Early treatment ‘cures’ second US HIV-positive baby

US researchers have revealed another baby
carrying the HIV virus, which leads to Aids, may
have been cured through early treatment.
Antiretrovial drugs were reportedly administered to
the baby in California just four hours after birth.
The unidentified nine-month-old child is now said to
be HIV negative.
It is the second such case after an HIV-positive
Mississippi infant brought into remission following
early treatment was reported in 2013.
“This is a call to action for us to mobilize and be
able to learn from these cases,” Johns Hopkins
University paediatrics specialist Dr Deborah
Persaud said at a Boston medical conference.
No trace of the virus can now be found in the
infant’s blood or tissues, the doctor revealed.
Dr Persaud said the nine-month-old child is still
receiving a three-drug anti-Aids cocktail, while the
three-year-old Mississippi child stopped receiving
antiretroviral treatments two years ago.
“Really the only way we can prove that we have
accomplished remission in these kids is by taking
them off treatment and that’s not without risk,” Dr
Persaud added.
Both children are reported to have been born to
mothers infected with HIV, which weakens the
body’s immune system.
The human immunodeficiency virus has infected
more than 34 million people worldwide, researchers
estimate.

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Neymar scores hat-trick against S’Africa

A much-hyped friendly between the last and next
World Cup hosts lacked bite as the ‘Selecao’
exploited woeful Bafana Bafana (The Boys)
defending.
Oscar opened the scoring on 10 minutes, Neymar
struck once in the first half and twice in the second,
and Fernandinho got on the scoresheet as well, AFP
reports.
Brazil had won four previous games between the
countries since 1996 – all by one-goal margins –
but showed no mercy this time.
It was the final warm-up for the 2014 World Cup title
favourites before the May announcement of the 23-
man World Cup squad.
South Africa, who stunned World Cup and Euro title-
holders Spain 1-0 at the same stadium last
November, were overawed and outclassed.
Coach Gordon Igesund has been branded a ‘dead
man walking’ after poor tournament results and this
loss greatly lessens his chances of a new contract
in mid-year.
South Africa gave a first cap to 22-year-old
goalkeeper Ronwen Williams in the absence of
injured captain Itumeleng Khune with centre-back
Thabo Nthethe taking over the armband.
Brazil also introduced new faces as coach Luiz
Felipe Scolari gave first starts to Bayern Munich
defender Rafinha and Manchester City midfielder
Fernandinho.
It did not take the South Americans long to establish
control before a crowd that grew to 51,000 after
heavy mid-day rain.
A Brazilian goal was inevitable and it arrived on 10
minutes as midfielder Oscar outpaced Nthethe to a
Rafinha pass and lobbed the ball over Williams.
Tortoise-slow Nthethe was suffering against the
slick visitors and his defensive partner Bongani
Khumalo was an early injury casualty, giving way to
Siyanda Xulu.
The persistent pressure told again on 41 minutes
with Neymar the scorer, hammering the ball past
Williams from close range.
Veteran Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar was a virtual
spectator until first-half stoppage time when a Dean
Furman drive flashed just wide.
Brazil made a planned half-time change from a
yellow-and-blue outfit to an all-blue kit and 25
seconds into the second half they were three goals
ahead.
Neymar had time and space he would not normally
be accustomed to and he calmly lobbed the ball
over Williams.
South Africa introduced Ayanda Patosi just past the
hour and he almost scored with his first touch,
forcing Cesar into an acrobatic block.
Fernandinho netted 11 minutes from time, latching
on to a loose ball and giving Williams no chance,
and Neymar scored in stoppage time from point-
blank range.

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I raped my daughter to get a job –Father

A 42-year-old father, Pedro Anegbe, has told an
Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court that a spirit asked
him to rape his 15-year-old daughter to get a job.
He said the voice ordred him to rape the girl shortly
after he lost his job and was idle at home.
Anegbe was arraigned on two counts for defiling his
15-year-old daughter (name withheld) at their home
on Ifelodun Street, Fatolu Ipaja, Lagos State.
The Investigating Police Officer, Sergeant Bakare
Murtala, told the court his findings in the course of
investigation.
Murtala said, “The defendant is the biological father
of the girl. She told us her father had sexually
harassed her. We questioned him on his daughter’s
allegation and he confessed to the crime. He said he
had raped her twice.”
The magistrate, Olanrewaju Olatunji, asked Anegbe
why he raped his own daughter.
The father of three said, “I am actually living with
my wife and three children. I have two girls and a
boy. She is my first born. I have had sex with her
just two times. The first was on January 27, 2014.
But I cannot remember the date of the second one.”
On how it all began, he said, “I did it because I
thought it was God talking to me, but later I knew it
was an evil spirit. The voice said I needed power.
To get the power, the voice said I must damage
some things.
“I started destroying the clutch and brake of the
vehicle I was given to drive. Then the voice told me
I should stop delivering money to the owner of the
vehicle after each day’s work. I stopped and I was
sacked.
“I became idle after I lost my job. The voice came
again, saying I should have sex with my daughter or
else I would not get another job. That was why I
slept with her.”
However, despite his admission, the defendant
pleaded not guilty to the charge of rape.
He also told the court that he wanted his case tried
at the High Court.
Olatunji said, “You have confessed that you raped
your daughter, why then did you still say you were
not guilty of the crime after the charge was read to
you? Don’t you understand the charge or what is
the problem?”
“I am just forcing myself to talk, because the voice
said I should not say anything,” Anegbe said.
His defence counsel, Rasaq Adeyemi, citing Section
115 of the Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011, prayed
the court to admit him to bail in liberal terms since
he was still presumed innocent until proven guilty
by the court.
In his ruling, the magistrate said, “This is a bailable
offence, but it is a family matter. The defendant is to
be remanded in prison pending legal advice from the
Directorate of Public Prosecution.”
The matter was adjourned till April 4, 2014.

