Sunday April 17, 2016

Big Read News

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News

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CBN projects higher lending, ination rates

FFuell scarcity: it

A nation in pains

…assures on key sector funding www.nationalmirroronline.net

Vol. 6

No. 16

April 17, 2016

Saraki ’s trial

National Mirror Online

@NationalMirror

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APC ready to lose Senate Presidency

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…it ’s price to pay for change, says Odigie-Oyegun

NDLEA arrests woman with ‘cocaine pregnancy ’ Ekiti 2014: Aluko courted trouble, says ex-Speaker

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Youths now ‘self employed ’ as ‘emergency petrol dealers ’ on the streets of Abuja, yesterday, as the nationwide fuel scarcity lingers despite recent government interventions.

Chibok Girls saga: Northern youths query CNN video Troops foil attempt to bomb Army formation in Pulka

Journalism on brink of extinction –Osoba News

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Al-Makura vows to punish perpetrators of Nasarawa crisis

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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2016 Budget:

Grandstanding at nation ’s peril

Passion

TALKING POINTS OF THE PAST WEEK April 17, 2016

We ’ll deal with pipeline vandals like Boko Haram, says President

lature had since Wednesday March 23, passed the N6.060trillion budget before proceeding on Easter break and transmitted same to the Presidency with the hope that it would be passed into law and implementation commence.

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President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Beijing warned vandals and saboteurs blowing up oil and gas installations in the country to desist immediately or face the same drastic action being taken against Boko Haram by the Armed Forces. A statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari spoke at a meeting with members

of the Nigerian community in China. Buhari also reaffirmed his total commitment to winning the war against corruption, describing it as the nation ’s arch-enemy, which has destroyed the lives of many Nigerians. “I ask for your support to make our vision of stamping out corruption a reality in the shortest possible time. Whoever is caught will not be spared.

“The government is still being dared.

Parents desperate to re-unite with children Parents of the 219 schoolgirls, abducted two years ago at Government Secondary NANSchool, Chibok in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, yesterday, had fresh memories of the incident, with majority emotionally desperate to re-unite with their daughters. Parents cried at the top of their voices as they wore depressed faces when a government delegation

arrived the school where the girls were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in their hostel on April 14, 2014. The visit was to commemorate the second year since the abduction took place. The delegation was made up of Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, Minister of Environment and leader of a Federal Government delegation.

NCC, MTN face-off: Payment of ne can ’t stop prosecution – AGF

People think actresses can ’t be loyal to their husband –Actress Annes Anaekwe Wellness

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We ’re one step closer to eradicating polio in Nigeria

Poliomyelitis otherwise known as polio is an infectious disease caused by a virus (enterovirus C) which invades the nervous system and can lead to total paralysis in a matter of hours.

The virus is transmitted by person to person spread mainly through the fecal oral route or less frequently by a common vehicle such as contaminated

water or food and multiplies in the intestine.

According to experts, polio cases have decreased over the years in endemic countries as compared to the past when ailment are easily spread from endemic areas into polio-free areas.

World Health organisation, WHO, 2014 reports have it that parts of three countries.

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, AGF, Abubakar Malami, yesterday told the House of Representatives Committee on Telecommunications that the payment of N1.04 trillion fine handed down to MTN Nigeria by the Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC, does not preclude its pros-

ecution if found culpable of infringement of Nigerian laws. The minister who appeared the second time at the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday also said the ongoing investigation by the House Committee has sent a clear message to all that in Nigeria, it would no longer be business as usual.

Man in Hijab arrested for stealing in Minna A middle-aged man who specialises in wearing hijab and niqab and terrorising the residents of Kwasau area in Dutsen Kura quarters in Minna the capital of Niger State has been arrested. It was gathered that the suspect, simply known as Mike (Igbo) was seen at around 5.30 am yesterday in hijab and niqab, and in possession of properties he had supposedly stolenfrom his victims. Eyewitness said upon sighting a resident of the area that morning. in an effort to hide, he ran into a crowd that gave him a hot chase and he ran into an

INEC declares APC, APGA winners of FCT rerun All Progressives Congress, APC and the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, emerged winners of last Wednesday ’s rerun elections in four area councils of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. The rerun elections were held in the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, Kuje, Abaji and Gwagwalada where Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared the April 9 elections inconclusive. INEC declared the elections inconclusive as a result of violence, over voting and non-use of the smart card readers or accreditation of voters, and ordered a rerun

Kogi to benet $508m strategic investment loan Kogi is poised to benefit from the eight-year Strategic Investment Loan, SIL, of $508.59m to ameliorate the effect of environmental degradation in the state. The project, which is in collaboration with the International Development Association, IDA; the Global Environment Facility, GEF; Trust Fund, and the Federal Government,

would be implemented by the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, NEWMAP. While receiving representatives of the World Bank and NEWMAP at Government House, Lokoja yesterday, Governor Yahaya Bello said environmental degradation and its challenges had been a serious problem in Kogi.

Delta Assembly okays Okowa ’s N2bn overdraft request Delta State House of Assembly yesterday approved the N2 billion structural overdraft facility requested

by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to bridge funding gaps in critical expenditure needs of the state from the First City Monument Bank, FCMB. The approval of the facility followed a request by Governor Okowa, through a letter to the House. Speaker

of the House, Mr. Monday Igbuya, who presided over the plenary and read the letter to members, said the bank expressed willingness to grant the state government ’s request under certain conditions. According to the letter, a resolution of the House approving the request from the state government was one of the conditions given by the bank.

uncompleted building to escape them. He was forced to jump out of the building from the window, but the crowd got hold of him. They arrested him, and upon questioning, he (Mike) told them that he hailed from Niger Delta and married with children. He was immediately arrested, and handed over to the police. Afterward, a search was conducted on the suspects ’ house. and all manner of properties were discovered. A residents of the area, Musa Sadiq, happy with the arrest of the suspect, said he has been terrorising the area for too long.

in 39 polling units in 20 registration areas. In the result released yesterday, INEC declared the APC candidate, Ibrahim Adamu Candido, winner of AMAC with 27, 482 votes. Also in Kuje Area Council, Abdullahi Galadima of the APC won with 15,175 votes; while Joseph Shazih won in Kwali Area Council with 15,309 votes.

The party ’s candidates also won in Bwari and Abaji area councils. However, APGA ’s candidate, Adamu Mustapha was declared chairmanelect of Gwagwalada Area Council with 15,950 votes. Candidate of the APC, Abubakar Jubril, got 14,569 votes.

Siaka Nimat

A MODEL, BEAUTY QUEEN AND POTENTIAL WRITER.

MON

The ongoing rift between President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly, NASS, over certain issues in the 2016 budget has generated serious concern and seen to have impacted negatively on the country ’s economy.

The federal legis-

Seven Days

As soon as I ’m up, I say my prayers after which I go for workout.

It might not necessarily mean going to the gym but I do work out.

Just to keep fit and to maintain my good physique. Then I get set and prepare for some outdoor and studio photo shoot and that keeps me busy all day.

TUE

Politics

Still same daily routine but after I ’m back from my work out, I shower and get set to go to the library, to get inspiration and write down some stuffs. I love writing.

SUN SAT FRI THU WED

åååå What ’s

After my daily routine, I attend events or meetings that might have been fixed before time and attend them as a beauty queen.

After the usual dailies, I sit down in my room to write, writing keeps me busy.

This is the day I usually map out lots of designs because as a fashionista, I design what people wear and choose how best it would blend.

I visit the movies with friends, and there after go for launch and dinner together.

This is the Sabbath day, I always remember to keep it holy. I don ’t do much, I try to rest on this da *By Adaeze Amos (08023012293)

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

THE

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Big Read SUNDAY SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016

Fuel scarcity:

A nation in pains The protracted fuel crisis has seen Nigerians going through hell.

With the measures put in place by government to put an end to the scarcity gradually being impacted on the citizenry, PAUL OMO OBADAN writes on the lighter side of the fuel crisis which had virtually paralysed every sector of the economy.

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he anguish and huge financial, human and material losses Nigerians have been experiencing since the protracted fuel scarcity began have been monumental.

Nigerians spend better part of their day on queues at filling stations, waiting to get fuel at double or triple the normal price while businesses run at a loss on a daily basis. The electricity situation has also not help matters as citizens continuously lament over poor power supply and outright outage, a fall out of the lingering scarcity.

A few filling stations that have fuel are economical with the sale, resulting in hoarding, to the dismay of the disgruntled buyers.

From the North to the South-East down to the oil-rich Niger Delta Region through the commercial cities in the South-West, black market operators have had field day, running their business with impunity even as the

security personnel who should put them to check look the other way, and even in some cases, patronize them.

Daily, the price of fuel soared, making the commodity almost out of the reach of the vast majority of the consumers who groan endlessly under the yoke of the current harsh economic situation in the land.

In Lagos, for instance, a litre of the product sells for between N120 and N250 at some filling stations, depending on what part of the city you are making a purchase.

This is in sharp contrast to the official pump prices of N86 and N86.50 while black market hawkers make brisk business, selling as high as N400 per litre.

Meanwhile, queues of motorists and other petrol users have failed to disappear as at press time on Saturday despite assurances from the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, that scarcity would become a thing of the past as the product would be mas-

‘FUEL SCARCITY SLOWS DOWN SOCIAL, ECONOMIC LIFE’ 4

sively available to the people.

This is coming as members of the 14-man committee inaugurated by the minister to mediate in the feud by factions of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, held a meeting on Wednesday afternoon in Abuja and insisted that the queues across the country were largely because of the rivalry in the association.

Last week, when Kachikwu raised the committee he charged it with the task of doing everything possible to bring back peace to the association at the national, zonal and depot levels.

Although the queues in Lagos had reduced marginally when compared to last week’s experience, the same could not be said of other parts of the country.

The few filling stations that dispensed petrol in Lagos axis had hundreds of motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders, as well as motorists on queues, waiting to be served.

Similarly, filling stations run by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, were besieged by fuel seekers as its outlets dispensed at the government approved price, while many others sold the product at cut throat rates.

While most Nigerians continue to bemoan the perennial scarcity, some, in their craftiness, have capitalised on the situation to make brisk business. No doubt, for this category of Nigerians, the fuel crisis was a blessing in disguise. Since the commencement of the fuel scarcity, virtually all street corners of the Centre of Excellence have been converted to micro fuel depots by CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

‘GOVT MUST BUILD NEW REFINERIES’ 5

The Big Read

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Sunday, April 17, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Fuel scarcity slows down social, economic life’

Saraki Buhari

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 black market operators, just as jerrycans, in different and sizes now litter the streets. Sunday Mirror gathered that tomato sellers and the likes place gallons of fuel parri-passu with their perishables to market and sell and make brisk money, irrespective of the risk implications. According to Munirat Adeoye, one of the operators of this illicit business at Sandgross Market, Lagos Island, she had generated enough money to pay her children’s school fees as well as meet up with other sundry expenses. “Government has not provided me with the basic amenities for a better life, this is my time to make some money”, she said in her polluted vernacular.

‘Fuel crisis has helped cement my family union’ Mrs. Chinyere Obi narrated how the crisis has helped to bring her husband closer to his family. “Before the crisis, my husband was coming home by 12 midnight. At that time, the kids must have gone to bed. And, he would leave home by 5.45 am. The fuel crisis has clipped his wings.

Apart from his job, he hardly goes anywhere because the tanks of his three cars remain empty. On weekends, he hardly stayed home. It was either he’s watching football at a popular TV viewing centre in the neighbourhood or he’s gone out with some friends. But now, the story is completely different as I’m beginning to appreciate my husband all over again as though we got married just yesterday,” she said.

In the same vein, two school children, Clifford and Ebere said that their parents no longer keep late nights mainly because of the fear that they might be stranded outside as only few commercial vehicles ply the road at late hours.

Ditto, David Lawani who resides in Ikeja, Lagos, said that since the fuel crisis, he and his family members have not, for sometime now, experienced noisy nights as their neighbour who runs his generator all through the night could not buy fuel to power his generator.

Conversely, a mother of four and petty trader based in Gowon Estate, Egbeda, a Lagos suburb, Mrs Margaret Olomofe, narrated her travails to Sunday Mirror. She said that she has lost pots of soup since the beginning of the crisis due to the non-availability of fuel to power her family generator, owing to lack of electricity supply in her area. She said: “ I was compelled to dispose my three pots of soup at different times in just one week, simply because there was no electricity to preserve my soup and l could not cope with the pressure of buying fuel at exorbitant prices to power my generator.

Besides, she said she virtually lost all her food items stocked in her refrigerator. These items, according to her, are assorted frozen fish, vegetables and meat products among others which cost she put at N20,000 in the past weeks. “I am tired of spending so much money to buy fuel from the black market to power my generator. The food in the fridge have all gone bad and l keep throwing them away.

Although my husband understands the situation we are now, he is just not happy with me.

Further investigation by Sunday Mirror revealed that while Lagos residents continue to suffer the effects of the scarcity, many filling stations, including those belonging to major and independent oil marketers, had stocks, but

In search of fuel

THE UNABATING FUEL SCARCITY HAS HITHERTO CREATED NUMEROUS CASUALTIES IN THE COUNTRY.

THESE CASUALTIES CUT ACROSS INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, CORPORATE ESTABLISHMENTS, SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESS OPERATORS, GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENTS AND INSTITUTIONS AMONG OTHERS.

refused to sell to create artificial scarcity to enable them sell above the N87 per litre pump price. They open at night when they were sure that the regulatory agencies were not on duty and sell between N110 and N150 per litre and above.

For those with jerry cans, some stations collect as much as extra N5,000 to fill 25-litre cans.

At the Oando filling station at Seliat Bus-Stop, Egbeda, it was a spectacle to watch consumers who hitherto brought different sizes of kegs to buy petrol to power their generators turned back.

They refused to sell in kegs, patrons were, instead told to bring their generators or generator fuel tanks to the filling stations. A middle-aged man who rolled his generator to the filling station told Sunday Mirror that he went through hell to get his generator to the filling station. “With the scorching sun and blackout, comes heat in the night. Coincidentally, my wife just gave birth to twins. So when I get a hint of availability of fuel around my neighbourhood, I ensure I roll my big generator to the filling station. It is a hell of work for me. In fact, right now, I have developed a back ache and most times when I roll my ‘gen’ to the gas station, it is not always that I get fuel. It is a terrible situation”, he lamented.

‘DPR needs to wake up to its responsibility’ A public commentator, Ismail Ibrahim told Sunday Mirror that appropriate punitive measures should be meted out to marketers who hoard and inflate prises at critical times like this.

“The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), needs to wake up to its responsibility and ensure that in such situations, even if they entail working beyond the normal working hours, appropriate punishment should be meted to those marketers that tend to disrupt economic activities by creating artificial scarcity, through hoarding.

“Operating licences of such marketers can as well be revoked or retail stations found flouting the guidelines closed for a reasonable period.

“The regulators should allow the government concentrate on how to tackle and eliminate crude and product theft and pipeline vandalism”, Ismail warned.

Most filling stations in Lagos are yet to get sufficient supply of the product and vehicle queues have remained endless with most frustrated motorists losing hope of getting the product to buy.

This scenario has consequently made it possible for the black market dealers to sell to motorists at cut-throat prices.

For instance, a 10-litre keg of petrol, as at Friday, still sells in Lagos metropolis for as high as between N2,500 and N3,500 , depending on the negotiating power of the buyer. For 20 or 30 litres of the PMS, the hawkers insist on between N5,000 and N8,000. In some cases, the product sold is an adulterated version which has obvious implications for whoever buys it.

Some economists in the country have put the loss the Nigerian economy has suffered as a result of the on-going fuel crisis in Nigeria to roughly N2.4 trillion (about 3 percent of the nation’s GDP). This quantum loss they say, has created a lot of pressure on the national economy, especially at a time the country’s revenue profile was on a downward plunge.

The national, corporate and individual losses have been quite immeasurable so far, going by the accounts of the various respondents who have felt the impact of the fuel crisis.

However, the unabating fuel scarcity has hitherto created numerous casualties in the country. These casualties cut across individuals, families, corporate establishments, small and medium business operators, government establishments and institutions among others. For instance, residents of the metroplis, have particularly experienced untold difficulties commuting from their various homes to their places of work and business locations. The same scenario, Sunday Mirror gathered, occurs in most parts of the country where the biting fuel scarcity has been severe, thereby crippling movements by commuters.

In the aviation sector, the situation is the same and the losses are downright enormous. Most airlines that operated for the greater part of last week, could not break even.

The whole scenario is typified by the experience a pocket of expatriates who were supposed to be picked up by assigned drivers waited in vain because of the non-availability of fuel. Instead, the expatriates hired police officers who escorted them to their various destinations.

“In fact, everybody is being affected by what is happening in the oil industry, Even ‘Oyibo’ (white man), dey enter Okada”, a passer-by at the Ikeja Airport retorted when he sighted the expatriate on a bike.

Just as the fuel situation affects commodity traders and product manufacturers, most of whom have no petroleum products to operate their industrial machines for production purposes, the local and inter-state transporters are groaning. They complained that the high cost of transport fares is eating into their daily profit margin. Some of them also told Sunday Mirror that because of the inadequate or lack of fuel supply, they have consequently cut down on the number of trips they undertake daily.

Commuters resort to trekking like refugees seeking a safe haven Alhaji Musibau Adigun, a major transporter in the Oshodi axis of Lagos, told our correspondent that out of the ten vehicles in his fleet, he has operated only four of them in the last one week. “I have to park the six other vehicles because l cannot get enough fuel to operate them. Most of my drivers have been idle as a result and it has affected us so much, economically“, he said, adding that “we are presently making about 35 per cent of what we use to generate from our transport operations daily when the fuel supply situation was normal. In fact, something urgent has to be done by the government because the whole thing is getting out of hand despite the promises that the tanker drivers have CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday, April 17, 2016

The Big Read

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‘Govt must build new refineries’ Comrade Igho Akeregha, is the interim President Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Lagos, Nigeria. He sheds more light on the prolonged fuel scarcity in this interview with PAUL OMO OBADAN. How did we get to this mess and how can we get out of it because it is a national disgrace?

The Civil Liberties Organization has watched with bewilderment how Nigerians have been agonizing to get fuel.

It is such a pity. Fuel scarcity saga is laughable for the rest of the world. Nigeria is known as the largest Africa’s oil producer. Nigeria produces vast amount of oil. But the country has few functioning refineries, leaving Nigeria dependent on imports to fill up gas tanks across the country. It is a paradox: the country produces more crude than anywhere else in Africa. But it depends on imported gasoline and diesel, subsidized by the government, to keep the lights on and cars running across the country. The new government of President Muhammadu Buhari has to find a lasting solution to this problem.

As one of the richest countries in the world, Nigeria parades some of the poorest and hungriest citizens around the globe today with lack of social services, including persistent inability to supply basic energy and potable water. Nigeria and her citizens have been subjected to mass unemployment, shameless looting and rampant corruption. To add salt into injury, we have the perennial fuel crisis.

How do we as a country solve this problem of scarcity of petroleum products permanently?

History has shown that the more effort Nigeria makes in solving this problem, the more complex it becomes.

The fact is that no matter the strength of drugs on an ailment, as long as the medication is not the right one, such illness can never subside. This is the case of Nigeria that has been visiting the wrong drugs to treat the petroleum scarcity disease.

There cannot be relief, no matter how long we continue with the approach.

History has also shown that no nation has developed with foreign technology as Nigeria has been trying to do.

We have said time without number that technology is evolved locally or stolen, adopted and refurbished.

What has been happening with our leaders is that they

WHAT WE ARE SAYING IS THAT SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS SCARCITY IN

NIGERIA IS

THE ABILITY TO BUILD NEW REFINERIES WITH LOCAL TECHNOLOGY, INSTEAD OF SPENDING THIS WHOPPING SUM OF MONEY IMPORTING Akeregha

PETROLEUM PRODUCTS FROM

have not understood this natural fact that technology must be developed from within. If they (leaders) ever understand this simple logic, they are bound not to be spending fabulous amount of money on the so-called turn-around maintenance on our ailing refineries. Why do we have universities if not for research and learning?

What we are saying is that solution to the problem of petroleum products scarcity in Nigeria is the ability to build new refineries with local technology, instead of spending this whopping sum of money importing petroleum products from outside the country. The huge funds used in paying ‘experts’ to come and service our refineries that have outlived their existence would have been better channelled into research or encouragement for the operators of illegal refineries. Evidence abound that crude oil has been locally refined in the Niger Delta by the people we derogatorily referred to as ‘oil thieves’.

What that means is that it is indisputable that local refineries exist in Nigeria and if that is the case, why can’t we count on that to build refineries to save the country the embarrassment of importing fuel?

Refining crude oil locally will not only make available,

enough products for local consumption, but will provide employment for our teeming population of unemployed youths.

It also stands to beef up our external earnings, as foreign exchange rate will naturally rise.

We have said severally that Nigeria has the capacity to refine crude oil and enjoy full benefits accruable to a fifth oil producer in the world.

The problem, perhaps, has been lack of political will.

Government must build new refineries as well as encourage private sector participation by creating the enabling environment. The National Assembly should expedite action on the Petroleum Industry Bill by passing it before the expiration of the present administration. These measures will not only solve the problem of petroleum product scarcity, but will create large numbers of jobs, empower the citizens economically and promote local content in the oil and gas industry.

in Nigeria, it has taken series of steps to ensure that this promise is met. Last week, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency PPPRA in a statement by its head Corporate Services, Lanre Oladele revealed that the federal government has retained the pump price of petrol at the prevailing N86.50 for oil marketers and N86 for retail outlets belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC, for the second quarter of 2016.

The statement by the PPPRA also disclosed that the NNPC has been allocated 41.73 per cent of the total import quota for the second quarter of 2016, while other marketers got a total allocation of 58.27 per cent. This is different from the allocation formula for the first quarter in 2016, where the NNPC was allocated 78 per cent and other marketers 22 per cent.

It is speculated that the decision to reduce the NNPC’s allocation for Q2 may have been informed by the persistent fuel scarcity which has showed that the NNPC is struggling to keep up with being the sole importer of petrol. It also follows Kachikwu’s revelation that the development has been a burden on the corporation. The corporation has been faced with supply constraints due to foreign exchange challenges, although, they said resolving this is through collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria on innovative ways of closing the gaps in accessing foreign exchange. Some of the major international upstream oil companies have indicated their willingness to support major oil marketing companies with some of the required foreign exchange. NNPC said it is also working on a joint partnership with technically and financially capable investors to ensure that petroleum products, transportation

and storage facilities are efficiently operated on an openaccess common-carrier user-tariff basis.

The PPPRA has also put a truck-out policy in place, instructing depot owners to ensure that petroleum products get to their designated retail outlets across the country.

They have also warned that adequate sanctions await any depot owner found hoarding products.

The National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, said, “If the product is available, we will load it. The NNPC should make the product available; we are ready to load 24 hours for the benefit of Nigerians. Our vehicles are ready and we have already paid.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers said it is ready to work with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to end the lingering fuel crisis in the country. The union noted in a statement on Wednesday that since 60 per cent of its members were involved in the distribution of petroleum products across the country, it had the capacity to end the fuel shortage.

The President, NUPENG, Igwe Achese, said in a statement, “The Federal Government should also assist the marketers through the Central Bank of Nigeria to procure foreign exchange to import petroleum products in order to cushion the biting effects of fuel scarcity.

“The union also enjoins the Federal Government to honour and pay all joint venture agreements to end the current lull in the upstream oil and gas business. The union calls on the Federal Government to make the refineries work optimally to reduce the dependence on foreign importation of petroleum products.”

OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY.

‘Worst fuel scarcity in recent years’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

started lifting fuel “.

As the fuel scarcity impact continues to ravage economic activities in virtually every part of Nigeria, residents of major towns and cities including several workers, especially civil servants, Sunday Mirror gathered, did not go to work as most staff buses did not show up because they were out of fuel. To some of them, the nation was gradually shutting down.

In the past several days, the on-going shortage of fuel has hit another crisis point and many locals have taken to social media to vent their frustration.

Fuel is used not just for cars and trucks in Nigeria, but also commonly used to power generators for homes and businesses across the country. Many Nigerians commonly have limited electricity daily.

Fuel scarcity in Nigeria has continued to break records in the history of excruciating discomfort caused by the nonavailability of Premium Motor Spirit across the country.

The current crisis has been described as the most protracted scarcity in recent times.

Fuel Scarcity: The Long Queue In Abuja A social media user named Miz Carzola based in Abuja has shared what she believes is the longest queue for fuel in the history of Nigeria in the course of different fuel crises that have so far become a normal occurrence in the country.

In her words: “I personally witnessed a queue like this in Abuja during the Easter break. I was more than shocked!

This is Nigeria’s reality at the moment”.

Following a recent assurances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC of plans to end fuel scarcity

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NEWS

Sunday April 17, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Saraki’s trial: APC ready to lose Senate Presidency –Odigie-Oyegun OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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he National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, John Odigie-Oyegun has said that the party has no problems with the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki in the Code of Conduct Tribunal and that the party would be ready to make the sacrifice of losing the exalted office in the interest of the ‘change’ agenda of the present government.

Speaking to the media in Abuja over the weekend, Chief Oyegun also admitted that the party was aware of the hardship Nigerians were going through under the APC-led government, but assured that President Muhammadu Buhari was on top of the situation and was really determined to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians.

Asked if the party would not bother if it lost the seat of President of the Senate following the removal of Bukola Saraki because of the party’s narrow majority, the APC national chairman said “Well, I don’t think we will lose that position. But sometimes, for change to take place, there is a price you have to pay. So, losing the position may be a sacrifice for change.”

He further said, “We don’t take anything for granted. As they are planning, we are also planning. The situation is

under control. The whole situation is unfortunate, but it is real. What political situation in a legal matter? Are the judges politicians? The President is certainly not the type who will interfere in a judicial matter. I think we know him well. Everybody must know him.

Things must be done normally. And that is part of the change mantra that we must play by the rules, so that we don’t truncate processes.

“People don’t seem to internalise what change is. If the President says “court, free that man”, the same President can say “court, imprison that man.” Is that the Nigeria you want? No! Change means allowing the law to take the proper course. I can tell you the President won’t interfere. The President is straight, definite, straight and firm in all facets.”

On the hardship Nigerians are facing in the last one year, Chief Oyegun said, “It is very unfortunate. But Mr. President is determined. It is unfortunate that the problem is much worse than we expected; much worse in the sense that we have to develop process that will truly produce jobs; that will truly produce progress.

“We really want to avoid blaming the past because people no longer want that; they just want these conditions to change. But we still must

Kachikwu in Doha for crucial oil producers’ summit UDEME AKPAN

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he attention of the global oil and gas community has virtually descended on Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, venue of Sunday’s crucial oil-producing countries ministerial meeting convoked to seek remedy to the lingering decline in the price of crude oil in the international market.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, is already in Doha where preliminary meetings among top oil producing ministers has commenced.

A statement from the

Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Mr. Garba Deen Muhammad explained that Kachikwu was currently putting heads together with oil ministers from other member countries to seek practicable measures to strike a balance between supply and demand of crude oil with a view to arresting the decline in oil price.

Sunday’s crucial meeting is expected to be attended by ministers of the 12-member Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, made up of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Venezuela, Libya, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Angola, Algeria and Indonesia as well as non-OPEC member countries led by Mexico, Bahrain, Oman and Russia.

face the reality. For instance, I don’t think there is one Nigerian that is not aware of heavy expenditure on electricity that did not result in improved supply. Sixteen years of mismanagement added to the collapse of oil caused the problem. But I assure you the President is very determined to bring the change. But you can’t blame Nigerians for the

outcry.

“The wife of a man who was bringing N100 home before, but now brings N40 will fight. Every single member of the family will feel it. That’s the situation with Nigerians. But Nigerians must also be aware that those people who hold the country to stranglehold are fighting back. Corruption is fighting back very massively. Look at the is-

sue of fuel scarcity. Even as a party, we had to call the minister of state for Petroleum Resources. We asked, “how do we explain all this?” The revelations were frightening? Yes, frightening! But I was elated by the fact that in another few years, even before our first tenure ends, we could even become a net exporter of refined oil.

“So, the Buhari adminis-

tration is not just planning that people don’t queue again; we are already planning for full availability of products.

But beyond, we will ensure refineries go back to work. And other refineries from the private sector are coming. So, we appeal; our new orientation is that Nigeria changes to a producing economy from a consuming one.”

L-R: Senators Mohammed Gobir, Shehu Sani; Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki; Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Carlos Trejososa and Deputy Head of the Cuban Mission in Nigeria, Ms. Miriam Morales Palmero, during a courtesy visit to the Senate President by the envoy in Abuja recently.

‘Nigeria losing billions from illegal discharge of oil, gas cargoes’

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group of maritime industry stakeholders under the aegis of Nigerians Against Theft in the Maritime Sector, NATIMS, yesterday said that the Federal Government would continue to lose huge revenue if it allowed illegal discharge of oil and gas cargoes in undesignated terminals.

The group stated this in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos.

It expressed disappointment with the comments made by terminal operators at the Tin Can Island, Lagos against other operators outside Lagos, when the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Retired Col. Hameed Ali, recently toured their facilities.

The terminal operators alleged that Nigeria was losing billions of naira due to a monopoly which allowed for the discharge of oil and gas related cargoes only at designated terminals.

The Chairman of NATIMS, Dr Jonas Bankole, had repeatedly said that some private jetty operators still allowed illegal discharge by ships in their terminals.

NATIMS in the statement

said that two of the companies that complained about monopoly are notorious for illegal diversion of vessels.

It also said that while one of them was closed for 36 days between December 2015 and January 2016 for illegally diverting a vessel, the other paid N2.5 billion in February, 2016, before a ship which was diverted to its terminal was released.

“It is the same group of companies that were dealt a blow in March 2016 when a Federal High Court in Lagos struck out their suit against the Federal Government on grounds of lack of jurisdiction.

“In the suit, Ports and Terminal Operators Nigeria Ltd. (PTOL) had alleged that vessels meant for their jetties were being diverted to other terminals since October 2013.

“During the comptrollergeneral’s visit, the companies accused government agencies of shortchanging the Federal Government in terms of expected revenue from the maritime sector,’’ NATIMS said.

According to the group, it was a known fact that any ship carrying oil and gas cargoed and illegally diverted to

a private jetty, instead of an appropriate terminal as required by law, translated into a huge financial loss to the Federal Government.

The statement said, ``Instead of discharging at the rate of 5.8 dollars per tonne of cargo at the appropriate terminal, same transaction goes for one dollar at the private jetties’’.

NATIMS noted that over the years, NPA had offered technical explanations on why private jetties would not be allowed to receive Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) and oceangoing vessels.

It said that the reasons had to do with the shallow nature of the depth of the water where the jetties were located, space required for large vessels to manoeuvre and the need to avoid any mishap which would have dire consequences on the movement of other vessels.

“Furthermore, there is a Presidential order banning private jetties from receiving ocean-going vessels at their terminals directly without such vessels first berthing at the concessionaires’ ports.

“Obtaining all clearance

before proceeding to final destination for discharge,’’ the statement said.

NATIMS said that the visit of the comptroller-general to the Tin ssCan Island was ``aimed at standardising Customs procedures, harmonising operations and enhancing revenue collection’’.

The group urged the government to investigate all the issues raised before considering the demands made by the terminal operators in Tin Can Island.

The NCS, however, said it would look into laws concerning the discharge of oil and gas related cargoes in some terminals in the country.

The comptroller-general recently went on a tour of facilities of Snake Island Integrated Free Zone (SIIFZ) and Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), against the backdrop of controversies surrounding the discharge of oil and gas-related cargoes at designated terminals.

Ali said, ``I have listened to your presentations. I would like to assure you that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is one of fairness, equity and transparency.’’

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NEWS

Sunday April 17, 2016

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CBN projects higher lending, inflation rates

…assures on key sectors’ funding TOLA AKINMUTIMI WASHINGTON D.C.

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he Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday projected a likely surge in lending rates in the months ahead as domestic and international headwinds continue to undermine efforts aimed at keeping the nation’s inflation rate at single digit level.

Making the projection during an interactive session with journalists at the sidelines of the ongoing World Bank/ IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, the apex bank Governor, Godwin

Emefiele, said that a situation where inflation rate was higher than the Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, or benchmark lending rate, was not an acceptable model.

