Nigerian observer 09 07 2014

The Nigerian

PUBLISHED SINCE MAY 29, 1968 • Vol . 39 NO.030 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 9 , 2014 . N100.00 NATURAL MEDICINE Page 19

Keeping your health in form

NEW HORIZON Pages 20 & 24

Recipe for forgiveness

Edo 2016:

BENIN CITY - A former governor of the defunct Midwest and Bendel State, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia has called on Agbonmoba community in Ikpoba Okha Government Area of Edo State to join hands with him to shop

Search for credible candidate, Ogbemudia enjoins community

for a credible candidate that will help develop Edo State after the tenure of the Governor Adams Oshiomhole in 2016.

Dr. Ogbemudia made the call while receiving members of the

community in his residence who paid him a courtesy visit.

According to Dr. Ogbemudia, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has done well in his developmental strides

and we must look for a credible candidate that will start from where he stopped.

The people must continue to enjoy the Continues on page 2

EDHA condemns parallel sitting

by PDP Lawmakers

... meets at Old Legislative Chamber

By KEN ABU

BENIN CITY- Edo State House of Assembly has condemned in strong terms, the parallel sitting by the PDP Lawmakers in the hallowed Chambers of the Assembly complex, presided over by the suspended former Deputy Speaker, Hon. Festus Ebea on Monday July 7, 2014.

It described the parallel Ehigiamusor. sitting as an act of The House also criminality, necessitating revalidated the the suspension of the suspension of Hon. Festus House Minority Leader, Ebea and the three other Hon. Emma Okoduwa lawmakers, including Hon. and the Minority Whip, Friday Ogierhiakhi, Jude Hon. Kingsley Ise-Idehen and Patrick

Osayimwen for their continuous disregard to the rule of law and the House Rules while urging the state commissioner of Police to investigate the forceful entry by the

PDP Lawmakers into the hallowed chambers to hold their parallel sitting.

The House position was contained in a resolution adopted by parliament following the consideration of a motion

under Matter of Urgent Public Importance on the criminal attitude and desecration of the hallowed chambers of the Assembly by the PDP Lawmakers, moved by the member

representing Owan West Constituency, Hon. Michael Ohio-Ezomo and seconded by Hon. Peter Aliu, member representing Etsako East constituency.

Continues on page 2

2014 World Cup Semi-Final

Brazil

1

Germany

7

Senate wades into doctors’ strike

By JOSES SEDE

ABUJA - Senate has begun moves to lobby members of the Nigeria Medical Association to end the ongoing industrial action recently embarked upon by members of the association last week.

Speaking yesterday through a motion brought before the Senate at plenary, the chairman of Senate Committee on Health, Ifanyi Okowa, called attention of the lawmakers to the ongoing strike by the medical doctors working

in public hospitals.

He said members of the Senate health committee, including Chris Ngige, Bukola Saraki, among others, learnt about the strike and held an emergency meeting with the national executive of the NMA towards resolving the dispute.

Okowa, who explained that in the meeting, the doctors demanded that certain circulars should be issued by the ministry of health before they could go back to provide emergency services at the hospitals, which has

TIT BIT “Even if you have to engage another man’s wisdom to interpret your dream, you will need your own wisdom to make it work to your advantage.”

- Kinglsey Ogbeide-Ihama

been complied with by the ministry.

He further pointed out that in the meeting, they talked to the doctors on the need to call of the strike, to enable further dialogue with the Continues on page 2

SITTING: Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Uyi Igbe being led in a procession by the Sergeant-At-Arms from the Hallowed Chamber after the day’s sitting at the Old Assembly Chamber on Monday. Photo: GODWIN ISEGUAN.

5 LGAs in Edo declared flood risk areas

BENIN CITY - Five local governments in Edo State have been declared flood risk areas.

They are Etsako East, Etsako Central, Ovia North-East, Ovia South West and Owan East Local Government areas.

A statement by the supervising Minister, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku singled out Etsako East local government area as a high flood risk area while the remaining four local governments areas were

declared moderate flood risk area.

The statement titled: “flood Alert in some local governments in Edo State in year 2014”, relied on information from the “2014 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO)

published in June 2014 by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency, which revealed

By JOSES SEDE ABUJA - In a bid to calm the already heightened emotions,

proceedings at the plenary session of the National Conference was yesterday afternoon

that there is high flood risk in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State.

The statement recalled the flood

disaster of 2012 and said that the notice was to enable the concerned authorities alert the respective local governments of the forecast so that the people are not caught unawares of any flood disaster.

adjourned till today, when voting would be conducted on the recommendations

submitted by the Committee on Devolution of Power.

Continues on page 2

Confab decides Power Devolution, Resource Control, others today

News

EDHA condemns parallel sitting by PDP Lawmakers Continued from page 1 Moving the motion at the floor of the House, Hon. OhioEzomo condemned the forceful entry into the chambers by the suspended lawmakers and other PDP lawmakers, including the Minority Whip, Hon. Kingsley Ehigiamusor and the Minority Leader, Hon. Emma Okoduwa, thereby desecrating the laws that guide the House.

He stated that the said lawmakers have undermined the office of the speaker by their action which is visible to all by holding a parallel sitting in the chambers which is currently under renovation and therefore recommend that they be penalized for their act.

Hon. Ezomo noted that the actions of the PDP lawmakers have caused chaos and disharmony which has brought the parliament to disrepute, he said the PDP leadership in the House including the Minority Leader and the Minority Whip should be suspended forthwith for their involvement in the forceful entry into the chambers.

The lawmakers stated that the only recognized leadership of the state Assembly is the one headed by the Speaker, Hon. Uyi Ugbe, adding that the only legitimate venue for plenary sitting is the Old Assembly complex at Dennis Osadebe Avenue, GRA, Benin City, as the state of the hallowed chambers has since been communicated to members of the general public.

Also speaking, the Majority Leader, Hon. Philip Shaibu stated that nobody is above the law, noting that the suspended lawmakers have consistently disobeyed the laws, including their forceful entry into the hallowed chambers which he described as a criminal act.

He pointed out that those who make laws should not be seen as lawbreakers and re-affirmed the commitment of the House to the adherence to the rule of law.

On his part, the Chief Whip, Hon. Foly Ogedengbe noted that the parallel sitting of the PDP lawmakers is an exercise in futility, stressing that the resolution adopted by the PDP lawmakers is nothing but a mere

minutes of meeting.

He stated that no staff of government was seen in the hallowed chambers while the PDP legislators carried out their parallel sitting and therefore urged the PDP lawmakers to obey the law.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Uyi Igbe asserted that the sergeant –at-arms who carried the mace for the PDP legislators and the clerk at table in the parallel sitting was a dismissed staff of the state Assembly in 2011 for certificate forgery, adding that the suspension of the Minority Leader and the Minority Whip became necessary because they led the suspended members to the hallowed chambers in clear violation of the House rules.

Hon. Igbe restated his call on the Commissioner of Police in the state to open up the roads that are being constantly blocked by men of the Nigerian Police to pave way for the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

Meanwhile, the House has invited the Commissioner for Local Government and

Senate wades into doctors’ even though they are innocent Continued from page 1 of whatever is the strike government and prevent disagreement.

casualty in the hospitals.

While noting that members of the Senate Health Committee could not meet with the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, on how to resolve the issues, because he travelled abroad on official trip, Okowa said they however had a fruitful meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the ministry.

Speaking further, Okowa said at the meeting with the doctors, they stated their demands, which he said the committee is still working hard to mediate

between the striking doctors and federal government.

In his response, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, appealed to the doctors to consider the plight of the patients and go back to work.

Ekweremadu lamented that if the strike is allowed to continued, the patients will suffer for the NMA and government disagreement,

Continued from page 1 Issues arising from the report generated combative debate since Monday when the co-chairmen of the Committee, Obong Victor Attah and Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie, presented the 41page report to the Conference in Session.

Conference Chairman and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, eaxplained that the adjournment is to enable delegates interact, lobby and possibly negotiate on certain contentious issues before amendment and adoption of recommendations.

This followed an application by the leader of the South East

delegation to the Conference, General Ike Nwachukwu (rtd), who said he was mandated to speak on behalf of the leaders of other groups who are already making progress in their bid to forge a consensus on some contentious issues.

The adjournment, which was unanimously supported by the delegates present, was expected to afford members of the Consensus Committee conclude their meeting on the best possible ways to amicably resolve all contending matters arising from the report.

Such contentious issues include devolution of power, resource control, revenue sharing formula and fiscal federalism among others.

On resource control, the Committee recommended that the 13% derivation contained in the 1999 Constitution be retained with a provison that a percentage of the 13% derivation devolved to the host communities from which the resources are derived.

Some delegates while speaking on the report canvassed that the Presidential Amnesty Programme, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ministry for the Niger Delta should be abolished and their functions transferred to respective oil producing communities.

The suggestion was

He reminded the doctors that their primary duty was to save lives, urging them to resume duty immediately considering the essential responsibility they have to the people.

Recall that the NMA members have been on strike since last week over poor welfare and poor condition of service, and included in their demands is inconvenience allowance of N100,000 per month for members.

Confab decides Power Devolution, Resource Control, others today

Search for credible candidate

Continued from page 1 dividend of democracy”, he said.

Mr. Joseph Omorogieve who led the group in his address thanked Dr. Ogbemudia for the warm reception and pledged the groups continued support.

“We will continue to support you; we know you will not lead us astray. Our desire is to produce a good governor that will follow Oshiomhole’s foot steps and continue to develop Edo State, he added.

seriously opposed by other delegates who believed the C o m m i t t e e ’ s recommendation, particularly on derivation principle was the lowest the oil producing areas of the Niger Delta could accept.

A number of the delegates who spoke on Monday and Tuesday suggested an upward review of the percentage.

Dominant among this group are those suggesting 21.5 per cent.

Another recommendation by the committee that mines and minerals including oil fields oil mining, geological surveys and natural gas should be retained in the Exclusive Legislative List as specified in the 1999 Constitution also attracted criticisms.

An amendment was proposed by a delegate that the item be moved to the Concurrent Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution in line with the decision of the Conference on the report of the Committee on Public Finance and Revenue Generation.

The Conference is expected to receive the position of the Consensus group in Plenary today, Wednesday (09/07/14) and delegates will vote on the recommendations and amendments to the recommendations of the Committee report.

Chieftaincy Affair, Chief Lucky James and his counterpart in Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Aihanuwa Eregie to appear before it today at 10 am to explain the supervisory roles of the ministry across the 18 Local Government Councils and the extent of work at the central Hospital, Benin City.

Meets at old Legislative Chamber Meanwhile, the attention of the leadership of Edo State House Assembly has been drawn to reports in a section of the media purporting that the State legislators now sit to perform their legislative duties in the office/chamber of the Governor of the State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, following the commencement of repair works at the Hallowed Chamber of the Assembly at the Anthony Enahoro complex.

A statement by the speaker of the House, Hon. Uyi Igbe noted that for the avoidance of doubt, such reports are not only patently false and mischievous but another phase in what is now clearly a coordinated assault on the legislative branch in Edo State by desperate antidemocratic forces.

According to the statement, their intention is to cast the legislative branch in bad light, thereby eroding its integrity in the eyes of the people of the Edo State.

The statement noted that as a temporary measure, the State Assembly has had to move its plenary to the old Chamber of the Legislature so that normal proceedings could continue pending the completion of the repair of the Chamber at the Anthony Enahoro complex which was willfully vandalized last week by suspended Hon. Festus Ebea and his cohorts aided and abetted by some unpatriotic policemen.

“They had forcibly broke in, in fragrant disobedience of a valid court order restraining them from the precinct of the Assembly”.

“For those of us with a deep sense of history, sitting inside the old chamber in the past few days, not only fills us with pride but also inspires in us a feeling of reunion with our past legislative heroes and heroines dating back to the Midwest, old Bendel State and later Edo State.

“We feel their illustrious spirits in this old chamber. So, it would not be an overstatement to, in fact, described the old chamber as the cradle of the legislative tradition in our dear state”.

“Only the ignorant, only the mischief-makers would choose to ignore this historic fact. It is on record that this same old chamber was in use up till 1999 when the Peoples Democratic Party was in the Majority in the House with a PDP Speaker presiding.

“By blockading the State Assembly, the evil intention of suspended Hon. Festus Ebea and his cohorts aided and abetted by PDP-controlled police is increasingly getting clear: arrest Edo House of Assembly and stall our democratic march”, noting that, “but they have failed as the duly constituted State Assembly has since resumed its plenary and oversight functions on the executive branch”.

The statement appeal to the good people of the State to remain calm and law-abiding even in the face of sheer provocation by the antidemocratic forces currently flexing their muscles; the just shall be vindicated, the statement not.

Ramadan: Pray for peace in Edo,

Nigeria, Obende urges muslims

JATTU, UZAIRUE - The Senator Representing Edo North Senatorial District, Senator Domingo Obende has called on all Muslim faithful to unite and take advantage of the Ramadan season to pray for the continued existence of Nigeria as a nation and ask God to put an end to the security challenges facings the nation.

Senator Obende, in a message on his behalf by the Director- General of Senator Alaba Domingo Obende Campaign Organization, Chief Brutus Ogedegbe, the Okhai of Uzairue Chief, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State while addressing Muslim faithful of the All Progressives Congress from Edo North who paid him a solidarity

visit, urged muslims to be fervent in prayers.

Earlier, the spokesman of the group, Alhaji A. R. Momodu said they were in Jattu to appreciate the Senator for all he has done for the people since he was elected as senator representing Edo North at the National Assembly and urged him to continue his good works. They prayed for Allah’s blessings on him and his family and assured him of their support in future elections.

Responding, the Director General praised them for their support toward the aspiration of the senator’s second term bid and appealed to them to see Ramadan as an opportunity to ask almighty Allah for continued peace and unity in the country and Edo State in particular.

House of Assembly Commission disowns 2 dismissed staff

BENIN CITY- Edo State 2011 for certificate forgery”.

House of Assembly Service Commission (EDHASC) has said Mr. Omoregbee Osagie (a.k.a Greg) and Mr. Okoh Godwin are no longer in the service of the State House of Assembly.

A statement signed by the Chairman, EDHASC, Emmanuel O. Oronsaye (JP) stated that “both officers were dismissed as per our letters NOS P.C.944/78 of 20 th December, 2010 and P.C. 372/83 of 16 th February

The release noted that the clarification became necessary following the roles the two dismissed officers played at the purported sitting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislators as Sergeant at Arms and Clerkat-Table respectively on Monday, July 7th, 2014 at the Anthony Enahoro Complex, Ring Road, Benin City.

It emphasized that whosoever does business or any transaction with the dismissed officers does so at his or her own risk.

Chris Ogiemwonyi Movement launched BENIN CITY- The Political scene in Edo State is soon to get a new dimension following the successful inauguration of Chris Ogiemwonyi movement for Edo State.

The event attracted a large turn out of dignitaries and political Chieftains of different political parties in Edo State.

The Traditional Rulers of different communities in Edo State, including the Iyase of Benin Kingdom, Chief Sam Igbe graced the epoch making event held at the St. Paul Pastoral Centre in Benin City.

The National Co-ordinator of Chris Ogiemwonyi Movement for Edo State, Hon. Osbert Agho, a Patron of the Movement, Mr. Emmanuel Gold eulogised the exploits of Chris Ogiemwonyi, a former minister of state for his sterling qualities and monumental achievement, especially when he was General Manager of NNPC. They said the essence of the event is to lobby Engr.

Chris Ogiemwonyi having served creditably in the Oil

and Gas sector to return to Edo State and contest for the position of Governor of Edo State in 2016, on his part, the Iyase of Benin Kingdom, Chief Sam Igbe said Chris Ogiemwonyi is a man the Benin people can reliably trust.

Son of the two time Governor of Edo State and the Defunct Bendel State, Samuel Ogbemudia Junior and the State Publicity Secretary of APC, Comrade Godwin Erhahon said the time has come for Edo State to start looking for a man that can continue from where Comrade Adams Oshiomhole stops in 2016, having served two terms.

There were solidarities speeches from different stakeholders; women group, Arewa Community in Edo State, Ijaw Youths, teachers, widows, market women, farmers Association amongst others attended the event.

While responding to the appeal from the movement to join politics and contest for political office of Governor of Edo State, Engr. Chris Ogiemwonyi informed the meeting they should research on him and inform him through his phone their decision if he should contest.

NEWS UNESCO Warns Nigeria Against Cultural Extinction

Hon. Kabiru Adjoto, member, Edo State House of Assembly representing AkokoEdo Constituency 1 movign a motion of matters of urgent public importance on the invasion breaking and entering into the hollowed chambers by suspended PDP lawmakers duirng the house pleanry sitting at the old Asssembly chamber on Monday. Photo: GODWIN ISEGUAN.

ABUJA - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has warned against the risk of losing the cultural heritage of the country to trafficking of cultural artifacts.

Mr Ayanwale Olayanju, who is the UNESCO National Programme Officer on Culture, told newsmen in Abuja that Nigeria culture was beginning to lose its value.

Olayanju said that the intangible cultural practices such as dance, music and language were also at risk as they have become more

exposed to modern global culture.

According to him, these cultural values should be preserved to strengthen the country’s culture.

Olayanju stressed the need for the Federal Government to domesticate conventions that would help Nigeria in safeguarding its artifacts.

He said that it was government’s responsibility to put in place strategies that would lead to the recovery of stolen artifacts and build up the cultural sector of the country.

He said that preserving the

4 BEDC Staff Nabbed Over Fraud

BENIN CITY –Four staff of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), including a senior staff have been handed over to the police in Oba Market, Benin City for interrogation over alleged fraudulent practices.

They were later transferred to the state Police Zonal Headquarters in Benin City.

The senior staff attached to the Ondo Business District and the three others in Ozoro service unit in Ughelli, Delta state were said to have engaged in unwholesome practices which bordered on extortion of money from electricity consumers.

BEDC covers Ondo, Ekiti, Delta and Edo states.

At a press briefing in Benin City, the BEDC Executive Director (Commercial), Mr. Abu Ismail Ejoor said the officers were apprehended following tip off and various complaints received from electricity consumers in the various locations.

Consequent upon the complaints and tip –off, he said eight affected officers, including one from Ughelli who is now at large were invited to the BEDC Head office in Benin office for interrogation.

According to him, the senior staff at Ondo district had allegedly demanded payment

ABUJA - The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has advised Nigerians to cook their foods up to 60 degrees before consumption, to prevent infection.

Mrs. Benedicta Obaseki, the Assistant Chief Regulatory Officer, Food Safety & Applied Nutrition Directorate of the agency, said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja .

According to her, poorly cooked food can cause infection, leading to diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid and cholera.

She said that the right temperature for food was between 5 degrees and 60 degrees Celsius, adding that all cooked and perishable foods should be properly refrigerated and not stored for too long, even in the required temperature.

Obaseki said since food is a basic necessity of life, people must consume food that is safe, nutritious and tasty, adding that poor food hygiene practice predisposed

people to infections and illnesses.

“Refrigerate promptly all cooked and perishable foods and all cooked food should be kept not more than 60 degrees Celsius prior to serving and consumption.

“A study done in the United States has suggested that improper food handling contributes to approximately 97 per cent of food-borne illnesses in food service establishments and homes.’’

The regulatory officer further advised that meat, poultry, eggs and sea foods should be thoroughly cooked, adding that the water used in boiling these sources of protein should be clear and not pink when boiled.

She also said that stews and soups should be boiled at 70 degrees Celsius.

On food storage, Obaseki said cooked foods should be properly separated from raw food, to prevent cross contamination.

She also emphasised the need for proper hand washing before cooking and after touching raw foods, to avoid infection.

NAFDAC Advises Nigerians On Proper Cooking Of Food

from a customer as a precondition for energizing his transformers.

The transformers which were located in three locations were donated to communities.

“Following the allegation of over four of such activity from customer, and in order to be able to have clear evidence of this illegal act, we advised the customer to play along with the staff and take both voice recording and video for future interaction with him.

“From both the voice recording and video, it is clear that he took some cash from the representative of the customer after agreeing on the ‘charge amount’ through telephone discussion”, he said, adding that “the officer has confessed to the allegation”.

At the Ozoro service unit, Mr. Ejoor said, based on various complaint by members of Ozoro communities, BEDC decided to carry out discrete investigation which revealed diversion of cash from BEDC customers; deliberate nondistribution of electricity bills and collection of “customer Registration fees” and “office processing fee” ranging from N3000-N5,000.

Other revelations, Ejoor listed to include, illegal reconnection, illegal connection, extortion of money from electricity consumers and a monthly collection of fixed amount from customers without due process.

Contacted, the Acting Public

Relations Officer, Zone ‘5’ Headquarters, Benin City ASP Ihaeanacho Emeka stated that he is yet to be briefed as he has been away on official assignment to Delta State.

However, it was gathered that the three staff from the Ozoro district have been released on Bail.

country’s culture was every Nigerian’s responsibility, but the bulk of the work should be in the hands of the government.

“Nigeria recently recovered some stolen artifacts made of terra cotta from France through the Nigerian immigration and police.

“Although, it is a collective responsibility, but government must do what it takes by domesticating the convention that will preserve the country’s works.’’ The convention is a political commitment from government to address the issue of stolen artifacts.

“This convention has to be backed by strict legislation, rules and regulations, which should not only be implemented, but enforced,’’ he said.

Olayanju called on government to develop the creative industry for the development of cultural expressions that would strengthen the sustainability of Nigeria’s culture.

Al Qudus Mosque Decries Crisis At Edo Assembly BENIN CITY - The Al Qudus Central Mosque Benin City, has decried the lingering crisis at the Edo state House of Assembly. This was contained in a press release signed by the Director of information, Al Qudus Central Mosque, Alhhaji Amedu Oyakhire.

According to the release, the Mosque Management Committee at a meeting held at the Mosque on Monday, the Chief Imam of the Mosque, Alfa Ayouba frowned at the deepening crisis which, if not

checked could cause avoidable unrest in Edo state.

On her part, the Sheida of Edo state, Hajia (Princess) Khadijat Akenzua appealed to all stakeholders to abide by the advice earlier given by His Royal Majesty, Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa, Oba of Benin that all members of the House, Irrespective of their political affiliations and other stakeholders should settle their political differences amicably in the interest of the masses.

Also speaking on the

matter, Alhaji Amedu Oyakhire, former Secretary, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Edo state, who is also a retired Assistant Director in the state House of Assembly appealed to all the legislators and other interested parties, that it has become imperative to stop the imbroglio that has been rocking the House of Assembly.

Alhhaji Oyakhire further said the sanctity of the Legislature as the first Arm of Government must not be compromised.

A cross-section of honourable members going through the vote and proceeding (VP) at the Edo State House of Assembly plenary session on Monday. Photo: GODWIN ISEGUAN.

Across The Nation Geological Mapping: University Of

Petroleum To Represent Africa

By BETTY IDIALU WARRI -The Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Professor John Ovwata EtuEfeotor said the University is now making waves after the turbulent years that characterised its inception, as Geology students from the University is set to represent Africa in the World Geological Mapping Exercise scheduled to take place in the United State of America in September.

The Vice Chancellor, disclosed this when members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ),Warri Correspondents Chapel led by its Chairman Comrade Mike Ikeogwu paid him a courtesy call in the University in Effurun, Delta State.

While expressing gratitude to God that peace that eroded the University has returned, Prof EtuEfeotor said “we are here now as a cohesive body, as lovers of the University, to build it dedicated to God, to build it of sound academics, to mould future generation...this is our goal. to

make this country and this continent proud and to do it in a harmonious way free from acrimony”.

Speaking further, Prof. Ovwata Etu - Efeotor said the three FUPRE students came tops in the Africa Geo-Science Students Conference (AGSC 2014) held recently in Ghana. “FUPRE is making greater strides than what many people think, we just have a pouch of students who went to Ghana and made waves and they are going to represent Africa in the World Geological Mapping Exercise holding in the U.S. This is the kind of news we want to hear”. He gave the names of the students as Anine Lawrence(best postal presenter), Eze Stanley(Technical Paper) and Idoko Rose.

Professor Etu Efeotor who holds a second degree from the prestigious Harvard University and reputed to have drilled 22 wells for the Exxon Mobil further disclosed that the university now has two well equipped laboratories while the contract for the third earlier abandoned has just been awarded.

He hinted that ExxonMobil is

APC Chieftain Lauds Govt’s Decision On Derailed Teachers

By CLIFFORD AGBAJOR BENIN CITY-The decision of Edo state government to recall the 936 teachers whose names were deleted from the payroll over certificate discrepancies and age falsification has been described as a welcome development.

A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Hon. Wilson Ogieva made the remark in Benin City.

He similarly lauded the state government for soft –pedaling on the planned competency test for teachers as well as the immediate extension of the payment of salary relativity to teachers in the state public schools, saying it shows that the state Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is a listening governor.

Dr. Ogieva pointed out that the gesture of the state governor has proved crities wrong, noting that the comrade governor means well for the state.

He stated that the decision of the state government to reverse its earlier stands on the teachers should be applauded by all as it further shows the beauty of democracy being exemplified by the Oshiomholes led administration in Edo state.

The former commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the state advised the affected teachers who

have been pardoned to “turn a new leaf” and desist from nefarious acts.

He also appealed to members of the public to learn a lesson from the teachers issue, and act accordingly, so as to avoid unpleasant consequences.

