Peoples Daily Newspaper, Tueday 04, September, 2012

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 9 No. 17

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

. . . putting the people first

Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Ola Vincent, dies >> PAGE 3

Dasuki blames insecurity on injustice >> PAGE 3

Shawwal 17, 1433 AH

N150

2012 Hajj: Pilgrims complete orientation, medicals >> PAGE 3

FG intervention funds

Why businesses can’t access N817bn 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Restructuring and Refinancing Facility (REF) scheme Small and Medium Guarantee Schemes (SMECGS) Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF) Grooming Enterprise Leaders (GEL) Intervention Fund $200 million Entertainment Intervention Fund Commercial Agriculture Credit Guarantee Scheme (CACS) Total

N200bn N200bn N300bn N75bn N32 bn N10.7bn N817.7 bn

By Aminu Imam

A

recent survey has shown that only six percent of industrialists in the country have been able to access the over N800 billion various intervention funds of the Federal Government.

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) revealed this at a recent presentation of a survey report to stakeholders during a one day bi-annual dialogue on “Impact of Government Intervention Funds in the Transformation of the Contd on Page 2

PD INDEX

By Richard Ihediwa with agency report

E

30h Aug, 2012

CBN RATES $ £ EURO CFA RIYAL

BUYING 154.8 245 194.9 0.277 41

SELLING 155.8 246.8 196 0.297 41.5

PARALLEL RATES EURO £ RIYAL $

BUYING 201 257 40 159

SELLING 203 259 42 161

Igbo leaders reject Jonathan for 2015

Yobe State Governor, Malam Ibrahim Gaidam (middle), his Deputy, Engineer Abubakar D. Ali (left), and other personalities praying during the governor's condolence visit, yesterday in Damaturu to the family of the late Secretary to the State Pilgrims Commission, Alhaji Buba Abba Kyari, who died in Saudi Arabia at the weekend.

fforts by some politicians from the South East geo political zone to rally support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 has taken another twist as a radical proIgbo group, Oganiru Ndigbo Foundation/Igboville, yesterday rejected the move and threatened to ostracize any person who uses the name of Igbo to pronounce support for the project.

The warning from the group, made up of radical politicians from the South East came on the heels of recent statements by some top Igbo politicians including serving governors in the region, Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo elders, Dr. Dozie Ikedife and Chief Arthur Eze among others, that the South East supported Jonathan in 2011 and will support him if he comes out in 2015.

However, rejecting the pronouncement, as not Contd on Page 2

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

CONTENTS News

2-11

Editorial

12

Op.Ed

13

Letters

14

Opinion

15

Metro

16-18

Business

19-20

Agriculture

26

Newsxtra

28

Igbo leaders reject Jonathan for 2015

Long fuel queues returned to most of the filing stations, yesterday in Abuja as captured here at Mobil filing station, Utako.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Why businesses can’t access N817bn

CPC berates Governor Aliyu over sale of govt properties, Page 40

International 32-34 Digest

36

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-47

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

Contd from Page 1 Nigerian Economy”, in Lagos.

According to the survey report, which was carried out by NACCIMA in collaboration with Enhancing Nigerian Advocating Nigerian Advocacy for a Better Environment (ENABLE), only six per cent of industrialists around the country have been able to access the various intervention funds made available by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The report stated that of the 358 respondents, 62 businesses, representing 17 per cent, attempted to access the funds, which was only be able to accessed by six percent.

The survey revealed that the top three reasons for unsuccessful applications included: Cumbersome application processes; inability to meet requirements and financial constraints. It also showed that 24 per cent of respondents perceived the entire process as difficult, while 57 per cent claimed that it was very difficult to access the funds.

NACCIMA President, Dr Ademola Ajayi said a survey conducted by the association showed the respondents were aware of the various intervention funds but were faced with the problem of accessibility.

“A major finding of the survey was that respondents have a fair knowledge of available intervention funds with the generic funds for popular sectors like Agriculture, SME’s and Manufacturing,” he said.

To realise the Federal Government’s quest for economic advancement, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Bank of Industry (BoI) established special intervention funds to transform the development of various sector of the economy.

Among the intervention funds are the N200 billion Small and Medium Guarantee Schemes (SMECGS), launched in April 2010, the fund was meant to fasttrack the development of the manufacturing SME sector of the Nigerian economy by providing guarantee for credit from banks to SMEs and manufacturers.

Others are the N200 billion Restructuring and Refinancing Facility (REF) scheme was introduced to fast-track the

development of the manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy by improving access to credit by manufacturers as well as output, improve the financial position of the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), generate employment, diversify the revenue bases and increase foreign exchange earnings.

Similarly, a N300 billion Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF), was introduced to provide the leverage that will motivate and stimulate private sector involvement in the power and aviation sectors as well as fast-track the development to both sectors of the economy.

Then there is the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk sharing System Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) scheme, meant to provide farmers with affordable financial products and reduce the risks of such loans to the benefitting farmers. It was launched in 2009.

On 20th June 2011, an N75bn ‘Grooming Enterprise Leaders’ (GEL) Business Intervention Fund was also launched.

Also this year, Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i said every public university in the country would receive N485 million as financial intervention for 2012. That amounts to N17.5 billion for an average of one university in each of 36 states in the country.

In April this year, N32 billion ($200 million) entertainment intervention fund was promised by President Goodluck Jonathan.

There is also the N10.71 billion Commercial Agriculture Credit Guarantee Scheme (CACS) to six banks by the CBN, established in 2009 to finance large ticket projects along the agricultural value chain.

It could be recalled that in July this year, the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, revealed that over N44 billion was missing from the Federal Government’s Special Intervention Funds on Solid Minerals. The special fund was created in 2002 by the Federal Government as a special intervention fund to open up the nation’s economy, especially the non-oil sector.

The committee discovered that the records showed that no single project was funded by the fund

with massive discrepancies and violations in the disbursement and utilisation of the fund.

It gave example of how the missing money was reportedly spent, with over N4 billion disbursed as loan to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to fund the Gurara Water project, while about N224 billion was disbursed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purchase of chancery.

Others include various sums which were disbursed as loans to several other ministries and agencies to fund other projects like payment of monetisation to the federal civil servants, aviation, COJA, OPEC, Conference of Ministers, among other frivolities, including Joint Venture Companies (JVC), that had nothing to do with solid minerals and with no evidence of repayments.

Also, several years after Federal Government’s N100 billion textile bailout fund, less than 25 per cent of textile manufacturers are operating above 50 per cent capacity utilisation as most of them have wound up.

NACCIMA has consistently argued that these huge untapped various intervention funds had yet to make the right impact, especially as some portion still remained largely inaccessible, describing it as a bane to the nation’s quest for industrial development.

The association urged the Federal Government to allow it disburse intervention funds to operators in the real sector.

Its President, Dr Ademola Ajayi, said the fund would get to these that deserve it if given that.

Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Ms Evelyn Oputu, at the dialogue said the bank supported the Federal Government in the implementation of the various intervention funds.

Ms. Oputu said the bank had assisted in disbursing the funds.

The President, Association of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Jani Ibrahim said the intervention funds would grow the economy if properly handled.

He praised the CBN, BoI and other deposit banks for their involvement.

Contd from Page 1 representing the general opinion of the region, the group in a statement signed by its leader Emeka Maduewesi; President General, Uche Onuh Lucas in addition to some members; Maxi Okwu, Okey Igbokwe, Onyema Uche and Obichi Ikechi, warned that nobody, should on his own, make any such statements again without the official permission of the region.

They said they were aware that the South East had already declared its interest to produce the next President adding that the region should insist on that.

Stating that it was not at war with the President, the group however said it was not happy that Jonathan has so far not honoured promises he made to the Igbo, including construction of the second Niger Bridge within his first tenure; to convert Enugu Airport to an international hub; and to give roads in the South East urgently needed attention within his current tenure.

The statement reads: “Whereas Ndigbo overwhelmingly supported the election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011elections, we remain of the view that the President should not be distracted by relevance-seeking political jobbers with such calls, even when he is yet to deliver on his major promises to Ndigbo.

“As at today, none of these promises have been fulfilled, Second Niger Bridge is still in the “drawing board” and no international flight has yet landed or taken off from Enugu Airport.

South East roads remain the worst in the country, including the Enugu-Onitsha Federal highway that Chief Arthur Eze travelled to Onitsha from Ukpo through.

Enugu-PH highway is at best a death trap while Aba-Ikot Ekpene highway is virtually non-existent as a road.

They also contended that in the sharing of national resources, Ndigbo are yet to get any favours from the Jonathan regime.

“No single refinery out of the six promised by President Jonathan is located in the South East even though three south east states, Abia, Imo and now Anambra are oil producing states,” they said. They also contended that revenue allocation is now heavily skewed against Igbo states.

The group also criticized President Jonathan for his “failure” to protect Prof. Barth Nnaji, the former Minister of Power who resigned last week, describing him as a “reformist” who they said attracted opposition from vested interests in the perennially corrupt power sector.

It said it was not at war with the President but was committed to working with him to achieve his electoral promises, especially as relates to Ndigbo adding that it is only based on his performance by 2015 that the region will officially make its position known.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 3

NNPC battles to recover bodies of KRPC staff 3 days after crash F T

Ola Vincent dies at 87

From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has deployed divers from Port Harcourt to recover bodies of two staff of the Kaduna Refining and PetroChemicals Company (KRPC) whose car plunged into a river, near Jere

along the Kaduna-Abuja road at the weekend.

As at the time of this report last evening, the divers had recovered the body of the driver but were still searching for the bodies of the two officials and the car.

The KRPC Public Affairs Manager, Abdullahi Idris, identified the recovered body as

Malam Dahiru.

The deceased has since been conveyed to Zaria for burial while rescue operation was ongoing to recover the other bodies. “We are at the scene right now with divers trying to recover the bodies in the river”, Idris said.

He confirmed names of the two

staff as Jibril Sulaiman, Deputy Manager Finance, his driver, while the third person was the nephew of Sulaiman.

He said the victims were on their way to Abuja from Kaduna, when their vehicle, a Toyota Hilux plunged into a river near Jere, Kagarko local government in the night.

Dasuki blames insecurity on injustice, misgovernance

Patience Jonathan’s health update: Illness started in Dubai

N

From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

T

he deposed 18th Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, yesterday blamed the insecurity ravaging the country on injustice and misgovernance, and urged government to employ justice in all endeavours if Nigeria is to overcome the challenges of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Speaking in an interactive session with journalists in his Kaduna home yesterday, Dasuki said injustice, lack of fairness and dishonesty coupled with high level of corruption by the leaders in the country led to the insecurity currently bedeviling the nation.

He however called on governors and other leaders that have nothing to offer to quit the stage for new breed and younger politicians to lead the country to its glory.

Dasuki, who lamented that Nigeria has veered from its former values and is now steeped in corruption, called for the reformation of the civil service to enable the civil servants serve as the accounting officers of their various ministries and parastatals as it used to be instead of the elected politicians.

“Greatness is not achieved by proclamation but by hard work, honesty and transparency. The leaders and whole society need to be honest, just and fair for the country to develop and for its people to grow. Let the government from the local government to the presidency declare justice and everything would be all right, the insecurity would be resolved, the bombing would stop and corruption would end…”

L-R: Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, Prof. Christine Ennew, and ViceChancellor, Bayero University, Kano, Prof. Abubakar Rashid, during National Universities Commission (NUC) and British Council strategic partnership conference, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Thunder hits 5 students, kills 2 in Benue From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

F

ive students of the KatsinaAla College of Education in Benue state were at the weekend, struck by thunderbolt.

The students all hailed from Iorkyiir Tse-Agberagba, in Konshisha local government area of Benue state.

The victims who were in their early twenties were said to be returning home from holiday jobs at a construction site, and had stopped to watch a local football match at the primary school, when they met their sudden death.

The thunder strike which occurred at about 5pm following a

light rainfall, killed two brothers – Aondohemba Torto and Aondongu Torto all students of College of Education, Katsina-Ala, while three other brothers, Sonter and Ortiv Torto and Joseph Yarkwan have been hospitalised.

Details of the incident were still sketchy as at the time of filing this report.

Boko Haram battle not affecting Nigerian Army - FG

By Abdulrahaman Abdulraheem

T

he Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada yesterday allayed fears that the deep involvement of the military in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency could affect its combat-readiness in case of any external aggression.

Obada said this while briefing

State House correspondents on the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of the ministry in the 2012 budget and the outlook for 2013.

The minister, who had earlier briefed President Goodluck Jonathan, praised personnel of the Nigerian military for their efforts in tackling the sect's menace, noting that the situation would have been worse if they had not been called in to collaborate with other

security agencies.

On the ministry's budget performance, Obada said that a total sum of N12.5billion or 27.6% of the capital provision in the 2012 budget has been released in the first and second quarter out of a total capital provision of N45.4billion for 2012 while the ministry has recorded 95.4% utilisation of the amount released.

One week after, fuel scarcity returns to Abuja

By Muhammad Nasir

B

arely one week after the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) called-off its strike after reaching agreement with the Federal Government, fuel queues resurfaced in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday with motorists seen in long queues in most of the filling stations in the nation’s capital.

It could be recalled that two

ormer governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Ola Vincent has died at the age of 87. He died yesterday at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos where he has been receiving treatment for an ailment.

One of his children confirmed his death to journalists via SMS last night. “My dad just passed on”, the SMS said. Until his death, Vincent was a director at Industrial And General Insurance Plc. He served as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria between 1977 and 1982.

weeks ago, NUPENG, NLC and depot owners and oil marketers recently embarked on strike in Abuja over payment of 2012 petroleum subsidy arrears.

However, the Federal Government and the unions reached an agreement and calledoff the strike and agreed to meet in two weeks to review the status of implementation.

In a related development, the Federal Ministry of Finance has said that contrary to the

impression given by some marketers and their agents, the Federal Government has continued to pay marketers whose claims have been duly verified. This is in line with its commitment to encourage honest and professional private sector operators in the subsidy regime.

According to a statement issued yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Finance, Paul Nwabuikwu, in

addition to other verified payments made in 2011-2012, a total of N34.6 billion was paid on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 alone.

“In all, a total of N259,339,041,657.85 has been paid in 2011-2012”, the statement said, adding that, “however, as the Federal Ministry of Finance has emphasised over and over again, only marketers whose documents have been verified, processed and cleared will be paid”.

ews filtered out yesterday that the alleged “food poisoning” condition that landed Mrs. Patience Jonathan in a hospital in Germany was said to have started in Dubai 11 days ago where she had gone to see a doctor because her hands were twitching, online media, Sahara Reporters reported yesterday.

The site quoted a Presidency source as saying the Mrs. Jonathan had gone to Dubai after the recent African First Ladies Summit in Abuja, an event that imposed an unfamiliar and grueling schedule of meetings and late nights on her.

Since the news of her Germany trip broke out on Sunday, the Presidency has officially kept mum. There have, however, been denials in blogs claiming that the First Lady is only resting.

‘Demolition a sacrifice’

By Josephine Ella

T

he Minister of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Bala Mohammed has said that the pains of demolition was a sacrifice that must be made for collective good of all residents of the FCT. Speaking through his Chief of Staff, Mohammed Yau Gital, he said the FCT administration was faced with increasing growth of population due to various reasons including economic, security and comfort, with the attendant infrastructural problem.

Hajj: Pilgrims complete orientation

By Maryam Garba Hassan

T

he Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board (MPWB) has disclosed that it has concluded the third and the final phase of the orientation programme for its intending pilgrims for this year’s hajj.

A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the board’s Public Relations Officer, Aliyu Usman, said the programme which ended at the weekend, began with pilgrims from Abaji Area Council and ended with pilgrims from Abuja Municipal Area Council.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

THE PAGE 4 REPORT

PDP @14: The gains and pains of a monolith The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last week celebrated its 14th year anniversary albeit in low-key, apparently in recognition of the mood of the nation. Formed on 31st August, 1998 at the twilight of military rule, the PDP has remained the only party to survive the shenanigans associated with party politics in the country unchanged.

Others formed at the same time or shortly after, have since changed names or have remained comatose. Parties like the All Peoples Party (APP) has transmuted into All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) while the Action for Democracy (AD), remains a shell of its original self.

By Lawrence Olaoye

A

lthough 14 years in the life of a political party that prides itself to be the largest party in Africa is a short period to take stock, the pains the nation had gone through under the military dictatorship that preceded the current democratic dispensation have made the people to be impatient for democratic dividends. The PDP, prior the 1999 general elections that brought it into power, made promises to the people that fourteen years down the lane are yet to be fulfilled either at the national, states or local government levels.

However, it is unarguable that the party has been able to wield a semblance of unity in the country owing to its widespread structure permeating the grassroots. This on its own has further entrenched a political culture that could only be obtained in a democratic setting.

The party has also been able to manage the polity in such a way that the military has been restricted to its traditional role of protecting the nation’s territorial integrity against external aggression instead of venturing into politics.

Highlighting the achievements of the party in a world press conference held recently at the PDP headquarters in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party maintained that its leadership had been able to stabilize the nation and create wealth in the way of foreign direct investments in the country in the years it has held the reign of power. Olisa said the party, through its widespread membership had been able to forge unity among many ethnic groups in the country.

He added that the party had also ensured the democratic practice of separation of powers and the rule of law in the country even as it enthroned accountability, probity and transparency by creating two ant-graft agencies: EFCC and the ICPC to investigate and prosecute any public official suspected to be fraudulent.

The PDP spokesman pointed out further that it fast-tracked the nation into the digital world of information and communication technology through the GSM revolution just as the country now has the fastest growing market for information technology in the world.

The PDP also said it hadbeen able to revamp the nation’s comatose infrastructures, dredged the River Niger, introduced Inland

Container Ports, resolved Niger Delta restiveness through the Amnesty Programme, conducted world acclaimed free and fair elections as well as carried out civil service reforms and the minimum wage among other achievements in the last thirteen years of assuming the reign of power at the federal level.

But the opposition has disagreed with ruling party on all its acclaimed achievements just as they are insisting that the PDP is the worst thing to have happened to Nigeria. Although the party claimed that it had succeeded in bringing sanity into the nation’s electoral process by ensuring the independence of the INEC under Professor Attahiru Jega, the opposition maintained that the integrity of the process has been variously compromised and abused. The slogan of one-man-onevote, being orchestrated by the party, is being generally seen as a subterfuge to deceive and befuddle the people. The opposition maintain that the last Presidential election that brought most of the officials, including President Goodluck Jonathan, to power was a sham even though some international observers gave it a pass mark.

Commenting on the party’s thirteen years in power recently in Kano, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Presidential candidate in the 2011 Presidential election said “Under normal circumstances, we are supposed to work strictly within the provision of the constitution, but this is Nigeria and nothing is perfect and the only thing they have not tampered with between 1999 to date in Nigeria is the Holy Koran.”

In order to stop the ruling party, there have been several moves by the leading opposition parties including the ACN, CPC and the ANPP to merge in order to give the PDP a run for its money in the 2015 general elections.

Former Minister of Police Affairs, Yakubu Lame, recently commented that “PDP has shown categorical failure in their leadership, they have failed and therefore what the opposition is now trying to do is to make sure that in 2015 there is credible election; that is all we are fighting for.

We are not going to tell the people that PDP has not been able to provide electricity, it is very clear they have not provided electricity; we will not tell the people that PDP has not provided security, it is clearly shown that they cannot provide security; we

will not tell Nigerians that certain infrastructures have not been provided, it is clear the PDP has not been able to do that, so Nigerians know their alternative and their alternative is opposition.”

In the estimation of most Nigerian, the ruling party has caused much more pains to the generality of the people than providing the much needed soothing balms to heal the wounds inflicted on the citizenry by the decades of military misadventure.

Though the party, 13 years ago, promised to revamp the comatose infrastructure it inherited, not much is in evident in the fulfillment of that promise. The nation’s roads still remain death traps. Several billions have been sunk into the nation’s railway, with practically little, if any, impact, as goods and passengers are still being moved on the nation’s dilapidated roads.

The PDP, political observers believe, succeeded in alienating itself from the people in the last 13 years by pursuing obnoxious policies that later helped in impoverishing the people. First, it is believed in certain quarters that government privatization experiment only succeeded in making some cronies stupendously rich at the expense of the masses that are ever growing poorer. Although government officials would argue that the economy is growing with impressive GDP on paper, but the reality is that many people cannot afford one square meal a day, as hunger has literarily taken over the land.

At the state and local government levels, the tiers supposedly closer to the people, abject poverty is their lot, as most of the officials imposed on them by the ruling PDP are not only inept but obscenely corrupt. The indication that the party has begun to suffer rejection came to the fore when it lost several strategic states in the 2011 governorship election to the opposition, especially the ACN. The party suffered further rejection in Edo recently and there are indications that it may have been finally routed out of Ondo state.

The PDP has equally failed to ensure internal democracy by practicing the politics of exclusion rather than inclusion in the last 13 years. Nevertheless, the Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur recently vowed to address the challenge but critical observers believe that he was only expressing his wishes. The

President Goodluck Jonathan

PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur behemoth, they say can never change. Closely linked to this deficiency is indiscipline among its members.

For instance, the party recently dissociated itself from pursuing any legal action against the Edo state governor, having been roundly defeated in the July 14 governorship election in that state, but its candidate, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere, pressed ahead in defiance to the directive of the party. Similarly, Jibrin Isah (Echocho) contested the eligibility of the Kogi state Governor, Capt.

Idris Wada, to the end in spite of the fact that the party pleaded with him to drop the gauntlet.

Although the party leadership has threatened severally to deal with such errant members, it has always been likened to the ranting of an ant.

In the last 13 years, several scandals have rocked officials

elected or appointed on the platform of the party. The recent scandals that have further defaced the party is the $620,000 bribery allegation involving a member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan.

Similarly, PDP serving and former Chairmen (Tukur and Amadu Ali)’s sons are currently facing charges in courts of alleged malfeasance in the nation’s subsidy regime scandal.

The party in 1999 promised to create as many jobs as possible, but 13 years after, the rate of employment keeps galloping with all its attendant evils including insecurity and other social evils.

Should the party continue in this same path, it is very likely that it would lose its political grip on the country in the 2015 general elections as there is a groundswell of discontents against its elected and appointed officials.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Nigeria’s leaders, followers are bad – Oloyede From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

T

he outgoing Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has noted that Nigeria is experiencing bad turns because both leaders and followers are bad and not playing expected roles as good stakeholders.

Oloyede who stated this at the graduation ceremony of the PanAfrican University, Lagos, said “Nigerians have also failed their leaders. Those who become leaders of Nigeria that are so easy to condemn and blame were not imported from Mars or some other planets. They are as Nigerian as all of us. Leaders are bad as followers are bad. Those who lead us are part of us and it is from within us that they emerge”.

“While it is believed that corruption is largely responsible for the developmental challenges in the country, a reductionist approach that views it as an elitist phenomenon is faulty. It is not only those who are in government that are corrupt, the evil seeps through a large segment of the society. A taxi driver who offers a bribe in order to escape sanction for not having valid vehicle documents is corrupt; a parent that destroys his own children by arranging a “miracle centre” for them to write public examinations is corrupt; a teacher that demands or accepts gratification of any type to influence his decision is corrupt; a trader that deliberately sells an expired product is corrupt; an administrator that wants or demands money before he does what he is paid to do, is corrupt”, he said.

PAGE 5

Onitsha: Group decry demolition of northerners’ stalls

By Abubakar Ibrahim

T

he Network for Justice, a human rights-based civil society organisation, has strongly decried the levity with which the Anambra state government handled the relocation of Northern traders it displaced from the head bridge market at Onitsha to pave way for the construction of a new highway.

According to a press release signed by the group’s Executive Director, Dr. Bashir Kurfi “400 stalls belonging mostly to traders from the North were demolished without notice and amidst complaints that the proposed highway is not only located far away from the market but the alternative location provided is undeveloped and unsafe”.

“Attacks launched by armed hoodlums who destroyed a mosque

at the market and committed serial robbery that resulted in the loss of vast sums of money and assortment of goods by the affected traders evidences their claims of insecurity and vulnerability”, he stated.

The demolition, Kurfi stated, happened despite intercessions by the Emir of Suleja, Awwal Ibrahim and the Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar “who, on the instructions of the Sultan of Sokoto,

had invested considerable time and resources placating the Anambra state government to find amicable resolutions to the matter”.

“The crass abandonment of the displaced traders to the vicissitudes of hooligans smacks of insensitivity and belligerency. How would Anambra state government react if its citizens all around the North are ejected from markets and their stores vandalised?”, he queried.

President Goodluck Jonathan (2nd left), Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo (2nd right), Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (left), and Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina, during the launching of second phase of YOU WIN Programme, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

PHOTO: JOE OROYE

50th anniversary: Aviation expert, NGO have no right to sue coroner - Lagos govt From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos making inquest into the June 3, opposition to the interlocutory constitutional role to play and has ABU invites 2012 Dana Air crash. injunction being sought in the said nothing in its affidavit in he Lagos State government, In a counter affifavit and court by the plaintiffs, the Lagos support of the Originating Carter, Annan, yesterday, said, the non- written address filed at the Federal state government submitted that Summons to show that it has any organisation, High Court, Ikeja, Lagos by a senior the plaintiffs does not have a right rights that were being breached Mugabe, others Civil governmental Aviation Round Table state counsel in the office of the to be protected by the court. or is likely to be breached by the

T

By Abubakar Ibrahim

F

ormer President of the United States of America, Mr. Jimmy Carter and former United Nation’s Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, as well as Zimbabwean President, Mr. Robert Mugabe are among top awardees of the honorary doctorate degrees of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, expected to attend the institution’s 50th Anniversary celebrations slated for between October 4 and November 24, 2012.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Abdullahi Mustapha, who disclosed this in a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Malam Waziri Isa Gwantu, said other holders of the “prestigious honorary doctorate degrees expected to be part of the epoch-making event include former President of South Africa Mr. Thabo Mbeki and his former Namibian counterpart Sam Nujoma”.

Initiative Limited and aviation expert, Captain Dele Ore (rtd) have no locus standi, to institute any suit to stop the coroner court from

Attorney General, Mrs. Osibanjo Olawunmi and Mr Akinjide Bakare, counsel to the 1st - 4th defendants respectively in

Jonathan launches YouWin, urges Nigerians to vote out bad leaders

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan has told Nigerians to take advantage of the electoral process which had been sanitised by his administration, to get rid of unproductive leaders.

Speaking during the inauguration of the second edition of the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria, (YouWin) for women in the State House yesterday, he explained that it was necessary to reform the electoral process to allow the people have their way.

“We feel that for a political dispensation to be relevant to the people, to endure, the electoral process must be sanitised. The voter

card of Nigerians must make them vote out the bad politicians. That is the only way we politicians will be committed and do what is right.

“And for that we promised to change the electoral process. We have not reached where we want to go but Nigerians and indeed, all people that have been monitoring our elections have observed that this is a different face of Nigeria and we will continue to improve on it,” he said.

On the YouWin! programme, he noted that the second edition would focused specifically on women because women were considered as better managers of funds and therefore could make better impact in entrepreneurial endeavours.

“The 1st plaintiff (the NGO) is a private company limited by guarantee with its set objectives.

“It does not have any

powers exercised by the 1st defendant (the Lagos Coroner as represented by Magistrate Alexander Oyetade Komolafe).”

Kaduna woos investors with free land From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

T

he Kaduna state government said yesterday that it is set to provide land for potential investors in the efforts to boost businesses not only in the area but the entire north.

Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa who disclosed this, also noted that government recently earmarked a large piece of land at Birnin Yero, for the establishment of an inland dry port, to serve the northern parts of the country.

He spoke in Kaduna at the opening ceremony of a meeting of the National Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) with the National Chamber of Commerce

from Niger Republic.

Describing Kaduna as a peaceful and secure place for investment, Yakowa noted further that the state has abundant rich land for all kinds of agriculture as well as assorted solid minerals for any willing investor.

According to him, “only last week, Kaduna state signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a German company for the building of a 30-megawatts solar power plant.

“The signing was done under the Nigerian – German Energy Partnership and will see the German company spending about 50 million Euros to construct the facility, under a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) arrangement that will last for 25 years”, he said.

PAGE 6

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Expert drums support for FG's maritime policies

Borno loses Head of Service, declares work-free day

By Adeola Tukuru

A

maritime consultant organisation, Dredge Skills and Marine Training Centre Ltd, has urged dredging contractors to support government policies aimed at checking projects failure in the maritime sector.

A statement issued by the national coordinator of the organisation, Edmund Chilaka, said the call was necessary to remind various marine project handlers of the Federal Government's determination to transform the maritime sector by promoting quality projects.

The statement also urged contractors to involve increased level of local content in the execution of dredging contracts.

It said that the organisation would hold a dredging conference and exhibition in September in Abuja to award some outstanding dredging companies, adding that the award would encourage stakeholders in capacity development of younger Nigerian companies and individual dredging operators to achieve higher level of local content in the award of contracts.

Hajj 2012: Its first come, first served- ZASG

From Salisu Zakari Maradun Gusau

T

he Zamfara state government, in collaboration with the pilgrim's welfare agency of the state, has said henceforth, no pilgrim will be favoured to board flights other than the one they are allocated, no matter their societal status.

Malam Ibrahim Wakala Muh'd, the acting governor of the state, made the disclosure in Gusau during a meeting and allocation of flights to intending pilgrims of the 14 local government of the state held at the premises of the agency.

The acting governor, who was represented by the House leader in the state Assembly, Salisu Tsafe, explained that any pilgrim who refused to comply with the decision will be acting on his or her own.