The seasoned banker, however, pointed out that despite the current domestic and global fiscal headwinds affecting the economy negatively, the CBN would continue to do everything reasonable to stimulate broad-based growth of the economy through innovative monetary policy measures.

Specifically, he main-

Nigeria, others need policy reset to stem sliding growth -IMF TOLA AKINMUTIMI WASHINGTON

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s fiscal and other commodity price-triggered challenges continue to undermine sub-Saharan countries’ economic growth drives, governments in the region have been advised to reset their policies as a remedial option for survival and sustainable growth.

Giving the advice during the African Press Briefing at the ongoing World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, United States, the Director, African Department, IMF, Dr. Antoinette Sayeh, said the policy measures were imperative to reverse the slowing growth trends in their economies. She hinged the Fund’s position on the fact the various governments’ policy responses to date have generally been insufficient to engender the desired growth in the affected economies.

Sayeh, who recalled that generally the economies in the region had recorded an extended period of strong economic growth in the past years, said that analysis by the IMF indicated that sub-Saharan Africa was set to experience a second difficult year.

Noting that while oil importing countries in the region such as Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Senegal and other low-income countries are far-

ing quite well with growth in excess of five per cent or even higher rates, their oil-exporting counterparts such as Nigeria and Angola continued to face particularly difficult economic conditions.

Sayeh noted, however, that as challenging as the economic situation remained for most of the countries, prospects for growth in the medium term appeared promising for as many commodity-exporting countries that respond to the current problems with proactive fiscal and monetary policy measures.

She explained: “To reap the strong medium-term potential, a substantial policy reset is critical in many countries in the region. And the reset is urgent, as the policy response to date has generally been insufficient.

“In commodity-exporting countries, fiscal and foreign reserves are depleting rapidly, and financing is constrained.

Consequently, commodity exporters should respond to the lower export earnings and budgetary revenues promptly and robustly, to prevent a disorderly adjustment.

“As revenue from extractive sector is likely durably reduced, many affected countries critically need to contain fiscal deficits and build a sustainable tax base from the rest of the economy,” Sayeh canvassed.

tained that the bank’s supportive monetary measures would continue to be focused on critical sectors such as agriculture and mining that have the potential of boosting domestic production and by implication, help in the efforts to sustain macroeconomic stability and inclusive growth.

On the current shocks being experienced by oilexporting commodities, Emefiele said mitigating the negative impact could be achieved through the diversification of the economies and described the drive by government to diversify the economic base as a step in the right direction.

His words: “Practically,

all are facing the challenges and everybody is looking at the possibility of diversifying their economies from being over-reliant on oil. So, obviously we are on the right course, but the challenges are still there not just for Nigeria but for different countries in the world. What is important is that I reemphasise that we are on the right course by saying that we need to continue to diversify our economy and I think for Nigeria, I see light at the end of the tunnel because we have a couple of Nigerian investors that have embraced the diversification of the Nigerian economy.

“Truly, Nigerians expect that if they want to

access fund they should do so at a low interest rate but, of course, you will agree with me that with the increase in inflation rate from about 11.3 per cent that it was in February to almost about 12.4 per cent in March, naturally what you find is that interest rate will still have to go up sort of because when you have the MPR below the inflation rate, is not a model that is acceptable. Interest rate has to be higher than inflation rate. So, that is what we expect,” Emefiele added.

Restating the commitment of the CBN to stimulate growth in critical sectors of the economy, the governor explained that the regulatory financial

L-R: Head of Service, Winifred Ita Oyo; Minister of State Health, Osagie Ehinare and Chief Opral Benson, at the presentation of a book on beauty therapy, written by wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, at State House Conference Centre in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: ANAYO OPARA

PDP congresses: Kogi, Ondo, Edo exempted OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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eoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said that only three states, Kogi, Ondo and Edo are exempted from the nationwide congresses holding across the copuntry.

The party in a statement by its National Publicity

Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said the decision was taken “In view of the resolve of the leadership of the PDP to enthrone and sustain internal democracy within our fold, and in line with the decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) on the exemption of states with ongoing congresses as well as non-contentious

states from the forthcoming congresses.

“Accordingly, the remaining 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will be involved in elective congresses starting on Saturday, April 23, 2016”.

Meantime, the party has also announced a new caretaker committee for Yobe State. The commit-

Journalism on brink of extinction –Osoba

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former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, has said that journalism was on the brink of extinction due to the advent of the new media.

Osoba, who is also a veteran journalist and former Managing Director of the Daily Times, said this yesterday in Lagos at the 1st Quarterly National Ex-

ecutive Council (NEC) meeting of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme with the theme: ‘Journalists As Agents of Change’ was held at the Combo Hall, Lagos Television, Agindingbi, Ikeja. Osoba said that journalism as a profession needed to

institution would continue, as much as possible, to see how it could continue to increase interventions to certain sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture and mining, the real sector, other areas that would boost domestic production.

Similarly, he listed areas that would help the country’s push from relying on oil and seeing goods that can be produced in the country as well as where investors who are investing in domestic production rather than following up on export are found as among areas that would continue to enjoy funding and other interventions from the bank.

be redirected and refocused to meet the modern day demands including the internet.

“I want to touch the area that is most important to us as journalists. We are on the brink of extinction and the media is on its way out.

“The advent of this age of internet, the electronics and the print media must devise

a way out. On You Tube now, I can download everything with the aid of internet, everything I needed.

“For most of us in the profession, we must check the actions of quacks and everybody claiming to be journalist; they are not members of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

“NUJ as a body needs to see

that they are in charge otherwise internet would be turned by some people to avenues of blackmail which are perpetrated by non-professionals,’’ he advised. Osoba urged the NUJ to be more proactive in dealing with quacks in journalism, adding that there was a new order in the profession now with the advent of internet.

tee has Alhaji Mohammed El-Yakub as chairman and Alhaji Bello Mahmud Jamaare as secretary.

Other members are Alhaji Abba Gana Tata, Mallam Hassan Ibn Jaks, Hon. Kachallah Mai Hassan, Hon. Mohammed Kadai, Mamu, Alhaji Mohammed, Alhaji Hassan Adamu and Mrs. Zainab Boni Haruna.

“We should not allow this profession to be corrupted by a few individuals who are turned to tools in the hands of some people for their own interest.

“Journalists must aspire to balance their stories by getting the other side of their stories and not engaging in what I refer to as “Escaping Journalism”.

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News

Sunday Mirror Sunday April 17, 2016 www.nationalmirroronline.net

Troops foil attempt to bomb Army formation in Pulka ...rescue 455 captives from Boko Haram BONG UKPONG ABUJA

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he Nigerian Army yesterday said that its troops have foiled an attempt by Boko Haram insurgents to

bomb its formation at Pulka.

An update through its Director of Army Public Relations, DAPR, Colonel Sani Usman, also disclosed that 455 captives of the sect were

also freed by troops in an operation on Friday.

Usman said that, “in the early hours of Friday, some elements of Boko Haram terrorists in five gun trucks,

motorcycles and two Golf cars laden with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from Sambisa forest axis attempted an attack on 121 Task Force Battalion at Pulka.

“The ever alert and vigilant troops rose to the occasion and successfully repelled the attack and killed seven Boko Haram terrorists, wounded several others and recovered four AK47 rifles, three AK-47 rifle magazine and 92 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) belt ammunition. We wish to state that our troops are hale and hearty.”

In a related development, he said that troops of 3 Battalion caught a suspected Boko Haram terrorists’ spy near the battalion headquarters at Gamboru Ngala.

On interrogation, he said the suspect confessed that he was sent to spy on the troops from Wulge. Consequent upon this the troops organised a fighting patrol comprising elements of Army Headquarters Strike Group and Civilian JTF to Wulge and Walamari.

“The troops had encoun-

ter with Boko Haram terrorists in which they killed 27 of them, recovered five motorcycles and eight bicycles.

They also cleared 12 terrorists’ camps and recovered 1 AK-47 rifles as well as one dane gun.

“The troops also rescued 455 persons and escorted them to Gamboru Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camp. Unfortunately, we lost one of the Civilian JTF. Nevertheless, the troops’ morale remains very high,” the DAPR stated.

Similarly, he added that troops of 103 Battalion yesterday evening ambushed Boko Haram terrorists at Mairimri village crossing point in which they killed quite a number of insurgents, recovered 15 bicycles and foodstuffs. He said further confirmatory reconnaissance would be conducted to further exploit the situation.

NDLEA arrests woman with ‘cocaine pregnancy’ Scene of an accident on Funsho William Avenue, Surulere, in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO:NAN

Reactions trail Oshiomhole wife’s arrest of Edo female activist OARHE DICKSON BENIN

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ongues are wagging over a recent action by the wife of Edo State Governor, Mrs. Lara Oshiomhole, for allegedly ordering the arrest of outspoken girlchild rights activist, Princess Jennifer Ero. Mrs. Oshiomhole had petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chris Ezike, to arrest and detain Mrs. Ero over alleged poor handling of the training of Internally Displayed Persons (IDPs).

Mrs. Ero was said to be detained at the Police State Headquarters from Monday to Tuesday.

In what appears to be the leading scandal in town, the purported arrest has earned

the office of the First Lady severe tongue-lashing that has taken over several social media platform discussions.

Sunday Mirror learnt that the prominent female activist (Ero) who has contributed to the growth of activism in Edo State and Nigeria was arrested by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of Edo State Police Command Headquarters on the order of the wife of the governor. Ero, a friend to the governor’s wife and coordinator of Child Protection Network (CPN), on Lara’s orders was unlawfully detained on Monday at the state CID, Benin. The Child Protection Network (CPN) which she coordinates is a network of several other organisations that canvass

for better life, education and good health for underprivileged children. The network also advocates against child abuse, child labour, child hawking, trafficking and other social vices against children across the country.

Sunday Mirror learnt that what led to her illegal detention was said to be connected to a contract given to her by Mrs. Oshiomhole to provide computer training and other skills acquisition techniques for the IDPs in Uhogua, Ovia North East LGA of the state.

This is a programme tied to the governor’s wife pet project ‘We Care Trust’ in collaboration with Ella P Collections and the Edo State Government of which about 160 young and adult IDPs in Uhogua ought to have ben-

efited from. A strong member from within the kitchen cabinet of the First Lady who confided in Sunday Mirror linked some persons in the office of the First Lady to demanding a kick back of N500,000 of the contract sum from Ero, which she turned down.

“As you can see, costing for the contract was around the sum of N3 million or thereabout and one can wonder where Ero could cough out N500,000 as bribe.

“And as it usually turned out, these persons later conspired against her presenting before Her Excellency false allegations that she is using obsolete materials (desktop computers instead of Laptop computers) and incompetence and corruption.

Rivers rerun: Ogoni group calls for release of Tai LGA result OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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everal days after a rerun election was conducted in some parts of Rivers State, a nongovernmental group, the Sustainable Ogoni, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to release without delay the results of the poll held in Tai local council area. In a release in Abuja

on at the weekend, the group through its head of Publicity/Research, Mr. Jude Kole Oma, also pleaded with INEC to ensure that the remaining elections that were suspended in the state be concluded so that the Ogonis can have a voice in the state and National Assembly. According to the group, “We sincerely want to thank INEC for listening to the people and given certificate of return to those that have been declared winners of the vari-

ous LGA constituencies. We therefore urge INEC to as a matter of urgency abide by its laws and pronouncement that any election that has been declared by the returning officer will be announced and should therefore proceed to announce Tai LGA result.

“This will not only give hope to Ogonis but build on the confidence we are having currently in the Nigerian state.

We are at a very low point where we don’t have the pres-

ence of any representative in the National Assembly presently and when matters that concern us come up, there’s no one to champion it.

“While we call on INEC to announce the result of Tai, any party that feels aggrieved should feel free to seek redress in the tribunal. We also plead that the remaining elections that were suspended should be concluded so that we can have our voice in the state and National Assembly.

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he National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, yesterday arrested a woman at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, who faked pregnancy with wraps of substances suspected to be cocaine.

This is contained in a statement issued and signed by the agency’s spokesperson, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju.

The statement alleged that the 41-year-old mother of three, Dorothy Onyekas, faked her pregnancy with 86 pellets of white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine.

“The drug was intercepted during the inward screening of passengers on an Emirates flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“The substance has a total weight of 1.720 kilogrammes with an estimated street value of N20.6 million,’’ the statement said.

It quoted the NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Ahmadu Garba, as saying that the wraps of cocaine would have been easily mistaken for pregnancy.

“It was discovered that the suspect kept 86 wraps of cocaine inside a waist bag which was tied to her stomach. `Unfortunately, the drug

was detected by NDLEA officers on her arrival from Dubai. The drug was immediately packed and weighed in her presence.

“It had a gross weight of 1.720 kilogrammes,’’ Ahmadu stated.

The statement also quoted the chairman of the agency, Mr Muhammad Abdallah, as describing the recent drug seizures at the airport a welcome development that was capable of forcing drug cartels to a retreat.

“In the past few days, the NDLEA has recorded numerous arrests and drug seizures at the Lagos airport.

“The drug cartels have also suffered huge losses from these operations.

This particular suspect feigned pregnancy with wraps of cocaine but she was caught by vigilant narcotic agents.

“Some of the suspects recently apprehended concealed drugs in their socks and luggage while others ingested wraps of cocaine in disregard of the danger to their health.

“In spite of their craftiness, we are daily stopping them from perpetrating their criminal act and forcing them to a retreat. She will be charged to court soon,’’ Abdallah said.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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APC facing a lot of distractions –Baraje

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Politics PROVIDING FRESH PERSPECTIVES TO ISSUES

April 17, 2016

WHEN WE CAME INTO OFFICE IN 2015, BOKO HARAM INSURGENTS OCCUPIED 14 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS. TODAY, I AM PLEASED TO SAY THE INSURGENTS HAVE BEEN ROUTED OUT OF THESE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND THEIR CAPACITY TO FIGHT AS A FORCE HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY DEGRADED.

–PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI

2016 Budget:

Grandstanding at nation ’s peril

Bu uhari

Sa araki

The 2016 budget has generated serious concerns following the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the document as passed by the National Assembly. Our House of Representatives Correspondent, UBONG UKPONG, undertakes a critical analysis of the entire situation and the effects of the grandstanding by the executive and legislature on the economy.

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he ongoing rift between President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly, NASS, over certain issues in the 2016 budget has generated

serious concern and seen to have impacted negatively on the country ’s economy.

The federal legislature had since Wednesday March 23, passed the

N6.060trillion budget before proceeding on Easter break and transmitted same to the Presidency with the hope that it would be passed into law and implementation commence.

Throughout the budget processes at the NASS, there were no sharp disagreements between the President and the legislature as he was said to be in the full picture of all the happenings based on the level of consultations by the Appropriation committees of the both Houses.

Buhari presented the budget on DeCONTINUED ON PAGE 10

The renewed call for LG autonomy

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Briefly

INEC to conduct voter card revalidation for selected voters

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said in Abuja that it has planned to conduct a voter card revalidation for selected registered voters across the country.

Mr. Chidi Nwafor, INEC ’s director of Information and Communications Technology, disclosed this in his presentation on ``Deployment of Technology in Nigerian Elections: The Progress Made So Far ’ ’ at an E-voting workshop.

Nwafor, represented by an Assistant Director in the ICT Department, Mrs. Abimbola Oladunjoye, said that the plan was to address failure of card readers to authenticate some voters ’ finger-prints during elections as recorded in some instances.

He said that the revalidation would request the selected voters to do fingerprint recapture. ``The use of the PVC and SCR gave a lot of credibility to the 2015 electoral process, as it greatly assisted in ensuring ‘one man, one vote ’, though, not without some challenges, ’ ’ he said.

Nwafor said that one of the main challenges experienced during the 2015 general election was the failure of card readers to authenticate finger-prints of voters with the PVC. According to him, this was obvious with the rate of failure of authentication during accreditation with the use of card reader. ``The problem is that how do we address this before the 2019 general elections. ``So, INEC is thinking of doing a field exercise, but the modality is still being deliberated. ``We don ’t know if we are going to do full blown or call the people whom we have noticed from our data base to come for revalidation of their finger -print recapture. ’ ’ He added that INEC was also considering collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to recapture/revalidate voters whose biometric data had problems.

The director said that the commission would also upgrade its software and Operating System (OS) of the card reader to address issues relating to the resetting of dates.

This, according to him, was to ensure that the card readers ``firmware and software ’ ’ are upgraded such that settings on dates and time cannot be tampered with manually. ``We notice that we have that when you remove the card reader battery; it takes you back to default date, then you cannot accredit.

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Politics

April 17, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

2016 Budget: Grandstanding at nation ’s peril CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

cember 22, 2015 to the joint session of NASS, which was considered by the lawmakers as coming late, which passage could delay.

It was therefore a big surprise that despite the “late ” presentation, which was hurriedly done before the legislators proceeded on the Christmas recess, the lawmakers declared the budget document missing soon afterwards.

While some claimed that this was a mere ploy by the lawmakers to get what they wanted from the executive, especially in view of the current travails of the Senate President and Chairman of NASS, Dr. Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, others alleged strongly that the President had withdrawn the budget to effect some corrections.

While the senate insisted that its own document was missing, the House of Representatives claimed its own was intact and the Presidency said it never withdrew the budget from NASS. Everyone dwelt in this confusion, only for the President to suddenly send a communication that he had effected corrections on the budget and sent in the corrected version.

To underscore their seriousness and willingness to get the budget passed in good time, the lawmakers adjourned plenary to face budget work at committees level and got cracking with the budget defence.

At this point the lawmakers came complaining that the budget was characterised by numerous errors, irregularities regarding figures padding and double allocations in the proposals of most Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs. Both the executive, the media and Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, followed the legislators as they diligently and conscientiously discharged this constitutional role, and unlike it was in the past, where they were often accused of defending pecuniary interests in the process, no one accused them of anything , rather commended their commitment to the processes.

To many, it was shocking to hear the revelations that were coming up after the budget was passed, which is merely seen as a move to blackmail the National Assembly.

For many, the National Assembly was not responsible for the budget controversies.

Unfortunately for the executive, the legislature was very smart to have pointed out clearly earlier all the problems associated with the budget, which the Presidency did not deny.

President Buhari confirmed this position of the legislature and went ahead to punish those involved in “padding ” the budget including sacking the then Director General of the Budget office.

From the day one, the Buhari ’s budget was considered controversial and source of headaches to the 8th Assembly, even though the lawmakers tried often to cover up so as not to be seen as confronting the President.

The Appropriation Committee Chairman of House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin, and his counterpart in Senate, Danjuma Goje, as well as President Buhari ’s Liaison person in National Assembly, Senator Ita Enang, were unanimous in their presentations to the me-

Jibrrin

Ama aech hi

ACCORDING TO THE LAWMAKERS, THE PRESIDENT IS CLAIMING THAT THE LAGOS-CALABAR RAIL PROJECT, WAS REMOVED FROM THE BUDGET, BUT DID NOT SAY WHICH VERSION OF THE BUDGET IT

CAME WITH, AS THEY ARE INSISTING THAT IT WAS NEVER IN THE BUDGET PRESENTED TO THEM BY THE PRESIDENT.

dia that there was no step of the budget process that Buhari was not consulted over and agreed to.

This was the basis of hope that this budget would not spend a day after passage, with getting presidential assent, because the president was eagerly looking forward to it.

However, thr U-turn by the president over the budget, which he has refused to sign, saying that it falls short of his requirements, drew the battle line between him and the lawmakers, as he now believes that the legislators have padded his original budget proposal.

Initially, Buhari said that he would not sign the budget without seeing the details. He softly put it that the bureaucrats have tampered with his original provisions in the budget, not willing to directly put that to the legislature.

However, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before he would come up to openly accuse them of tampering with his original budget, as he did.

After the legislature availed him with the requested details, which he said he personally needed to study before signing, he convened an emergency Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting on a Friday, where he asked all the ministers to study their ministries budget proposals as passed by National Assembly, to be sure it was what they needed.

According to the Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, the lawmakers removed the N60billion Lagos-Calabar railway project from the budget and allocated the

money to unnecessary projects.

This and a few other issues have remained the bone of contention.

The President has given options to the legislature to rework the budget or accept supplementary budget, to insert the Lagos-Calabar rail project, which they claimed was removed.

This has become an image issue to the National Assembly, which is worried that there is a deliberate attempt by the executive to undermine the legislature and get the public to gang up against their elected representatives, who were ab initio, commended over their commitment to the budget processes.

According to the lawmakers, the President is claiming that the Lagos-Calabar rail project, was removed from the budget, but did not say which version of the budget it came with, as they are insisting that it was never in the budget presented to them by the president.

The NASS is blowing hot over this allegation as the comments in the media portray the legislature as the problem behind the budget.

The lawmakers have said that the executive is the liar and that the President was misleading the nation over the budget, issues.

The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, last week said that the NASS was not to blame over the defects in the budget as they were entirely the handworks of the executive.

According to the Chairman, Jibrin, NASS could not have been accused of re-

moving items such as the Lagos-Calabar Rail, which was never included in the budget.

“How could NASS have removed what was not there? But the nation is being misled. All they, and those spreading the false information needed to have done is check the initial document sent by the Executive ”, Jibrin said.

For them, while the executive seems to favour a top-down approach in development, this is not enough reason to mislead Nigerians on the role of NASS on the budget.

The crux of the matter as it is, is that the NASS believes in the bottom up agenda for development- focus on rural areas and communities and is thus making use of its appropriation powers to ensure this, and it is offending the President.

“What NASS did with the N54billion; we added N39.7b to the Lagos-Kano Rail project. This will help complete the project once and for all. That N50 billion be set aside as special bursary for students of tertiary institutions. We also suggested N100 billion be taken out of N500 billion set aside as Special Intervention Fund.

“We also had Special Programmes for Women Empowerment and the payment of debt owed local contractors.

“The Rural Community Light project is to light up 100 communities spread across the 774 Local Governments.

“Some of our other inputs include; Special Intervention for Rural Agriculture, Payment of Pension Arrears, Rural Community Light project.

About 95 per cent of the inputs of NASS which would have given life to the policy thrust of Mr. President were discarded by the Executive.

“There is a lot more to be said about this and they will be said in the coming days, ” Jibrin made efforts to explain.

Swiftly after Jibrin ’s statement, the House through its Chairman Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrasak Namdas, told journalists that the true story was that the Transport Minister, Amaechi, took that project separately to the Senate Committee during budget defence, which fell short of standard practice.

To further prove that Buhari was leading the executive arm of government to undermine the National Assembly, Namdas said that in the face of all these recent controversies, the President had not told them anything, saying they were just hearing it as rumour.

In spite of this, the House has resolved to approach the President to resolve all grey areas and end the rifts surrounding the 2016 Budget.

The House said that it was taking this step in spite of the fact that the President has not sent any official communication to it on whatever the matter that arose from the budget that has been passed.

Namdas said that the House had treated and passed the budget in good faith but was open to any form of discussions on it by the President.

By this, the legislators claimed to have demonstrated that they are sensitive to the plight of Nigerians, who they represent, and not an act of cowardice by asking the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, to proceed and hold talks with the President on the matter, even though he has refused to CONTINUED ON PAGE 39

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EDIFYING GOD

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Let me quickly tell you a story that can be found in the Bible – Acts 16:16-40. It is a wonderful tale of miraculous power of God. Paul and Silas were arrested and placed in prison.

–Prof Kunle Macaulay

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Preparing for the Covenant of Peace and Blessing

QUOTE

Do your best in any circumstance, says Prophet Oloruntimilehin 21

Those that wait upon the Lord 30

Reincarnation in Christianity

12 & 13

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Reincarnation in

or thousands of years, it has been commonly believed that when a person dies, such a person can return to the Earth after a period of time, as they (dead) are birthed by either their descendants or other persons in the community they had lived in earlier. This concept referred to as reincarnation has to do with a cycle of birth and death, and it is defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as the belief that after somebody’s death, his or her soul has the ability to live again in a new body.

According to American writer, Kevin William, people spend an eternity of eternities in afterlife realms before reincarnating to Earth again because time, as known on Earth, does not exist in the afterlife realms as it does here (Earth).

William claimed that the ultimate purpose for reincarnation is for people to learn enough lessons and gain enough experience from Earth, as he compares it to a graduation.

He further claimed that reincarnation is the method and means to attain the goal of living an eternal life.

The first century Jewish historian, lavius Josephus wrote about the Pharisees being believers in reincarnation.

He noted that the Pharisees were the Jewish sect which Paul belonged to before his near death experience (NDE) and conversion to Christianity. Josephus also wrote about the Pharisees’ belief where the souls of evil men are punished after death while the souls of good men are removed into other bodies, so that they will have power to revive and live again.

From time to time, throughout Jewish history, there was a persistent belief about dead prophets returning to life through reincarnation.

The Sadducees, a purist sect of Judaism, rejected the Persian concepts of resurrection and all Hellenistic influences involving reincarnation that happened in Jesus’ time. The Sadducees accepted only the orthodox Hebrew belief in Sheol. So there were a variety of influences going on in Jerusalem at the time when Jesus lived on Earth.

When Jesus began his ministry, many people allegedly wondered if He was the reincarnation of one of the prophets of God. People also wondered the same thing concerning John the Baptist whom they claimed was Elijah. According to some schools of thought, basing their argument on Bible accounts, Jesus even affirmed to His disciples that John the Baptist was indeed the reincarnation of the Prophet Elijah.

The first great father of the early Orthodox Church, Origen who lived from 185 to 254 AD was an ardent defender of pre-existence and reincarnation.

Origen, a disciple of Clement of Alexandria who was a disciple of the Apostle Peter wrote about receiving secret teachings of Jesus handed down from the apostles. One of these secret teachings was the concept of physical and

Reincarnation

In biblical times, belief in reincarnation was so widespread, and was much a part of the culture, that it was taken for granted. Even Jesus was claimed to have confirmed it Matthew 11:13-14 where he stated that John the Baptist was Elijah whom the Bible prophesied would come before the Messiah. Aside biblical accounts, some cultures, even in the present day, favour the concept as they claim some dead relations who lived and died in the past, come back at a later time to be born in same family or place they had lived in the past. ODINAKA URUAKPA speaks to clerics to get their thoughts on the issue.

spiritual rebirth. He also spoke of preexistence which is the religious concept of the soul as not being created at birth; rather the soul existed before birth in heaven or in a past life on Earth.

Till date, reincarnation continues to be a favoured subject in many cultures, especially in parts of Africa where children are given names denoting that they are some persons who had come back to a particularly family after leaving the Earth some years or entities ago. Among these reincarnation stories are also those of babies who are said to come through a particular person and are wont to dying and coming back, carrying marks or incisions that were put on them because of their repeated birth and death in the family they have chosen to be born into. Yet, there are also stories of people who had one body part or the other maimed before their demise coming back again to their supposed lineage, and claims of the child who returned as that individual having the particular maimed body part missing at birth.

According to Professor Kunle Macaulay, Director of Studies, United Bible University, Ojodu, Ogun State, Christianity is a faith which has its own beliefs and practices which Christians should stick to, as he claimed that

CHRISTIANITY IS A FAITH WHICH HAS ITS OWN BELIEFS AND PRACTICES AND WHEN YOU HAVE THESE, YOU STICK TO THEM STRICTLY.

WE

SHOULD NOT ALLOW ANY OTHER RELIGION OR

BELIEF TO INTERFERE WITH YOUR OWN FAITH. these beliefs and practices do not include reincarnation.

“Christianity is a faith which has its own beliefs and practices and when you have these, you stick to them strictly. We should not allow any other religion or belief to interfere with your own faith. The problem we are having now with Christianity in Nigeria is that many people who are called Christian leaders allow other beliefs or practices to come into Christianity, therefore, confusing Christianity.

When you see Christians practice Christianity, you will know that they are practicing what the Bible instructs. There is nothing like reincarnation; the Bible states that it is appointed for a man to die only once, not twice, and then judgment.

It is clear that when a man dies, he sleeps in the Lord until the day of resurrection.

The Bible tells us in the Book of Thessalonians, that the dead will resurrect, first when Jesus Christ comes, then those

who are alive will all go to meet the Lord in the sky. I think this is what Christians should believe, and not reincarnation; claiming that somebody who died and can come back and so on is the teaching of another religion”, he explained.

On claims that Jesus and John the Baptist were prophets of God who came back to Earth after existing and dying in a time past, Macaulay said: “People keep getting things mixed up. The Old Testament talks about the belief of the Jews; now the religion of the Jews is Judaism, and the practice in Judaism has nothing to do with Christianity. When Christianity started, Paul said that this (Christianity) is a new religion and it is meant for the Jews and Pagans; for men and women, for the slaves and masters; it is a universal religion. I get worried when people go to Old Testament; they want us to practice certain things and cultures they believe would benefit them. We must adhere

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Christianity strictly to what the Bible states; Elijah and Elisha, Moses and Joshua were in the Old Testament; God had a way of dealing with them. Christianity began with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles.”

On people being born with marks or missing body part allegedly cut from a past relation’s body showing that it is that person that came back to Earth, Macaulay said: “Satan is powerful. Satan can create and recreate; that is why we have fake money. Satan was in Heaven, he knew everything about God and Heaven; so, he can create the fake side of a religion; Satan can do anything. I don’t believe that this is the work of God i.e. bringing somebody back. God cannot contradict Himself; He would die only once and not triple or four times. People dying and coming back at a later time is not biblical. This is why we study Apologetics in Theology which has to do with defending our faith and whatever is not in the Bible.”

In his contribution, Pastor Peter Francis, senior pastor with God of Israel Mission, Lagos claimed that since reincarnation was not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, Christians have no business believing that people who died at one point on earth, could still come back to live at a later time on same earth.

“The whole thrust of the Bible opposes reincarnation. Man is the special creation of God, created in God’s image with both a material body and an immaterial soul and spirit. He is presented as distinct and unique from all other creatures; angels and the animal kingdom alike. The Bible teaches that at death, while man’s body is mortal, decays and returns to dust, his soul and spirit continue, either in a place of torments (hell) for those who rejected Christ or in paradise (heaven) in God’s presence for those who trusted in the Saviour. Both categories of people will be resurrected, one to eternal judgment and the other to eternal life with a glorified body as revealed in John 5:25-29. The Bible emphatically states in Hebrew 9:27 that it is appointed unto man once to die and after that judgment.

This statement and the concept that mankind’s creation in God’s image is unique from the animals and even angels, stand totally opposed to the idea of reincarnation i.e. dying and coming back as another person in future. The claim of some that they have information of past history is nothing more than some kind of encounter with demonic powers who have been present throughout history”, he claimed.

Francis further claimed that the first, most glaring dissimilarity between reincarnation and Biblical doctrine occurs in the idea of a recurring cycle of existence.

“If each person lives many times in the same or different form, it would contrast with the Bible because the Scrip-

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IF EACH PERSON LIVES MANY TIMES IN THE SAME OR DIFFERENT FORM, IT WOULD CONTRAST WITH THE BIBLE BECAUSE THE SCRIPTURE PICTURES DEATH AS A SEPARATION OF THE SOUL FROM THE WORLD, CHRIST HIMSELF DESCRIBED DEATH AS GOD REQUIRING MAN’S SOUL IN LUKE 12:20. ture pictures death as a separation of the soul from the world, Christ Himself described death as God requiring man’s soul in Luke 12:20. When a saint of God dies, rather than merely being promoted to a higher status for another lifetime, he enters his eternal estate, secured for him by God’s grace. The divinely inspired Apostle Paul exclaimed in 2 Corinthians 5:8, ‘we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Christ’s record of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 shows that both the saved and the unsaved enter their respective rewards following death and cancels the notion of the dead coming back to Earth.

For Pastor Folarin Adebola, General Overseer, it is wrong to assume that all truths are to be found in the Scriptures, as he added that (Jesus Christ) spoke only of those things that people of His time needed to know to enable them to make spiritual progress.

In the mission of Christ, He (Jesus Christ) spoke only of those things that people of His time needed to know to enable them to make spiritual progress.

He did not teach all there was to know.

