09062021 - Malami’ll decide prosecution of Adeboye, Kumuyi, others

World Bank upgrades Nigeria’s economic growth forecast to 1.8% 

19 

VOL. 27: NO. 64353 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 

LAI MOHAMMED ON DEFIANCE OF TWITTER BAN: 

Malami’ll decide prosecution 

of Adeboye, Kumuyi, others 

•Says there’ll be no human rights if Nigeria is on fire•Reps summon Lai Mohammed over Twitter 

suspension•PDP Reps stage walkout as Gbajabiamila overrules demand•We’ll continue to tweet – PDP 

Reps•Dare Malami to arrest them •We’ll meet in court, DAAR Communications tells NBC•SERAP drags 

Buhari before ECOWAS Court over Twitter ban in Nigeria 

Another war’ll be a 

holocaust —NWABUEZE 

6 

NIGERIA INT'L PETROLEUM SUMMIT... 

From left, Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company of 

Nigeria, Osagie Ogunbor; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. 

Timipre Sylva, and Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum 

Corporation, Malam Mele Kyari, at the ongoing Nigeria International 

Petroleum Summit in Abuja…yesterday. 

Halt extra-judicial 

killings in S-East now 

— CHURCH LEADERS 7 

FG asks striking Judiciary, 

8 

Parliamentary workers to call off strike 

Man slaps French President, Macron 

STATE OF THE NATION: No to 

Help Buhari rescue 

6 

Nigeria, Na’abba, 

secession, say 

Utomi, Moghalu, others North Central 

urge ex-presidents leaders 

8 

COLUMNISTS OCHEREOME 16 FASAN 17 AFE 26 BUNMI 30 

26 

5 

FG mulls 

death 

penalty for 

rail-track 

vandals 

9 

Obasanjo, 

Abdulsalami, 

Sultan convene 

meeting to 

discuss 

pressing 

national 

issues 

Insecurity: 

Farmers 

warn over 

looming 

food crisis 

Mr & Mrs 

9 

13

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 — 3

4—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 

:Vanguard News 

:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058 

8 persons, 28 

sheep die in 

Niger auto 

crash 

THE Police Command in Niger 

State, yesterday, said eight 

persons and 28 sheep died in an 

auto crash at Batati Village in 

Lavun Local Government Area of 

the state. 

Commissioner of Police in the 

state, Mr Adamu Usman, 

disclosed in Minna that several 

other persons sustained various 

degree injuries when the accident 

occurred on Monday. 

Usman said the accident 

occurred when the driver of an 

articulated vehicle with number 

plate, BG 429 KMC, lost control. 

He said the vehicle carried 130 

sheep and an unspecified number of 

people leaving Katsina for Lagos. 

He said: “Eight people and 28 

sheep died on the spot while several 

others who sustained various degree 

of injuries were evacuated to the 

General Hospital, Kutigi. 

“We have begun an investigation 

and we warn drivers to desist from 

carrying passengers on articulated 

vehicles." 

Air Peace 

personnel foil 

attempt to 

traffic two 

babies out of 

Lagos 

By Lawani Mikairu 

A 

IR Peace airline’s personnel 

have reportedly foiled an 

attempt to traffic two babies by a 

man and a woman at Murtala 

Muhammed Airport, Terminal 2, 

Lagos. 

Spokesman of the airline, Mr 

Stanley Olisa, who disclosed this, 

yesterday, said the Air Peace’s 

passenger service executives and 

security personnel smelt a rat when 

the two adults, travelling to Asaba, 

were being checked in at the counter 

on Monday. 

He said: “On June 7 at MMA2, 

around 1200 hours, a man and a 

woman, carrying two babies, 

approached our counter for checkin. 

“Our passenger service executives, 

being suspicious of the behaviours 

of the duo, questioned them about 

the babies. They said the babies 

belonged to them and were 

travelling to Asaba.” 

Olisa disclosed that as the 

suspicion intensified, the two adults, 

who hinted that the babies were three 

months old each, were further 

questioned by another counter 

attendant and security personnel 

but they gave different narratives. 

He noted: “The two adults gave 

conflicting explanations to different 

staff- that the babies were being 

taken to the the United Kingdom to 

unite them with their parents and 

later they said they were sending the 

babies to Zimbabwe for adoption. 

“Upon further questioning, the 

adults confessed that they were not 

the parents of the babies. 

“Consequently, Air Peace’s 

Security Unit took both of them to 

the MMA2 Police Station where 

they admitted that they are agents 

who traffick children for adoption.” 

Olisa quoted the police to have 

agreed to transfer the case to the 

National Agency for Prohibition of 

Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, for 

further investigations and action. 

Mob sets suspected kidnapper ablaze in 

Lagos •As police rescue 38-yr-old kidnap victim in Delta 

By Olasunkanmi 

Akoni, Evelyn Usman 

& Festus Ahon 

THERE was a commotion in the 

Agege area of Lagos State, 

yesterday, as a suspected kidnapper was 

set ablaze by a mob, while police 

rescued two other suspects. 

According to an eyewitness, the 

incident happened at about 9 am, in 

Orile-Agege Local Council 

Development Area, LCDA. 

According to an eyewitness, “A 

commercial motorcycle operator 

popularly called, Okada, said to have 

engaged the suspected kidnappers in a 

hot chase from Ajegunle Toll-Gate, 

along Lagos-Ogun boundary spot after 

some of the school children kidnapped 

cried out for help through the window 

of the kidnappers’ vehicle. 

“But, nemesis caught up with them 

at Mulero Bus Stop in Orile-Agege 

LCDA, where their vehicle was 

intercepted by some passersby after the 

Okada operator raised the alarm to 

alert passersby of the action of the 

suspects.” 

In the ensuing melee, one of the 

suspects was reportedly lynched on the 

spot with their vehicle burnt. 

“It took the quick intervention of the 

Police to rescue the other two members 

of the gang and the kidnapped school 

children,” the source stated. 

However, it could not be confirmed 

at press time if one of the abducted 

school children died in the vehicle, as 

there was a report that the suspects had 

already killed one of the children before 

luck ran against them at Orile-Agege 

in Lagos. 

Contacted, spokesman for Lagos 

State Police Command, CSP 

Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said: “Police 

operatives attached to Elere division of 

the Lagos State command, upon a 

distress call that some suspected 

kidnappers were being mobbed at 

Mulero bus stop, by Omotoye estate, 

raced to the scene where one white Golf 

car and a male suspect have been set 

ablaze. 

“The police operatives moved in to 

rescue the other male suspect who has 

been macheted severally by the mob 

numbering over two thousand. In the 

process, the agitating crowd also 

attacked the policemen. The suspect 

was subsequently rescued and taken to 

hospital. 

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos 

State, Hakeem Odumosu, has again 

condemned the act of jungle justice and 

called for discreet investigation into the 

case, as he promised to continually kick 

against such inhumane act. 

Police rescue 38-yr-old 

kidnap victim in Delta 

Meanwhile, a 38-year-old woman, 

Efe Caroline, who was reportedly 

kidnapped by gunmen in Biokoro 

Panic as fire guts fed secretariat, Asaba 

Fire-fighter falls from 2nd floor, fractures hand 

By Festus Ahon 

ASABA—WORKERS at the 

Federal Secretariat, Asaba, were, 

yesterday morning, thrown into 

confusion, following a fire outbreak in 

the complex. 

The secretariat complex houses most 

annexe offices of federal ministries, 

departments and agencies in the state. 

A federal fire service officer trying to 

put out the fire fell from the second floor 

of the secretariat complex. The 

firefighter, who had a fractured left 

hand, was rushed to the hospital. 

It was gathered that the raging inferno 

reportedly overwhelmed the fire 

fighting machinery stationed at the 

complex, but reinforcement was 

mobilised from the state fire services. 

However, it took the combined efforts 

of firemen from the federal and state 

fire services to ensure the fire did not 

escalate. 

Though the cause of the fire was 

unknown, a reliable source, however, 

disclosed that the fire started from the 

National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, 

office located on the 2nd floor as a result 

of an electrical fault. 

The source, who pleaded anonymity, 

said the fire started at 7.02 am, 

lamenting that everything in the NYSC 

office got burnt. 

Speaking on the fire, the state 

Coordinator of NYSC, Mrs Olutayo 

Scene of the inferno. 

Samuel, said everything in their section 

was destroyed. 

She said: “What happened is very 

unfortunate. I got a call that our office 

was on fire and I quickly rushed there, I 

don’t know how the fire gutted the office. 

Nobody can ascertain exactly the cause 

of the fire. 

“Virtually, everything there got burnt, 

everything in the office got damaged. 

All the file documents burnt to aches 

but we have a back-up. You know this is 

the technology age, so everything is in 

our system. 

“Coincidentally, we took some of our 

systems to the camp and they are still in 

the camp, so there will be no setback 

because we have them in the system. 

“I cannot cost it now but it is colossal 

damage. But by the Grace of God, there 

is no life lost because that is the most 

important thing. I feel good because 

whatever damage will be replaced but 

if life had been lost, we couldn’t have 

replaced it.” 

Bus drivers on rampage as task force operative 

allegedly kills driver 

By Davies 

Iheamnachor & Egufe 

Yafugborhi 

COMMERCIAL bus drivers 

plying Choba-Mile-3 route in Port 

Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, went 

on the rampage over the report of the 

killing of one of their members simply 

identified as Christian by personnel of 

Civil Defence attached to Rivers State 

Task Force on illegal trading and motor 

parks. 

The task force team was alleged to 

have stopped Christian along Ada- 

George Road and asked him to step 

out of the vehicle. 

It was alleged that Christian, 

popularly called Biggy, was rough 

handled by members of the task force 

before the Civil Defence personnel 

pulled the trigger and killed him. 

A source, who gave his name simply 

as Emmanuel, said: “The driver further 

called on his colleagues, who 

immediately joined him to demand 

repairs of his vehicle, but as the task 

force and NSCDC officials objected to 

their demand, the situation became 

tense. 

“Consequently, the issue got out of 

hand when the security operatives 

corked their guns and the drivers on 

the other side brought out weapons 

such as spanners and hammers for a 

fight.” 

Reacting, Coordinator of Rivers State 

Task Force, Felix Nwadibeyi, said he 

was yet to be briefed on the development, 

but promised to get back to newsmen. 

It was gathered that the remains of 

Biggy, the commercial bus driver, were 

taken to a mortuary by fellow drivers. 

Contacted, the Police Public 

Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, who 

confirmed the incident, said: “I am 

aware that an NSCDC officer attached 

to state task force shot a commercial 

bus driver, but calm has returned to the 

area as our men have been mobilised 

to the area.” 

Scavenger dies as 

building collapses 

on him 

Meanwhile, a scavenger, simply 

identified as Chibuzor, reportedly died 

when rubble collapsed on him at a 

demolition site around the Ikoku- 

Azikiwe axis of Diobu, Mile 3, Port 

Harcourt. 

It was gathered that Chibuzor and 

other scavengers defiled the 

government’s warning that people 

should stay off the demolition area of 

the ongoing construction of Nkpolu 

Oroworukwo Flyover by the River State 

Government. 

Defiant Chibuzor was on Monday 

said to be among other scavengers 

removing rods and other reusable 

materials from a three-storey building 

under demolition when a pillar fell on 

him. 

An eyewitness said :“Chibuzor was 

gasping for breath when he was brought 

out and finally gave up the ghost. He 

was among other scavengers struggling 

to get hold of any rod or other reusable 

materials off the storey building as the 

demolition machines were at work. 

extension, Orerokpe in Delta State, has 

been recused by police operatives. 

The state Police Public Relations 

Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, who 

disclosed this in a statement, said: “On 

6/6/2021 at about 2145hrs, the 

Divisional Police Officer, Orerokpe 

Division received a distress call from 

an unknown caller that four armed men, 

suspected to be kidnappers shot 

sporadically at Biokoro extension and 

kidnapped one Efe Caroline, 38 years. 

“Consequently, police operatives 

from Orerokpe Division were quickly 

detailed to the area. The operatives on 

getting to the scene sighted the 

hoodlums and gave them a hot chase, 

engaged them in a shootout at 

Okujorogun community. 

“They were overwhelmed by the 

superior firepower of the Police. 

Consequently, the hoodlums 

abandoned the victim and fled, the 

victim was rescued unhurt. Manhunt 

for the hoodlums is ongoing." 

Police arrest 

vigilante for 

allegedly killing 

25-yr-old tailor in 

Delta 

By Paul Olayemi 

Alocal vigilante, who allegedly killed 

a 25-year-old tailor, Moses Ishaku, 

in the Olympia area of Sapele, Sapele 

Local Government Area of Delta State, 

has been arrested by police operatives. 

Ishaku was said to have gone to see a 

friend along Abeke Road and was 

heading home on a motorcycle at about 

11 pm when he ran into the vigilante 

men, who had mounted a roadblock at 

the Olympia area of the town. 

An eyewitness said Ishaku was trying 

to flee when one of the vigilantes hit 

him with a plank and he died instantly. 

The vigilante said to be five in number 

quickly carried the corpse inside a Keke 

and drove off towards new road area of 

the town. 

Though the Delta State Police 

spokesman, Edafe Bright, could not be 

reached as his mobile line was not 

connecting, a security source, who 

craved anonymity, disclosed that the 

vigilante was arrested last night 

(Monday) after the report got to the 

police later that night. 

Meanwhile, Ishaku’s relatives took 

to the streets of Sapele, yesterday, to 

protest his death. 

The protesters brandished woods, 

cutlass, leaves and brooms as they 

moved around some streets of the town 

as early as 8 am but the Sapele 

Divisional Police Officer, Harrison 

Nwabuisi, appealed to them, that the 

police will make sure justice is done. 

The late Moses Ishaku.

vanguardnews 

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DEFIANCE OF TWITTER BAN: 

Malami’ll decide prosecution of 

Adeboye, Kumuyi, others 

— LAI MOHAMMED 

•Says there’ll be no human rights if Nigeria is on fire•Reps summon 

Lai Mohammed over Twitter suspension•PDP Reps stage walkout as 

Gbajabiamila overrules demand•We’ll continue to tweet – PDP 

Reps•Dare Malami to arrest them •We’ll meet in court — DAAR 

Communications•SERAP drags Buhari before ECOWAS court 

By Olasunkanmi 

Akoni & Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA — The Minis 

ter of Information 

and Culture, Alhaji Lai 

Mohammed, has said the 

Attorney-General of the 

Federation and Minister of 

Justice, Abubakar Malami, 

SAN, will decide whether 

or not to prosecute the General 

Overseer of the Redeemed 

Christian Church 

of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; 

Founder and General 

Superintendent of Deeper 

Christian Life Ministry 

Worldwide, Pastor William 

Kumuyi; and other violators 

of the Twitter ban by the 

Federal Government. 

The minister spoke as the 

House of Representatives 

yesterday summoned him 

to explain the reason government 

banned Twitter. 

This is even as members 

of the House, elected on the 

platform of Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, staged a 

walk-out at yesterday’s plenary 

over refusal of the 

speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, 

to grant their prayer on 

the Twitter ban. 

The two clerics had on 

Monday said that they 

were still on Twitter, since 

that remained one of the 

platforms they use to get to 

their members worldwide. 

While Adeboye, had in a 

tweet on Monday, said his 

church is present in over 

170 countries and that he 

was tweeting in accordance 

with Article 19 of the United 

Nations Universal Declaration 

of Human Rights, 

Kumuyi also tweeted that 

his church has branches in 

over 100 countries on five 

continents, hence it can 

tweet from anywhere in the 

world. 

The Federal Government 

had, while placing a ban on 

Twitter last weekend, 

warned that anyone who 

violated the ban will be 

prosecuted. 

Malami’ll decide 

who to prosecute 

— Lai Mohammed 

Speaking in an interview 

with BBC News Africa 

Monday night on whether 

the government will prosecute 

the two religious leaders, 

Mohammed said: “The 

Attorney-General has 

made it clear that if anybody 

violates the regulation, 

such a person will be 

prosecuted and this is not 

about any particular person. 

It is in the realm of the 

Attorney-General to decide 

who or who not to prosecute.” 

Speaking further against 

the backdrop of criticisms 

from the United States, the 

United Kingdom, the European 

Union and Canada 

that the Federal Government 

is infringing on the 

fundamental human rights 

of Nigerians with the ban, 

the minister said there will 

be no human rights if the 

country was on fire. 

“It is because there is a 

country called Nigeria that 

they have rights at all. If the 

country goes on fire, and 

there is insecurity everywhere, 

then, there will be 

no rights for anybody,” he 

President Muhammadu Buhari presides over Security Council Meeting in 

State House, Abuja, yesterday. 

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 — 5 

POCKET CARTOON 

said. Confronted by the interviewer 

that there was already 

insecurity in Nigeria, 

the minister said, “Of 

course, there is.” 

Continuing, he queried: 

“Are we supposed to use 

Twitter to increase insecurity?” 

He noted that agents of 

destruction had chosen 

Twitter as a platform to 

destabilise the corporate 

existence of Nigeria. 

House moves to 

probe Twitter 

ban, invites Lai 

Mohammed 

In a related development, 

the House of Representatives 

yesterday mandated 

its Committees on Communication, 

Justice, Information 

and Culture, and National 

Security and Intelligence 

to begin investigation 

into the suspension 

placed on Twitter by the 

Federal Government. 

Speaker of the House, 

Femi Gbajabiamila, set up 

the committees at the resumption 

of plenary in Abuja 

Ġbajabiamila asked the 

committees to invite the 

Minister of Information and 

Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, 

to brief the 

House on the objectives, 

intent, and duration of the 

suspension on the operations 

of Twitter in Nigeria. 

He said the move is in 

the service of its obligations 

under the constitution and 

its moral duty to Nigerians. 

The speaker said the committees 

are to investigate 

the circumstances of the 

decision by the Federal 

Government of to suspend 

the operations of Twitter in 

Nigeria, adding that the 

committees should also investigate 

the legal authority 

for the ban on the operations 

of Twitter in the country 

Ḣe gave the committees 

10 days within which to report 

to the House, noting 

that the report of the committees 

will guide further 

action by the House on the 

matter. 

The speaker urged the 

committees to act with 

speed and sound judgment 

to address the issue that 

had animated national conversations 

over the last few 

days. 

He stated that the suspension 

of Twitter in Nigeria 

has generated fierce debate, 

adding that members 

Continues on Page 27 

On decision by FG to ban Twitter operations in Nigeria 

By Victoria Adibeli 

I 

'll stay neutral because 

my view won’t change 

anything. We trusted them with 

too much power and we know 

what absolute power does. 

They made this hasty decision 

without proper consultations 

forgetting that people do their 

businesses, air their views and 

comment on various subjects 

on Twitter. We may wake up 

one morning and realise that 

the internet is gone and we 

have returned to stone age! 

—Christopher Bright, 

Engineer 

The truth is that the 

ban on Twitter is 

once again another act 

of chasing shadows by 

the 

Federal 

Government. A country 

that doesn’t 

understand how 

certain things work, its 

leaders will do as they 

please, damning the 

consequences. Well, it 

can only happen in my 

dear country. 

—Michael Mordi, 

Writer 

Honestly, I think this 

action of the 

government is so unfair to 

Nigerians especially the 

youth who use Twitter 

more. The FG banning 

Twitter from operating in 

Nigeria is denying us our 

human right because this 

is one of the avenues 

through which some 

people express themselves. 

We already have serious 

issues to tackle and Twitter 

is not one of them. 

—Yusufu Elizabeth, 

Journalist 

Ithink the FG is actually 

practising the monarchical 

system and not democracy. 

The founder of Twitter knows 

his rights and laws governing 

him in a democracy so you 

don’t just wake up one day and 

think you can play a game on 

democracy. If Nigeria is 

actually practising 

democracy, we should know 

that no one is above the law. 

But when you feel you are 

above the law, then there is a 

problem. 

—Ilontunhan Joy 

It is wrong and everyone 

has seen that this 

government is moved by 

emotions instead of 

reasoning. Every Nigerian 

has the right to freedom of 

speech and access to free 

internet. They have put 20 

million Nigerians who use 

Twitter to promote their 

businesses, get information 

on scholarships, health 

and hold government 

accountable, off their 

constitutional rights. 

—Olua Justus, 

Auditor 

THE decision is 

quite bad and it 

will slow down so 

many entrepreneurs 

in the country and so 

many bloggers will 

lose some clients. In 

summary, the social 

media will not be as 

it used to. God help 

us that things would 

go back to the way it 

used to be. 

—Moses Uti 

Businessman

6 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 

State of the Nation 

Help Buhari rescue Nigeria, Na’Abba, Utomi 

Moghalu, others urge former presidents 

***Call for suspension of political activities 

By Chris Ochayi, Abuja 

DETERMINED to res 

cue the nation from its 

present state of anomie, 

some eminent Nigerians 

have called on former Head 

of State, General Yakubu 

Gowon retd, to convene a 

meeting of former Presidents, 

heads of state, and 

their vice-presidents to rally 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari to rescue the country 

from its dark moment. 

Coming under the aegis 

of the National Consultative 

Front, NCFront, the 

eminent citizens took the 

decision during a brief 

emergency national intervention 

meeting co-chaired 

by former speaker of the 

House of Representatives, 

Umar Ghali Na’Abba, and 

renowned economist, Professor 

Pat Utomi. 

Those who graced the 

meeting include former 

Governor of Ondo State, Dr. 

Olusegun Mimiko, former 

Deputy Governor of Central 

Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and 

ex-presidential candidate, 

Professor Kingsley Moghalu, 

Senator Folashade Bent, 

and Engr. Buba Galadima. 

Others are former Corps 

Marshal of Federal Road 

Safety Corps, Dr. Olu 

Agunloye, National Chairman 

of the African Democratic 

Congress, ADC, 

Chief Ralph Okey Nwosu, 

Hajia Najatu Mohammed, 

spokesman of Northern Elders 

Forum, NEF, Dr. 

Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, and 

Dr. Oby Ezekwesili. 

According to the communiqué 

issued at the end of 

the meeting, which was 

presented by Dr. Olu 

Agunloye, NCFront further 

called for suspension of all 

political activities in Nigeria 

until the country attains 

a relative peace. 

The communique read: 

‘’The former Presidents 

should use their experience 

and wisdom to assist President 

Buhari to stabilize Nigeria. 

The country needs 

them now to show leadership 

once again. 

‘’The people of Nigeria 

have a responsibility to protect 

Nigeria from collapse 

and create a platform to 

bring all warring parties to 

a peace table. 

‘’Attacks on individuals, 

groups and public facilities 

must stop immediately. 

Nigerians must note that 

we are not enemies of one 

another and must protect 

each other in the light of 

seeming failure of elected 

leaders and state agencies 

to protect us 

‘’Nigerians must stop the 

dangerous practice of ethnic 

and religious profiling 

as all of us could fall victims 

in our own country 

where we are all hosts and 

guests. 

‘The current events in 

Nigeria resulting in violent 

conflicts and killings have 

put citizens on emotional 

lock-down which invariably 

does not admit or allow any 

form of moderate views or 

moderation 

‘’Nigerian leaders and 

political elites must stop 

patronising the Igbo or 

blackmailing the elites or 

leadership of the Igbo. 

‘’For urgent intervention, 

proliferation of arms in the 

hands of non-state actors 

must be curtailed urgently, 

the national security 

architecture must be urgently 

reorganised and 

security enforcement and 

maintenance should be 

decentralised.. 

‘’We are calling on all 

political parties to suspend 

all further political 

events or keep them at 

backstage to give room to 

activities to bring back Nigeria 

from the brink. 

‘’We are calling on elder 

statesmen to temporary 

halt their well-deserved 

rest and take on the 

task of saving Nigeria 

from complete destruction. 

‘’We are calling all 

former presidents and 

heads of state, former Senate 

Presidents and speakers 

of the House of Representatives, 

former service 

chiefs, former security 

chiefs, former Inspectors 

General of Police, former 

DGs of DSS, former Secretary-General 

of the Commonwealth, 

Chief Emeka 

Anyaoku, presidents and 

secretaries of all ethnic cultural 

organizations to 

serve on National Elders 

Committee to deal with 

the problem of leadership 

failure which is the root 

of the system failure in the 

country. 

‘’Former Head of State, 

General Yakubu Gowon, is 

hereby requested to call a 

meeting of former presidents, 

heads of state, and 

their vice-presidents to rally 

round President Muhammadu 

Buhari at this 

dark hour of Nigeria. The 

former presidents should 

use their experience and 

wisdom to assist President 

Buhari to stabilize Nigeria. 

The country needs them 

now to show leadership 

once again. 

‘The outcome of consultations 

between Mr President 

and former presidents 

will set the stage for an enlarged 

Council of State 

meeting which will include 

all former civilian and military 

governors, former 

Military Chiefs of Staff, all 

serving and former Chief 

Judges, all former and 

serving ministers, serving 

and former NASS leaders 

and representatives of the 

youths. 

‘’We are also requesting 

the former National Assembly 

Presidents and Speakers 

to join the national call 

to duty once again to rescue 

Nigeria because the 

issue on ground requires 

their experience and expertise. 

‘’In the same vein, we are 

calling on the former Chief 

Judges of Nigeria to also 

make the needed sacrifices 

to help save Nigeria. 

‘’We have called the great 

men and women who have 

manned the three arms of 

government of Nigeria to 

once more come out to rescue 

the country and we 

humbly request President 

Muhammadu Buhari to 

convoke a Council of State 

meeting to further widen 

the scope because this is 

not a time to apportion 

blames. It is time for conflict 

resolutions and engagements 

to avert possible 

disaster.’’ 

Another war’ll be a holocaust — Nwabueze 

***Says if we must disintegrate, let’s meet and decide how 

By Clifford Ndujihe, 

Politics Editor 

ELDER 

STATES 

MAN and Legal 

Icon, Professor Ben 

Nwabueze, SAN, has 

warned those fanning 

the embers of war to 

have a rethink because 

another civil war in Nigeria 

would be a holocaust 

compared to the 

1967-70 experience. 

Nwabueze, who is the 

chairman of the Igbo 

Leaders of Thought, ILT, 

in a statement titled: ‘’A 

Timely Warning,’’ said 

Nigeria cannot afford 

another war and urged 

negotiated disintegration 

‘’if we must disintegrate’’ 

The statement read: 

‘’About this time in 1964 

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the 

Ceremonial President of 

the country in his characteristic 

manner warned 

of the impending calamity 

about to befall the 

country, and pleaded for 

a peaceful disintegration 

of the country rather than 

through battles and wars. 

‘’It seems appropriate at 

South-East SANS tasks Anyaoku, Abdulsalami, Jonathan, 

Bakare, others on intervention 

By Clifford Ndujihe, 

Politics Editor 

SOME senior lawyers 

from the South-East 

geo-political zone have decried 

the raging killings in 

the Nigeria. 

Speaking on the banner of 

Concerned senior Advocates 

of Nigeria of South-East Extraction, 

the leading lawyers 

regretted the recent killings 

and destruction of private 

and public properties including 

those of the police and 

other law enforcement agencies, 

as well as state institutions 

such as INEC, courts, 

and correctional centers by 

unknown persons. 

In a statement by Chief 

Udechukwu Nnoruka Udechukwu, 

SAN, they condemned 

‘’unequivocally 

Prof. Utomi 

and in very clear terms the 

said acts of arson and the 

taking of human lives in the 

process. These acts of violence 

are not supported and 

cannot be supported by the 

people of the South-East. 

The Concerned Southeast 

SANs commiserate with the 

families of law enforcement 

officers, other public servants 

and private individuals who 

have lost their loved ones as 

a result of the recent carnage.’’ 

They continued: ‘’Southeasterners 

are peace-loving, 

law abiding and development-oriented 

people and 

the recent carnage is not representative 

of the aspirations 

of the good people of the 

Southeast, just as is the case 

with the other geo-political 

zones of the Country where 

there have been security 

challenges. 

It is indeed worrisome 

that the persons or group of 

people responsible for the 

mayhem; where they are 

from and what their objectives 

are remain unknown. 

It is equally worrisome that 

the management of the crisis 

unfortunately exhibits 

double standards with regard 

to the response of Federal 

security agencies in 

South-East vis à-vis other 

similarly afflicted zones. 

In order to find an immediate 

resolution and stop further 

degeneration of the security 

situation, the Concerned 

Southeast SANs 

hereby call for a truce and 

immediate cessation of hostilities 

on all sides to allow 

for a consideration of the 

Alhaji Na'Abba 

underlying issues and grievances 

which have led to the 

recent rise in ethnic or tribal 

nationalism not only in the 

South-East but in other parts 

of the country.’’ 

They called on those who 

are destroying public and 

private properties, especially 

facilities of law enforcement 

agencies in the South-East 

zone to immediately discontinue 

their actions in order to 

forestall the slide into a total 

breakdown of law and order 

in the zone. 

They also appealled to the 

Federal Government to embrace 

dialogue and diplomacy 

as a means of resolving 

the myriad of growing disaffections 

across the entire 

country in the interest of 

peace and unity of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria. 

The senior lawyers also 

appealled to all Nigerians 

especially those in leadership 

Professor Nwabueze 

positions to desist from rhetoric 

capable of inflaming the 

situation rather than bringing 

the desired peace and 

unity which we earnestly 

desire. 

‘’In this regard, the Concerned 

Southeast SANs respectfully 

request His Excellency 

General Abdulsalam 

Abubakar GCFR, His Excellency 

Dr. Ebele Goodluck 

Jonathan GCFR, His Excellency 

Chief Emeka Anyaoku 

CFR, Pastor Tunde 

Bakare, Colonel Dangiwa 

Umar (Rtd) jointly with other 

well-meaning Nigerians 

from the six geo political 

zones to intervene quickly 

in the matter with a view to 

securing a truce which 

would provide a conducive 

atmosphere for resolving the 

underlying issues which are 

currently threatening the 

survival of our dear nation.’’ 

this point in time to draw 

attention to Dr Azikiwe’s 

warning. Nigeria seems 

to be heading towards a 

danger of wars and disintegration 

that will be 

more tedious than those 

of 1967-1970. Circumstances 

have changed 

over the past 50 years 

and lessons ought to 

have been learned. 

More federations have 

disintegrated, in fact all 

other federations apart 

from ill-conceived, illstructured 

Nigeria federation. 

‘’The social media are 

afloat and no one can 

stop them. Mercenaries 

and western political 

adventurers are all over 

in search of plunder 

and fighting. Poorly 

equipped nations have 

grown beyond their initial 

position and can no 

longer be intimidated or 

crushed. The next fight 

will not be a small encounter, 

but a holocaust, 

and that is why I am 

writing. 

‘’On behalf of Igbo 

Leaders of Thought, 

ILT, I warn, like Azikiwe 

did for peace and 

sanity. The command of 

troops may in the end 

prove to be mere cosmetic 

than real. 

‘’If we must disintegrate 

let us meet and 

decide how to do that. I 

repeat, no one owns this 

country; a word is 

enough for the wise.’’




INAUGURATION: From left; Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications 

Commission, NCC; Engr. Ubale Maska, Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC; Prof. 

Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, NCC; Mr Adeleke Adewolu, Executive Commissioner, 

Stakeholder Management, NCC; Engr. Oluwatoyin Asaju, Director, Spectrum Administration, NCC, 

during the inauguration of 3.5GHz Auction Committee for the Licensing of 5G Spectrum in Nigeria at 

NCC headquarters in Abuja, yesterday. 

Insecurity: Halt extrajudicial killings in 

S-East now —CHURCH LEADERS FORUM 

•IPOB alleges plot to attack S-East by terrorists in uniform 

•Kalu warns against repetition of 1967 genocide in S-East 

By Chidi 

Nkwopara & 

Chimaobi Nwaiwu 

Oleaders WERRI—CHURCH 

in Imo, under the 

auspices of the Concerned 

Church Leaders Forum, have 

decried alleged continued extrajudicial 

killings in the state 

and the region. 

The position of the clerics 

came on the heels of the alarm 

raised by the Indigenous People 

of Biafra, IPOB, over an 

alleged plot of genocidal attacks 

on South East, particularly 

Anambra State, by terrorists 

who are allegedly hiding 

under Nigerian security 

agents. 

This is even as the Senate 

Chief Whip and former Governor 

of Abia State, Senator 

Orji Uzor Kalu has called for 

restraints from the masterminds 

of the insecurity in the 

South East, warning that the 

repetition of the 1967 genocide 

won’t be tolerated. 

The state chairman of the 

Church Leaders Forum, Dr 

Cosmas Ilechukwu, said at a 

news briefing in Owerri on 

Monday that the development 

had become a norm in 

the state. 

Ilechukwu, therefore, urged 

Gov.ernor Hope Uzodimma 

to urgently address the issue 

to put an end to it. 

He regretted that life in Imo 

had become precarious and 

urged the governor to convene 

a meeting for all the aggrieved 

persons and groups to 

discuss the way forward. 

“As we speak, reports say 

the Federal Medical Centre, 

Owerri mortuary is filled with 

bodies of young people killed 

during the current crisis. 

“It is so sad that amidst this 

return to barbarism in Imo, a 

leading member of the All 

Progressives Congress, Mr. 

Ahmed Gulak, was killed in 

Imo. 

“We want to seize this opportunity 

to appeal to all and 

sundry to stop the killings. We 

appeal to the unknown gunmen 

to sheath their swords,” 

he said. 

Ilechukwu expressed worry 

that the economy of the state 

had suffered serious setbacks, 

while people now moved 

around in fear. 

He advised members of the 

Indigenous People of Biafra 

and the Eastern Security Network 

to retrace their steps, 

saying any war in Igboland 

would be devastating. 

“There has been an influx 

of soldiers and policemen 

from outside into the state. 

“People are forced to disembark 

their vehicles and walk 

past the army checkpoints, 

with their hands raised over 

their heads. 

“We have watched with total 

dismay, some extremely 

disturbing developments in 

the country in general, with 

specific reference to the brewing 

state of belligerence in the 

southeast and Imo in particular,” 

he said. 

The position of the clerics 

came on the heels of the revelation 

on the number of casualties 

suffered by the military 

since the unknown gunmen 

started operating in the state. 

The Commander, 34 Artillery 

Brigade, Nigerian Army, 

Obinze, Brigadier General 

Raymond Osaghe, who spoke 

weekend, at a media parley 

in Owerri, said that "at the last 

count, the Nigerian Army lost 

38 men, police 78, Air Force 

seven, Navy five, Civil Defence 

15 and innocent citizens 100." 

While saying that there was 

no point in people killing 

themselves, the Brigade Commander 

appealed to people to 

respect simple instructions 

when they get to military 

checkpoints. 

IPOB alleges plot 

to attack S-East 

by terrorists in 

uniform 

IPOB said it gathered 

through intelligence that the 

attackers have concluded arrangements 

to launch attacks 

on Igbo communities, beginning 

from Anambra State, in 

the days ahead. 

A statement by its Media 

and Publicity Secretary, 

Emma Powerful, entitled, 

"IPOB uncovers a plot by Nigerian 

security agents to attack 

southeast cities" therefore, 

advised Ndigbo, particularly, 

Igbo youths who it alleged 

are the target of the evil 

agenda to be circumspect and 

be careful and vigilant of their 

movements. 

IPOB's statement read in 

part: "The Indigenous People 

of Biafra, IPOB, wishes to 

place Ndigbo on alert of 

pending genocidal attacks by 

terrorists hiding in the Nigerian 

security agencies 

planned attack on different 

states in the South East. 

"We gathered through intelligence 

that they have concluded 

arrangement to 

launch attacks on Igbo communities 

beginning with Anambra 

State in the days 

ahead. 

"We, therefore advise Igbos 

especially Igbo youths who 

are the target of this evil agenda 

to be circumspect. They 

should be vigilant and be 

careful of their movements." 

The pro-Biafra group also 

alleged that a popular 

Oraifite businessman is behind, 

playing an abominable 

role in the barbaric attack of 

its lawyer, Barrister Ifeanyi 

Ejiofor's house by security 

agents, which claimed the life 

of his Personal Assistant. 

"The Nigerian Army during 

the Sunday raid of Ejiofor's 

home at Oraifite, Ekwusigo 

Local Government Area, Anambra 

State, arrested his Personal 

Assistant, killed him 

and put him inside the car 

booth he drives before they 

burnt him with the car. 

"We wonder why South East 

businessmen, because of their 

interest and investments in 

national assets of Nigeria, 

prefer to use blood of the fellow 

Igbos to retain and renew 

such business interests. 

"It is alarming that while 

bandits and terrorists rampaging 

the North enjoy the 

tacit support and protection 

of Northern elite and rich 

businessmen, Southern elite 

and businessmen collude 

with the enemies to betray and 

kill their peaceful brothers 

and agitators." 

Kalu warns against 

repetitionof 1967 

genocide in S-East 

In a statement on Tuesday, 

signed by the Senate Chief 

Whip, he noted that the insecurity 

in the South East region 

is strange, revealing that 

Igbos are not known for burning 

homes to punish enemies. 

Kalu questioned the sense in 

the killing of policemen and 

military officers, asking the 

masterminds and perpetrators 

of the deadly act the wisdom 

in eliminating those 

meant to protect them, families, 

and relatives. 

He urged them to have a 

rethink in their actions and 

advised them to choose a 

more righteous path in expressing 

their grievances. 

According to the former 

governor, " the policemen and 

military officers being killed 

are fathers, mothers, husbands, 

wives, children, and 

relatives. Anyone that has lost 

a close relative knows what it 

means to lose parents or children. 

I am more concerned 

about the lives lost because of 

the trickle-down effects on 

families. 

“Our people are not known 

for burning homes to punish 

enemies. Destroying police 

stations and infrastructures 

can never be the best path to 

express grievances. Whenever 

the 1967 - 1970 civil war is 

mentioned, it's an emotive experience 

for any peace-loving 

Nigerian, not just an Igbo 

man. 

Continuing, he said: “We 

should not either by words or 

actions pursue a repetition of 

that horrible genocide. We 

should come to understand 

that every war ends on a table. 

