...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62180

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014**

Mr & Mrs

•FG tightens security at confab venue•Southern delegates woo Northern minority

North, South headfor showdown

P.40

COLUMNIST:

•P.46

Continues on Page 5

KESHI: South Africa'sinterest wanes

ECONOMY &RESERVES:Between the truthand governmentclarifications

CREATION OF NEW STATES:

By HENRY UMORU& JOSEPH ERUNKE

ABUJA — ASTORMY session

is expected today asNorthern and Southerndelegates at the ongo-ing National Conferencehead for a showdownover power configura-tions in the considera-tion of the report of the

6

Son arrested for killingdad, SAN, inRedemption Camp

13 Nigerian banks make top 1000world banks' ranking

Nigeria: Afederation of 54states?

From left: Prof. Akin Oyebode, Guest Speaker; Prof. JP Clark, Prof. Wole Soyinka, the Chief Host; Gov. Rotimi Amaechi ofRivers State; Mrs Folake Soyinka and Mrs Francesca Emmanuel, Chairman, Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa, duringthe 5th Edition of the Wole Soyinka Prize For Literature in Africa, sponsored by Glo World in Lagos, weekekend, Photo: DiranOshe.

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2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 — 3

4 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014—5

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Continues from page 1

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

Creation of new states: North,South head for showdown

‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, prayabout everything.... Then you will experienceGod’s peace, which exceeds anything we canunderstand...’

The majority of men meet with failure becauseof their lack of persistence in creating new plansto take the place of those which fail — NapoleonHill

NAPOLEON Hill, in one of his famous booksmade a distinction between people. And he

said the difference between people who are able tolive a fully functioning life and to attract riches andwellness and happiness and abundance and pros-perity into their lives is that the people who do thathave something that he called a “burning desire.”

And a burning desire is very different than just,“Oh, I’d really like to do well, I’d like to have mybook do well, I’d like to have this music that I’mwriting do well, I’d like people to know about it,”and so on.

A burning desire is much deeper, it’s like havingan inner candle flame that, no matter what goesbefore you, it doesn’t even flicker. And this is some-thing that you can experience if you believe in your-self.

There are so many people, who don’t give enough,and maybe just a little more effort would have madea difference – they have a desire but they don’t havethe willingness and the fearlessness and the deter-mination to follow through with their dreams.

FASHOLA VISITS APAPA—From left: Tayo Aboyeji, South-West PRO of Petroleum TankerDrivers Association; explain something to Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State as others look onduring the working visit to Apapa/Oshodi Expressroad, Wharf and Creek roads in Apapa, yesterday,as part of continued effort to address the problem of traffic gridlock caused by tanker drivers. Photo:Bunmi Azeez.

Committee on Devolu-tion of Powers.

The North, Vanguardlearnt, is especially con-cerned with recommen-

dations of the committeeadopted last Thursdaythat could put the Southat an advantage andwhere not, erase theadvantage that theNorth has had in thepolity. The NationalConference had lastThursday adopted rec-ommendations amongothers for the creationof 19 new states withthree in each geopoliti-cal zone and an extraone in the Southeastand also resolved todelist local govern-ments from the consti-tution and as such re-move the advantageconferred on the Northwith the plurality of lo-cal governments.

It was gathered thatNorthern governorshad reached out to thedelegates to rescind thedecisions. The plot toreverse the decisionsnonetheless, Southerndelegates at the week-end, were also pressinghome their advantagewith strategic link tominorities in the Northahead of the considera-tion of other importantrecommendations of theCommittee on Devolu-tion.

Ahead of today ’smeeting, Southern del-egates were last nightlocked in a meetingwith some prominentdelegates from theNorth-Central duringwhich they were said tobe pondering over adeal that will be mutu-ally beneficial to bothparties. That meetingtaking place in theAsokoro Abuja resi-dence of a powerfulSouthern media mogulwas ongoing at presstime.

The Southern del-egates had at an earliermeeting a week ago re-solved to press for theincrease of derivationfrom 13% recommendedby the Committee onDevolution of Powers to21.5%.

The meeting which isbelieved to have in at-tendance more than 200delegates, Vanguardlearnt, is aiming toweaken the oppositionbeing mounted by thecore northern del-egates, who Vanguardgathered, are workingto ensure that del-egates don’t reach themandatory require-ments needed for any

resolution to sailthrough.

To ensure that thecore north delegatesare again defeated, theSouthern delegatesmeeting in Asokorowould resolve to speakwith one voice on anyissue being opposed bythe core Northern del-egates.

Efforts made by coreNorthern delegates tomaintain the status quoin other key recommen-dations in previouscommittees’ reportswere not successful.Among the issues theregion lost out in, in-cluded its efforts to killproposals for rotationalpresidency between theNorth and South, crea-tion of state police, re-versal of current na-tional anthem, amongothers.

The core north hadequally, previouslykicked against thescrapping of local gov-ernment administrationfrom the constitution.But the southern del-egates succeeded ingetting it approvedthrough massive sup-port from delegatesfrom North-Central anddelegates from minoritygroups in the North-East and North-West.

The arrowhead of thecore north’s oppositionto the resolution andformer Political Adviserto late General SaniAbacha, Prof. AuwaluYadudu, in a statement,on behalf of Northerndelegates which wascirculated to northern-based media organisa-tions, had rejected theentire resolution of theConference Committeeon Political Restructur-ing and Forms of Gov-ernance which theyconsidered not favour-able to the North.

To ensure that thecore northern delegatesare again defeated inthe recommendations ofthe Committee onDevolution of Powers,today ’s meeting by

Southern delegateswith their North Cen-tral and northern mi-nority delegates woulddecide how to take astand during voting to-morrow.

Just as the delegatesfrom the South are per-fecting their strategies,those from the corenorth, who are in theopposition are not rest-ing in their efforts atthwarting the efforts ofthe Southern delegates.

Vanguard gatheredthat they have resolvedto resist any attempt bythe Chairman of theconference, IdrisKutigi, to allow hisdeputy, BolajiAkinyemi to presideover the two-day ses-sion where the devolu-tion of powers commit-tee’s recommendationswould be considered.

The core northern del-egates are said not tobe comfortable withAkinyemi, who they be-lieve is not only fromthe South but appearssympathetic to thesouthern cause at theconference.

FG tightenssecurity atconfab venue

Ahead of the show-down, security has beenreinforced around thevenue of the confer-ence. Besides, del-egates from the Southand North are also saidto be preparing physi-cally for today ’s ex-pected stormy session.

A delegate from theNorth confided in Van-guard that their col-leagues have beenasked not to wear‘agbada’, a traditionalwear in the northernpart of the country tothe conference plenarytoday and tomorrow,given that anythingcould happen duringdisagreements thatwould crop up amongthe delegates.

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA& DAUD OLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA— THE OgunState Police Command said,

yesterday, that it has arrested a21-year-old Tolani Ajayi, for al-legedly killing his father, CharlesAjayi, a Senior Advocate of Ni-geria, SAN, in the RedemptionCamp along Lagos/Ibadan ex-pressway .

The Police Public Relations Of-ficer in the state, MuyiwaAdejobi, in a statement said itscommand uncovered the mys-tery behind the killing of a legalluminary who was slaughtered byhis biological son.

According to Adejobi, the sus-pect, who is a 300-level studentof Department of History and In-ternational Relations of RedeemerUniversity, RCCG Camp, OgunState, was arrested the same dayhe committed the crime in hisfather’s residence where the in-cident occurred at about 5:30pm.

“The shattered body of MrCharles Ajayi, 60, was recoveredin a nearby bush at CanaanlandStreet in the RCCG Camp in abox after he was killed by his son.

“The DPO Redemption Camp,Superintendent of Police, SP,

Olaiya Martins led a team of de-tectives and some members ofthe community who noticed the

strange attitude of the suspectwhile dumping a box at the pointwhere the body of the SAN wasfound and thereafter traced theground marks of the draggedbox from where the suspectdumped the dad’s corpse to thehouse of the Senior Advocate ofNigeria, where they met the sus-pect in a relaxed mood in thehouse.

“Upon interrogation, the sus-pect earlier lied that his dad hadgone on evangelism before heeventually confessed to the crimewhen he was taken to the Re-demption Camp DivisionalHeadquarters.

“He stated further that problemarose when his late father con-fronted him for not respondingto the prayer points he (the de-ceased) was calling which made

his father to slap him.“He said he went mad and

went straight to the kitchen topick up a knife to stab him andlater a cutlass to cut his throat,thereby killing him.

“The exhibits, including theknife and cutlass he used in kill-ing his father, had been recov-ered by the Police and the corpseof the SAN had been depositedat a morgue in Sagamu.

“The Commissioner of Police,Ogun State, CP IkemefunaOkoye has sent a powerful teamof detectives led by the officerin charge of Homicide Sectionof the Department of CriminalInvestigation, Eleweran,Abeokuta to assess the situationand take over the matter for fur-ther investigation and necessaryaction."

Tolani Ajayi, the suspect

Man killed in Benin while testingcharms' efficacy

BY GABRIEL ENOGHO-LASE & SIMON EBEG-

BULEM

BENIN— A 25-year-oldman simply identified as

Osamame Isekhuere (aka

Black Arrow) was weekendshot dead in Benin by hisfriend while trying to test theefficacy of charms in his pos-session popularly known as‘Africa Insurance’.

The shooting which oc-curred at the Oba market, atthe centre of Benin metropo-lis, Vanguard gathered,forced many traders in themarket to lock up their shopsand run for their lives follow-ing riots occasioned by thekilling.

It was gathered thatOsamame had asked one ofhis friends to shoot him totest a new charm that he hadacquired against bullets af-ter incising and rubbing thecharms on their bodies andthey decided to test it withlive bullets.

According to the source,Osamame first shot at hisfriend but the bullet did notpenetrate but when the friendshot at Osamame on thechest, the charm failed.Osamame was said to havedied instantly.

His friends, who heard ofthe killing, burnt down abuilding where the saidfriend was living in a rentedapartment.

Police spokesman, DSPUwoh Noble, when con-tacted, said he was yet to bebriefed on the matter.

5-storey building collapses, destroys vehicles in OnitshaBY NWABUEZEOKONKWO

Policemen chase Okada rider, passengersto death in Lagos

BY EBUN SESSOU

LAGOS — THREE peoplewere reportedly killed by La-

gos State Bus Rapid Transit, BRT,with number plate LAGOS XQ766 LSD and marked LAGBUSF014, yesterday, at Awoyaya areaof Ibeju-Lekki along Lekki/EpeExpressway, Lagos.

Eyewitness said the victimswere on a motorcycle from Con-tainer area of Ibeju-Lekki andwere reportedly being chased byRRS men before they ran into aBRT, which killed them instantly.

Chairman of the Arewa commu-nity, Ibeju-Lekki, Musa Sule,said: “What happened today (yes-terday) was against the right ofthe people, especially the Arewacommunity living in this area.

"I live in Abijo area of Ibeju-Lekki, when I got to Awoyayabus-stop, to my surprise, I sawthree people on the road, dead.I was told that RRS men werechasing them but as they tried toescape, they ran into BRT. Boththe BRT driver and the RRS menhad escaped.

“We are calling on governmentto come to our rescue becausethis problem is getting too muchin this area. This is not the firsttime this will happen. This prob-lem must not continue in this areabecause we are law-abiding peo-ple. We will not carry the corpsesuntil appropriate steps aretaken.”

One of the indigenes of Ado/Badore area in Ajah, Alhaji

Adams, pleaded with governmentto prevail so that peace will reignin the area.

He said: ”There is need to takethe corpses off the road. These arehuman beings, they should be re-spected. What happened has hap-pened. We are law-abiding citi-zens, we don’t want trouble inIbeju Lekki.”

Meanwhile, the Baale ofAwoyaya, Alhaji Yisa Babatunde,has said it was sad to experiencesuch horrible incident in his do-main.

According to him, “the activitiesof the Police in this part of Lagosis nothing to write home about.There is need for government tolook into this problem so that itdoes not degenerate into riot."

ONITSHA— NO fewerthan four vehicles were,

Saturday, smashed by a five-storey building which collapsedat 7, Aloy Offia Crescent, OldMercedes Lorry Spare PartsMarket, Nkpor, an outskirts ofthe commercial city of Onitsha,Anambra State.

The building, which was atroofing stage, according to

eye-witnesses, collapsed atabout 8 a.m, but no casualtywas recorded as there was no-body residing in it except thevehicles parked in front of it.

According to the source, theground floor of the building waserected years ago and was be-ing used as a private nurseryschool until about two years agowhen the owner sold it.

The source stated that thebuyer, who is a businessman,had engaged the services of a

contractor to add the five otherfloors to the existing groundfloor.

The source hinted that thestructure was completed fewmonths ago and because theowner had just bought anotheruncompleted building in La-gos and decided to upgrade itimmediately, so he suspendedthe roofing of the collapsedbuilding, pending when theLagos building would be com-pleted. Scene of the collapsed building.

Policemankillshotelattendantin Yobe

DAMATURU — ALADY hotel attend-

ant at Ga’at Hotel, athree-star hotel, was al-legedly killed by a po-lice corporal attached toCriminal InvestigationDepartment, Thursdaynight

The attendant, identi-fied as Rebecca David,was shot by the corporalwho sources said ap-peared drunk.

One of the people thatbrought her corpse toGeneral Sani AbachaSpecialist Hospital inDamaturu confirmed thatthe policeman shot thelady in the head whichkilled her instantly be-fore she could be rushedto the hospital.

When Vanguard vis-ited the home of the de-ceased, the parents andrelatives were still ingrief.

The parents said theonly thing they wantedfrom the government andthe owner of the hotelwas for the police corpo-ral that killed theirdaughter to be pun-ished.

“We want the authorityto come to our rescueand make sure the po-liceman that murderedour daughter does notgo scotfree,” the fathersaid.

Meanwhile, the corpo-ral is currently in deten-tion, as confirmed by thestate Police Public Rela-tions Officer, PPRO, MrNansak Chagwa pend-ing the conclusion of in-vestigation into the mat-ter.

BY BALA AJIYA

Son arrested for killing his dad,SAN, in Redemption Camp

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014—7

13 Nigerian banks make Top 1000World Banks ranking

BY OMOH GABRIEL

LAGOS — THIRTEEN Nigerian banks have been listed

among the Leading 1000 GlobalBanks as published by The Bankermagazine of the Financial TimesGroup in its 2014 edition.

The Nigerian banks that madethe ranking based on Tier-1 capi-tal are Zenith Bank, GuarantyTrust Bank, FirstBank, AccessBank, United Bank for Africa, Fi-delity Bank and Ecobank Nigeria.

Others are Skye Bank, First CityMonument Bank, Diamond Bank,Stanbic IBTC Holdings, StandardChartered Bank Nigeria and Un-ion Bank of Nigeria.

The report, which was releasedweekend, said banks in the world,for the first time since the globalfinancial crisis, returned profit of$920 billion which is 23 per centmore than their previous peak of$786 billion achieved in 2007 be-fore the financial crisis.

The report, which listed 13 Ni-gerian banks that made the rank-ing, underlines Nigeria’s financialsector's leading position in Africaas no other African country has upto 13 banks in the Top 1000 Worldlisting of banks.

According to the report, ZenithBank ranked top in Nigeria at 293as Guaranty Trust is on number415, FirstBank on number 424,Access Bank 532, United Bank forAfrica ranked 539 and Fidelity 622.

The report said profit on capitalof three Nigerian banks that arenot foreign-owned subsidiaries in-creased. These are FirstBank, thathas its profit on capital increasedto 25.32 per cent from 25.13 percent; Access Bank, from 21.19 percent to 21.24 per cent and FirstCity Monument Bank, 15.77 percent from 15.07 per cent.

23% increase in profitEditor of the magazine, Mr.

Brain Caplen, noted that the 23

per cent increase in profit of glo-bal banks from 2007 “is a goodnews but the better news is thatcapital has also increased at areasonable pace whereas assetshave stayed flat. This meansthat returns on capital are onlyslightly improved but the hopeis that this upturn is more sus-tainable than the last one.”

Caplen disclosed that a largeproportion of the profit is fromChina— about 32 per cent ofthe total which is more than thenext three highest profit coun-tries of USA, Japan and Canadacombined.

Highest in AfricaOf the 25 top banks in Africa

from the ranking, the highestof eight is from Nigeria, thelargest economy in the conti-nent while the United Bank forAfrica is the only Nigerian bankin the top 10 highest movers inAfrica.

In all, Africa has 31 banks inthe Top 1000 World Banks 2014with Nigeria having 13 repre-senting 41.94 per cent. The 31African banks in the ranking arefrom nine countries: Nigeria,South Africa, Egypt, Angola, Ga-bon, Kenya, Mauritius, Moroccoand Togo.

Globally, Senior Editor of themagazine, Philip Alexander,stressed that banks in this 2014ranking “are stronger than ever”as “the level of capital held bybanks in this ranking continuesto accelerate, with the minimumTier 1 capital required to enterthe Top 1000 World Banks nowfast appraching $400 million.This has almost doubled since the2005 ranking,” he added.

