24112022

Array of experts, Oyo rally:
2023: APC kicks
personalities line up LP campaign
9
org, aviation
against deployment of
as 2nd Vanguard authorities BVAs, IReV
Mental Health Summit bicker over
Osinachi was always afraid in her
•Peter Obi
opens 23 grounded plane
DMO raises N3.2 trn from domestic market to fund 2022 budget
husband’s presence, brother tells court
8
8
7
VOL. 39: NO. 9,930
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
Why I approved redesign
of Naira locally – BUHARI
•Why naira has not been redesigned in 19 years – EMEFIELE•Adds: We're yet to receive large
deposits•Says only N165bn received as at last Friday•Warns there'll be no deadline extension
5
UNVEILING THE NEWLY DESIGNED NAIRA NOTES
$418m
Paris
refund:
Govs vow
payment
8
Foreign
N321bn
Mr & Mrs
Obi represents soul of Ndigbo — OHANAEZE 11
2023: We've recovered
Baby factory: Nigeria at risk of
UK watching
Police rescue 6
$1bn looted
grey-listing by
closely, says
girls, 6 months
9 funds since
9
Financial Action
British High
old baby in Task Force next
Commissioner
2015 — FG Nasarawa 23 year — ICPC 8
L-R; MD/CEO, Printing and Minting, Mr Ahmed Halilu, CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefile, President Muhammadu Buhari, Minister
of State Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba , ICPC Chairman, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye and EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed
Bawa, at the unveiling of the newly designed Naira notes at FEC meeting in Abuja, yesterday. INSET: CBN Governor, Mr Godwin
Emefiele presenting the newly redesigned Naira notes to President Muhammadu Buhari at the event. Photo: State House.
COLUMNIST OLU FASAN 16
AMAECHI 17
to stop
consultants'
portfolio
investments
rise
11.8% to
19

2 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 —3

4 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022

Why I approved redesign of
Naira locally – BUHARI
By Emma Ujah, Abuja
Bureau Chief &
Johnbosco Agbakwuru
PRESIDENT Muhammadu
Buhari yesterday inaugurated
the new Naira
banknotes, expressing delight
that the redesigned
currencies were locally produced
by the Nigerian Security
Printing and Minting,
NSPM Plc.
Speaking at the inauguration
of the new banknotes,
which preceded the
Federal Executive Council,
FEC, meeting in Abuja yesterday,
Buhari explained in
detail the basis for his approval
to the Central Bank
of Nigeria, CBN, to redesign
the N200, N500 and
N1000 banknotes.
According to him, the
new Naira banknotes have
been fortified with security
features that make them
difficult to counterfeit.
He added that the new
banknotes would help
CBN to design and implement
better monetary policy
objectives, as well as
enrich the collective memory
of Nigeria’s heritage.
Buhari, who commended
the CBN Governor Godwin
Emefiele and his deputies
for the initiative, also
thanked the Managing
Director, Mr. Ahmed Halilu,
Executive Directors and
staff of NSPM PLC “for
working tirelessly with the
apex bank to make the currency
redesign a reality,
and for printing the new
Naira notes within a comparatively
short time.”
The President noted that
international best practice
required central banks and
national authorities to issue
new or redesigned currency
notes every five to eight
years.
Redesign long
overdue
• Why naira has not been redesigned in 19 years –
EMEFIELE•We're yet to receive large deposits – CBN•Says
only N165bn received as at last Friday•Warns there'll be no
deadline extension
–BUHARI
He noted that it was now
almost 20 years since the
last major redesign of the
country’s local currency
was done, adding that implied
that the Naira was
long overdue for a redesign.
The President said: ''A
cycle of banknote redesign
is generally aimed at
achieving specific objectives,
including, but not limited
to improving security
of banknotes.
”It is also aimed at mitigating
counterfeiting, preserving
the collective national
heritage, controlling
currency in circulation, and
reducing the overall cost of
currency management.
‘‘As is known, our local
laws, specifically the Central
Bank of Nigeria Act of
2007, grants the CBN the
power to issue and redesign
the Naira.
“In line with this power,
From left: Leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo raising the hands of Presidential
candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, while the Vice Presidential
Candidate of Labour Party, Senator Yussuf Datti Ahmed and others look on
during the Labour presidential rally at Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba,
Ibadan, yesterday. Photo: Dare Fasube.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 — 5
POCKET CARTOON
the bank’s governor approached
me earlier in this
year to seek my permission
to embark on a currency
redesign project. I considered
all the facts and reasons
presented before me
by the CBN.”
He expressed the hope
that the new notes would
address the urgent need to
take control of currency in
circulation, adding that it
would also address the
menace of hoarding Naira
banknotes outside the
banking system and curb
the shortage of clean and
fit banknotes in circulation.
Design was locally
done
Buhari said the redesigned
notes would equally
address the increase in
counterfeiting of high-denomination
Naira banknotes.
“It is on this basis that I
gave my approval for the
redesign of the N200, N500
and N1000 banknotes.
“While this may not be
apparent to many Nigerians,
only four out of the 54
African countries print their
currencies in their countries,
and Nigeria is one,
hence a majority of African
countries print their currencies
abroad and import
them the way we import
other goods.
“That is why it is with
immense pride that I announce
to you that these
redesigned currencies are
locally produced right here
in Nigeria by NSPM Plc,’’
he said.
Currency ought
to be redesigned,
re-issued by 5-8
yrs – EMEFIELE
In his remarks, Emefiele
explained that in line with
global practice, the naira
was supposed to be redesigned
and re-issued between
five and eight years.
He regretted that in Nigeria,
the naira had not
been redesigned for about
19 years now because of
lack of political will from
the previous leaders.
He said: "In the past, I
have to confess that attempts
by the CBN to redesign
and reissue the
naira notes have been resisred.
It is only President
Muhammadu Buhari that
has the courage to do so."
Emefiele said it was the
mandate of the CBN to redesign
and reissue the
notes, assuring that henceforth,
the exercise would
take place after five to eight
years.
"After today, the CBN will
begin to redesign and reissue
the naira for every
five to eight years," he said.
Continues on Page 28
By Mariam Eko
On 133m Nigerians living in poverty and way forward
A
nation that is not pro
ducing goods cannot
lift its citizens from poverty.
The NBS statistics is a clarion
call to the authorities
that Nigeria is sitting on a
time bomb and the implications
are highly dangerous.
Corruption and crime
will be in the order of the
day if the situation is not addressed
quickly.
—Idris Ishola,
Stockbroker
THE poverty level in
the country is getting
worse. Most families cannot
afford one meal per day
and the level of deprivation
in all aspects of living is
absurd for a country blessed
with both natural and human
resources. This is so
sad.
—Egwuagha Ngozi,
Trader
Iagree with NBS that
Nigerians are suffering
from multidimensional
poverty. Most kids have
dropped out of school and
they are hawking for their
parents. Honestly, people
are suffering. Some people
are homeless, and jobless,
and government
should act fast.
—Oluwakemi Bamidele,
Caterer
THE level of poverty
in this country is alarming.
You get paid but you
can’t even save because a lot
of bills are already waiting
to slaughter the salary.
How long are we going to
continue like this? Government
should take this issue
before it gets out of hand.
—Benjamin Nzekwu,
Credit control executive
THE statistic is a nobrainer
because most
of us can feel poverty and
deprivation. Moreover,
these indicators are
bound to happen under
this current government.
Until we have a working
system that can checkmate
corrupt leaders, the situation
cannot get any better.
—Folaranmi Ayodele,
Photograhper
NIGERIANS
now
lack the basics of
human existence as cheap
as food. The level of hunger
has further heightened
the level of insecurity in the
country. I believe the NBS
report but feels it may be
far higher than that based
on the reality around us.
—Adeniji Silvanus,
Architect

6 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
Akirun: Violence
as new monarch
attempts to
access locked
palace
•One dead, mob
stops fire fighters
By Shina Abubakar
ONE person was reportedly shot
dead , yesterday, in Ikirun, Osun
State, as the new Akirun of Ikirun, Oba
Yinusa Akadiri, and a group of persons
tried to force their way into the palace
(that had been locked and sealed off with
traditional charms).
It was gathered that in the process of
being resisted by some residents of the
community, an imbroglio ensued and
the victim was reportedly shot dead and
part of the palace set ablaze.
It will be recalled that Some people
in the town, who had been calling for a
reversal of Akadiri’s appointment and
installation, allegedly locked up the
palace to deny the installed Oba access
to the palace.
An eye witness, who pleaded
anonymity, told Vanguard that some
youths had gathered at the Oja-Oba area
where the palace was located yesterday
morning waiting for the Monarch's
arrival.
"As soon as the policemen arrived the
palace main entrance with some
herbalists, they neutralise the charm
therein and forced the gate opened, but
could not open the gate to the main
palace building before some youths
started pelting them with satchet water.
"The police fired tear gar to disperse
the mob but it was not successful, hence,
there was an exchange of gunshots
between the security operatives and the
youths around the palace," the source
added.
While the shooting was going on,
Vanguard gathered that some youths
scaled the fence of the palace to set it
ablaze.
A Prince from Gboleru ruling house,
Lukman Olatunji, it was gathered , was
shot during the cross fire in front of the
palace.
An elder brother to the deceased,
Prince Tajudeen Gboleru disclosed to
newsmen that the deceased led some
people towards the palace upon hearing
that some persons attempted to forcefully
gain access into the palace.
According to him, I heard that there
was gunshots in front of the palace by
security operatives with some people and
he was killed right in front of the palace.
"I don't know who really shoot him
but there was gunshot by soldiers and
police and he was killed".
Meanwhile, operatives of the Fire
Service Department who were alerted
to quench the fire at the palace were
attacked by a mob outside, preventing
the vehicle from accessing the scene.
Three of the operatives, our
correspondent gathered, were injured,
taken to hospital and the vehicle
abandoned at the scene.
The department's spokesperson,
Adekunle Ibrahim while confirming the
incident, said the injured personnel are
recuperating at a private hospital in the
town.
"We were alerted to the fire incident by
police and personnel were deployed to
quench the fire. However, a mob stopped
the vehicle from accessing the palace
and our personnel were attacked.
•The palace on fire.
:Vanguard
News
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
•Long queues at filling stations as fuel scarcity returns.
Okada ban: Tears, anger as
taskforce destroys 356 bikes
By Omeiza Ajayi
Amotorcyclists, BUJA—COMMERCIAL
popularly known
as Okada, watched helplessly as over
356 motorcycles impounded from them
were, yesterday, destroyed by officials
of the Federal Capital Territory
Administration, FCTA.
While the FCTA has not pronounced
a blanket ban on commercial
motorcycle operations, there are districts
where they are not allowed to operate.
Notwithstanding the restrictions,
defiant bike owners and operators have
remained adamant about flouting the
partial ban.
The massive raids through highbrow
Missing elder's son found dead in
prophet's church
By Dayo Johnson
AKURE—An Akure Chief
Magistrate's Court, in Ondo
State, has ordered the remand of 45-
year-old Prophet, Samuel Alade-Emin,
for allegedly killing the son of an elder,
Olasupo Abiona, in his church.
The mother of the deceased is the
lya-ljo of the church.
Vanguard learned that the deceased
had been declared missing for seven
days, until his corpse was allegedly found
in the prophet’s custody.
He was alleged to have died after
consuming a concoction given to him
by the suspect.
Meanwhile, the defendant was
arraigned before Chief Magistrate,
Musa Al-Yunus, on two counts bothering
on deprivation of liberty and murder.
The Police prosecutor, Nelson
4 kidnap suspects arrested in Ogun
By James Ogunnaike
ABEOKUTA—FOUR members
of a notorious kidnap gang
terrorising Abeokuta and its environs
have been apprehended by operatives
of Ogun State Police Command.
The command's Police Public
Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi,
said the suspects were arrested, following
a series of kidnap cases at Soyooye and
Ibara Orile area of Abeokuta.
Having received reports of kidnap
cases in the aforementioned area, the
Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole,
directed the Anti kidnapping team to
move into the area and fish out the
perpetrators of the dastardly act.
In compliance with the CP's directive,
Guzape and Durumi districts, Airport
road-Lugbe and Kubwa were supported
by the defence and security forces.
Senior Special Assistant to the FCT
Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and
Enforcement, Attah Ikharo, said the
Minister is worried about the flagrant
attitude of the operators who violate
traffic rules.
He said the administration only
allowed them to operate in interior
villages and estates, where possible, but
they have continued to violate the
restrictions with arrogance and constant
violent attacks on enforcement officers.
"This operation is a signature project
and a decision of the FCTA Security
Committee. They agreed that we should
....Ondo court remands prophet in prison
Akintimehin, said that the defendant
committed the offence between August
22 and 27, 2022 at Alagbado village via
Ore, Odigbo council area of the state.
According to Akintimehin, the prophet
unlawfully detained the deceased, who
happened to be the son of one of the
elders in the church, one Olasupo
Abiona, in his custody against his wish,
which deprived him of his liberty.
Adetimehin also alleged that the
defendant in the process administered a
substance suspected to be poison to the
deceased which made him vomit blood
that led to his death.
The offences contravene sections 365
and 316(5) of the Criminal Law of Ondo
State, 2006.
The police prosecutor, therefore, urged
the court to remand the defendant at the
Olokuta Correctional Centre pending
the outcome of advice from the
the SP Taiwo Opadiran led team embarked
on a technical and intelligencebased
investigation, which led them to
one of the suspects, Irukura Abu, who
was later discovered to be the supplier of
guns to the hoodlums.
His arrest led to the arrest of Musa
Muhammed, while he was coming out
from their hideout to buy food for their
victims and members of the gang.
The duo after thorough investigation,
confessed to being members of a kidnap
gang responsible for the abduction of
one Bishop Oladimeji Joshua of Prayer
City, Keesan, Abeokuta, on the 22nd of
September 2022.
They also informed the police that they
were responsible for the kidnap of one Kafayat
Jelili of Ogo Titun area of Ibara Orile.
go back to massive enforcement of the
ban on commercial motorcycles in the
Federal Capital City as well as some
strategic locations, like the airport road
and Kubwa where they have become a
big threat to the people.
"We have brought the 356
motorcycles here in Area 1 for primary
crushing because the menace cannot
continue. We have gotten complaints
daily about Okada riders across the
city.
"Last week in Durumi, a personnel in
uniform was stabbed and killed, and
another officer was also stabbed in the
head by these same characters, the
Okada riders. We have gotten forfeiture
orders for all of these," he added.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The prophet said he is innocent of the
allegations levelled against him.
Alade-Emi said the deceased was under
treatment in his church before he got
missing.
He added that he was part of the search
team looking for the deceased when he
was declared missing for almost six days
before the deceased walked into the
church premises.
The defendant denied that the victim
died in his church but in the hospital after
he was found.
According to him: "It was quite
unfortunate that he died in the hospital
after ten days of treatment,“
His counsel, A. Motunrayo, prayed the
court to grant her client bail in the most
liberal terms, because of his innocence.
But, in his response, the trial Chief
Magistrate, Musa Al-Yunus, ordered
his remand, pending advice from the
state DPP.
Magistrate, Al-Yunus, therefore,
adjourned the case till February 9,
next year.
Wife stabs
husband to death
over sexual
demands
By Adeola Badru
A
27year-old housewife, Odunayo
Olumale, has reportedly stabbed
her husband, Olamilekan
Salahudeen, to death, for making
sexual advances at her.
The incident happened three months
after the couple reconciled and
reunited after a separation.
Speaking in Ibadan while parading the
suspect at the Oyo Police Command
headquarter, Eleyele, Ibadan, yesterday,
Police spokesman, Adewale Osifeso, said
the preliminary investigation showed that
the deceased and his wife returned to their
house in Oko-Oba area of Oyo town on
the day of the incident after their threemonth
separation.
Osifeso said one Ismaila Tijani reported
at Dubar Divisional Police headquarters
that his son named Olamilekan
Salahudeen age 35 was stabbed to death
with a knife by his wife Odunayo.
It was gathered that the deceased made
a move to have sexual intercourse with his
wife who rejected, “ a struggle ensued and
the deceased collected and smashed his
wife’s phone and in retaliation, the
deceased was stabbed on the chest, leading
to his death
Panic as killer
herdsmen
invade Rivers
community,
allegedly kill 2
By Davies Iheamnachor
TWO persons were reportedly
killed by suspected herdsmen,
who invaded Agbeta II Tuabon
Community in Ebubu Clan, Eleme
Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The killers, who attacked the
community, last Sunday, also allegedly
injured many.
The Youth president of the
community, Mr. Justice Kanikpo, cried
that residents of the area are now
relocating for fear of further attacks by
the killer herdsmen.
Kanikpo said: "People are moving
out of the community as a result of fear
because the herders always come to
the area with AK45 riffle every day so
people are afraid for their lives. They
have killed two people.
"I don’t know why the local
government chairman is not bordered
about the situation, so I am appealing
to the government to come to our aid
and rescue us from what we are facing."
Meanwhile, the Chairman, Council
of Chiefs and Elders, Agbeta II Tuabon
Community, Kayonee Gbaranen,
noted that farmers in the community
can no longer access their farmlands
due to the killer herdsmen.
"The people no longer go to their
farms because what they planted has
been destroyed, they are now buying
crops and foodstuffs that they normally
produce because they can no longer
enter their farms. They are afraid, and
most of the people have started leaving
the community.
•The
apprehended
bandits
paraded
by
the
police.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 — 7
:Vanguard
News
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnewsNEWS HOTLINES:
Social Media Conversation
•Late Osinachi and husband, Peter Nwachukwu.
Osinachi was always afraid in her
husband’s presence, brother tells court
By Fortune
Eromosele
AMadu, BUJA—GODWIN
brother of the late
gospel singer, Osinachi
Nwachukwu, has told a Federal
Capital Territory High Court,
sitting in Abuja, how the late
songbird answered calls and
spoke in fear, due to her husband’s
(Peter Nwachukwu) presence.
Led in evidence by the
Prosecution counsel, Aderonke
Imana, Madu also told the court
how Nwachukwu allegedly
abused Osinachi verbally and
physically.
He said: “Whenever we called
Osinachi to hear from her, she
answered with fear.
"In 2019 August, my mom was
sick, Osinachi begged Peter for
my mom to come over, but he
refused. Then Osinachi went to
Pastor Enenche’s wife, Becky, of
Dunamis Church, to prevail on
Peter to allow Osinachi’s mom
to come down to Abuja for
treatment.
“So, Becky met with Peter and
begged him, before he accepted.
Then when she came down to
Abuja.
The first day Peter sent his son,
Ebube, to go get water for him
with a cup. When he went to get
the water, as a child, the water
spilled from the cup. Peter beat
Ebube mercilessly, just because
the boy made a very little
mistake.
“When my mom heard his cry,
she started telling Peter that he
should take it easy on him, that
he is a child and mistakes were
part of their learning. I was there
listening to my mom, and the next
thing Peter did was insult my
mom, calling her names that she
was a witch and that she wants to
scatter his family.
Scolding
Osinachi's mom
“When he was saying all those
things, my mum kept quiet and
didn’t respond. The next day my
sister was in the kitchen cooking,
and she called on me to come
and assist her, I was in the kitchen
helping her to cut onions, Peter
then came to the kitchen and
asked what I was doing there.
My sister said to him, please
allow him he is helping me, he
started insulting my sister, calling
her names. That day he said to
her ‘you know how I used to be to
you,’ in my presence for the first
time.
“Then the second day, he did
the same thing, I was in the
kitchen helping my sister. He told
her that I have warned you
several times not to allow this
your useless brother inside my
kitchen, then my sister said to
him, there are so many things to
do in the kitchen. He repeated
the same words, ‘you know how
I used to be to you,’ in my presence
for the second time.
“The next day, I was in the
kitchen helping my sister wash
the plates, and he repeated the
same words to my sister. When
he said it I was very angry that
very day, I said to Osinachi what
does this man mean by these
things he is saying, he heard what
I said and started insulting me.
“On the fourth day, I was with
my mom in the room where she
was when I was going to the
kitchen, I saw him he raised his
hands to hit my sister Osinachi,
then I said if you try it, my mom
heard my voice and she called
me, Peter started insulting me
again.
“The next day, he chased me
and my mom out of his house, I
called Osinachi’s twin sister,
Amarachi, and I told her what
happened, she called one of her
Delta woman friends, it was the
woman that came and picked
me and my mom.
“It was in that woman’s house
that we stayed for one month until
she completed her treatment
before we both went back to
Enugu. Then I came back to
Abuja, I started my music stuff
then when I go to church on
Sunday, that is when I normally
see my sister(Osinachi) and
whenever she’s talking to me and
notices the presence of Peter, she
will be afraid, she will quickly
leave and tell me later."
Narrates hospital
experience before
death
“For years, it kept happening
like that until March, this year,
when my sister was sick, it was
through my mom that I knew
that my sister was sick. My mom
said to me that I should go and
find out what was happening to
Osinachi. I went to their house, I
knocked and knocked, Ebube
came out the first son. When he
came out he now asked Ebube
who is that, Ebube said it was
uncle Godwin. He told Ebube to
tell me that I should go.
“Then the next day, my sister
was in the hospital, he never
wanted to tell me that my sister
was in the hospital. My sister
cried and begged him to send
the address of the hospital so that
I can come. When I came to the
hospital, I saw my sister in severe
pain, holding her chest, I saw a
doctor that was with her there.
Right there when the doctor
Peter sent
his son,
Ebube, to go
get water for
him with a
cup. When
he went to
get the water,
as a child,
the water
spilled from
the cup.
Peter beat
Ebube
mercilessly,
just because
the boy made
a very little
mistake
finished attending to her, Peter
was there too, I wanted to see the
doctor, but Peter blocked me and
called security to push me out.
“The second day, I came to the
hospital he didn’t allow me to
come close. Then before the twin
sister Amarachi came, when she
came, Peter started asking her
what was doing there in the
hospital, she said that she came
to take care of her sister, and Peter
said she should better go back to
where she was coming from.
“She didn’t say anything to Peter.
Peter said we should both leave the
hospital, that we should go far to the
garden as he was expecting
somebody. “For more than twenty
minutes we were outside so that he
will tell us the person had come and
we can go in.
“We waited for so long before we
now came to the room in the hospital
where they were, then my sister
Osinachi was begging the twin sister
that she should not be angry,
Amarachi said okay that there’s no
problem. After that, Peter brought
out a lab result and gave it to
Osinachi and said to her, you don’t
have cancer, despite the pain and
what Osinachi was passing through
right there, she smiled.
“Peter went to the toilet to ease
himself, Osinachi said to us that
please we should go and check on
the children, that she doesn’t want
any torture from Peter again."
Stop ‘monkeying' in others' affairs!
School first!
Work your dreams!

