Peoples Daily Newspaper, Friday 1, February, 2013

www.peoplesdailyng.com

Vol. 10 No. 25

Friday, February 1, 2013

Bandits storm banks, kill four in Birnin Gwari

. . . putting the people first

Rabiul Awwal 20, 1434 AH

N150

FG arraigns Govs boycott Reps Farouk, others constitution amendment today presentation

>> PAGE 3

>> PAGE 4

>> PAGE 3

Gov. Shettima rejects award for Boko Haram ceasefire deal From Mustapha Isa Kwaru, Maiduguri

G

overnor Kashim Shettima of Borno state yesterday turned down a nomination for an international award over what was described as his “resilient and determined

role in brokering a cease fire deal with Boko Haram” as well as his “pioneering and consistent calls for dialogue”.

A Europe-based group, International Advocacy for Peace Negotiation & None-Violence, had last Tuesday, sent a letter through its Coordinator, Mr. Russell

Donvito, nominating Shettima for the award to be presented in Brussels in March, 2013.

But in rejecting the nomination, the governor described the proposed award as “hasty, biased and unnecessary.”

In a letter nominating Shettima, the group described

Borno as the centre of insurgency and that it has closely monitored the governor’s actions and statements concerning peaceful resolution of the insurgency.

According to the letter, “we remember you making that proposal to the media in April, 2011, we have also confirmed

from our local based partners how you have been committed and meeting different people including detained insurgents, courting and persuading them to give links for negotiations.

“The advocacy also notes that the meeting you held with some Contd on Page 2

Senate slams N4bn First Ladies House

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he Senate yesterday condemned a proposal by the Federal Capital Territory Administration to spend N4 billion for the construction of “First Ladies Mission House” in Abuja.

The senators argued that the project is not recognized by the nation’s Constitution even as the Senate President, David Mark, lashed out at the FCT Administration for not getting its priorities right, explaining that “the FCT brings to the fore issues that should be de-emphasized.”

Mark also decried what he described as lack of proper plan in initiation and execution of projects in the FCT and urged the authority to complete all ongoing projects before embarking on new ones, “so that they will be relevant to the people.”

Contd on Page 2

PD INDEX

…Says FCT lacks projects planning

31st Jan., 2013

CBN RATES $ £ EURO CFA RIYAL

BUYING 154.74 244.10 209.59 0.2981 41.25

SELLING 155.74 245.68 210.95 0.3181 41.52

PARALLEL RATES EURO £ RIYAL $

BUYING 208 254.50 42 157

SELLING 210 257.50 43 158

Kaduna state Governor, Alhaji Muktar Ramalan Yero (middle), inspecting one of the banks vandalised by armed bandits, yesterday at Birnin Gwari local government area of the State.

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Editorial

12

Reps urge FG to conduct referendum of Nigerians in Bakassi

Op.Ed

13

By Umar Muhammad Puma

Letters

14

Opinion

15

CONTENTS News

2-10

Metro

16-18

Business

19-22

S/Exchange Int’l

23 27-30

D

isturbed by the reported cases of incessant and blatant violation of rights, frequent extra-judicial killings and incarceration of Nigerians in Bakassi by the Cameroonian authorities, the House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to initiate the process of conducting a referendum for the people in

Senate orders investigation of 30 bodies in Anambra river

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

S

AFCON 2013: The clash of the favourites and the super, Pages 24-25

Strange World 31 Revue

32-33

Feature

34-35

Digest

36

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-46

Leisure

47

Columnist

48

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU The Peoples Daily wants to hear from you with any news and pictures you think we should publish.

You can send your news and pictures to: letters@peoplesdaily-online.com pictures@peoplesdaily-online.com contact@peoplesdaily-online.com

Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

Bakassi who are Nigerians for the purpose of protecting their fundamental human rights.

The motion was raised by Rep. Ekpenyong Ayi (PDP Cross River state), who said Bakassi people have the right to selfdetermination and to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

"People of Bakassi deserve to be given a platform to exercise their right to self-determination which

enate yesterday mandated its committees on Police Affairs and Intelligence and Security, to urgently unravel the mystery behind the over 30 dead bodies which were found in Ezu River in Anambra state.

Speaking on the motion which was moved by Senator Andy Uba, Anambra South, Senate President David Mark, expressed concern that over 30 dead bodies were found in a community, yet no family has come to complain of missing relatives.

Speaking earlier, Senator Andy Uba, Anambra South, said the dead bodies have contaminated the only source of water for the five affected communities in Anambra and Enugu states.

He observed that the Ezu River serves domestic purposes for the communities, saying that the indigenes, as well as other nearby rivers, stand the chance of contamination.

Speaking also, Senator Chris Ngige, urged the senate to compel the security operatives to unravel the origin of the bodies, adding that all the efforts he made to elicit relevant information from the State Security Service did not yield any positive result.

While calling on the National Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to come to the aid of the affected communities, Ngige said he has provided some tanks of water and boreholes as a temporal measure to reduce the sufferings of the people.

is an inalienable right provided in Article 1 of The1966 International Convention on Civil and Political Rights".

He stressed that Article 3 of the Green Tree Agreement recognses the right of the Bakassi people when it says: "Cameroon after the transfer of authority to it by Nigeria, guarantee to Nigerian nationals living in Bakassi Peninsular the exercise of their

fundamental human rights and freedoms as enshrined in the International Human Rights Law and other relevant provision of international law".

He cited Article 15 (2) of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948, which stated that "no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of nationality or denied the right to change his nationality".

Ibori: S/Court strikes out EFCC’s appeal

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

T

he Supreme Court, yesterday struck out an appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), against former Delta state governor, James Ibori on the grounds that assignment of cases was purely an administrative matter.

While striking out the appeal, the presiding judge, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, said the appeal has turned into an academic exercise.

Chief Godwin Obla, who announced appearance for the EFCC withdrew the appeal on behalf of the commission.

Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Joseph Daudu, who announced his

appearance for Ibori, did not object to the withdrawal of the application.

The EFCC had gone to the Supreme Court in Abuja to challenge the decision of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna which held that Ibori should be tried in Asaba over the 107-count of money laundering and not in Kaduna.

At the Federal High Court, Kaduna, Justice Shuaibu assumed jurisdiction to try Ibori even though the offences were allegedly committed in Delta state.

The case went on appeal to the Court of Appeal, Kaunda which upheld the Ibori’s argument that the case should be tried in Delta state.

It was in appeal against this decision that EFCC took to the Supreme Court, which was yesterday struck out.

Senate slams N4bn First Ladies House Contd from Page 1 In his contribution, Senator Babafemi Ojodu, pointed out that if the proposed N4 billion for First Ladies Mission House is approved, Nigerians will not take it lightly with the lawmakers.

According to Ojodu, “the First Ladies Mission House project will have no impact on the lives of Nigerians who are in dare need of schools, jobs, infrastructure, among other things.”

In related development and amidst criticisms of non-

performance, when the FCT Bill for an Act to issue from the Federal Capital Territory Administration Statutory Revenue Fund account, the sum of N253, 199, 752, 409.

00, came up for second reading, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, said that the sum of N1.6 billion was proposed for construction of resettlement houses and payment of compensation in 2013.

According to him, the FCT is growing in leaps and bounds thereby overstretching the available resources and called for

more funds for the territory, saying “the city requires a minimum of N195 billion to resuscitate and complete abandoned and on-going projects.”

In her contribution, Senator Nkechi Nwogu, said that there was need for the Senate to ascertain the level of completion of the FCT light rail project so as to know if there is actually need for the release of more funds.

She expressed dissatisfaction with the management of funds by

FCT and cited the less than 30 KM Abuja-Airport road the completion of which seems endless despite the huge resources already expended on it.

In their separate remarks, Senator Ayogu Eze and Senator George Sekkibo, noted that the budget for FCT has consistently been on the increase without commensurate infrastructural development.

They called for reduction in the overhead cost to make for more funds for capital projects.

Gov. Shettima rejects award for Boko Haram ceasefire deal Contd from Page 1 commanders of the Boko Haram insurgents as reported by a Nigerian media (the Trust, Sunday) with assurance that the bad guys went away freely without betrayed arrests, may clearly have given background trust to the latest group agreeing to negotiation, yet, initiated by you, for a cease fire.

“We believe that negotiations must start from somewhere, you cannot have all armed guys to turn in overnight, you must start from someone however low or big as long as he is of that group. “It is for these and much more, including your bold submission in Washington in 2011 before the US

military, calling for dialogue with the Boko Haram when most other speakers couldn’t say, that we think you should be singled out for honouring at no cost whatsoever, by the advocacy.

“We are summarily impressed by your resilience and determined role in brokering a cease fire deal with Boko Haram as well as your pioneering and consistent calls for dialogue.”

Reacting to the nomination, Shettima thanked the group for their no-violence initiatives but rejected the award.

According to Shettima’s Special Adviiser on Communications, Isa Umar Gusau, the Governor feels that the award is diversionary and

extremely selective because so many people including security chiefs, establishments and groups at the national and state levels have been involved in whatever successes gradually being achieved and these people and groups are still working day and night to achieve peace for Borno and Nigeria.

According to Gusua, “the Governor also said that the issue at stake is far beyond that of fanfare as the matter concerns the lives of many Nigerians and all stakeholders including the Borno state government cannot afford any diversion but must remain focused in seeing to it that genuine peace is fully restored.

“Governor Shettima feels that the award recipients should be those who lost their lives to the violence, those who have become orphans and widows, those who have lost breadwinners and everyone that stood or continuously works for the return of peace in Borno and rest of Nigeria.

“The Governor believes that when it is time for celebration, all well-meaning Nigerians will smile together as heroes who saw turbulent times, passed through and lived beyond them, gaining a key experience that peace can never again and must never, be taken for granted in any part of Nigeria.”

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 3

Trigger-happy soldiers kill two cows in Nasarawa From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

A

L-R: Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Nigeria, Dr. Deng Boqin, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, and former Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, during the formal public presentation of the book: “China/Africa: Issues, Challenges And Possibilities” written by Mr. Charles Onunaiju, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Gunmen burn down police station in Kano, kill two

...As bandits storm banks, kill four in Birnin Gwari From Edwin Olofu, Kano, Nasiru Mu'azu Isa & Moh’d Adamu, Kaduna

U

nknown gunmen on Wednesday evening attacked a Divisional Police headquarters in Bunkure, 40 kilometers south of Kano city, killing a police sergeant and a yet to be identified civilian whose body was burnt.

An eyewitness said the gunmen stormed the police station around 8.pm and started hurling explosives at the station and at the same time opened fire on the policemen at the entrance of the station.

The eyewitness account stated that one of the adjoining private residences was also affected by the explosives hauled by the invaders.

The invasion by the gunmen triggered pandemonium in a nearby market as residents and passerby in the sleepy town

scampered for safety.

Confirming the incident to reporters in Kano, the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 1, Mr. David Oluwafemi Omojola, said “a segment of the building was affected during the attack.

Omojola stated that investigation has been launched to identify those behind the attack and track down the fleeing assailants.

Commenting the casualty, Kano state Police Public Relations Officer ASP Magaji Musa Majia, confirmed the attack, saying that a police sergeant was killed and an unidentified civilian was burnt beyond recognition and a part of the station was torched.

In a related development, three policemen and one civilian were killed in Birnin Gwari local government area of Kaduna state less than 24 hours after the Emir, Alhaji Zubairu Jibril bitterly complained about the insecurity

in the area.

The attack which started around 12 midnight, lasted for over six hours involving over 100 armed bandits using sophisticated weapons and jeeps.

The attacks were concentrated on two banks, First Bank and Ecobank and the Birnin Gwari police divisional office.

Gov. Mukhtar Ramalan Yero during an assessment and sympathy visit to the area yesterday, resolved to work with the governors of five neighboring states to tackle the issue of insecurity and bandits who have been wreaking havoc in the area.

Governor Yero said the menace of the hoodlums is very worrisome and he would liaise with the governors of Katsina, Zamfara, Niger, Sokoto and Kebbi states which share borders with the local government to ensure security of lives and property in the place and beyond is guaranteed.

Contrary to speculations, no place of worship was attacked and the commercial banks and police station that were attacked was purely the handiwork of the bandits who have been terrorising the area and the five neighbouring states.

Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Adenaike said over a 100 armed robbers using sophisticated weapons took part in the attack.

It would be recalled that the Emir during his visit to the governor had decried the brazen manner in which the robbers operate. "We are worried and disturbed and we don’t know what to do. In fact, as I am talking to you now, I am not in charge and you are not in charge also in some of the villages in Birnin Gwari that are under the bandits.

These bandits are in charge. The armed bandits have taken over our land", he had lamented on Wednesday.

n unspecified number of soldiers, suspected to be on their way to Bassa, in Kokona local government area of Nasarawa state, from the military base in Keffi, Wednesday, allegedly shot at some Fulani herdsmen who were moving their cattle to a grazing spot close to Garaku, headquarters of the local government area, killing two cows and injuring two more.

A victim of the raid, Umaru Alhaji Filani, told journalists yesterday that they were on their way leading a herd of about 100 cows, heading to Hayin Gada, in Garaku for grazing, when just by the perimeter fence of the Government Girls’ College, Garaku, a team of soldiers, veering off from the high road, waylaid them shooting sporadically, killing two cows, injuring two more, while the herdsmen scampered to safety.

Confirming the incident, Sylvester Agi, the Abaga Toni and paramount ruler of the area, informed journalists in his palace that at around 4.30 pm on Wednesday, the Fulani community leader in the area, reported to him on the faceoff between the soldiers and the herdsmen, after which he advised the victims to report the matter to the police.

N4m ATM scam: Ex-banker bags three years jail

By Lambert Tyem

J

ustice Farouq Lawan of Kano State High Court yesterday convicted and sentenced one Auwalu Ibrahim to three years imprisonment with the option of N250,000 fine for allegedly stealing the sum of N4,524,000 between May 30, 2010 and February 25, 2011 in a debit card fraud.

Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman of the commission said the accused person pleaded guilty to the onecount charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The judge convicted and sentenced him accordingly.

Govs boycott Reps’ Constitution amendment presentation

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

he chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amaechi was conspicuously absent at the public presentation of the results of the public sessions conducted by the House of Representatives on the constitution amendment exercise across the country.

The House had invited the leadership of the NGF and other important stakeholders to the public presentation but the event was put off by Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal after the stakeholders had been kept

…as Tambuwal overrules Ihedioha, cancels event

waiting for over two hours.

Signs of possible hiccups in the event began when the Speaker overruled the attempt made by the leadership of the Ad hoc Committee on the Amendment of the Constitution allegedly moved to suspend yesterday’s plenary to compel attendance by lawmakers at the public presentation.

Tambuwal while announcing the suspension of the event told the beleaguered audience that “At this stage, there is an issue that would have to do with the total collated result before it is presented to the public today.

“As the leadership, we have reviewed the process so far, and we have realised that we cannot go on with this programme today. Just like any other thing associated with human beings, there are few challenges here and there which is normal but for the fact that we have agreed to do this today and we have given our commitment to the people does not mean that if we hear that we did not address one or two particular issues, we should not go ahead and listen to the people and do exactly that.

That would not make anyone a good leader.

So we have agreed to put off the presentation for today but be rest assured that we shall complete this process very soon.”

Concerning the reason for the abrupt suspension of the event, investigations revealed that the report of the Emeka Ihedioha-led ad hoc committee has been doctored. For instance, some lawmakers are not happy that a clause recommending the creation of only one state from the South-east was injected into the reports without the knowledge of most members of the committee.

It was learnt that the report billed to be presented to the public was not made available to the leadership of the House and other members for preview and when it was made available, there were several objectionable inputs that they never agreed upon in the document.

Rep Zakari Mohammed, chairman House committee on media and public affairs while briefing newsmen confirmed that the members were not carried along in the exercise as he disclosed that majority of the lawmakers kicked against the presentation because they were yet to study the documents.

PAGE 4

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1,, 2013

Offa/Erin-Ile crisis: Police declare three deaths, eight arrested From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

T

he Kwara state police command has declared that only three people lost their lives during the communal crisis between Offa and Erin-Ile communities in Offa and Oyun local government area of Kwara state.

The command in a

statement signed by Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olufemi Fabode, said few of suspected gunmen were arrested with dangerous arms.

"The Kwara state police command wishes to inform members of the public, that on 30th January 2013, the agelong land boundary dispute between the indigenes of Offa and Erin-Ile degenerated into

serious crisis which led to wanton destruction of lives and property.

"Three persons died in the incident and not ten as published by some media, several property were destroyed during the incident.

"Both towns in the crisis recorded losses. Eight persons have been arrested with various calibre of fire arms and

ammunition. Investigation is ongoing and those arrested will soon be charged to court.

"Security agencies deployed to the area have been reinforced to ensure no further break down of law and order. The Kwara State Police Command warns trouble makers in the area to desist from their ungodly act and embrace peace.

…Govt mulls sanctions for monarchs

K

wara state governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed has urged the people of Offa and Erin-Ile to embrace peace by halting the spate of violence currently going on between the two communities.

The governor who warned the traditional rulers of the towns against the continuation of violence, said his administration would not hesitate to implement the consequence of their failure to abate the crisis.

Governor Ahmed, who described the killing of innocent citizens and destruction of property between the two hitherto friendly neighbours as cruel and barbaric, called for immediate cessation of hostilities and restoration of peace and order in the communities.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Abdulwahab Oba, the governor promised to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly acts to justice saying “government will not condone any act of lawlessness from any individual or community".

…banks, markets remain closed as residents keep vigil R-l: President Goodluck Jonathan, displaying a book titled: "Nigerian Literature, Coat of Many Colours", presented to him by leader of the Rainbow Book Club, Mrs. Koko Kalango, during a visit by the club members to the President, yesterday at the State House, Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

$620, 000 subsidy bribe: FG arraigns Farouk, others today

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

T

he former chairman of the House of Representative Adhoc Committee on fuel subsidy regime, Hon. Farouk Lawan and the secretary of the committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo will be arraigned before an Abuja High Court today for allegedly receiving a bribe of $620, 000 from a Lagos based oil magnet, Femi Otedola to remove his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd from the list of companies indicted in the fuel subsidy scam.

Already, an Abuja High Court, sitting before Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi has granted the Federal Government the permission to prefer a criminal charge under Section 185 (b) of the Criminal Procedure Code against Lawan and his co-accused, also an Assistant Director at the National Assembly.

The embattled lawmaker and his co-accused will today plead guilty or not to a seven-count charge slammed against them by the Federal Government.

Kano govt bans posters on public buildings From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

K

ano state governor, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has appealed to politicians in the state to stop pasting posters on public structures and billboards to sanitise the state.

Kwankwaso stated this while inaugurating the newly constituted Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) at the Government House.

The governor said the state government has already directed Kano Urban Planning and Development Authority (KNUPDA), to meet with chairmen of political parties and security agencies to intimate them on the government's decision of banning the use of posters on public buildings and billboards.

"We have an existing law on the ground that bans pasting posters and banners on public structures and billboards."

The governor added that

"whoever goes around pasting posters and banners anyhow, KNUPDA and other security agencies including Kano Road Transport and Traffic Authority (KAROTTA) and of course the police, will have no option other than to prosecute such".

Kwankwaso also appealed to politicians aspiring to be elected as Local Government chairmen and councilors in the state to use advertising agencies to propagate their messages, instead of defacing public structures.

First IVF baby recorded in Abuja ... 60 percent of infertility now in men - medic

By Lambert Tyem

A

nother scientific breakthrough has been recorded as a baby was delivered at Amana Medical Centre, Abuja, through Invitro Fertilisation (IVF) process on January 24.

The baby named Amana, was delivered through Caesarean section and is in perfect condition.

Speaking on the delivery,

father of the child, who pleaded anonymity, said his daughter is doing fine. The man said he has been married for three years without a child and decided to try the IVF option and is happy with the result.

Chief Medical Director of Prime Care Fertility Clinic at Amana Medical Centre, Dr. Eloka Menakaya at a briefing with journalists, also said about 60 percent rate of infertility now exists among men.

He said the development is caused by sexually transmitted diseases, illegal abortions in women, drugs, alcoholism among other factors.

He said due to the high costs of managing infertility, Amana Medical Centre started a fertility clinic in February 2012 and began to treat infertile couples in the process of IVF or intra cytoplasmic sperm injection, depending on their problem at a cost of N800, 000 to N900, 000.

C

ommercial banks, markets and business activities in both communities have been paralysed as a result of fear of reprisals as the conflict entered its fifth day yesterday.

Our correspondent also gather that despite the curfew imposed by the state government on both communities, residents of the towns were keeping night vigil by staying outside their houses to safeguard against being attacked while sleeping.

Residents of the two communities particularly nonindigene have started moving out of the town for fear of being killed.

Our correspondent, who was on the assessment visit to the Offa, saw people moving out of the war zone enmass while public transporters were not enough to carry people to their respective destinations.

However, the traditional rulers of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II and his counterpart in Erin-Ile, Alhaji Abdulganiyu Ibrahim Olusokun have appealed to their people to give room for peace and abide by the curfew imposed on the communities.

The two monarchs in a statement broadcast on state radio monitored by our correspondent, appealed to their people to allow peace to reign.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 5

Daring mob arrest suspected robbers as NLC Bauchi kicks NITEL cable vandals meet waterloo against teachers’ sack From Matthew Aramunde, Lagos

I

t was not business as usual for three suspected armed robbers who had not only terrorised residents of AmuwoOdofin and its environs and commuters who ply the ever busy Badagry expressway.

The suspects were arrested by a daring mob that confronted, overpowered and handed over the suspects to the police.

According to Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, the suspects – Samson Umoh, Michael Okon and Jackson Sunday, had on the 13th of January at about 7 30 pm at the Mile 2 Estate Amuwo Odofin axis, attempted to rob one Edith Akpore of her jewelries and mobile phones and would have succeeded but for the timely intervention of some brave residents and passersby who felt that they had had enough of the activities of these miscreants and so should put a stop to it.

There and then, they were said to have charged at the suspected robbers in large numbers and frightened by the bravado of the charging crowd, the suspects were said to have

attempted to escape the scene of crime, but were not lucky as they were overpowered and subsequently handed over to the police.

As at press time, the suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Yaba and would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded In a related development, policemen attached to Bar Beach Division on routine patrol have arrested some NITEL cable vandals who were apprehended as they attempted to cart away a large quantity of cables stolen

from NITEL Warehouse on Saka Tinubu Street on Victoria Island loaded into their getaway lorry with reg, No. APP98YB. The suspects – Mohammed Safiyu, Bernard Nwokeleme, Abu Garba, Abraham Yakubu, Ibrahim Garba, Ali Yahaya, Musubau Lawal, Abubakar Sani, Kamoru Mohammed, Azeez Gazali’ Wasiu Isiaka, Christian Obi, Jeremiah Akinwunmi, Adejaye Abolurin, Epa John , Issah Stephen and Folonso Oni had on January 13, 2013, conspired with others yet to be arrested to steal the cables from the warehouse.

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

T

he Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Bauchi state chapter, has kicked against the disengagement of some primary school teachers by the state’s Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

Bauchi state chairman of the NLC, Comrade Hashimu Gital, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the development yesterday, saying the entire labour movement in Bauchi state is dismayed over the position taken

by SUBEB in giving disengagement letters to primary school teachers.

He alleged that after the intervention of the state executive

council that directed all teachers to submit themselves to the current verification exercise, “ we are not happy with the report we received that SUBEB is currently distributing disengagement letters to primary school teachers and we learnt that some of the teachers were forced by the board to write apology letters. We are not happy with this development in the interest of peace and harmony”.

Comrade Gital plead with SUBEB to stop all actions against the teachers and to respect the committee set up by the state government to verify the results of the primary school teachers in the interest and called on the board to pay the affected teachers their January salaries.

