ONDO: PDP, AD kick as INEC names Akeredolu Gov-elect

Crude: FG plans 1,000-km 

pipeline from Niger Republic 

9 

** 

VOL. 25: NO. 63167 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 

Ondo: Final 

INEC results 

1-Ondo West 

AD. 7154 

APC. 10672 

PDP. 17382 

SDP. 236 

2-Irele 

AD. 6,710. 

APC. 11,138. 

PDP. 5,907 

SDP. 68 

3-Ifedore 

AD. 4,629. 

APC. 10,958 


SDP. 162 

Continues on Page 5 

VICTORY: APC Governor-Elect in Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu and his wife Betty, jubilating at his residence in Owo after 

declaration of the results by INEC. PHOTO: AKEEM SALAU. 

ONDO: PDP, AD kick as INEC 

names Akeredolu Gov-elect 

•I won’t fail Ondo people – Akeredolu 

•Buhari, Tinubu, Saraki, Ambode, Dogara, others salute him 

•I won hearts of Ondo people —Jegede 

•Accept defeat in good faith – APC tells other parties 

Senate makes U-turn, drops 

already cleared nominee 

COLUMNISTS 

OWEI 

LAKEMFA 

Weaning the 

children of 

violence 

HENRY 

BOYO 

HIGH COST OF 

BORROWING: 

Who is 

fooling who? 

OCHEREOME 

NNANNA 

CJN Onnoghen's 

promising 

debut 

33 30 34 

9 

MEET 

THE 

BOSS 

By Dayo Johnson, Henry Umoru, Emman 

Ovuakporie, Johnbosco Agbakwuru & Omeiza 

Ajayi 

A KURE—WITH 

244,842 votes, Mr. 

Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, of 

the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, was, 

yesterday, declared by the 

Army okays 8 Div 

for Sokoto 8 

Nigeria, 

Australia 

have many 

things in 

common 

35 

Independent National 

Electoral Commission, 

Continues on Page 5 

Mr & Mrs

2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 — 3


Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016—5 

POCKET CARTOON 

ANNIVERSARY—His Royal Majesty, Orhue 1, the Orodje of Okpe, arriving 

on horse back, during the 10th Anniversary of his coronation, weekend in 

Orerokpe, Okpe LGA, Delta State. More pictures on Page 12. 



Continues from page 1 

INEC, as the winner of 

Saturday’s governorship 

election. 

According to the results 

announced by Prof. 

Abdul-Ganiyu Ambali, 

the INEC Chief Returning 

Officer, he won with a 

margin of 94,462 votes, 

spaking off protests from 

rival political parties. 

Mr Eyitayo Jegede, 

SAN, the peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, 

candidate, his closest 

challenger had 150,380 

votes. The Alliance for 

Democracy standard 

bearer, Olusola Oke, 

garnered 126,889 votes to 

come third, while Dr. Olu 

Agunloye of the Social 

Democratic Party, SDP, got 

10,149 votes. 

Ambali gave the total 

number of valid votes to 

be 551,272 votes, rejected 

votes 29,615 and total 

number of votes cast as 

580,887. 

The council areas won 

by Akeredolu included 

the two strongholds of 

Jegede – Akure South and 

Akure North; Ifedore, the 

council area of the state 

chairman of the PDP, 

Clement Faboyede. 

Akeredolu won 

massively in Owo, where 

he hails from with over 

32,000 votes. 

Other councils won by 

the governor-elect 

included Idanre, lrele, 

Akoko North East, Ile 

Oluji-Okeigbo, Akoko 

South-East, Ose, Akoko 

South-West, Akoko North- 

West, Odigbo and Ese- 

Odo. 

Jegede managed to win 

in the two councils 

controlled by the outgoing 

governor, Dr Olusegun 

Mimiko - Ondo East and 

Ondo West council areas. 

Olusola Oke also 

managed to win in 

Okitipupa and in his 

IT'S UP TO YOU 

BY AYO ADIO - 08104802192 

PEOPLE obsessed with personal glory hardly 

achieve much, those who place their interest 

within the ambit of the greater good will always 

achieve far more. It’s up to you. 

TAKE HEART 

BY ELLA RANDLE- O8084919482 

The one thing that keeps us out of connection is 

the fear that we’re not worthy of connection— Brene 

Brown 

Often fear and uncertainty is a great 

enabler for our vulnerability. There is perhaps 

only one variable that separates the people who 

have a strong sense of love and belonging and 

the people who struggle for it. When people 

experience pure accepting love, they develop a 

strong sense of love and belonging. Know you 

are worthy of being loved beautifully. 

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE 

All lizards lie flat, how can we tell the 

one with stomach pains? 

home town of Ilaje local 

council. 

However, the result has 

been pooh-poohed by 

Oke and Agunloye, who 

said it did not reflect the 

wishes of Ondo people. 

Jegede, who said he was 

still studying the result, 

said he had won the 

hearts of Ondo people, 

who stood by him during 

his battle to reclaim the 

PDP ticket. 

They spoke as President 

Muhammadu Buhari, 

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed 

Tinubu Senate President 

Bukola Saraki, Governors 

Rochas Okorocha (Imo), 

Aminu Tambuwal 

(Sokoto);House of 

Representatives Speaker, 

Yakubu Dogara; former 

governor of Ekiti State, Dr 

Kayode Fayemi and the 

APC saluted Akeredolu on 

his victory. 

Shortly after the 

election, Oke had 

complained of pre-loaded 

card readers, intimidation 

and harassment of his 

party leaders and 

supporters as well as 

inducement of voters by 

the APC and PDP to rig 

the election. 

Result not true 

reflection of Ondo 

people's wish 

– Agunloye 

Speaking in like 

manner, Agunloye 

lamented that the result of 

the election was not the 

true reflection of the 

wishes of the people of the 

state. 

Agunloye told newsmen 

in Akure that reports from 

his agents across the state 

indicated that there was 

“distribution of money, 

clothes and other things 

at various polling stations. 

“The electorate were 

attacked and driven out of 

the voting centres while 

the security agents looked 

the other way. 

“The figures released by 

INEC to me seemed to 

had been allocated by the 

electoral body in 

collaboration with APC but 

we will await the decision 

of the party before we 

take our next step," he 

said. 

Agunloye added that 

this is not the end of the 

matter, as he will soon 

"take a decision after 

conferring with the 

leadership of our party." 

Jegede studies 

situation, says he 

won hearts of Ondo 

people 

On his part, Jegede, 

yesterday, said that he 

was still studying the 

situation and would make 

his position on the 

outcome of the election 

known in due course. 

He pointed out, 

however, that he was 

happy that he won the 

hearts of the people of the 

state who stood by him 

during the travails. 

“I know we have won 

the hearts of the people 

and I should thank our 

people for standing by us, 

for their show of love and 

for their steadfastness,” 

he said, adding that he 

was waiting for the 

position of his party before 

taking further step. 

Speaking with newsmen 

in Akure few hours after 

Akeredolu was declared 

the winner of the poll, he 

said: “We are studying the 

situation and in the 

fullness of time you will 

know what the position of 

the party is. The events 

that led to the election is 

known to us and you. We 

had 48 hours to prepare 

for the election, I was 

cleared by the court on 

Wednesday and had only 

Thursday to campaign 

and on Saturday I had to 

go for election. The 

request for postponement 

was denied by INEC for 

reasons that we are yet to 

fathom and these are the 

things in the next few 

days we will have to 

review." 

The Ondo State PDP, 

Chairman, Clement 

Faboyede said: “The party 

will meet today 

(yesterday)with all the 

stakeholders and our 

decision will be made 

public. We thank God for 

the litigation processes 

and at the end of the day 

we came out victorious 

and our heart desired 

candidate for PDP was 

cleared to contest the 

election few days to the 

election and there was no 

time for campaign and to 

prepare for the election. 

We will meet soon and x- 

ray every angle and get 

across to the public." 

I won’t fail Ondo 

people – Akeredolu 

A few hours after he was 

declared the governor 

elect, Akeredolu promised 

the people of the state that 

he would not fail them. 

Speaking with newsmen 

at his residence in Owo, 

he dedicated the victory 

to God and Ondo people. 

He commended 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari and the National 

Chairman of APC, Chief 

John Oyegun and 

members of the party 

National Working 

Committee (NWC). 

His words: “This victory 

is of God through the 

people. It is not for me or 

the APC alone, it is a 

victory for the people of 

Ondo State irrespective of 

which side of the divide 

Final INEC results 


4-Akoko North East 

AD. 5,367 

APC 13,645 


SDP. 2478 

5-Ileoluji/Okeigbo 

AD 4525 

APC 10681 

PDP 8306 

SDP 144 

6-Ondo East. 

AD 2,742 

APC. 4,253. 

PDP 7,317 

SDP. 48 

7-Ose 


APC. 13454 


SDP. 158 

8-Akure North 


APC. 10710 


SDP. 177 

9-Akoko South East 


APC. 6384 


SDP. 378 

10-Akoko South West 


APC. 19892 


SDP. 515 

11- Akoko North West 


APC. 13048 


SDP. 4032 

12-Okitipupa 


APC. 14930 

you stood during the 

election. For me, it is a 

challenge to perform. It is 

a call to rescue our state 

and reverse its fortunes. 

“I thank the people of 

my dear state for their 

steadfastness. I have 

heard their messages 

throughout the campaign 

to all the nooks and 

crannies of the state. 

Today, you have spoken 

with one voice. You have 

walked your talk. You 

have voted for me as your 

Continues on page 41 


SDP. 186 

13-Owo 


APC. 32988 


SDP. 181 

14- Odigbo 


APC. 17581 


SDP. 276 

15-Idanre 


APC. 10981 


SDP. 58 

16- Akure South 

AD. 12,270, 

APC. 25,797, 

PDP 25,005 

SDP. 689 

17- Ese-Odo 


APC. 10700 


SDP. 202 

18-Ilaje 


APC.7030 


SDP. 159 

Total number of votes 

scored by parties 

AD - 126,889 

APC. - 244,842 

PDP. - 150,380 

SDP. - 10,149. 

Total no of Valid votes- 

551,272 

Total no of rejected 

votes- 29,615 

Total votes cast- 

580,887.

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 

:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058 

Tension in 

Auchi Poly 

as 5 die in 

renewed cult 

war 

•Only one 

student died 

—POLICE 

By Simon 

Ebegbulem & 

Gabriel Enogholase 

AUCHI—NO fewer 

than five students, 

weekend, lost their lives 

following renewed cult 

war between rival groups 

at the Federal 

Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo 

State. 

It was gathered that the 

killings began, last 

Friday, at a graduation 

party after the students 

completed their 

examination for the 

session. 

Vanguard learned that 

the bodies of the victims 

were sighted at different 

locations in Auchi. 

One of the victims was 

shot dead in front of 

Hartland Company, 

along Benin-Auchi- 

Okene highway, while 

the others were shot dead 

near the School of 

Engineering and Sabo 

area. 

A member of one of the 

cult groups was said to 

have slapped a member 

of a rival group, which 

later degenerated into 

the full blown war. 

According to sources, 

the management of the 

polytechnic was putting 

stringent security 

measures in place to 

forestall further violence. 

However, the 

Commissioner of Police, 

Haliru Gwandu, said it 

was not true that five 

persons were killed in 

the cult-related fight in 

Auchi. 

According to him, the 

DPO in Auchi got a 

distress call in the early 

hours of Saturday. 

Commander of the 

Squadron 60 mobilised 

officers to the scene and 

discovered that a student 

was killed. 

He said: “They 

photographed the scene 

and removed the corpse 

to a mortuary. 

Investigation led to the 

arrest of leaders of the 

two cult groups. They are 

now with the police and 

investigation still in 

progress. 

“More persons may be 

arrested this week 

because no stone will be 

left unturned in getting to 

the root of the matter.” 

Man dies in kidnappers' den after family 

pays ransom with cash, drum of petrol 

By Samuel Oyadongha 

YENAGOA—THE 72-yearold 

retired principal, Pa 

Sunday Fess, has died in the 

abductors’ den 12 days after he 

was abducted from his country 

home at the riverside town of 

Finibiri in Boma East, Southern 

Ijaw Local Government Area of 

Bayelsa State by unknown 

gunmen, after the family had 

paid ransom. 

Though the cause of death of 

the septuagenarian at the 

kidnappers den could not be 

immediately ascertained, family 

sources told Vanguard that the 

deceased was hypertensive and 

on medication when he was 

abducted. 

The kidnappers were said to 

have collected an undisclosed 

sum from their victim’s family, 

who believed he was alive, only 

for the family to meet his corpse 

at the kidnappers’ den. 

According to a source, the 

family met the corpse of the 

victim around Azaama, a 

border area between Southern 

Ijaw and Ekeremor council 

area. 

The kidnappers, it was 

learned, had demanded for 

millions of naira, but later 

By Okolie Ifeanyi 

TEARS flowed, weekend, at 

Ode-Aye town in 

Okitipupa Local Government 

Area of Ondo State, as the 

remains of Police Sergeant 

Felix Igbasan, was buried. 

He died from bullet wounds 

sustained during a gun fight 

with a notorious gang of armed 

robbers terrorising the Federal 

Captain Territory, FCT, Abuja, 

Kogi, Kano, Benue and 

Kaduna states. 

Igbasan, who was confirmed 

dead few days after he was 

admitted at Maitama General 

Hospital in Abuja, is survived 

by a widow, three children, 

siblings and his an aged 

reduced same to N500,000 

and further reduced it again 

as the family insisted they 

could not raise such money. 

They also demanded that the 

ransom be brought to them 

with a drum of fuel, warning 

that security agencies should 

not be involved if the family 

wanted to see the victim alive. 

It was, however, gathered 

that as the emissary arrived 

with the ransom and other 

items, the kidnappers 

collected everything, pointed 

guns at them and then 

showed them the corpse. 

The source said: “They 

even forced those who brought 

the ransom to carry the dead body 

into the speedboat they went 

with and commanded them to 

leave immediately.” 

The corpse was taken to the 

Marine Police Jetty, Yenagoa, 

before it was deposited at the 

morgue of the Federal Medical 

Centre. 

Leigh, son of the victim, was 

said to have wept profusely on 

seeing his father’s lifeless 

body at the morgue. 

Contacted, the state Acting 

Police Public Relations Officer, 

Mr. A. Ofem, said he had not 

been briefed on the incident. 

EBUBE DIKE: Ohafia men displaying at the Ndi-Igbo cultural festival organised by Igbo Forum, Asaba, Delta 

State. NAN PHOTO. 

Robbery suspect jumps into River Calabar, escapes 

By Emma Una 

CALABAR—ONE of the six 

robbery suspects 

apprehended two weeks ago 

for allegedly robbing a microfinance 

bank in Calabar, has 

reportedly escaped from police 

custody by dramatically 

jumping into the Calabar River. 

The suspect, according to a 

trader at the Marina where the 

incident took place, police last 

Friday, took two of the ring 

leaders of the gang to their 

homes at the Bayside to identify 

the hideout of other suspects, 

who they allegedly named. That 

was when one escaped by 

jumping into the river. 

“A team of policemen brought 

two of them here in handcuffs 

and four of the policemen went 

with one of them leaving 

behind the driver and another 

policeman to guard the 

remaining suspect in the van. 

“However, not long after 

others left, the one guarding 

the robber stepped down from 

the van and stood looking in 

the direction the other 

policemen went. That gave the 

man the chance to jump down 

from the van and into the 

river.” 

She told Vanguard that the 

policeman left behind to watch 

over the robber, on realising 

what had happened, shot in 

the direction of the fleeing 

robber. He missed his target, 

but stray bullets hit a man, 

called Uko, who sells 

alcoholic drinks at the 

Marina area. 

She said Uko was taken to 

the Nigerian Navy Hospital, 

adding that the police had 

Tears as heroic policeman, who f 

Late Felix Igbasan 

mother. 

Igbasan was described by 

his colleagues as a gallant 

officer, who had taken part 

in several high risk 

operations within the 

been frequenting the area in the 

hope of re-arresting the robber. 

Ms Irene Ugbo, the Cross 

River State Police Public 

Relations Officer, said she was 

not aware of the incident. 

“There is nothing like that,” 

she said. 

country, including the arrest of 

notorious armed robbers and 

kidnappers across the country. 

Suspects arrested 

Meanwhile, eight members of 

the robbery gang that engaged 

policemen in the fight that led 

to Igbasan’s death were 

arrested in Abuja and Kaduna 

State. 

Three AK-47 rifles and the 

gang’s operational vehicle were 

recovered. 

Igbasan had won several 

awards, including the Inspector 

General of Police Award for 

courage and the Lagos State 

Governor’s of Award for 

Excellence, while attached to 

Lagos State Police Command

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28 , 2016—7 


MALUU: Road show during the inauguration of Olabite Abattoir, Ope-Ilu, Agbado Oja, 

Ogun State. PHOTO: Bunmi Azeez. (See another picture on Page 11). 

30-yr-old accountant absconds 

with employer’s $50,000 

By Joseph Undu 

A30 year old man, Olufemi 

Akinwa, an accountant with 

Eternal Oil & Gas Plc, reported 

to have been robbed and 

kidnapped when his company 

sent him to withdraw $50, 000, 

has been arrested by operatives 

of the Lagos Police Command for 

alleged phantom kidnap and 

robbery case. 

According to a police source, 

contrary to the report that 

Akinwa was robbed and 

kidnapped, the suspect had 

planned his kidnap, threw his 

telephone into the sea before 

going to stay in Epe area of 

Lagos. 

Akinwa, who spoke with 

Vanguard, said: “I have been 

working with the company for 

five years before my arrest on 

November 18. I was on my way 

to the bank and was chatting with 

elled Godogodo, is laid to rest 

Special Anti-Robbery Squad, 

SARS. 

He was said to be instrumental 

to the arrest of the notorious 

armed robber czar, Abeodun 

Ogunjobi, popularly known as 

Godogodo, who terrorised the 

entire south western part of the 

country, killing over 50 

policemen in his 15-year reign. 

The last order 

Police authorities disclosed to 

Vanguard that Igbasan was 

transferred from the Lagos State 

Police Command to the IGP 

Special Intelligence Response 

Team, IRT, made up of elite 

operatives trained specially to 

combat robbers, kidnappers and 

terrorists across the country. 

a friend in the UK called 

Kingsley on phone. 

“He asked me where I was, 

and I told him I was in the bank 

to withdraw money for my 

company. He then said he 

needed $15,000 out of that 

money, that he has deportation 

problem. 

‘I don't know what came over me’ 

“He told me he was going to 

be deported and that if I helped 

him with the money, he would 

help me promote my music in 

the UK. 

“I did not know what came 

over me. He said he was going 

to send someone to collect the 

money. On getting to where the 

person was, the person collected 

the money and my phone. 

“When I realised that I had 

wasted my company’s money, I 

was scared and confused and 

did not know what to do. I had 

It was gathered that the IGP, 

Ibrahim Idris, had directed the 

IRT to trail and apprehend the 

gang after they robbed the home 

of a senior officer of the Nigeria 

Immigration Service, NIS, in 

Abuja. 

Vanguard gathered that the 

IRT operatives trailed the gang 

to its hideout in Lugbe area of 

Abuja, but Igbasan was not lucky 

as he sustained bullet wounds 

during the ensuing shootout 

between the police and the gang 

members. 

While addressing members of 

Igbasan’s family at his burial, the 

Officer in charge of the IRT, CSP 

Abba Kyari, said Igbasan’s death 

was a very huge loss to the force. 

Kyari also disclosed that IG 

to hire a motorcyclist to take 

me to Bariga Primary School, 

where I hid the money in a 

block at the back of the school. 

“If I had taken it home, my 

wife would have raised 

questions. 

“I took a taxi to Epe to go 

and commit suicide. But when 

I got there, I was like, ‘before 

I die, let me go and report this 

case as a robbery case.’ 

“So I went to the police 

station at Epe and reported 

the case. That was where State 

Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, 

recovered the money. 

“When they took me to 

SARS, after all the torture, I 

had to tell them what really 

happened.” 

Akinwa, who said he was 

contented with his monthly 

salary of N120,000, denied the 

police report that he faked his 

kidnap. 

The widow 

Idris had also given Igbasan 

a post-mortem promotion to 

the rank of an Inspector. 

Delta Poly students, hospital trade 

blames over colleague's death 

By Ochuko Akuopha 

OLEH—IRKED by the 

death of one Miss Merit 

Akpotowho, a female student 

who was shot by robbers, 

hundreds of students of Delta 

State Polytechnic, Ozoro, 

weekend, besieged the 

General Hospital in the 

community, protesting 

alleged negligence of duty by 

the hospital’s staff. 

The deceased, an ND I 

student of Accountancy, who 

only resumed studies two 

weeks ago, it was gathered, 

was shot at 8.30p.m. by 

robbers, who attempted to 

dispossess her of her mobile 

phone, close to her residence 

in the Orhamudhu quarters 

of the community. 

One of the students said: 

“She was using her phone 

close to her residence and the 

robbers, who were riding on 

a motorcycle, noticed the light 

from her phone and 

immediately accosted her and 

demanded for the phone. She 

threw the phone into a nearby 

bush and the robbers shot her 

on the leg. 

“She was rushed to the 

hospital by sympathisers. But 

due to negligence on the part 

of the hospital’s staff, she died 

and we are very bitter about 

what has happened.” 

Speaking on the 

development, the Dean of 

Students’ Affairs of the 

polytechnic, Mr. James 

Ighoroje, claimed the 

deceased was rushed to the 

general hospital on account 

of its closeness to the scene 

of the incident. 

He said: “When they 

arrived at the general 

hospital, there was no doctor 

on duty. Later, they claimed 

that they had no blood and 

oxygen to resuscitate her. 

They left her till 

about 12.30a.m. the 

following day and when they 

noticed that she was getting 

pale, they referred her to Oleh 

General Hospital. 

“When it was time to take 

her to Oleh, they said they 

did not have ambulance. It 

was later that the patrol 

vehicle of the vigilante team 

was used to rush her to Oleh. 

The students have been 

complaining of similar 

experiences in the hospital. 

“Besides, the doctors have 

been saying we should be 

taking our students, who are 

in need of medical attention, 

to the health centre in the 

polytechnic.” 

We did our best—HOSPITAL 

Reacting to the allegations 

yesterday, the Medical 

Director of the hospital, Dr. 

Chuks Ossai, said the girl 

was attended to and was 

referred to the general 

hospital in Oleh “when the 

case went beyond the doctors 

and beyond the hospital 

because we do not even have 

oxygen to resuscitate the girl. 

“The police, who rushed the 

girl here, told me the doctor and 

the nurses were on ground and 

did their best. 

“It is the Student Affairs Officer, 

who does not know his duties, 

that incited the students.” 

Customs 

rescues 4 

children 

from 

traffickers 

By Godwin Oritse 

THE Nigeria Customs 

Services, NCS, Seme 

Border Command, 

weekend, rescued four 

children from suspected 

human traffickers. 

One Mr. Porsu David 

was arrested in 

connection with the crime 

and handed over to the 

Nigeria Immigration 

Service, NIS. 

In the same vein, the 

command also arrested a 

suspected drug trafficker 

with 14 wraps of 

suspected Indian hemp 

and handed over to 

National Drug Law 

Enforcement Agency, 

NDLEA, for further 

investigation. 

David's vehicle, number 

plates AGL 538 BB, was 

also impounded by patrol 

officers along Ashipa- 

Gbethromey axis in Seme. 

Speaking during the 

handing over of the 

rescued children, drugs 

and suspects to the 

relevant agencies, the 

Acting Customs Area 

Controller, Deputy 

Comptroller of Customs, 

Mulima Aminu, disclosed 

that the action was strictly 

in line with inter-agency 

cooperation that existed at 

the international land 

border. 

Mulima said as the lead 

agency at the border, the 

NCS would continue to 

collaborate with the 

relevant agencies for 

effective and efficient 

border management. 

He said as an agency 

that worked in line with the 

ethics of securing and 

managing the borders, in 

line with the global best 

practices, it expected other 

agencies to reciprocate the 

gesture by giving 

classified and credible 

information about 

smugglers and other 

unpatriotic elements involved 

in trans-border vices.



Army 

Council 

approves 

8 Div in 

Sokoto 

CHIEF of Army Staff, 

COAS, Lieutenant 

General Yusuf Buratai, 

has disclosed that the 

Nigerian Army Council 

has approved the 

establishment of the 8th 

Army Division in Sokoto. 

He disclosed this in 

Sokoto, yesterday, when 

he paid a condolence 

visit on the governor of 

Sokoto State, Aminu 

Tambuwal, over the 

death of late Sultan of 

Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim 

Dasuki. 

The COAS, however, 

said that the officers and 

men that would be 

posted to the new 

Division were currently 

operating in the North 

East. 

According to Buratai, 

“As soon the security 

situation in that region 

is fully stabilised, the 

Division will move to 

Sokoto. The move is part 

of efforts to provide 

sustainable peace and 

unity of Nigeria, and the 

Nigerian Army is fully 

committed to ensuring 

this.” 

Commending 

Tambuwal for his support 

to the 1 Brigade and 

other security agencies 

in Sokoto, the COAS also 

commended the 

governor for the existing 

cordial relationship 

between the Army and 

the people of the state. 

Burutai reiterated the 

commitment of the 

Nigerian Army and the 

Federal Government to 

ensuring sustainable 

national security, peace 

and unity. 

He described the late 

Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki as 

a national icon whose 

legacies would remain 

indelible. 

Responding, Tambuwal 

commended the 

Nigerian Army for 

establishing a Division 

and two Command 

Secondary Schools in 

Sokoto and Shagari. 

Also pledging to 

continue to support the 

military as well as other 

security agencies in the 

state, Tambuwal further 

commended the 

Nigerian Army for its 

efforts to restore peace in 

the North East and other 

parts of Nigeria. 

Senate moves to upturn Odili’s perpetual injunction 

•As EFCC seeks reopening of case 

By Henry Umoru 

A BUJA—STRONG 

indications emerged, 

weekend, former governor of 

Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, is still 

a long way from heaving a sigh 

of relief following plans by both 

the Senate and the Economic and 

Financial Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, to reopen investigation 

into his alleged misappropriation 

of N100 billion. 

To actualize this, the Senate has 

moved to amend the EFCC Act. 

It will be recalled that former 

Governor Peter Odili had secured 

a perpetual injunction restraining 

the EFCC from prosecuting or 

arresting him. 

Speaking in Port Harcourt, 

weekend, when he led other 

committee members on a surprise 

oversight visit to the South-South 

regional office of the anti-graft 

agency, Chairman, Senate 

Committee on Anti-Corruption 

and Financial Crimes, Senator 

Chukwuka Utazi, explained that 

with the amendment bill of the 

EFCC Act and when passed, it 

would upturn the injunction. 

This would reopen 

investigations into alleged 

misappropriation of N100 billion 

by Dr. Odili when he was 

governor of Rivers State between 

1999 and 2007. 

Senator Utazi, who noted that 

it was wrong for one arm of 

government to stop another from 

performing its constitutional 

US oil firm accused of 

anti-workers policies 

N IGERIANS 

working with an 

American oil and gas 

service firm, Weatherford 

International, have 

accused the Nigerian 

subsidiary of the 

company, Weatherford 

Nigeria, of mass sack, 

demotion and poor pay, 

all targeted at Nigerians 

in violation of the Local 

Content Act. 

Sources at the 

company, who spoke on 

condition of anonymity, 

said the company sacks 

Nigerians over flimsy 

excuses, denotes others 

and ensures that 

Nigerians earn far lower 

than expatriates, who 

are not better qualified. 

Giving an example of 

the appointment of a 

foreigner, Manuel 

Hernandez, from 

Venezuela, as Country 

Manager, while the 

former incumbent, Femi 

Akarikiri, was demoted, 

the sources said 

foreigners earn as much 

as $20,000 monthly, far 

above the $1,000 

Nigerians are paid, 

roles, stressed that the 

amendment would give the 

anti-graft agency the power to 

by-pass the injunction. 

The decision of the Senate 

committee came up, following 

a request by the South-South 

regional coordinator of EFCC, 

Mr. Ishaq Salihu, that the 

Senate should assist in 

reopening the investigation 

and possibly prosecuting Odili. 

Utazi said: “The House of 

Representatives has done its bit 

on the amendment of EFCC 

making nonsense of the 

company’s claims of 

inability to pay wages. 

One of the sources said: 

“This is not an industry 

where you can claim that 

there are no qualified 

Nigerians for the job. 

Again, how can you 

afford to pay expatriates 

if you have laid off 

Nigerians, who earn a 

fraction of what the 

expatriates earn?” 

The source said the 

Nigerian Content 

Development and 

Monitoring Board, 

NCDMB, has been 

notified of the 

development, but that 

the mass sack of over 100 

Nigerians and other 

deliberate plots against 

Nigerians were 

alarming. 

At press time, several 

calls to the Company 

Secretary/Legal 

Counsel, Lara Falashe, 

and text messages for 

reaction were 

unanswered, while the 

calls were not returned. 

Act. It has come to us. The 

amendments effected in the 

House of Representatives were 

not exhaustive. We are going 

to look into this (issuance of 

perpetual injunction) issue 

with a view to correcting it. 

“Nobody should stop an 

organ of government from 

performing its duties. We want 

to empower them (EFCC) to 

work. They cannot work with 

one hand tied to the back. 

‘’We are going to ensure that 

everything is done in 

accordance with the rule of law. 

Nobody should be 

shortchanged.” 

South-South regional head of 

EFCC, Mr. Ishaq, had revealed 

that the injunction was affecting 

the morale of operatives in the 

area, as well as prosecution of 

other suspects fingered in the 

matter. 

“The perpetual injunction of 

Odili is a problem for us. Because 

of that injunction, it means we 

cannot invite anybody related to 

the case to give any testimony." 

VISIT: Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Yusuf Tukur Buratai, with Governor Aminu Waziri 

Tambuwal when he visited Sokoto State Government House, Sokoto, yesterday.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 — 9 

Lawyers petition 

US embassy, 

insist IMN is 

threat to peace 

in Nigeria 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

ABUJA—A group of 

legal practitioners in 

the country, under the aegis 

of Lawyers Initiative For Civil 

Rights Advancement in 

Nigeria, has petitioned the 

United States Embassy in 

Nigeria, alerting it of the 

imminent security threat 

posed by the Islamic 

Movement in Nigeria, IMN. 

The group, in the letter it 

addressed to the United States 

Ambassador to Nigeria, 

insisted that members of the 

IMN, otherwise known as 

Shiite sect, had posed several 

security threat not just to 

Nigeria, but also to other west 

African countries. 

The letter, which was signed 

by LICRAN Director of 

Research & Advocacy, Mr. 

Unande Terrace, yesterday, 

described the IMN as an 

Iranian-backed rebel group. 

