22112022

I’ll wipe out B/ 

9 

Haram, revive 

businesses, says 

Atiku at campaign 

in Gombe 

2023: CAN, 

Sultan warn 

against 

electoral 

violence 

9 

How crude oil 

thieves used 

technology to 

lay pipelines 

– MELE KYARI 

25 

Why Kano-Maradi 

Rail Project 14 

controversy is 

unnecessary 

—Amaechi,ex-Minister 

W-Bank to FG: Strengthen fiscal mgt, remove subsidy, create unified forex rate 

8 

VOL. 39: NO. 9,928 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022 

GLOBACOM FESTIVAL OF JOY PROMO... 

L-R: Globacom’s 

Regional Manager, 

Mid West, Augustus- 

Ndu Offor; winner of 

a brand new Kia car, 

Enakpomu Harrison; 

Head of Service, Edo 

State Government, 

Anthony Okungbowa, 

and Zonal Director, 

National Lottery 

R e g u l a t o r y 

Commission, Mr. 

Anselm Ejiogu, at the 

presentation of prizes 

to winners of the 

Globacom Festival of 

Joy Promo, held in 

Benin City, yesterday. 

2023: APC, opposition parties bicker 

over digital vote-buying allegations 5 

•APC planning to transfer cash to 10 m voters — OPPOSITION PARTIES •Allege ruling party has 

harvested voters' bank accounts for digital vote buying•Pass vote of confidence in INEC Chairman, 

•Opposition parties spreading rumours to malign Tinubu, says APC PCC 

STATE OF 

THE NATION: 

Osuntokun, 

Adebanjo, 

Obiozor, 

8 

Baba Ahmed, 

others chart 

way forward 

Kogi no longer 

safe for 

criminals 

— IGP 16 

LAUNCH OF SIGNATURE BANK IN ABUJA... 

11 

From left: Mr Shedrach Odoh, Non-Executive Director, Signature Bank; Mrs Nonye Ayeni, Managing 

Director, Signature Bank; Mr Mutiu Sunmonu, CON, Chairman, Signature Bank; Dr Alex Otti, OFR, Founder; 

Mr Frank Anumele, Executive Director;Mr Uzoma Nwankwo, Independent Non-Executive Director; and 

Alhaji Tijani Ahmed Borodo, Independent Non-Executive Director; at the launch of Signature Bank in 

Abuja, yesterday. 

COLUMNISTS SOLA EBISENI 19 DAKUKU 19 ERIC TENIOLA 18 

Failed NNPP/LP 

merger talks: 

I didn't offer 9 

Kwankwaso 

N40bn to step 

down for me —Obi 

Mr & Mrs

2 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022

Vanguard, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022 — 3



over digital vote-buying allegations 

By Henry Umoru & 

Omeiza Ajayi 

THE ruling All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, and the Coalition 

of United Political 

Parties, CUPP, were at 

each other’s throats, yesterday, 

over allegations of 

digital vote buying, codenamed 

Operation Wire 

Wire to influence the outcome 

of the 2023 general 

polls. 

Specifically, the CUPP, 

raised the alarm that the 

APC had concluded plans 

to transfer cash to voters 

via harvested bank accounts, 

a digital vote-buying 

method. 

The opposition parties 

said the 2023 polls is in 

potential danger if the 

alleged moves by APC to 

unleash operation wirewire 

(digital vote buying) 

were not nipped in the 

bud now, just as they said 

that over 20 APC states 

had harvested 10m bank 

accounts to transfer money 

to voters on election 

day. 

Addressing journalists, 

in Abuja, the CUPP 

spokesperson, Ikenga 

Imo Ugochinyere, said the 

new plot of digital vote 

buying would see to the 

APC harvest names, account 

numbers, and Voters 

Identification Numbers, 

Bank Verification 

Numbers of citizens, arranged 

in tables for each 

polling unit on the understanding 

that money 

would be sent to each person 

by electronic means to 

purchase their votes. 

•APC planning to transfer cash to 10m voters — 

Opposition parties •Allege ruling party has harvested 

voters' bank accounts for digital vote buying•Pass vote of 

confidence in INEC Chairman, Yakubu•Opposition parties 

spreading rumours to malign Tinubu, says APC PCC 

PDP, others 

spreading rumours 

to malign 

Tinubu — PCC 

In a quick counter yesterday, 

APC Presidential 

Campaign Council, PCC, 

accused the CUPP and 

the main opposition Peoples 

Democratic Party, 

PDP, of spreading wicked 

rumours to portray the 

APC standard bearer, Asiwaju 

Bola Tinubu, in bad 

light. 

"If you believe this, you 

will believe anything. 

This is a mere rumour 

concocted by the PDP and 

surrogate CUPP to malign 

our candidate. We are 

working hard to win this 

election landslide," said 

Bayo Onanuga, Director, 

Media and Publicity, APC 

PCC. 

We have intercepted 

APC’s 

plans — CUPP 

However, Ugochinyere, 

who noted that CUPP had 

intercepted the plan by 

the APC to carry out digital 

vote buying, claimed 

that information available 

to it showed that bank 

details of over 10 million 

voters had been harvested 

by agents of the ruling 

party nationwide, using 

different platforms. 

He alleged that plot was 

hatched soon after the 

Central Bank of Nigeria, 

CBN, announced the 

Naira redesign policy. 

Ugochinyere said: “This 

plot, which has now received 

the approval at the 

highest level of the APC 

and its Presidential Campaign 

Council, was designed 

in Imo State and 

exported to 21 other states 

of the federation. 

''It requires the party’s 

agents harvesting names, 

account numbers and Voters 

Identification Numbers, 

Bank Verification 

Numbers of citizens and 

arranged in tables for 

each polling unit on the 

understanding that money 

will be sent to each 

person by electronic 

means to purchase their 

votes. 

"In Imo and Ebonyi 

states, this plot is being 

executed under the platform 

of Support Group 

Coordination, South-East, 

while in other parts of the 

South-East, like in Abia, 

Enugu and Anambra, it is 

being executed as APC 

Empowerment Form. 

''In Katsina State and 

other parts of the North- 

West, the plot is being 

executed under the Citizens 

Grassroots Farmers 

Association; in Ekiti State, 

Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello with IGP Alkali Baba, during the IG’s visit 

to Lokoja, Kogi State, yesterday. 

Resurgence of kidnapping in the South West 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022 — 5 

POCKET CARTOON 

By Esther Onyegbula 

they are operating under 

the Ekiti Development 

Front, EDF. 

''In the North-Central, 

Operation Wire-Wire is 

being executed under the 

North-Central Women for 

Tinubu. In Cross River 

State, the details are harvested 

under the Forum 

of Tinubu Support 

Groups. In the rest of the 

country, the APC is harvesting 

details using the 

Vote Canvassing Form." 

''Consequently, the 

CUPP has called on banks 

and security agencies to 

work together by identifying 

the illegal transactions 

in the banks and reporting 

same to the security 

agencies for immediate 

prosecution. 

The CUPP released 

many leaked documents 

that show the harvested 

names and bank accounts 

for the digital vote buying 

in those states. 

"Further intelligence we 

have has intercepted the 

ruling party's desperation 

to emerge victorious by 

any means necessary, including 

digital vote buying, 

which is code-named 

Operation Wire-Wire. 

This operation, the APC 

designed immediately after 

the announcement by 

the CBN on redesigning 

the Naira. 

''This plot has now received 

approval at the 

highest level of the APC, 

and its campaign councils. 

It was also designed 

in Imo State and exported 

to 21 other states of the 

federation, it require the 

party harvesting names, 

account numbers, and 

Voters Identification 

Numbers, Bank Verification 

Numbers of citizens 

and arranged in tables for 

each polling units on the 

understanding that money 

will be sent to each 

person by electronic 

means to purchase their 

votes. 

''This is a huge threat to 

the credibility and outcome 

of the 2023 general 

election, and it is against 

the provisions of the Electoral 

Act. 

"Let us again start with 

what happened in Imo 

State in Oru East, and 

Oru West axis, especially 

Awomama, where the following 

account numbers, 

voters details, and other 

personal details have 

been harvested into the 

payment schedule and 

waiting for payment instructions. 

"Nigerians will be hurt 

if this election can be sold 

and bought like crayfish 

in the ordinary market. 

We call on the staff of 

banks to give us informa- 

Continues on Page 27 

L agos-Ibadan 

Expressway is the only 

route that links Lagos with 

other states and if urgent 

attention is not given to the 

security situation on that 

axis, Lagosians may be cut 

off from other parts of the 

country as no one would be 

able to travel on that route 

because of the fear of 

kidnapping. 

— - A y o d e l e 

Olalere, Journalist 

Luckily the region has 

not been pretending 

when it comes to insecurity. 

The miscreants operating in 

the region are not spirits, we 

only need the political will of 

the government to pick them 

up and investigate their 

network because this is one 

of the most economically 

viable highways in Nigeria 

— - D a y o 

Emmanuel, Media 

Practitioner 

The 

Southwest 

governors should 

take the bull by the horn 

and do all that is 

necessary to arrest the 

rising insecurity in the 

region. Police and other 

security agencies should 

be mobilized and 

motivated to keep 24- 

hour security surveillance 

in the region. 

— - S t e p h a n i e 

Agbaje, Entrepreneur 

The security situation in 

the Southwest shows the 

level of hypocrisy of the APC 

government. Southwest 

governors are not willing to 

address the issue because 

they are looking for support 

from Fulani cabals. Nigerians 

have been surrounded by evil 

people and secured by the 

same evil people. Where is 

safety? 

—Shaykh 

Al- 

Faedooni, Politician 

Unfortunately, 

our 

leaders are busy with 

the 2023 election. The 

failure of the national 

security architecture is 

glaring. The security 

breakdown in the North 

should serve as a warning 

to the Southwest. They 

should act quick before it 

becomes too late. 

— H o p e 

Nworah, Security 

consultant 

The Southwest is not 

safe; It has been 

invaded by bandits and 

kidnappers. I suggest that 

drones should be deployed 

to the zone especially the 

Lagos-Ibadan Expressway 

for proper monitoring. The 

bandits are in the bushes 

and can be flushed out 

with new technology. 

—Raymond 

Tedunjaye, Publisher

6 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022 

Ondo hair stylist 

poisons self 

after being jilted 

by boyfriend 

By Dayo Johnson 

AKURE—DOCTORS at the 

State Specialist Hospital, in 

Akure, the Ondo State capital, are 

battling to revive a 23-year-old hair stylist, 

Tunrayo Balogun, who reportedly 

poisoned herself, after her boyfriend jilted 

her. 

Vanguard gathered that the victim 

drank the poisonous substance, 

suspected to be Sniper, after her 

boyfriend reportedly informed her that 

he was no longer interested in the 

relationship. 

Tunrayo was said to have rushed to 

their residence, located at ljapo Estate, 

in the Akure metropolis, where she 

consumed the poisonous substance. 

A family source hinted that her mother, 

who returned from an outing, met her 

wringing in pain on the floor. 

The mother was said to have seen an 

empty bottle of the sniper in her hands 

and thereafter rushed her to the state 

specialist hospital with the assistance of 

her neighbours. 

Vanguard gathered that doctors have 

been battling to revive her since she was 

rushed to the hospital. 

Speaking with newsmen, one of the 

victim's friends, who identified herself as 

Yetunde, said that Tunrayo suddenly 

withdrew from her friends when she met 

the new boyfriend. 

" We were very close before she met this 

new boyfriend. But Tunrayo suddenly 

withdrew and became attached to the 

lover boy. 

Hospital detains 

14 yr-old -boy 

over N1.6 m 

medical bill 

By Steve Oko 

A 

14-year-old boy, ThankGod 

Nwachukwu, knocked down by 

a hit-and-run motorcyclist, last year, 

while returning from band practice in a 

church, is being detained at the Holy 

Child Orthopedic Hospital, Agbani 

Road, Enugu, following the inability of 

the parents to pick up his medical bill. 

His father, a Pastor with the 

Assemblies of God Church, Amita 

Isiagu, in Ebonyi State, Paul 

Nwachukwu, said the family needs N1.6 

million to defray the medical bill of his 

son. 

Narrating his ordeal to Vanguard, the 

father of six said that the family had 

gone through unpleasant moments 

since the ugly incident happened a year 

ago. 

He said that his son, a JS 2 student of 

Echele Amita Secondary School Isiagu, was 

knocked down by a hit-and-run motorcyclist 

on November 6, 2021, while the boy was 

returning from band practice in the church. 

According to him, the motorcyclist who 

was said to be driving without a light fled the 

scene after 

shattering 

the ankle 

bone of the 

victim. 

" W e 

l a t e r 

found him 

( t h e 

motorcyclist) 

but he 

said he 

had no 

father and 

mother 

and has 

not been 

able to 

make any 

financial 

contribution 

for my 

s o n ' s 

treatment", 

•The victim, the Pastor 

ThankGod. agonised. 

:Vanguard 

News 

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

DONATION—From left: Principal, Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind, Chigozie 

Asogwa; student, Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind, David Uzodinma; Group 

Corporate Communications and Event Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc., Tope Ashiwaju; 

student, Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind, Ejiro Ajaboron, and Executive 

Secretary, Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind, Mayowa Oke, during Dufil's 

donation of educational aid equipment to the society, in Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez. 

Poisoned food claims 11 lives in 

Benue 

By Peter Duru 

MAKURDI—AT least 11 

persons have reportedly died 

of food poisoning in Ikobi Community, 

Apa Local Government Area of Benue 

State. 

It was gathered that the victims lost 

their lives after consuming food that was 

contaminated with harmful chemicals. 

It was also gathered that those who 

died in a space of one week included Adi 

Ale, Ochefije Ojo, Maria Ojo, Aipu 

Ochefije and Aboyi Ochefije. 

Others are Mary Ochoyoda and Ehi 

Abu, Blessing Abu, Peace Ochoyoda, 

Ojochono Daniel and Favour Edoh. ““A 

source, who spoke on condition of 

anonymity, disclosed that while six of 

the victims died in one day, five others 

died a few days after. 

He disclosed that one of the bereaved 

Gunmen abduct ex-Akeredolu's aide, 

demand N100m ransom 

By Dayo Johnson, 

Kingsley Omonobi & 

Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo 

A 

former Senior Special Assistant 

to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of 

Ondo State , Mr. Richard Omosehin, 

has been abducted by gunmen at his 

Igbekebo residence, in Ese Odo Council 

area of the state. 

Meanwhile, the state police 

command, which confirmed the 

abduction, said it had begun a search 

for the victims while an investigation 

into the matter had commenced. 

A family source told Vanguard that 

the former governor's aide was 

kidnapped on Friday. 

According to him: "Richard, a strong 

leader of the APC was kidnapped by six 

gunmen, who came to the community 

on a speed boat and went to his private 

house where he was dragged into the 

boat and they sped off. 

The incident happened at about 2 am 

on Saturday. Immediately, people 

invited the police but by the time the 

policemen arrived at the place the 

kidnappers have taken the man (victim) 

away. 

Meanwhile, the monarch of Igbekebo 

town, Oba Simon Dabo, said on a radio 

programme, monitored yesterday that 

"the victim was allowed to call his wife 

from the den of the kidnappers and the 

bandits had demanded a sum of N100 

million for his release. 

family members, Ochoyoda Abu, lost 

his wife (Mary), two sisters (Ehi and 

Blessing) and a daughter (Peace) in the 

unfortunate incident. 

He said: "It is a sad moment for us all 

in Ikobi. Initially, people didn't 

understand what was going on when 

the people started dying until it was 

discovered that all those who died ate 

the meal that came from the same 

source which had been preserved with 

chemicals. 

"Our findings showed that one of the 

victims had cooked for people to eat and 

also given out part of the corn flour she 

got from a neighbour's house to some 

other persons for food. Unfortunately, 

almost everyone who ate out of food that 

was made from flour died in the tragedy. 

"When the incident happened experts 

from the state Ministry of Health were 

immediately sent in to investigate the 

strange deaths though the result of the 

investigation is not yet out but we know 

it was poison because all those who 

partook in the food are either dead or 

narrowly escaped death after being 

treated in the hospital. " 

Contacted, the Benue State Police Public 

Relations Officer, Catherine Anene. who 

confirmed the tragedy explained that 

"about three months ago there was a case 

of someone who died of food poisoning 

at a particular house in the Ikobi 

community. 

Few months after the incident, precisely 

on the 14 of this month (November) a 

woman who is possibly a family member 

of the deceased went to the house of the 

deceased to clean up the house and in the 

process found food stuff there which she 

brought to her house to cook. 

Unfortunately, after cooking the 

food she served some people and after 

eating the food, twelve people 

suffered illness and were taken to 

hospital but seven of them died and 

the other five who were rushed to the 

hospital for treatment survived. An 

investigation is still ongoing. 

•Security operatives rescue 76 abducted passengers from terrorists 

in Kaduna •2 Boko Haram commanders, 47 others from Sambisa 

forest surrender 

Contacted, the state police 

imagemaker, Funmi Odunlami, who 

confirmed the abduction said efforts 

were ongoing to release the victim 

unhurt. 

Odunlami said: "We are already 

making efforts to rescue the victim and 

an investigation had begun." 

Meanwhile, the Kaduna state police 

command says 76 kidnap victims have 

been rescued by security operatives in 

Giwa LGA of the state. 

Mohammed Jalige, the spokesperson 

of the command, said the victims were 

passengers from Sabon Birni LGA of 

Sokoto State. 

Jalige said the passengers were 

travelling to different destinations. 

"On November 18, at about 2300hrs, 

the Divisional Police Headquarters in 

Giwa received reports that a large 

number of bandits blocked a section of 

Funtua-Zaria Road at Gulbala area of 

Giwa LGA and abducted many 

commuters,” the police spokesperson 

said. 

On the strength of the report, a 

combined team of police and military 

were immediately mobilised to the 

location with clear directives to 

dismantle the road blockade, root out 

the armed miscreants and rescue any 

victims they may have abducted. 

On reaching the location, a Ford open 

truck with plate number. APP 667 XG, 

was found and information garnered 

had it that a large number of passengers 

on the truck were moved off the road by 

the bandits. 

"This development engendered an 

immediate search and rescue operation 

by the operatives into the adjourning forest. 

In the process, the bandits were 

encountered and by the sheer force of 

firepower, pressure mounted on them by 

the security operatives." 

The police spokesperson said the 

bandits were forced to “abort their 

nefarious mission and take to flight with 

injuries.” 

He said the 76 passengers abducted by 

the bandits were rescued after security 

operatives combed the forest for several 

hours. 

Jalige said security operatives are still 

searching for the driver of the truck and 

two other missing passengers. 

Yekini Ayoku, the Kaduna State Police 

Commissioner, was quoted as saying the 

rescue effort was achieved through the 

collaboration of the security agencies. 

“On Sunday, two Notorious 

Commanders of Jama'at Ahl as-Sunnah 

lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihad, terrorist group 

(Boko Haram), Ba'a Usman (Munzir) 

and Alhaji Ari (Nakib), surrendered to 

troops of Operation Hadin Kai. 

They surrendered with 47 other 

members of the terrorist group after 

coming out of Sambisa Forest following 

intensive air and ground assault on 

terrorist enclaves by troops of operation 

Hadin Kai. 

Military sources disclosed that the 

terrorists surrendered to the Troops of 25 

Task Force Brigade Damboa on Sunday. 

Preliminary investigation revealed that 

the insurgents came out from Sambisa 

forest, where they have been hiding and 

waging a campaign of terror. 

Panic in Anambra 

community 

as police, 

gunmen clash 

SOME ARMED men, 

suspected to be members of a 

cult group, have engaged security 

operatives in a gun battle that 

lasted for about one hour. 

It was gathered that the incident 

happened, weekend, at Aguleri 

community in Anambra East 

Local Government Area of 

Anambra State. 

Aguleri is the hometown of the 

immediate past governor of the 

state, Willie Obiano. 

The armed men were said to 

have invaded the community and 

started shooting before police 

operatives stormed the area and 

both parties continued to engage 

themselves in the gun battle. 

The reason for the invasion 

could not be ascertained, but 

sources in the area said the youths 

were heading towards a police 

station in the community before 

they were repelled by the police 

operatives. 

Although no person was killed, 

sources said some policemen and 

members of the armed gang were 

injured during the shootings. 

No fewer than 15 persons have 

so far been arrested and are in 

custody, according to police 

sources. 

Confirming the incident, the state 

police spokesman, Toochukwu 

Ikenga, said the situation has been 

brought under control. 

“The incident happened late on 

Saturday and the situation has been 

brought under control, on the 

directive of the Commissioner of 

Police, CP Echeng Echeng. The 

deputy commissioner of Police in 

charge of the operation led police 

operatives to the scene and 

prevented the youths from attacking 

the police station. 

“We have made some arrests and 

recovered some dangerous weapons. 

Meanwhile, other means of 

resolving the conflict is in place to 

hear from the aggrieved youths. 

“We have also intensified patrols 

in the area, aimed at enhancing 

peace and safety. Further details 

shall be communicated.” 

Police arrest 2 

for inserting 

substance in 

lady's private 

part 

By Davies Iheamnachor 

PORT 

HARCOURT— 

OPERATIVES of the Nigeria 

Police in Rivers State have arrested two 

young men, Samuel Matthew and 

Emmanuel Iweruma, for allegedly 

inserting a substance into the private 

part of one Ruth Tamuno. 

It was reported that Matthew, 23 

years old, and Iweruma, the same age, 

and four others, who are at large, had 

beaten up Ms Tamuno on an 

allegation that she stole an iPhone. 

It was learned that the duo and the 

others, who are in hiding, had during 

the alleged mob action on the lady 

inserted an unknown substance into 

her private part. 

However, the Commissioner of 

Police in the state, Mr Okon Effiong, 

who condemned the development as 

barbaric and inhumane, ordered the 

State Criminal Investigation 

Department, SCID, to ensure a 

thorough investigation into the matter. 

The Public Relations Officer of the 

state police command, Grace Iringe- 

Koko, who disclosed this in a statement 

in Port Harcourt, yesterday, noted that 

the CP ordered that the fleeing suspects 

be arrested for the alleged crime.


:Vanguard 

News 

:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnewsNEWS HOTLINES: 

45-year-old man beats 

wife to death in Ogun 

Social Media Conversation 

Question jam food for thought! 

•The suspect. 

By James 

Ogunnaike 

A BEOKUTA—A 

45-year-old man, 

Segun Omotosho 

Ebenezer, was Sunday 

arrested by men of Ogun 

State Police Command 

for beating his 42 years 

old wife, Omotosho 

Olubukola, to death. 

Ogun State Police 

Command Public 

Relations Officer, 

Abimbola Oyeyemi, who 

disclosed this yesterday 

in Abeokuta, the State 

capital, said the arrest of 

the suspect followed a 

complaint lodged at 

Kemta divisional 

headquarters on the 

14th of November 2022, 

by the elder sister of the 

deceased. 

Oyeyemi explained 

the deceased elder sister 

said her sister was 

beaten and seriously 

injured by her husband 

over a minor 

disagreement. 

The complainant 

added that the deceased 

was subsequently 

rushed to Federal 

Medical Centre, Idi-Aba 

Abeokuta by the suspect, 

but gave up the ghost 

while receiving 

treatment. 

Unknown to the 

husband, the deceased 

had sent a voice note to 

her family members, 

informing them that her 

husband had used a 

padlock to hit her on the 

head while beating her, 

and that if she died, they 

should know that it was 

her husband that killed 

her." 

"As soon as the voice 

note was played to his 

hearing, the husband 

took to his heels having 

realized that his evil 

deed had been 

exposed." 

Upon the report and 

the recording evidence, 

the DPO Kemta division, 

CSP Adeniyi Adekunle, 

detailed his detectives to 

go after the killer 

husband and fish him 

out from wherever he 

might be. 

He was subsequently 

traced to Akinseku 

village, Abeokuta where 

he was hibernating, and 

was promptly 

apprehended. 

Preliminary investigation 

revealed that their 

incessant quarrel was 

because the deceased built 

a private school in the 

name of herself and the 

husband, but the husband 

who is a carpenter had 

wanted to take over the 

control of the school which 

the deceased who was an 

NCE graduate refused". 

This has been the reason 

why the suspect had 

always been beating the 

deceased, until the fateful 

day, when he used the iron 

padlock to hit her on the head, 

which eventually led to her 

death. 

Best ‘result'...indulge yourselves guys! 

In our present situation? Thank God 

if you can afford one! 

When one party refuses to bow...!


:Vanguard News 


ANNIVERSARY: From left, Publisher/Editor, Realnews, Maureen Chigbo; Chairperson/Group Managing 

Director, Futureview Financial Services Limited, Mrs Elizabeth Ebi; Guest Lecturer/Chairman, National 

Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa; Director General, Christ Against 

Drug Abuse Ministry, CADAM, Dr. Dokun Adedeji and former Chairman and Head, Department of 

Mass Communications, University of Lagos, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye, during the 10th Anniversary Lecture 

on "Drug Abuse among Youths in Africa: Implication for Nigerian Economy and 2023 Elections" in 

Lagos. 

World Bank to FG: Strengthen fiscal mgt, 

remove subsidy, create unified forex rate 

By Emma Ujah, 

Abuja Bureau Chief 

THE WORLD BANK has 

warned that Nigeria’s fragility 

would worsen if urgent steps were 

not taken to ensure fiscal 

adjustment for better and 

sustained results. 

It also stressed the urgent need 

for the federal government to 

strengthen fiscal management, 

create a unified, stable marketbased 

exchange rate, phase out 

its costly, regressive fuel subsidy 

and rationalize preferential trade 

restrictions and tax exemptions. 

In its report, titled: “Nigeria 

Public Finance Review: Fiscal 

Adjustment for Better and 

Sustained Results," launched in 

Abuja, yesterday, the global bank 

said: “Macroeconomic and fiscal 

reforms are urgently needed to lift 

Nigeria’s development outcomes, 

which are severely constrained by 

inefficient use of resources.” 

According to the report, huge 

resources have been spent on 

subsidies that largely favoured 

wealthy families, coupled with 

corruption, to the detriment of the 

general populace who continued 

to wallow in poverty. 

It said: “For years, a large share 

of Nigeria’s resources had financed 

inefficient and regressive subsidies 

for petrol, electricity, and foreign 

exchange. Not all these subsidies 

are accounted for in the budget, 

which makes them difficult to track 

and scrutinize. 

“However, available data 

suggest that these subsidies, 

which accounted for more than the 

amount spent on education, 

health, and social protection in 

2021, benefit primarily wealthy 

households. 

“They also distort incentives, 

discourage investment, and crowdout 

spending on pro-poor 

programs, thereby hindering 

progress in Nigeria’s social 

development.” 

The report noted that Nigeria 

had one of the lowest public 

expenditure and revenue levels 

in the world, adding that this 

undermined the government’s 

ability to improve service delivery. 

“Between 2015 and 2021, total 

public spending in Nigeria 

averaged 12 percent of gross 

domestic product (GDP), less than 

half the world average of 30 

percent,” it said. 

Commenting on the report, 

President of the bank, Mr. David 

Malpass said: “Nigeria's 

government urgently needs to 

strengthen fiscal management, 

create a unified, stable marketbased 

exchange rate, phase out 

its costly, regressive fuel subsidy 

and rationalize preferential trade 

restrictions and tax exemptions. 

"These would lay the 

groundwork for the increases in 

public revenues and spending 

needed to improve development 

outcomes. 

"Decisive moves would 

significantly improve the business 

enabling environment in Nigeria, 

attract foreign direct investment, 

and reduce inflation. The World 

Bank is ready to increase support 

to Nigeria as it designs and 

implements these critical reforms.” 

Similarly, the bank’s Country 

Director for Nigeria, Mr. Shubham 

Chaudhuri, said: “Nigeria is at a 

critical historical juncture and has 

a choice to make. 

“A child born in Nigeria today 

will be only 36 per cent as 

productive when she grows up as 

she could be if she had access to 

effective public education and 

health services, and has a life 

expectancy of only 55 years. 

“These stark indicators illustrate 

the urgency for action by Nigeria’s 

policymakers to improve the 

macroeconomic and fiscal 

framework, so as to sustainably 

enhance the quality of spending 

and public services at federal and 

state levels.” 

Discussing the report as a 

panelist, the Director-General of 

Budget Office of the Federation, 

Mr. Ben Akabueze, said the 

country must tax the rich 

appropriately in order to enhance 

revenue generation. 

