APC primary: Buhari takes

BURNA BOY:
decision without cabal’s
Issue-based campaigns, Club guards flee
input—PRESIDENCY 8
particularly in developed
democratic nations, carries as CSO insists
utmost significance at every OPL 245 deal: UK court
period of elections rules against FG in JP on thorough
22
Morgans’s $1.7bn case 9 investigation 7

Nigeria’s oil output drops 23.8% to 1.024m bpd —OPEC 19

VOL. 27: NO. 64580 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022

VP slot: PDP c’ttee picks Wike;

Tinubu’ll decide, says Imo gov
How 13 of 17 PDP committee members chose WikeWe’ll name running mate in 48
hours — AYUTinubu, not APC govs’ll choose running mate — UZODIMMAMuslim- 5
Muslim ticket bad for peace, unity — CATHOLIC SECRETARIAT
BAO MEGA RALLY... Benue
massacre: We
may resort to
self-help, if...
— ORTOM 13
PLATEAU:
Kidnappers
demand
N50m ransom
for Catholic
priest 6
DRUG
TRAFFICKING:
Abba Kyari’s
Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola co-defendants
Ahmed Tinubu; APC governorship candidate, Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji; and National Chairman of the party,
Senator Abdulahi Adamu; during the APC mega rally held in support of Oyebanji at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, Ado- bag 2 years
Ekiti, yesterday. jail term 9

Why FG should remove Mr & Mrs

fuel subsidy —SOLUDO 26

World Bank forecasts Nigeria’s

public debt to hit 36% of GDP 8

COLUMNISTS THE BOSS LADY 15 OCHEREOME NNANNA 16 ROTIMI FASAN 17 DEAR BUNMI 23
2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 — 3
4 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022

VP slot: PDP c’ttee picks Wike; Tinubu’ll
decide, says Imo gov
How 13 of 17 PDP committee members chose WikeWe’ll name running
mate in 48 hours — AYUTinubu, not APC govs’ll choose running mate —
UzodimmaMuslim-Muslim ticket bad for peace, unity - Catholic Secretariat
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, John Alechenu
& Luminous Jannamike
A BUJA — If what tran
spired at the meeting
of the Peoples Democratic
Party Selection Committee,
saddled with the responsi-
bility of recommending a
running mate for its presi-
dential candidate, Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar, is anything
to go by, Rivers State gov-
ernor, Nyesom Wike, will
be picked as the party’s
vice presidential candidate.
The committee sources
told Vanguard, recom-
mended the Rivers State
governor after 13 of 17
members, who attended
the meeting at the PDP Na-
tional Secretariat, yester-
day, voted in favour of Wike,
three voted for others, while
the chairman who can only
vote when there is a tie did
not vote.
This came on day Gover-
nor Hope Uzodimma of Imo
State, after a meeting with
President Muhammadu
From left: Sen Iyiola Omisore; members of the Lagos Governor’s Advisory Council: Hon. Wale
Edun; Alhaji Mutiu Are; Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq; Ogun State Governor, Prince
Dapo Abiodun; Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu; National Chairman, All Progressives
Congress (APC), Sen. Abdullahi Adamu; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Senator
Ibikunle Amosun, during a condolence visit to the Ondo State Governor over the recent Owo terror
attack yesterday.
M y question is, when
will the ban be
extended to other parts of
Lagos or are those not
humans too? Okada should
be banned in every nook and
cranny of Lagos. We all
deserve a crime-free,
organised and orderly Lagos.
I saw one woman arguing
with passengers in a bus that
okada ban on Lagos express
isn’t a good thing. She
doesn’t want to understand
the safety part. I weak oo.
—Joy Wan Terver,
Nurse
Buhari in Abuja, told jour-
nalists that the All Progres-
sives Congress, APC, pres-
idential candidate, Asiwa-
ju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will
decide who his running
mate would be.
Meanwhile, the Catholic
Secretariat of Nigeria, has
warned the APC against
fielding a Muslim-Muslim
ticket, saying it would not
augur well for peace and
unity in the country.
How PDP commit-
tee chose Wike
The source said: “The
panel initially trimmed the
list to three — Nyesom
Wike, Ifeanyi Okowa, and
Udom Emmanuel. When
the names were subjected
to further scrutiny and put
to vote, 16 out of 19 voted
in Wike’s favour. With his
track record of loyalty to the
party and performance at
Assessment of okada ban enforcement in Lagos
T raffic laws are the
most flouted in
Nigeria. I am therefore not
surprisedthatthebanonokada
insomepartsofLagosisalready
being disobeyed. The okada
ridersarebackonsomeexpress
roadsandinsomeareaswhere
theywerebanned.
However, law is made to be
enforced and so let the music
play on.
—Odoko Henry,
Engineer
our just-concluded presi-
dential primaries, most of
us felt this is the right thing
to do.”
Another party source told
the Vanguard that the par-
ty equally took a cue from
the United States where
“Joe Biden picked Kamala
Harris as running mate af-
ter he defeated her in the
Democratic Party presiden-
tial primary in a bid to unite
the party.”
Wike scored 237 as
against the 371 delegate
votes at the PDP presiden-
tial primary secured by
Atiku, who won the nomi-
nation.
However, the final deci-
sion on the eventual run-
ning mate still remains the
prerogative of the party can-
didate who is currently out
of the country.
Earlier in his remarks,
National Chairman of the
PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu,
expressed confidence that
the party and its presiden-
tial candidate, Atiku Abu-
T he day of reckoning is
fast approaching and
we must call a spade a
spade. 2023 elections are
round the corner, APC
should warn Lagos State
governor on this okada
ban; it’s a plan against
northerners. He wants to
remove us from his state
simply because we have
the highest number of
voters. His brother is the
candidate of APC, how will
he start his campaign?
—Ishaku Tarafaya,
Business analyst
bakar, will on or before Fri-
day, present a running
mate Nigerians will relate
well with and vote into of-
fice.
We’ll name
running mate in
48 hours — Ayu
Ayu gave the assurance
in his opening remarks at
a meeting with members of
the consultative committee
set up to assist Atiku choose
a running mate.
He explained that the
meeting was in furtherance
of consultations aimed at
arriving at a choice which
Nigerians would be glad to
elect into office.
Ayu said: “The presiden-
tial candidate of our party
would have been here but
this morning he suddenly
dashed somewhere, he
apologised and if he comes
early, he will join us but we
will go ahead with the as-
signment he has given us.
“The candidate wrote to
I t should be a total ban;
we can survive without
okada in Lagos. Many of
the okada riders here are
terrorists, some are non-
Nigerians. Nigeria is a
sick, depraved society.
Our security agents took
charge of the fish business
in Baga, Borno State, now
they have taken over the
okada business since the
ban in Lagos. What
manner of people are we?
—Aruna Kehinde,
Teacher/Facilitator
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 — 5
POCKET CARTOON
us as the administrative
arm of the party on the
choice of his running mate.
Various organs of the party
are well represented in his
committee, NWC, gover-
nors forum, National As-
sembly, and former gover-
nors who have put forward
their candidates
“This deliberation will be
chaired by my Deputy,
Ambassador Umaru
Damagum. I wish you a
successful deliberation and
I hope you come up with a
conclusion between tomor-
row and Friday. Our presi-
dential candidate this time
has decided to carry eve-
rybody along, unlike in
2019 when he didn’t con-
sult widely in his choice of
running mate.”
The meeting had in at-
tendance the Chairman of
the PDP Governors Forum,
Aminu Tambuwal; Bauchi
State Governor, Bala Mo-
hammed; Benue State Gov-
ernor, Samuel Ortom;
former Senate President,
David Mark; former Ondo
State Governor, Olusegun
Mimiko; former Cross Riv-
er State Governor, Liyel
Imoke; Senator Philip Adu-
da; Deputy National Chair-
man (North), Umar Dama-
gun; and Mr Ndudi
Elumelu among others.
Group roots for Wike
In a related development,
a group of parliamentari-
ans under the aegis of the
Patriotic Parliamentarians
Front, PPF, a pressure
group within the PDP, has
By Cynthia Alo
I ’m in support of the ban
in Lagos. I don’t mind
trekking long distances; it
is better for the govt. to take
charge now before it gets
out of hand. You think these
evil people are not here in
Lagos? They are numerous.
Government should just
create an enabling
environment so that those
who genuinely want to work
among them can get other
jobs to do because crime
rate will increase.
—Bukola Omololu,
Business analyst
advised the party to pick
Wike as its vice presiden-
tial candidate.
Already, two members of
the PDP in the House of
Representatives – former
Deputy Minority Leader,
Honourable Chukwuka
Wilson Onyema and Hon-
ourable Tajudeen Yusuf
(PDP, Kogi State) have
started mobilizing others
towards ensuring the
emergence of an Atiku/
Wike ticket.
PPF’s spokesman, Alhaji
Mohammed Maikano who
revealed this in Abuja, said
progress is already being
made in the North with the
mobilization for Southern
votes now a major concern.
He disclosed that objec-
tive assessments made by
the group deeply asserts
the significance of South-
South votes for PDP’s 2023
electoral victory, adding
that there is no doubt that
Governor Wike will be key
to the party’s 2023 election
game plan.
Maikano said: “Our cal-
culation based on exhaus-
tive studies, is that no one
in the entire South-South
geopolitical zone can sur-
pass the votes and other
strategic resources that can
be mobilised towards
achieving victory for Atiku/
PDP in the 2023 elections. In
past elections, Governor Nye-
som Wike had defied great
odds and consistently deliv-
ered the highest quantum of
votes for PDP in the entire
South-South geopolitical
zone.
Continues on Page 27
G ood move by Lagos
State but where are
the okada riders now?
Did they relocate to their
homelands or still living
in our neighbourhoods? If
they don’t get their daily
earnings as before, how
are they feeding? I believe
money is not their
problem because they
have people funding
them; otherwise, how do
they buy new bikes
without blinking an eye?
—Adekoya Pelumi,
Administrator
6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
Child custody
case: Court bars
NAPTIP from
inviting
ex-Minister,
Fani-Kayode
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
A BUJA—The Federal High
Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday,
stopped the National Agency for the
Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons
and other related offences, NAPTIP,
from inviting former Minister of
Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, for
interrogation over the child custody
dispute between him and his
estranged wife, Ms Precious
Chikwendu.
The court, in a ruling delivered by
Justice Inyang Ekwo, also restrained
the Attorney-General of the
Federation from giving effect to
summons already issued to Fani-
Kayode for interrogation over
petitions lodged against him by his
former wife.
The restraining order followed two
separate letters that NAPTIP served
on the erstwhile minister, despite the
pendency of a suit before the court
that borders on the subject matter.
Justice Ekwo berated the agency
for summoning the former minister,
a move he said was an attempt to
undermine the process before the
court.
He, therefore, held that no action
must be taken to give effect to the
two letters inviting Fani-Kayode for
questioning in respect of the issue,
pending the determination of the suit.
Fani-Kayode’s lawyer, Mr Adeola
Adedipe, had shortly after the case
was called up, complained to the
court that his client was still being
summoned by NAPTIP and the AGF
despite the suit challenging their
powers to meddle in the matter.
Adedipe argued that the two letters
were unnecessary since the parties
have already submitted themselves
to the court for adjudication.
However, counsel to NAPTIP,
Nancy Ikenna, tried to justify the
summon on Fani-Kayode, insisting
that there was no express order from
the court that barred the agency
from doing what it did.
Irked by NAPTIP’s position, Justice
Ekwo, in a bench ruling, warned the
agency not to take any step capable
of foisting a state of hopelessness on
the court.
He specifically ordered NAPTIP
and the AGF to desist from
undermining the pendency of a suit
in a law court, even as he adjourned
the matter to October 4 for hearing.
DESTROYED: Illicit drugs worth N1 billion been destroyed by NDLEA, Oyo
State Command in Ibadan, yesterday . Photo: NAN.
:Vanguard :@vanguardnews
News
Gunmen invade Celestial Church, abduct 2 in
Ogun ....Kidnap 8 in Katsina, demand N60m ransom
By James Ogunnaike
& Ogalah Ibrahim
A BEOKUTA—Two people
were reportedly abducted,
yesterday, as gunmen suspected
to be kidnappers attacked the
Celestial Church of Christ,
Oshofa Parish, Wasimi in
Ewekoro Local Government Area
of Ogun State.
The kidnapped victims,
Assistant Shepherd of the parish,
Oluwaseun Ajose and a Sunday
School teacher, identified as
Dagunro Ayobami, were taken
away by their abductors around
midnight.
The Shepherd of the church,
Oluwatomisin Ehuwaojomo, who
confirmed the incident in a
DOCKED: Suspended DCP Abba Kyari (4th left) and other Police officers at
Federal High Court Abuja during their trial on drug related case, yesterday.
Photo: by Gbemiga Olamikan.
Kidnappers demand N50m to free
abducted Catholic Priest in Plateau
By Marie-Therese
Nanlong
J
OS—THE gunmen, who abducted
the Parish Priest of St. Anthony’s
Catholic Church, Angware, Jos East
Local Government Area of Plateau
State, Rev. Fr. James Kantoma, are
reportedly demanding N50 million
ransom for his release.
The priest, who is also the Christian
Association of Nigeria, CAN,
:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
...Abduct 8 in Katsina,
telephone conversation, said the
abductors called him and
demanded a ransom of N50
million for the release of the two
church workers.
The Shepherd, who said the
incident was extremely
unexpected, sought the support
of the police and other security
agencies in rescuing the victims.
He said he was not in the
church when the incident
happened, stressing that he was
sleeping in his room at the time.
He said: “When my Assistant
Shepherd called me almost two
hours after they left, the
kidnappers refused to speak with
me twice. But on his third attempt,
they spoke with me and
demanded N50 million ransom.
“I told them that I am a servant
Chairman of Jos East, was abducted in
the early hours of Monday by the
gunmen, who stormed his home
shooting sporadically to deter the locals
from coming to his rescue.
The Plateau State Chairman of the
Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN,
Rev. Fr. Polycarp Lubo, yesterday,
confirmed the ransom demand.
Lubo said: “The abductors called a
chief in the locality to make the demand
of God, nobody pays me a salary.
I have spoken with the Ogun
State Commissioner of Police. The
command is on the matter.”
Contacted, the Ogun State
Public Relations Officer, Abimbola
Oyeyemi, said he was yet to be
briefed on the incident, promising
to revert.
It would be recalled that the
state Command of Nigeria Police
had on several occasions warned
religious organisations against
organising night programmes.
The command added that
where such night services
become extremely expedient, the
church authority should request
police protection.
This, he said would stop the
abduction of worshippers during
vigils.
and prayed that the victim’s life is
spared so he can return to his
congregation."
Bandits demand
N145m for 29
wedding guests in
Sokoto
Also, the gunmen, who abducted 29
wedding guests on Saturday in Sokoto,
are reportedly demanding N145
million ransom for the release of their
victims.
Many of the hostages are mobile
phone dealers at the Bebeji
Communication Market in Gusau, the
capital of Zamfara State.
They were abducted on Saturday
evening while returning from the
wedding of one of their colleagues in
Tambuwal in Sokoto.
Secretary-generalofthePhoneSellers
Association in the state, Nasiru Musa,
who disclosed this, yesterday, said: “The
bandits called twice on Monday
morning to inform us of their stand
regarding our members that are with
them.
“They said we should bring five
million naira for each of the 29 persons
with them, which in total is N145
million before they can be released.”
Meanwhile, the chairman of the
association, Mustapha Khalifa,
yesterday, said that some of those who
escaped during the abduction are
receiving treatment at the Talata
Mafara General Hospital.
demand N60m ransom
Also yesterday, eight persons
were abducted by gunmen in
Shola Quarters, an outskirts of
Katsina, the Katsina State capital.
It was gathered that the
gunmen stormed the area in large
numbers riding on motorcycles.
A family member of one of the
victims said the abductors
contacted their families
demanding N60 million ransom
for the eight abductees.
According to the source, the
hoodlums stealthily operated from
house to house for about an hour,
demanding money, phones and
food items among other valuables
before disappearing with their
captives, consisting of seven
males and one female.
Confirming the report, Police
Public Relations Officer in the
state, SP Gambo Isah, said five
males and one female were
kidnapped from the area. He
gave their names as Tanimu
Adamu, Abdullahi Isiya, Isiya
Rabiu, Ibrahim Adamu, Mannir
Jayi and a woman whose name
is yet to be disclosed.
Gambo, however, said Mannir
Jayi was able to escape and is
helping the police with useful
information.
Train attack
victims reunite
with families,
recount ordeals
By Ibrahim Hassan
K ADUNA—It was an
emotional reunion with
family members as some of the
victims of the March attack on
Abuja-Kaduna bound train
released, weekend, returned
to Kaduna, Monday night.
After the latest release of 11
of the kidnapped passengers
Saturday by the terrorists, they
were flown to Abuja for
medical evaluation and
treatment before the decision
to reunite them with their
families.
One of the released victims
from Musawa family in
Kaduna, Amina, was received
with joy by her family though
her husband, who was
travelling with her on that
train, is still in captivity with
50 other kidnapped
passengers.
One other victim, a middle-
aged woman, who looked
pale, could not stand without
aid as she was said to have
sustained severe injury in the
kidnappers’ den
The freed victims, who were
still in shock, could not speak
to journalists about their
predicaments.
Their families, however,
commended the Federal
Government and all those who
facilitated their release,
calling on the authorities to
intensify negotiations and
hasten the release of other
victims still in captivity.
“Our joy can only be
complete if the Federal
Government does not rest on
its oars and make all the other
abductees be freed,” said a
family member.

Burna Boy: Club guards flee as CSO
insists on thorough investigation
•Embattled singer in Spain, entertaining fun seekers •Force Hqts
await report of investigation — FPRO •Police must not compromise
investigation —CSO
By Ayo Onikoyi,
Benjamin Njoku,
Bose Adelaja, Juliet
Umeh, Efe Onodjae
& Sylvester Kwentua
T HERE WERE indications
yesterday that staff of
Cubana club are currently on
the run since the shooting
incident involving Police
escorts of music star, Burna
Boy, last Wednesday.
This is even as a Civil Society
Organisation, CSO, Cadrell
Advocacy Centre, warned the
police against compromising
investigation into the matter.
Recall that two policemen
who serve as escorts to the
music star, alledgedly shot at
two persons following the
scuffle that trailed Burna Boy's
chat with a married woman
at the club but was challenged
by the hubby.
Vanguard Metro gathered,
yesterday that all the staff
members have been on the run
because policemen had been
frequenting the club and ar-
resting its staff members.
Two security guards who
didn't identify their names at
the club told Vanguard Metro
that the Club's Facility Man-
ager had been in the police
net since Friday.
They said: "Since yesterday,
policemen have been coming
here, about 10 of them were
here yesterday. They know that
the owner of the club has
money and they are sure that
something must come out.
"On Friday, they arrested
Mr Jack, the Facility Man-
ager. He is our boss and the
one that is always on ground.
As you can see, the policemen
who are here have been
brought by the owner of the
club so that when other po-
licemen come, since they un-
derstand themselves, they will
meet them to explain things
to them. We at the security
post don't know anything
about what happened or the
shooting that took place.
"Now, some workers at the
club are supposed to be here
but none of them is available
for fear of arrest. We are not
even sure if the club will
open for business in the
evening; although club
resumes properly from
Friday to Sunday. But
people can come and relax
before the weekend but that
has not been the case. As it
is, the Club is suffering be-
cause nothing is happening.
Staff members are on the
run," the security men
recounted.
The atmosphere at the
popular Cubana nightclub lo-
cated on the highbrow Adeola
Odeku Street, Victoria Island,
Lagos, was nothing short of
'calm and peaceful' after last
Wednesday's shooting involv-
ing police personnel at-
tached to the Nigerian
Grammy Award winning mu-
sic star, Burna Boy at the club.
•Tolu receiving treatment at
the Naval Medical Hospital,
Victoria Island.
Police must not
compromise
investigation
—CSO
Reacting to the incident
yesterday, the Executive
Director of Cadrell Advocacy
Centre, Evan Ufeli, warned
that the matter must not be
swept under the carpet.
He said: 'Burna boy has
always been involved in issues
he should ordinarily have
avoided. I wouldn't know if this
is youthful exuberance or
implicit recklessness. His
constant braggadocio at
events, strong- headedness
and outlandish immaturity is
disconcerting.
"You cannot intimidate a
woman who is out there with
the husband and use your
aides to inflict injuries on her
and others and get away with
that just because you are a
celebrity. This oppression is
uncalled for and I find it
rather repulsive.
"Whilst this case is under
investigation I urge the police
to do due diligence and shun
compromising this case. This
is a case of unfettered public
interest and police must act
unbiased so as to have
confidence reposed in them
by the public and same be
renewed repeatedly.
" If we all complain about
how we are being led in
Nigeria and at the same time
treat one another in the
manner under reference, then
we have completely missed it
and we will have no moral
justification to say further that
our leaders are unfair to us.
We must kill the mosquito that
bites the slave because we
have no guarantee that if it
sees the bottom of the kings it
will not do the same."
It was learnt that on that
fateful day, the musician and
five police escorts visited the
club at about 4 am unknown
d
ith bloo
•Jean welonging to
, b
stain i Lawrence
Irebamas shot in the
who w
leg.
to them that the ugly incident
will occur. On arrival, four of
the escorts were said to have
waited at the entrance of the
club house while the fifth, who
was in mufti, escorted the
musician to his VIP seat in
company of three women. The
incident has been generating
reactions from the public.
Singer in Spain
Vanguard gathered yesterday
that the singer is currently in
Spain, where he thrilled fans at
the Primavera Sound festival
held in Barcelona.
Eyewitness
account
The witness who simply iden-
tified himself as Alaba told Van-
guard Metro that Burna boy was
chatting with a woman in the
club not knowing that she was
with her husband. This is con-
trary to earlier reports that
while the clubbing was in top
gear, the musician spotted a
woman whom he made ad-
vances at. Unfortunately, her
husband who was present was
said to have rebuffed the musi-
cian, asking him to keep off.
This was said to have led to ar-
gument between the man's
friends and Burna Boy's team,
which resulted in the alleged
shooting of two fun-seekers
while the musician fled the
scene on realizing what tran-
spired.
According to the eyewitness,
"While they were busy chatting
and laughing, a man who later
turned out to be her husband
furiously approached them and
demanded for explanations.
Clubbers who overheard their
conversation were watching the
drama while five police escorts
attached to the musician were
also watching keenly.
Efforts made to speak with the
wounded persons were futile as
guards in the hospital said that
VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 — 7
Social Media Conversation
...Because women do it in ‘style'!
they had instructions not to al-
low visitors to see them now.
He, however, hinted that they
are responding to treatment.
Police reaction
However, Force Headquar-
ters, Nigeria Police Force,
Abuja said it awaits the report
of investigation on the shoot-
ing of two fun seekers by the
escorts attached to a musician.
In a telephone conversation
You mean ‘nairativational quotes'?
with Vanguard Metro, CSP
Muyiwa Adejobi, the Force
Public Relations Officer, said
the report will determine the
next line of action by the Ni-
geria Police. While assur-
ing members of the public
that the matter will be dili-
gently handled, he expressed
optimism that the report will
be ready as soon as possi-
ble.
According to him, "The La-
gos State Command is inves-
tigating the matter while we
await the report of the
investigation. We are hopeful
to have the report as soon as
possible for necessary action."
Muyiwa Adejobi, in his
tweet, on Sunday, said the
escorts have been identified,
arrested and detained over
their misconduct. Following
the shooting at Club Cubana,
the IGP, Usman Baba, di-
rected the Commissioner of
Police, Lagos State, Abiodun
Alabi, to carry out a thorough
investigation into the matter
and forward his report as ur-
gent as possible for further
action.Earlier, the Spokesper-
son, Lagos State Police Com-
mand, Benjamin Hundeyin
said all enquiries about the
shooting be directed to the
Force Headquarters. When civilisation goes askew!
8 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
VISIT—From left: Ellie Obi, Marketing Communications Manager, Microsoft ATO; Wael Elkabbany,
MD, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office; Salma Kellal, Business Manager, Microsoft; Nsikak John,
Country Manager, elev8, and Ola Williams, Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria and Ghana, during a
recent visit to elev8 office, in Lagos.
Nigeria’s public debt to hit 36% of GDP,
World Bank forecasts
•Raises GDP growth forecast to 3.4% for 2022
•Projects 15.5% inflation rate for 2022
By Babajide
Komolafe &
Elizabeth
Adegbesan
T HE WORLD Bank yesterday
raised its forecast for Nigeria’s
public debt to 36 per cent of Gross
Domestic Product, GDP, in 2022,
citing worsening revenue
collection at the federation level,
which is increasing budgetary
pressures and pushing many
states into precarious fiscal
positions.
The new forecast is 3.7
percentage points higher than the
32.3 per cent earlier projected by
the bank in November last year.
The World Bank gave the new
forecast in the June 2022 edition
of its Nigeria Development
Update, NDU.
Though the World Bank also
raised its 2022 GDP growth
forecast for Nigeria to 3.8 per cent,
citing robust recovery in the non-
oil economy and higher global oil
price, it however expressed
concerns over rising inflation, and
thus raised its inflation rate
forecast for 2022 to 15.5 per cent,
up from 13.5 per cent projected in
the November 2021 NDU edition.
Consequently, the World Bank
said that reducing inflation is the
key policy priority for the country,
stressing that rising prices
continue pushing millions of
Nigerians into poverty
In the same vein, the World
Bank said that the nation’s fiscal
deficit to GDP ratio will rise faster
than earlier projected. Hence, it
raised its forecast for the nation’s
fiscal deficit to GDP ratio to 5.8
per cent for 2022, up from 5.3 per
cent earlier projected.
On forecast for Nigeria’s
economic growth, the World Bank
stated: “Nigeria’s growth
prospects for the next three years
have improved thanks to a more
robust recovery in the non-oil
economy and higher global oil
prices.
“We have revised growth
estimates upwards: Nigeria’s
gross domestic product, GDP, is
projected to now grow by 3.4
percent in 2022 and by 3.2 percent
in 2023, up from the previous
forecasts of 2.8 percent for 2022
and 2023 from November 2021.
“Two factors explain the revision.
First is the better-than-expected
performance of the services and
agriculture sectors. Second,
higher oil prices stemming from
the Ukraine war will boost
:Vanguard News
Nigeria’s economic growth,
though less than anticipated.”
Explaining the rationale for
raising its forecast for the nation’s
public debt, inflation rate and fiscal
deficit to GDP ratio, the World
Bank said: “Nigeria is in a
paradoxical situation where
growth prospects have improved,
but the overall macroeconomic
framework is deteriorating.
“Compared to the last NDU,
our revised estimates for inflation,
Atiku replies NUEE, says reduction of
infrastructure deficit possible
John Alechenu
A BUJA—THE presidential
candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku
Abubakar, has in response to
criticisms over his plan to free funds
for the development of basic
infrastructure, especially the
power sector, said the execution
of his plan would unleash
Nigeria’s full potentials.
This was contained in a
statement signed by Atiku’s
Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, in
Abuja, yesterday.
He said the statement was in
response to the observations of
the National Union of Electricity
Employees, NUEE, to the
agenda of the presidential
candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku
Abubakar, in relation to the
development of the critical
infrastructure needed to unleash
the full potentials of the nation’s
economy.
He said: “First of all, we wish to
appreciate that Atiku Abubakar’s
policy prescriptions contained in
‘My Covenant With Nigerians’
are getting due attention.
“Our objective is to have
Nigerians, who will be the
beneficiaries of the policy
framework to interrogate it.
“Having said that, it is
important to emphasise that
actively promoting private sector
participation in infrastructure
development will be beneficial to
the economy.
“It is also inevitable that we
incentivize the private sector to
take risk and invest in the
economy for the following
reasons.
“There is no telling that
Nigeria’s huge infrastructure
deficit is making businesses
:@vanguardnews
the fiscal deficit, and public debt
indicate a more vulnerable
macroeconomic position in 2021
and the first half of 2022, which is
further, compounded by the
increasing premium between the
official and the parallel (black
market) exchange rates.
“The weakening of Nigeria’s
macroeconomic framework is
mainly due to the absence of
concerted efforts to reduce
inflation, address fiscal pressures,
uncompetitive and stunting
economic growth.
“The supply of efficient
infrastructure, including roads
and rail transportation,
communication, adequate power
etcetera is extremely important
for the economy to grow and
create much-needed jobs.
“Therefore, to build the
economy of our dreams, we must
increase the stock and improve
the quality of our infrastructure.
Inadequate infrastructure has
been identified as the most
problematic factor for doing
business in Nigeria.
“The statement further read, “In
terms of actual spending, Nigeria
currently spends less than 1% of
its annual GDP on infrastructure
as against the required levels of
between 3%-5% of annual GDP.
“This shortfall has created a
deficit, estimated at USD 3 Trillion
over the next 30 years. Our
overwhelmed public sector does
APC primary: Buhari takes decision without
cabal's back up —Presidency determine electoral outcomes.
"Luckily for Nigeria, President
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
A BUJA—THE Presidency
yesterday said that contrary
to widespread speculations,
President Muhammadu Buhari
does not rely on the opinions of
third party elements but takes his
decisions without the back up of
the so called cabals..
Alluding to the recent
presidential primaries of the All
Progressives Congress, APC, the
Presidency in a statement issued
by the Senior Special Assistant
to the President on Media and
Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu,
said President Buhari refused to
:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
and strengthen exchange rate
management.
“As a result, inflation is
expected to be two percentage
points higher in 2022–2023 than
in our baseline scenario from six
months ago.
“In addition, against a
burgeoning petrol subsidy
(estimated to cost over $9 billion
in 2022 or almost 2 percent of
GDP) and low oil production, the
general government fiscal deficit
for 2022 has been revised upwards
from 5.3 to 5.8 percent of GDP. “
Consequently, the public debt
ratio to GDP is projected to reach
36 percent in 2022, up from our
previous 32.3 percent projection
six months ago.”
not have the resources or
expertise to deliver.
“While our financing
requirement is approximately 100
billion USD per annum, Nigeria’s
entire budget is only USD 30
billion. The National
Development Plan envisages
that 80% of all investments will
come from the private sector.
“Regrettably, Nigeria’s core
infrastructure sectors are not
operating efficiently. Almost all
the infrastructure sectors from
roads, railways, housing, power,
and energy are operating below
potential.
“Over the years, we have
observed how these enterprises
consume huge public resources
while offering poor quality
services.
“Many of these State-owned
Enterprises have become a
source for political patronage,
corruption, and rent seeking to
the detriment of Nigeria’s long-
term economic growth.“
act as an elected autocrat by
ensuring a free and fair primaries
devoid of any intervention.
He cautioned that those still
assailing the APC and the
President, making conspiracy
theories and all manner of
speculations needed to
understand this important point
about the nation's leader.
Shehu said Buhari took his own
decisions and carried them out
without the backup of a so-called
“cabal” or back room boys, noting
that while the strong leader myth
in the country had lasted for far
too long, people make
assumptions that a leader must
dominate everything, and even
Senate resumes plenary without
majority, minority leaders who
dumped parties
•Lawan consoles senators who lost primaries, asks
colleagues to remain committed to political system
•APC loses two senators to opposition party, PDP
By Henry Umoru
A BUJA—AFTER it adjourned
sitting for six-weeks to enable
members participate in the just
concluded primaries to pick
candidates ahead of 2023 general
elections, the Senate yesterday
resumed sitting in what could be
described as a gloomy plenary as
the hallowed chamber remained
scanty.
The chamber had suspended
plenary on Wednesday, May 11,
2022, to enable lawmakers
participate in the primaries of their
political parties.
At the resumed plenary
yesterday, president of the
Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan,
announced to his colleagues the
resignation of the Majority Leader,
Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, Kebbi
North and the Minority Leader,
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Abia
South.
He added that the resignation
followed their defection from their
political parties under which
platform they got elected into the
Senate.
The atmosphere in the Senate
Chamber was solemn, as no fewer
than 70 per cent of the senators
lost their bid to return to the red
chamber on the platform of their
parties, even as some of them
dumped their parties for new ones.
In a letter he read on the floor
of the chamber, Lawan said
Abdullahi's resignation was
attributed to his decision to defect
from the All Progressives
Congress, APC, to Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
Lawan also said that Abaribe
dumped the PDP for the All
Progressives Grand Alliance,
APGA.
The senator, who resigned as
the Minority leader about 48
hours after he withdrew from the
state's governorship race, had
decried the party's use of "an
imaginary three-man adhoc
delegates and the exclusion of
the party's statutory delegates"
in the primary elections to elect
candidates.
In another letter Lawan read
to his colleagues, he disclosed
that the Chairman, Senate
Committee on Works, Senator
Adamu Aliero, Kebbi Central,
had defected from the APC to
PDP.
Soon after reading the letters,
he directed the Chief Whip,
Senator Orji Kalu, APC, Abia
North, to relocate both the
former Senate Leader and his
colleague in the minority caucus,
to another seats that are very
comfortable.
Attempts by Senators Phillip
Buhari does not suffer from such
constraints. He refuses to act as
elected autocrat.
"The President had a clear
purpose leading up to the primary:
to ensure a transparent, free and
fair process that will bring back
people's faith in democracy by
taking good governance up to the
grassroots level.
"By this alone, people’s faith and
that of the international
community in our democracy has
received a major boost since the
completion of the APC
nomination.
"The flagbearer has been
chosen. He has the President’s
unwavering support. The journey
to victory continues,'' he said."
Aduda,PDP, FCT; George
Thompson, PDP, Rivers and
Gabriel Suswan, PDP, Benue
to stop the relocation of Abaribe
to another seat, because he had
not formally communicated his
decision to his caucus, proved
abortive as the Senate president
frustrated them.
PDP senators, who faulted the
defection of Enyinnaya Abaribe,
raised several issues ranging
from failure to consult the PDP
caucus to breaching some
provisions of the constitution.
Speaking further, Lawan noted
that Abaribe had sent two letters
notifying him of his defection and
resignation, but did not read
them.
He simply made a verbal
announcement, saying "Abaribe
has decamped from the PDP to
APGA; the position of the
minority leader is now vacant for
the PDP to fill. We wish him
success."
Lawan, who announced that
APGA was now represented in
the Senate, with the former
Minority leader now in that party,
said Abaribe gave "good
leadership" and "kept the
majority party on its toes" and
also supported the progress of the
administration.
But shortly after Lawan's
announcement, the Senate
Minority Whip, Philip Aduda,
who raised a Point of Order -
Order 42, said the section was
asking for explanation on the
circumstances upon which
Abaribe left.
According to Aduda, he would
go on to say it was a controversial
one and that the former minority
leader "did not consult the
minority leadership caucus"
before making a decision to
decamp.
At this point, Aduda was
however, interrupted by Lawan
who said that the circumstance
was not a controversial one.
Senator Sekibo, who was the
next to raise a similar issue, said
that the PDP caucus was initially
not aware of his reasons for
leaving and that "if the reason
was division in his state party",
he was expected to come to the
caucus for discussions and
interventions.
But Lawan said that everyone
was aware the moment Abaribe
defected, adding that the
senator's decision to consult the
caucus was his to make.
APC loses 2 senators
to opposition party,
PDP
Meanwhile, two prominent
members of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, Senate Majority
Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, and
Adamu Aliero, have officially
defected to Peoples’ Democratic
Party, PDP.
Also to defect formally
tomorrow is the Senate Minority
Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe,
whose defection to the All
Progressives Grand Alliance,
APGA, and exit as Minority
Leader was deferred as a result
of the inability of the Senate
president, Ahmad Lawan, to
come with his defection and
resignation letter to plenary.
Although an announcement
to that effect was made by
Senate president , it was,
however, agreed that Abaribe’s
letter be formally read on the floor
before his exit as minority leader,
after a point of order raised by
Senator Gabriel Suswam.

