Rochas vs Chris Anyanwu: Review on Convoy clash Panorama

The seeming  political serenity of Imo State was  punctured last week when Governor Rochas Okorocha  and Senator Chris Anyanwu’s convoys clashed, thus heating up the polity in  the state ahead of the 2015 electoral contest. The clash gives an insight into what to expect in the state. The incident has been ascribed to the cold war and political rivalry between Governor Okorocha and Senator Anyanwu, who is being rumoured to be eyeing the Imo State governorship seat in 2015.

 

Okorocha who is also nursing a presidential ambition is doing everything possible to edge the Senator out of the way. Political observers in the state predict that similar clashes among politicians may mar the conduct of the 2015 elections in the state, adding that the recent battle of ego between Okorocha and Anyanwu was unnecessary and disgraceful display of power unexpected of people in their positions. The incident, which has dominated political discussions in the state, is seen as desperate efforts by Okorocha to have absolute control of political structures in the state and to achieve this, all those perceived to be standing between the governor and his ambition must either have their wings clipped or stampeded out of the state.

Senator Anyanwu had joined forces with Okorocha in the All progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2011 general elections in the state to dislodge former governor Ikedi Ohakim. However, after the battle for the Imo State Government House was won by Okorocha of APGA, Senator Anyanwu, it was learnt, was shoved aside by the new power brokers in the Government House, as she has never been accorded the necessary recognition by him.

Anyanwu, who represents Imo East (Owerri) Senatorial Zone in the National Assembly, had described the incident as a misplaced show of power by Okorocha whose convoy, she said, not only pushed her car off the road but her security details were ordered to be disarmed while the governor allegedly watched from his car as her drivers were dragged out of the cars and brutally assaulted, leaving them bloodied. Okorocha’s aides had alleged that the Senator’s vehicle suddenly rammed into the governor’s convoy close to the staff car cutting off the pilot security vehicle after overtaking dangerously and in a very suspicious manner.

Senator Anyanwu, who was obviously rattled by the experience, spoke with journalists at her Owerri residence and described the actions of the governor’s security men as frightening and brutish, adding that she had been harassed, intimidated and threatened in the past on several occasions in the state. She also revealed that Okorocha derived pleasure in demonising her at every public function in the state, adding that as a result, she always stayed away to concentrate on her legislative duties in Abuja to avoid trouble.

Giving a graphic detail of the clash between her convoy and the governor’s security men, the Senator explained: “My day started about 9.30am on Tuesday when I visited the governor at the Government House to exchange pleasantries and he asked if I had adequate security and I said, yes, after which I left for my home town Mbaise.” “When we got to Azara Egbelu, along Owerri/Umuahia Road, we heard a siren coming behind us and when it grew louder, we parked to allow the convoy to pass but surprisingly, the approaching convoy, which comprised truck loads of armed and stern looking men double crossed us and pulled out two of my drivers and dragged them into the bush where they were mercilessly beaten and left one of the drivers, Odilichukwu, with a cracked, broken skull and bruises.

“When I could not bear it anymore, I rushed out of my car on bare feet and started shouting, ‘I am Senator Chris Anyanwu. Please, don’t kill my driver.’ But one of the armed men charged at me and threatened to shoot me for running into the governor’s convoy. All this while, the governor was seated in his car with the glass rolled down and I heard him shout at his security men to disarm my orderlies.” Anyanwu, who is also the Senate Committee Chairman on Navy, described the governor’s action as “a misplaced show of power. The power of the State is so enormous and you don’t need to intimidate, harass or kill your people to assert your powers as a governor.” “I am tired of all these abuses and harassment in this state.

It is not only in Imo State that they have female legislators. If they could do this to me, what will happen to the ordinary people? This has to stop.” See added that strong men did not fight with women or intimidate them but fight with their fellow men. Senator Anyanwu further alleged that the Azaraegbelu incident was not the first time that Governor Okorocha would order his security details to attack her aides. She pointed out that barely three days after his victory, he had instructed his men to attack one of her drivers for parking her car inside his compound. “His police detail broke a stick and used it to attack my driver and in the process cut off the upper lips of the boy exactly in half. Till today the boy’s upper lip is deformed. We covered it for him then. But this time, he cannot hide behind the shield of a folk hero.

He has opened himself up to propaganda. Now, the world is seeing the real man behind that angelic smile.” The senator also said the marks of a great man was the courage to stand by what is true, what is right, even when it may be costly and the humility to admit fault. “A simple show of conscience and compassion on that occasion would have saved him a lot of trouble and saved the state the horrendous bad image this act of bestiality has given it. Rochas that makes great show of his love of the common people watched his men bludgeon innocent men almost to death; blood pouring all over the tarred road and he simply wound up his window and sped off to owerri to fabricate stories to cover up his act.”

However, the state government described Senator Anyanwu’s conduct as a security breach, unbecoming of someone of her position, adding that her outburst of anger could have resulted in heavy casualty if not for the discipline of the governor’s security men, who displayed high sense of decency, professionalism and maturity. “Surprisingly, Senator Anyanwu, who no doubt knew the convoy was that of the Governor of Imo State, alighted from her car and ordered her naval security personnel to open fire. The senator further went berserk by slapping both the Governor’s Aide Camp and chief security detail. She also rained abuses on the governor,” the Special Assistant to the Governor on media, Ebere Uzoukwu, said.

Meanwhile, the state chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief (Prince) Okafor Anyanwu,  added fuel to the simmering fire when he declared unalloyed support for the governor. Prince Okafor also slammed Senator Chris Anyanwu’s row with Okorocha as  he described the conduct of the senator as a breach of protocol and gross disrespect to constituted authority. This is a clear indication that the senator may be in for a rough ride. Addressing journalists last week at the party’s secretariat in Owerri, Prince Anyanwu stated that the party viewed the action of Senator Anyanwu as gross disrespect, adding that the senator had the antecedent of disrespecting her elders and constituted authority as well as fighting in public.

“It is obvious that the senator has the antecedent of disrespecting her elders and constituted authority as well as fighting in public. It is on record that the senator had similar encounter with former governor Chief Ikedi Ohakim and on a different occasion, slapped chief Innocent Nwoga, a PDP chieftain, and broke his walking stick. She also did the same to a commissioner in the state.

alleged cure for HIV/AIDS announced by UNIBEN Professor

Prof. Isaiah Ibeh of the University of Benin, on Tuesday announced the development of a new drug that can possibly cure HIV and AIDS.

Ibeh, who is the Dean of the School of Basic Medical Sciences of the university, told reporters in Benin that the herbal drug had undergone “series of successful tests”.

He said “We are at the threshold of making history, in the sense that we seem to have with us something that will permanently take care of what over time seems to have defied all solutions. “We are talking about the latest discovery of an oral drug made from plants extraction in Nigeria for the possible cure of the pandemic, HIV and AIDS virus.’’

According to him, research on the project was started in 2010 and culminated in the development of “Deconcotion X (DX)–Liquid or Bioclean 11 for the cure of HIV and AIDS”. “The existing retroviral drugs are intervention drugs for the management of AIDS but our new discovery is a possible cure.


“We have tried to look at the product first; its toxicological analysis and discovered that it has a large safety margin. This means that if animals or human beings are exposed to it, they will not suffer any serious harm at all from the exposure.

“It also helped us to know the quantity we can conveniently give to animals and will feel secure that nothing untoward will happen. We have also done the bacteriological analysis on it, after which we looked at its effect on the virus and the result was quite revealing and refreshing.”

