Nigerian observer 17 06 2014

The Nigerian

PUBLISHED SINCE MAY 29, 1968 • Vol . 39 • NO.014 TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2 0 14 • N100.00 GENDER ISSUES Page 18

Teen Pregnancy Need for help not stigmatization

FOCUS Page 20

Project and investment appraisal in the public sector

Explosives in church

Police begin investigation ABUJA - The police yesterday said it had started investigation into Sunday’s foiled explosion at a Church in Owerri.

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP

Frank Mba, made the disclosure at a joint news conference organised by the National Information Centre, Abuja.

Mba, however, advised members of the public not to hurriedly link the

incident to terrorism.

“The media and the citizens should not be in a hurry to link the Owerri incident to establish terror cell until the full identity of those behind it are known to security forces.

“Until the motives are established, I think it will be pre-emptive for us to give it the toga of terrorism.

“It could be anything, for us in the security Continues on page 2

Agency predicts flood in Edo, 11 other states

ABUJA - The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, yesterday, presented the 2014 Flood Outlook in Nigeria, saying three river basins will be prone to high flood risks this year which will affect twelve states of the federation.

The Director-General river basins are Sokoto of the agency, Mr John Rima, Komadugu Yobe Shamonda, said in Abuja and Niger Benue.

He also predicted while presenting the Outlook that the three moderate flood risks in

Kebbi, Kaduna, Niger, Oyo, Edo and Cross River states.

Other states likely to experience the flood risks, he said, were

Taraba, Adamawa, Borno, Bauchi, Imo and Plateau.

He explained that the Outlook was produced by the agency in

collaboration with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), adding that two international models were used in the

process.

He said that the models were the Geospatial Stream Flow developed by the U.S. Geological Survey Centre for Earth Resources Observation Sciences and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool, developed by Texas Water Resources Continues on page 2

2014 World Cup Germany 4

Portugal

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Iran

Nigeria

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CBN retrieves customers N14.6bn

By ABIODUN AFOLABI

IBADAN - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has succeeded in retrieving over N14.6billion erroneously deducted from the accounts of customers by their banks in the country in the last two years.

Dropping this hint while briefing journalists in Ibadan, Oyo state yesterday on behalf of the Director, in CBN, Mallam Umar Dutse was the Deputy Director, Consumer Protection

Department of the bank, Mrs. Kadijah Kasim.

According to her, the Central Bank of Nigeria being the regulator of the operations of its consumers (commercial banks) in the country had received 3000 complaints on what was described as erroneously deductions from customers of various banks She said that, “with the trend of events presently, the populace should be extra careful in patronising the wonder

TIT BIT “Decide on where to concentrate your efforts; how we died can never be as important as how we lived.”

- Kingsley Ogbeide-Ihama

banks.”

She was of the view that, “these people operating such financial institutions are always ready to play on the level of intelligence of their customers.”

And to escape from being duped, just say no to the fake interest rates that they would promise you, she said.

Kasim who spoke extensively on the Continues on page 2

EKITI GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION: Policemen departing the Force Headquarters in Abuja on deployment for Ekiti Governorship Election yesterday.

Again, Edo Assembly adjourns

By KEN ABU

BENIN CITY - Edo State House of Assembly has adjourned its plenary session to Monday June 23, 2014 due to its inability to resolve the crisis rocking the House for the second week running.

This was disclosed

. As negotiations end in deadlock

yesterday by the House Chairman on information,

Hon. Kabiru Adjoto at a press briefing at the state

Assembly complex after several hours of

negotiations between the APC Lawmakers and Continues on page 2

Sure-P starts 2nd phase devt ABUJA - The Federal Government on Monday said development of one mineral in each local government in the country

would begin in the second phase of Subsidy Re-Investment and E m p o w e r m e n t Programme (SURE-P).

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development,

Mr Musa Sada, said this in an interview with newsmen yesterday in Abuja.

Continues on page 2

News

Police begin investigation

Continued from page 1

world, we live all options open, we are ready to test all hypothesis,’’ Mba said.

The Deputy Director, Public Relations, Department of State Services (DSS), Marilyn Ogar, stressed the need for Nigerians to be vigilant.

Ogar said no piece of information should be taken granted, assuring that security forces had been placed on red alert nationwide to forestall any eventuality.

“Security forces are on red alert throughout Nigeria not just in the North-East, North-West or

Abuja, but everybody has been placed on red alert,’’ Ogar said.

The Coordinator of the centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, had said a call by a Nigerian to DSS security numbers led to the detonation of the explosive device.

Omeri said the Improvised

Explosive Devices (EIDs) planted at the Church by unknown persons were timed to explode at the beginning of the church’s service.

“The quick response by security forces in foiling the explosion must be attributed to timely intelligence report,’’ he said.

Agency predicts flood in Edo, 11 other states Continued from page 1 Institute.

Shamonda also disclosed that daily rainfall records, satellite rainfall data, land use drainage, major dams and reservoir location maps, topographic and political map of Nigeria were other instruments used for the prediction.

He, however, assured that the 2014 flood prediction would not be as devastating as the 2012 incident which affected 27 states and claimed no fewer than 400 lives.

In her keynote address at the occasion, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah

Ochekpe, said that the Outlook was an approach to recognise flood management as critical part of the broader context of integrated water resources management.

She said “the challenge for us is to incorporate disaster reduction principles in water resources management.

“This will make possible, the reverse of all the degradation trends in the use of surface and underground water resources, drainage land and thus, prevent flood hazards.

“Flood management through investment and redirection of resources offers significant economic benefits and potentially reduces risks and

hazards and eventually, loss of lives.’’

Ochekpe, therefore, called for increase in multi-discipline approaches and community participation in the use of resources based on flood management plan.

“I want to encourage continued synergy among Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency under my ministry,

Lack of data, bane of Nigeria’s development

ABUJA Mr. Eze Duruiheoma, the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), has blamed most of the country’s development challenges on lack

CBN retrieves customers Continued from page 1 engender trust and confidence reasons people should N14.6bn among consumers in the

support the idea of cashless policy, stated that, “In line with the mandate of the CBN to promote a sound and stable financial system as enshrined in the CBN Act, the department was saddled with the responsibility of regulating

conduct of financial service providers to ensure that they deal fairly with their consumers,” “It was also saddled with the duty of implementing policies and programmes that would

Continued from page 1

adjourned till Monday, June 23, 2014.

The House Chairman on Information said the hallowed chambers will remain under lock and key during the period of adjournment while their offices are open.

He stated that the suspended lawmakers are not expected to be seen around the premises of the complex.

Meanwhile, the Minority Leader, Hon Emma Okoduwa stated that the 2 parties had a gentleman agreement to reverse to status quo. He noted that with the adjournment of the House, members of both parties are expected to engage in wider

consultation devoid of external influence noting that both parties will heed the call for peace prescribed by the Benin Monarch over the weekend.

He re-echoed the point raised by Hon. Kabiru Adjoto that no member of the House should be seen around the Hallowed Chambers within the period of adjournment.

Earlier yesterday, a bailiff from the state High Court 7, Mr. Oorhe Sule was in the complex of Edo state House of Assembly to serve the suspended 4 lawmakers an order of contempt of court which was strongly resisted by the suspended Deputy Speaker.

cottage industries in business, it has directed that the products from Kaolin must be used across the state,” he said.

Sada said that Kaduna and Bauchi states had also started implementing the programme but as pilot projects, adding that other states had indicated interest in the scheme.

“The states are picking it up; we have the machines that would be used in mining processes. Each state has to tell us the minerals they have and the ones they want to develop,’’ he said.

He disclosed that the ministry would partner with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to promote the programme as it had a similar project tagged: “One commodity one local government’’.

Sada said that both ministries would jointly implement the programme,

stressing that the country was blessed with a lot of natural resources that could service local industries or processed for export.

“We brought in the trade and investment ministry to get market for the products because if you produce all the products or materials and there are no buyers, there would be problems,’’ he explained.

He stated that state governments would be encouraged to key into all the projects, saying “this is actually a programme which we developed as part of our job-creation programme.’’

The minister added that the ministry would also collaborate with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to sustain the programme because it also involved small and medium enterprises.

financial system,” she added.

The director therefore concluded that, “this would complement traditional prudential regulations in promoting a safe, sound and stable financial system in Nigeria.”

Again, Edo Assembly adjourns

their PDP counterparts, including the suspended lawmakers, ended in a deadlock.

Hon. Kabiru Adjoto said that the House could not convene plenary session due to the presence of the suspended 4 lawmakers whom he described as strangers in their midst noting that their actions had amounted to a disregard of the order of the court, as such cannot sit with them.

He further disclosed that the House had instituted a contempt proceeding against the suspended lawmakers following which the House

Sure-P starts 2nd phase devt

Continued from page 1

Sada said that the implementation of the policy was shifted from SURE-P’s first phase activities to the second phase due to the ministry’s delay in concluding its presentation of the programme to the government.

He said that all the states in the country would be involved in the programme, adding that some of the states had embraced it as pilot projects while some had adopted it as a “whole programme’’.

He disclosed that Katsina State had accepted the programme and was fully implementing it by exploiting kaolin in all the local government areas.

“The state has established some cottage industries which are producing either chalks or prints from kaolin.

“And, as part of strategies by the Katsina State Government to keep the

NIMET, NEMA, NIWA, PHCN and others, for continuous positive impacts on the nation.

“Early sensitisation of hydrological extremes, especially flood and drought, will promote socio-economic development of our country Nigeria.

of accurate data.

He said this while addressing State House correspondents after a meeting with President Goodluck at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

“If you look at the problems confronting us as a nation today, all of them derive from a single fact that we lack data.

“And because we lack data, we don’t plan. So that is what I think we should be looking at,” he said.

Duruiheoma, who met with Jonathan alongside members of the commission, said they were at the villa to seek the president’s approval to conduct a nationwide population census in 2016.

“Census is conducted every 10 years, and you know the last one was held in 2006, so in 2016 there ought to be another exercise.

“So, we have come to tell Mr. President about that because we cannot commence until he says goahead by way of a proclamation.

“Our mission here is to seek Mr. President’s proclamation on the matter; to tell us to go ahead with the exercise so that we can hit the road running,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NPC chairman said that quarrels over population census figures among regions in the country were ignited by lack of proper understanding of the essence of the exercise by Nigerians.

He said that the quarrels were usually driven by shortterm considerations such as political representation and revenue allocation which he said were unnecessary.

He said that Nigerians needed proper enlightenment on the purpose of population census and solicited the support of the media in this regard.

“Let’s ask ourselves why we quarrel over census figures.

The media owe it a duty to properly educate our people on what census is all about.

“Some people see it most often in terms of revenue allocation or political representations which are very transient things.

“These things are not as important as providing credible data that can aid development in the country.”

Duruiheoma urged Nigerians to put past census issues behind them and join hands with the commission to conduct credible ones in the future.

Police debunk extra-judicial killing rumour

By BETTY IDIALU ASABA - The Warri Area Commander of the Nigerian Police Force, Rabiu Hussaini has debunked the rumour making the round that Police in the Warri area command carry out extra judicial killings of armed robbers after gathering substantive evidence that they are criminals rather than charging them to court.

The Warri Area Commander cleared the air at the oil rich Ugborodo Warri South local Government Area while fielding questions from journalists during the visit of the joint task force on the mop up of illegal arms.

ACP RABIU Hussaini said “personally, am not aware of extra judicial killing in the Warri Area Command.Except when there is cross firing and the

suspect is brought down.

The era of darkness is over.The best we do is to arraign the suspects in court,we check our records whether they have been arrested before”.

On illegal road blocks in Warri and environs,the police boss said it is not true that there are road blocks as thought by many, but rather it is stop and search exercise being carried out by men under his command where there have been reported cases of car snatching and robbery in crime prone areas within his command.

RABIU Hussaini however assured residents of Warri and environs that their safety is guaranteed when they to come to the police with useful information because their identity will never be revealed under any circumstances.

We ’ll not allow Boko Haram in S/East - Gov Obiano

ABUJA - Governor.

Willie Obiano of Anambra yesterday said the SouthEast would not allow Boko Haram insurgents to extend its activities to the region.

Obiano made this known when he spoke with State House correspondents after a meeting of four South-East governors with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The other governors were Theodore Orji of Abia, Martin Elechi of Ebonyi and Sullivan Chime of Enugu.

Obiano was reacting to the discovery of bomb at a Living Faith World Bible Church in Owerri on Sunday.

“Boko Haram can’t get there. I can assure you that we will not allow that to happen. I can’t tell you in any material detail about bombs found and bombs not found.

“All I can assure you is that we are very alert in the South-East and watching what is going on,’’ he said.

He said the governors were at the State House to express their solidarity with Jonathan in view of the pressure he was facing over the current security challenges in the country.

“The president is a human being, he is under a lot of pressure and some other people are making the work a lot more difficult for him by the kind of utterances they make.

“Instead of supporting him to steer us out of this storming waters, they are adding kerosene to fire.

“So, we are here to tell him that we are behind him, supporting him and that he should count on us.’’

On the erosion challenge in the region, Obiano said the South-East governors were partnering with the World Bank on many erosion projects in their respective states.

He said he met with a team from the bank recently, adding that they had agreed to increase the project sites from four to 12 in Anambra.

“I believe that this intervention, which is on 5050 contribution from the state and United Nations body, will go a long way in addressing the erosion problems.

“But beyond that, we are tackling erosion from the legal point of view.

“Henceforth, bush burning, indiscriminate felling of trees and other activities that cause erosion will no longer be allowed.’’

ABUJA - Actionaid Nigeria, an NGO, yesterday, expressed its commitment to promote quality, free and compulsory education as well as assurance of safety in schools in Nigeria, especially for girls.

This is contained in a statement by Actionaid’s Country Director, Dr Hussaini Abdu, on the

2014 Day of the African Child.

The statement said that one of Actionaid’s strategic objectives was to advance the right of children and support young people in building just, democratic and inclusive society.

“The promotion of the right of children to free, basic and quality education, especially for girls is paramount to Actionaid’s work.

Actionaid calls for compulsory educ for girl child

News Group Wants Internet Frequency Allocated On Regional Basis LAGOS - The President of the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), Mr. Adebayo Banjo, has urged the Federal Government to issue Internet frequency licence on regional basis.

Banjo told newsmen in Lagos that doing so would ensure the acceleration of Internet across the country.

He said the allocation of frequency on global level was not allowing Internet penetration to reach desired levels in Nigeria.

“Government policy of awarding global licence encourages anti -competitive activities among big and small operators and that can also lead to sabotage,’’ he said.

Banjo, who is also an Information Technology (IT) expert, called on the government to allow a level playing field, influence Internet penetration with a policy and help to protect innovations.

According to him, there is the need for government to manage problems affecting

acceleration of Internet in Nigeria.

He identified such problems to include cost, speed, reliability and devices.

Banjo also appealed to the government to subsidise the Internet delivery cost and bandwidth for at least five years, noting that the subsidy would serve as an incentive and attract investors into the business.

“Until the house helps, motor-park touts and market women start browsing, we have not achieved the desired Internet penetration.

“With the exploding population of youths, one of the major problems we have is unemployment.

“One of those things that can create jobs in a country is the Internet; hence, the Internet can help government to create jobs,’’ he said.

Banjo said that India had unemployment and developmental issues like Nigeria but had leveraged on the huge potential provided by the Internet to solve them.

L-R: Governors Willie Obialor of Anambra, Sullivan Chime of Enugu, Martins Elechi of Ebonyi and Theodore Orji of Abia, during their meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday.

NAWOJ President Advocates Psychiatric Test For Rapists ILORIN - The National President of the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, (NAWOJ), Mrs.

Minister of State for Power, Mr. Mohammed Wakil (right) and Team Leader of American Investors, Mr. Roy Tefee, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Power in Abuja yesterday. With them is Director, Legal Services, Ministry of Power, Mrs. Adedotun Shoetan.

PFN President Tasks FG, Nigerians LAGOS - The National President, Pentecostal On Egalitarian Society and hope,” he said.

Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Rev Felix Omobude, urged Nigerians irrespective of religion or tribe to join hands with the Federal Government in building an egalitarian society.

Omobude said this at a news conference held at Christian Pentecostal Ministry, Ajao Estate, Lagos.

He urged Nigerians to continue to be optimistic in spite of the current challenges, saying “we can make Nigeria a land of integrity and honour.”

“We call on all Nigerians irrespective of tribe or religion to come together as one in these difficult times.

“Our differences are infinitesimal when placed side by side with what we have in common.

“Together we can overcome the challenges of today and face tomorrow with much confidence

The cleric called for the restoration of moral consciousness and national ethos to ensure free, fair and credible elections in 2015 and beyond.

Omobude noted with dismay that the scheduled 2015 elections had given rise to “unethical and oppressive practices’’ by some politicians.

He called on politicians to fulfill their promises to the people especially through the provision of social amenities to make life worth-living.

The cleric added: “They should not let selfish ambitions blindfold them. It is important that politicians do not destroy the country they aspire to rule.

“We look forward to our political parties engaging in more robust issues-based discourse rather than the incessant personal and disparaging comments they

trade across board.”

Omobude said some of the nation’s political and religious leaders had sold their conscience for the sake of money.

He urged Nigerians to remain positive about the country and pray to God for a prosperous and peaceful 2015.

He expressed concern about the activities of insurgents in the country which had claimed responsibility for the kidnap of more than 200 Chibok girls in April 14.

The cleric, who commended the federal government on its efforts to address the challenges, urged the authorities to do more in stemming insurgency.

Omobude also called on government at all levels to increase their level of cooperation, saying the battle can only be won when Nigerians are

Ifeyinwa Omowole, has advocated psychiatric test for rapists, especially those who engaged in raping toddlers.

Omowole made call in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State.

She particularly expressed concern over the increasing cases of rape against toddlers in the country and called for a holistic measure by the three tiers of government against the menace.

The NAWOJ president said that rape should be seen beyond a violent act, adding that investigations should include the state of mental disorder of the perpetrators of the crime.

She stressed the need to encourage specialisation in trauma verification and clinical psychology in order to look at

the cases of such violence from diverse perspectives.

On the participation of more women in the electoral process in 2015, Omowole called for more gender equality the nation’s polity, adding that although women had attained 33 per cent representations in government, it could be improved upon.

She, however, admitted that Nigeria was not yet ripe for a female president or governor, but urged women to participate more in politics at the grassroots.

Omowole also expressed satisfaction with the composition of the National Conference and commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his bold step in constituting the body.

She, however, expressed the hope that the conference would come up with meaningful recommendations that could further move the nation forward.

On how to move the Journalism profession forward, Omowole said that her tenure would accord priority to the training of journalists, especially women.

She assured that the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), under the leadership of Malam Mohammed Garba, would work relentlessly toward actualising the Media Salary Structure (MSS).

Omowole described Kwara as a peaceful state and appealed to the leadership to sustain the existing peace in the area.

BIRNIN KEBBI - The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, has called on Nigerians, especially residents of desertification prone-areas, to plant trees to protect the environment from degradation.

Mallam gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Birnin Kebbi at the end of her visit to Zamfara and Kebbi to sensitise the public to the importance of the Great Green Wall project.

She said the Federal Government was ready to support state governments, organisations and individuals on tree planting.

The minister also called on Nigerians to cooperate with the Federal Government on its efforts at protecting the environment, saying that it was a collective responsibility

of everybody.

“If environment conducive for living is not there, farming will be affected, livestock will be affected and human lives will be affected as well.

“You see what happened in Zamfara, a village that has no tree was destroyed by windstorm few days ago and you can see their willingness to protect their environment.

“You see how they have started planting trees and we support them to plant more trees; we must protect the environment so that we can leave healthier and cleaner,’’ she said.

Mallam said that the ministry would inaugurate the project in Kebbi soon as part of the afforestation initiative to combat desertification in the state.

“Mr President has earmarked quite a lot of money for this project, the state governments are expected to put in certain percentage.

“The communities too have their own role to play in raising the seedlings, planting the seedlings, nurturing and ensuring that the project succeeds. “ So, Mr President is willing to come into the states to alleviate the suffering of the people through this great project,’’ she said.

The minister said that the Federal Government had received massive support from the states to implement the project, adding that the people were also happy with the development.

Plant Trees, Prevent Degradation, Minister Tells Nigerians

News Knight of St. John Int’l Holds GBOT, Initiates Candidates

Threat To Life:

Wife Seeks Divorce IBADAN - A middle aged housewife, Kafayat Rabiu, has asked a Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan, Oyo State to dissolve her marriage to Taofeek Rabiu, for alleged attempt to murder her.

In her statement, Kafayat told the court that Rabiu had on a number of occasions attempted to put an end to her life through her own son. “”Since we stopped living together as husband and wife he had been sending our 23 year-old son to kill me for no reason.

“Only recently, the boy attacked me in my own house with a knife with the intention of killing me.

“After he had been overpowered by the neighbours, he confessed that it was his father who sent him to hunt me down and kill me.

“I have decided not to live with Rabiu again because he is irresponsible and only wants to exploit me sexually for his selfish desires,’’ Kafayat told the court In his counter argument, Rabiu, however, denied the allegations against him.

“The truth of the matter is that I never sent that boy on any evil plot.

“The boy is plagued by drug addiction and is now almost mentally and psychologically demented.

“I have done all I could to rehabilitate him and had at different times placed him on different jobs, but all failed.

By ROLAND OSAKUE

Members of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Lagos State chapter, protesting over alleged non-implementation of Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS) in Lagos yesterday.

AMUKPE (SAPELE) – The ancient town of Amukpe, Sapele in Delta State literarily stood still at the weekend, following the Grand Board of Trustees (GBOT) meeting of Knights of St John International (KSJI), Benin Grand Commandery and Grand Ladies Auxiliary (LAUX) which drew dignitaries of the Order from all walks of life.

At the meeting, candidates who aspired to the Order for initiation, as well as those for exemplification and full dress, including candidates of the Auxiliary for investiture and initiation were subjected to military drill and exercise at

Body Waste Gives Insight Into Health State - Medics LAGOS - Medical experts have explained that body waste could give valuable insight into the overall health condition of a person.