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On Nigerian trains, passengers are like refugees

In spite of the much touted successes of the
Federal Government in reviving the hitherto ailing
Nigeria Railway Corporation, the majority of the
passenger coaches are old, giving travellers little or
no comfort.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that
some of the coaches in use are actually decades
old. In fact, the first-class coach which this
journalist boarded from Lagos to Ilorin, Kwara State,
on February 7, was the one previously used to ply
the Omi-Adio to Bodija intra-city mass transit in
Ibadan, Oyo State, in the early ’90s.
NRC Assistant Director, Public Relations, Mr. David
Ndakotsu, corroborates our correspondent’s
findings as he notes that some of the coaches are
indeed as old as 20 years.
Shameful facilities
“Yes, we have coaches that are about 20 years old.
But we don’t have any coach that is older than
that,” Ndakotsu tells our correspondent.
As expected, the majority of the factory-fitted
facilities on many of the coaches have broken
down, leaving the corporation with no options other
than to improvise.
For instance, the air conditioner, which is the only
luxury available to passengers on the first-class
coach this journalist travelled in, could not be
enjoyed. It has packed up; while the two make-shift
split ACs hung on the walls of the coach adjacent to
each other only blew raw air without any cooling
effect.
“The Nigeria Railway Corporation could do better
than this, though. It is already over one year since
it began the inter-city rail transport operations but
things don’t seem to have progressed,” Sunday
Oyeniran, a passenger on the first class coach,
laments.
Oyeniran, who was travelling from the Iddo
Terminus in Lagos to Inisha, Osun State, regrets
paying an extra 60 per cent over the regular N560
fare for the economy class.
“I haven’t enjoyed the extra N340 I paid for this
first-class ride. The coach is as good as not having
an air conditioner,” he laments as he wipes off the
sweat on his face.
A visit to the seven other coaches on the train,
which was economy class, also reveals the
harrowing experience of the second-rated
travellers.
The population of passengers on each of the
economy class coaches far outweighs those on the
first-class facility. While the single class coach
seats only 60 passengers, each of the seven
economy coaches has 90 seats.
But the economy facilities are usually crowded, as
they are the coaches where railway officials cramp
travellers whenever they carry passengers more
than the train’s sitting capacity.
Apart from the overcrowding the majority of the
overhead fans were not functional.
Harvest of dust
On one of the economy coaches, only two of the
fans were working, forcing travellers to throw open
the windows of the coaches to forestall suffocation.
But the travellers’ self-help discretion also comes
with its disadvantages. As the Ilorin-bound train
covered distances, specks of dust from the
countryside soon took over the coaches, with many
passengers forced to cover their noses in a bid to
stave off the dust.
Frequent travellers came prepared for the
challenge, as a handful of them were seen putting
on face masks. However, the first timers were at
the mercy of the dust.
“I wear face mask not only for preventing dust but
to also contain the offensive odour emanating from
toilets,” a middle-aged man who declines to give his
name says.
The state of many of the toilets and bathrooms on
the coaches are nauseating, to say the least. Apart
from their dirty state, some of them have their
doors damaged, depriving users any form of
privacy.
Even the booking terminal at the Offa Station was in
a derelict state, as it lacks basic aesthetics. The
majority of the stations also have no loudspeakers
to communicate with passengers, while some of the
stations are usually thrown into darkness at night
as they have long been disconnected from the
national grid.
Suffering and smiling
Mrs. Esther Ademola joins the train at the Abeokuta
Station en route Osogbo, the Osun State capital —
one of the stopovers on the Lagos-Ilorin route.
The woman in her 50s and her aged husband were
returning home after a visit to one of their children
in Abeokuta.
The coaches were filled to the brim, as the train,
which took off at the Iddo Terminus, Lagos, had
picked up extra passengers at the Agege and Ijoko
stations before getting to Abeokuta.
Ademola was boxed in the far right corner of the
small compartment in-between the first class and
the seventh economy class coach. She sat on her
luggage.
“We were lucky that my aged husband was able to
get a seat. A Good Samaritan gave up his seat for
him. At least, I was also able to get this space to
rest my legs,” Ademola says.
One of her regrets, though, is the intensive itching
she experiences on her skin as a result of the
overcrowding.
She says, “As you can see, the windows are
always open because of heat, while the glass
covering of the entrance is damaged. This makes
dust and other elements such as dry leaves to find
their way into the coaches.
“Sometimes, the wind blows the devil’s bean plant
into the coach. When this happens, passengers
virtually run berserk, as they are forced to scratch
their bodies due to the burning effects of the devil
bean plant!”
She says she has continued to travel by rail simply
because it is cheaper than other means of
transportation.
“We paid N350 each for our trip from Abeokuta to
Osogbo. If it were to be by road, we would have to
pay nothing less than N1,200 per head.”
Students embrace trains
One of the major categories of people who patronise
train services running on the Lagos-Kano rail route
are students of tertiary institutions.
The majority of them are students of the University
of Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Kwara
State University, Malete; Ibrahim Badamosi
Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State; Federal
Polytechnic Offa, Kwara State, and Federal
Polytechnic, Ede, among others.
Some of the students, in separate chats with our
correspondent say the cheap fares, relative
absence of accidents and virtually nil cases of
armed robbery on the railways have been the
overriding factors sustaining their patronage.
A Higher National Diploma student of the Federal
Polytechnic, Offa, Lukman Alabi, joins the Lagos-
Ilorin train from Ijoko to Offa each time he is
returning to school.
Alabi, who paid N400 for the trip on the economy
class coach, took to standing for most part of the
journey. At a point, it was difficult for this
correspondent to have a chat with him as there
were so many people on board so much so that
there was hardly any space to move one’s leg.
“Aside the cheap fares, there’s nothing good about
this train ride. The inconvenience is just too much,”
Alabi laments.
Snail-like crawling trains
Before now, the Federal Government had boasted
that the “express passenger trains” which ply the
1,126km Lagos-Kano line carried a whopping five
million passengers in 2013 alone. However, findings
by our correspondent show that the trains actually
travel at an average speed of 40km/hour.
Sources at the NRC, who confided in our
correspondent, say the snail speed is as a result of
the continuous dependence on the old technology
which the colonial masters bequeathed to us for the
running of the “revived” railway system.
Ndakotsu, the NRC spokesman, agrees with our
correspondent that the speed at which the trains
travel leaves much to be desired. He, however,
says some of the express passenger trains could
still manage to travel at a high speed of as much as
50km/hour.
This is in sharp contrast with what obtains in some
African countries where trains move at a speed of
as much as 160km/hour. For instance, the Gautrain
which links Johannesburg, Pretoria and Ekhuruleni