HIV/AIDS: Jonathan orders NACA to produce action plan for 2013

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

W

orried by the huge prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria and the country's rating as the second highest in Africa, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday summoned the governors of the worse-hit states, leadership of the

National Action Committee on HIV/AIDS, donor agencies as well as other stakeholders to the State House for a meeting.

The President had attended an African Union (AU) meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia earlier in the week where the scourge of HIV/ AIDs was among top items on the agenda.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue state, said the President was worried about the social, economic and security implications of the disease as well as the way forward.

“It is not a hidden fact that Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Plateau and some other states are

the worse hit in the country and it is the level of seriousness the President attaches to the issue that necessitated this meeting.

“So, NACA has been directed to come out with a work plan for 2013 as part of measures to bring the rate down. States have also been encouraged to go back and do more to reduce the rate in their domains.”

PAGE 6

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Court dissolves cleric's 24-year-old marriage

A

n Igando Customary Court in Lagos yesterday dissolved a 24-year-old marriage of a cleric over threat to his life by the wife.

"The court has no choice than to dissolve the union between Raheem Sanni and Rosemary, although the woman says she still loves the man", the court president, Mr. R.I. Adeyeri, held.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dissolution followed a petition by Raheem, 54, who said that Rosemary always

threatened his life with dangerous weapons.

He also said that Rosemary lacked respect for him and that she denied him care.

Adeyeri held that efforts to save the marriage failed as the cleric insisted on divorce.

He referred the custody of the last child produced by the union to the Family Court, and held that the other two, aged 23 years and 20 years, were old enough to decide where to live.

The last child is six years old.

Adeyeri ordered the cleric to pay N50, 000 to Rosemary for her rehabilitation.

The News Agency of Nigeria NAN reports that the Christian cleric filed the divorce suit on Oct. 4, 2012.

"On many occasions, my wife came to my room, especially at night with a knife, threatening to stab me.

"I usually called the attention of our neighbours, who always came to my rescue", he said.

He said that Rosemary was not giving him food, but always told him to go and cook.

"Sometimes, she would give me 'eba' and ask me to go and look for soup", the petitioner submitted.

In her response, Rosemary, 47, submitted that she was aggrieved that her husband accused her of witchcraft.

She told the court that she would be third woman to be divorced by Raheem.

"He also accused his first and second wives of witchcraft", the respondent said.

She had prayed the court to save the union (NAN)

L-R: Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, Chairman, NEITI National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG), Mr. Ledum Mitee, and member, NEITI NSWG, Mrs. Kate Okparaeke, during the public presentation of the NEITI Independent Oil and Gas Industry Audit Report from 2009- 2011, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin ImoOwo

Taraba to harmonise pensions for ex DGs, perm secs From Yusha'u Alhassan, Jalingo

T

he Head of Service in Taraba state, Augustine Bazing, has said a memo has been submitted to the acting governor of the state for the implementation of the harmonized pension for retired directors-general and permanent secretaries.

Bazing who made this known in Jalingo during an interview with our reporter, said the measure was aimed at cushioning the hardships faced by the retirees as a result of the widening gap between them.

The Head of Service assured that as soon as Governor Garba Umar gives approval, the harmonised pension would be implemented.

He said the government had already carried out survey in some states within the North-east sub region on the issue with a view to addressing the plights of the retired directors-general who were earning far less than retired permanent secretaries.

Abandoned vehicles in Lagos a security singularly curtail the current threat - Air force boss security insurgencies without at From Matthew Aramunde, Lagos

T

he Commandant Electronic Maintenance Depot of the Nigerian Air Force, Shasha, Lagos, Air Commodore Inalegwu Abeje, has expressed worries at the increasing number of abandoned vehicles doting most streets in Lagos with particular concern for those around the vicinity of the Air Force Base, stressing that if not checked, the trend could be capitalised on by those with

criminal tendencies.

He made the remark when he paid a courtesy visit to the Lagos State Police Area M Commander, Ibrahim Sanni Kaoje an Assistant Commissioner of Police.

Speaking further, he said the visit is in response to the dire need of security agencies in the country to bolster relationship among them as it has now become imperative that security agencies' primary duties would only be achieved if they close ranks "as not one of us can

least some measures of support from others".

He drew the attention of the officers to the reality of the fact that terrorist are not only changing in their tactics, location and weaponry but are also becoming more sophisticated in strategy and therefore it has become expedient that all security services work together most especially in the areas of smoothening the mechanism of information and intelligence gathering

Court acquits robbery suspects after seven years in prison From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

A

Maiduguri high court, yesterday, discharged and acquitted a 46-year-old man, Tumba Tumba accused of robbery after spending seven years in prison.

The court was told that the accused who armed himself with a cutlass, knife and machete robbed his victims of the sum of N600, five mobile phones and a transistor radio

in Gamboru ward of Maiduguri.

He was charged for an offence punishable under section 298 of the penal code law.

During the trial, witnesses who came to testify against the accused could not do so as they said they weare victims of robbery.

Tumba, the accused man denied the allegation saying that he was wrongfully accused by vigilante men who arrested him and handed him over to the police.

He also told the court that men

of the Borno state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) tortured him to confess to the crime.

The presiding judge at the Maiduguri High Court 12, Justice Wakkil Alkali Gana, discharged and acquitted him of the charge for lack of evidence.

He also stated that even if the accused is found guilty he has already spent seven years in prison which is two thirds of the sentencing required by law.

Plateau police recover N11.8m property this year

T

he Plateau state police command has recovery property valued at about N11.8m this year, the commissioner, Chris A. Olakpe has said.

Speaking at the command headquarters while briefing the press, he said the value accrued from stolen vehicles, robberies and theft, sales of illegal arms and human parts.

He said a complainant who declined to be identified had reported the discovery of a GhanaMust-Go bag containing a "lifeless head of unidentified person abandoned opposite his house".

Also, detectives, he added recovered a headless corpse of a male cut into parts in a GhanaMust-Go bag that was abandoned on Tafawa Balewa Street in Jos, the state capital.

On January 21, 2013, two persons, Adamu Ibrahim and Usman Abdullahi were arrested by soldiers and police patrol team while trading on firearms, which the suspects alleged that "one Abubakar" now at large was keeping for them.

"During a search on the house and premises of the said Abubakar, he escaped on sighting the team, while one SMG rifle, one live cartridge and four live ammunition were recovered", Olakpe disclosed.

He then appealed to the people to volunteer credible information to the police to enable them fight crime effectively.

Panel indicts provost of mismanaging N43m From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

A

n investigative committee set up by the Kwara state government to look into the alleged fraud level against the provost of Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, Dr. Ishola Ibrahim has indicted him for allegedly mismanaging the sum of N43million.

He was indicted alongside the college's Acting Dean of Students' Affairs, Mr. S.A. Oniyangi.

Both men have been suspended for one month.

According to the panel's white paper, which covers the college law, governance and management, the provost was suspended for his inability "to control the accounting system of the school; dividing the management due to inexperience; wrangling among the staff due to his inability to control the school; general break down of the entire system; contract awarding not in accordance to ethical process", among others.

The report recommended among others, that the provost and director, Students'Affairs be "sanctioned according to the existing rules and regulations guiding breaches in due process as regards collection of monies on behalf of the college", which was accepted by the government.

PAGE 7

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

‘Periodic immunisation not enough to tackle polio’ From Soji Oyinlola, Lagos

N

o fewer than 4, 376, 609 under the age of five would be immunised during the National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs) in Lagos state.

The three-day vaccination exercise, which would begin on Saturday, February 2 to 5, is aimed at reducing and eliminating vaccine preventable disease among which is poliomyelitis, also known as polio.

Announcing the campaign at a press briefing in Lagos yesterday, the Commissioner for Health in Lagos, Dr. Jide Idris, said that routine immunisation was more sustainable in the fight against child killer diseases, particularly, polio.

“This periodic exercise is not the best and that is why our target is routine immunistation because you don’t necessarily have to wait for periodic immunization before you take your children for immunisation.

Routine immunisation is more practical and standard. It is necessary for children to be immunised as at when due without waiting for periodic exercise and that is why we have immunization schedule on our leaflets.”

According to him, some diseases are caused by environmental factors and if taken care of, would reduce the problems.

Idris said, to maintain a polio free state, the Lagos state is strengthening routine immunisation which is more

Plateau set to revive coffee farming

P

lateau state government has pledged its readiness to assist coffee farmers in the state to assess markets for their produce in order to burst the coffee production in the state.

The Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Prof.

Shedrack Best disclosed this in an interview in Jos yesterday after the presentation of the Enterprise Baseline Survey 2012 Report in Plateau state by the Pro-Poor Growth and Promotion of Employment (SEDAN) in collaboration with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

Prof. Best who admitted that few years ago, coffee cultivation sprang up within the state with good yields, regretted that absence of a viable market discouraged the farmers.

According to him, “you will observe that most coffee farms have dried up because harvested coffee are still with the farmers who are at a lost on what to do with the harvest” The government, he said, is collaborating with other agrobase organization to revive the cultivation by ensuring that readymade markets abound to encourage coffee production.

sustainable and cost effective than periodic campaigns.

He said the focus of the state is to strengthen routine immunisation, which is more sustainable and cost effective than periodic campaigns.

He therefore urged parents and care givers to ensure that

their children are taken to primary health care centres (PHCs) to receive all scheduled immunisations before they are one year old.

Speaking on the need for parents to bring out their children for immunisation, he said polio is one of the

preventable childhood diseases and is highly infectious. “It is a viral disease and it is transmitted through contaminated food and water.

“Many infected persons have no symptoms, but they excrete the virus in their faeces through which other people can

be infected through contamination”, adding that one in 200 infections lead to irreversible paralysis of the limbs, especially the legs.

However, Idris assured that the polio vaccine is save, effective and well tolerated, adding that the service is free.

L-R: Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamssudeen Usman, Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Mohammed Musa Sada, and Secretary to the Government of the Federal, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, during the public presentation of the roadmap for the development of solid minerals and metals sector, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

UNIABUJA medical workers want minister removed

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he Association of Medical Workers at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) in Gwagwalada area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have carried out a peaceful protest for the removal

of the Minister of Health, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu.

Speaking to newsmen during the protest rally, chairman of the Joint Action Congress of the UATH, Comrade Taiger Mai Beri, who is also the chairman, Senior Staff Association, accused the minister of failing to obey civil

service rules and regulations and disobedience of the order of the National Industrial Court over their demands.

He called on the federal government to remove the minister or redeploy him to another ministry, as according him, the continued stay of the

minister in office, would not bring meaningful development to the health sector.

The chairman appealed to the government to review the unions’ call duty allowance by make it equal with the medical doctors, as his members spent a lot of time attending to patients everyday.

Reacting to the protest, the secretary of Gwagwalada Area Council, Alhaji Usman Yahaya advised the protesters to remain calm, saying that their demands would be looked into.

IPSA will promote transparency, accountability – AG From Nasiru Mu’azu Isa, Kaduna

T

he Accountant General of the Federation Mr. J.O Otunla has said that International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSA) will promote transparency and accountability in the public service.

The Accountant General said this in his address at a four day From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

A

n Islamic cleric of the Tijjaniyya sect in Kebbi State has condemned a praise song by a Kano-based musical group called Ahababu in a tribute to it founder, Sheik Ahmadu Tijjani, describing it as a blasphemy and ridicule on Islam that will not be tolerated.

Addressing newsmen in Birnin Kebbi, a leader of the sect, Sheikh Aliyu Rini Jega explained that the action might be a calculated attempt to ridicule the Darika sect out of ignorance and called on the songsters to repent.

He said the lyrics have thrown them out of Islam if at all they are

workshop organized for officers involved in public financial management in the North- West held in Kaduna.

Mr. Otula who was represented at the occasion by the Chairman, Forum of Auditors at the local government said, several governments are adopting IPSAS as the financial reporting standard because of its promotion of

transparency and accountability.

“Nigeria with a public sector dominated economy has identified the value and importance of IPSAS adoption in order to make our financial statements comparable with that of the other nations”, he said.

According to him, to ensure the adoption of IPSAS, the subcommittee has provided the needed

roadmap that would facilitate adoption as provided by the government.

He added that the subcommittee has come up with a unified national chart of accounts, the format of the general purpose financial statements and accounting policies to be used by the three tiers of government in Nigeria.

Cleric condemns ‘blasmphemous’ song true believers.

He said that, a man must be insane to praise a Holy prophet or religious leader to the position of the Almighty God, citing some stanzas in the “satanic song” that lifted Sheikh Shehu Inyass of Chotta in Senegal Republic to maker of all creatures, a divine position only held by God, the giver and taker who has no father or mother, and the nominee of all the prophets.

Sheikh Jega who was visibly angry while reacting to the development, said in this millenium when people are daily seeking Islamic knowledge,

nobody, even the clerics, could fool them to believing such senseless ideologies, talk less of illiterate musicians or unbelievers.

According to him,” the late Sheikh Inyass is a human being like any other person, he lived all his life in propagation of Islam and serving God, he died at the age of 97 years and left behind 67 children’s and many of them are still alive, his father Abdullahi Inyass and mother Maryam Jankas tombs are right there in Chotta for anybody wanting to see”.

He added that nobody would

come out now and say rubbish after the demise of the gentle soul of the sheikh, about his personality and to some extent claim him to hold the powers of God. ”So, we want the world to know that the group responsible for this act is not a member of our sect and we consider them to be non Muslims,” he declared.

Similarly, he called on Muslim ummah to disregard the song and to discourage their entire households from listening to it while appealing to other sects not to hold the Darikatul Tijjaniya responsible but the principal actors.

PAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Spill: Senate condemns Shell’s remedy

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

L-R: Benue state Governor, Mr Gabriel Suswam, wife of Ekiti state Governor, Mrs Adebisi Fayemi, Jigawa state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mahmoud Gumel, Katsina state deputy Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Faskari, Kebbi state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu, and Plateau state Deputy Governor, Mr. Ignatius Longjan, during a meeting on HIV/AIDS presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

T

he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Wednesday arraigned Sani Gambo, Jamilu Sani Gambo and Idris Mohammed before a Federal High Court sitting in Kano over an alleged Advance Fee Fraud.

The case which was mentioned before Justice Fatu Riman of the Federal High Court sitting in Kano on three count charges bordering Advance Fee Fraud.

Count One of the charges

EFCC arraigns three for alleged fraud read that; You Sani Gambo Musa, Jamilu Sani Gambo and Idris Mohammed Abubakar trading under the name and style Beamstar Network Limited on or about 20th December, 2011 in Kano within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria Kano judicial Division illegally provided electronic communication service to subscribers without obtaining their full names and residential, corporate addresses and you thereby committed an offence

contrary to section 12 (1) (a) (b) and (c) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Punishable under section 12 (3) of the same Act. The three accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the charges and the defence council to the first and second accused persons (Sani Gambo and Jamilu Sani Gambo) Barrister Mustafa M.M, made an oral bail application for his clients which was subsequently opposed by the

prosecuting council B.M Buhari, who asked for a formal application.

The defence council pleaded with the judge to exercise his discretion and admit his clients to bail since they are already on administrative bail and have never defaulted EFCC conditions.

The presiding judge granted the accused persons bail and adjourned to February 25, 2013 for continuation of hearing.

‘Nurses should stop bullying sick women, children’

T

he Director National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Gombe state, Mr. Ado Solomon has emphasized the need for attitudinal change among health workers towards sick persons particularly women and children.

He disclosed this during a one day meeting of Champion, Media platform and Maternal New born and Child Health (MNCH) coalition, organized by Save the Children, a nongovernmental organization.

He said the attitude of health workers particularly nurses and midwives was contrary to the ethics of their profession, therefore preventing people from coming to hospitals.

He said most of the health workers posted to remote areas, do not stay in the area in case of emergency but reside in the state capital, adding that most of the trained health workers are not willing to do the job

because of one reason or the other.

According to him, most of the senior nurses in the hospital would retire in three years to come while the younger ones are not willing to do the job.

He further advised the government to focus on qualification and not quota

system in terms of employment.

“Health workers should change for good because the number of children dying in the hospital are more than the women dying during delivery.” he explained.

Declaring the meeting open, Permanent secretary

ministry of Health Gombe, Alhaji Umaru Gurama condemned the attitude of health workers , adding that, out of the 20 indigenous medical doctors in Gombe state who graduated in various institution of learning across the country, not up to 10 went back to work for the state.

Mark tasks journalists on professionalism

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

S

enate President, David Mark, has tasked journalists to educate Nigerians more on the constitutional role of the legislature and the performance of members.

Speaking yesterday when he received the management of the Nigeria Television Authority who came to brief him on its new parliamentary channel, Mark said media practitioners should do more in reporting legislative activities, regretting that the legislature is already being

misunderstood by the public because it is not properly reported like other arms of government.

According to Mark, “Democracy dictates that the electorate have a right to know what their elected representatives do. It is only through the media that the people are properly informed. Therefore, the media should go beyond the ordinary and report the activities of the legislative houses in the country”.

He urged media practitioners to comply with the ethics of the job and avoid character assassination by being objective, fair, balanced

and just at all time.

Mark also commended the media for contributing positively to the development of the country, particularly in promoting and sustaining democracy.

Responding, the acting Director General of NTA, Musa Maiyaki, told Mark that the introduction of the parliamentary channel was necessitated by the need to properly cover the legislative houses across the country, with a view to informing Nigerians on the workings of the legislature in both the federal and state levels.

official to visit the state since it was plunged into security challenges, caused by the violence campaigns launched by Boko Haram insurgents, over two years ago.

In a telephone interview with our correspondent Wednesday night, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Inuwa Bwala, confirmed the visit describing it as

a welcome development, and long overdue.

This, he said, was due to the fact that the state seemed to have been neglected by the Federal Government throughout its difficult times.

Although Mr. Bwala did not comment on whether the visit was connected with the

he Senate Committee on Environment yesterday criticised the technique adopted by the Shell Petroleum Ltd in providing remedy for oil spills from its installations in the Niger Delta.

At an interaction session with the management of Shell Petroleum Development Company, the committee raised concern over the quality of intervention works already done at the spill sites which it visited in September last year.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Bukola Saraki, said, “the method of remediation is of concern to us. We saw a contractor just exporting the contaminated soil, and imports fresh soil to fill the area. That is not the way it should be done.”

He criticised the practice of awarding remediation contracts to local contractors without the required professional competence, saying it compounds the problem rather than solving it.

Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Benedict Ayade, in his comments, said Shell must evolve the best practice in solving the spill damages, and not obsolete and ineffective methods in solving the soil problems.

In his response, Managing Director of SPDC Nigeria, Mutiu Sumonu, blamed illicit practices, insecurity and lawlessness as the impediments to providing remedy at the spill sites, saying it impedes the company’s efforts towards cleaning up the spills.

He noted that between 2006 and 2012, about 1500 sites had been remediated, representing only those areas where Shell officials had access.

He hinted that there was an average of 200 spills annually due to the activities of criminals.

According to him, “all those sites within Shell’s right of way were immediately attended to, but sites that were off the right of way usually were not accessible due to community problems and insecurity.”

Sumonu further said that illicit activities of criminals and the compromise of security personnel had further compounded the problems, arguing that in such situations, Shell’s personnel were at a risk of attempting to gain access into such zones.

Boko Haram ceasefire: Sambo visits Borno tomorrow

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

A

ll is now set for the one day working visit by Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo to Borno state tomorrow, just as government has constituted several committees to ensure the success of the historic

event.

This came against the backdrop of outcry by the government over President Goodluck Jonathan’s failure to pay any sympathy to the people and ascertain the level of socio-economic decay caused by the prevailing insecurity.

Vice President Sambo, will be the first top Federal Government

recent ceasefire declared by the Boko Haram sect, he said that it would serve as an avenue for discussion on the current insecurity bedeviling the state.

He added that the duo, would equally share ideas on the urgent measures required from the Federal Government to bring lasting solution to the crises.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 9

FG approves smoked fish factory in Akwa-Ibom

By Mike Etim, Uyo

T

he Federal Government has given approval for the establishment of a pilot centre for smoked fish processing in Akwa Ibom State.

The centre at completion is expected to act as referral processing units for private sector potential processors of smoke fish for export.

Making this known in Uyo while speaking to journalists, the Uyo Zonal Officer of the National Export Promotional Council (NEPC) Mr. George Enyiekpon

said that the centre would be supplied with fresh fish for smoking by catfish clusters around the centre.

He pointed out that the catfish clusters would be developed by the Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and

Maritime Research (NIOMR) and certified by the Federal Department of Fisheries (FDF), the only recognized government body in Nigeria for the certification of smoked fish for export to the European Union (EU).

Mr. Enyiekpon maintained the council’s readiness to support the pilot centre by collaborating with the FDF, the National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), NIOMR and other government agencies to

fully actualise the project.

The Zonal coordinator expressed optimism that when in full operation, the centre has huge and tremendous potentials to create employment, generate income and improve the economic fortune of the state.

Group decries wrong perception of northern youths From Nasiru Mu’azu Isa, Kaduna

T

he interim Chairman of United Arewa Youth Organization, Musa Suleiman has said that the Boko Haram insurgency is man made.

He made the statement during a courtesy call to the chairman of the NUJ chapel in Kaduna, Mal. Yusuf Idris Wednesday to create a good working relationship with the journalist in the state.

He stated that the group was created to bridge the gap between youths of the north and wants to work with journalists to change the perception of people in the south who believe the average northern youth is prone to violence.

“In the interest of peace and unity, we need to engage the youths both Christian and Muslims so that they can start channelling their energy towards peaceful development, said Suleiman.

On the wanton creation of youth groups who do not do much, he said his group has focus and its activities would separate them clearly from other similar groups.

The chairman of the group called on lawmakers to sit up and tackle the myriad of challenges facing the nation.

L - R: Vice-Chairman, General Electric, Mr. Keith Sherrin, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, General Electric International Operations Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Jeff Immelt, and Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, during their visit to the Vice-President, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Court slates Feb 12 to hear suit on fuel prices

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

A

Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed February 22, 2013 to hear the suit seeking to restrain the Federal Government from further regulating fuel prices in the country.

An Abuja based legal practitioner, Abubakar Sani filed an originating motion seeking the court to declare that regulation of prices amounts to depriving Nigerians of their fundamental right to personal liberty.

The plaintiff named the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Price Control Board, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and

TSHIP, NGOs unite against maternal mortality From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

T

he Targeted states High Impact Project (TSHIP) has sponsored 12 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to carry out house to house mobilization of women in other to reduce the level of maternal and infant maternity.

The NGOs includes Fahimta Women and Youth Initiative Muslim Aid Initiative of Nigeria, Pioneer Reproductive Health and Youth Association, African Community and Environment Health Initiative amongst others.

TSHIP’s Deputy Chief of Party, Dr Habib Sadauki stated this at a training workshop for the selected Bauchi base NGOs

Wednesday in Bauchi, adding that for the society to reduce maternal mortality, 85 percent of pregnant women must deliver in health facilities.

According to him, only 20 to 25 percent of women deliver babies in the hospital.

He said that in the past, TSHIP was able to improve health services in the state and as such, would devote extra effort to ensure that the outreach of basic information at the community level.

In her remarks, the Grants Manager of TSHIP, Mrs. Nkechi Acho said that the essence of subgranting to the NGOs was to quickly spread healthcare across all the 20 local Government Areas.

She said “the NGOs will work with the ward development committees and some volunteers to effectively mobilize the women through the house to house mobilization.

the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) as co-respondents in the suit.

When the matter came up Wednesday, counsel to the minister of petroleum applied for extension of time within which to file his memorandum of appearance and respond to the suit.

Consequently, Justice Adeniyi Adetokunbo Ademola who granted the request, adjourned till February 22 to commence hearing in the suit.

The plaintiff listed petroleum products such as motor spirit (petrol), gas oil, diesel oil, automotive gas oil, petrol, aviation fuel, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gases, lubrication oil

(grease) which are designated by the Petroleum Act, the PPPRA Act and the price control Act as “controlled commodities”, but noted that it is only the price of petrol that has been singled out for control.