He said: “We need to tax the 

rich. We have extremely wealthy 

people existing side-by-side with 

extremely poor people. I describe 

it as ‘elite conspiracy’ not to 

distribute a fair share of the nation’s 

resources. 

“If you own a private jet, that is 

fantastic. If you buy one for yourself, 

buy one for the country by paying 

100 per cent tax on it. This is not 

an area of debate. 

“Certain sectors that are growing 

very well also need to pay taxes. 

The creative and media- you have 

all these folks assaulting us daily 

with their show of their news cars 

and of these. I don’t see any other 

option. We have to tax the rich. 

They should pay taxes 

commensurate with their 

earnings.” 

Also speaking, the Director- 

General of the Debt Management 

Office, DMO, Ms. Patience Oniha, 

said she would prefer to have all 

Nigeria’s external borrowings as 

concessional facilities. 

She noted, however, that the 

concessional sources were limited 

and as such others had to be 

explored. 

The DG harped on the need to 

raise more tax revenues, as well 

as source funds from the nation’s 

assets, rather than ignoring them. 

In his contribution, the Chief 

Economic Adviser to the 

President, Dr. Doyin Salami, 

agreed with the DG of DMO as, 

according to him, Nigerians must 

work to raise revenue through 

taxation or be forced to pay higher 

interest rates on borrowed funds. 

“If you don’t pay tax, you will 

pay high interest rates because if 

you don’t pay tax, we have to go 

borrowing and if we borrow, we 

have to repay the loans with higher 

interest rates,'' he said. 

He noted that the income 

disparity between the wealthy and 

the poor in the country was 

“frighteningly” wide, adding “we 

have to raise more taxes from the 

rich for social balance.” 

He disagreed with the position 

that the nation’s foreign exchange 

market should be left to the 

vagaries of the market. 

According to him, no nation ever 

leaves its currency totally to market 

forces. 

Salami added that there should 

be a balance between the two 

extremes of total control by 

monetary authorities than leaving 

it totally to market forces. 

Political consensus needed to end poverty 

in Nigeria, says IGET, Africa’s Think Tank 

ABUJA—A new policy paper 

released today by the Institute 

for Governance and Economic 

Transformation, IGET, an 

independent, nonpartisan think 

tank, has described pervasive 

poverty as a threat to Nigeria’s 

future and the most pressing 

challenge for the country’s next 

administration after the 2023 

elections alongside security. 

The report, titled “Nigeria’s 

Poverty Trap And How to End It” 

explained the causes and nature 

of poverty in general and Nigeria’s 

poverty crisis in particular, and 

makes 27 policy proposals to take 

100 million Nigerians out of 

poverty in 10 years. 

“A country such as ours, in which 

one half of our 216 million people 

live lives of miserable poverty, 

merely eking out an existence, 

and 90 per cent of the population 

generally poor, is a country that is 

failing to achieve the reason it 

exists,” said Professor Kingsley 

Moghalu, founder and President 

of IGET and a former deputy 

governor of the Central Bank of 

Nigeria. 

“If China and Rising Asia can 

take more than a billion people 

out of poverty and create the 

wealth of nations over a period of 

40 years, we in Nigeria have no 

excuse for being in this situation 

62 years after independence. We 

can do better, and we attempt to 

show how we can in our report.” 

The IGET policy paper, coauthored 

by Prof. Moghalu and 

Dr. Damian Ude, an economist 

and Research Fellow at IGET, 

asserted that the most important 

structural causes of poverty in 

Nigeria were absence of 

nationhood and good governance, 

uncontrolled population growth, 

gender discrimination against 

women, shocks from over-reliance 

on crude oil for foreign exchange 

revenues, and lack of serious 

investment in human capital 

development, in particular 

education and healthcare. 

IGET recommended that the 

place to begin a war against 

poverty was the formation of a 

political consensus among 

Nigeria’s political and other elites 

across partisan and sectarian 

divides, that taking 100 million 

Nigerans out of poverty should 

become the concentrated politics 

and governance at all levels in the 

country. 

“This consensus, and the 

bargain that leads to it, is important 

because politicians and policy 

makers often tend to be influenced 

more by economic GDP growth 

numbers, without fully 

appreciating (as we have seen in 

Nigeria) that it is possible for an 

economy to be growing while many 

people are getting poorer”, the 

IGET report stated in its 

recommendations. 

“Whoever is elected President 

of Nigeria in the next presidential 

election in February 2023 must 

begin the process of building this 

elite consensus,” the think tank 

wrote. 

The IGET policy paper also 

recommended the establishment 

of a robust social security system 

backed by national law, as opposed 

to initiatives in social protection 

that may not be continued by 

future administrations. 

The institute recommended the 

establishment of a permanent 

social security for elderly Nigerians 

aged 65 and above and who do 

not have a pension. There are five 

million Nigerians in this age 

bracket. 

STATE OF THE NATION: 

Osuntokun, Adebanjo, 

Obiozor, Baba Ahmed, others 

chart way forward 

By Olayinka Ajayi 

LEADERS DRAWN from various 

parts of the country yesterday, 

dissected the state of affairs, and 

urged urgent actions to save the 

country. 

The actions include learning 

from the mistakes of the past and 

restructuring the country to fiscal 

federalism and a sincere and just 

national system that would birth a 

united Nigeria. 

The leaders who spoke 

yesterday include erudite 

Historian, Professor Jide 

Osuntokun; Afenifere Leader, 

Chief Ayo Adebanjo; Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo President-General, 

Professor George Obiozor; 

Spokesperson of the Northern 

Elders Forum, NEF, Dr Hakeem 

Baba Ahmed; and Professor Uche 

Azikiwe, wife of late Nationalist, 

Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. 

They spoke at a National Summit 

themed: "Nationalism and Nation 

Building in Nigerians History," 

organised by Ohanaeze in Lagos. 

Delivering the lecture, Professor 

Osuntokun, who was the guest 

lecturer, insisted that since 1966 

Nigeria has struggled to find a 

modus operandi of ruling a 

multinational state and balancing 

regional desire for autonomy under 

an overarching national structure. 

He said: "The search for a modus 

vivendi unfortunately led to the 

disastrous civil war which some 

millions of Nigerians 

predominantly Igbo people died 

between 1967 and 1970. One 

would have thought that Nigeria 

had learnt a bitter lesson from our 

recent history but the contrary is 

the case. 

" Nigeria has not succeeded yet 

and from the various demands for 

restructuring of the country by 

almost everyone, those in power 

had better listen and control events 

from above rather than leaving the 

people to demand it by force of 

numbers from below. Our future 

as a country is pregnant and no 

one with mathematical precision 

can hazard what it will bear. 

Nigeria's unity 

negotiable, Obiozor, 

Baba Ahmed 

On his part, host of National 

dialogue, Prof George Obiozor in 

his open remarks, insisted that the 

popular claim that Nigeria's unity 

is non-negotiable is simply a 

historical fallacy. 

He stressed that contrary to false 

claims of Nigeria's nonnegotiability 

by some leaders, the 

unity of the county must be 

renegotiated for it to stand or 

survive the prevailing 

circumstances. 

He said: "Recently, some 

Nigerian political leaders have said 

that the unity of Nigeria is nonnegotiable. 

This is an ironry 

because these leaders seem to 

have forgotten Nigeria's history or 

have failed to learn the lessons of 

history in general. 

"Nigerian unity is definitely 

negotiable and must be renegotiated 

for it to stand or survive 

the test of time. The reality over 

the years remains that in spite of 

the best efforts of all our leaders 

past or present, Nigeria's unity is 

not guaranteed. 

Speaking in like manner, Dr 

Hakeem Baba Ahmed agreed that 

Nigeria's unity is negotiable 

adding that no leader in the North 

would say Nigeria's unity is not 

negotiable. 

He said: "We have seen nations 

negotiate their existence. 

Anybody who says Nigeria's unity 

is non-negotiable is not being 

honest. It is only the military that 

can say such and even at that 

force alone cannot keep Nigeria 

together. If you can't negotiate 

then you must fight your way out; 

it is either we negotiate or we fight 

our way out. So, we should and 

must negotiate our unity and it 

must be based on well spelt out 

principles." 

Why S-East should 

produce next president 

—Adebanjo 

Afenifere Leader, Pa Ayo 

Adebanjo, who lampooned the 

North for not being sincere over 

true federalism said: "The case of 

the South-East is not about 

begging. Some southerners must 

have been brainwashed to believe 

that only the North can make 

anybody president of Nigeria but I 

don't believe that. 

"The South-West has produced 

the president, the South-South 

has produced and the North is 

completing eight years by next 

year. So, it must come back to the 

South and when that happens, 

justice, equity and fairness 

demand that it should go to the 

South-East Igbo. So, to live 

together must be on agreeable 

terms. 

All we want is a united 

Nigeria —Azikiwe 

Also Fielding questions from 

newsmen, wife of late Zik of Africa, 

Prof. Uche Azikiwe who craves for 

a united Nigeria said: "All that we 

have been saying since 

independence is one Nigeria. We 

have decided that we have to be 

together for Nigeria to be great. 

"Azikiwe's legacy of one Nigeria 

is what I am talking about. It was 

true that he compromised anytime 

there's a problem, he said okay I 

give up provided we are one and 

there's peace.


2023: CAN, Sultan warn against electoral 

violence 

By Luminous 

Jannamike 

ABUJA—AHEAD of the 2023 

general elections, President 

of Christian Association of 

Nigeria, CAN, Archbishop 

Daniel Okoh, and the Sultan of 

Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammed 

Sa'ad Abubakar II1, have alerted 

stakeholders to the dangers of 

electoral violence, including all 

related forms of rigging and hate 

speech. 

This call-to-action was made 

at the Inclusive Security 

Dialogue held yesterday in 

Abuja and facilitated by the 

Global Peace Foundation 

(Nigeria), in partnership with 

ADI International and Vision 

Africa. 

The meeting provided a 

platform for community leaders 

representing dissidents, militia, 

and agitation groups in Nigeria 

to dispassionately unbundle 

barriers to peace and security in 

the country. 

Speaking on the occasion, the 

CAN President, Archbishop 

Daniel Okoh, warned against 

electoral violence, saying the 

consequences were capable of 

truncating the country's 

democratic process. 

According to him, while 

curbing pre- and post-electoral 

violence in Nigeria is a herculean 

task, well-meaning Nigerians 

and other development partners 

who want the country to depart 

from the orgy of electoral 

violence and its attendant 

consequences should not be 

discouraged. 

He charged security agencies 

to be alive to their responsibility 

to enforce the law against 

perpetrators of election violence, 

stressing that the peace accord 

signed by presidential 

candidates should not be mere 

formality. 

Archbishop Okoh said: 

“Although since 2014 some 

leaders of great influence in 

Nigeria, led by former Head of 

State, General Abdulsalam 

Abubakar, on the platform of 

National Peace Committee get 

the commitment of the 

presidential candidates of parties 

by encouraging them to sign 

Peace Accord, security agencies 

must be alive to their 

responsibility to enforce the law 

against perpetrators of election 

violence.“"It is clear that the 

intention of the National Peace 

Committee is not just to fulfil all 

righteousness. The signing of 

the Peace Accord should be 

followed up diligently by law 

enforcement agents in order to 

ensure compliance by all parties, 

with severe consequences for 

breaching the agreement." 

He urged both state and the 

federal governments to make 

genuine efforts to create 

employment opportunities for 

the teeming youth or provide 

entrepreneurship training and 

funding opportunities for their 

small-scale businesses to 

prevent them from deploying 

their youthful energy into the 

destructive exercise of electoral 

violence. 

The CAN leader described 

incidences of drug and substance 

abuse by youths as an enabler 

of electoral violence. 

He further charged the 

Independent National Electoral 

Commission, INEC, to be 

impartial in its conducts before, 

during and after 

elections.“"INEC must be seen 

to give a level playing ground to 

all the candidates and their 

political parties. The allegations 



•Say Peace Accord by presidential candidates not mere 

formality 

of connivance of the electoral 

officers with party agents to 

frustrate voters on the day of 

election or to tamper with the 

election results should not be 

allowed to resurface in the forthcoming 

elections. 

''Sometimes post-election 

violence is triggered by alleged 

unfairness and injustice 

demonstrated by the officers of 

the electoral body. 

"The election of 2023 holds the 

key to our progress as a nation 

or our designation as a failed or a 

failing state,'' Archbishop Okoh 

said. 

The CAN President also said 

religious leaders must be seen 

to be non-partisan and impartial 

in their public and private 

statements in order to gain the 

respect of all, especially their 

followers. 

In the same breath, the Sultan 

of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammed 

Sa'ad Abubakar III, urged 

religious leaders in the country 

to use their platforms to 

discourage participation in 

electoral violence amongst 

youths.“Represented at the 

dialogue by Uztaz Hussaini 

Zakariyya, the Sultan said: 

"Religious leaders are the most 

important and influential block 

in every society, especially in 

Nigeria, by their nature and 

space, very religious 

people.“"Every Muslim, every 

Christian is proud to be what he 

is and what he believes. And not 

only that, he is willing to protect 

lives with all his life, belongings 

and everything he owns.“" 

Therefore, unless and until 

religious leaders are involved 

directly in the peace-buildng 

process to bring about peaceful 

coexistence of Nigerians, there 

will be no peace. Nobody has 

actually the power and the 

influence like religious leaders." 

Earlier in his remarks, the 

President of Vision Africa, Bishop 

Sunday Onuoha, stated that 

peace and security in Nigeria 

were more important than 

campaigning for votes, warning 

that the country might be at the 

precipice of a historic change, if 

care was not taken. 

He said: "If there is no peace, 

no one will come out to campaign 

or to vote. With the rate of 

wanton killings in the country 

today, an average Nigerian is 

asking: is Nigeria at war with 

itself?” 

''Why is it that people can no 

longer go to the farm without 

being kidnapped or raped in their 

own farms, and some even raped 

in their homes in the presence 

of members of their family - the 

cries of our innocent women 

have gone loud, and if the state 

cannot protect them, we should 

worry about them fighting back. 

''Our highways that were 

initially death-traps, have also 

become kidnapping zones, and 

even the national capital appears 

to be under siege. If this is not 

an emergency situation, then 

what is it? The time to act is now.'' 

Failed NNPP/LP merger talks: I didn't offer 

Kwankwaso N40bn to step down for me —Obi 

•Says he'll only borrow for production 

•To declare war on power sector 

By Nnamdi Ojiego 

THE 

PRESIDENTIAL 

candidate of Labour Party, LP, 

Mr. Peter Obi, has denied 

offering N40 billion to the 

standard bearer of the New 

Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, 

Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso, to step 

down for him. 

Obi made this clarification at 

an interactive forum with the 

Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, 

in Lagos yesterday. 

He said: "I never knowingly 

or unknowingly, offered anybody 

money to become president. In 

all my talks with Kwankwaso, I 

never offered him any money." 

The former Anambra governor 

also clarified that nobody was 

funding his campaigns, saying 

"nobody as at today will say he's 

funding Peter Obi. I'm funding 

myself. I don't pay people to work 

for me." 

Foundational 

problem 

Speaking on how he would 

transform Nigeria from a 

consuming to a producing 

country, Obi said Nigeria's 

problem was foundational. 

He noted that the first thing 

he would do if elected would be 

to ensure that the country fed 

itself. 

"We must get the country to 

work and all it requires is 

leadership and I can do it,'' the 

LP standard bearer said. 

On whether he would borrow 

to execute his programmes in the 

face of the rising debt profile of 

the country, Obi maintained that 

there was nothing wrong in 

borrowing if it was channelled 

into production. 

Borrowing for 

production 

"Nothing is wrong with 

borrowing if invested properly. 

Every nation in the world that I 

have studied borrow. The problem 

with borrowing is what you do 

with the money. It's okay to 

borrow for production but there's 

a problem when you borrow for 

consumption. 

''I will only borrow for 

production and I will explain to 

Nigerians why I'm borrowing. I 

must talk to the people because 

the job of a leader is to 

communicate with the people,'' 

he explained. 

While stressing the importance 

of the rule of law, Obi disclosed 

that he would invest in 

intangible assets, such as 

education, to drive the economy 

and attract foreign investors to 

the country. 

War on power 

He also promised to declare 

war on the energy sector, with 

the aim to improve electricity 

supply in the country. 

Obi said: "I will declare war on 

power. It's possible to have 

steady power supply because 

power generation is not rocket 

science. 

''We will change the narrative 

by bringing people who know and 

understand the system to turn 

things around for good." 

Affirmative action 

The presidential hopeful 

assured that women and youths 

would be well represented in his 

government, as he would 

implement the Beijing 

affirmative action and 

Bangladesh model. 

"Women are more productive 

than men and if they decide to 

do something, they do it well. We 

will involve women and youth in 

my administration and channel 

that population into production", 

he said promising to create an 

atmosphere where about 50 per 

cent of women will be included 

in the national productivity,'' he 

said. 

Provide solutions 

On what the people should 

consider while making their 

voting choices, Obi said: 

"Nepotism is a higher corruption 

than bribery. Next election is not 

about tribe or religion. Tribalism 

and religion are the confusion 

the elites deploy to deceive the 

people. 

"Please, don't vote for me 

because I'm an Igbo or because 

it's my turn. I'm a Nigerian 

contesting election as a Nigerian. 

So, scrutinize all of us and verify 

what we have done in the past. 

Nigerians should vote for a 

character they can trust, 

competence and ability to start 

doing the right thing." 

"The job of a leader is provide 

solutions and not excuses. If 

elected, I will not give excuses 

but results. Therefore, I want 

Nigerians to hold me responsible 

if anything is not going well 

under my leadership" 

I’ll wipe out B-Haram, revive 

businesses, says Atiku at 

campaign in Gombe 

John Alechenu 

Acandidate BUJA—PRESIDENTIAL 

of Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji 

Atiku Abubakar, has promised to 

wipe out Boko Haram and help 

businessmen revive and expand 

their businesses in order jump start 

the economy, if elected President 

in 2023. 

Atiku made the promise while 

addressing a crowd of party 

supporters at PDP presidential 

campaign in Gombe, Gombe State, 

yesterday.“Atiku, who spoke 

mostly in Hausa, said: “What I 

want to pledge here in Gombe is 

to ensure that we give businesses 

the support to set-up industries 

that will give youths, both males 

and females, jobs. 

“ Recall it was the PDP that built 

the Dakin-Kowa Dam to provide 

electricity to the North-east and 

give farmers the opportunity to 

farm. I will create wealth and jobs 

in Gombe State, if you give me 

the mandate. 

“I promise you that if you elect 

me, what we have started I will 

ensure electricity that will be 

provided from Dakin-Kowa Dam 

will be sufficient for the entire 

North-East. 

“ I will enhance farming so that 

our farmers will have the 

opportunity to farm both during 

raining and dry seasons. 

“On his other plans for the North 

East geo-political zone, Atiku said: 

“Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Borno 

and Yobe are all interconnected; 

therefore, I will ensure that we 

build roads to enable smooth trip 

within these states with ease and 

ensure that commercial activities 

thrive. 

“I will return peace to the state 

because without peace, all these 

pledges that I made cannot be 

actualized, I will wipe out Boko 

Haram. Book Haram is nothing. 

“We have wiped out Boko Haram 

in Adamawa, what will stop us from 

wiping out Boko Haram in Borno 

or Yobe or anywhere they are in this 

country. Therefore, give us the 

mandate. 

“When Sir Abubakar Tafawa 

Balewa was the Prime Minister, 

most of you were not born, dont you 

want another Tafawa Balewa in the 

North-east? 

''This can only be actualised by 

voting PDP and here I am the one 

that will give you the opportunity 

to produce another Tafawa Balewa.'' 

“Speaking in a similar vein, the 

Chairman, PDP Presidential 

Campaign Council and governor 

of Akwa Ibom State, Udom 

Emmanuel, said: “When PDP was 

in power, how much was a tin of 

milk? How much is a tin of milk 

today? When PDP was in power, 

how much was a bag of rice? How 

much is a bag of rice today? 

'When PDP was in power, how 

much was one orange? How much 

is an orange sold today? 

We just want to let the people 

know that PDP is coming back to 

make sure that our economy 

bounces back, to make sure that our 

naira regains its strength, to make 

sure you have more milk in your 

tea.



Ogun, NNPC to reconstruct 

Ogijo-Sagamu Road —Abiodun 

By James 

Ogunnaike 

A BEOKUTA—GOVERNOR 

Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, 

yesterday, disclosed that his 

administration will collaborate with 

the Nigerian National Petroleum 

Corporation, NNPC, to reconstruct 

the dilapidated Ogijo-Sagamu 

Road. 

Abiodun, who disclosed at the 

official inauguration of the 4- 

kilometre Oba Erinwole Road in 

Sagamu, Sagamu Local 

Government Area of the state, said 

work would commence on the 

construction of Hospital Road in 

Sagamu this week. 

His words: "We realized that 

majority of these roads have direct 

bearing to the economic 

circumstances of our people. One 

such neglected road is the Oba 

Erinwole Road. By the time we 

came into office, the road had 

become a nightmare; completely 

impassable and caused untold 

hardship to our people and 

Sagamu was becoming a pariah 

among cities because of this 

neglect. 

"I am, therefore, happy to be 

here today, to commission this same 

Oba Erinwole Road that was 

meant to be a punishment 

orchestrated by the former 

governor and narrow-minded 

politicians of yesteryears towards 

the Remo people. This project 

again is a touchstone to our 

commitment as a promise-keeping 

administration. We will continue 

to fulfil all our promises in all parts 

of Ogun State. 

"In our approach to the 

infrastructural development of 

Ogun State, Oba Erinwole Road 

was identified among other roads 

across the state as a top priority for 

completion before the end of our 

first term. 

"To date, over 80 major roads and 

others (federal roads inclusive) 

totalling 400km have been 

constructed, reconstructed or 

rehabilitated across the state. This 

administration in three years and 

six months has done more in terms 

of kilometres of roads than 

previous administrations in the 

state." 

In his goodwill message, the 

Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of 

Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, 

noted that the road before the 

reconstruction was one of the most 

deplorable roads in the state, 

appreciating the governor for 

keeping to his words by 

reconstructing the road. 

The Chairman of Sagamu Local 

Government Area, Afolabi 

Odulate, said the Oba Erinwole 

road which is one of the most 

important roads in the town was 

in a poor state for a long time, 

adding that the intervention of the 

state government is something 

the people would be grateful for in 

many years to come. 

The Commissioner for Works 

and Infrastructure, Akin 

Adesanya, in his welcome address, 

said that the road which was 

constructed to meet acceptable 

standards, would promote the 

economic relationship between 

Benin City Agog as new car, 

other prizes are given out in 

Glo Festival of Joy 

DIGITAL SERVICES provider, 

Globacom, on Monday, 

November 21, 2022, took 

its Festival of Joy promo train to 

the ancient city of Benin, Edo 

State, where a third winner of its 

highly coveted brand new car prize 

emerged, among other winners. 

The Festival of Joy is an 

ongoing consumer promotion by 

the telecom giant to reward new 

and existing customers for their 

continued patronage from now 

and all through the festive 

season. The company had last 

week presented a new threebedroom 

house to a 19-year-old 

student of Ekiti State University, 

while two 

car 

winners who emerged from 

Abuja and Ibadan were also 

presented with their prize as part 

of the promo. 

The presentation event in 

Benin saw the emergence of 

Enakpomu Harrison, an Account 

Officer in a real estate firm in Edo 

State, as the third winner of the 

brand new Kia car. Expressing his 

joy, he said, "I saw the offer last 

week Monday and decided to give 

it a try and suddenly got a call 

later in the week and was told I 

had won the new car. I could not 

contain my excitement as this is 

surely going to change my life”. 

He expressed gratitude to 

Globacom and encouraged 

telecoms service users across the 

country to subscribe to Glo. 

Equally, Pastor Joseph Olarinye 

was also presented the sewing 

machine he won, which in a 

strange way met a significant 

need in his household. According 

to the clergy man, “My daughter 

learned tailoring and we had been 

trusting God for a sewing 

machine. So to us, this is truly a 

miracle and I will keep Globacom 

and its management in my 

prayers.“ 

Another lucky subscriber, 

Comrade Jackson Itohan, who 

won a power-generating set 

exclaimed, “I was so astonished 

when they called me yesterday 

about what I won. I urge every 

Glo subscriber to keep recharging 

as they will increase their chances 

of winning before the promo runs 

out.” 

Akarigbo urges investors to 

establish businesses in Remoland 

ABEOKUTA—THE Akarigbo 

and Paramount Ruler of 

Remoland, Dr Babatunde Ajayi, 

has urged investors to establish 

businesses in Remoland. 

The monarch, who is also the 

Chairman, Council of Ogun State 

Traditional Rulers, spoke at a press 

briefing as part of activities marking 

his 5th coronation and 60th 

birthday celebrations, in his palace 

in Sagamu, Ogun State. 

He said: "In the next 10 years, 

we see Remo as the industrial 

capital of Ogun State and Nigeria 

and a place where everybody wants 

to live in peace, harmony and love." 

Listing activities lined up for the 

celebrations, the Chairman of the 

Organizing Committee, Mr Seni 

Adetu, said: "The double celebration 

is not just to socialize and make 

merry. Our intention in addition to 

all of that is to showcase Remoland, 

most especially the laudable 

achievements of our dear Akarigbo 

in the last five years of ascending 

the throne of his forebears. We also 

want to use this opportunity to 

reveal some projects that give 

insight into the endless/limitless 

possibilities that abound in 

Remoland. 

"Apart from the completed 

projects, we have some that are 

work in progress, as well as those 

categorized as short, medium, and 

long-term projects targeted at 

meeting current and future needs 

of Romanians." 


CONFERENCE: From left, Princess Adenike Adedoyin-Ajayi, Chairman, Publicity Sub-Committee; 

Aare Kola Oyefeso, member, Organising Committee; Otunba Seni Adetu, Chairman Organising 

Committee; Asiwaju Solomon Onafowokan, member; Olori Olubukonla Osiberu, member and Mr 

Wole Ogunsanya, member and Head of Finance, during the briefing to announce the forthcoming 5th 

coronation anniversary and 60th birthday celebration of Oba Babatunde Adewale Ajayi, the Akarigbo 

and Paramount ruler of Remoland in Sagamu, Ogun State. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor. 

Ekiti Assembly Speaker, Aribisogan 

impeached, suspended indefinitely 

•6 other lawmakers suspended 

•Adelugba emerges new Speaker 

•My impeachment unconstitutional —Aribisogan 

•Why Aribisogan, 6 others were suspended —Adelugba 

By Rotimi 

Ojomoyela 

ADO-EKITI—BARELY six 

days after being elected as 

the Speaker of the Ekiti State 

House of Assembly, Mr Gboyega 

Aribisogan was yesterday 

impeached and suspended 

indefinitely. 

17 lawmakers, yesterday, 

convened under the protection 

and guidance of combined forces 

of heavily armed security men, 

impeached Aribisogan and 

replaced him with a female 

lawmaker and Chief Whip of the 

Assembly, Mrs Olubunmi 

Adelugba. 

This came barely one week 

Aribisogan was elected by the 

lawmakers to replace the late 

Speaker, Mr Funminiyi Afuye. 

The lawmakers also 

suspended Aribisogan and six 

other lawmakers for allegedly 

sabotaging the passage of the 

2022 appropriation 

supplementary bill. 

Aribisogan said the action of 

the group of 17 lawmakers was a 

flagrant violation of the extant 

rules and the Assembly's 

Standing Order. 

Other six members suspended 

alongside the former Speaker 

were Tajudeen Akingbolu, Goke 

Olajide, Yemisi Ayokunle, 

Adeyemi Ajibade, Kemi Balogun 

and Tope Ogunleye 

While Johnson Bode-Adeoye 

emerged as the new leader of the 

Assembly Business, Lateef 

Akande emerged as the new 

Chairman of appropriation. 

My impeachment 

unconstitutional 

—Aribisogan 

Meanwhile, Mr Aribisogan has 

described his impeachment as 

unconstitutional insisting he 

remains the Speaker of the 

Assembly. 

Aribisogan, who described his 

purported impeachment by 

lawmakers opposed to him, as 

undemocratic and as such, 

cannot stand judicial scrutiny. 

He said: “In view of the 

foregoing, we hereby call on the 

Government and people of Ekiti 

State and all constituted 

authorities to note that 

Olugboyega Aribisogan remains 

the Speaker of the Ekiti State 

House of Assembly. 