The former Orhionmwon council boss used the opportunity to call on the people of the state to continue to support comrade in his transformation agenda for the state.

He noted that the developmental strides of the comrade governor has become a model and legacy that will stand the test of time.

planning to donate equipments worth over 22 million Naira apart from the laboratory donated to the university.

He called on well meaning and prominent Nigerians to donate towards a chair as well as prizes at the university as a way of immortalizing their names.

He said” for the first time FUPRE is receiving gifts from well wishers, from donors who have come to realise that we exist, and that we are living in harmony with God’s own faith.

Most importantly, when God harmonises your movement, you make tremendous progress,” He thanked members of the NUJ for the visit saying that the press is a veritable tool for moulding the society.

L-R: Representative of Oyo State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Ade Adeoye; Chairman, Aquatic Bio-Security Awareness Foundation, Rev. Eddy Chukwu and Head, Nigeria Fisheries Laboratory Services, Mr. Augustine Eze at a workshop on Seafood Total Management in Ibadan on Monday.

Commission Urges Govt To Sustain Sponsorship Of Pilgrims BIRNIN KEBBI -The Executive Secretary, National Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Mr. Kennedy Opara, has called on the federal, state and local governments to sustain the sponsorship of Christians and Muslims to pilgrimages to entrench religious tolerance.

Opara, who led a delegation of

the national, North West zone and state CAN officials on a visit to Governor. Saidu Dakingari, in Birnin Kebbi said sponsorship of pilgrims would unite the country.

He commended Dakingari for expanding the scope of

earmarked 214 seats to intending pilgrims from the state and described the conduct of Christian pilgrims from the state in the past as exemplary.

Opara said sponsorship by different tiers of government would enable people that were spiritually rich to perform the holy pilgrimage as well as promote peaceful coexistence.

He said Christianity and Islam were religions of peace that abhor violence and disunity.

Opara said sponsorship by government would enable pilgrims pray for divine intervention for peace, unity and good leadership in the country.

Responding, Dakingari said principle of religious equality had guided his administration.

He said that his administration increased sponsorship of Christian pilgrims from 17 to 200 annually for peaceful coexistence.

The governor also pledged to sustain religious tolerance among Christians and Muslims especially considering that both religions were against violence Acting Chairman of Matazu Local Government, Alhaji Mouktar Aminu-Bakori (2nd left), inaugurating the distribution of bags of grains as Ramadan assistance and disunity, stressing that peace and unity ensure development. to the people of the area in Katsina State recently. sponsoring Christians to Jerusalem on pilgrimage.

He said that the sponsorship had provided Christians a true sense of belonging and peaceful co-existence in the state.

He said the commission had

Gunmen Abduct Islamic Cleric, Wife

By RAHEEM IBRAHIM LAGOS -Unknown gunmen have abducted an Islamic Cleric, Ustadh AbdulGaniy Jumah and his wife, Shakirah at gunpoint from their residence at Fagbemi Street, off Ntabo bus stop, Ijoko, near Sango in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Reliable sources revealed that the Cleric abductors were all in military uniforms and perpetrated the act at about 3 a.m. when the couple were preparing for the day’s mid morning meal, Sahr, in the ongoing Ramadan fasting.

Reacting to this incident, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) who described it as

unfortunate and called for the immediate release of the Islamic scholar and his wife.

In a statement signed by MURIC Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, the group charged Nigerian security agents to produce the Islamic scholar and his wife whose abduction has started creating tension among Muslims in the southwest.

He said, “We remind the security agents that nothing warrants such night invasion since there is no state of emergency in the region. We demand the immediate release of the Muslim couple or their arraignment in court within 48 hours of arrest according to the provisions of the 1999

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

“We suspect that this may be the beginning of a crackdown on scholars of Islam in Yorubaland in particular and the whole Southern Nigeria in general as part of the silent war on Islam in Western-dominated parts of the world. Our suspicion is informed by the allegation that another Lagos-based Islamic scholar also disappeared last week. The miraculous disappearance of Razaq Gawat, a very popular Lagos-based Islamic socialite and televangelist is yet to be explained since about 14 months ago,” MURIC said.

According to the group, “it is on record that millions of

Muslims were killed in former Yugoslavia in the 90s. Muslims in Myanmar (formerly Burma) were burned in public and their homes destroyed in 2013. AntiBalaka Christian militants also recently hunted down, slaughtered or roasted hundreds of Muslims in the Central African Republic. In July this year, China banned fasting among Muslims.

A blind, intolerant and antiMuslim climate pervades the globe.

He added, “Yet while everybody is talking about peace, nobody is talking about justice.

MURIC reminds Nigerian authorities that justice is the soul of peace. The same natural law of justice which stipulates that

nobody can eat his cake and have it provides that nobody can deny one (justice) and still enjoy the other (peace)”.

“The ongoing massacre of Muslims by Nigeria’s Boko Haram may be an orchestrated campaign being waged by unscrupulous elements in disguise with the aim of drastically reducing the population of Muslims in the country”, Prof Akintola noted.

MURIC cautioned Nigerian security agencies to desist from taking actions capable of generating tension, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Jumah and his wife, Shakirah.

Across The Nation Fuel Subsidy Scam

Court Fixes Oct 28 For Lawan’s Appeal ABUJA - An FCT High charges against them.

Court has fixed October 28 to At the resumed hearing of hear progress report on an the case, Counsel to the appeal filed by former accused, Mr. Akinyemi Chairman, House of Aremu, filed a motion seeking Representatives Ad-hoc for stay of proceedings in the Committee on Fuel Subsidy, case pending the Hon. Farouk Lawan, at the determination of their appeal.

Court of Appeal.

Aremu urged the court to The Independent Corrupt grant the application to enable Practices and other Related both parties to report back to Offences Commission (ICPC) the court on the progress of filed a seven-count criminal the appeal. charge against Lawan and However, counsel to ICPC, Secretary of the Committee, Boniface Emenalo.

ICPC accused them for obtaining $620,000 from an oil magnate, Mr. Femi Otedola, in By ELIZABETH AGBOEGBULEM order to doctor the committee’s PORT HARCOURT report in favour of Zenon Oil National leadership of the and Gas Ltd. Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria Lawan and Emenalo had (JUSUN) has given its nod on the filed an appeal challenging the ongoing indefinite strike by the competence of the criminal

Strike:

Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), did not oppose the application.

Awomolo told the court that he was disappointed by the accused person’s application for stay of proceedings.

He therefore urged the court to grant a short adjournment.

In her ruling, Justice Adebukola Banjoko, adjourned the case to October 28 and 29, for report of appeal or definite hearing.

L-R: Rivers Internal Auditor, Judiciary Staff Union, Mr. Stanley Mbadugha; National Publicity Secrtary, Mr. Kayode Igbarago and Financial Secretary, Mr. Anthony Wachukwu, addressing a News Conference on Rivers Judiciary Workers Strike in Port Harcourt on Monday.

judiciary workers in Rivers State, as it takes over the matter, vowing to sustain it.

It has also debunked the alleged bought-over of the state leadership of the union by the government, insisting that the

congress followed due process before declaring the strike.

JUSUN National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Kayode Igbarago, who briefed newsmen, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, on behalf of the National President,

JUSUN Backs Rivers Chapter Comrade Mustapha Marwa, stated that the warring parties should resolve their crisis.

Igbarago emphasised that judiciary workers could not serve two masters the same time, since the National Judicial Council

Labourer Imprisoned For Stealing ABUJA - An Abuja Senior Magistrates’ Court has sentenced a labourer, Nura Mohammed, to one month in prison for stealing six sacks of baking pans from Leventis Company Limited, Idu, Abuja.

The Senior Magistrate, Mrs. Idayat Akanni, convicted Mohammed, 22, of Jabi Garrage, Abuja, after he pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of joint account and theft.

The magistrate sentenced him to one month in prison with the option of N1, 000 in fine.

She cautioned the convict to avoid committing such act in future, adding that the sentence would serve as a deterrent to others.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Simon Emmanuel had told the court that Mr. Onyeka Eze, who works with the company, reported the matter at the Life Camp Police Station on June 26.

Emmanuel at about 1.30 p.m. on the same day, the convict and two others, now at large, entered the company’s store and stole six sacks of baking pans.

He said that as Mohammed and his accomplice were about to escape with the stolen items, the convict was arrested and the two others escaped.

The prosecutor said the baking pans were recovered from Mohammed.

Nigerians protesting in Chicago over abducted Chibok School Girls and insurgency on Sunday.

Police Arrest 6 Robbery Suspects

By RAHEEM IBRAHIM LAGOS -The Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Adeniji-Adele, Lagos have arrested six suspected armed robbers in Ekiti state.

Also, 13 exotic cars, mainly Toyota and Honda products, two locally made pistols were recovered from the suspects and presented to newsmen and some of the victims of the bandits for identification.

The Force Police Public Relations Officer (FPPRO), ACP Frank Mba who paraded the suspects in Lagos before newsmen claimed that the gang specializes in stealing exotic cars from different parts of the country and sell them off in neighboring countries.

He said 17 different exotic cars, mostly Toyota and Honda

products, two locally made single barrel pistols and assorted ammunition were recovered from the gang.

According to Mba, “The FSARS, led by the Deputy Commissioner of police, Mr. Chris Ezike was able to arrest the suspects in Ekiti, Abuja and Lagos after complaints by a victim whose cars were stolen in Lagos”.

“One of the suspects was arrested in Lagos with the Black Berry hand set phone of one of the victims leading to the arrest of two members of the gang in Ekiti who claimed to be APC members. The confession of the suspect in Lagos led to the arrest of one Omoniyi Ajewole, 28 years old, who claimed to be a political thug in Ekiti. He claimed one Odeyemi Itunu, aka ‘Gomina’ gave him a gun”, he

disclosed.

The FPRO stressed further, “Under interrogation, Itunu claimed he was an Executive Assistant to Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State. He confessed to have given the gun to Ajewole to protect them during election period. The suspect claimed Ajewole was his Personal Assistant; unfortunately, he was arrested before Ekiti election. They are involved in robbery and politic.

They would soon be charge to court”.

He however advise politicians to play the game by the rule, warning those with political violence tendency to stay clear of Osun State during it election in August, saying “We use this medium to warn politicians to stay clear of anything that constitute a threat to the peaceful

conduct of election in Osun State and 2015 nationwide”.

The Police spokesman added, “We will bring the full weight of the law against anyone that would cause crisis during the elections. We are aware of the time and our responsibilities. The Inspector-General of police had directed all commands, units and zones to commence massive mop up of illegal arms in circulation nationwide. We have recovered more arms in Delta, Lagos, Kogi, Rivers, Anambra, Edo and Ebonyi states. We seek the support of members of the public”.

“The ban on the issuance of license for arms remains until the general elections in 2015. This is one way we can check the inflow of illegal arms in the country”, Mba remarked.

(NJC) and the Rivers State government are at loggerhead over the appointment of the state chief judge.

According to him, the national leadership of JUSUN has taken over strike issue and the state executive officers no longer have power over it.

“JUSUN has further endorsed the strike going on in Rivers State Judiciary because it followed a procedure of the constitution of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, and that strike as endorsed by the National Executive Council remains.

“The workers in the judiciary of Rivers State cannot serve two masters. The NJC has appointed a head; the Rivers State government has appointed another head due to the amendment of the High Court Rules. And, it would interest you to know that the Rivers State government also went the extent of, through the Judicial Service Commission, issued a circular that anybody, who takes instruction from the administrative judge stands the risk of being dismissed and salaries of these workers were withheld.

“We (JUSUN) are saying that we have duty to protect the rights of our workers. Rivers State government and the NJC should settle their differences before any judiciary worker will go to work.

He, who must come to equity must come with clean hands.

He said further: “If you are not safe, you have to look for how to be safe. You are talking about those in prison, judiciary workers will be in the worse condition, if they are not doing what they are doing now”.

The JUSUN National Publicity Secretary emphasised that: “It will be better for this matter to be settled by these superpowers”.

He added that the national executive council would meet Today, July 9, 2014, and Rivers judiciary crisis takes priority on the agenda.

JUSUN also alleged that the state government had issued a letter suspending the release of fund for the judiciary overhead cost.

South-West

Expert Tasks Farmers

Export Policies: IBADAN - An expert on aquatic farming, Dr Chukwudi Chukwu, has called on farmers to keep abreast of international policies on exporting farm produce.

Chukwu gave the advice at a workshop organised for staff of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Ibadan.

The theme of the workshop was “Seafood Total Quality Management’’. Chukwu, who urged farmers to pay attention to the quality of produce as well as its safety, said they had become the concern of international bodies and countries.

The expert, who is the Chairman of Aquatic Biosecurity Awareness Foundation, said those involved in food and animal production must exercise caution in their activities because of the challenge posed by outbreak of diseases.

He said efforts must be made at the ports by government agencies to ensure that produce meant for export were fit for human consumption.

“We are, however, being challenged in the area of manpower.

“Most of our officers are now at the policy-making cadre and

Driver Charged With Obtaining Bus By False Pretence

LAGOS - A 38-year-old commercial driver, Gafar Fasasi, has appeared before a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, charged with obtaining a Volkswagen bus by false pretences.

The Prosecutor, Cpl. Jimah Iseghede, told the court that the accused fraudulently obtained the bus from Mr. Ikechukwu Arinze on September 24, 2013.

He said that Fasasi and Arinze agreed that the former would pay the sum of N1.4 million for the bus through hire purchase.

Iseghede said that Fasasi neither paid the N1.4 million nor returned the bus.

The prosecutor said the offence committed at No. 38, Ramlat Timpson St., Aguda, Surulere, Lagos, contravened Section 312 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty.

The Magistrate, Mrs. Adenike Adeeyo, granted him bail in the sum of N300, 000, with two sureties in like sum.

the younger ones are not forth coming.

“Nigeria also has many waterways which are not adequately monitored,” he said.

Mr Adebayo Lasisi, the Oyo State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, urged participants to take deliberations at the workshop seriously.

“The workshop is expected to have a positive impact on our economic growth, generation of employment, food abundance and food security.

“These are the cardinal issues in the Agricultural Transformation Agenda that our ministry is running presently,” he said.

Lasisi said the increased occurrence of noncommunicable diseases traceable to diet and feeding habit had made it compulsory for the ministry to upgrade the capacity of officers in charge of food total quality management.

Staff members of Aquatic Resources Quarantine

Department and Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services were among the participants in the workshop.

IBADAN - Casual workers of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have dragged the company and the Bureau of Public Enterprises(BPE) to the National Industrial Court in Ibadan over their unpaid entitlements.

The workers numbering more than 500 were at the court’s

Entitlements: Casual Workers Sue PHCN, BPE premises on Monday over the suit.

The counsel to the aggrieved workers, Ahmed Tarfa, told the court that the workers were employed as casual staff and corporate guards by PHCN prior

L-R: Members of Igbo leaders of thought, Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike; Chairman, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe and Archbishop Maxwell Anikwenwa, at a Security Committee meeting in Enugu recently.

to the privatisation by BPE. He said the workers had met all the requirements of the defendants for regularisation and re-designation from casual or contract staff to permanent staff of PHCN as at December 31, 2009.

Tarfa said the workers were entitled to payment of their salaries, severance packages, gratuities, pension and other entitlements as regularised staff of PHCN. He urged the court to direct the defendants to pay the claimants all the salaries, severance packages, gratuities, pension and other entitlements accrued as due to employees of PHCN. The case could not continue as the defendants have yet to appear in court to file the necessary documents for defence.

Tarfa told the court that if the defendants failed to appear to file the necessary documents by the next adjourned date, he might plead to be allowed to prove the claimants’ case.

Justice Edith Agbakoba adjourned the case until September 23 for hearing.

3 Feared Dead In Autocrash

By ABIODUN AFOLABI

IBADAN - It was a weeping galore as tragedy struck on Ibadan-Ife road yesterday when no fewer than three people

including a pregnant woman lost their lives in a ghastly motor accident.

Apart from those that were killed in the accident, six others sustained injuries.

Our Correspondent stated that the accident which occurred in the morning, involved three vehicles at the junction of the International Headquarters of the

Christ Apostolic Church Agbala Itura , Olode in Egbeda Local Government area of Oyo State .

Confirming the incident, Unit Commander of the

L-R: Governors, Martin Elechi of Ebonyi; Theodore Orji of Abia and Anambra State Deputy Governor, Nkem Okeke, addressing newsmen after South-East Governors Forum in Enugu recently.

Bill Passes First Reading

Creation Of New LCDAs: ADO-EKITI - A bill for the creation of 18 new Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Ekiti has passed through first reading.

The Speaker of Ekiti House of Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin, read at plenary a letter from Governor Kayode Fayemi seeking the creation of the LCDAs.

It would be recalled that the outgoing governor’s move to create the LCDAs generated controversy, with many describing it as unconstitutional and belated.

Also sent to the House was another bill seeking protection for Persons Living with HIV/ AIDS.

The two bills passed through first reading at Monday’s plenary.

The motion for the business of the day was moved by the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Ayodeji Odu. The other business at the

plenary was the observance of a minute silence in honour of the wife of the Chief Whip, Mr. Ade Ajayi, who died in an accident last week.

The Assembly adjourned sitting till Tuesday.

Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) , Egbeda , Mr. Abiodun Akinpade said that the victims died before any medical attention could reach them.

He described the accident as multiple, with the particulars of the vehicles involved as Micra Saloon car with registration number OYO YNF 963 AA, Toyota Siena, registration number ONDO XD 451 KAK and Volkswagen LAGOS FST 452 BH. He said the long vehicle that caused the accident did not wait, saying that the long vehicle first hit the commercial Micra Saloon car before hitting other vehicles.

Akinpade stated further that the pregnant woman was about crossing the road when she was hit by one of the vehicles .

He added that the corpses of the victims had been deposited at the Oliver Catholic Hospital, Apomu, Osun State .

Lagos Police Smash Robbery LAGOS -The Federal Gang Special Anti-Robbery

Executive Secretary, National Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Mr. Kennedy Opara (left), presenting a gift to Governor Saidu Dakingari of Kebbi, during his visit to Birnin Kebbi recently.

Groups Celebrate Abiola’s 16th Anniversary

LAGOS - Civil Society groups in Lagos including Campaign for Democracy, (CD) Women Arise and Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) celebrated the 16th memorial of the late Chief MKO Abiola.

It would be recalled that Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the 1993 Nigerian Presidential election died on July, 1998, while still in prison for alleged treason.

Speaking at a wreath laying ceremony organised by the groups to commemorate Abiola’s death at his graveside in Ikeja, CD President Dr Joe Pokei Odumakin said that Nigeria would have been more united if Abiola was alive.

“Abiola represented what Nigeria is capable of being but which we are not because of the machinations of a greedy cabal.

“All the troubles of Nigeria which his victory was about to abolish are the very things that are threatening the corporate existence of the country today.

“A country that elected Abiola with a Muslim running mate would not hear of such today as it is badly divided along regions and religions.

“We are now remembering MKO in the midst of insurgency ruins, Chibok abductions and people burying their dead in the Boko Haram harvest of blood.

His memory challenges us to end terror in Nigeria” Odumakin said.

She lamented that the democratic tree that Abiola’s victory planted in Nigeria had withered as the nation was still in search of real democracy.

“The only reparation Nigeria can pay MKO is to ensure that a new order emerges from the ongoing National Conference to instill justice, equity and fairness in our body politic.

“These are the very virtues MKO defended till he died” she said.

In her speech, a former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Dame Priscilla Kuye, said that it was shameful that most Nigerian leaders were not working for the common good of the people.

“Too much innocent bloodshed and must be stopped.

“If Abiola had been alive, the status of poor Nigerians would have been improved” she said.

Kuye, however, urged the Federal Government not to foreclose dialogue with the Boko Haram sect over the abducted Chibok Secondary School Girls.

According to her the best way out of the nation’s many

challenges was moral rearmament.

“If our morals change as a nation, Nigeria will be a better country” she said.

She also urged Muslims in Nigeria to use their fasting period to pray for the nation.

Also speaking, Mr. Abdul Abiola, son of the late MKO, challenged Nigerian leaders on better leadership.

“We cannot stand at the sidelines. If we continue in this part of bad leadership, our children will not have a future.

“The decisions leaders make today will also affect their children tomorrow” he said.

Reports state that also at the event are members of various civil society groups including Mrs. Hasfat Abiola, the President of KIND and Mr Saidi Balogun, a Nollywood star.

Squad has arrested six suspected members of an armed robbery gang, which specialised in stealing exotic cars.

The Force Police Public Relations Officer, ACP Frank Mba, paraded the suspects, and some exhibits recovered from them before newsmen in Lagos.

The police spokesman alleged that the gang specialised in stealing exotic cars from different parts of the country and disposing of same in neighbouring countries.

According to him, items recovered from the suspects include 17 different exotic cars, two locally made single-barrel pistols and assorted ammunition.

The spokesman said that operatives led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chris Ezike, arrested the suspects in Ekiti, Abuja and Lagos.

“The confession of the suspect in Lagos led to the arrest of a 28-year-old man, who claimed to be a political thug in Ekiti.

“They are involved in robbery and politics. They

will soon be charged to court,’’ Mba said.

He advised politicians to play the game by the rule, warning persons with violence tendency to steer clear of Osun State during its governorship election in August.

“We use this medium to warn politicians to steer clear of anything that constitutes a threat to peaceful conduct of elections.

“We will bring the full weight of the law against anyone that will cause crisis during the elections. “ We are aware of the time and our responsibilities.

“The Inspector-General of police has directed all commands, units and zones to commence massive mop up of illegal arms in circulation nationwide.

“We have recovered more arms in Delta, Lagos, Kogi, Rivers, Anambra, Edo and Ebonyi states. We seek the support of members of the public.

“The ban on the issuance of licence for arms remains.

“This is one way we can check the inflow of illegal arms in the country,’’ Mba said.

contemplation of the Act. According to him, all funds collected on his behalf were based on requisition notes which were approved and handed over to banks, before money was received.

The defence counsel said that, if the money collected on behalf of the assembly was actually drawn from a financial institution, then the issue of exceeding threshold would not exist.

He also said that the 2004 Act, under which the accused was charged, had since been repealed by a subsequent legislation of 2011.

According to him, the effect of repealing a statute was simply to discountenance it as though it never existed.

Olanipekun submitted that the failure of the prosecution to demonstrate elements of conspiracy between the accused persons showed the futility of the proceedings.

He urged the court to decide whether it was right, within the tenure of the MLA, for the accused to be charged with dealing with funds approved for official reasons.

According to the SAN, the evidence of the Second Prosecution Witness (PW2) attested to the fact that all the funds obtained for the benefit of members of the Assembly were legally approved.

Olanipekun said: “I submit that this proceeding amounts to mere witch-hunting of the accused; criminal proceedings should not be used for such a purpose.

“I, therefore, urge this honourable court to put a halt to the prosecution of the accused; he has been attending court since 2011; I think enough is enough.”

Counsel to Atoyebi, Mr. Tunde Akinrimisi, aligned himself with the submissions of Olanipekun.

Akinrimisi submitted that the evidence of PW1 was inconclusive and based on mere hearsay, urging that the court should not act on unfounded allegations.

In his response, the Prosecutor, Chief Godwin Obla (SAN), urged the court to disregard the submission and order the accused to open their defence.

Obla argued that the confessional statements of the accused before the EFCC were enough evidence of their admission of transaction with cash for the assembly for about 57 times.

He said that the provisions of the MLA clearly made it an offence for any individual or institution to transact with funds above the stipulated threshold without going through a financial institution.

Money Laundring: Court Adjourns Ruling LAGOS -The Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed July 11 to rule on a no-case submission by the Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, charged with money laundering.

Ikuforiji is being prosecuted alongside his aide, Oyebode Atoyebi, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended 56count charge.

Justice Ibrahim Buba reserved the ruling after Defence Counsel, Chief Wole

Olanipekun (SAN), made the submission on behalf of Ikuforiji.

Olanipekun argued that the prosecution had not in any way made out a case against the accused to require him to open his defence.

Citing a plethora of authorities, the defence counsel raised several issues for determination, ranging from constitutional, jurisdiction and sovereignty of the office of the speaker.

He argued that the office of a speaker of a state House of Assembly was constitutionally created, adding that Ikuforiji, the first accused, was sovereign.

Olanipekun said that the charge against the accused largely dwelt on transactions with funds above the threshold stipulated by the Money Laundering Act (MLA).

He argued that the accused had not been involved in any transaction not within the

L-R: President, Strategy for Mentoring Indicative and Leadership Empowerment, Mrs. Bimpe Martins, Senior Information Officer, UNIC, Ms Envera Selimovic, representative of UN Resident Coordinator inn Nigeria, Ms Colleen Zamba, at the Regional Launch of the Millennium Development Goals Report 2014 in Lagos recently.

Across The Nation Ramadan: Civil

Defence Extends Evening Shifts

judicial appointments was worse with politicians.

He said that they politicise judicial appointments with the expectation of loyalty to political

parties ‘Okija-Shrine-style’.

Reports state that participants at the conference included legal luminaries from in and outside Nigeria such as the Chief Justices of Nigeria and South Africa

GUSAU - The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has extended the time of its officers on evening shifts to 10 p.m for security reasons.

The Public Relation Officer of the corps, Mr Aminu Ismail, disclosed this in Gusau, in an interview with newsmen.

Ismail said that the extension of closing time for the officers was because of the Ramadan fasting period.

He further said that there were lots of functions like breaking

of leadership succession.

