rips through Nairobi minibus,killing six

A bomb tore through aminibus in Nairobi’s

S o m a l i - d o m i n a t e dEastleigh neighborhood

yesterday, killing sixpeople in an attackhighlighting the securityrisks Kenya faces

because of itsintervention in Somaliato fight al Qaeda-linkedmilitants.

Kenya has suffered astring of deadly attacksin its capital Nairobi, theport city of Mombasa aswell as the easterngarrison town of Garissaover the past year.

The attacks have beenblamed on Somalimilitants and theirsympathizers inretaliation for Kenya’sdeployment of troops inneighboring Somalia lastyear to drive out alShabaab rebels whomNairobi has blamed forattacks on Kenyanterritory.

Congo rebels advance tooutskirts of Goma

REBELS in Congowere on the

outskirts of the easterncity of Goma yesterdayafter pushing back U.N.peacekeepers andgovernment troops, buta spokesman said theydid not plan to take thecity.

In four days of battles,the rebels have advancedcloser than at any timein their eight-month-old

uprising to Goma, theprovincial capital ofNorth Kivu and home tothe headquarters of theU.N. peacekeepingmission in easternCongo.

Colonel VianneyKazarama, spokesmanfor the M23 rebels, saidrebel fighters hadadvanced to within 2 km(1 mile) of Goma.

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

O H A K A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAngela Ohaka, nowwish to be knownand addressed asMrs. Allison AngelaFubara. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Generalpublic please takenote.

LELEH—I, formerlyknown andaddressed as MissChidinma BlessingLeleh, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Chidinma BlessingOdumodu. Allformer documentsremain valid. General public please take note.

NENGI—I, formerlyknown andaddressed as MissO n e n g i n y e o f o r iOpuwaribere, nowwish to be knownand addressed asMrs. Nengi Felix-Vinazor. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OKELEDO—I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissOkeledo NdidiamakaMary-Emmanuela,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. ChukwurahNdidiamaka Mary-Emmanuela. Allformer documents re-main valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

OBI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Obi GloriaNwachi, now wish tobe known and ad-dressed as Mrs.Odunsi GloriaNwachi. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Nigeria Immi-gration Service, DeltaState Command andgeneral public pleasetake note.

ATAMAKOH—I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as Miss JoyO k e o g h e n eAtamakoh, now wishto be known and ad-dressed as Mrs. JoyO k e o g h e n eEkperahwa. Allformer documents re-main valid. NigeriaPolice Force and gen-eral public pleasetake note.

NNADI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AdakuAnnagrace Nnadi,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Adaku AnnagraceLemoha. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OSAYUWARE—I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissOsayuware IreneAbieyuwa, now wishto be known and ad-dressed as Mrs.Modibo IreneAbieyuwa. All formerdocuments remainvalid. NYSC and gen-eral public please takenote.

ANICHE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss ChikaRebecca Aniche, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Chika RebeccaRichards. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

EBIFEMI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Ebifemi SophiaOluwasimidele, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Sophia OluwasimideleAdebayo. All formerdocuments remainvalid. The general pub-lic, Visafone Telecom-munication Limitedand to whom it mayconcern should pleasetake note.

UDEH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss UdehMaryjane Ngozi, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Chukwu MaryjaneNgozi. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ANIRINA—I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as Mr.U c h e c h u k w uBatholomew Anirina,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mr.U c h e c h u k w uB a t h o l o m e wEmmanuel. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OMOSOWONE—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissOmosowone ComfortTaiwo, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Mc-CauleyComfort Taiwo. Allformer documents re-main valid. Generalpublic please take note.

FAWEHINMI—I ,formerly known andaddressed as Mr.Fawehinmi OlayinkaTemitayo, now wish tobe known and ad-dressed as Mr.Oluwatimehin DavidOlayinka Temitayo.All former documentsremain valid. Gen-eral public pleasetake note.

BANKOLE—I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissBankole TitilayoNofisat, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Bello TitilayoNofisat. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

EKUNDINA—I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as Mr. VictorO l u k a y o d eEkundina, now wishto be known and ad-dressed as Mr. VictorOlukayode Olaitan.All former documentsremain valid. DeltaState University,Abraka, Delta Stateand general publicplease take note.

DASHI —I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss JustinaZukumnaan Dashi,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Bossan ZukumnaanJustina. All formerdocuments remainvalid. University ofJos, NYSC andgeneral public, pleasetake note.