WORKSHOP: Osun State Head of Service, Dr Festus Olowogboyega Oyebade; Commissioner for
Information and Civic Orientation, Funke Egbemode, and Lead Consultant, Korki and Associates, Mr
Kehinde Bamigbetan, at a two-day workshop on 'Election Reportage, Facts, Contexts and Impacts' in
Osogbo, yesterday.
OPL 245 deal: UK court rules against
FG in JP Morgan’s $1.7bn case
T HE Nigerian government
has lost its $1.7 billion claim
against JP Morgan Chase Bank
over the transfer of proceeds
from the sale of OPL 245 in 2011,
operated by Malabu Oil and
Gas Limited.
In the judgement delivered,
yesterday, the Business and
Property Courts of England and
Wales Commercial Court said
there was no proof that Nigeria
was defrauded in the deal.
The Federal Government had
sued JP Morgan on the ground
of “Quincecare duty,” alleging
that the bank “ought to have
known” that there was
corruption and fraud in the
transaction, which saw Malabu
sell its 100 per cent stake in OPL
245 to Shell and ENI for $1.1
billion.
Nigeria argued that there were
enough “red flags” for JP
Morgan to have halted the
transfers.
However, the bank rejected
Nigeria’s claims, maintaining
that all due processes were
followed and money laundering
checks done, arguing that
allegations of fraud only came
up after a new government took
over in Nigeria.
In the judgement, Sara
Cockerill ruled that the Nigerian
government could not prove that
it was defrauded, saying it might
be that with the benefit of
hindsight, “JPMorgan would
have done things differently”
but declared that “none of these
things individually or
collectively amount to
triggering and then breaching”
the bank’s duty of care to its
client.
Bloomberg reports that
:Vanguard News
Cockerill said that by the time
of the 2013 payments, the bank
was “on notice of a risk” of fraud.
“There was a risk – but it was,
on the evidence, no more than a
possibility based on a slim
foundation,” she said.
Shell and ENI had paid a total
of $1.3 billion to Nigeria’s
account at JP Morgan — $801
million for Malabu, the original
OPL 245 allottees, and $210
million as signature bonus to the
federal government.
All attempts by Nigeria to
prove that there was corruption
in the OPL 245 deal have so far
proved fruitless.
An Italian court in March
2021 dismissed all charges of
corruption in the transaction,
discharging and acquitting all
the defendants, including Shell,
ENI and Dan Etete, the
promoter of Malabu.
Party primaries: Why many Rep
members lost out — Gbajabiamila
By Levinus
Nwabughiogu
A BUJA—SPEAKER of the
House of Representatives,
Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday,
expressed displeasure with the
use of indirect primary mode of
elections adopted by political
parties in choosing their
candidates for 2023 polls.
He said the mode threw up a
delegate system that deprived
many of his colleagues the
opportunity of securing their
return ticket to the parliament.
Gbajabiamila, who faulted the
delegate process, saying it was a
:@vanguardnews
The US Department of Justice
(DoJ) previously investigated
the OPL 245 deal and
announced in October 2019
that it was closing the case.
In April 2020, the US
Securities and Exchange
Commission also closed
investigation into the
controversial deal after it could
not prove fraud or corruption.
In the JP Morgan case,
Nigerian lawyers had alleged
that Mohammed Bello Adoke,
the Attorney-General of the
Federation when the transaction
was concluded in 2011, was
corrupt and that the entire deal
was fraudulent.
Adoke has always denied any
wrongdoing, alleging political
persecution and maintaining
that there was a grand
conspiracy to twist a failed
mortgage transaction he did in
wrong model, ventilated his
concerns in his welcome address
to members.
It will recalled that the House
had in April proceeded on Easter
and Sallah holidays.
It was to resume early in May
but postponed the resumption
date to enable members partake
in the primaries of their political
parties.
Gbajabiamila, who in the
speech shortly before the House
adjourned in honour of a fallen
member from Akwa Ibom State,
late Bassey Ekpenyong, said
many lawmakers were not given
a fair shot in the primaries.
Urging those who lost out to
put the issue behind them and
focus on their mandate running
till next year, the speaker said:
"The past two months have been
dominated by political pursuits
across the country as political
parties carried out activities to
nominate their candidates for the
forthcoming general elections.
"All of us, members of the
House of Representatives, have
not been exempted from this
process. Unfortunately, as it is
always the case in electoral
contests, some of us who sought
the nomination of our parties to
return to legislature have not got
it. Others who sought
nomination to contest other
positions have also fallen short
in that quest.
“Colleagues, it is rather
unfortunatethattheprocesswent
the way it did. I make bold to say
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022—9
:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
2013 as evidence of the alleged
corruption.
Citing proceedings from
Nigerian courts, JP Morgan
said that on April 13, 2018, “the
Nigerian Federal High Court
granted declarations to the
effect that Mr Adoke could not
be held personally liable in
respect of the payments to
Malabu (and the giving of
instructions to JPMC to make
them) because he was merely
carrying out the lawful
directives and approvals of the
President.”
The bank said for Nigeria to
make a case, it must prove that
“Mr Adoke caused the
Resolution Agreements to be
concluded and the payment
instructions to be issued; and that
he did so in exchange for
bribes.”
here that the legislature has once
again suffered losses. The loss
really is not for members who
lost, it is a loss to democracy, to
the institution and to the country.
"If it means anything, I know
and I am aware that many of
our members did not lose their
primaries because they were
rejected by their constituents.
Many of our members lost
because of the process, the
process which we foresaw in the
House of Representatives. The
delegate system which
unfortunately is not what a
delegate system is supposed to
be.
“Colleagues, many of our
members lost because they were
notevengivenafairshot.Wehave
good legislators, both here in the
chambers and back home, who
are probably not coming back
because of this same process.
"When we fought for direct
primariesinthisHouse,weknew
exactly what we were saying. It
pains me very deeply that the
process has gone the way it has.
Wewillcontinuetopushandfight
for our members, for democracy,
for the institution and this
country.
‘’I have experienced political
loss. And I can speak to the
feelings of loss and
disappointment that arise as a
result. From that experience, I
wish to share with you the
everlasting truth that none of us
is defined by the outcome of any
election at any one time."
Drug trafficking: Abba Kyari’s
co-defendants bag 2 years jail
term Agree to appear as
NDLEA’s witnesses
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
A BUJA—TWO
traffickers, Chibunna
Patrick Umeibe and Emeka
drug
Alphonsus Ezenwane, linked to
the suspended Deputy
Commissioner of Police, Abba
Kyari,were,yesterday,sentenced
to two years imprisonment by the
Federal High Court sitting in
Abuja.
The court, in a judgement
delivered by trial Justice Emeka
Wite, convicted the two
defendants on counts 5, 6 and 7
of the charge the National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency,
NDLEA, preferred against them.
Umeibe and Ezenwane were
arrested at the Akanu Ibiam
International Airport in Enugu
while attempting to smuggle
cocaine into the country.
They had on March 7, when
they were arraigned before the
court alongside DCP Kyari and
four other police officers— ACP
Sunday J. Ubia, Insp. Simon
Agirigba, Insp. John Nuhu, and
ASP Bawa James— pleaded
guilty to the drug trafficking
charge.
The duo admitted that they
were indeed in possession of a
parcelofcocainewhentheywere
intercepted at the airport by
members of the Police
IntelligenceResponseTeam,IRT,
that was formerly led by DCP
Kyari.
Meanwhile, following their
admittanceofguilt,JusticeNwite
fixed the matter for the review
facts of the case against the two
self-confessed defendants to
enable their sentencing.
However, at the resumed
proceedings in the case on
Tuesday,theNDLEA,throughthe
Director of its Legal Department,
Mr.SundayJoseph,informedthe
court that it has entered into a
plea bargain agreement with the
two defendants.
Mr. Joseph, therefore,
persuaded the court to adopt the
terms of the plea bargain deal as
its judgement against the
defendants.
2023: COAS warns GOCs,
corps, field commanders to
remain apolitical
By Kingsley
Omonobi
A BUJA—AHEAD of the
2023 general election, the
Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt.
Gen Faruk Yahaya, yesterday,
warned all General Officers
Commanding, Corp
Commanders, Commanders of
Theatres of Operations, Brigade
and other formation
commanders to remain
apolitical and ensure troops
under their commands
complied.
Speaking at the Second
Quarter Chief of Army
Conference, which kick-started
in Abuja, yesterday, the COAS
said: “Let me hasten to remind
us that the nation is currently
preparing for general elections.
All personnel must remain
apolitical while providing
enabling and secured
environment for electoral
processes to thrive.
“In this regard, I directed the
review of rules of engagement
and code of conduct for
Operation Safe Conduct and the
approved guidelines would be
conveyed to you soon. The
His application was not
opposed by Kyari’s lawyer,
Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, though
he drew attention of the court to
an appeal his client earlier
lodged before the Abuja Division
of the Court of Appeal to
challenge his trial.
Ikpeazu noted that his client
had also filed a fresh application
to be released on bail, pending
the determination of the charge
against him.
He contended that the plea
bargaindealtheNDLEAentered
with Umeibe and Ezenwane
would not affect his client’s
pending appeal.
Likewise, counsel that
appeared for the four other police
officers, Mr. Gboyega Oyewole,
SAN, Micheal Mbanefo and M.
Chiwuar, said they were not
opposed to the plea bargain
agreement.
Consequently, Justice Nwite,
gave the NDLEA and the lawyer
thatrepresentedtheconvicts,Mr.
A. Okenyi, the nod to adopt the
terms of the agreement, which
he subsequently admitted as
judgement of the court.
In line with the agreement, the
court sentenced the two
defendants to two years jail term
oneachofthethree-countcharge
against them.
However, the court, which
noted that the defendants were
remorseful,heldthatthesentence
would run concurrently,
commencing from the date they
were arrested.
More so, the court held that
the defendants should forfeit
their international passports in
accordance with section 30 of the
NDLEA Act, Cap M30, Laws of
the Federation of Nigeria.
It equally okayed Umeibe and
Ezenwannetotestifyaswitnesses
in the trial of DCP Kyari and the
otheraccusedpoliceofficers,even
asitorderedtheNDLEAtoensure
their safety in any Correctional
Facility of their choice.
Justice Nwite subsequently
fixed July 18, 19 and 20 for full
blown trial of DCP Kyari and his
men, as well as for hearing of
their fresh application for bail.
Nigerian Army will continue to
enhance its civil-military
relations efforts and provide the
necessary support in aid of the
civil authority.
“A few months ago, in my first
quarter conference closing
remarks, I affirmed that the
Nigerian Army remains resolute
and committed to squarely
confront the myriad of security
challenges bedeviling the
country.
“Accordingly, we have
confronted all forms of
criminalities in collaboration
with our sister Services and other
security agencies.
‘’The level of cooperation and
professionalism exhibited by our
sister services and other security
agencies in furtherance of this
effort has been heartwarming.
This has led to the achievement
of several successes across
various theatres of operation in
the country.
“In the North East, troops of
Operation Hadin Kai have
sustained the onslaught against
the terrorists leading to the
clearance of the several criminal
enclaves and the surrendering of
large numbers of insurgents and
their families."
10 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
Iralepo chieftaincy tussle: Why
law must take its course
—Deji of Akure are"Weallowed to have their way.
are astonished and deeply
By Dayo Johnson
A KURE—THE Deji of
Akureland,
Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi,
Oba
yesterday, alleged connivance
between some individuals and
government officials in Ondo
State to thwart the ongoing
legal tussle before the Court
of Appeal on the status of the
Iralepo of Isikan, Akure.
Oba Aladelusi, in a
statement by his Chief Press
Secretary, Michael Adeyeye,
said: "The attention of the Palace
of the Deji of Akure Kingdom has
been drawn to the subtle move
by some individuals, in
connivance with some
government officials, to thwart
the on-going legal tussle on the
status of the Iralepo of Isikan,
Akure, which is already before
the Akure Division of the Court
of Appeal.
"In their latest move, they
have concluded plans to
hurriedly present an instrument
of office to one Mr. Gbenga Ojo
as the Iralepo of Isikan.
"It is, however, incumbent on
us to call the attention of Mr.
Governor and the good people
of Ondo State to another possible
episode of mayhem that may be
unleashed, if these people, who
are bent on fomenting trouble,
YOV dismisses ex-scribe, Sina
Okanlomo, over alleged misconduct
By Dapo Akinrefon
A PEX Yoruba Diaspora
group, Yoruba One Voice,
YOV, yesterday, said it has
dismissed its former Secretary
General, Dr. Sina Okanlomo,
over alleged misconduct.
A statement by the group's
Secretary-General African-
Union, Dapo Adesanmi, said the
dismissal became inevitable,
after the highest decision-
making organ, comprising all
members of National
Coordinating Council, NEC, of
YOV, met to deliberate on the
activities of the organisation.
Okanlomo, according to the
statement, had been dismissed
as the Secretary General of the
Diaspora group about three
months ago, and he is now
parading himself as the
president of YOV.
Adesanmi said: "Dr. Okanlomo
had been arrogating to himself,
the position of president of
Yoruba One Voice Worldwide,
Academy urges Nigerians to
embrace soft skills to enhance
skills are the future.”
proficiency Also, Mr. Afolabi Oseni, a
By Niyi Okiri
L AG O S —TANTALUM
Academy, an organisation
focused on utilising games to
teach soft skills, has launched its
services in Lagos, urging
Nigerians to embrace soft skills
to enhance their proficiency.
Speaking during the launch,
the founder of the academy, Mr
Mithun Kamath, said: “What
Tantalum offers is a purpose-
based game that aligns with
individual and organisational
interests designed to build
knowledge, confidence, critical
thinking, self-management and
relationship building.
“Two out of every three jobs
will be soft skills intensive by 2030
and, with these findings, it has
become expedient for individuals
to boost their competencies and
capabilities with soft skills. Soft
:Vanguard
News
worried by the actions of some
individuals whose major stock in
trade is involved in illegality and
misrepresentation of facts with
their consistent disregard for the
rule of law to the detriment of
our society.
"It is a well-known fact that the
lower court which adjudicated
over an originating summon
brought before it did not make
any declarative order that
invalidate the existing judgment
of the Appeal Court that voided
the relief granted by the lower
court thereby reverting the
status of the Iralepo of Isikan,
Akure to a Minor Chief
"It is, therefore, laughable and
unthinkable that anyone will
interpret the judgment of Justice
Odusola to mean giving nod to
the installation of Iralepo as a
recognized Chief.
"This can only amount to
misrepresentation of the court or
a deliberate attempt to
perpetrate illegality not minding
the grave consequences.
"The question begging for
answer is that: At what point did
the judgment of Justice Odusola
override that of the Appeal
Court? Can anyone claim
responsibility for the issuance of
notice for the illegal charade
selection process that they are
relying upon?"
after his dismissal three months
ago as secretary general of the
organisation.
"This is to tell the world that
Dr Sina Okanlomo has been
dismissed as Secretary General
of the group.
"The Yoruba Diaspora
organization decided to axe the
former scribe over various
misconducts, including
Organizational malpractices and
intrusion into the other organs
of the organization.
"YOV is a coalition of about 23
different organizations
spreading across the six
continents of the world. The
Diaspora organization was
established two years ago,
purposely to seek restructuring
to regionalism in Nigeria or self
determination from the Nigerian
nation."
Adesanmi restated the need for
members to be committed to the
struggle of the organization,
saying YOV's structure is well
organized to achieve its aims.
Director of Tantalum, stressed the
need for soft skills acquisition, as
the organisation is raising the bar
in equipping people with learning
that is innovative and growth-
focused.
Award-winning Nollywood
actress, Joke Silva, and Banky W
endorsed the Tantalum training
as a potent tool to improve
learning and acquire soft skills to
succeed in business and
professional attainments.
Ikoyi collapse: Lagos to demolish remaining buildings
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni & Efe
Onodjae
L AGOS—LAGOS
government said it has
State
concluded plans to carry out a
controlled demolition and
reclamation of other three high-
:@vanguardnews
PROMOTION—left: Mrs. Nike Akande, former minister of Industry; High Chief Tajudeen Ajibola,
representing Olubadan of Ibadan, and the newly promoted Ekaarun Olubadan, High Chief
Adebayo Akande, during the ceremony, performed by the Olubadan, Oba Mohood Olalekan
Balogun. Photo: Dare Fasube.
This govt is most corrupt in Nigeria's
history —Oyedepo •You’re blinded by hatred
By Gabriel Olawale
L AGOS—FOUNDER of
Living Faith Church
Worldwide, Bishop David
Oyedepo, yesterday, described
the current Federal Government
as the most corrupt regime in the
country's history, saying the
fight against corruption is a scam.
Speaking during a Special
Prayer for the Country, Oyedepo
said that many children are out
of school, while a single person
embezzled N80 billion.
He described the incessant
kidnapping and harassment of
Christians as an insult, saying
the Church of Christ in Nigeria
is unstoppable. He warned that
anyone that stands in the way
shall dry up from its roots.
Owo massacre targeted at Akeredolu's role
in Amotekun —APC govs
•S-West govs to hold security meeting •As Sanwo-Olu,
Abiodun, AbdulRahman donate N75m to victims
By Dayo Johnson
A KURE—GOVERNORS
Dapo Abiodun of Ogun,
Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos
and AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq
of Kwara State, yesterday, said
that the terrorists' attack of St.
Francis Catholic Church in Owo,
Ondo State, was targeted at
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu for
his role in the establishment of
Amotekun in the region.
The governors spoke while on
a condolence visit to Governor
Akeredolu over the June 5, 2022
attack in Owo.
Former governor of Ogun
State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun,
was part of the entourage.
The governors, who later
announced the donation of N75
million for the victims of the
rise buildings at 42 Gerrard Road,
Ikoyi, Lagos, where a 21-storey
building collapsed.
The 21-storey building
collapsed on November 1,
2021, in which about 45 people
lost their lives, including the
Managing Director, Fourscore
Heights Limited, Mr. Femi
Osibona, who owned the
:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
His words: “I saw this coming
but never knew it would be in
this dimension. That’s why I
shouted against it in 2015. I was
a lone voice, so I was abused,
but everyone has seen it now.
“You can’t be in corruption and
fight corruption. This is the most
corrupt regime in the history of
Nigeria. You heard of the Auditor
General's embezzlement of N80
billion. All they need to get the
universities up and running is
less than N80 billion.
“Many children are out of
school, and there is nothing to
pay to get them back to school.
We saw some folks in Covenant
University that we had to pay to
help them graduate. 30,000 first-
class graduates can’t get the
money to pay under this wicked
attack, said that the region would
soon meet to take a position to
further consolidate and improve
security architecture in the
zone.
Speaking on behalf of the
governors, Governor Abiodun
disclosed that the South-West
would soon hold a security
meeting on how to consolidate
the existing security system in
the region.
He said: "The attack was not
just on the good people of Owo
and Ondo State but the entire
people of the South-West region.
"We find this attack, not just
an attack on the good people of
Owo, or the good people of Ondo
State but the entire people of the
South-West zone.
"This is an attack too many.
We know that you have been at
building.
A new committee, which
reviewed the tribunal’s 28
recommendations, was chaired
by Commissioner for Special
Duties, Tayo Bamgbose-Martins.
The Head of Service, Mr.
Hakeem Muri-Okunola;
Attorney-General and
Commissioner for Justice,
for Buhari —Femi Adesina
government. Are they
interested? Their children are not
here. God has risen, and the land
shall be liberated.
"Under this same government,
CAN chairman was beheaded,
Deborah was murdered, and
worshippers were killed in the
church.
“Let me make it clear, the
church of Christ in Nigeria is
unmoveable. He that touches
the church, touches the apple of
God’s eyes and must be ready to
see God’s red eyes.”
You’re blinded by
hatred for Buhari
—Femi Adesina
But in a swift response,
the vanguard of ensuring peace
and security for your people. You
are the champion of the
Amotekun in the South-West.
"We, your brothers, wonder if
this is more personal because of
the role you have played in
ensuring that our zone is
secured.
"One wonders if there is a
particular reason this attack was
launched in your hometown of
Owo. We are deeply pained; we
are deeply saddened and we
commiserate with you.”
Ondo gov warns
against visiting
region with war
In his remarks, Governor
Akeredolu warned that the
South-West will not tolerate
another unprovoked attack on
Moyosore Onigbanjo, and
Agriculture Commissioner, Mrs.
Abisola Olusanya, served as
members.
Speaking on the planned
demolition at a stakeholders
meeting in Ikoyi, Lagos,
Bamgbose-Martins said:
“That is why we have invited
them to listen to them, to engage
President Muhammadu
Buhari’s Special Adviser on
Media and Publicity, Femi
Adesina, said Oyedepo harbours
hatred for the president.
Adesina said Bishop Oyedepo
is blinded by his hatred for
President Buhari.
Reacting, Adesina, in a tweet,
said: “The bishop at Ota can’t
even get his facts right. Blinded
by hatred for PMB, he says
Auditor General stole N80
billion.
“Pity. He doesn’t know the
difference between Accountant
General (only alleged) and
Auditor General. Like OBJ said
long ago, we should begin to
ordain our bishops.”
the region under any guise.
Describing the Owo attack as
one too many, he said: "We are
part of this country and we have
always come to this country in
peace and we have maintained
peace.
"We have been trying to
maintain Nigeria because we
believe in Nigeria.
"Let someone point to an
incident in which we left our
enclave or we left this peaceful
environment and went to cause
problems in other places.
"Let them tell us. We have come
to this country in peace, and now
people want to visit us with war.
You want to maim and kill us; it
is not easy.
"This is an assault on us, on
our psyche. We cannot continue
this way. We believe in this place,
we believe in the South-Western
region, and we believe in Yoruba.
Is Yoruba part of the Nigeria we
believe in? Yes.
“These criminals, what these
animals in human skin did was
horrendous. They went into the
church and shot at everything
within their sight.”
them on the dangers, and also
share information and
knowledge, especially to the
approach that we intend to
apply.
“As well as let the public know
formally and officially of the
government’s intention to
demolish the three buildings.”