Instead of destructions 

before coming to the table, is 

it not wiser to come to the table 

and avoid destruction? We 

need infrastructure, we need 

investments, we don't need hostilities. 

So we are pleading 

with you to stop and embrace 

peace .” he said 

On the killing of innocent 

young people, Kalu charged 

the security agencies to desist 

from harassment, molestation, 

and killing of innocent young 

people in the region. 

He said he is worried that 

some security agents have been 

reported to be killing innocent 

souls. 

“ It is better to thoroughly 

conduct your investigations 

and avoid the indiscriminate 

killings of young innocent Igbo 

men. Our people have raised 

alarm and we are very worried 

at the rate of disappearance 

and deaths of innocent young 

men. Some of our young people 

now live indoors for the fear 

of being tagged unknown gunmen”, 

he said 

The Chief Whip also reaffirmed 

his call for a national 

dialogue chaired by the President. 

He noted that the need for a 

national dialogue is eminent 

to douse tensions in the country. 

“We have come a long way, 

our entanglement is so deep 

that all we need is diligent and 

deliberate efforts to realize the 

great dividends of diversity and 

pluralism. Our unity is our 

strength and we can forever 

live in unity notwithstanding 

the diversity in culture, religion, 

and tongues. A dialogue 

that has all stakeholders on the 

table and the president chairing 

it will go a long way in 

dousing tension across regions 

.” Kalu said 

S-East security: Why I resigned as EbubeAgu chair —Umahi 

•No enabling environment provided by govs •Umahi must have been tired, 

embarrassed —ADF 

By Peter Okutu 

ABAKALIKI—THE resig 

nation of the former 

Chairman of South East Security 

Committee, Gen. Obi 

Umahi has continued to raise 

lots of concern in some quarters, 

considering the committee's 

invaluable role in stearing 

the tide of insecurity within 

the south east region of the 

country. 

In a telephone conversation 

with Vanguard, the immediate 

past chairman of South 

East Security Committee, 

Gen. Umahi explained that 

he decided to resign his position 

because the South East 

Governors didn't provide the 

committee with the needed 

enabling environment to succeed. 

He called on them to put 

machinery in place for the 

funding of Ebubeagu, arguing 

that as a professional, certain 

requirements were supposed 

to have been met by 

the governors to enable him 

carry out his assignments. 

"No enabling environment 

was provided by the South 

East Governors. As a professional 

in the area of security, 

there are certain requirements 

that were needed to be 

provided but was not in place. 

I will advise them to fund 

Ebubeagu as the security outfit 

for the region." 

Also yesterday, Alaigbo Development 

Foundation, ADF, 

has blamed the resignation of 

Gen. Umahi on the administrative 

incompetence of the 

governors of the South East 

region of the country. 

The statement signed by the 

Chairman, Media and Publicity 

Bureau, Chief Abia Onyike 

read: "The Alaigbo Development 

Foundation, ADF, 

after a review of the recent 

resignation of Gen. Obi Umahi, 

the chairman of the Security 

Advisory Committee, created 

by the South-East Governors 

Forum, wishes to 

make the following statements: 

"That the resignation by 

Gen. Umahi has exposed the 

poverty of leadership in the 

South-East Governors Forum. 

"The resignation further 

shows that Gen. Umahi must 

have been tired and embarrassed 

by his brother's unending 

antics over the security issue 

in Igboland. 

"This resignation has vindicated 

the position of the ADF 

President, Prof. Uzodinma 

Nwala who was the first to 

resign as a member of the 

Security Advisory Committee 

when he noticed the unpreparedness 

to implement the 

Ime-Obi Ohanaeze resolution 

of February, 2020 to set 

up the regional security architecture. 

"This development has 

sealed off expectations that 

the South East Governors can 

effectively brace up to the challenges 

of insecurity for the region. 

"It also means that the people 

may have been abandoned 

to fend for themselves, since 

the so-called Ebubeagu Regional 

Security outfit which 

the governors claimed to have 

created only partially started 

Imo NLC blasts PDP 

OWERRI—THE Imo State 

chapter of Nigeria Labour 

Congress, NLC, yesterday 

cautioned the People's 

Democratic Party, PDP, against 

dragging it into partisan politics. 

“It took an exception to a text 

of a press conference by PDP 

wherein it listed non payment 

of salaries as one of the reasons 

why it asked Governor 

Hope Uzodinma to resign. 

“In a joint statement by the 

organised Labour in Imo 

State, signed by the Ag chairman 

of NLC, Comrade Philip 

Nwansi, the state chairman of 

Trade Union Congress, TUC, 

Commrade Tangban Nkim, 

and the state chairman of 

JPSNC, Commrade Alloy 

Iwuanyanwu, the labour leaders 

denied having any salary 

issue with the state government. 

in Ebonyi and yet to commence 

in the other four South- 

East states. 

"What is required now in 

Alaigbo is not a foreign- based 

security outfit but one that is 

indigenous and guided by the 

experience and wisdom of the 

stakeholders and patriotic elders 

in Alaigbo and whoever 

says we don't have such men 

in Alaigbo, must have their 

heads medically examined." 

•Says you're not spokesman of workers over salaries 

"Concerning the issue of salaries 

and pensions, organized 

labour has engaged the state 

government meaningfully and 

most outstanding matters in 

that regard have been adequately 

handled with our instrumentality 

of labour mechanism 

and approach." 

“It expressed outrage that the 

PDP wanted to drag it into its 

altercation with the ruling 

APC, describing the act as unbecoming. 

“While making it clear that 

NLC is a non partisan organization 

solely involved in the 

welfare and interest of workers, 

the labour frowned at any 

attempt to involve it in politics. 

“It averred that it has the capacity 

to fight its own battles 

in its own way and therefore 

does not need the assistance of 

any political party."

8 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 



No to secession, say North Central leaders 

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA — Political, re 

ligious and traditional 

leaders from the six north central 

states and the Federal 

Capital Territory, FCT, under 

the aegis of North Central 

Peoples Forum, yesterday took 

a swipe at those calling for secession 

and break up of the 

country, saying Nigeria must 

remain united and peaceful. 

Rather than throw its weight 

behind those calling for secession, 

the forum said it would 

do everything possible to ensure 

that Nigeria was kept as 

one indivisible country. 

Addressing journalists yesterday 

in Abuja, Director- 

General of the Forum, Sule 

Dikeson, noted that they were 

tired of watching helplessly 

their people being allegedly 

slaughtered by foreign agents. 

He added that the original 

tribes and groups that had 

been living together in the 

North Central had no problems 

with one another but 

noted that those killing the 

people were foreigners who 

had been given the opportunity 

to enter Nigeria. 

The North Central geo-political 

zone comprises Benue, 

Kogi, Niger, Kwara, Plateau, 

Nasarawa and the Federal 

Capital Territory. 

The group, while condemning 

in very strong terms last 

Sunday’s attack on Odugbeho 

village in Agatu Local Government 

of Benue State, 

which led to the death of 30 

persons, said that as leaders 

of the region, they would not 

continue to allow the mindless 

killings of the people without 

making moves to stop the 

henoius acts. 

He said though the North 

Central remained committed 

to the unity of Nigeria, it would 

no longer fold its arm and allow 

criminal elements in form 

of bandits or Insurgents to 

continue to destabilize the region. 

Dickeson said: “We 

should be the peace builders 

and those who should be the 

bridge. We are at the centre of 

Nigeria. This country must 

remain United. If there’s crisis, 

the Middlebelt will suffer 

more. We must promote peace 

within our zone. Our leaders 

can’t watch and see our people 

killed. 

“Look at what happened in 

Benue State. We feel coming 

out with a peace summit for 

the zone is something our people 

can accommodate. Our 

zone should also produce the 

next president of this country. 

If we are given the opportunity 

to rule this country, North 

Central will unite this country. 

“This is why we feel that 

we must come out and provide 

security. During the security 

summit, leaders of the 

zone will speak and tell us 

what the issues are and how 

we can do it. We don’t believe 

in secession. We don’t believe 

in the disunity of this country. 

We remain committed to the 

unity of this country.” 

On the planned security 

summit, Dikeson who explained 

that prominent leaders 

from the region, including 

former heads of State, governors 

and National Assembly 

leaders, will proffer solutions, 

said, “Former governors and 

leaders from the region will 

be in attendance. Former military 

generals and prominent 

persons will come. These 

former leaders are working on 

this summit and they’ll find a 

solution to the problems of 

Nigeria. Those are attacking 

our people are foreigners who 

have been given the opportunity 

to come in and kill our 

people. We need to find a way 

to stop these people. 

“The conference will not be 

a talk shop. We are a non-partisan 

body. We are concerned 

about the security and welfare 

of our people. We are reaching 

out to the people that matter 

ahead of 2023. The geopolitical 

zone will work together 

and ensure that whoever is 

qualified is given the opportunity.” 

Insecurity: Uzodimma tackles former Imo 

political office holders 

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru 

ABUJA — Governor 

Hope Uzodimma of 

Imo State has blamed former 

political office holders in the 

state for keeping quiet in the 

face of attacks by unknown 

gunmen and the deteriorating 

security situation in the state. 

The governor said for keeping 

mute in the midst of the 

security challenges, the former 

political office holders had 

questions to answer. 

Uzodimma, who stated this 

while briefing State House 

correspondents, after meeting 

with President Muhammadu 

Buhari at the Presidential Villa, 

Abuja, also said that he 

alone could not guarantee security 

in the state. 

He said other stakeholders, 

including traditional rulers, 

religious leaders, politicians, 

among others, must engage 

more with the people to restore 

peace in the state. 

He argued that if former 

political office holders in the 

state had been speaking out 

in condemnation of the unwholesome 

activities of those 

destabilizing the country, 

things would have been different. 

While he noted that he 

was in the presidential villa to 

brief the president on the situation 

in the state, he admitted 

that all is not well with the 

country. The governor noted 

that those who are destroying 

government property must be 

ready to face the consequences 

Ȧccording to him, “In Imo 

state as I speak to you only me 

cannot restore security, only 

me cannot guarantee security. 

I have to work with traditional 

rulers, I have to work 

with opinion leaders, I have to 

work with the youth leaders to 

be able to deploy community 

kind of security programme, 

to be able to resist what is going 

on today. 

“But you have heard how 

people will come from outside 

the state in the name of unknown 

gun men. I don’t know 

when we will begin to know 

this people and they will commit 

atrocities, and they will 

now flee. So, these are the 

things. I want to use this opportunity 

to invite all leaders, 

religious leaders, political 

leaders, community leaders, 

traditional institution to join 

hands, because the only country 

we have is this Nigeria, we 

don’t have another country. 

And if we’re not united, we will 

achieve nothing. 

“We must contribute our 

quota, however it is to ensure 

that Nigeria remains a strong, 

united, a place that we will go 

about our businesses, equity 

and justice is guaranteed. And 

then we have a country.” 

The governor stressed the 

need for leaders to do more to 

ensure peace, stating: “It is not 

only in Imo State, I didn’t limit 

to Imo State. I am saying 

and I want to say it again, that 

cases of insecurity here and 

there in the country, has not 

been helped by the posture of 

opposition party and some aggrieved 

politicians. “Reason 

being that at a time like this in 

Nigeria, anybody worth his 

onions as a leader should be 

able to speak out. How many 

of them are speaking out? 

How many of them are condemning 

what is going on? 

“Rather what you see are 

leaders fanning the embers of 

insecurity, blaming only government. 

We must be tired of 

this blame thing by now and 

then contribute our own quota 

towards ensuring that national 

security is not threatened. 

#TwitterBan: APC warns Nigerians 

against resort to VPN, says 

private investments at risk 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA — The ruling All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, has warned Nigerians 

against the continued resort 

to using the Virtual Private 

Network VPN to access the 

banned microblogging platform, 

Twitter, saying many 

private investments have already 

gone down the drain as 

a result of using VPN. 

The party gave the warning 

in a statement issued yesterday 

in Abuja by the National 

Secretary of its Caretaker Extraordinary 

Convention Planning 

Committee CECPC, Sen. 

John James Akpanudoedehe. 

APC alerted Nigerians “of 

the many risks involved in accessing 

contents, especially 

social media using the Virtual 

Private Network (VPN) 

which is vulnerable to the heinous 

activities of criminal 

hackers who can steal data 

and money in bank accounts”. 

The party also warned legitimate 

private and public entities 

operating in the country 

to avoid the many dangers of 

FG asks striking Judiciary, 

Parliamentary workers to 

call off strike 

By Victor Ahiuma-Young 

ABUJA — The Federal 

Government has directed 

striking members of Judiciary 

Staff Union of Nigeria, 

JUSUN) and their Parliamentary 

Staff Association of 

Nigeria, PASAN, counterparts, 

to immediately re-open 

all the courts and the State 

Houses of Assembly for the 

May 20, 2021, Memorandum 

of Action, MoA, signed by all 

parties to take effect. 

The Minister of Labour and 

Employment, Senator Chris 

Ngige, who gave the directive 

yesterday, decried the situation 

where the courts and the State 

Houses of Assembly were still 

shut across the country for no 

cogent reason. 

The Minister in a statement 

by the Deputy Director, Press 

and Public Relations, Ministry 

of Labour and Employment, 

Charles Akpan, said “ 

The Federal Government has 

ABUJA—THE Amalgamated 

Union of Foodstuff 

and Cattle Dealers of 

Nigeria, AFUCDN, has again 

threatened to stop food supply 

to the South and other 

parts of the country. 

The union said it would carry 

out this threat within three 

weeks if government at all levels 

failed to meet its demands 

within three weeks. 

National President of 

AFUCDN, Muhammed Tahir, 

who spoke with journalists 

at the end of an emergency 

meeting of the union in 

Abuja, lamented that since 

Governor Yahaya Bello of 

Kogi State, intervened in the 

last three months, which led 

to the suspension of their sixday 

industrial action, nothing 

has been done on the union’s 

agitation. 

The union had in March 

exposing themselves to cybercrimes 

through the use of VPN 

which it said is not adequately 

secured. The statement read: 

“This advisory is necessary 

because despite the massive 

compliance by Nigerians to 

the federal government’s suspension 

of Twitter operations 

in the country, some individuals 

in the country have resorted 

to VPN to access Twitter 

which unwholesome activities 

were detrimental to peace and 

public order in the country. 

“Those using the VPN are 

advised to desist in their own 

interests because of its risks, 

which include data theft, illegal 

access to strategic company 

documents and possible 

economic espionage. 

“The APC emphasises that 

VPN users expose their devices 

to vulnerabilities because 

the network allows third party- 

access to personal data and 

changes user location to another 

country which compromises 

data integrity. Your 

record can be traced to another 

country that is not yours, 

with all the risks that entails. 

sadly noted that the MOA between 

all the stakeholders involved 

in the JUSUN/ PASAN 

strike, mainly JUSUN/PAS- 

AN, Governors’ Forum and 

the Presidential Implementation 

Committee is yet to take 

effect because of non-compliance 

by parties. 

“We note that the strike has 

not been called off as of noon, 

today, June 8, 2021,leading to 

courts and various State Houses 

of Assembly still remaining 

under lock and key contrary 

to the promise made by the 

two unions at a further dialogue 

which was attended by 

the President of the Nigerian 

Labour Congress. 

“Unfortunately, all federal 

courts have remained closed 

notwithstanding the fact that 

the Federal Government operates 

a financial autonomy 

of the judiciary through the 

National Judicial Council 

(NJC) and the National Assembly 

through the statutory 

transfer lines.” 

Northern food, cattle dealers 

threaten to stop food supply 

nationwide 

2021 gone on strike and 

stopped supply of foodstuffs to 

the South following allegations 

of killings of its members, 

illegal roadblocks and 

extortion from its members. 

The union carried out the 

industrial action after the crisis 

that engulfed Shasha, in 

Ibadan, Oyo State. 

Tahir said after reviewing 

the issues, the union resolved 

to throw its weight behind the 

onion sellers which has already 

commenced cutting 

supply to the southern part of 

the country. He warned that 

AFUCDN might not guarantee 

industrial harmony after 

three weeks from now should 

government fail to meet the 

union's demands. 

Also, the Legal Adviser of 

the union, Mr. Saleh Magama, 

stated that the government 

must do the needful to 

avert cutting down food supply 

across the country.




9MOBILE HEALTH WORKERS RECOGNITION: From left: Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, National 

Hospital, Dr. Aisha Umar; Representative of the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire and Director of Hospital 

Services, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Adebimpe Adebiyi; Award recipient, Dr. Abdussamad Ayinde; Chief 

Medical Director, National Hospital, Abuja, Dr. Jaf Momoh and Director of Sales, 9mobile, Mr. Tosin Olulana 

during the 9mobile Health Workers Recognition event held at the National Hospital, Abuja. 

Obasanjo, 

FG mulls death penalty for rail-track 

•To approach NASS for legislative action 

vandals 

By Dirisu Yakubu 

ABUJA—THE Federal 

Government said 

yesterday it was considering 

capital punishment for railway 

track vandals in the country. 

The Minister of 

Transportation, Rotimi 

Amaechi, stated this at a town 

hall meeting in Abuja which 

featured primarily on “Protecting 

Public Infrastructure.” 

Amaechi, who noted that 

rail track vandalism was a 

capital offence that should be 

treated as such, said: “I am 

not quantifying the material 

cost; what I am quantifying is 

the lives that will be lost. 

“Imagine that a driver of a 

rail track is driving and 

suddenly bumps into a track 

that has been severed; what 

happens? It will derail. 

“Each coach in Nigeria 

carries about 85 passengers, 

sometimes we carry 14 

coaches, sometimes 20. 

“So imagine you are carrying a 

train of 14 or 20 coaches with 85 

passengers in each coach. 

If it derails, can you quantify 

how many passengers would 

have died in the course of one 

man thinking he is making 

money. 

“So, it is not about the cost but 

the lives that would have been 

lost because of a few interest. 

“Some people have 

recommended that since these 

people are killing people, if 

accident happens, people will die. 

“So, we should go back to the 

National Assembly and pass a law 

that does not only criminalize the 

action but consequence should 

be death.’’ 

The minister suggested 

that if armed robbery, 

successful or not, attracts life 

imprisonment, rail track 

vandalism should not be an 

exception, adding that rail track 

vandals had foreign collaborators. 

“In Jos, they arrested a Chinese 

company that bought those 

tracks from them, went to court 

and court found them guilty and 

fined them N200,000. So, there 

must be consequences as 

N200,000 is not enough,’’ he said. 

Amaechi commended residents 

along the Lagos-Ibadan rail track 

for their decent behaviour, 

saying “Lagos and the Western 

District recorded one case of 

vandalism, North Western 31, 

Northern District 10, North 

Eastern 43, Eastern 36 and North 

Central 50. Abuja-Kaduna has 

13, Warri-Itakpe 2 and Lagos - 

Ibadan nil.” 

The minister frowned on the 

rate tracks were being converted 

to shops and restaurants, 

especially in Port Harcourt and 

Lagos. 

Calling on offenders to desist 

or face the full weight of the law, 

Amaechi said: “The solution is 

put them in jail. All you need to 

do is pass a law, put them in jail. 

I’m sure if you take 15 to 30 

people to court, if they are 

found guilty and you put 

them in jail, it will deter others. 

“People have seized our lands 

and converted them to markets. 

We need people to leave our 

tracks alone for safety purposes.’’ 

In his remarks, the Managing 

Director of Nigerian Railway 

Corporation, NRC, Fidet Okhiria, 

also reiterated the need to 

penalize rail-track vandals in the 

country to deter other offenders. 

“It is dangerous; it can lead to 

death of people, delays operation 

and it is not cost effective. Due to 

the vandalism, we have to send 

a monitoring train before we send 

a train. It cost money running in 

this condition and in some areas, 

we are not able to run a train. 

“What we are trying to do is to 

sensitize them, let the 

communities know that 

government property is their own 

and to deploy more securities. 

“The best thing is to sanitize 

our minds, knowing that if you 

vandalize the track, you don’t 

know who will be affected. 

“Technology is not cheap 

and any punishment that will 

deter these offenders, I will 

support,” Okhiria said. 

Sultan, Abdulsalami 

convene meeting to discuss 

pressing national issues 

Rotary to commission medical 

facilities worth N12.9m in Ogun 

communities 

By Juliet Umeh 

ROTARY Club of 

Maryland, Ikeja District 

9110, will on Tuesday, 

commission two fully-equipped 

medical facilities worth about 

N12.9 million in two rural 

communities in Ogun State. 

The facilities, Porta Cabin, 

will help to solve challenges of 

Cold war in Army, as 29 Generals get approval for one month annual leave 

•No directive on retirement - Generals •Generals have 4 more years in service according to the law 

By Kingsley Omonobi June 1 to 30, 2021. 

The signal is titled: “Request 

ABUJA—THERE are for Annual Leave for Senior 

indications of a cold Officers, Major Gen JB 

war currently brewing in the Olawunmi and 28 Others.” 

Nigerian Army, following the Vanguard’s investigation 

release of a signal by the revealed that the officers who are 

Army authorities conveying Course 36 Regular intakes of the 

approval of the request of 29 Nigerian Defence Academy, 

Generals to go on a one month NDA, and are currently serving 

annual leave, beginning from as GOCs, corp commanders, 

commandant’s of institutions and 

Principal Staff Officers, Field 

Commanders in Operations 

Theatres, among others, are 

keeping their options open as no 

clear directive has been given for 

their forced retirement, even 

though there is mutual suspicion. 

The signal, with reference 

AHQ DOAA/G1/300/217, read: 

‘The approval for the 

commencement of annual leave 

in respect of above named senior 

officer and 28 others is conveyed. 

‘’Consequently, I am directed 

to relay the approval for the 

senior officers to proceed on 

annual leave from June 1 - 30, 

2021.” 

The harmonized terms and 

conditions of service for the armed 

forces state that officers of the 

armed forces shall be retired from 

service when they attain the 

mandatory retirement age of 60 

years or have spent 35 years in 

service. 

Going by the terms and 

conditions of service, almost 

all the senior officers have 

four more years to attain the 

retirement age of 60, as most 

of them are now 56 years old 

or have three more years to 

complete 35 years in service. 

As a result of the new 

conditions of service which are 

binding under the current 

democratic dispensation, a 

window of opportunity was, 

therefore, opened for legal 

interventions if the military 

authorities go contrary to its 

provisions which they 

themselves assented to. 

The new TACOS which was 

approved during the tenures of 

General Gabriel Olonisakin as 

CDS, Lt. Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai 

as CAOS, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete- 

Ibas as CNS and Air Marshal 

Sadique Abubakar as CAS, had 

the Ministry of Defence playing 

a critical role and it was signed 

into law by President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

Those involved are Major 

General JB Olawunmi, Major 

Gen JO Akomolafe, Major Gen 

G Oyefesobi, Major Gen BM 

Shaffa, Major Gen BA 

Akinroluyo, Major Gen HR 

Momoh, Major Gen LA 

Adegboye, Major Gen OA 

Akinyemi, Major Gen OF Azinta, 

Major Gen CC Okonkwo, Major 

Gen MO Uzoh, Major Gen CO 

Ude, Major Gen JO Uzamere, 

A Interfaith BUJA—THE 

Initiatives 

for Peace has convened a 

meeting to discuss pressing 

national issues in the 

country. 

The group is jointly led by 

former President Olusegun 

Obasanjo, the Sultan of 

Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammed 

Sa’ad Abubakar 11, former 

Head of State, Abdulsalami 

Abubakar, and former 

Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, 

Cardinal John Onaiyekan. 

The meeting, scheduled to 

hold on June 10 at the 

Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, is 

expected to discuss such 

issues as national unity, 

security, peace, integration, 

economic revitalisation, and 

development. 

Organisers of the meeting 

said in a letter addressed to 

president of Nigeria Labour 

Congress, NLC, Comrade 

Ayuba Wabba: “I am pleased 

to invite you on behalf of 

Interfaith Initiatives for Peace 

jointly led by the Sultan of 

Sokoto, His Eminence 

Mohammad Sa’ad Abubakar 

and his eminence John 

Cardinal Onaiyekan, 

national peace committee 

chaired by general 

Major General JI Unuigbe. 

Others are Major Gen MSA 

Aliyu, Major Gen UM 

Mohammed, Major Gen NE 

Angbazo, Major Gen YP Auta, 

Major Gen NE Angbazo, Major 

Gen KAY Ishiaku, Major Gen AT 

Hamman, Major Gen HPZ 

Vintenaba, Major Gen AA Jidda, 

Major Gen MH Magaji, Major 

Gen MA Masariawa and Major 

Gen AM Dauda. 

Sources told Vanguard that the 

reason the federal government 

ordered the review of the terms 

and condition of service for the 

armed forces was to checkmate a 

situation in the past when 

several competent and highly 

trained Generals at huge cost to 

the nation were forced out of 

service against their will, 

simply because a junior 

officer was appointed as 

service chief. 

Consequently, the military was 

expanded with creation of new 

commands, training institutions 

and other special projects where 

the retired officers could be 

deployed to impart their wealth 

of experience. 

One of such institutions is the 

Nigerian Army Resource Centre. 

Abdulsalami Abubakar and 

Socio-cultural Consultative 

Committee convened by me 

and all these bodies called 

Committee of Goodness of 

Nigeria, CGN, to an 

exploratory meeting on 

pressing issues of national 

unity, security, peace, 

integration, economic 

revitalization and 

development, women and 

youth welfare and general 

progress.’’ 

Obasanjo had on Sunday 

asked Nigerians to cry to 

God for a solution to the 

security crisis plaguing the 

country. 

“We seem to have been 

overwhelmed and unsure of 

how to handle the crisis in our 

land. But nothing is too 

difficult for God to do. That is 

why we are here. 

“We have some challenges. 

These are beyond what we 

can handle. We have to cry 

out to God to help us,’’ he 

had said. 

The former President had 

also said at a separate forum 

that the security of Nigeria 

laid in Nigerians and asked 

them to be committed to 

efforts to surmount the 

insecurity in the country. 

accessing basic healthcare to 

the indigenes of Ososa and 

Odada in Owode of the State. 

The President of the Club, 

Mr. Obadina Femi who 

disclosed this in a press 

conference on Monday said 

that the commissioning of the 

facilities are part of the activities 

the club has put in place to 

mark its 19th anniversary. 

The anniversary comes up 

on Tuesday themed: 

“Progressively Serving 

Humanity at 19.” 

Femi said: “We carried out a 

needs assessment and we saw 

that those communities don’t 

have access to basic healthcare. 

The two medical cabins are 

worth about N12.9 million. 

Apart from the construction of 

medical cabins, it has been 

equipped with drugs. 

“Our goal is service to 

humanity and anywhere we 

see there’s a dire need, we 

move in to execute projects.” 

While listing all the 

humanitarian projects 

Maryland Ikeja District 9110 

has been carrying out, he noted 

that every year they organise 

several medical outreaches in 

different communities whereby 

free medical services and drugs 

are given to the indigenes. 

Past President of the club, Mr. 

Tunde, Olaniyan, explained 

that they have put structures 

in place to sustain the project. 

Olaniyan said: “We have set 

up Rotary Community Corp 

comprising members of the 

community. So, they take 

ownership of the project and 

ensure that it is used and 

maintained properly. 

“Ogun State government is 

also partnering because they 

are the ones providing medical 

personnel and that will ensure 

the sustainability of the 

project,” he explained. 

C 

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C 

M 

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By Dapo Akinrefon 

& Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

LAGOS—COALITION of 

Northern Groups, CNG, 

and the Oodua Peoples 

Congress, OPC, yesterday, 

traded tackles over the killing 

of some residents of Igangan 

town, Ibarapa in Oke-Ogun 

area of Oyo State, just as 

Governor Seyi Makinde of 

Oyo State urged the Federal 

Government to grant South- 

West governors the powers to 

equip Amotekun operatives 

with sophisticated firearms 

like AK-47. 

This came on a day the 


adopted a motion presented 

by Mr. Muraina Ajibola on 

behalf of all lawmakers from 

the South West, directing the 

Inspector-General of Police to 

intensify efforts to arrest and 

prosecute the attackers of 

indigenes of Igangan 

community and preventing 

reoccurrence. 

CNG tackles 

Gani Adams 

While the CNG cautioned 

Gani Adams, who said the 

killing is a declaration of war 

on the SouthWest, the OPC, 

on its part, said the group’s 

comments against Gani 

Adams were capable of 

heating the polity. 

The CNG, through its 

spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez 

Suleiman, warned that any 

attack against Northerners in 

any part of the South for the 

only reason that they are 

Northerners living as 

minorities in other 

communities would not be 

acceptable. 

Adams had condemned the 

gruesome murder of innocent 

residents of Igangan town, 

and warned Fulani herdsmen 

and bandits to stay away from 

the SouthWest or be ready to 

face stiff resistance. 

The statement, however, 

did not go down well with the 

CNG, as its spokesperson, 

Suleiman said: “We find it 

outrageous for Adams to so 

readily attribute the attacks 

to the north whereas the 

actual attackers have not yet 

been officially identified. 

“For Adams to just jump to 

such a conclusion that the 

attacks were carried out by the 

north and even called it a 

declaration of war speaks 

volumes of the mindset of the 

typical southerner against the 

entire northern region.” 

CNG’s 

comments 

unsavoury 

—OPC 

But faulting the CNG’s 

remarks, the Oodua People’s 

PRESS CONFAB—From left: Alara of Araodaye, Oba Segun Layade, representing the Oòní of Ife; 

Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Owelle Oscas Udoji; 

PRO, OAU, Biodun Olanrewaju; Vice Chancellor of the institute, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, and 

Registrar, Mrs. Margaret Omosule, during the Press conference on the 60th Anniversary of the 

university, in Ile Ife, yesterday. Photo: Dare Fasube. 

IGANGAN KILLINGS: Northerners must 

not be attacked in S-West, CNG warns 

Adams 

Congress, OPC, in Lagos 

State, described the CNG’s 

comments against Gani 

Adams as capable of heating 

the polity. 

Coordinator of the OPC, 

Alhaji Mutairu Adesina 

(Akerekoro), blasted the 

CNG, warning it to desist from 

statements that can heat the 

polity. 

The OPC boss said: “The 

Aare would always stand by 

his words no matter whose ox 

is gored. That is why he is the 

Generalissimo of our race. He 

wouldn’t shy away from 

speaking the truth to power. 

But let me warn the Coalition 

of Northern Groups to desist 

from the attempt that can set 

the nation on fire. The Yoruba 

are worst hit by the Igangan 

massacre, and no Northern 

leaders have come out to 

condemn the killings and total 

onslaught on the town. 

“The massacre was nothing 

but a declaration of war on the 

southwest by the north. 

Nothing more. Those that 

perpetrated the evil acts 

decided to unleash the terror 

on our people simply because 

we have been so 

accommodating. The north 

has taken us for granted, 

killing and maiming our 

people at will. Has any 

Yoruba man or group 

unleashed terror in the 

North? No. 

“Rather than consoling us 

for the death of over 50 

innocent people, destruction 

of cars, houses, and the 

monarch’s palace, the 

northern group’s only words 

were to caution Aare Adams, 

and making unsavoury 

statements. 

“No good leader will take 

pride in spilling the blood of 

innocent citizens through 

killings, banditry and 

kidnappings. It is only here 

in Nigeria that a section of the 

country relishes killing other 

sections without blinking an 

eye. 

“The CNG needs to 

understand the implication of 

its statements against Aare 

• Your comments unsavoury —OPC 

• Allow Amotekun bear AK-47, other firearms, 

Makinde tells FG 

• As Reps ask IGP to arrest Igangan killers 

Adams. Do we need any 

prophet to tell us that those 

that perpetrated the dastardly 

acts are criminal Fulani 

herdsmen and bandits? The 

north has a target, but we will 

stand against all attempts to 

destroy or decimate our 

region. 

The police must unravel 

those behind the killings.” 

Allow 

Amotekun bear 

AK-47, other 

firearms, 

Makinde tells 

FG 

But speaking against the 

backdrop of the recent 

Igangan mayhem, Makinde 

decried that effective 

operations of Amotekun in 

tackling criminality continue 

to be limited because the 

operatives do not have 

sophisticated weapons to 

match that of criminal 

elements. 

He made this call at Day 

One of the 2021 Governor 

Seyi Makinde National 

Democracy Summit themed: 

‘The Future of Democracy in 

Nigeria’, held at the 

University of Ibadan. 

Makinde said: “Anyone who 

has been involved in security 

at any level will tell you that 

policing is local. One of the 

reasons Amotekun is 

recording success is because 

members of the corps are 

drawn from the locality. They 

know the terrain and can 

gather needed intelligence 

but also they can be held 

accountable by the local 

people because they know 

them. 

“So when state governors 

become the actual Chief 

Security Officers in charge of 

the security personnel in 

their States, they can quickly 

respond to security 

challenges. 

“For example, with what 

happened at Igangan, the 

people can hold me 

responsible for letting them 

down and when I go there, I 

will take responsibility 

because those killings were 

needless. 

“Even though I continue to 

take responsibility for the 

security situation in Oyo 

State, we all know that, in 

reality, the Commissioner of 

Police has to wait for orders 

from above before taking 

specific actions to benefit the 

local population. 

“So, looking at the federal 

security agencies here in Oyo 

State, they have to get 

clearance from the federal. 

“We will continue to do our 

best. Here in the South West, 

we were able to kick start 

Amotekun. But even with 

Amotekun, people ask how 

the killings happened. Were 

they not there? But we have 

several limitations to what 

Amotekun can do and even 

the firearms they can carry. 

“You have a dane gun and 

you are faced with people 

carrying AK-47. If it is in terms 

of investment, if we are given 

the authority, I will also buy 

AK-47 for Amotekun if given 

the licence.” 

Reps ask IGP to 

arrest Igangan 

killers 

Meanwhile, the House has 

directed the National 

Emergency Management 

Agency, NEMA, and other 

relevant agencies to provide 

relief materials to assist all 

those whose properties or 

businesses were destroyed as 

a result of the invasion. 

Ajibola, in the motion, said: 

“Due to this last attack, 

residents of Igangan Town 

and Ibarapa axis of 0yo State 

are relocating from the town 

or area in droves, which is 

likely to paralyse the 

economic and social activities 

of the town or area and has 

indeed paralysed them. This 

last attack is capable of 

escalating the already tensed 

security situation in Igangan 

town, Oyo State and all the 

states in the South-west of 

Nigeria if the assailants are 

not apprehended and 

brought to justice.” 

S-West 

INSECURITY: Amotekun has given S-West hope 

in security mgt —Akeredolu 

By Dayo Johnson 

A 

K U R E — 

CHAIRMAN of 

the South West 

Governors' Forum, 

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, 

said, yesterday, that the 

setting up of Amotekun across 

the region has given the 

people hope in the 

management of security. 

Akeredolu said this at the 

passing-out ceremony of the 

503 newly recruited 

Amotekun Corps officers, and 

the unveiling of the Roadmap 

to Internal and Border 

Security in the state, as part 

of the activities marking his 

100 days in office. 

He said: “It has further 

reinforced our long-time view 

that state and communitybased 

policing is the panacea 

to the country’s security 

challenges. 

“It is indeed heart-warming 

and encouraging because it 

is just a little over a year ago 

that the Amotekun Security 

Corps came into being and the 

impact it has made in this 

short period has been 

Reps decry 

killings in Oyo 

State 

Similarly, the South-West 

Caucus led by its leader, Mr. 

Olufemi Fakaye noted that 

killers of Yoruba indigenes 

were looking for trouble. 

Fakaye said: “We want to let 

the whole world know that we 

condemn the killings that 

were done by barbaric, 

callous, invaders and 

suspected herdsmen, 

particularly Ibarapa and 

southwest. 

“We want them to know 

that when you come to 

somebody’s home and you 

attack him, then you are 

asking for trouble. Also, we are 

here to urge the Federal 

Government to immediately 

put in motion all the 

necessary things they have 

to do to arrest and prosecute 

all the perpetrators of this 

incident. Otherwise, if this 

continues, it will be an 

invitation for others who are 

thinking to do so to continue. 

We don’t want the 

perpetrators to get away with 

it. 

“We urge the security 

agencies to work together in 

synergy. We do not want 

war in this country, but for 

there to be no war people 

that are in charge of 

governance will have to be 

seen to do what’s needful.” 

Herdsmen kill 3 

in Imeko 

—Sen Odebiyi 

Meanwhile, the lawmaker 

representing Ogun West 

Senatorial District, Senator Tolu 

Odebiyi has raised the alarm that 

fleeing Igangan killer herdsmen 

making incursions into Sagada 

in Imeko/Afon and other 

adjoining areas in Yewa North 

Local Government Area of Ogun 

State after the widely reported 

killings of residents of Igangan in 

Oyo State. 

In a statement by his media 

office, Senator Odebiyi said he 

was deeply concerned about the 

current spate of killings, described 

the act as alarming. 

The statement reads: “Recent 

report has it that three persons 

were killed in Imeko, Ogun State 

by fleeing herdsmen from Igangan 

in Oyo State, on Sunday 6th 

June, 2021. The victims according 

to report, also confirmed by the 

Balogun of Imeko Isale, Chief 

Ganiu Akinyele were Femi Bara, 

John Taiwo and Tunde Taiwo. The 

victims were killed and the 

motorcycle, they rode on, taken 

away while coming from Ologede 

around 11pm on Sunday." 

remarkable and has given 

us hope in the management 

of our security. 

“The Amotekun Security 

Corps Initiative is a baby of 

necessity conceived as a 

home-grown approach to 

solving our plethora of 

security challenges. 

“These challenges have put 

our people on the edge, given 

only a limited outcome to our 

investment drives, especially 

with the recent dimension of 

kidnapping, organised theft of 

vehicles (including those 

belonging to government), 

Gender-based Violence and 

other violent crimes.

