DAILY TRUST
demicpov rtycaused c on r from Ismail Mudashir, Kaduna A presidential asp irant of the Natio nal Rep ublican Conven tion (NRC) in tile 90s, Dr. Lema Jibril at the weekend, said poverty and unemployment were responsible for the post-electio n crisis. Spealting to Daily T,.ust while visiting the Kaduna hajj camp, where tile displaced perso ns are being housed, he said the government need s to intensify efforts to provide employment for un em ployed persons in the country, especiallyyouths. "Thecause ofO,e whole problem
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as I see it is poverty and unemploym ent They can tell you that unemployment ratio is 10, 20 or 30 per cent, but in my view, it is over 60 per cent. This is the cause of the problem, people have no jobs and as such, they resort to misduef. Believe me, poverty is the real cause of the problem. So, we have to provide jobs;' he said. Jibril threw his weight bellind the Sheikh Lemus panel of inquiry constituted by President Goodluck Jonathan to look into tile postelection crisis, saying government needs to know the root cause of the riot to prevent a fe-occurrence. He
maintained that the crisis was not religiOUS, but purely ethnic. "The two major religions we have in Nige ria preach peace. In fact, Islam in Arabic means peace. It is the same with Christians, they also preach peace. So, what is happening to our people? I don't think it is a question of religion, it is a question of tribalism coupled with the endemic poverty; he said. To address the problem ofunemployment, Jibril said banks and other financial institutions must be made to give loans to industrialists, especially those in the agriculture sectof.
"Over 90 per cent of our earnings are tal(en abroad because we don't produce; there is no production in this country. We are importingvirtuallyeverything, yet we have the people, the capacity, managerial skills and even the capital to produce.It is unfortunate to say that the total loan-able fund to agriculture is smaller than 7 per cent, it ought to be at least 20 per cent. Similarly, tile interest rate for the manufacturing sector must be under 10 per cent, so that more people can invest because virtually all the industries in this country have collapsed; he said.
Bauchi journalists mourn Abubakar From Aliyu M. Hamagam, Gombe THE Bauchi State Correspondents 'Chapel yes terday mourned the deatli of a staff of Media Trust, Mohammad Abubakar, who died at the weekend. The chairman' of tile C hapel, Mr. illya Habeela, who visited tile Gombe Chapel, said the late Abubabr was the secretary of the chapel before his transfer to Abuja. He said the news of th e death was received with shock and d eep sorrow, but with total submission to the will of Allah. Habeela said while the deceased was in Bauchi, he was humble and dedicated to the activities of the chapel. He prayed for God to grant Abubakar's family the fortitud e to bear the loss. Responding, the Gombe State chairman of NUJ. Alhaji Abubakar Abba commended the Bauchl Chapel for the visit.
Yari flags off sale of fertilizer in Zamfara From Sadee-q Aliyu, Gusau ZAMFARA State Governor Abdulazeez Yari h as flagged -off the sale o f fertilizer for this year's farmin~season. Yari said a bag would be sold at Nl,OOO and that the state government has procured 27,000 metric tons of fertilizer alongside improved seeds and agrochem icals to be distributed to farmers. He-warneapoliticians and other government officials,who would be involved in the sale and distribution of the commodity not to divert it. Yari assured the citizens ofhis government's readiness to apprellend and prosecute any per-
ONDO Stat; Governo~ OluseglUl Mimilco at 路 ti,e weekend, said Ius admin-
istration has earmarked 600million for the rehabilitation of public. schools across the 18 local government areas of the state. Mimil(o, who said this when he visited the 5t Peter's Unity School in Akure, said
the decision was to make public schools in the state conducive for learning.
Ekiti to establish climate change trust fund From Doyin Adebusuyi, Ado-Ekiti GOVERNOR Kayode Fayenu of Ekiti State, says phms are wlderway by the state govemment to establish a climate change trust fund as a proactive measure to tackle environmental challenges in tile state. At a ceremony to mark this years World Environmental Day in AdoEkiti, the governor said government would continue to take proactive measures to check flood and erosion tirrough reforestation and afforestation. While canvassing ti,e need to preserve trees in the state, he said forests could,mitigate the impact of climate change by releaSing oxygen. He said his administration would develop and implement policies that encourage sustainable use of forest wlille tree planting canlpaignS would go beyond annual ceremonies to become a way of life. Earlier in his address, the Commissioner for Housing and Environment, Mr. Wole Adewumi, warned the people of the state against bush burning and other activities that could have negative effects on th e environment Adewwni pointed out that preservation ofthe environment is relevant and key to the eight-point agenda of the Fayemi-Ied government He said tile government would continue to sensitize the people on the significance of tree planting. The commissioner also regretted the gradual loss of forest resources, owing to hmnan activities. 'I\s global deforestation continues at an alarming rate every year, it has been confirmed tilat l3 million hectares of forest are destroyed. People who depend on forests for tileir livelihood are the same struggling to survive as many precious species face extinction and biodiversity is being obliterated We should therefore desist from activities that make our entire planet vulnerable to the vicious attades of natural forces;' he said.
FEDERAL COllEGE OF EDUCATION, PANKSHIN
son found diverting the product. He also called on securityagendes in the state, induding inen of the Hisbah commission to monitor the distribution of the product "Let me stress here that no rumer, I repeat no farmer, should be .. _. - -. made to pay more than the stipulated price of I NI,OOO per bag. Any att"mpt-t~I"iklHr- -. .--..........- - R efe re n c e to the above subject matter, farmers during the sale of the product by offidais would not be taken lightly; he said. prospective Contractors -are- .. to- note-路 that; .- - The Permanent Secretary in ti,e Ministry of Agriculture, AJhaji Yallaya Labbo Shinkafi "Registration as a Contractor with the FCE said agriculture is one of the priorities of the Pankshin in the relevant category is not a present administratioll, and tllat the government would ensure that all genuine farmers statutory requirement for the pre-qualification get fertilizer at the subsidized rate.
RE : AOENDUM ON eTF' INTERVENTION 2009/10- PRE-QUALIFICATION AOVERT, . ...~
exercise please_
Dndo govt to spend N600m on rehabilitation of public schools From Adewale Giwa, Akure
Monday, June 6,2011
The gO\'ernor, who was conducted round the school by the state's Commissioner for Education, Dr Pius Osunyikanmi, eicpressed concerns over the decay of infrastructure in the school. He maintained tilat the ' wealtil of the country was not in her mineral resources. but in its hwnan capital, which could only be developed through quality education. "In this school alone, we are carrying out 57 projects
and by tile time we are through, tile school will be wearing a new look. As we are doing for you, we are also doing for otl,er schools in this state. We want our students to live in a 21st centuryenvironment. We came on board with dear policy directions and we recognized the need to provide incentives, that was why we did not hesitate to accede to our teachers demand for 27.5 per cent salary increment;' he said.
This information does not affect the date 'for the th bids opening which is Monday 20 June, 2011 at the College Board room at 12 noon. All concern are to note please.
Signed: !stifanus Kyakmut, Mnipr Public Relations Executive For: Secretary Tenders Board
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