Tersagh, who described 

LICRAN as an umbrella body 

of pro-democracy lawyers 

dedicated to the advancement 

of civil rights, justice, equality 

and rule of law in Nigeria, said 

it was within public domain 

that the Islamic Republic of 

Iran had been harassing 

Nigeria using members of the 

IMN. 

According to the group, 

buoyed by Iran backing, IMN 

members, in October and early 

November this year, 

unleashed violence across 

several Nigerian cities in the 

north under the cover of 

Ashura procession. 

It said activities of the sect 

had led to several deaths in 

Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna and 

Katsina states, adding that 

members of Iranian 

Revolutionary Guards Corps 

were previously named in 

illegal shipment of weapons 

into Nigeria. 

“There have also been 

reports that the IMN 

members visit Iran under the 

cover of academic 

scholarships to be trained as 

terrorists by the same 

Revolutionary Guards Corps. 

‘’This will be consistent with 

recent revelations by Salar 

Abnoush, Deputy 

Commander of Iran’s 

Khatam-al-Anbia Garrison, a 

branch of the Revolutionary 

Guards Corps that his country 

is sending out sleeper cell 

assets to infiltrate other 

nations,” the group said. 

LICRAN urged the 

ambassador to prevail on the 

US government to declare the 

Islamic Movement in Nigeria, 

IMN, as a terror organization. 


CRUDE: FG plans 1,000-km pipeline from 

Niger Republic 

By Prince Okafor 

KADUNA—AGAINST the 

challenges in moving 

crude oil from South-South 

Nigeria to Kaduna Refinery and 

Petrochemical Company (KRPC), 

the Presidency has turned to 

Niger Republic for supply of the 

commodities to bring KRPC into 

full operation. 

Group Managing Director, 

Nigerian National Petroleum 

Corporation (NNPC), Dr. 

Maikanti Baru, weekend 

disclosed ongoing plans by the 

Federal Government to construct 

about 1, 000 kilometer crude oil 

pipelines from Niger Republic to 

Kaduna Refinery. 

Baru made this known during 

a town hall meeting with 

management and staff of KRPC 

in Kaduna. 

He said: “Due to challenges 

with the aged refinery and crude 

oil pipelines that had been 

breached severally, the operations 

of the refinery has been epileptic. 

This we are determined to resolve 

through various intervention 

methods, including evaluation of 

alternative crude oil supply from 

Niger Republic through building 

of a pipelines of over 1, 000 

kilometers from Agadem to 

Over 90% of 200,000 

N-Power beneficiaries 

have BVN clerance 

— PRESIDENCY 

By Levinus Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA—THE Presidency said yesterday that 

over 90% of the 200,000 unemployed 

graduates selected in the first batch of the N-Power 

Volunteer Corps, NPVC, have been verified using 

the Bank Verification Number, BVN. 

Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity in 

the Office of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, 

who disclosed this, said any untrue information 

submitted in the process of application was a good 

ground for disqualification. 

He said the programme was now advancing with 

assignment of beneficiaries to their places of 

deployments in their states of residence. 

Akande, who referred to a BBC report last week 

regarding the testimonials of some of the selected 

graduates, noted that “it is most gladdening that 

those who were selected are now telling the stories 

of how they have not been employed for years, but 

now grateful to the President for this initiative.” 

He stated that all the states and the FCT, through 

the focal persons they appointed, had since received 

the list of the 200,000 beneficiaries, and were now 

working on deploying them to their places of 

assignment. 

He also explained that by using the BVN, which 

is one of the most viable means of identification in 

the country at present, there was hardly any way 

anything fraudulent could sail through in the 

process. 

“We are confident that the selection process, all 

the way through with BVN, and physical verification 

at the points of deployment in the states and the 

local government areas, are both transparent and 

impossible to abhor ghost beneficiaries, or any kind 

of fraud,” he asserted. 

He noted that 93% of those selected had been 

screened through the BVN. 

Kaduna. That effort is being 

championed by Mr. President 

himself. 

“It was important to explore 

alternative crude supply to 

KRPC, which has been affected 

by vandalism of pipelines and 

obsolescence, assuring that 

the initiative will reduce 

downtime of the plant and 

ensure optimal utilisation. 

“The Corporation has already 

started engagements with the 

Nigerien Minister of Petroleum 

and the Chinese that are 

operating the field at Agadem 

(The Agadem Block is located in 

the East Niger Rift Basin.)'' 

Baru pledged to drive the 

energy supply project to 

power industries in Kaduna by 

ensuring the completion of the 

Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano 

(AKK) gas pipeline. 

On his part, Managing 

Director of KRPC, Malam Idi 

Mukhtar, said the Fluid Cracking 

Catalytic Unit (FCCU) of the plant 

was restreamed in June. 

“The Kerosene Hydrotreating 

Unit (KHU) rehabilitation is 

ongoing with the equipment 

overhaul and integrity checks. 

When operational, the margin of 

value addition on kerosene and 

Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) 

will provide millions of naira in 

revenue, even at a throughput of 

60 per cent,” Mukhtar assured. 

Senate makes U-turn, drops already cleared Buhari’s 

nominee 

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA—TWELVE days 

after the Senate cleared 

Chief Okoi Ofem Obono-Obla, 

Cross River, South South, as a 

non-Executive Commissioner on 

the governing board of the 

Nigerian Communications 

Commission, NCC, it has made 

a dramatic turn by dropping his 

name from the list of successful 

nominees sent to President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

Obono-Obla’s name was 

removed in the letter transmitted 

to Buhari as one of those 

confirmed by the legislature. 

In the letter dated November 22, 

signed by Senate President 

Bukola Saraki, a copy of which 

was obtained yesterday, Obono- 

Obla was listed as one of the three 

whose nominations were rejected 

by the Senate. 

It would be recalled that Oboni- 

Obla was among the five whose 

nominations by President Buhari 

were approved by the Senate on 

November 17, 2016, while two of 

the nominees were dropped. 

Obono-Obla, who is the Special 

Assistant to the President on 

Prosecution, attached to the 

Ministry of Justice, protested in 

an email sent yesterday 

against what he described as 

back-door removal. 

The nominee, who asked why 

he was removed after the Senate 

had confirmed his nomination, 

simply said: “The entire major 

electronic and print media organs 

in the country, on November 17 

and 18, 2016, carried the 

confirmation by the Senate of the 

Board of Nigerian 

Communications Commission. 

“Surprisingly and curiously, 

the Senate President, Senator 

Bukola Saraki, in a letter 

dated November 22, 2016, to 

President Muhammadu Buhari, 

titled ‘Confirmation of 

Appointments,’ falsely stated 

that the Senate did not confirm 

the following nominees: Aliyu 

Saidu Abubakar; Pastor 

Ezekiel Yissa and Chief Okoi 

Ofem Obono-Obla.”

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 

NASS should 

publish 

details of 

alleged 

N500bn 

running cost 

— SERAP 

By Abdulwahab 

Abdulah 

S 

O C I O - 

ECONOMIC 

Rights and Accountability 

Project, SERAP has 

requested the leadership of 

the National Assembly to 

publicly account for how 

lawmakers spent N500 

billion as running costs 

between 2006 and 2016, as 

well as the monthly income 

and allowances of each 

Senator and member of the 

House of Representatives. 

In a request made under 

the Freedom of Information 

Act, SERAP in the letter by 

it’s Executive Director, 

Tokunbo Mumuni, noted 

that; “Secrecy in 

parliamentary spending 

has resulted in lapse of 

accountability for Senators 

and members of the House 

of Representatives, and this 

could ultimately endanger 

the healthy development of 

the rule of law and good 

governance in the country.” 

The body, which has 

threatened to drag the 

parliaments to court, if its 

request was ignored, said 

the step was taken after 

reviewing the disclosure by 

Abdulmumin Jibrin that, 

“Nigerian Senators and 

House of Representatives 

members have pocketed 

N500 billion as ‘running 

cost’ out of the N1 trillion 

provided for in the National 

Assembly budgets between 

2006 and 2016, and 

assertion by former 

President Olusegun 

Obasanjo that each Senator 

goes home with nothing 

less than N15m monthly 

while each member 

receives nothing less than 

N10 million monthly.” 

The letter dated 

November 25, 2016 states in 

part that, “We are seriously 

concerned that details of the 

National Assembly budgets 

and income and allowances 

receive by its members over 

the years remain shrouded 

in secrecy, and hidden from 

Nigerians. Alleged stealing 

or mismanagement of N500 

billion of public funds may 

be responsible for the 

economic crisis and 

hardships being faced by 

millions of Nigerians. 

“Transparency in the 

spending by the National 

Assembly and income of 

its members is a key 

element of justice.'' 


340, 634 voters for Saturday's Lagos 

bye-election — INEC 

L 

A G O S — T H E 


Electoral Commission (INEC) 

says it has 340, 634 registered 

voters for next Saturday’s byeelection 

in Ifako-Ijaiye Federal 

Constituency of Lagos State. 

Clement Oha, INEC 

Administrative Secretary in 

Lagos State said that the 

distribution of Permanent Voter’s 

Card (PVC) was ongoing ahead 

of the poll. 

“We are distributing PVCs so 

eligible registered voters can still 

go to INEC office in Ifako Ijaiye 

Local Government and pick up 

their PVCs,” Oha said. 

He urged registered voters in the 

constituency to collect their PVCs 

at the local INEC office. 

Oha said INEC was ready to 

conduct a free and fair election and 

urged politicians and their 

supporters to be peaceful before, 

during and after the poll. 

According to him, Ifako/Ijaiye 

Federal Constituency had 335 

polling units and 687 voting points 

where accreditation and voting will 

be conducted simultaneously. 

Lagos launches 16-day fight against sexual, gender violence 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni & 

Monsur Olowoopejo 

LAGOS—THE 

Lagos 

Government through the 

State’s Domestic and Sexual 

Violence Response Team, 

DSVRT, is partnering with 

Access Bank to commemorate 16 

Days of Activism to end all forms 

of violence against women and 

children. 

DSVRT Coordinator, Titilola 

Vivour-Adeniyi, in a statement 

yesterday, said the team, in 

partnership with the Financial 

Control and Strategy Group of 

Access Bank, will embark on 

series of events aimed at 

increasing people’s awareness on 

CRIMINALITY: Security experts canvass 

better intelligence gathering 

By Joseph Undu 

LAGOS—THE Inspector General of Police, 

IGP, Ibrahim Idris and the Comptroller-General 

of Nigeria Immigration Service, CGI, Muhammad 

Babandede have said that Nigeria will only win the 

war against criminality, when intelligence gathering 

among security agencies is strengthened. 

The IGP, who was represented by the Assistant 

Inspector General Of Police, AIG, Zone 2 Police 

Command, Onikan, Lagos, Mr Kayode Aderanti, at 

this year’s Annual Lecture and Award ceremony of 

Crime Reporters Association Of Nigeria, CRAN, which 

took place in Lagos with the theme, “Solving Security 

challenges through intelligence” said; ‘’Our intelligence 

gathering would make us proactive, rather than 

reactive. We need to work together with sister agencies. 

We must share intelligence.'' 

In his own remarks, the Comptroller-General of 

Nigeria Immigration Service, CGI, Muhammad 

Babandede, said that through intelligence, our porous 

borders would be better manned and child trafficking 

and arm proliferation checked. 

CONVOCATION: From right; Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, 

University of Benin, Senator Effiong Bob; Chairman, UBA Plc, and 2015 recipient of the University 

of Benin Honourary Doctor of Science, Mr Tony Elumelu; Chancellor, University of Benin and 

Emir of Kano, His Highness Muhammadu Sanusi 11; Representative of President Muhammadu 

Buhari, Dr Raman Yusuf and Vice Chancellor, University of Benin, Professor F.F.O Orumwense, 

during the University of Benin 42nd Convocation in Benin City, Edo State, at the weekend. 

The commission had concluded 

the training of 50 Supervisory 

Presiding Officers and 3, 440 

corps members for the election. 

The six political parties that 

would contest in the poll are: 

sexual and gender-based violence 

as well as taking practical steps to 

rid the society of the menace. 

As part of the enlightenment 

programs, she said there will be a 

workshop with the theme: 

“Safeguarding The Rights For A 

Child,” while a Symposium 

tagged “It’s On You And I To End 

Violence Against Women And 

Children.” 

She said the workshop will focus 

on children within the region of 

primary 3 and 6, saying that this 

became imperative in view of the 

recent statistics which revealed 

that children within this age range 

are most vulnerable. 

Vivour-Adeniyi said over 1,500 

children drawn from both public 

Action Alliance (AA), Alliance for 

Democracy (AD), African 

Democratic Party (ADP) and the 

All Progressives Congress (APC). 

The rest are Peoples Democratic 

Party (PDP) and Social Democratic 

and private schools in Mainland, 

Eti-Osa and Apapa axis of the 

state will receive age appropriate 

sex education, tips on being 

sensitive about their body parts, 

and also a critical education on 

Party (SDP). 

Mr Elijah Adewale, who 

represented the constituency in the 

House of Representatives, died on 

July 20 and INEC had fixed Dec. 

3 for election into the vacant seat. 

how to detect and avoid the 

process of grooming which is a 

process most predators adopt. 

She also said the symposium 

would be held at Access Bank 

Head Office, Victoria Island. 

Ambode to present 2017 budget 

tomorrow 

L AGOS—GOVERNOR 

Akinwunmi Ambode of 

Lagos State will tomorrow present 

the 2017 appropriation bill to the 

Lagos State House of Assembly, 

for approval. 

A statement signed by Miss 

Bose Lambo, the Director, Public 

Affairs of the Assembly, said the 

presentation would commence at 

10a.m., and urged invited guests 

to be punctual. 

She said: “Year 2017 Budget 

Estimates Presentation by His 

Excellency, Mr Akinwunmi 

Ambode, Governor of Lagos State 

will hold on Tuesday, November 

29 at the Assembly Chambers, 

Alausa, Ikeja.” 

Ambode presented the 2016 

budget of N662.58 billion to the 

Assembly for approval on 

December 17, 2015. 

The 2016 budget was made up 

of capital expenditure of 

N383.678 billion and a recurrent 

expenditure of N278.909 billion 

in the ratio of 58:42 respectively 

as against 51:49 in 2014 and 2015. 

The 2016 budget represented 

an improvement of 26 per cent 

over the budgets of 2014 and 2015 

respectively, which stood at 

N489.69 billion.


LG POLLS: APC 

chieftains allege 

impositions by 

Ajimobi 

By Ola Ajayi 

IBADAN—THE alleged 

imposition of chairmanship 

and councillor aspirants by 

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo 

state in the forthcoming local 

government election billed for 

next February has created 

cracks within the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

in the state. 

The planned imposition may 

have led to the non-conduct of 

primary election that was fixed 

for last week Saturday. 

Vanguard gathered that 

several members and chieftains 

of the party are not happy with 

the governor for the unilateral 

decision, they believe, portends 

great danger for the party. 

One of the aggrieved 

members who pleaded 

anonymity for fear of being 

victimized told Vanguard that 

the move, if not checked, could 

lead to the party’s defeat in the 

council and subsequent 

elections. 

According to the source, all 

members of the party except 

the governor are at a loss as to 

what the future holds for the 

party. 

“We don’t know what is 

happening now in the party. It 

is a pity we found ourselves in 

this situation. There was 

supposed to be primary election 

for the councillor aspirants at 

the weekend and later for 

chairmanship aspirants but it 

never came up. The governor 

seems not to be interested in 

the primaries.” 

Agbaje died at 

LUTH, not in 

London—Chambers 

By Abdulwahab 

Abdulah 

CONTRARY to reports 

that the late human 

rights lawyer, Fred Agbaje died 

in London, it was clarified 

yesterday that he breath his last 

at the University Teaching 

Hospital, LUTH, Idi-Araba, 

Lagos after a battle with an 

undisclosed ailment. 

An official statement from his 

law chambers, signed by Prince 

Kennedy U. Osunwa and 

Adeniyi Pokanu, while 

regretting the untimely death 

of their principal, said that the 

family will soon come out with 

programs for his burial rites. 

The lawyers described him as 

“A resolute defender of the 

oppressed, a law lord, legal 

authority of our time.'' 

''A legal colossus has passed 

unto glory leaving a yearning 

gap to be filled in the legal 

jurisprudence. A rare gem is 

gone,” the chamber said. 


FUNAAB: VC, Pro-Chancellor in custody 

over failure to perfect bail conditions 

By Daud Olatunji 

ABEOKUTA—THE Vice- 

Chancellor, Federal 

University of Agriculture, 

Abeokuta, Prof. Olusola 

Oyewole and Pro-Chancellor of 

the institution, Senator Adeseye 

Ogunlewe have spent three 

days in Ibara Prisons following 

their failure to perfect their bail 

conditions. 

The Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission on Friday 

arraigned them and the Bursar 

of the institution, Moses 

Ilesanmi before an Ogun State 

High court sitting in Abeokuta 

on an 18-count charge 

bothering on stealing and 

fraudulent conversion of the 

institution’s funds . 

The trial Judge, Justice O.O 

Majekodunmi who could not 

hear the bail application of 

Ilesanmi since the counsel failed 

to perfect it remanded him in the 

EFCC custody pending the 

determination of the matter today. 

He however granted Ogunlewe 

and Oyewole bail in the sum of 

N50 million each and two sureties 

in like sum. 

The judge, who insisted that the 

two sureties must be owners of 

landed properties within the 

judicial division of the court and 

must deposit their title documents 

with the court. 

She also ordered that the 

sureties must be on a minimum 

of salary grade level 15 with the 

Ogun civil service and also 

deposit their international 

passports with the court. 

•As whistle blowers approach Industrial Court over sack 

Majekodunmi also ordered that 

Ogunlewe and Oyewole be 

remanded in prison custody 

pending perfection of the bail 

terms. 

Immediately, the court rose, the 

family members of Ogunlewe 

and Oyewole made frantic efforts 

to get the sureties but could not 

which prompted the prison 

officials to whisk them away to 

Ibara prisons. 

Vanguard exclusively gathered 

that the duo were still being 

remanded in the prison by 

yesterday evening. 

It was gathered that the family 

and church members of the 

embattled VC who thronged the 

state High court on Friday 

Directorate moves to sanitize pension admin 

•220,000 captured, 9000 ghost pensioners dropped 

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor 

THE Pension Transitional 

Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, 

has adopted a tough policy to sanitize 

the administration of pension in the 

country and give a new lease of life to 

pensioners nationwide. 

To this end, the new leadership of 

PTAD, led by Sharon Ikeazor, has opted 

to make the use of Biometric Verification 

Number, BVN, an indispensable 

instrument in the processing and 

payment of pensions to retirees 

nationwide. 

Ikeazor, who is the Executive Secretary 

of PTAD, told media heads in Abuja at 

the weekend that BVN had been adopted 

as one of the compulsory requirements 

that retirees must possess to be captured 

in its database and be paid their entitlements. 

Ikeazor disclosed that no fewer than 

9, 000 questionable names had been 

dropped from the PTAD database as a 

result of the absence of BVN during 

verification and that more of such 

doubtful names would be removed as 

the agency moved to consolidate its 

database for efficient pension 

management in Nigeria. 

He also disclosed that from the 

verification so far carried out by PTAD, 

a total of 220 ,000 pensioners had been 

established on the database as efforts 

were being made to extend the exercise 

to the North East, South South and other 

parts of the country next year. 

STROKE: Early symptoms identification prevents 

death — EXPERT 

LAGOS—A cardiologist, Dr 

Afolabi Akinkunmi, yesterday in 

Lagos said that early identification of risk 

factors of stroke remained the best way of 

preventing the life threatening illness. 

Akinkunmi, President, Association of 

Residents Doctors (ARD), Lagos 

University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi- 

Araba, said that stroke was also known as 

a cerebrovascular accident. 

According to him, the risk factors of 

stroke include high blood pressure, 

high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking as 

and advancement in age and heart 

valve disease. He said: “Stroke occurs 

when a part of the brain loses its blood 

supply to a part of the body; blood is 

deprived of that area and brain cells 

control stops working. 

betrayed emotions when it 

dawned on them that the Vice 

Chancellor would pass some 

nights in prison. 

Meanwhile, the three whistle 

blowers and 10 executive 

members of the Senior Staff 

Association of Nigerian 

Universities, FUNAAB chapter 

dragged the VC and Ogunlewe 

to the National Industrial Court 

in Ibadan over their sack. 

Those sacked include Lasun 

Somoye, Abdusalaam Sobbor 

and E.A. Bankole.The trio were 

said to have written a petition 

against the management of the 

institution to the anti graft 

agency which it relied upon to 

charge the Vice-Chancellor and 

others to court . 

Others relieved of their jobs 

include three medical doctors - 

Dr Ajayi A.O., Dr Olaniran I.O. 

and Dr O.O. Salami, two health 

workers - Mr Oyero, a 

laboratory scientist and Miss 

K.O. Adeyemi, a medical record 

officer. 

The affected staffers were said 

to have filed a case against the 

FUNAAB management led by 

Ogunlewe and Oyewole. 

Vanguard gathered that the 

matter will be heard today. 

It was also gathered that the 

governing council was divided 

into two over the legality of the 

sacking of about 23 staff by the 

management. 

INAUGURATION: From left: Chief Johnson Famuyiwa, Mr. Ogundare Adisa, Mr. Gbenga 

Adefaye, GM/Editor-in Chief, Vanguard Newspaper and Mr. Oladiran Famuyiwa, Chairman/ 

founder, Olabite Livestock Limited, during the inauguration ceremony of Olabite Abattoir, 

in Ope-Ilu, Agbado Oja, Ogun State on Saturday. Photo by Bunmi Azeez.


:Vanguard News 

:@vanguardnews 

10TH ANNIVERSARY OF HRM 

ORHUE I, ORODJE OF OKPE 

KINGDOM 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa (left) and His Royal Majesty, R.L. Ogbon, Ogoni- 

Oghoro I, the Ohworode of Olomu Kingdom. 

HRM Abe I, the Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, HRH Oba Rufus Olarewaju, Oba 

of Ebomina-Ekiti and others. 

Gen. Paul Omu (retd) (left) and Prof. Saliba Mukoro. 

Cross section of members of Okpe Union.



N-Delta govs accused of hijacking over N1trn 

annually 

By Michael Eboh & 

Jimitota Onoyume 

OIL and solid minerals 

producing communities, 

weekend, accused the political 

class and state governors in the 

Niger Delta region of hijacking 

funds meant for the development 

of the region, totaling over N1 

trillion annually. 

The communities, under the 

aegis of Oil and Solid Minerals 

Producing Areas Landlords’ 

Association of Nigeria, 

OMPALAN, disclosed that the 

region’s elected representatives 

have betrayed the trust of the 

people they are representing by 

persistently short-changing host 

communities with impunity. 

In a statement in Abuja, on 

behalf of the communities, 

Chairman, Board of Trustees, 

OMPALAN, Mr. Udo Azogu, 

stated that respite can only come 

to oil producing areas when the 

Federal Government musters 

enough courage to stop the 

growing recklessness and 

lawlessness of governors of oil 

producing state who mismanage 

oil-related palliative 

programmes. 

He said: “Robust palliative 

programmes such as the Niger 

Delta Development Commission, 

NDDC, Ministry of Niger Delta 

Affairs, 13% Oil Derivation Fund 

Commission, Ecological Fund 

and Amnesty packages, among 

others, worth trillions of Naira 

annually, established by the 

Federal Government in quick 

succession to cushion the harsh 

effects of acute environmental 

challenges in host (oil producing) 

communities have been 

hijacked by the tiny but, 

influential political class in the 

oil-rich regions to the extent that 

simple survival in these 

communities had become a 

measure of success.” 

He maintained that President 

Muhammadu Buhari must tell 

oil producing state governors to 

stop tampering or meddling 

with 13% Oil Derivation Funds 

that accrue to their states. 

Azogu argued that the 

governors must give the NDDC 

and Ministry of Niger Delta 

Affairs the free hand to deliver, 

adding that open diversion of 

huge mitigation funds running 

Obaseki faults sending children to foreign universities 

By Gabriel Enogholase 

B E N I N — 

GOVERNOR Godwin 

Obaseki of Edo State, has said the 

billions of naira spent by 

Nigerians to educate their wards 

and children in universities 

abroad do not add value to the 

country’s economic growth either 

in the short or long term. 

This came as he urged 

Nigerians to embrace change 

and come up with innovative 

ideas capable of revolutionizing 

the way they think for the country 

to move out of recession. 

He spoke yesterday at Okada, 

Ovia North East Local 

Government, during the 14th 

convocation of Igbinedion 

University, Okada. 

According to him, recent 

developments in Nigeria had 

shown that the educational policy 

had reduced the quality of output 

of the educational system, noting 

that Nigerians could not continue 

to work at the level of the current 

economic challenges and expect 

solutions that could turn around 

its fortunes. 

The Edo governor, who 

disclosed that his administration 

short and medium terms." 

Okowa tasks traditional rulers on peace building 

•As Orodje of Okpe celebrates 10th anniversary 

By Festus Ahon 

A SABA—GOVERNOR 

Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta 

State has told communities and 

other stakeholders, particularly 

traditional rulers, to engage in 

peace building in their areas to 

promote development in all 

parts of the state. 

Speaking, weekend, in 

Orerokpe, Okpe Local 

Government Area, during the 

grand finale of the 10th 

Coronation Anniversary of 

HRM Orhue I, Orodje of Okpe 

kingdom, Okowa held that only 

a peaceful environment could 

attract development and 

into millions and billions of Naira 

with impunity, hiding under the 

masquerade of immunity, must 

stop. 

According to him, these 

governors constitute a great 

threat to both security and 

democracy as they sack elected 

local 

government 

administrations and take over 

their funds, divert 13% oil 

derivation funds to the detriment 

of impacted communities, use 

ecological funds at their whims 

and caprices, while the rubberstamp 

state parliaments watch 

with consuming admiration. 

He further stated that while the 

group believes that it is 

justifiable and proper that oil 

blocks be allocated to the 

regions that produce oil, it must 

be properly considered to meet 

the ends of justice to the benefit 

of the common man and not 

allocated to the same vicious 

oligarchy that shortchanges the 

system with impunity. 

But reacting, Dr Austin Tam- 

George, Rivers State 

Commissioner for Information 

and Communications, said oil 

bearing communities were part 

of an integrated development 

plan of the Rivers State 

Government. 

According to him: “Governor 

Nyesom Wike spends every 

kobo in developing Rivers 

State." 

VISIT: From left: Deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu; Chairman, House of 

Representatives Committee on Power, Daniel Asuquo and other members of the committee, 

when they paid a courtesy visit to the deputy governor, weekend, in Benin City. 

would be driven by knowledge, 

data and established base lines, 

said he was committed to 

reforming the educational sector 

of the state with a view to 

creating knowledge-driven 

economy where Edo people 

could unlock their potentials. 

He said: “One of the key 

midterm strategies to return 

Nigeria to the path of inclusive 

economic growth and 

sustainable development is to 

reform our educational sector 

in such a manner that can 

unlock the creative potentials 

of our youths. We must 

embrace change. We must 

come up with innovate ideas 

capable of revolutionizing the 

way we think and work. One of 

the imperatives of my 

investment to the society. 

Urging the traditional 

institutions to partner 

government to ensure peace and 

security in their domains and the 

state at large so that investment 

and development would thrive, 

he appealed to the youths in the 

various communities to desist 

from pipeline vandalism. 

He decried that pipeline 

vandalism was impacting 

negatively on communities and 

the state and lamented that it 

had hampered meaningful 

development in the various oil 

bearing areas. 

He said: “I urge all 

administration is to ensure 

that governance is driven by 

knowledge, data and 

established base lines. Nigeria 

as a country cannot afford to 

continue to import human 

resources from foreign countries 

while we spend billions of naira 

to educate our youths outside 

the country that do not add value 

to our economic growth in the 

stakeholders to join hands in 

ensuring peace and security in 

our various communities. I 

particularly thank His Royal 

Majesty the Orodje of Okpe for 

his commitment, not only in 

ensuring peace in Okpe 

Kingdom, but extended same to 

the state by his fatherly advice. 

Today, Okpe Kingdom has been 

relatively peaceful in the last 

one and a half years and this 

has secured oil activities in this 

axis. 

“Deltans have suffered 

enough of pipeline vandalism. 

We should give peace a 

chance." 

Ibori: UK 

launches new 

investigation 

THE UK Independent 

Police Complaints 

Commission, IPCC, has 

launched fresh investigations 

into the original London 

Metropolitan Police case officers 

involved in the James 

OnanefeIbori case. 

Officers in the case were DC 

Peter Clark, DC John 

McDonald, DC Ben Irons, DC 

Mathew Hurding-Jones, DC 

David Cocks, DS George 

Simpson, DI Gary Walters and 

AFI Paul Gardiner. 

The revelation was made by a 

lawyer, Lambertus De Boer, in 

his Twitter account at the 

weekend, according to Tony 

Eluemunor, Ibori’s media 

assistant , in a press statement, 

yesterday. 

Eluemunor said: “These 

officers, some with the National 

Crime Agency are believed to 

have been served with anticorruption 

notices. Surprisingly, 

they remain on active duty while 

the investigation continues. 

These same officers, who 

worked for the Department of 

Foreign Investment and 

Development, DfID, funded 

‘Proceeds of Corruption Unit 

with the MPS were investigated 

in 2012, after Bhadresh Gohil 

alerted the authorities of police 

corruption at the heart of the 

James Ibori investigation and 

prosecution. 

Unknown to Gohil, the 

Metropolitan Police Service, 

MPS,had themselves 

independently suspected deep 

rooted corruption in relation to 

these officers and had itself 

conducted a covert surveillance 

operation, code-named – 

“Operation Limonium”. Despite 

substantial evidence, the MPS 

whitewashed its investigations 

because making such public 

before Ibori’s trial was 

concluded could shoot down the 

conviction of Ibori and his 

associates. Now, that whitewash 

has become a bullet in the 

armoury of Ibori’s lawyers as 

they head to the Court of 

Appeal, where that failure will 

be pleaded as yet another 

infraction against the Police. 

Retired generals 

charge Nigeria on 

unity 

ASSOCIATION 

of 

retired army generals, 

weekend, at the palace of the 

Orodje of Okpe, Okpe Local 

Government Area, Delta State, 

charged Nigerians to embrace 

unity for the purpose of one 

Nigeria. 

The retired generals with the 

code name, Association of 

Nigeria Defence Academy, 

NDA, Regular Course Number 

5, 1968-1971, also presented a 

horse to the traditional ruler as 

a token of their oneness and sign 

of brotherhood. 

Addressing newsmen at the 

palace of the Orodje, secretary 

of the association Brig-Gen. D. 