The Banker, a publication ofFinancial Times Newspaperwhich is regarded as the mostinfluential newspaper in theworld, is a global financial intel-ligence magazine published

since 1926. It is the definitivepublication that provides guideto bank ratings and analysis glo-bally and the definitive referenceon international banking for fi-nance experts, governments,chief finance officers, CEOs, Cen-tral Bank Governors, FinanceMinisters, and other decisionmakers globally.

According to The Global Capi-tal Markets Surveys (GCMS),the only independent mediabenchmarking study available inthe capital markets industry andprovides insight into who readswhat at the world’s financial in-stitutions, among monthly fi-nance titles globally, The Bankeris number one monthly financetitle read globally, in capital mar-kets; Europe, Middle East andAfrica (EMEA) region; emergingmarkets and bank as well as fi-nancial institutions in the world.

See details on page 19.

Vice President Namadi Sambo (right) condoling the President, Black Gold Company, ChiefSony Okogwu, over the death of his wife, Mrs Roseline Okogwu, who died in Kaduna.Photo: Olu Ajayi.

EFCC probes Olotu, 3 judges over foreign bank accountsBY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

ABUJA— THE Economic andFinancial Crimes Commis-

sion, EFCC, has disclosed that itis currently investigating threejudges over allegation that theyown and operate several foreignbank accounts.

The anti-graft, in a process it filedbefore the Abuja Division of theFederal High Court, named Jus-tice Gladys Olotu, who was re-cently sent on a compulsory retire-ment by the National JudicialCouncil, NJC, as one of the allegedcorrupt ex-judicial officers underits probe.

The commission insisted that ithad already traced about N2 bil-lion to a foreign account it said waslinked to the retired judge.

It would be recalled that Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathan had ear-lier this year, okayed the ouster of

Justice Olotu from the benchafter she was found guilty of“gross misconduct” by theNJC.

Meantime, though the anti-graft agency declined to men-tion the names of the other ac-cused judges on the premisethat doing so could jeopardiseits ongoing investigation, ithowever, hinted that whereastwo of them are currently serv-ing in Abuja, he said the otherjudge is in the Lagos division.

Consequently, the EFCC, ina counter-affidavit dated April1, 2014, urged the FederalHigh Court in Abuja to hands-off a suit that is pending be-fore it, which it said was capa-ble of stalling its investigation.

The said suit was filed be-fore the court by retired Jus-tice Olotu.

Specifically, the agency, told thecourt that its investigation wasignited by a petition written to itby a group under the aegis ofCivil Society Network AgainstCorruption (CSNAC).

It said the petitioners adducedevidence indicating that JusticeOlotu was maintaining an off-shore account with FirstBank(United Kingdom) and allegedlyhas over N2 billion in cash andinvestment.

Olotu had gone to court with aview to securing an order thatwould restrain the EFCC fromeither inviting or arresting her forquestioning over “baseless alle-gations.”

She filed the suit shortly aftershe was summoned to appear be-fore the commission in respect ofthe allegations levelled againsther by the petitioners.

More so, EFCC, in its coun-ter-affidavit, denied allegationthat it was the NJC and the At-torney General of the Federa-tion that instigated it to go afterthe retired judge.

It equally denied abusing Jus-tice Olotu’s fundamental humanrights as alleged, insisting thatit is within its statutory powersto investigate and prosecute eco-nomic and financial crimes in thecountry despite who is involved.

In the said affidavit which wasdeposed to by an investigativeofficer of the EFCC, HabufariYahaya, the agency, told thecourt that “in the course of in-vestigation, certain issues arosefor further clarifications, whichhad to do with documents andthe applicant (Justice Olotu)therefore requested for time tobring them and she wasobliged.”

IMPEACHMENT:Nyako goesspiritual,declares2-day prayer

BY SONI DANIEL,NORTHERN REGION

EDITOR

ABUJA — AS the gale ofimpeachment against

him gathers momentum, Gov-ernor Murtala Nyako ofAdamawa State, has gonespiritual to save his job.

The governor, yesterday,declared today and tomorrowas work free days to enablethe citizens to reflect on thesituation in the state and Ni-geria and to offer specialprayers to God for interven-tion.

Although the governor didnot make direct reference to hiscurrent impeachment travails,it was learnt that the prayerssessions are intended to seekthe face of God in thwartingthe effort by the state’s law-makers and his former party,PDP, to oust him from office.

He explained that the holi-days were to give thanks toGod for surviving all the chal-lenges facing them.

As the prayer session con-tinues, Nyako is expected toapproach the Appeal Courtthis week to challenge the de-cision of the state’s ActingChief Judge, Justice AmbroseMammadi, to set up a panelto probe him without first be-ing served the notice of the im-peachment as demanded bylaw.

Nyako, it was learnt, ispeeved by the action of theacting CJ, who inexplicablydecided to set up a probepanel against him despite thefact that the lawmakers wereyet to personally serve him theimpeachment notice.

But the prayers may not domuch to salvage the governor,as the seven-man panel,whose membership had al-ready been unveiled, gets setto finish up its assignmentwithin the week and push thegovernor away.

The panel, whose composi-tion of five Christians and twoMuslims is already raisingeyebrows among the Muslimcommunity in the state, islikely to wrap up its assign-ment and report back to theHouse of Assembly earlierthan expected.

Although some political big-wigs in Adamawa are ex-pected to intervene and saveNyako, his key political oppo-nents are not likely to forgiveNyako and would push for hisremoval as soon as the com-mittee turns in its report.

It is not, however, clear whyarmed soldiers have takenover the residence of theAdamawa CJ in Yola, the statecapital.

8 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

Doctors may call off strike today if...

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

NAFDACbeginsenforcementfor MobileAuthenticationServicenationwide

BY SOLA OGUNDIPE, CHIOMAOBINNA & GABRIEL OLAWALE

...FG says strike unnecessary, MDCAN backs out

Stop politicising governance, Aregbesolacautions Jonathan

NIGERIANS seeking health services in public hospitals

nationwide continue to face har-rowing times even as the strikingmedical doctors under the aegis ofthe Nigerian Medical Association,NMA, hold an emergency meet-ing in Abuja today to review theindefinite strike they commencedJuly 1.

The Federal Government hasdescribed the strike as unnecessary,just as the Medical ConsultantsAssociation of Nigeria, MDCAN,has distanced itself from the strikeaction and assured the nation of un-interrupted hospital services.

While, there are rumours that theemergency meeting may bring pos-itive decision as to officially sus-

pend the strike, it was not veryclear if all the members presentat the proposed emergency meet-ing will support the decision.

Leadership of the NMA main-tained sealed lips over the meet-ing, however, it was reliably gath-ered that the outcome is expect-ed to determine the next line ofaction the doctors will take.

Meanwhile, health care serv-ices in all general, specialist andteaching hospitals and medicalcentres across the Federationhave remained paralysed forcingthousands of patients dischargeden-masse in the wake of the striketo secure alternative sources oftreatment and care.

A visit to the hospitals weekendrevealed that the hospitals havebecome a shadow of them-selves as patients have virtu-

ally deserted the wards. Afew who remained continue tolament their woes.

“We are just here under God’sgrace and the nurses are tryingtheir best,” one of the patientsat the Lagos University Teach-ing Hospital told Vanguard.

Meanwhile, the Medical Con-sultants Association of Nigeriahas opted out of the nationwidestrike and assured the nation ofuninterrupted hospital services.

National President, MDCAN,Dr. Steven Oluwole, in a state-ment said they were complyingwith the ruling of the NationalIndustrial Court which statedthat all parties should maintainthe status quo till disputes areresolved.

“The MDCAN complies fullywith the restraining order on all

parties, which is contained in theruling, delivered by Hon. JusticeM.N. Esowe on June 27, 2014.”In the same vein, MDCAN expectsthe other parties to the above suit tocomply fully with the terms of thesaid restraining order,” Oluwolesaid.

He noted that branches of theMDCAN and individual consult-ants should continue to provideservices to patients, but should ex-ercise their professional judgmentas to the best care feasible andpracticable in the current situation.“All patients and Nigerians areassured of quality and uninter-rupted health care services. MD-CAN pleads with the Federal Gov-ernment of Nigeria to do all thatis necessary to bring a quick endto the current impasse,” he as-sured.

Reacting to the strike weekend,the Minister of Health, ProfessorOnyebuchi Chukwu described itas “unnecessary’

Wondering why the doctors haveremained on strike after governmentsigned a memorandum of under-standing and has almost met alltheir demands, recalled that on re-ceipt of the notice by NMA, gov-ernment held a meeting with theAssociation on 25th June, 2014.

He said at the end of the 14-hourmeeting chaired by the Secretary tothe Government of the Federation,both the government and the NMAsigned a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) which addressedall the 24 issues presented by theNMA.

”To be sure, almost all the issuesin contention were either issues thathad been satisfactorily resolved orissues that could be treated merelythrough administrative mechanism.However, the NMA jettisoned theMoU and proceeded on strike onthe 1st of July 2014.

”Despite reneging on the MoU,the government immediately invit-ed the NMA to series of meetingson 1st July, 2014 yet this could notdissuade the NMA from the strikethey had embarked on. Anothermeeting that was planned for 2nd July, 2014 was aborted when theNMA officials failed to show up,”Chukwu said.

He noted that the NMA honouredanother meeting schedule forThursday, 3rd July, 2014 under theauspices of the Secretary to the Gov-ernment of the Federation.

Further, he explained that govern-ment has met its own side of theMoU and it is expected that themembers of the NMA would fromtoday begin to respond and attendto all emergency cases in publichospitals in the spirit of this under-standing.

“The Federal Government wasnot unaware of the hardship thestrike action has imposed on theNigerians. Not only does the gov-ernment disapprove of the strike buthas made every effort to negotiatewith the NMA and ensure the im-mediate resumption of services ingovernment hospitals,” he said.

LAGOS—GOVERNOR RaufAregbesola of Osun State has

cautioned President GoodluckJonathan against politicisation ofgovernance saying that issues thathave to do with the lives and wellbeing of Nigerians should not beput on the altar of politics.

Governor Aregbesola who spokeagainst what he claimed as the con-tinued refusal of the Federal Gov-ernment to issue Osun State thesecurity code that would activate theEmergency Security Centre con-ceived by his state also slammed themedia for its unwillingness to throwlight on the matter.

The governor who said that thesecurity code was needed to enablesearch and rescue operations by theEmergency Security Centre saidthat had the centre been active that

the senior officials of the Nigeri-an Union of Journalists who diedin a road accident in the statewould have been rescued.

Speaking to journalists at theweekend, the governor also la-mented the refusal of the presi-dent to allow the state use thenational railway tracks for thestate’s pilot agricultural projectthat was conceived to make Osuna food hub.

Decrying what he claimed wasthe unnecessary politicisation ofissues pertaining to governance,Aregbesola said that the presi-dent should remove himself fromabove partisan politics in consid-ering issues that have to do withthe wellbeing of the citizenry.

Aregbesola, who said he per-sonally met the president to re-quest an access code said “whatremains for the centre to function

is just a short security code ap-proval of which should onlycome from the Federal Govern-ment.”

He regretted that a letter writ-ten to the president on the issuehas not been honoured ith a re-sponse or acknowledgment.

He disclosed that with the cen-tre in operation accident victimscould be accessed quickly as hewarned that the refusal of thefederal administration to re-spond positively to the requestcould affect both members of thePeoples Democratic Party, PDPand the All Progressives Con-gress, APC.

“Security threat does not dis-criminate,” Aregbesola said ashe observed that “if the SecurityCentre had been functional,those young journalists that diedrecently along Ife road couldhave survived the accident ifhelp has reached them in time.”

NATIONAL Agency for Food and

Drug Administration andControl, NAFDAC, hascommenced enforcement ofthe deadline for implemen-tation of the Mobile Au-thentication Service, MASby pharmaceutical compa-nies nationwide.

The enforcement opera-tion which started last weekin Abuja under the auspic-es of the Pharmacovigi-lance and Post MarketingSurveillance Directorate ofNAFDAC was geared to-wards mopping up fromcirculation all anti-malarialand anti-biotic medicinesthat do not carry on theirlabels, the MAS scratchand text authenticationcodes introduced in 2010 bythe Agency to save consum-ers from the menace of fakedrugs.

Director-General of NAF-DAC, Dr. Paul Orhii who iscurrently celebrated world-wide for introducing multi-layered anti-counterfeit-ing technology has vowedthat there was no goingback on enforcement ofcompliance with the MASdeadline which has pre-viously been shifted twicein the last three years dueto plea for more time bysegment of the pharma-ceutical industry.

Orhii said NAFDAC hasthe full support of the Pres-ident and HonourableMinister of Health, Pro-fessor Onyebuchi Chuk-wu to enforce implemen-tation of the service in abid to eradicate counter-feit drugs in the country.

He disclosed that firminstruction has been giv-en to all NAFDAC officesacross the country to goround various pharma-ceutical outlets to enforcecompliance as deadline isirreversible and sacro-sanct.

”The scratch and textservice (MAS) has put thepower of detecting coun-terfeit drugs in the handsof over 100 million mobilephone users in the coun-try,” he added.

Orhii stated that the in-ternational community isfull of commendation forNigeria for pioneering theuse of cutting-edge tech-nologies in combatingcounterfeit medicines.

LAUNCH OF EAST AFRICA EXCHANGE: Kenyan President, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta (middle) ringingthe bell with Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, and Chairman, Board of East AfricaExchange, Dr. Jendayi Frazer, at the formal launch of the East Africa Exchange (EAX) in Kigali, Rwan-da, during the 6th Northern Corridor Integration Summit attended by Kenyatta along with PresidentsPaul Kagame of Rwanda, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Salva Kiir of South Sudan, at the weekend.

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 —9

Adeboye,Ezekwesilipray forChibokschoolgirls

AWARD: From left—Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr Nicolaas Vervelde;Executive Officer, Tanus Communications, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi and General Manager, Publi-cations and Editor-in-Chief, Vanguard Newspapers, Mr Gbenga Adefaye disscusing during theGolden Pen Award organised by Nigerian Breweries Plc at Eko Hotel, Lagos. Photo by Diran Oshe.

LAGOS—GOVERNORBabatunde Fashola of La-

gos State, yesterday, assuredthat the traffic gridlock being ex-perienced on the Apapa Os-hody Expressway would ease inthe next one week.

Fashola gave the assurancewhile inspecting some failedportions of the ever busy ex-pressway and the ongoing ex-pansion works on the 10 laneLagos-Badagry Expressway.

He was accompanied by theCommissioner for Works andInfrastructure, Dr. ObafemiHamzat, Special Adviser onWorks and Infrastructure, En-gineer Ganiyu Johnson and theSouth West Public Relations Of-ficer of the Petroleum TankerDrivers, PTD, branch of the Ni-geria Union of Petroleum andNatural Gas Workers, NU-PENG, Mr. Tayo Aboyeji amongothers.

The governor said, “They(PTD officials) have assured methat in the next one week,things will change for the bet-ter and we are accepting thatfrom them. It is easier for thestate to accept their commitmentbut if we do not see the changewe expect, we know what to doon behalf of the residents.One business cannot disturbthe other. This is only a tem-porary measure, the FederalGovernment should also visitApapa, to see the pains resi-dents and owners of businessare going through daily.

BY MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

Apapa-Oshodi road snarl: Fashola inspects,assures residents of improved traffic

“There are many questions wemust ask ourselves, why is it thatthis is the only place where fuelis being distributed and it is dis-tributed at so much pain? Whereis the money made from the portsannually? I remember that wewere told that these ports madeN1.4 trillion in six months. Whyis the money not reinvested in theport? About 3, 000 trucks load fromthe ports. I hope that the ownersof the oil companies will alsoleave their desk and visit thisplace as a group to see how they

make profit and the cost of thaton the citizens. Once they seethis, there will also be more im-provement.”

The governor however, ap-pealed to the tanker drivers totransport their product at night,saying “It is easier to move at thistime. This is another way to trans-port fuel without inflicting painson the residents. Doing this, itwill suit both residents and thefuel operators. When you do this,resident will have opportunity todo business. It is not about en-

forcement but about doing busi-ness with compassion.”

Fashola lamented that manybusinesses had shut down andthousands of people laid-off bytheir employers because theycould no longer operate effec-tively.

On the ongoing expansion ofthe Lagos-Badagry Expressway,the governor said traders hadconverted the road to market,regretting that “such act is an-other problem impeding theongoing constriction works.”

Widow, son narrate how Human Rights lawyer was killedBY EVELYN USMAN, OLAS-

UNKANMI AKONI & ABDUL-WAHAB ABDULAH

LAGOS—WIDOW of human rights lawyer, Kunle

Fadipe who was stabbed todeath last Thursday in hisapartment at Harmony estate,College road, Ogba Lagos, bya middle_aged man has ap-pealed to the police to ensurethat the killer was brought tobook.