Ibeh also said that the drug had been exposed to series of medical examination both in Nigeria and in the USA. He added that the drug had performed well on patients with the HIV virus and had shown evidence of total restoration of damaged tissues.

Truvada - HIV AIDS Preventive Drugs

“The result showed an increase in the body weight of the individual administered with DX. “The body weight was statistically significant when compared with the control group.”

He said that further tests were being conducted to determine “at what point will a patient become negative after being administered the drug?”.

“This verification is necessary because it is what is used to measure whether infection is still there or not. So we need to know the siro-convention time.

“But preliminary results showed that of the five latest patients orally administered with the drugs, our findings is that up to seven months , three of them were siro negative while two were sill faintly positive.’’

Ibeh appealed for support from the Federal Government and relevant bodies to assist the university with relevant equipment to sustain the research.(NAN)

Fire guts ship at Tin Can Island

The Burning Ship

 A fire explosion on board a ship servicing MRS Oil and Gas Tank Farm at the Tin-Can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos occurred on Wednesday,  disrupting major operations at the depot.

Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, spokesman, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told journalists that the explosion occurred while the barge was discharging petroleum products into the company’s tank farm.

NEMA also confirmed that four persons sustained injuries as a result of the incident, adding that the generator house of the company was also affected.

Newsmen were barred from entering the premises, but witnesses said the fire lasted about an hour. Mr Marco Storori, the Executive Director, Shipping, Trading and Operations of MRS, said that three buildings were affected by the explosion.

Mrs Osibodu Bevlema, Assistant Director (Public Affairs), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), also confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with NAN. She said that the fire was brought under control with the assistance of fire service personnel from other tank farm operators like Oando and Folayiwo, within the Ibru jetty.

“I cannot tell you specifically the extent of damage or what led to the fire outbreak but I can confirm that we are still investigating the incident. “I want to assure you that the incident has been put under control and it will not affect the supply of products in any form,’’ Bevlema said.

The management of MRS Oil and Gas said that a statement would be issued on the incident after investigation.

Igbo Presidency Impossible with five states

cross section of SouthEast governors led by Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra State

 The theoretical case for the emergence of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction has been eloquently established beyond any reasonable doubt. The economic case is persuasive; the legal case, which is a derivate of the constitutional principle of federal character, is incontrovertible; the political case is self-evident and the moral case is utterly compelling.

But the establishment of the case at the intellectual and theoretical plane is quite clearly insufficient to meet the rigorous demands of our ambition. Genuine ambition is contingent upon action.

Ndigbo have, for decades, expressed the desire and the thirst for the prime political office in this country. We have clearly shown, by oral advocacy, why we have that desire and thirst. Now we must take the forward steps in the direction of the oasis from which we hope to quench our thirst for justice and our desire for equity in Nigeria.

The next step is the crusade that will take our case to the other three cardinal points of our nation – West, South and North. The legwork and mobilisation that must underpin the theoretical case has been commenced by Njiko Igbo. Igbos should crave, plead and obtain – rather than presume, expect or demand – the support and solidarity of all Nigerians.

The component tribal groups that make up the Nigerian republic have unique experiences arising from their history of participation in the union; but none is quite as unique as the Igbo experience, made so by being the only tribe to have pledged allegiance to two different nations within the same territorial borders – first to Nigeria and then to the Republic of Biafra and then back to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In between this shifting citizenship have occurred pogrom/genocide, starvation and conquest.

This history and experience place us in a complex category in our union. And no Igbo citizen should be in any doubt that our quest for the presidency has remained a mirage precisely because of this unique experiential history – and nothing to do with the popular myth about disunity amongst us. Accordingly, our challenge in attaining the prime office in this land remains herculean and requires efforts of corresponding proportions to prevail.

No authentic Igbo citizen should fold his or her arms and wait to be recruited into, or consulted about, this dream. Instead, our recruitment efforts and consultations should be directed at non-Igbo Nigerians. The focus of our pleas and arguments should be firmly directed at those who remain unpersuaded or unsympathetic to the justice of our cause.

This crusade is an Igbo one, the staff and the rod is Njiko Igbo. But Njiko is not claiming an exclusive right to arms. Other warriors are welcome and, in fact, encouraged to rise to the occasion. Our job is to motivate, consult, mobilise and persuade both Igbos and non-Igbos alike. Additionally, Njiko Igbo is a platform for debate and exploration of deeper ideas about the place of Ndigbo in the Nigerian federation.

What I have said elsewhere bears repetition on these pages: “As an Igbo man, I harbour a deep sense of sadness at the manner in which we, as a people, have been consigned to the peripheral reaches of the Nigerian power structure for more than four decades. Where is the justice or equity or the idea of equal opportunities in a pluralistic society such as ours?

“When shall these be accorded Ndigbo in order that we can have the assurance that, yes, we are not Osu (outcasts) in a nation family where we have played a brave and distinguished role to make its history more solid and more enduring? As a Nigerian, observing our unending national degradation, I feel a sense of outrage that the Igbo option appears never to be in contemplation as a legitimate instrumentality through which our national challenges could be finally confronted in a manner that could genuinely yield transformation.”

Of course, it’s self evident that we cannot achieve our goal without first putting our house in order. We must show a unity of purpose which must be demonstrated through the pursuit of this one and irreducible ambition.
It will entail the sacrifice of the personal on the altar of the collective – which must be demonstrated through allowing ourselves to be dedicated to a purpose greater than our individual selfish commitments.

It's a fight to finish - Keshi

Steve Keshi - Super Eagles Coach

 Everything points to the Super Eagles approaching today’s pre Nations Cup international friendly against Cape Verde as a competitive game rather than a friendly. The game is the last the Eagles will play before jetting out of Faro to South Africa. The players have, therefore, vowed to put in their very best and re-assure Nigerians that they would have a glorious outing at the South Africa 2013 Nations Cup.

Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, has equally opted to announce his final 23-man squad after the game against the Indian Ocean Island, Nations Cup debutant, a situation that would make the players do everything possible to prove their mettle.

Goalkeepers’ trainer, Ike Shorunmu, told Daily Sunsports last night that all the players in camp were in very good shape and that Nigerians would see that much when they file out against Cape Verde. “Yes, it is a friendly, but the boys will use it to show that they are all in fine shape for the Nations Cup.
The final list will be out moments after that match and there will be no sentiments, we are taking the very best to South Africa,” Shorunmu said.

He charged Nigerians to pray for the Eagles, insisting that in every human endeavour, one must pray for divine blessings. “We are doing our best in camp, the NFF is giving us all the support and the players are ready to deliver. One thing that we can’t neglect is the need for our country men to back us with their prayers. With God, all things are possible.

It is only when God blesses your efforts that you can succeed,” he said. It would be noted that the Eagles in their last friendly drew 1–1 with a Catalonia selected side in a game in which Gabriel Dike leveled scores for the Eagles. Keshi had Sunday night dropped four players, leaving only 27 players in camp ahead of today’s friendly

Fashion predictions for 2013

Trendy Fashion dresses 2013

It's a brand new year 2013 cheers! It’s a fresh start, but like we always do, we would like to take a look at our crystal ball and see what the future trends would look like in 2013. Silence please! Let’s meditate as we gaze into the crystal ball. It’s time to shake up your wardrobe and browse through our trends forecast for what will be on everyone’s shopping list this New Year.

Seeing stripes
There is no doubt about this; it is crystal clear that we are seeing stripes this year. From the hyperactive striped jumpsuit with stripes, zig-zagging at every direction that we are almost getting dizzy.