O. Idada Ikponmuwen (retd.,) 

said Nigerians should go back 

to the old days when citizens 

knew no boundaries or tribes.


Foreign consortium/NNPC to build 

$340m Ethanol plant in Benue 

By Peter Duru 

M AKURDI—A 

consortium based 

in the United Kingdom, in 

collaboration with the 

Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC, plans to invest over 

$340 million on the 

establishment of an ethanol 

plant in Benue State. 

Governor Samuel Ortom, 

who made this known in a 

state-owned radio 

programme monitored in 

Makurdi, said the project 

would be executed to further 

boost the Federal 

Government’s renewable 

energy policy. 

He said: “The stage is 

already set for the signing 

of an agreement among 

major stakeholder,s 

including the state 

government and the 

Consortium. 

‘’The feasibility studies for 

the project has been 

NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058 

:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews 

concluded and the 

Consortium has consented 

to invest over $340 million 

into it. 

“Even President 

Muhammadu Buhari is so 

passionate about the project 

and he has agreed to come 

to the state to flag it off.” 

The governor said 

another foreign company 

from the United States 

had also expressed 

willingness to invest in 

food processing in the 

state, explaining that 

the state government had 

decided to dedicate 

parts of Gwer West and 

Agatu Local Government 

Areas for the purpose. 

He said government 

had signed Memoranda 

of Understanding with a 

lot of foreign investors 

who had indicated 

interest to invest in the 

state, saying his 

administration was 

determined to develop 

Primate condemns Kaduna killings, tasks FG 

on security 

By Imanuel Jannah 

A BUJA—THE 

Primate of All 

Nigeria Anglican 

Communion, Most Rev. 

Nicholas Okoh, has urged 

the federal government to 

investigate and prosecute 

those responsible for the 

Ortom bags best crime 

fighting governor award 

LAGOS—THE Crime 

Reporters Association 

of Nigeria, CRAN, 

yesterday conferred the 

award of best crime fighting 

governor on Samuel Ortom 

of Benue State. 

He was among 75 

individuals, groups and 

corporate bodies who 

received similar awards in 

several categories at the 

ceremony which held in 

Lagos. 

President of the 

association, Mr Odita 

Sunday, stated that the 

recipients were chosen 

after careful evaluation of 

their contributions to the 

fight against crime in 

Nigeria in general and 

their localities in particular. 

He stated that Governor 

Ortom’s carrot and stick 

amnesty program had 

contributed immensely in 

mopping up illegal 

weapons in Benue, while 

his involvement of all the 

conventional security 

barbaric attacks in several 

Christian communities in 

Southern part of Kaduna 

State. 

Okoh made the appeal on 

the sidelines of the 2016 

Carnival for Christ, 

organized during the 

weekend, by the Abuja 

Diocese of the Anglican 

Communion to mark its 

apparatus in combined 

onslaught against criminals 

was exemplary. 

The organizers stated that 

the non-interference of the 

governor in criminal 

investigation of government 

officials was unprecedented 

in the annals of Nigeria. 

According to the 

organisers, his 

recommendation of 

ranching as a permanent 

solution to the herdersfarmers 

incessant clashes 

was a major contribution to 

peace efforts in the country 

just like his engagement 

with Taraba and Nasarawa 

counterparts. 

Special Adviser on Media 

and ICT, Mr Tahav Agerzua, 

who represented Governor 

Ortom at the ceremony, 

received the award on his 

behalf. 

Benue State Command 

Police Commissioner, Mr 

Bashir Makama, received 

merit award in Police 

leadership. 

the industrial capacity 

and promote the 

processing of primary 

agricultural products in 

order to boost the economy 

of the state. 

Governor Ortom further 

said that Russian investors 

had also indicated interest 

to invest in the 

development of the 

agriculture value chain in 

the state and that he had 

already consented to their 

request to send 

representatives to Benue to 

further interface, with the 

hope that a Memorandum 

of Understanding would 

then be signed. 

“These are good signs 

and I have continued to 

keep to the promises I 

made to Benue people, 

which is to encourage 

investment in Small and 

Medium Enterprises, as 

well as promote agriculture 

driven industrialisation,’’ 

the governor said. 

27th anniversary. 

The Primate, who also 

called for increased security 

across the nation, described 

the spate of killings in 

Southern Kaduna as 

embarrassing to the nation. 

He said the renewed 

killings perpetrated by a 

faceless group of murderers 

were a mark of the federal 

government’s inability to 

rise to the essence of 

governance which, 

according to him, is the 

protection of the people. 

“The government is 

responsible for the 

protection of the people. 

That is the essence of 

governance. So, I call on 

the leadership of the 

country to bear in mind that 

protecting the people from 

external and internal 

aggressors is the reason 

people voted for them. So 

they should rise to that 

mandate and protect the 

people,” he said. 

The cleric also said that 

the Christian Association of 

Nigeria, CA, was worried 

that the government was 

not doing enough, which 

was why the association 

requested, through its 

President, Rev. Samson 

Ayokunle, that President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

redouble his efforts towards 

ending the incessant 

killings. 

He added the killings 

were unacceptable, saying 

“we cannot continue to 

have these incidences 

repeat themselves over 

and over again.” 

JUBILATIONS OVER AKEREDOLU'S 

VICTORY IN OWO, ONDO STATE, 

YESTERDAY. Photos by Akeem Salau. 

Former Ekiti State governor and Minister for Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode 

Fayemi (left) celebrating with the Governor-Elect of Ondo State, Chief Rotimi 

Akeredolu, at his Owo hometown, yesterday. 

A jubilating crowd. 

An ecstatic supporter. 

...Even this aged woman was not left out.



OKO: Achuzia raises alarm, as flood threatens Alex Ekwueme's home 

By Chioma Gabriel & 

Austin Ogwuda 

FORMER Secretary-General 

of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the 

apex Igbo socio-cultural group, 

and Biafran warlord, Chief 

Joseph Achuzia, has called on 

the Federal Government and 

relevant authorities to 

immediately come to the aid of 

Oko community, where he said 

gully erosion is about sweeping 

away the house of the former 

Vice President, Dr. Alex 

CALABAR 

QUEEN: 

The wife of Cross 

River State Governor, 

Dr. Linda Ayade (left), 

crowning the maiden 

queen and winner of 

Miss Africa Beauty 

Pageant, Calabar 2016, 

Miss Angola, Neurite 

Mendes, in Calabar. 

With them is the second 

runner-up, Miss 

Cameroon, Jencey 

Anwifoje (right). 

Ekwueme. 

Speaking to Vanguard in 

Asaba yesterday, Achuzia 

lamented that despite the fact 

that Ekwueme had 

sufficiently drawn the 

attention of the Federal 

Government to the threat, 

nothing positive had been 

done to save the situation. 

According to him, “I was 

with him (Ekwueme) for four 

hours two days ago at Oko. I 

saw things for myself. It is a 

big problem. 

“Oko community is faced 

with serious problem of 

erosion. Erosion has created a 

big chasm; houses are 

disappearing. 

“The big chasm is over 400 

feet wide, stretching for miles. 

The people now sleep with one 

eye open. I guess that by the 

next rainfall, if nothing is done 

urgently, erosion might sweep 

away the community. 

“As I speak with you, it is not 

only the former Vice 

president’s house that is 

under threat. 

“His brother, the traditional 

ruler, Professor Lax 

Ekwueme, is less than 55 feet 

from the chasm. It so bad that 

another spate of rainfall might 

see that palace disappearing. 

“Also, Nanka, within 

Ekwulobia in the same Aguata 

Local Government as Oko 

is also being threatened by 

the erosion. The most 

regrettable thing is that 

Anambra State government is 

not looking at the problem.” 

Angolan wins 

Miss Africa 

crown in 

Calabar 

A23-year-old Angolan, 

Neurite Mendes, 

emerged winner of the 

maiden edition of Miss Africa 

beauty pageant organised by 

the Cross River State 

government, yesterday. 

She defeated 17 other 

contestants, carting home an 

SUV and a cash prize of 

25,000 dollars at the grand 

finale, held in Calabar. 

Refilwe Mthimunye of 

South Africa was the first 

runner-up, while Jencey 

Anwifoje of Cameroon was 

the second runner-up. 

They carted home 15,000 

and 10,000 dollars, 

respectively. 

The event made box office 

record with over 365 million 

people watching it live on 

television. 

Imo youths 

stop Catholic 

priest from 

celebrating 

mass 

Hearing in 

Nwosu's suit 

against Ikpeazu 

for Dec 5, 6 

By Ugochukwu 

Alaribe 

ABA— A five-man 

panel of the Court of 

Appeal sitting at the Owerri 

Division 

has 

fixed December 5 and 6 to 

hear an appeal filed by 

Sir Friday Nwosu against 

the July 8 judgment of the 

Federal High Court, 

Owerri, which cleared 

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu 

of alleged submission of 

false information and 

forged tax documents. 

Nwosu, who contested 

the December 8, 2014 PDP 

governorship primaries in 

Abia State had accused 

Ikpeazu of submitting 

forged tax certificates and 

false information to his 

party. 

A notice by the Court of 

Appeal read: “Take notice 

that the appeal between 

Sir Friday Nwosu and 

People Democratic Party 

and three other respondents, 

had been fixed for 

hearing, ruling/mention, 

judgment, before the Court 

of Appeal sitting at Port 

Harcourt Road, Owerri, on 

Monday and Tuesday, 

December 5 and 6.” 

Military carrying out 

ethnic cleansing—IPOB 

By Vincent Ujumadu & 

Chimaobi Nwaiwu 

THE Indigenous People of 

Biafra, IPOB, and its 

Directorate of State, DOS, 

yesterday, alleged that the 

military is involved in ethnic 

cleansing against the people 

of South-East and Biafrans in 

general in the name of 

maintaining security. 

The group wondered why 

the military will be killing 

non-violent agitators who do 

not carry arms, when they are 

not using the same arms and 

level of force on killers like 

Boko Haram insurgents. 

IPOB, in a statement by its 

Media and Publicity Officer, 

Mr. Emma Powerful, said: 

“The military has exhibited 

the greatest level of cowardice 

by denying that they did not 

shoot and kill peaceful IPOB 

protesters. 

“The blood of the people 

they killed will continue to 

hunt them. They are restless 

and that is why they are 

denying the evil and 

senseless killings.” 

Says Army’s denial laughable 

IPOB described as 

laughable the denial by the 

Nigerian Army, saying the 

incident was contained in 

video recordings currently 

circulating all over the world. 

Powerful said that IPOB could 

supply the Nigerian Army 

copies of the video if 

requested, instead of making 

unnecessary denials. 

He said: “The Indigenous 

People of Biafra condemns the 

relentless denial of the killing 

of the members of IPOB by 

soldiers and other security 

agencies. 

“The denial that they did not 

shoot and kill peaceful IPOB 

protesters means that the 

entire Nigerian Army 

By Emeka Mamah 

A BAKALIKI—THE 

Federal Government 

says it is in support of the ban 

on the sale of foreign rice in 

Ebonyi State. 

Governor David Umahi of 

Ebonyi State had banned the 

sale of imported rice in the 

state, saying that this was to 

encourage local production of 

the commodity. 

The Minister of Agriculture 

and Rural Development, Chief 

Audu Ogbe, who spoke when 

pretended that it did not see 

the barbaric crimes committed 

against members of IPOB 

during the peaceful 

demonstrations in Biafraland. 

“Prominent leaders and 

countries in the world and 

those who don’t have the 

videos for the killings should 

go online and watch the 

heinous crime against the 

peaceful members of IPOB 

during the peaceful rallies 

and demonstrations in all the 

Biafra cities of Aba, Onitsha, 

Owerri, Igweocha (PH), 

Calabar, Uyo, Asaba, Enugu, 

Bayelsa and other cities.” 

FG backs ban on foreign rice in Ebonyi 

he visited Ettem Amagu Rice 

Farm in Ikwo Local 

Government Area, said the 

Federal Government was in 

support of the ban on sale of 

foreign rice in the state. 

Ogbeh was on an 

assessment tour of the rice 

farm in a bid to ascertain the 

agricultural potentials of the 

state. 

The minister was 

accompanied by the Chairman, 

Presidential Committee 

on Rice Production, Abubakar 

Bagudu and the Central 

By Chinonso Alozie 

OWERRI—A Catholic 

Priest, Rev. Fr. 

Jonathan Ezenwoke, was, 

yesterday, prevented from 

celebrating Sunday mass at 

his parish, Our Lady of Good 

Counsel, at Imerienwe in 

Ngor Okpala Local 

Government Area of Imo 

State. 

Trouble started when the 

gate of the Church was 

collectively locked by 

different societies in the 

Church, calling for “the 

removal of the priest.” 

They alleged that they 

were uncomfortable with the 

policies introduced by Fr. 

Ezenwoke, and that such 

were “strange” to them. 

Meanwhile, when 

Vanguard called the priest, 

he said: “Please go and meet 

the Archbishop,” and he then 

hung up the phone. 

Bank of Nigeria, CBN, 

Governor, Godwin Emefiele. 

He commended Umahi for his 

agricultural policy, which has 

ensured massive production of 

rice in the state. 

He said: “Governor, I hear you 

banned the sale of foreign rice 

in your state; God bless you for it 

“I also hear you invited young 

men to come back from Lagos and 

work here. God bless you also for 

it. They will be happier here in 

this state than living under the 

bridge or substandard accommodations 

in Lagos and Abuja.”




Political parties are defining institutions 

in a democracy. They provide 

the platforms for engaging the 

electorate on the different perspectives 

of politics and governance. 

They serve as the channels for citizen 

participation in choosing those 

that govern them. 

Today in Nigeria, there are about 

40 registered political parties, but of 

the lot, only the People’s Democratic 

Party (PDP), the All Progressives 

Congress (APC) and the All Progressives 

Grand Alliance (APGA) control 

all the elective offices in the three 

tiers of government. The APC (the 

ruling party) and the PDP (the main 

opposition and former ruling party) 

dominate the political landscape. 

It is, however, regrettable that 

none of the major parties is in sound 

health. All are in one form of crisis 

or the other. 

While the PDP remains factionalised 

at the national level, the bulk 

of the party at the states and the local 

governments remain united behind 

the Senator Ahmed Makarfiled 

group. However, the crisis in 

Pitiable state of our political 

parties 

Abuja has affected some states as is 

evident in the unfolding developments 

in Ondo State. 

The APC, while sustaining a united 

national executive is challenged, 

with its failure to hold regular National 

Executive Committee (NEC) 

meetings as stipulated in its constitution. 

Even though it is the ruling 

party, its national officials have been 

acting at cross-purposes. Pathetically 

for a party in power, it has for the 

past year, not been able to produce 

a substantive national spokesperson 

since the appointment of Alhaji Lai 

Mohammed as a minister. 

APGA is also mired in factionalisation 

with stories of uprisings 

against its national officers now commonplace. 

The main reason for the lack of cohesion 

in our political parties is that 

our politicians place more emphasis 

on the struggle for positions and 

power than on building virile institutions. 

The jostling for power overshadows 

the need to evolve strategies 

for sound governance and making 

the country a better place for 

its citizens. 

This also accounts for the nearuniformity 

in their manifestos, constitutions, 

organisational processes, 

attitudes to elections and approach 

to governance when they find themselves 

in power. This does not provide 

the electorate with any credible 

choice. 

We expect the political parties to 

seize the remaining period before 

the next general elections to reassess 

their modus operandi, close 

ranks or realign properly to give 

Nigerians worthy political platforms 

to choose from. 

It is only when people of political 

like-minds come together that they 

can build great political parties 

based on Grand National ideals 

which can stand the test of political 

turbulence. 

The cheap shallow mentality of 

our politicians has made our seventeen 

years of renascent democracy 

not to count in terms of making our 

political parties veritable vehicles 

for national development. Rather, 

they remain the instruments for 

personal aggrandisement. 

Reality of Nigeria’s bad dream 

By Godwin Etakibuebu 

IN another six months, by May 29, 2017 

precisely, Muhammadu Buhari and the 

ruling Party, All Progressives Congress, APC, 

would have been in office for two years. And if 

the truth be told, it has been years of agony. 

There are more bad news from all facets of life 

for all of us that we even found it most difficult 

to understand how we got ourselves to this jam. 

Worse is that genuine criticism is becoming a 

suicidal venture for most patriotic citizens. Yet, 

this exercise is in my conviction that “the man 

would always die in him who kept silent” at 

tyrannical times like this – no apology to Wole 

Soyinka. 

The latest manifestation of bad dreams 

happening in Nigeria which provoked this 

work is the sad story that all past Presidents, 

ditto past Heads of State, have not been paid 

their salaries and allowances for the past ten 

months. I am most perturbed about one 

outstanding man, of all the lot, albeit President 

Shehu Shagari, because of his age [he is 91 

years old] and his life style while serving this 

country [was never suspected of stealing one 

Naira and he never did – at least there is no 

evidence of it anywhere in the whole world]. 

This is not to say that others; General Yakubu 

Gowon, General Olusegun Obasanjo, General 

Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Ernest Shonekan, 

General Abdulsalam Abubakar and President 

Goodluck Jonathan are not worthy of 

sympathetic consideration in this scandalous 

revelation. Though there are some perimeter 

of differences to measure the life style of these 

“victims” while in office, fact remains that nonpayment 

of their salaries is an act of “Man’s 

inhumanity to man”, as documented by Robert 

Burns in his 1784 poem. 

As pointed out above, Shehu Shagari, being 

the first Executive President of Nigeria [1979 – 

1984], came out clean without evidence of him 

being a thief. Same can be said of his 

There shall be 

automatic 

irrevocable curse on 

whoever and 

whatever that makes 

President Shagari go 

hungry 

predecessor in office; General Yakubu Gowon 

[1966 – 1975]. I think Interim Head of State, 

Ernest Shonekan [only three months in 1993], 

falls within the category of the duo above. He 

was clean as there was no evidence whatsoever 

to put his integrity in doubt. But subsequent 

successors, amongst the living [after Shehu 

Shagari], till date are not too lucky to have 

this attestation of “holiness”. They might not 

have been probed and indicted but God knows 

them in the “other side of incorruptibility” and 

we [Nigerians] know whom they are. 

Suffice to say that if l can have a farm as 

OPINION 

good as Obasanjo’s farm in Ota or even “a 

small” farm in Daura and “few buildings” here 

and there, like the Asset Declaration Form of 

Muhammadu Buhari attested or attained the 

lifestyle of an Ibrahim Babangida, l would have 

saved enough. On Abdulsalam Abubakar, 

evidence of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha; late 

Head of State’, General Sani Abacha’s Chief 

Security Officer, at the Justice Oputa’s Human 

Rights Tribunal, revealed that there were 

movements of vehicles with different 

denomination of cash in different currencies to 

the country home of the General during the 

closing hours of his tenure in office. 

Besides, these military Heads of States [or 

President as the case with Ibrahim Babangida] 

are entitled to their military pension and 

allowances for life time. To them, the salary 

and allowances as Presidents [either elected or 

enforced] is just “additional bonus”. But this is 

not so with thorough-bred civilians like Shehu 

Shagari, Ernest Shonekan and Goodluck 

Jonathan. Back to these three, albeit Shagari, 

Shonekan and Jonathan, the case of Shagari 

remains the most sympathetic. While 

Shonekan had made his wealth [legitimately] 

as a Boardroom guru [having risen to the 

position of Chairman of the UAC Group of 

companies] and Jonathan’s “sleeping attitude” 

while the treasury of the Nigerian State suffered 

a devastating looting [which itself could bring 

the man some illegal wealth if the allegations 

can be proven] as presently being insinuated, 

there is nothing on ground, visible or invisible, 

giving Baba Shehu Shagari anything to live 

on apart from his salary and allowances. 

This is why there shall be automatic 

invocation of eternally irrevocable curse on 

whoever and whatever that makes this old man, 

President Shagari, go hungry. It shall remain 

the naturally law of God; the creator of heaven 

and earth, to punish without mercy those who 

pave the way of this old man with hunger, 

shame and reproach. 

How on earth, can a Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation rationalise this 

act of wickedness? Will the incumbent SGF; 

Dr. David Babachir Lawal, who spoke to the 

Senate Committee on Federal Character and 

Inter-Governmental Affairs, led by Senator 

Tijjani Kaura (APC, Zamfara North) that 

visited him in his office, say that President 

Buhari does not receive his salary/allowance 

hundred per cent from the budget? Or can he 

say that he [the SGF] does not receive all 

allowances from the national budget? 

Here is a government that has no plan [it 

lacked any] for the good and welfare of 

Nigerians. Since its inception, the Naira has 

suffered a colossal devaluation in the annals 

of this country history. A bag of rice that sold 

for Seven Thousand Naira in May 2015 now 

sells close to Thirty Thousand Naira. Under 

its watch, over fifty per cent of the 

manufacturing sector of the Nigerian 

economy has closed shops. The public sector 

sacks daily. For the first time in Nigeria’s 

history, people from all over the country are 

selling their own children to buy garri and 

rice – selling children to buy food. Foreign 

airlines are vacating Nigeria for other 

countries in Africa because of lack of foreign 

exchange. 

There are too many calamities for the 

citizenry – yes, we cannot itemise them 

without writing a whole book. Now, added to 

this long list is the revelation that past leaders 

have not been paid their salaries. With this, 

do we need a soothsayer to tell us that Buhari 

and the APC are Nigeria’s bad dream coming 

to fruition? 

*Mr.Etakibuebu,a veteran journalist, 

wrote from Lagos.

INTEVIEW 

Nigerian 

insurance 

industry capital 

is highest in 

Africa 

>21 

BANKING 

FINANCE & 

Deposit Insurance: 

64% of mortgage 

banks yet to meet 

premium 

obligations 

HOMES & 

PROPERTY 

FG reveals 

plans to solve 

Nigeria’s 

18m housing 

need 

>22 >24 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 

ALL FOR RICE: From left, Chairman, Abakaliki Rice Millers Association, Joseph Ununu, Chairman, Presidential 

Task Force on Rice Production and Kebbi State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Bagudu, Governor of Ebonyi State,Engr. 

David Umahi, Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh and Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele(right) 

at a rice mill in Abakaliki last Friday. 

CBN slashes dollar supply to 

BDCs by 46% 

•Naira falls to N473/$ 

•As DSS intensifies raids 

By Babajide Komolafe 

The Naira has come under 

fresh pressure in the parallel 

market having depreciated 

to N473 per dollar following the decision 

of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to 

slash dollar sales to Bureaux De Change 

(BDCs) by 46 per cent. 

Financial Vanguard investigations 

revealed that last week, the CBN sold 

$8,000 to each BDC through Travelex 

Nigeria Limited. This represents 46 per 

cent decline when compared to $15,000 

usually sold per week to each BDC. 

Confirming this development to 

Financial Vanguard, Chief Executive 

Officer of H.J Trust BDC, Mr. Harrison 

Owoh said the reduction came as a 

surprise to the market. He said this was 

contrary to the general expectation that 

the dollar sale will be increased to $20,000 

per BDC. “That is why the currency is 

under pressure with the rate going up.” 

Why CBN reduced dollar sales 

Also confirming the development to 

Financial Vanguard, Chairman, South 

West Zone, Association of Bureaux De 

Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), 

Mr. Taiwo Ebenezer said that the 

reduction in dollar sales was done to 

accommodate BDCs in other zones of the 

country. He said: “The dollar sales have 

been limited to BDCs in Lagos and Abuja, 

but ABCON recommended to CBN to find 

a way to accommodate BDCs in other 

zones. That is what the CBN has done 

though the reduction in supply in Lagos 

and Abuja has prompted the exchange 

rate to go up.” He added that the CBN 

will definitely consider the impact on the 

rates and take a decision on whether to 

keep it at $8,000 per BDC across board 

or increase the quantity sold per BDC. 

DSS intensifies raids 

Financial Vanguard investigations also 

revealed that the operatives of the 

Department of State Securities (DSS) 

have intensified raids on illegal currency 

traffickers in Lagos and Abuja, thus 

driving the parallel market further 

underground. 

Speaking to Vanguard on condition of 

anonymity, a top BDC operator told 

Financial Vanguard: “They now come 

regularly to locations where these people 

usually operator from. About five of them 

(DSS operatives) recently visited this 

area but they didn’t come into the 

offices of licensed BDCs. They are 

targeting the unlicensed and illegal 

operators. But everybody is careful 

now. You only deal with people you 

know except where they have their 

documentation. The only problem is 

that it is difficult to get the exchange 

rate that reflects the true position of 

the market. People quote different rates 

depending on the person they are 

dealing with and the source of the 

dollar. That is how we now operate”. 

Financial Vanguard investigation 

reveals that due to the intensity of the 

DSS raids, some licensed BDCs have 

issued letters warning their staff 

against any form of interaction with 

street currency hawkers or involvement 

in such transactions. “We don’t deal 

in parallel market transaction; we don’t 

even know what the parallel market 

rate is. We have issued letter to our 

staff against such transactions, that it 

is against company policy to be 

involved with or even discuss parallel 

market transactions”, a top official of 

an Abuja based BDC told Vanguard. 

CBN justifies raids 

Recently, the CBN Governor justified 

the DSS raids on illegal currency 

traffickers saying the nation’s foreign 

exchange laws forbids street trading 

of foreign currency. Addressing the 

press at the end of the meeting of the 

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), 

Emefiele said that the DSS had the 

right to enforce the law and make sure 

that currency hawkers were forced out 

of the “illegal trade.” 

The Governor, who said it was 

demeaning for traders to hawk currency 

on the streets, urged the traders to 

legalise their business by applying for 

Bureau De Change (BDC) license. 

In the communiqué issued at the end 

of its meeting the MPC called on 

security agencies to sustain the raids, 

saying: “The MPC believes that the 

security agencies should sustain their 

checks on the activities of illegal foreign 

exchange operators in order to bring 

sanity to that segment of the market. 

“The Committee reiterated that the 

extant foreign exchange regulation 

outlaws the trafficking of currency on 

the streets as some unlicensed operators 

currently do. Thus, to evolve an 

appropriate Naira exchange rate that 

stabilises the foreign exchange 

market, BDC operators must strictly 

observe the terms and conditions of 

their licence.” 

C 

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20— Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 

COVER 

FORUM -From left: Ade Adeyemi, Group Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Transnational 

Incorporated (ETI); Mrs Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance; Bode Agusto, Founder, Agusto 

and Co; Emmanuel Ikhazoboh, Chairman, ETI and Charles Kie, MD, Ecobank Nigeria Ltd at 

the Ecobank Corporate and Investment Customer Forum on Nigeria Economic Outlook held in 

Lagos. 

Nigeria records over $200m FinTech 

investment in 2 years – KPMG 


KPMG, a global network 

of professional firms 

providing audit, tax and 

advisory services, has 

revealed that investment in 

Nigeria Financial services 

Technology, FinTech, over 

the last two years has 

exceeded $200 million. 

This is even as it called on 

the Federal Government to 

provide incentives and 

regulatory support that would 

strengthen the ecosystem 

and allow the country to 

compete favourably in global 

space. 

Partner & Head, Financial 

Services Technology, KPMG in 

Nigeria, Boye Ademola, said 

that FinTech opportunities in 

Nigeria are significant and 

could potentially redefine the 

financial services landscape 

over the next five years. 

Speaking during the 2016 

FinTech Summit and the 

launch of its in-house 

publication tagged, ‘FinTech 

in Nigeria: Understanding 

the value proposition,’ he 

explained: “Countries like 

China, United States, United 

Kingdom, Hong Kong among 

others have used this 

technology to better their 

ecosystems to mature 

markets. 

“In the first quarter of 2016, 

two Chinese FinTech; Lu.com 

and JD Finance raised $1.2 

billion and $1 billion 

respectively, in record Asian 

deals. Lu.com is a wealth 

management platform while 

JD Finance is redefining the 

lending space in China.” 

Ademola added that 

currently, Nigeria's 

performance was not bad as it 

lines up along Egypt and 

South Africa as top recipients 

of the technology investments 

in Africa over the last two 

years, “Our prognosis is that 

the FinTech opportunities in 

Nigeria are significant and 

could potentially redefine the 

financial services landscape 

over the next five years. 

“The fast growing young 

population of about 115 

million, below the age of 35 

years, exponential growth of 

mobile phone lines estimated 

at 150 million as at July 2016; 

huge financial inclusion 

potential and relatively 

strong talent pool are 

pertinent indicators to 

opportunities of the 

technology.” 

Ademola pointed out that 

FinTechs focused on payments 

were the forerunners as they 

planned to see more traction 

on lending, financial 

inclusion, block chain, and 

Employees of First Bank 

of Nigeria Limited have 

volunteered to provide relief 

materials and donations to 

persons in need as part of its 

Employee Giving and 

Volunteering Scheme. This is 

as hundreds of companies 

around the world are 

involved with #GivingTuesday 

- a global movement which 

connects diverse groups of 

individuals, communities and 

organisations around the 

world to celebrate and 

encourage giving. 

In a remarkable gesture, 

which will linger for long in 

the consciousness of those 

reached, FirstBank staff 

members will on Tuesday, 

29 th November, 2016 and for 

the rest of this festive season 

that symbolises ‘giving and 

sharing, mobilise gifts and 

donations in collaboration 

with NGOs to lend a hand of 

digital bank in the next wave, 

“Wealth Tech and InsurTech 

are already emerging and we 

expect these FinTechs to 

question the status quo in the 

wealth management and 

insurance sectors.” 

On his part, KPMG Global 

FinTech Co-lead, Warren 

Mead, called for government 

incentives and regulatory 

support to strengthen the 

ecosystem. 

“The right mix of technical 

skills, capital investment, 

government incentives, 

regulatory framework and an 

entrepreneurial and 

innovative mind-set is the 

catalyst needed to establish 

FinTech as a key enabler of 

financial services in Nigeria,” 

he added. 

FirstBank promotes ‘Giving Back’ 

with #GivingTuesday 

support and care to humanity 

at orphanages and IDPs 

across Nigeria. 

Explaining why the Bank’s 

staff took the initiative, the 

Group Head, Marketing and 

Corporate Communications 

for FirstBank, Mrs. Folake 

Ani-Mumuney stated that “As 

a nation builder and 

responsible corporate citizen, 

we are aware of our 

responsibilities towards 

enhancing the quality of life 

of the people in our 

community, protecting our 

environment and ensuring 

the growth of our business. 

We are determined to achieve 

this through sustainable 

business practices, while 

expanding the world of 

possibilities for all our 

stakeholders and host 

communities, by contributing 

positively to their lives on a 

daily basis. 

Why Nigeria needs to focus on 

entrepreneurial development 

In Nigeria, shaping the future beyond oil is a critical 

part of the national agenda. The current economy is 

dominated by the oil industry. The labour force of 47 

million is growing, as is the unemployment rate currently 

at 20%, with millions of workers underemployed. Nigeria 

has the largest domestic market in Africa, a wide range 

of natural resources, and a diversely skilled labour pool. 