The experts said “that is why doctors at times advise patients to take a look before they flush their waste because being observant can save a life.

The experts in separate interviews with newsmen in

Lagos said the colour, size, shape, consistency and odour of human waste could ascertain one’s health status.

A Lagos-based Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr Akinyemi Olaleye, told journalist that doctors would always ask questions about body emissions because of their relevance to diagnosing many health problems.

Olaleye explained that “what

Traders at Ogba Retail market in Lagos protesting over proposed demolition of the market by the state government yesterday.

comes out of our bodies as waste could give a clue to a health situation.

“For instance if you notice that suddenly your stool is unusually dark, tarry or bright red, it could be an indication that there is some form of bleeding internally, especially if no multivitamins had been ingested within the period.

“A pale grey stool may indicate the absence of bile which may suggest problems such as hepatitis, cirrhosis or a blockage in the bile duct, only if the individual has not consumed antacids.’’

Dr Austin Afume, a Medical Officer at the General Hospital Ikorodu, said some individuals could find that their stool regularly contained undigested food materials.

“If your stool regularly contains undigested food, and this is accompanied by a steady weight loss, you need to seek medical attention.’’

He said there was need for awareness in this regard.

Another Lagos-based Consultant Paediatrician, Dr Ijeoma Fadipe, said the wealth of information could be gathered from microscopically-screened body waste during medical examination.

Fadipe urged individuals to pay attention to their bodies and report any unusual difference they might find, with regard to their body emissions.

“A radical change in your child’s stool from the usual should not be taken for granted, it may be indicative, please check with your doctor,” Fadipe advised.

Another physician, Dr Usifo Aikpokpo, said that sweet smelling urine could be a clue to a serious condition.

“It is telling that there is presence of blood sugar excreted in the urine; probably a filter damage in the kidney.’’

He advised people to be alert to any change or oddity in their body waste and seek medical help.

Police Arraign Man For Cheating

ABUJA - The police has arraigned Chikeze Chukwuka, 31, of Jabi Village in a Wuse Zone 2 Senior Magistrates’ Court for criminal breach of trust and cheating.

The prosecutor, Cpl Francis Tanko, told the court that on June 7, Daniel Ikechukwu of Kubwa reported the matter at Wuse police station.

He said that Ikechuckwu entrusted the accused with his blackberry phone to sell for him.

The prosecutor said the accused sold the phone for N22,000 but failed to remit the money to Ikechuckwu.

80 Percent Of Retirees Opt For Wrong Pension - Expert ABUJA - The Financial Planner, Leadway Assurance Company, Mr Fatoye Paul in Abuja said 80 percent of retirees in the country made wrong choice of pension plan.

Paul made the assertion in Abuja an interview with newsmen on the sidelines of the “Verification and Enrolment for Federal Government Employees Due for Retirement in 2015”.

Paul said that majority of the retirees go for programmed withdrawal as their pension on retirement because they were unaware of other plans available.

He explained that there were a lot of insurance companies

present at the exercise to enlighten prospective retirees about the retirement plans available to them.

He decried the unpopularity of the annuity plan, which is a type of life insurance package for retirees in spite of all publicity being done in that regard.

“Majority of prospective retirees are still unaware of the options available to them at retirement. We are here to let them know that there are three options.

“According to the Pension Reform Act 2004, Section 4, there is the option of monthly or quarterly withdrawal on the basis

of an expected life span.

“The second option is annuity for life, purchased from a life insurance company, licence by NAICOM. “And lastly, we have the lump sum withdrawal of not more than 50 per cent of total retirement savings out of which the rest will be either programmed withdrawal or annuity,” he said.

Paul urged prospective retirees to opt for the annuity because it is a good retirement plan that pays higher than the other options of programmed withdrawal.

He told newsmen that for annuity, the pay is for life, no matter the number of years the

retiree lives.

He explained that in annuity, if a retiree dies within a guaranteed period, their beneficiaries would be paid the balance of their lump sum by the insurance company.

Similarly, a Benefit Administrator from Legacy Pension, Mrs Blessing Anieze, told It would be recalled that the programmed withdrawal was handled by the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and Annuity by insurance companies.

“The PFAs are known mostly by everyone and these retirees don’t really know about us.

“It is like the PFAs have overshadowed the system and people don’t know about the annuity plan.

“And annuity is a very good retirement package. It takes care of the elders in our societies no matter how long they live.

“These people cannot work again because of their age. Some don’t have business abilities after working so long for the government,” she said.

The exercise was organised by the National Pension Commission which started since June 9, and is expected to end on June 13 at the Women Development Centre, Abuja.

Songhai Youth Centre, Amukpe, Sapele in line with the tradition of the Order.

However, exams were also conducted for candidates after the exercise in line with the catechism lectures they underwent since the past six months subscribed to the Order.

Addressing members at the meeting, the Grand President, Noble Knight, Brig. Gen. Joseph O. Ojobu enjoined members to be proactive in their callings as defenders of the church, rather than engage in petty politics within the Order that could derail them from entering heaven.

Gen. Ojobu, who was particularly worried about some members who crave for personal aggrandizement in the order, urged them to emulate the joy of living in Christ as it was a panacea to the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.

In her remarks, the Respected President, Benin Grand Ladies Auxiliary, Lady (Dr) Florence Ngozi said the Order was for spiritual growth in the church as hearers and doers of the word of God. This, she said can be achieved through frequent prayers, self-denial and good work.

At the thanksgiving service to climax the three day meeting at St. Mary’s Parish, Amukpe, Sapele, the officiating Priest, Rev. Fr. Thaddeus Okpowudo said the disunity in the country was as a result of the abandonment of communal life, where love, trust and peace was the order of the day.

The priest, who is the spiritual adviser to St. Patrick Commandery and Laux 524, Sapele further enjoined the faithful, particularly the Knights and Ladies of St. John International to love one another by promoting and uniting the people of the county with the words of God. In their remarks, Sir Sylvester Egbase, the Worthy President of Commandery 717, Benin, the Grand Secretary, Col. Donatus A.D. Igboin, and Sir Adams Aliu described the GBOT meeting as successful, even as they noted that Sapele was indeed liberated for Christ.

It would be recalled that 59 candidates were initiated into the knighthood, 30 were inducted to the rank of exemplification including this reporter, while 12 got their full dress investiture.

Similarly, 28 female candidates were initiated into the Ladies Auxiliary while 13 got their investiture at the occasion.

Brig. Gen. Joseph O. Ojobu

South/South Delta ADP Decries Shortage Of Personnel, Vehicles IBUSA (DELTA) - Mr Richard Asenime, Programme Manager, Delta State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), has decried the inadequacy of personnel and vehicles to rich out to farmers in the state.

Asenime told newsmen in Ibusa, Delta, that the challenges of mobility and personnel had affected ADP’s ability to deliver extension services to farmers.

The manager said it was ADP’s responsibility to educate farmers on modern methods of farming and to monitor their activities over time to ensure that they did the right thing.

According to him, the programme is organised in such a way that each ADP is divided into cells and each cell is to be monitored by one extension agent.

“So, in Delta we have 200 cells and these cells ordinarily should have 200 extension agents but as I speak with you, we have a little above 80 extension officers.

“Our programme is statewide and we are supposed to visit every farmer as part of our extension services to educate them on the latest farming methods and applications.

“With these shortages, the potential of reaching all the farmers is not there, so, we are looking for more extension workers to ease our job,” he said.

He said the population of registered farmers in the state was high and that the Federal Government through its Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) was carrying out enumeration of farmers in the states.

Mr Felix Kehis, State Director of Federal Government’s ATA and Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES), said no fewer than 204, 000 farmers had registered in Delta since its inception.

Asenime said the programme was a mobile one and commended the Federal Government for the complementary role it played in providing 22 motorcycles for the extension workers.

He said that extension services were very important to government policy on agriculture because it increased productivity as well as alleviated poverty.

SEEFOR

Beneficiaries Want Programme To Last 2 Years

Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd left); Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) Osun Chapter, Elder Adelowo Adebiyi (left); member, State House of Assembly of Osun, Honourable Leke Ogunsola (right); Assistant Chief of Staff to the Governor, Barrister Gbenga Akano (2nd right) and others during the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s first National Convention at Eagles Square Abuja at the weekend.

Former Governor of Lagos State, Sen. Bola Tinubu (right) in a handshake with Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu during APC first National Convention in Abuja at the weekend. With them are; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar (left) and former Minister of Information Prince Tony Momoh.

Oil Theft:

22 Soldiers Graduate From Swimming Course

HARRY’S TOWN (RIVERS)- The Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta has said that it would train several of its soldiers to further boost combat readiness of troops in the creeks.

The Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade, Owerri, Brig.Gen. Lanre Bello, said this at the graduation of 22 soldiers trained in its Waterman-ship cadre training in Harry’s Town, Degema local government area of Rivers.

Bello said the exercise organised by the JTF Sector 2 aimed to equip soldiers and officers with requisite skills to swim and manoeuvre the difficult terrain of creeks in the Niger Delta.

“The cadres (trainees) are very delighted because they were able to acquire skills on Watermanship, and (this) will impact greatly on their ability when they go back to their various units and formations.

“They (trainees) are in the Niger Delta to protect national assets in the creeks and, during patrols, will have the confidence to pursue people indulging in illegal oil bunkering activities.

“They will improve on our (JTF) ability to achieve zero tolerance in protecting oil installations in the Niger Delta.”

Bello said the exercise became necessary as some soldiers in spite of wearing life jackets during rare cases of boat mishaps while on operations tend to panic on sighting the broadness of water.

The Commander said the task force’s operations in protecting

the nation’s oil installations had been improved with the training.

Earlier, Lt.-Col Caius Baushe, the Commanding Officer of 130 Battalion and Chief Instructor of the exercise, said the soldiers were also drilled in physical endurance, ground, water, and instructional phrases.

According to him, the 22 welltrained, highly-motivated and combat-prepared troops can stand the test of time in any water operation.

The report states that out of the 25 soldiers who participated in the exercise 22 were successful.

ASABA - Beneficiaries of State Employment and Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR) programme in Delta, have appealed for an extension of the programme by one year.

Reports state that SEEFOR is an intervention programme aimed at empowering the poor and unemployed, and is expected to last one year.

It is the programme of the World Bank and the European Union (EU), in partnership with the Delta state government.

But beneficiaries told journalists in Asaba that they wanted the programme implemented for two years.

They lauded the initiative, saying that it had brought succour to them and their families.

A mother of two, Mrs Evelyn Okolie, said that since she was engaged by SEEFOR , her family had been stable.

“The little money I have been receiving is really helping me in feeding my two children, and at the same time sending them to school.

“When I got the offer, I thought it was a permanent employment that would last many years, but it was later explained to me that the programme would last for one year.

“I am appealing to the World Bank and the state government, to extend it to two years or more years. This will enable me set up a little business that can take care of me and my children,” she said.

A father of four, Mr George Odigwe, said right from the time he was engaged by SEEFOR, he had been a happy man who could feed his family.

“To some people, the money might be small, but to me, the money is much. Out of the N16, 000 I receive, I save N5, 000 every month.

“The money I save will enable me set up a workshop, where I can make extra income to take care of my family.

“I am grateful to SEEFOR for providing me with this job, but I am also appealing that the programme be extended by one year”, he pleaded..

Another beneficiary, Mrs Loveth Imor, said that the programme had given her another chance to live a meaningful life, expressing her gratitude to the initiators.

Environmentalist Cautions Against Indiscriminate Disposal volunteers, had sparked off its implication on the had yet to commence Of Crude violent clashes between them and youths environment, thereby leaving operations.

YENAGOA - Mr. Tontiemote Yeiyei , the project Officer of Ondewari Health Education and Environmental Project (OHEEP), has advised youths to stop the indiscriminate disposal of crude in Bayelsa.

Yeiyei told newsmen in Yenagoa on Sunday, that some youths, under the guise of the Bayelsa Volunteers Scheme (BVS), had begun destruction of local refineries in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

He noted that the operations of the volunteers was being carried out with out due consideration to

some communities covered with thick smokes.

He said that the polluted air caused by indiscriminate burning of local refineries, had exposed residents in such communities to health hazards.

If this is the only way to go about disposing the crude, then our environment, which the government hopes to protect by clamping down on local refineries, is worse off.

“These boys are behaving as outlaws and are not answerable

to any known agency of government.

“They just set the refinery camps ablaze without considering the safety of the people and the environmental implications.

“I believe that there is need for orderliness and control.

Government should consider the option of meaningfully engaging the operators of the refineries, through dialogue,” he said.

He said the use of force by the

some aggrieved refinery operators.

Our investigations showed that officials of National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency and Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, were not involved in the operations of the volunteers, headed by a Chief Superintendent of Police.

When contacted for reactions, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, Spokesman for Bayelsa Police Command, told newsmen that the Bayelsa Volunteers, comprising 1, 100

“The Bayelsa Volunteers scheme is yet to take off, and I can assure you that there is going to be control.

“It is being coordinated by a Chief Superintendent of Police but the details of the line of command and responsibility, is being worked out.

“What is happening at Southern Ijaw is as a result of a task force set up by the local government chairman,” Akhigbe said.

South-West Human Right Violation

Journalist Sues Police LAGOS - A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed September 22 to hear a suit filed by a Journalist, Ebere Wabara, seeking the enforcement of his fundamental rights against the Police.

The applicant, an Associate Editor of The Sun Newspaper, had filed the suit through his lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, against the police, for violating his rights.

Joined as respondents in the suit are: the Inspector-General of Police; Abia State Chief Magistrate, Mr. John Ukpai, and the Attorney General of Abia State and Commissioner for Justice.

Reports states that the suit, which was earlier slated for hearing, was on Monday, adjourned at the instance of the court, due to its work load.

Justice Okon Abang, therefore, fixed Sepember 22 for hearing.

It will be recalled that at the last adjourned date on May 28, the Attorney General of Abia State, Mr. Kalu Umeh, SAN, had filed a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the suit.

The applicant, in the same vain, filed a reply to the motion, while the case was set down for hearing.

The applicant was seeking an order restraining the respondents from arresting or detaining him, following a bench warrant issued by the second respondent, on the basis of a charge of sedition levied against him.

In his affidavit, the applicant averred that he had practised as a journalist for over 30 years, and served as Special Assistant to the Publisher of The Sun Newspaper, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu.

He said that on March 28, some policemen from the Abia State Police Command, stormed his residence at Aguda in Surulere, Lagos, and dragged him to Sholoki police station in Surulere.

He said that he was arrested while still in his underpants, handcuffed, and eventually taken away to Umuahia.

The applicant said that he was subjected to extreme dehumanizing conditions at the

police station in Umuahia.

He said that he was eventually released on bail on March 29, with one Chuks Onuoha, standing surety.

Wabara said that he was asked to return to the station on March 31.

He averred that when he arrived Lagos, he took ill due to the harsh conditions he was subjected to at Umuahia, and was admitted at Duntro Hospital in Surulere.

He said that on March 31, he was informed by a source, that the respondents had preferred a criminal charge against him, alleging that he had committed sedition, and had defamed the character of the Governor of Abia State.

The applicant said that on the

face of the charge levied against him, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest and detention.

He averred that as a journalist, he was entitled to the freedom of expression, and was also at liberty to hold opinion and impart information, without interference.

The applicant wants the court to vacate the bench warrant issued by the second respondent, on the ground that sedition no longer constituted a punishable offence under Section 39 of the Constitution, as amended.

He also avers that on the authority of Arthur Nwankwo V State reported in 1985, NCLR 288, sedition was no longer a punishable offence recognised by the Constitution.

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Lagos Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development, Dr. Segun Oshinyimka; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Riskat Akiode; Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Aderogba at the day of the African Child in Lagos yesterday.

Nigeria Democracy:

By ABIODUN AFOLABI IBADAN ~A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Adeniyi Akintola has described June 12 as an unerasable phenomenon in Nigeria and baseline for the present and future discourse on democracy and governance in the country.

Akintola who delivered a paper titled “June 12: Nigeria still in search of Good Governance and Good leaders” organised by the Oyo State Correspondents chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the nation is sick and in dire need of cure.

Specifically, he regretted that despite the abundance of human and material resources abound across the nation, this nation has never been blessed with good and credible leaders.

Referring to the ultimate price paid by Bashorun MKO Abiola, the man whose ultimate sacrifice

laid the foundation for the eventual capitulation of military rule, thus paving way for our current democratic experience, Akintola however regretted that the era of locusts which characterized military era is unfortunately back in Nigeria.

Said he :”The locusts have never left the shore of this country. Unfortunately they are today reaping where they did not sow. The likes of Moshood Erubami, myself, Gbenga Awosode and the likes were hounded and brutalised while fighting for the emancipation of the suffering masses by these locusts who unfortunately are still calling shots in the land and are back again through the back door. They brewed rebels, radicals without knowing and unfortunately the nation and common man are the worse hit.”

He said even though Abiola who he said was a man of history transcended ethnic and religious

June 12, Unforgetable - Legal Expert

boundaries was no longer physically around, the ideal of June 12 lives on.

He stated that “Before his death, MKO kept telling people that if he died, the spirit of June 12 would remain alive. True to his prophesy, for as long as June 12 has become a watershed in the date ‘June 12’ remains on the calendar, men and women will not cease to remember that date in the history of Nigeria when Nigerians overwhelmingly chose democracy over tribalism or religious jingoism as well as its symbol, MKO.” “I believe the topic, June 12: Nigeria still in search of good governance and good leaders, is predicated on assumptions and presumptions. I say this because the topic by itself is suggestive of the fact that the country is yet to experience good governance

Ekiti Violence: APC Demands Probe LAGOS The All Progressives Congress (APC), on Thursday urged the police hierarchy to investigate the violence that occurred in Ado Ekiti in which one life was lost.

In a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said that the call for investigation was with a view to unravelling the cause of the

Students waving National flags of African countries at the commemoration of the day of the African Child in Abuja.

attack.

It said that investigating the violence and punishing those responsible would send a strong signal that the police would not tolerate such acts. ‘’It will also go a long way in reducing the tension that has been heightened in the state,’’ the statement said.

The party said that failure to unravel the cause of the violence might send a wrong signal to the people that those paid to protect them were not doing so.

It urged the police to be neutral, professional and above board in the discharge of its duties, especially ahead of the two key elections in Ekiti and Osun.

The party also appealed to its members and supporters in the state to remain calm and ensure that the forthcoming election is conducted in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity.

The Ekiti governorship election is billed for June 21.

or have good leaders since the unfortunate and criminal annulment of June 12, 1993 election, “he opined.

Akintola claimed “For those of us living in this country, we know as facts that 21years after the nullification of an election adjudged to be the freest ever held in the Nigeria’s history, the country is still gropping in the dark in search of worthy leaders who have genuine, patriotic zeal to transform the country and liberate it from the clutches of poverty and hopelessness.” “ A calm look at the state of

the nation today and a retrospection into the recent past administrations will reveal that it is still far from uhuru for Nigeria and its teeming citizens.

Virtually all aspects of our national life are in shambles.

Name it, power, health, agriculture, education and transportation, just to mention a few .”

While the Senior Advocate posited that June 12 should be real Nigeria’s democracy day, he was of the view that Nigerians should not shy to demand for accountability from their leaders and refuse to sell their votes if the much needed good leadership would emerge in Nigeria.

Explore A/Level Exam For Admission Into Varsities, Students Urged IBADAN - Mrs Olubunmi Faluyi, Secretary, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, has advised students to explore Advanced Level GCE as option to JAMB examinations for admission into universities.

She gave this advice at the 2014 valedictory service of the outgoing students of “JSAY Prevarsity School’’ in Ibadan.

Faluyi, former Admissions Officer at the University of Ibadan, said admissions into universities in Nigeria these days had become difficult as students failed to meet the cut-off marks for their courses yearly.

She said admission quota for undergraduates at the University of Ibadan used to be between 3000 and 3,500 annually, adding that over 11,000 applications were usually received.

She explained that “the unlucky candidates are thrown back into the admission market after failed attempt at the UTME. “Rather than waste money and time, I would advise prospective students to seek alternative admissions through the A’ Level GCE into 200 levels at the university.

“The GCE ‘A’ Level courses are offered in designated institutions accredited to run the

courses in Nigeria.

“Most of them run the London Cambridge A ‘Level, IGCSE, and other admission requisite courses for overseas admissions’’, she said.

“This system would go a long way in creating more admission slots for undergraduates and help solve the problems of admissions through UTME. “As adolescents, attention span and psychological effects of failing admission examinations repeatedly could cause lack of focus and interest’’, Faluyi said.

Earlier, Mrs Olajumoke Akere, Director of the school, said this year’s valedictory service was the 13th edition, adding that the school started in 2007 with only one student.

Akere said 50 graduates were being sent off and that the school’s numerical strength had improved considerably.

She said the school recorded 100 per cent success in Biology, Mathematics and Business studies in its last A’Level GCE and London Cambridge Certificate examinations.

She also said that the school gave out scholarships to four students to study in any universities of their choice within the country.

Across The Nation Quit Owerri Metropolis Govt Orders Mechanics OWERRI Imo Government has ordered mechanics operating within Owerri metropolis to relocate to two mechanic clusters designated by the government

by June 26.

It will be recalled that the two mechanics clusters at Orji and Nekede were established 34 years ago by the first civilian administration in Imo. This is contained in a statement issued by Mrs. Ugochi Nnanna-Okoro, Commissioner for Industry and Non-Formal Sector, in Owerri.

Nnanna-Okoro said the state government would not tolerate further operations of mechanics within Owerri Township.

She said government had approved additional space at Orji Mechanic Village to accommodate more mechanics, noting that those who failed to take advantage of the grace period would be dealt with.

The commissioner also

warned property owners against allowing mechanics to operate within their premises.

“Any plot owner in Owerri that allowed mechanics to operate on his/her space will have the property revoked,’’ Nnanna-Okoro stated in the statement.

She said that the abandoned and unserviceable vehicles in front of mechanic workshops were desecrating the good works of Gov. Rochas Okoracha-led administration.