All-white slice dice
We would be doing the all-white slice dress. It will come with laser cuts, holes, panels, stripes, perforated eyelets and random cuts and gashes along the bodice and skirts. It will definitely steal the show.

Pool of prints
If you want to take a dive with us into the pool of prints this year, then get a matching top and pants. It’s going to make everyone swoon and there is no doubt you would be labeled the princess in prints.

 Chambary & Denim
Aww! Our dear old denim will never be the same again because of the patchwork here and there in different shades. The chambray dress this year will be trendy and unique with a mixture of textures. We won’t forget the lose trencher version of the denim jacket that fits perfectly well.

Peek-a-boo midriffs
In as much as we hate this trend, it seems it’s going to come on stronger with modification this year.  The crop tops would be taking center stage, but the bare midriff has gone mini and would be showing just a little hint of the stomach.

Sheer bliss
We are going to show some skin this year, but in very careful manner by balancing it without revealing so much. This see-through leaves little or nothing for the imagination, but it’s sassy and classy enough for formal occasions, too.

Make-up Diva
For anyone who truly loves make-up, the trends for this year will be more colourful with bejeweled eyelids and extra-long lashes.

 Metallic queen
This is a stunner anytime any day, and it’s not in a hurry to leave the fashion scene. It is going to give very many of us happy-happy vibes.

Peplum craze
So, you missed the peplum look last year. Well, not to worry, it’s one of the most promising you have to watch out for this year.

 Accessories
There are even styles of handbags, shoes and other accessory considered forever classic. Elegant clutches, stylish totes, and graceful pumps are excellent wardrobe additions.

Delta axes union, Diamond bank as N1bn IGR got missing

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan

The sledge hammer, yesterday, fell on two banks – Union Bank and Diamond Bank, as the Delta State Government blacklisted them as revenue collection banks in the state for what it described as unethical banking procedures. Besides, the state government, through the Delta Board of Internal Revenue (DBIR), called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to investigate the affected banks to establish, if standard banking procedures are followed in their dealings with customers funds.

Executive Chairman of the board, Thomas Joel-Onowakpo who announced the government’s decision in Asaba, stated that several warnings had been issued to the banks in respect of holding to revenues collected without remitting to the portal of the board. According to him, the last straw that broke the camel’s back was the N1.1 billion paid into Union Bank by Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) for onward transfer into the board’s account in Diamond Bank. He said the money was paid to Union Bank on December 27, 2012, adding that the bank allegedly held on to it till December 31 before making the transfer to Diamond Bank. Onowakpo alleged that the fund entered the board’s account at 12.16pm on January 7 after IT had raised the alarm that the money was being trapped somewhere.

“The most worrisome aspect is not keeping the funds but the denial by the two banks that the money was not with them. It is obvious that the banks did not leave up to expectations and both banks are liable. “Having issued out several warnings in the past in respect of this practice of holding on to the board’s money, it is with heart filled with sympathy that we are using the two banks as scapegoats to serve as deterrent to others who are involved in the unwholesome practice.

“If we have to survive in this harsh environment, we have to blacklist the two banks as our revenue collection banks. That means that our accounts with the two banks have been closed with immediate effect,” he stated. Management of Diamond Bank Plc and Union Bank Plc had before now been trading blames over the whereabout of the money.

While Union Bank was insisting that the money was successfully transferred into DBIR account with Diamond Bank, Diamond Bank on the other hand said that the fund was yet to get to it.

Tension grips Eagles as final list for the Nations Cup comes out today

SPORTS NEWS -

There is palpable tension in Super Eagles camp in Faro, Portugal as head Coach, Stephen Keshi prepares to announce his final 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations campaign that will get underway in South Africa, January 19th.

The coach will name a list of 23 players who will wear the national colours at the Afcon 2013 championship today.

The media was awash yesterday with various lists  on the team but Super Eagles Media Officer, Ben Alaiya dismissed them as “speculative.”

He said, “Head Coach Stephen Keshi said he has heard of a list making the rounds in Nigeria but urged soccer-loving Nigerians to ignore the lists purportedly issued by him.

“We will give out the names of the 23 man squad on Wednesday. I plead with Nigerians to be a little bit patient with us because it’s a difficult thing to do”.

Lampard ready to join Man Utd

Lampard

Manchester United want Frank Lampard and the Chelsea star is ready to move to Old Trafford.
Lampard has been told he is no longer wanted at Stamford Bridge, with his contract set to run out in the summer.

United manager Alex Ferguson is convinced the veteran midfielder, 34, can still do a job at the very highest level.

He is a long-time admirer of the player and tried to get him before he even joined Chelsea.

It is unlikely a deal will be done this month — when a fee would be involved — while Lampard is also keen to see out the rest of the season at Stamford Bridge.

But United are prepared to offer him a one-year deal in the summer, with the promise of a second year if everything goes well.

Contact has already been made from Old Trafford to Lampard’s representatives.
He currently has a number of options including another Premier League club and two abroad.
But United are firm favourites to land him in a deal that would have seemed unthinkable at the start of the season.

kidnapped Indian: Soldier arrested

Nigerian Police Force

Oyo State Police Command has arrested a soldier, Bada Yusuf in connection with the kidnap of an Indian, Manoj K. Singh-Kumasi last Wednesday.

This came just as the Command killed two armed robbery suspects who allegedly engaged its men in a shoot-out yesterday after a successful robbery operation in Osogbo and escaped to Ibadan.

One of the six- man gang was also arrested with bullet wounds.
Kumasi was kidnapped in Abeokuta and his abductors demanded a ransom of N2million before he could be set free.

The suspect was rounded up on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where he allegedly wanted to pick up the N2million ransom.

He said the suspect claimed he was attached to Nigerian Army 2 Division Workshop Auchi, Edo State.
When parading some suspects yesterday in Ibadan, Mbu said, “the suspect was arrested in full Army camouflage uniform.”

He gave the service number as 11NA/66/10245.
On the robbery case, the Commissioner explained “the police blocked Iwo Road and laid an ambush.
“The robbers on sighting the police blockade started firing sporadically and the police retaliated. In the process, two of the armed robbers were gunned down, others fled to the forest, while one lay helpless.”
Items recovered from them include N91,000 cash, three wrist watches, 14 rounds of .9mm live ammunition, five cartridges, jewelry, two cars marked LSR 596 AE and KRD 332 AS.

Civil Society calls for campaign over petrol price

Review on Fuel Subsidy

Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, has called on Nigerians to prepare for a nationwide rally to enforce the N97 official price of the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, (petrol) as declared by the Federal Government in 2012.

The coalition said since government thrived on lies, people should not believe promise of a better tomorrow recently made by President Goodluck Jonathan as the same promise had become a refrain on the lips of past administrations since independence, without positive change.


The group comprises United Action for Democracy, UAD; Movement for Accountability and Good Governance; Enough is Enough Nigeria, EiE, and End Impunity Now, EIN, Campaign.

Speaking in Abuja at a press conference to mark one year anniversary of subsidy protest, the coalition said this year’s protest will be devoid of sentiment as might be alleged by government, when it kick-off.

Mr. Jaye Gaskia, who spoke for the group, said CSO was not looking for favour from anybody or group(s), noting that it was strongly against the systemic corruption and impunity that had become the defining character of governance that impoverished 70 percent of Nigerians.

He said: “There have been numerous probes and reports, yet no indicted persons or institutions as the judiciary continues to play games with the law. It is inconceivable that such a massive scale of proven corruption undertaken by private and public sector players continues unabated.