“The constitution provides that after the death of a leader, the oldest in the church is to assume position as the next leader,” he stated.

According to the plaintiff,

after the death of his father, he became the oldest member of the church who should be the leader.

Arogundade stated that instead of appointing him as his father’s successor, Elder Adebola Adewuja

He, therefore, wants the court to declare the appointment a nullity, saying that it contravened the provisions of the church’s constitution.

He also wants the court to restrain the defendants

from further appointing a leader of the church, adding that the tenure of Adewuja had expired.

The plaintiff wants further appointment of the church leader suspended until the case is decided by the court.

Abu was arraigned on May 20 for theft.

Enumaje told the court that Comfort James of same address as the accused lodged a complaint against the accused, her boyfriend, at the Aso Pada Police Station on May 13.

He said the accused stole the money when he visited James in her house on May 11.

“She went out to buy some fish and tomatoes at a nearby

shop and the accused took N3,000 from her purse that was on the bed without her consent.’’

The prosecutor said Abu was arrested later with the said amount.

Abu pleaded guilty to the charge, saying it was the handiwork of the devil.

“I don’t know why I did it; I think it is the handiwork of the devil.

“Please forgive me, I will never do it again,” he pleaded.

Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), Chief Eze Duruiheoma, addressing a news conference on 2014 World Population Day in Abuja recently. With him are: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country representative, Ms Ratidzai Ndhlovu (middle) and representative of the Chairman, Population Management Committee, Mr. Zakari Umar.

Appointment Of Judicial Officers

NBA Seeks Inclusion ABUJA –Mr. Okey Wali, the President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has charged stakeholders on the need for the NBA to be involved in the appointment of judicial officers.

Wali said this in Abuja while speaking at the opening ceremony of a three-day NBA conference on judicial reforms held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel.

The conference has as its theme: “Putting our best foot forward - The Judiciary and the challenges of satisfying justice needs of the 21st century”.

He said that stakeholders in the Nigerian judiciary sector should as part of the judiciary reform process ensure that nobody would be appointed a judicial officer without the NBA’s consent or input.

He said that judges should henceforth be appointed from among lawyers with cognate practice experience and of proven integrity “because the bar knows its members’’.

The NBA president observed that in Nigeria, persons with little or no serious practice of law had been appointed judges in the past on the basis of political and family affiliations.

“The bar uses this medium to invite all stakeholders to be part of the process of judicial reform in Nigeria, without which we would have lost it as a nation.

“We, in the NBA repeat our call that practicing lawyers and distinguished university jurists should be appointed to the High Courts, Appellate Courts, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

“Nobody should be appointed a judicial officer without the consent of the NBA which should be made an important part of the process of making such judicial appointment,’’ he said.

Wali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, observed that interference by politicians

constituted the greatest danger to the appointment of quality judges and urged the conference to address it.

He said that favoritism in

Church’s Leadership Tussle: LAGOS - A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed September 29, for continuation of hearing in a suit filed against the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Church over leadership tussle.

The plaintiff, Prince Adepoju Arogundade, filed the suit in February, 2009, seeking an order reinstating him as the rightful leader of the C & S Church in Nigeria.

Joined as first and second defendants are — the Registered Trustees of the Church and a member of the church, Elder Adebola Adewuja.

The other three defendants are: Remi Beckley, Mary Oshode and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

When the case was called, Justice Ibrahim Buba asked the parties to return on September 29, for continuation of hearing.

The judge said that the court would hear all pending applications on the date.

In his statement of claim, the plaintiff averred that the C & S Church was founded in 1925 by Capt.

Emmanuel Abiodun, and registered in 1930.

He averred that the church had a constitution which stipulated the mode

N3,000 Theft: M A R A R A B A (NASARAWA STATE) -A Grade 1 Area Court in Aso Pada, Mararaba has discharged a labourer, Thomas Abu, 29, of Aso Pada, Mararaba who was charged with theft of N3, 000.

The judge, Mr Albert Maga, struck out the case and discharged the accused after the prosecutor, Cpl Friday Enumaje, told the court that he could not locate the complainant.

of fast (Iftar), preachings (Tafsir) and night prayers (Tahjud) during Ramadan, which would attract crowd.

He said there was therefore the need for security men to be around.

“Places like Tudun Wada, Sabon Gari and some other places where there are always gatherings, our men are always there to maintain peace and security,” he said.

Ismail urged residents to cooperate with its officers and be law abiding.

Court Adjourns Hearing was made the leader.

Court Discharges Man

“This is a case of theft brought by the Commissioner of Police; the prosecution has failed to produce any witness in the matter as they could not locate the complainant.

“I hereby invoke Section 165 of the Criminal Procedure Code to strike out the matter and discharge the accused for want of diligent prosecution,” the judge said.

Maga advised Abu to stop committing crime and be close to God. It would be recalled that

Gombe State Specialist H o s p i t a l deserted as Nigeria Medical Association strike continues recently.

Abuja Civil Servant Imprisoned For Stealing

Osun Election

Group Tasks INEC On Timely Distribution Of PVC Voter’s Card ABUJA - CLEEN Foundation, an NGO, has urged INEC to ensure timely distribution of Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) to the electorate ahead of Osun governorship election scheduled for August 9.

The Executive Director of the foundation, Ms Kemi Okenyodo, made the call yesterday in Abuja at public presentation of the 4th Security Threat Assessment Report for 2015 elections.

Okenyodo said the call became necessary to make sure that all eligible voters in the state exercise their constitutional rights.

She noted that inability of the electorate to collect PVCs would constitute a “tinder box“ that could cause violence during the forthcoming governorship election.

The executive director appealed to INEC, the National Orientation Agency, Civil Society Organisations and political parties to carry out massive voter education to guarantee violence-free election in the state.

Okenyodo also urged the commission to sustain its engagements through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security which provided an opportunity for synergy and collaboration among security agencies.

“There should be increased and sustained engagements among key institutions such as INEC, security agencies, civil societies, media, community and religious leaders toward restoring public confidence in the electoral process.

“Government at all levels should pay attention to and track violence hot spots or flashpoints for effective preparation and response to emergencies,’’ Okenyodo said.

Earlier, the foundation’s Programme Officer, Mr Chinedu Nwagwu, also said inadequate logistics and welfare for security agents on election duties posed a serious danger to the electoral process.

“This will make security agencies susceptible to political influence, thereby affecting the integrity of the electoral process,’’ Nwagwu said.

ABUJA - A Wuse Zone 2 Senior Magistrates’ Court has sentenced a 32-yearold civil servant, Ajbo Abu, of the National Population Commission, Abuja to three months in prison for stealing a computer set worth N150,000.

The Senior Magistrate, Mrs Simisola Adeniyi, sentenced Abu without an option of fine.

She said that the sentence was to serve as a

punishment to the convict and a deterrent to other intending criminals.

Earlier, the police prosecutor, Cpl. Umar Ango, said that on July 4, at about 5.30 p.m., Yohanna Ogbaje, of Grand Security Ltd., Abuja, reported the convict at the Wuse Zone 3 Police Station, Abuja.

He said that Ogbaje, a L-R: Co-Chairman, World Pension Summit, Mr. Harry Smorenberg, President Goodluck Jonathan and the Acting Director-General of PENCOM, Ms Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, at the security guard, attached to World Pension Summit in Abuja recently. the commission, reported that on the same day at about 5 p.m, the convict sneaked into the commission’s premises.

Ango said that the convict was a staff of the commission.

He told the court that the convict went into the administrative office and stole a computer set worth N150, 000.

He said that during police interrogation, the computer set was found in Abu’s possession.

Ango also told the court that the convict admitted that it was the fourth time L-R: Chairman, World Pension Summit for Africa, Mrs. Grace Usoro, Co-Chairman, World Pension Summit, Mr. Harry he was committing such a Smorenberg; Acting Director-General of PENCOM, Ms. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu; President -Goodluck Jonathan; Minister of crime.

Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Co-Chairman, World Pension Summit, Mr. Eric Eggink and Chairman, Senate Committee He said that the offence on PENCOM, Senator Aloysius Etuk, at the World Pension Summit in Abuja recently. of theft by the civil servant was contrary to Section 289 of the Penal Code.

Abu admitted committing the crime.

He begged the court for mercy and promised not to cultural club in schools of languages apart from the dances, languages and ABUJA - The Coordinator, commit the crime again. dresses,’’ she said. child’s indigenous today but if revisiting it is

Group Urges FG To Revisit Cultural Clubs In Schools Good Access, an NGO, Mrs. Adama Ahmed, has called on the Federal Government to revisit the extinct cultural clubs in schools to encourage teaching of cultural values.

Ahmed, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja said that returning to cultural clubs would enable children to better understand their culture.

She said that Nigerian culture had gone into extinction owing to the fact that most children do not recognise the need to learn the culture for the betterment of the country.

She said that there was need for the government to look inward and reawaken the cultural groups and societies in the schools, adding it would tremendously impact the lives of the youths.

“Hardly will you see a

considered, it will regenerate the minds of the youths against social vices.

“I remembered when I was growing up we used to do our cultural festival. Children are always happy to see themselves showcased in their culture.

“But today, what we see is that most children do not know the culture they practice, they go to school, come out without knowing anything about the culture of Nigeria.

“Also, cultural clubs in schools will afford the children an opportunity to know the different dances and languages spoken by the different tribes in the country and learn from it all.

“Doing this will also enable children to learn different

language,’’ she said.

She called on school authorities to create extracurricular classes where children could learn the various culture of the country.

“Now for cultural values to play a key role in the development of the country, governments at every level must give room for extracurricular classes to learn about the different cultures,’’ she added.

Ahmed further said that the students should be mobilised and motivated on the importance of these cultural clubs in order to impact on their lives.

“The government should, however, go back to schools and motivate the students on the importance of portraying the Nigerian cultures through

Court Strikes Out Case For Want Of Prosecution

ABUJA - An FCT High Court has struck out a matter between one Dr Alabo Amabibi and the Registered Trustees of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) for want of prosecution.

The action was coming after the defendant counsel, Mr. Alex Akoja had informed the court on June 4 that the parties had decided to settle out of the court.

Justice Valentine Ashi had ruled on June 4 that the plaintiff counsel, Mr Oluwole Adeshina should contact his client and agree on the type of settlement before the next hearing date.

Amabibi, the plaintiff, had in March filed a case seeking the court to restrain the NMA from reviewing its constitution.

He sought the court to restrain

the association from amending its constitution at its 54th Annual General Conference held on May 2 in Benin, Edo. Earlier, Akoja had told the court that the chairman of the association told him that the plaintiff had withdrawn the matter and had settled the issue with the association.

“The plaintiff has tendered an apology to the house seeking to withdraw the matter out of court, and for instituting the action without exhausting internal mechanism for dispute resolution.

“I therefore urged the court to dismiss the suit.’’

The plaintiff and his legal representation were not in court when the matter was struck out.

Business + Economy

Auditor General Applauds IPSAS Adoption ABUJA - The Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Samuel Ukura, has said that the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) would boost competent auditing of government’s agencies.

Ukura said this in Abuja when he received a team of delegate from the Institute of Chartered

Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) led by its President, Mr. Chidi Ajaegbu, in his office.

He said that because IPSAS was aimed at increasing transparency and accountability, his office had engaged a lot of stakeholders to help train auditors in the AGF office. “ We are training staff in different part of the world, like

Malaysia as regard to IPSAS. And we also want to partner with ICAN to provide more training for our auditors.

“It is important to us to get it right because we want to stay ahead and not be coming from behind,’’ he said.

Nigeria was billed to commence the use of IPSAS as

basis for financial reporting in the public sector with effect from January.

Ukura said that as part of efforts to ensuring good audit practice in the country, his office had ensured that all backlog of unaudited financial accounts of all government’s agencies from 1999 were updated.

“We have been auditing and submitting our result to the National Assembly as part of our constitution powers.

“We have submitted the report of most of the government’s ministries up to 2012. We are currently working on the 2013 and immediately we finish, we shall submit to the National Assembly.

“Government accounts are no longer in arrears,’’ he said.

Ukura said that at present the office of the AGF had introduced new audit areas for better management of government’s resources.

According to him, these new areas are in Programme, Performance, Environmental and Disaster Auditing.

He added that the office was liaising with African Organisation of EnglishSpeaking Supreme Audit Institutions to train 30 of its members on performance audit.

Earlier, ICAN President, Ajaegbu, said the institute wished to partner with the office of the

AGF to raise the quality of financial reporting in the public sector.

“As we embrace the philosophy of IPSAS, it will be expedient if mechanisms and strategies are put in place to ensure that the audited financial statements of the government are published six months after year end.

“The institute is willing and able to support your office to ensure the turnaround time is reduced and the audited annual reports are published for the information and education of Nigerians on a timely basis,’’ he said.

Ajaegbu said also that they were there to also inform the AGF on the new scale of professional fees which its members would charge for any professional service to both the private and public sector.

He urged the AGF to collaborate with the institute to host the 44th Annual Accountant’s Conference scheduled for Abuja from September 8 to September. 11.

Pension Assets Grow To 9.57 Percent additional investments in critical

L-R: Chairman, Mangu Local Government Area, Mr. Caleb Mutfwang; Plateau Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr. Idi Waziri and representative of Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Moyi Kabir going through a document during inspection of Gindiri Dam in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau on Monday.

N35m Mandatory Deposit: Bureau De

Change Operators Call For Review LAGOS - The Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to review the N35 million mandatory cautionary deposit for bureau de change operators.

ABCON’s President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, made the call at a meeting organised by the association for its members in Lagos.

Gwadabe said that the association had recommended the categorisation of the operators with different scopes of business.

He urged the CBN to initiate stakeholders’ sensitisation meetings for a comprehensive discussion of monetary policy related issues before the implementation of the new policy.

The association president said that the capital requirement for the operators did not require periodic increases as obtained in other financial institutions.

“However, it had been reviewed from N250,000 to N500,000 and then N10 million.

“Therefore, we recommend that BDC capitalisation requirement should be reviewed to a maximum of N15 million.

“We also recommend refund of the earlier N500, 000 mandatory cautionary deposit of over 2,500 of members before the introduction of additional

$20,000 USD (N3.5 million),” he said.

He said that the N500,000 deposit had been with the CBN for more than 10 years.

Gwadabe also urged the CBN to ensure constructive engagement of the stakeholders and extension of the deadline for the deposit.

Gwadabe said that, without the engagement, it would be difficult to settle at the N35 million deposit.

He said that the new policy had the potential to send some operators out of business, thereby destabilising the foreign exchange market.

Gwadabe also said that the policy might empower the black market as well as widen the exchange rate premium.

“For instance, the BDCs employ five directors and a minimum of four employees each, totaling nine employees per BDC. “Since we have over 3,500 existing BDCs, therefore, the total job loss will be nine times 3,500 which will result in 31,500, if this policy is implemented.

“Besides, we cannot quantify the multiplier effect of other family members that rely on the BDCs for their daily livelihood.

“This will increase poverty and insecurity in the system.

Please, let us avoid this,” Gwadabe urged.

He said that the new policy would also weaken the naira as well as prompt increase in inflation.

Gwadabe added that data collection for policy formulation would be reduced as many BDCs might close shop and some others end up in the parallel market.

He said that the policy would bring back the circulation of fake currency that had been eliminated or reduced to the barest minimum, thereby project a negative image of Nigerians abroad.

Gwadabe said that the 1,000 per cent increase cautionary deposit would further boost the activities of the black market segment of the economy and the return of the past exclusive group ‘A’ BDCs. “It is our belief also that the mop up of N35 million mandatory cautionary deposit per BDC for about 3,500 BDCs across the country is almost half the size of the Nigerian budget.

“This chunk of resources will be in a non-interest yielding account, which is counterproductive as the mop up will give government more money.

“It will also impoverish the majority of the citizenry resulting in a decrease in their consumption level, savings and abilities to invest in the economy,” he added.

The CBN reviewed the minimum capital requirement BDCs from N10 million to N35 million on June 3.

The CBN also reviewed the mandatory cautionary deposit to N35 million from $20,000 USD (N3.5 million) while it increased application fee from N10, 000 to N100,000.

It also reviewed the licence fee from N100,000 to N1 million, multiple ownership of BDCs and access to inward and outward money transfer, among others.

ABUJA - Nigerian pension assets grew from 1.47 per cent in 2006 to 9.57 per cent in 2013, the Acting Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo AnohuAmazu, said.

Anohu-Amazu disclosed this at the opening of the World Pension Summit Africa Special held in Abuja.

She said that the success of the contributory pension scheme had triggered an exponential growth in pension funds and size of assets under management across the globe.

She said that the shift toward contributory pensions was a collective resolve of Nigerians to invest a proportion of current earnings in order to have a more predictable and prosperous retirement.

According to her, the new pension law, recently signed by President Goodluck Jonathan, seeks to strengthen PenCom’s prudential regulatory powers.

She said that the new regulation would increase the threshold of pension contributions, most importantly facilitate the creation of

infrastructure.

Anohu-Amazu said that the theme of the summit: “Shaping the future’’, underscored the imperative of institutionalising a risk-based approach to the supervision and control of pension markets across Africa.

She said that the summit would set out the challenges that pension professionals and regulators around Africa must surmount in order to respond to the developmental challenges facing the continent.

Also speaking, the Co-founder and Chairman, World Pension Summit, Mr. Eric Eggink, commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his commitment to pension reforms in Nigeria.

Similarly, Co-Founder of the summit, Mr. Harry Smorenberg, who congratulated Nigerian PenCom for its 10 years of existence, said that pension scheme in Africa had thrived in the last five years.

Smorenberg described pension as a postponed salary, adding that Africa was a young, eager and dynamic continent with strong drive for core investment in social and economic infrastructure.

Zonal Coordinator, National Human Rights Commission Plateau, Grace Pam (left) presenting the Commission’s materials to the State Director, National Orientation Agency Plateau, Mr. Bulus Dabit, who paid her a courtesy visit in Jos on Monday.

NSE DAILY ACTIVITY SUMMARY (EQUITIES) AS AT YESTERDAY (08/07/2014) Stocks

Open

Close

Change

Deals

Units

Value

MOBIL

135.06

133.02

-2.04

0

112,917

15,034,113.18

7UP

102.53

102.53

0

0

96,519

9,941,072.28

NAHCO

5

4.99

-0.01

0

803,245

4,009,391.16

ABBEYBDS

1.3

1.3

0

0

140

190.4

NASCON

11.5

11.4

-0.1

0

1,284,706

14,609,188.89

ABCTRANS

0.85

0.88

0.03

0

434,919

374,588.50

NB

174

173

-1

0

470,134

81,289,445.85

ACADEMY

1.71

1.71

0

0

18,198

31,024.98

NEIMETH

1.26

1.2

-0.06

0

628,886

760,363.20

ACCESS

9.75

9.8

0.05

0

10,027,671

98,310,448.93

NEM

0.82

0.81

-0.01

0

1,189,407

972,487.90

AFRIPRUD

3.26

3.32

0.06

0

825,552

2,726,912.71

NESTLE

1100

1111.2

11.2

0

111,842

124,396,789.40

AGLEVENT

1.31

1.25

-0.06

0

262,125

330,762.50

NIGERINS

0.5

0.5

0

0

304,000

152,000.00

AIICO

0.8

0.8

0

0

3,603,969

2,891,101.20

NNFM

19.75

19.75

0

0

100

1,976.00

AIRSERVICE

2.45

2.34

-0.11

0

109,050

254,820.00

NPFMCRFBK

0.8

0.84

0.04

0

250,000

210,000.00

ASHAKACEM

29

29

0

0

1,905,236

55,255,158.68

NSE30

1939.22

1942.94

3.72

0

270,151,024

4,555,187,301.00

AVONCROWN

1.69

1.69

0

0

36,486

61,693.14

NSE50

2095.57

2099.96

4.39

0

471,175,917

4,976,246,086.00

BERGER

9

9

0

0

71,935

628,087.10

NSEASEM

945.65

945.65

0

0

30,000

40,200.00

BETAGLAS

16.3

16.3

0

0

3,101

52,705.00

NSEASI

42758.04

42861.8

103.76

0

523,298,904

5,129,605,066.00

BOCGAS

5.76

5.76

0

0

1,000

5,700.00

NSEBNK

437.4

437.37

-0.03

0

197,078,737

1,468,322,455.00

CADBURY

74.25

74.25

0

0

98,162

7,104,939.08

NSECNSMRGDS

1046.97

1047.22

0.25

0

7,963,660

322,103,447.40

2697.45

2701.05

3.6

0

7,882,012

1,034,128,751.00

CAP

39

39

0

0

133,640

5,228,567.80

NSEINDUSTR

CAVERTON

6.9

7.05

0.15

0

1,488,871

10,080,182.55

NSEINS

149.07

150.19

1.12

0

130,310,145

115,740,676.70

2836.24

2849.21

12.97

0

14,969,745

1,579,452,383.00

CCNN

11.59

11.47

-0.12

0

557,866

6,483,116.35

NSELOTUSISLM

CHAMPION

10.17

10.17

0

0

38,243

371,409.81

NSEOILGAS

450.15

449.5

-0.65

0

8,975,387

351,217,869.80

27.81

28

0.19

0

7,435,712

209,871,462.00

CHELLARAM

3.95

3.95

0

0

22,056

82,970.56

OANDO

CILEASING

0.5

0.5

0

0

206,900

103,450.00

OKOMUOIL

33

33

0

0

164,260

5,425,575.40

CONOIL

65.4

65.4

0

0

110,233

6,905,621.59

PAINTCOM

1.4

1.4

0

0

9,500

13,775.00

CONTINSURE

1.19

1.21

0.02

0

19,542,127

24,062,562.48

PHARMDEKO

1.5

1.5

0

0

50,803

76,204.50

COSTAIN

1.34

1.38

0.04

0

701,611

920,215.81

PORTPAINT

5.4

5.3

-0.1

0

265,111

1,436,219.37

COURTVILLE

0.59

0.58

-0.01

0

291,000

169,110.00

PREMPAINTS

10.93

10.93

0

0

1,000

10,390.00

CUSTODYINS

3.85

3.81

-0.04

0

489,789

1,875,660.32

PRESCO

36.9

38

1.1

0

315,498

11,791,095.88

CUTIX

1.97

1.88

-0.09

0

226,132

427,535.57

PRESTIGE

0.53

0.53

0

0

10,400

5,404.00

CWG

5

5

0

0

2,000

9,800.00

PZ

36.55

35.8

-0.75

0

206,872

7,368,302.70

DAARCOMM

0.5

0.5

0

0

1,500

750

REDSTAREX

4.8

4.85

0.05

0

177,468

859,733.55

DANGCEM

245

247.02

2.02

0

3,580,778

840,407,481.40

REGALINS

0.5

0.5

0

0

6,360

3,180.00

DANGFLOUR

8.2

8.19

-0.01

0

342,295

2,788,640.28

ROYALEX

0.5

0.52

0.02

0

346,498

180,178.96

DANGSUGAR

9.1

9.2

0.1

0

2,903,281

26,522,993.56

RTBRISCOE

1.04

1.06

0.02

0

716,733

757,134.15 23,877,711.00

DIAMONDBNK

6.4

6.32

-0.08

0

19,105,662

121,682,095.20

SEPLAT

702

702

0

0

35,070

DNMEYER

1.16

1.21

0.05

0

271,763

325,997.97

SKYEBANK

3.3

3.28

-0.02

0

62,490,676

200,066,080.80

26.73

27

0.27

0

620,606

16,761,256.86

DUNLOP

0.5

0.5

0

0

16,911

8,455.50

STANBIC

EKOCORP

3.72

3.72

0

0

100

354

STERLNBANK

2.3

2.3

0

0

7,688,563

17,639,140.74

0.5

0.5

0

0

4,000

2,000.00

ETERNA

4.54

4.33

-0.21

0

671,889

2,989,685.19

TANTALIZER

ETI

17.1

17.1

0

0

2,857,182

48,651,000.59

TOTAL

171.11

171.05

-0.06

0

179,989

30,845,152.47

3.88

3.88

0

0

54

199.26

EVANSMED

2.43

2.43

0

0

5,800

14,094.00

TOURIST

FBNH

16.01

16

-0.01

0

61,361,396

981,752,181.80

TRANSCORP

5.75

5.47

-0.28

0

51,079,308

281,590,102.90

FCMB

4.3

4.24

-0.06

0

5,600,904

23,119,011.85

TRANSEXPR

1.97

1.97

0

0

4,000

7,540.00

FIDELITYBK

2

1.99

-0.01

0

56,522,515

113,052,528.40

UAC-PROP

17.65

17.5

-0.15

0

330,390

5,793,389.09

FIDSON

3

3

0

0

95,384

285,380.40

UACN

62.37

61.99

-0.38

0

413,201

25,683,236.82

FIRSTALUM

0.5

0.5

0

0

1,000

500

UBA

7.9

7.8

-0.1

0

5,958,505

46,624,940.65

FLOURMILL

78

78

0

0

56,865

4,345,842.21

UBCAP

2.3

2.24

-0.06

0

5,411,570

12,313,022.98

FO

190

198.1

8.1

0

433,789

83,801,070.34

UBN

9.77

9.7

-0.07

0

768,455

7,439,185.96

GCAPPA

14.46

14.46

0

0

130

1,786.20

UNILEVER

53.01

53.01

0

0

152,660

7,989,728.99

GLAXOSMITH

68

70

2

0

4,548,691

318,344,631.80

UNITYBNK

0.5

0.5

0

0

4,825,650

2,412,825.00

GNI

0.5

0.5

0

0

1,000

500

UNITYKAP

0.5

0.5

0

0

20

10

GUARANTY

29.44

29.57

0.13

0

4,682,654

138,488,940.00

UNIVINSURE

0.5

0.5

0

0

20

10

GUINNESS

196

195.99

-0.01

0

68,637

13,505,009.19

UPL

4.78

4.55

-0.23

0

13,083,000

62,533,362.36

HONYFLOUR

4.07

4.01

-0.06

0

901,802

3,613,328.25

UTC

0.5

0.5

0

0

3,000

1,500.00

IKEJAHOTEL

0.81

0.81

0

0

125,910

98,143.32

VITAFOAM

4.2

4.34

0.14

0

704,512

3,005,056.88 191.8

INFINITY

1.61

1.61

0

0

3,998

6,116.94

VONO

1.44

1.44

0

0

140

INTBREW

29.4

29.5

0.1

0

527,130

15,251,700.05

WAPCO

111

110.19

-0.81

0

1,128,713

124,196,105.20

0.85

0.86

0.01

0

101,234,682

85,209,687.43

JAPAULOIL

0.57

0.57

0

0

8,717,389

5,020,314.43

WAPIC

JBERGER

69

68.05

-0.95

0

367,620

25,168,464.22

WEMABANK

0.98

0.98

0

0

344,872

335,903.47

ZENITHBANK

25.3

25.3

0

0

26,976,854

676,368,093.90

JOSBREW

2.58

2.58

0

0

10,000

24,600.00

LASACO

0.5

0.5

0

0

4,000

2,000.00

LEARNAFRCA

1.61

1.69

0.08

0

869,510

1,462,396.90

LINKASSURE

0.5

0.5

0

0

1,404,000

702,000.00

LIVESTOCK

3.01

3.04

0.03

0

2,902,488

8,874,378.79

MANSARD

2.64

2.64

0

0

27,550

72,450.50

MAYBAKER

1.64

1.72

0.08

0

262,660

449,358.00

MBENEFIT

0.54

0.54

0

0

4,404,370

2,378,367.20

MCNICHOLS

1.28

1.28

0

0

30,000

40,200.00

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THE House of Representatives last week organised a public hearing to gather opinions on Foreign Donations Bill currently before the lawmakers. The bill titled “ An Act to Regulate the Acceptance and Utilisation of Finance/Material Contributions of Donor Agencies to Voluntary Organisations and for matters related connected therewith” has generated so much furor in development circles.