“Owners of such vehicles that are parked within Owerri should intensify effort to remove the vehicles because government had already inaugurated a task force to impound such vehicles,’’ she said.

Nnanna-Okoro, who recently visited Orji Mechanic Village on a sensitisation tour, also said that the state government would soon construct an ultra-modern mechanic cluster in the state.

Hot Temper

Wife Seeks Divorce ILORIN - A housewife, Hawau Jimoh has prayed an Ilorin Area Customary Court to dissolve her three-year-old marriage to Moshood Jimoh, on ground of hot temper.

Hawau, 29, who resides at Agbo-Oba Area, Ilorin, told the court that her husband was too hot tempered and aggressive in nature.

The complainant explained that her husband easily gets provoked and would throw anything at her.

“My husband had once elbowed my stomach and I was hospitalised for two days due to his uncontrollable aggression and temper,” she said.

The complainant explained that their marriage was

contracted in 2011 and was yet to produce any child.

“My lord, I want an end to this marriage because I cannot continue with a man that cannot control his temper,” she said.

The defendant objected to the prayer of his wife, saying that he was still interested in the marriage.

“I promise to control my temper and avoid being harsh on her, henceforth,” he said.

He prayed the court for another date for him to make a reconciliatory move.

The presiding Judge, Mr. Yusuf Abdulkareem, adjourned the case until July 16 for a report of settlement or continuation of hearing.

Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau (right) listening to the Commissioner for Works, Mr. Chris Hassan, during the Governor’s inspection of projects at Miago Road in Jos South Local Government Area of the State recently.

Assault: 3 Revenue

Collectors Remanded

MARARABA (NASARAWA STATE) - A Senior Magistrate’s Court in Mararaba, Nasarawa state,has remanded three revenue collectors in prison for alleged assault and mischief.

The accused persons are Mustapha Isiake, 29, John Idoko, 29, and Sani Idris, 28.

The Senior Magistrate, Mr. Jeremiah Danladi, ordered the remand of the accused persons after they pleaded not guilty to the charges.

They are facing a three count charge of criminal conspiracy, assault and mischief.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Mr Steven Kwaza, told the court that the incident was reported at the Sani Abacha Road Police Station, Mararaba by one Abimbola Duntoye of Zamani Street, Mararaba on June 12.

Kwaza said that on the same date, while Odutayo was driving his red Mitshubushi Wagon along

old Karu Road, Mararaba, the accused persons, members of National Freight and Haulage

Task Force, conspired among themselves to assault him.

“The accused persons

Fighting: 2 Women,

Man Jailed

ZUBA (FCT) - An Upper Area Court in Zuba area of the Federal Capital Territory has sentenced two women and a man to eight months imprisonment each for fighting.

The trio, Bukky Ibrahim, Sadiya Sak, and Ibrahim Maigurasa of no fixed addresses were also charged with public nuisance.

The presiding judge, Malam Aminu Sa’ad gave the sentence after the accused persons pleaded guilty to the two counts charge of disturbance of public peace and public nuisance.

Sa’ad however, gave the

convicts an option of fine of N20, 000 each.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Momoh Ibrahim had told the court that on June 10, a crime prevention patrol team, led by Cpl Alimo Dubi, while on patrol, met the convicts engaged in a fight over a mere argument.

Ibrahim said that during police interrogation none of the trio could give a satisfactory account of themselves.

The prosecutor told the court that their offences contravened sections 113 and 183 of the Penal Code.

conspired among themselves to assault him, accusing him of parking his vehicle wrongly at a safe spot along the road.

“One of them jumped into his car while the others pursued him with a motorcycle and beat him up and broke his car windscreen, (value yet at unknown), ” Kwaza said.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecutor said that the offences contravened Sections 97, 265 and 32 of the Penal Code.

Presiding magistrate Danladi asked the accused persons the name and location of their office and they were unable to give any satisfactory answer.

He ordered that they be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case till June 25, for hearing.

Defilment

Man, 35, Remanded

L-R: Plateau Commissioner for Tourism, Culture and Hospitality, Pastor Yiljap Abraham, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Alhaji Sani Abubakar and Secretary, Riyom Local Government Area, Mr. Alex Kundang, during the Commissioner’s familiarisation visit to Tourist sites in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau recently.

M A R A R A B A (NASARAWA STATE) - A Mararaba Upper Area Court on has ordered the remand of one Torkegh Matu, 35, of AngwanJikwoyi, New Karu, Nasarawa State in prison for allegedly raping a two-year old girl.

The Police Prosecutor, Mr. Joseph Ahwa, told the court that the incident was reported at the ‘A’ Division Police Station, Mararaba, by one Jennifer Aso of same address with the accused on June 10.

Ahwa said the victim lived with her mother in the same compound with the accused.

The prosecutor said the victim’s mother came home and noticed bruises on the body of her two-year old daughter whom she left while asleep.

“She checked her and noticed some bruises on her

private part. She took her to a medical center in Mararaba, where it was confirmed that there was an attempt at penetration.

“She suspected Matu who was the only male at home with the daughter.’’

Ahwa urged the court not to grant bail to the accused in order to prevent interference with police investigations.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

His counsel, Mr. Gabriel Okhugbe, urged the court to grant the accused bail.

The presiding judge, Mr. Vincent Gwahemba rejected the bail application and ordered that the accused be remanded in prison.

He adjourned the case to July 9 for hearing.

Abuja Wamakko Urges Politicians To Shun Ethnic Sentiments ABUJA - The Chairman, National Convention Committee of All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State, has appealed to politicians to shun religious and tribal sentiments to enhance national unity.

Wamakko made the call while declaring the first National Convention of APC opened in Abuja.

According to him, governance is a collective responsibility of all the multitudes of diverse interests and identities. “ These same factors also engender the principles that leadership of Nigeria is a franchise to which all the sectional, ethnic and religious components of the country have a right. “ This is the reality that we have come to accept, in spite of our diversity and at times, sharply divergent composition. “ This, coming to terms with the facts and realities of our corporate existence, is the foundation for the sustenance of our nation, “Wamakko said.

He said that Nigeria was once again rising above the ‘bad tides‘, through the amalgamation of positives elements from across all sectional, ethnic and religious divides. “ These are men and women in whose hearts those principles, upon which our country was bornand are still firmly anchored.“

He said the national convention of APC was a milestone in a long journey and “an odyssey that sets out to rescue a nation in distress “. “ This convention is, therefore, only the start of true and genuine transformation, which we shall spear-head and with the partnership of all citizens, we shall realise it. “ In his speech a former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, said the formation of the APC was to provide a party that would make an impact on the lives of Nigerians.

Buhari said Nigerians were yearning for a better change that would find a lasting solution to decay in our infrastructure, falling standard of education and lingering securing challenge President Goodluck Jonathan (right); and President Macky Sall of Senegal, during the arrival of President facing the country.

Jonathan for the Dakar Financing Summit for Africa’s Infrastructure Development in Senegal at the weekend.

He noted that the fundamental reason for government was to guarantee the safety of lives and properties of the citizenry and assured Nigerians that the APC was committed to restore peace in the country.

Also speaking, former Vice ABUJA - The Oyo State “We are satisfied with the of Publicity, Research and Oyegun.

President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar “The task ahead now is to said the convention would give chapter of APC has expressed election of Oyegun as APC Strategy of APC in Osun, congratulated the party’s marshal a plan to assume the birth to alternative party for satisfaction with the emergence national chairman.

“He is a democrat and a man national leaders and delegates mantle of leadership at the Nigerians who want better health of Chief John Oyegun as care delivery and employment for National Chairman of the party. of vision on whose shoulder the for their maturity in its just- centre through a democratic Chairman of the party in the party would navigate the ship of concluded convention. process come 2015. the youth.

This is conveyed in a “With the success of the Abubakar expressed optimism state, Akin Oke, said the state Nigeria state to designated statement he issued to the media party’s convention in Abuja on that APC would win presidential chapter would support Oyegun harbour.

“He was the most acceptable in Osogbo on Saturday.

Friday, internal democratic and all governorship elections in because he represented the ideals of the party. among candidates that vied for The statement said those who process has gained a firm the country. the position. had doubted the success of the foothold.

“We have confidence in him convention would now have a “The leadership consensus because we worked with him in rethink in view of a job well building approach to solving the days of Social Democratic done. difficult issues has also matured Party. We were satisfied with his According to him, the party significantly,’’ the statement leadership quality.’’ is now on course to spearhead a said.

PDP. Oke further said Oyegun was democratic revolution for a Oyegun emerged at the first It also urged the party to The statement added that the best suited to take over from the positive change in the country. national convention held in jettison all divisive tendencies ruling PDP remained the only immediate past Interim “The party has scaled through Abuja on Friday. including unguarded statements party that had continued to be National Chairman of the party, the hurdle of putting together a He contested against former that overheat the polity. committed to national interest.

Chief Bisi Akande. formidable national executive Governor Timipre Silva of The statement, however, It held that PDP was the only “At this point in the party, we led by the former Governor of Bayelsa, and Chief Tom Ikimi, maintained PDP’s pre-eminent party that had provided level need someone who has a similar Edo State, Chief John Odigie- a chieftain of the party. position and widest acceptance playing ground for Nigerians to ideology with Akande and who among Nigerians and across the achieve their political will not sabotage the party’s board. aspirations irrespective of tenets.’’

It stressed that APC‘s news religion, ethnicity and gender.

Mr Kunle Oyatomi, Director leadership posed no threat to the

APC Chieftain Applauds Oyegun’s Emergence As National Chairman

Ensure Vibrant Opposition, PDP Urges APC’s New Leadership ABUJA - The PDP has called on the new National Chairman of APC, Chief John Oyegun, and other elected officials, to ensure a vibrant opposition.

This call is contained in a statement issued by PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Olisa Metuh, in Abuja on Saturday.

The statement urged them to eschew bitterness, desperation and divisive tendencies.

It congratulated Oyegun, APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and other newly elected officials on their emergence at their party’s National Convention.

The statement also charged the new APC’s leadership to ensure issue-based opposition that would purposefully and constructively engage and challenge the PDP. This, it added, should be done with decency and maturity in consonance with democratic tenets and principles.

It stressed that Nigerians deserved a vibrant and patriotic opposition driven only by national interest.

It further charged the new APC leadership to put the unity and welfare of Nigerians ahead of other considerations.

N5.2m Theft

Man, 35, Docked

L-R: President Macky Sall of Senegal; President Goodluck Jonathan; Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Nigeria’s Ambassador to Senegal, Mrs. Katyen Catherine Jackden and the Special Adviser to the President on NEPAD, Mrs. Fidelia Njeze during arrival of President Jonathan for the Dakar Financing Summit for Africa’s Infrastructure Development in Senegal at the weekend.

LAGOS - A 35-year-old man, Olusola Adebayo, was charged before a Yaba Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, over the alleged theft of two heavy duty trucks valued at N5.2million.

Adebayo, who resides at 23, Ebegbune St., Ajao Estate, Lagos State, is facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining under false pretences and stealing.

The prosecutor, ASP Godwin Anyanwu, told the court that Adebayo and two others now at large, on September 10, 2012, approached one Mr Collins Magboko, and allegedly indicated their interest to purchase his trucks, marked XU 944 JJJ and XX 722 AGC. According to him, the accused allegedly purchased the trucks after the complainant agreed to instalmental payments and collected two Diamond Bank cheques dated September 10,

2012 and December 11, 2012 from the accused.

Adebayo left two signed cheques dated September 10, 2012 and December 11, 2012, as payment for the trucks he purchased.

“Both cheques were, however, dishonoured by the bank where the accused’s account is domiciled, based on insufficient funds and the accused has since refused to pay for the trucks,” Anyanwu said.

He said the offences contravened Sections 285, 312 and 409 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Magistrate, Mrs Yewande Aje-Afunwa, granted the accused bail in the sum of N500, 000 and two sureties in like sum.

She adjourned the case till July 11, for hearing.

Across The Nation

French Coy To Employ 15 Nigerian Engineers

ABUJA - ,Schneider Electric, A renowned French electricity firm, has offered employment to 15 out of the 30 Nigerian engineers undergoing training in Power Management in France.

This is contained in a statement in Abuja by Mr Marcel Hochet, Managing Director, Schneider Electric Nigeria Ltd. The statement said Hochet made the disclosure to the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman, Presidential amnesty

Programme (PAP), Mr Kingsley Kuku, when he visited him in Abuja.

According to the statement, the graduates, after their one year training in November, will be engaged as qualified technicians at Schneider Electric’s facilities in Port Harcourt.

It said the company would also undertake to find employment for the remaining trainees not selected for placement with any of its electrical contracting partners in Nigeria.

The statement said that Hochet commended the Federal Government’s commitment to the Amnesty Programme, adding

that the company was honoured to be associated with it.

It also quoted Kuku as saying that he was elated by the job offer and described Schneider

Electric as wonderful partners in the growth and development of the power sector in Nigeria.

“The President, Goodluck Jonathan, will be delighted when this is transmitted to him.

“It is a confirmation of the great job the present administration is doing to build

Bauchi State Commissioner for Special Duties, Alhaji Mohammed D h a m n a (Pointing) and District Head of Warinji, Alhaji Yakubu Gambo inspecting the clearing of drains in Ungwan Daaki Ward in Bauchi recently.

Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line 85 Percent Complete - Minister DOKA (KADUNA) - The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, said on Saturday that the Abuja-Kaduna Standard Gauge Rail Modernisation Project was 85 per cent completed.

Umar announced this in Doko, Kaduna State at a ceremony to mark the attainment of 100km of track-laying for the railway modernisation project.

It will be recalled that the Vice President, Arch Namadi Sambo, launched the track-laying at Idu, Abuja, in July 2013.

“Today, in less than one year, the construction has attained over 100km out of 186km. In the next three months, the track will be completed.

“All the materials required are already on ground to achieve the completion and availability of the rail line’’, he said.

He said the major constraints encountered in the construction were in Abuja and had been overcome.

He said the constraints of water interference at kilometre 19 and some estates built along the rail line in Kubwa were resolved.

Umar urged the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) handling the project to continue with the zeal and determination with which they started.

Mr James Li, Project Manager, CCECC, said there had been steady progress in the construction of the rail line since

the commencement of the tracklaying.

He said earthwork site clearing had been done and devoid of obstructions or existing structures; while cutting, including rock blasting and filling were at advanced stages.

“About 185 km of the 186.5km route distance has been cleared, 8,597,000m of earth excavated, 403,000m of rock blasted and 6,064,000m of earth filling done.

“Sub structural works have now been completed on all the 26 railway bridges while all the five box bridges have also been fully completed.

“Also 13 out of more than 30 over-pass bridges have been completed while work is in progress on 16 others’’, Li said.

He said construction has started on 203 out of the scheduled 206 railway culverts while preparation work was in progress for the commencement of remaining three culverts.

He said more than 330,000 pieces of concrete sleepers had been pre-cast while the required 348 pieces of pre-cast T-beams had been produced.

Li noted that the track laying had reached advanced stage of 110km of track panel laid and 47,356m ballast distributed.

According to the project manager, work has started fully on the seven of the required nine station buildings.

the capacity and transform the youths in the country.

“By this development, Schneider Electric has struck a strong partnership with Nigeria and its government.

“We are thankful to the company for not only giving our youth quality technical

Aviation Firm Invests Over N600m On Ground Handling Equipment IKEJA - The Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited, (SAHCOL) has said that it had invested over N600 million to procure new ground handling equipment.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr Oluropo Owolabi, disclosed this at the inauguration of the equipment at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja.

Owolabi said the new equipment would further enhance the company’s capacity to provide service to passengers and airline operators.

He said the procured equipment include two mobile passengers’ stairs; one water bowser, two toilet bowsers, two

pellets/container transporters and one fuel truck.

According to him, the new equipment will be used at both the international and domestic terminals.

“We have a commitment to keep abreast of technological improvement in terms of bringing in more modern equipment. Some of the equipment bought had never been in our fleet,’’ he said.

The company’s General Manager, Engineering and Maintenance, Mr Lanre Adekola, said the equipment would further improve aviation handling in the industry.

“We keep abreast of what is happening in the industry and we are committed to service delivery in the industry; the

People inspecting a multi crops threshing machine initiated by Jigawa Agricultural and Rural Development Authority in DUTSE recently.

mobile passengers’ stairs are for embarking and disembarking of passengers from the aircraft.

“The stairs could be adjusted to accommodate Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft and the tank water bowser is meant to fill drinking water to the aircraft.

“The toilet bowser will be used to discharge passengers’ waste from the aircraft.

“The transporter will eliminate the work of a forklift and it is used to load and offload pellets inside the cargo aircraft, while the fuel truck fuels the aircraft,’’ he said.

NUJ President Advocates Cordial Media/Military Relations JALINGO Mr Muhammed Garba, the National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has, said that enhanced relations between Nigerian military and the media were critical to tackling insecurity in the country.

Garba made the remark in Jalingo at the opening of the National Executive Council meeting of the NUJ. He said insurgency in northeast Nigeria, kidnappings in south-east and south-south, had made it mandatory for the military to see the media as a partner rather than enemy.

“As you may have read in newspapers, stakeholders in the media industry have recently condemned highhandedness by the Nigerian military.

“Instead of the security agencies to partner and cooperate with us in sensitising the public on security, they are going round seizing newspapers and

arresting vendors.

“When we complained, they said their actions were prompted by security reasons.

Now, let them come out and tell us what they have found during the operation”, he said.

Garba, however, urged members of the union not to relent in their efforts in sensitising Nigerians on the need to pursue good governance through sustainable democracy.

Earlier, Acting Gov. Garba Umar of Taraba said the role of media in educating the people could not be overemphasised.

He urged journalists to always pay more attention to issues that unite the country rather than those that would lead to chaos.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Garvey Yawe, Umar said he would continue to partner with the media for the socio-economic development of the state.