“N97 per litre price of PMS was a major (even if partial) gain of the January uprising; yet this price is virtually being observed in the breach.

“In outlets across the country, PMS is being sold at more than N120 per litre or in even more exorbitantly in black markets supplied by oil marketers.

“In the face of the manifest inability and unwillingness of the government to enforce its own decision, we urge all Nigerians to take collective citizen action to enforce the N97 per litre price.”
and prevent hoarding of the product by marketers.

“Thus as we enter into the period of the first anniversary of our collective fury, with all the issues that have emerged; with the revelations about the actual scale and scope of corruption and rot in the system, it behooves on us, Nigerian citizens, the victims of this grand theft and treasury looting, to remind our ruling elite that it will not be business as usual.”

The coalition called on the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, and other human rights groups to urgently take up cases of those who lost their lives to state brutality to ensure that justice was done and compensation paid to their families as required by law.

Road accidents injure 114, kill 27 in Katsina

Katsina Accident scene

No fewer than 27 persons were killed in various road accidents in Katsina State in the last quarter of 2012, Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, in the state, Alhaji Habu Dauda, has said.

Dauda told newsmen in Katsina, yesterday, that 114 others sustained injuries in the road mishaps recorded across the state within the period under review.

He said during the period, 37 accidents were recorded in the state involving 62 vehicles, which led to the figures captured.

Dauda said: “This indicated a slight reduction in the number of road mishaps recorded in the same period in 2011 in the state, when 40 accidents were recorded.”

The commander expressed concern on the way motor accidents occurred despite the good roads across the state.

He, however, attributed the occurrence of accidents to over-speeding, over-loading and reckless over-taking. Dauda advised motorists to shun these acts to ensure safety on the roads.

Police nabbed 3 suspects over killing of Aba-based bizman

Policemen at Alert

Abia State police command has arrested three persons in connection with the killing of an Aba-based businessman, Chief Iroeke Ukaku.

The police said Ukaku’s killers also killed two vigilante members guarding his house.
The deceased was killed last Friday night in his Abiriba country home in Ohafia Local Government Area.
Three members of his household were also abducted by his killers.

Abia State Police Commissioner, Mr. Ambrose Aisabor, in a telephone interview, confirmed to Vanguard that three persons had been arrested, while the state criminal investigation department was still conducting further investigation.

According to the commissioner, information made available to the police said the late Ukaku was a man who “abhorred criminality and crimes”.

Aisabor said the police was informed that the slain businessman was, however, using members of the state vigilante [Bakassi] from Aba to arrest people in the community and took them to Aba.

He said: ”Even before the New Year, he was said to have come twice to make some arrest and took them to Aba.

“I was reliably informed that a day to the New Year, he again took some people away with Bakassi without recourse to the police.

“The Federal Government does not recognize Bakassi. I don’t understand what he was doing with them.
“What happened to him could be a revenge mission. That was the story we heard. But we are looking at many theories.

“For now, three persons have been arrested. The process is on. The state CID is handling the matter.”

Brutal Assassins murder hotelier in Imo

IG-Abubakar

A gang of dare devil hoodlums, suspected to be hired assassins, have murdered an international businessman, Mr. Kevin Ezekwem, in his Umuocha Awa country home in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State.

Vanguard investigations revealed that the deceased commissioned his brand new hotel in the community and invited people to “come, drink and eat whatever they wished.”

It further was gathered that the event turned sour at about 9pm when some young boys stormed the place and asked for a particular brand of beer (names withheld).

“As Kevin made to serve his supposed guests, the boys drew out their guns and started firing into the air and people ran for safety,” a female villager told Vanguard.

According to the villager, the hoodlums shot him in his legs before taking him away in their waiting Toyota Camry car.

“The entire village was shocked beyond description when they discovered the same night that the hoodlums further shot their harmless prey in different parts of his body before dumping him in the premises of Community Primary School, Akabor,” the woman recounted.

Another male villager told Vanguard that the community’s vigilante group belatedly mobilised and pursued the invading assassins but only spotted the lifeless body of Kevin in the school.

“From the way the gory event played out, it is clear they were not kidnappers but assassins, who were possibly hired to execute the damnable act. The police was quickly alerted and they moved the corpse to a morgue,” the man said.

He particularly recalled that Kevin had a heated disagreement with his wife, which culminated in his sending the woman out of the family home, stressing that three days after this incident, the blood-thirsty assassins struck.

When contacted for his comments, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Vitalis Onugu, confirmed the incident and promised to get back to Vanguard News.

Felicia Henderson confesses being in Love with Nigeria Nollywood

Felicia Henderson

Though an American, Felicia Henderson is not only married to a Nigerian but has also chosen the country as her home. And now she’s determined to establish herself as a force to reckon with in the nation’s film industry, Nollywood.
In this chat with The Entertainer, she shares her love for Nigeria and Nigerians as well as her experience in the industry among other interesting issues. Excerpts:

Who is Felicia Henderson?
Felicia Henderson is an American. I studied Allied Health & Business Management. I’m a widowed mother. I love singing, reading, traveling, and helping the less privileged. Aside being an actress, my passion is developing, inspiring and motivating the youths in the country. I believe that our youths are the key to Nigeria’s development and thus we must prepare them for the huge task ahead.
There’s so much potential here and I believe if we key into the development of our small and medium enterprises that so much could be accomplished. There’s vast potential within out hospitality and tourism sectors if properly focused and packaged as well as our sports as Nigerians are naturally endowed as sportsmen and women. I believe Nigeria will regain her crown and glory with the proper support. It may take a bit of time, but it will surely come. Look out for my project coming out this year.

Why did you relocate to Nigeria?
I believe Nigeria is the place God has ordained as my home. I didn’t choose it. It was a part of me, maybe even before I was born. I recall as a child telling my mom that when I grow up I will live in Africa. At that time, I never even knew there was such a place called Nigeria. All we were exposed to was Africa as a continent so I assumed that countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania were all a part of one place. But the first time I came here I fell in love with the country. I guess it’s the people; I’m touched by their resilience, drive, and faith. I’ve since adopted Nigeria as my home.

How did you get into Nollywood?
I came into Nollywood through friends. I have many friends who encouraged me and believed in my talent. It turns out that they are correct. The camera likes me and l love it. I was also into the industry somewhat in America in the sense that I modelled and did some vocal jobs and so forth.

Did you face any sexual harassment from producers?
No, because I’m no nonsense person so I don’t leave room for such. I know it exists but because of the people I’ve worked with I have been fortunate enough to have by passed such.

Tell us about the jobs you’ve done?
My virgin performance that served as my baptism into the Nigerian film industry was a production with Apreel Ventures called, News For Nokia. I co-starred alongside Bimbo Manuel. It was like a travelogue with presenting and acting mixed together. I was Omobowale. I’m also on Tinsel where I play Myra. I am on Spider where I’m married to Femi Branch and play Sasha with my real life son, Tevon, who plays Alex. I am in Troubled Waters where I stepped outside my normal character and played a housemaid, Aunty Violet. And now, I am working on my current production, Two Sides of a Coin where I play Theresa.

Which of your roles did you find most challenging and why?
Well, this season on Two Sides of the Coin, my character is a bit difficult, as I have to explore emotions I don’t normally encounter. She’s a bit troublesome this season. I am normally very cool and rational. I don’t get angry easily so it’s hard to key into that emotion. Her name’s Theresa by the way.


Which part of your body do you cherish the most?
I love my lips and eyes the most. The eyes are the windows to the soul while the lips guard so much.