This Paul explained in I Corinthians 13: 9 – 12. The fact that an idea is not in the Bible, does not mean that the idea is false. Some truths are not recorded in the Scriptures. Therefore, we are not at all justified to think that all important spiritual concepts such as reincarnation

must be found in the Bible. In narrating his call to prophethood, Jeremiah stated Jeremiah 1:45 ‘Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; and before you were born I consecrated you, and I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’ This passage clearly suggests that Jeremiah existed in a non-earthly part of creation before he was conceived. This is to say that pre-existence is acknowledged by the Scriptures and that human beings do not come into existence only at birth. In the account of the healing of the man who was blind from birth, in John Chapter 9, the disciples asked Jesus, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? The question indicates that the disciples believed, or knew, that it was possible for a baby to be born blind as a result of the baby’s sin. The disciples were, of course, intelligent and wise enough to know that any punishment of being born blind could only have been due to a sin committed before birth. In other words, the disciples would not have asked the question if they did not consider it possible for a person to commit a sin before birth”, he claimed.

Adebola further claimed that if a person must be made to suffer on earth for a wrong done before birth, such wrong could only have been done on earth in a previous earth-life. He added that the question the disciples asked Jesus Christ implied that they believed in reincarna-

tion.

“It is important for us to note that the answer Jesus gave does not in any way contradict a belief in reincarnation. Jesus in John 9:3 answered that it was not that the man sinned, or his parents, but that the work of God might be made manifest in him. What this means is that in this particular case, the cause of blindness was not due to the sin, neither of the man nor of his parents. Let us further note that if the disciples were wrong in believing that one could be born blind because of one’s sin, Jesus would have told them so.

He was ever so ready to teach them and to help them do away with wrong concepts.

The two possible causes suggested by the disciples for the man’s blindness were wrong in this particular case. But this fact does not mean that, in other cases, these two possibilities might not be valid.

Therefore, they were not wrong in their basic reasoning since Jesus did not rebuke them for having notions of reincarnation. Also confirming reincarnation is the episode where Jesus identifies John the Baptist as Elijah in Matthew 11:13-14 which states ‘For all the prophets and the law have prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who was to come. So if Jesus Himself confirms reincarnation, it means that a person can live on earth, die and still come back to earth and live in a later life”, he reiterated.

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April 17, 2016

Man in the News Air Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh

Ex-defence chief swims in hot pepper soup TUNDE ADELEKE

T

he immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh was in the news again during the week as the case instituted against him by the nation ’s foremost anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission came up again at an Abuja High Court.

Salisu Abdullahi, retired Air Commodore and former director of Finance and Accounts in the Nigerian Air Force was in court as a witness of EFCC to testify against his former boss in a case bordering on corruption and breach of trust by the former Air Force chief who is facing trial at the Federal High Court on allegations of fraud.

Abdullahi narrated how Badeh, in apparent disregard of due process authorized an aide recruited for that purpose, to convert over N558m stolen government money to US dollars and have same forwarded to his private residence every month The retired Air Commodore told the court that Badeh personally received N558m monthly, the money being balance after payment of monthly salaries to Air Force personnel.

“Out of the balance of N1.6 – N1.7billion, the sum of N558m was taken to Mr. Badeh ’s personal residence at Niger Barracks after it is exchanged to dollars ”, he stated.

Abdullahi further stated during crossexamination that the officer in charge of the conversion of the Nigerian currency to US dollars, identified simply as Group Captain Sini was ordered to be brought to his office where Mr. Sini ’s major responsibility was to convert the said sum on a monthly basis. The dollars , he said, were handed over to him (Abdullahi) for onward delivery to his principal.

Badeh , according to his former subordinate, received the controversial sum without accounting for same.

Abdullahi said that his former boss never confirmed in writing, the receipt of the controversial sum which was taken to his residence personally by Abdullahi.

He also gave a list of of landed property allegedly bought by the former Chief of Air Staff with funds believed to have been fraudulently diverted head of the nation ’s Air Force.

EFCC had revealed how a huge sum of money was found inside the property of the former Chief of Defence Staff. Badeh is one of those indicted in the $2.1billion arms deal for which retired Col. Sambo Dasuki, former National Security Adviser in the Presidency is currently under probe.

The EFCC had on January 13, 2016 sealed the house of the ex-CDS who subsequently filed an application challenging the court ’s jurisdiction to hear

the charges against him by the anti-graft agency.

EFCC had during the search on Badeh ’s house recovered $1m cash from one the houses belonging to the former NAF boss. The money was recovered after detectives combed the mansion located on 6, Ogun River Street in Maitama area of the federal capital.

An EFCC detective who did not want his name in print reportedly told journalists: “We have seized several properties belonging to Badeh …

“In the presence of several witnesses, including neighbours, we searched the house and recovered $1m cash. The money has been lodged as evidence. ” The property, which was said to be worth over N1billion is one of the five properties eized from Badeh. Some of the properties were said to have been purchased, renovated and furnished for one of his sons.

The former CDS allegedly bought a commercial plot of land at Plot 1386, Oda Crescent, Cadastral Zone AO7, Wuse II, Abuja for N680m. He was also said to have N878m for the construction of a shopping mall at the above address and paid another N304m tom complete the construction job.

EFCC also accused him of paying N260m to p[urchase a duplex at No 19, Kumasi Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja for his son while N60m was allegedly paid for the renovation and another N90m for the furnishing.

Badeh also allegedly paid N330m to one Hon. Bature to purchase a duplex at No 14, Adzope Crescent, Off Kumasi Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja. He was also ac-

cussed of paying N240m to Rabiu Isyaku Rabiu to buy a semi-detatched duplex at No 8A, Embu Street, by Sigma Apartments, Wuse II, Abuja.

The former CDS also allegedly renovated a private property at No 2, Nelson Mandela Street, Asokoro, Abuja with N62m.

Alex Badeh was said to have denied ownership of the properties seized by the EFCC. He was charged along with a firm, Iyalikam Nig. Ltd. before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Alex Sabundu Badeh was born on November 7, 1957 in Vimtim, a little town in Mubi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, North-East Nigeria into a family of peasant farmers. He attended Vimtim Primary School, Vimtim and went on to obtain his school certificate from Villanova Secondary School in 1976 before proceeding to the Nigerian Defence Academy.

He was admitted into the Nigerian Defence Academy as a member of the 21 Regular Course on 3rd January, 1977 and was commissioned Pilot Officer on 3rd July 1979. He commenced his flying career at the 301 Flying Training School on the Bulldog Primary Trainer aircraft in 1979.

Between 1981 and 1982, he attended the undergraduate pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in the United States Air Force.

He attended the junior staff course at Armed Forces Command and Staff College in 1988. Between 1995 and 1996, he attended the senior staff course at the same institution. In 2005, he was at the National War College, Nigeria as a member of Course 14 and graduated in August 2006. The Air Marshal holds M.Sc. degree

in Strategic Studies from the University of Ibadan.

Air Marshal Badeh was promoted Air Vice-Marshal on 3rd January 2008.

Between 2008 and 2009, he was a Directing Staff at the National Defence College, Abuja, Nigeria and subsequently became the Director, National Military Strategy at the same college. Thereafter, he moved to Defence Headquarters as Deputy Director, Training and later became the Director of Research at the Defence Headquarters.

From October 2010 to March 2012, Air Marshal Badeh moved to Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force as Chief of Policy and Plans. Subsequently, in March 2012, he was appointed Air Officer Commanding, Training Command, Kaduna. He attended Safety International Institute at Teterboro in New York.

Alex Badeh was commander of the Presidential Fleet, during the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency. The presidential fleet crew flew around the world frequently and by 2002, Badeh logged over 6,000 flying hours shuttling VIPs, dignitaries, top government officials and heads of state. He was given the green light to fly former United States presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter on different occasions after extensive check was done by the United States Secret Service. Badeh ’s professional dexterity on duty earned him commendation and an autographed pen from Koffi Anan and the then UN Secretary after flying him to an official trip.

Badeh, who became the Chief of Air Staff in October, 2012 initiated Optimizing Local Engineering (OLE 1 & 2) to focus on developing indigenous Unarmed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and other weapon systems. The OLE teams comprised of Nigerian Air Force officers with Ph. D and master ’s degrees in various fields of aerospace design, avionic & armament specializations from the Cranfield University in the UK. As Chief of Defence Staff, Badeh initiated and constructed the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) extension complex fitted with a befitting joint operations room, conference hall, the office spaces, penthouse to receive guests. During the military operations against terror in north-eastern Nigeria, there was a need to feed the public with accurate and timely news, therefore, Badeh established the Armed Forces Radio broadcasting from Mogadishu Cantonment broadcasting on 107.7 FM to tackle the challenge of negative media coverage against the Nigerian Military. The radio station enabled military to tell its side of events, over security orientation and information.

In February 2016 Alex Badeh was accused of financial misappropriation by the EFCC during his tenure as service chief. He has, however, denied involvement in any misconduct.

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Wellness YOUR HEALTH AND HEALTH RELATED ISSUES April 17, 2016

We ’re one step closer to eradicating polio in Nigeria –Expert TITILOPE MORAKINYO

P

oliomyelitis, otherwise known as polio is an infectious disease caused by a virus (enterovirus C) which invades the nervous system and can lead to total paralysis in a matter of hours. The virus is transmitted by person to person, mainly through the fecal oral route or less frequently, by a common vehicle such as contaminated water or food and multiplies in the intestine.

According to experts, polio cases have decreased over the years in endemic countries as compared to the past when ailments are easily spread from endemic areas into polio-free areas.

The World Health Organisation, WHO, 2014 reports have it that parts of the three countries, Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan remain endemic for the disease; the three strains of wild polio (type 1, type 2 and type 3). The organisation also claimed that wild polio virus type 2 was eradicated in 1999, while case numbers of wild polio type 3 are down to the lowest ever levels with no case reported since November, 2012 from Nigeria.

In an interview with the Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Ado Muhammad, he said that Nigeria is one step closer to achieving the goal of eradicating polio in 2017.

He said poliomyelitis is a highly viral infection that can lead to paralysis, breathing problems or death.

His words: “The term poliomyelitis is from the Greek word ‘polios ’, meaning ‘grey ’, myelitis referring to the spinal cord and it means inflammation. Like many other infectious diseases, polio victims tend to be among the vulnerable group in the society. This includes children below age five, pregnant women and those with immune systems that are substantially weakened by other medical conditions. ” He noted that those who have not been immunised against polio are susceptible to contracting the infection, adding that additional risk factors for polio include living in areas with limited access to running water or flush toilets, travelling to places where live polio virus is kept and having tonsils removed.

Mohammad said his optimism stemmed from Nigeria ’s clean bill of polio after one year, since the last case of the disease was reported in the country. As early as 2012, the country with 122 poliovirus cases had reported the highest number of polio cases globally as the polio epic-centre of the world.

“The last case of polio in Nigeria was reported exactly a year today in a 16-month-old boy from Sumaila Local Government Area in Kano State, and if all pending laboratory investigations return negative in the next few weeks, the country would officially be taken off the list of polio-endemic countries, ” he explained.

However, the NPHCDA boss believed Nigeria will only be certified polio-free by WHO in 2017, provided it maintains its zero case status, further strengthens its surveillance system, improves routine immunisation and maintains high quality campaigns, adding that achieving one year without polio is just one of the hurdles the country needs to surmount before being certified polio-free in 2017.

He, however, maintained that the disease in its most debilitating forms displays symptoms such as paralysis and death. The medic insists that most people with polio don ’t display symptoms or become noticeably sick, and when symptoms do appear, they come in different

forms, depending on the type of polio. For non- paralytic polio or abortive poliomyelitis, the symptom may appear flu-like and last for a few days or weeks. Such include fever, sore-throat, headache, vomiting, fatigue, back and neck pain, arm and leg stiffness, muscle tenderness, muscle spasms and meningitis.

“We ’re really excited by the historic progress that has been made here in Nigeria; however, we can ’t get distracted by this progress. We are now looking ahead to our next challenge which is to sustain the momentum on an emergency footing until 2017, with strong government oversight and continued level of funding, so that Nigeria can hit the three-year mark with no cases, and finally eradicate this crippling disease. ” Mohammad averred that if this progress is sustained with no re-infection and surveillance remains strong, Nigeria and the rest of Africa will achieve polio eradication by 2017.

“Government and partners reiterate that it ’s going to take a lot of hard work. Polio campaigns will need to continue and reach all children in the country sev-

eral times a year. While there is polio anywhere in this world, every child is at risk. Surveillance needs to become even more sensitive, so that no virus will be missed. And routine immunisation coverage needs to improve significantly, especially in the northern states. ” he stressed.

Polio vaccine protects children by preparing their bodies to fight the virus. Almost 99 children out of 100 who get all the recommended doses of vaccine will be protected from polio, Mohammad added.

He explained that there are two types of vaccine that can prevent polio: inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). Only IPV has been used in the United States since 2000 and OPV is still used throughout much of the world.

“Today, we are looking forward to 2017. We remain committed to finding concrete and sharp solutions to overcome the remaining bottlenecks until we achieve eradication in this country. We recognise the need to sustain and re-double our efforts to ensure every child is reached, ” Muhammad said.

PASSION A Lifestyle Magazine

APPLAUSE

‘Contemporary women are waking up to the call for self expression’

>>18

People think actresses can’t be loyal to their husbands >>17

–Annes Anaekwe

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Sunday April 17, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net Sunday, April 17, 2016

Passion

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People think actresses can’t be loyal to their husbands –Annes Anaekwe Annes Anaekwe, fondly known as Finest is a Nollywood super screen diva. She was born and bred in Ilorin, Kwara State. She attended University of Ilorin and today, she is an actress. In this interview with ADAEZE AMOS, she talked about her love for her career and the misconception people have about her.

Aside from passion which many actresses hammer on for joining Nollywood or movie world, what other thing(s) gingered you into acting?

I don’t think there is any other reason I’m into acting other than the passion I have for it. If not for passion, I should have diverted into something else.

I have huge passion for acting; that is the reason I can endure all the odds that come with it. Then, of course, another reason is fame which comes with it.

male fan has ever done to you?

I never had such a crazy experience before. I’m always loving and cool around my male fans.

Name the movies you have starred in?

I have starred in so many movies, s, but let me mention a few I can remember for now: ow: Desperate Baby Mama, Mr. Right, The Prodigal, Cross of Men, Wounded Harmony, Angel I see and Blood lood Enemies, to mention but a few.

Fashion is all about flaunting your good sides if need be and covering your flaws. What part of you do you flaunt proudly?

I wouldn’t mind flaunting my legs, shoulders and virtually all parts of my body, but I

What are the lapses in Nollywood you would uld wish to talk about?

First, I wish that there would be guild ild that would be screening the kind of movies being released to the market. Not everyone should be qualified ed to be a producer or a writer because the bad movies es are rubbing negatively on our industry.

If you weren’t acting, what would you have e loved to do?

Hmm, maybe, I would have been a lawyer awyer (giggles).

What thrills you most in what you do as an actress?

What actually thrills me most about my acting career is having fun and being paid for it. My job is like a hobby and that’s the fact.

What puts you off in the acting world?

The fact that people think that actresses cannot keep good homes or be loyal wives! I wonder why they reason that way.

What was the craziest thing a

What was the most scandalous story ever written about you?

That I was dating a director and I fought my friend because of him. That was very scandalous because it never happened.

wouldn’t want to appear completely naked. I dress decently sexy.

What are the qualities of your ideal man?

My ideal man must be god-fearing, taller than I am, comfortable and romantic (laughs).

What is that fashion item you wouldn’t mind spending a fortune on?

Shoes, I love them a lot. The Bible says your legs

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Applause

would take you to where your success is, and without good shoes, you won’t get there (giggles).

What is the misconception people have about you?

People judge me by my looks; most times they think I can’t cook. Sometimes, they believe I don’t stay faithful to a man.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

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‘Contemporary women are waking up to the call for self expression’

When you had a heart break, what did you do right to wriggle out of the pains?

I started internet dating; that really helped me to sooth my broken heart.

ADAEZE AMOS.

S

he is an amiable lecturer of Literature, a pioneer student of the defunct Bendel State University who studied English and Literary Studies and had a master’s degree in Mass Communication from University of Lagos and a second master’s degree in Literature from the same university. Welcome to the world of Dr. Ofure Aito, whose academic performance in school was awesome.

“Yes, awesome indeed because I was the second best graduating student in 1996,” she recalled.

She had two master’s degrees before opting for a Ph. D. Did you ask if that made her Ph. D easy and fun, having had two master’s degrees first? “No, it wasn’t easy! In fact, when I started, it was no fun at all. I wanted to call it quits several times. Some of my friends that started with me dropped out on their own because it was not something a woman would want to do. It’s not very favourable to women, unless you are determined, really dogged and committed,” she recalled Life after having a doctorate degree had been centered on academics. “After my Ph. D, I have been writing books, doing a lot of research and lecturing because that is what my passion is; teaching Literature! Aside from that, I’m a role model to women, especially young girls. Everywhere I go, I always want to pick up a young girl, an aspiring future lady or woman to go with me, and probably see what I’m doing and maybe, it would inspire her,” she asserted.

Dr Aito pointed out that education would go a long way in empowering the girl-child. “Education of the girl-child is very important because that would help to empower her and help to convince her that her education would not end up in the kitchen. I’m saying this because at times, some of my students do come to me and say ‘don’t you think we are wasting our time studying because we would still end up in the kitchen and later become baby factories’.

That’s when I sit them down and counsel them. Some of the questions they ask are touchy, very emotional, but I spend time talking and encouraging them.

“What actually helps me to advise and encourage them is the kind of upbringing I had. In my family, when I was growing up, my parents didn’t give my brothers preferential treatments. If you are a mother and you are doing that please, desist from doing that.

In my family, we were treated alike; there were no house chores strictly for females. Some of us (girls) would wash our parents’ cars. As early as the 70s and 80s, I would wash my father’s car, my brothers would wash plates. At times, they would pound yam in the kitchen or use stone to grind pepper and my mum would insist those chores were properly done. There was no disparity, no gender segregation in my house. I’m so grateful I learnt from that and

today, I’m using what I learnt to touch lives,” she giggled.

This university Don hammers so much on the importance of education. That it is very important to be educated, even if you are not going to use your certificate to work. There is nothing wrong in knowing your right and claiming it or knowing how to claim it. Don’t be discouraged over the fact that some people who didn’t go to school are millionaires today. It is one thing to be a millionaire without education and another thing to be one with education.

How would you feel if you have all the millions and people don’t reckon with you? How would you feel if you have all the millions and you can’t sit and dine with kings and queens? There is a big difference! Education liberates your mind and set the body in emotion,” she said.

Little wonder, some married women who want to further their education and their spouses become a stumbling block are always aggrieved. “Yes, you don’t blame them for being aggrieved. These days, women are realizing the importance of education. Unlike before when most married women were satisfied with just living a docile lifestyle and depended solely on their husbands. But I’m so happy that the contemporary women, I call them the first modernist women, have woken up to the call for self expression. Now, they take the bull by the horn and they are no longer subservient. They are more determined about who they are. But you see, the challenges of being married and wanting to further your education is always heavy. So, one thing a woman who wants to do that has to do is to weigh it. Put it on the scale and decide where the advantage is more. I won’t say leave your marriage in order to express yourself.

Neither would I say let yourself be buried in your marriage. But weigh your options. Which one is better for you? Which one do you enjoy most? That is the most important thing because I enjoy being a doctor; I will give anything to keep it. And I have given up so much to get to where I am. I have given up social life, I have given up marriage proposals to be where I am because I weigh my options and I found out that this was what I wanted and I have never regretted it. It has opened so many doors. There is no embassy I go to and the doors are not opened. At least in my time, I have sat one-on-one with two ambassadors of nations, I’ve had conferences with them. I have been a guest of a president in America. I have given a talk to American citizens in the university. I have benefited from American scholarship. I have traveled, I’m having fun, so I’m not looking back,” she enthused.

Guess what keeps this amazon busy? “One of the things I now do a lot is attending international conferences and presenting issues, papers and arguments on national identity, sovereignty and the power of literature in reconciling the differences in every society and individual. And promoting co-existence and tolerance,” she said.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

19

April 17, 2016

A PUBLICATION OF GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, CFR PUBLISHER All the Facts, All the Sides

SUNDAY OLAJIDE MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO BEN MEMULETIWON ACTING DAILY EDITOR GBEMI OLUJOBI SATURDAY EDITOR AYO OLESIN SUNDAY EDITOR OBIORA IFOH AG ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF DOZIE OKEBALAMA COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD CALLISTUS OKE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

2016 Budget: Governance at its worst degeneracy

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ast December when President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2016 budget at the joint sitting of the two chambers of the National Assembly in a speech tagged “The Budget of Change ”, Nigerians and the international community approached the development with cautious optimism.

One strong underlying factor for this guarded optimism is the relationship between the federal executive and legislature that is at best tenuous - a fallout from the June 2015 elections to pick the principal officers of the two chambers of NASS. Four months after the presentation, the budget is still in the works, dogged by controversies — tendentious processes, muscle flexing, mutilation, modulation, alteration and outright project excision. It is so bad that the President has vowed not to assent to the document until it is reshaped. More worrisome is the polarisation of the Senate into North-South divide over the budget.

The attitude of this newspaper to this development is one of consternation. We are at a loss why budgeting, a common convention in public finance management, should be so problematic in Nigeria. The nation ’s grundnorm has streamlined the process, conferring on the executive the power of preparation, while the legislature is saddled with the responsibility of appropriating funds for the planned projects and other spending. We do agree that a serious exercise such as this could be contentious; however, this could be managed through robust engagement of all the stakeholders, especially the Presidency and the members of the National Assembly. This is particularly because of the commonality of their interest: the wellbeing of the people and socioeconomic health of the country.

That is the crux of the matter. It is common knowledge that less than altruistic calculations have been introduced into budgetary processes in this country. The convoluted politicking in the present dispensation has affected the business of government at the national level to the extent that a frosty relationship exists between the Presidency and the National Assembly. It

IT IS A PAINFUL REALITY THAT OUR LEADERS ARE TOYING WITH THE POLITICAL HEALTH OF THE

COUNTRY. NIGERIANS ARE HYPERSENSITIVE OVER ISSUES THAT AFFECT THEIR ETHNIC NATIONALITIES AND

SUB NATIONALITIES.

will be recalled that the first and second versions of the budget were withdrawn over allegations of ‘strange ’ projects by National Assembly. The Senate Majority Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, affirmed that the second version of the 2016 budget document failed a series of integrity tests carried out by the institution.

Strange also is the fact that the compromised new version of the budget document finally considered as workable was passed after several “padded ” components were allegedly discovered and removed. Recall also that the executive refused to look at the passed budget until it was availed of the highlights.

The process by the executive to confirm if indeed, the passed budget document was in the way it was designed led to scandalous revelations, and thus the reason for another face off between the two core institutions of government.

Some of the projects and programmes whose provisions were allegedly tampered with by the National Assembly included the Lagos-Calabar coastal railway; the Idu-Kaduna rail line cut by N8.7 billion; slashing of the appropriations for major federal roads; polio eradication and essential drugs for HIV/AIDS expunged; and agricultural and water resources reallocated to constituency projects. Perhaps, the most contentious

is the N60 billion Lagos-Calabar coastal railway, which was expunged. That a similar budgetary provision was made for the Lagos-Kano railway and was not tampered with led to allegation of interplay of geopolitical intrigues, a development not helped by the fact that the Appropriation Committees of both the Senate and House of Representatives are headed by two northern lawmakers.

It is a painful reality that our leaders are toying with the political health of the country. Nigerians are hypersensitive over issues that affect their ethnic nationalities and sub nationalities. Tampering with the Lagos-Calabar railway for mundane reasons is bad politics. The reaction by senators from the South West and South South geopolitical zones to the development is to be expected. The northern senators behind it have taken the tenuous bond uniting Nigeria for granted. The lack of consensus by the senators on the issue is an indication of mischief on the part of some senators.

There is no denying the fact that the National Assembly has a constitutionally backed input into the budget making process as it is vested with the power of appropriation. However, it has a corresponding duty to give plausible explanations for doing anything with the provisions of the budget and convey same to the executive. We did not see much of this engagement between the federal executive and the legislature in the final build up to the passage of the 2016 budget. Equally worrisome is the bellicose and provocative language of the leadership of the Senate in ordering the Presidency to get about the signing of the budget document without delay.

In the 2015 general elections, Nigerians overwhelmingly endorsed the All Progressives Congress (APC) to lead the country. It is very curious that the top hierarchs of the ruling party are not demonstrating enough sense of history. This is the first national budget of the Buhari government; many look up to it with optimism. It is, therefore, a strange denouement that infighting among the party chieftains will derail the lofty expectations of Nigerians in APC leadership.

Reminiscences April 17 IN HISTORY 1927: Airship race from New York to Paris rescheduled An airship race scheduled from New York to Paris has been forced to reschedule due to injuries and problems with an engine on one of the airships.

1940: World War II - Allies acquire Douglas Bombers Anglo-French purchasing mission announced the purchase of huge quantities of the latest aircraft including Douglas Bombers and Curtiss Pursuit Ships from American Companies 1950: Soviet Union shoots down U.S. plane America accuses the Reds of shooting down a US plane over the Baltic Sea in an unprovoked attack.

1951: Crew of British submarine missing The crew of the British submarine ‘Affray ’ is feared dead after going missing off the south coast of England. Two months later, the Affray was found in 300ft of water 46 miles south of Portland.

1961: Cuba - Bay of Pigs invasion fails A group of 1,500 Cuban exiles supported by the US government invaded the Bay of Pigs on the southern coast of Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro. The invasion failed miserably and by April 21 all had been killed or captured.

1962: Polio vaccine administered worldwide Around the world after the approval by governments of the oral polio vaccine developed by Albert Sabin, schools, health clinics and doctors were preparing to administer the vaccine to children who had not received the injected Salk vaccine.

1969: Robert Kennedy ’s assassin found guilty The assassin of Robert Kennedy, Sirhan B. Sirhan, was found guilty of first degree murder for assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the brother of slain President John F. Kennedy.

1969: Northern Ireland - Devlin becomes British youngest MP Bernadette Devlin becomes Britain ’s youngest ever female MP and the third youngest MP ever.

1973: Egypt warns on Syria/Israel war Egypt has warned it may get involved in the Syria Israel war and warned it may fight alongside the Syrians if the Golan Heights becomes threatened.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

20

From the

Pulpit Sunday April 17, 2016

Preparing for the Covenant of Peace and Blessing General Overseer of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministry, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, in this piece, explains how to prepare for the covenant of peace and blessing. Excerpts:

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any people have been witnessing the celebration of Easter but without experiencing the real benefit for which Easter is purported. Some have seen other people rejoicing after Easter but because they have not experienced the expected desired benefit in their lives; they keep asking God when will their own time of departure from trouble come?

Some on the other hand may be saying there is nothing like a special divine intervention in people’s life during Easter and as such have discarded the fact that God does special thing in the life of people that turnaround their lives for better.

But comes this weekend as we celebrate Easter the Almighty God will make as many as will make themselves available to rejoice. God will renew His covenant of peace and blessing with us at the Holy Ghost inspired crusade titled, ‘GOD’S COVENANT OF PEACE AND BLESSING’ which has been scheduled to hold this weekend at the expansive revival ground of The Lord’s Chosen located along Oshodi –Apapa Expressway at Ijesha bus stop.

Whether you ask for it or not God has determined to force His blessing upon all that will participate in this programme and bring about lasting peace to the country. Nobody will attend the crusade and go home the same without receiving desired blessing. The mark of grief that has dominated the mind of the people during this electioneering campaign shall end after the crusade.

Peace shall be established in their minds, home, business and the entire nation shall experience peace.

The crusade will bring amazing that blessing upon participants tha at will make for complete content-ment. By it, yokes shall be broken; diseases shall be cured, sicknesses shall be healed and the afflicted shall be delivered.

As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ which is what Easter stands for, God will refresh His covenant of peace and blessing with us. It is at Easter we celebrate the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross of Cavalry for our sins which

brought about the destruction that has been earmarked for us as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve. Christ took our place of sin, sickness, poverty, worry, depression, confusion so that we could partake in His place of righteousness, perfect health, wealth, joy, sound mind and victory The victory of Jesus over death is the victory of Christians over sin and Satan and this victory brought about the restoration of the covenant of peace and blessing which God had with us and which was made blemished after the fall of Adam. At Easter we reflect on the finished work of redemption – vis-à-vis His death, burial and resurrection, which bestowed upon us salvation, mercy, dominion, health, honour and glory.

So if there is any area in your life you have presented to God before for blessing and have not received an answer to it, as He renews His covenant of peace and blessing at this program, you shall be blessed. If there is request you have made to God concerning your loved ones and have not seen the physical manifestation of the blessing. Or you have been praying that God should bless you or your

Pastor Muoka

loved ones in a particular area and have not gotten your desired blessing, then I assure you that same God who established this covenant, who have been blessing others during Easter, will through the renewal of His covenant shower abundant of His blessing upon you this time in Jesus name. It does not matter how bad your situation is now, or how powerful the enemy that have hindered you from receiving the blessing of God may be, the fact is that this time He has assured us of His blessing and He will bless us in Jesus name.

You may have been in pain for one reason or the other and thinking that God has abandoned you because you have not gotten blessing, a new covenant is coming your way. It may be the pain of stroke, it may be the pain of poverty, barrenness, lack of promotion, it may also be pain of sicknesses such as HIV, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, etc, and you have been praying and fasting for solution but there have been no answer to your prayer. I want to assure you that this time around, my God even the God of Chosen who brought you into this world has seen your predicament and heard your cry and is determined to let you have the touch of His blessing now.

In this forthcoming crusade there shall be showers of blessing and reign of peace in the heart of people.

If peace has eluded you because you don’t have your own husband or wife, or your spouse has abandon you, never mind, by the renewal of the covenant e nant of peace, you shall have your desire desire and enjoy peace. The God, who died on the cross for you has not not forgotten you, He is still alive and and is coming to renew His blessing for you and establish peace in your life. God will give you blessing of peace comes this crusade in Jesus name. Bring that problem that has defied solution to Him at this crusade and He will give you the desired blessing.

Beloved, only God has the power to give peace. Babalawo solution cannot give you that blessing of peace, that rich man has not gotten all the blessings that will change your life for good,

your father or mother has not gotten all the blessings to give you because they are not the creator of your life. Your boss in the office lacks all round blessing to give you, but only God has all the blessings and peace of this life and the life after.

Jn 10: 10b says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” When God saw the hopelessness of the people He created and how they were wallowing in darkness suffering from one problem to another, He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to come and be the Redeemer for them that they might have life and not just a mere living, but abundant of it including all those things which are needful to make life happy. By the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, a thorough heavenly portal is opened for humanity, and thus we have asses to all heavenly blessing which include mercy, grace, salvation, Holy Ghost baptism, good health, freedom, peace, promotion, joy unspeakable, dominion, etc and above all a privilege for a glorious immortality.

However, lack of knowledge of the reason behind His coming is why the people including the children of God are suffering and dying. And that is why hopelessness has pervaded the life of the citizens of this country and world at large. Many people have cut themselves off from the provisions available to us because of ignorance

by His coming bec destroyed. Their igand thus became d norant exposed them to the devil who offered alternatives to blessing which diseases, affliction of include sickness, dis homes, lacks, disapall kinds, broken ho eternal damnation. pointment, etc and e crusade, there shall But comes this cr be restoration. The llame shall walk, the dumb shall speak, tthe deaf shall hear, be cured and there the incurable shall b shall be showers of blessing. God Aldemonstrated at every given mighty has demonstr the beginning of this opportunity since th established the minministry, that He es gladness to the needy istry to impart glad broken hearted and in and bind up the bro God will this forth coming programme pr covenant of blessing He reconfirm the coven has with His people so that the years that the locust has eaten, the cankercaterpillar, and the palmworm, and the caterp restored and man shall erworm will be resto have peace. weekend, there shall be Comes this weeke extraordinary. Yokes shall be blessing extraordina shall be cured, sickbroken; diseases sh nesses n ne sses shall be healed and the afflicted shall be delivered. Now having gotten the knowledge having got of this outstanding blesso ing, what then shall be your preparation? prepara

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From the Pulpit

Sunday April 17, 2016

21

Do your best in any circumstance, says Prophet Oloruntimilehin General Overseer of Omnipotence Mission of God, Prophet Joshua Daramola Oloruntimilehin, in this admonition, explains how to do your best in any circumstance. Excerpts:

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eneral Overseer of Omnipotence Mission of God, Prophet Joshua Oloruntimilehin, in this homily, enjoins the faithful to always do their best. He teaches that if you do your best you will break a big spell you have been under, adding that man cannot succeed or overcome obstacles except through the grace of the Almighty God. My prayer is that God in His infinite mercy shall not leave us to suffer.