THE bill states that no voluntary organisation is allowed to accept funds from international donors without the permission of Independent Corrupt Practices and other regulated Offences Commission, ICPC. By this regulation, the ICPC would be mandated to approve funds for Civil Society Organisations, and individuals who receive international funding for different programs.

WE strongly oppose the Bill for a number of reasons: The Bill proposed by Hon. Eddie Mbadiwe, appears to be a duplication of duties assigned to the Special Unit Against Money Laundering, (SCUML).

MBADIWE, at the committee meeting held on July 3, said he sponsored the bill with the intention to promote and defend civil society organisations. This of course, is a lie because, Civil Society do not need government’s bureaucracy for its defense.

Instead, the bill if allowed to sail through will stifle Civil Society Organisations, block many from accessing international support and weaken their activities which includes amplifying the voices of the poor and vulnerable groups in the society.

MBADIWE also said there was consistent abuse of contribution made by the international community and the bill would help control inflow of money into Nigeria. He also noted that funds meant for CSOs have ended in the hands of terrorists. This is a blatant lie because whereas Civil Society

THE NIGERIAN

CSOs Foreign Donations Bill Organisations have been receiving funds from international agencies for over one hundred years of Nigeria’s amalgamation history, terrorism became an issue and manifestly so in the past two-three years of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration; that is why most observers believe that a section of the north who do not want him as president are the brains behind Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria.

ALL over the world, it is said that government alone cannot finance development and meet the various challenges facing all citizens, that informs the entry point of other development partners such as Civil Society to fill such gaps as the private sector is usually preoccupied with profit maximization.

IT is a truism that hundreds of local CSOs and voluntary organisations receive donor funding from international partners to pursue developmental projects across Nigeria yearly, Mbadiwe, a consultant Biochemist/ Industrialist, and an inexperienced first-term member of the House of Representatives representing Ideato North/South constituency of Imo state do not have clear understanding of the workings of Civil Society now accepted by the United Nations and Governments all over the world as key partners in development.

It is important to emphasise that funds of CSOs are usually channeled towards sustainable development, public office holder accountability, good governance,

improvement of access to quality healthcare services, polio eradication and HIV/AIDS care and control in Nigeria among others. If the proposed bill is made law, such funding henceforth would only materialise if the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, approves it, a task which SCUML is already assigned to do.

There are laws already governing the utilisation of money used by civil society organisations and it is the duty of government to enforce these laws. There are extant laws which regulate civil society organisations, making it possible for these organisations to be held accountable for the utilisation of their funds. In addition to these laws, are policies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), policy which makes it mandatory for all NGOs to comply with its SCUML rules.

In as much as we are against terrorism, we do not support the destruction of democratic structures in the guise of combating terrorism as being canvassed by the Bill.

It is our considered view that Civil Society Organisations cannot be made to suffer, under the pretence of enacting a new law to tackle terrorism. The Strength of Civil Society Organisations is based on the fact that they were independent of the government, given the peculiarity of government in Nigeria, the proposed bill latently seeks to muzzle this independence and now make them government dependent organisations.

The bill poses a threat to the freedom of civil society organisations. It is a covert threat to their right to free speech, and by extension, a threat to the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria. It is against these facts that we urge members of the National Assembly to throw the Bill into the waste basket where it actually belongs.

Political Platform

The Need For Account Of Stewardship

FOR a long time now, it has been discovered that stewardship accounting promotes good management of public funds, increases accountability and probity in the public sector and discourages embezzlement of public funds and promotes economics growth. It should therefore be recommended that the government make sure that stewardship accounting be set up and strictly implemented for better reconstruction of good governance so as to guide against mal-administration of the public funds by public officers; and the ascertainment of proprietary of transactions and their conformity with established rules.

Accountability is crucial to the operation of both the private and public sector concept.

Public accountability is an essential component for the functioning of our political system. “Public sector accountability means that those who are charged with drafting and or carrying out policy should be obliged to give an explanation of their actions to their electorates: - the electorates being a composite

group, then includes clients employees and tax payers’’.

Stewardship accounting has its origin in the fact that wealthy men employed “stewards” to manage their properties, the steward rendered their account periodically of their stewardship and this notion is still the root of financial reporting today.

In addition, accountability may be defined, as the rendering of returns on stewardship relating to the management of funds and other assets of which individuals or institutions had been custodians Nigerian politicians face many problems in rendering their political stewardship in the country. This is as a result of the fact that, the political and economic instability in Nigerian political system had led to absence of planning that has slowed down economic growth and development. Most of the physical units were created without a guided political and economic philosophy; they are

WOMEN farmers and environmentalists in Nigeria are doing everything possible to control the effects of climate change on agriculture.

In a two-day awakening seminar arranged by the Women Environmental Programme, WEP, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment for Extension Service Officers held in Makurdi, Benue State capital recently, the Executive Director WEP, Mrs. Priscilla Achakpa ostensibly decried that Nigeria was in to lose about $500 billion to climate change by 2020.

At the meeting where Achakpa was stood-in-for by Mr. George Akor, a Director in the Programme, her fears were that the country was headed to trouble if best approach is not taken to inform farmers at all levels, especially the rural women farmers, about the challenging menaces of climate change.

Gender Issue Statistics show that women farmers produce 28 per cent less than men in the Northern Nigeria. It is therefore the idea of many stakeholders in the agricultural and climate change management that the country must implement policies that would favour gender subject, as the lack of women in key areas has not brought about the needed result.

They judged that since the effect of climate change is global, it can easily be tackled

headlong if women are given enough room to contribute ideas and frameworks to the fight. They suggested that governments at all levels in the country are not properly putting all measures in place to avoid shortsighted economic development of farmers and women’s industrial expansion.

Environmentalist Greg Odogwu had held that upon all the odds, Nigerian women are not relenting in the battle to save the environment. He made the revelation in ‘Climate change and women’.

“Nigeria is among the nations where the women battle to save the environment and entrench sustainable development. Many women are initiating laudable environmental projects and green lifestyle concepts,” he said.

Professionals are of the view that Nigerian women farmers are weathering all the challenges to their lives and livelihoods to perform. They stem from the brunt of climate change such as floods, droughts, harsh weather, and waning agricultural production.

Challenges “The population of Nigeria is growing rapidly. This has made food supply to be grossly inadequate to feed the growing population, This has led to malnutrition, increased rates of morbidity and mortality among the vulnerable groups — infants, toddlers and preschool children.

By FAMOUS IGUISI

financially very weak to stand on their own. The judiciary, legislature and the executive arms of government lacks the sincerity to address the problem of revenue sharing. This has led to the destruction of the various structures put in place by the preceding regimes and government. Also, qualified personnel are not employed or chosen to man the government work for effective and efficient job performances.

The politicians break their promises as readily as they made them. They hardly comply with their promises in their manifestoes the moment they are voted in as power corrupts,

and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Accountability in the public sector involves the critical examination of procedures, records and transactions by well trained and properly qualified personnel in order to minimize the degree of misappropriation of fund in public sector organizations.

Public sector accountability means that those who are charged with drafting and or carrying out policy should be obliged to give an explanation of their actions to their electorates, that is, the taxpayers and employees. It is not unusual to request a public servant to give an account of how he has managed the public

fund entrusted to his care especially by the electorates. ‘’Rendering of political stewardship accounting is better when one is made to give the account of his stewardship when he is still in power than to be recalled to face a difficult situation after leaving the office’’.

Many of our elected leaders have been accused of non performances, and that no sign of anything they have done; such as constituency projects in their various communities that make up their constituencies. If this is true, then what then has happened to the funds meant for constituency projects in the past years?

If people that are saddled with leadership positions fail to give account of their stewardship to the people, let’s make sure that they don’t get elected for a second term through legal means.

“After 50 years of unsatisfactory governance, the

good people of Nigeria need restoration, character, ethics, national integrity by true and compassionate leaders’’.

However, many of our elected leaders have been involved in rehabilitation of some feeder roads; rendering scholarship assistance to students; rendering assistance to patients in hospitals; promoting sports in the State and Local Governments; helping to provide employment generally; assisting through youth empowerment and skill acquisition; assisting in recruitment into the Security Forces Agencies, etc.

Those who have rendered their account of stewardship in whatever capacity have demonstrated exemplary character and a sterling example of what a true representative of the people should be. Those who haven’t done so should be challenged to follow their footsteps.

“Public sector accountability means that those who are charged with drafting and or carrying out policy should be obliged to give an explanation of their actions to their electorates, that is, the taxpayers and employees.”

Women Fight Climate Change Through Agricultural Output “In Nigeria there is mass movement of people from rural to urban areas in search of more lucrative jobs,” said Imonikebe, Bridget Uyoyou, Home Economics Unit, vocational Education Department, Delta state University, Abraka, Nigeria.

While women are toiling the most to produce household food, deforestation has become a predominant challenge in agriculture, crops, water sources, and natural resources are becoming scarce. And women are traditionally responsible for the management of these resources and, they are suffering thelargest-part.

Despite clear challenges, Ms. Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, World Bank country Director for Nigeria said, Nigerian women are making progress in the agriculture sector, pointing out that women produce 16 per cent less in value terms than men per hectare of cultivated land, adding that the overall figure masks regional differences.

Whilst women are also said to be fighting climate change which has become the most serious environmental threat, they are also making sure they farm to fight against hunger, malnutrition, disease and poverty in the society, through their impact on agricultural

output.

“Although, 35 per cent of women are employed in the agriculture sector, and 44 per cent of the country’s female headed households are involved in agriculture activities, only 18 per cent of rural plots are managed by female farmers, said Ms. Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly.

Solution “Boosting women’s agricultural productivity in Nigeria will require not only giving women access to land, but more critically improved access to finance as well as valuable information,” said Ms. Marie-Nelly.

This disclosure was contained in a research done by the World Bank and the Federal — Government, which came as an answer to the suggestions that came out of the Gender Policy Dialogue, organized in 2012 in conjunction with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (OFID). The breach in production between male and female land administrators, according to sources, remains noticeable at the national level and should also be manifest in some parts of the country.

Bridget Uyoyou identified that the constraints to rural women’s participation in food production, as poverty, low crop yield and difficulty in acquiring loan needed to be addressed through the cooperation of the rural women farmers, community and the government.

According to her, the most urgent and effective area that need attention is the area of food storage and processing.

Markus Goldstein, Gender Practice Leader, World Bank, added: “The full potential of Nigerian female farmers will only be tapped if their common challenges and different experiences across regions and social groups are fully acknowledged by agriculture programmes.”

Development

Creating A Road Map For Solid Minerals Development STAKEHOLDERS in the mining sector argue that Nigeria is vastly endowed with a lot of mineral resources and underscore the need for the creation of a pragmatic roadmap for their development and sustainable exploitation.

They, however, concede that the roadmap, which the Federal Government presented in 2013, could serve as a veritable guide for all the solid minerals’ development processes in the country.

In January 2013, the Federal Government announced a roadmap for solid minerals’ development and economists laud the plan as a pragmatic effort to grow and diversify the nation’s economy.

At the presentation of the roadmap, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said that the blueprint had articulated strategies for the diversification of the economy.

He urged the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to ensure that the roadmap was utilised by foreign and local investors in the solid minerals sector so as to achieve better results.

Malam Musa Sada, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, said that the ministry would ensure that the solid minerals sector was repositioned to provide job opportunities for the youth.

Apart from this, economists believe that the roadmap will tackle some challenges facing mining operations such as inadequate geosciences data which is needed to facilitate comprehensive minerals’ exploration by the private sector.

In a recent interview, Sada said that the policy thrust of the roadmap entailed import substitution, job creation and promotion of modern mining practices, among

By FATIMA SULE others.

He said that the roadmap would increase per capita consumption of steel, provide legal and regulatory framework for the metals sub-sector, and guarantee transparency in the grant of mining titles and permits.

The minister noted that although the roadmap had been implemented in some parts of the country, its full implementation had been hindered by factors such as poor funding, security issues and inadequate infrastructural facilities at mines sites.

Nevertheless, Malam Muhammad Amate, the Director-General of Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office, said that the office had been working hard to address the challenges.

According to him, the office has become a credible Federal Government agency mandated to facilitate the development of mineral resources in the country and function as a gateway to mining.

Amate said that the office guaranteed an independent, efficient and transparent system in the granting, administration and management of all mining titles.

“In modern term, the office is the combination of geographic information system, database and procedures relating to the application, processing and grant of mining rights,’’ he said.

He said that four foreign companies would soon begin the mining of gold and iron ore in Kebbi, Osun and Kogi.

He also said more than 20 foreign companies from Australia, Canada, United

during the period.

Mr John Jegede, a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, said that the roadmap would facilitate Nigeria’s efforts to attain some socio-economic and environmental objectives via sustainable exploration

roadmap was its capacity to attract investments into the solid minerals sector.

“The agency is discussing with the International Mining for Development Centre, an initiative supported by the Australian government, to provide training and capacity building in mining, geology, environment, laboratory training and mineral processing,’’ he

becoming a major world player in the mining industry require a conscious and focused development of professional manpower in mining and geosciences.

“Government recognises the need to expand the scope of the mandate of the institute to reflect the current realities in the global minerals industry,’’ he said.

He said that ever since the ministry launched the roadmap, the institute had

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Sada Musa

Kingdom, Italy, China, Republic of Niger, India, South Africa and Ukraine had obtained exploration licences to carry out solid minerals’ exploration across the country.

Amate stressed that the office had issued more than 4,000 mineral titles from 2011 to date, while generating N2.2-billion income via the issuance of titles to mining companies

of mineral resources.

Jegede said that after the launch of the roadmap, it had become the reference document that guided the ministry, stakeholders and the public in efforts to assess the performance of the solid minerals sector.

Mr Utsu Adie, the Chairman of Solid Minerals Development Fund, said that the strategic critical success factor of the

said.

However, Malam Idris Umar, the DirectorGeneral, Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Jos, said that the global increase in demand for mineral commodities had necessitated the production of a good roadmap for the development of the country’s solid minerals.

“The challenges of

“The minister noted that although the roadmap had been implemented in some parts of the country, its full implementation had been hindered by factors such as poor funding, security issues and inadequate infrastructural facilities at mines sites.”

been working in line with the roadmap’s objectives, conceding, however, that several challenges had hindered the implementation of the roadmap.

All the same, economic experts note that the challenges should not be allowed to truncate the execution of the roadmap.

They insist that the government has no other choice than to diversify Nigeria’s economy, considering the abundance of the country’s solid minerals and their economic potential.

The experts insist that the roadmap will reposition the solid minerals sector and strengthen it to foster the growth of the national economy. (NAN)

Issues NEWS of the surging violence by the shadowy sect, Boko Haram, has continued to inundate us even if some no longer shudder at screaming headlines of dozens whose throats have been slit; the extremists have sustained the ongoing brutal campaign against civilian and security targets. The vicious group has showed no sign of slowing down in 2014 with a string of coordinated attacks from Borno to Adamawa and Yobe states. It is inconceivable and incomprehensible in a state under emergency, that terrorist attacks in villages and towns last for hours without any kind of security intervention. The escalation of violence between January and February alone has claimed over 650 lives between Borno and Adamawa. For now, Gwoza, Bama, Konduga and Damboa towns and all the villages around them are facing extinction! The insurgents have left on its trail: lives lost, properties destroyed and terrified residents fleeing their homes. Guerilla tactics in rural areas have made the people vulnerable where Christians and Muslims alike have been on the receiving end of the morally reprehensible sect’s abhorrent violence.

Borno, to Boko Haram, is their spiritual home where the ‘struggle’ began. Losing the battle on this turf to the federal forces will effectively signal the end of their insurrection. In this state, their attacks have been more vicious, somewhat sporadic but with a high level of coordination unexpected in a state under emergency. Their resolve is strengthened by the scores they slaughter in the wee hours of the night. The Nigerian military still has a lot to prove that it is capable of putting down the insurrection.

Guerilla wars(better known as asymmetric combat) are the most difficult to prosecute because the enemies live within the civilian population. Security operatives become vulnerable because they are identifiable but the terrorists are almost invincible. It might be asking for too much from the ill equipped and trained Nigerian military to wage a successful war against them. Such an operation is quite complicated and requires

cerebral personnel. It is doubtful if the Nigerian military give adequate training to its men to fight guerilla wars – a 21st century security challenge. The unimpressive way the counterterrorism campaign has been waged by the combined team of security agencies have laid bare their conventional and stereotype inbuilt structure of warfare where there is a clearly defined enemy in a well-defined geographical location. The Nigeria military’s symmetric approach to an asymmetric counterterrorism battle in states under emergency, clearly, has failed. The spate of almost daily attacks on hapless civilians in Borno underscores this point.Their modus operandi is similar to all known terrorist groups in the world. The trademark of the organization is blood, tears and sorrow with both covert and overt violent assault against police officers, military, churches and civilian targets.These persistent and mindless killings from highly networked, richly financed groups waging insurgent war

Borno And The Changing Dynamics Of Boko Haram

By THEOPHILUS ILEVBARE

often from within civilian population, use a combination of traditional and modern weapons. There tactics can best be mitigated and/or quelled by military operations backed by the most sophisticated and technologically advanced security gadgets. It is a known fact that the structure and design of Nigeria’s national security is too outdated to meet present day security challenges. It has also been reported that the morale of the military and police is ebbing.

In contrast, Boko Haram is better armed and motivated.

Years of corruption in the military and police have robbed us of the best.

Consequently, the cruel marauders pose a serious threat to the nation’s sovereignty and the continual harmonious coexistence of the various tribes

and religions. The possibility of overrunning the country is real.

However, Nigeria’s security challenges are not insurmountable.

With commitment and a dogged political will from the government, the nefarious activities of the blood thirsty fundamentalists can be effectively contained.

Furthermore, government should tighten what many now regard as the most porous border in the world! We would easily win any award in that category.

There is still an ongoing war in Mali; it’s only been months since the Arab Spring ended. All these have put arms and ammunition in the wrong hands.

Those who proliferate these weapons move them across our borders to a mix grill ready market of terrorists, pirates,

hoodlums, unrepentant and backsliding ex-militants, 2015 election tugs and other criminal minded elements.

To quell this increasingly complex threat, the tangled-web of terrorist financing must be demystified and those found wanting brought to book.

Collaboration like joint military action with our West African neighbours to combat threats along border towns and villages is a strategy the military should urgently explore as part of a comprehensive approach to counter the deadly extremists.

The fierce unrelenting assault on neighbouring villages bordering the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, has highlighted the inefficiency and numerical disadvantage of the Nigerian military and police.

With over 8000 troops deployed already to the sub-region without any success, the International Criminal Court

“The fierce unrelenting assault on neighbouring villages bordering the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, has highlighted the inefficiency and numerical disadvantage of the Nigerian military and police.”

was spot on when it said Nigeria was embroiled in another civil war. Remote border towns with Cameroon like Banki, in Bama Local Government Area have been the worst hit as the remoteness of their location have made it almost impossible to respond to distress. Recently, the military decried insufficient personnel in such remote towns and villages, as its bane.

Residents say in some villages, about six military men, poorly armed, and just about half a dozen policemen are present.

This is grossly inadequate and easily outnumbered by over 50 insurgents who storm these target locations in vehicles and motor bikes, armed to the teeth.

The presence of more security personnel in the remote villages will to a great extent improve the security situation.

It is ridiculous when our security chiefs give themselves a pat on the back for ‘curtailing’ the Islamic fundamentalists in the North East, preventing their activities from spreading to other parts of the country. This kind of attitude that promotes mediocrity in the rank and file of our national security must be discouraged.

Sabotage, negligence of duty and unhealthy competition among the security agencies are some of the reasons insecurity has been on the rise in the troubled states of the north east,

particularly, Borno. The military offensive against the sect has been nothing short of a complete failure.

It is shameful that politicians under whose watch the insurgents evolved still strut the corridors of power, and are partisan politicians till today. It must be traumatising for the victims of Boko Haram.

Unfortunately, those who sowed the seed of bloodbath are still at large. Sponsors of the terror group, directly or indirectly, must be brought to justice.

Prosecuting the counterterrorism war without exposing and prosecuting their financiers will amount to an effort in futility.

The spirited attempt by the Jonathan government to fight terrorism with mass education of Almajiris is commendable. More of such schools is needed in northern Nigeria. It is an approach that should be encouraged to fight an insurgency that is firmly rooted in illiteracy and ignorance.

Dealing decisively with the grievances that are spawning terrorism and encouraging radicalisation as well as implementing reforms and policies are pathways to restoring lasting peace, security of lives and properties in the north-east and the nation at large.

Now, more than ever, decisive and sustainable victory against Boko Haram has become more elusive but imperative.

Midweek Magazine THE HARD TALK THE truth, they say is bitter and as such, it is often difficult to say the truth, especially when all odds are against one or the situation is not favourable or you will be hated and despised by many for saying the truth. But notwithstanding, the ‘Truth’ has to be said, even in the midst of all the ridicules or castigations. For it is ‘only’ the truth that can make/set us free; that is the Bible principle that transcends all time and can never change. unfortunately, we are in a generation that abhors, despises, rejects and refuses to accept the truth even when it is steering us in the face. And as such, we have become a morally bankrupt Nigerian society and a people that are steadily losing their fundamental ‘values’ and speedily degenerating to oblivion.

We are where we are today in Nigeria not because of any other thing other than the fact that we have become a people that have lost their ‘value system’. And as such, every level of ‘leadership’, be it in politics, family, or even religion, have all been ‘corrupted’ one way or the other, we have become a people that value ‘ephemeral gains’ of life more than life itself. we have exchanged the value of life for material wealth, even if our actions will adversely affect millions of our fellow human, we have exchanged the virtues and values of hard work, integrity, sincerity, honesty, punctuality, accountability, patience, brotherliness and so on for the most ‘self-centered’ corrupt tendencies and mediocrity of highest proportions. That is why the present generation of politicians and society Elites has failed and are still failing the people and the society at large. They have become leaders that are more interested in their well-being than that of those they are meant to ‘serve’.

Someone once said that ‘political violence’ do not just happen, they occur because of “series and strings of unjust political decisions”, without a doubt, the increasing levels of insecurity, underdevelopment and suffering in Nigeria today did not start in one day. It started as a result of accumulated years of ‘bad decisions’ made by past and present political leaders in various Government circles.