This is just as the assailantwith an undisclosed identitywas yesterday said to be receiv-ing treatment in an undisclosedhospital over injuries he sus-tained as he was fleeing thescene.

The widow, Mrs Kemi Fad-ipe who is yet to come to termswith the shock of her husband’sdemise, also urged the policeto ensure they get the assail-ant’s sponsors.

Describing how the tragedywhich she said had thrown herfamily into mourning occurred,to sympathisers who throngedher residence, the widow saidamidst tear; “My husband was

a straight forward person whowas not into any shady dealthat would warrant this grue-some murder. I appeal to thepolice to ensure that they get theperson that sent the killer.

“When the killer stormed ourhome, I thought he was a rob-ber because he demanded formoney. But the way he stabbedmy husband showed that hewas a professional killer and wassent to snuff life out of my hus-band.

“He stabbed my husband atthe left side of the neck and theleft armpit which indicated thathe knew the most fatal placesto strike at a human body.

“And from the way he acted,he was so much in a hurry. Hestarted by asking for too manythings at the same time andthreatened to kill if his demandwas not met. He started by ask-ing for his laptop and phonesas my husband was about giv-ing him, he also demanded formoney . We all cooperated withhim but he was impatient.

“My husband went upstairs toget him some money . But he wasstill on the staircase when the at-

tacker started slapping him. Asmy husband turned to ask whyhe was slapping him, he stabbedhim in the neck.

“It was at that point I knew hewas there for a deadly mission.He continued to stab him. At thatpoint, my children went for theirfather’s rescue by attacking theinvader with stools, broken bot-tles and anything we could layour hands on”.

At this point, she broke down,with sympathisers consoling her.

One of the deceased’s chil-dren, Folarin who was said tohave first been attacked by theassailant, while he had gone toput off the power generating set,also narrated how he was at-tacked.

According to him, “As I bentdown to switch off the powergenerating set, someone struckme. As I looked up to see who itwas, the man made to stab mewith a knife but I blocked it withmy hand and immediatelyrushed inside to alert my fatherwho ran outside to see what thematter was.

“Immediately he sighted myfather, he demanded for

N500,000 , brandishing his knifeat him. The man was so power-ful that he never felt the impactof the objects we used on him .

“When I hit him with a USB ,he did not bulge. I used stick onhim, he did not wink. He con-centrated rather on my father.

“It was only when we blind-folded him with a window blindthat he fell and we preventedhim from escaping. He acted likesomeone who had taken harddrugs”, Folarin narrated.

Among sympathisers whopaid the family condolence vis-its were the Chairmen, EjigboLocal Council DevelopmentArea , Kehinde Bamgbetan andIfako Ijaiye Local Council De-velopment Area Apostle OkeOloruntoba.

Others included his profes-sional colleagues among whomwas Femi Falana.

Meanwhile the assailant whowas arrested by the police wasreportedly at the verge of beinglynched after he was subdued.

He reportedly sustained se-rious injuries and was as at7.30 pm yesterday, still in theintensive care unit in an un-

AS the world continues to wait endless-

ly for safe release of theover 200 abducted schoolgirls from Chibok, BornoState, 85 days ago, theGeneral Overseer of theRedeemed ChristianChurch of God, RCCG,Pastor Enoch Adeboye,yesterday at the churchnational headquarters inEbute Meta, Lagos, ledother worshippers to prayfor God’s intervention inthe security challengesfacing the nation.

Speaking during theJuly edition of the RCCGmonthly prayer meetingwith a theme; “My timeof waiting is over”, a spe-cial prayer for Singles andExpectant Couples, Pas-tor Adeboye condemnedthe continued captivity ofthe girls, praying for theirimmediate safe release.

According to Pastor Ade-boye, Nigerians and oth-er well meaning individ-uals must join hands to in-tercede for the girls whohad been in captivity sinceApril 14, 2014 and theirhurting parents who areyet to hear any concreteword on the whereaboutsof their wards.

Lamenting at the rate ofevil being perpetrated inthe country, the GeneralOverseer said: “Before itis too late, God send helpto us. God Almighty, as anation urgently, send helpto us. How long are we go-ing to be held captive bythe wicked? Lord, deliverus from wicked people?This month, Father let therebe good news.”

Also, former Minister ofEducation and one of thepromoters of “BringBack-OurGirls campaign, Dr.Oby Ezekwesili also usedthe occasion to appeal toNigerians and otherstakeholders not to relentin their quest to bringback the girls alive andsave to their parents.

Ezekwesili, who ex-pressed concern over stateof health of the girls, calledon politicians not to politi-cise the abduction saga, la-menting that the first 24hours after the adoptionwas very critical and sincegovernment’s delayed re-sponse, doubting if theabduction was real or not,the kidnappers settleddown to re-strategise.

BY OLAYINKALATONA

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

Osoba, APC reconcilatory committeemeeting deadlocked

Akure traditionalcouncil, late Deji'sfamily on warpathover evacuationof property

Fed Poly sitingin Ondo:You are playingcheap politics,PDP tellsMimiko

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA—A meeting between former governor of Ogun

State, Aremo Segun Osoba andthe reconciliatory committee of the All Progressives Congress, APC, toresolve the lingering crisis in the partyin Ogun State, has ended in deadlock.

APC in the state has been fac-tionalised into two camps withOsoba leading a faction while Gov-ernor Ibikunle Amosun leads theother.

The meeting, held in Abuja was

to resolve the crisis between the twocamps.

Vanguard gathered that the nation-al leadership of the party was report-edly jolted over alleged moves by thePresidency to woo Aremo Osoba andhis group to its side.

A source told Vanguard that APC'sNational Chairman,Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and thechairman of the APC reconciliatorycommittee, former VicePresident Atiku Abubakar led theteam which held a closed-door meet-

ing with Aremo Osoba in Abujalast week.

Both Osoba and Amosuncamps have been at loggerheadsover the structure of the party inthe state, which led to parallel ex-ecutive councils, afterwhich the national leadership ac-cepted Amosun's executive and re-jected Osoba’s.

Sequel to the development, loy-alists of Osoba threatened to dumpthe party and vowed not to haveanything to do with Amosun andhis group.

At the failed reconciliatorymeeting, Vanguard gatheredthat Osoba maintained his stance thatjustice must be done by the party be-fore they could talk about reconcilia-tion.

Osoba was reported to have told thedelegates that, despite the fact that hiscamp followed the party guidelines, theparty discarded him and his loyalistsfor his estranged political son.

According to the source, efforts byOdigie-Oyegun and Atiku to persuadeOsoba not to leave the party has notyielded fruits as the former governorvowed that unless the party correctedthe abnormality, his group would notwork with Amosun.

It was, however, gathered that af-ter a lot of persuasion on Osoba, helater fixed a meeting between his loyal-ists, especially his executive, membersof National Assembly caucus and thereconciliatory committee in Abeokutathis week.

...Another meeting this week

AKURE—THE Akure Tradi tional Council and the

family of the late Deji of Akure,Oba Adebiyi Adesida are at log-gerheads over the evacuation ofsome property from the palace.

Vanguard gathered in Akureweekend that the wife of the lateDeji, Olori Mojisola Adesida al-legedly ordered the evacuationof some building materials usedin the palace for the constructionof a new palace complex.

She was alleged to haveclaimed that the materials be-longed to the family of the latetraditional ruler, not the Akurecommunity.

But the Akure Traditional Coun-cil said all the property, includ-ing the Olori and the materialsbelonged to the community af-ter the demise of the Oba, ac-cording to the tradition.

They insisted that the family ofthe late king had no right to takeany property out of the palace.

According to them, by traditionall things belonging to any lateOba of the town, including hiswives and children, after death,should be under the custody of theAkure community.

But Olori Mojisola maintainedthat the materials removed fromthe palace which was underconstruction belonged to herand not the late king.

AKURE—THE Peo ples Democratic

Party, PDP in Ondo Stateweekend took a swipe atthe state governor, DrOlusegun Mimiko for play-ing “cheap politics” withthe siting of a Federal Poly-technic by the Federal Gov-ernment in the state.

The Federal Governmentannounced few weeks agothat it was siting a federalpolytechnic in Ile-Oluji areaof the state.

A statement by the par-ty’s Director of Publicity,Ayo Fadaka in Akure, ac-cused the governor of“busy trying to hijackJonathan’s achievement,''describing Mimiko's atti-tude as cheap and deceit-ful.

”We note that GovernorMimiko has been pontifi-cating everywhere as if theestablishment of the FederalPolytechnic is his creation.We wonder if he believesthat a Federal Governmentinvestment in our state canbe taken as his achieve-ment,' he said.

BY DAYO JOHNSON

BY DAYO JOHNSON

SOYINKA PRIZE FOR LITERATURE: From left—Mr Akin Bello, winner of Wole Soyinka Prize forLiterature in Africa; Prof. Wole Soyinka, Chief Host; Mrs Francesca Emmanuel, Chairman, Wole SoyinkaPrize for Liiterature in Africa, and Mrs Titi Ebinisi, Head, Glo World durind the 5th Edition of the WoleSoyinka Prize For Literature in Africa, sponsored by Glo World in Lagos. Photo By Diran Oshe.

IBADAN—THE fragilepeace that reigned between

rival groups in the National Un-ion of Road Transport WorkersUnion, NURTW, in Oyo State forthe past three years was rup-tured weekend as six personswere injured during alleged at-tack on a former Chairman of theunion, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola,aka Tokyo.

A source said about 20 suspect-ed thugs arrived the scenebrandishing several dangerousweapons and allegedly attackedTokyo's supporters who were out-side.

The fracas, which threw thewhole Agbeni area of Ibadan,into frenzy was said to have oc-curred between supporters of To-kyo and the incumbent Chairmanof the union, Alhaji Taofeek Oy-erinde aka Fele.

Expectedly, both sides were ac-cusing each other of having trig-gered the chaos. While Tokyo al-leged it was Fele’s that attacked

him, the latter said his boys whoTokyo mentioned were at a pro-gramme at the 2nd Ramadanlecture of Alhaji Arisekola-Alaowhich held at the NTA, Ibadan.

Fele said, “We had met AlhajiTokyo on several occasions andwe never attacked him. We arenot violent union again. We willcontinue to maintain the peacein the state.”

Tokyo was at the residence ofSheikh Haruna Suara, the ChiefImam of Ibadanland on an in-vitation when the incident hap-pened.

Tokyo said, “I was at the ChiefImam of Ibadan’s residence tohonour his invitation with someof my supporters when they at-tempted to kill me. My sup-porters were attacked while Iwas being attended to by theImam in his house at Agbeniarea of Ibadan”.

He added that if it were notfor his supporters who wereoutside, he would have beenkilled.

Among those injured were

Bashiru Saheed, Agboola Ra-sak, Liadi Akande, RilwanAkinsola and Alani Adaramo-la.

But Fele argued that his boyscould not have attacked Tokyoas he claimed.

“We appeal to the state gov-ernment to call him to orderso as not to plunge the unioninto another avoidable bloodletting of the past.

Confirming the incident, thePublic Relations Officers, SPOlabisi Okuwobi Ilobanaforsaid suspected thugs attackedsupporters of Akinsola popu-larly known as Tokyo.

She said, “The commanddispatched combined policeteams and Armed PersonelCarrier to the scene to quellthe violence and rescue Akin-sola.

“We are yet to make arrestsbecause the place was veryrowdy and we have to stopthat first and later make ar-rests based on identificationby the witness.

6 injured as rival NURTW factions clash in Ibadan

BY OLA AJAYI

Pry schl pupil,two otherswin OgunRamadancompetition

A pupil of Federal Uni versity of Agricul-

ture Staff School in Abe-okuta, Faridah Jubril week-end emerged as the over-all winner of the 3rd Edi-tion of Ogun State Ram-adan Essay/Quiz Compe-tition for the Poem Catego-ry for the primary schoolswith her classical work en-titled: “Ramadan: TheMonth of Peace.”

Her presentation was ad-judged the best poem bythe panel of judges fromscores of entries submittedby the primary school pu-pils across the length andbreadth of Ogun State.

Also, Somide Umar ofNUD Junior GrammarSchool, Obantoko, Abe-okuta was the overall win-ner of the Qua’ran Reci-tation; while FadeelahSalami of NUD GrammarSchool, Obantoko, Abe-okuta emerged as the over-all winner for the Debate/Essay category for the Sen-ior Secondary Schools.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014—11

2015: Gbagi joins Delta guber race

2016: Edocan't fall toPDP like Ekiti—Obadan

Rivers 2015:Group vowsto stop Wike

Edo Assembly crisis: Businessmandrags Speaker, 23 others to court

BY GABRIELENOGHOLASE

BY EMMA AMAIZE &GODWIN OGHRE

BY SIMONEBEGBULEM

BY JIMITOTAONOYUME

BENIN—WORRIED by thelingering crisis rocking

Edo State House of Assembly,a Benin-based businessmanand Chairman, OneLove Family and Caring Asso-ciation, Chief Patrick Eholor,has dragged the Speaker of thestate legislature, Mr. Uy i Igbe and 23 other members ofthe House to court over their re-fusal to hold plenary and per-form their legislative dutiessince June 9. He is also praying the courtto declare that the alleged sit-ting by a section of the lawmak-ers to conduct legislative busi-ness at the EdoState Government House onJuly 2, 2014 or other such sit-tings amounts to a breach of the1999 constitution and the prin-ciples of separation of powers.

He told the court that thefactional lawmakers in thelegislature have shameful-ly fought themselves in fullpublic glare, adding thattheir action was “unwhole-some and unbecoming.” The claimant is furthercontending that the actionsof the lawmakers havebrought to a standstill thenormal social and econom-ic life of Edo people, add-ing that other arms of gov-ernment had also been di-rectly affected as checks andbalances, a cardinal princi-ple in the operationof federal system of gov-ernment, was now in abey-ance. Eholor is praying thecourt to direct the lawmak-ers to refund all financialbenefits they may have re-ceived from the state Ac-countant-General and Com-

missioner for Finance from theday they abandoned their re-sponsibilities as members ofthe Assembly to the coffers ofEdo State Government. He is also praying thecourt to compel thedefendants to put on hold,any financial benefit or enti-tlement, including constituen-cy allowances due to the As-sembly members untilthey resume their duties asmembers of Edo State Houseof Assembly. Eholor argued that it wasmorally and legally wrong forthe lawmakers to enjoy anybenefits, whether financial,privileges including servicesof their cars while out of du-ties, because, “public fundsare meant to service statutoryservices and duties. The As-sembly members have no jus-tification whatsoever to con-tinue to enjoy any financialbenefit of their offices."

MOSOGAR—FORMERMinister of State for

Education, Olorogun Ken-neth Gbagi, weekend, an-nounced his entrance into the2015 governorship race inDelta State.

Gbagi, a People’s Democrat-ic Party, PDP, chieftain fromDelta Central senatorial dis-trict, announced his planwhen he paid a consultationvisit to foremost Urhobo eth-nic pressure group, Urhobo

Political Forum, UPF, led byChief Ighoyota Amori, at hiscountry home in Mosogar,Ethiope-East Local GovernmentArea of the state.

Gbagi said: “I disagree withthose who hold the opinion thatthe Urhobo people should re-capitulate and play second fid-dle in the 2015 governorshiprace in the state. My positionis that the best candidate for thegrowth and progress of DeltaState should emerge as gover-nor in 2015.

“I never believed that we(Urhobo) will be in a state of

quagmire as we are today. Urhobo, asa nation, is on its knees and if we arenot careful, we will remain in that po-sition for a long time to come.”

He said he will have no business run-ning the governorship race in 2015, “ifUrhobo people say they are satisfiedwith their political standing currentlyin the state. But as long as the contra-ry remains the case, I will continue tofight tooth and nail.”

Responding, Chief Amori, said: “Icommend Olorogun Gbagi for a jobwell done, his determination, courageand doggedness. Gbagi has not onlylived up to expectation, he has livedbeyond expectation.”

BENIN—FORMERdeputy governor of

Edo State and chieftainof All Progressives Con-gress, APC, Rev.PeterObadan, weekend, toldthe Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, in the state toforget the 2016 governor-ship seat, saying thatthe party still lacks thecredibility to win elec-tions in the state.

“I hear them sing eve-ry day about what hap-pened in Ekiti State.APC is firmly rooted inEdo State and the peo-ple of the state appreci-ate Governor Adams Os-hiomhole for his numer-ous developmentalstrides. The people ofthe state have not still for-gotten what PDP did tothem for over 10 years,so this issue of Ekiti islaughable. Ekiti is notEdo,” he said.

Obadan was reacting tocomments by the statechairman of the PDP,Chief Dan Orbih, thatthe victory of the PDP inEkiti State will be repli-cated in Edo state, come2016.