C 

M 

Y 

K 


:Vanguard 

News 

:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 

08052867023, 08052867058 

Social Media Conversation 

UNVEILING—From left: Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello; 

wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat, her husband, Obafemi; Governor 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly, Mudasiru 

Obasa; PS, Office of Environmental Services, Mrs. Belinda Odeneye, and Special Adviser 

on Drainage & Water Resources, Joe Igbokwe, during the unveiling of Climate Action 

Plan, at the Lagos State 8th International Climate Change Summit, held at the 

Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island. Photo: Bunmi Azeez. 

TWITTER BAN: Buhari heating up polity 

—Falana 

By Victor Arjiromanus 

LAGOS—AMIDST the controversy 

trailing the recent tweet made by 

President Muhammadu Buhari on 

insecurity in Nigeria, human rights 

lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), 

yesterday, accused the president of 

heating the polity more. 

He spoke at a security summit, themed: 

‘21st Century Policing, Intelligence and 

Crisis Management', organised by civil 

group, Police Eminent Persons Forum, 

PEPF, at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, in 

Lagos. 

Falana, who was the guest speaker at 

the event, blamed President Buhari for 

being insensitive to the plights of 

Nigerians, noting that his said tweet was 

uncalled for. 

He said: “I read the tweet by the 

president, which is causing controversy. 

Senate mourns TB Joshua, condoles family 

• Joshua’s death, a reminder of salvation —CAN 

ABUJA—THE Senate, yesterday, 

held a minute's silence to honour 

the founder of the Synagogue Church 

of All Nations, SCOAN, Prophet Temitope 

Joshua, just as the Senate President, 

Ahmad Lawan, sent a condolence 

message to the family of the deceased, 

who died, Saturday. 

Coming under Order 43 of the Senate 

Rules, the Deputy Leader, Senator Ajayi 

Boroffice, said: “I bring to the attention of 

the Senate, with heavy heart, the death 

of Prophet Temitope Joshua, prominent 

philanthropist and founder of Synagogue 

Church of All Nations, on Saturday, at 

the age of 57. 

“The late Prophet Joshua was born 

on June 13, 1963, in Arigidi Akoko, Ondo 

North Senatorial District, Ondo State. 

“The late Joshua was a man of humble 

beginning who rose to build the SCOAN, 

a ministry renowned for charity; with 

membership from across Nigeria, Africa, 

Latin America and other parts of the 

world. 

“His death is a great loss to Ondo North 

Senatorial District in particular and Ondo 

The context is to the effect that we fought 

a civil war and the president took part in 

that war. I thought the president was 

going to apologise for the errors of that 

war, and that the government has not 

carried the aggrieved people along, since 

the war, in the affairs of our country, and 

the members of the ruling class have 

shattered their dreams of this country. 

Instead, the tweet was the opposite.” 

He, however, said the president was 

wrong to dismiss those calling for 

separation adding that: “If they believe 

one Nigeria has not served them well 

and has imposed injustice on them, your 

duty as a government is to explain to 

them and make them see a brighter 

future. But, when a government 

arrogantly talks down on the people, 

there is a problem for that country.”’ 

Besides, he said: “Our children know 

nothing about the civil war, because 

history has been taken out from the 

school syllabus, and so for young people, 

State and Nigeria in general. 

“Joshua lived a selfless and impactful 

life, and left a legacy of service and 

sacrifice.” 

In his remarks, the Senate President 

said: “Let me condole the family of T. B. 

Joshua, and also say that our country 

and Nigerian Leaders across all levels 

need prayers. 

“We need the intervention of God 

while we continue to do our work and 

perform our functions and duties. 

“The prayers from everyone will be very 

important and we continue to ask for 

that because this nation and the people 

believe in God, and we believe that God 

can help us in any way that is possible to 

overcome the numerous challenges our 

country is passing through.” 

TB Joshua’s death, 

reminder of 

who are attracted to war and preaching 

the gospel of hate, they have never been 

taught about the evils of war. Young men 

and women in the South-East have not 

been made to realise what people went 

through during the civil war.’ 

“So, what the president should have 

done was to find a way to embrace them 

and find out how to resolve their 

grievances through persuasion.” 

On his part, former Director, 

Department of State Services, DSS, Mr. 

Mike Ejiofor, decried the increasing 

security failures in Nigeria. 

Ejiofor said: “It is general knowledge 

that our nation is passing through a 

perilous time at this period of her national 

life. This is due to persistent security 

challenges that have seemingly defied 

all therapies as it were. Our nation’s 

challenges are not insurmountable as it 

is often presented but is rather not 

handled with the sincerity that it 

demands." 

salvation —CAN 

Meanwhile, the Christian Association 

of Nigeria, CAN, said the death of Joshua 

should be a reminder of life after death 

and salvation. 

The Media Assistant to the CAN 

President, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, in a 

chat with the News Agency of Nigeria, 

NAN, in Lagos, urged people to occupy 

themselves with causes that could earn 

them eternal life. 

Oladeji said: “A time to be born and a 

time to die. That’s what the Bible says. 

He has played his own role on this side 

of Jordan and he has relocated, we 

should therefore be conscious of the fact 

that death is unavoidable. You can’t run 

away from it. 

“When it is time, you go. The important 

thing is to sleep in the Lord. Those who 

lived as Christians will reign with Christ 

and those who do otherwise have to 

spend their eternity in the Lake of Fire." 

Fagunwa’s son launches book, 

promises continuation of father’s 

legacies 

By Adesina Wahab 

LAGOS—DIPO, son of 

the late Yoruba literary icon, 

Daniel Fagunwa, yesterday, 

launched a book titled: Ifewumi: The 

Travails of Inulayewa’, which he 

described as a continuation of his 

father’s storybook, Aditu 

Olodumare. 

On the occasion, which took place 

at the Afe Babalola Hall, University 

of Lagos, UNILAG, Dipo promised 

to continue his father’s legacies of 

propagating Yoruba culture through 

the writing of books to showcase the 

race to the global audience. 

He said: “In tandem with my 

father’s style and steps, I initially 

wrote the book in the Yoruba 

Language, but because of the need 

to reach a wider audience and, in 

line with my late mother’s advice, I 

translated it into the English 

Language. 

“However, the manuscript in 

Yoruba is still intact and I will still 

publish that God willing. The first 

set of publishers I took the 

manuscript to did not do much. They 

said they were focusing on school 

textbooks and it was a friend who 

started his publishing outfit that 

helped in publishing it." 

Titles and labels! 

Teacher don't teach me nonsense! 

Give him a query!




NDDC board: Itsekiri group suspends 

14-day ultimatum 

By Festus Ahon 

ASABA—THE Itsekiri 

Liberation Group, 

yesterday, suspended the 14- 

day ultimatum it issued to the 

Federal Government and 

Minister of Niger Delta 

Affairs, Senator Godswill 

Akpabio, to inaugurate a 

substantive board for Niger 

Delta Development 

Commission, NDDC. 

Chairman of the group, 

‘General’ Smart Omola, in a 

statement, said the decision 

to suspend the ultimatum 

issued on May 29, 2021, was 

taken after wide consultations 

with all stakeholders and 

“after the successful meeting 

of Akpabio with our royal 

father, the Olu-designate. 

“Notwithstanding the 

suspension of the ultimatum, 

we still stand by our 

demands: that the NDDC 

board should be constituted 

almost immediately by the 

Minister of Niger Delta 

Affairs. 

“That the Itsekiri should be 

given a sensitive position on 

•Asks for sensitive position on 

substantive board 

the board that is to be 

constituted; that all on-going 

projects in Itsekiri area be 

adequately funded for 

speedy completion and new 

projects awarded in Itsekiri 

areas. 

“That Itsekiri should be 

accommodated in the 

recently employed staff of the 

commission and skill 

acquisition and other 

empowerment programmes 

of the commission. 

“We also use this medium 

to call on various contractors 

handling NDDC projects in 

Warri kingdom to stop 

embarking on substandard 

jobs in and around the Itsekiri 

communities.” 

While frowning “at the idea 

of running NDDC either by 

interim management or sole 

administrator, we strongly 

advise that this practice should 

never be repeated. We still 

stand by our demand for the 

immediate constitution of the 

board and that Itsekiri is 

appointed into a sensitive 

position on the board.” 

SWEARING-IN: From left Mr. Kingsley Otuaro, Deputy Governor of Delta State; Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa and Mr. Patrick Ukah, new Secretary to the Delta State Government, SSG, 

during the swearing-in of the newly appointed SSG at Unity Hall, Government House, 

Asaba. Photo: Onojake Nathaniel. 

2023: Ekpenyong tasks S’South on presidency 

By Chioma 

Onuegbu 

UYO 

—SENATOR 

Christopher Ekpenyong 

representing Ikot Ekpene 

senatorial district, in Akwa 

Ibom State has urged the South- 

South geo-political zone to seek 

the position of president in 2023. 

Ekpenyong, who spoke, 

yesterday, while reacting to 

ongoing clamour and debate on 

which region or part of the 

country should produce the next 

president in 2023 after President 

Muhammadu Buhari, noted 

that he might join the 2023 

presidential race if his party, the 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, 

finally decides to throw the 

presidential ticket open to all 

aspirants from all parts of the 

country. 

He further revealed that he 

would not recontest for the 

Senate seat in the forthcoming 

election. 

His words: “I am fully in 

support of South-South 

presidency in 2023. I want to 

urge that the geo-political zone 

must come out to contest for 

the highest position in 2023. We 

must be ready to present a 

candidate. I may be one of those 

that will seek the position. 

“If my party, the PDP, finally 

decides to throw it open, I will 

declare my intention. I will not 

recontest for the Senate in 2023, 

but I may be seeking the highest 

office. We (South-South) have 

always been cheated in the past. 

“You can remember when 

Goodluck Jonathan was to 

return to office in 2015, but the 

North said no. There was a 

serious gang up against the 

South-South. This time, things 

will be different, we must present 

Open grazing: Bayelsa impounds 34 cows for 

alleged violation 

By Samuel 

Oyadongha 

YENAGOA—Bayelsa State 

Livestock Management 

Committee has impounded 34 

cows in Yenagoa, the state 

capital, over alleged violation 

of the anti-open grazing law in 

the state. 

The cows were impounded on 

Monday on the Bayelsa Palm 

area/Swali road in the state 

capital. 

State Commissioner for 

Agriculture, Mr David Alagoa, 

who is also Chairman of the 

a candidate, but that will depend 

on whether the party will zone 

the ticket or leave it open.” 

The former deputy governor 

of Akwa Ibom State, however, 

Livestock Management 

Committee, said: “We gave 

them four weeks’ grace to move 

these cows to the Bayelsa Palm 

Estate. But we noticed that some 

of the herders moved the cows 

in the night around 1 a.m., from 

Bayelsa Palm Estate to Swali 

and trampled on farmlands on 

their way. We surprised them on 

Monday and apprehended 

about 34 cows. 

“We also met another herd of 

cows in a field feeding on corns 

and rice. Before we embarked 

on this anti-grazing law, the 

stakeholders including Miyetti 

Allah Cattle Breeders’ 

expressed the hope that the 

presidential ticket of the PDP 

would be zoned to the South in 

2023, going by its rotational 

agreement enshrined in the party 

constitution. 

Association of Nigeria were 

properly consulted and informed 

that there will be a stipulated fine 

if any seizure is made by the 

committee.” 

Also speaking, Special Adviser 

on Security to the Governor, 

Agberebi Akpoebi, said the 

committee was working in 

synergy with its local 

government components to see 

that the anti-open grazing law in 

the state was enforced. 

On his part, the Bayelsa State 

Deputy Commissioner of Police 

in charge of Operations, Aminu 

Alhassan, said that a lot of 

sensitisation was carried out 

before the committee started to 

enforce the law. 

Edo PDP: Acting chair sues for unity, backs 

Obaseki 

Committee 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

BENIN CITY — ACTING 

state chairman of Edo State 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, 

Harrison Omagbon, yesterday, 

said his task was to unite the 

party, which is currently 

embroiled in leadership crisis. 

In a statement by the state 

Publicity Secretary, Chris 

Nehikhare, after the State 

Working Committee, SWC, 

meeting of the party, Omagbon 

appealed for cooperation 

among members of the party, 

while advocating total 

commitment, loyalty and 

oneness. 

He said: “My task as acting 

chairman is to unite our party. 

There must be cooperation and 

collaboration among all 

members. We also need total 

commitment, loyalty and 

oneness in the party.” 

The Expanded Working 

meeting 

commended the governor on the 

template for appointments he 

unveiled, weekend, and moved 

a vote of confidence in Governor 

Godwin Obaseki for his 

exemplary leadership and 

commitment to building, not just 

a strong and united party, but a 

state that would be the envy of 

all 

Ṫhe removal of the substantive 

chairman of the party, Tony 

Aziegbemi had created 

leadership crisis in the party. 

Delta 2023: IPAF demands 

dep gov'ship slot for Itsekiri 

By Onozure 

Dania 

WARRI —NEWLY formed 

political pressure group, 

Itsekiri Political Advancement 

Front, IPAF, has demanded 

Delta State deputy 

governorship position and 

Delta South senatorial seat 

come 2023, saying the demands 

became necessary because 

“From 1999 till date, no Itsekiri 

has occupied these positions, 

yet Itsekiri nation has given 

maximum support to others in 

their political pursuits.” 

National Chairman of IPAF, 

Dennis Mene, who made the 

demands in Warri, Delta State, 

during the inauguration of 

IPAF, said: “We can no longer 

continue to be relegated in the 

political scheme of things at the 

state and federal levels, despite 

our huge contributions to the 

state and national economy. 

“The past six to seven years 

have been bitter pills for us to 

chew as a nation. Despite our 

contributions to the national 

economy and our peaceful 

disposition, we have been 

Ayade sacks another 

commissioner 

By Emma Una 

CBen ALABAR—Governor 

Ayade of Cross 

River State has relieved 

another commissioner of his 

position. 

Ayade in a statement by his 

Press Secretary, Mr Chris Ita, 

relieved Mr Chris Etta of his 

appointment. 

relegated to a nation of Commissioner 

for Women Affairs 

and SAs at the state level and 

mere board members at the federal 

level. 

"Hence, we have come 

together as a people of one 

nation, one king and one 

language, to state our stand for 

our advancement as a nation, 

through collaboration with 

other ethnic nationalities and 

senatorial districts in the state 

and others. 

“We are going to continue to 

throw our full support to the 

governor of the state and the 

president, but we will no longer 

tolerate a situation where we are 

treated like nothing with an 

appointment that is 

undermining, despite our huge 

contributions being the largest 

producer of oil and gas in the 

state and second-largest in the 

country. 

“We have been relegated 

politically for too long. We will 

not continue to complain but 

have decided to take our destinies 

in our hands to declare our stand 

as Itsekiri and our position as 

regards the future of our dear 

tribe. 

Dikio lauded for appointing 

ex-agitators to work with 

PAP 

THE beneficiaries of the 

Presidential Amnesty 

Programme, PAP, under the 

umbrella of Presidential 

Amnesty Programme Delegate 

Forum, PDF, have commended 

the Interim Administrator of 

the programme, Col Milland 

Dikio (retd), on the recent 

appointment of beneficiaries 

into the workforce of the PAP. 

The group’s leader, Senibo 

Spencer, who spoke to 

newsmen in Port-Harcourt, 

Rivers State, said: “Any 

initiative by the Amnesty Office 

to invest in job and wealth 

creation or its equivalent will 

help scale up development in 

In the statement, Ita said: 

“Governor Ayade has 

approved the relieving of 

Francis Etta as 

Commissioner for Special 

Duties with immediate effect.” 

Etta, who is an associate of 

former Governor Liyel Imoke 

may have developed cold feet 

over joining Ayade in the All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, where he defected to 

last month. 

the region. 

“Given the success recorded 

by the programme thus far, this 

will in no small measure scale 

down violence and militancy in 

Niger Delta, especially in trying 

times where we see pockets of 

sponsored violence. With this, the 

delegates will become change 

agents that would spur peace 

and development in Nigeria’s 

post-conflict Niger Delta. 

“The appointment of the 

interim administrator came at 

a time when all untrained and 

unempowered beneficiaries 

need the benefits of the amnesty 

programme most, as a result of 

the untold hardship precipitated 

by the COVID-19 pandemic." 

Gbeneyei not titled chief in 

Ogulagha Kingdom —Council of 

Chiefs 

By Jimoh 

Babatunde 

THE Ogulagha Kingdom 

Traditional Council of 

Chiefs in Burutu Local 

Government Area of Delta 

State, has said one Mr Lucky 

Akara Gbeneyei is not a titled 

chief in Ogulagha Kingdom. 

In a statement in Warri, 

yesterday, by Chief William 

Igere, acting Chairman, 

Ogulagha Kingdom 

Traditional Council of Chiefs, 

Chief Prefugha Karawei, Public 

Relations Officer, Ogulagha 

Kingdom Traditional Council 

of Chiefs/Senior Palace Admin, 

Chief Emaye Benidiwei, said: 

“The attention of Ogulagha 


of Chiefs was drawn to a media 

publication, wherein one Mr 

Lucky Gbeneyei, claimed to be 

a chief in Ogulagha kingdom. 

“For emphasis, there is no 

chieftaincy title known as 

‘Gbeneyei 1 of Ogulagha 

Kingdom and more so, the said 

Mr Lucky Gbeneyei not a 

member of Ogulagha 


of Chiefs, and, therefore, has no 

authority to claim such. 

“We urge the public to 

disregard same and advise Mr 

Gbeneyei to desist from 

claiming or parading to be a 

chief in Ogulagha Kingdom." 

C 

M 

Y 

K

C 

M 

Y 

K 



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

Labour threatens to shut Chevron 

Nigeria over workers’ sack, 

casualisation 

By Victor Ahiuma- 

Young 

NIGERIA Union of 

Petroleum and Natural 

Gas Workers, NUPENG and its 

Petroleum and Natural Gas 

Senior Staff Association of 

Nigeria, PENGASSAN, 

counterpart, have threatened to 

cripple operations of Chevron 

Nigeria Limited, CNL, over 

alleged arbitrary sack of 

Nigerians, among other unfair 

labour practices. 

The 14-day ultimatum issued 

to the Chairman and Managing 

Director of CNL, dated May 20, 

expired yesterday and there are 

strong indications that the 

workers, on the aegis of 

NUPENG-PENGASSAN may 

declare industrial unrest any 

moment from now. 

Efforts to reach the 

management of CNL at the time 

of this report were unsuccessful. 

In a letter to the Chairman and 

Managing Director of CNL, dated 

June 4, 2021, the workers named 

three Nigerian workers -Bukola 

Sola-Adebawo, James 

Ukachukwu and John Ayeni as 

those arbitrary and unlawful 

disengaged recently by CNL 

through IESL, Candid Oil and 

Xepameadow, respectively. 

NUPENG-PENGASSAN 

listed some of their grievances 

with the management of CNL to 

include several unpaid benefits, 

victimization of workers for joining 

union, inhuman treatment, and 

casualisation of workers. 

According to the letter, “the 

inhumane treatment meted out 

to the affected Nigerian workers 

is antithetical to all applicable laws 

of the Federal Republic of 

Nigeria, as well as other 

international laws that guide 

employment and the 

protection of rights of 

workers. As a union we are 

greatly disturbed by the disregard 

TB Joshua: It'll be difficult 

to fill his vacuum — NBM 

By Boluwaji Obahopo 

LOKOJA—THE 

Neo 

Black Movement (NBM) of 

Africa Worldwide, has said the 

sudden death of founder of 

Synagogue Church of all 

Nations, SCOAN, Pastor 

Temitope Balogun Joshua, is 

devastating, saying his demise 

has created a vacuum too difficult 

to fill. 

The organization in a 

statement by its national Public 

Relations Officer, Mr. Oluwatosin 

Dixon said TB Joshua lived for 

the people and created an imprint 

far beyond the shores of Nigeria. 

The statement read in parts, 

“We received with sadness the 

demise of Pastor Temitope 

Balogun Joshua in the early 

hours of Saturday. 

“We commiserate with the 

immediate family of this unique 

Nigerian and world acclaimed 

prophet and apostle of God, 

whose humongous service in His 

vineyard has impacted millions, 

not the least Nigeria; Nigerians 

and his followers all over the 

world. 

“We commiserate with the 

Synagogue Church of All 

Nations family on the passage of 

a man whose efforts pioneered 

religious tourism to Nigeria. 

“No doubt the void left behind 

for due process the termination of 

these Nigerians; and we are uncomfortable 

watching while workers 

rights are trampled upon by 

CNL and her contracting companies.” 

Among other grievances before 

the Ministry of Labour and 

Employment, NUPENGASSAN 

lamented the “apprehension that 

IEME contracts are to be closed 

out in June 2021 without 

following due process or engaging 

the Unions to reach an 

agreement. Our findings revealed 

that Management has tactically 

perfected the plans to casualize 

the contract, moving the present 

IEME maintenance labour 

contract personnel, to a service 

contract on reduced pay which 

will be determined by the new 

service contractors. All personnel 

on the present IEME 

Maintenance labour contract will 

be forced to go home, and the 

new company will provide new 

employees for the service 

contract. 

“CNL through her labour 

contract companies has directed 

labour contract personnel 

working from home to provide 

receipt for ergonomic chairs and 

table for them to compensate with 

N70, 000.00. Ergonomic chair is 

$1,250 in the market. Therefore, 

we are demanding 

unconditionally N150, 000 flat 

payment to all affected labour 

contract personnel working from 

home as compensation for 

ergonomic tools required to safely 

work from home. 

“It has also come to the notice 

of the NUPENGASSAN that 

Management plans to change all 

the man power contracts (Labour 

contracts) to service contract 

as it’s presently happening to 

IEME, Xepameudow and 

YKlsh contract. 

''The contractors that supply 

manpower to Chevron are 

being categorlzed as service 

contractors while the jobs 

remain labour jobs.” 

by the spiritual leader, whose passion 

for empowering the poor and 

vulnerable in Nigeria and all over 

the world, will be hard to fill.'' 

N-East govs meet over COVID-19 

vaccines 

By Umar Yusuf 

Y GOVERNORS O L A — 

of 

the six states in the North East 

sub region alongside officials of 

the Presidential Steering 

Committee on COVID-19 and 

the National Primary Healthcare 

Development Agency met 

yesterday in Yola to assess the 

acceptability or otherwise of the 

vaccination of the pandemic in 

the region. 

Addressing the stakeholders at 

the meeting, Chairman of the 

Presidential Steering Committee 

and Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation, 

Boss Mustapha, said the 

committee decided to organise 

the zonal town hall meeting 

across the country to officially 

discuss the impact of the 

vaccination. 

Boss Mustapha, who was 

represented by the Minister of 

VISIT: From left; Nursing Officer, Naval Reference Hospital Victoria Island, Commander, C. Onah; 

Admiral Supretendent, Naval Dockyard Limited, Real Admiral, Levi Kohath; Permanent Secretary, 

Ministry of Defence, Musa Istifanus; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral, Awwal Gambo and others 

during the visit of Chief of Naval Staff to Navy Dockyard in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Shonola. 

Insecurity: Farmers warn over looming 

food crisis 

By Wole Mosadomi 

M 

I N N A — 

FARMERS in 

Niger State yesterday warned 

that Nigeria would face serious 

food crisis if the rising insecurity 

across the country was not 

addressed, even as the state 

government has officially flaggedoff 

this year’s farming season and 

sale of fertilizers to farmers. 

Speaking at the official flagoff 

ceremony in Minna, 

Chairman, All Famers 

Association of Nigeria, AFAN, 

Alhaji Shehu Galadima, said 

already 11 local government 

areas in the state had been 

taken over by bandits 

preventing farmers from going to 

their ancestral homes to farm. 

He said besides Niger State, 

fillers from most farmers across the 

Northern part of the country 

showed that they were also 

facing similar challenges, saying, 

“If the issue of insecurity is not 

handled and put to an end now, 

there is going to be food crisis 

across the country as from later 

this year. Niger State is vast in 

landmass and 11 LGAs are badly 

affected as the farmers can no 

State Environment, Alhaji Isah 

Abubakar, urged stakeholders to 

mobilise their communities to key 

into the COVID 19 Vaccination 

exercise, noting that scientific 

experts had confirmed that the 

vaccine was safe. 

He assured that the Federal 

Government was committed to 

providing all necessary support 

to state and local governments 

towards safeguarding the safety 

and health of its citizens. 

In his remarks, Minister of 

Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire 

encouraged Nigerians to accept 

the vaccination to keep the 

country safe against the backdrop 

of what was happening globally, 

especially in India and Brazil. 

Ehanire assured that the 

Federal government has taken 

adequate measures in addressing 

the pandemic , stressing that it 

is not only for self protection to 

accept the vaccination , but a 

civic responsibility to assist in 

curtailing spread of the pandemic 

in the society. 

longer go to their farmlands. It is 

good to give fertilizers to farmers 

but which farm will they go to 

when bandits have taken over 

11 LGAs.” 

Galadima called on the federal 

and state governments to rescind 

their decision to withdraw 

incentives to farmers, noting that 

“the withdrawal of incentives to 

farmers is uncalled for. We want 

the state government to let the 

Federal Government know that 

they need to review it because 

farmers in Niger State are the 

worst hit by insecurity as they 

can no longer go to harvest the 

crops they planted.” 

He said most of the farmers who 

MINIMUM WAGE: NLC rejects partial 

implementation, threatens unrest 

By David Odama 

L 

A F I A —THE 

Nasarawa council of 

Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, 

yesterday rejected partial 

implementation of the N30, 000 

minimum wage for workers on 

grade levels one to six in the 

state. 

Chairman of NLC, Comrade 

Yusuf Iya, said in Lafia that the 

union was dismayed by the 

government's decision to 

implement minimum wage for 

workers on grade levels 1-6 

without the corresponding 

consequential adjustments for 

other grade levels. 

The chairman who was 

categorical that the 

implementation by the state 

government did not only negate 

the principles and procedures of 

minimum wage implementation, 

but show that the government 

was insensitive to the workers 

welfare. 

According to the Chairman, 

implementation of minimum 

wage requires a collective 

agreement of give and take duly 

signed by both parties while a 

template ought to be adopted for 

references. 

“A copy of the agreement must 

be domiciled in the office of 

the Minister of Labour and 

Employment, but none of the 

requirements has been 

fulfilled in Nasarawa State,” 

Iya declared. 

While alleging that even the 

Local Government workers in 

grade levels 1-6 had been 

managed to farm last planting 

season had now been chased 

away from their homes and their 

farms while their seedlings had 

also been burnt by the bandits. 

On his part, State Chairman of 

Rice Farmers Association of 

Nigeria, RFAN, Idris Abini called 

on the state government to 

monitor the prices of commodities 

saying that “farmers don’t 

increase the prices of food items, 

but the traders who buy from us 

increase prices arbitrarily. 

“It is not enough to give us 

fertilizers, government must 

understand that we (farmers) 

after buying at subsidized rates 

use the inputs, but we don’t 

sidelined, the NLC Chairman 

added that the implication of the 

government actions had shown 

that nobody graduated before 

entering civil the service of the 

state hence the minimum wage. 

He said with the 

implementation, only a total of 

3,300 workers out of a total of 

16,000 workers were to enjoy the 

minimum wage in Nasarawa 

state, adding “The union 

cannot accept this, already the 

determine the market price of farm 

produce. We, rice farmers are doing 

our best and producing 

enough rice but we do not know 

why the prices of rice but other 

farm produce are still high in the 

market. This is why government 

should wade into the problem of 

prices now.” 

Speaking at the flagoff, Acting 

Governor of the state, Ahmed 

Ketso, assured farmers that their 

security and safety was topmost. 

“We shall do everything 

possible to ensure the safety of 

our farmers so that they can go 

about their farming activities in 

particular without hindrances,” 

he assured. 

union had issued a 21-day 

notice of strike and 

subsequently issued a seven 

day notice after the expiration of 

the seven days in line with labour 

laws.” 

It will be recalled that the 

Accountant General of the 

State, Zakka Yakubu had on 

Thursday June 3, 2021 

announced implementation 

of minimum wage for workers 

on grade levels 1-6. 

Ohwo introduces contactless 

PoS payment solution 

AMIDST the raging COVID- 

19 pandemic and the 

increased need for safe payment 

alternatives, logistics company, 

Marula Ventures, has released 

the Ohwo App to help further 

reduce the risk of physical contact 

and make payments more 

manageable. 

Ohwo App is a fast, secure and 

straightforward way of making 

and receiving payments instantly 

by scanning a QR code from the 

sellers’ phone or device using an 

android or IOS phone. 

Speaking at the launch 

yesterday, Toyin Adebola, Head 

of Business Development, 

Marula Ventures, said 

creating an app that would 

promote safe and 

straightforward payment was 

the driving force behind Ohwo. 

Highlighting other features of 

the App, Adebola said it is easy 

and fast to download and install. 

Ohwo, he added: “is a huge 

step up from your regular POS. It 

is the premier contactless digital 

POS that takes away the need 

for extra hardware (POS 

machine, ATM cards, etc.). All you 

need to enjoy seamless 

transactions is Ohwo on your 

phone. Retailers using the 

“Ohwo Seller App” would not 

have to go through the tedious 

process of auditing their books, 

queueing tiringly for a large 

device etc. The Ohwo accurate 

bookkeeping/ auditing function 

automatically audits business 

transactions. It is your efficient 

unpaid accountant.” 

Adebola noted that sellers and 

buyers using the app could easily 

track their transactions, sales and 

purchases with ease from within 

the App. 

He said it is easy to download 

by typing in the transaction 

value, generating QR code, 

scanning the code and receiving 

payment, has no heavy charges.

14 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021


C 

M 

Y 

K 


Looming genocide in South East 

OVER the past weekend, there were 

heavily alarming stories of the arrival of 

several military transport aircraft at the Sam 

Mbakwe Airport, Owerri. They brought war 

equipment shortly after President Muhammadu 

Buhari threatened to “speak to” the 

Igbo people of the South East “in the language 

they understand”. 

Unless sanity comes into play, the systematic 

slaughter of innocent, unarmed 

people and the destruction of their properties 

will commence in the heart of Igboland 

soon. I have two questions: what 

did the Igbo people do wrong? What offence 

did they commit against Nigeria? 

Before this government came to power, 

South East was the most peaceful part of 

Nigeria. Wars, insurgencies, militancy, terrorism 

and banditry were reported in other 

parts of the country but not the South 

East. 

So, why has the relationship between the 

Federal Government and the Igbo nation 

within six years, deteriorated to the point 

where a second civil war is being talked 

about? 

Looking at Buhari’s six years in power, 

did the Igbo nation make a mistake in withholding 

their votes from him? Did they not 

vote for Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo, 

Umaru Yar’ Adua and Goodluck 

Jonathan who were not their kinsmen as a 

patriotic expression of their Nigerianness? 

Is it possible that Igbo rejection of, and 

resistance to Fulanisation is at the root of 

the problem? They said “no” to Ruga and 

every effort to take their land and give to 

the Fulani pastoralists who have been killing 

and destroying farmlands without the 

Federal Government raising a finger to stop 

Those who are watching with 

excitement the deployment of the 

military against fellow Nigerians, 

the unarmed Igbo population, 

should get ready; whatever goes 

round comes round; fulanisation is 

not only aimed at Igbo land, they 

also want yours 

them. Why would the South East, which 

is smaller in landmass than most states in 

the North but with over 40 million people, 

yield the little they have to violent strangers 

and foreigners? If the situation were 

turned the other way round, would the 

president and his people accept the medicine 

they are forcing down other people’s 

throats? 

Another “sin” of the Igbo was that the 

Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, which 

the Federal Government has popularised 

among the Igbo youth and elders alike, 

formed the Eastern Security Network, 

ESN, to guard their forests where no less 

than 350 herdsmen camps were identified 

immediately after the COVID-19 shutdowns 

last year. ESN has never attacked 

law-abiding and peaceful Northerners or 

anyone in Igboland. Even Mazi Nnamdi 

Kanu strictly forbids attacks on law abiding 

and peaceful Northerners residing in 

the South East. 

They are strictly in the forests protecting 

the land and the people because the law 

enforcement agencies refused to do their 

job. Instead, they allowed these cancerous 

elements to flood Southern forests during 

the lockdowns. Self- defence is the first 

law of nature. Can you fault Igbo people 

for developing a template for self-defence? 

Yet another “sin” is the activities of the 

so-called unknown gunmen. I can never 

excuse the activities of these terror gangs 

who have been killing law enforcement officers 

and destroying police and security 

establishments and electoral edifices. How 

I wish we knew who these people were! 

The security and law enforcement agencies 

should do their work. 

There is always the temptation to blame 

Igbo youth for the activities of the unknown 

gunmen, but strangely, Governor Hope 

Uzodimma, an arch enemy of IPOB, has 

disclosed that 70 per cent of people arrested 

for the attacks in Imo State “are not 

Igbo”! Who are they? Is it possible that some 

of the attacks were sponsored by enemies 

of the Igbo nation as a pretext to punish 

them for their above-mentioned “sins”? 

Nobody is talking about the senior Presidency 

official Ahmed Gulak fingered as 

his assailant in a voice note circulating on 

the internet before he was assassinated in 

Owerri. 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

We have shouted ourselves hoarse that 

if Buhari means well towards Igbo people, 

he can still solve the security situation 

in the South by tackling it at the roots. He 

keeps asking: “What do these people 

want”? We (Nigerians) want him to end 

his extreme nepotism and bring back our 

Nigeria. It is not true that Nigeria belongs 

to the Fulani; it can NEVER happen. Nigeria 

belongs to all of us! We want this 

Fulanisation agenda dropped immediately. 

It will not work. It will only expose innocent 

people to danger and destruction. 

There is enough land in the North where 

the Fulani are indigenous to, for the establishment 

of countless Ruga and all its 

romanticised benefits. Don’t force it on 

those who don’t want it. 

Why doesn’t the Federal Government 

Northern political leaders consider the 

question of a referendum? It is a democratic 

and peaceful demand. A referendum 

will give the Minorities of the South-South 

the opportunity to reject Biafra. It will also 

enable the Igbo people who have property 

all over Nigeria to shun Biafra. But if 

they opt for a tiny, landlocked Biafra where 

(as we hear) they will starve, kill themselves 

and perish, why not let them? Those 

who hate them will achieve their objective 

of Igbo extermination by letting them go 

into Biafra and perish. Why not allow nature 

to do your dirty work for you? 

May I sound a note of warning. Those 

who are watching with excitement the deployment 

of the military against fellow Nigerians, 

the unarmed Igbo population, 

should get ready. Whatever goes round 

comes round. Fulanisation is not only 

aimed at Igbo land. They also want yours. 

They are also killing you. The difference 

is that, unlike the Igbo people, you are 

crying and expecting your prospective 

conquerors to save you! 

2023 and political opportunists of insecurity 

BY BODE ELERANDE 

LIKE scavenger birds hovering 

above a decaying carcass, Nigeria’s 

out-of-job politicians have been 

gathering all over the country turning 

the alarming state of insecurity 

into a politically perfect ploy to short 

circuit the constitutional schedule 

and process for 2023 elections with 

subterfuge summits where megaparty 

formation is the hidden agenda. 

Capitalising on insecurity also 

inflames the prevailing political tension 

confronting the Buhari Presidency 

as an additional catalyst for 

destabilising the status quo to enlarge 

the scavengers’ buffet. The 

restless politicians have thus become 

scavenging beneficiaries of 

the agents of insecurity, from Boko 

Haram to the bush bandits! 

The ulterior motive is so glaring 

even from the crass incompetence 

of the summiteers to go beyond 

cheap talk on security issues. A typical 

list of the repeatedly recycled 

speakers comprises prominent traditional 

rulers, religious leaders and 

so-called leaders of thought all of 

whom share a strange extra-curricular 

political exuberance that discredits 

their declared calling. They 

represent a publicity-prowling variant 

of their professed occupations 

which are in dire need of their unsolicited 

crusades. Like their failed 

political counterparts, they lack the 

democratic mandate that they 

undermine so callously! 

The hidden agenda is also exposed 

by the pedestrian communiqués 

which are prepared in advance 

of the summits as rehashed 

renditions of rhetoric on insecurity, 

offering nothing useful or new but 

unmistakably identical in propagation 

of partisan slogans like sovereign 

national conference and restructuring 

in feigned ignorance of 

the National Assembly and constitutional 

processes, democratically 

designated for such pursuits. 

On this score, the latest insecurity-scavenging 

summit held by the 

Southern governors exhibits all the 

symptoms of a contrived conclave 

of irreconcilable 2023 ambitions, 

hurriedly herded around the megaparty 

manouvers of an unrepentant 

king-maker. Under political seduction, 

the Southern governors 

whose collective clout for security 

management ended with the creation 

of glorified local police squads 

now overwhelmed by local gangs 

of secessionist gunmen. The South 

Eastern governors were still summiting 

for state police while IPOB’s 

security network gunned its way 

to the command and control of the 

region, imposing a stay-at-home 

order that was more effective than 

their curfews. Add the daring destruction 

of INEC structures in the 

region and you know that not even 

an unrepentant kingmaker can 

guarantee these governors a stake 

in 2023 elections. 

However, if any doubt remains 

about the political proportions of the 

sporadic security summits being 

staged to camouflage 2023 undercurrents, 

is what has been described 

as a “Summit of Hope” 

aimed at “halting the country’s drift 

into imminent anarchy or resorting 

into another civil war”. 

And just who are the war-averting, 

anarchy-annihilating eminent 

Nigerians shortlisted for this 

mega summit ? The list comprises 

all former Presidents, all leading 

traditional rulers, religious leaders 

and leaders of thought. Among 

The crux of the matter is 

that all these summits 

deliberately bypass credible 

constitutional channels for 

whatever changes intended 

for the enhancement of 

good governance, peaceful 

co-existence and restoration 

of national security 

them: Bishop Mathew Hassan 

Kukah, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Bola 

Ahmed Tinubu, Prof Wole Soyinka, 

Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Senate 

President and his deputy, Speaker 

of House of Rep and his deputy, 

Chairman of NGF, Speakers, and 

deputies of State Houses of Assembly, 

leaders of Boko Haram(!), 

Miyeti Allah, IPOB(!), Chief Gani 

Adams, Arewa Consultative Forum, 

and Chief Sunday Ighoho. 