and the Tambo International Airport in South Africa
travels at a speed of 160 km/hour.
Besides, the comfort with which South African rail
commuters travel puts to question the success of
the much-talked about transformation of the
Nigerian railway system.
While the business express passengers on the
Metrorail trains in South Africa enjoy onboard
services such as refreshments, complimentary
newspapers, and are treated to movies from two
giant LCD screens per coach, such cannot be said
of Nigerian travellers on first-class coaches who
battle with suffocation as a result of badly
functioning air conditioners and overhead fans.
An Associate Professor of Economics, University of
Lagos, Dr. Olufemi Saibu, in a chat with our
correspondent, wonders if any member of the
Federal Executive Council would be willing to travel
by rail, considering the unflattering state of facilities
and services.
Saibu, whose research interests are in the area of
urban transport, public finance and economic
development, says it is imperative for the
government to increase expenditure towards the
total overhaul of the railway system.
He notes that an efficient and effective railway
system will help in opening up communities,
reducing cost of doing business, increasing the
profit margin of entrepreneurs, thereby creating new
jobs, expanding existing businesses and helping in
better urban management.
He says the government can liberalise the railways
with a view to bringing about efficiency in the
system.
“We have to change our current use of the old
locomotives and coaches by switching over to new
technology. We cannot continue to use the old
technology that has been rejected by those who
invented them.
“Government needs to increase its expenditure on
railway infrastructure and encourage the private
sector to come into the business,” he adds.
No basis for comparison — NRC
The management of the NRC has said that there is
no basis for comparing operations of the Nigerian
railway system with what obtains in other
countries.
“There is no way you can compare the speed of the
train in Nigeria with those in Europe or Japan where
they use electronic trains. There is no basis for
comparison. Over there, they use electronic trains
that travel at 500 km/hour.
“We can get there, depending on when we have
stable power and when we have standard gauges.
We are operating at the current level of technology
that we have,” Ndakotsu says.
The NRC argues that infrastructure on ground may
not allow Nigerians to enjoy the full capabilities of
the new locomotives that were recently acquired by
the Corporation.
“Most of the trains we have can move at the same
speed of between 100 and 120 km per hour, but we
don’t travel at that speed. For passenger trains, we
go like 50 or 60km/hour.
“It is like that because our tracks are narrow. We
use what we call narrow gauges instead of the
standard gauges. Besides, we have very steep
gradients with very sharp corners on our tracks. We
cannot afford to have accidents, as train services
are primed on safety. In this situation, we can’t
move past that speed,” Ndakotsu says.
He, however, adds that the government has started
the conversion from narrow to standard gauges
piecemeal. According to him, the rail line being
constructed from Kaduna to Abuja, as well as the
one connecting Ajaokuta, Kogi State, with Warri,
Delta State, is in the mould of a standard gauge.
“When they finish with those ones, they will start
standard gauges all over the country; that will work
side by side with the narrow gauges. It is a gradual
process,” he notes.
Poorly motivated workers
Experts have said that the operation of railways
anywhere in the world is complex and requires a
wide range of technical skills from a well motivated
pool of staff. However, members of staff of the NRC
are crying foul over their conditions of service.
Many of them complain that they are the least-paid
categories of federal civil servants in the transport
sector.
A Level 5 official of the NRC, who speaks on the
condition of anonymity because he is not authorised
to speak to the press, says that his gross monthly
salary currently stands at N23,000.
The NRC employee who has put in three years of
service, having been posted to the Lagos District of
the corporation, says his duty tour allowance of
N600 per 100km travelled is being owed.
“Our salaries cannot take us anywhere. Besides,
those of us that travel with the trains are entitled to
Mileage Allowance as well as Duty Tour Allowances.
But we are being owed a backlog of these
allowances running into several months. How do
they want us to survive and take care of our
families?” he laments.
A Level 8 official with over 17 years of service in
the corporation, who says he receives a little over
N44,000 monthly, was also sighted sleeping on one
of the parked trains on the premises of the Ilorin
station when our correspondent visited.
When asked why he decided to retire into the coach,
the middle-aged man who hails from the northern
part of the country says he passes the night on the
parked wagons because there is no provisions for
accommodating NRC employees on duty tour in any
of the stations they travel to.
“I am not the only one passing the night on this
train. Check other coaches, you will find other
people lying there too. That is the situation we have
found ourselves, as nobody appears to care for our
wellbeing,” the official, who is a member of the
Central Riding Squad, says.
Strings of corrupt practices
To this end, a handful of members of staff of the
corporation have resorted to sharp practices in a
bid to augment their alleged meagre income.
At the Offa Station where this correspondent
boarded a first-class coach to Zaria, it was
observed that while the tickets for the economy
class coaches were on sale at the counter, the
boarding pass for the luxury coach were hoarded.
Despite getting to the train station 11 hours before
the 10p.m. departure time, tickets were not
available, as they were said to be in the sole
custody of the station head who was nowhere to be
found.
Barely an hour to departure, one of the ticketing
officers decided to sell but at a hiked price. The Offa
to Zaria ticket was sold to our correspondent for
N2,500 instead of the N1,640 official rate; while
those travelling to Kano paid N3,000 instead of the
official N1,980.
“That is how we were asked to sell it and people
have been buying it like that,” the ticketing officer
yells at our correspondent who complains about the
inflated price.
The head of the station was not available in his
office when this correspondent made repeated
visits to complain about the rip-off. Frequent train
passengers said they were familiar with the game.
It turned out that passengers travelling on the
economy class coaches who do not want to sit near
the toilets because of the offensive odour confess to
tipping off the officials with sums ranging between
N300 and N500 to get a seat reservation far away
from the rest rooms.
‘We don’t owe salaries, allowances’
Reacting to employees’ allegation of poor welfare
condition, Ndakotsu says the corporation is trying to
“meet up” to ensure that workers are “comfortable
and happy.”
He says the railway employees remain the “prime
factor of production” of train operations in the
country, adding that the NRC places high premium
on human capacity and welfare packages for
members of staff.
He also notes that allegations that allowances and
other entitlements are being owed are untrue. He
says those complaining might be the staff members
who are claiming “frivolous allowances.”
“It is not true. Those allegations are false. If you
are entitled to certain allowances, you are given. In
fact, all allowances are paid as due. We go by civil
service rules. When you are entitled to an
allowance, you will be given,” he adds.






