Tuesday

22.07.14

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY

TUESday

No. 2,226

N150

NIGERIA’S MOST INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPER

PIB: No Major Investments In Oil Sector In 5 Years

By Juliet Alohan, Abuja

There has been no major investment in Nigeria’s petroleum sector in the past five years due to uncertainties over the non-passage of the

Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by the National Assembly, former presidential adviser on petroleum matters Dr

Emmanuel Egbogah has said.

Egbogah made the disclosure yesterday at the Abuja Petroleum Roundtable (ARB).

He pointed out that the lawmakers are yet to embrace the opportunity the PIB will present.

Jonathan, Mark, Others Mourn Rilwanu Lukman > Page 4

Chibok Diary DAY 99

The PIB, which has been in the making for years now, has not been passed due to various interests. Despite assurances by the sixth National Assembly, ➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

100 Days Of Girls' Abduction: Security Operatives Mount Surveillance On BBOG Group > Page 2

Our country has gone through several rough patches, but never before have I seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as we are seeing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President deploy federal institutions in the service of partisanship as we are witnessing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President utilize the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, all in the name of politics. Our nation has suffered serious consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not even close to what we are seeing now. It is time to pull the brakes – Buhari

Jonathan Has Declared War On Nigeria - Buhari It’s a lie, don’t blame me for APC woes, President replies Buhari 6 Timeline of clashes May 16, 2012 ➔ Jonathan and Buhari clashed over election rigging April 4, 2013 ➔ Buhari and Jonathan in war of words over Boko Haram April 22, 2013 ➔ Both leaders expressed divergent views over corruption and insecurity January 5, 2014 ➔ The president and Buhari differed over alleged threat to life claim by the latter Buhari

ramadan timing Day 25

Jonathan

Abuja Magrib - 7.00 Alfijir - 5.02

Kano Magrib - 6.53 Alfijir - 4.56

Kaduna Magrib - 6.57 Alfijir - 5.01

Lagos Magrib - 7.12 Alfijir - 5.19

5

2

chibok diary 99

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

DAY

CHIBOK TWEETS @ogundamisi "Boko Haram restricted my movements within Nigeria. Why are U asking me to go Chibok? Will it #BringBackOurGirls? GEJ #BizzareNigerianQuotes @EiENigeria The #BringBackOurGirls campaign reminds us that ultimately, the power lies with citizens. #RSVP @seunfakze The Victim Mentality. No one is against you Mr President. We just want a country that works, a system that functions. #BringBackOurGirls @EiENigeria The government is afraid because it's day 98 & we are STILL saying #BringBackOurGirls! The more they try to silence us, the more we speak! @seunfakze We treat our own citizens like trash. Malala can get the royal treat for the same cause but not @ obyezeks. We're a joke #BringBackOurGirls @rescueourgirls 98 days and the girls are still missing. World Citizens need to step forward, take further action #bringbackourgirls @superwumine @BringGirlsBack day 98 & no word on the girls. Seems like this will eventually die a painful death just like every other issue in nig. @femi_owolade To be honest, I really don't know. The only thing I'm sure of is that underlying issues are not being dealt with at all.

UPCOMING EVENTS TODAY: Candlelight vigil in New York City, USA; Rally in London, UK TOMORROW: Rally in Saltlake City, Utah, USA; Vigil in Swansea, Wales COMPILED BY UGOCHUKWU IROKA

100 Days Of Girls Abduction: Security Operatives Mount Surveillance On BBOG Group

BY CHIKA MEFOR, EJIKE EJIKE, Abuja

Ahead of planned activities to mark the one hundred days since the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, security operatives have openly mounted surveillance at the daily sit-out sessions of the BringBackOurGirls Group at the Unity Fountain in Abuja.

The surveillance, which began after the impromptu protest at Aso Rock three weeks ago, has seen security men visit the venue of the sit-out sessions, in order to forestall any

surprises.

The security operatives have intensified their surveillance in recent times, as they are constantly seen opposite the sit-out venue, from where they observe the group without any form of interference and only disperse when the group has finished its daily deliberations.

It would be noted that former minister of education and one of the coordinators of the BringBackOurGirls campaign, Dr Oby Ezekwesili almost missed her flight to London yesterday, where she was scheduled to appear

on a BBC programme, Hard Talk.

According to her, the Department of State Security Services, which recently labelled the campaign group as a ‘franchise’, temporarily seized her passport during screening of passengers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. She was not let go and her passport was not returned to her until hours later.

The BBOG Group has been planning a massive programme to mark the one hundredth day of the Chibok girls abduction, in concert with other sympathisers around the world.

Abuja Church Calls For Rescue Of Abducted Schoolgirls

BY CHIKA MEFOR, EJIKE EJIKE, Abuja

As the captivity of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram sect enters day 99, the Realm of Glory International Church Gwarinpa centre in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has enjoined the entire country to pray for the successful rescue and release of the girls to their parents.

Speaking during a visit as part of celebrations of the church’s one year anniversary to Saint Theresa Orphanage in Gwarinpa, the wife of the pastor of the church, Dr Peace Igwe appealed to the insurgents to release the abducted Chibok girls, as they had committed no crime by seeking education. She also called on the government to do all within its power to rescue the girls.

She called on politicians, irrespective of their political affiliation, to seek the face of God first in all their undertakings and not to heat up the polity, in order to ensure the peaceful conduct of the 2015 general elections.

Also speaking at the occasion, the pas-

tor of the church, Mr Emeka Igwe said that Christians should continue to extend the hand of fellowship to the less privileged in the society, not-

ing that the choice of Saint Theresa Orphanage for their visit was necessitated by the fact that charity begins at home.

IDENTITY BREACHES ON THE RISE A DATA BREACH IS A SECURITY INCIDENT IN WHICH SENSITIVE, PROTECTED OR CONFIDENTIAL DATA IS COPIED, TRANSMITTED, VIEWED, STOLEN OR USED BY AN UNAUTHORIZED INDIVIDUAL

The total number of breaches in 2013 was

THE PRIMARY CAUSES OF BREACHES

62% greater than 2012.

Also larger than the

208 breaches in 2011

Members of the #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) Group unveiling the BBOG umbrella donated by a member of the group during their sit out meeting in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: OYEDELE

HACKED

Hacking continued to be one of the primary cause of data breaches

46% Lost or stolen computing device 42% Employee mistake or unintentional actions 42% Third party snafus 33% Criminal attack

31%Technical system’s glitch 14% Malicious insider 8% Intentional nonmalicious employee action INFOGRAPHICS BY Matthew Akhabue

3

our stand Tuesday, July 22, 2014

$1billion Loan In Election Year?

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan is seeking a foreign loan of $1 billion to help the federal government procure military equipment as part of efforts to counter the operations of the Boko Haram insurgency. This came to light in a letter the president wrote to the Senate in which he explained that the loan would enable the government to tackle, in a more decisive manner, the menace of the terrorist group.

The Senate could not take a decision on the request before it proceeded on a two-month vacation.

Before this request, Nigerians, including those not so versed in military matters, have observed some lapses on the part of the military that are making the war on terror look sluggish and which have also cast doubt on the ability of the military to execute its constitutional role of protecting the territorial integrity of the nation.

Actually, the governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, had at one time alleged that the terrorist group was better equipped and more positively motivated than the Nigerian soldiers.

Even some military top brass, privately, accede to this opinion. They believe that the

Nigerian military is not sufficiently mobile, a euphemism for being poorly equipped. Recently, it was reported that the entire Nigerian Army has a staff strength of approximately 100,000 officers and men in a country of over 170 million people. Since the end of the civil war, and even with the series of military administrations, the armed forces have experienced a downward spiral both in staffing and equipment. Worse, experts observe, the little armament in the nation’s armoury are dated and therefore not enough to stand the test of modern warfare. The presidential committee on Chibok girls said this much in its report.

What this means, in our view, is that the systemic rot has

Editor Sadiq Abdullateef Deputy Editors Kazeem Akintunde Editorial Board Safiya M. Adamu, Chairman Christian Ochiama, Deputy Chairman Standards Aniebo Nwamu, Director ’Lara Olugbemi, Assistant Director

been there over the years and waiting for a Boko Haram to expose it. It is also obvious that, as things stand now, the military is overdue for an overhaul in terms of equipment, recruitment, training, re-training, intelligence gathering and, above all, welfare of officers and men.

These, we insist, are needed to sufficiently raise the morale of the soldiers and make them fight the war with greater commitment and dedication.

If this $1 billion the president is asking for would address these issues in a transparent manner, then, we are for it. No amount is too much to execute and win the war on terror, considering the mayhem the insurgents have already inflicted on the nation’s psyche.

But we are worried that, with the level of corruption in government circles, this money may end up like the pension fund and the proceeds from oil sales that NNPC is yet to satisfactorily account for. Is the nation not about to finance another bazaar for the politicians? The general elections are months away; how sincere are the politicians this time round?

We urge the president to give the nation the necessary assurance that this money will be used for the desired purpose.

Founder Sam Nda-Isaiah Chairman Hajiya Ireti Kingibe Group Managing Director Azubuike Ishiekwene Group Executive Directors Michael Okpere Dr Kazeem Durodoye Company Secretary/ Legal Adviser Abdulhaleem Amin Divisional Directors Abdulmumin Balogun Ademola Oladosu Iyobosa Uwugiaren Salisu Alhassan Bichi General Managers Aminu Abubakar Sule Zipporah D. Tanko Joy Adekanye

Leadership Holdings

Managing Director Abraham Nda-Isaiah Executive Director Nnamdi Samuel New York Office Mohammed Bello Shehu London Office Dr Bello Salihu Johannesburg Office Abiodun Oguntuase Business Manager Bilkisu Mohammed Rimi

LEADERSHIP is a national paper symbolically embedded in the nation’s capital.

We shall stand up for good governance. We shall defend the interest of Nigerian people even against their rulers, and we shall raise our pen at all times in defence of what is right. These are the values by which we intend to be assessed.

We shall never, ever for any reason forget the noble reason of our coming into being: For God and country!

4 news extra

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Group News Editor: Tony Amokeodo Jonathan, Mark, Atiku, Nda-Isaiah Mourn Rilwanu Lukman Body arrives Nigeria tomorrow President Goodluck Jonathan and other eminent Nigerians have mourned the death of the former minister of petroleum resources and one-time secretary general of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Dr Rilwanu Lukman.

The late Lukman, who held several ministerial positions, including minister of mines, power and steel and foreign affairs and other non-ministerial positions, died yesterday morning a month to his 76th birthday after an undisclosed protracted illness in faraway Vienna, Austria.

A family relation, who simply identified himself as Adamu, confirmed his demise to our correspondent at his Kaduna residence, and disclosed that the remains of the deceased were scheduled to arrive in Kaduna today for burial at his Zaria hometown according to Islamic rites.

President Goodluck Jonathan noted yesterday that it was with sadness and a feeling of great national loss that he received news of the death of Rilwanu Lukman whom he said the country owed a huge debt of gratitude.

Jonathan spoke through a statement by his spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati.

Senate President David Mark described Lukman’s death as a huge loss to Nigeria. In a press statement issued by his chief press secretary, Paul Mumeh, Senator Mark noted that Lukman was one of few Africans who left positive footprints on the Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has described the late Lukman as the best oil minister Nigeria has ever had.

Atiku, in a statement by his media office in Abuja yesterday said, “I will describe Rilwanu Lukman as the best oil minister we ever had given his unmatched knowledge of the industry and the integrity with which he ran the ministry.

Lukman Was A Rare Gem – Nda-Isaiah Presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sam Nda-Isaiah has described late Rilwanu Lukman as a rare gem, having worked with five different Nigerian Presidents.

Nda-Isaiah, in a statement by the director, media and publicity, Sam4Nigeria Campaign Organisation, Macaulay Hunohashi, condoled with the family, the nation, and the people of Kaduna State over his death.

By George Agba, Juliet Alohan, Jonathan Nda-Isaiah, Abuja, Midat Joseph, Kaduna, Abu Nmodu, Minna, and Gbenga Adeboye, Abeokuta

L-R: Rear Admiral G. Okoi, Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Kenneth Minimah; Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin and Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Adesola Amosu, after the National Security Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO REMI AKUNLEYAN

Al-Makura Impeachment: Nasarawa State Assembly Faces Hurdles

By Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja, and Donatus Nadi, Lafia

The quest by members of Nasarawa State of Assembly to impeach Governor Tanko Al-Makura may not come as easy as that of Adamawa State Murtala Nyako as the judicial arm in the state is bent on being thorough to avoid being used for a hatchet job.

In what could be termed as obstacles against Al-Makura’s impeachment, the chief judge of the state, Justice Suleiman Dikko has reportedly ordered strict compliance with section 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) that defines the processes of impeachment before constituting the seven-man panel.

But apart from the notice of any allegation in writing which must be signed by no fewer than one-thirds of the members of the House of Assembly accusing

the holder of such office of gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office, “the holder of an office whose conduct is being investigated under this section shall have the right to defend himself in person or be represented before the panel by a legal practitioner of his own choice.”

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity told LEADERSHIP that the lawmakers may face a brick wall in the chief judge because of a petition the state Assembly wrote to the National Judicial Council (NJC) three months ago against him for allegedly entertaining petitions arising from the recent local government polls in the state.

“So the CJ is taking his time and trying to be careful so as not to be dragged before the NJC for violating the constitution,” the source disclosed.

He also alleged that though the Nasarawa State deputy governor, Daminshi Barau, was desperate to become governor and had promised to hand the lawmakers the first monthly allocation, the Assembly is divided on the impeachment plan.

Out of the 24 members of the assembly, 20 are members of the PDP while four are members of the APC.Ten out of the PDP members are said to be fully backing the removal of the governor, 10 are amenable in view of recent happenings while the remaining APC members are for the governor.

The source further noted that the impeachment pace was slowing down even as the lawmakers are shopping for anti-Al-Makura individuals to make up the seven-man panel that will investigate him.

“They are considering perma-

nent secretaries retired by AlMakura, ex-deputy governors”, the source added.

Meanwhile, some royal fathers have intervened in the matter, which indicates that more of the lawmakers may be persuaded to back out of the impeachment plot.

Disabled Persons Stage Protest In Nasarawa In a related development, persons living with disabilities in Nasarawa State yesterday converged on Lafia and staged a protest march against the plot by the Nasarawa State House of Assembly to impeach Al-Makura.

The protest which lasted several hours started as early as 7am around the emir of Lafia’s palace before proceeding to Shendam road government house to register their disapproval of the action taken by the lawmakers.

Ezekwesili Detained At Abuja Airport, Released It’s a routine check – SSS

By millie ibe and Patience Ivie Ihejirika, Abuja, with agency report

A former minister of education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, was yesterday morning briefly detained by security agents at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as she tried to travel to London for a scheduled engagement.

The operatives confiscated her travelling documents as well. She was, however, released after government came under intense pressure as news of her arrest flooded the social media and travelled around the world, with many Nigerians lambasting the administration for increasingly clamping down on critics and members of the opposition.

Mrs Ezekwesili had tweeted at 7:37am that she was heading to London to appear on the BBC Hardtalk programme but was prevented from boarding her flight by

security operatives.

“Is this a democracy? I am being detained by the SSS at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

The SSS has refused to give my passport to me,” she posted. “On my way to London this morning for my @BBCHARDtalk appearance billed for tomorrow and the SSS has detained me by withholding my passport.”

These tweets soon went viral within minutes with several Nigerians on social media lampooning the government and calling for the immediate release of the former minister.

At 8:03am, Ezekwesili tweeted that the operatives had released her passport.

“SSS has released it. Just barely made the BA (British Airways) flight. Last to board @ 7:55 for an 8am flight that is now taxiing.

Is this democracy?” she wrote.

“No one can seize my democratic rights. I refused to let the SSS get away with trampling on my con-

stitutional right.”

The former minister is one of the leaders of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign group, which has been consistently pressurising the Nigerian government to act more decisively in rescuing the over 250 schoolgirls abducted from their dormitory by the extremist Boko Haram sect over three months ago.

However, the Department of State Security (DSS), has denied that its officials arrested Ezekwesili at the Abuja Airport, saying that she was only subjected to security checks like any other person boarding the plane.

SSS spokesperson, Maryln Ogar, who stated this while responding to questions at the National Information Centre, explained that Ezekwesili, who was on her way to London as at the time of the briefing, went through the same protocol that every other person underwent at the airport She said: “Statutorily, the SSS

clears all passengers that travel outside this country or come into this country. Oby Ezekwesili went through the same protocol that every other person undergoes at the airport. But because she wanted popularity, she decided to create a scene. We don’t want to make her popular; she is very unpopular.

“Let people stop to aggregate to themselves unnecessary importance when we have serious security challenges in our hands.

Security issues must not be shortchanged for any reason.”

Also, the coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mike Omeri said the action was tantamount to ridiculing the country before the international community.

“Because you have access to social network, the next thing is to tweet that you have been detained by the DSS. I think this kind of thing is wrong; it is deadly. Why are we ridiculing our country?” he asked.

news 5

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Ebonyi Assembly Gets 1st Female Speaker Suspends former Speaker, 4 others

ramadan timing Day 25 Towns

Magrib

Alfijr

Abuja

7.00

5.02

Aba

6.56

5.03

Abakaliki

6.53

5.04

Abeokuta

7.10

5.21

Akure

7.03

5.13

Ankpa

6.57

5.07

Argungu

7.12

5.11

Auchi

7.02

5.11

Awka

7.03

5.06

Azare

6.50

4.49

Bama

6.39

4.35

Bauchi

6.51

4.54

Benin

7.05

5.12

Bichi

6.58

4.57

Bida

7.05

5.07

Birnin Gwari

7.04

5.05

B/Kebbi Gwandu

7.13

5.11

Biu

6.42

4.42

Calabar

6.50

5.02

Damaturu

6.42

4.41

Daura/Kazaure

7.01

4.42

Dutse

6.52

4.54

Enugu

6.54

5.04

Funtua/Malumfashi

7.02

5.00

Gembu

6.47

4.48

Gombe

6.45

4.46

Gusau

7.01

5.03

Gwadabawa

7.12

5.04

Hadejia

6.50

4.49

Ibadan

7.14

5.16

Ife

7.09

5.13

Ilesha Baruba

7.11

5.12

Ilorin

7.07

5.14

Boko Haram: FG Vows To Regain Damboa

Jalingo

6.42

4.46

Jere/Suleija

6.59

5.01

Jos

6.56

4.55

By Patience Ivie Ihejirika,

Kabba

7.04

5.07

Kafanchan

6.58

4.58

Keffi/Nasarawa

6.58

4.58

Kaiama

7.13

5.15

Kafin Maiyaki

6.58

4.55

Kaduna

6.57

5.01

Kano

6.53

4.56

Katsina

7.01

4.58

Kontagora

7.07

5.10

Lafia

6.53

4.58

Lagos

7.12

5.19

Lokoja

6.57

5.10

Maiduguri

6.35

4.39

Makurdi

6.54

4.57

Minna

7.01

5.08

Missau

6.47

4.48

Monguno

6.38

4.31

Mubi

6.37

4.38

Nguru

6.47

4.46

Ningi

6.51

4.53

Okene

7.07

5.08

Ogbomosho

7.12

5.16

Onitsha

7.00

5.11

Oyo

7.14

5.18

Port Harcourt

6.59

5.15

Potiskum

6.45

4.44

Saki

7.06

5.18

Shagamu

7.07

5.24

Sokoto

7.07

5.09

Umuahia

6.58

5.03

Warri

6.57

5.18

Wukari

5.45

4.58

Wurno

7.11

5.04

Yenagoa

6.39

4.41

Yola

6.36

4.41

Zaria

6.58

5.02

Cotonnou-Benin

7.16

5.21

Ndjamena-Chad

6.27

4.28

Niamey-Niger

7.22

5.20

Zinder – Niger

6.59

4.47

Younde-Cameroun

6.40

4.47

Garoua – Cameroun

6.34

4.40

By Obinna Ogbonnaya, Abakaliki

Ebonyi State Houes of Assemble yesterday elected first female Speaker, Rt Hon Helen Nwobashi, and suspended the former speaker, Hon Chukwuma Nwazunku and four others.

Others suspended include Hon Odefa Obasi Odefa, representing Onicha East, Hon Mabel Aleke, representing Ohaukwu North, Hon Chike Ogiji, representing Ikwo South and Hon Ogbonnaya Nwifuru, representing Izzi West.

The impeachment of the speaker took place in the early hours of yesterday.

According to the leadership of the House, their suspension followed alleged collaboration with the speaker to embezzle the House funds, intimidation and harassment of House members among others.

Meanwhile, there was a mild drama at the entrance of the House

Abuja

The federal government yesterday vowed to regain total control of Damboa village in Borno State, allegedly taken over by the Boko Haram sect.

The director of defence information, Brig-General Chris Olukolade, who stated this while responding to questions from journalists at the National Information Centre, said “we are not conceding any portion of the country to terrorist groups. We are going to reverse any form of security threat around the area.”

Olukolade, however, refused to confirm the report that insurgents had hoisted their flag in Damboa village, despite pressure from journalists at the con-

when the former speaker attempted entering the House and was stopped by security operatives while some of his boys who forcefully gained entrance were nearly beaten up by some youths who came in solidarity with the new speaker.

There would have been a breakdown of law and order at the House if not for the quick intervention of security operatives who barricaded the House when some youths attempted to vandalise public properties.

Security operatives numbering over 50, headed by the assistant commissioner of police in charge of Operations, who besieged the House after explanations by the new speaker, Nwobashi, Hon Eni Uduma Chima and the chief whip, Hon Ogbonnaya Ikoro, ordered everybody to vacate the House.

The new speaker was escorted by a team of policemen while the former speaker, Hon Nwazunku who stood at the gate informed journalists that he was still the speaker of the House.

ference, who insisted on the clarification.

He said, “I will not be stampeded to endorse what you read on social media. Nobody will be allowed to hoist any flag in any portion of land belonging to this country.”

There was a report over the weekend that Boko Haram terrorists had killed more than 100 people and hoisted their black and white flag over a town, about 85 kilometres from Maiduguri.

Last Saturday, survivors said the insurgents lobbed homemade bombs into homes and gunned down people trying to escape Friday’s attack on Damboa, which had been under siege for two weeks since Boko Haram dislodged soldiers from a military camp.

Confab: Retired Perm Secs Applauds Outcome

BY BODE GBADEBO, Abuja

Chairman of the about-to-beconcluded National Conference, Justice Idris Kutigi, has continued to receive solidarity messages over the success of the conference whose final report is expected in less than two weeks. Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries in a goodwill message yesterday said it had watched with keen interest the proceedings and recommendations of the conference and it is impressed by the deep sense of patriotism displayed by both the leadership and the delegates.

A statement by the conference assistant secretary, media and communications, James Akpadem, yesterday, said the group, which wrote a letter to Kutigi, acknowledging what it described as the wisdom of President Good-

luck Jonathan in convening the National Conference, said both the mature leadership of the conference and the patriotism exhibited by the delegates have in many ways resulted in smooth proceedings over emotive and difficult issues discussed in the last four months.

In the letter signed by the trio of national president, Chief Phillip Asiodu; the national secretary, Asiwaju Tunji Olutola; and the Abuja branch chairman, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, they noted that six of their members are delegates to the confab.

It applauded the selection of delegates to the conference stating that the composition of representation has revealed that senior citizens and professionals in various fields of public service were not left out.

(Source: Timing Committee, Islamic Research and Timing Organisation Kaduna)

Recommended DU’A for Day 25 Pray an 8 Raka’ah Salaat, In every Raka’ah recite Surah Al-Fatiha and recite Surah Al-Ikhlas 10 times each.

Then say: ALLAAHUMMAJ-A’LNEE FEEHI MUH’IBBAN LI-AWLIYAAA-IKA WA MU-A’ADIYAN LI-A’ADAAA-IKA MUSTANNAN BISUNNATI KHAATAMI AMBIYAAA-IKA YAA A’AS’IMA QULOOBIN NABIYYEE. Meaning: O Allah let me love and cherish Thy friends, in this month, hate and discard Thy enemies, and follow the way of life of the last of Thy Prophets, O He who kept the thoughts and feelings of the Prophets flawless.

Compiled by Al-Amin Ciroma

Ramadan Q and A

with Muhammad Usman musman@kindasa.com

Question: I was wondering what a woman can do on laylat al-qadr if she is menstruating at that time. Can she earn extra rewards for engaging herself in worship? if so, what is permissible for her to do so that night?

Hannatu Sabo Ibrahim, Abuja Answer: A woman who is menstruating may do all acts of worship apart from praying, fasting, circumambulating the Ka’bah and doing i’tikaaf in the mosque.

It was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to stay up at night during the last ten nights of Ramadaan. Al-Bukhaari (2401) and Muslim (1174) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “When the last ten nights of Ramadaan came, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would refrain from marital relations, stay up at night and wake his family up.”

Staying up at night is not only for prayer, rather it includes all kinds of acts of worship. This is how the scholars interpreted it.

Al-Haafiz said: “Staying up at night” means staying up to do acts of worship.

Al-Nawawi said: spending the night staying up to pray etc.

He said in ‘Awn al-Ma’bood: i.e., in prayer, dhikr and reciting the Qur’aan.

Praying qiyaam is the best act of worship that a person can do on Laylat al-Qadr. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever spends the night of Laylat al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1901; Muslim, 760).

Because the woman who is menstruating is not allowed to pray, she can spend the night in doing other acts of worship apart from prayer, such as: 1- Reading or reciting Qur’aan.

Pls refer to this link for more detail:http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/2564 2- Dhikr – such as saying Subhaan-Allaah, La ilaaha illa-Allaah, al-Hamdu Lillaah, etc. She can repeat the words “Subhaan-Allaah wa’l-hamdu Lillaah, wa laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, wa Allaahu akbar (Glory be to Allaah, praise be to Allaah, there is no god but Allaah and Allaah is Most Great)” and “Subhaan Allaah wa bi hamdihi, subhaan Allaah il-’Azeem (Glory and praise be to Allaah, glory be to Allaah the Almighty)” etc.

3- Istighfaar (praying for forgiveness), by repeating the phrase “Astaghfir-Allaah (I ask Allaah for forgiveness).”

4- Du’aa’ (supplication) – she can pray to Allaah and ask Him for what is good in this world and in the Hereafter, for du’aa’ is one of the best acts of worship. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Du’aa’ is ‘ibaadah (worship).” (Narrated by alTirmidhi, 2895; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2370).

The woman who is menstruating can do these acts of worship and others on Laylat al-Qadr.

We ask Allaah to help us to do that which He loves and which pleases Him. May Allaah accept our righteous deeds.

Allah knows best.

6 NEWS

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

LIVING LIVING TOTO BE BE 100100

One health tip daily Greener Grass May Not Be Better

Weed killers contain chemicals that are toxic to our nervous systems and have even been confirmed to cause cancer. If you want to live a long life, stop using chemical herbicides and artificial fertilizers on your lawns. Instead, fertilize with organic compost or manure, pull weeds regularly,

and reseed areas that are overgrown. Do not cut the grass too short, as this will expose the root system and leave the grass vulnerable to disease. Also avoid lingering on the golf course too long, especially under a hot sun: extreme heat can strengthen herbicides’ noxious effects.

PIB: No Major Investments In Oil Sector In 5 Years FROM COVER

the bill was not passed and has now been inherited by the seventh National Assembly whose session is gradually drawing to an end with yet no sign of the bill’s passage.

He pointed out that any keen observer of the industry would have noticed that industry rounds and investments have been put on hold for about five to six years now pending the passage of the new bill to regulate the oil and gas industry.

The PIB seeks to holistically restructure and reform Nigeria’s oil and gas industry with a key objective to establish a progressive fiscal framework which will encourage investments in the petroleum industry while at the same time maximizing revenues for the government.

Egbogah added that the bill is aimed at energizing investments in the industry.

In the upstream, the funding issues faced by the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) needed to be addressed as well, he said.

“The government also wishes to reverse the fiscal terms across the industry especially during a time of rising oil prices in order to increase its tax revenues. At the downstream sector, there is total disarray with a failed refining industry which is heavily subsidized,” he stated.

While admitting that the chances of the PIB being passed by the National Assembly are diminishing by the day, he however expressed optimism that the current

legislature would live up to its responsibilities.

He said the passage of the bill into law will serve as a breath of fresh investment air into the industry for the revival of the nation’s economy and serve as possible key to unlocking the major opportunities in the energy sector.

In his presentation, the executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Ernest Nwapa, stated that the delay in the passage of the PIB may turn out to be an advantage as it affords the country enough time to prepare for the implementation of the bill.

He expressed optimism that though the bill is taking long to be passed into law, it would eventually be passed like the local content law.

Speaking recently during the 13th Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG13) conference and exhibition in Abuja, chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria Mutiu Sunmonu said that the oil giant was withholding planned investments in two offshore deep water projects in Nigeria due to PIB uncertainties.

Sunmonu who, however, did not mention the planned projects, said SPDC will rather wait for stable and right conditions which will be occasioned by the PIB passage, before it will commit finances to the projects.

He said it was regrettable that Nigeria was losing huge investments due to oil theft and bunkering because of the uncertainties and delay in the passage of the PIB.

Jonathan Has Declared War On Nigeria – Buhari

by Gorge Agba, Bayo Oladeji, Abuja, Midat Joseph, Kaduna and George Okolie, Lagos

A leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has raised the alarm over what he described as the deployment of federal might and the country’s resources by President Goodluck Jonathan in his bid to fuel partisanship, subvert the system and punish the opposition.

The impeachment of governors of opposition states, just to decapitate the opposition, he said, does not augur well for the survival of a fragile nation like Nigeria or the survival of its tenderfoot democracy. It is indicative of the fact that the president has declared war on his own country, Buhari noted.

But in a swift reaction, Jonathan told Buhari that his statement was a descent from the elder statesman he had once commended him to, saying that rather than blame him for the woes his party, the APC had inflicted on itself, Buhari and his party should work harder in putting their house in order and resolve the leadership crisis therein.

Jonathan said, “It is most unfortunate that instead of working to put their house in order and resolve the leadership crises and internal contradictions that have plunged their party into a downward spiral, General Buhari and his opposition allies have resorted to blaming a blameless President for their woes”.

In a statement he personally issued in Kaduna, the former head of state decried the recent induced impeachment or threats of opposition governors, accusing the president of subverting the Constitution of the Federal Republic in desperation. To impeach a state governor or deploy the institutions of state, some of which are symbols of the country’s unity, just to kick an out-of-favour state governor in the stomach, he added, can only breed anarchy and lead the nation down the slippery slope to chaos. He urged Jonathan to pull the brakes on his administration’s runaway train of impunity in the interest of Nigeria’s survival and the sustenance of the nation’s democracy.

He said: “Our country has gone through several rough patches, but never before have I seen a Nigerian president declare war on his own country as we are seeing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian president deploy federal institutions in the service of partisanship as we are witnessing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian president utilize the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, all in the name of politics.

Jonathan

“Our nation has suffered serious consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not even close to what we are seeing now.

It is time to pull the brakes.”

Buhari advised President Jonathan to tarry a while, and ponder the impact of recent events in the polity, under his watch, on the survival of the nation and the sustenance of its democracy.

The former head of state, who noted that he was speaking in his capacity as an elder statesman, noted that there was the possibility that his statement would be misrepresented as that of a politician rather than a statesman, adding however that, notwithstanding, he owed it as matter of duty and honour and in the interest of the country to bare his mind on dangerous political trends in the country.

Buhari alleged that developments in the polity, such as the festival of impeachment, was an unwelcome distraction for the nation’s ongoing survival battle against the Boko Haram sect, which has put Nigeria on tenterhooks, with innocent citizens being daily mowed down at the times and places of the group’s choosing, and nearly 300 schoolgirls spending their fourth month in precarious captivity.

He said: “Whether or not President Goodluck Jonathan is behind the gale of impeachment or the utilization of desperate tactics to suffocate the opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state, what cannot be denied is that they are happening under his watch, and he cannot pretend not to know, since that will be akin to hiding behind one finger.

“In my capacity as former head of state, rather than a politician, I have spoken to President Jonathan in private over these issues, but indications are that the strategy has not yielded positive fruits. I cannot, just because I am an opposition politician, fail to do what is expected of me as a former head of state to help rescue our nation in times of great trouble and palpable uncertainty.

“History will not be kind to me if I sit back while things turn bad, just so that no one ➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Buhari

NEWS 7

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Jonathan Has Declared War On Nigeria – Buhari FROM PAGE 6

will accuse me of partisanship.

Yes, I am a politician. Yes, I am in the opposition. Yes, there is the tendency for my statement to be misconstrued as that of a politician rather than a statesman.