NSE DAILY ACTIVITY SUMMARY (EQUITIES) AS AT YESTERDAY (16/06/2014) Stocks

Open

Close

Change

Deals

Units

Value

NCR

15.2

15.2

0

0

8,313

126,789.02

7UP

90

91

1

0

173,213

15,762,533.00

NEIMETH

1.27

1.24

-0.03

0

863,807

1,073,424.26

ABBEYBDS

1.35

1.36

0.01

0

2,000,000

2,708,226.00

NEM

0.81

0.84

0.03

0

2,044,922

1,695,798.82

ABCTRANS

0.87

0.85

-0.02

0

2,781,344

2,360,954.46

NESTLE

1070

1070

0

0

76,511

81,657,399.99

ACCESS

9.8

9.8

0

0

10,802,256

104,891,480.40

NNFM

20.78

20.78

0

0

9,591

189,425.25

AFRINSURE

0.5

0.5

0

0

350

175

NSE30

1902.04

1896.52

-5.52

0

105,410,758

1,665,870,382.00

AFRIPRUD

3.19

3.23

0.04

0

910,052

2,922,222.43

NSE50

2056.97

2051.33

-5.64

0

139,930,984

1,897,517,369.00

AGLEVENT

1.38

1.32

-0.06

0

200,235

266,185.84

NSEASI

41517.11

41449.52

-67.59

0

182,084,696

1,961,048,267.00

AIICO

0.82

0.81

-0.01

0

4,540,727

3,770,662.97

NSEBNK

448.71

446.62

-2.09

0

61,336,138

940,063,481.60

AIRSERVICE

2.45

2.56

0.11

0

250,500

609,880.50

NSECNSMRGDS

1033.36

1029.68

-3.68

0

8,901,019

288,014,634.60

ARBICO

5.3

5.3

0

0

6

30.24

NSEINDUSTR

2570.85

2554.65

-16.2

0

3,849,628

124,528,309.90

ASHAKACEM

27.01

27

-0.01

0

2,409,330

65,180,882.50

NSEINS

144.33

144.42

0.09

0

35,963,213

28,471,303.92

BECOPETRO

0.5

0.5

0

0

564

282

NSELOTUSISLM

2762.15

2756.95

-5.2

0

9,094,869

318,396,507.70

BERGER

9

9

0

0

29,335

267,287.50

NSEOILGAS

439.16

445.59

6.43

0

8,577,820

215,765,738.90

BOCGAS

6.37

6.37

0

0

4,840

29,330.40

NSLTECH

0.5

0.5

0

0

380

190

CADBURY

81.89

81.89

0

0

69,598

5,446,572.85

OANDO

20

21

1

0

7,579,122

158,580,017.30

CAP

40

40

0

0

131,826

5,042,049.82

OASISINS

0.53

0.53

0

0

76,832

40,720.96

CAVERTON

5.22

5.48

0.26

0

1,899,300

10,407,644.00

OKOMUOIL

33.97

33.64

-0.33

0

624,536

21,005,650.28

CCNN

10.63

10.66

0.03

0

704,761

7,592,641.00

PHARMDEKO

1.57

1.57

0

0

1,700

2,669.00

CHAMPION

13.11

12.46

-0.65

0

78,455

977,549.30

PORTPAINT

4.81

4.81

0

0

119,900

597,306.00

CHAMS

0.5

0.5

0

0

226,000

113,000.00

PRESCO

36.55

37

0.45

0

289,482

10,743,269.50

CILEASING

0.5

0.5

0

0

1,000

500

PRESTIGE

0.54

0.54

0

0

80,709

44,085.71

CONOIL

72.73

72.73

0

0

241,252

16,670,513.20

PZ

38.5

38.5

0

0

197,368

7,448,425.50

CONTINSURE

1.07

1.06

-0.01

0

4,943,108

5,192,856.64

REDSTAREX

4.6

4.65

0.05

0

361,000

1,661,950.00

CORNERST

0.5

0.5

0

0

2,004,000

1,002,000.00

RESORTSAL

0.5

0.5

0

0

2,400,000

1,200,000.00

COSTAIN

1.34

1.4

0.06

0

590,436

814,590.40

ROYALEX

0.53

0.52

-0.01

0

263,671

136,882.21

COURTVILLE

0.59

0.59

0

0

115,000

67,902.00

RTBRISCOE

1.12

1.12

0

0

235,197

254,136.06

CUSTODYINS

3.53

3.5

-0.03

0

852,424

2,983,946.10

SCOA

5.06

5.06

0

0

1,810

8,706.10

CUTIX

1.92

1.92

0

0

65,000

124,800.00

SEPLAT

660

660

0

0

4,046

2,658,248.00

CWG

5.48

5.48

0

0

10,301

53,668.21

SKYEBANK

3.4

3.44

0.04

0

3,654,675

12,571,636.17

DANGCEM

227

227

0

0

30,010

6,812,717.45

SOVRENINS

0.5

0.5

0

0

15,686

7,843.00

DANGFLOUR

8.5

8.5

0

0

110,885

940,191.09

STACO

0.5

0.5

0

0

560

280

DANGSUGAR

9.5

9.58

0.08

0

3,993,721

38,413,001.62

STANBIC

25.9

24.83

-1.07

0

746,627

18,751,802.97

DIAMONDBNK

6.84

6.6

-0.24

0

6,149,394

40,563,381.23

STDINSURE

0.5

0.5

0

0

2,380

1,190.00

DNMEYER

1.06

1.06

0

0

15,988

17,746.68

STERLNBANK

2.37

2.35

-0.02

0

3,132,221

7,412,823.29

ETERNA

4.4

4.18

-0.22

0

365,457

1,528,650.26

TOTAL

170

170.51

0.51

0

43,394

7,438,513.10

ETI

16.7

15.87

-0.83

0

3,759,212

60,333,666.75

TRANSCORP

4.29

4.44

0.15

0

18,920,233

82,529,602.94

EVANSMED

2.7

2.65

-0.05

0

183,000

484,990.00

TRIPPLEG

1.97

1.97

0

0

6,000

11,280.00

FBNH

15.5

15.6

0.1

0

6,465,272

100,526,487.30

UAC-PROP

18

18

0

0

360,227

6,454,073.05

FCMB

4.15

4.15

0

0

4,735,133

19,502,930.27

UACN

59

59.5

0.5

0

273,923

16,349,992.76

FIDELITYBK

2.07

2.05

-0.02

0

3,408,683

7,012,999.19

UBA

8.12

8.01

-0.11

0

12,105,350

96,950,457.98

FIDSON

2.9

2.89

-0.01

0

615,200

1,781,839.00

UBCAP

2.4

2.41

0.01

0

1,067,340

2,585,212.31

FLOURMILL

77

77

0

0

106,977

8,303,218.50

UBN

10.22

10.22

0

0

199,589

2,024,230.59

FO

250.01

250.01

0

0

18,975

4,506,752.25

UNILEVER

49.6

49.3

-0.3

0

211,963

10,449,409.29

GLAXOSMITH

68.01

67

-1.01

0

327,369

21,950,973.63

UNIONDICON

14.11

14.11

0

0

12,510

167,759.10

GUARANTY

31.26

31.6

0.34

0

16,037,583

505,213,193.10

UNITYBNK

0.5

0.5

0

0

1,638,430

819,215.00

GUINNESS

180

180

0

0

106,522

19,126,566.20

UNITYKAP

0.5

0.5

0

0

150,000

75,000.00

HONYFLOUR

4.18

4.12

-0.06

0

963,740

3,981,671.08

UNIVINSURE

0.5

0.5

0

0

370

185

IKEJAHOTEL

0.78

0.77

-0.01

0

425,636

327,239.72

UPDCREIT

10.47

10.47

0

0

5,000

49,750.00

INTBREW

26.06

26.06

0

0

173,480

4,526,825.00

UPL

4.48

4.48

0

0

2,606

11,440.20

JAPAULOIL

0.5

0.5

0

0

5,510,476

2,755,738.00

UTC

0.55

0.55

0

0

105

56.7

JBERGER

70.87

70.87

0

0

98,105

6,672,868.74

VETGRIF30

19.23

19.08

-0.15

0

10

190.8

JOHNHOLT

1.15

1.15

0

0

60

66

VITAFOAM

4.48

4.45

-0.03

0

487,400

2,096,886.30

JOSBREW

2.79

2.79

0

0

44,300

117,838.00

VONO

1.44

1.44

0

0

10

13.7

LASACO

0.5

0.5

0

0

101,000

50,500.00

WAPCO

110

108.06

-1.94

0

359,466

38,910,625.67

LAWUNION

0.5

0.5

0

0

500,000

250,000.00

WAPIC

0.76

0.73

-0.03

0

13,774,322

10,103,461.53

LEARNAFRCA

1.71

1.79

0.08

0

470,462

841,610.66

WEMABANK

0.98

0.94

-0.04

0

860,599

821,310.19

LIVESTOCK

3.14

3.1

-0.04

0

315,178

978,922.30

ZENITHBANK

25.3

25.19

-0.11

0

4,358,797

109,681,126.00

MANSARD

2.5

2.55

0.05

0

1,161,650

2,949,605.00

MAYBAKER

1.68

1.73

0.05

0

558,382

975,003.72

MBENEFIT

0.52

0.52

0

0

7,294,339

3,653,115.25

Stock

MOBIL

131.06

132

0.94

0

130,791

17,344,290.00

MRS

48

48

0

0

198,829

9,697,002.78

MTI

0.5

0.5

0

0

79,000

39,500.00

NAHCO

4.83

4.9

0.07

0

1,745,944

8,534,019.41

NASCON

11.9

11.5

-0.4

0

1,818,600

20,949,002.02

NB

174.64

173

-1.64

0

401,450

68,723,506.86

NSEOILGAS 7UP OANDO MOBIL TOTAL UACN PRESCO GUARANTY CAVERTON TRANSCORP

TOP 10 GAINERS Close 445.59 91 21 132 170.51 59.5 37 31.6 5.48 4.44

TOP TOP 10 10 LOSERS GAINERS Loss 6.43 1 1 0.94 0.51 0.5 0.45 0.34 0.26 0.15

Stock

Close

NSEASI NSEINDUSTR NSE50 NSE30 NSELOTUSISLM NSECNSMRGDS NSEBNK WAPCO NB STANBIC

41449.52 2554.65 2051.33 1896.52 2756.95 1029.68 446.62 108.06 173 24.83

Loss -67.59 -16.2 -5.64 -5.52 -5.2 -3.68 -2.09 -1.94 -1.64 -1.07

THE unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and its eventual sale to independent distribution companies across the country had generated furore and intense controversy.

WHILE the pervading fears among electricity consumers who yearned for stable power supply was the success of the power reform programme in order for Nigerians to reap its maximum benefit, the issue of disengagement of the workforce and payment of entitlements remained at the bedrock of the programme.

THE electricity workers body under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employers (NUEE) had flexed muscles with government concerning their entitlements to a point that the body threatened the nation with a black out.

THE power sector reform which necessitated the unbundling of the PHCN and the quest to lay a new road map for Nigerians to benefit is still a long way off and that it is why a smooth transition and payment of entitlements was a major corner stone for the leap forward to begin.

DURING the Nigerian Power Investors Conference (PIC) in Abuja in February, President Jonathan had announced that a total investment of $900 billion (about N144 trillion) would be needed over a period of 30 years to develop the nation’s energy sector.

ACCORDING to President Jonathan, under the National Infrastructure Master Plan, the country needs a total of $2.9 trillion for infrastructure development

THE NIGERIAN

Strengthening Power Sector efforts in the next 30 years, from around 2014 – 2045. The energy sector alone, he estimates would need an infusion of about $900 billion during the period with a bulk percentage expected to come from the private sector.

ALSO the sector needs about $10 billion for capital expenditure for generation and distribution companies in the next few years to enable the nation raise additional 5,000 mw.

AGAINST this background, it is expected that the distribution companies who have fully bought off that share of the market settle down to deliver the gains of privatization to Nigerians.

BY now, the Nigerian OBSERVER notes that the issue of severance payments to disengaged workers should have been done with, given the payment of N380 billion to disengaged PHCN workers.

IT is imperative that the power reform programme should be made a success by the labour union in the sector, the investors who have put in their money and the generality of Nigerians who yearn for regular power supply.

AVAILABLE facts indicate that labour in

the sector had earlier collected N8 billion from the Federal Government as a condition for allowing last year ’s disengagement of PHCN workers in order to assist the new successor companies gain a strong hold.

SOME disengaged staff from available record, collected as much as N100 million and those in the junior category going home with about N6 million each.

IT is therefore significant that having been paid off, the new investors should be allowed to hold the reins of control and be free to reabsolve competent ones while those not so lucky could find jobs elsewhere.

THE Nigerian OBSERVER remarks that electricity consumers demand the best of services from the new investors and should not be goaded into reappointing non productive workers who would be clogs in the way of efficient delivery of services.

IPSOFACTO, it appears that stakeholders are at the mercy of labour in the sector if the investors are not given the free hand to right size and inject new blood into the sector as the current national goal is for an efficient and reliable power sector to run a burgeoning economy.

ON this ground, we enjoin the electricity union to collaborate as they have always done with the new investors in order to improve the yearnings and aspirations of electricity consumers to shore up the power supply situation for the good of all Nigerians.

Opinion JUST after the successful establishment of the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU) was created. On the 30th of June 2014, an African Union Summit opened in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. In his opening speech at the occasion, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, as out-going Chair, said issues of peace and security have been a major preoccupation of the AU. He emphasized the crises in South Sudan and the CAR to buttress his point. In his words: ‘We need to find urgent solutions to rescue these two sisterly countries from falling into the abyss.

Failure to do so will have serious implications for peace and security in the region and indeed the whole continent’. The African Union needs to do a comprehensive soul-search!

The organization has, for too long, been travelling on a tangent in relation to Africa’s real and pertinent challenges.

The unanimous decision among African leaders to give the Organization of African Unity (OAU) a new name (i.e. African Union) was widely reported. Till this day, the world is yet to get any report of the performance of the AU that looks like anything close to what is globally known about the EU! Conscious and passionate lovers of world peace like late Kwame Nkrumah and late William Padmore fathered pan-Africanism which subsequently led to the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

The establishment of the OAU was a climax in the African struggle to free Africa from colonial oppression, imperialist manipulation and exploitation. Since the exit of African leaders of the Nkrumah/Padmore ilk from the theatre of pan-African action, Africa has been drifting in inertia, floating from one rigmarole to another talk-shop! It is obvious that Africa has lost the steam and stamina with which the likes of late Nnamdi Azikiwe and late Jumo Kenyatta drove it out of colonial bondage to the gleaming gates of independence! We recall the likes of late Amilcar Cabral

and late Patrice Lumumba whose courage and persistence against the gruesome play of European inhumanity in Africa inspired African masses to join the ‘pan-African army’ as footsoldiers of the fight for Africa’s freedom from Occidental cruelty!

Today, what we see widespread across Africa are concrete and breathing testimonies against successors of late Thomas Sankara and late Emperor Haile Selassie. The principles for which Steve Biko was murdered has almost totally been lost to selfishness and materialism in the continent’s leadership circles! From Cape Verde to Cameroun; Mombassa to Mokwa, millions of African children wake and slumber in abject poverty and sqalour!

Contemporary African leaders owe enormous volumes of moral debts to the priceless lives of hundreds of millions of innocent Africans who struggle everyday at the mercy of grinding situations and humiliating circumstances that are solvable with the proper exercise of powers put at their disposal. Why is the fighting spirit of Africa’s Excellencies?

The AU in its present state constitutes an aggregate answer to this important question. Many of the leaders who consistently gather in Addis Ababa are, unfortunately, products of imperialist engineering! This situation impedes the efforts of the selfless and Afrocentric Heads of State in the Union’s fold. The popularity and reputation of the AU among Africa’s needy humanity will be tremendously enhanced if the Union delivers what the EU provides for European citizens. The EU is an outcome of decades of preparation based on tactical and strategic projections into the future of an ever changing world of intense competition.

The European Union is a product of European leaders’ focus on the question of power: Geo-political and Racial Power! Their commitment to maintaining global white hegemony as a geo-strategic asset of Europe in the post-Soviet world led to the eventual birth of the EU as the US braced itself up to project power across the

AU session in progress

African Union And The Task At Hand

By SATGURU MAHARAJI

globe as the world’s only super-power after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The EU provides security for Europeans on virtually all fronts of importance to human survival. It has European nations ideologically fused into a grand and powerful geopolitical whole that operates both tactically and strategically as a counter to the envisaged awesomeness of established and emerging world powers of the postcommunist era. The EU essentially pulled the strength of all (eligible) European nations as a geo-strategic recourse in self-preservation.

European powers looked deep into the future and decided that the best way for their nations to travel is the route of unity, where-by their strengths will be harnessed to maintain Europe’s global competitive-edge. Adequate provision for the range of needs of European citizens within the underpinning one or common government concept of the EU constitutes a major pillar of its survival and success so far! Basically, European leaders established the EU as a means of uniting European peoples in order to enable Europe speak with one strong voice in a post-

communist world of escalated competition for power.

The African Union’s story is certainly not as interesting as the EU’s. The AU was hastily conceived and prematurely born to a highly impoverished and confused continent that was literally gasping in the tight neocolonial grip of Europe and America. As at when the AU idea caught the fancy of African leaders, Africa was deep in disarray and destitution as the continent still is till this day! The AU’s birth was not preceded by deep intellectual and ideological intercourse among its parenting African leaders and organizations.

This largely accounts for the range of weaknesses and abnormalities that have defined AU’s pace, power and performance so far! Till this day, the West’s choking neo-colonial hold around Africa’s neck remains! Africa is yet to achieve full freedom from Europe and its westward relative i.e. the United States of America.

This fact presents a most pertinent task before the AU’s membership and leadership.

The task of completing the

process of liberating Africa from colonial slavery, imperialist manipulation and exploitation, a project which pioneers of pan-Africanism and African nationalism started in sound unity and profound love for Africa, stares contemporary African Heads of State and Government in the face. So far, African leaders have ignored the reality of Africa’s incomplete emancipation from Europe (and America)!

This situation sustains Africa’s inability to exercise control over its resources and, consequently, its inability to put the pittance which proxycorporations of neo-colonial and imperialist governments routinely pay into its coffers in the form of rents and commissions for the excessive accesses that they have to extract humungous volumes of Africa’s stupendously wealth to keep their nations rich and powerful!

The point raised by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister at the opening of AU’s January 30th Summit in Addis Ababa is very important. I stretch that point beyond the juncture where it was terminated by

His Excellency by highlighting the fact that Africa’s insecurity problem is a function of Africa’s uncompleted de-colonization project. It lies in the interest of neo-colonial and imperialist powers to keep Africa weak and unstable, being that both deny the

continent the ability to build capacity for its much needed progress. A progressive Africa is bound to focus the huge flows of African resource-streams on African citizens and institutions!

Europe, America and other nations that feast on the continent’s enormous high-grade resources will be forced to pay the right premium for any volume of wealth they are able to access within its territories! To be able to wrestle Africa off the grip of these strong powers, African leaders inevitably need the primordial, allpowerful and eternal Divine Force that constitutes the rock-solid spine of the progress of great nations, empires and civilizations since the dawn of human civilization.

Nutritional Health And Dietetics

Nervousness And The Causes (2) A pounding heart is the first sign of fear. This is a perfectly normal reaction.

Any sudden surprise will bring this on. Any hidden fear may bring on these extraordinary movements of the heart. Research shows that this is the basis of some types of lie detector tests used in certain courts today.

It has been found that a person who is trying to hide his feelings will have a sudden change in the rate and rhythm of the heart when certain pointed questions are asked. These changes are automatically recorded on the lie detector machine so that anyone can see the differences.

This, scientists say does not mean that people whose hearts are beating irregularly or who suffer from palpitation are necessarily trying to hide something.

Such conditions, they say may arise from various types of diseases.

Emotional disturbances arising from the tension and strain of life are the most common causes of colon irritability. Anxiety about the future may also lead to this troublesome condition.

Other factors that irritate the colon include strong laxatives, frequent enemas, coarse food, and the excessive use of tobacco.

The condition may follow an attack of food poisoning or case of dysentery.

The colon is controlled by two main sets of nerves, the sympathetic and parasympathetic. Normal peristalsis is initiated

through the vagus nerve.

Too much stimulation of the sympathetic nerves may interfere with the normal activity of the large bowel.

This causes irregularity, resulting in constipation and perhaps diarrhea. The large bowel may become distended with gas, which causes pressure and pain.

Usually, there is gurgling and rumbling which interferes with digestion.

How Some Breakdown Begins – What happens, when one exceeds his limits of endurance? Perhaps, one has been working overtime without break for sensible meals and maybe going short on sleep for weeks.

There is an epidemic of influenza in your community.

Everybody has a cold, but you are too busy to be sick just now.

One morning you wake up with a sore throat and aching in the muscles of your legs. The doctor checks you over and tells you to stay in bed.

Reluctantly, you agree. But inwardly you are angry with yourself at being sick. You have so much to do just now.

Next day you still have a fever. But you insist on getting dressed, and going to work. You feel dizzy but assure yourself nothing is wrong. Your heart begins to pound and your pulse is racing. But you pull yourself together and go on your way feeling more ill by minutes. Your face look pale, you are afraid.

Suddenly, you remember your friend who died of a heart ailment. You are not

sure, what caused his trouble, but you are worried.

Could this be a heart attack?

Fear grips your mind. The more you think about it, the worse you feel. You are irritable and sick. Your nervous system has reached a low ebb. You are weak

fatigue. The whole body is suffering along with the mind and nervous system.

What makes the trouble so much worse is the fact, that there is no barrier to hold back the myriads of nervous impulses that clamour for recognition within your tired moments. Normally, you would laugh most of these off. After a good night rest, your energies would

and tired and afraid.

Your physical energy is at a low ebb. You have pushed yourself beyond your limits.

Once you were a kind, gentle person. Your friends enjoyed your company.

Now you are shorttempered and irritated.

Every telephone call irritates you. Maybe you have wondered at times whether life was worth living after all.

Most of this is due to

normally be renewed. Now, they are not, you have gone so far. You have no more reserve energy. You are physically bankrupt.

Evidence of Nervous Fatique – All this did not happen overnight. You were slipping a long time before you or anyone else realized it. Your habit of living may have had something to do with this.

Scientists say a nervous breakdown is no accident.

“Having made such preparations, he turns the ship and heads into the storm. The wave may be rough and the passengers may heartily wish they were back on land. But the quickest way out of their dilemma is to face into the storm and sail through it. So, it is with the nervous illness. The best way to solve the problem is to face it bravely and “sail right through it”.

With

O.C. Madu GSM: 08056379608 There is always a period of excessive worry and emotional strain prior to the illness. This upsets the emotional balance of the mind so that the patient is no longer able to control his feelings and impulses.

Nervous exhaustion produces striking changers in one’s behaviour, and personality. It makes him to act in a strange way. The normally, well-behaved individual tends to become irritable, moody and depressed.

On the other hand, he may become gay and carefree, even excitable. This, too, is often an evidence that all is not well. A young child shows these traits and mood changes. In the morning, he is bright and cheerful. HE is the very personification of good behaviour and cooperation. At five o’clock in the evening, things are different. He is excitable and destructive. If guests are present, he will show off in the worst possible way.

What then brings about this striking changes in his behaviour? Nothing but the fact that he is nearing the point of physical and mental exhaustion. When an old person, suffers from nervous fatigue, he may also, go through the same changes. He may become restless and irritable without any apparent cause. Finally he may reach the point where he loses all sense of self-control.

The higher centres of the brain are the first to tell the effect of over work and worry. Loss of sleep result in fatigue, so that a person’s judgement is impaired. He becomes ill with the physical depletion of his nervous energies. He may feel so weak that he can hardly move. He may be constantly depressed, losing all interest in life and unable to concentrate on anything for long. There is a sense of despondency and perhaps of impending death. There

is nothing imaginary about these symptoms, they are only too real.

Cure: There are natural safeguards that enable any normal person to avoid trouble, when these natural defenses are broken through illness, fatigue, accidents or any other means. The whole of one’s vitality is undermined. This interferes with the individual’s ability to think clearly. It is time to put antioxidant herbs to the system to boost your immunity and fight all to toxic waste in the body. It is also time to take calminative herbs and rest and relaxation should be of greater importance.

Unreasonable fears – Fears that under normal conditions would be completely suppressed now rise to the surface, causing him all kinds of anxiety and distress. There may be sensations of pain. The patients loses confidence in himself and wonders whether he is losing his mind. He is afraid for no reason at all. He may even feel that he has committed some unpardonable sin.

A nervous breakdown is something like a storm, at sea. When a ship’s captain sees a violent storm approaching, he does not try to run from it. The storm moves too rapidly for that.

What does he do? He give orders to close the portholes and batten down the hatches. The decks are cleared of everything that might be washed overboard.

Having made such preparations, he turns the ship and heads into the storm. The wave may be rough and the passengers may heartily wish they were back on land. But the quickest way out of their dilemma is to face into the storm and sail through it.

So, it is with the nervous illness. The best way to solve the problem is to face it bravely and “sail right through it”.

Why Jesus Is Our True Peace

THE persecution of Jesus Christ did not stop with his physical crucifixion. But his reaction to this unjust pain and suffering makes him a model of peace. In Christian spirituality, a mortal sin is akin to crucifying Jesus all over again. Whether this attack is from within or without, it would be a contradiction for any Christian to chant, “In the name of Jesus” while killing a person. This is because Jesus did not teach or practice either physical or moral violence that anybody can reference in an act of terrorism. One would then wonder where the Christian Crusaders got their inspiration to fight. The Crusaders could not convert people and nations with the ‘sword’ because Jesus recommended the ‘WORD’ for the spread of the Gospel.

Whoever is converted by the sword may forever look toward for true peace. Jesus is therefore a perfect example that there is no compulsion in religion. The need of a New Testament is therefore imperative. For instance, adherents of Judaism could cite some chapters of the Old Testament to support war and violence. Perhaps the perennial war in some parts of the Holy Land (where the prophets were born) could have been avoided if all the ancestors of Israel and Palestine accepted Jesus as the promised Messiah and the Prince of Peace.