According to him, the system of the exercise changes annually right from the authorities of Saudi Arabia to the National Hajj Commission and must be complied with.

He also stated that the state government had completed all arrangements and necessary assistance it usually gives to the agency in respect of the exercise.

Wakkala therefore commended the management of the agency for its efforts to ensure the completion of all the activities with the regard to the 2012 Hajj exercise.

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri ivil servants in Borno state were thrown into mourning yesterday following the sudden death of the state's Head of Service (HOS), Abba Ashigar.

Late Ashigar died at the early hours of yesterday at his residence along Lagos Street in Maidubguri metropolis at the age of 58.

A seasoned civil servant, he was appointed as the Head of Service in 2010 by the former administration of Ali Modu Sherriff, after the former Head of Service, Ali Gambo Maina, was redeployed as the Commissioner of Works and Transport.

He was born in the year 1953 at Konduga local government area, where he had his early education from 19611967. He also completed his Teachers Grade 11 Certificate at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1977 with Bachelors Degree in Arts.

Meanwhile, the Borno state government declared yesterday as work-free day to mourn the deceased.

C

Items recovered by Joint Task Force after an operation at the residence of an alleged wanted key commander of Boko Haram, yesterday in Bulunkutu - Lawanti Area of Maiduguri Metropolis.

Photo: NAN

JTF recover arms, explosives at Boko Haram commander’s home From Mustapha isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

T

he Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno state, yesterday, said it recovered large cache of arms and improvised explosives devices (IEDs) at the residence of a wanted suspected commander of Boko Haram sect in Bulunkutu area of Maiduguri.

Spokesman of the task force, Lt. Col Sagir Musa in a statement to newsmen said: "The Joint Task Force Operation Restore Order has conducted a follow up operation in the residence of a

wanted key commander of Boko Haram sect in BulunkutuLawanti area in Maiduguri metropolis".

According to him, following the operation which was carried out at the early hours of yesterday, large cache of weapons which include 3AK 47 rifles, 306 x 7.62 mm special ammunition, 39 primed improvised explosives devices cans, and six empty magazines.

Other items recovered according to him, include one HP laptop computer containing instruction on preparation of

IEDs and chemical weapons, a notebook register containing names of Boko Haram members indicating those already dead and 54 assorted sim cards.

Others, according to the statement, included 40 IED remote controls, 20 assorted electrical switches, 50 Qlink motor cycle battery chargers, 20 assorted torchlight batteries and one RPG bomb fuse.

The spokesman commended residents for giving the information that led to the discovery.

62 officers graduate, as NGO advocates support for police From Matthew Aramunde, Lagos

S

ixty-two police officers attached to the Police Nigeria Railway Command in Lagos have graduated in human right studies.

The officers were the first set of police officers to attend the three month course organised by Crime Victims Foundation, a nongovernmental organisation.

The executive director, Gloria

Egbuji, at the weekend stated that the skills would improve their relationship with the public.

"These officers join more than three thousand officers who have been trained on human rights and we believe that with the knowledge they have acquired, they will relate with the public better and ensure that both the rights of suspects and victims are upheld", she said.

Egbuji urged the public to

support the police to do their work professionally, adding that policing is a huge challenge which the officers cannot do alone.

The commissioner of Police Railway Command, Saba Ndaji, expressing his delight over the training said that the human right training was in line with the Inspector General of Police's vision to transform police officers into world class.

NOA wants states to emulate Lagos on peace

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

T

he Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mike Omeri, has counseled all states of the federation to copy the example of peaceful coexistence set by Lagos state government over the years.

Omeri gave this admonition during a community interfaith dialogue forum on peace recently organised by the NOA at the palace of the monarch of Lagos, His Royal Majesty, Oba Rilwan Akiolu.

A statement issued by the

Chief Press Secretary of the agency, Paul Odenyi, said that the state had distinguished itself amongst other states of the federation in the way it accommodates people from everywhere who come to Lagos and providing equal opportunities for them despite their ethnic, cultural, religious and social inclinations.

Describing the state as a good example of the typical Nigerian broad mindedness, the NOA boss urged other citizens and states to emulate Lagos state in the area of peace for the development of the country.

In his address, Oba of Lagos, represented by the Head of White Cap Chiefs in Lagos, Chief Teslim Junaid-Eko, charged Federal Government to ensure equitable distribution of resources, create employments and alleviate poverty, as a way to discourage youth from violence.

The Chief Imam of Lagos, Mohammed Garba Ibrahim, who led Muslim clerics to the meeting, stressed the brotherly ties between Muslims and Christians in the state, urging religious people across the nation to tow the same line.

Moro blames prisons' decay on past regimes From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

T

he Minister for Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, has blamed the decadence in Nigerian prisons on previous administrations, saying they lacked the political will to implement recommendations of several committees that were set up to reform the prison system.

Moro who absolved the present government of any infrastructural decay in Nigerian prisons, maintained that the Jonathan government was determined to transform the prisons to make them conform to international standards.

He gave this assurance at the weekend during an interaction with newsmen, stating that the Federal Government has initiated and promoted reforms that would change the face of the nation's prisons to meet global standards.

He added that Federal Government in conjunction with states has accepted to construct new prisons as well as relocate most of the prisons that are located and scattered around the major cities of the country.

"Most of the country's prisons are located in the center of our cities. In Owerri, Imo state, the prison shares border with the Government House. I also inspected some prisons site in Lagos with the view of relocating Ikoyi Prisons to Epe", the minister said.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Nigeria set to benefit from bilateral relations with Poland-Envoy From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

T

he Ambassador of Nigeria to the Republic of Poland, Dr. Samuel Wodi Jimba has pledged to improve the existing bilateral economic and political relations between the two countries. He made the pledge at a meeting with the President of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski, while presenting his Letter of Credence to the President in Warsaw.

Making this known to journalists in Lafia recently, Dr. Jimba, who until his appointment was a permanent secretary at the Nasarawa state Ministry of Information and Orientation, stated that the ceremony which was held to officially welcome the diplomat to his new posting, took place at the Belvedere Presidential Palace in Warsaw.

Welcoming Ambassador Jimba to Poland, President Komorowski expressed delight at the present level of international cooperation between the Republic of Poland and Nigeria. He recalled the many years of cultural, educational, economic and political interaction between both countries, stating that his father had travelled to Africa severally for economic and social reasons.

President Komorowski spoke of Poland’s preparedness to improve existing relations with Nigeria, particularly as Nigeria is the largest and fastest growing economy in Africa.

As part of the ceremony, Jimba inspected a guard of honour mounted by a detachment of the Polish Presidential Guard, as well as laid a wreath prepared in Nigerian national colours at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in memory of members of the Polish Army who fell in defense of their country.

HRC boss laments poor accessibility From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

T

he Executive Secretary, Nigerian Human Rights Commission, Prof. Bem Angwe has lamented that a decade and half after the establishment of the commission, its complainant treatment mechanism is accessible to only a fraction of the population of Nigerians.

Angwe who made this lamentation at the opening of the commission’s office in Benue state yesterday, regretted that majority of Nigerians are not aware of the existence of the commission and the services it offers, maintaining that this is a huge challenge before it given the large size of the country and the need to reach all nooks and crannies to educate Nigerians on their rights.

He said the establishment of the office will invariably increase access by complainants and raise their handling profile and visibility of the commission at all levels, adding that it would improve intervention on human rights at the grassroots.

PAGE 7

Blind man threatens court action against Edo govt A From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

visually impaired businessman, Bob Williams Ihoeghinian, has threatened court action against the Edo state government alleging foul play, following plans by Ministry of Environment and Public Utilities to terminate his 10-year-old industrial solid waste removal contract with Guinness Nigeria Plc, Benin City.

In the petition made available to newsmen, Ihoeghinian alleged

that the permanent secretary of the ministry was pursuing a personal agenda in that he has bypassed the State Waste Management Board and awarded a competitor, Tessy Evueta Nigeria Limited, the contract for evacuation of industrial solid waste from the Guinness.

But Malam Alhassan Ikheloam, permanent secretary of the ministry who defended the action, said Mr. Ihoeghinian’s contract of clearing industrial solid waste from Guinness Plc was “provisional” and was

terminated because he “failed to honor the terms of (the) appointment under the Edo State Integrated Waste Management System” which he did not specify.

Ihoeghinian insisted that he was worried about the antics of the permanent secretary more so as the authorities of Guinness Plc have repeatedly expressed satisfaction with his services dating back to 2001.

The blind businessman added that he has official letters of commendation to this effect indicating that Guinness Plc does

not need another industrial waste manager but that Ikheloa and other top government officials were at the fore of a plot to edge him out at all cost.

He also stated that his firm, Bob Williams Cleaners which is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja, the Ministry of Environment as well as the State Waste Management Board has over the years and as and when due, paid all the necessary fees, levies and dues to the state treasury to enable it remain in business.

L-R: Director Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Olufunke Babade, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Mr. Taiye Haruna, and representative of World Bank Country Director, Dr. Badrul Haque, during the launch and inception workshop of NigeriaPolychlorinated Biphenyl Management Project, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

BSG petitions donor agencies to remedy infrastructural decay From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

T

he Bauchi state government has petitioned donor partners to explore ways to remedy the persistent infrastructural decay in the state.

The Commissioner for Water Resources, Sani Mohammed Burra, made the appeal at a workshop on implementation of institutional, regulatory and legal framework for urban water and sanitation in Bauchi state.

The Commissioner who was represented by the permanent secretary in the ministry, Malam Muhammad Auwal Ibrahim, said the issue of existing infrastructure should be looked into by the donor partners, with a view to improving what obtains in the state at the moment.

The commissioner further said at the moment, what the water board is able to provide to Bauchi metropolis alone is about 12 million liters per day as against the projected 50 million liters daily need of the metropolis.

The commissioner commended the Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa (SUWASA), for facilitating the workshop.

In his remarks at the workshop, the team leader of the USAID funded project SUWASA, Bauchi office, Engr.

Hossana Dajan, said the objective of the workshop was to build on consultation that had been going on for the past five months with a view to finding an acceptable institutional, regulatory and legal framework for Bauchi state urban water and

Driver’s license: FRSC commences automated free eye test

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

T

he Federal Road Safety Corps has commenced a mandatory nationwide automated free eye test for driver’s license applicants at over 50 processing centres, spread across the country.

According to a statement issued by the Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO), Jonas Agwu, the initiative

forms part of the corps’ resolve to enhance safety of road users, adding that it was designed to give room for on-the-spot vision/screening examination and sight correction among drivers as part of the strategies towards road crash reduction in Nigeria.

Similarly, the corps said “one of the unique advantages of the Optec 1000 vision-testing machine is the ability to detect

if people can recognise colours and side views including visual field; to replace the manual chart previously in use, which it said can only ddetect short and long sightedness in drivers”.

In a related development, the FRSC said it has concluded plans to commence compulsory medical test for all commercial drivers in the country, which is carried out at accredited hospitals.

sanitation sector through extensive consultations.

Dajan said the workshop was also organised with a view to validating what was agreed upon by stakeholders in terms of institutional arrangement within the sector, pointing out that without the stakeholders, the SUWASA project would not have gone this far.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Deputy Chief of Party (DCoP) of SUWASA (Kenya), Dr. Dennis Mwanza, said the selection of Bauchi state to pilot the project was as a result of an assessment tour that was carried out in five states in Nigeria.

He congratulated Bauchi state for coming this far saying that it was their success that has now had USAID considering expanding the programme to two additional states in Nigeria.

Mwanza then urged participants to be open and free in their contributions so that at the end of the workshop a workable document will be ready for implementation in Bauchi state.

PAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

L-R: Chairman, Organising Committee, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Engineer Gbasimi Akperi, President, COREN, Engineer Ibikunle Ogunbayo, and Registrar, COREN, Engineer Felix Atume, during a press briefing on the forthcoming 21st Engineering Assembly, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

L-R: Secretary, National Planning Commission (NPC), Mr. Ntufam Fidel Ugbo, Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, and Chairman, Central Working Group on the Renew Vision 2010- 2013, Mr. Moses Akpobasah, during the inauguration of the group, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Excited children during a special church service to mark the 13th Children and Youth Harvest of the Cathedral Church of The Advent, Anglican Communion, on Sunday in Gwarimpa, Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

L-R: Gombe state Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, in a handshake with Pakisitani High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Ahmed Ali, during the envoy’s visit to the governor, recently in Gombe.

L-R: President Goodluck Jonathan, with Chairman Rivers state Council of raditional Rulers and President of Supreme Council of Ogoni Traditional Rulers, His Royal Highness Goodwin Kiniwa, during the visit of Ogoni Leaders to the president, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

PAGE 9

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Oyerinde: Police, SSS fight, a national embarrassment –ACN

NPHCDA set to establish healthcare corps

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

n the attempt to retrieve the old functional healthcare system in Nigeria, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) is to collaborate with the National Youth Service Corps in setting up a Primary Health Care Corps.

The Executive Chairman of the agency, Dr Ado Muhammad who was represented by Dr Muhammed Jubril Abdullahi declared this Sunday in Abuja at National Stakeholders’ Meeting on PHC under One Roof (PHCUOR) organised in collaboration with ministry of

T

he Action Congress of Nigeria has described as a national embarrassment the power tussle between the Nigeria Police and the State Security Services over investigations into the killing of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, the assassinated Principal Private Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party decried a situation in which one week after the police had paraded

some suspects in relation to the murder, the State Security Service paraded yet another group of suspects for the same crime.

The party recalled that, earlier, the show of shame had kicked off with allegations in the media that the SSS was recycling suspects, as the suspects being paraded for the murder of Comrade Oyerinde had earlier been paraded in the same clothes for another murder.

However, he said, rather than respond constructively and intelligently to this grave allegation, the spy outfit went on the attack arguing that the

suspects they paraded in the two unrelated murder cases were only coincidentally wearing identical dresses.

“What is the interest of the SSS in this particular case even as the riddle surrounding the murder of Comrade Oyerinde remains unresolved in spite of this awkward and embarrassing flurry of mudslinging between the two securities agencies?”

According to the party, the way out of this national embarrassment is for each of these security agencies to stick to its statutory roles “if we are to forestall an impending intelligence disaster”.

By A’isha Biola Raji

I

L-R: Former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Shehu Sule, Director Primary Health Care System Development, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Mohammed Abdullahi, and representative of the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Ibrahim Labaran, during the 2nd national stakeholders meeting on bringing primary health care under one roof, yesterday in Abuja, Photo: Mahmud Isa

Nigerians urged to buy made in Nigeria goods

T

he Rector of Auchi Polytechnic, Dr Phillipa Idogho, has called on Nigerians to have a change of attitude towards made in Nigeria products.

The rector stated this Sunday at the opening of an “Exhibition of Innovation” organised by the polytechnic, inside its campus in Edo. She urged Nigerians to reduce their penchant for foreign made goods.

Idogho said if the efforts at industrialization must be successful, Nigerian consumers must prefer to buy made in Nigeria goods.

The rector said, “Buying Nigeria-made goods are a worthy contribution towards expanding the country’s market.

“And in the process, the much needed jobs will be created, thereby reducing our high youth unemployment.

“We must be conscious of the fact

that the poor quality products from some Asian countries we scoffed at some three decades ago, are now the preferred products we run after today.

“We must begin to realize that we must make our mistakes in product development and branding, in order to produce and achieve the high quality ones we so much desire.

“To achieve overall industrial development of Nigeria, our countrymen must patronize what is indigenously produced”.

Idogho called for “synergy of efforts” of all tertiary institutions, research institutes and the private sector, toward making Nigerian goods meet local and international standards.

“The reason for this is that, whereas tertiary institutions can do research and design prototypes, they have not got the funds to commercialize their inventions.(NAN)

Don calls for the restructuring of revenue allocation From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

U

niversity Don, Barrister Solomon Selcap Dalung has called for an urgent review of the country’s revenue allocation formula to be re-structured thus: Federal Government 25%, State governments 30%, and local governments 45%.

Barrister Solomon from the University of Jos made this call while speaking at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi in a lecture titled, “The Quest for peaceful Co-existence in Northern Nigeria: The Challenges of the Youths, organized by the National Council of Muslim Youths Organization (NACOMYO).

He also submitted that instead of derivative principle, the country be restructured into a loose federation with more powers given to the federating units to enhance peace, unity, security, social harmony and development.

Dalung similarly described as wasteful, the allocation of resources

to some states based on derivative principle which, he observed, is been looted by public officers instead of developments.

According to the guest lecturer, the present revenue allocation formula concedes enormous wealth to the federal government which, he argues, has no relevance to the welfare of citizens.

“The imbalance in the revenue sharing formula is responsible for underdevelopment. The Centre is strong and lucrative which breeds unhealthy completion and gravitation to the centre”, Dalung said,adding that the wages of Ministers, Special Advisers, and members of the national assembly in a year is more than the entire annual budgets of six states in the Northern states of the federation.

He also called for the abrogation of the Joint Account Allocation Committee of the states, as he wants all revenue allocations of the local governments in the federation be flowed directly to the councils.

health and other partners.

According to him, the nation’s healthcare system has remained disjointed at the subnational level with straight delivery programmes which have failed in achieving the desired results, hence there was need to create the PHC corps as a strategy to bring the healthcare system back on track.

The agency according to Ado, is working towards the re-birth of PHC. “To achieve this goal, we are providing platform for actualization of the saving one million lives which is a home grown strategy,” he explained.

He said, the aim of PHCUOR meeting is to bring managerial, planning, implementation and monitoring under a solitary power (one roof) as several states have embraced the PHC programme.

In his keynote address, the minister of state for health, Dr Mohammed Ali Pate represented by his Special Assistant, Dr Ibrahim Labaran however called for a paradigm shift from inputs and processing to resultdriven programmes that would improve the health sector of the country at all levels.

Yuguda dissolves LG caretaker c’ttees, appoints solads From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

T

he Bauchi State governor, Isa Yuguda has approved the dissolution of the Caretaker Committees of the twenty local government councils in the state just as he appointed sole administrators A press statement issued from the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Ahmed Ibrahim Dandija stated that, “the dissolution of the Caretaker Committees was informed by the need for effective service delivery and political neutrality in Local G o v e r n m e n t administration”.

The statement further explained that “ Sole Administrators who consist largely of civil servants have been appointed to run the affairs of the local governments pending the conduct of Local government council elections”, adding that “the out-going Caretaker Committee Chairmen have been directed to hand over to the Sole Administrators by 10th September, 2012.

The appointed Sole Administrators are; Yohanna Usman Yashi for Alkaleri LGA; Lawal Baba Ma’aji for Bauchi LGA; Simon Bukata Taimako for Bogoro LGA and Kabiru Adamu Sade for Darazo LGA among others.

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBBER 4, 2012

Insecurity: Muslim, Christian youths meet in Bauchi

By Muhammad Nasir

M

uslim and Christian youths in Bauchi State met Sunday to discuss a way forward out of insecurity in the states and the North in general.

The meeting was organized by the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations, NACOMYO to urge the understanding of each other’s differences and pray for peaceful

co- existence.

Speaking on the British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC) Hausa service, a senior member of the group, Malam Muhammad Rabiu Muhammad, expressed worry over the present insecurity problems ravaging Nigeria especially in the North, adding that there was no more trust between adherents of the two religions and tribes in the north.

“It’s one of the reason why we intend to come together to resolve

this differences that’s bedeviling our country and suggest possible ways to solve the problem so that we can live together as one”, he said.

Muhammad noted that most of the youth from the two faiths were often used by some prominent Nigerians to cause havoc especially during elections.

Also commenting, a member of the Christian youth group in Bauchi State, Adamu Jonathan Sambo, said politics was the cause

of insecurity in Nigeria, adding that before now, Muslims and Christians lived in peace.

Barrister Solomon Dalung of the University of Jos, who also delivered a lecture, said the North found itself in a serious mess because of insecurity and lack of good leadership, adding that only those at the helm of affairs are given much priority.

He advised the youth from both sides, to join the efforts in restoring lasting peace in the North.

Group to Jonathan: Develop North in Yar’adua’s honour From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

A

group known as Jonathan/ Sambo Visionary People Alliance (JOSAVIPA) has charged President Goodluck Jonathan to develop the 19 northern states as a mark of honour to late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua.

The National Chairman of the association Hon. Charleybee Simon Onuigbo in a press statement further urged the president to empower youths from the north in addressing the problem of insecurity in the region, especially the emergence of the Boko Haram.

The group, he said, is mounting pressure on President Jonathan and his vice to avail themselves for the 2015 presidency because of the landmark achievements recorded within the shortest period of their reign.

According to him, Jonathan and Sambo are the must suitable leaders for the country as they understand the problem of the country, region by region and any change of cream of leader would spell doom for the country.

Hoodlums vandalise Shekarau aide’s vehicle L-R: Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, Minister of State for Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Ben Ibeh and Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, signing the performance index contract, during the signing of performance contract by heads of parastatals under the ministry, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Water: Bauchi urges donors to stem infrastructure decay From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

B

auchi state government has appealed to donor partners to explore ways of solving the persistent infrastructural decay in the state.

The state commissioner for water resources, Sani Mohammed Burra made the appeal at a

workshop on implementation of institutional, regulatory and legal framework for urban water and sanitation sector for Bauchi state The commissioner who was represented by the permanent secretary in the ministry, Mallam Muhammad Auwal Ibrahim said, existing infrastructure should be looked into by the donor partners for

2015: ‘Wada will run’ From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

T

hose nursing gubernatorial ambition in Kogi State come 2015 have been asked to shelve the idea as the incumbent governor is billed to run for a second term.

The Chairman, Kogi State House House of Assembly Committee on Special Duties and Millennium Development Goals, Chief Gowon Paul Haruna disclosed this yesterday during an interactive session with journalist in Lokoja.

He scored Wada high on all the policies initiated so far by the administration, maintaining that the state is being moved out of the woods through a well articulated

plan.

The member representing Dekina/Biraidu constituency said the development agenda of Governor Wada was "so rich and thought out" to put the state on the part of development and growth it has never witnessed, noting that the state would join the leagues of the most developed within the next eight years if the governor is given the support to implement his blueprint.

“Steps taken so far since Wada came to power are indicative that the man mean well for the state.

Look at the membership of the various committees formed to come up with measures aimed at developing the state”, he noted

improvement because the water board could only provide about twelve million liters per day to the ever increasing population within the Bauchi metropolis as against the projected fifty million liters daily.

In his remarks , the team leader of the USAID funded project, Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa (SUWASA) for Bauchi,

Engineer Hossana Dajan said the objective of the workshop was to build on past consultation that had been going on for the past five months with a view to finding an acceptable institutional, regulatory and legal framework for Bauchi state urban water and sanitation sector through extensive consultations.

Berlin: Niger gov urges peopleoriented administration

G

overnor Babangida Aliyu of Niger state has stressed the need for the Nigerian government to make people the centre of its governance policies.

He stated this in an interview Sunday in Berlin.

Aliyu is in Germany with governors of Rivers, Enugu, Plateau, Borno and Katsina states on a tour to understudy Germany´s federal system of government with a view to replicating that country's best practices in their states.

The tour was organised by the Nigeria Governors´ Forum (NGF) in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GAIC).

The governor said: “We must make the people the centre of all policy issues and get them convinced that whatever we are doing as leaders is for their benefit and they should see the benefits on ground”.

He, however, stressed that Nigeria’s education system should be made to produce people who would serve the community and be structured in a way that the potential of a child should be known from elementary school.

The governors are paying special attention to Germany’s administrative system, fiscal policy and the establishment and sustenance of small and medium scale enterprises. (NAN)

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

S

uspected miscreants last week allegedly vandalized the vehicle of Malam Sule Yau Sule, the spokesperson of former governor of Kano state, Ibrahim Shekarau at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA).

Speaking to our correspondent over the incident at the weekend, Sule who said he is still at a loss on why his vehicle was singled out and vandalized by the hoodlums whom he said, made away with all his personal belongings.

Sule said he returned from Saudi Arabia alongside his boss Shekarau and had asked his friend to pick him at the airport, explaining that the car was parked to enable them finish clearance with the immigration.

“You see what happened has gone to prove to the people of Kano about what we have been saying that this PDP government is not just tolerant. If not how could you explain what happened, you know our returning home coincided also with the return of the Kano state Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. I don’t know from where and his thugs just saw the portrait of Malam Shekarau on the car, that was how they pounced on it, destroyed it and stole all my personal belongings that I brought from Saudi”, he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

MONEY SENSE

PAGE 11

Nine fail-proof ways to ensure your family's financial well-being Budget. The first step is to create a budget. Once you know what you're spending your money on, you can figure out what you don't need to spend it on - and sock those savings away.

“Every month you have to pay yourself first,” says Joe Moglia, CEO of Ameritrade.

“Take a little out of your paycheck”. It doesn't have to be much - it could be foregoing that extra latte or getting the DVD free at the library. For an easy budgeting tool, go to www.saygoodcredit.com.

Retirement. Just about every survey of American investors these days shows that retirement is a main reason for saving. Yet an astounding number of people ignore the opportunities offered by employment-based retirement plans. According to a recent survey by Aon Consulting, more than 20% of those eligible for a retirement plan do not participate at all, while another 53% do not save at a rate high enough to take full advantage of their employers' matching contribution - the closest thing to free money in the retirement savings universe. Consider it money that grows without being taxed.

Emergency reserves. Many financial planners recommend that you have enough money in a savings or money-market account for at least six to nine months of essential expenses, including your mortgage or rent, insurance premiums, credit card payments, utility and grocery bills and other fixed expenses, such as car payments or student loans.

And it's always a good idea to have cash on hand. During the blackout of 2003, the ATMs in my neighborhood were out, but we had about N500 in the house, enough to cover our immediate needs for a week or so.

A major illness, an extended disability or the loss of a job could wipe out your financial reserves and any prospect of being able to save enough to achieve your other life goals. Here's what you need to protect your savings: Health insurance. A recent study of court records and direct interviews indicated that about half of personal bankruptcies in the U.S. are

caused in part by medical debts.

A relative of mine is about to have her hip replaced and because she's over 65, Medicare is paying for it. But people under that age face enormous bills when a child needs an appendectomy, for instance - and many of them lack insurance.

If your company provides medical benefits, you have the most cost-efficient coverage available. Sign up.

Disability insurance. You may already have disability insurance through your employee benefits plan, either as paid sick leave or actual disability payments if you're unable to work for an extended period of time. But these programs tend to pay far less

than your monthly salary. For the self-employed, having a financial safety net is even more crucial.

Life insurance. If you die prematurely, a life-insurance policy will provide immediate funds for funeral expenses, and may help replace your lost income. "Life insurance isn't a priority if you are single, but if you have a spouse or dependents, you want to make sure they're taken care of," says Barbara Raasch. Employers frequently offer coverage as part of their benefits package.

One of the most thoughtful legacies that anyone can leave is peace of mind.

A will. Over half of the adult population in this country dies

Underlying Security: The security subject to being purchased or sold upon exercise of the option contract.

Valuation: Process by which an investor determines the worth of a security using risk and return concept.

without a will. This is not just senseless; it's downright irresponsible. If you die intestate, or without a will, says Karin Barkhorn, an estate planning attorney at Bryan Cave LLP, "the state determines how your assets are dispersed." What's more, the government could end up collecting a lot more tax than necessary.

A living will. Also known as a health care directive, a living will specifies what medical measures should be used to keep you alive if you are incapacitated. Health care providers are generally required to comply with the wishes you describe in your living will.

Durable Power of Attorney. This document authorises a loved one to make financial decisions on your behalf should you become unable. It allows someone to renew your CD at the bank, pay bills, sell stock or even sell your home or business, based on the agent's determination of what is best for you.

“If you are in the hospital and cannot pay your bills or sign a check, someone will have to do it,” says Raasch. “If any of your assets are held in your name only, your spouse can't touch that money unless the court appoints him guardian. The emotional turmoil of your loved ones having to go to court will only add to your misery.”

Although it's best to have these documents prepared by a family-law attorney, you can cover the basics on your own with software such as Quicken's WillMaker Plus or Kiplinger's WillPower.

(Culled from Reader's Digest)

What to look out for in choosing your bank (I) Glossary on banking and finance terms (IV)

C

hoosing the right bank is an important step. As with any financial decision, it's important to figure out what you want and need beforehand. There are countless banks to considersome nationwide and some localand there are also credit unions, which some people opt to use instead of or in addition to banks for their savings and credit needs.

Here are a few things to consider before you open an account: Location. Does the financial institution have branches in the areas where you work and live?

Quote Work is hard if you’re paid to do it, and it’s pleasure if you pay to be allowed to do it - Finley Peter Dunne

Availability of ATMs. The ATMs owned by your bank won't charge you to withdraw cash, but other banks' ATMs will. Does the financial institution have machines in locations that are convenient for you?

Hours: Do you work during the day? Perhaps, you need a financial institution with extended hours; some are even open on Sundays.

Customer service: Do their customer service offerings fit your needs?

Online banking: The Internet has made it very convenient to keep track of your finances online.

Find out if the institution you're considering provides online access to your account.

Credit unions are an option: Credit unions differ from banks in several ways. They're designed to serve a particular group or neighborhood, and users are members rather than customers.

Warrant: An option for a longer period of time giving the buyer the right to buy a number of shares of common stock in a company at a specified price for a specified period of time.

Window Dressing: Financial adjustments made solely for the purpose of accounting presentation, normally at the time of auditing of company accounts.