8 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
BRIEFING:
From left, Ekiti
State Governor,
Mr Biodun
Oyebanji; his
Deputy, Mrs
Monisade Afuye;
Secretary to the
State
Government, Mrs
Habibat Adubiaro
and Head of
Service, Bamidele
Agbede, during
the Day 3 briefing
by Heads of
MDAs, at the
EXCO Chamber,
Governor’s
office, Ado-Ekiti,
yesterday.
DMO raises N3.2 trn from domestic
market to fund 2022 budget
•As Sukuk yields N612bn
By Emma Ujah,
Abuja Bureau Chief
THE DEBT Management
Office, DMO, has raised a
total of N3.23 trillion from the
domestic market to finance the
2022 federal government budget.
The Director-General of
DMO, Ms. Patience Oniha,
disclosed this, in Abuja,
yesterday, while briefing the
media on the N100 billion Sukuk
now being offered to the Nigerian
public for investment.
According to her, DMO has
raised the sum of N612 billion
through Sukuk, the ethical debt
instrument since it was introduced
in September, 2017, with all
proceeds dedicated to road
infrastructure.
She said: “We raised all of those
monies for roads and bridges and
there are signs around them so
that Nigerians can see them and
hold us accountable for the
utilization of the proceeds.”
Ms. Oniha, who expressed
satisfaction that the product had
become widely accepted to the
investing, said: “The first time we
did Sukuk, we had to undertake
road shows to five states and held
bilateral meetings to convince
members of the public to invest in
the product but since then, the
instrument has become very
acceptable to Nigerian public
“The fact that people can see
the roads and bridges that are
being constructed by Sukuk when
they drive around, has helped a
lot. Sukuk has a product that is
selling itself.
“We are happy to reach a lot
more people to invest in the
Sukuk. We have a lot of products
that are available to all investors,
local and foreign, including retail
investors but Sukuk has the
added advantage that it is
financing infrastructure.
“We are driving retail investors
and promoting financial inclusion,
meaning those who have
investible funds but having no
securities that are acceptable for
them to invest in find the Sukuk
that product that they can invest
in and earn some money.
“So overall, we are specifically
borrowing to fund infrastructure
and developing the market and
giving people more investment
opportunities.”
Why only N100bn
The DG noted that Nigerians
were asking for the product but
that her team put N100 billion on
offer because it was already very
close to its domestic borrowing limit
of about N3. 5 trillion for the current
fiscal year.
:Vanguard News
According to her, there has been
a lot of excitement around Sukuk
because road infrastructure
provided job opportunities and
added value to the socio-economic
development of the nation,
describing it as a “win-win situation
for all members of the public.
By Fortune
Eromosele
ABUJA—THE Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission,
ICPC, has warned that Nigeria i s
at risk of being grey-listed by the
Financial Action Task Force, FATF
in February next year.
The commission also cautioned
lawyers to desist from unlawful and
corrupt practices, saying they are
part of the factors that would aid
Nigeria being grey-listed by the
FATF.
The Chairman, ICPC, Professor
Bolaji Owasanoye, stated this
while hosting the new National
Executive Committee of the
Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, on
a courtesy visit to the commission’s
headquarters in Abuja yesterday.
The Financial Action Task
Force, FATF, as defined, is an intergovernmental
policymaking body
whose purpose is to establish
international standards, develop
and promote policies, both at
national and international levels,
to combat money laundering and
the financing of terrorism.
Owasanoye who decried the
alarming rate at how some lawyers
undermined the profession, cited
examples of lawyers who
enmeshed themselves in
questionable acts that had overtly
rubbed off on the legal profession
in the country.
He said: “Many who claimed to
be lawyers are not living up to the
name and they embarrass all of
us. Many of them undermine the
integrity of the profession by
betraying the very essence of our
training. How do you explain why
a lawyer would put forward or try
to defend an illegal contract.
“We have seen an agreement
prepared by a lawyer for people to
engage in illegal transaction. While
the agreement was violated, a
lawyer who we believe should
know better wrote to ICPC to
intervene. We all know it is wrong
for someone to pay to get a job in
public service and here we are
seeing a lawyer drafting an
agreement for the parties
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
The N100 billion to be raised
from the current exercise, she said,
would be applied on road
infrastructure, under the Federal
Ministry of Works and Housing
and the Federal Capital Territory
Administration.
Offer for the N100 billion Sukuk
will close on Tuesday, next week
Ms. Oniha said: “Our focus is
those people who ordinarily won’t
invest either for reasons of ethics
or they are not even aware that
their money, though not big, can
buy Sukuk. Or some who say, ‘I
want to give my money to the
government but I want to see what
they are doing with my money.’
Sukuk is just the right product.”
She stated that funds borrowed
from the capital market, at cheaper
rates earlier in the year, had been
very helpful in supporting the
government in the implementation
of the budget.
Nigeria at risk of grey-listing by
Financial Action Task Force next year
—ICPC •Warns lawyers to desist from corrupt practices
involved.”
The ICPC chairman added that
the unprofessional conduct of
some lawyers were reasons the
perception of the legal body was
low in the country, adding that it
could lead to Nigeria being greylisted
by the Financial Action Task
Force.
“You may be aware that there is
a mutual evaluation on the
country by the Financial Action
Task Force and Nigeria is currently
at the risk of being grey-listed. One
of the reasons for that is because
the legal profession has been seen
to be resistant to the anti-money
laundering and financing
autonomy requirements.
“This may lead to the grey-listing
of Nigeria by FATF in February
next year. The implication of the
grey-listing is that Nigeria’s
economy is running on loans and
when you are grey-listed, you will
have to borrow at a premium. If
your neighbour borrows at four
percent, you will have to borrow at
twelve to fifteen percent,''
Owasanoye said.
The ICPC chairman stressed the
need to educate members of the
INDEPENDENT MARKETERS
of petroleum products,
yesterday, increased the price of
petrol further to N240 per litre, from
about N230 per litre as shortage
persisted in Lagos and its environs
yesterday.
Checks by Vanguard indicated
that the marketers currently lift
the product from the depots at
N200 per litre, unlike in the past
when they lifted the product for
N148 per litre.
Consequently, the pump price
of petrol has increased to N240
per litre, from the N165 per litre
government regulated price, while
the total cost hovered at N220 per
litre, including transport and
margins.
However, the major marketers,
NBA on the implications of their
actions on the economy.
He also urged the National
Executive Committee of the NBA
to push forward policies that would
advance the course of the justice
sector reform.
Earlier in his address, the
National President of the Nigerian
Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Yakubu
Chonoko Maikyau, SAN,
expressed concern about the
perception of the legal profession
in the public, saying the profession
was not as corrupt as the press
would want to make the public
believe.
He stated that the NBA under
his leadership, was on the same
page with the ICPC in the fight
against corruption and would
make itself available for any form
of collaboration with the
commission to advance its course
in reducing the menace of
corruption in the country.
Maikyau also suggested that
cases of infractions by lawyers that
had been noted by the ICPC could
be forwarded to the NBA’s
secretariat for necessary
disciplinary actions by the body.
$418m Paris Refund: Govs vow
to stop payment to consultants
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA—GOVERNORS of the
36 states of the federation,
under the aegis of Nigerian
Governors' Forum, NGF, vowed,,
yesterday, to explore all legal
channels to pursue the $418
million Paris Club Refund and
ensure that states’ resources are
not unjustly paid to a few in the
name of consultancy.
In a statement after the 8th
teleconference meeting of the
NGF, Chairman of the forum and
Sokoto State governor , Aminu
Tambuwal said, “regarding the
$418 Million Paris Club Refund and
promissory notes issued to
Consultants by the Federal
Ministry of Finance and the Debt
Management Office, DMO, the
Forum remains resolute in
exploring all legal channels
available to it in ensuring that
resources belonging to States are
not unjustly or illegally paid to a
few in the guise of consultancies.
He also said that the forum is
continuing its quest to stop the
proposed privatization of 10
National Integrated Power
Projects, NIPPs, by the Federal
Government. He said the forum
had instructed its lawyers to
approach the Federal High Court
which at present has issued an
order restraining all the parties in
the suit from taking any step or
action that will make or render the
outcome of the motion on notice
seeking for interlocutory injunction
nugatory.
Tambuwal said: “The effect of
the Order of the Court is that
Respondents cannot proceed with
the proposed sale of the power
plants belonging to the Niger
Delta Power Holding Company
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA—THE ruling All
Progressives Congress, APC,
has kicked against the decision of
the Independent National
Electoral Commission INEC to
deploy the Bimodal Voter
Accreditation System BVAS and
the INEC Results Viewing Portal
IReV, saying Nigeria is not ripe for
the use of such technology.
This was as the electoral umpire
insisted there is no going back on
the deployment of the technology.
There had been allegations that
the ruling party was sponsoring
moves to oust the INEC Chairman
because of his insistence to deploy
greater technology to enhance the
electoral process.
APC National Chairman,
Limited, NDPHCL, until the
hearing and determination of the
Motion on Notice for Interlocutory
Injunction.''
He noted that sequel to
discussions between subsovereigns
at the recently
concluded 2nd African Sub-
Sovereign Government Network,
AfSNET, Conference, the Forum
agreed to pursue through its
membership on the Forum of
Regions of Africa, FORAF.
The Sokoto State governor, who
noted that the Forum was
monitoring the flood situation
across the country and working
with the Federal Government
through the National Economic
Council, NEC, said: “In
collaboration with the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, FMARD, Federal
Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs,
Disaster Management and Social
Development, FMHDSD.
“National Emergency
Management Agency, NEMA,
Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,
Federal Ministry of Finance,
Budget and National Planning,
FMFBNP, and the World Bank to
prepare emergency interventions
to ameliorate the impact of the flood
crisis especially to sustain Food
Security.
“Members were also briefed by
the World Bank Task Team Leader,
TTL, Professor Foluso
Okunmadewa, on the desired
restructuring of the $750 million
Nigeria COVID-19 Action
Recovery and Economic Stimulus
Program, CARES, programme to
respond to Nigeria 2022 Flood
Response following discussions
with States and the National
Economic Council, NEC, Ad hoc
Committee on Flooding.“
2023: APC kicks against
deployment of BVAS, IReV
•As INEC insists no going back
Independent marketers raise petrol price to N240
per litre as shortage persists in Lagos
By Udeme Akpan,
Energy Editor
who have much capacity and
access to the product continued to
sell at N175 per litre.
Long queues at the retail outlets
of the major marketers were,
however, noticed yesterday as
many motorists and other users
preferred to wait patiently for the
product.
Meanwhile, some illegal
operators were seen in some parts
of Lagos, including Ikorodu road,
hawking the product in cans and
bottles and sold in excess of
between N250 and N300 per litre,
depending on location.
“Speaking in a telephone
interview with Vanguard, the
National Operations Controller,
IPMAN, Mr Mike Osatuyi, said:
“Unlike the past when our
members used to lift the product
at N148 per litre, they currently lift
it at N200 per litre. It would be
impossible for them to sell petrol at
N165 per litre regulated price.
“Our members pass through
much difficulty to get the product
at this time. The marketers also
spend much to take the product to
many parts of the nation because
of the high cost of diesel, currently
selling at about N800 per litre.”
Similarly, the National President
of IPMAN, Chinedu Okoronkwo,
who confirmed the hike in price,
put the blame on private depots
owners.
He said: “The real cause of the
price hike is the incessant
increment in price by private depot
owners. A litre of fuel is being sold
to us at the rate of N210 and N214
per litre. When you add transport
and logistics, you can imagine
what the figure will amount to.“
Senator Abdullahi Adamu stated
this on Wednesday evening when
he received a delegation from the
Commonwealth Election
Observation Mission.
He said; "First, I was privileged
to serve as a senator. Our concern
is how ready are we to deploy some
of these technologies as regards
transmission because we are
taking a major step in transmitting
election results in real time.
"To transmit results, every part
of the nation Nigeria I'm not sure
that the network covers it, I know
that even in parts of Abuja there
is no network and we have from
now till February when in
substantial parts of the country
there is no electricity.
"INEC must assure us 100
percent that as at when due in
transmitting results they are ready
because they spoke about
recharging batteries but we had in
previous elections when it says it
can't recharge".
National Organizing Secretary
of the party, Ambassador Suleiman
Argungu also kicked against the
technology.
He said; "As a rider to what the
national chairman just said about
INEC transmitting results directly
during the coming election, apart
from the issue of electricity that is
unstable, a lot of the villages and
communities bordering other
countries for instance my state
Kebbi that is bordering two nations
during the previous elections the
network of Nigeria for all the
networks, Glo, MTN, Airtel you
can't get them. If you want to get
them you have to use the number
of the other countries to reach
them. So, during election I don't
see how transmission of result will
work. I see it coming".

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 — 9
PRESENTATION: From
left— Head of
Marketing, May & Baker
Nigeria Plc., Mr.
Obinna Emeribe;
Executive Director,
Pharma Sales &
Marketing, Mr.
Valentine Okelu;
Winner of Professional
Service Award, Prof. Ray
Ozolua; Mrs. Nkiru
Ozolua and Mr. Adeniyi
Akinyandenu, National
Sales Manager, May &
Baker Nigeria Plc, at the
presentation of the May
& Baker Professional
Service Award at the
just concluded PSN
National conference in
Jos.
:Vanguard News
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Oyo rally: LP Campaign, aviation
authorities bicker over grounded plane
•Our aircraft was grounded by ‘powers that be’, LP Campaign alleges
•Crew of aircraft only made air return after noticing faults —NCAA
•We aren't aware of it —FAAN
•As Obi-Datti Campaign raises alarm over attempts to sabotage PVC collection
By Prince Okafor &
John Alechenu
LABOUR PARTY Campaign
Organisation and aviation
authorities in the country
disagreed yesterday over alleged
grounding of the aircraft meant
to take the party's presidential
candidate, Peter Obi and his
running mate, Datti Ahmed, to
Ibadan, Oyo State for the party's
campaign rally.
This is even as the Obi-Datti
Media Office also yesterday
raised alarm over reports that the
collection of Permanent Voter
Cards, PVCs, was not going
smoothly in some centers across
the country.
The party had alleged that the
aircraft was grounded at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport, Abuja, by those it
described as ''powers that be'', but
the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority, NCAA, which is the
regulatory agency, said no plane
was grounded, adding that the
pilot of the aircraft only made an
air return after noticing some
faults in the plane.
The Federal Airports Authority
of Nigerian, FAAN, in its reaction,
said it was not aware of any such
grounding of aircraft meant to fly
the Labour Party team.
Diran Onifade, head of media
for the LP campaign, said in a
statement yesterday that the
Obidient plane was grounded for
“regulatory reasons”, and asked
supporters of the party to ignore
“mischievous rumours”
suggesting the plane was
impounded.
“The Obidient plane was
grounded today (yesterday) by
the powers that be 'for regulatory
reasons' only. Please ignore any
mischievous rumour. Our
massive rally in Ibadan is going
on as planned,” the statement
read.
Obi is one of the leading
candidates for the 2023
presidential election, alongside
Atiku Abubakar of Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP; Bola
Tinubu of All Progressives
Congress, APC; and Rabiu Musa
Kwankwaso of New Nigeria
Peoples Party, NNPP..
Reacting to the allegation, the
Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority, NCAA, spokesperson,
Sam Adurogboye, told Vanguard
that the agency did not ground
any aircraft as reported.
He said: “I understand NCAA
did not ground any aircraft today
(yesterday). The aircraft being
said to be grounded is mere
sensationalism.
“The reason is that the flight
crew made an air return soon
after takeoff and had issues they
needed to come back and correct.
“This is what is termed as
safety precautionary flight. Let's
be careful not to drag NCAA into
politics in its operations. Our
mandate is to ensure the safety
of all aircraft operating in Nigeria
airspace, regardless of whom
they carry.
“Presidential candidates of all
parties in the country have been
flying around and NCAA’s
mandate is to ensure that every
aircraft flying meets safety
standard.
“We have been grounding
planes not fit for flying before now.
When former President,
Olusegun Obasanjo was
campaigning for a second term,
he wanted to use a particular
plane donated by a Nigerian. We
noticed that the aircraft was not
fit for flying, we grounded it.''
Similarly, the spokesperson of
the Federal Airport Authority of
Nigeria, FAAN, Faithful Hope-
Ivbaze, said they were not aware
of any flight being grounded at
the Abuja airport.
She said: “We are airport
operators and not in charge of
regulating flights movement. We
cannot comment on political
issues.”
Obi-Datti Campaign
raise alarm over
attempts to sabotage
PVC collection
Meanwhile, the Obi-Datti
Media Office Office has raised
alarm over reports reaching it that
the collection of Permanent Voter
Cards is not going smoothly in
some centers across the country.
It said it’s attention was drawn
in particular to Lagos State
where in some identified areas,
prospective voters wishing to
collect their voter’s cards were
being frustrated with all kinds of
excuses to disrupt the PVC
collection.
The Media Office said in a
statement issued in Abuja: “We
are also aware of the large
inducement to some personnel
of the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC in
Lagos to lure them into the
dubious nefarious act.
“When we recently charged
President Muhammedu Buhari
and the INEC Chairman Prof.
Mahmoud Yakubu to walk their
talk of their promise to conduct
free and fair elections in 2023,
we expect that they should be
concerned about all pre-election
day activities.
“Concentrating only on
Election Day activities while the
major rigging is taking place
ahead of the election is counter
productive and will defeat all the
good intentions of the President
and the commission.
“There should be no
preferential treatment of any
area or individuals as being
reported in Lagos state and
where such exist should
discontinue immediately and
affected commission officials
seriously reprimanded.
“Obi-Datti Media Office
expects the Commission even
before now to have drummed it
into the ears of their staff, the
critical importance of this election
to the survival of the country and
the need to make their patriotic
contributions at their various
levels by religiously playing by
the rules in all they do before ,
By Juliet Umeh
SPOKESMAN of the Atiku/
Okowa Presidential Campaign
Council, PCC, Daniel Bwala, has
said Rivers State governor, Nyesom
Wike’s non-support for Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023
presidential election would not affect
its chances at the polls.
Governor Wike and his allies in
the G5 have been at daggers drawn
with the leadership of the party since
its presidential primary which threw
up Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as its
presidential candidate.
But speaking in an interview on
Channels Television's breakfast
programme, Sunrise Daily,
yesterday, Bwala downplayed
Wike's influence, saying the party
was poised to win next year’s
presidential election.
He said: “Our party is poised to
during and after the election.
“Also of curious interest to the
Obi-Datti group is the large
number of underaged voters
registered by INEC officials and
to demand that those
Commission personnel involved
in this should be identified,
isolated and prosecuted as
electoral offenders.
“Not to do that immediately by
the commission is to look at the
presence of a rat in your kitchen
and expect to have all your items
intact.”
The Obi-Datti Media Office
claimed it was privy to credible
intelligence that some politicians
and political parties, aware that
the BVAS voting arrangement
might be difficult to manipulate,
had resolved to start the election
maneuvering from the stage of
PVC registration and collection.
It appealed to INEC and
relevant security agencies to see
any move to undermine the
electoral process as a huge crime
against the state and should be
so treated.
“We finally urge all Nigerians
particularly the Obidient family
to remain resolute and ensure
they resist any anti democratic
moves against free, fair and
credible elections in 2023. Taking
back Nigeria is an inevitable duty
for all patriotic citizens,“ the
statement added.
PDP crisis: Wike’s non-support won’t affect Atiku’s
chances, says PCC spokesman
We’ve recovered $1bn looted
funds since 2015 —FG
•As FEC okays new anti-corruption strategy
document
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
ABUJA—THE
Federal
Government said yesterday
it has recovered $1 billion, being
looted funds, since the inception
of President Muhammadu
Buhari’s administration till date.
The Attorney General of the
Federation, AGF, and Minister
of Justice, Abubakar Malami,
who disclosed this while briefing
State House correspondents at
the end of the weekly Federal
Executive Council, FEC,
meeting presided over by
President Buhari at the Council
Chamber, Presidential Villa,
Abuja, affirmed that the
recovered assets had been
deployed to various sectors of the
economy, including poverty
alleviation.
The AGF, while revealing that
preceding government recorded
only 109 convictions before 2015,
said the Buhari administration
has convicted over 3,000
offenders and recovered about
$1b to date.
He expressed government's
concern over sundry cases of
budget padding, describing the
development as worrisome.
While noting that necessary
measures would be explored to
address the menace, Malami
announced the council's
approval of the new anticorruption
strategy document to
strengthen anti-graft fight in the
country.
He said: “FEC approved
validation extension of the
National Anti- Corruption
program to 2026. A new policy
which resulted from cooperation
amongst Justice."
He noted that the anticorruption
initiatives had helped
the government to recover about
By John Alechenu
ABUJA—THE British High
Commissioner to Nigeria,
Cateriona Laing, has said the
United Kingdom, like the rest of
the international community,
would be watching the 2023
general elections in Nigeria very
closely.
This, she explained, is because
of the important position occupied
by Nigeria in Africa and the rest of
the world.
Laing, who stated this during a
meeting with the National
Working Committee, NWC, of
win the election. Wike’s nonparticipation
would affect a little bit
of the margin. So, if we are supposed
to win with nine million votes or
eight million votes, that may reduce
to six million votes or something
like that.
“But this victory is destined by
God and I can tell you that there
can be conspiracy and collaboration
or anything. We know the Electoral
Amendment Act and what it brings.
''We saw it in Osun where some
members of our party even worked
against the party in that state. But
what happened? The ‘dancing
senator’ (Ademola Adeleke) danced
his way to victory because the
people spoke and their voices were
heard.
''This is how we are going to be
looking at this election because the
bigger picture is what we are looking
at. Have you not seen the multidimensional
poverty index?”
Bwala also claimed that the Rivers
State governor “chased” the
Labour Party (LP) presidential
candidate, Peter Obi, Governor
Dave Umahi, and others out of the
PDP.
He, however, maintained that
Atiku is committed to uniting
Nigeria, despite the crisis in the
party.
Bwala also noted that former
President Goodluck Jonathan is on
the side of Atiku Abubakar,
dismissing claims by Wike that the
former president was against his
principal.
''Recall that when our candidate
and his running mate, Governor
Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State,
visited President Jonathan recently,
he addressed Okowa as incoming
vice president. This will tell you
that he (Jonathan0 knows that our
presidential candidate will win the
election,'' he added.
$1billion stolen funds from the
public coffers, adding that “the
new anti- corruption strategy
will strengthen the war against
corruption between 2022 and
2026.“
Malami, while responding to
question on budget padding,
decried the menace allegedly
carried out by Ministries,
Departments and Agencies,
MDAs.
Specifically, Malami’s position
is coming on the heels of several
revelations from the ongoing
MDAs budget defence in the
National Assembly.
Recall that the Minister of
Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster
Management, and Social
Development, Saddiya Farouk,
had blamed the Minister of
Finance, Zainab Ahmed, for
adding N206bn to the
humanitarian ministry’s budget.
Farouq, who appeared before
the Senate Committee on
Special Duties on Monday to
defend the 2023 budget, claimed
that the ministry requested some
projects for the North East
Development Commission and
the National Social Safety Net
Project in the 2022 budget, which
were not released, but was
surprised to see an inflated
amount in the 2023 budget of
the ministry.
Elisha Abbo, the APC senator
representing Adamawa North
senatorial district, had asked the
minister about the inflated N206
billion in the budget.
The minister said: “Yes, we
made mention of the projects for
2022 that were not released, and
part of it was for the NEDC."
Malami, while responding to
questions on the revelations
alleging budget padding, stated
that the federal government was
studying the details and would
do what was necessary to address
it.
2023: UK is watching closely,
says British High Commissioner,
Laing
Peoples Democratic Party, at the
PDP National Secretariat, Abuja,
yesterday, said: “This election is
very important to Africa and the
rest of the world, so the spotlight
will be on Nigeria and the UK will
be watching closely.
“We engage in so many ways,
we have spoken with INEC, civil
societies, we don't support any
political party, it is for the people of
Nigeria to decide who will lead them
at the federal level and state levels.
In that spirit, we are meeting all
the main political parties.
“I met with the chairman in
February, this is our second
meeting and I will be meeting all
the other chairs of the main
political parties.”
Speaking about her concerns for
the elections, she said: “The few
things that are on my mind, just to
make sure that the elections go
very well, number one is security,
and we have been really
concerned about the recent
events.
''52 election violence-related
issues in 22 states, including an
attack on the PDP convoy in
Maiduguri, is a real concern, and
we want to exchange our thoughts
on what you can do as a political
party to ensure that the elections
are as peaceful as possible.
“When people feel intimidated,
they can't get out to vote, the
election itself will not be credible,
that is why violence is of great
concern. On the issue of electoral
violence, you can make a
statement about the last election,
as well as we do have positive
support, since we do have
sanctions in the form of our visa
program.