No message of Jesus Christ abrogates an earlier message even though the evangelists report the narratives in different context. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14, 6). Without the “New Testament”, the stories of war in the “Old Testament” could be used to support violence. This could be the reason why Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, ‘You shall not

kill, and anyone who kills will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.

Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell (Matthew 5, 21-22).

That Jesus is the true peace of the world (Ephesians 2, 1318) was prophesied by Isaiah: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (\t “_blank”Isaiah 9, 6).

Some Islamic scholars are of the view that, “Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all his prophets” (http://www.islamicity.com) According to them the Arabic word, ‘Islam’ stands for ‘Submission’ or ‘Peace’. In a religious context, it implies the peace that reaches out to one when one completely submits oneself to the will of Almighty God. This is achieved only when the individual acts in accordance with the direction of his Creator in all spheres of life ( h t t p : / / w w w. n i c h e o f t r u t h . o rg) .

Christians believe that Jesus is the true peace for every Christian and for all that exists (Ephesians 2, 4). He calls peacemakers children of God (Matthew 5, 9). He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.

Let not your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14, 27). “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors were locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you”

BOTTOMLINE With

Fr. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

(John 20, 19).

According to the Muslims, Islam is a complete way of life. Every Muslim is enjoined to practically keep to the rules of Islam (peace) in every aspect of life. This is demonstrated not only in the five pillars of Islam, namely, faith, prayer, fasting, alms (Zakkah) and pilgrimage (to Makkah). About six hundred years before the advent of Islamic religion, Jesus had taught his followers to have

dwell with the lamb, the leopard lies down with the goat, the calf and the young lion live together with a little boy to lead them. Yes, world where the cow and the bear grazes and their young lie down together without hurting one another” (Isaiah 11, 5-7). That this type of

word “obey” comes from the Greek “hupakou” meaning, to listen attentively to a command or authority. The word “submit” comes from the Greek “hupeiko”, to yield or surrender to an authority.

Submission and obedience are similar in the sense that this action is performed in

faith in God, pray without ceasing, fast and to love even the enemies. The goal of the mission of Jesus is the salvation of the human person and the glory of God. Since Islam came much later, it would be logical to say that with the adherents of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the world ought to be a new heaven and a new paradise where “the wolf can

peaceful world is not realisable calls for a serious re-examination of what religion means for the various adherents.

The dictionary defines “peace” as the absence of war or other hostilities; freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmonious relations; inner contentment; serenity; peace of mind and respect for law and order. The

freedom without force. Jesus teaches that those who hear the word of God and put it into practice are ever more blessed (Luke 11, 28). Even in his passion, Jesus accepted the will of God” (Luke 22, 3942). His suffering did not tempt him to prescribe defence and retaliation. He never told his followers to fight those who fight them.

Rather, he said “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5, 44).

Jesus came to give light to those in darkness, those who dwell in the shadow of death and guide us into the way of peace” (Luke 1, 76-79). He thought his disciples not to resist those who do evil (Matthew 5, 38-42) by vengeance as practiced by the

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“Jesus practiced what he preached. During his trial, “One of the guards standing there hit him. The guard said, “You should not talk to the high priest like that!” Jesus answered, “If I said something wrong, then say it. If the things I said are right, then why do you hit me (John 18, 21-23)? Jesus did not fight back. In his most excruciating pains and agony on the cross, he did not curse his executioners.”

Jewish ancestors who believed in “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” (Matthew 5, 38; Exodus 21, 24). The desire of Jesus for human beings is to be at peace with one another (Mark 9, 50). He lamented and wept for Jerusalem for their ignorance of the message of peace. He wished that if only Jerusalem had known the value of peace (Luke 19, 42).

Jesus practiced what he preached. During his trial, “One of the guards standing there hit him. The guard said, “You should not talk to the high priest like that!” Jesus answered, “If I said something wrong, then say it.

If the things I said are right, then why do you hit me (John 18, 21-23)? Jesus did not fight back. In his most excruciating pains and agony on the cross, he did not curse his executioners. He prayed for them, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23, 34). He had warned his disciples, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16, 33). In sending out his apostles, he said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20, 21 & 26)! The Qur’an affirms that Mary was given a sinless son who is faultless and perfect in the eyes of God so that Jesus, the son of Mary, would be an example to all the nations of the world (Sura Maryam 19, 19). The teaching and the life of Jesus should be a model for every peace loving person. His profile qualifies him as such. We should therefore imitate him and give peace a chance in a world where the terrorists are refusing to wane.

Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja and Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City (comonokhua@hotmail.com).

Perspective

INTRODUCTION WHEN the missionaries came to Nigeria, they were concerned with providing the Nigerians with education that could enable them to read and understand the bible. For the colonial masters, as well as the merchants that followed them, their concern was with producing clerks who would work in government offices and commercial establishments.

Initially it was not easy for parents to release their children to attend school. But when these parents began to realise that children who served as clerks in offices earned much more money than farmers in the village, they began to have desire to send their children to school (Onabamiro, 1983:29 1 } Thus, schooling was seen to be a passport to government employment.

However, people later began to feel dissatisfied with the type of education provided to the Nigerians. They saw this education as being only sufficient for them to assist the colonial masters who, because of their higher educational qualifications, had to occupy managerial positions. Hence pressures. mounted for the colonial administrators to provide university education for the Nigerians. It was this pressure that led to the establishment of the University College Ibadan which was to award the University of London degree.

As at the eve of independence, Nigeria had only one University. William (l976: 20 noted that at the time of independence, there was need to get educated people to replace the expatriates. After independence, there was relatively tremendous growth in the universities as well as other levels of education, and the labour market had not much problem in absorbing the Products. Since then, educational growth has continued. However, the situation today is that the labour market can no longer cope up with the rate of output by the educational system and consequently there is serious unemployed problem. Thus, King (1980:22) sees the days when educational planners were concerned with how to provide enough qualified manpower for the modern sector to have gone for ever in most developing country.

The average family in Nigeria has the notion that the essence of sending a child to school is for him to get a paid job after.

Hence William (1976:19)has noted that in a developing country, earning capacity is to parents more important product of schooling, and where it does not result in a job, it should be regarded as a failure Now that the employment opportunity is not there any more, one may then begin to ask what should be expected of our educational system. Do we, in realization of the benefit of education, continue to produce, whether they are employed, or do we control our educational system in such a way that only those who can be employed are produced? In discussing this, more emphasis would here, be laid on higher education in Nigeria, since it is at this level that specialization takes place. Secondary education should be seen as the basic education needed by each Nigerian before deciding on what to be in life.

QUALITY OR QUANTITY EDUCATION? Nwagwu (1983:208) argues that quantity and quality are not mutually exclusive, implying that an increase in quantity will most likely affect quality. Commenting on the issue of quantity and quality education, Adesina (1983:41) holds that ‘educational growth is no longer the problem but how to consolidate on the gains already made. Going further, he says that educational achievements in Nigeria between 1960 and 1980 are merely those of numbers, but that the internal

Quantity Versus Quality And The Pro

efficiency and the overall effectiveness of the educational system should be subjected to serious questioning and examination.

A school of thought is of the view that provision of education helps to improve the quality of man; that it is better to deal with an educated than uneducated man.

Education is expected to create awareness in man and bring about intellectual alertness. To people in this group, Nigerian development will be much more enhanced, the greater the proportion of people that are educated. Thus in realization of the above benefit of education, they advocate for quantitative education.

At the other end is the school of thought who feels that the doors to education should not be thrown open to all, when we are not sure of providing qualitative education to them. This stand does not imply ignorance of, or nonagreement with the possible benefit of mass education. My sympathy lies with the second group.

The present unemployment problem today in Nigeria, as it relates to higher education, could be attributed partly to the quality of education given to our children. Any attempt to solve this problem requires our educational planners to deemphasize quantitative education. In doing this, one may need to consider some factors which have been affecting the quality of our education. The dissatisfaction over the quality of Nigerian Education is not a new one. Before the adoption of the new National Policy on Education, people saw our educational system as producing graduates who were only good for white-collar jobs. Thus the new policy is expected among other things to inculcate acquisition of appropriate skills, abilities, and competences both mental and physical as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of his society (Federal Government of Nigeria, l981:8).

Proliferation Institutions of Higher Learning: It has been noted, that the increased thirst for education among Nigerians has left to phenomenal increase in educational enrolment since independence.

The oil boom of the 70’s helped to boost this educational growth. All political parties during the second republic, recognised the quest of Nigerians for education, even, though they were not equally vocal about the provision of it to the masses. To score cheap votes and satisfy some section of the state or country, who had felt educationally neglected, many governments, including the Federal, went ahead to indiscriminately open up tertiary Institutions. In Some cases, three or four institutions of higher learning were opened on a single day without making adequate plan, and such institutions required to admit students soon after the announcement. Even though there is massive pressure for more and more academic schooling, despite obvious unemployment (Anderson, 1976:44), the government should not be stampeded into providing cheap mass education which may be irrelevant to the survival of the individuals and the nation (Akinyemi, 1983:209).

What worries one is that the newly established institutions usually opened up as many departments as could be found in any other older similar institution, admitting hundreds of students at the same time. Nigerians do not believe in gradual growth. One does not see anything wrong in an institution starting off with a few department and expanding, only after

“The present unemployment problem today in Nigeria, as it relates to higher education, could be attributed partly to the quality of education given to our children. Any attempt to solve this problem requires our educational planners to deemphasize quantitative education. In doing this, one may need to consider some factors which have been affecting the quality of our education.”

By ROMY O. OKOYE

the already established ones have been well consolidated.

In an attempt to expand the institution, to its full capacity overnight, the curriculum is hurriedly and haphazardly prepared, facilities are grossly inadequate, poor quality teachers may be employed and poor students admitted. Cases of one-man departments exist in these institutions, with a single lecturer handling nearly all the courses in the department. Your guess may be as good as mine as regards the quality of graduate produced from such institution.

This situation raises two problems. Firstly, too many people are graduated from various institutions such that they cannot all be employed,

Secondly the quality of education they received was so poor that they lacked confidence in themselves to be selfemployed. They had not been able to acquire those basic skills needed for self-employment. Like King (198-:225) rightly noted: Basic school + basic skill = Self —Employment.

He see skill as the most essential ingredient in a selfemployment programme, and believes that there is a difference between skill for paid employment and that for self-employment . We should thus not expect the skill for self-employment to be acquired in an institution with poorly planned curriculum, extremely insufficient facilities and probably poor quality or inadequate teaching Staff.

While discussing the effect of quantitative education on the quality of the products of the system, it may be pertinent to say one or two things about the teacher education programme, considering the fact that the implementation of any programme is left in the hands of the teacher, its success depends on the quality of the teachers. The rate at which many states of the federation opened up colleges of education, should be a matter of concern. One problem with teacher production is that he is equipped primarily with instructional skills which enable him to effectively function in the classroom. Since the teacher is, from the word go,

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prepared to be employed, he finds it difficult to be self -employed completion he gets no job. There is no reason why a state should more than a college of education. ndwich programme are today run by various institutions for ose of upgrading teachers in the field. This programme should e run in such a way that institutions become more concerned the number of students to be admitted ( so as to get more money) ainst, what the students acquire. Products of the programme should n any way be inferior to those of the regular system. There is need ntrol the number of institutions to ‘run the programme to ensure quality education is provided. proliferation of institutions of higher learning has been of concern me people, hence the call for rationalization of programmes. This s indictive of the planlessness exhibited by those who established

nstitutions. While this idea is acceptable its implementation needs carried out with caution. For the Federal Universities, the exercise ld not affect the six oldest universities at Ibadan, Nsukka, Ife, os, Zaira and Benin, though none of them should be allowed to nt any new programme, except with the permission of the National ersity Commission (N.U.C) The programmes of these institutions for long been established. There should rather be checks on the ber of students admitted into them, bearing in mind the manpower s of the country. Rationalization of programmes should be for newly created universities, which probably have not got well olidated programmes, particularly those that sprang up during econd republic. ationalization of state owned institutions should be done by the themselves. However, just like Guobadia (1983:167) noted, stry of Education should set standards that have to be met by the tutions before they are recognised.

Role of The University. scussing the factors responsible for poor quality education in rian, it may be necessary to make a few remarks about the role of University. As regards accumulation , interpretation and mination of knowledge the university is looked upon as the final ority. Ideas nurtured within or outside the university are supposed articulated and put in their proper perspective by the university. very surprising that for over a decade after the National Policy on cation was released, the Nigerian universities have not had

sufficient changes in their programmes to reflect the expectations of the policy. The university faculties of education are expected by now to have produced manpower for subjects like Introductory Technology, Integrated Natural Science, Social Studies and all those new programmes that came with the policy. This is in realisation of the fact that the university don should know better what is expected from the programmes.

Today, the non-university tertiary institutions seem to be more responsive to the policy.

In a publication by the University of Port on the admission into the 1987 post -N.C.E. Sandwich; programme, signed by the Registrar, which appeared in the National Concord of 29th January, 1987, it was stated that candidates for the combinations involving Social Studies, Home Economics, Business Studies and Integrated Science, need not reply. After reading it, I wondered why it should be these subject which constitute the innovative sections of the new policy that should not be applied for. I therefore agree with the Chairman of the Implementation Committee of the New Policy on Education, Adeboye Sofolahan, for calling on universities in the country to come out with concrete formula for successful implementation of the new national policy ( National Concord, 13th March, 1987, page 18).

THE NIGERIAN LECTURER The quality of the product of an institution is a function the qualities of the teacher, student and curriculum. The lecturer can thus not completely exonerate himself from blame when the quality of graduates is poor One factor that affects the output of the Nigerian lecturer is the “publish or perish” syndrome. In the first Instance, the facilities are not there for carrying out standard research.

Secondly as Adetoro (1972:245) observed, the senior academics spend most of the time attending conferences, workshops, and carrying out research, leaving the junior ones to do the teaching. Working on the assumption that the more experienced lecturer would likely have more to offer than the less experience, should it not stand to reason that what is offered in higher institutions is not the best. One may then wish to know the type of lecturers that should be expected to teach in our institutions of higher learning. In answering this question, I agree with the Australian graduate student, as reported by Adetoro (1972:245) that prefers a professor who is a second class teacher. Lecturers are not often so shielded in the higher institution that even when some of them have nothing to offer, they are still left to destroy the student intellectually. There should be a way of sorting out such people, like the use of student rating of their lecturer.

Lack of Proper Guidance Part of the problem of unemployment is caused by absence of proper guidance of the young children in their choice of occupation. Before opting for an occupation, there are certain factors that need to be considered. The consideration is however based on availability of information necessary for the understanding of the factors. In Nigeria where records are hardly kept, one finds out that it is difficult for a guidance personnel to perform because he lacks the necessary information to do so. What more, the social system is such that objectivity is not seriously considered. Thus, any guidance

given may be based on false statistics and information.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The employment problem in Nigeria today, has to a large extent been brought about by the emphasis laid by various governments of the federation on quantitative, at the expense of qualitative education.

The massive production has resulted in poor quality graduates of higher institutions, who in the absence of paid jobs, can hardly engage themselves in selfemployment, because their education has not sufficiently provided them with the basic skills needed for this.

To solve the problem of unemployment what we need is high quality education. Consequently, quantity education should, in the meantime be de-emphasised in favour of quality education until we are sure that we can provide mass education and yet be able to inculcate in the recipients the skills necessary for selfemployment, where paid jobs are not available. To this effect university education should be restricted to the few for who quality education can be provided and selection, should be on merit. The polytechnics and colleges of Education should absorb as much of the other people wishing to acquire higher education as possible, provided the number going into the Colleges of Education is that that can be employed by the teaching service, while those going into polytechnics are given sufficient practical skill to enable them be self-employed on completion. Since some basic education is necessary for each individual, efforts should be made to ensure that as many people as possible acquire at least secondary education.

The Federal Government should as a matter of urgency establish the proposed board to cater for colleges of Education. With this done, the Board N. U. C. and N.B.T.E. should thoroughly and objectively scrutinise the programmes run by the institutions under them, for purposes of ensuring that high quality education is given out. Conditions to be met before establishing each type of programme have to be stipulated. These should include quality of staff, classroom, library and other facilities. One could have called for a central control of higher education to ensure proper planning, but I believe that there is an advantage in allowing the federal and state governments to run their institutions.

Admissions into Arts, Social Sciences and Education, in the higher institutions, should be reduced.

Production of people in these areas should be based on availability of job opportunities. The problem of unemployment is more critical for products of these areas.

In the past, institutions have been in the habit of continuously graduating people without caring to know how they performed in the field. This type of feedback is necessary for purposes of curriculum revision. Institutions need to find ways of monitoring their products in the Field.

Finally, the running of educational institutions should not be seen as an economic venture. The idea therefore of admitting many students so as to help off-set the cost of running the institution should not arise.

This lowers the quality of the products and at the same time raises the problem of unemployment. If any government finds out that she cannot finance the running of an institution without necessarily causing population explosion, that institution had better be closed and the staff redeployed.

“The polytechnics and colleges of Education should absorb as much of the other people wishing to acquire higher education as possible, provided the number going into the Colleges of Education is that that can be employed by the teaching service, while those going into polytechnics are given sufficient practical skill to enable them be self-employed on completion.”

Gender Issues

Need For Help Not Stigmatization Teen Pregnancy:

WALKING down the aisle, out of the school auditorium, buried in shame. The principal had just announced her name through the public address system to the hearing of the school teachers and students, giving reason for her expulsion to be due to unwanted pregnancy. The murmuring among her peers and teachers could not curtail her tears.

On her way home, she observed the unpleasant looks from her neighbours and other residents in her street, some whispered and gossiped among themselves, pointing accusing fingers towards her.

All she could think of, was to have a silent prayer, wishing the ground could open and swallow her and shield her from the shameful embarrassment she is experiencing from people who once claimed to be her friends or loved ones’.

This brief story does not only apply to some of teenagers in the society, but it is for every teenager who find themselves pregnant at their teenage due to their immorality or misconduct, or peer pressure, cohesion and even rape.

It basically depicts the kind of maltreatment and stigma the female teenagers experience from the society.

Add the odd part is that, in a society where the older generations are supposed to educate and advise teenagers frequently, giving them reasons for abstaining from sex, or making them realize their mistakes by advising the teenagers to be morally upright, it is however pathetic and hard to believe that some parents or guardians find it strange and difficult to give adult education to their lads.

They are scared of corrupting the teenagers’ pure minds, when the society they are exposed to is beyond corruption. They fail to realize the level of knowledge and understanding these teenagers would have gotten from their advice if it was given and promptly so.

It is of utmost importance to recall that two wrongs, don’t make a right. This commonly used proverb is in accordance in meaning with a popular Yoruba adage that states, “Omo eni o le buru titi, ki a gbe fun ekun kpa je’. The interpretation in queen’s

language indicates that, ‘one child can’t be that bad or terrible for a parent to decide

realizing their misdeeds. This could only add more havoc to the teenager’s already existing

daily constant reminder. Even teenagers with unwanted pregnancy often suffer violence such as beating and verbal abuse from family members, and this could be an everlasting scar in their hearts.

Most adolescents or young women experienced different

to give the child to a lion to feast on’.

These two proverbs explain that, no matter the awkward or terrible behaviour of a child, no matter the level of mistakes teenagers commit, those teenagers need the available help they can get from the older ones. It is to be noted that punishment given to children is a way of helping or correcting them, making them to realize their mistakes.

However, severe punishment that are uncontrollable by parents and absolutely unbearable by the teenagers should not be used as a criteria in curbing teenagers from

predicament.

Consequently, sometimes we make mistakes and thus, fail to live up to the real essence of life and living it. Mistakes happen and regrets become a

forms of maltreatment such as; school and job termination, friends and family negative attitude, religions sanction, ostracization, discrimination and stigmatization as a result

By VICTORIA OGWAMENHLU. O.

of the unintended pregnancy.

Unmarried pregnant adolescents will definitely encounter a particular health and psychosocial problems.

In developed countries, teenage pregnancies are often associated with social issues which majorly include lower educational levels, higher rates of poverty and other poorer life outcome in children of teenage mothers. There is also a chaos of infant mortality among teenage pregnant females aged from 15 – 19, and this occur due to neglecting and maltreatment of the society that was suppose to help hands to the needy.

However, life outcomes for teenage mothers and their children vary. Other factor such as poverty or social support may be more important than the age of the mother at the time she gave birth. Many solutions to counteract the more negative findings have been proposed.

Teenage parents who can rely on family and community support, social services and child-care support are more likely to continue their education and get higher paying jobs as they progress with their education. But it is a pity that the same story cannot be said about the less privileged ones and this is why help should be given to them at due time, so that their future can still be restructured in a solidify and brighter part.

Denying pregnant young females access to education is a denial of the fundamental human rights, and if that reason is not good enough to lower school girls drop-out rate, it could definitely be detrimental to the girls and community at large. Becoming pregnant should not be an end to a teenager’s education or a disruption in her academic life.

Research has shown that schools hastily take decision in expelling pregnant teenagers, when they are suppose to be shown concerns. The school authority have forgotten that

failure is not an end in itself, but it is a challenge that should propel the victim towards achieving success.

Schools have every right to correct by punishing offenders who get themselves in shameful troubles through pregnancy, but a situation where these schools just abandon these kids after punishing them, depriving them of their educational right, that is, by not giving teenage pregnant females the opportunity to continue their education after given birth is absolutely not acceptable. It means the school is not giving the teenager an opportunity to create a life for herself and her child through a solid education foundation.

Beat a child with your right hand and embrace her with the left, is an adage that depicts clearly how pregnant teenagers should be treated. It means punish them at the time they committed the mistake but help and encourage them once they realize that mistake.

Standing up to the high rate of drop-out teenage pregnant girls and maltreatment given to most of them is highly necessary in this modern age.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), human right activist, and all the level of government, need to rise up against this form of maltreatment given to the future leaders of the nation.

Protecting the future of these young mothers and their babies should be done through education and that should be the priority of those in power.

Sensitization must be given to all schools on how to educate their students in abstaining from sex or any form of immoralities. The schools, parents, religions’ leaders and the society need to be educated on how to render help and encourage young mothers who find themselves in such a sorry situation that could affect the psychological, social, and economical development, which could also lead to loss of lives.