Given these economic realities, the country must 

constantly create new jobs, and diversify the industrial 

and commercial sector to take advantage of human and 

natural resources. 

The entrepreneurial activities have been found to be 

capable of making impact on the economy of a nation and 

quality of life of the people through economic growth; 

employment generation and empowerment of the 

disadvantaged segment of the population, which include 

women and the poor. 

Entrepreneurial development will encourage 

entrepreneurs to create new enterprises, new commercial 

activities, and new economic sectors. They will generate 

jobs for others; produce goods and services for society; 

introduce new technologies and improve or lower cost out 

puts; and earn foreign exchange through export expansion 

or the substitution of imports. 

Entrepreneurial development will mobilise domestic 

savings and utilisation of local resources. The SMEs will 

serve as good agent for disposal of industrial products and 

some services and contribute immensely to production of 

raw materials in the form of Semi – processed goods for use 

by bigger Industries. 

Entrepreneurial Development is also a base for 

development of appropriate technology which will provide 

a veritable ground for skilled, unskilled, semi – skilled 

workers; it will also provide productive self - employment to 

a number of educated and less educated young men and 

women graduates. 

As Nigeria pursues the National Economic Empowerment 

and Development Strategy (NEEDS), the millennium 

Development Goals (MDGs), and Vision 2020, a core part 

of the national strategy must be to grow and strengthen the 

vibrant elements of the MSME, largely informal business 

sector. As a nation Nigeria cannot afford not to – invest in 

MSMEs. The country’s economic future depends on it. 

Much of the activities in the informal economy go 

unreported. There are already existing governmental policies 

and activities which have helped spur entrepreneurship. 

Elements of SAP policy (1986), The National Directorate of 

Employment (NDE) and the Enterprise Development Agency 

of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have all contributed to 

entrepreneurship and enterprise growth in Nigeria. 

SMEDAN sponsors and supervises entrepreneurship 

ventures while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) provides 

financial support to entrepreneurs through the Small and 

Medium Enterprise Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEDS) 

of 2001. In addition, amendments to the indigenization 

decree in 1988, 1989 and 1995 boosted the development of 

indigenous Entrepreneurship. 

Entrepreneurship has many multiplier effects on the 

economy, spurs innovation, and fosters investment in people, 

which is better of competitive advantage than other natural 

resources, which can be depleted. Though the rate of 

unemployment is still high, suffice to say that 

entrepreneurial development has helped in providing a 

safety net for some group of people, especially in the hidden 

economy or informal sector. 

It is noted that currently “at 69% of GNP the country’s 

informal economy is estimated to be one of the ten highest 

in the world, along with such countries as Georgia, Bolivia, 

Tanzania, Peru, and Azerbaijan and 21st in the world on 

GDP” It is estimated that 90% of all new jobs created in the 

informal sector are SMEs. Oil contributes about 9% to the 

GDP, though Nigeria produces about 2.7% of the world oil 

supply (In comparison, Saudi Arabia produces 12.9%, Russia 

produces 12.7% and United States produces 8.6%. The 

government still heavily rely on it for revenue generation. 

This heavily dependence on oil has killed our local 

industries, frustrated our Agricultural sector and caused us 

economic recession, we can’t continue like this, we need to 

focus on entrepreneurial Development.

INTERVIEW 


Nigerian insurance industry 

capital is highest in Africa 

The Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Eddie Efekoha in this Interview with 

Favour Nnabugwu in Abuja, talks about the problem of one price fits it all, the position of NIA on risk 

based capital and the plan to move the industry forward. 

Excerpts 

What do you think the 

insurance industry 

and the NIA in particular can 

do to moderate the excesses 

of insurance brokers? 

I would not say excesses of 

brokers, No. It takes two to 

tango. Whatever wrongs, 

whatever malpractices that 

may be perceived; believe me, 

all parts and segments of the 

market are involved. I’d 

rather think that we will take 

on them one after another. At 

the moment, we know that we 

are not disciplined when it 

comes to pricing our 

products or services. 

The use of the brokering 

slips or proposal forms have 

been largely jettisoned. But, 

you see, those were 

approaches that were adopted 

to giving us information. And 

based on the information, 

underwriters will be better 

equipped to give the right 

rates or put the right clauses 

and all of that. But all that has 

evaporated. 

So what we need to do right 

now is to strategize how to 

bring back that practice. So, 

that is why the joint 

committee, made up of NCRIB 

members and the NIA, came 

up with a business 

procurement guideline. And 

because we want some 

enforcement behind it, we 

want NIACOM to approve of 

it before the implementation 

can commence. That is, 

basically, why we are waiting. 

Otherwise, there is a template 

to correct the issue of rating 

so that people don’t get 

involved in products of risks 

only at the time of placement. 

To do that, first of all, you 

have to start obtaining quotes 

from insurance companies. If, 

as a broker, your quotes are 

good enough, they are sent to 

a prospective client. Again, if 

the client says ‘I am okay with 

it,’ he or she will then 

empower the broker to place 

the business. Of course, once 

the broker gets that mandate; 

he goes back to those 

insurance companies that 

provided the quotes in the first 

instance to do the necessary 

placements. And we are 

saying that if you have not 

participated in that process, 

you cannot wake up to 

participate in the placement. 

With that in place 

everybody will quote and 

quote rightly. That way, we 

will know the exact loss 

experience of a given policy 

and not quote blindly, 

because what we do most 

time is blind quoting. 

What is NIA doing to 

ensure that government 

institutions collaborate with it 

or NIACOM when executing 

government businesses? 

The point is that the Head 

of Service, in my opinion, can 

meet with the insurance 

companies because they are 

already providing services to 

government institutions. 

If your client calls you, I 

don’t think the regulator 

would need to be involved, 

but it depends on the subject 

of discussion. If the matter to 

be discussed bothers on a 

contract that is ongoing, I 

don’t think it requires a 

regulating body. But if it is 

something that is completely 

different from the usual 

practice, then the regulator, 

NAICOM, which is an 

adviser to government on 

insurance, would then be 

needed to get involved. 

The insurance sector had a 

template which the 

insured followed for a 

while and then forgot 

about it. How do you 

think this one would 

work? 

Government has not 

imposed a rate. It only 

advised that underwriters 

should come up with rates, 

and that is still being 

collated. When that is 

done, underwriters will 

come up with a position. 

The market-conduct 

guideline actually 

specifies that shortly 

before the end of the 

year, against the 

forth coming 

y e a r , 

underwriters 

Mr. Eddie Efekoha 

should submit their rates but 

that has not been fully 

practiced or implemented. 

Once that is implemented; it 

does mean that; once you 

have given your rate, you 

cannot go outside it when you 

We had a riskbased 

capital 

lecture in Lagos 

for all of us in 

which Alexander 

Forbes, from 

South Africa, said 

that Nigerian has 

the highest 

minimum share 

capital or capital 

requirement for 

the business in 

Africa, so it is not 

the issue of 

capital. 

are quoting for any new 

business. 

There won’t be ratecutting 

this time around? 

No, there shouldn’t be. You 

see another way of trying to 

address the problem of ratecutting 

which I don’t really 

see is rate-cutting, and that 

is why I run away from the 

issue of rating-cutting. I 

prefer to call it appropriate 

pricing, because the issue is 

that; if you have been 

insuring with me for 10years, 

and you have not made a 

claim, there is no reason why 

I should not lower my 

premium and give you some 

generous discounts. But; if 

you have been making 

claims, there is no reason 

why I should charge you the 

same as somebody who has 

not made any claim at all. 

That is why rate must be 

appropriate. I think this is 

the issue, but we are using 

one price fit it all. It doesn’t 

have to work that way. 

We are just using, one price 

fits it all. It doesn’t matter 

whether a vehicle, for 

instance, is parked in a 

garage and locked up 

overnight or, it is parked by 

the road side and anybody 

passing by just scratches it 

or damages the windscreen. 

These are the differentiation 

that needs to come into the 

pricing of our products. 

What, exactly, is the 

problem with insurance 

companies’ 

data 

template? 

The template, particularly, 

that of revenue account will 

have to change a bit because; 

for instance, if you take when 

you look at most revenue 

accounts of some 

underwriters, you will find 

general CS. But within the 

general CS, you have fidelity 

guarantee, theft etc. So, 

you cannot really 

process the data 

written there in 

order to arrive at 

what would be the 

right way to 

compensate for a 

debt format or a 

residential or a 

b u s i n e s s 

promises. These 

have been very 

difficult. That 

was the 

challenge 

when we were 

looking at the 

motor class. 

It is difficult, 

which raises the whole thing. 

Is it on owner damage or on 

fire? Is it because of the 

colour? Or, is it because the 

car was driven by a female or 

by a male? So, it has been very 

difficult because our data 

records have not followed any 

strict pattern. I do know that 

the revenue account need to 

be formatted in a manner that 

the data we would find can be 

useful in determining the 

rates. 

Generally, I think the issue 

of professional underwriting of 

our risk is not a problem. We 

are only saying that when we 

have the business 

procurement guideline, it 

would help but that does not 

remove the burden from us as 

brokers. We need to look at 

risks. A broker is a 

professional. So, a broker can 

tell his client ‘sorry this rate 

cannot be lower than this; 

because of the policy of an 

underwriter I am going to get 

will not be good enough to 

support my brand.’ 

I don’t think we have capital 

issue from my position. We had 

a risk-based capital lecture in 

Lagos for all of us in which 

Alexander Forbes, from South 

Africa, said that Nigerian has 

the highest minimum share 

capital or capital requirement 

for the business in Africa, so it 

is not the issue of capital. 

The issue is that some of us 

who have solvency issues, who 

have not been able to meet the 

solvency margin requirement, 

are the ones who should be 

forced by the commission to 

shore-up to be in the same 

level with others so that when 

they have claims they are able 

to pay. 

In cases where underwriters 

have failed to make their 

claims, there is the minimum 

deposit in CBN. The 

commission should be 

empowered, if it is not 

empowered already, to dip 

hands into those funds to 

settle those claims. We are 

talking of capital because 

some people have been unable 

to pay for claims. When you 

are unable to meet your 

liabilities, it is a function of 

whether you have the right 

funds in place or you are just 

generally unwilling to pay. 

However, it is not 

unwillingness in some of the 

cases. What has happened is 

that people don’t have the 

money, and this is not because 

the whole market lacks capital. 

The capital is sufficient. 

Meanwhile, there is a riskbased 

capital that is ongoing. 

When that time comes; it 

depends on which risk you are 

trading in, that would 

determine what capital you 

carry. Like we were told 

yesterday, if you have 

N3billion, and you then decide 

that you want to trade with 

100million in the motor class 

and when you trade in motor, 

you are expected to have 20 

Continues on page 25 

C 

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BANKING & FINANCE 

By Babajide Komolafe 

Nigeria Deposit 

I n s u r a n c e 

Corporation 

(NDIC) said that 64 per cent 

of mortgage banks in the 

country are yet to meet their 

premium obligations for 

deposit insurance. 

Managing Director/Chief 

Executive, NDIC, Alhaji 

Umaru Ibrahim disclosed 

this in Lagos at a 

sensitisation workshop for 

operators of primary 

mortgage banks (MPBs). 

NDIC insures depositor’s 

money in commercial banks, 

mortgage banks and 

microfinance banks. Each 

insured institution is 

mandated to pay an annual 

deposit insurance premium 

to the corporation. The NDIC 

on the other hand pay 

depositors of liquidated 

insured institutions the 

stipulated Maximum Insured 

Deposit (MID), which is 

presently N500, 000 for 

depositors of commercial 

banks and mortgage banks. 

Ibrahim however said: 

“Our records indicate that 15 

out of 42 PMBs are yet to 

meet their premium 

obligation. I therefore wish 

to appeal to you all to pay 

your premium promptly.” 

Represented by the 

Executive Director, 

Corporate Services, Omolola 

Abiola-Edewor, Ibrahim said 

that the recent increase in 

the maximum insured deposit 

of PMBs was aimed at 

bridging the dichotomy 

between them and 

commercial banks and 

engender public confidence 

in the mortgage bank subsector. 

He said the need to 

complement this decision 

and boost risk management 

practices in the sub-sector, 

prompted the Corporation to 

deploy Differential Premium 

Assessment System (DPAS) 

in pricing the deposit 

premium of PMBs. 

He said: “The creation of 

Nigeria Mortgage 

Refinancing Company 

(NMRC) as a wholesale 

funding window which 

refinances mortgage 

portfolios of PMBs and 

Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) 

is targeted at providing a 

robust Liquidity for the subsector. 

NMRC and Other 

Lenders could only continue 

to play their statutory role in 

a space where the Operators’ 

exhibit market discipline as 

specified in the banks’ 

Enterprise 

Risk 

Management Framework 

(ERMF). 

“On its part, NDIC as a 

risk minimizer obtained the 

approval of the Honourable 

Minister of Finance on the 

4th august, 2016 for the 

deployment of DPAS in 

computing the deposit 

insurance premium of PMBs 

to encourage market 

discipline. 

Deposit Insurance: 64% of mortgage 

banks yet to meet premium obligations 

LISTING - From left: Executive Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman; Managing 

Director/CEO, FMDQ, Mr. Bola Onadele Koko and Partner, Constant Capital Partners Limited, 

Mr. Niyi Omojola, during the listing of Sterling SPV bond on FMDQ in Lagos. 

The creation of 

Nigeria Mortgage 

Refinery Company 

(NMRC) as a 

wholesale funding 

window which 

refinances 

mortgage 

portfolios of PMBs 

and Deposit Money 

Banks (DMBs) is 

targeted at 

providing a robust 

Liquidity for the 

sub-sector 

BRIEF 

“DPAS speaks to strong 

ERMF. The computation 

trajectory incorporates 

sound strategic planning 

and transformative business 

model. It also implicitly 

addresses the issue of moral 

hazard which guarantees 

caution and avoidance of 

excessive risk taking in the 

interest of both operators 

and subscribers. 

“To the operators in 

particular, the Risk Based 

Premium System (DPAS) 

allows the institution to pay 

much less premium than 

would have been the case 

had the alternative, flat rate 

system, been adopted. Little 

wonder that many 

jurisdictions have opted for 

DPAS in Deposit Premium 

Pricing. 

“In most jurisdictions that 

practice explicit Deposit 

Insurance Scheme, the 

starting point for deposit 

insurance system pricing is 

usually the Flat Rate 

approach before migration 

to the DPAS. However, the 

Flat Rate method failed to 

compensate for effective Risk 

Management and engenders 

moral hazard. On the other 

hand, DPAS incorporates the 

benefits of effective risk 

management. 

“From the forgoing, DPAS 

compensates the Mortgage 

Sector since PMBs’ with 

better Enterprise Risk 

Management pay less 

premium, while, PMBs with 

weak risk practices pay 

more. The major benefits of 

implementing the DPAS are 

fair pricing of insurance 

premium and reduction in 

premium.” 

CeBIH retreat examines disruptive 

technology & future of payment 

Deputy 

Governor, 

Operations, Central 

Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. 

Adebayo Adelabu and 

chairman of First Bank 

Nigeria Limited, Mrs. 

Ibukun Awosika will lead 

banking and electronic 

payments executives to 

examine the impact of 

disruptive technology and 

future of payment at the 2016 

annual retreat of the 

Committee of Electronic 

Banking Industry Heads 

(CeBIH). 

The theme of the retreat is: 

“Disruptive Technology and 

the Future of Payment”, and 

it will hold from this week 

in Abuja. 

While the CBN Deputy 

Governor, Mr. Adebayo 

Adelabu and Chairman 

Senate Committee on 

Banking, Insurance & other 

Financial Institution, Senator 

Rafiu Ibrahim, are the 

Heritage Bank launches exclusive 

PMAN biometric identity card 

Heritage Bank has 

launched an 

exclusive biometric identity 

card for members of the 

Performing Musicians 

Employers’ Association of 

Nigeria (PMAN). 

A statement from the bank 

said: “The PMAN 

Membership Biometric 

Identity Card (PMBIC), is 

aimed at driving 

accessibility, security, trust, 

convenience and cost 

effectiveness, which are the 

defining features of a new 

partnership blossoming 

between Heritage Bank Plc 

and the Performing 

Musicians Employers’ 

Association of Nigeria 

(PMAN). 

PMAN Membership 

Biometric Identity Card 

(PMBIC), a multipurpose 

card specially designed for 

Nigerian artistes and allied 

operators in the 

entertainment industry, thus 

making Heritage Bank, 

Nigeria’s most innovative 

banking service provider, a 

pioneer in the biometric card 

services in the industry. 

Renewable annually, the 

PMBIC will serve as the 

official PMAN identification 

card that qualifies the 

holder as a genuine member 

of the association and 

entitles the artiste to enjoy 

the myriad benefits and 

privileges due to registered 

members. 

Special Guests of Honour, 

Chairman of First Bank 

Nigeria Limited, Mrs. 

Ibukun Awosika is the 

Keynote Speaker. 

The retreat will feature 

presentations by chief 

executives of leading 

electronic payment service 

providers in Nigeria and the 

United Kingdom including 

Mr. Risto Savolainen, 

Managing Director, iAxept 

United Kingdom Limited; 

Mr. Ade Shonubi, Managing 

Director, Nigeria Inter-Bank 

Settlement System Plc; Mr. 

Mitchell Elegbe, Group 

Managing Director, 

Interswitch Nigeria Limited; 

Mr. Agada Apochi, 

Managing Director, Unified 

Payments Services Limited; 

Mr. Valentine Obi, 


eTranzact International Plc; 

and Mr. John Obaro, 


SystemSpecs Limited. 

Other speakers are: 

Oluwole Oyeniran, 

Technology & Digital Leader, 

West Africa- Akintola 

Williams Deloitte; Mrs. Adia 

Sowho, Digital Director, 

Etisalat Nigeria; and Mr. 

Ade Atobatele an e- 

Commerce Expert. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

CORPORATE FINANCE 

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016— 23 

Stories by Nkiruka Nnorom 

The Securities and 

E x c h a n g e 

Commission, SEC, 

has said that N29.3 billion out 

of about N90 billion 

outstanding unclaimed 

dividends has been paid out 

to investors in 11 months 

(November 2015 to October 

2016) since it began 

aggressive campaign for 

elimination of unclaimed 

dividend in the market. 

The Commission also said it 

has achieved 98.9 percent 

compliance in share certificate 

dematerialisation and hoped 

to hit 100 percent compliance 

in the next three months. 

The Director-General, SEC, 

Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, who 

disclosed these at the post 

third quarter Capital Market 

Committee, CMC, meeting 

press briefing in Lagos, said 

the number represents 37 

percent reduction in the 

volume of unclaimed 

dividends in the Nigerian 

capital market. 

The SEC had last year in 

collaboration with the Central 

Bank of Nigeria and the 

Nigeria Inter-Bank 

Settlement System, NIBSS, 

launched the e-Dividend 

Mandate Management 

System, to address the 

lingering problem of 

unclaimed dividend in the 

market. The portal allows 

investors to register and 

supply their bank details 

where dividends from their 

investment are credited 

directly, including the 

outstanding dividends. 

Gwarzo, who hailed the 

development as first of such 

breakthrough in the capital 

market, said that there has 

never been any initiative that 

has reduced unclaimed 

dividend in this manner. He 

said that to-date 1.4 million 

investors have mandated their 

accounts, adding that the feat 

was made possible through 

the cooperation and support 

of the registrars. 

“Apart from so many other 

benefits of e-dividend, one 

major benefit also is that if you 

key into it e-dividends 

management portal, and there 

are unclaimed dividends you 

have not been able to get, 

registrars were compelled to 

pay all the areas. 

“We think this is a major 

game changer. In this country, 

we have never had any 

initiative that has reduced 

unclaimed dividend like this. 

Apart from getting dividend 

directly credited into their 

designated account, the 

investors will be able to get 

unclaimed dividend that has 

been outstanding for five to 10 

years. That is why we said that 

e-dividend must work; it is for 

the interest of investors. That 

is why SEC since we started 

implementing the Master 

Plan, our focus has been on 

the retail investors,” he said. 

Gwarzo also stated 

stockbrokers that have not 

keyed into direct cash 

settlement programmes have 

been mandated to do so 

except in instance where the 

EXERCISE - From left: Ms. Omotayo Azeez, Public Relations Manager, Power Oil; Alh. 

Bashir Hassan, Councillor, Mariri community, kumbotso, Kano State; Hajia. Amina Mohammed, 

Regional Sales Manager (North), Power Oil; Alh. Saminu Garba, District Head, Mariri 

community, kumbotso, Kano State, during the Power Oil Health Camp exercise in Kano State. 

Unclaimed dividends down by 

N29.3bn in 11 months — SEC 

•As investors lose N70bn 

investor indicates otherwise. 

He further stated that the 

Commission is working 

towards stratifying the listing 

BRIEFS 

boards in the stock exchange 

to allow more Small and 

Medium Enterprises, SMEs, 

that are finding it difficult to 

meet the current listing 

requirements to access the 

market. 

Meanwhile, investors lost 

N70 billion at the end of 

trading session on the 

Nigerian Stock Exchange, 

NSE, last week. This 

represents 0.79 percent 

decrease from N8.791 trillion 

recorded the previous week to 

N8.721 trillion. The All Share 

Index, ASI, fell by the same 

margin, dropping to 

25,333.39 points from 

25,537.54 points. 

Similarly, all other indices 

finished lower during the 

week with the exception of the 

NSE banking and NSE 

consumer goods indices that 

appreciated by 0.02 per cent 

and 0.42 per cent respectively 

while the NSE ASeM Index 

closed flat. 

The oil and gas sector fell 

the most, dropping by 5.05 per 

cent, followed by the 

industrial goods sector that 

returned -1.59 per cent and 

the insurance sector that with 

0.32 per cent. Forte Oil Plc led 

24 other decliners by 24.04 

percent to close at N19.87, 

followed by Okomu Oil Palm 

Company with 13.81 percent 

to close at n5.80 per share, 

while Neimeth International 

Pharmaceuticals Plc 

depreciated by 12.79 per cent 

to close at N0.11. Airline 

Services and Logistics, ASL 

Plc’s shares went down by 

11.88 percent to close at 

N0.36, while UACN Property 

Development Plc closed as 

the last on the top five losers, 

depreciating by 11.79 percent 

to close at N0.33 per share. 

FCMB declares N14.2bn profit, 315% retail growth in Q3 

FCMB Group Plc has 

reported a profit before 

tax, PBT, of N14.2 billion for the 

nine-months ended September 

30, 2016. This represents an 

impressive increase of 453 per 

cent from N2.563 billion 

recorded in the comparative 

period of 2015. FCMB Group 

Plc, the holding firm with 

subsidiaries including First 

City Monument Bank (FCMB) 

Limited, FCMB Capital 

Markets Limited, CSL 

Stockbrokers Limited and CSL 

Trustees Limited, attributed the 

result achieved partially to its 

soundness of ratios, steady 

buffers against the subsisting 

adverse operating 

environment, in addition to the 

bank’s sustained revenue 

momentum combined with its 

cost optimization programme. 

Details of its unaudited 

financial results released on 

the floor of the Nigerian Stock 

Exchange, NSE, showed that 

the bank grew its retail banking 

business by significant 315 

percent, while its gross revenue 

rose to N140.7 billion, a 29 per 

cent increase over N109.3 

billion recorded in the same 

period in 2015. 

The Group also recorded noninterest 

income of N44.8 billion 

which is an increase of 128 per 

cent Year-on-Year (YoY), from 

N19.6 billion for the same 

period prior year. This increase 

has been predicated on a 612 

per cent YoY increase in foreign 

exchange income from N5.0 

billion for the nine-months 

ended September 2015 to N35.3 

billion for the nine-months 

ended September 2016. 

The Managing Director, 

FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Peter 

Obaseki, commenting said: 

“The audited nine months 

results for the period ended 

September 2016, reflects our 

focus on key soundness ratios 

and the need to maintain 

buffers against a sustained 

adverse operating 

environment. 

Accordingly, capital adequacy 

May & Baker profit up in Q3 to N489m 

May & Baker Nigeria 

Plc has recorded 

growth in its profit to N489 

million for the third quarter, 

2016. 

The company grew its 

sales by 12.5 per cent to 

N5.94 billion within the 

nine-month period to 

leverage on its improved 

production capacity and 

increasingly efficient cost 

management to mitigate 

the tough operating 

environment. 

The nine-month report for 

the period ended 

September 30, 2016 

released on the Nigerian 

Stock Exchange, NSE, 

showed that turnover rose 

to N5.94 billion in 2016 as 

against N5.28 billion 

recorded in comparable 

period in 2015. While higher 

cost of sales dropped gross 

profit from N1.75 billion to 

N1.70 billion, the company 

took advantage of its internal 

cost management to boost 

operating profit from N470.4 

million in third quarter 2015 

to N489.5 million in third 

quarter, 2016. 

Also, finance costs reduced 

considerably from N425.39 

million in third quarter 2015 

to N377.93 million in third 

quarter 2016. Profit before 

tax rose to N66.24 million in 

2016 as against N60.63 

million recorded in 

corresponding period of 

2015. Profit after tax also 

grew to N44.4 million in 

2016 compared to N41.2 

million in 2015. With this, 

earnings per share 

improved from 4.21 kobo in 

third quarter 2015 to 4.53 

kobo in third quarter 2016. 

The third-quarter results 

further reinforced the 

steadiness of the 

company’s performance, 

after the leading 

healthcare company braced 

the odds to improve 

performance in the full-year 

2015 and the first-half of 

this year. 

and liquidity ratios have held 

up at 17.6 per cent and 36.8 per 

cent, respectively. Overall, 

profit before tax came in at 

N14.2 billion, a 453 per cent per 

cent growth, translating to an 

earning per Share, EPS, of 87 

kobo, up 30.6 per cent, YoY, 

Underlying revenue 

momentum remains strong 

while cost optimization 

programme led to a two per 

cent YoY drop in operating 

expenses, despite inflationary 

spiral respectively. 

The macro economic 

conditions in the final quarter 

remains challenging; we will 

keep up a conservative 

stance.” 

Mr. Ladi Balogun, Group 

Managing Director, FCMB Ltd, 

while also commenting on the 

Group’s results said: “The 

audited results of the bank 

reveal that the extraordinary 

performance of Q2 2016 offset 

the loss recorded in Q3 of N2.4 

billion, thereby resulting in 

strong year-on-year profit 

growth of 913 percent. In order 

to avoid an unsustainable, noncash, 

spike in earnings from 

further revaluation gains in Q3, 

the bank also significantly 

stepped up its loan loss 

provisions. The macroeconomic 

climate is taking a significant 

toll on the bank’s borrowing 

from customers across all 

segments. Accordingly, the 

bank will maintain high 

provision coverage ratios 

(currently 131%), continue to 

strengthen our capital 

adequacy ratio currently at 16.9 

per cent and our liquidity ratio, 

which is currently at 36.8 per 

cent.”

24— Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 

HOMES & PROPERTY 

Stories by 

Kingsley Adegboye 

Minister of Power, Works 

and Housing, 

Babatunde Raji Fashola, has 

revealed how the federal 

government intends to solve 

Nigeria’s 17 million housing 

need, disclosing that in 2017, 

the government plans to build 

more houses to stimulate jobs. 

Fashola who made this 

known at a press conference as 

part of activities to mark his one 

year in office, added that the 

government equally plans to 

assess the affordability and the 

acceptability of the designs of 

the houses to be built, just as 

the government plans to 

industrialize the production of 

the most affordable and 

acceptable designs. 

According to the minister 

who listed the gains and 

achievements of the ministry 

under his watch in the past one 

year, further noted that “We will 

then increase supply using 

private sector as developers 

while government will then 

concentrate on strengthening 

institutions like the Federal 

Mortgage Bank to deliver on 

its core mandate of providing 

mortgages to workers to own 

their homes. 

“It is my belief that if we can 

achieve this, the size of our 

housing deficit will not appear 

that daunting again, because 

it will be a system that can 

respond every year, instead of 

once in a while, to repeat 

housing construction, delivery 

and acquisition. 

“How much we can then 

deliver will be defined by the 

size of our resources and our 

ambition, and not by the 

absence of a workable plan. 

We have identified inputs like 

doors, windows, tiles, paint, 

roofing materials that can be 

made locally and we have 

resolved to use only made in 

Nigeria inputs unless there is 

no local production capacity. 

“We have done some 

inventory of quantities of 

materials needed in order to 

provide investment information 

for local manufacturers to 

position to respond and supply 

in order to create employment 

Low-cost housing estate in Abuja 

BRIEF 

Eko Atlantic City unveils Pearl Tower, first residential building 

Eko Atlantic City, the unique and innovative development, 

in a vibrant environment with 21st Century facilities 

on the coast of Lagos, is set to celebrate a client’s major 

development with the unveiling of the first completed 

residential building, Eko Pearl Towers. 

The development comes in addition to the commissioning 

of the Eko Boulevard, Nigeria’s first eight-lane city road last 

year. 

Eko Pearl Towers, the first residential development in Eko 

Atlantic City, is a set of high-rise buildings, privately owned 

and developed by the leading Eko Pearl Construction 

Company. The development which is situated about 500 metres 

away from the financial centre of Lagos on Eko Atlantic City, 

consists of five high rise residential towers, each topped with 

deluxe penthouse types, two and three bedroom apartments 

exuding a luxurious home experience with a view of the Lagos 

coastline. It will be unveiling the first tower; the Black Pearl 

with the second Champagne Pearl scheduled to be completed 

in 2017. 

FG reveals plans to solve Nigeria’s 

18 million housing need 

•Says more houses will stimulate job creation 

and get factories back to work. 

While our planning and 

research continues, the above 

is at least indicative of the kind 

of attention and dedication we 

are demanding of our staff and 

the response we are getting. 

At another forum earlier, 

Fashola had disclosed that 

changes will be made to the 

relevant policies and budget 

under the current 

administration in order to make 

housing provision a reality in 

Nigeria, pointing out that the 

housing sector presents an 

enormous opportunity for 

positively impacting the 

economy to promote not only 

growth but inclusion. 

He said “There have been a 

couple of National Housing 

policies and we intend to 

appraise the most current one 

to make changes only if 

necessary. Government will 

lead the aggressive 

intervention to increase 

supply, by undertaking 

construction of public housing 

and formulate policies that will 

invariably lead to private sector 

participation and ownership to 

reduce our housing deficit.” 

He also announced that the 

model of ‘Jakande and 

Shagari’s housing estates will 

be studied in order to develop 

affordable housing units, with 

the help of the governors. 