Indeed, with the exception of 

“leaders of Boko Haram” and 

IPOB, none of the enlisted has ever 

approached the “kinetic” zone! The 

organisers obviously have a lot of 

confidence in these eminent citizens’ 

capacity to ward off even 

asymmetric assault on the nation’s 

territorial integrity, seeing how, 

despite the petrifying presence of 

Boko Haram and IPOB delegates, 

they did not deem it necessary, nay 

compulsory, to ensure that at least 

the service chiefs are on the list! 

But it maybe that after a decade 

of futile “technical” encounters, it 

is time to try political summiting, at 

any rate, they are not taking chances 

as invitees are assured that the 

selected private university venue 

is safe. The only thing missing from 

such a meticulous arrangement for 

an emergency national assignment 

is the identity of the non-academic 

off-campus masquerade 

who will be the beneficiary of all 

the wonderful political security strategies 

that will be in communiqué. 

Here one must deploy native intelligence 

to fathom that which the 

“stakeholders” consider premature 

for mention. 

The unthinkable inclusion of 

“leaders of Boko Haram” among 

invitees to a summit supposedly 

aimed at “halting the country’s drift 

into imminent anarchy or resorting 

into another civil war,” provokes lingering 

thoughts of past liaison of 

this sort which in retrospect pulled 

more political weight than the 

emergency national assignment 

cover in which it was packaged. 

None other than an ex-president 

who held talks with Boko Haram 

said to be focused on how to free 

the kidnapped Chibok girls through 

negotiation. The sensational event 

which included a visit to Maiduguri 

and later a meeting at Ota with 

relatives of senior Islamist fighters 

and intermediaries was widely reported 

and marked a highpoint in 

the ex-president's penchant for 

making political hay while the sun 

of imminent transition of power 

is shining. 

The Summit of Hope is obviously 

a hybrid of his 2023 kingmaking 

agenda, for which he 

has been zig-zagging from 

Sokoto to Sapele and the “restructuring” 

of voting pattern. 

Not to be outdone in the preemptive 

ambush of the 2023 

transition process, the tireless 

presidential aspirant, a former 

Vice President has also recently 

joined the summiteers with a 

call for all parties summit by Nigerian 

governors to discuss the 

political and economic problems 

facing the country which he said 

were “created by those with a 

regional mindset, and will not 

be solved by those with a similar 

mindset,” a guided missile. 

The crux of the matter is that 

all these summits deliberately 

bypass credible constitutional 

channels for whatever changes 

intended for the enhancement 

of good governance, peaceful 

co-existence and restoration of 

national security. There can be 

no argument to legitimise the 

much talked about sovereign 

national conference or make it 

superior to the existing state and 

national legislatures as platforms 

for pursuing such aspirations. 

Moreover, why the undue 

emphasis on President Buhari 

to do what is the duty of every 

concerned Nigerian, especially 

those agitating so menacingly? 

Simply activate the due process 

through the legislature and pursue 

it with all the resources devoted 

to sponsoring smokescreen 

summits! 

In the final analysis, we must 

see the frank submission by eminent 

professor of law, Itse Sagay 

(SAN), on these surreptitious 

summits as patriotic and 

instructive, especially when he 

remarked that “if all the insecurity 

is part of a move by people 

to destabilise the country and 

give the impression that Nigeria 

is ungovernable under the 

president, therefore, an unconstitutional 

measure should be 

introduced to remove him, that 

is unacceptable”. 

*Elerande, a commentator on 

national issues, wrote from Osogbo

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 

INCREASED PORTS CHARGES: FG approves but Shippers' Council gives conditions 

By Godfrey Bivbere 

The Federal Government has 

approved the planned hike in 

charges by terminal operators 

at the nation's seaports. 

Recall that some of the 

terminal operators had earlier 

notified its clients and the port 

community of their plans to 

hike their charges at the 

backdrop of the inflationary 

economy that has driven cost 

of almost everything. 

The position of government 

was made known in Lagos by 

the Executive Secretary of the 

Nigerian Shippers Council, 

NSC, Hassan Bello, during a 

tour of some port terminals. 

Bello, while responding to 

the terminal operators' 

intention to hike charges, said 

that Shippers Council is not 

averse to hike in charges but 

stressed that the terminal 

operators most follow the right 

processes and procedures 

before implementing the 

increases. 

He, however, stated that any 

review should reflect in service 

delivery, as well as follow led 

down procedures and 

processes before its 

application. 

Managing Director of Ports 

and Cargo Handling Services 

Limited, Mr. John Jenkins, 

had argued that if the Tin Can 

Island Port access road has 

serious effect on the cost of 

doing business at the port. 

Jenkins explained that there 

is a need to increase terminal 

handling charges as cost of 

operations, salaries and other 

fees associated with port 

business have increased. 

According to him, "We need 

to increase tariff because we 

haven't done so in over nine 

years while the cost of 

operations have increased. 

Our workers are expecting an 

increase in salaries. The cost 

Continues on page 6 

maritimerepor6005@gmail.com 

VOl. 2 No. 137 

Extortion rules electronic call-up system as 

stakeholders hike charges to N31,500 

•As TTP suspends 17 workers over extortion 

By Godwin Oritse 

WITH increased sab 

o t a g e 

of the Electronic 

Call-up System for Apapa 

ports-bound trucks, the Truck 

Transit Park Limited, TTP, operators 

of the system has suspended 

17 of its workers for 

alleged extortion. 

Speaking to Vanguard Maritime 

Report on the suspension, 

Chief Operating Officer of TTP, 

Mr. Debo Adeboye, said that 

no member of staff of the firm 

would be allowed to be involved 

in a practice they are 

working hard to stop. 

Adeboye also said if they are 

found to have been culpable in 

any way, they will be sacked to 

serve as deterrent to others who 

might be nursing such idea. 

He explained that because of 

the mouth-watering offers that 

are made to the staff of TTP, the 

officers sometimes find it difficult 

to resist such offers and in 

the process become culpable. 

He said; ''For my own staff, 

some of them get tempted because 

the money that people 

are willing to offer as bribe are 

irresistible but we have suspended 

17 staff and if any of 

them are found wanting, they 

will be sacked.'' 

He accused stakeholders who 

have been crying foul of the 

system as the actual saboteurs 

of the system. 

Meanwhile, major truck owners 

operating in Lagos ports 

have opened a can of worms, 

revealing monumental fraud 

and extortion in the electronic 

call-up system that was introduced 

by the Nigerian Ports 

Authority (NPA) in February 

2021. 

The truck owners who spoke 

as members of Council of Maritime 

Truck Unions and Associations 

(COMTUA), and concerned 

stakeholders said that 

implementation of the e-call up 

system has turned fraudulent 

and open to sabotage. 

COMTUA is made up truck 

owning associations in the Nigerian 

maritime sector. The 

associations are: Road Transport 

Employers Association of 

Nigeria (RTEAN), National 

Union of Road Transport Workers 

(NURTW), Nigerian Association 

of Road Transport Owners 

(NARTO) and Maritime 

Workers Union of Nigeria 

(MWUN) and Corporate Fleet 

Owners. 

Those who spoke with journalists 

over the weekend expressed 

shock that contrary to 

the agreement that the electronic 

call-up system will cost 

N10,000, truck owners now pay 

as much as N31,500 for the 

service. 

In addition, they said the 

system has been so compromised 

that trucks that had genuine 

call-up into the ports are 

not allowed in, even as they 

stated that the trucks that are 

currently in the terminal found 

their ways in fraudulently. 

They also alleged that there 

is a high level of collusion between 

officials of the Lagos 

State Government that were 

drafted into the special task 

force, the operators of the truck 

parks and the Police. 

Reacting to the development, 

the Chief Operating Officer of 

the Transit Truck Park, Mr. 

Debo Adeboye, told Vanguard 

Maritime Report that his organization 

can never connive 

with anybody to circumvent the 

system adding that TTP only 

makes money when the system 

works. 

According to Mr. Leye Th- 

Continues on page 6


2 

News 


WATER TRANSPORTATION: NIWA to licence 

boat operators 

By Godfrey Bivbere & 

Onozure Dania 

THE National Inland 

Waterways Authority, 

NIWA, is set to license boat 

operators, in the country, just 

as it emphasized its 

commitment to capacity 

building, for boat captains and 

skippers operating in the 

Lagos waterways. 

The General Manager, 

Marine Operations, NIWA, 

Joseph Ororo, revealed this 

during a stakeholders meeting 

between the agency and boat 

operators, in Lagos. 

Ororo stressed that the 

training will be compulsory for 

the operators and that 

participants, at the end of the 

schooling, would be licensed 

by the agency as certified 

captains. 

He said that NIWA, in 

partnership with accredited 

institutions, will design a 

curriculum for the training of 

the skippers, adding that the 

training will be categorised into 

three phases, which in turn 

includes practical and 

theoretical methodology. 

He further added that the 

training will also be extended 

to the executive boat operators. 

According to him, the move 

was necessitated against the 

backdrop of the poor 

educational background of the 

skippers and captains in brown 

water operations. 

He stated, "This training of 

our boat operators is long 

overdue. We have started it in 

Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers 

states but Lagos is the center 

of excellence." Earlier, the 

Lagos Area Manager NIWA, 

Engineer Sarat Braimah said 

that the training was centered 

on how to license boat 

operators. According to her, 

the certification would last for 

three years at the end of the 

By Eguono Odjegba 

Rector of the Maritime 

Academy of Nigeria, MAN, 

Oron, Emmanuel Effedua, has 

dismissed a report by an online 

social media on an alleged 

irregular withdrawal of 

N1.05billion from the Academy's 

account, noting that the alleged 

training."Our boat captains 

will be formally licensed by 

NIWA. 

transaction took place before his 

appointment. 

The Rector informed that he has 

already shown appearance at the 

Senate Committee on Public 

Accounts that is probing the 

controversial withdrawal, where 

he told the Committee that those 

in the know of the transaction in 

''We want them to be known 

in their operations. We want 

to hold them accountable in 

the Academy have so far 

frustrated his attempts to gather 

the necessary information to pass 

to the Senate. 

While expressing disappointment 

at the those he said were fighting 

him allegedly paid media agents 

to twist the story out of context, in 

their attempts to discredit and 

Mission to Seafarers Lagos upgrades facilities, as Sifax donates N16m bus 

By Godwin Oritse 

THE Mission to Seafarers 

Lagos, an organization 

dedicated to welfare of seafarers 

across the world, has 

commenced an upgrade of its 

facility in Lagos, just as Sifax 

Group donated a N16million 

brand new Hyundai Multi 

Purpose Vehicle to ease the 

movement of sailors. 

Speaking at the handing over 

ceremony in Lagos, Chairman 

of the Management Committee, 

Mission to Seafarers, Chief 

Adebayo Sarumi, a Former 

Managing Director of the 

Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, 

said that the Mission is open to 

every seafarer irrespective of 

race, religious affiliation or 

nationality. 

Sarumi noted that seafarers go 

through a lot of hardship to 

ensure that the circle of 

international trade is not broken. 

He explained that sometimes 

job of seafaring keep the sailors 

away from their families as long 

as one year coupled with 

dangerous weather conditions 

that affects their health adding 

VISIT: The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo Olu (3rd left), Acting Managing Director of the Nigerian 

Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko (4th left), Executive Director, Marine & Operations, NPA, Hon. Onari Brown 

(left), General Manager, Corporate & Strategic Communications, Olaseni Alakija (2nd left) and the Ports Manager, Lagos 

Ports Complex (LPC), Olufunmilayo Olotu (right) after an interactive session with the Governor on ports access gridlock at 

Lagos House, Marina. 

that there have been situations 

where seafarers develop mental 

problems due to the conditions 

they are sometimes subjected to. 

He said: "Whenever they come 

to shore you will see evidence 

that they have been through 

quite a lot and it is for this 

Tank farms, cause of Apapa gridlock —Shittu 

By Onozure Dania 

MMEDIATE past National 

IPresident of the Association 

of Nigeria Customs Licensed 

Agents, ANLCA, Olayiwola 

Shittu, has attributed the 

perpetual gridlock on the 

Apapa access roads to the 

existence of too many 

petroleum products tank farms 

close to the roads. 

He made the claim while 

speaking at the inaugural 

Round Table conference of the 

League of Maritime Editors, 

stating that those who built the 

tank farms have done a lot of 

disservice to Nigeria. 

Shittu stated: "In a country 

where nobody pays for the 

consequences of their actions, 

the people who approved the 

sighting of the tank farms 

reason that that this idea of a 

Mission came about. 

"We have ourselves giving 

assistance to seafarers that are 

mental in nature because by the 

time some seafarers are getting 

to our shores, they are as good 

as deranged because of their 

should be prosecuted. 

''The congestion on the Apapa 

roads is less than 20 years; in 

the past there was no traffic jam 

but right now, the seaports 

should be expanding to builtup 

areas by demolishing 

buildings to expand the ports 

and government to pay 

compensations for the 

destroyed buildings, but that 

cannot be done because the 

ports are surrounded by tank 

farms". 

He also stated that another 

way the Nigerian Ports 

Authority can ease the Apapa 

road congestion is by diverting 

some cargoes to the outer 

seaports in Port Harcourt, Warri 

and Calabar, etc. 

"I can tell you that the outer 

ports are functioning. As I am 

talking with you, we are taking 

delivery of a barge to my 

company at the Warri Port. NPA 

needs to divert some cargoes 

to the outer ports and ensure 

the security of the cargoes 

involved", Shittu further 

explained. 

On the scanners for the 

ports, he said that the issue was 

politicised as everybody saw it 

as an opportunity to make 

money. 

"Even with the presence of the 

scanners, we still do 100 per 

cent examination because of 

the quality of the cargoes; so 

what is the advantage of the 

scanners. 

''And now, they are talking of 

e-Customs. We don't even know 

what it is all about. There 

should be sensitisation so that 

the freight forwarders would be 

carried along". 

whatever they do and what 

they are doing the waterways 

activities," she said. 

N1.05bn alleged irregular withdrawal happened before my 

appointment' — MAN Rector 

experiences.'' 

Sarumi also disclosed that 

Mission to Seafarers is present 

in as many as 200 ports of the 

world in 156 countries in the 

world, we are funded by 

donations from stakeholders. 

blackmail him, the Rector said the 

truth is in the public domain, as he 

was not part of MAN within the 

period under audit investigation. 

The investigation by the Senate 

Committee chaired by Senator 

Mathew Urhoghide, was premised 

on a query by the Office of Auditor- 

General, OAG, which exposed the 

alleged mismanagement, as 

captured under 2018 Audited 

Report. 

According to the audit report, 

while the sum of N457 million was 

released to the Academy on 13th 

December 2012, the audit report 

claimed it was irregularly diverted 

to United Bank for Africa, UBA, 

with account number 1006476693. 

The audit report in addition said 

the sum of N608 million was also 

irregularly withdrawn from 

account number 02550040000037 

with the UBA; without stating the 

purpose for the withdrawal. 

While the OAG said, "All efforts 

made by the audit team to sight the 

bank statement supporting 

documents for utilisation of the 

fund and other relevant details 

proved abortive", Effedua assured 

the Senate committee of his 

commitment to work with them to 

unravel what actually transpired. 

Effedua affirmed that the 

allegations against the institution 

is grievous but noted that staff of 

the Academy who may have been 

privy to the said transaction are not 

giving him information on what 

transpired, neither was the said 

withdrawal contained in any 

memo for his attention. 

Effedua explained that whereas he 

is not in a position to defend the 

controversial transaction, he noted 

that the Academy does not keep 

fund in commercial banks, in view 

of the treasury single account, TSA, 

policy regime.

Regulations & Policies 


3 

Navy to begin construction, maintenance of 

ships for other countries 

By Evelyn Usman 

ALL is now set for the Nigerian Navy, 

NN, to begin construction and 

maintenance of ships for countries 

within the African continent and other 

countries of the world, at the Naval 

Dockyard Limited , Victoria Island 

Apapa, Lagos. 

Already, the Cameroonian Navy 

has indicated interest to partner with 

the Nigerian Navy in ship building 

and maintenance. 

The Chief of the Naval Staff, CNS, 

Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, made 

the disclosure during the assessment 

tour of the yard, by the Permanent 

Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Musa 

Istufanus. 

The NDL which is the premiere 

logistics facility of the NN that caters 

for Third Line or depot level 

maintenance of NN ships, according 

to the CNS, had successfully 

constructed several ships among 

which was a 31 meter Seaward 

Defence Boat Project which was 

commissioned by former President 

Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 as NNS 

ANDONI, as well as a 38.9meters 

Seaward Defence Boat (NNS 

KARADUWA) which was 

commissioned by President 

Muhammad Buhari at the NDL in 

2016. 

At the moment, the CNS said a 43 

meters Seaward Defence Boat 3 , 

which is still under construction at 

the NDL , would be launched in two 

months. 

After the launch, he said that the 

Naval Dockyard would be set to 

produce vessels for any country in 

the world. 

The CNS said, "We're in partnership 

with Bureau Varitas , an international 

ship building certification company. 

Once they certify SDB 3,we should be 

LAGOS/ ONITSHA TRANS-SHIPMENT: NIWA boss seeks Police 

help for 2nd test run 


Managing Director of the 

National Inland 

Waterways Authority, NIWA, 

George Moghalu, has paid a 

working visit to the Acting 

Inspector General of the 

Police, IGP, Usman Alkali 

Baba, at the force's 

headquarters in Abuja to 

seek collaboration of the 

Police for the planned 

second test run for the 

actualisation of the planned 

trans-shipment of cargo by 

barges from Lagos ports to 

Onitsha River Port. 

He stated: "The purpose of 

our visit is to seek for 

collaboration and 

cooperation of the Police 

force to build a synergy in 

able to build ships for any country in 

the world. 

"Just last week I was approached 

by the Cameroonian Navy, which 

indicated interest to partner with us 

in ship building and maintenance. 

But we want to perfect our design of 

the SDB 3. Thereafter, we're going to 

launch another which will be called 

SDB 4. After that, we would be able to 

tell Cameron and other countries 

around the West Coast and other parts 

of Africa that they can come and 

partner with us to build ships for them". 

Expressing satisfaction on the 

activities at the NDL, the visiting 

Permanent Secretary, said the 

Ministry of Defence would support 

the Navy to up their game in all 

ramifications. 

He said, "Now that I understand all 

the issues on ground, they will get full 

support of the Ministry of Defence, to 

up their game. You know if you tell 

somebody he is doing well he may go 

and relax. I don't want to tell them 

they're doing very well. We need to do 

a lot more and I have discussed with 

them what I think they should be 

doing more". 

Earlier in his brief to the Permanent 

Secretary Ministry of Defense , on 

activities of NDL, the Admiral 

Superintendent, Naval Dockyard, 

Rear Admiral Kohath Levi , disclosed 

that the NDL had recorded series of 

notable achievements in the areas of 

ship building, marine constructions, 

ship's maintenance and fabrications 

amongst others, since it commenced 

operations over four decades ago. 

He said, "It is worthy to state that 

the Yard is currently constructing the 

43m long SDB III for the NN. The 

construction of the SDBs at NDL is a 

strong indication of the Yard's 

capacity at local ship building which 

can be further developed. It is 

pertinent to state that the construction 

our inland waterways 

operations, most 

importantly now that we are 

about to commence the 

second phase of the test-run 

of shipping cargoes from 

Lagos to Onitsha. 

"NIWA is a Federal agency 

saddled with the 

responsibility of regulating 

and developing activities on 

the inland waterways of the 

nation 

Rationalising the need for 

the trans-shipment, he said, 

"Statistics have shown that 

about sixty per cent of 

cargoes coming into 

Nigerian Ports are destined 

to the South East of the 

country.'' 

Moghalu thanked the 

Police boss for the kind 

COURTESY VISIT: From left: Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps 

in a tete-a-tete with Hassan Bello, Executive Secretary/CEO, Nigerian Shippers’ Council when 

the former paid a courtesy visit to Nigerian Shippers’ Council Headquarters, Lagos. 

of the SDB III has reached an 

advanced stage and the Yard is 

working round the clock to ensure 

the delivery of the project as soon as 

possible. At present, the key 

remaining works on the project 

include system integration, gun 

installation and outfitting which are 

currently ongoing. "Additionally, the 

Yard has commenced the design 

phase of the projected Seaward 

Defence Boat 4. This was premised 

on the successes recorded on the 

previously constructed Seaward 

Defence Boats. 

Also, considering the amount that 

could be expended on acquiring 

similar vessel from outside the shore 

cooperation the force has 

been rendering to NIWA 

Inland Police Command, 

and also appealed for more 

cooperation in some areas of 

challenges the Authority is 

facing such as, lack of gun 

boats and anti-riot 

equipment. 

In a statement signed by 

the General Manager in 

charge of Corporate Affairs 

of NIWA, Jibril Darda'u, 

Moghalu also complained 

that the IG should help 

vacate some Police officials 

illegally occupying some of 

the organization's premises 

which is by law under 

NIWA's right of way at 

Onitsha Area Office so that 

the Authority can make 

better use of the place. 

of Nigeria, which is in the range of 

N5B - N6.5B compared to about 

N3.4B budgeted for SDB III, it is 

opined that sustaining the novel 

shipbuilding capacity of NN would 

be in the best interest of the Service in 

particular and Nigeria in general". 

He informed that the Nigerian 

Navy through the NDL, entered into 

collaboration with Messrs Epenal 

Group of Companies for the 

construction of Glass Reinforced 

Plastic boats and that since the 

partnership between the two 

companies was established, they had 

jointly constructed over 100 Riverine 

Patrol Boats, RPB in the Yard. 

However, he congratulated 

the Police helmsman for his 

appointment as the new 

Acting Inspector General of 

the Police by President 

Mohammadu Buhari, and 

wished him a successful 

tenure. 

Responding, Alkali Baba 

thanked the NIWA boss and 

his management team for the 

visit. 

He further stated, "we have 

a very good and cordial 

working relationship with 

NIWA and we recognize the 

kind cooperation that NIWA 

is rendering to the inland 

and marine Police, though 

we need improvements in 

the areas." 

He also said "to have gun 

boats is capital intensive but 

He pointed out that the 

construction was carried out with the 

Yard's facility and equipment, with 

most of the raw materials locally 

sourced and most parts of the 

construction work carried out by NDL 

staff. The boats according to him 

were deployed in the Nigerian brown 

waters for various NN operations. 

Other achievements as highlighted 

by Rear Admiral Levi , included the 

construction of six personnel carrier 

boats for the Ministry of Agriculture 

and a proposed partnership by the 

Lagos State Government with the 

NDL, for the fabrication and 

construction of some ferry boats. 

the force will look for a way 

on how to support NIWA in 

its areas of operations." 

He disclosed that he was 

once the head of the marine 

police when he was an AIG, 

so, that made him to know 

much about NIWA and all 

operations and activities in 

the maritime sector. 

He, however, promised to 

sustain the good working 

relationship with NIWA in 

all its areas of operations, 

while also providing the 

organisation with every 

support where necessary. 

During an interview with 

the press after the meeting, 

Mughalu added that the 

visit is also aimed at allaying 

the fears of the cargo owners 

and build their confidence 

on the test-run exercise from 

Lagos to Onitsha.


Terminals & Ships 4 

COURTESY VISIT: From left - Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, George Moghalu and Acting Inspector 

General of the Police, IGP, Usman Alkali Baba when the NIWA boss visited to seek collaboration of the Police for the planned second test run 

for the actualisation of the planned trans-shipment of cargo by barges from Lagos ports to Onitsha River Port. 

Labour fumes over non-renewal of biometric 

ID cards for dockworkers 

• Calls for increase in terminal operators' charges 


Maritime Workers Union of 

Nigeria, MWUN, has called 

on the Nigerian Maritime 

Administration and Safety Agency, 

NIMASA, to expedite action on the 

re-issuance of Biometric Identity 

cards to registered and approved 

dockworkers across the nation's 

ports, lamenting that the ones in 

their possession has expired long 

ago. 

President-General of MWUN, 

Prince Adewale Adeyanju, who 

spoke in Lagos during the 5th 

Quadrennial Branch Delegate 

Conference of the Dockworkers' 

branch, expressed sadness that the 

union had, since 2008, through 

year 2017 consistently pleaded 

with NIMASA on Bio metric 

identification cards to registered 

dockworkers, but that all it had 

gotten were mere promises from 

each successive NIMASA 

Management. 

He said "Comrades, it is strange 

that a decade is gone and still 

counting, Dock workers are yet to 

be reissued with biometric identity 

card as promised. As a union we 

have gone through all the normal 

routes to get action on this matter 

but there seems to be a deliberate 

scheme put in place to deny our 

members this important document 

which is meant to serve as their 

legitimate means of identification 

as they are often embarrassed and 

mistaken for hoodlums because of 

lack of identity. 

"Consequently, I wish to reiterate 

our demand that NIMASA should 

as a matter of urgency expedite 

action on the reissuance of 

Biometric Identity cards to 

dockworkers to save them from 

incessant embarrassment of 

mistaken identity. We want to serve 

this notice to the general public 

that should NIMASA continue to 

renege on its over a decade 

promise to issue bio metric identity 

card to dock workers, we will have 

no option than to resort to any 

appropriate means to get redress." 

Prince Adewale also called on 

the Federal Government to review 

the terminal operators handling 

charges upward, saying the 

charges have been stagnated since 

the concessioning of the ports. 

He also argued that the 

development had negatively 

affected the welfare of 

Dockworkers finances. 

According to him, "We call on the 

Federal Government through the 

Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, 

Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, 

Federal Ministry of 

Transportation, and Bureau for 

Public Enterprise, BPE, and the 

likes, to consider increasing tariffs 

due to terminal operators which 

has been stagnated since the 

concessioning of the ports. We 

believe doing this will boost their 

financial capacity to enable them 

fulfill their financial obligations 

to our members and to 

government." 

The President-General 

condemned the growing insecurity 

at Nigerian ports blaming it on 

perceived care free attitude by the 

Federal Government towards 

activities of multinational 

companies doing business at the 

port. 

He contended that many of the 

multinational companies had 

outsourced security functions of 

their organizations to foreigners 

such as South Africa, America, 

Togo, Uganda, and so on, to the 

detriment of qualified and 

experienced Nigerians. 

Prince Adeyanju said "I am 

therefore using this opportunity to 

call on all relevant Security 

Agencies to rise up to their jobs 

before we are overrun by insecurity 

in our ports." 

MWUN President-General 

equally decried the plight of 

Nigerian seafarers over 

certification, saying "Seafarers 

certification as it is currently in 

Nigeria is far below international 

standards thus, putting our 

indigenous seafarers trained in the 

nation's maritime institute at a 

disadvantage to compete 

internationally for employment. 

"In view of this, we call on the 

federal government to through the 

SECOND TERM: 

Dockworkers' 

president sets to 

fight IOCs, 

APMT, NIMASA 

ANLCA chieftains disagree over 

sealing of secretariat by the Police 


The Nigeria Police Force, 

last weekend, sealed the 

National Secretariat of the 

Association of Nigerian 

Licensed Customs Agents, 

ANLCA, over its intractable 

leadership crisis. 

Vanguard Maritime Report 

was informed that the sealing 

was based on a subsisting court 

order. 

ANLCA National Officers 

who are believed to have 

repeatedly flouted a number of 

Court Orders with excuses that 

some of the orders were statute 

bared and unrecognizable, 

lamented the development, 

even as some of them said the 

action of the Police was in error. 

Chieftain of the association 

and court suspended National 

Publicity Secretary, Joe Sanni, 

confirmed the development', 

saying the directive came from 

the office of the Inspector 

General of Police. 

Sanni disclosed that the 

association national officers 

have violated three consecutive 

court orders, asking them to 

stop parading themselves as 

one, noting that "this people 

have demonstrated disrespect 

relevant ministries and agencies 

cause an upgrade in the facilities 

of all maritime training institutes 

in the nation especially the 

Maritime Academy, Oron. We 

believe doing this will shore up 

international accreditation of such 

institutes and bring them at par 

with international standards." 

for court orders and rule of 

law", adding: ''They were in 

Owerri against court express 

order to conduct a kangaroo 

Annual General Meeting, 

AGM. Against another court 

ruling, they conducted 

chapter elections. Just last 

week, they went with hired 

hoodlums to attack Tin Can 

Island Chapter Secretariat, 

forcefully removed our vehicle 

and other valuables, including 

money. 

"They inflicted several 

dagger wounds on one of our 

men, Adetunji Olasunkanmi, 

who nearly died, in fact he lost 

consciousness and was later 

revived." 

Chairman, Registered Board 

of Trustees of ANLCA, Alhaji 

Taiwo Mustapha, said the 

development became 

inevitable owing to what he 

described as the 

"unacceptable disregard for 

law and human lives" by the 

national leaders who he said 

have held many court orders 

in contempt. 

"Yes l am aware of the 

sealing. You know how much 

effort the BOT (Board of 

Trustees) and other well 

meaning members have put in 


The re-elected leadership at the 

Dockworkers' Branch of the 

Maritime Workers Union of 

Nigeria, MWUN, headed by 

Ibrahim Ohize, as the president of 

the branch has indicated that the 

next four years of the leadership 

will wrestle three major entities 

over some unresolved 

dockworkers' issues. 

The entities are the 

International Oil Companies, 

IOCs, APM Terminals and the 

Nigerian 

Maritime 

Administration and Safety Agency, 

NIMASA. 

He stated: "I want to use this 

opportunity to assure you that in 

the next four years, by the grace of 

God, we will work with the 

President-General of MWUN to 

achieve the following; Compel the 

International Oil Companies, 

IOCs, to comply with Nigerian 

Maritime Administration and 

Safety Agency, NIMASA Act which 

allows stevedoring and 

Dockworkers to handle connecting 

and disconnecting operations at 

oil platforms, compel the 

management of APMT to accept 

and work with the Nigeria law on 

expatriate quota on local content 

that allows eligible qualified 

Nigerians to work, and ensure that 

NIMASA provides Biometric 

identity cards for Dockworkers." 

Ohize added that "the wellbeing 

of Dockworkers is our utmost 

priority and second to none, and 

we will always work to sensitize 

and educate the workers to meet 

up to international standards." 

In his acceptance speech, Ohize 

among others told Dockworkers 

that "we are in a new dawn, a new 

era, the beginning of a journey with 

passion and inner desire for 

progress.'' 

to resolve the issues. We have 

been very amenable to 

dialogue and resolution of all 

matters, but the other group 

vowed to make ANLCA their 

personal estate. 

"In fact we came this far 

because the BOT didn't want 

to depart from the path of law 

and peace. At the appropriate 

time, we went to court, but 

each time court grants an 

order, this people simply 

disregard such orders. The 

last order from the Federal 

High Court Kano they also 

ignored and have been acting 

as though law and the 

judiciary belong to them. We 

are sick and tired of the 

madness going on and we 

approached the police for 

enforcement of court order. 

That is exactly what has 

happened." 

However, according to the 

Vice President of ANLCA, Dr. 

Kayode Farinto, the sealing 

was done based on rumour 

and error. 

He said, "There is no court 

order to seal our Secretariat. 

So the Police may have acted 

in error. I just got the 

information. Somebody must 

have been mischievous to 

have incited the Police into 

taking that action."

Customs & Imports 

Seme Customs rakes in N841m Jan-May '21 

•As FOU Kaduna nets N194m 


The Nigeria Customs Service, 

NCS, Seme Area 

Command, has said it 

generated a total N841 million 

from seizures and recovery 

receipts, between January and 

May 2021. 

This comes as the Federal 

Operations Unit, FOU, in 

Kaduna, announced that it 

generated about N194 million 

in the month of May alone. 

The breakdown, according to 

the Seme Command, shows 

N431.2 million was realized as 

revenue while N409.9 million 

was generated as Duty Paid 

Value, DPV, on seizures made 

within the period under review. 

A statement by the Customs 

Area Controller, Comptroller 

Mohammed Jibo, Seme Border 

Command said the Command 

was among the four border 

commands re-opened by the 

Federal Government of Nigeria 

in December, 2020. 

The Command also said it 

processed and captured a total 

of 713 declarations, which 

comprised of 1059 trucks of 

ETLS goods, 2,487 exports, and 

179 baggage within the period 

under review. 

The statement signed by the 

Command Public Relations 

Officer, ASC1 Hussaini 

Abdullahi, and made available 

to our reporter, reads in part: 

"The attention of Seme Area 

Command of the Nigeria 

Service has been drawn to a 

misleading narrative in some 

quarters of the public that the 

Seme-Krake border has not 

been fully reopened, thereby 

limiting a seamless inflow and 

outflow of legitimate goods. 

"It is pertinent to state that 

since the re-opening of some 

land borders by the Federal 

Government of Nigeria in 

December, 2020 with Seme 

Border Command being among 

the four borders re-opened, its 

operations have since been 

sustained on a full scale." 

Jibo therefore urged the 

general public, especially those 

engaged in trans-border trade 

along the Seme, Lagos-Abidjan 

Corridor to disregard such 

rumour and go about their 

businesses in a legitimate 

manner and without fear. 

He said despite some initial 


PRESS BIEFING: In front, 3rd from left, Coordinator of Customs CG Strike Force, Shuaibu, along 

with his Station Officers, during a recent press briefing in Lagos. 

post re-opening hitches, the 

command deployed the 

required strategies to reconnect 

with essential trade tools and 

operational dynamics, and has 

since settled down to business. 

He said, "To this end, the 

Command is calling on the 

general public to disregard 

such false information as it was 

just an imagination of the 

perpetrators, mischievously 

aimed at casting doubt in the 

mind of Nigerians that are 

engaging with their legitimate 

businesses at the border. 

"Although some initial 

hitches were encountered by 

our Nigerian importers 

concerning high, charges of 

fees and levies imposed on the 

Nigeria bound goods before 

entry." 

The Customs Area Controller 

said the customs command and 

its host communities are 

constant collaboration and 

synergy to ensure free flow of 

business and trade facilitation. 

FOU Kaduna nets N194m 

Meanwhile, FOU, Zone B 

Kaduna, generated a total of 

N194.6 million in the month of 

May 2021. 

The Unit Controller, 

Comptroller Albashir Hamisu, 

said the impressive antismuggling 

performance was 

recorded between May 1, 2021 

and June 4, 2021, noting that a 

total of 753 bags of foreign rice, 

and 103 parcels of Cannabis 

Sativa, otherwise popularly 

known as Indian hemps, was 

intercepted within the period 

under review. 

Giving the breakdown of 

seizures made by the unit, 

Hamisu listed other items to 

include, 646 cartons of foreign 

spaghetti and macaroni, 355 

cartons of foreign soap and 112 

kegs of 25 liter foreign 

vegetable oil. 

A statement by the Unit Public 

Relations Officer, M.A. Magaji, 

quoted Hamisu as having called 

for stakeholders' cooperation in 

the fight against smuggling, by 

exposing illegal activities. 

Lagos/Seme illegal checkpoints disappear 

• ‘Why soldier ran berserk’ 

The illegal security 

checkpoints mounted by 

different 

security 

organizations along the 

Lagos/Seme expressway, 

scaled down drastically since 

last Wednesday, following the 

death of an army personnel 

and a Customs officer at the 

Gbaji Checkpoint end of the 

Seme/Badagry Bridge road. 

On-the-spot check by 

Vanguard Maritime Report 

shows that whereas soldiers 

have completely vacated 

every checkpoint they had 

maintained along the road as 

at weekend, there was also a 

reduction in the number of 

Police checkpoints on the 

highway, especially between 

Badagry and Seme. 

It will be recalled that a yet 

to be identified soldier shot 

and killed a Customs officer 

attached to the Seme 

Command of the Nigeria 

Customs Service, last 

Wednesday, over an unclear 

issue. 

The soldier reportedly 

turned his gun on himself 

after shooting the Customs 

officer, also killing himself. 

Although there has been a 

consensus of account of what 

transpired, sources at the 

location have attributed 

varying motives. 

Commenting on the 

incident, Chairman, 

Association of Nigerian 

Licensed Customs Agents, 

ANLCA, Seme Chapter, Mr. 

Lasisi Bisiriyu, said the late 

soldier may have acted under 

the influence of alcohol. 

"On my way to the office, I 

noticed that the military 

checkpoints were not active. I 

heard a soldier killed a 

Customs man and himself.'' 

Another source confirmed 

that "since the incident, the 

soldiers have all left their 

checkpoints, while the police 

checkpoints have also 

reduced", adding: "Apart from 

few illegal checkpoints, it is 

the Customs that encourage 

the soldiers to come and work 

with them, to give them 

protection against smugglers 

and community youths. 

''They create some of these 

problems themselves, after 

collecting 'booking'; they turn 

around sometimes to seize the 

goods; that is why you see the 

smugglers and crossers 

fighting them." 

Another source painted a 

worrisome scenario that could 

serve as lead in the 

investigation of the incident, 

even although there may not 

be compelling evidence to 

reconcile the development 

with elements of facts possibly 

contained in alleged prior 

state of dissatisfaction by 

soldiers engaged in customs 

operations. 

He said, "According to one 

of my soldier friend, they are 

not sometimes happy working 

with the Customs, because 


5 

Customs 

intercepts 

fake drugs, 

collects 

N426m from 

importers 


THE Comptroller General, 

Strike Force Unit of the 

Nigeria Customs Service, 

NCS, has said it intercepted 

unregistered and fake drugs 

imported into the country 

through the nation's seaport. 

The Coordinator of the unit, 

Deputy Comptroller, Ahmadu 

Shuaibu, who disclosed this 

said the unit also recovered 

N426.4million as Debit Note, 

D/N collected on cargoes that 

were under-declared at the 

seaport. 