Ban on same sex marriage remains irrevocable – Mark

Shrugging off pressures from some sections of the international community and human rights activists over legalization of same sex marriage in Nigeria, Senate President, David Mark has insisted that the bill prohibiting same sex marriage is irrevocable.

Senator Mark said in addition to the ban, same-sex marriage in Nigeria is now a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment of not less than 14 years. He said this when he addressed Catholic faithful and guests at the civic reception in honour of the Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan in Abuja at the weekend. The Senate president reiterated that despite the pressures from some quarters, the law had come to stay. His words: “We will not compromise on this.

I want to invite you all to join the crusade of decency in our society. There are many good values we can copy from other societies, but certainly not this one (same sex marriage). “We have to prove to the rest of the world, who are advocates of this unnatural way that we, Nigerians promote and respect sanity, morality and humanity. Every individual is a product of the union of a man and a woman.”

He acknowledged the cordial relationship between the Nigerian state and the Church and pledged that the National Assembly would continue to do all within the law to ensure religious freedom and peaceful co-existence in the country.

Mark added that the National Assembly would continue to support religious programmes that have positive bearing on Nigerians, but was quick to condemn religious intolerance or extremism. He also urged spiritual leaders to continue to pray for good governance, peace and security in our society today. In his remarks, Cardinal Onaiyekan expressed appreciation to the Pope Benedict xii, the government and people of Nigeria for their prayers and support, especially since his elevation to the College of Cardinals, adding that he would continue to be a crusader for peace and unity of the nation.

10-lane Lagos-Badagry road to be ready June – Fashola

Ongoing Railway construction work at the site in lagos

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, Tuesday, said the first section of the 10-lane Lagos-Badagry Expressway will be completed this June.

This came as the governor flagged-off the track work of the blue light rail at Alaba Suru, Coker-Agunda Local Council Development Area, LCDA, of the state.

Fashola who spoke during an inspection of the projects across the state, noted that the level of work on the National Art Theatre and Alaba-Mile 2 rail stations were in advance stage.

According to him, “in order to finish the road, the contractor did not go on vacation during the festive period, all these are geared towards ensuring that the project is delivered on time for residents’ use.”

The governor explained that the first section of the road which begun from National Theatre, Orile-Iganmu to Mile 2 Bus Stop Amuwo-Odofin Local Government, would be fully completed with the tracks laid.

He said “While the construction work continues on the rail project from Orile-Iganmu to Marina, the expansion work on the road from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko will also be intensified. This is what we do with the loan collected by the state government.

We don’t use our loan to pay salaries and other recurrent expenditure; all we do with our loan is to provide capital projects that would benefit the residents.”

Fashola declared that “when the project is completed, the state would be at par with other major cities of the world.”

The governor added the type of transport system he desired for the state  was that in few years, his “dream transportation system would have begun to manifest in the state.”

Omoruyi confesses not too early for Jonathan to begin campaign

Jonathan Campaign Poster cartoon

BENIN – FORMER Director General of the defunct Centre for Democratic Studies, CDS, Prof. Omo Omoruyi, has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to own up that he authorised his campaign posters for 2015 if he was sure that he had evidence of good performance in office so far instead of keeping Nigerians in suspense.

In an interview with Vanguard in Benin, Edo State, Omoruyi said it was not too early for Jonathan to start 2015 re-election campaign because campaign starts with the end of an election.

President Jonathan campaign posters flooded Abuja last week. His aides distanced the president from the posters, reiterating Jonathan’s comments that he would tell Nigerians whether or not he would contest the election in 2014, adding that for now he was concentrating on governance.

The political scientist, who just returned from a medical trip abroad, faulted those who are asking President Jonathan not to re-contest. He also picked holes in the opposition of the North to the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB,, saying if the North had oil they would have seceded from Nigeria.

Omoruyi spoke as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, gave reasons it could not act on the controversial campaign posters.

His words: “Why will he not contest? Look, constitutionally, is he not qualified to contest? If yes, then, his performance will be judged by the people and not him. When people said, ah, there are posters here and there, it is even too late. Why is it too early? Haven’t you seen what is going on in the United States of America today? The man (Barack Obama) will be sworn in on January 20, 2013 and the Republicans are already looking for an alternative to him; within the Democratic Party they are looking for somebody who would replace him.

“So, it is not too early because election starts once election is conducted. Period! You do not wait. I have said it that in first year, you are busy trying to plant something; second year it must germinate, third year is a nomination year and this is nomination year. So, what is so early in it?

Jonathan should own up to the posters“The man (Jonathan) should own up and say, look, I am seeking a second term or whatever term it is. So any group that is rooting for him is in order. He has never owned up to that. Based on what I have said, I do not know what he has done because in some of these things, you must stand to be counted. He must say, I have achieved this thing, I have stabilised this country, I have given Nigeria a leadership, and you must make a choice.

“We are gradually going to the nomination year now and if he cannot put an end to those seeking to replace him within the PDP in the third year, he should forget it. If he cannot make those seeking to replace him from outside the PDP in the third year, he should forget it.”

If North had oil, they would have seceded long ago
On the attempt by the Northern Governors and federal lawmakers to kill the PIB following allegation that its provisions were anti-North, Omoruyi said:  “Who owns oil now has become an issue. It is for all of us. It is for everybody. That is only the beginning of the crisis we have in this country, otherwise, I can assure you of one thing… If oil was found in the North many years ago, the North would have seceded long ago.
“That is why this craze for exploration. There is still that fear that the country would break up. You see, one document I put together for General Ibrahim Babangida contained two final points. One, he wanted former President Yar’Adua to pursue the dredging of the River Niger up to Baro and Baro is Babangida’s locality. It is his home.

“The second is that he also wanted the building of a highway from Kano to Tripoli in Libya. He said he wanted quick exploration of oil. Why were that going on and why were these three issues so important? It is because they did not believe that Nigeria will last. If Nigeria breaks up, they will not have to go through the ports of Lagos or Port-Harcourt.’’

Why we can’t act on Jonathan’s posters — INEC
As controversy continues to trail the emergence of the campaign posters of President Jonathan on the New Year, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday, advanced reasons it could not act on the posters.

Chairman of the Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega, said there was nothing the commission could do about posters displayed randomly by unknown persons in the Federal Capital Territory.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, told Vanguard that the action of the masterminds of the controversial posters fell within the region of crime and public order, which should be handled by security agencies and not INEC.

According to Idowu, the commission does not deal with unknown elements but with registered political parties in the discharge of its duties as enshrined in the law.

The chairman’s spokesman said since neither the People Democratic Party nor the President had owned up to the posters, there was nothing it could do.

Idowu said: “If an identifiable party or persons acting for a party campaign outside the purview of the law, then it becomes a matter of interest to INEC. The present scenario does not add up.”

Embarrasment as Ex-Governor Timipre Sylva left only N4,451 in state purse

Ex-Governor - Timipre Sylva

Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, on Monday 7, said he inherited  N4,451 from his predecessor, Timipre Sylva, in February 2012 and gave a graphic account of how his administration grew the paltry sum to over N16 billion.

The Governor, who spoke before proceeding on a two-week break, said the N50 billion Bond his embattled predecessor secured was also posing a challenge to his administration, lamenting that the figure would hit N104 billion in 2017.

Dickson made this disclosure while presenting his administration’s financial scorecard for December 2012, yesterday in Abuja. He said his state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) would hit the N2 billion monthly mark by the end of the year, up from about N300 million when he assumed office. Dickson, who was represented by his Commissioner for Finance, Duate Iyabi, said 2013 has been dedicated to consolidating the achievements of the preceding year.