And as such, every other thing has been ‘corrupted’ with the virus’ from top to bottom, because once the ‘head(s)’ is/ are faulty and corrupted, every other thing down the line will

Have Nigerians Lost

follow suit. In other words, we are where we are today because of every of the decisions/ indecisions and actions/ inactions of our past and present leaders in different strata of government and the entire society. So do not be surprised or alarmed by the Boko Haram insurgency that is daily claiming countless innocent lives and property worth billions of dollars. . Nigeria indeed has had more share of bad leaders than it has good leaders since independence. And as such, the country is today still in the woods of underdevelopment and backwardness, despite its vast human and natural resourcefulness. To make matters worse, we have become a people that do not hold their political leaders accountable since they are the custodians or the nation’s resources. Even when questions are asked and eye brows raised over government actions, the political class simply do what they know how to do best and that is, wave a magic wand to suggest they are on top of the situation and after a while, some few key persons’ interest are taken care of while some will have their integrity compromised. And with time, the rest of the Nigerian populace will ‘forget’ and life goes on; moving on to other issues that are often used to distract the main issues. Hence, we are known as a people that are “suffering and smiling”. with very few exceptions, it seems about all we do is ‘smile at our problems and shrug them off with ‘e go better’. But rather than things ‘get better’, they are getting worse by the day.

An uninformed and impoverished citizenry that shares everything in common with destitute can scarcely participate in matters of state ours is a country where well over 85 percent of the population is excluded from the ownership of the means of production and distribution on of material wealth and services.

Those who control the economy strive desperately to control what happens in the polity too; that is if they are not the major determinants of the nature of democracy currently in vogue in Nigeria.

In truth, Nigeria is a preening democracy.

Presently, politicians and their endorsers mobilize the gullible and heartlessly deprived populace to serve sectarian and individual interests, even at the

risk of losing their lives in the process. When the political, social, economic and educational objectives in the 1999 constitution take root in governance, we can justifiably be talking of a democratic Nigeria. For now, the various political parties, led by the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), have seized the nation’s sovereignty and democracy by the jugular. The stinking brand of Nigeria’s kind of democracy favours no other than them. The strife between the Presidency, select governors and economic magnates who collectively define the Nigerian state, is an internal ‘family affair’ among the ruling elites. The majority of Nigerians are not meant to benefit from this strife in any way whatsoever.

The unfortunate thing is that the ruling class has failed to realize that it is also in their own-best interest and that of those supporting them, to ensure that the interest of the majority is considered into the country’s political and economic calculations. “Power should speak the truth to itself to endure”. Failure to learn that mass disaffection could lead to a violent eruption (that even military repression may not always contain), which could squander the remnants of what many now term Nigeria’s ‘fragile democracy.’

All of this goes to justify one fundamental truth and principle that practically explains where we are, what we are, and where we will be as a nation. And that truth is the fact that “the dominium usually assumes the (real) character of its ruler.”

That is, every nation, state, society and entity usually assumes the character of its ruler/leader. For instance, Nigeria under Abacha is different from Nigeria under Obasanjo. Nigeria under Yar’Adua is different from Nigeria under Jonathan, and so on. And that is because the ‘character’ of these rulers/ leaders is different from one another. There are things you can do now in the Nigerian polity and practically get away with it, which you cannot do and easily get away with it in the time of some past leaders like Obasanjo.

And as far as we are concerned, it is as if the situation in Nigeria is getting ‘with a very successive ruler/ leader since the inception of Democratic rule in i999. with

By ZIK GBEMRE

the present administration as a classical example, never have we witnessed such number of incidents and insecurity that has led to the loss of thousands of innocent lives in the country’s democratic history. or is it the level of corruption and impunity that has practically rendered and made the Judiciary and anti-graft agencies as toothless bulldogs and laughing stock. Not to mention the witnessed broad day light robbery of electoral mandate and electoral fraud; perversion of justice; abuse and disregard for the rule of law; indiscipline and mediocrity of high proportions in public service delivery.

The one that buys us most is the level of corruptions and impunity that has been evident at all levels of governance since the inception of the present administration, when public office holders are allowed to go scot free or merely given a slap on the wrist for stealing public funds meant for the general good of all, then the system is practically adding kerosene to the already burning fire. At least in time past, we have seen the prosecution and sentencing of an Inspector General of Police, a former state Governor and some other high profile cases. Even though some may argue that back then, such -fight against corrupt public officials was selective’, the fact still remains that ‘there was evident fight against corruption” to a considerable degree. This cannot be said of the present administration. That is why the EFCC of today cannot be compared to the EFCC of the past when Nuhu Ribadu was its chairman. Why can’t our present political leaders fight corruption like the late Nelson Mandela of SouthAfrica and Jerry Rawlings of Ghana did when they were in government? At least the present government should locate the more than $49Billion (about N79Trillion), that the central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reported ‘missing’. Or at least prosecute those behind the fuelsubsidy scam. It is only then that the international community will start taking this administration seriously, as not paying lip-service to the fight against corruption.

Speaking of the fight against corruption, the speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Alhaji Waziri Tambuwal had some months

“The unfortunate thing is that the ruling class has failed to realize that it is also in their own-best interest and that of those supporting them, to ensure that the interest of the majority is considered into the country’s political and economic calculations. “Power should speak the truth to itself to endure”. Failure to learn that mass disaffection could lead to a violent eruption (that even military repression may not always contain), which could squander the remnants of what many now term Nigeria’s ‘fragile democracy.”

back, deployed president Jonathan’s failure to act promptly to prosecute fraudulent cases diligently exposed by the National Assembly, as the bane of the blossoming corruption in the country is shameful, ‘kleptocratic governance’. worst still, Tambuwal said the anti-corruption agencies read

administration is not going to fight corruption on the basis of mere speculations.” In other words, what the present administration is telling Nigerians is that everything we have heard and observe about the fuel subsidy scam, the pension scam etc, are ‘mere speculations’ as far as this administration is concerned.

the hi when is me the ju both th of de benef insult to dis justify called perfor That c to an

the body language of the president and prosecute cases selectively. otherwise, cases like the $6.SBillion fuel subsidy probe result, the security and Exchange commission probe, the clandestine and shady oil bloc deals in the Petroleum Sector and the bullet-proof car purchase scandal and others should have been prosecuted by the executive arm of government with their agencies. It is really sad to note that in all of this, all that the present administration has been known to do is to set up committees to either probe or look into them, but at the end of the day, nothing concrete comes out of such exercises. In fact, all that the Presidency could respond to the statements made by the speaker, through President Jonathan’s special Adviser, Dr, Rueben Abati, was that “the Jonathan

Abati also said that “the Presidency will not condone any act of proven corruption”.

We are then forced to ask, what happened to all the high profile corrupt cases where compelling evidences were provided, like the video and tape recorded proofs provided on the $620,000 bribery allegation against Hon. Farouk Lawal and Otedola? Has all that been swept under the carpet? God help us in this nation. Like we said, Nigerians are often made to ‘forget things’ and get distracted with other things while we live life as if all is well or going to get better.

In as much as the points raised by the Federal House of Representatives speaker is very much valid, however, we would like to remind him that Nigerians find it appalling that the Nigerian National Assembly members are still

Feder Wazir Kolad Niger speak Minor he and accus Tamb betwe and st groun Th jumbo the N the he run ag demo discon The sp in ano known highe One w the ho warra N150 perfo

Midweek Magazine

t Their Value System?

ighest paid lawmakers in the world, the Minimum wage in the country rely N18,000. The argument about umbo pay of Nigerian lawmakers at he state and national levels has a way generating into a farce, with the iciaries, the legislators, often adding to injury: Not only do they often fail sclose the exact figure, they even y their sumptuous pay with the sod ‘enormous national duty’; the nonrmance of which is their signature. conversation was recently elevated absurd level by the speaker of the

embarrassment: empty seats during sessions, merry-goround on non-conclusive inquiries which are often turned into rent-seeking exercises. It is even more scandalous that they are paid sumptuously for the sinecure they call responsibility. They are the recipient of unimaginable allowances outside basic salaries, including foreign and local travel, recess, utilities, furniture, constituency

ral House of Representatives, Aminu ri Tambuwal at the Fifth Christopher de Symposium series organized by the ria Leadership Initiative (NLI). The ker, who was represented by the rity Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, said d his colleagues were being wrongly sed of earning outrageous salaries. buwal went further to differentiate een their basic salaries and allowances tressed that both were justified on the nd of their enormous responsibility. is barefaced defence of legislators’ o pay by a high-ranking member of ational Assembly is, to say the least, eight of insensitivity. It does not only gainst the grain of public opinion, it onstrates in absolute terms “the nnect between leaders and the led’. peaker and his colleagues must reside other planet not to appreciate the welln fact that Nigerian legislators are the st paid in the world unjustifiably so. wonders what duty or responsibility onourable members are discharging to ant an annual appropriation of about 0 billion! The reality of their ormance is even a greater

allowances, and vehicle loan as well as vehicle maintenance, and even a ‘hardship allowance’ among others. Also, it is the practice that under the pretext of statutory transfer the National Assembly are allocated huge sums which details are not made public.

They enjoy these privileges for doing nothing and against the backdrop of a minimum wage of N18000 for an average worker, unpaid public servants, millions of jobless graduates who roam the streets and increasing social crises. The unimpressive recurrent expenditure pegged at 81.6 per cent in the 2012 budget is overweighed by the salacious outlay on the legislators. The end result is that nothing is left for capital expenditure.

It should be said with all emphasis that such thoughtlessness as Tambuwal’s unguarded submission is the

very basis for the call for reform of the national legislature.

There is indeed a compelling need to rethink the form and content of the legislature. And it is to be noted that Nigeria national income cannot sustain the gluttony of its lawmakers.

A step towards its reform must be backed by the need to reduce legislative reward to merely sitting allowance without a basic salary component and it should be structured to be part—time. As it has been advocated times without number, the country does not need a bicameral legislature. It is a waste of public funds and it should be reorganized or streamlined into just one chamber. The Senegalese example is there for all to emulate. That country went back to a unicameral legislature to save resources for other compelling development goals.

Nigeria can do the same here and the people will be the better for it. Around early December 2013, the British Members of parliament (MPs) and cabinet rejected an 11% Pay rise authorized by the British Independent parliament commission, saying the pay rise was “unnecessary” since there is ‘cost of living crises’ in the UK. The British MPs also disagreed with the BBC Authority for “huge Pay-offs” of senior staff. According to the MP5, BBC top Executive staff could be held for “contempt of Parliament”. And the penalty for contempt of parliament includes prison sentence, but such cases are rare since the 19th century. They said some of the justifications for the huge pay offs had been extraordinary and this was blamed on the culture of cronyism that allowed for the liberal use of public’s money. The MPs described the huge pay offs (severance package) of senior staff of the BBC as “sweeteners”. The question now is, when will Nigerian Legislatures play a ‘genuine role’ of checks and balance within the various arms of government? When will Nigerian law makers see the need to cut down on their outrageous pay and allowances that are draining the nation’s purse?

We find it out of place to observe our public leaders in government circles earning millions and hundreds of millions of naira annually, when millions of Nigerians are living below one dollar (about N160) per day; when 60 percent of Nigerians do not have access

to regular power supply. Even Nigerians that are privileged to earn a six digits salary figure are still ‘struggling’ to keep their heads afloat from sinking with the ‘high cost of living’.

But if our economy is buoyant, and there is availability and affordability of food and basic social amenities, the issue of minimum wage will not arise in the first place. For everybody will be ‘comfortable enough’ with the much or little they earn.

On the other side of the coin, the “followers”, as citizenry are seriously not helping matters because they have been encouraging those at government circles as political leaders to brazenly misappropriate/steal public funds with reckless abandon and impunity. It is only in Nigeria that ‘thieves’ in political circles are celebrated and exulted. People tend to ‘worship’ and respect those that are in government circles who obviously, from their lavish lifestyle and affluence in wealth, indicate that they have been stealing public funds under their care. Imagine a situation where someone, who some few months back, was struggling to fend for himself and family. All of a sudden finds himself in government circles and within months, the person has fleet of state of the art luxury cars and different mansions all over the country.

Nobody cares to ask questions and find out the sudden change of financial status. Rather, people tend to worship, praise and adore such a ‘criminals’ in government, we tend to praise them for doing nothing because they are our kingsmen. As one that steals in government circles, you tend to have more followers in Nigeria.

Until we stop deceiving ourselves and start holding our political accountable no matter how long it will take for them to respond and change, the majority of the Nigerian citizenry will continue to suffer greatly. No one best captures the problems with Nigeria than our late literary icon, Chinua Achebe, in his book: An Image of Africa And The Trouble with Nigeria. Tribalism, false image of ourselves, Nigeria style of leadership, disunity, unpatriotic, social injustice and the cult of mediocrity, indiscipline, corruption, amongst others were listed in the stated book by chinua Achebe, as troubles with

Nigeria. In the words of Achebe while explaining where the problem lies: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.

“I believe that Nigeria is a nation favoured by Providence. I believe there are individuals as well as nations who, on account of peculiar gifts and circumstances, are commandeered by history to facilitate mankind’s advancement. Nigeria is such a nation. The vast human and material wealth with which she is endowed bestows on her a role in Africa and the world which no one else can assume or fulfill. The fear that should nightly haunt our leaders (but does not) is that they may already have betrayed irretrievably Nigeria’s high destiny. The countless billions that a generous providence poured into our national coffers in the last ten years (1972-1982) would have been enough to launch this nation into the middlerank of developed nations and transformed the lives of our poor and needy. But what have we done with it? stolen and salted away by people in tower and their accomplices. Squandered in uncontrolled importation of all kinds of useless consumer merchandise from every corner of the globe. Embezzled through inflated contracts to an increasing army party loyalists who have neither the desire nor the competence to execute their contracts, consumer in the escalating salaries of a grossly overstaffed and unproductive public service. And so on and infinitum. Does it ever worry us that history which neither personal wealth nor power can pre-empt will pass terrible judgment on us, pronounce anathema on

our names when we have accomplished our betrayal and passed on? we have lost the twentieth century; are we bent on seeing that our children also lose the twenty-first? God forbid!”

The crusade for Nigeria’s Independence, spearheaded mostly by educated Nigerians was not an easy one. This agitation came to a hilt with chief Anthony Enahoro’s motion for Independence on the floor of the Federal House of Parliament in 1957. According to Sir Abubakar Tafawa Belawa at independence; “Today is independence Day. The first of October, 1960, is a date to which, for two years, Nigeria has been eagerly looking forward. At last, our great day has arrived and Nigeria is now indeed an independent Sovereign Nation”. The British Union Jack was lowered for Nigeria’s symbol of self rule as the green-white- flag was hoisted by Gen. David Ejoor.

These people had a dream that by now, Nigeria ought to be amongst the most developed nations of the world. But today we celebrate and praise corrupt individuals in government circles for doing practically nothing for the masses. Those who have visions and something tangible to offer for the good of all are never given the opportunity to serve, while those not qualified and do not have any vision are placed in such sensitive positions. This is exactly what you and your group are projecting.

A serious food for thought for all well-meaning Nigerians and our political leaders ‘you would agree. Inept leadership has always been the bane of Nigeria’s development. The unfortunate, but yet wellembraced exit of South African icon leader, Nelson Mandela, and his memorial that practically held the whole world on stand still, reminds us of what political leaders are supposed to be like.

For us, Mandela’s life, time and legacy left behind should be a worthy example and stand as role model for Nigerian Politicians and Leaders to reflect on and emulate. If Mandela rested peacefully and the entire world came to a standstill, can Nigerians and the rest of the world standstill for even one day to mourn the death of any of our present and past leaders and politicians? This should be food for thought for all of us. Let our leaders and politicians learn a great lesson from Nelson Mandela’s death: “what you do in the past and present will judge how your future will be and what you will remembered for”. We pray that year 2014 and years ahead, will be better than what Nigerians have been made to go through in recent years.

Zik Gbemre, JP National Coordinator

“A step towards its reform must be backed by the need to reduce legislative reward to merely sitting allowance without a basic salary component and it should be structured to be part—time. As it has been advocated times without number, the country does not need a bicameral legislature.”

Issues View Point “Although the MDGs target of 75 per cent water coverage has yet to be achieved, water resources minister Sarah Ochekpe insisted that Nigeria had improved on its water coverage from 58 per cent in 2011 to 65 per cent in 2013.”

Water Supply and Sanitation Policy, which has undergone public hearing.

A senior hydrologist at the state water corporation, Mr Olatunji Femi, said the policy would enhance water access to cater to the needs of the people when passed into law.

He explained that the policy’s goal was to improve water supply coverage from

Mr. Chuks Ugwoke, Commissioner for Information, said recently in Enugu that the approval was to provide adequate water for the people and guard against outbreak of water bornediseases.

He explained that N300 million would be spent on the rehabilitation of the NinthMile Corner Water Scheme and re-building of eight and drilling

the present 40 per cent to 60 per cent by 2014.

Mr Kehinde Fabikun, a principal officer in the Planning Research and Statistics Department of the FCT Water Board, said the Lower Usuma Dam remains the main source of water supply to Abuja.

He, however, added that water would be transferred from the Gurara Dam to augment supplies in the territory.

“Formally, we depended on the Lower Usuma Dam to get water across to the people, but now there is the Gurara Water Project.

“Water will come straight from Gurara as well as our dam; the purification process and other things will be taken care of there,” Fabikun said.

In Enugu State, the government has approved N400 million for the provision of potable water for residents.

of four additional bore holes.

Ugwoke said that N48 million was set aside for the state’s water corporation to procure water treatment chemicals for the Ajalli-Owa Water Scheme.

These achievements are a reflection of the situation across Nigeria. While some states had performed creditably well, many others are still struggling with funding of their water agencies to prioritise water and sanitation at the grassroots.

Stakeholders agree that these contributions to promote water coverage are in line with the objectives of the International Year of Water Cooperation.

To be sustainable, they say there is the need to implement the Nigeria National Water Sector Transformation Programme to tackle major challenges in the provision of safe water. (NAN)

Assessing Nigeria’s Performance In Water Supply AGAINST the backdrop of the importance of freshwater resources to human and animal existence, the UN General Assembly designated March 22 as the World Water Day to focus attention on their sustainable use and management.

The UN also declared 2013 as the “Year of Water Cooperation’’ to further raise awareness on the need for increased cooperation on water.

The declaration on the “Year of Water Cooperation’’ also aimed at addressing the challenges facing water management due to increasing demand for access to water, allocation and services.

The awareness campaigns are also informed by reports that many communities, especially at the grassroots in developing countries, still lacked access to safe drinking water.

For instance, a UN report indicates that Nigeria, with an estimated 170 million population, has been in the forefront on water inaccessibility.

Also, in 2011, a report of Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey indicated that 70 million Nigerians did not

By MAGDALENE UKUEDOJOR have access to safe water in that year.

Over the years, several reputable organisations classified Nigeria as being “off track’’ in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on water due to underutilisation of its water resources.

Although the MDGs target of 75 per cent water coverage has yet to be achieved, water resources minister Sarah Ochekpe insisted that Nigeria had improved on its water coverage from 58 per cent in 2011 to 65 per cent in 2013.

However, reports indicated that some state governments had commenced prioritising water and sanitation programmes to boost Nigeria’s performance in that sector.

Mr Owojuyigbe Olugbenga, General Manager, Osun State Water Corporation, said that the government had intervened remarkably in the provision of safe water in the state.

Olugbenga described the intervention as timely, saying that one of the biggest water plants in the state, the Ede Head Works, was undergoing

repairs to guarantee maximum provision of potable water.

“The biggest water scheme that we have in the state produces about 180,000 litres of water per day, and it serves about 12 local government areas,’’ he said.

Also in Sokoto State, the construction of an underground water supply scheme started in May 2012 and was completed in June.

Mr Nasir Mu’azu, the Director of Water Supply, Sokoto State Water Board, said “presently, most of the residential areas and almost one third of the towns benefit from this water supply scheme.

“We are running the plants and people have seen great improvement; all those people

that spent years without running taps are getting constant water supply.

“This year, new water pumps and generating plants were provided to tackle power supply challenges and replace aging machinery,’’ he said.

Also, Mr Gotau Bawa, Planning, Research and Statistics Manager at the Plateau State Water Board, said that the government secured an eight billion naira loan for water development expansion, and changing of old water pipes.

He explained that with a two billion naira loan assessed in 2012, the government was able to maintain water treatment plants to increase water access.

For the Ekiti State Government, one of its major achievements was the presentation of a draft to the state House of Assembly on

“For instance, a UN report indicates that Nigeria, with an estimated 170 million population, has been in the forefront on water inaccessibility. Also, in 2011, a report of Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey indicated that 70 million Nigerians did not have access to safe water in that year.”

Natural Medicine

With Dr Mao 0803071734

Keeping Your Health In Form THE heart, which is embedded in the left-hand side of the chest, is a powerful mechanical, muscular pump. It beats 72-80 times a minute pumping about 1,700 gallons of blood round the body’s circulatory system each day.

Of course, this is a great job which your heart performs. That is why it must be in a top healthy form. To achieve this goal, there are several things you should do. To start with, you should quit smoking if you smoke.

Smokers are liable to die young, as the warning states, either from heart, lung, mouth, throat or circulatory diseases.

Russell Wild in Visual encyclopaedia of National Medicine says: “If you quit today, your risk of heart disease immediately starts to decrease. And guess what? Ten years after quitting, your risk of death from heart disease will almost be the same as if you had never smoked at all”. Indeed, you can get a clean heart bill ten years after quitting smoking because the body has the capacity to heal itself when it is holistically freed from toxic substances like tobacco smoke and well nourished.

Secondly, if you want to keep your heart healthy ensure that you are not overweight or obese.

People with prescribed normal weights as regards their ages, height and gender usually have a good functioning heart.

By implication, men should try to avoid the malaise of pot bellies. This is because they are associated with unhealthy overweight or obesity. In case you don’t know, a pot belly tugs at the arteries and veins in the abdominal and chest

region. Thus, the heart suffers attrition while the ribs is forced to droop, on the other hand.

Thirdly, limit your salt intake if you desire a healthy heart. Too much salt harms the heart and increases your risk of developing high blood pressure. There is still controversy over the safe dosage of salt. However to be on the cautious side, I will advise that you use only a teaspoon of salt daily. Most people who eat outdoors may find it difficult to adhere to this dose because restaurants and Mama puts over salt their food for taste as well as increase demand for them. Furthermore, there are hidden salt in certain foods like roasted groundnuts, bread, corn, margarine, etc.

When you ask people not to overeat salt, what you are telling them specifically is to avoid overloading their bodies with too much sodium, contained in salt.

Similarly, it is beneficial you don’t over consume potassium, a twin mineral of sodium. If you do, you stand the risk of developing cardiac abnormalities, sudden death and extreme muscle weakness.

Elevated metal levels in the human blood equally increase your risk of heart disease. Of interest here are metals like cadmium, dominium, iron, mercury, arsenic, etc which may gain entrance into your bodies through environmental pollution or untreated borehole water consumed at home or sold as satchet water on the streets.

Fourthly, beware of the habit of frequently drinking ice-cold water or alcoholic beverages. The practice strains the heart which powers the circulatory system

required for equalizing a dropped body temperature after drinking cold water or an alcoholic beverage.

Fifthly, limit the intake of saturated/hydrogenated fats. They build plagues in the arteries which contribute to high blood pressure. Also, such categories of fats lead to overweight or obesity.

other micronutrients the body needs.

Unfortunately, the contrary is the case today.

We eat only cooked, dead foods in most cases even in adult life and old age when our bodies are crying for less cooked food because they have inadequate metabolic factors for digesting and

failure or arrest. Be informed that kolanuts, coffee and soda or energy drinks contain caffeine.

Therefore, if you abuse them you end up with excess caffeine in your body, a condition that disrupts your sleep. Of course when you don’t sleep well, your heart suffers a lot. It is made to

hard at yourself, always smile, too. When you laugh and smile frequently, no matter the circumstances, your heart also “smiles” and “laughs” too. It is “happy”. And, so, it is in top, healthy form.

Ninthly, it is important you know that a workaholic Type-A personality is predisposed to heart disorders. This is because he hardly relaxes,

Alternatively, cultivate the dietary attitude of consuming more of mono and polyunsaturated fats which are safer. Be warned. Red meat is a major source of hazardous saturated fats.

Sixthly, always eat a balanced meal, about 70% of which should be raw foods. These types of foods supply the vitamins, minerals, trace elements, enzymes, hormones, antioxidants as well as

assimilating them or eliminating their waste products. Truly speaking, if you want your heart in top form you must eat well, not the junk foods now all over the place.

This reminds me of the seventh way of ensuring your heart is healthy. Here it is. Avoid too much caffeine intake. It stimulates your heart to work harder than normal.

This, in itself, strains the heart. An overworked heart is a recipe for cardiac

overwork round the clock.

Eightly, learn to control your emotions of fear, anger, worry and excitement. If you don’t do this, your sympathetic nervous system is easily run down by over activity that hurts the heart.

Cultivate emotions that calms the heart like you, happiness and love of humanity. Learn also to laugh at yourself.

Whenever you err instead of being too condemnably

rest or has time for leisure.

He overdrives himself and heart Prof. Redford Williams of Duke University School of Medicine advises such people to take things easy, relax more, practice trust and forgiveness as well as delegate responsibilities to others so as to save their heart from much stress.

Finally, if you desire your heart to be in top form, exercise regularly. A sedentary life kills the heart.

“Elevated metal levels in the human blood equally increase your risk of heart disease. Of interest here are metals like cadmium, dominium, iron, mercury, arsenic, etc which may gain entrance into your bodies through environmental pollution or untreated borehole water consumed at home or sold as satchet water on the streets.”

With Victor Aniukwu

New Horizon

Recipe For Forgiveness FORGIVENESs in the dictionary states this par topic as, the one who no longer has the wish to punish someone or someone who no longer has hard feelings against somebody who has offended him in the present in the past. From all ramification forgiveness is a fortune and furthermore a MASTER ERASER. We can quickly state here that what is happening in ones life is due to lack of forgiveness. Note here that every resentment in life is an impression stamped on the consciousness. So forgiveness is the master eraser for the completeness of our spiritual realization.