Obadan stressed: “PDPlikes sharing the moneywhile Oshiomhole is agood manager of re-sources and he has nomoney to share to peo-ple. Oshiomhole doesnot like to see peoplesuffer. He has that hu-man feeling. I will sayOshiomhole is consider-ate. He is not a man whowill starve his people. Ifthere are problems withinfrastructure in EdoState, it means resourc-es are not available, it isnot that he is deliberate-ly withholding money."

PORT HARC O U R T — A

GROUP, Rivers PDPThird Force Movement,has vowed to resistmoves by some personswithin the Peoples Dem-ocratic Party, PDP, to im-pose the SupervisingMinister of Education,Mr. Nyesom Wike, on theparty as governorshipcandidate in next year’selection.

Secretary of the group,Mr. Oprite Amachree,said that the allegedmove would violate laiddown procedures of theparty, adding that whatthe party parades as ex-ecutive members in thestate were mere friendsof the minister.

Threatening not to ac-cord recognition to theexecutive, the groupsaid the party had clearguidelines on how toconstitute party execu-tives.

VISIT: Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State (right) and Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi,Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, during a courtesy visit to the gover-nor at Government House, Uyo.

ArchMonarch Bob-Egbe is dead

ARCH. Monarch Bob-Egbe of Ugbuwang-

we, in Warri South LocalGovernment Area of Del-ta State, is dead, aged61. A statement by thefamily said Arch. Bob-Egbe died on June 30, inLagos.

Funeral arrangementswill be announced later.

Late Arch. Bob-Egbe

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

APC, Oshiomhole instigating EdoAssembly crisis —PDP

BY HENRY UMORU

Monarch hails Oshiomhole over competencytest cancellation

Lawmakerassures onPDP's victoryin Delta LGpolls

BY FESTUS AHON

Dicksontasksparents,guardians onpreservingIjaw culture

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

ABUJA—THE national lead-ership of Peoples Demo-

cratic Party, PDP, yesterday ac-cused the All Progressives Con-gress, APC and Governor Ad-ams Oshiomhole of Edo Stateof instigating the crisis rockingthe Edo State House of Assem-bly.

The party alleged that thegovernor was jittery over whatit termed, soaring popularity ofthe PDP in the state, adding thatmore members would dump theAPC for PDP.

PDP’s National Publicity Sec-retary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, in astatement, noted that APC inEdo State and the governorhave now “resorted to orches-trating crisis in a spirited moveto stop the trend.

“What else would haveprompted the relocation of thestate legislature to the Gover-nor’s Office on the stage man-aged renovation of the Assem-bly complex if not a calculatedplot to intimidate and compro-mise the lawmakers and preventthem from carrying out their

constitutional duties ofchecking the excesses of thestate executive under Gov-ernor Oshiomhole?"

The party also accusedGovernor Oshiomhole of“stirring up the political cri-sis in Edo State to preventan official investigation intofindings on the squanderingof the state’s resources, in-cluding huge levies and tax-es to finance his campaignfor vice presidency insteadof settling down to developthe state.

”Governor Oshiomhole isalso embittered by the ac-ceptance of his followers, in-cluding his aides, top gov-ernment functionaries, leg-islators and influential APCleaders, into the popularPDP train while his quest tojoin was roundly rejected onaccount of his undemocratictendencies.

“Having lost the confi-dence and support of thepeople due to his despotic,anti-people and undemo-cratic tendencies, coupledwith his colossal administra-tive failure, Oshiomhole has

resorted to violence andblackmail to intimidate andsubdue them in line with theagenda of his party, theAPC.

“This frenetic effort to sub-vert the will of the people isfoolhardy and compares toa fabled tale of a man at-tempting to eclipse the moonwith hands. The fact thatEdo is home to the PDP hasnever been in doubt. In fact,what is happening in EdoState is clearly a case of wa-ter finding its level."

CONVOCATION: Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State (left) and Senator IfeanyiOkowa, at the 14th Convocation of the College of Education, Agbor, weekend.

BENIN—THE Otaru ofAuchi, Etsako West Local

Government Area of Edo State,Alhaji Aliru Momoh, Ikelebe III,has commended Governor AdamsOshiomhole for cancelling thecompetency test proposed by thestate government for teachers inpublic primary and secondaryschools in the state.

The governor had announcedthe cancellation of the competen-cy test, the restoration of salariesof 936 teachers and the approvalof other incentives to the teach-

ers, at a meeting with the work-ers unions last Thursday.

Speaking at the formal presen-tation of the winner of this year’sKoranic recitation competition inJigawa State, weekend, theOtaru of Auchi said the move willdouse tension and fears amongthe teachers on what they erro-neously thought was a ploy bythe government to retrenchthem.

He said: “I was very happy tohear the statement made by ourgovernor about the teachers. Theteachers are now back to work.Those who were sacked have

been asked to resume work.Teachers who are supposed towrite examinations have been ex-empted and those who are dueto retire will be retired with fullpay. So I thank you and Godbless Oshiomhole.”

The Otaru said the extensionof other entitlements to the teach-ers would increase their produc-tivity.

Speaking on the occasion, Gov-ernor Oshiomhole admonishedMuslim faithful to imbibe thespirit and teachings of the holyProphet Mohammad in order toensure peace and unity amongall ethnic nationalities in thecountry.

BY SAMUELOYADONGHA

Y E N A G O A —BAYELSANS, es-

pecially parents, havebeen urged to see thepreservation and protec-tion of the cultures andtraditions of the Ijaw, asa collective responsibili-ty. Bayelsa State gover-nor, Mr Seriake Dick-son, gave the charge inhis remarks at a ceremo-ny to mark the 2014 In-ternational Museum Dayat the Ijaw House inYenagoa. He noted that as a peo-ple rich in history, everyBayelsan has a duty topreserve and protect theIjaw culture with a viewto handing it over to thenext generation. He said: ”We all havea duty to preserve andprotect our culture sothat we can hand it overto the next generation asour fathers handed overto us, otherwise we willbe failing in our dutyand depriving the com-ing generation of theircompleteness. ”You are better whenyou have full knowledgeof your culture and lan-guage. That way, youwill be a more completehuman being, ready andable to take on theworld.” According to him, thegovernment had under-taken the massive con-struction of its culturalinfrastructure to under-line the importance it at-taches to the promotionand propagation of thelanguage and culture ofthe state.

U G H E L L I — AMEMBER of Del-

ta State House of Assem-bly, Mr. Edoja Akpodiete,has described the largeturnout of party faithful tothe just concluded DeltaCentral PDP sensitisationrally as a message that theparty was prepared to winin the forthcoming localgovernment and generalelections.

Speaking with newsmenin Ughelli during the ral-ly, Akpodiete said: “TheUrhobo people are pro-gressives. Today speaksabout what we have ben-efited as a people from thePDP-led government inNigeria and Delta State.Remember we just hadthe nomination of ourleader, Dr. Steve Oru, asa minister designate. It isa thank you rally, a peaceand unity rally.”

The lawmaker, who rep-resents Ughelli Northconstituency on his aspi-ration for 2015, said: “It isnot an ambition, I am con-tinuing with the job. It isa re-election bid. The peo-ple have asked me to con-tinue, who am I to sayno?”

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 — 13

BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO

STRIKE: We're least paid in Africa—Anambra doctors

CONFAB: S-East govs to convenestakeholders' meeting

BYTONY EDIKE

ABAKALIKI—THEI n d e p e n d e n t

National ElectoralCommission, INEC,weekend, announced newdates for thecommencement ofdistribution of thePermanent Voters' Cards,PCs, and ContinuousVoter Registration, CVR,in Ebonyi State.

In a statement issued inAbalone, the StateResident ElectoralCommissioner, REC, Mr.Sylvester Okay Ezeani,stated that the distributionof permanent voters’cards, PVC, would nowrun between August 15and 17, while that ofcontinuous voters’registration, CVR, wouldrun from August 20-25,2014.

It should be recalledthat both events wereearlier slated for thefourth week of July 2014.

OWERRI—IMO Stategovernor, Chief Rochas

Okorocha, has demanded anopen apology from theSenate over accusation ofregistering Northerners in thestate.

According to him, what thesenators involved themselveswas nothing but blackmail ofthe state government.

Okorocha, who spokethrough his Senior SpecialAssistant, SSA, on Media,Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, alsotook exception to whattranspired in the Senate, onThursday, July 3, 2014.

“The distinguished senatorsengaged in wild goose chaseby allowing themselves to bedeceived into deliberatingand having resolutions on amatter that does not exist inImo State,” Okorocha saidangrily.

The governor described ascurious the allegation againstImo State government overthe alleged registration ofNortherners in the state,which sadly began in Abujaand appeared strange to thegovernment and citizens.

“First, the minority leaderin the House ofRepresentatives, AlhajiSuleiman Kawu Sumaila, wasthe first to issue a release in

O N I T S H A —DOCTORS in

Anambra State Civil Service,under the aegis of NationalAssociation of GeneralMedicine and DentalPractitioners, NAGMDP, havedescribed doctors in the statecivil service as the least paidin Africa.

This is coming on the heelsof ongoing indefinite strikedeclared by Nigeria MedicalAssociation, NMA,nationwide.

Chairman of the state

INEC fixesnew dates fordistribution ofvoters' cardsin Ebonyi

BYPETER OKUTU

ID PROJECT: Okorocha slams senators

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

Says they blackmailed Imo State Government

Abuja on the allegation, andthe Imo State governmentreacted immediately,”Okorocha said.

He noted that in spite of thestout denial of the state

government, thedistinguished senators stillwent ahead to discuss thematter and took decisionsconsidered most unfortunateand irritating.

The governor said hisadministration knew thosebehind the blackmail,stressing that it was the samepeople who deceived CharlyBoy into action of absurdity.

ABUJA—DIRECTORGeneral of the

Bureau of PublicEnterprises, BPE, Mr.Benjamin Dikki, hasappealed to electricityconsumers in the countryto pay their bills regularly,to enable the new powercompanies remain afloatand provide efficient,constant power supply.

He made the appealduring BPE’s Post-Privatisation Monitoringteam’s visit to the EnuguElectricity DistributionCompany, EEDC,according a statement inAbuja, yesterday.

The DG, who wasrepresented by the ActingDirector, NationalFacilities and AgriculturalResources, NF&AR, Dr.Vincent Akpotaire, notedthat non-payment ofelectricity bills,harassment of personnelof the power companiesand vandalism of powerassets were threateningthe power sector reform.

Pay yourbills, BPEboss tellselectricityconsumers

chapter of NAGMDP, Dr. JoeUyamadu, who disclosed thisin Onitsha yesterday, saidwhile doctors in other states inthe country were being paid100 percent of theConsolidated Medical SalaryScale, CONMESS, before thecommencement of the strike,doctors in the state were beingpaid only 50 percent ofCONMESS.

Uyamadu, who noted thatdoctors in the state had anunderstanding with GovernorWillie Obiano to wait untilgovernment completed the

refurbishment and equipmentof general hospitals in thestate before implementingCONMESS in full, however,stated that they were on strikebecause the national body ofNMA was involved.

He appealed to GovernorObiano to suspend theequipment and refurbishmentof hospitals and start payingAnambra doctors 100 percentCONMESS like theircounterparts in other states ofthe federation as soon as thestrike is over.

This, according to him, is

to avoid brain drain of doctorsin the state.

He also said House officerseverywhere in Nigeriareceived four times more thanwhat their counterparts inAnambra State received which,according to him, promptednewly trained doctors due forHouse manship to always leavefor other states to serve.

He said: “This strike is anopportunity for the stategovernment to look into ourplight, with a view to solvingit."

BYEMMA UJAH,ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

E N U G U —GOVERNORS

of the South East states,yesterday, resolved toconvene stakeholders’meeting soon after thenational conference tolook into other matters ofinterest to the zone.

This is with a view toreviewing the outcome ofthe conference,especially theachievements made by

delegates from the zoneand other issues thatcould not be achieved.

Chairman South EastGovernors’ Forum andGovernor of Abia State,Dr. Theodore Orji, whodisclosed this after theforum’s meeting inEnugu, said thegovernors also resolvedto do more in the area ofagriculture to increasefood production ande m p l o y m e n t

opportunities in thezone.

The governors whohad at their earliermeeting agreed tocollaborate in tacklingsecurity challenges inthe zone, said they hadreceived from a vendorof international reputesupply of securityequipment, which theyintended to purchasejointly.

FLAG OFF: From left: Chief Charles Ekwueme, Chairman, Umuahia South LGA, GovernorTheodore Orji of Abia State cutting the tape to officially flag off the land reclamation/erosioncontrol project along Holy hill, Old Umuahia in Umuahia South LGA, Sir Emeka Ananaba,Deputy Governor, Hon. Ude Okochukwu, Speaker, State House of Assembly and Chief ChinweNwanganga, Commissioner for Environment. (Inset) is the erosion site.

14 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 —15

Muslim group asks Sultan to dialoguewith Boko Haram

BY CALEB AYANSINA

ExxonMobil to commence high sea cleanup over oil spill

A B U J A — E X X O NMobil has accepted to

evacuate the high sea,following the recent oil spillthat made youths from Eket,in Akwa Ibom State tobarricade its terminal andstop it from operation

This came as the senatorrepresenting Akwa Ibom

A B U J A — T H EFederal Universities

Pensioners Association, FUPA,has appealed to the judiciary toensure that there was stifferpunishment for governmentofficials tampering with thepension funds.

They also commendedPresident Goodluck Jonathanand the National Assembly forthe Pension Reform Act 2014recently passed and signed intolaw.

FUPA described the law asauspicious, in-depth, responsiveto the pains of Nigerianpensioners and workers, and inline with international bestpractices in pensionadministration.

FUPA in a statement by itsNational President, Dr. Ayuba Kura,shortly after President Jonathan signedinto law the Pension Reform Act, alsoadvised the judiciary to ensure that thelaw bit harder by meting out prescribedpunishments to offenders withoutfear or favour.

A B U J A —C O N C E R N E D

Muslim Professionals, CMP,an Islamic group, yesterday,called on the Sultan of Sokoto andPresident-General of theNigerian Supreme Council forIslamic Affairs, NSCIA, AlhajiSa’ad Abubakar III, to engagemembers of Boko Haram Islamicsect in discussions.

CMP, while expressing concernover the activities of the sect, saidthe insurgency persisted becauseof the failure of Muslimleadership to intervene.

According to the group, severalmembers of the sect would havelaid down their arms and manywouldn’t have joined theerroneous sect, if the Muslimleadership in Nigeria hadengaged the sect for discussions.

The President of theorganisation, Alhaji MohammedSaidu, in a letter, entitled“Echoing the message of GeneralYakubu Gowon (rtd): A call foraction on Islamic leadership ofNorthern Nigeria,” said there hadbeen no visible or invisible effortby the Muslim leadership to

BY JOHNBOSCOAGBAKWURU

Pensionerswant stifferpenalties forpensionthieves

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

convene such engagements ateven a single location, let alonecovering the whole troubledregion.

“That could be why demandfor action on the leadership isrepeatedly made by wellmeaning citizens,” the groupnoted.

The group in the letter obtainedby journalists, yesterday, inAbuja, regretted that theactivities of the sect had becomea great embarrassment to theIslamic faith.

The CMP said: “If the family

of billionaire, Umar Mutallab,could have a terrorist in its midst,then such a disease could beeverywhere; it can only take theeffort of the Sultan and the otherMuslim leaders to mobilisecompliance by parents andrelatives, which is part of theactions being demanded by well-meaning Nigerians.

“The biggest task before ourMuslim and Islamic leaders inthe North is to reconcile thewarring communities ofMuslims and Christians throughforgiveness, healing andgenuine social integration andcoexistence; similar to the one

referred to by General Gowon onthe Muslims of the South-Westgeopolitical zone. The other taskis to make Boko Haram come outof hiding, denounce terrorismand embrace government'sovertures.

“A failure on the part of theMuslim leadership (under HisEminence the Sultan) todischarge these responsibilities/actions to the later will render itof questionable ability, doubtfulrecognition, decimal loyalty oran outright dismissal as a meresmoke-screen. As obedient andloyalists to His Eminence theSultan, our hearts bleed on theserealities.”

South senatorial district,Senator Helen Esuene,promised to mediate betweenthe corporation and the oilproducing communities toensure that all differenceswere resolved.

Angry youths had laid siegeto the Exxon Mobil terminaland even the housing estateof the corporation wheresenior staff live, over the oilspill as a result of electricity

shutdown due to thunder.The shutdown of electricity

affected the normal operationof loading and offloading thetanks as well as switching onand off.

Senator Esuene had at theweekend, explained that thespill led to the contaminationof water in the area andappealed to the youth to givethe company access to thearea to carry out mop upactivities.

OPINION

16— Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

Free speech and the lessons of historyBY TOCHUKWU EZUKANMA

DEMOCRACY is the best form ofgovernment. Consequently, the

most successful countries of the world aremostly democracies. These are countriesthat allow independence of thought andfreedom of expression. They do not repressindividual rights to free speech in anattempt to protect the pretensions andfollies of a privileged few. They allowevery one, even the dregs of the society, avoice, and no individual, irrespective ofhis status, is above criticism and censure.