But I owe it as matter of duty and honour, and in the interest of our nation, to speak out on the dangerous trajectory that our nation is heading.

“I can say, in all sincerity, that I have seen it all, as an ordinary citizen, a military officer, a state governor, a minister, a head of state, a man who has occupied many other sensitive posts and a politician. I have been a close participant and witness to Nigeria’s political history since independence in 1960.”

The APC leader, who further reminded President Jonathan that no democracy can thrive or survive without a virile opposition, noted that it would amount to a man cutting his nose to spite his face for anyone to embark on a journey to decapitate the opposition, as the current central government is doing.

Pointing out that a man of power must realize that he cannot always do things just because he could do them, Buhari said: “The dangerous clouds are beginning to gather and the vultures are circling, and these have manifested in Nasarawa where the ordinary people have defied guns and tanks to protest the plan to impeach Gov. Umaru Tanko AIMakura in a repeat of the bitter medicine forced down the throat of Gov. Murtala Nyako.

“The people’s protest in Nasarawa is a sign of what to

come if the federal authorities continue to target opposition state governors for impeachment.

In the long run, the impeachment weapon will be blunted. Positions will become more hardened on both sides and Nigeria and Nigerians will become the victims of arrested governance and possible anarchy.”

Recalling his role in the fight to keep Nigeria as one, Buharis said: “I, along with many other patriotic Nigerians, fought for the unity and survival of this country.

Hundreds of patriotic souls perished in the battle to keep Nigeria one. The blood of many of our compatriots helped to ensure the birth of the democracy we are practising today.

“Let no one, whether the leader or the led, the high or the low, a member of the ruling or the opposition, do anything to torpedo the system. Let no one, whether on the altar of personal ambition or pretension to higher patriotic tendencies, do anything that can detonate the keg of gunpowder on which the nation is sitting.

“It is time for all concerned to spare a thought for the ordinary citizens who have yet to see their hopes, dreams and aspirations come to reality, within the general Don’t blame me for your party’s self-inflicted woes – Jonathan But hitting back at Buhari, President Jonathan last night described as most unfortunate Buhari and his allies’ decision to resort to the blame game against him instead of working hard to put their house in order.

Speaking through his special

adviser on media and publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, the president said he received Buhari “wild and totally unsustainable allegations” against him with surprise and regret.

He, however, maintained that he remained “fully committed to upholding the letters, principles and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution as he has sworn, and defending the rule of law and integrity of the democratic process with all his might.

“It may well be time to pull the brakes, as General Buhari says in his statement, but it is he and others who have resorted to idle scapegoating and blaming President Jonathan for their selfinflected political troubles who need to stop their inexcusable partisanship and show greater regard for the truth, democracy, constitutionalism, the rule of law, peace, security and the well-being of the nation”, Abati added.

Noting that Buhari was no more the elder statesman he once commended him to be, Jonathan said, “Although he tries very hard to deny it in the statement entitled ‘Pull Nigeria Back From the Brink’, there can be no doubt that General Buhari has sadly moved away from the patriotic and statesmanlike position he recently adopted on national security, which President Jonathan publicly commended, and has now reverted to unbridled political partisanship.

“We, therefore, urge General Buhari to tarry a while, ponder over his own antecedents and do a reality check as to whether he has the moral right to be so carelessly sanctimonious.”

In a statement he issued last

night, Abati said, “There can be no other explanation or justification for the completely unwarranted and very uncharitable assault on the conduct and integrity of President Jonathan which the statement he issued represents.

“General Buhari’s main grouse, which clearly motivated his illconsidered statement, appears to be what he called ‘the gale of impeachments or the utilisation of desperate tactics to suffocate the opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state’.

“The processes for impeaching an elected governor are clearly stipulated in the nation’s Constitution which Nigeria has operated since 1999. The president of Nigeria is not assigned any role in that process and President Jonathan has certainly not played any role in the recent impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa or in the impeachment drama currently being played out in Nasarawa State”.

On the issue of plunging the country into a state of anarchy, Abati said, “General Buhari talks about anarchy; he needs to be reminded that President Jonathan, from his humble beginnings as a deputy governor in Bayelsa State to date, has never in his acts, or utterances, recommended or promoted violence as a tool of political negotiation.

According to him, contrary to whatever General Buhari and his supporters may imagine, President Jonathan fully respects the rights, powers, authority and independence of elected representatives of the

people, including the members of the state assemblies who have concluded or initiated impeachment proceedings against their state governors on grounds which they consider justifiable.

Defending the president on the impeachment saga, the presidential spokesman said, “The constitution does not give the President any power to intervene in such proceedings and President Jonathan has never arrogated such powers to himself or sought to exert any nefarious and unconstitutional influence on state assemblies in Adamawa, Nasarawa or anywhere else in other to secure undue political advantage for his party as General Buhari unjustifiably alleges.

“President Jonathan remains true to his declaration that no political ambition of his is worth the life of a single Nigerian. The president has definitely not declared war on his own country or deployed federal institutions in the service of partisan interests as General Buhari falsely claims.

Neither has he been using the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, as the former head of state inexcusably asserts.

“Also, President Jonathan has never at any time ordered that any Nigerian should be kidnapped, or that anyone should be crated and forcefully transported in violation of decent norms of governance,” he said, in a veiled reference to the attempted, but unsuccessful abduction of the late Umaru Dikko from Britain to face corruption charges in Nigeria during the Buhari-Idiagbon military regime.

Adamawa Acting Gov Meets Jonathan, Insists Nyako Looted The State

By George Agba, Abuja, Mohammed Ismail, Yola

Adamawa State acting governor Ahmadu Fintri yesterday insisted the former governor had to be impeached because he stole a lot of money belonging to the state.

The former speaker, who was at the presidential villa, Abuja, where he met with President Goodluck Jonathan in his capacity as the state chief executive, noted that Adamawa was fine as calm had returned to the state.

“We are into confidence building, having removed Nyako and the destruction of infrastructure and moral of our people. We have gone into building of confidence. We are trying to pay our salaries – salaries of workers – because, for months, he has not paid their salaries. That is what we are doing now,” Fintri stated.

Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting with the president, Fintri said

he came to see the president who is the leader of the country to brief him on the situation in Adamawa in his capacity as the acting governor.

On allegation that the president is trying to muscle the opposition by way of impeachment, he said, “Nyako is not an opposition man. He only stole the mandate of the PDP into the APC. How did the president get involved in this local issue in Adamawa? The man has stolen our money. That is the bottom line of it.”

Reminded that he was recently quoted to have said that he had returned PDP’s stolen mandate and whether it was the reason Nyako was removed, Fintri said, “You saw the allegations and they have been proven by the panel; so that cannot be the reason why we removed the man.

There were even so many other issues that we could not bring as part of the allegations that informed his removal.

“But definitely as a PDP man that has taken over as acting

governor in Adamawa State, I have to say that I brought back to my party the stolen mandate by the former governor.”

On the allegation that members of the Adamawa House of Assembly collected money to remove the governor, the acting governor said, “Who gave the money? There must be an evidence of the person who gave the money. In this country, people are used to whatever situation that happened, it is about money. Who gave the money?”

Nyako’s refusal to give lawmakers N1bn led to his impeachment – Adamawa APC chair Adamawa State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Hon. Binta Masi Garba has disclosed that the failure of Governor Murtala Nyako to give Adamawa lawmakers about N1.25bn constituency project funds was one of the reasons behind the governor’s impeachment.

Garba, who made the disclosure at a press briefing at the state party secretariat, said the lawmakers had confronted the governor with a request for N50m each for constituency projects which he refused to oblige as a result of which the lawmakers felt offended and succumbed to the impeachment move planned by the PDP. She added that, in the wake of the demand, the former governor had agreed to pay the lawmakers the sum of N5OOm for the constituency projects and even gave them the sum of N350m, but, despite that, they were not pacified as they went ahead to connive with the PDP to get the governor impeached.

Garba has similarly berated the PDP for the orchestration of Nyako’s impeachment, saying that the move was a ploy to coerce the opposition into joining the party.

She said the party could not tolerate the naked use of power by the PDP by engaging in threats or impeachment of the

Nyako

opposition governors, saying that, as a party which respects the rule of law, APC will use democratic means in recapturing its mandate stolen by the PDP, adding that it has since filed a suit to challenge the PDP. She said the visit of the acting governor to the PDP secretariat to intimate them that he has captured Adamawa for them is all that is needed to understand that the PDP was behind the sordid impeachment saga which was conducted with the highest form of impunity.

8 News north-central

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Niger APC Calls For Removal Of Niger REC Allegations are untrue - REC

By Abu Nmodu,, Minna

The All Progressive Congress, (APC) Niger State Chapter, has tackled the Independent Natioanl Electoral Commission (INEC) and threatened to boycott Niger East Senatorial District Election if the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Emmanuel Onucheyo, is not deployed from the state.

The party has alleged, in a statement yesterday by the party Publicity Secretary, Jonathan Vasta, that the REC had been compromised but in a swift reaction the REC debunked the claim, saying it was untrue.

The party has alleged that the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) under the REC has received money for training from government which did not take place or involve the opposition, an indication that the REC cannot be trusted.

“One example of such practices by the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in the state was the recent approval of

short news Jonathan Using Unlawful Means To Pursue Re-election Kasum

A social critic and president, Afonja Descendants Union, Ilorin, Alhaji Olola Kasum has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of employing unlawful means to pursue his re-election bid.

He said in a statement in Ilorin that although Jonathan has every constitutional right to seek a second term, “his only fault is that he is fighting for his right against the rule of law and due political process.”

Kasum further accused Jonathan of “bastardising all constitutional structures and democratic processes to achieve his legitimate right”.

By Abdullahi Olesin, Ilorin

N44,375,850 which the governor graciously granted INEC in the state in the name of organizing what it called “National Inter-Agency Advisory Committee on Voter-Education and Publicity (NICVEP).”

“APC, therefore, calls on the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega to immediately redeploy him from the state before the forthcoming Niger East Senatorial elections as the only way to guarantee free and fair elections in the state”, the statement declared.

The statement said, “APC will be forced to boycott all elections in the state if INEC headquarters refuse to act and redeploy the REC in the state before the next election in the state”.

In a swift response, the REC stated that he neither collected money from the INEC Headquarters, Abuja, nor the state government for NICVEP”, saying that it was untrue.

He explained that the committee as constituted was based on a letter from the headquarters in Abuja and has nothing to do with the state, maintaining that he has not compromised as alleged.

Sulu-Gambari Charges Nigerians In Diaspora To Be Patriotic The Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, has urged Nigerians in diaspora to always demonstrate high sense of patriotism that can further portray the image of Nigeria as a peaceful and harmonious nation.

Sulu-Gambari stated this in Casablanca, Morocco while meeting with Nigerians in that country at the end of the World Islamic Conference.

The monarch charged them to always remember Nigeria in prayers to enable her overcome her challenges.

He noted that the insecurity challenge facing the nation is a global phenomenon which calls for sober reflection most importantly in the glorious month of Ramadan, so as to erect a formidable, strong and reliable structure that we can all seek refuge in.

“Please, endeavour to relate with yourselves with the best character in order to debunk the rumour that our country is a no-go area for visitors. Attract people with good character; be steadfast; be good ambassadors and promote the image of Nigeria in all ramifications,” the monarch urged them.

By Abdullahi Olesin, Ilorin

short news Jos North LG Workers Protest Non- payment of Salaries Jos North local government council workers in Plateau State, yesterday morning staged a peaceful demonstration outside the council secretariat against non-payment of their two months outstanding salaries and other entitlements.

LEADERSHIP observed that the demonstrating workers had earlier blocked the entrance of the council secretariat, in an attempt to prevent the interim chairman and other senior staff of the council from gaining entry into the secretariat.

A council worker who spoke on condition of anonymity said they were saddened by the situation in which they were denied their two months salaries and other benefits.

By Achor Abimaje, Jos

Managing Director, Flow Grids Nigeria Limited, Mr Alek Musa, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board, Mr Ernest Nwapa and Managing Director, Energia Limited, Mr Felix Amieyeofori, at the 2014 Abuja Petroleum Roundtable (APR) in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY PHOTO BY NAN

FG To Compensate Zungeru Hydroelectric Dam Host Communities

By Abu Nmodu, Minna

The federal government has reiterated that it will not compromise the payment of compensation to all affected persons in all the communities affected by the construction of 700MW Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Point as some funds have already been released for the purpose.

The chairman of the Federal Government Community Relations Committee on the Power Project, Alhaji Isah Jibril, gave the assurance at a meeting with the host communities led by Gambo Yusuf over the weekend in the area.

The declaration was coming on the heels of the protests by some communities last week.

He said the meeting was aimed at examining a common challenge with a view to finding realistic and lasting solution to the challenges faced in the process of executing the project.

The minister of power was represented by a director in the ministry, Engr. E. O. Ajayi at the meeting, where Jibril urged the project’s host communities to avoid hostility and disruptive activities.

He assured that the compensations will soon be paid, adding that funds for compensating

some of the communities have already been deposited in the banks for onward payment since all parties have come to a better understanding to work harmoniously for the success of the power project.

Ajayi on his part appealed for the understanding of all stakeholders, and assured that the decisions of the committee would be acted upon by the federal government.

The chief representative of the communities, Comrade Gambo Yusuf, also assured the committee, the federal and state governments that they will remain lawabiding and worthy development partners.

I’ll Pursue Immediate Take-off Of HYPADEC – Zagbayi

By Abu Nmodu, Minna

Former deputy governor of Niger State and Niger East Senatorial aspirant in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Shem Nuhu Zagbayi has assured that he will ensure the take-off of the HydroElectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPADEC) if he becomes a senator.

Zagbayi who visited the Emir-

ates in Niger East over the weekend said he was ready to fill the vacant position following the death of Senator Dahiru Aweisu and promised to complete all the federal constituency projects started by the late senator.

He said, “I know the problem of my constituency is one HYPADEC Bill which has been passed; I promise to get it into effect. The challenges that we are facing are

because of our proximity to Abuja, especially Suleja Emirate where there is so much pressure on our structure while the federal government is not paying attention to these challenges; our closeness to Abuja is posing a lot of problems to our people. As for continuity of constituency projects that are under implementation, I will ensure that these projects are completed.”

PDP Reaffirms Support For Gov Aliyu

By Abu Nmodu, Minna

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Mokwa local government area of Niger State have reaffirmed their support for the policies and programmes of Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu in the state.

A communiqué issued at the end of the party’s stakeholders’ meeting in the local government held at Mokwa over the weekend and read by the speaker of the State House of Assembly, Barrister Adamu Usman, also lauded the federal government for the reconstruction of Bida-Kutigi-Mokwa road.

The PDP noted that when the

roads were completed, the living standard of the people would be upgraded in addition to boosting socio-economic activities of the area and curbing accidents.

The stakeholders emphasised the need for members of the PDP in the area to be united and always speak with one voice for rapid transformation of the area, while expressing their support to the state government’s effort to establish a Shea butter factory in the area.

Also speaking, secretary to the state government, Alhaji Saidu Ndako Idris Kpaki, informed the stakeholders of the commitment of the government to provide fertiliser and improved seeds at sub-

sidised rates, ensure the success of the forthcoming census and distribution of permanent voter cards as well as issuance of National Identification (ID) Card.

Alhaji Saidu Idris Kpaki said the present administration appreciates Mokwa local government’s support hence the deliberate effort to complete all ongoing projects in the area.

Shortly after the meeting, the speaker of the House of Assembly, Barrister Adamu Usman hosted the people of the LGA to the breaking of Ramadan Fast otherwise known as IFTAR, during which he said the event was to further strengthen the relationship between the diverse groups in the area.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

FOR THE RECORD 9

Don’t Suffocate The Opposition, Buhari Tells Jonathan

BY GEN MUHAMMADU BUHARI

Former Nigerian Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to pull the brakes on his Administration’s runaway train of impunity in the interest of Nigeria’s survival and the sustenance of the nation’s democracy.

In a statement issued in Kaduna on Sunday, Gen. Buhari said the recent induced impeachment or threats of impeachment of Governors of opposition states, just to decapitate the opposition, does not augur well for the survival of a fragile nation like Nigeria or the survival of its tenderfoot democracy.

He said the developments in the polity have become an unwelcome distraction for the nation’s ongoing survival battle against the terror group Boko Haram, which has put Nigeria on tenterhooks, with innocent citizens being daily mowed down at the times and places of the group’s chosen and nearly 300 school girls spending their fourth month in precarious captivity “Whether or not President Goodluck Jonathan is behind the gale of impeachment or the utilization of desperate tactics to suffocate the opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state, what cannot be denied is that they are happening under his watch, and he cannot pretend not to know, since that will be akin to hiding behind one finger.

“In my capacity as former Head of state, rather than a politician, I have spoken to President Jonathan in private over these issues, but indications are that the strategy has not yielded positive fruits. I cannot, just because I am an opposition politician, fail to do what is expected of me as a former Head of state to help rescue our nation in times of great trouble and palpable uncertainty.

“History will not be kind to me if I sit back while things turn bad, just so that no one will accuse me of partisanship. Yes, I am a politician. Yes, I am in the opposition. Yes, there is the tendency for my statement to be misconstrued as that of a politician rather than a statesman. But I owe it as matter of duty and honour, and in the interest of our nation, to speak out on the dangerous trajectory that our nation is heading.

“I can say, in all sincerity, that I have seen it all, as an ordinary citizen, a military officer, a state Governor, a Minister, a Head of state, a man who has occupied many other sensitive posts and a politician. I have been a close participant and witness to Nigeria’s political history since independence in 1960.

“Our country has gone through several rough patches, but never before have I seen

The dangerous clouds are beginning to gather and the vultures are circling, and these have manifested in Nasarawa where the ordinary people have defied guns and tanks to protest the plan to impeach Gov. Umaru Tanko AI-Makura in a repeat of the bitter medicine forced down the throat of Gov. Murtala Nyako

a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as we are seeing now.

Never before have I seen a Nigerian President deploy federal institutions in the service of partisanship as we are witnessing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President utilize the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, an in the name of politics. Our nation has suffered serious consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not even close to what we are seeing now.

It is time to pull the brakes,” Gen. Buhari warned.

He advised President Jonathan to tarry a while, and ponder the impact of recent events in the polity, under his watch, on the survival of the nation and the sustenance of its democracy.

The former Head of State said subverting the Constitution of the Federal Republic in the desperation to impeach a state Governor or deploying the institutions of state, some of which are symbols of the country’s unity, just to kick an out-of- favour state Governor in the stomach can only breed anarchy and lead the! nation down the slippery slope to chaos.

“The dangerous clouds are beginning to gather and the vultures are circling, and these have manifested in Nasarawa where the ordinary people have defied guns and tanks to protest the plan to impeach Gov. Umaru Tanko AI-Makura in a repeat of the bitter medicine forced down the throat of Gov. Murtala Nyako.

“The people’s protest in Nasarawa is a sign of what to come if the federal authorities continue to target opposition state Governors for impeachment.

In the long run, the Buhari impeachment weapon will be blunted.

Positions will become more hardened on both sides and Nigeria and Nigerians will become the victims of arrested governance and possible anarchy,” he said.

Gen. Buhari said President Jonathan should also remember that no democracy can thrive or survive without a virile opposition, hence it will amount to a man cutting his nose to spite his face for anyone to embark on a journey to decapitate the opposition, as the current central government is doing.

He said a man of power must realize that

he cannot always do things just because he could do them.

“I, along with many other patriotic Nigerians, fought for the unity and survival of this country. Hundreds of patriotic souls perished in the battle to keep Nigeria one.

The blood of many of our compatriots helped to ensure the birth of the democracy we are practising today.

“Let no one, whether the leader or the led, the high or the low, a member of the ruling or the opposition do anything to torpedo the

system. Let no one, whether on the altar of personal ambition or pretension to higher patriotic tendencies, do anything that can detonate the keg of gunpowder on which the nation is sitting. It is time for all concerned to spare a thought for the ordinary citizens who have yet to see their hopes, dreams and aspirations come to reality, within the general context of nationhood,” he said.

Gen. Buhari, a former Head of State, wrote in from Kaduna

10

stories of the Tuesday, July 22, 2014

...NEWS WITH A HUMAN FACE

CRIME: Police Arrest 2 With Guns in Delta Community

By Kola Eke-Ogiugo, Asaba

Nemesis has caught up with two suspected armed robbers, who were on their way for operation in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.

Men of the state police command swooped on their tricycle when they were about to unleash terror on some unsuspecting victims along the popular DSC Round-about in the locality.

The command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Celestina Kalu, who spoke on the development at the command headquarters in Asaba, said four occupants made frantic efforts to escape arrest before luck ran against two of them.

She said at DSC Roundabout Effurun, Patrol men from Ekpan Division stopped the tricycle with four occupants for search and immediately the tricycle with registration number BEN 860 QE stopped, two of the occupants took to their heels while the remaining two were arrested.

The PPRO listed the items recovered from the tricycle to include, “one locally made cut to size double barrel gun, one locally made cut-to-size single barrel gun and three live cartridges”.

She said the suspects are assisting the police with further investigation, “even as efforts are on top gear to track down their fleeing cohorts”.

ACCIDENT: 4 killed, 10 Injured As Truck Runs Into Market

By MATTHEW DIKE and Geaorge Okojie, Asaba

No fewer than four people were killed and more than 10 injured in Odo- Eran in Igando area of Lagos State, yesterday, when a truck rammed into a market.

The incident, which occurred along LASU / Igando Road made people to weep.

An eyewitness, Mohammed, said the truck’s brake failed just as the driver was about to negotiate at a sharp bend.

Mohammed said in an attempt to avoid ramming into the tricycles parked by the sharp corner of the road, the driver had to drive into the market, killing four persons.

About 10 people were injured but four died instantly. A woman simply identify as Mama Ronke, said more than 11 persons were killed while some said 10 people were killed.

The accident, which occurred at about 10am, made people to weep. The truck driver was said to have attempted to run away, but people around chased him and apprehended him.

The angry people around were said to have inflicted machete wounds on him.

Another eyewitness, Idowu, said; “The truck driver would have been killed, but for the timely intervention of the officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).”

A survivor, Mr O. Oluwaloseyi, said: “ So many people would have died but a woman selling pepper just left her ware to go and urinate, when the truck ran through her ware and stopped.”

A trailer loaded with malt drink beverages crashed along Katampe Expressway, Abuja, yesterday.

Photo by OYEDELE OMOKAGBO.

Show of shame: Mother, Daughter Fight Over Boyfriend In Delta

BY Kola Eke-Ogiugo, Asaba

A 42-year- old housewife in Asaba, Delta State, simply identified as Monica (surname withheld) on Sunday threw caution to the wind when she engaged her 17 year-old daughter in a fight for allegedly snatching her boyfriend.

Eyewitness said that a scene was created around St. Brigid’s Girls College, Asaba, Sunday afternoon after both of them exchanged blows.

As both of them engaged themselves in a fight, motorists on the popular busy road stopped to watch what one of them described as a show of shame.

Eyewitness further said that the mother was alleged to have snatched the daughter’s boyfriend, who works in one of the oil compa-

nies in Warri.

The daughter was said to have become furious when she heard that her boyfriend was caught pants down with her mother in an hotel in the state.

The trouble between the mother and her daughter became aggravated when the lover boy began to act in a strange manner towards the girl.

While the show of shame between them lasted, the daughter was said to have called the mother a shameless woman and a prostitute, who drove the father out of the house with her unbridled quest for sex.

Speaking to our correspondent at the scene, a relation of the woman, who did not want her name in the print, blamed the situation on her sister, whom she said disappointed women folk, especially mothers.

Theft: Man Escapes Jungle Justice In A/Ibom

BY Bernard Tolani Dada, Uyo

A middle age man yesterday escaped being lynched in Abak, headquarters of Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, following allegation that he stole a motorcycle.

The man, simply identified as Udo, was said to have gone to a nearby Church in the town in company of a friend to steal the motorcycle.

While the operation succeeded and his accomplice disappeared with the motorcycle, Udo was not so lucky, as some members of the Church, who noticed the crime promptly apprehended him.

The incident attracted the attention of youths of the area, who apparently descended on Udo with weapons to kill him.

The prompt intervention of JTF led by an army officer saved Udo, who is an indigene of Ikot Akpabio in Afaha Obong, from being killed.

FRAUD: Hotelier Arrested Tax Evasion FRAUD: Conmen Dupe Trader With ATM Card Over

BY Patrick Ochoga,

BY Kola Eke-Ogiugo, Asaba

Some fraudsters in Asaba, the Delta State capital and its environs have allegedly duped a well known trader, Mrs. Joan Omerido, at the popular Ogbeogonogo Market with her stolen ATM card.

LEADERSHIP reliably gathered that the trader was said to have been tricked by the suspects, who claimed to be working with a bank to open an account with their bank after presenting fake identity card to buttress their claims.

This, our informed source said, she obliged and gave them N500,000 she had collected from local daily contribution.

While the said account was said to have been opened, the suspects became a regular visitor to the victim, who usually give them tubers of yam and other food stuffs.

DSP. Celestina Kalu, police public relations officer in the state, who confirmed the

arrest of the suspects, gave their names as Chukwudi 33, Akpo 29 and Mordi 31. She further said that after establishing a long standing relationship with the unsuspecting victim, the suspect swooped on her when they came up with lies that there was problem in her account and thereby tricked the woman to collect her ATM card, saying they were going to renew the card for her.

She said that after the suspects had taken the sum of N750,000 from the account at various withdrawal, they disappeared into thin air until nemesis caught up with them last Thursday at the market where two of the suspects were buying food stuff and the victim ran into them. She called the police to arrest them immediately The police public relations officer said the suspects, currently helping the police at the police CID, had made useful statements to the police adding that they would be charged to court on completion of investigation.

Benin City

The Tax Intelligence & Enforcement Department of the Edo State Board of Internal Revenue Service on Monday arrested Mr. Ken Owie, the proprietor of the highbrow Kenbrill Hyatt Hotel over unpaid consumption taxes.

Owie was arrested by a combined team of law enforcement agents, and officials of the EIRS, after what the Director of Tax Intelligence and Enforcement Department, Mr. Victor Okube, described as a routine check on the hotel.

Apart from unpaid taxes, Owie was also accused of breaking seals of government placed on the premises of other consumption tax defaulters. Okube described the action of Owie as a criminal offence.

He advised those whose premises had been sealed not to hide under any guise to commit any punishable crime but to visit the consumption tax department at the corporate headquarters of the EIRS for further clarification.

STORIES OF THE DAY 11

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

day

photo news

STEALING: Man, 27, Arrested For Robbery

By MATTHEW DIKE, Lagos

Police operatives attached to FESTAC Police Station have arrested one John James for armed robbery.

James who claimed to be a cultist was nabbed with locally made pistol and cartridges in his possession.

The suspect was said to have given the police a blow by blow account of how his gang robbed an hair dressing salon in Lagos and dispossessed the victims of their money and handsets.

The suspect who hails from Kogi State and resides at 8 Oguntimehin Street, Ajegunle, Lagos, was arrested by the anti robbery

policemen from FESTAC Police Division The case was transferred to the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja on the orders of the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Umar Manko ,for discreet investigation.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the 27year- old suspect who is currently being interrogated by a team of SARS operatives led by the officer in charge of the squad, SP Abba Kyari, was arrested recently at the scene of robbery at Apple Junction, Festac with a locally made pistol and two cartridges.

The suspect confessed: “I live with my mother, I am single. I live at 8, Oguntimehin Street, Ajegunle with my mother.”

L-R: First Lady, Patience Jonathan; President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia, First Lady of Niger Republic, Dr Malika Mahamadou, and Namibian First Lady, Mrs Penehupifo Pohamba, cutting the tape to inaugurate the exhibition centre during the cancer conference in Windhoek, Namibia, yesterday. Photo by Nan

face-off: Police, NSCDC Clash Over Arrested Vandals

BY Adebayo Waheed, Ibadan

Men of the Oyo State Police Command and officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) yesterday clashed over arrest of suspected pipeline vandal in Ibadan.

The suspected vandal was arrested along Oyo-Ogbomoso road in an unmarked Hilux Van containing about 15 jerry cans of petroleum while two buses loaded with fuel escaped.

However, trouble started when the antivandal squad of the NSCDC was taking the arrested Hilux to their office and was allegedly intercepted at Poly junction at Sango by some policemen.

Many members of the public scampered

for safety as the two security agencies engaged each other. In the face-off, they shot tear gas into the air and also fired gunshot.

The police team arrived the scene in a white vehicle marked XT 391 KRD and was joined by those in the Sango Police Divisional office numbering about 22.

They reportedly attempted to disarm the NSCDC anti-vandal squad and manhandle them by physically assaulting them and deflated their tyre and eventually took over the arrested suspect.

A member of the squad who pleaded anonymity said they have called their state commandant to intimate him of the incident.

He also said when they resisted the attempt to release the suspect, the police team claimed that the NSCDC officials drove against traffic.

L-R: Director of Information, Defence Headquarters, Major-General Chris Olukolade; National Coordinator, National Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, and the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Frank Mba, briefing journalists in Abuja, yesterday.

autocrash: 5 Escape Death In Multiple Accident

By Kola Eke-Ogiugo, Asaba

Five persons, including a woman at the weekend narrowly escaped death while plastic products worth millions of naira were destroyed when multiple vehicles, including over six trailers were involved in an accident along Asaba/Benin highway in Delta State.

Some eyewitnesses, who spoke to our correspondent, said the accident occurred when one of the trailer’s brake failed and lost control, thereby ramming into other cars and a new road block mounted by

security men on the road.

A source said the accident made many of the vehicles to collide with one another, thereby causing multiple accidents on the road.

According to him, five persons including a woman and one of the drivers were seriously wounded as they bled profusely but were rushed to the hospital.

FRSC spokesman in the state, Mr. Julius Bassy confirmed the accident, adding that he is yet to get details but said he will get in touch with our correspondent.

L-R: Member, House of Representatives Committee on Health, Hon Samuel Adejare; ViceChairman of the committee, Hon Musa Gulma, and Chairman of the committee, Hon Ndudi Elumelu, during a meeting between the committee and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) at the National Assembly in Abuja, yesterday. Photo by OYEDELE OMOKAGBO.

Rumpus Over Missing Child, As Police Arrest Grandmother

By Kola Eke-Ogiugo, Asaba

Men of the Criminal Investigating Department (CID) of the State Police Command have arrested the gandmother of a missing child in Asaba, Delta State,while they intensify search for the missing child.

Reports said that residents of a large piece of land around Bosac Area in Asaba on which makeshift houses often called “Bacha” are built, have been thrown into confusion following the mysterious disappearance of the three- year old girl, identified as Gift.

While the disappearance of the child has raised serious questions, some residents of the area who spoke to our correspondent

and did not want their names in print, are asking if the disappearance of the child is a case of abduction or child trafficking.

But the incident, it was reliably gathered, happened last Sunday, when the mother of the missing child (name removed) who lives in one of the ‘Bachas’ with her mother, was few weeks before the incident, advised by a female neighbour to sell the child and use the proceeds to improve herself since they have been living poor and could hardly feed.

Two weeks after the advice, our informed sources, said the grandmother of the child was on her way to the village market while the mother of the child and the “adviser neighbour” were preparing to go to Church.

L-R: Director, Human Resources Management, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Mohammed Umar; Deputy Director, Basic Education, Mrs Joyce Eke, and Deputy Director (EPRD), Mrs Irene Mbanefo, during the inauguration of the Nigeria Education Data Household Survey (NEDS) in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY OGOH JOSEPH.

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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

business news

Champion Breweries To Raise N12bn

BY Olushola Bello, Lagos

Champion Breweries Plc will be raising N11.65 billion through rights issue for the turnaround of the company’s operation.

The company said arrangement to raise the offer had been concluded following clearance of the issue documents by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has

also received listing approval for the new shares from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The company in a notice to the NSE said it would be issuing 6.3 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N1.85 per share to its existing shareholders in the ratio of seven new ordinary shares for every ordinary share held as at the close of business on May 7, 2014.

Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited is the issuing house to the offer, which is expected to open on August 4, 2014 and close on September 10, 2014.

The company said the net proceeds of the issue would be used to repay the company’s existing debt and reduce the interest burden which would potentially enhance the company’s operations and reposition it for profitability and growth.

TCN Announces Power Cut In Lagos Over Planned Maintenance

By Chika Izuora, Lagos

The management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Lagos region has announced planned power cut in parts of the state.

According to a statement issued by the senior manager public affairs of the region, Mrs Celestina Osin, the areas to experience power disruption include Surulere,Iganm u,Aguda,Ijesha,Ebute Metta,Orile and their environs.

