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...towards a better life for the peopleVOL. 25: NO. 62354
ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.comWEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
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Mr & Mrs
N150
P.41P.17
COLUMNISTS: Petroleumscarcityagain?
Nigeria,a taleof twocities P.19
Say INEC chairman not a civil servantWarn against further
postponement of polls
Continues on page 5
Is my lovefor himdying?
See Pull-out inside
Enugucommunitythreatens toboycottelections overpoor state
ofschools
STRUGGLES OF JAMB EXAM APPLICANTSUTME applicants queueing to
print slips of their examinationcentres at the JAMB office in
Dutse, Jigawa State, yesterday. BELOW: Some of the applicants
struggling to get their slips printedin Abuja, as an applicant
displays his slip after hours of struggle. Photos: Gbemiga
Olamikan/NAN.
Shopriteadvert:See pages 31-34
Real causes of fuelcrisis, by Okonjo-Iweala
>>9
By EmmanOvuakporie, Levinus
Nwabughiogu &Jude Opara
A B U J A T H EHouse ofR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s ,yesterday,
warnedPresident GoodluckJonathan againstremoving the chairmanof
Independent NationalElectoral Commission(INEC), ProfessorAttahiru
Jega, saying hisremoval could derail thenation's democracy.
The House has,therefore, resolved tosubject anyone involvedin
moves to remove Jegato judicial prosecution inNigeria or at
theInternational Criminal
>>8
2015 PRESIDENCY:Appeal court clearsJonathan for re-election
The Stephen Keshi Debate... see Back Page
Let Jega be, Repswarn Jonathan
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POCKET CARTOONVanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 20155
TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE
Let Jega be, Reps warnJonathan
Continues from Page 1
Place all of your feelings outside of yourself andyou will be
renewed Lao Tzu
So many of us are afraid of ourselves, of our owntruth, and our
feelings most of all. We talk abouthow great the concepts of life
and love are, but thenwe hide from both every day. We hide from
ourtruest feelings. Because the truth is life and lovehurt
sometimes, and the feelings this brings disturbsus.
Pain is meant to wake us up. Yet we try to hideour pain. Pain is
a feeling. Your feelings are a partof you your own reality. If you
feel ashamed ofthem, and hide them, youre letting the lies
ofinsecurity destroy your reality. You should stand upfor your
right to feel pain to endure it to ownyour scars to deal with the
realities of life andlove, as you grow into the strongest, wisest,
truestversion of yourself.
SYMPATHY VISITFrom left: Former Chairman, Ibadan North EastLocal
Government, Gbenga Adewusi; Accord Party governorship candidatein
Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and former President
OlusegunObasanjo during a sympathy visit to victims of last
Sunday's Accord Partycampaign rally in Ibadan. Photo: Dare
Fasube.
Court, ICC.President Jonathan
has, however, insistedthat there was no suchplan to remove the
INECchairman ahead of thegeneral electionsscheduled for March 28and
April 11.
Speaking in aninterview on Al-JazeeraEnglish on Monday,President
Jonathan hadsaid: INEC is a verysensitive body. For me tochange
INEC chairman,Nigerians will askquestions. So, youcannot wake up
andchange INECchairman.
He said that he hadnever raised theprospect of a change inthe
leadership of thecommission with anyhuman being on earth.
The House resolutionthat was pushed throughby the All
ProgressivesCongress, APC, majoritywas despite strongobjections by
the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,caucus in the chamber.
Meanwhile, allegedplots to recruit Resident
Electoral Commission-ers, RECs, to instigate ano-confidence
motionagainst Jega today cameunstuck after a meetingof the RECs
scheduledfor today was shifted.The meeting, Vanguardgathered, would
nowhold next week.
The House resolutioncame as Speaker AminuTambuwal told a
civilrights group that anypremature removal ofJega could derail
thecountrys democracy.
The motion to sanctionanyone involved in thealleged plot
toprematurely nudge Jegaout from the countryselection
managementbody was brought to theHouse floor by Rep. AliAhmed
(APC,Kwara).
Moving the motiontitled: Threat to furthertamper with the
statusquo arrangement for the2015 general elections,Ahmed noted
that theinitial postponement ofthe general elections forthe six
weeks due to thesecurity concerns relatedto the Boko
Haraminsurgency has furtherheightened the tempo forpre-election
violence.
He stated that therewere already threats andinsinuations
aboutfurther alterations to thestatus quo arrangementsand
regulations for theelections, arguing thatany alteration in
thestatus quo arrangementsin whatever form at thiscrucial stage
wouldinvariably lead to furtherpostponement of thedates of the
elections.
According to him, thethreat to tamper withthe status quo may
takeseveral forms includingbut not limited to illegalremoval of the
currentINEC chairman.
He further submittedthat there is alreadydocumented evidencefrom
several sources thatany change in status quoarrangements,
especiallyremoval of the INECchairman, presents apossibility of
violenceand would occasion thesowing of seeds of majorcrises.
Ahmed reminded theHouse that civil societyorganizations and
somenotable Nigerians havealready sounded a noteof warning,
andthreatened ashowdown should theFederal Government goahead to
remove Jega.
Quoting Section 157(1)of the 1999 Constitution,he said that Jega
couldonly be removed fromoffice on only twogrounds based on
hisinability to discharge thefunctions of the office orfor
misconduct asdetermined by two-thirdsmajority of the Senate.
His prayersHe thus prayed the
House to urge thepolitical class,government of theFederation,
states andsecurity agencies to heedthe warning of imminent
and present danger as-sociated with any inter-ference with the
existingschedules of the generalelections and also holdpersonally
accountable,at domestic judicial fo-rum or at the Interna-tional
Criminal Court,any person or organiza-tion that foists on INECany
decision or actionwhatever, including un-constitutional attempt
toremove the current chair-man, that has the effectof making it
impractica-ble for the elections tohold on March 28,andApril 11,
2015.
PDP kicksHardly had Ahmed
finished than the deputyleader of the PDPcaucus, Rep. Leo
Ogorraised a point of orderbased on House Order 62which states:
Nodilatory motion shall beentertained by theSpeaker.
Ogor said that themotion thrived onspeculations, saying thathe
failed to establish orproperly situate theprinciple of the
motion.Nobody is interested inrumour, Ogor said as heurged the
speaker todismiss the motion.
His submissionreceived spontaneousjeers from manymembers of the
House,prompting Tambuwal,who presided, to hit thegavel repeatedly
in hiseffort to regain theattention of members.
Turning to Ogor,Tambuwal said: Thankyou, but unfortunately,
Ihave to overrule you.With the ruling,Tambuwal proceeded toput the
question with theayes drowning the nays.
APC caucus leaderreacts
Following the debate,leader of the APC Housecaucus, Rep.
FemiGbajabiamila toldVanguard that theappointment of the
INECchairman could only beterminated by a two-thirdvote of the
Senate,stressing that Section171 was clear on who acivil servant
was.
Personally, I do notconsider the chairman ofINEC as a civil
servantsubject to our civilservice rules, same wayI am not a civil
servant.
Speaking whilereceiving a delegation ofthe Nigeria Civil
SocietySituation Room, NCS-SR, after yesterday sHouse
session,Tambuwal said anyattempt to remove Jegawould be unlawful
andcould derail the nationsdemocracy.
He explained thatthose plotting Jegasremoval are only playinga
script that Nigeriansare familiar with. Whenthe Emir of
Kano,Muhammad Sanusi II,
whose removal he ex-plained precipitated thecurrent economic
woesbeing experienced in thenation, I had cause tocondemn the act.
Thosecontemplating Jegas re-moval are acting alongthe same
line.
But Jega is not a civilservant. We should becareful. We
shouldntsend the wrong signal tothe people of Nigeria,the speaker
appealed.
Kicking against theveiled declaration of warand the indications
fromunknown quarters thatan interim government isin the offing,
Tambuwalobserved that signs areominous that if we arenot careful,
the dark dayswill return to Nigeria.
There is no interimgovernment in theconstitution. Thosetalking
about interimgovernment, are theyplanning a coup? It isoutside the
Constitution,and I dont know why oursecurity agencies arecondoning
it? It is atreasonable offence. Weshould respect thewishes of the
people andthe will of God.
It is very clear thatcertain individuals arenot interested in a
freeand fair electoralprocess, he added.
We should alwaysremember that powerbelongs to God, and Hegives
it as He wills. Weshould appreciate thatnot up to 10 per cent ofus
(Nigerians) arepoliticians. What thenhappens to theremaining 90 per
cent? Ifyou do what pleases youand at the end of the daycrises
break out, whathappens, he asked.
Tambuwal also had aword of caution for theelectronic media
whichbeam sponsoredadvertisements attackingsome members of
theopposition politicalparties. Some of theadverts are well over
andabove board, he pointedout, wondering whetherleaders of
suchorganisations ever thinkabout the future.
Earlier, ClementNwankwo of the NCS-SR said the group wasworried
about theeconomic crisis in the
country, the fate of theconstitution and theforthcoming
generalelections.
We are making thepoint that the dates of theelections are so
close tothe handover dates, so itwill be intolerable topostpone the
electionsagain.
He also criticised theidea of foisting aninterim government
onthe nation and thesuggestions that Jegashould proceed onterminal
leave. He citedsections 156-7 of the1999 Constitution (asamended)
to back hisargument.
Meanwhile, today sscheduled meeting of thecountry s RECs
withJega in Abuja has beenshifted to next week. Theshift, Vanguard
learned,was to enable the RECsprepare for and monitorSaturdays test
run of thecard readers to be usedfor the election.
Chief Press Secretary tothe INEC chairman,Kayode Idowu
toldVanguard that since thecommission had alreadyplanned to carry
out amock election, where thecard readers would beused, it was
decided thatthe RECs meeting be putoff till after that
exercise.
As you already know,this weekend we aregoing to 12 states
todemonstrate how theCard Reader works. Wehave chosen two
statesfrom each of thegeopolitical zones; wewill be at any ward
theREC of the state willselect for the exercise. Itis on that
strength thatthe RECs meeting wasshifted.
Todays meeting was toevaluate the preparationof the commission
aheadof the March 28 andApril 11 polls with aspecial focus on
thedistribution of thePermanent Voter Cards(PVCs) across
thecountry.