E B O I G B E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissEboigbe ImuwahenBlessing, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Amadasu ImuwahenBlessing. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OKORONKWO—I,formerly known andaddressed as Mrs.Okoronkwo AffiongNkoyo, now wish tobe known andaddressed as BasseyAffiong NkoyoVivian. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

UVBIEKPAHOR—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissUvbiekpahor RachaelOnajite, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Nesimeye RachaelOnajite. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ADVERTHOTLINE01- 8737025


Eagles ’94, thank God welost and other stories

FRIDAY morning, on the eve of the grand finaleof the CAF Champions league final between

Esperance de Tunis and Al Ahly of Egypt, I was atbreakfast with Lim Kee Chong of Mauritius and RachidMedjiba of Algeria.

Lim was the designated Match Commissioner forthe final while Rachid was the CAF Security Officer.Of course our discussion centred around football. Limit will be recalled was a top African referee. Wheneverhe was at the centre teams felt comfortable that hewas going to deliver. Now a FIFA and CAF refereeinstructor and member CAF referees Committee, thesoft spoken Lim was the first to ask about “….thedecline of Nigerian football….”

How come we did not qualify for the last NationsCup. Are we going to do well this time around? Wherewas the class of 94?

He does not understand why a team that is doing sowell at youth level has not been able to reap fromsuch talent.

The Eagles of 1994 according to the tested refereewas arguably the best African team yet. It was apleasure refereeing their matches. He asked afterRashidi Yekini and was sorry to hear he was no more.

What about Okocha? That he is a member of theTechnical Committee of the NFF made him happy.“….Fine we have to tap from their experiences. Hewas a magical player, very talented and positive” hesaid.

And Amuneke, Finidi George, Amokachi? “ That oneyou will see in South Africa. He is Keshi’s assistant” Ioffered. Lim appreciates the growth of African footballthat has seen the spectacular showing of teams likeBotswana, Cape Verde, Central African Republic andso on, but still believes that the good old days ofNigeria, Cameroun, Ghana, Cote Divoire, Algeria,Morrocco and Egypt will for him remain the best yearsof African football.

Rachid Medjiba on his part, another top referee ofold, remembers a match he handled in Maiduguri, amatch that could have been very difficult given theharsh elements, but one that was made easy thanks tothe managerial and human relations display exhibitedby the late Patrick Okpomo, who was then theSecretary General of the Nigeria Football Association.

Thank God we lost...Last week, all but one of the teams taking part in

next year’s Africa Cup of Nations benefitted from theFIFA free window to take part in matches expected tohelp tune up their teams.

Nigeria came out tops in the US by beatingVenezuela 3-1. Though I was not opportuned to watchthe match, according to reports by the indefatigablemedia officer Ben Alaiya, Coach Stephen Keshi wasvery pleased, not only with the result, but with theshowing of the players he had to blood for the firsttime, including Shola Ameobi and US based Dike

Similarly, Cote D’Ivoire put up a frightening displaywhen they outclassed Austria 3-0. The star studdedIvorian team could afford to do that even with topstriker Salmon Kalou on the bench. ( He only came inin the 85th minute )

In Northern Africa, that was not the case as bothTunisia and Morocco lost at home.

Playing in front of a packed stadium Morocco werestunned by an inspired Togo, while very few fansturned up in Sousse as Switzerland pipped Tunisia.

As usual the press descended on the coaches of thetwo countries seeking explanations, angrily.

Coach Sami Trabelsi of Tunisia took the microphoneand by the time he finished, everyone was happy.

He said it would have been very good to record a

victory “…….Today and everyone goes home happy.On the contrary I am happy that we did not leavehere today with a false impression. This defeat willmake us realize that we are not there yet, that wehave a lot to do to be able to do well in South Africa.

“ I did not have to field our best players, I introducedsome fresh legs who satisfied me. You noticed thatour defense line was far from perfect and the mid fielddid not retreat fast enough to help cover up, and weneeded the Swiss to help us confirm that. I and myteam have learnt a lot from this match and believe meit will help us a lot as we prepare for South Africa”

I have also learnt a lot from this.

Wanted, publicity for sports festival

We can certainly do with some publicity, a lot ofpublicity as we run in to the National Sports Festival.

This is Nigeria’s Olympics and so far we do not seemto have had enough information on venues, states andtheir strengths, players and athletes to watch,committees reports and activities, everything.

One also prays that this time around there will beless emphasis on the medals table, Minister, Directorsand the Sports Commissioners….. The media can dous a lot of good by highlighting the athletes and thepotentials they bring to the future of our sports withthe next Olympics in mind.

Ekoo oni baje!