“While we urge Ekiti people to 

be watchful, they should remain 

calm in the face of the gross 

subversion of democratic 

principles which took place in the 

House of Assembly today. We 

remain confident that justice 

and the rule of law will prevail. 

“The actions are not legally 

sustainable and would definitely 

be quashed be a court of 

competent jurisdiction”, he 

stated. 

Reacting to the change of 

guard at the Assembly, the 

chairman of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, in Ekiti State, 

Mr Paul Omotosho, yesterday, 

denied that the lawmakers were 

arm-twisted to impose Adelugba 

as speaker. 

Addressing newsmen after 

receiving the speaker and 15 

other lawmakers, the APC 

Chairman said: "Nobody imposed 

anybody on you. You are adults 

and enlightened people with 

very robust minds." 

Why Aribisogan, 6 

others were 

suspended 

—Adelugba 

Speaking during the visit, the 

new Speaker, Adelugba stated 

that Aribisogan and six other 

lawmakers were suspended 

indefinitely for allegedly 

sabotaging the passage of the 

revised 2022 supplementary 

budget presented by the 

executive. 

She said: "Let me say that the 

Assembly is ready to pardon as 

many of them that are ready to 

join us. This is about the party 

and not the Assembly. The 

action we took yesterday has 

nullified the first election that 

produced Aribisogan. 

"In the last election, 

Aribisogan claimed that he had 

15, but today, I have 17 

lawmakers behind me. Many of 

the lawmakers said they didn't 

vote for him, but he compromised 

the election." 

S-Court orders re-hearing of Ogun PDP 

governorship case 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

ABUJA—THE 

Supreme 

Court, yesterday, ordered 

the re-hearing of a suit that is 

challenging the legality of the 

governorship primary election 

the Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, conducted in Ogun State. 

The apex court, in a 

unanimous decision by a fiveman 

panel of Justices, remitted 

the suit which was filed by an 

aggrieved aspirant of the party, 

Jimi Lawal, back to the Federal 

High Court for hearing. 

It faulted the high court for 

previously declaring that it had 

no jurisdiction to entertain the 

suit. 

In its lead judgement, read by 

By Dayo Johnson 

AKURE—PRESIDENT of the 

United Apostolic Church of 

Christ, UACC, Worldwide, Rev 

Bayo Owoyemi, weekend, 

lamented that the lack of 

visionary leaders is responsible 

for the country's woes. 

Owoyemi said this during the 

church's 57th annual 

convention with the theme 

'Goodness and Mercy', held in 

Akure, the Ondo State. 

Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, the 

Supreme Court, held that section 

6 of the 1999 Constitution, as 

amended, conferred the high 

court with the requisite 

jurisdiction to hear and 

determine the pre-election 

matter. 

It held that the Abuja Division 

of the Court of Appeal was right 

when it also returned the case 

file to the high court for a fresh 

hearing of the suit on its merit. 

More so, the apex court, while 

affirming the September 30 

judgement of the appellate 

court, directed the Chief Judge 

of the Federal High Court to 

assign the case file to a different 

judge. 

It berated the former trial judge 

that handled the matter, Justice 

Taiwo Taiwo, over his failure to 

hear a preliminary objection that 

was filed by one of the parties, 

together with the substantive 

suit. 

Justice Saulawa said: "It 

amounted to an act of 

indiscretion on the part of the 

trial judge for him to bypass the 

provision of the law and judicial 

precedents requiring that the 

preliminary objection and the 

main suit be taken together. 

"We, as judicial officers, must 

always bear it in mind that we 

must protect the honour and 

integrity of the Judiciary." 

A three-man panel of the 

appellate court had earlier 

vacated the high court 

judgement that was in favour of 

a factional governorship 

candidate of the PDP, in Ogun 

State, Oladipupo Adebutu. 

2023: Lack of visionary leaders, bane of 

Nigeria — Cleric 

He said: "The decline in 

purposeful leadership manifested 

in the level of Nigeria's 

development since it attained 

independence." 

On the same faith ticket, the 

cleric said: "The same-faith ticket 

is not the problem facing the 

country, but lack of visionary 

leadership. 

"Nigerians are at a point where 

religious sentiment should not 

be the focus. Nigerians are 

clamouring for development and 

a robust economic master plan. 

"I think the government is 

beyond ethnicity or religion. 

These are two different things 

but because of the current 

situation in Nigeria, that is why 

people are kicking against the 

same faith ticket to me, people 

should rule according to their 

conscience. 

"We should also look at what 

those contesting or vying for one 

position or the other have done 

in the past and access them that 

if they promise to do anything, 

they will be able to do it. I think 

that's the main thing to do."


AWARD: 

Governor Ifeanyi 

Ugwuanyi of 

Enugu State (left) 

receiving Noel 

Ifeanyi Alumona, 

an indigene of the 

state and first 

African to win 108- 

year-old AFS 

Award for Young 

Global Citizens, at 

the Government 

House, Enugu, 

yesterday. 

Forgery of S-Court judgment: Court 

orders arrest of APGA chieftain, Njoku 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

ABUJA—A High Court of the 

Federal Capital Territory sitting 

at Bwari, yesterday, issued a bench 

warrant for the arrest of a factional 

leader of the All Progressive Grand 

Alliance, APGA, Edozie Njoku. 

The court, in a ruling that was 

delivered by Justice Mohammed 

Madugu, directed the Inspector- 

General of Police and other security 

agencies in the country to arrest 

the APGA chieftain for allegedly 

forging a judgment of the Supreme 

Court. 

The defendant was alleged to 

have presented the forged 

judgment as genuine, to mislead 

the public and ridicule the judiciary. 

He was further accused of 

forging the letter head paper of a 

retired Justice of the apex court, 

Mary Peter-Odili. 

In his ruling, Justice Madugu 

ordered that Njoku and his alleged 

accomplice, Chukwuemeka 

Nwoga, should be arrested and 

produced in court on November 

28 to face a 14-count criminal 

charge. 

Two counts in the charge against 

the defendants marked CR/12/ 

2022 and dated October 21, read: 

"That you, Edozie Njoku and 

Chukwuemeka Nwoga, on or 

about June 30, 2022, in Abuja and 

others now at large, dishonestly 

and deliberately forged the 

judgment of the Supreme Court 

of Nigeria in suit number: SC/CV/ 

686/2021, with the name of Edozie 

Njoku as the 2nd respondents, 

knowing that he was not a party 

to the case, using same as a 

genuine judgment of the court 

with intent to mislead members of 

the public and ridicule the judicial 

system of the Federal Republic of 

Nigeria, hereby committed an 

offence punishable under section 

366 penal code law. 

"That you Edozie Njoku on or 

about July 18, 2022, and about 

10.30 am at the Force 

Headquarters of Nigeria Police 

Force, Area 11, Abuja, and other 

places paraded and personated 

yourself as the National Chairman 

of the All Progressive Grand 

Alliance which you know the act 

to be false and criminal, thereby 

committing an offence which is 

punishable under section 179 of 

the penal code". 

The prosecution counsel, Mr. 

Rimamsonte Ezekiel, who is a 


•Fixes Nov 28 for arraignment 

Chief Superintendent of Police, 

CSP, had informed the court that 

though the two defendants have 

since been served with a copy of 

the charge against them, they 

deliberately made themselves 

unavailable for trial. 

He, therefore, prayed the court 

to issue the bench warrant to 

enable security agencies to arrest 

the defendants and compel their 

appearance to defend the 

allegations against them. 

However, a lawyer that appeared 

for the defendants, Mr. Panam 

Ntui, urged the court to refuse the 

application for a bench warrant. 

He told the court that the 1st 

defendant, Njoku, travelled to Imo 

state, hence his inability to appear 

for trial. 

Ntui pleaded for a short 

adjournment, stressing that 

though the defendants were yet 

By Peter Okutu 

ABAKALIKI—NO fewer 

than four suspects were 

yesterday, arrested over the 

killing of two Ebubeagu 

Security operatives in 

Ebonyi State. 

The victims were shot at 

the popular Ebebe junction, 

along Ogbaga road in 

Abakaliki. 

The incident, which took 

place on Friday night, 

caused palpable fears 

among indigenes of the 

state as many were seen 

scampering for safety. 

In a telephone chat with 

Vanguard, the Commander 

of Ebubeagu Security outfit 

in Ebonyi State, Mr. Friday 

Nnana who confirmed the 

arrest of the suspects, 

noted that the suspects 

have been handed over to 

the police for further 

investigation. 

"On a strong routine 

patrol last night, we caught 

the killer of the two 

members of Ebubeagu 

Security outfit who lost 

their lives at a checkpoint 

at Ebebe junction in 

Abakaliki." 


to be personally served with the 

charge as required by law, they 

instructed him to appear in the 

matter as a mark of respect they 

have for the court. 

While countering Ntui's claim, 

the prosecution counsel insisted 

that the defendants were duly 

served with the charge. 

CSP Ezekiel told the court that 

he had on November 17, called 

the 1st defendant on phone to also 

notify him of the case. 

He told the court that owing to 

the call, the 1st defendant, sent 

one Mr. Okoro C. Ben, who signed 

and collected a copy of the charge. 

Likewise, nominal complainants 

in the matter, APGA and its 

Chairman, Victor Oye, who were 

represented by Mr. Stephen 

Nwoga, told the court that the 1st 

defendant was in Abuja and not 

in Imo State as claimed by his 

lawyer. 

They told the court that the 1st 

defendant, Njoku, held a press 

conference in Abuja last Thursday, 

wherein he allegedly insulted the 

Supreme Court and the police, 

describing the charge against him 

as frivolous. 

Ruling on the matter, Justice 

Madugu held that there was no 

cogent or verifiable reason to justify 

the absence of the defendants in 

court. 

The trial judge said there was 

evidence before the court to 

establish that the defendants 

have been duly served with the 

charge. 

He held that refusal of the 

defendants to make themselves 

available before the court was 

deliberate and intentional. 

Consequently, Justice Madugu 

acceded to the request of the 

prosecution counsel and 

accordingly issued a warrant for 

the two defendants to be arrested 

and produced for arraignment on 

the next adjourned date. 

4 arrested over killing of Ebubeagu 

operatives in Ebonyi 

•If I do such again, let me be killed —Suspect 

One of the suspects, 

Simon Ebube, who hailed 

from Ihaimufu, Enugu 

State, confessed to the 

commission of the crime. 

"My name is Ebube 

Simon from Enugu State. 

I'm from Ihaimufu. It was 

the boss that said we 

should follow him. We saw 

Ebubeagu operatives and 

macheted him. After we 

A 

COMMUNITY leader in 

Badagry Local Government 

Area of Lagos State, Chief 

Timothy Hundeyin, has sent a 

Save Our Soul message to the 

Comptroller General of Customs 

and Excise, Col. Hameed 

Ibrahim Ali (retd) to save the 

people from sporadic shooting by 

men of Nigerian Customs and 

Excise. 

In a letter to the Comptroller 

General of Customs and Excise, 

Chief Hundeyin cited an 

instance that occurred last 

Wednesday when the customs 

men came to the Ajara 

macheted them. 

"We were six that carried 

out the dastardly act. Our 

names are Boss, Marvife, 

Audu, myself, and Junior. 

"One of us sustained an 

injury while we were 

running. Chekwube was the 

person that said he will 

attack Ebubeagu at the 

check-in point. 

"The state government 

should be merciful towards 

me. If I repeat such let 

them kill me." 

Save our soul from trigger-happy 

customs men, Badagry leader 

appeals 

Community and shot 

sporadically without any 

smugglers in sight, thereby 

endangering the lives of the 

people. 

Hundeyin said: "An innocent 

five-year-old boy escaped death 

by divine intervention," adding 

that the community "was not 

against the chasing of smugglers 

where ever they are found, but 

this should not be at the expense 

of the lives of the innocent 

community dwellers." 

He appealed to the director 

general to use his good offices to 

stop his men from shooting 

indiscriminately to avoid putting 

the people's lives to danger. 

Soludo vs Obi: S-East youths 

talk tough 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

AWKA—THE Coalition of 

South East Youth Leaders, 

COSEYL, a socio-cultural 

group, has threatened to 

organize mass dumping of 

wastes at the Government 

House, Awka, on November 25 

to drive home their anger 

against the state governor, 

Professor Chukwuma Soludo 

for his comments over the 

presidential candidate of the 

Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi. 

Soludo in his article titled, 

‘History beckons and I will not 

be silent (Part 1), said the LP 

presidential candidate was 

playing a game with his 

election bid as does not have 

the necessary structure in 

place to win the presidential 

election on the platform of LP. 

Rising from a meeting 

yesterday, the youths said their 

planned action would serve as 

a deterrent to other Igbo 

political office-holders who 

might want to insult the 

sensibility of the Igbo nation. 

President General of the 

coalition, Mr. Goodluck Ibem, 

who signed the statement, said 

the dumping of refuse in the 

house of anyone who 

committed sacrilege against his 

people was a traditional way of 

disciplining and teaching 

others a lesson. 

The group's statement read 

in part: " We will fill Anambra 

State Government House with 

refuse to serve as a deterrent 

to others. 

"The Igbo nation is a big and 

blessed nation that should not 

By Steve Oko 

ALOY EJIMAKOR, Special 

Counsel to the detained 

Leader of the Indigenous People 

of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi 

Kanu, has issued a statutory 

Legal Notice to media houses to 

stop publishing that his client 

jumped bail. 

Ejimakor relied on the January 

19, 2022 judgment of the Abia 

State High Court in Suit No: 

HIN/FR.14/2021, where the 

court held that Kanu had 

be toyed with by one single 

individual. That Soludo is the 

governor of Anambra State 

today is not of his making, but 

the making of God, using 

Anambra people to vote him 

into office. 

"The statement of Soludo and 

the audacity with which he 

spoke against Mr. Peter Obi 

portrayed him as a man who 

felt that he is above God and 

Anambra people who elected 

him as governor. 

"Without mincing words, 

Soludo insulted the sensibility 

of Anambra State and the 

entire Igbo nation with his 

misguided statement against 

Mr. Peter Obi. 

"Four years is too long to wait 

and it will be an insult to Ndi 

Anambra to wait for four years 

for Soludo to complete his 

tenure which was given to him 

by the people. 

"We, therefore, call on the 

Speaker and the entire 

members of Anambra State 

House of Assembly to 

immediately start the process 

of Soludo's impeachment 

process in order to save the 

Anambra people from this 

national embarrassment by a 

supposed Professor. 

"We want the entire world to 

know that Soludo's unguided 

statement against Peter Obi is 

his personal opinion and not 

the opinion of his own family. 

"Governor Soludo is 

standing alone on his attack 

against Peter Obi and anyone 

who might have paid him for 

such a hatchet job should go 

and collect his money back 

because his statement does 

not hold any water 

whosoever." 

Ejimakor to media houses: 

Stop publishing that Nnamdi 

Kanu jumped bail 

THE CATHOLIC Archbishop 

of Onitsha Archdiocese and 

Metropolitan of Onitsha 

Ecclesiastical Province, His 

Grace Valerian Maduka Okeke, 

has narrated how Mr. Peter Obi's 

investment in education as the 

then Governor of Anambra State, 

and his handing over of 

missionary schools back to the 

Church, revolutionized 

education and placed the state 

on the global map of educational 

achievements. 

Archbishop Okeke made the 

revelation at the Feast Day of 

Christ the King College, Onitsha, 

for which the Presidential 

Candidate of the Labour Party, 

Mr. Peter Obi was in attendance. 

He stated that the good seeds 

sown by Obi in the educational 

sector have continued to yield 

fruits in the state even for years 

after his administration had 

ended. 

He explained that Obi's 

handing over of mission schools 

back to the church brought back 

the holistic formation of students 

both in learning and character. 

justifiable reason to escape for 

self-preservation when the 

military invaded his Afaraukwu 

ancestral home during the 2017 

Operation Python Dance. 

Ejimakor further noted that 

the Court had ordered the 

Federal Government to 

apologize to Kanu on a national 

daily for the invasion of his 

home, hence, publishing that 

Kanu jumped bail would be 

defamatory when he had already 

been cleared by the court. 

How Obi revolutionised 

education in Anambra 

—Archbishop Okeke 

He said "We cannot thank you 

enough, Mr. Peter Obi, for your 

investments in education which 

have turned around the sector 

for good, especially for returning 

mission schools to their original 

owners. Take a look at CKC 

today and see how beautiful 

everywhere is. These outward 

beauties are only but a little sign 

of the great positive 

transformation that goes on 

inside our students, who now 

pass through a productive 

education sector, owing to your 

true leadership." 

Archbishop Okeke noted that 

Anambra State students have 

continued to perform well 

academically and even compete 

favorably with their peers around 

the world. He said that many 

Anambra students, owing to the 

great formation they receive in 

schools, have continued to blaze 

the trail both at the national and 

international levels. This he said, 

is a result of Peter Obi's 

investment in education in the 

state.


:Vanguard 

News 


DIALOGUE—-From left: General-Secretary, NUTGTWN, Ali Baba; Resident Rep, Friedrich- 

Ebert–Stiftung, Dr. Daniel Mann; National President, NUTGTWN, John Adaji, and National 

Chairman, Ghana Mine Workers Union, Mr. Kwarko Memsah, during the Policy Dialogue 

on Sustainable Industrialisation and Employment, in commemoration of 2022 Africa Industrialisation 

Day by NUTGTWN, with the Friendrich-Ebert-Stiftung, in Abuja, yesterday. 

Photo: Olu Ajayi. 

We've received only N44.7bn from 

FG, Delta replies Oshiomhole 

By Festus Ahon 

ASABA—DELTA State 

government, yesterday, 

said former National 

chairman of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, lied, 

disclosing that it (Delta State) 

has so far accessed a total of 

N44.7 billion from the 

accumulated N240 billion 

due to it as an oil producing 

state. 

State Commissioner for 

Finance, Fidelis Tilije, who 

made the clarification while 

briefing journalists in Asaba, 

explained that the received 

amount comprised of a 

quarterly receipt of N4.9 

billion for three quarters, and 

the recently accessed N30 

billion from the N100 billion 

bridging finance application. 

Saying that the total 

accumulated amount was 

....Blasts APC, says over 130 million 

Nigerians live below poverty line 

N240 billion and not N250 

billion, Tilije noted that N240 

billion was approved by both 

the Federation Account 

Allocation Committee, FAAC, 

plenary and National 

Economic Commission, 

NEC, for the payment to 

commence. 

He said: "Because of the 

chronic nature of the nation's 

economy at the moment, the 

payment was spread out on a 

quarterly basis for five years. 

"As we speak today, Delta 

has received N4.9 billion in 

three quarters, which gives a 

total N14.7 billion. The 

balance will be paid 

subsequently on a quarterly 

basis. 

"We attempted to discount 

part of this payment to the 

tune of N150 billion, that we 

didn't do again because we 

came back to look at the books 

and therefore, decided we do 

N100 billion. 

"Out of the N100 billion 

which is part of the approval 

received from the state House 

of Assembly, we have thus far 

accessed N30 billion as we 

speak." 

Tilije explained that the 

funds were being applied in 

the execution of ongoing 

legacy projects, including the 

leisure park and film village, 

Koka flyover, Ughelli-Asaba 

road dualization, Kwale 

industrial park, payment of 

pension arrears and 

development of the three new 

universities. 

Meanwhile, the state 

Commissioner for 

Information, Mr, Charles 

Aniagwu, also at the briefing 

berated the presidential 

candidate of the APC, 

Senator Bola Tinubu and the 

state governorship candidate, 

Senator Ovie Omo-Agege 

over their unprovoked attack 

on the Delta State 

Government. 

Aniagwu said the duo were 

not current with the 

development strides of 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, 

noting that over 130 million 

Nigerians live below poverty 

level against APC promise to 

lift 100 million Nigerians out 

of poverty. 

DESOPADEC sends IDPs home with cash 

DELTA State Oil 

Producing Areas 

Development Commission, 

DESOPADEC, has doled out 

cash support to victims of the 

recent flood disaster, as the 

commission gradually closed 

its Internally Displaced 

Persons, IDP, camps sponsored 

by it. 

No fewer than 6,000 persons 

at the four IDP camps in Oleh, 

Ashaka, Evwreni and 

Okwagbe received cash gifts 

ranging from N40,000 for 

individuals and N100,000 for 

households, as the camps 

came to final close, weekend. 

Managing Director of the 

commission, Askia Ogieh, 

said the gesture was in 

keeping with the mandate of 

the commission to ensure the 

well being of the people in its 

mandate area and also in 

fulfillment of Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa's promise to 

the people that the state would 

support them in settling back 

to their homes and businesses 

after the flood. 

"The pride of any 

government is in wellbeing 

and happiness of its people 

and we are pleased to see this 

in the faces of our people as 

they begin to return home after 

the unfortunate flood disaster 

that impacted seriously on 

them and their businesses. 

"We are extremely proud of 

our response before, during 

and after the flood and it is 

assuring that the people can 

now go home happy and 

confident to resume their 

normal life. While we must 

commend them for their 

discipline, love, friendship and 

cooperation among 

themselves at the camps, we 

are especially grateful to 

Governor Okowa, for not 

only approving and 

supporting the initiative but 

also for taking time off to visit 

the camps, encourage, play 

and pray with the IDPs." 

As the flood approached, the 

commission made efforts to 

de-silt various water channels 

but when the flood increased 

it took steps to open up four 

IDP camps across the state to 

complement those opened by 

the state government. 

"The whole idea was to 

ensure that not only were the 

IDPs well provided for but that 

their pains were turned into 

joy during their stay. As they 

go home, we also saw the need 

to provide them with the cash 

support to enable them restart 

their lives. They have lost a lot 

to the disaster. We cannot 

possibly replace all that they 

have lost but we believe that 

the cash support will provide 

some cushion for them.” 

Sack Ngige, Adamu now if..., NDU ASUU tells Buhari 

By Emem Idio 

Y ACADEMIC ENAGOA— 

Staff 

Union of Universities, ASUU, 

Niger Delta University, NDU, 

Bayelsa Chapter, has called 

for the sack of the Minister of 

Labour and Productivity, Dr. 

Chris Ngige, his Education 

counterpart, Adamu Adamu, 

and the Minister of Finance, 

Zainab Ahmed, for their roles 

in the payment of half salaries 

to lecturers. 

They alleged that Ngige, 

Adamu and Ahmed were 

complicit. 

The lecturers, who 

converged in their numbers 

at a special congress on the 

NDU Law Campus 

Auditorium, Yenagoa, with 

solidarity from students, the 

Nigeria Labour Congress, 

NLC, civil society groups, also 

marched around the campus, 

carrying placards protesting 

Federal Government's half 

salary payments to its 

members. 

Some of the placards read, 

“We are not casual workers 

and we will not accept half 

salary," “IPPIS violate varsity 

autonomy," "FG, state govt 

should not kill public 

universities in Nigeria," 

"Children of the poor have 

right to university education," 

among others. 

Addressing the congress, 

Chairman of ASUU NDU, 

Prof. Kingdom Tonbara, said 

that the branch strongly 

kicked against casualization 

of academics, and the 

bastardization of public 

universities in the country by 

the Federal Government. 

He said: "That's the bone of 

contention, pro-rata salaries 

have reduced ASUU to casual 

staff. That is the bone of 

contention. Are we casuals? No. 

We are not going to accept it. 

"NDU ASUU is in support of 

our national body that children 

of the poor must attend 

universities, a people united 

cannot be defeated. ASUU, 

students and civil society say 

they are in support of the struggle 

of ASUU." 

Don’t back those working against 

N-Delta, NDDC tasks staff 

By Davies 

Iheamnachor 

PORT HARCOURT— 

Acting Managing 

Director of the Niger Delta 

Development Commission, 

NDDC, Emmanuel Audu- 

Ohwavborua, has charged 

staff of the commission to 

ensure that they do not work 

with those working against the 

progress and development of 

the Niger Delta region. 

Audu-Ohwavborua spoke 

during a Staff Work Ethics/ 

Organisational Behaviour 

Advocacy Programme at the 

NDDC headquarters, in Port 

Harcourt, Rivers State. 

The NDDC boss said he 

identified those he described 

SPCC Class of 82 marks 

anniversary, presents award 

to NDDC boss 

EFFURUN—THE new 

management 

committee of St. Peter Clavers 

College, SPCC, Aghalokpe, 

Uvwie Local Government 

Area of Delta State, has been 

enjoined to surpass the 

achievements of the pioneer 

Management Committee, in 

order to take the school to a 

greater height. 

Pioneer chairman of SPCC 

Class of 82, Efe Afe, during the 

40th anniversary of the class, 

held in Effurun, said the 

celebration was aimed at 

restoring SPCC to an enviable 

height it attained in the good 

old days. 

He thanked God that 40 years 

Amnesty office: IYC backs 

reforms on PAP 

UMBRELLA body of 

Ijaw Youths worldwide, 

the Ijaw Youths Council, IYC, 

has thrown it's weight behind 

the Interim Administrator of 

the Presidential Amnesty 

Programme, PAP, Maj- 

General Barry Ndiomu (retd) 

in his desire to re-define the 

operations of the amnesty 

programme, in consonance 

with global standards and 

protocols. 

According to the council, 

despite the flaws noticed in the 

amnesty programme and it's 

stumbling journey of 13 years, 

the few months of Ndiomu 

have shown considerable 

review and re-engineering of 

PAP's operations, which has 

led to open commitment of 

employment and 

as enemies of the Niger Delta 

region in his book entitled: 

'REAL ENEMIES OF THE 

NIGER DELTA,' noting that 

achieving the goals of any 

organisation is tied to the 

efficiency of the organisation’s 

workforce. 

He said: “I identified 

amongst others, indigenes 

of the Niger Delta region 

as one category of enemies. 

I also identified those with 

power and influence, those 

that find themselves in the 

corridors of power, in 

government offices. Some 

indigenes of the region 

who find themselves in 

position of influence, but 

refused to put the region’s 

interest first." 

Wike pledges logistics 

support for Kwankwaso 

GOVERNOR Nyesom 

Wike of Rivers State has 

pledged to provide logistics 

support for the campaigns of 

the presidential candidate of 

the New Nigeria People’s 

Party, NNPP, Rabiu 

Kwankwaso, in the state. 

Wike made this known, 

yesterday, when the NNPP 

candidate inaugurated the 

Mgbutanwo Internal Roads 

in the Emohua Local 

Government Area of Rivers 

State. 

Wike, a chieftain of the 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, 

who invited Kwankwaso to 

the event, described him as a 

man of integrity, who meant 

well for Nigeria. 

He said Kano was very 

important for the victory of 

PDP in the 2023 presidential 

election, next February, but all 

his entreaties to PDP stalwarts 

not to let Kwankwaso go 

proved abortive. 

Wike said he persuaded 

Kwankwaso not to dump the 

PDP earlier in March but 

enemies within the party 

pushed him out. 

Wike said the former 

governor of Kano State has 

what is required to put 

Nigeria together, adding that 

it was unfortunate that they 

were no longer in the same 

party. 

He said: “You are a man of 

integrity. It is unfortunate we 

are not in the same party but 

God will help at the 

appropriate time. People like 

this are people that should 

talk about the leadership of 

the country. I have no 

apologies to make to 

anybody." 

ago, most of them who were teenagers 

have become captains of 

industry following the training 

they received at St. Peter Clavers 

College, Aghalokpe. 

The federal lawmaker 

disclosed that the group had 

earlier built a state -of-the-art 

computer centre for SPCC, which 

was commissioned by the 

Orodje of Okpe Kingdom as one 

of its achievements during his 

tenure. 

"I thank God that 40 years ago 

we were boys but today we are 

captains of industry. This is 

because of the training we got 

from SPCC, our school didn't 

have perimeter fence then but 

no student dare to leave the 

school premises without 

permission, the reason is 

discipline," he stated. 

empowerment of genuine 

beneficiaries of the programme 

by agencies of government, 

including the private 

sector. 

IYC, through its National 

Spokesman, Ebilade Ekerefe, 

said the amnesty programme, 

now 13 years old, has 

recorded some achievements, 

but not without controversies 

regarding its management. 

He added that the ongoing 

efforts by the new amnesty 

boss to consult and interact 

with stakeholders on the 

review process is gladenning 

and would stop the 

misconception that he is 

coming to terminate the 

programme abruptly when 

the mandate of PAP is yet to 

be completed despite the fact 

that it has stayed longer than 

expected.