10 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
:Vanguard News
Mega rally for Tinubu: Lagos
APC assures tight security
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni
LAGOS—THE All Progressives
Congress, APC, in Lagos State,
yesterday, assured the public of
adequate security to guarantee a
hitch-free presidential campaign
rally for the party's Presidential
candidate, Bola Tinubu at the
Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere
in Lagos, slated for Saturday.
The Director-General of the
Local Organising Committee for the
Presidential Campaign in Lagos
State Campaign Council, Senator
Ganiyu Solomon, who briefed
newsmen on the activities lined up
for the grand rally scheduled to hold
on Saturday, said the rally will be a
homecoming for Tinubu.
Solomon said: "You may wish to
recall that Tinubu excelled as a
Senator representing Lagos-West
Senatorial District and as the
Governor of Lagos State between
1999 and 2007. Therefore, the
event is like a homecoming for our
leader and mentor who has become
a national pride.
"As a responsible political party,
it is imperative to seek the
cooperation of the general public
as regards the need for temporary
diversion of traffic and mass
movement of supporters within
the vicinity of the rally.''
On security arrangements for
the rally, Solomon stated that men
of the Nigerian Police Force, Lagos
State Traffic Management
Authority, LASTMA, officials and
other law enforcement agencies
would be fully mobilized to prevent
security infractions and traffic
disruptions.
Aribisogan’s impeachment,
display of rascality
— Afe Babalola, Olanipekun, Falana, others
By Rotimi
Ojomoyela
A Advocates DO-EKITI—SENIOR
of Nigeria of
Ekiti State origin led by Chief Afe
Babalola, Wole Olanipekun and
five others, yesterday, described
the impeachment of the
embattled Speaker of the House
of Assembly, Mr Gboyega
Aribisogan as crass exhibition of
brute force and illegality.
The legal icons expressed
concern over the inaction of
Governor Biodun Oyebanji while
the lawmakers were brazenly
displaying legislative rascality
with reckless abandon.
Reacting to the removal of
Aribisogan from office and the
subsequent election of Mrs
Bunmi Adelugba, the lawyers
faulted the speedy way at which
the lawmakers had moved
against Aribisogan under flimsy
excuses and unleashed their
venom on him.
Signatories to the statement
were Chief Afe Babalola, SAN,
Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN,
Dele Adesina, SAN, Olu
Daramola, SAN, Femi Falana,
SAN, Dayo Akinlaja, SAN
and Gboyega Oyewole, SAN.
2023: Shine your eyes,
Onitiri cautions Nigerian voters
By Innocent Anaba
LAGOS—THE Labour Party, LP,
senatorial candidate for Lagos
Central, Lagos State, Adesunbo
Onitiri, yesterday, urged Nigerians
not to allow themselves to be
deceived again to vote for the All
Progressives Congress, APC, back
to power.
Onitiri, in a statement, said:
"Nigerian electorate are cautioned
to shine their eyes and watch
politicians' lips and not to be fooled
again.
"We cannot and should not miss
this great opportunity that 2023
affords us to correct our past
mistakes and put Nigeria on the
path of progress, security, unity,
economic recovery and buoyancy.
"Many politicians are now on the
prowl to deceive Nigerian voters
with all kinds of promises, both
realistic and unrealistic.
"Will Nigerians allow themselves
to be deceived again? God forbid a
second affliction on this blessed
country. The rescue mission is
firmly in our hands."
2022 LAIF awards: Over 400
entries from 17 agencies
shortlisted
LAGOS—THE organisers of
the 2022 edition of the Lagos
Advertising and Ideas Festival,
LAIF, awards said over 400 entries
have been shortlisted for the
prestigious awards.
While speaking on the
forthcoming edition of the award
shortly after the completion of the
jury sittings, the Chairman, of the
LAIF Management Board, Mr
Lanre Adisa, said a total number
of 17 creative agencies from
Nigeria and Ghana will be
The statement reads: “To say the
very least, the situation in the Ekiti
State House of Assembly should
be of extremely grave concern to
every decent and discerning mind.
“Before going further, it is
pertinent to underscore the
prime importance of the State
House of Assembly in the affairs
of any State in the country.
“By virtue of Section 92 of the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as
amended), once elected by the
members of the House, as done
in the case of Aribisogan, the
Speaker shall continue to be in
office during the lifespan of the
particular House except, inter
alia, removed from office by a
resolution of the House of
Assembly by the votes of not less
than two-third majority of the
House. From the short
background above, it is plain as
day that the elected Speaker was
not allowed to function in office
for the spate of one day before
the sealing off of the Complex.
Pray, therefore, at what point in
time could he have committed any
infraction of the constitution, any
other law or the Rules of the
House to warrant his supposed
removal?"
competing for awards in different
categories including Print, Film,
Outdoor, Digital Craft,
Campaign, Film Craft, Radio-
Craft, Film Craft among others.
He said: "We are very excited
that a creative agency from
Ghana, Social Ghana, will be
making history as the first agency
outside Nigeria's shores to
participate in the award. It
validates our goal of building
LAIF to be a worthy and
respected sub-regional award
festival", he said.
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
VISIT: From left, Group Chief Executive, FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Ladi Balogun; Executive Director,
Wholesale Banking, First City Monument Bank, FCMB, Mr. Obaro Odeghe; Managing Director of the
Bank, Mrs. Yemisi Edun; Divisional Head, Agribusiness, Mr. Kudzai Gumunya and Group Production
Manager, Psaltry International Limited, Odegua Ogunbo, during a courtesy visit and factory tour by
the Management of FCMB to Psaltry Limited at Alayide Village, Ado-Awaiye in Oyo State.
Unpaid salaries: You can't punish us
for your insincerity, ASUU tells FG
•Says Ngige must be removed
By Dayo Johnson &
Shina Abubakar
AKURE—THE Academic Staff
Union of Universities,
ASUU, yesterday, insisted that
its members cannot be punished
with a "no work, no pay" policy
for the Federal Government's
insensitivity and insincerity to
the prolonged strike.
Chairman of the union in the
Federal University of
Technology, FUTA, Akure, Prof.
Olayinka Awopetu, said this
during a protest rally to express
their dissatisfaction over the
Federal Government's half
salary payment after its eight
months strike.
Awopetu said it is unfair for
members of the union to bear
the brunt of the failure of the
government.
He said: "We did not go on
strike because we wanted to go
on strike, or happy to go on strike,
but because the government
failed to do its part, so we can't
be punished for that.
"If you go on legal strike, you
shouldn't be punished for it but
we are being punished by
withholding our salaries. So why
is the government now
criminalising a strike that was
forced on our members?
"The government wants to
turn the table against ASUU,
but they've failed this time
because what we are fighting for
is in the public domain.
"They've been telling halftruths
in a bid to play the divideand-rule
game.
"It is illegal for the Federal
Government to casualise the
academics in Nigeria. This
protest is to let everyone know
that ASUU in general and
ASUU FUTA, in particular, is
condemning in entirety the
casualisation of academics and
the criminalization of the illegal
strike.
"The way forward for the
federal government is to do the
needful, pay us our money, the
job they said we didn't do is the
job we are doing now and we
will continue to do the job."
Ngige must be removed
Similarly, the ASUU chapter
of the Obafemi Awolowo
University, OAU, yesterday,
urged the Federal Government
to remove the Minister of
Labour, Dr Chris Ngige over the
protracted ASUU/government
negotiation on revitalizing
University education.
The Union said this after its
congress held inside the
University campus.
Members of the union were
armed with placards with
inscriptions such as 'Lecturers are
not slaves, 'Invest in Education',
'A nation that values education
is a nation that develops', 'IPPIS
is a scam', among others.
Addressing newsmen at the
protest ground, OAU ASUU
Chairman, Professor Tony Odiwe
said lecturers were not employed
solely to teach but to also
conduct research.
His words: "When we are
employed, our condition of
service is not solely on teaching;
we have three components
including research and
community service. We only
withdrew one of the services
which is teaching.
"We are not interested in who
the minister is, we are interested
in doing what is right. If Chris
Ngige is not doing what is right
or turned our negotiation with
Federal Government into a
personal issue or an ego fight,
then the government should
remove him."
2023: We'll secure, unite, create
wealth for Nigeria ---Obi
•It's S-East turn to produce President,
—Adebanjo
By Adeola Badru
IBADAN—THE Presidential
candidate of Labour Party, LP,
Mr Peter Obi, yesterday, restated
his commitment to ensure a
secured and united Nigeria,
saying he would create wealth
for Nigerians if elected president
in 2023.
Obi made the pledge made the
pledge during his Sout-West
campaign rally held at the Lekan
Salami Stadium, Adamasingba
in Ibadan.
The LP presidential candidate,
who highlighted the challenges
of the country, expressed
optimism that the challenges
could be addressed.
He said: "We must secure and
unite the country. When you
secure the country, you are able
to bring famers to return to the
farm. That alone will start
addressing food inflation."
"By moving the country from
consumption to production you
are moving people away from
By Rotimi
Ojomoyela
ADO-EKITI—THE Election
Petition Tribunal sitting in
Ekiti, yesterday, reserved
judgment to a date to be
communicated to parties in the
dispute arising from the
governorship election held on
18th June 2022, in Ekiti State
which produced Governor Biodun
Oyebanji as the winner.
The Chairman of the threemember
panel, Justice Wilfred
Kpochi, reserved judgment for a
later date after all parties adopted
their final written addresses at the
sitting held inside a packed
courtroom in Ado Ekiti.
At the adoption of written
addresses, Governor Oyebanji,
poverty. The more you pull
people out of poverty, the more
you address criminality.
"Nigeria now has 13.8 per cent
drug prevalence against the
global average of 5 per cent. To
deal with that crisis is production.
We need to feed ourselves.
"Next year's election should
not be based on tribe. If it is by
tribe, the north would have been
safer and be more developed.
"We must respect the issue of
religion, but even at that, we
should not follow people blindly
because of religion.
"We cannot use the process of
yesterday or those who did not
solve it yesterday for tomorrow."
Pledging to fight corruption and
make the education sector to
work, the LP candidate said: "I
am not going give excuses. The
work of a leader is not to give
excuses. I am not going to
complain. It is not the job of a
leader. I am not going to
complain of the past. You are
hiring for the future and I am
going to be for the future."
It's S-East turn to
produce President
—Adebanjo
Earlier, leader of the pan-
Yoruba socio-political
organization, Afenifere, Pa Ayo
Adebanjo, said in the spirit of
fairness, the South-East should
produce the next president in
line with the agreement reached
by past Nigerian leaders in 1954
that each geopolitical zone
should produce president.
Adebanjo, who faulted the
presidential ambition of the
Presidential Candidate of the All
Progressives Congress, APC,
Senator Bola Tinubu, recalled
that before he (Tinubu) became
governor of Lagos State, he had
supported him on several
occasions during his two-term
administration.
He said: "When he was the
governor of Lagos State, I
supported him; I did not hate him
then, why will I have the course
to now hate him?
"Tinubu cannot confront me
on this, but only people that are
benefiting from him that are
speaking ills of me."
Ekiti poll: Tribunal reserves judgment
his party, the All Progressives
Congress, APC, and the
Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, yesterday,
urged the Election Petition
Tribunal to dismiss the petition
filed by the Social Democratic
Party, SDP, governorship
candidate, Chief Segun Oni.
Oyebanji maintained that Oni
and his party, the SDP, have failed
woefully to sufficiently discharge
the burden of proof on them to
convince the Tribunal that the
election did not comply with the
provisions of the Electoral Act and
the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1999 as
amended.
Oni and the SDP are the 1st
and 2nd Petitioners in case. The
Respondents are Oyebanji (1st),
the APC (2nd), Yobe State
Governor Mai Mala Buni, in his
capacity as the Chairman of the
APC Caretaker Extraordinary
Convention Planning Committee
(3rd), INEC (4th) and the Deputy
Governor, Mrs Monisade Afuye
(5th).
Oyebanji and Afuye (1st and
5th Respondents) through their
counsel, Prof. Kayode Olatoke
(SAN), told the Tribunal that their
written address was dated 29th
October and filed on 30th October
and adopted same before the
Tribunal as evidence.
The Governor and the Deputy
Governor further told the
Tribunal through their counsel
that they filed their reply on point
of law which was dated and filed
on 11th November upon the
receipt of the Petitioners' written
address.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 — 11
VISIT: Governor
Hope Uzodimma
of Imo State
receives the
Managing
Director/CEO of
Polaris Bank, Mr.
Adekunle Sonola,
who paid a
working visit to
the Governor's
office in
Government
House, Owerri,
yesterday.
IPoB blames Enugu traditional rulers,
PGs, youths for herdsmen attacks
By Chimaobi
Nwaiwu
NNEWI—THE Indigenous
People of Biafra, IPoB,
yesterday said that most Enugu
State communities that worked
against the Eastern Security
Network, ESN, are today the
ones facing the attacks of killer
herdsmen.
IPoB singled out Aguamede
community, in Eha-Amufu, Isiuzo
Council Local Area of Enugu
State being presently attacked
by herdsmen as one of such
communities that worked
against ESN.
A statement by IPoB's Media
and Publicity Secretary, Emma
Powerful, blamed the traditional
rulers, town union leaders, and
some youths used to work
against ESN for their woes.
IPoB's statement read: "The
attention of the global
movement and family of the
Indigenous People of Biafra IPoB,
under the command and
leadership of our great
indefatigable liberator, Mazi
Nnamdi Okwuchukwu Kanu,
has been drawn to the constant
and numerous massacre of our
people in Aguamede community
Eha-Amufu in Isiuzo Council
area of Enugu State.
"The traditional rulers,
Presidents General and youth
leaders of Eha-Amufu and its
environs contributed in heavy
measure to the massacre in their
community.
"These people mentioned
joined hands with Nigerian
government to chase ESN
operatives out from their
community in their desperation
to ensure that the Fulani take
over the community and ESN
operatives were forced out and
the Fulani came in to massacre
them. This time, their people are
being massacred and ESN will
not be there to rescue them
because they allowed terrorists
to move into their communities.
"When ESN was established,
a batch of the operatives of the
security outfit was sent into their
communities but ESN was
attacked by the Eha-Amufu
community and many operatives
of ESN and IPoB members were
killed and detained by the
community and their youths.
"The communities involved
have discovered scores of dead
bodies who were massacred by
Fulani jihadists and foot soldiers
and have realized that they
goofed working against ESN.
"IPoB has resolved that any
:Vanguard News
•Enugu govt condemns attacks
community that joined in
sacking ESN operatives from
their place should not expect
ESN operatives back to their
home.
"The Nigeria Army and Police
have failed to respond to the
attacks on them because they
are behind and in support of the
attacks by the terrorists who are
now killing innocent citizens of
Enugu State. We are sure that
they are directly responsible for
the massacres and mayhem
witnessed by our people in
Enugu.
"We want to let everyone know
that these communities should
not expect ESN back in their
communities. ESN is not coming
to defend them since the
Nigerian government they
collaborated with, the military
and police, to fight ESN, have
refused to come to their help.
"IPoB has already directed the
ESN operatives not to move to
those communities in Enugu
State because we cannot afford
to defend them as they don't
want us. They should continue
to face Fulani constant
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
ABUJA—THE
Federal
Government yesterday, said
that the 2nd Niger Bridge will be
partially opened for public use
during the yuletide.
The announcement will bring
respite to commuters plying the
ever-busy Asaba-Onitsha road.
The Minister of Works and
Housing, Babatunde Raji
Fashola, SAN, disclosed this
while fielding questions from
State House correspondents at
the end of the weekly Federal
Executive Council, FEC,
meeting presided over by
President Muhammadu Buhari
at the Council Chambers,
Presidential Villa Abuja.
The Minister said that the
federal government is favourably
disposed to open a section of the
2nd Niger Bridge partially for
public use this December to
reduce the heavy gridlock on the
existing bridge.
According to him: "Considering
the untold hardships commuters
go through on the Asaba-
Onitsha road especially on the
old Niger Bridge during a festive
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
elimination of their people.
"Biafrans who sympathize with
them must ask the traditional
rulers, their Presidents' General,
and the youths why they worked
against ESN in their
communities."
Enugu govt
condemns attack on
farmers in Eha
Amufu
Meantime,following these
unfortunate attacks on farmers
in their farm settlements at
Aguamaede and Mgbuji
communities in Eha Amufu, Isi-
Uzo Local Government Area by
suspected herders, the Enugu
State Government has
condemned, in its entirety, the
dastardly act which resulted in
causalities with some indigenes
of the communities displaced.
In a statement by the Secretary
to the State Government, Prof.
Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, the
State Government called on
heads of security agencies to rise
to the challenge and deploy
more personnel to the affected
communities to provide adequate
security for life and property.
Prof. Ortuanya stated that the
State Government, in its
determination to put an end to
the lingering crisis between
farmers and herders in Eha
Amufu, will meet with their
leaders to decisively resolve the
contentious issues that might
have led to the recent attacks.
The State Government
condoled the families of the
deceased and sympathized with
the victims who sustained
injuries as well as those who
were displaced.
The statement disclosed that
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has
released the sum of N10 million
for the immediate needs of the
victims in the Internally
Displaced Persons, IDPs, camp
and further committed to paying
all the medical bills of those
receiving treatments in the
hospital.
It also announced that
Governor Ugwuanyi has directed
a state government delegation
to visit the victims in the hospital
and IDPs camp to review their
situation and ensure that they
receive adequate medical
attention.
2nd Niger Bridge'll partially be opened
by December —FG
period like the Christmas and
New Year, the federal
government has decided to open
one section of the 2nd Niger
Bridge in December"
He said that the Bridge is
almost completed, although work
is still ongoing on the approach
roads from Asaba end of the
bridge, adding that works have
been completed on the approach
roads from the Onitsha end.
He said traffic will be diverted
to the west bound of the new
bridge after the festivities.
The former Lagos State
governor also revealed that
government will close the entire
2nd Niger Bridge after the
yuletide to enable the
contractors complete the project
and formally hand it over to the
Nigerian government.
He blamed the delay in the
completion of the 2nd Niger
Bridge by the present
administration on many factors
especially the high rate of
inflation which has made the cost
of the projected increase
astronomical.
Fashola however promised
that the project will be completed
and commissioned by President
Muhammadu Buhari before he
leaves office in May 2023.
Why we're contesting Abuja
Court judgment —Enugu LP
By Anayo Okoli
ENUGU—LABOUR Party in
Enugu State has explained
why it appealed the judgment of
Abuja Federal High Court which
sacked its governorship
candidate, Chijioke Edeoga and
ordered another primary
election. The party described the
judgment as a miscarriage of
justice.
The party said the ruling of the
Federal High Court contradicted
the spirit of the Constitution and
the Electoral Act.
They accused the ruling PDP
in the state of sponsoring the
legal tissue to distract them from
their focused campaign toward
the 2023 elections in the state.
The Abuja Court had nullified
the governorship primary that
produced Chijioke Edeoga was
the party’s candidate on the
ground that the plaintiff, Captain
Evaristus Nnaji was excluded
from the primary election. The
court ordered the party to
conduct another primary
election within 14 days from the
date of the ruling.
But not satisfied with the
decision, Labour Party
approached the Court of Appeal
Soludo to S-East youths:
Don't be agents of distraction
By Vincent Ujumadu
A Chukwuma WKA—GOVERNOR
Soludo of
Anambra State has warned South
East youths not to allow
themselves to be used as agents of
distraction, but to realize that they
are future leaders of the country.
The warning came on the heels
of a threat by the Coalition of
South East Youth Leaders,
COSEYL) to dump wastes at the
Anambra Government House to
drive home their displeasure over
comments by the governor
concerning the aspiration of the
Labour Party, LP, presidential
candidate, Mr. Peter Obi.
Reacting through his Press
Secretary, Mr. Christian Aburime,
the governor advised the youths
to rethink so as not to constitute
themselves into being part of the
and faulted the judgment on
nine grounds.
The party argued that the
court allowed itself to be drawn
into a matter that ordinarily
negated the spirit of the electoral
act, pointing out that Edeoga
who was the product of the
annulled primary whose name
has been submitted to INEC was
not joined in the case.
“In the case of Evaristus Nnaji
(plaintiff) against Labour Party
and INEC, Nnaji first went to
the Federal High Court, Port
Harcourt, and sued Labour Party
and INEC and Chijioke Edeoga
as the third respondent and he
tried to obtain exparte order
against the parties. But when it
was not possible, he filed a notice
of discontinuance and we
thought that was the end of the
matter. We didn’t hear anything
again until the Labour Party
headquarters was served with
originating summons.
“This time around, he didn’t
join Chijioke Edeoga. He sued
only the Labour Party and INEC.
And in his case, he told the court
that the Labour Party promised
to make him the sole
governorship candidate in
Enugu State, and this was after
Edeoga had emerged.“
Uzodimma approves promotion
of Imo civil servants
problem to be solved in the society,
but to be part of the solution.
Soludo wondered why the
youths should allow themselves
to be used as tools by some
politicians or individuals who,
according to him, have no good
plans for them.
To him, the politicians' aims are
just to use the youths to achieve
their mischievous objectives and
dump them thereafter.
“Instead of threatening to come
and dump refuse at the
Government House, the youths
should rally round and support the
government of Prof. Chukwuma
Soludo, because his administration
is working for the betterment of
their lives, to see that both the
youths of this present generation
and the generation to come will
have something that can make life
more meaningful for them. " he
said.
We're solidly behind Obi, he represents soul of Ndigbo —Ohanaeze
By Anayo Okoli
ENUGU—THE apex Igbo
socio-cultural body, Ohanaeze
Ndigbo has again reaffirmed the
full support of Ndigbo for the
presindential ambition of Labour
Party candidate, Mr. Peter Obi,
saying that he represents the body
and soul of Ndigbo.
Ohanaeze was reacting to the
fear expressed by the spokesman
of Northern Elders Forum, Dr.
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed over the
support of the people of South East
for Obi.
According to Ohanaeze Ndigbo,
the Labour Party candidate
represents the body and soul of
Ndigbo, insisting on their full
support for him.
“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo
Worldwide led by Ambassador
Professor George Obiozor
reassures the Northern Elders
Forum and indeed the whole
Nigeria that the South East of
Nigeria or better put, the Igbo are
O WERRI—GOVERNOR
Hope Uzodimma of Imo
State has approved the
immediate promotion of civil
servants who have suffered
stagnation for years in the hands
of previous administrations.
The Governor gave the
directive yesterday at the Imo
State Executive Council Meeting
which he presided over.
At a recent meeting the
Governor had with civil servants
in Imo State, the workers had
complained bitterly that they have
not been promoted for years now.
Governor Uzodimma had
assured them that he is ready to
rectify the situation as a way of
solidly behind our illustrious son,
Mr. Peter Obi.
“There is no gainsaying the
distraction by the negligible
minority-elite who by the aid of
the social media have over
exaggerated their self-worth,
authority, power and political
relevance.
“Instructively, the Christian
religion informs that in every
twelve, there must be a Judas. This
is a statement of fact, history,
experience and a socio-political
encouraging them to put in their
best in the interest of the state as
his government does not joke
with reward system.
Briefing newsmen at the end of
the Exco Meeting, the
Commissioner for Information
and Strategy, Declan Mbadiwe
Emelumba said that “in line with
the Governor's promise to look
into the promotion arrears of Civil
and Public Servants in Imo State
when he announced the Health
Insurance Policy for Imo workers,
he has graciously approved
immediate promotions of the Civil
and Public Servants to clear the
arrears/backlog that have existed
since 8-10 years.”
imperative.
“In other words, it is rather
inconceivable to expect everybody
to support Obi. What is important
is that the Obi-Datti Movement
has gained the support of over
ninety percent of the Igbo and
continues to swell with time.
“Ohanaeze will not join issues
with those who are opposed to the
collective Igbo aspiration with hope
that, as in every ideology, more
converts will key in when the logs
of wood in their eyes are cleared."

12 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
:Vanguard
News
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
MEETING—From left: Govs Godwin Obaseki (Edo State); Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), host; Douye
Diri (Bayelsa); Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), and Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Sen.
Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, during the meeting of the South-South governors, at the Government
House, Yenagoa, yesterday.
2023: S-South govs restate support
for Atiku/Okowa
GOVERNORS of the
South South geopolitical
zone have reaffirmed
their absolute
support for the presidential
candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP),
Atiku Abubakar, and his
running mate, Dr. Ifeanyi
Okowa.
Speaking to newsmen in
Government House, Yenagoa
shortly after a meeting of four
of the South-South
governors, which included
Okowa (Delta State), Udom
Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom),
Godwin Obaseki (Edo) and
Senator Douye Diri (Bayelsa),
Okowa said the governors
Buhari nominates Lauretta Onochie as NDDC Chairman
•Sends 14 others names to Senate for confirmation •Transmits commission's
budget to Senate •Omo-Agege makes case for Delta representative on list
By Henry Umoru
AMuhammadu BUJA—PRESIDENT
Buhari
has written the Senate,
seeking for the confirmation
of his Special Assistant on
new Media, Lauretta
Onochie from Delta as
Chairman of the Niger Delta
Development Commission,
NDDC.
President Buhari, who
wrote the President of the
Senate, Senator Ahmad
Lawan, said that the
Correspondent was in
accordance with the
provisions of Section 2(2)A of
Rivers 2023: APC'll address hunger, poverty —Amaechi
By Egufe Yafugborhi
PORT HARCOURT—
Immediate past
Transportation Minister, Mr.
Rotimi Ameachi, has
expressed worry over
perceived hunger and
poverty prevailing in Rivers
State, hinting that raising
funds to address the twin
issues would be the first thing
All Progressives Congress,
APC, will do when they
reclaim Rivers State
government in 2023.
Ameachi spoke, yesterday,
at Ward 19, Elekahia, Port
Harcourt City Local
Government Area of the state
during ongoing Rivers APC
were determined to deliver
their party in next year’s
presidential election.
He said the issues involving
their party’s G-5 Governors
led by the Rivers State
Governor, Nyesom Wike,
were being addressed.
He assured that the PDP
presidential candidate and the
five other governors will meet
soon.
His words: "We believe that
we are one family. There are
still issues and they are being
attended to. Very soon there
will be a meeting between the
presidential candidate with
the G-5 Governors.
“They are part of the family
the NDDC Act, Cap N 86,
Laws of the Federation of
Nigeria 2004.
The letter was read by
Lawan on the floor of the
Senate during plenary.
Buhari's letter read, "Dear
distinguished Senate
President, confirmation of
appointments of Chairman
and members of the NDDC.
"In accordance with the
provisions of Section 2(2)A of
the NDDC Act, Cap N86, Laws
of the Federation of Nigeria
2004, I hereby, present the
underlisted 15 names of
nominees as Chairman and
members of the NDDC for
ward to ward sensitization
ahead of next year's polls.
Apparently throwing jabs at
his successor again, the former
Rivers governor, who recently
pictured Rivers under
Governor Nyesom Wike as
being in its worst state ever,
said he neither politicised
development nor insulted
traditional rulers during his
time as governor.
He told the Elekahia
gathering, "I built a primary
school that people were
coming to watch. I declared
health care free in Rivers
State, I did not politicise it. I
never insulted any chief or any
Rivers man. If you are a
Christian, one thing God hates
and we are not going to allow
them go. So, obviously,
everything is being put in
place to reconcile all
differences and move together
as a family."
Also speaking, Governor
Douye Diri described the
South-South as a stronghold
of the PDP, assuring that the
party will emerge victorious
at all levels in next year's
general election.
He expressed delight over
the unity and love among the
governors of the region and
expressed confidence that the
differences in the party, which
he described as family issues,
will be resolved amicably.
Governor Diri thanked his
colleagues for their support to
the state during the recent
confirmation by the Senate.
"Copies of their Curriculum
Vitae are attached herewith.
"While, I hope the request
will receive the usual
expeditious consideration,
and confirmation of the
Senate, please accept the
Senate President, the
assurances of my highest
consideration."
According to Buhari in the
letter, Chief Samuel Ibukun
will serve as the Managing
Director for a term of two
years to complete the term of
his predecessor in office.
Bayelsa State, South-South
has Major General Charles
is arrogance and pride.
"We are not here to campaign
but to access our wards. They
(political opponents) will try to
intimidate you. The young men
G OVERNMENT
College Ughelli Old
Boys Association, GCUOBA,
Benin City, Edo State branch,
is holding its annual dinner,
Merit Award Night and
Induction of Ancient
Mariner, on November 26,
2022.
According to the Publicity
Secretary, Mr. Erhuvwu
Okpalefe, the GCUOBA
floods, saying the people of
the state will always be
grateful to them.
He said: "I can only say on
behalf of the government and
the people of Bayelsa State,
we appreciate the South-
South governors.
“As my brother, the governor
of Edo has stated, we are one.
In the family there are always
dispute. Those disputes do not
separate us. We will resolve
them and we continue to push
on as one.
"South-South is a PDP region.
South South is a place where no
other party can contend except
PDP. I assure you that in all the
elections from the presidency to
the governorship, the national
assembly and the state assembly,
PDP will again triumph."
Airhiavbere (retd) to serve as
Executive Director, Finance
and Charles Ogunmola,
Executive Director Project,
Ondo, South-West.
Other members of the
proposed NDDC board as
forwarded to the Senate are
former Deputy Governor of
Edo State, Dr. Pius Odubu as
State Representative, Edo
State, South -South; Dimgba
Erugba (State Representative,
Abia, South-East); Dr. Ene
Wills, State Representative,
Akwa Ibom, South -South;
Elder Dimaroe Bofa, State
Representative, Bayelsa State,
South -South; Orok Duke,
in your ward must not allow them
to intimidate you. When will win,
first thing will be to bring out
money to address hunger and
poverty."
GCUOBA holds annual dinner
Sat
Benin is expecting to host the
President-General World-
Wide, Mr. Charles Majoroh,
and friends of the College
from all works of life.
Hence, the executive
council and the entire
members of the branch
specially invite all
mariners, who are resident
in Edo State and in the
Diaspora, to grace the
occasion to keep the Ship
Sailing.
I've fulfilled my promises to
Judiciary —Wike
By Egufe Yafugborhi
PORT HARCOURT—
GOVERNOR Nyesom
Wike of Rivers State has
expressed fulfillment over his
administration's diligent
support at enhancing the
judiciary to discharge its
constitutional mandate.
Wike at the 2022/23 Legal
Year opening ceremony, held
in Port Harcourt, yesterday,
said all promises his
administration made
concerning the judiciary had
been fulfilled in impressive
achievements beyond the
imaginations of many.
The governor noted on
assumption of office in 2015,
"The state High Court had no
Chief Judge, leadership, or
direction for nearly two years.
The governor then attempted
to impose a Chief Judge on
the state outside the due
process. When this devious
attempt was resisted, he
instigated a phantom crisis
and closed down the state
courts until he left office.
“We knew that the ensuing
social and economic anarchy
would ruin Rivers State
without functional courts to
uphold and defend the rule of
Delta PDP ward-to-ward
campaign berths in riverine
communities
THE Delta state Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
ward to ward campaign has
moved to riverine
communities in the Warri
North and Warri South Local
Government Areas of Delta
State, with the aim of
interacting one on one with the
people.
The campaign train is led
State Representative, Cross
River, South-South; Engr.
Anthony Ekenne, State
Representative, Imo State,
South-East and Gbenga
Edema,
State
Representative, Ondo State,
South - West.
Others are Elekwachi
Dimkpa,
State
Representative, Rivers State,
South-South; Alhaji
Mohammed Abubakar, (
Zonal Representative,
Nasarawa State, North-
Central; Alhaji Sule Sami
(Zonal Representative, Kebbi
State, North-West; and Prof.
Tahir Mamman, SAN, (Zonal
Representative, Adamawa
State, North-East.
Soon after the list was read,
the Deputy President of the
Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-
Agege, APC, Delta Central
protested that the there was no
representation from Delta
State in line with the act
establishing the NDDC that
each state of the NDDC must
have a representative, just as
he pleaded with the Executive
to correct the anomaly.
Buhari transmits
commission's
budget to Senate
Meanwhile, President
Buhari has forwarded to the
Senate for consideration and
approval, the 2022 budget
proposals of the Niger Delta
Development Commission,
law. Beyond the crisis, we
also inherited a judiciary
neglected to the hilt,
dilapidated and inadequate
courthouses and unpaid
salary arrears.
“Our first task was to revive
the judiciary and ensure the
speedy administration of
justice. Without wasting time,
we appointed the first female
Chief Judge for the state,
reopened the courts and
restored judicial services from
our first day in office.”
He explained that his
administration began
rehabilitating the existing
courthouses and built new
ones for the state High Court
and within the first year in
office, provided a new Special
Utility Vehicle to judges as
official cars, which have since
been replaced since 2019.
Wike said prior to his
administration, judges in
the state were faced with
the challenge of lack of a
retirement home, his
government considered it
morally wrong for the state
to evict judges from their
official quarters and force
them to rented apartments
after they retired from
service.
by the PDP South Senatorial
Chairman, Dr. Julius
Takeme, with his Vice John
Okoroloko, the Warri North
Party Chairman, Dr. Isaac
Wiliki, and Missan
Ukubeyinje, the Director
General of the Campaign
Organisation, and Elders
and Leaders of the party,
Chief Otimeyin Adams,
Godwin Ebosa, Chief
Solomon Arenyeke,
Richard Omare,
Evangelist Micheal Diden,
and Coordinator of Benin
River Vanguard, Anthony
Okotie and host of other
Party stalwarts.
At Opuama Ward 7,
Takeme who expressed
gratitude to the huge
crowd of people present for
the campaign, assured the
community that they
would not be denied the
dividends of democracy
upon assumption of power.
13% refund:
Edo received
only N2.1bn
—Govt
By Ozioruva Aliu
BENIN CITY—THE
Edo State government,
yesterday, reacted to the
controversy trailing the
alleged release of trillions of
naira out of the arrears owing
the state from the country’s 13
percent derivation formula,
saying it has only received
N2.1 billion out of the
N28billion due to the state.
Addressing newsmen in
Benin City, state
Commissioner for Finance,
Joseph Eboigbe flanked by his
Communication and
Orientation counterpart,
Chris Neikhare and the
Special Adviser on Media
Projects to Governor Godwin
Obaseki, Crusoe Osagie, said
there was a repayment plan
of the arrears to be paid in five
years of four quarters in a year.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 —13