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6Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
4 cultistsrape18-yr-oldgirl
By SamuelOyadongha
YENAGOAFOURpersons, suspected tobe cultists, yesterday
atgunpoint, allegedly rapedan 18-year-old girl alongGwegwe area of
YenagoaLocal Government Area,Bayelsa State.
The victim (nameswithheld) was attacked atabout 11pm,
whilereturning from a visit inthe area.
The suspected rapistswere said to have gaggedtheir victim and
draggedher into a lonely structurein the area, where shewas raped
and thenabandoned.
Police Public RelationsOfficer, Asinim Butswat,said the victim
identifiedone of the suspects andreported to the AreaDivision of
Police, addingthat he had been arrested,while search for the
othersuspects continues.
A B R A KA D E LTAState University,DELSU, Abraka, hasdismissed a
deceasedlecturer of the Departmentof Theatre Arts, Mr.Ifeanyi
Ogu-Raphael, foralleged professionalmisconduct.
The late Ogu-Raphael,who died in September2014, was a
complainantin a case of alleged felony,stealing and assaultagainst
three formerstudents of the universityand was dismissed alongwith
two lecturers foroffences the institutiondescribed as
grossmisconduct.
Vanguard gathered thatthe sack of the late lecturerand two
others wasconsidered andrecommended at the 90thregular meeting of
theschools GoverningCouncil.
However, regarding hissack as unjustified, aformer counsel to
thedeceased lecturer, whospoke on condition ofanonymity, described
hissack as a ploy by theuniversity to avoid payinghis family
hisentitlements.
DELSU sacksdead lecturer
By Perez Brisibe
ENUGUA pregnantwoman, Mrs MercyChintua, has been arrested
byoperatives of Enugu StatePolice Command overallegation of assault
on herneighbour, whom she saidspied on her while she was
Pregnant woman assaults neighbourfor peeping on her during
bath
taking her bath.The suspect, who resides at
Akwuke, Awkunanaw axis ofEnugu State, had allegedlypoured hot
water on the victim,Emmanuel Anyebe, forallegedly peeping on
herwhile she was having her bathon February 23.
Confirming the incident,
Police Public Relations Officer,PPRO, Mr. Ebere Amaraizusaid:
Mercy poured hot wateron the victim as he was goingto have his
bath. She allegedthat the victim was peepinginto the bathroom,
while shewas having her bath.
The hot water inflictedserious body burns on the
victim. As a result of theinjuries sustained from the act,he was
unconscious and wasrushed to a nearby hospital.
The victim has denied everpeeping on the woman duringher
bath.
The suspect has pleaded forleniency, ascribing her actionsto
demonic spirits in her.
By Francis Igata
Strandedcommutersstruggling toboard a taxi atAleita Bus Stop
onAirport Road, aspetrol scarcitypersists in Abuja,yesterday.
NANPHOTO.
MAKURDIA four-year-old boy was, last Sundaynight, was burnt to
death in abloody communal crisis thaterupted between indigenes
andsettlers at Abinsi in Guma LocalGovernment Area of
BenueState.
The crisis left many with lifethreatening matchet cuts,
whileseveral houses, huts andfarmland were also razed by thefeuding
parties.
Vanguard gathered from areliable source that there hadbeen
bottled up anger andtension in the community,which is a few
kilometres fromMakurdi town, in the last fewweeks, following
several yearsof unending disputes over landownership.
Father of the deceased, Mr.Akpera Jime, told reporters thatsome
youths, numbering over10, on Sunday night, stormedhis community
burning housesand farmland.
Some of us were lucky tohave escaped, while my four-year-old boy
was burnt insideone of our houses beyondrecognition, he said.
He added that his 31-year-oldson, Terna, who was attackedwith a
machete, was receivingtreatment at a private hospital.
When contacted, the clanhead of Abinsi, ChiefChristopher Abaki,
whoconfirmed the incident, said thecrisis had been brought
undercontrol, following thedeployment of securitypersonnel in the
area.
The State Police PublicRelations Officer, PPRO,Assistant
Superintendent,Austin Ezeani, said men of theMobile Police Force
had beendeployed in the area on theorders of the Commissioner
ofPolice, Mr. Hyacinth Dagala, to
ensure that peace returned tothe affected communities.
Ezeani said the Police wereinvestigating the crisis,
butcautioned youths in the stateagainst taking up arms againsteach
other no matter the levelof provocation.
4-yr-old boy burnt to death, asindigenes, settlers clash in
Benue
By Peter Duru
BENINTWO suspectedarmed robbers, who weresaid to have allegedly
invadedthe Bishops Court at St JamesCathedral in Igarra,
Akoko-EdoLocal Government Area of EdoState were shot dead by
thePolice, Monday.
The suspects were shot in anattempt to escape while
beinginterrogated by the police, evenas a third suspect, who was
saidto have been the informant thatled to the robbery, is said to
bein police custody for furtherinterrogation.
The main suspect (nameswithheld) is a close confidant ofthe
Bishop and had been anadopted son of the Bishop, RtRev Jolly
Oyekpen, and hisfamily.
He was said to have informedhis other two accomplices
aboutN954,000 at the Bishop's Court,
which Vanguard was informedwas meant to be deposited inthe
bank.
One of the suspects is said tobe from Delta State, but a
farmerin neighbouring Owan com-munity, while the other hailsfrom
Jattu in Etsako West LocalGovernment Area of the state.
They were said to havestormed the premises in theearly hours of
Monday andcarted away the money andsome other valuables, such
asmobile phones.
Vanguard learned that themain suspect had confessed tothe police
that he actually gaveinformation about the money tohis late
friends.
The two dead suspects weresaid to have met their waterlooin
nearby Ikpeshi, where thepolice, through the principalsuspect,
called on the two tocome for another deal of N2million.
On arrival, they were said tohave sensed danger andwanted to
escape when policeopened fire on them.
One of the suspects reportedlydied on the spot, while theother
died later.
It was gathered that theprincipal suspects share of theloot was
N300,000 and hadreportedly spent N20,000 of theamount before he was
arrested.
He was said to have also beenplanning his marriage, whichdate
had already been fixed forlater in the year.
A senior police officer at IgarraPolice Station said the case
hadbeen transferred to the StateCriminal InvestigationDepartment,
SCID, in Benin.
Police spokesman in EdoState, Joseph Edoighiawerie,said: I am
not in the office rightnow, but once I get back to theoffice, I
will get details and getback to you.
Police kill two church robbers in EdoBy Simon Ebegbulem
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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 20157
Bus driveraccused ofkillingpedestrian
THE police in Lagoshave charged a masstransit bus driver,
AdewaleHassan, before an Oshodimagistrates court forallegedly
crushing anemployee of OK Foods,Titus Lorungwen, to death.
Hassan, 30, with anunknown address, wassaid to have committed
theoffence at InternationalAirport Road, AfariogunJunction,
Oshodi.
According to the charge,the accused crushedLorungwen, 33, to
deathwhile driving the masstransit bus with numberplate KJA 724 XN
on thepublic highway.
However, when theoffence was read to theaccused, he pleaded
notguilty to the one-countcharge preferred againsthim by the
police.
Magistrate AkeemFashola granted theaccused N50,000 bail withtwo
sureties, who wouldhave paid tax for a periodof three years,
andadjourned the matter toMarch 31.
By BartholomewMadukwe & Victor
Ogunsola
LAGOSACTIVITIES at IgbosereMagistrates Court were,yesterday
afternoon,paralyzed as Court 13 inthe building was gutted byfire
after an air conditionerin the courtroom sparked afire, which
extended to acabinet in the courtroom.
The incident was said tohave occurred 20 minutesafter the Chief
Judge ofLagos State, JusticeOlufunmilayo Atilade, andher entourage
paid acourtesy visit to the court.
Lagos State AttorneyGeneral andCommissioner for Justice,Mr. Ade
Ipaye, who paid acourtesy visit to the courtsaid other courts in
thebuilding were not affectedand that nothing got burnt,adding that
other courtswill resume tomorrow.
What we need to do isjust to clean up the courtand fire fighters
powderthat was used to put out thefire, Ipaye said.
Fire groundsactivities atLagos court
By Onozure Dania
PALPABLE fear has grippedresidents of Alaba,Mosafejo, Apasa and
Ojo Roadin Amukoko-Ajegunle areas ofLagos, as hoodlums battling
forsupremacy engagedthemselves in a free-for-all,leaving five
persons dead,while many others sustainedinjuries.
Vanguard gathered that arenewed clash among Apasa,Alaba and
Amukoko boys, whohad been in a protracted battleover the control of
motor andtricycle parks in the area,started last Saturday on
ApasaStreet.
Eyewitness told Vanguardthat the hoodlums, who werearmed with
sophisticated rifles,pistols and machetes, alsodestroyed property
worthmillions of naira.
An eyewitness, who identifiedhimself simply as Ojo, saidsome
Alaba boys first attackedApasa on Saturday evening.
He said: They sent peoplerunning in different directionsand
looted some shops androbbed some innocent passers-by. They also
destroyed somevehicles moving to Mosafejoarea where they
perpetratedsimilar acts.
5 killed as hoodlums clash in LagosThe next day, some Asapa
boys teamed up with Mosafejoboys to attack Alaba and killed
five of its boys.Resident of these areas have
blamed the continued hostilities
by the hoodlums on politiciansin the area, who engaged
theirservices for political ends.
By Ifeanyi Okolie
UMUAHIAGOODS andproperty worth millions ofnaira were completely
razedduring an early morninginferno, yesterday, which guttedthe
shopping complex of PoliceOfficers Wives Association,POWA, on Bende
Road,Umuahia, Abia State.
This came on a day a powergenerating set belonging toUghelli
market branch ofECOBANK, Delta State,exploded and the ensuing
fireengulfed the entire top floor ofa two-story building housing
ashopping mall and someresidential apartments.
No life was lost in the POWAfire, which started in one of
theshops upstairs in the one-storeycomplex, located close
UmuahiaPolice Area Command andCentral Police Station.
A shop owner in the complex
said he was alerted at about3am by another shop owner,when the
fire began.
He, however, regretted thatthe fire fighters that came hadnot
stayed up to two minutesbefore complaining about a faultin their
vehicle and left with apromise to return, but never did.
All the 22 shops locatedupstairs were completelydestroyed, while
two shopswere affected down stairs.
In the Ughelli incident, thepower generating set of thebank
exploded in flames at
about 1:30pm and engulfed theentire top floor of a
two-storybuilding housing a shoppingmall and some
residentialapartments.