VISIT: From left: Head, Marketing and Communications, Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa; Deputy Chief
Executive Officer, DCEO, Dana Air, Sukhjinder Mann; Chief Commercial Officer, CCO, Wakanow,
Mrs. Adenike Macaulay and Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Wakanow, Mr. Adebayo Adedeji, during
the courtesy visit of Wakanow team to Dana Air to commence the partnership of both organizations, at
Dana Air office at Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two, MMA2, Ikeja, Lagos.
Gunmen kill 4 in Abia, Enugu, set vehicle
ablaze in Anambra •Be vigilant, Fulani herders want
to attack S-East, IPOB warns
By Nwabueze
Okonkwo,
Ugochukwu Alaribe,
Chinedu Adonu &
Ikechukwu Odu
U MUAHIA—TWO men were
yesterday reportedly killed by
gunmen at the Ogbor Hill
waterside Bridge,Aba, Abia State;
while another two were shot dead
at Aji Community, Igbo-Eze North
Local Government Area of Enugu
State.
Also yesterday, gunmen
suspected to be sit-at-home
enforcers set ablaze a vehicle at
Nkwelle Ezunaka junction along
the Awka/Onitsha express way
near Onitsha, Anambra State.
Meantime, the Indigenous
People of Biafra, IPOB has advised
the general public to be at alert to
avert the new strategy devised
by Fulani herders to attack
Christians, churches and non-
Muslims in South East.
IPOB warned Christians not to
accept anybody joining them on
the pretence of converting to
Christianity and being rejected by
their Muslim families in the North,
saying that it was a "tragedy
waiting to happen".
Gunmen kill 2 in Abia
Eyewitnesses told Vanguard that
the victims at Ogbor Hill
waterside Bridge,Aba, Abia State,
identified as Sammy and Alaba,
who were musical equipment and
footwear sellers, respectively,at
the waterside bridge, were
trailed to the area by the gunmen.
Vanguard gathered that the killers
came on four tricycles loaded with
some boys who shot the two
victims at one of the shops.
Alaba was said to have left his
shop to greet his friend ,Sammy,
unaware that danger was lurking.
"Suddenly, some gunmen with
four tricycles confronted Alaba
and one of them was asking
money-related questions and
nobody expected the sudden
shooting of Alaba which scared
everyone.
"We were all watching from afar
when the same boys shot Sammy
and used an axe on him.
"It was disturbing that this
incident happened just few metres
away from the Eziama Police
Station without the policemen
making effort to ascertain where
the gunshot came from," the
eyewitnesses said.
It was further gathered that
Alaba's young son sustained
injuries from the attack and is
:Vanguard News
currently receiving treatment in
an undisclosed hospital.
Corpses of the deceased have
been deposited at an undisclosed
morgue in the city.
Police Command Public
Relations Officer,Abia State
Command, SP Geoffrey
Ogbonna,was yet to respond to
calls and a text message sent to
his mobile line as at press time.
Gunmen kill 2 in
Enugucommunity
In Enugu, it was gathered that
the hooded gunmen boarded the
lorry to disguise only to open fire
on passersby suspected to have
gone to the popular market, Eke-
Ozzi, in the council area.
A survivor of the incident who
spoke to Vanguard under
anonymity said she abandoned
her vehicle which was destroyed
by the gunmen and trekked for
several hours in the bush before
she could reach home.
She said that apart from the two
deceased victims, others sustained
injuries of various degrees.
Vanguard gathered that the
gunmen were angered by the
heavy presence of military men
in the council area.
Recall that gunmen attempted
to attack a police station in the
council area but were repelled by
police personnel from the Police
Division in the council area.
Two police personnel were
allegedly killed at the workshop
of the CEO of the Royal Mass
Transit in the council area, after
sporadic gun shots at the
residences of some political figures
in the community, making Enugu
State Government to declare
curfew on Igbo-Eze North and
South Local Government Areas
of the state.
The spokesperson of the
Enugu State Police Command,
Daniel Ndukwe, could not
respond to enquiries at press time.
Gunmen set vehicle
ablazeinAnambra
The incident, according to
sources, occurred in the morning
hours when the enforcers flagged
down the vehicle on its way from
Awka to Onitsha and allegedly
set it ablaze, while its driver was
said to have escaped into a nearby
bush.
As at press time, it was not yet
clear if the driver of the burning
vehicle sustained a gun shot
injury or not as it was alleged that
the gun men kept shooting
towards his direction before he
:@vanguardnews
went out of sight.
Meantime, the normal
Mondays sit-at-home exercise
was strictly observed by residents
of the commercial city of Onitsha
and its environs.
As usual, all markets, banks and
other commercial activities were
shut, just as vehicular
movements were grounded, in
compliance with the exercise
which has so far lasted for barely
a year now.
The state Police Public
Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP
Tochukwu Ikenga told newsmen
in an SMS that he does not have
such a report before him yet.
Be vigilant, Fulani
herders want to attack
S-East,IPOBwarns
The group in a statement titled,
"Dangers ahead, be conscious of
Churches in Biafraland, Fulani
terrorists are around us" and
signed by its spokesman, Emma
Powerful, also advised market
leaders to beef up security,
stressing that markets are
targets for Fulani bandits to
attack.
While assuring the
preparedness of IPOB/ESN to
combat them, IPOB said it has
been encountering some of them
at nights and day, carrying
security jobs beyond imagination.
The statement read: "We, the
global family of the Indigenous
People of Biafra,IPOB, ably led
by our prophet and indefatigable
liberator, Mazi Nnamdi
Okwuchukwu Kanu have
deemed it necessary to once
again alert the Christians and
the general public that Fulani
terrorists have devised another
means of attack against
Christians, churches and non-
Muslims in Biafraland.
"The information contained in
the intel received from our
intelligence unit "the M.Branch"
alleged that bandits and
terrorists will be transferred as
ostensible Christians into the
Eastern region of Nigeria in
readiness to replicate similar or
deadlier terrorists' act that was
unleashed in Owo Catholic
Church, Ondo State.
"We advised Christians and
other religious leaders to sit up,
be at alert and be security
conscious as strange seeming
worshippers of non-Igbo ethnicity
would infiltrate their midst to
commit havoc. They must be on
the look out for Fulani looking
persons that may come to join
:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
them in pretence as converted
Christians. Do not also be
deceived into thinking that the
Fulani don't speak Igbo, dress
like Igbo and behave like
indigenes because they do. So
many of them were born and
brought up in Igbo-land and they
know not just all nooks and
crannies, they also understand
all events and their seasons. And
they speak Igbo like us.
"These terrorists and bandits
have flooded Biafraland especially
the commercial cities like Aba and
others in Abia State where Pastor
Kumuyi had chosen for his
aborted crusade. They parade
themselves as having converted
to Christianity and are being
rejected by their Muslim families
in the North, which for us is
"tragedy waiting to happen.
"They now attach Christian
names to their names as religious
tricks to have you accept them.
Examples: Emmanuel Kabiru
Sule, Mathew Christian Shehu,
John Lewis Katsina and others.
They tell very pathetic stories
that touch the heart of people of
conscience like the Igbo. Please,
don't allow them. They are
terrorists and bandits. Christians
in Biafraland should know that
they are the next target and they
must take absolute security
precautions as their plans are
deadlier than can be imagined.
"Churches must introduce
tighter and properly detailed
security measures. Do not fall for
this Fulani hoodwink. They're in
our midst now. Always return
home early, recognize and note
the people and things around
you.
"All market leaders are advised
to beef up their security because
markets where our people stay
and do business are another
important target for Fulani
bandits. They have encircled
everywhere but they will fail and
nobody should entertain fear
because IPOB/ESN are waiting
for them. However, be sure to
take precautionary measures.
"Don't be quick to point or
direct a stranger to your Pastor
and your reverend fathers or
rabbi or any other worker in your
church. In the meantime, avoid
night out and late night
meetings and programmes.
Dangers ahead are too
enormous. Be ready for what
is to come and report suspected
movements to IPOB office
around you. We must bring
them down. They will not
succeed".
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 — 11
Release Nnamdi Kanu to me as
94th birthday gift, Mbazulike
Amechi tells FG their real intention is to rob
innocent and unsuspecting
By Chimaobi
Nwaiwu
N NEWI—ELDER statesman
and first Republic Aviation
Minister, Chief Mbazulike
Amechi, yesterday, expressed
sadness over the alleged Federal
government refusal to heed to
his advice on the solution to the
perceived insecurity in
southeast.
Chief Amechi, who turns 94
years on Thursday this week,
appealed to President
Muhammadu Buhari-led federal
government of Nigeria to release
the detained leader of the
Indigemous People of Biafra,
IPOB, saying that his release is
the only key to end the
insecurity in the southeast.
Chief Amechi alleged that
many criminals have formed
different groups which IPOB had
disowned, claiming to be working
for the release of Nnamdi Kanu,
while their real intention is to
rob, intimidate, harass and
dispossess people of their
belongings, saying that once the
pro-Biafra group leader is
released, such groups will not
have any reason to exist let alone
claiming to be working and
enforcing sit-at-home home
while in actual sense they go
about robbing people.
Chief Amechi described
President Muhammadu Buhari,
as a man with good conscience
who is ready to respect him and
many elders of the country but
is surrounded by hawks and
selfish politicians and appointees
who do not allow him to take
sound decision but deceive and
mislead him with ethnic self
serving ideas that are
aggravating insecurity in
Nigeria.
"The security challenge in
southeast is the result of
government refusal to do what I
have asked them to do to help
us to stop the killings in the
southeast and Igbo land in
general. May be the insecurity
in Igbo land suits them and their
political purposes, otherwise
they would have listened to my
advice and those of other
southeast and south-south and
even southwest leaders .
"There is only one key to the
solution to killings in Igbo land
now, and that is the release of
Nnamdi Kanu. If that young man
is released, you will see all these
criminals who spring up
claiming to be agitating for the
release of Nnamdi Kanu while
Ugwuanyi moves to beautify,
decongest Enugu city
E
NUGU—In keeping with
his administration's
Urban Renewal drive,
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
of Enugu State, yesterday,
inspected Trans Ekulu Bridge,
Enugu, with a view to
beautifying the area as one of
the gateways to Enugu City.
Gov. Ugwuanyi also
inspected vehicular traffic at
the bridge and the connecting
roads in order to proffer
solution to the gridlock being
experienced by road users in
the axis basically caused by
increase in population
strength of the state.
Gov. Ugwuanyi further
inspected the New Market
axis of Enugu City, which is
another gateway to the city,
ahead of his administration's
plans to reconstruct and
modernize the roundabout
and maintain the roads to
people, will go into hiding
because they will have nothing
as reason to come out .
"IPOB has disowned them
and have even taken
measures to apprehend them
but as you know, criminals will
have their ways of operating
and claiming one fake thing or
the other, but they are simple
criminals operating one way or
the other.
"So, the only way the
government can help me and
a few of us who are really
interested and who are
nationalistic enough to be
looking for real peace in Igbo
land and Nigeria is to release
that young man. I have asked
the federal government to
release and hand him over to
me. At my age, I will be 94 on
Thursday this week. So, at 94,
if he misbehaves, let the
government arrest me, even if
I am 98, let them arrest me, let
me go and die in prison but the
government has refused to
listen to me.
"President Muhammadu
Buhari by my association with
him is a good man and prepared
to respect me but there are so
many terrible people around
him, who mislead him on this
matter and other matters of
national interest and they are
not helping in the tomorrow of
this country. Their plan is to
wipe away the Igbo but it is
not possible.
"It is not possible to wipe
away the Igbo, nobody can do
that. It is very impossible to do
that because there must be
remnants of the people if you try
to wipe them out. There must be
remnants of the people, an
ordinary malnourished baby
who was sent to a neighbouring
country has now grown to
become the president of that
country, a "Quashikor" baby from
Igbo land who was sent away to
an African country during the
civil war is now the president of
that country. So, they cannot
stop the handwork of God.
“So, I use this opportunity of
my birthday coming up on
Thursday to appeal to Mr.
President to release Nnamdi
Kanu, in trust for me, and watch
him for a year while in my trust.
If he misbehaves, let the
government take me. In what
way else can the President of the
country know that the oldest
nationalist they have in this
country has made this pledge?
In what way again can I assure
him on this matter.?"
give the area the face-lift it
deserves.
From the New Market, the
governor moved to inspect the
ongoing construction of
Justice Nwazota-Ilogu Close
Road, GRA, Enugu, with a spur
to Works Road Layout.
Gov. Ugwuanyi thereafter
inspected Leadway Insurance
Street, GRA, Enugu and other
bypasses, for necessary
interventions, aimed at
decongesting traffic in the city.
Already, the newly
constructed T-junction
Flyover Bridge by Nike Lake
Road, Enugu East Local
Government Area, and the
reconstructed and
modernized Milliken Hill
Road, Ngwo, Enugu North
LGA, have provided the
needed face-lift and traffic
decongestion in the two
gateways to Enugu City.
12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
Delta tanker explosion: Senate to
honour heroic driver, Ejiro Otarigho
By Festus Ahon &
Ochuko Akuopha
A SABA—THE Senate,
Tuesday, resolved to honour
Mr. Ejiro Otarigho, the brave
driver who drove a burning
tanker from densely populated
residential area to avert tragic
fire incident in Agbarho,
Ughellli North Local
Government Area, Delta State.
It would be recalled that Mr
Ejiro Otarigho last Saturday,
drove a tanker that went up in
flame from residential area to a
riverside to avert deaths and
destruction of property at the risk
of his life.
The Senate resolution to
honour the heroic tanker driver
was sequel to a motion moved
by the Deputy Senate President,
ADVOCACY WALK: Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy
(2nd left); Mr. Tayo Akanle, General Manager, Lagos Traffic Radio (left); Olabisi Sanusi, Route
Commander, Sector Public Education Office and representative of Sector Commander, Federal
Road Safety Commission, FRSC (middle); Mr. Victor Oteri, Radio Presenter (3rd left); Adeola
Akinde, Radio Presenter (right) and others, during the Advocacy Walk on Safety Education in
commemoration of Lagos Traffic Radio 10th anniversary, in Ikeja, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez
We're yet to access N150bn bridging finance
—Okowa
By Festus Ahon
A SABA—Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa of Delta State,
yesterday, said the state
governmentwasyettoaccessthe
N150 billion bridging finance,
following the
Government’s delay in
Federal
commencement of remittance
contrary to the agreement.
Okowainachatwithnewsmen
shortly after inspecting ongoing
works at the Koka flyover bridge
and interchange in Asaba, said
the bridge was one of the projects
that the bridging finance was
meant to cover.
He, however, expressed
optimism that the flyover bridge
project would be completed in
December 2022.
He said: “When the money is
available, we will be able to use it
to upscale these projects. The
bridging finance is actually a
finance that we already have a
source of repayment and rather
than allow the depreciation of
the naira or the extension of time
at work create a cost escalation
for us, our intention was to take a
bridging finance and then pay
back from the money that the
Federal Government owe us.
“But as at today, we have not
even accessed the bridging
finance because the repayment
plan from the Federal
Government, which is supposed
to have started by January, has
not commenced, they have not
made any remittance to the state.
“Some states have taken a part
of their bridging finance because
wearenottheonlystateinvolved.
:Vanguard News
Recommends him to Buhari for National Honours He is
21st century Urhobo hero—UPU
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege
(APC, Delta Central), co-
sponsored by Senator James
Manager(PDP,DeltaSouth)and
Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (APC,
Delta North) at plenary.
The Senate also
recommended Otarigho to
President Muhammadu
Buhari for National Honours.
He is 21st century Urhobo
hero—UPU
Meanwhile, Urhobo Progress
Union, UPU, has applauded
what it described as the unusual
selflessness of Otarigho by
prioritising others over his safety
in Saturday’s petroleum tanker
explosion.
But for us, we intend to wait until
the refund process starts before
accessing the bridging finance.
“So, we have not accessed that
bridging finance at the moment
but we have got the approval of
the state House of Assembly.
“I heard that some of our
Paris Club refund, VAT dispute top agenda
as state AGs meet in Lagos General
Minister of Justice, Abubakar
By Innocent Anaba
L AGOS—THE Attorneys-
General of the 36 states of
the Federation will be
meeting in Lagos from today,
to discuss some critical legal
issues bordering on Value
Added Tax, Paris Club Refunds
and Stamp Duty, among
others.
The meeting, which is
scheduled for June 15 through
17, 2022, will see the Chairman
of the Nigerian Southern
Governors’ Forum and Ondo
State Governor, Rotimi
Akeredolu, deliver the keynote
address at the opening session.
Other issues to be discussed
by the state Attorneys-General
include the proposed
amendments to the Stamp
Duties Act, pensions and
gratuity for judges, and
amendments to the 1999
Constitution, Anti-Corruption
Commission established by
states, and Federal Inland
Revenue Service, IRS, threat to
recovering 'unremitted tax
deductions by states' and local
governments.
Governors of Babajide Sanwo-
:@vanguardnews
The Urhobo apex socio-
cultural organisation in a
statement by its President-
General, Olorogun Moses
Taiga, said: “Otarigho’s sacrifice
and courageous conduct are
deeply appreciated by the UPU.
We praise his insight to preserve
humanity and rescue the lives
and property of thousands of
Agbarho residents as well as
avert a massive oil fire tragedy
in Urhobo territory.
“As terrifying as it is, Otarigho’s
heroism is a statement of the
character of his personality. Our
wonderful son exemplified
unusual selflessness by
prioritising others over his
interests, safety and even his
brothers, who don’t even
understand governance, have
tried to critique the situation but
unfortunately,whensomepeople
don’t understand what is in
government and how you can
save funds for the people, they
could talk politics and criticise.
of the Federation and
Olu and Simon Lalong of Lagos
and Plateau states respectively
are expected to address the
meeting.
Others billed to speak at the
meeting include Attorneys-
Nigerians, US group urge FG, oil
multinationals to pay funds owed NDDC
By Onozure Dania
N
IGERIANS in Niger
Delta and a group of
Nigerians based in North
America (United States of
America and Canada), under
the aegis of Niger Delta Patriotic
Alliance, NDPA, have called on
the Federal Government and oil
multinationals operating in
Niger Delta to expedite action
on the release of trillions of naira
owed Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC.
The NDPA, in a statement
obtained in Yenagoa, Bayalsa
State, argued that the unpaid
funds have impacted negatively
in the smooth running of the
commission by the Interim
Administrator, Mr. Effiong
Akwa, and led to untold
:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
young family at great risk to his
life.
“There are no words to express
the depth of our thankfulness.
His selflessness is something we
admire.
“The Urhobo Nation will be
eternally grateful to him for
ensuring the safety of the
Urhobo people and other
Nigerians in the Agbarho
Kingdom.
“Posterity records Ejiro
Otarigho’s gallantry and it has
a distinct and deserving position
in Urhobo Nation, Delta State,
Nigeria and beyond in popular
and traditional tales about
valour and heroism. We salute
him.”
“But I am very confident that
whatever we are about to do, we
are doing it in the best interest of
the state. We are trying to save
money for the state, we are trying
tosavesituationswhereyouhave
cost overrun and cost
escalations."
Malami, SAN; Nigeria Bar
Association, NBA, President, Mr
Olumide Akpata, and the
Director-General of the Nigerian
Governor’s Forum, Asishana
Okauru.
hardship and deaths of many
contractors being owed by the
commission.
Secretary-General of NDPA,
North America chapter,
Washington DC, Mr. Kenneth
Friday, in the statement, argued
that the rising dis-enchantment
among the people of the region
and the discontent displayed
towards the ruling
administration of President
Muhammadu Buhari was
caused by the lack of visible
activities in the region and ghost
presence of the commission in
the last few years.
He called on President
Buhari to have a rethink of the
open display of malice and
discontent towards his All
Progressives Congress, APC-led
administration and develop
Diri Inaugurates Administration
of Criminal Justice Monitoring
C’ttee
By Samuel
from it.
“And so, he feels that the only
Oyadongha
Y ENAGOA—Governor
Douye Diri of Beyalsa State
has inaugurated the state’s
Committee on Administration of
Criminal Justice Monitoring.
Speaking during the event at
the state Judicial Multi-Door
Court Complex in Yenagoa, Diri
tasked all critical stakeholders
inthechainofthecriminaljustice
systemtoplaytheirstatutoryroles
toensurethespeedydispensation
of justice in the state.
Represented by his deputy,
Senator Lawrence
Ewhrudjakpo, the governor
emphasised that there was a
compelling and urgent need to
do what he called ‘critical self-
examination’ to get it right with
the administration of the
criminal justice system.
He said: “Let us talk more
about equity because I believe
most of the crimes being
committed in our society is as a
result of lack of equity. A man
who is into oil bunkering feels
that his country is producing the
crude oil from his backyard and
he is not getting a fair reward
PDP primaries: Oborevwori
expresses gratitude to Ayu,
Okowa for free exercise
By Festus Ahon
A SABA—SPEAKER of Delta
State House of Assembly
and governorship candidate of
the Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, Mr. Sheriff Oborevwori,
yesterday, expressed gratitude to
the national chairman of the
party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu and
leader of the party in the state,
Govenor Ifeanyi Okowa, for
ensuring a level playing field for
all aspirants, who contested the
party primaries for the state
House of Assembly, National
Assembly and governorship
positions.
Oborevwori in his welcome
address during the resumption
of plenary for the 4th Session of
the 7th Assembly, also thanked
the state party Chairman,
OlorogunKingsleyEsiso,leaders
of the party, his colleagues in the
House, delegates and others for
their overwhelming support and
his nomination as the
governorship candidate of the
party in the state.
He said: “It is my pleasure to
welcome you back to plenary
after the long adjournment
occasioned by the activities of our
rigorous developmental poli-
cies towards Niger Delta.
He said: “Those mis-advising
Mr. President did not also
inform him that due to his
shoddy policy, many
contractors have died and it has
caused deep rooted resentment
towards him and his
administration. People are
suffering severe hardship
across the region.
“The president needs to
properly empower the Interim
Administrator, Mr. Akwa by
endeavouring to release
needed funds to offset
outstanding NDDC debts and
allow credible contractors and
their families to recover from
bank loans and debts used to
service contracted jobs for the
commission."
way for him to get the national
cake is to go for illegal refining.
We arrest and criminalise them.
But the question is, if there is
equity, will he still go and break
the pipelines?
“I’m not trying to be a lawyer
or solicitor on their behalf, but I
also think there is the need for
equity. More often than not, what
we have done in our society is to
put justice first instead of equity."
In her remarks, the state Chief
Judge, Justice Kate Abiri,
explained that the need for the
implementation of the
administration of criminal justice
law justified the inauguration of
the committee in the state.
Abiri assured that the state’s
judiciary, as critical institution in
the administration of criminal
justice sector, would continue to
play its role to complement the
work of the State
Implementation Committee.
Chairman of tbe Bayelsa State
Administration of Criminal
Justice Interim Monitoring
Committee is the Chief Judge,
Justice Abiri, while Senior
Magistrate Mariam Pere and
Mr. Charlie Ebinyon are to serve
as Secretary and Assistant
Secretary respectively.
respective parties primaries. I
thank God Almighty for His
protection throughout the
consultations to our various
constituencies and across the
state. May I also thank God
Almighty for the peaceful and
successful conduct of the party
primaries in the state.
“Let me seize this opportunity
to request that you join me in
thanking Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa, our able governor and
leader of the PDP in the state, the
state party Chairman and other
partyleaders,thepartydelegates,
members of our great party, the
PDP and Deltans for my
overwhelmingendorsementand
nomination as the governorship
candidate of the party in Delta
State. "
24 bag first
class as
FUPRE set to
graduate
1,409, install
chancellor
By Akpokona
Omafuaire
E
FFURUN—TWENTY-
FOURstudentsoftheFederal
University of Petroleum Resources
Effurun, Delta State, have bagged
first class degrees as the institution
is set to install a new chancellor in
its third convocation ceremony.
The 3rd convocation ceremony
is scheduled for June 17 and 18,
2022, for the 2018/2019 and 2019/
2020sets.
Vice Chancellor, Prof. Akpofure
Rim-Rukeh made the disclosure,
yesterday,duringapre-convocation
pressbriefingontheschoolcampus.
Rim-Rukeh said: “I am elated to
inform you that in the 3rd
convocation ceremony, a total of
1,409, made up of 1,201 First
Degrees, 101 Post Graduate
Diploma and 107 Masters
Degrees, graduands will receive
their certificates from our two
Colleges and the school of Post
Graduate studies.

FINALE—From left: Sammy Okwandu, Head, Customer Marketing, International Premium Spirits,
Reserve and Modern Trade, IRM; Viola Graham-Douglas, IRM Director; Victor Obanya, Winner of
World Class Nigeria 2022; Mark Mugisha, Marketing and Innovations Director; Ope Makinwa, Head,
Reserve, all of Guinness Nigeria Plc., during the finale of World Class Nigeria 2022. Photo: Oscar
Ochiogu.
Benue massacre: We may resort to
self-help —Ortom •Says even Nigeria's laws allow for
self-defence
By Peter Duru
M AKURDI—GOVERNOR
Samuel Ortom of Benue
State has described as barbaric
and horrendous, last Sunday's
gruesome murder of farmers in
Igama community Edumoga,
Okpokwu Local Government
Area, LGA, of the state by
suspected armed herdsmen,
warning that the people of the
state may resort to self-help if the
authorities refused to protect
them.
The Governor who insisted
that the people of Benue State
are not cowards and are law
abiding, declared that even the
laws of the land allow for self
defence.
Recall that suspected armed
herders had invaded Edumoga
community Sunday morning
while the victims were preparing
for church service, leaving no
fewer than 15 persons dead while
all the houses in the community
were set ablaze.
Reacting yesterday in a
statement by his Chief Press
Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur,
Governor Ortom who
condemned the dastardly act,
described the murderers as
"cowards and criminals who must
be fished out and prosecuted
without delay."
According to him "when I
started shouting about the
menace of killer herdsmen in my
state, many people thought l was
playing to the gallery. Gradually,
this has spread to all other parts
of the country because the
federal government has refused
to act appropriately and decisively
against them.
"This is the reason they have
:Vanguard News
continued with impunity. It has
clearly shown that the killing of
these innocent farmers in
Edumoga, Okpokwu LGA is yet
another barbaric act by Fulani
herdsmen. They must not go
unpunished."
The governor reiterated his
earlier call on people of the state
Women, youths can determine winners
of 2023 polls if…, —INEC
•Says they make up 75% of registered voters
By Demola
Akinyemi
I LORIN—THE Independent
National Electoral
Commission, INEC, has said
women and youths formed over
75 percent of registered voters
in Nigeria, urging them to form
alliance ahead of the 2023
general elections and use their
numbers to their advantage.
National Chairman of INEC,
Professor Mahmood Yakubu,
who spoke in Ilorin, argued that
if both Nigerian youths and
women come together they could
conveniently determine the
winners of the forthcoming
general elections since they
formed the larger percentage of
registered voters.
Yakubu who was represented
by Kwara INEC, Resident
Electoral Commissioner, Mallam
Garuba Madami spoke at the
Democracy Day lecture titled,
"The importance of PVC in the
electoral process." jointly
organised by MINILS and
INEC.
According to him, "From the
available data of INEC, over 75
:@vanguardnews
to defend themselves against
the invaders saying "even the
laws of the land allow for self
defence. We are capable of
defending ourselves if the
authorities concerned refused to
do so. We are not cowards, but
law abiding."
Hanifa's murder: Court to deliver
percent of registered voters are
youths and women. They form
the largest percentage in the
statistics index of INEC. I
encourage them to work together
because they can conveniently
win elections in 2023 if they can
truly work together."
He also allayed the concerns
of electorate ahead of the 2023
general elections, saying
"elections are more credible and
transparent now unlike before,
in view of the new technology
that has been introduced into the
electoral process."
Madami equally advised
Nigerians against multiple
registrations, warning that it is
punishable under the law with
N1million fine, jail term or both
upon conviction, pleading with
leaders of political parties to
encourage their members to
2023 Senate: Yobe APC stakeholders back
Machina against Lawan
By Ndahi Marama
D
A M A T U R U —
CONCERNED
Stakeholders of the ruling All
Progressives Congress, APC
'Zone C' Senatorial District of
Yobe State have thrown their
weight behind Alhaji Bashir
Machina over his refusal to step
down for the Senate President,
Senator Ahmed Lawan ahead of
2023 general elections.
Alhaji Machina emerged APC
Senatorial Candidate in the
party's primaries after the Senate
President declined to contest
the senatorial primaries to
pursue his Presidential ambition.
Senator Lawan at the just
concluded APC presidential
primaries lost to Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu as Candidate and has
approached Machina to allow
him fly the senatorial flagship.
In a statement yesterday,
leader of the group, Abba
Yusufari, said, "For keen
observers of Yobe politics, no one
:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
The governor cautioned that
the peaceful attitude of Benue
people who accommodate others
should not be taken for granted,
stressing that the law must take
its course to apprehend the
criminal elements no matter how
long it took even as he urged his
people to remain law abiding.
transfer their registration to place
of residence.
"Your Personal Voter's Card,
PVC, is your power, get your PVC
now, and vote your conscience.
Vote out bad leaders, you need
to take back your country," he
said.
Speaking among others, the
Director General of Michael
Imoudu National Institute for
Labour Studies, MINILS, Issa
Aremu, noted that Nigerians in
the last two decades have made
the point that votes and votes
count are the desirable ways for
ensuring good governance,
saying "next year Nigeria is set
for the 7th Presidential election
cycle. I commend INEC which
despite the imperfect political
environment is improving on the
electoral process to make
elections increasingly credible."
is blind to the fact that our
senatorial zone has enjoyed
relative political peace and
stability both at the House of
Representatives and even more
at the senate with our brother,
the Senate President, Dr. Ahmed
Lawan being in the saddle for a
record three times.
By the end of 2023, our beloved
brother Senator Lawan will be
spending 24 years at the National
Assembly . That is, 16 years as a
senator and eight years as a
member of the House of
Representatives. While we remain
committed and dedicated to
propagating our cherished unity
and stability, we also believe that
for the interest of democracy,
equity, justice and fair play, our
brothers from the old Nguru
Emirate which now constitutes
other three Emirates of Machina,
Nguru, and Yusufari should
equally have a feel of what our
brother Emirate of Bade have
been enjoying in the last 24 years.
"It is against this backdrop that
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 — 13
Zulum presents 20
commissioner nominees to
lawmakers for confirmation
By Ndahi Marama
M AIDUGURI—
G O V E R N O R
Babagana Zulum has
presented 20 commissioner
nominees to the Borno State
House of Assembly, BOSHA,
for approval.
The governor last month
during the All Progressives
Congress, APC, state
congresses and primaries for
2023 polls dissolved the 20-
member State Executive
Council, SEC.
. Presenting the nominees
yesterday at the floor of the
House in Maiduguri,
Vanguard observed that most
of the ex-commissioners who
attended were among the
nominees the House screened
and approved in the last three
years.
The submitted list of nominees
comprises three new nominees
to the Assembly.
They include Prof.
Mohammed Arabi who is the
Chief Medical Director, Borno
State Hospitals Management
Board, Pogu Lawan Chibok and
Dr. Ali Bunu Mustapha.
The nominated 17 ex-
commissioners included
Mustapha Gubio, Adamu
Lawan, Yerima Saleh, Lawan
Wakilbe, Kaka Shehu Lawan and
Sugum Mele.
These nominees served in the
judgment July 28
By Bashir Bello
K ANO—A Kano High
Court has fixed July 28 for
judgment in the case of the
Proprietor of Nobel Kids
Comprehensive College, Kano,
Abdulmalik Tanko, charged with
alleged murder of five-year-old
pupil, Hanifa Abubakar.
Tanko, was alleged to have
kidnapped Hanifa on December
4, 2021, held her hostage in his
house at Tudun Murtala for days
before killing and burying her in
a shallow grave on December 10,
2021.
The Kano State Government
had on February 14, 2022, filed
five counts of criminal conspiracy,
attempt to kidnap, abetment,
kidnapping and concealing dead
his group make bold to throw their
support behind their brother
Alhaji Bashir Sheriff Machina to
take over from Senator Ahmed
Lawan come 2023.
"As you are aware, Alhaji Bashir
Machina is the candidate that was
picked as a consensus candidate
of our great party, APC in the just
ended primary elections. Any
attempt by Sen. Ahmed Lawan
to replace him from the seat will
be a complete betrayal of the will
of the people and a clog in the
wheel of the peace, unity and
stability of the people."
"Suffice that the mandate
Alhaji Bashir Machina is the
mandate of the people and not
that of an individual. The voice
of the people is the voice of Allah.
We therefore wish to caution
that, an attempt to silence the
voice of the people by any
individual either by his
involvement of any type of
machination or antics will be
running against the concept of
democracy and moral fairness."
Ministries of Reconstruction,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement,
RRR, Finance, Environment,
Education, Justice and Local
Government and Emirate Affairs
respectively.
Other nominee ex-
commissioners for approvals
comprise Zuwaira Gambo who
served as former Commissioner
Women Affairs, Tijjani Goni,
Transport, Babagana Malumbe,
Science and Technology, Yerima
Kareto, Commerce and Tourism,
Saina Buba of Youths and Sports
Development , Yuguda Saleh of
Ministry of Housing and
Babakura Abba Jato of the
Information.
Addressing Journalists, the
Speaker, Abdulkarim Lawan said,
"pursuant to the provision of
Section 192 (2) of the 1999
constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, the
honourable House has recieved
the Executive request in good
faith for confirmation of the new
Commissioner nominees.
"With the cordial relationship
that exists between the
Executive, Legislative and the
Judiciary, I want to assure the
good people of Borno State that
the House will not hesitate in
screening the nominees
beginning from next week
(Tuesday 21st June 2022) for
legislative confirmation and
appointment."
body against Tanko, Hashimu
Isyaku, 37, and Fatima Musa,
26.
The offence, the state said,
contravened the provisions of
sections 97, 95 and 273, 274(b)
and 277 of the Penal Code, Laws
of Kano State.
The defendants however
pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Justice Usman Na'abba, fixed
the date after the Defence and
Prosecution Counsel adopted
their final written addresses.
Earlier, the defence counsel,
Mrs Hasiya Muhammad, in
adopting her final written
addresses dated and filed on May
31, prayed the court to consider
the defendants and discharge
them.
"We urge the court to adopt
our written addresses as our
oral argument in this case," she
said.
The prosecution counsel,
Deputy Director Public
Prosecution (DPP), Mrs Rabi
Ahmad, in her final written
addresses dated and filed June
6, prayed the court to convict
and sentence the three
defendants as charged.
Ahmad argued that the
second defendant (Isyaku) is
standing trial for concealing
dead body contrary to the
provisions of Section 277 of the
Penal Code and punishable
with death under Section
274(b).
"We urge the court to note
the content of exhibit 12
(confessional statement) of the
second defendant for burying
late Hanifa's corpse," he said.
The defendants closed its
case on May 10 with three
witnesses.
The defence witnesses were
the three defendants.
Recall that the prosecution
counsel on April 12 closed its
case against the defendants
with nine witnesses and
tendered 14 exhibits to prove
their case.
 14 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
How IXPN bridges knowledge gap in Border Gateway Protocol
By Prince Osuagwu
I n an attempt to bridge the
knowledge gap in the internet
exchange point in the country,
Nigeria’s top Border Gateway
protocol centre, Internet Exchange
Point of Nigeria, IXPN has
organised an intensive training
programme on Border Gateway
Protocol (BGP) in Lagos.
The programme was meant to plug
the holes in knowledge of the
internet exchange point.
Nigerian brands require
Conversational AI for
customer services
– Indepal Singh, Gupshup EVP
By Prince Osuagwu,
Hi-Tech Editor
D r Inderpal Singh, EVP Telecom
Business, Gupshup is a
visionary technocrat with over two
decades of experience in mobile
technologies. He has authored
over 40 technical papers and over
50 issued patents. He has worked
at IBM and AT&T Bell Labs; and is
a serial entrepreneur who has
founded and led Savera Systems,
Kirusa, and Dotgo that
revolutionized the industry through
innovations in billing, voice
messaging, and RCS domains.
He discusses with Hi-Tech, the
prospects of revolutionizing
customer management system for
Nigerian brands with
Conversational AI
Excerpts;
As an expert in customer
management, what latest trends in
customer experience have you
observed in Nigeria?
To align with changes in consumer
behavior, businesses are changing
across sectors. Every Nigerian
company is trying to identify newer
ways to boost consumer
engagement and profitability. We
see businesses adopting a variety of
technologies to reimagine customer
experience and business-to-
consumer communication. For
example, more and more consumers
are spending time on their mobiles
- using messaging apps such as
WhatsApp and SMS, as well as
searching what they want, via
Google and Maps. So, we see many
businesses engaging with customers
via WhatsApp, Messages (SMS),
and Google Search. This has led to
an uptick in brands’ influencer
marketing, social media/messaging
channel outreach, email marketing,
and personalization of their
products and services.
What is Conversational AI, in
simple terms?
Conversational AI is the technology
that enables computers to connect
and engage with people using
natural language - think of it as
simulating a human conversation.
Using conversational AI, computers
will understand and process natural
language inputs and respond in a
natural, intuitive, human-like
manner. Businesses typically use a
conversational AI platform to
connect with consumers in real-time
on popular messaging, voice and
video channels, via chatbots.
Consumers can pose questions,
complete a purchase, or even avail
service and support via WhatsApp,
Facebook Messenger, or Android
Messages, and other frequently used
social media and messaging
channels. As a result, for consumers,
engaging with a brand feels more
like a human conversation instead
of a business transaction.
C
M
Y
K
Chief Executive Officer of the
Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria
(IXPN), Mr. Muhammed Rudman,
described Border Gateway
Protocol (BGP) as a gateway
protocol that allows the internet to
exchange routing information
between autonomous systems (AS).
He said the BGP training is a value-
added service provided by IXPN to
its member organizations and
other stakeholders.
He said: “The training is necessary
because the dynamics of the
How is it helping B2C companies
deliver better experience to
consumers?
Brands can engage with
customers anytime, anywhere,
and across any channel using
conversational AI solutions.
Advantages of conversational AI
for brands include the ability to
drive personalization at scale and
make every engagement truly
interactive, contextual and time
bound. This helps businesses
generate more revenue through
faster conversions and repeat
purchases.
Tell us about the genesis of
Gupshup.
Gupshup was created with the goal
of helping businesses and
consumers connect with each other
through meaningful two-way
conversations. Today, we are a
leading global provider of
conversational engagement
solutions, powering over nine
billion messages every month. And
businesses view Gupshup as the full-
stack conversational engagement
platform, with solutions for
conversational marketing,
commerce and service/support.
Through popular messaging
channels such as WhatsApp, RCS,
Business Messages, Facebook,
SMS, Instagram, and others,
brands use our enterprise-grade
conversational engagement
platform to engage and
communicate one-on-one with
consumers.
How has your product roadmap
evolved?
We have a product-led growth
strategy. So we continue to invest
in strengthening our product suite,
via organic and inorganic means.
For instance, our latest acquisition,
OneDirect, has significantly
enhanced our capabilities in
customer experience (CX), service
and support areas.
How do you see Gupshup
impacting the life of common
Nigerians?
Why next election should ride on Blockchain-enabled e-voting
By Juliet Umeh
In less than one year, Nigeria will
be going through another round of
election processes.
Unfortunately, most Nigerians
have lost faith in the country’s
voting system and this has resulted
to election apathy in most cases.
In a forum organized by
Technology Company recently,
technology expert, Mr. Adebayo
Akande, who is a Senior Assistant
to Oyo State government on
Information and Communication
Technology, ICT, called on Nigeria
government to embrace
blockchain technology in order to
Internet ecosystem are changing. As
a result, it is only natural to educate
member organizations and other
sector stakeholders on current
technology trends and best practices,
particularly as they relate to
connectivity to the eXchange Point”.
Participants described the training as
an eye-opener in terms of localizing
traffic and growing the Internet
ecosystem in Nigeria.
They noted that the training affords
them the opportunity to have
knowledge of new global trends, and
•Inderpal Singh Mumick
Since the pandemic, consumers are
demanding greater empathy, more
personalization and transparency
from brands, and are even willing to
pay a premium for a great
experience. However, delivering this
to millions of consumers is a
challenge of scale. Conversational AI
solutions can help brands tackle this.
Brands can talk with customers rather
than talking at them. This helps build
a one on one and trusted relationship
with consumers like you and me. It
feels like we are just texting a friend -
and the information delivered to us
is far more personal and highly
relevant.
How important is Africa and
Nigeria to your continued growth?
Africa is one of the fastest growing
markets in the world, and Nigeria is
the largest economy in Africa. To keep
pace with business growth and
market demand, we are investing
significantly on three fronts:
technology, people and partnerships.
At Gupshup, we have a strong focus
on Africa with operations in multiple
countries, including presence in
Nigeria, Ghana, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Tanzania,
Zambia and South Africa. Through
the acquisition ofDotgo, a leading
provider of rich communications
services (RCS) for businesses and
telecom operators, we bolstered
Africa presence.
What kind of customer organizations
do you work with, and across which
industry verticals?
As the leading conversational
engagement platform in emerging
markets, which span mobile-first
countries like Nigeria, we work with
over 45,000 businesses, across
industry verticals, in 40+ countries.
address election challenges.
He explained that the concept of
incorporating Blockchain-enabled e-
voting, BEV, will make the election
process quicker and easier is
compelling in a modern society.
Akande noted some of the challenges
as poor turnout of voters, violence,
high cost of printing ballot papers,
discrepancies in number of votes
among others.
According to him, “Nigeria has over
200 million people and about 84
million registered voters. But, in the
2019 elections, there was a 35 percent
voter turnout, which was down from
the 44 percent voter turnout in 2015
best practices in the
interconnectivity of networks,
particularly when it comes to
peering with an Internet eXchange
Point (IXP).
IP Engineer at Hoop Telecoms
Limited, Philip Omugbe, said:
“The Border Gateway Protocol
training with IXPN was informative
and I learned some new things
when it comes to peering with an
internet exchange point”.
The training came at an ideal time
for Bunmi Adeleye, GM Technical
Educationists target curriculum that prepares
students for global competition
Stories by Juliet Umeh
D ifferent educationists who were
present at 2022 Edves Catalyst,
have called on the Federal
Government, FG and other
countries Africal to imbibe
information technology, IT, in
school curriculum from the grass
roots in order to prepare youths for
global disruptions.
Edves Catalyst is an annual
community programme organised
by a digital platform, Edves to
engage and interact with educators
from private and public primary
and secondary schools in Africa.
At the event, speakers from
different countries noted that
schools in Africa are really not part
of disruptions happening globally
due to outdated curriculum.
In the panel discussion, the
National Chairperson for the Kenya
Private Schools Association, Mrs
Mutheu Kasanga, said: "Africa
needs to embed IT right from a
young age. Our curriculum is not
CSEAN to address ICT's role in mitigating insecurity
at Abuja conference
A s Nigeria continues to
experience all manner of
insecurity across the country, a Cyber
Security Experts Association of
Nigeria, CSEAN, has said that it's
upcoming conference will discuss
various ways information and
communication technology will be
used to address it.
The two-day conference will be
held in Abuja early next week.
It is with the theme:
"Cybersecurity: An imperative in
tackling insecurity in Nigeria".
President of the association, Mr.
Remi Afon said: "We aim to prepare
participants through workshops,
plenary, technical, academic, and
breakout sessions on the role
Business Remarks forum to examine challenges of
internet service providers in Nigeria
Ionline
nformation and Communication
Technology, ICT focused print and
publication, Business
Remarks, has said that its maiden
edition of “Telecom Sector
Sustainability Forum,” TSSF will
examine the challenges facing the
internet providers in Nigeria.
Editor in Chief of the paper, Mr.
Bukola Olanrewaju, said the event
which will be held on July 7 in Lagos
will discuss and examine Nigerian
Internet Service Providers, ISPs,
viability in a digitized environment
for a vibrant and sustainable
and 54 percent turnout in 2011.
“There are usually reports of
electoral violence and harassment
of both voters and electoral officials
during elections and when it comes
to the cost of printing ballot papers.
For the 2019 general elections, it
was reported that INEC required the
sum of N35 billion for the printing
of ballot papers and result sheets.
“Also, the Civil Society Organisation
reported that the figures on the total
number of registered voters
announced before the elections and
the figures announced by INEC
during the collation in 30 of 36
states were inconsistent.”
Operations, Syscodes
Communications Ltd, who
confessed that many network
operators and engineers, including
him, were unfamiliar with the
workings of the Internet Exchange
Point.
He said: “The training was quite
hands-on, interactive, and
expository as there were practical
live LAB sessions. Many thanks to
the IXPN team, and I hope they
sustain the momentum,” he added.
preparing the students for any
disruption. We in Africa are not
spending on education. We need a
massive overhaul of our
curriculum."
Also, an Administrator and
member, board of directors, Vivian
Fowler Memorial College for Girls,
Mrs Olufunke Amba, said: "Our
curriculum is a bit outdated and it
is not preparing our students for the
global stage. We are not preparing
these children for the future Africa.
"Our future is based on education
yet our governments are not seeing
that and they are not investing in it.
"In Africa, about 364 million of
our population are aged between 15
and 34. So, it means that the future
of Africa and the leaders of Africa is
based on this population."
Also in his remarks, Chairman of
National Association of Proprietors
of Private Schools, NAPPS, Mr. Yemi
Otudola, encouraged schools to
make efforts to adopt technology
particularly using Edves platform.
cybersecurity and ICT can play in
mitigating our security challenges.
"The conference will be packed
with rich security and cybersecurity
topics to be delivered by globally
renowned experts, strengthening
partnerships between domestic
stakeholders, public and private, to
encourage the sharing of
intelligence on potential threats and
collaboration to find lasting
solutions.
"You will all agree with me that
the security threat landscape in
Nigeria has evolved rapidly;
terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and
unknown gunmen attacks are
increasing in number and
sophistication."
economy.
Olanrewaju said: “The forum will
highlight important issues on ISPs
towards a sustainable economy. The
forum will feature key stakeholders
in the industry while also providing
innovative ideas and insight that can
guarantee a secured and strong ICT
industry.
Democracy Day: Konga excites
Nigerianswithdiscountedprices
E
-commerce giant, Konga has
said it is offering customers the
best prices across product categories
and free delivery for Lagos, Abuja
and Port Harcourt to mark Nigeria’s
Democracy Day.
As the company’s Mid-Year
Shopping Festival which started
June 1 enters the halfway stage, the
management of Konga said it is also
using the best prices offered as an
avenue to help shoppers save big,
while picking up their most desired
products at give-away prices.
It also explained that additional
exciting discounts have been
extended on various product
categories. The categories include
Mobile, Electronics, Computing,
Home and Kitchen, Wine and
Kitchen, FMCG which are fast-
moving consumer goods and also
known as consumer packaged
goods, fashion and much more.