I didn’t handover to Dickson – Sylva
Countering Dickson’s claim yesterday, Sylva said the governor was not in a position to know how much he left in the state’s coffers because Dickson did not take over from him.
Sylva’s Spokesman, Dofie Ola said Dickson could not have inherited anything from the former governor because Sylva did not hand over to him.

He said after the Supreme Court judgment, Sylva handed over to the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Nestor Binabo. “We did not hand over to Dickson, there was an acting governor who took over from us and so the question should go to him (Binabo),” Ola said yesterday.

The former governor is currently facing corruption charges with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which last week sealed 48 choice property in Abuja allegedly belonging to him, although Sylva has insisted that he did not have more than three property in Abuja.
We will complete on-going projects – Dickson

However, despite  funds constraints, Dickson assured that ongoing projects would be completed.
From the state’s savings, disclosed Iyabi, N1.5 billion was drawn to assist persons displaced by the recent flooding disaster. The flooding notwithstanding, he said Bayelsa was able to implement 85 per cent of capital expenditure for 2012.

Sylva’s N50bn bond
The governor decried the N50 billion Bond obtained by former Governor Timipre Sylva, and another N16 billion bank loan, he said were abused.

IGR consultants, said  a Commissioner, has been appointed to shore up the monthly IGR from the N518 realised in November 2012 to about N2 billion from the end of the year.

He described as unacceptable a situation where 97 per cent of the state’s revenue is from federal allocation and promised to continue to give priority attention to education, healthcare, farming and tourism, assuring that Bayelsa was set to become one of the most developed states in Nigeria.

Proceeds on two-week break
The governor who is to proceed on a two-week break, called on Bayelsans to remain steadfast in their support for the government’s programmes and policies, stressing that his absence would not affect government activities in the state.

The two weeks break is part of Dickson’s 2012 annual vacation, which he did not observe because of pressing state assignments, Iworiso-Markson, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, said in a statement
Governor Dickson is, however, expected to take time off of his break to attend the closing formalities and wreath laying ceremony of the 2013 Armed Forces Remembrance day on January 15 in Yenagoa.

The statement recalled the Governor’s busy schedule during the flood disaster, the worst in the history of the state, the sad event of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State and General Owoye Azazi and the funeral programmes as well as the normal day-to-day running of government.

Need for fewer National Parties

The on-going de-registration of political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has thrown up the issue of the number of parties that will serve the nation’s politics better and more efficiently. So far, INEC has in the past few weeks de-registered a total of 31 political parties in the country for not meeting some of the stipulated requirements for their existence as political parties contained in both the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). Foremost among the reasons for scrapping them is their inability to win a seat at either the National or State Assemblies.

Others include their not having a verifiable headquarters office and not constituting their National Executive Committee (NEC). If the reasons given by the electoral body for sacking these parties are any thing to go by, then the parties have no reason for their continued existence as political parties.

Their inability to win any seat at either the National or State Assemblies shows the extent the voters have rejected them. Indirectly, Nigerians have passed a vote of no confidence on them. Prior to the de-registration exercise, Nigeria had about 58 registered political parties.

But at each election, the parties that make impact in terms of electoral victory and number of states in their control are not up to 10. From the First Republic to the current one, Nigeria has never had more than five active political parties. The rest are just there in name.

At times, they serve as electoral support for the bigger ones. At each general election, only two or three parties are found to be in strong contention.Perhaps, the best party arrangement the nation has ever witnessed is the two-party model instituted by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida during his political transition programme of the 1990s. Babangida’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) and National Republican Party (NRC) till date remain the best in the area of party engineering in the country.

He gave Nigeria two strong parties that cut across ethnic and religious divides. The arrangement united the country politically and produced a truly elected Nigerian President. The electoral contest was keen. The campaigns were issue-based and robust. Unfortunately, Babangida annulled the presidential election borne out of the two party arrangement.

With INEC’s de-registration of some parties, a number of politicians are again calling for two strong political parties for the country instead of the motley crowd that over 58 parties have come to represent. The irony of having many parties is that many of these parties were probably registered by the big political parties to help them win swing votes in some areas.

Perhaps, it is a ploy deployed by big parties to whittle down the influence of the opposition. Indeed, there is merit in having fewer number of parties. It will strengthen our party system as well as our democracy. Fewer parties will be easy to manage.

The voters can easily identify with fewer parties and their programmes than the huge number we have at present. Having over 58 names on a ballot paper is unwieldy and cumbersome. The many names on our ballot papers are known to have confused many voters.

The fact of the matter now is that Nigeria needs fewer parties whereby two or three will eventually emerge to be dominant. Rather than the unending exercise of de-registration of parties, let INEC reduce the number of parties to the barest minimum.

Doing so will create room for the emergence of dominant ones. There is nothing wrong in Nigeria having two dominant political parties and a few others just like what obtains in advanced democracies of the United Kingdom and United States.

Nigerian politicians should learn to accommodate their interests within the bigger parties and stop the divisive tendencies that make them resort to having their own parties with little following. Nigeria and Nigerians will fare better politically if we have in place fewer and manageable number of political parties than what we have currently. That is what INEC should aim at instead of the un-ending registration and de-registration of political parties.

Flood-ravaged Delta community gets new king

The Newly electedTraditional Ruler - HRM, Engr. Eze Osita I

Oko-Anala, a coastal community along the bank of River Niger, was one of the several communities in Delta State that was devastated by the recent flooding that ravaged about 14 states of the federation. The agrarian community in Oshimili South Local Government Area of the state lost almost everything. Tales, coming from there at the time were sympathetic although the disaster that befell the people was cushioned with the provision of resettlement camps by the state government and the subsequent donation of relief materials by philanthropic individuals, corporate organisations and donor agencies.

But the sorrow and tears of the period seemed to have subsided few weeks after the affected people returned to their ancestral homes.

The agrarian population seemed to have put the travails behind and burst into life in earnest, a situation that was evident at the official presentation of staff of office to the traditional ruler in the area, HRM, Engr. Eze Osita I, the Akor of Oko-Anala Kingdom, by the state government. The event, which took place at the palace of the Akor on Saturday December 29, 2012, was performed by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Amos Utuama, amidst pomp and pageantry that characterised the yuletide.

The joy of the community was further compounded by the fact that for over thirteen years, it has been without an Akor (king) following that death of the then incumbent, HRM, Obi Oputa I. The new Akor, according to community sources, was coronated in March 2011 by the kingmakers. Spokesman for the community, Chuks Obusom stated that the choice of Eze Osita as the new Akor of the kingdom was not by accident, saying: “With his wealth of experience as an Engineer and astute administrator of over 30 years in federal civil service, of which over 10 years was in managerial and administrative capacities, coupled with his understanding of the native law and custom of Oko community, the kingmakers were convinced that a Solomon has come to the throne. “To his credit, since he assumed the Akorship position, the protracted communal disputes have been resolved not just in Oko-Anala alone but even inter-village disputes in Oko community. Today we are all living in peace and unity, courtesy of this Wise King, the Akor-in-Council and his board of advisers. This occasion will no doubt be a booster for the continuation of his bridge-building, peaceful, progressive and united Oko community.”    

While thanking the state government for the quick response to plight of the natives in the area during the flood disaster, Obusom stressed the need for the integration of the entire Oko community with the neighbouring state capital, Asaba as well as the opening up of the area to boost economic activities.