It took the intervention ofyouths and the combined effortsof
TRANSCORP-Ughelli PowerPlc and Ughelli Command ofthe fire service
to prevent thefire from enveloping the bankand spreading to
otheradjourning buildings.
Property worth millions ofnaira were also destroyed in
theinferno.
Fire guts POWA shops in Aba,2-storey buiding in Delta
By Anayo Okoli &Brisibe Perez
LAGOS State PoliceCommand has arrestedthree suspected members of
afive-man armed robbery gangterrorizing residents andcommuters
along Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
The suspect, identified as AliuAbubakar, Anas Mohammedand Ali
Adamu, were arrestedat Okokomaiko area of Lagosafter successfully
carrying outa robbery operation at CassidyBus Stop.
It was gathered that at about5am on February 21, a five-manarmed
robbery gang attacked atruck driver, Monday Ogbe, andhis conductor,
while they wereoff-loading goods theytransported from Benue State
toLagos.
It was learned that the victims,
Police nab 3 suspectedrobbers in Lagos
By Esther Onyegbula who were robbed at gunpoint,later reported
the case at OkokoDivisional Police Station atabout 7:30 am.
When the victim went back tothe crime scene afterwards,
herecognized one of the robbers,alerted the police and thesuspect
was arrested.
The suspect, identified as AliuAbubarkar, took the police
totheir hide out, where the otherswere arrested.
A locally-made pistol, livecartridges and three macheteswhere
recovered from theirhide-out.
One of the suspects, 22-year-old Abubakar, who hasdeformities on
both hands, said:I spent 15 months in KirikiriPrison for robbery
and wasreleased in 2013. Despite thesedeformities, I have
participatedin over 10 robberies.
L A G O S P O L I C Eyesterday charged a 27-year-old sales
representative,Biola David, before a TinubuMagistrates Court
sitting inLagos Island for allegedlystealing money and goods
worthN286,500 from his employer.
The defendant is facing a two-count charge of conspiracy
andstealing preferred against himby the police.
The prosecutor, SergeantDaniel Ighodalo, told the court
that the defendant, who was asales representative, stoleN244,500
cash and threeMichael Kors wrist watchesvalued at N42,000, property
ofhis employer, one OluwatoyinKowobari.
However, the defendantdenied the charge broughtagainst him.
Magistrate O. M. Ajayiadmitted the defendant to bailin the sum
of N50,000, with tworesponsible sureties in like sumand adjourned
to March 2, formention.
Sales rep accused of theftBy Onozure Dania
Queueing for fuel in Maryland, Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO:Kehinde
Gbadamosi.
LEFT: In search of petrol in Abuja, yesterday. NAN PHOTO.
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8Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
2015 PRESIDENCY: Appeal Court clearsJonathan for re-election
MEETING: From left: Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom
State; PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, National Chairman, Adamu
Muazu; Akwa Ibom PDP governorshipcandidate, Emmanuel Udom;
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, AnyimPius Anyim
and the Bauchi State PDP governorship candidate, Muhammad Jatau
after ameeting between the leadership and governorship candidates
of the ruling PDP at the StateHouse, Aso Villa, Abuja. Photo:
Abayomi Adeshida.
WAR AGAINST TERROR: Military'll avoid humanrights abuses in its
operations Jonathan
By Ben Agande
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri The words of the constitutionbest convey
the mind of theframers. A court of law is boundto consider in its
entirety, therelevant portions of theconstitution in order to
arriveat a logical conclusion.
When relevant provisionsare read together, the wordsused, if
plain andunambiguous, must be giventheir clear meaning.
In the instant appeal, it isnot controverted that the oaththe
1st Respondent took in 2007as a result of the joint electionhe had
with late PresidentYarAdua, was the oath for anelected Vice
President as it wasYar Adua that took oath ofpresidency.
On May 6, 2010 the 1stRespondent who was then theVice President,
took oath ofpresidency by virtue of section146(1) of the
constitution tocomplete the un-expired tenureof Yaradua.
Section 137(1)(b)disqualifies a person fromstanding for election
for officeof president if he had beenelected into the office for
twoprevious elections. So theoperative word is election.
Thedisqualification is to stop theperson from participating
inelection again if he has beenso elected twice.
So the word election usedin section 137(1) (b) of the
1999constitution when given itsordinary grammatical
meaning,connotes a process wherevoting is employed to choose
aperson for the post ofpresidency.
Primary election,nomination, voting, collatingand announcement
of resultmust of necessity take place.That is the mode prescribed
inthe constitution for the electionof a president into office.
Thisdid not take place when the 1stRespondent took oath in
2010.
Stepping in of the VicePresident after the death of thePresident
cannot be deemed anelection, especially for thepurpose of taking
away a rightthat has been constitutionallyvested.
All the aforementionedprocesses, starting with partyprimaries,
can be challengedin the court of law and if itsucceed, the outcome
of anelection annulled. However, ifthe Vice President succeeds
aPresident that has died, suchcannot be challenged in courtas it is
a constitutionalrequirement.
The process that producedthe 1st Respondent asPresident in 2010,
was not anelection as no single vote wascast. This was
dramaticallydifferent from what happenedin 2011 when he
wasnominated, elected and
declared winner. That was thefirst election he took and hisfirst
election as a President.
The court said the case ofJonathans tenure wasdifferent from
that of Marwavs Nyako and the fivegovernors that were sacked bythe
Supreme Court, as thegovernors emerged throughelections.
It observed that thoughformer President OlusegunObasanjo
previously served
ABUJA THE Court ofAppeal sitting in Abuja,yesterday, cleared the
legalcoast for President GoodluckJonathan to seek a re-electionon
March 28.
In a unanimous judgment,yesterday, a five-man panelof justices
of the appellatecourt held that Jonathan waslegally qualified to
run for asecond term in office.
The appellate court panelsaid the raging contentionthat under
section 135(2) ofthe 1999 Constitution, asamended,
PresidentJonathan is not eligible topartake in the
forthcomingpresidential election havingalready taken the oath
ofoffice and oath of allegiancefor the office of thepresidency
twice, was notfounded in law.
It maintained that the firstoath Jonathan took on May6, 2010 was
only to enablehim to complete the un-expired tenure of
latePresident Umaru MusaYar adua as stipulated inSection 146(1) of
theconstitution, saying his firsttenure as substantivePresident of
Nigeriacommenced on May 29,2011, when he wasadministered the second
oathof office.
Justice Abubakar Yahaya,who delivered the leadjudgment, stressed
thatJonathan had only beenelected President once,adding that for
him to bedisqualified from theimpending poll, it must beproved that
the initial oath hetook in 2010 was a fallout ofan election.
Consequently, theappellate court, whiledismissing the appeal
lodgedagainst President Jonathanby a chieftain of the
PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, MrCyriacus Njoku, affirmed aprevious
verdict delivered byJustice Mudashiru Oniyangiof the FCT High Court
onMarch 1, 2013 .
The panel held that Njokusappeal lacks merit, even asit directed
him to pay a costof N50,000 toPresidentJonathan and the PDP, whohe
had cited as 1st and 2nddefendants in the suit.
According to JusticeYahaya, our constitution isthe grundnorm and
it issacrosanct. The 1999constitution is the foundationupon which
the democracywe practice is anchored. It is,therefore, a document
thatmust be respected,appreciated and obeyed byall of us.
as a Head of State in 1976,only the oath he took in 1999and 2003
is recognised in theeyes of the law.
As far as previous electionsare an issue, the 1st defendantis
not disqualified andconsequently, he is qualified tostand election
for the office ofpresidency, the appellatecourt held.
Njoku who is a registeredmember of the PDP in Zubaward, Abuja,
had earlier gonebefore the lower court, urging
it to, among other things,determine whether section135(2) of the
Constitution,which specifies a period offour years in office for
thePresident, is only availableor applicable to a personelected on
the basis of anactual election or includesone in which a
personassumes the position ofPresident by operation oflaw, as in
the case of Dr.Goodluck Jonathan.
ABUJA PRESIDENTGoodluck Jonathan hasassured that the
Nigerianmilitary would take everyprecaution to avoid
collateraldamage to lives andproperties of civilians as
itintensifies its ongoingoffensive against BokoHaram.
Jonathan gave thecommitment, yesterday whenhe received in
audience thenew South KoreanAmbassador to Nigeria, Mr.Noh
Kyu-Duk.
According to Jonathan,everything possible wasbeing done by the
military toavoid human rights violationsin the theatre of
operations inthe North Eastern states.
He said: We are sticking tointernational best practices
inprosecuting the war againstterrorism and doing our bestto ensure
that we dont have
cases of human rights abusesin the North-East.
We are consistentlymonitoring the situation andhave investigated
previousreports of such abuse whichwere mostly blown out
ofproportion for politicalreasons.
Our military has areputation for discipline andwe have insisted
on thatdiscipline and control for thesafety of civilians in the
North-East.
The purpose of the entireoperation is to save our peoplefrom the
brutal tyranny of BokoHaram, so we cannot toleratehuman rights
abuses orwillfully impose furthersuffering on them.
The President also told Mr.Kyu-Duk that Nigerias entiresecurity
architecture was beingreviewed, restructured andstrengthened to
ensure greatersafety for Nigerians and foreignworkers in all parts
of the
country.He said: We are inviting all
our friends in the internationalcommunity, particularly
thosethat are more technologicallyadvanced, to complement
ourefforts to build a more secureand prosperous country inwhich our
people andforeigners can live in peaceand safety.
The President urged Mr.Kyu-Duk and his Indonesiancounterpart,
Mr. HarryPurwanto, who was also at thePresidential Villa to
presenthis letters of credence, to workfor the strengthening
ofexisting trade and economicrelations between Nigeria andtheir
countries.
The new ambassadorsthanked Jonathan forreceiving them and
assuredhim that they will do their bestto promote stronger
economicand cultural relations betweentheir countries and
Nigeriaduring their tenure in Abuja.
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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 20159
Real causes of fuel scarcity, by Okonjo-IwealaFG meets marketers
today, to pay interest, forex differentialsScarcity worsens as
transporters hike fares by 100%Things are getting back to
normalNNPCDPR warns fuel station owners
By Emma Ujah, AbujaBureau Chief & Michael
Eboh
ABUJA PRESIDENTGoodluck Jonathan,yesterday, directed the
Ministerof Finance and CoordinatingMinister of the Economy,
Dr.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to paywith immediate effect alloutstanding
monies owed to oilmarketers so as to end thecurrent gruelling fuel
scarcitythat has crippled the nation andcaused untold hardship
tomillions of people.