According to the minister,”If 

we achieve this, we will move 

from where we are now, start 

construction in all 36 States 

and the FCT and sustain this 

as we go along. In the housing 

sector, if we complete our ongoing 

projects, and we get 

land from the governors in all 

states and the FCT to start what 

we know, using the Lagos 

Home model, we should start 

Regardless of the ongoing 

economic recession in 

Nigeria, the country is believed 

to be an amazing potential 

market in Africa for sanitary 

wares and finishing products. 

Making the submission last 

week in Lagos at a two-day 

seminar for professionals and 

stakeholders in the nation’s 

building and construction 

industry on new sanitary wares 

and finishing products 

organised by QMB Builders’ 

Mart, a building solutions 

provider, Mr. Jaime Quintana, 

Export Manager of Ceramics 

40 blocks of housing in each 

state and FCT. 

“We expect State Governors 

to play a critical role here, by 

providing land of between 5- 

10 hectares for a start, with title 

documents, and access roads 

or in lieu of access roads, a 

commitment that they will build 

the access roads by the time the 

houses are completed.” 

“We have not yet started 

constructing houses. But 

tenders have been considered 

and over 500 contracts are now 

ready to be issued for work to 

According to a statement from the developers and 

promoters of the multi-billion dollar project, South 

Energyx Nigeria Ltd, the Eko Pearl Towers ranges 

from 24 to 33 floors comprising four apartments per 

floor, two apartments on the royal penthouse floors, 

a technical floor, terrace floor, a ground floor and a 

basement floor. 

Speaking on the development, the Vice 

Chairman, South Energyx Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Ronald 

Chagoury Jr. said the completion and unveiling of 

the Eko Pearl Towers marks a significant milestone 

for the Eko Atlantic project. “We are very excited to 

see the city come to life, with the first set of residents 

moving into the city and we look forward to the 

completion of other landmark projects within the 

city,” he said. 

Eko Atlantic City is expected to provide homes to 

about 450,000 residents, and 300,000 commuters. 

start in earnest. However, we 

have received land from 27 

states as at 24th October and 

more are still responding. 

“We have completed simple 

designs of one, two and threebedroom 

bungalows for the 

northern states to respond to 

the cultural, climatic and land 

use peculiarities. We have 

completed simple designs of 

one, two and three bedroom 

blocks of Flats for Southern 

states also in response to 

similar peculiarities”, Fashola 

revealed. 

Sanitary ware manufacturers see potential in Nigerian market 

Gala S.A, an Italian company 

that manufactures sanitary 

products, said I am sure it is 

going to be the leading market 

in Africa absolutely. 

“First of all, we are coming 

to do the export to create the 

brand awareness and we want 

to grow with the market in 

Nigeria. Gala has a good 

distribution network in 

Northern Africa such as 

Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria. 

Before the problem in Libya, we 

had a very good market there 

and in the sub-Saharan market. 

Nigeria is the main market. 

The company also has 

presence in South Africa, 

Tanzania, Kenya, with small 

business in Benin Republic, 

Congo. The African continent 

is the main target for the 

coming years. 

Infact, we have actually been 

working in Nigeria for some 

years now and we have been 

trying to satisfy every segment 

of the market in collaboration 

with our partner, QMB 

Builders’ Mart, which takes 

care of distribution. We believe 

in quality, and we try as much 

as possible to ensure that only 

quality products are brought 

into the country. 

“It is not easy to find 

companies with the highest 

quality, but in this case, Gala 

is controlling 100 per cent of 

the pieces, inspecting them 

one by one before delivery. Our 

products are of the highest 

standards. We offer products 

from the economic segment, 

middle segment and the 

highest segment and we try to 

satisfy every market”, 

Quintana noted. 

He said they guarantee the 

long-life of the products with 

five years warranty because 

they are sure of what they offer 

and that they have been 

working on this for many years 

in Nigeria with QMB Builders’ 

Mart, their partner in the 

market that takes care of 

distribution.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY 


Ogun plans to raise IGR to N114.3bn in 2017 

By Omoh Gabriel 

Governor Ibikunle Amosu of Ogun State 

OGUN State Government 

said it has put measures in 

place to raise its internally generated 

revenue in 2017 to N114.34 

billion from the N105.67 billion 

it projected in 2016. But the state 

in 2013, internally generated the 

sum of N13.77 billion, in 2014 

N17.49 billion and in 2015 it was 

raised to a total of N34.59 billion. 

At the end of the current fiscal 

year, the state would have 

generated about N51 billion. 

Similarly the state in 2013 got the 

sum of N56.8 billion from the 

federation account. This fell to 

N48.9 billion in 2014 and went 

further down to N34.3 billion in 

2015. It is likely to fall further in 

2016 making it imperative for the 

state to look inward. 

The state revenue drive will 

enable it in 2017 to meet its financial 

obligations to its workers without 

recourse to the federation account 

allocation. The budget indicates 

that the state will pay a 

total of N62.73 billion as salaries, 

N11.2 billion as pension and gratuities 

giving a total personnel 

cost of N73.93 billion. The state 

overhead cost for the year will 

gulp N28.89 billion leading to a 

total recurrent expenditure of 

N102.62 billion. This will be less 

than the projected N114 billion internally 

generated revenue of the 

state. 

According to the state budget 

provisions, the sum of N118.3 

billion about 53.5 per cent of the 

total budget figure of N221.12 billion 

is earn mark for capital 

projects. The state has promised 

its citizens that it will complete all 

projects embarked upon by this 

administration before leaving office. 

Ogun state Commissioner for 

Finance, Mr. Wale Oshinowo, in 

an interactive session with a select 

journalist in Abeokuta said alread, 

the strategy to fully realize 

the provisions of the 2017 budget 

in the state has started yielding 

result. He said the state government 

has implemented a Revenue 

Harmonisation Scheme that 

has helped to block leakages in 

Ministries, Departments and 

Agencies of government MDAs. 

This, he said, has enabled the 

state to avoid multiple taxation 

of businesses between the state 

and the local government that 

has boosted the state revenue. 

Oshinowo said the state in 2017 

will introduce new revenue lines 

to bolster the state internally generated 

revenue. Such new line of 

revenue include the Home Owners’ 

Charter in which over 600, 

000 applications are being processed 

for reduced certificate of 

occupancy fee. This fee would not 

have been realized if the scheme 

was not introduced. He said the 

state will also embark on the - 

Land Use Act, which will enable 

the state to collect land use 

charge, a ground rent from companies 

and individual land owners 

in the state. 

Oshinowo said there is huge financial 

potential for the state to 

realize its 2017 internally generated 

revenue projection. The 

state, the commissioner said, has 

already started to collect from 

Okada riders permits which in 

matter of nine months has yielded 

a revenue of almost N1billion. 

He said by the time the scheme is 

extended to other transportation 

means, the revenue base would 

have expanded and the state 

would have achieved a lot more. 

He however said that a number 

Those who 

live in the state 

and work in 

Lagos must let 

their employers 

know that they 

have to pay 

their income 

tax to Ogun 

State. He said 

this is what the 

residency rule 

stipulates 

of Nigerians who live in Ogun 

State and work in Lagos needed 

to do two things to empower the 

state financially to cater for their 

infrastructural demand. He said 

those who live in the state and 

work in Lagos must let their employers 

know that they have to 

pay their income tax to Ogun 

State. He said this is what the residency 

rule stipulates. He also 

said that they should also make 

their every day purchases in 

Ogun to boost the state economy. 

According to him most residents 

in the border towns of the 

state do their shopping in Lagos. 

He said by so doing, they are depriving 

the state where they live 

the needed revenue from sales tax 

that would enable the state build 

infrastructure. 

While presenting the budget to 

the house, the Governor, Senator 

Ibikunle Amosu, said: “the 

2016 “Budget of Optimisation” 

was N200.20 billion with approved 

recurrent expenditure of 

N100.91billion representing 50.4 

per cent of the budget, whilst the 

Capital Expenditure Budget was 

N99.29billion, representing 49.6 

per cent. The approved revenue 

budget was N200.20 billion, 

with N105.67billion expected 

from IGR and N42 billion from 

the Federation Account. The 

Capital Receipts were expected 

to be N52.5billion. As at 31st October, 

2016, the overall budget 

performance was 56.2 per cent. 

In the last six years, we have 

made clear our commitment to the 

delivery of affordable and qualitative 

education. This has invariably 

led to a series of reforms and 

it is encouraging to see that our 

efforts have been yielding positive 

results. For instance, the innovation 

of Termly Unified Examinations 

in our public primary and 

secondary schools as well as Government 

Science and Technical 

Colleges has greatly enhanced the 

standard of education in our 

schools such that enrolment is 

steadily rising as is the higher 

education potential of our learners. 

“I am aware, however, that despite 

the significant annual investments 

in education, more still 

needs to be done to improve the 

quality of education. The global 

perspective in the education sector 

as declared under the Sustainable 

Development Goals focuses 

on ensuring inclusive and equitable 

quality education and promoting 

lifelong learning opportunities 

for all by the year 2030. 

We are glad to note that our agenda 

is in tandem with this global 

agenda; and we remain resolute 

that no child will be left behind. 

“Several of our Model Colleges 

are ready to come on stream 

having already commissioned 

them in February, 2016 when 

our State celebrated her 40th 

anniversary. The Akin Ogunpola 

Model College, Ewekoro commenced 

operations for the 2016/ 

2017 academic year with the acceptance 

of 84 students into junior 

and senior secondary school. 

Our administration is poised to 

open six more colleges in 2017”. 

Dry ports concessionaires risk revocation 

of licence 

By Godwin Oritse 

FEDERAL Government has 

warned concessionaires of 

the Inland Container Depots, 

ICDs and Container Freight 

Stations, CFSs, to sign and return 

the new agreement it has 

prepared for the operation of their 

faculties or have their licences 

revoked within two weeks. In a 

renewed move to ensure that the 

dry port projects, which have 

been stagnated for over 13 years 

are completed and made 

operational nationwide, the 

federal government had 

through the Nigeria Customs 

Service, NSC, issued a new 

agreement to the 

concessionaires to sign and 

return under two weeks. 

Consequently, they have been 

called for another meeting at 

the headquarters of NSC to 

ensure compliance in line with 

the directive of the Minister of 

Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, 

who has shown serious 

discomfort with the near failure 

stages of the projects. 

Some of the dry port 

concessionaires who spoke with 

Vanguard have agreed to sign 

Adewale Oshinowo 

the new agreement which has 

the clause of job delivery within 

2017. 

It , was, however gathered that 

some of them might as well lose 

the project because of varying 

issues arising from their states of 

location. 

Already, some have blamed 

their inability to perform not 

only on sourcing technical 

partners, funds, political 

vagaries, frequent leadership 

changes at the Federal Ministry 

of Transport, but stated that the 

current minister of transport has 

declined to grant them special 

status of port of origin and that 

of destination. 

One of thje inland container 

depot owners who spoke to 

Vanguard on the condition of 

anonymity said that all was set 

for work to commence at the 

port but Amaechi had declined 

to grant them the needed 

privilege. 

This further raised the question 

by observers on whether if this 

was what had been delaying the 

project for 13 years now and 

why other ministers were not 

approached for the same reason. 

In Ibadan, Oyo State, 

Catamaran Logistics Limited, 

operators of Ibadan ICD, may 

have lost their project location 

on account of delay and internal 

political and personality 

squabbles and so may lose their 

licences soon. 

The company’s Managing 

Director, Mr. Lai Are , said that 

“We have agreed in principle 

with the provisions of the 

agreement.” 

Meanwhile, the federal 

government has, at last, 

resolved to fund the emerging 

new national shipping fleet with 

a part of the Cabotage Vessel 

Finance Fund(CVFF) proceed. 

In what sounded rather 

amusing t o logistics and 

transport professionals, last 

week, the Senate directed the 

Nigerian Shippers’ Council, to 

carry out feasibility studies on 

the establishment of dry ports 

in the country. 

This was after the Senate had 

called on the Federal government 

to ensure that dry ports were 

established urgently in Onitsha, 

Enugu, Aba, Maiduguri, Bauchi 

and states that are landlocked as 

a way of accelerating trade and 

industry. 

The Senate was of the view that 

the feasibility studies earlier 

carried out on the projects 

should be revisited.




Wanted: Governors who can 

do more with less 

“Federation Account 

allocation dips by N31.8bn in 

October”. 

NATION, November 21, 

2016, p 8. 

“GDP growth rate drops 

further to -2.24%.” 

PUNCH, November 22, 

2016, p 1. 

Newly-elected Governor 

Godwin Obaseki of 

Edo State struck the right note 

in his maiden address to the 

people of Edo State when he 

declared that “there is more 

free lunch”. He has his 

reasons which the tables 

below will pertly explain. 

Contrary to what some 

consider an early rebuke of 

his immediate past 

predecessor, it was nothing 

more than a bow to reality. 

Facts remain the eternal 

enemies of illusions which 

still drive most of our 

politicians promising free 

everything under the sun. 

Meanwhile, Ondo State is 

heading for the polls to elect 

a successor to out-going 

Governor Segun Mimiko. 

Irrespective of who eventually 

emerges as the new governor, 

he has a tough task awaiting 

him. It is doubtful if there is a 

single governor serving 

second term now who does 

not occasionally wish he had 

bowed out gracefully at the 

end of the first term – while 

there was still loud ovation. 

Few will enjoy that 

endorsement now. 

Oil producing states 

illustrate the calamity best: 

Akwa Ibom: N14bn to 

N8.7bn; Bayelsa: N18bn to 

N6.3bn; Delta: N16bn to 

N5.6bn. While all the 36 

states are in varying degrees 

of distress and will probably 

remain so in 2017, Osun State 

is in a class by itself. (See 

tables below). The current 

governor will end his second 

term before 2019. But, if the 

monthly allocations from 

Abuja continue at this rate, 

anybody running for 

Governor of Osun state, after 

this one, might need to 

consult a doctor. Only a born 

masochist would be eager to 

take on that assignment. The 

state in October 2016 took 

home less than ten per cent 

of what it received in 2006 

before Minimum Wage rose to 

N18,000 per month!!! 

The reasons are not hard to 

discover. Few owed their staff 

unpaid salaries in 2013 and 

early 2014. The signs of 

things to come first appeared 

in the second quarter of 2014, 

when crude oil prices started 

their steady decline from over 

$100-plus per barrel and over 

1.8 million barrels per day 

exported to where they are 

today. VANGUARD must 

have published at least four 

articles warning the Federal 

Government, the Council of 

States and the economic 

policymakers that the 

downturn in crude prices 

and volumes was not 

temporary, but, will persist 

for several years. Nobody 

paid heed to the warnings; 

least of all the states whose 

fortunes depended on 

federal allocations. Even 

when crude prices and 

revenue fell drastically, the 

state governors still went on 

with business as usual. 

Today, the consequences 

stare them in the face. 

Worse than the present 

hardships faced by people in 

the states is the fact that with 

Gross Domestic Productivity, 

GDP, declining, Value Added 

Tax, VAT collections, which 

had helped to cushion the 

impact of sharply reduced oil 

earnings will also start to 

shrink. Many companies 

which declared and paid taxes 

in 2016 on their operations in 

2015 might also be declaring 

losses in 2016 and pay no 

taxes in 2017. 

States face a more difficult 

future than most of the 

governors realize. Obaseki’s 

no free lunch might become 

no lunch at all. We need 

governors who can manage 

relative poverty. Our period 

of affluence is gone for now. 

Interview 


percent for instance, 

meaning that what is the risk 

there, you are expected to 

have 20 percent of it as a 

capital to support it. 

But; if you are trading in oil 

and gas or some of the other 

classes, you are expected to 

have 50 percent of the 

particular class which 

means that all of that would 

guide how much capital you 

have. You will then find out 

that for the one of 20 percent 

you can only generate 

N500million premium and 

you will keep 20 percent of 

it as capital. But for oil and 

gas, to do the same for 50 

percent and you want to 

trade as much as that one, 

you would require capital 

that is close to N1billion to 

trade there for you to get the 

same premium. 

So the question is that 

you want to say to yourself 

‘which one do I want to put 

my money into?’ 

That is why it is riskbased, 

because you are 

going to determine which 

class would give you the 

highest return and less of 

trouble. 

Nigerian insurance industry capital is highest in Africa 

What is NIA doing about 

the allegations against 

the insurance industry? 

We have not and the issue is 

that our members feel that we 

have not done anything 

wrong. If when we agree that 

we have done some things 

wrong then we will see them 

and talk with them. We are 

watching the development 

very closely and at the 

appropriate we would seek to 

have a discussion. But for 

now, there is no need. 

The members may not see 

anything wrong, but the 

image of the insurance 

industry is been dented? 

Yes, to an extent, we have 

mandated the management 

of the association to interface 

so that they investigate the 

negative publicity until the 

facts are properly 

ascertained before they come 

out into the open. But for now 

I think it shouldn’t be. 

This is three to four 

months gone since you 

assumed office, how far 

have you gone with 

implementing your 

agenda? 

Yes, it is all stakeholder 

engagement for now. We have 

done quite a lot of that. And 

of course, between that period 

when we had our investiture 

and now, we have interacted 

with so many stakeholders. 

Because, we have to make 

ourselves relevant, and 

making ourselves relevant is 

not the kind that involves you 

seeing yourselves block on 

block, no. It is about how we 

have been able to engage 

people. 

At the moment, we have so 

many things ongoing. As we 

speak, you just made 

reference to the House of 

Representatives 

investigation on insurance. 

There is the issue of the riskbased 

capital which the 

commission is working on, 

there is a financial reporting 

council code, and there is 

general indiscipline in the 

sector. 

So there are a number of 

issues. But, those are not 

issues we really want to 

address in the public sphere. 

But we are having the 

necessary engagements and 

at the right time we will 

announce only solutions. So, 

that is what I actually want 

to do. I do not want to engage 

in things just on the pages of 

newspapers, no. 

We have 

mandated the 

management of 

the association 

to interface so 

that they 

investigate the 

negative 

publicity until 

the facts are 

properly 

ascertained 

before they 

come out into 

the open 

We are working on our 

image through the 

insurance committee; that 

is, the umbrella publicity 

arrangement within our 

structure. We are working on 

that and it is something the 

insurance committee is 

doing. We will do a broader 

campaign for the whole 

industry and that is almost 

taking off. 

What is the take home 

from the NCRIB 

conference from NIA 

angle? 

The tax issue has been 

clarified. That is, the stamp 

duty tax or the stamp duty 

and the section 16; so I 

think that for me and the 

NIA people that is a major 

take home. 

What are the banks up to 

with insurance policies 

and the captive 

companies? 

Banks, they have some 

relationship with insurance 

companies. It has come to 

our notice concerning 

customers that often times 

the banks and their 

subsidiaries compel



(08052201997) 

Why 

do 

manufacturers 

decry high cost of 

borrowing? 

There is a limit to which 

you can grow a business with 

personal savings; invariably, 

sustained growth and 

expansion require additional 

capital, which may be 

subscribed or borrowed. It is 

less risky, for example, to 

borrow, if loanable funds 

come with cheaper rates 

below 5%, especially where 

gestation is necessarily 

extended; besides, easier 

access to cheap funds 

generally stimulates 

businesses to create more 

job opportunities. 

Furthermore, material 

inputs, similarly financed 

with low interest loans, will 

also reduce production cost, 

and sustain consumer 

demand with affordable 

prices. 

Conversely, when loanable 

funds cost 30% plus, as is 

currently the case, investors 

will naturally shy away from 

the risky gamble of providing 

their own infrastructure and 

paying N30 interest on every 

N100 borrowed. The 

investment climate, and 

productive sector will shrink, 

and imported products 

financed with much lower 

cost will flood our markets. 

Ultimately, massive labor 

layoffs will result, as once 

viable industries close shop. 

CBN has been widely 

blamed for sustaining high 

interest rates, how does 

CBN enforce such rates? 

The CBN has statutory 

responsibility to ensure that 

prices of goods and services, 

as well as cost of funds 

remain within levels that 

would successfully drive the 

economy. So yes, by its 

actions and policies, CBN 

has the capacity to induce 

higher or lower cost of funds. 

The Monetary Policy Rate 

(MPR) is the prime 

instrument for this purpose, 

as it is the rate at which 

commercial banks borrow 

from CBN to cover 

temporary cash shortfalls. 

Thus, with MPR at 14%, 

banks are inclined to lend to 

ECONOMY 

Fidelity Bank Plc has 

disclosed that its 

customers base has grown in 

excess of 2 million since it 

commenced its on-going 

customer loyalty scheme, 

Get Alert in Million Promo’. 

Mrs. Chijioke Ugochukwu, 

Executive Director, Shared 

Services, Fidelity Bank, 

disclosed this at the prize 

presentation ceremony to the 

lucky winners that emerged 

in the second draw of the 

promo. 

High cost of borrowing: Who is 

fooling who? 

customers, including real 

sector operators, at well over 

20%. Conversely, in 

successful economies where 

MPR is 2% or below, banks 

would be encouraged to lend 

to customers at below 10%. 

So, why is CBN sabotaging 

the economy with high 

MPRs? 

A low MPR should 

expectedly stimulate 

borrowing and consumer 

spending which would be 

welcome if the annual 

inflation rate is sustained, 

below say, 2%. Conversely, if 

inflation spirals closer to 

20%, stimulating additional 

spending with easy access to 

cheap funds will invariably 

instigate general price 

volatility. Consequently, with 

the prevailing high inflation 

rates, any additional cash 

injection or easier access to 

cheap funds, may ultimately 

induce the Zimbabwe 

experience, where spiraling 

inflation and unarrested 

excess printing of Zimbabwe 

currency compelled an 

inflation rate that drove the 

exchange rate to over $1= 

1,000,000,000 Zimbabwe 

dollars. 

But some experts have 

advised that the best 

antidote to our comatose 

economy is to spend our 

way out of the recession? 

Such experts are obviously 

either wickedly mischievous 

or regrettably ignorant. 

Evidently, additional 

injection of Naira liquidity, 

where, much too much 

money already outstrips 

production output, will spike 

inflation through the roof, to 

create serious challenges to 

productivity, talk less of 

economic resuscitation. 

President Buhari will be well 

advised to be wary of experts 

who advocate increase in 

spending as the way out of 

the current recession. 

Are you suggesting that 

the series of CBN cash 

interventions and billions 

of Naira government bailout 

funds are actually 

counterproductive? 

Well, the answer is evident; 

so far, these serial 

interventions have not 

arrested the inflation spiral, 

and it is most certain that 

future interventions will only 

worsen matters so long as the 

undeniable presence of 

‘Surplus Naira Liquidity’ 

continues to be a nightmare 

for CBN to manage. 

How can surplus Naira be 

a problem, when 

manufacturers are literally 

howling that they are 

institutionally denied access 

to cheap funds; besides, why 

should any commodity with 

a market surplus, become 

more expensive to borrow? 

The naked evidence of the 

distortional and oppressive 

burden of Excess Naira is 

when CBN regularly pays 

upto 15% interest rates to 

restrain private borrowers 

So, inexplicably, 

the cost of Naira 

loans will 

paradoxically 

become higher 

when systemic 

surplus Naira 

liquidity remains 

CBN’s albatross 

from easy access to the 

Excess funds, in order to 

curtail liberal spending and 

thereby keep inflation from 

spiraling out of control and 

wrecking the economy. 

Incidentally, commercial 

banks, primarily, will earn 

over N500bn this year as 

interest charges when CBN 

borrows surplus Naira 

supply to mop up excess 

liquidity, by selling Treasury 

bills to banks with very high 

yields. 

So, inexplicably, the cost of 

Naira loans will 

paradoxically become higher 

when systemic surplus Naira 

liquidity remains CBN’s 

albatross. 

With such bountiful easy 

returns from CBN’s Treasury 

bills, why would commercial 

banks lend to the real 

sector; besides, what is the 

prime cause of excess Naira 

supply that persistently 

challenges a more 

responsible economic 

management? 

You are absolutely right; it 

is highly unlikely that banks 

will service the real sector 

with cheaper funds, when 

government itself is 

borrowing from them at such 

ridiculously high and 

oppressive interest rates; it 

is certainly less risky to lend 

to government than the real 

sector. Perennial Excess 

Naira supply is the 

cumulative product of CBN’s 

regular creations of 

substituted Naira allocations 

for distributable dollar 

denominated oil revenue. 

Thus, as dollar earnings 

increase, the greater also has 

been the threat from excess 

Naira supply and its train of 

regressive consequences. 

Is the Naira exchange rate 

also a victim of Excess Naira 

supply? 

Yes of course, Excess Naira 

supply is the prime cause of 

a weak Naira, because the 

Naira exchange rate remains 

threatened so long as CBN 

persists in regularly 

auctioning small rations of 

dollars in a money market 

that is, undeniably, 

embarrassingly suffocated 

with Naira surplus. 

Regrettably, the process of 

reducing the surplus Naira 

burden from the system 

attracts a distortionally high 

interest burden and also 

crowds out the real sector 

from access to cheap funds. 

Is there a more progressive 

way of dealing with the 

Excess Liquidity problem? 

There are two plausible 

obvious strategies which can 

work together to reverse the 

distress in our economy. 

First of all, the mandatory 

Cash Reserve Requirement 

(CRR) for banks must be 

gradually modulated to an 

equilibrium level that would 

eliminate the need for CBN 

to compulsively borrow to 

remove excess Naira supply 

from the custody of 

commercial banks. CBN will 

cease to borrow at such 

equilibrium level, so that 

banks will ultimately have no 

choice but to enthusiastically 

court the real sector with 

modest interest rates, if they 

must stay in business. 

Alternatively, banks can be 

directed to pay a token fee 

below 2% for CBN to 

warehouse their surplus 

funds, as is currently the 

practice in successful 

economies. 

Secondly, the CBN should 

cease replenishing the pool 

of systemic excess liquidity 

by persistently substituting 

Naira allocations for 

distributable dollar income to 

the constitutional 

beneficiaries of the 

federation pool. 

SAVE THE NAIRA!! 

SAVE NIGERIANS!! 

Fidelity Bank millionaires promo pushes customer base to 2m 

She stated that the promo 

has proven to be one of the 

most successful in the series 

of promos the bank has 

conducted in the last nine 

years, saying that the bank 

hoped to open additional 

500,000 new accounts by the 

time the promo comes to an 

end. 

Six customers of the bank 

drawn from the six 

geographical zones went 

home with the sum of N8 

million, while another 12 

were rewarded with 

consolation prizes. 

The prize presentation took 

place simultaneously across 

the six geographical zones in 

the country. 

Ugochukwu said the bank 

decided to give out cash to 

help its customers cushion 

the effect of the economic 

recession. 

“Fidelity Bank is committed 

to giving our customers 

better value; we don’t want 

to repeat an old theme. 

Savings is a culture which 

people develop over time. In 

more advanced countries, it 

is easier due the power of 

high par capita income, but 

in less developed economies 

like Nigeria, the regulator, 

which is the Central Bank of 

Nigeria, CBN, tries to 

promote the financial 

inclusion strategy and 

savings strategy, which the 

banking institutions are 

trying to key into. This promo 

is Fidelity Bank’s way of 

raising that awareness about 

the importance of savings in 

the life of every single 

person. 

One of the customers, Mr. 

Nse Stephen Usen, an 

Engineering student in Yaba 

College of Technology, Lagos, 

who won N2 million, thanked 

the bank and said that it 

would help him to further his 

education.


32 —Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 

YOUR LUCK TODAY 

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 

VIRGO; As Saturn enters your Star Sign today it is 

important you are more practical and seek all important 

supports of the influential people around you. 

Be more loving. 

LIBRA; The more ambitious you are today the better 

for your cause. And here is a good day to plan for 

the future but you must do away with whatever can 

not be placed above board. Yong-at-heart among you 

may be in for a romantic day. 

SCORPIO; Even if you are tempted to gamble by 

whoever and/or whatsoever reason you must resist it 

or else you would be the loser. Being aggressive may 

help 

SAGITTARIUS; Provided you are willing to cooperate 

with other poople things will not go out of 

hands but exhibition of inordinate ambition can earn 

you avoidable trouble. 

By Richard Eromosele 

L E I S U R E 

THOUGHT FOR TODAY 

About relationship? 

LIFE is all 

about relationship. 

It is all 

about how you 

relate well with 

the other man or 

woman. For example, 

a successful 

father 

should be able to 


his children, a 

successful leader 

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” 

should be able to 


his followers. 

Similarly, a good 

manager should 

have a good rapport 

with members 

of his 

workforce.How 

well you relate 

with people could 

determine how 

far you will go in 

life.Think about 

it. 

By Kola Fayemi 

CAPRICORN; Element of luck will assist you. 

Those of you who are more hard working will have 

more positive things to show for your efforts. Take 

care of your health. 

AQUARIUS; Many natives of this Zodiac sign will 

be excited either because of romantic interest within 

your working arena or practical advancement at work. 

PISCES; Reason with those you can take as veterans 

within your base of operation because if you want 

to force your way without carrying necessary and 

more experienced people along it would back-fire 

now or soonest 

ARIES; The more creative you are the better for 

your cause. However is typical day when too much 

expectation can bring disappointment. Be more family 

minded. 

TAURUS; If your priority is financial success you 

may not be disappointed provided you prepare for a 

few challenges. For now both your mental energy 

and physical attributes are enough to win you love 

not MONEY. Be more receptive. 

KAPTAIN AFRIKA in “Pretty Lunatic’ By Andy Akman 

GEMINI; This is your day when both good luck 

and your personal efforts will bring you success. Try 

to be as caring as possible to those within your base. 

CANCER; Although there will be challenges at the 

end of it all you will have genuine cause to smile. 

The more secretive you are the better for your cause. 

This is not the right time to ignore your sex life. Do 

away with unnecessary argument. 

LEO; This is not the right time for you to either 

gamble with money or take friends for granted. Secret 

lovers may be in for an exciting day. 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING 

Send your date e and place of birth th to the Astr 

trological 

Counselling, P.M.B 100 

007, 7, Apapa, Lagos 

Should I remain hopeful? 

Dear Joshua, 

I want your in-depth analysis and tell me 

about my social life, and the time I am likely 

to have my Should I remain hopeful? 

much desired break-through in life. I am 

hopeful though. 

Anonymous Nigeria. 

Dear Anonymous, 

Yes be very hopeful. And what you will find 

here-under will answer your questions. Social 

life will always bring you attention good 

luck envy opposition and possibly fame. The 

best way for you not to be constant loser in the 

social world is to always study situation practically 

and know that your finance will not 

suffer (if it can not be beneficiary) from the 

setting before taking responsibility. 

As for influential friends you will have them 

but never always take them for granted. 

Sudden SUCCESS will come your way during 

your 44th year on earth and will serve as a 

break-through year you can build great foundation 

of endless success on. But the same 44th 

year will bring love related challenges you 

must manage with all maturity or else it will 

linger till after your 48th year on earth. 