Yield (Internal rate of Return): The compound annual rate of return earned by an investment Yield to Maturity: The rate of return yield by a bond held to maturity when both compound interest payments and the investor's capital gain or loss on the security are taken into account.

Zero Coupon Bond: A bond with no coupon that is sold at a deep discount from par value.

(Concluded)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

B

Nnaji’s resignation and its implications (II)

ut since this is the policy of this administration, which is set to sell 11 distribution and 6 generating companies in the power sector, we demand that the sales meet the highest standards of transparency, credibility and accountability, so that the Nigerian public is not given a double whammy. It certainly could not have been so with Nnaji there and overseeing the process as power minister.

Two companies linked to Nnaji had participated in the privatisation process and made bids to buy two of the companies up for sale. One is Geometrics Power Limited, his pocket company and of which he is chairman, which had a minority share in Eastern Electric Nigeria Limited, that had put in a bid for the Enugu Distribution Company; the other is O & M Solutions of Pakistan, a member of one of the consortiums bidding for the purchase of Afam power station, which had worked as a contractor for Geometrics Power.

Nnaji said he had notified both the president and the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) of these facts, and had even excused himself of participation in the

bids evaluation process. He also said that he had resigned as chairman of Geometrics and transferred his shares to a blind trust. That may be so.

But what we find hard to swallow is his claim that he had no

“

No. We see in this affair a clear intention by Nnaji to take advantage of his position as minister of power, by virtue of which he is a member of NCP, to influence the privatisation process in his favour in order to corner a juicy company he had his eyes on prior knowledge of the bids by these two companies, and that he became aware of them only during the evaluation work. The Nigerian public may be gullible, but this claim by Nnaji amounts, almost, to insulting our intelligence.

The fact that his staff and nominee participated fully in the evaluation of the three bids for

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”

Afam and that the only company put forward as having passed the technical evaluation tests was the very same consortium in which he had interest make him his own first doubter of his claimed ignorance or innocence.

No. We see in this affair a clear intention by Nnaji to take advantage of his position as minister of power, by virtue of which he is a member of NCP, to influence the privatisation process in his favour in order to corner a juicy company he had his eyes on.

His behaviour is a reflection of the lack in Nigeria of high standards of conduct in public life. But it is much more than this. We believe that there are, in his behaviour, all the elements of a fraudulent conduct. And we join other Nigerians in calling for a thorough investigation of the entire affair. Not only that. We also demand a thorough probe of Nnaji’s tenure as power minister.

For long, privatisation in this country has meant almost direct stealing. Those in positions of authority, aided by those in charge of the process, sell public institutions to themselves. A stop must be put to such outright robbery. And we would like to see an example made of Nnaji.

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, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

By Osahon Uwagboe

T

o my dismay, I find that the average Nigerian is still averse to the use of the car seat belt. This is really disturbing to me and begging for answers. I mean, if they wear one it is mostly so that they do not run afoul of the law.

Thus I wonder that the value of the car seat belt is lost on the majority of Nigerians even after the reintroduction of the seat belt through enlightenment and enforcement, by the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) organization a few years ago. But then, it could be that a safety device may in fact not be safe indeed.

Ideally, a car seat belt is designed for a number of reasons: keep people from being lunged in a vehicle, one does not hit the face on the dash board, or get projected out of the front windscreen; in the event of a somersault, do not get flung out of the window and so on. Also, it has been said that it keeps one in place even in the event of impact from an external force. But more importantly, look at the physics of wearing a seat belt: the seatbelt is to stop you with the car so that your stopping distance is probably 4 or 5 times greater than if you had no seat belt. Moreover, it’s been shown that seat belts reduce crash – related injuries and deaths by 50%.I think these are sufficiently credible reasons for any person to wear a belt.

Now, I will share a life experience of the implications of not wearing a seat belt; and this cements my support for the use of the safety belt.

It is about an accident I was involved in together with two of my siblings-my immediate younger brother and sister- as well as my Dad. He was doing the morning school run when suddenly the

By Dele Akinola

T

he comrade governor was, several weeks ago, returned for a second term by the good, united people of Edo State. Broomwielding Adams Oshiomhole, posting a sweeping performance, inflicted a crushing defeat on ethnic politics and electoral tearing apart the stranglehold of a most intimidating combination of fearsome political god-fathers. And the Heartbeat of the Nation erupted in spontaneous state-wide jubilation, unhindered by the inclemency of weather.

Some observers, though, sought to despise the governor and his landslide victory with some sarcastic reference to his unnecessary alarm on the integrity of the electoral process in the early hours of election day.

Recent media reports also described some helmsmen of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as contemplating legal actions against the governor for making uncomplimentary remarks about them on same occasion.

On the surface of it, one would have been tempted to take up the gauntlet on the side of both groups.

But from hindsight, Oshio Baba could hardly be faulted after all.

Once bitten, they say, twice shy. Recent history of events in the electoral terrain in the country is also a hard teacher. The mindboggling and disgraceful tragiccomedy that was the judiciary-

PAGE 13

Reintroduce the seat belt oncoming vehicle swerved to our lane, and we had to swerve to avoid a head on collision; as a consequence we hit a culvert. The impact was great and my immediate younger brother who sat in the front passenger seat hit his face on the dash board and immediately lost some of his teeth; I hit my knee on the back seat, and I had to wear plaster of Paris cast (p.o.p) on my right leg for some days :I was under observation for I had complained of pain as a consequence of the impact of my knees on the back of the car seat. All this happened to us because we were not strapped. My sister was lucky, she somehow just made a side impact with her body.

Thus, if we were wearing the belt all these would not have happened. But regrettably, even after this particular incident I still did not wear a seat belt; for the significance of the belt had not dawned on one then. Somehow the seat belt was too high for us then: when someone wore one, we-the general public- normally saw it as overdoing it. I mean people then-in the early 1980’s- who used to wear the seat belt were those ‘had been to’: gone abroad and had now returned.

They knew the significance of it for they had lived with it. Somehow, despite all the positive benefits of wearing a seat belt we normally do not like to wear one. Thankfully, the FRSC recently reintroduced in it the year 2005 with enforcement of sanctions for violators, such that people now wear one with an element of fear; and that makes them wear one despite themselves.

Thus, I would have thought that

by now wearing a car seat belt would be second nature to all. But unfortunately people are still being pushed like babies: pushed to protect their lives on the road.

Ideally, people should not have to be told to wear one, they should just know this naturally, for this device naturally exists in any modern car and expectedly the manual is there to instruct as to the purpose for the seatbelt. So, I expect that any reasonable person should appreciate that this device is not for fancy but has been placed in the car to protect life. Yet this normally seems to be too high for us to do - human beings generally.

To consider some of the reasons that are normally floated for the non-use of the seat belt, and these indeed cut across the entire spectrum .Incredibly, people would usually on siting the traffic officials

or because they know they are normally are around a particular corner, immediately wear one.

Thus, they only wear it so as not to get fined and all that. Their usual reason: it is an inconvenience. So they simply don’t appreciate the value of the belt for they consider it to be an imposition. Admittedly, I appreciate the fact that strapping oneself is quite an inconvenience especially at the initial point of usage. Also, it has the psychological feeling of being in bondage or being trapped. But then this is a positive inconvenience. But then I wonder what sort of inconvenience there is in just taking one or two minutes to strap oneself, after all, the seat belt is in the vehicle vis a vis the value that the seat belt holds in saving their lives in accident situations.

Besides, it’s a one – size fits all device (modern). To me, this attitude is

“

Intriguingly, beyond these reasons, it seems that the average or poor man is just destined to die. I mean, in Lagos state, for example, there is virtually no commercial bus in which both the driver and passengers wear seatbelts. It is as if they are in another world; in some of the buses, the mini buses or there is no such thing. It is as if only the driver can wear one if they choose to, the others don’t have any chance. They mostly sit on seats made of wooden plank: no space for the seat belt

just indiscipline or perhaps out of the hurry which generally characterizes life in Nigeria especially in Lagos.

Interestingly, some say that they only need to wear one for fast driving where there is the possibility of an accident; and that’s when they are mostly on the high way. This is quite misguided. The point about the highway is correct, but then the value of the belt goes beyond high speed and that is why some will say ,I am just going down the road and so on, so no need to put it on. In this connection, the belt is of value even when one is not in motion.

Intriguingly, beyond these reasons, it seems that the average or poor man is just destined to die. I mean, in Lagos state, for example, there is virtually no commercial bus in which both the driver and passengers wear seatbelts. It is as if they are in another world; in some of the buses, the mini buses or there is no such thing. It is as if only the driver can wear one if they choose to, the others don’t have any chance. They mostly sit on seats made of wooden plank: no space for the seat belt.

The common thread that runs through all this is that people are generally unenlightened about the use of the seat belt; they have no, so far, caught the spirit of the seat belt or the value in it. I mean, I expect every person to do this as second nature immediately they get into the seat of a vehicle. This is not something that people should debate.

Osahon Uwagboe wrote in from Lagos

Bringing down electoral terrorism ordered governorship election partial re-run in Ekiti State in April, 2009 was instructive. If you can’t win it,capture it!

That precisely was what was achieved in the programmed electoral ambush, the vote-ware programmers capturing the exact number of votes they had boasted to amass in each of the ten local governments in dispute. That was in spite of the conviction of 74-yearold REC Mama Ayoka’s conscience as a christian. The endless drama trailing that inglorious incident would occupy a place of primacy in Nigeria’s Hall of Infamy.

The build-up to last July 14, 2012 Edo State governorship election followed similar path.

Independent media reports first quoted state Peoples Democratic Party chairman, Dan Orbih, as announcing that the party had a duty to do everything possible to reclaim the state. He insisted on such because President Goodluck Jonathan, on account of his 2015 ambition, could not afford not to have his entire South-South in his pocket.

Political juggernaut, Chief Tony Anehin, also on the authority of independent media, was reported to have rolled out the exact figures and percentages of votes that would be captured in each local government area and senatorial district. It is instructive

to note that PDP bigwig and Niger Delta leader, Chief Edwin Clark, sensing another disgraceful perpetration of electoral terrorism, and in a rare demonstration of statesmanship, cautioned against anyone moving to rig the election for the president.

Then election day came, with INEC coming up with some seeming revolutionary and reassuring steps. But curiously, electoral materials started the day putting up some theatrical hideand-seek performances, especially in those areas where the big chief had programmed the highest number of votes. So why would the one who went through excruciating torture to reclaim his initial stolen mandate not raise an alarm, necessary or unnecessary?

What was not only unnecessary but also reproachable, however, was the recurring over-celebration, by presidential aides, cabinet members and party stalwarts, of President Jonathan’s generosity in over-seeing what was close to a free and fair election. It is disheartening the way we make so much bravado in this country about feats which in other climes are not only matters of course but also taken for granted The minimum expectation of the office of the president is to organize credible elections. In two of the last three

presidential elections in neighbouring Ghana, an incumbent president had presided over the defeat of his own party.

Presidential media aide, Reuben Abati, celebrated the presidential =feat carpeting, along the line, most Nigerians who, according to him, were wont to see an election to be free and fair “only when the PDP has lost. That was a rigged truth.

The 2011 presidential election which the overwhelming majority of Nigerians, including the press, observers, commentators, activists, most political opponents and road-side analysts, adjudged to be free and fair was won by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP. Information Minister, Labaran Maku, in his own celebration, would want Nigerian to swallow his sermon that the most important aspect in the electoral process is the acceptance of defeat. No, sir! That was a rhetorical homily to prepare the ground for coercing the people into submission after possible future electoral abracadabra. The most important issue in the electoral process is the organization of free, fair, credible, transparent and acceptable election, shutting out ignoble operations of what could be labeled Local Electoral Terrorist Organizations.

The overall status of the Edo governorship election 2012 was

only a testimonial to our capability to organize credible election if only we could muster the political will.

But it was a thing of damning shame that we still needed to deploy thousands of World War-prepared soldiers for a civil programme which in other climes are accomplished in the course of normal daily routine of personal and national life. So the credit in this particular case goes to the good people of Edo State and their resoluteness in rising, in one accord, in stout and uncompromising defence of democratic ideals.

Equally of soothing interest was the overall conduct of INEC which was beginning, gradually, to assert its implied independence. It was to its credit that it admitted there truly were disturbing lapses on election day which need to be fully investigated and addressed, especially as we close in on the October 2012 Ondo State governorship election.

The ruling PDP, just like all other ruling parties at lower levels, including the marginalized ones, has every moral, political and constitutional right to win and lose elections in Nigeria. But whenever anyone makes a claim to electoral victory, let it be victory won, not victory captured.

Dele Akinola is reachable on www.facebook.com/ dele.akinola

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Dankwambo’s pragmatic youth empowerment agenda (II)

By M. L. Ismail

B

ut as a precursor to the takeoff of the programme was the dreaded Kalare boys response to government call for submission of weapons and repentance.

However, the 1,200 rehabilitated youths was actually a blend of the targeted kalare group and decent but unemployed youths who saw the scheme as a window of employment.

“This administration shall continue with this programme, skills acquisition training and many more that will come into operation until we are able to reduce restiveness, unemployment and poverty in our midst. Our commitment shall not waver because we are aware that human development is the foundation of all development,” said Governor Dankwambo while answering the question these programmes would be continuous or window dressing as obtained in the past.

Speaking of the rehabilitation programme, Alhaji Sani Labaran Mijinyawa, the Commissioner of Youths Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation declared that Marshals would henceforth form the pool for selection into the army, and other security agencies from the state. He added that over three hundred of them have been sent for leadership training in Plateau

By Emmanuel Aluede he resignation of the Minister of Power, Barth Nnaji, has taken to the airwaves like the aliens have landed from Mars on Earth. Most commentators are praising His Excellency, President Goodluck Jonathan, herein as Mr. President, for taking a decisive and bold step to prevent the collapse of the ONLY legacy he hopes to achieve by the time he leaves office. This praise comes under the disguise of “conflict of Interest” sin committed by the Hon. Minister of Power.

I personally question the rational and behind the scenes complications of this matter. I remain a strong advocate of looking at all sides to a story logically and reasonably, especially more so where no facts exists. During my brief meeting with the Minister of Information in London, United Kingdom, a fortnight ago at the SAND’s Nigeria Diaspora Youth Leadership Summit, participants challenged Alhaji Labaran-Maku on the lack of information from the gov’t. They further explained that they had to depend on information from social media. In response, the Honourable Minister threw back the challenge to the participants to help the gov’t fashion the best approach to reach out to Nigerians using social media.

First, I would like to use this medium, rather than make a direct contact with the Hon. Minister, to point out that Mr. President is not being helped by the numerous Public Relations Advisers or whatever title they are called. The resignation of a Minister of government is of great public interest without any shadow of

T

state. automatically be admitted into Dankwambo while responding to Interestingly, the Talba youth course of their choice. Those who question of the sustainability of the empowerment programme is not pass the remedial examination but programme. only directly geared towards fail to meet the UME cut-off point of To further strengthen the enhancing the wellbeing of those 180 will rewrite the JME while the remediation process, Gombe State without formal education, but all- entrance results are maintained. University’s School of Basic and encompassing. In this regard, this UNIMAID on the other hand has Remedial Studies has been piece will be expanded and incomplete without split into two the mention of the campuses collaboration with located at Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text University of Kumo and M a i d u g u r i Dukku towns messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written (UNIMAID) to in Akko and contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 mop-up the Dukku local words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and teeming youths government a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed whose academic areas. Akko to: pursuit are at the campus has verge of being a l r e a d y The Editor, truncated by their taken-off in Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, inability to obtain earnest and it 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. the required is designed to Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com number of credit cater for pass for tertiary 4,500 in three SMS: 07037756364 education or the years, that is, inability to scored 1,500 per the required cut-off mark in Joint undertaken to introduce diploma session.

Matriculation Examination and other certificate courses to The school has now been (UTME). absorb those that fail both the repackaged to remediate Senior Under this arrangement, remedial and JME entrance Secondary School graduate in candidates are admitted into the examinations. preparation for a tertiary University system but take remedial One thousand candidates have education as well remediate the lectures at Education Resource written the UNIMAID remedial Junior Secondary School Centre in Gombe under the examinations and forms have been graduates and then do a full guidance of UNIMAID staff and sold for another set. “It is one of the remedial for them in readiness for electronically take the same youth programmes that we have entry into a university or entrance examination as their introduced and will sustain till polytechnic. colleagues on campus. anytime when the pressure of The School of Basic and Candidates who pass their solving the problem of this category Remedial Studies has also been entrance and UTME would of youths is reduced,” said Governor designed in such a way that

WRITE TO US

students who may not want to proceed with education will proceed to undergo training on trade, a business, a profession or a vocation in the school. In the same vein, sporting facilities are also provided in the institution so that students who are not inclined to academics or trade can go into sports.

In furtherance of the Talba Youth Empowerment Programme through education, the Governor in his usual good judgment has begun the process of establishing a state owned College of Education at Billiri in Billiri local government area of Gombe state with the ultimate aim of breeding qualified teachers and putting eternal end to the perennial dearth of qualified teachers in the state once and for all.

Like in every other sector, Governor Dankwambo’s activities in the area of education are innumerable, desirable and commendable. But the joy of it all is that he still keep them coming in.

Yet “it is still like we have not started,” said the Governor while performing a public function; he has also proven that “it is not the amount of money a state gets that matters, but how well it is managed and used for the betterment of the people and state.”

Concluded M. L. Ismail writes from Bolari Quarters in Gombe metropolis.

The matter of ‘conflict of interest’ doubt. What Nigerians and Nigeria press got from the President’s Special Adviser on this issue was a sketchy press release. This is an insult to the integrity of the President and by large to the Nigerian people. If professional people with a great deal of experience, knowledge, skills and competences are around Mr. President this could have been avoided.

Yes, he has worked in Nigerian media but yet he doesn’t know what is best. Not just President Jonathan but also previous Presidents and Head of States. If they did Nigeria would be far better off than it is today. Thanks to social media, Nigerians have become more exposed and knowledgeable.

Their quest for information is like never before. They are like a drunk who desires more drink. The lack of information on the full story behind the resignation or sacking (as reported in some cases) of the Hon. Minister of Power is helping various commentators to have their day on the social media. Hon. Minister of Information, Alhaji Labaram Maku here is an opportunity to help put things right. Your office, as a matter of priority, needs to draw up government policies on how different type of information (depending on the content and the criteria of “public interest” etc.) is to be made available to different sections of government, the press, Nigerians and international communities.

For example, the resignation of a Minister in my view demands a public press conference from the Minister himself with a follow on with a press release from the

Minister’s office. This will save Mr. President lots of embarrassment.

Now to the main content of my write up, yes the Minister resigned or rather was sacked. Today, we have read that the President asked him to resign. That is a polite way to tell somebody he has been sacked in order to save their “left-over honour.” To me it doesn’t matter how it has been approached. I am more concerned about the ministerial code (if any) that demands all Ministers, Special Advisers and officials to the government must declare their interests before they assume office.

Where are the appropriate checks carried out to prevent people like Dr. Okupe with a fraudulent past to assume high office? These are the reasons why we still have criminals and incompetent people running the affairs of our country.

Until, we as individuals expose people who have brought this country to her knees we will NEVER know or see progress. Having said this, I believe if the President had requested his Ministers, Advisers and other officials to declare their interests especially in regards to their appointment, then any conflict would have been addressed prior to their appointment.

In this case, I conclude that Mr. President was not aware of the conflict of interest of Prof.

Bartholomew Nnaji prior to his appointment, hence his reason to demand for his immediate resignation. This scenario I would like to question because I understand that Prof. Nnaji was previously the Special Adviser on Power to Mr. President before his appointment as Minister of Power. And, before then,

he held the position of Minister of Science and Technology.

Mr. President clearly needs to clarify what he was aware of and not aware of. I have read from good authority that Mr. President’s choice of Prof. Nnaji was based on his works in the power sector for some eastern states through his private company. If Prof. Nnaji has truly informed Mr. President of the conflict prior to his appointment as an adviser on power and subsequently as a Minister of Power, then Mr. President must have been forced to change his mind only because of the public outcry and other forces at work. If this is the case, I can only conclude that our President is weak. I believe he must have accepted, prior to Prof.

Nnaji’s appointment, that his conflict was of a lesser significance in contrast to the achievement of his vision on the transformation of the power sector.

I would like to use this opportunity to clarify that Mr. President and his Vice President have the power to make this call in the interest of the nation. If this was what he felt, he needed to do two things: a) Enlighten the rest of the cabinet and members of the National Assembly who I believe should have been aware of Prof.

Nnaji’s conflict at the time of his vetting on the assembly floor. Mr. President should as a matter of necessity explained this position to the people/electorate. All this, if done, would have saved both Mr. President and Prof. Nnaji the embarrassment they have faced in the last few days. b) Mr. President should have taken the

position that Prof. Nnaji will not and should not be involved or have a say in any matters where his conflict of interest may arise either directly or indirectly.

This agreement should have been firmed up prior to his confirmation as a Minister. Like in this case in question, which the Minister now feels, he had been caught with his pants down. In my views, if these were handled in a transparent and accountable manner, Prof. Nnaji could have been allowed to continue his position freely with this firm agreement in place. It would have been Mr. President’s call to take a position or stand when a situation of a conflict of interest arises. Prof.

Nnaji would have had to carry out or implement that decision or call to his best of abilities. I would like to add that all serving political appointees had a life before their appointment. It is ONLY logical that they return to that life at the end of their public service.

The most important thing is that they should not be seen to have used public service to feather their own nests.. If Mr. President was not aware of the conflict of Interest caused by the appointment of Prof. Nnaji, then there are lots of questions for Mr. President to address. I leave my readers and political commentators to have a field day with their questions. I ask Mr. President to tell the Nigerian public on what basis he makes his political appointments – along party line, on ‘man know man’, competency etc?

Emmanuel Aluede lives in Northampton, UK

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

By Justine John Dyikuk

T

he tragic news went viral on radio, print and electronic media as well as the Internet of the brutal murder of Cynthia Osokogu, a retired Major General’s daughter, a post-graduate student of Nassarawa State University and upcoming merchant. It made the rounds that the star-crossed lady was last seen on July 22, 2012 before being lured to Lagos via BBM chat on a purported business deal only to raped, strangled and murdered in cold blood by alleged cyber-criminals.

This surely, is a heavy sword in the hearts of Cynthia’s parents, siblings, friends and the entire nation even as her funeral is slated for September 7, as well the second appearance of the four suspects in court on October 3, 2012, respectively.

One does not need to know the Lady in question before one opines that her sad end which was occasioned by suspected netcriminals, calls for a collective responsibility and urgent steps to nip cyber-crimes in the bud. But first, what is cyber-crime? Simply put, cyber-crime is computer crime. The Online Free Wikipedia defines it as, “…any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target.” It conceives net-crime as the criminal exploitation of the Internet. (Cf., en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/computer_crime). All who use the media of Mass communication should realize that crimes like this includes; the misuse of the computer

PAGE 15

Cynthia, cyber-criminals and conscience (sending impossible viruses so you could buy anti-virus produced by same criminals), traditional crime as in fraud or illegal gambling and sharing illegal or stolen information.

(Cf., www.cybercitizenship.org/ crime/crime.)

Cyber-crimes are, “offenses that are committed against individuals or groups of individuals with a criminal motive to intentionally harm the reputation of the victim or cause physical or mental harm to the victim directly or indirectly, using modern telecommunication networks such as Internet (chat rooms, emails, notice boards and groups) and mobile phones.” (Cf., Halder, D., & Jaishankar, K (2011) Cyber crime and the victimization of women: Laws, Rights, and Regulation., Hersey, PA, USA: IGI Global). Cyber criminals indulge in information cracking and hacking, child pornography and copy right infringement.

One temptation is to underestimate the devilish potentials of cyber-crime/criminals.

The attitude of many a Nigerian is, “how does it concern me? I don’t own a computer, I only make calls with my hand set; I am not on Facebook, Twitter, email, LinkedIn and other such social utilities.” Read this please: In an article captioned “Nigerian Cyber criminals target smartphones users now, dated August 16th by one Vinay Madhav, TNN in The Times of India, the writer confesses, “now Nigerian

cyber criminals are arriving in new avatars – targeting your smartphones. The spammers offer a solution to those who wish to eavesdrop on other’s phones.” This is to tell the reader the level people have gone to criminalize our digital world.

This description is nothing but apt of the nightmare of this innocent victim. The writer believes many Nigerians have fallen prey to this IT ‘evil-geniuses.’ Recently, I was very busy so I hadn’t time to be going on Facebook, tweeting or emailing. To my greatest surprise, I started receiving phone calls from my friends; “I have sent the recharge card. Did you receive it?” I was shocked to my bone marrow because I had not asked anyone for anything.

As I was attempting to go online, I got a call that I have not recovered from!

A friend-caller said, I got a message from you asking for airtime and as soon as I replied, “who are? I know Father cannot ask me for a thing like this,” the person went offline. Please check your Facebook chats.” I started sweating and immediately went to my Facebook account. Guess what? Access denied.

I tried my email, an effort in futility.

To cut the long story short, my two accounts were hacked and passwords changed. Calls came from seven friends who had sent airtime worth seven thousand to my ‘pseudo friend’ who claimed he had very urgent international calls to make. The rest is history…

If one may ask, where is the place

of conscience, which St. Thomas Aquinas calls sinderesis, “a natural power of the soul, set in the highest part thereof, moving and stirring it to good, and abhorring evil”? It appears we have thrown integrity to the waste bin, sacrificed morality on the altar of materialism and popularity has taken the place of principle. What an e-world!

The effects of cybercrime are all around us namely, trespassing on: • The integrity of individuals • Privacy and confidentiality • Businesses and financial health of both individuals and corporate organizations • National and international security This is where urgent steps need to be taken by the government and well-meaning persons to bring this social menace to a halt. Be it yahoo, 419, IT super-intelligence, or simply cyber gimmicks, these crimes must be stopped. The forceful death of this lady should prompt government to pass an urgent executive bill for Cybercrime legislation. The office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice should, in this matter, make haste while the sun shines. It would be recalled that the National Parliament has introduced six similar private member bills without seeing the light of day. One hopes that this one does not meet the same fate!

One wonders whether Senator David Mark’s recent call, at a twoday retreat for Press Corps in

Umuahia, Abia State, to check the use of social media will still be relevant to this loss; but far from proscribing (social media) it as an unwitty action like that in a democracy that preaches freedom of information, will be heading for the rocks.

We need cyber security or protection and this could only come about with advancement in our IT technology and borrowing a leaf from experts. With cybercrime legislation, IT intelligence, security expertise, listening to the voice of conscience, perhaps cyber criminals would be out of business. We must not shy away from the issue of ensuring that our youth are gainfully employed and directed to use their ingenuity for the good of all. Parents should check the kind of social utilities their children use and how, where they go to and the type of friends they keep.

Watch out! That Blackberry might just be black burial. God forbid!

Kudos to the police and security agencies for being on top of the situation namely, spotting the supposed killers of this young woman of Delta State extraction. While we pray for the peaceful repose of her soul and repentance of the suspects and their likes, more should be done to save lives, wealth and integrity!

A clarion call: may cybercriminals never dull our consciences, Fr. Justine John DYIKUK, a Catholic priest, wrote in from CIWA, Port Harcourt, Rivers state!

have the Nigerian real estate and related associations, financial institutions sponsored and gotten passed? The seminars and conferences are hardly educational as the content of what is offered hardly meets the medium requirements for continuing education credit. Excuse me, Nigeria is not keyed in yet on continuing education credits to advance one’s knowledge and relevance in their profession.

While visiting Nigeria recently, I had discussion with a civil engineer in the construction industry to appraise his views on the nature and condition of civil projects in Nigeria. When asked how come the condition of finished projects are usually poor [workmanship]? He said they built what the architect designed and bricklayer laid. When I posited that it would be nice to have conventions of all in the building industry to discuss these issues including the brick layers/masons, and other artisans, he will not have it.

Reacting: How can he attend convention with such persons?

There you have it.

Every Nigerian lives in a bubble, segmented and separated by airy sense of superiority that has no basis in actuality. The real estate industry is not just about the physical aspects of the project. It is also about the organized and well managed processes that continues to drive and ensures its continuity.

No one sector is dominant, except of course the land on which the physical building sits. And land as Nigerians hug it, is a touchy subject endured by tribal sentiments and laws that tend to minimize its use due to ownership challenges.

Well developed and managed land use practices are evidence of

effective leadership of any successful government or nation. When there is chaos in land use practices, chances are the country in question is undeveloped and its leadership headless. It’s hard to separate real estate with what one sees in Nigeria government attitudes; chaos with perennial situation further hampered by the people’s lackluster attitudes aided in whole by weak legislations, lacking and limited enforcements.

Land use zoning laws and regulations, two of the most known land use tools developed in US in the 20s, are a framework for effective land use and economic development agenda. In Nigeria, land use laws and regulations, are a sham; practically non-existent. Abuja was conceived and started as a case study on how to build a functional municipality. Today, Abuja has been damaged by preferential treatments FCT administrators are known and alleged to adopt as their modus operandi. What was drawn on paper as Abuja is a far cry from what exists today on the ground.

And many experts on new town development bet that in a few years, Abuja land use will become a clog in the wheel of progress.

Lagos whose land use plan preceded Hong Kong because Governor General Lord Lugard took the plan of Lagos and set it in his new territory Hong Kong today is considered by many foreign and domestic experts as the ‘most expensive slum’ in the world. This view has been echoed by CNN. Here is an excerpt on Lagos from a book: Africa, Altered States and Ordinary Miracles by Richard Dowden with foreword by Nigeria very own Chinua Achebe.