“We appeal that the state government passionately look into the construction of the 28km Oko community road from the Asaba-Onitsha express road to Oko community with a view to implementing the promise to the entire Oko community on our visit on October 2, 2012 at Government House, Asaba,” he pleaded.

Obusom who also called for a lasting solution to the teething problem of flooding in the community, implored the government to declare a state of emergency on social amenities in the area with a view to addressing the poor state of educational, health and power infrastructures. But it became a game of plea as the state government represented by the deputy governor, Prof. Amos Utuama tasked the new Akor (King) to give priority attention to matters of security in his domain and work closely with the law enforcement agencies and local government to ensure that the prevailing peace in the area was sustained.

The deputy governor, who did not make any policy statement about the requests of the area, congratulated the new king and commended the entire community for being able to pass through the trying period created by the last flooding, saying that he was encouraged by the progress the people had so far made in settling down. He appealed to Engr. Eze Osita I to place the interest of the majority of his people and the fear of God above all considerations, noting that the state government would continue to rely on traditional institutions across the state as vehicles for reaching the people at the grassroots.

Keshi drops Kalu, Ibrahim, 2 others

Super Eagles in Faro, Portugal

The process of whittling the present strength of Super Eagles camp in Faro, Portugal began on Sunday night during dinner when four players out of the 31 in camp were dropped. The Super Eagles Chief Coach, Steven Keshi, will tomorrow name the 23-man team for the South Africa 2013 Afcon championship.
The four dropped players include injured Rizespur of Turkey striker, Uchenna Kalu, Rabiu Ibrahim, who recently moved from Celtic in the Scottish Premier League to Kilmanock Fc, Enyimba’s Henry Uche and Papa Idris of Kano Pillars. The four players left camp yesterday for their various clubsides and Nigeria.

Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, had during Sunday morning training session hinted that some players will be asked to go in the evening, admonishing such players to take it in good faith as it does not mean that they are not good, but that the coaching crew cannot take everybody to South Africa for the tournament.
Even before the players were asked to go, three coaches: Sylvanu Okpala (MON), Ike Shorunmi and Hyoundonou Valere took the players to a section of the dinning hall for special counseling and words of encouragement.

The coaches assured them that they were still part and parcel of the team and will be recalled once the team returns from the Nations Cup championship and starts hostilities in the World Cup qualifiers.

All the players appreciated the sincerity and fatherly disposition of the coaching crew and promised to keep
their heads high at their various club sides to earn future recall to the national team. Kalu said he was personally pained that injury denied him a place in the team and promised to bounce back in the coming months for the national team.

CBN amendment Act on economy: Experts finger cost implications

For the third time in less than one year, there has been bills by the National Assembly, seeking to amend some provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act. The most recent bill, being sponsored by Mr. Adams Jagaba (PDP Kaduna), entitled: “An Act to amend the CBN Act No. 7 of 2007,” to appoint a person, other than the apex bank governor, as chairman of the board of the bank, excluding Deputy Governors and Directors as members of the board, divest the board of the power of consideration and approval of the annual budget of the bank.

Indeed, the move by the lawmakers has continued to generate a lot of reactions, as experts have argued against tampering with the autonomy of the Central Bank, which they contend portends danger for the economy. Even though most people agree that it is not ideal to grant untrammeled freedom to any institution, they stressed the need for the lawmakers to continue to carry out their oversight functions. According to them, any form of amendment to the CBN Act, with a view to removing its autonomy and subjecting it to political interference, will be inimical to the economy.

Some economists and investment experts have continued to express worries over the proposed plan, urging the National Assembly to halt the move. Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Maxifund Investments and Securities Limited, Okechukwu Unegbu, advised members of the National Assembly not to remove the CBN’s autonomy. Unegbu, a former Chief Executive Officer of defunct Citizen International Bank, warned that amending the CBN Act would distort the system.

He said: “why is the National Assembly trying to amend the CBN Act? The reason and only reason is because there is one strong character that had taken them on. We should be thinking of building strong institutions, so that anybody who gets there, whether the person is weak or strong, will continue to evolve in the system. We wrote a memo to the National Assembly, telling them that it is not right to do that. We fought for the financial and instrument autonomy of the CBN and so people cannot just destroy it.

They are doing that because they have seen Lamido Sanusi as being too vocal and too strong to contend with them, therefore they want to cut his power, not thinking of the danger it will cause to the financial system. In going after Sanusi, they are trying to destroy the central bank, which should not happen,” he said. “It means that financial regulations have to be reviewed. In other words, regulators in the financial system have to rethink about themselves. The financial regulation coordinating committee should always be thinking about cooperation.

The capital market was very strong before prior to 2008 and they were doing things as if they existed alone in a system where there are so many other contending financial institutions or financial markets. As at that time, everybody was making money and forgot that in making money there is what we call financial friction, and this is what happens between the banking sector and the capital market. “Now, while the banking system has a lot of investible instruments, the capital market has few instruments. We only know about shares and stocks. This is because of the imperfect information in our system.

Both the banking system and capital market lack information and this makes it impossible for banks to lend,” he added. Also, Professor Wumi Iledare, a political economist and Director, Center for Energy Studies, Louisiana State University described the plan as absurd.

“The autonomy of the Central Bank is so central in my opinion to the type of sustainable growth we envisaged. We have four important markets in any viable economy-the resource market, the financial or money market, and the labor market. Looking at Nigeria, government basically controls all the other market except the financial market and the latter is the only market with sanity thus far.

Putting CBN under the control of politicians will lead to disaster as evident in the labor market,” he said Iledare said if the National Assembly succeeded in their plan, the impacts would be reflected on the nation’s economy.

“Inflation will go up, unemployment will go up and interest rate will go up and the economy will slump. Right now, Nigeria is among the bottom 20 economies in the world. Our aspiration to be among the 20 will forever be elusive if we take away the autonomy of the CBN. “In fact, I think Nigeria needs an autonomous institution to control the resource market as well,” he advised.

Some of the prominent Nigerians at a recent parley organized by the House Committee on banks and currency on the planned amendment of the Act, CBN and other stakeholders cautioned that the move was a wrong one and should be discontinued. CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, represented by Mr Tunde Lemo, deputy governor in charge of Banking  Operations, said it was wrong for the House to move to whittle down the powers of the apex bank. He warned against the amendment of the CBN Act if carried out would hurt the operation of the bank and by extension the economy.

He said: “An efficient CBN is one that is truly independent.” The CBN governor called the attention of the lawmakers to what he said was the practice in more than 40 countries, insisting that the chief executive of Central Bank was the chairman of the board in those countries.

He advised that rather than amend the Act, the National Assembly should step up oversight of the bank using the current Act. To do that, Sanusi recommended that the National Assembly should demand that it be briefed quarterly by the governor.

Emphasising the dangers of amending the current Act he argued that, apart from the move the hurting the operation of the bank, the reputation of the apex bank would be at stake as a lender of last resort. He maintained that the confidence of Nigerian banks would be eroded before the international community. The CBN boss stressed that taking away the financial autonomy of the bank would limit its ability to fulfill its lender- of – last resort function of providing loans to distressed banks.

This he cautioned would in effect constrained the ability of the bank to achieve its mandate of ensuring financial system stability.

Nabbed Russian Gunmen sailed into Nigeria

15 Russian crew sailed into Nigeria

No fewer than 15 Russian crew of MV Myre SeaDiver, a vessel alleged to have sailed into Nigeria carrying arms have been handed over to the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police. Handing over the men to Mr. Zuberu Muazu, a Deputy Commissioner of Police from the SFU, the Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft, Commodore Martin Njoku said the process was to enable the police carry out further investigation.