VANGUARD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022 — 13 

FACES AT THE 70TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF OMAWUMI EVELYN 

ATSIANGBE-URHOBO AND PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF BOOK IN LAGOS, WEEKEND 

70th Birthday Celebration of Omawumi Evelyn Atsiangbe-Urhobo and Public Presentation of her 

Book, Title: ‘I Spoke at the American Congress: The Little Girl from Okere Warri', at Church Hall, 

Our Saviours Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan, Lagos. Photos: Kehinde Gbadamosi. 

•From left: Jide Akinloye; Mrs. Atema Akindele; Dr, Omawumi 

Evelyn Atsiangbe-Urhobo, celebrant; Prof. Leroy Edozien; Dr. Christy 

Atako; Prof. Itse Sagay; Prof. Hope Eghagha, book reviewer, and 

Ajijala Rone-Orugboh, Chairman of the occassion. 

•Dr. Atsiangbe-Urhobo cutting the cake, surrounded by her children 

and grandchildren. 

From left: Deacon Olude Grant, Chief Yayah 

Pessu, Ojomo of Warri Kingdom, and Chief 

Gabriel Pessu. 

•From left: Ms Felicia Bassey, Mrs. Rose 

Erwa-Danmole, Mrs. Cynthia Ani, and Mrs. 

Julie Omamulie. 

•From left: Mr. Princelyn Oduenyi, Mr. 

George Mbah, and Mr. Victor Opara.


Why the Kano-Maradi 

Rail Project 

controversy is 

unwarranted 

—Amaechi, ex-Minister 

•speaks on why he read the law 

Former Minister of Transportation and Rivers State 

Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, shocked the world on 

Saturday when he bagged a second class upper law degree 

from Baze University Abuja. 

In this interview with Joseph Erunke and Gbemiga 

Olamikan, Amaechi speaks on why he went to school to get a 

law degree at 57 and why the controversy over the Kano- 

Maradi Railway Project, which was executed during his tenure 

as transportation minister, is unwarranted. Excerpts. 

•Rotimi Amaechi...read law to fulfil late father's wish 

YOU were among the 

excited students who 

graduated from Baze 

University last Saturday. How 

do you feel about graduating 

with a law degree at this age? 

At this age, 57? Well, it is 

normal. I should have 

graduated a long time ago. 

When I hear people say I 

bought a degree, I just laugh. 

I laugh because until I started 

campaigning for the 

presidency, I never missed a 

class. So, for three years and 

six months, I never missed a 

class. And I appeared before 

all the lecturers and all the 

students. The school even 

gave me an award for being 

very diligent and punctual. I 

never failed any course work. 

But that's not important. 

What is important is that I 

did all my course work in 

person, and nobody can say 

the lecturers passed me. And 

in Baze University, we don't 

write our matriculation 

number or our names; instead, 

a barcode is placed on the 

answer sheet. 

So when the teachers mark, 

they do what is called ‘blind 

marking’ and they can't take 

it home. They mark it there in 

the school, and if they can't 

finish, they leave it there and 

come back the next day. When 

they come the next day, they 

continue. And as they are 

marking, they mark with a 

barcode, so they don't know 

the name of the person or the 

matriculation number, and I 

don't think they are 

handwriting experts. 

Let me give you an instance. 

I scored 69 in Jurisprudence, 

which was a B grade. The 

person who taught me 

Jurisprudence was my 

supervisor in my long essay; 

I'm sure if he had known that 

it was me, he would have 

added one mark to make it 70 

to give me an A. The whole 

faculty was like, "Oh, no; he 

should have added you just 

one mark to make it 70 

percent." But overall, it was 

fun having to attend classes 

with children as young as 16 

and 17 years of age and a few 

other adults. 

But what was the motivation 

for going to study law at that 

age and after being a 

governor, speaker, and 

serving minister of the 

Federal Republic of Nigeria, 

for that matter? 

First and foremost, it was to 

fulfil my father's wish that I 

read law. At least, I have 

satisfied his wish, and he 

would have been happy if he 

were alive. 

What was his reason for 

asking to read the law? 

He was in love with the work 

of Chief Rotimi Williams, who 

was one of the best lawyers 

then, and felt I should be like 

him. 

How were you able to 

combine schooling with the 

rigours of the office of 

Minister of Transportation? 

When I got the admission, 

I started asking myself how I 

would cope with my work. I 

would go to school as early as 

8 a.m. and report to work by 

6pm. I worked from 6 p.m. to 

11 p.m., and sometimes until 

11:30 p.m., then went home. I 

did that on Mondays, 

Tuesdays, and Thursdays. 

Wednesdays were reserved for 

Federal Executive Council 

meetings. I worked on 

Wednesdays and Fridays. 

Do you intend to go a step 

further by going to law 

school? 

Yes, I think so. I may go to 

law school. I'm already doing 

a Master’s degree in 

corporate and company law at 

Kings College, London. I 

hope to combine it with law 

school. 

So what comes next after 

law school, sir? Do you intend 

to practise law and represent 

clients in court? 

Never. 

So is it just the sake of 

having a law degree that took 

you to the school? 

No, it is not just the 

certificates but to also have the 

knowledge of law and to be 

able to lead and manage 

better with sound knowledge. 

The knowledge will help me 

not make some mistakes. There 

is no excuse under the law. So 

they are some things one 

cannot know except they read 

Law. 

Would you want your 

children to read the law, as 

your father did for you? 

It's their choice, whatever 

they want to read is for them 

to choose. 

Why would you not practise 

law and represent clients in 

court? 

Why do I need to practice? 

I have a lawyer, and my lawyer 

is one of the 

best lawyers 

in Nigeria. 

L a t e e f 

Fagbemi, 

who is more 

exposed, 

m o r e 

experienced. 

So why do I 

need to 

practise 

a g a i n ? 

Besides, I 

may be such 

a bad lawyer 

that they may send me to jail. 

Why do I need to be a lawyer 

to defend myself when I know 

my lawyer can defend me? It's 

just the benefit of the fact that 

my father wanted me to be a 

lawyer. That is all. And 

unfortunately, he is dead. 

Since we have this local belief 

that our dead parents watch 

over us, I’m sure he would 

have been happy when I 

walked to obtain my certificate 

during the convocation. 

Would you advise others to 

emulate you? 

There is no knowledge that 

is a waste. You can only stop 

acquiring knowledge when 

you die. Consider how few 

men are aware that engaging 

a girl under the age of 18 

constitutes rape. Even if the 

girl agrees to sexual 

intercourse with you, it is still 

rape. The fact that she's 18 

puts you in jail whether she 

agrees to it or not, but how 

many men know that? But if 

you read the law, you would 

know that it’s part of the 

criminal code. There are quite 

a lot of things you learn when 

you are studying law. So you 

just make sure that you act 

properly and do not put 

yourself in trouble and go to 

jail for nothing. For those who 

have money, I would advise 

that they go to Baze 

University because of the 

quality of the infrastructure 

and the quality of the faculty. 

I advise the federal 

government 

to improve 

the quality 

Why do I need to be a 

lawyer to defend myself 

when I know my lawyer 

can defend me? It's just 

the benefit of the fact that 

my father wanted me to be 

a lawyer; that is all, and 

unfortunately, he is dead 

o f 

infrastructure 

in public 

universities. 

I advise 

people to 

acquire 

m o r e 

knowledge. 

There 

are claims 

out there 

that you 

rejected the establishment of 

a campus of the Law School 

in Rivers State when you 

were the governor. Why did 

you kick against it? 

Yes, it's true. When they 

brought the proposal, I asked 

who would be funding the 

school since it is a federal 

government project, and they 

said the federal government 

would not be paying for it, and 

I said no. I would rather use 

what we had at the time to 

establish more primary and 

secondary schools to provide 

functional education for 

Rivers' children. I'm not 

Father Christmas. I said 

primary and secondary 

schools in Rivers State were 

not functioning at that time and 

that it would be unwise to 

leave them in that sordid state 

and establish a campus of the 

Nigerian Law School, which 

is in the responsibility of the 

Federal Government. 

I offered them a large parcel 

of land for the project, but they 

rejected it. So, I don't know 

why that is an achievement for 

a man whose primary and 

secondary schools are not 

functioning and teachers are 

not paid. By the time I 

conducted the education audit 

in Rivers State, we had 

employed 90,000 teachers, 

and I hired another 13,200, 

significantly improving the 

state's teaching quality. So that 

money that he used to build 

the law school would have 

been used to employ more 

teachers. 

Are you saying that it's a 

misplaced priority? 

Exactly. It's a federal 

government responsibility. I 

told them I was not interested 

but I would give them the 

land. So the money spent 

there could have been used in 

building more schools, 

employing more teachers, and 

training them. Out of the 

13,200 teachers, only 3000 

plus were teachers, the other 

10,000 were people who were 

just looking for jobs, and we 

employed them and took them 

to the Rivers State University 

of Education to train them for 

six months. 

So, instead of investing in a 

large federal government 

project, you should have used 

the funds to hire more 

teachers, build more schools, 

and create more jobs for our 

people. Rivers State has the 

highest rate of 

unemployment. 

Looking back now, do you 

have anything you feel you 

should have done as a 

minister but could not do by 

the time you left? 

No. Go back to my history. I 

was a speaker, and during my 

time as a speaker, I was known 

Continues on page 15

THE BIG INTERVIEW 

Why the Kano-Maradi Rail Project controversy 

is unwarranted —Amaechi, ex-Minister 

Continues 

from page 14 

as one of the 

b e s t 

speakers in 

Nigeria. At 

42, I was the 

youngest 

governor in 

Nigeria. 

Do you 

have any 

regrets 

when you 

look back? 

I have no 

regrets. 

Are you a 

happy man? 

Yes, I am 

very happy. 

W h a t 

would you 

•Rotimi Amaechi (m) during his graduation from the Baze 

University last week 

say you failed to do as minister? 

Just go back to my history. I know 

Nigerians forget so soon. I was 

speaker of the Rivers State House of 

Assembly at 34, and I was known to 

be one of the best speakers in Nigeria. 

At 42, I was the youngest governor in 

Nigeria. I served and left, and nobody 

can deny my achievements. The 

houses they are living in here in Abuja, 

I built them. When I came, there was 

no house befitting of the governor, so 

I built it. I built and equipped primary 

schools with computers that made 

them the envy of all the states. And 

Indians were brought in to teach 

people computer knowledge. 

I built world class secondary schools 

that the present government is 

converting into universities. We had 

two students per room. We hired 

teachers, and the state was paying 

N800 million a year for all the children, 

or 1000 children in school with free 

education. So, instead of building a 

law school, we diverted N800 million 

to schools. Now, all those schools are 

closed. 

That is why I said don't worry and 

that you would hear us speak when 

campaigns start. We have not started 

campaigning. And I have said that 

when we start campaigning, if the 

governor abuses me, I will abuse him 

back. The reason he 

does what he does is 

that nobody is able to 

challenge him. And 

people don't challenge 

him because they want 

to stay clean; they don't 

want to be seen to be 

in the same mud. 

When the time comes, 

all of us will be in the 

same mud. 

I was going to ask 

you: Why the silence 

from you? 

The silence is 

simply because there is 

nothing new to say. 

What have I not said 

before? I have talked about corruption, 

poverty, and education. When we go 

for campaigns in Rivers State, you will 

hear from us, we have not started 

campaigning yet. 

Some Nigerians suggest that the rail 

project you undertook as Minister of 

Transport for the Niger Republic is a 

misplaced priority given the 

numerous problems in the country. 

How do you respond to that? 

It is their choice, but don't forget that 

we belong to many international 

organisations as a country. One of the 

international organisations we belong 

to is called the Economic Community 

of West African States, ECOWAS. That 

is an ECOWAS project that was signed 

We met the 

design of the 

Kano-Maradi 

rail line project 

and had to 

follow it up by 

implementing it 

under the administration of President 

Goodluck Jonathan. We just met it at 

the table. 

We met the design and had to follow 

it up by implementing it. So what is 

the misplaced priority here when we 

have an agreement with ECOWAS 

and they expect Nigeria as a country 

to do the railroad up to the Niger 

Republic. How can it be misplaced? It's 

just 45 kilometres into the Niger 

Republic. Even if we cut off the 45 

kilometres, are they saying that we 

shouldn't do rail projects in other parts 

of Nigeria? Assume the route is no 

longer Kano-Maradi but Kano-Jibia 

because Jibia is in Nigeria; is it wrong 

to build rail from Kano to Jibia? It is 

only from Jibia to Maradi that there 

are 45 kilometres. 

I don't want to say they are wrong, 

but I don't know why everybody should 

be shouting because the other parts of 

Nigeria that are on that rail are entitled 

to amenities like other parts of 

Nigeria. The second reason is that you 

can't forget the fact that trade 

facilitation is a big issue on this 

continent. What those Nigerians who 

feel the rail project to Niger is a waste 

should ask themselves is why all the 

other neighbouring landlocked 

countries use Togo, Benin Republic, 

Ghana, and Ivory Coast and not 

Nigeria? 

This is because there 

are many customs and 

police checkpoints, as 

well as criminal 

checkpoints and other 

setbacks that they 

carefully avoid. And so 

the cost of doing business 

has become very high, 

and our ports are not able 

to compete with those of 

the ordinary Benin 

Republic. However, in 

order to get our seaports 

to a competitive 

advantage, we have to 

ensure that we are able 

to provide the critical 

infrastructure that will enable those 

landlocked states to use our seaports, 

and the only infrastructure that can 

enable the use of our seaports is to 

build a rail line. That is what we did. 

How do you feel about losing the 

presidential primary of your party? 

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We are 

Christians. If it had been God's will 

for me to be president, I would have 

won my party's primary. I didn't 

campaign to be second. So when 

people hailed me for coming second 

in the primary, I asked them what that 

was. It's like your child telling you, 

"Dad, I came second." What about the 

first person? Is he God? 





LECTURE—From left: Prof. Jide Osuntokun, Speaker; John Atom 

Kpera, former first military governor of Anambra State/Chairman of 

the occassion; Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Afenifere Leader; Commodore Ebitu 

Ukiwe (retd), and Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Executive Vice Chairman 

at Qura Mandate Consulting Nigeria, during the Public lecture on 

Nationalism and Nation Building, in Nigerian History, organised 

by Prof. George Obiozor, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, 

held in Lagos, yesterday. Photos: Akeem Salau. 

By Boluwaji 

Obahopo 

LGENERAL OKOJA—INSPECTOR- 

of Police, 

Usman Baba, described 

Governor Bello as a dogged 

crime fighter who has made 

the state unsafe for criminals. 

This is as Governor 

Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, 

yesterday said the 

government would not allow 

desperate politicians to 

plunge the state into the pre- 

2015 era of insecurity in the 

guise of politics. 

This is as the 

The governor, who spoke 

while receiving the visiting 

IGP Baba, said credible 

intelligence report revealed 

that actions of some 

politicians are breaching the 

peace in the state, saying his 

administration would not 

allow insecurity to be 

smuggled into Kogi through 

the "boot of politics". 

He appreciated state Police 

Command, led by the CP 

Edward Egbuka, as well as 

those of the various security 

agencies operating in the 

state, saying, "They stand by 

day and by night to secure our 

lives and properties. We 

recognize their sacrifice and 

dedication and we do owe 

them a weight of gratitude for 

their service. Together they 

form a formidable wall of 

defence for my people and 

state." 

On how insecurity was 

tackled in Kogi, the governor 

said among others, "It is well 

known that prior to the 

inception of the current 

administration, our citizens 

lived in perpetual fear from 

rampaging insecurity of all 

kinds including high rates of 

terrorism, kidnapping, bank 

robbery, violent political 

agitations, pipeline 

vandalism, herdsmen/farmers 

conflicts, inter- and intracommunal 

clashes, campus 

and other forms of cultism, 

amongst others. 

"By the grace of God, over 

the last seven years my 

administration has done its 

best to supply both the tools 

and the allied morale 

boosters that our officers need 

to excel. In our first year, we 

were able to buy and 

distribute over 200 patrol 

vans, over 500 motorcycles 

and thousands of 

communication and tactical 

equipment to the services. We 

also continue to provide 

regular maintenance and 

logistical support. 

"In addition, we established 

a Joint Task Force, Operation 

Total Freedom, for them 

which allowed the Police, the 

Armed Forces and all the 

other Security Services, 

including our community 

•From left: Prof. Obiozor; Chukie Nneji, Chairman, Electric Shack; 

Dr. Katch Ononuju, DG, Heritage Centre in Abuja, and Ozichukwu 

Chukwu, Chairman, BOT Association of Igbo Town Unions, at the 

event. 

Kogi no longer safe for criminal —IGP 

•We won't allow politicians to plunge Kogi into in security —Gov Bello 

policing network (the Kogi 

State Vigilante Services), to 

work in tandem, sharing intel 

and collaborating real-time 

in operations. In this way we 

were able to tackle the distrust 

existing among the services 

DANGOTE Industries 

Limited, DIL, and its 

Africa’s leading cement 

manufacturer subsidiary, 

Dangote Cement Plc., were 

adjudged the Largest 

Corporate Bond lodgment on 

FMDQ in gold category and 

the 2022 Most Trusted Brand 

of the Year respectively. 

On the back of the Largest 

Corporate Bond lodgment on 

FMDQ award came another 

recognition with the Dangote 

Group, named as the Most 

Outstanding Conglomerate in 

Environmental 

Sustainability. 

The cement giant came tops 

in the stock market for its 

unprecedented N116 billion 

Series 2 Bond issuance back 

in May this year. 

The FMDQ Gold Awards 

recognises excellence in Fixed 

Income, Currencies and 

Derivatives market. It also 

recognises demonstrated 

resilience and agility of the 

Nigerian financial markets 

participants and 

acknowledges the valuable 

and which is the root of the 

lack of synergy hampering 

their effectiveness." 

Earlier, the IGP said 

Governor Bello was one 

governor that would not raise 

the alarm of not being in 

control of security in his state, 

noting he "leads from the 

front". 

He said among others, "I 

have never heard him crying 

that he doesn't have control of 

security in his state. That is 

because he is able to synergise 

2022: Dangote Industries wins FMDQ largest corporate lodgment award 

efforts of the stakeholders and 

their participation in the 

FMDQ markets and across 

the financial market. It is also 

given to the corporate entity 

for the highest total bonds 

value admitted on FMDQ 

Depository. 

During the annual Most 

Trusted Brand Award, 

organised by leading 

research firm Brand Health 

Ltd, Dangote Cement was 

chosen as the most trusted 

cement brand in a survey of 

13,000 consumers. 

The Chief Executive Officer, 

Brand Health Ltd, Emman 

Udowoima commended 

Dangote Cement for the 

achievement, describing it as 

a brand of trust and choice 

indeed. According to him “four 

out of ten consumers who took 

part in the study voted 

Dangote Cement as the Most 

Trusted Cement Brand in 

Nigeria. The popularity and 

the confidence in the brand is 

overwhelming as its closest 

rival scored just 12% while 

Dangote scored 41%.” 

2023: LP a minus to PDP, 

plus to APC, says Ganduje 

G 

O 

V E R N O R 

ABDULLAHI 

Ganduje of Kano State, 

yesterday, said that the 

Presidential candidate of 

the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter 

Obi running for the 

presidency is a "good omen" 

for the All Progressives 

Congress, APC. 

Ganduje spoke during an 

interview with Channels 

Television. 

Asked if the growing 

popularity of Obi may cause 

problems for the APC, the 

Kano governor said Obi as 

LP candidate will have little 

to no effect on the APC. 

His words: "The effect of the 

emergence of Labour Party 

with Obi as the presidential 

candidate, I think it is a good 

omen for the APC because our 

major contender is the PDP. 

"If you look at it, what is our 

political investment in the 

south-east? The votes 

(referring to one of the previous 

elections) we got from 

Nassarawa LGA in Kano 

metropolitan were much 

higher than the total votes the 

APC got in the whole five 

states of the South-East. 

"You can see that if there is 

any problem, politically in the 

south-east, it is the PDP that 

will suffer the brunt. 

"The emergence of Obi from 

the south-eastern part of this 

country, I think it is the votes 

of the PDP that he will be 

snatched away and he is 

already snatching it away. For 

APC - it is even a good omen. 

"Instead of having a very 

close competitor, now the 

competitor, his attention is 

being divided apart from the 

problem they are having in 

the political party, especially 

the G5. 

"Any political analyst will 

know that the emergence of 

the Labour Party is a minus to 

PDP and by implication and 

extrapolation, it is a plus to 

our great party the APC." 

Other cement brands with 

substantial mentions scored 

between 3% and 8%. Some of 

the elements of the survey 

include questions like ‘the 

brand that you feel most 

confident in, the brand that 

and cooperate with all the 

security agencies as well as 

lead from the front. Security 

is everybody's business. When 

you have a leader who is 

leading from the front, others 

will follow. That is what is 

happening in Kogi. 

offers you what you want, the 

brand that offers highest 

quality, the brand that is 

distinctive, and the brand you 

would recommend to your 

friends and relatives. 

Udowoima stated that 

"Many of the crimes being 

committed by sons and 

daughters of Kogi are not even 

being committed in Kogi but 

outside Kogi because they 

have no place in Kogi State 

again. 

"We have people like His 

Excellency who are 

supporting our cause and my 

sincere gratitude to His 

Excellency for being proactive 

about security." 

about 13,000 respondents 

participated in the 2022 

survey and were 

interviewed across 12 

states in Nigeria including 

the Federal Capital 

Territory.



UNDERAGE voters have been part 

of our electoral system for quite some 

time. Even the 2015 general elections, 

which were perceived as "free, fair, 

and credible," featured thousands, if 

not millions, of ineligible kids who 

freely registered and cast their votes. 

Child voters are minors who are not 

up to the voting age of 18 years and 

above. Children and foreigners 

their false claims of being of age. 

register and vote freely in our 

They don’t demand proof. They just 

elections in the North East and North, 

register them and allow them to vote, 

in particular. Attempts to question the 

in blatant contravention of the 

presence of voter’s card-wielding 

Constitution and the Electoral Act. 

children at the polling stations are met 

After the Kano State local 

with belligerent stares and threats of 

government elections in 2018, photos 

violence by adult members of the 

and videos of child voters as young 

communities. 

as eight went viral on social media. 

Even the law enforcement agents 

The INEC's spokesman, Oluwole 

posted to maintain the law, fail to 

Uzzi, then distanced the commission 

remove them from the lines for fear 

from it, claiming that the election was 

of their own safety. 

conducted by the Kano State 

The Independent National Electoral 

Independent National Electoral 

Commission, INEC, officials never 

Commission, KANSIEC. 

bother to question the children on 

The Kano State Commissioner for 

INEC and underage voters 

Information, Mohammed Garba, also 

denied that they came from the local 

poll, alleging that they were taken 

from the 2015 general elections. 

INEC formed a panel to look into 

the matter. Nothing came of that 

effort. Yet, the same underage 

children surfaced again, even after 

the Professor Mahmood Yakubuled 

INEC claimed to have "cleaned" 

the voter’s register with their 

homemade technology known as 

the Automatic Biometric 

Identification System, ABIS. They 

were neither able to remove the 

kids' registrants nor knock off their 

double or multiple registrations. 

Instead, the INEC delegated 

responsibility for removing ineligible 

prospective child voters to the public, 

asking them to identify the 

perpetrators "with concrete proof." 

Shouldn’t INEC summon their 

officials who enrolled these children 

to justify their actions? They could 

easily ask the children to bring proofs 

of their eligibility or have their names 

struck out, and appropriate sanctions 

applied to prevent re-occurrence. 

After all these rigmaroles, it is most 

likely that those children will still 

vote in 2023, thus rendering all 

efforts by the Commission to conduct 

a credible election with technology a 

mere pretence. 

They will be complicit in prerigging 

the election with child voters, 

along with the unexplained 

invalidation of millions of voter 

registrants in the Southern zones. 

OF all the mistakes made by the 

military, none is greater than the 

1975–1976 assault on the bureaucracy in 

this country. It was termed "the great purge" 

by the media at that time. But that action 

destroyed the robust civil service system, and 

since that time, this country has lost its way. 

In any national development, there is no 

substitute for a strong civil service system. 

Tampering with the bureaucracy is the 

foundation for the total collapse of the 

government itself. The military indulged in 

treating the civil service like a sporting event 

without knowing that it would lead to the 

decay and rot we are witnessing now. 

Bureaucracy means "the civil servants, the 

administrative functionaries, who are 

professionally trained for the public service 

and who enjoy permanence of tenure, 

promotion within the service-partly by 

seniority and partly by merit." 

The meticulous bureaucracy is also 

professedly apolitical. This basically 

insinuates that a bureaucrat is not to have a 

political agenda of his own but, preferably, 

to faithfully implement the policies of the 

government of the day. It also has another 

and presumably more important meaning, 

namely, that a civil servant's allegiance and 

adhesion should be to the constitution of 

the land and not to any political party, 

politician, etc. Public bureaucracy is a very 

invigorating element of the development 

process. 

Bureaucratic capacity adjudicates what 

will get done, when it will get done, and how 

well it will get done. The more dexterous the 

bureaucracy is in implementing labyrinthine 

economic and social development plans, the 

higher the development potential of that 

society.“Bureaucracy epitomises the most 

OPINION 

Undeserved assault on the 

bureaucracy 

consummate and rational way in which one 

can codify human activity, and methodical 

processes and standardised hierarchies are 

indispensable to maintain order, maximise 

efficiency, and eliminate favoritism.“A 

bureaucracy appears to be impersonal. This 

predominantly, means that a bureaucrat is 

anticipated, to be guided by objective 

premeditation while enforcing rules and 

regulations in the scheme of implementing 

opaque policy measures and directives. In 

other words, a bureaucrat, a civil servant, 

or a government official, regardless of the 

name we choose to call him by, is not 

supposed to be guided by his idiosyncratic 

whims and fancies, biases, and prejudices 

in the dispensation of his official duties." 

These are what we are told that bureaucracy 

stands for, according to Dr. V. Pardha 

Saradhi. 

In spite of the purge of 1975, what positive 

things have we achieved since then? 

Discipline erring officers, but don’t collapse 

the system. In an attempt to discipline 

certain officers, the system was brought to 

its knees in 1975-1976. We fought a civil 

war between 1967 

and 1969, and we 

fought that war 

without borrowing a 

kobo, but the success 

of that war could be 

traced to the robust 

civil service that was 

in existence at that 

time. No doubt the 

military officers went 

to war as foot soldiers, 

but the backup energy 

was provided by the 

bureaucracy. 

In case we forgot, Mr. Nowa Omoigui 

wrote a comprehensive report on 

bureaucracy's efforts before and after the 

civil war. He wrote that "for the ten months 

of the Gowon regime, there was no federal 

cabinet. Permanent secretaries, who dealt 

directly with Gowon, headed federal 

ministries. In the confusion of the weekend 

of July 29, 1966, the birth of his government 

at the Ikeja Barracks had been partially 

mediated by a group of federal permanent 

secretaries. These included Abdul Aziz Attah, 

A whole variety of trade 

dispute emergency decrees 

were also promulgated to settle 

wartime trade disputes 

Phillip Asiodu, Allison Ayida, Musa 

Daggash, Ibrahim Damcida, HA 

Ejueyitchie, Yusuf Gobir, BN Okagbue, and 

others. Other prominent federal public 

servants included the Chairman of the Public 

Service Commission, Alhaji Sule Katagum. 

Along with others, as well as the British and 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

American envoys, these men counselled 

caution in the heat of the events that were 

unfolding. 

“These pre-war grand strategic and 

political machinations aside, the federal 

civil service played a complex role during 

the war, alternately being viewed as an ally 

or an irritant by the front-line military. Civil 

servants suggested the establishment of 

security and civil defence organisations in 

various states, tapping into logistical 

resources provided by various ministries. 

They counselled the promulgation of many 

war-time decrees, such as the Public Security 

Decree (No. 31 of 1967), which outlawed 

the private possession of weapons and 

ammunition, and the Military Courts 

(Special Powers) Decree (No. 4 of 1968), 

designed to enforce discipline among 

federal troops. A whole variety of trade 

dispute emergency decrees were also 

promulgated to settle wartime trade 

disputes. Mr. Gray Longe, who later became 

the Head of Service, recalls that initially 

there was an Armed Forces Committee on 

the procurement of supplies. This committee 

included the Deputy Permanent Secretary 

at the MOD, along with the Army QMG, 

Air Force Logistics Officer, and specialised 

differences between service needs. This 

committee gave way to a purely military 

Joint Supplies Board to reconcile 

competing requests. Then, in October 1969, 

apparently in response to abuses in the 

system as well as competition between Army 

divisions (who were each doing their own 

thing), Gowon created a central 

procurement committee that would make 

recommendations to him on the basis of 

input from the Joint Supplies Board. 