He said the impounded 

consignments were super 

market goods, smuggled 

foreign parboiled rice among 

other smuggled items. 

He said, "Sequel to 

conscientious documentary 

checks, the ICT component of 

the team recovered the sum 

of N426.4 million from 

Demand Notices (DN) raised 

between April and last 

weekend. The money 

recovered from demand 

notices could have been lost 

to unscrupulous importers." 

While giving the 

breakdown of the seizures 

made he said the seizures 

include, 575 bales of secondhand 

clothing, 1,1440 cartons 

of super market goods, 664 

cartons of drugs without 

NAFDAC number, 530 

cartons of foot wears and 

1,600 bags of foreign 

parboiled rice. 

However, he decried 

unlawful importation of textile 

materials into the country, 

adding that importation are 

killing the nation's textile 

industries and jobs meant for 

teeming youth in the country. 

Customs pack the money, 

they leave them to lead and 

do the fight for them. You 

never can tell, maybe 

accumulated grievances over 

unfair sharing; it can trigger 

anything. 

"If a soldier stops a vehicle, 

a Customs officer will ask 

him to allow the vehicle to 

go, after the normal parole. 

Many of them are not happy 

collecting the N3000 they get 

at the end of the day's work, 

knowing how much is made." 

The Seme Customs 

Command Public Relations 

Officer, Hussein Abdulahi, 

reacting, said, "We don't have 

much details to report; the 

incident is under 

investigation; everybody is 

shocked; it was a mournful 

development, but things 

have returned to normal. 

That is all we can say for 

now."



Continues from page 1 

Continues from page 1 

of fuel and other necessary 

costs have also increased," he 

said. 

Managing Director of Ports 

& Terminal Multiservice 

Limited, PTML, Ascanio 

Russo, said that they had to 

suspend that earlier 

advertised notice of increment 

of charges but stressed that the 

News 

Ports & Cargo, PTML hit 50%, 90% port 

automation process 

•Shippers Council commends them 

•How our digitisation works - PTML 


EXECUTIVE Secretary of 

Nigerian Shippers' Council 

(NSC), Mr. Hassan Bello, has 

commended the management of 

Ports and Cargo Handling Services 

Limited and Ports and Terminal 

Multiservices Limited for their effort 

at digitalizing operations. 

Giving the commendation during 

a tour of some terminals in Lagos 

on Wednesday, Bello said that Ports 

& Cargo Terminal has improved on 

its automation. 

He also charged the terminal 

operator to strive to attain a position 

where all of its services are done 

online. 

He said: "All transactions should 

be done online. As an indigenous 

operator, we want you to be number 

one in digitization. When we had the 

last rating on automation, you 

scored 25 percent but we are happy 

that it's 50 percent today. We 

encourage you to attain 70 percent 

in the next three weeks.'' 

Following agitation for increase 

in charges, Bello said the Council is 

not averse to an upward review of 

charges. 

However, he pointed out that any 

review should be reflected in the 

service delivery and that the 

procedures must be carried out in 

an orderly manner. 

At Ports and Terminal Multiservices 

Limited, Bello commended 

the management for attaining 90 

per cent automation of its services. 

The NSC boss told the company 

that the next achievement should be 

24/7 port operations, even though 

he noted that security issues, bank 

operations, and poor lighting could 

affect 24 hours operations. 

He commended PTML for its 

high-level automation, noting that 

the company is rated 90 percent for 

automation and shippers have 

commended the terminal as the best 

for seamless online transactions. 

The NSC tour terminated at the 

CMA CGM shipping line where the 

Council also encouraged the 

company to be fully automated and 

service-driven. 

During an interaction with NSC, 

the Managing Director of Ports and 

Cargo Handling Services Limited, 

Mr. John Jenkins, argued that if the 

Tin Can Island Port access road 

works efficiently, the cost of doing 

business will reduce. 

Jenkins also noted that the 

challenge on the port access roads 

has resulted in congestion inside the 

port terminal as the efforts to 

speedily evacuate cargoes are being 

hampered by the access roads. 

He posited that there is a need to 

increase terminal handling charges 

as cost of operations, salaries, and 

other fees associated with the port 

business have increased. 

"We need to increase tariff because 

we haven't done so in over nine years 

while the cost of operations has 

increased. Our workers are 

expecting an increase in salaries. 

The cost of fuel and other necessary 

costs have also increased," Jenkins 

stated. 

How our digitisation works - 

PTML Boss 

Meanwhile, Managing Director 

of the Ports and Terminals 

Multiservices Limited, Ascanio 

Russo, while welcoming Bello in his 

office in Lagos, also said that the 

controversial issue of container 

deposit has been resolved at the 

terminal where they now pay 

directly into customers' accounts 

after proof of return. 

The PTML boss said all aspects of 

the clearing process from the arrival 

of the vessel, through filing of 

document, payment of duty and 

taking delivery of the consignment, 

CONFERENC: The Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA Branch President of MWUN, Ifeanyi 

Mazeli, Representative of NPA Managing Director, Hajia Hadera Muhammed, and President 

General of MWUN, Prince Adewale Adeyanju at the 5th Quadrennial Branch Delegates’ 

Conference of the union in Lagos 

have all been digitalised. 

He however, stressed that the only 

aspect of the clearing process where 

an importer has to get to the 

terminal physically, is when they 

need to confirm the ownership of the 

cargo. 

According to him, "If you want to 

pay your duty, there is an option to 

do it online and everything is real 

time. There is no manual controlling 

office for all of these where 

somebody will be physically 

checking your payments. 

"This goes directly into our 

network, into our data base and 

unlocks the cargo once Customs 

unlock the cargo in their system 

because it is our responsibility not 

to deliver cargo unless it is released 

by Customs. So, this is just to give 

you an idea. 

"All our clients are electronically 

registered in our data base, every 

party is interacting with our system 

to access the terminal has to use a 

bio-metric card. So we know exactly 

who we are dealing with and to 

register us, it not like you just walk 

in you give your name and we 

register you. 

"We do our due diligence; we do 

what banks do, Know Your Clients/ 

Customers (KYC). We go to the 

extent of going to the address they 

have given us to check that the 

address is real. 

"We check that they are registered 

with Customs and everything is 

recorded online so that if there is 

any issue we can track every single 

step. You mentioned container 

refund, this is done electronically, 

you do not need to come here, and 

you do not need to present any 

document. 

"All the documentation we already 

have because all the documentation 

is electronics and it is in our data 

base. You give us your bank account 

and we pay directly into your bank 

account. We do not issue any cheque 

anymore, so everything that was 

paper before is now electronic. 

"When the ship is in the port, we 

track the cargo electronically. The 

cargo is discharged; there is a 

scanning device which confirms that 

the vehicle has been discharged and 

this is real time, to the extent that we 

have our own app that allow us to 

see what is happening. 

"Which vessel is arriving in the 

port, which vessel we are expecting, 

and what cargo has been 

discharged, real time. Let me just 

show you, this is the app we are using 

which is just for management. 

"This is the vessel at the port 

presently, these are the vessels we are 

Stakeholders, operators exchange stones over 

alleged corruption 

ompson, President of COM- 

TUA, N500 is paid to register 

any truck on the platform, then 

if any truck has a job in the 

port, another N10,750 for booking, 

after which another 

N6,000 is paid for verification 

and merging cost another 

N10,000 and another N6,100 

for exit. 

Thompson also said that any 

truck coming from Pre-gate 

pays as much as N15,000 plus 

another N15,000 to access the 

ports. 

He said: ''What they collect 

now is different from what we 

agreed initially; it is only in 

Nigeria that you want to go 

and carry container from the 

port and you pay to do that. 

Adeboye also said that he is 

aware that some members of 

the Task Force were involved 

in extortion adding that they 

are trying to put a stop to the 

practice. 

He said:"We have heard of 

the enforcement arm of the 

Task Force extorting money 

and we are trying to put a stop 

to that. 

"We are trying to fix the problem; 

we had a meeting with 

the Lagos State Government 

and they are changing the 

whole Task Force. We want the 

Policemen to step back; we 

want to replace the whole 

LASTMA officials and we are 

changing the structure. 

"The Nigerian Ports Authority, 

NPA, and the Lagos State 

Government are making plans 

to correct these anomalies." 

On the payment of the stipulated 

service charge of 

N10,000 per truck which the 

truck owners said have been 

increased to N31,500, Adeboye 

said that that claim was 

not true noting that it is only 

those that do not want to follow 

the laid down process and 

procedure that pay more than 

what is stipulated. 

INCREASED PORTS CHARGES: FG 

approves but Shippers' Council gives 

conditions 

planned increment would 

soon be implemented. 

Russo said apart from the fact 

that the cost of operation has 

gone up in the last few years, 

the company has not effected 

any changes in charges for 

about nine years; couple with 

the fact that PTML has 

increased the salaries of its 

staff about three times recently 

because of the present 

economic realities. 

67 

expecting, if I click on any of these 

vessels, I can see all the information, 

the cargo that has been discharged, 

the time it arrives, the time the pilot 

went onboard, the time the pilot left 

the vessel. 

"This is the delivery report from 

yesterday, so this is all the cargo that 

we have delivered, cars, containers, 

everything. This is the delivery 

report for today, this is real time, he 

concluded. 

ACCESS 

CONTROL: 

Truckers call 

for automation 

of Port gate 


THE Containerized Truck 

Owners Association of 

Nigeria, COTOAN, has said 

the automation of the access 

gates of the nation's seaports 

is the sure way of controlling 

movement of trucks in and out 

of the ports. 

Speaking with Vanguard 

Maritime Report, Secretary of 

COTAN, Yaqub Kolawole, 

said the introduction of the port 

access gates would eliminate 

human contact which breeds 

corruption and frustrate the 

present electronic call-up 

system introduced by the 

Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA. 

He explained that with 

automation, any truck without 

approval cannot get into the 

port, as the gate would not 

open when you don't have the 

card. 

The COTAN boss explained 

that present e-call up system 

has been compromised by the 

human elements of the 

scheme. 

He said officials of the NPA 

who are in charge of the call 

up system, the Police that does 

the checks and some others 

who are benefiting because 

they are insiders, issued fake 

e-call up ticket with which 

truckers beat the process to 

access the ports. 

Kolawole said: "The e-Call 

Up system is not the same as 

that of Apapa and Mile-2. It 

is working well in Apapa but, 

some people are going with 

fake call-ups and they are in 

connivance with some NPA 

officials and Policemen on the 

road. They allow trucks to 

pass, as long as you have the 

call-up system, whether they 

are genuine or not. 

"While some of us that have 

genuine call-up tickets are 

waiting at the approved pregate 

positions waiting to be 

dispatched from there to the 

ports, others are seeing us like 

people who do not know what 

they are doing. 

"There are several pre-gates: 

one at the Army barracks at 

Mile-2, another for export at 

Ojota, and some others before 

the ports. According to the e- 

Call Up system, you have to 

make sure you enter any of the 

pre-gates before you will be 

assigned with a Terminal 

Deliver Order, TDO. If it is a 

flat body, then your export 

container will be confirmed at 

that pre-gate before you will 

be sent to the port. 

"All these are some of the 

problems we are facing at the 

Mile-2 axis, but the system is 

working, to some extent, in 

Apapa."


Foreign News 


World Bank ranks Abdullah port second most efficient 

container port globally 

KING Abdullah Port has 

b e e n 

ranked second among the most 

efficient container ports in the 

world, according to the 

Container Port Performance 

Index (CPPI) for the year 2020 

published by The World Bank 

and IHS Markit. The report, 

which is the first of its kind that 

scores ports against different 

metrics, is based on total port 

hours per ship call, 

standardized for different ship 

sizes and container moves per 

call. 

King Abdullah Port's 

prominent position in CPPI 

2020 recognizes the quality 

and efficiency of its 

infrastructure and its 

contributions to Saudi Arabia's 

growth strategy and the 

Kingdom's growing 

importance as a global trade 

hub. The recognition also 

demonstrates the port's 

continuous progress in 

accordance with its long-term 

strategic plans and objectives, 

embodying the motto 'Sailing 

Toward the Vision' launched 

during its official inauguration 

in 2019, which was attended 

by HRH Prince Mohammad 

bin Salman, Crown Prince, 

Deputy Prime Minister and 

Minister of Defense. 


achievement, Jay New, Chief 

Executive Officer of King 

Abdullah Port, said: "We are 

proud of King Abdullah Port's 

consistently high performance 

in various global rankings and 

indices, highlighting our 

growing operational 

capabilities as well as our 

extraordinary resilience amid 

the current challenges of the 

global economy. With each 

new recognition at the global 

level, we continue to deliver 

ASESSMENT TOUR: Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral, Awwal Gambo (right); Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Musa 

Istifanus; Superintendent, Naval Dockyard, Rear Admiral Levi Kohath and others during the assessment tour of Naval Dockyard 

Limited , Victoria Island , Lagos, by Istifanus. 

on our commitment to raising 

the efficiency of Saudi Arabia's 

logistics and trade sectors, 

transforming the Kingdom 

into a top global hub 

connecting Asia, Europe, and 

Africa, and increasing its nonoil 

exports, in line with the 

Vision 2030 objectives. 

Furthermore, King Abdullah 

Port's continued milestone 

underlines the success of the 

public-private partnership 

model, considering that we are 

partnered with over 17 

government agencies while 

being fully managed and 

operated by the private sector." 

East Asian ports dominated 

the top positions, led by 

Yokohama in Japan, ahead of 

King Abdullah port by a slight 

difference, and Qingdao in 

China in the third place. 

Algeciras in Spain is the 

highest ranked European port, 

in 10th place. Colombo in Sri 

Lanka is the top-ranked port 

in South Asia at 17th place and 

Mexico's Lazaro Cardenas 

leads the Americas at 25th. 

Canada's Halifax is the only 

other North American port in 

the Top 50. Djibouti, in 61st 

place, is the top-ranked 

Samsung Heavy Industries attains 2,000 days of no lost time injuries 

SAMSUNG Heavy Industries 

Nigeria has announced that 

it has reached a significant health 

and safety milestone of 2,000 days 

with no lost time injuries (LTI) at 

its subsidiary SHI-MCI, Africa’s 

largest ship fabrication and 

integration yard located in Lagos. 

Given the risks associated with 

shipbuilding, safety has remained 

the top priority at Samsung 

Heavy Industries. 

Its subsidiary SHI-MCI had in 

2019, celebrated 1,200 days with 

no LTI, and this latest celebration 

of 2,000 days without LTI would 

not have been possible if any 

major injury was inflicted to 

employees. 

According to a statement by the 

company, it recorded the 2,000 

days without LTI on June 4, 2021. 

This achievement, according to 

the company, was reflective of 

SHIN’s intense focus on ensuring 

the health and safety of its entire 

workforce through significant 

investment in training and 

oversight. 

The ship-building industry is 

potentially a very dangerous one 

with heavy machinery in 

operation, explosive gases used for 

welding and high temperatures in 

enclosed spaces. 

This means that there are many 

challenges to ensuring the health 

and safety of a large and diverse 

workforce. 


achievement, Senior Health, 

Safety and Environment (HSE) 

Manager of Samsung Heavy 

Industries, Nigeria, Mr. Bala 

Adjuya, said: 

“At Samsung Heavy Industries, 

Nigeria, one of our main focuses 

is the health and safety of 

everyone. 

“We prioritise the importance 

of our staff, partners and 

stakeholders getting home safely 

every day. 

“We do this by using the highest 

standard of protective 

equipment and safety measures 

at work daily. Every life is valued 

and given the upmost priority, 

this is why SHIN take health and 

safety very seriously,” Adjuya 

explained. 

Adjuya added that the company 

ensures the extensive training of 

all employees. 

According to him, all visitors 

and contractors at SHI-MCI’s 

sites are given the safety 

requirements and the right 

equipment to attend to the daily 

tasks at work. 

“This industry is one of the most 

dangerous as we use heavy 

machineries, dangerous gases 

and chemicals in our various 

areas of work at our facility. With 

the rigorous training and 

awareness programmes laid out 

by Samsung Heavy Industries 

Nigeria, these risks have been 

severely reduced and the facility 

remains one of the safest in the 

country,” he explained. 

In addition to continuous staff 

training, the company also 

investigates every worksite for 

hazards and implements 

mitigation measures with active 

HSE personnel constantly on 

sites to ensure safety protocols 

are followed. 

LTI is a HSE term which means 

“lost time injury”, which is an 

injury sustained by an employee 

that will lead to loss of productive 

work time. 

Even one minor incident will 

result in a complete reset of the 

LTIs counter to zero. 

77 

African port. 

King Abdullah Port has been 

actively contributing to the 

post-COVID-19 resurgence of 

the Saudi Arabian economy 

through its enhanced 

operational efficiency, digital 

initiatives, realigned working 

practices and procedures, and 

proactive health and safety 

protocols. 

The company had set for itself, 

a target of 0.9 per cent LTIs on 

the Egina FPSO Project in 

Nigeria. In order to achieve this 

challenging target, SHI-MCI 

followed a rigorous process. 

At the peak of the Egina FPSO 

Project, Samsung Heavy 

Industries Nigeria employed 

approximately 3,500 employees 

at its fabrication and integration 

yard in Lagos. 

United States issues new Executive Order targeting 

certain Chinese companies 

PRESIDENT Joe Biden 

issued a new Executive 

Order (EO) imposing 

sanctions ‘Addressing the 

Threat from Securities 

Investments that Finance 

Certain Companies of the 

People’s Republic of China.’ 

The targeted companies will 

be identified by the United 

States’ Office of Foreign 

Assets Control on the ‘Non- 

SDN Chinese Military- 

Industrial Complex 

Companies List’ [the NS- 

CMIC List]. Broadly speaking, 

the United States authorities 

have determined that these 

companies, among other 

criteria, operate in the defence 

and related material sector or 

the surveillance technology 

sector of the Chinese economy. 

The new EO prohibits 

specified purchases or sales by 

US persons of publicly traded 

securities of entities on the 

NS-CMIC List. OFAC has 

explained in a FAQ that the 

EO does not prohibit activity 

with entities on the NS-CMIC 

List that is unrelated to such 

securities, such as the 

purchase or sale of goods or 

services. The FAQs also 

explain that the EO does not 

prohibit the purchase or sale 

of goods or services with 

respect to subsidiaries of such 

entitiesThe new EO should 

have limited effect on non-US 

persons and international 

shipping. The issuance of the 

EO, however, confirms that the 

Biden Administration will 

continue to utilize economic 

sanctions in aid of its foreign 

policy. To assist members, the 

club can provide general 

guidance on sanctions-related 

inquiries and can assist in 

recommending expert 

sanctions lawyers if needed.


Data & Figures 


VESSELS EXPECTED AT LAGOS PORT DISTRICT, AS AT MAY 27, 2021 

MOTOR VESSELS AWAITING BERTH AT LAGOS PORT DISTRICT, AS AT MAY 27, 2021 

VESSELS EXPECTED AT CALABAR PORTS, AS AT MAY 27, 2021

The FG-Twitter spat 

THE fire had been smouldering for quite 

some time now but nobody expected it 

would take the turn it did last Thursday, flaming 

up into an open conflagration, when the 

Muhammadu Buhari administration finally 

wielded what it must imagine to be the big 

stick against Jack Dorsey’s Twitter and summarily 

suspended it from the Nigerian cyber 

space. In one sense, it looked like executive 

power taken too far. But in another 

sense, it looked like the only means, if desperate, 

left for a beleaguered government to 

vent its frustration against a formidable enemy. 

This was neither Channels Television, 

African Independent Television, or any of 

the other privately-owned Nigerian stations 

that Abuja could randomly arm-twist, 

through the agency of the Nigerian Broadcasting 

Commission, by fine-imposition or 

outright suspension of their licence. Twitter 

is a multi-billion-dollar business whose budget 

outstrips Nigeria’s at any time even when 

combined with the country’s external reserves. 

The immediate cause of the ongoing fight 

between Abuja and Twitter started like a sick 

joke. The restiveness in the entire country 

has of late taken a dangerous turn in the 

South-East. The epicentre of the non-state 

actors’ war against the Nigerian state has 

been the North of the country, east and west, 

especially, with the central regional states of 

Niger, Benue and Kaduna upping their 

stakes in the league of anarchy only recently. 

All of that until some yet-unidentified elements 

took up arms to wreak havoc against 

those symbols of Federal presence in the 

South-East and South-South states. 

Prisons have been attacked and the inmates 

set loose; offices of the Independent 

National Electoral Commission have been 

set alight, while police stations and police 

personnel have become targets of attacks. 

Nigerians of Northern origin have in many 

cases come under attack by persons or group 

suspected of harbouring secessionist agenda 

or plans to set off both ethnic and sectarian 

war. States in the South-East and South- 

South region have been militarised as personnel 

of the armed forces deployed to maintain 

security have unleashed lethal force on 

people of the region that are suspected to be 

members of the outlawed Indigenous People 

of Biafra and its military wing, the Eastern 

Security Network. 

Innocent citizens in the region have, not 

surprisingly, been made to bear the brunt of 

the upheaval in the region and there is no 

reason to believe that things would normalise 

soon. If anything, the brutal murder of 

Ahmed Gulak, a politician of Northern origin, 

on a busy road while visiting government 

officials in Imo State, perhaps the most 

restive of the troubled states of the South- 

East, only led to an escalation of hostilities. 

Gulak’s murder was then the latest in a series 

of assassinations. It was in this situation, 

amid mass killings and abductions in 

other parts of the country, that President 

Muhammadu Buhari made a rare statement 

which did not have to go through the filtered 

treatment of usurper-aides in “the presidency”. 

Buhari made the point that his government 

could really do more than flex its muscles. 

He warned of dire consequences against 

people disturbing the peace of the land. That 

was not the first time Buhari would be issuing 

such threats. The difference this time is 

that Nigerians could actually hear him in 

his own voice, threatening to deal with people 

bent on causing the disintegration of the 

country. Soon after this rare appearance, a 

twit from the president’s handle went out 

warning would-be secessionists and other 

arm-chair warriors who had not been born 

at the time of the 30-month civil war, or were 

too young to have witnessed its horrors, that 

they would be taught in the only language 

Under different circumstances 

the Twitter ban could 

have been understandable if 

not appropriate, but not 

when it is seen as a largely 

political move to suppress 

free speech by a president 

who is smarting from a slight 

they understood. 

The import of that dark message could not 

be missed and was not lost on Nigerians. 

This was Buhari threatening violence, Nigerians 

reasoned, at a time when the Igbo 

who see themselves as victims of the war 

have again been calling for the break-up of 

the country in which they do not believe they 

have a stake. Nigerians wasted no time in 

reporting Abuja to Twitter for peddling and 

trading in hate, the very crime for which 

Abuja had accused Nigeria’s social media 

users and for which it had been planning to 

enact controlling legislations. It was Fela 

Anikulapo Kuti who famously sang in “Beast 

of No Nation”, BONN, 'Who be gofment 

teacher- culuture and tradition’? That’s if 

Government itself is the teacher of everyone. 

So, when government errs, as it appears 

to have done with the Buhari twit, it needs a 

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021—17 

stronger force to bring it to reckoning. And 

that exactly is what Twitter did after Abuja 

was reported to it. It deleted the President’s 

twit. Abuja itself wasted no time before it 

slammed a suspension on Twitter, excluding 

it from the Nigerians media space, a 

move that has aggravated many Nigerians 

and considerably increased the political temperature 

of the country given threats to prosecute 

violators of the ban by the Attorney- 

General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar 

Malami. The entire episode is fast turning 

out to be a political fiasco for the government 

that is now being seen as abridging 

the right of Nigerians to free expression. 

Western embassies led by the United States 

and the United Kingdom have condemned 

the move by Abuja. The optics of the suspension 

are not particularly good for President 

Buhari whose image as a despot is still 

very fresh among Nigerians. But even worse 

for the country is the manner in which the 

ban which is being largely seen as a revenge 

move for real or perceived slight of the President 

has pitched the Buhari administration 

against many Nigerians who see Twitter as 

a liberator. Aside the fact that the suspension 

could well lead to the blacklisting of the 

Buhari administration by Western powers, 

worsening the parlous state of the economy 

and security in a country left almost prone 

by terrorist-bandits and insurgent outlaws, 

it is fostering a dangerous sense of alienation 

that borders on the treasonable among 

Nigerians, especially the youth. 

Even the youth do not appear to understand 

the ideological manipulation that their 

wholesale endorsement of Twitter opens 

them to. This point seems entirely lost too on 

members of the administration that have 

been doubling down on their action and 

pushing the President along hawkish paths. 

This was the sense in which one could see 

Femi Adesina’s delight in his “friendly bully” 

characterisation of President Buhari. This 

is not the time for such buffoonery. Under 

different circumstances the Twitter ban could 

have been understandable if not appropriate, 

but not when it is seen as a largely political 

move to suppress free speech by a president 

who is smarting from a slight. All said, 

neither the President’s hailers nor his haters 

can help resolve this avoidable media-cummoral 

war that the administration is not likely 

to win. 

08055069060 (SMS Only) 

BON stakes patriotism on 

national security 

AS the nation sank deeper in the 

mire last week, the Chief of Defence 

Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, had the 

presence of mind to call for a productive 

synergy between the government, 

security forces and the media in order 

to put an end to the festering security 

challenges in the country. Represented 

by Rear Admiral Okoh EdetEyo, Irabor 

seized a fortuitous opportunity provided 

by the Broadcasting Organisation 

of Nigeria, BON, at the 74th General 

Assembly, which held in Abuja, to 

make sense where even the highly 

placed seem to be losing their heads. 

His call rested on the foundation earlier 

erected by the BON Chairperson, 

Sa’a Ibrahim and the Acting Director 

General of the National Broadcasting 

Commission, CNBC, Prof. Armstrong 

Idachaba, who called for media restraints 

in information dissemination 

in order to help cobble together the nation’s 

fault lines in these troubling times. 

I had longed to attend a BON event 

because of the respect I have for the 

organisation. For years, BON had stuck 

together, weathering the impolitic encumbrances 

of governments, including 

this administration, and that for me 

demonstrates a staying power which 

helps to build institutions. I can confess 

that some BON structures are some of 

the lasting institutions in the country, 

In a world ruled by 

technology, BON has 

proved a readiness to 

acquit its responsibilities 

by calling for a meeting; 

but same cannot be said 

of a government which, in 

the past few days, has 

nearly taken us back to 

the Stone Age 

although government puts them on a 

leash through underfunding to ensure 

they don’t get too powerful. 

The theme for this Assembly, "National 

Security: Kidnapping, Banditry, 

Role of Media and the Way Forward", 

just cut it for me. I looked forward to a 

cerebral dialogue, some profound reasoning 

and response to an intractable 

problem; this was very welcome. The 

reason being that we hardly have informed 

conversations or dialogue and 

when a Wole Soyinka or a Hassan 

Kukah deeps into the well of reasoning 

as interventions, we react with hysteria 

and scorn. Yes. More of hysteria than 

scorn. I always want to suggest that the 

reason for this mundane response to 

grave issues is because the crust of leadership 

hardly reads, and this confines 

their league of advisers to a hermetic 

world where the learned is humbled by 

the anachronism of the ignoramus who 

dictates the game. 

Irabor, in a very lucid presentation, 

did not see the media as they against 

the activities of the security agencies in 

the many fights going on in the nation. 

He reflected on history to posit that no 

government has ever triumphed in this 

kind of situation without building a coalition 

with the media. 

“The mass media are crucial in nation 

building. Governments can hardly 

survive without effective use of the 

mass media,” Irabor declared. 

From his vantage position: “National 

security refers to the security of a nation 

state, including its citizens, economic 

institutions and is regarded as a duty 

of government. Originally conceived 

as protection against military attack, 

national security is now understood to 

include non-military dimensions, including 

economic security, energy security, 

environmental security, food security, 

cyber security, etc. Similarly, national 

security risks include, in addition 

to the actions of nation states, action 

by violent non-state actors, narcotic 

cartels and multi-national corporations 

and natural disasters.” 

While observing that “the legitimacy 

of any government to a great extent 

is anchored on its ability to guarantee 

the security of its environment 

and its citizens,” he alerted that 

“non-state actors that want to jeopardise 

national security depend 

largely on propaganda and false information 

dissemination.” 

It situates in proper understanding, 

therefore, why BON should call 

on Irabor’s professional and manifest 

erudition to lead the discussion 

of a subject that presents clear and 

present headache for every Nigerian 

old enough to move some steps. 

From the foregoing quotes, it is clear 

that although an active player in the 

dangerous game of death to protect 

the citizenry, he did not try to paint a 

beautiful picture of a bad situation 

or create a super hero status for the 

security service, instead he reached 

out for a bridge across platforms. 

BON’s effort is laudable and so are 

the co-hosts of the Assembly like 

DAAR, Multichoice, FM 96.5, TOZA- 

LI TV and Wonderland TV. They 

should glory in the fact that they provided 

an opportunity for reasonable 

discourse. However, their efforts may 

not be enough to wish away the fears 

of the “bloody civilian” who would 

be wondering about his place in the 

nation’s security arrangement. The 

fears develop form when placed side 

by side with the mounting figures of 

deaths across the nation and new 

communities being added to a growing 

list of conquered territories. 

However, concerning the role of 

the media in a continuing search for 

peace in the land, Gen. Irabor issued 

the following counsel: “The need for 

media practitioners and other stakeholders 

to develop a single document 

on Nigerian National Media Communication 

Policy; the Nigeria media 

itself needs to understand and 

clearly define what 'National Security' 

is; there should be a robust collaboration 

between security agencies 

and the media, especially in building 

capacity in conflict reporting for 

a positive synergy between the security 

agencies and the media practitioners 

in the interest of national security; 

government and stakeholders 

must take advantage of the agenda 

setting and knowledge transmission 

function of the media for an enhanced 

information and national 

security architecture for Nigeria; 

media must avoid recklessness and 

sensation in the discharge of its functions, 

especially when disseminating 

sensitive information on security that 

could threaten national security; 

government and security agencies 

must understand the power of the media 

in shaping public opinion, hence, 

they must make informed decisions 

by treating the media as a critical 

element in the national security arrangement; 

the relationship between 

the media and security is a complex 

one. They must be a high degree of 

care and understanding in order for 

the media to be accepted as a stakeholder 

in the business of national security; 

and government and security 

agencies need to develop smarter 

approach to information sharing 

and information dissemination in 

order to address challenges relating 

to fake news and hate speech.” 

I particularly like the last bit of his 

suggestions, for government and security 

agencies to develop smarter 

approach to information sharing 

and dissemination. In a world ruled 

by technology, BON has proved a 

readiness to acquit its responsibilities 

by calling for a meeting. But same 

cannot be said of a government 

which, in the past few days, has nearly 

taken us back to the Stone Age; 

fighting technology and fighting 

anybody and even organisations 

who raise a whimper in remonstration 

of its desperate measures. 

Truth be told, the world does not 

owe Nigeria anything and this government 

cannot be in perpetuity. The 

days count very fast and so is human 

sedimentation that will find a place 

for us all in the history books. History 

can be harsh and can become very 

cruel when captured and stored in 

the cold precincts of technology for 

a future generation that may not have 

the stomach to accommodate the 

ever-unfolding infamy in high places. 

‘Technology can punish you.’ 

Those were the words of an Uber 

driver who drove me not too long ago. 

For some people, I hope they have a 

perfect game plan to whitewash the 

future in order to avoid the punishment 

of history and technology.


WE have heard that a clean hand 

saves life. A paperless policy, besides 

saving life, also saves money. 

Papers are made from trees which 

provide us with foods, medicines, 

shelter, and stem soil erosion. 

They lock away excessive harmful 

carbons released into our atmosphere 

in the process of our economic 

activities. These trees of life breathe 

in the carbon dioxide which we exhale 

and release oxygen which we inhale. 

The heavy use of paper translates 

to the needless mass killing of trees 

which leaves a huge toll on the climate 

and our own survival. 

In this digital age, the unnecessary 

printing of documents is one of the 

costliest activities in offices and 

businesses. 

Forbes, the global media company, 

records that “in the United States, 

$930 million is spent by government 

annually on unnecessary printing 

costs – with $28 million spent on the 

printing of copies of congressional 

records, which are available online. 

Going paperless to save money and 

the environment 

For US businesses, the annual cost of 

filing, storing and recovering paper 

was estimated to be between $25bn and 

$35bn”! 

In recent times, however, recycling 

has somewhat mitigated the threat, 

but not completely removed 

it. According to statistics, recycling 

just one tonne of paper can save 7,000 

gallons of water, 17 trees, 380 gallons 

of oil required to produce one tonne 

of new paper, three cubic yards of 

landfill space (because most of the 

paper end up as mountains of wastes) 

and 4,000 kilowatts of energy. 

Sometime ago, the U.S. Securities 

and Exchange Commission set a 

target to save $1.5 billion in a decade 

through a decision to go paperless. 

Under the measure known as Rule 

30e-3, all mutual fund shareholder 

reports previously sent to investors 

by post were made accessible online. 

That decision was estimated to save 

around two million trees each year, 

apart from saving $1.5 billion. 

If we conduct a honest audit around 

our offices and homes today, we are 

bound to find corresponding habits 

of paper wastage which cost us huge 

amounts and hurt our environment 

without us noticing it because the 

damage occurs slowly. 

Going paperless, however, does not 

mean we will no longer be using 

paper for daily tasks or even have 

access to it in our offices. 

According to experts, it “means 

using paper wisely while turning to 

more secure, ‘paperless’ alternatives 

for processes that are typically 

completed manually. 

“It begins with our decision to step 

away from the shadow of paper and 

into the efficient, cost-effective, and 

more secure world of digital 

document management.” 

Besides saving money and our 

environment, a paperless office can 

also help us establish as 

environmentally-conscious brands. 

It is hard to let go of old habits but 

to save cost and the earth, let’s ease 

off on unnecessary paper 

consumption. 

That Twitter ban 

BY SUNNY IKHIOYA 

IT still beats one’s imagination to 

realise that a government that rode 

on the back of total press freedom has 

turned full circle to take actions that 

undermine same. Who would have 

imagined that a government which has 

in its fold seasoned and eminent media 

personalities will be hounding the 

press. A government that rode on the 

popular wave of change and true democracy 

will be the one censoring the 

press. We like to pretend that we are 

in a democracy but will not want to 

practise what true democracies do. 

Even with Donald Trump as US president, 

Twitter did delete some of his 

tweets that they found offensive and 

heaven did not fall. The Federal Government 

has taken a wrong step and 

should quickly retrace its step. Government 

officials are definitely under 

intense pressure because of the situation 

in the country, but that should not 

lead them into taking wrong decisions. 

In fact, this is the time for patience and 

clear-headed decisions on the part of 

government. 

By banning Twitter, we have indirectly 

shot ourselves in the foot. Considering 

the great advancements Nigeria 

has made in digital economy, an attack 

on any of our social media platform 

will impact on us negatively, especially 

against the backdrop of the decline 

in our oil revenue. We have heard 

it several times, that the best way to 

defeat a negative press is to open up; 

showcasing transparency and the truth 

that everyone can see. Coming too 

hard on the press implies there is 

something you are hiding that you do 

not want the world to see or know about. 

The best way to contain a negative 

press is already in our laws. 

When you follow due process 

through recourse to the laws, you win 

more respect from the people and 

Any progressive government 

will be thinking of pacifying 

the people with the right 

words and palliatives, not 

issuing threats; there is always 

a tilting point to which 

you can push the people 

place the enemies in a backtracking 

position. By banning Twitter, we have 

aligned ourself with countries like 

North Korea, Iran, China, Turkmenistan, 

all of which are totalitarian in 

outlook. If we do not rescind that decision, 

we will be giving the international 

community the impression that 

ours is a country that loves to run 

abroad for help over little things, including 

health tourism. This decision 

certainly is an ill-wind that will not 

blow us any good. Many Nigerians 

depend on Twitter for their fast-breaking 

news. If you ban Twitter, you will 

OPINION 

be incurring the wrath of this set of 

people. 

The Federal Government must take 

note that we have less than two years 

to another election; how will it be 

judged by the people in the light of 

this action? It is obvious that government 

is becoming panicky and intolerant 

of criticism; it is not a good sign 

at all. And this seem to suggest that 

from the beginning it was not prepared 

for the challenges of governance. Instead 

of concentrating on how to fix 

the faults, officials were expending 

their energies criticising past administrations, 

forgetting the fact that they 

promised change to the people. 

These actions were not helped by the 

fixation of the leadership in promoting 

the cause of one ethnic group and 

religion to the detriment of others. 

Having started on such wrong footing, 

government soon found itself giving 

excuses right for its inability to deliver 

as promised. And with criticisms 

now increasing in tempo, government 

officials have resorted to all manners 

of coercive force, the latest being this 

ban on twitter. 

This government has not met the 

people’s expectations because of its 

ready recourse to excuses, and excuses 

never guarantee results, it blurs the 

mind and makes it lose focus; it shields 

the critical thinking part of you. You 

promised change, instead of the 

change you promised you are excusing 

us with past governments. We all 

know that the immediate past government 

did not meet expectations and 

that is the reason Nigerians voted it 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

out of power. 

There are waves of killings all over 

the country and your spokesperson is 

telling the whole world that these killings 

did not start today; is that the solution? 

Everyday, you wake up to the 

news of one killing or the other; people 

are angry and resistant groups are 

beginning to spring up all over the 

country. Any progressive government 

will be thinking of pacifying the people 

with the right words and palliatives, 

not issuing threats. There is always 

a tilting point to which you can 

push the people, like a goat driven to 

the wall. 

This government must start thinking 

of the future and also begin to assess 

its performance in the light of the current 

situation in the country; it must 

assess its relationship with the people 

through how it relates with press. Governments 

come and go but the press is 

constant, there is no dictatorship that 

has outlived the press, no matter how 

powerful. 