VIRGINIA 

HOME & ABROAD 

dadadekola@yahoo.com 

By Lawrence Akapa

Weaning the children of 

violence 

VIOLENCE 

rampages 

large parts of Nigeria and 

most of Africa. Generations are 

born into violence who grow 

from innocence to stoking its 

wild fires. A cross section of 

people including diplomats, 

intellectuals, journalists, 

retired generals and 

representatives of the Chief of 

Army Staff and the Inspector 

General of Police gathered in 

Abuja, seeking a solution. 

Professor George Obiozor, the 

74-year old former Nigerian 

High Commissioner to Cyprus 

and former ambassador to 

Israel and United States, led the 

discussion. He argued that 

Nigeria is paying too much 

attention to critics and not 

enough to its admirers. He 

defined international relations 

as “a game of selective 

morality, outrageous paradox 

and double standard, where to 

win you must continuously 

recognise your own interests 

and protect them with ruthless 

courage.” 

He said the most important 

objective of Nigeria’s detractors 

is to lure the country and its 

leadership into controversies 

abroad and at home “in order 

to precipitate a synchronized 

national crises within Nigeria.” 

He advised the country to 

reduce the level of serious 

threats to its survival by 

reducing the level of its 

national crises that attracts 

international attention. 

Professor Thomas Akhigbe 

Wailings of a master planner 

By Paul Bebenimibo 

NIGERIA is facing severe economic 

challenges that have made life 

brutish for virtually everybody. 

Nigerians labour daily to overcome 

these economic challenges. Beyond the 

obvious economic challenges, there are 

agitations in the South-East led by 

MASSOB, challenges of herdsmen in 

different parts of the country, the 

scourge of the ‘technically degraded’ 

Boko Haram in the North-East and the 

resurgence of violence in the Niger 

Delta over calls for rapid development, 

resource control, resource ownership 

and restructuring of the Nigerian 

Federation. These turbulent issues and 

the lack of corresponding problemsolving 

mechanism from government 

quarters have created terrifying waves 

in Nigeria. 

The energies of every patriotic 

Nigerian ought to be deployed and 

harnessed towards pointing problemsolving 

ways or mechanism for the 

Federal Government of Nigeria because 

there is no other country for us to run to 

when Nigeria sinks like the TITANIC. 

Any emerging signs of shipwreck should 

be the greatest worry to patriots. This is 

where I am alarmed by the activities of 

some individuals who are working hard 

to instigate and worsen the turbulent 

situation in the Niger Delta. These 

individuals do this through covert plans 

and falsely accusing persons of trying to 

destroy oil and gas installations. 

Imobighe, Director, Centre of 

Strategic Studies and 

Development, Ambrose Alli 

University, Ekpoma, delivered 

the lecture titled “Weaning 

Africa from violence: Nigeria’s 

contributions to Peace and 

Stability on the Continent.” He 

posited that given the rapid 

phase sophisticated arms are 

being made and sold, violence 

must be minimised if humanity 

is to survive. 

Imobighe, author of a number 

of books including Nigeria's 

Defence and National Security 

Linkages argued that it is a 

badly managed conflict that 

snowballs into violence. He said 

peace as a concept has no precise 

meaning but that to some, it 

means the absence of war. He 

posited that peace must start 

from meeting the basic 

necessities of life. 

He said a major problem in 

many African states, is the 

perpetuation of unhelpful force 

and the unrelenting strive to 

acquire power. Nigeria he said, 

must abandon its concept of 

security based on arms, and 

embrace the concept based on 

human needs adding that the 

strategy to ‘fight to finish” has 

not led to the elimination of 

opponents, rather, it has led to 

the spread of violence. 

He said while no African 

country is in the league of the 

first one hundred highest arms 

producers in the world, by 

2013, the continent spent 

$402 billion on arms purchase, 

Lines of communication on how to 

resolve the Niger Delta agitation have 

been opened with the Federal 

Government of Nigeria. President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s meeting with 

PANDEF representatives at which a 16- 

My greatest fear is 

that, having falsely 

accused Tompolo of 

bombing and of plans 

to bomb oil and gas 

installations, Johnny 

is likely to set in 

motion the mechanism 

for bombing of 

installations and come 

out to tell the world 

that his words have 

come to pass 

point demand was presented to him, and 

the recent meeting between Vicepresident 

Yemi Osinbajo and Niger 

Delta People Congress where meaningful 

additional reinforcement of the 16-point 

demand was given are all attempts to 

resolve the Niger Delta Crisis. Though 

no clear picture has yet emerged from 

the Government by way of setting up a 

committee to handle the pressing issues, 

that is one fifth of its GDP. He 

said that while two thirds of 

African states are experiencing 

increased military spending, 

the European Union is 

experiencing reduction in such 

spending. To demonstrate the 

destructive nature of violence 

in Africa, the lecturer said that 

in 2013 the continent produced 

12.5 million refugees or a third 

of the global total. 

Imobighe cited the examples 

of post-electoral violence in 

Kenya, Zimbabwe and the 

Nigeria of 2011 when people 

just engaged in violence with 

While no 

African country 

is in the league 

of the first one 

hundred highest 

arms producers 

in the world, by 

2013, the 

continent spent 

$402 billion on 

arms purchase 

that is one fifth 

of its GDP 

any prior discussion. He also 

mentioned the herdsmen and 

farmers circle of violence in 

Nigeria. He wondered how 

Africans are always able to raise 

funds to buy arms and why the 

arms producers are always 

eager to trust their weapons in 

our hands. 

The defence and security 

expert said anytime people are 

involved in conflicts, what they 

really need is negotiations, 

more negotiations and more 

negotiations. He expressed his 

strong believe that if peace is to 

be achieved in our life time, we 

must engage in concrete 

engagement with other people. 

He quoted Martin Luthr King 

Jnr who in his 1963 , ‘Letter 


from a Birmingham Jail’, 

wrote: 

"Men often hate each other 

because they fear each other; 

they fear each other because 

they don't know each other; 

they don't know each other 

because they cannot 

communicate; they cannot 

communicate because they are 

separated." 

Imobighe wondered whether 

there is absence of peaceful 

mechanism, or people no longer 

have confidence in it. He said 

there is need to subscribe to a 

new global coalition for peace 

and development. 

In his lecture, Imobighe had 

made a critique of the 

Presidential Amnesty 

Programme claiming that its 

youth empowerment 

programme was restricted only 

to those who bore arms while 

those who did not engage in 

violence were left out. This he 

argued, gives the wrong 

impression that violence pays 

and that this is responsible for 

the rise of new militant groups 

in the Niger Delta. I made a 

gentle correction of his 

hypothesis pointing out that in 

the conception of the Amnesty 

Programme, care was taken to 

also empower youths in the 

Region who were not involved 

in the armed conflict. I gave as 

an example the statistics of 

Niger Delta youths who were 

empowered by being given 

scholarship to local and 

international tertiary 

institutions. It showed that of 

the 3,042 youths given 

scholarship by the agency, only 

1,242 amnesty beneficiaries 

while the balance 1,800 were 

youths from communities 

impacted by the violence but 

who were not engaged in armed 

struggle. Imobigbe accepted 

the correction. 

Dr. Wilson Ejide, a retired 

Army Colonel who was the 

discussant, said the continued 

use of violence merely 

multiplies violence. 

Rear Admiral Tony Isa (Rtd) 

said unfortunately, the 

country’s institutions are weak 

there are visible attempts at tackling 

the resurgence of violence in the Niger 

Delta. 

While everyone eagerly awaits 

pragmatic solution from the Federal 

Government, one Mr. Michael Johnny 

once correctly cast as ‘verbal distortionczar’ 

and ‘buzzy showy creature’ in 

Ekanpou Enewaridideke’s articles ‘Jesus 

and the Criminals’ (28 October 2015, 

vanguard), ‘Sunset and a coronation’ (2 

February 2016, vanguard), has 

deliriously gone to town with the claim 

that Tompolo is behind the bombing in 

the Niger Delta. This is a fictitious claim 

meant to smear Tompolo’s name and 

instigate Federal Government of Buhari 

against him. Johnny would be only 

happy when Tompolo is maligned and 

hunted down through lies and 

systematic propaganda. 

The stands and comments of Johnny 

on Tompolo are always predictable, as 

they always border on the negative side. 

His delirious outburst on Tompolo no 

longer disorientates me but I am only 

alarmed that his mouth still leaks when 

there are signs towards the curtailment 

of the menace in the Niger Delta 

through dialogue. This is the time for 

any patriot to key into this crisisresolution 

mechanism gradually 

emerging. 

My greatest fear is that, having falsely 

accused Tompolo of bombing and of plans 

to bomb oil and gas installations, Johnny 

is likely to set in motion the mechanism 

for bombing of installations and come 

out to tell the world that his words have 

come to pass. This falsehood may become 

his platform to actualise his evil 

schemes against Tompolo whose desire 

revolves around Legal Means to fight his 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

and that Nigerians must decide 

what positive values they want 

to project. Professor Warisu 

Oyesina Alli argued that the 

resurgence of violence is the 

result of unmet social 

expectations. He said in the 

past, this could result in 

revolution, but that now, it is 

disorganised violence. 

Ambassador Gregory Okon 

argued that the balance of 

power between the state and 

non-state actors which used to 

be in favour of the former, is 

now tilting towards the latter. 

He advocated military training 

for the National Youth Service 

Corps members so they can 

provide some security where 

they are posted. 

Emeritus Professor, Anthony 

Ashiwaju wondered “How do 

we talk about weaning Africa 

of violence when we have not 

weaned ourselves?” The 

country he said must address 

the issues of mass 

unemployment and illiteracy 

as part of the process. 

Major General L.P. Ngubane 

(Rtd) regretted that elections 

in Africa are more of a selection 

process. He said American 

President Barack Obama’s 

admonition that “Africa doesn't 

need strongmen, it needs strong 

institutions” rings true. 

Professor Nuhu Nuhu Yaqub, 

the Chair of the Society for 

international Relations 

Awareness, SIRA, organisers of 

the event, said it has become 

the organisation’s tradition to 

make available to the general 

public, current issues in the 

Nigerian Foreign Policy. He 

said attention should not only 

be on the commercialisation of 

violence, but more on the cost 

to the people who are the 

victims. 

Mr. Ulrich Thum, Resident 

Representative of the Friedrich 

Ebert Stiftung,FES, which 

facilitated the event, said 

Nigeria is facing security 

challenges from within and 

outside its borders and that 

protagonists like SIRA are 

required to contribute to its 

resolution. 

way through, not VIOLENCE. Already, 

a suspect in the custody of Security 

Agencies had made confessional 

statement of Johnny’s involvement in 

the bombings in the Niger Delta 

. In whose doorstep does the issue of 

bombing now lie? Michael Johnny or 

Tompolo? 

With the recent outbursts of the 

‘distortion-czar’, I hereby suggest two 

things: first and foremost, 

psychopathologists, psychiatrists and 

psychologists should penetrate Johnny’s 

mind and evaluate the functionality of 

his mentality through special diagnosis. 

Any result from this psychopathological 

penetration can help us know the 

reasons for his delirious outbursts. These 

outbursts from a man who was 

Tompolo’s boy are questionable. 

On the psychopathological and 

psychological findings of specialists 

about Michael Johnny, the society 

knows where to place his outbursts . 

However the findings of the specialists 

about Johnny, the public should discard 

as falsehood his delirious outburst that 

Tompolo is behind the bombings and that 

there is a plan by him to resume 

bombing over his travails. By and large, 

it is Michael Johnny’s plot to destroy oil 

installations and attribute it to Tompolo 

so as to invoke federal might upon him. 

The moment he successfully does this, 

these wailings of a master planner would 

have ended. Who has not heard Johnny 

say he will not stop wailing until 

Tompolo goes to jail as that would mark 

the end of his wailing as a master 

planner? 

•Mr.Bebenimibo, a public affairs analyst, 

wrote from Warri, Delta State. 

C 

M 

Y


THE Gestapo-like raids of the judges 

by operatives of the State Security 

Services,SSS, coming at the time a 

change of baton was about to take place 

in the Judiciary, as objectionable as it 

was, must have had its positive side, 

after all. It woke everyone up, especially 

the leadership of the Judiciary. Even 

death does have its, perhaps unintended, 

positive effects. If all the people born since 

the creation of the world were to have 

lived, there would be no space for anyone 

to stand, let alone move around. Life 

would be meaningless. Despite that, 

people will still cry when death, which 

has no respect for “due process”, comes. 

Towards the tail end of former CJN, 

Mahmud Mohammed, the Judiciary 

had lost much of its self-correctional 

reflexes, which made it possible for 

traducers of that arm of government to 

mount a frontal attack on it. As 

Mohammed was retiring, the next in 

line according to the seniority rule 

which had been followed for over forty 

years, was Justice Walter Nkanu 

Onnoghen, the first Southerner to 

‘“smell” the post since Justice Ayo Irikefe 

gave way for the first CJN of Northern 

extraction, Justice Mohammed Bello in 

1987. 

Rather than send Onnoghen’s name to 

the Senate for confirmation, President 

Muhammadu Buhari courted 

controversy by swearing him in as 

Acting CJN, which means he is not sure 

he would be allowed to stay out his 

tenure till retirement at seventy. Faced 

with such uncertainty, many lessendowed 

mortals would be predisposed 

to so many frailties. 

They could choose to “make hay while 

the sun shines” by being corrupt. Since 

many corrupt individuals who have 

thrown their lot with the ruling All 

Progressives Congress,APC, Federal 

Government have tended to be shielded 

from the ongoing anti-corruption “war”, 

a CJN who chooses to be corrupt can 

thrive if he becomes a tool in the hands 

of the ruling party, its agents and the 

government in power. That is probably 

why a particular notorious Abuja High 

Court judge who has outrageously and 

relentlessly shambled the law with 

impunity in favour of those seeking to 

destroy the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, 

remains on seat, unaffected by the SSS 

“sting operations”. 

The fear then was that this relatively 

quiet Onnoghen might become a tool in 

the hands of the regime, much like the 

Independent National Electoral 

Commission,INEC, under Professor 

Mahmood Yakubu, which appears to 

have thrown away the independence 

which his predecessor, Professor 

Attahiru Jega, cultivated under the 

CJN Onnoghen’s promising debut 

regime of former President Goodluck 

Jonathan. 

All eyes were on Acting CJN 

Onnoghen as he embraced his first tasks: 

determining (a) the appeals over the 

leadership tussles between the two 

factions of the Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, and (b) the authentic governorship 

candidate of the party in the Ondo State 

governorship poll, which the INEC 

insisted must hold over the past 

weekend. Onnoghen did not pass the 

buck to someone else to do the “dirty 

work”; he took it on personally! 

The Supreme Court authorised the 

Court of Appeal to release its judgement 

on which faction of the party in Ondo 

OPINION 

Attack on Aladja, attack on Urhobo nation? 

By Ekanpou Enewaridideke 

ARE we in the weird season when only weird 

things happen? Do weird things deserve solution? 

Are we in the season when conflagration is quenched 

by conflagration? Is there any logicality in the 

illogicality that only fire can put out fire, not water 

from firefighters? Then why have Chief Engineer Joe 

Orode Omene, the president-General of Urhobo Progress 

Union, Sunday Subi the president of UPU Youth Wing, 

Udu kingdom chapter, and Chief Boro Opudu the 

Chairman of Delta Waterways and Land Security 

Committee adopted weird strategies in the recent 

outbreak of communal war between Isaba Community 

in Warri South-West Council and Aladja Community 

in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State? 

It is destabilising, weird and provoking that a 

communal clash recently broke out between Isaba (an 

Ijaw Community) and Aladja (an Urhobo Community). 

Nothing could be more barbaric and chilling than a 

communal armed struggle between persons who share 

ties of consanguinity in many ways. Consequent upon 

the sudden communal war between the two 

communities, Chief Boro Opudu called a peace meeting 

between the communities on 22 November 2016 in 

Warri. The meeting which was attended by 

representatives from both communities ended with a 

peace accord; this was a sign that both communities 

saw the need to cease hostilities and continue to live 

together as usual prior to the sudden outbreak of war. 

Chief Boro Opudu’s prompt intervention has 

I also hope by this 

exemplary proactive 

action taken by 

Justice Onnoghen, 

judicial officers will 

no longer be pushed 

around by 

politicians, 

government and its 

agents or any other 

persons in society 

without the wrath of 

the Third Am of 

government 

descending heavily 

on them 

State had the right to produce its authentic 

governorship candidate. The pro-Makarfi 

group, led by Clement Faboyede, had 

produced Mr. Eyitayo Jegede as its 

candidate in a primary duly observed and 

certified by the INEC as the law requires. 

But the pro-Sheriff faction, which 

produced a member of the Accord Party, 

Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim (who is seen, 

rightly or wrongly, by some to be working 

for the interests of the APC) succeeded, 

through the Justice Okon Abang Federal 

High in Abuja, to get the INEC to replace 

Jegede’s name with Jimoh Ibrahim’s as 

the candidate of the PDP. 

This was not just another routine 

factional fight for the control of a 

political party. Rather, it was a fight 

between a faction that wanted to retain 

control of the PDP and another which 

appeared more interested in destroying 

the party to give way for a rival party 

to take over Ondo State. The latter (the 

Sheriff/Poroye/Ibrahim faction) used 

every dirty trick in the book to smear 

anyone standing on its way just to 

achieve its horrible objective. 

They took their case to a controversial 

Abuja High Court judge, Okon Abang. 

The Court of Appeal, in its Wednesday, 

23 rd October ruling, essentially said 

what took place in Okon Abang’s court 

was a cheap fraud. Abang had cleared 

Jimoh Ibrahim and forced the INEC to 

put him on the ballot as the governorship 

candidate of the PDP in Ondo State. 

Jimoh Ibrahim accused the acting 

Director of Legal Services of the INEC, 

Mrs. Toyin Babalola, of demanding one 

million US Dollars bribe from him before 

implementing Abang’s order, a charge 

the Commission stridently denied. Still, 

INEC granted Ibrahim’s demand despite 

another High Court order in Akure 

issued the same as Abang’s, that Jegede 

must be maintained as the PDP 

candidate. 

At the Court of Appeal, Jimoh Ibrahim 

relatively doused the tension between the two sister 

communities. As commendable as Chief Opudu’s 

intervention is, it would have been more commendable 

if he were psychic as it would have enabled him to 

walk on the preventive path of communal war, rather 

than the curative path which the exigencies of the 

situation demanded. 

Soon after the 

outbreak of the 

communal clash 

between Isaba and 

Aladja, Chief Omene 

was categorical in his 

outburst that a 

Chief Omene 

should see Isaba 

and Aladja as 

engines knocked 

down which 

demand 

immediate 

functional 

coupling through 

his age-long 

professionalism 

communal war 

against Aladja was 

tantamount to 

declaration of war 

against Urhobo 

nation. This warinfused 

categorical 

statement which 

featured in the Urhobo 

Voice newspaper of 26 

November 2016 edition at page 3 was soon followed by 

a 14-day ultimatum given to the Ijaws resident in Udu 

Local Government Area to leave the territory. The 14- 

day ultimatum given on the 17 th of November 2016 at 

Otor-Udu in a press conference was issued by Mr. 

Sunday Subi of UPU Youth Wing, Udu chapter. Chief 

Omene verbally beat the ethnic drum of war while 

and Poroye continued their onslaught of 

blackmail against public officials by 

accusing the three-man panel appointed 

by the President of the Court, Justice 

Zainab Bulkachuwa of being greedy and 

compromised. In particular, they 

accused the Chairman of the panel, 

Justice Jumai Sankey, of being “so ill 

and poor” that she was susceptible to 

bribery and inducement! The panel 

promptly resigned from the case, and 

the Court had to reconstitute another 

one, this time, led by Justice Ibrahim 

Saulawa. 

Again, Poroye, some of his factional 

officials, aided by their lawyer, Beluolisa 

Nwofor (SAN), engaged in cheap and 

brazen abuse of court processes, all 

aimed at ensuring that Jegede never got 

justice. Even when the Court of Appeal 

panel led by Justice Saulawa ruled that 

Jegede was the rightful PDP candidate, 

Jimoh Ibrahim described it as a “one 

day ruling which was paid for from the 

state treasury”. 

Onnoghen’s verdict of Tuesday, 22 nd 

of November 2016 was clearly meant 

to serve two purposes: (a) ensure justice 

was given to whom it was due and in 

time for it to count, and (b) protect 

judicial officers unfairly abused by 

adventurous, self-seeking politicians. 

Apart from clearing the way for the 

Justice Saulawa panel to decide who was 

the genuine PDP flag-bearer, he slapped 

massively punitive costs on the person 

of Barrister Nwofor (SAN), forcing him 

to pay over N10 million for filing cases 

that constituted abuse of court processes. 

I want to believe that Justice 

Onnoghen is sounding a note of warning 

to all politicians (including those in 

power today and their opposition 

elements) that the Judiciary under him 

will no longer condone the perversion of 

justice. Justice according to the rule of 

our laws is all that the people want from 

the Judiciary. 

I also hope by this exemplary proactive 

action taken by Justice Onnoghen, 

judicial officers will no longer be pushed 

around by politicians, government and 

its agents or any other persons in society 

without the wrath of the Third Arm of 

government descending heavily on 

them. 

If this is Onnoghen’s mission as our 

new CJN, then ahoy! The Judiciary is, 

indeed, the last man in the defence of 

the ordinary citizen. With the INEC 

already seemingly compromised by the 

government of the day, the Judiciary is 

the only remaining hope. If it also 

knuckles under Executive intimidation 

or the lure of corruption, then, it is “To 

thy tents O Israel” for our democracy. 

Sunday gave it a practical extension by giving 14-day 

ultimatum to Ijaws. By what arcane logic does he come 

to the simplistic conclusion that an attack on Aladja is 

an attack on Urhobo nation? How would Chief Omene 

have explained the destruction of farmlands by herdsmen 

during grazing in the North if he were from the North? 

Would he have declared war against the Fulanis as a 

nation whose herdsmen routinely destroy farmlands 

while grazing? 

It sounds weird by every standard that a common 

soluble communal clash between two communities is 

enlarged, magnified, transformed and coloured as a 

war between Ijaw and Urhobo through individually 

hyperbolised metaphors of instigation. And now ethnic 

drums of war are being systematically beaten by the 

ignorant who have been wrongly fed with 

misinformation. Is this weird outbreak of communal 

clash a product of our dwindling economy? 

UPU has a solid reputation built over the years from 

prompt and creative response to issues relevant to the 

progress of Urhobo nationality. UPU is never known 

for beating of ethnic drums of war over a communal 

clash. Engineering as a profession repairs, re-orders 

and restores a badly damaged engine and perfects it’s 

holistic functionality. The pride of an engineer lies in 

the proper functioning of an engine, not when the 

engine is knocked down. Chief Omene should see Isaba 

and Aladja as engines knocked down which demand 

immediate functional coupling through his age-long 

professionalism gathered from the University. 

Continues tomorrow on pg. 18 

*Mr.Enewaridideke,a public affairs 

commentator, wrote fromAkparemogbene,Delta 

State. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

Nigeria and Australia have 

many things in common 

Paul Lehmann, High Commissioner, 

Australian High Commission 

Australia and Nigeria have enjoyed beneficial diplomatic 

ties since relations were established in 1960. Both 

countries have worked jointly in the Commonwealth and 

the United Nations to actively encourage peace, prosperity and 

democracy on the United Nations Security Council. Australia 

and Nigeria are also partners on counter terrorism and 

combatting violent extremism. In November 2015, Paul Lehmann 

was named Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria with a 

non-resident accreditation to Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Niger 

and The Gambia. Prior to that, he had been a senior career officer 

with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 

Assistant Secretary of the Consular Operations Branch 

and Minister Counsellor (Development) at the 

Australian Embassy in Kabul.In this interview, he shares 

his thoughts on the current state of the bilateral 

relationship. 

What do Nigeria and 

Australia have in common? 

We have many things in 

common. We can start with 

something basic like a shared 

language; which is English. 

We also have shared 

institutions which derive in 

large part from our shared 

colonial heritage and 

aspirations for our people 

when it comes to peace and 

prosperity. Nigerians and 

Australians love to travel 

overseas and if you go to many 

places overseas the two types 

of foreigners you’ll likely find 

are Australians and 

Nigerians. Australians are 

famous for spending time in 

the U.K as they grow up and 

Nigerians like to do the same 

thing. More importantly, we 

share that spirit of wanting to 

get out and explore. 

What is the level of trade 

between the two countries? 

It fluctuates from year to 

year. Historically, Nigeria has 

always been one of our largest 

trading partners on the 

continent. And the trade 

balance has been in Nigeria’s 

favor, by a long way, with oil 

imports from Nigeria and the 

rest of the Gulf of Guinea. So 

far, our major export to 

Nigeria at the moment is 

wheat. In the last year or so, 

we haven’t imported any 

crude oil from Nigeria; but 

Nigeria has imported a little 

bit more from us. 

What is the level of interest 

Australian companies have 

in Nigeria? 

I think Australian investors 

are very used to looking far 

and wide for opportunities. 

What we are starting to see 

now is an interest from 

Australian mining companies 

looking at how they can work 

with Nigerian operators to 

bring value. If I were to pick 

one particular sector that has 

potential, it would be solid 

minerals and extraction where 

both countries could do much 

more work. As you might 

know, Australia has a strong 

tradition in the development 

of solid minerals and our 

expertise and experience 

could be used here in Nigeria. 

And even in my short time 

here, I’ve seen quite a degree 

of progress in that area with a 

number of active Australian 

firms in that space and across 

the West African region. 

There’s what is known as 

the Australia–Nigeria Trade 

Investment Council? What 

happened to it? 

That was announced a few 

years ago and we are looking 

at ways in which we can really 

reinvigorate that body. And it 

may require us to look at how 

we can position that for the 

future given some of the 

strategic changes that I’ve 

identified particularly with the 

emergence of potential 

investment in the mineral 

sector. We are also looking at 

what might be the most 

appropriate vehicle for that 

sort of dialogue but I’m 

pleased to say that our 

dialogue and interaction 

remain strong even outside of 

the framework. 

With the current level of the 

economic relations between 

both countries, what more 

can be done for further 

development of the 

cooperation? 

I’d like to see more 

interaction and exchange that 

would help Nigeria develop its 

own agricultural production of 

commodities such as wheat. 

So, it’s not just all about the 

export of commodities such as 

wheat, but it’s also about 

where we can look for 

opportunities to share and 

exchange knowledge and 

expertise to broaden out and 

deepen our trade investments 

and links. Already, both 

countries are commodities 

exporters so that’s always 

Australia and 

Nigeria have 

shared institutions 

which derive in 

large part from 

our shared 

colonial heritage 

and aspirations 

going to be important but 

there’s an enormous talent 

and energy here and Australia 

does have a lot to offer in 

terms of expertise and 

knowledge. 

In terms of education, how 

strong is the partnership 

between both countries? 

There’s a great deal of 

cooperation which is 

happening now through the 

growth of the number of 

Nigerian students who are 

studying in Australian 

universities. Over the last 

three or four years, there’s 

been a quadrupling of that so 

we are now looking at 2,000 

Nigerian students who are 

studying in Australia. That 

number is growing every year. 

However, Australia wasn’t 

such a big market for 

Nigerian students but over 

the last few decades, Australia 

has emerged as the country 

with the third highest number 

of international students of 

any country in the world 


afield and with growing 

middle classes across the 

African region, because that’s 

where we think there’s 

potential for growth in the 

future. Our tourism sector is 

one of our largest industries 

which have been growing very 

quickly for many years now 

but we would like to see that 

growth sustained by 

welcoming people from nontraditional 

markets, if I could 

put it that way. 

What future plans does the 

Australian government have 

to increase the number of 

Nigerian tourists visiting 

Australia? 

The marketing of Australia 

is very broad and is often 

web-based. Increasingly 

using those sorts of channels 

around social media, limits 

budgets so you don’t get 

to see large scale 

promotional 

campaigns here 

because they are often 

targeted at the markets 

that are closer to home. 

For example in China 

and parts of Asia where 

the bulk of tourist 

growth is coming. But 

because we welcome the third 

obviously, part of my job as 

largest group of international 

ambassador is to sell Australia 

students making us a 

as a destination whether itbe 

dominant player in that 

for tourism, business, 

particular market. We’re 

education, cultural exchange 

looking to grow that and 

or people to people links. It’s 

encourage more Nigerians 

all about relationships and 

students to experience the 

deepening the connections 

high quality of education that 

that we have between 

they can acquire in Australia. 

Australia and the world. 

There are many links 

What is Nigeria looking 

obviously, between 

like in your view in recent 

educational institutions in 

times? What has taken a 

Australia and Nigeria. We also 

favorable turn? 

have an annual scholarships 

Most noticeably for me is 

program- Australia Awardsthrough 

which we provide 

the incredible wealth this 

country possesses in its 

bursaries for Nigerian 

human capital. The talent and 

students who are looking to 

energy of Nigerians is really 

undergo masters’ courses in 

something you have to 

particular priority areas that 

experience first-hand to really 

would give them the skills to 

appreciate and I’ve being 

then come back to Nigeria 

fortunate to do that since been 

and contribute to 

here. Also, I think that 

developments here. 

whatever difficulties the 

In the area of security, what 

country encounters whether 

is the extent of cooperation? 

they are on the security front 

Australia is very much 

or having to do with the 

committed to cooperating 

economic situation, there’s 

with partners like Nigeria to 

always a great spirit of hope 

eliminate the scourge of violent 

and resilience and energy in 

insurgencies across the globe. 

this country which has 

By many measures, Australia 

sustained it through difficult 

is the largest NATO contributor 

times in the past and I’m sure 

to military efforts to curb 

it’ll continue to be so in the 

insurgency in Syria and Iraq. 

future. 

And we are doing that because 

And what has taken a turn 

we want to eliminate that 

for the worse in your view? 

scourge there but also to any 

Well, I think it’s pretty hard 

further spread in other parts of 

to ignore that the country is 

the world. So we stand very 

in recession. And it’s a 

much with Nigeria and other 

pressing issue for the 

partner countries in efforts to 

government, people, and 

eliminate insurgencies because 

business to get the economy 

it’s a multi -national 

back on its feet. I think now 

international problem that 

that there’s been some 

needs a multi-national 

advances with the security in 

international response. 

North-East , although there are 

With the surge of Nigerian 

plenty of security challenges in 

tourists that is growing 

the Niger-Delta , what the 

higher every year, what has 

government is doing to correct 

Tourism Australia done 

that economic trajectory is 

about this to further promote 

certainly timely and would be 

this lovely country? 

beneficial once that situation 

Tourism Australia is very 

turns around. Australia is 

active in looking at expanding 

looking to continue on its path 

our in-bound markets .But 

in developing our 

there’s also a growing 

relationships across the 

appreciation of looking further 

continent. 