She said the outage would occur on Wednesday July 23, 2014 between the hours of 10:00am12:00pm. The planned outage is to allow TCN engineers connect new bus section isolator that would link two 60MVA power transformers at

the Akangba 132KV Transmission Sub-Station , adding that 40MW of electricity would be cut off as load on all the outgoing 33KV feeders from the station would be disrupted during the duration of the outage.

TCN therefore apologised to all consumers that would be affected by the disruption, and assured that the maintenance would further boost electricity supply to customers in the affected areas.

In another development, the TCN Lagos region said it had concluded plans to embark on the reconstruction of 132KV Lines 1and 2 on Towers 66-67 of the Ikeja WestOworonshoki high tension lines by Berger Junction on the Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Transcorp To Develop Vertically Integrated Energy City In Delta

By Friday Atufe, Lagos

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), a diversified conglomerate with strategic investments in power, agriculture, hospitality and oil and gas sector of the Nigeria is to develop a vertically integrated energy city around Ughelli in Delta State.

The president/chief executive officer of Transcorp, Mr Obinna Ufudo, which recently acquired the Ughelli Power Plc under the federal government’s privatisation of electricity industry in Nigeria said in Lagos that the conglomerate intended to leverage its proposed gas production in developing a vertically integrated energy city around Ughelli that would combine petrochemical plant, fertiliser plant, Ughelli Power plant and OPL 281 Gas through Nigeria Gas Company (NGC).

He said the conglomerate aimed to become the operator of choice for onshore oil and gas assets in the oil and gas industry, adding that it would achieve it by commencing production of OPL 281 at a minimum of 3,000 – 5,000 barrels of oil per day (BPD).

Ufudo added that the conglomerate would increase production on OPL 281 to 10,000 BPD, build a fertiliser plant at Ughelli and develop a petrochemical processing facility also in Ughelli.

The president said Transcorp hoped to close the 2014 financial year with a gross revenue of N61 billion and a profit before tax of N23 billion, adding that the turnover of the conglomerate was expected to grow to N289 billion and PBT of N140 billion by 2018.

He based the financial forecast on Ughelli Power Plc power generation capacity increasing from 680 MW in 2013 to about 1,960 MW by 2017, contribution of new hotel assets and increased production from OPL 281.

Others are development of 5,000 seats of additional conferencing facility at Abuja, expansion of capacity at Teragro Benfruit Juice Concentrate Plant in Benue State among others.

Follow these reports on leadership.ng/business

L-R: Project manager, Rainbow Town Development Limited (RTDL), Mr Ebi Bozumo; MD/CEO, DDB Lagos, Mr Ikechi Odigbo; MD/CEO, RTDL, Mr Chima Ucheya; company secretary, RTDL, Mr Cliff Oparaodu and business development/marketing manager, RTDL, Mr Uchenna Offor, at a media interaction hosted by the RTDL in Port Harcourt.

‘Nigeria Loses 300bn Annually To Bitumen Importation’

BY ISAIAH BENJAMIN, Kaduna

The national vice chairman of the Association of Bitumen Marketers and Distribution of Nigeria (ABIMD), Mr Fred Nyabam, yesterday said Nigeria loses over 300 billion naira annually to massive importation of bitumen into the country.

This is just as he averred that the importation was at the detriment of locally- produced bitumen which is available at the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC).

Nyabam disclosed this while addressing a press conference at the

Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna secretariat yesterday.

He also viewed the matter as a serious threat to the economy, saying, if not addressed urgently, it could pose great danger to the economic development of the nation.

“Regrettably, Nigeria has suddenly become a bitumen importing country, instead of exporting the products which Kaduna refinery was designed to achieve, because of a few selfish individuals. This is clearly an economic sabotage against Nigeria as a nation and must be resisted.

“The most regrettable aspect of this brazen act of sabotage against

the nation is that over 60 per cent of all the bitumen imported into Nigeria comes from a refinery in IRAN, whose bitumen production capacity is not bigger than that of Kaduna Refinery and was constructed by the same Chiyoda of Japan that constructed Kaduna Refinery.

“The Kaduna bitumen plant has an annual installed production capacity of over 650,000 metric tonnes. Currently, Nigeria’s annual consumption of bitumen is a little over 500,000 metric tonnes so Nigeria should not have any business importing bitumen,” he said.

Seplat, Forte Oil Top Losers’ Chart As NSE Indices Slide 0.25% OLUSHOLA BELLO, Lagos

Losses sustained by some highly capitalised stocks on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday led to the decline in the market indicators, the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation.

The ASI, which opened the week at 42,891.82, went down by 107.52 points or 0.25 per cent to close at 42,784.30 as a result of price losses sustained by Seplat, Forte Oil, Unilever among others.

Also, the market capitalisation depreciated by N36 billion or 0.25 per cent to close at N14.127 trillion against

the N14.163 trillion posted on Friday.

Seplat topped the losers’ chart, depreciating by N26.95 to close at N675.05 per share.

Forte Oil trailed with a loss of N11 to close at N227, Unilever dipped by N2.63 to close at N50.14 per share, while NCR dropped 76 kobo to close at N14.44 per share, and Guinness went down by 52 kobo to close at N197.50 Investors traded a total of 535.077 million shares worth N4.37 billion in 5,862 deals.

The volume represents an increase of 43 per cent over the 347.305 million shares valued at N3.21 billion exchanged in 4,778 deals on Friday.

Meanwhile, Mobil led the gainers’ chart with a gain of N8.11 to close at N170.33 per share. It was followed by Total which gained N6.2 to close at N186.20, while Nigerian Breweries was up by N1.48 to close at N177.09 per share. Oando gained N1 to close at N26, while PZ rose by 50 kobo to close at N39 per share.

The activity chart was topped by Transcorp as the most active equity with 93.63 million shares worth N550.27 million. Wapic Insurance came second, accounting for 56.68 million shares valued at N50.42 billion, while Skye Bank sold 53.40 million shares worth N186.23 million.

16 NEWS/BUSINESS

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

FG Will Not Print Money To Pay Doctors - Okonjo-Iweala

By Edegbe Odemwingie and Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja

Coordinating minister for the economy and minister of finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala declared yesterday that the N13 billion demanded by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to end the ongoing doctor’s strike was not captured in the 2014 national budget.

Okonjo-Iweala, who was represented by the

director general of the Budget Office of the Federation, Bright Okogu, insisted that the federal government will not be compelled to “print money” to pay the striking doctors.

These were fallouts of the third reconciliatory meeting between the NMA, health ministry and the finance ministry convened by the Ndudi Elumelu-led House of Representatives Committee on Health.

“The easiest thing to say is go and print money, but you know the implication and I won’t mention countries who are near us, some of them who today are in deep trouble because of issues like this.” Okogu stated in response to requests by the House Committee that the federal government source money to pay the doctors.

Okogu stated further: “This competitive wage demand for increase is

not sustainable and is not in the best interest of the nation as the wage bill has risen from N857 billion in 2009 to N1.8 trillion in 2014.

The DG Budget warned that bowing to the doctors’ demand will open a floodgate similar requests from pharmacists, nurses and other categories of health workers.

The NMA insisted on at least six months payment or half of the N13 billion arrears being demanded.

Power Supply To Hit 10,000mw By December - FG

By Juliet Alohan, Abuja

With power generation currently below 4,000 megawatts (mws), the minister of Power, Prof.

Chinedu Nebo, has announced that power generation will hit 10,000mws by the end of 2014.

According to a statement by the ministry’s deputy director, Press, Timothy Oyedeji, Nebo disclosed this during a meeting with an Indian highpowered delegation which visited his office in Abuja, yesterday.

He told the delegation that Nigeria’s power sector, which is now in a transitional stage, will soon summon a stakeholders’ forum of all the distribution companies (DISCOs), generation companies (GENCOs), the regulator, and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) to take another look at the Indian model which he described as workable.

The minister, who noted that the NBET was conceived as a stopgap agency while the sector is in transition, stated that with the Indian success story, “We might need to consider the NBET a body that

will outlast the current proposition. With the new thinking, the NBET can be structured on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model that is permanent in nature as electricity is always an on-going concern.”

Nebo, who formally invited the Indian delegation to the first-ever National Council on Power which has been scheduled for August 2014, said Nigeria will hit 10,000mws by the end of 2014.

Speaking on behalf of other DISCOs, the CEO of Eko DISCO, Mr Oladele Amoda, noted that since 2002, India has kept faith with the transformation of its power sector which informed the Eko DISCO’s technical arrangement with Tata of India.

He enjoined the India delegation to take seriously the issue of transfer of technology, noting that the NBET needs local content input in order to fasttrack the development of Nigeria’s power market.

Earlier, the Indian high commissioner, Ajjampur Ghenashyam, urged Nigeria to, as the hub of economic activities on the continent, take the lead in the development of regional power market.

Foundation Pledges Support To Young African Entrepreneurs

By Chika Izuora, Lagos

The Kola Aluko Foundation, a philanthropic venture established in 2013 has announced plans to promote entrepreneurship ideals among enterprising young Africans.

The foundation was specifically set up to inspire, mentor and support future generation of African leaders.

The announcement coincided with a reception to open the Nigerian Centenary Photography Exhibition, being held at Bonhams, the worldfamous auctioneers in London, and hosted by the Kola Aluko Foundation.

The exhibition, which the Foundation is sponsoring to celebrate Nigeria’s centenary, showcases what Bonhams describes as an astonishing collection of photography documenting

Nigeria’s rich and diverse cultural heritage.

The show and its related educational programme is the first in a series of major cultural events to be supported by the Kola Aluko Foundation, designed to encourage a deeper understanding of Nigeria and the 54 countries of the African continent.

According to him: “The Kola Aluko Foundation is passionate about identifying and nurturing talented young African adults across all fields of endeavour to help them evolve into the new generation of leaders. In doing so, we hope that the young people we engage with will not only develop into leaders, but also become inspirational role models for others. This is the cycle of change we want to foster.”

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

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18 BUSINESS/FEATURE

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

top story

99

Days, we are still demanding #BringBackOurGirls Now and Alive

#BringBackOurGirlsCampaign: Lessons As the long-drawn wait for the return of the Chibok schoolgirls approaches 100 days, WENESO OROGUN highlights data on a selection of 21 terrorist attacks targeting children over the last 50 years. He welcomes the outpouring of love and concern for the Chibok schoolgirls but urges caution in the use of force given lessons of the 2004 Beslan School Hostage Tragedy in Russia.

The 100th day of the abduction of the 235 Chibok schoolgirs is around the corner. Every new day brings with it growing frustration of parents, teachers, activists and ordinary citizens around the world with the apparent lack of progress in the on-going rescue efforts.

The worry on the faces of many is brilliantly captured in two tweets published at page 2 of LEADERSHIP Sunday of 20th July.

“If in 96 days we are still demanding #BringBackOurGirls Now and Alive, then the government has failed the people of Nigeria”, a tweeter surmised. Another urged world citizens to step forward and take further action to bring back our girls.

True, Nigerians of all persuasions are stepping forward to demand action. A good example is former education minister, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili who has been very active in the bring-back-our-

Jonathan

Selected 21 Terrorist Attacks Targeting Children (1963-2013) DATE

15 Sep 1963 18 Mar 1968 22 May 1970 15 May 1974 20 Aug 1978 7 Apr 1980

LOCATION

Birmingham, Alabama, United States Negev desert, Israel Avivim, Israel Ma'alot, Israel Abadan, Iran

METHOD AND TARGET

bombing of church

CHILD CASUALTIES

Killed 4

Injured 2+

Killed 4

Injured 23

28

2

28

19

12

19

66+

27

134

many

0

477

10

1

4

8

16

0

70

2

79

?

?

29

252

19

?

169

675

0

5

2

9

landmine 2 attack on school bus rocket attack 9 on school bus hostage taking 20

arson of movie theatre Misgav Am hostage taking Kibbutz, Israel at children's dormitory 16 May Cokeville, hostage taking 1986 Wyoming, and bombing United States of school 17 Mar Buenos Aires, suicide car 1992 Argentina bombing at Israeli embassy 19 Apr Oklahoma City, car bombing 1995 Oklahoma, of federal United States office building 20 Nov Gaza bombing of 2000 school bus

TOTAL CASUALTIES

girls campaign. Another notable example is Theophilus Danjuma, a retired army general and a former defence minister. The general who chairs a committee on victim support fund was recently quoted in the media as urging President Goodluck Jonathan to lead him and his committee members to Sambisa forest to bring back the girls held there by the Boko Haram.

Other media reports said Danjuma considered it a shame that the “war” against the insurgents has taken this long.

In response, a ranking military officer told a defence correspondent that the military as an institution was bogged down by desertion, hostility of some of the communities in the frontline in the north-east of the country, activities of political elite sympathetic to the insurgents, dearth of infrastructure like good roads, lack of mobility on the part of the troops, undue criticism as well as the peculiarities of counter-insurgency operations.

Continuing with the retired general’s “war” analogy, deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu last week told a gathering of journalists that “The battle we face is for the territorial integrity of Nigeria and the safety of her people”.

It is worth emphasising that most of these remarks by the high and mighty are cast in the mold of old approaches to security enforcement. For example, the director-general of Diaspora Initiative, a non-governmental organisation , David Okoror, told LEADERSHIP recently that “This whole type of terrorism is relatively new in this clime. Besides, the intensity, sophistication and resources available to the terrorists seem to be much more than the expectations of many. Consequently, the mode of operations of our security and defence forces, their training, experience and equipment require to be fully adapted to the level,

Most of these remarks by the high and mighty are cast in the mold of old approaches to security enforcement

FEATURE /BUSINESS 19

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

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156

people captured by 30 terrorists in Beslan’s secondary school, Russia on September 1, 2004 at the “Knowledge Day” ceremony.

children killed in Beslan attack, Russia

From Russia’s Beslan School Hostage Tragedy 9 Sep 2001

Jerusalem, Israel

suicide bombing in pizzeria 9 May Kaspiysk, bombing at 2002 Russia parade 28 May Itamar, Israel shooting 2002 attack on school 3 June Thailand shooting 2002 attack on school bus 2 May Gush Katif, shooting 2004 Gaza attack on vehicle 3 Sep Beslan, Russia hostage taking 2004 and bombing at school 30 Sep Baghdad, Iraq car bombing 2004 at public ceremony 28 Jan Baghdad, Iraq mortar attack 2007 on school 28 Jan Ramadi, Iraq bombing 2007 attack near school 12 Jun Logar province, shooting 2007 Afghanistan attack on girls school 15 Apr Boston, two bombings 2013 Massachusetts, at Boston United States Marathon

7

5+

15

130

17

31

43

151

3

2

4

2

2

15

2

15

4

0

5

3

156

337

366

747

35

72

42

69

5

20

5

20

2

10

5

10

2

4

2

4

1

14

3

183

Source: Extracted from compilation by Robert Johnston

sophistication and spread of the violence being levied against the country by the insurgents”. He pointed out the religious and ideological dimensions of the kind of insurgency Nigeria is currently experiencing and urged a change of strategy.

Okoror argued: “I think all along we have left the people out of our concepts and strategies for dealing with our security challenges. Any security strategy that is not built around the ordinary citizen would fail as we have now seen. For instance, the concept of security which we practise is still defined by military-style gunboat and bullet approach. We have been inadvertently running a system that is fixated on protecting the state from its citizens. Here, security is principally the protection of the state and its patrons. It is like the state versus its citizens. Therefore, the citizens are not really given any role because they are perceived as part of the problem. Consequently

the ordinary citizens are not to be trusted with issues of state security.

Due to this way of thinking, we left out the most important component in designing an effective and enduring security strategy: the ordinary citizen”.

An intelligence analyst, Dr. Amechi Nwaokolo, suggests that many commentators on terrorism are doing so out of ignorance of the nature of terror. He is worried that some influential people in the country are accusing the military of not taking steps to rescue the Chibok schoolgirls. “There is a real danger here”, he said warning that “If we settle for the use of force to free the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, many of them may not come out alive”.

Nwaokolo cited the ugly experience of Russia when in 2004, the Beslan School hostage crisis in North Ossetia, turned bloody leading to an uproar all over the world against President Putin’s handling of the delicate matter

(see Table 1).

The chilling narrative of the event that must rank as one of the darkest moments in modern Russia’s history may be summarised thus from Wikipedia and other Internet resources: Over a thousand people were taken hostage in Beslan’s secondary school on September 1, 2004. For over fifty (50) hours, the hostages were held at gunpoint and denied water, food or medical help.

On September 3, the disaster was finally brought to an end.

It all started on September 1, 2004 when pupils and their parents were attending a ceremony marking the beginning of another school year traditionally known as “Knowledge Day”. Mid way into the even, over 30 terrorists assaulted the ceremony, capturing 1,128 people as hostages – everyone who failed to flee. Most of them, both kids and their families, were ushered into the school’s gym.

The gym was then mined. Shamil Basayev, a prominent Chechen

separatist leader at that time, claimed responsibility for the act.

Three thirsty, hungry days full of fear followed. Most of the captured people were children, some of them toddlers. On September 3, several blasts shook the school, and a fire erupted. Capitalising on the explosions, the hostages rushed out despite fatigue.

The terrorists shot them in their backs! Russia’s security forces then began an assault on the besieged school. Twenty-seven terrorists were killed, on top of four who had been killed earlier.

According to government figures, 156 children died while 337 were injured, some maimed for life.

Government put the total death toll at 366 and 747 injured including the 337 children. Other accounts claimed more casualties. The only terrorist captured alive, Nur-Pashi Kulayev, was later sentenced to life in prison.

Way Forward Intelligence analysts strongly believe that it is a mistake to assign the military to police duties. He cites the example of India which has a big terrorism proplem but does not involve the regular army. Instead, India has set up a paramilitary unit that works with the police to deal with matters of insurgency. This has allowed India to keep the reputation and respect for its army in-tact. This might just be the way Nigeria should go as she seeks ways for coping with insurgency.

The “Tree of Grief”, is a monument to the Beslan hostage tragedy in North Ossetia, by sculptors Alan Kornaev and Zaurbek Dzanagov.

The event is commemorated yearly in Russia, France and some other countries.

20

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Creating Conducive Environment For Investment Growth customs focus

For investment to thrive, it is necessary that the federal government creates a veritable environment capable of attracting investors as well as boosting already existing businesses.

It is to this end that Nigerian traders and investors alike have been assured of better trading processes through plans put in place by the federal government to create a more conducive environment for investment opportunities.

The minister of trade and investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, gave this assurance recently in London while giving a keynote address on Nigeria’s investment climate at a trade facilitation/policy briefing held with African businessmen.

Aganga who spoke extensively on the low level of involvement of Africa in global trade, however, expressed optimism that the situation is fast changing due to the introduction of some strategies by the government to make Nigeria more competitive in global trade. The minister expressed confidence that Nigeria’s rising levels in intraAfrican trade would help ensure that Africa’s economy continue to get stronger and relevant and undergo modernisation to meet the needs of the business community.

“Nigeria is going for higher levels of intra-African trade and will ensure that African economy block remains strong, relevant and modernised to meet the needs of our people.

Domestic trade is important to us because we must focus on domestic trade as we also focus on regional trade,” Aganga told the gathering.

Speaking further, he added: “Nigeria boasts to become the third largest nation in the world after India and China and that tells us the direction the market is going. With a consumer market of roughly about 400 billion by 2013, everyone wants to be a Nigerian and there is money to be made in the country.

“Domestic policy is critical and in order to optimise and benefit from the domestic and regional trade strategy, Nigeria has taken decisions to invest in infrastructure, technology and processes.”

Aganga also took time to commend the modernisation efforts so far achieved by the management of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) which he noted as key to trade facilitation. While commending the efforts of the comptrollergeneral of customs, Abdullahi Dikko, for taking the lead in implementing trade facilitation agreements, the minister lauded the service for innovative thinking and investments made in trade facilitating processes.

He maintained that the NCS is a key player in the plans being made by the government, which according to him, are strategised to boost domestic, regional and international trade while also strengthening economic integration with other African countries.

While addressing the forum earlier, the comptrollergeneral of customs pointed out the prominent role that the NCS plays in ensuring that the trading environment is conducive for the business community. Dikko traced efforts to modernise the service back to 2009 when he embarked on a six-point agenda plan to prepare the NCS for a transformation aimed at overhauling its entire operations process.

The six point agenda are capacity building which was top priority, moral rebirth, discipline and integrity. Others are enhancing staff welfare packages, consolidating on the current e-Customs through the automated system for customs data (ASYCUDA), collaboration and partnering with other stakeholders and international organisations as well as fostering mutual understanding between the service and the general public.

According to Dikko, the service repositioned itself through the implementation of

By JULIET ALOHAN

a critical reform programme which concentrated on capacity building initiatives for officers, improved welfare package, upgrade of systems and the automation of clearance processes. He explained that other strategies include synergy building with other customs administrations and the private sector as well as the deployment of a communication and outreach programme to enhance stakeholder Dikko engagement.

The customs boss pointed out that the result of the reform programme is visible today through the attainment of a modernisation stage that enables existing and potential investors the opportunity to take advantage of the large market. “The NCS now provides timely, authoritative and accurate information about Nigerian trade with the rest of the world through the Nigerian trade portal. The interactive portal offers online advisory on customs tariff classification and valuation, tax base, Nigerian regulatory agencies, customs brokers, and currency conversion tools,” Dikko said.

Speaking on the development of the pre arrival assessment report (PAAR), the comptrollergeneral explained that the system has enabled the process of clearance of goods before the arrival of cargoes into Nigeria.

He noted that the system has also enhanced collaboration and

buildup of integrity between customs and its various stakeholders.

Nigeria’s foremost industrialist, Aliko Dangote, who was also present at the event, made a presentation titled: “The Opportunities and Challenges of Investing in Nigeria.” In his speech, Dangote, who is Africa’s richest man, explained that investors are becoming increasingly attracted to Nigeria and taking position in recognition of the tremendous opportunities despite some challenges that are present in Nigeria’s trading sector.

The industrialist who was represented by the group managing director, Alhaji Mansur Ahmed, explained that with the position of Nigeria currently in terms of human and natural resources, any key player in the trading environment cannot ignore the market in the country.

While observing, however,

that power supply and transportation constitute part of the major challenges slowing down the investment flow in Nigeria, the business mogul expressed optimism that the ongoing policies and initiatives of the federal government will help in addressing these challenges.

During the meeting, two different panel sessions on the “Prospects for Increasing Trade and Boosting Economic Development” and “Nigeria’s Trading Environment, Myths and Realities,” explored Nigerian’s position in West Africa and global trading flows.

Different countries represented gave contributions of their trading policies and ways to encourage collaborative techniques.

In yet another session, the NCS technological innovations took centre stage and officers of the ICT unit of the service showcased the recent reforms undertaken by the service to facilitate international trade and establish a fast-track clearance system. a single window expert, Valentina Mintah of Techno Brain West Blue, spoke on “Improving the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria” while the comptroller-general of customs, ICT Unit, Mr Abdullahi Babani, gave a case study of increasing customer satisfaction through the new help desk service.

The forum attracted a good number of prominent personalities and key players in Nigeria’s trading environment such as the chairman, House Committee on Customs, Sabo Nakudu, the chairman, House Committee on Diaspora, Abike Dabiri Erewa. Others are the group managing director/chief executive officer (GMD/CEO) of First Bank of Nigeria, Mr Stephen Onasanya, directorgeneral of National Agency for Food, Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mr Paul Orhii, the managing director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Mr Gbenga Kuye and the chairman, Stallion Group, Mr Sunil Vaswani among others.

NCS Refutes Alleged Involvement In Politics The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has refuted alleged collaboration with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to distribute seized expired rice to the electorates in Osun State, to woo voters to the PDP in the forthcoming gubernatorial election.

A statement by the service read in part: “The attention of the

NCS has been drawn to a rather spurious allegation opining that the NCS has collaborated with the PDP to distribute seized expired rice to the electorates in Osun State to woo voters to the PDP. “As a non partisan law enforcement agency, our initial reaction was to ignore and steer clear of this obvious political

accusation but for the fact that some undiscerning members of the public may be misled by this baseless and uninformed fabrication, the service deems it necessary to state as follows: that all seizures, including rice, go through judicial procedures; that after condemnation and forfeiture of a seized item, disposal is done in accordance

with the law as prescribed by the Customs and Exercise Management Act (CEMA) 1958.”

The service maintained that it was obvious that the fabricator of the baseless allegation is ignorant of the workings of the NCS, adding that the idea that a custom service of any nation could seize items from any member of the public who is in

contravention of the law, and dispose same without recourse to the law is farfetched.

The statement insisted that the service is not an organisation that would act in such manner while pointing out that any customs service that does such does not operate in line with all of its local and international obligations.

E-Business/BUSINESS 21

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

aviation REPORTS

Airtel To Spend Millions On Underprivileged

L-R: Division head, Beijin Municipal Bureau of press, publication, Radio Film and television, Mr Shan Zhizhong; chief executive officer, StarTimes Pan-Africa, Xue Jin; cultural councillor from the Chinese embassy, Mr Yan Xiangdong and commissioner for Beijing Municipal Bureau of press publication, Mr Li Chunliang during a StarTimes press briefing on the launching of a drama series aimed at promoting cultural exchange between China and Africa in Abuja at the weekend. PHOTO BY OYEDELE OMOKAGBO.

Resourcery, NUC Deploy Video Technology Across 27 Varsities

Stories by Chima Akwaja, Lagos

A leading information technology company in West Africa, Resourcery Plc, in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC), has deployed video conferencing solution across 27 universities in Nigeria.

This laudable initiative of the Nigerian Research and Education Network was developed to aid learning and research across universities in Nigeria through the use of video conferencing.

The executive secretary of the NUC, Professor Julius Okojie, speaking at the official commissioning of the project at the NUC main auditorium in Abuja, thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for his unflinching support towards the actualisation of the project.

He also thanked the supervising minister of education, Mr Nyesom Wike and his communication technology counter-part, Mrs Omobola Johnson, for their tireless assistance from inception to completion.

Professor Okojie said that the NUC recognises the need to ensure that educational institutions are globally competitive to guarantee the production of good quality graduates and research developments. It is in this regard that the NUC has been emphasising the need for

technology to play a leading role in molding people’s activities and those of the universities.

“It is, therefore, our determination to establish the NgREN network with the required support of government and other important stakeholders. We expect that the level of work thus far will soon translate into value chain that will enhance education and research activities in the country through more efficient collaborations and sharing of resources.

The NgREN has the potential to enhance the achievements of the Science and Technology Education, Post-Basic (STEP-B) project by bringing the centres of excellence set up by the intervention together for higher and more efficient collaboration,” he said.

Speaking for Resourcery, the executive director, business solutions, Mr Uzo Obi, noted that the successful implementation of this project is a clear demonstration of the company’s competence and readiness to continuously use ICT as a veritable tool in nation building.

Using the educational sector as a springboard, he noted that no one would develop Nigeria for us if indigenous and professionally competent organisations like Resourcery do not step up to be counted when they are needed to aid the nation’s development in

As the leading video conferencing and collaboration provider in Nigeria, we trust that this is only the beginning of the video revolution across all higher learning institutions in Nigeria

their sphere.

He said that as part of the NgREN initiative, Resourcery implemented video conferencing solutions across 27 federal universities in conjunction with the NUC to promote research and collaboration with local and foreign research institutions.

The solution, based on Cisco TelePresence video products, provides real time, high definition, and life-like video communication and collaboration.

This means that a lecturer who is located at any of the 27 universities can effectively give a lecture from his domain to another or multiply universities located anywhere in the world provided they are connected on the platform. Obi also added that apart from the teaching ease of this solution, it provides an easy research platform by aiding collaboration amongst lecturers and students across universities around the world. Students can also easily compare and share notes across school lines without leaving their institutions of learning. The same thing applies to lecturers.

“As the leading video conferencing and collaboration provider in Nigeria, we trust that this is only the beginning of the video revolution across all higher learning institutions in Nigeria,” Obi stated.

Airtel Nigeria said yesterday that it would invest millions of naira on a project that would provide succour to the under-privileged members of the society.

Called Airtel Touching Lives, it is corporate social investment (CSI) intervention targeted at providing timely aid to underprivileged Nigerians irrespective of their gender, background or geographical locations.

The programme seeks to identify underprivileged persons with specific challenges, pains and struggles with the ultimate objective of providing the needed help to empower and enrich the lives of these individuals.

The chief executive officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, speaking yesterday at the unveiling described the programme as a timely, deliberate and responsive initiative aimed at empowering underprivileged Nigerians and tackling the various challenges confronting millions of people. He underlined Airtel’s commitment to the programme, saying the company is devoted to enriching the lives of Nigerians, especially the underprivileged.

Blue Gate Air Conditioners Cuts Energy Bills By 70% A leading office equipment maker, Blue Gate, has added low voltage technology (LVT) air conditioners (ACs) that consume about 70 per cent less energy for optimum performance even in areas of low voltage supply.

This optimised coefficient of performance (COP) also helps in reducing electric bills.

The business development manager, Air Conditioner, Rolland Emuobor, explained that the Blue Gate’s ACs comes with a wide input voltage window (170V-260V) to withstand power fluctuations.

Speaking on their successful foray into home appliances, he stated that the air conditioner is borne out of the need to offer the right and needed qualities in an AC specially configured to suit the local power and environmental conditions.

He enumerated other features of the ACs to include power surge protection, lowest noise performance, auto restart functions, heatexchange efficiency and timer function that allow users set the AC to desired run-time.

StarTimes, Beijing TV Partner To Promote China/ African Culture

BY NSE ANTHONY-UKO, Abuja

To promote cultural exchanges between China and Africa, Beijing Ministry of News & publishing, in partnership with StarTimes, has launched “the Beijing TV broadcasting season in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and other countries.”

The programme, with the theme “the Beijing story into Africa” are already on air and organised by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press, Publication, Film & Television.

It is an event for the foreign exchanges of Beijing film that would last for six months, starting from this month to December, 2014.

Briefing the media in Abuja, over the weekend, the commissioner for Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press, Publication, Film & Television, Li Chunliang, the said the Beijing TV Dramas exhibition is a series of programmes meant to expose top Chinese films and documentaries to African media and audience with the aim of promoting film and increased understanding of Chinese culture in Africa.

22 Aviation/BUSINESS

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Study Shows Benefits of Liberalised African Air Markets Stories by Nkem osuagwu, Lagos

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has published a report showing considerable social and economic benefits of intra-African air service liberalisation.

The report by the independent economic consultants, InterVISTAS, outlined the benefits that would accrue if 12 African nations were to implement the 1999 Yamoussoukro Decision.

The 12 nations in the report are Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda.

The Yamoussoukro Decision committed 44 signatory countries to deregulating air services and to opening regional air markets to transnational competition.

The implementation of this agreement, however, has been slow, and the benefits have not been realised.

“This report

demonstrates beyond doubt the tremendous potential for African aviation if the shackles are taken off. The additional services generated by liberalisation between just 12 key markets will provide an extra 155,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in annual gross domestic product (GDP).

“A potential five million passengers a year are being denied the chance to travel between these markets because of unnecessary restrictions on establishing air routes. Furthermore, employment and economic growth are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the benefits of connectivity.

Aviation is a force for good, and plays a major role in helping to reach the African Union (AU)’s mission of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa,” said the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s director-general and chief executive officer (CEO), Tony Tyler.

Aviation already supports 6.9 million jobs and more than $80 billion in GDP across

Africa. The InterVISTAS research demonstrates that liberalisation will create opportunities for further significant employment growth and economic development.

Nigeria will be among the highest beneficiaries of a liberalised African sky, generating 17,000 additional employment and an improvement of $128.2 million in improved GDP, according to the report published in IATA. The study clearly highlights the crucial role air transport plays in driving economic and social development in Africa through enhanced connectivity.

The IATA urged African governments to support the growth of the industry by fully liberalising African skies as intended by the Yamoussoukro Decision, while providing other facilitator assistance like implementing global standards in safety, security and regulations, reducing high charges, taxes and fees and removing visa requirements for ease of movement across the

continent.

The secretary-general of the African Airlines Association (AFRA), Mr Elijah Chingosho, reacting to the study said, “Africa represents a huge potential market for aviation. It is, therefore, unfortunate that African states are opening their aviation markets to third countries but not to each other, which does not promote the spirit of the Yamoussoukro Decision.

This isn’t just holding back African aviation, but African economies.

This new report, developed in collaboration with IATA, AFRAA and our key regional partners, provides compelling facts and figures which should send a powerful message to states and their key decision makers such as the ministries of finance, tourism and trade across the continent to place aviation at the heart of their economic development and national planning growth strategies,” the ecretarygeneral of the African Civil Aviation Commission, Ms Iyabo Sosina, said.