To be concluded

government 


As intemperate language, fake news, 

judicial rascality threaten 2023 elections 

THE 2023 elections in Nigeria bring with 

them hopes and fears, expectations, and 

optimism for a better future. However, forces 

are fighting inadvertently to truncate the 

elections, imperil our nascent democracy, dim 

the light, and bring all our political 

calculations to nothing. These seemingly 

imperceptible forces are powerful, subtle, and 

distinct but not mutually exclusive. They 

include the use of intemperate language by 

candidates, the preponderance of fake news 

and judicial compromise. Except for those who 

study historical patterns in our clime and other 

jurisdictions, you may not take note of the 

gathering storm. These unholy triune forces 

are powerful enough to cause mayhem and 

destroy our electoral process come 2023 if 

nothing is done. They can truncate our 2023 

elections and our democracy. 

The first of these forces fighting to escalate 

violence, deepen distrust in the political 

process, and truncate the election, though not 

the most important, is use of intemperate 

language by politicians and their supporters. 

This has no party colouration and is beginning 

to define the nature and character of the 2023 

elections. Politicians in this early stage of the 

campaign are resorting to personal attacks, 

vilifications, bickering, insults, and abuse of 

their opponents. Name calling, ethnic and 

sectional expressions have replaced any form 

of serious engagement. Recently, presidential 

candidates of all the political parties have been 

using direct insulting or derogatory statements 

or innuendos to vilify each other. Bola Ahmed 

Tinubu, BAT, has been a bout of jokes and 

caricature because of his perceived ill health. 

Peter Obi recently jibed at BAT by claiming 

that some candidates have good health, 

verifiable classmates, certificates, and easily 

provable history alluding to the controversy 

regarding BAT’s early years’ history and 

educational attainment. 

BAT, on his part, accused Obi of having IPOB 

supporters who have been vilifying him and 

spreading rumours about his health status and 

ability to function as a president. Obi has been 

accused of being agent of fake statistics. On 

the other hand, Atiku boldly asked northerners 

in a gathering in Kaduna not to vote for 

presidential candidates of Igbo or Yoruba 

extraction. These divisive and derogatory 

expressions by presidential candidates are 

more than mere attacks that candidates make 

on each other during campaigns, as seen in 

mature democracies. The volatile venomous 

nature of these expressions is seen in the 

offensive attacks using ill health, human 

frailties or ethnic and sectional sentiments, 

which often are no-go areas in decent debates 

and are anti-culture. Often these intemperate 

words and innuendos breed contempt, 

disrespect, and calumny among politicians 

and more often, one intemperate statement 

elicits a response that is also intemperate, 

fuelling an unending vicious circle of hate, 

hurt and ultimately violence. 

Section 97, Subsection 1 of the Electoral Act 

prohibits candidates or parties from 

campaigning on religious, tribal, or sectional 

reasons to promote or oppose a particular 

political party or the election of a specific 

candidate. Subsection 2 adds, “Abusive, 

intemperate, slanderous or base language or 

insinuations or innuendoes designed or likely 

to provoke violent reaction or emotions shall 

not be employed or used in political 

campaigns.” The big elephant in the room is: 

has any political candidate or party ever been 

punished for breaking this law? The clash of 

and preponderance of fake news, especially in 

social media, is the next deadly force 

mitigating a successful 2023 election. 

Increasingly, fake news is lethal, can wreak 

havoc on victims and can lead to violence, 

especially when it goes viral. Deliberately 

spreading fake news as a political campaign 

strategy is wrong and immoral. The 

proliferation of misinformation and 

weaponising phoney news threatens our 

democracy. This trend is one of the biggest 

threats to the peaceful pre-election and postelection 

conduct of the 2023 elections. And it 

has the potential to fragment the country and 

skew electoral outcomes. This calls to question 

the legitimacy of the electoral process and the 

leaders that emerge from it. Recently, there 

was a forged INEC letter claiming that the 

commission is investigating the APC 

presidential candidate, and no one has been 

prosecuted for that forgery and twisting 

information to achieve negative outcome. 

The third force is judicial compromise or 

rascality. That the Judiciary is the last hope 

of the ordinary person is an accepted norm in 

a democracy. The Judiciary interprets the law, 

and we rely on the impartiality of the Judiciary 

for the system to work. One of the crucial jobs 

the Judiciary does is dealing with pre-election 

matters, electoral petitions and lawsuits. 

However, during elections, some judges pass 

anti-democratic judgements beyond any sane 

person’s imagination. Such intervention is 

inimical to our democratic progress. When 

judicial compromise happens, democracy 

suffers, and people lose faith in the system. 

Some parties and candidates depend on 

judicial compromise to hold onto power. It is 

a doomed political strategy which is tainting 

the hallowed image of the Judiciary. 

Democracy is about the choice of the people. 

Court-induced political wins outside people’s 

franchises are a slap on our democracy. In 

recent times, PDP in Rivers State has directly 

and indirectly instituted multiple suits against 

all the other major parties seeking to disqualify 

The leadership 

of the Judiciary 

must stand up to 

its responsibility 

to tackle judicial 

compromise or 

rascality 

their candidates for 

all elections with 

the hope that the 

party can cruise to 

victory without 

serious challenge. 

This worked for the 

PDP in 2019, and 

they are pushing to 

repeat a similar 

destabilising deed 

in the 2023 elections using. Similar scenario 

is playing out in other states that bothers on 

internal affairs of political parties. The 

judiciary cannot replace the democratic choice 

of the people. The leadership of the Judiciary 

must stand up to its responsibility to tackle 

judicial compromise or rascality. It must 

commit to being more organised and hold 

judicial officers accountable for decisions that 

bother on internal affairs of political parties 

and the democratic choice of the people. The 

CJN and National Judicial Council must 

intervene and save our democracy from the 

hands of undemocratic people using judicial 

rascality to steal people’s mandate. Many 

Judges are actively executing sound 

judgements for the benefit of society, and I 

highly commend them for their work in 

protecting our democracy. However, they 

should weed out the bad elements among 

them, especially at the state level where the 

executive arm exerts undue pressure on the 

Judiciary and use judges as puppets in a 

puppeteer’s hands. It must be the aim of all 

stakeholders to tackle the problem of 

intemperate language, fake news and judicial 

compromise during the pre-election and postelection 

periods. All political parties and 

candidates for elections and their supporters 

must commit not to engage in hate speech, 

foul language, false accusations, and ethnically 

charged statements and any found doing so 

must face the full wrath of the law. The 

unintended consequence of using intemperate 

language, fake news and judicial rascality is 

promoting violence and the truncation of the 

2023 elections. The truncation of the 2023 

elections will be the catalyst for Nigeria’s 

collapse and disintegration. Therefore, we 

must all play our roles in persuading and 

punishing politicians against inappropriate 

language, engaging all regulatory authorities 

to act against fake news, and appealing to our 

judicial officers to consider national interest 

above narrow personal interest. 

History beckons as Peter Obi hits Ibadan 

BY SOLA EBISENI 

ANATION is a living thing and has all 

the characteristics of a living 

organism that we were taught in elementary 

biology. For the purpose of our discourse 

herein, permit me to say that a nation moves, 

breathes, excretes, grows, responds to or is 

sensitive to its environment, reproduces, and 

dies ultimately. The most scary attribute of 

a state, as with humans, is death. Such was 

the case with empires, of which we learned 

in history, but which are no more today. Do 

not misunderstand me. 

The living attributes of a nation must not 

be confused with those that it acquires from 

the aggregates of the attributes of its human 

inhabitants, from which its identity is 

derived, a plausible postulation, no doubt. 

However, my thesis is that, while the actions 

of its inhabitants, both humans and other 

living and non-living creatures, can and do 

cause a nation's attributes to wax, those 

attributes are inherent in a state, even as a 

mere geographical expression. 

No wonder, a state or nation, used 

interchangeably but not exactly the same, is 

in law a juristic or legal personality with the 

capacity to sue and be sued. Nigeria, still by 

and large a geographical expression, is in 

perpetual search for an arrangement that 

guarantees a sense of belonging and unity 

among its constituent groups, through 

which a nation is built where no group or 

man is truly oppressed. 

While no effort has been spared at various 

stages and by different generations to build 

a nation that its inhabitants, Africans and 

the black humanity, can be proud of, such 

efforts have been and continue to be thwarted 

by the political and military elites. By 

tomorrow, Wednesday, November 23, 2022, 

Mr. Peter Obi, the Nigerian political rave of 

the moment, will hit the ancient city of 

Ibadan, the political capital of the Yoruba 

of Nigeria, in continuation of his campaigns 

for the office of President of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria. Obi, whose bid was 

originally dismissed as a child’s play 

following the enthusiastic support of the 

youths for him, who were scorned as mere 

social media tigers, has since become a 

political phenomenon. 

At one time, Obi was portrayed as an 

unrealistic political adventurer whose 

chances were foreclosed because he had no 

structure. Even when he said the people 

remained his structure, those who have 

always considered the people irrelevant or 

electoral commodities for purchase on 

election day received such declarations as 

mere political amusement. 

Undaunted, Peter Obi trudged on. Nothing 

has come to him through traditional 

channels, he recently told some of us who 

support ethnic nationalities groups that 

back him. He spoke of how he was presiding 

over a board meeting when news came that 

he had been declared governor of Anambra. 

He instils hopes and confidence in those 

who believe him and captures his 

adversaries, a legion of them, with disarming 

humour. For 

instance, when it 

seemed Professor 

Charles Soludo, 

one of his 

successors as 

Governor of 

Anambra State, had 

finished him, as 

SOLA EBISENI 

they say, Obi’s 

seemingly harmless two minutes response 

took care of Soludo's lengthy and winding 

diatribe in a way that got public sympathy 

for Peter and opprobrium for Charles. 

Obi’s Ibadan visit is contemporaneous 

with a public lecture on nationalism and 

nation building in Nigeria at the Nigerian 

Institute of International Affairs, delivered 

by Professor of History and diplomat Jide 

Osuntokun to a distinguished audience of 

eminent Nigerians carefully drawn from all 

the geopolitical zones and walks of life. 

It was strategically hosted by Ohaneze 

Ndigbo on Monday, November 21, 2022, 

the day the apex Igbo sociocultural 

organisation finally unveiled 

its endorsement of Peter Obi as its choice 

of presidential candidate for the Nigerian 

2023 elections. First, I must confess the high 

tutorial content and masterly pedagogical 

delivery of the lecture, where, for instance, I 

was able to correct my earlier knowledge or 

impression of the origin and authorship of 

the Nigerian six -zone structure, which, 

according to Osuntokun, was a brainchild 

of a group of scholars, including himself, 

assembled by military President Ibrahim 

Babangida. 

The lecturer and all discussants agreed 

that it was sheer bunkum to suggest Nigeria’s 

unity is not negotiable, but indeed being 

perpetually negotiated. The 2023 

presidential election they all agreed would 

be the defining moment for Nigeria. From 

the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, 

Professor George Obiozor, the Afenifere 

Leader Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Director of 

Communications, Northern Elders Forum 

Baba Ahmed, Pan Niger Delta Forum 

PANDEF), led by Chief Edwin Clarke. 

Chief Ayo Adebanjo, as usual, was not only 

there to listen to a lecture but to lecture us 

all about happenings in Nigeria, most of 

which he witnessed. He seized the 

momentum of the lecture to reiterate the 

Afenifere's decision of endorsing Obi. He 

insisted that it would be sheer hypocrisy to 

invite contestants for interviews when his 

group has already endorsed and announced 

its choice. 

While not ruling out the need for 

candidates to meet with stakeholders across 

the country, he did not subscribe to the idea 

that one part of the country was dictating to 

others. These were in response to Baba- 

Ahmed's position in his group's interview of 

six presidential candidates, as well as the 

need for Ndigbo to unite and seek alliances 

across the country in order to sell their 

candidate and make the South East 

conducive to others campaigning. The 

Obi, whose bid 

was originally 

dismissed as a 

child’s play has 

since become a 

political 

phenomenon 

President of the 

Middle Belt Forum, 

Dr. Bitrus Pogu who 

spoke through a 

representative, 

minced no words 

about regional 

equity being the 

way to go. Ditto for 

the representative 

of PANDEF. 

The four-point 

concluding paragraphs of Professor 

Obiozor’s opening remarks most suitably 

captured the communiqué at the 

Conference, the mood and expectations of 

the nation from the 2023 presidential 

election. 1. Nigeria needs a system of shared 

power, bearing in mind that political decency 

flourishes best in societies in which stable, 

peaceful, and just political institutions make 

it difficult for reckless and lawless political 

adventurers to thrive. 

2. Coercive integration, or integration by 

force or intimidation, has failed all over the 

world, including in Africa. Events in Sudan, 

for example, are indicative of the reality that 

no matter how long you hold people by force 

against their will; eventually the people’s 

quest for freedom, liberty, or voluntary 

association will prevail. 3. As I have often 

said, "Throughout history, those denied 

justice have had no interest in peace. People 

need peace, not the peace of the graveyard, 

they need unity, but not the unity of masters 

and slaves. 

Our national unity must not interfere 

seriously with our freedom and liberty, or it 

will be interpreted as tyranny of the majority 

or minority, none of which will be 

acceptable." 4. The most crucial of all the 

above is good leadership. 

History has shown that the destiny of 

leaders is closely tied to the destiny of their 

respective nations. In fact, it is not easy to 

imagine India without Gandhi, the Republic 

of Turkey Mustafa Kendal Atartuk, South 

Africa without Mandela, Ghana without 

Nkrumah, etc. Whither, my beloved country. 

Nigeria! We hail thee. 

•Ebiseni is the Secretary General, 

Afenifere.



Credit to economy rises 33% to N63.5trn 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

BANKS’ credit to the econo 

my rose year-on-year (YoY) 

by 33 percent to N63.47 trillion 

in October 2022 from N47.5 trillion 

same period last year. 

According to data in the CBN 

Money and Credit Statistics for 

INSURANCE 

October 2022, the government recorded 

the highest YoY growth 

(75 percent) in its share of credit 

which stood at N22.6 trillion in 

October 2022 compared to N12.9 

trillion in the corresponding period 

of 2021. 

This was followed by credit to 

the private sector which grew by 

16 percent to N40.2 trillion as at 

October 2022 from N34.6 trillion 

in October 2021. 

Meanwhile, the CBN data also 

showed that currency-in-circulation, 

CIC, grew YoY by 11 percent 

to N3.9 trillion in October 

2022 from N2.9 trillion in 2021. 

Currency outside banks rose YoY 

13.2 percent to N2.83 trillion in 

October 2022 against N2.5 trillion 

in 2021. 

While defending its decision to 

redesign the Naira note, the CBN 

had said some individuals were 

stockpiling huge amount of cash 

outside the banking system with 

statistics showing that over 80 

per cent of the CIC outside the 

vaults of the commercial banks. 

According to the CBN Governor, 

Godwin Emefiele, a situation 

where a total of N3.2 trillion was 

in circulation, out of which N2.73 

trillion was outside the vaults of 

the banks, was unacceptable. 

Meanwhile, the CBN has 

launched a countdown clock to 

the January 31, 2023 deadline 

for phasing out the N200, N500, 

and N1,000 notes currently in 

circulation. 

SUMMIT: From left: Secretary General, International Maritime Organisation (IMO), His 

Excellency Kitack Lim; Honourable Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo; Chairperson, 

House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, Hon. Lynda 

Ikpeazu; CEO Sea Transport Group, Aminu Umar; and Director General, Nigerian Maritime 

Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh OFR, at the Nigeria 

International Maritime Summit in Lagos. 

Shareholders panic over rising bad 

loans in banks 

By Peter Egwuatu 

SHAREHOLDERS have 

raised fresh alarm over rising 

Non Performing Loans, NPLs, 

in banks which may likely affect 

their profit in the financial year 

2022. 

The shareholders under the aegis 

of Independent Shareholders 

Association of Nigeria, ISAN, 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US 

DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

RAND 

Danish Krona 

160.15 +5.05 

2,446.00 -10.00 

19.79 - 

0.26 

83.01 -4.61 

75.64 -4.44 

442.49 442.99 443.49 

527.4481 528.0441 528.6401 

459.1719 459.6907 460.2096 

464.5077 465.0325 460.2096 

3.1647 3.1683 3.1719 

0.6816 0.6916 0.7016 

580.0912 580.7467 581.4022 

62.157 62.2277 62.2984 

117.7148 117.8478 117.9808 

25.6231 25.652 25.681 

59.0766 59.1438 59.211 

CBN Exchange rate as at 21/11/2022 

INSURANCE 

claimed that banks’ NPLs have increased 

by over 150 percentage 

points. 

The National Coordinator 

Emeritus, ISAN, Sir Sunny Nwosu, 

said: “Available data showed 

that non-performing loans across 

the financial sector has again increased 

by more than 150 percent. 

About 12 years after the establishment 

of AMCON, our fears and 

concerns have emerged as the corporation 

has today demonstrated 

its inability to successfully 

put the debt recovery 

issue to rest. 

By Cynthia Alo 

Flutterwave, Africa’s 

payment technology 

company, has said it’s new 

mobile app, $endmoney, will 

facilitate faster and easier 

transfer of funds from the diaspora 

to the African continent. 

This is even as the tech 

firm signed Tobi Amusan, the 

Nigeria-born 100m hurdles 

women’s world record holder 

as $endmobile’s ambassador. 

In a statement, the company 

said the choice of Amusan 

is due to their similarity 

in speed and resilience. 

Speaking on the development, 

Founder and CEO of 

Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola, 

said that the new app 

which is available on Play 

store and App Store, aims to 

enhance customer experience 

through improved 

“Our disappointment stemmed 

from the fact that the federal government’s 

debt recovery agency, 

recovered only a paltry N1.4 trillion 

since its inception. On the 

other hand, available data 

showed that non-performing 

loans across the financial sector 

has again increased by more than 

150 percent. 

To this extent, he stated: “As concerned 

domestic investors, our patriotism 

is not in doubt as we demand 

once again the complete review 

of AMCON to determine its 

relevance to the economy or totally 

abrogate the agency following 

the declining values of companies 

taken over by the corporation 

and the current national economic 

challenges.” 

Flutterwave unveils money app 

for Africans in diaspora 

ECONOMY 

speed, transparency and ability to 

get user’s money to its destination 

despite the hurdles. 

On why the firm chose Amusan, 

he said: “ It’s thrilling that Tobi is 

$end’s Ambassador. I would say it’s 

a perfect match given her speed 

and efficiency on the tracks and of 

course $endmobile’s speed of delivering 

cross-border transfers. 

Send Mobile will help improve the 

speed and efficiency of transferring 

money from the diaspora to 

the African continent for fees, real 

estate, health, upkeep and even for 

investments. We’re excited for all 

the possibilities this collaboration 

brings.” 

On her part, the 100m Hurdles 

World Record Holder, Tobi Amusan 

said, “I am excited to be a big 

part of a product I already use and 

love. I am always on the road, but 

I also have a lot of my family members 

in Nigeria. $end has helped 

me to keep in touch with them by 

meeting their needs as much as I 

can. Happy to be the face of this 

product for the African diaspora.” 

Abbey Mortgage raises awareness 

on impact of flooding 

AT the backdrop of the recent 

flooding recorded across 

Nigeria, Abbey Mortgage Bank, in 

conjunction with the Red Cross, 

have organised a charity walk to 

raise awareness on the impact of 

climate change on the environment. 

The staff of the mortgage firm 

walked the streets of Lagos with 

awareness placards, with the General 

Manager, Group Head, IT & 

Operations, Lolita Ejiofor, saying, 

“We are proud to be part of this 

charity walk to raise awareness of 

the devastating effects of climate 

change and how it has impacted 

so many people’s lives and livelihood. 

“We truly empathise with 

those families and are happy to 

Signature Bank, yesterday, 

launched its operations into 

the Nigerian banking sector with 

unique services that are expected 

to deepen Nigeria's financial inclusion, 

targeting over 40 million 

unbanked and underbanked citizens. 

Speaking at the launch of the 

Bank at its headquarters in Abuja, 

Alex Otti, the founder of the bank 

said that the Bank will do things 

differently in a bid to redefine the 

industry and impact on the lives of 

customers through seamless access 

to financial services, while leveraging 

flexible digital solutions 

and tailor-made services. 

Operating in an industry that is 

saturated with several competitors, 

Otti said the bank will fill the 

customer experience vacuum that 

other banks have left unmanned. 

He said the birth of Signature 

Bank was driven by a yawning gap 

created by repeated unresolved 

complaints, poor responsiveness, 

and unsavory customer experience 

encountered regularly from the 

banks he and his colleagues did 

business with. 

He stated: "As Signature Bank 

UBA assures customers of 

memorable Christmas in Super 

Savers Draw INDUSTRY 

THE United Bank for Africa 

(UBA) Plc has assured its loyal 

customers of a remarkable Christmas 

celebration as the bank plans 

to reward them with exciting prizes 

in its upcoming Super Savers draw. 

The draw is open to all UBA account 

holders in Nigeria and will be 

held on the 16th of December at UBA 

House, Marina, where the bank will 

be giving out a total of N22.5 million 

to its loyal customers. 

In this edition, 23 lucky customers 

with UBA Bumper accounts will 

smile home with a grand prize of 

either N2 million, N1.2 million rent 

for a year, N500,000 shopping al- 

work with the Nigerian Red Cross 

Society to help these flood victims.” 

Another staff of the firm, 

Daniella Awani, said, “At Abbey we 

believe in empowering and uplifting 

each another, and we hope that 

by doing this we can play a small 

part in lifting the spirits of those 

that have been so gravely affected 

by the flood.” 

The Abbey Walk for the Environment 

was a highly anticipated 

event, by both its Staff and the Nigerian 

Red Cross, and its success 

is well appreciated. Everyone from 

the Managing Director to the 

Sales Officers were all present and 

more than happy to show their 

support for their fellow Nigerians 

in distress. 

Signature Bank to redefine banking 

landscape in Nigeria — Alex Otti 

ENERGY 

opens its doors today, our resolve 

to do things differently, to equip 

and enable our customers to make 

their mark in the world around 

them through seamless access to 

financial services and banking 

products, tailor-made to the needs 

of modern life and commerce, is 

stronger. ‘‘Our experience assures 

us that this approach will trigger 

sustained financial success and 

returns to our shareholders while 

empowering our customers to 

make their mark in their different 

endeavours." 

In December 2021, the Bank received 

an approval-in-principle 

from the Central Bank of Nigeria 

and immediately set out to build a 

sophisticated bank that will operate 

without borders, driven by cutting-edge 

technology and a highly 

motivated workforce. In August 

2022, the CBN approved the issuance 

of a commercial Banking to 

Signature Bank, after a rigorous 

process. 

Signature Bank is already looking 

to open its doors to customers 

in several locations across Nigeria, 

including Port Harcourt, Sokoto, 

Kano Owerri, Aba, Nnewi, Enugu, 

Onitsha, Asaba, Calabar, Uyo, 

Warri, and other metropolitan cities 

around the country. 

lowance and N100,000 cash prizes. 

Speaking ahead of the draw, Head 

of Retail, Digital and Transaction 

Banking, Sampson Aneke, said, “As 

always, we have decided to make this 

Christmas a very merry and memorable 

one for all and have put in place 

quite a lot to make it happen.” 

Also speaking about this initiative, 

UBA’s Group Head, Brand Management 

& Marketing, Uzoamaka Oyeka, 

noted with excitement that this 

edition of the upcoming Super Savers 

draw will usher in the end of year 

festivities in grand style for winners 

and their families especially with the 

rising cost of living.

22— Vanguard, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022 

Towards adopting new technologies in the telecom sector 

By ZEENAT SAMBO 

IT is gratifying that the Nigerian 

Communications Commission, NCC, 

ordered MTN and Airtel to immediately 

reverse the hike in their data tariff plan, which 

they had implemented on their respective 

networks recently. MTN and Airtel subscribers 

suddenly realised that the operators had 

commenced a new data tariff plan which was 

an upward review of the cost of their voice and 

data plan, without prior notice. Following 

complaints by the telecom subscribers over 

the hike, NCC, in a statement signed by the 

Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Reuben 

Muoka, ordered the mobile network operators 

to reverse the hike. 

According to NCC, the Minister of 

Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. 

Isa Ibrahim Pantami, had maintained that his 

priority was to protect the citizens and ensure 

justice for all stakeholders involved. As such, 

anything that would bring more hardship at 

this critical time would not be accepted, they 

added. Telecommunication plays a prominent 

role in the digital transformation of economies. 

Through various telecom technologies, 

millions of people around the world can access 

information, communicate, and interact 

without any obstruction. To be tech trendy 

means to evolve, to evolve means to innovate, 

and innovation backed by spontaneity and 

creativity is a unique advantage to achieve 

through telecom tech integration in the 

country. 

Over time, the rapid growth and deployment 

of new technologies to upgrade 

telecommunications in Nigeria have 

repositioned the telecom sector as the wiring 

aid for digital communication across sectors 

of the economy. Thus, the Nigerian 

Communications Commission, NCC, has 

relentlessly reaffirmed its commitment to 

promoting the deployment and adoption of 

emerging technologies like the Internet of 

Things, IoT, the utilization of big data, 

blockchain, virtual reality, robotics, and 

artificial intelligence, AI, among others, to 

stimulate a larger economic impact for the 

sector. 

While addressing stakeholders at a 

cyberchain conference in Abuja, the Executive 

Vice Chairman/CEO of the NCC, Prof. Umar 

Danbatta noted that the telecom sector has 

been a key promoter of Nigerian economic 

activities, transforming the way people live and 

work as well as increasing efficiency in other 

sectors of the economy. The rapid pace of 

technological advancement makes it 

imperative that network providers adopt 

digital solutions and platforms to deal with 

the telecommunications sector's major digital 

shift. Interestingly, IoT technology and 

location-based sensors like GPS will enable 

the creation of personal security solutions with 

location-tracking capabilities. Compared to 

previous tracking methods, GPS will provide 

extremely accurate location information for 

mobile objects and people. With the 

advancement of GPS technology and its ability 

to send existing users' locations to the cloud 

platform for further processing, it will be easier 

to evaluate data and translate it into languagebased 

encoded information that is easy to 

understand. For instance, with the 

advancement in telecommunications 

technology, Nigeria's military 

communications in conflict zones will be able 

to detect enemies with relative ease. 

Communication and control methods that are 

network-based will enable the armed forces to 

be more efficient, support intelligence 

gathering and communication between allies, 

and sometimes come in handy for quelling or 

defeating adversaries. 

Military neck microphones, handsets, 

headsets, speakers, combat network radios and 

accessories, high-frequency land/mobile radio 

tactical communications, and other gadgets 

used in warfare will be technologically 

upgraded to fight insecurity in the country. 

Telecom operators and users can also utilise 

GPS tracking technology to understand supply 

chains, track goods, locate workers, and 

improve business efficiency. Today, many 

Nigerian businesses rely heavily on 

telecommunications networks to maintain 

effective and efficient contact between 

employees, workers, and clients/customers. By 

integrating network management, companies 

can better track and control existing telecom 

expenses, ensure an error-free network, and 

improve performance, which is intended to 

grow profit and reduce paper workloads. 

Again, operations system support and business 

support, OSS-BSS, integration is expected to 

provide telecom operators with the opportunity 

for growth and increased profitability. As 

customer demands evolve, telecom operators 

need to integrate IT and network services to 

remain competitive. In the long run, this will 

result in cost savings and the ability to invest 

in unique opportunities. 

The deployment of fibre optic cables and 

other telecom equipment by mobile network 

operators, MNOs, across Nigeria is entirely 

aimed at expanding the network infrastructure 

across the country to provide consumers with 

As customer demands 

evolve, telecom operators 

need to integrate IT and 

network services to remain 

competitive 

more efficient services in one visible step 

toward telecom growth. Another landmark 

shift was the growth of 5G technology to 

support the delivery of ubiquitous broadband 

services and usher Nigeria into a more robust 

Fourth Industrial Revolution, 4IR. The 

advancement in telecom technology also calls 

for an increase in bandwidth. Considering that 

the demand for bandwidth is at an all-time 

high, the evolution of the IoT, mobile 

applications, cloud-based applications, and 

other high-capacity activities will continue to 

drive the need for further bandwidth. An 

upgraded telecommunications infrastructure 

can help workers work more efficiently by 

improving the flow of data and ensuring user 

privacy and data security. Presently, many 

businesses thrive on digital collaboration, from 

video conferences to cloud-based training. 