14—Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER, 24, 2022
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
I'll tackle insecurity in Enugu through massive job
creation —Mbah, PDP gov candidate
Representatives,
NUGU—AHEAD of the 2023
Egeneral elections, the
governorship candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
in Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah,
has assured the people of the
state that his administration
would tackle the security
challenges through massive job
creation if elected.
Mbah, who disclosed this at
town-hall meetings in Mbanabo
North and Mbanabo South
Development Centres both in
Awgu Local Area, vowed to
engage the youths in meaningful
ventures and turn them to
productive assets.
“We cannot achieve our goals
without ensuring adequate
security. We have aggressive
programmes to address
unemployment in our state.
Enugu State will not only
address the issue of
unemployment, but is going to
be job and wealth creator. By so
doing, we will be addressing the
menace of insecurity.
Noting that agriculture would
play a major role in providing jobs
creation, Mbah assured of his
administration’s resolve to
migrate agriculture from manual
and pipeline to mechanised and
platform agriculture if elected,
adding that Enugu State under
his leadership would create
special agro-allied processing
zones, including a value chain
that would generate more
revenues for the people.
Observing that his
comprehensive manifesto had
already captured the concerns
raised by the people of the area,
Mbah stressed that he had
programmes which covered
access roads, industrialisation,
operational healthcare system,
robust education, portable water,
irrigation, ICT, skills and
vocational training centres,
availability of revolving loans for
micro, small, and medium
enterprises.
“Because we are interested
in moving Enugu State from
public sector economy to private
sector-driven economy, we will
MUAHIA—ABIA Freedom
UAlliance, AFA, an
association of concerned
technocrats, professionals,
businessmen, religious leaders
and political stakeholders in
Abia State, has congratulated
the Labour Party, LP,
governorship candidate in Abia,
Dr. Alex Otti, on the launch of
Signature Bank.
AFA says the coming of
Signature Bank from all
indication will bring hope to
millions of unbanked and
underbanked Nigerians, as well
as set the pace for innovation
in the banking industry.
Otti, a former Group
Managing Director/Chief
Executive Officer of the
erstwhile Diamond Bank Plc, is
the founder and promoter of
Signature Bank, which formally
opened its doors to business on
Monday, November 21, 2022 in
Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital
Territory.
In a letter dated November
23, 2022 and signed by its
Convener, Prince Uzor
Nwachukwu, AFA praised Otti
for his boldness to re-establish
and improve on the success
story he began with Diamond
Bank, while he was CEO
between 2011 and 2014.
Otti was reputed to have
partner with investors by creating
an enabling environment for
them. This will also include tapping
from our abundant energy and
mineral resources sector to upscale
our economy”, he added.
Earlier in his remark, the Deputy
Minority Leader, House of
Toby
Okechukwu, commended Dr.
Mbah for initiating the town hall
meetings across the 68 local
government development
centres in the state to personally
interact with the people to know
their peculiar needs, saying it was
novel in electioneering politics in
Enugu State.
Group congratulates Otti, says Signature Bank'll
set pace in innovative banking
taken Diamond Bank from a lossmaking
position to profitability and
one of Nigeria’s eight systemically
important banks, according to the
Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,
within a space of three years.
He voluntarily resigned in 2014
to contest for the governorship seat
of Abia State in 2015. Even
though the overwhelming
population of Abia residents voted
for him, as further attested to by
the Court of Appeal, his victory
dance was cut short by the
judgment of the Supreme Court,
which remains controversial.
The letter reads in part: “Our
very dear Dr. Alex Otti, we are very
glad to felicitate with you on the
official unveiling and opening of
your Bank - Signature Bank
Limited.
“We celebrate your unique
personage and ideas which you
bring to bear on every Project you
are associated with.
“The robust history of your
studentship in the various
institutions you attended, and
your career in the Banking sector,
all tell tales of excellence and rare
giftedness.
“These, and more, are the
reasons why we, as distinguished
Abia Elites from diverse fields of
human endeavour, stand firmly
behind you as God sets out to
use you to redeem Abia State and
liberate her from decades of gross
misgovernance
visionlessness."
and
UBTH begins emergencies'
residency training, wants health
insurance for poor people
By Festus Ahon
Bmanagement ENIN CITY—THE
of the
University of Benin Teaching
Hospital, UBTH, yesterday
said it has begun residency
training for medical personnel
working in its Accident and
Emergency ward just as it called
on the operators of the
National Health Insurance
Scheme to make it accessible
to the poor.
Addressing a press
conference while announcing
activities to mark the hospital’s
50 years anniversary, the Chief
Medical Director, CMD, of the
hospital, Professor Darlington
Obaseki said the hospital in
2021 alone forfeited N84 million
bills for patients who could not
pay or deliberately refused to
while this year so far, the same
gesture has exceeded N100m
hence his call for the extension
of the insurance scheme to the
poor.
Obaseki said that in spite of
the mass exodus of medical
personnel, as one of the
challenges confronting health
PIND, MNDA, collaborate on peacebuilding strategy in Niger Delta
THE Partnership Initiatives
in the Niger Delta, PIND, is
providing technical support to
the Ministry of Niger Delta
Affairs, MNDA, in designing
and developing a regional
peacebuilding infrastructure to
address conflict and security
issues in the Niger Delta
through the Niger Delta
Regional Peacebuilding
Strategy, NDRPS.
NDRSP will drive conflict
prevention, mitigation, and
resolution efforts.
PIND's Peacebuilding
Manager, David Udofia,
stated that the NDPRS
document would provide a
framework for adopting
multi-stakeholder approaches
to peacebuilding and conflict
resolution.
He said a Technical
Working Group (TWG)
comprised of partners vested
in promoting peace in the
region and stakeholders
drawn from the nine Niger
Delta states will be
inaugurated on Wednesday,
November 30, 2022, in Port
Harcourt, Rivers State, to
drive the document's design.
There will also be a
technical session on
December 1, where the TWG
members will be briefed on
how they will support PIND
and MNDA on the NDRPS.
As a holistic approach,
PIND said the NDRPS will
care delivery in the nation, the
teaching hospital had been able
to deliver on the mandates of the
founding fathers of the hospital.
He said: “We have been given
approval to start training, we are
the second in the country to start
training resident doctors in
emergency medicine. We now
have a brand new department
called Emergency Medicine
Department. It is critical because
teaching hospitals are rested on
resident doctors who are in
training to become specialists but
all these, while no teaching
hospital was doing this specialised
training so it led to gaps in
emergency care most of the
doctors there are not specialist and
some other doctors from other
departments, rotate so this will
change that.”
He announced that part of
events slated to mark its 50th
anniversary among others is free
training for first responders on
basic life support, free Cancer
Screening, executive Screening
and subsidized surgeries
He said the free Cancer
Screening takes place in January,
2023, while the Executive
Screening which involves medical
Screening for top executives,
including members of the Edo
State Executive Council takes
place in February.
focus on the drivers of conflict
and identify proactive
measures geared at conflict
prevention, reduction, and
mitigation.
PIND said the designing and
subsequent implementation of
the NDRPS is a timely process
that will complement current
conflict mitigation approaches
by the government and other
stakeholders in the Niger
Delta.

As 2023 elections close by, the
General Overseer of the Seed of Christ
Golden Church, Land of Reality world
wide, Apostle (Dr.) Solomon Oni
Mustapha JP has warned Nigerians
to pray fervently to avert a looming
crises in the country. In this interview,
the cleric, who hails from Isanlu,
Yagba East, Kogi State, speaks on
several issues affecting the country
and the need to be proactive to avert
crisis that may mar the forthcoming
elections. Apostle Mustapha JP is also
receiving International Award of
Mayor of Peace 2022 from
International Association of World
Peace Advocates. Excerpts:
CAN you give us the background
story about your ministry?
To God be the glory, God located me.
In 1994, I was in Ekiti on the 17th of
July, I heard the voice of God that told
me to go to the city called Ibadan to
go and start a ministry and that He
was going to use me all over the world.
And he showed me a crowd that I
did not know where it ended.
Then, I woke up because it was a
dream. Meanwhile, in 1993 on the
17th of September in My dream; I saw
heaven opened and seven angels of
God descended from above and
anointed me, and told me to go and
preach the word of God to the world.
When I woke up, the anointing was
flowing in my body and it did not drop
on my bed.
So, those are the secrets people do
not know. I heard the voice of God that
led me.
After then, I began to argue with God
on why should I begin my ministry in
Ibadan.
I did not know anybody in Ibadan; I
did not have any relatives in Ibadan.
These arguments took me nine (9)
years, but to God be the glory after
that, I decided to accept the call, I
fasted for seven (7) years and I went
to Ikeji Arakeji, where God called
Apostle Babalola then, to know what
is happening to me, first and second
day on Ikeji Arakeji I didn't receive
any message from God. On the third
day, I was coming out from the
bathroom, I heard a voice saying: "I
sent you to Ibadan and you refused,
that was why you were encountering
the problems and until you follow my
wish, your problems would not stop."
It was after then I began to follow
the voice of God and decided to come
to Ibadan. I was a printer by
profession; I was also a timber
contractor, I engaged in laundry
business. I have washing machines,
industrial irons, Lister generator to
power my equipment.
Then at the same time, I had a
barbers' shop. Then, my business
name was BLESSMOM Ventures.
Then I received an instruction that
as I was going to Ibadan, I should not
take any belonging along with me. I
should just leave everything behind.
I left with three(3) trousers, three (3)
shirts and three (3) undies,
That was how I came to Ibadan
without any property. I was married
with kids. There was nothing I could
do, I had to source for money on
relocating to Ibadan. That was how my
ministry started, after we started the
ministry God commanded me to start
50 days white fasting and prayer,
which I did for 12 good years, after it
God still commanded me to start 201
days fast and prayer, after He still
commanded me to start 250 days vigil
, God again commanded me to go on
INTERVIEW
2023: How to avert looming
crisis — Apostle Mustapha, GO,
Seed of Christ Golden Church
Apostle (Dr.) Solomon Oni Mustapha, JP.
On the third day, I was
coming out from the
bathroom, I heard a
voice saying: "I sent
you to Ibadan and you
refused, that was why
you were encountering
the problems and until
you follow my wish,
your problems would
not stop
Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 — 15
365 days Fasting and Prayer after all
this fasting and prayer, God now came
to the ministry. That is the secret of
the ministry.
How did you come about the
crusade name: 'Olorun Se bi Oba'?
Thank you. One day, I was travelling
to Lagos and when I got to beggar, I
saw a revelation; "Power to Reign".
Our programmes were in Yoruba. So,
I thought of how to interpret the
revelation into Yoruba. So, it came to
me as "Agbara lati se bi Oba" that was
how I interpreted it.
And I started a Programme tagged:
"Agbara lati se bi Oba." When I started
this weekly Programme, we recorded,
twenty people, thirty people could
worship with us, but as time went on,
we started recording one-fifty or two
hundred people.
So, when people saw miracles, they
started saying we are going to "Se bi
Oba." That was how I got the nickname
till date.
Since you started your ministry,
how has 'the road' been?
Well, crisis happens everywhere, but
to God be the glory , I have never
experienced any crisis in my ministry.
All I knew was that, if you are truly
called by God, there are certain things
you must encounter, but I did not look
into that as crisis. They are ways of
strengthening someone in the
ministry. And to the glory of God, the
church is growing in lips and bounds.
Talking about the growth of his
church, Apostle Solomon said " when
a church is growing, the minister is
also growing, though, on this
mountain, , it was a rented apartment
before. But to the glory of God,
whatever structures you are seeing
today were the hand work of God. We
have several branches in Ibadan, Iri
Owuro and Wakati Iyanu programme
is aired in 75 radio and television
stations across the country.
We have branches also outside the
country, That is, we are heard locally
and internationally.
As the 2023 General Election is
approaching, what is your message
for Nigerian?
Lots of pressmen have been here to
seek my opinion on the forthcoming
elections, but I have been trying to
refrain from making comments. I have
my reasons for that. In the past, I made
some predictions and they came to
pass about the former President
Goodluck Jonathan So, I don't want
to make any prediction now. I made a
prediction about Jonathan that he
would not win the second term
election and it came to pass. I said
then that I saw a change of
government. I saw that Buhari won
the election. I even predicted his
second term emergence; which was
published in many newspapers in
Nigeria then, I was not so much
famous, but now, I am a bit famous
(smiling).
If I say anything now, it will go viral.
We know what is happening and lots
of hidden agenda. Everybody
believes that elections will not be held
next year (2023) because of what they
are saying. Now, the Yoruba group has
a problem that has been on for a long
time.
Let's cast our minds back to 1963,
Obafemi Awolowo was supposed to be
the Prime Minister, but it eluded him.
The same thing happened to M.K.O.
Abiola in 1993, thirty years after.
Another thirty years here again, the
same scenario is about to happen. So,
Yoruba people need to pray.
I raised this message during one of
my services, "Iri Owuro" before a
political party decided on having
Muslim- Muslim ticket. I told them
they should be watching what will
happen. The Yoruba should watch
what will happen.
Now, Yoruba is against Muslim -
Muslim ticket, Christians are against
Muslim -Muslim ticket. Nigerians
should pray very well. I will reveal a
little. God showed me a vision twelve
years ago that Nigerians should pray
very well that a time was coming that
one man will rise from the Igboland,
and that man people will love him.
And another man will in Yorubaland
and people will love him. Another man
will rise from the north and few people
will love him. That was what God told
me. Now the problem is, that Yoruba
man needs serious prayers, because
there will be a great protection for the
man that will rise from the Igboland.
I saw arrow set towards the man. So,
before elections day, that man needs
prayers. I announced the revelation
in my church.
If they kill that Igboman man, there
will be a crisis. So, Nigerians need to
pray very well to avert imminent war
in 2023.
So, Nigerians need to pray very well
to avert imminent war in 2023.

16 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
AHEAD of the 1993
presidential election,
General Ibrahim Babangida, the
then military head of state, made a
profound statement. He said: “I
don’t know who will succeed me,
but I know who will not.” Sadly,
that statement panned out with the
annulment of the June 12,
1993presidential election. Yet, in
principle, it was a perfectly
reasonable statement.
Here’s why. If General
Babangida had damaging
intelligence on MKO Abiola, the
presumed winner of the election,
an intelligence that could bring
international shame on Nigeria, he
had a duty to stop him from
running for president.
Babangida’s eternal mistake,
assuming he had such intelligence,
was to allow Abiola to run,
encourage Nigerians to vote and
then annul the election. But there
was nothing wrong with saying “I
don’t know who will succeed me,
but I know who will not,” provided
it was in the national interest. Of
course, in a democracy, a president
cannot simply say: “I know who
will not succeed me.” But a
president should signal a nation’s
values.
Yet, President Muhammadu
Buhari says he doesn’t care who
succeeds him. Channels TV asked
Buhari: “Are you interested in who
succeeds you?” He responded: “No,
let him come, whoever it is!” That
response has twointerpretations:
one positive, another negative.
The positive interpretation is that
President Buhari would ensure
next year’s presidential election is
free and fair, a point he has, indeed,
made. But the negative
interpretation is that he doesn’t care
about the integrity, characterand
honesty of who succeeds him.
Tinubu as president? Buhari
must really hate Nigeria
That negative interpretation is
my concernhere, and it’s premised
on Buhari’s support for the
election of Bola Tinubu as
Nigeria’s next president. It
concerns me because I’m fully
convinced that a Tinubu
presidency would not only
destabilise Nigeria internally, it
would damage Nigeriaglobally,
making it a big laughingstock, a
butt of dark international jokes!
Truth is, next year’s presidential
election will have huge long-term
implications, its outcome will
affect Nigeria for decades.
Therefore, no patriotic Nigerian
should sit on the fence; that
patriotism is what underpins this
intervention. To be sure, the
presidential election should be as
much about character as
manifesto.
The presidency is too serious an
office to be invested in someone
with serious integrity deficit. Those
ignoring character and integrity
should remember the Turkish
proverb: “When a clown moves
into a palace, he doesn’t become a
king.
The palace becomes a circus.”
Returning to Buhari and Tinubu,
there was a Faustian pact between
them in 2015. Tinubu put it
pointedly in his famous Abeokuta
outburst. “Without me, Buhari
won’t be president,” he said,
adding memorably:"Emilokan! It’s
my turn!” Well, Buhari now
accepts it’s payback time. He’s the
chairman of Tinubu’s presidential
campaign council, PCC; his wife,
Truth is, Buhari
is wrong to
campaign for
Tinubu to
succeed him; it
betrays the
national interest!
Aisha, chairs the PCC’s women
wing. Both Buhari and his wife say
they want Tinubu to become
Nigeria’s next president and are
mobilising the North behind him.
But here are questions for
President Buhari: Is he aware of
the damaging allegations swirling
around Tinubu? Given what he
knows, does he think Tinubu is a
fit and proper person to be
Nigeria’s president? Is he happy
that Tinubu’s life, pedigree and
backstory are veiled in secrecy or,
as someone puts it, a “miasma of
dubiety”?
In the US, every major
presidential candidate is an open
book. But not Tinubu. He
arrogantly refuses to answer
uncomfortable questions about
his past. Instead, he uses
surrogates – Festus Keyamo, Femi
Fani-Kayode, Bayo Onanuga –
who see him as their route to
advancement and are blatantly
lying to Nigerians, treating them
as morons. Recently, they came full
throttle with deliberate untruths
about the drug allegations against
Tinubu.
Briefly, here’s the case: Between
1988 and 1991, Tinubu deposited
$1.4m in different bank accounts,
despite earning just $2,400 per
month and despite confirming he
had no other sources of income.
The US concluded the funds
represented “proceeds of narcotic
trafficking and money
laundering,” derived from his
dealings with two drug traffickers,
Mueez Akande and Abiodun
Agbele.
Put simply, Tinubu was alleged
to be a bagman handling and
laundering drug money.
Tinubu claimed the funds
belonged to Kafaru Tinubu and
Alhaja Habibat Mogaji, even
though, years later, he told The
News magazine that all the money
belonged to him.
In the end, Tinubu forfeited
$460,000 held in his name by
Heritage Bank, where he and
Akande had strong links. “Why did
they return $1m?” Fani-Kayode
asked. The remaining funds were
released to Kafaru Tinubu and
AlhajaMogaji, who claimed
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ownership interests. That’s the
nature of settlements: Abacha
allegedly stole $5bn; half of it was
returned to his family!
The biggest lie, peddled by
Keyamo and Fani-Kayode, is that
the $460,000 forfeited by Tinubu
was a tax.
The cover sheet of the certified
true copy of the settlement, issued
on August 10, 2022, explicitly states
under “Nature of Suit” that it’s
forfeitureunder “Code 625: Drug
related seizure of property 21 USC
881.” The two boxes under
“Federal tax suits” were not ticked.
So, the $460, 000 was not a tax but
a drug-related forfeiture.
Tinubu’s surrogates and spin
doctors say he wasn’t indicted or
convicted. But no rational
individual would forfeit $460,000
of his hard-earned money,
especially when linked to drug
trafficking, without fighting to
clear his name.
By having a “drug related seizure
of property” recorded against his
name, Tinubu is seriously tainted
as a presidential candidate, and
would cause Nigeria huge
embarrassment if he became
president.
Which brings us back to Buhari.
As military head of state in 1984/
85, his regime executed eight
young Nigerians for drug
trafficking. How could he, in good
conscience, campaign for Tinubu
to be president without
apologising to the families of those
young Nigerians. Also, given
Tinubu’s stupendous unexplained
wealth, does Buhari regret jailing
governors for hundreds of years in
1984 for corruption? Truth is,
Buhari is wrong to campaign for
Tinubu to succeed him. It betrays
the national interest!
Wike and 13 percent derivation
By OSE UMUKORO
IT is now obvious that some politicians
in Nigeria prefer the gutter of infamy
to the hallway of integrity and honour. If
not, how do you place the blatant lies and
obvious misrepresentations by the
governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike,
former APC chairman; Adams
Oshiomhole, and the deputy president of
the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege? The trio and
their army of recruits went overboard with
their spin of falsehood over the status of
the 13 percent derivation arrears.
Wike, the emperor of Rivers State, whom
his constituents have accused of running
the state like his fiefdom, set the ball
rolling when he declared that all the money
he’s using to build flyovers was from the
accumulated 13 percent derivation, which
the previous governments refused to pay
but was paid by the Muhammadu Buhari
government. This is sheer fallacy. Sadly,
some Nigerians have bought into this
cheap lie, meant primarily for the selfglorification
of Wike and to discredit the
previous PDP governments as well as the
governments of the oil-bearing Niger Delta
states.
For the sake of decency and the sanctity
of facts, it is imperative to present the true
picture. Records at the Federation Account
Allocation Committee, FAAC, show that the
Federal Government has not paid 23 years'
worth of derivation fund arrears. What was
paid to affected states was only ten months'
worth of installments in accordance with
the order of the court, which ruled that the
arrears be liquidated "in sixty equal
monthly installments" and disbursed to
states quarterly, starting in February 2022,
the first quarter being February to April
2022.
This means that only 10 months out of
the 60 monthly installments have been
paid, with the remaining 50 months yet to
be paid.
The story of the 13 percent derivation has
a history. In 2021, some states approached
the court to press for the payment of
outstanding deductions on the derivation
fund, which the Federal Government was
reluctant to pay. In June last year, a Federal
High Court sitting in Abuja ordered the
Federal Government to pay $951 million
to the Bayelsa State government as arrears
of the 13 percent derivation sum due to the
state. Within that period, another court
ordered the Federal Government to pay
over $3.3 billion to the Rivers and Akwa
Ibom states, as their share of revenue from
crude oil sales. The court cases were
sparked by the $62 billion that the federal
government had recovered from some oil
companies but had yet to distribute to the
states. Justice Taiwo Taiwo ordered that
$1.114 billion be paid to Rivers State, while
$2.258 billion be paid to Akwa Ibom State,
being their claims from the $62 billion
recovered from oil companies.
The court further awarded post-judgment
interest of 10 percent in favour of the
plaintiffs until the final liquidation of the
debt. Plaintiffs in the suit were the attorneys
general of Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
Also, in November last year, a Federal High
Court in Abuja ordered the Federal
Government to pay the sum of $1.638
billion to Delta State, which is the 13
percent derivation sum due as arrears to
the state. Justice Donatus Okorowo, while
delivering the judgment, held that Delta,
like other oil-bearing states, as part of the
Federation, deserves its share of the oil
revenue.
In all these cases, the Attorney-General
of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami,
was the sole defendant, meaning that the
President Buhari government was
unwilling to pay the arrears.
The truth is, the Buhari government is
too broke to even attempt paying the
arrears in one fell swoop. No governor in
the Niger Delta has received the entire
arrears. Wike should explain to the world
how he was able to receive his state’s
arrears, which were premised on a court
judgment from last year, as he claimed. Did
the Federal Government single out Rivers
State for a special favour? As a lawyer, Wike
should know that the court order said
payment should be made "in sixty equal
monthly installments," meaning over a
period of five years.“ Both Akwa Ibom and
Delta have said they started receiving the
arrears this year after the judgement last
year. It, therefore, amounts to mischief for
anyone to insinuate that all the arrears
have been paid.
How could any governor
have received all the arrears
when the judgment was only
delivered last year with a
caveat for the arrears to be
paid over 60 months?
As it now stands, only 10 months out of
the 60 monthly instalments have been paid,
with the remaining 50 months yet to be
paid. So, how did Wike, Oshiomhole and
Omo-Agege invent their spurious figures?
Governor Wike was obviously playing to
the gallery, as usual, when he asked other
Niger Delta state governors to explain what
they did with their money. He has ipso facto
constituted himself as an ombudsman, a
foreman supervising other states. By
commissioning flyovers and streaming the
event live on at least four TV stations, he
thinks of himself as a superstar governor.
This is the hallmark of an egoistic, power
drunk leader intent only on selfglorification.
Somebody should tell the governor that
the flyovers he celebrates on TV are being
built, some even better, by the governors of
Delta and Akwa Ibom without attracting
undue attention to themselves. He should
know that in terms of the Human
Development Index, especially in
education and healthcare, he does not
come close to the Delta and Akwa Ibom
governors. The well-structured small and
medium enterprise scheme in Delta is
second to none in the country. Aside from
winning both local and international
awards, it has empowered the youth of Delta
State such that yesterday’s job-seekers have
become today’s wealth creators.
But it’s obvious why the Rivers State
governor is tearing himself up. He is a sour
loser. Since he lost the presidential ticket
of the PDP, deservedly, and the vicepresidential
slot, more for his intemperate
character than anything else, he has gone
wild like a sheep in a salt market; eating
every salt in sight without knowing when
to stop. How could any governor have
received all the arrears when the judgment
was only delivered last year with a caveat
for the arrears to be paid over 60 months?
By giving glory to Buhari, the governor
further exposed his mischief. The judiciary,
not Buhari, deserves the glory because the
judgement was delivered against
opposition from the Buhari Federal
Government. In all of this, the biggest loser
is Omo-Agege, the APC governorship
candidate in Delta. Omo-Agege is telling
Nigerians, particularly Deltans, that the
snatching of a mace incident linked to him
in 2018 is nothing compared to the massive
damage he intends to do to democracy in
2023 by spinning lies and dishing out
blatant lies. Little wonder Deltans have
roundly rejected him before ever the first
ballot is cast.
•Umukoro, a social commentator, wrote
from Warri