Central to the beauty of democracy isthe jewel of democracy: freedom ofexpression. But paradoxically, free speechcan be ugly. It has a loud mouth and canbe harsh and noisy. It wields a big penand can be obnoxious, unruly and caustic.It is, sometimes, intrusive, divisive anddisruptive. It has profaned the sacred,violated the sacrosanct and debased theexalted. But then, ironically, itmagnificently serves the public good. Itfosters equity and social justice bydrawing attention to the travail anddeprivation of poverty, exposing theindulgence and extravagance of affluenceand railing against the excesses andarrogance of power. It elevates the people'sawareness and awakens their aspirations.It enlightens the mind, liberating it fromtimidity and fear and stimulates itscreative energies.

That is, from the robust amplitude forespousal of contending and discordantinterests and beliefs and the associatedcombative and acerbic debates anddiscourse inherent in free speech, apeople's collective mind is edified, their

horizon enlarged, their freedomnourished and their progress ensured.Richard Goodman likened freedom ofspeech to a lobster, which he wrote: is adespicable scavenger of the sea,voraciously gorging the foulest refuse ofthe ocean floor, but ironically, from itcomes the most succulent and pricedseafood.

Over the years, that lamentable mix ofoil windfall and irresponsible, visionlessand financially reckless military rulersran aground this stupendously endowedcountry and perverted the value systemof a resourceful, talented and ablepopulace. It made Nigerians insatiablygreedy, incurably dishonest andshamelessly wealth conscious. Itencouraged a vicious economic systemthat fosters the inordinate wealth of theelite few at the economic strangulationof the masses.

Potentially, democracy offers Nigeriaso much. It is a wellspring of politicalstability, social justice and overall societalprogress. If free speech is allowed to thrive,with time, democracy can significantlyimprove the quality of life for themajority of Nigerians and progressivelyenhance the standards of nationalmorality and ethics and re-orient ourdistorted value system. It can, also,winnow and sift out from the politicalsystem political fraudsters, racketeersand freebooters that can only muscletheir way into power through electoralfraud.

Unfortunately, freedom of expression

has been under powerful assault fromPresident Goodluck Jonathan. Althoughhe postures as a democrat and said heholds the media in high esteem, heexhibits disquieting dictatorialtendencies. He is contemptuous of theright of Nigerians to peaceful protest andattempts to suppress the press. Earlier,in a move that repudiated every tenet ofdemocracy and evoked depressingmemories of military authoritarianism,the he rolled out tanks and deployedsoldiers in the streets of a number ofNigerian cities to stop Nigerians frompeacefully demonstrating against anunconscionable government policy.Recently, government sponsored thugsattacked "Bring Back our Girls' protesters.They were protesting the administration'snegligence and ineptitude in the handlingof the abduction of 250 Chibok schoolgirlsand had conducted themselves in a civiland peaceful manner. The governmentfinally banned the group from futuredemonstrations about the kidnapped Chibokschoolgirls because, according to AbujaPolice Commissioner, Joseph Mbu, "as theFCT police boss, I cannot fold my hands andwatch this lawlessness." It is newfangled anddisconsolate to know that a peacefuldemonstration in a democracy is an act oflawlessness.

In addition, the administration ofPresident Jonathan is clamping down onthe news media and trampling the right ofthe public to information. It arrestsjournalists for writing articles critical ofthe government. For example, theDeputy Editor of the Sun newspaper,

Iheanacho Nwosu, was, in April 2014,arrested by the State Security Services,SSS, for publishing an article thegovernment agency consideredunfavorable. Government agents seizednewspapers, brutalised newspaper vendorsand distributors and disrupted thedistribution mechanism of majornewspaper companies. According to anewspaper distributor: "They impoundedall our distribution vans. They did not allowus to distribute newspapers... they took overnewspaper distribution centres andmarched out newspaper marketers,distributors and vendors".

The official pretext for all these was,according to a military spokesman,"intelligence reports indicated movementof material with grave securityimplications across the country, using thechannel of newsprint-relatedconsignments". But as the security sensitivematerial was not found in the distributionvans and distribution centres, what was thejustification for the arrest of media workers,detention of distribution vans and theimpoundment and destruction ofnewspapers?

Due to its failure in every aspect ofgovernance, the Jonathan administrationis self-conscious and petulant. It is unnervedby public outcry and swipes by the Nigeriapress about its corruption and ineptitude,especially in its war against terror.Therefore, it feels it needs to intimidateNigerians into silence and docility andgag the media.*Mr. Ezukanma, a commentator onnational issues, wrote from Lagos.

BASIC as electricity is to modern living;there is a basic misunderstanding about re-flecting this importance in the lives of Ni-gerians. The people are unimpressed aboutgovernment trumpeted gains in managingthe challenges of electricity supply.Last year, government admitted that only

40 million Nigerians, about a quarter of thepopulation, have access to electricity sup-ply. It was meant to be an indication ofprogress. Nigerians wonder who the 40million are and regularity of supplies. Many have electricity that is useless, even

for ordinary lighting, as the supply illumi-nates below the level of a candle flame,what is technically called a brownout. Inthe Nigerian experience, a brownout isworse than a blackout, as the sufferers arereckoned among the supplied. Abuja, oncefamous for its regular electricity supply isin darkness. Government offices and itsstreets share the darkness. Some officeshave resorted to generators, or rationalisedtheir activities to save valuable equipmentfrom ruination.Since the statistics were about people, do

the 40 million users include heavy userslike industries, whose consumption in

Elevating ElectricityTo Statistics

days could be what a sizeable communitywould require for months. Were rural Ni-gerians counted?We acknowledge that concrete steps are

being taken to ameliorate the deplorablepower situation. However, governmentmust understand that Nigerians are not in-terested in titillating statistics that still leavethem in darkness. Their understanding ofimproved electricity supply is light in everybulb and equipment they switch on, longerpresence of electricity and in a quality thatserves their needs. With the billions theyare spending in generating their own elec-tricity, Nigerians can find the means to paya little more for better electricity supply.A chunk of the stupendous revenues of

fuel marketing firms can be adduced to the

power situation as virtually everyone buyspetrol or diesel to generate power, generatenoise, and increase the level of carbon inthe environment. High levels of carbon harmthe environment.Concerns for damages to the environment

and the clearly stated prospects stable elec-tricity supply holds for Nigeria are enoughfor government to target practical results inelectricity projects.More challenges lie on the long road to im-

proved electricity. More stable power sup-ply would increase demand as many whorun on private power would patronise pub-lic supply. Has this been factored into elec-tricity demand?Nigerians find no comfort in celebrating

statistics and approximating them to action.The number of distribution companies, thelength of transmission lines or the mega-watts of electricity generated are mere ef-forts. Nigerians have spent decades listen-ing to these lines. They understand im-proved electricity to mean uninterruptedpower supply.If government had similar understanding,

it would be more sober in assessing its ef-forts.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 — 41

42 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 — 43

44 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

VVVVVanguard, MONDanguard, MONDanguard, MONDanguard, MONDanguard, MONDAAAAAYYYYY, , , , , JULJULJULJULJULY 7,Y 7,Y 7,Y 7,Y 7, 2014— 2014— 2014— 2014— 2014—4545454545

NATIONAL Chairman ofthe Peoples Democratic

Party, PDP, Alhaji AdamuMu’azu yesterday urgedmembers of the party in OsunState and the party’s candidate,ahead of the Augustgovernorship election, SenatorIyiola Omisore not to bedistracted.

According to him, the PDPwas working hard and taking itscampaign to all the nooks andcrannies of Osun State and thepositive response of the peopleof the state was already givingthe opposition sleepless nights,adding that the people of Osunstate were solidly behind thePDP candidate and theopposition was coming up withall sorts of antics to distract thePDP campaign train.

Osun guber: Don’t be distracted, Mu’azutells PDP members

BY HENRY UMORU

In a statement by his SpecialAssistant (ICT), Akin Oyegoke,Muazu said, ”Our candidate isa respected and loved grassrootpolitician and despite his

THE Osun chapter of the AllProgressives Congress (APC)

has warned the PeoplesDemocratic Party’s, PDP,governorship candidate in theAugust 9 election, Senator IyiolaOmisore and his supporters todesist from causing chaos in theguise of political campaigns.

This warning came on the heelsof a rising wave of planned violentpolitical attacks on APC supportersacross the state.

In a statement by the Director ofPublicity, Strategy and Research,Mr Kunle Oyatomi, the partycautioned all agents andpromoters of conflicts and chaosto refrain from such acts or “facethe wrath of the law”.

The party noted the politicalviolence that was averted by theState Police Command in ObokunLocal Government area of the state;a development which followedseries of other similar attacksagainst supporters of the APC.

The party listed the attacks onhis party’s members at Ila-Oragun, Iwo, Ikirun, destructionof Governor Rauf Aregbesola’scampaign billboards alongOsogbo-Ilesha Road and Ibokunand Ile-Ife, where unknownhoodlums had also planted minorexplosive device to scare peoplea few days ago as some of theinstances in which APCsupporters have been at thereceiving end of PDP’s crusade ofviolence.

The party noted that it is therestoration of peace after a longreign of PDP’s terror governmentthat endeared Aregbesola to thepeople of the state.

The statement read: “Peoplecould still remember that duringits tenure, the PDP administrationpromoted chaos, terror and

BY DAPO AKINREFON

•Aregbesola

violence to an unimaginable level.Since PDP’s exit from powerhowever, peace returned to Osun.Our people have from 2010embraced the peace and harmonythat Aregbesola’s governmentheralded.

“It has been shown to the wholeworld that this state values, enjoysand promotes harmonious livingamong its various peoples. Thisis one of the cardinal programmesof the APC government. Ours isnot a government that fans theembers of disquiet, discord andchaos.”

“Government will do everythinghumanly possible to sustain the

G O V E R N O R S H I Pcandidate of the Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP in OsunState, Senator Iyiola Omisorehas warned residents of thestate not to sell their voterscards to people he describedas ”desperate politicians” inthe state.Omisore, who gave thiswarning in a statement by hisDirector of Media andStrategy, Prince DiranOdeyemi said there arereports that the AllProgressives Congress, APC,in the state was allegedlycollecting voters cards frominnocent people, by luringthem to fill forms with theirthumbprints.Omisore, who noted that theAPC was desperate to returnto power in the state alsoinformed the electorate toreport anybody who ask fortheir voters cards to securityagencies.He however condemned theway APC members areallegedly circulating formsfrom house to house describingthe act as wicked, anti-peopleand undemocratic.

Don’t sellyour voters’card — Omisore

BY GBENGAOLARINOYE

•Adamu Mu’azu: PDP chairman

THE Social Democratic Party(SDP) Governorship candidate

in Osun State, Mr. OlusegunAkinwusi at the weekend met withstate leaders of ChristianAssociation of Nigeria (CAN)across the state’s 30 localgovernments in Osogbo,highlighting his programmes ifelected as the governor in theAugust 9 election.

The state former Head of Service(HOS) during the interactivesession with the religion leaderswhich had in attendance the stateCAN Chairman, Rev. ElishaOgundiya and other executivemembers explained that SDPmanifesto is based on welfaristagenda with focus ondevelopment of the people.

According to him, “The idea ofmega-city is now giving way todevelopment of mega-citizens andwe are going to focus on people.We want to ensure that within

popularity he is not taking thepeople for granted by reachingout to them in every corner ofthe state. “While our opponentsare doing their elitist campaign

in the media, PDP is on theground with the people who aregoing to decide who will governOsun state in the next fouryears. I want to commend thegood people of Osun state forthe warm reception they haveaccorded our campaign train inOsun state since we commencedour campaign.

Mu’azu, who called on theIndependent National ElectoralCommission (INEC) not to reston its oars and build on theexperience gathered from theEkiti governorship election, said,”The Ekiti governorship electionwas commended by both localand international observers forbeing a very transparent, freeand credible election and INECshould continue to build on thisin all subsequent elections inthe country.”

atmosphereof peace andtranquilitythat havebecome thes t a t e ’ shallmark inthe last fouryears. Anyattempt byoppositionagents toplunge thestate backinto the state of ‘nature where lifeis nasty, brutish and short’ will beprevented.

“Hence, the peace-loving

Stop causing chaos, Osun APC warns PDP

Akinwusi meets Osun CAN leadersnine months of our administration,we restore the state economic baseand put smile on the faces of thecitizenry.

“If N5 billion is getting to Osunstate and the money is spent atthe four walls of the state, we willsee a great difference. We arewallowing in poverty now becauseof the current capital flight. If youpay N5 into the state coffer now, itfirst lands in Lagos”, he stated.

Akinwusi assured that public

schools would be returned to theirowners, if they requested for themwhile private school owners wouldbe encouraged to give their bestto the educational system.

He revealed that if elected therewould be some “policy reversal”in the state education systemwhile promising the NationalInter-Religious Committee(NIREC) would be strengthenedand properly funded to performits statutory roles as expected.

BY GBENGAOLARINOYE

people of the state will rise up anddefend the peace which they hadenjoyed for almost four years now,”the party stated.

TWO prominent traditionalrulers in Osun state, the

Onirun of Oke-Irun Oba IsaacAdetunlurese and Oluresi of Iresi,Oba Sikiru Adeseun havedescribed Governor Aregbesola asan excellent performer whoshould be supported for anotherterm of office.

Specifically, Onirun said thegovernor has not only donecredibly well, but has also been

Aregbesola has served us well —Monarchs

fair to all sections of the state, evenin policy implementation.

According to him, Aregbesolahas judiciously utilised the stateresources to provide equitableinfrastructure to the people asenvisioned by the foundingfathers, adding that hisadministration is the first to initiatedevelopmental projects thatlaunched the state to lime light.

THE PDP candidate, SenatorIyiola Omisore has promised

to give the necessary respect totraditional rulers in the state ifgiven the mandate.

He made the pledge in Ejigbowhen he paid a courtesy call onthe Ogiyan of Ejigbo ObaOmowonuola Oyesosin during hiscampaign tour of the Localgovernment area.

Omisore said as traditionalrulers they have a role to play inthe administration of the people.

According to him,since the APCtook over government in Osunstate over three years ago the statehad not witnessed any significant development as all its policies areanti people .

At Songbe, Masifa, Agunrodo,Ogburo,Ife Odan, Isoko, Ola, Aye,Ilawo, Inisa Edoro, Omisorepromised the people of thecommunities that PDP will ensureit brings succor to the people.

Omisore said if elected he willrestore the lost glory in theeducational sector while promisingemployment for all and sundry.

The PDP candidate admonishedOsun people to shun violence atall times.

••Says he’llrespect traditionalinstitution

46—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

,

,OPINION

BY DON BARIDAM

*Prof. Baridam former Vice chacellor of UNIPORT,wrote from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Nigerians and today's ‘Good Press’

THE National Conferencemade far-reachingresolutions on Thursday,

July 3rd 2014 when it approvedthe creation of eighteenadditional states in the country.If this resolution is put in theconstitution, Nigeria will becomea federation of 54 states, withabout 174 million people andlandmass of 923,768 squarekilometres.

Compare this with otherfamous federations such as India(1.2 billion people, 29 states/seven territories and landmass of3,16,414), the United States (50states, 9.83 million squarekilometres and 318 millionpeople) and Russia (81 states, 17million square kilometres oflandmass and 145 millionpeople). You will realise that,pound-for-pound, Nigeria willbecome the most minutely splitfederation per capita in the worldin relation to our landmass and

Nigeria: a Federation of 54 states?

population (though the Russianis spread thinner due to itsintimidating landmass).

Increasing the number of statesfrom 36 to 54 will be a departurefrom the general trend ofagitations as we prepared for theconference. Most agitators feltthat a new, more viable Nigerianfederation should revert to theregional structure: either Gowon’sold twelve-state structure thatbalanced the north and south,east and west; or the sixgeopolitical zones that conform tothe natural “home zones” ofNigerians. These would form thebasis for the distribution of thewealth of the nation to give everysection a sense of belonging andsatisfaction while also providingthe various political elites theirmuch needed platforms to asserttheir political influence.

Secondly, a regional structurewas meant to cut down the cost ofgovernance and allow thefederating units to be able tooperate normal budgets wherethe capital expenditure willdominate the recurrent. Theregions were seen as the bestoptions for federating units,where true federalism can thriveand healthy competition will leadto the rapid development of the

country. Those who have fordecades called for true federalismhad hoped that devolution ofpower to the regions orgeopolitical zones would removethe overbearing dominance of thecentre, which was foisted by themilitary.