Thus, multimedia capabilities have become 

essential for connecting products and services 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

to meet the needs of customers and employees. 

Content creation has become a major source 

of income for many internet users. More and 

more subscribers/users are expected to create 

their own content in the future. This is not to 

mention how digital giants spend billions of 

dollars on content creation to accelerate 

technological advances in their businesses. As 

telecom technology advances, so do telecom 

sector operators. Nigerian telecom companies 

like MTN and Airtel have recently decided to 

expand their operations into the financial 

services sector to include the provision of 

different business models and distribution 

channels. In granting Payment Service Bank, 

PSB, licences to the two major 

telecommunications companies, the Central 

Bank of Nigeria, CBN, noted that it is 

enhancing financial inclusion and developing 

the payment system through technologydriven 

environments that are secure and 

reliable. Despite Nigeria's technological 

advancement, glitches in telecommunications 

and internet services make it difficult for 

businesses and banks to respond quickly to 

emergencies. 

While many telecom infrastructures have 

been vandalised over time, and the issue 

becomes worse when poor telecom services 

affect service delivery, the fight to ensure 

technological integration by many telecom 

service providers promises a brighter prospect 

of achieving top-notch services in the telecom 

sector. Additionally, the majority of telecom 

customers have experienced problems 

downloading and uploading content, thus, the 

need to integrate and adopt new technological 

solutions in the telecom sector is a wake-up 

call for all players in the ecosystem. Awareness, 

support, and inclusion of all to ensure a more 

vibrant and robust telecom sector are 

imperative to achieving a thriving digital 

economy. As NCC, NITDA, telecom service 

providers, and other stakeholders are geared 

toward the fourth industrial revolution, they 

need to ensure the development and integration 

of seamless telecommunication services to 

achieve a smart society. 

•Sambo, a Staff Writer with Tech Digest and 

Economic Confidential, wrote from Wuye 

Abuja 

Power Sector: What Atiku must do to get it right 

By CHRIS EKPENYONG 

THE erratic power supply in 

Nigeria is generally believed to 

be the bane of economic and 

industrial development in the 

country. Many factors, including 

government inconsistencies and 

misguided power reform policies; 

inefficiency in power generation, 

transmission, distribution, and 

consumption; and the incompetent 

work force of energy companies, 

have contributed to the near collapse 

of the sector. 

Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, 

but it also has one of the widest 

energy gaps in the world. With a 

growing population, Nigeria 

urgently needs to improve its power 

sector. The country’s current 

installed capacity is reported at 

12,500 megawatts, but in practice it 

is only 3,200 megawatts. The 

government’s aim is to boost 

electricity access from 45 percent 

today to 90 percent by 2030, which 

will drive even more demand. 

The government privatised part of 

the power sector in 2013, hoping to 

promote efficiency, attract private 

investment, and increase generation, 

but this has yet to deliver results. All 

Progressives Congress, APC, has 

failed woefully, especially in the 

power sector with the number of grid 

collapses we have experienced so far. 

It is pertinent that the incoming 

president, who, by the grace of God, 

is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, takes a 

holistic look at the power sector. 

Solving Nigeria’s erratic power 

problem necessitates better 

governance and management of 

resources. Nigeria's power problems 

are littered across all three tiers of 

the power sector: generation, 

transmission, and distribution. 

Therefore, solving electricity 

problems in Nigeria has to go 

beyond oratory. 

It requires policies, capital 

infrastructure investment, and 

sustainable maintenance which 

must be vented at the three tiers. I 

know Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said 

in his manifesto that he will remove 

the entire electricity value chain from 

the exclusive list and give states the 

power to generate, transmit, and 

distribute electricity. This will be the 

starting point for stable power for 

Nigerians, but I will also like to make 

the following recommendations as 

someone who has been a key player 

in the power sector for more than 

three decades. 

There is a need for the country to 

have data-driven discussions on key 

solutions to the myriad of challenges 

facing the electricity sector. There are 

issues with the country's 

infrastructure, the distribution of the 

megawatts of electricity generated, 

and the reliance on alternate sources 

of energy to solve the country’s 

electricity challenges. 

It is important to have solutions 

that are backed up by data and not 

just assumptions. Transmission and 

distribution lines in Nigeria are 

dilapidated, thereby creating an 

infrastructure gap for the power 

sector. Some other issues facing the 

country’s electricity sector include 

poor gas supply and hydropower 

sources that refuse to fire up as they 

ought to. Nigeria is not producing 

enough to meet the growing 

demands in the country. There is a 

need for policies that aid the energy 

sector, as well as the importance of 

closely monitoring key players in the 

sector. For instance, with respect to 

distribution; distribution companies 

fail to supply electricity 

appropriately. Even the electricity 

generated by Nigeria is not properly 

distributed. There is a need to 

monitor the distribution of electricity 

To ensure maximum 

distribution of the power 

generated in the country, 

there is a need to bring 

retailers into the picture; 

this way, distribution 

companies supply power 

to retailers, who in turn 

make it available to 

consumers 

to customers to ensure that the power 

supplied to distribution companies 

is properly distributed in the ways 

that it should be. Furthermore, 

distribution companies should be 

restructured so that retailers can 

participate in the electricity 

distribution process. For instance, 

many distribution companies do not 

even know when consumers are not 

enjoying power supplies. 

To ensure maximum distribution 

of the power generated in the country, 

there is a need to bring retailers into 

the picture. This way, distribution 

companies supply power to retailers, 

who in turn make it available to 

consumers. These retailers should be 

responsible for billing and reaching 

out directly to consumers. By doing 

so, we would be bridging a 

distribution gap and winning the 

confidence of consumers while 

utilizing what we produce more 

appropriately. In addition, there is a 

need for Nigeria to diversify its 

source of supply, and we need to 

encourage renewable energy 

sources. 

More Nigerians must be educated 

about alternative energy sources. We 

cannot rely on just one source of 

power, we must diversify and have a 

blend of non-renewable/renewable 

energy. Nigeria has a population of 

over 206 million people, and energy 

from the national grid is barely 4,500 

MW daily. There is a huge need to 

invest in energy in Nigeria. If this 

problem is solved, Nigeria is on its 

way to development. 

The nation should attract 

investment to the energy sector, 

conduct a power asset inventory and 

audit to determine priority 

investment needs across the value 

chain, and provide funding to 

replace or repair assets. Resolve longstanding 

government obligations to 

the electricity sector and develop 

fiscal rules for future payments to 

avoid debt accumulation. 

Increase the capital allocation for 

the Transmission Company of 

Nigeria, TCN, including an analysis 

of its budget performance. We should 

also consider the privatisation of the 

Transmission Company of Nigeria, 

TCN. The next president should solve 

barriers in the gas-to-power value 

chain, launch a federal coordination 

mechanism covering gas supplies, 

generation, transmission, and 

distribution, and enforce existing 

penalties for payment default along 

the value chain. He should plan for 

renewable energy integration, 

complete the development of the 14 

planned solar plants, invest in new 

grid infrastructure to facilitate the 

integration of intermittent sources, 

and integrate mini-grids into DisCo 

networks to supply power to 

underserved areas. 

The next leader should boost 

revenue collection to support DisCo 

viability, update the tariff schedule 

to synchronise the payment 

expectations in the Multi-Year Tariff 

Order, MYTO, and the financing 

plans of GenCos, TCN and DisCos, 

utilise data analysis to allocate 

available power, invest in new IT 

systems for DisCos to enable revenue 

collection, management, and 

transparency, and conduct an 

independent assessment of the power 

sector value chain to ensure accurate 

estimation of costs for electricity 

delivery and tariff adjustments. 

He must assemble the best minds 

from the power sector who have 

participated, understand the 

challenges, and are prepared to 

proffer solutions to revive the sector. 

Especially those who have had years 

of experience in rural electrification 

because every form of development 

will succeed if it's done from bottom 

to top. Stable electricity should start 

from rural electrification 

This is my widow’s mite for the 

incoming President of Nigeria, Alhaji 

Atiku Abubakar. 

*Ekpenyong is the senator 

representing Ikot Ekpene 

Senatorial District in the National 

Assembly and former Deputy 

Governor of Akwa Ibom State 

C 

M 

Y 

K

2023: 

Choose 

competence, 

capacity over 

material 

things 

— Adio, 

Founder/ 

President, CAC, 

Alabukun Zonal 

Hqtrs, Ilorin 

By Demola Akinyemi 

ILORIN-Thousands 

of 

interdenominational worshippers, 

who often besiege the Tuesdays 

programme of Prophet M.O 

Adio,Founder/President Christ 

Apostolic Church (CAC) Alabukun 

Zonal headquarters, Ilorin, who will 

clock 90 years in less than two months, 

undoubtedly attest to the fact that his 

prayers and ministrations are meeting 

their yearnings and aspirations. 

When Vanguard correspondent 

visited the church on Tuesday, the 

expansive church and its premises 

were overfilled with worshippers from 

different walks of life, even as they 

spilled over to the main road along, 

Offa Garage. 

Several non Christians were also 

sighted among the mammoth 

worshippers, who came to pray to 

overcome certain challenges plaguing 

their lives. 

On the other side of it,were people, 

who didn't come for prayers but came 

to take maximum advantage of the 

huge crowd to display their wares and 

several other business items for sale 

to make profit. 

Lately "Baba Adio" as he's fondly 

called by his thousands of 

worshippers, "received an agenda 

about five years ago from the Almighty 

God to be praying for people 

irrespective of their tribe,religion or 

churches on 'Gbona Ara Somi d'Oloro' 

meaning 'Make me wealthy in a 

miraculous way.'" 

Since the programme began, several 

testimonies have been rendered by 

attendees of the programme and these 

have consequently increased the 

weekly attendance and worshippers. 

One of such is Mrs. Fauzat, a 

devoted Muslim, who had been 

attending Gbona Ara Somi d'Oloro 

Programme in the last one year, has 

had no cause for regret, rather it was 

joy, relief and healing. 

According to her, a friend introduced 

her to Baba Adio when she had a 

swollen stomach which a medical 

doctor claimed was a fibroid. She had 

traveled far and wide to get it cured, 

for so many years, but all to no 

avail.“Mrs. Fauzat who quoted some 

verses of the Bible fluently, recalled 

that Baba Adio prayed and 

consecrated water for her which she 

was using for drinking and bathing 

after the Doctor had recommended 

surgical operation. 

After using the holy water for some 

weeks, she went back to the hospital 

for a medical check-up but to her and 

the doctor’s dismay, she was declared 

fibroid-free. She therefore praised the 

name of the Almighty God, blessed the 

day she met Baba Adio and 

appreciated God in his life. 

Another, Mrs. Agene’s daughter was 

married for three years without a child. 

Her in-laws were already 

contemplating another wife for their 

son; until she met Baba Adio. They 

had visited various spiritualists and 

soothsayers; spent so much money but 

no solution. According to her, it was 

only water and consecrated oil that 

Baba Adio gave to save her 

daughter’s marriage. After using the 

water and oil for two months, she 

conceived and gave birth to a set of 

twins. She appreciated God in the life 

of Baba Adio, and promised to remain 

eternally grateful to him. 

Also, Mrs. Ruth Adewumi from 

America who as been trusting God for 

some years,gave birth to a bouncing 

baby. 

Mrs. Alabi also gave birth to her baby 

boy after attending and drinking the 

water prayed into by Baba Adio. 

On financial breakthrough, Mr. 

We didn't even have a 

theme then and we 

didn't know what the 

prayer will be about. 

But he said he's 

compassionate for a 

lot of people and 

everyone that comes to 

that prayer will have 

his prayer answered 

and we started the 

prayer 

INTERVIEW 


Ademola gives praises onto God after 

attending the prayer. He said his 

father was in a debt to the tune of N10 

million, with the bank about to take 

over their properties, but after 

attending the prayer, God paid all the 

debt in a surprising way. 

Prophet M.O Adio in this interview 

explained, how he hit on the theme 

of the programme, "Gbona ara somi 

d'oloro." 

He said,"I sat on the same chair 

you're sitting now that day and I was 

resting my head on the table, when I 

heard a voice just like you're talking 

to me. 

"It said I should pray for a lot of 

people, that I should start a prayer 

soon and I should be diligent about it 

because he is compassionate for 

people, who need prayers. I asked 

how he'll do it. He answered that he'll 

do it and I announced to the church 

that the Lord said a prayer will start 

every Tuesday. 

"We didn't even have a theme then 

and we didn't know what the prayer 

will be about. But he said he's 

compassionate for a lot of people and 

everyone that comes to that prayer will 

have his prayer answered. That is how 

we started the prayer. I didn't 

publicize or advertise the programme. 

We started and people started 

trooping in. I don't even know who 

informed people, it wasn't more than 

that and it became what it it is today. 

He added that," God started work 

with people, who had been barren for 

10,15,20 years. Someone came to meet 

me recently that her menstruation 

period ceased for about 9 years but 

God healed her in the programme 

because she couldn't give birth. 

"We thought we would stop during 

the pandemic in 2020 but God said No. 

Kwara government suggested that we 

reduce the number of people that 

come for the programe. 

"We went through the pandemic 

without any harm. The Lord himself 

named the programme,'Gbona Ara So 

mi D'oloro.' People don't really 

understand the meaning. It's for 

favour, mercy, help and grace. It is to 

use your lifetime in peace and 

wholeness. Not everyone is living a 

life of wholeness. 

Baba Adio also spoke his mind on 

the economic hardship several people 

of Nigeria are currently experiencing 

and the way forward, he said,"The 

Lord said that Nigeria has committed 

herself to sin and the blood of the 

innocent is being shed. Different 

atrocities are being committed by 

people. 

"Ritualists are everywhere killing 

innocent babies that should be great 

in life. God ruined a whole city in 

scriptures because of this kind of 

activities but we're just praying for 

mercy now. 

"Same thing. We should learn from 

the attitude of Nineveh in the 

scriptures towards repentance. 

“We're praying that mercy should 

prevail over the judgement that is 

coming upon Nigeria in 2023 if we 

can go through 2023,it means that 

Nigeria will be in peace and 

tranquility," he said. 

Shedding more light on the 

forthcoming elections, he said," We've 

been like this for a long time now but 

if God chooses a leader by himself for 

us, Every problem will come to an end 

in Nigeria. 

He however, expressed optimism 

about the forthcoming general 

elections that,"God is a merciful God. 

If a group of people come together 

and pray for Nigeria. God will hear 

us just like he told Abraham in the 

bible. 

The Clergy also said his mind on the 

controversial issue of Muslim/Muslim 

ticket,saying, "Everything was done in 

the flesh. If it was by the Spirit of 

God,it would have been done 

equally." 

He stressed that, "Servants of God 

now should be praying for God's own 

choice to prevail in the coming 

elections. It has happened before in 

scriptures when Israel wanted to have 

a king by force and they refused 

Samuel. We're praying and we know 

God will do it. 

On whether there is God's Will 

among the presidential candidates 

contestants Baba Adio said, "Of 

course, there is but any wise servant 

of God will not mention his name 

because people hate the truth and 

such person's life is in danger. But 

we're speaking to God now. 

He however, expressed concern 

over the electorates attitude of voting 

because of money and other material 

things and not because of the 

competence and capacity of 

politicians. 

"People know the right thing to do 

but they won't do it. Only few people 

will not compromise the truth for 

money. 

As a“ result of this, they're only be 

few people with the fear of God unless 

God has mercy," he said. 

On the way out, he said,"We 

shouldn't stop praying. The Lord can 

have mercy on this nation because of 

one person. We've seen it happen in 

the days of Noah. God can preserve 

this nation because of the Righteous. 

Speaking on the Church 

programme in December, to ensure 

people's lives take a new turn, he said, 

"Our prayers will be intensified next 

month. Only God can give peace. 

Miracles will happen in our prayers 

by the grace of God. Nigeria will not 

scatter by 2023 as many are 

predicting. They're still righteous 

people in this nation, just that they're 

few. 

Baba Adio on what he wants God to 

personally do for him,"I want to 

continue having a lasting relationship 

with God. As long as I'm bonded with 

God, every other thing is secondary. 

He'll give me anything else even if 

don't I ask for it once my relationship 

with Him is steady," he said. 

The Clergy was also disturbed that 

people in power in Nigeria don't 

listen to advise.“He said,"They don't 

listen to advice, so, there's no point 

giving them advice. 

He added that, this is so, because 

"It's Satan that's disturbing the world. 

There are too many processes 

involved in even seeing those in 

authority and at the end they don't 

take your advice."


OSIKE 

YUSUF 

AZIAKPONO 

I, formerly known and That my name was wrongly entered 

addressed as YUSUF AJARA as Victor Samson Aziakpono 

OLABISI, now wish to be instead of Aziakpono Victor 

known and addressed as Samson. My correct name is 

BELLO AJARA OLABISI. All Aziakpono Victor Samson. All 

former documents remain former documents remain valid. 

valid. The general public The general public should please 

should please take note. take note. 

IBEKWE OB 

EBHOH EJOVI 

I, formerly known and I, formerly known and 

addressed as EBHOH addressed as Miss EJOVI 

INNOCENT, now wish to be ESTHER, now wish to be 

BLESSING 

known and addressed as known and addressed as Mrs. 

ABIEBA INNOCENT. All URUEMU ESTHER. All 

former documents remain former documents remain 

valid. General public please valid. General public please 

take note. 

take note 

AFAHA 

ANYIM 

ALABI 

I, formerly known and addressed 

as OSIKE OGECHI REGINA 

CHIAMAKA, now wish to be 

known and addressed as OGECHI 

REGINA CHIAMAKA OBINNA 

MBADIKE. All former documents 

remain valid. The general public 

should please take note. 

I, Formerly known and addressed 

as IBEKWE BLESSING 

CHINEDU . Now wish to be 

known and addressed as 

UKAEGBU 

CHINEDU . All former documents 

remain valid. GENERAL PUBLIC 

please take note. 

I, formerly known and 

addressed as Miss Sylvia 

Emmanuel Afaha, now wish 

to be known and addressed as 

Mrs. Sylvia Osbert Assams. All 

former documents remain 

valid. The general public 



addressed as Anyim Blessing 

Chimaobi, now wish to be 


Nwudugbo Blessing Chimaobi. 

All former documents remain 




as MISS MUSTAPHA 

AMATULAHI OMOLARA, now 

wish to be known and addressed 

as MRS. ALABI AMATULAHI 

OMOLARA. All former 

documents remain valid. The 

general public should please take 

note. 

ALIYU 


addressed as Miss Birna 

Aliyu, now wish to be known 

and addressed as Mrs. Birna 

Aliyu Nathan. All former 

documents remain valid. 

General public please take 

note. 

AYOGU 


addressed as Miss AYOGU JOY 

IFECHIDERE, now wish to be 

known as Mrs. OSSAI JOY 

IFECHIDERE. All former 


General public please take 

note. 

OMOROKO OD 

I, formerly known,call and 

addressed as.MISS. STELLA 

OLOHIGBE AKHAREGHEME 

but,now wish to be known,call and 

address as.MRS. OMOROKO 

OLOHIGBE. STELLA. All 

documents bearing former names 

remain valid. General public, 


KWAYA ESE EJUVWEYERE 

LEIGH OD 

I formerly known as MISS KWAYA I formerly known as ONWAH I formerly known as I, formerly known and addressed 

DOREEN ESE now wish to HARRISON DENNIS now 

as MONISOLA ASABI 

JULIE OGHENEBREJO now wish 

JOHNSON and MONISOLA 

be known and addressed as wish to be known and addressed 

to be known and addressed as MRS 

ASABI ABISOGUN-LEIGH, 

ONWAH DOREEN. All as 

HARRISON 

now wish to be known and 

EDIRI JULIE OGHENEBREJO. former documents remain EJUVWEYERE DENNIS. All addressed as MONISOLA 

All former documents remain valid 


valid any authority it may 

ASABI LEIGH. All former 

valid any authority it may 

any authority it may concern and concern and general public to 


concern and general public to general public should please take 

general public to take note. 

take note. 

take note. 

note. 

OTAN 

PETER 

ADEBAYO 

OLAIBI 

I, formerly known and addressed I, formerly known and I, formerly known and I, formerly known and 

as MISS OTAN MARYJANE addressed as MISS PETER addressed as MISS 

addressed as MISS OLAMIDE 

OGHENEOSUME now wish to be JOY EMEM now wish to be IGBAROOLA OLOLADE 

BOLUWATIFE OMOLOLA 

known and addressed as MRS known and addressed as MRS 

OMOTAYO now wish to be 

known and addressed as MRS 


IRIFERIGOMA MARYJANE AUGUSTINE UDOH JOY 

OLOLADE OMOTAYO addressed as MRS OLAIBI 

OGHENEOSUME.All former EMEM.All former documents ADEBAYO. All former BOLUWATIFE OMOLOLA. 

documents remain valid.General remain valid.General public documents remain All former documents remain 

public take note. 

take note. 

valid.General public take note. valid.General public take note. 

GBADAMOSI 

KILASHO ONWU IBEH 

I formerly known, called and I,formerly Miss Adenrele I, formerly known and addressed This is to confirm that the names 

addressed as MISS GBADAMOSI 

IKECHUKWU IHECHI RUTH, 

as MISS ONWU LOVINA 

DOYINSOLA SIMBIAT. Now wish Fatimah Ajoke now wish to 

UZOWUIHE IHECHI RUTH and 

IFEANYICHUKWU, Now wish 

to be known, called and addressed be addressed as Mrs Kilasho 

IBEH IHECHI RUTH refer to one 

to be known and addressed as and same person but now wish to 

as MRS OLAYINKA DOYINSOLA Fatimah Ajoke.All former 

SIMBIAT. All former documents 

MRS. OYEKEZIE NDUBUISI be known and address as 

documents remain 

IKECHUKWU IHECHI RUTH. 

remain valid. Authorities concerned 

LOVINA IFEANYICHUKWU. 


and general public should please valid.General public take All former documents remain valid valid, General public please take 

take note. 

note. 

general public please take note. note. 

PRINCE 

OLOMU 

KELLY 

ARUBI 

I formerly known and I formerly known and I formerly known and I formerly known and 

addressed as ABAFE addressed as MISS OLOMU addressed as ADEKUNLE addressed as Arubi Elizabeth 

PRINCE AVWEROSUO , now OGHENERUONA, now wish SHOKUNBI, Now wish to be Misan, now wish to be known 

wish to be known and addressed to be known and addressed as known and addressed as 

and addressed as Fregene 

as ABAFE PETER MRS. 

UKUHOR KELLY ADEKUNLE 

AVWEROSUO. All former OGHENERUONA. All former SHOKUNBI. All former 

Elizabeth Misan. All former 

documents remain valid documents remain valid documents remain valid documents remain valid 

general public please take general public please take General public and authority general public please take 

note. 

note. 

concerned please take note. note. 

YANKAA 

OYEBADE 

AJOM 

JOHNNY 

That my name on my BVN was I formerly known and I formerly known and I formerly known and 

wrongly captured as YANKAA addressed as Miss OYEBADE addressed as LINDA 

addressed as Esemiteye Tracy 

SAAAONDE EZEKIEL NOW ABIOYE IYABO Now wish to ADAKOLE UDOH, Now wish 

WISH TO BE KNOWN AS be known and addressed as Mrs to be known and addressed as 

Onome, now wish to be known 

YANKAA SAAONDO EZEKIEL. 

OLUBIYI ABIOYE Mrs LINDA ALLOYSIUS and addressed as Johnny 

ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS 

REMAIN VALID GENERAL 

IYABO.All former documents AJOM. All former documents Tracy Onome. All former 

PUBLIC AND AUTHORITY remain valid General public remain valid General public documents remain valid 

CONCERNED PLEASE TAKE and authority concerned and authority concerned general public please take 

NOTE. 



note. 

LAGOS 

ARIEGWE 

OTOWE 

ANTHONY 

I, formerly known as LAGOS I, formerly known as MISS. I, formerly known as MISS. I, formerly known as MISS. 

EDWIN OCHUKO. Now wish YUGBOVWRE TOBORE OTOWE PATIENCE INIKPI. ANTHONY EUGINIA 

to be Known, called and EGUONOR. Now wish to be Now wish to be Known, called CHIAMAKA. Now wish to be 

addressed as DAVID EDWIN Known, called and addressed as and addressed as MRS. Known, called and addressed as 

OCHUKO. All former 

MRS. ARIEGWE TOBORE 

AGHAULOR PATIENCE INIKPI. 

MRS. IFEBIGHI EUGINIA 

EGUONOR. All former documents 

CHIAMAKA. All former 


remain valid. Concerned 



Concerned Authorities, Authorities, Banks, NIN and valid. Concerned Authorities, Concerned Authorities, Banks, 

Banks, NIN and General public General public should please take Banks, NIN and General public NIN and General public should 


note. 



AKHIGBE 

RAYMOND 

MADUKA 

AGAH 

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND I, formerly known as MISS. In my account details my name I was formerly known, 

ADDRESSED AS MISS. AKHIGBE 

was wrongly arranged as 

RUTH OSATOHANMEN NOW AKPUGHE BEAUTY, now 

addressed and called as MISS 

MADUKA WILSON GEORGE OGHENE SOSI I now wish to 

WISH TO BE ADDRESS AS MRS. wish to be known as MRS. instead of WILSON MADUKA 

be known, addressed as MRS. 

OSARUMWENSE RUTH ENEKOROGHA RAYMOND GEORGE my true and correct 

OSATOHANMEN. ALL FORMER 

arrangement of my name is AGAH SOSI. All former 

BEAUTY. All documents 

DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. 

WILSON MADUKA GEORGE all documents to remain valid. 

CONCERN AUTHORITIES AND remain valid. General public former documents remain valid The General Public to please 

GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE. take note. 

general public please take note take note. 

OSILA 

OLUKU 

That I was formerly known as I am the same person bearing 

MISS ROSEMARY BENSON I S I E K W E N A G B U 

OSILA, that I now wish to be 

IFECHUKWUDE RITA as well 

as ISIEKWENAGBU IFY RITA 

known, called and addressed as as well as ISIEKWENAGBU IFY. 

MRS. ROSEMARY STANLEY I now wish to be called and 

WOKOMA. All documents addressed as MRS. OLUKU 

bearing my former name remains IFECHUKWUDE RITA. All 

valid, General public should please former documents remain valid. 

take note. 

General public please take note. 

TIMIBOFA NWOSU EG MUSA 

I, formerly known and I formerly known and 

addressed as Miss BRIGIDI addressed as MISS MUSA 

SAMARIA, now wish to be OMOMOH GIFT, now wish 

known and addressed as Mrs. to be known and addressed as 

TIMIBOFA SAMARIA MRS GIWA OMOMOH 

BRIGIDI. All former GIFT. All former documents 

documents remain valid. remain valid, general 

General public please take public,bank and all authorities 

note. 

concerned should take note. 

KERAYEN 

OSUBOR 

I, formerly known and I, formerly known and addressed 

addressed as MISS KERAYEN, as MISS OSUBOR, PATRICIA 

ELOHOR FAITH now wish to 

CHUKWUNONSO now wish to 

be known and addressed as 

MRS. EWHRUDJAKPOR, 

be known and addressed as MRS. 

ELOHOR FAITH. All former UFOH, PATRICIA 

documents remain valid. CHUKWUNONSO. All former 

General public please take documents remain valid. General 

note. 

public please take note. 

ATANDA 


addressed as ATANDA 

KEHINDE FEHINTOLA, 


addressed as OWUMI 

KEHINDE FEHINTOLA. All 


valid. General public please 

take note. 

MBAMALU 


addressed as MISS 

MBAMALU CHISOM 

CHIDIMMA now wish to be 

known and addressed as MRS 

NKEMAKOSI CHISOM 

CHIDIMMA. All former 

documents remain 

valid.General public take note. 