Whatever problem or affliction we are going through, God will deliver us in Jesus’ name.

God has knowledge of whatever situation we are facing at present. So, do things as you possibly can or to the best of your ability, be it prayer, pray accordingly, be it food, eat to your satisfaction and not in excess.

Husband and wife should take care of themselves; love each other, but shouldn’t get obsessed; put God first in all you do in life. In any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next. Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be of a high quality, and at other times it will not be as good.

If you try too hard and do more than your best, you will spend more energy than is needed and in the end your best will not be enough.

When you overdo things, you deplete your body and go against yourself, and it will take you longer to accomplish your goal. But if you do less than your best, you subject yourself to frustration, guilt and regret. Just do your best in any circumstance in your life.

It doesn’t matter if you are sick or tired, if you always do your best there is no way you can judge yourself. If you don’t judge yourself, there is no way you are going to suffer from guilt, blame, and self-punishment. By always doing your best, you will break a big spell you have been under. Man cannot succeed or overcome obstacles

except through the grace of the Almighty God. God has the power to elevate an orphan from the slum, 1 Samuel 2:7-8: “The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and He hath set the world upon them”.

As a good Christian, you shouldn’t lust over material things of this world because they are all vanity, but live the life God has in store for you. Imagine someone leaving home for work as early as 5 a.m., and coming back home as late at 11 p.m., putting his health in danger, not spending quality life with his family, all in the name of securing the family’s future. He displeases himself to please others.

I never dispute the fact that a man should work hard because a hardworking and humble man is a friend of God, but always have time for God and yourself.

It takes the grace of God to reach your destination in life, not your effort and enthusiasm. Without the help of God, it is like trying to cut down a whole forest with a vegetable knife, you can imagine how effortless it will be. I implore you to do your best, leave the rest for God; be a goal-getter, an achiever but do not step on others in order to achieve your goals.

There is a saying, “one step at a time”, crawl, walk and even run when you ought to but always remember that whoever stretches beyond his limits will definitely break into pieces or be shattered. Run a little and al-

low God Almighty to complete the race for you.

Take the day as it comes, invite God into your life and worship Him but not your business, children, husband or your wife.

Matthew 6:31-34 teaches: “Therefore take no thought saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knoweth that ye

have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself…”

For further enquiries call: 08023020108, 08058110288, 08023991354. www.facebook.com/ pastoroloruntimilehin.

Prophet Oloruntimilehin

News

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BSN holds national board meeting

he Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) will hold the 49th edition of her annual national board meeting in Makurdi, Benue State from April 18 to 20, 2016.

According to the Deputy Manager, Media and Programmes, Benjamin Mordi, the meeting which will be declared open by the Executive Governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom, will start with a divine service scheduled to hold at NKST Church, Makurdi Cen-

tral on Tuesday, April 19, 2016.

Mordi revealed that the meeting, been hosted by the North Central Zone of BSN, will be presided over by the National President of the Society, Dr. Aaron Nuhu.

“Past and future activities of the organization concerning Bible work, as well as her accounts for the past one year, among other things will discussed at the meeting. The General Secretary of BSN, Dare Ajiboye is

expected to present his report for the year under review to the Board at the meeting”, he revealed.

According to Mordi, those expected at the Board Meeting include the Patron of BSN, Gen. Dr. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), Trustees, National Executive Committee members, Delegates from 38 Areas of the Society across the country and some senior members of the Management Team of the organization.

“The Bible Society of Nigeria is a non-profit-making interdenominational Christian organization that translates the Bible into local languages, publishes, distributes and raises funds for Bible work. So far we have the complete Bible in 24 Nigerian Languages.

She gives Bibles free to Old Peoples’ Homes and Orphanages, the visually impaired, prisoners and women of easy virtue, among others”, he revealed.

Opinion

22

Sunday April 17, 2016

Uncensored U nc

Sheriff S Folarin

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E-mail: sheffie2004@yahoo.co.uk 08094217972 (SMS only)

n about a month and a half’s time, a lot of commentaries would be underway to scrutinize the one year of the Buhari administration. Jabs will certainly come from different angles; just as accolades will also come. Some will be muted reaction and in some cases, just indifference. However, in view of the mounting economic woes, Buhari might come under fire. But, here, before that judgment day, is my own no-holds-barred, unapologetic, honest and uncensored assessment of this administration.

On the Economy Indeed, the administration inherited the liabilities of the previous administration, including huge external debts, sliding crude oil prices, a critically managed and corruption-infested subsidy regime, among other problems; but it also inherited the assets, such as an appreciable foreign reserve, expanding economy and a relatively stable and predictable Naira. The crash in the economy in the last 10 months is not more a function of GEJ’s legacies than Buhari’s own inability to have a grip on what is going on. Just like 1983-85, Buhari seems just unable to handle liabilities and assets. My hunch is that he just might not to be gifted in economic management, and this (if seen from an Ekiti perspective of “stomach infrastructure”) is the life-wire of a nation- the main trigger of crisis in the face of inadequacies and precipitator of popularity when well handled.

Brighter days may lie ahead, but at present, Buharinomics is not working just as the ministers in charge of the economy, finance and governor of the apex bank appear as clueless as a layman on the issues. Buhari might need to change his

Safety Tips with

Jonas Agwu

Email: j.agwu@Ofrsc.gov.ng Tel: -8033026491, 8077690055

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y friend and brother, Patrick Adenusi of Safety Beyond Borders, a Non-Government Organisation on road safety, once threw a thought provoking poser to a gathering of stakeholders when he asked rhetorically, ‘what is the value of the life of a Nigerian’? Frank Nneji of ABC Transport threw a similar poser when in response to the issue of the cost of a speed limiter; he asked if the cost of a speed limiter, no matter the amount could buy a life. This same question haunts me each time a road traffic crash claims the life of a Nigerian on our roads.

It equally haunts me each time I receive a report of a staff killed by a driver for merely slowing him down from killing himself or maiming others. The same thought ran through my mind when prior to the April 1 deadline for the enforcement of speed limiter,, I read stories questioning the rationale behind the move by the Corps, including those challenging the authority of the FRSC to enforce the speed limiter. In fact, ever since the House of Representatives’ resolution halted the April 1, 2016 enforcement date, I have deliberately adopted the siddon look posture knowing full well that anyone who values the life of the average Nigerian will naturally applaud the novelty in the introduction of the limiter by the Federal Road Safety Corps.

My optimism was further boosted when I had the privilege to attend the public hearing of the

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

An Assessment of the Buhari Administration team and bring on board from the pool of brilliant economists in the country, people with the Midas touch to help him accomplish his mission of “Change” in this critical sector. But, with the twist in Buharinomics, by the masterstroke of a deal Buhari made in China in the last week, is hope not rising? It appears President Buhari has some great jokers, which he’s been saving for now, or he is acting based on popular demand. Whatever the case may be, the Buhari deals in China are a feat worthy of emulation by other African leaders and raises hope for the Nigerian people.

Security You cannot take away from the administration, the credit of effectively and successfully beating back the enemies of the state. No matter how we choose to look at it, Boko Haram has been broken in spirit, soul and body. Since the advent of the administration, the terrorist group has only been able to operate through suicide bombing, with its foot-soldiers decimated, camps destroyed, towns recaptured, and pushed deeply into Sambisa forest and outside Nigeria. Successes are recorded on daily basis, in recovery of weapons, liberation of villages and captives and the soldiers, apparently well motivated have fought with renewed spirit.

New equipment, weapons and other instruments of operations, which are visibly in use, have come in without noise or scandal like it was in 2014.

Insurgency in other parts of the country, such as Nassarawa has abated too. The military is doing a good job in fighting oil bunkering and sea piracy in the South-South. The successes recorded in security matters are expected as Buhari’s pedigree as a General and war tactician seems to be playing out in the tackling of insecurity, particularly the Boko Haram crisis. However, response to some security issues, including the Agatu massacre has been rather lame. Moreover, using the army for elections in Rivers, Kogi and Bayelsa was unexpected of a government that criticized same under the last administration. Also, incessant cases of kidnapping under a President that holds the ace

in terms of military acumen to deal with common criminals is bewildering. If Jonathan, because he was a civilian and a gentleman could not stem the tide before it became a monster, it would be most unexpected of a tough military General to be unable to pull the brakes.

Anti-Corruption This is Buhari’s area of specialization. He has sent many erstwhile smart alecs out of business, busted high- profile syndicates, recovered hundreds of billions of dollars of looted public fund and plugged many leakages. Life has not been the same for hundreds of thousands of persons who, hitherto, held 170 million Nigerians to ransom. Like his first term in the 1980’s, Buhari is sparing no one. And he’s very proud of it. But, as corruption bitterly fights back, with the wounded elements firing from all cylinders and sabotaging his administration in all sectors, Buhari does not seem to know what to do. He’s not helping matters too by having in his cabinet, some persons of questionable past and character. He’s also too patient with those indicted and seems not to pay attention to details on delicate matters, such as budget preparation that led to padding in the first place; issues that could make a mess of an internationally acclaimed anti-corruption crusade.

Media and Propaganda The administration does not have the machinery yet to deliver. The propaganda machinery is weak and most times, the media outlet performs below par. Buhari’s public image is not well polished and his mistakes are further compounded by the gaffes of his media and propaganda team.

PMB needs to consult IBB and OBJ on the kind of persons for the job on image-building!

Foreign Policy Thumbs up to PMB on this. He’s probably matching OBJ’s record in the utilization of shuttle diplomacy to earn Nigeria the much desired respect. It was shuttle diplomacy that culminated in the public acknowledgment ever from a sitting US President that an African President is “do-

ing a very good job”. Also, Nigeria is taken more seriously in the fight against terrorism, corruption, sea piracy and oil bunkering by President Buhari’s shuttle diplomacy. Again, for most of us that travel every now and then, one can see the difference from what it used to be in terms of respect for Nigerians by our hosts. However, Buhari does not have to travel all the time, particularly when issues of national emergency are at stake. Professor Osinbajo is equipped enough to do the travelling on his behalf.

Power Sector Buhari has to face the fact- there are saboteurs here as there are in the oil and financial sectors.

He has to come hard on them and never bow to their antics. Also, Fashola needs to be cautioned.

He’s jumping the gun in a race that should start with generation of more megawatts and stable power supply before higher tariff.

My Conclusion The Buhari administration is trying, but this cannot be its best. The potentials are there to do much better. The economy is so crucial as this is the main area that touches the emotions of human beings and the number one parameter for measuring national success.

President Buhari has another war to prosecutethe war against strongholds, principalities in all sectors, who specifically want him to fail. They want him to fail because they either do not like him or he’s upstaged them in a cycle of corruptionenhanced comfort. The best weapon for this war is good governance and vigilance. Also, Buhari has to stop taking decisions that tend to make even his supporters fear that he’s Islamizing or “Northernizing” Nigeria, just as it was hitherto speculated.

• Dr. Folarin, an Associate Professor, is the immediate past Head of Department of Political Science and International Relations, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State.

Echoes on speed limiter enforcement House Committee on the Federal Road Safety Commission on the subject last month where overwhelmingly the imperatives for the initiatives was drummed up by over 99 per cent of stakeholders who attended the hearing. Even those who had reservations merely proposed for its implementation to be complimented by other technologies.

However, my optimism was again partly jolted when I learnt of a litigation filed at the Federal High Court Abuja by the Registered Trustees of International Human Rights and Anti Corruption Society in Suit No FHC/Abj/CS/805/15 challenging the powers of FRSC on the speed limiter. I am relieved to hear that the High Court Presided over by Justice Chukwu last week dismissed the suit, describing the position of the opponents to the device as lacking in merit, stating that the FRSC has acted in line with its statutory powers by introducing, imposing and implementing the use of the speed limiting device in Nigeria.

This statutory powers referred by the Court on the regulation on the compulsory use of speed limiting device on vehicles in Nigeria is contained in the FRSC Establishment Act (2007) and the National Road Traffic Regulation 2012.In Section 10, sub section (m) of the (Establishment) Act, 2007,the Commission is empowered in „determining and enforcing speed limits for all categories of roads and vehicles and controlling the use of speed limiting devices. It states that „All motor vehicles plying the highway shall be in possession of good electric or air horn, jack, wheel spanner, tools, fire extinguisher, Inflated spare tyre, first aid box, emergency warning triangles or cones, laminated windscreen and mirror, speed governor(ie. speed limiter), wipers, insurance certificate and road worthiness certificate. Similarly, in the National Road Traffic Reg-

ulations (NRTR, 2012) it provides that,’’ A person shall not drive a vehicle on any public road which is not fitted with a speed limiter(ie. speed limiting device).

I am not a human rights activists and I have nothing against them as I am convinced that their passion is for our general good which I believe should include buying in into government strategies to preserve life including this novelty to check excessive speeding which according to my boss, Boboye Oyeyemi in his presentation during the Public Hearing has been identified as a key risk factor in road traffic injuries, influencing both the risk of a road crash as well as the severity of the injuries that result from injuries. Speed affects the driver, the vehicle, other road users and the environment underscoring the reason behind the FRSC initiatives.

The functions of the speed limiting device he further maintained are therefore multi-dimensional. The effects of speed include: increased driver’s response time to objects and increase risk of collision, reduces the driver’s ability to steer safely and around curves and objects on the roads, extends the distance necessary to stop a vehicle, increases the distance a vehicle travels while the driver reacts to a dangerous situation. Between January to November, 2012, Nigeria recorded increased rate of road crashes and a greater percentage (35 per cent) was attributed to speeding and over 58 per cent are speed related. Interestingly, there has been a downward reduction in RTC since Nigeria began the campaign on Speed limiter in 2012 and the Speed Violation (SPV) percentage has also fallen respectively, indicating that Nigeria has started reaping the benefits of Speed Limiter. The benefits of the initiatives include; lower speed resulting in less

fuel consumption by vehicles, lower speed also cuts down vehicles maintenance cost and slows down depreciation value thus vehicles last longer. It will significantly impact positively in changing the individual driving behavior which has been hard to achieve over the years as it will reduce the speed of vehicle to pre-set limit thus reducing overall crash risk and likely to lessen severity of crashes.

The initiatives will equally engender good monitoring mechanism for vehicle owners/fleet operators; engender compliance with the ECOWAS mandate and UN Decade of Action, as well as fulfillment of the Corps statutory functions through good practice. It will assist to eliminate losses associated with speed related crashes which are usually in vehicles loss, damage to roads and road infrastructure, house, goods etc and will also assist to preserve the young virile members of the society from deaths and maiming associated with speed induced crashes. i. It enables more relaxed driving and lower insurance premium as consequence of reduced crashes.

He concluded by stating that based on global best practice, 33 countries were identified to use the speed limiting device , informed the need for a technical study of the road traffic situation in Nigeria, which led to stakeholder’s summit to confront the ugly situation. Owing to the inherent advantages of speed limiters, several commercial fleet owners like ABC Transport, Peace Mass Transit, Abia State Transit, and numerous others have voluntarily introduced the speed limiting device.

•Agwu, an Assistant Corps Marshal, is Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone 7HQ of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Opinion

Sunday April 17, 2016

23

Open letter to Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin Operation Gratitude Nigeria (OGN) Dear Sir, Sometimes in April 2015, we stumbled upon an astonishing idea that we at that point concluded would be too much a weight to run with. It was a great idea.

As months went by, and after one of our chats, we realized there was no better time to sit up and take necessary actions on this idea than this period when our military is hard at work against insurgency.

This evolved into the first we spoke about at the rising of the sun and the last we deliberated on as we retire to bed. It perfectly aligned with all we ever believed in, desired and hoped every patriotic Nigerian should support. More crystal clear ideas began to stream in on how to get Nigerians involved in this great cause and thus, birthed the project christened Operation Gratitude Nigeria (Ogn).

As young, enthusiastic individuals, who have been affected, greatly influenced while growing up through various interactions with members of the military, we believe we can take up this exciting idea and run with it to give back in our own way, to the men and women of our military establishment, with particular focus on those personnel deployed to the frontlines, either locally or in foreign lands (as part of an international mission), fighting to keep our country united and an indivisible nation.

Operation Gratitude Nigeria was borne out of an innate desire to appreci-

ate the continuous achievements of our military on behalf of our great nation, not just within our borders, but also outside the country. This project was initiated to support all active members of the Nigerian military deployed in conflict areas internally, but most especially, those deployed on FOREIGN MISSIONS by sending them “Gratitude Packs” that meet their necessary and evolving everyday needs. The central focus of this project is to give every Nigerian the opportunity (by volunteering and getting involved in our various programs) to say thank you to our soldiers.

Our military has, over the years, in coordination with other outfits, kept our borders secure and safe from incursion.

Many of these heroes have, in the course of this duty, paid the ultimate sacrifice, so that we do not have to sacrifice all the things we love. We, therefore, are convinced that they deserve every love and support extended to them by Nigerians.

Operation Gratitude Nigeria exists to channel the affections and deep sense of gratitude of Nigerians towards uplifting the spirit of the men and women of our armed forces deployed in harm’s way.

From Mali, to Darfur, to Cote d’Ivoire, to Congo DR, to Liberia, to Sierra Leone, our soldiers have always stood tall and made us proud. It is, therefore, imperative for us to show them how much we are proud of them and appreciate their sacrifices.

Of greater importance to us is the observation that, apart from the commendable efforts of the government to boost

the morale of our military personnel deployed both in foreign lands and within our borders, there have not been appreciable level of love, gratitude and concern shown towards these men and women by both individuals and corporate bodies, unlike there is in the developed states. Some have even marked the military as an institution only to be feared, but not respected.

As such, civil-military relationship gap widens and leaves so much to be desired.

To this end, Operation Gratitude Nigeria was conceived to be the first privately established TROOP SUPPORT PROGRAM (TSP) to massively engage and co-ordinate every Nigerian to extend their gratitude to our heroes.

Notable amongst several benefits of this project will be to serve as an important bridge that connects and further strengthens civil-military relationship in Nigeria. There are other exciting benefits that cover and affect the families of active and fallen soldiers, corporate organizations that choose to support and partner with us, the federal government and the military establishment itself. All these are clearly outlined in our proposal.

Therefore, with all these aforementioned, sir, it is vital we get the support of your esteemed office before we can fully launch out with our programmes beyond the social media awareness and publicity we have already initiated for a couple of months now. We recognize the sensitivity of such projects, especially coming at a time such as this when the military is hard at work against terrorism in the country, but we believe there is no better

time to let our heroes know that they have the support of a great nation behind them and they are never forgotten. We are convinced that our show of support and gratitude coming in our little ‘Gratitude Packs’ would give them another great reason to keep the faith wherever they might be.

In addition, reaching out to gain sponsorship and partnerships from individuals and corporate bodies for the Operation Gratitude Nigeria project, we believe would not be herculean as long as we have the approval of your office.

In closing, every military personnel – veteran, new recruits and consultants – deployed on foreign or domestic missions make up our target audience, irrespective of the distance involved. We cannot also forget the immediate families of these heroes, as they are also fully included in Operation Gratitude Nigeria programs.

At this juncture, it is vital to reiterate the underlining message of Operation Gratitude Nigeria, and that is, to give every Nigerian the desired opportunity to say thank you to our deployed solders, and their immediate families.

We look forward to the support of the Defence Headquarters on this project.

God Bless Nigeria.

Sincerely, Olufolajimi Oguntayo. Convener of Operation Gratitude Nigeria, wrote from Lagos. operationg ratitudenigeria@ gmail.com (+234)7056859658 or (+234)8068112629

Can this oil tanker be turned around?

RONKE ADEAGBO

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ith the naira and oil prices falling over 50 per cent in the last couple of years, there are no prizes for guessing that this ‘oil tanker’ called Nigeria, is on a slippery slope and needs to be turned around fast by a very experienced driver.

But are devaluation and diversification of the economy the silver bullets?

The exchange rate is not set by government or by banks. It is set by the laws of demand and supply, just like any other commodity although it can be influenced by government policies.

Oil revenues, being the cash cow of the Nigerian economy is at its lowest in the last two decades, therefore acute drop in dollar supply. But the demand for dollar has not changed. So in line with the elasticity rules, when you have more naira chasing few dollars, it triggers a default devaluation of the naira.

I visited the United Arab Emirate, Dubai recently, and I was amazed to learn that oil was discovered in this country almost same time as Nigeria. But prior to the discovery of oil, the country’s economy depended on fishing and a declining pearl industry. But since oil exports began in 1962, the country’s society and economy has been transformed remarkably. I also understand the UAE hardly tax the residents and tourists, therefore the government does not rely on taxation as a source of revenue. I dare say, how they balance their public books is a mystery to me.

But it is well documented that the UAE has just over eight million population, whilst Nigeria has 167 million population.

But it remains one of the Middle East’s richest countries, important economic and tourist centres in the world.

It might be helpful for Nigeria to under-

study some of their fiscal policies. However, it begs the question whether our population size and the discovery of oil has actually been a blessing? The jury is out on that.

Do we have leadership, orientation, human capital, entrepreneurial, accountability or integrity challenges?

In July 2012, according to BBC News, Nigeria signed a preliminary $4.5 billion deal with the US-based Vulcan Petroleum to build six oil refineries. Only heaven knows what happened to that deal. Nigeria lacks refining capacity and it spends a lot on importing refined petroleum products. It is not rocket science, we simply need to revive our refineries to reduce our demand for the dollar to buy back these refined petroleum products and create jobs and increase retained earnings in the process.

The current exchange rate benefits Nigerians in the Diaspora, as their hard-earned money will get them more naira. But with a potential inflation in the horizon in Nigeria, that extra value could soon disappear.

But an influx of Diaspora remittances, in my view, albeit a ‘low-hanging’ fruit, could literally, become the ‘new oil’, for the engine of this tanker. We all know that when a vehicle’s old engine oil is drained and a new one poured in, it drives and sounds better and could aid the oil tanker in turning around slowly but surely.

With the current forex crisis, Diaspora remittances become very important. We are increasingly becoming part of the solution. This has been demonstrated in other economies such as India etc. We need to rise up to the challenge and help save our naira and economy. The Diaspora community should send more money home and ensure this is used for more capital-oriented projects to create jobs and encourage your folks to spend those remittances locally. We also, need to encourage the government to ensure Diaspora citizens are reasonably

engaged,’ are well represented at the decision-making table and the Diaspora Commission becomes a reality.

As a country, we need to aim to boost exports, reduce our dependency on oil and imports, diversify our economy, implement robust fiscal policies, introduce efficiency initiatives, increase access to credit to stimulate the economy and attract Foreign Direct Investment to help redress the infrastructural deficit.

With the implementation of some of the above strategies, the economy could be diversified and the naira would find its level, hopefully a favourable and sustainable one. I appreciate that a cheaper currency will discourage imports and by default reduce demand for dollar, encourage exports and influx of dollars, and sustain jobs created by the exports, encourage more influx of Diaspora remittances and Foreign Direct Investment. However, the painful aspect is that if we devalue, it would become too expensive to buy some necessary imports such as refined petroleum products, wheat etc. and inflation could be triggered.

But in my opinion, this pain may be a ‘nice problem’, as it will encourage us to look for local substitutes. Nigeria cannot cut demand for forex without some draconian and comprehensive approach that encourages ‘produce-and-buy Nigeria’.

The UAE model of developing their tourism industry as a means of diversifying their economy could be understudied with a view to be replicated in Nigeria. But our conditioning and infrastructural deficit needs to be redressed first and that cost money and huge emotional investment.

Did I hear you say ‘tall order’? A journey of a thousand miles starts with a step, Rome was not built in a day and Reverend Martin Luther King once said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you do not see the whole staircase.”

This oil tanker must definitely make a U-turn, to avoid a head-on collision. It is currently undergoing a new MOT and servicing. A new driver is in the driving seat (President) and the oil tanker has been refuelled (Governors), albeit, there is severe fuel shortage and long queues at the pumps at the moment (April 2016). But we patiently expect a big white rabbit from the small hat, anytime from now.

The gearbox (Legislators) have just been replaced and they are all helping him to locate the reverse gear, albeit in an excruciating manner. The windscreen wipers (Ministers) have also been changed to ensure the windscreen is clean when the rain comes to avert any potential accident.

The radiator (permanent secretaries) has also been topped up, therefore no ‘overheating’ expected. The side mirrors (parastatal heads) have been set correctly for the driver to see the side and rear clearly when the oil tanker is reversing. So what could possibly go wrong?

So what are we the passengers (Nigerians) waiting for? Please all hands on deck to push this vehicle into reverse mode.

Also help put the grit, sand and salt on the slippery road to arrest the sliding of the oil tanker. This oil tanker must not crash, because the whole world is expectantly watching. To whom much is given, much is expected, Nigeria have been endowed by huge natural and intellectual resources. When a person is being watched, that person dear not stand aloft watching as well.……… Come on Nigerians. Yes we can! we hail thee.

Mrs ‘Ronke Adeagbo FCA FCCA, is a director of British Safety Council; past chairman of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN UK District) and current Treasurer of Central Association of All Nigerians in the UK (CANUK)

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Perfect Cut

African Look

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Latest lovely st

Catch the Gele Skentele swag ADAEZE AMOS

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

hen Lagbaja, the popular Nigerian artiste sang a song titled Gele Skentele, he definitely must be having Nigerian fashionistas/fashion pundits in mind. Yes, especially when you attend glamorous events and see how Nigerian style aficionados file out well dressed, you would know that the noble musician wasn’t mincing words.

If you check them out on the red carpet and take a closer look at their well tied Gele, that has layers like wings, glamorous is the word!

So, this very Sunday, for that special Sunday service, why not tie yours to suit your face?

Confused? Bring this page closer to you and see how these ladies tied theirs and then, emulate them.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday, April 17, 2016

tyles to ponder on ADAEZE AMOS

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here are some lovely styles you need to ponder on, even before your fabrics arrive. Reason? Because it is your choice of style that determines the kind of fabric you go for. That is why your imagination or inner eyes are important with regards to your dress sense.

Little wonder, the Bible says in Joshua 1:8 “…whatever things that are lovely...meditate on them. This simply means that it is not sinful or out of place to meditate on styles that would make you look gorgeous, especially for Sunday service. Check out these styles here and ponder on them. If there are some changes you need to make, simply get a piece of paper and sketch them out. Hand your sketched item over to your fashion designer and explain in details to him or her, so that your expensive fabric won’t be messed up.

Perfect Cut

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Sunday, April 17, 2016

Dude Style

victorudoh804@yahoo.com 07067124302

‘My personal style spells nothing, but simple’ Nwafor Uchenna from Ikwo South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State is a business consultant to A2W Limited, makers of Ruzu Bitters and a call center agent of CONSOL. He is an easy going person that works well with everyone. In this interview with VICTOR UDOH he talked about his lifestyle, dress sense and what makes him tick.

How do you really unwind?

I unwind by being with good people. I enjoy being around with different types of people. I wouldn’t forget to mention that I unwind by watching football. And in my spare time, I relax by reading newspapers and business journals.

What really keeps you on your toes?

Hard work! I always like to face challenges so as to improve in everything I do. I’m I m a hardworking person, very optimistic. Hence, I always withstand variety of challenges.

A bit on your educational background?

I studied Co-operative Economics and Management at Federal Co-operative College, Oji River, Enugu State. I did my National Youth Service Corps in Katsina State. During my service year, I did a professional course at the Nigeria Institute of Management were I was awarded a certificate of proficiency in Management (NIM). And, I also obtained Agent Plus certification as a frontline customer service professional from QIA Global Institute.

So many men are battling with overweight and protruded tummy, but y o u r tummy

i s flat; what a r e y o u doing right?

What W at Wh I ’ m d o ing is simple: I

would first and foremost inform you that my health is important to me because a healthy man is a wealthy man. Having said this, my flat tummy is as a result of my frequent exercises. Another factor is that I take my herbal products called Ruzu Bitters. It is nature’s pure/raw miracle. So, I recommend it to both men and women including children.

ness that involves marketing products that can add value to humanity and satisfy the needs of people.

What do you do to keep fit and look trendy?

Exercise is very important; so, I don’t joke with it. I ensure that I eat good food; basically fruits and vegetables. Then I find What is the major challenge in what you time to rest. When it comes to trends, I make sure I’m not lagging do for a living? laggin behind in the world of My major chal- business. lenge is my tight schedule and Dudes too measure measu up in the circle of funds! As a call fashion, what do you y think fashion center agent, means to you? m I hardly have Fashion is a lifestyle, lifesstyle, it is the time for my- way w you look or your yo our general self, my fam- appearance, ap ppearance, knowing know wing that ily and my you yo are addressed d the way personal busi- you yo dress. It’s also a popular ness. For my style in sttyle or practice, mostly m p e r s o n a l clothing, cllothing, footwear, r, accesb u s i n e s s , sories so ories and make-up. make-up up. It is we work as a prevailing style in n behava team; as iour io our and the newest newesst trend. partners.

Having defined it, I strongly H believe believe that dudes are a not doWhat exactly do ing in ng badly in the fashion fasshion world you have pasincluding in ncluding yours sincerely sin ncerely. sion for in life?

I have passion for Can C you define your yo our personlucrative busi- al al style?

My personal s t y l e

spells nothing, but simple! Reason is that I’m a very simple person; that is me! I also live a simple life.

What personal item wouldn’t you mind spending a fortune on?

My phone! I love good phones and my phones are very important to me. I also wouldn’t mind spending good money to buy good jeans and traditional wears.

What is the very lesson life has taught you?

Life has taught me to be hardworking, to be focused and committed in whatever I do What is your life philosophy?

To be successful in life and be committed in everything I do, both in business and relationship. I love setting up a goal and achieving my aim.

What exactly takes the major part of your time?

My job takes most of my time; I’m a hard worker and a goal getter. I always wake up by 4am everyday to prepare for work and come back home late, mostly by 10pm. I believe in hard work because it doesn’t kill; it makes you an achiever.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

27

April 17, 2016

Pregnancy Talk

Naughtiest Thing

with

The naughtiest thing I ’ve ever done

Adaeze Amos

Martina Obi Okorare

߾ࠆ߾ࠀࠁ߾߿ࠀࠀࠇࠁ ߶ࠡࠛࠡ ࠝࠜࠚࠧ߷

Get your breasts ready for breastfeeding while pregnant

a o t n i d e t a n i r ‘I u ’ g n i l l e v a r t e l i h w plate

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W

hen you are pregnant, six or seven months gone that you would start doing some things to get your breasts ready to breastfeed your baby. Did you ask if that is not too early?

No, not at all. This is the time you ask your doctor what you should do to prepare your breasts for that.

In the days of yore, our mothers and grannies used to do what is called roughing up the nipples by rubbing them with a towel to have the nipples stimulated for breast feeding. But these days, today ’s pregnant mums are advised not to do that. Guess why? It is no longer recommended because it has been found that doing so can remove the protective substances produced by (nature) the breasts during pregnancy and afterwards.

So, instead of doing that, what you

should do is to try some gentle breast massage. This would help you become more comfortable handling your breasts, and may also be useful later on if you need to express your milk.

Remember too that while doing that, you take a closer look at your nipples and see whether you have inverted nipples.

Did you ask if that is necessary too? Oh sure it is. Inverted nipples can make it a bit more difficult for a baby to latch onto the nipples correctly. If you notice your nipples are inverted, complain to your doctor before your baby is born. But this happens in rare cases.

Take your breastfeeding lessons seriously. It is now that you are pregnant that breast feeding lessons are done in some hospitals to educate the first timers in particular on the proper positioning while breastfeeding. Reason is that poor positioning or improper latch can cause sore nipples.

Lotions are generally not necessary. Your nipples are alredy producing what they need for their protection. Also, do not use soap on your nipples as this can dry them out. When you bathe or shower, rinsing with clean water is good. If your nipples are dry, you may need to apply a lubricant.

kay, one of the naughtiest things I have ever done happened recently. I remember chewing my chewing gum and when I became tired of it, I didn ’t throw it away. Guess what I did?

I gently gummed it at the back of my right ear for hours.

After sometime, I felt like chewing it, I then put it back into my mouth and continued chewing it.

I didn ’t know it had some strands of my hair which was gummed to it when I gummed it at the back of my ear. I continued chewing it, couldn ’t bring it out of my mouth to remove the hair because cameras were there before me. I was shooting a movie.

Then, another naughty thing happened when I was so pressed some time ago. I was traveling via road, and the bus driver refused to stop for me to ease myself. Good a thing I was sitting on the back seat. When my bladder was full to the brim, my brain told me to do something very quickly to help myself and I obeyed

without hesitation because I had no option.