Garba Shehu, Femi Adesina and Lai 

Muhammed are all students of history 

and know that time catches up with us 

sooner or later; the decision they make 

today will be reviewed in the immediate 

future. The banning of twitter is 

not a well-thought out decision; a 

wise leader will always reconsider an 

unwise decision; it is the noble thing 

to do. 

*Ikhioya wrote 

www.southsouthecho.com 

via:

Y 

K 

World Bank upgrades Nigeria’s 

economic growth forecast to 1.8% 

By Babajide Komolafe 

ECONOMY 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

RAND 

Danish 

159.70 -1.95 

2,402.00 -50.00 

17.38 -0.33 

71.58 -0.31 

69.32 -0.30 

409.17 409.67 410.17 

579.8348 580.5434 581.2519 

497.7533 498.3636 498.9718 

454.7677 455.3234 455.8791 

3.7429 3.7474 3.752 

0.7368 0.7468 0.7568 

588.0145 588.7331 589.4516 

63.9589 64.0375 64.1161 

109.1004 109.2227 109.367 

30.3728 30.4099 30.447 

66.9235 67.0052 67.087 

CBN Exchange rate as at 8/6/2021 

Corpreneurship Challenge: From left, Mrs. Jane Okpongette, Assistant Director, Corps 

Inspection and Monitoring; Mr. DeVoe Okorie, Head Brand Marketing & Communications, 

Unity Bank Plc; Agu Ogechukwu Lilian, Overall Winner of Corpreneurship 

Challenge; Mrs. Chinyere Ekwe, NYSC Akwa Ibom State Coordinator; Victor Obichukwu 

Chidebere, Second place winner of the Corpreneurship Challenge; Abiona Elizabeth 

Oluwayenisi, third place winner of the Corpreneurship Challenge; Mr. Etop Ukpe, Uyo 

Regional Manager, Unity Bank Plc and Captain Atawodi S.A, NYSC Akwa Ibom Camp 

Commandant during the cheque presentation to winners of Corpreneurship Challenge 

at Akwa Ibom NYSC Orientation camp recently. 

THE World Bank yester 

day upgraded its economic 

growth forecast for 

Nigeria in 2021 to 1.8 per 

cent, citing higher oil 

prices, structural oil sector 

reforms, and market-based 

flexible exchange rate management. 

This represents a 0.7 percentage 

point increase from 

the 1.1 per cent projected by 

the World Bank in January. 

The new forecast was contained 

in the World Bank’s 

latest Global Economic 

Prospects titled, “Global 

Recovery Strong but Uneven 

as Many Developing Countries 

Struggle with the 

Pandemic’s Lasting Effects”. 

“Growth in Nigeria is expected 

to resume at 1.8 per 

cent in 2021 and edge up 

to 2.1 per cent next year, 

assuming higher oil prices, 

structural oil sector reforms, 

and market-based flexible 

exchange rate management”, 

the World Bank said. 

The World Bank also upgraded 

its economic growth 

forecast for the Sub Saharan 

Africa region to 2.8 per 

cent from 2.7 per cent 

projected in January. 

It stated: “Growth is forecast 

to resume to 2.8 per 

cent this year and firm to 

3.3 per cent in 2022, underpinned 

by stronger external 

demand, mainly from 

China and the United 

States, higher commodity 

prices, and containment of 

COVID-19. “Procurement 

and logistical challenges 

are expected to continue 

hobble the pace of vaccination 

despite the provision of 

vaccines by COVAX . 

“Policy uncertainty and 

the lingering effects of the 

pandemic are expected to 

delay major investments in 

infrastructure and extractives 

and to weigh on the recovery 

(Central African Republic, 

Equatorial Guinea, 

Niger, Kenya). 

“Per capita income levels 

in 2022 are expected to be 

four per cent lower on average 

than in 2019. Conditions 

in the region’s fragile 

and conflict-affected countries 

are expected to be particularly 

challenging; their 

average output level in 2022 

is forecast to be 5.3 per 

cent below its size in 

2019.” 

Citing food insecurity, 

drop in oil price and rising 

conflicts as possible risks to 

economic growth in the region, 

the World Bank said: 

“While some countries 

(Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa) 

are upgrading national 

vaccine distribution 

systems, procurement and 

logistical hurdles in many 

other countries could further 

slow vaccinations. 

“An oil price drop could 

dent revenues for some oil 

exporters. Food insecurity 

remains a key risk as food 

prices have risen by more 

than 20 percent early this 

year in Angola, Ethiopia and 

Nigeria. Flood and drought 

could also destroy crops, exacerbate 

food price inflation, 

and further weigh on 

household consumption. 

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 —19 

UBA, DEG unveils $50m 

loan support for SMEs 

MONEY MARKET 

UNITED Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, and 

Deutsche Investitions- und 

Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, the German Development 

Finance Institution, have entered into a 

partnership to provide $50 million loan support to 

small and medium scale businesses (SMEs) in Nigeria. 

The bank in a statement said the $50m Term Facility 

Agreement has a tenor of six years and is 

targeted at supporting SMEs and family owned 

businesses in Nigeria. 

UBA America’s Chief Executive Officer, Sola 

Yomi-Ajayi, who spoke about the partnership, said 

as a financial institution, UBA remains passionate 

about the growth of the private sector and small 

businesses which, according to her, remains critical 

for any developing country. She noted that the 

passion to see this sector succeed is what led both 

organisations to collaborate on this laudable feat. 

Yomi-Ajayi, who is also the Global Head for Financial 

Institutions, Multilateral and Development 

Organizations, said, “At UBA Group, we are proud 

of this collaboration with DEG, particularly as it 

supports our financial intervention in the SME 

space, enabling financial inclusion, as well as facilitating 

economic empowerment. 

Continuing, she said, “These objectives remain 

core aspects of our strategy, particularly as regards 

to facilitating the achievement of Sustainable Development 

Goals on the African continent.” 

In his comments, DEG’s Regional Director for 

West Africa, Bernhard Tilemann, said, “DEG is delighted 

to enter into a long-term cooperation with 

UBA in Nigeria and the region. This cooperation 

will address the current economic challenges of 

the country while fostering private sector growth 

and impact in the largest economy of the continent.” 

According to Tilemann, the funding provided by 

DEG is partly supported by EB-SME Finance Fund 

Emerging Markets, while the fund’s adviser is a 

100% subsidiary of Evangelische Bank (EB). 

SEC targets $85bn global social bonds market 

...Proposes rules for prospective issuers 

By Nkiruka Nnorom 

THE Securities and Ex 

change Commission, 

SEC, has commenced 

moves to ensure that Nigeria 

and Nigerians benefit 

from the fast growing 

global social bonds market 

currently estimated at $85 

billion. 

Social bonds are types of 

debt issues which proceeds 

are exclusively deployed to 

finance or refinance 

projects aimed at addressing 

or mitigating a specific 

social issue 

and/or seek 

to achieve 

positive social 

outcomes 

for a 

target population, 

usually 

people 

living below 

the poverty 

line. 

Consequently, 

the 

Commission 

yesterday 

proposed 

new 

rules that 

would guide 

intending issuers 

of the 

bonds. 

Among 

other things, 

the new 

rules stated 

that qualifying 

projects 

must promote 

either 

CAPITAL MARKET 

affordable basic infrastructure, 

including clean drinking 

water, sewers, sanitation, 

transport, and energy 

among others. 

The projects should also 

promote access to basic 

services (health, education 

and vocational training, 

healthcare), affordable 

housing, job creation including 

through the potential 

effect of small and medium-sized 

enterprises financing 

and microfinance 

as well as food security and 

socioeconomic advancement 

and empowerment. 

The proposed rules also 

stated that eligible projects 

should also target people 

living below the poverty 

line, excluded and/or 

marginalised populations 

and/or communities, vulnerable 

groups, and with 

disabilities. 

Other beneficiaries, according 

to the rules include 

migrants and/or displaced 

persons, undereducated 

population and 

underserved population 

due to lack of access to essential 

goods and services. 

The Commission said: 

“The volume of social 

bonds issued in 2020 has 

increased eight times from 

a year ago, as interest in 

ethical investment rises 

and more governments 

and agencies see them as a 

key funding tool for specific 

projects. “Issuance of 

social bonds has surged to 

$85 billion this year so far, 

compared with $10.6 billion 

in the same period of 

2019. The popularity of 

NYSC members win N10m in Unity Bank Corpreneurship challenge 

MONEY MARKET 

THIRTY serving mem 

bers of the Nigeria 

Youth Service Corps 

(NYSC) have emerged as 

winners in the fifth edition 

of Unity Bank Plc’s flagship 

business plan competition, 

Corpreneurship Challenge, 

which held across ten states 

last week. 

The 30 winners who won 

cash prizes totalling N10 

million emerged during the 

final business pitch in the 

fifth edition of the contest 

for NYSC 2021 Batch A 

Stream II Orientation 

Course, which took place simultaneously 

across ten 

NYSC camps in Lagos, 

Ogun, Benin, Abuja and 

Akwa Ibom. 

Other NYSC camps 

where winners emerged 

also included Ogun, Kano, 

Sokoto, Enugu and Osun. 

As in the previous editions, 

the cash prizes included a 

N200,000 business grant for 

each of the second runner 

ups; N300,000 business 

grant for the first runner ups 

and a star prize of N500,000 

for each of the ten winners. 

Some of the winners included 

Monday Love Sheba, 

Adeoye Janet and Essien 

Nsikak in Bayelsa camp, 

while Agu Ogechukwu 

Lilian, Obichukwu Victor 

and Abiona Elizabeth 

emerged as the winners in 

the Akwa Ibom State 

camp. 

In Ogun, Olisa Sofia, 

Chiamaka Goldleen and 

Ifeanyi Onoh emerged winners 

to claim the cash prizes. 

Ekpenyong Paul Gabriel 

also emerged as the winner 

in Sokoto. The initiative 

attracted interest among the 

corps members, as over 

1000 applications were received 

but only 100 were 

shortlisted for the pitching 

session from which the thirty 

winners emerged. The 

contestants’ business plans 

which ranged from fashion, 

fish production, poultry 

farming, retail chains, 

piggery to beverages were 

assessed on originality, marketability, 

future employability 

potential of the product 

and knowledge of the 

business. 

Recall that Unity Bank 

debuted the Entrepreneurial 

Development Initiative in 

2019, to specifically target 

corps members, as part of 

efforts to contribute to job 

creation in Nigeria. The initiative 

has produced 48 winners 

since 2019 when it debuted. 

Speaking during the finale 

in Akwa Ibom NYSC camp, 

the Divisional Head, Retail, 

SME Banking and E-Business 

Directorate, Unity Bank 

social bonds has increased 

as the COVID-19 crisis has 

led investors to place more 

emphasis on the “social” 

component of environmental, 

social and governancedriven 

(ESG) investing. 

“Governments, people 

and businesses have suffered 

a serious financial 

crunch as a result of the 

COVID-19 Pandemic. In 

Nigeria, funding of social 

projects was affected as resources 

were diverted to 

unexpected areas of expenditure 

which ordinarily 

could have been financed 

by issuance of social 

bonds.” 

Plc, Mr. Olufunwa 

Akinmade, said the competition 

has proved to have a 

great impact on youth empowerment 

in the country. 

“The Unity Bank 

Corpreneurship has a very 

positive impact, not only for 

the corps members but for 

the entire youth population 

in Nigeria. It is a way to support 

the young men and 

women who are just graduating 

from university to 

grow. 

“You will agree that it is 

not easy today to come out 

of the university and get a 

paid job, and so at this tender 

age, it is good that they 

imbibe that culture of entrepreneurship, 

and then with 

the financial support that 

they get from Unity Bank 

and the knowledge that they 

have acquired through the 

competition, they will be 

able to grow from job seekers 

to employers of 

labour. ” 

C

20— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021


C 

M 

Y 

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9 , 2021 

PRESENTATION AND LAUNCH OF BOOK, ENTITLED ‘IFEWUMI', IN LAGOS 

From left, Kunle Adebayo, Chairman, Ondo State Media Group, 

representing Ondo State Governor; Diipo Fagunwa, author of the 

book, his wife, Funmilayo; Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi, Chairman of the 

occasion and Iyalode Folasade Ogunbiyi, at the presentation and 

book launch of "IFEWUMI" in UNILAG, Lagos. Photos: Akeem Salau 

From left: Prof Kolawole Kazeem, Provost, Osun State College of 

Education, Ilesa and Dr Uwemedimo Esiet, at the event. 

Mrs Bimbola Fashola, Deputy General Manager, Lagos State 

Mortgage Board (left) and Mrs Yejide Ogundipe. 

From left: High Chief Odunwale Dele (left) and Dr Bamigboye 

Afolabi.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021—23


VOL. 2 NO. 72 

•New Biafra agitators 

Why Igbo want 

May 30 as annual 

public holiday 

•Set aside May 30 annually for prayer to reduce tension — Ex--Biafran soldier 

•Restoration of Biafra, only hope for the people of SE — Cleric 

•May 30 annual holiday will quicken restructuring — INC 

•Sit-at-home, a colossal achievement for Igbos — Comrade Jonah 

•It should be a day for sober reflection for Ndigbo 

•SE govs are afraid to protect and defend the Igbo ---- Obasi 

By Anayo Okoli, 

Vincent Ujumadu, 

Chimaobi Nwaiwu, 

Ugochukwu Alaribe, 

Chinedu Adonu, 

Chinonso Alozie & 

Ikechukwu Odu 

NUGU--LAST week, residents 

E 

of the South-East zone complied 

with a sit-at-home call to honour 

millions of Igbo souls lost in the 30 months 

gruesome Biafran war. Though there 

were tensions ahead of the day, particularly 

because two pro-Biafra groups, the 

Movement for Actualisation of 

Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and 

Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, were 

behind the call to observe the day with a 

sit-at-home. 

The tension arose due largely to the 

cat and dog relationship between the 

groups, particularly IPOB, who had in 

the past been forcing residents of the 

South- East to join in the celebration by 

remaining at home on May 30, a situation 

that had pitched them against the 

government and security agencies. With 

this in mind, tension mounted in the 

zone ahead of the day, coupled with the 

already charged security situation in the 

zone, which has already been militarized, 

resulting unfortunately, to the loss of 

several lives of both security personnel 

and people of the states. 

Again, the position of some South-East 

governors did not help matters as some 

of them adopted a confrontational position, 

perhaps for fear of the escalation of 

the already bad security situation in their 

states, also because of their soured relationship 

with the two pro-Biafra groups 

who were pushing the sit-at-home call. 

With the series of altercations between 

the governors and the pro-Biafra groups, 

especially IPOB, fears mounted as to 

what would happen that day. And to 

avoid running into trouble of any sort in 

the cross fire, and with many realising 

the significance of the day, Igbo people 

fully complied with the call and honoured 

their people consumed by the 30 months 

war. However, the argument remains if 

this day should not be officially declared 

a public holiday at least in the five states 

of the zone. 

But hope seems to have risen that 

May 30 would in future be officially 

recognised in the zone as public holiday 

to honour the millions of Igbo killed in 

the war. This hope is hinged on the fact 

that the Chairman of the South-East 

Governors Forum, David Umahi who is 

the governor of Ebonyi State, has hinted 

that the states would set out May 30 to 

honour Igbos who lost their lives during 

the war. 

Hopefully, going forward, May 30 will 

no longer be dragged to a state of tension 

in the South-East as the significance 

of the day cannot be overemphasized, 

that it is not an issue that can be 

dismissed with a wave of the hands. 

It is pertinent to note that one governor, 

Willy Obiano has even in the past 

recognised May 30 as a special day by 

laying wreath at the Cenotaph in Awka 

and he did the same this year. Also of 

note is that Governor Dave Umahi’s 

change of hard stance on the sit-at-home 

helped to douse tension and made the 

day go through without any clashes. 

Umahi had initially threatened to take 

over shops whose owners refused to open 

on that day but had to soft pedal after 

realising that the charged atmosphere 

could not allow residents, even if they 

would not like to obey the sit-at-home 

call, come out to their shops. Indeed, a 

wise decision from the governor. 

An ex-Biafran soldier, Bede Nwafor, 

who was also in the Nigerian Army before 

the civil war broke out, said one way 

of reducing the tension associated with 

May 30 is for the government to set aside 

that day for prayers for all those who lost 

their lives during the civil war. 

He argued that the agitation by IPOB 

and MASSOB, for the actualisation of 

Biafra Republic, was because of the apparent 

neglect of those who sacrificed 

their lives during the unfortunate war 

on both the Nigeria and Biafra sides. 

He said: “During the last sit-at-home 

order, I remembered those who died during 

the war and that made me to cry 

again. That day made me to remember 

that we lost three people in my family 

and if they were to be alive, would be 

approaching 80 years of age. 

“I also believe that Igbo people would 

not be agitating for a separate country if 

the Nigerian authorities can swallow 

their pride and set aside every May 30 

The impact of the 

2021 sit-at-home by 

the Igbo nation is too 

numerous; among 

them are 

solidification of Igbo 

unification and 

solidarity, the 2021 

sit-at-home order was 

a strong message to 

the Fulani that Igbo 

race in Nigeria is not 

as divided as they 

may think 

as a day of prayer for the country in remembrance 

of those who died during 

the Nigeria-Biafra war. 

“Imagine what the country lost on May 

31 when all economic activities stood 

still, But if we declare May 30 a prayer 

day in which churches would be expected 

to conduct services and people still go 

about their businesses, the agitation for 

Biafra will fizzle out naturally. 

“Little things make Igbo people happy; 

but our government does not want 

to see people happy and the consequence 

was what we experienced on 

May 31. In the past few months, there 

had been killings across Igbo-speaking 

states and those who stayed at home on 

May 31 did so not necessarily to obey 

IPOB, but out of fear.” 

A cleric, the pastor of High Way to 

Grace Assembly based in Nsukka, Enugu 

State, Rev. Chikamadu Eze, said May 

30th should always be observed as sitat-home 

day in honour of over the 3, 

000,000 Biafran lives who paid the supreme 

price during the 30 months civil 

war in Nigeria. 

The cleric said that restoration of Biafra 

is the only hope for the people of 

South-East Nigeria. He commended 

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu for 

taking the bold step towards liberating 

the Igbo from their state of servitude in 

Nigeria. 

Eze said in a statement: "It was a most 

excruciating agony to lose three million 

people within three years in a terrible 

genocidal war. With all the pictorial memories, 

we will continue to weep and cry 

for our heroes past and our dearly 

beloved ones who lost their lives in the 

war. 

“Many keep blaming Ojukwu that he 

led his people into such a war on the 

spur-of-the-moment; that he took a precipitous 

action but then, Ojukwu did the 

right thing. With great alacrity and equanimity 

of man, he made a giant move to 

save and extricate his people from the 

worst political servitude and slavery, and 

massive subjugation of Igbo people. He 

couldn't afford to bear the pain anymore 

that was why he decided to do the needful. 

“He is a man we will always celebrate 

forever. He took a requisite action to save 

a tribe that was totally despaired at that 

time. We love him and we will keep celebrating 

his posthumous birthday forever 

in remembrance of what he did for 

Ndigbo and to accord him perpetual respect 

even though he is no more. 

“As we observe this day as a respect for 

those who lost and sacrificed their lives 

in the genocidal war, let us pray that 

their death will not be in vain. Let us 

make concerted efforts towards achieving 

a majestic goal, Biafra. It is our only 

hope and by the grace of God, we must 

restore Biafra, the land of the rising sun. 

“History will never forget the inhuman 

treatment, pogrom and genocide 

against people of their own race like Biafra, 

the torture and deliberate killings of 

innocent Biafrans, the ethnic 

discrimination and marginalisation of a 

particular people who did no wrong but 

agitating for their right to exist as a 

people. We will not forget and heaven 

will not forget, the world will not forget 

either. We are champions that will never 

die, Igbos will live forever; we will continue 

to live as a people. We survived the pogrom, 

we survived the war, we survived 

all the inhuman treatments and we will 

continue to move on until Biafra is 

achieved.” 

The Igbo National Council, INC, said 

that the impact of the just-concluded 

sit-at-home order would hasten the need 

for the Federal Government to begin 

the process of restructuring the country. 

According to the INC President, Chilos 

Godsent, the total compliance to the call 

for sit-at-home has shown unification, 

solidarity and that the Igbo people could 

speak with one voice. 

“The impact of the 2021 Sit-at-Home 

by the Igbo Nation is too numerous. 

Among them are solidification of Igbo 

unification and solidarity. The 2021 Sitat-Home 

was a strong message to the 

Fulani that Igbo race in Nigeria is not as 

divided as they may think. 

“The impact also include a political 

pressure on the Nigerian Federal Government 

to begin to see the need to 

adhere to the popular call by Nigerians 

to properly restructure the country into 

a true fiscal federation where each component 

unit of the Nigeria Federation 

can develop at their pace without hindrance 

to other component units," INC 

said. 

An activist, Comrade Kindness Jonah, 

in his contribution commended the 

South-Easterners for their total compliance 

during the sit-at-home order. He 

said that the sit-at-home was a colossal 

achievement for Igbo generally, stressing 

that the whole world has seen the 

spirit of oneness in Ndigbo to actualise 

Biafra Nation. 

"It was observed with all gusto and 

finesse. It took the Federal Government 

aback, as they never expected it to reach 

that magnitude of compliance. To the 

outside world, it has shown how 

coordinated the Igbo are in the quest for 

Biafra, contrary to what some may not 

have believed in other climes. 

“It puts paid to the obnoxious claim 

that Igbo hate themselves and would 

kill themselves if they get Biafra. It also 

buttresses the fact that the demand for 

Biafra by Igbo in all walks of life is holistic. 

“Before now, South-East Governors 

had been dancing to the tune of the 

Federal Government and had not given 

listening ears to the sit-at-home call by 

IPOB and MASSOB. But the total 

compliance with this year's own, had 

spurred them on to set out May 30 for 

the remembrance of Igbo that lost their 

lives in the internecine war of Igbo extermination 

called Biafran War. Today, 

May 30 has been officially recognised as 

a public holiday for the fallen Biafran 

heroes. 

“It is kudos to IPOB, hip-hip for MAS- 

SOB, and avalanche of cheers for the 

rank and file of Igbo. The marking of this 

day as public holiday is a step in the 

right direction for Igbo in their quest for 

the actualisation of Biafra." he said. 

He regretted the economic loss, stressing 

that there would be no great achievement 

without sacrifice. 

“On the economic loss that day, I would 

say that the loss is worth it as it is now 

acceptable sacrifice for Igbo annually. And 

without sacrifice, nothing great on earth 

and in heaven, can be achieved," he 

noted. 

Going forward, Jonah suggested that 

“South-East governors must lay annual 

wreath for the fallen Biafran heroes; 

name major streets in Igbo towns after 

them, construct a central auditorium/ stadium 

and name it after Biafran heroes, 

set up a scholarship scheme for fallen 

Biafran heroes' relatives. 

“Again, South-East governors should 

galvanize effort to pay moratorium to the 

neglected families of Biafran fallen heroes 

and finally, if the Nigerian government 

does not want to play along, South- 

East governors should mobilise and seek 

international community's voice like the 

International Court of Justice to bring to 

the court all the injustice and killings 

against Igbo by the military. 

“If the Nigerian government fails to 

stop the killings and marginalisation, they 

will now itemize the killings and injustice 

and submit to the international 

community through the International 

Court of Justice and then sue Nigerian 

government for continued denial of 

emancipation of Igbos after the war.” 

An Igbo leader, Chief Jerry Obasi has 

urged the five governors of the South- 

East zone to declare May 30 a public 

holiday in Igbo land to honour the Igbo 

people who died during the civil war from 

1967 to 1970, saying that the events of 

1967 to 1970 would not be forgotten by 

the Igbo in a hurry. He advocated that 

the day should be used by the Igbo to 

reflect on their journey and relationship 

with other sections of the country since 

the end of the civil war in 1970. 

“The governors of the South-East zone 

should declare May 30 a public holiday 

in Igbo land. Nd i Igbo lost over a three 

million people. May 30 was the day Biafra 

was declared by General Odumegwu 

Emeka Ojukwu after he was directed by 

the Eastern Consultative Assembly. It 

is a day Ndigbo took their destiny in 

their hands and saved the Igbo race from 

total extinction by our enemies. 

“I believe May 30 should also serve as 

a day for sober reflection for Ndigbo, especially 

on how Ndigbo have fared and 

their relationship with other sections of 

the country since the end of the civil war 

in 1970,” Obasi said. 

He urged the governors of the South- 

East to be more proactive and fearless 

on matters affecting Igbo interest rather 

than the ‘present situation where they 

are too afraid to protect and defend’ the 

Igbo. 

For the President-General of Egwuedo 

community in Atta, Njaba LGA, Imo 

State, Chief Eric Uwaoma, the May 30 

sit-at-home is a welcome development. 

Uwaoma, who is also the President- 

Continues on page 25

Why Igbo want May 30 as 

annual public holiday 

Continued from Page 24 

General of Onitsha South Shop 

Owners Traders Association of 

Nigeria, OSSOTAN, said he was 

not surprised at the total compliance 

by South-Easterners with 

the sit-at-home order. 

He said the full compliance was 

an indication that the people of 

the South-East, irrespective of 

their egalitarian nature, can come 

together to achieve an agreed 

goal, contrary to the belief in other 

parts of the country that they 

cannot agree on a definite goal. 

Chief Uwaoma said that those 

who think the Igbo are divided 

and cannot come together because 

of pursuit of business 

interests and money, are living 

in fool’s paradise and should 

change their mindsets and respect 

the Igbo because no other 

part of the country can come and 

work together as the Igbo at 

home and in the Diaspora. 

“What I saw on May 31, 2021 

was unbelievable, although for 

me, I knew it was going to happen. 

The level of compliance I saw 

Agony as Ugwuanyi builds gateway flyover 

in Enugu 

By Dennis Agbo 

Residents and commuters 

are presently passing 

through hell to get across from 

Enugu metropolis to Nsukka and 

parts of Northern Nigeria as the 

Enugu State Government 

constructs a flyover bridge at the 

T-junction of Nike Lake road in 

Enugu East LGA. 

There had been congestion all 

through the single lanes of Nike 

Lake and Nike roads that meet 

at the T-Junction where the traffic 

congestion was worse until Governor 

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi decided 

to construct the flyover, which, 

hopefully, will ease the traffic 

congestion. 

But road users are now passing 

through excruciating pains since 

traffic was closed at the T- 

junction, forcing commuters to 

diversions that are highly inaccessible 

and more congested due 

to the overload of traffic diverted 

to the bad roads. 

Such bad roads include the Ugwueke 

road, the Ugbene II- Alulu 

road and Amangwu-Umuchigbo 

road. There are however 

good diversions such as the 

Emene-Adoration road, but the 

increased traffic have put pressure 

on the remote road particularly 

at Oye-Emene junction 

where traders have refused to 

vacate the road despite closure 

and relocation of the market because 

of its nearness to the 

THE TEAM 

SUPERVISING EDITOR: 

Chioma Gabriel, Lagos 

(08052201257) 

REGIONAL EDITOR 

Anayo Okoli, Enugu 

08034046839 

Vincent Ujumadu, Awka 

Chidi Nkwopara, Owerri 

Dennis Agbo, Enugu 

Peter Okutu, Abakaliki 

Chimaobi Nwaiwu, Nnewi 

Nwabueze Okonkwo, 

Onitsha 

Chinedu Adonu, Enugu 

Ugochukwu Alaribe, Aba 

Chinonso Alozie, Owerri 

Eric Ugbor, Aba 

Ikechukwu Odu, Nsukka 

Steve Oko, Aba 

on Zik’s Avenue (Onitsha) and 

adjoining roads and streets that 

day was unbelievable. No single 

soul was seen on the roads and 

streets; people were only seen in 

their corridors sitting and discussing 

happily as families and 

friends. 

“I called my people in my community 

and they told me it was 

the same situation at home and I 

was happy that we, Igbo, have 

come to tell the world that we 

should be taken serious whenever 

we talk, wherever we are 

seen and in whatever we are 

doing. 

“I was not expecting any tension 

because the leader of IPOB, 

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made it clear 

weeks earlier before the day that 

there would be no street procession, 

that it would be a sit-athome, 

and people should observe 

the day in their homes. So 

if there is no movement on the 

streets, there would not be anybody 

on the streets to confront 

the security agents and cause 

tension. 

“One impact the sit-at-home 

•Governor Ugwuanyi. 

Akanu-Ibiam International Airport 

runway. 

The state government has 

however commenced palliative 

work on the Amangwu-Umuchigbo 

road which experiences 

heavier traffic, but the ongoing 

palliative road construction has 

compounded the woes of commuters 

as they meander through 

bad portions of the construction 

site. 

A civil servant, Mrs. Ngozi 

Odoh, who resides at Amorji-Nike 

said she no longer drives her car 

to work, because it was easier to 

use commercial tricycle that 

drops commuters at the blocked 

ends of the T-junction, trek across 

the construction site and board 

another tricycle to NOWAS junction 

before boarding another bus 

that takes her close to her office 

in the state secretariat. 

“I cannot drive through the 

long hold-up at Umuchigbo and 

the Alulu road is a-no-goarea 

because that one is 

worse and armed robbers 

can even attack you there. 

I expected that the state 

government would have 

constructed those diversions 

before closing the T- 

junction. It’s only now that 

they have realised their 

mistake and the construction 

works now are even 

causing more problems. So 

it's better I take public transport,” 

Odoh lamented. 

A welder along Nike road, 

Mr. Okey Anigbo said he 

and his colleagues were 

worse hit since the closure 

of T-junction about three 

months ago. 

According to Anigbo, 

they have been cut off from 

business because their 

workshops were no longer 

accessible, while some of his 

has made in the South-East is 

that injustice is not fair and no 

matter how many years an injustice 

was done to a people, to 

forget it is not easy and it will 

serve as a lesson to leaders that 

they will be either remembered 

by the good or bad they did while 

in office. 

“Another impact is that Nigerians 

should start taking the Igbo 

serious, that they can deliver in 

anything they choose to do and 

should be given the chance to 

serve the country for peace to 

reign. 

“Another significance of May 

30, 2021 is that it was a day the 

leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi 

Kanu, showed that actually, he 

does not hate the South-East 

governors; that he only disagrees 

with them on issues and in principle. 

You can recall that he commended 

the governors for not disrupting 

the sit-at-home and withdrawing 

some of the threats 

against the people that would 

comply with the sit-at-home 

directive. That commendation 

from him was a show of maturity 

which I know South-East 

governor must be proud of. 

“It shows that disagreement is 

normal in human setting and 

where two or more people live, 

they must disagree to agree. 

It is not only applicable to 

Igbo but to the world and I 

hope that one day, they will 

all come together with one goal 

to move South-East forward. 

colleagues have been dislocated 

due to the demolition that followed 

ongoing construction of 

the flyover. 

Governor Ugwuanyi, last 

week, inspected the flyover 

project, after which the state 

government noted that there was 

“Progress report on the ongoing 

massive flyover bridge project at 

the T-junction, Nike Lake road, 

Enugu, one of the landmark 

development projects being executed 

by the Ugwuanyi 

administration in spite of the nation’s 

economic challenges.” 

The residents were excited at 

the news that the state government 

had resolved to tackle the 

perennial traffic jam at the T-junction 

nexus of the Enugu-Nsukka 

new road that gradually built 

after the past administration of 

Sullivan Chime opened up the 

new gateway to the northern 

parts of the state and Nigeria. 

The Nike Lake road was 

marked for dualisation by the past 

administration in the state but 

was unable to execute the project 

when the administration ended 

with ‘seamless transition’ mantra 

for the succeeding administration. 

Governor Ugwuanyi while presenting 

the 2021 budget to the 

state House of Assembly hinted 

that his administration will construct 

a flyover at the T-junction 

of Nike Lake road in order to decongest 

traffic in the area. He 

started with construction of a 

bridge now serving as one of the 

by-passes from Trans-Ekulu GRA 

through Ugbene II-Alulu to 

Nkwo-Nike, but is rarely used due 

to the bad state of the road. 

A resident, Emeka Okwu said 

that he was not averse to the 

construction of the flyover but 

that dualisation of the roads was 

still needed. 

By Anayo Okoli, 

Chimaobi Nwaiwu & 

Ikechukwu Odu 

ENUGU—FOREMOST Igbo 

leader and First Republic Aviation 

Minister, Chief Mbazulike 

Amechi has described the advice 

by the Northern Elders’ Forum, 

NEF, to President Muhammadu 

Buhari to allow the Igbo have 

their Biafra as a welcome development 

but expressed doubt if 

the President’s advisers would 

have the courage to let Igbo go. 

Amechi, one of the few surviving 

members of the Zik's 

Movement, wondered if that is 

the only good advice the 

Northern Elders can give President 

Muhammadu Buhari to address 

all the things that are 

causing problems in Nigeria. 

Amechi also wondered how a 

country where the President 

keeps making lopsided appointments, 

treating murderous 

herdsmen with kid gloves while 

unleashing the military on Igbo 

youths who are agitating for Biafra 

due to injustice is expected 

to be together like that. 

“No, it is not fair; their advice 

is a highly welcomed suggestion 

to Igbo”. 

According to him, if the federal 

government also feels that it 

is the only way to resolve all the 

crises they created, the Igbo will 

gladly welcome it. 

The nonagenarian cited an example 

with Scotland which four 

years ago wanted to break away 

from Great Britain and “the British 

government did not waste 

time in organizing a plebiscite, 

and within six months, they 

asked them to prepare for plebiscites 

and they went into it and 

the majority said no, we don't 

want to go and that was the end 

of that agitation. 

“So, I do not see why the government 

should refuse to move 

and refuse to allow other people 

to move; you are treating a people 

in ways that show you don't 

like them, you don't want them 

and the people say okay give us 

a chance to see whether our majority 

will say we will go or not 

and you say you won't give them 

a chance, that is not fair. So the 

Northern Elders Forum, if that is 

their stand, I like it, it is a welcome 

idea. 

“I like and fought for a big 

country Nigeria, to which we all 

belong; but the present government 

wants to turn Igbo into 

slaves in Nigeria. But that will 

not happen, rather it is only fair 

that the Igbo should be allowed 

to take a vote whether the majority 

will decide to be part of Nigeria 

as it is presently constituted 

and accept whatever position they 

are in or they want to go away 

from Nigeria. 

“I welcome the suggestion and 

position of the NEF, if that is the 

position they are taking instead 

of encouraging their man to do 

the needful and correct the things 

he is doing wrong. I welcome 

their suggestion and position 

because they are giving the impression 

that they are people who 

want peace in the country. If 

somebody like Ango Abdullahi, 

somebody I respect very much, 

he is in the leadership position 

of NEF and if they have taken 

such a position, I welcome it”, 

Amechi said. 

Asked if what the NEF should 


:Vanguard 

News 

:@vanguardnews 

Igbo'll go if it's what Northern Elders want 

—Mbazulike Amechi 

•The level of distrust is too high, it's no longer fashionable 

to force ethnic nationalities together —ADF •We reject the 

call —Coordinator of the Middle Belt Scholars •Blame killer 

herdsmen, bandits, Boko-Haram extremists for insecurity 

—Igbo groups 

be doing now is to advise the 

President to change his style in 

the alleged lopsided appointments 

in positions of the country, 

pampering a group that has 

been attacking and sacking communities, 

while unleashing the 

military of a non violent group 

that is agitating for freedom, instead 

of suggesting for the federal 

government to allow Igbo go, 

Chief Amechi said: 

“Is advising Buhari necessary? 

Is Buhari a free agent? How free 

is he to take your advice there in 

Aso Rock? Buhari is surrounded 

by a small club of conscienceless 

cabal and vandals, who want the 

country to be ruled only by the 

Fulani or nobody else. What they 

want is either the Fulani or the 

country breaks. 

“They should however remember 

that if the Igbo go to vote and 

they finally vote to go, if they allow 

the Igbo to go, naturally the 

Yoruba will want to go. 

“The whole thing is, although 

I do not know about them, the 

Middle Belt will even want to go 

because with what is currently 

happening there, the Fulani 

want to hold the Middle Belt as 

their slave area”. 

Also, Igbo elite group, Alaigbo 

Development Foundation saw 

the advice of the Northern Elders’ 

Forum, as a good omen. 

According to its spokesman, 

Hon. Abia Onyike: “The Northern 

Elders are saying the obvious 

because it is no longer fashionable 

to force ethnic nationalities 

together the way Lord Fredrick 

Lugard amalgamated Nigeria 

into an artificial federation. 

“The level of distrust is too 

high. It is not the duty of statesmen 

to go about persecuting people 

who are fighting for self-determination. 

“Those who want to subject 

Nigeria to another civil war are not 

humanists. They are oppressors 

and hegemonists. Nations should 

go their separate ways if you are 

not going to respect the rights of 

others. 

But the Coordinator of the Middle 

Belt Scholars, Comrade David 

Wayas, frowned at the call by the 

NEF. 

Wayas who said that he believes 

in indivisible Nigeria asked the 

federal government to rather 

convene a national dialogue to 

address some of the issues causing 

agitations in Nigeria. 

He said he wants a Nigeria 

where equity, justice, and fairness 

would be the order of the day in 

deciding national issues. 

Blame killer 

herdsmen, bandits, 

Boko-Haram 

for insecurity 

—Igbo groups 

Meantime, two Igbo groups Igbo 

Aborigines, and Igbo Peoples 

Congress, IPC, have held the 

Fulani killer herdsmen, bandits, 

Boko haram, and sharia extremists 

in the north responsible for the insecurity 

all over the country and i 

the causative factor of the killings 

in the South East. 

Spokesmen of the groups 

Obisike Chidi and Okey Colbet, 

therefore, asked the federal government 

to grant the wishes of the 

Caliphate Republic seekers who 

have been killing Nigerians for 

several years now leeway to secede 

from Nigeria which the Igbo nation-builders 

suffered to build in the 

50s and 60s. 