ALFRED 

I formerly known and 

addressed as EGHAEGHARA 

JOY, now wish to be known 

and addressed as ALFRED 

JOY. All former documents 

remain valid general public 


IYANGBE 

I FORMERLY KNOWN AND 

ADDRESSED AS IYANGBE 

IMUWAHEN MARIAN NOW 

WISH TO BE KNOWN AS 

IYANGBE ADUN MARIAN.ALL 

FORMER DOCUMENTS 

REMAIN VALID GENERAL 

PUBLIC AND AUTHORITY 

CONCERNED PLEASE TAKE 

NOTE. 

ANUNU 

That I was formerly known 

and address as Anunu Rhoda 

Oghenekparobo but and wish 

to be know and address as 

Omasan Anunu Rhoda 

Oghenekparobo. Former 


JAKPA 

I, formerly known as MISS 

MONDAY PROGRESS, now 

wish to be known as MRS 

JAKPA PROGRESS. All 


General public take note. 

NWAZE 


NWAZE ODINAKACHI 

GOODNESS, now wish to be 

known as MRS OGBEH 

ODINAKACHI GOODNESS.. 

All documents remain valid. 


AGBONTAIN 


addressed as AGBONTAIN 

KATE, now wishes to be 


PROMISE KATE. Former 


general public, to whom it may 

concern please take note. 

OYENIYI 

I, wish to confirm that. OYENIYI 

BUKOLA TAMARADENYEFA. 

and OYENIYI BUKOLA 

JESSICA is one and same person. 

But now wish to be known call 

and address as.OYENIYI 

BUKOLA TAMARADENYEFA. 

all documents bearing former 

names remain valid general public 


EBI 

I FORMERLY KNOWN CALLED 

AND ADDRESSED AS MISS EBI 

CLIFFORD WILSON NOW WISH 

TO BE KNOWN AND 

ADDRESSED AS MRS EBI 

CLIFFORD OSAZE-OTEN. ALL 

FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN 

VALID GENERAL PUBLIC AND 

AUTHORITY CONCERNED 

PLEASE TAKE NOTE. 

OWEN 

I Formerly known and addressed 

as OWEN OSAZUWA Now wish 

to be know and Addressed as 

OMORUYI OWEN HARMONY. 


valid.concemed authorities and the 


note 

DAVID 

I, formerly known as MISS. 

ANIKE JENNIFER EBELE. 

Now wish to be Known, called 

and addressed as MRS. DAVID 

JENNIFER EBELE. All 


valid. Concerned Authorities, 

Banks, NIN and General public 


OGBEBOR 

That My Surname Is Ogbebor, My 

First Name Is Osamwonyi And 

Eugene As My Middle Name And 

Additional Name Now Wish To Be 

Address As Ogbebor Osamwonyi 

Eugene. All Former Documents 

Remain Valid. Concern Authorities 

And General Public Take Note. 

EZEDOM ALIU 


EDEWHOSA MIRABEL 

OGAGA, now wish to be 

known as MRS ALIU 

MACAULEY MIRABEL 

OGAGA. All documents 

remain valid. General public 

take note.

CHANGE OF NAME 

ADEOLA 

I Formerly known and addressed 

as MISS ADEOLA ENIOLA 

ADEGBUWAGUN now wish to 

be known and addressed as MRS. 

AFOKEOGHENE ADEOLA 

ADEGBUWAGUN henceforth all 


valid.Generalpublic take note 

NWAKA 


as Miss Odiakose Lawritta Nwaka, 


addressed as Mrs Ibegbelem 

Nwabuwe Lawritta . All former 



note. 

DIKE 


addressed as Miss Okwuazu 

Magdalene now wish to be 

known and addressed as Mrs 

Dike Magdalene . All former 


general public should please 

take note. 

WENDY 


addressed as Miss muozoba 

Wendy Oluebube now wish to 


Mrs. Ezeimo Wendy 

Oluebube . All former 



take note. 

ULOHO 

I, Formerly known and 

addressed as Miss Faith M. 

Enighotu now wish to be 

known and addressed as Mrs 

Uloho Faith. All former 



OKUKU 


addressed as Miss Okuku 

Favour now wish to be known 

and addressed as Mrs Ujevwe 

Ovuerhiroye Favour. All 


valid. General public take 

note. 

EBUKA 


addressed as ABUONE 

EBUKA MCDONALD now 


as EBUKA MARADONA 

ABUONE. All former 



IGBUDU 

I Formerly known and 

addressed as Miss Igbudu 

Okiemute Precious.Now wish 


Mrs. Okiemute Precious 

Gideon Mrore, All former 

documents remain valid 

general public take note 

EBUBE 


addressed as Miss Elijah Ebube 

Lisa now wish to be known 

and addressed as Mrs Thomas 

Ebikedoumene Lisa. All 




OFIME 

That AUGUSTINE ENEDE 

& AUGUSTIN OFIME are 

same and one person but now 

wish to beaddressed as 

AUGUSTINE ENEDE all 

formal documents remain 

valid general public whom it 

may concern take note 

EMMANUEL 

I, formerly known as EMMANUEL 

VICTOR TIMOTHY which is on my 

BVN/Account. Now wish to be 


DIAKPOMRERE VICTOR 

TIMOTHY. All documents bearing 

my former name remain valid. Bank, 


ANITA 

This is to confirm that the names 

ANITA MARIO OGBOI and 

ANITA OGBOI refer to one and 

same person now wish to be known 

and addressed as ANITA OGBOI 

henceforth all former documents 

remain valid. General 

OSSAI 


as Miss Chidiebere Ossai, now 


as Mrs Chidiebere Dominic . All 

former documents remain valid. 

The general public should please 

take note. 

EDOSA 

I, Braimoh Darlington Edosa 

am the same person as 

Braimoh Paul Edosa. I now 

wish to be called Braimoh 

Darlington Edosa. All former 


Concerned Authorities and 

the general public should 


OKONTA 


addressed as OKONTA 

LYDIA NKEM now wish to 


ONYEACHONAM LYDIA 

NKEM . All former documents 

remain valid. The general 

public should please take note. 

EFIGO 


addressed as Efigo Ovie now 


as Efigo Princewill. All former 



OSILA 

That I was formerly known, called 

and addressed as MISS 

ROSEMARY BENSON OSILA, 

that I now wish to be known, called 

and addressed as MRS. 

ROSEMARY STANLEY 

WOKOMA. All documents bearing 

my former name remains valid, 

General public should please take 

note. 

ORJI 

I FORMERLY KNOWN AND 

ADDRESSED AS ORJI CHOICE 

ONYINYECHI NOW WISH TO BE 

KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS 

MRS MADU CHOICE 

ONYINYECHI. ALL FORMER 

DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. 

GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE. 

AGBEYEGBE 

I Formerly known and addressed as 

MISS AGBEYEGBE RACHAEL. 

Now wish to be known and 

addressed as MRS PAUL-AKUSU 

RACHAEL. All former documents 

remain valid general public please 

take note 

ESTHER OT 

I formerly known and addressed as 

AKPOTOZOR EGWOLO 

ESTHER now wish to be known and 

addressed as OGU EGWOLO 

ESTHER. All former documents 

remains valid. General public, 

authorities it may concern please 

take note. 

EMOBOR 

I was formally known, called and 

addressed as MISS OKORIGWE 

PRECIOUS EMOBOR that I now 

wish to be addressed as MRS 

OKECHUKWU PRECIOUS 

EMOBOR all formal documents 

remains valid general public whom 

it may concern take note 

OSITA 

I, formerly known as MISS. 

UKWUEZE CHINYERE. Now 

wish to be known and addressed as 

MRS. OSITA CHINYERE 

BENEDITH. All documents bearing 

my former name remain valid. General 

public take note 

By Juliet Umeh 

AGOS—THE Group Chief 

LExecutive Officer of the Nigerian 

National Petroleum Company Ltd, 

Mallam Mele Kyari, has decried the 

spate of oil theft in the country. 

According to him, those engaging 

in the act use technology to lay 

pipelines. 

Kyari, who spoke on Newsnight, 

a pre-recorded programme on 

Channels Television on Sunday 

night, said thieves succeeded in 

stealing the nation’s crude oil due 

to collaboration with government 

and security officials. 

While noting that collaboration 

within the system had aided crude 

oil theft for a while, the NNPC boss 

said the extent of such collaboration 

was unknown to the authorities. 

He said: “When you introduce 

technology into stealing and this is 

precisely what they did and when 

there is a collaboration of people who 

should not be part of that 

transactions, you can lay pipelines 

and no one will see it. 

“You can do it in the night if you 

have the abilities and ultimately, this 

is what we think happened. You can 

lay pipelines for the wrong reasons 

to abandon or active assets. 

''You will see end-to-end 

collaboration either by people who 

are around those assets, people 

operating the assets or people who 

are supposed to provide security. 

“You can eliminate anything. 

When you find collaborators in the 

system, then you can get anything 

done. We didn’t know because the 

extent of collaboration is unknown 

to us.” 

On the way forward, the NNPC 

boss noted that the government had 

stepped up efforts to tackle the 

scourge of crude oil thefts. 

He explained that one of the 

AYOOLA 


addressed as Miss. Ayoola 

Victoria Olufunke. now wish 


Mrs. Mowete Victoria 

Olufunke. . All former 



take note. 

OMOVAVBERHE 

I, Omovavberhe Oghenetejiri wish 

to notify the general public that my 

name was wrongly captured in my 

Account/BVN details as 

Omovavberhere Oghenetejiri 

instead of Omovavberhe 

Oghenetejiri. All former documents 

remain valid. General public take 

note. 

ENUJEKE 

I, formerly known as ENIJEKE 

UZORCHUKWU now wish to be 

known and addressed as ENUJEKE 

UZORCHUKWU LOUIS. All 

documents bearing my former name 

remain valid. The general public, 

please take note 

MANUFOR 

I formerly known and addressed 

as MISS MANUFOR PRECIOUS 

NMESOMA now wish to be known 

and addressed as MRS 

CHUKWUEMEKA PRECIOUS 

NMESOMA. Former documents 

remain valid. General public take 

note. 

ONISURU 

I Formerly known and addressed as 

, ONISURU SIVWE DESTINY, 

Now wish to be known and 

addressed as, ONISURU 

OGHENESIVWE UMUKORO. All 

former documents remain valid 

general public please take note 

OTUONYE 

I, formerly known and addressed as 

Miss OTUONYE CHINYEAKA 

HAPPINESS, now wishes to be 

known and addressed as MRS. 

PROMISE HAPPINESS 

CHINYEAKA. All former 

documents remain valid. Banks and 

general public take note. 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER, 22, 2022 — 25 

:Vanguard :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 

How crude oil thieves used technology to lay 

pipelines —Mele Kyari 

measures was that the authorities, 

backed by other stakeholders, now 

had full surveillance of the nation’s 

oil infrastructure and were facing 

the challenge squarely. 

Kyari noted that the Federal 

Government had deployed 

helicopters for 24-hour surveillance 

to monitor and protect pipelines. 

Oil theft has become a 

malignant cancer in Nigeria for 

No underage person'll vote on election day 

—INEC 

BUJA—THE Independent 

ANational 

Electoral 

Commission, INEC, has promised 

to clean up its voter register to 

address the irregularities 

observed by Nigerians. 

Since the list of voters 

was made public across polling 

units and on the commission’s 

website, Nigerians have raised 

issues of discrepancies. 

Some of the disparities 

include underage voters who 

falsified dates of birth and others 

who appeared to have been 

registered multiple times. 

Although INEC had said it 

would address the complaints, 

the criticism mounted in recent 

years, with unimaginable volumes 

of oil being lifted by some thieves 

in the oil sector. 

Recently, the Nigerian 

National Petroleum Company, 

NNPC Limited said it uncovered 

an illegal oil connection from 

Forcados Terminal that operated 

for nine years with about 600,000 

barrels per day of oil lost in the 

same period. 

Similarly, a former militant 

leader, Government Ekpemepulo, 

days. 

However, speaking in an 

interview aired on Channels 

Television on Sunday, Victor 

Aluko, INEC’s Director of Voter 

Registration and Publicity, said 

the commission would ensure 

that underage persons didn't 

participate in the forthcoming 

elections. 

He said: “I assure you that 

the register will be cleaned up 

completely and no underage 

voter will vote in 2023. After we 

finish with the claims and 

objections on Friday, we will be 

taking in again for further 

claims based on the complaints 

of the people. 

“That is why it is important 

that persons who noticed any 

popularly known as Tompolo, said 

about 58 illegal oil points had been 

discovered so far since the operation 

to end oil theft on the waterways of 

Delta and Bayelsa states began. 

His firm, Tantita Security 

Services, is currently providing 

security coverage for oil pipelines in 

the country. 

Contract awarded for the job by 

the federal government is in excess 

of N4 billion per month. 

issue at all with the register should 

complain through the right 

channels where they can be 

documented.” 

He added that INEC’s revision 

officers would work on all other 

complaints raised after they are 

collated. 

“If you complain and you do not 

let us know that complaint, then 

how do we work on the 

complaints?” 

“That is why I’m saying we take 

in the register and then we work 

on the register, and at the end of 

the day, we have a very clean 

register as we prepare for the 

general election. And I’m assuring 

you that no underage person will 

come to our polling units to come 

and vote on election day,'' Aluko 

said. 

2023: Keep APC at arms lenght, Agbi tells Deltans 

•Says ‘Oborevwori my major challenger' 

By Ochuko Akuopha 

U G H E L L I — 

GUBERNATORIAL 

candidate of the New Nigeria 

Peoples Party, NNPP, in Delta 

State, Dr Goodnews Agbi, has 

urged Nigerians and the people 

of the state to keep the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, at 

arms length in the 2023 general 

elections. 

Speaking at Oleh, 

headquarters of Isoko South 

Local Government Area, when 

he hosted an enlarged meeting 

of the State Executive 

Committee, local government 

chairmen and candidates of the 

party, Agbi stressed the need 

for the people to distant 

themselves from any party that 

had its candidate as a sole 

administrator. 

Advising the people to avoid 

the APC and similar parties, he 

said: "Such parties should be 

kept at arms length. We should 

question their antecedents, the 

political trajectory of some of 

these candidates". 

While encouraging party 

faithful to braze up for rigorous 

campaigns ahead of the 2023 

general elections, he said ‘’I am 

fully ready to takeover the 

government House in 2023. I 

have X-rayed all the candidates 

and can beat my chest that, with 

little hard work, we will win the 

governorship election. 

"My real and major challenger 

is PDP and it’s governorship 

candidate, Sheriff Oborevwori. 

We should be of good cheer as 

2023 shall usher in a new Delta’’. 

While expressing optimism that 

he is sure of victory with the 

Kwankwasyya Movement in the 

State, collapsing into the NNPP, 

he noted that with the 

composition of the Campaign 

Council, the stage was set for 

vigorous transversing of every 

nooks and crannies of Delta State. 

He urged the local government 

chairmen to form the wards 

campaign council and the wards 

chairmen to form the units 

campaign organ. 

2023: Deltans're desirous of progressive state 

—Ugwumba 

ARRI—A member of the 

WAPC 

Tinubu-Shettima 

Presidential Campaign Council, 

Prof Rukevwe Ugwumba has said 

that the people of Delta state are 

desirous of accelerated 

development for a better life. 

Speaking in an interview at 

Warri Township Stadium during 

the APC campaign flagged off in 

the state, Prof Ugwumba who is 

the State Coordinator, Tinubu- 

Shettima Presidential Support 

Groups, noted that the massive 

turnout at the event was an 

attestation of the people’s 

preparedness to migrate from 

underdeveloped state to a 

progressive one. 

She pointed out that Tinubu- 

Shettima and OmoAgege- 

Osanebi tickets are antidotes in 

the actualization of the dream for 

a better and great Delta State, 

saying that poverty and lack 

would be addressed headlong. 

The Uwheru born professor of 

medicine and family health who 

is also the Deputy Director 

Medicals, Delta State APC 

Campaign Council, said Deltans 

have since embraced the APC as 

their hope for total liberation. 

Prof Ugwumba predicted 

landslide victory for the party’s 

candidates in the 2023 general 

elections, stressing that promises 

being made by the presidential 

candidate, Ahmed Tinubu and 

the governorship candidate, 

Ovie OmoAgege, would be 

fulfilled. 

The Philanthropist and 

Politician thanked Deltans for 

the massive turnout for the 

campaign flagged off in Warri, 

saying “although good 

numbers of supporters across 

the 25 local government areas 

were expected but not to this 

extent. This is indeed massive”, 

she stressed. 

Describing the crowd as 

overwhelming, Prof Ugwumba 

paid glowing tributes to 

members of her support groups 

Ekpoh, others jubilate as Odutemu 

dedicates church building 

O TOKUTU—CHIEF 

Executive Officer, CEO of 

SafeConnect Investments 

Limited, Michael Ekpoh, has 

joined others to jubilate, as 

Archbishop, Bendel Province 

Most Revd Cyril Odutemu, 

dedicated the building of St 

Matthew's Anglican Church, 

Otokutu, Ughelli South Local 

Government Area, Delta State. 

In his homily at the 

dedication service, Odutemu 

commended Ekpoh and others 

for their commitment and 

dedication to God’s work, 

saying, “Where you spend in 

as well as elders and leaders of 

the party in the state for the 

effective mobilization to the 

event. 

She promised that her support 

groups will continue in its 

awareness campaign on the need 

for the people to get their 

Permanent Voters Cards, PVC to 

enable them exercise their 

franchise during the general 

elections. 

Speaking along side Prof 

Ugwumba at the Warri Township 

Stadium, was a former female 

governorship aspirant in Delta 

State, and a notable leader of the 

party in the state, Mrs Ngozi 

Olejeme. 

God’s work shows your priority. 

You chose to honour God in spite 

of the challenges of the time." 

Advising the Church members 

to regard everything done as 

sacrifice to God, he stressed the 

need for them further to serve Him 

through evangelism. 

"I am overwhelmed with joy with 

what I am seeing. May God reward 

all members of St. Matthew 

Anglican Church, Otokutu and 

those who put their resources in 

the beautification of this 

magnificent church building" he 

said, adding that "May the 

blessings of God in Isaiah 65:3- 

10, be your portions in Jesus 

Name. Amen. 

In his remarks, Michael Ekpoh 

said he was a fulfilled man, having 

done that which the Lord has 

directed him to do in His vineyard. 

Lauding Odutemu for his 

prayers which he said had been 

awesome and wonderful, he noted 

that "From Lagos, God has been 

raising us to take care of His 

Vineyard." 

Highlight of the dedication 

service was presentation of special 

recognition awards to seven 

clerics led by Odutemu, and 12 

parishioners including Ekpoh for 

their services to God in the Church


‘ 

How micronutrient deficiencies rob 

Nigerian children of optimal health 

• As experts worry over rising malnutrition cases 

THE United Nations 

Children’s Fund, 

UNICEF, says babies’ 

brain develops at a pace 

that is never repeated in 

the first 1,000 days of life. 

Unfortunately, in Nigeria, 

millions of children 

miss such opportunities 

due to poor nutrition, resulting 

in permanent 

damage even till adulthood. 

Chioma Obinna 

writes. 

Nigeria has the second 

highest burden of 

stunted children in the 

world, with a national 

prevalence rate of 32 per 

cent of children under 

five. An estimated 2 million 

children in Nigeria 

suffer from severe acute 

malnutrition (SAM), but 

only two out of every 10 

children affected are currently 

reached with treatment. 

Seven per cent of 

women of childbearing 

age also suffer from acute 

malnutrition. 

Six months after Cecilia 

Handa, 27, was duly certified 

married upon 

completion of the necessary 

marriage rites, her 

dream was to begin a family 

with her husband. As 

she desired, a few months 

later, she became pregnant. 

The news of her 

pregnancy, however, 

brought enormous joy to 

the young couple who 

had been in a relationship 

for five years before 

marriage. 

Cecilia who was residing 

in Abuja joined her 

husband in Benue. A few 

months later, fate struck; 

her husband fell into the 

knife of a killer herdsman. 

Shattered, Cecilia was 

broken, without a job, she 

struggle all through the 

nine months but fate was 

cruel to her and left her 

with little or nothing to 

eat on daily basis. 

Nine months after, she 

delivered a baby boy with 

low birth weight. There 

and then, trouble started 

and a few months later 

the child became malnourished. 

Cecilia’s child missed 

out on adequate nutrition 

from conception. 

The baby’s case is just 

one out of the estimated 2 

million Nigerian children 

that suffer from severe 

acute malnutrition 

(SAM), and only two out 

of every 10 affected are 

treated. 

Cecilia is also part of the 

7 per cent of women of 

childbearing age who 

suffer from acute malnutrition 

due to poor diets. 

Worst still, global nutrition 

targets showed that 

Nigeria is not making 

progress towards achiev- 

ing the target of reducing 

anaemia among women of 

reproductive age, with 

55.1 per cent of women 

aged 15 to 49 years now 

affected. 

Rising malnutrition 

cases 

However, the escalating 

child malnutrition 

cases in Nigeria have also 

been traced to household 

food insecurity, widespread 

poverty and exponential 

population 

growth, inadequate care 

and feeding practices, and 

limited access to health 

Cross section of children 

and sanitation services 

which results in infection 

and diseases. 

Also, the World’s Children 

2019: Children, food 

and nutrition finds that 

almost 2 in 3 children 

between six months and 

two years of age are not 

fed food that supports their 

rapidly growing bodies 

and brains. This puts them 

at risk of poor brain development, 

weak learning, 

low immunity, increased 

infections and, in 

many cases, death. 

Poor feeding 

practices 

The report warns that 

poor eating and feeding 

practices start from the earliest 

days of a child’s life. 

Though breastfeeding 

can save lives, in Nigeria, 

less than 50 per cent 

of children under six 

months of age are exclusively 

breastfed and an 

increasing number of children 

are fed infant formula. 

This means many Nigerian 

children are missing 

out on the life-saving benefits 

of breastmilk which 

is a baby’s first vaccine 

and offers the best possible 

nutrition at the start 

of life. 

Also, a UNICEF report 

entitled: “Fed to Fail? The 

Crisis of Children’s Diets 

in Early Life”, one in three 

children in Nigeria is very 

small while one in 10 children 

is wasted and the 

country is not on track to 

achieve the Sustainable 

Development Goal (SDG) 

2 – “Zero Hunger” by 

2030. 

While food insecurity 

and violence have continued 

to threaten adequate 

nutrition among children 

and adults at large, scientists 

say micronutrient 

deficiencies have been a 

major cause of malnutrition. 

According to the World 

Health Organisation, 

micronutrients are vitamins 

and minerals 

needed by the body in 

very small amounts. But 

their impacts on a body’s 

health are critical, and 

any deficiency can cause 

severe and even lifethreatening 

conditions. 

WHO added that micronutrient 

deficiencies 

can cause visible and 

2 in 3 children 

between 

six months 

and two years 

are not fed 

food that 

supports their 

rapidly growing 

bodies 

and brains 

dangerous health conditions, 

but they can also 

lead to less clinically notable 

reductions in energy 

level, mental clarity and 

overall capacity that can 

to reduced educational 

outcomes, reduced work 

productivity and increased 

risk from other 

diseases and health conditions. 

Findings have shown 

that low- and middle-income 

countries like Nigeria 

bear the disproportionate 

burden of micronutrient 

deficiencies. 

The WHO says many of 

these deficiencies are preventable 

through nutrition 

education and the 

consumption of a healthy 

diet containing diverse 

foods and food fortification 

and supplementation, 

where needed. 

Corroborating WHO, 

the Manager, of Central 

and West Africa, 

(Anglophone countries), 

Nestlé Nutrition Institute, 

Dr Kanalio Olaloku, 

babies are at risk of developmental 

delays in 

pregnant women with 

iron deficiency and it is 

responsible for 50 per 

cent of anaemia cases, 

cognitive development 

impairment and reduced 

physical performance. 

It affects normal growth 

and development in children 

while inhibiting economic 

progress and increased 

healthcare 

costs.” 

According to medical 

experts, vitamins and 

minerals, also called micronutrients, 

are the 

building blocks for good 

health. People who do not 

have enough of these essential 

nutrients develop 

micronutrient malnutrition, 

which can be devastating. 

Consequences include 

serious birth defects, undeveloped 

cognitive ability, 

and reduced productivity. 

Severe micronutrient 

malnutrition contributes 

to maternal and infant 

deaths and childhood 

blindness. 

To address the malnutrition 

challenges, 

UNICEF recommended 

that the government, the 

Health professionals, EY harp 

on technology to bridge gaps 

in Nigeria's healthcare 

By Bolaji Babatunde 

WITH the COVID-19 

pandemic exposing and 

widening gaps in healthcare 

infrastructure, health professionals 

have said that investments 

in technology supported 

by public-private partnerships 

will bridge the gap 

in healthcare infrastructure as 

well as improve the poor 

health indices in Nigeria. 

The experts who spoke during 

the 2022 Ernst & Young 

(EY) annual healthcare conference 

themed: ‘Accelerating 

Access to quality healthcare 

in Nigeria’ noted that Nigerians 

are faced with several 

challenges including pipeborne 

water. 

Speaking, Founder/CEO 

First Cardiologist, Adeyemi 

Johnson who delivered the 

keynote address called said 

that Nigeria needs the political 

will to turn things around 

in the health sector. 

Johnson who noted that one 

of the advantages of the new 

Health Insurance Act, NHIA, 

which makes it mandatory for 

individuals to be insured said 

investment in health technology 

was the sure way to bridge 

gaps between Nigeria's health 

sector and the developed 

world. 

He said Nigeria can leverage 

technology for healthcare 

delivery as advocated by 

stakeholders in the sector that 

the country adopts a mobile 

phone-type initiative with the 

capacity to accommodate everybody. 

“Technology is now helping 

to do surgeries and other lifesaving 

procedures. In most 

cases, you don’t have to be 

there to deliver care. Though 

expensive but it can get us 

there.” 

“Part of the technical improvement 

will be data collection; 

with data, a lot can be 

done. Technology is going to 

get us out of this mess we are 

in quicker than we think.” 

Speaking, the Senior Partner/Head 

of Markets, Ernst & 

Young (EY) West Africa, Mr. 

Ashish Bakhshi said publicprivate- 

partnership will help 

to deliver more joint ventures; 

more hospitals and better 

healthcare delivery outcomes 

private sector, donors, 

parents, families and 

businesses should help 

children grow healthy by 

investing more resources 

in interventions aimed at 

preventing malnutrition 

among young children 

and supporting treatment 

when prevention fails, 

supporting nursing mothers 

to adequately feed 

and care for their children, 

empowering flies, children 

and young people 

to demand nutritious 

food, including the vision 

of improved nutrition 

education and using 

proven legislation – such 

as sugar taxes – to reduce 

demand for unhealthy 

foods among others. 

for Nigerians. 

In an interview with journalists, 

he said: “Healthcare 

is very important to Nigeria 

and EY globally believes every 

country needs to have a 

good healthcare system and 

as a consulting firm we try to 

help both public and private 

organisations. 

He said Nigeria can develop 

its healthcare infrastructure 

to curb medical 

tourism, as well as help Nigerians, 

get easy access to 

healthcare services along the 

entire value-chain of the 

healthcare ecosystem in Nigeria. 

“One of the expected outcomes 

of the annual 

healthcare conference would 

be more education on what 

can be done about healthcare 

delivery service. EY has a very 

strong CSR programme and 

part of that is helping to set 

up science laboratories”. 

Also speaking in a chat, the 

Partner, Strategy & Transactions/Consumer 

Goods Industry 

Leader, EY West Africa, 

Damilola Aloba who moderated 

one of the sessions explained 

that the conference 

was put together to create 

awareness about the challenges 

facing the country as 

well as find solutions to them/ 

Aloba explained that the 

conference brought together 

healthcare providers and 

other stakeholders to talk 

about the challenges in the 

sector, ways to revert them 

and how the country can ensure 

sustainable financing for 

healthcare as well as achieving 

self-sufficiency in pharmaceutical 

products. 

“At the end of the day, we 

will make sure that some of 

the key actions are implemented 

for example how 

to drive health insurance 

above the 5 per cent, how 

health providers can have 

access to funding etc, we 

cannot be importing drugs 

all the time. 

It will also prevail on government 

to take the sector 

from its present challenges 

by adopting the practical 

initiatives to address brain 

drain, dearth of infrastructures 

etc,”



over digital vote-buying allegations 

Continues from Page 5 

tion anytime they see 

such questionable transactions 

of vote buying in 

their banks. 

''We also call on the 

EFCC to be on the lookout 

for such. Any political 

party, which desires to 

send money to agents 

should be compelled to 

send the bank an acknowledged 

copy of the 

official list of agents submitted 

to INEC. 