He said that the respondents’ practice of regulating the price of petroleum products was inconsistent with the fundamental right to personal liberty under the constitution of those who deal in those products.

The lawyer said regulating the price of petrol while excluding the other eight petroleum products whose prices are equally required to be regulated, infringes the fundamental right to equal protection under Article

PRONACO, civil society slams Presidency over subsidy cover up From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

A

civil society movementCitizens’ Advocacy Group of PRONACO has again accused the Presidency on Wednesday in Lagos of masterminding the bribery saga threatening to discredit the resolution of the House of Representatives on the fuel subsidy scam to absolve one its business allies, Mr. Femi Otedola Lamenting what the group perceived as a conspiracy and sinister plot to discredit the House Report on the Fuel subsidy scam vide a sinister bribery plot against Farouk Lawan house committee, the group spokesperson, Olawale Okunniyi advised the Presidency

to immediately wash off its hands from the plot by implementing the House report without delay Okunniyi who doubles as the national secretary of National Action Coalition of Nigeria, a mass movement at the centre of the January 2012 mass protest against the subsidy scam and deployment of soldiers in Lagos, also asserted that bribe givers such as Otedola are not absolved of bribery offence under the Nigerian law and international convention.

He warned of a possible protest, if government refuses to take urgent action on the House resolutions on the fuel subsidy scam.

“We think the Nigeria government would be aiding

III of the African Charter.

He wants the court to hold that the non-designation by the National Assembly (NASS) of petroleum products as “essential goods” pursuant to Item 62(e) of the exclusive legislative list of the 1999 constitution renders the provisions of the PPPRA Act, Section six of the Petroleum Act and the Price Control Act invalid, null and void.

According to him, only petroleum products which are produced from crude oil found on land or sea and refineries owned by the Federal Government can legitimately be regulated or controlled rather than seek to dictate the prices of petroleum products outside the control. corruption against the Nigerian people by attempting to jettison the house resolution and the associated bribery scandal, which is threatening to rubbish the entire probe funded from tax payers’ money.

We therefore strongly advise the Presidency to prevent another round of avoidable provocation of the peoples’ constituency by quickly implementing, to the letter, the resolution of the house on the fuel subsidy scam” Okunniyi also tasked President Goodluck Jonathan to save his government from another public embarrassment by sanctioning the minister for national planning, Dr Usman Shamsideen who has been allegedly stalling the Federal Executive Councilapproved Basic Registry and Information System in Nigeria (BRISIN) due to his vested interest in the project.

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY, 1, 2013

Lawmaker offers free medicare to constituents T

he member representing Langtang North Central constituency in the Plateau state House of Assembly, Hon. Ponmak Rindap has offered free malaria medical services to over 3000 people largely women and children in his constituency.

Stakeholders meet over accurate reports on MDGs

Rindap who spoke to journalist in Jos, said the free treatment was as part of his contribution to the good health and welfare of his people so as to reduce the rate of malaria.

According to him, malaria is a dangerous illness which killed more than HIV, adding that over

3000 people cross the constituency have so far benefited from the malaria treatment.

He said since he assumed office, improved health services to his constituents had been his priority to which he has spent over N4million for malaria drugs and free mosquito nets.

He also pledged to renovate all the health centres across his constituency, furnish and equip them with malaria drugs for prompt treatment, adding that since malaria is derived from impure water, he would provide boreholes .

By Adeola Tukuru

A

s the clock to the deadline on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) continue to tick, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the president on MDGs (OSSAP-MDGs) and stakeholders have met to review templates for improving MDGs data.

Speaking at the event, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Dr. Precious Gbeneol, represented by the Head, Special Projects Unit, Dr. Christopher Otabor stated that the gathering would enable stakeholders to review the templates so that within a short time, a comprehensive reports of the MDGs in Nigeria would be available.

The SSAP also stated that though from Nigeria’s MDGs mid-term assessment report 2007, there were prospects that the MDGs would be met in areas of universal primary education, HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability and building of global partnership for development, the task of reduction of child mortality and improvement of maternal health was still lagging behind but achievable.

Gbeneol further stated that due to the dearth of current and accurate MDGs data coupled with the fact that most data contained in the MDGs 2010 report predates the year, it was important for the OSSAP-MDGs to liaise with all stakeholders to produce a 2012 MDGs report. “it is expected that all relevant MDAs and stakeholders will populate the templates and come up with comprehensive 2012 MDGs report for dissemination prior to the September 2013 United Nation General Assembly (UNGASS) in New York.”

Also speaking, representative of the United Nation country team, the UNDP economic advisor, Colleen Zamba said that such reports were important as they were key navigational tools for countries striving to achieve the MDGs and also serves as reference points for the international community seeking to partner on MDGs.

Young men crushing stone to earn a living, yesterday in Tashan-dawaki village of Dutse local government area in Jigawa state. Photo: NAN

World loses $260bn from poor water, sanitation ....100,000 Nigeria children at risk From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

N

obel Peace Prize winner and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf issued a stark warning in Monrovia Wednesday to the UN SecretaryGeneral’s High-level Panel that is meeting this week, to address the future of international poverty reduction efforts as economic losses due to poor water and sanitation access globally are costing $260 billion (US) every year.

The international charity has also highlighted that if governments meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by significantly reducing the proportion of populations without sanitation by 2015, the lives of 400,000 children under the age of five, would be saved around the world (over 100,000 in Nigeria, and 66,000 in India alone).

Sirleaf, one of three co-Chairs of the UN Secretary-General’s Highlevel Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, said “$260 billion in economic losses annually is directly linked to inadequate water supply and sanitation around the world.

We must take this issue more

seriously.”

“All too often, access to adequate sanitation in particular is seen as an outcome of development, rather than a driver of economic development and poverty reduction. South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore in the 1960’s and 1970’s demonstrated the potential for boosting economic development by addressing sanitation.”

The President’s comments came during the High-level Panel meeting in Monrovia which was broadly focused on the theme of “economic transformation”.

The Panel, which includes 27 leaders from government, the private sector and civil society, is co-chaired by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia and President Sirleaf. The group is tasked with producing a report in May to the Secretary-General containing recommendations for a development agenda for the world.

The current MDG targets on water and sanitation have had starkly differing levels of progress and political and financial support.

While the drinking water target to halve the proportion of people worldwide without access to safe

drinking water - was met five years early in 2010, the sanitation goal is decades off track. Progress in Africa specifically is even worse with subSaharan Africa expected to meet this goal a century and a half late.

Director of International Programmes for the international water and sanitation charity WaterAid, Girish Menon, said “The High Level Panel must grasp this unique opportunity to put together an ambitious vision for eradicating poverty in our time. For this aspiration to be realized, there must be a central focus on achieving universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene.”

“International efforts on the existing Millennium Development Goals have shown us that to succeed in areas like education, child health and gender equality progress on access to water, sanitation and hygiene is crucial.”

Liberia is in many ways typical of sub-Saharan African countries, with access to safe drinking water at 73% of the population, far exceeding levels of access to decent sanitation, at only 18%. The average across subSaharan Africa to these services sits at 61% for water but just 30% for sanitation.

USAID trains stakeholders on water sanitation

By Umar Muhammad Puma

A

three day capacity building workshop for stakeholders in urban water supply and sanitation sector of Bauchi, Ebonyi and Rivers states has commenced in Abuja.

The workshop was organized by the USAID funded programme, for Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa (SUWASA) , in collaboration with IP3 Washington.

In his welcome address to participants at the workshop, the technical supervisor of the USAID-SUWASA programme in Africa, Mr. John Butler said SUWASA project had been ongoing in Bauchi state for about one and half year with the aim of creating the enabling environment for investment in the water and sanitation in Bauchi state.

He said the essence of the workshop was to bring the three states together for the purpose of identifying training needs in order to design a support programme that could fast-track the urban water supply and sanitation reform in the them.

Butler said the success recorded in the Bauchi reform has led to the expansion of the programme to Rivers and Ebonyi states.

He said the commitment towards the reform exhibited by the benefitting states was a clear testimony of the need to have such reforms in the water and sanitation in the two new states coming on board.

While commending participating states for attending the workshop, Butler charged participants to contribute by bringing out their training needs which, according to him, would lead to an effective and sustainable service delivery to various communities.

In her remarks, the Rivers state commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, Mrs Patricia Simon Hart said, water sector reform in Nigeria was long overdue.

The commissioner, who admitted that access to safe drinking water was highly inadequate in the urban areas of Rivers state, said the reform programme in the state is timely and necessary.

She said, there are structures, programmess, institutions and systems already in place to support the reform programme in Rivers state.

In a key note address, Team Leader of SUWASA Bauchi project, Engineer Hossana John Dajan, said within the one and half year that the SUWASA programme has been in Bauchi state, an appreciable level of progress has been made.

PAGE 11

PEOPLES DAILY,FRIDAY, FEBRUARY, 1, 2013

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best

S

tocking up on long-term storage food isn't just for emergency survival. It's also your insurance against inflation and harder times. It's always a good idea to have at least a month worth of food on hand but I recommend 3 or more depending on your budget.

Think about it, you can feed a family of 6 for 1 month for as little as N100, 000.00 You would have to be a pretty thrifty shopper to beat those prices in a grocery store today.

So, that's the cost today but what about a year from now or 15 years from now. God forbid you've lost your job or find yourself in harder times. Can you imagine what a month's or 3 months worth of food will cost in 15 years? With a 25 year shelf life you've just beaten the heck out of inflation and if you do find yourself in harder times or have lost your job, you've given yourself one less thing to worry about. Its great peace of mind in trying times to

of events is no different than buying insurance. We buy insurance to protect us from

things we hope do not happen.

Well this is no different except you get something for your money.

Then there are events like Flood as we are seeing today. How different would the lives of those people have been, had they had a stock of food or a hurricane disaster kit. It doesn't change their loss but it sure would have made their lives easier while they waited for rescue. So take it from someone who knows it as much better to plan ahead and give yourself peace of mind because we are all vulnerable to the future.

What you should be buying So, what kind of long term storage food should you get? Well I recommend Wise Foods Companies line of long term storage food for several reasons.

They are one of the best tasting pre-made foods on the market.

They use a combination of both freeze dried and dehydrated foods.

This gains the advantage of maintaining both the nutritional value and taste at the same time.

They are downright affordable and they come in easy to prepare 2 to 4 serving pouches instead of # 10 cans.

Two major problems with the N10 cans, once they are open you are stuck eating a large portion of one kind of food because you have to use up the whole can before it spoils and secondly if you are in a disaster or for some reason have to move your food stock can you imagine trying to move a month's worth of food stored in #10 cans?

In the pouch and bucket style of food storage you simply grab the bucket handle and go, you've got a month's supply of variety foods.

By the way a bucket is light enough a child can carry it. So for me it's kind of a no brainer.

Ok, so where do you get such a good investment? Try Rocky Mountain Survival LLC. They have the lowest advertised prices anywhere and with the special offer below you can get unheard of prices just for my readers.

on eating out or other flexible expenses. Some of these are easily trimmed. Cutting back is usually a better place to start than completely cutting out. Be realistic. It will help you to be better prepared for unexpected costs.

The smart way to trim expenses: In finding ways to trim flexible expenses, it helps to have a goal to save toward each month. Setting such a goal needs to be SMART: Specific Smart goals are specific enough to suggest action.

Example: Save enough to visit Rome for your wedding anniversary. Not just "save money."

Measurable you need to know when you achieved your goal or how close you are.

Example: A trip to Italy costs $2,000, and you have $800 saved.

Attainable: the steps toward reaching your goal need to be reasonable and possible. Example:

I know I can save enough money each week to purchase that trip to Italy.

Relevant: the goal needs to make sense. You don't want to work toward a goal that doesn't fit

your need. Example: We would like to stay in four-star hotels in celebration of our anniversary.

Time-Related: Set a definite target date. Example: I want to go to Italy by next summer.

know your family will still eat well.

Why prepare Take it from someone who has

disasters, there is always the uncertainty of job loss or the very real possibility of economic collapse. Preparing for these kinds

been through several major disasters, preparing is something everyone should be doing. Besides

current financial situation. Take a look at the big picture. Make two lists - one for needs and one for want. As you make the list, ask yourself: Why do I want it?

How would things be different if I had it?

What other things would change if I had it? (for better or worse) Which things are truly important to me?

Does this match my values? " Set Guidelines We all have different budgets based on our needs and wants. But the Building a Budget chart on the next page shows some guidelines on how much should go toward different expenses. You may need to make adjustments for a daily latte fix or visits to family, but remember to subtract amounts from other areas if you do. " Track, Trim and Target Once you start tracking, you may be surprised to find you spend hundreds of dollars a month

Live within your means

M

any today are spending more than their savings, and steadily going deeper into debt as a result. This is an easy and common pattern to fall into, and one that requires some planning and discipline to reverse.

The first step is creating a budget. As unpleasant as this may sound, creating a budget is nothing more than examining your income and expenditures in order to determine exactly how much money you have coming in and where you're spending that money.

Once you've got a clear understanding of your current budget, your challenge is to find places where you can spend less (or earn more) in order to achieve your financial goals. Here are some steps you can take toward that end: 1. Question Your Needs and Wants What do you want? What do you really need? Evaluate your

M

y children are the best and nothing else suffices.

I love them and will do anything to give them what they deserve.

By now, you have read so many articles about spending control that you can probably write your own book on the subject. Appreciate the big picture, delay gratification, 30 day rules, and the list goes on.

But what if you aren't spending money for yourself?

How do you control your spending when most of it goes towards your loved ones?

Remember the Wii Resort

Quote In all realms of life, it takes courage to stretch your limits, express your power, and fulfill your potential. It's no different in the financial realm - Suze Orman

Love and splurging that I purchased? Well, it wasn't for me. Emma tried out the game one night and really loved it. She wanted to buy it, but we ended up walking away. The next day, I was at Costco and they happened to highlight the game (this is when they move the entire inventory and stick it in the middle of the walkway). It was hard to resist.

All I could think of was the joy on Emma's face when she was trying to beat the computer opponent. I started walking back and forth, to the extent that I think I annoyed the worker who was closed by giving out free food samples.

Eventually, emotions won, I picked up a copy and lined up at the checkout line (not forgetting my bag of frozen chicken wings of

course, which was what I originally went there for).

When you are already living paycheck -to -paycheck and have no money to spend, the decision is easy. But what is a responsible person who already has some savings to do? Telling them to be more selfish is not exactly sound advice, but here are a few ways to help.

Set a Monthly Limit: Whether you have a full blown budget or not, it's a good idea to set a limit on splurges, for yourself or others. If you focus on the monthly amount spent instead of trying to decide every single instance, it's much easier to control the long term outcome of your actions.

Pay Yourself First: To help

with that, stick all the money after necessities into your retirement and savings account. Artificial sacristy works quite well here too.

Humans are Clever Creatures .There's a reason why so many people practice tough love. The more you give, the more people want from you. If you want to teach your loved ones to fight for what they want instead of believing that everything just falls out of the sky, don't always say yes.

Only the Strong Can Help: Understand that you must save yourself before you can save others. If you aren't financially healthy, you will never be able to continually give. You are already willing, so it's much more

beneficial to your loved ones if you fix and build your finances first so you are able to give again and again. Otherwise, you can give now but may never be able to in the future.

If you think self control is hard when you see something you want, try to resist buying something your love ones really crave. Take the steps to build a solid financial future, so that you can give when the time c o m e s . ( S o u r c e : www.moneyning.com)

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

S

AFCON blackout: Beyond the bluff of LC2

ince the commencement of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in 1957 and subsequent partnership with the broadcast media in particular, the 29th edition is the first that the terrestrial television and radio stations in Nigeria are denied access to live broadcasts.

Even in the 1996 and 2012 editions that Nigeria did not participate in, Nigerians watched and listened to live broadcast of the matches.

However, this year, the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) has had to impose a blackout on the ongoing continental fiesta in South Africa no thanks to what its Chairman Mallam Abubakar Jijiwa terms as an "outrageous fee demanded by the organisers of the competition."

BON explains that the rights holders had demanded six million Euros (about N1. 24b) as a precondition for Nigerian broadcast stations to beam the matches to Nigerian homes. It rightly observed that no station will be able to break even giving the limited time to canvass for patronage and the forbidden cost of the broadcast rights.

Talks over downward review of the fee to 3million Euros broke down when the rights holders refused to budge, instead they directed BON to ask the Federal Government of Nigeria to make up the balance. Even

after BON sought and secured a further 1m Euros from government and offered to up the fee to 4.5million Euros, LC2 Media-AFNEX stood its ground.

Sad and painful as its decision may be, BON says calling the bluff of the AFCON broadcast rights holders- LC2 Media-AFNEX- was done in good faith and to protect the integrity of the country. The case of Nigeria is

“

We, therefore, are one with BON in opposing what amounts to an attempted daylight rip-off of Nigeria inexplicably different from that of South Africa, the host of the tournament. The latter was asked to pay $2m, Angola and Togo $300,000 each. Nigeria's fee amounted to more than a half of what the entire continent had had to pay.

To be sure, the confusion over broadcast rights is not for want of efforts to secure a reasonable fee for Nigeria. They had been on-going since last November when BON first contacted CAF over terrestrial stations' rights to broadcast the matches live.

The two parties couldn't find a common

OUR MISSION “To be the market place of ideas and the leading player in the industry by putting the people first, upholding the truth, maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards while delivering value to our stakeholders”

ground because "from eight million Euros, they (the LC 2) came to six million, then 4.5 million Euros," said Jijiwa, who went on to describe the process as "not scientific charge" but " a kind of casino pricing". According to him, BON decided to end the negotiation, hoping that "maybe next time the Confederation of African Football will be more sensitive when it comes to hiring of agents to vend the broadcasting rights of the African Nations Cup." Peoples Daily recalls that even before now Nigerians had been denied the privilege of watching AFCON and CAF Champions League and Confederation qualifiers each time those matches were played outside our shores for the simple reason that the same rights holders imposed outrageous fees on local terrestrial stations.

We, therefore, are one with BON in opposing what amounts to an attempted daylight rip-off of Nigeria. If Nigeria last year paid $2.2m for live broadcast of matches of the 2012 tournament jointly hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea for which we did not quality, why is it so markedly different this year? Is it because, this time our Super Eagles are participating? We also laud the passionate soccerloving Nigerians for understanding BON's action and the government for once refusing to play irresponsible Father Christmas.

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

CHAIRMAN MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUFA’I IBRAHIM EDITOR, DAILY ABDULAZEEZ ABDULLAHI

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ALI M. ALI

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

ACTING EDITOR, WEEKEND JAMILA NUHU MUSA

MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

HEAD, LAGOS BUREAU ADESOJI OYINLOLA

“To be a reputable, profitable, innovative and technologically reliant media company offering world class services and products”

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

By Peter Claver Oparah

T

he PDP is in a desperate, you might say, do-or-die, quest to take over Imo state. It is not pretending about this. It is not hiding its intent and this may be right, to the extent of its synergy with the law. But staying in Imo State for even one day, you will not miss the false bottom on which PDP is premising its present battle for Imo. It is not laundering its stellar performance in the twelve years it lorded over the state for it has no performance to flout. In fact, the PDP has no record or history of performance.

Its quest is not rested on its bright array of candidates ranged against the incumbent.

At best, it is a motley crowd of desperadoes and tainted aficionados, sourcing strength from Abuja, who deign power as their birthright and nothing more. It is not resting on the strength of its tactics, as the party's best known tactics is to corner electoral mandates through the foulest of means. Its approach to taking over Imo is brimful with the traditional hubris, arrogance and petulant jumbo-sized ego that mark its questionable political strength in the dysfunctional republic we are saddled with.

In Imo, PDP is still bitter that its plans fell asunder in 2011. It is feeling the rot that comes with life outside politics. It is afflicted by the inability of its members to access state funds at will and employ same to overwhelm, dominate and foul the environment. It is feeling the

By Ogaga Ifowodo

T

he omens remain frightful regarding what awaits us this year in the moral conscience arena of our ever more degenerate social landscape. On Monday, 14 January, a holy mob in Ekwe, a village in Isu Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State, arrested three men suspected of having consensual sex, beat them up, stripped them bare to their dangling nuts, tied them together and paraded them through the streets. The photo image of this latest evidence of our headlong descent into a sadistic barbarism joins the shameful gallery of others in the past year yet to fade from the world's memory: the lynching of the Port Harcourt Four, the Mubi student massacre, scenes of the unending bloodbaths in Plateau State and of Boko Haram's exploded bombs.

Let us examine the image in all of its rustic innocence. An unpaved path with bush and trees on either side, no house or sign of a dwelling in sight; certainly no indication that it would lead to a police station, the physical symbol of law and order, or to an elder's house, where wisdom, moral counsel and counsel may reside.

In the forefront, the three naked men, tied together at the waist with a yellow rope long enough to round them securely and still trail out of the frame; enough for a leash and I suspect that the more righteous and eager ones in the mob took turns to drag the already "judged" men to their assured

PAGE 13

PDP's deadly Imo siege slow pangs of death occasioned by idleness in the fast-paced political setting. It is rustic and weary and wants action in form of the usual feasts and festivals of sharing, which had marked its sojourn in politics since 1999.

Gone are the days of godfathers, petty rent seekers and idlers with protruding stomachs fed by booties from the state. Gone are the days when charlatans, savants and hirelings make a Mecca of the government in their search for free meal. Gone are the days of the professional free loaders and beefy buccaneers who descend on the state treasury and were pampered with funds that would have improved the staid nature of the state. There are no more

free meals in Imo and this, the mandarins and racketeers of politics in Imo State PDP, are finding hard to bear.

Given the above scenario, it is understandable when PDP declares an unending siege on Imo, believing so much in its power to manipulate the electoral process and institutions to work for its inordinate desires.

No day passes without one lousy boast or the other fouling the state airwaves of PDP vowing to take back Imo in 2015. No day passes without the PDP, in full cahoots with its national body staging one empty show or the other in Imo as parts of the strategies to capture and subdue Imo State in 2015. No day passes without sponsored news in the

“

PDP National Assembly members have invaded Imo, engaging in endless parodies, revelries and jestings and their ulterior mission is to set up a parallel government. The usual comedy of flagging off federal government projects or commissioning same are parodies that will never fool an average Imo man on what is happening in the state

local media in Imo of how PDP is strategizing to take back Imo in 2015 and you wonder if such vow and desire is premised only on the feeling that power belongs only to the PDP. These are complimented by an array of syndicated features and views vended on the national media, seeking to manipulate information about Imo and its government.

Today, PDP National Assembly members have invaded Imo, engaging in endless parodies, revelries and jestings and their ulterior mission is to set up a parallel government.

The usual comedy of flagging off federal government projects or commissioning same are parodies that will never fool an average Imo man on what is happening in the state. In Imo state, the PDP is desperate to play down the achievements Okorocha has recorded in nearly two years when they have nothing worthwhile to show for twelve years in power. For this task, they lie, misrepresent, obfuscate and slander. They engage in provocative propaganda not premised on advertising the wonderful things they did with power in the first twelve years of our present democratic journey but denying the numerous landmarks Rochas has imprinted in Imo in his short stay on power. Theirs is a frenetic effort to arrest the truth, cage

facts, shackle reality and manacle substance.

They want to deny that there is free education in Imo at present. They deny that the roads they abandoned as unamenable are being constructed and made passable. They deny that the Rochas government has built over 100 public structures in the state in two years when they never built up to an infinitesimal fraction of that number. They deny that 27 brand new hospitals are being constructed in the 27 local councils. PDP denies that new public schools are being built, that the general state of slur and decay they left Imo State is being recovered. In doing this, they are only leveraging on their well known knack to deign the masses as fools who cannot decipher what is right or wrong. This was the grand mistake they made in 2011 in their belief that the people count little while their power to manipulate counts more in a democracy.