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 —17
Buhari women, poverty and budget padding
TWO stories broke in the last one week
that tend to amplify the fact that President
Muhammadu Buhari’s goal of running
Nigeria completely aground continues apace
even as his administration, on the home stretch,
and its vuvuzelas, continue to play the ostrich.
First, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS,
disclosed on November 17, that 133 million
Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor. That
represents about 63 per cent of the estimated
population of about 218 million people.
Ordinarily, this information shouldn’t
surprise anyone considering that Nigeria had
adorned the infamous 'World Poverty Capital'
badge since 2018. World Bank data had shown
since 2016 that four in every ten Nigerians live
below the poverty line of $1.9 per day. Two
years later, the country was declared world’s
poverty capital by the Brookings Institution,
knocking off India from the inglorious perch.
The Brookings’ report said: “At the end of May
2018, our trajectories suggest that Nigeria had
about 87 million people in extreme poverty,
compared with India’s 73 million. What is
more, extreme poverty in Nigeria is growing
by six people every minute, while poverty in
India continues to fall.”
The numbers climbed up to 93.9 million
people in 2021 with Mr. Bismarck Rewane,
Managing Director, Financial Derivatives
Company, FDC, Limited, and a member of
Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council, EAC,
quoting a World Bank data, which stated that
seven million Nigerians fell into extreme
poverty in 2020. That was grim. The
government always pooh-poohs such reports,
accusing international organisations of bad
faith, while flaunting the so-called wonders of
the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster
Management and Social Development.
That’s why the NBS report matters. It is a
government agency statutorily mandated to
v e r i f y ,
approve,
administer
and publish
b a s i c
national
statistical
data. No one
can accuse it
of bad faith.
T h e
Multidimensional
Poverty Index,
It is absurd that an
expenditure by a
ministry was defined
as non-budgetary,
but with this
government,
impunity is the name
of the game
MPI, offers a multivariate form of poverty
assessment, which identifies deprivations
across health, education, living standards, etc.
According to the NBS Statistician-General,
Semiu Adeniran, a sample size of over 56,610
people in 109 senatorial districts in the 36 states
of Nigeria, was used in the survey – the first
time the agency will conduct a standard
multidimensional poverty survey in Nigeria.
The United Nations Resident Humanitarian
Coordinator in Nigeria, Matthias Schmale,
who revealed the findings from the report, said
63 per cent of Nigerians are multidimensionally
poor. The Buhari government
had always claimed that the Ministry of
Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management
and Social Development was doing wonders
in alleviating poverty when Nigerians know
that to the contrary, the ministry has become a
cesspit of corruption.
Little wonder no eyebrows were raised when
a few days after the NBS report, the second
news broke that the minister, Mrs. Sadiya
Umar Farouq, disowned the N206 billion
inserted into the ministry’s 2023 budget
allegedly by the Ministry of Finance, Budget
and National Planning.
On Monday, Farouq told the Senate
Committee on Special Duties that the fund,
meant to implement projects for the North East
Development Commission, NEDC, was
inserted in the budget after a similar request
in 2022 was not released. A member of the
committee, Senator Elisha Abbo, told the
minister to give details of the projects to be
executed with the N206 billion.
“In 2023, you intend to borrow N206 billion
for some projects. What are the projects to be
implemented and are they captured in the
Medium-Term Expenditure Framework? If
they are, what are the specific project locations
and activities?” the lawmaker from Adamawa
State asked, not knowing that he had,
unwittingly, opened a Pandora’s Box. Farouq,
who didn’t show any sign of surprise, either,
simply shrugged her shoulders and washed
her hands off the smelly scandal. “Yes, we made
mention of the projects for 2022, part of it was
for the North East Development Commission,
NEDC. The money was not released and now
we have seen it recurring by almost 10 folds,”
she told the bewildered lawmakers.
“We are also going to clarify from the
Ministry of Finance to know why this increase
in spite of the fact that the previous year, the
money was not even released for the projects.
So, we will get the details, then send it to you.”
On the upscaling of the National Social Safety
Net project, she said: “I cannot really give full
details of how this amount is going to be utilised
because it is something that was negotiated
between the Ministry of Finance and World
Bank.” Isn’t it scandalous that a minister is
claiming ignorance of her ministry’s budget
proposals and to what use the money will be
deployed if approved?
The Senate Committee resolved to summon
the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed,
to explain what she intended to do with the
N206 billion she unilaterally inserted, if
Farouq is to be believed, into the ministry’s
budget. But that is where the problem lies –
absolute trust deficit. Nothing said or done by
the Buhari government can pass the test of
credibility. It is all subterfuge and deceit. It
will not be a surprise if Zainab Ahmed throws
her hand in the air tomorrow, claiming
ignorance of the “ten-fold” budget padding.
And I dare say that when that happens, nothing
will happen. There will be no consequence.
The ‘Buhari women’ are sacred cows –
untouchable and above the law. Like the young
man in Igbo folklore who kicks the door open
when sent on a stealing expedition by his father,
the Buhari women act with impunity, knowing
full well that they have their principal’s back.
During the 2021 budget defence, lawmakers
in the House of Representatives raised
eyebrows over the Humanitarian Affairs
Ministry’s extra-budgetary spending and the
incomplete budget documents submitted by
Farouq. Of course, it is absurd that an
expenditure by a ministry was defined as nonbudgetary,
but with Buhari, impunity is the
name of the game. The minister got away with
the explanation that the “non-budgetary
expenditure” was a special intervention fund
by the President under the so-called
Conditional Cash Transfer programme.
The sad thing is that these funds being spent
recklessly, without any iota of accountability –
literally stolen – are monies that are borrowed
on behalf of all Nigerians. Here is a man who
promised that the overall economic target of
his government was to lift 100 million
Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. In his
2021 Democracy Day speech, he claimed
without any evidence that his government had
lifted 10.5 million Nigerians out of poverty
between June 2019 and June 2021.“In the last
two years we lifted 10.5 million people out of
poverty – farmers, small-scale traders, artisans,
market women and the like. I am very
convinced that this 100 million target can be
met and this informed the development of a
National Poverty Reduction with Growth
Strategy. The specific details of this accelerated
strategy will be unveiled shortly,” he said on
June 12, 2021.
Now, a government agency is putting a lie to
his harebrained claims. Rather than lifting 100
million people out of poverty, we now know
that under Buhari’s watch, 133 million people
have been sucked into the septic tank of poverty.
At the end of the day, the much-maligned, selfexiled
Diezani Alison-Madueke, former
Minister of Petroleum Resources, who is
currently being paraded as the poster-girl of
corruption, warts and all, will be canonized
when held in the mirror of probity with the
Buhari women. Time will tell.
Writers, see your readers as customers
SOME business owners
thrive on content
creation to attract prospects to
their business. A large bulk of
content creation hinges on
writing for prospective clients.
This week’s article focuses on
how business owners or their
representatives can write in a
way that appeals to their
readers because they are their
customers. There ought to be a
conversational manner
deployed to keep the flow of
writing interactive and fun to
read. To succeed in doing this,
think about what you would appreciate if you
were the one savouring the content. The need
to have fellow feeling and compassion as you
write for your audience cannot be
overemphasized. For one thing, putting
yourself in the shoes of your readers forces you
to think about several things you ought to do
as you write. For example, think about the
recipients of your business document. Your
ability to categorise your readers helps you to
know how to write for them – you can consider
their language ability, level of education,
media preference, age, etc. This greatly helps
you in tailoring custom made content that
suits their purpose and interest. Because your
primary goal lies in effectively communicating
and selling your brand, you want to do so in a
way that would appeal to their hearts and move
them to action, and one thing to do to achieve
this is to keep things short and simple.
Keeping things short and simple entails that
in writing you do not bore your readers with
verbose and irrelevant details. There are some
kinds of writing that you should by all means
avoid. Kindly do not use two negatives in one
sentence because not everyone understands
that double negatives in one sentence means
that the sentence is positive. What I mean is
that in a sentence such as ‘I do not think that
you dislike her’, I actually mean that ‘I think
that you like her’! How about ‘They project
that it is unlikely that the dollar won’t continue
to rise against the Naira’? This, in other words,
means it is likely the dollar will continue to
rise against the dollar. Did you find that a bit
confusing too? And have you heard people use
double negatives
when they really By all means then,
mean the aim to avoid the use
negative? So
why use the of negatives as
double negatives much as you
which could be
confusing to possibly can in your
your readers? writing
Consider also
the next example: ‘It was not without some
struggles that he achieved his victory.’ Wouldn’t
it have been much easier for the reader to
understand the point if the writer had this as ‘It
was with some struggles that he achieved his
victory’? By all means then, aim to avoid the
use of negatives as much as you possibly can
in your writing. Yet another strategy for writing
and appealing faster to your audience is the
use of simple expressions. With simplicity
saturating your writing, you always impress
your readers. Verbose and redundant
expressions do not appeal to most people.
Imagine sending out a business letter and your
receiver – your client – has to check their
dictionary (or Google) for the meaning of
words! That’d be a disaster for your business!
Granted, there is technical jargon that suits
the purpose of certain professions. That
notwithstanding, feel free to switch things up
and explain what the jargon means if you fear
that your reader may not understand its use.
Undoubtedly, some people believe that to
impress others they need to use highfalutin –
pompous or pretentious – expressions. This is
in a bid to earn the respect of others, but most
times the opposite is the case. Who wouldn’t
prefer to be written to in a manner that makes
them understand even difficult and rather
complex concepts? I’m sure you would!
Imagine receiving a court judgment riddled
with lots of jargon and old-fashioned
expressions! How does that help the client at
all? Many people nowadays prefer writers who
keep it simple, understandable, and easy to
act upon.
One last strategy I share with you here is
that of constructing your writing mostly in the
active voice. In the English language, we have
the active and the passive voice in writing. My
intention here is not to bore you with technical
jargon! But I do want you to appreciate what
both uses can do for your writing and how the
use of the active voice will facilitate your
reaching your readers’ heart quicker. For one
thing, use of the active voice means that the
subject of the sentence performs the action of
the verb. Its use is precise and unambiguous
to the reader – they can easily tell who is doing
what in the sentence. To illustrate: ‘The CEO
of Build-Well Integrated Services, Mr
Uchechukwu Oji, commended his staff
members for their diligence and dedication
to the company.’ From the sentence you can
identify the subject as ‘The CEO of Build-Well
Integrated Services’ – to identify the subject of
your sentence, simply ask the question ‘who/
what verb(s) or verb(ed); in this case, we ask,
‘Who commended his staff members for their
diligence and dedication to the company?’ The
answer we get is the subject of the sentence/
verb.It is thus clear, isn’t it, that the one who
performed the action of commending is the
CEO. And just from reading the sentence –
because it is written in the active voice – the
point is easily taken.
On the contrary, use of the passive voice
means that the subject of the sentence is acted
upon or receives the action of the verb. The
construction often takes a ‘by the …’ form where
the agent that performs the action is placed. I
often say to my students that people who in
writing like to hide agency – that is the one(s)
performing the action – use the passive voice.
The drawback is that your reader does not
connect much with you when you passivise
your sentence. They may judge you as trying
to withhold information from them! Let’s see
an example of a passive sentence: ‘The
secretary was laid off by the Human Resources
manager.’ In this sentence, the focus is on the
secretary being laid off. The secretary is the
subject of the sentence because it answers the
question, ‘Who was laid off by the Human
Resources manager?’ Do you, however, notice
that this sentence structure pays less attention
to who did the laying off?
Yes, the focus is on the receiver of the action.
Additionally, some passive sentences
completely remove the agent that perform the
action: ‘Three hundred billion Naira was
stolen from the Accountant General’s office.’
Now, we do not know who did the stealing. A
reader may be absolutely confused and not
know what to make out of such information.
In other cases, however, some deliberately use
the passive voice to hide information that isn’t
necessary for public consumption: ‘An apology
has been sent to the public’ as opposed to ‘The
president has apologised to the public.’ In
order to avoid a blame-game or to avoid
exposing the wrongdoing of an elite, the
passive voice is deployed. This may lead
people to worry less about the doer and focus
more on the action.
•Dr. Oji is a Senior Lecturer of English
at the Institute of Humanities, Pan-
Atlantic University, Lagos

18 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
BRAIN drain is beyond the normal
migration of people to greener
pastures or adventure. It involves the
mass movement of a skilled workforce
from one place to another. In the 1960s
and 1970s, Nigeria was a great
destination for skilled foreign workers
such as doctors, university lecturers,
high school teachers and others from
sectors, the conditions of service of
such places as Europe, India, the West
these professionals worsened at home.
Indies and Ghana.
Nigerian-trained doctors, nurses and
When the first oil boom ended around
other healthcare professionals have
1978, the economic hardship that
since maintained a steady stream of
ensued triggered the first brain drain,
migration out of the country to places
involving the mass migration of skilled
where they could find job satisfaction.
Nigerians to Europe and America.
In 2015, there were only 34,000 doctors
Many students who went to study
serving about 180 million people. This
abroad no longer returned to lend their
year, the number has gone down to
skills to the development of the nation.
24,000, according to the Nigerian
The health sector has been the hardest
Medical Association, NMA.
hit in recent years when some countries
Meanwhile, the Worldometer estimates
in Europe, America and the Middle
that Nigeria’s population has climbed
East became particularly interested in
to over 211 million.
hiring from Nigeria.
Within the last year, the United
With successive governments failing
Kingdom alone received 1,307
to prioritise the education and health
Curbing health sector brain drain
Nigerian doctors. As the dearth of
doctors and other health professionals
approaches crisis proportions, the UK
High Commissioner to Nigeria,
Catriona Laing, recently told the media
that she was in talks with Nigerian
government officials to "prevent" brain
drain in the Nigerian medical sector.
From the picture already painted with
the figures above, the brain drain needs
reversal, not prevention, because our
system is already starving.
The effort to reverse the sorry
situation must start with Nigerians. Our
current leaders and even some of our
intending leaders have virtually
abandoned our public health sector,
where the common citizen goes for
care. They and their families travel to
hospitals abroad to take care of
themselves at the taxpayers’ expense,
leaving our system decrepit, and the
professionals poorly paid and
motivated.
Unless the Nigerian people take the
opportunity of the 2023 general
elections to elect fresh, vibrant,
exemplary, and visionary leaders who
have in their track records
demonstrated their concern for the
common people, the scourge will
continue. No foreign country, no
matter how well-intentioned, can solve
our brain drain problem for us.
Only when our government
prioritises the social sector with
adequate funding, equipment, and
competitive welfare will we see a
reduction in brain drain. A rejuvenated
system will even attract foreign doctors
once again. The UK and other allies can
support Nigeria with funds for positive
change.
OPINION
How to save Nigeria's N500 trillion insurance industry
By ELVIS EROMOSELE
LAST week, I passed by the ever-busy
Computer Village and saw shop after
shop loaded from floor to ceiling with laptops.
I thought to myself, “What happens if there is
an incident, say a fire? Do they have insurance?”
I shuddered to think of the sheer
loss. Insurance is not new in Nigeria, but
plenty of people disagree with its acclaimed
importance. Records show that the insurance
business has existed in one form or another in
the country since 1958. What is amazing is
that after such a long time, the sector is still
struggling to overcome the twin problems of
ignorance and acceptance. They are related.
This implies that if potential customers can
appreciate the true value of the sector, it will
automatically lead to more widespread
acceptance. And this will naturally boost
patronage, spur the growth of premium
generation, and precipitate more meaningful
contributions to the nation's gross domestic
product, GDP. Conversely, as acceptance grows,
the estimation and value of the sector will rise
and spread.
Solving one issue will resolve the other, and
vice versa. Ignorance does not mean people
cannot define insurance. It is more a lack of
understanding of the way it works or how it is
supposed to work. Insurance, according to
Investopedia, is "a contract, represented by a
policy, in which a policyholder receives
financial protection or reimbursement against
losses from an insurance company. The
company pools clients’ risks to make payments
more affordable for the insured."
Investopedia explains that there are different
types of insurance policies. Life, health,
homeowners, and auto insurance are the most
common forms of insurance. The core
components that make up most insurance
policies are the deductible, policy limit, and
premium. The truth must be said, the Nigerian
insurance industry is enormous. Augusto & Co's
2022 insurance report reveals that the gross
premium income, GPI, stands at over N520
trillion.
This places the country 62nd in the world
today. With a GDP of $443 billion as of 2020
and a population of 210 million, Nigeria is
easily the largest economy in Africa. Yet, the
insurance penetration rate is lower than one
percent. Herein lies the problem. Take car
insurance, for instance. The Nigeria Insurance
Association, NIA, January 2022 report
indicates that only 3.4 million out of a total of
12 million registered vehicles are insured. Also,
less than five percent of Nigerians have health
insurance of any sort. It is not a pretty picture.
This is the real challenge; how to get more
people to sign up for insurance. The issues are
long-standing and seemingly insurmountable.
In my mind, it is at once a problem of policy
and process; an issue of promotion and
progress; and a matter of personnel and
professionalism. And since they are only
seemingly insurmountable, they can be
overcome, resolved, and improved. With close
to 100 million Nigerians living below the
poverty line, it is no surprise that many cannot
afford to pay insurance premiums under the
current arrangement.
The bulk of the population lives from hand
to mouth, so there is little room for anything
else when the bare essentials are barely taken
care of. Only affordable and flexible insurance
with a clear highlight of the core benefits will
appeal to Nigerians. What would work is
something that does not tax the pocket or the
mental capacity of the man on the street. People
who find funds to load recharge cards, make
sports bets, and go on the occasional weekend
treat, can find the money for premium if it
makes sense to them.
When people talk of ignorance of insurance,
it is beyond a lack of knowledge of its existence.
It is a question of trust. True mass acceptance
is necessarily a function of ubiquitous access
and trust. Once people see why, nothing can
stop them from investing in the future through
insurance. This brings us right back to
education, awareness, and access. The only
way to be assured of a future is for the insurance
industry as a whole to undergo radical change.
The current cosmetic makeup does not cut it.
The industry needs a major makeover. The
regulators must look at policies that will
fundamentally change the way the industry
conducts its business, engages with its
customers, and, in fact, who can engage in the
business. The call is for a truly functional
microinsurance scheme. In the recent past,
Nigeria had mobile insurance offered by a
The only way to be assured of
a future is for the insurance
industry as a whole to undergo
radical change; the current
cosmetic makeup does not cut it
telco, but it failed. No! It was not because it
was not viable, it was due more to resistance
and regulatory issues. Think of how impossible
mobile money has looked in Nigeria and how
it has thrived spectacularly in other climes (read
Kenya). The only real difference was policy
formulation and the regulatory framework.
Mobile money is only now beginning to look
feasible and viable. What changed? Simple
policy and regulatory requirements. But I
digress.
The International Association of Insurance
Supervisors, IAIS, defines microinsurance as
"the protection of low-income people against
specific perils in exchange for regular
premium payments appropriate to the
Send Opinions & Letters to:
opinions1234@yahoo.com
likelihood and cost of the risk
involved." According to the IAIS, the term
refers to servicing a specific income segment
in emerging market jurisdictions where the
insurance markets are not well-developed.
Nigeria fits this bill to a T. To be fair, experts
argue that micro-insurance works in much
the same way as conventional insurance,
except that it is targeted at low-income
households, specifically the working poor, who
have few or no financial reserves and incomes
that fluctuate considerably. The National
Insurance Commission, NAICOM, the
regulator of the insurance sector, has explained
that it is actively pursuing the execution of
various regulatory and market development
initiatives intended to uplift the insurance
sector to a global standard. Industry watchers
insist that the Commission is doing well. I
believe that the Commission must now take
another look at the micro-insurance market.
It is currently barely scratching the surface. To
get going and truly thrive, it needs favourable
policies, legal and regulatory adaptations, and
sector-wide institutional capacity building.
Firms that will provide the service must
understand how it has evolved. The license
fees should be affordable for operators.
Naturally, there would be close monitoring of
the operations to prevent abuse and ensure
that they stay on the straight and narrow.While
typically, microinsurance can be delivered
through a variety of institutional channels,
including licensed insurers, healthcare
providers, community-based organizations,
and non-governmental organizations, in
Nigeria, the ubiquitous reach of telecom
services, the grassroots know how of
microfinance banks, and the depth of
academic institutions, make them good
candidates to drive such a scheme.
Continues online:www.vanguardngr.com
•Eromosele, a Corporate Communication
professional and public affairs analyst
lives in Lagos.

Foreign Portfolio Investments rise 11.8% to
N321bn
By Peter Egwuatu
NIGERIA’s Foreign Portfo
lio Investments, FPIs,
has risen to N321.04 billion in
the third quarter of 2022, Q3’22,
about 11.8 per cent higher than
N287.2 billion recorded in the
corresponding period of 2021,
Q3’21. FPI represents value of
foreign investments in the Nigerian
stock market.
Though usually called ‘hot
money’ because of the speed of
entry and exit, analysts believe
the higher balance in the FPI
position is attributable to the inability
of the investors to move
out their money due to unavailability
of foreign exchange.
Meanwhile, the value of retail
investments in the stock market
continued to rise hitting N556.78
billion in Q3’22, about 27.5 per
cent increase as against N436.53
billion in corresponding period
of 2021.
Analysts attributed this increase
to improved investors’ confidence
occasioned by several changes
that have taken place in the market
environment this year.
“Through regulatory interventions
by Securities and Exchange
Commission, SEC and Central
Bank of Nigeria , CBN, new rules
have been made to regulate several
unregulated practices in the
capital market, especially margin
trading which mismanagement
caused the credit boom that
precipitated the dangerous asset
bubble have led to increased investor
confidence”, analysts
noted.
Vanguard’s findings from the
Nigerian Exchange Limited,
NGX, shows that foreign investors’
contribution to the entire
value of transactions at N1.97
trillion in Q3’22 was 16.3 per cent
while retail investors’ contribution
stood at 28.3 per cent.
Commenting on the FPI position,
analyst and CEO, APT Securities
& Funds Limited,
Mallam Garba Kurfi, said: “We
are not surprised at the increase
in the Foreign Portfolio Investments,
which was due to lack of
VISIT TO LABORATORY —— From left: Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety
Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh OFR; Honourable Minister of Transportation, Mu’azuJaji Sambo;
Secretary General, International Maritime Organisation (IMO), His Excellency Kitack Lim; and Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani at the Marine Pollution Laboratory
section of the Nigerian Maritime Resource Development Centre, Lagos.
Poor Electricity: TCN blames GENCOs,
DISCOs for grid collapses
CURRENCY BUYING SELLING
US
DOLLAR
POUNDS
EURO
FRANC
YEN
CFA
WAUA
RENMINBI
RIYAL
RAND
Danish Krona
160.45 -1.35
2403.00 + 22.00
19.61 - 0.13
84.56 - 3.54
87.65 +5.12
442.76 443.26 443.76
525.7775 526.3713 526.965
454.5374 455.0507 455.564
463.6716 464.1952 464.7188
3.1359 3.1395 3.143
0.6719 0.6819 0.6919
576.3837 577.0346 577.6855
62.0103 62.0808 62.1513
117.8023 117.9353 118.0684
25.6548 25.6837 25.7127
59.0766 59.1438 59.211
CBN Exchange rate as at 23/11/2022
MARITIME
By Mariam Eko
THE electricity Trans
mission Company of
Nigeria, TCN, has said that
lack of capacity in the electricity
Generation Companies,
GENCOs, and the Distribution
Companies,
DISCOs, is the main reason
for the incessant collapses
in the national grid.
The country’s power grid
has collapsed about seven
times this year, with the last
collapse on September 26.
At the backdrop of this the
chairman, Technical and
Monitoring Committee of
TCN governing board, Mr.
Nsima Ekere, stated that
TCN was in the process of
installing a supervisory control
and data acquisition,
SCADA system which would
address the inconsistency
leading to grid collapse.
Ekere made this known at
the inspection of TCN warehouse
and some key substations
by the committee
board members of TCN in
Lagos.
According to him, “Grid
collapse and network reliability
is not TCN’s fault but
majorly from the GENCOs
and DISCOs as they take
more power and sometimes
less, which ultimately impacts
negatively on the national
grid.
“The average generation in the
country is from 3,000mw to
4,000mw which is less than 40
percent of the present capacity,
but with the transmission expansion
projects ongoing, in the next
two or three years the capacity
would be doubled.
“There is need for the GENCOs
and DISCOs to step up their capacity,
make commensurable investments,
work on infrastructure
and improve on their capacity to
take power and distribute in order
for Nigerians to enjoy some
level of stability in power supply.”
He added, “TCN is in the process
of installing a supervisory
control and data acquisition,
SCADA, system and once this is
fully deployed, it will help to a
large extent with reliability and
eliminate grid collapses.”
At the visit to Lagos-west substation
in Ayobo, the General
Manager, Lagos west substation
of TCN, Mr. Mojeed Akintola,
said the substation had the capacity
to wheel 1,050mw, adding that
it would supply three distribution
companies namely, Eko Electricity
Distribution Company, Ikeja
Electric and some parts of Ibadan
Electricity Distribution Company.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 — 19
Foreign Exchange that prevented
the foreign investors from repatriating
their funds; they rather
buy back stocks and dividend received
which cannot be taken
away. They rather buy more
stocks. There are very few that
decided to bring additional funds
in order to take advantage of the
low price of the stocks.”
On projection for the Q4’22,
he said: “As a result of devaluation
of Naira we are expecting
more inflow to take advantage
of the low price stocks as most of
the blue chips are trading at 53
weeks low.”
ENERGY
Commenting as well, an investment
banker/Chartered Stockbroker,
Tajudeen Olayinka, said:
“The urge to move capital around
the world for greater portfolio return
(capital mobility) and the effect
of inflation on nominal values
could be responsible for
nominal increase in the value of
investments by foreign portfolio
investors. However, the fact that
economy and market did not really
feel the impact of such level
of capital flow, means that rising
inflation and exchange rate
movement were largely responsible
for the level of increase we
saw in the nine months of 2022.
“Since the figure for retail investors
is also a nominal value,
it follows clearly that inflation
and reinvestment of dividends
could have been responsible for
the increase in nominal value of
investment by that class of investors.”
Orji Kalu, PowerChina sign $500m
Agro-industrial parks deal
By Emma Ujah, Abuja
Bureau Chief
By Nkiruka Nnorom
WAVELINE Growth Partners
Limited, a Lagos-based
Microfinance Institution (MFI), said
it is poised to clinch a leadership
position in the microfinance sector
through creation and rendition of
unique products and services to its
clients.
The company also said it is set to
raise N500 million to expand its business.
The Chief Executive Officer, Mrs
Taba Peterside, who spoke at the
company’s five-year anniversary celebration
in Lagos, said that Waveline
has disbursed over 2000 loans worth
more than N300 million since its
IMO Sec Gen opens NIMASA new
headquarter
INDUSTRY
THE Secretary General of the
International Maritime Organization,
IMO, Mr. Kitack Lim, has
commissioned the ultra-modern
headquarters of the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety
Agency, NIMASA, located at
Victoria Island, Lagos.
Speaking during the commissioning
of the building, the IMO boss
expressed confidence in the leadership
of the transport sector of Nigeria
while also extolling the dynamic
role of the Minister of Transportation,
Engr. Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, and
the heads of the various parastatals
FORMER Governor of Abia
State, Sen. Orji Kalu and
PowerChina has signed a deal for
the establishment of five agro-industrial
parks worth $500 million in
different parts of the state.
Kalu is facilitating the parks
through SWIBER Africa in Alayi,
Igbere, Ozu Item, Abiriba and
Ukwueke.
According to him, PowerChina
and SWIBER Africa would jointly
fund the project to be handled by the
Chinese firm.
The former governor said that the
industrial parks would fulfil objectives
of providing employment opportunities
for members of the communities
and raising foreign exchange
for the country.
According to him, “everything produced
in the industrial park “will go
to feeding Nigerians and export”.
The Managing Director of
PowerChina Nigeria, Mr. Diego
Tian, said that the industrial parks
would focus on the production and
processing of rice, cassava and
cashew nuts and related products.
He added that the parks which will
occupy about 11,000 hectares land
would create new industries around
agriculture, boost Nigeria’s self-sufficiency
in food security and create
at least 20,000 direct jobs.
He also said that they would have
rice mills, processing plants for cassava
and cashew nuts and warehousing
for them, in addition to the production
of Ethanol and starch.
Electricity power generation, he
said, would be part of the project
which has been slated to take off at
the beginning of next year.
Waveline Growth Partners targets
leadership position
*Expresses confidence
in the maritime sector
leadership
inception in 2017.
According to her the MFI would
deploy improved technology and financial
services professionals to redefine
the business.
She stated: “In addition to increasing
our lending operations, we also
plan to broaden our product base to
include micro pensions and insurance,
among other offerings to
deepen our clients’ engagement with
the formal economy.
“Looking ahead, we are excited to
be part of all the innovations taking
place in Fintech, and look forward
to further expanding our financial
inclusion and empowerment mission
through technology and partnerships,”
Peterside said.
under the supervision of the Transportation
Ministry.
He also harped on the importance
of the human competency and capability
in the sector adding, however,
that leadership is the most paramount,
as has been exhibited at the
Transportation ministry.
Speaking also at the event, Sambo
expressed gratitude to the IMO
scribe for having a first-hand opinion
on the developmental strides in
Nigeria’s maritime sector. He stated
that Nigeria will strive to ensure Nigerian
maritime activities are in line
with best practices, while also embracing
new technologies in the frontier
of global maritime discourse.
Jamoh expressed appreciation to
the IMO boss for his goodwill to the
Nigeria maritime sector.
He informed him that NIMASA
has embarked on various projects in
the year, 2022, all with the aim of
ensuring a robust and conducive
maritime environment is attained in
Nigeria.