Peacock Travel Wins Corporate Travel Award

Peacock Travels and Tours, a subsidiary of Peacock Group of Companies, has won the London-based Acquisition Magazine’s ‘Sustained Excellence in Corporate Travel 2014’ award.

According to a statement from the firm, the award presentation was done by the Mayor of London Borough of Richmond, Jane Boulton, during the opening of its new office complex in King Street, Twickenham, London.

Boulton said, “This award is a result of the hard work of Peacock Travel staff.” She pledged her support for the company at all times. Peacock Travels’ office was formerly in north-east London (Hackney). However, the need to fulfill its expansion plans, including imminent commencement of tour services to North Cyprus, made the firm to move its operations to High Street.

The travel manager, Peacock, Mr Keith Lloyd, assured that the travel firm would continue to maintain the high level of service the company

had been known for. “We want to be a travel agency that is unique and that has utmost concern for its client, unlike online bookers,” he added.

Keith noted that the award was based strictly on review and votes by industry practitioners in the UK as well as the evaluative research always carried out by the awarding magazine. The executive chairman, Peacock Group, Mr Segun Phillips, dedicated the award to God and the entire customers of the company worldwide.

He said the gesture was a testimony of the world- class service that had been the trade mark of Peacock Travels both within and outside the shores of Nigeria. Phillips said, “For a subsidiary of the company to win such a reputable award in the United Kingdom, it means the core value of the company in rendering qualitative and unparallel service will continue to be maintained to the joyous satisfaction of our local and international customers’.

science Tuesday, July 22, 2014

23

130m

Nigeria’s telecoms sector has witnessed astronomical growth in telephony access and data penetration. Today, active telephone lines are well over 130 million with about 56 million Nigerians having access to the internet.

F E AT U R E S N E W S R E P O R T S I N T E R V I E W

NCC To Protect $25bn Telecoms Investment

By Nkechi Isaac, Abuja

The unveiling of the industryspecific code of corporate governance would help the NCC to enthrone global best practices among the boards of telecoms players

The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has promised the protection of the over $25 billion investment in the telecoms sector under the telecoms corporate governance code for telecoms industry recently launched by the commission.

Speaking at the launch in Lagos, its Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, said the unveiling of the industry-specific code of corporate governance would help the NCC to enthrone global best practices among the boards of telecoms players, whose actions and inactions have far-reaching effects on the entire telecoms industry.

“The code became necessary to reposition the sector to contribute more to the country’s rebased GDP,” he pointed out.

He said the corporate governance principles of accountability, responsibility, transparency, integrity and ethical conduct, independence among others are important for all types of companies operating in the telecommunications industry whether public or private, large or small.

According to him, “the requirement for good corporate governance does not wane on account of size or type of business affiliations.

Shareholders and other stakeholders are now placing higher demand on companies to demonstrate these principles.

Thus, NCC is determined to promote corporate governance for the telecommunications industry.”

He spoke on the genesis of the code, recounting that the commission organised the first consultation in April 2012 with the theme ‘corporate governance

Telecommunication mast

in the telecommunications industry: compliance with standards, processes and procedures` during which the absence of a common code to which all telecommunications operators should abide was highlighted. In June 2013, the commission organised the second consultation on corporate governance, with the theme ‘enhancing stakeholders’ responsibility’, he added.

Juwah said to address the gap, NCC inaugurated the Corporate Governance Working Group (CGWG) in October 2012, with members drawn from the operating companies, the commission and corporate governors.

“The telecommunications

sector is of strategic and high impact significance to the economy at a macro level and has considerable reach at the micro level. He said this is made up of a wide range of operators with diversity in size, scope of operations, asymmetry qualifications, legal and regulatory requirements, capital market activities as well as local and cross-border relationships,” he said.

The NCC helmsman maintained that the combined factors of the strategic importance of telecommunications and the unprecedented growth of the sector (over 130 million mobile subscribers) with extensive reach across all social and demographic

Juwah

groups in the Nigerian economy made it imperative that operators in this critical sector should uphold a code of corporate governance, which is specific to the industry.

Earlier in her remarks, the

24

24 SCIENCE/news

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

NCC To Protect $25bn Telecoms Investment 23

Minister of Communications Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson, represented by the director of postal and telecoms services in the ministry, Mr. John Ayodele, said the main challenge for corporate governance was to create a system that would hold decision makers accountable while according proper respect to their position in the company.

He said that the key considerations for a successful corporate governance regime typically would consist of elements of voluntary

Yero To Commission Bore-hole

By Onjewu Dickson, Abuja

The wife of the Kaduna State Governor, Hajiya Fatima Mukhtar Ramalan Yero will be commissioning the latest borehole donated by the Simon Peter Life Enhancement Foundation at Barnawa under its ‘GovernmentCannot Do It Alone’ campaign at the end of the Ramadan.

This is contained in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP, signed by the spokesman of the foundation, Reverend Joseph Jones.

The statement added that the foundation had embarked on the project because it was in line with the recognition that government could not do it alone.

It said the chairman, Simon Peter Life Enhancement Foundation, Engr. Simon Opara who spoke at the organisation’s third quarter general meeting, held on July 15 called on public spirited individuals to support the crusade of government cannot do it all, and provide potable water to people at the grassroots.

In a related development, in partnership with Squadron Leader Bitrus Auta Yawa (rtd), the NGO said it had commenced the rehabilitation of 22 boreholes in Kwoi, Jemaa LGA, Kaduna State.

“The Simon Peter Life Enhancement Foundation is rehabilitating 22 bore-holes in collaboration with Squadron Leader Yawa who is a PDP stalwart from the state” it added.P office in Mokwa.

Hajiya Fatima Mukhtar Ramalan Yero

Top 3

headlines

commitments and good business practices by the regulated entities.

“The code should be backed up through effective monitoring and enforcement processes, and continuously assessing compliance with the basic principles of this code in line with the best international practices”, he added.

In his address, the chairman of the CGWG, Dr. Fabian Ajogwu said the code became necessary to consolidate on the gains of the telecoms sector.

By Bernard Tolani Dada, Uyo

Tackle Incidence Of Flood In Uyo

➋ Speaker Lauds FG Over Rehabilitation Of Mokwa-Bida Road ➌ Rotary To Provide Borehole And Toilet Facilities In Edo Markets

Zagbayi Vows To Pursue Actualization Of HYPADDEC

Former Deputy Governor of Niger State and Niger East senatorial aspirant in People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Shem Nuhu Zagbayi has said he will ensure that Hydro-Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPADEC) takes off if he becomes a senator.

Zagbayi said at the weekend that he was ready to fill the vacant position following the death of Senator Dahiru Aweisu and promised to complete all the federal constituency projects started by the late senator.

He said “I know the problem of my constituency, the HYPADEC bill which has been passed, I promised to get it into effect.

The code should be backed up through effective monitoring and enforcement processes

mandatory after two years of depending on the industry situation.

“The code of corporate governance for the telecommunications industry, a copy of which was obtained, aims to promote good corporate governance practices in the industry and would create a credible industry, which every stakeholder can have confidence in as well as foster the growth and development of the industry and larger national economy,” he added.

Akpabio Vows To Tackle Flood In Uyo

➊ Akpabio Vows To

By Abu Nmodu, Minna

Ajogwu said the code would help resolve challenges of weak internal controls in organisations, help passive shareholders, avoid conflict of interest, enable effective management information system among others.

In his remarks, the NCC’s executive commissioner, stakeholder management, Okechukwu Itanyi, said the commission was looking at every means to improve on the growth of the sector.

He said the code might become

Akpabio

Speaker Lauds FG Over Rehabilitation Of Mokwa-Bida Road

By Abu Nmodu

The Speaker, Niger State House of Assembly, Barr. Adamu Usman has described the on-going rehabilitation of Bida- Mokwa federal road as a boost for the People’s Democratic Party PDP in in the south senatorial district of the state.

The speaker spoke over the weekend

Governor Godswill Akpabio has assured residents of Uyo of the détermination of his administration to tackle the menace of flood that has made life unbearable for the people in the state capital.

He gave the assurance yesterday during the monthly prayer meeting at the Government House, Uyo, saying the flood situation at Itiam-Oron Road, Shelter Afrique Estate and Osung Ama estate, would soon be an issue of the past as government was determined to face the issue headlong.

“We are working to connect Oron Road to the main underground drainage we are doing at Tropicana by Julius Berger. Right now what we are doing as a temporary intervention measure is to use pumps to pump water from the areas in Osung Ama Estate. There are some areas that we at a meeting of the PDP stakeholders and IFTAR (breaking fast) he hosted in his constituency in Mokwa local government area of the state.

While commending the Federal Government for the work on the road, he argued that road remains an important link to Nupeland and was very important for the economic growth of the area.

He said apart from the economic benefits, the rehabilitation of the road would reduce incessant accidents which often led to loss of lives and property.

Also speaking, the secretary to the state government, Hon. Saidu Ndako Idris Kpaki, who is also from the area

95 per cent Mokwa-Raba road being constructed by the state government had reached 95 percent completion

are having flood problem because somebody built on the water ways and blocked the way. We are working on that.

“Also in Shelter Afrique Estate, we are having some issues there.

But from the Secretariat in Aka Road through the Tropicana, all the way to Aka-Nung Udoe road, we have connected all through underground pipe jacking drainage system,” he stated.

The state government, Akpabio said, had expended much on flood in the state and had achieved much result, adding “if we had money in abundance, I would have done more.

But last year, we lost 44 per cent of our revenue, as such we are trying to wind down and even suspend a lot of the things we would have loved to do.

“The flood issue is being addressed actually. But in the whole, we have succeeded in the flood that used to happen at Itam Junction. It was permanent at a time. said rehabilitation of Mokwa-Bida road was one of the dividends of democracy that the PDP government had brought to the people.

According to him, Mokwa Local Government Area has enjoyed several dividends of democracy and patronage in the administration of Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu than any other administration in the past.

He disclosed that Mokwa-Raba road being constructed by the state government had reached 95 percent completion and would be commissioned next month by the governor alongside Raba- Bokani rural electrification projects and the new PDP office in Mokwa.

Rotary To Provide Boreholes, Toilets In Edo Markets

By Patrick Ochoga,Benin City

The Rotary Club of Benin Metropolitan said arrangement had been concluded to provide borehole and toilet facilities in some selected markets within Benin City.

This was disclosed by the President of the 9th Rotary Club of Benin Metropolitan, Mr. Martins Eboigbe at his installation in Benin last Sunday.

He said aside construction of toilets and provision of water, the club would also embark on projects that would have direct impact on the lives of the people at Edo State Governor, the selected rural communities.

Adams Oshiomhole

Eboigbe also disclosed the plan of the club to enroll 20 indigent students for WAEC and NECO in some selected public girls secondary schools in Benin City.

He also said the Rotary Club of Benin Metropolitan would assist government agencies in an effort to eradicate polio in the county.

“We will be stepping up efforts to assist in the campaign against polio by increasing our awareness campaign as well as collaborating with the relevant agencies charged with polio eradication.

“In all, we will be working to seek improvement in the provision of portable water, improve the sanitation and

provide empowerment to members of our community just to mention but a few,” he stated.

The installation ceremony of Eboigbe as the 9th President of the Rotary Club of Benin Metropolitan was also used to honour some deserving personalities in the state.

Among those honoured were the state commissioner of police, Mr. Foluso Adebanjo and the state publicity secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Mathew Urhoghide.

The Edo commissioner of police after receiving the award, appealed to Nigerians to give their best for the country.

SCIENCE/interview 25

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

RMRDC Needs More Funds To Commercialise R&D Products – Hussaini The director-general of Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Dr. Ibrahim Hussaini, in this interview with NKECHI ISAAC, enumerates the vision and challenges of the council, saying RMRDC is poised to take the necessary steps towards industralising the nation’s economy by transforming the raw materials sector

short BIO OF

Dr. Ibrahim Hussaini

Dr. Ibrahim Hussaini Doko is the director-general of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).

He started his Master’s programme after his NYSC upon his employment at the Ahmadu Bello University. The nature of his chosen area of study and the absence of Specialists in the area compelled him to undertake part of the research requirements in the UK at the prestigious Leeds University.

He equally enrolled for and completed his Doctorate programme in 1993 from the same University.

What is your vision and perhaps expectations as the new man in charge of affairs at RMRDC?

I was privileged to chair the first and the second (the current) strategic plans of the council; therefore, my vision as the director-general of RMRDC is to implement the current strategic plan (2014-2017) in order to effectively transform the raw materials resources in Nigeria.

Yes, my expectations are numerous and achievable. In the next few years, I want to see RMRDC fully awake to its responsibilities in respect to massive backward integration of the raw materials resources available across the country. I want to see a very hardworking workforce. I want to see a very happy workforce and, above all, I want to see us as a pace-setter in the community of research institutions in Nigeria.

I must also reiterate that all these are only possible with the strong support of the staff, management and the board of this organisation. Let me also not forget the support we have also been enjoying from the organised private sector which has had several years of excellent working relationship with us, such as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), NACCIMA, NASSI, NASME, you name them. Lest I forget, the office extension project is reviewed and will be delivered on time.

Olam Sets Up Africa’s Largest Rice Mill In Nigeria Leading Agri-business firm, Olam Nigeria Limited has set up a multimillion dollar integrated rice mill in Nasarawa State, north-central Nigeria, fitted with the capacity to produce 36,000 metric tonnes of milled rice per annum.

Olam’s Managing Director for Africa and Middle East, Venkataramani Srivathsan, who welcomed Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan for the commissioning of the facility, said 3,000 hectares of land is already under cultivation on the 6,000 hectares of mechanised paddy farm where the rice mill is located.

–VENTURES AFRICA

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I shall encourage capacity building for staff. We have extensive programme for everybody to undergo short courses before the end of the year and beyond, but for long time courses, they must fall within the recognised institutions by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and all officers concerned must follow due process before their release by their respective departments. In the next three years, we shall use the strategic plan as our road map and anything we do must follow the dictates of the plan and that is why since I came on board, we have been spending much of our time reviewing the projects and programmes in order to stop leakages and save our hard-earned resources.

Very soon, we shall start implementation of the programme and projects that have proved above board or passed the integrity tests, such as the big idea projects of the respective departments.

Please note that it’s not only about RMRDC Headquarters, it is also about the 36 state offices spread all over the country. We shall make the environment conducive for them to also conform to the new dispensations. To make them easily monitored, we shall create new zonal offices and inject new blood in them.

How far can you say the council has gone in achieving its objectives?

Yes, I can say that it has not been easy for us over the years and we have not done badly too. We have done a lot in the area of basic and applied researches. We have done well in the area of promoting local fabrication of machines and processing equipment and, to a large extent, we have done a lot in the area of establishing resource-based factories. We have also done pretty well in sensitising Nigerian investors, academics and students on the available raw materials resources in the country, their locations

and the intermediate and end products that are got from processing these raw materials. We have been able to divest from some of our catalytic factories. Very soon, our cluster programme shall start bearing some fruit. Installations of the processing equipment under this programme in states like Bayelsa, Kano, and Sokoto etc, will soon begin and we hope that very shortly we shall get them commissioned.

There is no doubt that this is a good programme, but due to paucity of funds, we shall streamline it to reflect the limited resources at our disposal. To make the programme stronger, we shall explore other areas of collaborations in order to attract more funds for the programme. The same challenge of limitation of funds has not enabled us to commercialise over 200 completed R&D products covering various industrial sectors which we have spent common resources to sponsor. The fact is that some of the research products are at the pilot levels. At this juncture, I will encourage our entrepreneurs to come and take over these research products from us for commercialisation at no cost. As obtainable in other climes, let me say with much emphasis that we shall employ the use of patency - or what you call intellectual property (IP) - as one of the conditions for sponsoring research proposals from our researchers in this country.

And what are the challenges of the council?

Like any other public institution, our budgetary provision need to be improved upon, considering the expansion of our programmes and activities. But it should also be noted that funds are not only the problem. We need to change our mindsets to work for the achievement of our mandates and this includes coming to work and closing as stipulated by law. In fact, we should be regulated by the council’s rules of engagement from the time we report to work till the time we close,

Hussaini

or else this on its own can cause a serious challenge for the organisation and no progress will be recorded even with much funds.

Your council is into research and development in both agro and solid mineral resources, what percentage would you say the country has achieved in the area of solid minerals?

You have captured it all because our business lies so much in the development of agro and mineral resources. As for the agricultural resources, it is easier to get entrepreneurs to be involved in its development, because unlike the solid minerals sector, it has a very short gestation period and our entrepreneurs are not very much interested in projects that have long gestation periods because of impatience in getting back their money and profit in short time.

The fact that we intend to increase the local content of the solid minerals sector was what necessitated my meeting with the Minister of Mines and Steel, Arc. Musa Sada, immediately I came on board. At the end of the meeting, we agreed to create a joint committee on promoting investment in the solid minerals sector. The committee has just met to draft their terms of reference and I want to say that the RMRDC will be ready to partner with the committee to achieve their mandate.

We need to change our mindsets to work for the achievement of our mandates and this includes coming to work and closing as stipulated by law

More Auto-Makers Suspend Production In South Africa

Ghana Set To Build The Largest Solar Plant in Africa

Two more auto makers have temporarily stopped the production of cars at their South African plants as the strike by 222,000 members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) takes its toll.

On Monday, Japanese car maker, Toyota, and US-based auto maker, Ford, warned that they would be suspending production this week because their car parts suppliers had been hit by the strike.

Toyota said it would bring to a stop “some production” at its South African assembly plant from Tuesday (today) this week. Toyota said this step was taken because of the strike – which is in its third week – at the car components suppliers.

–VENTURES AFRICA

The sun is shining on Aiwiaso, a village of 6,600 people in western Ghana. Some 200 kilometres north of the Ghanaian port at Takoradi, 100 kilometres east of the border with the Ivory Coast, the biggest solar power plant ever conceived on the continent is taking shape. Promising enough energy to power 100,000 homes, this may well change the way African governments think about the future of energy.

Scheduled for completion in October 2016, the Nzema solar power plant will be not just the largest in Africa but one of the largest in the world. It will add to Ghana’s current electricity generation capacity by 5.5 percent.

–VENTURES AFRICA

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26 SCIENCE/feature

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

By Nkechi Isaac, Abuja

Africa entered the twenty-first century facing monumental challenges of development and survival. However at the core of these challenges is the continent’s inability to use STI to successfully address critical problems related to healthcare, food security, water safety, affordable housing, electricity, environmental sustainability and others.

The continent today has almost 70 percent of its people living on less than $US2 a day and more that 26 million of them afflicted with HIV/AIDS disease. Records have also shown that many Africans die each year of malaria, more than 40 percent of the population does not have access to safe drinking water, and more than 70 percent do not have access to electricity. Education in the continent, while recently enjoying some signs of improvement, remains inadequate, and reliable health care continues to be out of reach for most Africans.

Global challenges, such as climate change, add to the continent’s challenges especially as it worsens the continent’s health and environmental problems.

Despite all these challenges, Africa still has its strengths in terms of massive human resource asset, but this is not the continent’s only resource. Africa is endowed with many natural resources, such as petroleum, diamonds and other valuable minerals, including copper, zinc and bauxite, for which Africa is known to have largest deposits in the world. The continent is well endowed with rich biodiversity and agricultural resources that have the potential to create enormous economic wealth for its people.

Speaking at the Senior Experts Dialogue (SED) with the theme ‘Science, Technology, and Innovation and the African transformation agenda: making new technologies work for Africa’s transformation’ jointly organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Ministry of Science and Technology yesterday in Abuja, the newly appointed science minister, Dr. Abdu Bulama, however, said these enormous resources could only equitably benefit Africans if Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) was rightly applied to transform these resources to useful goods and services.

He said the aim of SED was to examine collectively the directions in which STI could be carefully and deliberately deployed to support and accelerate the African transformation agenda.

“To this end therefore and in line with the objectives of this dialogue, the following core questions for Africa may arise: What are the impediments to harnessing technologies and innovation for Africa’s development? What

L-R: Chief, new technologies and innovation, special initiatives division of UNECA, Dr. Kasirim Nwuke; permanent secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, Minister in the ministry, Dr. Abdu Bulama, and the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson at the senior experts dialogue on science, technology, and innovation in Abuja, yesterday. photo by nkechi isaac

Leveraging On New Technologies, Innovations For Africa’s Development strategies can Africa adopt to leverage new technologies and innovation that can contribute much more effectively to the transformation of its economies while dealing with multifarious challenges? What are the STI policy implications and how do we make it work for Africa?,” he stated.

The minister expressed optimism that the deliberations would crystallize into implementable actions geared towards using STI capacity to surmount African challenges and also chart the path for accelerated and sustainable development.

In her goodwill message, the Minister of Communication Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson, had earlier described innovation as the life blood of development in any nation.

She said, “research is the beginning of all innovations and innovation is the life blood of development in any nation. If you do not develop you’ll die.”

The former supervising minister of science and technology posited that one of the main reasons for the conference was the need to collaborate and work together as a continent.

“We should not be working in our silos as different countries, we should be coming together both as countries, ministries within the context of science and technology because the innovation that comes out of Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda or any other country in Africa still means it’s from Africa.

“The beginning of innovation as you’re well aware started from Africa and we should show the world that we’re well able and competent to continue to grow and really be an example to the rest of the world,” she added.

In his remarks, the chief, new technologies and innovation special initiatives division of UNECA, Dr. Kasirim Nwuke, said new technologies and innovations were a major part of Africa’s recent growth success.

“For instance, South Africa competitively won the bid to host one of the world’s largest and most powerful radio telescopes – the Square Kilometer Array. Kenya’s mobile money revolution – M-PESA – has and continues to grab headlines across the world and inspire developed and developing countries alike in safe and cost-effective payments in the digital age. Nigeria’s cashless policy - driven by ICT - is eliciting interest from several quarters,” he stated.

He, however, said much more still needs to be done, pointing out that the dialogue presented an opportunity for Africa to seek ways through which it could unleash the full potential of science, technology and innovation to achieve inclusive and sustainable transformation.

Nwuke said, “there are many areas where we believe Africa needs to think anew on how best to deploy STI for its transformation.

These include mechanisms to facilitate the development, transfer and diffusion of technologies

in Africa to empower the farmers, youths, industries and service providers to become more productive and competitive; the impact of new and emerging technology on the competitiveness of Africa’s economies.

“Others include reviewing the impact of new technologies on the education system, acquisition of new key skills, soft and hard infrastructure; the social consequences of new technologies and the legal and regulatory consequences of environment,” he further stated.

He counselled that the solutions, suggestions and recommendation from the deliberations should take into consideration that inputs and outputs must be linked to impacts – improved health, nutrition, services and quality of life.

Earlier in her address, the permanent secretary of the science and technology ministry, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, said the theme of the dialogue was apt as it came at the period when most developing countries were facing the global competitiveness in the science and technology sector.

According to her, “the turn-out of participants in the dialogue underscores Africa’s collective realization that STI are the primary driving force for development with the appropriate deployment of science technology and infrastructure because it is common knowledge that it is one of the primary indices for separating nations into developed, developing and under developed countries.”

The aim of SED was to examine collectively the directions in which STI could be carefully and deliberately deployed to support and accelerate the African transformation agenda

labour matters 27

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Industrial Relations In A State Of Decline – NECA

By Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani, Lagos

The outgoing president of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Richard Uche has lamented the state of industrial relations in Nigeria , saying it is in a state of decadent, riddled with illegal strikes, vandalisation of properties in the course of strikes, rising indiscipline by trade union officials, disdain for labour ministry intervention and indifference by security outfits.

This was contained in his

address NECA’s 57th Annual General Meeting (AGM) which took place in Lagos.

He warned that the nation’s effort at maximizing productivity may be fail if illegal strikes witnessed in the past two years continue unabated.

“First, we want to appeal to our trade union brothers and sisters to respect the rules and laws in Nigeria on dispute settlement”, he stated.

Uche also appealed to law enforcement agencies to protect the rights of employers anytime the union exercise its own right

to picket or strike.

As a way out of the prevalent problem, the NECA boss advocated that, “Perhaps, in the light of the events that have transpired in the last three years which have pointed to the capability of the union to mobilise and manage its members, we believe the time is right for the government to amend the Trade Union Act in order to allow trade unions to directly collect check-off dues from their members.

“We want to assure the unions that we will create a conducive atmosphere for them to discharge

these responsibilities as had been the case in the pre- 1978 industrial dispensation in Nigeria.”

Uche also said that the rising insecurity in the country, particularly the Northern States, has dampened the economic growth and development as a nation.

He emphasised that the continued attack by the Boko Haram insurgents is shrinking the market for products from Northern part of the country as well as productivity activities.

Uche called for a more concerted effort by all the security operatives

as well as support by all to check the insecurity nationwide.

The two labour leaders at the event, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, the president, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, the President general of Trade Union Congress (TUC) both expressed optimism that there could be more harmonious industrial relations if employers could treat their employees as stakeholders and not operating from master-servant disposition which is becoming more prevalent at work places.

NLC Backs Judiciary Workers Strike

By Michael Oche, Abuja

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said it will support the ongoing strike by the judiciary workers and will take every step necessary to ensure the full success of the strike action.

The NLC said it is dismayed by the attitude of all the 36 State Governors who have engendered a paralysing strike in the country’s judiciary as a result of their refusal to obey an order of the Federal High Court presided over by Justice A.F.A Ademola in Abuja The court had granted an order in January 2014 directing that funds meant for all State judiciary as allocations from the Federation/Consolidated Revenue Fund should be paid directly to heads of the State courts; the court also declared as unconstitutional, null and void piece-meal payments/allocations of funds through the Ministries of Finance in the states to the state judiciary at the pleasure of State Governors.

The union said in a statement by its national president, comrade Abduwahed Omar that it was surprised that despite receiving copies of the judgment, none of the 36 State Governors have complied with the judgement and this has caused the judicial workers under the auspices of Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, to proclaim a strike that have effectively shut down all state judiciary in the country since July 11 2014.

It stated that, “For us, we believe all the governors are the greatest beneficiaries of not just constitutional democracy, some of them are indeed direct beneficiaries of judgments of courts or tribunals of competent jurisdiction and it would be a dangerous precedence for the Governors to be leading in blatantly refusing to obey a judgment that has been made by a court of competent jurisdiction as this will be an open encouragement of anarchy and a daring promotion of impunity.”

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh (left) while receiving Nilgun Tas, the chief and deputy to the director competitiveness, business environment and upgrading unit of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), at the ministry of labour, Abuja

Labour Minister Warns Against Abuse Of Expatriate Quota

by Michael Oche, Abuja

The minister of labour, Emeka Wogu has warned against the abuse of expatriate quota by employers, stating that it has become a source of concern for the government.

Speaking at the 57th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Wogu warned that the rights of Nigerian workers must be protected by thier employers.

He said, “The right of Nigerian workers to rise to any position in the workplace should be guaranteed and encouraged by all and sundry. This should minimise or alleviate the incessant grievances and

conflicts in the workplace and should therefore curb the issue of impunity and abuse of rights by the expatriates.”

The minister who spoke on “maintaining industrial harmony in Nigeria, curbing the menace of impunity and abuse of rights, the way forward,” meanwhile noted that most protracted disputes and conflicts in the workplace stem from lack of mutual trust and understanding of shared interest.

He said, “One major cause of these conflict and grievances in the workplace is the issue of unprocedural declaration of redundancy by the employers/ management without wider consultations with the worker’s

representatives, that is, union officials. This falls short of the provisions in the extant labour legislation, particularly Section 20 of labour Act CAP LI LFN 2004”.

Charging NECA to play its role of ensuring industrial peace and harmony in the workplace, Wogu stressed that industrial relation practice in the workplace is a collective sacrifice for both the employers and workers.

“It should start from the plant level where the manager and union leaders must adopt some basic essential minimum standards of industrial democracy and social dialogue on issues affecting the workers and employers”, he said.

TUC Women Commission Reiterates Need For 14 Weeks Maternity Leave

By Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani, Lagos

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) women commission has reiterated the need for 14 weeks maternity leave for women after delivery.

This was disclosed by the chairperson of the commission, Comrade Oyinkan Olasanoye at the weekend in Abeokuta.

According to her, “It is important for women to have additional weeks after childbirth. When we look at the pain and stress they went through during labour, it is important they get additional weeks to rest”.

Olasanoye maintained that International Labour Organization (ILO) ratified weeks of maternity leave for women but it is yet to be domesticated in Nigeria.

28

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

29

30

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

fct watch

31

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

300

We have recorded over 300 healing and miracles since 2011 till date. We have had 30 prophecies coming to pass about this nation.

– Shiloh Word Chapel

ABAJI AMAC BWARI GWAGWALADA KUJE KWALI

ABAJI Garba Calls For Peaceful Coexistence Among Residents The chairman of Abaji area council, Hon. Yahaya Garba, has called on residents to live in peace with one another and reflect to realities of the lessons learnt in the month of Ramadan. Speaking during a breakfast (Iftar) which he organised for Muslims in the council, Garba said the breakfast was aimed at bringing people together to be their brother’s keepers.

—By Igho Oyoyo

AMAC Ramadan: Jiba Preaches Peace The chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Micah Jiba, has appealed for continuous peace and unity in the council after the Ramadan period, saying that the only way development can thrives in a society is when the people are living in peace with one another irrespective of their religious and ethnic affiliation. .

—By Igho Oyoyo Natives waiting to be captured under the community based health insurance scheme. PHOTO BY IGHO OYOYO

Providing Improved Health Insurance Scheme In Ijah-Pada

BY IGHO OYOYO

Health is wealth, and a healthy community is bound to be wealthy and productive in almost all areas.

However, when the people living in the community are sick, then the community would wallow in poverty and under development.

Schools of thought have argued that there can never be any meaningful contribution by an unhealthy society.

A look at healthcare delivery in Nigeria has shown that the government place less emphasis on the provision of essential health amenities to rural dwellers forcing them to resort to self help whenever they have health challenges.

This accounts for the high mortality rate in rural areas because of ignorance and self medication. Rural dwellers are known to have taken their fate into their hands by administering wrong medications in a bid to treat wrongly diagnosed ailments because of the paucity of health care facilities.

Healthcare neglect of indigent people in communities, mostly in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has generated much concern, hence the intervention of the FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, who introduced the Community Base Health Insurance Scheme (CBHIS) and appointed Dr. Grace Aganaba to coordinate it.

The aim of the healthcare intervention programme was basically to reach out to the

people in the hinterlands where the government find it difficult to reach.

Speaking during the flag off of the community based insurance scheme and the distribution of health insurance cards to Ijah-Pada natives of Kwali area council, the coordinator of the FCT Community Base Health Insurance Scheme (FCTCBHIS), Dr. Aganaba said the programme was in fulfillment of governments promise to take healthcare services to the doorsteps of the people, no matter how remote the community was.

According to Aganaba, “though the services is not completely free, it very affordable because with a fee of N1800 in a year the natives can have unlimited access to health facilities in the council for the whole year.”

She explained that once the natives captured under the scheme has a health challenge and goes to the hospital with their identity cards, they’ll get free consultation and treatment, saying the N1,800 registration covers also lab tests and drugs.

According to her, the scheme covers all malaria fever cases, antenatal, postnatal care, infant care, cuts and bruises, and eye examination, without glasses, adding that these are basic treatments that are obtainable in a comprehensive health centre.

Aganaba said, “nobody without an identity card would be given any of our drugs, if anybody without an identity card is given he has to pay, unless with our identity

card. Our drugs are strictly for the insurance people and they are free for them.

“This community based health insurance scheme would not have been possible without the political will of the FCT minister of state who in her motherly attitude approves whatever we take to her in respect to reaching out to communities.”

According to her, “She is interested in making sure that all residents and indigenes of all the area councils access affordable health care, which is a prime thing for everybody. Health is wealth, if the people are healthy, we can then ask for social development, environmental development and anything.

“I want to commend the minister because she has never stood by our way but always gives us her unflinching support at every instance. There has been no proposal I take to her that she will not approve, seeing that it has to do with health of the people in the area councils.”

She also commended the area council chairmen for their support, saying they have given CBHIS the needed supports it deserves by making it possible for them to access the communities in their councils, adding that the exercise would not have been achievable without their support.

“The people would be able to access healthcare services by paying as low as N150 a month and N1800 a year per family.

Although it is meager amount but

BWARI Residents Want Rehabilitation Of Roads Residents of Bwari in Bwari area council have pleaded with the FCT administration and the council to facilitate the rehabilitation of some strategic roads in the council.

Some of the residents, who spoke to LEADERSHIP said that the roads particularly the Bwari township road has caused untold hardship to the community as it has been in a deplorable state for a long time.

—By Chika Mefor

GWAGWALADA Councillors Blamed Over Dearth Of Infrastructure Residents have blamed area councils ward councilors over infrastructural neglect in most of the communities.