This came as the fuel scarcityin Abuja and other citiesworsened
further, yesterday,despite assurances from theFederal Government
ofimproved supply, as motoristsexperienced increaseddifficulties in
their quest topurchase Premium Motor Spirit,PMS, from petrol
stations.
The President who restated hiscommitment to Nigerians inAbuja,
yesterday, said the publicneed not bear the burden ofneedless
bureaucracy as ispresently the case, and that theydont need excuses
but solutionswhich must be provided.
Consequently, petroleummarketers are, therefore, meetingFederal
Government officialstoday with a view to resolvingall outstanding
issues leading tothe current fuel crisis.
FG, marketersmeet today
Okonjo-Iweala who spoke tojournalists in Abuja, said thequeues
were due more topipeline vandalism and logisticsand not payment of
claims tomarketers.
Her words: Government isvery concerned about the fuelqueues
which have appeared inLagos, Abuja and other parts ofthe country.
As Nigerians canattest, the Petroleum Ministryand Nigerian
NationalPetroleum Corporation, NNPC,have worked very hard to
giveout the message that there is noneed for panic buying and
thatit is trying to reduce the queuesto the barest minimum.
We are working with them andin fact, the marketers are comingto
meet with us tomorrow(today). We have also agreed topay the
interest rate and foreignexchange differentials.
Tomorrow (today) we will bemaking part of that paymentwhen the
marketers are here andon the outstanding balance, wewill be issuing
SDN (SovereignDebt Notes) to them so that thebanks will know that
thegovernment has undertaken theobligations.
According to the minister, theGovernor of the Central Bank
ofNigeria, CBN, Mr. GodwinEmefiele, has also spoken withthe banks
so that all marketerswho want to open Letters of
LETTER OF CREDENCE: President Goodluck Jonathan (middle)
introducing theForeign Affairs Minister, Amb. Aminu Wali (left) to
Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria,Harry Purwanto after presenting
his Letter of Credence to the President at the State House,Abuja,
yesterday.
Credit could do so, adding: Wehave cleared with the
marketersthat this is how we will go aboutit.
Scarcity not about paymentissuesOkonjo-Iweala
Okonjo-Iweala said lastDecember, the government paidN320.8
billion debt owed marketers.The money, she revealed, camefrom
Excess Crude Account, whichshe said shows the seriousnesswith which
the government takesissues about payments tomarketers.
She insisted that the current fuelcrisis was not over payments
tomarketers, adding: I want toemphasize that contrary to
someunfounded speculations, thequeues are not caused by
paymentissues. As you know, we paid themarketers a total of N320.8
billionfrom the Excess Crude account intwo instalments in December
lastyear.
This underscores the fact that weare taking payment of
marketersvery seriously indeed. Weve beenin constant touch and
talking withthe marketers and a week ago wereached an agreement
with themon their core concerns which wehave addressed.
The minister commendedmembers of the Major OilMarketers
Assoaiciation ofNigerian, MOMAN, who shedescribed as very
cooperative andurged Nigerians to question themotive of others who
even refusedto open Letters of Credit, LCs.
She said: It is clear that whilethe union and most members
havebeen cooperative, some of theirmembers are not. Some of
thesepeople have even refused to openLCs to facilitate their
payments.
"We salute the union and themembers who are working hard toend
this unfortunate situation. Asfor those who are working in theother
direction, Nigerians shouldask them what their motives are.
Transporters hikefares by 100%
Meanwhile, transporters havehiked their fares by over 100
percent, as the fares within a shortdistance of Abuja city centre
whichused to cost N50 were increased toN100, while some charge
N150.
Also, large numbers ofcommuters were stranded at busstops and
parks across the FCT, asonly a few vehicles were seen onthe
roads.
Major roads in the FCT, especiallytraffic-prone areas, were
virtuallyfree, as the roads were almostdeserted due to the fact
that a largenumber of vehicles were parked atpetrol stations hoping
to get fuelwhile others left their vehicles athome after having run
out of thecommodity.
Sharp practicesat petrol stations
The situation also gave rise to
sharp practices at petrol stations,despite warning by the DPR,
assome stations used theopportunity to hike the price ofthe
product, while some othersresorted to manipulating theirpump volume
and extorting extracash from motorists beforeallowing them gain
entrance intothe stations.
A chaotic scene was recordedin almost all the petrol
stationsacross the FCT, with soldiers andother law enforcement
agentsdeployed to some stations tomaintain law and order,
When Vanguard visited Totalpetrol station opposite theNigeria
Police Headquarters,Abuja, which was dispensing thecommodity
slowly, a huge crowdof motorists were struggling tobuy the
product.
Other petrol stations that wereselling amidst long queues
ofmotorists include: OandoMabushi;Forte Oil oppositeTranscorp
Hilton; MRS, KubwaExpressway;NNPC MegaStations, Gwarinpa and
KubwaExpressway among others.
Things are getting back tonormal NNPC
This was in spite of assurancesby the Department of
PetroleumResources, DPR, the NigerianNational Petroleum
Corporation,NNPC, Petroleum ProductsPricing and Regulatory
Agency,PPPRA and the Pipeline Productsand Marketing Company,PPMC,
of a reduction of fuelqueues following increase inproducts
supply.
Group Managing Director of
the NNPC, Mr. Joseph Dawha,had on Monday assuredNigerians that
the fuel scarcitysituation will ease by yesterday,stating that the
corporation isworking hard to ensure that thecrisis is nipped in
the bud.
He maintained that things aregradually returning to normal andit
is hoped that within the nexttwo days, the situation
willnormalise.
He further stated that it isworking with the PPMC, thePPPRA and
the DPR, to ensurethe increased supply of theproduct across the
country.
He said: Things are gettingback to normal. The stations wejust
visited have confirmed theavailability of products. Thequeues are
disappearing andsupply is improving, by tomorrowand day after
tomorrow,everything will go back to normal.
Speaking in the same vein,Haruna Momoh, ManagingDirector of the
PPMC, lamentedthe absence of effective pipelinenetwork, due to the
continuousvandalisation of pipeline acrossthe country, saying it is
a majorchallenge to fuel distributionacross the country.
He, however, assured that thefuel situation will normalise in
thenext few days as, according tohim, supply is improving with
thearrival of a number of fuel vesselsover the weekend, while
morevessels are expected to arrive inthe next couple of days.
He further stated that thePPMC is expanding its depotacross the
country, adding that itis commissioning two of thedepots in a few
days time.
He saisd: Despite theincrease in our depots, we haveto make sure
that our pipelineswork. When they work, fueldistribution across the
countrywill be much easier.
He advised Nigerians not toengage in panic buying,saying that
the situation hasbeen brought under control.
DPR warnsfuel station owners
Also speaking, Mr. GeorgeOsahon, Director of the DPR,threatened
to deploy lawenforcement agents to petrolstations found to be
hoardingfuel across the country andcompel them to sell tomotorists
at the regulatedprice.
He also disclosed that theDPR will not hesitate tosanction any
marketer foundengaging in sharp practices,especially in the
hoarding ofthe product and inmanipulation of prices.
He said: We are going tomake sure that those peoplewho are
possibly hoardingfuel, dont hoard fuel. We willtry as much as
possible tominimise the number ofpetrol stations to shut down.
"For anybody who hoards,we will get law enforcementagency to go
in there andmake sure that they are forcedto sell and sell at
regulatedprices. And we are doing thatin filling stations across
thecountry to ensure this crisiseases off as soon aspossible.
-
10 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
SYNAGOGUE: Can coroner be sued or not?
By Abdulwahab Abdulah,Bartholomew Madukwe &
Victor Ogunsola
NAFDAC declares drug counterfeit kingpin wantedBy Chioma
Obinna
Agbaje, Ambode,Akele, others forLagos gov genderdialogue
HANDOVER: From left: Chief Sulaiman Adeyemi, Babaloja-General,
Ketu Market, Mr.Afolabi Kazeem, Executive Secretary, Ikosi-Isheri
Local Council Development Area, LCDA,Governor Babatunde Fashola of
Lagos State, Chief Kelvin Nwaoha, Leader, Igbo communityin Agiliti
and Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure,
duringthe official handing over of Maidan, Aina, Agiliti roads in
Kosofe Local Government Area,Lagos State, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi
Azeez.
LAGOSA Lagos State HighCourt in Ikeja, yesterday, askedparties
before Coroner's Inquestinvestigating the September 12,2014
building collapse at theSynagogue Church Of All Nations,to canvass
arguments on whetherthe coroner was a juristic personthat can be
sued or can sue.
The judge, Justice LateefaOkunnu, made the request afternoting
that the issue of juristicperson needed to be addressedin the
court, before her ruling onan application by the churchagainst the
coroners inquestinvestigating its collapsedbuilding.
The suit was instituted againstthe Lagos State Coroner's
Courtsitting in Ikeja, and the Coronerjudge, Chief Magistrate
OyetadeKomolafe.
The judge directed parties tocanvass arguments on the issue
atthe next adjournment date to assistthe court in its ruling.
The coroner's inquest was set upby the Lagos State Government
toinvestigate the September 12, 2014building collapse at SCOAN
thatkilled 116 people.
In the suit before JusticeOkunnu, the church wants thecourt to
stay further proceedingsof the inquest and suspend furtheractions
on the invitation of thechurchs General Overseer,Prophet Temitope
Joshua, toappear to give evidence before it,pending the
determination of itssuit against Magistrate Komolafe.
The church, alongside itsfounder, had also prayed Justice
Okunnu for an order ofprohibition, against theCoroners Court of
Lagos Stateand the presiding MagistrateKomolafe from exceeding
theirjurisdiction in the conduct ofcoroners inquest into the
deathof unknown persons in thecollapsed building within thepremises
of the church onSeptember 12, 2014.
The church also want theLagos High Court to issue, An
order of Certiorari to bring thecourt for the purpose of
quashingthe 1st and 2nd respondents inthe conduct of the
coronersinquest into the death ofunknown persons in theSynagogue
Church of AllNations, Ikotun Egbe, Lagos onSeptember 12, 2014 in
suitnumber CR/AL/01/2014concerning matters, issues andcircumstances
other than whatdirectly caused the death of the
victims and the manner of theirdeath for having been
conductedwithout or in excess of the statutoryjurisdiction of the
1st and 2ndrespondents.