CAF Champions League medal

As General Coordinator of the CAF ChampionsLeague final match, I have in my possession a goldmedal. All glory goes to God Almighty forguaranteeing a hitch free final. It was not by mymight.

I thank members of Citadel of Glory for theirceaseless prayers for journey mercies and goodwillas I traversed the African Continent in the serviceof football.

I dedicate the medal to members of my wonderfulfamily especially my adorable wife and supportivechildren who have had to live through countlessqueries of “ Daddy are you travelling again?”

The end has justified the means.

See you next week.

The Eagles of 1994 according tothe tested referee was arguablythe best African team yet

Continued from BP

Nations Cup title

In the proposedbudget for next year ’sAfrica Cup of Nations,each Super Eagle playerwill earn $10,000 for awin in the first round,where they are drawnagainst defendingchampions Zambia,Burkina Faso andEthiopia.

This would translate to$30,000 each if they winall three first roundmatches, the sameamount they alsoreceived when theyqualified for thequarterfinal of the 2010tournament in Angola.

However, in Angola,the bonus was a winner-take-all one in the sensethat the players werepaid $30,000 each forgoing past the firstround rather than beingpaid per game.

The team’s win bonuswill then be reviewedupwards as they moveup in the knockout stage

Osaze

of the biennialcompetition.

Victory in thequarterfinal will fetcheach player $15,000,while victory in thesemi-final will see them$20,000-a-man richer.

And should the Eaglesclinch Nigeria’s thirdNations Cup trophyinside the magnificentSoccer City inJohannesburg onFebruary 10, each playerwill pocket a win bonusof $30,000.

ourselves.“Our desire to be in the

top five keeps us workinghard for every point.

“After they equalisedwe were disappointedbut the gaffer told us thatwe shouldn’t bedisappointed being 1-1with Chelsea,” hedisclosed.

Continued from BP

88th minutes of play byAlhassan Ibrahim.

Eaglets missed severalscoring chances thoughthe Malian team werephysical in their play..

Speaking after the

Mali

Mikel

Continued from BP

match, Coach of theGolden Eaglets, ManuGarba said 2-0 was a goodresult, adding that it wasgood that the team did notconcede any goal.

Garba said if the offici-ating remained what waswitnessed, his team willbeat Mali in the returnleg in Bamako in a fort-night.

“To me the playersplayed above average,though they created a lotof chances. I believe inthe next match we willsee a different Eaglet interms of attacking.

’Today is just a bad dayfor all my top strikers. Inthe next training session,we will address all theproblems we have beforewe go to Mali”.

Mikel admitted toMTNFootball.com thatChelsea were not goodenough against WestBrom, but they would notdwell in the past as theyhope to get back on track.

“It was painful we lostto West Brom. It wasfrustrating but I amlooking forward tosubsequent games ratherthan letting this lossweigh us down,” hestated.

Continued from BP

Ahmed Musa scoredhis eighth goal in theRussian league inSunday’s 3-0 spanking ofAmkar Perm.

Eight-goal Musa isnow two goals behindleague leading scorerAleksandr Kerzhakov ofchampions Zenit SaintPetersburg.

The Nigeriainternational, who is nowplayed as a centreforward by his Russianarmy club and not as awinger, scored thesecond goal of the matchin the 73rd minute. Healso assisted Cauna forthe third goal in the 90thminute.

Obafemi Martins re-turned from a disappoint-

Strikersing Super Eagles outingto net his fifth goal forLevante in the SpanishLa Liga yesterday.

Martins opened scor-ing at hosts Deportivo LaCoruna after 40 minutesto restate his case for aplace on Nigeria’s squadfor next year’s Africa Cupof Nations.

Similarly, Super Eaglesprolific scorer, IkechukwuUche smashed a fantas-tic brace for Villarreal CFin Spain’s Segunda Di-visión as the Yellow Sub-marine won 3-0 againstRacing Santander at ElSadinero.

The forward’s first goalon Saturday arrived on39 minutes while hecompleted his brace 14minutes later.

Uche was substitutedafter 79 minutes as theVillarreal manager, JulioVelaquez Santiagoshuffled his pack toprotect his side’s lead.

Also Saturday in theEnglish Premier League,Osaze Odemwinge’sheader sank theEuropean champions, asWestbrom defeatedChelsea 2-1 atHawthorns.