“Denying pregnant young females access to education is a denial of the fundamental human rights, and if that reason is not good enough to lower school girls drop-out rate, it could definitely be detrimental to the girls and community at large.

Becoming pregnant should not be an end to a teenager’s education or a disruption in her academic life.”

Drumbeats

ANALISING God’s dream is like a child who takes a cup to the sea to dry the water in it. Such a mission is detrimental to the life and destiny of the child.

In other words God’s dream is unfathomable.

His dream can never be quantified by any human being on earth. Infact God is dream personified.

Everything about God speaks of his greatness. The size of Nigeria alone is with a total area of 923, 770, sq km. The population of Nigeria is over one hundred and sixty million people (160,000,000). Nigeria accommodates 25% of the entire black race.

Friends compare the size of Nigeria and use it to comprehend the size of the whole world. The entire universe came as a result of God’s dream A thorough and a careful study of the Solar System will unveil to you the size of Gods dream. The solar system consists of the sun and the nine planets. The sun is at the center of the Solar System and all other planet revolves around it in their elliptical orbit.

THE SUN The sun is the largest star in the solar system and with over 6,000c with air interims temperature of over 20,000,000°c.

In size, the sun is about 300,000 times as big as the earth. The stars which appear singly when viewed from the earth actually exist in groups or clusters which are better referred to as galaxies or nebulas.

MERCURY This is the smallest, hottest and the closest planet to the sun. It takes 88 days for Mercury to go round the sun being very close to the sun, the gravitational pull of the sun is very strong. Mercury, has the shortest orbit around the sun and its distance is 57, 600, 000km. Mercury has no satellite of its own.

VENUS Venus is the second closest planet to the sun and the closest to the earth. Although Venus contains no living thing but it is similar to the earth in terms of size, weight and density, hence, it is termed as Earth twin. It has no

God’s Dream natural satellite, but it takes 225 days to complete its revolution round the sun. Its distance from the sun is about 107, 200, 000km EARTH spacemen have often described the Earth as a beautiful “Jewel” when seen from the space. Earth

largest in the solar system and its surface contains hydrogen and methane gases with light and dark bands. The atmosphere around Jupiter is said to be characterized by violent thunderstorms many times stronger than those natural

around the sun, compared with one year from the earth. Saturn has three rigs and ten natural satellites.

The distance of Saturn from the sun is about 1,4,17,600,000km URANUS Uranus is about fifty times the size of the

is the only planet which supports the existence of plants and animals. It takes the Earth about 365 + days to complete ITS orbit. The distance between the sun and the Earth is about 148,800,000km It has one natural satellite called the moon which revolves eastward around the Earth once in every 27 days. The distance of the Earth from the moon is 384,629km.

MARS Astronomers think there may be the possibility of some tiny plants living on Mars. Pictures taken from space by spacecrafts have shown pictures which give indication of two natural satellites. Mar’s distance from the sun is about 227,200,000km. And it takes 687 days to complete its orbit.

JUPITER This is the

satellites than these natural satellites and its distance from the sun is 772,800,000. It takes Jupiter 11.9 years to complete its orbit around the sun.

SATURN Saturn is the second largest planet after Jupiter. It takes about thirty years to make one trip

earth. Its orbit unlike other planets around the sun is a clockwise direction from east to west. This plant has five natural satellites around it and its distance form the sun is 2,854,400,000km hence it takes about 84 years to complete its orbits.

NEPTUNE- Neptune as

With Apostle Dr. Raphael O. Ayemere 08035459593

planet is cold with two natural satellites. It takes Neptune about 164.8 years to complete its orbit. The

distance of Neptune from the sun is 4,468,800,000km PLUTO- As a planet it was discovered in 1930, it is the last planet known to exist in the solar system. Very little is known about Pluto because of its remote Location from the earth.

This planet is the coldest and the longest orbit round the sun, hence it takes about 247.7 year to complete its orbit. The distance of Pluto from the sun is about 5,850,000km From the Solar system you could see how big God is and his dream. There is no doubt in my mind that there are some other Planets which have not been discovered by man. The earth in which we live is the least among all the Nine Planets. If God through His dream was able to use Nine planet to achieve his plan for mankind, then I see no reason why you and I can not use our dream to enhance our aims and objective and effect positive changes in our lives and destiny and beautify the world around us.

God’s dream and love for mankind motivated him to send his only begotten son to die for the remission of our sin. Our sin, disobedient wickedness and rebellion towards God and our fellow neighbours are sufficient to make Him abort His plan toward us, but His dream propels Him to endure and be patient towards us. God bothers about His dream for mankind, why we bother about lack of money, shelter, family and friends.

I will therefore appeal to you to learn from God’s dream and use such experience to beautify the world around you.

“From the Solar system you could see how big God is and his dream. There is no doubt in my mind that there are some other Planets which have not been discovered by man. The earth in which we live is the least among all the Nine Planets. If God through His dream was able to use Nine planet to achieve his plan for mankind, then I see no reason why you and I can not use our dream to enhance our aims and objective and effect positive changes in our lives and destiny and beautify the world around us.”

Focus

Project And Investment Appraisal In The Public Sector O R G A N I Z AT I O N S invariably thrive on decision making Optimal decisions will secure the organizations profitability continuity and relevance. Sub optimal ones portends risk and danger to the continued existence of organization. Consequently all organization, both private and public use tested criteria as a base for decision making moreso in capital investment situation requiring huge outlay of often irreversible resource commitments.

The circumstances becomes more dicey in public sector organizations where other factors other than economic may sometime play a significant role in the ultimate test of which project or investment should be embarked upon.

For instance, a question on whether a trunk A road should be built to connect all new State Capital to the Federal Capital Territory cannot be decided upon based on economic factors alone. Social, political and sociological considerations amongst others must be considered sometimes even outweighing the economic considerations on a decision making issue like that.

General Investment Appraisal Technique No method or technique of investment appraisal is a panacea. All decision making relates to the future where uncertainties abound.

This means that overly sophistated appraisal methods and pedantic decimal point accuracy in the result presented probably serve little purpose.

It should not be forgotten that the accountant does not take the investment decision nor does he provide all the information. The primary role is in collating and analyzing relevant data and presenting the results to the decision makers.

It is necessary to remind ourselves that some of the techniques applied here more or less are easily applicable to the non-pure public sector. The non-pure public sector refer to public sector organizations that provide to the public, valuable, tangible goods and services, other than the three tiers of government, the ministries, police force, armed forces etc. Such organizations include NEPA, Airways, Water Corporation etc.

Characteristics of these organizations include: (i) Provision of goods and services that pass the “exclusion principle.” That means the services they produce can only be provided to those that meet their condition, like paying for these services. The Armed Forces, Police Force etc. According ly, the same investment appraisal technique cannot be equally applicable. (ii) Provision of goods and services that possess the divisible principle. This means the ability of such a good or service to be provided in units to those who continue to meet the conditions and nonprovision of some goods to others who even live close to those the services are provided. Lump sum goods and services that public

By ANI WILSON UCHENNA

security organizations, like Armed Forces provide, do not meet this criteria. iii) Goods and Services provided by Public Sector

The following appraisal techniques in one way or the other be used for these organizations The Accounting Rate of

available the decision to invest will be based on three main factors.

The investors beliefs about the future The alternatives available in which to invest The investor’s attitude to

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance Minister

Organisation or Commercial or Break-even basis. This option became more pronounced with the ongoing exercise on privatization and commercialization of public sector organizations.

Return (ARR) The Payback Period The Net Present Value Method The Internal Rate of Return The Cost Benefit Analysis Assuming that finance is

“It is necessary to remind ourselves that some of the techniques applied here more or less are easily applicable to the non-pure public sector. The non-pure public sector refer to public sector organizations that provide to the public, valuable, tangible goods and services, other than the three tiers of government, the ministries, police force, armed forces etc.”

risk The methods outlined above inculcates some of these in their conceptual formulation.

1. The Accounting Rate of Return This can he defined as the ratio of average profit after depreciation, to the capital invested. (a) Profits may be before or after tax (b) Capital invested may be the initial capital invested or the average capital invested over the life of the project.

2. The Payback Period This CIMA terminology

defines this as the time it takes the cash inflows from a central investment to equal the cash outflows, usually expressed in years. The usual rule here is to accept the project with the shortest payback period.

3. The Net Present Value The NPV refers to the equivalent in present value terms the cash inflows and outflows from a project when discounted using a particular cost on capital.

The decision rule is to accept projects that have positive Net Present Value.

4. The Internal Rate of Return Simply the IRR can be defined as the discount rate which gives zero NPV. .

The decision criteria here is that between two project with a higher IRR should be accepted.

Where the Net Present Value Method and Internal Rate of Return give conflicting decisions then the NPV results should used to make the final decision.

Cost Benefit Analysis This is a method which provides for a companion to be made between the estimated cost of undertaking a project and the estimated value and benefit which may arise from the operation of project.

Cost benefit analysis is widely used in the Public Finance area Cost benefit analysis is widely used in allocating scarce resources between such Public Service as education, environmental protection, health etc.

Carrying Out Cost Benefit Analysis Five steps are necessary for this analysis) 1. Determine the problem projects to be considered 2. Ascertain alternative solution to the problem 3. Estimate and Analyse the costs and benefits 4. Appraise the estimate costs and benefits 5. Decide on the optimal solution.

Agrosphere

FADAMA Programme And Poverty Alleviation In Nigeria

FADAMA is a Hausa name for irrigatable land which are flood plains and low lying plains underlined with shallow aquifer found along Nigeria’s river system.

The basic phenomenon is the ease of accessibility of shallow ground water and or surface water for agricultural production (Edo ADP, 2000).

What is irrigation?

According to some scholars. Irrigation means the artificial application of water to the soil to

objectives of Fadama (I) programmes in Nigeria?

The National Fadama I project was approved for finding on March 26, 1992 for a loan of US S67.5 million. NFDP-1 was the pilot phase of the Fadama project. It was to build on the achievement of some of the Northern ADPs in developing small-scale

supplement the water needed by plants for growth, development and productivity.

Irrigation also involves the conveyance of water from a source such as rivers, lakes, dams, wells etc to the farm land for plant use.

What is Fadama (I) farming?

According to the writer, Fadama farming involves the act of using water pumps, tube wells or wash bores to irrigate agricultural land. Fadama I started in Edo state in 1996 with the completion of an aquifer study to explore the aquifer potentials in the state.

What were the

irrigation through extraction of shallow ground water using low cost petrol given pumps.

It was intended to raise farmers’ income and contribute to food security and poverty alleviation The objectives of NFDP-1 were: 1. To assist the Federal Government to construct 50,000 tube wells in the Fadama lands for smallscale irrigation.

2. To simplify drilling technology for the tube wells.

3. To construct Fadama infrastructure such as tube wells, wash bores, access roads, etc.

4. To organize farmers for irrigation services

By OLUMESE MARK

5. To carry out aquifer studies.

Have there been any recent studies carried out on Fadama (I) programmes and poverty alleviation in Nigeria?

The answer is in the affirmative. The first

farmers in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State and found out that of the various vegetables grown by the respondents the results showed that onion (93.7%) was the most popular vegetable grown in the area followed by carrot (62.1%) and

phase of National Fadama development project (NFDP-1) was negotiated with the World Bank in 1992. It covered seven (7) core states in the country namely, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.

Recently, a study was conducted by Ajayi and Banmeke (2003) on the use of irrigation technologies by vegetable

tomatoes (59.02%). For irrigation water, (69.79%) of the respondent use well water as their major survey water for their dry season farming while 20% use bore holes and river I stream for irrigation practices. 77.23% use check basin irrigation where as 62% use motarized pumps to lift water as the river source of their irrigation.

Ogunjimi and Adekalu (2007) carried out a study on Fadama and discovered that Fadama practices had increased significantly over the last 10 years because of demand and high cost of vegetables produced by farmers.

Olumese (2012) conducted a study on the evaluation of the effect of Fadama (I) on poverty alleviation among smallscale farmers in four (4) Local Government Areas using 264 respondents selected randomly from 9 communities across the 3 senatorial zones in Edo state and found out that 96 (72.7%) of Fadama (I) participants were nonpoor which means living above poverty line, while 59 (44.7%) of nonFadama farmers were non-poor. The result also showed that participants in Fadama I benefited from some Fadama access roads that were constructed, for example at Ogba, Illushi and Anegbette Communities under Fadama 1 programme in Edo State.

Olumese study also found out that 41 Fadama Users Association (FUAS) was registered under Fadama I between 1996 — 1998 in Edo State. In addition some Honda pumps were distributed to some Fadama farmers who participated in this pilot scheme in Edo State.

Although Edo State ADP did not participate in

Fadama phase II project unlike some other ADPs in Nigeria, Fadama III is still on-going and it is on record that Edo ADP fully participated on a pilot scheme in the planning, design and implementation stages of Fadama phase I project which ended in 1998.

The recommendations from this paper is for the Governors of each of the 36 States including Edo to pay their counter part funds to enable World Bank to drawn down the grants meant for the c o n t i n u o u s implementations of these projects being supervised

by Edo ADP such as Fadama III, RUFIN, CBNRMP-NR and ICRAF. For poverty to be alleviated, more of our youths should be taken off the streets by giving them employment. Agriculture is one sector of our economy that can generate employment opportunities if properly harnessed, and empowerment is given through credit for agricultural businesses.

More support is needed to revamp the ADPs from their present situation through out the country as the saying goes “no Farmer, no Nation”. The writer is: Ag. Director, Liaison Office Headquarters, Edo State A g r i c u l t u r a l D e v e l o p m e n t Programme, Benin CityNigeria.

“For poverty to be alleviated, more of our youths should be taken off the streets by giving them employment. Agriculture is one sector of our economy that can generate employment opportunities if properly harnessed, and empowerment is given through credit for agricultural businesses.”

Law ANY party, whether the tax payer or the Commissioner, aggrieved by the decision on appeal by the Board of Commissioners, may appeal further, on point of law only, to the High Court, and the notice of appeal shall be lodged in writing to the High Court not later than twentyone days after the date of service of the decision of the Board on the party appealing.

A tax payer aggrieved by the assessment of his income may, where the amount of the tax in dispute exceeds one hundred naira, appeal against the assessment direct to the High Court provided that as in the case of an appeal to the Board, his appeal shall not be on facts but only on points of law where he failed to comply with the direction of the Commissioner concerning the filing of returns. A tax payer aggrieved by any deduction from his income made by his employer pursuant to a direction from the Commissioner, may, where the amount of deduction in dispute exceeds one hundred naira, appeal against the deduction direct to the High Court: and the notice of appeal, in writing, shall be lodged in the High Court not later than twenty-one days after the last day of the financial year during which the deduction was made. The period of filing the appeal cannot be extended by the court.

The appeals to the High Court are governed by sections 25 and 26 of the Law, and by the Finance Law (Appeals) Rules 1958 published as E.R.L.N. No, 127 of 1958 and can be found on page 1422 of volume 3 of the 1963 Laws of Eastern Nigeria.

The notice of appeal, in writing, shall be lodged in the High Court not later than twenty-one days after the date of service upon the appellant of the notice of assessment or not later than twenty-one days after the date stated in the notice of assessment as the date on which the tax is

payable, whichever is later.

The period of filing the appeal cannot be extended by the court. In all appeals by the tax payer, the Commissioner shall be the respondent even though the matter be handled by the local tax Assessment Authority. If the appeal is against the interest of the tax payer the appellant shall be the Commissioner and the payer shall be the respondent.

The notice of appeal shall be in the prescribed form. There are separate forms for appeal against the decision of the Board (form A) and against assessment or deduction (form B). The notice shall be signed by the appellant or his solicitor and shall be lodged in triplicate with the registrar of the High Court of the area in which the office of the tax Assessment Authority that assessed the tax situates. On the notice shall be endorsed the occupation and address for service of the appellant as well as the name and office address of his solicitor. If the appellant tax payer has no solicitor, the address given shall be where he resides unless where he resides is outside jurisdiction in which case he shall state an address within jurisdiction for service of documents on him.

No fees shall be paid for lodgment of the notice of appeal. The registrar shall endorse on the original and copies of the notice the date of filing and will initial the endorsement. He shall thereafter serve a copy of the notice on the respondent.

The mode of service of the notice of appeal and of every other document in the appeal, on the Commissioner, will be by prepaid registered envelope addressed to the Commissioner but other modes of service, including substituted service with leave of court, are not excluded. On the tax payer, the mode of service will be on his solicitor either by prepaid registered envelope addressed to the solicitor at his office address, or by service on that solicitor wherever he may be found or

Appeal To The High Court

Income Tax Appeals: if he cannot be found at his office, on the clerk there found apparently in charge. If the tax payer has no solicitor, service will be sufficiently effected by service on any person apparently up to twenty-one years of age found at the residence of the tax payer or at the address for service given by him or on any person apparently up to twenty-one years of age and apparently in charge thereof if the address for service is a place of business. Service by post shall be deemed to be effected on the date on which by ordinary course of post, the

and adjudge as proper amounts. If the appeal is one which lies on matters of fact and law, the statement shall set forth in paragraphs consecutively numbered, a concise statement of the facts and the law on which the appellant relies, and shall conclude with statements of the amount of the chargeable income and the tax payable thereon, as claimed by the appellant which he would

letter should be delivered.

Within thirty days of filing the notice of appeal, the appellant shall file a statement of his grounds of appeal. If the appeal is one which lies on point of law only, the grounds shall set forth in paragraphs consecutively numbered, the questions of law relied upon, and the statement shall conclude by stating the amount of the chargeable income and the tax payable thereon which the appellant is requesting the court to find

want the court to find and adjudge as the proper amounts. To the grounds of appeal shall be attached two documents. One shall be the notice of assessment served on the tax payer certified as correct by the authority that issued it or if there be no such notice, then a written statement certifying the assessment made and signed by the authority that made the assessment. The other document shall be, in the case of an appeal by the tax payer,

By A. OBI-OKOYE

“No fees shall be paid for lodgment of the notice of appeal. The registrar shall endorse on the original and copies of the notice the date of filing and will initial the endorsement. He shall thereafter serve a copy of the notice on the respondent.�

the receipt for the half of the tax in dispute paid by him.

At the trial, the appellant shall not rely on any ground not included in the statement of the grounds of appeal. It shall not be an excuse for him to delay the lodgement of the grounds due to the fact that there is delay in supplying to him copies of the proceedings by the Board or in obtaining copies of documents from the

authorities concerned. But he may, by a motion on notice to the respondent, made before or at the trial, obtain leave of court to amend the grounds of the appeal by reason of such delay. He may also, at the trial, by oral application, obtain leave of court to amend the grounds except those which, with reasonable diligence of the appellant or his solicitor could have been made earlier by a separate motion on notice to the respondent.

The grounds together with the attachments shall be filed in duplicate with one marked for service on the respondent.

They shall be signed by the appellant or his solicitor. On filing the grounds, the registrar shall endorse on the document the date of filing and the fees paid thereon. The fees payable shall be the same as the fees payable on the filing of a summons in a civil suit, the amount of claim

being taken as the difference between the amount of the tax payable under the assessment appealed against or under the decision of the Board, and the amount of tax the court is being asked to adjudge as the proper amount. The grounds shall not be filed unless the filing fees are first paid (except where the appellant is the Commissioner) and unless the required attachments are complete (r. 8). The registrar shall serve a copy of the grounds on the respondent,

and shall number and enter the appeal in the register of Finance Law Appeals kept for the year.

The Respondent shall file a reply within twenty-one days of the service on him of the grounds of appeal. The reply shall be signed by the respondent or his solicitor who shall set forth in paragraphs consecutively numbered a concise statement of the facts and the law on which he relies. The reply shall be filed in duplicate. The filing fees shall be paid, the charge being the same as that for filing an ordinary document in the High Court.

No fees shall be paid by the Commissioner. The registrar shall endorse on the reply the date of filing and the fees paid thereon. A copy of the reply shall be served on the appellant, and it shall reach him at least fifteen days before the hearing date.

Human Science WE have mentioned (on page 239) the endocrine system of glands which assists the nervous system in the work of co-ordinating the activities of different parts of the body. The substances secreted are called hormones and the glands are called ductless or endocrine glands. The hormones are secreted by the cells of the glands into the blood stream, and only very small amounts of them are required. They are not carried by special ducts to a particular point as are a number of enzymes. We

other endocrine glands and secretes important hormones. One of them, phyone, controls the growth at the ends of the long bones, and excess of it in young children causes giantism, while too little results in dwarfs. Later excess of it in adult life causes continued growth of the ends of bones giving heavy thickened features to the hands and face. Other hormones from the pituitary gland control the activity of a number of involuntary systems, the heart-beat, blood pressure,

have no control over the endocrine glands since they work automatically, governed by the brain through the nerves of the autonomic system (see page 247).

The endocrine glands have profound long-term effects upon the growth and development of the body; in addition, they are the cause of temporary fluctuations in the activity of various organs. The distribution of the endocrine glands in the body is shown in Fig. 173.

The pituitary gland. The pituitary gland has been noted at the base of the midbrain and is undoubtedly the most important, in fact the master-gland, of the system.

It controls the activity of the

and the action of the adrenal and pancreatic glands. Its secretions also contain sex hormones which bring about the development of sexual characters at puberty and affect parts of the male or female organs.

The thyroid gland. This is situated in the throat on each side of the oesophagus; all vertebrates possess a thyroid gland which secretes a substance called thyroxin. The hormone must be present in the correct amount for normal growth and strength of the body, and too much or too little causes serious conditions.

If the thyroid is too active, the person may become

The Endocrine System

very thin and nervous, with a very rapid heart-beat, staring eyes, copious sweating and indigestion. Too little thyroxin in a baby stops normal development and the child becomes a kind of dwarf, called a cretin, whose brain and body have not developed. Thyroxin contains iodine and if this is deficient in our diet, the thyroid gland enlarges in its endeavour to make enough thyroxin; the resultant swelling in the neck is known as goitre which is

gland and control the amount of calcium present in the blood. The healthy calcification of the bones and the teeth depends upon the secretion of the parathyroid, and as calcium is important in the process of muscle contraction, deficiency of the hormone causes a kind of cramp. If the parathyroid glands are injured or removed, the interference with the muscle system brings about death.