Nigeria has a terrible reputation. Tell anyone that you are going to Nigeria and if they haven’t been there themselves, they offer sympathy. Tell anyone who has been to Nigeria and they laugh. Then they offer sympathy.

No tourists go there. Only companies rich enough to keep their staff removed from the realities of Nigerian life do business there. And big companies rarely

mention Nigeria in their annual reports for fear of what it will do to their share price. Journalists treat it like war zone. Diplomats regard it as a punishment posting.

Everyone has a Nigeria story from beyond the normal bound of credibility. Some are terrifying.

Most are funny. Nigerian politicians try to pretend that its bad image is some Western conspiracy against Nigeria and Africa. The truth is that Nigeria’s popular image falls short of the reality. It is not just white visitors who fear it. A Ghanaian cab driver in London had this to say about Lagos. ‘I lived in Lagos once. Give me a million - a billion pounds’ I would not go back there. Never! It is the most terrible place in the world’. Lagos is the heart of Nigeria and its gateway to the world, vast, ugly, sweaty, traffic-jammed, smog-choked, Lagos is a cauldron of superlatives all fighting each other, a frenzy of hustling humanity scrabbling for survival.

‘The land of no tomorrow’ is how one Nigerian journalist described Nigeria.

Fair or foul, one thing stands out about Nigeria and Nigerians, their reputation even among fellow Nigerians is shot and for Westerners, some out of courtesy say nice things. No denying that what exists on the ground starting with Nigeria real estate is a depressing physical condition that makes even the most ardent supporter feels they are duped. Can good changes occur? Of course, as most things are possible but the probability is a tougher proof. Some believe the Sun can rise from the west; it may just be by an act of God or for the believers, more prayers.

Ejike E Okpa II wrote in from Dallas, Texas, USA.

Engaging foreign investment for Nigerian real etate

By Ejike E. Okpa II

W

hat Nigerians fail to understand is that engaging both domestic and foreign investors and institutions for Nigeria real estate sector, is not by hosting conferences and seminars often on a narrow scope. As a matter of fact, Nigeria can host conferences every day and some abroad. The core issues holding Nigeria back are structural, bad reputation abroad, and a government leadership that is highly seen as ineffective and with business and professional sectors that are less sophisticated in engaging the government entities to make issues that burden growth manageable.

Do the math on housing: It’s hard in any given year to see 100,000 housing units built in Nigeria via government sponsored projects and programs, an average of 2,777 units per state, given Nigeria 36 states. While there are many announcements and government officials deceiving the public with contract awards, nothing checks out on actual count.

If anyone knows a state that has delivered 2,777 housing units annually, let them share the information. By having federal and state governments directly building houses, does very little to alleviate the dire housing needs, but again, the private sector is unsophisticated because they are clamped by ineffectual programs and land acquisition process that are onerous and corrupt.

Since many have become purveyors of conferences and seminars on real estate and related subjects, it would be great to know since 1999, how many legislations

“

Every Nigerian lives in a bubble, segmented and separated by airy sense of superiority that has no basis in actuality. The real estate industry is not just about the physical aspects of the project. It is also about the organized and well managed processes that continues to drive and ensures its continuity. No one sector is dominant, except of course the land on which the physical building sits. And land as Nigerians hug it, is a touchy subject endured by tribal sentiments and laws that tend to minimize its use due to ownership challenges

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Fulani leader appeals to AMAC for social amenities

By Usman Shuiabu

T

The front of Utako motor park crowded with make-shift shops in Jabi, Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

he Chief of Tudun Fulani, Dei-Dei in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Muhammadu Gwandabe has appealed to AMAC Chairman, Hon. Micah Jiba to focus on developmental projects in the area.

He alleged that since the chairman assumed the leadership of the area council, nothing had been done to boost socio-economic activities in Tudun Fulani.

He further said that the people of Tudun Fulani, DeiDei had been neglected in the area of electricity supply as well as potable drinking water and urged the chairman to curb the situation.

Gwandabe, who made the appeal while speaking to Peoples Daily in his palace in Tudun Fulani, urged the AMAC chairman to build a

Man pours hot water on wife over alleged adultery Stories by NAN

A

21-year-old man, Innocent Akpan of Kado village, Abuja, was yesterday arraigned before a Senior Magistrates Court for pouring hot water on his wife.

Police prosecutor, Clement Egwu told the court that on August 29, 2012, the wife of

the accused, Mrs Idongesit Sunday, reported the case to Life Camp Police Station.

Egwu said the accused poured hot water, which contained pepper, on the wife because of a quarrel they had when the wife found out that he was having a sexual relationship with their neighbour.

Egwu further told the court that the wife sustained serious injuries as a result of the incident and had since been hospitalised.

He said the accused was charged with causing grievous hurt and adultery contrary to provisions of Sections 247 and 387 of the Penal Code.

The accused pleaded guilty,

saying that it was the work of the devil.

Following his plea, the prosecutor urged the court to defer the sentence to September 24, 2012 to watch the victim’s response to treatment.

Senior Magistrate Abdullahi Illelah adjourned the case to September 24, 2012.

Four guards bag 170 days each in jail for negligence

F

our security men were yesterday sentenced to 170 days each in prison by an Abuja Senior Magistrates Court after they were convicted of negligence.

The security men are Mohammed Abdullahi 24, Isiaka Jikan 27, Sulaiman Yunusa 30, and Isah Ojo 25 all employees of System Properties Development Consortium, (SPDC) Wuse II, Abuja.

Police prosecutor, Sergeant Phillips Appolus, had told the court that on August 20, 2012, Malam Lawal Hussaini , the Chief Security Officer of SPDC reported the accused persons to the police.

Appolus said that the four accused where posted as security guards to the Idu Industrial Estate, Abuja, and saddled with the responsibility of protecting the company’s property.

He further told the court that “instead of the security men to do their jobs well, they conspired and allowed a thief to enter the company and made away with three length of ammon cable valued at N1.5 million’’.

The prosecutor told the court that the accused where charged with joint act and negligent conduct, which contravenes Sections 79 and 196 of the Penal Code.

The accused pleaded guilty to the charges and begged for leniency.

Following their plea, Senior Magistrate, Malam Abdullahi Illaila, sentenced them to 170 days imprisonment each.

Illaila, however, gave the convicts an option N3,800 fine each with a strict warning for them to be very observant in their work stations to avoid such lapses.

befitting hospital in the area to prevent patients from travelling to neighbouring towns for treatment.

The Fulani leader also appealed to the chairman to alleviate him to the status of the village head.

While speaking on the state of development in the FCT, Gwandabe called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed to provide infrastructural facilities to neglected villages in the FCT.

Monarch commends Gwagwalada chair over development

By Usman Shuiabu

T

he village head of SabonGari in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Yunusa Aliyu has commended Chairman of the Area Council, Hon. Zakari Angulu Dobi for focusing on people oriented projects in the area.

He also hailed the chairman for carrying traditional rulers along in the scheme of things, stressing that the administration of the council had given the necessary support to the traditional institution.

Aliyu, who made the commendation in a chat with Peoples Daily in his palace in Gwagwalada, noted that the chairman had been up to date on human development.

He therefore, called on the people of the area to continue to co-operate with him at all times to enable him succeed in his bid to develop the entire council.

Commenting on the security challenges being faced by Nigerians, Aliyu advised the people of Gwagwalada and its environs to continue to live in peace with one another irrespective of their religious differences.

Driver, accomplice allegedly abscond with master’s bus

T

wo men, Felix Patrick, 32, and Jacob Sule, 27, are facing charges before an Abuja Senior Magistrates Court for allegedly absconding with a bus entrusted to Patrick for commercial purpose.

The duo were charged to court by the police for joint act, breach of trust and cheating.

Police prosecutor, Paul Anigbo told the court that the case was reported at the Lugbe Police Station by Oladapo Ojo of Pyakasa village, Abuja on August 22, 2012.

Anigbo said that in November 2011, Ojo entrusted his Mazda bus with Reg. No. KAKO9XA to Patrick of Kuruduma village, Abuja

for commercial purpose.

He said Ojo also agreed that Patrick would remit to him the sum of N36,000 weekly.

However, the accused connived with Sule of Kuchikan, Nasarawa state and absconded with the complainants N113,000 and the Mazda bus to an unknown destination.

He said that all efforts to retrieve the money and bus from the accused proved abortive, until the bus was recovered from him.

The prosecutor said the offences contravene the provisions of Sections 79, 312 and 322 of the Penal Code, but the accused pleaded not guilty.

Chief Magistrate, Mrs Hadiza Dodo, in her ruling granted bail to each of the accused in the sum of N100,000 with one surety each in like sum.

Dodo said the sureties must reside within the jurisdiction of the court and adjourned the case to September 17, 2012 for further hearing.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 18

Ex-convict bags one year imprisonment over attempted theft

By Stanley Onyekwere

A

A man repairing his car, while his occupant (a woman) stood there watching along Area 10, Garki.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

NYSC- MDGs offers free medical treatment, drugs to Kabusa residents

By Etuka Sunday

T

he people of Kabusa have commended National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members serving under the platform of MDGs (MAC group) for their efforts in ensuring that malaria was kicked out of the community through the provision of free treatment and drugs.

This is part of the Community Development Service of the corps members, aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) of the Federal Government.

Kabusa Head, Sa-Kabusasayi

ESU, Yohana Koche, who made the commendation on behalf of the people, expressed satisfaction with the NYSC- MDGs (MAC group) for their timely intervention in the treatment of malaria and prayed to God to bless them richly in their future endeavours.

Koche, who led the people in the exercise as they file-out in their large numbers to be tested before given the treatment and the drugs, said the gesture was not the first of its kind.

According to him, the NYSCMDGs group has been very wonderful in their humanitarian services to the community.

Speaking at the event, the

representative of the Primary Healthcare Development Board (PHCDB), Mrs Ezimoha, thanked the NYSC for the initiative, adding that the fight against malaria needed a collaborative effort since the scourge is still on the rise.

Ezimoha, who represented for the Executive Secretary, FCT PHCDB, Dr. Rilwan Mohammed appealed to Kabusa community to fully ultilise the services been provided by the NYSC members to better their lives.

This was she advised the corps members to always partner with the PHCDB in such laudable initiative so that together the lives of the FCT residents would be

improved.

Earlier in his speech, the coordinator of group A, Mr. Bernard Hennuho Zofun said that the CDS group was in Kabusa to render free healthcare services to the people and to sensitize them on how to live a healthy life which he said was one of the eight goal groups of the MDGs. He thanked those who have supported the initiative especially the medical team in area of the provision of drugs and treatment.

A resident of the community, Mrs Cecilia Paul told expressed joy for the initiative and the opportunity given to her family to be part of the free health programme.

Man, 29, in court for alleged careless driving

A

29-year-old man, Mustapha Rabiu, yesterday appeared before an Abuja Magistrates Court for careless and inconsiderate driving.

Police prosecutor, Inspector, Philip Akogwu, told the court that Rabiu of No. 32 Lord

Luggard Street, Area 11, Garki, Abuja committed the offence on August 22, 2012 at Maitama Avenue, Asokoro Abuja.

He said the accused drove in a very dangerous manner, which resulted in an accident.

Akogwu said the accused, in the course of his careless driving

hit a Toyota Corolla car belonging to Mr Dick Danbaba damaging it beyond repairs.

He said the offence contravenes the provisions of Section 29 of the Road Traffic Act (RTA), but the accused pleaded not guilty to the offence.

The Magistrate, Mr Musa

Jobbo, granted the accused bail in the sum of N100,000 and two sureties in like sum who must be reliable, of a fixed address , and residing within the jurisdiction of the court.

Jobbo adjourned the case to September 19, 2012 for hearing. (NAN)

Man sentenced to two years imprisonment over employment scam

A

man, David Samson has been sentenced to two years imprisonment by a Karu Magistrates Court, Abuja for criminal conspiracy and forgery.

Samson, 25, along with Terkaa Ivase and Imochigbo Michael, all of Akwanga town in Nasarawa state, were convicted after being found guilty of the offences which contravenes Sections 97 and 364 of the Penal Code.

Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Daniel Adokbo, had told the court that Samson and two others, now at large, conspired and created a website called http:/ / www.nigeriahotrecruitmentform.com/ to fraudulently deceive young Nigerians that the Nigeria Navy was recruiting.

They also asked that interested applicants should pay some money into accounts at Diamond

Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc. After reading the mail from the website, one Mr Dahiru Haruna paid N50,000 into one of the accounts, which happened to be Samson’s personal account number.

The accused pleaded guilty but pleaded that the court should temper justice with mercy.

The prosecutor urged the magistrate to enter a summary judgment “since the accused

person has pleaded guilty. I will like a summary trial carried out based on section 157 of the Penal Code”.

The Magistrate, Mr Shuaibu Ahmed, sentenced him to one year imprisonment with an option of N5,000 fine for criminal conspiracy and another one year imprisonment without an option of fine for forgery.

In additional, the magistrate ordered that the N50,000 be refunded to Haruna.(NAN)

Gwagwalada Upper Area Court has sentenced an exconvict, Ya’u Bello, to oneyear jail term for attempting to steal from a shop belonging to one Matthew Haruna, located at Dobi, in Gwagwalada Area Council.

Bello, 25, who pleaded guilty to an allegation that he broke into Haruna’s shop at the area and attempted to steal, was tried summarily by the court pursuant to Section 157 of the Criminal Procedure Code(CPC).

Accordingly, the judge, Mr Babangida Hassan, sentenced him to one year imprisonment without an option of a fine.

Earlier, the Police prosecutor, Martha Paul, told the court that the convict and two others, now at large, broke into the said shop on August 25, 2012.

Paul said that the convict was caught in the process and handed over to the police.

Also, the prosecutor informed the court that Bello had been convicted sometimes in June for stealing.

Abuja furniture makers solicit for partnership with FG on disaster prevention

By Adeola Tukuru

F

urniture makers in Abuja, under the umbrella of the Independent Furniture Designers Association, have solicited for partnership with the Federal Government to enable them contribute their quota towards disaster prevention and control in the country.

The Vice Chairman, Innocent Joseph, who spoke during the association’s monthly prayers in Abuja decried incessant outbreak of man-made and natural disaster in the country.

He lamented that these has affected them negatively in term of patronage, as most people within and outside the country are subjected to perpetual fear due to uncertainties.

Joseph said that the association has been working round the clock to provide Nigerians particularly those in the FCT, with decent, well build furniture comparable with those made in the civilized countries of the world.

He appealed to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed to provide them with a permanent site to enable them commence full operation in the FCT. He further lamented the treatment being melted on them by a private developer, who claims to have gotten approval from the government as the genuine owner of the land where they are presently operating.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 17

Young children displaying Igbo rich culture at a public function, yesterday, in Garki, Abuja.

A welder doing what he knows best, yesterday in Area 3, Abuja Two young girls selling groundnut, yesterday in Area 10, Abuja.

A middle-aged man loaded waste papers in a sack yesterday in Area 1, Abuja

A young man loaded his wheel barrow with planks, yesterday in Durumi, Abuja.

Photos: Justin Imo-owo

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Email: amunuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

Shell sells Nigerian assets for N16.32bn

Mob: 08033644990

Microinsurance would promote insurance development - NAICOM

By Abdulwahab Isa and Ngozi Onyeakusi

T

The recent MTN promo

Airplane promo: CPC directs MTN to address customer fears

T

he Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has directed MTN to make sure consumers receive adequate information on its recharge and win aircraft promotion, tagged MTN-Ultimate Wonder Campaign Promotion.

The CPCP disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by Deputy Director, Public Relations, Mr. Abiodun Obimuyiwa.

It said the communication company was given the directive at a meeting convened by the council to address the apprehension and concerns raised by consumers on the promotion.

It said the General Manager, Regulatory Affairs, CPC, Ms Oyeronke Oyetunde noted that MTN had left out some information needed to adequately guide consumers on the promotion.

“MTN left out the market value of the aircraft to be won, the size of the plane, the delivery period of the aircraft to an eventual winner or cash equivalence in local currency for a winner, who may prefer a cash reward for the grand prize.

“Similarly, the council frowned at the fact that consumers, in all the existing communications on the promotion, are not properly directed to the site where the terms and conditions applicable to the promotion are published and the fact that the reference to those terms was in small print.’’ It directed the communication outfit to reflect and correct all these lapses in its subsequent media interactions and communication.

The statement said MTN had

assured it would comply with the directives within the next two or three weeks because of the intricacies involved, particularly in the change of its advertisement.

It said the MTN team had explained that the promotion was introduced because “we wanted to do something different and to start something that would excite our consumers”.

According to the statement, the team pointed out that the grand prize is a four-seater aircraft, worth $400,000 which is equivalent to N72million. It said, however, that an order had yet to be made because of the possibility of its winner preferring a cash award.

When questioned on what will be made available if the possible winner prefers the aircraft, the team disclosed that an order would thereafter be made, delivery of which would take six or eight weeks.

The statement quoted the Director-General of CPC, Mrs Ify Umenyi as saying that the lapses

discovered in the promotion underlined the council’s insistence that promotions must be vetted before going public. She assuring the CPC would add more steps to curb abuse of consumers through sales promotions.

The steps are: publishing on its website, its Facebook and other sources, sales promotions approved by it and those not subjected for vetting in the interest and well-being of consumers. “The steps have become inevitable because of the increasing number of sales promotions being introduced in different sectors of the economy, some of which are intended to deceive consumers”, she stated.

MTN had on Aug. 17 in Lagos launched the Ultimate Wonder, a new customer-based ‘recharge and win’ promo. Customers are expected to win weekly cash prizes while the ultimate winner would go home with a Cessna 182T Aeroplane in a grand prize presentation in October.(NAN)

he National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has pledged to support any effort from insurance operators aimed at development of microinsurance in Nigeria.

The Commission stated that unless micro-insurance business is given adequate attention, its expected contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) from the insurance sector will not be achieved.

The commissioner for insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, who stated this at a seminar organised for insurance correspondents with the theme: “Making Insurance Work for All: The Microinsurance Initiatives” in Calabar, Cross River state, noted that the Commission has appealed to insurance operators in Nigeria to develop microinsurance with a view to develop insurance market at the grassroots.

According to him, the commission has put in place a draft guideline for microinsurance business and that the draft is being exposed to the industry, experts and other stakeholders for the inputs and contributions before the final draft is released to the industry.

Katsina women farmers association to register 100 groups

T

he Katsina State’s women farmers association on Monday commenced the registration of a total of 100 women farmers groups to enable them to enjoy government and other agencies support.

The Chairperson of the association, Hajiya Binta Dalhatu said that the essence of the exercise was to unite women farmers in the state and encourage them to embrace agricultural activities.”

Dalhatu said that three groups from each of the 34 local

Management Tip of the Day Stop checking up on your employees

G

iving your employees autonomy can be hard.

But micromanagement kills both motivation and creativity. Resist checking up on your employees, asking whether they’ve finished a task or constantly monitoring how they achieve their goals.

Instead, try asking

questions like, “What do you need to get this project done?”

“Is anything getting in your way?” or “What can I do to help out?” Find out how their projects are going without making them feel as if they are under constant surveillance.

This will put you in a better position to provide your team

On its part, Daniel disclosed that NAICOM recently conducted a nationwide diagnostic study of microinsurance in collaboration with GIZ, a German agency for sustainable development and Access to Insurance Initiatives (AII) and its local consultants.

Daniel maintained that micro-insurance holds great potential for developing the insurance sector in the country, taken into consideration the fact that the population size of the country gives an added advantage to the insurance industry to grow its market.

With regards to agricultural insurance, Daniel said the commission expects appreciable development in the industry even though the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) is empowered by its enabling law to exclusively insure all subsidised agricultural risks in the country.

Contrary to the thinking in some quarters that only NAIC can underwrite agricultural insurance in the country, Daniel disagreed on this thinking, saying NAIC has no monopoly in this area and that an insurance firm that applied to underwrite agricultural insurance has been duly licensed to do it.

with the resources and help they need.

And, it should be a two-way street: Share information about what you are up to, especially if it might be relevant to what your team is doing.

Source: Harvard Business Review

government areas would register with the association and in turn represent the other women groups in their respective areas.

According to her, the three registered groups will collect whatever may be given relating to agricultural development, on behalf of the other the groups.

The chairperson revealed that the state governor’s wife, Hajiya Fatima Shema, had been supporting the association, by encouraging the womenfolk to access government and other agencies’ support.

Dalhatu also urged members of the women farmers groups to ensure honesty in all their dealings.

In his remarks, Alhaji Bishir Zango, the technical adviser on the registration and representative of the state Fadama Office, warned the groups against delay in the registration.

He also advised them not to allow one woman to pay the N5,000 registration fee on their behalf, in order not mortgage the association to her. (NAN).

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS NEITI

T

he Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is set for an audit exercise that will unravel the details of how much revenue is accrued to the three tiers of government and other bodies.

The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who disclosed this recently to newsmen, said the procedure for technical evaluation of the firms that were invited for the audit seeks to track extractive industry sector funds received into the federation account as they are distributed and received by the federal, states, the local councils as well as the relevant agencies.

According to her, the firm that will win the bid will be required to make recommendations on any issues arising in the course of performing the task.

Orient Petroleum to start new refinery in 2013 Stories by Muhammad Nasir with agency reports

O

rient Petroleum and Gas said it would begin operating a new refinery in Anambra state by the end of next year which will process an initial 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil.

Nigeria is among the world’s top 10 crude oil exporters but has to import most of its refined product needs due to the dilapidated state of its refineries.

Previous efforts to build new

refineries have often been delayed or cancelled.

The country has a theoretical refining capacity of 445,000 bpd from its four plants but they process around 30 percent of this amount, oil industry sources have said.

“Our expectation is that the refinery will be up and running by the end of next year,” Orient Petroleum Chairman Emeka Anyaoku said at the inauguration of the project.

“We expect that by the end of next year we should be refining

20,000 barrels of oil every day and gradually after that we will build up to 35,000 then 55,000 and possibly higher.”

Orient is exploring for oil in Anambra state, which sits north of the main oil producing Niger Delta region, but there have been no official oil reserve figures published.

The company’s website said it will refine crude oil produced from Anambra state and Brass River oil, which is currently pumped from fields operated by Italian firm Eni.

Conoil

S

hareholders of Conoil plc have approved total dividend payment of N1.73 billion to existing shareholders, which implied a dividend payment of N2.50 per share, up from N2.00 paid in the preceding year.

They also commended the Board and Management of the company for its impressive financial performance, despite what they described as the plethora of challenges and the harsh operating environment plaguing the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.

The shareholders made the commendation at the company’s 42nd Annual General Meeting in Ibadan on August 30, 2012.

NNPC plans to upgrade pipelines

T

he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is set to rehabilitate the nation’s pipelines as part of plans to deregulate the downstream sector.

In a speech delivered recently by Mr. Andrew Yakubu, the Managing Director of NNPC, at a conference organised by the National Association of Energy Correspondents in Lagos, said that the development was also to stimulate the growth of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, which he said, was a significant substitute to Kerosene.

Yakubu said that the programme, which would last for two years, would ensure subsidy proceeds were deployed to address supply chain bottlenecks. He said that the aftermath of the programme would facilitate growth of alternative transport system such as rail transport and inland water ways.

A typical oil refinery

PAWA 774 begins training of 100 on renewable energy

T

echPAWA 774, a private sector-led initiative to deploy 10MW of clean, renewable energy power plants to each of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria; begin its first training workshop for 100 potential recruits in Ondo town, Ondo state.

The training programme, which covers all aspects of the design, building, sitting, operation and maintenance of renewable energy power plants, is mandatory for all prospective PAWA 774 staff.

The programme will be conducted by the Renewable Energy Technology Institute (RETI) from the Wesley University of Science and Technology (WUSTO), located on Ondo-Ife Road, Ondo Town.

Tuition, room and board are provided 100% free by PAWA 774 for all trainees.

According to a statement

signed by the project coordinator and made available to Peoples daily, after the intensive fourweek programme, all trainees will receive certification from the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), which qualifies them to work globally in the renewable energy sector.

The statement said the objective of the initiative is to produce “about 8,000 MW of clean, eco-friendly electricity throughout Nigeria within five years.”

The plants will be built in clusters of smaller power units connected to a local, smart microgrid mesh providing adequate power to the nation, one community at a time.

“Rather than generate a glut of electrical power, which may or may not reach the communities that need it most, the PAWA 774 initiative aims to

serve the right amount of electrical power to each community, which can then be deployed as needed, taking individual needs into account,” the statement said.

Over the next five years, PAWA 774 will generate a minimum of 10MW per LGA and create nearly one million jobs directly linked to the initiative, ensuring at the same time that each community has direct economic buy-in for sustainable growth and development. These goals and more will all be tracked on the PAWA 774 website.

The PAWA 774 programme also ties into a larger training scheme developed by NAPTIN to bring the Federal Government closer to fulfilling its goal to produce 40,000MW of power by 2020, with 10% of Nigeria’s electricity needs coming from renewable energy sources.

Diezani pledges support for indigenous oil companies

T

he Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has pledged government’s support for indigenous oil companies that are willing to invest in every area of the value chain of the oil and gas sector.

In her speech at Aguleri-Otu during the inauguration of Orient Petroleum Plc’s Anambra River Production Facility in Anambra state, the first oil production from an inland basin in Nigeria, Alison said President Goodluck Jonathan has directed the Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Finance to set up an interministerial committee to fashion out modalities for raising financial support for indigenous oil companies like Orient who are ready to invest not only in production but also in refining to add value to the crude oil and gas locally before exporting in order to generate employment for the youth and more money for the country.

She expressed satisfaction with the project, explaining that the significance of the event was not just in the discovery and production of oil from an inland basin but in the fact that the feat was achieved by an indigenous company.

She said: “This shows the way we want to go in the industry; we want to encourage more indigenous oil companies to emulate Orient Petroleum Resources in investing not just in production but also in refining.

“We are working with the Ministry of Finance to set up an inter-ministerial committee to work out ways to give financial support to indigenous companies to bring in modular refineries.”

Shell sells Nigerian assets for N16.32bn

S

hell, Europe’s biggest oil company, has announced the sale of some of its Nigerian assets for 102m dollars (N16.32 billion).

The company says yesterday that the divestment of its 30% interest in Oil Mining Lease 40 in the Niger Delta is part of a strategy to “refocus its onshore interests”.

It is also, however, in line with the Nigerian government’s efforts to develop Nigerian owned companies within the oil and gas sector.

The buyer is a company called Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria. As part of the deal Elcrest will also receive the holdings of Total E&P Nigeria (10%) and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (5%) leaving its total stake at 45%.

OML 40 covers an area of 498 square kilometres and includes the Opuama, Abiala and Adagbassa Creek fields. Operations had been shut down since 2006 because of militant activity.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

N

igeria’s leading petroleum products retailer, Oando Marketing Plc (OMP), has announced that the company have entered into an agreement with Lift Above Poverty Organization Microfinance Bank (LAPO) to provide soft loans for low-income households in Nigeria to purchase Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas.

The initiative is in line with OMP’s plan to switch millions of Nigerians from biomass to a clean, efficient, affordable and sustainable LPG using Oando’s OGAS 3kg cooking stove, an integrated offering that comes with a cylinder, burner, and gas.

The agreement was signed by Chief Executive Officer , Oando Marketing Plc, Yomi Awobokun; Chief Financial Officer, LAPO, Dr. Kamakhya Sing and Managing Partner, Alitheia Capital, Tokunboh Ishmael on Thursday at Oando’s headquarters in Lagos.

Access to LPG by the low income group has been hindered primarily by affordability and accessibility. To address the issue of affordability, OMP introduced

PAGE 21

Oando partners LAPO Mfb for low income households’ cooking gas a portable 3kg cylinder to suit the purchasing power of this socioeconomic group.

The cooking stove cost N6,800 and customers can refill with any amount they can afford per time through the company’s Pay-As-UGas metering system or swap the cylinders for an outright refill at N800.

The OGAS cooking stoves are directly available to end-users via the company’s existing vast network of over 500 retail stations and a growing network of authorized distributors.

Oando Marketing, through selected Microfinance Banks (MFBs) is developing a tertiary network of retailers that ensures that O-GAS stoves are available within 10 minutes of every end user. To fund the MFBs, OMP created a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called the Clean Cooking Fuel Initiative Limited, (CCFI) to provide on-lending debt capital.

The SPV will be funded by Oando and other investors and managed

by Alitheia Capital; an Asset

Management firm specialized in impact investment.

LAPO is the first MFB to enjoy on-lending debt capital to kick-

start this initiative and provide low-income households an opportunity to start a new business venture.

G-7 make case for a strategic oil reserve release

T

he drumbeat heralding a release of the western countries’ strategic oil reserves is getting louder by the day – perhaps more so than the market realises.

The latest signal came in the form of a rare G-7 statement on oil markets. The communiqué, in essence, said: “Enough is enough, either Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) boosts production, lowering prices, or we will take care of the problem”.

The view from the corridors of power in Washington is that the G-7 could be only weeks away from pulling the trigger for a release, similar in size to that of last year’s during the war in

Libya, when the IEA placed 60m barrels on the market.

Consultations are under way.

European countries are worried that tight supplies and high prices would undermine the effects of oil sanctions against Iran.

The US and European sanctions have been surprisingly effective so far: Iranian oil production last month fell to a 22-year low of 2.9m barrels a day. But signs are emerging that Tehran is slowly finding cracks in the system. The sense is that Iranian oil output could stabilise, if not even rise in the next few months.