The groups blamed the President 

and some Northern leaders for 

supporting the terrorists in the 

North over the years and not doing 

enough to curb their activities 

and killings all over the country. 

The groups, in particular, held the 

Northern Elders Forum responsible 

for the disaster in the North and 

by extension the country. 

In his reaction, the BOT chairman 

of the World Igbo Peoples 

Assembly, WIPAS, a leading Igbo 

socio-political group, Chuks Ibegbu 

regretted the comments and insinuations 

of the Northern Elders 

Forum on the insecurity in the 

South East and wondered what 

Hakeem Baba Ahmed mean by 

claiming that southeast leaders have 

been keeping quiet on the matter. 

Ewu kingship: Kingmakers make 

U-turn, crown Macaulay as Ovie 

EWU—THE Ahavwa (king 

makers) of Ewu-Urhobo kingdom, 

Ughelli South Local Government 

Area, Delta State, on Monday, 

crowned Chief Gabriel 

Ohwodje Macaulay as Ovie of 

the kingdom. 

The ceremony came eight days 

after kingmakers had crowned 

Bernard Awarieta as Ovie. 

Speaking during the crowning 

ceremony, the Okpara of Ahavwa 

Dr. Philip Ebirerhi, said, "Today, 

being June 7, 2021, the wrong has 

been corrected", noting that the 

crowning of Gabriel Macaulay as 

Ovie was in conformity with the 

customs and traditions of the 

kingdom 

"In Ewu kingdom, it is the 

Ekade ruling house that will select 

the King, after which, Ahavwa 

will crown and that is what we 

have done. I want to state categorically 

that the previous person 

crowned is not entitled to be the 

king and those that did the crowning 

are not qualified to do so and 

it is rejected. All what they did is 

rejected and not granted", he said. 

Speaking after the crowning, the 

Otota (Spokesperson) of Ekade 

ruling house, Chief John Oyiberhe 

said, "On the 26 of April, 2021, 

HRM Ohwodje Macaulay was 

selected as the Ovie-elect after the 

screening exercise. 

"So today, June 7, 2021 the 

Ahavwa kingmakers and Ekade 

ruling house invited me to bring 

the selected Ovie-elect for crowning 

and as you can witness the 

whole of Ewu indigenes both at 

the riverine and upland are 

present for the event. 

"Among those that contested for 

the position of the King, we saw 

that Gabriel Macaulay was the 

most qualified candidate and he 

was declared the Ovie-elect without 

any rancour and we danced 

round the town." 

He noted that Awariteta "is not 

a candidate from Ekade, it is the 

ruling house that has the power 

to present their candidate for 

Ahavwa to crown and not the otherwise." 

On his part, Macaulay assured 

that his reign would bring rapid 

development and peaceful co-existence 

among sons, daughters of 

Ewu kingdom and neighbouring 

communities.


Appointment, promotion and remuneration of 

Judges in Nigeria: The need for change (2) 

LAST week, I discussed the ap 

pointment of judicial officers 

vis-à-vis the provisions of the 1963 

Constitution which effectively saw 

to the invitation of, perhaps, the 

most-qualified and best-suited 

judges the nation has been privileged 

to have. Still on appointment, 

I advocated for the appointment 

of judicial officers from the 

teeming number of Senior Advocates 

of Nigeria, as it has been acknowledged 

that the best Judges 

are the seasoned, tested and competent 

legal practitioners; as well 

as the need for the conferment of 

the rank on more legal practitioners, 

and the need to review the 

current salary structure of the existing 

judicial officers. 

The Effect of Insecurity and 

Corruption on the 

Judiciary 

It is common knowledge that the 

country is in crises. Nigeria is now 

faced with problems of unpaid salaries, 

pensions and other emoluments, 

spiral unemployment, different 

shades and shapes of violence, 

kidnapping, armed robbery, 

poverty, grossly underfunded institutions 

and poor infrastructure. 

Though our currency was once 

stronger than the Dollar, it is now 

almost N500 to a Dollar. 

Last year, Nigeria was ranked as 

the poorest country in the world 

with over 50 percent of Nigerians 

living in extreme poverty, while 

over seven million Nigerians are 

in urgent need of life-saving assistance 

(European Union Parliament 

Resolution, January 2020). 

Besides, Nigeria which was a safe 

country in those days now enjoys 

the negative accolade of being 

number three unsafe country in the 

world. 

Unfortunately, judges have not 

been immune from the reported 

incidences of kidnap. In 2019, a 

news report titled "Reps Lament 

Kidnap of Judges, Senate Seeks 

Permanent Solution" made the 

headlines. The report noted, 

among others, as follows: 

“The House is conscious of the 

risks associated with performance 

of judicial responsibility on the lives 

of judicial officers and their families, 

and the necessity for judicial 

officers to be provided a safe, comfortable 

and conducive environment 

to operate; disturbed that judicial 

officers are becoming preys 

in the hands of criminals and the 

security of their lives and that of 

their family is under serious threat. 

Some weeks ago, Justice Abdul 

Dogo of the Federal High Court, 

Akure Division, was kidnapped on 

his way to discharge his official 

functions, and was later released 

after spending some days in kidnappers’ 

den. Just a few days after 

the release of Justice Dogo, Justice 

Chioma Nwosu of the Court of Appeal, 

Benin Judicial Division, was 

kidnapped in brutal circumstances. 

His lordship’s orderly was shot 

dead." 

Some weeks back, it was reported 

that a Sharia Court Judge was 

kidnapped by gunmen within the 

Court premises. This, among several 

other similar reports, have 

flooded the media space, such that 

judges – once revered – have now 

become targets of the people of the 

underworld who resort to intimidations 

to pervert the course of justice 

without any consequence whatsoever. 

The insecurity situation in 

Nigeria is so deep-seated that in 

January 2020, the European Union 

Parliament moved a motion for urgent 

resolution of Nigeria’s high 

level of terrorism and insecurity, 

stating thus: “The security situation 

in Nigeria has significantly 

deteriorated over the last years, 

posing a serious threat to regional 

and international security; whereas 

human rights violations, violence, 

criminality, and mass killings 

are widespread and constantly 

reported, notably in the North- 

Eastern Region of the country”. 

According to Transparency International’s 

Corruption Perceptions 

Index 2019, Nigeria is the second 

most corrupt country in West Africa, 

and 34th most corrupt country 

in the world. Again, unfortunately, 

some judges have been caught in 

the web of corruption and bribery. 

While there can be no justifiable 

reason for accepting bribes as a 

The Executive and 

the Legislature 

should immediately 

ensure that the 

situation in the 

Judiciary is immediately 

resolved, or 

else, they are by 

their action aiding 

the collapse of the 

country 

judicial officer, it however goes to 

show that more needs to be done 

in terms of the remuneration of judicial 

officers. As I highlighted in 

the first part, the salaries of Nigerian 

Judges when compared with 

the salaries of their counterparts 

in other countries are to say the 

least miserably low. Each time I 

see Judges’ cars break down on the 

road due to age I feel sorry for the 

Judiciary. There are situations 

where some of them don’t even 

have cars. Worse still, unlike the 

Judges in those days who used to 

move around with their Police Orderlies 

into their gorgeous residences 

in the GRA, many judicial 

officers now live in rented houses 

in built-up areas. 

The Current Industrial 

Strike 

The ongoing JUSUN strike enters 

its 10th week – with no glimmer 

of hope for the actuation of 

the union’s agitations across all 

states of the federation. Since I 

started practice in early 1960s, I 

have never witnessed the closure 

of all the courts even for one day. 

As a result of the closure, the Police 

is paralysed in its efforts in the 

administration of justice because 

they have not been able to charge 

any suspected criminal to court. 

Those who have cases in courts or 

those who want to file new cases 

are also affected. Of course, you 

can imagine the effects on the income 

of lawyers. It is a well-known 

fact that the Judiciary is the third 

Arm of Government after the Executive 

and the Legislature. The 

situation can be likened to a human 

being whose ability to work 

depends on the arm, the legs and 

the eyes. If for any reason any of 

these three important parts of the 

human body is incapacitated, 

then the whole body is in trouble. 

With this scenario, Nigeria is certainly 

in crisis. 

The Executive and the Legislature 

should immediately ensure 

that the situation in the Judiciary 

is immediately resolved, or 

else, they are by their action aiding 

the collapse of the country. 

Return of Retired Judicial 

Officers: The Need for 

Urgent Reforms 

One final issue worthy of mention, 

particularly in the sphere of 

the reform of the judiciary, is the 

need for a review of the legislations 

barring retired justices from 

appearing in our courts. Without 

doubt, the return of retired judges 

to the bar will elevate the practice 

of law. 

The job of a judge is characterized 

by a near-total absence of 

job security and judges have, 

over the years, been victims of 

harsh administrative decisions of 

divergent political structures, 

particularly the military. In addition, 

judges are constantly vulnerable 

to the fear of dismissal 

and the realisation of economic 

woe which may befall them. 

However, if our judges are able 

to return to legal practice, even 

after dismissal, they will still 

have an opportunity to earn and 

therefore become more relaxed 

and resolute in the administration 

of justice, knowing full well 

that they can still dust the wig and 

gown and return to legal practice 

if they do not dance to the 

tune of influential and powerful 

people in the society. 

Nigeria has come to a stage 

whereby major reforms have to 

be carried out in its judicial system, 

and certainly, the return of 

judges – retired, dismissed or resigned 

– to active legal practice 

is ripe for consideration. Even if 

such judges are not allowed to 

return full steam, there should 

still be a measure of participation 

in law practice that will ensure 

the sustained relevance of 

such erstwhile jurists in the nation’s 

development of law. In this 

regard, Nigeria may adopt the 

quasi-restrictive style being utilised 

in the United States – which 

essentially allows retired judges 

to practice in court, even the one 

which they once sat, but permits 

the sitting judge to recuse himself 

in the case of a conflict of 

interest; or even which permits 

retired judges to prepare and 

draft pleadings, motions, appellate 

briefs, among others, for a 

fee. 

Conversely, in the appointment 

of new judges, we may create a 

provisional five-year period 

which essentially allows such new 

appointees to sample how life on 

the Bench is, and voluntarily resign 

if they find that they cannot 

cope with the dictates of the 

Bench, or that life on the Bench 

is more than what they actually 

bargained for. In that scenario, 

such judges will be able to pick 

up their wigs and gowns and continue 

with legal practice, even if 

in a limited capacity. 


Thousands flee after massacre in 

northern Burkina Faso 

MORE than 7,000 families have fled 

their homes in Burkina Faso’s northern 

region following the area’s worst massacre 

in years, the government has said. 

The mass flight came after gunmen killed 

at least 138 people and wounded dozens 

of others in an attack on Solhan village in 

Yagha province on Friday. 

“Steps have already been taken to give 

displaced people a minimum level of comfort, 

lodgings and food,” Prime Minister 

Christophe Dabire said on Tuesday. 

“More than 7,000 families have moved 

to Sebba,” the capital of Yagha, about 15km 

(10 miles) from Solhan, he added. 

In Geneva, UNHCR spokesman Babar 

Baloch tallied the number of people fleeing 

violence at about 3,300 people, including 

more than 2,000 children and nearly 

500 women. 

Baloch said the death toll of 138 made 

the attack the “deadliest since 2015”. 

Burkinabe Communications Minister 

Ousseni Tamboura said the village “has 

been completely emptied of people”. One 

local elected official said most of those who 

left Solhan had already been fleeing armed 

group violence, including in the Mansila 

district to the west. 

“They killed so many people without 

even separating the women and children,” 

Mannou Tambanga, a Solhan resident, 

told Al Jazeera. “They killed, they burned 

all the goods they saw. They ransacked,” 

he added. 

The prime minister said the attack would 

not go unpunished, adding that extra forces 

had already been deployed in the region. 

The slaughter in Solhan followed the 

killing of 14 people in the village of Tadaryat 

in the same region, where an armed 

group linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) 

have been targeting civilians and soldiers. 

Man slaps French President Macron 

A 

BYSTANDER slapped French Pres 

ident Emmanuel Macron across the 

face during a trip to southeast France on 

Tuesday on the second stop of a nationwide 

tour. 

Images on social media and broadcast 

on the BFM news channel showed Macron 

approach a barrier to greet a man 

who, instead of shaking hands, slapped 

the 43-year-old across the face. 

Macron’s bodyguards quickly intervened 

and two people were arrested afterwards, 

local officials said. 

“The man who tried to slap the president 

and another individual are currently 

being questioned by the gendarmerie,” 

the regional prefecture said in a statement. 

The incident in the village of Tainl’Hermitage 

in the Drome region represents 

a serious security breach and overshadows 

the start of Macron’s tour which 

he said was designed to “take the country’s 

pulse.” 

“Around 1:15 pm (1115 GMT), the president 

got back into his car after visiting a 

high school and came back out because 

onlookers were calling out to him,” the 

prefecture said. 

“He went to meet them and that’s 

where the incident happened,” it added." 

No rift between Sylva, Akpabio over 

constitution of NDDC board, says aide 

ABUJA—MINISTER of State 

Petroleum Resources, Chief 

Timipre Sylva has said that there was 

no rift between him and Minister of 

Nigeria Delta Affairs, Senator 

Godswil Akpabio over the constitution 

of the board of Niger Delta 

Development Commission, NDDC. 

Mr Julius Bokoru media aide to 

Sylva, said in a statement, yesterday, 

that those concocting the rift were 

enemies of progress and, therefore, 

urged the general public to 

discountenance the rumour. 

The media aide also 

discountenanced the story that Sylva 

was also attempting to truncate the 

chances of certain individuals from 

being Managing Director of the 

region’s apex interventionist body. 

According to Bokoru, “The story is 

false and nothing more than a string 

of poorly thought-out and poorly 

crafted lies that should be totally 

disregarded and discarded. 

“Sylva has maintained excellent 

relations with Senator Akpabio 

through the years. The duo consider 

themselves brothers and comrades in 

the quest of building a more 

prosperous Niger Delta and a stronger 

Nigeria. 

:@vanguardnews 

“Sylva is currently hosting the 

Nigeria International Petroleum 

Summit, NIPS and while he has the 

development of the Niger Delta at 

heart, he is not fixated on who becomes 

who in the formation of the NDDC 

board. He rather hopes and prays that 

for the sake of the development of the 

region, competent, committed, 

compassionate and patriotic people 

get appointed.” 

He urged the architects of the story 

to note that the appointment of the 

board and executive members Of the 

NDDC “is strictly the prerogative of 

the President of the Federal Republic 

of Nigeria. 

“The fake, divisive article was 

intended to create anxiety in the Niger 

Delta region to the desperate ends of 

its sponsors which is to create needless 

tension and chaos. 

“The public is, thereby, advised to 

disregard the report as it is totally 

untrue, malicious and engineered 

purely for mischief. 

“Sylva will continue building 

harmony amongst Niger Delta 

leaders, the Minister will attract even 

more development to the region as he 

is doing and will keep working towards 

a more peaceful South-South region.” 

NDDC: Benin group wants inauguration 

of Odubu/Okumagba Board 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

BENIN CITY—A Benin group, Benin 

Youths Assembly, BYA, has called on 

the federal government to as a matter of 

urgency inaugurate the board of the 

Niger Delta Development Commission, 

NDDC, whose members were cleared by 

the Senate in 2019. 

The cleared members had former 

Deputy Governor of Edo State, Dr Pius 

Odubu as Chairman and Bernard 

Okumagba as Managing Director. 

A communique issued at the end of its 

meeting in Benin City and signed by the 

Coordinator General, Marxist Kola 

Edokpayi and Secretary General, Barr. 

Felix Isere, the group also supported the 

position of High Chief Government 

Ekpemukpolo popularly called Tompolo 

which necessitated a compromise for the 

inauguration of the board till later in the 

month of June as promised by the 

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill 

Akpabio. 

Part of the statement reads "We are 

pleased with the outcome of the meeting 

and the promise by the Hon. Minister to 

commerce the process of inaugurating a 

substantive board by the end of June. 

However, our position is that the Hon. 

Minister must, as a matter of importance, 

ensure that the already constituted board 

with Dr. Pius Odubu as Chairman and 

Chief Bernard Okumagba as Managing 

Director, screened and confirmed by the 

Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 

is the board to be inaugurated. 

"That we appreciate and commend the 

Hon. Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. 

Godswill Akpabio for initiating the 

meeting with stakeholders from the region 

where they were given the opportunity 

to express themselves. More importantly, 

we thank the Deputy Governor of Delta 

State who represented the Governor, 

Traditional Rulers present and 

representatives, leaders of the region, 

who stood-in and spoke on behalf of the 

various Ethnic Nationalities in Niger 

Delta. We salute their bravery and ability 

to tell the Hon. Minister the truth 

without fear or compromise.

Malami’ll decide prosecution of 

Adeboye, Kumuyi, others 

Continues from Page 5 

had since the announcement 

been inundated with 

comments about the decision, 

requests for intervention 

and criticism. 

According to him, the 


recognises that Twitter, like 

other social media networks, 

is an important tool 

for communication and 

commerce in Nigeria, particularly 

among the younger 

generation who have 

used the networks for enterprise 

and innovation 

with great success. 

He said: “The House also 

recognises that as social 

media has been a tool for 

good, it can also be a tool 

for bad actors. 

“As such, government has 

a legitimate interest in ensuring 

that these platforms 

are not used to commit vile 

actions against individuals 

and the state.” 

Gbajabiamila said the 

proper role of the legislature 

in circumstances was 

first to peel back the layers 

of the decision-making 

process to unravel the issues 

until it developed an 

understanding of the why 

and the how of executive 

decisions. 

PDP Reps walk out of 

plenary, vow to 

continue tweeting 

However, members of 

Peoples Democratic Party in 

the House staged a walkout 

over the refusal of the 

speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, 

to grant their prayer on 

the Federal Government’s 

Twitter Ban. 

Gbajabiamila had earlier 

asked relevant committees 

of the House to investigate 

the matter within 10 days. 

Leader of the PDP caucus, 

Kingsley Chinda, later 

raised a point of order to 

make an additional prayer 

that the House asks the 

Federal Government to lift 

the ban pending when the 

House carries out the 

probe. 

Chinda noted that the 

implication is that the ban 

would remain for 10 days, 

which means the rights of 

Nigerians would be kept in 

abeyance during the period. 

Gbajabiamila, however, 

cited part of the Standing 

Orders of the House stating 

that a matter that had 

been concluded by the parliament 

cannot be revisited 

for a debate. 

The speaker, therefore, 

ruled Chinda out of order, 

a decision that did not go 

down well with the opposition 

members. 

Insisting on speaking 

and several leaders of the 

House shutting him down, 

Chinda led other PDP 

members out of the chamber. 

They later addressed 

journalists to say the action 

was in defence of Nigerians. 

vanguardnews 

Addressing journalists 

after the walkout, the PDP 

caucus, led by Chinda, explained 

that the point of 

order was an added prayer 

to the speaker’s speech. 

Though he commended 

Gbajabiamila for being 

proactive on the issue, he, 

however, said 10 days is too 

long for Nigerians to wait 

before resuming their Twitter 

operations. 

He said it is wrong for the 

speaker to have ruled him 

out of order. 

The caucus, however, 

vowed to continue to tweet, 

despite the directive by the 

Minister of Justice and Attorney-General 

of the Federation, 

AGF, Abubakar 

Malami, to have violators 

of the ban prosecuted. 

The caucus challenged 

the government to arrest 

them on behalf of Nigerians. 

Its leader, Chinda said: 

“We the members of PDP 

caucus of the House will 

continue tweeting, if they 

want to jail us, we surrender 

ourselves on behalf of 

Nigerians. 

“The speaker presented a 

speech to us this morning. 

There was no debate on 

that issue. Resolution of the 

House is always arrived at 

by majority vote, so in essence 

what happened this 

morning was the decision 

of the leadership and that’s 

why I said we agree with 

the decision of the leadership 

but we still have the 

right if we have more things 

to add to it. 

“We are not angels, our 

leaders are not angels. It’s 

not against our rules, there 

was no debate and no vote 

was taken on those issues, 

so it’s not sacrosanct. 

“Sincerely, I will be surprised 

if the leadership of 

the House did not take that 

step, so we expected it and 

we agree. We are just saying 

that there’s nothing 

wrong in adding another 

prayer, which was what we 

sought to do. 

“That’s why we said, also 

urge the executive arm to 

rescind its decision in the 

interim, pending the outcome 

of interaction between 

the legislature and 

the executive. We expected 

it, that’s what ordinarily, 

any speaker would do 

but there’s nothing wrong 

in adding additional 

prayers. 

“As I said, what we did is 

covered by our rules, we 

didn’t offend any section of 

our rules. However to show 

sincerity on our part, we 

will still bring a motion but 

I can tell you it won’t be taken, 

even when it’s taken I 

will also say that they will 

all arrange to kill the motion. 

“What we are saying is let 

us have our say and let the 

majority have their way. Let 

Nigerians know our position 

all the time. 

“We are all representing 

different constituencies and 

@vanguardnews 

so you do not expect all of 

us to stand on the same 

position. As I said, it’s a 

decision of PDP caucus that 

we are ready to present 

ourselves for prosecution. 

Some members might not 

be willing to do that and 

you can’t force them to do 

so. Our constituents are in 

support of our position and 

we will continue to stand 

with people of Nigeria. 

“There’s no crack in the 

PDP caucus of the National 

Assembly, you don’t expect 

everyone to be here at 

the same time. There’s no 

crack.” 

We’ll challenge 

Twitter ban in court 

— DAAR Group 

Reacting to the directive 

by the National Broadcasting 

Commission, NBC, to 

broadcast organisations to 

de-activate their Twitter 

handle, DAAR Communications 

Plc, owners and 

operators of Africa Independent 

Television, Raypower 

FM and Faaji FM, 

said it would challenge it 

in court once the strike by 

the Judiciary Staff Union of 

Nigeria was over. 

Management of the company 

said in a statement 

issued Monday that the 

ban by the FG didn’t represent 

any law as contemplated 

by the National 

Broadcasting Code. 

The statement read: “We 

note that whilst Section 

2(1)r of the NBC Act entrusts 

the commission with 

the responsibility to ensure 

strict adherence to national 

laws, rules and regulations, 

we contend that an 

announcement by the Federal 

Government does not 

represent a law of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria, 

“Ordinarily, we would 

disregard this statement as 

political backlash by the 

Federal Government in response 

to Twitter’s suspension 

of President Buhari’s 

comment on their platform. 

“Ordinarily, we would 

expect the Minister of Justice 

and Attorney-General 

of the Federation to advise 

the government on the legal 

and constitutional 

framework within which 

legal authority and credence 

can be given to the 

Federal Government’s announcement. 

“We would have challenged 

the NBC and the 

Federal Government in 

court on their authority to 

arbitrarily infringe on sections 

39(1) of the constitution 

of the Federal Republic 

of Nigeria guaranteeing 

freedom of expression as a 

fundamental right of Nigerian 

citizens and sections 22 

of the same constitution 

guaranteeing press freedom. 

‘’Ordinarily, we will challenge 

the National Broadcasting 

Commission to 

quote the relevant sections 

of the constitution, the NBC 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

Act or the jurisprudence of 

our laws from which they 

derive their authority to direct 

broadcasters on where 

to source newsworthy information 

and interfering in 

our editorial decisions by 

prohibiting us from sourcing 

information, citizen 

opinions and expressions 

from the Twitter platform. 

“We, therefore, regret to 

inform our teeming viewers 

and audience that in 

compliance with the directive 

by the NBC, following 

the Federal Government’s 

suspension of Twitter operations 

in Nigeria, that we 

are henceforth and with 

immediate effect, suspending 

the use of Twitter to disseminate 

information and 

gather newsworthy information 

and opinions from 

the platform. 

“We will seek to challenge 

this directive in court as 

soon as the courts resume 

and will be guided by judicial 

interpretation of this 

directive, going forward.” 

SERAP, 176 Nigerians 

sue FG 

Meanwhile, the Socio- 

Economic Rights and Accountability 

Project, 

SERAP, and 176 concerned 

Nigerians have 

filed a lawsuit against the 

Federal Government over 

what they described as unlawful 

suspension of Twitter 

in Nigeria, criminalization 

of Nigerians and other 

people using Twitter. 

In the suit No ECW/ 

CCJ/APP/23/21 filed before 

the ECOWAS Community 

Court of Justice in Abuja 

yesterday, SERAP and 

the concerned Nigerians 

are seeking: “An order of 

interim injunction restraining 

the Federal Government 

from implementing 

its suspension of Twitter in 

Nigeria, and subjecting 

anyone including media 

houses, broadcast stations 

using Twitter in Nigeria, to 

harassment, intimidation, 

arrest and criminal prosecution, 

pending the hearing 

and determination of 

the substantive suit.” 

In the suit filed by Solicitor 

to SERAP, Femi Falana 

SAN, the Plaintiffs contended 

that “if this application 

is not urgently granted, the 

Federal Government will 

continue to arbitrarily suspend 

Twitter and threaten 


AWKA- TRADERS at the popular spare parts market, Nkpor near Onitsha yesterday 

protested alleged imposition of N1.2 million on traders for the building of shops on 

top of structures in the market, arguing the decision poses a great risk to them 

and their customers. 

to impose criminal and other 

sanctions on Nigerians, 

telecommunication companies, 

media houses, broadcast 

stations and other people 

using Twitter in Nigeria, 

the perpetual order 

sought in this suit might be 

rendered nugatory.” 

No date has been fixed 

for hearing of the interim 

application and the substantive 

suit. 

The suit read: “The suspension 

of Twitter is aimed 

at intimidating and stopping 

Nigerians from using 

Twitter and other social 

media platforms to assess 

government policies, expose 

corruption, and criticize 

acts of official impunity 

by the agents of the Federal 

Government. 

“The free communication 

of information and ideas 

about public and political 

issues between citizens and 

elected representatives is 

essential. This implies a 

free press and other media 

able to comment on public 

issues without censor or 

restraints, and to inform 

public opinion. The public 

also has a corresponding 

right to receive media output. 

“Freedom of expression is 

a fundamental human right 

and the full enjoyment of 

this right is central to 

achieving individual freedom 

and to developing 

democracy. It is not only the 

cornerstone of democracy, 

but indispensable to a thriving 

civil society. 

“The arbitrary action by 

the Federal Government 

and its agents have negatively 

impacted millions of 

Nigerians who carry on 

their daily businesses and 

operational activities on 

Twitter. The suspension has 

also impeded the freedom 

of expression of millions of 

Nigerians, who criticize 

and influence government 

policies through the microblogging 

app. 

“The suspension of Twitter 

is arbitrary, and there is 

no law in Nigeria today 

permitting the prosecution 

of people simply for peacefully 

exercising their human 

rights through Twitter 

and other social media platforms. 

“The suspension and 

threat of prosecution by the 

Federal Government constitute 

a fundamental 

breach of the country’s international 

human rights 

obligations including under 

Article 9 of the African 

Charter on Human and 

Peoples’ Rights and Article 

19 of International Covenant 

on Civil and Political 

Rights to which Nigeria is 

a state party. 

“The suspension has seriously 

undermined the 

ability of Nigerians and other 

people in the country to 

freely express themselves 

in a democracy, and undermined 

the ability of journalists, 

media houses, broadcast 

stations, and other people 

to freely carry out their 

professional duties. 

“A lot of Nigerians at 

home and abroad rely on 

Twitter coverage of topical 

issues of public interest to 

access impartial, objective 

and critical information 

about ideas and views on 

how the Nigerian government 

is performing its constitutional 

and international 

human rights obligations. 

“The implication of the 

decline in freedom of expression 

in Nigeria is that 

the country is today ranked 

alongside countries hostile 

to human rights and media 

freedom such as Afghanistan, 

Chad, the Philippines, 

Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe 

and Colombia.” 

SERAP and the concerned 

Nigerians are therefore 

asking the ECOWAS 

Court of Justice for the following 

reliefs amon others, 

A declaration that the 

action of the Defendant and 

its agents in suspending the 

operation of Twitter or any 

other social media and microblogging 

application 

without an order of a competent 

court of jurisdiction 

is unlawful, inconsistent 

and incompatible with Article 

9 of the African Charter 

on Human and Peoples’ 

Rights and Article 19 of International 

Covenant on 

Civil and Political Rights. 

“That the act of the Defendant 

in mandating its 

agent to commence and 

continue to regulate the 

social media in Nigeria 

amounts to restriction and 

censorship, thus violating 

Nigeria’s obligations under 

the African Charter on Human 

and Peoples’ Rights 

and Article 19 of International 

Covenant on Civil 

and Political Rights.”


FG begins payment of new pension 

to retirees 

Stories by Victor 

Ahiuma-Young 

THE Federal Government 

through the Pension Transitional 

Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, 

has begun the payment of the consequential 

adjustment to pensioners 

under the Defined Benefit 

Scheme, DBS. 

The Executive Secretary of PTAD, 

Chioma Ejikeme, disclosed this development 

through a statement by 

the Directorate’s Head of Corporate 

Communications, Mr Gbenga Ajayi, 

informing that the payment was in 

fulfillment of the promise she made 

following the announcement of President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s approval 

of the implementation of the 

consequential adjustment to the 

pension benefits occasioned by the 

new minimum wage increase of 

2019. 

Ajayi recalled that Ejikeme promised 

that the upward adjustment of 

pension benefits would take effect 

from May 2021. 

He said that while reacting to the 

messages of gratitude received from 

some pensioners, the Executive 

Secretary assured them of PTAD’s 

commitment to the welfare of the 

DBS pensioners. 

Ejikeme, however, cautioned 

them against fraudsters who called 

pensioners pretending to be staff of 

PTAD, saying that no staff of the directorate 

would request for gratification 

before processing their pension 

payment. 

She urged the pensioners to report 

such phone calls and other activities 

of the scammers to PTAD for 

adequate investigation and possible 

prosecution. 

Pensioners under the Civil Service 

Pension Department, CSPD, 

Parastatals Pension Department, 

PaPD, Police Pension Department, 

PPD, and Customs, Immigration 

and Prisons Pension Department, 

CIPPD, have begun receiving their 

accrued arrears. 

The four departments represent 

the operational departments of the 

PTAD. 

Pensioner petitions PTAD over 26 years unpaid 

pension 

AN aggrieved retiree of the 

de-funct Power Holding 

Company of Nigeria, PHCN, 

Princewill Ekwujuru, has petitioned 

the Pension Transitional Arrangement 

Directorate, PTAD, over 

unpaid pensions as well as 26 years 

of underpayment of his benefits. 

In a petition to the Executive 

Secretary of PTAD, Ekwujuru lamented 

that the non-payment of his 

benefits had brought untold 

hardship to his family and other dependents. 

Among others, he said: “This is 

to bring to your knowledge that my 

pension was abruptly stopped in 

October 2020, after I discovered that 

I did not participate in a verification 

exercise conducted for pensioners 

THE Lagos State Govern-ment 

has paid over N4.2 billion to its 

pensioners, under the Defined 

Benefits Scheme, DBS, otherwise 

known as Pay As You Go, from May 

2019 to March 2021. 

The Commissioner for Establishments, 

Training and Pension, Mrs 

Ajibola Ponnle, made this known in 

Ikeja at the 2021 Ministerial Press 

Briefing to commemorate the 

Second Year anniversary of Gov. Babajide 

Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s administration. 

Ponnle said that as part of the 

state’s commitment to the welfare 

of pensioners, Gov. Sanwo-Olu had 

also approved payment of 33 per 

cent increment for all state pensioners 

under the Defined Benefit 

Scheme. 

She said that the government also 

of defunct National Electric Power 

Authority, NEPA or Power Holding 

Company of Nigeria, PHCN and 

other parastatals. 

“For the records, I was retired from 

the service in October 1996, and my 

pension commenced immediately. 

The retirement came as a result of 

the downsizing exercise carried out 

by the organisation. 

“However, l had been receiving 

my pension until the abrupt stop on 

the above mentioned month. After 

concluding my verification exercise 

in November 2020, with necessary 

documents and affidavits 

showing my affirmation as a 

bonafide staff of defunct NEPA, 

with pension number (PTAD/ 

FCT/HQ/263111754/PTPD) generated 

and allocated to me by your 

office, till date, not a kobo has been 

paid to me. 

...As Lagos pays N4.2bn pension arrears 

in 2 years 

paid the balance of the 25 per cent 

rent allowance for officers on Grade 

Level 07 and above, who retired between 

May 2000 and August 2004. 

“There are currently 15 approved 

Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, 

and seven approved insurance 

companies who render pension 

funds management and annuities 

services to retirees in the state. 

“Today, Lagos State is a trailblazer 

and pacesetter in pension 

matters in Nigeria, having won 

awards as the most pension-compliant 

in this dispensation, on several 

occasions,” the commissioner 

said. 

Ponnle said that as a policy, the 

ministry had always been interfacing 

with relevant stakeholders 

such as the Nigerian Union of 

Pensioners, Association of Retired 

Heads of Service and Permanent 

Secretaries, among others, as part 

"In the course of the verification 

exercise, I also discovered that 

NEPA and PTAD failed to correct 

the obvious anomaly created before 

my retirement. I was paid on 

SS4/6 instead of SS4/8 which is 

26 years now. 

"I was also surprised to read in 

national dailies and online platforms 

that PTAD has paid all outstanding 

pensions and pension 

arrears, and that a very large 

number of pensioners have been 

removed from the payroll. For me, 

I have not received my pension 

since October 2020, and no arrears 

paid to me. 

"As a result, I plead with you to 

use your good offices to revisit my 

case and rectify the mistake and 

pay me my pension arrears and 

the arrears of the under payments 

running into 26 years." 

of measures to improve the lives 

of pensioners in the state.” 

Recall that the Nigeria Union 

of Pensioners, NUP, at its 11th 

Quadrennial National Delegates' 

Conference recently honoured 

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. 

The commissioner noted that 

“the governor was honoured with 

the distinguished award of Excellence 

and Greater Commitment to 

Pensioner’s Welfare. That means 

we are doing something right. 

When the second phase of the 

Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 

the country in 2020, the state recommended 

vaccines for pensioners 

who were over 70 years in 

age.” 

She added that the state government 

was working to introduce 

a health insurance scheme as well 

as a transportation scheme for the 

pensioners 

Factional pensioners' group seeks registration 

A 

faction of the Federal Civ 

il Service Pensioners 

Branch, FCSPB, of the Nigeria 

Union of Pensioners, NUP, has 

pleaded with the Federal Government 

to register it as an independent 

branch. 

FCSPB National Chairman, Mr 

Omezi Sunday, said that the 

branch had unanimously decided 

to pull out of the NUP due to 

gross violation of the constitution 

of the union, among others. 

According to him: “We are pulling 

out for four main reasons; firstly, 

if you look at the NUP Constitution, 

Rule six on organs of the 

union, we are not part of the organs 

of the union in line with its 

constitution. Secondly, NUP did 

not respect its constitution, which 

was amended without reporting 

to the Ministry of Labour and 

Employment and this is also 

against the Rule 57 of NUP Constitution. 

Thirdly, NUP did not add 

us in its recent Constitution Review 

Committee. Fourthly, the 

union also refused to obey the directives 

from the Ministry of Labour 

and Employment that said 

they should maintain status quo 

and should not dissolve our executives. 

“So, with these four reasons we 

want to pull out and we are appealing 

to the Ministry of Labour 

and Employment to let us have a 

full-fledged registration because 

we cannot work with that type of 

union,” 

Collaborating, FCSPB National 

Secretary, Mr Christian Azunna, 

informed that the major reason 

the branch pulled out of the 

NUP was due to high-handedness, 

saying: “Over time, we 

have made efforts to see that the 

matter is addressed. Unfortunately, 

the national secretariat of 

the NUP, which is rather manned 

by non-pensioners employees 

of the union, would not allow for 

dialogue. 

“So, we have made efforts 

and written series of letters to 

the union without reply and 

most times the union waves it 

off with levity with the impression 

that we will not do anything,” 

he said. 

Azunna, however, noted that 

the accrued one per cent checkoff 

dues from the recent release 

of N70 million as payment of 

pension arrears to beneficiaries 

by the Pension Transitional Arrangement 

Directorate, PTAD, 

had yet to be paid to FCSP. 

“But unfortunately, we have 

several affiliates under the umbrella 

of NUP amongst all the 

affiliates’ members; it is only the 

FCSP that they control its funds 

100 per cent. 

“Others collect from the source 

of payment and remit 100 per 

cent in accordance with the constitution 

of the union Rule 19, 

Section 7 which deals with the 

allocation of funds. 

‘Our branch is supposed to get 

55 per cent, NUP gets 35 per 

cent while 10 per cent goes to 

Nigeria Labour Congress as the 

overall body. 

‘But still, the NUP appropriates 

our own funds and gives 

us only a token,” he added. 

Mr Bunmi Ogunkolade, 

NUP’s Head of Information 

while reacting to the allegation 

said the executives of the branch 

were found wanting for antiunion 

activities. 

PRESENTATION: From left - Mrs Margaret Moore, Deputy President, Professional 

Insurance Ladies Association (PILA); Faith Odunsi, PILA Awardee and maths genius; 

Mrs Joyce Ojemudia, PILA President; and Mrs Abimbola Onakomaiya, Vice 

President, PILA, at the presentation of a N1m Education Grant to Faith Odunsi in 

recognition of her feat at the Global Open Mathematics Tournament in Lagos. 

NAICOM to sanction insurance 

firms for non-implementation of 

corporate governance guidelines 

By Rosemary Iwunze 

THE National Insurance 

Commission (NAICOM) 

has said that it will sanction 

insurance companies that fail to 

implement the corporate 

governance guidelines which 

became effective this month. 

Speaking to Vanguard on the 

sidelines of the 2021 annual 

seminar for insurance journalists 

in Lagos, Commissioner for 

Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas 

said that the absence of sound 

corporate governance structure 

in some insurance companies 

has been the cause of their 

abysmal performance over the 

years. 