•Paul Lehmann, High Commissioner, 

Australian High Commission 

C 

M 

Y 

K





:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@van 

Tribute to an 

unforgettable 

revolutionary icon 

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By Rauf Aregbesola 

“Died in beauty, like a 

rose blown from its parent 

stem” –Charles Doyne Sillery 

AT last the curtain fell on 

the exemplary life of the 

Commandante of The Army 

of the oppressed and disinherited 

people worldwide. 

Fidel Alejandro Castro 

Ruz has passed on after 90 

eventful years, 49 of which he 

held sway as the Prime 

Minister and later President 

of Cuba. Indeed, Castro has 

become a permanent feature 

of political and ideological 

discourse for more than five 

decades, such that we almost 

thought he would live forever. 

The feeling is mixed. Yes 

mixed! To lose such an 

inspiring and profound 

personality is eternally painful 

but for such a legend 

to depart at the ripe old age 

of 90, deserves a huge 

celebration in a world where 

the average life span hardly 

surpasses 50 years, and not 

more than 70 years for men 

in the most advanced nations 

on our planet. 

He holds the 

unenviable record 

of the man who 

has had the most 

assassination 

attempts on his 

life, with none 

succeeding 

On behalf of the 

Government and people of 

The State of Osun, and in 

recognition of the historical 

and cultural bond between the 

Cubans and Yoruba in the 

State of Osun in Nigeria and 

worldwide, we salute the 

courage, determination, 

vision, resilience and 

revolutionary zeal of Fidel 

and his companions, the 

indomitable spirit of Cubans, 

and Solidarity of all people 

of the world, committed to 

human dignity, freedom and 

happiness. 

Gargantuan spirit 

of internationalism 

From the July 26 movement 

of 1953, the Granma 

Expedition of November 

25,1956, the ultimate victory 

of the revolution on January 

1, 1959 and to his final 

departure from our realm 

yesterday night at about 10 

pm, November 25, 2016, we 

are sure that our 

Commandante had lived a 

fulfilled life that history will 

never forget. 

Millions of people – 

students, academics, poets, 

politicians, trade unionists, 

artisans, revolutionary 

cadres and humanists – 

including my humble self, 

drew inspiration from him, his 

rhetorics, writings, 

reflections,dedication, 

integrity and commitment to 

building socialism.There is no 

doubt that the world is a better 

place because of him, 

consequently a gem has been 

lost indeed. 

A gem lost 

He was a symbol of 

resistance to injustice and 

oppression as all the oppressed 

people of the world drew 

inspiration from him. He 

holds the unenviable record 

of the man who has had the 

most assassination 

attempts on his life, with none 

succeeding. He stood for what 

he believed in and not once 

did he flinch in the face of the 

most formidable military 

encirclement and daunting 

economic and financial 

strangulation. Ironically, the 

man that the greatest powers 

on earth could not break, 

finally succumbed to illness 

and ultimately the cold hands 

of death, in the way of all 

mortals. 

As Africans we remember 

the solidarity, partnerships, 

high level of discipline and 

sense of duty of the Cubans to 

the liberation struggles, 

health care delivery, 

education, sports and youth 

development and political 

consciousness in Africa under 

the leadership and direction 

of Fidel and his 

administration. 

Nevertheless, even in 

death, Castro has joined the 

pantheons of immortals 

whose ideas and praxis 

dominated and influenced 

their world and will therefore 

live forever in the hearts of 

people, in literature and 

politics and in the physical 

monuments that will be 

named after him all over the 

world. Millions will carry on 

the struggle, from where he 

left it. 

Fidel Castro has been 

rightly described by The 

Guardian of London as a 

‘revolutionary icon’. It is 

expected that well deserved 

encomiums and heartfelt 

tributes will pour in for a life 

of struggle, Spartan 

discipline, selflessness and 

sacrifice that he lived. 

As we mourn and celebrate 

the passage of 

this international 

revolutionary legend, hero of 

the oppressed, fighter of 

oppression and exploitation, 

promoter of social justice, 

soldier and Commandante 

of ideas, we join the people 

of Cuba in their national grief 

and urge them to renew and 

redouble their commitment 

and duty to the struggle and 

ultimate victory of socialism. 

Fidel Castro has completed 

his earthly assignment but the 

ideas for which he struggled, 

defended, sacrificed, lived and 

died like his other immortal 

colleagues, will live forever. 

Long Live Cuba ! 

Long live the revolution !! 

Till Everlasting Victory !!! 

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola 

Governor, State of Osun.




governor for the next 

years. 

“Today, change has 

come. I hereby make a 

solemn pledge that this 

collective mandate shall 

address all issues with 

keen determination. The 

welfare of our people 

alone shall be the directive 

policy of the government. 

“Today’s victory is a 

confirmation of the 

willingness and readiness 

of the people of Ondo 

State to change and seek 

a better life. I thank you 

for your faith and 

confidence in me. I thank 

all those whose 

uncommon sacrifice, 

contributed in no small 

measure to the success of 

the exercise. A special 

show of gratitude must be 

extended to our security 

agents for their patriotic 

duty. 

“I shall in few months be 

saddled with the task of 

providing responsible 

leadership, a leadership 

that would take our 

people from poverty and 

stagnation to productivity 

and prosperity, from pains 

and lamentation to joy and 

laughter. It is the sole 

reason you have voted for 

me and by the grace of 

God, I will not fail you." 

INEC rigged Ondo 

election in advance 

for APC — Fayose 

Ekiti State Governor, Mr 

Ayodele Fayose lamented 

the outcome of the 

election, saying that 

INEC connived with the 

APC and its collaborators 

in the PDP to rig the 

election before it was 

conducted. 

“Just as I would have 

loved to congratulate the 

winner, Mr Rotimi 

Akeredolu (SAN), 

because in every contest, 

there must be a winner 

and a loser, the role of 

INEC in awarding victory 

to him in the election left 

much to be desired,” he 

said in a statement issued 

by his Special Assistant 

on 

Public 

Communications and 

New Media, Lere 

Olayina. 

According to him, the 

INEC gave the APC 

victory in the election by 

deliberately replacing the 

name of Mr Eyitayo 

Jegede, the PDP 

candidate, thereby, 

creating legal logjam that 

lasted till three days to the 


He said the PDP went 

to the election with its 

hands tied to the back 

because of the 

uncharitable actions of 

INEC, which has become 

an arm of the APC. 

He maintained that 

apart from the APC, 

political parties in Nigeria 

are now contesting 

elections against INEC. 

Governor Fayose 

lamented that “to sustain 

the ‘see and buy’ strategy 

and legalise money 

politics, the APC-led 

federal government 

GUINNESS AGM—From left: Company Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Odusola; 

Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Peter Ndegwa; Chairman, Mr. Babatunde 

Savage; Vice-Chairman, Mr John O'Keffe and Non Executive Director, Mr. 

Bismarck Rewane all of Guinness Nigeria Plc at the 66th Annual General 

Meeting of the company held at the Flamingo Hall of the Best Western Hotel, 

Benin, Edo State last Wednesday. 



deliberately created 

poverty in the country so 

as to continue to enslave 

the minds of Nigerians 

with peanuts to get their 

votes on election day, 

saying; “Dibo ko sebe 

(vote and cook soup) was 

the slang used by the APC 

in the Ondo State election 

and that only worked 

because the APC federal 

government has put 

Nigerians in abject 

poverty.” 

He said: “Even though 

INEC allowed what 

appeared like a free and 

fair atmosphere on the 

election day, the election 

had been won and lost 

before it was held. For 

instance, INEC that 

witnessed the PDP 

primary election that 

produced Mr Eyitayo 

Jegede succumbed to 

pressure from the APC 

cabal to replace him with 

Jimoh Ibrahim, who did 

not take part in any 

primary election known to 

the Electoral Act. 

“What could anyone 

have done under 72 hours 

in an election that was 

heavily monetised by the 

APC? The whole process 

was a deliberate sabotage 

by INEC, which has 

totally bastardised the 

electoral process. 

Obviously, all these 

shenanigans are geared 

towards turning Nigeria 

to a one party state by 

weakening all opposition 

parties ahead of the 2019 

general elections but I 

can assure Nigerians that 

this will not last because 

the people will always 

defeat tyranny.” 

Accept defeat in 

good faith, APC 

tells other 

contestants 

Celebrating its victory, 

the APC called for calm 

and appealed to 

opposition parties and 

their candidates to accept 

their defeat in the Ondo 

poll in good faith. 

APC National 

Chairman, Chief John 

Odigie-Oyegun, in a 

statement issued by Mr 

Edegbe Odemwingie, the 

party‘s assistant director 

of publicity, congratulated 

Akeredolu and and his 

running mate, Mr 

Agboola Ajayi on their 

victory. 

Thanking Ondo people 

for voting Akeredolu and 

APC, it said: “The Ondo 

electorate had voted for 

the candidate with a 

proven track record of 

performance who will 

bring about the kind of 

focused leadership and 

multi-faceted 

development the state 

deserved,’’ assuring that 

Akeredolu will deliver on 

their expectations. 

Buhari felicitates 

with Akeredolu 

President Buhari while 

congratulating Akeredolu 

asked him to put behind 

the acrimonies that trailed 

the campaigns. 

A statement issued by 

the President’s Special 

Adviser on Media and 

Publicity, Mr Femi 

Adesina, read: “Buhari 

rejoices with the good 

people of Ondo State who 

aligned with his own 

belief that Akeredolu with 

his pedigree possesses 

the qualities to transform 

the state into the Ondo of 

their dreams. 

“From the beginning, 

this election set out to be 

a different kind of 

election. The unity and 

resilience of the party was 

tested. I am happy we 

came out of this victorious. 

This is a huge win. The 

mood today is against 

corruption, insecurity and 

for the restoration of the 

economy and the creation 

of jobs. This is where the 

party stands and I am 

happy that the electorate 

have read the situation 

correctly.” 

He called on other 

contestants in the election 

to see the triumph of 

Akeredolu as the wish of 

God and enjoined them to 

work together with him to 

make “the state a truly 

progressive and 

economically prosperous 

one for all.” 

The President 

commended the 


Electoral Commission 

(INEC), the security 

agencies and the voters 

for the peaceful and 

successful conduct of the 


All disaffected APC 

members must 

come together 

– Tinubu 

National leader of the 

APC, 

while 


on his victory urged all 

“disaffected” members of 

the party to come 

together.’’ His words: 

“Following the 

announcement by the 


Electoral Commission 

(INEC) with regard to the 

governorship elections in 

Ondo State, I extend 

congratulations to Mr. 

Oluwarotimi Akeredolu 

SAN on the outcome of the 

election and for his 

perseverance and 

persistence in seeking that 

office,” he said in a 

statement he personally 

signed. 

“I must also congratulate 

the people of Ondo State for 

their generally exemplary 

conduct on election day and 

for demonstrating their will 

to shun the regressive 

politics of yesterday by 

returning to the progressive 

brand of politics that has 

been the trademark of the 

people of that state. 

“I congratulate all party 

members in the state, 

particularly the party 

leadership in the South- 

West. 

“Finally, I must express 

profound congratulations to 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari, the national leader 

of the party, whose stature 

and dignity helped guide 

the APC to another victory 

that should advance the 

progressive aims of the 

party and the people. To all 

the people and parties in 

Ondo, your election has 

been had and held. Now is 

the time that all must work 

for the continued 

development, prosperity 

and peace of your state and 

our beloved country. 

“I appeal to all party 

members including those 

who have been disaffected 

from the primary until today 

to come together for the 

good of our party and it’s 

progressive ideals.” 

Ondo could not have 

made a better choice 

– Saraki 

Senate President Bukola 

Saraki also hailed 

Akeredolu, saying that 

Ondo could not have made 

a better choice. 

In a statement by his 

Special Adviser, Media 

and Publicity, Saraki who 

noted that Akeredolu’s 

victory did not come to him 

as surprise going by his 

excellent credentials and 

years of preparedness for 

the business of governance, 

however urged the 

Governor-elect to be 

magnanimous in victory by 

ensuring that he works with 

all relevant stakeholders in 

the arduous task of moving 

the Sunshine State to the 

next level. 

Ondo people made 

the right choice 

– Fayemi 

In the same vein, 

Fayemi, in a congratulatory 

message signed by his 

Special Assistant on 

Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode, 

said Akeredolu’s victory at 

the poll was victory for 

democracy as well as the 

people of Ondo State, who 

have long clamoured for 

change. 

The Minister said the 

people of Ondo State have, 

through their votes, 

demonstrated their 

preference for 

transformative leadership 

and progressive 

governance, which 

Akeredolu represents. 

Fayemi urged them to 

cooperate fully with the 

soon-to-be- inaugurated 

APC-led government 

which will usher the state 

to a new era of all-round 

development. 

He urged all the relevant 

stakeholders in the state to 

accept the verdict of the 

people and work with 

Akeredolu to move the 

State forward. 

The minister enjoined 

Akeredolu to commence a 

process of reconciliation 

aimed at uniting the party 

in the state. 

Fayemi noted that he was 

certain that Akeredolu 

would run a responsive 

and people-oriented 

government in the State. 

He saluted the 

contestants for their 

maturity which contributed 

to the peaceful atmosphere 

under which the election 

held. 

Be father to all, 

Tambuwal urges 

Akeredolu 

Gov. Aminu Tambuwal 

advised the Governor-elect 

to be a father to all. 

In a congratulatory 

message to Akeredolu 

issued by his spokesman, 

Malam Imam Imam, he 

said that Akeredolu must 

become a father-figure to all 

irrespective of political 

differences, adding that the 

onus lies on Akeredolu and 

the political class in the state 

to work together to propel 

the state to growth and 

development. 

“At the risk of sounding 

repetitive, let me reiterate 

what I have always said that 

there is time for everything. 

There is time for politicking 

and time for governance. 

Now that politicking is over 

in Ondo, I urge all 

stakeholders to tailor their 

energy towards ensuring a 

successful transition 

leading to the swearing-in 

of Mr Rotimi Akeredole as 

the new Governor of Ondo 

State,” he said. 

Dogara 

congratulates 


Speaker of the House of 

Representatives, Yakubu 

Dogara while 


via a statement signed by 

his Special Adviser on 

Media and Public Affairs, 

Turaki Hassan, said that the 

outcome of the result was 

an indication that despite 

the hardship Nigerians 

were passing through, 

APC, was still loved by the 

people. 

“The election of Barrister 

Akeredolu and the APC in 

Ondo State is a clear 

indication of the popularity 

of our political party. I 

would like to congratulate 

my learned colleague on 

his victory at the poll." 

Ambode 

fetes 


Lagos State Governor, 

Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, 

in a statement by his 

Chief Press Secretary, Mr. 

Habib 

Aruna, 

congratulated Akeredolu, 

President Buhari, the APC 

and the people of Ondo 

State on the outcome of the 


Congratulating 

Akeredolu specially for his 

hard-fought victory, he 

wished the governor-elect 

well as he prepares to take 

the mantle of leadership of 

Ondo. 

He also urged Akeredolu 

to use his tenure to forge 

ahead with the quest to 

unite the Yoruba nation 

especially through regional 

integration and economic 

transformation of the South- 

West geo-political zone.

42 —VANGUARD, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 

ONDO POLL: Power shifts to Owo, 

33 years after Adekunle Ajasin 

* Babatope, Mohammed, Peterside, others react 

By Clifford Ndujihe, Dayo 

Johnson, Charles Kumolu & 

Gbenga Oke 

WITH the victory of 

Ondo State 

Governor-elect, Mr 

Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, in last 

Saturday’s election, power will 

return to the Owo axis of the 

state when Governor Olusegun 

Mimiko, quits in February 

2017. 

The last time an Owo person 

governed the state was in 1983 

during the era of late Second 

Republic and first civilian 

governor of Ondo, Chief 

Michael Adekunle Ajasin. 

The Independent National 

Electoral Commission, INEC, 

yesterday, declared Akeredolu, 

who ran on the platform of the 

All Progressives Congress, 

APC, as the winner of the Ondo 

State governorship poll. He 

polled 244,842 votes to beat his 

closest marker, Mr Eyitayo 

Jegede of the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, who got 

150,380 votes. He emerged 

victorious with a margin of 

94,462 votes and won in 14 of 

18 local councils. Jegede won 

in two local councils. Alliance 

for Democracy, AD candidate, 

Chief Olusola Oke, garnered 

126,889 votes and won in two 

local councils, according to the 

final results announced by the 

Vice Chancellor of University 

of Ilorin, Professor 

Abdulganiyu Ambali, the 

returning officer. 

Dr Olu Agunloye of the Social 

Democratic Party SDP polled 

10,149 votes to come fourth 

without winning any of the 18 

council areas of the state. 

When Akeredolu ascends to 

power in February, it will be 

coming 13 years after Ondo 

North held power through late 

Chief Adebayo Adefarati. 

Ambali gave the total number 

of valid votes to be 551,272 

votes, rejected votes 29,615, 

total number of votes cast 

580,887. 

The council areas won by 

Akeredolu include the two 

strongholds of Jegede – Akure 

South and. Akure North and 

Ifedore, the council area of the 

state chairman of the PDP, 

Clement Faboyede. 

Akeredolu won massively in 

Owo, where he hails from with 

over 32000 votes. 

Other councils won by the 

governor-elect include Idanre, 

lrele, Akoko North East, Ile 

Oluji-Okeigbo, Akoko South- 

East, Ose, Akoko South-West, 

Akoko North-West, Odigbo and 

Ese-Odo. 

Jegede who was betrayed by 

his people in both Akure North 

and Akure South managed to 

win in the two councils 

controlled by the outgoing 

governor, Dr Olusegun 

Mimiko - Ondo East and Ondo 

West council areas. 

Olusola Oke also managed to 

win in Okitipupa and won 

massively in his homet own of 

Ilaje local council. 

How parties induced voters 

– Situation Room, YIAGA 

Meanwhile, a Civil Society 

group, Situation Room, 

yesterday, said the just 

concluded governorship 

election in Ondo state, recorded 

incidents of vote buying by 

political parties. 

Speaking at a Press 

Conference in Akure, the 

Coordinator of the group, 

Clement Nwankwo, said the 

group observed that political 

parties openly paid voters to 

induce them saying this 

portends a great threat to free 

The last time an 

Owo person 

governed the state 

was in 1983 during 

the era of late 

Second Republic 

and first civilian 

governor of Ondo, 

Chief Michael 

Adekunle Ajasin 

election in the country. 

The group noted some 

isolated incidents of misconduct 

by some security operatives, 

who it said were collecting 

envelopes from party agents. 

He said: “While observing 

that the Police responded to 

some incidents of Electoral Act 

violation such as 

impersonation, we observed 

however that cases of vote 

buying were not adequately 

responded to” 

The group however 

commended the electoral 

umpire over early distribution 

and deployment of materials, 

and the simultaneous process 

of accreditation and voting, 

describing it as a significant 

improvement on the part of 


Electoral Commission, INEC. 

“There were, however, 

challenges with receiving 

collated results from local 

governments that were distant 

from Akure, the State collation 

headquarters. This created 

delay in the announcement of 

results from all the local 

governments at the same time. 

There is need for further work 

to improve collation time in 

future election,” he said. 

Nwankwo commended the 

security measures put in place 

to ensure a peaceful poll 

adding that security personnel 

carried out their duties in a 

civil and professional manner. 

Also,the Youth Initiative for 

Advocacy Growth and 

Advancement, YIAGA, 

identified vote buying and 

bribery, card Reader 

malfunctions, public display of 

ballots by voters before placing 

it in the ballot, intimidation and 

harassment of voters as some 

of the incidents that were 

witnessed during the poll. 

The group, which employed 

“Watching The Vote” 

observation method during the 

election said some incidents that 

took place during the election 

such as accreditation of people 

without PVC, accreditation of 

voters without the Card Reader, 

poll officials not posting results, 

partisan poll officials among 

others were enough to 

undermine the credibility of the 

overall process of the election. 

The leader of the group, 

Samson Itodo,said that the 

result released by INEC 

reflected the will of the people 

of the state. 

Itodo said that the turn out of 

Itodo asked the governor 

elect, Rotimi Akeredolu to be 

magnanimous in victory and 

urged the losers to accept the 

results with maturity. 

Nigerian Judiciary should be 

blamed over Jegede’s loss — 

Mohammed 

Speaking on the poll, Second 

Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid 

Mohammed, said those 

looking for who to blame in the 

just concluded Ondo election 

should blame the Judiciary. 

“As far as I am concerned, 

nobody should blame APC or 

any other person for Jegede’s 

travails. The judiciary should 

be blamed for not rising to the 

occasion at the right time. I feel 

strongly that INEC tried its best 

in this election and it seems to 

have improved.The violence in 

the election was minimal 

knowing fully well what Ondo 

used to be during the first and 

second republics. This election 

going on without much of 

violence is a sign of relief. 

“Those looking for people to 

blame should blame the 

Judiciary but APC or any other 

party should not be blamed for 

Jegede’s inability to get his 

candidature until two days 

before the election”. 

Ondo people have spoken 

with clear voice – Peterside 

Rivers APC governorship 

candidate in the 2015 election, 

Dr Dakuku Peterside, said for 

the umpteenth time, the APC 

would win any free, fair and 

credible election devoid of 

violence and intimidation 

because of the credibility of its 

candidates and general 

acceptance of the party. 

“The people of Ondo State 

have spoken in loud and clear 

voice. They have chosen the 

candidate of their choice in a 

free and fair manner. I have 

always said that APC will win 

any free and fair contest. I 

congratulate the people of 

Ondo State and Chief Rotimi 

Akeredolu for this victory. I call 

on Chief Akeredolu to see his 

victory as that of the entire 

Ondo State people,” he said. 

He urged the governor-elect 

‘’to be humble in his victory 

and see his emergence as the 

wish of Ondo State people to 

chart a new course in the 

realisation of their hopes and 

aspirations.” 

INEC and APC manipulated 

the election — Babatope 

Former Minister of Transport, 

Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said 

the INEC and APC connived 

to manipulate the election in 

favour of Akeredolu. 

“I cannot say much right now 

because we are waiting for the 

National Headquarters of the 

PDP to issue a statement on 

behalf of the party. However, I 

must point out that INEC has 

not been fair to the PDP but I 

believe strongly that APC may 

not suffer now but they will 

suffer in the end.” 

Time for Yoruba governors 

to rally round Akeredolu— 

ARG 

Chairman of the Afenifere 

Renewal Group, Mr. Wale 

Oshun said: “We charge 

Akeredolu, as the guardian of 

the people’s mandate, to 

continuously and consistently 

prove himself as a leader 

worthy of his people’s trust, by 

constantly communicating his 

vision and managing the 

resources of the state towards 

the development and wellbeing 

of Ondo State. We also 

charge the people to cooperate 

with the governor-elect, be alert 

to their civic duties and keep 

the government on that path of 

straight and narrow,” he said 

in statement. 

“We trust that Akeredolu’s 

administration will prioritise 

good governance over 

partisanship, in the noble and 

progressive tradition of 

Awolowo and Ajasin, which is 

the main reason he earned our 

endorsement.''



N-Delta govs accused of hijacking over N1trn 

annually 

By Michael Eboh & 

Jimitota Onoyume 

OIL and solid minerals 

producing communities, 

weekend, accused the political 

class and state governors in the 

Niger Delta region of hijacking 

funds meant for the development 

of the region, totaling over N1 

trillion annually. 

The communities, under the 

aegis of Oil and Solid Minerals 

Producing Areas Landlords’ 

Association of Nigeria, 

OMPALAN, claimed that the 

region’s elected representatives 

had betrayed the trust of the 

people they were representing by 

persistently short-changing host 

communities with impunity. 

In a statement in Abuja, on 

behalf of the communities, 

Chairman, Board of Trustees, 

OMPALAN, Mr. Udo Azogu, 

stated that respite could only come 

to oil producing areas when the 

Federal Government mustered 

enough courage to stop the 

alleged recklessness and 

lawlessness of governors of oil 

producing state who mismanage 

oil-related palliative 

programmes. 

He said: “Robust palliative 

programmes such as the Niger 

Delta Development Commission, 

NDDC, Ministry of Niger Delta 

Affairs, 13% Oil Derivation Fund 

Commission, Ecological Fund 

and Amnesty packages, among 

others, worth trillions of Naira 

annually, established by the 

Federal Government in quick 

succession to cushion the harsh 

effects of acute environmental 

challenges in host (oil producing) 

communities have been 

hijacked by the tiny but, 

influential political class in the 

oil-rich regions to the extent that 

simple survival in these 

communities had become a 

measure of success.” 

He maintained that President 

Muhammadu Buhari must tell 

oil producing state governors to 

stop tampering or meddling 

with 13% Oil Derivation Funds 

that accrued to their states. 

Azogu argued that the 

governors must give the NDDC 

and Ministry of Niger Delta 

Affairs the free hand to deliver, 

alleging that open diversion of 

huge mitigation funds running 

Obaseki faults sending children to foreign universities 

By Simon Ebegbulem & 

Gabriel Enogholase 

B E N I N — 

GOVERNOR Godwin 

Obaseki of Edo State, has said the 

billions of naira spent by 

Nigerians to educate their wards 

and children in universities 

abroad do not add value to the 

country’s economic growth either 

in the short or long term. 

This came as he urged 

Nigerians to embrace change 

and come up with innovative 


the way they think for the country 

to move out of recession. 

He spoke, weekend, at Okada, 

Ovia North East Local 

Government, during the 14th 

convocation of Igbinedion 

University, Okada. 

According to him, recent 

developments in Nigeria had 

shown that the educational policy 

had reduced the quality of output 

of the educational system, noting 

that Nigerians could not continue 

to work at the level of the current 

economic challenges and expect 

solutions that could turn around 

its fortunes. 

The Edo governor, who 

Okowa tasks traditional rulers on peace building 

•As Orodje of Okpe celebrates 10th anniversary 

By Festus Ahon 

A SABA—GOVERNOR 

Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta 

State has told communities and 

other stakeholders, particularly 

traditional rulers, to engage in 

peace building in their areas to 

promote development in all 

parts of the state. 

Speaking, weekend, in 

Orerokpe, Okpe Local 

Government Area, during the 

grand finale of the 10th 

Coronation Anniversary of 

HRM Orhue I, Orodje of Okpe 

kingdom, Okowa held that only 

a peaceful environment could 

attract development and 

into millions and billions of Naira 

with impunity, hiding under the 

masquerade of immunity, must 

stop. 

According to him, these 

governors constituted a great 

threat to both security and 

democracy as they sacked 

elected local government 

administrations and took over 

their funds, divert 13% oil 

derivation funds to the detriment 

of impacted communities, use 

ecological funds at their whims 

and caprices, while the rubberstamp 

state parliaments watch 

with consuming admiration. 

He further stated that while the 

group believed that it was 

justifiable and proper that oil 

blocks be allocated to the 

regions that produce oil, it must 

be properly considered to meet 

the ends of justice to the benefit 

of the common man and not 

allocated to the same vicious 

oligarchy that shortchanged the 

system with impunity. 

But reacting, Dr Austin Tam- 

George, Rivers State 

Commissioner for Information 

and Communications, said oil 

bearing communities were part 

of an integrated development 

plan of the Rivers State 

Government. 

According to him: “Governor 

Nyesom Wike spends every 

kobo in developing Rivers 

State." 

VISIT: From left: Deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu; Chairman, House of 

Representatives Committee on Power, Daniel Asuquo and other members of the committee, 

when they paid a courtesy visit to the deputy governor, weekend, in Benin City. 

disclosed that his administration 

would be driven by knowledge, 

data and established base lines, 

said he was committed to 

reforming the educational sector 

of the state with a view to 

creating knowledge-driven 

economy where Edo people 

could unlock their potentials. 

He said: “One of the key 

midterm strategies to return 

Nigeria to the path of inclusive 

economic growth and sustainable 

development is to reform our 

educational sector in such a 

manner that can unlock the 

creative potentials of our youths. 

We must embrace change. We 

must come up with innovative 


the way we think and work. One 

of the imperatives of my 

investment to the society. 

Urging the traditional 

institutions to partner 

government to ensure peace and 

security in their domains and the 

state at large so that investment 

and development would thrive, 

he appealed to the youths in the 

various communities to desist 

from pipeline vandalism. 

He decried that pipeline 

vandalism was impacting 

negatively on communities and 

the state and lamented that it 

had hampered meaningful 

development in the various oil 

bearing areas. 

He said: “I urge all 

administration is to ensure 

that governance is driven by 

knowledge, data and 

established base lines. Nigeria 

as a country cannot afford to 

continue to import human 

resources from foreign countries 

while we spend billions of naira 

to educate our youths outside 

the country that do not add value 

to our economic growth in the 

short and medium terms." 

stakeholders to join hands in 

ensuring peace and security in 

our various communities. I 

particularly thank His Royal 

Majesty the Orodje of Okpe for 

his commitment, not only in 

ensuring peace in Okpe 

Kingdom, but extended same to 

the state by his fatherly advice. 

Today, Okpe Kingdom has been 

relatively peaceful in the last 

one and a half years and this 

has secured oil activities in this 

axis. 

“Deltans have suffered 

enough of pipeline vandalism. 

We should give peace a 

chance." 

Ibori: UK 

launches new 

investigation 

THE UK Independent 

Police Complaints 

Commission, IPCC, has 

launched fresh investigations 

into the original London 

Metropolitan Police case officers 

involved in the James 

OnanefeIbori case. 

Officers in the case were DC 

Peter Clark, DC John 

McDonald, DC Ben Irons, DC 

Mathew Hurding-Jones, DC 

David Cocks, DS George 

Simpson, DI Gary Walters and 

AFI Paul Gardiner. 

The revelation was made by a 

lawyer, Lambertus De Boer, in 

his Twitter account at the 

weekend, according to Tony 

Eluemunor, Ibori’s media 

assistant , in a press statement, 

yesterday. 

Eluemunor said: “These 

officers, some with the National 

Crime Agency are believed to 

have been served with anticorruption 

notices. Surprisingly, 

they remain on active duty while 

the investigation continues. 

These same officers, who 

worked for the Department of 

Foreign Investment and 

Development, DfID, funded 

‘Proceeds of Corruption Unit 

with the MPS were investigated 

in 2012, after Bhadresh Gohil 

alerted the authorities of police 

corruption at the heart of the 

James Ibori investigation and 

prosecution. 

Unknown to Gohil, the 

Metropolitan Police Service, 

MPS,had themselves 

independently suspected deep 

rooted corruption in relation to 

these officers and had itself 

conducted a covert surveillance 

operation, code-named – 

“Operation Limonium”. Despite 

substantial evidence, the MPS 

whitewashed its investigations 

because making such public 

before Ibori’s trial was 

concluded could shoot down the 

conviction of Ibori and his 

associates. Now, that whitewash 

has become a bullet in the 

armoury of Ibori’s lawyers as 

they head to the Court of 

Appeal, where that failure will 

be pleaded as yet another 

infraction against the Police. 

