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THURSDAY. DECEMBER 1. 2011
Briefly Rivers workers ' sb-ike
H
EALTH
workers
In Rivers Slate may soon caD off their strike following the inlerwnlion ollhe State House of Asst!mbly 0\IIef the disagtl!{'ment between the v.'Otken and government The Dt,:uf\.· Speaker. Mr. LeyTl Kwanee , on Wednesday, appealed to Ih{' health workers 10 caU of th{'lr sulk{'. promising that the slat{' legililature IIlould resolve issuE5 that led to their industrial action. The kealtt- worker$. who embatked on strike last Friday as a result of unpaid salaries and allowances, had VOY.'eCl lhal t1-ey would only return to work if their salaries welepaid. But Kwanee, said the I{'gislature decided mediate in :he !T\lItter In order to prevent patients from losing their lives the strike.
Jonathan urges Nigerians to eat cassava bread O IBlekan Adelayo, Abuja RESIDrnT GoodIuck Jonathan on Wednesday said for the country to achieve the desired development. Nigerians mUSl be ready to lMle their -exotic I<tste- that makes them prefer imported goods to the ones made
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Jonathan spoke when the Mmister of Agriculture, Dr. Akin.....-unmi Adesina. formally presented to him a loal of bread !T\lIde from CdSSaVa shortly before the commencement of the .....-eekIy Federal Execullve Council meeting al the State House, Abuja. The IxwxI was produced
by the lnternationallnslitute of Tropical Agriculture, lhadan. The President shared Ihe loaf of bread with VicePresident Namadl Sambo to the admiraOOn 01 council members He said unknoo.A.'I\ to many Nigerians. some of the imported goOOs were not as good as KJn1e goods produced In Ihe counll)' He said he had been eating the cassava bread since the millister brough t some.!Kmlpies to him about a I.\.'eek ago. Jonathan promised that he would continue to eat only the cassava bread unlil he rehnquishes pov.'0 as the presidenl 91 the counby.
He said, KI think it ili proper lor us In the Council to formally present this bread to Nigerians. I have been eating thili bread lor the past one I.\.'eek and I wiD cootinue to eat only this brud until I "'ave the Stale House "We must encourage I.\.·hat we have. Other counlries that b«arne great did not ~ke up one day and become great. - U you look at the history of a country like China, at a time they dosed their doors and restructured everything. and began to think again and by the lime they opened their dOOB, Ihe rest is known by an of~
"For us as a nation to move: forward. we mU51 also
tame our exotic taste. Some of these things we bring from outside are not even as good as what ....oe have within our
~""" The President rec.;aIled that the cassava bread pro;ect started during the adrmnlSUation of formeT" President OIusegun ObasanJO to el'lCO\JTage Nigerians 10 use cassaya as part of the Ingredients of producing bread and other items ~use of the high cost of wheat. He said at that time. the Federal Gowmment was pleading with Nigerians to use only 10 per «nf of cassava but today the nation IS proud 01 bread that ili 40 per cent
AIDS in Kaduna TI ADUNA State r~trick YakOllJa Wednesday said the AIDS rate in the slate has dropped significa ntly In the past three years. Yakoo.ta sa:d its RIote In the state had dropped from per cent in 21m to 5 .1 per cent as at the end of ~ year. The rEdudion 01 HIV/AIDS in the state, the govem(Jr said, was confirmed by the 2010 Sentinel Survey. He stated this at a news conleren« to ma rk this year's World AIDS Day by the slate AIDS ConlToI Agency. Quoting sIilUStics, Yakowa Slated that AIDS had killed about 2S million people between 1981 and 2007 gk>baUy while over 33 minion people were also estimated 10 be currentl~ living with the HIV virus wOlldwide.
NYSC instructor dies mUitary instructor. Lance Corporal Amaku Uwa. with Fo rce Number 02NMi2/3202. has been reported dl!ad in a hostel at lhe orifnt'l.tion camp of the National Youth Service CotpS In State.
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Tho 01 the . Mrs. Sekinatu IdolW. said the de«ased gave up the ghost in the early hours of Monday fdowu. I Who the Director-General the NYSC. Brig.-Gen Nnamdi Okcre-Afn.a, about his death iaid, - His body has imn:ediately been transferred to the Nigerian Army. 2 Oi.. ision. Odogbo Cantonemenl. lbadan for necessary bunal rites. ~ It was learnt thai l.Iwa slumped and died on his lI.'ay from the toilet In Ihe early hours of ~10nday after the camp fi -e exercise.
cassava and 60 per «nt wheat. He expressed his adminbtnr.tlOO·s re~ to pTOllide IntenlJve5 lor bakers who use cassava flour in order 10 encoutage them. He said the Coordinating Mimster of the Economy. Dr Ngozi Okonio-lweala. would meet with the Minister of Nalional Planning. Mr. Sl\alT\S\ld{'en Usman; Minister 01 Trade and Investment. Dr OIusegun Aganga: Chief EconomIC AdYlSer to the President, Prof. Nwarut! Okidigbe; and Adesina locome up with policies that would be adopted 10 encourage those who use cassava flour for thetr manufacturing processes and cerlain other activilies. Earlier, Ades!na while desaibrng Nigeria as the highest cassava producer rn the world. regretted that though the country produces J4 mUlion tormes of cassava. it accounts fo r zero per «nt in terms of value added. The mlnbter said the present adminIStration under the agriculture transformation strategy was working hard to create new markets for cassava grov.ting farmers
Govt, DFID collaborate to train ex-militants
Elebute. during tile public presenrorion oj Pila to: Sodiq Adelokun.