Gwagwalada residents who spoke with LEADERSHIP stated that those councilors hardly return to their wards after election to know the needs of the people.

—By Chika Mefor

KUJE Tete Invites Muslims To Breakfast The chairman of Kuje area council, Hon. Shaban Tete, has invited all Muslims to Kuje Government House on Wednesday, 23 July to break their fast, which he said would encourage unity amongst Muslims and Christians in the council. He made this call during his tour to all the central Mosques in the council —By Igho Oyoyo

KWALI Residents Want Rehabilitation of Schools 32

Residents in Kwali area council have called on the council administration to facilitate the rehabilitation of schools especially in the rural area so as to bring about a safe and conducive environment for learning in the area —By Chika Mefor

32 FCT watch/NEWS

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

ACE Scribe Tasks INEC Over Civic Education

APC Chieftain, Others Defect To PDP In Bwari

By Chika Okeke

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a two-time council chairmanship candidate in Bwari area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon Yahaya Isah, has decamped with over 10,000 and members of Bwari chapter of the party into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a chat with journalists, the chieftain said the move followed a meeting where the stakeholders met and resolved to collectively dump the APC

Ahead of FCT and 2015 general elections, the secretary-general of the Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), Mr Emma Ezeazu, has enjoined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to direct its energies more on civic education, saying it was crucial for ensuring transparency.

Ezeazu made this call during a public presentation of opinion poll on electoral reform, constitutional process on the 2015 general election conducted by an Abuja based research organisation, Fusion Consulting Limited, approved by the ACE. He said, “there is a need for INEC to pay more attention on civic education by enlightening the electorates on the need to register and vote for their candidates because it is one of the basic necessities for ensuring transparency ahead of the general elections.”

Earlier, a staff of consulting firm, Toyin Akinloye, who presented the poll revealed that 48 per cent of Nigerians were against the two-chamber system of legislature; the Senate and House of Representatives, insisting that only one chamber; the National Assembly should be in existence so as to reduce the cost of governance in the country.

According to the poll, “48 per cent of the respondents said Nigeria should abolish the current two-chamber system in favour of one chamber while 34 per cent said no to abolish the two-chamber system, even as 19 per cent refused to participate in the poll.”

The poll further harped on the need for Nigerians in Diaspora to take part in the elections while 61 per cent of respondents expressed confidence that the military has a vital role to play in ensuring free and fair general elections.

By Igho Oyoyo

for the ruling PDP. Isah, who was a two timemember of the board of Trustees of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the FCT, said he and selected representatives of various support organisations under the APC converged and unanimously agreed they should move together into the PDP from the opposition party (APC) with immediate effect.

“We are moving not less than ten thousand and above supporters in Bwari chapter of the APC into the PDP, and we

would formally be received by the PDP in a very short time.

“It is a moment of joy; it is a moment of hope; and it is a moment of faith. And since people believe that hope is ahead, we cannot therefore remain where the prospect is blurring. So that’s why we have all agreed to move on to a better platform.

“The decision to leave APC for PDP it is not that of Yahaya , as I have not said word on it, but hundreds of people, who are representing thousands of people-from Bwari and other

parts of the FCT have agreed to dump the APC for PDP. We believe that we are moving for a hope based on principle and the essence of development.

“We need to go where we can give our contribution and our own quota for the development of this country. There could be something lacking now, but I believe that people have certain wisdom, knowledge and experience, which if given the opportunity, they will give their quota to the betterment and development of this country,” he stressed.

A wheel-barrow pusher taking a nap by Julius Berger’s junction in Abuja, yesterday PHOTO BY OGOH JOSEPH.

Online News Posting Negatively Affecting Newspaper Sales - Vendors

By Igho Oyoyo

Association of Newspaper Distributors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has decried the prompt posting of online news, saying it negatively affects sales of papers.

Speaking to journalists, the vice chairman of the association, Mr Joshua Orogun, said that online

news has made people who usually buy newspapers to read up the news on their phone, ipad and computers.

Orogun urged publishers and practitioners not to upload news online till about 12 noon, so that the vendors would have made appreciable sales by then.

He said, “online news have dras-

tically slowed down sales of hard cover newspapers; you can imagine a situation where you go to distribute papers in offices and you’ll see them already posting comments about trending stories on their phones. It’s very discouraging.”

According to him, “It is really affecting us negatively, that we

cannot boast of selling up to 300 copies a day, when we used to sell over 700 copies a day in the past.

We do not know what to do any more, that is why we are appealing to publishers not to allow their stories to be online early, that they should post their daily news online as from 12 noon when newspapers would have sold reasonable copies.”

Providing Improved Health Insurance Scheme In Ijah-Pada 31

I know that when they start seeing the benefit, the entire community would pay. The mandate is that by 2015 everybody should have a health insurance card; that is our goal and we are going to ensure that every community in the FCT and other residents get their health insurance cards,” she stated.

The heir of Ijah-Pada Chief, Prince Doka Ayewa, who spoke on behalf of his father, commended the team of the community based health insurance scheme, saying it would promote the development of the community.

Ayewa said, “we appreciate the minister for supporting this kind gesture and the CBHIS personnel for not considering the remoteness of this community but still found their way to come here and assist us in terms of health care delivery. I want to use this opportunity to call on the chairman of Kwali area council, Hon. Ibrahim Daniel, to come to our rescue because we still have other challenges needs intervention in this community.

“We are seriously in great need of water in this community; if you go to the stream where we fetch

We are seriously in great need of water in this community

water you will pity us. I appeal to the chairman to assist us with a standard borehole. If possible, we need two or three water boreholes to be built for us here in Ijah-Pada, because the population of people has greatly increased.

“Also, in the area of electricity, we have been living in darkness for a very long time, despite the fact that this community is not far from the city centre. Successive administrations have promised to give us electricity but they have failed to fulfill the promise.

The truth is that we cannot really boast of any tangible thing that

the council administration has done for us.”

According to him, “we find it difficult enter our community during the rainy season because our roads are bad. There is nothing we can say that the council has done for us. But, we know that the new administration has just started and we hope that it would be different from the others, that is why we are appealing to him to come to our rescue, by completing the new health centre that is under construction and give us water boreholes which is our major challenge.”

FCT watch/feature 33

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Children in the classroom

The Need For Child Friendly Education In FCT

By Chika Mefor

The child friendly school is an educational model aimed at helping schools achieves safe, healthy and protective environments that meet the specific needs of the children. It not only pertains to good teaching methods but also include considerations of children’s health and learning environment.

Every child has the right to qualitative education. But for many children, school is not a fun place to be because they had to experience different unfavorable conditions like dirty environment, cold or hot temperature in the class room and even leaking roof. Others have to contend with learning under the tree or on the floor while others experience discrimi-

nation, harassment and violence.

These conditions are not favorable in the learning and development of a child. And sadly these conditions have become recurrent sad occurrences in most schools at the rural areas in the FCT. In most of these schools, though there have been structures on ground, most of the structures needs to be refurbished. Some of the roofs have been blown off by the while others have to make do with leaking roofs. These conditions are not good learning conditions for children.

In other places where structures are not adequate the school management improvise by creating zinc classrooms popularly called ‘batchers’; that is very hot when there is sun and very cold when

there is rain.

Noting the importance of a condusive learning environment, an international nongovernmental organization, committed to securing safe, rights-based, quality education for each and every child, irrespective of his or her circumstances, UNICEF, has come up with a comprehensive, multifaceted and dynamic educational model aimed at helping schools achieve safe, healthy and protective environments that meet the specific needs of their children.

The model, called the Child Friendly School (CFS) is characterised as being inclusive, healthy and protective for all children; effective with children, and involved with families and communities.

The CFS model preaches the im-

portance of good educational environment which must be safe, healthy and protective, endowed with trained teachers, adequate resources and appropriate physical, emotional and social conditions for learning.

It also explains that within this environment, the rights of the children must be protected and their voices must be heard. The environments must be a haven for children to learn and grow, with respect for their identities and varied needs. The CFS model, UNICEF promotes inclusiveness, gender-sensitivity, tolerance, dignity and personal empowerment.

While respecting the unique backgrounds and circumstances of the children, the model according to UNICEF compensates for any shortcomings in the home and community that might make it difficult for children to enroll in school, attend regularly and succeed in their studies. For example, if there is a food shortage in the community, school-feeding programmes can provide children

both with the nutrition they so critically need and the incentive to stay in school and get an education.

The CFS model also stresses the importance of partnerships between schools and the community, noting that if children should be fully prepared to become active and productive citizens, their learning must be linked to the wider community.

The model is an important tool to achieving a quality education for children but its goal cannot be achieved unless the government is prepared to assist.

UNICEF recommends that governments should promote free enrolment, pass regulations that prohibit corporeal punishment, encourage the use of local languages in schools, integrate disabled children into mainstream schools, allow pregnant students to complete their education, and mandate that children living with HIV and/or AIDS have a right to attend school and continue learning.

People Have Made Fortunes From Selling Bush Meat – Hassan

By Chika Mefor

Top 5 eatries in fct ➊ KFC ➋ Drum Sticks ➌ Mama Cass ➍ Tantalizer ➎ Mr Biggs

Babangida Hassan is a bush meat seller that sells along the KubwaDutse express road.

Speaking exclusively to LEADERSHIP, Hassan said he has been in the bush meat business for over 10 years.

He explained that bush meat business was a lucrative business, saying that many people have made fortune from selling the bush meat delicacy to residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He said, “we get good patronage from people who come here to

Bush meat sellers

buy bush meat. We have not disappointed them; we bring meat that we know Islam and Christianity do not forbid. We thank God because so many of us have made fortune from this business.

According to him, “we sell grass cutter between N4, 500 to N5, 000 and we make at least N16,000 in a day when business is really good.”

He, however, lamented that the population explosion, which has increased demands for the delicacy has depleted the availability of bush meat in bushes around the FCT forcing them to travel to nearby States in search of meat.

“The growth of population in the FCT has become a challenge to us.

This has forced us to travel to nearby states like Kogi and other places in search of this precious meat.

“Population growth and hunting have driven animals deep into the forest. For example, if we go into some bushes in Dutse, you only come out with one two meats.

Sometimes, you get nothing. So, you see there is no need going there to waste one’s time. What we do now is to go down to places like Lokoja in Kogi State to get out meat. There are designated villages in the area were we know that we can get the meat.

34 OPINION

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Osun Election: High Expectations From INEC

By CHINWE OGBUKA

In less than one month, precisely on August 9, Osun people are expected to troop out in large number to elect a new governor for the state. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is to conduct yet another governorship election few weeks after the Ekiti election which, till date has been commendation all through for the successful outing.

All eyes are definitely on INEC to replicate in Osun what it did in Ekiti.

Since after the Ekiti polls, different groups have been assessing the conduct of the election and pointing out what INEC did and did not do well with a view to identifying challenges encountered by those involved in the process and suggesting ways of improving the electoral process towards Osun and future elections.

Although the Ekiti election was generally adjudged free, fair transparent and hitch-free, there are still few areas that can be improved upon in order to sustain the success recorded in Ekiti by the Commission.

As part of efforts to build on the success of Ekiti, the Policy And Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) held a dialogue to assess the performance of INEC and other stakeholders in the Ekiti election.

PLAC is a non-governmental organisation committed to strengthening democratic governance and citizens access and participation in electoral process. It coordinates civil society situation room during elections.

As the Osun election draws near, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room organised a dialogue with

Jega

the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega to critically assess the performance of the Commission in the Ekiti election to ensure far better poll in Osun State. Already the chairman has assured Nigerians and indeed the whole world that Osun election will be better than Ekiti and Nigerians are full of expectations from the Commission.

The dialogue titled “Replicating INEC’s Success in Ekiti on a National Scale Ahead of the 2015 General Elections”, held at the Protea Hotel Apo, Abuja and was facilitated by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The dialogue afforded participants an opportunity to share their experiences in Ekiti, raise observations, ask questions and make very useful suggestions on how to improve on Osun election so that the bar already raised in Ekiti can be maintained.

Of particular concern to the CSOs is the issue of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) distributed and used in Ekiti election, which many eligible voters are yet to collect. They are worried that many

Of particular concern to the CSOs is the issue of permanent voter cards (PVCs) distributed and used in Ekiti election, which many eligible voters are yet to collect

people in Ekiti did not collect their PVCs and as a result did not vote.

Unfortunately, those people now accuse INEC of disenfranchising them. But INEC chairman, responding to the comment explained that INEC devoted three days distributing the PVCs in the state after which it carried out continuous voter registration (CVR) weeks before June 21 and yet people did not come out to collect their cards.

Prof. Jega wondered why INEC was being accused of disenfranchising some people.

“What the Commission insists on is non collection of PVCs by proxy.

We emphasised that there will be no collection of PVCs by proxy.

There may be legitimate reason for proxy collection but we said no.”

However, a situation where people have the PVCs and it has been verified that they are actual owners of those cards but their names are not on the distribution register, the chairman said, “If your name is on register of voters and you have PVC but your name is not on distribution register, we cannot stop you from voting, but it means you collected the card by proxy.”

On the suggestion to allow people collect their cards on election day, the chairman said “I cannot allow collection of PVCs on election day because it is going to disrupt election process, there should not be any other activity on election day.”

The Commission is also thinking of decentralising the distribution of PVCs so that the registration area officers (RAOs) can at intervals go out to distribute the cards.

– Ogbuka works in the public affairs department of INEC

Can The Body Polity Stand The Heat?

By John Danfulani

In their separate updates on Facebook, two Nigerian social media czars, former ministers during Obasanjo’s era, and kingpins of the ruling party, PDP and opposition APC, Malam Nasir el-Rufai and Mr. Femi Fani Kayode opined that the impeachment train has left Adamawa and heading to other states.

Mallam el-Rufai lamented this development in this fashion: “We will fight this with every drop of blood, and as I wrote earlier, we will see how this ends. Nigerian has been there before”. Mr. Kayode was cherry of the development and revealed states that the train of ousting state chief executives will soon stop over.

It can be summed up as: elRufai is crying while Kayode is jubilation.

Reading the thin blue

lines in Kayode’s outburst: “Impeachment of recalcitrant opposition governors is a design by his party using the federal might. The forecast shows that, by the time they are through with the last opposition in their targeted states, they will reclaim their lost states – and even make inroad into terrains like Borno that has naturally been a clime of opposition since inception of this democracy in 1999.”

In a democracy, plotting the fall of opponents is a norm, including impeachment.

Sure, no doubt about it.

Much of it is done through mobilising the mandate givers in election periods or during referendums to deny incumbents fresh mandates or refuse questions relating to continuity of governments in a referendum. Even with this, there are laid down processes that must be followed to make

them credible and acceptable within and outside those political geographies.

Some comments/ questions to ponder on 1. Can what happened in Adamawa, which was clearly said to be a ruling party’s agenda of reclaiming lost territories stand the test of credibility and the law?

2. Is it a norm and something permittable for a kingpin of a ruling party to make public outbursts and tell others outside his constituency that they will be goners pretty soon as pronounced by citizen Kayode?

3. If the planned impeachment rolled without hitches, is that sinking deeper our root of democracy or starving it of needed nutrients which is found in the existence of

opposition in a body polity?

4. In politics, Newtonian Third Law of Motion is a golden rule most actors observed like a religious rite. If the opposition reacts in equal proportion, will the body polity stand the heat without suffocation that might snatch life out of it?

W ithout any fear of contradiction, I think making impeachment of opposition governors part of 2015 game plan is by PDP or their “opposition terminating gang” wrong and scarce of any scintilla of civility.

This is by no means advocating that, governors that committed impeachable infractions should not have a noose tied round their kleptocratic necks and hang in line with provisions of the law.

–Danfulani, Ph.D can be reached at johndanfulani@ gmail.com

Every Tuesday Ahmad B Kaita (MHR) 07081888802 (SMS only) email: babbaahmed@yahoo.com

Still On The $1Bn Loan Request

C

all it what you may, Nigeria is truly an enigma. Happenings in Nigeria could neither be understood using normal reasoning nor could they be defined using normal intellectual and logical processes. Only in Nigeria could “black” assume the whiteness of white without process. It’s so easy.

Somebody could just wake up in the morning and tell Nigerians today black is white and the country will be divided. One half will be happy that black is now white while the other half will be sad with their inability to see the transformation on what they will assume to be a deformity on their side.

Yes, it’s that bad!

To get a better picture of this sordid and irritatingly foggy situation, ponder on a recent request by President Goodluck Jonathan to the National Assembly seeking for permission to obtain a $1bn loan to upgrade military hardware for effective war with insurgency. Quite a laudable objective on the surface, if I may say. However, the underlying question is, what has the president done with the billions of dollars appropriated for Security in the last three years?

Starting from 2011 when security budget was surreptitiously hiked to N921.91bn (roughly $5.7bn) up from a modest N231.99bn in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014 witnessed a steady increase of allocations to security yet without corresponding effect on the Nigerian system. Rather than improve, it could be said that security have been declining almost at the same rate with the speed the government is jacking up its security spending.

This left us with the question, where is the money or the “security” that such multi billion dollar provision could buy. Without any effort to clear the air about the obvious deficits in our obsolete and undeniably ineffective security system that many are inclined to believe is now a bottomless pit of corruption, President Jonathan must be super insensitive to go begging for permission from the NASS to obtain a loan that will most probably end up in the same bottomless pockets of defence contractors and the seemingly uncontrollable Nigerian security outfits.

Logically one may ask the president how he intend to improve Nigeria’s security with a meager $1bn when he has failed to do so with tens of billions of dollars he practically threw down the drain in the last three years alone in the name of security. If anything, the president’s illogical demand only helped vindicate Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State who was almost fried for telling the world the pathetic situation the Army contend with in the ongoing war against insurgency.

Only few Nigerians, probably those very close to Aso Rock disbelieved Governor Shettima when he alluded that Boko Haram is better equipped and better motivated than the Nigerian Army which happened to be the senior partner in the joint war against Boko Haram by Nigeria’s security forces.

Governor Shettima was called all sorts of names by the attack dogs of the presidency for daring to reveal this logical truth. The $1bn loan request was just one out of the many confirmatory revelations Nigerians should expect to see in the next few months as the tempo for 2015 gather more steam.

It’s inconceivable for Nigeria to be so trapped in a messy situation as it is today with a judicious application of even half what the government claimed to have spent on security in the last few years. It’s not entirely accidental that some Army officers breached security protocol by exposing the sad and obsolete state of the military through reputable media organisations like VOA and BBC.

ISSUES 35

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Adamawa: Why Regime Change Became Necessary

By Umar Ardo

When in 2007 some key political elites in Adamawa State came together to make Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd), former Deputy Chief of Defense Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Military Governor of Niger State, governor of the state, it was presumably done with the best of intentions. Although the manner of his ‘nomination’ as the PDP’s candidate was less than salutary, most people in the state were willing to give it a chance in the belief that Admiral Nyako would give a better leadership than the departing Boni Haruna regime.

This was basically on the assumption that a man of Nyako’s age and background as a one time member of the Supreme Military Council, National Council of State, Armed Forces Ruling Council, National Defense Council and Federal Executive Council, all being severally and collectively the highest governing bodies of the nation, would be God-fearing and well-experienced to give Adamawa State a deservingly good leadership devoid of injustice, partiality, discrimination, dishonesty, corruption, nepotism, ineptitude, godfatherism, and lack of clarity and sincerity of purpose.

Admittedly, I held that view too.

But I have very long ago dropped it.

Unfortunately, the key actors who brought in Nyako upon this assumption did not take into account the natural law of human character and personality. Unlike the laws of Physics which see every object from the prism of ‘the further the smaller and the closer the bigger’, the reverse seems to be the case in terms of the human character and personality. This,

Nyako

Firstly, as a result of complete lack of co-ordination and coherence, the Nyako/Ngilari administration systematically destroyed the basis of governmental structure in the state indeed, turned out to be evidently true of Admiral Murtala Nyako.

Once brought in as governor, Nyako came close to people, and all the distant larger-thanlife perceptions, assumptions and admirations of him simply vanished. Murtala Nyako became just another ordinary man! The old age did not bring in the expected fear of God; the high positions earlier held did not improve his understanding of issues; the past experience did not serve as lessons

for the present. On the contrary, the old age became an impulse to acquire as much and as quickly as his insatiable greed can contain before the lights are dimmed; the high positions earlier held seem to serve as an eye-opener to present opportunities so as to more than make up for lost ones of the past; while the past experience serves as an impetus to do just as he pleases with the people’s common wealth put in sacred trust into his hands believing that nothing will happen.

In consequence, Adamawa State has today become worse off for it in several areas of governance.

Firstly, as a result of complete lack of co-ordination and coherence, the Nyako/Ngilari administration systematically destroyed the basis of governmental structure in the state. This was achieved by means of having individuals who hold no official positions in government, and institutions that are not enacted into law, performing official functions, exercising state powers and expending public funds. Two clear examples are the eldest son of the governor, Navy Cmdr. Abdul-Aziz Nyako and the Special Programs and Projects Unit (SPPU).

While Cmdr. Nyako Jnr. holds no official position in the government of Adamawa State, it is all too well known that he is the de facto head of the government of the state in the background. He wields enormous powers, takes binding official decisions and expends unlimited public funds.

Although the so-called SPPU has not been enacted by law, virtually all major public contracts and expenditure of the state pass through it. In other words, the SPPU has invariably become the clearing house of Adamawa State’s contracts. The headquarters of the Unit is in the governor’s own personal house and in the living room of Cmdr.

Nyako. The major implication of this is the distortion of the principles of official responsibility and accountability of public servants and institutions. This dysfunction in governance over the years destroyed the structure of government in the state.

Resultantly, officialdom lost its

essence as most officials, deprived of their primary assignments, are now redundant and frustrated.

Secondly the regime wreaked the local government structure in the state. Section 7 of the Constitution establishing Local Government Councils intends the LGAs to serve as centers of local development closest to the people, encouraging and nurturing participatory democratic governments. However, the policy of the Nyakoj/Ngilari regime has destroyed the essence of the LG system. In addition to cutting off their constitutionally provided statutory allocations, the state government also thwarted all forms of democratic elections at the LGAs. Throughout the over seven years of the regime, elected local government councils existed for only 3 years 3 months. Even this one was established without any form of internal party democracy, and with opposition parties boycotting the general elections that produced it. The consequence of this is the complete arrest of any form of development in the LGAs with many of them unable to pay salaries for months on end. Thus, the regime destroyed the essence of the local government system in Adamawa State as envisaged by the Nigerian constitution.

Thirdly, the Nyako/Ngilari regime also killed all forms of electoral process in the state.

Apart from the above mentioned denial of elections in the LGAs, the regime made it impossible to hold any form of elections in the formation of the PDP organs in the state.

–Ardo, Ph.D contributed this piece from Abuja

Dele Fatokun

Reasoning Together reasoningtogether2013@yahoo.com 08158594386 (SMS only)

Godly Sorrow - A Catalyst Of True Repentance One thing individuals, nations, and indeed the whole world need most is repentance and yet it is what many men and women run away from. The reasons for this avoidance are not farfetched.

Repentance challenges man’s will power and demands that he humbles himself before God and turn away from everything that God hates. The holy demands of repentance are therefore what have kept many proud men and women far from the kingdom of God. Repentance, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is “to feel sorry for or reproachful for what one has done or has not done”. It goes further to state that it is to feel such regret and dissatisfaction over some past action or intention as to change one’s mind about it or

to change one’s way. Repentance involves changing one’s affection from earthly things to heavenly things, turning from self to the living God. All men and women need repentance, because all have sinned against the Righteous, Holy God both by inheritance and by practice (Romans 3:23).Repentance is a clear command from God and He demands it. Any mortal man who refuses to repent will bear the consequences of his action.

However, there cannot be true repentance without godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Repentance is not being fearful.

King Felix expressed fear when the preaching of Paul convicted him of his unrighteousness but he never repented. True repentance is not simply being sorry. Those who

crucified Jesus were sorry when they heard Peter’s preaching on the day of Pentecost but Peter still told them to repent. Repentance is not reformation of life. A man may quit an action he considers detrimental to acceptability of his business associates without any consideration for godliness.

Genuine repentance is characterised by Godly sorrow expressed in guilt over sin. It leads one to such a strong desire to make his or her life right in the sight of God, who has been offended and to receive forgiveness from Him. To be forgiven is to be saved, pardoned, justified, born again, re-created (2 Corinthians 5: 17). The Bible is replete with examples of those who had godly sorrow on hearing the preaching of God’s word and

repented as a result. The Ninevites heard the preaching of Prophet Jonah and turned from their evil way (Jonah 3:10). Also, the people that listened to Peter at Pentecost were pricked in their hearts. They asked what they should do to be saved and Peter instructed them to repent. Many of them did and had their sins forgiven.

True repentance is not without marks or proofs. First, there is a

Genuine repentance is characterised by Godly sorrow expressed in guilt over sin new life as the old life of lying, stealing, fighting, fornication,

adultery, bribery and corruption, wife or husband beating, hatred, envy, pride etc. is gone.

Secondly, there is love for God, righteousness and God’s people.

A sinner hates God and righteous people even though he may be involved in religious practices. A man can be religious and yet love sin, but the righteous person hates sin in all its forms and ramifications.

This is because God hates sin and it was sin that made Christ to come down from heaven and die on the cross. Thirdly, there is the strong desire and readiness to put right all wrongs done to others either covertly or overtly. This requires apologising to someone hurt or maligned, returning stolen or misappropriated items, paying back debts and uncovering lies told.

36 issues

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Love, Pain And The Mystery Of Separation

By Femi Fani-Kayode

Love is beautiful but it can also ravage and destroy. It brings pleasure and it brings pain. It brings joy and it brings sorrow. It brings light and it brings darkness.

It brings laughter and it brings tears. It brings peace and it brings turmoil. It brings tranquility and it brings turbulence. It brings serenity and it brings rage.

It brings passivity and it brings aggression. It brings selflessness, kindness and generosity and it brings cruelty, sadism and masochism. It brings restraint and balance and it brings wild passion and extreme emotions. It brings the promise of a new dawn and it brings the testimony of a tragic sunset. It is indeed the greatest paradox that has existed since the beginning of time.

God IS love yet He created satan, the harbinger and apostle of hate, death and destruction.

The songwriter wrote ‘’love hurts, love scars, love wounds’’. Another wrote ‘’sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead’’.

How true this is.

How poignant and appropriate are these simple words from these two beautiful and celebrated songs.

Yet at the same time that same love that can be so painful brings the sheer pleasure and blessing of lasting and cherished memories.

And the true test of love comes not when things are smooth and rosy but when challenges come and things go wrong. They say that when someone you love insists on leaving, however painful it may be, you must let that person go.

If that person is truly yours he or she shall eventually return but if they are not yours they will never come back. Whichever way, you win because you cannot lose what was never yours and what is yours will always come back to you.

Courage, patience, faith, strength, a gentle disposition, a firm resolve and a large application of the Balm of Gilead to wipe away the pain and heal your wounds is the key to survival and to weathering the storm of separation from a loved one. I know because I have been there. Apart from that, good old fashioned time has a way of healing broken hearts and wounded souls and of revealing the truth of every matter.

In the Book of Proverbs 30: 18-19, King Solomon said, “there are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and THE WAY OF A MAN WITH A MAIDEN’’.

How profound, deep and wise this great King was. ‘’The way of a man with a maiden’’ is indeed one of the great mysteries under the sun. This is not only a spiritual truism but also a tried and tested home truth. The morale of the tale is that no force on earth or below the earth, no situation, no

set of circumstances, no degree of alienation and hateful words and no misunderstanding can keep two people that are truly in love apart forever.

That is indeed the power of love.

It cannot be hidden or supressed for long and it cannot be resisted no matter how hard we try or how often we are persuaded. It is indeed a beautiful thing. Yet as a dear friend of mine recently told me, despite it’s awesome power, ‘’love is pain’’.

There is however a deeper truth and that truth is as follows. When the Lord establishes the reasons and creates the circumstances for you to move on from anyone that you were once close to or that you love and when He makes a way for a new beginning for you, never complain and never look back.

Don’t be like Lot’s wife lest you turn into a pillar of salt. Don’t be like the children of Israel that were led by Moses into the desert only for them to begin to yearn and crave for the ‘’onions and garlic of Egypt’’ where they had once been slaves.

Remember that Abraham could not prosper and find his calling until he was separated from Lot. God may well be doing a new thing in your life by throwing the garbage out and separating you from someone that you had once trusted and that you were once very close to, so grab that opportunity with both hands, move on, make new friends and enjoy the ride.

When two people that were once very close fall apart don’t be too eager to fix it or to come back together again simply because you may not be able to move to the next prophetic level of your life if you do.

God is in the business of removing stumbling blocks and the secret agents of the devil from the lives of His children so don’t complain when those you once loved begin to behave like water demons and dragons, begin to tell the most hideous lies and begin to manifest hatred towards you.

When that happens just hold your peace, smile, remain silent, have a little patience and wait and see their end.

There are some ‘’little foxes’’ that you just don’t need in your life when you are about to rise up so no matter how painful it is for two close people to go their separate ways the wise thing to do is to ‘’let go and let God’’.

And when you do let go, be thankful for the moments you once had together and go forth in peace and with as little rancor and dissention as possible. For those that repay good with evil the bible says ‘’evil shall never leave their household’’.

So don’t fight for yourself when you are wronged by ingrates and those you once helped, supported and assisted: instead let that powerful verse of scripture fight for you.

Always remember it and call it before God during your time

of intercession and prayer by just saying the following words: ‘’those that have repaid my good with evil, evil shall never leave their household’’. Stand on these powerful and precious words and have faith in the mystery and efficacy of the Holy Word of God knowing that scripture cannot be broken by any power in heaven, on earth or below the earth.

After that just hold your peace and no matter how long it takes, whether it is a few seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years or decades, wait and see what happens. Always remember that ‘’God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform’’ and that vengeance is His. He will judge, He will reward and He will avenge.

Again remember Mr. Kayode Ola’s simple yet deeply profound words. He said, ‘’keep your head up. God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers’’. No matter what you are going through, no matter who has hurt, cheated or betrayed you and no matter what your circumstances are learn to take the pain with dignity and to despise the shame, for it shall surely pass.

In order to escape rancor, betrayal and conflict try your best to avoid loud, vexatious, greedy and ungrateful people because no matter how much you do for them in their time of need they will never be satisfied. Worse still they will despise you for your generosity and compassion which they perceive as nothing but weakness and stupidity.

Helping such people is like conjuring up the Angel of Death, like invoking Abaddon, the spirit of destruction, and like trading with the grave: they can never be appeased or satisfied and they will always want more. Worst still the more you help them and the more you give, the more they will demand and the more they will hate you for it.

Finally always remember what Mr. Herbert Mensah, one of Ghana’s and indeed Africa’s brightest and best, once said: “never cry for someone who does not know the value of your tears”.

This is wisdom.

Save your tears and sorrow only for those who love and appreciate you but never reject or treat with contempt those that genuinely care for you. This is because, generally speaking, human beings are fickle, unreliable and shallow and those that truly care are very few.

The truth is that we live in a harsh and cruel world and only God’s love is pure. Only He stays with us to the end no matter what we are going through. Only He is faithful. Only He loves us for what and who we are and not for what He can get out of us.

Permit me to end this contribution by sharing what I describe as the seven lessons for abundant life. The first is that without God there is nothing and

Fani-Kayode

with God there is everything. The second is that if you help ten people in life count yourself lucky if one returns to say thank you and count yourself lucky if only one of the ten betrays you.

The third is that you must trust no-one because it is those that are closest to you that will hurt you the most. The fourth is that you must never write off or despise anyone no matter how bad their situation because you don’t know what they may become tomorrow. The fifth is that you cannot afford not to help your friends and you cannot afford not to fight your enemies.

The sixth is that true knowledge and insight is gained not by the best secular education or even by life’s many experiences but rather it is gained by divine revelation.

The seventh and final lesson is that you must conquer your fears and no matter what you are going through, be positive, be happy and hold on to your faith in God knowing that He that created you is quietly working His purpose out for your life and He will never forsake or leave you either in this life or in the life to come.

Seven is the number of perfection so let me stop there but if you can hold on to these seven home truths you will go far in life and nothing will hold you down.

Permit me to conclude this contribution with the following counsel. In love, pain and the mystery of separation never forget that when your loved one fails you and decides to leave, as painful as it might be, the Holy Spirit and the Balm of Gilead is more than able to heal your wounds and make you whole again. You will live to love another with equal measure and that love will surely be returned because everyone has their very own life-partner waiting for them out there somewhere. It is just a matter of finding him or her.

If your lover or spouse chooses to leave never forget that if he or she is truly yours and if it is the will of God, one day, no matter how long it may take, you shall surely be together again because what is truly yours shall always return to you. If that doesn’t happen and it doesn’t work out that way just give

God the glory and give your love to another because the one that left was clearly never yours in the first place.