CREDITS: PUNCH NEWSPAPERS

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How Jonathan has betrayed Nigerians

The election year of 2011 is still fresh in my
memory. I remember it just like yesterday. It was in
that year that Goodluck Jonathan was elected the
third executive President of the Federal Republic. It
was a momentous occasion for him and the nation.
His election, comparable only to the election of
Barack Obama as America’s first black president,
was unprecedented. It signalled the triumph of the
struggle for relevance by Nigeria’s long-suffering
minority groups. When Jonathan was elected,
Nigerians dreamily believed that the maladies that
afflicted the nation would cease to exist. They
believed his election would usher in a vigorous wind
of economic and political change for the nation.
Jonathan himself vowed that his election would
demarcate the conclusion of grisly “politics-as-
usual” to the commencement of democratic and
political freshness. However, as this administration
continues on, it is clear that Jonathan has not only
failed to deliver in a general sense, he has also
completely betrayed Nigerians.
Looking back now, I have often rued the lost
opportunities of the Jonathan Presidency. I wish
Nigerians had not been so trusting. I wish they had
not been so gullible. I wish they had not easily
believed the “no-shoes-at-childhood’’ tales told by
this president. Now, some years down the line, the
events that have shaped the Jonathan Presidency
have revealed a gross betrayal of the Nigerian
people. But how could Nigerians have known that
they were electing a leader who would eventfully
surround himself with those that have brought our
country to its present state? Who would have known
that this President will be more of the same or even
worse? Any honest person in Nigeria today must
look at the President’s demonstrable disregard for
issues that affect the common man and come to the
inescapable conclusion that Nigerians are the very
least of his concerns. The President has since
pitched his tent with the corrupt political elite.
Ordinary Nigerians who voted for him, who trusted
him, can go to hell after all he does not give a damn.
The system many thought he would change for the
good of ordinary Nigerians has apparently taken
him hostage. It is indeed a great betrayal. What has
become really scary is the President’s surreptitious
support of primordial ethnic schism that has been
the bane of our underdevelopment. His silence in
the face of ethnic irredentists who make statements
that threaten the polity will further polarise us as a
nation. The President has also been found to breach
the secular status of the country as entrenched in
the constitution as he goes from one church to the
other where he makes policy statements. He has
converted the pulpit into the theatre of political
bitterness. Those churches who allow the President
to use the pulpit as a campaign platform also
contribute to our national malaise.
This is certainly not the type of President Nigerians
envisaged. Now, the schism is so pronounced that
one cannot even criticise the government without
one’s ethnic group coming into play. If you criticise
the government, it is because you are Yoruba, Igbo
or Tiv or in the opposition. Where is the
nationalism? The President is sacrificing patriotism
on the altar of religion and politics. In the years
former President Olusegun Obasanjo was in power,
his most ardent critics were those of his ethnic
group. Where is the Pan-Nigerian mandate given to
Jonathan in 2011? Jonathan has betrayed Nigerians
in many fronts. Is it in his record of non-
performance? Is it in his lack of political will to fight
corruption? In fact, his dismal anti-corruption
record is the worst betrayal of trust by Jonathan.
Because of his lip service to the fight against
corruption, Nigerians are worse off than in 2011. All
the institutions of government have been corrupted.
Even his Niger Delta is not better off. Who would
have known that Jonathan will not fight corruption?
Who would have known that this President would
render the anti-corruption agencies so pineffective
as to not to convict any individual for corruption in
spite of the allegations of corruption involving high
ranking officials of his government? Nigerians have
lost count of corruption scandals in the Jonathan
administration. The President even hobnobs with
indicted individuals. Who would have known that this
President would condone corruption to the extent
that oil theft which had previously existed minimally
would deepen under his reign? Are the scandals in
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation not
embarrassing to the President?
Besides, Nigerians have certainly been hoodwinked
by a President who promised change. He looks the
other way while his cronies steal the country blind,
prevaricates when he ought to sack indicted
officials, and carries on not minding the effect of his
inaction on ordinary people. The power sector has
yielded no result in spite of trumpeted reforms.
There is no indication that the country will have
constant electricity even if this President gets a life
term. The health sector is worse off. Public
hospitals are nothing to write home about.
Privileged Nigerians visit hospitals abroad even for
minor health issues like a headache or to treat
rubber bullet “injuries” while ordinary Nigerians die
of common ailments at home. The betrayal of
Nigerians has manifested in all areas of governance
in which this government has shown its
incompetence.
Is it in the creation of jobs? Is it the voodoo
economy where government and its officials have
bandied bogus job statistics? If indeed they have
created employment, how come job statistics
continue to rise with millions of Nigerians roaming
the streets? The Jonathan government claims
phantom growth in the economy but over 100
million Nigerians are, according to verifiable studies,
impoverished. Recklessness, official wastage, and
outrageous recurrent expenditure characterise
budgetary spending. More egregious than the high
rate of unemployment is the fact that Jonathan has
been completely disconnected from ordinary
Nigerians. He has failed to articulate any policy that
would deal with emerging socio-economic crises.
Rather, he is more focused on articulating and
enacting policies that are favourable to his friends
and cronies. The excuse has always been that the
he did not create the problems Nigerians elected
him to solve. This feeble argument exists for the
sole purpose of deflecting legitimate criticism of his
failure to meet the needs of Nigerians. They said
Nigerians should be patient yet they have no road
map for the future.
The President has also displayed gross insensitivity
to the past suffering of his Niger Delta people. The
centenary award he bestowed on the late dictator
Sani Abacha amounts to a betrayal of the Niger
Delta cause. At the centenary awards, he betrayed
his own people by making heroes of yesterday’s
villains. He gave a centenary award to a dictator,
Abacha, who plundered and oppressed Nigerians.
He honoured a wicked leader who sent soldiers to
destroy villages and killed his own people. A
President who is mindful of history would have
declined to endorse such an ignominy. By so doing,
Jonathan has spat on the graves of activists and
others who died in the struggle to restore
democracy of which he is a beneficiary. Now, he is
aiming to recontest his lack lustre presidency in
2015. Nigerians should reject Jonathan in 2015 as a
payback for his betrayal.