(Source: Financial Times)

Oil investments to exceed N160 tr worldwide in 2012

By Muhammad Nasir

T

he global investment in oil and gas sector this year will exceed $1 trillion (N160 trillion), due to increased activity in exploration and production, according to a study by the firm, Global Data.

According to this organisation, investments in the oil sector are expected to increase 13.4% this year to reach the huge amount of $1.039 trillion (about 833 billion Euros), APS reports.

This sharp increase is due to increased activity in the upstream oil and gas industry (research and extraction of hydrocarbons), mainly at sea, either offshore Brazil, in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Arctic.

This bond is reinforced by the increase in discoveries of oil and gas, the sustained high oil prices and new technological fields giving access to very deep underwater offshore fields, which make exploitation technically and financially feasible.

Shell shuts Nigerian oil pipeline after leak

By Muhammad Nasir with agency report

R

L-R: Minister of State for Finance, Dr Yerima Ngama, Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Dr Nwanze Okidegbe, Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, and Permanent Secretary, Water Resources, Amb. Godknows Igali, during the inter-ministerial discussion on 2013 budget, recently in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

oyal Dutch Shell said it closed an oil pipeline leading to a flow station Nembe Creek-2 flow station in the Niger Delta, after a leak was discovered.

Oil from the facility heads to the Bonny export terminal. Bonny is one of Nigeria’s larger crude streams and is scheduled to ship around 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) this month.

“A leak was observed on a line from Well-39s flowing to Nembe Creek-2 flow station on 29th August,” Shell said in an e-mailed statement. “The line was shut in, and booms were quickly deployed to stop spread of any spilled oil.

“The spilled oil is contained within the flowline right-of-way and there is no impact on the environment.”

NASA helps hatch robots for drilling oil without humans

N

ASA’s Mars rover has something to teach the oil industry.

Traversing the Red Planet while beaming data through space has a lot in common with exploring the deepest recesses of earth in search of crude oil and natural gas. Robotic Drilling Systems AS, a Norwegian company developing a drilling rig that can think for itself, signed an information-sharing agreement with NASA to discover what it might learn from the rover Curiosity.

The company’s work is part of a larger futuristic vision for the energy industry. Engineers

foresee a day when fully automated rigs roll onto a job site using satellite coordinates, erect 14-story-tall steel reinforcements on their own, drill a well, then pack up and move to the next site.

Apache Corp. , National Oilwell Varco Inc., and Norway’s Statoil ASA are among the companies working on technology that will take humans out of the most repetitive, dangerous, and timeconsuming parts of oil field work.

“It sounds futuristic,” says Kenneth Sondervik, sales and marketing vice president for Robotic Drilling Systems. He

compares it to other areas that have become highly automated, such as car manufacturing or cruise missile systems.

Robotic Drilling Systems is designing a series of robots to take over the repeatable tasks now done on rigs by pipe handlers, deckhands and roughnecks. Its blue, 10-foot-tall robot deckhand has a jointed arm that can extend about 10 feet, with 15 or so interchangeable hands of assorted sizes. The robot is anchored in place to give it better leverage as it lifts drill bits that weigh more than a ton and maneuvers them into place.

The Mars rover is designed to

collect data and take action on its own based on programmed reasoning. As a step in that direction, some companies are working on technology that will make drill bits more intelligent and able to respond instantly to conditions they encounter, such as extreme temperatures or high pressures.

National Oilwell Varco of Houston, the largest U.S. maker of oilfield equipment, and Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest oilfield services provider, have developed drill pipe wired with high-speed data lines to allow the bit to feed information to workers at the

surface.

Apache, the third-largest U.S. independent oil and natural- gas producer by market value, is writing software that will essentially allow the drill bit to think for itself, communicating directly with equipment at the surface that controls speed and direction.

Graham Brander, the company’s director of worldwide drilling, sees it working much like a plane on autopilot, flying on its own with a human on standby, ready to assume the controls if necessary.(Bloomberg)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 22

World Bank to fund N 2.96bn PCB project T

By Abdulwahab Isa

he Federal Government and the World Bank will jointly fund the implementation of $18.5 million (N2.96 billion) Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Management project in Nigeria, says an official.

World Bank Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, who made this known yesterday in Abuja, said the project would be funded from the Global Environmental Fund.

Polychlorinated Biphenyl is a class of organic compounds found to be fire-resistant, stable and non-conductive to electricity and with low volatility under normal conditions.

Equipment containing PCBs include transformers, capacitors,

ballasts, paint additives and hydraulic fluid additives.

The health effects associated with PCBs include cancer, reproductive and development toxicity, impaired immune function, effects on the central nervous system and liver damage.

“The PCB project is for implementation over a four years period to December 2015 and it is financed jointly by the global Environment Fund (GEF) and the Federal Government of Nigeria. ``The GEF has provided 6.3 million dollars and the Federal Government will provide an additional 12.2 million dollars to eliminate environmental and health risks in Nigeria posed by PCBs,’’ she said.

Marie-Nelly, who was

represented by Dr Badrul Haque, a senior operation’s officer of the bank, said that major health risk emanated from active and decommissioned equipment in PHCN facilities as well as industries that had stocks such as oil refineries, airport and textile mills.

She noted that safe disposal would reduce the environmental risk a, adding that it was the major aim of launching the project. ``The project will strengthen and harmonise hazardous chemicals and waste management regulations, strengthen the disposal management system and facilitates safe disposal of hazardous wastes.’’

She said that the bank had a portfolio of more than 4.5 billion dollars lending and grants in

Nigeria and long-standing and broad involvement in the power sector.

The Minister of Environment, Mrs Hadiza Mailafia, said the PCB project would improve public health and environment quality by actively preventing the release of the substances into the environment.

“It is worthy of note that this project is designed to improve public health and environmental quality by preventing the environmental release of PCBs from active and decommissioned electrical equipment in PHCN facilities.

“This, include other private sectors such as oil refineries, airports, textile mills so as to ensure their sound management and ultimate safe disposal,’’ she said.

She added that capacity building for PCB management which include policy, regulatory and institutional review as well as strengthen was sacrosanct.

She commended the World Bank for its financial assistance for the project and assured of government's commitment to the implementation of the

project.

Earlier, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Mr. Taiye Haruna said the toxicity in the PCBs was dangerous to human health.

Haruna noted that the health effects of PCBs included cancer, reproductive and development toxicity, impaired immune function, effects on the central nervous system and liver damage.

Nigeria is a signatory to the Stockholm Convention which requires all parties to eliminate the use of PCB containing equipment by 2025.

The project was approved for implementation in Nigeria on Dec. 21, 2011.

Flight Schedule Aero

Los-Abj: 06:50, 13:30, 16:30, 19:45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/ Sun); 12:30 (Sun); 16:45 (Sat) Abj-Los: 07:30, 13:00, 19:00 (Mon-Fri/Sat); 10:30, 14:30, 19:30 (Sun), 18:30 (Sat)

Microwave IRS equipment Los-Abj: 9:45, 11:45, 2:45, market to hit (Mon-Fri); 9:30, 12:45 (Sat & Sun) N960bn by 2016

By Muhammad Sada

T

L-R : Acting Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Alhaji Kabiru Mashi, Chairman, Board of Trustees TET Fund, Dr Musa Babayaro, and Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i, during a tax payers forum, recently in Lagos.

Photo: NAN

Lottery is not gambling and can raise N360bn for Nigeria – Official

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

N

igeria has the potential to earn at least N360 billion from lottery per annum, Director -General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Mr. Peter Igho, said in Abuja yesterday.

He made the declaration that the revenue would be earned if lottery was run properly.

Igho expressed regret that Nigeria was yet to tap into the revenue potential which could spur rapid development in country.

“I established a study and that study is of great interest because it showed that the potential of lottery in this country is not less than N360 billion revenue per annum, if run properly.

“If all things are on ground to ensure that lottery was carried out in the country with transparency and integrity; that all those who were licenced to operate were doing so following all the rules of lottery.

“It’s not surprising because if you realise that in the UK for example with its population of less than one third of our population, about 75 per cent of the population of Britain plays the lottery every week with the average of a disposable income of three pounds, fifty pence each.

Igho also said that Nigerians were misinformed about what lottery entailed hence the current misconception and the misunderstanding that it was synonymous with gambling.

He said: “If you ask 100 Nigerians what they think about lottery, about 90 of them will tell you it’s something that has to do with gambling; it is not surprising because the notion is based on ignorance.’’

The Director-General explained that the difference between gambling and lottery was that gambling was for the benefit of the gamblers, whereas lottery was that game of chance that is concurrently used to raise money for good causes.

He stressed that lotteries had been used all over the world to raise money to bring about development in countries where they were played and that Nigeria should not jettison the opportunity.

Igho cited the case of China which used lottery to build the famous ‘Great China Wall’ - one of the Seven Wonders of the World, while the United States of America used it to develop the country, including the establishment of 55 prominent institutions of higher learning like Harvard and Yale universities.

“Many of us have just come from watching the 2012 Olympics, where we blamed our own athletes for not performing well.

“If you recall the Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair, was on air to say that the great deal of the success Britain had was because of the more than 850 million pounds funding and support the country got from lottery.

he global microwave equipment market totaled $1.2 billion in 2nd quarter, up 16% from the previous quarter and down 6% from the year-ago 2nd quarter, according to Infonetics Research.

“The microwave equipment market rebounded nicely in the 2nd quarter thanks to strong performances from Ericsson and Huawei,” notes Richard Webb, directing analyst for microwave at Infonetics Research. “Huawei had a huge quarter, its biggest ever for microwave equipment.

The operator now counts some of the world’s major tier 1 international operators as its microwave customers and often supplies their operations across many countries.”

Webb adds: “Despite choppy performance in recent quarters, we expect the microwave equipment market to grow to $6 billion (N960 bn) by 2016, driven by a continuing demand for increased mobile backhaul capacity and the proliferation of small cells.”

Also, Ericsson regained the top position in the global microwave equipment market in 2nd quarter, edging past Huawei by a hair while NEC, the microwave market share leader just a quarter ago, slipped to 3rd position.

Regionally, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) had the strongest 2nd quarter, capturing around 1/2 of global market share.

Abj-Los: 11.30, 3:45, 4.45 (Mon-Fri); 12.00, 14:30, (Sat/Sun) Los-Kano: 6:15 (Mon-Fri); 16:30 (Sat & Sun)

Kano-Los: 07:30 (Mon-Fri), 10:30 (Sat & Sun)

Arik Lag-Abj: 07:15, 09:15, 13:45, 15:50, 18:45 (MonFri); 7:15, 10:20, 2:20 (Sat & Sun) Lag-Kad: 10:00, 15:10 (MonFri) Lag-Kano: 12.20 (Mon-Fri);

Air Nigeria

Lag-Abj: 07:15, 11:40, 14:00, 16:30, 17.00, 17.20, 18.30 (Mon-Fri, Sat & Sun); 08.00, 12.40, 13.10, 20.00 (Fri) Abj-Lag: 07:00, o9:30, 10.30, 11.15, 16.15, 19.15, 19.25, 19.35 (Mon-Fri/Sat/ Sun), 14.55, 15.15, 20.45 (Fri), 19.45 (Sun), 11.25, 13.35, 16.25 (Mon) Abj-Kano: 18.40 (Mon-Fri/ Sun) Kano-Abj: 08.35 (Mon-Fri/ Sat) Abj-Sok: 09.35 (Mon), 10.10 (Fri), 11.20 (Wed/Sun) Sok-Abj: 11.35 (Mon), 12.00 (Fri), 13.20 (Wed/Sun)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

Plateau: State where violence is ‘on top of everyone’ A

man with a metal detector frisks customers entering a Mr. Biggs fast-food outlet.

At the main mosque, where women arrive for Ramadan prayers, a female guard does the same. On the street, vehicle number plates carry the slogan “Plateau: Home of peace and tourism”. But the tourists who once visited Jos for its cool climate and rolling green hills have been replaced by soldiers guarding sandbag checkpoints.

“Peace was shattered,” says Sani Mudi, a spokesman for the Muslim community in Plateau state, “a long time ago”.

Over the past decade, i n t e r - c o m m u nal violence has claimed more than 4,000 lives in the state, part of Nigeria’s “Middle Belt”, an ethnically and religiously mixed area that divides the mostly Muslim north from the predominantly Christian south. Last month alone, about 115 people were killed in raids on villages outside Jos, the state capital. The dead, mostly Christian farmers, included numerous women and children and a senator. A week after those raids, a rocket was fired at a Muslim school in Jos, killing a 10year-old boy.

In the past year, the long-running tensions in Plateau state have increasingly attracted the interest of the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram, which appears to be trying to incite a religious war in Nigeria.

Though its main theatre of operations is the north, the group has been blamed for three suicide attacks on churches in Jos this year.

These attacks have

Plateau, this includes the Berom people, who dominate the state government and are Christian. Some other ethnic groups are considered settlers, including the hundreds of thousands of Hausas and Fulanis in the state, whose origins are in northern Nigeria and are Muslim.

The indigene-settler distinction was designed to protect the culture and traditions of the more than 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria. But it is only vaguely supported in law, allowing individual states to determine who qualifies as indigenous. Many, including Plateau state, preclude non-indigenes from applying for civil service jobs or university scholarships and charge them higher school fees.

Hausas in Jos say that they have been deliberately marginalised by state governor Jonah Jang, a Berom former air force commodore and theology graduate.

“Governance has assumed a completely one-sided dimension,” says Mr Mudi, the Muslim spokesman.

“Everything is for the Berom. This is a very polarised society.”

NSA Sambo Dasuki

In recent years, the religious divide has grown.

Neighbourhoods in Jos that were once fairly mixed are now almost exclusively Christian or Muslim.

Schools too. At the same time the economy has withered.

Jobs are few.

Solomon Dalung, a lecturer in international law at the University of Jos, and a Christian, says that if the Hausa and Fulani communities had tried harder to integrate into society there would have been less mistrust. But Mr, Dalung adds that poor governance is mostly to blame for the failure to end the violence. “We have a leadership that discriminates on ethnicity.

It’s very unfair, very unjust and now look where we are: Boko Haram is capitalising to launch its own agenda.”

The state government denies favouring the Berom, or discriminating against Muslims. “Let no one reduce this to a settlerindigene issue, or an ethnic issue. This is a political issue with a very strong religious garment. There are people

“

Soldiers at a checkpoint

prompted fears that Boko Haram could exploit the underlying disputes in Plateau state – over land, identity, politics and access to resources – for its own gain.

Reports on Sunday that Nigeria’s government has

started informal talks with Boko Haram – a possibility denied by the movement last week – are seen as unlikely to allay these concerns.

“We cannot continue like this,” says Gad Peter, director of the Centre for the

Advocacy of Justice and Rights, in Jos. “This crisis is a threat to the country.”

Much of the fighting in Plateau state has pitted the so-called host communities against the “settlers” – the sort of conflicts that “may be growing deadlier and

more numerous with time” in Nigeria, according to a report from the United States Institute for Peace las t m o n t h . P o l i c i e s t h a t discriminate against those regarded as outsiders in a certain region usually underlie the violence,

human rights groups say.

In every local government area in Nigeria, people are grouped into two categories. The first are the “indigenes”, who can trace their roots back to the original inhabitants of the area. In

The authorities always say they are on top of the situation,” says Mr. Peter, the human rights activist.

“They are wrong – the situation is on top of us Governor Jonah Jang

who want power at all costs,” says Abraham Yiljap, the commissioner for information.

After July’s attack, Governor Jang assured people that there would be no more violence in Plateau state. Few were convinced.

“The authorities always say they are on top of the situation,” says Mr. Peter, the human rights activist.

“They are wrong – the situation is on top of us.”

(Source: Financial Times)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 26

Farmers in Kano State anticipate bumper harvest Cassava

F

armers in Kano state said they anticipated bumper harvest in spite of the heavy rainfall witnessed this year, which caused flood in many parts of the state.

Some of the farmers, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that only crops that could not survive plenty of water would die as a result of the flood.

Malam Shu’aibu Garunmalam, a farmer, said they were optimistic that there would be a bumper harvest.

He said that farmers, whose farms were close to dams, might suffer poor harvest, as the soil around such places couldn’t soak much water

to allow them plant again before the end of the season.

Another farmer, Malam Maitala, said only areas in Kano that witnessed heavy flooding would have their farmlands destroyed.

“As Muslims we believe that God has wisdom behind the flooding during this year’s rainy season so we are optimistic that food would be

abundant,” he said.

He, however, advised other farmers to pray for God’s intervention on the flooding and for bumper harvest this year.

Malam Isma’ila Butalawa, another farmer said, “it will be a year of joy” because we will harvest early because the crops will grow faster because of the volume of the rains.”

Butalawa sympathised with farmers, whose farms were washed away during the past week due to flooding, and urged them to continue to have trust in God. NAN reports that in spite of the downpour that washed way many farm lands in some parts of Kano State, farmers were optimistic of a bumper harvest. (NAN)

Palm oil edges up on exports, Bernanke remarks

M

alaysian crude palm oil rose yesterday, following strong exports last month and U.S. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke speech on for further stimulus that could prop up global growth and support commodity demand.

Palm oil exports posted a gain of 18 per cent in August from a month ago to the highest level this year, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Friday.

It was in part boosted by the edible oil’s huge discount to competing soyoil.

“Exports were very good, the market is going for a temporary upward trend,” said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia.

“Bear in mind that soyoil is still trading at a premium over palm oil of 285 dollars. All these factors are a plus for palm oil.”

The benchmark November 2012 contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 1.8 per cent to close at 3,073ringgit (985 dollars) per tonne.

Futures posted a loss of 1.6 per cent last week, snapping two straight weeks of gains.

Total traded volume stood at 31,968 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.

Technical look bearish as palm oil is expected to end its current rebound in a resistance zone of 3,050 to 3,067 ringgit, followed by a drop towards 2,978 ringgit, said Media analyst Wang Tao. But market sentiment remained positive on healthy export demand for palm oil.

Exports surged to 1.45 million tonnes in August, bolstered by higher shipments of crude products and a demand recovery in major food buyers China and India.

Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, will delay issuing August exports data to Tuesday.

Crude oil was up on Monday after Chinese data showed a deepening slowdown in the world’s biggest energy.

In other vegetable oil markets, the most active January 2013soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended 2.4 per cent higher after hitting a contract-high.

The U.S. soybean futures markets were closed for the Labour Day holiday. (Reuters/NAN)

L-R: Chairman, Ihechiowa (Omen) Oil Palm Estate, Chief Alfredo Awah, Minister of State for Agriculture, Alhaji Bukar Tijani, and Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, during the signing of agreement between Ministry of Agriculture and oil palm estate owners, recently in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

FG’s agric agenda will make farmers ‘agrobusiness men” – Director M r. Daniel Kakwi, the Director, Plateau Field Station of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, says the main goal of the sector’s transformation agenda is to transform farmers into “agro-business men’’.

“The principal goal of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the Federal Government, besides creation of employment, is to make farmers business men.

“Very soon, farmers will not be referred to as farmers but “agro business men’’ because of the turnover they will be making in agricultural business,” Kakwi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos recently.

According to him, the Federal Government policies are geared toward making agriculture a huge attraction to people seeking to create wealth and generate massive employment toward a prosperous Nigeria.

“What we want to do is to transform the typical subsistence farmer to a mechanized professional to boost yields that would be ploughed back into more activities.’’

Kakwi said that with the transformation agenda in place, subsistence farmers could go into agriculture not just to cultivate what they can consume, but make money to shore up their living standards.

The Director said that it was to add value to farmers’ yields that the Federal Government came out with the idea of “value chain” to ease production and sales of agricultural produce.

“The value chain was aims to bring all aspects of production into play in the agricultural sector; it starts from production, to harvesting, processing and marketing.’’

According to Kakwi, the value chain will attract people into

agriculture either as producers, harvesters, processors or marketers.

“Through this chain, we shall create employment along the various stages involved.’’

Kakwi said that government was supporting states with enablement in the areas of environment, financial linkages and affordable farm inputs.

“The Federal Government will continue to make good policies towards making agricultural activities a viable business.’’ (NAN)

processors appeal to Niger Govt for assistance

T

he Niger branch of the Nigeria Cassava Processors Association and Marketers (NCPM) yesterday appealed to the state government to assist its members with machinery and equipment for the production of high quality cassava flour for bread making.

Mr Jamiu Lawal, the association’s chairman who made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna, said that the state government’s assistance would also go a long way in encouraging cassava chips export.

“The Federal Government is encouraging the production of high quality cassava flour to produce bread and we cannot achieve that without the necessary machinery and equipment which are quite expensive for the peasant farmer.

“So we are calling on the state government to come to our aid by supporting us to procure these machinery and equipment on loan, to enable us to meet the demand for high quality cassava flour.’’

He said that the call became imperative as the association nationwide, found it difficult to access the N500 million loans set aside for cassava growers and processors across the country.

“We are finding it difficult to access the N500 million loan set aside by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration for cassava growers and processors nationwide.’’

According to him, N300 million of the fund is earmarked for cassava processors in the country.

He, however, expressed regret that the association found it difficult to access the money due to bottlenecks by banks administering the loan, adding that access to credit constituted a major challenge to the production of high quality cassava flour.

“We have cassava in large quantity in Niger State but since we do not have the processing technologies, we find it difficult to meet the international quality for cassava chips and flour,’’ he said.

(NAN)

Don wants e-wallet scheme fine-tuned

P

rofessor Dimis Mai-Lafia, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Water Resources and Rural Development, yesterday called for a review of the e-wallet (electronic wallet) agricultural scheme.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the eWallet voucher system for direct fertiliser distribution, needed to be fine- tuned in order to make it effective.

He recalled that the Federal Government introduced the ewallet to enable farmers receives fertiliser allocation notices through their mobile phones.

Mai-Lafia said that the system was meant to make the commodity

easily accessible to real farmers and eradicate the middlemen syndrome.

But many farmers have complained of not reaping the benefits of the scheme, even as the rainy season heads to a close.

“Although the initiative is commendable, many factors were impeding its successful implementation,” he said.

According to him, many of these factors were not considered in the early formulation of the policy.

“This is because the people, for whom the scheme was designed, were not carried along at the formulation stage.

“This has resulted in uncoordinated and haphazard

implementation of the programme.

“For instance, it was reported in the media that farmers in Edo, who received sms alerts allocating fertilisers to them, went to the designated collection point, only to discover that it was a fake address,’’ Mai-Lafia said.

Similarly, he said that farmers in Kano State did not get any agricultural input, even after filling all required e-wallet vouchers distributed to them by the state government officials.

Mai-Lafia, therefore, urge the government and all other stakeholders to urgently amend the scheme, so that farmers could access fertiliser in time to meet the farming season. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 27

Reviving cotton production in Nigeria

By Sani Adamu

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan recently directed the distribution of free improved cotton seeds to farmers in Nigeria as part of the government’s strategy to boost cotton cultivation for economic value.

Jonathan said the gesture was in line with his administration’s commitment to revamp the agricultural sector, expand the economy and make agriculture a business.

Many agriculturalists have applauded the presidential initiative, noting that the use of improved seeds in cotton cultivation will ensure higher yields.

They noted that the provision of improved seeds could also help to reduce pest infestation and withstand the vagaries of weather.

For them, the initiative would also go a long way in fast tracking the revival of the famous cotton ginnery in the northern part of the country.

This underscores the decision of the Federal Government to partner with the West African Cotton Company (WACOT) on how best to resuscitate cotton production in the country by providing improved seeds to farmers.

Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, while speaking at the MoU signing, recalled that the country’s turnover of cotton in 1980s was in excess of 8.9 billion dollars.

Adesina said the amount represented more than 25 per cent of the nation’s manufacturing contribution to the GDP, noting that the current turnover dwindled to mere 300 million dollars.

The minister regretted that employment generation from the textile industry fell from 700,000 in 1980s when the industry was flourished with more than 175 mills in operation to only 25,000 persons currently.

“Employment generation in northern Nigeria underwent a precipitous fall due in part to the collapse of the cotton and textile industry; it has also led to the attendant social unrest, economic strain and increasing rate of poverty,” said.

Adesina said the industries’ contribution to the value addition had dropped significantly from 25 per cent in 1980 to five per cent currently.

He said out of 51 ginneries in operation in the 80s only 10 were currently functional at low capacity.

He also maintained that the partnership with WACOT was necessitated by the urgent need to restore the past glory of the cotton industry in Nigeria.

The minister said under the agreement, the overall plan was to raise productivity from 150 kilogramme to 450 kilogramme of lint by 2015 and double production from 120,000 tonnes of seed cotton to 760,000 tonnes in 2015.

“A major component of the plan is to multiply and distribute quality seed and raise quality of local lint through the use of appropriate packaging and cotton grading,” he posited.

Adesina noted that under the

A cotton farm agreement, WACOT proposed a four-year seed multiplication plan to cover Adamawa, Borno, Jigawa, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano and Gombe states.

He said the government was making efforts to make available more hectares of land for cotton cultivation and that 105,307 cotton farmers across the 11 targeted states would benefit from the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme, covering seeds and fertilizer.

He expressed optimism that the successful implementation of the MoU would benefit the entire economy in the areas of employment generation and tax accruals to the three tiers of government.

To further make the textile industry viable, the government, he said, had taken measures toward eliminating illegal textile importers.

Mr. Tembe Ravi, the Chief Executive officer of WACOT, applauds the initiative, noting that the initiative came at a time when cotton production in the country had declined from 300,000 tonnes to 65,000 tonnes in the 2010/2011 season.

Ravi stressed the need to make cotton business more attractive to farmers under the Agricultural Transformation Action Plan.

According to him, the focus of WACOT is to enhance yield per hectare, ensure remunerative price for farmers and improves the quality of the produce as well as processing and packaging.

In his comments at the inauguration of improved cotton seed distribution to farmers in Tsafe, Zamfara, Alhaji Lawal Yahaya, an official of WACOT said the company was expected make available more than 3,200 tonnes of improved cotton seeds, 3,690 litres of chemicals and fertilizer for distribution to farmers at subsidized rates.

He said the beneficiaries were expected to repay 50 per cent the loans with cotton produce at harvest time while the Federal Government would pay 50 per cent of the cost of

the inputs as subsidy contribution.

Yahaya says the partnership between the government and WACOT on the cotton seed multiplication programme will last for four years.

He says an estimated 15,650 hectares of land will be cultivated with cotton in Borno, Jigawa, Zamfara, Katsina and Gombe states to be purchased and marketed by WACOT. The WACOT official says the distribution of the high yielding cotton seed, launched in Tsafe, will be supervised by the Nigeria Agricultural Seeds Council to ensure transparency in the agreement package.

According to him, farmers in Zamfara are expected to cultivate more than 3,000 hectares of cotton while their counterpart in Katsina, rated as the highest cotton producing state in country, will cultivate up 10,000 hectares during the 2012 agricultural season.

“With the improved seeds and the helping hand offered to farmers, cotton production is expected to multiply while more marketing strategies are being understudied to ensure that the farmers get value for their investment,” he adds.

He states that: “Statistics shows that no fewer than 675,000 persons have lost their jobs so far due to the decline in cotton production and neglect of the textile industry.

“It also indicates that employment generation from the industry also witnesses drastic fall from 700,000 persons to 25,000 persons today.

“Besides, the turn-over from cotton production has fallen from an excess of 8.95 billion dollars in the 80s to an estimated 300 billion dollars. ” He says to encourage cotton production, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has earmarked more than N70 billion for disbursement as loans to cotton farmers.

He also says that the Federal Government establishes Regional Cotton Research Centre at Institute

of Agricultural Research (IAR) Zaria; capacity building for the establishment of classing laboratories to encourage cotton cultivation.

“Efforts have been made to provide more extension materials, training of farmers and strengthening of cotton related associations such as farmers groups, ginners, merchants, spinners and garment producers.

“These efforts will make Nigeria self-sufficient in cotton in terms of satisfying the demand of local industries as well as exporting surplus,” he said.

Stakeholders say the initiative appears to have started yielding positive results as many of the cotton producing states intensify efforts at rejuvenating various cotton farms.

Gov. Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State acknowledges the strides so far achieved in reviving cotton production in the state.

He says the state government will continue to lend its support to the cotton transformation initiative, adding that cotton is grown in 23 local government areas in the state.

“Katsina State government will work in tandem with the Federal Government initiative as the cotton value chain plan will go a long way in reviving cotton production in the country,” he says.

Also, to complement the Federal Government’s efforts, the Bauchi State Government says it is resuscitating all the cotton ginneries in the state.

Dr. Dauda Abdullahi, the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Agriculture, says the state government has set up a cotton revival committee to mobilize the citizens to engage in massive cotton production.

“In 1951 a cotton ginnery was established at Misau under the British Cotton Growing Association but was not sustained due to poor production of the commodity by farmers in the state.

“The Misau Ginnery processed cotton produced in the former

Bauchi province and other ginneries in the former Northern Nigeria and was a huge source of foreign exchange for the province and the region in general, Abdullahi notes.

He says the new ginnery will be operated under the public-private partnership agreement with reputable experts in the marketing and processing of cotton to make it viable and of international standard.

He says the state will also collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to address the production, processing and marketing of the product from the ginnery.

The permanent secretary says 510 farmers will be engaged during the 2012 cropping season to cultivate cotton while agriculture extension workers and farmers are to be trained on modern cotton farming techniques.

Abdullahi says government will also procure and distribute improved cotton seeds, other agricultural inputs, as well as agrochemicals for the revival of the cotton industry in the state.