In organisations, capacity-
building plays pivotal role
—Ibiene Okeleke, MD ETC
I
BIENE Okeleke, is Managing Director at Energy Training Center, a
learning academy set up to provide a wide range of learning
interventions for the Energy sector. Before becoming MD of ETC, Ibiene
was the Chief Human Resources and Administrative Officer of Ikeja Electric,
a role she took on after the privatization of the power sector in 2013 and
was pivotal in positioning Ikeja Electric as the leading Power Distribution
Company in Nigeria. Prior to this, she was the Group Head of Human
Resources at the Sahara Group and has held other key leadership roles in
the financial services and technology sectors. Okeleke tells BL why women
should demonstrate competence, commitment, and knowledge in the
workplace to create opportunities for other women to thrive.
What is the essence of an Energy
Training Center? Why did you
have to go so far away?
Energy Training Centre was conceived
out of a gap we believed existed. In my
previous roles, I had been Head of HR
for organisations in the Energy sector and
what I observed was that organizations
needed the right training companies to
train their staff and a lot of these
companies that could do these technical
trainings were foreign companies unlike
the soft skills trainings such as
communication skills, business skills,
presentation skills who had a lot local
options to choose from. A lot of these
companies are either foreign companies
or people that have foreign partnerships
or government owned training centers.
I thought it was important to have
many options to serve the growing needs
of the Energy sector, as this would help
build the competency gaps that exist
today.
I didn’t think the training companies
were sufficient for the sector, I felt there
was room for competition because when
you have services, the users or the
buyers of these services have access to
competition, better pricing and it makes
everyone bring in their best.
However, when you are in human
resources, there is a part of the job where
you deal with employees’ jobs, their job
descriptions, development and career
progression. For you to do that well, you
must learn to understand all the jobs your
employees are doing, whether its
engineering job, support or commercial,
hard skills or soft skills. I had to go and
upskill myself in the technical aspects of
the job. There is a need to keep upskilling
and reskilling oneself.
You have been in HR, to core
business and to core specialized
business. How easy was it to make
a transition?
I have headed the HR function for two
decades of my entire career and heading
the HR function could be the peak of a HR
professional’s career. The next place from
there is to be a CEO. HR is all about
managing people to achieve
organizational expectations. You will
always find the HR person transiting into
consulting, training business and will
naturally become the managing director
of such companies. I won’t say I find it
challenging. I would say that the kind of
organizations I have worked with
empowered me.
The area I would have said was a
challenge initially was the business
development side which entails
networking and winning new business
unlike HR.
I usually must sell engineering and not
HR services. I was selling engineering
training and technical training and that
was the part that I would say
was a bit exciting because I
found it as a new
experience.
Do you believe
that women Organisations
should
g i v e n
be should make their
affirmative environment
with
experience?
your
conducive for
I think the women, when you
age and era we
are in now is the value a woman, she
best time for
women to thrive.
will give you, her
Going back to 10 or best
20 years ago when I
started my career,
you won’t see many
women sitting in
management positions. That is
because of many reasons; family
obligations, it’s the woman that leaves the
job because she feels her priority is to
take care of her family. At this time, I
would say because the workplace has
been made more conducive for women.
Also, the economic situation has made
more families realize that dual income is
better than singular income. We now
have more women in the workspace. In
financial services, we have lot of female
managing directors, more women
working in blue chip organizations
occupying positions on the board.
Women are now inspired.
Now we have a lot of support for women
from men today. A lot of fathers want their
daughters to run their businesses.
What is the role of organizations
such as the Women in Energy
Network?
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 , 2022— 15
It’s a network I belong to and what
triggered that was when I came into this
new role, not knowing much about the
industry in terms of the technical aspect
of it, one of the best advice I got was to
attend conferences, network with the right
people and industry leaders. Being a busy
industry, the ratio of women was so low.
We already had 20% in the workforce.
There were gender imbalances. There
were more men. Even where they had
more women, they were more
represented in the support
functions and not in core
m a i n s t r e a m
engineering. So, I
joined the Women
in Energy
Network as a
founding
member, a
member of
the BOT and a
member of
the board. We
have specific
goals we want
to achieve. We
want more
f e m a l e
representations in
leadership. We want
to advocate for female
friendly policies, have more
women in mainstream corporate not
just doing support roles but technical and
strategic leadership roles, develop more
women to take on Board roles and have
women in government.
We have a STEM program called
Supernova Girl.
So, we are supporting women all through
the value chain right from school right up
to the top of their career and beyond their
career.
The network is just 2 years old with a
membership of over 200 already and we
have eleven corporate organizations.
How far do you think the energy
transition has occurred? Does it
have anything to do with training?
Everything has to do with trainings.
When it comes to organizations, capacity
building plays a pivotal role. Energy
transition is an evolving trend and will
Ibiene
open more opportunities for people in
the energy sector. There is fear that some
jobs will become redundant but this is
not correct, just like any new change
comes development and an opportunity
to learn new skills, we would see more
jobs evolving and not necessarily get
extinct, as such it is important everyone
in the industry embrace this change.
There are new opportunities for
renewable energy and the gas sectors
and The Energy Training Centre has
positioned itself to play a key role in
capacity building.
As a woman that has worked in
financial services and other
organizations, what have you
learned?
For me I would not say I been
shortchanged as a woman in my career.
First, if you are offered a job and you are
confident in yourself, not necessarily
your outlook, you will gain respect.
Second, if you are given opportunity of
jobs to do and you demonstrate
commitment and knowledge, you will go
very far whether you are a woman or a
man. Third, when you have that mindset
that as an individual, you are not the
weaker sex or believe if somebody can
do it, you can also do it. Fourth, when
you also know that as a woman you need
to demonstrate that you can deliver such
that you build confidence in the people
around you to believe that other women
can perform and deliver same.
I am not a feminist that echoes, what a
man can do, a woman can do better. I
just feel it is all about your competence.
Even if somebody comes and thinks a
woman should not be doing a particular
task, and you do it, the man will realize
that women could do it. That way, you
have a mindset changed and the more
you do that, the more you pave the way
for other women. If you are the first
female head of any organization and you
perform very well in your role,
immediately you leave, they will most
likely want another woman. Because you
have laid a foundation that would cause
them to give such roles to other women.
Companies should have it in mind that
women have peculiar issues and
challenges.
16 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
Send Opinions & Letters to:
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illegal foreigners). The North-West is the
locomotive engine that draws the rest of
the North. Once it moves, the rest of the
North (including the Christian and non-
Muslim elements of the so-called
Middle Belt) follows.
These realities motivated Tinubu to
merge his Action Congress of Nigeria,
ACN, with Muhammadu Buhari’s
Congress for Progressive Change, CPC,
in 2013 and supported him to win the
party ’s ticket and the presidency in
2015. Left to Tinubu, Buhari would have
Tinubu’s Muslim/Muslim ticket obsession picked him as VP in 2015. He reluctantly
yielded that position to Yemi Osinbajo
through the land, you can imagine the
stampede for a liberal Tinubu, even if
he chooses the heavily burdened Umar
Ganduje as VP.
If Tinubu picks a Northern Muslim VP,
he may still win the 2023 presidential
election despite the cries for “balance”
and “equity” by Nigerians of goodwill.
He will be capitalising on the perceived
moral and psychological weaknesses of
the Nigerian Christian community
which have emboldened the Muslim
leaders of the country to
unconstitutionally wheedle Islamic
values into our body politic and
increasingly make Nigeria look to the

T HE chances are that, by the time due to pressure.

you read this article, the major
presidential candidates – Atiku
Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP; Bola Tinubu of the All
Progressives Congress, APC; and Peter
Obi of the Labour Party, LP, would have
announced their running mates.
Of the lot, Tinubu’s matter matters the
most. From the distant past when he
started developing interest in becoming
the president of Nigeria, he has always
postulated that a Muslim/Muslim ticket
“can work; competence is all that
matters”. If “competence” is all that
matters, why not just pick a fellow
Yoruba; they also have their share of
competent people. Why look for
something in Sokoto when you can
simply pick it from your Sokoto pocket?
But hey, I perfectly understand his
situation.
Tinubu as a seasoned political leader
does not operate with logic or political
niceties when looking for power. He goes
for the expedient. Whatever produces
results he will deploy it. Know this about
Tinubu’s politics and know peace.
Tinubu is not a Muslim fanatic. He is a
typical Yoruba Muslim to whom Islam is
a religion, unlike the Northern Muslim
to whom Islam is life. Tinubu is also not
necessarily an ethnic chauvinist, though
he has taken several cynical measures
which portray him in that light. For
instance, he has been accused of
sponsoring hoodlums to prevent the
Igbo residents of Lagos from registering
and voting, apart from being accused of
attempts to foment inter-tribal conflicts
between Igbo and Yoruba, particularly
after the EndSARS riots of October 2020.
These notwithstanding, Tinubu is
known to have given some of his Igbo
acolytes jobs. He put one of them, Ben
Akubueze, in charge of the Lagos purse.
Not only that, he recommended the
Anambra State-born Akubueze to Buhari
who promptly appointed him Director
of Budget. Here, you see a man who is
ready to do anything to achieve power
and maintain himself in power. But he
rewards loyalty, unbothered by ethnic
or religious considerations.
Religion does not interfere with a
Yoruba Muslim’s political life. He is
unlikely to let it stand in his way to a
cherished objective. The same mentality
applies to a typical Nigerian Christian.
It is the aggressive religious
fundamentalism of the Northern Muslim
that has radicalised the Christians to be
on their guard. The Buhari regime’s
tribal and religious extremism have
worsened primordial tensions.
Tinubu knew, from way back in 2012,
that for him to become the president of
Nigeria he must forge an alliance with
the North-West. Apart from the zone’s
majority status (seven states), it also has
by far the largest voting population
(including millions of child voters and
outside world like an Islamic country.
Tinubu knows the only way he can
A Muslim/Muslim presidential victory
hope to win the 2023 presidential
will be another frontier towards the
election is to go for a popular far-North
eventual conversion of Nigeria to an
If Tinubu, with all his already Islamic republic. In Nigerian politics,
every new precedent becomes the norm.
existing personal baggage, Muslim/Muslim presidential pairings
adds to it a Muslim/Muslim may take the centre stage, thus officially
relegating Christians to political second
ticket at this
class citizens.
juncture of our history, it is at Nigerians did not see anything wrong
his own risk with General Yakubu Gowon being the
Head of State while Chief Obafemi
Muslim as his VP. He must have
Awolowo was his quasi civilian deputy
someone who will pull the Northern
because the country was at war in 1967
Muslim grassroots to him. How many
to 1970. Indeed, Awolowo in 1979
Northern Christians have electoral
named Chief Philip Umeadi (SAN) as
value? How many Northern Christians
his running mate. Also, Dr. Nnamdi
can get Northern Muslims to vote for a
Azikiwe picked a Hausa Christian,
Southern presidential candidate because
Professor Ishaya Audu as his running
of him as the VP of that ticket?
mate.
Tinubu feels he can ride roughshod
Zik’s NPP had a Christian/Christian
over the feelings of Christians because
ticket, while Awolowo’s UPN had a
he knows that despite their potential
Christian/Christian and Southern/
clout if united, they are fractious and
Southern ticket in 1979! But no one
feeble-minded. He believes they can
raised an eyebrow because there was
easily be “managed”. Don’t be
still a country. It is instructive, however,
surprised, the moment Tinubu
that Alhaji Shehu Shagari, who
announces his Muslim running mate,
balanced his ticket with Dr. Alex
cassock-wearing church leaders will be
Ekwueme, an Igbo Southern Christian,
among the first to rush to him for
won the elections of 1979 and 1983. So,
“courtesy” or “solidarity” visits.
if Tinubu, with all his already existing
If Christian leaders and general
personal baggage, adds to it a Muslim/
overseers could support a Buhari in spite
Muslim ticket at this juncture of our
of his unabashed Islamisation and
history, it is at his own risk. Good luck
Fulanisation agenda still sweeping
to his “life ambition”.

spoken; it cannot be taken Muslim-Muslim ticket has

The primaries and winner of Nigerian hearts
By ETIM ETIM
I T’s a few days after the
APC presidential
convention, and I will like to
commend Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo for conducting a
decent and effective
presidential run that has
inspired so many young
people and motivated millions
of others. Although the VP was
not declared winner, there is
no doubt that he’s won the
hearts of millions of Nigerians
across the country. It is obvious
to me that APC will never win
the presidential election unless
Osinbajo’s supporters are in
full support of the campaign.
It’s, therefore, in Tinubu’s
interest to rein in his over
exuberant supporters who
believe that the best way to
celebrate is to insult the losers.
To the millions of the VP’s
supporters, the young and the
educated middle class, please
stay engaged and keep
mobilising. I’m happy that
Professor Osinbajo did not
yield to the immense pressure
to withdraw from the race.
Stepping down for Tinubu
would have been the greatest
disservice to the millions of
Nigerians who are not only
motivated by the freshness he
exuded, but also looked up to
his leadership. He’s the
Obama of our time.
There are indications that
Osinbajo would stay engaged
in the polity. A few days after
the convention, he visited his
supporters at the Campaign
Office in Asokoro, Abuja,
where he thanked them for
their support and pledged to
continue to support the party.
He said: “This movement is a
movement within a party. We
are not doing something that
has not been heard of before.
What is new is that we have a
firm belief that a new Nigeria
is possible and it is possible
through us who are here. We
went to the convention, and
the results showed us clearly
that we lost, but it is only a
battle, it is not the war. There
are battles ahead, but we will
win the war for a new Nigeria.
I have no doubt in my mind
that we will win that war for a
new Nigeria. That is why our
movement for a new Nigeria
must remain strong and firm.
And we will do everything to
keep our movement strong and
solid.”
According to the vice
president, despite the result of
the APC presidential primary:
“The dream of a new country
remains alive and well… We
will have at the back of our
minds, that what you have
started in the various
movements, coming into one,
is the seed that will birth a new
nation. You and I know the
time has come and we will
devote everything to it. I am
committed and will remain
The President’s
vacillation on his
preference in the last
week of the convention
is quite emblematic of
his personality and
leadership style in the
last seven years
committed to that dream (of a
new Nigeria), for as long as
you are willing and recognise
that we have not yet written
the story of this country, we
have not yet completed the
story of this country. As a
matter of fact, the story has just
begun, this movement has just
started.”
The VP further said: “A new
Nigeria has only just started,
and everywhere across this
land, it will be clear to all that
a new Nigeria has been born.
Once the genie comes out of
the bottle, you cannot put it
back. The word has been
back: it is time for a new
Nigeria.” Thanking Nigerians
at home and abroad, including
the Osinbajo supporters’
groups, for the overwhelming
support for his presidential
bid, Prof. Osinbajo noted that
“when we started this race, I
never believed that we would
have so many young men and
women who would believe so
passionately in the cause of a
new Nigeria”. These are the
words of a fighter who is not
quitting.
There are a few lessons to
learn from the outcome of the
primary. First, Nigerian politics
is still driven by religion,
ethnicity and corruption. Apart
from bribing the delegates, I
understand that a certain
aspirant paid as much as $3
million to each governor,
especially the Northern
governors. Even the family of
a very senior government
officials received luxury
largess like houses in Dubai.
It is a big damage to President
Buhari whose anti-corruption
campaign has earned him
international renown.
The Tinubu win has further
stimulated spirited
discussions. No matter who
his running mate would be,
Tinubu has inevitably become
a risky standard bearer for his
party. The specter of the
become the most controversial
political issue today and an
incubus on the Tinubu ticket.
Suddenly, Tinubu’s victory is
no longer perceived as a slam
dunk as it was earlier
presented. He is now being
defined by a single issue. I
have warned in my previous
interventions that the mood of
the nation in 2022 is different
from that of 1993. We did not
have Boko Haram, ISWAP,
church bombings and
blasphemy killings 30 years
ago.
I cannot, therefore, imagine
what would happen, if in the
midst of these, we are
presented with a ticket that
excludes the huge Christian
community from the top
echelon of the nation’s political
leadership. In addition,
Tinubu looks visibly unwell as
evidenced by his frailty.
This brings me to the Buhari
leadership. The President’s
vacillation on his preference in
the last week of the convention
is quite emblematic of his
personality and leadership
style in the last seven years. It
is now up to him to bear the
consequences of his indecision
and lack of decisiveness.
•Etim, a journalist and media
consultant, wrote from Abuja
 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 —17
announcement by the Police as hasty. The
announcement was simply untidy and
appeared like an attempt at shutting down
any suggestions or insinuations that could
point the search for the perpetrators of the crime
in other directions, as some Nigerians were
beginning to do. What is needed is for
investigators to follow the trail provided by
their investigation no matter where it leads.
Not anticipate the outcome of the investigation
in order to control the narrative around it.
Mention has been made of the leading role
the Ondo State government and Governor
Rotimi Akeredolu, as a person, have played in
setting up the South-west security outfit,
Who are perpetrators of the Owo massacre? Amotekun. People of the South-west have not
forgotten Amotekun’s effort at fighting
criminality perpetrated by herders who are
have so far operated in parts of the North-west
or North-East of the country under the
euphemistic labels of bandits or insurgents.
It’s in fact difficult to separate any of these
groups from the so-called herders as they all
seem to have adopted same strategies of
operation. The different groups now work hand
in hand and rather than getting overtly
defensive about calling them by their real
name, we should set our inhibitions aside and
give them full-throated condemnation.
While we may still have some Nigerians who
may be ignorant enough to stigmatise an entire
people because of the antisocial behaviour of
some of their kith and kin, the truth which no
right-thinking person will deny is that nobody
should be held liable for a crime they did not
commit. Not even where they may be related

I T’s now more than a week since the

agents of evil made their presence felt in
Owo, Ondo State, where they left the
traumatised people of a morning massacre
that took the lives of about 50 people, all
worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church.
In the intervening days since the cowardly
attack, there has not been any meaningful clues
about those responsible for it. Neither has any
group or individual taken responsibility for
it. This clearly proves how cowardly were the
attackers. They could only show their evil
hands among the most helpless and harmless
group of people there could possibly be-
worshippers at the solemn moment of
communing with their maker. The cowards
are still unable to own up to their evil act in a
vain effort to avoid discovery. But this can only
be for a time. They will continue to run but
cannot hide.
It is not difficult to imagine them still hiding
in Owo, possibly within a short distance from
the point of their disgraceful act, or
somewhere in a neighbouring town or state,
cowering in silence and waiting for the ruckus
they created to blow over. But it is the
prerogative of the Ondo State government,
Abuja and others involved in the investigation,
to decide the modalities to smoke out the
spineless killers, accursed specimen of the
human race. Those who have perpetrated a
crime as heinous as the St. Francis massacre
cannot determine the terms of their own
discovery and prosecution. May they not
experience peace wherever they may be until
the guilt of their crime impel them on the path
of confession.
The crime was no sooner committed than
the Nigeria Police pronounced it the
handiwork of the Islamic State of West Africa
Province. Even if this is true, announcing the
origin of the perpetrators without any proof is
a sure way to a botched investigation. It follows
a typical mode of no-investigation by the Police
that is always too quick to be seen to be doing
something than following necessary
procedure. Soon they would throw up so-called
suspects for prosecution without adequate
investigation only to lose out on some legal
technicality. This crime fighting model is of a
kind with the approach of operatives of the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, that stormed venues of
the last delegates’ elections of political parties
that produced thepresidential candidates.
This in a failed attempt at apprehending
those out to induce delegates with money. They
made their noisy entry at the Eagles’ Square
venue of the conventions in reflective jackets
imprinted with the organisational name and
logo of the EFCC. Rotimi Akeredolu, governor
of Ondo State, was right to describe the
mostly of Fulani origin, whether of local origin
or those said to have crossed into Nigeria from
neighbouring African countries.
Insisting on following the trail of this
investigation to wherever it leads is not the
same thing as profiling any ethnic group or
people. We must all join hands to condemn
evil wherever it shows itself no matter who the
Crimes like the gruesome
terror of Owo should never be
seen as a normal part of our
lives nor should we attribute
them to unknown persons
perpetrators are. For all we don’t know, the
criminals behind the Owo massacre may well
turn out to be locals of Yoruba, if not Owo
origin, who operated individually or as part of
a foreign terrorist collective, to unleash terror
on their own people. It could also be the
notorious marauders maiming, raping,
kidnapping and killing all over the country
under the guise of herding cattle. But nobody
will know this for sure for as long as we are too
quick to keep certain aspects of the
investigation, no matter how unpleasant, off-
limits. There is nothing about this latest
crime that says it could not have been
committed by any of the known groups that
to someone suspected of committing a
grievous crime such as the terrorist action in
Owo. This will no doubt be a difficult call given
the human tendency for stereotyping, a
tendency that is heightened by Nigeria’s
current politics of identity, belonging and
exclusion. Yet, it is only proper that we all join
hands to fight and condemn this kind of
criminality that we are beginning to
experience in Nigeria.
As I highlighted here last week, crimes like
the gruesome terror of Owo should never be
seen as a normal part of our lives nor should
we attribute them to unknown persons, which
will be only one step away from asking
everyone to take it in their stride. No, criminal
acts like this should be stamped out with every
force at our disposal. Perpetrators of such acts
do not belong in civilised society and should
never be allowed to live among normal human
beings. They have lost every sense of
humanity and the right to remain part of it.
The national malaise towards amnesia, one
by which we are afflicted and which enables us
to move on without paying attention once an
outrage has been committed against us, will
do us no good if we do not insist on remedial
action. This is the season of politics quite all
right and the concern now is all about next
year’s elections and their key actors. But we
must be careful not to forget our humanity.