CREDITS: Bayo Olupohunda

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Power supply: FG to take $170m French loan

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday
ratified an anticipatory approval given by President
Goodluck Jonathan to the Ministry of Finance to
borrow $170m from the French Development
Agency.
The loan is meant to beef up power infrastructure in
the Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, and
the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
briefed State House correspondents at the end of
the meeting, which was presided over by Jonathan.
Okonjo-Iweala said the loan, which would be used
to undertake the construction of 270-kilometre
transmission lines and additional substations within
the FCT, was one of the agreements that were
signed when the French President, Francois
Hollande, visited the country for the centenary
celebration last week.
She said, “It is a $170m soft credit. The terms
include 1.56 per cent interest rate per annum;
commitment charge of 0.5 per cent per annum; and
then, a service charge of 0.25 per cent per annum
payable on the amount withdrawn.
“The loan is for 20 years with a seven-year grace
period; that means, moratorium on payment for
seven years; and the rest payable over 20 years.
“This will help to boost our transmission. As you
know, the Ministry of Power has set forward an
emergency transmission programme for the entire
country requiring $1.9bn, and we have been able to
raise $1.2bn so far of very soft credits.”
The minister added, “This $170mn from the French
Development Agency is part of that package. The
balance of the package comes from the World Bank
with $700m, and the Japanese government, $200m.
We have been able to raise that all very soft credits.
“This project has been approved in the borrowing
plan since 2010; but after it was approved, it was
shelved until we asked the French Development
Agency to renew it and fast-track it, and that is how
we came to approve that today.”

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PDP, APC Reps clash over kerosene subsidy

Peoples Democratic Party members in the House of
Representatives and their All Progressives
Congress colleagues nearly exchanged blows on
Wednesday over the investigation into the N1.7tn
spent on kerosene subsidy by the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation.
The House Committee on Petroleum Resources
(Downstream), which is conducting the
investigation, had summoned the Director General,
Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Bright Okogu, to
testify.
But, trouble started when Okogu addressed the
committee and was questioned by the APC
members.
Some of the APC members had asked him to tell the
committee where the NNPC got the legal backing to
deduct kerosene subsidy before remitting revenue
to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
But PDP members opposed the line of questioning
by their APC colleagues. They argued that NNPC
officials should answer questions relating to the
corporation’s operations and not the Budget Office
DG.
At this point, one APC lawmaker from Kaduna State,
Mr. Bala Yusuf, stated that there should be no
boundaries on questions.
“Let us not downplay the significance of this
gathering by arguing along party lines because this
is an issue of serious national importance,” he
advised.
In his bid to restore order, the Chairman of the
committee, Mr. Dakuku Peterside, also an APC
member from Rivers State, objected to a point of
order raised by some PDP members.
But the PDP members accused him of being
partisan.
The vocal PDP members were Mr. Raphael Nnnana-
Igbokwe, Mr. Emmanuel Ekong, and Mr. Sunday
Karimi.
Igbokwe in particular, shouted at Yusuf and
Peterside saying, “This is not a private enterprise;
again, this is not the Committee on Finance.”
As Peterside struggled to restore order, he shouted,
“If your (Peterside) ruling is biased, we will
challenge the ruling.
“This is not a private enterprise. Let the NNPC
answer questions relating to its operations. You
(Peterside) cannot hold the DG, Budget Office
responsible for NNPC operations.”
On his part, Karimi asked, “DG, do you have the
competence and authority to speak for the NNPC or
the Central Bank of Nigeria?”
Okogu replied that he could not answer questions
that should ordinarily be directed at the
management of the NNPC.
In his efforts to dismiss the claim that he was taking
sides, Peterside said, “From time to time, we have
our misunderstanding. We are before the public, let
us respect ourselves as gentlemen.”
As disagreements persisted, Peterside adjourned
the session for a few hours to allow time for
tempers to cool down.
Before the adjournment, Okogu had confirmed that
the budget office had not make any provision for
kerosene subsidy in the national budgets since
2010.
However, he clarified that the NNPC was in
business and must find a way to pay for any extra
expenditure it incurred above the officially approved
price of the product.
He said, “If they (NNPC) buy kerosene from the
international market at $1 per litre for instance and
sells for less than half of a dollar, they must pay for
the shortfall due to the subsidised nature of the
product.
“So, it only makes a business sense if they source
money elsewhere to pay for such amount that must
have been cut down from the cost which the
consumers must have borne.”
The committee resumed two and half hours and
investigation progressed smoothly.