Guess what? I brought out the take-away plastic plate I had. I had finished eating the rice that was inside it. So, I brought it down on my knees and peed into the plate. And wow, I was relieved!

Then, I covered my plastic plate of urine carefully, making sure none dropped on my skirt and threw it away thorugh the window. I adjusted on my seat like a proper lady and pretended as if nothing had happened.

Did you ask if the person seated by my side in the bus saw me? Well, leave that topic for another day.

All I know was that I was relieved at last!

By ADAEZE AMOS. Martina Obi Okorare is a Nollywood actress who has featured in so many movies and soap operas. She is one actress who says things the way they are. She doesn ’t pretend about anything; never arrogant and she is home with questions some divas would tag personal.

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

April 17, 2016

Lessons of Life TRUE LIFE STORY ON MATTERS OF THE HEART

ADAEZE AMOS Adanneamos@gmail.com 08023012293 (sms only)

‘I ’d give my hand in marriage to Josh whether my parents agree or not ’

In need of a serious relationship/marriage Daniel, 30, lives in Lagos, needs a sugar mummy for fun. 08088618966.

Oluchi whose friends preferred to call Lucci had been a young lively girl. There had never been any dull moment about her. When she was in secondary school, she had been friendly to all students including her juniors. Even when she was the school ’s beauty queen, she was humble and friendly to all students.

She never allowed her beauty to overwhelm her unlike the previous beauty queens and for that reason she was respected and admired.

Micheal 27, 5:6 tall, slim. I would like to be hooked up with any seriousminded lady between 21/30 for a relationship.

08139627918.

A

Gbenga, 43, lives and works in Katsina state government, needs a Muslim lady from 30 and above for a relationship. 07059239559.

side from representing her school in every social outing, she was also the head girl of her school ’s debating society because she had good command of English language and she was eloquent. Though brilliant, she still found time to attend after- schoollessons in the house of her class mistress who was taking her up in English language and Government. “I wasn ’t the only one who was attending evening lessons in the house of Auntie Irene our class mistress who was living close to my school. So many of my classmates were also attending same lesson because the lady teacher was good.

So, I never missed her classes both in school and in her home, ” she enthused.

“Auntie Irene, had a neighbor I later grew fond of . They were living in the same building but different flats. I used to come early before others especially on Saturdays because I had less to do at home. I would tidy up the corridor where we used to stay for the lesson even when Auntie Irene would be inside her room doing something else or waiting for the rest of students to come. It was on one of such Saturdays that her neighbor, Josh by name saw me. I was seventeen and naïve but my naivety never prevented me from noticing that Josh was cute. Each time I came to sweep the corridor which served as a makeshift lesson centre, Josh would step out of his room and we would sit down and tell stories.

He told me how he used to be serious with his studies while he was in Enugu where he grew up. He would encourage me to take my studies very seriously because according to him there is always a good reward in hard work. He studied Economics at University of Benin and was a banker, ” she said.

Josh decided on his own to be

Dayo, a civil servant, lives in Lagos. I ’m from oyo state, I ’m 44. I want a Muslim lady that is working, single, beautiful and ready to settle down for marriage. 08033086629.

Rolake, 33, lives in Abuja, needs a nice, caring and responsible employed man for a serious relationship. 09031619728 Alao, 38,single, based in Lagos, needs a single religious and Yoruba Muslim girl below 30 for marriage. 08170141833.

Oluwabunmi, 46, a widow, needs a man between 50 and 60 for serious relationship. I reside in Lagos. 08160790405.

Samuel, an up-and-coming artiste, lives in Lagos nees a sugar mummy.

07086447436.

Toba, 40, a graduate and working. I need a fat Yoruba lady for a relationship that can lead to marriage 08060439348 Sam, 36 needs a caring and supportive lady who is 45 years and above.

08068553322.

My name is Gbenga, I need a nurse or fashion designer between 30-35 for marriage. 08151011938.

Micheal is my name, 50. I need a lady. 08111440960.

Frank needs a matured lady or mummy for fun.

08086594932.

Sam, 36 needs a caring and supportive lady who is 45 years and above.

08068553322.

A model

Ola, needs a girl of 18-25 for friendship.

08054836335

teaching her Mathematics and Economics which she complained were two subjects that had been giving her tough time. “I would visit Josh on Sundays, in the evenings after church service. My class teacher never noticed I was coming to see him and I didn ’t want her to know.

Something within me told me that if I should tell her about my regular Sunday visits to Josh ’s house, she would frown at it. So, I used to sneak in and felt at home with Josh who was 23 years older than me.

When I started coming to see Josh, I was barely seventeen while he was 40 but he looked younger than his age and very cute. He was serious in putting me through in the two subjects that posed as big challenge to me. But I discovered that while he was teaching me, my mind would wander away. I would begin to think of how I would be his babe or his wife in the nearest future. How that would make me happy, how glad I would be if he should woo me and so on. These were the things that were running riot on my mind. I was surprised each time my mind wandered off, how he would know.

Because he would close my books and remind me to concentrate on what he was teaching me; that he already knew what I was thinking about.

“He would tell me exactly what I was battling with in my mind and I was surprised how he knew. Whenever he spoke to me, I would avoid his gaze/ his eyes. I knew I was already in love with him, no doubt. At a time, I started coming from church, without my books because I had formed the habit of leaving my books in his house. I would be in his house to have lunch with him, watch movies with him before we resumed lesson. He too was in love with me. So, he told me one evening when I was about going home. When I got home that day, I didn ’t sleep a wink. His words and voice were flashing back in my memory and I was turning on my bed; restless and unable to sleep well. I told him that I liked him and that I had never felt the way I was feeling for him for any man in my life. He was my first man and I was in love with him, ” she recalled.

It got to a time Oluchi ’s evening visits to Josh were not for lessons. “Some Sundays, We would not remember to do what initially brought me to his house. We would be busy admiring ourselves and cuddling each other. He didn ’t go beyond that because he told me I was seventeen and still a minor, that he would be accused of abusing me. Before I wrote my West Africa School Certificate exam, Josh and I were dating. It got to the level where

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we could not hide it from my class teacher who was his neighbor. When he was confronted by her, he told her that he had no ugly intensions for me. That he would marry me once I gain admission into the university.

That was what made her soft-pedaled though she reminded him that I was still a minor, same thing he was always telling me, ” she said.

When she wrote her exams, she cleared all her papers, “Josh and I celebrated it together. That was two days to my 18th birthday. I told him that in two days time, I would no longer be a minor, a statement that made him laugh and looked at me with pity in his eyes. He said we should put sex on hold because it was worth waiting for.

And that if at all we should do it, we should bear safety in mind and that he would need to see my mum first and introduce himself to her. That my mum would soften the ground for him to see my father because my father was a disciplinarian. When Josh came to see Lucci ’s mum, something happened that put the two love birds off.

To be continued

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Briefly IOBC set for Covenant Salt

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leri Oluwa Bible church, channel of Victory is set to hold its annual programme on April 29, 2016.

The programme tagged “Covenant Salt will hold at the church premises located at 3, market road, off Ikosi road, beside Ikosi/Isheri council, ketu, Lagos.

According to the General Overseer and host, Rev (Dr.) Ebunoluwa Adeyomoye (JP) this year’s celebration of covenant salt will bring breakthrough in the life of worshippers, as she added that it is an opportunity to destroy the powers of enemies working against prosperity of participants.

Sunday April 17, 2016

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Vineyard

Celebration

Pray for leaders, Nigerians urged ...as King’s Place holds anointing service

FGC holds marathon prayer

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ll is set for the 24-hour marathon prayer of Foursquare Gospel church, Alapere District.

The prayer session billed for April 25, 2016 will come up at Alapere district headquarter located at 72/74, Agboyi road, Alapere Abgoyi Ketu Local Council state from 7am - 6am.

The hosts, Rev and Professor Ajibola Jolasho assured that God will heal, deliver and break the yoke of stubborn problem, as job seekers will also be blessed with good employment as they attend the programme.

“We assure positive changes in the life of attendees and we pray that everything will change for the better as they come and worship with us”, sJolasho assured.

AWC prepares for 2016 convention

L-R: Pastor Moses, Area Pastor, Pastor Oyekami, Area Pastor, Passtor (Mrs.) Ogwu, Pastor Sylvester Ogwu, Zonal Pastor and Deacon Sunday Asiegbu, Parish Pastor at the event

ODINAKA URUAKPA

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he Zonal Pastor of Zone 13 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Lagos ll is set for 2016 Convention at Agape Province 8, Pastor Sylvester Ogwu, has Worship Center located at 6, Zion close, off Kosoko road, Ojodu Berger, urged Christians to continually pray for those in authority so that God would liberate NigeLagos.

The 3-day programmewhich holds ria and citizens from problems confronting from Friday April 22 to Sunday April 24, the nation.

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2016 with convention scheduled at 5pm on Friday, Saturday 3pm, Sunday 7:30am and 9:30am, has as its theme “Manifestation of the sons of God.’ Speaking ahead of the programme, the host, Apostle David Odi while describing the convention, claimed that God will bring to pass every positive thing concerning the life of all who participate in this year’s celebration.

Guest Ministers expected on the occasion include Apostle Noah Ayoola (MFMHqtrs), Apostle Wole Oladiyun CLAM among others.

A cross section

Ogwu, who gave this charge at the annual anointing service of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, King’s Place, Surulere, Lagos tagged “Loose him and let him go” also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to choose credible people to work with him.

Speaking on the benefits of the programme, he said the church discovered that a lot of people were held under bondage and siege of the evil one which informed the choice of the theme.

“So many people are under bondage of covenants that have been made in the past by their parents that they are not aware of, some are under limitations; financial bondage, so many wrong things are happening, so, we decided to put up this programme to liberate our members and others that have come here seeking deliverance”, he said.

On the present state of the nation, the cleric claimed that Nigeria is under siege: “So many things are happening; things are not working well and what makes up the country is the nucleus of families. If families are not right; if they are not placed in the right position, it would affect the entirety of the country.

“Most families are not living up to what God has ordained them to be. Nigeria needs

to be liberated and citizens need to continually pray for our leaders to take us to where God wants us to be. It is our duty as men of God to pray for them as the Bible states that we should pray for those in authority; so we continue to pray that God should use the present administration to lead us a right. The problem with us is that some people do not care, they believe it is not their business whatever the person at the top is doing and this is a wrong notion because if we don’t pray for our leaders when things go wrong, it would also affect us all; we need to pray for those in authority and for God to liberate us from problems confronting the country”, he maintained.

On the complaint by citizens on the present situation of things in the country, Ogwu urged Nigerians are to persevere and pray for things to improve as well as in to continue to pray for the president to work things out and deliver on the promises he made to the people.

“I think that we should give the president time to straighten things out. Let’s give him the chance. For me, I won’t judge him until he is through with his strategies in putting things in their right perspective. What has gone wrong in this nation may not take just few weeks to fix and moreover, the president has promised to do all he can to make Nigeria what it used to be in the past. I believe he is going to live by his words and do everything it takes to make the country once more respected as the giant of Africa and in the comity

of nations”, he said.

Speaking on the issue of youths, especially their involvement in cultism, Ogwu said that everything starts from the family and the present society where families are bred encourages a whole lot of ills.

“All the things happening now were alien to us.

I remember when I was growing up here in Lagos, what students had as top priority at the time was how we were going to build up ourselves, but today we hear of students doing all sorts of things and this is because the kind of society we find ourselves is that that celebrates mediocrity; we celebrate people who have made money dubiously. Every young person nowadays wants to become rich by all means at the detriment of their education.

The church and family has a lot to do to teach these young ones that whatever they want to do, they need to put God first. We have decided to rehabilitate youths in our neighbourhood who are into drug addiction and other vices so that they do not end up as robbers in the streets. We plan to speak to them, teach them vocational studies for free, prepare them for WAEC and GCE; these are things we can do for them to ensure that they become useful to themselves and the society at large”, he revealed.

This year’s programme was a three in one event that saw some pastors being sent forth and awards given to eleven clerics that left the zone on promotion to other places.

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From the Pulpit Learn with Kunle

Macaulay

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Email: profkunlemacaulay@ yahoo.com (08023032698, sms pls)

his message is necessary today when we consider the political, spiritual and economic situations of our nation – Nigeria. I observe that no human government has been able to meet the needs of her people, especially Nigeria, without God. No government, since our independence in 1960 up to date, has been able to satisfy Nigerians, even the military with their bombs and guns and financial recklessness failed Nigerians.

It looks as if Nigerians are losing confidence in the present government, simply because of the hardship they are going through now. We should know that there is no perfection in humanity. Christian religion makes it clear that only God is perfect and without God, nobody can do much Jn. 15:5, so, waiting upon the Lord means depending on God, relying on him, trusting God and in the case of Nigeria, hoping in the Lord. I have said it severally that we cannot remove God from Nigeria.

The Constitution of Nigeria has no place for God and hence, Nigeria is considered a “secular” state; meaning a nation that discards religious belief and worship and applies herself exclusively to the things of this life. Nigeria is not the only multi-religious nation in this world. Many great nations of this world are secular and democratic, but they provide a place for God in their constitutions and manage their spiritual lives with the help of God. The Muslims in Nigeria insist on the use of Koran to guide their

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imitation is a situation in life of a person which places restriction on what can be achieved and what cannot be achieved. This can be the situation in any area of a man’s life. A person may experience limitation in marriage, career, business, and ministry. It can be expressed in both spiritual and physical dimension. Limitation can be extrinsically placed upon a life or intrinsically establish over a life. Whether limitation is placed by an external force or by an individual self, it determines amount of progress a man can command in life. We shall be dealing with self-imposed limitation - limitation placed by an individual upon their own life.

Some limitations are of the enemy (devil) and when you seek the face of God; they will be destroyed. Then said I, what come these to do?

And he spake, saying, these are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head…(Zechariah 1: 21).But when a person place limitation upon himself/herself it takes understanding to be liberated. You cannot win a race (sprint) with a bag of cement on your head.

The bag of cement will limit the speed of such a person. That is how many people are in living there life by limiting themselves because of one habit or the other.

God had told Abraham to leave his father’s house to a new place he was going to show him.

Abraham left truly but took Lot along with him.

This singular action placed limitation upon Abraham until God came to his rescue. And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.(Genesis 13:14-15).What determines how far you go in life depends on who trav-

Sunday April 17, 2016

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Those that wait upon the Lord lives, hence nothing less than 12 states of the nation apply Sharia. The second magnificent mosque in Africa is in one of the northern states of Nigeria, built by the government of the state.

The Bible says, “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” Jer. 17:7-8. God has a purpose to accomplish through us if we look unto him as a nation. What I want us to know is that God whose ways are not our ways, and whose plans are not our plans, who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or think can work, even through anybody in building Nigeria.

I am convinced that God will work in Nigeria through new means and new ways. If it is true that Christianity and Islamism preach love and peace, then it is time for their adherents to live out their faith to keep Nigeria one and there will not be need to Islamize or Christianize Nigeria. No state will need a bill to regularize the activities of any faith in the country.

Let me quickly tell you a story that can be found in the Bible – Acts 16:16-40. It is a wonderful tale of miraculous power of God. Paul and Silas were arrested and placed in prison. Their offence before the magistrate was, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice” Acts 16:20-21.

That is not true. The truth is; “When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them

into the marketplace to face the authorities” Acts 16:19. The charges were inaccurate and malicious. The real motivation of this attack was financial as we just read. Paul and Silas were not only thrown into the prison, they were also chained.

It was not a comfortable moment, but do you know that instead of these men lamenting and crying, they depended on God and they prayed and sang unto the Lord.

The Bible confirmed that as they were praying and singing, a miracle happened “….the prison doors flew open and everybody’s chains came loose” Acts 16:26. The trust they had in God became contagious, other prisoners who were not singing or praising God were also set free.

The problems we have always had in this country are either ethnic or religious. But one fact remains that we are all Nigerians. The Bible says, “For as the body is one and hath many members and all the members of that one body being many, are one body…For the body is not one member, but many” I Cor. 12:12, 14.

We may come from different parts of the nation and decide personally our faith, but one fact remains that we are all Nigerians. The responsibility of moving Nigeria forward lies on every Nigerian.

Many of us may not be in the government to make laws or to approve laws, but we all have the responsibility to implement the law and not to flout it.When we respect the law of the state, transformation takes place, then, change is experienced. Definitely, if we want more from the government, then let us ask ourselves this question: what is our contribution to the state? Moses was obedient and thousands of Israelites were saved at the Red Sea, Jairus had faith and his daughter

was healed. Joshua took action when instructed by God to cross River Jordan and lead Israelites to the promised land.

All these are instruments used by God to achieve his purpose.

Cyrus was not an Israelite when God used him to set the Israelites in captivity free and the Samaritan woman was not a Jew when she left her pot and moved to town to proclaim the arrival of the Messiah. Let me quickly mention here that relying on God is more important than depending on the doctrines of the church where you worship or depending on man.

After all, we have been disappointed many times by men and women called ‘politicians’.

It is embarrassing that Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is being considered the leader of all churches in Nigeria and the mouthpiece of Christianity.

I want people in government to realize that Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) as it is constituted today does not represent the interest of all Christians – I mean believers of Jesus Christ in Nigeria and as such, cannot be a mouthpiece for many people who do not share its philosophy and ideology. I will advise that government, state or federal, should consult extensively and know who should represent who.

Prof Kunle Macaulay is the Director of Studies of United Bible University, Lagos. Phone: 0802 – 303 – 2698; email : profkunlemacaulay@yahoo.com Twitter: @KunleMacaulay1 •Prof. Kunle Macaulay is the Director of Studies of United Bible University, Lagos. Phone: 0802 – 303 – 2698; email : profkunlemacaulay@yahoo.com; Twitter. com/Kunle Macaulay1

Self-imposed limitation

Bishop Opayinka

els with you. Abraham carried so many loads on his head and he travelled slowly but God helped him to shed these loads. Many are stranded in life because of self-imposed limitation. Isaiah was a prophet that once experience spiritual limitation until God came to remove the limitation upon his life and his ministry took a new turn.

There are many ways a person can place limitation upon their life. Few among them are: •Bad character: Bad character of some people is the limitation that is preventing them from moving to the next level in their life. A person’s character can be a limiting factor to their success in life. The example of Isaiah above was unclean lips. This character can be expressed in many ways such lying, exaggeration any form of deviation from the truth. Isaiah had unclean lips and this limit the ministry of Isaiah. Saying negative things with our mouth can limit our success and

even limit how far God can use us. Unclean lips can damage and kill a man. When the lips of a man is functioning well that is the time his voice can carry power and authority. Isaiah had a polluted mind set and that is the reason dirty words come out his mouth. Until our mouth and lips are cleansed, we cannot rise to the top. (James 1:26) when you do not clean your lips, mouth and heart your prayers cannot be heard. When a man has a dirty lips, mouth and heart the authority given to him cannot function. Power will always flow in a clean lips, maintain clean lips, heart and mouth, and condition your lips, heart and mouth to speak whatsoever that is glorious, clean and divine. Psalms 52:4, a man’s mouth is gate that can opens to life or destruction. The reward of what we speak will surely come back to us a multiple fold. Proverb 6:2 your words can trap and destroy you, do not be fool by your wrong words.

Learn how to say the right words always even when facing challenges in life. Stop speaking bad words about yourself because you are the number one prophet of your life. What you say now can be used against you the days to come. So avoid bad and dirty words and keep yourself from keeping bad association and every self-imposed limitation over your life will crumbled.

•Wrong association: The person that travels with you in life determines how far you will go and what you will get in life. Bad association will only hinder the level of achievable success in our life. You don’t have to keep friends by compulsion. When you know where you are going; you are not supposed to join yourself with someone with a divergent view.

The partnership of Abraham with Lot didn’t go well because it was not supposed to be from the outset.

When you keep right association and company it brings blessings, anointing, and grace from God. When you keep bad association it brings evil forces and attracts failure to a life. You have the power to

choose which association you belong. King Hezekiah failed in his attempt to involve in shipping business because of who he partnered with. So the wisdom today is who is your partner? And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.(2 Chronicle 20:35-27) •What you believe: Some people believe that they cannot progress beyond a certain level due to some reasons.

It may be due to their background, level of education, race, and social status. What you believe will go long way to determine how far you can go in the journey of success. When the children of Israel where moving to the promise land; some believe they cannot achieve it because of challenges on the way while some believe that despite the challenges, they can make. This was what differentiated the success from the failure.

When you place a limitation upon your own life; grace and anointing may not be able to do much for you until you realised it and deal with it.

Whatsoever that is limiting you, will also be pressing you down and leading to backwardness in life.

A limited life is a backward life.

Bishop Joshua K. Opayinka Glorious Tabernacle International, Behind Adegbemile Cultural Centre, Akure, Ondo State.

08060297831 glorioustabernacle@gmail.com

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From the Pulpit 31

Sunday April 17, 2016

My case is different (ii) Miracle Arena with Bishop

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Theo Ugochukwu

e started looking at the implications of our Church 2016 Theme as contained in our Sticker during our first edition of this series. As said last week, the implications of our Church 2016 Prophetic Theme “My Case is Different” are too many to be stated on one page paper. So we shall continue this week to hear what the Holy Spirit is telling us as individuals and as a Church through that prophetic theme. ou can never hear too much about what God is telling is through the Church 2016 sticker – “My Case is Different”.

The 2016 prophetic theme of our church is simply letting you to know that destinies are not the same.

It is saying that in every situation there are people that will laugh when others are crying. It is saying that there are people that will be appointed where others are dis-

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with

Desti Destiny Hour Pastor Femi

Lanre-Oke

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ast week we started to look at the fundamentals of wealth, and one major thing we said was that, wealth is not limited to financial prowess, wealth covers every area of your life; you are to pursue wealth in health, in your mind, your relationships, family and every area of your life. Today, by the grace of God, we will start looking at the fundamental principles that govern wealth.

When we say fundamental, we mean principles that underlie the earth and that everyone can key in to, to work for them.

These principles govern the distribution of wealth and if un-regenerated people, non-Christians, unbelievers are keying in to these principles to make it in life, now imagine children of the living God, owner of the heavens and the earth.

The first fundamental principle is that of seed time and harvest. Genesis 8:22; “while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” We make the mistake of thinking this passage only affects what we sow on a farm or just the work of our hands,

appointed, and there are people that will finish well where others finish badly. So God is telling you through the theme that this year you must finish well.

The theme is God’s word saying that your years of disappointment shall be turned great appointment this year.

Holy Spirit is authoritatively decreeing and declaring through the theme unto you and your family that you can never be consumed by any crisis erupting from anywhere in the country.

Child of God, do you know that in the midst of scarcity some people have and live in surplus? That is your portion.

And that is what our Church 2016 Theme “My Case is Different” is all about. For instance, do you know that in this season of fuel scarcity, every now and then where a whole lot of people spend hours and days queuing at the Filling Stations to buy the product, some people are being supplied the ‘scarce fuel’ to their homes as much as they want and at any time they want it.

Do you also know that in this time where hunger is the order of the day in the land, some people have food stocks that cannot be exhausted in two years and such stock may not

even be consumed at all but wasted? Do you know again that in this time of problem of extreme unemployment when most people never get any job after many years of graduation, some people who are still in schools have some lucrative jobs reserved for them?

Don’t you know that in this land where millions of people are homeless and some even sleep under the bridges and in abandoned vehicles, a few others have tens of choice houses that spiders and lizards are residing in; or do you need to be told that in this land where hundreds of people die daily for lack of medical care by healthcare providers, a few others have the best of medical personnel waiting on and attending to them every hour daily for a case as little as headache and catarrh.

The question one may ask here is, “why is it so for such category of people?” Therefore, one can rightly say that their case is different.

This scenario painted above is similar to what our Church 2016 prophetic theme is telling us as individuals and as a church. By Heavenly standard, we are lucky and privileged people. We are set apart, a people made to be on top of

any situation, a chosen generation and the light of the world.

As the light of the world darkness and agents of darkness must disappear at our appearance.

As a Heavenly approved and appointed people, the earth has no choice than to accept us.

As God’s chosen people, Satan and his agents must be afraid of and keep away from us or do any funny thing and perish.

Brethren, this is what our 2016 prophetic theme – “My Case is Different” is all about.

Exposition on this Heavenly ordained declaration continues next week.

Stay tuned to this series and read more on this so that you can know what God has in stock for you and your family this year.

I Love this God! •For more information, contact: Bishop Theo Ugochukwu – General Overseer, Miracle Assembly Bible Church, a.k.a. The City of Joy, 80, Ajose Street, Mende, Maryland, Lagos; Tel: 08033461482.

Email: bishopgracemiracle@ ymail.com

Kingdom wealth (2) No! It affects everything in life.

Your health is a function of seedtime and harvest, your position, promotion, happiness in your marriage is a function of this principle.

How? If you don’t take care of your body; you don’t eat well, you refuse to sleep, you don’t bath or wash your teeth, then it is just a matter of time before your body breaks down. If you don’t go to work on time, you don’t do the assignments given to you and submit as at when due, then your seed will germinate and the harvest will be termination of appointment or stagnancy.

You are in a relationship and everyday you treat your partner anyhow, you insult, you refuse to care or provide; then it is a matter of time because the seed you are sowing will reap broken relationship, divorce or perpetual lack of happiness in the home.

Do not play with this principle because it surely works. Let me delve into an important area; this is the second half of the year 2016, prophecies have gone ahead of you, I want you to understand that God is not in the business of going back on His promises because He is faithful.

Therefore, I pray for you today, you will begin to see fulfilment of prophecies from this day in the name of Jesus. However, make sure that while you are thanking God for the ones you have seen, ask the Holy

Spirit to open your heart to see the covenant requirements which you were meant to carry out for other prophetic utterances to see the light of the day.

Understand this principle because it will speak expressly for you henceforth, in the name of Jesus, any prophecy or expectation without a requirement is a mere announcement.

The requirement of every prophecy is the seed you have to sow for your harvest to burst forth. The seed is your role, a covenant part you have to carry out and until you do them, certain prophetic utterances may not come to reality. So, stop blaming God or doubting the unction on the Man of God for the prophecy not fulfilled, begin to think of the seed you need to sow to make your heavens open. Do you know that water must go up for rain to come down?

Do you know that you must plant for you to reap? Do you know that you must read and attend classes for you to pass in school? Do you know you must work on your home for you to have a Garden of Eden? All these are seeds you must plant for wealth to burst forth in all areas of your life.

An end has come to the manipulations and oppressions of the devil in your life in the name of Jesus. This month of April, God is in a hurry to bless you and you will sing songs of joy in Jesus name. Begin to sow

seeds required for the next level in your life and God will daze you in Jesus name. Next week, by the grace of God, we will continue. Remain Blessed However, if you are not born again, you cannot access the level of wealth we speak of. If you have not surrendered your life to Jesus, the process is simple: Believe in your heart that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself.

Believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary paying the price for your sins and rose from the dead the third day to establish your victory Confess with your mouth that Jesus is lord and saviour.

Repent of all sins before the Lord and forsake them.

Welcome into God’s family.

Now you can enjoy and experience total wealth in Christ. Please locate a Bible believing church and share you new birth experience with the church leaders.

For further prayer & counseling, pleases contact: Pastor Femi Lanre-Oke Jesus Praise Evangelical Ministries International, Plot A22, Power Crescent, Arab Road, Kubwa, Abuja 2348030752799, 2348053695097.

Email: femi_lanre01@yahoo. co.uk

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Movies & Music

Sunday, April 17, 2016

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& usic M Movies With Victor Udoh 07067124302 e-mail: victorudoh804@yahoo.com

Asa gears up for first ever live concert in Nigeria

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Korede Bello, Humble Smith, Basket Mouth, others shine at #ILaff with MC Abbey

he bustling city of Lagos on Sunday April 10, 2016 played host to the crème de la crème of Nigerian entertainment industry as several superstars including Korede Bello, IK Osakioduwa, Basket Mouth, Humble Smith, Gordons performed at Muson Centre during the second edition of MC Abbey’s show tagged #ILaffWithMCAbbey.

The conventional show which was produced by Steve ‘Yaw’ Onu kicked off at 5pm with a green carpet hosted by the talented duo of Denrele & Ariyike. In-hall was a thrilling DJ set by DJ Alex as well as several exciting warm up performances from upcoming talents in Lagos.

The show kicked off proper as Seyi Law took the stage and immediately launched into performances of his hilarious jokes. He later introduced several comedians & Musicians onstage including Young MC, Odogwu, Laugh Doctor, Toby Grey & MVP who performed to the delight of the audience.

Then came a highlight on the night as a visibly excited MC Abbey made his grand entrance onstage after a wild introduction by veteran actor Patrick Doyle.

Guests cheered as soon as they caught sight of the Grammar-filled comedian.

Quickly he got down to business, taking the crowd to ecstasy with a 20-minute set.

The talk show segment was the next on cue as MC Abbey, Tee A, Lepacious Bose, Basket Mouth and IK Osakioduwa shared their most funny experiences ever, which also thrilled guests present.

Nikki Laoye then stepped out for a performance of her breakthrough hit 123, which was well received by the crowd.

Abbey

Bottom belle crooner Omawumi will be a year older this month

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Omawunmi

he doesn’t need much introduction because her face alone is her signature.

She became popular through the West Africa Idols which she won and ever since then she has remained in the limelight.

Omowuni Megbele, a songstress, mother of two, Bottom Belle Crooner or better still Kokoma diva is a year older this April.

She expresses herself in new pictures where she splashed bright sweet neon yellow outfit and neon yellow nail polish.

She is grateful to God for life. “I see through it all, I recognize God’s infiniteness. His mercies are new every morning. I’m new!

Happy birthday to me,” she enthused.

Asa

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agos city in Nigeria, is set to witness what is sure to be the mother of all concerts as one of Africa’s greatest music exports, Asa, announces the first ever “Asa Live In Lagos” concert. The concert will hold on May 1, 2016 at the Eko Convention Center of Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Over the years, Asa has been on many tours around the world, performing at some of the world’s most prestigious venues. Her most recent tour, Bed Of Stone Tour, was heralded as one of last year’s must-see tours by critics and fans. Now she is bringing the #BOSTOUR to Lagos to re-live this incredible tour at home!

Asa, who has three (3) internationally released studio albums - LIVE IN PARIS and LIVE IN TOKYO DVDs and chart-topping singles to her credit, will perform her most popular hits as well as tracks from her three albums including latest album “Bed of Stone”.

Born in Paris to Nigerian parents, Asa has become synonymous with quality music in Nigeria where she grew up. Since she began her music career, she has performed in different cities and countries around the world, winning acclaim for her breathtaking live performances.

Most recently, Asa headlined the Etisalat Prize For Literature Grand Finale in Lagos, Nigeria where she, again, stole the show with a bunch of sensational performances all in one night, leaving attendees asking for more.

As the “Asa Live in Lagos” concert hits Lagos, Asa fans, connoisseurs of good music, and just about everybody in the entertainment industry are about to experience what is likely to be the biggest concert the ever bustling city of Lagos will play host to in a very long time.

The question making the rounds is; will it bring the hottest jostle for concert tickets ever seen in this part of the world? Only time will tell!

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Movies & Music

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Yinkz

Yinkz thrilles fun seekers at Liberia holiday rendezvous

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igerian rising star Yinkz stormed Monrovia the capital city of Liberia last week in a sold out beach side holiday concert at the famous Bernards Beach with fellow Nigerian superstar Chidinma, and the MTB Base crew.

They were hosted by Liberia’s own superstar F.A who performed many of his hits with the crowd singing along almost every lyric to his songs.

A day before the main event, Chidinma and Yinkz were also hosted by Liberia’s most popular radio station Hott107, and they both got a chance to speak with world famous DJ Blue who got them talking about their art and future plans with music and their careers as entertainers.

On the day of the actual event, the party begun at 11am with local acts and comedians thrilling the crowd until about 7pm when the first of the 3 headliners Yinkz hopped on stage and did “Recharge” his debut single. His performance was then followed by Chidinma who performed a few of her hits like “Emi N Baller” and “Lorry” before F.A took over and closed the night with a couple more of his hits, and then a double take of the concert theme song “Desire” which also features Chidinma.

Nigerian US-based artiste Juxtis breaks internet with Omalichia

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S-based Nigerian artiste, Justice Chidiebere Okafor popularly known as ‘Juxtis’ is an award winning Afropop singer signed to U. E. Records (Unique Expression Records) a New York-based record label. He is currently managed by Ambassador Showbiz Plus, an award winning entertainment company in Africa.