20 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 —21

22 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 — 23
AWARD:
From left, Managing
Director/Editor-in-
Chief, New Telegraph
Newspapers, Mr
Ayodele Aminu
presenting the award
of the Most Improved
Bank of the Year to the
Executive Director,
Lagos & South West,
Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr
Ken Opara; and
Divisional Head,
Brands and
Communication,
Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr
Meksley Nwagboh,
during the New
Telegraph 2022 Awards
at Federal Palace Hotel
in Lagos.
Senate refuses to approve N7bn refund to Kebbi
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA—THE
Senate
has refused to approve a
promissory note of N7 billion for
Kebbi State Government for
projects executed on behalf of the
Federal Government and has
given the state government two
weeks to defend claims.
However, the Senate
approved N18,663,843,119.39 for
Yobe State and
N2,470,525,729.54 for Taraba
State,
totally
N21,134,368,848.93 for the two
states for projects executed on
behalf of the Federal
Government.
In Taraba State, the project
was the reconstruction and
rehabilitation of Bali- Serti-
Gembu road which is 252
kilometers while the projects in
Yobe State were Damataru-
Magzu Road section of
Damataru- Biu Adamawa Road
within Yobe which is 77
kilometers; Nguru- Machina
Road (57 km) and Kaliyari-
Bayamari- Geidam road
(109km).
The refusal of that of Kebbi was
a sequel to the consideration of
the report of the Senator Clifford
Ordia, led Senate Committee on
Local and Foreign Debts.
According to Ordia, Governor
Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State
:Vanguard News
•Gives gov 2wks to defend claims
and the state government
refused to appear before the
Committee to defend the claim
of the money for the construction
of Malando, Garin Baka, Ngaski
road which is 42 kilometers and
the construction of Dabai,
Mahuta Koko road which is 87
kilometers.
The Chairman said," that the
Committee resolved to step down
Kebbi State government's
request due to its failure to
appear before the Committee to
defend its claims in respect of the
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Array of experts, personalities line up as
2nd Vanguard Mental Health Summit opens
By Sola Ogundipe &
Chioma Obinna
LAGOS—MENTAL health
takes the front burner today
as an array of enlightened
speakers and panelists gather to
deliberate on critical issues of
mental health in Nigeria, as the
2nd Vanguard Mental Health
Summit kicks off at the Eko
Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island,
Lagos.
Among the participants lined
up for the exciting event which
is endorsed by the Association
of Psychiatrists of Nigeria,
APN, are renowned
psychiatrists, psychologists,
social workers, administrators,
and experts in various fields
including fertility and
technology.
The event which is supported
by 9mobile Nigeria and Guaranty
Trust Bank Plc. will be chaired
by the President of the World
Medical Association, WMA, Dr.
Osahon Enabulele, with the
Lagos State Commissioner for
Health, Prof Akin Abayomi as
Special Guest of Honour.
The Summit, themed “Mental
Health in a Distressed
Economy”, and sub-themed
“Drug Abuse: A new force driving
mental health crises in Nigeria”
is designed to rekindle the
awareness on mental health,
tackle the challenges
surrounding the management of
the various mental disorders,
and mitigate their effects on the
community.
Leading the discourse is a
P r o f e s s o r o f
Psychiatry, Professor Francis
Olatunji Aina of the Department
of Psychiatry, College of
Medicine, University of Lagos -
a member of the Association of
Psychiatrists of Nigeria, APN,
who will present the keynote
address.
Notable among the speakers
is the Chairman of the National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency,
NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed,
will speak on the topic: “Growing
Problem of Substance Abuse:
The NDLEA Experience”.
His presentation will give
insight into the major reform of
the agency in revamping the
country’s narcotics challenge.
Also, the details of the ongoing
revolution on the issue of drug
use, and the rehabilitation of drug
users in the country will be
showcased.
The Acting Director-General
of the National Agency for Food
projects executed on behalf of the
Federal Government for which
it is seeking refund.
"It is the policy of the Senate
that if two senators from a state
are against the request by any
state government, such request
should be stepped down. In this
case, two Senators did not agree
with the request. The committee
will resume the consideration of
the outstanding request in
respect of Kebbi State
Government as soon as it is able
to defend its claims before the
Committee."
Meanwhile, Senators Adamu
Aliero, and Abdullahi Yahaya,
while speaking with Journalists
said as stakeholders, they would
not stop what would lead to the
development of the state, saying
that "N7 billion is huge for a poor
state like Kebbi to miss. But the
right thing must be done which
has to do with the state
government coming before the
Senate to defend the claims."
Earlier, the President of the
Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan,
asked the State Government to
appear to defend the claims,
giving the Committee two weeks
to report back.
Baby factory: Police rescue 6 girls,
6 months old baby in Nasarawa
LAFIA—OPERATIVES of the
Nasarawa State Police
Command, have uncovered a
suspected baby factory operating
under the guise of an orphanage
in Karu Local Government Area,
LGA, of the state.
The operatives have arrested
four suspects in the facility and
also rescued six young girls and
a baby of about six months.
In a statement, the state Police
Public Relations Officer, PPRO,
DSP Ramhan Nansel, informed
that detectives attached to Police
Area Command, New Karu
uncovered the factory located at
Ado Kasa on Thursday.
and Drug Administration and
Control, NAFDAC, Dr Monica
Eimunjeze, will speak on “The
Challenges of Tackling Drugs &
Substance Abuse and Drug Use
in Nigeria”, while the immediate
past Medical Director of the
Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr.
Oluwayemi Ogun, will speak on
“Mental Health in Children”.
To shed light on
the significance of fertility issues
among factors that contribute
to mental health
challenges, the Clinic Manager
of Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos,
Mrs Tola Ajayi, will speak on
“Infertility: Coping with
Depression”, even as
Ms Chineze Amanfo, a talented
and dedicated public relations
professional, and public relations
practitioner from the stable of
9mobile Nigeria, will be on hand
to add her voice to the discourse.
Also scheduled to speak is Dr
Babatunde Fadipe, a seasoned
psychiatrist and consultant
psychiatrist at the Lagos
University Teaching Hospital.
Fadipe who is a member of the
Suicide Research and
Prevention Initiative, SURPIN,
an organization established to
tackle the scourge of suicide
through research, will speak on
He said "The team arrested four
suspects in the facility and also
rescued six young girls and a
baby of about six months. The
owners of the factory are
operating an illegal orphanage,
St. Bridget Orphanage Home,
where they carry out their illegal
acts."
According to the police, the
proprietor of the orphanage
allegedly abducted underage
pregnant girls and held them
against their will till they deliver,
claiming that "children delivered
in the orphanage were sold to
highest bidders."
He said that the command had
“Suicide is a medical issue, not a
crime”.
Prof Taiwo Lateef Sheikh, the
immediate past President of the
Association of Psychiatrists of
Nigeria, APN, and the
Coordinator of the Vanguard
Mental Health Chat Room will
speak on the Chat Room and
allied issues.
A Deputy Director, Medical
Social Services at the Lagos
University Teaching Hospital
(LUTH), Ms. Titilayo Tade, and
the Training Coordinator for
Suicide Research & Prevention
Initiative (SURPIN) will speak on
“Coping with the stigma of
mental disorders - The LUTH
SURPIN experience”.
The Chief Consultant
Psychiatrist at the Federal
Neuropsychiatric Hospital
Annex, Oshodi, Lagos, Dr.
Olufunmilayo Akinola,
will coordinate the panelists’
session.
Among the panelists is Dr.
Juliet Ottoh, a Clinical
Psychologist an experienced
therapist with empathy with
years of fruitful experience from
the Department of Psychiatry,
Lagos University Teaching
Hospital, LUTH.
handed over the suspects and
the victims to the National
Agency for the Prohibition of
Trafficking in Persons, for further
investigation and prosecution.
Nansel noted that the
Commissioner of Police, Maiyaki
Muhammed-Baba, warned that
the command would mobilise
resources to go after criminals
operating in the state and urged
parents to take care of their
children.
The commissioner also urged
members of the public to avail
the police with credible
information that would assist in
taming criminals in the state.
Traffic: Niger begs NNPCL to
establish truck transit parks
MINNA—THE government
of Niger yesterday urged the
Nigerian National Petroleum
Company Limited, NNPCL, to
establish truck transit parks in
some strategic parts of the state to
reduce traffic on highways.
It identified towns such as Tafa,
Suleja, Mokwa, Bida, Tegina,
Lambata and Minna, as major areas
to be given attention in that regard.
The Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Mineral Resources in
Niger, Abubakar Idris, made the
call during the meeting of National
Council on Hydrocarbons
organised by the Ministry of
Petroleum Resources in
collaboration with the state
government.
According to him, the
establishment of the parks in the
identified areas will reduce traffic
on highways and generate revenue
for state and the country at large.
In the meeting entitled:
"Roadmap and Strategic Option
towards achieving energy transition
in Nigeria", Idris presented a
memorandum from the state
government to the council on the
need for the establishment of the
transit parks.
He explained that it would also
Delta LP House of Assembly
candidate unfolds agenda for
Bomadi
By Akinroye
Abdulazeez
AHEAD OF the 2023 general
elections, A Labour Party, LP,
House of Assembly candidate for
Bomadi State Constituency, Delta
State, Poweide Foburuku, has
unfolded his plans for the people of
his constituent if he is elected.
Among others, he pledged to
prioritize access to electricity for
maximum benefit of all communities
in Bomadi Local Government Area,
LGA.
Unfolding his plans for the LGA,
Foburuku said "I will cultivate
rapport with the executive arm of
government and work with other
legislators in the Assembly from
riverine areas to seek support secure
legislation that will make
government declare an emergency
on access to steady electricity in the
area long deprived of same.
"Government declaration of
LAGOS—PARAMOUNT Africa
made a statement introduction
as a key stakeholder and partner of
the African film industry at the
recently concluded Africa
International Film Festival, AFRIFF.
The Festival brought together
top-notch global and local
filmmakers, directors, actors,
executives and aspiring young
people from across various genres
of the film industry in Lagos.
The 11th edition of the weeklong
festival with the theme
"Indigenous to Global" featured
different movie and content
premieres and screenings,
workshops, pitch sessions,
networking events as well as an
award ceremony.
Paramount Africa formally
introduced itself to the African film
community through an excellently
curated panel session tagged “Meet
Paramount”. It was moderated by
Paramount Africa’s Culture Squad
member, Folu Storms, and featured
the Country Manager, Paramount
Africa, Bada Akintunde-Johnson;
the Vice President of Paramount
Africa's Comedy Central,
Nickelodeon and Creative
Services, Dillon Khan; as well as
the CEO and COO of Clive Morris
create a partnership between the
state and federal government to
reduce the negative effects of heavy
road traffic on highways, saying "the
trucking industry is indispensable
to the Nigerian economy as
truckers are responsible for
delivering fuel from depots to filling
stations where they are dispensed.
For these reasons, funds need to
be released to build truck parks for
ease of operations".
He also called for the
establishment of a frontier basin
development commission with its
headquarters in Niger.
According to him, the
establishment of the commission
will expedite the effective
implementation of Petroleum Host
Community Trust Fund and frontier
basin exploration fund as captured
in the Petroleum Industry Act 2021
with headquarters in Niger.
He said that the Nigeria's frontier
basins consist of Anambra basin,
the lower, middle and upper Benue
trough, the South eastern sector of
the Chad basin, the Mid-Niger
(Bida) basin and Sokoto basin.
Idris said that the basins would
be better positioned for the
opportunities in the hydrocarbons
natural gas, oil and other minerals.
emergency on electricity not only
holds the potential to generate
employment in many spheres and
guarantee security, it can boost
revenue generation for
government via taxation and halt
rural-urban drift. It is thus a
harbinger of positive socioeconomic
development. The
benefits that come with the simple
electrical bulbs, television,
computers and now cell phones are
yet to trickle down to my people for
lack of access to steady electricity",
Foburuku, who read electrical/
electronic engineering, lamented.
According to him, with electricity,
the people of Bomadi LGA can be
empowered with unique technical
and digital skills to prepare them for
the benefits the robust gig
economy already holds out to this
and the incoming generation. I will
attract and decentralize Technical
and Digital Skills Training Centres
to make them close to the people so
especially our youths can keep up
with a fast-paced digital world."
Paramount Africa hosts content
pitch for filmmakers at AFRIFF
Productions, CMP, South Africa,
Clive Morris and Khayelihle Dom
Gumede respectively.
Paramount Africa also hosted a
pitch session where over 300
filmmakers were given the
opportunity to present their ideas
across four genres: feature film, TV
series, documentary, and reality. Of
the total submissions received, the
creators of the 15 top content ideas
were invited for a physical pitch to a
select jury of international content
producers for a chance to collaborate
with Paramount and be a part of
future co-production and co-funding
opportunities.
"Providing co-production and cofunding
opportunities for
indigenous storytellers aligns with
our philosophy of leveraging the
power of content to reimagine the
global Africa narrative and celebrate
the continent's people, culture, and
heritage. In addition to the coproduction
and co-funding
opportunities, we would consider
some of the selected content from
the pitches to feature on the
Paramount+ platform when it is
launched in Africa, thereby
ensuring that we have local content
that will be accessed and enjoyed
by a truly global audience," said Bada
Akintunde-Johnson.

24 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
By Ise-Oluwa Ige
In this piece, Vanguard Law
and Human Rights examines
the background facts
surrounding the on-going
clamour for exclusion of
serving judges from
handling pre and post
election matters, harvests
views of lawyers and judges
in the country on the issue
and argues that logic is in
favour of retaining the status
quo.
Background
BETWEEN 2004 and 2006, the
Supreme Court under the
leadership of the second longest
serving Chief Justice of Nigeria,
Justice Muhammad Uwais grabbed
the headlines but for the wrong
reasons.
Although allegations of corruption
against judicial officers at the lower
courts were rife before, during and
after the period, such was rare at the
apex level of the judicature.
One of such rare occasions when
the SC was tarred was in 1993 when
a political case involving a business
mogul and presidential candidate of
the Social Democratic Party, SDP,
Chief Moshood Abiola came before
the court.
The Saturday title of the Concord
Press of Nigeria called Weekend
Concord had published a report
which alleged that the defunct
government of the Military President
of Nigeria, Gen Ibrahim Babangida
bribed each Justice of the Supreme
Court with Mercedez Benz E220 in
order to influence them to give a
legal imprimatur to the
controversial annulment of the 1993
presidential election believed to have
been won by MKO Abiola.
The serious allegation of
corruption against the Supreme
Court posed a challenge to its role
as the guardian of the constitution,
its image and legitimacy to
pronounce on matters that come
before it.
The apex bench did not waste time
as it sued the Concord Press at the
Lagos High Court, during which
available documentary evidence
proved the allegation to the contrary
while the Concord Press tendered an
unreserved apology to the justices of
the Supreme Court.
Justice Uwais-led S’Court battles
serious corruption allegation
between 2004 and 2006
But between 2004 and 2006,
another attempt was made by some
individuals to tar the image of the
apex bench over an appeal in a
political case involving a former
Governor of Delta State, Chief James
Ibori.
The summary of the case was that
two non-governmental
organisations—the Derivation Front
and Delta Elders Forum—had
issued a press release in January
2003 to allege that Ibori who was
the serving governor was not
qualified to have contested the 1999
gubernatorial election in Delta State,
having been allegedly convicted and
sentenced to a one year jail term in a
case of negligent conduct and
criminal breach of trust on
September 28, 1995, by an Upper
Area Court, Bwari in FCT, Abuja.
The two organisations had relied
on the provision of section 182 (1)
(e) of the 1999 Constitution which
bars an ex-convict from seeking
elective office in the country.
The Section 182 (1) (e) specifically
provides: “No person shall be
qualified for election to the office of
governor of a state if within a period
EDITORIAL TEAM
Ise-Oluwa Ige, PhD
Innocent
EDITORIAL
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Innocent
Ikechukwu
Anaba
Nnochiri
Henry Ojelu
( Editor)
Send
Ikechukwu
your mails
Nnochiri
and
enquiries
Henry
to:
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lawandhumanrights
Onozure Dania
@vanguardngr.com
of less than 10 years before the date
of election to the office of governor
of a state, he has been convicted and
sentenced for an offence involving
dishonesty or he has been found
guilty of the contravention of the
Code of Conduct.”
The promoters of the allegation
were evidently out to stop Ibori from
contesting the 2003 governorship
election in the oil rich Delta State.
But the governor had denied that
he ever stood any trial at the Upper
Area Court in Abuja in 1995 or at
any other time.
A lawsuit was, therefore, instituted
by two Deltans, including Dr
Goodnews Agbi at the High Court
of the Federal Capital Territory
based on the charge sheet they widely
circulated to stop James Onanefe
Ibori from contesting the 2003
gubernatorial election In the state.
The matter travelled from the high
court to the Supreme Court, where
the apex bench held that by the
charge sheet, there was indeed a
conviction but that the litigants
should go back to the high court for
a fresh trial to establish whether or
not the James Onanefe Ibori that
was convicted on September 28,
1995, by the Upper Area Court,
Bwari was the same James Onanefe
Ibori that was the sitting governor of
Delta State.
The case, for the second time,
travelled from the high court to the
Supreme Court where the apex
bench decided that though one
James Onanefe Ibori was convicted
by the Bwari Upper Area Court, yet,
the governor of Delta State, Chief
James Onanefe Ibori was not
sufficiently identified as the same
James Onanefe Ibori of Delta State
that was convicted in 1995.
The aggrieved promoters of the
lawsuit, however, alleged that the
Supreme Court decision was bought
by Ibori for N5billion.
At another time, it was alleged that
the then CJN, Justice Uwais
travelled to London with Ibori during
the pendency of the case with his wife
during which a whopping sum of
£3.5million exchanged hands to
negotiate Ibori’s November 8, 2004,
legal victory at the Abuja High
Court.
The allegations did an
incalculable damage to the image
of the judiciary at the time as
stakeholders including former
World Court judge, Prince Bola
Ajibola, advised Justice Uwais to
speak out or sue his accusers if the
allegations were untrue.
Uwais who rarely gave press
interviews during his tenure as the
head of the judiciary was pained by
the allegation and decided to
explain his side of the story in an
interview with select media
including the Vanguard.
Justice Uwais weeps over
allegation of corruption
During the interview attended by
this reporter, Uwais battled tears to
deny the allegation thus: “It is a lie. I
did not travel to London with Ibori.
Neither did my wife nor the Chief
Registrar travel with him for any
reason. I have been on the bench for
31 years. This is the first time ever in
my career that I am being accused
of taking bribe. It has been done
twice in this Ibori case. Why? Why?
Why should that be?”
Not quite a month after the
£3.5million bribery allegation in the
Ibori case was made against Justice
Uwais, an auto-firm, Globe Motors
Holding Limited locked in a N20
billion lawsuit with its rival, The
Honda Place Limited, filed a motion
at the Supreme Court in the same
2005 asking the Justice Uwais to
disqualify himself from the resumed
hearing in the matter on the account
of likelihood of bias.
The lawyer of the Globe Motors
Holding Limited, one Ephraim
Duru, who moved the application to
disqualify Justice Uwais in the open
Court on June 20, 2005, said they
would not want the Chief Justice to
sit on the matter because of certain
developments in the case, including
the on-going allegation of bribery
against him in the Ibori case.
As soon as the allegation was
made, there was a pin drop silence
inside the courtroom. As if in a coven,
the justices gathered their heads
together to discuss in a hushed tone
the next line of action.
In less than 90 seconds, Justice Idris
Kutigi now late asked Duru from the
high bench if he knew the implication
of what he just said, threatening that
the court might direct him to remove
his wig and gown and enter the dock
to substantiate his allegation.
Notwithstanding the threat, Duru
refused to eat his words as he insisted
that he stood by his position.
The court had to rise for the day. It
was that bad.
Uwais accusers disbarred
over failure to prove
corruption allegation
The matter was taken up by the
Supreme Court and it is history today
that not only Ephraim Duru but also
the two lawyers, who were at the
forefront of the campaign of
calumny against the ex-CJN Uwais
and the Supreme Court were
disbarred over the matter having
failed woefully to prove the
damaging allegations against
Justice Uwais.
Why serving judges should
be excluded from handling
election-related cases—
Justices Uwais, Kanyip
It was, therefore, not surprising
when Justice Uwais, before and after
he retired from the bench canvassed
for the use of retired justices to handle
political cases particularly the
election petition matters to spare the
judiciary of battling frivolous and
unnecessary scandals.
According to him, most of the
scandals that shook the judiciary in
the past emanated from politicians
who lost their cases in court and felt
that the judicial officers, who gave
such judgment must suffer for doing
their jobs.
In 2013, the trial judge of a Lagos
division of the National Industrial
Court, Justice B. Kanyip, now
President of the Industrial Court had
also canvassed for a system barring
serving judicial officers from
08179614306/08152060944
SANs disagree with Uwais, Babalola on
use of retired judges for election cases
*Former CJN, Justice Muhammad Uwais
Justice Kanyip who
argued that the
country was blessed
with plenty talented
retired judges, who
were not yet tired
said that embracing
his suggestion
would also not only
be economically
wise, but afford the
country to further
benefit from the
wisdom and
experience of the
retired judges
*AareAfe Babalola, SAN
entertaining election related cases in
the country.
The judge who advocated the use
of retired judges for such political
cases was of the view that taking
away such responsibility from the
serving judges would not only reduce
the courts’ dockets but also insulate
serving Judges and safeguard their
integrity especially in the eyes of
discerning public
Justice Kanyip who argued that the
country was blessed with plenty
talented retired judges, who were not
yet tired said that embracing his
suggestion would also not only be
economically wise, but afford the
country to further benefit from the
wisdom and experience of the retired
judges.
17 years after, Babalola,
SAN, backs Uwais, Kanyip
on exclusion of serving
judges from election petition
matters
A foremost Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, Aare Afe Babalola, had also
recently argued in favour of using
retired judges to handle election
petition matters.
According to him: “There have
been accusations and counteraccusations
from politicians
regarding the integrity of some
tribunals. Most of these accusations
and allegations ranging from the
plausible to the ludicrous have often
been made or informed by no other
factor than the side of the political
divide on which the politician
making the allegation has found
himself on account of the judgment
sought to be impugned.
“Cases have been reported in
which parties to election petitions
already submitted to court for
adjudication and in some cases even
already adjourned for judgment,
declared openly that the outcome or
judgment of the petition would be
favourable to them. Some have been
reported to have distributed
traditional wear or uniforms
amongst their party members and
supporters and made extensive
elaborate preparations for
celebrations, including
engagements of musicians all before
the actual judgement of the tribunal
or appellate court is delivered.
“At one time, there were allegations
by a particular set of petitioners that
the respondent, and also incumbent
governor of the state at that time, was
about to take steps to arrest by
judicial means, the imminent
delivery of the judgment of the
appellate court. The respondent in
reply, aside from a denial of the
allegation, posed the question
whether the petitioners had not by
their allegation, inadvertently given
away the fact that they were already
privy to the contents of a judgment
yet to be delivered.
“He queried why they would be so
bothered that anyone was trying to
arrest a judgment if they had not been
assured that it (the judgment) would
be in their favour? He stated further
that the petitioners had already
distributed celebration uniforms to
their supporters. The judgment, when
it was eventually delivered, was in
favour of the petitioners.
“In yet another case, a newspaper
reported soon after conclusions of
arguments on a contentious
application before a tribunal, that
the application had been granted by
the said tribunal. This was despite
the fact that the tribunal was yet to
deliver its ruling on the said
application. It had as a matter of fact
adjourned its ruling by over 48 hours
Continues on page 25
C
M
Y
K

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 — 25
vicahiyoung@yahoo.com
(08052202308)
SANs disagree with Uwais, Babalola on
use of retired judges for election cases
Continues from Page 24
in open court.
“When this anomaly was
investigated, it was
discovered that the media
accounts of the grant of the
application were influenced
by a media statement sent to
several media houses before
the actual delivery of the
ruling in open court by one
of the media assistants to one
of the parties in the petition.
Most curiously, the eventual
decision of the tribunal, when
it was eventually handed
down by which it granted the
application, tallied with the
accounts reported by the
newspapers a day before.
“Having regard to the
numerous, persistent, and
disturbing accusations made
against election tribunal
judges by desperate
politicians, the coincidence
or otherwise of judgments
which were predicted by
politicians, who had made
victory preparation in
advance of the judgments,
and the tempting pressure in
a poor economy, is it proper
for serving judges to handle
political cases?
“In any event, whether the
“prediction” of politicians
regarding the outcome of yet
to be delivered judgments
pans out or not, the integrity
of the judiciary is always the
ultimate loser. This is so for
if the “prediction” is found
to be correct, the losing side
will forever point to the fact
that the judgment had
already been known well in
advance of the delivery of
same. If on the other hand
the “prediction” is found to
be false, then supporters of
the losing side will also
forever allege that some
underhand dealings were
responsible for the change in
the judgment from what they
had been told or assured to
expect.
“This heightened level of
attention and criticism is
bound to affect the psyche of
some judges and rub off on
their ability to discharge
their duty. It exposes them in
several instances to a
situation in which their every
conduct and pronouncement
is expected to measure up not
to the dictates of the law but
to the high and often
misguided and misplaced
expectation of the public
which in most cases is totally
ignorant of the position of the
law. “Judges being human
beings and not infallible may
sometimes unwittingly yield
to some of these pressures
and let themselves be
influenced by totally
irrelevant factors.
Furthermore, serving judges
are of course very much
interested in career
advancement,” Chief
Babalola had argued,
A prominent member of
the inner bar, Mr. Samuel
Okutepa, SAN, had also
voted in favour of using
retired judges to handle
election petition cases.
Notwithstanding the
calibre of Nigerians
clamouring for amendment
of relevant sections of the
1999 Constitution to exclude
serving judges from
handling election petition
matters, there are also topflight
legal practitioners who
argued that it was better not
to disturb the status quo,
arguing that using retired
judges would worsen the
*AareAfe Babalola, SAN
situation.
Some of the top legal
practitioners, who spoke on the
issue are former President of
the Nigerian Bar Association,
NBA, Mr. OCJ Okocha, SAN,
a member of the inner bar and
renowned academic, Prof.
Akinseye George, SAN, a
prominent member of the
inner bar and former lead
counsel to Muhammadu
Buhari, Chief Mike Ahamba,
SAN, and an Abuja-based silk,
Mr. Israel Olorundare, SAN.
Okocha disagrees with
Uwais, Babalola, others
According to Okocha,
“Even if retired judges are
used, the integrity of the
judiciary is still at stake. And
then we all know that our
judges retire from the high
court at the age of 65 while
they retire at the age of 70 from
the Court of Appeal and the
Supreme Court.
“Knowing Nigeria for what
it is with our medical facilities,
and knowing the judges
themselves with the conditions
they find themselves when they
retired, most of them are old
and feeble.
I do not think they are suited
to do the rigorous work of the
election tribunal.
“Besides, election petition
cases are time-bound. They
have limited time to do their
work so that the country can
move forward. I don’t
subscribe to the fact that
retired justices should be
brought back from retirement
to sit on election petitions.
“I am aware that the
alternative they proposed
when they were doing
constitutional review was the
creation of constitutional
courts to hear only political
matters such as election
petition matter to determine
who was properly and validly
elected. It did not scale
through.
“I think proliferation of
courts is not even a good thing.
I believe that the regular
judges, who have their
reputation at stake should be
allowed to do the job. They
know that if they allow
politicians to corrupt them,
then, their image is already
tarnished.
“And let me say this:
politicians like to raise all
those issues: oh, it was a
political judgment. It was a
kangaroo court. But a fair
conscience fears no
accusation. Judges who
constitute election petition
tribunals and have done their
work with truth and justice in
mind, will not listen to all
those frivolous allegations.
They will do their job. And if
they know there is one
authority over them, the NJC,
if they go and soil their hand
and an allegation is booked
against them, then, their
whole career as a whole will
be put in jeopardy. For all
those reasons, the sitting
judges should continue.
“I know that this will affect
their regular cases but that is
the sacrifice lawyers and their
clients will have to make. And
it depends on how the judges
schedule their work. They
should schedule their work in
such a way that even if they
go for election petition which
is time bound, they will be in
a position to come back to
finish or continue with the
pending cases they have
before their regular courts,”
he submitted.
3 reasons we should not
fall into error of using retired
judges —Prof George
A renowned academic,
Prof. George, SAN, said he
disagreed with those
canvassing for amendment of
the constitution to exclude
serving judges from handling
election petition cases.
He said: “Honestly, I do
not think we should use
retired judges to handle
election petition matters for
three reasons. One, retired
judges are no longer legally
contracted. They have
concluded their tenure. That
tenure is what gives them
some form of extra
allegiance to the state. The
fear of being dismissed for
misbehaviour is no longer
there. And it is very important
in a matter of election
petition,
“Two, most of the retired
judges are old. None of them
is less than 65 years. Most of
them are 65 and above
because at the high court, they
retire compulsorily at 65. At
the Appeal and Supreme
Court, they retire
compulsorily at 70. So,
already, they are no longer
dynamic. The election
matters are very tasking,
loaded and time-bound. It is
energy sapping.
Continue reading on
Vanguardngr.com
Bankers, others fume
over poor pay,
exploitations
Stories by Victor
Ahiuma-Young
ANKERS and other
Bworkers in the nation’s
financial sector are
not finding the working
environment and conditions
of service in the sector
palatable and are taking
the situation lightly.
Under the aegis of the
National Union of Banks,
Insurance and Financial
Employees, NUBIFIE,
the workers are unhappy
over their poor pay, exploitation
and unfair labour
practices their employers
have been subjected.
The workers who made
their feelings known at
the NUBIFIE’s National
Executive Council, NEC,
meeting in Abuja, contended
that the matter is
being made worse by the
continuous subversion of
workers’ right to collective
bargaining through deliberate
emasculation of Nigeria
Employer’s Association
of Banks, Insurance
and Allied Institutions,
NEABIAI, by employers
in the banking and insurance
sector, in clear
breach of relevant labour
laws and regulations, including
International Labour
Organisation, ILO
conventions duly ratified
by Nigeria.
Vanguard captures the
minds of the workers as
presented by the President
of NUBIFIE, Anthony
Obakpa.
According to Obakpa,
members of the NEC at
the meeting expressed
disappointment over the
poor rewards system in
the sector that cannot be
commensurate with their
workload.
He said after exhaustive
deliberations, “the meeting
came to the conclusion
that workers in the finance
industry, in particular
banks and insurance
companies have for long
been subjected to strenuous
work schedules and
unwholesome expectation
target demands by
employers, with less commensurate
rewards for
workers.
“The continuous subversion
of workers’ right
to collective bargaining
through deliberate emasculation
of Nigeria Employer’s
Association of
Banks, Insurance and
Allied Institutions, NEA-
BIAI, by its own members,
namely, employers
in the banking and insurance
sector, in clear
breach of relevant labour
laws and regulations, including
ILO conventions
duly ratified by Nigeria.
“Given the unilateral
nature in the determination
of worker’s conditions
of service including
disciplinary related matters,
as well as the restrictions
of fundamental
rights to free expression
and right of dissent at a
workplace by employers,
and for over a decade,
efforts by the Union to get
the attention of the government
to remedy the
situation were all futile,
until now that the current
government saw the urgency
of the situation and
had to convene stakeholders
meeting comprising
employers in
both banks and insurance
companies, including
Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN, Nigeria Employers’
Consultative Association
NECA as well as the
Outsourcing companies,
among others.
“The painstaking coordination
of the stakeholders
deliberations and providing
appropriate guidance
and guidelines as
an impartial umpire all
through the process of
data gathering and subsequent
reviews before
the unanimous adoption
of the final contents of the
guidelines by the stakeholders.
The Federal
Ministry of Labour and
Employment has been
thorough and professional
in this regard. Of specific
mention here is Minister
of Labour and Employment,
Senator Chris
Ngige whom our Union
owes a debt of gratitude
and appreciation for
standing his ground in
defense of workers in the
banking and insurance
sector.
We cannot but mentioned
the moral and
technical support of the
Congress, NLC, especially
the constant intervention
and personal commitment
of the Congress
President, Ayuba Wabba
in ensuring the conclusion
of the sectoral guidelines
despite the associated
challenges.
“As a Union, we understand
this sectoral guideline
as a panacea for promotion
of industrial peace
and harmony in the banking
and insurance sub
sector, as its primary objectives
is to create balance
and equity in the
reward system for all categories
of workers, especially
non permanent
workforce, at workplace.
The sectoral guidelines
seek to fill the gap in the
absence of Collective Bargaining
mechanism,
which is a right step towards
compliance with
relevant labour laws as
well as ILO conventions
on workers right to collective
bargaining.
“Union expects employers
in the sector
(whether as principal or
agent) to embrace the
sectoral guidelines with
open mind as the whole
document is centered on
workers welfare and
shared opportunities,
which engender commitment,
loyalty and enhanced
productivity.
As a Union, we expect
collaboration and partnership
from our employers
in the seamless
implementation of the
sectoral guidelines. We
are hopeful employers in
the sector would not make
the implementation of the
guidelines problematic,
in the interest of industrial
peace and harmony.”
ASCSN appoints Apebo Secretary-General
THE Association of Se
nior Civil Servants of
Nigeria, ASCSN, has appointed
Joshua Apebo as its
Secretariat-General.
Apebo, who is the Deputy
Secretary-General, DSG, of
the Association, will take over
from January, 2023. He will
take-over the incumbent Secretary-General,
Alade Bashir
–Lawal, whose tenure ends
on December 31, 2022.
President of ASCSN, Dr
Tommy Okon, who gave this
hint during the Association’s
National Executive Council,
NEC, meeting in Lagos,
among others, informed that
“a new substantive Secretary-
General, in the person of
Joshua Apebo, has been appointed
effective, January
2023, explaining that the tenure
of the incumbent Secretary-General,
Alade Bashir –
Lawal, would end on December
31, 2022, ending the oneyear
contract given to him to
•Joshua Apebo
stabilize the Association after
retirement.”
Meanwhile, a statement by
ASCSN’s President and the
outgoing Secretary-General,
among others, said “Apebo
was the Deputy Secretary-
General of the Association
from 1st March, 2019 until
his elevation to the post of
Secretary-General. He joined
the service of the Association
of Senior Civil Servants of
Nigeria on the 5th January,
2001.
“He has a Bachelor of Arts
(BA) Degree in Public Administration
in 1998 from the
Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria and also Master of Science
(MSc) Degree in Public
Administration in 2007 from
the University of Maiduguri,
Maiduguri. He has attended
series of Trade Union Courses,
Seminars and Workshops
which have impacted positively
on his performance.
Apebo has served the Association
in Borno State, Adamawa
State and Benue
State. On the 1st May, 2014,
Comrade Apebo was promoted
to the post of Assistant Secretary-General
and transferred
to the National Headquarters
of the Association in
Lagos.”