Continued from BP

BY MMACHIILECHUKWU

THE chairman of theLagos State

Badminton Association,Frank Orbih was full ofoptimism when heannounced that teamLagos was ready to clearall the gold medals at

Lagos 'll sweep the stakes in badminton — Orbihsuccess in 2013, hereplied; “ we willdiscover players fromhere and train them, wewill also be getting thebest of equipment forour players for them tobe in a proper state ofmind and we willpresent a team that istruly Lagos, we will notbuy players”.

stake in the nationalsports festival, Eko 2012and in Calabar 2013.

Orbih made thisstatement at the2ndQuarterly Lagosstate badminton closedchampionship at theLagos country club Ikejaat the weekend.

On strategies for


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.

e-mail: [email protected]

How to Play Sudoku THE VIGILANTE

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

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

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

YESTERDAY'S ANSWERSYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSYESTERDAY'S ANSWERS

VANGUARD, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012

TODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

Across1 Leave out (4)4 Stitch (3)6 Ponder (4)9 Skill (3)10 Stratagem (8)11 Cut (4)14 Large (3)16 Toll (5)19 Sword (8)21 Object (5)23 Lessen (8)24 Notch (5)27 Pen point (3)31 Break (4)33 First-class (8)34 Lubricate (3)35 Depend (4)36 Born (3)37 Want (4)

Down2 Market (4)3 Excursion (4)4 Animated (8)5 Sharpen (4)6 Stone-worker (5)7 Vase (3)8 Yet (5)12 Remains (5)13 The same (5)14 Offer (3)15 Urchin (5)17 Rig (5)18 Supple (5)20 Meditate (8)22 Tease (3)25 Boat (5)26 Answer (5)28 Scrutinise (4)29 Frank (4)30 Manage (4)32 Sicken (3)

Across: 1, Across 5, Deride 8, Dissuade 9,Plan 10, Gas 12, Crass 15, Dam 17, Par 18,Tie 19, Axe 20, Aroma 21, Mop 22, Elf 23,Too 24, Dud 26, Tinge 29, Nod 33, Quit 34,Prohibit 35, Flimsy 36, Tawdry.

Down: 2, China 3, Oust 4, Stir 5, Dress 6, Ripe7, Drama 10, Grand 11, Speed 12, Craft 13,Adorn 14, State 15, Demon 16, Moped 25,Usual 27, Imply 28, Ghost 30, Osier 31, Stem32, View.

Continues on Page 52

EACH Super Eaglesstar could earn as

much as $100,000 shouldthey win the AFCON inSouth Africa.

“Incentives will not bethe Super Eagles problemat the Nations Cup,” atop official simplyi n f o r m e dMTNFootball.com at theweekend.

“If they go all the wayand win the competition,they will each take awayabout $95,000 and whenyou add that to their dailyallowances of around$5,000, you will haveabout $100,000.

“And the chief coach(Stephen Keshi) will getdouble this amount.”

Eagles to earn N15m each for Nations Cup title

O S A Z E Odemwingie hassaid West Brom deservedtheir big 2-1 home winover mighty Chelsea onSaturday.

“I think we totallydeserved our victory,” hetold his club’s website.

“It felt great to be in thetop five and today was anopportunity to climb alittle bit more up the table.

“We believe inourselves and we’veproven that so far withsome quality football.

“That lifted us up a bitand we started the secondhalf well, as we did thefirst.

“The better the resultswe get the more theconfidence grows andalso the faith we have in

MIKEL Obi hasstated that his

team will overcome arecent poor run in theEPL after they lost 2-1 atWest Brom on Saturday.

Chelsea have not wona league game since theircontroversial 3-2 homeloss to ManchesterUnited last month.

They remain third onthe table with 20 pointsbehind United and newleaders Manchester City.


Mikel vows Chelsea fight back


Osaze: We deservedto beat Chelsea

•Mikel Obi

By JOHNBOSCO AG-BAKWURU, Calabar

NIGERIAN GoldenEaglets yesterday

at the U.J. Esuene Stadi-um, Calabar. Cross RiverState defeated the JuniorEagles of Mali 2-0.

The Nigeria U-17 got

the curtain raiser on26mins, through WilfredNididi and the secondgoal was scored at the

Eaglets beat Mali 2-0


Eagles strikers on fire

•Ike UcheSUPER Eagles

strikers in Europe atthe weekend put more

pressure on CoachStephen Keshi as theykept on scoring goals for

their various clubs.CSKA Moscow striker


TACKLE... West Brom's Peter Odemwingie (R) tackles Chelsea's Eden Haz-ard during their match at The Hawthorns on November 17. West Brom won2-1. Photo: AFP

CMYK

No negotiations with Boko Haran

Documents

Transcript of No negotiations with Boko Haran