Retired generals 

charge Nigeria on 

unity 

ASSOCIATION 

of 

retired army generals, 

weekend, at the palace of the 

Orodje of Okpe, Okpe Local 

Government Area, Delta State, 

charged Nigerians to embrace 

unity for the purpose of one 

Nigeria. 

The retired generals with the 

code name, Association of 

Nigeria Defence Academy, 

NDA, Regular Course Number 

5, 1968-1971, also presented a 

horse to the traditional ruler as 

a token of their oneness and sign 

of brotherhood. 

Addressing newsmen at the 

palace of the Orodje, secretary 

of the association Brig-Gen. D. 

O. Idada Ikponmuwen (retd.,) 

said Nigerians should go back 

to the old days when citizens 

knew no boundaries or tribes.

44 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 

The late Cuban President Fidel Castro attends a Mercosur trade bloc summit 

in Cordoba, Argentina, July 21, 2006. (Inset) People celebrate after the 

announcement of the death of Castro in the Little Havana district of Miami 

Castro’s death divides Cubans 

CUBA’s 

most 

prominent dissident 

group called off its weekly 

protest march for the first 

time in 13 years on Sunday 

following the death of its 

nemesis Fidel Castro, the 

revolutionary leader whose 

passing has cast a pall over 

World leaders react to 

ex-communist leader’s exit 

the island. 

Castro, a world figure 

who built a communist state 

on the doorstep of the 

United States and defied 

half a century of U.S. efforts 

to topple him, died late on 

Friday at the age of 90. 

The Cuban government 

WORLD leaders offered condolences and expressed 

their feelings over Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s 

death Saturday morning. 

President Obama said: “Today, we offer condolences 

to Fidel Castro’s family, and our thoughts and prayers 

are with the Cuban people.” 

“For nearly six decades, the relationship between the 

United States and Cuba was marked by discord and 

profound political disagreements. 

During my presidency, we have worked hard to put the 

past behind us, pursuing a future in 

which 

the relationship between our two countries is defined not 

by our differences but by the many things that we share 

as neighbors and friends — bonds of family, culture, 

commerce, and common humanity.” 

He was a brutal dictator —Trump 

PRESIDENT-elect Donald Trump struck a more 

defiant tone in his statement: “Today, the 

world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who 

oppressed his own people for nearly six decades,” 

Trump said. “Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing 

squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and 

the denial of fundamental human rights,” he said. 

Castro symbolized an era of history—Putin 

VLADIMIR Putin, the Russian president, sent a 

telegram to Raúl Castro, hailing Fidel Castro as a 

“symbol of a whole era of modern world history” saying he 

was “a wise and strong person” who was “an inspiring 

example for all countries and peoples” and a “sincere and 

reliable friend of Russia.” 

Russia’s prime minister, Dimitry Medvedev, said, in part, 

“Without exaggeration, a whole era of history is gone with 

Fidel Castro.” 

Pope Francis sent a telegram to Raúl Castro as well, 

writing, “Upon receiving the sad news of the passing of 

your beloved brother, the honorable Fidel Castro Ruz, former 

president of the state council and the government of the 

Republic of Cuba, I express my sadness to your excellency 

and all family members of the deceased dignitary, as well 

as the government and the people in that beloved nation.” 

He made immortal contributions to 

socialism—Chinese President 

CHINESE President Xi Jinping also sent a telegram 

to Cuba on Saturday, mourning the loss of a “dear 

comrade and true friend” of the Chinese people who 

made “immortal contributions to the development of 

socialism around the world.” China’s official Xinhua 

News Agency eulogized a man who “resisted the 

American superpower for half a century” with the headline: 

“Old Soldiers Never Die.” 

has declared a nine-day 

period of mourning and 

suspended alcohol sales 

and even baseball games. 

The Ladies in White 

dissident group decided to 

avoid creating tensions this 

week. 

“We’re not going to march 

today so that the government 

does not take it as a 

provocation and so that they 

can pay their tributes,” the 

group’s leader, Berta Soler, 

said on Sunday. “We respect 

the mourning of others and 

will not celebrate the death 

of any human being.” 

The group, originally 

formed in support of 

husbands jailed for political 

opposition, has called 

protest marches in Havana 

following Mass at a Roman 

Catholic Church each 

Sunday for the past 13 years. 

It has been the rare 

expression of dissent to be 

largely tolerated by the 

Communist government, 

although police have 

clamped down over the past 

several months, stopping 

protesters in their homes and 

preventing the 

demonstrations from taking 

place. The difference this 

week is that dissidents 

themselves have opted 

against even trying, three 

opposition leaders said. 

The streets of Havana 

have been calm since 

Castro’s death, with people 

expressing national pride by 

hanging more Cuban flags 

than normal. 

Lysset Perez, a 44-year-old 

peanut vendor, dressed in 

the national colors with a 

single-starred, blue, red and 

white flag on her head on 

Sunday. “It’s calm but a little 

dark because Cuba is music 

and for nine days of 

mourning there will be no 

music,” Perez said. “There 

is calm and sadness. If it 

weren’t for Fidel and the 

revolution, the people 

wouldn’t be as they are: 

educated and cultured.” 

As Zimbabwe’s money runs out, so 

does Mugabe’s power 

IN Zimbabwe, where 

worthless $100 trillion 

notes serve as reminders of 

the perils of hyperinflation, 

President Robert Mugabe 

is printing a new currency 

that jeopardizes not just the 

economy but his own long 

grip on power. 

Six months ago, the 92- 

year-old announced plans 

to address chronic cash 

shortages 

by 

supplementing the 

dwindling U.S. dollars in 

circulation over the past 

seven years with ‘bond 

notes’, a quasi-currency 

expected at the end of 

November. 

According to the Reserve 

Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), 

the bond notes will be 

officially interchangeable 

1:1 with the U.S. dollar and 

should ease the cash 

crunch. The central bank 

also promised to keep a tight 

lid on issuance. 

After a 2008 multi-billion 

percent inflationary 

meltdown caused by 

rampant money-printing, 

many Zimbabweans are 

skeptical. The plan has 

already caused a run on the 

banks as Zimbabweans 

empty their accounts of hard 

currency. 

Internal intelligence 

briefings seen by Reuters 

raise the possibility that the 

bond notes, if they crash, 

could spell the end of 

Mugabe’s 36 years in 

charge. 

A Sept. 29 Central 

Intelligence Organisation 

(CIO) report revealed the 

powerful army was as 

unhappy as the rest of the 

population with the new 

notes and had told Africa’s 

oldest leader to “wake up 

and smell the coffee”. 

“Top security officers have 

told Mugabe not to blame 

them if Rome starts to 

burn,” the report said. 

Reuters was unable to 

determine the author of the 

report. It is also unclear if 

Mugabe has seen the 

report, whose final 

audience is not specified. 

Mugabe’s spokesman did 

not respond to requests for 

comment, nor was the CIO 

available. 

UGANDA: Police arrest king over deadly clashes 

POLICE in western 

Uganda have arrested 

the king of Rwenzururu over 

clashes between officers and 

militia which have left at 

least 55 people dead. 

Charles Wesley Mumbere 

is accused of inciting 

violence after militiamen 

reportedly attacked a police 

post in his hometown of 

Kasese. 

Security forces stormed his 

palace amid claims he was 

harbouring fighters. The 

king has denied any 

involvement. 

At least 14 police officers 

and 41 militants have died 

in the clashes. 

A Ugandan government 

spokesman accused the 

militia of seeking to break 

away from Uganda. 

“These militiamen have 

set up camps in the 

Rwenzori mountains from 

where they train and come 

to attack government 

installations,” Shaban 

Bantariza said. 

Police spokesman Andrew 

Felix Kaweesi said the 

attackers were fighting to 

create a new republic on the 

border with the Democratic 

Republic of Congo. 

Zuma to face ANC's integrity panel 

SOUTH 

African 

President Jacob 

Zuma will be questioned 

next week by the African 

National Congress’ (ANC) 

integrity commission 

following persistent 

allegations of corruption 

and poor election results, 

the party said.. 

Zuma’s appearance 

before the panel could 

deepen divides within the 

ANC as it gears up for a 

national conference next 

year when the 74-year-old 

leader is expected to stand 

down as party leader. 

Several senior members 

of the ANC have called for 

Zuma to resign in recent 

months after scandals 

Members of the Nzima tribe in Ivory Coast carry 

their king as he arrives for the annual traditional 

feast of the Nzima people 

rattled markets in Africa’s for a judge to investigate 

most industrialized allegations Zuma provided 

economy and cost the party special favors for wealthy 

votes. 

friends and allowed them to 

A constitutionally choose ministerial 

mandated anti-graft appointments. Zuma denies 

watchdog this month called any wrongdoing. 

Egypt denies military presence in Syria 

EGYPT’s Foreign 

Ministry has denied 

what it said were Arab 

media reports about an 

Egyptian military 

presence in Syria. 

Egypt is committed to not 

intervening in other 

countries’ internal affairs, 

the ministry’s Sunday 

statement said, adding 

that deploying any 

military personnel or 

equipment would have 

required public legal 

measures. 

The ministry’s statement 

didn’t specify outlets, but 

most regional media 

carrying the story referred 

to a report by Lebanese 

daily As-Safir, which said 

Nigeria tops Africans studying in US 


I NTERNATIONAL 

Educational 

Exchange (IEE) report 

has revealed that 

Nigeria still maintains 

the number one spot in 

Africa among countries 

studying in the United 

States of America. 

that an Egyptian military 

unit comprising 18 pilots 

had joined an air base in 

Hama earlier this month. 

The report further 

stated that the country’s 

students in the US rose 

by 12.4 percent. 

The report reads: 

“Students from Nigeria 

study primarily at the 

undergraduate level 

averaged 50.8 percent, 

undergraduate is at 35.6 

percent, and graduates 

are 11.5 percent.


Banyana brace up for Falcons showdown 

B 

A N Y A N A 

B a n y a n a 

stalwart Nompulelelo 

Nyandeni says it will feel 

like a final when the 

team faces Nigeria in the 

semi-finals of the 

Women’s Africa Cup of 

Nations on Tuesday. 

The rivals will meet at 

Stade Limbe Omnisport in 

Cameroon, with kick-off 

set for 7pm. 

Banyana booked their 

place in the last-four with 

a 5-0 demolition job of 

Egypt, while Nigeria 

secured their spot 

following a 4-0 victory over 

Kenya. 

The result ensured the 

Nigerians finished top of 

Group B, which meant a 

meeting with South Africa. 

“It is always a battle of 

Pinnick 

Contd from Page B/P 

Super Eagles. 

Pinnick has never 

hidden his optimism that 

some young Nigerians who 

are plying their trade in 

Europe especially in the 

English Premier League 

(EPL) will one day play for 

the Super Eagles. 

A reliable source at the 

NFF told Sports Vanguard 

at the weekend that the 

president had in his official 

memo to the federation indicated 

that he was 

embarking on what he 

described as ‘VIP scouting’ 

of players. 

However, this 

development may not have 

gone down well with some 

people who questioned 

whether the NFF boss has 

now become the chief coach 

of the national team that 

should embark on such 

scouting. 

“Well the president has 

gone on his now famous 

‘VIP scouting’ but if you ask 

me, I will say it is ill timed 

Ronaldo 


by moving to the top of 

La Liga’s scoring chart 

with two goals on Saturday. 

Ronaldo’s ninth and 

10th goals of the 

campaign in a 2-1 win 

over Sporting Gijon 

moved him ahead of 

Barcelona rivals Lionel 

Messi and Luis Suarez, 

who have both found the 

net eight times. 

It is a pleasing 

turnaround for the 

Portugal captain, who 

faced heavy criticism at 

the start of the season 

when he still appeared 

to be reeling from a knee 

injury suffered in the 

Euro 2016 final. 

He made his worst 

the best when we face 

Nigeria. The rivalry 

between us started long 

before our days in the 

national team, and 

playing against the Super 

Falcons is always like a 

cup final, regardless of the 

stage of the tournament. 

In any case once you are 

in the last-four you can’t 

pick and choose. Those 

teams did not get there by 

fluke, and to get to the top 

you have to go past them,” 

said Nyandeni. 

“It is not going to be an 

easy game and I am 

confident we can walk 

away with victory. We 

have beaten them before 

and, to do that again, we 

will have to play as a 

team." 

because this a time the federation 

is said to be going 

through some financial 

stress. You saw what 

happened to the Falconets 

who were stranded after 

they returned from the 

world cup because the 

NFF could not even give 

them their local fares not 

to talk of their backlog of 

allowances and bonuses” 

said a source who preferred 

anonimity. 

Pinnick had told the 

journalists in Abuja that the 

dream of the present NFF 

board had been to build a 

young Super Eagles squad 

that will go on to conquer 

the world by 2022. He 

further added that they are 

already monitoring several 

Nigerian players that are 

doing well in the various 

leagues abroad. 

“The initial plan was to 

take our players in the 

various clubs but now what 

we are trying to do is what 

we call VIP scouting, talking 

to these young players 

that are playing abroad to 

play for their father land. 

ever goalscoring start to 

a season with Real, 

scoring four goals in his 

first eight games in all 

competitions, but has 

since returned to his 

usual form. 

He scored his first hattrick 

of the season for 

Real in a 4-1 slaying of 

Alaves at the end of 

October and returned 

from international duty 

with another treble in a 

3-0 win over Atletico 

Madrid last week. 

That was Real’s first 

league win over their 

city rivals in more than 

three years, and 

Ronaldo made it five 

goals in his last two 

league games with his 

double against Sporting, 

the first a penalty, the 

second a diving header. 

•Ikeme 

Ikeme fit again 

N 

I G E R I A 

goalkeeper 

Carl Ikeme has 

recovered from a hip 

injury which kept him 

out of a World Cup 

qualifier against 

Algeria, but he was 

benched today by his 

English Championship 

side Wolves. 

Wolves lost 2-0 at home 

Giwa 


the race if the Federal 

Government fails to take 

decisive steps to end a long 

running court battle 

capable of inviting 

suspension by FIFA. 

Who could be pushing 

this? Lawyers said at the 

weekend that with the 

volume of cases waiting to 

be heard at the Supreme 

Court, it is a shock that 

Giwa’s fresh motion has 

been listed so soon after 

the mishap of the previous 

two. 

It would be recalled that 

in July this year, FIFA 

President Gianni 

Infantino, during a two – 

day working visit to 

Nigeria alongside the 

FIFA secretary general, 

Fatma Samoura, declared 

unequivocally that the body 

only recognises Amaju 

Pinnick as President of 

to Sheffield Wednesday 

with Ikeme an unused 

substitute, while compatriot 

Dominic Iorfa played 

the entire game. 

Wolves are now flirting 

with relegation under new 

manager Paul Lambert. 

They are 21st on the 24- 

team table with 18 points 

from as many matches. 

Osaze faces lengthy ban after 

red card offence 

OSAZE Odemwengie 

faces a lengthy ban 

after he was sent off for an 

elbow against a Leeds defender 

in an English Championship 

game on Saturday. 

He will later apologise, but 

he still faces a hefty sanction 

for that rush of blood to the 

head. 

Osaze elbowed Liam 

Cooper in the face and was 

deservedly dismissed. 

He tweeted an apology and 

after the game saluted the 

effort of his teammates in the 

second half. 

Rotherham United lost 2-1 

to Leeds to remain stuck at the 

bottom of the English Championship. 

Osaze was signed as a free 

agent after he was released 

by Stoke City. 

He also featured for West 

Bromwich Albion in the 

Premier League. 

Nigeria Football 

Federation, and will only do 

business with him. 

On 25th July, the final day 

of the FIFA chieftains’ visit, 

the Federal Court of Appeal 

(Jos Division) told the world 

that Giwa and group had 

no case and threw out their 

matter. 

Last month, the Supreme 

Court threw out two motions 

brought by Giwa’s lawyers 

against the NFF, and this 

coming after the Appeal 

Court threw out his case, 

Nigerian football fans 

heaved a sigh of relief that 

the song had stopped for 

Giwa and his group. 

It is therefore a surprise 

that the highest court in the 

land has again agreed to 

listen to another motion (of 

injunction against the NFF 

Board) so soon after it told 

the same Giwa and his 

group that they had no case. 

Oyo win Etisalat U-15 

School Championship 

TOBI Ikotun scored 

the winning penalty 

as 

Asegun 

Comprehensive lifted the 

Etisalat U-15 School Cup 

Competition at the 

expense of Fosla 

Academy after a 

pulsating regulation time 

ended 2-2. 

The 

Abuja 

representative missed 

two spot kicks as opposed 

to the Oyo side’s one to 

end the shoot-out 4-3. 

The aura at the Campos 

Mini Stadium was bright 

and lively as the 1500 

capacity arena was 

packed with students in 

colourful Etisalat regalia. 

After a goalless first 

half, the second period 

Terry 


from him.” 

Also heaping praises 

on the Chelsea’s wingback, 

defender John 

Terry, who did not feature 

in the game, took to 

Instragram to pay his 

homage to Moses, who 

he said is becoming a 

more important player, 

not to mention a 

favourite of the Stamford 

Bridge crowd. 

“Another great win from 

the boys today (Saturday). 

Unbelievable goal 

from from Pedro to get 

us back in it before half 

time and another goal 

from Victor Moses, who 

is on roll at Chelsea FC” 

And the BBC’s, Chief 

football writer, Phil 

McNulty has praised 

Moses for his stellar contributions 

to Chelsea FC 

this season, after suffering 

three years in the 

Mourinho 


the Premier League. 

Mourinho received his 

marching orders for the 

second time in three 

home league games after 

kicking out at a water 

bottle on the touchline 

at Old Trafford. 

The Special One, who 

was sent to the stands 

during last month’s 

goalless draw against 

Burnley, reacted after 

Paul Pogba was booked 

for diving. 

Mourinho felt Pogba 

should have been given 

a free-kick but referee 

Jon Moss got the 

decision right and 

showed the French 

international a yellow 

card. 

Pogba will now miss 

United’s next game, an 

EFL cup clash with West 

Ham, while Mourinho is 

started with the Federal 

Capital Territory boys 

controlling the game, 

albeit momentarily as 

Asegun Comprehensive 

got the curtain raiser in 

what turned to be a goal 

frenzied half. 

Qudus opened the 

scoring via an header off 

a Odeniyi Ibrahim freekick 

from inside the Oyo 

representative half. In 

what would be the 

‘keepers’ tradition for all 

the set piece goals, 

Aluko was rooted to the 

spot. 

Moments later, Fosla 

got an equaliser from 

another free-kick, but 

this time direct and a 

beauty. 

wilderness. 

Writing yesterday, the 

BBC’s man said, “Victor 

Moses seemed destined 

for life away from 

Stamford Bridge after a 

succession of loan spells 

following his £9m move 

from Wigan Athletic in 

August 2012. 

‘’The 25-year-old had 

only made 23 appearances 

and scored one 

goal for Chelsea before 

this season and had 

stints at Liverpool, Stoke 

City and West Ham 

United before Conte took 

charge at Stamford 

Bridge. 

‘’Conte’s tactical 

reshuffling saw Moses 

employed as a right 

wing-back in his new 

defensive system, the 

catalyst for an unlikely 

revival that has seen 

him emerge as one of 

Chelsea’s most 

important players. 

likely to face further 

punishment from the 

Football Association for 

his outburst. 

The United boss, who 

served a one-game 

touchline ban against 

Swansea City for his 

reaction to Mark 

Clattenburg’s decision 

not to award United a 

penalty against 

Burnley, received a 

£50,000 fine earlier this 

month for comments 

about the appointment of 

Anthony Taylor to 

referee their game 

against Liverpool. 

Mourinho, 53, 

previously had a run-in 

with Moss during the 

final weeks of his tenure 

as Chelsea manager 12 

months ago when he 

was also sent to the 

stands during a 2-1 

defeat to the Hammers 

and handed a one-game 

ban.


Sanchez fires 

Arsenal to win 

over Bournemouth 

ARSENAL battled to 

a 3-1 home victory 

against 

AFC 

Bournemouth thanks to an 

Alexis Sanchez double. 

Sanchez seized on a 

first-half error by Steve 

Cook on 12 minutes to 

round goalkeeper Adam 

Federici and slide the ball 

into the empty net. 

CONTE: 

Moses is 

important 

for Chelsea 

CHELSEA manager, 

Antonia Conte says 

Victor Moses “is a good 

player” who deserves his 

moment in the spotlight. 

Conte was quizzed by 

ITV about Moses’ great run 

of form and the Italian did 

not hold back in his words 

of adulation for the Super 

Eagles man. 

“Victor is a good player. I 

saw him during the preseason 

and I wanted to 

keep him in the squad. 

“It is the same with Pedro, 

he (Moses) deserves to 

play. 

“And he is playing some 

fantastic football for us. He 

is very important for us,” 

Conte said shortly after 

Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over 

Spurs. 

Federer plans 

return from 

injury 

ROGER 

Federer 

w i l l 

make his 

comeback from injury by 

playing for the Indian 

Aces in next month’s 

International Premier 

Tennis League 

The Swiss ace has been 

sidelined since July with 

a knee problem that 

required surgery, with 

his last competitive 

appearance coming at 

Wimbledon, when he lost 

in the semi-finals at SW19 

to Milos Raonic. The 17- 

time major winner is now 

in line to make his 

competitive comeback in 

next month’s IPTL, which 

has been reduced to four 

teams and three venues 

for 2016. Federer is one 

of the headline names for 

the event alongside 

Serena Williams, Kei 

Nishikori and Tomas 

Berdych, with the likes of 

Andy Murray and Novak 

Djokovic not competing 

in the tournament. 

But AFC Bournemouth 

refused to roll over, and 

Callum Wilson levelled 

from the spot on 23 minutes 

after Nacho Monreal 

was adjudged to have 

fouled the Cherries’ striker. 

Eight minutes after the 

break, Theo Walcott 

headed Arsenal back into 

the lead from Monreal leftwing 

cross. 

Petr Cech had to make an 

excellent point-blank save 

with 14 minutes left from 

former Arsenal man Benik 

Afobe and visiting substitute 

Lys Mousset 

missed a golden chance to 

level in the final minute. 

As AFC Bournemouth 

continued to push for an 

equaliser, Olivier Giroud 

set up Sanchez for the late 

goal that puts fourth-placed 

Arsenal four points clear of 

Tottenham Hotspur in fifth, 

and drops Eddie Howe’s 

side to 11th. 

•Sanchez 

Emmanuel, Agugbom win Dala Hard Court 

•Ndanusa welcomes Dangote to tennis 

By John Egbokhan 

S YLVESTER 

Emmanuel and 

Christy Agugbom have 

won the men’s and 

women’s singles titles 

respectively of the 30th 

Dala Hard Court Tennis 

Championship in Kano. 

Neymar suffers accident 

in his Ferrari 

NEYMAR 

was 

involved in a car 

accident on Sunday 

morning, but the 

Barcelona forward but he 

still played against Real 

Sociedad. 

According to TV3, 

Neymar was on his way 

to Barca’s Ciutat 

Esportiva training 

ground, where the squad 

was scheduled to meet 

before flying to San 

Sebastian. 

However, pictures 

then emerged of his car, 

a Ferrari 458 Spider, 

facing the opposite 

direction of the side of the 

road he was driving on. 

Club members 

Emmanuel defeated 

Moses Michael 7-6, 6-4 in 

the men’s final while 

Agugbom defeated 

Blessing Samuel 6-2, 6-7, 

7-6. 

For this effort, 

Emmanuel earned a cool 

sum of N800, 000 for his 

achievement while 

Agugbom bagged N500, 

000 for emerging the best 

women’s player in the 

tournament. 

Impressed with the 

performance of the 

finalists, Kano State 

Governor, Abdullahi 

Ganduje promised that 

his administration will 

continue sponsoring the 

tournament. Interestingly, 

the governor was 

represented at the final by 

a former boss of the 

Nigeria Football 

Federation, Ibrahim 

Galadima, who is the 

Chairman of the Kano 

State Sports Commission. 

The tournament also got 

a big boost following the 

emergence of the 

Dangote Group as one of 

the major sponsors. A 

immediately arrived at 

the scene to escort the 

Brazilian, who 

fortunately escaped 

unhurt, leaving him 

available for selection at 

Anoeta. 

representative of Dangote 

Group, Danladi Hamza 

said the multi-million 

conglomerate was keen to 

support 

the 

championship. 

Moved by the comments 

of the governor and 

Hamza, President of the 

Nigeria Tennis 

Federation, Sani 

Ndanusa welcomed 

Dangote’s decision to be 

part of tennis, stressing 

that the partnership will 

take tennis to new 

heights. 

“The Dangote Group is 

a global brand of high 

repute and by backing the 

Dala Hard Court Tennis 

Championship, they have 

demonstrated their desire 

to empower more youths 

across the country. 

Dangote’s involvement 

in tennis can only 

guarantee success for the 

game in Nigeria at 

regional, continental and 

international levels, and 

we are grateful for the 

privilege that they are 

associating with Nigerian 

tennis through this 

tournament,” Ndanusa 

submitted. 

Juve lose to Genoa 

GENOA utterly an 

nihilated Juventus 

in the first half and 

sent the leaders crashing 

to a 3-1 defeat, with 

two added injury woes. 

It was a remarkable 

start, as Leonardo Bonucci 

was caught in possession 

to spark a 

counter, Gigi Buffon 

managed three reaction 

saves, including one 

with the aid of Alex Sandro, 

but could do nothing 

on the fourth from 

Giovanni Simeone. 

Neymar 

Buffon desperately 

scrambled to get a loose 

ball under control, despite 

the efforts of his 

teammates, and moments 

later Genoa added 

a second goal. 

Darko Lazovic skipped 

past Alex Sandro on the 

left and his cross was 

met by a Simeone diving 

header from six yards. 

Cholito hadn’t found the 

net in six games, but 

had a brace in the opening 

13 minutes.


Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 

silenced the doubters 

Terry, Cahill hail ‘fantastic’ Moses 

C HELSEA’S 

stand-in captain 

in last weekend’s game 

against Tottenham, Gary 

Cahill has said that 

Moses has been fantastic 

this season. He said 

this much after the Nigerian 

scored the second 

goal in the 2-1 win at 

Stamford Bridge. 

Speaking to the club’s 

website, Cahill said, ‘I 

am delighted for Victor 

to get the second goal,. 

He has been fantastic 

this season and it is another 

important goal 

Contd on Page 45 

Pinnick 

embarks 

on ‘VIP 

scouting’ 

in Europe 

BY JUDE OPARA, ABUJA 

APPARENTLY in a 

bid to identify more 

talented Nigerians playing 

professional football 

abroad, President of Nigeria 

Football Federation, 

(NFF) Amaju Pinnick has 

embarked on a tour of some 

European countries ostensibly 

to convince them to 

pitch their tent with the 


TODAY'S PUZZLE 

Tanzania 

name 

squad 

for 

Eagles 

Sudoku 

How to Play Sudoku 

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can 

have two of the same number). 

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also 

nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a 

bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 

through 9. This means that no number can appear twice 

in any block, column or row. 

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division 

or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination. 

Giwa returns to court to draw 

FIFA’s hammer on Nigeria 

EVEN as they are 

presently top of their 

group and appear 

comfortable for a place at 

YESTERDAY'S ANSWERS 

Ronaldo overtakes 

Messi, Suarez 

REAL 

Madrid’s 

Cristiano Ronaldo 

ROARING . . . Chelsea’s wing back Victor Moses roars in celebration after 

scoring against Tottenham 

•Pinnick 

the 2018 FIFA World Cup 

finals, the Super Eagles 

may still be thrown out of 


Ikeme fit again 

Page 45 

Across 

2 Burst (5) 

7 Carried (5) 

8 Decoration (5) 

10 Rascal (5) 

12 Sister (3) 

13 Outcome (5) 

15 Feign (7) 

17 Pester (6) 

19 Be indebted (3) 

20 Thrive (7) 

23 Yearn (4) 

25 Minus (4) 

26 Snatched (7) 

30 Sicken (3) 

31 Decipher (6) 

34 Ravage (7) 

37 Beaten (5) 

38 Skill (3) 

39 Bird (5) 

40 Collier (5) 

41 Lasso (5) 

42 Condition (5) 

Down 

1 Trunk (5) 

2 Follow (5) 

3 Niche (6) 

4 Plimsoll (4) 

5 Refined (7) 

6 Shrewd (5) 

9 Owing (3) 

11 Advance (7) 

13 Insinuate (5) 

14 Hurl (5) 

16 Sheep (3) 

18 Acrobat (7) 

21 Fiend (5) 

22 Enquired (5) 

24 Given (7) 

27 Help (3) 

28 Proper (6) 

29 Simple (5) 

32 Boat (5) 

33 Thick (5) 

35 Vase (3) 

36 Rave (4) 

who were writing him off 

at the start of the season 


•Giwa 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS 

Across: 2, Essay 7, Mean 8, Elicit 9, Draft 11, 

Cue 13, Sot 15, Only 16, Low 18, Fete 19, 

Fighter 20, Save 22, Ever 23, Article 25, Rota 27, 

Tee 28, Once 30, Tie 31, Tar 33, React 36, Defile 

37, 

Omit 38, Dummy.Omit 38, Dummy. 

•Ronaldo 

Tomorrow’s AWC Fixtures 

Cameroon v Ghana 4pm 

Nigeria v South Africa 7pm 

Results - NPL 

Watford 0 Stoke 1 

Arsenal 3 Bournemouth 1 

Man Utd 1 West Ham 1 

Southampton 1 Everton 0 

Serie A 

Palermo 

Bologna 

0 

0 

Lazio 

Atalanta 

1 

2 

Cagliari 2 Udinese 1 

Crotone 1 Sampdoria 1 

Genoa 3 Juventus 1 

Laliga 

Villarreal 

Osasuna 

0 

0 

Alaves 

A/Madrid 

2 

2 

CONTE: Moses is 

important for 

Chelsea -Page 46 

Sent-off 

Mourinho 

snubs 

media 

JOSE Mourinho was 

sent to the stands 

during Manchester 

United’s clash with West 

Ham in 


Down: 1, Begun 2, End 3, Sea 4, Yet 5, 

Big 6, Bigot 10, Flog 11, Consort 12, 

Elevate 13, Servant 14, Terrier 16, Limit 

17, Whole 18, Fee 21, Era 24, Cede 26, 

Oiled 29, Cabin 32, Wit 33, Red 34, Aim 

35, Toy. 

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 

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Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: EZE ANABA. Phone: 01—4548355, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

ONDO: PDP, AD kick as INEC names Akeredolu Gov-elect

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