Factually everyone wants to have a new consciousness without cleaning the murky consciousness that we have accumulated within the mind.

M O R E DEFINITIONS OF FORGIVENESS 1. To cease to bear resentment against 2. To stop being angry with 3. To pardon or to overlook 4. To give or to replace ill feeling in order to gain the sense of peace and harmony.

5. To give love to someone It is a verified truism to state here categorically and emphatically, materially and spiritually that if you have a problem, you surely have something to forgive, anyone who finds himself in an unpleasant circumstance has something to forgive.

Anyone who finds himself in debt has a need to forgive. More so wherever there is suffering, lack,

confusion or misery of any kind, there is need to forgive.

Generally resentment, anger, condemnation, the desire to set even, paying back in his own coin, or to see someone punished, these are things that rot your soul and tear down your health.

If you have to overcome pain and injury of the past, you must learn to forgive.

Not so much for the sake of the other person as for your own. To hurt or to hate scares the soul and works illness into the flesh and the illness will never be healed until you forgive.

Forgiveness begins with the one who recognizes the offence and when you get the offence out of your own heart, there and then you have forgiven. More so the reconciliation which you bring about within yourself will affect your brother/ sister and will bring about automatic forgiveness towards you on his own part. Forgiveness is not a casual act, the word means a blotting out or a cleansing out of transgression. it takes time and persistence for true forgiveness to invade the subconscious mind. Finally you may not know or be consciously aware of whom or what you need to forgive, though it will be revealed to you as you invoke forgiveness.

So the important thing is that you willingly speak words o forgiveness and let those words do these cleaning works for you.

And if only one person will truly forgive, his problems can be solved regardless of who else is involved and whether the other person wants to forgive or not. The person who dares to forgive gains control of the situation. You may not

have appeared to have any prior power to solve the problem but suddenly there will be a solution. The person who forgives will find a divine solution appearing before him as never before. Materially or Spiritually one must learn to forgive if one wants to be permanently healed.

Health cannot be accepted by a body filled with poison of bitterness or

unforgiveness. When your good is delayed, that is the time to forgive.

Forgiveness can sweep all that have delayed you towards perfection, fulfillment or any achievement.

The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good. No good thing can be withheld from a forgiving mind. Now

listen to this analogy — If Jesus Christ has not dared to forgive or say on the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do, He would not have experienced resurrection. Forgiveness is all powerful that heals all ills. It makes the weak strong, the cowardly to be courageous, the ignorant to be wise, it makes the mournful to be happy and

finally it unlocks whatever has stood between you and good fortune. With a sad note, remember that the unforgiving mind is full of fear and offers love no room. It is sad without hope for respite and release from pains. It is stunned with doubt, confused about itself and all it sees. It is always afraid to forge ahead and afraid to stay on

“Through your forgiveness the truth about your true self return to your memory. Therefore in your forgiveness lies your perfection or salvation. It wipes away the empty dream of separation and sin”.

ground. It does not believe that giving and receiving are the same Karma of your own making. Without forgiveness the mind is in chains, believing in its own futility, because it cannot bring itself to blot out resentment.

With forgiveness does light shine through the dream of darkness, offering it hope and giving it means to realize the freedom that is its inheritance. The illusion is that there is something to forgive. And those who

present generation, forgiveness is uncommon.

There are three types of forgiveness in this present dispensation.

1. O P E N FORGIVENESS: This calls for broad minded people who do not wait but openly arid within their heart forgive anyone that steps on their shoe or toes.

This is two ways action involved.

In this dimension, only few people belong to this group. They are self

forgive are releasing themselves from illusion while those who withhold forgiveness are binding themselves to illusion.

Forgiveness is the means by which illusion disappears. Through your forgiveness the truth about your true self return to your memory. Therefore in your forgiveness lies your perfection or salvation. It wipes away the empty dream of separation and sin. It sees no sin therefore releasing it. Forgiveness sweeps away distortions and opens the hidden alter to the truth by which it stands between illusion and truth. In fact it is acquired and not inherent. In the

equipoise. Those in this category are human beings.

They contain the good qualities of patience, tolerant, fore-bearing, unruffled towards ugly situations, unbiased, focused, simple and high mood, contentment, sharing and caring, m a g n a n i m o u s , interlocking spirit etc. they steadily progress with contentment. They are not overzealous about wealth accumulation because they know one of the secrets of true living- that everyone has been allocated his quota of any thing about life and they will come when they will come to Continues on Pg 24

Place Of Prayer

Coming Out Of The Wilderness (4) THE wilderness experience is the transition between the promise of the land and the Land of Promise. It is the interval between where the promise was made and where the promise is fulfilled. It is deliberately permitted by God for two reasons as revealed in Deuteronomy 8:2:And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

From the scripture above, we see that the Lord purposely led the children of Israel through the wilderness for two reasons: (I) To humble them and (2) To prove them to know what was in their heart.

The wilderness is a place where you are tested to see if you can be promoted. It is in the wilderness that God tests you to see if you will still obey Him when your glory comes. It is the wilderness you prove to God that when He takes you to the land of promise, you will still be yourself. Until you pass the test, you will not enjoy the promise.

If you break the pattern of the Kingdom, you will not enter into the Promised Land. Like we have seen previously, neither God nor the devil determines how long your wilderness experience will last; rather, it is your attitude during the wilderness experience that will determine the length of your stay in the wilderness.

Glory is not achieved easily. For every glory, there is a pattern. If you follow the pattern prescribed in the bible, you will certainly experience glory. If you do not practice how to keep the pattern in the wilderness, God will not trust you to be able to keep the pattern when you get to the land of promise.

In Matthew 4:1-11, we are told that Jesus was led of the Spirit of God to the wilderness to be tested of the devil. Your commitment to Gods pattern is tested in the wilderness. In the wilderness, the devil comes to show you what you seek and suggests his pattern of arriving there. Most of the time, the pattern of the devil looks very simple and attractive on the surface, but deep inside, it is the way that leads to death (Proverbs 14:12- There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death). When the devil brings his suggestion to you, the Lord watches to see the method you will choose.

In the wilderness, the devil suggested alternative methods to Jesus to coming out of the

wilderness, but Jesus kept the pattern. Jesus said no to the devil’s suggestions and at the end, the devil departed in defeat and angels came to minister to Jesus. May that same Spirit that was in Jesus come upon you in Jesus name, amen.

It is easy to say you will obey God come rain or sunshine when you have not entered into the wilderness. Many have remained small because they failed their promotion test in the wilderness.

When you pass the test, heaven appears. Find out the right pattern so that you do not use a wrong method. Anything God will not give you, you do not need it.

Isaiah 33:15-16 reveals the approved pattern of the Kingdom that will bring about a quick departure from the wilderness and arrival in glory: He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

Keeping the pattern of the Kingdom involves walking in righteousness, being upright, staying away from ill gotten wealth and corruption, avoiding backbiting, abortions and all issues that lead to bloodshed. It involves a deliberate determination to promote peace rather than war. When you make up your mind to keep the pattern of heaven you will enjoy the following benefits revealed in the scripture above: (1) He shall be honoured above his fellows (He shall dwell on high) (2) He shall enjoy impregnable defence (his place of defence shall be the munitions of rock) (3) He shall enjoy supernatural provision (bread shall be given him) (4) He will never experience lack or disappointment (his waters shall be sure).

A lot of Christians end up breaking the pattern in a bid to solve the problem. From Bible accounts, we find that all those that tried to achieve success by breaking the pattern of the Kingdom suffered unpleasant consequences. A few examples of such accounts in the bible are illustrated below: In 2 Samuel 6:1-7, Uzzah was struck dead by God for saving the Ark from falling. The pattern was that those that are not part of the team that carry the Ark were not permitted to touch the Ark. Uzzah tried to save the ark from falling.

It was a good thing to do, but it

With Pastor Samuel O. Osaghae SMS Only 08030809339

was not the pattern. As he touched the ark to save it from falling, he was stuck dead by the Lord. This is an indication that there is no justification for breaking a pattern that has been outlined by God. When you break God’s revealed pattern, you will

good dream you saw, may God give you the grace to step into it in Jesus name, amen.

In l Samuel 13:4-14, King Saul lost his throne because he did not keep to the pattern. He was the king, but Samuel was the priest.

The prescribed pattern by God was that before the King led his soldiers to battle, the priest had to offer an offering to God. King Saul had no business offering sacrifices to God. As Samuel

desperate, you become foolish.

Abraham was not disciplined enough to refuse this arrangement. In their bid to have a child, they broke the pattern prescribed by God and Ishmael was born. There is great danger

violate your life.

Samson’s pattern of sustaining his anointing was that no razor must touch his hair. He committed fornication yet he still overpowered the Philistines, he removed the gate of their city

certainly suffer the consequences.

In Numbers 20, Moses was punished for striking the rock instead of speaking to it as instructed by God. The rock was a representation of Christ who was to be struck once and for all.

The crucifixion was a once and for all sacrifice for the salvation of mankind. All the needs of mankind were met when Jesus was stricken. Moses, who had struck the rock once before, was to speak to the rock the second time. But, he struck the rock out of anger, thereby going against the approved pattern. Although water came out from the rock, judgement also followed. You might solve the problem by using the wrong method, but judgement will certainly come upon you.

Moses did not enter into the Promised Land because he failed in keeping the pattern. Although he saw the land, he could not enter into it. I pray for you: Every

delayed, King Saul bowed in to the pressure of the people and offered the sacrifice to God. This was contrary to the pattern of the Kingdom. No explanation can justify disobedience. The wages of sin is death. King Saul was punished for breaking the pattern of God. Boko Haram that has become a thorn in the flesh of Nigerians today is a result of a broken pattern. lshmael is the father of Islam, a religion that has brought wars and chaos to a lot of countries of the world. See what God said about lshmael and his seed in Genesis 16:12-And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him.

Sarah became impatient after many years of marriage without a child and so offered her maid to her husband Abraham. Sarah felt the child born by her maid will be her son. That is foolish reasoning. When you are too

in trying to meet the need at the expense of the pattern.

The man of God from Judah, whose story is told in 1 Kings 13, did not keep the pattern of God and so was consumed by a Lion on his way back home. The same anointed man of God who worked great signs and wonders before King Jeroboam, died like an ordinary man because of disobedience. He was given instruction by God not to eat or drink during this assignment and he was not to go back home by the way he came. But, he was deceived by an Old Prophet in that land. The Man of God followed the pattern suggested by the Old Prophet and he was killed by a Lion on his way back home.

God is no respecter of persons; if you break the pattern, you will suffer the consequence. The devil seeks to attack the pattern. Keep the pattern. If you break the pattern, you break your life. If you violate the pattern, you

when they tried to lock him in the city. He killed over a thousand Philistine soldiers with the jaw bone of an ass. He did all these because his anointing was not patterned with holiness. Find out the pattern of your packaging. We are not all packaged the same way.

That is why some men of God can still work miracles even though they live in sin. If you try to imitate them, you may get yourself destroyed.

The devil looks for the pattern and attacks it. Delilah sought for the pattern and found that if she could shave Samson’s hair, he would be destroyed. When she succeeded in shaving Samson’s hair, the Spirit of God departed from Samson and he became an ordinary man. May you not do whatever will take the Spirit of God from you. May you have the wisdom to keep the pattern and preserve your life thereby in Jesus name, amen.

“The devil looks for the pattern and attacks it. Delilah sought for the pattern and found that if she could shave Samson’s hair, he would be destroyed. When she succeeded in shaving Samson’s hair, the Spirit of God departed from Samson and he became an ordinary man.”

International

‘Police Officer Who Killed Family Had SALT LAKE CITY, USA - A Raped Wife’ mother.

Utah police officer who killed his After his father committed wife, their two children, his mother-in-law and then himself received text messages from his wife just hours earlier threatening to leave him and take their kids and confronting him for raping her, new documents show.

A Spanish Fork Police report shows Joshua Boren and his wife exchanged heated texts the night and morning before the January killings.

In them, Kelly Boren confronted her husband about raping her and told him their marriage was over, The Deseret News reported (http:/ /bit.ly/1oC8lWG ). The couple already had been separated for some time.

Joshua Boren’s therapist told authorities that Boren drugged his wife and videotaped himself sexually assaulting her on more than one occasion.

Kelly Boren learned of the assaults when she discovered the tapes in 2013, said Spanish Fork

Police Lt. Matt Johnson. She told a few friends, but she did not report the assaults to police because she didn’t want to ruin her husband’s law enforcement career, the report says.

The night before she was killed, Kelly Boren brought up the alleged sexual assault again, texting the word “rape” to her husband four times, the documents show. “I hate my life because (of) you,” she texted. “You killed a part of me.”

She wrote in another text: “I don’t want to live in fear and hate and anger.”

The next morning, Kelly Boren told her husband she would take the kids, prompting Joshua Boren to reply by text: “Don’t involve the kids, they are innocent.”

The police report says Joshua Boren was sexually abused as a child, struggled with drug addiction as a young man and pornography addiction throughout his life, and had a deep-rooted hatred for his

MISSING CERTIFICATE I, Onoriode Murdlyn Igho of No. 10, Osawe Street, Off Siluko Road, Ogida Quarters, Benin City, Edo State wish to bring for the information of the general public that my original certificate issued to me by University of Benin, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Botany, with Mat. No. LSC0503730, 2005-2010 has been declared missing since February 15th, 2013 in Benin City.

All efforts to trace the said certificate proved abortive. Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

suicide when he was 5, Joshua Boren’s mother began using drugs and seeing several men, the report states. One of those men allegedly abused Joshua Boren, and he blamed his mother for not protecting him, his sister told police.

The therapist told police that Boren was like a “3-year-old boy stuck in a big man’s body.”

“Josh was a very troubled individual that felt like he was about to lose his wife and children,” police wrote in the report.

Joshua Boren had worked for the Lindon Police Department for only three months when the murdersuicide occurred. Before that, he was a Utah County sheriff’s deputy for seven years, Johnson said.

He used the service weapon he was given for his duties as a Lindon police officer when he killed his family members and himself, authorities said.

Toxicology reports from the autopsy show he had no drugs or alcohol in his system.

A China Coast Guard ship (top) and a Philippine supply boat engage in a stand off as the Phillippine boat attempts to reach the second Thomas Shoal, a remote South China seal reef claimed by both countries.

Waves Kill Life Guard

NEWPORT BEACH, USA Lifeguards along more than 6 miles of pristine sand in this Southern California beach city had rescued more than 200 people by the time the call came to help a distressed swimmer east of one of the main piers.

Ben Carlson, a lifeguard with 15 years of experience, sped out

with other guards in a rescue boat Sunday and jumped into the water, but he quickly disappeared under 10- to 12-foot waves.

The 32-year-old, a passionate surfer and one of the fastest swimmers on the 200-strong mostly seasonal lifeguard staff,

CHANGE OF NAME

AJAHSON – I, formerly called Mrs Ajahson Violet Adesuwa is now known and called Miss Adesuwa Violet Igbinedion. All former documents remain valid.

Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

RECONCILIATION OF NAME I, Omoruyi Tracey wish to bring for the information of the general public that I am the same person called Omoruyi Lilian.

Henceforth, I am now properly known and addressed as Omoruyi Tracey. All former documents remain valid.

Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

foot wave would take him out because he was so experienced.”

He said his son knew how to handle himself in 30- and 40-foot waves while surfing.

“It’s one of those professions that people think you’re getting in the way of fun, or it’s kind of a cakewalk job, and something like this happens, and people realize how truly dangerous it can be,” Carlson said.

The swimmer, who has not been identified by authorities, was brought to shore and survived.

TOKYO -A powerful typhoon pummeled the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa yesterday, paralyzing transport and prompting U.S. forces based there to cancel all outdoor activity.

The Okinawa government reported that four people were injured, one an 83-year-old woman who suffered a head injury. A man was reported missing from a fishing boat in rough seas off Kyushu, to the north.

One of the strongest and biggest typhoons to hit during Japan’s summer months, Typhoon Neoguri was packing sustained winds of 194

kilometers (120 miles) per hour and gusts up to 240 kph (148 mph), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Local airports were closed and some 550,000 people were advised to evacuate their homes, though most remained put, taking refuge from the destructive winds, waves up to 14 meters (46 feet) high and storm surges that were set to intensify as the storm passed the main island of Okinawa in the evening.

Most of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan are based in Okinawa, the location of several bases including Kadena, the biggest U.S. air base in Asia. An advisory on its website said the storm was at a level for which all outdoor activity was prohibited.

Television footage showed buildings and trees toppled as winds picked up in the Okinawan capital of Naha.

“Please take refuge as early as possible,” said Keiji Furuya, chairman of the National Public Safety Commission.

Since typhoons track along Japan’s coasts, often veering onshore every summer, the country is relatively well prepared. Much greater damage is likely from torrential rains if the typhoon hits land as expected on Thursday or Friday and moves across the Japanese archipelago.

The storm was moving slowly and diminishing in intensity, but its wide area and slow movement could add to the potential damage, weather forecasters said.

Powerful Typhoon Sweeps Across Okinawa

CHANGE OF NAME

ONUOHA – I, formerly Miss Chika Doris Onuoha now wish to be known, called and addressed as Mrs. Chika Doris Onuoha-Okoye. All former documents remain valid.

Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

was pronounced dead late Sunday after rescuers searched for him by air, water and foot for three hours. He was the first lifeguard to die in Newport Beach, where locals and tourists alike flock to enjoy wide sandy beaches and waves that attract the attention of surfers worldwide.

“He just loved being out on the water, he loved the opportunity to help people,” said his father, Chris Carlson. “He was a water monster — that was one of the things that was so unbelievable to us; a lowly 10-

Women walk amid strong winds on a street in Naha, Okinawa, southern Japan.

Afghan Attack Kills 4 Foreign Troops, 12 Afghans

KABUL - An Afghan official says that at least 16 people, including four foreign soldiers, were killed yesterday in a suicide attack near a clinic in eastern Afghanistan.

The international coalition said that four of its service members were killed in an attack in eastern Afghanistan but did not disclose any further details, including their nationalities.

Wahid Seddiqi, spokesman for the provincial governor of Parwan province said the soldiers, at least 10 civilians, and two police officers were killed when a suicide bomber attacked Afghan and foreign forces near Charakar, the provincial capital.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to the media.

The violence came as Afghanistan was mired in an electoral crisis after one of the candidates in the presidential elections, Abdullah Abdullah, refused to accept any results until millions of ballots are audited for fraud.

Afghan officials released preliminary election results on Monday showing former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai well in the lead for the presidency but said no winner could be declared because millions of

ballots were being audited for fraud.

The announcement came as Ahmadzai was locked in a standoff with Abdullah, who has refused to accept any results until all fraudulent ballots are invalidated.

A spokesman for his campaign rejected the results and called the decision to release them “a coup.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Tokyo that any action to seize power illegally in Afghanistan would lead to the end of U.S. financial and security support.

Kerry said suggestions of a “parallel government” in

Afghanistan are a grave concern and added that he expected Afghan electoral institutions to conduct a full review of all reasonable allegations of irregularities. He said there was no justification for violence or threats of extralegal action.

The Independent Election Commission acknowledged that vote rigging had occurred and said ballots from about 7,000 more of the nearly 23,000 polling stations would be audited.

The results showed that Ghani had about 4.5 million votes, or 56 percent, while Abdullah had 3.5 million votes, or 44 percent, according to the commission.

Turnout was more than 50 percent, IEC spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor said.

Politics Politicians Are Trampling On The Judiciary - Tony Kabaka COMRADE Tony Kabaka Adun is a courageous, dogged fighter and transparent politician in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Neighbourhood Watch and a pragmatic businessman, speaks to the Nigerian Observer on some contentious issues about the current political crisis in Edo State House of Assembly and the way forward to winning the people’s mind. Excerpts.

How can you access the political situation in Edo State House of Assembly?

My brother, the crisis that rocked the Edo State House of Assembly are one to be described as very unfortunate and retrogressive because those who are strongly voted into power to represent us are subjecting the good people of Edo State to abject poverty by their ineptitude. X-raying the entire scenario critically, the problems are being fuelled by the leaders of the opposition party, PDP to cause disunity among the elected officers in the House of Assembly. The legislators, who claimed to be defecting from our party APC, have not officially resigned from the party neither declared their intentions to decamp to PDP officially. The issues raised by the speaker, Uyi-Igbe and the legislators were against the backdrop of the defiant attitude of the suspended lawmakers towards disobedience of court order restraining them, their privies, agents and or administrators from the legislative activities of the house, pending the determination of their case in court and most baffling, these said people are those we collectively voted for thinking that they would have the interest of the people at heart, because they are having the backing of the Abuja based politicians, they want to reward the good people with impunity.

You said that they are backed up by the Abuja based politicians. What do you mean?

Yes, what I mean is that if you look at the entire situations, the suspended lawmakers are flouting the order of our most revered Oba Erediauwa CFR, by continually causing violence, through the conspired efforts of the Federal Police that came from Abuja in the House of Assembly. While it is permitted in law for the original lawmakers to relocate the seat of power to anywhere of their choice, provided that the symbol of authority which is the mace and the clerk of the House also with them, the fake lawmakers with mutilated tendencies are sitting in the House of Assembly in compliance with the directives of their Abuja based masters

that have influenced the police to cause mayhem, when it is apparent that their actions are illegal and of no significance.

They did not declare the party they belong to even though they are parading the flag of the PDP. Instead of them working assiduously to release the kidnapped Chibok girls and tackle the problems of the people, they are threatening to arrest us, we the APC youths, who frowned at the behavior of the defected lawmakers.

They are casting aspersion on the noble person of Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole’s government in the state, forgotten that PDP as a party, ruled this state for over eleven years and nothing to ride home about. I can remember clearly that in the 2011 Presidential elections, the ACN, now APC members collectively voted for President Jonathan, because he is from Niger Delta, after he made an unfulfilled promises before our monarch that no sooner he emerged the president that the extinct Gelegele Seaport would come to live. If they said that they want to arrest me, I am a prominent son of Benin Kingdom especially as being connected to the royal palace, let them do that or if they want to kill or jail me because of my true dispositions in the state, I am not afraid. I am a royal son who is not afraid of any threat.

You can see this present administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole doing everything to bring sanity to the state by gigantically committed to the infrastructural developments which have not been seen for over twenty-five years in the state. Our monarch appreciates the humanitarian tendencies of the governor and that is why he is giving him full support to govern the state excellently.

How do you see the recent defection of a royal Prince to the opposition party PDP? Are you sure it would not affect the fortunes of APC in the next general elections?

Well, Prince Osama Erediauwa is my brother and I know what he is up to. The PDP leaders deceived that gentleman by promising to give him NDDC Commissioner and consequent upon which he was carried away with that flourishing position. Even as we are talking now, the PDP are still making fictitious promises and that is to tell you the extent at which PDP can cause political damage to such a respected son, so the only aspect I blame my brother, is the fact that he was already in government where he is well respected and he humbly left because of the promises. Well I sympathise with him for that erratic actions. One thing they have failed to realise is the fact that Oshiomhole is a man that does not give up what he is fighting

to achieve. As a man that believes in accountability and transparency, which he strongly upholds, it is difficult to wave him off the good track record of governance.

There are insinuations going round that the APC Youths under your able leadership are supporting presidential the bid of President Jonathan come 2015, How true is that?

Hallucination; how can a well respected person of my type with all the enigmatic political features in the society condescend too low to support the opposition party, PDP, when it is obvious that this position I am presently occupying is from my party, APC. I have said it all before that in the last presidential election, we mobilised over forty thousand youths to ensure he

of politicians with inordinate and ambitions at the detriment of the citizens. A court has given an interim order and yet it is not obeyed, is that true democracy? Until the judiciary has realized its potentials and be funded independently, it may not see the light of the day in giving order or judgment. I however salute the courage of some court judges who are not bent to be influenced in anyway.

Prior to Governor Oshiomhole’s coming on board as the Executive Governor of this state, the entire state, particularly Benin City which is the capital, was like a poultry farm that absorbs all refuse dumps to the extent that it was tagged “an ancient city”.

Fortunately now, the ancient

Tony Kabaka won and after winning, he is biting the finger that fed him.

While I appreciate the fact that the laws permit him to so act within the confines of the enabling law as number one citizen, I also want him to take into cognisance that until the ugly situations viz a viz, the security challenges are addressed vigorously and more importantly to note that it is God that decides the faith of human beings, whatever he is aspiring might be a ruse. Let him call both the police, the antiquated lawmakers and the state PDP leadership to order to ensure peace and unity that were hitherto enjoyed in the state. I have vowed to remain on the path of transparency as far as Edo State Politics is concerned and if they think otherwise that is their own peril because it is very unfortunate that in a nascent democracy of Nigeria’s magnitude, the judiciary has been reduced to a mere rubber stamp

city has been transformed to a modern city by the governor.

What a shame to PDP. Recently, Ambassador Osayomore Joseph popularly called “Ulele Power Sound” released a new album which titled “Political Ashawo” Aziba Aziba”. What is the nexus of this music to politics in Edo State?