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I don’t know my exact age – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the
ceremony marking his 77th birthday in Abeokuta,
the Ogun State capital, on Wednesday said that he
did not know his real age.
Obasanjo described the 77th birthday as his “official
birthday”.
He said, “There are those of us like me who have
no real record of birth. I want to thank God once
again for what He has done in my life. Whether I
know the exact date of my birth or not, I think God
has made my path glorious.
“I was actually born on Ifo market day because
according to my mother, she had prepared to go to
the Ifo Market and Ifo market was every five days.
And then she was in labour, before those who went
to Ifo market could come back, I was born.
“I know and she knew I was born on Ifo market
day. Don’t ask me what year or month.”
Obasanjo’s revelation was in response to the Olowu
of Owu, Oba Olusanya Dosunmu’s assertion that the
two-time leader of the country was actually older
than 77 years.
He said it was not important that he did not know
his age as that had not stopped God from making
his path a glorious one.
The former President, who spoke amid applause,
thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for
“congratulating me on this day of my official
birthday.”
The event, which was organised by the Centre for
Human Security, in conjunction with the UNESCO
Institute for African Culture and International
Understanding, held at the Olusegun Obasanjo
Presidential Library, in Abeokuta.
The ex-President described himself as a lucky man,
saying he would have been “consumed” if God had
taken his shortcomings into account.
He said, “I have been very lucky for many things. At
one occasion, I said God has never disappointed me
and a journalist who thinks that he knows too much
asked if I had disappointed God. I said, of course, as
long as I am living on flesh and blood, I am liable to
be unworthy. In all, I have strived to meet the
standard of what God expects of me.
“God has never taken my shortcomings, my failures
and all that into account. He hasn’t counted them
against me because if He had, I would have been
consumed. So, God has really sustained me with
His grace, mercy, goodness and compassion.”
Earlier in his goodwill message, Dosunmu described
Obasanjo as a “humane” man who never took the
issues bordering on Nigerian unity lightly.
He said, “When you speak against the unity of
Nigeria, you would see the red of Obasanjo’s eye. It
is not by accident, it is in-built. He fears God and
honours all human beings,”
Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, said in his
remarks that the former President had remained a
blessing to the state and the country at large.
“Hate or love Obasanjo, you cannot just take
something from him. Obasanjo’s passion for the
unity of Nigeria is second to none,” the governor
said.
Other dignitaries at the event were a former Ekiti
State Governor, Chief Segun Oni; former Minister of
Education, Prof. Babalola Borishade; a former
Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero;
the immediate past chairman of SURE-P, Dr.
Christopher Kolade; and Sierra Leonean Minister of
Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Minkailu
Bah.
Others were a former Executive Secretary, National
Universities Commission, Prof. Peter Okebukola;
state Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye; a
former Vice-Chancellor of University of Lagos, Prof.
Oye Ibidapo-Obe; and Prof. Akin Mabogunje.