08055069060 (SMS Only)
Politicians on reality TV
show in Abuja
T HE past few weeks have been
great moments for
broadcasting, the TV genre to be
specific. First was the PDP
convention held in Abuja, which
enjoyed live coverage on television.
Second was the convention by the
ruling party, the APC which was held
last week. Again, television provided
the engaging opportunity for those
who could afford a personal
organised rescue mission from
darkness (power supply challenges)
imposed by a government that, in
my own estimation, has not done the
people well at all.
Both events would best have been
confined as circus shows were life in
Nigeria not too traumatised to be
given the rating of frivolity, or even
a burlesque where characters are
hilarious to the extreme. Most
Nigerian politicians provide
sustained daily entertainment but
are very superficial in
understanding the issues relating to
the health and well-being of their
people. For them party conventions
provide convenient bazaars to
saloon their perfidy.
For these politicians, television
provides a contradiction - to convey
truth that cannot be adulterated or
skillfully manipulated to serve a
predetermined purpose. This brings
me to the story of my friend which I
have told several times. While
hunting for broadcast equipment at
the NAB Conference in Las Vegas,
my friend came across a camera
lens that he would love to purchase
but which was very expensive. Some
fellows were watching and
volunteered to deliver him from his
dilemma. Are you a politician, the
fellow asked. It was my friend’s turn
to be shocked. Why did you ask that
kind of question? The intruder was
not selfish with his answer. Oh, it is
only politicians that are interested
in this kind of thing, so that they can
use it to double the number of people
attending their rallies. You see the
lack of faith in the sincerity of
politicians is globally epidemic.
Back to the politicians at the
conventions in Abuja. I was more
interested in the epiphany of the
ruling party which, like the nza bird
in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, is
challenging the supremacy of the
creator of the heavens and the earth,
to rule forever and keep the country
blighted into the foreseeable future.
I have lived in this nation since when
I was small and could not see the
world beyond the confines of my
town. I have seen governments come
and go, including the military whose
word was pure command to the
bloody civilians. I have seen them
fly high like the nza bird after a great
meal but then come down to earth
in resounding eternal infamy. I was
very interested in what the ruling
party had to say to defend itself from
the trauma that it has imposed on
the land.
Perhaps by way of pointing them
to a path of bizarre truth and morbid
seriousness of the situation in the
nation, some criminals from the pit
of hell, just while the party was about
to begin its rituals, went to a church
in Owo, Ondo State and slaughtered
lots of people whose only crime was
being born Nigerians and going to a
church on a Sunday morning to
serve their God. The outrage is in the
air and typically, no arrest has
reportedly been made. But there was
another challenge, TV is useless
without power supply. You may just
have a piece of dark junk box that is
as useless as the blackboards in our
nation’s universities. I am
constrained to say smart boards
because the last time I visited one of
the most acclaimed universities in
the nation, I still carry the memory
of what I saw. The boards are in the
classes. Very lonely. No teachers to
write on them. ASUU has kept the
students at home for months and
nobody is able to understand the
irresponsibility of a government that
The APC that I saw
while using the diesel I
bought with my scarce
resources to power my
TV, did not express
remorse for the ruination
of this nation; instead,
after seven years they still
passed the buck to PDP
makes little provision for the
tomorrow of our children.
The first hurdle must be crossed. In
the part of the nation where I live, I
have not had light for nearly three
months straight. The public power
supply is in a sorry state; they say the
grid always breaks down but there
are always reasons for failure
although nobody takes
responsibility. I needed to buy diesel
at N760 a litre, that is when it was
still cheap! I hear diesel is over N800
now. It is difficult to understand what
is happening in our nation and I
thought it would be fitting to hear
from a government which came into
power on a gossamer of lies and has
sustained it ever since.
The thing about live TV is that it
bears the verisimilitude of reality TV,
except that some reality TV could
just be for pure entertainment. But
pray, what is the difference between
what we saw in Abuja in the
preceding weeks and entertainment.
The line is blurred in the level of
untruth, the level of diminished
tolerance to, or abnegation of reality.
TV has always been a tool in the
hands of the powerful, especially
those who go into government and
think that they would be there forever.
But 1992 made a difference to all
that when former maximum leader,
Ibrahim Babangida, deregulated the
sector. This masterstroke of genius
introduced plurality to TV viewing
in Nigeria. So at the Eagle Square
in Abuja were as many cameras as
possible, all feeding live signals to
their headquarters for transmission
across the nation or even the globe.
I can testify that live TV does not
lie except manipulated, which is not
beyond us in this part of the world.
The APC that I saw while using the
diesel I bought with my scarce
resources to power my TV, did not
express remorse for the ruination of
this nation. Instead, after seven years
they still passed the buck to PDP. Why
is it impossible for these guys to ever
confess the truth?
I have lived in this nation since
when I was a child but had never
experienced something close these
seven blighted years of the locust.
Death has become the cheapest
commodity and very epidemic.
Death is all over the place, including
places of worship; not to talk of those
who die on the road everyday or are
kidnapped for ritual purposes or
organ harvesting. The refrain of this
government is to curse perpetrators
of these terrible crimes to rot in hell
instead of taking concerted action
that can give the people hope. In just
seven years, the nation’s currency has
plummeted to an all time low
against the dollar, and the crash
continues to intensify. Students have
been out of school for months just
because the government cannot
meet the demands of ASUU
members even if the demands may
not be able to fund the endowment
of a major university in some parts
of the world.
The state of the nation is
abysmally chaotic. The roads are
bad, infested by bandits; air travel is
suffering from the dreariness of an
unfocused government; the
emerging new bride of movements,
the trains, suffered a major hit by
terrorists; inflation figures are
doctored to reflect a reality that is
not available in our stomachs. Life
has lost meaning in every sense, and
the people needed hope, somebody
to inspire them that tomorrow could
be pregnant with some answers that
can heal the wounds of the past, and
provide the energy for the days
ahead. Even look at this, the world is
in turmoil as a result of the Russian/
Ukraine war. Nations are looking
for alternative supplies of crude oil.
Nobody looked at the direction of
Nigeria because even as the APC
gathered in Abuja there were queues
for fuel at the filling stations and the
price of cooking was shooting
through the roof. Nobody seeks help
from a country that cannot help
herself.
I am watching TV for a moment
of confessed truth, instead these
politicians in their flowing agbada,
tried so hard to lobotomise the
present ugliness of life in Nigeria out
of my brain. For them, life is a merry-
go-round. And come next year, the
students who have been at home for
months, the parents who buried their
deaths at the Lekki Tollgate in
October, 2020, and even those who
raise money to pay ransom to
kidnappers, will return them to
power. I am watching TV. These
people have ruined lives in Nigeria.
In the months ahead we shall watch
on television too how their ambitions
will untangle one after the other. The
payback time is not far away.
18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
THE military government of General
Abdulsalami Abubakar set May 29,
1999 as its handover date. It became
Nigeria’s Democracy Day after Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo who won the
presidential election, assumed power.
On June 6, 2018, President
Muhammadu Buhari responded to
public yearnings and transferred the
Democracy Day to June 12 every year
to honour the memory of the winner
of the June 12, 1993 presidential
election, the late Chief MKO Abiola.
It has become a national holiday.
After 23 years of our renascent
democracy, the question really is: how
has this democratic order impacted
Nigerians? Buhari, in his 2022
Democracy Day address to the nation,
claimed that Nigeria’s democracy
“has made progress”. We did not
have a different self-assessment. The
reality, however, richly bespeaks of
the opposite scenario.
What are our democracy dividends?
Has our renascent democracy
improved the people’s ability to
Projecting 2023
By SUNNY IKHIOYA
T HE beauty of Nigeria’s unity and
diversity, if allowed to flourish for the
benefit of all, cannot be quantified. We saw a
bit of this during the presidential primaries of
the two major parties. But then, will the
centrifugal forces allow it to be? That is the
challenge that we face as we approach another
election year in 2023. The results of the
primaries from the two political parties were
not unexpected; the ones with the resources
came out tops: meaning the best candidates
did not necessarily win, maybe, due to
primordial factors. It also showed that
rotational presidency, according to zones, has
been discarded as the contests were thrown
open to all and sundry.
So, going further in Nigeria, it will be a free
for all competition, no zoning. For the next
presidency, people have narrowed it down to
former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and
Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Like or hate him,
Tinubu has become an enigma; you cannot
ignore him. He has managed to triumph in all
of his political battles; never lost any election
despite perceived obstacles. One had thought
that the All Progressives Congress, APC, would
find it difficult to conduct a free, fair and
democratic primaries; we must give it to them:
they pulled it off and that was the focus of
Tinubu’s victory speech, when he said that
people had already prepared coffins for the
APC.
For Atiku, it is generally believed that he is a
man with deep pockets, very generous and with
very extensive connections. He knew that if
the primary for the PDP is thrown open, he will
be favoured. It will not be the first time: he
knows how to win primaries and the PDP is
Democracy without dividends
choose their leaders? How has it
promoted good governance and a
better life for the people?
In terms of the democratic space,
the 1999 Constitution had no link to
the Nigerian people as falsely claimed
in the Preamble.
It was a mere rehash of the 1979
“military command” federalism which
heaped power in the centre, created
a feeding-bottle federalism and
reduced the federating units to
ineffectual dependencies. This
military command federalism ab initio
shackled the democratic space.
The regime of Obasanjo rode on it
as a military leader in civilian toga.
The regimes of the late Umaru Yar’
OPINION
banking on him, this time, to clinch the
presidency for them.
So, it is between Atiku and Tinubu. In saner
climes, none of these two will win the party
tickets because of their perceived frailties and
baggage. But in Nigeria, anything is possible.
Let us then do the analysis with the Nigerian
situation in mind. It is expected that the South-
East will react to the presentation of Atiku as
the presidential candidate of the PDP and not
vote for him massively as they did in the past.
Will this affect his chances in the overall
election? Also, Tinubu is also regarded in the
South-East as someone who hijacked their
mandate given the feeling it’s their turn to
present a presidential candidate. So, for them,
the choice of Atiku represents a betrayal. In
fact, both Okorocha and Nnamani did allude
to the injustice that had been done to the South-
East when Bola Tinubu visited them. Will the
South-East vote for Tinubu? That is another
question that we will get to know the answer in
February 2023.
The North has always voted as one during
elections, but recent dynamics has made their
position in 2023 to be unpredictable. This is
due to the perceived excesses of the Fulanis in
the North; some are saying that with a Fulani
man back in power as president, the atrocities
being committed by armed herdsmen, bandits
and kidnappers will continue. Therefore, they
see it as safer to go with a Southern candidate.
Will the Middle Belt states of Benue, Plateau,
Kwara, Kogi, Nassarawa be ready for a
change? If Tinubu can do his politicking very
well, he could gain grounds in these areas, but
that only work if the whole North decides not
to come out as one in favour of Atiku, who has
built solid structures along that belt. In fact, it
was men from this region that facilitated his
Adua and Goodluck Jonathan
introduced reforms that led to freer,
fairer elections and more civic
freedoms, thus transferring more
power to the people.
However, these gains, little as they
are, have almost been completely
eroded, if current experience is
anything to go by.
The Buhari regime will be
remembered for its efforts to bring
the media under its feet with the
Twitter ban, muzzling of the broadcast
media with a Broadcast Code,
attempts to legislate a hostile, state-
operated Press Council and strict
monitoring of Social Media.
The free and fair elections that
emergence as a candidate, talking about the
party chairman Iyorcha Ayu and others.
The South-West will surely go for Tinubu
and the South-South will likely be shared
between the two of them. So, the man that can
successfully clinch the Middle Belt will win
the election. That is, assuming that the core
North vote for Atiku. But will this be possible?
Will the core North be trusted to vote en masse
for a Southern candidate like they did for
Abiola in 1993? Will the nine Northern
governors that stood for Tinubu in the APC
primaries: Babagana Zulum of Borno State,
Simon Lalong of Plateau State, Nasir el-Rufai
of Kaduna State, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano
State, Aminu Masari of Katsina State,
Abubakar Bello of Niger State, Abdurahman
Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, Abdullahi Sule
of Nasarawa State and Bello Matawalle of
Zamfara State, stick out their neck for Tinubu
Will the core North be
trusted to vote enough en
masse for a Southern
candidate like they did for
Abiola in 1993?
in 2023? Are we not going to experience
betrayals? There is a school of thought that
claims that when the time comes they will
abandon Tinubu and pitch tent with their
brother, Atiku. That is: they may do a
“Tambuwal” on him when the chips are down.
The answer will be known in due time.
In the midst of all of these projections, there
is a third force creeping in. At firs it appeared
like a dot with no consequential impact; but it
is gradually gaining momentum. They claim
that it is a movement with volunteers, that it is
not about money but ideas and ability to
ushered in the present administration
in 2015 gave way to vote buying,
collation centre violations of results,
electoral armed robbery and judicial
hijack of the people’s power to
choose.
On the economic front, the Naira
has dropped from N180 to the US
Dollar in December 2014 to N610 this
week. At the same time, jihadists,
bandits and herdsmen terrorists have
driven farmers off their farms and
many Nigerians into refugee camps.
Food inflation is sky-high.
Corruption is out of control. Poverty
stalks the land. Nigerians are no
longer safe anywhere.
Indeed, we have made “progress”,
but mostly in the negative sense. There
is very little to celebrate about our
democracy.
We wait, hope, pray and must work
towards an improved leadership
capable of taking us to democracy’s
Promised Land.
Send Opinions & Letters to:
opinions1234@yahoo.com
deliver performance. They are tired of the
existing structures and decay inherent in the
system; they want a radical change. It is for
the youths and when the youths act in unison,
they are unstoppable, like a wave. Will the wave
succeed in blasting through? We will see.
It is seen as the Peter Obi factor. Since he
moved to the Labour Party, his popularity seems
to be gaining more grounds. If you take a poll
of who will win the 2023 presidential election
based on the social media, Peter Obi will
readily come out tops. But can this translate
into reality?
If it is driven by the youths across the nation,
will they unite to vote for him? Some claim
that he does not have a structure to see him
through this mission. Rather, he has come with
the simplicity of a Mahatma Ghandi: with no
airs; like a messiah asking the people to take
heed, not about money, but with concrete ideas
to take this country out of the woods; to take
Nigeria from a consuming nation to a saving
and producing one, to remove the shame of
our overbloated ego of being Africa’s most
populous and most endowed nation with
nothing to show for it.
That is the promise that Peter Obi brings to
the nation and he is trending all over. Already,
there is a strong rumour that Musa
Kwankwaso’s New Nigeria’s Peoples Party,
NNPP, is in a merger talk with Obi’s Labour
Party. If this turns out to be true, the major
parties must then get ready for a very stiff
challenge. The INEC PVC registration centres
are jam-packed by people eager to vote for
him. Good for him, the registration deadline
has been extended to August.
Will the Peter Obi movement take over the
politics of this country? We wait and see.
•Ikhioya wrote
viawww.southsouthecho.com
 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 —19
However, with the 2022 oil price
budget benchmark at $62 per bar-
rel the poor performance appears to
remain a lesser threat to the fiscal
plan though the plan was also based
on output benchmark of 1.8 mbpd,
including condensate.
But with escalating cost of funding
subsidy on petrol the expected rev-
enue windfall from a higher oil price
has not only been lost but seems a

Nigeria’s oil output drops 23.8% to 1.024m bpd bigger threat to the 2022 fiscal plan
implementation.
Bonny Light price has remained
cluding condensate, against 1.388 high at $126 per barrel for most part
— OPEC ENERGY
mbpd, in May 2022, from 1.344
ket Report, obtained by Vanguard,
yesterday, OPEC stated that the fig-
ure, excluding condensate was based
mbpd, recorded in the corresponding
period of 2021.
This showed that the nation did not
of May 2022.
Moreover, industry reports have
By Udeme Akpan, mbpd recorded in the corresponding on data obtained from direct sources. indicated that Nigeria losses about
Energy Editor meet its 1.753 mbpd May 2022 400,000 bpd of crude mainly as a
period of 2021, according to the The report, released yesterday, also OPEC quota, despite its daily produc- result of pipeline vandalism, oil theft
N IGERIA’s oil output dropped Organisation of Petroleum Exporting noted that when data obtained from tion of between 300,000 bpd and
Countries, OPEC. secondary sources were considered, and illegal refining in the Niger
Year-on-Year, YoY, by 23.8 per 400,000 bpd condensate. Delta.
cent to 1.024 million barrels per day, In its June 2022 Monthly Oil Mar- Nigeria produced 1.262 mbpd, ex-

ANAN restates commitment to

AGM---From Left: Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote; Group Man-
aging Director/CEO, Dangote Cement Plc, Michel Puchercos; Non-Executive Di-
rector, Dangote Cement Plc, Olakunle Alake; and Non-Executive Director, Dangote
Cement Plc, Halima Aliko-Dangote at the 13th Annual General Meeting of Dangote
Cement Plc, held in Lagos on 14th June, 2022
Shippers’ Council task force saves N6.5bn in
demurrage cost •Says corruption is fighting back
By Godwin Oritse
MARITIME
A t the backdrop of renewed fight
against inefficiency and corrup-
tion at the Nigeria’s ports industry, the
Speaking to newsmen in Lagos yes-
terday, the Executive Secretary of the
Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, Mr.
Port Standing Task Team, PSTT, of the Emmanuel Jime, said that the PSTT
NigerianShippersCouncil,NSC,hasre-
intervention saved the industry about
ported a significant reduction in vessel N6.5 billion in demurrage while vessel
turnaround time and cost reduction
turnaround time is now four hours,
ports services. down from 10 days.
But he also said the efforts have been
met with strong resistance as corrup-
tion is currently fighting back
with physical attacks and
threats to the life of the PSTT
224.55 -4.25
members.
Jime said that the areas of
port supervision that have
2,377.00 -55.00 been strongly resisted by some
stakeholders in the industry
include, Joint Vessel Board-
ing, Joint Cargo Examination
18.86 -0.21
and Operation free the port
access roads.
He stated: “On joint vessel
boarding by mandated gov-
ernment agencies, the activi-
123.09 +1.08 ties of the team saved the Ni-
gerian economy an average
121.76 +1.09 vessel demurrage of $20, 000,
about N6.5 billion per day be-
tween year 2020 and 2021.
“However, due to a number of chal-
lenges, Nigeria has been unable to fully
harness the potentials of the sector. Con-
sequently, it is appropriate to note that
Nigeria needs an effective maritime
transportation in order to enjoy
accruable revenue and benefits of this
sector.”
Speaking further, the Council boss
called on the media to assist the agency
in waging the war against corruption
by highlighting any corrupt or sharp
practices.
He said: “The Shippers Council
through the Task Team is engaged in a
fight in my humble estimation, has
never ever been fought by any that no
other agency of government, the chal-
lenge is more than what anybody can
imagine.
“We are fighting a system that has
been here for as long as you can think, so
please help us, you need to shine your
focus on what is going on.”
He also disclosed that the Task Team
has concluded plans to move to the Mile-
2 axis of the port corridor, adding that it
is the hope of the Council that every
stakeholder will join in the fight to free
the port access roads from illegal toll col-
lection and extortion of drivers.
zero tolerance for fraud
T he Association of National
Accountants of Nigeria
(ANAN) has reiterated its unwa-
vering commitment to its zero-
tolerance policy for financial
mismanagement in the wake of
allegations of missing N80 billion
funds levelled against suspended
Accountant-General of the Fed-
eration, Alhaji Ahmed Idris.
ANAN Chief Executive Officer,
Dr. Kayode Olushola Fasua, in a
statement yesterday, said the
association has been inundated
with enquiries concerning the
suspended Accountant-General.
Consequently, he stated: “For
the avoidance of doubt, the Asso-
ciation is monitoring develop-
ments on this matter with keen
interest. We are aware that the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) is investigat-
ing the matter. The Association
Lotus Bank pledges support for
non-oil export earnings
By Babajide Komolafe
L otus Bank has pledged to work
with exporters and other
stakeholders to boost Nigeria’s
non-oil export revenue.
Speaking at the bank’s exporters
forum in Lagos, the Managing Di-
rector of the Bank, Kafilat Araoye,
while commending the ‘Race to
$200 billion Non Oil Export Earn-
ings, (RT 200)’ recently introduced
bytheCentralBankofNigeria,CBN,
Araoye averred that Lotus Bank
believes that the country can sur-
pass the $200 billion non-oil rev-
enue target of the Bankers Commit-
tee with focus and sincerity of pur-
pose by all stakeholders.
She stated: “Before the RT200,
some of us had been clamouring
for the need to emphasise more on
non-oil exports to save the coun-
try from a trade deficit. We need to
be made exporters and not just im-
porters. We are happy to cooper-
ate with the CBN, and as a bank we
are going to be supporting the real
sector.
“We will support people who will
increase our Gross Domestic Prod-
uct (GDP), increase it from the per-
ECONOMY
will await the outcome of the in-
vestigation to decide on the next
line of action.
“It is apposite to state that
ANAN has zero tolerance for cor-
ruption in whatever guise, with
a robust disciplinary mecha-
nism to deal with erring mem-
bers. The ANAN Investigating
Panel investigates professional
misconduct of members and re-
fers deserving cases to the Disci-
plinary Tribunal that has the
status of a High Court.
“The public is assured that
ANAN will continue to ensure
that members with proven cases
of professional misconduct are
disciplined in line with the
Association’s established Disci-
plinary Procedure.”
MARITIME
spective of increasing our revenue,
which will bring more develop-
ment for the nation as required.
“We can achieve RT200, it is not
unachievable. In fact it should be
RT500 because we can get to the
$500billion mark. It is doable if
we all are focused and sincere in
supporting non-oil exports. Nige-
ria is blessed with natural miner-
als and a fertile land so we can
achieve it.”
Also speaking at the forum, Di-
rector, Trade and Exchange De-
partment, CBN, Dr. Ozoemena
Nnaji, said the apex bank is willing
to partner with stakeholders on
how to improve the nation’s non-
oil export revenue.
In her keynote address at the fo-
rum titled “Identifying and Over-
coming the Challenges of Non-Oil
Export Trade”, Nnaji said: “The
key mandate of the CBN is to main-
tain the external value of the cur-
rency and a strategic priority to
deliver this mandate is facilitating
trade and provision of affordable
finance.”

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING Port Pollution: APM Terminals signs MoU to recycle used tyres
environmental footprint in effort in recycling tyres into
US DOLLAR 414.63 415.13 415.63 By Godwin Oritse ECONOMY reusable products.
Nigeria, and I am super ex-
I
520.2363 520.8636 521.491
POUNDS
N a bid to sustain a cited we have FREEE Recycle She said: “This MoU will al-
EURO 445.3126 445.8496 446.3866 produced out of recycled and low both parties to work to-
FRANC 424.391 424.9028 425.4145 healthy port envi- compressed used tyres for ex- Limited to partner with. We are
3.0977 3.1015 3.1052 ronment, the APM Ter- recycling the tyres into mate- gether towards recycling of
YEN
terior flooring. tyres, and we are excited that
CFA 0.6596 0.6696 0.6796 minals Apapa, has Speaking at the signing cer- rials that can be used in other
WAUA 557.2384 557.9103 558.5823 signed a Memorandum parts of the supply chain.” APM Terminals decided to
emony in Lagos, the Terminal take the forefront of this. We
RENMINBI 62.089 62.1643 62.2396 of Understanding Manager, APM Terminals The Managing Director of
RIYAL 110.5238 110.6571 110.7904
(MoU) with an indig- FREEE Recycle Limited, will be working with them for
27.1243 27.157 27.1897 Apapa, Steen Knudsen, said the next five years to ensure
enous firm, FREEE Re-
RAND
the MoU is in furtherance of Ifedolapo Runsewe, com-
Danish Krona 60.0182 60.0906 60.163
cycle Limited, to re- mended APM Terminals that all tyres generated within
the company’s contribution the facility are recycled into
SDR 559.3378 560.0124 560.687 cycle its used tyres. to reducing the harmful effects Apapa for taking the lead in
In December 2021, reducing solid waste in the reusable products and re-
of industrial wastes on the en- used. We hope that more
APM Terminals carried vironment. country, and said that the MoU
out a successful trial by will enhance a collaborative organisations will come
CBN Exchange rate as at 14/06/2022 He said: “We are reducing onboard.”
using pavement blocks
20 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
Stories by Rotimi
Ojomoyela
A DO-EKITI—PRESIDEN
TIAL Candidate of the All
Progressives Congress, APC, for
the 2023 election, Asiwaju Bola
Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday, de-
scribed Ekiti election as the lit-
mus test for next year’s presiden-
tial election, urging the people of
the state not to let the party down.
He said the party cannot afford
to lose the state, the more reason
all the warring parties within the
APC must bury their hatchets and
come together to ensure victory
for the party’s candidate in the
Saturday’s election.
Tinubu was in Ekiti in compa-
ny of 14 APC governors for the
grand finale political rally, for
the governorship candidate of the
party in the June 18 poll, Mr Bio-
dun Oyebanji.
At the event were former In-
terim National Chairman of the
APC, Chief Bisi Akande, and the
current National Chairman, Sen-
ator Abdullahi Adamu.
Also in attendance were Gov-
ernors Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti
State, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo
State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje
of Kano, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun,
Gboyega Oyetola of Osun, Nasir
el-Rufai of Kaduna, Abdurasaq
Abdurahman of Kwara and Inu-
wa Yahaya of Gombe.
Others are Governors Atiku
Bagudu of Kebbi, Solomon La-
long of Plateau, Abdullahi Sule
of Nasarawa, Abubakar Badaru
of Jigawa, Babagaba Zulum of
Borno State and Babajide Sanwo-
Olu of Lagos.
Don’t let me down, Tinubu
begs Ekiti people
Tinubu told the mammoth
crowd that had converged on the
Heavy security deployed to Ekiti for
sanctity of ballots, credible poll — IGP
A •Allow votes to count, INEC boss tells politicians
DO-EKITI—AS activities for
the conduct of the Ekiti State
governorship election gather mo-
mentum, the Inspector-General
of Police, Mr Usman Alkali
Baba, yesterday, clarified that
heavy deployment of security
agencies to the state was to pro-
tect the sanctity of the ballots and
make the outcome of the election
credible.
Baba dismissed insinuations
that the heavy security presence
would create voters’ apathy but
rather ensure large turnout of
voters during the election.
Similarly, the Chairman, Inde-
pendent National Electoral Com-
mission, INEC, Prof Mahmood
Yakubu, urged political parties to
eschew violence and allow the
votes of the people to count.
They said this during an Elec-
tion Stakeholders’ Meeting orga-
nised by INEC with major play-
ers and participants in the Satur-
day governorship poll.
At the event which was attend-
ed by candidates of political par-
ties and heads of security forma-
tions, the IGP warned his men
against professional misconduct
that can mar the results of elec-
tion or disrupt the process.
The police Chief said: “All the
177 wards and 2,445 polling
units will be manned by appro-
priate manpower. Let me say this,
the massive deployment is not to
scare the citizens, but to protect
the sanctity of the ballots and the
provisions of the Electoral Act.
Gov poll: Don’t let me down,
Tinubu begs Ekiti people
Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, the venue
of the rally, as early as 10am, that
APC had started a revolution in
Nigeria since 2015 by sweeping
away the PDP.
He noted that the revolution
pioneered by President Muham-
madu Buhari in 2015 and, which
was sustained in 2019 should be
allowed to reach its zenith by vot-
ing for APC in all elections.
Tinubu said: “President Buhari,
a man of honour and dignity, had
kept his promise by passing the
ball to us in the South that we
should produce the next President
and it is now left for us to vote
APC to maintain the unity and
progress of our nation.”
Speaking on the significance of
Ekiti election to his presidential
aspiration, Tinubu said: “To those
who are aggrieved in Ekiti, noth-
•Alkali Baba: IGP
“Those who want to constitute
a clog in the will of progress will
face the consequences of their
actions. National security should
be of priority and uppermost in
our minds. Let us conduct this
election in the most civil manner.
“All the parties must embrace the
virtues of democracy. We will not
allow any person or group of per-
sons to disrupt this election no
matter how highly placed. Let all
the contenders provide the mor-
al leadership, so that we can
achieve success together.”
Allow the votes to count, INEC
boss tells politicians
Also speaking, the INEC Chair-
man, Prof Yakubu, assured the
stakeholders that the commission
will maintain and protect the
ing is wrong in having quarrels
in a party, but it is not good to
burn down the house. That is
why I want you to vote for ‘Emilo-
kan of Ekiti’, Biodun Oyebanji.
This is our first test after my emer-
gence, don’t let us fail. Don’t let
us disappoint President Buhari.
We must put Nigeria on the path
of progress and you will never
regret voting for APC in this elec-
tion.”
Oyebanji best man for the job—
APC govs
In his submission, Governors
Akeredolu, Sanwo-Olu and
Bagudu, described Oyebanji as
the best man to continue with the
purposeful leadership laid by
Governor Kayode Fayemi.
Bagudu, who spoke on behalf
of his colleagues, said: “The Pro-
•Yakubu: INEC chairman
transparency and security of the
process.
Yakubu said: “Let me assure
political parties and voters that
the task of electing a new gov-
ernor will be left in the hands of
Ekiti voters. We won’t take any
action that would put any party
and candidate in a vantage posi-
tion. We are going to do every-
thing according to the constitu-
tion and provisions of the Elec-
toral Act.
“To underscore how prepared
we are, we have provided mag-
nifying glasses and braile ballot
papers for visually impaired
citizens while the Bimodal Vot-
ers Authentication System Ma-
chines, BVAS, will be used for
accreditation.
gressive Governors’ Forum
knows that Ekiti will do us proud
on Saturday by overwhelmingly
voting for APC, banking on the
solid foundation Governor
Fayemi has provided.
“Biodun Oyebanji is the only
one that can continue the good
work Fayemi has begun. He will
Court strikes out suit seeking to stop
poll, invalidate '99 constitution
•Ruling a miscarriage of justice—Counsel
A DO-EKITI—THE bid by Ila
na Omo Oodua to stop the
June 18 governorship election in
Ekiti State and invalidate the 1999
constitution suffered a setback,
yesterday, as the Federal High
Court Sitting in Ado-Ekiti struck
out the case for lack of jurisdic-
tion and locus standi.
The suit was instituted by the
apex body of Yoruba Self-Deter-
mination Movement, Ilana Omo
Oodua Worldwide challenging
the making and validity of the 1999
Constitution of Nigeria.
A statement by the Communi-
cations Secretary of Ilana Omo
Oodua Worldwide, Mr. Maxwell
Adeleye, said the trial Judge, Ban-
ji Ikuewumi, ruled on the case
despite the fact that the respon-
dents in the case, the Attorney-
General of the Federation, AGF,
and the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC, are
yet to file their defence or appear
in court since the inception of the
case.
Justice Ikuewumi declared that
the INEC and AGF are not based
in Ekiti State even though they
carry out business in Ado Ekiti,
therefore, the case ought to be
instituted at the Abuja Division of
the Federal High Court.
The statement stated that the
Judge also ruled that the six Plan-
tifs who instituted the suit on be-
half of Ilana Omo Oodua World-
wide did not show sufficient prove
that the 1999 constitution of Ni-
geria and and the conduct of Eki-
ti Governorship Election affect
them in anyway more than they
affect two million eligible voters
in Ekiti.
The Judge ruled that the six
Plantifs are not enough to repre-
sent over two million Ekiti voters
to institute a suit to challenge the
making and the validity of the
1999 constitution or demand for
not disappoint you. The South-
West has a big task ahead of 2023
and holding the zone strongly for
Asiwaju to be able to win the 2023
presidential election will be to the
benefit of all of us.”
Presenting the flag to the candi-
date, the National Chairman of the
Party, Senator Adamu, expressed
optimism that Oyebanji will be elect-
ed as the next governor to succeed
Fayemi, who he said had done won-
derfully well in the last four years.
He said: “Since the nomination of
my brother and your father, Asiwa-
ju Bola Tinubu, as our presidential
candidate, this is our first outing.
We want to see you come out and
vote for this humble and service-in-
clined young man.
“I have been to Ekiti on three oc-
casions, but I have never seen this
kind of crowd. I have never seen a
crowd like this and this is an indi-
cation of the support you have for
APC. We saw the votes you gave
APC in 2018 and you have to repli-
cate it and even do more on Satur-
day.” On his part, former Osun
State Governor, Chief Akande said:
“Please, whoever we have offend-
ed should forgive us in the interest
of our party and all of us. APC is a
party that we can trust. Yoruba and
Ekiti in particular belong to the pro-
gressive and we must display it in
this election.”
Ekiti State Governorship Election
to be stopped.
Ruling a miscarriage of justice
—Counsel
Reacting, the Lead Counsel to
Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide,
Tolu Babaleye described the ver-
dict as a miscarriage of justice.
Babaleye said: “The case came
up this morning for ruling on is-
sue of forum and locus standi
raised suo motu by the Presiding
Judge.
“The court came to conclusion
that the six defendants cannot
represent the over two million
voters in Ekiti; that the claimants
have not shown how they are af-
fected more than other Ekiti peo-
ple, if the election is allowed to
go on, and if the Constitution is
invalidated as they prayed for.
“The court also held that INEC
and Attorney-General of the Fed-
eration are not resident in Ekiti
and as such, the Court in Ado
Ekiti is not the appropriate forum
for the suit to be instituted.
“Based on these reasons, the
court struck out the Ilana case
pending at Federal High Court
Ado Ekiti this morning. I am tak-
ing immediate step to get the rul-
ing, study it and determine the
next line of action after due con-
sultations with my clients.
“We shall appeal against this
ruling which, in my opinion, is a
miscarriage of justice. The Judge
should not have turned himself
to a Father Christmas; he should
have transferred this matter to
Abuja instead of striking it out.
The struggle continues.
“We are not unaware that vote
buying is a destroyer of electoral
process. To show how determined
we are to stop this menace; we
have changed the configuration
of the ballot boxes in all polling
units to prevent vote buying."
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 — 21
22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
2022 democracy day celebrations: Significant
highlights from the president’s speech
N ATIONS which practise democracy
usually set aside a day – termed
Democracy Day – to commemorate the
qualities that make democratic governance
the most desirable form of governance; to
celebrate inherent characteristics of
democracy such as the rule of law, freedom of
thought, protection of human rights, respect
for minority rights, constitutionalism, and the
notion of having periodic elections. Therefore,
the celebration of Democracy Day is a
deliberate endeavour to improve democracy
by examining how closely an existing
democratic administration has matched those
principles in nature and character.
Nigeria’s Democracy Day is celebrated every
June 12; it is a day earmarked in remembrance
of the annulment of the June 12, 1993
presidential election which saw a massive
turnout by Nigerians to vote the candidate of
their choice – MKO Abiola; but which results
were annulled by the military government
about two weeks after. But beyond being a
national holiday, June 12 will forever be
entrenched in the memories of Nigerians as
the day which the military government decided
to deny the masses the chance of being
governed by the widely accepted candidate of
their choice. Undeniably, June 12 is one of the
most significant days in Nigerian history – a
day of sombre contemplation on the tragic
annulment of arguably the nation’s freest and
fairest election. Much more than the gloomy
reality which June 12 epitomises, it equally
conveys a message of hope for a better Nigeria.
It is a day which symbolises the power which
the people hold in determining their choice of
leadership in democratic governance. It is a
constant reminder that true democracy lies in
the hands of the governed. Therefore, the
decision of the
c u r r e n t Issue-based
administration campaigns,
in 2018 to
c h a n g e particularly in
N i g e r i a ’ s developed
Democracy
Day to June 12 democratic nations,
was highly carries utmost
laudable. As is
customary on
significance at every
every June 12 period of elections
Democracy Day celebration, the President of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria would address
the nation, and this year’s remembrance was
no different. One of the most important
highlights of President Muhammadu Buhari’s
2022 Democracy Day speech, particularly
ahead of the 2023 general elections, was his
emphasis on the need for politicians to adopt
issue-based campaigns.
Mr. President noted as follows: "I followed
the party primaries closely from the state level
to the presidential level. I was very impressed
to see across all the political parties that, most
candidates ran issued based campaigns. The
language and tone throughout were on the
whole measured and controlled… I will,
therefore, take this opportunity on this very
special day to ask all candidates to continue
running issue focused campaigns and to treat
opponents with dignity. As leaders, you must
all showcase high character and never forget
that the world is watching us and Africa looks
up to Nigeria to provide example in
governance. The tone you set at the top will
surely be replicated in your followers." The
electioneering process in Nigeria has more-
often-than-not been marked by skirmishes
usually among supporters of leading political
parties who resort to tearing down of campaign
posters, invasion of party offices, destruction of
lives and properties in a bid to intimidate the
members of the opposing camp. Notably, after
the elections, these acts of violence recede, only
to be revived after another four years.
Unfortunately, the politicians on whose behalf
these zealots unleash mayhem do not openly
discourage these acts, but instead, use their
campaign platform to embark on a
mudslinging spree against real and perceived
political opponents. Just as in the litigation
process where parties win a legal battle based
on the strength of their own case and not on
the weakness of the opposition’s case, the
politicking process in Nigeria ought to be
premised on political parties’ emphasis on
issue-based campaign – for politicians use the
campaign period to sell themselves and their
ideas to voters, and in turn, for voters to
evaluate candidates and decide whether or
not they will vote for them. I could recall that
prior to the general election of 2015, all the
presidential candidates signed a peace pact
in Abuja wherein they resolved, among others,
to engage in issue-based campaigns. However,
the reality of that pact remains much to be
seen today, particularly as politicians have
never ceased to resolve to age-old slander
tactics.
Issue-based campaigns, particularly in
developed democratic nations, carries utmost
significance at every period of elections. To
this end, campaigns in the United States
attract adequate and elaborate preparations.
Professional firms, for example, exist in the
United States to assist candidates in
organizing their campaigns. To accomplish
this, candidates frequently obtain
comprehensive voter data, which includes
information that allows the candidate to
devise strategies for persuading potential
voters of his suitability for the desired position.
As a result, if the data indicates that the
electorate is primarily made up of women or
unemployed youth, the candidate will devote
some of his strategies to issues affecting
women and employment. President Barack
Obama and Senator John McCain focused
on several issues during the campaign for the
November 2008 presidential elections in the
United States, including unemployment,
inflation, and foreign policy, which, according
to data available to them, were of utmost
importance to the electorates.
According to a report on Gallup,
Republicans and Democrats agree on the
importance of the presidential candidates’
positions on the economy, terrorism, jobs and
healthcare. Beyond these, however, the two
partisan groups differ significantly on the
importance they assign to other campaign
issues. To the Republicans, issues relating to
federal budget deficit, foreign affairs, the size
and efficiency of the federal government,
immigration and taxes carry more focus than
to the Democrats. On the other hand,
Democrats focus largely on issues relating to
climate change and the distribution of income
and wealth in the US.
In Nigeria, however, experience has shown
that campaigns are frequently used to divert
attention away from issues that deserve it and
toward negative issues that should not be the
focus of any serious election campaign.
Perhaps one of the limiting factors to the
development of issue-based campaigns is the
short campaign time as provided under the
extant Electoral Act. The short time allowed
by law for campaigns in Nigeria, in my
opinion, has greatly aided this development.
According to Section 94(1) of the Electoral
Act 2022, campaign elections begin 150 days
before the election and must end 24 hours
before the election (as amended).While this
150-day period may be adequate for
candidates for State Houses of Assembly,
National Assembly, and possibly even
Governorships of States to canvass their
political constituencies and persuade voters
to vote in their favour, I doubt it will be
adequate for presidential candidates to
canvass the length and breadth of Nigeria and
launch meaningful campaigns.
Continues online:www.vanguardngr.com