The adrenal glands. The

still seen in some remote areas far from the sea and where the natural foods tend to be lacking in iodine. It is rarely seen nowadays, and in some countries, by law, the salt on sale must contain iodine.

The parathyroid glands.

The parathyroid glands are embedded in the thyroid

adrenal glands are situated in the adrenal bodies at the anterior end of the kidneys.

Their main secretion is the hormone adrenalin which is formed by the outer tissue of the gland. Adrenalin stimulates most of the structures which are under the control of the autonomic nervous system and

regulates the contraction of the involuntary muscles and the blood vessels. It controls the heart-beat, the blood supply to organs, and the contraction of the blood capillaries in the skin; it is also responsible for the conversion of glycogen into glucose in the liver which thus increases the sugar in the blood. Fear or anger and other emotions are generated in the brain by impulses from the sense organs, and impulses are then transmitted from the brain via the autonomic nerves to the adrenal glands which secrete adrenalin into the blood. This quickens the heart and diverts blood from the alimentary canal and the skin to the muscles, ready for greater and more rapid action; the breathing rate is increased and the pupils dilate. The whole organism is stimulated in preparation for emergency action.

Cortisone. Cortisone is another hormone secreted by the adrenal bodies. This is being increasingly used in medicine since it produces healing responses and reduces local inflammation; it is also used in the treatment of forms of rheumatism.

Pancreatic glands. The pancreas is chiefly a gland with a duct down which a digestive juice is secreted, but embedded in its tissue are small islands of endocrine tissue, called the islands of Langerhans, which produce an important hormone called insulin. This regulates the oxidation of sugar in the body and its storage as glycogen. When insulin is short or lacking, the sugar is not oxidised or

stored but is secreted into the urine and accumulates dangerously in the blood.

This condition occurs in patients suffering from diabetes because their glands are not secreting enough insulin. This fatal disease can now be controlled by insulin treatment, and the carbohydrate in the diet must be carefully controlled so that the correct amount of insulin can be given daily.

Sex hormones. Hormoneproducing sex cells are embedded in the male and female organs of man and other vertebrates, and the sex hormones they secrete control sexual maturity and the development of the characters which distinguish males from females. In man, the testes produce male hormones which cause the differences in voice, figure, skin and hair, distinctive to men. In women the ovaries produce female hormones which give such female characters as rounded bodies, soft hairless skin and other features. The changes which accompany healthy pregnancy in woman are due to the secretion of hormones after fertilisation (see page 299).

Walls of the duodenum.

When acidified food from the stomach passes through the pylorus, small glands in the walls of the duodenum secrete a hormone called secretin. The hormone passes quickly to the pancreas by the visceral blood system, and the pancreatic tissues are stimulated to produce the digestive juices, which flow down the duct into the duodenum at the moment they are needed.

“Hormone-producing sex cells are embedded in the male and female organs of man and other vertebrates, and the sex hormones they secrete control sexual maturity and the development of the characters which distinguish males from females.�

International Features

Iraq Insurgents Onslaught: US THE United States is contemplating talks with its arch-enemy Iran to support the Iraqi government in its battle with Sunni Islamist insurgents who routed Baghdad’s army and seized the north of the country in the past week.

The stunning onslaught by militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant threatens to dismember Iraq and unleash all-out sectarian warfare across a crescent of the Middle East, with no regard for national borders that the fighters reject.

Joint action between the United States and Iran to help prop up the government of their mutual ally Nuri alMaliki, Iraq’s Shi’ite prime minister, would be a major turn of events after hostility dating to Iran’s 1979 revolution, and demonstrates the urgency of the alarm raised by the lightning insurgent advance.

ISIL seeks a caliphate ruled on medieval Sunni Muslim precepts in Iraq and Syria, and is also fighting Syria’s Iran-backed government. It considers all Shi’ites to be heretics deserving death and has boasted of massacring hundreds of Iraqi troops who surrendered to its forces last week.

ISIL fighters captured the mainly ethnic Turkmen city of Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq overnight after heavy fighting on Sunday, solidifying their grip on the north.

“The city was overrun by militants. Severe fighting took place, and many people were killed. Shi’ite families have fled to the west and Sunni families have fled to the east,” said a city official who asked not to be identified.

Tal Afar is a short drive west from Mosul, the north’s main city, which ISIL seized last week at the start of its push.

Fighters swept through towns and cities on the Tigris before halting about an hour’s drive north of Baghdad.

Iraq’s army is holding out in Samarra, a Tigris city that is home to a Shi’ite shrine. A convoy traveling to reinforce the troops there was

ambushed late on Sunday by Sunni fighters near the town of Ishaqi. Fighting continued through Monday morning.

U.S. President Barack Obama pulled out all American troops in 2011 and has ruled out sending them back, although he says he is weighing other military options, such as air strikes. A U.S. aircraft carrier has sailed into the Gulf.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Sunday that Washington was considering making contact with Iran to find ways to aid the Baghdad government.

Publicly, the White House said no such contacts had yet taken place.

The U.S. overture came a day after Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate elected last year, said Tehran would consider working with the United States in Iraq if it saw Washington was willing to confront “terrorist groups”.

The only U.S. military contingent on the ground is the security staff at the U.S. embassy. Washington said on Sunday it was evacuating some diplomatic staff and sending about 100 extra marines and other personnel to help safeguard the facilities.

The sprawling fortified compound on the banks of the Tigris is the largest and most expensive diplomatic mission ever built, a vestige of the days when 170,000 U.S. troops fought to put down a civil war and mass sectarian cleansing that followed the 2003 U.S. invasion which toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.

Iraqis now face the prospect of a replay of that extreme violence, but this time without American forces to intervene.

The prospect of cooperation between the United States and Iran shows how dramatically the ISIL advance has redrawn the map of Middle East alliances in a matter of days.

Rouhani has presided over a gradual thaw with the West, including secret talks with Washington that led to a

Considers Action With Iran

breakthrough preliminary deal last year to ease sanctions in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. But open cooperation against a mutual threat would be unprecedented.

Iraq is the only country closely allied to both the United States and Iran, but tentative past efforts by Tehran and Washington to cooperate there were fruitless.

Tehran has longstanding ties to Maliki and the Shi’ite political parties that U.S.backed elections brought to power after Saddam’s fall.

backing such a terrorist and reckless group,” he said.

ISIL fighters began their assault last week by capturing Mosul. They swept through other Sunni cities in the Tigris valley north of Baghdad, including Saddam’s hometown Tikrit, where they captured and apparently massacred troops stationed at Speicher air base, once one of the main U.S. troop headquarters.

A series of pictures distributed on a purported ISIL Twitter account

those numbers appear exaggerated, the total could still be in the hundreds. A former local official in Tikrit told Reuters ISIL had captured 450-500 troops at Speicher and another 100 elsewhere in Tikrit. Some 200 are believed to be held in Speicher to trade for jailed insurgents.

Power and running water were off in the city, leaving residents dependent on water being brought in by tanker trucks.

With ISIL’s advance halted on the Tigris an hour’s drive

is no longer radical enough.

Its advance in Iraq has been assisted by other Sunni Muslim armed groups, who have risen up against Baghdad because of what they consider repression from Maliki’s Shi’ite-led government. Washington says Maliki must reach out to Sunnis to create a political coalition capable of reunifying Iraq.

Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni who was vice president until fleeing the country in 2012 after Maliki accused him of terrorism, said Maliki must go if the uprising is to end.

“What happened is an uprising by the Sunni Arabs

Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Carry weapons during a parade in the streets in Al-Fdhiliya district, eastern Baghdad recently.

Iran blames the United States and its Gulf Arab allies for stoking Sunni militancy in the region by backing the uprising against its ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria, where ISIL emerged as one of a dominant Sunni rebel group in a three year civil war.

Asked if Iran would now work with the United States against ISIL, Rouhani told a news conference on Saturday: “We can think about it, if we see America starts confronting the terrorist groups in Iraq or elsewhere.

“Where did ISIL come from? Who is funding this terrorist group? We had warned everyone, including the West, about the danger of

appeared to show gunmen from the Islamist group shooting dozens of men, unarmed and lying prone on the ground.

Picture showed hundreds of army deserters captured as they tried to flee the fighting.

They were shown being transported in the backs of trucks, led to an open field, laid down in rows and shot by several masked gunmen. In several pictures, the black ISIL flag can be seen.

“This is the fate of the Shi’ites which Nuri brought to fight the Sunnis,” a caption to one of the pictures reads.

ISIL said it executed 1,700 soldiers out of 2,500 it had captured in Tikrit. Although

“Joint action between the United States and Iran to help prop up the government of their mutual ally Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq’s Shi’ite prime minister, would be a major turn of events after hostility dating to Iran’s 1979 revolution, and demonstrates the urgency of the alarm raised by the lightning insurgent advance.”

north of the capital, fighters also hold most of the Euphrates valley to the west, which they captured at the start of the year, bringing them to the gates of the city of 7 million.

Shi’ites, who form the majority in Iraq and are based mainly in the south, have rallied to defend the country, with thousands of volunteers turning out to join the security forces after a mobilization call by the top Shi’ite cleric.

Baghdad itself is divided between Sunni and Shi’ite neighborhoods and suffered intense street-fighting in 2006-2007. Peace never quite returned and districts are still surrounded by barbed wire and concrete blast walls.

ISIL emerged after Saddam’s fall, fought against the U.S. occupation as al Qaeda’s Iraq branch and broke away from al Qaeda after joining the civil war in Syria. It says the movement founded by Osama bin Laden

in Iraq to confront oppression and marginalization,” Hashemi told the BBC. “Resolving the conflict in Iraq comes through excluding Maliki from power.”

The government’s collapse in the north has also allowed forces of the ethnic Kurdish autonomous region to advance, seizing the city of Kirkuk and rural areas with vast oil reserves.

Residents in Tal Afar said Shi’ite police and troops rocketed Sunni neighborhoods before the ISIL forces moved in and finally captured the city overnight.

“The situation is disastrous in Tal Afar. There is crazy fighting and most families are trapped inside houses. They can’t leave town,” a local official said on Sunday before the city was overrun. “If the fighting continues, a mass killing among civilians could result.”.

Courtesy: REUTERS

Viewpoint

IT has become some-what characteristic of our national soccer teams both junior and senior at international fixtures to draw level after being down three or four goals, to emerge victorious.

I vividly remember that on February 25, 1989 in Saudi Arabia when Nigeria’s youth soccer team the flying Eagles was locked in a FIFA World Cup quarter final match with their soviet counter part. With only 30 minutes left, Nigeria’s team was down 4-0, but with courage and determination, the flying Eagles drew level before regulation time and went on to defeat the bewildered soviets.

Again, on January 25, 2014 in South Africa, Nigeria’s soccer team the flying Eagles was locked in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter final match with Morocco. At the end of the first-half Nigeria’s team was down 3-0.

The First Shall Be Last The Moroccon team and their fans convinced they had won the match engaged themselves in bra native jubilation. At the resumption of play after the first half, the Super Eagles beamed with tremendous spirit and drew level before full time.

The tie attracted 30 minutes of extra time of play at the end of which the Super Eagles swept to a 4-3 wind over Morocco. Nigeria 4-3 victory against Morocco was a repeat performance of the flying Eagles in Saudi Arabia in 1989. The victories of the two Eagles both in Saudi Arabia and, in Morocco did not surprise me at all because they were destined to fulfill the Biblical adage which simply says the last shall be first. Rev. 2:8.

By FOSTER A. OSAGIEDE OGBOMO

Super Eagles

Benue: Addressing The Plight Of Internally

By PHILIP DZEREMO AND EMMANUEL ANTSWEN

THE recurring crisis between Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers in Benue State has engendered the displacement of many residents of the affected areas of the state.

Concerned citizens say that the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in these areas is increasing by the day Mr Justin Gbagir, the Chairman, Benue NonGovernmental Organisation Network (BENGONET), said that thousands of people had been rendered homeless by the incessant crisis.

He noted that the IDPs were mainly from Agatu, Guma, Logo, Gwer, Gwer East, Kwande, Vandeikya and Makurdi Local Government Areas of the state.

Gbagir stressed that a

recent survey of the affected parts by the Anglican Communion revealed that residents of more than 43 villages had been displaced during the crisis.

He, however, alleged that the state government had yet to resettle the displaced persons in the affected communities or provide the requisite security that would enable them to return to their homes.

In a swift reaction, Gov. Gabriel Suswam bemoaned the displacement of several Tiv farmers, stressing that the plight of IDPs in the state had been a major source of concern for the government.

In a statement, Suswam expressed concern that the incessant crisis between Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers had continued in

Displaced Persons

spite of his administration’s efforts to provide adequate security arrangements.

He, nonetheless, assured the residents that the state government was working in close collaboration with the security agencies to carry out patrols and mount surveillance in some villages adjacent to the state’s border with Nasarawa State.

The governor said that in spite of the Fulani herdsmen’s attacks, the people of the state should still regard and treat the Fulani herdsmen as their kith and kin, while the herdsmen should also learn to live in harmony with their host communities.

Nevertheless, observers insist that the most worrisome aspect of the crisis is that the IDPs, including children,

“We have lost seven members of our family in the last two years to various sicknesses due to our poor health and living conditions’’

pregnant women and the aged, who are currently living under trees and in uncompleted houses, are in dire need of accommodation.

For instance, Mr Mbaime Tyokyaa, the leader of a group of displaced persons from one of the villages, said that the IDPs had been having a very harrowing experience.

“We have lost seven members of our family in the last two years to various sicknesses due to our poor health and living conditions,’’ he said.

Apparently aware of the plight of the displaced persons, Sen. George Akume, a former governor of the state, called on the state government to urgently establish camps for the IDPs. However, Bishop Nathan Inyom of the Anglican Communion of Makurdi has a contrary opinion.

He said that the IDPs should be encouraged to live with their relations in communities which were not affected by the crisis.

Inyom stressed that establishing camps for displaced persons could lead to the mismanagement of funds meant for the rehabilitation of the IDPs in the state.

However, Suswam said that in the meantime, the displaced persons should be mobilised to return to their respective homes, assuring them of adequate security.

Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Hemen Boko, the former National Secretary, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (NPP), urged the security agencies, especially the police, to provide adequate security for the displaced persons whenever they returned to their homes.

Rev. Fr. Solomon Ukeyima of St. Francis Mission, Daudu, said that as part of efforts to alleviate the problems of the IDPs, his church established a primary school, which had since enrolled more than 623 pupils.

The cleric, however, underscored the need to set up a rehabilitation camp in Daudu.

‘The establishment of a rehabilitation camp in Daudu is long overdue and the government should set up the camp as a matter of urgency,’’ he said.

Sharing Ukeyima’s viewpoint, Mr Dave Iorhemba, the former Speaker of Benue House of Assembly, said that it was the

duty of the government to provide rehabilitation camps for displaced citizens.

He argued that the state government was still dillydallying in plans to establish camps for IDPs in spite of the several resolutions of the House of Assembly soliciting the camps’ establishment.

Speaking along the same line, Mr Adikpo Agbatse, the Executive Secretary of Benue State Emergency Management Agency, appealed to the government to set up camps for displaced persons in the affected areas.

He, nonetheless, conceded that the establishment of rehabilitation camps was a sensitive security issue which required more meticulous planning.

However, the Federal Government is not unmindful of the plight of the IDPs in Benue.

For instance, the Minister of Trade, Dr Samuel Ortom, assured the IDPs that the Federal Government would liaise with the state government in efforts to establish camps for them.

Observers believe that the establishment of camps for the displaced persons would enable them to have a more decent accommodation, while creating a pragmatic platform for their proper resettlement.

(NAN)

Spanish Fan Scoops £100,000 Prize For Correct Prediction Almost the entire population of Spain was left devastated by the Netherlands’ 5-1 victory in their World Cup opener on Friday night.

Almost. But not quite.

One Spain fan was left wearing a grin after the holders’ 5-1 thrashing because it meant he was the only player in a national sweepstake to predict the match result - winning himself +100,000 (or

Mascot

Van Persie’s flying header immortalised in flipbook form

£80,000) worth of fuel.

Jacobo Rios-Capape, 56, an architect from Valencia, was one of 70,000 people to take part in a World Cup sweepstake organised by Spanish oil company Cepsa, one of the Spain team’s sponsors, at their petrol stations.

And he was the only one of those 70,000 to correctly guess that Spain would be ripped to pieces by an inspired Dutch team, thus claiming the entire prize pot.

“While obviously wanting Spain to win, I thought that if Netherlands beat us they would do it handsomely,” Jacobo told Marca.

“So I thought of 5-1, even if I was not that sure.”

So unsure was he, in fact, that Jacobo couldn’t believe how rash he’d been with his prediction as he walked away.

“Actually, after I did it I thought it was crazy and it would never happen.”

Amazingly, he was not alone in his successful prognostication of one of the tournament’s most shocking defeats ever - and

Africa Can Win Brazil 2014 , Says Keshi

African sides are as good as any at the World Cup and one could end up winning it in Brazil, Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi said on Sunday ahead of his side’s opening group game against outsiders Iran.

And if Nigeria were to get that - the others are Algeria, far, against the current odds, Cameroon, Ghana and Ivory expect at least one reporter to be Coast - and face a tough task to running for cover. get through a Group F that also “I will love it. I will kiss you includes Argentina and Bosnia. all over,” the former Nigeria However Keshi said their captain turned ‘Big Boss’ assured chances should not be undera news conference at the Baixada estimated. arena, where his players kicked Asked how close he felt Africa off their campaign yesterday. was to winning the Cup for the African champions Nigeria are first time, he did not hesitate: one of five representatives from “Very close. the continent competing in Brazil “Because they (the African

Keshi

sides) are good. As good as any other teams that are here. I think this tournament is an open tournament. We just have to do what we have to do,” he continued.

Ghana’s Black Stars were a penalty shootout away from becoming the first African side to reach the semi-finals at the last World Cup in South Africa in 2010 while Nigeria have twice previously reached the second round.

Cameroon made it to the quarter-finals in 1990 and Senegal in 2002.

“This team is growing, it’s like a baby,” Keshi said of his current crop of players, when asked to compare them with his class of World Cup debutants 20 years ago. “This team is just a year and a half-old. The team of 1994 was almost five or six years old.

“In 1994, the spirit was very high, we didn’t care where the (opposing) team was coming from, we knew we are going to go out there and win the game.

Here, we’re building that, we try to bring the same spirit.

“Once we get the spirit, trust me, it’s going to be two times as strong as 1994.”

One of two African coaches at the finals, the other being Ghana’s Kwasi Appiah, Keshi said it was time the continent nurtured home-grown managerial talent.

“We haven’t been given enough chances or opportunity or time to show what we can do,” said the coach, who qualified Togo for the 2006 finals only to be ousted before the tournament.

“The biggest problem is that once you do the dirty job of

getting the team qualified as an African coach, when you come to the big stage that’s when they think that you’re not experienced and they need a European coach to come in.”

When Nigeria competed at the 1994 tournament in the United States, the coach was Dutchman Clemens Westerhof. In 1998, it was the turn of Serbian Bora Milutinovic after Frenchman Philippe Troussier had secured qualification.

“I think this is wrong,” said Keshi. “A lot of African seasoned coaches that are there and can make Africans proud are not being given opportunities to do so.”

be particularly the case with football fans.

Elation can soon become despair – and this can, on occasion, lead to some unsavoury behaviour.

This is not the case for fans of Japan though.

Having seen the Ivory Coast come from behind to beat Japan 2-1 in their first 2014 World Cup

match, the Japanese fans at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil decided to clean up after themselves.

There is a perfectly sensible explanation for this though – it is apparently standard practise in Japan after sporting events.

Fair play – even if it does seem a little bizarre for us here in Europe.

Japanese Reazct In Fantastic Manner After IN any walk of life, defeat is Defeat often hard to take. It appears to

Spain’s biggest World Cup loss since 1950. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power confirmed that it had had 10 people taking up prematch odds of 500-1 on Netherlands beating Spain 5-1.

Spain play their next Group B match against Chile on Wednesday and Jacobo said he is planning to take another punt on the result.

“It will be my revenge for the defeat to Netherlands,” he told Marca. “Tomorrow I am going to fill up my car and I am going to bet that Spain beat Chile 5-1.”

Frankly, we’re not sure why he’s bothering to enter the competition again.

Assuming that Jacobo covers the national average of 8,200 miles a year, he’s only spending £1,200 a year on petrol in any case.

Which means that his petrol bills are already covered until he reaches the ripe old age of 123.

Van Persie’s Flying Header Immortalised In Flipbook Form Can’t get enough of Robin van Persie’s lobbed header that sparked the Netherlands’ demolition of Spain?

Well, one fan was so enamoured by its originality that they immortalised it in flipbook form.

The picture stream beautifully portrays Iker Casillas’ helplessness as Van Persie’s header loops over him and follows the striker as he sprints over to the bench for a celebratory high-five with manager Louis van Gaal.

Watch the flipbook footage below: Van Persie’s header was the catalyst as the Netherlands thumped the reigning world and European champions 5-1 in Group B. With Van Gaal set to take over at Manchester United after the World Cup, the Old Trafford faithful will now be hoping the 62-year-old can inspire Van Persie to produce more moments of magic next season.

Goal-Line Technology Used For First Time

GOAL-line technology was used for the first time at a World Cup finals on Sunday when France were awarded their second goal against Honduras.

Already leading 1-0 shown a few seconds later.

German company through a Karim Benzema penalty on the stroke of half- GoalControl GmbH were time, France’s advantage chosen as the technology was doubled when partner by FIFA ahead of the Benzema’s 48th-minute World Cup, a move which shot came back off the post ironically came about after and rolled across the goal- England’s Frank Lampard line before hiting was denied a clear goal goalkeeper Noel Valladares. against Germany in South The Honduras No. 1 tried to Africa four years ago. Goalclaw the ball back off the line technology was line but technology introduced in the Premier indicated a goal and League at the start of last Brazilian referee Sandro season, though that system Ricci pointed to the centre is operated by UK company Hawk-eye. circle.