I have often maintained that Imo people deserve good governance, which is where my support for Rochas rests on. I have always felt that the collective interest of Imo demands that we rally round a government that meets the needs and aspirations of Ndi Imo because we all stand to benefit from such positive approach to governance. The Okorocha government approximates our best effort at governance since the Mbakwe years.

Peter Claver Oparah can be reached on peterclaver2000 @yahoo.com

Raging army of God's protectors condemnation; as one might drag a rabid dog to the slaughter. Then there is the mob behind them, mostly of young men and women.

The one that appears the most indignant is a man dressed in a predominantly red tee-shirt with an image difficult to make but the top of which resembles the head of a dragon, and in a mostly orange pair of long shorts. He is right between two of the older-looking naked men, one of whose arms are folded across his chest in seeming surrender to his humiliation.

This "leader" of the holy mob is close enough to slap, shove and knock around the men being shamed in rope-chains, and to shout obscenities directly into their ears. Most of the others are content to spit out their outrage and curses and a few to record the scene with their mobile phones by way of photos, videos and text messages - as two young men in the right foreground of the photo are visibly doing. To his or her credit, one person in the left foreground, perhaps a woman (not completely shown), appears to be walking away from the shameful carnival. Perhaps out of respect for the viewer's sensibility, the publishers of one version of the image covered up each of the naked men's genitalia with bushes of hair so dark and thick that their good intention has the unintended effect of a desire to hide something sinister and evil. After all, the

prevailing unscientific and so grossly uninformed view of the righteous majority of our countrymen and women is that homosexuality is unnatural and a sin against God. It is only proper then that anyone who was not there in Ekwe be spared the trauma of seeing the offending organs with which this greatest of sins was committed. Yes, far more than murder, kidnapping, massive and systemic corruption in government, rape, the rigging of elections, child abuse, wife battering, etc., the emerging consensus of our rabidly religious country, across tribe and creed, seems to be that same sex intercourse is the greatest sin and a threat to human existence.

No African belief espouses the fire-and-brimstone condemnation of sexual difference that the Abrahamic religions exult in.

Homosexuals did not drop from the sky into our corner of the earth yesterday. But until quite recently when the fire of Pentecostalism, finding inexhaustible fuel in the unprecedented poverty and misery of the people, began to lay waste to our land, homosexuals were not demonised and persecuted. Mocked and teased, perhaps, but not condemned to second class citizen status, stripped of their basic human dignity and subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or

punishment for consensual sex behind closed doors.

I am concerned here with what I see as the gradual coarsening effect of the selfrighteous mob on the moral soul of the nation as shown by the Ekwe show of shame. The majority of those in support of the criminalisation of what at best is a sin would protest if told that they belong to the same camp as the Islamic fundamentalists of Boko Haram; that they have common cause with those who will stone to death a woman who commits adultery and cut off the hand of a man who steals a goat.

Yet from inter-tribal wars to the oppression of woman (as the primal order of history) on to slavery and colonialism, every morality of the majority deemed to be the law of God/nature, becomes a sanction for mindless cruelty to the minority or the weak. And, invariably, the result is that victim and victimiser are brutalised simultaneously.

Take the sad spectacle of Ekwe.

Whereas the three men engaged in a private act, the holy mob broke in upon them, stripped them naked and paraded them before the eyes of the world. But none in the mob could claim to have been hurt by the men's alleged act. So coarse and hardened of heart do holy warriors become that they will not see the inhumanity of their

actions. They forget that it was God himself, and not Lot, who meted out the justice of fire and brimstone on Sodom in the seminal Judeo-Christian tale of homophobia; a tale that established the idea of homosexuality as the unpardonable sin. Which is why Lot would offer his two daughters who "have not known man" to the Sodomites and watch them raped rather than witness the sin of "sodomy." Indeed, by the end of Chapter 19 of Genesis, when Lot's virgin daughters "lie with him," the Judeo-Christian God has no problem with incest.

But what would Jesus have done had he come as the Messiah not to the Jews but to the Igbo and happened on the Ekwe scene?

Would he, perhaps, have said to his (God-the-son's) holy protectors what he told the men set to hurl stones at the woman accused of adultery: "He that is without sin among you, let him tie the first knot and lead the shame parade?" Our righteous warriors will do well to heed the injunction of loving one's (sinful) neighbours as oneself, and to let God, or Baal, fight for himself.

They should be consoled that none shall escape judgement unless of course they do not believe their holy books.

Ogaga Ifowodo teaches poetry at Texas State University, USA.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 14

By Femi Ajayi

D

r. Olufunmilayo Falusi Olopade, a Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine & Human Genetics, is an authority on cancer risk assessment, prevention, and individualized treatment based on risk factors and quality of life. Dr. Olopade has a special interest in women of African descent, who are at higher risk for the more aggressive Breast Cancer and more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age. She is a Director of Cancer Risk Clinic, Associate Dean for Global Health, and Director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at the University of Chicago. She designs an individualized prevention plan that may include periodic screening, preventative drugs, or other options for risk reduction, especially addressing topics related to pregnancy, fertility, lifestyle, and employment. Her current research interests include identifying the source of ERnegative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease, which is resistant to hormone therapy. In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed her as a member of National Cancer Advisory Board.

Dr. Folakemi Odedina works on the development of a predictive behavioral model of Prostate Cancer disparities among Black men and the implementation of costeffective, community-based intervention programs in minority and underserved communities.

Odedina's research program focuses on the predictors of health disparities and cost-effective, community-based behavioral interventions to improve the health of Black men. She has directed more than 20 research projects,

On overseas medical trips his expertise to including: the improve the Florida A&M lives of his University community."

Center for The Network M i n o r i t y Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text J o u r n a l Prostate Cancer messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written Magazine noted Training and contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 that Badero R e s e a r c h "deals with words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and (CMPC), which matters of the comprises of a a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed heart by getting t r a n s to: to the heart of disciplinary the matter." He team of clinical, The Editor, also won the behavioral, and Humanitarian basic scientists; Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, Award by the and a landmark 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.

New York State Department of Email: opinion@peoplesdaily-online.com Legislature, Defense prostate SMS: 07037756364 Assemblywoman cancer research Diane Gordon in project which 2012 for accrued over 3,000 Black men in Florida. Her government research grants "outstanding and dedicated service initiatives include the Men's totalling $1 million, to study toward all mankind."

Another quiet, very effective Health Initiative and the Black mother to child HIV Transmission Men's Health Consortium in an aspect of primary care deliver peace loving medical professional to patients living with HIV/AIDS. within my reach in Atlanta is Dr. Florida.

Nwiloh, a Dr. Nelson Mobolanle Oyesiku, Dr. Ezeanolue is an Associate Jonathan is a product of University of Ibadan Professor of Pediatrics and the cardiovascular disease specialist concentrates in and one of the best Neurosurgeons Director of Pediatric Research, who at the neurosurgical faculty at University of Nevada School of Cardiovascular Disease. Dr. Nwiloh a Thoracic Surgeon is Emory University, Atlanta Medicine (UNSOM), Las Vegas.

The Castle Connolly, a licensed to practice in Michigan, Georgia. Dr. Oyesiku's clinical and research focus is the surgical prominent US rating organization North Carolina, and Georgia.

What Nigerian government treatment and molecular biology for the medical profession, named of pituitary tumor. He is a Dr. Oluyemi Badero among the top should do is to collaborate with Professor, Departments of interventional Cardiologists in the some of Nigerian specialists around Neurosurgery and Medicine United States. He was also honored the world in improving the (Endocrinology), Director, on the floor of the United States medical services in Nigeria.

Molecular Neurosurgery and House of Representatives in 2012 According to Dr. Odedina, the Biotechnology Laboratory as the topmost interventional research direction has shifted from Program, Director, Neurosurgery cardiologist, based in Brooklyn, Black within United States to Residency Program. He is New York. The New York Africa continent where solutions currently (2013) the Chairman Congressman Ed Towns sated, "Mr. could be found on some specific of the American Board of Speaker, Dr. Oluyemi O. Badero diseases affecting blacks.

The Federal Government, has reached the highest levels of Neurological Surgery.

In 2012, Dr. Echezona medicine in our country, all the through its Health Minister, Ezeanolue, received two US way from Nigeria and he has used should intensify its efforts at

WRITE TO US

collaborating with the American Nigerian Physicians of America, ANPA, at its 19th Annual ANPA Convention & Scientific Assembly, June 27-29, 2013at Omni Charlotte Hotel, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. ANPA would not mind for Nigeria to harvest from the experiences acquired by its members over years of residing abroad; to revitalize HOPE for Nigerians in health delivery. Most of them are products of Nigerian Universities.

These high class Nigerian specialists could make Nigeria a medical tourist centre, provided the Federal Government works with them. They are willing to assist the Health sector in the country as some of them have volunteered their time for my numerous free Medical Mission to Nigeria in the past, and they are still willing to jump to the plane at our invitation.

The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu would have to go beyond laying down a plan to ban medical trips by public officials, for him to address many of the nagging health-care issues, including health insurance. He should ensure that an average Nigerian have access to the Nigeria Health Insurance Scheme, to handle individual health care needs. At the local level, making lemonade out of lemon for Dr. Oluyombo Awojobi from Eruwa using local materials in his clinic where he performs over 10 surgeries will be a way of encouraging local patronage of medical services in Nigeria.

Prof.Femi Ajayi is Head, Political Science and Public Administration Department, Babcock University, IlishanRemo, Ogun state

Catholic schism and Pentecostal politics N

By Theophilus Ilevbare

ever in its recent history has there been schism that has threatened the ecumenism of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) since it was founded in 1976. Matters came to a head with the withdrawal at the national level of Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) from CAN, the umbrella body of Christian churches in Nigeria for promoting unity and peace among the various strata of society. The Catholic church suspended its membership of CAN, citing "recent attitudes, utterances and actions of the national leadership of CAN which in our opinion negate the concept of the foundation of the association and the desire of Our Lord Jesus Christ".

The reaction from the Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor-led CAN to the withdrawal of the Catholic bloc was rather antagonistic, confrontational, haughty and a face-saving rant that does not address the issues raised by the Catholics bloc. It was expected that as a responsible Christian association, pertinent questions put forward by the CBCN should have been addressed in their response. CAN's spokesman for the 19 Northern states, Sunny Oibe, reacted brashly, "There is no need for anybody to lose sleep over the threat by Catholics to pull out of CAN because without them CAN will still continue. The constitution of CAN makes provision that membership can be terminated by any group that is misbehaving or

any group can also terminate their membership". With remarks like this, it is obvious that all is not well with the Christian association. Such unguarded comments and outburst is capable of exacerbating the present crisis rocking the body.

Close observers of events anticipated this, maybe it was long overdue, because in our very eyes, we saw the CAN leadership, gradually, in their quest for power, political relevance, filthy lucre, material gain and opulence become an appendage of the ruling political party. Pulpits of mega churches are now campaign platforms for politicians seeking election and re-election, the picture of President Jonathan kneeling before a man of God readily comes to mind. When a group of Pastors or General Overseers, begin to manipulate and use CAN like their personal property, then there is bound to be schism. The leadership of the Christian body is now an avenue for some avaricious few, to gallivant and junket around the world in private jets in the guise of spreading the gospel. Their choice of a life of opulence and splendor rather than the 'modest life of a leader for the flock of Christ that common sense dictates is quite appalling. Men of God have turned lovers of money, mundane possessors whose affections are set on things below. The Christian body seem to be at ease with the corruption from all sectors of the country, it is detached from the Christian folk it represents. There is an unhealthy rivalry among the mega rich, prosperity

preaching and political protestant pastors that constitute CAN to outdo each other; whose private jet or private university is bigger, which denomination has built the newest mega church auditorium in town. CAN now seems to fan the embers of impunity, sleaze and profligacy in the country. The reason is not far-fetched; some of the embezzled public funds in the country has found their way via "brown envelopes" to church offerings and pockets of pastors who in turn guaranty return of votes from willy-nilly church members during elections. The politicisation and monetisation of CAN is a far cry from the association's articulated objectives that seeks to act as conscience of the nation and voice of the voiceless. With CAN's conscience seared and its lips sealed, it has become a toothless watchdog of the Christendom and as of today, it has lost its relevance.

The CAN leadership went a step further to smear its image when its President and Senior Pastor, Word of Life Bible Church, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor at a lavish church party to mark the 40th anniversary of his pastoral calling in Warri; President Goodluck Jonathan - whom he is "ferociously" close to - was in attendance, joined the elite league of private jet flying men of God when he received a Greek gift from unnamed members of his church.

It was high time someone said the truth, CAN has derailed! To aptly put in Bishop Matthew kukah's words, Nigerian Christian leaders "…Have become more visible in relation to national

prayer sessions, pilgrimages, alliances with state power and so on. Unless we distance ourselves, we cannot speak the truth to power. We cannot hear the wails of the poor and the weak. We should not be seen as playing the praying wing of the party in power."

Apparently, he spoke about CAN. Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi Lamido must have been thinking about CAN recently when he said people now "Find religion to be a very good instrument in the contestation of space for political power and for distribution of resources, they are not religious organizations; they are not cultural organisations; they are political associations in disguise of religion and region".

When was the last time CAN consulted with its member churches to make necessary common statements and take common actions after a major crisis like the incessant Boko Haram attack in northern Nigeria? What we have seen in the last few years is the regular visit to the seat of power, Aso Rock Villa, and mere blowing of hot air whenever turmoil arise, exhibiting little or no initiative to take decisive action in matters affecting the Nigerian Christians.

There is a general believe that the Christian body is on a freefall. As a matter of urgency, a moderation by the leadership of CAN in its lifestyle and association with politicians will go a long way in restoring some integrity and respect to the national Christian group.

It will be pertinent to add here that there has always been some form of discrimination between Catholics and Pentecostals even till this day. I had a personal experience when I worshipped in a Catholic church, the Rev. Father during his homily, made allusion to the raucous manner the Pentecostals engaged in praise worship and prayers even for the death of their enemies. Each group consider themselves pious Christians, some Protestants in CAN still consider Catholics as drunkards who are not devout Christians. Catholics in turn do not think Protestant pastors in CAN as properly ordained since their ordination lacks historical link with early Christian practice. Until such cerebrations are jettisoned, genuine ecumenism might be wishful thinking.

At such a crucial time that the country is trying to grapple with the onslaught of Boko Haram on Christians, the least desired of a body conceived as a rallying point for Christians is division. If for nothing at all, the lives of Christians lost to the violence of Islamist fundamentalist and splinter sects should be a reason the leadership of CAN and the Catholic bloc resolve their differences.

Now, more than ever, the Christian body needs to put its house in order and reposition itself to speak out against all forms of violence. CAN must henceforth desist from politicking and refocus on its core values of Christian ecumenism.

Theophilus Ilevbare is on www.Twitter.com

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Our second young voice this year is Adejoh Idoko Momoh, a 24 year old graduate of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, with a Post Graduate Diploma in 'Creative Writing', from the Writers Bureau, Manchester, England. He works with the Good Governance Group as a Research Assistant and is a writer with www.nigeriaintel. com, a Nigerian news website dedicated to providing high quality investigative journalism.

Momoh writes about the much-vaunted and promised

PAGE 15

INTRODUCING YOUNG VOICES NASIR EL-R UF AI EL-RUF UFAI ON FRID AY FRIDA elrufai@aol.com

transformation of our nation by the Jonathan administration. He raises some concerns and asks pertinent questions about the utilization of resources and dashed hopes. By separating the wheat from the chaff of bad governance, Momoh is one of the young people that give us hope that Nigeria will rise again.

Young people like Adejoh Momoh, Ayo Oyalowo, Chinedu

Ekeke, Ogunyemi Bukola, Japheth Omojuwa, Zainab Usman and Auwal Sani Anwar have not succumbed to the policies of deliberate division of our nation along sectarian and ethnic lines by the Jonathanians for short-term political gain. They see through the facade of the fraudsters and looters and ask daily for accountability, integrity and equal opportunity for all.

It is my singular honour and pleasure to introduce Adejoh Momoh this week. Thank you.

delivering a keynote address at the 42nd Convocation Ceremony of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, another former Minister, Oby Ezekwesili stated that Nigeria's President Jonathan, alongside his predecessor squandered some $67billion or N10.6trn handed down by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration. As was probably expected, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku has described Ezekwesili's claims as 'fallacious and betraying a surprisingly limited understanding of government finances'.

It is easy to understand his point of view; after all, serving the government as Minister of Information, he should have a better understanding of government finances than a Chartered Accountant who has experience working with the World Bank, the Center for International Development at Harvard, and is a founding Director of Berlin Based Transparency International. As things stand, the minister who served in both the capacities of Minister of Solid Minerals and Education has challenged Mr. Maku and other governmental officials who claim she falsified figures, to a public debate. The boisterous and street savvy Okupe has since ruled that out. He knows more dirty details would come out.

For within government, there exists a phobia for engaging in debates. Recall the NN24 2011 Presidential Debates, and you would see that even Mr. Maku's boss has a reputation of avoiding them. The NN24 situation was even worse, as Jonathan, a selfprofessed youth, instead of debating with fellow presidential aspirants on policies as they affect Nigeria, decided instead to grant a possibly rehearsed interview with a music celebrity. Then again, one might wonder, is it not too much to ask a sitting president to debate fellow aspirants? Of course, they were mere aspirants. And what would have been the point of the debate? Do Nigerians seriously think they know their needs more than the president?

After all, the president did not wear shoes when he was a child and had to walk for miles to reach school; he had no access to safe drinking water or electricity. With all the unfairness and hardship that he went through in his childhood, should Nigerians not consider themselves more fortunate? Would it be wrong if he simply wants us to go through the same things he went through?

Perhaps Jonathan is even more a victim than most Nigerians - a victim unwilling, unable and incapable of bringing about any form of transformation. All praise the president!

Transformation and its many enemies

By Adejoh Idoko Momoh

U

narguably, one of the most criticized leader in the world, Nigeria's President Jonathan has the tall ambition of becoming the most praised president in the country's history by the end of 2015. It is not in doubt that he would achieve this feat, considering that in the last 6 years, he has played key roles in governance in the capacities of vice president under President Yar'adua when the acting president became incapacitated, and then president.

The question now is if in this period he has not earned the praises of the majority of Nigerians, what are the odds that he would become the most praised President in the barely 2 years that is the remainder of his tenure?

One of our favorite past times in Nigeria is criticizing our leaders.

No one sees any good in them. In response to the people's clamor for the President to declare his assets, he said during a media chat last year that 'he did not give a damn' and as if that was not answer enough, Nigerians went ahead to complain, accusing him of being insensitive.

In January 2012, the president removed subsidy on PMS which saw a resultant price increase of about 100% on all major indices including food prices,

transportation and accommodation. He tried to convince Nigerians that the subsidy removal was in their best interests. The only problem was that Nigerians had grown to mistrust their leaders. The president had already asked for their trust severally, and did not understand why they were not offering it.

Nigerians were even audacious enough to suggest that the easier alternatives would have been to fight the 'Fuel Cabal' or even alienate corruption in the fuel importation and distribution systems. When it was clear he would not listen, Nigerians accused him of losing touch with the people and demanded his resignation. It may have been the people who lost touch with themselves; did they think the president owed it to them to listen?

Again, in January 2013 with growing terror in Nigeria's North, kidnappings in the East, threats from militants in the South despite a very controversial amnesty program and the very porous borders surrounding the entire country, the president approved the deployment of troops to fight the growing insurgency in Mali, this is by every means a major 'accomplishment' and may even earn him the praise he so badly craves.

Even with all these actions,

newspapers like Thisday, Peoples Daily and Guardian dedicated their back pages for the most of 2012 to criticizing the actions of Mr. President.

Ignoring the fact that these newspapers find issues to harp on every week, the Presidency, armed with the Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, and Information Minister Labaran Maku, would describe these criticisms as attempts to smear the image of the government, and as such, always have appropriate responses ready for them.

Most vocal has been former Minister for FCT, Nasir El-Rufai who has analyzed everything from rising unemployment to poverty, abandoned projects to the recent allegations that N5trn or $31bn had been stolen in the first 31 months of the Jonathan presidency.

At the time the N5trn allegation was made by Punch newspapers, most Nigerians simply could not fathom the idea, but in retrospect, with the increased earnings of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and more oil profits than Nigeria can manage, it is easily comprehensible why some more experienced and perhaps wiser Nigerians would decide to store up these funds in secret accounts within and outside the country.

Even more recently, while

Mass education through satellite television

By Simeon Nwakaudu

U

ndoubtedly, President Goodluck Jonathan administration has made unprecedented progress across the country in the creation of access to quality education amongst less privileged Nigerians. The statistics are clear and the results are nationwide. These are facts that cannot be disputed, even by diehard critics of the administration.

A few examples will suffice.

Schools for almajiris across the country, special girl-child schools in educationally disadvantaged communities, on-going construction of schools for out-ofschool boys in the south-south and south-east and direct intervention in the improvement of facilities in existing schools in the country.

At the tertiary level the Federal Government established nine new Federal Universities with eight already on stream, while another three were recently approved.

Within the same period, nine new private universities were also awarded licenses to operate.

This programmed improvement of education opportunities for Nigerians has been premised on the fundamental goal of creating access to basic and tertiary education of the four-year strategy plan for the development of the education sector, 2011 to 2015.

Beyond the achievements that have been recorded so far as regards the creation of access to schools for Nigerian children and adults, the Federal Government has resolved to directly involve the private sector in working out novel ways to reach those in remote communities of the nation.

The novel arrangement worked out between the Federal Ministry of Education and television outfit, Daar Communications Plc will ensure that education signals in all subject areas in the basic education subsector are disseminated to Nigerian children residing in the 774 local government areas of the country.

At the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, M.O.U, for the partnership

between the Federal Ministry of Education and Darr Communications on the project, Minister of State for Education, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike said that the Federal Government is ready to partner with stakeholders in the private and public sector to deliver quality basic education.

He said: "We are determined to improve quality education for Nigerians and our resolve is to involve everyone, since government alone cannot shoulder the enormous responsibility of creating access for Nigerian children".

Wike noted that though the Jonathan administration has made monumental investments in the basic education sub-sector, collaborations are still required to increase access across the country.

He announced that out of the N29billion needed for the project, the Federal Government would not make any financial commitments, aside facilitating the participation of local and state

governments.

In his remarks, chairman of Daar Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi said that the communications outfit will commit 22 dedicated channels to airing education programmes patterned in line with approved Federal Ministry of Education curriculum.

He said that required infrastructure will be developed in all localities in the 774 local government councils and the rural communities of the Federal Capital Territory to transmit signals directly to schools. Satellite facilities to be located in the schools will be backed by electricity generators to ensure uninterrupted learning.

Dokpesi added that highly trained and qualified teachers have been recruited to deliver lessons to Nigerian children. The local teachers in the respective schools are also partners of the project as they are expected to assist their wards in using the satellite facilities.

Permanent Secretary of the

Federal Ministry of Education, Dr MacJohn Nwaobiala described the project as a landmark initiative to extend the benefits of the Federal Government's education programmes to all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

Indeed, for the programme to succeed, the states and the local government areas need to buy into the initiative. The Federal Ministry of Education has already opened dialogue with State Education Commissioners and Local Government Education Authorities to ensure effective participation in the deployment of these facilities to schools across the country.

Daar Communications, partners in this worthwhile project, have the responsibility to reach out to the governors and also source for the financial resources to execute the project. The aspect of advocacy has already commenced.

Simeon Nwakaudu is the Special Assistant (Media) to Minister of State for Education.

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Corps member donates wheelchairs, other materials to physically challenged students

By Etuka Sunday

A

physically challenged corps member serving under the platform of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), MAC Group, Mr. Obansa Jimoh Muhammed has donated wheelchairs, bags of rice, bags of semovita, oil, books, drugs and other materials to the physically challenged students at the FCT Vocational Rehabilitation Centre Kuchiko in Bwari Area Council.