He said the Nigerian Navy had performed the preliminary stage of the investigation and had discovered that the vessel was carrying 14 assorted AK 47 rifles with 3, 643 ammunition and 20 Berneli MRI 20 barrel with 4, 955 ammunition, adding that the vessel had no permission to be in the territorial waters of the country at the time of arrest. He said the handover of the crew to the SFU was a directive from the ‘higher authorities’ in Abuja, saying that MV Myre SeaDiver flying Cook Island flag with Russian crew was intercepted within the Lagos roadstead on suspicion of carrying arms and ammunition.

Commodore Njoku told Daily Sun that the vessel was escorted to the Naval base for investigation, which it was gathered started since October 2012 when it was arrested. Daily Sun further learnt from independent source that the vessel, before arriving Lagos, had left the Port of Toliara Madagascar en-route Senegal with a 15-man crew.

The source told News men that the vessel made a detour to Lagos on September 20, 2012 for replenishment and crew change, which involved the change of the vessel’s captain who was identified as Mr. Makaov Mikhail. Mikhail, it was learnt flew out of Nigeria, apparently to Russia on September 20 last year, but the new captain of the vessel who was identified as Zhelyazkov Andrey said the vessel could not sail due to some mechanical defects which had to be rectified.

The captain said the arms and ammunition discovered onboard were for personal protection and the protection of the ship. In his reaction after the vessel, her crew and the weapons were handed over to the him, the police representative, Mr. Muazu, DCP, said they were commencing investigation immediately but said he did not know when investigation would be concluded.

However, while the handover was taking place, officials from the Russian Embassy in Lagos, who were allegedly making frantic effort to get the crew and the ship released arrived the scene, but were kept away by the Nigerian officials.

They told News men that they were not talking to the media to avoid complicating the issue, especially after reports had said effort were on between Abuja and Moscow to get them released. Another report said the men had been released after a telephone conversation between Russian and Nigerian foreign ministers.

North insists on Yar’Adua’s version of Petroleum Industry Bill

Petroluem Minister Diezeni Alison Madueke

More facts yesterday emerged over the North’s opposition to the new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) re-introduced by President Goodluck Jonathan. The President forwarded the new PIB to the National Assembly in July 2012. Lawmakers were, however, unable to commence work on the bill as it coincided with their summer recess. But the North resisted attempts by Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba to lead the debate which would start the crucial second reading of the bill.

Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, Ahmad Lawan (ANPP, Yobe North) galvanised opposition when he raised a motion that debate on the bill be suspended. He cited Order 56 (12) (d) of the Senate Standing Rules to back his motion and argued that the bill required more than one day’s debate, noting that it would require “at least, three to five days to debate it.”

His northern colleagues backed him and responded with shouts of No! No! No! when Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided at plenary on that day, tried to restore order. The more Ekweremadu tried to persuade the chamber to allow Ndoma-Egba lead the debate, the more the session became restive and rowdy. Eventually, the nays had the day and Deputy Minority Leader Sani Yerima seconded the motion that it should be stepped down till another legislative day.

It was not re-introduced until the Senate went on its yuletide recess. Two weeks ago, Chairman of the Housing Committee, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, also gave an insight into the North’s opposition to the bill. He stated that the region is against the bill because of its proposal of additional 10 per cent of oil revenue to the oil-producing states. Ibrahim, a former governor of Yobe State, told reporters penultimate Monday that such proposal could further polarise the nation, saying that the additional funds being proposed for the oil producing states should rather go to the treasury for the benefits of all Nigerians.

“This issue of oil producing communities getting 10 per cent of whatever is gotten from oil in addition to all sources of revenue for the oil producing states which has now divided the country into two, with oil producing states having more than what they need and squandering the oil riches and the non-oil producing states which are more in number hardly surviving, hardly paying salaries and hardly doing anything, has to stop. “Nobody planted or farmed oil. God put it there. The oil will not last forever. It’ll get to a stage when it will disappear and other resources will be relevant.

If Nigeria remains one, we expect these other resources to be made available for all Nigerians. We know that at one stage, the South-South was criminally marginalised; but today, they know what is happening. They have taken it too far to the right from their own side.

They need to balance it so that the so-called non-oil producing states will not rise against the oil producing states and further polarise the already polarised society. Bukar also described as unacceptable, the powers which the bill confers on the Petroleum Resources Minister to determine the operations of the oil and gas industry.

“The powers of the minister must be reduced”, he said. In an abridged commentary on the bill, an independent study commissioned by the region, a copy of which was obtained by National dailies, the area specifically wants the Jonathan administration to revert to some clauses in the original bill introduced by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

The late Yar’Adua hailed from Katsina State in the North-West. In a move designed to secure the economic future of the region since the world is looking for energy alternatives outside oil, the North now wants the Jonathan’s government to commence serious work in hydrocarbon exploration and gas-oriented projects in the North. The government of the late Yar’Adua, they contended, had incorporated these in the version of the PIB he forwarded to the National Assembly in 2008.

A part of the abridged commentary reads: “The new institutional structure being proposed for the country’s oil and gas industry does not create a framework for any serious or effective exploration for hydrocarbons in the frontier acreages of the country’s six sedimentary basins, four of which are in the northern section of the nation. “The new Petroleum Technical Bureau to be located in the office of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, which takes over the responsibilities of NNPC’s Frontier Exploration Services cannot really be a substitute for the National Frontier Exploration Services (NFES) that was earlier proposed in the version of the bill sent to the National Assembly by the late President Yar’Adua.”

On another flank, the region is worried about the seeming inability of “the management of the petroleum industry to prioritise gas supply to the North.” To resolve the problem, since “the Ajaokuta-Kano gas pipeline has consistently remained in the back burner of all gas utilization plans in the country, the only way to ensure gas supply to the North over more export-oriented gas projects by operators in the industry is (to) ensure that the terms of domestic supply obligations and pricing regulations signed by the Yar’Adua administration are incorporated in the new petroleum industry legislation.”

The region is also reportedly lobbying federal lawmakers from the South-West and some states in the South-East to sustain its opposition to the new PIB. A ranking lawmaker from the region who doesn’t want to be named, told news men that the area has reached out to some of their colleagues from the South, specifically states in the South-West and South-East, to explain their opposition.

He said that “should the National Assembly pass the bill as it is, all other regions would be impoverished because the oil-producing communities, located majorly in the South-South already five legal sources of income from the Federation Account. “Approving another 10 per cent of the profit of all oil and gas companies to the Niger Delta communities and host communities in the PIB is sounding the death knell for other states of the federation.”

The North argued that the 1999 Constitution should be amended if the 10 per cent profit clause is to take effect, “something we will block with all the powers at our disposal. Don’t forget that we have the majority in both chambers of the National Assembly.” The PIB formally titled, “A Bill for an Act to provide for the establishment of a legal, fiscal and regulatory framework for the petroleum industry in Nigeria and other related matters, 2012”, is seeking to, among other things, create a conducive business environment for petroleum operations; protect health, safety and the environment in the course of petroleum operations, enhance exploration and exploitation of petroleum resources for the benefit of Nigerians.

It will also optimise domestic gas supplies, particularly for power generation and industrial development; establish commercially-oriented and profit-driven, oil and gas entities; deregulate and liberalise the downstream petroleum sector; create efficient and effective regulatory agencies; and promote transparency and openness in the administration of the petroleum resources.