If needs be just take the pain and move on. Yet if you ever find your true love and you are sure that it is God’s will for you to be together, never let go no matter what because if you do so you may never find it again. Despite all it’s complexities and pain love still remains the greatest gift that God ever gave to humanity. And nothing describes the essence of true love, or what is known in Pentecostal circles as ‘’agape love’’ (meaning the power to love even the unlovable), as the beautiful words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 1:13.

He said, ‘’If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.

When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.

Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love’’.

This is wisdom. Shalom.

– Fani-Kayode is the former Minister of Aviation

politics today Tuesday, July 22, 2014

REPORTS ANALYSES REVIEWS INTERVIEWS

How prepared is the committee for the 2016 National Population Headcount?

Yes, you would agree with me that a successful national head count has become an issue of concern for Nigerians because of its far reaching implications for national development and quality of life of Nigerians. Be that as it may, it is our hope in the committee that the next population census would be credible and devoid of controversies, so for us in the House Committee on population we are synergizing and given the National Population Commission all the support and backing it requires to achieved that goal.

What are the basis for a successful population headcount?

I think early release of funds by the Federal Government is paramount for all effective conduct of the commission’s activities, we have observed that over the years concerned interests have complained that funds for census exercises were inadequate again releases were always untimely and irregular the truth is that these delayed releases after appropriation have impacted negatively on the commission’s procurement and distribution of census materials, development of census instruments and prompt payment of census officials, I believe if all these challenges are handled on time the headcount exercise would be successful. So in a nutshell comprehensive funding coupled with enough logistics content is the basis for a successful population head count.

It is our hope in the committee that the next population census would be credible and devoid of controversies

What would you say about sensitisation on the forthcoming census so far?

Thank you. As you are all aware census is conducted every 10 years and you all know the last one conducted in this country was in 2006, so in 2016 there ought to be another population headcount, therefore for it to gain ground, there is need to embark on a comprehensive and effective public enlightenment campaign by the National Population Commission.

Nigerians should be sensitize and their minds dis-abused from the previous experience of national headcount. You will also recall that the preparation for the 2001 census exercise began with series of seminars and conferences which aided the sensitization on census during the period so my committee would hammer on this. We shall give the commission all necessary support to achieve this, you know with financial support from the federal government and international donor organization Nigerians would come to appreciate

It’s very important, because most of the country’s developmental challenges should be blamed on lack of accurate data, because if you look at the problems confronting us as a nation today, all of them derive from a single fact that we lack data and because of lack of data, we don’t plan, so it’s a big challenge and Nigerians have to raise up to be counted.

Garba

Ikimi, Other Aggrieved APC Members Are No Threat – Rep Garba Hon Abdullahi Idris Garba is a member of the House of Representatives representing Kontagora/Wushishi/Mariga Mashegu federal constituency. He is a member of the House Committees on Aviation, Special Duties, Privatisation and Urban Development. In this interview with JONATHAN NDA-ISAIAH, Garba speaks on the forthcoming Population Census, the airport remodelling as well as the just concluded national convention of the All Progressives Party (APC) among others. that census is approaching and they need to be counted.

The management team of NPC were with the President sometimes ago where the chairman indicated that the 2016 census is expected to gulp 100 billion naira how feasible is that?

Yes they were at the villa to seek Mr. President’s approval to conduct a nationwide population census next year, as you may know they needed a presidential proclamation so as to hit the road, as for the amount, it’s a huge sum of money and counting a country like Nigeria, believe me we shall need international assistance because you see headcount propels a nation economy to grow, its very important so any amount spend on its conduct is justified.

But why has there been is-

sues regarding census figures in the past?

It’s not in Nigeria alone, it’s a global phenomenon, but for me as a Nigerian who was born after a census exercise was conducted, I think the problem started right from the first republic were the various regions were quarrelling over the figures, this was orchestrated, to me, by lack of understanding of the essence or importance of that exercise.

The quarrels were usually driven by short term considerations such as political representation and revenue allocation which to me were unnecessary as such the present leadership of the commission need to do proper enlightenment and sensitization on the purpose of population census and you the media need to support it.

You are a member of the Aviation Committee, how would you rate the Aviation sector?

Well, you see personally I believe the sector has grown to a level that we must all give kudos to the operators of the sector, though more still need to be done but I think we will soon get there.

Our airports are meeting international standards going by the remodelling of airport structures, they are at least better off now than in the past, honestly I don’t want to comment on that further, because there are issues on the ground, but like I earlier on said the aviation sector is growing and we in the House will do whatever we can to give our support to the sector.

The APC recently conducted its national convention in Abuja what does that portend for the new party and democracy as a whole?

Good tidings for politics in Nigeria, we were all proud of the outing, it was a sign of good things to happen to Nigeria, though there were hitches here and there, you can never rule that out, even in the first PDP convention held in Jos, there were lots of issues but at the end of the day, these issues were resolved, so people should not think ikimi and co that did not attend the Eagle Square convention would pose a challenge to the fortunes of the party I don’t think so. We are forging ahead and mobilizing Nigerians to see APC as a credible alternative for them.

Finally, what is your next political focus, are you coming back to the House or moving up to the Senate?

Big question, but thank God for the past three years, the people of Kontagora, Wushishi, Mariga, and Mashegu federal constituency have witnessed quality representation under me, I have carried them along and ensured democracy dividend gets to them, its left for them to present to me my scorecard which will enable me know if I have passed or failed, be that as it may, am ever ready to serve my people in whatever capacity I find myself and let me use this medium to thank them for their support since I came into the House of Representatives.

Donald Ojogo, Group Politics Editor

37

38

reps diary

Reps And Jonathan’s $1bn Loan Request

Just before the two chambers of the National Assembly proceeded on a two-month annual recess, they received a proposal from President Goodluck Jonathan seeking approval to procure a $1bn loan to fight insurgency.

Adesuwa Tsan writes on this and other related issues.

Jonathan

T

he House of Representatives and its Senate counterpart on Wednesday read a letter from President Goodluck Jonathan, asking them to urgently approve a $1bn external loan for the federal government to confront the terroristlamic sect, Boko Haram.

The letter, dated July 15, 2014, was read by the Senate President David Mark and Speaker Aminu Tambuwal respectively, stated that the loan was urgently needed to upgrade the equipment, training and logistics of the Armed Forces and security services in order to enable them to confront the insurgents more forcefully.

The letter titled, “Tackling Ongoing Security Challenges: Need for Urgent Action”, read in part, “You are no doubt cognisant of the ongoing and serious security challenges which the nation is facing , as typ-

The executive could explore trade by barter option in its effort to step up military hardware and train military personnel instead of piling up debts for the country ified by the Boko Haram terrorist threat. This is an issue that we have discussed at various times.

“I would like to bring to your attention the urgent need to upgrade the equipment, training and logistics of our Armed Forces and Security Services to enable them more forcefully to confront this serious threat.

“For this reason, I seek the concurrence of the National Assembly for external borrowing of not more than $1bn, including government

to government arrangements for this upgrade.”

The National Assembly had in the N4.6tn 2014 Budget provisions, appropriated N968.127bn for Defence on account of the Boko Haram insurgency, monies which some Nigerians have argued have not yielded commensurate results in the fight against terrorism.

The federal government has defended the huge sum it seeks to borrow, stating through its coordinator, National Information Centre, NIC, Mr. Mike Omeri and the minister of state for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, that the loan was not only for fighting boko haram sect but to upgrade equipment and ammunition of the Nigeria military.

“It is a long term arrangement for which most countries of the world are known. It happened in the United States.

‘The long term means the federal government will use it for the purpose it is meant for and not just Boko Haram. ‘It is a long term facility that could involve governmentto-government arrangement”, Omeri stated.

But the request has met a delay as it will take at least two months, recess ends September, for the lawmakers to consider and approve the request. However, a special session is not off the table as the House has in the past reconvened from its break to consider and pass a budget.

Reject $1 bn Loan Request, Gbajabiamila Urges Colleagues, Nigerians The minority leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila has urged Nigerians and his colleagues to say no to the federal government’s proposed $1 billion loan, saying there are internal options that could be utilised to get funds rather than piling up debts for future generations.

He said for starters, that the executive could explore trade by barter option in its effort to step up military hardware and train military personnel instead of piling up debts for the country.

He also added that President Jonathan’s has a penchant for taking loans when the country has sovereign wealth fund, reserve and excess oil revenue.

“The federal government by setting an illegal benchmark has been creaming off about $ 30 per barrel of our crude oil sales which it puts in an illegal excess crude account.

If it insists on cash it should reach into that illegal account. Again it also set up the Sovereign Wealth Fund, a component of which it de-

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

scribed as future generation account”, he said.

The lawmaker who hails from Lagos state went further to point out that since the funds will as part of the things outlined to be used for, includes fighting insurgency and protecting Nigerians, funds set aside under Sovereign Wealth Fund can be utilised.

“The Chibok girls represent the future generation, go into that account if you must. Assuming the National Assembly will allow that.

But to incur a further $1billion loan at whatever interest rate, that is one loan too many for our future generation to pay off and the answer is a CAPITAL NO!!!”, the lawmaker stated.

Calling for resistance to the proposal, the minority leader said the money will be unaccounted for if approved, saying “The request for $1 billion loan by the president after 3trillion Naira allocated to Defence in 3 years with nothing to show for it” shows presidency thinks Nigerians are stupid .

The lawmaker advised his colleagues in National Assembly to restrain themselves from granting the “perfidious request” and implored the federal government to try exchanging oil for military hardware like other needy countries have done in the past if truly Nigeria has weak military equipment considering the country’s previous budgets for Defence.

“I personally do not think any more cash should pass through government at this time. If indeed more money is needed for the training of our men and women in uniform which I doubt, then we should resort to the time tested trade by barter. This means of commodity exchange continues between countries all over. We can exchange oil for arms if need be.”

“The AL YAMAMAH arms deal between the Saudis and UK wherein a large amount of British military hardware was sold to the Saudi government for 600,000 barrels of crude oil a day comes to mind. So does the oil for arms deal between China and Venezuela and the deal struck by the US in 2011 when over 80 F15 fighter jets were sold to the Royal Saudi Airforce. The deal included training, logistics and maintenance.”

The lawmaker also cautioned foreign donors against colluding with the executive arm of government in encouraging corruption, saying “Anyone who accedes to this request and any foreign country that actually gives such a loan in my opinion will be guilty of aiding and abetting corruption. An accessory before and after the fact.”

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

zonal watch

39

ANAMBRA IMO ABIA EBONYI ENUGU

Imo Guber: Ngor Okpala Opposes Ihedioha Over Zoning

BY EJIKE EJIKE, Abuja

The people of Ngor Okpala in Imo State has expressed their opposition to the governorship ambition of the deputy speaker of House of Representatives, Hon Emeka Ihedioha.

They were angry that Hon Ihedioha who wants to be governor is now an apostle of

zoning whereas he repudiated that arrangement when it was the turn of Ngor Okpala to produce the House of Representatives member from the area. The deputy speaker was in Ngor Okpala at a PDP rally.

Aboh Mbaise, where Ihedioha hails from shares the same federal constituency

with Ngor Okpala. Whereas an Ngor Okpala man stepped down in 2003 for Aboh Mbaise to produce a candidate, Hon Ihedioha has held onto the post for three terms.

When the deputy speaker arrived at Umuneke Ngor for the rally, angry youths told him that he was not invited and therefore not welcomed to the

ceremony.

However, his security details and other chieftains of PDP from the area led Hon Ihedioha to a seat amidst rowdy reactions from the crowd.

Speaking to newsmen, a PDP stalwart from the area, Chief Amos Okere described what happened as the people’s justified anger towards the

deputy speaker.

“He was supposed to step down for an Ngor Okpala man in 2007, he did not. Even in 2011, he still refused. He used his power to hold on to our position. Now that he wants to be governor, he has suddenly remembered Ngor Okpala. He has no moral justification to talk of zoning”, Chief Okere fumed.

2015: Group Urges National Assembly Members From Enugu State Not To Seek Re-election

BY MIKE UBANI, Enugu

HEADS FROM THE ZONE

➔ Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has been honoured with a “Lifetime Achievement Award,” by the Enugu Association USA INC., the umbrella body of Enugu State indigenes resident in the United States of America. The group in a citation presented at its just concluded 2014 Annual Convention held in Houston, Texas, said the governor was honoured because of his unprecedented record of infrastructural development of the state, as well as promoting the general welfare and prosperity of the people of Enugu State. ➔ The national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA) Chief Victor Umeh has declared his intention to contest the Anambra-Central Senatorial seat in the 2015 general elections. He said his decision was based on pressures from his admirers from virtually all parts of the state.

House of Late Chief Pius Osuchukwu of Umuatuegwu, Uhuobo Okija turned to a kidnappers’ den by his son Akwa, being demolished on the order of the Anambra State government.

Anambra Govt Demolishes 3 Buildings Belonging To Kidnap Suspects

BY OKECHUKWU OBETA, Awka

Three buildings belonging to kidnap suspects were last Wednesday demolished by the Joint Task Force, JTF, set up by the Governor Willie Obiano administration, code-named, “Operation Nkpochapu” with the sole mandate to flush out violent crimes and their perpetrators from the the state. This brings to nine the total number of such buildings so far demolished since it was

set up about four months ago.

The affected buildings included a storey building and a bungalow, belonging to one late Chief Pius Osuchukwu in Okija, Ihiala local government area being used by his two sons, one ‘Akwaa’ still at large and his elder brother and their gang now in police custody for keeping their kidnap victims. Also, the security outfit the same day later demolished a bungalow at

Nnewi, in Nnewi- North local government, owned by one Mr. Jude Okeke, a kidnap king-pin who was gunned down during an exchange of gun-fire between him and the JTF operatives.

The state commissioner of police, Usman Gwary stated that some of the victims of the kidnappers included, the lawmaker representing Onitsha South II Constituency at the Anambra State House of Assembly, Dr Emeka Aniebonam.

Lawmaker Flays Advocates Of Zoning In Ebonyi

BY OBINNA OGBONNAYA, Abakaliki

The chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs and Peoples Democratic Party gubernatorial aspirant for the 2015 general elections in Ebonyi State, Senator Paulinus Igwe Nwagu. at the weekend said that those advocating for zoning arrangement within the party in Ebonyi State are bent on installing their stooges and cronies whom

he described as lacking leadership qualities.

Senator Nwagu who stated that the party had never discussed zoning arrangement in the state, noted that between 2003 till date, all the zones in the state contested the governorship election insisting that experience, acceptability and competence cannot be sacrificed on the altar of zoning.

Senator Nwagu made this

known while interacting with the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists Ebonyi State chapter, at his country home, Orizor community in Ezza North local government area of the state.

According to him, a democratically elected government should create an environment for political participation, freedom and justice.

The coordinator of South-East Revival Group (SERG) Chief Willy Ezeugwu, has urged the current National Assembly members from Enugu State, not to seek reelection in 2015, saying that they have performed below the expectation of the electorate. Addressing journalists in Enugu at the weekend, Ezeugwu alleged that none of the lawmakers won election in 2011 to represent the people; rather he alleged that they were imposed on the electorate, stressing that they have failed the people of Enugu State.

He recalled that the stakeholders of the Enugu State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had earlier in a meeting held in Enugu, decided that the current lawmakers should give way for another set of politicians to represent the state at the National Assembly in 2015.

The group also used the forum to absolve the chief of staff, Enugu Government House, Mrs Ifeoma Nwobodo, of alleged involvement in the award of contracts by the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB) to four companies for the execution of 583 projects worth N3.6 billion in various primary schools in the state, without following due process.

He described the allegation as false, saying that it was masterminded by disgruntled politicians in the state, particularly some members of the National Assembly from the state opposed to the zoning of the 2015 governorship ticket to Enugu North Senatorial zone.

He reaction was sequel to an advertorial placed in one of the national newspapers by a pressure group, the Save Enugu Movement, accusing Mrs. Nwobodo of abuse of office as well as ordering the award of ENSUBEB contracts to persons close to the Enugu State government.

He said both the Nigeria Police Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had earlier cleared Mrs. Nwobodo of wrong doing after investigating the allegation of corruption leveled against her by the former boss of ENSUBEB, Chief Mrs. Ethel NeboAbasili, over the award of the Chime contracts.

40 zonal watch (South-East)

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

project report

Okorocha Injects Life Into Imo Palm Plantation

BY STANLEY UZOARU, Owerri

If the economy of the defunct Eastern region was adjudged as one of the fastest growing economies in sub-saharan Africa during the regime of late Dr. Michael Iheonukara Okpara, part of the reason was that that administration attached great importance to the cultivation of oil palm plantation, as well as the concomitant production of palm oil, including palm kernel, which earned the administration adequate foreign exchange.

Nevertheless, with the introduction of military rule in 1966, as well as the discovery and exploitation of oil and gas in commercial quantities, the region as well as other regions in the country, literally abandoned their primordial sources of income, and instead latched on revenue from the oil and gas sectors of the economy.

However, the Imo State government led by Owelle Anayo Rochas Okorocha, has taken bold steps to inject life into oil palm plantation and produce in the state. The administration has revived the state-owned Adapalm which previous administrations in the state literally threw into the dustbin of history.

But today Governor Okorocha, has overhauled the sprawling 4,310 hectares oil palm plantation in the state, and gave it a new name - the Imo Palm Plantation.

The former Adapalm Ltd, which started as a farm settlement in Ohaji/Egbema local government area of the state, was incorporated in 1976 under the Agricultural Development Authority (ADA), and was managed by Europeans until 1987 when it was indigenised.

The plantation apart from having the capacity of milling and processing very large quantity of palm oil for sale, also engage in soap making and the production of all kinds of industrial oil and animal feed among others.

During the Sam Mbakwe’s administration, the industry witnessed massive transformation and enhanced productivity and adequately created employment for the teeming population of the state, which helped tremendously to boost the economy of the old Imo State government.

But thereafter, successive administrations abandoned the industry and relied heavily on the derivations from oil, which resulted to the collapse of the only agro-based industry in the state.

This development resulted into sending thousands of workers to the elusive job market. But some of the top-shots in the industry, allegedly pocketed what was left of

Obi

News Behind The News

Why Ex-Governor Obi Was Stopped From Becoming Cabinet Minister Oil Palm Nursery at the Imo Palm Plantation

By OKECHUKWU OBETA, Awka

the company’s funds, and smiled to the banks at the end of the day.

What Governor Okorocha did on assumption of office in 2011, was to lease the company to a private investor - an Irish firm, known as The Roche – for a period of 15 years at the sum of N3.2billion.

The decision of the governor to re-engineer the industry formed part of the promises he made to the people of the state during the electioneering campaign period.

The Okorocha’s administration targeted 4,000 jobs upon full rehabilitation of the company.

Although this is yet to be achieved, but the available indices indicate that the company has gradually bounced back to full capacity.

The managing director of the company, Neil Andrew Danby regretted that such huge investment was abandoned for the last 20 years, assuring that with the new management on board, the company would soon regain past glory.

Nevertheless, he said that the production level has dropped as a result of the poor state of the mill occasioned by years of neglect, adding that the palm trees are at the end of their life span and would continue to reduce in volume and quality in the next five years.

The MD disclosed that the company has commenced an aggressive replanting programme which must be completed within three years, adding that the company has six years from now to replace the aged trees. He said that over 84,000 improved seedlings have been imported from Costa Rica.

Already, the palm plantation has employed at least 600 youths from the host community, with a plan to employ more vide the micro economic programme to be initiated by the company.

The chairman of the House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Hon. Luke Chukwu, confirmed that serious

With the confirmation last week by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of the nomination of the corps marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Osita Chidoka, as minister, it has become obvious that the immediate past governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, will no longer be a member of the federal cabinet, at least for now.

The Presidency had at the twilight of the former governor’s administration, said that he was not going to be allowed to take a rest even for one day from his eight-year stewardship as governor.

The President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration, was emphatic Obi would immediately be invited to render service at the national level. The Presidency’s offer was conveyed by the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala on the day the ex-governor presented the score-card of his eight-year stewardship to the people of the state at the Women Development Centre, Awka, the state capital.

The ceremony was witnessed by a mammoth crowd from all strata of society including captains of industry, traders, traditional rulers, presidents of town unions, religious leaders, the physicallychallenged, civil servants, politicians, technocrats, etc.

The finance minister had led all members of the National Economic Team, including the Nigerianborn African billionaire industrialist, Alhaji Aliyu Dangote to the epoch-making event. The outgoing governor was a member of the president’s economic team and an honorary adviser to President Jonathan on finance.

In his speech, the finance minister had praised ex-Governor Obi for the monumental achievements of his administration, especially his prudency in the management of the state’s meager resources.

She announced to the admiration of everyone gathered that President Jonathan had decided to appoint him a member of the federal cabinet immediately so that he could come over to contribute in fixing the nation.

And to emphasis the fact that Obi’s appointment was going to be immediate, Iweala had turned to Obi’s wife, Margaret and said though jokingly, “Margaret, I pity you. I’m sure you must have been dreaming how you are going to relax and enjoy your husband after all these eight years because I am sure you have been missing him all these periods. Well, I pity you because that’s not going to be. Mr. President has decided that he will come over immediately to join us at the federal executive level to replicate this excellent service he has done to the people of Anambra State to the nation at that level”.

Havested palm fruits

Okorocha, has overhauled the sprawling 4,310 hectares oil palm plantation in the state

transformation has taken place in the company within the short period it was taken over by the foreign firm.

He said that the creation of basket and broom making department and other small scale industries, has opened up more employment opportunities for the people of the state.

The corporate affairs manager of the industry, Mr. Asobieni Benjamin, said that despite the tremendous changes that have being experienced since the takeover of the plantation by the foreign firm, one major challenge facing the industry is the 18 months salary arrears owed the staff by the previous management.

Also in a bid to encourage oil palm cultivation in the state, the governor recently flagged off the ‘ikuo na nkwu’ programme (meaning have you planted a palm). The programme which was conceived to ensure that every family in the state owns a palm plantation, according to the state government is to alleviate poverty in the state.

The governor while disbursing the takeoff grant of N3,300, 000.00 to the traditional rulers in each of the 637 communities of Imo State for the cultivation of the new palm seedlings provided by government, charged all communities to cultivate at least 150 seedlings in every hectre of land and to establish oil mills in their localities to aid in the harnessing of the palm fruits.

POLITICS TODAY 41

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Why We’re Galvanising Support For Nda-Isaiah – Etsu Muhammed Saidu Etsu is the director, Volunteers Group of Sam4Nigeria Project. A group founded to spur support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Sam Nda-Isaiah, within and outside the party. In this interview with BODE GBADEBO, he explains the group’s mandate, among others. als very well.

We need to get people from the grassroots for our candidate, hence our choice of meeting in the NorthCentral zone for strategic reasons.

How do you hope to carry the message to the nooks and crannies of this country?

Etsu Can you tell us what your group is doing?

Sam NdaIsaiah can give us the answer.

He is a pharmacist turned publisher and if you look at him, his constant views about this country shows that he can proffer solutions to our myriad of problems

We the directors and coordinators of the Volunteers Group across the country started galvanising support for Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah to occupy the number one seat of this country because of the belief we have in him to actualise the dreams of Nigerians. Actually, if you look at what is happening in this country since the inception of the fouth republic, there are a lot of things not going well as regards service delivery to the Nigerian citizens in terms of infrastructure development, youth empowerment and social welface of the people.

Since the assumption of power in 1999 by the PDP, Nigerians have been in socio-political darkness and that is why we have been painstakingly searching for someone who can lift Nigeria out of the woods and we believe Sam NdaIsaiah can give us the answer. He is a pharmacist turned publisher and if you look at him, his constant views about this country shows that he can proffer solutions to our myriad of problems.

First and foremost, the Volunteers Group of Sam Nda-Isaiah cut across the country so that we can be able to have a picture of where we are heading to in this country in the next 2015 general elections.

We came with a roadmap in which we have our coordinators across the board. In the six geopolitical zones, we have coordinators overseeing the states and the local governments. Our group is calling for support to actualise the dreams of big ideas by Nda-Isaiah.

The concept of the big ideas is to move this country out of the league of the third world countries and every parts of the world will see Nigeria as a destination for good governance. We have held two meetings in Kogi and Benue states of the North-Central zone in order to garner more support for Mr Nda-Isaiah in a way that we will able to propagate his ide-

Our strategies involve getting youth organisations in the 36 states to come together so that we can be able to sell a candidate who can deliver this country come 2015. Remember that the youths constitute a larger portion of the electorate. So, we are targeting the youths as volunteers for this onerous task. Another strategy is to go the grassroots, who are the worst victims of bad governance.

We need the market women on the street because they can make a difference. We will also use the social media which is a community itself to showcase the ideals of our candidate.

How do you intend to get funds for this assignment as volunteers?

We intend to get funds from interest groups who believe in this project because it is a Nigerian project and a project which will deliver this country from socio-political darkness to light. An average Nigerian today knows that our country is in dire need of help and it must be delivered.

So, various interest groups want to support this project. Even market women associations and students will be involved.

Do you foresee any hindrance to your work?

No! Not at all. Sam Nda-Isaiah has declared to run and he has all the support necessary. So, there is no is hindrance for now and we don’t expect any to stand in our way in realizing our dream of a better Nigeria.

What are you doing presently to drum support for your candidate at the party level?

We will soon begin to visit the states of the federation in order to meet with youth leaders and youth associations of the party in order to drum support for our candidate.

We will also call meetings across the board.

Do you have any fear that your candidate may be schemed out of the contest?

Not at all. In politics, you cannot predict who is going to win a ticket or who will become a president because no one can predict the future.

We are doing our homework and we will get the ticket by God’s grace.

42 news NATIONAL

WHO Loses Official To Malaysian Plane Crash

By Winifred Ogbebo, Abuja

The United Nations Agency for HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS), has expressed deep sadness over the loss of life of the passengers and crew of flight MH17, which crashed over eastern Ukraine on Thursday, 17 July 2014, among them a staff of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Though full details are still unclear, it is believed that many of the passengers were on their way to participate in the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia.

A statement by UNAIDS to LEADERSHIP yesterday in Abuja, said it has confirmed that the United Nations has lost a colleague from the WHO, Prof Joep Lange.

Part of the statement reads, “It seems

that some of the finest academics, healthcare workers and activists in the AIDS response may have perished while travelling to take part in the international gathering of experts and advocates. Professor Joep Lange, the former president of the International AIDS Society, was among the victims.”

Prof Lange was a leading light in the field since the early days of HIV and worked unceasingly to widen access to antiretroviral medicines around the world.

“We are bracing ourselves to hear of the deaths of others who worked in the AIDS response as their names are officially released,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “TheUNAIDS family is in deep shock. Our hearts go out to the families of all the victims.

PDP To Atiku: We Stand By Our Position On APC

By Chibuzo Ukaibe, Abuja

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its leaders are embittered that they have been exposed for what they are.

PDP specifically claimed that leaders of the opposition party are in pains that Nigerians now know that the APC has no agenda rather a platform for selfish individuals pursuing personal and parochial agenda using blackmail, propaganda and promotion of violence as means to achieve political control.

The PDP stated this while reacting to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s statement on the political activities of

PDP-led federal government, lambasting the PDP and the Presidency for exploiting fault lines in the country as a means of diverting attention from it failures.

The PDP said while it does not wish to join issues with the former vice president, one of the founding fathers of the party. It however asked Atiku to caution his media managers to desist from associating him with propaganda, political mudslinging and character assassination that the APC has become notorious for.

A statement by PDP spokesman, Olisa Metuh said, “We also wish to put on record that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has deliberately chosen not to take on the person of any of its former members who are now in the opposition.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

NEWS NATIONAL 43

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

FG Bans Registration, Deportation Of Non-indigenes In Nigeria

BY GEORGE AGBA, Abuja

The federal government yesterday directed states involved in the registration and issuance of identity cards to members of other ethnic nationalities resident in their domains to stop taking such an action.

This was a major decision taken at a meeting of the National Security Council convened by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja basically to address the issue.

The director general of the State Security Service (SSS), Mr. Ita Ekpeyong and the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar who gave the

hint, while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the security meeting also noted that the Boko Haram insurgency and the abducted Chibok school girls were the other major security issues discussed at the meeting.

Ekpeyong noted that Jonathan and the security chiefs discussed the reactions that have trailed the controversial exercise and agreed that the trend poses serious threat to the country’s unity than the Boko Haram insurgency.

He said, “The council discussed in details the issue of Nigerians being subjected to registration; being subjected to deportation and being subject-

ed from being taken away from one part of the country to another. The council discussed the reactions by some groups in Kano and other parts of the country.

“The council observed that this threat was more potent than Boko Haram and could disintegrate the country and we take this very seriously. The council resolved that the issue of registration of Nigerians anywhere in the country and deportation should stop forthwith. To reemphasis the importance that the president has attached to this, that is why he said both of us should address you people. This must stop forth with”.

The SSS DG warned security

operatives in the affected states not to be involved, adding that anyone found aiding and abetting such exercise would be severely dealt with, even as he warned youth groups that are trying to cash in on the development to ferment trouble to desist because government was taking serious notice of the situation.

He said, “Security operatives should not be involved in anybody trying to reregister people; in anybody trying to deport people. Security operatives must henceforth not be involved. Any operative of the police or SSS found being involved in it will be severely dealt with.

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One of the helicopters being used to fight the terrorists in the ongoing counter - insurgency crashed in Borno State yesterday.

The tragic news was made known by the director of information, Major General Chris Olukolade in a statement issued by the Defence Headquarters yesterday.

“A Nigerian Air Force Mi-35 Helicopter on a training mission this afternoon, crashed due to technical fault at a location South of Bama. Investigation has commenced to unravel the circumstances that led to the accident.

“Meanwhile, it is established that the crash is not as a result of any enemy action. Further details on the crash will be made known as investigation progresses”, the statement reads.

The military has increased its operation with a view to bringing back alive some 200 secondary school girls abducted by the insurgents.

By Bayo Oladeji and Abdullahi Umar, Abuja with agency report

Minister Changes East/ West Road Completion Date

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Nigerian Air Force Helicopter Crashes In Borno

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The new minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Steven Oru, has altered the initial 2015, first quarter completion date of the over 338km East/West Road to December 2014.

The minister, who was recently appointed to saddle the ministry’s affairs, changed the initial date earmarked by the former supervising minister and present minister of state for the ministry .

Oru also promised to bring the ministry’s flagship project to 100 per cent completion.

Receiving the pacesetters honourary awards in Sapele, Delta State, Oru vowed to channel all the funds released to the ministry for adequate result.

Reiterating that the ministry will complement his predecessors effort, Oru said he will live no stone untouched in the bid to achieve result.

By Christiana Nwaogu, Abuja

44 news north-East, north-west

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Maitama Sule Writes Jonathan Over Plight Of The North

By Abubakar Salihi, Kano

An elder statesman and a federal minister in the First Republic, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule has said that he personally wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan and intimated him about the situation in the country and the plight of the north.

In his address to the delegation of the Northern Youth Development Foundation, NYDF, a group fighting for the common good of the northerners wherev-

er they are, he said he was convinced that northern region was suffering from humiliation and discrimination.

“I wrote to the chairman Northern Governors Forum and Mr President and intimated both about the situation in the country, yes I did. I also pointed out that if President Jonathan didn’t put a stop to it, we would have disastrous consequences.

“The situation in the country is very sad that we never had it so bad, but I believe what

we should do is to get together and tell one another the truth - let us agree to accommodate our differences and to put Nigeria above personal interest”, he said.

Alhaji Maitama Sule urged the leaders not to see themselves as above public criticism and should respond to criticism constructively.

He said he once heard the South African president, Jacob Zuma say, “Good leaders when they deviate and faulted accept

ordinary people, academicians and media to blow the horn of warning, such good leaders listen to the warning and respond constructively, they shouldn’t see themselves to be above criticism”.

He stressed that it is only when Nigerians are united, that they can inspire the black world and play the role that the country is destined to play.

He commended the northern youth group for not taking the law into their own hands.

Chairperson, Adamawa State APC, Mrs Binta Garba (middle), briefing newsmen on the recent impeachment of former Governor Murtala Nyako in Yola, yesterday. With her are the state publicity secretary of the APC, Mr Phineas Padio (right) and Alhaji Shuaibu Yamusa. photo

by NAN

short news Taraba Crisis: ‘We’ve Gotten No Support From Govt’ As the number of victims of the crisis in Taraba State has continued to multiply and the list of displaced persons in the premises of the NKST Church Jalingo has also continued to swell up, the pastor in charge of the church has said the Taraba State government which is said to have given relief materials to some of the Muslim victims has not deemed it wise to do same to those in the church premises.