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US seizes $458m Abacha loot

Less than a week after President Goodluck
Jonathan honoured the late Head of State, Gen. Sani
Abacha, with an award for “his contributions to the
nation,” the United States has ordered a freeze on $
458m in assets stolen by the former dictator and
his accomplices.
AFP quoted the Justice Department as saying on
Wednesday that the corruption proceeds – stashed
away in bank accounts in Britain, France and
Jersey – were frozen at Washington’s request with
the help of local authorities.
Abacha died in office in 1998, but his surviving
relatives still include some of the richest and most
influential figures in Nigeria.
According to a civil forfeiture complaint unsealed in
the US District Court in Washington, the department
wants to recover more than $550m in connection
with the action.
“This is the largest civil forfeiture action to recover
the proceeds of foreign official corruption ever
brought by the department,” said Mythili Raman,
acting assistant attorney general.
“General Abacha was one of the most notorious
kleptocrats in memory, who embezzled billions
from the people of Nigeria, while millions lived in
poverty,” she said.
The Justice Department said the frozen assets,
along with additional assets named in the complaint,
represented the “proceeds of corruption” during and
after the military regime of Abacha, who became
Head of State through a military coup on November
17, 1993 and held that office until his death on June
8, 1998.
The complaint alleges that Abacha; his son,
Mohammed Sani Abacha; their associate, Abubakar
Atiku Bagudu, and others “embezzled,
misappropriated and extorted billions from the
government of Nigeria and others, then laundered
their criminal proceeds through the purchase of
bonds backed by the United States using US
financial institutions.”
Raman said that the action sent a “clear message”
that the United States was “determined and
equipped to confiscate the ill-gotten riches of
corrupt leaders who drain the resources of their
countries.”
The US government’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery
Initiative, where appropriate, provides for the return
of stolen proceeds “to benefit the people harmed by
these acts of corruption and abuse of office.”
It did not specify what action would be taken with
regard to the Abacha case.
The funds frozen include approximately $313m in
two bank accounts in the Bailiwick of Jersey and $
145m in two bank accounts in France, the
department said.
Four investment portfolios and three bank accounts
in Britain were frozen, with an estimated value of at
least $100m, but the exact amounts in the
accounts have not yet been determined, it said.
The Justice Department said that on February 25
and 26, authorities in Jersey, France and Britain
complied with the US action to freeze the assets.
The complaint also seeks to freeze five corporate
entities registered in the British Virgin Islands.
According to the complaint, Abacha and others
systematically embezzled billions of dollars in
public funds from Nigeria’s central bank on the
false pretence that the funds were necessary for
national security.
They withdrew the funds in cash and then moved
the money overseas through US financial
institutions.
Abacha and his Finance minister, Anthony Ani, also
allegedly caused the government to buy Nigerian
government bonds at vastly inflated prices from a
company controlled by Bagudu and Mohammed
Abacha. That operation created an illegal windfall of
more than $282m.
In addition, Abacha and his co-conspirators
allegedly extorted more than $11m from a French
civil engineering company, Dumez, and its Nigerian
affiliate in connection with payments on government
contracts.
Funds involved in each of these schemes were
laundered through the US in nine financial
institutions, the complaint alleged.
The financial institutions involved include Citibank,
Chase Manhattan Bank and Morgan Guaranty Trust
Company, now JPMorgan Chase, and New York-
based units of Britain’s Barclays Bank and
Germany’s Commerzbank.

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Insurgency: ‘Cameroon, others supporting Nigeria’

The Federal Government on Wednesday said
neighbouring countries, including Cameroon, were
collaborating with Nigeria in its fight against the
activities of Boko Haram Islamists in the North-
Eastern part of the country.
Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said this
while answering questions from State House
correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive
Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Maku identified areas of cooperation among the
countries to include the establishment of the
international force, made up of Nigeria, Chad and
Niger Republic. The force is in charge of security at
the countries’ borders.
The minister said, “Nigeria is receiving a lot of
cooperation from neighbouring countries relating to
the unfortunate terrorist attacks in the North-
Eastern part of Nigeria.
“You will remember that there is an international
force made up of Nigeria, Chad and Niger that is
working across the border to contain some of the
incidents that we have continued to witness in the
North-East.
“Recently, we have also seen increased cooperation
from Cameroon, particularly in dealing with the
insurgency along our border with Cameroon.”
Maku said African leaders, during an international
security conference organised as part of activities
for the nation’s centenary, spoke with one voice in
condemnation of the consistent attacks on innocent
citizens in the North-East.
He said the international outrage against the
insurgents was genuine and that was why Nigeria
had received increased cooperation and
collaboration from her neighbours.

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Jonathan fires Abdullahi, swears in 11 ministers

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday
relieved the Minister of Sports, Mallam Bolaji
Abdullahi, of his appointment.
Indication that Jonathan might have sacked
Abdullahi first emerged when the President was
assigning portfolios to the 11 new ministers who
took their oath of office at the Council Chambers of
the Presidential Villa shortly before the
commencement of the weekly Federal Executive
Council meeting.
Jonathan shocked those in attendance who thought
the new ministers would be assigned to only
ministries without ministers when he announced
that the new Rivers State nominee in the cabinet,
Dr. Tamuno Danagogo, would take over from
Abdullahi.
While reeling out the names of the remaining new
ministers with their portfolios amidst anxiety among
cabinet members, the President kept mum on
Abdullahi’s fate.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and
Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, later confirmed
Abdullahi’s sacking to State House correspondents.
Abati did not however give reason for the sacking.
Jonathan also said he would by next week name a
new set of ministers who would occupy the current
vacant positions in the cabinet.
The new ministers and their portfolios, according to
the President, are – Senator Musiliu Obanikoro,
Minister of State Defence; Mohammed Wakil,
Minister of State Power; Alhaji Abduljelili Adesiyan,
Minister of Police Affairs; and Ambassador Aminu
Wali, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Others are, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, Minister of
Housing, Land and Urban Development; Lawrencia
Laraba Mallam, Minister of Environment; Hajia
Asabe Asmau Ahmed, Minister of State Agriculture;
Gen. Aliyu Gusau, Minister of Defence; Boni Haruna,
Minister of Youth Development; and Dr. Khaliru
Alhassan, Minister of State, Health.
Jonathan told the new ministers to see themselves
as the servants of the people and therefore be
willing to serve and listen to them at all times.
Describing public office as a public trust, the
President urged the ministers to add value to
whatever they have been asked to do.
He said any public official should be able to look
back and point to an achievement after leaving
office.
He said, “I believe that if you have been given a
responsibility as a president, governor, minister, for
you to serve for a period of time, if by the time
you’re leaving you cannot look back and say that
this is an innovation that I brought to bear based on
my own creativity, I have been able to do things
differently from what others have done and now
things are being done better in my ministry or
whatever office you’re holding; if you cannot say
that, then you have failed.
“But if you can say that definitely yes I’ve brought
some innovations based on my own creativity and
things are being done differently, I have been able to
solve these problems within this period, then of
course you have succeeded.
“The challenge is for you now to adjust. So, your
duty is to make sure you bring changes, positive
changes not negative changes. And I believe you
will also work closely with others.
“For ministries that you have to work with another
minister, either as a minister of state or the
minister; two of you will relate, you will relate with
the permanent secretaries, heads of parastatals
working with you too.
“There are some people when they get a place,
they bring unity and make sure that everybody
works together for the success of their
administration. But some when they get to a place
they create divisions and all kinds of interests and
instead of making sure that the top government
functionary, either heads of parastatals, heads of
departments work together, you see problems and
everyday you talk about solving problems.
“In fact because of the issues of conflicts between
ministers and ministers of states, we will also
review schedule of duties in some of the ministries
to make sure that we reduce these conflicts to the
barest minimum.”
The President had earlier sacked the Minister of
Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah; Minister of Niger Delta
Affairs, Mr. Godsday Orubebe; Minister of Police
Affairs, Navy-Capt. Caleb Olubolade (retd); and the
Minister of State, Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama.