The gesture which was part of his personal project and his contribution to humanity, according to the corps member was also done to discourage some of the students who may have the

mind to go into begging; adding that there is ability in disability therefore it should not be used as a justification for begging.

Mr. Jimoh said that the project was anchored on polio eradication campaign since he was a victim so as to sensitize potential mothers on how to guide their unborn children against polio attacks and to encourage those who are already victims to sit up because they can still go to school or go into business to better their lives.

He said with the little help he got from his sponsors especially the Nigeria Television Authority( NTA), he was able to buy things that could help the students in skills acquisition, confident that out of

his love for those living with disabilities he may wish to continue the project after his service year.

Also speaking, the Assistant Director (ICT) NYSC FCT Secretariat, Mrs. Oye-Bamgboso Eunice who stood for the NYSC FCT Coordinator, said Mr. Jimoh has demonstrated that those who are sitting on wheelchairs should not be disregarded.

She further said that NYSC is proud of him since he has actually demonstrated that there is ability in disability therefore advised other physically challenged persons in the society not to beg for money or demonstrate laziness but should be hard working to affect the society positively.

Receiving the materials on behalf of the students, the Principal, FCT Vocational Rehabilitation Centre Kuchiko, Comrade Bala Tsoho Musa thanked Mr. Jimoh and NYSC body for rendering services and support to the people considered less important in the society, saying that the best of life is by affecting the life of others positively.

Comrade Bala said that a victim of polio rendering support to victims of polio is a thing of joy.

According to him, as long as the society is advocating for the total eradication of polio, those who are already victims should not be neglected.

The physically NYSC member, Jimoh Muhammad Obansa on his wheel chair poses for a photograph, beside him are some of the wheel chairs and food items donated to the physically challenged students in Bwari.

Photo: Sunday Etuka

Exercise during pregnancy will enhance delivery, says expert

A

Matron in Garki Hospital, Abuja, Mrs Brenda Agaa, has advised that it is necessary for women to exercise during pregnancy, as it enhances delivery.

Agaa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that exercise during pregnancy would make the woman fit and prevent edema (swelling of the legs).

According to her, it helps blood circulation and helps women to prevent leakage of urine after delivery.

“Pregnant women, my advice to them is when pregnant do not sit in one place, ensure you exercise.

There are so many exercises that a pregnant woman can engage in, walking round, dancing, swimming and doing household chores,’’ she said.

The matron said that for those who sit for long hours due to their job, walking round in order to strengthen the legs would aid blood circulation and prevents edema.

She explained that during antenatal visits pregnant women were not forced to exercise, but were encouraged and told about its health benefits.

“It is really effective, it helps them because most of them, if am not in the ward during delivery, they always come back to say thank you, that the exercise helped.

“With leakage of urine after childbirth, especially when one shouts, coughs, sneezes or laughs, most of the women who exercised well at pregnancy testified that they did not experience it. Unlike women who did not exercise during pregnancy,’’ she said.

She said there were certain exercises pregnant women should engage in and there were some that they should not do.

“It is very difficult to reach women who do not come for antenatal, but women who attend are told to encourage other women to attend too.’’ she said.

The matron advised that since pregnancy was a blessing, it was good to do the right thing and go to any health care centre to register for ante-natal.

“So my advice to women is, when you are pregnant attend ante-natal clinics, so that you will get all information required for a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery,’’ she said.

Agaa advised pregnant women on the proper posture to adopt in pregnancy.

“A pregnant woman should not bend to pick things on the floor like any other person. To pick anything on the floor she has to go on her knees,’’ she said.

According to her, a pregnant woman should kneel on the floor, do whatever she wants to do, then get up straight, to prevent waist pain.

She said it would also help prevent abdominal contents from going into the mouth.

“The stomach contents are acidic in nature, so it could cause heartburn for the pregnant woman,’’ she added.

Mrs Faith Ojonimi, an expectant mother, said that since she did not have any help, doing all the household chores like cleaning the kitchen, sweeping, washing really helped. (NAN

Fun seekers decry neglect of Jabi Lake Resort

F

un seekers in Abuja yester day decried the continued neglect of Jabi Lake Resort, a popular recreational facility in the Abuja capital city.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that apart from the perimeter fencing, there is no other meaningful development in terms of infrastructure.

Many of the visitors at the park, who spoke to NAN correspondent, expressed sadness over the neglect of the facility.

They said the park could serve as a major tourist centre if if its potential was well harnessed.

According to Mr Innocent Mochan, an entertainer, the resort is a veritable site for entertainers, if it was developed and well managed.

“If Jabi Lake is profitably managed even we, as entertainers, can come here, pay for space, entertain people and get paid for it; in fact, we can make a good living from this place.

“Instead of going to enclosed places like `The Dome’ that lacks natural ambience, one can organise shows here but because of the lack of security and other essential facilities we cannot maximise this beautiful environment.

“We complain of unemployment but this place, if put into proper use can provide employment for at least a thousand youths; the government should do everything possible to utilise what is available to it,’’ Mochan said.

Another visitor, Mr Jimoh Garuba complained about the absence of refuse bins, noting that waste materials were disposed indiscriminately in the park.

“You can see that people throw used bottles and other things everywhere; see the damage it is causing. The pond where we used to do fish sporting has been blocked by all the debris and now you can hardly see any fish, only tadpole.

“Even weeds and grease have taken over the surface of the pond and such enjoyable activities can no longer be carried out here; it’s so sad,’’ he said.

NAN reports that just close to the lake, a dump site has been created where refuse is burnt and investigations showed that most of the burnt articles end up in the lake.

NAN recalls that the park named Wesley Snipes Park after the AfricanAmerican actor during his visit to Nigeria in 2005.

The lake, which is also being used for boat regatta during the Annual Abuja Carnival, was commissioned by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on May 7, 2007.

In 2008, a former FCT Minister, Dr Aliyu Umar, was quoted as saying that a South African investor would invest 1.5 million dollars to develop the park and that the project would be completed in 2010.

However, six years after its inauguration, the park has not recorded any meaningful development except for occasional boat and canoe rides provided during festive periods. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 17

Mechanic, 23, jailed for house breaking, theft

By Beauty Amaike

A

23-year-old man,Samuel Elias of Nyanya by Tipper Garage, Abuja has been sentenced be an Upper Area Court in Karu, Abuja for house breaking and theft.

Police Prosecutor, Mohammed Garba told the court that on January, 25, 2013, one Aba Mathew of CBN estate Apo came to the police station and reported that the accused on the same date broke into his house and stole the following items, LG plasma television, assorted wrappers, jewelries, perfumes and some clothes.

Garba further noted that during police investigation all the above mentioned items were recovered from the accused.

He said that the offence was punishable under Section 347 and 287 of the Penal Code.

The accused pleaded guilty to three charges.

Presiding Judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko sentenced him to two months imprisonment or to pay a fine of N10, 000.

Two middleaged men buying kilishi in Central Area, Abuja.

Photo: Justin ImoOwo

INSIDE FCT COURTS

Three men remanded for alleged car theft

Man, 27, jailed for stealing Canadian woman’s wallet T A

n Abuja Senior Magistrates Court has sentenced a man, Obumneme Okoro of Wuse Zone 4, Abuja to two months imprisonment for stealing a Canadian woman’s wallet.

The Magistrate, Mrs Folasade Oyekan, sentenced the convict to one month imprisonment for the offence of theft and another one month for the offence of public nuisance.

Oyekan, who said the sentence would run

concurrently, refused to give an option of fine.

She said that the punishment was to serve as deterrent to youths.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Mr Francis Tanko had told the court that the convict was brought to the Wuse Police Station on January 29, 2013 by one Mrs Helen Ahonsi of the FCT Command.

He said that Ahonsi, who is an officer at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, arrested Okoro

within the hotel premises and took him to Wuse Police Station.

Tanko said that Jennifer Waldschva, a Canadian, had attended an event at the Ladi Kwali Hall and was on her way out when Okoro stole her wallet.

He said that Okoro was arrested with the wallet on his person containing the sum of N7, 000 and other valuables.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravene the provisions of Sections 288 and 183 of the Penal Code.

Okoro, who pleaded guilty, begged for mercy, saying, “I picked the wallet from the floor, I was wrong not to have searched for the owner so I could return it.

“I do not have any relative in Abuja and have lost my job as a security man after my employer sold out his plot; I am begging the court to have mercy on me.

Magistrate Oyekan in her ruling, found him guilty of the charges. (NAN)

Court grants woman custody of child

A

Garki Customary Court in Abuja has granted Mrs Sandra Betching custody of her child because of the ex-husband’s lack of care.

The court took the action following the husband’s inability to care for the only child of the marriage.

Sandra, a 35-year-old public servant, had earlier pleaded with the court to grant her custody because her ex-husband did not care for her during and after pregnancy of the child.

“When I was pregnant with my son, my husband never cared to know if I had even registered for antenatal or not.

“He never asked me how I was feeling neither did he care to ask what the doctors were saying about the growth of the baby,’’ she said.

She said that her ex-husband would beat her up even when she was pregnant.

“In the third month of my pregnancy, I had a little argument with my ex-husband and he battered me almost to a state of coma.

“It was by the saving grace of God that I did not lose my life and my pregnancy,’’ she said.

Sandra said that her husband left her and relocated to Jos when her pregnancy was at its peak.

“At the time I needed a companion the most, my exhusband relocated to Jos to live with his ex-girl friend who had a child for him before we got married.

“And at that stage of my pregnancy, I was having different complications. I called him to come and see me at the Maitama

hospital but he never cared to come,’’ she said.

Sandra said at that time, she just realised that she was on her own, adding that “from all indications my husband does not want this pregnancy’’.

She added that her exhusband visited her only once after she had the baby and that she had been the one caring and catering for the child since his birth.

“I have been nursing the child alone since I delivered him and now he is three years old, I have just enrolled him in a school in Jabi.

“But I am finding it difficult to continue carrying the burden alone as my income can no longer cover all his maintenance now that I also have to pay his school fees,’’ she said.

She begged the court to issue an order to compel her husband to take up the full maintenance of the child.

The husband, Mr Jesse Betching in his defense, pleaded with the court to let him take up only 60 per cent of the child’s maintenance while his ex-wife caters for the remaining 40 per cent.

He also begged the court to grant him custody once the child attained six years of age.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that their marriage was dissolved on July 23, 2012.

Presiding judge, Suleiman Ismaila, granted custody of the child to Betching till maturity age.

He also ordered Betching’s exhusband (the child’s father) to take full responsibility for the child’s maintenance. (NAN)

he Police on Wednesday arraigned three men, Philip Samuel, Elvis Chris, and Emmanuel Chidozie, ages 20, 23 and 22, respectively, before an Upper Area Court in Mararaba, Nassarawa state.

They were arraigned for allegedly stealing a car.

The Police Prosecutor, Joseph Ahuwa told the court that the three accused, all residing in Mararaba were caught inside an Honda Accord (Halla) car during police investigation.

He said that the sudden disappearance of the car was reported by one Mr Joseph ElImihele of No. 35 Criss Park Street, Mararaba at the A’ Division Police Station, Mararaba on January 12, 2013.

Ahuwa said that El-Imihele woke up to discover that Honda Halla with Reg. No. CH 888 ABJ, valued at N700, 000 was stolen from his parking space at his residence in Mararaba.

The police prosecutor said that the offences of criminal conspiracy and theft contravene Section97 and 287 of the Penal Code.

The three accused men however pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

The defense counsel, Mr Kelechukwu Okoroafor, standing in for the three men, pleaded that bail be granted the accused persons.

He said that a bail was at the discretion of the court.

The Judge, Vincent Gwahemba refused the accused persons bail and ordered that they be remanded in prison custody.

He however adjourned the case to February 13, 2013. (NAN)

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Area councils get N1.65bn revenue, SURE-P allocations

By Josephine Ella Ejeh

A

total sum of N1,654,556,244.56 have been disbursed to area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) being revenue allocation from the Federation Account for December 2012.

The Chairperson of the FCT Area Councils Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) and Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, disclosed this during the committee’s meeting in Abuja.

Akinjide, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, FCT, Engr. Anthony Ozodinobi, noted that Value Added Tax accounted for N817.04 million of the allocation from the Federation Account, as against the N890.69 million received for the month of November.

She confirmed that Statutory Allocation of N757.63 million and Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SUREP) allocation of N56.77 million were received from Federation Account for the six Area Councils of Abaji, Abuja Municipal, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.

She further explained that out of the N1.654 billion, the Joint Account Allocation Committee transferred N849.34 million to the FCT Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) for payment of the primary school teachers’ salaries in the area councils; N95.04 million to FCT Area Councils Pension Board (ACPB) being 15 per cent pension fund as statutorily required, and N16.54 million to FCT Area Councils Service Commission being one per cent training fund.

Akinjide said the committee distributed the net revenue allocation of N663.62 million to the six Area Councils, with Gwagwalada receiving the lion’s share of N137.52 million.

She said Abuja Municipal Area Council received N137.48 million, Bwari Area Council (N120.75 million), Abaji Area Council (N103.23 million), Kuje Area Council (N99.26 million) and Kwali Area Council (N85.17 million).

The minister added that Akinjide Abuja Municipal got the highest SURE-P allocation of N16.77 million, Bwari (N9.28 million), Gwagwalada (N8.50 million), Kwali (N7.79 million), and Abaji (N6.96 million).

She disclosed that the biometric audit of all the six Area Councils is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year, adding, that the audit is aimed at tracking the number of workers in the six area councils of the territory and eliminating ghost workers.

“We have gone through the procurement processes and have engaged a consultant to undertake biometric audit of all workers in the Area Councils. We want to ensure that the workers in the Area Councils are genuine and also make sure that they are qualified for the positions they are holding,” the minister said.

Man patronising butcher at Karmo market, Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Abuja residents decry poor sanitation at Jabi Motor Park R

esidents of Abuja have de cried the poor sanitary condition of Jabi Motor Park, the central park in the nation's capital city.

The residents, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja, stressed the need to give the park a befitting look.

One of the respondents, Mrs Sola Balogun, told NAN that she used the park for her trips to Akure for business transactions.

Balogun said: “I am telling you that the state of this park is unacceptable; does it mean that we cannot do anything right?

Must everyone own a car; can't one enjoy decency in our public places anymore? It is really unfortunate”, she said.

Mrs Amina Sule, a trader in textiles said: “It is so sad that those living close to this park and those commuters using the

park are as guilty as those managing it.

“What you see around the park always is appalling but one needs to move on; see how everywhere is littered with filth, faeces and smell of urine oozing out from all angles''.

Mr Ayo Deji, a taxi driver who said he brings passengers to the park every day, rued the state of sanitation and general maintenance of the facility.

“The park is used only by people like you and me and not by the rich people; someone should care that this indiscriminate urination in the open can cause outbreak of diseases.

“Yes, I see them sweeping at about 6 a.m. but they cannot maintain the cleanliness of the park for the whole day,'' Deji said.

However, two members of

the National Union of Road and Transport Workers (NURTW), Jabi Motor Park branch, agreed that the park should lead the others in cleanliness and orderliness since it is the biggest in Abuja.

“In this park, there are five points where toilet facilities are available, each with bathrooms and toilets; the place is clean but you must pay N10 to urinate, N30 to use the toilet and N40 to use the bathroom.

“Jabi Motor Park is the biggest motor park in Abuja and must be given attention,'' Mr Abubakar Ustaz, a member of the NURTW, said.

Another union member, Mr Mohammed Salifu, urged the government to renovate the park to make it a moneyspinning venture.

“We wish that the

government could help to build this park properly and to provide all necessary facilities; this will allow them to make money from the park.

“It will also provide employment opportunity for the people," Salifu added.

Also speaking with NAN, Mr Abdulrazaq Abdulkarim, the Head of Environment Department of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), however, said that those using the facility should keep it tidy at all times.

Abdulkarim further said that each market or motor park under AMAC jurisdiction had its own sanitation committee, which handles the environmental sanitation issues.

According to him, some give it out to contractors who most of the time default. (NAN)

Traders appeal to AMAC for alternative business space

K

aru Roadside Market Traders Association in Abuja has appealed to the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to provide an alternative space for them to do business.

The Chairman of the association, Alhaji Sani Hassan, made the appeal following the demolition of their stalls by AMAC officials on Tuesday night.

According to Hassan, the union will hold a meeting with the chief of Karu to assist them

to appeal to AMAC for a place to trade.

Some of the traders told NAN that there was no prior notice of the demolition to enable them to remove their wares and as a result they lost their goods.

Mrs Grace Amah, a trader, said that she was only supplied goods worth N250,000 on Monday but that she came and saw the shop empty on Wednesday morning.

Amah said that the demolition was done with a wrong motive, insisting: “We

were not informed, they came at night like thieves and carry away our wares all in the name of sanitising the market.

“We are Nigerians and have a right to make a living when the government has failed in their responsibility to give us jobs. The little place we are managing to survive, they have come to chase us out,’’ she said.

Commenting on the claim of the traders, Mrs Patience Olanoye, Head of Information, AMAC described the action as

an evacuation of shanties for security reasons.

Olanoye said that the wares were not destroyed or taken as alleged by the traders.

She said that the traders were given ample time to relocate and stop trading by the roadside which contributed to the heavy traffic being experienced on that route.

Olanoye said that the decision to carry out the demolition at night was to avoid the crowd from creating a scene. (NAN)

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Email: aminuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

SON to destroy N2bn fake cables, seizes 5m tyres

Mob: 08033644990

BPE offers Share Purchase Agreement letter on ALSCON to BFIG

By Abdulwahab Isa

I

L-R: Representing the Archbishop of Lagos, Venerable Reverend Segun Ladende; Group Managing Director, FirstBank of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, Chairman Reckitt Benckiser, Chief Olu Falomo and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Eurocomm Securities Limited, Mr. Uchenna Ogbu during the official launch of FirstBank Premium Banking Lounge.

NEITI commences audit of allocations to oil-producing states

By Muhammad Nasir

T

he Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has commenced the audit of physical allocations and statutory disbursement of the extractive industry from 2007 to 2011, with an initial focus on the nine oil-producing states.

This audit is coming in line with the decision of the Federal

Executive Council at its November 28, 2013 meeting.

NEITI is engaging an indigenous audit firm, S.A.I.O. Partners to audit the allocations to the nine states benefitting from the 13 per cent oil derivation.

The audit is expected to be completed within the next nine months.The states benefitting from the 13 per cent oil derivation are the oil-producing states of Abia, Akwa Ibom,

Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and River.

The exercise will also be extended to key entities like the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).

The audit will also cover the federal government’s share of derivation and ecology as well as the management of the excess

crude account.

Speaking at a ceremony to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the auditing firm, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Ms Zainab Ahmed said the exercise is not a witch-hunt but one that will create data for national planning and development.

The audit, which is in accordance with provisions of Section 2 of the NEITI Act 2007.

adoption of the probe report of a joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Aviation carried out on the fatal air crash involving Dana Airline on June 3, 2012.

The probe report earlier adopted by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation also recommended the removal of the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren over “professional negligence and incompetence” resulting in the fatal Dana plane crash that claimed 153 lives of

passengers on a scheduled trip from Abuja to Lagos.

When contacted on phone yesterday, CBNs Director of Communications, Mr.

Ugochukwu Okorafor said the bank was yet to get such a directive form the Senate. He said the bank shall act accordingly whenever served.

Misapplied N35bn aviation fund: CBN yet to be served Senate mandate

By Abdulwahab Isa

T

he Senate is yet to transmit its mandate requesting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recover the allegedly diverted N35.5 billion aviation intervention fund secured by defunct Air Nigeria.

Findings by Peoples Daily at CBN yesterday revealed the Senate directive has not been communicated to the CBN days after the directive was pronounced.

The Senate had at its plenary on Monday, berated controversial billionaire Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim for diverting funds secured to beef up the airline to other areas outside of its original mandate.

Specifically, Jimoh according to fact that came to light in the course of the National Assembly probe last year, allegedly channeled the funds into buying estates and setting up firms in Ghana and other overseas countries.

The Senate’s decision on Monday was a fall-out of the

I

StarTimes launches M50 Mobile TV Phone to consumers

By Chris Alu

T

he only licensed digital television station in Nigeria, StarTimes, has made a new debut in the market by launching StarTimes M50 Mobile TV Phone with A free doorto-door service, as part of the activities put in place to better connect Nigerian consumers.

Mr. Song Wei, Mobile director of

Management Tip of the Day Build trust on your virtual team

nstilling team self-confidence in the traditional workplace is difficult enough, but the process is even tougher in a virtual environment. But even if your group is scattered across the globe, you can ensure they trust each other by doing the following: Help them get to know each other. Managers often

assume that people are mainly interested in what their fellow team members can do, not who they are. Wrong. Encourage personal connections by starting meetings with a short time for people to talk about what’s been happening in their lives, both professionally and personally.

Share and rotate

power. Outside of the office, centralized power structure is less effective. Let different members lead the team at different times.

The person with the most relevant knowledge about a particular stage of work should take charge.

Source: Harvard Business Review

n compliance with the Supreme Court judgment of July 6, 2012, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has transmitted an offer letter and the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) in respect of Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), Ikot-Abasi to BFI Group Corporation.

This development follows the directive of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) which met at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on January 22, 2013.

BFIG, the plaintiff in the suit at the Supreme Court, is expected to execute the Share Purchase Agreement and pay the agreed 10 % of the offer price of $410 million (which is $41 million) within 15 days of the execution of the SPA. It would be recalled that Nigeria’s apex court had stated, among other averments, that “an order of specific performance is hereby decreed mandating the respondent to provide the mutually agreed share purchase agreement for execution by the parties, to enable the plaintiff pay the agreed 10% of the accepted bid price of US $410 million (i.e, the sum of US $41 million) within 15 working days from the date of the execution of the Share Purchase Agreement, in accordance with agreement dated 20/5/2004 and the 90% balance of bid price shall be paid within 90 calendar days. ”It is declared that the defendant is bound to accept payment of 10% of the bid price from the appellant (BFIG Group Corporation) within 15 days from the date of signing the share Purchase Agreement (SPA) by the parties.” the company, also said that the company plans to invest N15 billion and create 8,000 jobs in the market.

Wei said the new M50 Mobile TV Phone has better features of 3.2 resistive touch screens, QVGA resolution that brings a distinctive visual experience, adding that the latest mobile TV phone comes with dual SIM for easy communication with two Networks.

According to Wei, other features of the StarTimes M50 includes battery life with ultra-long standby time to support many exciting functions of MP3, FM radio, Multimedia, Bluetooth, Facebook, Opera mini and lots more, all at an affordable price of 11,900 with 3 months subscription.

Mr. Anetor Rete, Public Relations manager, said the M50 is a new way of offering StarTimes subscribers a new experience. He said subscribers could also watch the African Cup of Nations 2013 on M50 mobile TV phone.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS AMCON

T

he Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), debtor companies and individuals have agreed on the restructuring of over N1 trillion worth of loans.

The MD/CEO, AMCON, Mr. Mustapha Chike Obi, said restructuring these loans instead of insisting on outright payment, which many of the debtor companies may not be able to do, will allow the loans to perform better, the companies to go on with their businesses, and employees to keep their jobs.

The restructured amount is part of the N5.6 trillion nonperforming loans it acquired from banks to safe-guard depositors’ money and rescue banks from liquidation, thereby preventing job losses in the industry. The corporation is also predicting that N400 billion will be pooled into a sinking fund that it established by the end of this year.

NACCIMA

T

he Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. John Osemede says Nigeria has the capacity to produce enough quantity of rice to meet its needs.

Osemede told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos yesterday that importation of rice was, therefore, a waste of resources and should be discouraged, adding that the value chain in agriculture should be improved on as this would help to control poverty in the country.