By Andrew Ojih, Jalingo

War Against APC Govs: FG Using UDUS To Blackmail Wamakko – Aide

By Ankeli Emmanuel, Sokoto

As the seemingly unending war against the All ProgressivesCongress (APC) governors continues, the special adviser, Higher Education to Sokoto State governor, Prof Ardo Vom Garjam has added a different dimension to the war by the federal government.

Professor Garjam who spoke yesterday in Sokoto alleged that, the recent protest over non-

payment of allowances by the so called students who claimed to be indigenes of the state was simply instigated.

“The federal government is trying to use the mangament of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto to blackmail the state government simply because Wamakko dumped PDP for APC,” Garjam alleged.

Earlier, Governor Wamakko who bid farewell to some of the indigenes of the state who are

on scholarship to study for their Masters degree in Islamic Studies at Uganda, alleged that, the recent protest over unpaid allowances was masterminded to achieve a purpose.

The governor who further divulged that, it has discovered over 1000 fake beneficiaries of the state government scholarship scheme after verification, also informed that those that protested were not even indigenes of the state.

Northern Group Submits Bill Seeking Registration Of Southerners To Kaduna Assembly

By Isaiah Benjamin, Kaduna

A bill for a law to provide for the registration of residence, business and work permits for southerners residing within the boundaries of Kaduna State has been submitted to the Kaduna State House of Assembly for considerations.

The bill which was presented yesterday by a northern group known as the Concerned Arewa Citizens is to protect the state from the evils of drug and hu-

man trafficking, kidnapping, baby factories, armed robbery, pipeline vandalism and other terrorist activities which have become prevalent in southern Nigeria.

In a covering letter signed by the group’s president general, Audu Bulama Bukarti and its general secretary, Sunusi Umar Sadiq respectively, it stated that the bill which will be known as “Registration of southerners and allied matters law,” is proposed for the consideration of the Kaduna State House of As-

sembly for onward deliberation and approval.

According to the group, “Our dear state has suffered and is still suffering from most of the forementioned criminal activities whose proliferation partly due to the right of haphazard entry and exit accorded the southerners who are the masters of these evils.”

They therefore stressed that “Passing the bill, subject to any modification this great House might make, is not only appropriate but necessary.”

short news Taraba Assembly Passes Health Agency Law In a bid to improve healthcare delivery in Taraba State, the State House of Assembly has passed into law, a bill establishing Taraba State Health Care Delivery Agency which seeks to improve primary healthcare delivery systems in the state.

The bill which was sponsored by Abdullahi Jugulde (Gembu Constituency), also aims at reducing the pressure on secondary and tertiary health institutions in the state for efficient healthcare services.

Joseph Albasu Kunin (Lau Constituency) moved the motion.

By Andrew Ojih, Jalingo

‘Taraba Acting Governor Will Spring Surprises In 2015’ The special adviser to the acting governor of Taraba State on Political Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Goje Gassol, yesterday gave assurance that acting governor, Alhaji Garba Umar will spring surprises in the state come 2015 with his level of grassroots followership.

Gassol, who said this in an interview explained that the acting governor has continued to win the acceptance of the people by the day, emphasising that the swelling crowd of people that usually throng around him in recent time was overwhelming and a sign of his popularity.

According to him, Umar is still taking his time to perfect his strategies ahead of the 2015 general elections and is committed to complying with INEC’s approved timetable.

He said the acting governor has so far been able to prove his capacity to govern the state especially his ability in managing the political and communal crises in the state as well as prudent management of resources.

By Andrew Ojih, Jalingo

Insecurity: Wazirin Katsina Urges FG To Explore Dialogue The Wazirin Katsina, Dr Sani Abubakar Lugga has decried insecurity in the country even as he urged government to explore the option of dialogue so as to bring lasting solution to the current spate of killings.

Speaking shortly after he hosted journalists to iftar (the break of Ramadan fast), in his residence, Lugga said that events in the nation raises more questions than answers insisting that current events are happening because Nigerians have abandoned God’s ways.

“Nigeria needs prayers because things that are happening now raise more questions than answers. Who could imagine that somebody will plant bomb in the market or at motor parks to kill people?

“Who could have imagined that people will invade a village and kill aimlessly including the old, women and children?” he asked.

Dr Lugga who wondered how it was possible for attackers to invade a village severally at a rapid succession, killing and maiming people, appealedto “Government to sit down and dialogue so as to find an end to this senseless spilling of blood.”

By Muazu Elazeh, Katsina

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

45

46 NEWS

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

2014 Guber Poll:

OsunDECIDES

Saturday, August 9

My Second Term Will Mark End Of I Will Empower Farmers In Osun – Omisore candidate ferent as it is predomiDilapidated Classrooms In Osun – Aregbesola Gubernatorial of Peoples Democrat- nantly an agrarian econo-

Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola has assured the people of the state that by the end of his second term in office, no school will be left with any dilapidated classroom.

Aregbesola said with the rate at which his government has been building new schools, the era of unfit learning environments would be history completely.

Speaking at the official commissioning of three elementary schools in Ikirun, Iragbiji and Ila-Orangun, Aregbesola said with the commissioning of the schools, the state government has put education on a high pedestal.

The schools are Holy Trinity Middle School, Ikirun; NUD Middle School, Iragbiji and St Julius Middle School, Ila-Orangun, all in the Osun

Central Senatorial District.

Built in the same structural pattern, the middle schools, with a capacity to accommodate 1,000 pupils, have 25 classrooms, one large exam hall, 16 toilets, one audio-visual room, ICT room, recreational facilities among others.

The governor disclosed that government is targeting provision of conducive classrooms for over 100, 000 pupils before the end of the year.

He noted also that by the time all the new school buildings are completed, no pupil or student in Osun will learn in a dilapidated and haphazard classroom again.

The governor stated that part of the responsibilities of his government is to give the children in the state qualitative education from the foundation to high

Aregbesola

school.

Earlier in her remarks, the deputy governor, who doubles as the commissioner for education, reaffirmed government’s commitment to standardising the education sector.

She said government will not leave any stone unturned in ensuring that the state’s education system ranks among the best in the world.

ic Party (PDP) in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore has promised to empower farmers in the state if voted in as governor of the state.

Omisore, who described the Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Programme of the present administration as a good programme implemented haphazardly, promised an all encompassing programme that will incorporate every aspect of farming.

Speaking through his director of media and strategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi, Omisore maintained that though ‘O’ REAP seems to be meant to empower the farmers, the PDP agriculture programme will tackle the problems farmers are facing in Osun.

He said, “The case of Osun State cannot be dif-

my where more than 80 per cent of the population reside in the rural areas and more than 70 per cent of this rural population are basically into agriculture and agro-allied enterprises.

“Therefore, it is an understatement to say that agriculture is very important and as such, any serious government should not handle it with levity”.

According to him, the ‘O’ REAP is an agenda in the right direction but being implemented by people that are not committed to its success.

“The programme focuses on four areas which include: Farm Estate Development, Agricultural Land Expansion, Cooperative Strengthening and Agricultural Investments and Partnerships.

“For instance, under the

Omisore

farm estate development, the infrastructure of the farm settlements and other popular areas of agricultural production were supposed to be upgraded.

“These infrastructures such as rural roads, primary health centres, potable water, electricity, etc. were budgeted for year in, year out.” He said that PDP government will ensure proper implementation of the programme.

By Joshua Dada, Osogbo

SOUTH-WEST Board Chairman Condemns Taxing Of Religious Houses Ondo State Muslim Welfare Board has condemned the recommendation of the National Conference that religious houses should pay tax and that government should stop funding hajj trips and pilgrimages for Muslims and Christians in the country.

The chairman of the board, Alhaji Abduraheem Ajifowowe who spoke with LEADERSHIP in an interview said both recommendations are unacceptable.

He stressed the need for government at all levels to continue to sponsor indigent members of the public on holy pilgrimages.

Ajifowowe said the state Muslim Welfare Board unlike other similar boards has many other functions it performs than coordinating pilgrimage activities.

He said, “In Ondo State, our own is different; we deal with so many things that concern the Muslims. We coordinate the affairs of the Muslims in the state and take responsibility for the organisation’s activities”.

By Tope Fayehun, Akure

Ekiti Assembly Receives Referendum Results From EKSIEC

BY ALO ABIOLA, Ado Ekiti

Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC) yesterday submitted the results and reports of last Saturday’s Referendum conducted on the proposed new Local Council Development Areas to the State House of Assembly.

The EKSIEC chairperson, Mrs Bosede Adelusi, while making the submission at the Assembly complex in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, said the action of the commission was not against the law, contrary to the claims of the opposition.

Adelusi who noted that the next line of action regarding the

creation of the councils lies on the State House of Assembly said the commission has done its own bit of the process.

Receiving the results, the speaker, Dr Adewale Omirin, who commended the commission for a job well done, said Dr Kayode Fayemi-led administration meant well for the people in his resolve to draw governance nearer to the people at the grassroots.

He assured that the Assembly would give the reports necessary and accelerated attention.

On the allegation that the House was acting on a matter that was pending in court, Omi-

rin who described the claim as propaganda designed to blackmail the House said the Assembly never received any writ of summons from any court to that effect.

Appealing to all aggrieved communities to be calm, the speaker promised that the House will look into their complaints and ensure that its final decision on the new councils pleases the majority of the people.

The breakdown of the results of the referendum showed that in Ado LG, total “Yes” vote was 3,521 while total “No” vote was nil.

Militarisation: Agoro Threatens Legal Action Against Jonathan

BY ADEBAYO WAHEED, Ibadan

Worried by the ongoing seeming militarisation of the national polity, former presidential candidate of the defunct National Action Council (NAC), Dr Olapade Agoro has threatened to institute a legal action against President Goodluck Jonathan to put a halt to the ugly development.

Speaking with newsmen in Ibadan yesterday, he described the militarisation as an aberration in a democratic setting.

Specifically, Agoro decried in strong terms the new trend from the Presidency whereby armed soldiers and policemen are being deployed for election processes, saying it poses grave danger to sustainable democracy.

“Anybody that was elected into a political office but decides to use the military to suppress is already asking for military intervention.”

“One can go to court on this issue. You don’t use the military to maintain peace unless you are at war. May be people don’t even know the meaning of military. In the days of yore, you don’t even see soldiers on the streets.”

SHORT NEWS Aregbesola Commissions Ultrasound Scanners, Scan Machines Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola has commissioned 100 units of Handheld Ultrasound Scanners and four 3D Colour Doppler Scan machines for use in hospitals across the state.

Speaking at the launch of Millennium Development Goals Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and commissioning of hand-held ultrasound scanners at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo, the governor said his administration is committed to the welfare of its people hence the provision of the equipment.

By Joshua Dada, Osogbo

news Lagos 47

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

‘Massive Housing Scheme For 776 LGs Still In Progress’ In a move to resolve the impasse between the Victory Resort Realtors and its registered contractors, the chief executive, Dr Mani Roberts has assured that the project to construct 100 units of houses in 776 area councils of the federation is still in progress.

The chief executive, who made this known in a statement yesterday, said the Victory Resort Realtors was not deterred in its determination to invest in the development of estates for the benefit of the Nigerian people.

The estate developers had, in the past two years, thrilled the masses with its proposed project to develop 100 units of threebedroom houses in each of the 776 local government councils of the federation, which attracted the registration of several contractors with the estate developers based in Lagos State.

Roberts said that the initiators of the project did not envisage the delay that grounded the take-off of the project for two years, which he said, was as a result of policy bottlenecks associated with banking process and transfer of funds from their foreign partners.

By Millie Ibe, Abuja

Fashola Constitutes Panel To Probe BRT Buses’ Burning, Soldiers’ Riots

By GEORGE OKOJIEi, Lagos

Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola yesterday constituted a three-man panel of inquiry to look into the July 4, 2014 incident in which six buses used for Bus Rapid Transit operations in the state were allegedly burnt by rampaging soldiers.

Inaugurating the panel, Governor Fashola described the incident as deeply regrettable,

especially in view of the loss of life and destruction of properties which followed the incident.

Fashola, who made reference to the defunct Nigerian Airways which was reputed to be one of the best in the continent and a symbol of the Nigerian pride in the early 70s, noted that the Nigerian Army has been a source of pride to the nation especially with regards to their peace keeping missions around

the world.

The governor regretted that some members of the Nigerian Army have dragged the noble reputation of the army into the mud on several occasions, citing multiple examples of such incidents.

He said: “Societies and institutions will fail if men and women fail to do something.

Like the Nigerian Airways which was the symbol of our pride in

1973, the Nigerian Army was also a symbol of pride to this nation.

“The job of the tribunal is to find out what happened; how the soldier died; what killed him; and what could have been done to avoid the kind of accident that took his life.

“These and many others are the questions that I hope this tribunal will help unravel and explain to Nigerians.”

short news Nigeria To Re-assess Housing Deficit

Glo Picks 34 New Brand Champions

Telecoms giant, Globacom, has featured 34 entertainment celebrities in its new theme campaign “Go Ahead’ which depicts the essence of the network and also communicates the dynamism of its services in voice, data and fixed lines.

The showbiz stars include Sunday Omobolanle widely known as Aluwe, legendary Chika Okpala, Zebrudaya alias 4:30 and his telly-wife, Lizzy Eveome, Ovuleria of New Masquerade series.

Others are Bolaji Amusan a.k.a Mr Latin, Madam Ibidun Allison known as Amebo, an actress in rested television series, Village Headmaster and Madam Kofo Abiola who, as an actress, is popular for her accurate sculpting of skyscraper headgears.

Also in the project are Saheed Mohammed (Funky Mallam), Morocco Maduka, Charles Awurum and Victor Osuagwu. The list also includes Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, another Fuji act, Saheed Osupa, former Super Eagles striker, Daniel Amokachi, King of Galala Beats, Daddy Showkey and chief executive officer of Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu.

Four of the celebrities namely John Okafor (Mr Ibu) and Bishop Ime (Okon Lagos), both comics in the nation’s theatre industry, Chinwetalu Agu, a veteran Nollywood actor and comedienne and television presenter, Helen Paul were designated as brand ambassadors.

By Laolu Oladipo, Lagos

L-R: Human rights activist, Adewale Adeoye, deputy president, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Mohammed Abubakar, president, Coalition of Nigerian Civil Group, Kehinde Adegbuyi and general secretary, United Middle-Belt Youth Congress, Abass Mafeng, during a press conference on the political situation in the country in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO BY GBENGA OLAJOBI

Impeachment Plots, Presidential Recklessness – NHRC

By OLUGBENGA SOYELE, Lagos

Some human rights activists under the platform of Nigerian Human Rights Community (NHRC), yesterday described the recent impeachment and threat of impeachment of some governors in the country as naked abuse of power and presidential recklessness.

The group also accused President Goodluck Jonathan of sponsoring the impeachment proceeding against former Ad-

amawa State governor, Murtala Nyako and the ongoing process to impeach the governor of Nasarawa State, Umaru AlMakura.

The NHRC members, who made the allegation at a press conference in Lagos, also called on voters in the state to immediately commence the process to recall members of the State House of Assembly if they refuse to retrace their steps.

Though the group maintained that it has nothing against the

impeachment of the affected governors if the process is driven by public interest, it however, noted that the current move is an attempt by the president to control all the states in the country ahead of the February 2015 general elections.

Speaking at the press conference, the coordinator, Journalists for Democratic Rights, Adewale Adeoye said the president may be shooting himself in the foot with his recent moves, urging him to retrace his steps.

The minister of lands, housing and urban development, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi has disclosed plans to ascertain the number of houses that have been built under the present administration in order to determine the exact housing deficit.

The minister made this known in Abuja while inaugurating three different committees, which are the ministerial committee on presidential initiative on the delivery of 10,000 housing units under the Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company (NMRC) housing finance scheme, ministerial committee on verification and audition of federal government lands and landed property in the 36 states and the FCT, and ministerial committee on national housing survey.

By Evelyn Okoruwa, Abuja

Religious Body Supports Ikuforiji’s Ambition ByTaiwo Ogunmola Omilani, Lagos

A religious organisation, Christian Coalition Against Corruption (CCAC), has supported the aspiration of the speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Adeyemi Ikuforiji, to vie for the position of governor of the state in 2015.

Chairman of the Christian anti-corruption body, Bishop Fran-

cis Shopekan disclosed this while presenting the Outstanding Leaders Award to the speaker in his Alausa, Ikeja office.

The bishop, who came alongside the executive members of the group, said “We have been reliably informed that you want to be governor of the state; we will like to be one of those who will give you support for this project.’’

He explained that having ob-

served the speaker and how he has been leading the House of Assembly for a long time, he has come to realise that he is a good man contrary to the negative impression some people have about him.

He told the speaker, “This award is being given to you after you have been duly nominated and recommended by well-meaning people in the society. We want

you to know that we have carefully followed your track record, works, and all activities since you resumed office as speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly.”

He further said that the speaker’s untainted integrity, fight for good governance, commitment to the development of Lagos State and Nigeria and his exemplary leadership qualities distinguished him as the best man for the award.

48 news south-South south-East Edo Speaker Warns LG Bosses Against ‘White Elephant’ Projects As the Edo House of Assembly yesterday beamed its searchlight on the activities of local government areas in the state, the Speaker, Hon Uyi Igbe, called on the 18 council chairmen to desist from embarking on ‘white elephant’ projects and to concentrate on projects that can be completed in record time.

Igbe disclosed this when three council chairmen appeared before the House to give account of their stewardship between April 2013 and April 2014.

The speaker said, “There are too many ongoing projects in some of the local governments. It is important that you embark on projects that you can complete within a specified period, to avoid abandoned projects in the state.”

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Oshiomhole, Most Investor-friendly Governor – Jonathan

By Patrick Ochoga, Benin City

Despite the political differences President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday applauded Governor Adams Oshiomhole Edo State for attracting investments into the state, saying the governor is an investor’s delight.

The president gave the commendation yesterday (Monday) during the commissioning of Presco BioGas Power Plant Project at Obayantor, Benin City.

Represented by the Minister of

Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, the president said, “For any form of investment, policies are critical, but the enabling environment is far more important. I wish to commend the government of Edo State, in particular the governor of Edo State.

We heard his comments when they said they needed another 20,000 hectares of land. He said it is available, come and get it. Those are the sorts of governors that investors want to work with, a governor that is dynamic, a governor that under-

stands the economics, that understands the needs of the people, that understands the importance of investments in their states.

“I wish also to commend the people of Edo State for providing the cordial atmosphere for Presco to operate all these years and to continue to invest in this state and in this country. It is my hope that the cooperation that has sustained Presco will be extended to other industrial establishments in Edo State.”

Dr. Agangan assured that the federal government will continue to

short news Nigerian Ambassador To Russia Joins Guber Race In A/Ibom

By Patrick Ochoga, Benin City

‘NAFDAC Penalises Defaulters On Monthly Basis’ The coordinator of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC )in Cross River State, Kolawole Isaac, has said that the agency penalizes 2-3 defaulters monthly for failing its regulatory standards.

He stated this yesterday during an interview in his in office at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Calabar.

While reacting to his agency’s recent effort towards ensuring safe sachet and table water in the state, he disclosed that the defaulters cut across manufacturers of different products.

“We penalize people on a monthly basis. Even in this month of July, we would have had no fewer than 2 or 3 persons penalized for one offence or the other,” he said.

By Lanre Arotimi, Calabar

Edo Deputy Gov Bags Benin Heritage Award Edo State deputy governor, Dr Pius Odubu yesterday bagged an award for his effort towards the promotion and sustenance of the Benin cultural heritage.

This is coming shortly after he was honoured by the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) in Benin.

The award was conferred on him in Benin City by the NTA Benin Zonal Office at their 8th Uyiedo Cultural Carnival, interschool competition and beauty contest 2014.

NTA zonal director in Benin, Pauline Igbanor, noted that the deputy governor was carefully selected for the award due to his deep knowledge of the customs and traditions of Benin Kingdom and urged other well meaning Nigerians to emulate him.

By Patrick Ochoga, Benin City

partner with states like Edo in its policy to bring about results which Nigerians expect from governance.

He added, “I also want to say thank you to Governor Oshiomhole for his kind support for Presco Company in boosting the agro-allied industry. It is important to note that 10,000 Nigerians are among the shareholders of this company. So every penny they make and the dividends they pay have a huge success in maintaining these 10,000 Nigerians since 1991 when the company was established.”

Test run of Rivers Monorail in Port Harcourt, yesterday. PHOTO BY NAN

Anambra To Close Down 486 Examination Centres

By Okechukwu Obeta, Awka

A total of 486 magic examination centres in Anambra State have been identified for shutdown by the state government as part of measures to curb examination malpractices in the education sector.

The state Commissioner for Education, Professor Kate Umenugha, who disclosed this during the 10th Anniversary of St. Joseph’s Academic Award for 2014, lamented that the exami-

nation miracle centres had been aiding and abeting examination malpractices especially during West African Examination Council, WAEC, and National Examination Council, NECO, examinations.

She, however, commended the Founder of St. Joseph Academic Award, Engr. Bath Nwibe for instituting the award, saying that the gesture would certainly contribute to the promotion of educational excellence.

He expressed worry that the

operators of the magic exam centres use them to defraud desperate students and unsuspecting parents and guardians.

“We have government schools and approved private schools that are saddled with the responsibility of training our children to become functional members of our society, but with the emergence of this miracle centres, our children no longer study to pass for examinations, rather they go to those places where they will be helped to pass examinations.”

Nigerian ambassador to Russia and the Belarus, Chief Assam Ekanem Assam (SAN) has expressed his intention to contest the Akwa Ibom State governorship election in 2015.

Assam, who stated this at the weekend while addressing hundreds of his supporters from the 31 local government areas of the state at his country home in Idua, Eket LGA, disclosed that he would tender his resignation letter to President Goodluck Jonathan by next month (August).

Ekanem vowed to stop Governor Godswill Akpabio from imposing a candidate on the people of Akwa Ibom State in the forthcoming governorship election.

By Bernard Tolani Dada Uyo

Group Defends Gov Dickson Over Alleged Anti-Party Activities, N26m Bribe To INEC Officials

By OSA Okhomina, Yenagoa

A group, the Grassroots Connect for Restoration (GrassCore) yesterday rose in defence of the Bayelsa State Governor,Hon.Seriake Dickson over the alleged secret meetings with opposition party leaders and N26million bribe to INEC officials over the conduct of 2016 governorship election in the state.

The group described the allegation as laughable, wicked, lacking credibility and a desperate at-

tempts by anti-development forces to destroy the existing relationship between the President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Seriake Dickson and plunge the state back to dark days of underdevelopment.

An online report had last week alleged that the Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson had become desperate to secure a second term ticket and was set to dump the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) due to his alleged frosty relationship with the President Goodluck

Jonathan.

The report alleged that an unholy meeting was held between the Governor Seriake Dickson and former governor, Timipre Sylva.The report also alleged that the governor purchased a luxury Sport Utility Vehicle [SUV] and made a payment of N26million to an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the state in exchange for an approach to the national officials of the INEC to consider the possibility of re-scheduling the

Bayelsa State gubernatorial election away from 2016 to 2015.

But the Pro-Dickson campaign group,GrassCore, which announced its emergence and creation of local government and ward chapters in the existing eight council areas and development centres in the state, stated that though the race for 2016 had not begun, the decision for the Bayelsa governor,Hon. Seriake Dickson to seek re-election is based on performance and loyalty to the PDP.

news NATIONAL 49

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Peace In Conflict Areas: Civil Organisations Urge Jonathan To Endorse IDPS As a way of bringing peace to terroraffected areas and the entire nation, leaders of civil society organisations have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently endorse the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and State-building (IDPS) and its New Deal for Engagement in Conflict Affected States (NDECAS).

The executive director, Centre for Sustainable Development and Education in Africa (CSDEA), Mr Theophilus Ekpon, made this call while addressing journalists during a press conference in Abuja.

According to him, Nigeria needed to embrace the peace initiative, considering the enormous security challenges and conflicts facing the country which have always resulted in loss of lives and property.

Ekpon stated that Nigeria with a population of about 179 million people and over 250 ethnic groups has been prone to various kinds of conflict since independence and that the IDPS and NDECAS present an opportunity to address the conflict challenges in Nigeria holistically.

By Paul Chiama, Abuja

Group Tasks Govts Over Abandoned Boreholes

The national president of Association of Water Well Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners (AWDROP), Mr Michael Ale has frowned at many abandoned boreholes littering the country while government at all levels are not showing concern on this particular development index.

The AWDROP boss in a communique issued at the end of the capacity development training workshop on “Project Management and Implementation in water sector” held in Ilorin, Kwara State and make available to newsmen in Ibadan yesterday, wondered why governments will be interested in more borehole projects.

While most of the borehole infrastructures were not functional and objective of getting the borehole infrastructure was not achieved.

He said AWDROP at the National level was already complementing the government effort in the area of troubleshooting on all abandoned boreholes in the country through Water Point Mapping (WPM) running a pilot in Oyo State with the use of a mobile app technology water.

Ale who disclosed that study is ongoing on reasons why many of these infrastructures failed, he advised Nigerian government to create an enabling environment among the youth in water and sanitation sector as many of the problem associated with the health education and food security could be solved with adequate management of water resources.

By Adebayo Waheed, Ibadan

2015: We Need New Strategies For Rural, Illiterate Electorate –Jega

By Chibuzo Ukaibe, Abuja

As preparations for 2015 elections intensify, chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Attahiru Jega has said that the commission needed to adopt different strategies to educate rural and illiterate electorate on voting processes.

He also declared that the elec-

toral commission has put in place measures to enhance capacity of its staff.

Jega, who spoke yesterday at a four-day workshop organised by the United States Embassy for INEC public affairs officers, in Abuja, said the efforts at building the capacity of staff was informed by the fact that well trained staff are most likely to exude confidence and to per-

form their tasks competently.

Speaking at the workshop with the theme “The Role of INEC Press Officers: Enhancing Good Governance Through Media and Grassroots Outreach” the INEC chairman said, “It resonates with our thinking that the commission needs to reach out to a majority of our people who live in the rural areas, who are largely illiterate and who need to be ed-

ucated about the electoral process in an elaborate, clear and sustained manner.

“We think that different stategies and platforms need to be deployed to reach out to them rather than the elitist and high brow ones we are used to,” he said.

He also hailed the United States government for providing lead facilitator for the workshop in the person of Derwin Johnson.

short news ‘Home, Govt Responsible For Boko Haram’ An Islamic scholar has blamed the lack of attention from home front and government for the emergence of terrorist groups like Boko Haram.

Alhaji Femi Abass made the statement at this year’s OGTV annual Ramadan lecture in Abeokuta.

Speaking on the topic, “Religious Extremism: L-R: Osun State deputy governor, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, former Osun State governor Isiaka Adeleke, Osun State governor Rauf AregRole of Parents”, besola and Oyo State governor Abiola Ajimobi, during Aregbesola’s re-election campaign at the Unity School, Ejigbo, yesterday.

Abass who is the chairman of the media committe of the Supreme Council for Islamic

By Kuni Tyessi, Abuja Affairs described riving the campus from Sunday standing courses offered by the the home front as July 20, while normal lectures, university, completion of on-gothe first point of Normal academic activities have expected to bring the second se- ing infrastructure and addresssocialisation for been restored as the senate of mester to an end commenced ing the exam racketeering monany child. the University of Abuja has an- yesterday July 21 and to con- ster by reviving the functions of “The home is nounced its resumption for the clude on Saturday, September 9. ethics committee. the nucleus of the The vice chancellor, who used 2012/2013 academic session, Professor Adikwu further society and we effective July 20, 2014. The vice the occasion of the interactive promised to run an open door cannot be talking chancellor of the university, Pro- media chat to also unveil a 37- administration with all interest of the society fessor Michael Umale Adikwu, point transformation agenda for groups on campus and ensure without serious disclosed this to newsmen in the university, assured the stu- transparency, prompt release of consideration Abuja during an interactive chat. dents and the academic commu- examination results and certififor the home.

Details of the academic cal- nity a hitch free session devoid cates and the expansion of facilThe home must ities on campus. endar which was issued by the of any form of rancour. be taken care of He further announced the acting registrar, Mrs Rifkatu He promised to urgently adfor the society to thrive.

Swanta and made available to dress the myriads of challeng- plan by his management to hold newsmen showed that the stu- es confronting the university university’s convocation ceremodents were expected to start ar- including accreditation of out- ny on February, 2015.

Gbenga Adeboye, Abeokuta

Academic Activities Begin As UniAbuja Reopens

NOUN Targets 500,000 Enrollment By 2015 – VC

By ISAIAH BENJAMIN, Abuja

The vice chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof Vincent Tenebe has disclosed that the open university is targeting 500,000 enrollment of students by 2015.

This is just as he assured Nigerians seeking admission into the university that there is no

need for the prospective student to have a godfather, saying whoever have all it takes will be given admission into the institution.

Speaking at an interactive session/ breaking of Ramadan fast with journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Kaduna council secretariat, Professor Tenebe added that NOUN has given every intend-

ing student liberty of registration without stringent measure since they are matured students with wealth of experiences in different fields of human endeavours.

He said the number of students enrollment continued to increase on daily basis with over 300,000 students currently studying at the ivory tower, promising to hit enrollment fig-

ure of 500, 000 ahead of official target of 1.5 million students before he leaves office next year.

He also assured that the university has put in place measures to check cyber fraud since major activities of the institution are done online, saying that the measures would not be disclosed in the interest of safe guarding the university.

50

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

world

news ➐ ➍➋ ➏➊ ➎➌

Launch Attack Despite Truce

South Sudanese rebels have launched an offensive to retake a key town near the border with Ethiopia in what the United Nations said was a clear violation of a truce agreement.

“This attack represents the

most serious resumption of hostilities,” since President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, rebel leader Riek Machar, met in May and recommitted to a January ceasefire, the UN mission said in a statement on Sunday.

➏ India School Rapist To Appear In Court

A top private school instructor was due in court on Monday over the alleged rape of a six-year-old student which sparked protests from outraged parents, an official in the southern Indian city of Bangalore has said.

The 30-year-old roller-skating instructor at the private school in Bangalore was arrested on Sunday over the alleged assault on the premises earlier this month, the city’s police commissioner said.

Pro-Russian rebels have allowed Dutch investigators to examine bodies from the crashed Malaysia Airlines plane at a railway station in eastern Ukraine.

The three Dutch experts said the train might leave the town of Torez

later.

All 298 people on board flight MH17 died when it crashed over the rebel-held area on 17 July. The US and other nations say there is growing evidence of Russian complicity in the crash.

➎ S/Sudan Rebels

➊ Death Toll Rises ➋ Deaths As Israeli

As Typhoon Pounds Shelling Hits Gaza Hospital China The death toll from the strongest storm to hit China in four decades has reached 18, state media said as forecasters issued warnings of more extreme weather.

Typhoon Rammasun has left eight people dead in the island province of Hainan and another nine in Guangxi, official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday.

Israeli tanks have shelled a hospital in the central Gaza Strip, killing at least five people and wounding at least another 50.

Al Jazeera’s Stephanie Dekker, reporting from Gaza, said according to early reports the third floor of the al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah had been hit by at least three tank shells yesterday.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 298 people aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Profiles of some those who died aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

➌ Iran Dilutes

➍ UN Chief Decries

Iran has turned all of its enriched uranium closest to the level needed to make nuclear arms into more harmless forms, the United Nations’ nuclear agency has said.

Tehran had committed to convert or dilute its 20-percent enriched stockpile under an agreement with six powers last November that froze its atomic programmes.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretarygeneral, has condemned the persecution of Iraqi Christians by Islamic State (IS) fighters, saying it may constitute a crime against humanity.

The statement on Monday came after hundreds of Christian families fled their homes in the northern city of Mosul as an ultimatum threatening their community’s centuries-old presence ended.

Enriched Uranium Stockpile

Islamic State’s Ultimatum

➐ MH17 plane

crash: Dutch Experts Examine Bodies

WORLD NEWS 51

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

China Suspends McDonald’, KFC’s Meat Supplier

Chinese branches of fast food chains, including McDonald’s and KFC, have stopped using meat from a supplier in Shanghai following allegations it sold them out of date meat.

According to Xinhua, the state-owned news agency, authorities in Shanghai have ordered the suspension of operations at Shanghai Husi Food Co. Reports by local media said that Husi had re-processed expired meat products.

McDonald’s and KFC said they had stopped using meat from Husi.

In a statement posted on

its website, translated from Mandarin, the Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration said it had “decided to investigate claims of the alleged use of expired raw food material production and the processing of it in food”.

Shanghai Husi is the Chinese unit of US-based food supplier OSI Group.