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Edo police arraign killer cop

The Edo State Police Command on Wednesday
arraigned one Valentine Ofuamaka, 39, over the
alleged killing of one Osagie Aisagbonbuomwan, a
truck driver, in Benin.
Ofumaka, a corporal attached to the police Special
Protection Unit, allegedly shot Aisagbonbuomwan
last Saturday, around Ramat Park, in the Ikpoba
Hill area of the state capital, for a yet-to-be
ascertained reasons.
The accused was remanded in prison by an
Ogbeson Chief Magistrate ‘s Court sitting at Ikpoba
Hill, Benin, as the presiding Chief Magistrate,
Jonathan Ogbeide, declined jurisdiction to hear the
matter due to what he described as the nature of
the offence.
According to the prosecution, the killer cop and
another, now at large, allegedly committed the
offence which is punishable under sections 324
and 316 of the Criminal Code.
The court ordered that the accused’s case file be
duplicated and forwarded to the Edo State Director
of Public Prosecution for legal advice.
The defendant’s plea was not taken by the court.
The magistrate adjourned the case till March 7,
2014 pending the Edo DPP advice.

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Asaba power substation April target feasible - contractor

The Project Manager, AK-AY Elektrik Nigeria
Ltd., Mr Odinaka Amobi, the firm handling
the Asaba Power Sub-Station in Delta, says the
April target date for the completion of the project is
feasible.
Amobi told the News Agency of Nigeria in an
interview on Thursday that about 90 per cent of
materials, plants and components needed for the
work were on ground.
He said that the company had taken delivery of a
150 MVA auto transformer for the project.
“With the 150 MVA auto transformers, the work on
the project is now at 90 per cent completed.
“There is no doubt that the effect of the substation
on power improvement will be huge when
completed,” he said.
According to him the substation has the capacity to
expand to meet the power needs of the future.
“This is a new Asaba 330/132/33 substation; we
are actually almost completing work which started
about 16 months ago.
“We are now almost at 90 per cent completion of
the civil works and as you can see all my high
voltage equipment are in place and we are
expected to commission this substation on or
before April this year.
“So, the good news about this is that we received
the 150 MVA auto transformer on Wednesday, this
will enable the stepping down of power from
national grid 330 to 132 lines,” he said.
Amobi said that the company was liaising with the
Transmission Company of Nigeria and other
stakeholders to ensure the completion of the 330
lines of the national grid from which the power
would be stepped down.
He thanked Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan and the
Commissioner for Energy, Mr Charles Emetulu, for
their support, encouragement and intervention to
ensure that the project would be completed on
time.
Amobi also commended the Ibusa, Ogwashi-Uku
and Asaba communities for their concern and
support and assured them of the contractor’s
commitment to deliver the project on target date.
He said that the sub-station would serve Asaba
and environs.

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Fire guts Zenith bank in Ibadan

Fire gutted the Dugbe branch of Zenith Bank,
Ibadan, on Thursday morning.
Details of the cause of the fire could not be
ascertained as at the time of filling this report. Fire
fighters are battling to put out the fire before it
extends to nearby buildings.

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5 policemen detained for renting rifle to kidnappers

OWERRI — Five policemen, serving in Imo State
police command, including the armourer of New
Owerri police division, are now in detention over
how one of the AK-47 rifles officially issued for
guard duties, ended up in the hands of dare devil
kidnappers operating in the state.
Confirming the develpoment to Vanguard in a
telephone interview yesterday, the state
Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Musa Katsina,
said while four of the five policemen were explaining
their involvement in the sordid act, the armourer is
being tried for negligent conduct.
Katsina said: “It is true that I ordered the arrest,
detention and interrogation of four serving
policemen of this command for allegedly renting one
of the rifles assigned to them to dare devil
kidnappers.”
According to the CP, all the police officers, including
the armourer, arrested in connection with the sordid
finding are now facing orderly room trial.
He said: “I have constituted a panel to try them.
They have been given the opportunity to explain
and anybody found to be involved in the crime
would be made to face the full weight of the law.”
Giving a graphic account of how the police
recovered the weapon from fleeing kidnappers,
Katsina said the command’s Ambush Squad gave a
hot chase to a gang of kidnappers and in the
process, they abandoned the gun in their
operational vehicle and ran away.
“When the vehicle was thoroughly searched, the
AK-47 rifle belonging to the command was
recovered. We traced the point of issue to New
Owerri police division and that is how the armourer
came into the picture,” the CP said.
Katsina said policemen are given weapons to
protect the citizens and not to use it to terrorize the
people they are supposed to protect.
“The four were officially assigned the weapons for
guard duties. The other three policemen never
reported to anybody that their colleague whose
weapon was later recovered from kidnappers, was
not reporting for duty” the CP said.
Vanguard investigations revealed that the four
policemen were posted to the residence of a retired
CP (names withheld), while Katsina has since
reported the incident to the Inspector General of
Police.

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