He urged the Federal Government to find means of reducing the quantity of imported rice now and then subsequently ban its importation.

Lagos Business School

T

he Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU with the Lagos Business School (LBS) on the Competitiveness Project, reiterating that the willingness of the State to be open shows clearly that all darkroom economists saying all manner of things about the State’s economy are wrong.

The Lagos Competitiveness Project is a collaboration of efforts between the Lagos State Government and the LBS to carry out competitiveness studies across 10 crucial sectors, in which the state can have comparative advantage.

The Governor, who spoke at the Conference Room of the Lagos House, Ikeja added that the partnership with the LBS on the competitiveness project shows clearly that any issue that is a matter of debate can actually be put under a microscope and analysed just as it is obtainable in many parts of the world.

SEC plans products to address mortgage, agric, infrastructure financing

By Abdulwahab Isa

T

he Federal Government, in collaboration with World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) have finalised plans to deepen the mortgage sector by increasing the current mortgage figure of 20,000 to 200,000 for upwardly mobile Nigerians.

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh confirmed the plan onWednesday in Abuja at a closing ceremony session of a three-day training of SEC staff on securitization, mortgage-backed securities, covered bonds and liquidity facility.

Securitisation allows securities issued at the capital market to be backed by hard assets, such as

residential portfolio, infrastructure or income streaming projects She said the government is considering seriously social housing as a better option to tackle challenge occasioned by housing deficit using medium and long term financing.

Tagged: ‘Re-financing facility initiative’, the SEC boss said the initiative was that of the Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, whom she said brought in the World Bank and the IFC to help increase mortgage in Nigeria from 20,000 to 200,000 for upwardly mobile Nigerians.

She said the initiative will “address concerns with the cost of mortgage financing. Mortgage rates are very expensive; now the Federal Government is working

on the initiative that will be launched later this year.

Oteh expressed shock that Nigeria has only 20,000 mortgages, but with the planned securitization, banks, she said can move mortgage out of their books.

Securitization, she added, is an important tool for transformation, which compelled SEC to organize the training for its staff to understand securitization, which is an area of opportunity.

Oteh also disclosed that there is about “N100 million in collective investor fund” and she encouraged retail investors to leverage their participation in the collective investor fund to enable them diversify their investment portfolio in the market.”

She revealed that the Board of SEC has set up a National

Collective Investor Protection Fund, to protect investors in the capital market against sharp practices.

The SEC boss noted that “whenever there is any complaint, the complaints are resolved immediately. But we are waiting for the market to adopt it.

We also want the resolutions to happen quicker than they do now.”

The SEC, she said, receives over a thousand complaints a year. To address this problem, Oteh stated that “there will be severe consequences for infractions in the capital market; SEC will not permit any wrongdoing and will match words with action.” Nigeria’s capital market, she said, must have stringent enforcement regimes to build integrity.

SON to destroy N2bn fake cables, seizes 5m tyres

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

T

he Director-General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Joseph Odumodu said yesterday that sub-standard electric cables worth N2 billion confiscated from dealers in various markets across the country would be destroyed within two weeks.

Odumodu, who addressed newsmen in Abuja, also disclosed that the organisation has seized about five million sub-standard tyres in the last two years.

According to him, SON warehouses “are full of substandard tyres and other products, and our challenge is how to dispose the tyres”, lamenting that some plants that recycle such products are not in the country.

The organisation, he revealed, has “slowed down its pace of confisticating substandard tyres from their

dealers because of the challenge of disposing them. If we burn the tyres, they can cause environmental pollution and health hazards for the people”.

He said more than 20 per cent of road accidents in the country were caused by the use of expired tyres, according to report, vowing to ensure that no tyres are used for more than four years in Nigeria even though it is five years in Europe and America, for the safety of Nigerians.

The Director-General, who informed that the SON’s challenges lie majorly on the products being imported to Nigeria than those manufacturing in the country, said it was part of the organisation’s responsibility to promote certified quality goods in the country.

To further address the problem of fake products in Nigeria, he said a new National

SON Director-General Dr Joseph Ikemefuna Odumodu Quality Policy is now being put in place to boost the country’s trade in the world market places.

Odumodu explained that the new policy, which would make Nigerian products sellable

Energy conservation key to energy efficiency , says Fashola

By Etuka Sunday

L

agos state Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola has said that Nigerians cannot achieve the much anticipated constant power supply unless there is a mindset change and value system, adding that Nigerians must imbibe the culture of conservation of energy to save more money, as well preserve energy for future use.

The Governor, who stated this onWednesday, at a workshop organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), at Transcorp Hilton said conventional appliances and bulbs consume more energy than energy-saving appliances and bulbs, and therefore advised

Nigerians to conserve energy by switching-off unnecessary lighting, especially in the daytime.

In a paper titled: “Our utility the value system of our Nation in conservation and preservation”, Raji said conservation and preservation are critical keys to energy sustainability and therefore, the work of NERC would make no sense if Nigerians are not well sensitized on how to conserve and preserve the electricity power.

He named vandalism, power theft and lack of proper policing as some of major challenges facing proper power distribution in Nigeria therefore asked the NERC to inform, educate and sensitize the people in that regard since

it is self-inflicted pains.

He concluded that the use of street lights would reduce crime in the night so there was a need to develop a mindset through communal efforts to guard those facilities jealously to avoid vandalism.

Earlier in his speech, the Chairman and Chief Executive officer of the NERC, Sam Amadi said that NERC has the mandate to regulate and monitor Nigerian electricity industry and therefore, it is politically and religiously neutral.

According to him, NERC is looking forward to becoming a world-class regulator, and that the invitation of Lagos state Governor to the workshop was to share his success story since he has demonstrated an exemplary leadership in that aspect.

anywhere in the world, would include Accreditation Service, a public-private driven activity with full autonomy that would kick -off in March.

He added that this would enable the country to export manufacturing goods to all parts of the world, stressing the need for it to be connected to the global market for enhanced trade and business activities.

The Director - General maintained that no product without the organisation’s code would be allowed in the Nigerian markets as from May. Another major problem identified by him is the lack of accredited laboratory in Nigeria and stressed the need for the government to assist the SON for a successful battle against substandard products in the country.

Odumodu, who informed that there are 80 of such laboratories in Egypt and 60 in Ghana, said that the existing three in Nigeria would be accredited by March.

He added that the new one in Ogba, Lagos would soon be followed by 36 others.According to him, the National Accreditation Service would look into the setting up of more laboratories in the country.

PAGE 21

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

T

he Tax Strategy for Nigeria is an accompanying document to the National Tax Policy. Whilst the National Tax Policy highlights general rules and principles and sets out a direction for the tax system, the Tax Strategy maps out the way in which the policies would be implemented.

The tax system in any country is the link between the private and the public sector in growing and shaping the economy. There is no single tax system that is of universal best practice, so the structure of any country's tax system will depend on the differing circumstances of that country even though the circumstances may vary. The Tax Strategy for Nigeria applies the good principles of taxation that are suited to the country's peculiar circumstance.

Objectives As part of the strategy to grow the Nigerian economy by an average of 10% per annum, the objective of the Tax Strategy for Nigeria is to use the tax system to help grow investment and create employment. This should be achieved whilst maintaining stable revenue flow to enable sustainable Government expenditure.

Domestic Investment Investment decisions are made when business entities are able to make profit projections in respect of their investments.

There are however, various costs involved in any investment project which may make the project less profitable and will impact on the decision of the entity to proceed with the investment.

In this regard, there are peculiar challenges in the Nigerian investment environment, such as infrastracture which may negatively impact investment decisions as the cost of doing business in Nigeria, may be significantly higher than would have been in countries with better infrastracture.

A high level of taxation on any income will make investment less likely as overall profits will be lower and business entities will be reluctant to take the investment risk. In the short to medium term, in order to try and compensate for challenges

Tax strategy for Nigeria

in the investment environment, the tax system should allow business entities higher after tax profits to compensate for the investment risk. This will lead to higher domestic investment and result in higher economic growth.

Foreign Investment With the elimination of all trade barriers amongst Ecowas countries, business entities will, in the future have access to Nigeria's market having to set up local entities in Nigeria.

With the establishment of Free-Trade Zones and adoption of the common External Tariff Regime, business entities may choose to locate in any country within the Ecowas sub-region, but will most likely favour the country that has a more conducive investment climate.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has many benefits when compared to benefits derived from international trade alone.

Greater FDI will generate higher employment; transfer of knowledge and skills which will further enhance economic growth as well as various other positive multiplier effects.

Nigeria must strive to be competitive and therefore attractive for foreign entities to invest.

Chart 1 below;

FIRS Ag Chairman Alhaji Kabiru Mashi demonstrate the FDI inflow that the current Ecowas member States had in 2004 and indicates that Nigeria had the highest inflow.However, the larger proportion of this is likely to be

linked to the Oil and Gas sector.

Nigeria therefore, the larger proportion of this is likely to be linked to the Oil and Gas sector.

Nigeria therefore, needs to focus on being an attractive place for investment in the non-oil sectors.

For foreign companies investing in natural resource extraction, the location of the resources will be the deciding factor on where to establish a local entity irrespective of the absence of adequate infrastracture. However for foreign companies in the other sectors, the provision of sustainable infrastracture would influence an investor's choice of Nigeria as a host country for investments compared with other Ecowas countries. To enable Nigeria to compete alongside other Ecowas countries, government must try and counter any disadvantage due to lack of suitable infrastracture and use its tax system to make it more

attractive for inward investments.

Employment Through policies that encourage domestic and foreign investment, there will be greater employment opportunities in Nigeria which will help distribute the benefits of economic growth. The Tax system should therefore encourage investment that creates greater employment opportunities.

Creating a competitive advantage in Nigeria's Tax System In order to achieve the objectives stated under Chapter 2 of the Tax Policy, Nigeria must have a long-term objective of providing a good level of infrastracture in order to create an enabling business environment.However,with the current challenges in the county's investment environment regarding her infrastracture, Government should ensure that the tax system is favourable enough to attract investment.

Adjusting Tax Rates to Encourage Investment Nigeria has immense Oil and Gas resources which enable the country to finance Government expenditure without significant resource to revenue from other sectors.Competitively; this can be used as leverage over other African countries which depend mostly on tax revenue to finance expenditure.

Nigeria can therefore afford to lower its tax rates to achieve a competitive advantage.

Table 1 above demonstrate that Ghana,Kenya and South Africa rely heavily on income taxes(both corporate and personal).When compared with Table 2 below, which shows the rates for companies income and Personal Tax, Nigeria's standard rate of 30% is the highest of the four countries and yet this accounts for only 15% of the overall tax revenue.

When Nigeria lowers income tax rates to attract investment into the country, it may be difficult for the countries highlighted above or other Ecowas countries to compete for investments. It is therefore possible that Nigeria can achieve competitive advantage in its tax system through lowering tax rates.

Decrease in Income Rates Based on the reason stated above, the strategy of government is to reduce the rate of companies Income Tax to about 20% and to decrease the top rate of Personal Income Tax to about 17.5% of taxable income. Decreasing income tax rates, will encourage investments, create greater employment opportunities and increase tax compliance.Further,it is important that there are no significant differences in the rates of companies Income Tax and Personal Income Tax in order to limit opportunities for tax avoidance.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 22

Addressing the challenge of refuse disposal in Kubwa, FCT

By Chijioke Okoronkwo

R

esidents of Kubwa, one of the satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), know what the shouts of ``bola! bola!'' signify.

It is an indication of the presence of refuse collectors, otherwise known as ``babanbola'' in the vicinity.

The refuse collectors are neither accredited nor engaged by the FCT Administration (FCTA) or Bwari Area Council but they decide to eke a living from the stipend they collect from the residents for the collection and disposal of their garbage.

The refuse collectors are making a brisk business, as some of them disclose that they generate between N1, 000 and N2,000 daily.

However, the activities of ``babanbola'' are fast becoming a threat to the environment because of their improper waste disposal habits.

Observers bemoan the fact that these refuse collectors usually empty cargo of garbage into streams in PW, Phase III and Phase IV neighbourhoods of Kubwa and other unauthorised places.

"These streams are our only alternative since there are no dumpsites for the refuse we collected,'' Ibrahim Hassan, one of the garbage collectors, says.

However, concerned observers note that the stream by the PW Bridge is seriously affected by the menace, as the "stream now flows laboriously under the weight of mountainous refuse heaps, with offensive odour emitting from it.''

They, however, stress that the refuse collectors are not to be entirely blamed for the aberration, adding that most of the residents of the area also throw their garbage into the stream.

Nevertheless, Mr. Dele Isaac, who lives near the Byazhin Junction, insists that indiscriminate refuse disposal habits are a common phenomenon in all areas across Kubwa.

“The government is not doing what it is supposed to do in enforcing the cleaning of the drains and the residents are not helping matters either.

“They dump whatever garbage they generate into the gutters; but come to think of it, we don't have areas specifically marked out for refuse disposal,'' Isaac adds.

The unsanitary refuse disposal habits of Kubwa residents have become a veritable source of public concern, as health and environmental experts call on the government to check the trend so as to avoid the outbreak of airborne and water-borne

A typical refuse dump inside an estate in the FCT diseases in the town.

The experts urge the government to adopt a modern method of waste management, which involves waste recycling.

Dr Akinola Tokunbo, a chemical engineer, says that it appears the government is not aware of the economic benefits of waste recycling.

"As a matter of fact, most of the raw materials for plastic and synthetic industries are found at refuse dumpsites but our people destroy these materials through burning.

"Instead of recycling these substances into useful products for industrial uses, people end up contaminating the environment with their garbage as a result of their ignorance.

"A recycling plant will process the waste and make it ready for the production of another product.

"By this method, people will be cleaning the environment and

improving their economic wellbeing simultaneously without much stress,'' Tokunbo says.

However, this is not to suggest that the Bwari Area Council in not aware of the acute waste disposal problems facing the residents of Kubwa.

Mr. Haruna Labaran, the Head of the Council's Department of Environmental Health, says that plans are underway to introduce a waste-to-wealth programme in the area.

He says that the waste recycling programme would cover Ushafa, Dutse, Kubwa, DeiDei, Dawaki and Mpape satellite towns.

He stresses that the decision to embark on the waste recycling project was informed by the recklessness of the residents as regards the collection, transportation and disposal of waste, without due regard for the environmental and health

“

To promote the overall sanitation of the FCT, the FCTA has drawn a strategy to ensure the cleanliness of the area councils.

It recently launched a village-community sanitation programme, which covers all the area councils and satellite towns in the FCT.

implications of their actions.

Labaran, however, emphasises that the area council has designated some areas as dumpsites for the waste collectors, warning that those who flout the environmental laws would be prosecuted.

"We held a meeting with `babanbolas' and informed them that we have provided some places for them to dump their refuse.

"We took them to the dumpsites; one is near the expressway and another is by Lagos Street.

"We have recruited eight `babanbolas' who we pay N10,000 every month to guard the illegal dumpsites at PW Bridge and Phase III Bridge.

"If they don't comply with the regulation, we will invite the police and get them out completely; we will then engage contractors who will go from house to house to collect refuse and dispose them in an organised manner,'' he warns.

Besides, Labaran says that a contractor has been engaged to evacuate the refuse heaps at Phase III and PW Bridge.

On the issue of blocked drainage channels at Kubwa, Laraban insists that the Council clears the drainage system on a regular basis, adding, however, that traders and residents always dump refuse in the waterways.

"The traders and residents of the Market Road area and areas around Byazhin Junction should help us and help themselves by desisting from dumping waste into the drainage channels.

"We will continue to clear the drainage but our efforts will be in vain if the people around there don't cooperate with us,'' he adds.

To promote the overall sanitation of the FCT, the FCTA has drawn a strategy to ensure the cleanliness of the area councils.

It recently launched a villagecommunity sanitation programme, which covers all the area councils and satellite towns in the FCT. The programme is to be jointly executed by the FCTA and the six area councils.

However, the Minister of State for FCT, Chief Olajumoke Akinjide, stresses the determination of the FCTA to ensure the cleanliness of the environment in the entire territory.

"We are going to clean up the area councils and satellite towns; we are going to work with the chairmen of the six area councils to rid the councils of waste.

"We have acquired domestic sanitation equipment for the community sanitation exercise and this has been distributed to the councils for a thorough cleanup of the environment, following a sensitisation activity,'' she says.

Besides, the minister recalls that she recently inaugurated the Clean and Green Greater Abuja Initiative committee to fast-track efforts to ensure the sanitation of the area councils and satellite towns.

"We want to ensure that the same standard of cleanliness and waste management which we have in Abuja city centre is extended to the area councils.''

Nevertheless, residents of Kubwa want the FCTA and Bwari Area Council match their words with action in efforts to solve the waste management problems of the area once and for all.

(NANFeatures)

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

AFCON 2013: The clash of the favourites and the super Nigeria’s Super Eagles walked quite a tight road to their quarter-finals encounter with their Ivorian opponents this Sunday in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. Against a side that tops the African FIFA rankings and is, therefore, the favourite to lift the AFCON title, the Eagles are the clear underdogs. But who knows, as they say football is no math.

Coach Stephen Keshi

T

wo moments of masterful and commanding display

by Victor Moses made the difference in the Nigeria versus Ethiopia in the last match in Group C at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament and guaranteed Nigeria a berth in the quarter finals.

However, football pundits wonder why the Super Eagles, a highly rated team in African football, have to depend on sheer luck and prayers to win matches these days.

Such fears appear logical, as Super Eagles will lock horns with the Elephants of Cote d’ Ivoire — a squad widely adjudged the best team in Africa and the tournament’s favourite — at the quarter final.

Many fans are concerned that after three matches, the Super Eagles only managed to secure draws against Zambia and Burkina Faso and a difficult win against an underdog, Ethiopia.

Nevertheless, some pundits are of the opinion that the Super Eagles and the Elephants have equal standing, which means the Feb. 3 encounter could

sway to either.

They argue that since there are no longer minors in African football; big teams like the Super Eagles should not underrate or overrate any team in Africa.

A football analyst, Mr Emeka Ibe, however, said that he was not happy that some Nigerians were overrating the Ivoirians.

“They talk about Drogba, Yaya Toure, Gervinho, among others, but we have players of equivalent status in Super Eagles.

“We have five players in Champion’s league teams in Europe, while Cote d’Ivoire has only two. So, what are talking about?

“With the right mental attitude and tactical approach, we can defeat Cote d’Ivoire,’’ he added.

However, Super Eagles Coach Stephen Keshi said emphatically that his team was not afraid of Cote d’ Ivoire.

“I don’t know why everybody is talking about them; football is a 50-50 game and 11 players against 11players. So, we hope to do what we need to do to emerge victorious.

“My boys have really made me proud; they all played well and I am very

proud of their performance.

“I had no doubt that we were going to emerge victorious. We shall take the game the way it comes,’’ Keshi said.

Mr Barnabas Joro, Assistant Secretary, Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), nonetheless, insisted that it was sheer luck that gave the Eagles a victory over the Ethiopians.

“For the Eagles, the match was the toughest of the group matches because the players tried their best to score, even before the Ethiopians were penalised for bringing Victor Moses down in the 18-yard box.

“It was, indeed, a great match and the performance of the Ethiopians was superb and it showed that there are no longer minnows in African football.

“We were lucky to have two of our international players, Mikel Obi and Victor Moses, in the lineup, and they kept the Ethiopians at bay and made sure that no goal entered our net,’’ he said.

Joro, however, advised the technical crew to field the country’s best players in subsequent matches, so as to ensure a better

performance, particularly in the match against Cote d’Ivoire.

Mr Aloy Agu, a former goalkeeper of the Super Eagles, advised the Super Eagles to improve on the quality of their game in the match against Cote d’Ivoire.

Agu, who is currently the goalkeeper-trainer of the Flying Eagles, vouched for the competence of the Super Eagles to confront any team in the tournament finals, be it Cote d’Ivoire or Togo.

He, nonetheless, urged goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama to be more focused, particularly now when the tournament had entered the knockout stage.

Agu, however, warned that any momentary loss of concentration by the Super Eagles could deny them a

victory in the quarter finals, adding that with more determination, they would be able to surprise their next opponents.

Nevertheless, Mr Godwin Bamigboye, the Chairman of the FCT chapter of Nigeria Coaches Association, stressed that the Super Eagles should sharpen their goal-scoring skills if they truly wanted to lift the trophy.

“We are going to face Cote d’ Ivoire and they are a good team.

“Our players have tried so far but they need to work on their goal-scoring ability. Our team is not the scoring type; that’s a big problem.

“That is the area we need to work on but I congratulate Keshi and the boys for coming this far,” he

said.

Sharing similar sentiments, Danladi Nasidi, coach of the Under-15 national team, stressed the need for the Super Eagles to be focused and hardworking.

“There is no laziness in football. All the players have

to be focused because there is no room for individuality and laziness in the game of football.

“All the departments of the team have to work harder; let all the departments cooperate.

The midfielders, defenders

“

The consensus of opinion, however, is that the Super Eagles should endeavour to give a stering performance in their quarter-final match against the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire.

Observers insist that with the right mental, technical and tactical approach, the Super Eagles should be able to scale the Ivorian huddle and even lift the trophy

Victor Moses scoring one of two goals against Ethiopia on Tuesday

and attackers have to work together to win a game,’’ Nasidi said.

Mr Musa Talle, the Chairman of FCT Football Association, commended the Super Eagles for their performance and urged Nigerians to continue to support and pray for them.

He stressed that the team would have no excuse not to win the cup, having reached the quarter-final stage.

“All they need to do is to keep improving on their games,’’ Talle said.

Mr Mathew Abraham, a Special Adviser to Gov. Saidu Dakingari of Kebbi State, said that a victory over Cote d’Ivoire would be quite heartwarming, but the Super Eagles ought to dictate the pace of the match right from the outset to get the result they want.

Mr Bashir Meyere, a journalist, nonetheless, urged the Super Eagles to rekindle their zeal to dictate the pace of matches.

“We thank God that the Super Eagles showed maturity and guts to win the match against Ethiopia but they should win the match against Cote d’Ivoire convincingly,” he added.

Mr Nobert Okolie, the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), advised Keshi to work on the team’s defence.

“The defence has been our major problem; Keshi should look toward the direction of home-based players to strengthen the defence,’’ he said.

Mr Okey Umahi, a businessman, expressed delight that with the victory over the Ethiopians, Super Eagles was able to break the jinx of playing draws in their previous matches.

“I am happy we broke the jinx of eating ‘draw’ soup.

Keshi should tighten his belt because the team will face Cote d’Ivoire in the quarter

Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi

final,’’ he said.

Similarly, Mr Stanley Eguma, the Manager of Dolphins FC, urged Keshi, to come out with a special strategy that would enable the Super Eagles to win the match against Cote d’Ivoire.

He said that such a strategy should aim at coordinating the defence and attack of the Super Eagles.

“Playing against Cote d’Ivoire is a different ball game altogether. When the stakes are higher, the players ought to raise the standard of their game; we expect the Super Eagles to

put up a better performance than their performance in the preliminaries.

“Stephen Keshi should develop a strategy that will facilitate efforts to win the match against Cote d’Ivoire. The Super Eagles should demonstrate more concentration, especially in the defence where we used to falter,’’ he said.

Eguma noted that the Ivorian team had sharp and fast attackers, adding that the Eagles should allow the strikers to manoeuvre on the pitch.

He, however, opined that another midfielder

should be fielded to complement Mikel Obi in the midfield, adding that this would free him (Mikel) to play other roles.

The consensus of opinion, however, is that the Super Eagles should endeavour to give a stering performance in their quarter-final match against the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire.

Observers insist that with the right mental, technical and tactical approach, the Super Eagles should be able to scale the Ivorian huddle and even lift the trophy.

(NANFeatures)

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 31

Washington State looks for weed scholars to separate seeds from stems A s Washington state tries to figure out how to regulate its newly legal marijuana, officials are hiring an adviser on all things weed: how it's best grown, dried, tested, labeled, packaged and cooked into brownies.