''This will help forestall 

any unreasonable claims 

that they are paying 

agents. It must also be 

noted that there is only 

one agent per polling unit 

for a political party; hence 

any claim that the data 

being harvested is those 

of party agents is dead on 

arrival. 

"Again we call on the 

Police, the DSS, and the 

EFCC to immediately 

swing into action and arrest 

the harvesters of 

these bank details. If security 

agencies claim they 

do not know who harvested 

them, we now tell them 

to apprehend the persons 

whose identities are contained 

in these documents 

and, from there, get the 

identities of who harvested 

them.'' 

Confidence vote 

on INEC 

Passing a vote of confidence 

in INEC chairman, 

the CUPP spokesman 

said: "INEC has since 

conducted internal inquests 

and has identified 

all staff involved with external 

collaborators to 

compromise the voter register. 

In a few weeks, we 

expect to see prosecutions 

commence. There must be 

consequences for such 

crimes. 

"It is based on the removal 

of over 2.7 million 

unqualified registrants, 

conducting of an internal 

inquiry into the Omuma 

Magic compromise of our 

national voter register to 

identify the staff involved, 

and publishing the voters 

register on its website that 

the opposition family 

unanimously passed a 

vote of confidence on the 

National Chairman of 

INEC, Prof. Mahmood 

Yakubu and the National 

Commissioners. 

''He has so far shown 

courage, wisdom, commitment, 

faith, and capacity 

to ensure that the 2023 

general election is transparent, 

credible, free, fair, 

and acceptable. He has 

also, by the publication, 

proven beyond reasonable 

doubt that INEC, at the 

highest level, is not complicit 

in the compromise 

of the register and that he 

has nothing to hide.” 

The opposition parties 

urged all Nigerians to be 

part of the electoral process, 

adding that they had 

also observed under-aged 

voters as well as duplicated 

photos and names on 

Naira appreciates to N445.38/ 

$ in I&E window 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

THE naira yesterday appreciated to N445.38 per 

dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) 

window. 

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative 

exchange rate for the window fell to N445.38 per 

dollar from N445.67 per dollar last week Friday, 

indicating 29 Kobo appreciation for the naira. 

However , the naira depreciated by N5 in the 

parallel market yesterday. Vanguard findings from 

black market traders showed that the exchange rate 

for the market rose to N785 per dollar from N780 

per dollar last week Friday. 

INEC register. 

"At the Secretariat, we 

have noticed massive under 

age registration, duplicated 

photos and 

names, particularly in 

states like Kano, Borno, 

Katsina, Jigawa and Kaduna 

States. 

''These observations are 

already being sent to the 

commission and Nigerians 

should be assured that 

every valid complaint will 

be considered and action 

taken by the commission 

as they have assured us 

that all objections will be 

addressed. This is why 

they published the register 

online and at ward 

and LGA levels.'' 

From left: Chris Wuiff-Caesar,Marketing Director,FrieslandCampina Wamco 

Nigeria Plc;Osamede Uwubanmwen,President ,Advertisers Association of 

Nigeria[ADVAN] Olu Akanmu,Guest Speaker/President and Co CEO Opay;Ediri 

Ose-Ediale,CEO/Executive Director,ADVAN and Temitope Ashiwaju,Group Corporate 

Communications & Event Manager,Dufil Prima Foods Plc at the 2022 Advan African 

Awards for Marketing Excellence;THEME;Marketing as a Tool for Sustainable 

Economic Development held in Lagos over the weekend. Photo Akeem Salau 

Gbajabiamila, NILDS DG lambast govs for stopping lawmakers' 

return to NASS 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA-Speaker of the 

House of Representatives, 

Femi Gbajabiamila, 

and the Director-General, 

National Institute for 

Legislative and Democratic 

Studies, NILDS, Professor 

Abubakar Suleiman, 

have blamed state governors 

over high turnover of 

lawmakers in the National 

Assembly. 

It will be recalled that 

majority of the senators 

and the members of the 

House of Representatives 

lost their returning ticket 

after the primary elections 

of most political parties 

earlier this year. 

The two leaders, while 

delivering their addresses 

at the 2022 Press Week and 

Award Presentation of the 

House of Representatives 

Press Corps (HoRPC) in 

Abuja yesterday, attributed 

the development to the 

high-handedness and selfishness 

of most governors, 

who were opposed to the 

tickets of many lawmakers. 

For Gbajabiamila, who 

was represented at the 

event by the Deputy Majority 

Leader of the House, 

Peter Akpatason, the turnover 

affected legislative 

advancement and caused 

loss of institutional memories 

in Nigeria's democratic 

journey. 

He said: "We want to assure 

you that this house will 

continue to do the best to 

support the Nigerian peo- 

•Say legislature needs competent, experienced lawmakers to 

thrive•As Reps' spokesman, Clerk, others task media on political 

awareness campaigns 

ple, to serve the Nigerian 

people and to make and 

support laws that will continue 

to protect the interest 

of Nigerians and provide 

for Nigerians the kind of 

leadership that is required. 

I am sure you saw what 

happened during the 

ASUU crisis the role played 

by the speaker of the people. 

Those are the kind of 

things that this Assembly 

pays so much attention to 

and emphasis so much. 

''To ensure that at any 

point in time, when intervention 

is needed we are 

there for the people and we 

cannot do this without your 

continuous support. You 

have been there for us and 

you have supported us in 

every way. 'We appreciate 

this and wish to continue 

to partner with you in everyway 

that we can so that 

you can also do your job 

efficiently. The professor 

had already said it, he has 

seen it all both in the exec- 

that we can do to ensure 

that we have an efficient 

legislative arm is to maintain 

and sustain the experience 

already acquired by 

those who have been in 

service for quite some time. 

"That is not a recommendation 

for service in perpetuity, 

what it means is that 

for beautiful length of 

time, let's have these people 

come over again to add 

to what is already on 

ground and also rely on 

their experience and competencies 

acquired from 

various services to better 

the lot of Nigerian people 

through lawmaking, oversight 

and allow what not.” 

Professor Suleiman, who 

was the guest lecturer, who 

presented the paper, titled 

"High Turnover of Lawmakers: 

Impact and Way 

Forward,'' said frequent 

changing of lawmakers 

would prevent a state from 

producing presiding or 

principal officers. 

"The executive ...it deterutive 

arm of government 

as well as the legislative 

arm of government. 

"The legislature, as the 

bastion of democracy can 

do their job very well only 

when you have a stock of 

competent and experienced 

human beings. A federal 

turnover is a serious 

problem, serious in the 

sense that, the older the 

better, the more experienced 

the better legislature. 

The best legislators 

are legislators, who have 

seen it from every angle but 

you cannot come in and do 

one term and say you have 

seen. How much have you 

seen actually? How much 

would you know in National 

Assembly in four years? 

"He did say that when 

there is military rule, you 

have the Executives, you 

have the Judiciary but the 

only one that is missing is 

always the legislature. And 

so now that we are lucky to 

have democracy, the best 

Presidency: El-Rufai never said Tinubu too old, 

says APC Campaign Council 

By Ibrahim Hassan- 

Wuyo 

KADUNA-The 

All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, Presidential Campaign 

Council, PCC, in the North 

West, yesterday dismissed 

insinuations that Kaduna 

State Governor, Nasir El- 

Rufai, said the party's 

presidential candidate, 

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was too 

old to be president. 

Spokesperson for the North 

-West (APC) Presidential 

Campaign Council, 

Muhammad Shehu Molash, 

said the rumour in circulation 

that El-Rufai said that in a 

short video clip was the 

handiwork of mischief 

makers. 

He said: "Social media 

space has recently been 

brimming with a 

mischievously circulated 

video of Governor el-Rufai, 

ostensibly, making reference 

to Tinubu, but to set the records 

straight, the said interview 

was conducted months ago, 

where El-Rufai was asked 

variety of questions, ranging 

from the rumoured vice 

presidential bid to a 

purported ministerial 

ambition and senatorial bid, 

which 'mischief makers' 

alleged he has asked his 

earthswhile chief of staff to 

vacate his ticket for him. 

"El-Rufai responded 

intelligently (in the video clip) 

by reminding the reporters 

that having been a minister 

20 years ago and governor 

since 2015, he is contented 

with what the Almighty has 

done for him." 

"He further added that as a 

mentor, who has raised 

capable mentees, he ought to 

give way for the younger 

generation to play their role 

in the next government, even 

though Asiwaju Bola Ahmed 

Tinubu himself is still insisting 

that he must be part of the 

incoming government in 

2023 God's willing. 

''That was the part that they 

have been mischievously circulating 

with a different subject 

to suit their sinister agenda. 

"Recall that at the 

KADINVEST 7.0 in Kaduna, 

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 

had to publicly threaten not 

to leave the podium untill he 

extracted a commitment 

from El-Rufai that he will work 

with him. 

"With almost 23 million 

voters; President Buhari; six 

of seven governors;15 

senators; a third of APC 

members in the House of 

Reps, among hundreds of 

state Houses of Assembly 

members, the North West geopolitical 

is the most 

politically comfortable zone 

for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed 

Tinubu and the APC in 

general. 

''Therefore, desperate 

politicians and political 

hawks have resorted to 'cut 

and join campaign of 

calumny' to create a political 

upheaval in the APC's biggest 

stronghold in Nigeria. 

mines how we breath, it 

determines what we do, 

determines our movement, 

determines our promotion. 

Most of the people that are 

not coming back to the 

Senate and House of Representatives 

today are on 

account of executive rascality 

and that must stop.” 

In his remarks, spokesman 

of the House of Representatives, 

Benjamin 

Kalu, Clerk of the House, 

Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, the 

country representative of 

KONRAD, Marija Peran, 

and the Chairperson of the 

HoRPC, Grace Ike, lauded 

the synergy that existed between 

the legislature, especially 

the House and the 

media.While Kalu urged 

the media to embark on 

aggressive enlightenment 

campaign on the new electoral 

law to properly educate 

the masses, ahead of 

the 2023 elections, Peran 

pledged more capacity 

workshops for members of 

the Corps. 

"Apparently, APC's 

presidential campaign flagoff 

in Jos, where President 

Buhari, all the 22 APC state 

governors, all APC chieftains 

and millions of party 

supporters attended, has 

rattled them, hence,their 

incessant attempt to create 

a rift between our presidential 

candidate and one of his front 

line 'political commanders' in 

the North West. 

"The North West APC 

Presidential campaign shall 

continue to focus on winning 

all the seven states,186 local 

governments and 2004 wards 

in the zone for Asiwaju Bola 

Ahmed Tinubu, regardless of 

the endless distractions by 

these political entrepreneurs. 

"The political harmony in 

the APC, various 

infrastructural development 

projects by the APC- led 

administration and improved 

security in the North West, 

particularly in Kaduna, 

Katsina and Zamfara states, 

has obviously left them 

without cheap political points 

to hang on to.''




Amokachi: Eagles don't 

deserve to be in Qatar 

World Cup 

•says NFF have 

tradition of hiring 

wrong coaches 

Former Super Eagles 

striker, Daniel 

Amokachi, has attributed 

the dwindling fortunes of 

the national teams to the 

Nigeria Football 

Federation (NFF), who he 

blamed for hiring wrong 

coaches and calling up 

wrong players. 

Disclosing this during an 

interview on Channels 

Television, in reaction to the 

4-0 thrashing of the Eagles 

by Portugal in an 

international friendly 

match last Thursday, 

Amokachi cautioned 

against the dismissal of 

manager Jose Peseiro, 

noting that the Portuguese 

trainer should be provided 

with help to succeed in his 

Hussey 

College 

Warri 

dominates 

GCU Relays 

2022 

By Jacob Ajom 

Hussey College Warri 

emerged the overall 

Best School in the justconcluded 

Government 

College Ughelli 

I n v i t a t i o n a l 

Intercollegiate Athletics 

Competition {GCU 

Relays 2022}. The school 

emerged tops after 

amassing 29 points 

across all events. 

Not surprisingly, the 

school produced the Best 

•Eagles 

job of rebuilding Eagles. 

“When you look at the 

Portugal game, that tells 

you that we don’t even 

deserve to be there (World 

Cup). 

“There are one, two, three 

different angles that you 

have to look at it, bringing 

in the right coach, bringing 

in the right players and 

getting the right 

Mexico try Lewandowski's 

Poland for size 

Mexico 

tackle 

Poland in a 

potentially pivotal 

encounter in Group C 

today. 

The match will kick-off at 

4pm GMT in Doha, Qatar, 

at Stadium 974, which is the 

overall Male and Female Athletes 

in.Samson Arodovwe Miracle and Bukky 

Elijah, all from Hussey College, Warri. 

Bukky Elijah scooped 2 gold and a silver 

medals from the events. 

The languid Bukky was the fastest girl 

in the 100 meters dash as she breasted the 

tape in a promising time of 12.03 seconds. 

She dusted a strong field containing 

fellow Hussey College track queen Chuka 

Edigbo (12.08) and Imi Jesytekevwe of 

Ibru College, who returned 12.69 secs. 

Apart from the 100m dash in both male 

and female categories, 

there were competitions 

in 200m male and 

female, 4x100m and 

4x400m relays in both 

categories. 

In the main events, the 

relays, United College of 

Commerce, Warri won 

the 4x100m girls. Hussey 

College Warri placed 

second while, Idia 

College finished third. 

Hussey College won the 

boys' category. UCC 

Warri and host GCU 

finished second and third 

respectively. 

Hussey College won 

the girls' category in the 

4x400m Relays. UCC 

placed second while 

Oteri Secondary School 

placed third. 

first temporary 

venue in World 

Cup history, 

having been 

constructed from 

974 recycled 

shipping containers 

Mexico are heading into 

their eighth consecutive 

World Cup appearance, 

having been eliminated at 

the last 16 stage in each of 

their last seven entries. 

Former Argentina boss 

and player Gerardo 

Martino is the man tasked 

with breaking that cycle in 

Qatar, having been in 

charge of El Tri since 

January 2019. 

Poland, meanwhile, are 

aiming to progress beyond 

the group stage for the first time 

since Mexico '86, with their 

opening game against that 

nation likely to be crucial 

given that outright 

second favourites 

Argentina are 

also in 

their group. 

As has often been the case in the 

past decade or so, their hopes of 

performing well at a major 

tournament heavily hinge on the 

form of legendary 

forward Robert Lewandowski, 

who is still yet to score at a 

World Cup having blanked in 

all three matches in 2018. 

The 34-year-old will be 

determined to rectify that 

unwanted record against 

Mexico today, and potentially 

put his nation in the driving seat 

for second spot in Group C in 

the process. 

•Elijah 

•Amokachi 

environment to play. 

“We always bring the 

wrong coaches to handle a 

country like Nigeria; we 

always bring the wrong 

players,” Amokachi said. 

•Lewandowski 

Qatar 2022: I want 

Argentina to lose 

all group matches 

– Messi’s doctor 

Lionel Messi’s doctor, Diego 

Schwarzstein has said that he 

would want Argentina to lose her three 

group matches in Qatar. 

In other words, he would not want 

Argentina, his country, to win the 2022 

FIFA World Cup. 

Despite sharing a great relationship 

with Messi, Schwarzstein does not want 

the 35-year-old to win the FIFA World 

Cup in his career. 

He believed the 

Argentine 

government would 

use the World Cup 

success for 

propaganda to 

cover up its failure. 

“As a football fan, I 

would like Argentina to be 

champions. As an Argentine 

citizen, as a human being, I 

would like them to lose all 

three games and be •Neymar 

eliminated in the first 

round,” he told The Times. 

“Why, I’m convinced that 

this obscenely populist 

government that we have here 

would use the success of 

Argentina at the World Cup to cover 

things up,” he said. 

Messi leads Argentina 

World Cup quest 

against Saudi Arabia 

Argentina's latest quest for 

international glory kicks off today, 

as the South American nation start 

their World Cup 2022 Group 

C campaign against Saudi Arabia at 

the Lusail Iconic Stadium. 

La Albiceleste have two World 

Cups in their cabinet from 1978 

and 1986, while Saudi Arabia 

are aiming to make waves in 

a difficult group and avoid 

an expected fourth-placed 

finish 

In what may very well 

prove to be Lionel Messi's 

World Cup swansong, the 

script for the seven-time 

Ballon d'Or winner to 

propel his nation to the big 

one has already been written, and there is every reason to 

believe that this year could be Argentina's year. 

Messi will expect to form an intimidating attacking 

trident with Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria, 

while Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi could 

line up at the back if Martinez is spared. 

As for Saudi Arabia, five-cap midfielder Riyadh 

Sharahili has reportedly sustained a muscular problem 

which has thrown his World Cup hopes into doubt, while 

defender Hassan Tambakti is now back in full training 

after recovering from discomfort. 

France to replace Benzema 

with Martial 

France is likely to call up Manchester United attacker 

Anthony Martial as the replacement for Karim 

Benzema who suffered an injury on Saturday during Les 

Bleus. 

The French national team said the Real 

Madrid forward had suffered a thigh 

problem and would not be able to 

feature in the tournament. 

On Wednesday, RB Leipzig forward 

Christopher Nkunku was ruled out of 

the tournament after he limped out 

of training, with Eintracht 

Frankfurt’s Randal 

•Martial 

•Messi 

Kolo Muani 

called up as a 

replacement. 

With France’s 

opening game due 

in 2 days, it is expected 

that Didier Deschamps 

will settle on Martial 

to take the place of the 

injured forward. 

Neymar arrives in Qatar as 

most fouled player in 

Europe's leagues 

Neymar may be one of the stars of the Brazilian 

national team, there is no doubt about that, but as 

the World Cup is taking place in the last part of the year, 

many players are already very battered, as is the case of 

the PSG striker, who arrives at the Qatari tournament as 

the player who has received the most fouls throughout 

the season in the five major European leagues. 

Neymar is the player who most often faces opponents 

and seeks to dribble, which is known as jogo bonito, and 

the PSG player is the maximum exponent of this style of 

soccer, but not everything is flashy, there are also 

opponents who plan to stop these daring, daring players 

at all costs. 

In total, Neymar has been the victim of 66 fouls so far 

in the 2022-2023 season of the elite tournaments in the 

old continent. Likewise, O'Rei Pelé's Santos debutant 

received the most fouls in Russia 2018 with 26 in five 

games, all thanks to his daring style. 

Another player who shares this bold and daring style is 

Vinicius Jr of Real Madrid. The Flamengo-trained 

player leads the table of the most fouled players 

in the Spanish league with 49 fouls received 

in 14 games. Both are exponents of the jogo 

bonito.


RAMPANT England 

announced themselves as 

serious World Cup contenders 

- as they equalled their best ever 

tournament result by demolishing 

Iran. 

Bukayo Saka netted a brilliant 

double after Jude Bellingham’s first 

international goal had powered 

England in front. 

Raheem Sterling volleyed home 

the last of a three-goal ten-minute 

blitz before half-time. 

And sub Marcus Rashford added 

the fifth with his first touches for 

England since missing a penalty 

at last year’s Euros before Jack 

Grealish completed the rout. 

It was sensational stuff from 

Gareth Southgate’s side, who 

Lineker mocks 

Infantino over 

One Love 

armband farce 

GARY Lineker has mocked FIFA 

chief Gianni Infantino’s bizarre 

speech following the World Cup One 

Love armband farce. 

It came after England joined six 

other nations in pulling out of using 

the rainbow symbol to show support 

for the LGBTQ+ community 

worldwide. 

Infantino was widely mocked after 

giving an outlandish speech amid 

controversy in the lead up to the 

tournament. 

The FIFA boss told a stunned room 

of international reporters the day 

before the competition: “Today I feel 

Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel 

African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel 

disabled. Today I feel a migrant 

worker.” 

But Lineker channelled Infantino’s 

bizarre speech as he opened the BBC’s 

coverage of England’s first game 

against Iran. 

“Gianni Infantino obviously not 

feeling armbands today,” he said. 

He also slammed the tournament’s 

rocky start, condemning the armband 

U-turn as “another day, another 

controversy”. 

•Infantino 

arrived at the tournament on the 

back of a six-match winless run, 

with the manager widely criticised 

for being overly-cautious. 

This was nothing of the sort as an 

Iranian team ranked as high as 

20th in the world, and known for 

defensive meanness, were blown to 

smithereens. 

Captain Harry Kane provided 

two assists in one of his best allround 

performances for England 

- despite failing to find the net 

himself. 

Plenty of normally-sensible 

people had been tipping England 

to win this World Cup, which - after 

such a miserable Nations League 

relegation campaign seemed 

quite a leap of faith. 

That was until England started 

surging forward, their front three 

outstanding, with the 19-year-old 

Bellingham properly announcing 

himself on the world stage with a 

performance of influence and 

authority. 

This was not a perfect 

performance - there were 

moments of raggedness in 

midfield and defence which would 

be punished by stronger 

opponents - but it was mightily 

impressive and it felt as if 

Southgate had taken the 

handbrake off. 

BLOODY MESS 

Iran injured after horror clash 

ENGLAND vs Iran was delayed by 

almost seven minutes after 

goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was 

involved in a horror head clash. 

The keeper suffered a bloody nose 

after defender Majid Hosseini ran 

into him in a head-on collision. 

He quickly received medical 

attention and physios managed to 

stop the bleeding. 

It took many minutes but 

Beiranvand eventually got back to his 

The captains of England, Wales, 

Belgium, Denmark, Germany and 

the Netherlands did not wear the 

OneLove anti-discrimination 

armband in their World Cup opening 

games after confirmation that their 

captains would be given yellow cards 

if they took part in the initiative. 

The announcement came just 

before their World Cup campaigns 

were scheduled to start. The national 

federations said they were prepared 

to pay a fine for their captains to wear 

the OneLove armband, but once it 

became clear their captains would be 

sanctioned, they had to change plans. 

“FIFA has been very clear that it 

will impose sporting sanctions if our 

captains wear the armbands on the 

field of play,” a joint statement from 

the nations read. “As national 

federations, we can’t put our players 

in a position where they could face 

sporting sanctions including 

bookings, 

so we have 

asked the 

captains 

not to 

attempt to 

wear the 

armbands 

in FIFA 

World Cup 

games. 

“We were 

prepared to 

pay fines 

that would 

normally 

feet and was able to restart play with 

a goal kick. 

But he was clearly dazed after 

possibly suffering a concussion and 

signalled to come off before laying 

on the pitch. 

No2 Hossein Hosseini had been 

warming up and replaced 

Beiranvand after a lengthy amount 

of stoppage time that saw 14 

MINUTES added on to the end of 

the first half. 

World Cup teams abandon OneLove 

armband amid FIFA row 

apply to breaches of kit regulations 

and had a strong commitment to 

wearing the armband. However, we 

cannot put our players in the 

situation where they might be 

booked or even forced to leave the 

field of play. 

Nasser Al-Khelafi, the Qatari 

president of Paris Saint-Germain, 

has accused the media of being ‘unfair’ 

and ‘negative’ in their coverage of 

Qatar as it hosts the World Cup. 

Qatar has come under fire for its 

human rights record in recent weeks, 

with protests taking place against the 

country’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights 

and its 

treatment of 

migrant 

workers. 

T h e 

government 

claims three 

migrant 

workers have 

died from 

accidents 

w h i l e •Nasser 

working on 

Nigerians vow not to 

support Ghana, predict 

early exit for Black Stars 

Super Eagles fans have vowed not 

to support the Black Stars of 

Ghana following the massive 

disappointment of missing out on the 

2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar which 

kicked off at the weekend. 

The Super Eagles were denied the 

chance to represent the African 

continent by their eternal Black Stars 

rivals. 

GhanaSoccernet gathered that the 

pain of missing out on the Mundial 

has sparked widespread talk on social 

media with many Nigerian fans 

predicting a group exit for the fourtime 

African champions. 

Nigerians are still bruising from 

missing the global tournament after 

they lost the slot to Ghana on the away 

goal rule. 

Fans of the Super Eagles have been 

far from removed from the 

countdown to the biggest football 

event in the world. 

The fans of the Super Eagles have 

added colour, fanfare and drama with 

their talking drums, trumpets and 

costumes at six previous World Cups 

their darling team has featured. 

In March, perennial rivals Ghana 

eliminated Nigeria in a final World 

Cup playoffs on the away goals rule 

after both teams recorded a goalless 

draw in Kumasi before a 1-1 draw in 

Abuja. 

“It’s now a reality, a bad dream, that 

we will not be at the World Cup,” 

lamented Segun Olayinka, a fan 

based in Nigeria’s commercial 

capital of Lagos. 

“Our best players like Victor 

Osimhen and Wilfred Ndidi have been 

doing great at their clubs in Europe, 

‘The world has been so UNFAIR on 

Qatar’: 

PSG’s Qatari president slams 

‘really negative’ coverage of the 

World Cup 

•Kane 

construction for the World Cup, but it 

is believed the number could be as high 

as 6,500. 

Al-Khelafi felt the negative coverage 

of his country has been uncalled for, as 

he explained to TalkSPORT: ‘The 

world has been so unfair on Qatar. If 

people come and see what Qatar is, 

what Qatari people are like, what we 

do in our country, of course we are not 

perfect, but we’re doing our best. 

‘We are good people. We treat people 

with our hearts. The media has been 

really negative, and it’s not fair it all.’ 

The latest controversy in Qatar has 

come from the One Love armbands 

that nine European captains had 

planned to wear during the 

tournament. 

They were intended to be a gesture 

promoting inclusivity in a country that 

outlaws same sex marriage, but 

players have now backed down after 

being threatened with yellow cards for 

breaching FIFA’s equipment rules. 

but now they can only watch the World 

Cup on television, just like me. 

“From what I have seen on television 

and the internet this will be a great 

World Cup, a spectacle, going by how 

far and how well Qatar has gone to 

make it so.” 

Journalist Ayo Owolabi said he is 

pained that Nigeria will not be 

represented the first time an Arab 

country will stage the World Cup. 

“Qatar made history as the first Arab 

nation to host the World Cup and sadly 

the Super Eagles will not be there,” 

he lamented. 

“I believe they will great host despite 

some of the apprehension being 

expressed by some people. 

“They have already gone out of their 

way to make it one World Cup to 

remember with the wonderful 

stadiums they have built and the 

technology they have employed.” 

Ronaldo: I’m 

‘bulletproof’ 

Cristiano Ronaldo says he is 

“bulletproof and iron-clad” 

following his explosive interview last 

week and says his relationship with 

Manchester United team-mate Bruno 

Fernandes is “excellent”. 

Ronaldo’s interview with Piers 

Morgan on TalkTV saw the 37-yearold 

criticise United and manager Erik 

ten Hag, who the player says he has 

“no respect” for, while he also said he 

had been “betrayed” by the club. 

But in a surprise and unadvertised 

media appearance for Portugal 

ahead of their World Cup opener 

against Ghana on Thursday, Ronaldo 

publicly addressed his bombshell 

interview for the first time since it aired 

amid questions whether it had been a 

distraction in the Portugal dressing 

room. 

He said: “The atmosphere is 

excellent, no problems, we are 

completely focused. You can help by 

not talking about me. I’m completely 

bulletproof and iron-clad. 

“If you ask other players about 

Cristiano Ronaldo I would be upset. 

If you want to ask him about the World 

Cup and the team, I would like you to 

do that.” 

He added: “In my life, the best 

timing is always my timing. 

“I don’t have to think about what 

other people think. I speak when I 

want. The players know me really well 

for many years and know the type of 

person I am. 

“Its an ambitious group that is 

hungry and focused. So I’m sure it 

[the interview] won’t shake the 

changing room’s concentration and 

focus.” 

•Cristiano

Vanguard, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022 

Sudoku 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER 

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. 

C 

M 

Y 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION 

ACROSS 

1 Dilapidated (10) 

7 Amount (8) 

8 Sluggish (4) 

9 Pavement edge (4) 

10 Dirigible (7) 

12 Ungenerous behaviour (11) 

14 Attack (7) 

16 Cease (4) 

19 Military vehicle (4) 

20 U.S. state (8) 

21 Near thing (5,5) 

DOWN 

1 Lorry (5) 

2 Dog of mixed breed (7) 

3 Den (4) 

4 Natural illumination (8) 

5 Stinging insects (5) 

6 Imitations (6) 

11 Scoundrels (8) 

12 Title given to a nun (6) 

13 Baltic country (7) 

15 Horrify (5) 

17 Trophy (5) 

18 In addition (4) 

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