A declaration that the decisionof the coroner to summon
theapplicants to give evidence at atime when no materials
wereplaced before the coroner againstthe applicants is a breach of
theapplicants right to fairhearing.
LAGOSNATIONAL Agencyfor Food and DrugAdministration and
Control,NAFDAC, yesterday, declared asuspected drug counterfeit
kingpinwanted over various offences,including attempted murder of
apolice officer and importation of 15container loads of fake
andcounterfeit pharmaceuticalproducts into the country.
The alleged counterfeit kingpinidentified as Mr. Kenneth
Okereke,is said to be on the wanted list ofNAFDAC for some
time.
It was gathered that efforts by theagencys task force to arrest
himrecently proved abortive as thesuspect allegedly attempted to
runover one of the police officers withhis vehicle, leaving the
officerwounded.
Briefing newsmen on the failedarrest during the parade of
threeothers arrested by the agency overforgery of NAFDAC,
Customs,Banks and Immigrationdocuments, the Director General
ofNAFDAC, Professor Paul Orhii,said presently, three warehouses
of the counterfeiter on the- runhousing over 15 container
loadsof fake drugs, valued at N1billion have been visited by
theagency.
Orhii, who described the feat
attained by the officials of theagency as the final push
towardsachieving the presidential dec-laration of zero tolerance
for fakedrugs, listed some of the medi-cines discovered amongst
sev-
eral others to include; Tarivid200mg tablet, Augmetin
tablet,Proviron, Novasc, glucophage,GSK hologram, halfan,
ciprotabamongst others.
By Morenike Taire
L A G O S GOVERNORSHIPcandidates of the PeoplesDemocratic Party,
PDP, JimiAgbaje, and his AllProgressive Congress, APCcounterpart,
AkinwunmiAmbode will today fieldquestions from the women ofLagos
State at the first Lagosgovernorship GenderDialogue holding at
theSheraton Hotel, Ikeja.
They will be joined bygubernatorial flag bearers ofthe National
Conscience Party,NCP, Ayodele Akele; KOWAParty, Victor Adeniji;
andAlliance for Democracy, AD,Bolaji Ogunseye.
The first Lagos gubernatorialgender dialogue is aninitiative of
VanguardNewspapers, the WomenAdvocates Research andDocumentation
Centre,WARDC, in collaboration withSilverbird.
The dialogue, which willhave in attendance theNigerian Civil
Society,members of the DiplomaticCorp and media, will tacklethe
candidates on theirpolicies regarding genderrelated issues, such as
health,education, poverty alleviation,decision making,environment,
disability,among others.
Judge tasks parties ahead of ruling
Many corruption allegations against mygovernment are politically
motivated Jonathan
By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor
PRESIDENT GoodluckJonathan has berated internaland external
criticisms of hisadministration as corrupt assertingthat a
significant proportion of theallegations has been
politicallymotivated.In an interview broadcast onMonday on the
English languagechannel of Al Jazeera, PresidentJonathan cited the
claim of missingoil funds raised by the erstwhilegovernor of the
Central Bank ofNigeria, CBN, and now Emir ofKano, Alhaji Lamido
Sanusi as oneof the politically motivatedallegations of corruption
directed
at his government.President Jonathan had at the
height of the allegations directed aforensic audit of the
transactions bythe international accounting firm,Pricewaterhouse
Copper.
Few months before he left officeSanusi had alleged that $49
billionwas missing from the nations oilreceipts an amount that
hesubsequently put down to $20 billionbut which finance minister,
Dr.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala initiallyalleged to be between $10
billionand $12 billion. Speaking on theissue of corruption in the
country,President Jonathan told Al Jazeera:
Yes, people talk about corruptionnow, because it has become
apolitical issue and when youpromote something to the level of
politics, normally it is blown out ofproportion, President
Jonathan said.
Yes, we have corruption cases, nodoubt about that. Yes, we have
casesof people stealing, no doubt aboutthat. I always said call a
thief a thief. Iam not saying that in Nigeria we donot have these
elements of corruptionor stealing."
While giving the example of theissues raised by the former
CBNgovernor, he said:
If you start from my former CBNgovernor, who said initially
that$49.8billion was missing. $49.8billionis a lot of money. What
is the budgetof this country for Gods sake? Ourfederal budget has
been three pointsomething trillion, and thats roughlyon the average
$18 to $20 billion ayear."
UN, AU to deploy8,700 troops tofight Boko Haram
MR Mohamed IbnChambas, SpecialRepresentative of the
UnitedNations Secretary-Generalfor West Africa, has an-nounced
plans by the UNand the African Union, AU,to deploy 8,700 troops
tofight Boko Haram insur-gency.
Chambas said on Tuesdayin Lagos that the troopswould be properly
equippedto combat all forms of BokoHaram insurgency in Westand
Central Africa.
The special representativesaid the UN, AU and inter-national
partners met lastmonth at two separate meet-ings to deliberate on
themodalities for creating amulti-national joint taskforce.
Chambas added that thetaskforce would be consti-tuted with the
contribution oftroops from four countries.
One of the top priorities ofthe UN today is the fightagainst
Boko Haram. BokoHaram is not just a problemin Nigeria but has
become aninternational concern. As weall know today, Boko Haramhas
also taken its atrocities toCameroon, Niger and Chad."
-
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015 11
JONATHAN: S-West APC faults Yorubaleaders on endorsement
By Ola Ajayi
ALLEGED DEFAMATORY COMMENTS: Osinbajo demands N2bndamages from
Fani-Kayode
IBADANALL ProgressivesCongress, APC, in the SouthWest zone has
described therecent post-national conferencesummit where some
Yorubaleaders endorsed PresidentGoodluck Jonathans secondterm
ambition as an assemblageof strange bedfellows who lackedthe
political aura to sell thecandidacy of the President toreasonable
people in the zone.
South-West APC Director ofMedia and Publicity, Mr. AyoAfolabi,
said the self-acclaimedYoruba leaders were in theminority and that
was why,despite purporting to be actingin Yoruba interest, they
held aconference that was not openedto the public.
It said the fact that it was thosecaliber of people that
werepromoting the Jonathancandidacy in South-West hadshown how
unpopular thePresident is in the region.
According to the party, It isinsulting and delusional for
thosechampioning Jonathans causein the South-West to think theycan
decide for Yoruba peoplebehind closed doors. The party
said that Tony Uranta and PeterObi attending a Yoruba summitin
supervisory role from thepresidency is another addition onthe list
of insults to the pedigreeof Yoruba nation from
Jonathansadministration and why he will berejected at the polls on
March 28."
The party maintained that
Yoruba people cannot be fooledknowing that some of those
whodubbed President Jonathan abribe giver when an allegationof
$50,000 bribe was made bythe Save Nigeria Group are theones now
championingJonathan's candidacy.
Jonathan candidacy is
unsellable because when ourmembers joined all Nigerians
toprotest and forced thepronouncement of Dr. Jonathanas the Acting
President in 2010,we were not just fighting againstthe cabal, we
were sending astrong message that we are tiredof the imperial and
high-handedgovernance culture of the PDP-led federal
government.
BENIN CITYTHECentral Bank ofNigeria, CBN, has beencommended for
its efforts tofoster a friendlyatmosphere for small andmedium scale
enterpriseswith the introduction of theN220 billion Micro, Smalland
Medium ScaleEnterprises scheme formicro finance banksoperating in
the country.
The Managing Director ofthe Lift Above PovertyOrganisation,
LAPO, a NoneGovernmental Organization,Mr Godwin Ehigiamusoe,who
gave the commendationat a lecture/send off party inhonour of staff,
AghareseAikephiomwan Osifo, saidLAPO Microfinance Bankhas
repositioned the micro,small and medium enterprisesby ensuring
that, "micro-finance as a term no longersound esoteric in the ears
ofthe public."
He said the growth andawareness of theMicrofinance banks in
thecountry have been improvedupon by the CBN, productand schemes,
which providethe lowest lending interest rate formicro businesses
at nine percent permonth, noting that the interest rateby the CBN
is to ensure,"empowerment for household tocommunity level and
eventually tothe political space."
CBN laudedon creditfacilities tomicro-financefirms
L A G O S V I C EP R E S I D E N T I A Lcandidate of the All
ProgressivesCongress, Professor YemiOsinbajo has demanded N2billion
as damages from thepresidential spokesman of thePeoples Democratic
Party, PDP,Mr Femi Fani-Kayode foralleged publication
anddissemination of defamatorystatements against him.
Professor Osinbajo is alsoasking for immediate retractionwithin
seven days of theoffensive and derogatorypublication as well as
apologyon four TV channels and fournational newspapers
circulatingin all parts of Nigeria.
In a letter addressed to MrFani-Kayode by Lagos lawyer,Mr Femi
Falana, SAN, on behalf
of Osinbajo, he is complaining ofa statement made by the
PDPpresidential spokesman whichwas broadcast on Channels TVand
published in severalnewspapers alleging thatOsinbajo made a secret
oath withSenator Bola Tinubu to be hissurrogate as Vice President
for aperiod of six months to be followedby his resignation.
According to the statement, thedirect meaning of the
falsedefamatory statements is thatProfessor Osinbajo is deceitful
andthat his characterisation ofOsinbajo as a stoogesuggeststhat he
is complicit in a fraudagainst the Nigerian people.
Professor Osinbajo isparticipating in a device thatconstitutes
subterfuge and lacksintegrity, in concert with others who
you also characterise as evil, insensitive,wicked, selfish and
desperate.
Professor Osinbajo, who is a pastor,professor of law and Senior
Advocate ofNigeria has engaged in conduct that isincompatible with
his faith, role/ethicsas a senior and respected lawyer
We therefore demand immediateretraction of the offensive
andderogatory publication and apology onfour TV channels and four
nationalnewspapers circulating in all parts ofNigeria and damages
in the sum of N2billion.
VISIT: Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu
Tambuwal (right), Mr. FestusOkoye (left) and Mr. Clem Nwankwo,
during a visit by members of the Civil Society SituationRoom, at
the National Assembly, yesterdaday.