I shouldn’t have rushed into
this marriage
Dear Bunmi,
I GOT married about nine
months ago – but I now
feel I’ve made a terrible
mistake. I wasn’t particularly
in love with my husband but
I was pregnant, already 25
and has a good job.
I confided in my mom and
she counselled that abortion
might be dangerous. So, I
went ahead and got married
only for me to miscarry shortly
after the wedding. Now I feel
trapped. I’m not sure I want
to spend the rest of my life
with my husband.
The problem is me, as there
isn’t anything wrong with my
husband. We don’t have that
much in common and he’s an
introvert, while I enjoy going
out. I feel trapped and now
regret not having that
abortion.
Our sex life is suffering, as
he no longer turns me on.
When I try to confide in my
Too soon for him to be unfaithful
Dear Bunmi,
I GOT married last year to
a man I’d dated for close
to two years. I thought it was
a happy marriage but,
recently, I found out that my
husband has been sending
provocative text messages to
a girlfriend.
I’d never have known if I
hadn’t checked his mobile
phone out of curiosity.
Needless to say, I am
devastated and my seemingly
happy world has fallen apart.
I don’t know if I will ever be
able to trust him again.
I thought basis for infidelity
occurs when a rut has set in,
not when you’re in the glow
of a recent marriage. I
noticed before that he was
always looking at other
women, but didn’t realise he
could take things this far. Do
you think I should leave, now
I don’t want a hush-hush romance
Dear Bunmi,
I WILL be 50 this
year. Seven months ago,
I fell for a man I’ve known
socially for sometime. He
says he’s committed to me but
doesn’t want to get married
again, after his first marriage
failed. Yet, I can’t live with
him without getting married,
as my religion doesn’t allow
it.
We make love regularly, but
I feel ashamed about this and
mom, she advises me to hang
in there, as marriage is for
life. I wish I were happy
again.
Aishat, Ojodu
Dear Aishat,
There’s no pretending this
isn’t a mess, but you won’t
deal with it by regretting what
is over and done with. So,
take a positive view. You
would certainly hurt a lot of
people if you packed in your
marriage now, but there are
no children to consider and
you and your husband are
young enough to make a new
start.
Whatever belief you have
been brought up with, few
people today believe wives or
husbands should be forced to
live in misery. You need to
talk to your husband but don’t
start by telling him you wish
you’d never got married.
Explain that you’re having
Instead of running
away from the
problem, confide
honestly in each
other. Difficulties
such as you are
experiencing can
deepen the
emotional intimacy
between a couple
that I have only one infant son
to consider?
Susan, by e-mail.
Dear Susan,
Stay where you are ! Your
discovery has obviously come
as a shock to you.
Your husband’s private
messages to another woman
seem to confirm that he might
don’t want my friends and
family to know. I love this
man and want to feel proud
of our relationship, not guilty,
but I can’t stop sleeping with
him, for fear of losing him.
Ngozi, by e-mail.
Dear Ngozi,
I have a feeling that you
might be having sex with this
man only because you’re
scared of loosing him.
Whether you are 15 or 50, it’s
VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 —23
difficulty adjusting, and that
you’re sorry if he’s upset too,
particularly about your sex
life.
He’s bound to suspect
something has changed about
your feelings towards him, so
just owning up may bring you
closer. May be he has his own
doubts and fears, and if the
two of you can be honest with
each other, you may find a
common ground. Before you
make a break from your
marriage, find out if it’s your
man that scares you or
marriage itself.
You didn’t mention anything
about love, so ask yourself
whether you really care for
him, and if you could live
without him.
Even if you eventually leave
your husband, you need to
uncover the reason behind
your behaviour, so you don’t
make the same mistake again.
In the end, remember this is
your life you’re planning –
you owe it to yourself to be
happy.
like to do more than simply
admire the opposite sex from
afar.
Your checking his phone
points to the fact that you’ve
been suspicious of him for a
while. Establishing trust in a
marriage requires a couple to
be open with each other about
their needs and their
fears. It’s obvious you two
haven’t reached this stage.
Have a word with your
husband on how he feels
about his new role as a
married man, the hope you
share for your young marriage
and your mutual need for
fidelity. Instead of running
away from the problem,
confide honestly in each
other. Difficulties such as you
are experiencing can deepen
the emotional intimacy
between a couple. Trust will
then be able to grow.
never a good reason! Little
wonder you prefer to be
secretive about the
relationship. Most people feel
uncomfortable talking about
their sex lives with their
families. Give it a year or so
and, if you’re still going
strong, then perhaps, you’ll
be able to accept the situation
and be more open with others.
Until then, make most use
of the relationship – even if
you have to be discreet!
Could she be having an affair?
Dear Bunmi,
I LOVE my wife dearly
and we’ve been married
for over 10 years. She’s given
me three lovely children and
we live in our own house.
A few months ago, I got an
anonymous letter that she was
having an affair with her
boss. I was really devastated,
especially when I made
enquiries and found it to be
true. But she has denied this
vehemently and has even told
her boss about my suspicion.
He phoned to deny the
allegation, but I still have my
doubts. I find it difficult to
make love with her without
wanting to hurt her as much
Should I wait till he leaves
his wife? mistresses, if a man says he’s
staying put – he does. And
Dear Bunmi,
I HAVE always admired
the matured way you
tackle problems on your
page. Now in your
experience, if a man says he
loves you, but that he’ll never
leave his kids, no matter how
unhappy his wife makes him,
does he ever change his
mind? I just turned 20 and I
love my man so passionately
I am prepared to wait.
Lilian, by e-mail.
Dear Lilian,
Forget my experience. In
the experience of a million
She wanted love-making with
me, not marriage
Dear Bunmi,
I
LOST my wife a few years
ago in an unfortunate
motor accident, and had made
up my mind to re-marry. We
were married for over 20 years
and she was a good mother
to our three boys. Late last
year, I was introduced to a
divorced lady at a close
friend’s birthday party and we
hit things off right away. The
love-making was good and I
was already toying with the
idea of proposing marriage.
Then, all of a sudden, her
attitude changed. Thinking
she wanted re-assurance, I
had a talk with her that she
had my undivided love and I
would do anything to make
her happy.
You can then imagine how
shocked I was when she said
all she wanted was the
physical side of the
relationship; that she had no
wish to re-marry and that I
had better start shopping for
a wife-material!
What type of a women
behaves like this? It would
Share your problems and release
your burden. Write now to
Dear Bunmi,
Vanguard Newspapers,
P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, or
bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk
as she’s hurt me.
Abu, by e-mail.
Dear Abu,
Whatever enquiries you
must have made, the outcome
couldn’t have been based on
facts, or your wife wouldn’t be
able to deny the affair. You’re
obviously blowing this out of
proportion. Your wife must
have noticed the jealous
streak in you, hence her
asking her boss to re-assure
you. What else do you want?
You love your wife and
obviously have a happy
home. Don’t let insane
jealousy destroy what you’ve
built over the years.
even if he promises to leave
one day, he’ll generally stay
put too. What would change
his mind? What would
change yours? Imagining him
having cosy evenings with his
family?
If you’re not matured
enough to care about his wife
and kids, consider what it
would be like to have these
hurt and angry children
staying with you from time to
time. You’re only 20. There
will be other men. Don’t waste
time on this one – he’s taken
and all he wants is having his
fun with you.
have been understandable if
she were a frivolous teenager,
but she’s close to 40. What are
our women turning into?
Alaba, by e-mail.
Dear Alaba,
Women often feel that they
are the only ones that are
used and dumped by men, but
your experience shows that
some women can be ruthless
in the pursuit of what they
want.
What to you was a big
romance was obviously a
casual fling to this woman –
now she’s telling you to get a
life! Lasting relationships are
built on friendship and shared
ideas and dreams; not just
love-making.
Without these feelings, you
soon realise you’re saddled
with someone you don’t really
know, after the love-making
cools.
Keep your dignity, try to
wash this woman off your life
and look for another woman
out there eager to make a
commitment.
24 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022

UKRAINE WAR: Russia bars 29 top UK based journalists, defence figures
R USSIA has barred top
United Kingdom-based
journalists and defence fig-
ures as part of sanctions, in
response to UK measures on
Russian public figures.
The BBC’s Clive Myrie,
Orla Guerin and Nick Beake,
who have reported from
Ukraine, and Director Gen-
eral Tim Davie are on the list
of 29 media figures.
Sky TV, Times, Guardian,
Channel Four and ITV jour-
nalists are also barred.
Russia has already banned
hundreds of elected British
MPs. The foreign ministry in
Moscow announced that
work on expanding the list
would continue.
“The British journalists in-
cluded on the list are involved
in deliberate dissemination of
false and one-sided informa-
tion about Russia and events
in Ukraine and Donbas,” Rus-
sia’s foreign ministry said.
“With their biased assess-
ments they also contribute to
fuelling Russophobia in Brit-
ish society.”
In her most recent piece for
the BBC, Orla Guerin report-
ed from the Ukrainian city of
Lysychansk, where she said the
fabric of the city was being
destroyed in a deliberate
scorched earth policy. Clive
Myrie reported live from Kyiv
as Russian troops invaded
Ukraine, attempting to cap-
ture the capital in the early
days of the war.
Sky News chief correspon-
dent Stuart Ramsay, who is
also on the list, was wounded
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 — 25
Separatist leaders would listen to plea on British men given death
day, British men Shaun Pin-
ner, 48, and Aiden Aslin, 28,
sentence Pope Francis says Ukraine war ‘perhaps somehow either were captured in Mariupol
provoked or not prevented’ during the intense fight for
control of the port city in April.
A court in the breakaway
Donetsk People’s Republic in
eastern Ukraine last week
sentenced the pair and Mo-
roccan Brahim Saadoun to
death, saying they were guilty
of “mercenary activities”.
Their families deny the trio,
who were contracted by the
Ukrainian armed forces,
were mercenaries.
Since then, the government
has said it will do “whatever
is necessary” to secure their
release.
•BBC correspondents: From left — Nick Beake, Orla Guerin and Clive Myrie have all
reported on the war inside Ukraine
Pope Francis says
Ukraine war ‘perhaps
in a Russian ambush while The Kremlin said yesterday Ukraine. somehow either pro-
reporting outside Kyiv at the it was “sure” that pro-Russian Kremlin spokesperson
same time. separatist leaders in the Don- Dmitry Peskov told reporters voked or not prevented’
Pope Francis has told a group of
Among the other high-pro- bas would be willing to listen in a conference call that Lon-
file journalists on the list are to an appeal from Britain over don had not contacted Mos- European Jesuit news editors that
the war in Ukraine was “perhaps
John Witherow, editor of The the fate of two Britons sen- cow about the issue.
Times, Chris Evans of the Tele- tenced to death for fighting for As we mentioned earlier to- somehow either provoked or not
prevented,” and he cautioned
graph, Katharine Viner of the
Guardian and Ted Verity of
the Daily Mail. ....As first migrant deportation flight to Rwanda set to depart
Correspondents Shaun
Walker and Luke Harding of B RITAIN’S first scheduled the principle.
flight taking asylum seek- “There will be people on this
the Guardian and Paul Ad- ers to Rwanda was due to de- flight and if they are not on
Europe, to live in the land-
locked African country.
The government said the
ams of the BBC are on the list, part yesterday, the govern- this flight, they will be on the policy was needed to stem the
along with presenters Sophy ment, however, warned next flight because we are de- flow of migrants risking their
Ridge, Nick Robinson and against last-minute legal chal- termined to break the model lives in Channel crossings and
Cathy Newman, columnists lenges. of the appalling people traf- smash the people-smuggling
Con Coughlin and Gideon Foreign Secretary Liz Truss fickers.” networks.
Rachman and Russia aca-
told Sky News “we are expect- Britain has struck a 120- However, the plan has hor-
demic Mark Galeotti. rified political opponents,
ing to send the flight later to- million-pound ($148 million)
Separatist leaders day. “I can’t say exactly how deal with Rwanda to send who said it was inhumane.
would listen to plea on many people will be on the some migrants, who had ar- The United Nations’ refugee
British men given flight. But the really impor- rived illegally by crossing the chief called it “catastrophic”,
death sentence tant thing is that we establish Channel in small boats from the entire leadership of the
againstoversimplifyingtheconflict.
In an interview published Tues-
day in the Jesuit publication “La
Civilta’ Cattolica,” the pope said
that in Russia’s war on Ukraine,
“there are no metaphysical good
guys and bad guys, in an abstract
sense.”
He said that months before the
war, a head of state warned him
that NATO was “barking at the
gates of Russia,” and that Russia
would not tolerate it, which could
lead to war.
The leader, who Francis did not
identify, “was able to read the
signs of what was taking place,”
the pontiff said.
In his conversation with the
Jesuits, Francis condemned the
“brutality and ferocity of the Rus-
sian troops” invading Ukraine
and pummelling it with artillery.
He called the use of mercenaries,
in particular, “monstrous.”
But the pope cautioned that fo-
cusing solely on Russia’s violence
could prevent people from under-
standing “the whole drama un-
folding behind this war, which
was perhaps somehow either pro-
voked or not prevented. And note
the interest in testing and selling
weapons.”
Church of England de-
nounced it as an “immoral
policy that shames Britain”.
The courts have thrown out
last-ditch bids by human rights
groups and campaigners to
halt the first flight, but Lon-
don’s High Court was set to
hear further cases before it
departs on Tuesday evening.
Amid legal challenges, only
a few people are now sched-
uled to leave on that first
plane.
26 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
JUBILEE:
From left: The Vice
Patron, Nigeria-
Britain Association,
N-BA, Philip Hall
OBE; The President,
N-BA, Abimbola
Okoya; and the
Executive Director/
CEO of FBN Bank
(UK) Limited, Mr.
Sam Aiyere, during
the Platinum Jubilee
Pageant, held in
honour of Her
Majesty, Queen
Elizabeth II, in front
of Buckingham
Palace. Photo: Joe
Akintola, Photo Editor
Why FG should remove fuel
•As inflation pushes 15m more Nigerians into poverty
—Soludo
By Udeme Akpan,
Emmanuel
Elebeke &
Fortune
Eromosele
A WKA—GOVERNOR of
Anambra State, Prof.
Chukwuma Soludo, has kicked
against retention of fuel subsidy in
Nigeria.
This was even as the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC, Limited said payments for
petrol subsidy cost the Federation
Account N1.217 trillion in the first
five months of 2022.
However, Soludo, noted that fuel
subsidy should be charged from the
federal government and not
subnational states.
He also argued that the subsidy
ought to have been removed ‘like
yesterday,’ adding that its non-
removal could cause the Central
BankofNigeria,CBNtospillmoney.
Soludo, who made his intentions
known at the launch of the Nigeria
Development Update, NDU, by the
World Bank group in Abuja
yesterday, emphasised that the
solutions to Nigeria’s problems were
obvious and not far-fetched.
Specifically, he said: “Federal
government decides that it wants to
subsidise Premium Motor Spirit,
PMS, why do you have to charge it
from the subnational states? You
should charge it from the revenue of
the federal government.
“We need to have this
conversation, the politics, and
structure of the government and so
on. We cannot do the same thing
over and over again and expect the
same result; it’s not going to happen.
We’ve had this analysis for a decade,
the same analysis and conclusions
of what to do.
“Remove this subsidy like
yesterday, this ought to have been
removed like yesterday. If we
continue with the subsidy, Central
Bank will continue to spill money.
The solutions are pretty obvious.
Whatweneedtodoistobecommitted
to it.”
NDU report
Meanwhile, the NDU report
sighted by Vanguard, disclosed that
a higher inflation rate had pushed
about15millionmoreNigeriansinto
poverty between the 2020 and 2022,
while eight million more Nigerians
were in poverty between the 2020
and 2021.
The report noted that the war in
Ukraine added to Nigeria’s woes, as
inflationary pressures have
increased, with inflation projected to
reach15.5percentbytheendof2022.
“Increased inflationary pressures
following the Ukraine war are
expected to push even more
Nigerians into poverty.
'Before the war, higher inflation
pushed an estimated eight million
moreNigeriansintopovertybetween
:Vanguard News
subsidy
•Inflation projected to reach 15.5% by end of 2022
2020 and 2021. In 2021, inflation
averaged 17 per cent, undermining
Nigeria's economic recovery by
eroding the purchasing power of the
most vulnerable households.
“We project that the added
inflationarypressureemanatingfrom
the war in Ukraine could push as
many as one million more Nigerians
into poverty, on top of the six million
already projected before the war.
' Overall, the ‘inflation shock’ is
estimatedtoresultinabout15million
more Nigerians living in poverty
between 2020 and 2022.
“The added inflationary pressure
from the war in Ukraine could push
as many as one million additional
Nigeriansintopovertyin2022.Even
before the war, inflation in 2022-then
projected at 13.5 percent was
predicted to push around six million
Nigerians into poverty in 2022.
“With the war, the higher rate of
inflation-projected at 15.5 percent-
could push approximately seven
million Nigerians into poverty, an
additional one million people. The
CBN's inflation target of 6-9 percent,
which was not achieved in previous
years, remains unlikely to be met in
2022.
“The increase in May 2022 in the
Abia doctors down tools over kidnap
of colleague
By Steve Oko
U MUAHIA—DOCTORS
in Abia State have announced
withdrawal of their services in both
publicandprivatehospitalstoregister
theirdispleasureoverthekidnapand
continued detention of their
colleague, Professor Uwadinachi
Iweha.
Professor Iweha was kidnapped
on Sunday 6th June, 2022, around
4:00pm, in front of his house at
Umuokpara in Umuahia South
Local Government Area.
The doctors had during their
earlier protest last Friday, threatened
to down tools if after 47 hours their
kidnapped colleague was not
released.
Declaring the decision of the
doctors yesterday after a rally and
prayer session at the car park of the
Federal Medical Centre Umuahia,
theChairmanoftheNigeriaMedical
Association, NMA, Abia State, Dr
Chimezie Okwuonu, said the action
was to alert the world that the safety
of doctors in the state was no longer
guaranteed.
NMA argued that there was no
way doctors would continue to
provide maximum services amid
uncertainties over the safety of their
members who are always on duty to
serve humanity.
Reading from a prepared speech
he co-signed with the Secretary of
the body, Dr Robinson Ugwuanyi,
the NMA Chairman said:" As an
:@vanguardnews
policyratebytheCBNisanadequate
measure. Still, it has occurred in a
context in which FX management
and development finance at
subsidized rates have reduced the
effectiveness of monetary policy.
“Moreover, financing of the fiscal
deficit and trade restrictions by the
Central Bank continue fuelling
inflationary pressures. Inflation in
Nigeria will thus remain among the
highest in Sub-Saharan Africa in
2022,” the report stated.
NNPC report
However, in its May 2022
report to the Federation Accounts
Allocation Committee, FAAC, the
Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) Limited
disclosed that payments for petrol
subsidy cost the Federation Account
N1.217 trillion in the first five months
of 2022.
The Corporation showed that
N271 billion was deducted from its
expected remittance for the month,
bringing to the total deductions for
the year to N1.217 trillion for petrol
subsidy.
NNPCsaiditwouldfurtherdeduct
N874.5 billion from its expected
Association deeply involved in the
welfare of Medical Doctors in Abia
State, we are worried that 9 days
down the line, Prof Uwadinachi
Iweha is still within the kidnappers
den. This is traumatic, depressing,
dehumanising and has instilled a lot
offearwithinthemedicalcommunity
whose primary objective is to save
the life of Abians from the medical
point of view.
"TheNigerianMedicalAssociation
Abia State hereby condemns the
kidnap of its member and calls on
the Abia State Government and
security apparatus to do all that is
necessary to secure his release.
"Our earnest prayer is that his
health condition does not deteriorate
further and he comes back alive to
us and his family.
"The recent spate of kidnap with
its attendant consequences on the
moraleofitscitizenshasthecapability
Blood Donor Day: Lagos short of 100,000 units
of blood needs —Health Commissioner
By Chioma Obinna
L AGOS—THE Lagos State
Commissioner for Health,
Professor Akin Abayomi,
yesterday, raised the alarm over
the shortage of blood in the state,
lamenting that out of the 200,000
units of blood needed in the state
annually, only 50 percent are met.
Abayomi, who spoke at an event
to mark this year's World Blood
Donor Day with the theme
'Donating Blood is An Act of
:@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
remittance in June.
It stated in the report: “The value
shortfall on the importation of
Premium Motor Spirit, PMS,
otherwiseknownaspetrolrecovered
from April 2022 proceeds is
N271,125,127.487.58, while the
outstanding balance carried forward
is N371 billion.
“The estimated value shortfall of
N874,503,649.643.98 billion
(consisting of arrears of N37I billion
plus estimated April 2022 value
shortfall of N503,313,767,828.14 is
to be recovered from May 2022
proceeds due for sharing in the June
2022 FAAC meeting,” the NNPC
document said.
A breakdown of the deductions so
far this year showed that in January
N270.83 billion was deducted,
February N210.38 billion, March
219.78 billion, April N245.77 billion
and May 271 billion.
The monthly data for the year for
actual petrol subsidy cost showed
that N143.72 billion was incurred in
January, N253 billion in February,
N152 billion in March and N642
billion in April bringing the total for
the first four months to N1.190
trillion.
of eroding the achievement we have
made, as a state, in the area of
security.
"Medical Doctors work all round
the clock. This includes normal
duties, surgeries, clinical calls,
emergencies and administrative
duties. The nature and scope of our
work involves being on the road any
time you are called, as more than
95% of Doctors reside outside their
place of work.
"With the current state of fear
caused by the kidnap and detention
of our colleague, safety cannot be
guaranteed and it will be difficult to
attend to duties as normal as no one
knows who will be the next victim."
Arising from its meeting on Friday
10th June 2022, the NMA Abia
State Branch took a peaceful protest
to the Government House where it
registered its displeasure at the
kidnapofitsseniormedicalcolleague.
Solidarity. Join the Effort and Save
Lives', urged Lagosians to become
voluntary blood donors.
He said: "Donors are to give
blood a few times a year. At the
moment, our minimum target is
200,000 units of blood a year for
Lagos State. And we've only
managed to hit 50 percent which
means that there is a big gap.
"We are short of 100,000 units of
blood in Lagos State. Now, Lagos
State has a population of at least
20 million people. And the blood
donation age is between 18 and
Wike approves payment of
gratuity, pension, death
benefits for retirees
By Davies
Iheamnachor
P
ORT HARCOURT—
GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike of
Rivers State, has approved the
immediate commencement of
payment of outstanding gratuity,
monthly pension and death
benefits for retirees in the state
public service.
Director General of the Rivers
State Pension Board, Mr. Ijeoma
Samuel, in a statement in Port
Harcourt, yesterday, explained
that the exercise would be done in
batches.
Samuel, said: "The first batch is
for all those who had retired up to
June 2014. All affected retirees and
next of kin's for deceased retirees
under the first batch are requested
to come to the Ministry of Justice
conference hall for physical
A-Ibom govt, labour knock firm
over poor working condition
By Harris Emanuel
U
YO—AKWA Ibom State
government and Nigeria
Labour Congress, NLC, have
come down hard on the state
owned champion breweries over
what they termed as unfriendly
working conditions in the
company.
Both the Commissioner for
Labour and Manpower Planning,
Aniefiok Nkom and the state NLC
chairman, Sunny James decried
the apparent slavish conditions
the staffers were allegedly made
to work under.
They spoke at a meeting
between the management of the
firm and leadership of Nigeria
Union of Food, Beverage and
Tobacco Employees, NUFBTE, at
the instance of the ministry.
The commissioner urged the
management to maintain a cordial
working relationship with the staff
and union leaders, noting that the
state government encourages
companies operating in the state
to prioritise staff welfare, through
prompt payment of salaries,
bonuses, and other entitlements,
while frowning at staff
Jumia Nigeria kicks off 10th
anniversary celebration with
sales campaign Umidigi, Itel and Coca Cola.
According to Massimiliano
L
AGOS — Jumia, a pan-
African e-commerce platform,
yesterday, announced the start
of its anniversary sales campaign,
offering millions of consumers in
Nigeria exciting offers on a wide
range of products.
The campaign tagged ‘10
Years Together,’ which runs from
June 14 to July 3, 2022, aims to
celebrate consumers for
shopping on Jumia over the past
decade. Consumers will have the
opportunity to get the best deals
from a wide selection through its
partnership with brands such as
Adidas, Xiaomi, Diageo, Oraimo,
Nivea, DeFacto, Samsung,
about 60 or 65. That means that
there are at least 15 million people
in Lagos who are eligible to become
voluntary donors. But we only
have about 100,000 people. So we
have a long way.
"So one, blood donor can give
blood up to five or six times a year.
The number of faithful blood
donors in Lagos is even lower than
100,000. It's maybe about 14,000
out of 20 million people. So, if you
know anybody that is interested
or you are interested, just reach
out to us because you never know
when you might need blood or
somebody close to you."
verification from June 15 to 23 ,
2022."
He urged those in the first batch
of the exercise to go along with
their retirement identification cards
and every other relevant
supporting documents.
He insisted that the exercise
was strictly for only those covered
under the first batch which are
retirees up to June 2014.
"We don't want a situation
somebody who retired in 2020 will
be paid first before the person who
had retired in 2014. We have
adopted the principle of first retired,
first paid.
"We want the entire exercise to
be credible. There shall be no
preferential treatment. There will
be no jumping of queues. After the
first batch, we will immediately
commence the next batch," he said.
casualization, which he underlined
was against the law.
He, however, expressed
optimism that the ministry would
liaise with other relevant
authorities to interface for quick
resolution of the internal problem
in the firm.
Also speaking, the NLC boss,
who commended staff of the
company for their resilient spirit and
commitment to duty, stressed that
from information available, the staff
worked throughout the COVID-
19 pandemic, thereby, contributing
to the growth of the company.
James wondered why such
dedicated staff should not be
rewarded, and promoted and called
on the management to carry staff
along in payment of emoluments
and other entitlements.
On her part, Head of Human
Resources, Magaret Effiok, said
that as an international
organisation with high reputation
and corporate brands, the
company was mindful of " building
and maintaining excellent public
relations with staff, public and
government to enhance growth
and development of the
organization."
Spalazzi, CEO, Jumia
Nigeria,”We are delighted and
humbled by the support from our
consumers and vendors over the
past decade. Through their
support, we have been able to
positively impact the lives of
millions of Nigerians and change
the way of shopping in Nigeria.
We will continue to support our
vendors and partners to grow
their businesses while offering
convenience and affordability to
our consumers."
Commenting on the
partnership with Jumia for the
anniversary sale, Adidas Head
of e-commerce, Nawel Chachi,
said: “At Adidas, we are delighted
to be deepening our partnership
with Jumia through events such
as Jumia anniversary as we
continue to bring new and
exciting products to Nigerian
consumers."
On his part, Xingyu Yang,
Sales Manager, Xiaomi, said: “It’s
the fourth year for Xiaomi to
collaborate with Jumia on its
Anniversary Sales Campaign in
Nigeria. Xiaomi together with
our amazing partner Jumia has
created lots of joyful shopping
memories for consumers over the
years. With this in mind, we look
forward to giving our consumers
access to the best deals on
innovative Xiaomi smartphones
and accessories during the 2022
anniversary sale.”