At the conference, however,certain complications croppedup. The foremost of these was thequestion of how to achieve thenationally-agreed agenda ofcreating an additional state forthe South East to bring it to parwith four other zones in thecountry. How could the otherzones offer the sacrifice to theSouth East without any incentivein a nation where people are notknown to fight injustice unlessthe shoe is pinching them? Sincethere were other overwhelmingdemands for additional states

*** If Lagos state civil servants can’t send theirchildren to Lagos owned tertiary institutions,the primary purpose of providing “affordable”quality education to Lagosians has beendefeated. A governor who almost became amotor mechanic due to rascal youthfulexuberance but was aided and rehabilitated bythe free education policy of the then WesternRegion. He became a young lawyer, laterGovernor and is now at the forefront of sendingpotential lawyers and technocrats to themechanic workshop, indirectly criminalisingpoverty and penalising indigency. Fasholawon’t be remembered for his roads and bridgesbut for the policies of obliterating poorLagosians.*** Ola Folarin (Facebook comment)

*** Nigerians seem to forget that the APC isbarely a year old. Like a child learning how towalk, they need encouragement notcondemnation or castigation. We need analternative to the PDP and how will that emerge?Is it by calling APC strange bedfellows, northern

Fashola’s Ekiti ‘takeaway': three res

Nigeria is beginning to conform to ProfessorJibril Aminu’s pet vision. In April 1994,Aminu, who incidentally is a delegate to theongoing Confab, gave a lecture in which heshocked many in the audience by declaringthat Nigeria did not need a “true federation”made up of strong federating units

SINCE the “BringBackOurGirls” protests startedafter we learnt that about 276 girls were abducted by the

radical Islamic group called Boko Haram on April 14th, 2014,there is nothing that many commentators have not comparedPresident Goodluck Jonathan to in this trial period of our historyas a nation. There has been what I perceive as induced slamson the President. These slams are what is regarded these daysin Nigeria as ‘good press’, especially by the opposition groupsand some individuals.

Anything contrary and most appropriate is regarded as a‘bad press’. Some have said that Mr. President is weak, cluelessand runs no government. But in my own opinion, Jonathan forwho he has always been is only demonstrating his true self: Aman who is quiet, patient, tolerant, objective and unassuming.The President does not need to be boisterous in order to run hisgovernment, what people need to understand is his knack forproductivity and appreciation for constructive suggestions/criticisms.

Perhaps, what these agents of disinformation expect is aPresident that is high handed and autocratic but unfortunatelythese are undemocratic methods that would rather fuelunimaginable crisis in the country and not expected of a manwith the qualities earlier mentioned.

While we are all bothered by the current trend of militantactivities and insurgency threatening our existence as a nation,

it would be foolhardy to expect our President to engage in warof words with any religious sect after all our forebears havedone to keep Nigeria together irrespective of tribe and religiousbeliefs. The subtle but yet firm approach of the Jonathanadministration in tackling the Boko Haram menace has notyet given us respite but clearly we can see that the notorioussect has succumbed to negotiations through kidnaps like thesad incident of our 276 girls.

To get to the root of our discontents as a people, Jonathanwas able to put us together for a National Conference currentlysitting in Abuja to address all our desires and misgivings. Thisin itself even in the face of criticisms is most welcome but the“good / bad press’’ issue would not give peace a chance.Criticism must be objective and constructive enough to prompta sitting President to appreciate its value, however what we seein our dailies is completely at variance with progressive values.Politicians whether in a ruling party or not must desist frommaking inflammatory comments capable of causing problemsthat could ordinarily be contained.

Nigeria without doubt is becoming a great country underJonathan’s transformation agenda with an unconfirmedpopulation of about two hundred million people; it is noteworthyto know that most sectors of our economy have improvedappreciably. The recent rating placing the Nigerian Economyas one of the top three largest economies in Africa, with anindustrial/agricultural sector GDP of 32% and 30% growth

rate even with all the threats of Boko Haram depicts the efficacyand savvy of the Jonathan team.

In the area of unemployment which appears to be one of theissues frequently raised and has lived with us through successiveadministrations, Jonathan by providing funds in agriculturaland other sectors has now provided the platform for genuineinvestors that would provide a vast number of employmentopportunities to Nigerians. The privatization of power is amajor success of his administration. We must all agree thatone of the leading deficiencies we have suffered for generationsnow has been the lack of adequate power supply. This newdevelopment, a problem that only Jonathan has been boldenough to tackle, in no distant future will serve as the springboard for millions of employment avenues as manufacturingand production would be quadrupled.

President Goodluck Jonathan needs our cooperation andunderstanding as this will enable him achieve the remainingpart of his promises to our people. We have to use our collectiveabilities in a productive way that would ultimately bring anend to the culture of violence and negative publicity that is fastbecoming a trade mark. While the world over is protestingwith the slogan of BringBackOurGirls, let us alsoBringBackOurCoexistence.

from all the geopolitical zones,the creation of eighteen new stateswill solve this problem and alsocorrect the imbalance of the NorthWest being the only zone withseven states.

Secondly, it has becomeabundantly clear that the 36 statestructure has created new majoritymonsters and trapped minoritieswho could never hope to producegovernors. The cases of Benueand Kogi states, where the Tivand Igala respectively, havestubbornly refused to share powerwith smaller minorities since theirstates were created, stand out.Other states have managed tobroker charters of equity, butBenue, Kogi and even DeltaStates have excluded certain partsof their states from producinggovernors. It is this renewed

regions (Ebonyi, Ekiti, Bayelsa,Jigawa, Gombe, Akwa Ibom andothers) would not want to returnto their old regional underdogpositions after tasting the sweetwine of self-determination.

The Nigerian federation is,therefore, living true to itshistorical essence. While mostfederations came together to forma common bond, the artificialterritory created by a foreigncolonial power finds itself splittingdown the line, with emerging newpolitical interest groupsdemanding the platform for theirown slice of the national cake.

Nigeria is beginning to conformto Professor Jibril Aminu’s petvision. In April 1994, Aminu, whoincidentally is a delegate to theongoing Confab, gave a lecturein which he shocked many in the

audience by declaring thatNigeria did not need a “truefederation” made up of strongfederating units. He said instead,Nigeria needed a strong federalgovernment with weak federatingunits. He called for the abolitionof states and retention of the localgovernment areas; a two-tierarrangement. Otherwise,according him, let there be acontinuous creation of more statesuntil the states will be so manyand so weak as not to be able tochallenge the federal governmentas the former Eastern Region didin 1966.The Professor ofCardiology affirmed that a strongcentre was the only guarantee fornational stability. Every statewould become increasingly moredependent on the Centre. Thatway, no one will like (or be able)to secede. With 54 states, Nigeriawill be well on the way to Aminu’sdream federation.

It will be a federation built onunending scrambling for thenational cake, with ethnic,religious and sectional rancoursalways deployed to get more fromthe commonwealth. It willincrease the cult of parasitism anddependency, and the power of thecentre will guarantee that thestruggle to produce the presidentwill remain bloody. The Confabmay have aggravated the problemrather than solving it.

party, Janjaweed and other uncomplimentarynames? What do Nigerians really want? Howdo remarks like Lagos state is hostile to non-indigenes help issues raised by Fashola?Fashola spoke well and it behoves us to addressissues raised in his article.*** Calthu (DISQUScomment)

*** Guys, not every disagreement should resultto an ethnic fight. We disagree to agree bystating facts on ground. I am not a Lagosian butI regard anyone living in Lagos as a Lagosian.What Fashola possesses and brings to the tableis rare in the leadership of this country. Ourleaders are fond of bringing down someonedoing better than them instead of making it acompetition. We, the populace should not allowthat. Let us support someone doing great andpoint out their shortcomings, devoid ofsentiments. ***Zirem (DISQUS comment).

JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONVANGUARD ONLINE TODAY. CHECK OUTMY FACEBOOK FOR MORE!

agitation fromp e r c e i v e di n t e r n a lminorities ofstates that hasled to morestates turningthe table againsta return to ther e g i o n s .Secondly, someof the newly“ l i b e r a t e d ”backwater areasof the old

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014—————4747474747

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BY CHUKS ILOEGBUNAM

*Mr. Iloegbunam, acommentator on nationalissues, a journalist, wrotefrom Lagos.

*Mr. Jones, a public affairs analyst,wrote from Lagos.

BY ABIMBOLA JONES

APC and Osun elections

THE price of liberty is eternalvigilance." There is some

controversy regarding the exactorigin of this quotation. What isnot in doubt is that those whonegate it invariably pay dearlyfor their folly. With the rampantterrorism of the Boko Haramsect, can it truly be said thatNigerians are eternallyvigilant? Hardly.

Let's examine three recentdevelopments on the securityfront. There is this report that aconsignment of militaryuniforms, flak jackets and bootswas impounded at the Lagosports by Customs officials. Sincethe Federal Government ofNigeria knew nothing of theimportation, who had broughtthese items into the country?

Only last week, hundreds ofBoko Haram suspects travelledin a convoy of many vehiclesfrom Northern Nigeria but werenot apprehended until they wereonly kilometres to theirdestination of Port Harcourt.How come they hadn't been seenand intercepted even before theydrove across the River Niger,heading South?

Only last week also, theauthorities reported that theterrorists plan to plant explosivesin fuel tankers in order to causewidespread carnage in the Abujametropolis. In the light of thedoomsday scenario possible fromsuch a contingency, what is theproper way to respond to thethreat?

A good way to begin to addressthese challenges is to highlightthe wrong way of combattingthem. When the Chibok girlswere kidnapped months ago, itrightly shocked worldconsciousness. The terribledevelopment brought to the forethe extreme difficulties facing

#Bring back our livesNigeria in the security terrain.The situation for the victims andthose closest to them is, to put itmildly, absolutely traumatic.But there is another side to thecoin. More girls of the age bracketof those kidnapped have beenkilled over time by Boko Haram.Yet, neither the instant #BringBack Our Girls demonstrators,nor the world at large appearedto have taken even the mostfleeting of notices. Why?

Suddenly, there was all overthe place daily demonstrationsby those agitating for our girls tobe brought back. Somethingdidn't quite sit together in thosedemonstrations. If Wole Soyinka,say, was arrested and detainedby the Police or the Departmentof State Security because of hisattitude to politicaldevelopments in the country,there would be justifiable causefor railing at government toeffect his immediate andunconditional release. To protestdrone attacks in Pakistan, ImranKhan, the former cricket starand rising Pakistani politician,organised demonstrationsagainst the United States. Thattoo is understandable.

The Chibok girls were notabducted by the Nigeriangovernment. Theuncompromising stance of theabductors, a priori, is eternallyanti-rationale. A million years ofdemonstrations will not changetheir disposition one iota. Theabductees themselves, as allexperts averred, will come togrievous harm if direct militaryoperation is launched to freethem. So, what was the point inusing the unfortunatedevelopment as excuse for railingat government on a daily basis?In the end the misdirecteddemonstrations simply servedthe ends of disreputable

politicians, and bored, jobless orfrustrated characters eager forexposure on the silver screen.Demonstrations to bring backour girls are meaningful only inthe sense that they keep thepolitical authority aware andactive in its responsibilities.

The price of liberty is eternalvigilance. An aspect of

vigilance is to insist that all thosein executive political authority,who collect every month fundsby the hundreds of millions,must demonstrate to what usethey are putting the money forthe benefit of the masses. It isknown that hardly a stategovernor exists in Nigeria todaywho does not collect upwards ofN500 million every 30 days inthe name of security vote.Vigilance means that theseprivileged governors must not beallowed to utilize their so-calledsecurity votes only for thepurchase of private jets, thefomentation of pointless politicalcrises and the servicing ofexpensive lifestyles.

Imagine what difference itwould make to the securityprofile of the nation if every

Governor had in their statepayroll at least 2000 men andwomen trained in intelligencework, while carrying out otherfunctions like road maintenance,traffic directing andenvironmental sanitation. Ifsuch trained personnel exist -three weeks crash programme inintelligence training makestremendous difference - a convoyof countless vehicles carryingnearly 500 people ofundetermined motives cannotmove 50 kilometres withoutdetection. But, alarmingly, thosecaught in Abia State had donenearly a thousand kilometres.This absurdity is better to rail atthan the exhibition of finery andfrippery that passed for #BringBack Our Girls demonstrationsat choice Abuja locations.

People should agitate on someother scores. It is their right, forinstance, to insist that the brainsbehind the imported militarygear impounded by Customsofficials are exposed andprosecuted. When materialsmeant solely for military usebecome handy objects for peopleoutside the disciplined forces, itonly means that when criminalsperpetrate atrocities, this wouldbe blamed on innocent men andwomen under arms, simply tocompound the nation's crisispoints. There are today twodisturbing realities: The illegalproliferation of arms, and theproliferation of illegal arms.Either way, the nation is left withthe short end of the stick that ismaelstrom. These are the sort ofthings agitators, legislators andcivil society organisations shouldbe complaining about, it beingtheir constitutionalresponsibility.

Then there is the dreadfulmatter of causing conflagrationsin crowded metropolises byexploding tankers laden withhighly combustible substances.In a society with a Fire Servicethat is of primitive credentials,

the result of the unthinkable iseasily predictable. All those whowant our girls back must add totheir concerns the urgentnecessity to adequately securetowns and cities. In ten years ofliving in London, this writercannot remember ever seeing afuel-bearing tanker on thestreets. Yet, the gas stations werenever short of supply.

Agitators have the right todemand that the authoritiescompel fuel distribution to nowtake place in cosmopolitan areasonly in the dead of the night, theoperations carried out byproperly vetted tanker driversaccompanied by adequatelytrained security personnel. It isachievable. It is not rocketscience.

As for the 460 suspects arrestedin Abia State, the right andproper thing is to allow thesecurity people do their work.Most of the blames incessantlyheaped on those with theprimary responsibility ofensuring national security are,in fact, misplaced. They havebeen making a lot of sacrifices,fighting against daunting odds,donating their lives for the restof society. They need all-roundsupport and understanding. Yet,it should not be difficult for themto determine the owner(s) of thevehicles in which the suspectswere travelling. It should not bedifficult to determine how manyof those arrested are foreigners.Using medical hypnosis which islegal everywhere in the worldand utterly harmless, it is notdifficult to determine the realmotive behind their massvehicular movement. The pointis that, by everyone playingconscientiously at their wings,the chorus will sooner change to#Bring Back Our Lives!

FOLLOWING the recent Ekitigubernatorial election in which the

candidate of the All Progressives Congress,APC, Governor Kayode Fayemi- despitehaving the advantage of incumbency -lost to the candidate of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, some troublingnews have filtered out of Osun State wherethe next gubernatorial election will holdon August 9, 2014. The situation in Osunis somewhat similar to Ekiti as anunpopular incumbent APC candidate isalso squaring off with a popular PDPcandidate. Out of fear that their Osuncandidate may lose in a free and faircontest, as happened in Ekiti, reports inmajor newspapers indicate that the APCis training thugs to unleash mayhem onOsun State.

Specifically, the New Telegraph recentlyreported that the Osun State chapter ofthe PDP said it had uncovered plans bythe APC "to cause mayhem before andduring the governorship election slatedfor August 9." The report further statedthat, "PDP Director of Publicity andStrategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi, whoraised the alarm in Osogbo, added thatAregbesola has started recruiting thugsto make his plan a reality. He saidGovernor Rauf Aregbesola is now creatinga nest of thugs in a desperate move to instilfear in the electorate, following APC's lossin the Ekiti election."

According to the New Telegraph story:"Some of the APC thugs unleashed terroron members of the party in Ibokun,

Ifewara, Iwo, Ilesa and some towns inOriade Local Government areas." Anotherpart of the story stated thus: "The reportof these attacks on members of the party(PDP) have been lodged with policeauthorities in the towns where the attackswere carried out and those who sustainedvarying degrees of injuries in the attackare receiving treatment at an undisclosedhospital for security reasons."

Ordinarily, one would have dismissedthe story as newspaper page politicsbetween two competing political parties.But over time the APC has proven itself tobe a party hell-bent on unleashingviolence on Nigerians as the utterances ofits leaders have shown. Indeed, theincumbent governor of Osun State, RaufAregbesola, recently called on hissupporters to be ready to fight police andother security agencies with "cutlassesand charms". Are the recent attacks onPDP supporters a dress rehearsal forAugust 9, 2014?

Moreover, former Lagos State governorand national leader of the APC, BolaTinubu, was reported to have said: "It willbe rig and roast," in reference to the Ekitigubernatorial election during a speech atLadoke Akintola University ofTechnology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State on April24, 2014. This was probably why theIndependent National ElectoralCommission made a request to the FederalGovernment to ensure adequate securityof lives and property during the Ekitielection. That the Ekiti election has comeand gone without violence is a credit toINEC and the Federal Government.

Besides Aregbesola's and Tinubu's

statements, Nigerians must not forgetthat something similar was said earlierby General Muhammadu Buhari,another national leader of the APC.Buhari, whose statement was recordedduring a BBC Hausa interview, spoke invernacular, perhaps in the hope ofrestricting his unstatesmanlike words tohis preferred audience. Nevertheless, hiswords were easily translated into Englishfor all Nigerians to bear witness.According to Buhari: "If what happenedin 2011 should again happen in 2015, bythe grace of God, the dog and the baboonwould all be soaked in blood."