Reports gathered from Sokoto State say that the government is set to revive cotton production in the state to stimulate economic growth.

According to the reports, the government is also extending a number of incentives to investment in the agriculture and agroprocessing industries.

These include assisting the investors with the provision of adequate industrial infrastructure such as access roads, electricity, water and telecommunications facilities, according to it.

With all these, cotton farmers believe that with adequate and improved cotton seeds available to them at subsidized rates, cotton production will increase to boost the nation’s economy.

Cotton is grown in Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa.

Source: NAN

PAGE 28

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

World’s shortest man and woman meet to launch Guinness World Records book I t was always going to be a big event even though it involved two very small people.

Chandra Bahadur Dangi, the world’s shortest man and Jyoti Amge, the world’s shortest woman met for the first time to celebrate the organisation which made them famous.

The 18-year-old from India and the 72-year-old Nepalese both made headlines last winter when they were given their titles by the Guinness World Records.

Chandra and Jyoti may be generations apart but were joking and laughing as they posed for photos with the new book, both dressed in traditional outfits from their native countries.

The photoshoot for the release of the book gave them another record to add to their list – it is the first time the world’s smallest man and woman have met in recorded history.

The book placed between them looks gigantic compared to the pair, but is in fact only 1ft high.

Jyoti took the title on her 18th birthday on December 16th last year.

The teen from Nagpur in central India has a form of dwarfism called Achondroplasia which means she will stay 2ft0.7in for the rest of her life.

Despite her size she has big dreams and has already starred in a number of Bollywood films and is pursuing a career in entertainment.

She is set to visit the UK in

September to help launch the new book and says she can’t wait.

‘Since being recognised by Guinness World Records I have been able to visit lots of different countries. I love travelling.

‘I have visited Japan and parts of Europe and now I can’t wait to visit the UK.’ Whilst the bubbly teenager is looking forward to conquering the world, 72-year-old Chandra’s biggest moment in his career as the world’s shortest is the publication of the new book ‘I’m very happy that my name will be written in a book. It’s a big thing for my family, my village and my country.’

Mr Dangi hails from a small village called Rhimkola, 250 miles west of Kathmandu where, until recently, he spent his entire life.

He made headlines across the globe when he received his title in February this year.

He left his village for the first time in his life to fly to the capital of Kathmandu to meet and be measured by Guinness World Records officials.

At 21.5in Mr Dangi is also the shortest man in history, breaking the previous record of India’s Gul Mohammed (1957–97) who was 22.5in tall.

The official authority on recordbreaking achievement is set to release its the 57th edition of the world’s best-selling copyright book, Guinness World Records 2013.

The book has sold 120 million copies to date and Guinness World Records receives more than 1,000

applications each week and has a specialized team of multi-language record managers and adjudicators

who travel the globe to verify official record attempts.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Standing tall: The world's smallest man, 72-year-old Chandra Dangi from Nepal meet Jyoti Amge, aged 18 from India, who is the shortest woman in the world as they launch the new edition of Guinness Book of Records.

Prince Philip’s sensitive letters to showgirl star, Pat Kirkwood, to feature in controversial musical

P

rince Philip’s recovery from his spell in hospital is not likely to be improved by news that a series of highly sensitive letters he wrote to a stage and screen star are to feature in a controversial new show.

The letters, all signed Philip and sent from Balmoral and Sandringham on his personal notepaper, were written to the late Pat Kirkwood, whose magnificent legs were once described by the critic Kenneth Tynan as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’.

His correspondence — and Miss Kirkwood’s outspoken replies — which discusses Philip’s views on the coverage of his private life by the media, are to feature in a new one-woman stage musical, Pat Kirkwood Is Angry, starring leading mezzosoprano Jessica Walker.

Kirkwood’s first meeting with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1948 — when they were both 27 and danced the night away cheek-tocheek in a London nightclub while the Queen was eight months pregnant with Prince Charles — fuelled decades of speculation about their relationship.

The rumours are said to have cost Kirkwood the chance of recognition in the Honours list.

She died in 2007 at the age of 86.

Highly sensitive: Letters written by Prince Philip to the late Pat Kirkwood are to feature in a controversial new show

The letters that passed between the pair are now in the possession of royal biographer Michael Thornton, who tells me: ‘My instructions, in accordance with Pat’s will, are that I am to hand these letters to the Duke’s official biographer after his death.’

Jessica Walker, who has sung leading roles at Glyndebourne and opens with the new show at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in October, says: ‘I have not been allowed to see the actual documents, but I have been given access to significant passages.

‘They show how deeply the rumours which endured for 60 years affected her. She was furious with the Palace for not protecting her.’

In 1993 Kirkwood complained to Philip that with some support ‘the matter could have been squashed years ago instead of (me) having to battle a sea of sharks single-handed’.

For his part Philip told her: ‘Short of starting libel proceedings, there is absolutely nothing to be done.’

Later, he added: ‘After nearly 40 years of such treatment, I am more or less hardened to this sort of thing.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 29

‘A few years ago he would’ve been carrying our bags’: Bill Clinton insensitive racial remark on Obama revealed

B

ill Clinton made an insensitive racial remark about Barack Obama while his wife battled him for the Democratic nomination vote, it was claimed yesterday.

The former U.S. president, whose wife Hillary battled Obama in the 2008 primary campaign, is said to have remarked of the current president: ‘A few years ago, this guy would have been carrying our bags.’

Clinton allegedly made the insensitive remark to Senator Ted Kennedy in 2008, while trying to convince him to endorse Hillary for the Democratic nomination, according to the New Yorker.

Writer Ryan Lizza said he heard about the comment from NBC newsman Tim Russert, who died in 2008.

Four years ago Clinton and Obama had clashed following Hillary Clinton’s failed bid for Presidency, which she lost to Obama.

Although Clinton is said to have since given his backing to the current U.S. President, his remark is the latest in a series of apparent outbursts against Obama.

The ill-advised comment follows claims of another remark attributed to Clinton in 2010, where he is said to have commented: ‘A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.’

The ex-President is quoted as having made the other remark in the book ‘Game Change’ by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin.

The latest revelation comes just days before Clinton is due to give a

Rift: Clinton, pictured in 2009 having given Obama his backing, is alleged to have made the racially insensitive remark about the current president in 2008.

Claim: Clinton is said to have made the remark to late Senator Ted Kennedy (right), who eventually backed Obama for Democratic Nomination

Prince Harry to make first appearance since naked pictures furore

P

RINCE Harry will make his room for up to 20 minutes. first public appearance since Before tonight’s awards naked pictures of him ceremony in a central London hotel, appeared on the web, when he Harry will meet all the winners and attends a charity awards ceremony their families at a reception. yesterday’s night.

Later he will present the award The Royal is patron of for the most inspirational child, in WellChild and is guest of honour the three to six age group, and give a at it’s annual event, which speech at the end of the night. recognises seriously ill youngsters Source: TheSun.co.uk and the medical staff who care for them.

Harry hit the headlines worldwide when photos emerged of him frolicking in the nude with a mystery naked woman during a Las Vegas holiday.

His attendance comes after fellow Sin City reveller Carrie Reichert claimed she kissed the Prince in a naked “drunken fumble” during his nowinfamous party.

Reichert, 32, also says she was alone with the young Surviving the Vegas scandal ... Prince Harry will royal in his hotel appear at the WellChild charity awards ceremony

Clinton and Obama had clashed in 2008 following wife Hillary's failed bid as a Democratic Presidential hopeful the same year. speech to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC tomorrow night.

Further book claims last year said that Clinton had previously branded Obama ‘incompetent’ and an ‘amateur’.

Mr Clinton is said to have torn into Mr Obama and branded him ‘incompetent’ and that he ‘did not know how to be President’.

Clinton added that Obama ‘does not know how the world works’, according to an article in the Sunday Post by Edward Klein, author of ‘The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House.’

He even urged his wife to quit her job as U.S. Secretary of State and challenge him for the Democratic ticket as she knew how to do a better job of it. Clinton’s

team denied the remarks, branding Klein as a well known liar.

Mr Clinton is yet to issue comment in response to the latest reported remarks.

The rocky relationship between the 42nd President and the current President has been closely scrutinized since the aggressive primaries in 2008, where Hillary was running for President.

During that contest, Clinton made headlines for calling the premise of Obama’s campaign, his opposition to the Iraq War, ‘the biggest fair tail I’ve ever seen.’

But despite their often tense relationship, the President buried the hatchet with charismatic Clinton earlier this year by asking him to be a leading star of his reelection campaign.

Obama’s team will likely be keeping a close eye on Clinton as he takes to the North Carolina stage this week, praying that he causes no further cracks in the party for the Republicans to seize on.

66-year-old Clinton said in July that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s business career was ‘sterling’ and criticised the Obama campaign’s attacks on Romney’s background at the private equity firm Bain Capital.

He caused headaches for the Obama administration again when he said he favoured the extension of all of George W Bush’s tax cuts. Obama has campaigned on repealing the cuts for the richest Americans.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PAGE 30

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2012

Republicans gear up publicity for Democrats’ convention party R

epublicans are preparing to unleash an aggressive publicity effort at the Democratic convention in Charlotte, North Carolina this week.

While Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney rests in New Hampshire on Monday, his running mate Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan and other Republican officials will invade the Democratic gathering where President Barack Obama will kick off the home stretch of the race for the White House.

The Romney campaign indicated in a press release that the Republicans would “bracket” the convention with a new emphasis on the question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

In the release, a Romney campaign official kicked off the week’s counter-messaging with a

blistering attack, saying that at the Democratic convention, Obama “is going to give us a series of excuses, alibis and scapegoats.”

“Every president since the Great Depression, except Jimmy Carter and President Obama, who asked for a second term could look back at the last four years and say: “you are better off than you were four years ago,” the official said.

Ryan, the Republican nominee to be vice president, will hold a campaign event in the same state in Greenville.

ReincePriebus and Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah on Monday will open a “‘Obama isn’t working’ Rapid Response Center.”

Romney will spend much of the week in Vermont, using the time preparing for his three debates against Obama, a campaign official said Saturday.

C

Obama longing for 2008 magic

harlotte, North Carolina NemaBuie and Vicki Ellefson, like many people around the world, were brought together four years ago by Barack Obama. It was easy back then, to fall in love with the candidate’s message of hope and change, but things are different now.

Buie, 40, an AfricanAmerican administrative assistant from Atlanta, and Ellefson, 67, a retired airline analyst from Boise, Idaho, met as volunteers at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver in 2008.

Buie wanted an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and she liked Obama’s stance on education. Ellefson admired his eloquence and despised what she called the “dark ages” of the previous administration.

The unlikely pair became close friends in Denver, a testament to the unifying power of Obama’s presidential campaign. His party is now trying desperately to rekindle similar voter passion in the face of tightening polls, a sagging economy and unemployment of over eight per cent.

Buie and Ellefson decided to return as volunteers this week at the Democratic convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, but even these Obama loyalists admit the campaign buzz is no match for 2008. This year, in fact, they came for different reasons.

“It’s a different atmosphere.

Back then everything was new and wonderful. The enthusiasm is still there but this year we’re more protective of Obama. We’ve watched people try to break him down for four years,” said Buie.

Going into this week’s threeday summit, “Protecting Obama” might be a more appropriate slogan than what the conference is using: “Americans coming together.”

Ten thousand volunteers and an all-star cast of speakers, including former president Bill Clinton and a keynote address

Republicans are preparing to unleash an aggressive publicity effort at the Democratic convention in Charlotte, North Carolina this week.

The Democratic convention begins Tuesday, but supporters say they are "not as fired up" as they were in 2008 (AFP) from rising star Julian Castro, mayor of San Antonio, may not be enough to shield the president from a disappointed electorate.

A Reuters survey released on Sunday found that 76 per cent of Americans think the country is on the wrong track. The same poll showed Obama tied with challenger Mitt Romney at 45 per cent.

The fact that winning a second term is proving more difficult than getting to the White House in the first place is not lost on party leaders.

“There are people who are to some degree disappointed. Let’s face it: it’s not as sexy to run for a second term. There’s an image and a record to defend and the economy, although it is clearly on the rebound, is still somewhat

weak. It’s a greater challenge,” Emmanuel Cleaver, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told Al Jazeera.

As he put it: “People are not as fired up.”

At Charlotte’s Marshall Park, a few blocks away from the arena where Obama will accept his party’s nomination on Thursday night, disappointment and apathy were overshadowed by outrage at the president.

Around 70 people, more than half affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement, have gathered to protest corporate greed and inequality. A sign leaning against the table of the camp’s makeshift kitchen reads, “Obama is hopeless.”

“What we want is for him to follow through,” said Aaron

Black, 39, a photographer from Minneapolis who an organizer of the original Occupy Wall Street protests in September 2011.

“I want to see those guys on Wall Street, those ‘banksters,’ prosecuted. We want follow through.”

At a rally near the convention centre, Randy Holmes, an investor and self-avowed political junkie from New Jersey who attended the DNC in 2008, admitted that this year “the excitement is not there, clearly.”

“In Denver, it was palpable.

I’ll never forget; there were 70,000 people and I’d never experienced anything like that kind of enthusiasm. Change was in the air. It was like when my parents talked about [John F] Kennedy,” Holmes, 67, said.

“What has happened over the last four years is that we, as Americans, tend to create icons and invariably they fail to live up to our expectations.”

Holmes explains the disappointment many Democratic faithful feel in terms of Obama’s own political evolution.

“This is harsh because I am an admirer of what he has done, but he’s become a shrewd politician par excellance, and American politicians understand our society and exploit it. They know we want instant gratification; we don’t seek substance, we seek the superficial. So [they] become soundbytes and sloganeers.”

Despite the malaise among elements of the Democratic Party, millions of supporters such as Buie and Ellefson remain steadfast in their support for Obama.

They point to his success in health care reform, foreign policy and his efforts to save the American automotive sector.

“In 2008, I was struck by the eloquence of this man. It was such a different feeling from the Bush-Cheney government. I was very enthusiastic and I saw Obama as someone who could represent us in a positive light to the rest of the world,” said Ellefson.

“I still believe in him,” she added.

As the convention in Charlotte begins this week, it will be up to Obama and his highlevel party allies to rally sentiment left over from the 2008 campaign and galvanize supporters who may have gone astray.

As Buie puts it: “Some things have been accomplished, some things have been half done, and some things not at all. I want to see him get a chance to finish what he started.”

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 35

Pit Bulls Chew Car Apart to Get at Kitten A kitten holed-up in a car's bumper irresistibly baited four pit bulls overnight. The pit bulls subsequently almost tore the car apart. The car's owner awoke to the damages and a flat tire.

After driving 25 miles from Banning, Calif., to Palm Springs, Calif., the kitten was still in the bumper -- having survived four pit bulls and a 25-mile commute.

Animal Control helped the car's owner dislodge the bumper to remove the kitten, since dubbed Fender-Lynx (pictured). She is a female American tabby and is about 7 weeks old.

Fender-Lynx is at the Palm Springs Animal Shelter and is available for a $20 pre-adoption this Saturday. It's doubtful she'll have any trouble finding a new home.

And he still had to get to work.

The lost kitten was in a hollow area near the front bumper and front fender. Tantalizingly close for the four pit bulls.

Man Accused of Stealing Marijuana From Police Station

A

And all this before breakfast.

Man Orders TV Online, Seller Sends a Rifle

O

nline shopping isn't impervious to error, and Seth Horvitz recently found himself on the side of a huge mistake.

What was supposed to be a new HDTV ended being a deadly weapon instead. How did a third-party Amazon merchant screw up those boxes?

Although Amazon wasn't the seller that shipped Horvitz a Sig Sauer SIG716 semi-automatic assault weapon - the company doesn't sell and doesn't allow its thirdparty merchants to sell firearms; only airsoft guns and toy replicas.

After attempting to contact the seller with no replies, Horvitz notified the Metropolitan Police Department. Stunned by the mishap, its officers promptly confiscated the weapon.

Horvitz, who's got a wife with a child underway, said that all he wanted was a 39-inch Westinghouse LED TV to use as a secondary computer monitor. He never expected to get his hands on any guns. Well, he got more than that: Horvitz claims that gun rights blogs have mocked him for notifying the cops about the rifle shipped to him.

Pennsylvanian man allegedly stole a bag of marijuana from a police station because he couldn't resist the fragrance.

David Allan Thompson, 27, allegedly pilfered pot that had been taken into the Charleroi Regional police department as evidence, the Observer-Reporter reported.

According to a police report, Thompson arrived at the station to inform an officer about an unspecified case. During their conversation, he followed the officer into a patrol room and snatched the bag of weed off the counter, the report said.

When an officer confronted Thompson outside the station, police said he handed over the bag and said, "I just couldn't help myself. That bud smelled so good."

The officers also found an marijuana pipe in Thompson's pocket, police said.

He was arrested on charges of theft, receiving stolen

property, tampering with or fabricating evidence, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, the Observer-Reporter reported.

The 27-year-old allegedly pilfered pot that had been taken into the Charleroi Regional police department as evidence.

Birth Control for South African Elephants

S

outh Africa's largest city has begun family planning-for elephants.

Johannesburg, home to thousands of the giant creatures, is organizing a birth control

campaign to prevent overpopulation that could harm wildlife and plants because adult elephants consume 220 to 660 pounds of food a day, Reuters reported.

South Africa has seen a rise in its elephant population due to its lush habitat, unlike other African countries where numbers are alarmingly low as a result of limited sustenance and thievery.

Johannesburg, home to thousands of the giant creatures, is organizing a birth control campaign to prevent an overpopulation that could harm wildlife and plants

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Scientists close to creating singledose cure for all strains of malaria S

cientists believe they are close to creating a single-dose cure for all strains sof malaria.

A team from the University of Cape Town said a recently discovered compound, called MMV390048, may also be able to block transmission of the parasite from person to person.

Conventional multidrug malaria treatments only work for a short period of time as the malaria parasite becomes resistant to them.

However, the UCT team led by Professor Kelly Chibale said their

new treatment ‘killed these resistant parasites instantly’ in more than 18months worth of trials.

Naledi Pandor, the Minister of Science & Technology in South Africa, said: ‘This is a significant victory in the battle to alleviate the burden of disease in the subcontinent.

‘Clearly the war on this disease is not yet won, but I am excited by the role that our excellent scientists have played in this milestone in finding a potential cure for malaria and possibly

A mosquito gorged with human blood: The insects carry the life-threatening malaria parasite.

Professor Kelly Chibale is leading the team that is developing the anti-malaria compound.

preventing its transmission.’

The promising new compound shows potent activity against multiple points in the malaria parasite’s lifecycle, which is why it could stop the parasite from spreading between human populations.

In 2010, malaria caused an estimated 655 000 deaths - mostly among African children.

Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito

bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs.

The compound is being developed by scientists at the University of Cape Town in collaboration with the Medicines for Malaria Venture based in Switzerland.

So far it has displayed a complete cure of animals infected with malaria parasites in a single dose given orally, and thus has the potential to cure millions of people.

It is also active against a wide panel of resistant strains.

‘We are very excited that this promising compound, researched

by African scientists, has been selected by MMV for further development,’ said Dr Chibale.

‘Our team is hopeful that the compound will emerge from rigorous testing as an extremely effective medicine for malaria - a disease that accounts for 24 per cent of total child deaths in subSaharan Africa.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Tobacco smoke tied to flu complications in kids

K

ids hospitalised with the flu are more likely to need intensive care and a longer stay if they’ve been exposed to second-hand smoke at home, a small new study finds.

Analysing the records of more than 100 kids hospitalised with flu in New York state, researchers found those exposed to second-hand smoke were five times more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit and required a 70 percent longer stay in the hospital, compared to the kids not exposed to smoke.

“People are being a bit complacent and thinking that because they don’t see smoking as often…that it’s not a problem anymore,” said Dr. Karen Wilson, of Children’s Hospital Colorado, in Aurora, who led the study. “But we still need to be vigilant about protecting kids from second-hand smoke.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, passive smoking causes ear infection, breathing problems and lung infections in children, and leads to the hospitalization of up to 15,000 children under the age of 18 months every year.

The new work is the first

study to look at the effect of second-hand smoke on kids with influenza, however.

Wilson and her team looked at hospital records for 117 kids admitted for influenza to a New York hospital between 2002 and 2009.

Second-hand smoke exposure was reported on the charts of 40 percent of the kids - slightly lower than the 53 percent national exposure rate for kids under 11 estimated by the CDC in 2008.

During the seven-year study, researchers found that overall, 18 percent of the flu-affected kids were admitted to intensive care, and six percent needed to be intubated with a breathing tube. On average, kids stayed in the hospital for two days.

When Wilson and her team compared the kids who had been exposed to second-hand smoke to those who weren’t, they found that 30 percent of smoke-exposed kids needed intensive care versus 10 percent of unexposed kids.

Intubation was required for 13 percent of smoke-exposed kids, compared to one percent of those from a smoke-free home.

Hospital stays were up to 70 percent longer for smoke-exposed

Cigarette butts in an ashtray in Los Angeles, California, May 31, 2012. kids, with kids staying in for four days on average, compared with 2.4 days in non-exposed kids. If kids had a chronic illness as well as the flu, their length of stay increased to about 10 days, on average, if they had been breathing second-hand smoke, versus about three days in nonexposed sick kids.

“We’ve known that (secondhand smoke) is bad for children in a whole variety of ways,” said Dr. Susan Coffin, who has

studied flu complications in children at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “With this (study) we see that smoke exposure not only increases risk of hospitalization but it specifically makes the course of illness worse.”

The small study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, does have limitations. The authors note in their report, for instance, that children with severe illnesses may have been

screened more frequently for smoke exposure, leading to an underestimate of how many kids were exposed to smoke.

Still, the findings do point to a need for better screening when kids with the flu are seen in the ER, researchers said.

“If you have a child who comes into the hospital and they are exposed to tobacco smoke, they have more risk of going on to develop more severe illness,” Wilson told Reuters Health.

Knowing that kids are at increased risk could help physicians make better treatment decisions, she added.

For Wilson, it’s critical that children don’t end up in the ER in the first place.

“This is a preventable cause of severe flu, and it’s sad that children are in a position to be exposed even though these serious complications can occur,” said Wilson.

“Obviously not smoking and protecting children from smoke won’t stop them from getting influenza, but it may help it from becoming a severe illness or (preventing) complications that we sometimes see,” she added.

Source: Reuters.com

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 37

NASS not Jonathan’s rubber stamp, says Sen. Marafa INTERVIEW

T

he issue of state police creation has now generated serious controversy, are you in support of the idea?

Well, personally I don’t support the idea of state police, and like you know I cannot speak for the Senate and I don’t even have the right to do so. But I oppose state police in its entire ramifications. As a Northerner, I have seen politics from one system to the other. I have not seen one person that is able to convince me on why we need state police. The federal Police Force is there and the Commissioners of Police, you know are answerable to state governors to a very large extent.

It is only some very few issues they need clearance from the centre to do. There is no way the President would deny any state governor the usage of police to bring about peace within the state. So, I don’t know why people are agitating for the state police. Like I said, we should always discharge our responsibility with most sense of responsibility. I think what is deceiving people is that they refuse to accept the transient nature of power. We should not because we are in a position of authority create things that will suit us to harass people and intimidate others. So we are supposed to do things that will safeguard our future and not do things that will suit us just today. For instance if somebody grabs the same weapon I have fabricated while I am no longer in a position, what do you think will happen to me and my followers? We have seen how elections are conducted, we have seen especially local government election, the bulk of the problem we are having in local government election is because state governors are the umpires of the elections. So, you find out that any party that is in power in that state sweeps everything.

But, look at elections conducted by the federal, like that of our own here in Zamfara, when in the 2011 elections we were able to snatch away power from the PDP the ruling party at the centre. So, I opposed state police from its roots, its stand and branches. In fact, I don’t see reasons why we need state police now and if brought before the Senate I am going to oppose it entirely.

As a member of the Federal Character Committee in the Senate, how do you intend to address the alleged lopsidedness in the recent

Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa, a Senator representing Zamfara Central in the National Assembly in this interview with our correspondent, Salisu Zakari Maradun, dispels the insinuation that the National Assembly is a rubber stamp to President Goodluck Jonathan just as he expresses stout opposition to the proposal for the creation of state police. Excerpts: recruitment exercise conducted by the NNPC? Well, I don’t know. Regarding your question, I personally don’t want react on this issue. What you are now saying I also saw it in the pages of newspapers. But as an active member of the Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we have not received any formal complaint with regard to this effect and I would want to use this medium to call on Nigerians to please desist from rumor mongering. The Committee is headed by most Distinguished Senator Dahiru Awesu Kuta and I am an active member and I know I have participated very well and we have done quite a lot in the area of recruitment, because the committee supervises the Federal Character Commission. Again I am ready any day any time to question any authority where ever in Nigeria regarding this issue, because it’s a constitutional requirement to balance appointments and even infrastructures. Not only that, the committee is empowered to look at how government projects are being distributed within the various zones of the Federation.

Now as an active member of the committee, whatis the committee doing on the NNPC issue?

Well, what I will say regarding to NNPC is that we are still investigating and unfortunately from the time the publication came out and from the time we went to our recess was very short. So we are investigating to find out; but I have not received any petition and if there is anybody that can substantiate and I repeat substantiate, it is very easy. You can see people just walk into your office, call you on phone to tell that we heard that Road Safety

Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa is employing, they are replacing and they are doing that and Zamfara state indigenes are not represented. But, on very little enquiry you will find out that they are not true. And there is something very critical, you see if you are to be respected then you must learnt on how to confront people based on very solid facts on ground. So , if there are facts on ground or you know anybody that have facts let him bring it to me at home, on the road, in the office anywhere I am ready to confront NNPC. Let me add this, that apart from being a member of the Federal character committee, I am also Vice Chairman of Committee on Petroleum Upstream. By virtue of this position, NNPC comes directly under our supervision.

So I have two roles to play here:

“

On the performance of the budget, though I cannot speak for the Senate as I am not its voice, as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I am not satisfied on the performance of the budget and I advise the executive, on a very serious note, to seat up and look at the issues because these are issues that can bring a lot of problems

one to investigate this issue of employment from my main committee that is the Petroleum Upstream and from Federal Character.

Are you satisfied with infrastructural developments in the country under President Jonathan?

If the people of Zamfara Central feel there is something wrong with sharing of the projects, they will complain to me. Mark you, infrastructure is not something that you distribute in a day, but it has been on for a very long period of time. I don’t know what Jonathan has done over time, but the basic fact here is that if you feel marginalized, then you bring it up and we will look into it. But you don’t have to go out witch hunting him as Senators that you have done this here or there, no.

But if there is any imbalance that we feel can jeopardize the peaceful co-existence of the people by virtue of a certain zone being favoured, we must point it out and balance them.

Sir, some citizens of the country are looking at the members of the National Assembly as the rubber stamps to the President; do you react to this?

I think I can throw the question back to you, is the

National Assembly rubber stamp to the President? The answer is no, everybody knows it’s not.

You see just recently the House of Representatives threatened to impeach the President and the Senate too. The joint committee of Finance and appropriation headed by the Deputy Senate President called on the coordinating Minister of Finance on two issues and she didn’t appear before the committee and they threatened to send warrant of arrest against her but she later honoured the summon.

She reacted to the allegation that the executive is not implementing the budget as passed by the National Assembly. She claimed the budget has been 56percent implemented but the Senate was not happy that she recounted before the Senate.

What people should know is that the Senate or the National Assembly is not a rubber stamp to the President. The second thing I will want to point out is that it is not only when you are fighting somebody that people will say are not a rubber stamp.

You see, we don’t have to fight.There is one Nigeria and there is one government in Nigeria, but that government have arms, that is the Judiciary and the legislature.

So, we don’t have to be at loggerhead, at each other throats. You see for instance if you are having problem with your right hand you don’t use the left hand to cut it off. The President has enormous powers and because of this, about five hundred Nigerians are elected to checkmate one person. So we have 109 Senators and we have 360 members of the House of representative, all of us doing one job to checkmate this power so that people don’t abuse power; that is what we are doing. But the unfortunate thing about Nigerians is that people refuse to see the legislature; so, let Nigerians be fair to us as we are one of them.

On the performance of the budget, though I cannot speak for the Senate as I am not its voice, as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I am not satisfied on the performance of the budget and I advise the executive, on a very serious note, to seat up and look at the issues because these are issues that can bring a lot of problems.

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Pwajok, Plateau North Senate candidate, says youthful age huge advantage

F

ormer Chief of Staff to Platueau Governor, Mr. Gyang Pwajok, has said that his youthful age was an advantage, and not a handicap, in his bid for the senate.

“I am 47 years and indeed appear young, but my youthfulness will add some resourcefulness to the senate,’’ Pwajok told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos yesterday.

Pwajok, who resigned last month to contest the seat vacated by late Sen. Gyang Dantong, was reacting to claims by opponents that he was “too young’’ for the senate usually seen as a place for elders and experienced minds.

“It is strange to say that I am too young to be a senator because there are younger people in the senate.

You also recall that former Military leader, Gen Yakubu Gowon, was 32 years when he became Head of State and everybody has testified that he did well.

“Again, former Deputy Senate President, John Wash Pam, was not up to my age today, when he became senator in 1979, but he did very well; so age is certainly not a barrier to my aspiration.’’

Pwajok explained that he was eminently qualified for the task, having taught Political Science at the University of Jos, before being appointed Director, Research and Documentation in the Plateau Government House, from where he rose to become Chief of staff.