Thomas said: “The corporate 

governance guidelines that 

became effective this June will 

change the way companies are 

being run in the country. 

Companies don’t fail on their 

own, instead people make 

companies to fail. Companies 

don’t die, companies are killed 

and the death of companies 

involves poor governance 

structure. 

“We are aware that effective 

from the 1st of June, the 

corporate governance 

guidelines have become 

FBN Insurance Limit 

ed has recorded 25 per 

cent growth in Profit-After-Tax, 

PAT, Year-on-Year, YoY, to N9.9 

billion in 2020 from N7.9 billion 

recorded in 2019. 

Managing Director/Chief 

Executive Officer of the company, 

Mr. Val Ojumah, who 

disclosed this at the compa- 

PILA floats foundation, rewards 

Maths genius with N1m 

education grant 

THE Professional In 

surance Ladies Association, 

PILA has announced the establishment 

of its social good initiative, 

the PILA Foundation. 

Making the announcement 

at her 25th Annual General 

Meeting at the newly completed 

PILA House in Lagos, 

the body noted that the foundation 

will be the vehicle 

through which its social responsibilities 

would be delivered 

to its teeming stakeholders. 

PILA President, Joyce Ojemudia, 

said this was the culmination 

of the association's well stated 

desires to give back to the 

society especially its stakeholders 

and the female folk. She 

thereafter announced the award 

of a N1 million education grant 

to Faith Odunsi, the 15-year-old 

girl who stunned the world when 

she made history by winning the 

effective. This is to make sure 

that whatever resources that 

are put into the insurance 

sector are well protected.” 

Meanwhile, Thomas said 

NAICOM Academy will kick off 

by the end of 3rd quarter or the 

beginning of 4th quarter 2021. 

According to Thomas, one area 

which the Commission has not 

gained speed is in the area of 

the academy. 

He said: “NAICOM has 

acquired a property and work is 

currently ongoing. We believe 

that by the end of third quarter 

or beginning of fourth quarter 

2021, the NAICOM Academy 

will take off.” 

According to him the academy 

will not only serve the 

commission’s training needs, 

but also those of other 

regulators in the West African 

sub region. According to him the 

academy will not compete with 

the College of Insurance which 

is run by the Chartered 

Insurance Institute of Nigeria 

(CIIN) but complement the 

activities of the institute for the 

benefits of insurance business 

and insurance profession.On 

distribution channels in the 

industry, he said the traditional 

method of distributing insurance 

is becoming outdated and 

inadequate to take care of the 

speed of the people the industry 

intends to reach. 

FBN Insurance records 25% 

growth in PAT 

Global Open Mathematics Competition 

beating contestants 

from Europe, Asia and the Americas 

earlier in the year. 

Ojemudia said: "Faith is that 

child that has become an inspiration 

to many. Her historic win 

at the Global Open Mathematics 

Tournament is testament to 

her brilliance and excellent spirit. 

We at PILA want to use this 

grant to congratulate her and to 

offer her our support as a girlchild 

who has brought honour 

to her family and motherland. 

"We would be available to 

mentor her and give her more 

support as she continues her 

academic exploits," she added. 

Accompanied by her mother, 

Oluwasijibomi Odunsi and Yinka 

Kawonise, the personal assistant 

to the Proprietor of the 

Ambassadors School, Ogun 

State, Samson Osewa, Faith was 

handed her prize to a resounding 

applause. 

ny's annual general meeting 

in Lagos, noted that despite 

the challenging operating environment 

in the country, the 

company closed the year with 

positive results and made prompt 

claims payment to customers. 

Further analysis of the company's 

report showed that the 

group recorded eight per cent 

increase in net premium income 

to N42.5 billion in 2021 from 

N39.2 billion in 2020. Total assets 

increased by 47 per cent to 

N170 billion from N116 billion. 

This growth, according to the 

company, was driven by its investment 

strategy supported by 

the increase in premium written 

particularly from retail life and annuity. 

Insurance and investment 

contract liabilities grew by 58 per 

cent to N139.3 billion from N88.4 

billion. 

The company declared and approved 

dividend payment of 70k 

per share for the year ended 31 

December 2020. 

Speaking on the company's 

performance for the year, Ojumah 

said: "We remain adaptable 

and responsive to the 

unfolding trends, modifying 

our plans and operations in 

a manner that would ensure 

that we achieve our strategic 

objectives. 2020 was a 

challenging year due to the 

outbreak of the novel coronavirus, 

but we witnessed an 

impressive growth along key 

metrics and across major lines 

during the financial year.

UBA 

I, formerly known as Rosemary 

Uba, Now wish to be known and 

addressed as John Rosemary 

Chichi. All former documents 

remain valid, any Authority 

concerned and the General public 

to please take note. 

KINGSLEY FESTUS 

I formerly known and addressed 

as EBHOTEMEN KINGSLEY 

Now wish to be known and 

addressed as OSEZUWA 

KINGSLEY. All former documents 

remain valid. General public and 

authority concerned please take 

note. 

ADESINA 

I formerly known and addressed as 

Miss ADESINA FASILAT 

ATINUKE Now wish to be known 

and addressed as Mrs SULAIMON 

FASILAT ATINUKE. All former 

documents remain valid General 

public and authority concerned 

please take note 

AJOKE 


Adeniyi Ajoke Omolola Now wish 

to be known and addressed as 

Adeniyi Margaret Omolola. All 

former documents remain valid 

General public and authority 

concerned please take note. 

SULE 

I have been known and called as 

SULE ADINOYI JOHN. Now wish 

to be known and called as 

ADABARA ADINOYI JOHN. 

Former documents remain valid. 

Authority concern and general 

public to take note. 

SHEHU 


Nasuru Shehu, Now wish to be 

known and called as Usman 

Muhammed Nasir. Date of birth 

15/01/1993. Former documents 

remain valid. Access Bank and 

general public take note. 

LUCK 


as LUCK CHIBOY OKEACHI 

now wish to be known and 

addressed as LUCKY 

CHIDIEBUBE OKECHI. All 

former documents remain 

valid. General public take note. 

SHUKURU 


as MUKTARI MUHAMMED 

SHUKURU, now wish to be 

known and addressed as 

MUTARI SHEKURU. All 



MAGNIFY 

I, formerly known and 

addressed as Nwachukwu 

Magnify Maraizuchi now wish 


Nwachukwu Florence. Former 

documents remain valid. 

General public take note. 

ELVIS 

I, formerly known as MISS. 

ELVIS CHIKA IJEOMA . Now 

wish to be known as MRS. 

CHIKADIBIA, PRECIOUS 

IJEOMA . All documents 

bearing my former name 

remain valid. The general 

public take note. 

EHIRIM 

I, formerly known as EHIRIM 

NKIRUKA NICE. Now wish 

to be known as EZE 

NKIRUKA NICE. All 

documents bearing my former 

name remain valid. The general 


TALABI 


as TALABI SHERIFAT 

OLAYINKA Now wish to be 


JOHNSON OLAYINKA 

OLASUNKANMI. All former 


Public and authority concerned 


OGEDENGBE 

I formerly known as 

Ogedengbe Beauty Now wish 

to be known, Called and 

addressed as Omogafen 

Okpohen Praise. Former 


Public note 

MONICA 

I formerly KNOWN AND 

CALLED MONICA EJILA 

NOW Wish To BE KNOWN 

AND ADDRESSED AS 

MONICA OCHANYA EJILA 

ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS 

REMAIN VALID. Nimc AND 

GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE 

NOTE. 

TEJUOSHO 


as Miss Tejuosho Roheemot 

Abisola Now wish to be known 

and addressed as Mrs Sangosina 

Roheemot Abisola. All former 

documents remain valid general 


please take note. 

OYIZA 

I formerly known and called as 

YAKUBU OYIZA. Now wish to 

be known and called as LAWAL 

ENEZE MEDINAT. My date of 

birth is 4/4/2003. Former 

documents remain valid. Authority 

concern and general public to take 

note. 

OTAKI 


Faruq Hussein Otaki, Now 

wish to be known and called as 

Umar Hussaini Osheka. 

Former documents remain valid. 

Access Bank and general public 

take note. 

ALIU 

I formerly known and called 

as ALIU SUNDAY OJO. Now 

wish to be known and called as 

ALI SUNDAY OJO. Former 


Authority concern and general 

public to take note. 

ISHAKA 

I formerly known and 

addressed as Shuaibu Ishaka, 


addressed as Damwesh 

Sunshak Kyenan. All 



OT UKEJE 

I, formerly known and addressed 

as UKEJE CHINENYE NANCY, 


addressed as RICHARD 

ENOBONG NANCY. Former 

documents remain valid. General 


HITLER 

I, formerly known as HITLER 

MERCY OYIME. Now wish 

to be known as MRS. MERCY 

OYIME EMIFER . All 


name remain valid. The 


PETER 

That my Bank details were wrongly 

captured as PETER TIMLA 

FADIP . Now wish to be known as 

TIMLA FADIP which is my 

correct name. All documents 

bearing my former name remain 


CHANGE OF NAME 

OLUWANIFEMI 


as Spencer Oluwatimilehin 

Oluwanifemi Now wish to be 

known and addressed as Spencer 

Oluwatimilehin Solomon. All 


General public and authority 

concerned please take note 

SARAH 

I, formerly known as Sarah Barde, 


addressed as Saratu Barde.My 

Correct date of birth 13/01/1997 

Not 13/01/1995.All former 


public please take note. 

AGBOR 


AGBOR CHUKWUEBUKA B. 


addressed as AGBOR 

CHUKWUEBUKA. All former 



AKINDELE 


Miss Akindele Shukurat Titilayo 


addressed as Mrs Adewunmi 

Shukurat Titilayo .All former 

documents remain valid general 

public and authority concerned please 

take note. 

GRACE 

THAT GRACE OGUCHE, 

OGUCHE GRACE AND OGUCHE 

DORCAS BELONG TO ONE AND 

SAME PERSON. NOW WISH TO 

BE KNOWN AS OGUCHE 

DORCAS. DATE OF BIRTH: OLD 

ONE IS 11/07/1992. NEW ONE IS 

11/07/1993. ALL FORMER 

DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. 

GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE. 

AARON 


AARON OJOKO Now wish to be 

known and addressed as AGAMA 

AARON OJOKO with my actual 

date of birth of 12th September, 

1994.All former documents remain 

valid. Access Bank authority and 

general public to take note 

LEO 

I, Formerly Known And Addressed 

As LEO JOHN AKPAN, LEO 

MARVELOUS, LEO AKPAN 

JOHN, LEO JOHN MARVELOUS 

AKPAN Now Wish To Be Known 

As LEO JOHN MARVELOUS. All 

Documents Bearing My Former 

Name Remain Valid. The General 

Public Should Please Take Note. 

MKO 


as Mko Friday now wish to be 

known and addressed as Mko 

Friday Ioryina. All former 


General public please take note. 

BLESSING 

THAT ZAKARIYA BLESSING 

AND JOSEPH BLESSING 

OGECHI ARE ONE AND SAME 

PERSON,WAS WRONGLY 

WRITTEN AS ZAKARIYA 

BLESSING JEBLE INSTEAD OF 

ZAKARIYA BLESSING JEBLE, 

NOW WANT TO BE KNOWN AS 

ZAKARIYA BLESSING JEBLE. 

FORMER DOCMENTS REMAIN 

VALID, PUBLIC NOTE. 

OKON 

I formerly known as Miss 

PEACE UBONG OKON, now 

wish to be known and addressed 

as Mrs PEACE NDIFREKE 

ARCHIBONG. All former 

documents remain valid. The 

general public should take 

note. 

OKO 

I, formerly known as FRED 

OBIO OKO. Now wish to be 

known as OKOEWA OBIO 

FRED. All documents bearing 

my former name remain valid. 

The general public take note. 

EBA 


as Eba Andrew Ije Now wish to 

be known and addressed as Daniel 

Oluwasegun Stephen. All former 




MUSA 

I was formerly known and addresed 

as KHADIJAT MUSA IBRAHIM 

now wish to be known and called 

as HADIZA JAMILU all 

documents bearing either of the 

names belongs to me and remain 

valid. 

ADAKOLE 


Grace Adakole Now wish to be 

known and addressed as Grace 

Adakole Obochi All Former 

documents remain valid. Access 

Bank Authority and general public 

to take note 

JOHNSON 


as Oluwaseun Ayoola Now wish 


Oluwaseun Johnson Ayoola.All 


general public and authority 

concerned please take note 

ANAS 

I was formerly known as ANAS 

ABDULRAHMAN GARBA and 

D.O.B was 1st Jan, 1982, now wish 

to be known and called ANAS 

ABDURRAHMAN and my correct 

date of birth is 7th June, 1982. All 

former documents remain valid. 

General public please take note. 

UNUSA 


UNUSA HARUNA MALAM, 

Now wish to be known and called 

as YUNUSA HARUNA 

MALLAM. Former documents 

remain valid. Authority concern 

and general public to take note. 

VICTOR 


addressed as IYAJI VICTOR 

AND IYAJI VICTOR J. now 


as IYAJI VICTOR 

JEREMIAH. All former 



SALE 


addressed as SALE 

HUSSAINI now wish to be 


USAINI SALIHU. All former 


General public please take 

note. 

HAMZA 


addressed as YUSUFU 

HAMZA now wish to be 


Yusufu HABIBU. Former 



NKESE 

I formerly known as NKESE 

CLEMENT UDOSEN, now 


as MERCY CLEMENT 

UDOSEN. All former 

documents remain valid. The 

general public should take 

note. 

REALITY 

I Formerly known and called 

ANAS REALITY HUSSAINI 


addressed as ANAS ALHAJI 

HUSSAINI.DOB 05 10 1992, All 


valid,Relevant authority and the 


Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021—29 

NYIYONGO 

I formerly called and addressed as 

NYIYONGO JUDITH 

HEMBADOON now wish to be 

addressed as IORHEMEN 

JUDITH. All former documents 

remain valid. Zenith Bank PLC 

and general public should take 

note. 

LAWAL 


as LAWAL MOTUNRAYO Now 


as LAWAL SAIDAT 

MOTUNRAYO. All former 



please take note. 

NEWTONE 

I Formerly known as NEWTONE 

BATURE Now wish to be called 

and addressed as ISAAC BATURE 

To update My BVN My correct 

DOB is 27/JULY/1993 All Former 

documents remain valid UBA 

BANK PLC Authority concern and 

the General public to please take 

note 

TIJANI 


ABDULATIF ABDUL G. TIJANI, 


addressed as ABDULGANIYU 

TIJANI. All former documents 

remain valid General public and 

authority concerned please take 

note. 

USUMAN 

I, formerly known as Usuman 

Sufiyanu, now wish to be 


Abubakar Usman. All former 


General public please take 

note. 

UGO 


as MISS UGO ALI AGHA, now 


as MRS NWANNEKA UGO 

AMAGU. All former documents 

remain valid. Banks and the 

general public to please take 

note. 

BASHIR 


ABDULLAHI BASHIR, now wish 


ABDULLAHI MOHAMMED. MY 

CORRECT DATE OF BIRTH IS 

22/04/1981 NOT 16/02/1981. All 

former documents remain valid. 


BARTH 


as, BARTH JOHN IRENE 

IJEOMA, now wish to be known 

and addressed as, IZUOGU 

IJEOMA IRENE. All former 


public should take note. 

MBAMA 


as MBAMA ROSELINE 

PRUDENT DATE OF BIRTH 28/ 

8/1988, now wish to be known 

and addressed as EHINDERO 

ROSELINE OLUCHI DATE OF 

BIRTH 28/8/1991. Former 



OJUKWU 


addressed as, SMOCH 

JUSTINA OJUKWU, now wish 

to be known and addressed as, 

SMOCH FYNE JUSTINA. All 


valid. General public should 

take note. 

DAVID 


addressed as Miss Joy David 


addressed as Mrs Joy Chinedu 

Odii. All former documents 

remain valid. All relevant 

organizations and the general 



We must stop 

playing second 

fiddle to other 

tribes —Jenekpo 

By Paul Olayemi 

SAPELE—THE President 

General of Oil rich 

Ugborhen kingdom in Sapele 

local government area of Delta 

State, Dr Nelson Ukoko popularly 

known as Jenekpo has 

advised the people of Okpe 

kingdom to stop playing second 

fiddle to any tribe in the 

state, adding that the continuous 

liaison with the Urhobos 

has not benefitted them. 

"In Delta Central before now 

the Okpe was recognized as 

its own ethnic nationality, but 

since our liaison with the 

Urhobos we have got little or 

nothing, what are we scared 

of? Why can't we be on our 

own, the continuous liaison 

with other tribes has done us 

no good, and we must review 

this" 

Ukoko, who was speaking 

on Chief Godswill Akpabio', 

the Niger Delta Minister's 

visit to the traditional headquarters 

of the Gbaramatu 

Kingdom, Oporoza town, last 

Thursday to see Chief Government 

Ekpemupolo also 

commended the ex militant for 

his bold step but frowned at the 

Minister's decision not to visit 

the Okpe monarch, His Royal 

Majesty, Major Gen F.A 

Mujakperuo (rtd) CFR, mni, 

Orhue 1, the Orodje of Okpe 

Kingdom. 

"We have a very big kingdom, 

for him to touch down at 

Osubi and not pay homage to 

the Orodje is worrisome, Okpe 

is a very big kingdom, when 

we were in Bendel state we 

were number two, suddenly, 

we went into oblivion. The 

Okpe people need to do something 

to bring ourselves back 

to reckoning" 

On his performance since 

assuming office, Ukoko listed 

a number of projects saying 

government is a continuity "the 

road that will link Ugborhen 

to Amukpe community, the 

project is ongoing, we've done 

the survey and the scope is on. 

On Sapele Okpe community 

breaking out from Seplat 

GMOU, the President said 

"We don't have any problem 

with Seplat, this is the first 

time Okpe can have their own 

thing. Okpe produce more 

than 65percent of Seplat assets 

apart from Imo state, 

Seplat should bring whatever 

that belongs to Okpe to the 

Okpe forum because it will 

help us to develop." 

UWEM 

I, formerly known as ISSAC, 

EDITH UWEM . Now wish 

to be known as MENDIE, 

EDITH MATHIAS. All 


name remain valid. The general 


GODBLESS 

I, formerly known as OGHONYON 

JAYETA . Now wish to be known 

as OGHONYON JAYETA 

GODBLESS. All documents 

bearing my former name remain 

valid. The general public take note. 

FRED 

I, formerly known as MISS FRED 

RITA, Now wish to be known and 

addressed as MRS. SABASTINE 

RITA. All former documents remain 

valid, any Authority concerned and 

the General public to please take 

note.

30 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 

My marriage is being 

threatened by my ex 

IGOT married a couple of 

years ago to the man of 

my dream. But after the 

marriage, instead of moving 

on with my new life like I had 

planned, my ex came back 

into the picture. He texted to 

tell me how happy he was for 

me, but instead of that being 

the end of it, we decided to 

meet up for some ‘closure’ 

and found ourselves in bed 

together. My husband 

suspected something was 

going on and kicked me out. 

I started to make things 

work with my ex but, within 

months, he showed his true 

colours, once again, and I 

realised I had made a terrible 

mistake. I pleaded with my 

husband for months and he 

eventually took me back, and 

I moved away with him to his 

new job in another state. Now 

I find myself thinking 

constantly about my ex, 

sometimes even crying while 

my husband is asleep right 

next to me. 

I feel like I’m trapped by 

being madly in love with my 

ex, even as I know he is a rat 

and bad for me. And then I 

go to bed with this amazing 

man I’m privileged enough to 

call my husband. I am beyond 

confused. I need help. 

Amaka, by e-mail. 

Dear Amaka, 

I don’t think you’re madly 

in love with your ex, it’s the 

excitement and drama that 

keeps pulling you back. It’s 

almost as if you’re addicted to 

it. You gave it another go with 

this selfish ex of yours and 

realised pretty quickly that he 

was an ex for a reason. Stop 

thinking romantically and 

imagine what would happen 

if your husband kicks you out 

again. 

He won’t take you back a 

second time. What exactly do 

My pregnant wife refuses to stop 

smoking 

Dear Bunmi, 

AFTER just a few years 

of trying, my wife is 

finally pregnant and we are 

both overjoyed. The problem 

is that we both smoke. I’ve 

offered to give up smoking to 

encourage her to stop, for the 

health of the baby, but she 

doesn’t seem to have the willpower. 

She also doesn’t 

believe smoking can 

adversely affect our unborn 

baby, as smokers have given 

birth to healthy babies over the 

years. 

Gbade, by e-mail. 

Dear Gbade, 

Nicotine addiction can 

definitely affect the health of 

Dear Bunmi, 

FOR over 15 years, I’ve 

been trying to get into 

the good books of my motherin-law, 

but I’ve come to the 

end of my tethers. She’s never 

liked me and has never 

bothered to hide the fact. 

In her opinion, I’m not good 

enough for her son, neither 

am I good enough to be the 

mother of her grand children. 

I’ve tried ignoring her, 

buttering her up or keeping 

a new-born child. When a 

woman smokes during 

pregnancy, it has been 

discovered that she’s more 

likely to experience vomiting, 

urinary tract infection and 

thrush. 

It has also been proved that 

smoking leads to an increased 

risk of spontaneous abortion 

and chances of 

haemorrhaging, during 

pregnancy. Also, babies of 

smoking mums are on 

average 70g/200g lighter at 

birth. Also, carbon monoxide 

contained in inhaled cigarette 

smoke reduces the oxygen 

carried in a foetus by 40 per 

cent. This affects the baby’s 

growth. 

A low birth-weight baby is 

more likely to require special 

care or even support, or 

you think is going to be 

different with your ex this 

time? He’s going to show his 

true colours again, and you’ll 

be back to square one. He 

won’t trust you either. If you 

could treat the man you vowed 

to love like that, what are the 

chances you won’t do the 

same to him? 

Try to think back to when you 

met your husband and why you 

got together. I bet it’s because 

he’s everything your ex isn’t. I 

think you’ve been very lucky 

that he’s stood on his pride and 

taken you back. If he hadn’t, 

you wouldn’t be thinking about 

your ex now, you’d be 

devastated about losing your 

husband and thinking of ways 

to win him back. If you don’t 

love your husband, that’s 

different. But if it’s just that 

you’re craving some 

excitement, you can work on 

that. Your husband must have 

excited you at some point, or 

you wouldn’t have married 

him. 

My mother-in-law needs to be put in her 

place 

out of her way. Nothing 

worked. My husband says 

she doesn’t mean any harm 

but I know she does. How can 

I put her in her place? 

Franka, by e-mail. 

Dear Franka, 

If I were to be honest with 

you, I would tell you that your 

chances of changing your 

mother-in-law were slim, but 

you could change your 

attitude towards her, which 

should help. 

See her for the pathetic, 

problems such as breathing 

difficulties. 

Apart from a high risk of 

premature birth, each 

cigarette that a pregnant 

woman smokes reduces blood 

flow through the placenta for 

15 minutes, raising the baby’s 

heart rate. 

Findings also revealed that 

women who smoke during 

pregnancy put their babies at 

increased risk of developing 

diabetes and cardiovascular 

diseases in later life. 

However, the good news is 

that the earlier in pregnancy a 

pregnant smoker stops, the 

lower the risk of any long term 

damage. 

If she stops within the first 

three months, her chances of 

having a low-weight baby are 

similar to that of a non-smoker. 

insecure person she is, and 

recognise that she is no threat 

to the happy family you and 

your husband have built. 

At the moment, you’re a 

little bit afraid of her, but 

what you don’t realise is that 

you hold all the aces. No 

matter what she does, be 

nice to her because you are 

a happy person who can’t be 

bothered to hold a grudge. 

There may be a miracle and 

she may change. If she 

doesn’t, you’ll still be a 

winner. 

Should I make the move? 

Dear 

I 

Bunmi, 

’VE fallen in love with an 

older undergraduate in 

the university. We meet from 

time to time, but always in the 

midst of people, but he is 

friendly. He hasn’t really said 

he loves me or asked me out. 

A girlfriend said he’s 

confided in her that he fancies 

me but couldn’t do anything 

about it, as he has a steady 

girlfriend. Should I make a 

play for him and try to steal 

him from his girl? After all, all 

is fair in love and war! 

Franka, by e-mail. 

Dear Franka, 

He’s blackmailing me after we 

made love 

Dear Bunmi, 

I 

AM in my mid-20s and 

have been friends with 

Sharon since our secondary 

school days. She's a lot prettier 

than I am and has no difficulty 

getting boyfriends. I, on the other 

hand, am the reserved type, 

though I’ve had my share of 

boyfriends. 

Late last year, we met a 

marketer (video) at a party and, 

of course, it was Sharon he 

fancied. He, however, 

encouraged both of us to drop by 

at his main office and pick 

whatever video we fancied on the 

house. 

I work on the Island and, while 

doing my Christmas shopping, 

I went to his office to see what 

tapes I could get to give as gifts 

to friends. Chike, the chap, was 

in his office and asked that I 

should come in to see some 

current tapes he just bought. He 

urged me to pick as many as 10! 

I was doing that with his help 

when he started complimenting 

my looks, and he said I had great 

boobs, as my friend’s were far too 

small. I was elated. Sharon had 

always had the compliments but 

now, this Chike actually 

preferred me. 

He was a fast mover and, in 

minutes, he’d locked his office 

Did I read him wrong? 

Dear Bunmi, 

NOT too long ago, I started 

seeing a man who is 

handsome, loving and kind. In 

fact, everything I like in a man. 

I totally fell for him and was 

convinced we had a future 

together. We went out together 

and everything was fine. 

Nothing happened between us 

in the first couple of dates, apart 

from a few kisses on the cheek 

and a hug. 

I was ready to take things a little 

farther, but I wasn’t prepared for 

what happened the next time I 

saw him. He parked his car at a 

quiet spot and begged me to give 

him the oral job. I was shocked! 

I told him I’d rather get to know 

him better, as we’d only been 

seeing each other a few weeks, 

and he got annoyed. I suggested 

we could do it another time. But 

Are you sure you’re not 

confusing love with 

infatuation? You don’t really 

know this man or the depth 

of his commitment to his 

steady. If he really wants you 

that badly, he would have 

thrown caution to the wind. 

Stay friendly with him by all 

means, but go out with other 

men. Who knows, he might 

become available with time. 

Then and only then can you 

find out if you could be really 

compatible. Trying to steal 

him may be embarrassing in 

the end, if he doesn’t fall into 

your scheme. 

door and was kissing me 

aggressively. In a flash, he pulled 

down my panties, expertly 

whipping a condom out of his 

pocket. He then made love to me. 

I couldn’t blame him really and 

I didn’t know I was hurting 

Sharon as she had loads of men 

panting after her, until she 

confessed she was in love with 

him. I was guiltridden. So, when 

next Chike showed up at my 

office, asking when I could come 

to select some of the new videos 

in his shop and slyly asked that 

we had a repeat performance of 

what happened the last time, I 

told him to get lost. 

He looked really annoyed and 

said if I didn’t show up, he would 

tell my friend that we’d slept 

together. I hope he’s bluffing. 

But what if he isn’t? 

Sanmi, by e-mail. 

Dear Sanmi, 

I wouldn’t rush to my friend to 

confess, if I were you. But you 

should have a defence ready for 

when this scumbag makes good 

his threat. It is bad enough that 

you made a bad error of judgment 

by having this needless fling, but 

you shouldn’t be made to suffer 

for it. 

If the worst happened and he 

spilled the beans, then your 

friend would, at least, know the 

type of man she’s lumbered with. 

now I’m not so sure. Do you think 

he’s trying to use me? 

Foluke, by e-mail. 

Dear Foluke, 

It certainly sounds as though 

he is more interested in love 

making than in you as a person. 

Your reluctance to have your 

first intimate encounter with 

him in the stuffy surrounding 

of a car is entirely 

understandable, especially as 

you hardly know the man. 

Could he be married and not 

free to take you to his place.? 

Cool things down by telling 

him that you don’t feel ready 

for any sort of love making with 

him yet. If he cannot accept that 

and is not prepared to buildup 

an emotional relationship 

with you first, he’s not the man 

for you. 

Share your problems and release 

your burden. Write now to 

Dear Bunmi, 

Vanguard Newspapers, 

P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, or 

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

Falcons land in America for 

Summer Series 

Nine –time African 

champions Nigeria 

have arrived in the United 

States of America for this 

year’s Summer Series – a 4- 

Nation Tournament also 

involving hosts USA, 

Jamaica and Portugal’s ‘A’ 

Women Teams. 

A contingent of Nigeria – 

based technical crew and 

nine home –based 

professionals flew aboard a 

Delta Airlines’ flight on the 

long haul from Lagos to 

Atlanta and arrived in the 

capital of the State of 

Georgia on Tuesday 

morning. They were aboard 

another flight from Atlanta 

to Houston, in the State of 

Texas, hours after. 

The team’s Head Coach, 

Randy Waldrum, an 

American, and a number of 

overseas –based players are 

expected to join up with the 

squad in Houston ahead of 

Nigeria’s first match of the 

series against Jamaica at 

the BBVA Stadium on 

Thursday. Three days later, 

the Falcons, one of only 

seven teams to have featured 

in every edition of the FIFA 

Women’s World Cup finals 

since the competition was 

Euro 2020 

Lions ready to 

roar as Keane 

tips Rashford, 

Sterling to 

‘explode’ 

MARCUS RASHFORD 

and Raheem Sterling 

are set to ‘explode’ into life 

for England at this summer’s 

European Championship, 

according to Roy Keane. 

Both Three Lions stars 

endured a slight slump in 

form last season. 

Sterling, 26, scored just ten 

goals - less than half of his 

2019-20 - tally, with 

emerging superstar Phil 

Foden often preferred by Pep 

Guardiola. 

Rashford, too, saw his goalscoring 

tally dip from 17 to 

11 in the Premier League. 

But Manchester United 

icon Keane reckons that 

bodes well for England with 

Rashford, 23, and Sterling set 

to take out their frustrations 

on their Euro 2020 rivals. 

Keane said: “Sometimes 

you look at players who have 

had a quiet spell - quiet 

because they’ve set such high 

standards. 

“Rashford and Sterling, for 

example. 

“But I think that is a good 

thing. You’re going into the 

tournament going ‘these 

lads are ready to explode’. 

“Gareth [Southgate] 

definitely likes Rashford and 

Sterling.” 

However, Southgate has a 

dilemma on his hands with 

a plethora of attacking talent 

at his disposal. 

launched 30 years ago, will 

tackle Portugal at the same 

BBVA. Their last match is 

against the USA squad, 

four-time winners of the 

FIFA World Cup and fourtime 

winners of the Olympic 

football gold, at the Q2 

Stadium on 16th June. 

Matches will be played at 

the BBVA Stadium in 

After what could be 

described as a lavish 

vacation in the Emirate city 

of Dubai, former Nigerian 

international Odion Ighalo 

and his mother have 

returned to the country. 

The ex-Super Eagles 

forward inspired his Saudi 

Arabian outfit Al-Shabab to 

finish second on the Pro 

League standings at the justconcluded 

season. The 31- 

year-old inspired the club 

with two goals as they 

defeated Al-Wehda 3-0 in the 

final game of the season in 

Novak Djokovic insists 

he does not copy 

Rafael Nadal on clay, as their 

potential semi-final 

showdown became closer to 

reality after both players 

progressed through to the 

quarter-finals Monday. 

Djokovic has faced Nadal 

eight times at Roland 

Garros, winning just once. 

However, the Serb will be 

adopting his own tactics if 

the Nadal match comes to 

fruition. 

“It’s always good to catch 

certain details from your 

rivals,” Djokovic said. “Rafa 

and I have a completely 

different style of play, so I 

don’t try to copy his game or 

anything like that on any 

Falcons 

Houston and at the brandnew, 

$240million Q2 

Stadium in Austin built by 

the newest club in the Major 

League Soccer, Austin FC. 

Both cities are in the State 

of Texas and the clash 

between the Super Falcons 

and the US Women A team 

will be the first-ever football 

match at the state-of-the-art 

Q2. 

French Open: ‘I don’t copy 

Nadal on clay – Djokovic 

*As semi final clash beckons 

surface.” 

“I have my own authentic 

style that I have developed 

over the years, but definitely 

when you watch Nadal play 

on clay, there is always 

something you can learn 

from.” 

“I consider myself a student 

of this sport. I can always 

learn something not only 

from him, but from any 

player on the circuit,” he 

added. “I always have an 

open mind every time I 

watch tennis.” 

Djokovic holds a 29-28 

lead in the head-to-head 

against Nadal, but the 

Spaniard has had the upper 

hand on clay in recent years, 

winning the last five 

meetings. 

Super Eagles new boy 

Terem Moffi has 

admitted he was 

nervous to be on the same 

pitch with some of the 

country’s top stars, while 

also speaking on the first 

message he received from 

coach Gernot Rohr. 

The FC Lorient striker 

made his Super Eagles 

debut as a second half sub 

for Paul Onuachu in a 1-0 

loss to Cameroon Friday 

night in Austria. 

“At first, I was really 

nervous sharing the same 

pitch with the likes of 

(Kelechi) Iheanacho, 

(Wilfred) Ndidi and Alex 

Iwobi because I didn’t 

know what to expect,” he 

said. 

“We then had two training 

sessions and I did well, so 

far everyone has been 

helpful.” 

The 22-year-old striker 

also narrated getting a 

message on Whatsapp from 

coach Rohr after he had 

fired a hat-trick against 

Ighalo’s mother returns home in private 

jet after lavish vacation in Dubai 

the Saudi topflight. 

He finished the season playing 13 matches, 

scoring 9 and providing 3 assists to wrap up the 

campaign in style 

and then head for 

holidays alongside 

his mother. Ighalo 

was earlier seen 

helping his mother 

on a cruise boat in 

Dubai in what 

could be described 

as a lavish vacation 

as the player 

captioned the clip 

‘she is my Queen, I 

will do anything for 

her’. 

Nadal-Djokovic 


Moffi: I was nervous to 

share same pitch with 

Iheanacho, Ndidi 

Ighalo and his mother 

Olympiacos 

contact 

Monaco over 

Onyekuru’s 

transfer 

Olympiacos 

have 

contacted AS 

Monaco over the transfer of 

Henry Onyekuru, who they 

described as “top priority”. 

The media in Greece 

report that Olympiacos 

have not wasted any time 

to contact Monaco for the 

forward. 

Onyekuru still has a 

contract with Monaco until 

the summer of 2024, but 

last season he was already 

loaned to Galatarasay. 

Onyekuru was taken over 

by Monaco from Everton in 

2019, but he has failed to 

tie down a first-team place 

at the Ligue 1 club. 

Olympiacos could be a 

great platform for the 

winger after they became 

runaway champions last 

season and will feature in 

the preliminary rounds of 

the Champions League. 

Onyekuru 

Bordeaux in the French 

Ligue 1 and he had to take 

his time before he replied 

it. 

Mayweather 

“It was an honour for the 

national team coach to 

contact me because it’s not 

everybody who gets a 

message from the coach,” 

he said. 

Mayweather 

unlikely to pocket 

$100m payday from 

Paul fight 

Floyd Mayweather is unlikely to 

pocket the $100m payday 

predicted from his recent fight 

Mayweather, 44, took on Logan Paul 

in an eight-round exhibition in Miami 

on Sunday 

Mayweather claimed he could earn 

as much as $100million (£71m) in 

total from the fight, while Paul 

reportedly was set to earn in the 

region of $26m (£14m) when 

PPV figures and everything 

else was accounted for. 

However, Dave Meltzer, an 

American journalist whose 

calculations of pay-per-view 

buys are well respected in 

boxing, has estimated that Mayweather v Paul garnered 

between 600,000 and 650,000 buys, although figures at 

this early stage are a very rough estimate. 

Mayweather is understood to be entitled to 50 per cent of 

the PPV buys for the event - priced at $49.99 (£35) in the 

States - equating to roughly $16.5m (£11.6m). 

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 

chosen for Joshua-Usyk Sept. bout 

Anthony Joshua is set to 

finally appear at 

Tottenham Hotspur 

Stadium, with his 

upcoming bout against 

former cruiserweight king 

Oleksandr Usyk expected 

to take place at the 63,000- 

seat arena in London. 

Following the collapse in 

talks between AJ and 

fellow heavyweight 

champion Tyson Fury, 

Joshua was ordered to face 

Usyk, who is the current 

Moffi and Iheanacho 

Usyk and Joshua 

mandatory challenger for 

the WBO heavyweight 

title. 

The bout between Joshua 

and Usyk is currently 

slated for September, and 

the 63,000-seat venue has 

been chosen as the 

preferred arena for the 

contest. 

This comes a year after 

Joshua had agreed to face 

Kubrat Pulev at the 

Tottenham Hotspur 

Stadium.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION 

Sudoku 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER 

ACROSS 

1 Fundamentals (6) 

4 Shrewd (6) 

8 Meadow (5) 

9 Stretchy (7) 

10 Full (7) 

11 Amalgamate (5) 

12 Unconventional type (9) 

17 Of the nose (5) 

19 Of less weight (7) 

21 Make clear (7) 

22 Oak nut (5) 

23 Miscellaneous (6) 

24 Ball game (6) 

DOWN 

1 In front of (6) 

2 Spire (7) 

3 Scrounge (5) 

5 Speech defect (7) 

6 Say (5) 

7 Go beyond (6) 

9 For ever (9) 

13 Coal miner (7) 

14 Reduce (3,4) 

15 Light meals (6) 

16 Dried plums (6) 

18 European country (5) 

20 Fruit of vine (5) 

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. 

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

08027767834; 01-4544821. Abuja office: 7, Dambata Close, Area 7, Garki, 09-2921024. Ikeja office: 73, Awolowo Way. V.I. Office: Murplus Plaza, 27, Sanusi Fafunwa Street. Asaba: 21, Anwai 

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09062021 - Malami’ll decide prosecution of Adeboye, Kumuyi, others

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