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Aspirant defies PDP's order, seeks legal redress Mike Odiegwu, Ye nagQa
THE """"" 1 the '"'n''' J\!oPes """ Democratic Piuly ahead
01 the !i!:bruary
2012 governorship election in Baye.lsa State hightened on Wednesday foOov.ling a suit rated at the Feder.IJ High Court Ahuja seeking the nullification of the controve:5iaJ party pnmaty held in the stale on November 19. Our correspondenl gathemi that the suit 1Nhich was rded by one of the aggrieved ~imnls. Mr. Christopher Enai has thro.m the party into fresh confUSIOn and disorganised its efforts to reconcile those protesting against the outcome of the primruy. It \\."lIS observed that Ihree of the angry aspirants that boycotted the election had written protest "'"ers against the election and threatened to sed< redl\'SS in court But the leadership of the party had warned agaU15I further protest diredJng its members to accept the outcome of the election and support the candidarure of Dickson. Enai. wno had insi5ted thai the party should folJa...., due pI"OCe5'5 in conduCtIng the order of the
IOf a redress In the court. Q.rrCOJreSpOndentgathered that other aspirants. Austin Febo a BoIoubor Orufa, were conskIering loeu-og the Une of Enai. lheasptranttn thesuitwhich listed PDp. Dickson and the Independent National Eledoral Commission as respondents asked the court to make an order declaring the election nuU and voKl. oontending that it was held agaInst (he prowion
01 the 20 10 Eledoral Att. He abo ~ the court to make an orOO re5lraining Dickson from parading himself as the candidate o f the PDP for the Febn.rary govemor..hip election. He prayed the court to restrain INEC from accepting, processing and recognising Dickson as the candidate of the party for the eJection. Enai n1ed the application on the grounds that as a member
01 the party. he completed and relumed aU f1ece!!&\ry fomts and paid all relevant fees qualifying him to participate in the election. He said, "No special \\."ard congress \\."lIS convened and held by the PDP In the whole of BayelsaState for the purpose of electing the ward delegates and no ward delegates were eleded for the purpose of participating in the said governorship primafy.-
FG plans compulsory health insurance Friday Olokor, Ab oja '""rHE ~ Government 1 ili collaborating with the National Assembly and other tiers of govemmenl to make the Nationlll Health Insurance Scheme rompulsoty for all citizens. To acrualise Ihis plan. the Minister of HeaUh. Prof. Onyebuchi Qruku.-u. said health financing ....~ top prionty dunng hIS tenure. The measure. ne 5bessed. 1.\."lIS to ensure the proYi!ion of quality health care services to the people. A statement on \Ved~ by "Ir Markus ManQai. for the Deputy Director 01 Press rn the Mimstry. Alhaji Yustrf lsiaka. said lhe Mlni5ter the
assur.mce in Abuja during a VISd by members of the Health and Managed Care Association ofNIQeria.
He saKi. KHeahh ftnandng is the right I.\.'ay to go and the Federal Go.-emrnent is working 1o.I.M1s making National Health Insurance Sdleme mandat~ The Federal Gouemment is
""""'" '" """"'" """""" andtheStateHousesof~bIy
10 aduaIise
Ihe dream.o.ukv.\I 5Iated further that
on December 17. governmmt would lIag~fI Community Health IrlSUlMICe Scheme in KogiStale. adding that the aim 01 the OilS was to ao::ommodate more people. especiaIl.y those in
moo. maintenance
Dfganlsalions In the country. the Minister advised ihem 10 be courteous in Iheir UIlerance5 and aIv.'aY5 play the game by
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Earlier, the leader of the
_.D<""'","...me!ij)Olu! on behalfof HMO\N, ecpLahed that the ~ 1MlS!he \U1'Ibn>Ia bodyd HMOs. qx>RIfCIS ci NH1S. He said his members
-"''''-the
~t
of
the
pnvaIe market with ~te
~tion!i 15 years ago. noIlng that many of them had challenges with controlling !herr medical budgets under the medical retainership system iwtllch was bedeviled with unforeseen expenses and sharp
I\. S pari of efforts 10 r\.consolidate its post. amne:!lty programme. the Federal Government has approved a collaboration with the United Kingdom Department fot In ternational Development In community re ·integration 01 Niger Della ex·militants on completion of Iheir offshore vocational traming Accoroing to a statemenl by the SpeCIal Adviser to the Pl-esident on NigeT Delta Matters. Mr Kingsley Kulru. 194 ex·militants would be trained In fbland . United Arab Emirates. Israel and Tnnidad lind Tobago as marine technicians. Cla ne operators. heavy equipmenl technicians. automotive services techmclans. Instrumentation and industrial maintenance specialists as well as pilots and cabin aew Speaking at the pre· departure orientalion ceremony in lagos on Wednesday, Kulru said Ihe collaboration between Nigeria and the UK body was part of the contributions of the international community to bring lasting peace and dlM!:lopment to Ihe N!gel Delta and the country. HI said, "'The programme b 10 emlble the Federal GOVi!rnmenl to facilitate communi ty healing caused by several years 01 neglect of Ihe 011· producing communities Proficiency opon completion of their respective COUf5eS will assist the region and the country to fiU vacuum in many IlreM 01 the economy.-