When taken together, Aregbesola's"cutlasses and charms" utterance,

Tinubu's "rig and roast" exhortation, andBuhari's "the dog and the baboon wouldall be soaked in blood" promise paint a

clear picture of a very violent APC. Thatthe leadership of the APC has a preferencefor violence is something that shouldconcern all well-meaning Nigerians,because even foreigners are beginning toexpress their concerns over the APC'spredilection for mayhem.

For instance, the United States ConsulGeneral, Jeff Hawkins, recently beratedTinubu and other violence-loving APCleaders in a public statement. He said:"The sponsorship of violence andintimidation, and the rhetorical threatthereof, are utterly unacceptable in ademocratic society, and need to beexpunged once and for all from theNigerian polity and discourse."

Meanwhile, even as Aregbesola, Tinubuand other APC leaders are going aboutinciting their supporters to either use"cutlasses and charms" and "roast" otherhuman beings in their quest for politicalpower, President Goodluck Jonathan hasconsistently insisted that no Nigerianblood is worth spilling in order to ensurehis success at the polls. The differencebetween the PDP leadership and the APCleadership could not be more pronounced.

In order to ensure that the good peopleof Osun State enjoy peace, and that theAugust 9, 2014 election is conducted in apeaceful, free and fair atmosphere, as wasthe case in Ekiti, it is important that INECand all security agencies take allnecessary precautions to forestall theviolence being promised by the APC. Fornow that we know what the APC isplanning, to do nothing will onlyendanger the peace and tranquillity ofOsun.

A word, they say, is enough for the wise.

Most of the blamesincessantly heapedon those with theprimaryresponsibility ofensuring nationalsecurity aremisplaced; theyhave been making alot of sacrifices,fighting againstdaunting odds

In order that the August9, 2014 election isconducted in a peaceful,free and fairatmosphere, it isimportant that INECand all securityagencies take allnecessary precautionsto forestall the violence

“

48—Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

Why Jonathanmoved against meand Governors'Forum — Amaechi•The oil syndicate factor•Vows to finish strong

TO some he is a rebel with a cause, to others he is a spoil-er bent on rocking the boat, but almost all agree that asgovernor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi has performedexcellently. The model primary and secondary schools thatcompare with the best in Africa, the healthcare schemeconceived by the administration anchored on model prima-ry healthcare centres and secondary healthcare facilities areamong indicators that have drawn compliments to the paceand pattern of governance in Rivers State. Amaechi who isalso chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF lastweek hosted an international Energy, Environment andInvestment Forum attended by some of the world’s leadinginfrastructure experts. On the sidelines of the forum, Gover-nor Amaechi took time articulate his agitations to visitingjournalists. Excerpts:

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR

WAS there anyagreement between

you and the FederalGovernment that led to therelease of the Rivers StateGovernment owned aircraft?

There was nothing like that. Ididn’t even see anybody in theFederal Government; we didn’teven have any meeting. I justcalled one person. It was not thisplane they were interested inreleasing, but the (security)helicopters. I said I wanted to sellthe helicopters and the person Icalled offered to talk to thepresident to seek the approval ofthe helicopters and they got theapproval. (to bring them into thecountry)

And in the course of gettingapproval for the helicopters, theygot approval for the plane to bereleased. There was nonegotiation, no interface orwhatsoever other than thetelephone conversation. So, whatis all this rumour that I am goingto the PDP? I have finished withthe PDP.

There is the insinuationthat you were planning to runwith Aminu Tambuwal?

There was nothing like that.These are fabrications by people.

Why do political parties inNigeria usually abhorinternal democracy andadopt consensus for partypositions?

Who did we force to stepdown?

Why did you ask yourcandidate (Sam Jaja) to stepdown?

Why I asked my candidate tostep down was because I hadgiven my commitment toAsiwaju that I would supportwhichever candidate hesupported. And the reason Igave him my commitment wasbecause I had said to him thatwe needed to look at this issueof being a Muslim party.

Commitmentto Asiwaju

So, first we need to get a newchairman and he has to be aChristian. So, he said to me:“Okay, I have brought a Christianand according to what you saidthe day we were negotiatingthings. Then why are you nowasking somebody to run againstthe person based on the promiseyou made to me?” And I like tokeep promises.

In October, the numberof APC governors would

have decreased by one andanother election will hold inOsun in a few weeks, what is yourparty doing to avert anotherdisaster?

You will help us to tell the presidentto keep the soldiers in his house. Allof us are part of the problem ofNigeria. President impoundednewspapers and journalists did notdo anything. In another country, theywould have protested on the streets.We are talking but there is need forhim (president) to stop using soldiersto conduct election.

Does it mean your party isafraid it may lose Osun?

How can we lose Osun? Saysomething else.

Are you satisfied thecountry’s democracy isevolving?

Are we not ashamed that it is stillevolving; every year it is evolving? Nextyear will make it 16 years of post-Abdusalam Abubakar. When shallwe grow up?

Given the allegation of themilitarisation of the Ekitielection, what do you think isthe proper security measure forelection?

The law says police and let us seethe consequences. Are you sayingthere are no soldiers in Borno?

What is your take on theissue with the NJC over

appointment of Chief Judge ofRivers State?

The quarrel we have about theNJC is that the constitution says10 years at the bar and that is theonly qualification for a ChiefJudge. It didn’t say whether youshould be from Rivers Statejudiciary or most senior Judge.

But there arerecommendations by the

most senior judge. And the courtsaid so.

What prompted you tomove out from the normalbecause that has been thetradition.

It is not true. Was Teslim Elias aJudge? He was a Professor of Law.The law says 10 years.

Won’t people read that asinterference in the judiciary?

Continues on page 49

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NJC?Yes, I agree. You send your

names to the NJC. You send threenames; they pick up one and sendit to you. In our own case, theysent a name to us and said thereason why they didn’t take theperson we preferred was becausehe was a Judge of the CustomaryCourt of Appeal and that was whatdisqualified him. Then we wroteback and said you are wrong, thelaw says 10 years. It doesn’t matterwhere he comes from. So, I didn’tsee where you saw it must be the

•Gov. Rotimi Amaechi

Are we not ashamed that it is still evolv-ing; every year it is evolving? Next yearwill make it 16 years of post-AbdusalamAbubakar

No. It is not me. They are thepeople interfering.

The same law says the governorhas the right to accept yourrecommendation or reject. If herejects, he writes to you that I haverejected. I rejected in writing andre-forwarded the name of theperson I felt by law qualified to bethe Chief Judge. They said I haveno right to reject. So, you see, Iam fighting on the side of thepeople and I thought journalistswould join me.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 — 49

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Why Jonathan moved against me — AmaechiContinues from page 48

comments on the three judgeswere sent to them and we didn’tfavour anybody. We said thesewere the three judges you saidwe should send and all thatinformed our choice.

It is not me. Don’t forget thatthere is State Judicial Council. Ididn’t mind any of the three, theonly reason why I reacted wasthe reasons they gave forrejecting the first person. Don’tforget that when they sent it, Iwas aware and I said fine, I don’tmind working with anyone ofthem. But when they wrote to meto say we reject the number onesent by the State JudicialCouncil because he is notqualified since he was thePresident of the CustomaryCourt. I said Haba; that is notwhat the law says.

The law simply says 10 yearsat the bar. He didn’t say it mustbe a Judge or marry from RiversState. It didn’t say it must comefrom Rivers State. We once hada Chief Judge, Justice Douglas.He was already in Court ofAppeal in Enugu when theybrought him back to PortHarcourt to be Chief Judge.

What plans have you afteroffice? Is it true you have youreyes on the Senate?

I will go and love my wifebecause she is harassing meevery day. I have not shown herenough love and attention, so Ineed to do that for six months toone year. I will spend one or twoyears with my children since theylost the chance of staying withtheir father. That is three years.Then I will be 53 years old. I will

were made president. So, whynot allow me to sit down and seeif I would be president?

What are the chances of theAPC in Rivers State in 2015?

Wait and see. Just tell them tokeep their soldiers at thebarracks and allow us to go andcast our votes.

What if they bring insoldiers?

I won’t tell them what I will do.Didn’t you hear Osun Statesaying carry your charms? Didyou read the story of Ombatse?Did you hear that people werehanding their guns on their ownvolition?

What is the assurance thatyou would complete yourprojects before leaving office,especially the monorail?

Monorail would be completed.The reason the monorail must becompleted at all costs is political.I want to ride in the monorail andcall the Amaechi haters to comeand see that I am riding on themonorail. Even if it is May 29,2015, people will ride on themonorail. We would hang rail.What is delaying the monorailis just the terminal where theywould maintain it. That is whatthey are fixing now, once theyfix that, it will be ready.

What about the secondaryschools?

It is huge and that is theproblem we had with that. Wehave completed at least sevenout of the 23 that we want to build.The cost is N4.5 billion perschool. It is huge and basicallythe financial diversion at thenational level – the oil sector hascrippled the states. All the statesare being denied money. The

stealing in the oil industry is sobad.

How would you compareyour first term to the second?

First term we had money andthe problem we had in thesecond term is the fact that thewife of the President is fromhere.

We have a situation wherebyshe is in direct control of thepolice, SSS, Air Force. I didn’tsay she controlled it through herhusband; she is in direct control.Kidnapping is back into PortHarcourt and how do I stop itwhen the forces I used to stopthem with have been removed?

Now, people cannot movefreely in the state because ofkidnappers.

So how do you account for thatin a situation where the wife ofthe president takes over thesecurity? This is not the first timeI am saying it; I have said itseverally and they have never

denied it. The army has notdenied it, the president has notdenied it, the wife has not deniedit, and the police also have notdenied it.

Since the exit of Mbu as RiversState Commissioner of Police,have there been any changes?

No. The only difference is thatone police commissioner is morecivilised than other but it is stillthe same. You run a governmentwhereby the police are notworking with you at all, so youcan’t even say you want to goon demolition and the police willfollow you.

What if the helicopters comein now?

Before we had a wonderfulsecurity system, so it was thesecurity system that gave us thecontrol of the state that made usto introduce helicopters wherewe would have camera in thehelicopters and they can flyround the state and whatever wesee we act on it.

Brigadecommander

Now, how do you manage it?You have a system where if yougo to arrest anybody; if theperson says he is PDP orworking for the president withAK 47 in his hand, they wouldlet him go. The army arrestedseven people with AK 47 andpeople are not asking, where arethey? When they were arrested,I called the brigade commanderthat I heard that seven peoplehad been arrested. He told methat he has handed them over topolice.

Where are they now?They have been released.

Police have confirmed that theyhave been released and theywere seen with seven AK 47!

Why were they released?

They were released by Mbu notthe current man and that is whyI said the current man is morecivilised than Mbu.

Is the Nigerian GovernorsForum still effective as a body?

What are we doing before thatwe are not doing again? Theonly thing we were doing beforethat we are not doing again iscontrolling the stealing of oilmoney. Now, it has gone bad thatnobody can control it. Beforewhen we saw the stealing, wewould come together and tell thePresident that we don’t like thestealing.

Stealing inthe oil industry

They were more careful then.So, if you say it is to stop us fromshouting against the stealingbecause that was what wasannoying the president thatevery day we were shoutingabout the stealing in the oilindustry. The stealing wascontrolled by then, but now thestealing has no control at all.Beyond that, has presidentstopped me from what I want tosay? The answer is no because Ican still say what I want to say.

What is your succession planand why are you insisting thenext governor should not comefrom Ikwere?

I have said that severallybecause as an Ikwere man, Ihave served for eight years.

You can’t do upland andriverine politics in Rivers State.If you do that, it would be unfairto the riverine people. And Ihave been telling my friendswho are in riverine area not topursue that politics. Fifteen localgovernment areas are upland,eight are riverine: who will win?Politics is a game of number. So,it is not in the interest of anybody

to do riverine/upland. All youcan say for now is that it wouldbe unfair for an Ikwere man tocome back as governor, nomatter the numbers. Yes, Ikwerepeople can claim that we have1.1million votes out of the2.3million votes. What it meansis that if you are a patriot, allowothers, give the 1.1million votesto anybody of your choice, not tohave appropriated those votesbecause the number exist.

We are saying that Ikwerefought political injustice whenBayelsa was here and by thenwe used to hear about onemillion from Bayelsa, we didn’tknow that they are only about600,000 people. And then theIkwere people fought and foughtuntil they created the new RiversState.

Having created the new RiversState and you have the highestnumber, the right thing to do,having served it is for an Ikwereman to have served eight yearsand we ship out since there areother groups. There is no groupthat does not have qualifiedcandidates to govern RiversState.

Fulfilment ofagreement

When Ikwere people visited mein my first two months asgovernor, I asked them to go toDr. Peter Odili with gifts to thankhim because he was aninstrument to the realisation ofan Ikwere man as governor.They did it and I know he wasshocked because he didn’t knowI sent them. He was shocked toreceive them and they thankedhim. They thanked him becausehe pursued it and that was whywhen I was dropped, he took mycousin (Omehia), who is also anIkwere man in fulfilment of thatagreement.

So, once I became governor,about three or four months later,Ikwere people came to visit meand I told them ‘thank you forcoming to see me as your sonand you are my fathers, go andthank Dr. Odili for the realisationof your dream. You have beendreaming to become governorand this is the first time you aregetting it.’

Now, my own dream is to leaveoffice and not supporting anIkwere candidate because thereason for which Dr. Odilisupported an Ikwere candidatewas to ensure that this powerrotates round the ethnic groupsin Rivers State.

Rivers has regularlyharvested 2.1million votes forthe PDP. In 2015, do you thinkthe votes in place would be upto two million?

I am not God. We should evensurpass the two million but whatI don’t know is where it will goto, whether PDP or APC. Let uswait and see.

•Gov. Rotimi Amaechi

My own dream is to leave office and notsupporting an Ikwere candidate because thereason for which Dr. Odili supported anIkwere candidate was to ensure that thispower rotates round the ethnic groups inRivers State

go to the university to do anotherfirst degree either in history orlaw. I will do a Masters and aPhD and then I will be 60-something. Then the remainingyears, I will teach as I get closerto the grave.

Are you exiting the politicalscene?

It was Channels Television thatasked me whether I wanted torun for presidency and I said Icouldn’t answer that question.They asked why? I said becausein Nigeria nobody runs forpresident. You just sit and youbecome president; you just seeyourself one day wake up andbecome president prepared orunprepared. There were onlytwo persons who have emergedpresident by wanting to bepresident of Nigeria. They wereGenerals Ibrahim Babangidaand Sani Abacha. So, the rest,especially the civilian presidentssat down in their houses and

50 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

E M E N E T I E — I ,Formerly known andaddressed as MissBeatrice Emenetie,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. OrherheBeatrice. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Rural WaterSupply Agency, DeltaState and generalpublic please takenote.

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Confirmation of NameThis is to confirm that thenames Oriegu AndrewUfuoma Mowei, OrieguAndrew Ufuomowei,Andrew Oriegu Ufuomaand Mowei OrieguAndrew as it appear onmy certificates refer toone and same person. Inow wish to be knownand addressed asAndrew Ufuoma MoweiOriegu. All formerdocuments remain valid.General public pleasetake note.

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FORENQUIRIES

CALLCOMFORT

ON07031183371

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 — 51

52 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 — 53

54 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

,

,

I was convinced that last week was the best timeto go watch the World Cup, so off I went to

Brazil, with the intention of taking in the matchagainst France and from there, who knows?

The moment I stepped down in Sao Paulo, I washit with a blizzard, an off the field tornado, so fieryand fierce that there was no way we could havebeaten France on the field of play given the aftereffects of the imbroglio.

I had waited till today to be able to recount myBrazil experience, wonder when the Sports ministerarrived to be involved in a battle so deadly that hewas dancing naked with the NFF President on thestreets of Brazil, if you can pardon the reference tothe Colonel Mumuni Aminu and Minister JimNwobodo saga.

What I heard transpired in Brazil was soacrimonious that I did not need a soothsayer to tellme that our football was heading to the rocks.

Predictably, when I landed in Nigeria, it was atthe airport that I got a call summoning me to Abuja“urgently” to discuss with the Sports minister as astake holder on the way forward for our football. Ithought this was okay and made plans to travel toAbuja, but between the airports and my house inIkeja, I was inundated with calls regarding whatthe “real situation” was.

What really took me aback was the news that acourt, sitting in Jos had sacked the NFF Board anddeclared the business of running sports suspendeduntil the hearing of a motion on July 11 ....and thatthe Honourable minister had not wasted time inobeying the court injunction.

I said to myself, “….not again”. When are wegoing to learn? Who advised the HonourableMinister? When, where have we ever heard ofFootball matters resolved in courts of law? ChiefOnigbinde was the first to react, and he did nothave to be clairvoyant to foresee a FIFA sanction.