Sporting a mix of flannel, ponytails and suits, dozens of those angling for the job turned out Wednesday for a forum in Tacoma, several of them from out of state. The Liquor Control Board, the agency charged with developing rules for the marijuana industry, reserved a convention center hall for a state bidding expert to take questions about the position and the hiring process.

"Since it's not unlikely with this audience, would a felony conviction preclude you from this contract?" asked Rose Habib, an analytical chemist from a marijuana testing lab in Missoula, Mont.

The answer: It depends. A pot-related conviction is probably fine, but a "heinous felony," not so much, responded John Farley, a procurement coordinator with the Liquor Control Board.

Wanted: A green thumb with extensive knowledge of the black, or at least gray, market.

Washington and Colorado this fall became the first states to pass laws legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and setting up systems of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores where adults over 21 can walk in and buy up to an ounce of heavily taxed cannabis.

Both states are working to develop rules for the emerging pot industry. Up in the air is everything from how many growers and stores there should be, to how the marijuana should be tested to ensure people don't get sick.

Sales are due to begin in Washington state in December.

apparatus with a silver plastic wrapper "rigged like a girdle around their hindquarters."

Inside the "diaper," officials say they found cocaine.

Pena then revealed she had been traveling with Blassingale, who was also searched, according to the affidavit. CBP officials found her wearing the same "cocaine diaper"as Pena.

Together, the two women were carrying 6.5 kilos of cocaine.

They were arrested and charged with smuggling, according to the New York Post.

Blassingale was held in custody in Brooklyn and Pena was released on $150,000 bond.

This isn't the first time this month someone has been caught stowing cocaine in their unmentionables in JFK. Luz Massiel PĂŠrez ArlequĂ­n was arrested at JFK on Jan. 12 after CBP officers found a bra and a pair of sneakers packed with cocaine in her luggage, according to the Star-Ledger. Arlequin, who was also traveling from the Dominican Republic, faces federal narcotics smuggling charges.

Cocaine Diapers at JFK T

wo Bronx women were arrested after allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine in diapers through John F. Kennedy International Airport Saturday.

Priscilla Pena and Michelle Blassingale were caught wearing "cocaine diapers" when they arrived at JFK Airport after a JetBlue flight from the Dominican Republic, CBS New York reports.

Pena was selected for search after a drug-sniffing dog alerted airport officials to something around Pena's midsection.

According to an affidavit on the incident obtained by Gothamist, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials didn't find anything when they inspected Pena's luggage but noticed she "appeared to be very nervous" d u r i n g questioning. Pena was then given a pat-down before consenting to a strip-search, prosecutors said.

During the search officers discovered she was wearing a black

Diaper worn by Priscilla Pena and Michelle Blassingale.

Washington's Liquor Control Board has a long and "very good" history with licensing and regulation, spokesman Mikhail Carpenter said.

"But there are some technical aspects with marijuana we could use a consultant to help us with," Carpenter said.

The board has advertised for consulting services in four categories. The first is "product and industry knowledge" and requires "at least three years of consulting experience relating to the knowledge of the cannabis industry, including but not limited to product growth, harvesting, packaging, product infusion and product safety."

Other categories cover quality testing, including how to test for levels of THC, the compound that gets marijuana users high; statistical analysis of how much marijuana the state's licensed growers should produce; and the development of regulations, a category that requires a "strong understanding of state, local or federal government processes," with a law degree preferred.

Farley said the state hopes to award a single contract covering all four categories, but if no bidder or team of bidders has expertise in all fields_ regulatory law, statistical analysis and pot growing - multiple contracts could be awarded. Or bidders who are strong in one category could team up with those who are strong in another. Bids are due Feb. 15, with the contract awarded in March.

Habib, the chemist, said she's part of a team of marijuana and regulatory experts from Montana who are

bidding for the contract.

They're fed up with federal raids on medical dispensaries there.

"We want to move here and make it work. We want to be somewhere this is moving forward and being embraced socially," she said.

KhurshidKhoja, a corporate lawyer from San Francisco, wore a suit and sat beside a balding, ponytailed man in a gray sweatshirt - Ed Rosenthal, a co-founder of High Times magazine and a recognized expert on marijuana cultivation.

They're on a team bidding for the contract.

"I've seen the effect of regulation of marijuana all my life," Khoja said. "I'd like to see a more rational, scientific approach to it."

Several people asked whether winning the contract, or even subcontracting with the winning bidder, would preclude them from getting state licenses to grow, process or sell cannabis. Farley said yes: It would pose a conflict of interest to have the consultant helping develop the regulations being subject to those rules. But once the contract has expired, they could apply for state marijuana licenses, he said.

After the questions ended, the bidders mingled, exchanging business cards and talking about how they might team up. One Seattle-area marijuana grower, a college student who declined to give his name after noting that a dispensary he worked with had been raided by federal authorities in 2011, approached Rosenthal.

"It would be my dream to smoke a bowl with you after this," he said.

PAGE 32

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013 With Tobias Lengnan Dapam 07036990957

The Hollywood reporter names Marc Bernardin Senior Editor

V

eteran entertainment journalist Marc Bernardin has joined The Hollywood Reporter as a senior editor.

"Marc is a wonderful editor with an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and a very graceful touch," THR editorial director Janice Min said.

"His expertise is invaluable as THR continues to grow and expand."

Bernardin spent 13 years at Entertainment Weekly, where he was a senior editor responsible for editing the film reviews, the seasonal preview issues and the annual it list.

He has also freelanced for GQ, Wired, Details, Vulture, Empire and io9.com and was a managing editor of Starlog Magazine. Additionally, he served one season on the writing staff of Syfy's Alphas.

“My words� can lead to revolution' - Femi Kuti F

emi Kuti, son of popular activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti, told CNN's Vladimir Duthiers of Inside Africa, that his words might incite revolution due to his huge repertoire of fans.

However, while speaking about his work and his craft, he cleared the air about him being like his father, stressing that he was nothing like his father who was a die hard activist before he passed on.

In his words, "You cannot expect anybody to be like my father. I am not even like my father. Although, most of my songs are more political because of my own upbringing.

Now, you cannot expect a 2Face, for instance, not to sing many love songs and one political song. You have to understand that if everybody did this, it will become monotonous and might be too much, so variety too is nice in a country like ours. " If everybody was on the case, we would be in war and too unhappy. I am not singing for people to be unhappy. You need to be very sensitive; Do I

Femi Kuti want war? Do I want blood shed? These are not the answers I want. I want the leaders to quickly change so we

can find a peaceful way so we can have a good life. So we need to be very understanding of the situation that somebody like

me can say, can lead to a revolution and we don't want that. We need to put all these into perspective", he said.

Editors name Steven Spielberg filmmaker of the year

S Marc Bernardin

teven Spielberg will be honored with the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award at the American Cinema Editors' 63rd annual ACE Eddie Awards, on February 16th, 2013, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Hollywood Reporter has said.

"Steven Spielberg is a cinematic treasure," the ACE Board of Directors, which announced the award Tuesday, said in a statement. "For over four decades he has been moving audiences

around the world with his unique, powerful brand of storytelling.

"As one of the most successful directors in history, he has brought us beloved films, which have not only delighted us but have been indelibly woven into our cultural fabric. Throughout it all, he has worked side by side with the great Michael Kahn, A.C.E., forming a director-editor partnership that has lasted decades.

"It is our pleasure to recognize him with the ACE Golden Eddie

Filmmaker of the Year honour, especially in a year where he has, once again, created a masterpiece with his latest film, "Lincoln."

Lincoln also has been nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including best picture and best director.

ACE, the honorary society of film editors, is comprised of more than 700 editors working in film and television. The ACE Eddie Awards recognize outstanding editing in nine categories of film, television and documentaries.

Kate Henshaw replaces Sasha as Samsung ambassador

T

he year 2013 is starting on an amazing note for former actress and "Nigeria's Got Talent" judge, Kate Henshaw, as she will be replacing singer, Sasha P as the Samsung phone ambassador.

Though there's no official statement yet but it is a done deal that the actress will be replacing Sasha P as the Samsung ambassador. This means that she will be used as the face of Samsung for adverts and campaigns.

The duration of her contract and the amount paid to her has not been made public yet.

Kate Henshaw

Steven Spielberg

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 33

“I don’t like D'banj” - Majek Fashek A

s the old school acts continue to give way to the new generation superstars, veteran reggae musician, Majek Fashek who seems to be impressed with a few of the younger generation of Nigerian artists, told Nigeriafilms.com that he never liked D'banj, due to his link with international cult group known as illuminati.

Majek Fashek, who recently continues attempts to revive his career, expressed his approval for the kind of music played by pop-icon 2face Idibia and pop-sensation, Wizkid: "I like Wizkid and 2face, they play good music", said the 'rainmaker'.

In the interview, Majek said, "I don't like that other boy called D'banj, those ones that went to join Illuminati. How can you go and sell your soul to the devil because you want to be famous. I don't even like his music".

Majek Fashek, whose real name is Majekodunmi Fasheke, was a reggae path-finder and international star, tipped by many to lead the genre from where Bob Marley stopped. But years of alleged substance abuse and failed projects have ruined that hope. Many are now concerned for his mental health, even those close to him said he is living in incredibly humiliating conditions.

Majek Fashek

Psquare set to premier new song, Ft. Rick Ross

W

hen Psquare took thier music to the world stage, releasing the remix of "Chop My Money" in which they featured Konvict Music boss Akon. They weren't done, they wanted to penetrate the world thus came another remix for the song "E No Easy" with Matt Houston in France.

Now They are back with something even better.

Psquare is out with a brand new video for the remix of "Oyinye" featuring American Rapper Rick Ross.

This is coming as a surprise to many as unlike that of Akon it wasn't much publicised, we believe that their partnership with Konvicvt Music made this possible and the video as always was directed by Engees Okoye with an appearance by Akon.

D

isney said it is closing Junction Point Studios, the video-game developer it acquired six years ago that was behind the creation of the muchhyped Disney Epic Mickey, Hollywood reporter has said.

Epic Mickey was released amid fanfare in late 2010 and marked the first appearance since 1943 of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit as a major Disney character.

In the game, Mickey Mouse must use a magic paintbrush to fix a damaged cartoon world. The game was part of an effort to introduce the iconic animated mouse to a new generation, but it

W

Rick Ross

C

also antagonized some purists who complained of a darker, more flawed character than they were accustomed to.

Junction Point is run by founder Warren Spector, a well regarded developer of games who has been in the business since the early 1980s. Spector addressed the closing of the studio on his Facebook page.

"I said to myself as Junction Point embarked on the Epic Mickey journey that, worst case, we'd be 'a footnote in Disney history.' Looking back on it, I think we did far better than that," he wrote.

Warner Bros wins injunction against 'Age of the Hobbits' movie

50 Cent mocks Rick Ross, says shooting was staged

ontroversial rapper, 50 Cent, has lashed out on Rick Ross, after a gun attack on the later recently, Pulse.com has said.

It recalled that "Rick Ross was in his car with a young lady when someone started shooting at his car. He escaped unhurt.

The rapper had just

Disney set to close 'Epic Mickey' Video Game Studio

celebrated his 37th birthday a few hours earlier and was in the company of 28 year old Shateria L. Moragneel, fashion stylist and designer.

Meanwhile 5o cents went on twitter to take a jab at the singer. He said, 'Hahaha. fat boy hit the building? Lol, looks staged to me. No hole's in the car", he said.

In another development, TMZ learned that Rick Ross has hired 24-

hour armed personal security to watch his back in the wake of Monday's drive-by shooting.

It added that Ross -- aka Ricky Rozay -- was already using armed bodyguards for protection at major events like concerts and public appearances ... but now he's decided he wants a full-time security detail.

Ross was targeted in a drive-by shooting in Florida early Monday morning, when a car pulled up next to his Rolls-Royce and opened fire. Ross lost control of the vehicle during the incident and crashed into an apartment building.

Sources close to Ross tell TMZ that the rapper had been getting threats for a while but he wasn't too concerned.

However, the magazine gathered that Ross considers the shooting to be an "eyeopener" and will do whatever it takes to keep himself safe.

arner Bros., the studio behind The Hobbit, has won another victory against a small studio that attempted to release a film called "Age of the Hobbits", Hollywood reporter has said.

It added that a federal judge on Tuesday granted Warner's request for a preliminary injunction against the distribution of any movie that incorporates the studio's "Hobbit" trademark.

The 23-page ruling echoes a December temporary restraining order that prevented Global Asylum, which produced the direct-to-homevideo Age of the Hobbits, from releasing the film under that title (it

was subsequently renamed Clash of the Empires).

Hollywood Reporter recalled that on December 10th, 2012, four days before Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit": An Unexpected Journey was scheduled to hit theaters, U.S. District Court Judge Phillip Gutierrez issued a temporary restraining order and ruled that the latter movie likely was infringing the trademarks of the Warner Bros. property.

Global Asylum argued that "Hobbits" actually referred to a prehistoric humanoid creature, not the invention of author J.R.R. Tolkien. That argument didn't fly with the judge.

A scene from “Age of the Hobbits”

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 34

The role of SMEs in women empowerment

By Chijioke Okoronkwo

T

he population of women who live below the poverty line in Nigeria stands at 65 per cent of the entire women population of the country, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

It, therefore, implies that 65 out of 100 women in Nigeria are very poor.

Economic analysts, therefore, view the development as worrisome and call for a grassroots economic empowerment programme to emancipate the womenfolk from the shackles of poverty.

In the quest to create an enabling platform for a sustainable poverty reduction programme for women, the Bank of Industry (BOI) is mandated to create funding arrangements for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and related packages.

The bank's Managing Director, Ms. Evelyn Oputu, said that 85 per cent of the BOI funds were geared toward developing SMEs for the women Oputu disclosed this at the ``Private Sector Interactive Session'', recently organised in Abuja by the Ministry of Women Affairs, UN Women and ECOWAS Commission.

She stressed that the ``SMEs desk'' had been introduced in the bank, while other financial institutions had similarly introduced such policies. ``We should be aware that when a woman is empowered to play an important role in the society, the Gross Domestic Product of the country will be positively impacted. ``We should also understand that the country cannot attain any meaningful development without carrying along about 50 per cent of its population in all development processes,'' she said.

Oputu said that the bank had a primary mandate to finance and catalyse the industrial development of the country. ``In the last five years, the vision has been to finance growth and empower the weaker segments of the society to gain access to productive assets and opportunities for sustainable growth and development,'' she said.

Perspective analysts, however, believe that the major reason why poverty is prevalent among women is because they are predominantly engaged in low-income occupations.

They, therefore, urge the government and its agencies to facilitate the formulation of gender-sensitive policies and initiatives which would enhance the wellbeing of the women.

Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina In her remark, the Executive Director of UN Women, Ms Michelle Bachelet, said that efforts should be made to promote the economic interests of the women in the workplace, as part of efforts to tackle sociocultural factors hindering their empowerment. ``Many women face a lot of barriers due to traditions; these barriers are holding down, not only the women and their communities but also their countries. ``In workplaces, women should be promoted based on merit; there should be equal pay and benefits to all sexes with 5050 rights and a strong inclusive role for women,'' she said.

Bachelet said that Nigeria could only achieve a meaningful growth if the full economic potential of the women was exploited.

However, Prof. Christiana Okogie of the Department of Economics and Statistics in University of Benin noted that the private sector had fared poorly in terms of equal opportunities for men and women in the workplace.

She said that women were hardly involved in decision making in the companies where they were working, while an insignificant number of women had access to credit facilities in

Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BOI), Ms. Evelyn Oputu

banks.

Sharing similar sentiments, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, the wife of Ekiti State Governor, said that women ought to be given a pride of place in the nation's scheme of things.

She, however, stressed that the Nigerian Women's Trust Fund was a veritable mechanism which could be used to increase the number of women elected into political positions at all levels of governance in Nigeria.

She said that the mission of the Fund was to facilitate equitable participation and fair play in politics.

While calling for a mechanism that would support women in all spheres of life,

Fayemi, however, challenged the women to improve on the quality of leadership which they provided.

In his address, Amb. Kadre Ouedraogo, the President of ECOWAS Commission, stressed that the finance of gender-based projects was key to sustainable development.

Quedrago, who was represented by the commission's Vice-President, Dr Toga McIntosh, said that ECOWAS was planning to execute a project for African women entrepreneurs. ``The project will embrace agricultural business, processing and handicrafts,

“

Perspective analysts, however, believe that the major reason why poverty is prevalent among women is because they are predominantly engaged in lowincome occupations.

financial and technical support,'' he added.

Mrs Ifueko Omoigu-Okauru, the former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, however, has a different view.

She said: ``Getting the finance alone does not solve the problem, but believing in what you want to achieve with it. ``Women should be decisive and prudent in their financial transactions while running their businesses. ``Financing is a difficult reality that must be faced; they should know what is available and how to find it.''

O m o i g u - O k a u r u , nonetheless, urged the women to be more adventurous in order to bridge the occupational gaps existing between men and women. ``Projects, such as `the Lady Mechanic Initiative', which are established for the purpose of empowering young girls and women with technical and mechanical skills should be encouraged,'' she said.

As part of efforts to tackle the menace of poverty among women, analysts urge the women believe in themselves, while ensuring proper use of available resources in the management of their enterprises.

Source: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

By Kayode Olaitan

T

he Fire Alert System (FAS) -a fire management procedure is an initiative of the Federal Government aimed at addressing perceptible challenges facing the fight against fire outbreaks across the country.

The system, which was launched by the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, on August 28, 2012, is expected to use the National Data Repository Centre to educate the public on how to prevent and manage fire outbreaks.

During the system's launch, there was a public presentation of Smokomm, a device designed to detect fire at the earliest stage and automatically alert the nearest fire service station.

Since the inauguration of the system, many experts have stressed the need for states to adopt FAS because of its efficiency in addressing firerelated problems.

They argue the adoption of the system by all state governments will enhance the safety of communities across the country, while generating a lot of job opportunities for the youth.

A publication on FAS lists the potential benefits of the system as reduction in fire outbreaks, minimal government expenditure and employment generation, which would also facilitate the reduction of crime in the society.

Other benefits include generation of revenue for state governments, as well as provision of accurate data for the formulation of policy on fire outbreaks and management.

The publication also states that at fire service stations across the country, the deployment of FAS will reduce fire fighters' response time to fire emergencies, while generating additional revenue.

Besides, it says that if the system is fully adopted, the public would be able to build a fire-prevention culture and experience increased security for their lives and property, while enjoying a facility that can alert fire-fighters in the event of fire outbreaks.

Commenting on the advantages of FAS, Mr Olusegun Okebiorun, the Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service, said that the adoption of the system would enable the fire service to promptly respond to distress calls on fires.

He noted that whenever there was a fire outbreak, the people usually informed the fire service late, adding that the report often came after the structure had been completely destroyed.

Okebiorun stressed that the situation prompted the fire service to initiate a publicprivate initiative to improve

PAGE 35

Controlling fire outbreaks via Fire Alert System

Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service, Mr Olusegun Okebiorun upon its response time to fire outbreaks across the country.

He, however, commended the past and current ministers of interior for their efforts to kick-start the project. ``This system will also be distributed to all state capitals across the country so that anywhere there is an outbreak of fire, the nearest fire service station will be alerted immediately to elicit adequate response,'' he added.

In his remark, the minister of interior said that the system would be useful in efforts to protect offices, homes, stores and other structures.

Moro, however, urged the citizens and corporate organisations, particularly the state governments, to key into the project and aid structured efforts to reduce the wanton destruction of lives and property by fire disasters.

Sharing similar sentiments, the FCT Minister, Alhaji Bala Mohammed, stressed that Nigerians, who could avail themselves of the system, should be rest assured that their lives and property would be safe in the event of any fire outbreak.

In view of the benefits of the system, many stakeholders believe that if the fire service of states across the country could hook up to the FAS infrastructure, it would boost the protection of public

buildings from fires as well.

They stress that the adoption of the device would also boost the staff-strength of the states' fire service, while generating additional revenue generation for the governments.

Mr Benson Olatunji, the Chief Executive Officer of 2TOC Solutions Ltd., the inventor of Smokomm, said that the adoption of FAS would mark the beginning of the adoption of a technological approach to solving Nigeria's firefighting problems.

He noted that Smokomm was an indigenous robot which was capable of controling night fire outbreaks in markets, while enhancing effective fire emergency response time. ``It is a transformation from the analogue data collection, collation and presentation on fire to a digital computation

Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro system, where at a glance, data on fire can be made available for research and policy formulation,'' he said.

Olatunji, who is also the technical partner in the FAS programme, said that since rubber was the major raw material used in producing Smokomm, the invention would create jobs for those working in the agriculture sector.

He also noted that more than 120,000 youths would be engaged for the manufacturing, distribution and installation of the device across the country.

He underscored the wisdom in adopting the fire management procedure, recalling that several fire incidents occurred across the country between 2005 and 2008, for instance.

Olatunji cited the infernos at Jos Terminus Market and

“

In view of the benefits of the system, many stakeholders believe that if the fire service of states across the country could hook up to the FAS infrastructure, it would boost the protection of public buildings from fires as well.

Sabon Gari Market in Kano as some of the startling fire incidents during the period.

He said that the Federal Government initiated the fire alert scheme, as part of efforts to curb fire outbreaks in public and private places, while ensuring effective fire management, Olatunji stressed that the focus of his technical partnership with the Federal Government had been to promote FAS in the grassroots, so as to ensure the safety of the people's lives and property in the rural areas. ``We have to intensify campaign in the grassroots through adequate collaboration with the state governments. ``This is because research has shown that many lives were lost because of people's inhalation of generator fumes and in most cases, the entire family could be wiped out. FAS would also be useful in efforts to stem such incidents. ``One of the most important things we should do is to stage serious awareness campaigns, particularly in the rural areas, so as to inform the people about the dangers of fire incidents and how to prevent fires'' he said.

All said and done, observers believe that the effective implementation of FAS across the country will aid efforts to protect the lives and property of the citizenry from the menace of fire disasters.

Source: NAN

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Boosting sleep 'may slow memory rot'

By James Gallagher

T

heir study, in the journal Nature Neuroscience, has revealed an intimate relationship between an ageing brain, sleep and memory.

Experiments showed that changes in the ageing brain damaged the quality of deep sleep, this in turn hampered the ability to store memories.

Scientists want to test ways of boosting sleep to halt memory decline.

Wisdom may come with age, but both the brain and the body take the strain of time. Many people will be aware that both their memory and sleep are not as good as in their earlier years.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, said it was unknown whether changes in the brain, sleep and memory were all separate signs of ageing or deeply connected.

They performed a series of experiments on 36 people - an even split of those in their twenties and their seventies.

First the team showed that they could use the state of a region of the brain, called the medial prefronal cortex, to predict how much deep, or slow-wave, sleep a person would have.

That part of the brain is essential for entering deep

By Sophie Borland Health Reporter

If you were thinking of turningin a little earlier tonight, here's an incentive.

Scientists claim that a good night's sleep could help your relationship by making you less selfish.

They found that a good night's sleep makes you less likely to take your partner for granted. You are also more likely to say 'thank you', ensuring they feel appreciated.

Researchers from the University of Berkeley, California, studied 60 couples aged 18 to 56.

They each kept a diary which recorded how many hours they slept each night as well as how

sleep, but with age the region degrades.

Secondly, they showed that the amount of deep sleep could be used to predict how well people would do on memory tests.

The younger patients getting loads of good quality sleep performed better on tests than their older colleagues who had worse quality sleep.

One of the researchers, Dr Matthew Walker told the BBC: "Taken all together, the deterioration of the brain leads to the deterioration of sleep to the deterioration of memory."

"Slow wave sleep is critically important for cementing new memories you've recently learned. It's like clicking the save button.