Juxtis hails from Ojoto, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria.

He attended University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

He started writing songs at the age of 10 and has written several songs ever since then.

However, Juxtis started music officially in 2011 with the release of his first video titled Ma Wifi, followed by other singles titled Obim and Only One for me which got massive air plays.

Recently, Juxtis broke the internet with Omalicha and it trend for days on all social and media platforms. In this his latest single, Omalicha, Juxtis expressed the true meaning of love. Fans all over the world just can’t get off it. It was produced by Sunnockz mastered by Softouch and the video was directed by S. Akin Montage.

Wife on Strike sells over 15 million

AMAA announces Port Harcourt as 2016 edition venue

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he Governor Nyesom Wike led state signed the hosting rights with the management of African Movie Academy Award AMAA. In a statement jointly signed by the state Commissioner of Culture & Tourism, Mrs. Tonye Briggs (on behalf of Governor Wike) and the founder of the awards organization, Ms. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, hosting the award this year will be the beginning of a partnership that will add immense value to the people of the state and the host city in particular as the government is determined to position Port Harcourt as a destination of choice in Nigeria and West Africa.

“We are repositioning Rivers State as a state ready for business to Nigerians and the rest of the world and our partnership with AMAA will become a veritable platform to attract tourists, global and Nigeria icons in business and the entertainment industry. We want to showcase Rivers State as a peaceful place where socioeconomic activities thrive and also the hospitality of our people. There is a huge economy around entertainment and show business in Port Harcourt. Mrs. Briggs said.

This year’s awards will take place on Saturday June 11, 2016, and the nomination night where nominees into the 28 categories will be announced will hold on Wednesday May 11, 2016.

The previous nomination venues include Accra, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Banjul, Lilongwe, Ouagadougou and Los Angeles.

The awards night will be telecast live by Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

Juxtis

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moni Oboli’s latest movie, ;Wives on Strike’ is causing quite a stir at the cinema. The movie according to what Omoni posted yesterday on Instagram sold over N15 million for the opening weekend. That is more than what Fifty, October 1, 30 Days in Atlanta sold for the opening weekend. The only movie that did better for opening weekend was Half of a Yellow Sun. In the last two years, Omoni’s movies Being Mrs Elliot and The First Lady have raked in over N40 million, and she has featured in back to back box office hit such as Fifty, Anchor Baby, and Figurine.

Her records at the cinema have earned her the sobriquet ‘Queen of the box-office’ in entertainment industry and among cinema lovers. In the past five years, Omoni’s gross box office earning has risen to about N168 000 000 with cumulative figures from Figurine, Anchor Baby, Being Mrs Elliot, The First Lady and Fifty. Her N168 000 000 even beat Genevieve Nnaji’s box office earnings from Tango With Me, Half of a Yellow Sun, Ije, Mirror Boy and Road To Yesterday which is slightly over N140 million.

Meanwhile , Omoni Oboli and Uche Jombo was at the Filmhouse Cinema in Ondo State to watch the movie.

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Omoni Oboli Ini Edo

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From the Pulpit

T The voice of wisdom o

with Dr. David

Oyedepo

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ccording to scriptures, all that God is, is all that His Word is. That is, anything that cannot stop God, can’t stop His Word from having its way. For instance, God is the Creator and His Word creates solutions.

During the first appearance of the Word, in the story of creation, it created solution to a battered world. As it is written: In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Genesis 1:1-3; See also John 1:13; Hebrews 1:3).

Likewise, God’s Word still creates solutions today. This is why when we believe Him, His Word continues to create solutions in our lives.

We also understand that God is Spirit and so is His Word. That means God’s Spirit is domicile in His Word. The Bible says: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

Jesus speaking on the potency of the Word said: It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63; See also Ezekiel 2:2).

Let’s go

BIBLE with Favour

Tioluwani Email: letsgobible@gmail.com

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hou shalt serve one another. A good marriage practices mutual submission. Ephesians 5:21 commands us to submit to one another out of reverence to Christ. Marriage is not a 50/50 deal. It’s a 100/100 deal—each willing to surrender all to the other person.

How are you at serving your spouse?

Would they say you strive to serve them more every day? Are you more the giver or the taker in the relationship? Be honest.

Thou shalt love unconditionally. Unconditionally means without conditions.

I’ll love you if… is not the command. It’s I’ll love you even if not. God commands us to love our enemies. How much more should this commitment be strong within a marriage?

Are you loving your spouse even with the flaws that you can see better than anyone else? Here’s a quick test: Does the way you communicate with your spouse indicate you have the highest regard for them—always?

Thou shalt respect one another. The Golden Rule covers this one. Everyone wants to be respected—so in any good marriage respect is granted to and by both parties. And, by the way, I believe respect too is to be unconditional.

Sunday April 17, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Engaging the Breakthrough Power of the Word!

God’s Spirit dwells in His Word which we engage in battle. Thus, when we say, ‘It is written,’ the Spirit of the Word goes forth to challenge our challengers, confront our challenges and bring us victory. As it is written: So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the West, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19).

For instance, when Jesus went on the mountain for a 40-day fast in preparation for His Messianic mission, the devil was all out to bring Him down. However, when Jesus engaged the Word, the Spirit of the Word went forth, set up a standard against Satan and the Bible records: Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him (Matthew 4:11).

The Spirit of the Lord in the Word levels every mountain of the wicked on our paths and empowers us to win the war. Therefore, when we engage the Word in battle, our triumph is guaranteed (Zechariah 4:6-7; 2 Corinthians 2:14).

It is also important to note that God’s Word carries sanctifying virtues. We understand from scriptures that God is Holy and so is His Word. Thus, it cleans up and perfects the lifestyle of God’s people. The Bible says: Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Psalms 119:9, 11; See also 1 Peter 1:16).

This is why when the Word of God comes alive in us, we become naturally sanctified.

As it is written: Sanctify them through thy

truth: thy word is truth (John 17:17).

It is also written: Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you (John 15:3).

Furthermore, God is light and so is His Word. It is written: …God is light, and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).

The Bible also says: In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:4-5, 9).

When God’s Word is put to work, the powers of darkness are shattered. Let’s recognise that the dominion of light over darkness is instant and unquestionable.

For instance, when we turn on the light in a room, darkness gives way instantly. Likewise, when we turn on the light of the Word on the powers of darkness, they surrender to the authority of the Word.

God personifies breakthrough and so does His Word. Every Word received, believed and engaged becomes as unstoppable as God. Remember, from the story of creation, we understand that the earth was without form and void but at the instance of God’s Word, it took shape and colour. Also, after the Israelites left Egypt, they were stranded at the Red Sea; meanwhile they were being pursued by Pharaoh and the host of the army of Egypt. Then, God commanded them to go forward. When they obeyed the Word of the Lord, the Bible records: The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.

The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs (Psalms 114:3-4; See

also Genesis 1:1-3; Exodus 14:14-15).

In the same way, God’s Word is ordained to thoroughly furnish, beautify and decorate us when it is received, believed and engaged. As you study God’s Word, the blessings therein will not elude you in Jesus’ name!

However, it is important to know that only God’s children have access to God’s Word, and to become one, you must accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. That is what being born again is all about. If you are set for this new birth experience, please say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins.

Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and Satan to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”

For further reading, please get my books: The Force of Freedom, Walking in Dominion, Possessing Your Possession, Towards Mental Exploits, Ruling Your World and Born to Win. I will continue this teaching next week I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. respectively.

I know this teaching has blessed you.

Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

Seven Commandments for a healthy marriage In my experience, this one is sometimes easier for one spouse to give than the other, especially the one who works hardest in the marriage. Respect is mostly given because of actions. But respect is important for both spouses. Most people grant respect only when all conditions are met to be respected. That makes sense, but it doesn’t provide motivation to improve when the other party needs it most. All of us need someone who believes in us even when we don’t believe in ourselves. That’s the grace of respect. When most of us feel respected we will work harder to keep that respect.

Thou shalt put no other earthly relationships before this one. “Let not man put asunder” is not just a good King James Version wedding line. It’s God’s desire for a marriage. Great couples strive to allow no one—even children—even in-laws—to get in the way of building a healthy marriage. This is a hard one? Yet many marriages have been ruined because the children came first or the in-laws interfered.

I’ve seen marriages ruined by friends— sometimes co-workers—who had little regard for the integrity of the marriage, and so they built a wedge between the couple.

As hard as it is sometimes, great couples work to protect the marriage from every outside interruption.

Thou shalt commit beyond feelings.

The Bible talks a great deal about the renewal of our mind (Romans 12:2, for example). The mind is more reliable than emotions. You may not always feel as in love as you did the day you married. There

will be tough seasons in any marriage.

Strong marriages last because they have a commitment beyond their emotional response to each other. And when that’s true for both parties, feelings almost always reciprocate and grow over time.

As true and necessary as this is, great marriage partners continue to pursue each other—they date one another—fostering the romantic feelings that everyone craves in a relationship. Sobering question: When’s the last time you pursued your spouse?

Thou shalt consider the other person’s interest ahead of thine own. Again, we are commanded to to do this in all relationships. How much more should we in marriage?

Over the years, as couples get comfortable with one another, I’ve observed couples who become very selfish with their individual time. Sometimes, for example, one spouse pursues a guy that excludes the other one, and more and more time is committed to that guy. The other spouse begins to feel neglected. It may be allocation of time, in actions or the words used to communicate, but sometimes a spouse can make the other spouse feel they are no longer valuable to them. Are you considering how you are being perceived by your spouse?

Thou shalt complete one another. The Biblical command is one flesh (Ephesians 5). I’m not sure that’s anymore possible than the command that our individual flesh be molded into the image of Christ.

It’s a command we obey in process. We are saints still under construction. We still sin.

And that process isn’t completed here on earth in my opinion. So it is in a marriage.

We never completely “get there,” but we set such a high standard for our marriage that we continue to press towards the goal.

There is no better place where “iron sharpens iron” than in a marriage. Your partner is supposed to make you a better person. There are qualities in your wife that you need and qualities in you that she needs to become one flesh. But that’s a process. That takes time, humility, and intentionality. I must allow her to make me better—and likewise for her. But when we do, we are both the benefactors. One question I always ask couples: Are you becoming closer as a couple—or are you drifting further apart? That’s a great question to ask frequently throughout the marriage.

These are obviously not the “10 Commandments.” They aren’t even necessarily God’s commandments—although I do believe they are based on the commands of God. The point is to take Biblical principles and apply them to our marriage.

And, what marriage wouldn’t benefit from that?

Would you pause and consider—are you breaking any of these commands?

•You can send in your QUESTIONS and the Holy Spirit will be set to give you the ANSWERS. Barr. (Mrs.) Favour Tioluwani Tel: 08050272259 or 07062738213. Email: letsgobible@gmail.com

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Priesthood House with Pastor Bola

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Bello

“ n last week edition, we looked at the prophecy of Jesus Christ concerning the desolation of Jerusalem and the events that led to the subsequent destruction of the temple (Matt. 24:1-2). Also, the position of Jesus Christ was highlighted about the temple worship and a shift to man as the temple of the living God (Act 7:47-49, 51, 2 Chr. 6:18, Hag 2:9 and Jn. 4:20-24). Also, the importance of the temple in the spiritual economy of God’s people was also enumerated.

The in-gathering of people for fellowship and to learn God was also posited.

Apostle Paul writing, (2 Thes. 2:3-4) about the man of sin sitting in the temple to demand worship from people which was interpreted by most theologians as literary, was also explained as more of an operation than literary sitting. It was observed that he, sitting in the temple may not be able to lure people to believe him as God through that method. Satan’s usual operation of lies, subtleness and deception may suffice.

We also considered the implication of pulling down the temple consecutively by gentiles, and the Al-Aksa mosque currently standing side by side with the Dome of the Rock (temple), a great propensity to trigger the Armageddon and lead to the final conflict. Though Jews were expecting Messiah the Son of David to come and rebuild the temple, but unknowing to the Jews, the reconstruction of the temple is not the physical temple, and it is currently on-going (Is. 16:5, Amos 9:11, Act 15:16). It is pertinent at this juncture to look at the 70 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy and compare the scriptures and see how events are playing out.

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of the com-

Hell is real with Pastor S. A.

Asha

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o be be honest; preaching on hell is not that much fun. While I was reading through what theologians have thought throughout history was quite overwhelming. Even though there are some authors today that would like everyone to believe that hell doesn’t exist or that Christians in the early church didn’t believe in hell, or that everyone will go to heaven, that just isn’t the case.

It seems that in our desire to not make people uncomfortable, I had a pastor tell me recently he’d never preach on hell because it would make

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Sunday April 17, 2016

Church as God designed it – The harvest of the last day (14) mandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three scores and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after three scores and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood and unto the end of the war, desolations are determined” (Dan. 9:24-26).

The major confusion to the interpretation of this prophecy is based on the attempt of people to calculate the 70 weeks into years which are not usually the calendar of man.

The calendar of God is not square up with the calendar of man. For instance, the seventy years of the desolation of Jerusalem and the restoration and the building of the city as prophesied by Jeremiah does not fall into the calendar of man.

Therefore, when Daniel was praying and interceding in this regard, what was given to him as answer was not when the city will be restored, rather what was in view was revealed to him. It is therefore, unnecessary for me, to begin to illustrate and analyze the seventy weeks in the calculation of human calendar, but rather to deal with the pertinent issues of the prophecy. Verse 24 of Daniel 9 was the summary of what was contained in the entire seventy weeks. These could be divided into (a) The first destruction of Jerusalem and the re-building of it therefore; (b) the bringing in of Messiah, the Prince; (c) the cutting off of the Messiah and the reconciliatory work of atonement; (d) the second destruction of Jerusalem and the temple; (e) the sealing up of the vision and prophecy; (f) the man of sin on the scene and the overspreading of abominations; (g) the consummation of the saints and (h) the final quest.

The first destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of the holy city were accomplished, a concealed definiteness in which Prophet Jeremiah was so emphatically and categorically in his prophecy.

“And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these na-

tions shall serve the King of Babylon seventy years” (Jer. 25:11, Dan. 9:2). Hence, the fulfilment of the prophecy, but to the amazement of Daniel, the Israelites were still in bondage, even after the seventy years in Babylon. Since the ruin of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple was a caveat to Jews by Jehovah, the supplication of Daniel was, therefore, based on repentance of sin and request for forgiveness. Sin remains sin until sin is forgiven and pardoned by God. Basically, sin is the major hindrance to harvest.

Sin is destructive to human relationship with God. Until sin is forgiven, God will not relate with man. Hence, Jerusalem was destroyed. However, Nehemiah was raised up with some others, and permission was granted by Artaxerxes the king, that Jerusalem be rebuilt and its temple (Neh. 2:6). Also, provisions were made for the reconstruction and letter was issued for its support (Neh. 2:7). It must be noted, that Nehemiah, like Daniel had previously interceded for Jerusalem, prayed and fasted for the restoration of the city. A valuable lesson is that, every major work of God required prayers, supplication with fasting since Satan would always stand to oppose the good intentions of man towards this.

In the part b of the prophecies of Daniel as highlighted above; the Messiah was brought into the scene after the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple for reconciliatory work. This was supposed to be the end of the transgression of the gentiles against God and the holy city since Messiah is to reconcile gentile to God. Before now, the times of Gentiles, in which the gentiles’ dominance over the city of Jerusalem and the people of God was dated to the period when Jerusalem was captured and its inhabitants taken to captivity. There was also another subsequent capture in which the temple was razed and burnt in 586 B.C. The abominable act of the gentile was at its peak when the hallowed cups of the temple were brought for sacrilege purposes. The time of gentiles is also indicatively the season of engrafting the gentiles as a branch into the stem, where they can become the part of the commonwealth of Israel. The

time of gentile is also known as the time of the Church age where unprecedented knowledge of God will be given to the earth. It is sad to say, however, that Rome has done much havoc to the Church than Nebuchadnezzar did to the Israel.

Apostle Paul was spontaneous in his warning of the gentiles; “For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God; on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness; otherwise, thou also shalt be cut off ”( Rom 11:21-22). This is a dreadful warning to the Church. The gentile coming in, is contrary to the nature and it can be naturally cast off like the first born Israel if they fail to live to the expectation of God. If Israelites were punished for their misdeeds, God will not spare the gentiles for turning the holy things to idols.

To date, the activity of the Church has not encouraged Israel to return. Israel has to be provoked into jealousy. God has to show himself as God of gentiles for Israel to wake up from slumber and aim at reclaiming back Yahweh as their own God. This is not going to be by manifestations of miracles. The manifestations of signs and wonders of Jesus the Christ was not intriguing to the Jews. They demanded for more signs and only the sign of Jonah was given to them. Even at that, Israel did not believe.

In other words, gentiles would need to show more commitment to God, both in loyalty, knowledge and obedience. We shall continue with the other part of Daniel’s 70 weeks next week. Do worship with us at Power and Glory Tabernacle, Futa South Gate, beside Solab Hotel, Akure. Be part of our Youth convention program coming up May 6 – 8, 2016. Ministering is Prophet Babs Adewunmi from Jos and Pastor Seyi Osanyinbi. God bless you as you are part of this breakthrough meeting.

•Pastor Bola Bello – The Priesthood House, bolabelo@gmail.com 08033704564

Hell must be preached people uncomfortable. Yet, hell is in the Bible.

Death, the afterlife, heaven, hell, are all questions many in our culture wrestle with.

Things they wonder about. In the midst of pain, death, sickness, they wonder. And scripture is clear on it.

Here are a few thoughts on how to handle preaching on the doctrine of hell: • Do it. Don’t be afraid. Is it uncomfortable? Yes. No one likes to think about death or what happens after death, but they need to know what Scripture says about it.

• Do so with tears in your eyes.

This quote came up in a book I read on the doctrine of hell, I believe it was credited to Martin Luther. When preaching on hell, it should bring you to tears. Hell

is real.

Forever is a long time. People, some we know and love, will spend eternity apart from God. This should drive us to weep.

• Don’t be prideful.

Many seem to read about hell and immediately get prideful that they are heading to heaven.

While Matthew 7 should be a sobering text on the reality that many are not sure where they will spend eternity.

Whenever we read about heaven and hell in Scripture, it should produce a huge amount of humility, but God’s grace and mercy we can be rescued from hell and given heaven.

• Be clear. Don’t mince words, don’t be shy about it. Read what Scripture says, describe it.

Be clear what it means to be separated from God. Be clear about what it means to be dead in your sin.

• Hell should drive you to mission. One of the things I love about Jude is that it ends in verse 23 with a call to mission.

The reality of hell, the beauty of grace should drive us to mission, to tell the world about this beautiful thing called grace.

• It is all about Jesus.

Jude ends with a beautiful description of Jesus, how he is the one who saves us, preserves us, and presentes us blameless.

Our rescue from hell is only because of him, not us or anything we’ve done.

We deserve hell, but are given grace.

C.A.C Mount of love, Jaffa-Agbado Ope-Ilu

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From the Pulpit

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday April 17, 2016

I will be with you

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“

he story is told of the rite of passage that one Native American tribe has for its boys when they turn 13. On that birthday, a warrior blindfolds the boy and takes him several miles from camp.

The warrior then takes off the blindfold and leaves the young teenager in this dark, dense forest to stay there for the night and fend for himself. The trees were too dense to see the moon or the stars except to hear the eerie sounds of the wind, the howls of the wild animals nearby, and the rustling of the leaves that sounded like an approaching enemy. For most boys, it was a night without sleep. And then the dawn began to break, the frightened boy would be greatly surprised to see an imposing male figure, standing in the woods only a few yards away.

Without any sign or any awareness, his father had been there the whole time, ready to protect his son against anything that might harm him.

Similarly, your heavenly Father has always been there for you even when you unaware of His presence and His protection. He is always on hand to defend you against anything that comes against you. What a security in an increasingly dangerous and unpredictable world! No matter the medical, financial, or relational nightmare, your God is your every-abiding strong Protector who will never leave you or forsake you!

“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel:

Chapel of Holiness and Testimony with Pastor K. I.

Bona

Continued from topic 5 of last week Characters of those who are under the control of seducing spirits from the marine kingdom a) Those who commits fornication in their dreams regularly. b) Those married men and women who dreams of making love with their spouse regularly. c) Those men or youths who experience uncontrollable sexual urge regularly. d) Those sisters who experiences great inner desire to be with a man regularly, especially when they see the man they admire e) All fornicators f) All adulterers g) All men who have married more than two wives and divorced them h) All women who could not maintain one home, but have turned to divorcees i) All married women who are not satisfied with their husbands j) All married men who are not satisfied with their wives k) All young ladies who dates different men. l) All young men who dates different women. m) All those who takes pleasure in gossiping. n) All the young ladies who makes up o) All the elderly women who makes up p) All the young men who perforate their ears. q) All young men who wears ladies cloths r) All young ladies who wears men cloths s) All those who loves dancing worldly mu-

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, and I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west” (Isa 43:1-5).

His name is “Immanuel, God with us” (Isa. 7:14; 8:8, 10; Matt 1:23). With every certainty, God is with us (Num. 14:9; 2 Chr. 13:12; 32:8; Psa 46:7, 11). Abraham was so reassured (Gen. 21:22) as well as his son Isaac (Gen 26:24), as much as Israel (Num. 23:21; Deut. 20:1; Deut. 20:4); Isa. 45:14); even King Jehoshaphat (2 Chron 20:17). The Psalmist says He is at your right hand (Psa 16:8; 109:31) even when you pass through the shadow of death (Psa 23:4). Those with you are more and greater than those against you (2 Chron 32:7; 2 Kings 6:16; 1 John 4:4). He will help you and deliver you (2 Chron 32:8; Jer 1:8, 19).

God was with Moses and his mouth (Exod 4:12, 15); Jacob in all his sojourn (Gen 28:15, 20); Joseph in his servitude (Gen 39:2-3, 23); Job in his suffering (Job 29: 5); Joshua in his leadership (Deut 31:23; Josh 1:9; 6:27); Gideon in his battles (Judges 6:12, 13, 16); Samuel in his ministry (1 Sam 3:19); Jeremiah from his childhood (Jer 1:8, 19); and Kings David (1 Sam 16:18; 18:12, 14, 28); Solomon (1 Chr. 28:20); Asa (2 Chron 15:9); and Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:7). God was with Mary in her motherhood (Luke 1:28); and Paul in his missionary journeys (Acts 18:10). Therefore, He will be with you!

God in the midst of His people (Num 14:14;

16:3; 35:34; Deut 6:15; Psa 46:5). The kingdom of God is in our midst (Luke 17:21). God is with the generation of the righteous (Psa 14:5). His presence makes all the difference as we go on in life (Exod 33:14; Deut 31:6, 8). A major reason why Jesus chose the twelve apostles is that they might be with Him (Mark 3:14; Luke 8:1). Being with Christ is our greatest calling in life! “I am with you always to the very end of the age” is the eternal promise of our living Lord (Matt 28:20). God has given Himself to us forever and for always.

God never wants you to depend on your competence. God said to Moses: “I will be with you” (Exod 3:12a).

Hence, the exodus did not depend on the competence of Moses but on the presence of God. Peter Enns rightly observes: “whatever doubts Moses may have had about his own abilities were totally irrelevant. God had promised to be with him.” The call to God’s service always comes with the promise of God’s presence. That makes all the difference! “With God all things are possible” (Matt 19:26).

When God is with you, your enemies will bless you like Saul blessed David and Balaam blessed Israel (Num 23-24; 1 Sam 24:20; 26:25).

When God is with you, your enemies will bring about your promotion like Goliath did to David (1 Sam 18:1-7); and your enemies will enrich you like Abimelech did to Abraham and Isaac (Gen 20:14-16; 26:28-30). When God is with you, your enemies will make peace with you like Laban made peace with Jacob (Gen 31:43-5). Your enemies will bring out the best in you!

When God was with David, King Saul was afraid of him (1 Sam 18:12, 14-15, 28-29). Consequently, David behaved wisely (1 Sam 18:5, 14, 15, 30). When God was with the three Hebrew boys in fiery furnace, it became like a freezer for them (Daniel 3). With God with Daniel in the lion’s den, the lions became temporarily herbivores (Daniel

6). No matter what you are going through, God’s presence will be with you. Victory is sure!

When Martin Luther King, Jr., was hedged about by threats to his life and those of his family, imprisonment and maltreatment, God gave him succor in the words of this 1892 hymn by an unknown composer: I’ve seen the lightning flashing, and heard the thunder roll, I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, Trying to conquer my soul; I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, Telling me still to fight on, He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone.

Refrain: No, never alone, No, never alone, He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone.

The world’s fierce winds are blowing, Temptation’s sharp and keen, I have a peace in knowing My Savior stands between— He stands to shield me from danger, When earthly friends are gone, He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone.

When in affliction’s valley I’m treading the road of care, My Savior helps me to carry my cross when heavy to bear, Though all around me is darkness, Earthly joys all flown; My Savior whispers His promise, “I never will leave thee alone.”

Tunde Ojewole, PhD, is the Babcock University Pastor in charge: Division of Spiritual Life. Get your copy of the newly released book: GOD’S FOOTPRINTS. For enquiries, contact: ojewolea@babcock.edu.ng or call/ SMS 08058299434/08060376577.

Marine spirits (6) sic t) All those who likes fighting, and keeping enemity. u) All those ladies and men who acts romance movies v) All those women who nags their husbands at home and refuses to accept the headship of their husbands. w) All those married women who challenges their husbands at home, talks back to their husbands, and try to rule over them, x) All those ladies and women who wears cloths that expose their privacies. y) All the rapist z) All the homosexualist aa) All the lesbianist bb) All those who love watching romance films cc) All those who are always full of bitterness and resentment dd) All those who are very quarrelsome ee) All those who can never forgive, and full of malice. ff) All those who can never let go except they revenge. gg) All the talkatives.

The things that attracts seducing spirits from the marine kingdom into one’s life The whole truth about human lives is that human bodies are made up of water: water constitutes a higher percentage of substance in human body. On earth water covers a greater percentage of land mass, more than dry land. In Ps. 24:1-2 “The Bible says the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods” This scripture reveals to us that the earth foundation was laid upon greater waters.

This implies there is great body of waters under

the earth. In Gen. chapter 1:6 “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. This also signifies that there is a great body of water above the firmament.

Thus, the foundation of the earth was led upon great body of waters and the foundation of the heavenlies was also led upon great body of waters.

In 1st John chapter 5:7-8 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” In heaven, God the father, God the son, who is the word, God the Holy Ghost are the three personalities of God head who rules in the kingdom of God. And these three personalities makes one God head.

The Almighty God, the Greek word is Elohim, meaning one God in three personalities. Here on earth, the spirit, the water and the blood stands as witness to the mighty works of God. The spirit is the Holy Spirit which the father sent to all the saints on earth, who believed in the redemption work of God through his son Jesus. In John 16:7-11 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” Explaining what the water represents from the concept of this teaching, it is the entire different bodies of water, here on earth, the

waters beneath the earth, and the waters above the firmament supporting both the foundation of the earth, and the foundation of the heavenlies.

While the blood, represents the shedded blood of Jesus, at the Cross of Calvary for the remission of the sins of the entire human race on earth, which speaks better things than the blood of Abel. The Bible affirms that these three agrees on one.

Testimonies – chronic heart pains disappeared For the past two months, I was having serious pains in my inner heart. I went to the hospital for treatment and laboratory test.

The result of the test proved negative. Doctor said, I have no problem in my heart. But I was not myself at all.

The chest pains increased every day, if I touch my chest outwardly I felt sharp pain inside my heart. I decided to go for native.

When I took native mixtures it became worst.

I felt my heart was going to break into two, my breathing became difficult. I decided to see the man of God, I remembered when I brought my little girl to him who was seriously sick, he prayed and my little girl’s health was restored. When I met the man of God; I told him my problems. He laid hands and prayed for me, instantly I felt relieved.

He blessed water and gave me to drink. Brethren, from that day, the chest pain disappeared. Today, I am completely healed, praise the Lord.

Sis. Chiamaka Address: Pastor Kingson I. Bona, General Overseer Chapel of Holiness and Testimonies Ministries,No. 6, David Egbetuyi Street, Fagbile Estate, Ijegun, Ikotun, Lagos.

Te l:08023404926,08075598531,08038206508 website:wwwchapelholiness.org facebook: pstbona@chapelholiness.org

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

April 17, 2016

37

APC facing a lot of distractions –Baraje A National Leader of the APC and former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje spoke with journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State last Sunday on many issues, particularly on the goings on in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki. WOLE ADEDEJI was there and filed in these excerpts: Why have you been quite silent these days, particularly with the happenings in your party, the APC? My silence was because I am an elder of the party and elders don ’t just talk, particularly the ones that know what they are doing and I don ’t believe in flippancy. You don ’t get me talking because I want to remain focused. Secondly, and also because I have been busy doing too many things. You are all aware that APC is a new party and the party is a constitution of various political groups which I happen to belong to one of them. Therefore, as a senior citizen and elder of the party, I have been busy building the party together with the remaining of us who are desirous of building a very formidable party. I have been busy in ensuring that we build bridges among the members, particularly between the elders and leaders. It is not easy to come from various ideas to form a political party because our ideologies and focus about the country must together be blended as one to take Nigeria forward. While we are busy building, we must ensure that the structures are firm and we have gotten to a reasonably level. Now I think we have gotten to a point where we and Nigerians can assess and make comments.

As a chieftain of the APC, people say your party has kept mum about the trial of the Senate President. Is that true and why?

Many of us have been surprised or taken aback that the party has not been living to expectation about the trial of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Living to expectations in terms of making the Senate President to feel beloved and as part of the party; which is very important for any member, let alone the calibre of the Senate President, who has sacrificed a lot of money and resources for the party. I have been trying to make the party realise that not only the Senate President, but everybody that contributed to the success of the party matters from the highest to the lowest hierarchy. We have gotten to a level where we have to be realistic and ensure that the right thing is done at the right time and in the right manner; moreso, from the fact that we belong to a group that is not very satisfied with the performance of the party. Not only because the Senate President is currently going through a very pronounced political persecution, but because there are

Baraje

OUR PARTY MAY LOATH THE WAYS OF PDP, BUT

OUT OF EVERY BAD SITUATION AND EXPERIENCES, THERE ARE ATOMS OF GOODNESS AND EVERY VISIONARY LEADER WILL SEPARATE THE CHEFF FROM THE CORN AND TAKE WHAT IS GOOD OUT OF IT.

other cases and instances where we are not happy about the performance of our party. A case in point is the recent rerun elections in Rivers State. You will agree with me that before and during the elections, the APC did not have the expected and desired presence of our party in Rivers State. With the volatile nature of the rerun election, some of us with our humble experiences expected the national presence of our party much more during the election. It is regrettable. Today, we have counted about 115 rerun elections both at the state and national levels across the country and our party, the APC has lost majority of the elections.

Not because the party has lost popularity, but because of the lack of enough presence of the party in the various elections. Politics is not technical, but practical. If the APC decided to abandon its members at the middle of the election, you don ’t expect magic from such action.

Politically, the party should be proud that the Senate President is from the

APC. Even though, if he was not wanted by some certain interests, he went into an election and won. The PDP episode with Tambuwal is still fresh in history. The PDP then didn ’t throw the baby with the bath water, knowing full well that such a move will be counter-productive. It was well managed and that speaker still remained the speaker of the then PDP we were. Our party may loath the ways of PDP, but out of every bad situation and experiences, there are atoms of goodness and every visionary leader will separate the cheff from the corn and take what is good out of it. So, it is not as if the Senate President has gone against his party.

I was a witness of how our Senate President got the seat and I can tell as at the time we went for the election, the party has no candidate for the election. At the beginning before the election, the party first made a statement that it has zoned the seat to the North-Central before all the intrigues that went into it. That day has become history now.

How would you assess the APC at the moment in terms of fulfilling its campaign promises amidst insinuations that it is living to the peoples ’ expectations and that it looks as if the party is not ready for governance. What is your take?

I want to disagree that we were not ready for governance because we had a manifesto. But focus is a different thing.

We have the various strata and organs of the party. But the question should have been; what has been stopping us from achieving those promises? I want to say there had been distractions. The Buhari -led administration is well intentioned. Lots of things went wrong before Buhari came in and to build is difficult.

When there are lots of distractions, you would lose focus and the APC has lots of distractions created by the party itself.