Ambassador Osayomore Joseph is a retired army, who carved a niche for himself on the bud of music industry as a student in the Army school of music in Lagos some years ago and he had since remained steadfast in pursuit of justice for the Nigerian people. He is a well respected musician from the Benin Kingdom and of course, a human right activists, who derives pleasures in fighting a noble cause for his people. The music particularly points irresistibly to those making the state ungovernable and the ingrates in

politics. I can still remember the old military era, of Gen. Banbagida, Gen. Idiagbon of blessed memory, Late Gen. Abacha & Co, where he made debut in the course of fighting for justice. He is a man that can never be influenced unlike some greedy types of musicians from Edo State. He stands firmly on the path of truth and that is the more reason I accord him my greatest respect. His music is to caution those who have breached the confidence and trust of the people to repent of their sins.

Retrospectively, I could remember those days when a man who claimed to be a saint was promoting a slogan “no man is God” and recently after receiving his objectives in APC, he is now saying “A man is God”. Does that not show sign of political depression on part of the person. “who is deceiving or fooling who”. Let us keep watch. Their state chairman, Dan Orbih is not only a noise maker, political sycophant, arrogant, but a complete failure in politics, who cannot even deliver his household for success. Can you imagine that even after our monarch has countered his son’s defection to PDP, they still went ahead to use a private owned electronic media to start displaying the picture of the defected Oba’s son, an action that portrays disrespect to our royal father and the entire Edo people. Pastor Ize-Iyamu was always using the language that no man is God, whereas “God uses man to prosper man, as God has used Governor Oshiomhole to remedy his political calamity that befell him in Edo State between 1999 and 2007. They were expecting Governor Oshiomhole to be sharing the state allocation with them and when he refused, they are making all sorts of defamatory remarks against him.

Governor Oshiomhole has come to establish a legacy which every successive governor would replicate in the state. He came on board, he empowered the youths that were initially used, dumped and abandoned by the PDP led government. Today, unless the youth is lazy, Oshiomhole regime favours the youths, the market women and even the civil servants. It is on record that the youths have nuisance, credible and political values. They are fully supportring Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole to actualise his set goals in the state.

Let them bring money for them, they the youths would accept it but they would vote their conscience in 2015 and 2016 general elections.

Sometime last month, you cried out through a petition written to the office of the AIG Zone 5 Headquarters Benin City that some persons are planning to frame you up, or assassinate you, what is the development?

My Brother, it is true I cried out because I was wose in receiving threats messages because of my ardent support for Governor Adams Oshiomhole led

government in the state.

However, the matter is before the police and I am waiting for the outcome before I know what to do. I called a press conference both at print and electronic media to let entire public know where my problems are coming from because the PDP leaders especially the newly defected lawmakers are seeing me as threats to their 2015 and 2016 ambitions because they have erred politically. I subsequently organized a protest march against these distrusted politicians and specifically let my royal father, the Oba of Benin, my humble Crown Prince to also be aware of their pending threats. I stand to continually frustrate their selfish interest against the good people of Edo State because I am an apostle of positive change.

‘Pastor Ize-Iyamu was always using the language that no man is God, whereas “God uses man to prosper man, as God has used Governor Oshiomhole to remedy his political calamity that befell him in Edo State between 1999 and 2007’.

A National Chairman of APC has emerged from Edo State, in the person of Chief John Odigie Oyegun. How do you see him making changes?

There is no doubt that Chief John Odigie Oyegun has also made debut to his administrative feat of change in life. He was the first executive governor of Edo State in 1992 and now also the first elected National Chairman of All Progressive Congress. Chief Oyegun is a father with a difference. He is humble, pragmatic, nonsentimental and above all a tolerant elder statesman, who does not like to hurt even a fly, but remains focused in anything he does. Though the current position he occupies is very challenging because as a national chairman of a strong opposition party to the government of the day, he is expected to use his wealth of experience to catapult the party to a greater height. During his days in government, he was nicknamed “Mr. Experience”. I know obviously that with his experience, the APC will win the next election in 2015 and beyond, even though he has been confronted by the recent Governorship election in Ekiti, where the PDP candidate won in lieu of the incumbent Governor, Dr. Fayemi of APC. The election in Ekiti is an eye opener to other governorship elections in the country, because the police, the military and the politicians worked in tandem to actualize their aims of giving power to their candidate by preventing the coming in and out of APC members in the state. So Chief Oyegun knows about the intrigues of politicians and he would now brace up to take over power form the ruling PDP led Federal Government in 2015.

With Victor Aniukwu

New Horizon Continued from Pg 20

you. Such a personality does not take vows nor oaths to become rich or richer. He follows the simple path of life.

2. P A R T I A L FORGIVENESS- This set of human beings are difficult to understand.

They instantly forgive outwardly but inwardly they have all grudges lined up for future action to follow up. They are more deadly than the seen cobra.

They laugh, play, joke, talk, make fun, greet nicely, welcomes you in and out that you may not know their inside wishes for you in the near future. You are hereby warned — forewarned is forearmed.

Remember that salutation is not love. Not all that glitters is gold. Don’t rush to grab that beautiful apple of Sodom for it is too soft to hold. The moment you touch it, it breaks and its contents is nothing but giant maggots that will scare you away from that beautiful apple and so it is never palatable for the wise. People in this category are compared to the apple of Sodom that is attractive outwardly but makes no meaning to ones existence because it does not give satisfaction with its outward beauty because of its contamination from the inside content. Fruits are meant to bear seeds for reproduction but the apple of Sodom bears maggots inside its apple fruit. What a kind of fruit. It’s a sinful fruit.

3 .

UNFORGIVENESS: This kind of human beings hardly or don’t forgive.

They should be avoided if possible or kept at arms length. There are three categories of forgiveness in human beings and the choice amongst these three

... For Forgiveness

is strictly yours, because if you can show me your friends, I can equally tell who you are.

From the above write up, let us take a resolution of ourselves to make a list of people you are willing to forgive. Also make a list of what the saints call “FORTUNES TO RECEIVE” for each person you forgive, you create a space for greater good to yourself.

five elements. Water, air, fire, earth and ether. All these materials are but vanity. They appear at a point in time, and also disappear at a specific point in time. The above five elements put together, remains ignorant and meaningless to nature, until the super soul of God,

Finally make an affirmation to yourself, that something better now manifest for good of all concerned in the Divine order of the Lord to forgive, for I am now willing to consciously receive all the gifts God has giving to me without any hindrance. Hope this message meets you in good faith. To err is human, to forgive is divine.

THIS BODY This body has been acclaimed a lump of Ignorance. It is made of

passes into this five elements at the time of conception. That super soul is the direct mercy from the supreme God to all living entities. The super soul cannot be destroyed, it cannot be bought by money, it cannot be sold, it cannot be withheld by anyone, it cannot be seen by ordinary eyes, it cannot be burnt by fire. The super soul remains the ultimate beauty of this body. It illuminates this body into life.

In reality this body

consist of three wholesome bodies: 1.

THE BODY ITSELF: Comprises of five elements— air, earth, water, fire, ether. The body at this stage is not alive but a death matter or incomplete. This body been physical can be seen and felt. At night this body

goes to sleep and remains in one place. That’s all until it awakens.

2. THE SOUL: Consists of three elements — Intelligence, false ego and mind. These key factors are imbibed within the spirit soul. The spirit soul cannot be seen by the ordinary eyes. At night when the body is asleep, the spirit soul continues to function. The body does not go on a dream trip, It is the spirit soul that goes on a dream trip, while the body is at sleep. After

“Remember that salutation is not love. Not all that glitters is gold. Don’t rush to grab that beautiful apple of Sodom for it is too soft to hold.”

having a dream you will find yourself in the same position you slept. This spirit soul has the powers to migrate within and outside the body capturing various experiences and observations according to ones projection of the mind. In every Art and Act there is qualification and

guidance. When the student is ready, the master is always there. Generally the spirit soul has the ability to migrate within the lower planets, the middle planets and the higher planets at will in relation to the quality of our various projections. This strongly depends also on the quality of our body structure to carry out such projection.

At all time the body Is undergoing various training directly or indirectly. All yielding different results, it could be in a conscious or unconscious mood. Note that the spirit soul is always in action. It is a massager on a higher realm of consciousness. Also what the mind which is pad of the Spirit Soul can conceive and believe, the

mind can achieve with time. This remains as one part of the experiences that the spirit soul carries along when the body goes to sleep. The functions of the spirit soul is tremendous.

And finally at death, the spirit soul carries the super soul to the next body of existence.

3. THE SUPER SOUL: The supreme spirit of the supreme God. It is ever primaeral, eternal, indestructible, full of bliss and knowledge. The super soul in compared to two birds on a tree. One represents the super soul on the tree. It is never hungry nor thirsty. It is on the tree watching what the other bird is doing. The super soul is always self satisfied within itself. The second bird represents human beings. It is always very busy trying to taste all the fruits on the tree. At one time the bird tastes a ripe sweet fruit and becomes happy. At one time the bird tastes unripe bitter fruit and becomes unhappy. This activity is going on daily.

The super soul bird on the tree is the supreme spirit of God. It does not interfere with our free will but expects the other human bird struggling for survival to turn around to the super soul bird that in full of knowledge and ask for help to get out of such whole life struggle. That becomes the nature of the living entities on earth. Always hankering and forgetting to call sincerely on the supreme super soul for help. Only the supreme super soul of God in every 8.4 million species of life can give COMPLETE satisfaction to the living entities. The super soul migrates in this material world along side various species of bodies until perfection is attained, which qualifies a living entity to go back home back to God head.

Remember that the pure in Heart! shall see God. There is no other way to see and live with God but to strive to become pure in HEART.

Spiritual Platform Dealing With Evil Foundation Continued from last week WHAT IS EVIL FOUNDATION? INVOLVEMENT whether innocently or not, attracts the wrath of God. Our parents may have been involved, thus attracting curses from God. People find themselves by the mere fact of their being born into certain families suffering physical, mental, psychic and spiritual oppression because of parental involvement. This is a serious evil foundation which must be dealt with.

There are many other sources from where people inherit problem namely: (1) Families where there have been hunters. In those days hunting was very hazardous and consequently hunters were involved in occultism, particularly the power of invocation. (ii) Evil Family Names: People bear names, which give glory to demonic spirits, idols, animals, markets, i n a n i m a t e objects and consequently the devil. What is the meaning of your name? (iii) Traditional Chieftaincy Titles: People who are born into traditional title families have much evil foundation to contend with. There is a lot of occultism involved in traditional titles, fetish and misplaced loyalties: The Bible is quite emphatic when it says that you cannot serve mammon and God at the same time.

Many ignorant Christians argue that once a person has accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, evil foundation disappears. This is not so because, from experience during deliverance ministration, very many Christians even of many years standing, manifest which is a strong evidence that they were still being affected by their past.

Every Christian, in my informed opinion, needs cleansing from the effects of evil foundation. There is need for understanding on the part of every well meaning Christian.

Many precious Christian lives have been destroyed, hindered, retarded and manipulated by these evil consequences arising from the effects of evil foundation. Many destinies have been changed or damaged.

When Prophet Hosea said in Hosea 4:6 that “people are destroyed for lack of knowledge he knew what he was saying. Many people are destroyed through ignorance, ignorance widely defined.

Before looking in-depth at some of the common elements

With Rt Rev (Dr.) C. I. Umane

of foundation, a peep at the Bible will help us. Psalm 11:3 says, “If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do?”

Psalm 82:5 says “ They do not know, nor do they understand: they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable. With all the goodwill in the world if the root is faulty the stem or branches cannot be whole. If the foundation of a

Every Christian requires some degree of cleansing or the other, no matter how long he or she has been a Christian, even a born again Christian requires cleansing.

There are many ignorant Christians who argue that once in Christ, old things have passed away, everything has become new. They quote 2 Corinthians 5: 17, which says “Therefore If anyone Is in

a premonition that she would die if she married him.

This man in desperation went to a praying church and during the process of serious prayers, a word of knowledge came“There is a man here whose life has been fragmented. He should pray to pick up the pieces of his life, so that the Holy Spirit can glue them together” This man was asked to pray

leave me alone. (twice authoritatively). My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and you can no longer occupy If I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus. I am clean now through His word. I release the cleansing ,flow of the Holy

house is not solid it will collapse. Luke 6:48-49 confirms this when it says: “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great”.

We thank God that every day our spiritual understanding is being expanded and this helps to checkmate the assaults of the enemy against man.

Dealing With Evil Foundation Every one of us comes out of evil foundation. We are born into them as a result of which we come under attack from the enemy. They provide a legal ground for all sorts of satanic attacks. These attacks can plague one throughout life unless one’s spiritual eyes are open and one seeks cleansing.

Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” Yes, the moment you give your life to Christ and you are born again your life takes on a new meaning but I say to you that your foundation, which is basically there, is not removed.

It is because of the lack of understanding of this significant fact that many Christians pass through a lot of difficulties. Ignorance is truly a disease. You must rise and deal with your evil foundation otherwise your suffering or disability will continue. Let me give a testimony to enable you see the evil effects of polygamy.

Testimony 1: A man struggled to travel to London, failed many times. Eventually; he made it, got a visa, traveled by air but was deported from the airport. he decided to travel by sea but returned to base after so much difficulties on the way. he decided to get married. Two weeks to the wedding, his fiancee called him to say that she was no longer interested in the marriage. She said she had

the following Prayer point I pick up the pieces of my life and glue them together in Jesus’ name.”

As he prayed seriously, he saw a vision of eight women, his father’s wives. Each of them began to return to him the different parts of his body, which they were holding.

But the brain was not there.

Eventually his own mother surfaced with his brain-his own Mother!

You deal with evil foundation only by serious warfare prayers.

That is the only way that the curses, covenants and evil consequences can be dealt will.

To neglect to do this out of spiritual pride is to put yourself and your successors in jeopardy. Pray the following root and rout prayer points seriously.

ROOT PRAYER POINTS 1. Ask God to forgive you your sins and the sins of your foreparents.

2. You works of darkness, no matter where you are hiding in my body, no matter the name you bear I reject you, I denounce and command you to

Spirit unto my life. All evil spirits are going away now.

Jesus Christ is my purity. You works of darkness get out now In Jesus Name.

2. 0 Lord, send your axe of fire to the foundation of my life and destroy every evil plantation In Jesus Name.

3. Let the blood of Jesus and Holy Ghost fire wash clean every organ in my body In Jesus Name.

4. I break and loose myself from every inherited evil covenant in Jesus’ Name.

5. I break and loose myself from every inherited evil curse in Jesus Name.

6. I vomit every evil consumption I have been fed with since childhood In Jesus’ Name.

7. You evil effects of polygamy, Evil dedication Dream pollution Demonic sacrifice fellowship with local idols parental curses Demonic marriage Exposure to evil diviners Inherited infirmity Loose your hold over my life and be purged out of my

GSM: 0803579951

foundation in Jesus Name.

(Take them one by one).

8. You evil foundational plantation come out of my life with all your roots in Jesus Name.

9. I break and loose myself from every form of demonic bewitchment in Jesus’ Name.

10. I release myself from every ancestral demonic pollution in Jesus Name.

11. I release myself from every demonic pollution emanating from my parents’ religion in Jesus Name.

12. I break and loose myself from every Idol and related ‘association in Jesus’ Name.

13. I release myself from every dream pollution In Jesus’ Name.

14. All evil strangers in my body come out of your hiding place in Jesus Name.

15. I cough out and vomit any food eaten from the table of the devil in Jesus’ Name.

16. Let all negative materials circulating in my body be evacuated in Jesus’ Name.

17. I command every blessing confiscated by witchcraft spirits to be released to me in Jesus’ Name.

18. I command every blessing confiscated by familiar spirits to be released to me in Jesus’ Name.

19. I command every blessing confiscated by envious enemies to be released in Jesus’ Name.

20. I command every blessing confiscated by ancestral spirits to be released in Jesus’ Name.

21. I command every blessing confiscated by satanic agents to be released in Jesus’ Name.

22. I command every blessing confiscated by principalities to released Jesus’ Name, 23. I command every blessing confiscated by rulers of darkness be released in Jesus’ Name.

24. I command every blessing confiscated by evil powers to be released in Jesus’ Name.

25. I command every blessing confiscated by spiritual wickedness to be released in Jesus’ Name.

26. I command all agents banking my blessings to release them now in Jesus’ Name.

27. Every aspect of my destiny destroyed by polygamy be reversed In Jesus’ Name.

28. Every evil power trying to re-programme my life fall down and die in Jesus’ Name 29. Every incantation and ritual working against my destiny be disgraced in Jesus’ Name.

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Bergkamp Goal Sets The Mark For Messi And Robben To Follow IN their four World Cup meetings the two nations have produced some unforgettable football, leaving Lionel Messi and Arjen Robben with plenty to live up to.

Dennis Bergkamp’s sublime winning goal in the 1998 quarter-final is the standout individual moment and widely considered one of the most skillful finishes in a World Cup game.

The Netherlands’

performance in their first meeting in West Germany in 1974 is viewed by some as the peak of collective skill. Led by two goals from Johan Cruyff, they dazzled with their passing and movement in a famous 4-0 win.

Four years later, the pair met in the World Cup final with hosts Argentina triumphing 3-1 in extra time on a ticker tape-covered field.

That game is also remembered for the controversy before kick-off that threatened the game being

Bergkamp goal agaisnt Argentina

abandoned.

The most recent encounter will be more easily forgotten.

Eight years ago the pair played out a goalless draw in the final game of the group stage at the 2006 finals in Germany, having both already secured their place in the next round.

If hosts Brazil constantly have to live up to the memories of their 1958 and 1970 teams, the Dutch are harshly benchmarked against the mesmerising ‘Total Football’ of Rinus Michels’ side in the 1970s. The meeting in Gelsenkirchen is viewed by many as the peak of that fluid form of play.

Cruyff opened the scoring in the 10th minute of the second round game, bringing down a clever pass from Wim van Hanegem and with the lightest of feet, rounding Argentine keeper Daniel Carnevali and slipping the ball home.

Ruud Krol’s fierce 25-metre drive made it 2-0 in the 25th minute and not even the pouring rain in the second half could halt the Dutch dominance as their players interchanged positions and passed the ball with a confidence and control that was unmatched in the game.

Cruyff, who strutted through the match imperiously, set up the third in the 75th minute with a perfectly weighted cross from the left which was headed in by Johnny Rep at the back post and then completed the rout in the final minute with a drive from a tight angle.

The brilliant Dutch team were to be beaten 2-1 by hosts

Can Argentina Escape Netherlands’ Ambush Tacktics?

THE World Cup’s best dribblers - Lionel Messi and Arjen Robben - face off when Argentina and Netherlands meet in the semifinals.

In Brazil, Robben has been the possibility to counterattack, quick, Messi has been quicksilver. to always be well positioned, to Today in Sao Paulo, either one not lose balls unnecessarily in could turn the semifinal with a areas where there’s a lot of dazzling turn of pace or a weaving risk.’’ run to propel his team to the final.

After scoring 10 times in ‘’We have to cut the supply line group play, the Netherlands has to Messi,’’ Dutch defender Bruno managed only two in its two Martins Indi told Dutch website knock-out matches and the Nu.nl.

Dutch will be hoping captain The Barcelona star led Van Persie regains his touch in Argentina through the group stage front of goal. He looked off the with four goals. He has also made pace and missed an easy chance 180 passes in his five matches so near the end of regulation time far. in the quarterfinal against Costa The Dutch have shared the goal- Rica. scoring duties more evenly The Netherlands will again be Robben and Robin van Persie each without their powerful midfield have three, Memphis Depay has controller Nigel de Jong, who two of the team’s total of 12 - but has a torn groin muscle. A the Bayern Munich winger ’s possible replacement, Leroy scintillating sprints with the ball Fer, is recovering from a have often been the highlights of hamstring injury and it is not Oranje matches. clear if he will be fit for today’s ‘’We know that we will play semifinal at the Itaquerao against one of the best teams when Stadium. it comes to counterattacks because Argentina will be without of the speed of their men up front,’’ Real Madrid winger Angel Di Argentina midfielder Javier Maria, who limped off in the Mascherano said. ‘’So we have to first half of his country’s take precautions to not give them quarterfinal win over Belgium

with a right thigh injury, but striker Sergio Aguero has been declared fit after recovering from a similar problem.

Di Maria scored the extra-time winner against Switzerland in the second round and set up Gonzalo Higuain’s winning goal in the first half against Belgium on Saturday. ‘’He’s a good player, but we look at the whole team, not one player,’’ Netherlands goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen said. ‘’We’re going to watch ... how Argentina plays. We’re going to make our plan to beat Argentina.’’

Whether that plan again could involve Cillessen being substituted a minute before a penalty shootout and replaced with the more physically imposing Tim Krul - as happened against Costa Rica - remains to be seen.

The move by tactical mastermind Louis van Gaal was the World Cup’s most surprising substitution and one of its most effective as Krul stopped two penalties. ‘’We are ready for everything,’’ Krul said. ‘’Hopefully, we don’t need it against Argentina and we

can do the job in 90 minutes.’’

The two sides have a long World Cup history, including one of the Netherlands’ most heart-breaking losses, in the 1978 final when Rob Rensenbrink’s shot hit the post shortly before full time with the scores level at 1-1. Argentina went on to win 3-1 in extra time.

In 1998, the Dutch led by Guus Hiddink got a measure of revenge when Dennis Bergkamp’s memorable goal knocked Argentina out in the quarterfinals in France.

Cillessen said beating Argentina in Sao Paulo would only be a step on the way to making amends for the 1978 final - one of three the Netherlands has lost, earning the Dutch the title of the best team never to win the World Cup. ‘’It would be revenge if we win the World Cup,’’ Cillessen said. ‘’But we have to wait for that. It’s not a final. It’s a semi.’

Robben (right) and Messi

West Germany in the final but four year later they were back in the final - again facing the hosts, although without Cruyff.

The start of the game was controversially delayed as Argentina objected to a plaster cast on the arm of Rene van der Kerkhof, even though he had played in that condition earlier in the tournament.

For some tense minutes it looked as though the game might not even start as the Dutch dug in over Van der Kerkhof, but after some rather pointless, additional bandaging was added the match got under way in front of a passionate Buenos Aires crowd who had covered the field with ticker-tape.

Argentina striker Mario Kempes, who had watched the crushing four years earlier from the bench, opened the scoring, sliding the ball home seven minutes before halftime.

Goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol kept Argentina’s lead intact with some excellent saves but with the hosts just eight minutes away from celebrating their first World Cup triumph, substitute Dick Nanninga headed in an equaliser to force extra time.

Kempes scrambled in his sixth goal of the tournament to restore the lead and five minutes from the end he charged into the area.

The ball fell to Daniel Bertoni who secured the victory and left the 1970s Dutch with the unwanted title of the greatest team never to win the World Cup. It was 20 years before the two teams were to meet again in the 1998 quarter-finals in Marseilles, France.

Patrick Kluivert, assistant coach of the current Dutch team, opened the scoring and then the impish Claudio Lopez, Gabriel Batistuta’s clever strike partner, levelled.

The game was decided in the 90th minute by a moment of pure brilliance - Bergkamp bringing down a superbly delivered long pass from Frank de Boer and in one sublimely smooth movement, slipping inside of Roberto Ayala and finding the net with the outside of his right foot.

There have been more spectacular goals but for technical skill and awareness allied with the deft finish, Bergkamp’s goal is hard to match.

With Messi and Robben on the field today, we might just be in luck.

Bravo Excited To Replace Valdes CLAUDIO Bravo says he is looking forward to replacing Victor Valdes as Barcelona goalkeeper after being unveiled by the club on Monday.

Bravo, 31, joined the Catalan club from Real Sociedad for a reported fee of 12 million euros, in what is a summer of total change in the goalkeeping position at the Camp Nou, with last year’s senior pair Victor Valdes and Jose Manuel Pinto having now moved on.

On arriving in Catalonia to complete the transfer after impressing at the current World Cup, the Chile international told his new club’s website that replacing such figures was a big motivating factor for him.

“I am very motivated about replacing Victor Valdes and Pinto, they set high standards for this club,” Bravo said. “I am truly looking forward to contributing to and helping the team. I am very ambitious and have high expectations about the good things I can achieve here.”

Bravo said he was now looking forward to competing with fellow new signing MarcAndre ter Stegen, 22, and promoted youth-teamer Jordi Masip, 25, for a first team spot.

“Such competition can only be a good thing,” he said. “As long as it’s for the good of the team.”

Another new arrival at Barca this summer is former Blaugrana midfielder Gabri, who has been appointed as an assistant to Barca B coach Eusebio Sacristan.

The news of the return of Gabri, one of the first club figures to speak publicly about Liverpool forward Luis Suarez possibly moving to the Camp Nou this summer, was confirmed by a club statement.

“Former FC Barcelona first team star Gabriel Garcia ‘Gabri’ is returning to the club as assistant manager to Eusebio Sacristan and Carlos Hugo Garcia at Barca B,” the statement said.

“The Catalan midfielder left the club for Ajax Amsterdam in 2006, where he played until 2009-2010 before retiring in Switzerland. Gabri came up through the youth ranks at FC Barcelona, forming part of the same generation as the likes of Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez.”

Claudio Bravo

Toni Kroos Right For Real’ REAL Madrid would be bringing in a “phenomenal player” if they sealed a move for Germany international Toni Kroos, former Bayern Munich midfielder Lothar Matthaus has said.

Bayern midfielder Kroos, 24, is widely expected to join Madrid after the World Cup in a deal worth around 20 million euros, although his agent said no deal had yet been agreed, and other clubs are thought to be interested.