“In addition, I have also served in various sensitive committees bordering on policy planning, security, and other state executive council matters.’’

Mr. Gyang Pwajok Pwajok also rejected claims that he was from the same Du area in Jos, just as Governor Jonah Jang.

“It is erroneous to claim that the Governor and I are from the same place. Those making such claims are either not aware, or merely being mischievous because the truth is glaring.

“There is a huge difference between Du village and Du District.

The former is a small settlement, while the later is so large that it has been sub-divided into the two local governments of Jos North and Jos

South.

“While the governor is from Jos South, I am from Jos North which has never produced a senator for the senatorial district.

“In truth, the fact that no senator had ever emerged from Jos north gave me the edge when the elders were searching for a replacement for the late Dantong.’’

The PDP senatorial aspirant described the campaigns so far as “very wonderful’’, saying that the support he was getting from youth groups, elders and party leaders was

“very surprising and overwhelming’’.

“I have traversed the six local governments of the senatorial district and just can’t believe the huge support from volunteer groups, individuals and even some NGOs. “There has also been some massive support from people I do not even know. Some use the social media; others have opened campaign offices, with many others producing posters, bill boards, Tshirts, caps, umbrellas and other souvenirs.

“I see my posters pasted everywhere and honestly, I do not know who is printing or pasting them.’’

Pwajok acknowledged the constituency’s very cosmopolitan nature and promised to carry all along, irrespective of tribal, religious or political differences.

He identified the general insecurity as a main problem in the senatorial zone, and promised to focus on reconciliation, rehabilitation and general reconstruction so as to restore mutual love, respect and confidence among the constituents.

NAN reports that the Plateau North senatorial seat, comprising Jos North, Jos East, Jos South, Riyom, Barkin-Ladin and Bassa local governments, became vacant after the death, on July 8, of Sen Dantong.

He reportedly died in a stampede at Maseh Village in Riyom Local Government, when gunmen attacked mourners during a mass burial.

INEC has fixed Oct. 6, for the byelection. (NAN)

PDP visits Adamawa flood victims

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

he People Democratic Party (PDP) led by its National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, at the weekend paid a visit to the flood victims in Adamawa state.

Tukur who was conducted around the flood scene, according to the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, also part of the party’s national executive team, assure the victims that the government

would do all within its means to compensate them as well as prevent recurrence.

The PDP chairman who hails from Adamawa state told his kinsmen “Our Party belongs to the people of Nigeria. The welfare of our people is the centre piece of every of our decision. Whatever hurts the people, hurts us most especially.

We are to show our concern and support you in this period of anguish and loss.”

He added that the issue of flooding was a global phenomenon

even as he appealed to all stakeholders to join hands with government to address it squarely.

The PDP National Chairman pledged the commitment of the PDP led federal government to tackle the incidence of flooding in Nigeria including that of Adamawa state.

“I want to assure you that our great Party will leave no stone unturned in addressing this matter. At the highest level of governance, necessary actions are already being taken not only to

grant relief to the victims but to prevent future occurrence.”

The state governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako thanked the PDP National Chairman for the visit and expressed the state government’s appreciation to the National leadership of the Party for the sympathy and words of encouragement. He urged the National Chairman to extend the state government’s gratitude to President Goodluck Jonathan for his prompt response to the needs of the victims.

Niger governor, in Berlin, urges people-oriented govt, governance

G

ov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger has stressed the need for the Nigerian government to make the people the centre of its governance policies.

He stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Berlin, the German capital.

Aliyu is in Germany with governors of Rivers, Enugu, Plateau, Borno and Katsina states on a tour to understudy Germany´s federal system of government with a view to replicating that country's best practices in their states.

The tour was organised by the Nigeria Governors´ Forum (NGF) in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GAIC).

The governor said: ``we must make the people the centre of all policy issues and get them convinced that whatever we are doing as leaders is for their benefit and they should see the benefits on ground.''

This, Aliyu said, was necessary to win the confidence of the people and to ensure a disciplined and honest society that would be willing to contribute to governance.

He, however, stressed that Nigeria´s education system should be made to produce people who would serve the community.

He advised that the Nigerian education system should be structured in a way that the potential of a child should be known from elementary school. ``It is not compulsory that everybody should go to the university. Infact in some places we should have a stop gap so that we can have those who will go to vocational schools and those who will become hair dressers.''

Aliyu said the Nigerian government should ensure that

universities in the country did not only produce theoretical graduates but graduates with the potential to generate jobs for themselves and the society.

This, he noted, was obtainable in advanced countries and Germany in particular, where its people were exposed to direct practical training before they got admitted into universities.

Aliyu, however, said that unless the Nigerian government begun to set its priorities right, its desire to be counted among the most developed nations by the year 2020 may be a mirage.

(NAN)

No deal with Oshiomhole - Edo PDP

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

E

do state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has refuted the claims in some quarters that its resolve not to challenge the victory of Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the July 14th governorship election held in the state was not reached after a pact with the governor.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Edo state Publicity Secretary of the party, Matthew Urhoghide, PDP explained that the decision was reached after several prolonged meetings attended by strategic leaders and stakeholders of the party including the PDP flag bearer in the election.

The release stated "Our party did not take a position a few days after the election. It took over three weeks to reach a decision and within which period a series of consultations and meetings were held to determine the best line of action. In its carefully considered opinion, Edo PDP decided not to challenge the election outcome at the Election Tribunal."

Pointing out that it did not arrive at the decision easily; the party explained that the resolve was difficult for its numerous supporters to accept, adding that though the decision of the party reigns supreme, it did not also foreclose the fundamental and constitutional rights of its candidate to challenge the election outcome at the tribunal.

It emphasized that it is malicious and wicked for any person to peddle rumours suggesting that it accepted compensations to fore go their rights to challenge the result of the election.

"In fact, these same people are known to have worked against the candidate and party interest in the July 14, 2012 election. It is our knowledge that the new aim of these people is to cause disaffection within the party, and strive to gain some sympathies and favors for themselves from top PDP leaders including the opposition party." The statement alleged.

Against this background, it refuted the allegation that Oshiomhole offered money and promised it choice positions in the local government offices and in his cabinet, recalling that in her official statement, the party was clear on the irregularities observed by a lot of people including Oshiomhole, which prompted him to indict the INEC and Attahiru Jega of compromise in the election.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 39

CPC condemns FG's offer to rebuild UN Building

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

C

ongress for Progressive Change (CPC) has condemned the Federal Government offer to expend N3.2 billion in rebuilding the United Nations office in Abuja, which was attacked in August last year by Boko Haram.

The party also described the promise to refund $580,000 allegedly spent on the treatment of victims, which is in addition to the N3.2b rebuilding offer, as a 'wrong-headed magnanimity and brazen corruption.'

In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, CPC argued that UN is a world-wide operations which has a comprehensive insurance policy for its buildings, coupled with a formidable separate

insurance for terrorism across the world.

It therefore, lamented that such offer was profligate, arguing that federal government should have made a wide consultations to ascertain the appropriateness or otherwise of the expenditure before promising such expensive venture.

"We see the offer by the Nigerian Government to spend money on what was already provided for by the UN as totally wrong-headed and preposterous." The statement read in part.

Buttressing its argument, CPC cited the September 2011 terrorist acts on United States, saying that after the attacks, a legal framework for Terrorism Risk Insurance was laid through the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 2002.

It further explained that on the

expiration of the TRIA in 2005, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Re-authorization Act 2007 extended the TRIA through December 31st, 2014.

Against this background, the party alleged that the rebuilding offer is another trick for concealing another 'corruption-laden' expenditure of the Jonathan's regime, arguing that since the proposed N3.2billion for the rebuilding was extra 2012 budget,

it is enough reason for him to be impeached.

While calling on the federal government to rather make effort at providing the legal framework for Terrorism Risk Insurance for Nigerians in the face of the mounting terrorism challenges in the country, CPC warned that the attitude of taking decisions to satisfy the whims and caprices of those at the helm is unsustainable.

Meanwhile, it would be recalled

that FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the bombing disclosed that Federal Government has provided N3.2 billion to rehabilitate the UN House.

According to him, the fund is made up of N2.6 billion to start rebuilding and N600 million for temporary accommodation, which is in addition to promised refund of $580,000, spent on the treatment of victims.

Dungs asks constituents to vote candidates, not parties

R

etired Col. David Dungs, a former Delta military governor and DPP candidate for Plateau North Senate by-elections, has asked the people to vote candidates rather than parties.

Dungs, who is seeking to replace Late Sen. Gyang Dantong, who died in a stampede when gunmen attacked mourners at Maseh, a village in Riyom Local Government, is running on the platform of the DPP. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos yesterday, Dungs said:“Plateau North senatorial district is in a critical period in its history in view of the insecurity and many other challenges.

“I want to urge voaters to be critical and look out for quality candidates and not just their party platforms.

“Special attention must be paid to experienced hands that would build bridges across all tribal, religious and interest groups so as to encourage unity, mutual trust and promote love,’’ He said stressed the need for experienced bridge builders to

stabilize the polity in this critical period in Plateau and Nigeria.

“The signals appear ominous and it is high time for the electorate to seek out and vote in people, who have shown that they are willing and capable of bringing all interest groups to one table toward a strong nation.’’

Dungs particularly noted that he governed Delta during a major disagreement between the Itsekiris and Urhobos and that he was able to negotiate peace among the warring groups.

“I have friends across all divides and will explore such friendship toward a united Plateau and Nigeria in general.’’

The former military governor decried the growing poverty among the people of Plateau north, and promised to work toward attracting investors to create the much needed employment.

Dungs said that he would also work to restore the old friendship that kept Plateau people together for centuries, and decried the current situation where friends and neighbours had continued to kill each other.

Mimiko vows to rid Ondo area. state of slums the ``The building of 56 lock-up

T

he Senior Special Assistance on Direct Labour to Gov Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo state, Mr Ogunya Victor, said the state government was committed to wiping out shanties and slums in the state.

Victor made this known yesterday in Akure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the construction of shops around the Ondo township stadium.

According to him, with the construction of small lock-up shops across the state, slums and shanties will soon disappear.

He said that government was building 56 lock-up shops and 14 open stores around the Ondo township stadium in order to improve commercial activities in

shops and open stores is to rejuvenate the lives of the people in the area," he said.

Victor added that government had promptly released funds for efficient execution of the project, and it would be completed within two months. ``Government has decided to carry out the project through the direct labour agency rather than through contractors, in order to minimise cost and improve lives of the people of the area. ``The agency has employed about 150 skilled and unskilled labour locally in order to alleviate the suffering of the people," he said.

Victor, however, said that the primary beneficiaries were those that vacated the location for construction to take place. (NAN)

District Head of Yola, Alhaji Sa'ad Bawuro (left), welcoming Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur (right), and his entourage at Damare Camp where the chairman visited victims of flood disaster caused by water released from Lagdo dam in Cameroon, on Sunday. Photo: NAN

Kogi lawmaker vows to sponsor motion on oil wells in Ibaji From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

T

he member representing ibaji in the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon Atule Christopher Okoche, has said he would sponsor a motion to compel the Federal Government to list the state as an oil producing states in the country.

Okoche who stated this on yesterday while exchanging views with journalists in Lokoja said the recent commissioning of a private petroleum company, Orient in Anambra state has nothing to do with the oil deposits in Ibaji as being speculated by the public.

Although, he admitted that there were several attempt by the

powerful forces in Anambra to use the advantage of the boundary with Ibaji in Kogi state, to criminally claim the oil wells but such attempt has failed.

The lawmaker who appealed to the host community not to be violent, equally enjoined Anambra state to desist from further action that may degenerate into violence pending the resolution of the matter by the Federal Government.

“We are not known for violence and as such both parties must restrained action in this tussle to avoid break down of law” he stated The legislator, who further disclosed that the area has abundant mineral deposits aside the disputed zones, said there was

another large deposit oil in Ogbogbo/ Orugu valley in Ibaji and Igalamela/Odolu local government areas of the state, which according to him has great potentials to generate more revenue for the country if properly harnessed.

He called on the Federal Government to wade into the matter in order to bring an end to the rising tension in the two states over the ownership of the oil wells.

“However tension has heightened in Ibaji over the attempt to encroach the zone by the Anambra state following the commissioning of the private oil firm” he said. He also alleged that some big shots in the state are involved in the shady deal.

Abia LG elections hold January, says Orji

L

ocal government elections in Abia will hold in January 2013, baring unforeseen circumstances, Gov. Theodore Orji, has said.

The governor said this yesterday in Umuahia while briefing newsmen on some of the landmark achievements recorded by his administration.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that local councils in Abia have been administered by Transition Committee (TC) Chairmen over the past four years.

But Orji said that it was time to conduct elections in that tier of

government, adding that "the transition system is not perpetual''.

"I intend to conduct elections at the local government areas by January next after due consultation with the Chairman of Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC)," he said.

Orji said that all political parties in the state would be given a level playing ground to vie for offices during the polls.

He said that the state was constrained to administer the Councils with TC chairmen due to large debts incurred by immediate past elected executives at the Councils.

"They left us with the burden of N2.9 billion being unpaid salaries and other emoluments, including the N29 billion debt I inherited from previous administrations," he said.

The governor said "now that the security situation has improved, we should be ready to conduct the polls''.

"We are now blocking the loopholes through which revenues where siphoned and before January, our finances would have improved," he said.

Orji warned partisan civil servants and other political appointees that were already angling for one position or the other against such actions.

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

CPC berates Governor Aliyu over sale of govt properties

By Stanley Onyekwere

T

he Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Niger State Chapter, has expressed dissatisfaction over a recent advertorial in some national dailies by The Niger State Ministry of Land and Housing offering to the general public the sale of 29 units of the elite housing estate located in Minna.

The party condemns in strong terms what it described as

'whimsical approach to the proposed sale of the state's landed properties and the intended use of the proceeds therefrom', which it believes is not of any priority in the hierarchy of needs of Nigerlites.

A statement from the office of the Niger State CPC Chairman, Umar Shuaibu, said the party considers the "auctioning" of the state's vital assets for the development of a Three Arms Zone with its proceeds, as clear sign of

bankruptcy of ideas from the government.

"It is a glaring loss of focus in governance, a grossly illogical prioritization of the needs of the people, and a brazen display of insensitivity and insult to the collective intelligence of the electorates the government claims to be serving", the statement said.

CPC further argued that it is as an evident proof of how out-of-touch the administration is with the reality of what the state's basic needs

are; saying it is deeply troubled over this obvious disconnect of the administration from the generality of the ordinary people of the state who face many glaring problems daily.

According to the statement, "as for the Government House in particular, all previous Governors, since the inception of the state, lived and worked there, the only exception is Gov. Babangida Aliyu, who on the grounds of a feigned modesty, decided to live in his

Kebbi state Governor, Alhaji Usman Dakingari (right), presenting a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag to a candidate, during the launch of local government elections campaign, on Sunday in Birnin Kebbi.

Photo: NAN

Lawmakers will boost democracy through capacity building – Ekweremadu

D

eputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu said in Abuja that democracy could only yield the expected dividends if the lawmakers had the requisite capacity to perform their roles.

The Deputy Senate President, who is the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute, observed that the establishment of the NILS was

informed by the quest to reposition Nigerian and West African legislatures.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media Uche Anichukwu made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday said this would be achieved through trainings and courses on legislative best practices and procedures, policy

analysis, democracy, and good governance.

Ekweremadu, who spoke at a joint interactive session with the management and staff of the National Institute for Legislative Studies, NILS, added that the recruitment process at the Institute was thorough, transparent, and fair.

He said the institute was well

resourced to yield immediate and sustained improvements in the legislative roles of lawmaking, oversight, and appropriation.

He called on various legislatures in Nigeria and West Africa to take advantage of the Institute's services and enjoined the staff and management to put in their best to realise the institute's objectives.(NAN)

Imo LG tenure: Court strikes out chairmen's suit

A

n Owerri High Court yesterday struck out a suit filed by the 27 local council chairmen in Imo, urging it to allow them to serve out their tenure.

The Judge, Justice Ngozi Opara, struck out the case on the grounds that the plaintiffs had abused court processes.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Rochas Okorocha on assumption of office in June 2011, had sacked the council chairmen before the expiration of their tenure.

The counsel to the governor, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), had raised the issue of abuse of court process and challenged the

jurisdiction of the court over the matter.

Akintola, while arguing the case on Aug. 16, urged the court to strike out the case, saying that entertaining it amounted to an abuse of court processes.

The second defendant, Mr Soronnadi Njoku, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for

Justice, argued that the claimants plea for two-year tenure was granted by the Appeal Court, their action in the High Court was therefore an abuse of court process.

Opara struck out the case, ruling that hearing it would amount to abuse of court process since a similar case had been instituted in the Federal High Court. (NAN)

Merger will make opposition defeat PDP says Lame From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

A

ction Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chieftain, Dr. Yakubu Lame, has declared that opposition parties have started pursuing the course of merger in order to come out stronger and defeat PDP in the 2015 general elections.

The former Minister of Police Affairs stated this in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi yesterday shortly after a meeting held with the leadership of ACN in the state.

"ACN believes that merger of the opposition parties is one of the greatest priorities of the democratic situation we are in; we realized that a vibrant purposeful and viable opposition is the only guarantee of salvaging Nigeria from collapsing; so we have deliberated on what to do, we have planned strategies on how to go about it and we have agreed that this will commence immediately.

"For the opposition to be sure of winning elections, they must come

together; they must merge to face the PDP machinery of rigging. From now on till 2015, our strategy is on how to face the rigging machinery of the PDP but as far as the mandate of the Nigerian people is concerned, we are sure they will give us.

"PDP has shown categorical failure in their leadership, they have failed and therefore what the opposition is now trying to do is to make sure that in 2015 there is credible election; that is all we are fighting for.

"We are not going to tell the people that PDP has not been able to provide electricity, it s very clear they have not provided electricity; we will not tell the people that PDP has not provided security, it is clearly shown that they cannot provide security; we will not tell Nigerians that certain infrastructures have not been provided, it is clear the PDP has not been able to do that, so Nigerians know their alternative and their alternative is opposition.

personal house, at great cost to the tax payers."

"The same government recently made it public that it is not capable paying the minimum wage to its labour force. If we are so cash-starved to the point of financial desperation that will constrain us to dispose of our landed properties (an action we are strongly opposed to), such funds realized should not be channeled to finance the needless and wasteful Three Arms Zone project," the statement said.

Offa LG crisis: PDP supporters protest as ACN kicks From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

T

he people of Offa are witnessing another protest on their major streets as supporters of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the area came out to declare their support for the nullification of the election that brought Prince Saheed Popoola, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) into power.

Engr. Goke Rabiu who led the protesters said "If the court gave a good verdict that a rerun election is nullified, people are so happy with the judgment. The true feeling of residents of Offa is that the election was marred by electoral malpractices.

"We have about 6,000 people on the streets; we stand by the judgment.

It is a welcome development. It shows that judiciary is the last hope of the common man. The truth has finally emerged. The other protesters are like wounded lion.

They have even lost grip of even their party members. They know that if another election is conducted, they will not win".

Similarly a former chieftain of ACN, Arch. Lola Ashiru, who defected to Allied Congress Party of Nigeria( ACPN) led by Dr Oluosola Saraki has called the people of the town to support PDP in the state.

Ashiru in a widely circulated statement yesterday in Ilorin said his call for support for PDP was necessary in order to attract more state and federal presence to Offa.

But the state chairman of ACN, Mr. Kayode Olawepo, in a statement described Ashiru as unstable politician who was playing to the gallery.

"The people of Offa cannot be spoon-fed by anybody. Lola Ashiru knows and can testify to that. He was just playing to the gallery to satisfy his masters. Being an unstable politician, he is definitely not in a position to sway the everconscious voters of Offa whose interest begins and ends at ensuring good governance and protection of their collective dignity and liberty as a people. At any rate, what carrot would Ashiru, now a chieftain of a failed and corrupt political association called PDP be dangling to the Offa people?"

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 41

Sunshine keeper laments loss to Esperance

S

Victor Moses

unshine Stars goalkeeper Moses Ocheje has maintained his club did not deserve to lose to Esperance in a CAF Champions League in Tunis.

The Nigerian representatives lost 1-0 Sunday night courtesy of a 52nd minute own goal by James Ebitogwa, but Ocheje said that Sunshine did enough in Tunis to at least get a draw.

“It was a painful way to lose a game, we played well and did not deserve to lose the game, a draw would have been the worst result for us there in Tunisia, but it was

not to be. We created chances too but we failed to convert them,” he lamented.

“The game has been lost and won. Now our attention is on how to scale through the semi-final.

We know the higher we go the tougher it becomes and we are ready for that.”

The Akure club, who also reached the last four of last year’s Confederation Cup, will now await the winners of Group B between TP Mazembe of DR Congo and Al Ahly from Egypt in the semi-finals.

Defending champions Esperance have won Group A as they have recorded an unassailable nine points with only a game to be played in this group following the disqualification of local rivals Etoile du Sahel.

Esperance, who beat Sunshine Stars 2-0 in the reverse fixture in Nigeria in July, will play the final game of the group in a fortnight at bottom team ASO Chlef of Algeria, who are still to gain a point at this stage of the tournament.

By Patrick Andrew

a dependable squad; able and daring.

Nigeria no less. Prolific and versatile, abounding in vivacious display. Francisca Ordega, Desire Oparanozie, Esther Sunday, Joseph Chukwunonye, Gloria Ofoegbu, Blessing Edoho, Osarenoma Igbinovia, the Falconets boast of experience, physically robust and energetic bunch capable of invoking fear in their opponents.

The USA have an intimidating pedigree being twotime winners of the prestigious trophy and victories in 24 matches in all finals. So, they will with pride seek to protect their record.

The USA have been in the semi finals five out of six times, while Nigeria will making its second consecutive appearance.

Incidentally it was Nigeria that knocked them out in the quarter final two years ago 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after regular time ended 1-1.

Yesterday, the Falconets equally trained on penalty kicks in case there is a repeat of the 2010 experience.

Nigeria were losers in the final of the last edition and narrowly missing a sip from the trophy courtesy 0-2 loss to hosts Germany.

Now, they are determined to go a step further than they did which lifting the trophy.

And the team are compact, experienced and determined.

The typical Nigerian spirit oozes in them as expressed by Coach Edwin Okon who has repeatedly enthused, “We are here to go a step further than we did at the last edition.

Going by their performances so far, both teams have the nerve to withstand pressure and today the team with the better resolve, tenacity and profoundly predatory would carry the day.

Meanwhile FIFA badged referee, Esther Staubli who handled the Argentina versus Canada group match will be in charge of today’s encounter that comes up at 8am in Nigeria and 4pm (Japanese time).

A native of Switzerland but fluent in German, Staubli has been a referee since 2000 but became internationally acclaimed in 2006.

Falconets set to haul off USA hurdle N

Ikechukwu Uche

Moses, Ike, 2 others hit camp as Eagles defy rains to train

By Albert Akota

C

helsea’s new acquisition Victor Moses sustained his early bird status as he arrived in the camp ahead of his compatriots. He was followed by Obiora Nwankwo, another stickler for time.

The duo trained with the 13 domestic league Eagles yesterday but were joined by two other foreign-based players who also came into the Bolton White Apartment minutes before the evening training ended. The new arrivals were prolific finisher Ikechukwu Uche and defender Elderson Echiejile.

Interestingly, the Eagles had defied the intermitent Abuja down pour to train as Head Coach Stephen Keshi strategies ahead of the September 9 Nations Cup final phase qualifying game against hosts the Lone Stars of Liberia in Monrovia.

Keshi along with his technical crew withstood the down pour throughout the two-hour training taking them through offensive fundamentals, predatory defensive strategies as well as team cohesion.

According to the team’s media officer, Ben Alaiya, Keshi remains optimistic that all the other seven foreign-based professionals will be available for this morning training and thus allow the squad to begin profund tactical build-up ahead of their journey on Friday for the duel in Monrovia.

Alaiya said skipper Joseph Yobo, Efe Ambrose, Brown Ideye, Nosa Igiebor, Emmanuel Emenike and Ahmed Musa are expected in camp to complete the squad. ”Only Vincent Enyeama is expected on Wednesday (tomorrow) for a reason but we should be good by Tuesday evening”, Keshi was quoted by Alaiya to have said in anticipation of a full house.

igeria’s Falconets go faceto-face this morning (8am) against their USA counterparts in the semi-finals of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in a feisty contest both will stop at nothing to hit the final.

The Falconets had hectic time dislodging the Mexicans in the quarter-finals managing an extra-time goal courtesy Desire Oparanozie to edge the EL Tri, who no doubt were no easy-pushovers.

The Americans did not have an easy ride either in their contest with the Korea DPR, needing extra-time goal to oust them from the race to the last four finals.

They also depended on goal difference to edge out China PR to berth at the last eight finals.

In today’s game, the Falconets need to come alive in the third quarter of their opponents, a factor that was their undoing against the Mexicans.

In goalkeeper Bryane Heaberlin, defender Crystal Dunn, midfielder Di Bernardo and Chioma Ubogagu, their arrowhead, the USA can boast of

Esther Sunday

Gloria Ofoegbu

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Emordi positive on Enugu Rangers’ league title hopes

C

Okey Emordi

Female Challenge Cup: Rivers, Osun zoom into q/finals

R

ivers Angels FC and Osun Babes FC on Saturday qualified for the quarterfinals of the ongoing 2012 female Challenge Cup from the Calabar Centre.

Rivers Angels topped the table from nine points after walkingover Standard Babes of Abia in their last match over the weekend, while Osun defeated Tewo Babes of Oyo 4-1 to place second with six points.

Tewo Babes failed to make it to the quarter-finals as they ended with three points while Abia had no point. Cerezo Babes of Ilorin pulled out of the games.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Standard Babes of Abia, Roland Gbaruko, has said that he would protest the walked-over of his team to the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).

Gbaruko said at the U.J. Esuene Sports Stadium, venue of the competition that he was not formally informed of the change of time by the Cross River FA. “I am heading to Abuja to formally present my protest because what was done to my team was pure injustice. I was not formally communicated on the shift of the timing of the match; the match was supposed to be played at 2 p.m. and simultaneously.

“Nobody informed me that the time had been rescheduled for 8 a.m, only for them to say, they have walked-over us,” he stated.

He said that the fine of N20,000 given to him as indemnity of the referees for the match to be rescheduled was unrealistic, adding that he had no option than to seek redress.

In his reaction, the Assistant Secretary of the state FA, Talabi Oke, said that all the teams were duly notified about the shift in the timing.

“We had a meeting where it was resolved and as a follow-up I sent text messages to all the officials and their coaches,” he said.

Talabi, however, acknowledged that he did not send the text message to the Chairman of the Abia team but rather to his coach.

oach of Rangers FC of Enugu, Okey Emordi, has expressed optimism that the team could still win the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) title, in spite of their current position on the competition’s table.

Rangers, who are currently third on the league table, with 61 points, with one outstanding match before the season ends on September 7, have been without trophy for almost three decades.

Though Kano Pillars and Lobi Stars FC are first and second with 64 and 63 points, respectively, the coach hopes that the duo would have difficulties because

they would have tough away matches, while Rangers will be playing at home and hopes to win.

Emordi said yesterday that they were determined to win, adding that sitting in third place did not mean all hopes were lost.

“There is still hope, anything can happen, which is why we are not ruling out our chances. We believe we can still win, despite sitting third on the log.

“We are trailing the two teams, but it doesn’t mean there’s nothing at stake. We have our eyes set on winning and we believe God will see us through,” he said.

Emordi added that the Enugu

Rangers plan was to stay focused on winning their final match and avoiding distractions from results elsewhere.

“I don’t care about other results, because we don’t want to get distracted by what is happening elsewhere. We just want to win on Friday. We want to fully play our part so that we will feel relieved that we gave our best till the very end,” he said.

The coach said that no plans had been concluded for next season’s campaign, adding that the team would wait till the end of the current season, before it would start strategising.

“We are not looking at next season yet because the current one has not ended. We can only start strategising after this season ends.

“When the season ends, we will assess our overall performance and look at areas that need to be redressed. Right now, winning our final game is what matters to us,” he said.

Rangers will play at home to Sharks FC of Port Harcourt in the final league match of the season.

The first and second placed teams, Kano Pillars FC and Lobi Stars FC, will travel away to play Sunshine Stars FC of Akure and Kaduna United, respectively.

Coach commends Jigawa Govt. over club’s funding

E

vans Ogenyi, the Head Coach of Jigawa Golden Stars FC yesterday in Dutse commended the state government for funding the team adequately.

Ogenyi disclosed that government’s funding of the team had contributed to its development in the Nigeria

Premier League.

The club is currently 17th on the league table, with 48 points from 36 matches, as the 2011/ 2012 season ends on Sept. 7.

He said that match bonuses and other allowances were being paid promptly, adding that the government adopted measures that improved the welfare of the

K

Kaka, other Real Madrid stars to comfort troubled Ronaldo

aka insists Cristiano Ronaldo will receive any support he needs from the Real Madrid squad.

Ronaldo told reporters he was “sad” after Sunday night’s 3-0 La Liga win over Granada, sending Spain’s rumour mill spinning with speculation he was unhappy with his current salary or had fallen out with colleagues at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Kaka, who has been unsettled in recent weeks, said that he and the rest of the Madrid squad were fully behind the Portuguese attacker.

“Cristiano knows that he has the support of the team for whatever he wants,” Kaka said. “The most important is that he is happy because he is a fundamental player for Real Madrid. He will have our support.”