GoalControl, as described However, there was confusion in the Estadio by FIFA, is “equipped with Beira-Rio stadium when the 14 high-speed cameras computer generated image located around the pitch, was displayed on the big TV with seven cameras on each screens. As the ball first focusing came back off the inside of goalmouth. The ball’s the post it had been on the position is continuously and line, so a clip was shown automatically captured in with a “No Goal” message, 3D and the indication of before the graphics for the whether a goal has been ball crossing the line were scored is immediately

confirmed within one second to a watch worn by each of the match officials.”

GoalControl was first used at the FIFA Club World Cup in December.

Goal-Line Technology

Croatia Snub Media Over Nude Photos

OG Revels In World Cup Limelight

IN a World Cup packed with thrilling high-scoring matches, own goals are playing a prominent role as the drama unfolds in Brazil.

Indeed, after just 11 matches, own goals sit proudly at the top of the list of leading scorers in Brazil with a total of three. This is an unlikely achievement, given there have only been a total of 39 scored in 19 World Cups.

In the tournament’s opening match last Thursday, Brazil defender Marcelo diverted the ball into his own net to give Croatia a shock lead and become the first Brazilian to score for the opposition in World Cup finals history.

Three days later the own goal was back, this time with a double shot of calamity.

In the second game on Sunday, a shot by French forward Karim Benzema cannoned off the post and looked to be heading to safety before Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares inadvertently clawed the ball over his own goalline.

His desperate effort to scramble the ball away proved in vain, a decision confirmed after the first use of goalline technology at the World Cup. Sead Kolasinac of Bosnia later claimed the fastest own goal in the tournament’s history when he stabbed the ball past his goalkeeper in the third minute of the Group F game against Argentina.

The record number of own goals in an individual tournament was six in 1998 in France but that record must be under threat with 53 games left in Brazil.

Bulgaria, Mexico and Spain are the World Cup own goal specialists with three each, while Trinidad & Tobago are the only country to have scored more own goals than regular goals.

The Caribbean team’s Brent Sancho netted for Paraguay in a group game at the 2006 World Cup and the Trinidadians failed to put the ball in their opponents’ net in three games at the tournament.

ANGERED by photos publis hed

Croatians team

Deschamps Hails Opening Win

FRANCE coach Didier Deschamps congratulated his side for a comprehensive victory over Honduras in their World Cup opener at Porto Alegre.

Les Bleus comfortably outplayed their Group E opponents, who seemed more intent on executing a series of rash tackles than anything else, and walked away with a deserved 3-0 win.

Karim Benzema scored twice as well as seeing his shot canon off the frame of the goal before being spilled over the line for an own-goal by Noel Valladares.

Honduras saw their crossbar struck twice but had somehow managed to maintain the deadlock until Wilson Palacios barged Paul Pogba in the box, conceding a penalty and being sent off for a second yellow card.

Deschamps was a contented man at the end of the match, telling TF1: “This is a very good start. We’ve had good times during our preparation, but this is competition. Winning today is a very good start.

“We will enjoy this victory... 3-

0 win in the World Cup, because it’s never easy. We have been patient. We had our chance and hit the bar twice in the first period.

“We did well. Pleasure is total in football when there is victory.

“Congratulations to the players.”

Benzema, making his World Cup bow after missing the cut in 2010, was in high spirits having shot his side to victory.

Much is expected of the Real Madrid hitman and he was pleased to have delivered.

“I had in mind to play a good game, win, while also trying to play my football without pressure. I did tonight,” he said.

“I’m very happy and very proud. But the most important thing is winning. Some judge me on my number of goals but for me, the way I play counts a lot.”

Honduras coach Luis Suarez had no complaints about the result, but admitted he was confused by the protocol which initially saw both a ‘no goal’ and a ‘goal’ verdict delivered by the

GoalControl system following France’s second.

The first message related to Benzema’s initial shot, while the second covered the Valladares fumble.

[OVERREACTION THEATRE: POOR BBC COMMENTATOR MOCKED BY VIEWERS AFTER GAFFE] “During the 90 minutes they played better than us. I have no excuses,” Suarez said.

“They were superior to us. It’s hard to keep up with one less player. Being outnumbered, it is not easy.

“On the second goal, the machine first said that there was no (goal), and after granted one. I do not know what to think.”

showing them bathing nude at their training complex’s swimming pool, Croatian players are refusing to speak to World Cup reporters. ‘’They are determined that they will not speak to the media,’’ Croatia coach Niko Kovac said. ‘’I don’t know if this will last until tomorrow, or until we are at the World Cup.’’ The pictures from paparazzi photographers were published by Croatian media. ‘’I can’t force them to change their minds after what you have done to them and their families,’’ Kovac said.

A news conference scheduled for Monday at the Croatian camp near Salvador was cancelled.

Today’s Match 5.00 pm Belgium v Algeria 8.00 pm Brazil v Mexico 11.00 pm Russia v Korea Republic

Seferovic Seals Late Win For Swiss Over Ecuador

Argentina Still Need To Improve - Messi LIONEL Messi said that while he was ecstatic about his goal in the 65th minute of Argentina’s 2-1 World Cup victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sunday, his team still has to do “much to improve.”

Messi said the three points were the most important accomplishment in the Group F opener, not his second World Cup goal.

“It’s important to win, but we have to improve,” the Barcelona star said. “It’s not easy because during the first World Cup match you are always anxious and nervous, but we played a great second half and we have to keep it up that way.

Messi himself acknowledged the changes from five in defence to a 43-3 formation made it much easier for him and fellow striker Sergio Aguero.

“I was often on my own and so was Kun [Aguero] and it was very difficult, so there are things to be improved on,” he said.

“We forwards prefer the system we used in the second half, with more attacking, because we could go out against them with more passing options, although in truth sometimes we suffer a little more,” he said. “The first half costs us more because we were behind but what is important is that we won.

There are a lot of things we must improve, but I am happy that we began with three points.”

Messi said he was astounded by the Argentine fans at Maracana.

“The (fan support) in the stadium was crazy and beautiful,” he said.

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella only awarded his team a mark of six out 10 and said his halftime changes to provide more support to Messi had been crucial.

“On balance I would give it a six. We need to improve and part of that is in my hands — it is up to me.

“The changes at half-time just produced this improvement. They were playing better together and there was more support around Messi. Once Messi received the ball there was better follow-up and better support.

“I think that, whatever happens in this World Cup, he is among the best players in the history of football.”

Sabella confirmed that he had taken Aguero off as he had seemed tired rather than for injury reasons, even though the Manchester City frontman had appeared to be limping.

Switzerland’s Haris Seferovic (9) celebrates his goal against Ecuador

Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates scoring a goal during the 2014 World Cup Group F soccer match against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro June 15, 2014

Brazil Police Shoot Live Rounds

protesting,’’ said Karen Rodrigues, a 23-year-old student at the demonstration that drew A police officer can be seen on an Associated plainclothes who around 200 people.

Press video firing what appeared to be a live pistol identified himself as a Another protest occurred round at anti-World Cup protesters Sunday near police officer also pulled in the capital, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium. a pistol and fired two but drew only a handful During the small but about 1.5 kilometers (1 shots into the air. of participants, and a violent and chaotic mile) from the stadium, Pedro Dantas, a small protest also was protest that played out another man in spokesman for the Rio held in Porto Alegre. government agency that Mass protests broke oversees all security out across Brazil during forces, said it would last year ’s have no comment until it Confederations Cup could review the video. tournament, the warmHe said there had been up to FIFA’s premier no reports of any event. At that time, more shooting victims during than 1 million Brazilians the protest. took to the streets on a The action took place single day in the largest around the beginning of demonstrations this the game between South American nation Argentina and Bosnia- had seen in a generation.

Herzegovina — the first But those mass World Cup match played protests died down after in Maracana stadium about two weeks. Since since 1950. then, hundreds of “We’re seeing tonight smaller, violent protests the same police brutality have been seen across we’ve seen during the the country, though past year, and that’s why primarily in Rio de we have to keep Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Sepp Blatter

SWITZERLAND substitute Haris Seferovic struck deep in stoppage time to give his side a 2-1 win over Ecuador in Group E. Ecuador moved ahead on 22 minutes when Walter Ayoví threw over a lovely free-kick for Enner Valencia to head home.

But Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side were level on 48 minutes when Ricardo Rodríguez came up with a corner for another substitute in the shape of Admir Mehmedi to nod home unmarked.

The Swiss were denied a legitimate goal when Josip Drmic was wrongly ruled to be offside when he scored with 20 minutes remaining when he was clearly on.

But justice was done when Valon Behrami made a superb tackle as Michael Arroyo prepared to pull the trigger.

The Swiss broke swiftly to the other end with Seferovic slotting the wiiner from a Rodríguez pass to seal an unlikely three points for the European side.

There have now been 31 goals in nine games at this World Cup which is exciting for the fans, but is not of much consolation to Ecuador after being stung so late on.

De Gea ruled Out Of Group Stage SPAIN goalkeeper David de Gea has been ruled out of the World Cup group stage through injury.

De Gea, 23, was an unused substitute as the Netherlands inflicted a heavy 5-1 defeat on Spain in Group B on Friday – a result which prompted some calls for the Manchester United keeper to replace Iker Casillas in goal.

He made his debut for the world and European champions against El Salvador in Spain’s final warm-up friendly before the World Cup. [WHY IT’S TIME FOR DE GEA TO TAKE KING CASILLAS’ CROWN] It now means Spain manager Vicente del Bosque must decide whether to keep faith with Casillas or drop him for Liverpool’s Pepe Reina.

Spain will attempt to get their campaign back on track with victory over Chile on Wednesday, before facing Australia in their final group game.

Basketball

San Antonio Spurs Clinch NBA Title

against distracting the team from its set goals, declaring that his players were focused on the game against Iran and would not tolerate any form of distraction.

“The players may have issues but I think they have been settled amicably, so let them allow us to play.

Assistant Skipper, Vincent Enyeama, said his teammates knew what was at stake in the World Cup and would not allow personal need or greed to override national interest.

“We are ready for Iran and that is what is on our minds at the moment; every other thing will be settled after this competition.”

THE San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat 104-87 on Sunday to clinch the 2014 National Basketball Association championship.

The San Antonio Spurs celebrate with the Larry O’Brien Trophy after game five of the 2014 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat at AT&T Center (Reuters) San Antonio, which outscored the Heat 55-29 over the decisive second and third quarters, was paced in scoring by finals most valuable player Kawhi Leonard who had 22 points, while Argentina’s Manu Ginobili added 19.

James, the four-time NBA MVP who led the Heat to titles the past two seasons, scored 31 points but was largely ineffective after the first quarter when he had 17 points.

The Spurs hit just one of their first 12 shots and trailled by 16 points early in the first quarter but outscored the Heat 25-11 in the decisive second quarter and led 47-40 at the half.

San Antonio, who lost to the Heat in the finals a year ago, opened the second half on a 18-4 run to seize a 65-44 lead, igniting the crowd hungry for the Spurs’ first title since 2007 and their fifth overall.

A three-point shot by Australian Patty Mills and a jumper by Duncan hiked the Spurs’ lead to 75-53 late in the third quarter and the rout was on.

James hit five of seven shots in the first quarter but nailed only five of 14 the rest of the way. The Heat shot 40 percent from the floor, including just seven of 25 from three-point range.

Miami was the first team to play in four straight finals since the Boston Celtics in 1984-87, and was hoping to become the first three-time champion since the Los Angeles Lakers more than a decade ago.

The title was the fifth for the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, a 38-year-

ROGER Federer stepped up his preparations for Wimbledon by winning the Gerry Weber Open for a seventh time with a 7-6(2) 7-6(3) win over Columbia’s Alejandro Falla on

Sunday.

The 32-year-old was forced to work hard to overcome a stubborn Falla who refused to roll over against his illustrious opponent.

The San Antonio Spurs celebrate with the Larry O’Brien Trophy after game five of the 2014 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat at AT&T Center

World Cup: NFA, Eagles

Debunk Row Over Bonuses THE Nigeria Football Association (NFA) officials and the technical crew of the Super Eagles have pleaded with the media and other enthusiasts to allow peace reign, so that the players can concentrate on the task at hand.

Jonathan, he was full of praises NFA Technical Committee Chairman, Mr Chris Green, who for us and promised that he would is in Curitiba with the team, alongside NFA President Aminu Maigari and other board members, said it was disheartening to learn that some people were still hammering on the long settled issue of bonuses and appearance fees for the players.

The Media Officer of the team, Ben Alaya, quoted Green in a statement on Sunday as: “When the Senate President, Dr David Mark, came here to meet with us and the players.

“He was totally convinced at our sincerity with the players and what we have on board as the team progresses but some people are just hell bent on ensuring that they raise issues that don’t even Aminu Maigari, NFA Boss exist.”

Green explained that the NFF had agreed with the players to pay 10,000 dollars winning bonus for first round games; 12,500 dollars for second round game; 15,000 dollars for quarter final and 20,000 dollars for semifinal.

He said that would also increase marginally to 25,000 dollars if the team won the trophy.

The statement said that percentage earnings from monies that might accrue to the players from what FIFA gave to the NFA was also put at 30 per cent for the group stages; 40 for the second round; 50 for the quarter final; 60 for the semi-final and 70 per cent for the final.

“When we unveiled this before the President of the Senate, who represented President Goodluck

add a special bonus from government to the players and promised further surprises if the team should go far in the tourney.”

The statement also said that Coach Stephen Keshi warned

old, 14-time All-Star who has not yet said if he will continue to play.

“I know it is coming to an end,” he said after Sunday’s triumph. “I don’t know if I will have a chance to do this again...

It’s a real emotional time.”

Mercurial Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has coached Duncan to each of his titles, joins Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, John Kundla and Pat Riley as the only coaches with five NBA crowns.

In the 2013 finals against Miami, the Spurs squandered a five-point lead in the last 28 seconds of regulation of Game Six to lose 103-100 in overtime.

The Spurs were so close to the title, the court was being lined with tape for the post-game award ceremony. Given new life, Miami went on to win Game Seven and the championship.

“We remembered what happened last year,” Duncan said. “How it felt in our locker room and we used it, built on it and got back in.”

San Antonio came back this year with the same roster, except for the addition of Italian Marco Bellinelli.

Quality minutes in the finals from Frenchman Boris Diaw, Mills and Brazilian Tiago Splitter, and improved play in the finals from Ginobili, lifted the Spurs to the title.

James played well overall in the finals but Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were unable to score consistently and the point guard pair of Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole underperformed.

Bosh hit six of 14 shots for 13 points on Sunday, while Wade totaled 11 points on four of 12 shooting.

The Heat’s Big Three - James, Wade and Bosh - are all eligible to become free agents in the offseason, and, despite winning the Eastern Conference in each of their four seasons together, it is uncertain if they will return.

Federer Wins 7th Title In Halle

Roger Federer

“I’ve left a little bit of my heart there,” Federer said after his seventh victory in nine Halle finals.

“My big goal for the week was to collect the title, play good tennis and have fun. I’ve done that.”

The 17-times grand slam champion served for the first set at 5-3 only to get broken by Falla, who was chasing his first ATP title.

With the tiebreak locked at 22 Federer’s class told as he stepped up the tempo to reel off five points to take the set.

That momentum continued into the second set with the Swiss breaking Falla in his first service game but he once again failed to capitalise and was immediately broken back.

The players headed into a second tiebreak and after Federer romped to a 3-0 lead, his 69thranked opponent faded away to suffer his seventh defeat in as many meetings with the Swiss.

“He’s the king of kings of tiebreaks,” Falla said. “Overall I played very well throughout the whole week and I want to keep it up.”

CMYK

Curbing Medical Tourism

The Nigerian-Turkish Hospital Example

IT is common knowledge that Nigeria loses huge sums in capital flight to medical tourism, as some citizens often complain that most of the nation’s hospitals lack the modern equipment needed for effective diagnosis and treatment.

Recent statistics from the Senate Committee on Health indicate that Nigerians spend about N80 billion annually on medical treatments abroad.

Observers note that the most popular destinations for the medical tourism are India, Germany, UK, Israel and some other Middle-East countries.

The situation has become a source of worry to concerned citizens and conscious efforts are being made to transform healthcare delivery in the country by equipping the hospitals with modern equipment.

Poised to tackle the problem, President Goodluck Jonathan recently expressed his determination to curb medical tourism by involving private investors in the health sector reforms.

The president made the declaration during the inauguration of the Nigeria-Turkish Nizamiye Hospital in Abuja recently.

Jonathan said that the state-of-the-art hospital demonstrated a pragmatic response to the government’s policy aimed at enhancing private-sector participation in healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

“A lot of Nigerians go out almost on a daily basis to seek medical help abroad and almost all the hospitals that attend to them outside this country are privately owned.

“If we encourage the private sector to take the lead; that would save the amount of money Nigerians pay outside.

“The determination of our government is to ensure that our citizens have access to quality and affordable healthcare services. In this regard, the role of the private sector in complementing government efforts is very crucial.

“Undoubtedly, privatesector initiatives such as this hospital will aid government’s efforts to halt the enormous capital flight arising from increased medical tourism and the avoidable stress experienced by Nigerians in such cases,’’ he said.

He said that the Federal Government had constituted a committee to develop a network of improved modern healthcare infrastructure to further stimulate investment in the health sector.

Jonathan stressed that a number of world-class diagnostic and treatment facilities were being developed in Abuja, Lagos and other locations across the country.

On his part, Dr Mustafa Ahsen, the hospital’s Medical Director, said that the hospital offered Nigerians the opportunity of staying in their country and receiving world-class medical treatment which they hitherto sought abroad.

According to him, the hospital aims to encourage Nigerians to receive medical treatment in Nigeria where their friends and relatives are readily available.

Ahsen said that the crux of the hospital’s operational mode centred on the treatment of patients with compassion, respect and utmost care.

“We will never lose our compassion and concern; we will never fall into the wrong delusion of viewing our patients as file numbers.

“We want to approach people who are suffering, distressed, frightened and on the verge of despair with empathy to end their pain.

“Our goal is to be a friend to someone who seeks a friend and a symbol of hope to the needy,’’ he added.

Besides, Ahsen, at a recent signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with VEFA Tourism and Travels Agency in Abuja on the transportation of patients with special cases to Turkey, expressed the determination of the hospital to reduce medical tourism.

He stressed that the target of the hospital was to handle all medical cases, conceding, however, that in the interim, any special case would be referred to its partners in Turkey.

He listed the units of the hospital as Neurosurgery, General Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cardiology, Radiology, Neurology, Orthopaedic, Urology, D e r m a t o l o g y ,

diseases will be treatable in this hospital,’’ he reiterated.

Ahsen emphasised that cost of treatment in hospital was affordable, adding that it was akin to the one charged in other private hospitals within the FCT. He, however, said that the hospital would soon provide free cataract treatment to no fewer than 1,500 Nigerians, in collaboration with some

MATTERS IN FOCUS With Chijioke Okoronkwo He said that the agency would also facilitate the process of acquiring visa for the patients.

“We make sure the patient gets visa in one week instead of five weeks; and in urgent cases, we can secure the visa in less than one week.

“Under this arrangement, we provide air ticket, visa, ambulance and every other thing that will make the trip easy for the patients.

“When the patients come back, they can continue medical check and treatment here in

Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Minister of Health

Anaesthesiology and laboratory, among others.

“We treat most of the cases that Nigerians seek abroad but for now; any case we cannot handle, we send the patient to Turkey, especially in cases relating to cardiovascular diseases.

“Very soon, we will start having kidney transplants here; but for now, we send such patients to Turkey.

“Before a patient is sent to Turkey, we send his or her medical report and in the last two months, we have sent seven patients, out of which three are back; one of them also had a successful kidney transplant.

“Before long, all the

non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

He added that the planned free cataract operations would commence once all the needed equipment was procured.

He said that the hospital was operating mobile clinics in some rural areas, in partnership with the FCT Administration (FCTA) which identified the areas that required medical assistance.

On his part, Mr Selami Altay, the Agent Manager, VEFA Tourism and Travels Agency, said that the agency was offering a 20per-cent discount to patients under the agreement.

Nizamiye,’’ he added.

Altay, however, said that the take-off points for the patients were Lagos, Abuja, Enugu and Kano All the same, Mr Cemal Yigit, spokesperson for the hospital’s owners, First Surat Group of Companies, said that the primary purpose of establishing the hospital was to offer qualitative and standard healthcare services to Nigerians.

He stressed that the hospital’s services and their quality would certainly reduce the number of Nigerians travelling to Europe, India and the Middle-East for medical treatment.

Yigit said that no fewer

than 180 Nigerians were employed in the hospital, which commenced operations in August 2013 and was inaugurated by President Jonathan in February 2014.

It is somewhat pertinent to note that Dr Osahon Enabulele, the National President of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), recently called for the speedy passage of the National Health Bill by the National Assembly to curb medical tourism.

According to him, annual overseas medical check-up among Nigerians is now a trend which has some negative effects on the country‘s economy.

“With regard to medical tourism, one way to tackle it, I must say, is for us to support the National Health Bill. The bill explains how to restrict unwarranted medical tourism.

“The National Health Bill has a provision for the constitution of a body of medical experts, which would assess the requests of those, especially top political office holders, who want to go abroad in the name of attending to some health conditions.

“And that unless that group of experts makes useful recommendations to the Minister of Health, you have no reason to use taxpayers’ money to go on a jolly ride to India or Germany.

“So, it’s necessary for us to champion the passage of the National Health Bill.

“That bill means a lot to us and to all Nigerians; medical tourism will be wiped away sooner than later,’’ he added.

Enabulele noted that the bill signified an important step in efforts to improve the country’s health sector.

All in all, observers stress that the country was blessed with a lot of qualified, seasoned and proficient medical personnel, including doctors, who can manage any medical condition or disease.

They, however, insist that improving the state of Nigerian hospitals, in terms of equipment and funding, will go a long way in curtailing medical tourism.

(NAN)

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