....As Fani-Kayode demands N5bn from Lai Mohammed
By Henry Umoru
ABUJADIRECTOR,Media and Publicity ofPeoples Democratic Party,
PDP,Presidential CampaignOrganisation, PDPPCO,Chief Femi Fani-
Kayode hasindicated his intention to suethe National
PublicitySecretary of the AllProgressives Congress, APC,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed overalleged defamatorypublication.
In a three-page letter by hislawyers, Ahmed Raji andCompany,
dated March 3,2015, Fani-Kayode whodescribed the allegedstatements
by LaiMohammed as libellousagainst him, published in the
n e w s p a p e r s ,h o w e v e r ,demanded aretraction of
thesaid statement aswell as an apologyto him within seven
days of the receipt of hisletter.
The letter also demandedN5 billion as cost fordamages done to
Fani-Kayodes reputation.
Fani-Kayode, whocomplained against thecontent of the report,
titled:Were concerned about Fani-Kayodes mental status andthe
innuendoes contained init, said every allegationagainst him in the
saidpublication was false anddefamatory of his person
andcharacter.
-
12Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
Why I concentrated devt in Asaba, by UduaghanBy Emma Amaize
I won't betrayUrhobo nation,Agoda assures
Wike vows to end Rivers, Bayelsa conflictover Soku oil wells
Emerhor faults call for Jegasremoval
By Godwin Oghre
Nigeriansneed problemsolvingpresidentPETERSIDE
LP candidateassures DeltaEthiope Eastof
qualityrepresentation
ASABAGOVERNOREmmanuel Uduaghanof Delta State,
yesterday,explained why hisadministration built theInternational
Airport, ultra-modern Government Houseand other developmentprojects
in Asaba, the statecapital.
Speaking at the flag-off of 64township roads in Asaba, hesaid:
Asaba is the capital ofDelta State and it is the mirrorwith which
many people lookat us and they can go awaywith a wrong impression
ifthey see the town asundeveloped.
He said some top persons inthe state questioned him onwhy he was
paying moreattention to the growth ofAsaba, but he told them he
hadno regrets for his actionbecause God has made Asabathe capital
of the state and itmust be developed to theglory of all
Deltans.
His words: God has givenus a capital that is blessed.Asaba is
blessed, we have tolive in unity. Last weekend,the President, Dr
GoodluckJonathan, came and whenpeople saw the presidentiallodge
where he stayed, they
were impressed and said it isone of the best in the country.
The governor said thatcontracts were awarded forover156 roads in
Asaba, out ofwhich 64 had been completedand 75 were at various
stagesof completion.
He assured that more would
be completed andcommissioned before heleaves office.
Uduaghan assured that thetwo flyover projects in Warriand Asaba
will be completed.
He said one of thechallenges facing Asaba wasflooding, caused
by
indiscriminate building ofhouses which block waterchannels,
especially on Asaba-Okpanam Road.
According to him, We havestarted addressing the problemand
wherever we stop, theincoming government will startfrom there.
RIVERS State PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,governorship
candidate, MrNyesom Wike, has said that hehas obtained a firm
promisefrom President GoodluckJonathan that a politicalsolution
will be reached on thelingering Soku oil well conflictbetween
Rivers and BayelsaStates.
Wike assured the people ofSoku that he has the politicalwill and
capacity to resolve theSoku oil wells conflict to thebenefit of the
people of RiversState.
He spoke, yesterday, whenhe led Minister of Sports, Dr.Tammy
Danagogo, hisrunning mate, Dr. IpaliboBanigo and top members ofthe
Rivers State PDPCampaign Council to Soku tomeet with traditional
rulersand also address the Oceaniacommunities at a
grandgovernorship campaign rally.
Wike told the Oceaniatraditional rulers that heinformed
President Jonathanon Monday evening duringthe meeting the President
heldwith PDP governorshipcandidates that he would bevisiting Soku
and thePresident gave him a messagefor the people of the area.
He said: President Jonath-an asked me to say directly toyou that
he is an Ijaw son, heis your brother and therefore,you should not
allow peopleto carry false propaganda todivide two brothers. He
hasasked me to tell you that it isnot correct to say that he
tookSoku oil wells and gave themto Bayelsa State. PresidentJonathan
asked me to tell youthat the Soku Oil well conflictstarted earlier
betweenBayelsa and Rivers State, but
that it will be resolved politi-cally.
Speaking further, Wike said:We have the political will
andcapacity to resolve this conflict.I will not be a party to
cedingany part of Rivers State toanother state.
He berated the outgoing AllProgressives Congress,
APC,administration for abandoningthe oil bearing
Oceaniacommunities, leaving themwith no projects while topRivers
government officialscorruptly enriched themselvesat the expense of
the people.
THE Otega EmerhorCampaign Organisationhas faulted the call by
someNigerians and some membersof Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, for
the removal orresignation of the Chairman ofthe Independent
NationalElectoral Commission, INEC,Professor Attahiru Jega.
In a statement by its Directorof Publicity, Dr. FredOghenesivbe,
the EmerhorOrganisation wondered whyany sensible person will
callfor the removal of Jega at thiscritical time. Such a call,
the
statement said, was an invita-tion to anarchy.
Surprisingly, none of thesepeople has come up with anyconcrete
reason to warrant suchan action, it said.
On the permanent voterscards, PVCs, distribution,Oghenesivbe
said availablestatistics showed that theSouth-West, an All
ProgressivesCongress, APC, stronghold,has the lowest percentage
of63.20 per cent distribution, withOgun State having the leastwith
40.86 per cent distributionamong the 36 states.
By Gbenga Oke
GOVERNORSHIPcandidate of AllProgressives Congress,APC, in Rivers
State, Dr.Dakuku Peterside, has saidthat Nigeria desperatelyneeds a
president with astrong character andbearing to lead the
country.
He also said that thepresidential candidate ofAPC,
GeneralMuhammadu Buhari,remains the only optionviable for Nigeria
to moveforward.
Speaking during aninteractive session in PortHarcourt,
Petersidedescribed Buhari as atransparent andexperienced leader,
just ashe called on the people ofthe South-South region
todiscountenance attempts toportray Buhari as areligious bigot.
He said: Only very fewpersons in Nigeria todaycan deny the fact
that thecountry is faced withmultifaceted challenges inthe areas of
security, power,education, employment,corruption and manyothers,
and it is only afocused governmentheaded by an enigmaticleader like
Buhari that canaddress the nations manychallenges."
THE candidate ofLabour Party torepresent Ethiope
Eastconstituency at the DeltaState House of Assembly,Chief Evans
Ivwurie, hasassured the people of thelocal government area
ofquality representation ifgiven the mandate torepresent them.
Ivwurie, whileaddressing the people ofEthiope East at
Otorho-Agbon, said he indicatedinterest to contest for theposition
after seeing thesuffering being meted onthe electorate by
therepresentatives theythought would transformtheir lives.
He said that he cameto make a differenceamong the people
ofEthiope East.
OKPARATHE AllP r o g r e s s i v e sCongress, APC,
senatorialcandidate for Delta Centralsenatorial district in
theforth coming generalelections in Delta State,Halims Agoda,
haspromised the Urhobonation of quality andeffective representation
atthe Senate, if elected onMarch 28.
He also promised that hewill neither disappoint norbetray the
Urhobo nation atthe National Assembly ashe has never betrayedthem
before now while hewas in the state House ofAssembly and the House
ofRepresentatives, between1991 to 2011.
Agoda, who made thepledge during hisconsultation visit to
thePresident General, Dr PeterObakponovwe and peopleof Okpara
Inland inEthiope East LocalGovernment Area of thestate, said he was
the onlycandidate among the threecurrently jostling for
theposition, who has servedthe people, both at the stateHouse of
Assembly and theHouse of Representatives.
MEETING THE PRESIDENT: President Goodluck Jonathan (right) with
youths of Move OnNigeria, an NGO, who signed a giant card
expressing solidarity for Nigeria's military in theiroperation
against insurgency, on Sunday.
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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 201513
CMYK
Benin Forum to meet on endorsement ofpresidential candidate
By Simon Ebegbulem
Ijaws in Edodrum upsupport forJonathan
Buhari'll turn Nigeria's misfortunes aroundAMAECHI
No project was abandoned byAmaechi, says Peterside
By Egufe Yafugborhi
By Jimitota Onoyume &Davies Iheamnachor
Odibo, bestUdu materialfor DTHA MONARCH
NSCDC nabstwo trailerloads ofcondensate,diesel in Delta
WITH few weeks to thepresidential election,Governor Rotimi
Amaechi ofRivers State has again assuredthat the All
ProgressivesCongress, APC, under Gen.Muhammadu Buhari will turnthe
countrys misfortunes aroundif elected.
He noted that the currentchallenges plaguing the countrywould
adequately be addressedwith the needed political will topositively
turn around thecountrys wheel of development.
Amaechi spoke in Degema,Obonoma and Abonnemacommunities in
Degema andAkuku-Toru Local GovernmentAreas of the state during
APC'sward to ward campaign.
He criticised PresidentGoodluck Jonathan for not takingdecisive
action on the recent tragicshooting that disrupted the APCrally in
Okirika, Rivers State.
He said: This election is notabout brother, it is about
yourstomach. If dollar likes, it can getto N300 or N400 to a
dollar, thePresident can afford it but youcant afford it. Now they
triedeverything possible to stop thedollar from losing control.
They
couldnt because the economy willdetermine whether the dollar
willlose control or not and theeconomy has done that already.
Another one is fuel. They havedone everything possible to payfor
fuel. They cant pay. Themoney is not there. Now, there isfuel
crisis. If they win, they willabandon you completely becausethey
have no solution to theproblems.
The first solution to theproblems is a new government.Are we
going to win? The answeris yes. We have not startedcampaign. We
will start campaignby the end of this week. We willsee the crowd
again that willfrighten the president. Nigerianswant change. Things
have got tochange.
He decried the poor state of thefederal road in Kalabari
area,
assuring that Buhari, when elect-ed president, will fix the road
andbring other democratic dividendsto the state.
See your road. Two years ago,I sat with the president
andKalabari chiefs and I said, Allowme take this road. The
presidentsaid no. You can see the road.Next rainy season, you
cannotdrive into this place unless youchange the President and if
youchange the President, then thenew President can fix the
road."