Matthaus told Marca he was disappointed that Kroos was leaving Munich and said: “Congratulations to Real Madrid, because they are getting a phenomenal player.

“I would have liked him to stay in Munich. He is very intelligent, he gives passes, has a very good shot. [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Gareth] Bale will be able to fill their boots. [Arjen] Robben and [Franck] Ribery have done so over the years.”

Matthias, a 1990 World Cupwinner with West Germany, said Joachim Low’s side, who face hosts Brazil in the semifinals, had a great chance of winning the tournament given the lack of any one outstanding team.

“We are at a World Cup in which

Alfredo Di Stefano

there is no team superior to the others,” he explained.

“Netherlands played a good first game against Spain, but since then have been worse. Brazil played a good first half against Colombia and then fell back.

“We have not seen exceptional teams. Good games, yes, but not dominating teams.”

But Matthaus said he still had reservations about the “Spanish” style of play that Low has introduced to the Germany team in recent years.

“I never believed that my country was going to play pretty passing football, like Spain does — a technical style, one touch, moving the ball around quickly,” he said. “We have played in a very technical style in these years, but we have won nothing.”

Toni Kroos

Ferguson Leads Di Stefano Tribute FORMER Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has labelled Alfredo Di Stefano as one of the greatest players of all time as tributes continue to flood in for the Real Madrid great following his death.

Tributes have been pouring in Ferguson was being in attendance for Alfredo Di Stefano following as Di Stefano put Frankfurt to the sword in a 7-3 drubbing that his death at the age of 88 Di Stefano died on Monday ensured a fifth straight European afternoon after suffering a heart Cup. “The amazing thing about that attack on Saturday, the day after he turned 88, resulting in him was, being a Rangers fan, being placed in an induced coma. Eintracht Frankfurt had beaten Among the many tributes, Rangers in the semi-finals 6-3, 6Madrid forward Cristiano 1 so they were gods,” he said.

“They came to Hampden Park Ronaldo hailed Di Stefano as a “maestro” while FIFA president and were annihilated by Real Sepp Blatter described the Madrid 7-3. I was there in the Argentina-born forward as “the schoolboy enclosure, I was playing with Queen’s Park at the most complete player”.

Di Stefano won five successive time, and it was a fantastic European Cups at Real Madrid experience.

“It was the first time I think that between 1956 and 1960, scoring in all five fixtures - including a a lap of honour was done after the hat-trick in front of a watching game, Scottish fans hadn’t seen Ferguson at Hampden Park in that of course.

“Ten goals in a final, you won’t 1960.

He sits second on Real Madrid’s see that again. It was a golden all-time goalscoring list behind period for Real Madrid, they won Raul and was an honorary it five times in a row and Di president at the Bernabeu, with Stefano scored in all five finals.”

The two would cross paths 23 Ferguson ranking him among the years later when Ferguson, then very best.

“The great question that always manager of Aberdeen, met a Real comes up is who are the greatest players,” Ferguson said in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News.

ROBERTO Mancini has “Obviously there is a list of thrown his hat into the ring to great ones like (Johan) Cruyff, succeed Cesare Prandelli as coach (Diego) Maradona and Pele and of Italy, while Francesco Guidolin of course (Ferenc) Puskas and of has also been backed to fill the course Di Stefano - I thought he vacancy. was one of the greatest in my Former Lazio, Inter Milan, mind.

Manchester City and Galatasaray “He had a fantastic balance and coach Mancini is currently out of poise. If you look at one of the work after leaving the Turkish goals he scored in the final against club last month.

Eintracht Frankfurt it was His name has been mentioned completely what we are saying as one of the top candidates to lead about the balance and poise, Italy to Euro 2016, and he has now unbelievable he was. affirmed his desire to coach the “I was very sad to hear the Azzurri following the resignation news. Even at 88 it is a bit of a of Prandelli after the team’s World shock. I saw him two years ago Cup exit. before our Real Madrid game and “Of course I’d like to coach a he looked fine and looked full of national team,” he told Corriere health, so it is disappointing to dello Sport. “I think it’s one of the hear the news.” objectives every coach has. Of An abiding memory for

Madrid side managed by Di Stefano in the 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup final.

Against the odds it was Ferguson’s Scottish underdogs who won the trophy that night, with the Glaswegian impressed by Di Stefano’s grace in defeat.

“My greatest memory of course is when Aberdeen beat Real Madrid,” he added.

“I was honoured to be in the same game as Real Madrid but to come up against Di Stefano was an incredible experience for me.

“When you mention the great players they had they were household names. Aberdeen were a team on the rise and after the game he was very generous and he said Aberdeen had a team that money can’t buy, a soul and a family spirit.

“He couldn’t say any more in praise of a football team and that was very generous of him. He had a fantastic life and I was really proud to have been associated with him in a small way.”

Tributes continued to pour in elsewhere, with a number of former greats taking to social media to express their sadness at Di Stefano’s passing.

Former Brazil great Pele on Twitter “Today the openness between Latin American players and European clubs is very much due to the work of Alfredo Di Stefano.

He was a trailblazer, and most of all, he was a legend of the game.

God rest his soul.”

Triple European champions Manchester Uited on Twitter “We’re sad to hear #RealMadrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano has passed away. The thoughts of everybody at #mufc are with his family & the club.”

Former Italy defender Franco Baresi on Twitter “It’s a sad day. I want to remember Alfredo Di Stefano, one of the best players ever.”

Ghana midfielder Michael Essien on Twitter “RIP the great Alfredo Di Stefano. You will be missed in Madrid and all over the world.”

Former Brazil defender Cafu on Twitter “My condolences to the Di Stefano family, a great player whose name will remain in the world’s football history.”

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, formerly of Real

Madrid, on the London club’s website “This is a very sad day for football ... when we lose a special person like this. Alfredo was the best Real Madrid player in history.”

Former England and Manchester United midfielder Bobby Charlton on the club website “The footballing world has lost a great player and a great man ... I had never seen such a complete footballer.”

Spain midfielder Juan Mata “RIP Alfredo di Stéfano. One of the greatest has passed away.

My condolences to his family and friends.”

Former England striker Michael Owen “Saddened to hear that the Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano passed away earlier today. R.I.P. Former England striker Gary Lineker “Alfredo Di Stefano has died. One of the greatest players ever. Scored in 5 successive European Cup finals. A feat never to be matched

course I would be honoured — I’ve always been proud of my origins when I’ve been abroad.”

Mancini, who won 31 senior caps for his country, believes that whoever gets the job should be an Italian.

“It’s one of the barriers that we’ve not yet demolished, having a foreign national team coach,” he said. “But the reason is obvious: Italian coaches are the best in the world. We’re the best prepared and there’s no need to search for talented players abroad like at club level.”

Mancini is not the only candidate for a job the Italian Football Association (FIGC) hopes to fill by the middle of next month, however.

Guidolin, who this summer moved into upstairs role at Udinese after

four years in charge of the Zebrette is another contender, and has former Italy striker Antonio Di Natale’s seal of approval.

“After 30 years coaching, he would be a serious contender for the national team,” Di Natale told reporters at Udinese’s first day of preseason training on Monday.

“He’s got lots of values and he would deserve it. He’s ready for Italy and I’d be delighted if the FA would choose him.”

Whoever is ultimately chosen will be allowed to work in the right environment, according to Prandelli, who wrote a letter of thanks to the FIGC on Monday, when he was presented as Mancini’s successor on the Galatasaray bench.

“How many things happen in four years, how many people we

meet, how many bonds we create in building a project,” Prandelli wrote in an open letter published on the FIGC’s official website. “I would like to thank one-by-one all of those who have accompanied, advised and supported me along the way, It’s not possible because there are so many of them, so I will do it with these few lines.

“It was a privilege working with you and I will always be proud of it. I know how much love and passion has been dedicated to the Italy team. I would particularly like to thank president Giancarlo Abete, a key figure in these four years, who was always able to choose the right words at the right times.

Roberto Mancini Interested In Italy Job

Tom Ince Signs For TOM Ince has turned his Hull back on clubs including Inter Milan to join Hull City Tigers.

The 22-year-old, son of Manchester United and England legend Paul Ince, was a free agent after his contract at Blackpool expired, and is believed to have had several offers on the table - including one to join the Italian giants.

But he decided to stay in England, and met Tigers officials last week before agreeing a two-year deal with the Humberside club.

Though Ince was out of contract at Bloomfield Road, because he is under 23 his former club Blackpool will be due compensation.

Stoke City and Crystal Palace - for whom Ince played the second half of last season - were among clubs to show an interest, but Tigers boss Steve Bruce won the race for his signature.

Bruce recently

completed the permanent signing of Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore, and has also landed Robert Snodgrass from Norwich for a reported £ 7million fee.

Tom Ince

MANCHESTER United have launched their new home kit as they mark the beginning of the most lucrative shirt sponsorship deal in football history.

The 2013 Premier League champions are beginning a seven-year contract with car manufacturers Chevrolet worth 53 million pounds a season.

A typical red shirt has a

Man United Launch New Home Kit white collar and a label inside the back reads “Youth, Courage, Greatness,” which United believe sums up their values.

Louis van Gaal’s side will wear the new strip for the first time in a preseason

friendly against Los Angeles Galaxy on July 23.

United are in the final year of a deal with kit manufacturers Nike and the subsequent contract is expected to bring in a recordbreaking sum.

sell, at which time I will be prompt and clear.”

Villa became caught up in a battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League last season and Lambert voiced his frustration at a lack of recent investment in the squad.

Since securing their top-flight status, Villa have signed former England international Joe Cole and Switzerland defender Philippe Senderos, as well as appointing Roy Keane as assistant manager.

Aston Villa Sale Talks ‘Productive’

ASTON Villa owner Randy Lerner has promised not to let his intended sale of the club affect manager Paul Lambert’s preseason preparations.

Lerner announced in May that he was looking for a buyer for the club after eight years in control at Villa Park.

But with a sale not yet agreed and players starting to return to training, the American has issued a statement saying that his priority will now switch to footballing matters.

Lerner feels it is important that speculation

over the future ownership of the club does not overshadow the buildup to the new campaign.

“This statement is intended to provide clarity regarding the status of the sale announcement I made in early May,” he said.

“Over the last eight weeks we conducted a targeted process during which we explored the sale of the club.

Steven Reid Joins Burnley STEVEN Reid has joined Burnley on a free transfer to become the promoted club’s fifth summer signing.

The 33-year-old, who was released by West Bromwich Albion at the end of last season, has signed a one-year contract at Turf Moor.

Premier League transfer spending set a new 760 million pound record.

Reid was a teammate of Burnley manager Sean Dyche during his time at Millwall and has also played for Blackburn and QPR as well as winning 23 caps for the Republic of Ireland.

He spent much of his career in midfield, but was used by Albion as a right-back and could provide competition for Kieran Trippier.

Burnley’s second-choice right-back Chris Baird has

made the opposite move to Reid, joining West Brom on a free transfer.

Burnley brought in West Ham’s Matt Taylor and Bolton’s Marvin Sordell on Friday, to follow earlier deals for Stoke winger Michael Kightly and Blackpool goalkeeper Matt Gilks.

All four, like Reid, have previously played in the Premier League and manager Dyche said he was keen to add players with a background in the top flight.

He told Burnley’s official website: “Steven is a very strong minded professional and he has had years in the Premier League so he has that bit of experience and know how.

“I know him personally from his younger days at Millwall and he was a very

solid pro then and he still is now, perhaps a more rounded version of what he was then.

“Along with Matty Taylor we want that experience in the building as well as the vibrancy in the team.

“Both of those players played in some really awkward games for West Brom and West Ham respectively and hopefully that experience can rub off on others.”

MANCHESTER United target Thomas Vermaelen has admitted he doesn’t know if he will be at Arsenal next season.

The Gunners captain plans to hold talks with FA Cup winners as he ponders whether to extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium.

Vermaelen is quoted in the Evening Standard as saying: “I really do not know where I will play, Arsenal or elsewhere next season. All my attention went to the World Cup. I will see when I

talk with Arsenal.”

The 28-year-old, who is interesting new United manager Louis van Gaal, has one year left on his deal with Arsenal and the London club risk losing him on a free transfer next summer if no new contract is agreed.

Premier League transfer spending set a new 760 million pound record.

It could make Arsenal more receptive to offers and United, who lost veteran centre-backs Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic this

summer, are expected to bolster their defence further after recruiting left-back Luke Shaw.

Vermaelen lost his place in the heart of Arsenal’s defence last season as Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny were preferred and only made seven Premier League starts.

The former Ajax defender, a 10 million-pound signing from Ajax in 2009, was in the Belgium squad that reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

“In advance of this process however, I committed to our manager to become completely focused on the upcoming season should there be no agreement to sell by the time players and coaches return to training.

“Given that no agreement has, as of yet, been reached, I feel that it is time now to turn my full attention back to Villa matters at hand.

“While the sale process has been productive and remains ongoing, my priority at this point in the summer, heading into the upcoming season, is that the Villa organisation’s sole focus be football undistracted by any sales process.

“Reverting to common practice, I do not intend to comment further on a potential sale or related rumours unless and until I have reached a definitive agreement to

Randy Lerner

Willy Caballero Signs For Man City

MANCHESTER City have made their third signing of the summer by bringing in Malaga goalkeeper Willy Caballero.

The Argentine, who has cost a reported fee of six million pounds, will provide competition for first-choice goalkeeper Joe Hart.

The 32-year-old has been

Thomas Vermaelen Uncertain Of Future

signed by City manager Manuel Pellegrini for a second time after a spell together at Malaga, where they helped the Spanish club finish fourth in La Liga and reach the last eight of the Champions League.

Caballero told the club’s official website: “I am very happy, and really looking forward to the start of preseason and performing well to help the team.

“This is a new challenge and a new league for me. I have been doing well in the previous years and my goal is to go on and hopefully perform at the same level for City.

“I know I am coming to a big club with a very good goalkeeper. City already have a great goalkeeper in Joe Hart, but I will try and compete for the no.1 spot. I will do my best in the training sessions.”

Caballero arrives as a replacement for Costel Pantilimon, who the Premier League champions released at the end of last season.

But while the Romanian

only started seven league games in his three-year City career, Caballero offers more of an alternative to Hart.

He began his career at Boca Juniors before spending seven years at Elche and then signing for Malaga in 2011.

Malaga made a last-

Willy Caballero

ditch attempt to keep him, with president Abdullah Al Thani declaring on Sunday that he was not for sale, but City have got their man.

He joins Porto midfielder Fernando and Arsenal rightback Bacary Sagna among Pellegrini’s close-season recruits, with a centre-back also targeted.

Briton Detained In Rio De Janeiro Over Ticket Probe

AN English director of FIFA’s hospitality partners MATCH has been arrested in Brazil as part of an investigation into illegal ticket sales.

Ray Whelan, who used confirmed Whelan was in to work as an agent for Sir custody and would spend Bobby Charlton, was the night in a Rio police arrested at the Copacabana station.

Palace in Rio de Janeiro, MATCH is a division of the hotel reserved for Byrom plc, a company FIFA’s senior executives. based at Cheadle in The arrest came as part Cheshire. Whelan is not an of Operation Jules Rimet, employee of FIFA but has Brazil police’s become well-known in investigation into ticket recent years in connection touting which has seen with MATCH’s FIFA detectives tap phones, contracts. make a total of 12 arrests Earlier, MATCH and seize a number of Hospitality announced it tickets. had blocked sales to four A spokesman for the companies after tickets were Rio de Janeiro State seized from touts by Security Secretariat Brazilian police.

The four companies are Atlanta Sportif, whose chief executive was one of those arrested in Rio de Janeiro, Reliance Industries Ltd, Jet Set Sports and Pamodzi.

Jet Set is based in New Jersey, Reliance is one of India’s biggest companies, and Padmodzi is based in Nigeria.

A statement from MATCH read: “Following...the arrest of

Lamine Fofana, CEO of Atlanta Sportif, engaging in illegal resales, MATCH Hospitality has cancelled all hospitality packages purchased by Atlanta Sportif for the remaining matches of the 2014 FIFA

MLB Try Out Holds Sept 4 - 7

Journalists, Visitors Gain Access to NFA Building

JOURNALISTS and visitors on Monday in Abuja gained access to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) after they were denied entry last Friday, following developments in the Nigerian football.

Access to the football secretariat was restricted on Friday following the arrest of embattled NFA Chairman, Aminu Maigari by the Department of State Service (DSS).

However, a correspondent who visited the secretariat on Monday gained access to the building without being harassed by the security guards attached to the building.

Men of the DSS, who mounted surveillance on the NFA building on Friday after Maigari’s arrest, were nowhere to be found on Monday as skeletal activities resumed at the Football House.

Technicians were also

Aminu Maigari.

seen replacing dead bulbs in the building and in some of the offices to light up the secretariat.

Some members of staff were seen wearing long faces following the dissolution of the NFA board and the appointment of Acting Secretary-General for the NFA by the Minister of Sport.

A High Court in Jos, Plateau, on July 4 mandated the minister to appoint an acting scribe for the football house pending the determination of the case which declared the Maigari led board illegal.

A staff who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity regretted the dissolution of the Maigari led NFA board but noted that it would not stop him from performing his duties.

He urged the acting Secretary-General, Lawrence Katken, to lay a good foundation for a new board which would take over after next month’s Executive Committee elections.

World Cup. “Pending further investigations, MATCH Hospitality will block the packages of Reliance Industries Ltd, Jet Set Sports and Pamodzi. The customers and agents mentioned above are to co-operate with MATCH Hospitality by helping the authorities with their enquiries regarding the hospitality packages with their names on them found in Mr Fofana’s possession, failing which, MATCH Hospitality will cancel their tickets for the semi-final and the final too.”

Sepp Blatter, FIFA President.

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup

Falconets Depart For Canada

THE national under-20 women team on Monday in Abuja left for a 24-day final camping programme in Canada ahead of this year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals.

The team was made up of a delegation of 24 players and 11 officials, led by a Chief Technical Officer with the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Siji Lagunju.

The team, known as the Falconets, flew aboard a Lufthansa Airline flight from Abuja to Frankfurt, from where they would connect another flight to Moncton in Canada.

The 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals is holding in Canada from Aug. 4 to August 25.

Speaking shortly before their departure, the team’s Head Coach, Peter Dedevbo, said his players were focused on a mission of doing the country and the continent proud.

“We have a squad of able, courageous and confident players and I believe we have the capacity to go all the way in Canada,” Dedevbo said.

Dedevbo had led the Nigerian under-17 women teams to the FIFA U-17 World Cup finals in Trinidad and

Tobago in 2010 and Azerbaijan in 2012.

Nigeria have featured in all previous FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals since the event was launched in Canada in 2002.

They had their best record at the competition in 2010 when they reached the final in

Germany, where they lost to hosts Germany.

They also made it to the semifinals in 2012 at Japan.

In Canada, Nigeria are in Group C and will face Mexico on Aug. 6 and Korea Republic on Aug. 9 in Moncton, and take on England in Toronto on August 13.

THE Nigeria Baseball and Softball Association (NBSA) on Monday said that it had rescheduled a Major League Baseball (MLB) tryout slated to hold from July 4 to July 7.

The Secretary of the association, Kehinde Laniyan, said that the programme was rescheduled to hold from Sept.

4 to Sept. 7 due to inability of the MLB coaches to secure Nigerian visa from South Africa.

The annual MLB tryout was aimed at selecting budding talents and giving them an opportunity to ply their trade in foreign leagues.

“The annual MLB tryout would have held this month, but the coaches were unable to get visa due to the new visa regulation of the Nigeria Mission in South Africa.

“We have decided to shift the programme to September; this will give the coaches enough time to process their visa,’’ he said.

Laniyan urged state associations, clubs and players not to relent in their training schedules.

He hoped that the change would afford players enough time to prepare and also improve on their skills

Khan’s Assault Allegations Dropped AMIR Khan has been notified that any allegations against him following his arrest on suspicion of assault have been dropped.

It was reported on Friday that Khan had been arrested by the Greater Manchester Police on suspicion of assaulting two men in Bolton.

And whilst the Greater Manchester Police released a statement regarding the arrest, 27-year-old Khan took to Twitter in the hope of quashing the speculation.

However, it has since been confirmed that Khan was involved in the incident, but all allegations have now been dropped.

Amir Khan was arrested during the early hours of Friday 4th July on suspicion of common assault against two youths. Shortly thereafter he was released on police bail pending further enquiries.

This was a minor incident involving a misunderstanding between Amir Khan and two other youths.

On Monday 7th July Amir was notified by the police that the allegations against him had been withdrawn and the matter would not be pursued any further.

Amir Khan

CMYK

COMRADE Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole came into the life of Edo State citizens just by divine intervention. His mandate which was delayed for almost eighteen months came in to being by the last hope of the common man “THE JUDICIARY”.

When the comrade started the leadership of Edo State Government, it was like a child’s play when he said the master plan of the state was under design and planning almost throughout the first one year.

This was when some people were saying he only came to plant flowers. But today after five years Edos are counting their blessings.

Edo State has never witnessed a revolution of projects such as this since the creation of Midwestern region.

His projects are scattered all over the eighteen local government areas of the state.

Before Comrade O s h i o m h o l e appearance, the infrastructural, economic and social amenities in the State were in shamble.

Grasses were growing in the Kings square with a lot of potholes. The central hospital was just a consulting centre, primary and secondary school children were studying in buildings without roofs and sitting on bare floor to learn. How many dual carriage ways were in Benin City before 2007?

The issue is that personally I am

convinced that the Comrade Governor has made up his mind to upgrade the infrastructure of Edo State even before

state that the peoples Governor has not created a positive impact. The Central Hospital, Benin, is

becoming the Governor, if not he could have emulated his predecessors who came to loot Edo State treasury to the benefit of their families.

The greatest standard the Governor has come to set is that he has succeeded in demystefying the office of the Governor.

Before his administration, people thought the Governor’s office is only for the affluent and that Governor cannot mix up with the downtrodden.

He has also set a high standard of performance for any coming number one man in Edo State in all field of developments.

To continue to count Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s achievements, this peace will not end.

It is not a fallacy to say that Oshiomhole administration has touched the lives of the less privileged. The Airport Road, Sapele Road, Akpakpava, Sakponba Road, Oba Market Road and Siluko Road in Benin City are dual carriage ways now with walkways and street lights. What about the five junctions, Costain Isonoro, Tomline River, Teachers’ House River? Have you visited Egor Primary School, Agbado, Useh, Olua, Oliha, Oba Akenzua, Ikaladerhan all in Benin City just to mention a few. In short there is no ward in the

under construction.

What about the Edo Water Storm Project?

The Edo Central Senatorial District which other Governors before Comrade,

careful not to vote for those that will share our hard earned revenue again. Political parties are not our problems but the individual

Matters In Focus With IMUAGBONHEN JOHNSON

Oshiomhole Has Set A Standard leaders. The next governor should emulate Oshiomhole in his inspections projects.

Mr. Governor sir, where you need to make lasting positive impact before 2016 is the

putting food and smiles on the faces of the fast ageing pensioners.

NIGERIANS, FOR GOD’S SAKE, ONE MUST NOT HAVE TO BECOME A BILLIONAIRE FOR

Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Edo State Governor

Governor said was it impossible to get potable water, today, the story is different because the governor has the willing mind.

I want to use this medium to advise the people of Edo State that come 2016 anyone that will step into the comrade shoe should be expected to perform more than the standard comrade Adams A. Oshiomhole has set.

Anything less, he or she should be kicked out of office by the masses.

We should be very

payment of gratuities and pensions to the Edo State Senior citizens and employ youths into the civil service just to add another feather to your crowded cap. You should remember that this is your primary constituency, who stick out their neck for the be governor of Edo State.

The comrade governor should try his best despite the dwindling revenue allocation accruing from the Federation Account. If this is done you would have succeeded in

THE FACT THAT HE OR SHE IS FORTUNATE TO BE A P R E S I D E N T, G O V E R N O R , LEGISLATOR, CHAIRMAN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT OR COUNCELLOR IN A POPULATION OF ONE

HUNDRED AND S I X T Y- S E V E N MILLION. THE F O R M E R PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATE OF AMERICAN, MR. BILL CLINTON, WENT BACK TO LECTURING HALL IN THE UNIVERSITY AFTER HIS TENURE. After the summary of some achievements especially in Edo South, which is also a replicated in Edo North and Central Senatorial Districts, I make bold to write that Comrade Adams A. Aliyu has genuinely set a standard in the governance of Edo State which any Governor to come, must emulate. The comrade has created the awareness for the masses to know that there is money in Edo State and has shown that the people has right to ask how the money is spent. He also proved that the masses are the leaders of the government.

No longer should the development of Edo State in the put to reverse.

Printed and published by Bendel Newspapers Company Limited, 24, Airport Road, P.M.B. 1334 Benin City. Telephone; Lagos: 01 4930929, Benin: 052 257492, 257531 Editor. BARR. SOLOMON IMOHIOSEN (KSJI)-(07030699646). Deputy General Manager (Marketing) (08023457566), Assistant General Manager (Advertisement) (08023808856) Lagos Office: 25A Alli Street, Off Tinubu Square, Lagos Island, Lagos. Abuja Office: Floor 1, Edo House, 75 Ralph Shodeinde Street, Central Business District, Abuja. Tel/Fax: 09-5237631.

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