26 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
SEKONI
I, formerly known and addressed
as MISS SEKONI TINUBU
ANUOLUWAPO, now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS.
BAMITEKO TINUBU
ANUOLUWAPO. All former
documents remain valid.General
public take note.
EYITEMI OB
ENIYAN ASHIEN
I Formerly known and
addressed as OBUROH
JOYCE EYITEMI now wish
to be known and addressed as
OBUROH JOYCE
Henceforth all former
documents remain valid
General public take note
ASHEMIROGEA
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS.
ASHEMIROGEA EVIDENCE,
now wish to be known and
addressed as MRS. ADEDIJI
EVIDENCE. All documents
bearing my former name
remain valid, general public
take note.
MEASHEL
This is to confirm that the names
U M U A K P E R O
ARUORIWOGHENE MEASHEL
and UMUAKPERO ARUORIWO
MEASHEL refer to the same person.
I now wish to be known as
UMUAKPERO ARUORIWO
MEASHEL. All former documents
remain valid. Banks and the general
public please take note.
This is to confirm that the names
ABUSONWAN ENIYAN
MICHAEL and ABUSOMWAN
ENIYAN MICHAEL Refer to one
and same person now wish to be
known and addressed as
ABUSOMWAN ENIYAN
MICHAEL Henceforth all former
documents remain valid General
public take note
ETSEMITAN
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS.
ETSEMITAN ENDURANCE
FAVOUR ODIRI, now wish to
be known and addressed as
MRS. ATUMAH FAVOUR
EFE. All documents bearing
my former name remain valid,
general public take note.
SALIU
I, formerly known as
PHILLIPS ABOSEDE
OLAOLUWA , now wish to be
known and addressed as
SALIU ABOSEDE GRACE
OLAOLUWA. All former
documents remain valid.
General public should take
note.
LUKE
I Formerly known as
Eyerengba Patience now
wish to be known and
address as Mrs. Luke Barbara
Patience. Former documents
remain valid general public
take note.
UWERHIAVWE
I, formerly known and addressed
as UWERHIAVWE RITA, now
wish to be known and addressed
as IRHIRHI RITA KEVWE. All
former documents remain valid.
The general public should please
take note.
I, formerly known and addressed
as ONYINYE MARTHA
ASHIEN, now wish to be known
and addressed as MRS.
EGHIATOR GIFT MARTHA.
Former documents remain valid.
General public, to whom it may
concern please take note.
SUCCESS
I, formerly known and addressed
as MISSION SUCCESS
YASOMBOZIBE and OBUGU
YASOMBOZIBE, now wish to be
known and addressed as MISSION
YASOMBOZIBE NORYE. All
former documents remain valid.
General public please take note.
AZEKHUEMHEN
I, formerly miss
AZEKHUEMHEN VIOLET
AREBOHJIE, now wish to be
addressed as MRS VIOLET
AREBOHJIE ADELEYE.
Former documents remain
valid general public take note.
OLUKUNLE
I, formally known and addressed
as Miss Olanike Omotola
OMOLEHIN, now wish to be
known and addressed as Mrs.
Olanike Omotola OLUKUNLE.
All former documents remain
valid. The general public, please
take note.
AROKWE
I, formerly known and addressed
as AROKWE STANLEY
CHISOM, now wish to be known
and addressed as PIUS CHISOM.
Former documents remain valid.
General public, to whom it may
concern please take note.
ENO OD
I, formerly known and addressed
as ESEME ESTHER ENO and
ESEME ESTHER, now wish to
be known and addressed as ESEME
ESTHER NDAH. All former
documents remain valid. General
public please take note.
CHARLES CHRIS DAVID
TILAPA OD
I, formerly known called and I, formerly known as CHRIS I, formerly known called and I, formerly known called and
addressed as OMOFUMA
addressed as Miss. Pamei addressed as MISS TILAPA
IDOWU AREMOLA, now
CHARLES, now wish to be
Mercy and David Akeme, now ESE ESTHER, now wish to be
addressed as EHIMARE wish to be known as wish to be addressed as Mrs. addressed as MRS
CHARLES. All former ABIODUN IDOWU. All Mercy Akeme Onojaefe. All AIGBADON ESE ESTHER.
documents remain valid Bank documents remain valid.
former documents remain All former documents remain
and the general public should
valid, the general public should valid, the general public should
please take note.
General public take note. please take note.
please take note.
AYEWA
OVIAWE
OMON
OMOROGBA
I formerly known and I formerly known and I formerly known and I formerly known and
addressed as, Miss Ayewa addressed as, Oviawe Loveth addressed as, Blessing Omon addressed as, Omorogba
Amehi, now wish to be known Eduzola, now wish to be Musa, now wish to be known Godwin, now wish to be
and addressed as, Mrs known and addressed as,
known and addressed as,
and addressed as, Musa
Elimihe Faith Amehi, all Osamhanze Loveth
Omologbe Godwin, all
Salamat Blessing, all former
former documents remains Ehiabhi, all former document
former document remains
valid, general public take remains valid, general public
documents remains valid, valid, general public take
note.
take note.
general public take note note
NWAODUM
IYOHA ABUDU TEBITE
I formerly known and I formerly known and I Formerly known and I Formerly known and addressed
addressed as, Nwaodum
as TEBITE CAESAR NEIRO,
addressesd as, Miss Iyoha addressed as RASHIDI was wrongly spelt as NETRO
Miracle Ebube, now wish Lovina Irosayike, now wish DODODAWA Now wish to be captured on my University
to be known and addressed to be known and addressed known and addressed as statement of result was wrongly
as, Maxwell Miracle as, Mrs Odianosen Lovina
spelt as NETRO instead of NEIRO
ABUDU RASHIDI
Ebube, all former documents
that i now wish to be known and
Irosayike, all former DODOAWA. All former addressed as TEBITE CAESAR .
remains valid, general public documents remains valid, documents remain valid All former documents remain valid
take note
general public take note. general public please take note general public please take note
ERAKPOWERI
ULEBE
ISAMU
EGUMONA
I Formerly known and I formerly known and addressed as I Formerly known and addressed I Formerly known and
addressed as:ERAKPOWERI Miss ONOSORHUE as MRS. ISAMU PATIENCE addressed as: MR. MATHIAS
DEBORAH, Now wish to be OMOTEKOBA. now wish to be ESE, ESSI ESE and ESSI OFAGBE Now wish to be
Known and addressed as Mrs
known and addressed as
PATIENCE ESE Now wish to be known and addressed as:
ULEBE OMOTEKOBA. All
OHWADUA DEBORAH. All
known and addressed as MRS.
former document remain vaild.
OFAGBE MATHIAS
former documents remain
ESE PATIENCE OREKEVWIE.
General public, banks and
EGUMONA. All former
valid general public please take concerned institution should All former documents remain valid documents remain valid
note
please take note.
general public please take note. general public please take note
SAGEN
OGBUKA
OKON
I, formerly known,call and I, formerly known,call and I, formerly known as Miss
addressed as.MISS. KENNE addressed as.OGBUKA Mfonobong Sunday Robert,
EDITH but,now wish to be PRINCE CHIJIOKE but,now now wish to be known and
known,call and address as. wish to be known,call and
addressed as Mrs Mfonobong
MRS. SAGEN EDITH address as.AUSTINE
KENNE. All documents PRINCE. CHIJIOKE. . All
Samuel Okon. All former
bearing former names remain documents bearing former documents remain valid.
valid. General public, please names remain valid. General General public should take
take note.
public, please take note. note.
ADESANYA
PAUL
I, formerly known as
I, formerly known and
Adesanya Abosede Adetayo,
addressed as JEREMIAH
now wish to be known and
SAMSON, now wish to be
addressed as Adejumo
known and addressed as
JEREMIAH SAMSON PAUL.
Abosede Adetayo. All former
All former document remain
documents remain valid.
valid. Banks , concerned
General public should take
authorities and general public
note.
should please take note.
JAMES
This is to confirm that the names
JAMES JOY, JAMES JOY
OLUCHI and JAMES JOY
ENUDIOLUCHI belong to one and
same person, now wish to be
known as JAMES JOY OLUCHI.
Former documents remain valid
general public take note.
MENSA
I, formerly known as
ADAGHORUFO MENSA, now
wish to be known and addressed
as ADARIGHOFUA
MENSAH. All former
documents remain valid.
General public should take
note.
MODEME
I, formerly known and addressed
as MODEME PRISCILLA
UZOR, now wish to be known
and addressed as ENWEAZU
PRISCILLA UZOR. All former
document remain valid. Banks,
concerned authorities and general
public should please take note.
ISHAKA
I formerly known as
O G H E N E K E V W E
AGHOGHOGHENE EDITH
and ISHAKA EDITH, now
wish to be known and addressed
as ISHAKA EDITH
AGHOGHO. All former documents
remain valid general public please
take note.
ATANARUNO
I Formerly known and addressed as
ATANARUNO IRUOGHENE
FAVOUR now wish to be known
and addressed as ABUSOMWAN
IRUOGHENE FAVOUR.
Henceforth all former documents
remain valid General public take
note
OBRIKI NWOSU
I Formerly known and addressed
as Miss Efe Tracy Laurentta
Obriki now wish to be known and
addressed as Mrs Laurentta
Omomidue . Henceforth all former
documents remain valid General
public take note
LEO
I, formerly known and addressed
as FREEMAN ALI LEO, now
wish to be known and addressed
as FREEMAN ALI
BARALANYO. All former
documents remain valid. General
public please take note.
OGOR
I, formerly known and
addressed as Ogomegbunam
Cynthia Nkeaka and Cynthia
Ogor Nkeaka now wish to be
known and addressed as
Ogomegbunam Cynthia
Macarthy.All former
documents remain
valid.General public take note.
OMOSUN
I formerly known and
addressed as, Abhademere
Efe, now wish to be known
and addressed as, Omosun
Efe Blessing, all former
document remains valid,
general public take note.
OFOUWINOR
I Formerly known and addressed
as. MISS. OFOUWINOR.
ESTHER. Now wish to be known
and addressed as. MRS.
WURUSIBEWEI. ESTHER.
WAREGBOLOGHABOFA. All
former documents remain valid
general public please take note
AZORBO
That the names AZORBO MOses ,
Azorbo .t. Moses, Azorbo Moses .t ,
Moses Azorbo And Azorbo Moses
Tamarauemomoemi Belongs To One
And Same Person though it appears
differently in some of my documents.
henceforth, I Wish To Be Known As
Azorbo Moses Tamarauemomoemi.
Former Documents Remain Valid.
General Public Banks And All
Concerned Institutions Take Note
STEVE
I, formerly known as STEVE
OBORO, now wish to be
known and addressed as
EREWA OBORO. All former
documents remain valid.
General public should take
note.
DANIEL
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Chikezie
Blessing Emeka, now wish to
be known and addressed as Mrs
Daniel Blessing Emeka. All
documents bearing my former
name remain valid.Banks,
general public take note.
EMOR
This is to confirm that in my
account and BVN, I used the
name EMOR ARTOI instead
of TIMINIMI EMOR ARTOI,
now wish to be known as
TIMINIMI EMOR ARTOI.
Former documents remain
valid general public please take
note.
EG
ISRAEL
I Formerly known and addressed
as MISS AGHWANA MERIT
EGUONOR now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS
ISRAEL MERIT EGUONOR
Henceforth all former documents
remain valid General public take
note
NWAEZE
I, formerly known as MISS
IZUAGBE ONAZOTSENA
ELIZABETH, now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS.
NWAEZE ONAZOTSENA
ELIZABETH. All former
documents remain valid. The
general public please take note.
HENRY
This is to certify that the names
OGEI HENRY EYENIMI and
HENRY OGEI as seen in my
documents refer to one and same
me. I now wish to be known and
addressed as OGEI HENRY
EYENIMI. All former documents
remain valid. General public please
take note.
OKAFOR
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS OKAFOR
CHARITY NNENNA now
wish to be known and addressed
as MRS EKECHI CHARITY
NNENNA. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take
note.
FELIX
I formerly known and
addressed as, Oseghale
Marvis Ebosetale, now wish
to be known and addressed
as, Felix Marvis Ebosetale,
all former documents
remains valid, general public
take note
AGBADO
I Formerly known as
AGBADO RUFFUS , now
wishes to be known as
LOVE RUFFUS. All former
documents remain valid
general public please take
note .
UNITY
That MISS OSSAI JUDITH
and OSSAI UNITY are same
and one person but now wish
to be addressed as MRS
ODIGWE UNITY all formal
documents remains valid
general public whom it may
concern take note
MADUAKO
I formally known and addressed as
MISS. MOGEKWU STELLA
NGOZI. Now wish to be known
and addressed as MRS.
MADUAKO STELLA NGOZI.
All former documents remain
valid. The general public should
please take note.
ANIKWUSHE
This is to confirm that my
name was wrongly written as
ANIKWUSHE YVONNE
UKAMAKA instead of my
CORRECT Name as
ANIKWUSHE UKAMAKA
YVONNE. Former documents
remain valid general public
take note.
EZEDOM DAVID
I Formerly known and
addressed as DAVID
THANKGOD now wish to be
known and addressed as
OKPERHIE THANKGOD.
All former documents remain
valid. General public take note.

NWANKWO
I, formerly known as MISS
NWANKWO EDITH
AMARACHI, now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS.
WILFRED
EDITH
AMARACHI. All former
documents remain valid.
Banks, and general public should
take note.
OBINANI
I, formerly known as MISS
OBINANI OLUCHI
FAVOUR. Now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS
OKOYE OLUCHI
FAVOUR. All documents
bearing my former name remain
valid. General public take note.
OMAMOGHO
I, formerly known as MISS
OMAMOGHO DORCAS
OGHENEVWAIRE. Now wish
to be known and addressed as
MRS MONDAY DORCAS
STEPHANIE. All documents
bearing my former name remain
valid. General public take note.
CHIKA
I, formerly known and
addressed as Chika Hephzibah
Uche now wish to be known
and addressed as Mr
Chikammale Hephzibah Uche.
All former documents remain
valid. BANKs, WAEC and
General public take note.
I, formerly known and
addressed as Gladys
Oghenekome Eduviere, now
wish to be known and addressed
as Gladys Oghenekome Uzeh.
All former documents remain
valid. General public take note.
CHANGE OF NAME
ADAMS
I, formerly known as MISS UDEH
MAUREEN ADAMS, am also
formerly known and called UDEH
MAUREEN MAMUYOWI, now
wish to be known as MRS.
IFEDIORA MAUREEN ADAMS.
All former documents to remain
valid. The General Public to please
take note.
ORANU
I, formerly known as ORANU
MIRACLE AMAKA. Now
wish to be known and addressed
as OKOYE MIRACLE
CHINECHEREM. All
documents bearing my former
name remain valid. General
public take note.
OKOH
I, formerly known as Miss
Okoh Queen. Now wish to be
known and addressed as Mrs
Amechi Queen Atewe. All
documents bearing my former
name remain valid. General
public take note.
MBAMA
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Blessing
Chinenye Mbama, now wish
to be known and addressed as
Mrs Blessing Chinenye
Azubuike. All former
documents remain valid.
General public take note.
GABRIEL
CHANGE OF FAMILY NAME FROM GABRIEL TO NWAJIOBI
- The family members, formerly known as GABRIEL, now wish
to be known as NWAJIOBI. The affected family members are:
(i) MR. NWAJIOBI CHIBUIKE THADDUS, (ii) MASTER
NWAJIOBI KAMSIYOCHUKWU ALVIN, (III) MASTER
NWAJIOBI CHIKAIMA ALEXIS, (IV) MASTER NWAJIOBI
KAMDILICHUKWU ANSELM. All former documents remain
valid, general public, please take note.
EDOJA
I, FORMERY KNOWN AS
ESUMEH
I, formerly known as Miss
MISS EDOJA HOPE, NOW Esumeh Nnwakaego Deborah.
WISH TO BE KNOWN AND Now wish to be known and
AS MRS ISHOLA HOPE. ALL addressed as Mrs Simon
FORMER DOCUMENTS Nwakaego Deborah. All
REMAIN VALID. GENERAL documents bearing my former
PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE name remain valid. General
NOTE.
public take note.
OTASOWIE
OBUOKUM
I, formerly known as MISS
THAT I USED TWO NAMES OTASOWIE
OBUOKUM OBIANUGBA
OSAHENRUNMWEN TO REGISTER MY
BANK ACCOUNT/BVN, NOW WISH TO FAVOUR, now wish to be
ADD ISRAEL AS MY MIDDLE TO THE known and addressed as MRS
NAMES IN MY BANK ACCOUNT/BVN/ OGBAJEDJE PATRICK
NIN HENCEFORTH TO BE ADDRESSED FAVOUR. All former
AS OTASOWIE OSAHENRUNMWEN documents remain valid, any
ISRAEL. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS authority it may concern and
REMAIN VALID. GENERAL PUBLIC
general public to take note.
TAKE NOTE.
OSAIN
OHARE
I, formerly known as OSAIN
I, formerly known as MISS OHARE
EMUOBONUVIE JOY, now wish to
KEN, now wish to be known
be known and addressed as MRS
and addressed as IDEABIE
OWHOTEMU OHARE
KENNEDY. All former
EMUOBONUVIE JOY. All former
documents remain valid, any documents remain valid, any
authority it may concern and authority it may concern and general
general public to take note. public to take note.
UWEM
UMUKPERUO OT
My name was wrongly arranged I, formerly known and
as UWEM ASUKWO addressed as Umukperuo Grace
EFFIONG, instead of UWEM Emudiaga, now wish to be
EFFIONG ASUKWO. All
known and addressed Emudiaga
former documents remain
Blessed. All former documents
valid, any authority it may
remain valid. General public
concern and general public to
take note.
take note.
JOSEPH
AGBRAGU
I, Agbragu Ereremena Praise wish to
I, formerly known and addressed notify the general public that my
as Joseph Oghenetega Paul, name was wrongly arranged/
Written as Erere Agbragu Praise,
now wish to be known and instead of Agbragu Ereremena Praise
addressed as Okoro Paul Tega. which is my correct/Proper
All former documents remain
arrangement of my name. All former
documents remain valid. General
valid. General public take note. public take note.
EDUVIERE
EMAMUZO
I, formerly known and
addressed as UGAH LUCKY
EMAMUZO, now wish to be
known and addressed as UGAH
LUCKY SUNSHINE. All
former documents remain
valid. General public take note.
OBIOMA ABAJUO OKOH
OKOH
I, formerly known and addressed as
MISS. PEACE OBIOMACHUKWU
ABAJUO, now wish to be known
and addressed as MRS. PEACE
O B I O M A C H U K W U
NZUBECHUKWU. All former
documents remain valid. The general
public take note.
ODEH
I, formerly known and addressed
as MISS ODEH ABIEMWENSE
CYNTHIA now wish to be known
and addressed as MRS.
AIGBOBO-WILSON
ABIEMWENSE CYNTHIA.
All former documents remain
valid. The general public should
please take note.
OMINU
I, formerly known and addressed
as MISS OMINU DORIS, now
wish to be known and addressed
as MRS. UNUEFEPHA DORIS.
All former documents remain
valid. The general public should
please take note.
EDJEBA
On my bank details my name was
wrongly written as EDJEBA
SAYE instead of EDJEBA
OSAYE UFUOMA. I wish to add
UFUOMA to my names and be
known as EDJEBA OSAYE
UFUOMA. All former documents
remain valid. The general public
and to whom it may concern
should please take note.
ASABOR
I, formerly known as ONOME
SUCCESS ASABOR now wish
to be known and called MRS
ONOME OJARIKRE. All former
documents remain valid. The
general public and to whom it may
concern should please take note.
OGBODU
My full/correct name is OGBODU
FELIX OMAMUZOU as it is in my
Voters Card. My name appear in my
bank account details as OGBODU
FELIS. I now wish to correct FELIS
as FELIX and add OMAMUZOU to
my account details and be known as
OGBODU FELIX OMAMUZOU.
Documents bearing any of the names
remain valid. General public take note.
ISHOMI
My correct name is ISHOMI
LOVETH OGHENEFEGOR. My
name appear in my BVN as OSHOMI
LOVETH OGHENEFAGOR. In
BVN, OGHENEFEGOR appear as
OGHENEFAGOR while ISHOMI
appear as OSHOMI. I now wish to
correct the name as ISHOMI
LOVETH OGHENEFEGOR. All
documents bearing any of the names
remain valid. Public take note.
MIRIAM
My Full/Correct Name Is
Chukwudum Mirian Onyebuchi As
It Is In My Nin/Cac Documents. My
Name Appear In My Bvn As
Chukwudum Miriam. I Now Wish To
Correct Miriam As Mirian And Add
Onyebuchi To My Bvn And Be
Known As Chukwudum Mirian
Onyebuchi. FORMER Documents
Remain Valid. Public Take Note.
EJOGO
My correct name and arrangement is
EJOGO ONYEISI JAMES as it is in
my NIN. My name appear in my BVN/
Account as EJOGO JAMES
ONYISI. I now wish to correct
ONYISI as ONYEISI and arrange my
name as EJOGO ONYEISI JAMES.
Documents bearing any of the names
remain valid. General public take
note.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER, 24, 2022—27
:Vanguard :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023,
NDDC: Group issues 14-day ultimatum to FG to inaugurate substantive board
By Festus Ahon
ASABA—THE Niger Delta Pa
triots, a political pressure
group, has issued 14 days ultimatum
to the Federal Government
to constitute a substantive board
for the Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC or face the
wrath of the people of the region.
Handing over the ultimatum
during a press briefing in Asaba,
convener of the group, Victor
Okwereogu flanked by David
Omoru, co-convener and Mr
Obaro Unuafe, Secretary, said:
"Since the Interim Management
Committee, IMC of the NDDC
started and completed it's work,
there have been accusations and
counter-accusations from the
committee itself, from the senate
and from some interested
stakeholders.
"It should be noted that the
Niger Delta is Africa's most important
oil producing region and
one of the most polluted places
on earth. Long years of oil exploration
and exploitation in the region
have led to degradation of
the lands as well as the despoliation
of the aquatic life of it's people.
The area covering about
70,000 sq km of wetland has
2023:Dafinone inaugurates campaign council, says APC
better positioned to take over Delta
By Etop Ekanem
GHELLI—CANDIDATE of
Uthe All Progressives Congress,
APC, in Delta Central Senatorial
District, Ede Dafinone, yesterday,
inaugurated his campaign
organization for the 2023 general
election, saying that the party is better
positioned to take over governance of
the state at the polls.
Speaking at Ughelli, Ughelli North
Local Government Area, while
inaugurating the campaign
organization which has Adelabu
Bodjor as Director General, Dafinone
noted that "Our campaign structure
has engaged over seven thousand
never known true peace.
"There have been several
conflicts that led to successive
governments wanting to offer
some palliatives to the people
of the region. The core Niger
Delta littoral states are Delta,
Rivers and Bayelsa with a combined
population of about 13
million people while the expanded
Niger Delta which now
includes Ondo, Edo, Cross
River, Akwa-Ibom, Imo and Abia
states have combined population
of about 33 million people,
that is a fifth of Nigeria's population,
which is higher than the
people and we have not finished
yet."
He lauded Deputy Senate
President and Delta State
governorship candidate of the party,
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and
O'tega Emerhor for their role in
ensuring unity in the party.
He said: "It has been a long
journey. Many of you in this room
are part of the beginning of APC,
and we all know that in 2015 and
2019 the party was fragmented and
we were unable to unite and form a
formidable opposition at those times.
"But in 2022, we are united, the
party has been positioned to take
over Delta state come 2023. We owe
population of any ethnic group in
Nigeria.
"From Henry Wilink's commission
to Gen. Alex Ogomudia's
commission one thing was clear.
The Niger Delta region deserves
a fairer deal in the nation called
Nigeria.
"Suffice it to note that in the
year 2000, the President Olusegun
Obasanjo administration established
the NDDC as an offshoot
of the Niger Delta Development
Board and the OMPADEC, with
the sole mandate of developing
the oil rich Niger Delta region of
Nigeria.
this to our leaders and I want to single
out one of them, the Deputy President
of the Senate, Distinguished Senator
Ovie Omo-Agege, who has nearly
singlehandedly driven the process to
where we are today.
"We are much stronger today as a
party than we ever were and our
chances of winning the state, from
House of Assembly to Senate to
governorship and even to presidency
in Delta state is brighter than ever."
Charging members of campaign
council to work towards the victory of
all candidates of the party, he noted
that "all politics is local and our mission
here today is directed at localizing our
politics. 2023 election is a real election,
where votes will count and will be won
unit by unit.