BOOK PRESENTATION: From Left Engr. Adeleke Olarewaju, chief
launcher; GovernorEmmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State and Prof. Sam
Oyovbaire during the book presentation/launch on Obstetric
Ultrasonography: Basic Principles and Techniques, by Dr. Festus
Ossai,in honour of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa,PDP Delta State
governorship candidate, in Asabayesterday. Photo: Nath Onojake.
BENINFOLLOWINGwhat it described asunauthorised statementreleased
by the Secretary of theBenin Forum, Mr. HenryOgbodu, SAN, there
areindications that the leadershipof the forum may hold anemergency
meeting this weekto discuss the brewing crisis inthe group which is
theumbrella body of all Binis.
Vanguard gathered that themeeting became inevitableafter
majority of the members,including the Chairman of theForum, Chief
David Edebiri,said a statement by theSecretary of the Forum was
notauthorised.
The Secretary of the forum,Mr Ogbodu, in a statement,had said
that the commentsmade by the Esogban of BeninKingdom and Chairman
of theForum, Chief Edebiri thatBinis will not vote for
PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, were theirpersonal opinion and not
thatof the forum.
Noting that the forum was nota political platform forendorsing
any presidential
candidate, Ogbodu said thatif at all the Forum was toendorse any
presidentialcandidate, it should bePresident Jonathan, whom theOba
of Benin had earlierendorsed through the CrownPrince of Benin, when
hevisited the President in Abuja,last year.
However, a top member of
the Forum told Vanguard:Many of us were shocked byOgbodus
statement and moreso when we found out that theChairman of the
Forum, whomthe Oba appointed, ChiefEdebiri, was not also aware
ofthe statement. That means,some people want to use himto destroy
the forum, and thatwill not work."
PORT HARCOURTG O V E R N O R S H I Pcandidate of All
ProgressivesCongress, APC, in Rivers State,Dr Dakuku Peterside,
hasdismissed as untrue allegationsin some quarters that therewere
several abandonedprojects of Governor RotimiAmaechis administration
in thestate.
Peterside, who spoke in BodoCity, Gokhana LocalGovernment Area,
said workwas still ongoing in alluncompleted projects initiatedby
Governor Amaechi.
According to him, the state
government had not abandonedany project it started, addingthat
if elected, he will sustainthe success of the governor.
He appealed to the people tovote for General MuhamaduBuhari
(rtd), assuring that hewill complete the Trans-Bodo-Bonny Road.
In a related development,Peterside enjoined the peopleof the
state to ensure they electGod fearing leaders.
Speaking at a dinnerorganised by InternationalMinisters Network,
a non-denominational Christiangroup in Port Harcourt, heurged
church leaders to guidetheir members to vote wisely.
By GabrielEnogholase
BENINAHEAD ofthe March 28presidential election, theIjaws of Edo
State aredrumming up support forthe re-election of
PresidentGoodluck Jonathan,saying that the Presidenthas performed
welldespite the challengesfacing the country.
The Ijaws, who visitedover 40 Ijaw communitiesin Ovia South-West
andOvia North-East LocalGovernment Areas of thestate to sensitise
theirkinsmen on why theyshould vote for PresidentJonathan, said
that theywere not supporting himbecause he is an Ijaw,but for his
developmentalstrides with a lot ofprojects across thecountry.
By Festus Ahon
ASABAMEN ofthe Nigeria Securityand Civil Defence Corps,NSCDC,
have arrestedeight persons with twotrailers loaded withsubstance
suspected to becondensate and diesel inDelta State.
Parading the suspects inAsaba, state Commandantof NSCDC,
ClementAdesuyi named thesuspects to include SalisuMohammed,
AdamuSeidu, Sylvester Irabor andfive others, who were intheir
custody, adding thatMohammed, 26, who hailsfrom Yobe State, was
thedriver of one of the trailerswith registration numberKano XA 611
KUR loadedwith 125 drums of thecondensate, while Irabor,28, from
Edo State drove theother trailer load of 33,000litres of
diesel.
WARRITHE Ovieof Udu Kingdom,HRM Owhorhu I, hasdescribed
PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, flagbearer for Udu constituencyin the
Delta State House ofAssembly, Elegbete MosesOdibo, as the best
materialto occupy the seat in thecoming elections.
The Udu monarch, whilereceiving Odibo and hiscampaign team, who
visitedhis palace at Aladja, as partof his ongoing campaign,called
on all Udu people togive their support to thePDP candidate to
ensurethat he wins the election.
Owhoru I, who noted thatthe primary business of theHouse was
lawmaking,noted that Odibo, being theonly lawyer among
thecandidates, stood a betterchance to represent Udu.
He said: The only thingwe ask of Elegbete Odibois that he must
not forgetthe people when he gets toAsaba. In and
outsidegovernment, Odibo hasworked for Udu. I knowhow much he has
helpedto facilitate the process ofgetting DSC on its feet inthe
past with good results.He will do well if voted.
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CMYK
14 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015 15
CMYK
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16 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
VISIT: From left: Deputy Comptroller-General (DCG) of Customs,
Trade and Tariff, Mr AkinadeAdewuyi; DCG, Human Resources, Mr
Ibrahim Mera; Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), Mr
Ima Niboro; Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Alhaji Dikko
Abdullahi; DCG,Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Mr Tahir
Musa and Special Assistant to NAN ManagingDirector, Mr Obiora
Chukwumba, during a courtesy visit to CGC's office in Abuja
yesterday.
Why we rejected Elechi's gov candidate,by PDP Council of
Elders
Go into politics now, MethodistArchbishop charges Christians
FG commissions N31bnEnugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja-Ikom-Mfum road
By Francis Igata
ENUGUTHE FederalGovernment yesterday,commissioned the 240km
Enu-gu-Abakakiliki-Ogoja-Ikom-Mfum Trans-Africa Highway-which cost
N31 billion.
Performing the commission-ing at Kilometre 6, Enugu-Abakiliki
expressway, Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathan, whowas represented by the
Min-ister of Work, Mr. Mike Onole-memen, revealed that the
roadproject was consistent with theefforts of his
transformationagenda towards free flow ofpersons and goods in
thecountry.
His words: This all impor-tant project that links Nigeriato
Cameroon starting fromEnugu-Abakiliki-Ojoja-Ikom-Mfum is part of
the Trans-Af-rica Highway project.
As part of the confidencebuilding mechanism betweenNigeria and
Cameroon, afterthe Bakassi Peninsula saga, theWorld Bank and Africa
Devel-opment Bank collaborated withthe Government of
Nigeria,Cameroon to ensure that partof the Trans-Africa
Highwaybetween Nigeria and Cam-eroon was rehabilitated.
The road had been in a verybad shape, so we got a softIDA
facility for its fundingfrom the banks I mentioned.The road was
executed at atotal cost of N31 billion. It was
flag-off in 2012.Social infrastructures were
built as part of the main roadwork contract. Under this
ar-rangement, 36 boreholes/hand pumps,3 agriculturalproduce drying
platforms,fourCassava processing mills, onerice processing mill,5
palm oilprocessing mills were built forcommunities along the
mainroad corridors.
Other are eight new class-room blocks and renovation ofexisting
primary schools, twotown halls, eight access roadand culverts
linking commu-nities and one dispensary.
By Austin Ogwuda Ezea, who visited him inEnugu to acquaint him
on hisvision to govern the state.
He said: Todays church ispolitically aware. We go out ofour way
to encourage Christiansto go into politics. We have tobe part of
how our people aregoverned. If we pray and wedont get involved, we
will bedestroying our prayers.
Earlier, the APC governorshipcandidate lamented that thepeople
of Enugu State were nothaving the best of democracydividends.
He particularly expressedconcern about the fate ofstudents in
Enugu, saying theywere yet to embrace e-learningand wondered how
students inEnugu could compete with theirpeers in other states.
By Peter Okutu
A B A K A L I K I T H EEbonyi State Council ofElders of Peoples
DemocraticParty, PDP, yesterdayemphasized that the reason itdecided
to reject GovernorMartin Elechis governorshipcandidate was because
of hisautocratic disposition towardsissues affecting the state.
According to the Elders, thegovernor unilaterally nominatedProf.
Onyebuchi Chukwu as hispreferred candidate for the PDPgovernorship
ticket withoutconsulting the elders as was
done in 2007 before heemerged governor on theplatform of the
PDP.
Briefing newsmen at the endof its meeting in Abakaliki,
thechairman, Council of Elders ofEbonyi State PDP,
AmbassadorFranklin Ogbuewu, stated thatefforts made by the Council
tomake the governor democratizethe transition process wasrebuffed
by him as the Councilhad no other choice than to backa candidate
different from his.
Ogbuewu stressed thatbetween August and Novemberlast year, each
member of thecouncil participated in variousfora where Governor
Elechicanvassed support for powershift from Ebonyi Central toSouth
senatorial zone of the state.
According to him, it is notthe right of the governor tofurther
back a candidate ( SirEdward Nkwegu) from theold Abakaliki bloc
which hadalready produced a governor
for 16 years.If the governor was properly
and wisely advised, he ought tohave a clean break and join
theLabour party.
His manipulative claim to re-main in the PDP while the
entirestructures of his government andall the expenditure of that
gov-ernment go to the Labour partyare totally unacceptable to
thiscouncil and to the generality ofEbonyi people.
The attacks by Governor
Elechi on prominent sons of thestate, such as Secretary to the
Gov-ernment of the Federation, SGF,Senator Anyim Pius Anyim,
theformer Minister and Ambassadorof Nigeria, Chief Franklin
Og-buewu, and former INEC Com-missioner, Chief Fidelis Nwank-wo,
stand condemned by thiscouncil and we caution ourgovernor to desist
from state-ments capable of maligning,tarnishing or defaming
law-abiding citizens whose interestshe was elected to serve,
Am-bassador Ogbuewu said.
TRADE Union Congressof Nigeria, TUC, yesterdayexpressed shock
over the re-emergence of fuel scarcity andqueues nationwide, saying
allstakeholders must ensure thatnormalcy returned immediately.
In a statement signed by the
President and Secretary, BobboiKaigama and Musa Lawal,
re-spectively, TUC said it wasshocked at the return of fuel
scar-city and unbearable queues na-tionwide.
The statement read: It is oneunpleasant development that hascut
short the joy we had when theprice of Premium Motor
Spirit,otherwise known as fuel, was re-duced by the Federal
Govern-ment in January, 2015.