"It's especially depressing as I continue to get older, but there might be a silver lining."

Researchers are not able to restore the ageing section of the brain, but they believe they can do something about sleep.

It is possible to boost the quality of sleep by stimulating the right region of the brain with electricity during the night.

The researchers said this had been shown to boost memory performance in

young people and they wanted to begin experiments on elderly patients too.

"You don't have to restore brain cells to restore sleep," said Dr Walker who described their aim as "jump-starting" the system.

Dementia In patients with dementia, the symptoms of brain cells dying, bad sleep and memory loss are far far worse than in

much they appreciated their other half.

The couples also took part in an experiment whereby they were asked to work together in problem-solving tasks.

According to the researchers, those who slept well worked better together in the tasks and encouraged each other.

They also recorded in their diaries that they appreciated them more and regularly showed gratitude.

Amie Gordon, a psychologist at the University of Berkeley who

lead the study, said: 'Poor sleep may make us more selfish as we prioritise our own needs over our partner's.

'You may have slept like a baby but if your partner didn't, you'll probably both end up grouchy.

'Make sure to say thanks when your partner does something nice. Let them know you appreciate them.'

The scientists believe their findings may partly explain why sleep can be so critical for relationships.

Although the health benefits of

It may be possible to slow the decline in memory and learning as we age by tackling poor sleep, researchers hope. normal ageing.

Some studies have suggested a link between and dementia. A report, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, suggested problems sleeping may be an early sign of Alzheimer's.

Dr Simon Ridley, from the charity Alzheimer's Research UK, said further studies were needed to confirm the link.

"Increasing evidence has linked changes in sleep to

memory problems and dementia, but it's not clear whether these changes might be a cause or consequence.

"The people studied here were followed for a very short period, and one next step could be to investigate whether a lack of 'slow-wave' sleep may also be linked to a long-term decline in memory."

Source: BBCNews.com

Why a good night's sleep could save your marriage - by making you less selfish

Couples who slept well also appreciated each other more and regularly showed gratitude

Scientists have found that couples who sleep well better together in tasks and encouraged each other.

But sleep deprivation leads them taking each other for granted

a good night's sleep are wellknown, there has been little research into its effects on marriage.

The researchers presented their findings last week at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychologists in New Orleans.

Experts say adults need at least five hours' uninterrupted sleep every day to properly concentrate and function.

It varies between individuals, however, with some needing as many as eight hours, some as few as three.

But surveys show that nearly two thirds of us aren't getting enough and a third actually suffer from insomnia.

In fact a report by the Mental Health Foundation in 2011 found that just 40 per cent of adults slept well.

The authors warned that the situation was so bad it had become a serious public health concern.

They also found that insomniacs were far four times more likely to suffer relationship problems and three times more likely to have mood swings.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 37

Support Wada, Idris urges Kogites From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

F

L-R: Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, his Deputy, Hon. Victor Ogene, and Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media, Imam Imam, during a press conference, yesterday at the National Assembly in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Insanity suit: Court to hear motion on jurisdiction

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

A

Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday slated February 7, 2013 to hear the motion by the Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission Africa, a Non Governmental Organization seeking to determine the mental health of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State.

The trial Judge, Justice Ahamed R. Mohammed told the Plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. Kayode Ajulo to address the court on why he should hear the suit, instead of the Osogbo division of the Federal High Court.

Egalitarian Mission for Africa had dragged the Personal Physician to Aregbesola, the

Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, the Attorney General of Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Inspector General of Police and the Director General of State Security Services to the Federal High Court, over the mental condition of Governor Aregbesola.

The case which was for hearing of the application for quash took a twist yesterday when the Judge told parties in the matter that he was inclined to remit the case to the Osogbo division of the Federal High court on the ground that: “The fact of the pleadings instituted in this case, arosed in Osun state with the 1st and 2nd defendants residing in Osun state”.

Justice Mohammed however refused the plaintiff’s counsel, to address the court

orally on the implication of remitting the case to the Osogbo and ordered that the plaintiff come by way of a motion to show the court why the suit should be heard and determined by the court sitting in Abuja and not remitting it to the Osogbo division of the court.

The Plaintiff seeks to know if the AGF conducted the test on the governor, the nature of the test conducted, name of the health institution the test was conducted and the name of the physician who conducted the test and a copy of such text result.

It would be recalled that the court had earlier refused to grant Aregbesola’s application seeking to dismiss the insanity suit.

The trial Judge had, in his

ruling on the application, said, “The court cannot entertain the 1st defendant’s application seeking the striking out the suit, because hearing notice was not served on the plaintiff as ordered”.

In an Originating Summons, the Plaintiff wants the court to order the 1st Defendant to invoke Section 189(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and set up a medical panel forthwith to subject the Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola to a medical test of mental nature as well as an order mandating the 2nd Defendant to make available to the Plaintiff and any other person or group and/or medical panel for the purpose of determining and investigating the Governor of Osun State’s state of health.

Sheath your sword, Belgore urges Offa, Erin Ile communities From Olanrewaju Lawal,Ilorin

K

wara State Action Congress of Nigeria chieftain and gubernatorial candidate of the party in 2011 general election, Mohammed Dele Belgore(SAN) has urged the Offa and Erin Ile communities to sheath their swords and live together in peace and harmony.

Belgore, in a statement issued by his media aide, Rafiu Ajakaye yesterday also implored the “the good people of Offa and Erin-Ile never to give in to anybody or interest fanning the embers of discord among them for whatever ulterior motives.”

“We are sad at the renewed hostility between the Offa and Erin-Ile communities during which lives and properties worth

millions have reportedly been lost. We call on the good people of Offa and Erin-Ile to please sheath their sword and give peace a chance.

“As fellow Kwarans and members of the human community, we urge both parties to forgive one another and live together in peace as brothers and sisters. We urge the good people of Offa and

Erin-Ile never to give in to anybody or interest fanning the embers of discord among them for whatever ulterior motives.

“Finally, we call on the security agencies to move in quickly and restore order, without resorting to tactics capable of worsening the crisis or causing yet another uproar in terms of rights abuses.”

ormer governor of Kogi state, Alhaji Ibrahim idris, has urged the people of the state to give maximum support to Captain Idris wada’s administration for him to deliver the dividend of democracy.

He noted that the transformation agenda of the government could only be realised in the atmosphere of peace stressing that the people should focus on what unite them rather than building walls to separate one another.

The former governor gave the charge yesterday at his country home in Abejukolo during a prayer session organised by the people of Omala LGA to mark his one year of leaving office .

He said the government needed time and co operation of the citizenry for the manifestation of the planned programmes for the state adding, “with the support of the people, Kogi will become the developmental hub of the country”.

Idris stressed that the yearning of the people for good governance is acceptable in a democracy and advised them to show more patience and support to enable the governor to unleash his development projects for the state According to him, the state is weighed down by the paucity of funds from the federation account which has slowed down the speed of development assuring that as soon as the finance improved, the government would build on the solid foundation his government had laid “In fact, the dwindling revenue from the federation account is affecting the states across the country . All I have to say is to plead with our people to support him and eschew violence” he counseled While commending the people for organising a special prayer session for the successful completion of his tenure, he urged them to pray for the quick recovery of the state governor.

Idris assured the people of continued supports for the development of Omala Local Government and the state in general and hinted that he will continue to give quality advice to the government On the issue of security challenges facing the country, he urged the people to give invaluable information to security agents while calling for the continued existence of the country.

Earlier , the Imam , Alhaji Babamaku Ndanusa who led the league of Imams for the prayers asked God to continue to grant him good health , long life asking that the landmark development he had started should be sustained .

Meanwhile the three days prayers session organised by the people of Omala was to thank the almighty God who had kept their son as the governor of the state to be able to complete his two term tenure.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

PAGE 39

2015: NGO to mobilize support for Yero From Nasiru Mu’azu Isa

A

s 2015 approaches, a Kaduna state based Non G o v e r n m e n t a l Organisation (NGO) called Dynamic Forum for Yero has assured that it will mobilize support for the Kaduna state governor.

The call was made by the founder/ Chairman Chief Philip Josep while addressing media men in Kaduna.

He said that “the forum will mobilize all its members across the 23 local government areas in the state, so as to galvanize support for Governor Ramalan Yero if he decides to contest for governorship of the state.

The forum decided to support Yero to continue in 2015 since the administration is an offshoot of the late Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa’s administration. The governor was described as a young and amiable person whose zeal and energy can propel the state to be among the best of all states in Nigeria.

The founder noted that it is highly imperative for all lovers of peace and positive development to join hands with the amiable governor to move the state forward, especially to achieve peaceful co-existence in the state.

Group accuses Speaker, others of abetting Rep with forged certificate From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

T

he Ningi/Warji Concerned Citizens Association in Bauchi state has accused the Speaker of the House of Representatives, InspectorGeneral of Police, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of abetting Rep Abdulrazak Nuhu Zaki, who has been accused of forging his certificate.

The group in a press statement signed by 15 political associations made available to newsmen in Bauchi yesterday stated that the Speaker, IGP and INEC have failed Nigerians for not arresting the culprits even when the authorities of the University of Jos had confirmed that the lawmaker was in possession of forged certificate from the institution.

According to the statement Zaki’s case is not different from that of the former Speaker, Salisu Buhari and that of late Sen. Evans Ewerem who were flushed out of office for same certificate forgery scandal.

The group urged the Speaker to sack the lawmaker. It charged both police and INEC to swiftly act in their capacities with a view to reduce the tension among politicians who are clamouring for the withdrawal of Zaki’s Certificate of Return to allow for fresh election in the constituency.

President Goodluck Jonathan, in a handshake with members of Imo Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), during their meeting, on Wednesday night in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

Rep charges NANS leadership on proactive activism

By Lawrence Olaoye

C

hairman, House of Representatives committee on youth development, Rep Kamil Akinlabi yesterday counseled the newly elected leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to be proactive in their activism even as the 2015 general elections draw nearer.

Akinlabi, while receiving the NANS delegation led by its National President, Yinka Gbadebo, which paid him a courtesy call, cautioned that the new leadership should not make itself available for

mischievous politicians for use during the election period.

The Lawmaker said “There are some politicians who would approach you for use to disrupt the system, don’t make yourself available for them. We already know the antics as they can never be of any use to you. What they usually do is to use some of you to foment trouble and dump you later.

You should guard yourselves against such people.”

Akinlabi also lament the dearth of principles and ideas from the leadership of the student bodies recalling that the NANS in the past is usually a veritable source of ideas which are made available to

officials in government. He however counseled the new NANS leadership to return the body to proactive activisms as obtained in the past especially when the Nation was under military administration.

He said “In the past, when NANS sneezes, government catches cold. Whenever NANS is holding its congress, officials in government circles are always on edge; they sponsor security agencies into their midst to monitor their activities. But nowadays, the body does not enjoy such respect anymore. I enjoin you to return the organization to its enviable past where ideas that could move the nation

forward would be generated for the government to use.”

Responding, Gbadebo assured the lawmaker that his administration would neither be docile nor retrogressive. He said the body under his leadership would experience a drastic turn-around.

According to him, his first assignment was to align the body with an NGO, Anticorruption Network, to protest the light sentence handed down to an Assistant Director of Police Pension Office, Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf, alleged to have stolen N37 billion pension fund. He added that the NANS dissatisfied with the Justice Abubakar Talba ruling had demanded for a probe into the matter.

Oyinlola knows fate Feb 12

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

T

he embattled National Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola will on February 12, 2013 know his fate on whether his sack would be temporarily put on hold or not.

A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday reserved the date to hear an application for stay of execution of a judgment that removed Oyinlola as the National Secretary of

the PDP. The party, through its counsel, Mr. Joe Gazama (SAN), filed the application, urging the court to stay the execution of the judgment delivered on January 11, 2013 to enable the Applicant appeal the decision of the court”.

The trial Judge, Justice Abdul Kafarati ordered that all parties in the matter should be served with the hearing processes before the next adjourned date as all other sundry applications would be entertained on Feb. 12.

It would be recalled that Kafarati had on January 11 ordered Oyinlola to vacate the position of the PDP national secretary on the congress where he was nominated was illegal and in disobedience to two subsisting court orders.

Kafarati said that there was evidence that two separate orders from a court in Lagos dated 27/4/2012 and 2/5/2012 ordered the stoppage of the conduct of the congress that made Oyinlola the South West candidate for the post.

Oyinlola was not satisfied with

the judgement, and had approached the Court of Appeal, Abuja division to challenge it and filed an application for stay of execution of the judgment of the federal high court.

Ogun State PDP who is the plaintiff in the initial matter yesterday brought an application through their counsel, R.A Oluyede praying the court to commit Oyinlola to prison for a year over alleged contempt.

But the judge held that the motion for contempt was not yet ripe and he could not hear it at the moment.

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Re-Why Peace Eludes Nasarawa State

Nasarawa State Governor

UMARU TANKO AL-MAKURA

I

t wasn’t my intention to respond to the comment of one Haruna Abdulraham with the title why peace eludes Nasarawa State published in People’s Daily Newspaper dated 30th January but for the purposes of setting the records straight and also to adequately educate the writer on the true situation of things in Nasarawa State I choose to state thus: Let me categorically state here that without of fear of contradiction Nasarawa State had never had it so good in terms of prompt intervention in any outbreak of violence where the Chief Executive sweetly intervene and calm nerves whenever there is an outbreak of violence than the present administration of Governor Al-Makura.

The writer attributed the crises to failed economic policies which he has forgotten that the crises was inherited from the previous administrations of his masters in order wards the

previous administration failed to initiate sound economic policies that will take care of poverty and youth restiveness.

The writer also requested Governor Al-Makura to emulate the strategies adopted by his predecessors that nip the crises in the bud and forgotten that none of the previous Governors ever visited any crisis area at the peak of crisis except Governor Al-Makura who an several occasion undertook an unscheduled visit to flash point areas at the peak of crises to calm nerves.

Examples of such visit was his visit to Assakio, Agyragu, Bassa, Yelwa, and Nasarawa Eggon.

It was evident that his prompt visit to the crises areas and deployment of securities has saved the situation,‘ that is asides series of meetings with stakeholders worrying factions as well as traditional rulers to find a lasting solution to the crises.

The writer would have

enumerated some of the strategies adopted by the previous administration for Governor AlMakura to emulate and adopt same in nipping the crises in the bud but however the previous administration has no strategies for the Governor

“

to emulate.

May be the writer is not well informed about the activities of the previous administration who only enrich themselves at the detriment of the welfare of the people of Nasarawa State we are all aware that within 100 days in office, Governor Al-Makura was able to restore provision of portable water across the State, improve electricity and above all changed the mind sets of the people to the path of development instead of sharing money as practice by the previous administration who has nothing to show after twelve years.

Most of road constructions within the state capital have been completed while those in the rural areas is about 50% completed.

If previous administration failed to take advantage of the proximity of Nasarawa State to the seat of power, Abuja by attracting investors and provide housing and other inputs for the development of Nasarawa State for lack of initiative does not mean that Governor Al-Makura will follow that path of failure.

We all know where Governor AlMakura is coming from; this is a man who always look inward to provide one form of project or the other for the development of the state.

The airport project is one of the many projects initiated by Governor Al-Makura to take Nasarawa to its pride of place.

We need the airport it will create employment and improve economic base of the State.

Iliyasu Ali Yakubu, Wrote From Dadin Kowa in Lafia.

It was evident that his prompt visit to the crises areas and deployment of securities has saved the situation,‘ that is asides series of meetings with stakeholders worrying factions as well as traditional rulers to find a lasting solution to the crises.

The writer would have enumerated some of the strategies adopted by the previous administration for Governor AlMakura to emulate and adopt same in nipping the crises in the bud but however the previous administration has no strategies for the Governor to emulate.

Governor Al-Makura was able to restore provision of portable water across the State, improve electricity and above all changed the mind sets of the people to the path of development instead of sharing money as practice by the previous administration who has nothing to show after twelve years

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

SUDOKU

PAGE 47

Say what?

Yesterday’s solution

Some Interesting Facts •56,000,000 people go to Major League baseball each year.

•7% of Americans don't know the first 9 words of the American anthem, but know the first 7 of the Canadian anthem.

•85,000,000 tons of paper are used each year in the U.S. •99% of the solar systems mass is concentrated in the sun.

•A 10-gallon hat barely holds 6 pints.

•A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

•A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off.

•A company in Taiwan makes dinnerware out of wheat, so you can eat your plate.

•A cow produces 200 times more gas a day than a person.

•A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.

•A dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours.

•A fully loaded supertanker travelling at normal speed takes a least twenty minutes to stop.

•A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue.

•A giraffe can go without water longer than a camel can.

•A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

•A hard working adult sweats up to 4 gallons per day. Most of the sweat evaporates before a person realizes it's there.

•A hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute on average.

•A hippo can open its mouth wide enough to fit a 4 foot tall child inside.

•A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

New wheels: Mechanics from a Northwest company called MotoCorsa made London a Ducati-inspired Source: Dailymail.co.uk custom dog wheelchair

www.peoplesdailyng.com

. . . putting the people first

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

Chelsea's Cole set for 100th international cap

C

helsea's Ashley Cole is set to win his 100th international cap after being named in England manager Roy Hodgson's squad to face Brazil on 6 February.

Left-back Cole, who made his England debut against Albania on 28 March 2001, has been named in a 24-man squad.

Fellow Chelsea team mate Frank Lampard has been picked, as has Jack Wilshere, Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Leon Osman and skipper Steven Gerrard.

Parker is now fit again after returning from Euro 2012 with an Achilles injury, but Hodgson has deemed he is not yet ready to return to the International set up.

As expected youngsters Raheem Sterling, Jonjo Shelvey and Wilfried Zaha are all excluded and instead named in the Under-21 squad to face Sweden on 5 February, while Hodgson has taken the unusual step of naming only two goalkeepers - Joe Hart and sought-after Birmingham youngster Jack Butland.

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling is called up for the first time during Hodgson's tenure after recovering from injury, but his team mate Phil Jones is omitted from the senior squad and named in Stuart Pearce's Under-21 set up.

Jermain Defoe has also been included despite his current pelvic problem, joining Manchester United duo Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, plus Liverpool new-boy Daniel Sturridge, in attack.

Cole would become only the seventh player to have reached 100 caps for England, joining Gerrard, Billy Wright, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, David Beckham and Peter Shilton.

Ashley Cole ADVERT: BUSINESS: NEWS: LAGOS:

0803 0805 0803 0805 0803

QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE Some governors are worse than the combined effect of Boko Haram and kidnappers. They have kidnapped and crippled their local governments, their state Houses of Assembly... to the extent that the state legislatures are voting against their own autonomy.

— Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, PDP chieftain

Official delusion and noisy EFCC I

don’t hide my face behind my palms anymore when I watch our president talk, but my jaw betrays my nerves on each new occasion. My jaw droops and drops now each time I hear President Goodluck Jonathan articulate how hard his government is working and how well Nigeria is responding in progress. The last one was his Jan. 23, 2013 phone interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, involving poignant questions on Boko Haram, northern Mali, official corruption and power supply.

Goodluck repeated his usual public begging for other nations to come and help Nigeria fight Boko Haram using current affairs in Mali as his supporting evidence, dodged the question on corruption altogether but nagged that the world should not have been buying stolen crude from the Nigerian pirates, and made some self congratulatory commentary on his government record with power supply assuring Amanpour that this is an area where majority of Nigerians are giving him kudos. He even managed to look a little ticked off for being asked such questions.

This is consistent with how Jonathan has been scoring himself high grades on his fight against endemic corruption in Nigeria. On 29th Dec. 12, President Jonathan asserted that corruption in Nigeria is not a serious issue, audaciously assuring that a good 80% of what Nigerians consider to be corruption are actually not corruption cases. I have been dismissing these obnoxious claims as the usual primitive Nigerian propaganda, perhaps for masking government incompetence and leadership breakdown. But the frequency and insistence of government on these dubious claims is making my skin turn white in terror. People, are we talking about the same Nigeria? I am scared that the crop of Nigerians who have now morphed into our leadership class may have started to believe these things they say. We say we are worse off, they insist our lot is actually better. What data are they using?

It is tribulation upon calamity for us to have our wretched situation in the country reduced to “we say, they say.” Our

311 689 606 327 454

7458 1765 3308 1969 0344

GUEST COLUMNIST Quansy Salako

President Jonathan treacherous political class promised us one million jobs within a year of recovering the fuel subsidy savings from their collaborating oilmarketer friends, but we see no jobs 13 months later.

They tell us Nigeria is building more cash reserves and is in good standing with its creditors, we tell them their reserves are consigning many more millions of us to early death due to hunger and disease.

Goodluck government raised the electricity output to 4500mw for domestic use by 160 million Nigerian customers and he contends that we are celebrating him. The

political elites are essentially telling us that we ordinary Nigerians are deluded about our state of affairs. We are the crazy, they are the sane.

Thank goodness, from Whitehall to White House, the “International Community” is seeing through the chicanery of our feckless leadership group.

David Cameron, former UK Prime Minister, recently lashed out in bewilderment at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying: “The financial revenue Nigeria received for the whole of last year (2012) from the sale of crude oil is more than the total foreign aid the entire sub-Saharan Africa received in that same year. So, where is the money? Where is the improvement in Nigeria?”

Indeed, Nigerians too are asking, where is the improvement that our president insists he sees in Nigeria?

Incidentally, my level of disappointment in Jonathan was already quite deep even before I started noticing his style of using false declarations and delusions of grandeur as executive tools to intimidate Nigerians into further silence and poverty. The only Nigerian leader with the most on-

“

On 29th Dec. 12, President Jonathan asserted that corruption in Nigeria is not a serious issue, audaciously assuring that a good 80% of what Nigerians consider to be corruption are actually not corruption cases. I have been dismissing these obnoxious claims as the usual primitive Nigerian propaganda, perhaps for masking government incompetence and leadership breakdown

the-job training before becoming the president is Jonathan.

Jonathan has been hanging around in our highest corridors of power and leadership now for a total of 10 years – deputy governor (2 years), governor (2 years), vice president (2 years), acting president (2 years), president (going on 2 years). If anybody was supposed to hit the ground running on the job, it ought to be Jonathan. Yet, he is still seriously confounded and challenged on how to sort, prioritize and tackle our problems in the country. He started off shoeless with the most political credit any Nigerian leader has been given by Nigerians in modern times, but he has frittered it all away on profligacy, emptiness and now tyranny of delusion.

We are a changed society, headed in the wrong direction that only points to self destruction. We need to reverse our track. If we truly want to fight and tame our corruption, we could consider some of the following ideas: Restructure EFCC and ICPC, for effectiveness.

The ICPC mission could be further honed down and re-scoped. Perhaps even more agencies may be established and scoped for additional effectiveness and quicker results. But it may be better to have all anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) under one anticorruption institution (ACI) umbrella. Otherwise, there should be a mechanism to harness activities of all the ACAs so they don't work at cross purposes.

Given the unprecedented size and range of our corruption, I would imagine our ACI to be a huge institution with thousands of employees, top notch technological capability and extensive reach across the globe. This means adequate funding and hiring of adequate and properly trained experts. ACI should be headed by a highly respected, experienced, seasoned and incorruptible citizen.

Citizen Gani Fawehinmi of blessed memory was one example of such citizenship, but we have more of them still alive. Indeed, all ACI/ ACA employees should be held to a very high standard of probity and integrity to avoid conflicts of interests.

Like all other government institutions that we have, our judiciary (state/federal) is mostly useless. Most of the judges are compromised and ought to be arraigned themselves for miscarriage of justice against Nigerians by handing down illogical judgments on many a corruption case. Establish a separate judiciary line for the ACI like it is done for the military institution in advanced countries.

Prof. Quansy Salako lives in New York, USA

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Kano office: Plot 3, Zaria Road, Opposite Kano State House of Assembly. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 805 727 9862. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com; pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141