In line with the constitution of the country, we have three arms of government and the press is the fourth estate of the realm. These are the pillars that should hold the country ’s fabrics together and if one of the pillars get jeopardised, what do you expect. The Senate President is the chairman of the legislative arm in Nigeria and he is not getting the support that he should get simply because some very few individuals thought they are more powerful than the party itself. As disorganised as PDP was, everybody was a member. It was because of the tradition of impunity that was creeping into the PDP that made us raise the alarm and that was why we left and you can see the consequences. Now the same scenario is creeping into the APC. We must sound a note of warning to the President to shine his eyes. There are people in the party in the guise of reconciling people and say they are working for the success of the party while actually doing that for their own selfish interest. But it will lead them to nowhere. We would never romance impunity. President Buhari should be wary of them and play more politics now, he has gone into the house and has seen how bad it is, he has reorganised the house and what is left now is to consolidate on the reorganisation to build on the foundation.

Is your group, so to say, playing any role in the insinuations making the rounds that a new party is about to be formed in the country?

We also heard it just like you. But I have not entered any alliance or gone into any meeting with anybody. So far so good, APC is still on ground, but we want Mr. President to shine his eyes as Nigerians would say, but that cannot be done successfully except he plays politics.

Will you consider leaving the party if this your alleged impunity continues?

Every politician or group has aspirations in any part of the world and not only in Nigeria. The time we were going into merger to become the APC, our aspiration was that the then government of PDP was not giving us that desired governance and Nigerians were suffering.

We want to be part of the solution to the problem to make life easy for our people.

But how far have we then achieved those aspirations? Because there is nothing to show on ground now. Some will say our CONTINUED ON PAGE 39

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Politics

April 17, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

The renewed call for LG autonomy AYO ESAN

S

ince the inception of this nascent democracy, one issue that has been lingering among politicians, human right activists and political watchers has been that of getting autonomy for the third tier of government, the local government councils. The call for the autonomy of local councils has been reinforced by the fact that without financial autonomy they cannot be able to perform their constitutional role of bringing governance to the grassroots. Political watchers have observed for many years that the local councils have been turned to an appendage of the state governors who manoeuvre their resources in whatever way they choose.

The issue of local government autonomy was again brought into the fore recently by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara. Dogara while receiving the National Executive Council of the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, led by its President, Khaleal Ibrahim, who visited him in his office to renew their call for the independence of local governments in the ongoing 1999 constitutional review said that the National Assembly was handicapped in stopping monthly allocations to the local governments without democratically elected chairmen. According to him, the constitution vests the power to legislate on local government areas to state Houses of Assembly.

But Dogara, who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun, assured the officials of NULGE that the House would do everything within its powers to ensure the autonomy of the councils. He advised them to engage seasoned legal practitioners to study the constitution so as to explore all the available opportunities to put in place the framework that would help to realise it. He noted that the constitution of the country had given the right to legislate and create council areas to state houses of assembly, adding that if the constitution should recognise the third tier of government, the local council areas should be autonomous. Dogara said the state governments were holding unto the joint account meant to run the councils.

NULGE National President,bKhaleal, said their visit was for the emancipation and freedom of the Nigerian people and also to appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the ongoing fight against corruption in the country to local governments. He said the fight could not be completed without the President extending it to the grassroots, particularly the operations at the local councils.

His words: “We are of the opinion that the fight should be extended immediately.

We believe that under your leadership, local government councils should be free and autonomous. The local government areas bridge the gap between government and the grassroots. ” He observed that the main challenge facing NULGE was the continuous encroachment and diversion of local government funds by state governments, adding that the union would continue with the struggle for the emancipation of the LGs. According to him, state governments impose political structures at the council areas that most times negate the principle of democracy. He also alleged that the state governments manipulated the state Independent Electoral Commission, SIECs, during council elections, thus subverting the will of the people.

Also speaking, Chairman, House Committee on Labour and Employment, Francis Ezenwa Onyebuchi, explained that the

Dogara

Ibrahim

CONSTITUTIONALLY, THERE ARE LIMITS TO POWERS OF EACH OF THE THREE TIERS OF GOVERNMENT BUT THAT SHOULD NOT MEAN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD FOLD ITS ARMS AND CLOSE ITS EYES TO WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

House was a national ally of Nigerian workers.

“The Green Chamber stands clearly for the independence of LGAs. We voted clearly for it and by God ’s grace, it shall come to pass. We want to assure you that we will give you all the support and encouragement to ensure that council areas were granted autonomy, ” Onyebuchi said.

The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, also commended Dogara for supporting the autonomy for councils, urging him to pass this down to all the state Houses of Assembly to support moves to grant financial autonomy to local governments. In a statement issued in Abuja, ALGON President, Micah Jiba, who also commended the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Abuja that the 21 local government areas dissolved by the former Kogi State governor, Idris Wada, be reinstated, stated that granting financial autonomy to local governments would alleviate suffering and underdevelopment noticed at the grassroots.

He pointed out that lack of financial freedom in the local governments has been the bane of development at the grassroots, saying he wondered why the idea of financial autonomy was initially rejected by the state assemblies. According to Jiba, the issue has become necessary, following the fact that the new administration also declared to Nigerians in its inaugural speech that granting local government autonomy was one of its priorities.

Jiba stressed that Nigeria needs more committed and selfless leaders like Dogara to speak for the development of the people at the grassroots through granting

autonomy to local councils. He called on well-meaning Nigerians to support the idea of autonomy in order to ensure that the dividends of democracy got to the people at the grassroots.

It will be recalled that President Buhari revisited the issue of local government autonomy in his inaugural speech in May last year. Buhari at his innauguration said: “Elsewhere relations between Abuja and the states have to be clarified if we are to serve the country better. Constitutionally, there are limits to powers of each of the three tiers of government but that should not mean the Federal Government should fold its arms and close its eyes to what is going on in the states and local governments.

“Not least the operations of the local government joint account. While the Federal Government cannot interfere in the details of its operations, it will ensure that the gross corruption at the local level is checked. As far as the constitution allows me, I will try to ensure that there is responsible and accountable governance at all levels of government in the country.

For I will not have kept my own trust with the Nigerian people if I allow abuse under my watch. ” As expected, many stakeholders in local government administration in the country commended the President for his stand concerning autonomy for local councils.

NULGE lauded the President ’s speech as its president, Khaleel, who was also a member of the 2015 National Conference said: “I like every bit of the speech; it was encouraging, assuring and inspirational. Mr President was kind to every Nigerian. I am particularly happy on his

determination to institute a strong intergovernmental platform for each tier of government to operate within limits. His willingness to confront the issues in local government head-on is a welcome development, ’ ’ he noted.

Former Speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Alhaji Gambo Sallau, is of the opinion that development at the grassroots would continue to suffer as long as the constitution supported the joint account system. According to him, the system enables the state governments to exercise unnecessary control over local government finances. He, nonetheless, noted that the President had to convince the legislators and governors on the need to amend the relevant sections of the constitution.

He disclosed the governors would continue to take advantage of the Joint Account to interfere in the management of local council ’s funds if the presidency did not take action.

Also a public affairs commentator, Comrade Sheu Ahmed, said local governments should be allowed to run their affairs for sustainable rural development because they were closer to the masses.

He condemned a situation where money allocated to the councils are used for other purposes by the state governments. He particularly condemned the idea of appointing administrators for local governments instead of allow democratically elected executives.

“Money allocated to local governments is always diverted by the state governments in the name of Local Government Joint Account. Once local governments are given autonomy, the issue of joint account will be history, ’ ’ he said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State has vowed that he would not tamper with local government funds irrespective of the provision of the constitution that gave the state governments power in that respect. He said his administration would establish a mechanism to monitor the expenditures of the local councils and punish any official who mismanaged the funds.

“Any form of embezzlement will not be condoned as there will be checks and balances in the expenditure of the local councils in the state, ’ ’ he pledged.

A human right activist in Ogun State, Comrade Sola Olawale, told Sunday Mirror that granting autonomy to local councils would afford them the opportunity of providing dividends of democracy for the people at the grassroots.

“Local councils are the closest to the grassroots and the one that the people can consult, but what we have been having for years are local councils that do not control their resources. The joint account with the state governments had led to the diversion of the local governments ’ money. Granting the councils autonomy will lead to the development of the grassroots and it will assist our democracy, ” Olawale affirmed.

But Mr Bayo Okunlola, a lecturer, informed Sunday Mirror that unconstitutional control of local governments by state governors had impeded performance at the local level.

According to him, local councils should take care of projects such as pipe-borne water.

“This cannot be achieved because their finances are being siphoned by state governments, and the local governments can no longer embark on any development project. ’ ’ He condemned the policy of appointing caretaker administrations in local councils instead of conducting elections that would ensure that the people voted for their leaders.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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April 17, 2016

39

Saraki ’s case not following due process –Baraje

of the Senate President here at home by some APC leaders at the national level.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37 group has the Senate President but it has not been in peace. Since the coming of Obasanjo in 1979, no Senate President has had dry, blatant, politically tyrannical and open persecution as Saraki.

We have also heard that information, but we are ready for it, not by violence, but we want to show them that this is an impregnable area that can ’t be penetrated; we are one and will remain one. If they do, we shall see the consequences Is the coalition of the seeming ‘strange bedfellows ’ responsible for the current APC problem?

In politics, there are no strange bedfellows. There is only a thin line between the Democrat and the Republican in the US, the only thing is that when the situation comes to play, they demonstrate more experience and more maturity. The problem has not been that of coalition of strange bedfellows. What we do was to come together and salvage Nigeria and if we have other motives, it has started playing out, especially to some of us that can read between the lines because the scenes and scenarios we have seen is not for Buhari and that is why he should play more politics. The fact is what we have agreed to do, and we are still planting the ideologies of the APC and people based on their selfish ideas are smuggling the ideas of 2019 through the back door; that is rubbish!

Your reaction to the trial of Saraki?

In any case, the case of Saraki has not followed due process and rule of law.

Before last week, there have been series of motions and objections in court, and as procedural as those motions are, they were thrown out. It was the due process that was missing in the case of Tinubu and he was discharged, but not acquitted. So, why is the Saraki ’s case different? So, as regards whether we are comfortable with where we are and whether we are joining other groups, every politician has aspirations about development of his people and if you cannot achieve it in one place, you go to another place.

It doesn ’t mean that I am a political prostitute, but that I am a principled person and will not stop until I get what I want, which in this case is good governance, equality, democratic dividends among my people. Impunity, lawlessness, lack of due process are not what formed part of APC. With the intervention of some leaders like us, that party will continue to strive, but for it not to go under the drain, the president must play politics.

Looking at the revelations coming from the trial, what is your reaction that Saraki was drawing salary after leaving office?

What the so-called witness-in-chief from the EFCC and not the court read was a statement from the bank. But let ’s wait till the witnesses are cross-examined by Saraki ’s counsel. Immediately Saraki left office, like any other civil servant who worked for it, he begins to enjoy his pension and the vouchers that pay those benefit began immediately and the banks still referred to it as salaries.

One of the major goals of this trial was to create sensation and media hype. We had barely gone out of the court that day when the media started calling for his resignation. Like you read in the papers this morning, there have been plans for those people to organise protest against Saraki in Abuja, Lagos and Ilorin. But I want to assure that if that happens, we will see mother of counter protests to demonstrate that the Senate President has followers. Hitherto, APC had only three states in the North-Central and with dint of hard work, Saraki delivered

Baraje

IN POLITICS, THERE ARE NO STRANGE BEDFELLOWS. THERE IS ONLY A THIN LINE BETWEEN THE DEMOCRAT AND THE REPUBLICAN IN THE US, THE ONLY THING IS THAT WHEN THE SITUATION COMES TO PLAY, THEY DEMONSTRATE MORE EXPERIENCE AND MORE MATURITY.

the zone one hundred per cent. So, if some people hide under the trial of Saraki to want to destabilise this government, then we won ’t sit down and look and that is not a threat. Nobody has called for his resignation and the senators have reaffirmed their support for him. But if they

are still hell bent on removing him, the worst will now happen because we have the PDP taking over the Senate Presidency and that of its deputy. Maybe we should practise it for the first time and see how it would be. We have heard there are plans to destabilise the political root

The National Assembly has been involved in some kind of altercation with the executive as regards details of 2016 budget, what is your reaction to the issue?

For the very first time, the National Assembly returned the budget with about 30 per cent less. They also expunged certain areas and reduced the amount for certain areas. The area I would talk on is that of some railway project that was also expunged. When I was the chairman of the Nigerian Railway, I discovered that some structures of the corporation need to be revitalised completely. Construction of new rails is not now; until we get the existing structures performing again and that will cost a lot of money running into billions of naira. So, the expunged new railway line from Calabar to Lagos is not a priority, but boosting food, agriculture, fighting insurgency and so on. So if the Senate can do that, I expect the President to call the National Assembly together on a roundtable and discuss with them. Not as some are saying that he should call their bluff. He should take time to study the budget properly and iron out whatever place he is not clear about because the budget is that of the people.

2016 Budget: Grandstanding at nation ’s peril CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

write them.

“Following briefing by Chairman Appropriation Committee, we agreed as a House that the Speaker should go ahead and engage the executive to identify areas of concern and report back to the House in the interest of Nigerians ”, Namdas said.

To protect the image of the National Assembly he insisted that Lagos-Calabar rail project was never provided for in the budget proposal brought by the President, explaining that there was no reason for the House to remove such a laud-

able project from the budget.

“We are not saying that it is not a good project. It is a viable project but our concern is what people are saying that we removed it from the budget ”, he clarified, stating that it was brought through the back door to the committee after the President had made his presentation on December 22, 2015.

The House ’s spokesman said that the only procedure open in transmitting the President ’s messages to the NASS was by sending it to the Speaker, which is often read at the plenary.

“This budget is back to the ministries and they are working on it. The Presi-

dent has not told us what is wrong with the budget. The budget has not been returned.

“We have done our job and transmitted same to the President. There is nothing from him to indicate that something is wrong so that we can take action ”, he stated.

Namdas stressed that whatever happened, they were ready and willing to accommodate the interests of the executive.

He said that the House was still hopeful that the President could sign the budget because it was still within stipulated time frame.

“Let ’s wait and hear what the Presi-

dent will say because we have sent to find out from him about all these rumours ”, Namdas said.

With the 2015 supplementary budget having ended on March 31, 2016, the hope was that 2016 budget would kick off implementation by April, but the delay now is further throwing the nation ’s economy into disarray.

The President as he has been advised would commence implementation of first half of 2016 budget, but which is merely on recurrent, meaning that there would be no capital projects executed and unemployment and poverty would persist.

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SMExtra

40

STORIES THAT TOUCH YOU April 17, 2016

Horror! School proprietor, 42, rapes 4-year-old nursery pupil ...victim ’s parents allege threat to life DOOSUUR IWAMBE ABUJA

I

t is the joy of every reasonable parent to give their wards sound education, so as to secure a good future for them, but for the family of Mr. and Mrs. Pedro Ayele of Calvary Road, opposite Shekina Glory, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, this dream seems to have caused doom for them as the pains inflicted on their 4-year-old daughter, Chinyere (real names withheld), will remain evergreen in their memories.

Before the horrifying and heart rending act of sexual violation on the 4-year-old by the 42-year-old Mr. Elias Oyeke, the proprietor of Victory International Nursery and Primary School, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, the victim was the pupil in the nursery section in the school.

It all started on the 25th of February 2016, when the victim ’s mother, Mrs. Esther Ayele noticed that her daughter could not walk normally and was passing out urine with much pains and discomfort.

“I noticed on Feb. 25th when my daughter returned from school that she could not pass out urine with ease; upon inquiry, I discovered some rashes in form of wounds in her private part.

“I became very curious to find out what was going on and upon much enquiry, my daughter told me that Mr. Oyeke was persistently violating her with a warning that he will beat her very well, if she dares open her mouth to tell her mummy and daddy.

“I quickly informed my husband who reported the matter to the police at Aso Pada, Mararaba, Nasarawa State. We also took our daughter to the hospital for medical examination where it was confirmed that the little girl was sexually violated by a grown up man and her hymen had been ruptured.

“Since my husband and I made the matter public, we have been receiving various threats. They came to our house the other night in a bid to enter, but they could not; they were now talking through the fence that, if we don ’t drop the matter, they will kill us.

“Our 4-year-old daughter is being raped and they want us to keep quiet! please, Nigerians, help us ”, she said.

“With me is the copy of the medical report, but the results for HIV/AIDS tests and other sexually transmitted diseases are being awaited.

The little child who also confirmed the development to our correspondent in her

Arase

frail tiny voice said that she was afraid to disclose to her parents, the repeated molestation done to her by Mr. Oyeke.

According to her, ” My teacher used to cover my face with a red handkerchief; he will then put me on his laps and insert something in my bum-bum.

“He did that repeatedly for about four times and warned me not to tell my mummy and daddy about it; that is why I was afraid to tell my mummy ”, she said.

Mr. Ayele, who also expressed dissatisfaction with the manner the case was handled at the Mararaba Police Station called on the Federal Government to come to their aid to ensure that the crime done against his 4-year-old daughter did not go unpunished.

“I believe in my country, I believe in the rule of law; all I am asking the Federal Government to do is to assist me to ensure that justice is done. “it has been very traumatising for me to see my 4-year-old daughter go through this; these are trying times for me and as a law abiding citizen, I will not take the laws into my hands; that is why I am calling on Nigerians and the Federal Government to assist me in this fight, so that my daughter will get justice ”, he said.

Meanwhile, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Ogwu Onoja has taken over the

matter to ensure that little victim gets justice.

Onoja told journalists in Abuja that his chambers has written to the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, requesting for an order of transfer of the case file from Nasarawa State command to the Office of the IGP monitoring unit for proper investigation and prosecution.

Narrating what led to his request for the transfer of the case file, Onoja said that his clients were not happy with the way the police there handled the matter, noting that the rapist, Mr. Elias was promptly arrested after the matter was reported, but soon thereafter released him on bail.

“When our clients discovered the manner the officers and men of the police at the said outpost treated the whole matter and the investigation with levity and unseriousness, the case was transferred to Nasarawa State Criminal Investigation Department of the Nigerian Police Force at the instance of our client and other persons who were miffed at this inhuman and dastardly act.

“As much as we appreciate the efforts of the State Criminal Investigation Department in the on-going investigation of this case, we are constrained to make this request as a result of recent development which has made our clients to lose con-

fidence in the officers investigating the case.

“During one of the visits by our clients to the State CID, Nasarawa State to ascertain the level of investigation, some men of the police handling the investigation requested from our clients ‘Brown Envelope ’ before they could proceed to the next level of investigation.

“The severity of this offence and its traumatic consequences on our clients and their little daughter cannot be allowed to be compromised under any guise at all.

“It is obvious from the conduct of the Investigating Police Officers that our clients and the little girl who is the victim of this crime cannot see the light of justice if this matter is not transferred from the State CID, Narasawa State to office of the IGP Monitoring Unit.

“It is for this reason that we respectfully request the transfer of the investigation and prosecution of the case, so that your crack team of investigators, with untainted record will carry out their statutory and assigned duties with strict adherence to ethics and professionalism.

When our correspondent visited the school in Mararaba, there was no one to talk to because the school premises was locked up following the holiday which the children are currently enjoying at home.

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April 17, 2016

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FG begins distribution of relief materials to returnee IDPs

T

he Federal Government on Saturday inaugurated the distribution of relief materials to no fewer than one million Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs who returned to various communities in Adamawa and Taraba.

Secretary to the Gov-

ernment of the Federation Lawan Babachir who inaugurated the distribution said the exercise was on the platform of the Presidential Initiative for the North East.

Represented by Alhaji Ibrahim Patel, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, Ba-

bachir said government would reach out to all states affected by disasters, natural or man-made.

“Today, we are launching the distribution of relief materials to over one million internally Displaced Persons who already returned to their various respective homes

and villages in Adamawa and Taraba.

“Government felt it necessary to see how it palliates the suffering of the affected communities in the region and other parts of the country, ’ ’ Babachir said.

He said that the materials were meant to assist

the returnees ’ to re-start their lives in their respective communities and advised them to make good use of the materials.

Earlier, Gov. Muhammadu Jirillah of Adamawa thanked the Federal Government for the support.

Jibrillah, who was also represented by the state

Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Ahmad Sajo, said that the state government would cooperate with the Federal Government to assist the returnees.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that among items distributed were food, building materials and wrappers.

WHO donates ofce equipment to Ministry of Health in C ’River RICHARD NDOMA CALABAR

T

L-R: FRSC Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi; Deputy Corps Marshal, Operations, Adei Abu and Head, Media Relations and Strategy, Bisi Kazeem, at Kaduna Command during intensified patrols on overloading ...yesterday.

Amosun attracts $1.2bn Chinese investment to Ogun

O

gun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, recently took part in a one-week work visit to China alongside President Muhammadu Buhari, other state governors and Ministers, in the course of which investments worth over $1.2bn was attracted to the gateway state.

During the visit, the Ogun State Governor participated in the NigeriaChina Business Forum, which drew attendance from about 100 Nigerian

businesses and 300 Chinese firms, a government statement said at the weekend.

Apart from that forum, Governor Amosun was also part of many fruitful business meetings and concluded a number of agreements with the Chinese.

The agreements, which hold huge prospects of further enhancing the economic fortune of Ogun State, are in line with the Governor Amosun-led administration ’s Mission to Rebuild the

gateway state.

Some of the agreements announced and signed during the visit include a $1 billion deal

for the establishment of a Hi-tech industrial park in Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone located at Igbesa.

he World Health Organization (WHO) has donated some office equipment and stationeries worth millions of naira to the Cross River State Ministry of Health so as to strengthen the newly established Human Resources for Health (HRH) unit and gender desk of the Ministry This gesture, under the WHO Human Resources for Health project, is funded by Global Affairs, Canada, which according to authorities is to increase the capacity and competence of the Ministry ’s HRH unit which is situated within the Department of Planning, Research and Statistics as approved at the

54th National Council on Health.

According to the World Health Organization`s State Coordinator, Dr. Tom Igbu, the gesture is “a symbol of the commitment of WHO and the government of Canada to ensuring a strong health system in Cross River State by creating a nucleus for planning and management of health workers in the state. ” The WHO coordinator lauded the Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Inyang Asibong, for providing the with office space which will give them an opportunity to actualized their dream for the unit, and stressed that initiative is going to boost sustainability process of the intervention of the project.

Yobe, Army reopen Damaturu-Biu federal road

Y

obe Government in collaboration with the Nigerian Army on Saturday reopened the 132km Damaturu-Biu federal road, which was blocked three years ago

by Boko Haram insurgents.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the road, which was a major link between Yobe and southern part of Borno, was inau-

gurated at Buni Yadi.

Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff, said at the occasion that the road was strategic to the economic well being of Yobe as it linked the state capital with many communities.

He said reopening of the road would boost economic activities of Yobe, Borno, Adamawa and Gombe

State.

“This will also impact positively on the current military operations in the area by boosting the achievement of the troops, ” he said.

Buratai charged the Yobe government to accelerate work on the reconstruction of the road to encourage vibrant economic activities.

Yobe Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim

University of Maiduguri graduates 172 rst-class students

U

niversity of Maiduguri on Saturday presented first class degree certificates to 172 students of the institution during its 22nd combined convocation.

Prof. Ibrahim Njodi,

the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, who announced this at the ceremony said 37, 259 students, comprising five sets of students from 2009 to 2015 graduated at the convocation.

``It is gratifying to inform you that the university graduated five sets of students from 2009/2010, 2010/2011, 2012/2013, 2013/2014, and 2014/2015 academic sessions from 12 colleges, faculties, dis-

tance learning centre and 23 affiliated colleges. ``A total of 37, 259 students were graduated, out of this 32, 869 were regular students, 841 students were from affiliated colleges and 3,549 students

were from the Distant Learning Programme, ’ ’ Njodi said.

He said the university had signed a Memoranda of Understanding with UNICEF and Norwegian Embassy to work out a

programme on de-radicalisation of repentant members of the Boko Haram terrorists group. ``There is a strong partnership between the university and the UNICEF on safe schools project.

42

Sport

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Savio warns Real Madrid over Aguero threat

PAGE 43

Sport

KEEPING YOU ABREAST OF SPORTING NEWS

Redknapp on Eagles’ radar

PAGE 44

SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016

The men who want to be Super Eagles coach

Pinnick

It is no longer news that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are in search of new Coach for the senior national team, THE Super Eagles.

This is coming after Samson Siasia, who replaced the Sunday Oliseh failed to qualify the Super Eagles for the next Africa Cup of Nation. What is however not certain is the caliber of coach the NFF can engage.

In this piece, Pius Anakali profiles few of the coaches linked so far.

I

t’s often said that any good coach with succeed with the senior national team. With the caliber of players the nation can boast of succeeding with Super Eagles won’t be difficult many have argued.

That perhaps explains the number of players already linked with the senior national team Top on the list are: Paul Le Guen, Claude Le Roy, Clemens Westerhof and Harry Redknapp.

Le Guen’s last role was as manager of the Oman national football team, from which he was relieved in November 2015.

Before the then he had coached Cameroon national football team from July 2009, after signing a five-month contract. He made an immediate impact by leading the team to qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

He also stripped veteran defender Rigobert Song of the captaincy and appointed Samuel Eto’o as the new captain. Both players responded well to the change with Eto’o getting goals, and Song winning back his starting spot as the Lions qualified for the finals. However Cameroon were the first team officially knocked out of the 2010 World Cup. He announced his resignation on 24 June 2010.

He is one of those on the Super Eagles radar.

Before he was announced as Togo Coach, Le Roy was also mentioned. His joining the Togolese national team have put speculations concerning to rest.

There is also Clemens Westerhoff.

Westerhoff is noted for his success with the

Nigerian national team. Under Westerhof, the Super Eagles won the 1994 African Cup of Nations and also qualified for the second round of the FIFA World Cup that year.

Westerhof began his career as an assistant coach with Feyenoord Rotterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie. He has also coached Vitesse Arnhem, the Zimbabwean national team, the Sporting Lions of Zimbabwe’s Premier League, and the Bush Bucks and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa’s Premier Soccer League.

In addition, he has served as technical director of the Harare-based Agatha Sheneti Youth Academy and also of the Harare United club, which was linked to the Academy. In 2001 he was technical director of Dynamos FC, Zimbabwe’s biggest club, but lasted in the position just a few months.

Harry Redknapp might not be new to football fans in Nigeria having Coached Nwankwo Kanu at Portsmouth. Redknapp has over 30 years of experience as a manager and he is one of the most established bosses to have worked in the top flight.

After taking charge of Bournemouth in 1983 and taking them as high as the second tier of English football in nine years with the South Coast club, Redknapp landed his first Premier League job as manager of West Ham United in 1994.

Redknapp steered the Hammers to midtable finishes and Premier League safety in his first few years in charge before guiding them to a fifth place finish in the 1998/99 campaign, their highest position to date in the Premier League.

After parting company with the club, Redknapp took charge of Portsmouth in

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Federer

Westerhof

Redknapp

Paul Le Guen

the Championship and led them to promotion to the top flight in 2003. He steered Pompey to 13th in their first season in the Premier League before leaving the club in 2004.

Redknapp took charge of local rivals Southampton in December 2004, but couldn’t prevent the Saints from dropping to the Championship after finishing 20th on a dramatic final day of the season.

He then returned to Portsmouth in December 2005 and managed to avoid relegation despite the club being eight points adrift of safety with ten matches left. Top half finishes followed in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 campaigns and he won the FA Cup with Pompey in 2008.

In October the same year, Redknapp took charge of Tottenham Hotspur. The club were in the relegation zone upon his arrival and he steered them to a mid-table finish before securing Champions League qualification in the 2009/10 campaign with fourth spot in the league. He won the Premier League’s Manager

of the Year award as a result.

Spurs finished fifth and fourth in his next two seasons as manager, before he was relieved of his duties in June 2012. Redknapp took charge of his fifth Premier League club when Queens Park Rangers came calling in November 2012, but he couldn’t prevent the Loftus Road club from being relegated in the 2012/13 campaign.

Redknapp kept hold of a number of his players for the 2013/14 season in the Championship and managed the side to a play-off final victory against Derby County, which saw them return to the Barclays Premier League at the first time of asking.

In February 2015, Redknapp resigned as QPR manager due to requiring immediate knee surgery, leaving the club one point from safety.Currently Redknapp is Coaches Jordan national team. Giving the opportunity analyst say might want to work in Africa.

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Sport

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Monte Carlo Masters:

E Nadal fights back

Nadal

to beat Murray in semis

Aguero

Savio warns Real Madrid over Aguero threat

ight-time winner Rafael Nadal recovered from a set down to beat Britain’s Andy Murray to reach the Monte Carlo Masters final.

Murray broke twice to take the opening set 6-2, but wilted under the Spaniard’s power and accuracy to lose the next two 6-4 6-2.

The win was Nadal’s seventh over Murray in eight meetings on clay and puts him into his 100th ATP World Tour final.

He faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils in the final.

Murray beat Nadal for the first time on clay in last year’s Madrid Masters final, but his hopes of being only the third player to earn back-to-back victories over the world number five on the surface were dashed in a brutal twoand-a-half-hour encounter.

It was a match high on quality but also rancour, with both players being irked by some controversial umpiring decisions.

La Liga: Simeone demands A/Madrid winning form D

R Sahin Sah Sa S ah a hiin n

eal Madrid will have to take “extra care” to stop Sergio Aguero in the Champions League semifinals, according to former midfielder Savio.

Zinedine Zidane’s side overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Wolfsburg in the last eight and have been pitted against City who put out Paris Saint-Germain following Thursday’s draw in Nyon.

Aguero has scored 18 goals in 25 Premier League games this season but has only managed two in the Champions League, and missed a penalty in the second leg against PSG. But Savio, who collected three Champions League winners’ medals during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, says Madrid must be especially wary of the Argentina striker.

“I am a big fan of Aguero. He is one of the best attackers in Europe at the moment,” he told Omnisport.

“He’s really clever and is always well positioned on the pitch.

“Aguero was superb in the two ties; he made the difference, despite missing the penalty kick. He is different from the rest.

‘Winning Premier League title will be a miracle’ Okazaki

43

Simeone

Cazorla back in A training after knee injury

S

hinji Okazaki believes Leicester City will pull off a footballing ‘miracle’ if they secure the Premier League title.

Claudio Ranieri’s men were among the favourites for relegation at the beginning of the season but they head into the final five games seven points clear of nearest rivals Tottenham at the summit. An attacking line-up featuring Japan international Okazaki alongside PFA Player of the Year nominees Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez and a rock-solid defence have combined to leave Leicester on the cusp of an improbable triumph. “I think it’s a miracle,” Okazaki told Omnisport.

“To be honest, at the beginning of the season, I didn’t expect Vardy would do so well and the same about Riyad.

“I didn’t expect that the defenders could do this well and get so many clean sheets either.

“So, if we win the league, it will be a miracle but it is inevitable for us. There is no doubt because I’ve been with these players all season, seeing them closely.

iego Simeone accepts his Atletico Madrid side have to beat Granada on Sunday if they wish to capitalise on Barcelona’s mini-collapse.

Barca have not won in three La Liga matches, handing Atletico the chance to join them on 76 points - for a brief period at least - before Luis Enrique’s men host Valencia in the late game.

Simeone told a news conference: “We have a very clear situation: we need to win and then wait to see what Barcelona do.

“What we can affect is beating Granada.”

Simeone was not getting over-excited by Atletico’s title push, however, and urged his players to focus ahead of the game at the Vicente Calderon.

“We live day to day, and can see the situation is changing a lot,” he added. “We don’t think beyond that but the team is strong and in a good moment. We need to use our hearts, legs and heads.”

Atletico advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League in midweek thanks to a 2-0 defeat of Barca but Simeone is adamant their continental adventures will not hamper their league form.

“We always maintain our line of work, as we did in 2014 [when Atletico won La Liga and reached the final of the Champions League]. We will compete in the Champions League until the end. But it won’t divert our attention.

Cazorla

rsene Wenger fully expects a few twists to occur before the end of the Premier League season.

Arsenal were handed another injury boost on Saturday as midfielder Santi Cazorla returned to full training.

Cazorla has been out since November with a knee injury but Arsenal posted pictures on their website showing the Spaniard training with the first team at London Colney on Saturday.

His return follows that of Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky, who are also nearing full comebacks after long-term injuries.