It is bad enough that themasses are meant to go throughthese
needless pains again butworst that instead of the lead-ership and
stakeholders risingup and facing the challengefrontally they are
busy castingaspersions and playing theblame game again.
The Congress finds it very dif-ficult to describe things
happen-ing on the eve of the 2015 gener-al elections. It has indeed
becomean onerous task to explain be-cause instead of politicians
ad-dressing issues and how they in-tend to help the economy to
dobetter they are busy dwelling onpersonalities.
Sometimes we wonder if ourpoliticians are bothered by thecurrent
price of crude in the in-ternational market as against whatit was
sold for few months ago!Could it be that politicians haveforgotten
that oil is the mainstayof the economy for now?
TUC decries return of fuel scarcityBy Victor Ahiuma-Young
E N U G U T H EM e t h o d i s tArchbishop of Enugu, HisGrace
Christopher NwekeEdeh, has said it was no longerfashionable for the
church tosit on the fence while some badpoliticians mess up the
destinyof their members and thenation at large.
He has, therefore, advisedthat church leaders shouldencourage
their flock to breakthe jinx and let their membersparticipate in
active politics.
He stated this whileresponding to remarks madeby the All
ProgressivesCongress, APC,governorship candidate inEnugu State, Mr.
Okechukwu
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Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH
4, 2015 1717171717
Tabia Princewill is astrategic communicationsconsultant and
publicpolicy analyst. She is alsothe co-host and executiveproducer
of a talk show,WALK THE TALK whichairs on Channels TV.
[email protected]
Nigeria, a tale of two citiesNigeria, a tale of two
citiesNigeria, a tale of two citiesNigeria, a tale of two
citiesNigeria, a tale of two cities
THE name makes somecringe in anticipation,others wonder aloud:
whenwill PDP stop waging a waragainst itself and rectify themess it
has made in the courtof public opinion?First, Buhari was the
enemy.When Nigerians didnt bitelisten to your staff, e.g.
cook,driver etc. talk about him andyou will understand my
pointabout perception and firstimpressions, the man toohonest is a
common phraseone hearsthe enemybecame Bola Tinubu.So, Fayose asks
Nigerians tosave Buhari from Tinubu. As I
GoGoGoGoGovvvvvernor Fernor Fernor Fernor Fernor
Faaaaayyyyyoseoseoseoseoseheard someone say, but whoneeds saving
from who?
THE tide is beginning to turn: the whole worldcould not be going
one waywhile Nigeria persists ingoing the other. Corruptionhas
become the byword for thiselection as Nigerians begin torealise its
very real cost andimplication on their everydaylives.
Indeed, Nigerians cannotcontinue to accept a system
ofwastefulness and recklessspending in lean times. So itseems that
even the embattledPDP is forced to agree as theparty spokesman,
OlisaMetuh, recently called onparty officials and public
officeholders to be ready to makesacrifices as the party vowsto
work harder at ensuringprudent management ofresources and less
leakages.
This statement in itself is anindictment of the sorry state
ofaffairs in Nigeria today. Byand large, PDP currentlysuffers from
a serious imageproblem which the APC as theopposition, has been
smart tocapitalise on, doubled by itschoice of a
presidentialcandidate who appears to theelectorate as one of the
fewmorally upright andincorruptible politicians leftstanding.
Comments onsocial media
Proof of this is that thecampaigns which attempted tonegatively
paint GeneralBuharis time in office asdubious or corrupt did
nottrend or hold any real tractionwith the electorate, ifcomments
on social media areanything to go by.
Which would perhapsexplain the efforts to drawnegative attention
to theGenerals person, which inmany ways, reminds one ofRepublican
fielded attacksagainst Obama, a democrat,who was criticised for
beingborn in Hawaii (which, mindyou, is still an American
state),then for being a Muslim(which as it turns out he isntbut the
idea is still irrelevantas it doesnt make him anymore or less
capable),controversies many foundeither senseless or laughable.So,
what is it withConservatives and smeartactics?
Conservatives and imageproblems: Conservativesaround the world
generallysuffer from image problems;they are seen as being
pro-rich, pro-big business ratherthan pro-people.
This was a huge issue afterthe Thatcher era in Britainwhere
economic crisisbolstered support for Labourwhich cruised to power
on aproletariat loving wave.Even today, David Cameronsgovernment is
seen as sellingout to the super-rich andaiding corporate criminals
andtax-dodgers (it would beinteresting to find out howmany party
donors in Nigeriaactually pay taxes).
Despite it all, they, like anyother political party (except
perhaps in Nigeria) areaccountable to their electoratewho can
vote them in or out(which has been done over theyears without
politiciansthreatening war, thunder andbrimstone should any
oneperson loose). Smear tactics ina two party democracy oftenappear
in times of desperation.But even at that, in modernsocieties, there
aregovernment agencies thatsupervise communicationsand
advertorials, who can
sanction brands or individualswho make offensive statements(such
as wishing death on aperson or candidate). So whatmakes the
Nigerian situationso different you might ask?
Difference between theConservatives & Progressives:Let us
begin with the fact thatdespite all protests to thecontrary, our
party system isstill not built on much ideology.What are the
fundamentalideological differencesbetween PDP and APC?
The PDP identifies itself asa conservative party while theAPC
calls itself progressive. Iwould like to briefly discusswhat these
words mean in theinternational context beforecoming to what they
meancloser to home.
Economic liberalism, a freemarket approach to publicservices,are
some of the wordsused to describe conservativeswhile social
democrats favourthe welfare state, governmentintervention and
povertyreduction programmes.
You can guess which modelhistorically works best for afledgling
economy and abudding democracy. However,due to our indebtedness to
theIMF and obsession withmindlessly copyingWesterners (whose
economiesand societies mind you, allstarted out with
interventionistand protectionist policies tohelp them grow to where
theyare today) we refuse to tailorour initiatives and actions tothe
realities on ground.
The APC in its manifestomentions a lot of humancapital
development
initiatives while the GoodluckNigeria campaign focusesmostly on
public infrastructureachievements (trains, schoolsetc.),
agricultural reforms andthe like. However, even ourpolicy and
communicationsstrategists might just bemissing the point entirely.
Yousee, investing in humanbeings does not make one aprogressive:
ALLgovernments (evenautocracies) invest in theircitizens to survive
andbuilding infrastructure iscommonplace, that it is toutedas an
achievement by anyonepoints to the mediocrity of oursystem rather
than itsprogress.
Humanisttendencies
Despite all this, APCs publicpersona, whether true or false,is
one of humanist tendenciesand social succour, the missinglink today
between the PDPand electoral victory.
Indeed, the measure of goodgovernance is in the quality oflife:
how do students fare inpublic education? As I oftensay, it is not
about thehospitals, stadiums orclassrooms one builds, it isabout
the individuals who aremeant to use them. How
difficult is it for them to get agood job?
What are a childs prospectsfor social mobility? Cancitizens
easily transportthemselves from one region toanother? How
accessible andaffordable is public healthcareto the average man or
woman?These are the questions thatcan either save or indict thePDP
or any incomingadministration. In truth, thiselection is not about
policy,which the average voter,unfortunately, has littleknowledge
of as both partieshave failed over the years toprepare them for
such loftybut crucial conversations. It isa referendum on
candidatespublic personas andperceptions, which mostNigerians take
as a symbol ofthe battle for this countryssoul and values.
Nigeria today truly is a taleof two cities, of two
competingnarratives. The Spartan,disciplined soldier vs. whatsome
would call a shoelessprodigy who becamepresident against all
odds.The best government housesand presidential lodges are inPDP
states, said thePresident at a youth event inLagos on Sunday.
The war is indeed one ofperception and many wish thePresidents
aides wouldinform him of this. FormerFrench President Sarkozy
wasnicknamed the bling blingpresident and lost his re-election bid
due to publicperception, not just theeconomic downturn.
It is ironic that thePresidents humblebackground has not helped
theperception of him, due in partto the people around him
andNigerians feel cheated, takenfor granted, especially whenso many
supported him whenthe cabal as he called it,refused to let him take
overfrom YarAdua.
In life, it seems, nothing iscertain except death
andcorruption.
I ADMIRE him a lot. Hesnot a core politician yethes slugging it
out with thebest and worst of them. Butthe JK I know and trust
issomewhat at odds with thecomments making the roundsabout his
asking who is more
Uncle Jimi, omoluabi ekoUncle Jimi, omoluabi ekoUncle Jimi,
omoluabi ekoUncle Jimi, omoluabi ekoUncle Jimi, omoluabi
ekohandsome between Buhariand Jonathan.Being a conservative is
trickyenough: one must remaincurrent, something the PDPhas
struggled to do, and so,without embracing socialmedia and best
practices inpolitical communications,the PDP is losing the
publicperception war to theironically youth friendlyAPC and its 72
year oldcandidate. Food for thought.
*Ekiti State Governor, AyoFayose
*PDP Lagos Stategovernorship candidate,Jimi Agbaje.
It is ironic that thePresidents humblebackground has nothelped
the perceptionof him, due in part tothe people aroundhim and
Nigeriansfeel cheated, takenfor granted,especially when somany
supported himwhen the cabal ashe called it, refused tolet him take
overfrom YarAdua
CMYK
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OPINION
18 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
Let Nigeria beBy Eddie Mbadiwe
Hon. Mbadiwe, wrote from Abuja.
THE drumbeats reminiscent of thoseheard before the civil war are
againthreatening, discordant and sometimesfrightening. One
sometimes cannotdecipher whether we are preparing for anelection or
a war.On the day Professor Jega announced thispostponement the
countdown started. It isnow a matter of a few short weeks and
thebring back chibok campaign is countingin days.At amalgamation in
1914, the Britishcolonial government in their wisdom butmore
importantly for administrativeconvenience merged the Northern
andSouthern Protectorate with the nameNigeria.Unfortunately, this
merger did not lead tofusion nor even cohesion among the over
200ethnic nationalities speaking more than 260languages that occupy
this God-given landspace.Be that as it may, Nigeria is not the
onlyamalgam nation state in existence. Thereare many and examples
include GreatBritain where the English, Scots, Welsh andIrish have
worked out a modus vivendi tosustain a rocky four prolonged
marriage.Canada and Sudan are other exampleswhere internal cold war
exists among thenationalities, but the ceasefire continues
toendure. Their understanding seems to bethat as long as the centre
holds, LET THEIRCOUNTRIES BE.All nations, incl