VP slot: PDP c’ttee picks Wike;
Tinubu’ll decide, says Imo gov
Continues fromPage 5
“Governor Nyesom Wike’s
formidable networks and re-
sourcefulness made very im-
pressive impact in his first at-
tempt for the presidency; his
extensive networks across the
South-South, South-East and
all states being controlled by
non-PDP governors add to the
fact that he resolutely kept
PDP alive when other gover-
nors were hesitant.”
Tinubu, not APC
governors’ll choose
running mate
— Uzodimma
Meanwhile, Governor
Hope Uzodimma of Imo
State, yesterday warned
against actions capable of
endangering national unity
and cohesion
Speaking to State House
correspondents after a meet-
ing with President Buhari at
the Presidential Villa, Abuja,
the governor said the choice
of the running mate would be
decided by Tinubu and not
APC governors.
He said if the choice was left
to him, he would consider re-
ligious denomination, ethnic-
ity, followership, and factors
that would create spread since
the business of politics was to
win elections.
Fielding question on Mus-
lim-Muslim ticket and choice
of a running mate, he said:
“There are internal character-
istics that the decision maker
may consider in the process
of taking his decision. The
decision whether to choose
Mr. A or Mr. B to be a running
mate to a candidate is entire-
ly that of the candidate.
“You started by saying the
governors of the Sout- East
are complaining of not hav-
ing the opportunity of being a
running mate anymore. But
that is not the sole ambition
of Southeasterners, talkless of
the governors. In the business
of presidential primaries,
there is no election for a vice
presidential candidate. The
business there is just to elect a
candidate.
“In that ballot paper, there
is no room for delegates to vote
for who will be your running
mate. So, that explains why it
is not a decision for the pub-
lic. It is a decision for the can-
didate. The first thing to do is
to let the candidate. Now a
candidate as emerged.
“Now the candidate will
factor into consideration
some ideas and issues like how
to create a spread. Spread is
very important to be able to
attract votes. So, the decision
of who becomes your running
mate, if I were the candidate,
what will inform it is an ac-
Naira appreciates to
N420.75/$ in I&E window
By Elizabeth Adegbesan
T he naira yesterday appreciated to N420.75 per
dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.
Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange
rate for the window fell to N420.75 per dollar from
N421.25 per dollar last week Friday, indicating 50 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 indicative exchange rate for the market rose to
N609 per dollar from N604 per dollar last week Friday.
tion that will enable me to get
the kind of votes I’m looking
for because the ultimate goal
is to win the election.
“So, maybe I’ll start from
the denomination, ethnicity,
or followership. In this busi-
ness of democracy I think
number is what is very impor-
tant. And there are certain
things as a nation, we should
not bring to the public dis-
course.
“Those things that are ca-
pable creating divisiveness
against national unity should
not be encouraged. It does not
mean that I will not remem-
ber that I come from a place
but I must also be cautious
and careful how to use where
I come from in taking nation-
al decisions.
“The second question which
is about running mate, South-
East is not meant for running
mate. What we wanted as a
zone was to be the president
of Nigeria and I was con-
vinced that it was proper for
us to ask for it. But in this
business, it is partisan democ-
racy, the minority will have
their view but the majority will
have their way. In the wisdom
of the delegates that elected
presidential candidate, a can-
didate has emerged, our par-
ty APC will come together,
work for our candidate and
produce the next president.”
When asked to comment on
the alleged move by Tinubu
to run with a Muslim-Mus-
lim ticket, the Imo governor
argued that the Nigerian Con-
stitution does not dwell on re-
ligion as a factor for the selec-
tion of presidential running
mate.
‘Religion not consti-
tutional factor’
He said: “There is nowhere
in the constitution of the Fed-
eral Republic of Nigeria
where religion is a factor or
characteristic as to who be-
comes the president or who
becomes the running mate.
“But we are looking for unit-
ed Nigeria where governance
will be the issue, where a pres-
ident would be adjudged by
his capacity to deliver demo-
cratic dividends, develop Ni-
geria to look like other parts
of the Western world where de-
mocracy is working.
“I don’t want us to reduce
governance in Nigeria to cer-
tain things that will encour-
age divisiveness. Rather, we
should be a united Nigeria, be
our brother’s keepers, have a
president of Nigeria that will
be a president representing
every tribe, every religion, eve-
ry denomination, and when
we get there, we will cross the
bridge.
“The decision to choose a
running mate does not reside
with any of us, the governors.
It is the presidential candi-
date that will look at the local
characteristics and every fac-
tor, political and apolitical
that will make him win his
election and take the decision.
So, it’s not a decision that we
will sit here and take for the
candidate.”
The Imo State Governor
admonished that each section
of the country requires the
others to be able to produce
the president, saying that the
South-East zone will work on
what has so far prevented it
from reaching the goal.
According to him, “When I
appeared on Channels in the
morning of the convention I
told you that one of the con-
ventions governing our polity
in Nigeria is power shift. That
power comes to the north and
goes to the south. When pow-
er came to the south, in 1999,
we ceded it to South West and
all of us voted as Nigerians.
“The next time power came
to the South, it went to South-
South and all of us voted as
Nigerians. We expected that
now that power came back to
the South, it will go to South-
East but this is not a decision
that a geopolitical zone alone
can take.
“No geopolitical zone can
become a president without
the participation of other po-
litical zones. So, when you
don’t get the co-operation, you
begin to find out why and you
work towards getting the co-
operation next time because
it has to be united country for
you to become president.
“We are not talking about
president of South-East,
South-South or South-West.
We are talking of the president
of Nigeria. For a Southerner
to become president, he needs
the votes from the North, for a
northerner to become the pres-
FG pushes for more investments at nation‘s airports
Air transport industry grossly under-utilised, says FAAN
By Prince Okafor
L AGOS — The Federal
Government yesterday
called on stakeholders to in-
vest at various airports across
the country.
This is even as the Federal
Aviation Agency of Nigeria,
FAAN, described the state of
air transportation in the coun-
try as grossly underutilised.
Speaking at the ongoing
maiden edition of FAAN Na-
tional Aviation Conference,
FNAC, with the theme: “Ad-
vancing the Frontiers of Pos-
sibilities for Safe, Secure and
Profitable Air Transport,” the
Minister of Aviation, Hadi
Sirika, said more investments
in the sector would strength-
en the aim of Public Private
Partnership, PPP.
Sirika said: “This confer-
ence will also feature trade
and investment section,
where opportunities for in-
vestments at our various air-
ports will be highlighted.
“Investors will have first-
hand information on how to
partner with FAAN. It will be
in mutually-beneficial busi-
ness arrangements to devel-
op our aviation industry.
“It’s is our intention to come
up with a working document
that would be transmitted to
relevant authorities for imme-
diate action. “The resolutions
and recommendations that
President Muhammadu Buhari and Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma,
after an audience at the State House, Abuja, yesterday. State House Photo.
ident he needs the votes from
the South.”
Muslim-Muslim ticket
bad for peace, unity
— Catholic Secretariat
However, the Catholic Sec-
retariat of Nigeria has
warned the APC, PDP, and oth-
er political parties to resist the
temptation of nominating a
Muslim-Muslim ticket in
next year’s presidential elec-
tion. It also urged those toy-
ing with the idea of same-reli-
gion ticket to have a rethink
and retrace their steps.
This was contained in a
statement issued on Tuesday
night in which the Catholic
Church insisted that there
must be sensitivity in the
spread of political positions
without compromising com-
petence in 2023.
The statement titled: ‘To-
wards 2023 Election: Advanc-
ing the Path to Unity and
Peace,’ was co-signed by the
CSN’s Secretary-General,
Very Rev. Fr. Zacharia Samju-
mi, and the Director, Social
Communications, Very Rev.
Fr. Michael Umoh.
The Catholic Secretariat
charged concerned citizens to
redouble their efforts in resist-
ing the Muslim-Muslim tick-
et which it described as a”
budding injustice that may be
hatched against a cross sec-
tion of the people.”
would come out from this con-
ference would bring lasting
and sustainable solutions to
the challenges confronting
the aviation industry.”
The minister reiterated that
the Federal Government was
always willing and ready to
discuss business and partner-
ship with investors to bring the
desired development to the
industry. “I, therefore, implore
well-meaning Nigerians and
foreign investors alike to
come on board and take ad-
WhatsApp moves to encourage MSMEs with
launch of WhatsAppreneurs campaign
By Juliet Umeh
L
AGOS —To encourage
micro, small and medi-
um enterprises, MSMEs,
across Africa, social media
platform, WhatsApp, yester-
day launched ‘WhatsAppre-
neurs campaign.’
The new campaign is
meant to profile small entre-
preneurs from Africa who are
using the WhatsApp Business
app to grow their businesses
and reach more customers.
Commenting on the cam-
paign, Whatsapp Public Poli-
cy Director for Africa, Mrs.
Balkissa Ide Siddo, said the
campaign would highlight
the stories of small and medi-
um business owners in Africa,
and help MSMEs understand
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 — 27
It reads in part: “It is dis-
heartening to observe that the
conduct of most of our politi-
cians seem to be going from
bad to worse as we witnessed
a show of shame and height-
ened ugly culture of money
politics during the recently
held primaries. While all this
is going on, we must not lose
sight of the fact that the unity
of this country has, over the
years, been maintained by a
delicate balancing of the reli-
gious and the regional.
“Ordinarily, there would
have been nothing wrong with
a Muslim-Muslim or Chris-
tian-Christian ticket in a dem-
ocratic dispensation if there
is mutual trust and respect for
the human person and where
the overriding desire for seek-
ing political office is the fos-
tering of the common good.
But one cannot really say so
of our country at the moment.
“With the present glaring
crisis and division in the na-
tion, a Muslim-Muslim tick-
et would be most insensitive
and a tacit endorsement of the
negative voices of many non-
state actors who have been
threatening this nation’s uni-
ty and peaceful coexistence
without an arrest.
“We therefore strongly ad-
vise those political parties toy-
ing with a divisive agenda to
have a rethink by presenting
a more inclusive ticket, while
vantage of these business op-
portunities, with limited po-
tentialities for huge returns of
investments.
“This maiden edition would
be institutionalised as a plat-
form where great ideas that
will propel the Nigerian avi-
ation sector into a global ref-
erence point will be developed.
“We appreciate your deep
commitment and patriotism
to the Nigeria project. Our
advantage position in terms
of regional positioning, pop-
opportunities available with
the WhatsApp Business app
through a virtual education-
al webinar.
Siddo said: “Across Africa,
small and medium business
owners are using the What-
sApp Business app to devel-
op their business, showcase
their products, close sales, and
connect with their customers.
‘’The WhatsApp Business
app provides a tool to help
businesses thrive in their mar-
kets, reach more customers,
and grow their businesses
consistently. We are delighted
to be a part of the success sto-
ries of small businesses that
are so important to commu-
nities across Africa.
“As SMEs represent a siza-
calling on all people of good-
will to resist this budding in-
justice that may be hatched
against a cross section of the
people.”
The Catholic Church noted
that even in the despotic mili-
tary era, most juntas ensured
a balance of the religious ar-
chitecture in their regimes.
“We had Murtala-Obasan-
jo, Obasanjo-Yar’adua, Ba-
bangida-Ebitu Ukiwe,
Abacha-Diya. This also ap-
plied to the heads of the vari-
ous military formations and
the different government par-
astatals like Customs, Immi-
grations, Finance, etc.
“Significantly, it was only
during the General Muham-
madu Buhari era as military
Head of State (Dec 31, 1983 -
Aug. 27, 1985) that we had a
Muslim-Muslim military
dictatorship.
“Similarly, only once did we
have a Muslim-Muslim tick-
et in the 1993 democratic elec-
tions, which featured Abiola-
Kingibe ticket and turned out
to be one of Nigeria’s freest
and fairest elections. But that
government never took off,”
the statement read.
Nevertheless, it urged all
Nigerians, individually and
collectively, to do everything
in their power to seek and
work for unity and justice, so
that the nation may attain last-
ing peace.
ulation and natural resourc-
es has positioned us strategi-
cally as a continental leader,
“ he added.
In his remarks, the Manag-
ing Director, FAAN, Rabiu
Yadudu, said the conference
was designed to present a ho-
listic platform for all stake-
holders in the industry to dis-
cuss the state of the sector in
Nigeria, with emphasis on
prospects and challenges of
the air transport industry.
ble percentage of the econom-
ic population demonstrating
great potential for growth,
opportunity creation, and
overcoming poverty post-pan-
demic, there is a need to pro-
vide support through digital
tools to help them scale.
“The WhatsAppreneur cam-
paign serves the purpose of
providing the resources busi-
nesses need to unlock their
growth potential and help
build a more resilient, inclu-
sive, and empowered society.
“In addition to helping busi-
nesses grow, the WhatsApp
Business app also provides an
opportunity for businesses to
create a much deeper and
stronger relationship with
their customers”.
28 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
*Leaders of South-East Nigeria
Igbo leaders at war over
politics of betrayal
•Selfish interest, love for money frightening, unacceptable—Anambra community leader
•S-East govs selling Igbo interest for piece of bread — Abia monarch •Betrayal from our
leaders and the delegates is very shameful —Umahi •Our governors ready to sell
everybody for a pot of porridge •Leave political power; capture the economic power—
Amechi •Day of reckoning awaits saboteurs of Igbo interest—Sam Ohuabunwa •We
are not happy, we are very sad—Iwuanyanwu •Igbo will not remain political slaves to
other zones—Nwodo •Igbo need critical self reflection on their political strategies—Don
By Anayo Okoli, Vincent
Ujumadu, Chidi
Nkwopara, Chimaobi
Nwaiwu, Peter Okutu,
Nwabueze Okonkwo,
Ugochukwu Alaribe,
Chinedu Adonu,
Chinonso Alozie,
Ikechukwu Odu, Steve
Oko & Emmanuel Iheaka
E NUGU—THE clamour, hope and
enthusiasm from Ndigbo that the
Presidency of Nigeria will come to South-
East in 2023 courtesy of the two main
political parties, APC and PDP, have
been dashed. The two parties failed them
in spite of their enormous contributions
to build and nurture them, particularly,
PDP, which though has rotation of power
in its Constitution, shifted the goal post
midway in the game purposely to
frustrate the region. The two parties
have simply told Ndigbo that they do
not matter in Nigeria politics. Even in
the face of this bias, the greatest worry
and disappointment is the attitude of
the political leaders from the region.
They don’t trust one another, therefore
can’t work together. The attitude of “me
or never” is their greatest albatross and
it is hunting them and Ndigbo are angry.
Prominent monarch, the paramount
ruler of Abiriba ancient kingdom,
Enachoken Abiriba, Eze Kalu Kalu Ogbu,
expressed utter worry and
disappointment over the unpatriotic
attitude of the present crop of South-
East political leaders, led by the
governors, who he said are not after the
political interest of the zone.
Eze Ogbu said the governors place
their personal and party interests above
regional interest, a development, he
regretted, is at variance with their
counterparts from other zones.
“South-East governors are not
helping matters. Some of them are bent
on selling everybody for a pot of porridge.
It is very appalling that the governors
have all disappointed us. I don’t know
what they are pursuing,” the revered
monarch lamented.
According to him, if the governors
pursue and promote common political
interests of Ndigbo above their personal
and party interests, the situation in the
region will change for the better even in
2023 as he urged eligible Igbo voters
wherever they reside, to get their voter’s
card and participate in the 2023
elections.
Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi
who doubles as the chairman of South-
East Governors’ Forum, a major political
leader in the region, was enraged over
the level of betrayal among the political
leaders in the region even in the face of
cry of marginalisation from them.
Umahi, whose Forum is working at
cross purposes said: “Whereas other
geo-political zones have six and seven
states, the South-East has five states
and we should be asking why. Is there
any fairness and justice in this regard?
Whereas other states have 40 and 30
local government areas, our own state
just has 13 local governments.
“But the worst is the betrayal of our
leaders and the delegates. I worked
internally and externally for our
delegates and leaders. I know I had
meetings with the five South-East
chairmen and NWC of the South-East
and I told them it is not about me but
about the agitation and mood of the
nation and I begged them to vote for
any candidate of the South-East zone
so that when our votes are counted
behind all the region’s candidates, we
should not have anything less than the
number of our delegates. By doing that,
we would have made a statement, but it
became a shame that our leaders and
delegates sold all our votes.
“It is a very big shame and let me say
it publicly, for our people to be shouting
about marginalisation and whenever
they have an opportunity to make a
statement, they will sell their vote. I will
continue to let them know that he who
sells his brother or sister, even the spouse
will never have trust in him or her. It is a
big shame.”
One of the PDP presidential aspirants,
Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa expressed
disappointment over the treacherous
attitude of some Igbo delegates at the
PDP convention who traded off the
interest of the zone in support of
aspirants from other zones. He,
however, noted that such saboteurs
should brace up for a day of reckoning.
“Now, we have seen the true Igbo
and the wolves in sheep clothing. Now
we have seen those who claim to be
Igbo but in actuality, they are not.
Nobody is sure of their origin even
though they answer Igbo names. That
is why when they see money; they forget
their father’s name.
“But there is a day of reckoning, and
It is a very big
shame and let me
say it publicly, for
our people to be
shouting about
marginalisation
and whenever they
have an
opportunity to
make a statement,
they will sell their
vote
we shall take account of those who are
Igbo, those who support Igbo cause,
those who are mercenaries parading in
the name of Igbo, those who are making
money out of Igbo blood, sufferings and
conditions in Nigeria.
“On the day of reckoning, everybody
will be held accountable. The question
will be: What did you do about the Igbo
condition? When the Igbo were being
excluded, what did you do? On that day,
all those who are supporting Igbo will
give account and those who are
betraying Igbo interest will also give
account.
“It is unfortunate that when the Igbo
are crying marginalisation and
mistreatment, lack of equity; at a time
when most Igbo agree that we should
fight for this equity, some Igbo are selling
their votes and others are campaigning
for, and prefer other people to their fellow
Igbo brothers.
“It is within their rights anyway but
every action has an equal and opposite
reaction. There is a consequence for
every action, and I pray that when the
consequences come, they should bear
the consequences of their actions,”
Ohuabunwa lamented.
Foremost Igbo leader and First
Republic Aviation minister, Chief
Mbazululike Amechi is angry over what
the two big parties did to the region
which he said was shocking to anybody
who likes equity and fair play.
“I was taken aback by PDP
nomination of its presidential candidate,
but when I saw the result of the All
Progressives Congress, APC, primary
election, it occurred to me that they were
all involved in total rejection of the Igbo;
it was an open pronouncement that they
don’t want Igbo. The rest of the country
doesn’t want Igbo. Igbo should not go
into any violent action to find a solution.
Now nobody gives you freedom, nobody
gives you liberty, nobody gives you
political power or right to determine
where you will fit in, in the country, you
have to determine it yourself.
“And my advice to Ndigbo is, politically
they have been rejected in Nigeria, they
should go back to what God has created
them to do, which is to capture the
economic power in Nigeria. God has
given the Igbo the gift of the brain, the
gift of business acumen, the gift of hard
work and therefore, they should silently
give themselves some time to capture
total economic control of the Nigerian
economy, not only Nigerian but Africa.
“The North has taken over the oil
industry and gave pittance to the South-
West and the South-South, so Igbo
should forget the oil, they can achieve
their economic powers in other areas that
have nothing to do with oil. They are
gifted, they can achieve it in other areas,
they are handsomely gifted. This is what
will save the Igbo.”
Former civilian Governor of Anambra
State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife is still
optimistic that 2023 president could come
from the South- East region, saying that
Peter Obi should not be wished off even
as he appealed to the INEC to ensure
that nobody is disenfranchised.
Ezeife urged Ohanaeze Ndigbo to
collaborate with other Igbo elders and
religious leaders to bring to book, for
punishment, erring Igbo politicians who
derailed from the Igbo president project.
“I am disappointed at some of our Igbo
politicians who voted against their fellow
Igbo aspirants during the recent
primaries in APC and PDP but our
consolation is that a reputable Igbo man
emerged from Labour Party in the person
of Peter Obi and we must rally round
him to ensure his victory so that we can
say goodbye to corrupt politicians in this
country,” he said.
Former national chairman of PDP,
Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo, however, did
not see the opportunity of the South-
East region producing the president
being lost as he said Mr. Peter Obi of the
Labour Party could be the magic man.
While expressing disappointment at
the PDP, and APC for denying the
aspirants from the region their tickets,
he lambasted Igbo politicians who
abandoned their brothers for their
opponents.
“Igbo will not remain political slaves
serving other geo-political zones in
Nigeria. I know that politics is dynamic.
This is a period of political alignment and
re-alignment for the Igbo politicians so
that our common interest can see the
light of the day.
“For those of us who have been
campaigning for South-East presidency,
we are not happy that some of our leaders
in PDP and APC didn’t join in this
struggle. If you are talking about two
PDP governors in the South-East who
campaigned for a South-South aspirant,
what about the Senate Majority Whip,
Orji Uzor Kalu and Governor of Imo
State, Hope Uzodinma, who campaigned
for Ahmad Lawan when we had strong
aspirants from the South-East in their
parties? Our Igbo political leaders didn’t
do well.”
For Uzu Awka, Austin Ndigwe, equity
and fair play demand that Ndigbo should
be given the opportunity to have their
fair share of the leadership in the country.
“If truth must be told, both God and
humanity know that it is the turn of
Ndigbo this time around and that
agreement must be obeyed.”
Legal luminary, Chief Mike Ahamba,
SAN, said the only way the Igbo can
clinch the presidency is by forming an
alliance. Ahamba stressed the reality of
the need for such an alliance for Igbo to
succeed, saying threats will not earn the
Igbo the presidency.
“The way forward is to face the reality
and realise we can’t do it alone. We have
to cooperate with other people to get to
that destination. There is no way Igbo
alone can clinch the presidency. There
must be some alliance. It is a culture of
combinations. So, what are you
combining? Let those interested in it find
a way to form an alliance. Those at that
level should know what to do.”
Former Minister for Finance, Kalu
Idika Kalu blamed the current political
predicament of the South-East on what
he considered as the many political
mistakes and calculations of the Igbo and
admonished that instead of licking their
wounds, they should use the
opportunity to correct the mistakes of
the past.
For the Chairman of Elders Forum of
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel
Iwuanyanwu, solution to alienating any
region from power is by entrenching
zoning of the presidency in the
constitution. According to the elder
statesman, putting it in the constitution
would reduce the intimidation, and
bitterness that always trail the agitation
for zoning political offices.
“I have a lot of respect for the
leadership of Afenifere in the South-West
and the South-South including the
Middle-Belt. They said it should be
South-East this time around. They all
agreed the position should be given to
the South- East but some people
rebelled and squeezed it out of the hands
of the South-East people.
“There are two major political parties
in the country, the APC and PDP. We
are expected that the two parties should
have zoned the presidential ticket to
the Igbo. We are not happy. We are very
sad. We are going to continue to be
patriotic Nigerians. We will appeal to the
conscience of the leaders to restructure
this country. Federal character is part of
our problem.
For Prof. Obasi Igwe, a professor of
political science, a third force would have
been the best solution for the South-
East if Nigerians were interested in a
peaceful revolution as APC and PDP
refused to cede power to the region. He
therefore encouraged Nigerians to
consider the third force.
“Corruption has defined the Igbo
political elites since the early 1990s or
thereabouts; they snatch federal
contracts for Eastern airports,
highways, hospitals and other
infrastructure and squander the
monies, and the intelligentsias are
too compromised to question them;
they are federal ministers, state
governors, all manner of officials, but
all in their pockets. These corrupt
Igbo elites have all along constituted
a danger to both Igbo society and to
Nigeria; they are ideological nihilists,
believing in nothing except money
and personal possessions,” Igwe said.
The President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo
in Nsukka Local Government Area
of Enugu State, Prof. Damian Opata,
who urged Igbo to do critical self
reflections on their political strategies
in order to get incorporated into the
Nigerian federation and remain
relevant in the political space,
regretted that “our present Igbo
politicians lack the sagacity like our
old politicians.”
APGA presidential flag bearer,
Justice Peter Umeadi is of the view
that “since the end of the civil war,
there ought to be a wholesome
integration and a new beginning for
the Igbo on the one hand, and the
Igbo with their fellow compatriots in
Nigeria on the other hand, which has
not happened. That is the lacuna
which the Igbo president in Nigeria
of 2023 would fill.
“I have said it that a South- East
President in 2023 for eight years after
President Muhammadu Buhari
would reposition Nigeria for good.”
Notable Igbo opinion leader,
Prince Richard Ozobu said that the
Igbo can only actualise their dream
of producing a Nigerian president
through going into alliances with
other sections of the country.
THE TEAM
SUPERVISING EDITOR:
Chioma Gabriel, Lagos
(08052201257)
REGIONAL EDITOR
Anayo Okoli, Enugu
08034046839
Vincent Ujumadu, Awka
Chidi Nkwopara, Owerri
Dennis Agbo, Enugu
Peter Okutu, Abakaliki
Chimaobi Nwaiwu, Nnewi
Nwabueze Okonkwo,
Onitsha
Chinedu Adonu, Enugu
Ugochukwu Alaribe, Aba
Chinonso Alozie, Owerri
Eric Ugbor, Aba
Ikechukwu Odu, Nsukka
Steve Oko, Aba