The Brazilian playmaker was heavily linked with a summer exit from the club, with coach Jose Mourinho suggesting it might suit both parties, but now says he has decided to stay and fight for a first-team place.

“I am going to keep doing my part of the work,” Kaka said.

“My motivation will be to regain confidence, both my own and that of Mourinho. I can only do that, training in the morning and in the afternoon.

“The season is very long and maybe I will have an opportunity. I need to have patience. Many people on the street tell me that they hope to see me play and I know have the support of the stadium, who have always treated me very well.”

Kaka, who last played for Brazil at the 2010 World Cup finals, said he had not yet given up hope of a recall ahead of the next tournament, which is being held in his home country.

“I want to play the World Cup in Brazil,” he said. “To play my fourth World Cup there would be

special. I hope to play regularly here, to regain my form and to be able to return.”

Although his chances of playing regularly were not helped by Madrid’s signings of

Cristiano Ronaldo

players and officials.

According to him, the government has paid 40 per cent of the sign-on fees, while the balance of 60 per cent would be paid before the end of season.

“The state government is seriously taking care of the welfare of the players. All match bonuses are paid on time, we are

Luka Modric and Michael Essien in the final week of this summer’s transfer window, the ex-Milan player said he welcomed such competition for places.

“We have such great players,”

Kaka

not owed a kobo,” Ogenyi said.

The coach said that the club would play its home matches in the next season at the newlyconstructed stadium in Dutse.

“We play our home matches at Hadejia Local Government Area headquarters, but we will play our home matches in the next season in Dutse,” he added.

Kaka said. “Modric and Essien create a lot of competition and that is very positive. They are needed as the season is very long and the most important is the group, not individual players.”

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 43

Stoke, Liverpool keen to seal Owen signing

City to show champions’ stuff in December, says Kompany

V

S

toke manager Tony Pulis believes his club could still sign Michael Owen even as Brendan Rodgers desperate to strengthen the attacking options of Liverpool is reported to have made the initial contact former for the former England and Man Utd striker.

Pulis has been keen to sign Owen since he was released

by Manchester United at the end of last season, but has so far been unable to agree a deal with the 32-year-old.

Pulis wants to sign Owen on a pay-as-you-play contract, but the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Newcastle star Owen wants a deal with guaranteed wages and has so far refused to commit to Stoke as he waits for other offers.

With Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers hinting he will consider a move for Owen and Sunderland and Aston Villa also interested, Stoke may have missed their chance.

Writing on Twitter over the weekend, Owen said: “Lots of you asking about my next club. Genuinely don’t know yet. Spoken to a few clubs. I’d expect something to happen early next week.

“Obviously can’t tell you who I’m in talks with yet. I have an idea where I will go but you never know who else could enter the fray!”

But Pulis remains optimistic and he told The Sentinel: “I would love to sign Michael.

“If we can do it, we will do it, and do it on the basis that we did with Jonathan Woodgate and players like that.

“If he’s in the team he will get paid, and if he isn’t he won’t get paid so much.”

Owen, who scored 40 goals in 89 appearances for England, endured a disappointing three-year spell with United and he spent much of the time on the bench or battling injuries.

Michael Owens

Hugo Lloris

Brad Friedel

Lloris faces fight to dislodge Friedel at Tottenham

H

ugo Lloris is France’s top goalkeeper and joined Tottenham Hotspur in a £12 million deal from Olympique Lyon, but there is no guarantee he will become an immediate first choice selection for his new club.

Spurs fended off a number of European clubs for the 25-year-old’s signature before he signed on transfer deadline day on Friday, but coach Andre Villas-Boas has warned he will have to fight to dislodge 41-year-old former US keeper Brad Friedel.

Friedel has not missed a Premier League game since the end of the 2003-04 season and his appearance against Norwich City on Saturday was his 307th successive league match spanning his time at Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and now Spurs.

Not only that, he made three outstanding saves to keep Spurs in the game and was named man of the match after the 1-1 draw.

Villas-Boas, who also has goalkeepers Huerelho Gomes and Carlo Cudicini on the books at White Hart Lane, told reporters: “When you transfer it’s not written in the contract that you have to play.

“He has to compete against three good goalkeepers and at the moment, Brad is doing extremely well. He deserves to be playing and he’ll continue to do so.”

Lloris bid an emotional farewell to fans as Lyon climbed to the top of Ligue 1 with a 3-2 win over Valenciennes on Saturday.

The keeper, who has played 38 times for France, was given a rousing reception as he came onto the Stade de Gerland pitch for one last time to thank the supporters.

“I wanted to thank you for the four years. There are always great fans supporting a great club and Lyon will always need you,” Lloris told a packed crowd after striker Lisandro Lopez handed him a jersey bearing “Thanks Hugo” on the back.

Spurs, meanwhile, are likely to appeal against Tom Huddlestone’s sending-off for a late sliding tackle on Jonny Howson in the 89th minute which looked more clumsy than intentional.

“I think we will be appealing that, yes,” Villas-Boas said.

Spurs have made a slow start to the new season, conceding late goals in all three matches they have played, losing 2-1 at Newcastle United, and drawing 11 at home with both West Bromwich Albion and Norwich and were booed off by their fans at the final whistle.

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MUHAMMED MUSA GARBA NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS IBRAHIM MUHAMMAD. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. GOVERNMENT SECONDARY COMMERCIAL SCHOOL, DUTSE AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MISS OJONE SULE NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MRS OJONE SUNDAY. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

Falcao eyes January transfer move to English Premier League

A

tletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao could be set to move to the Premier League in the near future, with his father predicting it may even happen by the end of January.

Falcao is one of the most highly-regarded strikers in Europe, and only increased his reputation with a stunning performance last Friday as Atletico demolished Chelsea in the European Super Cup. The Colombia international would be coveted by clubs throughout Europe if he were to become available, but his father has revealed that the Premier League is his most likely destination.

“Yes, it’s very likely,” Radamel Sr said when asked if his son could move to the Premier League in January. “There are three teams interested Manchester City, Chelsea and a Russian team.

Falcao has always wanted to play in the Premier

League.

“Ever since he was a boy he has loved Chelsea and has always thought it would be an honour to play for a big Premier League team.”

It had been suggested

Radamel Falcao

that Chelsea would make a move for Falcao on deadline day last week, but an offer never materialised with a club source telling ESPN that, while a deal for Napoli forward Edinson Cavani

was discussed, Falcao was not on the agenda.

Chelsea also denied a preliminary agreement is already in place for Falcao, after details of an initial deal were reported in Colombia, and the player’s father confirmed that any interested club still needs to agree a transfer fee.

“I don’t want to talk about any preagreements,” Radamel said. “I spoke to Falcao very briefly yesterday. The minimum release clause in his contract with Atletico Madrid is about •55 million, but Falcao doesn’t want to talk figures.”

Atletico are deeply in debt, with significant funds owed to the tax authorities, and it is believed they will have to sell players to fund their repayments. It had been thought that Falcao could be sold in the summer to raise the cash, but the departures of several squad players raised around •20 million.

incent Kompany has said Manchester City are not worried by their inability to keep a clean sheet so far this season and insists their best is still to come.

The Premier League champions have conceded seven goals in four games, including the Community Shield, and have endured defensive difficulties.

City had the division’s best defensive record last season but have already conceded five more goals than Arsenal and, after only letting in 12 at home in their titlewinning campaign, have seen Southampton score twice and QPR once at the Etihad Stadium.

But the Belgian believes City will secure shutouts in tougher circumstances.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said.

“We’ve always proved to be solid come difficult times.

“Come December, January and February we’ll show it.

At this time everyone tries to play the game nicely. We left ourselves exposed but at the end of the season we won’t do that.”

The City captain says his side can play better but believes that taking seven points from a possible nine is a fine start to the season.

“What’s missing? Two points out of nine, that’s all,” Kompany added. “I’m leaving for the internationals now and if I had to leave one message for the team it would be, ‘Well done guys, we’ve battled hard, we’ve shown how strong we are’.

“If we are able to get results playing what people say might not be our best, then what will happen when we do? The best is yet to come.”

Fenerbahce close in on Meireles

T

urkish club Fenerbahce has started negotiations with Chelsea to buy midfielder Raul Meireles, the club said in a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange on Monday.

The 29-year-old, who has played more than 60 times for Portugal, was signed by Chelsea on a four-year contract from Premier League rivals Liverpool in 2011.

The Istanbul club, runners-up to Galatasaray last season in Turkey’s Super League, have been looking to bolster their midfield after Emre Belozoglu left for Atletico Madrid on a free transfer earlier this year.

Turkey’s transfer window closes on Wednesday.

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Desire Oparanozie admires Rooney, Wambach

D

Desire Oparanozie

esire Oparanozie spends a lot of time off the ground, as is only to be expected of one of the best headers of the ball at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2012. And no matter how much the Nigeria attacker is buffeted by opposition defenders or how acrobatically she tries to reach the ball, she always manages to land on her feet.

She also manages to keep her feet firmly on the ground metaphorically, a useful trait when she has to deal with disappointment, such as in the recent quarter-final against Mexico.

“I missed a hatful of chances. I know I did, and I’m really annoyed with myself,” she said to FIFA.com. “I needed to score to know that all my hard work was actually worth something and that I’d contributed something to the team. “At the end of the day if I’ve created a lot of chances for myself and we lose, I don’t feel like I’ve helped the team the opposite in fact.”

Despite being her own harshest critic, the centre-forward certainly did help her team against Mexico. Her extra-time goal, which as you would expect came from a header, sent the Falconets into the semi-finals, where they will take on USA, as well as repaying the faith shown in her by the rest of the Nigerian camp.

“I felt under a certain amount of pressure, but it was of my own making no-one else was putting any pressure on me,” said the striker, who grew up idolising local legend Mercy Akide and who now admiresAbby Wambach and Wayne Rooney. “When I missed those chances and when I made a few wrong decisions, the coach and my team-mates kept telling me to keep my chin up, to put it behind me and that the next chance would come along soon. When the ball finally went in, I could hardly believe it! The goal was just reward for their encouragement because it got them into the semi-final.”

Making sacrifices Where plenty of other forwards would have become impatient, Oparanozie maintained her focus and assumed her responsibilities.

“When you’ve got the experience of playing in the full international team, you have a duty not to get carried away and to help your team-mates to keep calm,” said Oparanozie, who represented her country at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2008, the U-20 equivalent in 2010 and at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011.

“I never give up, and that’s an important aspect of my character,” she said of her never-say-die attitude against Mexico, even when it looked as if the Nigerians were on the way out. “When you have an objective, you need to give it all you’ve got all the time, and never give up until you’ve achieved what you set out to do. That applies to football and to life in general.”

In the short term, Oparanozie’s main aim is to help her country put things right after their failure to reach this year’s Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.

“People around the country expect a lot of us, particularly after what happened with the Olympic Tournament,” said the striker, who is also studying business and management to ensure that she has a career path to follow once she hangs up her boots.

“We didn’t even take part and the whole country was in mourning after that,” she continued. “I’m one of the players who has most to say and when things start looking difficult, I tell the others that we can’t afford to falter, that the time has come to make sacrifices.

“Not just for ourselves, but for our families and Abby Wambach all the people who believe in us and whom we make happy whenever we win. We know that we can do it and we know that we have to do it.”

What they feel they “can and have to do” is bring the trophy home to Nigeria. Oparanozie was part of the team that came so close to achieving that in 2010 and she believes that the near miss will help them enjoy more success in the future.

“I experienced the elation of making it through to the final in (Germany in) 2010, and I’m back now with the same objective in mind,” said the striker, whose transfer from Delta Queens to Turkish club Duvenciler Lisesi fell through in 2011, just when she was hoping to launch a new stage of her career in Europe.

“Getting through to the final showed me where I’m at and the minimum that I can achieve. I didn’t come here this year with the mindset of not getting as far this time around.”

Oparanozie continues to fly high and land on her feet. And on the rare occasions that she stumbles, she picks herself up again straight away. “I want to play in the final again,” she concluded with conviction. “But this year I don’t want to come off Wayne Rooney second-best.”

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 45

P I C T O R I A L

\\A// Britain's David Weir sprinted to a sensational victory in the T54 5,000m to win his third Paralympic gold medal. \\B// Kaka insists Cristiano Ronaldo will receive any support he needs from the Real Madrid squad after the Portuguese revealed he was unhappy with the club. \\C// FIFA.com spoke to tireless defensive midfielder Hikaru Naomoto who has played a crucial role in Japan's stunning form at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, with champions Germany standing in the way of a berth in the final.

\\A//

\\B//

\\C//

\\D// Liverpool's principal owner John W Henry has declared he is fully committed to the club despite the failure to bring in a replacement striker for Andy Carroll. \\E// Fenerbahce have announced that they are in negotiations with Chelsea to sign the club's Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles.

\\D//

\\F//

\\E//

\\G//

\\F// Andy Murray is wary of Canadian Milos Raonic's big serve as he prepares to face him for a US Open quarter-final place.

\\G// Chelsea, Manchester City and a Russian club are interested in Atletico Madrid star Radamel Falcao, according to the player's father, with a January move to the Premier League is "very likely.

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Paralympics: Nigerians urge nation’s athletes to win more gold

A

cross section of sports enthusiasts in Ebonyi has urged the nation’s athletes to win more gold medals for the country at the on-going Paralympics Games in London.

They were reacting to the third gold medal won by Nigeria at the Games on Saturday through Esther Onyema, in 48kg category of powerlifting event.

Nigeria had earlier won two gold medals in the event through Yakubu Adesokan and Ivory Nwokorie and further two to bring the total as at Sunday to four gold medals from powerlifting alone.

Paschal Nwuzor, a powerlifter with the state Sports Council said that with proper organisation and motivation, disabled athletes would continue to outshine the able-bodied ones in international competitions.

“The disabled bodied athletes have achieved in less than a week, what the able-bodied ones could not achieve during their Games.

“Most of the medals came from powerlifting and this shows that it is a sport which should be supported actively by country’s sports authorities, for sustained performance.

“The athletes should not rest on their oars but ensure they win more gold medals for the country, to reclaim its deserved place in the comity of sporting nations,” Nwuzor said.

Dr Emmanuel Utobo, the state’s Director of Sports said that the

Allyson Felix

Sandra Perkovic

feat had erased the woeful performance of the able-bodied athletes during the Olympic Games.

“The nation’s sports fraternity was saddened by the performance of the able-bodied athletes who could not win a single medal in the competition.

“I urge relevant sports authorities to tap the winning tonic of the disabled athletes and administer it practically in managing the able- bodied athletes, where much attention is focused,” he said.

Utobo urged the disabled athletes not to be complacent but strive hard to win more medals for the country as the competition becomes more competitive.

Obinna Ozor, a retired weightlifter in the state, said that the feat has restored the flagging belief of fans in the nation’s sports.

“Equal attention should be paid to both able-bodied and disabled sports, as the latter has consistently brought glory to the country whenever the former disappoints,” he said.

Gloria Obini, a civil servant, urged the relevant sports officials in the country not to distract the athletes with unwarranted visits to their camp, in the name of encouragement.

Obini said that rather, the athletes should be left to concentrate on the stiffer task ahead and be adequately motivated to win more laurels for the country.

Tomasz Majewski

IAAF World Challenge

Five Olympic champions seek further honours in Zagreb today F

ive individual London Olympic champions will lead the fields in today’s 62nd edition of the Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb, the penultimate stop on the IAAF World Challenge series.

Sandra Perkovic, who at 22 became Croatia’s first-ever Olympic gold medallist with her victory in the Discus Throw, will seek a repeat of her 69.11m national record at London’s Olympic Stadium last month.

She had also successfully defended her European title, lifted the Diamond Race Trophy in the event, won six of seven Samsung Diamond League meetings and 12 of 13 competitions in all.

She’ll take on challengers led

by Frenchwoman Melina RobertMichon (63.98 SB) and Lithuanian Zinaida Sendriute (64.03m SB, PB). The Croatian’s immediate target is her own

65.56m meet record she set in 2010.

Allyson Felix, the most decorated women’s track and field athlete, who dominated the 200m, pitched in on the victorious 4x100m and 4x400m Relays as well at the London Olympics, returns to the track for the first time since the Olympics.

She had placed fifth in the 100m where she clocked a 10.89 personal best. Zagreb will be her fourth competition over the distance this season, yet she leads the world at 21.69, half a second clear of the rest of the Zagreb field.

With a 22.19 personal best this year, Aleksandra Fedoriva of Russia is the closest on paper. Also in the field are Jeneba Tarmoh (22.35 SB) and Charonda Williams (22.52 PB, SB) of the U.S. Also, another post-London showdown between two-time Olympic champion Tomasz

Majewski (21.89m SB) of Poland and Reese Hoffa of the U.S., the London bronze medallist.

Hoffa (22.00m SB) has been on a roll since London, winning each of his four competitions as well as clinching the Diamond Race Trophy.

The field also includes World indoor champion Ryan Whiting (21.66m SB) of the U.S. and Canadian Justin Rodhe (21.11m SB, PB), the fourth man in the field who has thrown beyond 21 metres this season.

Similarly, the men’s Hammer Throw, now a staple of the Zagreb meeting, pits Olympic champion Krisztian Pars of Hungary again Slovenia’s Primoz Kozmus, the London silver medallist.

Pars (82.28m SB) has been by far the most consistent thrower this season while Kozmus (79.36m) is still chasing his first 80-metre throw of the year. The situation was the same in Zagreb

last year, and the Slovenian breached the barrier then.

The field also includes two more of this season’s 80-metre men, Pole Pawel Fajdek (81.39 SB, PB) and Kirill Ikonnikov (80.71 SB, PB) of Russia who was fifth at the Olympics.

The men’s 1500m will feature Algerian Taoufik Makhloufi in his second appearance since his surprise victory in London. He will battle against Ethiopian Mohammed Aman who had improved his PB to 1:43.71. His 1500m career best, 3:30.80, came in Monaco in late July.

He’ll face a strong challenge from Kenya, led by Caleb Ndiku who clocked a near-PB 3:32.39 this season, and Gideon Gathimba (3:34.14), rising star Hamza Driouch of Qatar, who has a 3:33.69 personal best to his credit, and who is this year’s World junior champion. He won’t turn 18 until October.

FIFA urges fair play, respect on, off pitch

F

IFA President Joseph Blatter has appealed to footballers around the world to show fair play and respect on and off the pitch.

This is contained in statement issued by FIFA, which urges countries and individuals to preach and practise fair play at all times.

The statement quoted as Blatter saying at the Zurich headquarters of the world football body on Monday ahead of the 16th Annual FIFA Fair play campaign, that “fair play should be an attitude that we all subscribe to”.

“As role models, I appeal to all players, officials and fans to play fair on the pitch and off the pitch, during a game and in their everyday lives,’’ it further quoted him as saying.

The statement said that the campaign would kick off at the semi-finals of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on Tuesday when Nigeria takes on the U.S. and Japan hosts Germany.

“The campaign will also take place during the official international match dates between Sept. 7 and Sept. 11.

FIFA recognises the crucial role of fair play and respect in the sport and accepts the responsibility to apply them to all sporting activities.

“Football, as a team sport, can help to demonstrate the importance of tolerance, discipline, respect, and fair play, not only in the game, but also in life,” Blatter said.

The statement said the campaign involved much more than simply promoting fair play on the pitch and that the annual event had featured prominently on the international match calendar over the past 15 years.

It noted that many associations around the world had taken advantage of FIFA’s annual support to promote fair play on and off the pitch.

“Activities have been held in dozens of countries around the world, from grassroots to topflight football, and in many community-based projects.’’

Sepp Blatter

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

PAGE 47

FACTS 41. We are about 1 cm taller in the morning than in the evening.

42. It takes twice as long to lose new muscle if you stop working out than it did to gain it. Lazy people out there shouldn't use this as motivation to not work out, however. It's relatively easy to build new muscle tissue and get your muscles in shape, so if anything, this fact should be motivation to get off the couch and get moving.

43. Tears and mucus contain an enzyme (lysozyme) that breaks down the cell wall of many bacteria.

44. It is not possible to tickle yourself. Even the most ticklish among us do not have the ability to tickle ourselves.

45. The width of your armspan stretched out is the length of your whole body. While not exact down to the last millimeter, your armspan is a pretty good estimator of your height.

46. Humans are the only animals to produce emotional tears.

Source: Weird facts

Quick CrossWord (19)

JOKE

ACROSS

A Really Bad Day There was this guy at a bar, just looking at his drink. He stays like that for an hour.

Then, this big trouble-making truck driver steps next to him, takes the drink from the guy, and just drinks it all down. The poor man starts crying. The truck driver says, "Come on man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I just can't stand to see a man cry."

"No, it's not that. This day is the worst of my life. First, I fall asleep, and I go late to my office. My boss, outrageous, fires me. When I leave the building, to my car, I found out it was stolen. The police said that they can do nothing. I get a cab to return home, and when I leave it, I remember I left my wallet and credit cards there. The cab driver just drives away."

"I go home, and when I get there, I find my wife in bed with the gardener. I leave home, and come to this bar. And just when I was thinking about putting an end to my life, you show up and drink my poison."

PHOTO OF THE DAY

3 Young wolf (3) 7 Extreme shock (6) 8 Make fond (6) 9 By general agreement (2,3,3) 10 __ Gwyn, Charles II’s mistress (4) Tamla _, US record label (6) 12 Acclaim (6) 15 Sailors (6) 18 Attempts (an exam) again (6) 20 Dash, life (4) Drastically (8) 23 Geological seams (6) 24 London borough, famous form its film studios (6) 25 Straight away (3)

DOWN 1 Without delay! (6) 2 Fungus grown for use in cooking (8) 3 Artillery piece (6) 4 Drunken spree (6) 5 Chief Norse god (4) 6 Lacking experience of life (6) 11 __ Robbinson, Simon and Garfunkel hit (3) 13 Breathing channels (8) 14 UK’s largest employer (inits) (3) 16 Authoritative commands (6) 17 Japannese car maker (6) 18 Critical account (6) 19 Roofing (6) 21 Cog (4)

Yesterday’s answer

An over loaded commercial tricycle with empty drums on Yelwan road in Bauchi, on Sunday. Photo: NAN

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

. . . putting the people first

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

Federer into US Open last eight after Fish pulls out

W

orld number one Roger Federer made the US Open quarterfinals without hitting a ball after opponent Mardy Fish withdrew because of health reasons.

Five-time champion Federer will face Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych for a place in the semi-finals. Berdych beat Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 6-1.

Fish missed about two months earlier this season because of an accelerated heartbeat and had a medical procedure in May. The 30-year-old American's third-round match against Gilles Simon went five sets, lasting more than three hours and finishing after 1am on Sunday.

Fish's agent, John Tobias, said: "We are not 100% sure what the issue is and if it is related to his previous issues."

West Ham to swoop for Ghana captain Mensah

J

ohn Mensah could sign for West Ham UnitedWest Ham are poised to make a move for Ghana defender John Mensah, who is available on a free transfer.

Mensah ended his contract with Lyon during the summer and is keen to make a return to the Premier League after having a successful season on loan at Sunderland last year.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has already brought in 11 players during the last transfer window which included a spectacular move to sign Andy Carroll from Liverpool on loan.

But he is determined to strengthen his squad even more and knows he needs more cover at the back as he only has Winston Reid, James Tomkins and James Collins to choose from.

Mensah, 29, has a wealth of experience and is hoping to finalise his future over the international break.

Clubs are still able to sign free agents despite the transfer window closing on Friday night and West Ham hope they can strike a deal to take him over the international

ADVERT: BUSINESS: NEWS: LAGOS:

0803 0805 0803 0805 0803

QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE All I know about this matter is that Chief James Ibori brought some money to the then EFCC chairman, Malam Nuhu Ribadu. The details of the transaction were undisclosed to me at the time. — Andy Uba, on his role in the $15 million Ibori saga

Democratically accountable (II) A

dvocates of state police seem to forget that history does repeat itself, sometimes with tragic consequences, especially when and where its lessons are not understood and learnt by a people. From goings-on in the county today, it can only be said that we as a nation haven't learnt much from the past, and have forgotten even less. And this is largely the reason for the poverty of our politics today.

Whether this is to be blamed on the decades of military rule that have stunted our political development and the process of institution building, or on the politicians themselves who continue to impoverish our politics by their lack of vision, narrow worldview, greed and tedious divagations, is hardly the issue here. The point is that the signs and the political and economic climate in the country aren't good or encouraging for a state police. As my friend and fellow columnist, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed once wrote on this page, state police in our present situation will be the shortest route to making Nigeria a police state and, perhaps, even worse. In fact, to institute state police now in Nigeria will be to court disaster.

Hyperbole? Well, consider these few facts. One, we are generally a people who hold authority in awe. Two, the governors, tin gods in their states, have almost total disdain for the constraints of democracy. Three, with the almost total lack of institutions by which the people can hold them to account, the governors will think nothing of unleashing their police against political opponents. And, four, look at the way the governors pack their state electoral commissions with their party men and/or those who share the parties' instincts and policy orientations, and who then organise the ruling parties' 100 victories in advance of the Iocal council elections. Isn't this last, in itself, one good reason against state police?

Thankfully, the rank of the nays is swelling, with people who have knowledge and expertise in these matters joining the queue.

And cracks are beginning to appear in the regional camps.

Edo State Governor, Oshiomhole, has now cast his vote with the nays, while, up North, Governor Jang of Plateau State has, not surprisingly, broken ranks with his Northern colleagues and is now canvassing for state police.

And, now, President Jonathan has also added his weighty voice

311 689 606 327 454

7458 1765 3308 1969 0344

FOR THE MASSES

By Rufa’i Ibrahim ruf585@hotmail.com

IGP Mohammed Abubakar to the debate, aligning himself, and, in my view, rightly so, with the nays.

It is instructive that Osayende, a prominent Southwesterner, whose zone just last week concluded its loud ethnic assembly meeting with an even louder call for state police, has joined the nays camp. The police reform committee he headed, which just recently presented its report to the president, not only strongly said no to state police, but also alerted the nation to the grave dangers establishing it will pose for the nation.

But the strongest blow to the state police argument has come from the former Inspectors General of He who last month met as a block, and not only opposed but also warned strongly against the idea. Theirs is a very serious, studied and most useful intervention, which deserves our serious attention. Who can claim to have better expertise and experience in such a matter than these people? Almost all of them were officer in the force when we had local authority police in the Northern and Western regions back in the 50s and 60s. They have records and clear memories of what the nation went through in those days of the local police, which were in the firm grip of the ruling elites in the regions. They know the country enough to read signals correctly and to guage properly the size of the problems and the dangers reintroduction of local police portends for the country in our present circumstances.

They know, also, the nature and situation of the federal police force they had commanded. Yes, most of them can be said to be part of the problem itself. But they all know that they headed a force that was largely inefficient, corrupt to the core and rotten from the head to the toe, operating in a country where corruption has become the second nature of those who conduct its affairs. In many ways, in fact, the Nigeria police is a comedy act. In what ways can state police, operating in the same country under the same socio-economic conditions, be any less so?

No. The solution to our security challenges is not the establishment of state police. This will only compound our problems. The solution lies, rather, in making the Nigeria Police we now have more efficient, less corrupt, better trained and more peoplefriendly. More than this, the solution lies in making the police operationally independent of control by any individual, but democratically accountable to the Nigerian people.

This will necessarily involve making profound changes to the Police Act. The Act has to be changed, first, to make the Force answerable not to the president or any one public officer but to the Parliament, and, second, to give it complete control over its budget planning and processes.

The need to give the Force control over its budget planning, a most crucial step in ensuring its independence, has featured as one of the very top recommendations of not just the Osayende but also earlier police reform committees, especially the one headed by M.D. Yusuf.

With the police in full control over its budget planning and processes, a ministry of police aafairs will be superfluous. As the Osayende committee has observed, correctly, there will be absolutely no need for such a ministry, and it should be scrapped.

The amendment to the Act should give the responsibility for approving the police budget to the

Police Council, the membership of which may include the governors as a way to reduce the incidence of confrontation and areas of friction between them and the police commissioners in their states.

Under the present Act and extant laws, the police in Nigeria have unrestrained and almost unlimited powers, which are every day and everywhere being abused and misused, often with tragic consequences for the masses of the Nigerian people. The police operate as a law unto themselves.

Summary executions of suspects, arresting people for no just cause, holding people without charge for much longer than the stipulated period, refusal to give bail to suspects for no good reason - these are just a few of what define our police and give its bad name. And this just has to change.

In matters of prosecution, the Act should be amended to give the Attorneys General at f federal and state levels express power of approval. No prosecution by the police should take place without the express approval of the Attorneys General. In the United Kingdom, which has a lot that we can learn from in these matters, it is the Crown Prosecution Service that gives such approvals.

In this connection, it is also very necessary that criminal investigations by the police are scrutinised. The power to do this should also be vested in the Attorneys General. As things now stand, criminal investigations by our police, just as in all the other security and intelligence agencies, have been turned into a money-making pastime.

But, above all, there must be established a very strong Police Complaints Commission to which people can take their complaints against the police when wronged.

This is one sure way of checking the excesses of the police and making its officers and men have respect for the restraining decencies and the constraints of democracy. Such a commission will also serve as an institution through which the Nigerian people will hold the police to account.

What is required in the end is not state police, or a force that will be under the thumb and control of the president, or the governors, or local government chairman, but one that is, civil and not brutal in its conduct and operations, peoples-friendly, efficient, operationally independent and, above all, democratically accountable to the Nigerian people.

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos, Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com; pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141