How can I forget the arrival of Bolaji Abdullahi asSports minister? At a time litigations against the NFFlittered our courts? Sam Sam Jaja, Baribote, HarrisonJalla”s NANF , Ray Nnaji, Segun Odegbami (CAS).Add to these, some aggrieved parties andindividuals…… It was at a public hearing at theNational Assembly that Abdullahi won my heartwhen he stood up to declare that he was ready toprostrate, plead and beg those that had cases incourt to withdraw their cases for amicable settlementwithin the family.

He asked and got phone numbers and addressesof the aggrieved parties and started a process ofreconciliation that ushered in peace and progressfor our football. It was during the Abdullahi peacemoves that efforts were made to reintegrate membersof the football family, bans were lifted and footballfound an enabling environment to thrive.

If the Aminu Maigari led NFF Board say todaythat they are the best NFF Board ever, they will begrateful to Abdullahi and the peace that made itpossible for them to attain such enviable heights,including the qualification for CHAN for the firsttime in our history, winning of the FIFA U-17 trophy,

No, ....Not againIf the government wanted this

present board out, all theyneeded to do was go through

the proper channel asstipulated in the statutes of the

NFF, CAF and FIFA.

winning the Nations Cup after over 19 years. Notonly qualifying for the World Cup, but equaling a16 year record by reaching the round of sixteen afterthe disasters of 2002 and 2010 .

Nigeria has an history of confrontation betweenGovernment and the NFF. Must we recount this timefour years ago when the Sanni Lulu led board wasbooted out of office after coming back from adisastrous World Cup in South Africa? The believedgovernment planned coup was hinged onallegations of non performance and financialirregularities. This time, pray what are the offences?

The first time that the Maigari administration’speace was jolted was when after winning the NationsCup, Coach Stephen Keshi resigned and heapedall the blame on the NFF for his action. That theNFF should not have interfered in his work, shouldnot have queried him when the team was doingbadly etc……All hell was let loose. Governmentstepped in, people in high and low places went ontheir knees and pleaded with Keshi not to resign.

The NFF was vilified and blacklisted. Receptionparties were planned without the involvement ofthe NFF. I remember attending the reception of theSuper Eagles at Aso Rock by President GoodluckJonathan and how seating provision was not madefor the NFF Board in the hall.

Top government functionaries like the SenatePresident have been quoted castigating the runningof football etc as a fallout of the South African fauxpas. Since then, there has been no love lost betweenthe NFF and Government.

I had mentioned my Brazilian experience and hopeI will one day have the opportunity of recountinghow the minister and the NFF President were atwar, leading to the present debacle.

Back to the beginning. My trip to Abuja wasaborted when I found that there was a court ordercontrary to the statutes of CAF and FIFA. That theorder read inter alia……… “ an order of interim

injunction restraining the second defendant (AlhajiAminu Maigari) and all the purported members ofthe Executive Committee and Congress of the firstdefendant, (Nigeria Football Association) from furthercontrolling, commanding or managing the affairs of the1st defendant and all football matters in Nigeria pendingthe hearing and determination of the motion on noticefor interlocutory injunction filed in this case….

“…..restraining the 2nd Defendant and all the otherpurported members of the executive Committee andcongress of the 1st defendant from further parading,presenting, or holding themselves out as executivecommittee and congress of the defendant pending thehearing and determination of the motion on notice forinterlocutory injunction pending before the honourablecourt………”

The hearing of the motion on notice was fixed forJuly 11. I wonder why those who quickly acted on thecourt order, also went ahead within 24 hours to floutthe provisions restraining the CONGRESS fromoperating, by convening an extra ordinary meetingof the congress.

If the government wanted this present board out,all they needed to do was go through the properchannel as stipulated in the statutes of the NFF,CAF and FIFA.

Besides, what is the hurry? elections are just amonth away, let those interested go to the pollsand change the status quo if they are convincedthey have better innovations to offer and that thisadministration was not good enough for ourfootball.

Last Saturday, someone woke up and decided togo the “proper way,” the congress way. A meetingwas said to have been convened where the NFFsins were tabled and discussed, guilty verdictpronounced, NFF Board and management sacked,league running bodies dissolved, committees setup.

Fair, very fair. This is what could have been donein the first place. All that remains is for theproceedings of that congress to be documented andsent to FIFA as the Tuesday deadline of the FIFAorder looms. Convener, Attendance list, (Howmany chairmen and secretaries and affiliated bodieswere present) Was there a quorum? recorders, motionmovers, How many Chairmen voted for what motion,who voted against? who abstained ? Venue and agendaof the congress, …. and so on.

Nigerians in CAF and FIFA are better placed tocorroborate this position.

This is what happened and was made available atthe Lulu “Ouster Congress” and everyone went home“happy” and we moved on.

We ask for no less.Let no one be deceived that the bluff of a FIFA

sanction can be called. It will paralyse football inthis country, turn us into a pariah state and hit theyouth of this country who will be thrown out of allfootball competitions until we learn to operate by therules

See you next week.

THE Minister ofSports and

Chairman of theNational SportsCommission, Dr TamunoDanagogo has said thatNigeria will not doanything that will attractFIFA sanctions.

The Minister toldSports Vanguardyesterday that, “Nigeriarespects FIFA and theautonomy of footballfederations. There is no

Nigeria respects FIFA — Sports Ministerway we can go againstFIFA.”

To buttress his point,the Minister furtherinformed that “the

congress scheduled fornext month by theMaigari-led boardwould go ahead asplanned.

KWARA State hasemerged male

and female zonalchampions for IlorinCentre of the justconcluded Championshipof the Airtel RisingStars(ARS) U-17Tournament.

The Kwara teams alsoclinched the zonal ticketsto the National Finals inboth categories afterdefeating their Ekiti Statecounterparts in separateexplosive encountersdecided at the practicepitch of the Kwara Football

ARS Season 4: Kwara beatsEkiti to win Ilorin Zonal titleAcademy (KFA), Ilorin.

In the female finalmatch, the Kwara teamwhitewashed theiropponent from Ekiti 4-0with two goals each halfof the encounter to retainthe trophy it won last yearin Ibadan, Oyo State.

A brace from the boots ofdarting striker, Eto Deuty,and one goal each fromlast year’s most valuableplayer in the national

championship, ShittuKafayat and Hassan Suliawas all the team neededto needed to emergechampions of the SouthWest zone.

In the male final, it wasKwara again who ranaway victorious with a 2-0 win over Ekiti withgoals coming off the bootsof Akeem Salami andTaye Ayinde in the firsthalf.•Danagogo •Maigari

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 — 55

and this time, therewould be no turningback.

As Nigerians watch theunfolding drama at theNFF and Nigerianfootball, we can revealthat Keshi’s ‘’temptingoffers” and the muchtalked about SouthAfrican deal may not beafter all. There are strongindications that theSouth African FootballAssociation are on theverge of recruitingIranian coach, CarlosQueiroz over Keshi andthat might leave Keshifloating.

‘’Yeah, Keshi hasalways been in the booksof SAFA as well asQueiroz”, our SouthAfrican source saidyesterday insisting thatthe pendulum may havefinally moved over toQueiroz after what he didwith the Iranian team atthe on-going World Cupin Brazil.

Iran considered awhipping team in theGroup F that comprisedSouth American giants,Argentina and AfricanChampions Nigeria andBosnia and Herzegovinaturned out to be a thornon the flesh of the teamswith Nigeria scrapping abarren draw with them.

Queiroz a veteran andversatile coach had toldthe world in Brazil thatIranian football was asleeping giant that wasfaced with the challengeof waking from this

KeshiContinues from BP

sleep. And many peoplebelieved that the manwho once assisted AlexFerguson in ManchesterUnited had done a goodjob to bring Iranianfootball to the frontburner to the extent ofchallenging Argentinauntil a late goal fromArgentine wizard Messi.

‘’Keshi was ahead ofother coaches but thetable has turned andQueiroz is the man of themoment”, our sourcesaid.

Sports Vanguard learntthat issues of money andplayers’ protests may notbe unconnected with thesudden change of heartfrom South Africans whohave been monitoringthe chaos that sawplayers skip one trainingsession in Brazil andthreatened not to playFrance unless theirappearance fee was paideven when FIFA had notpaid such money. Thatmade President GooluckEbele Jonathan to sendSports Minister TammyDanagogo to bringmoney on a Presidentialjet to Brazil before theEagles played France.Nigeria also sent wrongsignals to the worldbefore theConfederations cupwhen the players underKeshi threatened a noshow if funds due tothem were not paid.Questions are beingasked over the roles ofteam officials if indeedthey were the onesstoking the fire throughplayers.

which has alerted a hostof teams about hispotential.

Juventus manager,Antonio Conte intendsto change his formationfrom a 3 - 5 - 2 to a 4 -3- 3 this coming season,and has given the greenlight for the acquisitionof Emmanuel Emenike.

Interested teams

EmenikeContinues from BP

including the Italianchampions should beready to meet thetransfer fee of EmmanuelEmenike, which isaround 20 million Euros.

The 27 - year - oldappeared in all ofNigeria’s four matchesat the World Cup, butdid not register his nameon the score-sheet.

Djokovicstruggled to get across

the finish line, surren-dering a 5-2 lead in thefourth set and then amatch point.

Djokovic celebrated

Continues from BP victory in typically ec-centric style, kneelingon the Centre Court turfand munching on a fewblades of grass just as hehad done three yearsago.

Eagles

allowances they werepaid.

Players who qualifiedNigeria to a fifth WorldCup also got a share ofthe FIFA largesse,several top teamofficials disclosed.

Team officials werealso not left out of thelargesse with the leastgetting about $25,000.

But it was furtherlearnt that it was not allplain sailing as therewere disagreementsparticularly as regardswhether those whoqualified the team forBrazil 2014 should also

Continues from BPbe part of theappearance fee.

“There was a big issueamong the seniorplayers whether thosewho were part of thequalifiers should alsoget something. At theend of the day, skipperJoseph Yobo prevailedthat they also have to beincluded,” a teamofficial informedAfricanFootball.com

“So, even some playerslike John Utaka andRaheem Lawal, whoplayed just a couple ofqualifiers, will also getsomething.”

FedererContinues from BP

about it over the comingyears. Tennis fans willtalk about it for decades.But all you need to knowabout what happenedSunday on CentreCourt, can be summedup in this one short clipfrom the post-matchtrophy presentation.Federer famously criedafter losing the 2009Australian Open final to

Rafael Nadal and manypeople took it as a signthat he was finished. Sixmonths later, he had wonthe French Open andWimbledon, back toback, and returned toNo. 1 in the rankings.Yes, Federer will be 33in a month. But don’tmake the same mistakethis time. This is a tearof instant sorrow, notlost, last chances.

Neymar cried: 'I can't feel my legs' after challenge

THE NigeriaF o o t b a l l

Federation on Sundayreiterated that theEmergency Congress ofthe Federation whichtook place in Abuja onSaturday fulfilled thestatutory requirementsfor holding anEmergency Congress.

“We have come acrossa nebulous reportcirculating in the socialmedia and such climethat only three State FAChairmen attended theCongress. This is not

NFF: Emergency Congress validonly laughable butpreposterous.

“Thirty –one of the 44members of the NFFwere physically present,and were all fullyinvolved in thedeliberations and thedecisions,” Chief EffiongJohnson, the formerChairman of Chairmen,said in Abuja.

Johnson blasted thefictitious report thatspectacularly claimedthat those who wereopposed to theEmergency Congressdid not want their namesin print.

•Galadima

Navratilova inspires Kvitova toWimbledon title

PETRA Kvitova wasthrilled to have

Martina Navratilova’ssupport as she won hersecond Wimbledon title.

Kvitova beat EugenieBouchard 6-3 6-0 to re-gain the title she won in2011 and claim her sec-ond Grand Slam victo-ry.

Fellow Czech Navra-tilova, a nine-time win-ner of the title, waswatching from the Roy-al Box on Centre Court.

“She’s a legend,” saidKvitova. “She’s reallyhuge in the Czech Re-public. Everywhere, ac-tually. I’m just glad thatI have this huge fan.”

Captain Yobo salutes Ahmed Musa after scoringtwice against Argentina.

BRAZIL's star striker Neymar cried "I

can't feel my legs" aftera crunch World Cupchallenge by Colombia'sJuan Zuniga, coach LuizFelipe Scolari told

*Neymar on his hospital bed

Spanish sports dailyMarca.

Scolari said the wholeteam panicked after theknee in the back tackleduring Brazil's quarter-final victory over

Colombia on Friday.Left back Marcelo was

first to reach the striker,who suffered a fracturedvertebrae that has ruledhim out of the WorldCup, after thechallenge.

Marcelo knelt next toNeymar and asked howhe felt, according toScolari. "He replied: 'Ican't feel my legs,'"added the coach.

Marcelo shouted forthe team doctor, butdoctors are not allowedonto the pitch.

"Marcelo was scaredand called the doctor on

but the doctor couldn'tget on in the confusion.It was a big shock, theimage of Neymar beingstretchered off to thehelicopter, in difficulty,crying," Scolari wasquoted as saying.

Team doctor Jose LuizRunco said thatMarcelo's calls for thedoctor had caused thepanic after thechallenge.

"We've lost the oneplayer we didn't want tolose ahead of the semi-finals and the final,"Scolari said of the"disastrous" loss.

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

How to Play Sudoku

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

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

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

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

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD, MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDACROSS:2 Store (5)7 House (5)8 Vision (5)10 Similar (5)12 Consume (3)13 Danger (5)15 Penetrated (7)17 Pressed (6)19 Drunkard (3)20 Disproved (7)23 Gang (4)25 Prima-donna (4)26 Harmed (7)30 Tank (3)31 Swell (6)34 Matured (7)37 Poison (5)38 Scull (3)39 Material (5)40 Change (5)41 Tend (5)42 Guide (5)

DOWN1 Snake (5)2 Killed (5)3 Higher (6)4 Sponge (4)5 Saluted (7)6 Irrigate (5)9 Spike (3)11 Ascertained (7)13 Throw (5)14 Wandered (5)16 Child (3)18 Discussed (7)21 Couch (5)22 Seraglio (5)24 Hesitated (7)27 Male (3)28 God-like (6)29 Instrument (5)32 Animal (5)33 Trunk (5)35 Tap (3)36 Adroit (4)

ACROSS: 2, Inter 7, Atom 8, Office 9, Purse11, Rid 13, Rum 15, Eden 16, Par 18, Mere 19,Minimal 20, Chit 22, Taxi 23, Natural 25, Even27, Eel 28, Fete 30, Did 31, Dud 33, Pleat 36,Simple 37, Avid 38, Tramp

DOWN: 1, Staid 2, Imp 3. Tor 4, Roe 5, Aft6, Scour 10, Span 11, Rescued 12, Defined13, Relaxed 14, Merited 16, Pique 17,Rival 18, Mat 21, Tan 24, Reel 26, Visit 29,Tulip 32, Apt 33, Pet 34, Era 35, Tap

Keshi: South Africaninterest wanes

•Keshi •Queiroz World Cup: Eagles getN20.8m each

•Emenike

Djokovic lifts secondWimbledon title

Novak Djokovic wonhis second Wimbledontitle and seventh careermajor with a 6-7 (7/9),6-4, (7/4), 5-7, 6-4 vic-tory over Roger Feder-er on Sunday, shatter-ing the Swiss star ’sdream of a recordeighth triumph in anepic struggle.

Victory allowed thetop seeded Serb, whowas also the 2011 cham-pion and runner-up lastyear, to end a run ofthree successive defeatsin Grand Slam finals,but the 27-year-old

•Djokovic

Emenike on Juventus’ radar

JUVENTUS havejoined the race

for Nigeria internationalEmmanuel Emenike,who is also being linkedwith a transfer toEngland this window.

Turkish sports dailyFanatik has reportedthat the Fenerbahcestriker displayed hiswares at the mundial,Continues on Page 55

BEFORE the WorldCup, it was

almost certain thatformer Super Eaglescoach, Stephen Keshiwould not come back tohis job with the NigeriaFootball Federation.

He walked tallerbecause according tohim, there were severaltempting and juicy offerson his table to choosefrom and that of theSouth African Football

Association, SAFA, wasalmost a certainty. TheNFF on their part, werehappy that his contractwould also come to anend with the World Cupand had no intention ofrenewing it. They havehad so much from KeshiContinues on Page 55

Continues on Page 55

S U N D A Y ’ sWimbledon final

between Novak Djokovic

Federer sheds tears afterloss and Roger Federer took

more than four hours.Hundreds of thousandsof words will be written

IT has been gatheredthat some of the

Super Eagles stars likegoalkeeper VincentEnyeama received$130,000 (about N20.8m-a-man) each asappearance fee for the2014 World Cup inBrazil.

“It was not a flat rate,

Continues on Page 55

but some of the playerslike Enyeama, whowere involved in boththe qualifiers as well asthe World Cup in Brazilgot as much as$130,000,” said oneofficial.

This is outside thematch bonus and daily

Continues on Page 55Galadima, Amaju kick against Maigari’ssack — Pg 55