IGBOGHO
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS IGBOGHO
ROSE, now wish to be known
and addressed as MRS
GABRIEL ROSE. All former
documents remain valid. The
general public should please
take note.
OB
OBOH
I, formerly known and
addressed as OBOH VIVIAN,
now wish to be known and
addressed as EMUOBOR
VIVIAN. All former
documents remain valid. The
general public should please
take note.
ODOFORI
I, Formerly known and
addressed as Odofori David,
now wish to be known and
addressed as Daniel David.
All former documents remain
valid. General public take
note.
ALAYA
I, formerly known as Miss
ALAYA DEBORAH
ABISOYE, now wish to be
known and addressed as Mrs.
AJAYI DEBORAH ABISOYE.
All former documents remain
valid. General public, please
take note.
OKON
I, formerly known and
addressed as Esther Nathaniel
Okon. Now wish to be known
and addressed as Esther Ekom
Okon. All former documents
remain valid, general public
please take note.
ANTHONY
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Anthony
Deborah Akudo, now wish to
be known and addressed as Mrs.
Obimma Deborah Akudo. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
IHE
I, formerly known and
addressed as Mrs. Ihe Esther
Ogbonnia, now wish to be
known and addressed as Mrs.
Ogbonna Esther Ebelechukwu.
All former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
ALENDE
I, formerly known and
addressed as ALENDE
IBHADEOBHOR LYDIA,
now wish to be known and
addressed as ITEPU
IBHADEOBHOR LYDIA. All
former documents remain
valid. The general public
should please take note.
OMORO
I, formerly known as OMORO
PRAISE, now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS
EGWARE-OMORO PRAISE.
All former documents remain
valid, any authority it may
concern and general public to
take note.
BAMGBOSE
My name was written on my
BVN as Bamabose Susana,
instead of my correct name
as Bamgbose Susan Ayobami,
as written on my National
Identity Card. All documents
bearing my former name
remain valid. General public
take note.
EHIEDU
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS EHIEDU
OGECHI JOY, now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS
ISREAL OGECHI JOY. All
former documents remain
valid. The general public should
please take note.
EDOZELE
My name was wrongly written
on my bank account as
EDOZELE BEATRICE,
instead of my correct name as
EDOZE BEATRICE. All
former documents remain
valid. The general public
should please take note.
OSIMIRI
I, Formerly known and
addressed as Miss Osimiri
Eguono Josephine, now wish
to be known and addressed as
Mrs Oyobere Eguono
Josephine. All former
documents remain valid.
General public take note.
EBAH-ALFRED
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS EBAH-
ALFRED GRACE. Now wish
to be known and addressed as
MRS AKENUWA GRACE. All
former documents remain
valid, general public please
take note.
ALIGHOMUE
I, formerly known as
PATIENCE ELOHO
ALIGHOMUE, now wish to be
addressed as MRS
PEPERTUAL ELOHO
OKPOBRISI, all former
documents remain valid,
general public whom it may
concern take note.
UCHE
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Uche
Amarachi Veronica, now wish
to be known and addressed as
Mrs. Ifeanyi Amarachi
Veronica. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take
note.
OGHENEKEVWE
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS.
OGHENEKEVWE EJIRO
FELICIA, now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS.
AYA EJIRO FELICIA. All
documents bearing former
names remain valid, general
public please take note.
CLARKE
I, formerly known as CLARKE
EBIERE, now wish to be
known and addressed as
CLARK EBIERE. All former
documents remain valid, any
authority it may concern and
general public to take note.
IGBINAKE
I, formerly known as Naomi
Osasimwin Igbinake, now wish
to be known and addressed as
Naomi Osasimwin Allanah. All
former documents remain
valid, any authority it may
concern and general public to
take note.
OKORO
I, formerly known as OKORO
JOY ANWULI, now wish to
be known and addressed as
OKORO JOY ISHIOMA. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
TIMOTHY
I, formerly known and
addressed as TIMOTHY
ROBO EJAKPOFO, now wish
to be known and addressed as
EJAKPOFO TIMOTHY
PHILIP. All former documents
remain valid. The general
public should please take note.
OTUONYE
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Otuonye
Vivian Ihedimah, now wish to
be known and addressed as
Mrs Uwanoghor Vivian
Ihedimah. All former
documents remain valid. The
general public should please
take note.
AKPURIEN
I, Formerly known and
addressed as Miss Akpurien
Sophia Ogheneruemu, now
wish to be known and addressed
as Mrs Kingsley Sophia
Ogheneruemu. All former
documents remain valid.
General public take note.
ALEX
I, formerly known and
addressed as EHICHIOYA
ALEX. Now wish to be known
and addressed as EHICHIOYA
ALEXANDER EHIAGUINA.
All former documents remain
valid, general public please
take note.
OCHONOGOR
I, formerly known as MISS
OCHONOGOR CHIOMA
PEACE, now wish to be
addressed as MRS OLUM
CHIOMA PEACE, all former
documents remain valid,
general public whom it may
concern take note.
CHUKWUEMEKA
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss
Chukwuemeka Catherine
Unoma, now wish to be known
and addressed as Mrs. Mebo
Catherine Unoma. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take
note.
ASE
I, formerly known as MISS.
ASE BLESSING
OMAMUYEWI, now wish to
be known and addressed as
MRS. JOHN-EJIME
BLESSING OMAMUYEWI.
All documents bearing former
names remain valid, general
public please take note.
ATAGANA
I, formerly known as MISS
ATAGANA PRECIOUS, now
wish to be known and addressed
as MRS ETAKEFE
PRECIOUS. All former
documents remain valid, any
authority it may concern and
general public to take note.
OBUOBU
I, formerly known as MISS
OBUOBU HOPE, now wish to
be known and addressed as
MRS AKELISI HOPE. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
PIUS
I, formerly known and
addressed as PIUS ROSELINE
JAMES, now wish to be known
and addressed as ETUM
ROSELINE henceforth.
Former documents remain
valid. General Public, to whom
it may concern please take
note.
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 — 29
RERRI
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS RERRI
EJIRO JULIET, now wish to
be known and addressed as
MRS FORCADOS EJIRO
JULIET. All former documents
remain valid. The general
public should please take note.
NKEMACHOR
I, formerly known and
addressed as Nkemachor
Stella, now wish to be known
and addressed as Mrs Effam
Stella. All former documents
remain valid. The general
public should please take note.
OD
IZINI
I, Formerly known and
addressed as Izini Joy, now
wish to be known and
addressed as Izini Uruemu
Joy. All former documents
remain valid. General public
take note.
OD
ORIANELE
I, formerly known and
addressed as ORIANELE.
CLIFFORD. Now wish to be
known and addressed as
ENOHOATAMA. ALFRED.
CLIFFORD. All former
documents remain valid,
general public please take
note
OBUN
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss. Obun
Barong Asu-Ojua, now wish to
be known and addressed as Mrs.
Ossue Barong Asu-Ojua. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
IDOKO
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Idoko
Josephine Ujunwa, now wish
to be known and addressed as
Mrs. Onyebuchi Josephine
Ujunwa. All former documents
remain valid. General public
please take note.
JOHN
I, formerly known and
addressed as JOHN GIFT
IFEOMA, now wish to be
known and addressed as
OKITY IFEOMA GIFT.
Henceforth all former
documents remain valid.
General public take note.
ODIRI
I, formerly known as ODIRI
OVWIGHO, now wish to be
known and addressed as
AKPUBI OVWIGHO
SOLOMON. All former
documents remain valid, any
authority it may concern and
general public to take note.
FRANCIS
I, formerly known as
FRANCIS BEST
ONYEBUCHI, now wish to be
known and addressed as OBI
GRACE ONYEBUCHI. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
KOKO
My full and correct name is KOKO
DAGOGO DOUGLAS, but it was
wrongly written as KOKO
DAGOGO in some documents.
KOKO DAGOGO DOUGLAS
remains my full and correct name. All
former documents remain valid.
General public please take note.
ISIOMA
I, formerly known and
addressed as ORUONYEHU
ISIOMA, now wish to be
known and addressed as
CHUKWU FRANCA
ISIOMA. All former
documents remain valid. The
general public should please
take note.
NWOSU
IMOUDU
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS IMOUDU,
BRIDGET BRAI now wish to
be known and addressed as
MRS. IDODE, BRIDGET
BRAI. All former documents
remain valid. General public
please take note.
OFIEN
I, formerly known and
addressed as OFIEN, UDIORI
HAPPINESS, now wish to be
known and addressed as
ONISOFIEN, UDIORI. All
documents bearing my former
name remain valid. Fidelity
bank and general public should
please take note.
AKPOS
I, formerly known and
addressed as AKPOS ERICK.
Now wish to be known and
addressed as AKPOS-ITAYE
ERIC. All former documents
remain valid general public
please take note.
AARON
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Emily Aaron,
now wish to be known and
addressed as Mrs. Emily Aaron
Shamaki. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take
note.
AMAKO
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Amako
Queeneth, now wish to be
known and addressed as Miss
Amadi Queeneth Eziokwu. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
ODOZI
I, formerly known as MISS
ODOZI JENNIFER AWELE,
now wish to be known as MRS
IGBINI JENNIFER AWELE.
All former documents remain
valid, any authority it may
concern and general public to
take note.
OKAGBARE
I, formerly known as ABIRI-
OKAGBARE ESTHER
AVURAKOGHENE, now wish to be
known and addressed as
OKAGBARE ESTHER
AVURAKOGHENE. All former
documents remain valid, any
authority it may concern and general
public to take note.
SUNDAY
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS SUNDAY
BLESSING, now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS
OKPAKO BLESSING, all
documents bearing my former
name remain valid, General
Public take note.
ODILI
I, formerly known as MISS
EGOYIBO GLORIA ODILI,
now wish to be known and
addressed as MRS. EGOYIBO
GLORIA UDOSEN. All former
documents remain valid.
General public take note
GBOFOSA
I, formerly known and
addressed as GBOFOSA
MEYIWA, now wish to be
known and addressed as
EKWEJUNIOR MEYIWA. All
former documents remain
valid. The general public should
please take note.
ENUNEKU
I, formerly known and
addressed as Enuneku
Chukwudi Kingsley, now wish
to be known and addressed as
Enuneku Oghenewegba
Kingsley. All former
documents remain valid.
General public take note.
JAIYESIMI
I, Miss JAIYESIMI ANUOLUWAPO
OLUFUNKE, JAIYESIMI
ANUOLUWAPO FUNKE and
JAIYESIMI ANUOLUWAPO O. is one
and the same person. But now wish to be
known and addressed as Mrs. AWOSANYA
ANUOLUWAPO OLUWAFUNKE. All
former documents remain valid. General
Public, please take note.
OBARO
My name as appeared in my Bank
Verification Number and National
Identity Card as ESIEKE
OBARO. My last name
EMMANUEL was not included
during my BVN and National Identity
Card Registration, my complete name
is ESIEKE OBARO EMMANUEL.
All former documents remain valid,
general public please take note.
OKUNDIA
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Okundia
Cynthia Oghogho, now wish to
be known and addressed as Mrs.
Babarinsa Cynthia Oghogho.
All former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
OKONKWO
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Paulyn
Ifeoma Okonkwo, now wish to
be known and addressed as Miss
Paulyn Ifeoma Ojukwu. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
ASE
The names Ase Tuvure, David
Tuvure Ase and Ase Tuvure
David belong to the same
person,but now wish to be
known and addressed as ASE
DAVID TUVURE. All former
documents remain valid, any
authority it may concern and
general public to take note.
ORAEGBUNAM
I, formerly known as MISS
ORAEGBUNAM ANGELA
CHISOM, now wish to be
known as MRS AKAKPORO
ANGELA CHISOM. All
former documents remain
valid, any authority it may
concern and general public to
take note.
OGAGA
I, formerly known as MISS.
O N AT E V W O Y E R I
ANTHONIA OGAGA. Now
wish to be known as MRS.
UCHE ANTHONIA OGAGA.
All documents bearing my
former name remain valid.
General public take note.
EZEDOM
NATHANIEL
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS
NATHANIEL OLUCHI,
ELIZABETH now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS
IFEANYI OLUCHI
ELIZABETH. Former
documents remain valid.
General public take note.
30 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022
AHANONU
This is to confirm that AHANONU
LAWRENCE MMADUABUCHI
AND
MMADUABUCHI LAWRENCE
AHANONU
refer to one and same person now wish
to be known and addressed as
AHANONU MMADUABUCHI
LAWRENCE. Former documents
remain valid. General public take note.
CHUKWU
I, formerly known and addressed
as PEACE CHIOMA
CHUKWU, now wish to be
known and addressed as PEACE
CHIOMA AGU. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take note.
OSARIEMEN
I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND
ADDRESSED AS MISS.
ENOGUMWENGIE OSARIEMEN
GIFT, NOW WISH TO BE ADDRESS
AS MRS. FISCHER OSARIEMEN
GIFT. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS
REMAIN VALID. CONCERN
AUTHORITIES AND GENERAL
PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.
CANAAN
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS
AISUODIONOE CANAAN,
now wish to be known and
addressed as MRS.
O N O L E M H E M H E N
CANAAN. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take note.
MONDAY
I, formerly known and addressed
as MONDAY TOBORE HOPE,
now wish to be known and
addressed as AGBEDION
MONDAY TOBORE HOPE.
All former documents remain
valid. General public please take
note.
ISHEKE
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss. Isheke
Abigail Oke, now wish to be
known and addressed as Mrs.
Igoru Abigail Oke. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take note.
CHUKWUJI
I, formerly known and addressed
as MISS CHUKWUJI JOY
IJEOMA, now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS
BENJAMIN JOY IJEOMA. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please take
note.
ONAJITE
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS. ONAJITE
IKEGU, now wish to be known
and addressed as DR. (MRS.)
ONAJITE IKEGU
EGHARHEVWA. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take note.
OCHUKO
I, Formerly known as
OCHUKO CHIDIMMA
BLESSING, now wish to be
known and addressed as
IKECHUKWU CHIDIMMA
BLESSING. All former
documents remain valid.
General public take note.
OKAFOR
I, formerly known and addressed
as Miss Julian Nnanyem Okafor,
now wish to be known and
addressed as Mrs Julian
Nnanyem Iloba. All former
documents remain valid.
General public take note.
OGINNI
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS OGINNI,
OLAMIDE BIOLA. Now wish
to be known and addressed as
MRS OLUWAJINMI,
OLAMIDE BIOLA. All former
document remains valid. The
general public take note.
CHANGE OF NAME
AKPAKA
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss AKPAKA
CHIDERA GERALDINE now
wish to be known and
addressed as MRS ONUOHA
CHIDERA GERALDINE. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
PETER
I, Formerly known and
addressed as PETER
UCHENNA VALENTINE.
Now wish to be known as MR.
JOSEPH UCHENNA
VALENTINE. All former
Documents remain valid.
Concerned Authorities and
General Public take note.
NKWUDO
I, formerly known and addressed as
MISS NKWUDO CHIKA HELEN.
Now wish to be known and
addressed as MRS CHIKA HELEN
NKWUDO OKOYE. All Former
documents remain valid. General
public, Banks and Authorities
Concerned to please take note.
MOHAMMED
I, formerly known and
addressed as Mohammed
Hussaini Abubakar, now wish
to be known and addressed as
Mohammed Hussein
Abubakar. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take
note.
IMAH
I, formerly known and addressed
as Miss IMAH IJEOMA NGOZI
LAURA, now wish to be known
and addressed as Mrs
AMAECHI IJEOMA NGOZI.
All former documents remain
valid. General public please take
note.
OKUNBO
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss OSASERE
OKUNBO, now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS
OSASERE OKAKWU. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
EMEOFA
I, formerly known and
addressed as EMEOFA
ANTHONY CHUKWUKA,
now wish to be known and
addressed as BENJAMIN
ANTHONY CHUKWUKA.
All former documents remain
valid. General public please
take note.
FOLAMI
I, formerly known and
addressed as Bolanle Folami,
now wish to be known and
addressed as Bolanle Talabi
Williams. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take
note.
OT
IYOBOSA
I, Formerly known as MISS.
OMORAGBON EVELYN
IYOBOSA, now wish to be
known and addressed as MRS.
OMORAGBON-IGUODALA
IYOBOSA EVELYN. All
former documents remain
valid. General public take note.
UBGU
I, formerly known as UBAGU
CYNTHIA NNENNA, now
wish to be known and addressed
a s C H I E D O Z I E
CYNTHIA NNENNA. All
former document remain
valid. Banks, concerned
authorities and general public
should please take note.
MOSES
I, formerly known and
addressed as HELEN
KEHINDE MOSES. Now wish
to be known and addressed as
HELEN KEHINDE
ZUOKEMEFA. All former
document remains valid. The
general public take note.
MICHAEL
My name was wrongly written on my
BVN. Bank Verification Number as
MICHAEL NICHOLAS PRINCE.
My correct
PRINCEMICHAEL NICHOLAS
name is
ADIAFAI. All former documents
remain valid. Banks and other
financial institutions, Government
institutions and General public
should take note.
ANOWAI
l, Formerly known and
addressed as CHINEDU
ANOWAI STEPHEN. Now
wish to be known as MR.
JOSEPH STEPHEN
CHINEDU. All former
Documents remain valid.
Concerned Authorities and
General Public take note.
MBAKWE
My Name was wrongly written
on my BVN as MBAKWE
IKECHUKWU, instead of my
correct Name as MBAKWE
DAVID IKECHUKWU. All
Former Documents remain
valid. General Public, Banks and
Authorities Concerned to please
take note
OLAYINKA
This is to confirm that my name was
captured as OLAYINKA OLAJIDE
DAVID, instead of OLAJIDE DAVID
OLAYINKA. My correct name is
OLAJIDE DAVID OLAYINKA. All
former documents remain valid.
General public please take note
IHEAKA
I, formerly known and
addressed as IHEAKA NANCY
NGOZI, now wish to be known
and addressed as FRIDAY
NANCY NGOZI. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take note.
OFOEFUNA
I, formerly known as
OFOEFUNA CHIDIMMA
GERALDINE, now wish to be
known as OLISAKWE
CHIDIMMA GERALDINE.
Former documents remain
valid. Banks and general public
take note.
OKOLIE
I, formerly known and addressed
as OKOLIE COLLINS
CHIYEMUGO, now wish to be
known and addressed as UKAH
COLLINS CHIYEMUGO. All
former documents remain
valid. General public please take
note.
MENIRU
I, formerly known as IRENE
CHIOMA MENIRU, now wish
to be known as IRENE
CHIOMA ODEBEATU.
Former documents remain
valid. Banks and general public
take note.
ISADOH
MY NAME WAS WRONGLY
ARRANGED AS MRS. JOY RACHEAL
ISADOH, INSTEAD OF MRS. ISADOH
JOY RACHEAL. I NOW WISH TO BE
KNOWN AS MRS.ISADOH JOY
RACHEAL. FORMER DOCUMENTS
REMAIN VALID. GENERAL PUBLIC
TAKE NOTE.
NWACHUKWU
I, Formerly known and
addressed as Miss Amarachi
Nwachukwu, now wish to be
known and addressed as Mrs
Amarachi Iroh. All former
document remains valid. The
general public take note.
ADEH
I, formerly known and
addressed as MISS ADEH
ONYEKA SALLY, now wish to
be known and addressed as MRS
IKEM ONYEKA SALLY. All
former documents remain
valid, general public, bank and
all authorities concerned
should take note.
:Vanguard News
Avoid reports that undermine our
democracy, Oyetola tasks journalists
By Shina Abubakar
O
SOGBO—GOVERNOR
Adegboyega Oyetola of
Osun State, yesterday, charged
journalists and information offic-
ers to be wary of sensational re-
portage that can undermine
democratic rule in the state and
in the country at large.
Oyetola, who acknowledged
the role played by the media in
the entrenchment of democracy
in Nigeria, harped on responsi-
ble reportage and spirited de-
fence of civil rule in the country.
He spoke at a two-day political
communications workshop for
journalists and information offic-
ers in the state organised by the
Ministry of Information and Civic
S-South, S-East PDP groups back Okowa for
vice presidential slot
A SABA—Peoples Demo
cratic Party,PDP, youths in
South- South and South-
East geopolitical zones, un-
der the auspices of the Coa-
lition of South-South and
South-East PDP Pouths, have
endorsed Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa of Delta State as the
party's vice presidential can-
didate for the 2023 election.
In a communique issued at
the end of its rally in Asaba
on Monday and read by the
Coordinator, Eziwomano
Ighoegwo-Ogboru, the
group said Okowa remained
the two regions' choice of a
running mate to the PDP
presidential standard bearer,
Atiku Abubakar.
The coalition, which
passed a vote of confidence
on the Delta governor for the
excellent and exceptional
performance of his adminis-
tration in the past seven
years, noted that he had been
a bridge between the South-
South and South-East, add-
ing that his choice would ap-
propriately address the Igbo
equation.
The PDP youth group
maintained that Okowa
OWEKA
This is to confirm that the names
OWEKA CHRISTIAN, OWEKA C.
C., CHUKS OWEKA and OWEKA
CHUKS as they appear on my various
documents belong to one and same
person, hence all documents bearing
either names remain valid. General
public please take note.
NATAMAN
I, formerly known and
addressed as Mac_Moses
Nataman, now wish to be
known and addressed as Mac_
Moses Azibanatam. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take
note.
UDOKANG
I, formerly known as Miss
EKAETTE UDOKPAN
UDOKANG, now wish to be
known and addressed as Mrs
EKAETTE EDET EKANEM.
All former documents remain
valid. The general public should
take note.
OBOT
I, formerly known as Miss
Idorenyin Patrick Obot, now
wish to be known as Mrs
Idorenyin Eyakeno Echol. All
former document remains
valid. The general public take
note.
OKAGBARE
I, formerly known as MISS
ESEOGHENE FRANCISCA
OKAGBARE, now wish to be
known as MRS ESEOGHENE
FRANCISCA SPENCER. All
former documents remain
valid, general public, bank and
all authorities concerned
should take note.
:@vanguardnews
Orientation, in conjunction with
Korki and Associates.
While declaring open the work-
shop, the governor said: "We
have seen a government steady
at work, a government that is
responsible to the people, a gov-
ernment that is accountable to
them. It is part of the media's
duty to keep the people informed
about developments in the state
until they approach the polls.
"It is our duty to inform them
that workers are receiving their
full salaries as and when due,
and pensioners are also receiv-
ing their pensions. Please re-
mind them that 1000 teachers
were recruited despite paucity
of funds, and we have been able
to re-engineer our schools."
stood a better chance with
Atiku Abubakar to give the
opposition party the much
desired victory in the 2023
presidential election, given
the fact that Okowa had re-
mained a loyal party man
and had diligently served
the party in different capaci-
ties.
It further stated that
ANAN restates commitment to
zero tolerance for fraud
L AGOS—THE Association
of National Accountants of
Nigeria, ANAN, has reiterated
its unwavering commitment to
its zero-tolerance policy for fi-
nancial mismanagement in the
wake of allegations of missing
N80 billion funds levelled
against suspended Accountant-
General of the Federation,
Ahmed Idris.
This was contained in a state-
ment by ANAN Chief Execu-
tive Officer, Dr. Kayode Fasua,
which stated: "Association of
National Accountants of Nigeria
(ANAN) has been inundated
with enquiries concerning the
suspended Accountant-Gen-
eral of the Federation, Ahmed
Idris since the break of the news
of his alleged involvement in
MultiChoice appoints Ayo Ajala
as COO
M
ULTICHOICE Ni
geria has appointed
Ayo Ajala as the Chief Op-
erating Officer.
Prior to his appointment,
he worked in the Human
Resources Department
from 2004, and became the
head in 2012, where he
championed the robust
transformation of the Fi-
nance, Customer Value
Management, CVM, and
Sales divisions, among oth-
ers, and built a strong tal-
ent bench in MultiChoice
Nigeria.
As the Chief Operating
Officer for MultiChoice
In his remarks, the Chairman
of House Committee on Informa-
tion, Mr Kunle Akande, urged
media professionals to be wary of
the factualities of information
shared before, during and after
the election.
In her welcome address, the
Commissioner for Information
and Civic Orientation, Mrs
Funke Egbemode, said one of the
most critical goal to be accom-
plished with election reportage,
especially in the July 16 election,
is to keep the state safe.
She said: "It is our job as profes-
sionals to ensure that things
work, that things that are work-
ing are reported, and even the
things that are not working are
reported."
Okowa had, in his capacity
as Chairman of the South-
South PDP Governors' Fo-
rum, carried his colleagues
along without rancour and
enjoyed a harmonious rela-
tionship with them, just as he
was highly respected by even
the APC Governors, which
would make his choice gen-
erally acceptable.
N80 billion fraud.
"For the avoidance of doubt, the
association is monitoring devel-
opments on this matter with keen
interest. We are aware that the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, is investigat-
ing the matter. The association
will await the outcome of the in-
vestigation to decide on the next
line of action.
"It is apposite to state that
ANAN has zero tolerance for cor-
ruption in whatever guise, with
a robust disciplinary mechanism
to deal with erring members. The
ANAN Investigating Panel inves-
tigates professional misconduct of
members and refers deserving
cases to the Disciplinary Tribu-
nal that has the status of a High
Court."
Nigeria, he will oversee
customer functions and the
business operations of the
Nigeria business and en-
sure that processes and sys-
tems are sufficiently robust
to support the company's
growth.
A self-proclaimed peo-
ples champion, Ajala’s
knack for understanding
people and focusing their
strengths where it's most
suitable, is a critical aspect
of his success story, even as
he continued to gain co-
gent and extensive experi-
ence in Human Resource
Management in particular
and the multi-dimensional
requirements of business
operations on a wider spec-
trum.
•Ajala

Osimhen:
Yekini remains
Super Eagles
all-time best
striker
V ictor Osimhen has insisted
Rashidi Yekini will remain
Super Eagles all-time best striker
even if his goals record was to be
broken eventually.
Yekini holds the all-time goals
record of the Super Eagles with the
37 goals he scored at full interna-
tional level.
On Monday against Sao Tome
Bayern Munich readying
a 3rd offer for Mane
worth £34.6m
B ayern Munich's pursuit of Sadio Mane is
set to continue with the German giants pre-
paring a third offer for the forward.
Bayern have already seen two offers for
the Senegalese star rejected by Liverpool
who have placed a £42million price-
tag on his head.
But according to Bild, the
Bundesliga champions are hoping
it'll be third time lucky as they pre-
pare a £34.6m bid.
Despite still falling £7.4m short
of the Reds' valuation, Bayern hope
that their latest package will con-
vince Liverpool to part ways.
The Bavarian outfit will pay
£30.3m up front with £4.3m
in add-ons - with Liverpool
boss Jurgen Klopp not stand-
ing in the way of his departure
should both clubs agree a price.
Referee dies after
being attacked by
players, fans
A REFEREE has died of inter
nal bleeding after being at-
tacked by players and fans for
showing a red card.
Jose Arnoldo Amaya, 63,
passed away at the weekend
following the shocking inci-
dent in El Salvador.
The referee was officiating
an amateur match at the Toluca
Stadium in Miramonte, accord-
ing to Marca.
But scenes turned ugly when
Amaya showed a second yellow
card to one aggressive player.
The hooligan immediately
turned on the official, who had 20
years of experience as a referee.
And it sparked outrageous scenes
of violence as Amaya was brutally
beaten by the player’s teammates
and their supporters.
Amaya was attacked so viciously
that he required immediate treat-
ment at the Zacamil hospital.
And it was there
that doctors discov-
ered he was suffer-
ing from internal
bleeding.
But they were un-
able to stop Amaya’s
wounds from grow-
ing worse.
And it was soon an-
nounced that he had
sadly died.
The Salvadoran Foot-
ball Federation quickly
issued a statement con-
demning the atrocious
acts of violence against
Amaya.
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 — 31
Super Eagles record win
excites Peseiro
Abuja, with Victor Osimhen and Alex The introduction of five substitutes
Iwobi turning the tie around after in the second half also did not affect
•Jose Peseiro the Leone Stars took an early the flow of the game as subs Ahmed
S uper Eagles head coach
Jose Peseiro has expressed
his delight at guiding Nigeria
lead.
But the 2013 African champions
turn on the style inside an empty
Stade d’Agadir in Morocco on Mon-
Musa and Umar Sadiq had assists.
At the same time, Emmanuel Dennis
won and perfectly executed a stop-
page-time penalty.
to their biggest ever win in
international football follow-
ing the team’s 10-0 triumph
over Sao Tome and
day to smash ten unreplied goals
past the Falcons and True Parrots,
with Osimhen the best of the bunch.
It is Nigeria’s most dominant win
Peseiro was impressed with them
as much as he was with the starters.
“About the 10-0 win? Yes, it’s good,”
Peseiro told ESPN.
Principeon Mon-
day.
Nigeria stum-
bled to a 2-1
ever and Sao Tome and Principe’s
second-worst defeat in history.
But more than the eye-catching
scoreline, Peseiro is pleased with the
“It is better for us [to get] three
points, which is more important to
us. Of course, I want to improve our
organization on the field because we
win over Si-
erra Leone
only on Fri-
day in
three points picked in the race for
qualification for the 2023 Africa Cup
of Nations.
The former Sporting Lisbon man-
didn’t train too much with them.
“We want to introduce our ideas
— this match was good because
they tried to follow our organisation,
ager is also delighted that the Su-
per Eagles are embracing his ideas
and improving the team’s organisa-
our style, our idea. I am also happy
because the guys who entered dur-
ing the match did as well as those
tion on the field of play. players who started.”
and Principe, Osimhen
matched the four goals
Yekini netted against Nigerian striker found dead
Burkina Faso in 1991 and
•Osimhen
many back the 23-year-
old Napoli striker to be inside a car in Italy
the man to break
Yekini’s Eagles tally.
However, Osimhen has insisted smashed, he will remain the best F ormer Nigerian striker Akeem
Omolade has passed away in
Italy.
that even if Yekini’s record is striker ever to play for Nigeria.
“No matter who surpasses his GOAL understands the 39-year-
record, Yekini will still be the best old, who spent his entire career
in Italy, was found dead inside a
striker of the Super Eagles,”
maintained Osimhen, who has car in Palermo.
Omolade, who was born in
now scored a total of 15 goals
for the national
team.
Kaduna State, the former politi-
cal capital of Northern Nigeria,
arrived in Italy at the age of 17,
joining Treviso, with whom he
made his professional debut in
Serie B. He subsequently joined
Torino, with whom he made his
Serie A debut.
Following his departure from
Torino, he went on to play in
the lower leagues of Ital-
ian football. In 2011, he
•Omolade
moved to Sicily to join
Mazara. In 2012, he
played for Ribera 1954 in when he wore the Treviso shirt.
Serie D, before return- At the time, about 30 Venetian ul-
ing to Mazara in 2013. tras – not new to acts of discrimi-
•Mane In 2014, he went nation – withdrew their banners
down even further, and left the stadium protesting
joining Marsala- his signing because they did not
based Promozione like the colour of his skin.
club Borgata However, the following day,
Terrenove. Last sea- when Treviso were coming up
son he played with against Genoa in a league fixture,
Altofonte in the first the players of Treviso including
Sicilian category. their coach and the entire techni-
In 2001, his name cal bench, entered the field with
became famous their faces painted black, as a sign
of solidarity.
Dembele closes in on
Chelsea transfer
C HELSEA are reportedly closing in on soon-to-be free agent Ousmane
Dembele with the player's agent in advanced negotiations with the
Premier League club.
The Frenchman joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 in a
•Dembele £126million transfer but injuries hampered his stay at the Nou Camp.
Dembele started to find his feet late on this season under Xavi, scoring two
and registering 13 assists. But despite Xavi and Barca previously being keen
on extending Dembele's stay at the club, the two parties won't reach an
agreement. According to Cadena Ser, Barca will not present a new proposal to
•Bounou the player. Dembele will be a free agent on June 30 and will continue his
career away from the Nou Camp.
Bounou beats Chukwueze, Auba to
win first La Liga African MVP Award Okpekpe race organisers hail
S evilla’s exceptional Moroccan goal
keeper Yassine Bounou has been
national Pierre-Emerick
Nigeria Police, DSS
O
Aubameyang, Villareal’s duo rganisers of the historic, World Race director Zack Amodu says the
voted by thousands of African football of Nigerian winger Samuel Athletics silver label Okpekpe in- race organisers have always taken the
fans as the winner of the first La Liga Chukwueze and Senegal ternational 10km road race say the suc- security of participants at the event as
Santander African MVP Award beat- striker Boulaye Dia, as cess of the eighth edition of the race number one priority.
ing Super Eagles star Samuel well as the Central Af- was enhanced by the adequate secu- 'It is our job as organisers of the race
Chukwueze. rican Republic’s rity provided by both the Nigeria Po- to ensure the safety of participants -
This crowns a stunning season in Atletico Madrid lice and the Department of State Se- athletes, officials and spectators.
which ‘Bono’ helped Sevilla to UEFA midfielder Geoffrey curity, DSS. There is a security threat anytime you
Champions League qualification and Kondogbia. gather a large number of people to-
beat the likes of Thibaut Courtois,
Andre Ter Stegen and Jan Oblak to
Roma capture gether. The potential for harm is too
great not to take event security seri-
the Zamora Trophy as La
Liga’s best goalkeeper. Over Burnley announce Matic from Man Utd ously. It is not something we can do
30 000 votes were received
from across the African conti- Kompany as new manager R oma have announced the signing of
midfielder Nemanja Matic after his de-
parture from Manchester United.
on our hence the presence of the Po-
lice and the DSS who did a wonderful
right from Lagos when the interna-
B
nent and from countries such URNLEY have finally confirmed Manchester The Serbia international, who revealed tional athletes arrive to Benin city
as France, Spain and the City legend Vincent Kompany as their new in April that he would be leaving Old where security was provided on the
United States for this unique manager.
Trafford at the end of the season, is reunited road to Auchi,' said Amodu.
fan-driven La Liga The 36-year-old has been heavily linked with with former boss Jose Mourinho for a third The presence of the Police and DSS
Santander African MVP the vacant hotseat at Turf Moor after leaving his
time. was not limited to the forestalling se-
Award, in which fans were post at Anderlecht. Four-time Premier League The 33-year-old has signed for Roma on curity threat but also to help at event
called on to vote for their winner Kompany will now be tasked with secur- a one-year contract that runs until 30 June
venue.
standout African player of ing an instant return to the top-flight following 2023. The deal also has the option to extend 'The presence of the Police and the
the season. by an additional year.
the Clarets' relegation to the Championship. The DSS also helped in controlling the
Bounou was overwhelm- Belgian icon has returned to England after de- Roma said in a statement on their official crowd especially at the start at Apana
ingly voted as the popular parting the Etihad for Anderlecht in 2019. website: 'The club is delighted to confirm
the signing of Nemanja Matic. Matic, 33, road and the finish in Okpekpe. It is
winner, garnering by far the After taking the reigns at Anderlecht in 2020, satisfying that all connected to the
most votes ahead of the likes Kompany won 42 out of his 92 matches in charge, has put pen-to-paper on a one-year con-
tract with the Giallorossi that runs until 30 event felt safe and valued,' said
of Barcelona’s Gabon inter- losing on just 18 occasions. Amodu.
June 2023.'
 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022

QUICK CROSSWORD
TODAY’S CROSSWORD YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

Sudoku
TODAY’S PUZZLE YESTERDAY'S ANSWER

ACROSS DOWN
1 Bivalve mollusc (6) 1 Established way of behaving (6)
4 Roar like a bull (6) 2 Cancel (4,3)
8 Balm, ointment (5) 3 Vegetables associated with Wales (5)
9 Certificate of attainment (7) 5 Blow up (7)
10 Woodwind players (7) 6 Weaving frames (5)
11 Beginning (5) 7 Riches (6)
12 Sky (9) 9 Take to pieces (9)
17 Defamation (5) 13 Fall ill again (7)
19 Of current interest (7) 14 Diplomatic (7)
21 Maim, disable (7) 15 Casual trousers (6)
22 Attach (5) 16 Bent (6)
23 Passed through a sieve (6) 18 Instructions given for a task (5)
24 Thwarted (6) 20 Greek philosopher (5)
How to Play Sudoku
Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have
two of the same number).
Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine
lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block
(nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means
that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.
No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or
multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.
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