28 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
Almajiri, Out-of-School Children:
Reps recall Jonathan's effort,
heed Obasanjo's advise on
education
By Levinus
Nwabughiogu
ABUJA-Barely 24 hours after
former President Olusegun
Obasanjo raised the alarm
that the huge number of outof-school
children posed a
threat to national security, the
House of Representatives has
passed for second reading a
bill seeking to establish National
Commission for Almajiri
Education and out-ofschool
children.
It will be recalled that the
government of former President
Goodluck Jonathan also
gave the almajirai a facelift,
establishing schools to educate
them.
The bill was sponsored by
Shehu Kakale and 18 other
lawmakers.
In his lead debate at yesterday's
plenary, Kakale noted
that Nigeria was among
countries with millions of
children that were out of
school.
He said: "Nigeria is among
many other countries that is
confronted with the phenomenon
of out-of- school children.
As you may be aware,
millions of children and teenagers
across the country are
currently out of school, due to
one reason or the other.
"Mr Speaker, as at September
2022, out-of-school children
in Nigeria was estimated
to be 18.5 million by the
United Nations Children's
Fund, UNICEF,. However, the
Universal Basic Education
Commission, UBEC, estimated
the same to be 13.2 million.
The lawmaker also gave
staggering statistics of the figures
in many states of Nigeria,
recalling Jonathan's efforts
to build 157 schools for the
almajirai. "The statistics appear
even grimmer, judging
from the rough estimate of
out-of-school children per
state in the country.
"Mr. Speaker and my colleagues,
the digest of basic
education statistics by the
Universal Basic Education
Commission, UBEC, revealed
that 10 of Nigeria's 36
states were home to more than
half of Nigeria's out-of-school
children, as at 2018.
''The 10 states at the top of
the chart had about 5.2 million
of the country's approximately
10.2 million out-ofschool
children at that time.
In no particular order, Kano
State had the most with
989,234, followed by Akwa-
Ibom (581,800), Katsina
(536,122) and Kaduna
•Pass bill to establish
commission for both
(524,670) followed closely.
Taraba (499,923), Sokoto
(436,570), Yobe (427,230),
Zamfara (422,214) and
Bauchi (354,373) were other
states that ranked high on the
list. States with the lowest
numbers of out-of-school children
were Cross River with
97,919, Abia with 91, 548,
Kwara with 84,247, Enugu
with 82,051, Bayelsa with
53,079, FCT with 52,972 and
Ekiti with 50,945.
"Mr. Speaker, several challenges
are associated with the
high number of out-of-school
children in Nigeria. All out of
school children in Nigeria are
at risk of exploitation, vulnerable
to recruitment by insurgents,
human traffickers and
by other criminal elements in
the society.
''In fact, in your address to
members of the House of Representatives
in this hallowed
chamber on January 28,
2020, Mr. Speaker, you were
very clear on the rising number
of out-of-school children and
the danger it portends for the
Nigerian state.
"Mr Speaker and my colleagues,
as I draw this debate
to a close, permit me to reiterate
the fact that education is
pivotal to human development
and the growth of a nation.
It was in recognition of
this that Dr. Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan had to build 157
Almajiri Model Schools to
enable the education of the
almajirai in Nigeria.
"There cannot be a functional
society without a functional
educational system. Accordingly,
the establishment
of the proposed commission
will ensure that the almajirai
receive sound education that
will shield them from exploitation
by criminal elements.
''It is in line with the foregoing,
I urge you, Mr. Speaker
and my respected colleagues,
to support that this Bill be read
the second time.''
In his contribution, Speaker
of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila,
who said the bill
was worthy of passage, said:
"The sponsor and I worked
very closely last year on the
issue of almajiri. I commend
him for this proactiveness.
''Anything that has to do with
education in this 9th assembly,
we have been very proactive.
Education has been a priority
in our legislative agenda.”
We have just concluded a
two-day summit on tertiary
education. We hope that at the
end of the day, we will make
recommendations."
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.
BILATERAL
RELATIONS:
Italian Ambassador
to Nigeria , Stefano
De Leo (left) with the
Flag Officer Commanding
Western
Naval Command,
WNC Rear Admiral
Yakubu Wambai,
during a coutersy visit
by the former, at the
WNC, Apapa, Lagos,
as part of activities
lined up for the port of
call visit of the Italian
Navy Ship, NAVE
BORSINI, yesterday.
I’ll emulate Sweden, Rwanda in appointing women
into govt – ATIKU
By John Alechenu
THE presidential candi
date of Peoples Democratic
Party, Atiku Abubakar,
has promised to emulate
the policy of gender
balance in the appointment
of women into sensitive cabinet
positions while renewing
his pledge for an all inclusive
government, if elected
Ȧtiku said this during the
inauguration of the PDP
Women Campaign Council,
in Abuja, yesterday.
According to him, women
have proven themselves as
less corrupt and more committed
to the democratic
process because female voters
are known to outnumber
their male folk in successive
elections.
He recalled a trip he undertook
to Sweden while in
Why I approved redesign of Naira locally — BUHARI
Continues from Page 5
The CBN governor said
Nigeria had gone cashless
and that security agencies
would monitor people making
withdrawal at the counter
to know how much withdrawn
and also monitor the
usage of the money.
He said there was no
need to insinuate that the
policy was targeted at anyone,
adding that the CBN
was determined to ensure
that the provision of the law
on volume of money one
should carry was followed.
"The world has moved to
cashless economy and the
CBN has moved to cashless
economy. We will restrain
the volume of cash
someone will withdraw
over the counter. We will
follow up with the person's
data to know the reason for
such withdrawal," he said.
For those calling for extension
of time for the usage
of the old notes, the
CBN boss said: "We will
not go with people that want
extension of time. From today,
this currency that was
re-issued will become a legal
tender."
He said there was no local
government area in the
country where there was no
bank agent, adding that
there was over one million
point across the country
that people could go and
deposit the old notes.
He also assured that the
new notes could not be
counterfeited because of the
features in them.
Distribution to
CBN branches
begins today, Currency
Operations
Director says
Also speaking on the issue
yesterday, the Director
of Currency Operations,
Mr. Bello Umar, said:
“From Thursday, that is tomorrow
(today), we will start
distribution to CBN
branches across the country,
so that whenever we
are set to launch, maybe at
a later date, we already
have the notes across the
country.”
The new notes are expected
to be in circulation
as from December 15, and
will circulate side-by-side
with the old notes until January,
31 2023, when the latter
would cease to be legal
tender. Mr. Umar, said,
however, that the apex
bank was concerned that the
rush to deposit old notes
had not yet been seen, as
anticipated.
He revealed that as of
Friday, last week, only
N165 billion had been deposited
by banks with the
CBN, adding that even
some of the banks with
high customer-base records
had not made any deposit.
Under the policy, the
CBN expects to mop up
about N2.7 trillion held outside
the banking system,
out of the N3.2 trillion in
circulation.
Umar said: “When we
designed this policy, there
was about N2.7 trillion outside
the banking system,
out of the N3.2 trillion in
circulation. As at Friday,
November 18, the total deposit
we have received from
the banks was N165 billion,
which is still small.
“We are not seeing the
rush. Some banks have not
even made any deposits
and some of them are banks
with large customer-base.
In fact, the Director, Banking
Supervision had to
bring it to the notice of the
Inter-Agency Committee,
yesterday.
“It is a problem for us and
we are hoping that it does
not result in a stampede
when we are getting close
to the end of January.”
The director said the
CBN had extended its
work days to Saturday and
that the bank’s branches
were opened to receive
deposits from banks.
He said the apex bank
had also waived charges
and removed all limits in
terms of the amount of money
a customer could deposit
in his account, adding that
there was no reason for anyone
to be afraid to deposit
their monies in their accounts.
‘There'll be no
deadline exten-
office as Vice President,
Atiku said: “When I was
vice-president, I travelled to
Sweden. The Head of government
was a woman,
Prime Minister; the Minister
of Foreign Affairs was a
woman, the Minister of
Finance was a woman, the
Minister of Education was
a woman.
“When I looked at my
delegation, it was all men
and I was embarrassed. I
then committed myself to
making sure that as long as
I remain in politics, I will
promote the advancement
of women.
“Therefore, we had no hesitation
whatsoever in between
1999 and 2015 to
make sure at the very minimal
we complied with the
Beijing Declaration.
He also said he was inspired
by the Rwandan example
where women were
playing key roles in government
and promised women
that they would get at least
35 percent of cabinet positions
in his administration,
if elected.
In his address, National
Chairman of the party, Dr.
Iyorchia Ayu, described
women as the bedrock of
democracy.
He said: “I always wonder
at the capacity of a woman
to not only work hard but
also to be resilient and to do
so many things in one day.
“I think if a man works for
eight hours a day, a woman
works 16 hours a day. The
management skill of a
woman is second to none. I
believe that without a woman,
there can be no nation.
“In this political party we
give special place to women,
recognising them as
partners in progress, realising
that if you have women
on your side, the party will
be a big and gigantic family.
“Apart from saying that
women, who contest should
not pay for form, that is affirmative
action for women,
we also went out of the way
in the first 16 years of this
party when we were in government,
to ensure that
women were reasonably
represented in government.
“I'm happy to reveal to you
that the driving force of that
policy is my brother (Atiku),
who is going to be the next
president of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria.
“When he was the vice
president of this country, I
know exactly what he did in
promoting women. Some of
them he single-handedly
head-hunted because of
their capacity and brought
them into government.”
sion’
He warned that the January
31, 2023, deadline was
sacrosanct and that members
of the public should
make sure they returned
the three denominations
(N200, N500 and N1, 000)
before January 31, 2023, as
all monies held in those
denominations would
cease to be legal tender after
that day.
Network facilities,
1.4 m agents to
assist rural dwellers
In his remarks, the Director
of Corporate Communications,
Mr. Osita Nwanisobi,
assured that centres
would be created for rural,
unbanked members of the
public to change their old
notes.
He added that the Shared
Agent Network Expansion
Facilities, SANEF, had over
1.4 million agents across
Nigeria to address that concern,
''such that even where
people don’t have bank
accounts, they will still be
able to change their money
and we are going to be
doing that within the next
few days.
“The CBN is very mindful
and has said that we will
do whatever needs to be
done to enable people
change whatever money
they have."

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 —29

30 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
•Cameroun Fans
Lions set
to roar
against
Switzerland
•Ekambi
Entering the tournament as one of the dark-horses, Switzerland are primed
for an impressive World Cup opener after an impressive qualifying
campaign where they finished top of a group that had European
champions Italy, taking the only direct World Cup spot on offer from the
group.
They face-off against African giants Cameroon who won their group in the
second round of qualification in spectacular fashion taking the only spot on
offer in a group that had Ivory Coast before defeating Algeria in the third and
final round of the African qualifiers.
Today’s tie at the Al Janoub Stadium would be the first official meeting
between both teams, Match form.
Switzerland lost their World cup preparatory friendly against Ghana, while
the last game Cameroon played was a 1-1 draw against Panama.
Granit Xhaka has been in stellar form for his Arsenal side this season, in a
‘newly’ defined role, scoring three goals already, and setting up another three
for his teammates. If he looks anything as good as he has been for Arsenal this
season Granit Xhaka would be a contender for player of the tournament.
Manuel Akanji got a dream move in the summer to Manchester City, and
the 27-year old has not put a foot wrong since, he would be looking to reprise
his role as a reliable Centre-back for his country, and he is certainly one to
watch.
For Cameroon the ever present Vincent Abubakar, fresh from winning the
AFCON golden boot who now represents Al Nassr in Saudi and the pacy Karl
Toko Ekambi of Lyon are the ones to keep an eye on.
•Abubakar
•Xhaka
•Steffen
Ayew: Black
Stars have quality
to impress in
Qatar
Black Stars captain Andre Ayew
believes the team’s inexperience
will be irrelevant because they have
the talent to beat any opponent in
Qatar.
Andre Ayew spoke to the press
ahead of the Black Stars’ World Cup
opener against Portugal today and
was asked about the team’s chances
given that only two players in the
current squad have World Cup
experience.
While this will be Andre’s third
appearance after appearances in
2010 and 2014, Jordan will be
making his second appearance after
appearing in Brazil eight years ago.
“It’s true my brother and I are the
only ones [in the Ghana team] to
play in the World Cup but it doesn’t
mean anything because we also
came to play and it was a first at
some point and we were able to do
good things on the field,” he said at
the press conference ahead of the
game against Portugal.
“For me, I believe that we have
the quality to really impress and
show the World what we are capable
of.”
Female Ghanaian musician
vows to go naked if Ghana beat
Portugal 3-0
Ghanaian musician Sister Afia has
vowed to go naked if the Black
Stars beat Ronaldo-led Portugal in
their 2022 World Cup opener today.
She stated in a tweet that if Ghana
wins 3-0, she will record a live naked
pool video of herself.
“If Ghana score 3-0 against
Portugal, on Thursday I will go
NAKED and drop my self in a pool
ON LIVE so God help me”, she tweeted
on Tuesday.
The celebrity’s comments raise the
hopes of many Ghanaian fans ahead
of the team’s first game against
Budweiser ready to help Nigeria qualify for 2026
World Cup
By Jacob Ajom
One of the greatest sporting
tournaments, the FIFA World
Cup, kicked off in Qatar with the
attendant spectacle and excitement
globally. The frenzy has led football
fans in Nigeria to express mixed
feelings as Nigeria is not playing in
this world cup.
Budweiser, a brand from the stables
of International Breweries, and the
official beer sponsor of the FIFA World
Cup and the English Premier League
has sparked up the conversation to
seek Nigerians’ opinions and ideas that
can ensure Nigeria is in the next World
Cup, to continually make the nation
proud as Nigerians are known for their
love for football.
Speaking on the topic, Marketing
Director, International Breweries Plc,
Tolulope Adedeji, explained Budweiser
is aware of the love Nigerians have for
football and how many cannot wait
to see the nation back on the global
pitch. This is why we have taken the
initiative to kick off the conversation
and are willing to partner to bring
great ideas to return Nigeria to the
•Amokachi
global stage .
In her words, “We partnered with
Nigerian football legend Daniel “The
Bull” Amokachi to drive the
conversation so Nigerians can share
their thoughts on what they believe
should be done to make sure the
country is represented in the next
World Cup.” Consumers are
encouraged to join the conversation
on social media.
However, we are not just going to
talk about it, we are willing to partner
to bring some of these ideas to reality
working with the relevant local bodies
and our global partner, FIFA.
Football fans can air their opinions
and contribute to the conversation
aiming to trigger a robust discourse
and collation of ideas while giving
Nigerians a platform to express
themselves.
Marketing Manager, Budweiser,
Olajumoke Okikiolu said, “We urge
football fans to head to Twitter to share
suggestions on what can be done to
make sure Nigeria makes it to the
next world cup using the hashtag.”
Spain 7-0 Costa Rica:
Enrique’s men lay down a World
Cup marker in Qatar
After the shock came the awe. While
Japan’s stunning victory over
Germany may have been the
earthquake, Spain’s beautiful, brutal
dismantling of Costa Rica will have
sent tremors through Group E - and
potentially beyond.
They scored a magnificent seven. It
could have been 14. After barely half
an hour had been played Luis
Enrique’s brilliant young maestros
were 3-0 up. The game was out and
the Mexican Waves were in.
This is a dynamic young side mixed
with a sprinkling of experience, the
emphasis placed on the team rather
than the individual. A flowing 4-3-3
made in Barcelona was far, far too
much for opponents whose presence
here itself is a completed mission
impossible, having secured their place
via a play-off win after winning just
one of their opening seven qualifying
matches.
The problem with the early stages
of the World Cup – which will get
worse when we are burdened with
ludicrous expansion - is that it is often
difficult to judge based on the quality
of some of the sides in the tournament.
Just as we should not be readying
Trafalgar Square for a victory parade
because England battered Iran,
Enrique will not yet be digging out
the bunting from 2010’s success on
the back of a walk in the park.
•Torres
Portugal.
Black Stars defender Denis Odoi
believes they can draw inspiration
from Saudi Arabia’s remarkable
victory over Argentina.
He said, “Of course, seeing what
Saudi Arabia have achieved just
proves that you have to play all the
matches. It’s not because you are a
smaller country than your opponent
that everything is a foregone
conclusion. And then, based on my
experience, this season in the
Champions League, nobody would
have given us a chance to go to the
round of 16. And yet, after four
matches, we qualified. So my
takeaway is that when you play as a
team, you can do anything.”
Both teams arrived in Qatar after
impressive victories and are confident
of making a strong start in Qatar.
•Ayew Andre
The 32-year-old quizzed on what it
means for him to play at his third
World Cup added, “Every
tournament is different and every
tournament has its own excitement.
The World Cup is the one that we
always dream to play as young kids
so for me it’s unbelievable for me to
Inka brings
Peruvian
culture to
Qatar
•Inka
Inka is a 55-year-old super fan
from Peru. He has been standing
outside the Khalifa International
Stadium all afternoon, posing for
photos for anyone who asks.
He pauses between photos to
ask passersby if they have any
spare tickets. Regardless of the
response he smiles, waves and
carries on.
“I have come here to be part of
the World Cup and bring my
Peruvian culture to Qatar,” he
says.
This is Inka’s third World Cup
and he hopes by the time the 2026
edition comes around, he will be
able to cheer for his team again.
Until then, he his happy to take a
bit of Peru wherever he goes.
German team cover mouths
in protest against FIFA
Germany’s players covered their
mouths for their team photo
before their opening World Cup
match in an apparent rebuke of FIFA’s
clampdown on plans to wear
armbands to protest against
discrimination in host nation Qatar.
The team lined up in the traditional
formation before the game against
Japan and each of the 11 players
covered their mouth with their right
hand.

Germany 1 Japan 2:
Another huge World Cup shock!
•Japan stun Germany in famous win
IT was the Mexicans
waving them bye-bye four
years ago.
And as a Mexican wave
broke out here at Doha’s
Khalifa Stadium, Germany
may well be on the way to
heading home early again
thanks to Japan’s supersubs.
Hansi Flick’s side looked to
be cruising when Ilkay
Gundogan’s penalty put
them ahead just after the half
hour.
But their Asian opponents
hit back with two goals from
substitutes in eight secondhalf
minutes, first through
Ritsu Doan and then a
stunner from Takuma Asano.
Asano’s effort will go down
in World Cup history as he
brilliantly controlled a long
ball, sped into the area and
beat Manuel Neuer at his
near post with a thumping
finish.
It leaves Germany in
familiar territory, having
crashed out at the group
stage four years ago in Russia
as reigning champions
having lost their opening
game to Mexico.
Recovering from here could
be very tricky given 2010
champions Spain are also in
their group, along with Costa
Rica.
Midfielder Joshua Kimmich
had spoken on Tuesday of the
team’s “huge motivation” to
put things right this time and
the importance of winning
the first game.
Yet despite starting so well,
they are now in an equally
perilous position and face a
massive uphill battle to get out
of the group.
Germany’s players
protested against Fifa ahead
of the game, outraged by the
pressure the world football
governing body had put on
them not to wear a One Love
rainbow armband via threats
of sporting sanctions.
That included warming up
in training kit with rainbows
on the sleeves, having
Morocco 0 Croatia 0:
Croatia's Modric and Co flop
against solid Moroccan side
LUELESS Croatia served
Cup the World Cup’s third
goalless draw in the space of
nine games as they failed to
make an early impression on
the tournament.
The beaten finalists in
Russia are not a patch on the
team who knocked England
out in the semi-finals four
years ago.
And now they might
struggle to even make it
beyond the group stages after
being forced into a stalemate
by a Moroccan team who
simply refused to accept
their role as World Cup
whipping boys.
Morocco might not
have much of a World
Cup pedigree, but
all of their team
play for leading
European clubs
and are
certainly no
mugs.
T h e y
have been boosted by
the return of Hakim
Ziyech, back in the fold
after announcing his
international
retirement
February.
The Chelsea
in
winger quit after a row with
boss Vahid Halilhodzic and
only agreed to return when
the fiery Bosnian was sacked
in August.
Ziyech was clearly going to
be his team’s main source of
inspiration but even he
struggled to light up this
edgy encounter.
Croatian defender Josko
Gvardiol was playing despite
having his face rearranged in
a collision with a Leipzig
team-mate two weeks ago.
But no-one put themself
around more than 37-yearsyoung
Luka Modric, who
constantly tested the patience
of the Argentine ref with the
timing of some of his
challenges.
Yet what he lacks in pace
he more than
makes up for with
his quality on the
ball and barely a
pass went astray
from the Real
Madrid maestro.
•Modric
rainbows etched on their
boots and covering up their
mouths for the team picture
to indicate how their planned
show of support to the
LGBTQ community had been
silenced.
German interior minister
Nancy Faeser also wore the
One Love armband while
sitting next to Fifa president
Gianni Infantino up in the
stands.
It really was one-way traffic
in the first half, making the
turnaround all the more
remarkable. Japan only
completed 62 passes, while
untroubled German
goalkeeper Neuer had 35.
Saying that, it was actually
the Asian side who had the
ball in the net first when striker
Daizen Maeda emphatically
finished off a rapid counter
only to be ruled offside.
Kimmich and Gundogan
were firing warning shots from
distance before Salvadoran
referee Ivan Barton, at 31, the
tournament’s third youngest
whistler, awarded a penalty
against Shuichi Gonda, two
years his senior for tripping
David Raum and then falling
on him for good measure.
Messi, Ronaldo don't need the
World Cup — Kevin-Prince Boateng
Former
Ghana
international Kevin-
Prince Boateng has dismissed
claims that Lionel Messi and
Cristiano Ronaldo need to
win the World Cup to cement
their GOAT (Greatest of All
Time) status in football.
The 2022 World Cup will
almost certainly be the final
World Cup for the two iconic
footballers, and Boateng has
been analysing their chances
in Qatar.
"Finally, a few thoughts on
what I consider to be the
greatest footballers on this
planet: Lionel Messi and
Cristiano Ronaldo. It is
•Ronaldo
probably the last World Cup
for the two and their last
chance at the title. I know Leo
from my time at Barca. An
incredible player. Both
deserved it," Boateng wrote for
German website SPORT1
"Messi has better chances
with Argentina. But neither he
nor Ronaldo will step down
as world champions. They
don't have to. It's part of their
history: they don't need to win
a world title to be the best of
all time."
Argentina started their
campaign with a shock 2-1
defeat to Saudi Arabia while
Portugal take on Ghana on
Thursday, November 24.
•Messi
Newcastle rule out move
for Ronaldo
Manchester United have placed no restrictions on where
Cristiano Ronaldo can play next, but although he could
join another Premier League team, Newcastle have already
ruled out a move for the striker.
The termination of Ronaldo's contract at Old Trafford, which
was due to run until June, has been described as a "clean
break," and the 37-year-old can sign for another club
immediately without waiting for the January transfer window.
Newcastle, owned by a consortium led by the sovereign
wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, could be a possible destination
for the Portugal international, but sources have told ESPN
they have no interest.
Sources have also told ESPN that Ronaldo's representatives
are also hopeful of reigniting interest from Chelsea.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022 — 31
Brazil begin World Cup title
charge against Serbia
Regarded by many as the
favourites to go all the way
at the 2022 World Cup, fivetime
world champions Brazil
kick off their Group G
campaign against Serbia
at the Lusail Stadium on
Thursday.
The two nations
will renew
acquaintances with
one another after
locking horns in
the group stage
four years ago,
when the
Selecao
came out on
top with a 2-
0 victory.
Brazil have arrived in
Qatar as the only nation
in World Cup history to
have qualified for every
tournament since the first
edition back in 1930 following
a record-breaking
CONMEBOL qualification
campaign, collecting more
points (45) than ever before
after winning 14 and drawing
three of their 17 matches.
The Selecao rarely struggle
in qualifying and they have
had few problems in the
group stage over the years
too, as they are unbeaten in
their last 15 World Cup group
fixtures since losing 2-1 to
Norway back in 1998.
However, 20 years have
passed since Brazil got their
hands on their fifth World Cup
in Seoul and the pressure is
on Tite's talented squad –
ranked number one in the
world by FIFA – to live up to
the pre-tournament hype
and improve on their quarterfinal
exit against Belgium four
years ago.
Serbia will be the first nation
to put Brazil's credentials to
the test.
After crashing out in the
group stage at their previous
three World Cup finals since
gaining independence in
1990, there is a sense of
optimism that Serbia can
finally reach the knockout
rounds for the first time in
Saudi Arabia’s left-back
Yasser AlShahrani will
undergo surgery in the
capital Riyadh after
suffering a severe head
injury during his side’s
historic 2-1 World Cup
victory over Argentina.
Saudi Arabian Football
Federation said in a
statement on Tuesday that
AlShahrani was subjected to
a strong hit to the head, chest
and abdomen.
It added that he
underwent all the necessary
medical examinations but
will be kept under
observation. It also
confirmed that his condition
is stable.
AlShahrani left Qatar on
Wednesday morning for
Riyadh to undergo surgery
at the National Guard
Hospital.
The 30-year-old was
initially taken straight to
Hamad Medical City in
Doha where he underwent
a full medical check-up and
•Al Shahrani
Qatar.
The Eagles, ranked 25th in
the world by FIFA, impressed
in UEFA qualifying and
topped their group after
winning six and drawing
two of their eight
matches, including a
last-gasp 2-1 triumph
over Portugal in their
final fixture.
•Neymar
FIFA gives New
World TV licence
for W/Cup
viewing centres
M
atches of the 2022 FIFA
World Cup have been
unfolding with football fans
who could not be in Qatar
flocking to viewing
centres.“Consequently the
world soccer governing body
has licenced New World TV
and Media Business Solutions
to organise public viewing
events for the World Cup in sub
Sahara Africa, excluding South
Africa in line with FIFA
regulations.“To this regard
Brand Technology Limited has
been appointed as
representatives for the Nigeria
territory. Brand reps,
advertising companies and
viewing centre operators have
been enjoined to obtain their
licences from New World TV
through their Nigerian
representatives.“"We want
members of the public to beware
of illegal use of content, it is
prohibited," said an official of
Brand
Technology
Limited.“The official continued,
"any infringement on the
viewing centre regulations is
subject to litigation. So we are
urging Nigerians to comply to
avoid embarrassment."
Saudi Arabia’s Al Shahrani to
undergo surgery in Riyadh
spent last night.
AlShahrani was injured
following a collision with
Saudi’s goalkeeper
Mohammed AlOwais’ knee
during the second-half
stoppage time at the Lusail
Stadium. AlOwais was seen
dropping to his knees in
shock over the incident.
AlShahrani initially tried
to get to his feet but looked
dazed as blood streamed
from his nose. He was later
stretchered off after a
lengthy delay.
The 30-year-old Al-Hilal
player had given a heroic
performance and largely
kept the star-studded
Argentinian team from
producing any real chances
in the second half.
The match will go down
as one of the biggest upsets
in international football as
Saudi Arabia became the
first Asian team to beat
Argentina at a World Cup.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022
Sudoku
TODAY’S PUZZLE
How to Play Sudoku
C
M
Y
YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
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.
QUICK CROSSWORD
TODAY’S CROSSWORD
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION
ACROSS
1 Plant from which linen is made (4)
3 Matrimony (8)
9 Non-professional (7)
10 Ski slope (5)
11 In that place (5)
12 Slumbering (6)
14 Maxim (6)
16 Gentle wind (6)
19 Fully developed (6)
21 Venomous snake (5)
24 Preliminary period (3-2)
25 Alleviate (7)
26 Stubbornly persistent (8)
27 Small island (4)
DOWN
1 Flute player (8)
2 Stop sleeping (5)
4 Aviator (6)
5 Drive back (5)
6 Severely simple (7)
7 Always (4)
8 Sea between Greece and Turkey (6)
13 Bring back (8)
15 Pined (7)
17 Actually (6)
18 Rue (6)
20 Higher (5)
22 Sediment (5)
23 Jason's ship (4)
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