Arsenal have struggled in Cazorla’s absence as the team’s Premier League challenge stuttered without his ability to link defence and attack from his central midfield position.

The Gunners only have five games left to play after Sunday’s match against Crystal Palace, but Cazorla’s return to training means he will likely be available for selection again before the end of the season.

44

Sport

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Redknapp on Eagles’ radar

T

he Super Eagles coaching position has popped up another name as a potential candidate for the job.

Nigeria Football Federation chief Amaju Pinnick has not hidden his desire to get a foreign coach for the team since Nigeria’s inability to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Several coaches have been touted to replace interim coach Samson Siasia, who was in charge for the two games against Egypt last month after Sunday Oliseh resigned from the post.

Former Nigeria coach Clemence Westerhof has already thrown his hat into the ring for the job and the latest in line is former Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth coach Harry Redknapp.

According to UK tabloid, The Sun, Redknapp is wanted by the Nigeria Federation to manage the Super Eagles.

The 69-year-old is currently in charge of the Jordanian national side but might be tempted with a move to Africa.

He is two games into his interim coaching capacity in Jordan. He led the side to beat Bangladesh 8-0 before losing

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Knockout with

IFEANYI Eduzor

08055829770 ifeduz24@yahoo.com

I won’t be fighting on July 9, says Anthony Joshua

A

nthony Joshua says he is “unlikely” to fight on July 9, he day fellow Briton and world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will defend his titles.

WBA and WBO champion Fury is scheduled to take on Wladimir Klitschko in a rematch that day in Manchester.

“It was always in my mind to fight on July 9, but there are other dates as well,” IBF champion Joshua, 26, told BBC Radio 5 live.”Let Fury and Klitschko have their day. Let’s not mix anything up.”

Fury defeated Klitschko

Redknapp

5-1 to Australia.

Nigeria have had three coaching changes in the past one year

on points in Dusseldorf last November to become WBA, WBO and IBF champion.

He was later stripped of the IBF belt that Joshua now holds and has yet to defend any of his titles.

A future fight between Fury and Joshua has already been suggested, with both men confident of victory.

Fury derided Joshua as “slow” and “ponderous” following his secondround stoppage of IBF champion Charles Martin and asked for a chance “to slay the lamb” in a highly lucrative all-British fight.

with Stephen Keshi, Sunday Oliseh, and Samson Siasia all seeing time with the Eagles.

Obi drops case against Ubah

H

eartland goalkeeper Ebele Obi, older brother of Chelsea Mikel, has told AfricanFootball.com he will no longer drag FC IfeanyiUbah owner to court after he assaulted him at the end of a league game.

Ebele was to have sued Ubah for 200 million Naira for damages.

Ubah punched Ebele after a league game involving IfeanyiUbah and Heartland which led to sanctions from LMC on both parties.

The former Rangers captain told Af-

ricanFootball.com that some lawyers had started the process to sue Ifeanyi Ubah, but he has now stopped them following a decision at the family meeting in Anambra State.

“I am not going to press charges against Ifeanyi Ubah again. Lawyers have started the procedure, but I will have to tell them to withdraw,” he informed AfricanFootball.com “This decision was taken after a long family meeting in our village in Anambra with my father, mum, wife, brother and sisters in attendance.

Anthony Joshua (R) throws a punch at Charles Martin during their IBF heavyweight clash.

Obi

Ikeme’s own goal costs Wolves

C

Dalung Ikeme

arl Ikeme scored an unfortunate own goal on Friday as Wolverhampton Wanderers lost 1-2 to Hull City in the Championship.

Robert Snodgrass’ free kick went off the back of the luckless Super Eagles shot-stopper in the fourth minute of second half added time as the hosts claimed a dramatic win at the Kingston Communications Stadium.

Ikeme was peerless in the game though as he saved well from compatriot, Sone Aluko in the 86th minute.

Kenny Jackett, the Wolverhampton Wanderers manager, had words of comfort for his Nigerian goalkeeper despite the second goal he conceded so late in the game.

“It was an excellent free kick (by Snodgrass). Carl (Ikeme) had no chance (of stopping it),” Jackett told Wolves Player.

Ikeme has made 30 appearances for Wolves in the English Championship this season.

Simon’s wonder goal trips Oostende

M

oses Simon scored a wonder goal for Belgian Jupiler Pro League club, KAA Gent, in the 2-0 win over KV Oostende on Friday.

Simon netted in the 87th minute to help Gent amass maximum points at the GHELAMCO-Arena as they continued their push to claim a ticket for next season’s Uefa Champions

League.

The Super Eagles forward picked up the ball outside the KV Oostende penalty area before proceeding to leave four opposition players for dead with an astonishing display of pace and dare-devil dribbling.

He then honed in on goal to coolly slot past the Oostende goalkeeper, Didier Ovono.

The win keeps Gent in the hunt for a Champions League ticket as they have now amassed 34 points after the first two games in the playoffs, just four points adrift of the leaders, Club Brugge.

Simon has scored three league goals for Gent this season but none rivals his strike on Friday on the basis of sheer entertainment value.

Campos recovering in hospital

L

i g h t - h e av y we i g h t boxer, Guillermo Herrera Campos (94-4) of Mexico is recovering in Toronto’s St. Michaels Hospital after being stopped by Shakeel Phinn in the 8th and final round of their fight.

“His progress has been good,” one insider close to the situation told Fightnews. “He is stable, lucid and under observation,” said the source regarding the fighter who was carried from the ring on a stretcher.

The fight apparently was competitive and brutal affair with Phinn (71) getting off to a strong start, battling through some tough middle rounds and scoring a pair of knockdowns in the final stanza. Video footage shows veteran referee Dave Dunbar counting to eight as 32-year-old Campos stayed on his knees and got up at six where he laid back on the ropes in his corner and the fight was quickly called off.

Broner detained for reckless driving

T

he legal woes of former four- division champion, Adrien Broner continued unabated following his recent jail term.

Information from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office website indicates that Broner, 26 will be released on April 22.

Broner was taken into custody last week and charged with felonious assault and aggravated robbery stemming from a Jan. 21 incident at a bowling alley.

According to court re-

cords obtained from the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts website, Broner had the charges filed against him on Jan. 15, 2015, and the case was continued on Feb. 16 of this year.

Though wanted on two charges, he was allowed to fight on April 1 in Washington, D.C., after he promised to turn himself in. He knocked out Ashley Theophane in a fight televised on Spike and then traveled to Ohio three days later to be taken into custody on the assault charge.

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Business

45

FRESH BUSINESS NEWS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Sunday April 17, 2016

Nigeria loses $2.9bn annually to tax incentives –ActionAid ABOLAJI ADEBAYO

N

igeria has continually forfeited not less than $2.9 billion, or a whopping N577 billion as tax give-away on yearly basis as a result of an extraordinary tax breaks granted by the government to some of the national and multinational companies operating in the country.

This was disclosed by ActionAid Nigeria during a Round Table Media Managers Meeting on Tax Incentives and Implication for Nigeria held in Abuja.

According to the Organisation, in addition to the estimated

loss of $2.9 billion to corporate income tax holidays, making Nigeria leading the charts within the West African sub-region, the country also loses around $327 million annually on import duty exemptions.

It further stated that as much as $3.3billion were lost in minimum on yearly basis to some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies including Shell, Total and ENI starting in 1999.

It declared that the total sum of the losses from these sources was the money that could have been used to provide essential public services that could help eradicate poverty.

Speaking at the event, the Policy advocacy and Campaigns Manager, ActionAid Nigeria, Tunde Aremu, said despite the inherent benefits of the tax incentives, most corporates that enjoyed the incentives were not sincere as they have persistently abuse the aid at the expense of many Nigerian citizens.

Aremu noted that the country loses significant volumes of financial resources, which could have been used to finance critical development projects, due to illicit outflows.

He said corporate income tax holidays were a particularly ineffective way of promoting invest-

ment as they attracted mainly ‘footloose’ firms that were not tied to a specific location and continuously changed their identity for the purpose of benefitting from tax holidays available only to first-time investors.

“In 2011 alone a handful of companies lined their pockets with nearly as much in tax concessions from the Federal Government as the latter is spending on the 113 million people who live on Nigeria’s farms.

“While the main reasoning behind granting tax relief to corporations is the idea that it will promote investments that attract capital and contribute to job cre-

L-R: Regional Manager, Olam Nig. Ltd, Mr Vipin Patel; Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong and Secretary to the Plateau State Government, Mr Rufus Bature, during a courtesy visit on the Governor at the Government House in Jos, recently.

Gainful employment of youth is my priority –Dangote

P

resident of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has assured Nigerians that topmost on his priority is how to contribute his own quota towards reducing the high rate of un-employment in the country.

Speaking in Okpella, Edo State over the weekend at the ground breaking ceremony of its new 6 million metric tons capacity cement plant, located in Okpella, Edo state, Dangote said with more of his cement plants ready for commissioning in the next few months, more qualified youth will be gainfully employed.

“The high rate of un-employment in the country is worrisome. No doubt, the government is trying by creating an enabling environment for private businesses to grow and employ people and with the right policies, I am optimistic that the high unemployment rate will soon be significantly reduced” Noting that the Okpella Ce-

ment Plant will employ a minimum of 45,000 Nigerians in both direct and indirect capacity, he said the number of Nigerians that will be employed in its ongoing fertilizer and petrochemical plants will be far more than the cement plants figure.

He urged the youth to shun unpatriotic acts, assuring them that the country is surely on the right track of growth and development. Earlier, the Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomole lauded Dangote Cement for investing in Edo State.

He urged other rich Nigerians to take a cue from Dangote and invest in the country. The new 6 million metric tons cement plant is coming on the heels of similar arrangement for another 6 million mtpa cement plant in Itori, in Ogun state where the company is currently running a 12million mtpa cement plants at Ibese, in Yewa division of the state.

By this investment, Dangote’s

production capacity will go up further to 41m mtpa, in Nigeria alone.

Impressed at the continuous investments in cement production despite having met local demands, the Federal government said the gains of the backward integration in the cement sector of the construction industry, as championed by the Dangote group is saving the nation huge billions of foreign exchange.

The Minister for Solid Mineral Development, Dr. Kayide Fayemi and his counterpart in Trade and investments, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said government is pleased with the exploits of the Dangote cement in ensuring that the nation freed itself from the shackles of endless importation and becoming net exporter.

This development, they stated, tallied with the change agenda of the present government that all hands must be on deck to substitute importation

with local production and consume only products that are produced locally.

They stated that the volatility in the international oil market and the excessive dependent on importation have both combined to put pressure on the Naira, adding that the government is putting in place strategies to free the Naira from such pressure.

The Ministers commended the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote for believing so much in the nation’s economy and has continued to invest even where others have contrary opinion.

They therefore called on other investors to take a cue from Dangote’s firm commitment and support to turn the nation’s economy around through active production.

In his remarks, Aliko Dangote said he would never shy away from investing in Nigeria saying Nigeria still remains the best place to invest in the world.

ation, there is no evidence that this truly has happened with most incentives given in the country.

“International institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) now increasingly warn against excessive tax incentives.

“Even the OECD warns that tax incentives that lower government revenues cannot compensate for or be an alternative for a poor investment climate.

“Apart from the sheer value of the lost revenues from tax incentives, decisions to grant them are often shrouded in secrecy, and not based on a thorough public cost-benefit analysis. Corporate tax incentives are frequently unaccounted for in the national budget and are nontransparent, reducing public accountability,” he said. However, the Project Director, Trust Africa, Donald Ideh, noted that a fair tax system through tax justice raises money to pay for public services like schools, hospitals and roads.

According to him, public services could help realise citizens’ rights, such as children and youth’s right to free quality public education, reduction in women’s unpaid care work, or safe cities for women. He added that adoption and implementation of a sound income redistribution policy would reduce inequality and raise funds for development through the tax system.Earlier, during the meeting of coalition of CSOs and other stakeholders on Tax

Incentives and Implications for Development in Nigeria, the Tax Justice & Governance (NTJ&G) platform, the Trade Union Congress, and other agencies of the civil society, after deliberating on Tax Incentives and Implications for Development in Nigeria, noted that the incentives have had negative impact on the economy with the state losing enormous revenue that would have been ploughed into addressing developmental needs of the country.

In a statement issued at the end of the meeting, the participants acknowledged the relevance of the use of incentives to foreign investors and large corporations, either multinationals or nationals as a necessary instrument of attraction of foreign direct investment to the country, technology, development of local capacity, infrastructure and in the face of harsh economic reality, attraction of jobs to the country.

However, it stated, “While we recognise and acknowledge the motives of government in the granting of the incentives, we have found it increasingly difficult to overlook the downside of many of the incentives that have been granted by the government to the companies operating in Nigeria. Our concerns are borne out of the facts that have emerged from recent studies conducted on the nature of incentives granted, especially The West African Giveaway: Use & abuse of Corporate Tax Incentives in West Africa.

LCCI holds Commerce and Industry Awards

T

he Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the premier Chamber of Commerce and one of the leading voices in the organised private sector (OPS) in Nigeria, has concluded plans to honour excellence and ethical business practices at its 2016 Commerce & Industry Awards slated to hold at Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos. Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Muda Yusuf, said: “The objective of the annual awards is to recognize, celebrate and promote private and public institutions who have exhibited the core values of best business practices, growth through innovations, business sustainability and have im-

pacted positively on the society.”

He added that “the LCCI Commerce and Industry Awards prides itself as a highly credible platform where winners emerge through a painstaking selection process from hundreds of entries supported by robust research and market intelligence.

“Some of the awards categories to be won at the prestigious event include: Award for Excellence in diverse sectors of the economy such as Banking, Pension, Insurance, Hotel and Hospitality, Power and Energy, Health Care, Manufacturing, Construction, Automobiles, Aviation, Pharmaceuticals, Education, Media and Broadcasting among others.”

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April 17, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ekiti 2014: Aluko courted trouble, says ex-Speaker ABIODUN NEJO ADO-EKITI

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ormer Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon Dele Olugbemi, said yesterday that the embattled former secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Dr Tope Aluko, is running from pillar to post because he knows he has courted trouble.

Olugbemi who reiterated that he brokered peace between the state governor and Aluko in Lagos, expressed readiness to do same over and over in a bid to assist the embattled former PDP scribe, who he said had

laboured for the party, get rewarded for his labour and not to lose out completely.

It would be recalled that Aluko, who recently revealed how the 2014 governorship election in the state was allegedly rigged in favour of PDP, later reconciled with the governor in a Lagos hotel and afterwards said he was cajoled into the peace deal.

Consequently, Aluko in a radio interview alleged that the ballot papers for the governorship election were thumb printed days before the poll in a popular hotel in Ekiti State, adding that the governor

had allegedly received N5.2 billion refund for federal roads.

But Olugbemi, in a reaction during a radio interview, said that Aluko should not be taken seriously “in view of his integrity problem. ” He said the former PDP scribe had courted trouble and had known no peace with himself, adding that those innocent military officers Aluko implicated and made to lose their jobs and career would not just fold their arms.

“He knows he is in big trouble and that is why he is running from pillar to post. He no longer has electoral value and

cannot even win in his ward. If institutions were strong in this country and if Aluko had been working against an All Progressives Congress (APC) governor and not Fayose, he would have been in detention by now, ” he said.

The former Speaker, who alleged that Aluko had always been working against the governor ’s interest, also accused him of being the mastermind of the impeachment plot against Fayose by APC lawmakers in the immediate past Assembly.

He said: “When I was the Speaker, Aluko was the secretary of our party, PDP. He was the one who

initiated and facilitated an arrangement with the APC towards using the House to impeach Fayose.

He took me to Osun and Lagos states for the arrangement.

“I refused to do his bidding and that strained our relationship. But we resumed our relationship shortly after the end of my tenure as Speaker.

That was when I discovered that he was always scheming against the governor and conniving with enemies to impeach him after about one and half year into this government.

“I decided to call him and advise him against

his moves. I told him that in politics, there cannot be permanent enemies, but permanent interests.

I told him decamping to another party would not help, that as for me, I prefer to stay in PDP and demand for what is mine.

“I am so surprised that he could come out to denounce and rubbish with lies, a peace meeting I brokered between him and Governor Fayose.

The CCTV camera has the details of all that we discussed with the governor inside the Eko Hotels.

Aluko is a morally challenged, socially unfit and academically bankrupt person, ” Olugbemi said.

Six Injured as thugs invade Edo council secretariat OARHE DICKSO BENIN

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L-R: Guest Speaker, Mr Jonathan Wadsworth; Director, African Development Bank Group, Dr. Chiji Ojukwu and Director- General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, during a workshop on Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation in Ibadan, recently.

PHOTO: NAN

PDP State Congress: C ’River PDP inaugurates zoning committee RICHARD NDOMA CALABAR

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he Cross River State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the weekend set up a 7-man congress committee to help the party iron out zoning of positions for the forth-coming congress billed for 23 of April 2016.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the committee which was headed by the state Deputy Governor, Prof. Ivara

Esu, State Party Chairman, Ntufam John Okon urged the committee to study the report within one week after duly making consultation with party faithful and stakeholders across the three senatorial districts of the state.

Okon charged the committee chairman to ensure that he framed up policy decisions that would lift both the state and the PDP in all ramifications and be devoid of any rancour among the

party faithful across the senatorial districts.

“We want you to consult your people and come up with recommendations that will aid the PDP and the entire state to achieve result. ” “To reduce conflict, ensure that the positions are evenly distributed among the various senatorial districts in the state; you are to ensure that there are equity and fairness to all parties across the senatorial districts ”, Okon advised.

Responding, the state Deputy Governor, Prof.

Ivara Esu said he was happy to be given such a responsibility by his party, adding that he will do everything within his reach to ensure that he delivered on the mandate given him.

“A lot of people might look at the job as being simple, but I tell you, it might not be as easy and simple as you think. I won ’t fail the party in carrying out this task, ” Esu said.

o fewer than six persons Friday sustained various degrees of bodily injury as thugs suspected to be on the side of the serving council chairman, Hon. Sweet invaded Oredo Local Government secretariat in Edo State.

Sunday Mirror gathered that the suspected thugs were prevent at the council as early as 7:00am that morning with the weird attempt to prevent the newly reinstated Chairman of Oredo, Hon. Osaro Obazee, from assuming office.

The thugs in their large numbers barricaded the entrance to the secretariat preventing people from going in.

Trouble was said to have started when the thugs upon sighting a group of persons approaching the council secretariat, mistook them for supporters of the reinstated chairman and descended on them heavily, leaving them with huge and various degrees of bodily injury.

Osaro Obazee was

among the four council chairmen the state governor, Adams Oshiomhole had earlier in October last year suspended for nonpayment of staff salaries and alleged diversion of funds, among others.

The four chairmen were: Emmanuel Momoh, Etsako Central Local Government; Victor Enobakhare, Egor Local Government; Osaro Obazee, Oredo Local Government and Roland Ibierutomwen, Orhionmwon Local Government.

In a letter to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, said: “I am directed by the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, to inform you that in compliance with the relevant sections of the Local Government Act which mandates consultation with Edo State House of Assembly, the governor wishes to inform Mr. Speaker and members of the House that the underlisted Local Government Chairmen are hereby suspended from office with effect from October 6, 2015. ”

Rotary empowers small business owners, supports public schools VICTOR UDOH

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o fewer than 10 small-scale business owners were on Friday empowered after they were given N50,000 credit facility each by the Rotary Club of Omole Golden to

improve their businesses.

It was the second tranche of an interest-free micro-credit scheme established by the club to assist young Nigerians boost their businesses, and it is coming after the first set of 10 beneficiaries had obtained the loan earlier in

September, 2015.

Speaking at the ceremony held at the Excellence Hotel and Conference Centre, Ogba, Lagos, the club ’s President, Mr Idowu Afelogun said the intervention fund which had grown over the years, was meant to give small

businessmen suffering from cash flow crisis, a new lease of life.

“We found out that so many young persons have had their dreams cut short as a result of lack of funds. So many others who could afford to start their businesses do not

have the capital to move their businesses forward.

That is why we decided to set up a micro-credit scheme to assist anyone in business, ” he said.

Afelogun said the club also engaged in vocational and skill acquisition training and some of its

graduates have also benefited from the scheme.

He said each of the beneficiaries was expected to pay back the credit facility in six months, adding that the facility was open to all beneficiaries who faithfully repaid their facility.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North News 47

Sunday April 17, 2016

Renewed crisis: Al-Makura threatens to deal with perpetrators IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

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overnor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State yesterday threatened to deal with perpetrators of the renewed communal crisis that touched part of Obi Local Government Area of the state.

The crisis had engulfed

the communities of Agwan Mamma, Dadare and Tudun Adabu after a land dispute between the Eggon and Gwandara ethnic nationalities resulting in the loss of lives and property.

Consequently, the governor undertook a working visit to the affected communities to assess the level of destruction to en-

able government provide emergency relief to the victims.

He, therefore, detailed elders of the affected communities to fish out those persons that were actors during the crisis to enable government apply the necessary punitive measures to serve as a deterrent to others.

He also apportioned

blames on both sides of the communities for taking arms against themselves instead of tabling their grievances before the constituted authorities for a peaceful resolution.

“Government is sad over the renewed crisis in this part of the state which will make people see the state as violent.

APC group vows to recall Kogi Assembly member WALE IBRAHIM LOKOJA

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s the Kogi House of Assembly crisis deepens, members of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC)have threatened to recall the House member representing Kogi/Konton Karfe State Constituency, Honourable Mohammed Zakari Osewu.

This was contained in

a statement jointly signed by the party Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Omoko and 12 others, copy of which was made available to newsmen in Lokoja yesterday.

The group expressed concern over his suspension from the House, warning that the development was not in the best interest of the people of Kogi/Koton-Karfe constit-

uency.

The APC members from Kogi Local government Area of the state vowed to recall the lawmaker who they said continued to “pay allegiance to its factional group led by the embattled Speaker, Honourable Momoh Jimoh Lawal”.

They alleged that Mohammed Zakari Osewu who represents their con-

stituency in the House was currently working against their interest.

It would be recalled that Zakari and nine of his (G-15) colleagues that are loyal to the embattled Speaker, Momoh jimoh Lawal, was on Tuesday suspended by members loyal to the Umar Imam faction, otherwise called the G-5.

This is even as the state is yet to recover from the devastation it suffered from the previous crisis that enveloped parts of the state.”

The governor continued that his administration would not allow such barbaric acts to continue in the state as government would evolve all strategies available to secure the lives and property of the people of the state.

He concluded by ap-

pealing to people who fled their places of abode during the crisis to return as according to him, sufficient security personnel have been drafted to counter any invasion by miscreants.

The high point of the working visit was the donation of N2.5 million by the governor to the affected communities to enable people who fled return home.

Gov Ahmed invites opposition to help run govt WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

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overnor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has called on members of the opposition parties and their supporters in the state to join hands with his administration to move the state forward.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, the governor assured the people of his commitment to fulfilling his campaign promises before the expiration of his tenure.

Meanwhile, there were jubilations in Ilorin, the state capital on Saturday on the Federal High Court, Abuja verdict of Friday, dismissing a suit filed by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, 2015 governorship candidate, Senator Simeon Ajibola challenging the election of Alhaji Abdulfatah

Ahmed as the governor of the state.

Governor Ahmed was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the governorship election held on April 11, 2015.

In the suit no. FHC/ ABJ/CS/688/2015, the PDP and its candidate, Senator Ajibola had approached the court to challenge the victory of Governor Ahmed in the election.

Justice S. E. Chukwu of the Abuja court in his ruling dismissed the suit on the grounds that the plaintiffs had no locus standi to institute the case and on other grounds as argued by the defendant counsel in the preliminary objection.

According to the result released by INEC, Governor Ahmed polled a total number of 295, 832 votes to defeat Senator Ajibola of the PDP, who had 115, 220 votes.

Suspected hoodlums paraded by the Kaduna State Police Command in Kaduna, at the weekend.

Police debunk claims of loss of lives in Benue ethnic feud HENRY IYORKASE MAKURDI

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he Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, of the Benue Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Moses Yamu has debunked the insinuation making the rounds in some quarters in the state that many lives were lost in the wake of the ethnic feud between Tivs and Jukuns in the state ,

The image maker of the command who spoke to Saturday Mirror yesterday in Makurdi, the state capital dismissed the speculation with a wave of the hand, saying that nobody was killed on either side

of the divide during the confrontation in the state .

“I can tell you authoritatively that those making the unguarded utterances of several lives being lost in the massacre which erupted at Angbaaye, at Kilometre 10, MakurdiGboko Road last Thursday in the state.”

The Spokesman of the command further announced that the State Commissioner of Police, CP, Paul Yakadi has held a stakeholders’ meeting with traditional rulers of the affected communities with a view to finding a lasting solution to the crisis and also to avoid fu-

ture reoccurrence of the conflicts which led to innocent people sustaining multiple injuries on each side, though no live was lost during the fracas.

He , however, stated that following the intervention of law enforcement agents at the disputed area, normalcy wss gradually retuning to warring communities and sued for peace to reign among the inhabitants of the land .

According to him, the police could not allow this unfortunate massacre to escalate and urged the stakeholders to refrain from any acts capable of

igniting further aggression that could trigger another protest in the area.

The PPRO also disclosed that three persons whose names were being withheld were badly injured in the ensuing confrontation and were receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital while ten suspects were apprehended in connection with the incident.

He explained that fighting broke out between the people over who owned a fish pond, leading to the protest that eventually resulted in a free for all, culminating in destructions of properties in the area.

Motor accident claims five lives in Gombe WILLIAMS ATTAH GOMBE

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o fewer than five persons were said to have lost their lives on the spot as a result of a fatal motor accident involving a trailer and a Vectra saloon car in Lakwaime, a village in Kaltungo Local Government Area of Gombe State.

Confirming the incident to newsmen yesterday in Gombe, the Gombe State Police image maker, ASP Ahmed Usman said the sad incident occurred around 6:00 pm on Thursday along the Gombe-Yola

highway.

He explained that the trailer with registration number JJJ 624 JLX driven by one Ibrahim Aminu from Niger State had a head-on collision with the Vectra saloon car after the trailer developed a mechanical fault while on transit and veered of its lane.

He said all the corpses have been deposited at the Kaltungo General Hospital.

Investigation, he added, was still on-going.

He called on drivers to be extra careful and avoid overspeeding while plying the roads.

N N II G G E E R R II A A

N600bn monthly

Vol. 6 No. 16

Sunday, April 17, 2016

-The amount the President borrows to pay salaries

F F II G G U U R R E E S S

N163m

Comment

jimunahlive@gmail. com Unah is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lagos

with Jim Unah tate actors in the incumbent political administration have been reported to be complaining bitterly about sabotage of the dispensation, ostensibly by political opponents from the enclave of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The unprecedented drop in electric power supply affecting virtually everything from acute water shortage to the unusual level of fuel scarcity nationwide, with the spill-over effect on the prices of all commodities—essential and non-essential alike—has jolted the senses of government functionaries to take refuge under the allegation of sabotage in the vain hope that excuses of this nature would placate anybody and win some sympathy for the incumbency.

But playing the victim in the near collapse of basic infrastructure nationwide does not seem to suit a political association that rode to power, almost one year ago, through tough-talking, know-it-all chastisement of the dislodged political party—the PDP; with a firm promise to hit the ground running, if elected into office. Much as a good number of patriotic

subsidy

N150

Nigerians share the sentiment that government programmes and policies should be treated as sacrosanct by all, the resort to crying sabotage to excuse the failure to deliver basic infrastructure needs of the people cannot win sympathy for the All Progressives Congress, APC, administration of a tough talking President Muhammadu Buhari.

What the people voted for is change and performance, not a frolic in blame game.

For a party accused openly of sabotage by the dislodged government of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the APC should even deny that any political opposition could successfully sabotage its intentions—that is, its policies and programmes, without pernicious consequences.

Apart from orchestrated campaigns of calumny, sabotage was one of the chief instruments employed by the APC to sack the Jonathan government from office.

This is not about supporting a Jonathan or a Buhari. It is about contending that the members of the political class have not yet considered seriously the dire implications of their bloody struggle for political power on the lives of Nigerians. It is the desire and vaulting ambition to acquire power at all cost that introduces sabotage of state policies and programmes into the weaponry of political competition in the country.

At the time the campaign of calumny, sabotage and hate was going on during the 2015 presidential elections, I had had cause to caution that if politicians elect to sabo-

tage the effort of the ruling party to deliver welfare to the citizens, when a change of power happens as it happened in May 2015, the dislodged party might resort to a similar strong arm tactic to discredit the new government; which, I think, is what is happening now. Sabotage begets sabotage, and violence begets violence.

Nevertheless, you do not make the world better by fighting the devil with fire if the welfare and happiness of the citizens would be imperiled in the process.

The strategy should be that of developing a skill of killing the tsetse fly without busting the scrotum. So, even if the APC used sabotage against the PDP to wrest power, the time has come to delete it from the inventory of the weaponry of political competition in the country; seeing that sabotage of state policies and programmes have terribly, adversely, affected the people.

Although the vaulting ambition of the politician has resulted in desperately electing sabotage into the weaponry of political competition, the sabotage warfare is keenly supported curiously by the people who suffer the most because, fundamentally, the people have been disempowered and alienated from what they naturally want to do.

The Nigerian people want to own themselves. They want to determine their destiny. They want to be in charge of their endowments—natural, spiritual, technological or whatever else.

Benitez praises Newcastle amazing reaction

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ewcastle United manager Rafael Benitez praised his players for their “amazing” reaction to last weekend’s loss at Southampton after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Swansea City.

Relegation-threatened Newcastle produced a meek surrender in the 3-1 loss at St Mary’s Stadium seven days ago but were good value for the victory against Swansea, which pulled Benitez’s men within three points of fourth-bottom Norwich City.

Jamaal Lascelles broke the deadlock in the 40th minute and, after Swansea spurned some excellent chances, Newcastle sealed a first win as manager for Benitez on his 56th birthday with late strikes from Moussa Sissoko and Andros Townsend.

-The sum FG will pay oil marketers for fuel

Sabotage begets sabotage

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Next up for Newcastle is their game in hand on Norwich against Manchester City at St James’ Park on Tuesday before Benitez takes his team to Anfield to face former club Liverpool four days later.

“When you lose a game you know you have to be disappoint-

ed but after you are expecting a reaction,” Benitez told Sky Sports.

“The reaction of the players was amazing and the fans I think they recognised the effort and everything that they did so it’s quite positive for everyone and hopefully it can be the first

It is the deliberate denial of the people of the right to self-determination, even as our leaders fight to accord this right to our African neighbors and other oppressed peoples of the world, which makes sabotage an-easy-to-use-weapon in the struggle for political power by politicians. When there is proper devolution of power to the federating units of the country, the people will take full charge of their resources and endowments, and this would make the fight against economic sabotage, that the nation is daily losing military personnel to wage, without success, a win-win battle for the people.

That Professor Chinedu Nebo, the Power Minister, under the Jonathan government lamented on a national television programme, the futility of waging a battle against pipeline vandals, speak volumes for the complexity of the problem. It looks like the enthusiasm of the serving Petroleum Minister, Ibe Kachikwu, is waning; seeing that his efforts to end fuel scarcity on stipulated deadlines have failed woefully. The problem is neither with the past and present petroleum Ministers necessarily nor with the past and serving presidents as such.

The fundamental problem with infrastructure sabotage and failure in the country is the unworkable power structure of the Nigerian State. Let the progressive government of change address this problem frontally, honestly, and save the country from perdition.

Benitez

win of a lot.”

Asked if Sunderland’s 3-0 win at Norwich earlier in the day had provided Newcastle with extra motivation, Benitez replied: “We were not thinking too much about this [Sunderland] game. We knew that we had to win and that’s it.

PREMIERSHIP RESULTS

Today’s Matches Norwich 0 - 3 Sunderland

Everton 1 - 1 Southampton Man Utd 1 - 0 A/Villa Newcastle 3 - 0 Swansea

W/Brom 0 - 1 Watford Chelsea 0 - 3 Man City

Printed and published by Global Media Mirror Limited: Head Office, Mirror House, 155/161 Broad Street Lagos; Abuja Office: NICON House, Central Business District Area, Abuja.

Email:mail@nationalmirroronline.net. MD/CEO: Sunday Olajide: 08060852080; Editor: Ayo Olesin: 08023223878; Advert Hotline: 07066178740. ISSN 0794-232X.