According to OSI’s website, the company’s unit in China “started to provide high-quality products to McDonald’s China” in 1992.

The unit began supplying Yum China in 2008. Yum China manages the KFC and Pizza Hut

chains and its sales have been hit by recent health scares.

Yum’s sales dipped after a report in 2012 said two of its suppliers were providing chickens with excessive levels of antibiotics.

Just as the firm was recovering from those allegations, fears of an outbreak of bird flu in the country dented its sales.

Relatives of victims waiting for word on their loved ones.

Benjamin Cavender from consultancy China Market Research Group, based in Shanghai said: “Yum has just started rebuilding credibility and had some decent sales which just came out for the second quarter. A bereaved Dutch father has edly supplied by Russia, but Rus“I think this is really going to written an open letter to who- sia blames the Ukraine governset them back.” ever shot down flight MH17, ment.

According to figures from “thanking” them for killing his “Thank you very much Mr research firm Euromonitor, 17-year-old daughter Elsemiek, Putin, separatist leaders or the McDonald’s and Yum are the two “my dear and only child”.

Ukrainian government, for murleading fast food chains in China, The letter comes as anger dering my dear and only child,” based on sales. grows in the Netherlands over Hans de Borst, the bereaved faSpeaking to Reuters a the fact that the dead have yet ther, said in the letter published spokesperson for McDonald’s to be returned from the eastern by Dutch media on Monday. in China said: “If proven, the Ukraine, with many deploring “Suddenly she’s gone. Shot practices outlined in the reports the chaotic handling of the bod- out of the sky in a foreign warare completely unacceptable to ies and the crash site. torn country.”

McDonald’s anywhere in the Thursday’s downing of the Elsemiek was going to finish world” Malaysia Airline passenger jet school next year with her best —Reuters left 298 people, including 193 friends Julia and Marine, who Dutch, dead. The crash has been were not on the flight, and she widely blamed on a missile fired was doing well.

—Al Jazeera by pro-Kremlin separatists alleg-

MH17: Delay In Return Of Bodies Angers Dutch

Stocks Indexes Fall, Bonds Gain As Ukraine, Gaza Worries Grow

Major global stock markets fell and bond prices rallied on Monday as worries over conflict in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine raised uncertainty for investors and kept them away from riskier assets.

The safe-haven yen also inched up and gold prices rose above $1,300 an ounce as the market focused on increased turmoil in the Middle East and tensions following last week’s downing of a Malaysian jetliner over Ukraine.

Israeli jets, tanks and artillery contin-

ued to pound Gaza as the death toll from a two-week conflict topped 500. Reports that Ukrainian forces were moving into the eastern city of Donetsk added to concerns that the conflict in one of Europe’s biggest countries may escalate. <Full Story] Shocks to the system from Ukraine and Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza come at a time when markets have been worried about economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic and digesting second-quarter earnings reports.

The United States and the EU last week announced further economic sanctions against Russian interests before the jet was shot down.

But Germany and other European Union members have taken a more cautious line on moves against Russia than the United States, mindful of the damage an exchange of sanctions with one of their main energy providers could do to Eu-

rope’s economy. The Bundesbank said on Monday the German economy probably stagnated in the second quarter.

The situations in Gaza and Ukraine “are both quite serious, but at this point unlikely to derail the U.S. economy,” said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 70.00 points, or 0.41 percent, at 17,030.18. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX was down 7.87 points, or 0.40 percent, at 1,970.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 15.07 points, or 0.34 percent, at 4,417.07.

MSCI’s All-World Index .MIWD00000PUS was down 0.3 percent, while European stocks .FTEU3 were down 0.5 percent.

The overseas headlines overshadowed some upbeat US earnings.

—Reuters

SFO Investigates Price Rigging In Foreign Exchange Market The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched a criminal investigation into allegations of price rigging in the £3tn-a-day foreign exchange market.

The probe will look into allegations of “fraudulent conduct”, the director of the SFO said in a statement.

Around 15 international agencies are investigating allegations of collusion and price manipulation.

It is alleged that traders used online chatrooms to plan the fixing of benchmark prices.

The Financial Conduct

Authority (FCA) said in October it had joined other regulators around the world in scrutinising firms over the potential manipulation of the foreign exchange market.

Several investment banks, including Barclays and HSBC have already suspended currency traders due to the investigation by the FCA. And in March this year the Bank of England suspended one member of staff over the probe.

At the time the head of the Financial Conduct Authority, Martin Wheatley, said that

currency manipulation was “every bit as bad” as the Libor scandal, where banks including Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS paid fines totalling $6bn relating to Libor fixing.

For the criminal probe the SFO will work in co-operation with the FCA and the US Department of Justice, which announced its own criminal investigation last October.

Earlier this year US prosecutors flew to London to question individuals over allegations of market manipulation.

—BBC

2015 US Expresses Optimism Over Elections

By Ugochukwu Iroka, Abuja

Using the recently concluded Ekiti state governorship elections as a yardstick, the United States ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle yesterday expressed optimism that the upcoming Osun state gubernatorial and the 2015 general elections would follow in the same vein.

The ambassador was speaking at the opening of a four-day workshop for INEC public affairs officers held in Abuja.

“I’d like to congratulate INEC, as well as the many other electoral stakeholders, on the successful elections in Ekiti in June. As I just mentioned, positive momentum

builds up, and I believe that you will carry this forward into the August elections in Osun, and hopefully into next year,” he said.

Entwistle, however urged Nigerian politicians to ‘take a public pledge against violence’ and advised the general public to ‘make it clear that if a candidate wants your vote, he or she must take the pledge that they will not advocate, foment, or condone violence before, during, or after the elections.’

Mr Derwin Johnson, an independent senior communications consultant from the United States, with more than 30 years of experience, has been invited share his expertise with officials during the

Terrorism: FBI Pushes Muslims To Plot Attacks – HRW

By Abdullahi Umar, Agency Report

The Human Right Watch (HRW) has said that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) encouraged and sometimes even paid Muslims to commit terrorist acts during numerous sting operations after the 9/11 attack in America, PM News reports.

The HRW reported that far from protecting Americans, including American Muslims, from the threat of terrorism, the policies documented in the report have diverted law enforcement from pursuing real threats.

The report aided by Columbia University Law School’s Human

Rights Institute, Human Rights Watch examined 27 cases from investigation through trial, interviewing 215 people, including those charged or convicted in terrorism cases, their relatives, defense lawyers, prosecutors and judges.

“In some cases the FBI may have created terrorists out of law-abiding individuals by suggesting the idea of taking terrorist action or encouraging the target to act,” the report said.

The HRW report, however, cites the case of four Muslim converts from Newburgh, New York who were accused of planning to blow up synagogues and attack a US military base.

52

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

C’wealth Games: Team Nigeria Gets Official Welcome Today NSC advance party to the Games, Dr. Ademola Are in a phone conversation yesterday.

According to him, Team Nigeria is in high spirit ahead of the opening ceremony billed for July 23.

“Our athletes are in high spirit and are hoping to do the nation proud. They have given assurance

BY ONJEWU DICKSON, Abuja

Nigeria’s 126-man contingent would be hosted to an official welcome ceremony to the 2014 Commonwealth Games being hosted by Glasgow, Scotland, today.

This was disclosed to LEADERSHIP Sports by member of the

that they would put in their best when competitions begin, also assuring of maintaining good discipline all through,” he added.

Speaking further, he explained that the athletes would have no excuses of not performing well, as the Federal Government through the NSC has provided all needed in ensuring they excel.

Nigeria Gets Key Commonwealth Sports Development Slot

By ONJEWU DICKSON, Abuja

There is some good news coming out of Nigeria’s participation at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as its request of being included in the pilot Sports For Development and Peace Agenda, submitted by the Minister of Sports, Tammy Danagogo, represented by Dr. Abdulkadir Mu’azu is being considered.

This was disclosed to LEADERSHIP Sports

yesterday on phone

by Mu’azu, who is the Director of Sports Medicals at the National Sports Commission (NSC).

According to him, the request was made yesterday at the Commonwealth Ministers of Sports Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

“The conference which was well attended and presided over by the Secretary-General of

Commonwealth, is in support of our proposal and would be including Nigeria in its pilot programme of Sports For Development and Peace Agenda,” he said.

Speaking further, he said that most African countries at the conference noted that they were being faced with challenges of standard sporting equipment and funding of sports to sustain a standard sports development programme.

Nigerian athletes

GLO Gives LMC Thumps Up For Good League Mgt BY ishaku kigbu, Abuja

We were impressed with the stiff

competition that characterised the first round of the Glo Premier League. It is a good spell for Nigerian football Globacom, Glo Premier League sponsors

Glo Premier League sponsors, Globacom has expressed satisfaction with the management and organization of Nigeria’s elite league by the League Management Company (LMC) headed by Nduka Irabor.

Glo yesterday said having experienced a successful first stanza of the league, Nigerians expect stiff competition as the Glo Premier League 2nd round begins. “We expect the competition to be even stiffer this time, especially after most of the clubs have oiled their machines in readiness for the second round battle,” a statement from the telecom

company states.

Globacom’s commendation came on the heels of LMC’s professional handling of the league describing as professional the scheduling of the outstanding matches in the first stanza and the management of the 20 clubs in ensuring that the league play by the rules governing the game.

“The LMC deserves our applause for ensuring that all the 19 matches were completed despite some of the clubs having a backlog of games to play due to other commitments,” the continued.

The telecom company expressed confidence in the capacity and ingenuity of clubs in the Nigerian

Amuneke Denies Facebook Account

BY ONJEWU DICKSON, Abuja

Amuneke

Golden Eaglets head coach, Emmanuel Amuneke has denied operating a Facebook account, saying no one should associate him with an impostor on the social web.

A certain person has for long been parading himself as the 1994 African Footballer of the Year on Facebook but Amuneke said it was nothing but a fictitious account since he’s not on any social media for that matter.

“I’m not on Facebook and I’m not ashamed of saying so,”Amuneke said.”The only thing I do on my phone is receiving calls and at worst, use the

short message service (sms) but count me out of anything outside that.”

Amuneke said it was unfortunate that ‘one clown’ would be using his personality in order to deceive unsuspecting public, warning Nigerians to be wary of the impersonator. As at the last check, the copycat claimed Amuneke attended Ahmadu Bello University amongst other things. “ I’m not on Facebook, I don’t tweet and in fact, I don’t have any social media account,” Amuneke maintained. I don’t have the time for such and my colleagues here know I’m not part of the crowd on social network.”

elite football league to raise their game and satisfy the yearning of football lovers across the country for highly entertaining games as the league’s second round commences this Sunday.

The league went on a break after the first stanza ended before the start of Brazil 2014 World Cup in June with several clubs using the period to energize and strategise their teams to sustain their quest for the league title.

“We were impressed with the stiff competition that characterised the first round of the Glo Premier League.

It is a good spell for Nigerian football.

It has not been a walk-in-the-park for the reigning champions.”

Irabor

Falcons Friendly Was For Team Selection, Tactics Perfection – Dedevbo

BY ONJEWU DICKSON, Abuja

The Falconets had earlier won the first game 5-1 with goals from The Falconets coach Peter Dedevbo Oshoala Asisat, Sunday Uchechi has revealed that as his team builds and Eyebhoria Winifred having a up ahead the FIFA U-20 World goal each while Ihezou ChinwenCup in Canada, the friendly game du grabbed a brace. Their oppoagainst Abees Academy of Abuja was nents fought hard in an attempt to to strategise on team selection and get back to the game and where reperfection of tactics. At the week- warded with a goal before the end of end, Falconets defeated Abees Acad- the game. In the second game, the emy of Abuja in a two series friendly Falconets thrashed Abees Boys 4-3. at an aggregate of 9 to 4 goals with Peter Dedevbo said the friendlies both games played at the FIFA Goal gave him an opportunity to study project pitch Package B of the Abuja the team more critically in order to National Stadium. make corrections ahead of the upThe matches are aimed at pre- coming World Cup. “With just days paring the team for the FIFA U-20 to the World Cup. Women’s World Cup which comes I am intensifying preparations to up between August 5 and 24 in Can- ensure the team does well at the fiada. esta.”

Follow these reports on leadership.ng/sports

sports 53

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Omeruo Explains Boro Return

Nigeria’s Felix Ekpo competes in a men’s 77kg weightlifting event

NWF Backs Olarinoye For Commonwealth Job

BY ONJEWU DICKSON, Abuja

The Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF) has thrown its weight behind the bid by Dr Steve Olarinoye, a board member of NWF to be on the board of Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation (CWF).

Election into the board will take place next week during the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games which kicks off tomorrow (Wednesday). Olarinoye, a seasoned sports administrator is presently the National Sports Commission (NSC) zonal coordinator for the South West.

NWF’s media committee chairman, George Aluo in a statement made available to the media in Lagos disclosed that the NWF board endorsed Olarinoye for the election based on his experience and the need to have a Nigerian in the international sporting body.

“Olarinoye has been involved in weightlifting for over two decades and he is respected by other stakeholders from different parts of the world. We hope he will get into the executive board of CWF in Glasgow.

Nigeria will gain a lot from his being on the board if elected,” Aluo stated.

Olarinoye is expected to hit Glasgow tomorrow early enough to do some ground works before the elections which will pitch him against opponents from 15 other countries that include Canada, Australia, Malta, Uganda and Bangladesh.

One thing going for the Nigerian is the fact that he had in the past served the Commonwealth weightlifting body creditably. He was appointed into a commission of the weightlifting body between 2008 and 2010.

He was also the secretary of Nigeria Weightlifting Federation between 2005 and 2009.

Nigeria international Kenneth Omeruo has explained his decision to return to Championship side Middlesbrough instead of joining a Premier League team.

The 20-year-old recently agreed to an improved deal to stay at Chelsea for another four years, which is an extension to the deal he signed when he joined from Standard Liege in 2012.

He won rave reviews during his stint at Boro last season, which also earned him a starting place next to Super Eagles captain Joseph Yobo at the World Cup in Brazil.

The centre-back has decided to go back to the North Yorkshire

club, despite interest from topflight outfits Hull City and QPR. “You know, it’s difficult to see a 20-year-old defender play week in, week out. And if I go to join a Premiership side I would not be guaranteed regular play,” Omeruo explained to African Football.

“So, if I would be on the bench in another club, I would rather remain at Chelsea. So, that’s why I decided to go where I am familiar with and guaranteed regular play.”

He added: “I spoke with Mike Emenalo (Chelsea sporting chief) and he said with the plans Chelsea have for me that it was best I continue with Boro.”

Omeruo

2nd Aba Marathon Will Be Better Organised – Fmr AFN Boss

BY ONJEWU DICKSON, Abuja

The 2nd Aba City Half Marathon is around the corner and former member, Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) rtd Col Jaiye Abidoye has believes this year’s edition is destined to be better organized as all lapses discovered in the maiden edition in 2013 are being addressed. He said with preparations in top gear, Nigerians should expect a bigger event this year.

According to the deputy director National Institute for Sports (NIS) who spoke during a press conference in Aba during the unveiling of the Marathon Secretariat located at 165, Azikiwe Road, Aba, he said he has a trained and certified measurer to make the race tick. “We hope to see a wellorganized and better competition this year. This is our second year experience and you see we started very early now.

And I have a trained and certified measurer, so that makes it easy for AFN to say a job well done. Now the rest is left for the organizing committee to make sure that they appoint qualified people who know how to run every aspect of the marathon.

“The marathon is a very big event and not a child’s play.

It involves a lot of critical organizational skill and expertise, administrative, technical know-how, etc. Once we get all these done, like we just started now if we continue with the momentum, we’ll have no problem.”

Col Abidoye said some of the few lapses experienced at the maiden edition were because most members of the Local Organizing Committee then didn’t have proper knowledge of Marathon Races. He mentioned that issues like security on the road, movement of vehicles and crowd control are issues that need improvement this year including the fixing of bad roads by the Abia State government in order not to affect the players.

“Too much crowd in the sense of officials connected with the race. I’m not talking of the athletics officials but the LOC members especially at the finishing line which was supposed to be clean and clear. The positioning of people and everything.

The road last year was bad but what we saw with this visit along MCC road is terrible.

We will appeal to the government of Abia state to help fix that road. It’s the worst along the routes. Athletes can easily break down because by the time the runners get to MCC road, definitely they’ll be tired

Wilson Kiprop: Top Kenyan and Etiopian athletes are expected in Aba

because they took half way if not even beyond half way and they can easily break their ankle. The road is very bad and the length is long enough that you cannot say once I skip this one, it’s all over, no. The damaged areas and the holes are very deep and large that you cannot jump it. They have to stop completely, walk or climb over to continue their race which may affect their timing and speed. It endangers their health. So it has to be fixed, this we need so much.”

For Coach Solomon Abari, member association of International Marathon Races, AIMS, what they are looking for at this year’s event from the players are proper trainings. “As a coach, what we need from athletes is proper preparation which means you must know when the competition is going to start, and that time we’ll know when to plan your training programme, dividing it into periods whereby you have the general, specific and competition preparations.

If you have such breakdown by knowledgeable coaches, you’ll be able to put the athletes throughout the season focusing on the time of that competition. The basic things for a coach are to make sure that he prepares his athletes to be the best in a competition not before or after. Sometimes they hit the peak after the competition while others hit the peak before the competition. So it is not the right thing. You must be able to time your athletes and make sure that they’re at their peak during the competition.”

He said he visited Aba to make sure the routes are up to standard. “Specifically, I am in Aba is to make sure that the routes are measured to the standard of AIMS so that any record that is set or if there’s going to be any international races, the athletes will come in and make sure that the distance is okay; it’s a standard distance which is whether it’s going to be 10km, half marathon like this one which is half marathon (21.098 km). So such a distance must be well measured and all the calculations have to be sent to AIMS to make sure that it is okay. Then they can now send it to IWS to make sure that they approve the distance.”

He concluded.

54 sports

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Messi Was One Of World Cup’s Top 3 Players – Neymar

Mcilroy

Mcilroy Eyes Masters, Golf Dominance Rory McIlroy hopes to “dominate” golf and emulate the success of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods after his Open Championship success.

A two-shot victory at Royal Liverpool added the Claret Jug to McIlroy’s 2011 US Open and 2012 PGA Championship wins.

“I feel like there’s a lot more left in me,” said the 25-year-old, who is “confident” of completing a Grand Slam of majors at the Masters in April.

“I want be to be the guy that goes on and wins majors regularly.”

Asked if he could replicate the 18 Grand Slam wins Nicklaus amassed and the success of 14-time major winner Woods, McIlroy replied: “I definitely hope so.

“Golf is looking for someone to put their hand up and try to dominate and I want to be that person.”

The Northern Irishman’s

dominance at Hoylake in the third round saw him build a sixshot cushion before a final day where challengers Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia could never reduce the deficit to less than two strokes.

Two rounds of 66 and a 68 ahead of Sunday showed consistency which contrasted his Open form of 2013, where he missed the cut at Muirfield and described his play as “brain dead”.

“I’m immensely proud of myself,” added McIlroy, now world number two. “To sit here 25 years of age and win my third major championship and be three-quarters of the way to the career grand slam, I never dreamed of being at this point in my career so quickly.”

Only Nicklaus and Woods had won as many of golf’s cherished majors by the same age and scrutiny of McIlroy’s Masters attempt in spring will now in-

Ideye Will Need Time – Anichebe Nigerian striker Victor Anichebe believes Brown Ideye will be a big hit at West Bromwich Albion, but will need time to adapt in the Premier League.

The 25-year-old became the Hawthorns club’s record signing when he completed a transfer from Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kyiv to the West Midlands club.

He already has a fan in his countryman, who expressed confidence in his ability to do well at the club, but warned against pressure because of the big-money move.

“I know Brown through playing for Nigeria and we’ve kept in touch ever since,” Anichebe told the Club’s official website. “We’ve kept tabs on how we’ve been doing in our respective leagues.

“He’s done well in Ukraine after moving there for a lot of money. He’s also come here for a big fee and I’m sure he will do well. But I don’t think the fans should expect too much.” Ideye

tensify as he bids to become the sixth player to achieve a Grand Slam.

Augusta National - the annual stage for golf’s first major of each year - is widely regarded as the most welcoming course for McIlroy’s style of play.

“I really don’t have any doubt that he’ll win there,” said Fowler, 25. “It definitely fits his game.”

McIlroy came tied eighth in the Masters this year but in 2011, in only his third Masters campaign, he lost a four-shot overnight lead on the final day as Charl Schwartzel claimed a first Green Jacket.

“I’m getting more comfortable,” added McIlroy. “The thing is I’ve always been comfortable from tee to green at Augusta.

“And it’s just taken me a few years to figure out the greens and figure out where you need to miss it and some different little shots that you might need that week.

Neymar has attempted to defuse the controversy over Lionel Messi’s Golden Ball triumph in Brazil by arguing that the Argentina captain was “at least” among the top three players at the World Cup. Messi led his country all the way to the final in Rio de Janeiro, where they were edged 1-0 after extra-time by Germany.

The 27-year-old was presented with the Golden Ball for the tournament’s best player after the match, much to the bemusement of many football fans and pundits, with Argentine icon Diego Maradona even claiming that it had been down to “some marketing plan”.

Neymar, though, believes that Messi, who failed to score in the knockout stages, did enough in Brazil to at least mark himself out as a legitimate contender for the accolade.

“I’m a huge Messi fan, as a player and as a person,” the

Selecao starlet said of his Barcelona team-mate during an interview with Rede Globo’s ‘Fantastico’.

“I don’t know whether it was fair or not but, for me, he was one of the best players in World Cup. “At least in the top three, anyway. I think [Germany midfielder Bastian] Schweinsteiger and [Netherlands attacker Arjen] Robben were also among the top three.”

Neymar, of course, saw his tournament ended by a fractured vertebra sustained in his country’s quarter-final win over Colombia and then had to sit on helpless as Brazil suffered a humiliating last-four hammering at the hands of Germany.

The inquest into the Selecao’s capitulation is ongoing but Neymar does not believe that Luiz Felipe Scolari, who has since resigned, should have been made the scapegoat for what he believes was a cultural failing.

Drogba

Drogba Considering Chelsea Return On One-Year Deal

Striker Didier Drogba is considering a one-year deal to return to Chelsea.

The Ivory Coast international, a free agent after leaving Galatasaray, left Stamford Bridge in 2012 after scoring the winning penalty in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

Drogba’s representatives say a decision has not yet been made and that Chelsea is one of a number of options.

But talks are under way and the 36-year-old is likely to decide on a possible return this week.

Drogba was part of the Ivory Coast squad at the 2014 Fifa World Cup.

He made one start and two substitute appearances as his country were eliminated at the group stage after winning one of their three games.

Drogba, who joined Chelsea from Marseille for £24m in July 2004, won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and a Champions League during his first spell at Stamford Bridge.

He was on the losing side when the Blues beat Galatasaray in the last 16 of last season’s Champions League.

Before the second leg of that tie, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said Drogba was “still one of the best strikers in the world”.

sports 55

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

I’m Still An Eagle – Enyeama Vincent Enyeama has calmed doubts over his Nigeria national team future by declaring his intention to continue representing the Super Eagles. Enyeama’s schedule at Lique 1 outfit Lille is set to pile up in the upcoming campaign, with UEFA Champions League football on the horizon.

He had hinted at the idea of stepping down from national duty after the World Cup in Brazil, but has now changed his tune and is looking to add to his 94 caps.

“I never said I will never play for the Super Eagles again,” he explained to SuperSport. “I only said I will consult with my family which is a normal thing to do.

“I am still very much a national team player,” he confirmed, after collecting the Award for Excellence at

Rodriguez

the annual Ibom Football Awards in his hometown of Uyo. The honour was in recognition of his stellar performances in France last season, which the 31-yearold described as “special”.

“I am really pleased with this award,” the goal-minder added. “I want to thank the Guvaps management for this.

“I have won many accolades in my career but to be honoured by my people in Akwa Ibom State is special.

“Charity begins at home so this means a lot to me.

I will continue working harder to achieve even more.”

Enyeama made his debut for the Super Eagles in 2002 and is set to be named the permanent captain of the side, following Joseph Yobo’s retirement from international football.

Real Madrid Reach €88m James Rodriguez Agreement Real Madrid have reached an agreement with Monaco for the transfer of James Rodriguez.

In an overall deal that should see the Colombia international become the third most expensive footballer in the history of the game, Madrid will meet the French club’s €88 million valuation the same fee Barcelona paid for Luis Suarez including performancerelated variables.

With an agreement reached between the two clubs over the weekend,

discussions have been scheduled for Monday to iron out the details of James’s personal terms as Madrid aim to make the midfielder their second signing of the summer following the arrival of Toni Kroos from Bayern Munich.

An outline understanding on the 23-year-old’s salary has been in place since Madrid president Florentino Perez decided to target the player as this summer’s principle Galactico signing.

James - who pushed Monaco to allow him to leave the Ligue 1 club just a year after a big-money move from Porto - will join Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo in Madrid’s starstudded attack.

The arrival of the 23-year-old could spell the end for Isco at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Liverpool among the clubs monitoring the playmaker’s situation with a view to a summer bid.

In addition to the acquisition of World

Cup Golden Boot winner James, Madrid have been working on a deal to bring a second Colombia star, Radamel Falcao, from Monaco and reached a breakthrough in talks at the beginning of July.

Falcao’s return to Spanish football after a season in Ligue 1 is dependent on Madrid’s medical department declaring themselves satisfied with the striker’s recovery from cruciate ligament surgery.

Enyeama

Manchester United Will Always Remain In My Heart – Evra

Evra

Patrice Evra has expressed his thanks to Manchester United supporters following his decision to leave the club for Serie A champions Juventus.

The 33-year-old completed his €1.9 million switch to the Italian giants on Monday and is adamant that United will get back to winning trophies after a difficult 2013-14 campaign.

He wrote, in a statement posted on the club’s official website: “After a great deal of thought I have decided the time is right for me to leave Manchester United.

It is the biggest decision of my career as this club is, and will always remain, in my heart.

“Joining and playing for Manchester United has been a privilege, a dream come true and my time here has been so memorable. Through the good times and the bad times we have all stuck together and remained loyal. I have always said you don’t just join Manchester United, you join the family and long may that tradition continue.

“This club is steeped in history and I feel privileged to have become a part of that.

Over the past nine years I have met and worked with some incredible people, many of whom will remain friends for life. I would like to thank everyone at the club teammates, coaches and in particular all the staff who made every single day in Carrington or at Old Trafford a special day.

“An immense thank you to Sir Alex Ferguson for making it all possible, for giving me the privilege to be a captain, to be inspired by the legend of Manchester United and to understand that nobody is bigger than the club.”

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AMUSEMENT PARK NIXON’S MOTTO WAS: IF TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT, TRY THREE

— Norman Cousins on Richard Nixon

22.07.14 www.leadership.ng

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY

No. 2,226

TUESDAY

N150

The Militarisation Tuesday Column: Of Nigeria Comrade Timi Frank

N

Who is more deserving of impeachment than Jonathan among the elected officials in Nigeria today?

igeria has had its fair share of both progressive and reactionary leaders. This brings me to the story of Haman and Mordecai as recorded in the Bible. The villain of the narrative is Haman an arrogant, vile, archetype of evil.

The allegory of Haman is emblematic of the story of President Goodluck Jonathan - the shoeless pupil who became president by chance, the man who now vainly believes he can command the stars. He forgets that, before him, there were many who like him ineffectually thought that they held the keys to the pearly gates until they ended up disastrously. We have had Sani Abacha in our country, Idi Amin of Uganda, Mobutu Sese Seko of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colonel Mamman Gaddafi of Libya and Saddam Hussein of Iraq, to cite a few examples. Some of these leaders who thought they were the moniker of their countries all expired ignominiously. Today there is hardly a trace of their legacies.

The present administration hates the opposition because they have refused to bow to the idolatrous image (corruption) conspicuously embroidered on its garments. President Jonathan hates progressive governors because they have refused to pay obeisance to him. Therefore, he is on a revenge mission to exterminate the opposition. This is the raison d’être for all the impeachment fuss in the land being orchestrated by the presidency against progressive governors.

But this plot shall fail. The frameup will fail because light will overcome darkness without fail. The political intrigue will fail because good shall vanquish evil. We have walked this path before as a nation. Abacha threw many who opposed his dictatorship into the gulag. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was among those framed up, jailed and sentenced to death. But he became president.

Abacha expired. Some of the dissents of the Abacha era returned from exile to become governors and truly national leaders. So if history repeats itself so quickly in a Jonathan, I believe it is the dawn of a better era for this country because, according to Martin Luther King, Jr, “Right, temporar-

08070888888 (text only) ily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

How come a president without political will to prosecute fake oil marketers that creamed off over N2.5 trillion from the nation’s subsidy funds in 2011 has become a zealot in the persecution of performing progressive governors in the name of amorphous “gross misconduct”?

It is a fact that the present administration is today using the federal war chest to destroy the opposition and perpetuate itself in power. If not, where did the government source the over $300,000 it used to bribe Adamawa lawmakers for the kangaroo impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako? What is the source of the over N500million and N75 million each being dangled before Nasarawa and Edo lawmakers to remove governors Tanko Al-Makura and Adams Oshiomhole respectively? The president can use the resources of the people to impeach progressive governors but the only thing he cannot do is impeach the people who own the resources. The people shall outlive this administration and then they shall ensure that tendentious provisions of the constitution which have become ready tools in the hands of evildoers don’t find their way into a new people’s constitution.

Yet the president is chasing progressive governors widely acclaimed to have delivered on their mandates, to the benefit of the people in their states. What administration will spend over N2trillion on defence in three years but turn around to borrow $1billion to fight Boko Haram?

Only last week, Jonathan constituted a committee on Boko Haram Victims Support Fund chaired by a retired army general and multi-billionaire, General Theophilus Danjuma. Because of the pervasive amnesia plaguing the present administration, it forgot so soon that, in October 2012, President Jonathan had set up a National Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation, co-chaired by Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Mr Olisa Agbakoba, with Dr Mike Adenuga, Jr, as chief funds mobiliser. How much was mobilized? Who are the beneficiaries? Nigerians were never told how much was mobilized and how

the funds were administered. Ditto the present charade aimed at raising funds for the inordinate re-election ambition of the president. The truth shall be told!

Who is more deserving of impeachment than Jonathan among the elected officials in Nigeria today? Even though the PDP-dominated National Assembly has joined in the conspiracy to overlook the many constitutional breaches of the president, the offences are not less impeachable. Rather than tell the president to shape up or be thrown out, the senators, in apparent disregard of the oath of office they took to defend the constitution, are seeking to legalize clear illegalities perpetrated by President Jonathan.

How can a president elected under a democratic government turn round to militarise and overheat the polity? The militarization of the Nigerian polity by the Presidency portends dire consequences for our democracy.

It is being done to give the PDP undue advantage so as perpetuate Jonathan in power. This is totally antithetical to our collective aspiration as a nation and directly negates the humongous sacrifices made by pro-democracy activists to restore democratic rule in 1999. There is no record to show that Jonathan ever partook in pro-democracy agitations. Militarization of the polity as a brand of evil played out between 1964 and 1965 when the leaders then decided to engage the khaki boys to torment their political opponents and to have absolute power.

They wanted power at all cost in areas of the country where they were not wanted and where their brand of politics was alien to the genuine wishes and aspirations of the people.

To indiscriminately and illegally deploy the police and the military to harass, hound, intimidate and manhandle the opposition figures spells doom for our people and country, and I don’t think Nigerians want to repeat the costly mistakes of the past.

The Nigerian military has no business with policing elections. Nigeria is not the only country that conducts elections. India is about six times the population of Nigeria; nobody saw a single soldier on their streets during the recent national elections with over one billion registered voters.

timifrank@leadership.ng

The president must not be oblivious to the fact that the “federal might” can be used to massively rig elections and impeach progressive governors, but it cannot win the hearts of the people. In 1983, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), a forerunner of the PDP, chose to follow the bad example -- but temporarily rewarding -- of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC). The NPN had performed woefully at the centre just like the PDP of today and they feared that a free and fair election would seal their fate. They decided to militarize the polity. Let the president ask Alhaji Shehu Shagari who headed that government the outcome of that misadventure.

I must reiterate my position that, due to desperation, the present administration appears to have gone on overdrive by unleashing political marauders against dissenting voices in the polity, especially the progressive governors. This has, no doubt, created unnecessary tension and instability in the country. We urge state governors now being intimidated and harassed to be bold. The people in states where these progressive governors administer must speak with their voice and later with their votes against oppression and tyranny. This is the time for all Nigerians to rise up in defence of democracy just like the people of Nasarawa have risen to reject externally-induced crisis in the governance of the state.

GHANA MUST GO Witches declare war on Boko Haram — News

Assha!!

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